How stoked am I?

At my first showing since our weekly poker game went monthly, today I snagged the $180 first-place purse - a $150 net on my $30 buy-in. Not frickin' bad for a Sunday afternoon. On the final three hands, I got three consecutive miracle river cards. Even my buddy Jason, who hosted the game and was the victim of said ridiculous miracles - he was impressed by the absurd 10 that landed to give me 10-pair over his 9-pair for the win.

Good times. Plus, the Dodgers came back from four-down to beat Nery's hopeless Pirates, and the BoSox also just came back from a four run deficit to lead the Yankees 5-4. How stoked am I? Well, I'm pretty stoked.

...Stoked like those runner-up Jeopardy contestants are stoked to get the consolation prize, actually.

During a week where Kobe and Cindy Sheehan both said "fuck it," plus Smashtar left her gig in Vegas to head back to D.C., Nameless finished her last week at work here in the desert. Must be something in the water supply.

After four long years in God's Country East, she's heading to NAHJ in about a week and then on to Mexico City for the summer. Where she lands when she gets back, who knows. It's something we've known was coming ever since we got together, so it's not like this is some shock - it's just something we've kept on the DL here. 'Doesn't make it any easier, though.

So for the first time in about a year of us steadily chatting through work email, the silence will be deafening tomorrow. Making things more awesome, the forecast has us shifting next week from man-it's-damn-warm hot to holy-god-it's-so-fucking-hot-I-can't-think-straight hot. We've just gone from suck to blow.

I'm really excited for her, and hopeful for the possiblities the future might hold for us. But how bummed am I? Well, I'm pretty bummed.

Frankly, I blame Kobe. I think everyone else - Nameless included - is following his lead.

Sure, he has every right to be frustrated that the front office didn't pull the trigger on Kidd or Carlos Boozer last season. Sure, maybe they promised him one thing when he re-signed and since then he's witnessed the exact opposite. I can relate. And I don't doubt Dr. Buss told him he'd trade Shaq precisely as Kobe recounted.

But regardless of who formally instigated the Shaq-trade conversation, this is the bottom line: If Kobe had learned to play nice with Shaq, Buss probably wouldn't feel inclined to unload Shaq even if the wear-and-tear was starting to show. Kobe, you share a big part of the blame so I don't want to hear it. And you energized this whole recent jump-ship mentality, encouraging Nameless to leave. As long as you wear that beatiful gold and royal purple jersey I I'll cheer for you till I'm blue in the face. But seriously dude, you're an asshole.

If anyone needs me, I'll be re-arranging the deck-chairs. Man, that water looks cold.