No, this isn’t a blog entry about sex. I am trying to get into writing non-fiction after all. Heh, I still got it.

So this morning, I awoke to go to a TOOL SALE with a couple of buddies from work. Yup, somewhere along the line, I managed to find a flyer for a tool sale right up the street from me. I don’t know who put this on my couch (I’m inclined to think it was Aaron, but would he have that kind of foresight to place a flyer for a tool show, something I would desperately be interested in, in sight where I’d see it?) but it was a godsend. I actually had trouble sleeping (because I was excited, not simply to enter a new realm of masculinity, but also because I was planning on staying in the new place the following day)

So what did I buy, and for what amazing prices did I receive these amazing tools? I’m glad I forced you to ask. I bought a Ryobi drill (corded), a 100-piece set of drill bits, a 45-piece allen wrench set (two portable sets – one metric and one SAE as well as identical loose units), a claw hammer (another term for just an absolutely regular hammer), a 25′ tape measure, a long-range lighter (think for lighting grills), a tiny keychain level, and a laser pointer that for some inexplicable reason makes noise whenever you activate it. Now, I haven’t done the official research, but I think these things would come to a pretty penny – maybe even a ravishing penny. But I paid just a hair over $50 for these things. While the tools look slightly used (my hammer already had slight chips on it – but hey, it’s a HAMMER right?), most of the things I purchased came with lifetime warranties.

And, not to brag, I actually now have the storage for these things. My new place is, as was deduced by a private panel of informed voters, the bomb.

I just reread this journal entry. I’m becoming alarmingly influenced by the writing style of Bill Bryson. I don’t think that’s bad thing.

And here come the bullets:

• I’m moving starting this week. It’s a kick-ass 2BR place in Elmwood Park, above Susan. Sure, it’s more than I *should* be affording, but it’s simply too good to pass up. I’m thinking living alone will either make me very productive, lonelier, or likely both. Which isn’t a bad thing, necessarily.
• I really like brunettes. As in REALLY like them. I noticed this when I combed through my MySpace, and changed my top 12 people to girl friends I thought had hot pics. They were ALL brunettes, and one redhead just got knocked off the list. Blondes, prove me wrong!
• Now that I’m packing up, I’m finding great things that would be prizes for new contests on esoderek.com. I just gotta think up a cool contest now. Coming soon!
• My visits-per-day has been going down. I really need to get Flash Dash up and running. Here’s the annoying thing – since Jay has been working out of sheer kindness, it’s hard to press him to work harder, you know? If anyone out there is ESPECIALLY computer-savvy and can create a program that can accomodate Flash Dash, or at least has interest in trying, let me know.
• The Donator’s Tour II is in jeopardy this summer without sponsorship. I’m going to see what I can do to get myself sponsored, so that I can get out there for a few weeks again. It helped my game, and it was just plain fun.
• I want to get a cat. Will I just kill a defenseless animal if I do? (I’m not home an awful lot)
• Seriously, blondes, do something about Bullet #2.
• I dislike Yankees fans greatly. Even my friends that are Yankees fans. I’m sorry, guys, but you just went down a notch in coolness. If a Subway Series happens, I think I’m secluding myself in my house and watching the games alone, with my phone off.
• I own too many CDs, and I’m going to buy more next month. Someone help me.

I love the fact that I bought an expensive digital camera specifically for this blog, and yet I seem to go out of my way to not take any pictures with it under any circumstances. I’ll just pretend that there’s nothing interesting to photograph at Paw Paw (a grotesque lie).

So with only one round left and a Super-tour A-tier event, I was on the third card sitting pretty in 13th place out of 45. I just didn’t want a first-out-of-cash (I have taken 5 already this year). We were playing the course that normally bites me in the tuckus, but I managed to school the first round in the rain. I started decently enough, but playing a bit more like my average self (missing putts high and left and not getting the good luck), but I was definitely holding it together. I was taking mostly 4′s through the tough holes, with some threes scattered about.

Then came the worst roll-away I’ve ever heard of (it rolled too far away for me to see). I threw a hole that requires a little left-to-right throw to land it on the top of a hill that slopes left. I threw and it nicked some leaves and caused it to hyzer to the left. Being on that slope is bad but not unmanageable. But apparently, if you PASS the ridge in the slope and then start to roll, it actually is more like a ravine than a slope. And if your disc rolls 300′ (no exaggeration, according to the spotter) you have nothing. True, I was only about 350′ from the basket on the drive, but it was going up a 45 degree slope with no discernable fairway. In short, I was screwed.

With some good throws, I managed to 7 the hole, but it put a dent in my decent (but not stellar) round. I was only one or two off the first time playing it (which I was happy with) before that round. I managed to pull myself together and finish off the round strong, including a 2 on the very tough hole 16 (only a 15′ putt too!) and ending the round on the hardest hole on the course, hole 2, with a 4. Very happy. I ended with a 68 – not as good as the rain-round, but certainly better than expected especially with the bad luck I got.

Where did that put me? Right on the cash bubble. I just saw another first-out-of-cash to add to my list. But when it was announced, I crept into the cash as last-cash. Now, that might not sound like much, but we’re talking an A-Tier event featuring 10 1000 rated players (who should, if the ratings were 100% accurate, beat me by 6 or 7 strokes A ROUND). I even ended up taking out J.G. and Bryan Gawler, who are both past winners and usually in the fray of it.

In all, I took home $110, but that really was nothing compared to finally cashing at a pro event, and at a tournament as fun as WVO and at a course as humbling and difficult as Paw Paw. It felt like a win, to be sure. There are rough unofficial round ratings in, and I apparently shot 1011 (my highest ever), 983, and 962.  Those seemed accurate.  I don’t think they’ve vary much.

In general, there were two aspects of my game that saved me: my putt (surprisingly) and my backhand roller (which seems to have solidified itself as the best shot in my bag).  The luck petered out, but I’d still say I was “lucky” over “unlucky” for this tournament.  I always say, if you play well, you’ll get the good breaks.
The WVO atmosphere this year was not like in past – the partying was minimal before Sunday with the miserable weather taking precedence. I was supposed to play some music, and when I went up on the stage to play, one of the guys jamming told me I was “totally ruining the groove.” It just left me with a weird sour taste. I seem to only like the WVO party atmosphere if I myself am getting wasted, which I wasn’t. We ended up taking an early leave at 11pm and got home just before 4am (not a smart idea, by the way)

But the cabin and the people there made the trip great, as well as some good golf, and a good cheer when I went up to accept my first pro money. Whether or not they are all my friends, there’s no doubt that the disc golf community is certainly very supportive of me.
That might be the end of disc golf for me for a while, with work kicking into full gear tomorrow. As always, we’ll have to see.

As some back story, last year I played Paw Paw as a pro and came in 4^th from the bottom. One of the courses, The Whipping Post (the slightly harder course), resulted in me not throwing a single par – I threw two birdies and the rest were 4’s or worse (I think the final score was a 73). And this was where I started. I played my card with none of the top pros, and several people I didn’t know. Turned out to be a nice group. We start on the very difficult hole 9, a long winding wooded hole and a tough three. And I 3 it. Okay, the curse was broken.

In fact, I damn near destroyed that curse. My putting was IMPECCABLE. I did not miss a single putt the whole round, including a few beyond 30’. And this was considering we had steady cold rainfall the entire round. My drives were on, my game was rock solid, and I even took a flukey circle 6 on a hole. I ended up carding a fantastic 65, a good seven strokes better than my best score ever on the course. It was good enough to put me on second card in pro. That’s right, top ten in pro in an A-tier event. I beat Mitch, as well as several top pros. It was like I stepped in awesome juice.

After a quick nervous lunch, I step out with Bob Graham, Mike Hofmann, Tyler Horne, and Shawn Breske – all golfers who are much better than me. My goal was simply not to embarrass myself. And after six holes, I was beating everyone on the card. Again, it was the putting – EN FUEGO. Still hadn’t missed. In fact, I didn’t miss a putt until the 9^th hole of the second round, where I dinked a 20 footer. By now, the weather had warmed up 20 degrees and it was sunny. Perfect disc golf weather. I had let a few strokes slip, but I was still hanging with the big boys. My backhand roller game was top notch, and my putting was strong. I had a bad hole or two near the end, and ended up carding a respectable 66. (Our card shot 63, 64, 65, 66 and 80). So that means I’m still in this thing. Mitch ended up coming ahead of me, but I’m still likely going to be third card or so. My surprisingly good play has resulted in me going back to the cabin tonight and getting a good night’s sleep. I’ve got to play well tomorrow, after all.

Not much drinking, and I’ll be sleepin’ like a baby. Like a narcoleptic baby.

While waiting for Jeannie to show up at Jeff’s, we hauled off to Roland Park in Acron, PA to blitz through a quick round before the hurricane started. It was a nice, short course with a surprising demand for many different types of shots. Despite some rain, I played the entire round in just my Crocs. I shot very well – after hole 20 (it’s a 21 hole course and we skipped one) I was beating Mitch by one stroke at -4. But then I went OB on the last hole and he birdies, beating me by one. But it made me feel good nonetheless.

From there, Jeannie arrived and we bid farewell to Jeff and Alicia – but I’m still really grateful for their needless and rather spur-of-the-moment hospitality. It’s always nice. We immediately head the wrong way. Good job us. Then at around 7:30pm, we hit our cabin, the lovely Bird’s Nest in Berkeley Springs, WV. It’s a great cabin with full amenities and, better yet, it’s not a hurricane. Bob and Kitt were already there and Doot and his girlfriend Maureen showed up shortly after us. Tired and wet, we decided to hit the booze early, and drank until 2am. We tried to play a game of “15”, but it ended after it was decided that Jeannie was too drunk to exist. And with that, I headed off to bed to play Paw Paw!!!

Well, *technically* this wasn’t the first day of the tournament, but I’m a bastard and I like to give misleading information. I killed JFK. Anyhow, Mitch and I got late word of a Ween and Flaming Lips concert in Allentown, which is almost immediately on the way to Paw Paw, WV. Thanks to Jeff L. for that tip. So we drive out to Jordan Creek (which I’ve played once) and played a really quick round. I shoot decently, though nothing spectacular, ending up at +7 (to Mitch’s +3 and Jeff’s +8). My putting is still on. Woof.

Then we booked over to the concert to see Sonic Youth be all old. I would have taken pictures, but it wasn’t worth it. Ween came on first and played the best show I’ve seen them play to date (I have seen them two other occasions). Highlights included hearing Touch My Tooter live, as well as a new song called, I assume, “Leave Deaner Alone”. It was about as un-state-fair-like a song as I could imagine. It caused some parents there to say oops churlishly. I might have misused that word. The Lips came on, and I’d never seen them, and their show lived up to the hype. Tons of theatrics, streamers, confetti, dancing Santas and martians, and some great songs. While they didn’t play any older songs (I was jonesin’ for They Punctured My Yolk), their version of The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song was great. It was WELL worth the price.

Finally, we stop back to Jeff’s and meet his wife Alicia, and I instantly fall asleep. Good start to the tournament.