Field of Deets

I stole the idea from The Sports Guy and decided it would be a good idea to do a full day of e-mail exchanges with someone and post the results on my blog.

Here is what happened when Adam Jefferson, The Geoff, and I had a full day to debunk the myths, confirm the legends, and give praise to the deserving in Volume 1 of our e-mail exchange:



Deets: Adam, You're an aspiring man. You're an aspiring author and an aspiring poker player. For which of these two things do you see yourself having the most potential to become famous? In which would you find the most satisfaction in achieving success?
In which will you have major success first?

You've been working on a book for about five years. Where is it? How much is left? What's the time table on the finish? Am I still writing the forward?

You've been playing poker seriously for a few years now. How far has your game come? How far does it have to go?

Where will you be as a poker player in five years? As an author? As a marathon runner? As a smoker?

That right there is a lot of questions but all are related and relative to each other.

Compare your poker playing to the career of a major league baseball player.

The Geoff: How the hell are you gonna complain that I don't answer all your questionsin a normal email and then throw 3 dozen questions at me for this one.

I can do one of two things:

1. Answer a few questions in depth

2. Skirt around all the questions

I guess I'll go after the first one. As far as being an author goes,calling me aspiring is a big-time stretch. I had a goal, a vision,whatever, to write the book and took a semester off of school to do it. I enjoyed the experience throughly, I was around for all the games, many of the practices, and got to know many of the guys well, yourself at the forefront. I might call that winter our turning point as far as you going from "That guy who wears a Good Riddance" t-shirt to "That guy who fills in all the gaps where Will and I are different." This point has reared its beautiful head frequently over the last several years, I have enjoyed the shit out of it.

My procrastination with the book is indeed frustrating, I have come so far and seem so close, yet have not been able to shut the door. My hope is that one week I decide to sit down and just get it done. The issue now is that if I'm going to be in front of a computer, there's likely to be checking, betting and raising involved. It's a little crazy how this poker thing is starting to move from the casually serious phase to the pretty fucking casually serious phase. That might not seems like much of a jump, but it is. We're (I'm including you in this for now, along with myself, Will and Jesse) moving out of the "I wonder if this can be done" place to the "Wow, this really could happen" place and it's quite a spot to be in. It's hardworking 40 hours a week when you have random hands, random plays, specific situations running through your head every hour. For now, I'm glad I have a job to fall back on. Once January rolls around, Will and I might make an executive decision based on where we're at. The vision of a WPT or WSOP final table, while still a tad brash and outlandish, is becoming brighter by the day. The great thing is that we are all ultra-competitive, so when one person raises the bar, the others are that much more determined to set it again. It's a GREAT time to be the age we are. Life is great for innumerable reasons, this is right near the top at the moment. Good scene. Also, are we ever gonna corroborate on a screenplay like we talked about initially? - AJ

Deets:
I want to re-ask one question that I didn't think was answered before:

Where will you be as a poker player in five years? As an author? As amarathon runner? As a smoker?

The screenplay? Yes, we will write one together. But as I've said before, I have dibs on being the Matt Damon of the team.

As far as your responses go:

First, I love being the things/guy that fill the gaps between you and Will. It's always an interesting place for me to be, between the three of us we have so many interests that are so varied, but at the same time so many common threads that run through those areas of difference.

As far as, and dare I sound like The Sports Guy, who I think is really full of himself and on a cloud that is certain to pop at some point, making "The Leap" to that next level of poker playing, I think we have to remember that there are tons of guys all over the country saying and thinking and doing the exact same things we are. And because of that we sneak up on nobody.

On to baseball:

You are Terry Ryan. Give me three moves you make for the Chicago Cubs this year. You can be flexible with the salary cap, but must also be realistic.

And the last thing of this e-mail. Word Association. Get ready, I want you to respond with the first thing you think of when you read the following thing:

She-nan's.

The Geoff: Shenans' is ridgoddamnpreposterabsurdulous. That's the word. That place is where heaven and hell collide, I'm firmly convinced of it. Never have I been at a place where one second I'm perfectly happy with all things life and the next minute questioning everything about everything. One thing's for sure, though, love it or hate it, there will never be another Shenans. Hell, I don't even live in EC, contary to popular opinion, and I could probably tell stories of times spent there long into the 22nd century.

In 5 years, I'll be ....... don't really feel like writing that number down. By that time it'll be all or nothing with poker. After having that many years under the belt, I doubt it'll be a casual thing. If it becomes a true passion, awesome. If not, something else will incur my interest. It helps going down the path with the rest of the connection. Joint journeys can be quite fruitful.

The smoking thing is a big question mark. While I'm proud I went the entire month of April without one cigarette and am smoking far less than I did in my prime, it's still probably too much. I know I get a ton of shit for it in west central Wisconsin, the fact is I smoke every now and then, it's not like you guys haven't known this for a while. If it affects my personality in some way, fine, but it's only a bad habit at this point, not a character flaw. Find it disgusting, find it gross, but it's not a flaw. People forget that sometimes.

I like to think I'll be writing a little more consistently in 5 years, ideally I'll have a weekly commentary in the newspaper where I can just ramble and make up words if I feel like it. That's probably not gonna happen, but the world needs dreamers.

I may run a marathon in April in Carmel, CA.

I'll let that one sink in fora bit.

If I could make 3 moves for the Cubs, they would still not win the Series next year, but it's a fun idea. By the way, Terry Ryan is not their GM

1. Get Juan Pierre. Perfect leadoff guy for this team which does not walk enough or manufacture enough runs. Plus then we can say, COREY PATTERSON, SEE YOU THE FUCK LATER. Even though he's a nice guy, Corey is not a professional hitter. It's clear now.

2. Move Nomar to left field. His bat has been awesome the last two months, they need him in the lineup but Ronny Cedeno is on the up and up and looks like the real deal at short. I hope Nomar can pull a Robin Yount, CraigBiggio, etc. and make the switch. I just hope Mia is enjoying Chicago.

3. Figure out someone to pitch the 8th inning. Dempster has been really good as the closer, with an ERA under 2, but if you had to pick an ideal setup guy from the people they have...well...it's a pointless argument. I just don't trust anyone in that pen to appoint them the guy. Someone they have needs to figure it out or they need to get someone reliable.

Right at the top, though, is nothing Ed Lynch/Andy Mcphail can control. Kerry Wood, please stay healthy. Show us what you can do for a whole season. Make everyone choke on the words "overrated" and "wasted potential." That's my #1 hope for 2006, that might be the key to the whole thing. With the Sammy era joltingly over, KWood is my favorite majorleaguer. And like the bracelet says, I believe.

I think you need to answer similar questions to me with the whole 5 yearsthing. Also comment on two things:

1. How can such an impressive, consistent sleeper like yourself be so bad at sleeping in key spots?

2. How much money have you spent in your life between 1:50 and 2:20 at Shenan's the last two years. In other words, if you never bought anyone last call shots, how much more money would you have? Not trying to pointout your stupidity, merely trying to highlight your generosity. - Bleeda blop.

Deets:
Great thoughts on She-nan's; that disgusting, sleezey bit of heaven has never been described so aptly.

Wow. I moved Terry Ryan to the Cubbies there instead of McPhail, who used to be in Minnesota. Strange how the mind mixes things up subconsciously.

As an author in five years I will have a screenplay in the works of becoming a major motion picture, a novel in print and several short stories becoming cult classics with groups of like-minded thinkers. This writing bug is starting to tighten its grip on me and plot lines zip through my head constantly. I want to be a writer whose influences are undetectable, whose plots have never been seen before or delivered in such a way.

As a poker player I want to be able to play live tournaments frequently. And I want to be able to do it for leisure. I don't think I want poker to be my sole source of income. I want to be a regular in the top tournaments and be competitive in doing so. I want to sit with the finest.

In response to your first question, I'm going to need clarification of these "key spots." I can be an impressive sleeper, but my sleep patterns are on the change.

If I knew how much money I've spent on shots at She-nan's in the past three years I would probably run right out of our living room and off the roof. I see no way it can be less $1,000. And my total bar tab there... yeeesh, combine that with the money I've spent on DVD's and prostitutes and I could have quite a little nesteg put away if I had it all back.

About the smoking... I've never noticed smoking to affect your personality and I'd never view it was a personality flaw. You know we give you shit because we care, as annoying as I'm sure it gets for you. Bad Habit. The Offspring.

Speaking of The Offspring... someone brought in Smash to work the other day and it brought me back to fourth/fifth grade when that CD was a huge part of my musical life. That disc and Green Day's Dookie were my first tastes of punk rock. There were also the general public's first taste of punk rock, but how else was a fourth grader in NorthWestern Minnesota going to be exposed to punk rock? Punk rock is something you and I have in common, and oddly so I would say. We were both three sport athletes all through high school and not a lot of punk rock listeners were athletes. This was something I loved though as it allowed me to hang out with numerous different social groups. What discs spawned your interest in punk rock? How was being a "punk" and a three sport athlete for you in high school? Where have all the good punk bands gone?

The Geoff: So you're calling yourself an athlete then? JK, I can't even imagine what it must have been like to go through all the physical issues you did. Very fortunate to steer clear of that.

Punk rock and sports went hand in hand ever since I went to my first punk show at Concert Cafe in Green Bay to seethe Queers, Squirtgun and Teen Idols. Nick Wolff's dad drove Nick, Josh and I to the show. They picked me up from Stevens Point, the place where we were playing our regional playoff soccer game against the SPASH Panthers. So my first varsity playoff experience and my first punk show experience happened same day. They've been intertwined ever since.

Side note, we lost the game 1-0, but I did manage to get up kind of in a guy's face after being taken down at midfield, at which point one of my teammates started smack talking, others joined in, and shortly after punches were in the air. Jeremy Happel was crying. I did not throw a punch. Amazingly, no one was ejected.

By the way, loved your thoughts on poker and Shenan's shots. It's hard to get upset with someone's generosity, but know that if you choose to be some generous you lose the right to complain over lack of funds. But you have surely been Generousah Maaaahn.

I think we've had this conversation before, but Smash and Dookie were the albums that got us going today. When I first heard "Keep 'Em Separated", I knew this was something that I had never heard before but liked a lot. I really think the influence of the Punx (me, Josh Peterson, Nate Johnson, Nick Wolff) was felt at East for years to come after us, whenever we saw at-shirt pop up in the hallway, there was a certain sense of satisfaction, relevant or not. We were different, and while that was one great feature, it didn't come close to comparing to the feeling you get while listening. Whether it be "fuck yeah" or "holy shit" or "Oh my god", punk is one of few types of music that comes from the soul, able to capture the gamma of emotions, I'm a better person for getting involved, there's no doubt. Sometimes when I was playing centerfield, I would sing punk lyrics. Sometimes watching live punk shows, I would think about baseball.

NOFX, Bad Religion and Pennywise were the next group of bands that we grabbed onto. Speaking of which, BR AND Pennywise are playing at the Quest next month. I'm gonna go ahead and say you should probably come. Screeching Weasel, Face to Face, Millencolin, Descendents, Rancid, Ten FootPole, these bands followed shortly there after and then it was like a waterfall. Slipping, slipping, slipping, FALLING into the punk abyss.

Also, our experience the last time Bad Religion played in the cities, VERY memorable. Glad I was there when you broke the BR cherry. Lots of "chillmoments." This is one key area where you are a great overlap between Willand I. While he stole a bunch of my shirts and tapes growing up, his love faded outside of three core bands. You have endured, and for that I say thank you. This has been a solid day at work, this being reason #1. Sports guy's got nothing on this shit. We should also go over our dating hooking up history over the course of day, although that might alienate some people on your end. Whatever. If this blows up and does not generate a positive response, the journey has still been high quality. - The Geoff

Deets: My back and leg and hand and shoulder injuries in high school really, to understate it, sucked. It's never easy to miss entire seasons or months at a time. And I never recovered 100% from the back injuries; they really limited me, especially in basketball for my junior and senior year. My shoulder that really seemed to enjoy slipping out hindered my velocity throwing the baseball and the football and pretty much made me a 2-inning max pitcher by JV year. The legs just kept me out for a month at a time, twice. And the hand, well, it fucked me up for football, left an impact on getting my shot back in basketball and by the time baseball came around senior year, I was so dinged up that I reclined to the role "just there to have fun."

But the one good thing that did come from those injuries was that during my sophomore year of high school, out for the year with 3 stress fractures in my lower back, I was able to get out of practice to go to Green Bay to see my first ever punk show: Consumed, Mad Caddies, and No Use For A Name. I remember standing just outside the mosh pit, wearing a back brace, nodding my head to music and just thinking, "This is greatest thing in the world." A part of me, for the first time, was happy I was injured. The Mad Caddies, well, they're the Mad Caddies. I can count their good songs on my nose, but I was there to see Consumed. Consumed was a great band, they put out one EP and one LP on Fat Wreck Chords and then sort of vanished. They have maybe my third favorite song in the history of the world in "Wake Up With A Smile." NUFAN put out some very good albums, but then, about my junior/senior year got really, really lame. Their new shit is not very good, and they have also been Carson Daly's house band on Last Call twice. Yeeeeeesh.

After Dookie and Smash, the next disc that threw me into punk rock was Maximum Rock N Roll by NOFX. It was just crazy and I loved it. After that came Dude Ranch by Blink-182, which was The Disc of 7th Grade. And then the levies broke and all sorts of Bad Religion, NOFX, Pennywise, Rancid, Face to Face, Consumed, Millencolin, Lagwagon, etc... flooded in to my world.

This is the end of Volume 1 of the e-mail exchange between myself and The Geoff. We touched many important things (read the first part of that sentence again) and got to the bottom of them. But we have much more to talk about, which we'll get to in the next e-mail exchange day.

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I hope you enjoyed all 3,000+ words of this. We'll get to all the unanswered questions, of which there were many, on the next go around.

Fear not, The OC fans, a recap is forthcoming later today.

Until The Next.