Hobbles and Sneezes

    My new nickname today is Hobbles. Jesse keeps making fun of me through his congested nose as he sits in a cloud of his own tissues. He's sick but gets entertainment by laughing at me and coming up with names this morning--- the only way I can get around is by walking on my heels with my toes stuck in the air and at turtle speed. Every muscle in my legs and torso clench with every step, warning me not to take another one. I have to give it to him, it is pretty hilarious. If only it wasn't so freakin' painful.

    We finally made it through a sea of cars, a maze of highways and side streets to EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, California yesterday. We got lost a few times but managed to get there with ten minutes to spare before the class I wanted to take started. I registered and got a 3-class Class Card before walking right into the studio. It had brick walls on two sides, a mirror in the front, and a windowed wall for observers. The back wall had one window and through it sat the famous Hollywood sign up in the distant mountains. How awesome is this?!? I had no idea who the teacher was until he started the music and began to move, leading us into a friendly warm-up for my now unfamiliar body. It all came back rather quickly. My body just knew what to do and by the time the class was over it felt like no time had passed. It also helped that Jesse was peering through the window every once in a while. My favorite things all converging into a string of moments. A happy girl.
     The routine we learned was pretty aerobic and my bare feet went through some battles with the floor. By the last run-through I felt a ripping sensation under my right big toe, and then the left. When I limped over to the side of the room I realized my toes were begging me to stop as the skin underneath each one was barely hanging on. Ouch. Then I felt a rush of heat and the room spun a little bit. Even though I only ate a banana before class I could feel it bubbling it's way up. No. Not here. I can't puke in my very first dance class in LA. Suddenly, I had to run out of that room. More air. Phew! We were finally done. I hobbled out of the room, sat down, asked Jesse for band aids and to fill up my water bottle. I was drained. He was so helpful. We staggered back to my car and just sat for a minute while I took it all in. I'm back in the dance scene. Big smile. 

Just a few people, a mirror and some music

     In one hour, we'll be making the one hour journey up to West Hollywood to go to EDGE Performing Arts Studio. My nerves are strangling me. I haven't danced since May and it's a bit scary to jump back into it with professionals. And then it hits me- I'm a professional! In my mind, I've been a professional since I hit the stage at 5 years old. It's the one thing I always wrote in elementary school yearbooks after "when I grow up I want to be_____". So I've been pacing, drinking coffee, trying to eat and tell myself that I'll be fine; I've done this my whole life. Like speaking in English or brushing my teeth. I know how to do this. Right? I hope so.
     To motivate me and pass the time this morning, I continued reading this book called "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. It's a pretty famous motivational book that Jesse had and I decided it would help me get out of my financial rut and dance rut. I came across this: "Your imaginative faculty may have become weak through inaction. It can be revived and made alert through use. This faculty does not die." Thanks, Napoleon. That's just what I needed to be reminded of. No time for pondering the what ifs; only time to act and go from there. 

     Wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. That's odd. It's already after 12pm. Jesse's calling from the east coast. He's just getting up too..... Now I don't feel so bad. 

     He left two days ago for Martha's Vineyard to support his Mom and sister, Randi, in opening up their store. They collaborate in fashion design and have awesome clothes. Jesse and I were in their fashion show at the end of last summer and they did an incredible job. Think hippie chic. I love it.

     We get off the phone and I look around. We live here now. A one bedroom apartment in Newport Beach, California. My zip code starts with a 9. It's still sinking in. I spend a few minutes wondering how long it will be before we get back to a normal routine. Then I wonder how long it will be before I accept the fact that we have many abnormal times ahead and having a routine just isn't our MO. Big exhale. And a thoughtful smile. I like this moment. 

     I'm alone for what feels like the first time in a decade. The empty space and I are still strangers but we're both completely comfortable. It's that moment you meet someone and know you'll still be friends a few years from now. This apartment is definitely getting there. We have plants and warm lighting. A supportive and cozy couch. A balcony as big as our whole place. It's just right for our "here and now". 

     Poker is my job right now. Pretty weird to write that but it's true. We leave for Florida the week before Christmas, I go to Austin TX the first week of January to dance with Charles, and Australia  is at the end of January-beginning of February. What's the point of getting a job only to quit in 2 weeks? The reality is, I don't mind having these excuses to keep trying at poker. I'm too competitive to just quit. The allure of poker players' flexible lifestyles is too attractive to me. (Especially since that means I can take dance classes anytime I want and work with dance companies whenever they need me!) Yes, continuing to work a normal poor-college-kid job like I have been just isn't for me. Poker is an exciting challenge and I'm taking it on. 

     Yesterday I went to the Hawiian Gardens Casino, a casino 20 minutes from here in LA. It was completely different than what I imagined. No I.D. checks. A million people crammed in a room with poker tables one on top of the other. It was a zoo. A charming zoo. Well, I drove this far- might as well sit down and try it out. Played for 11 hours straight. The guys at my table were hilarious and none of us wanted to leave. They kept making fun of me at first for being so quiet. "Wow, can you teach my wife to talk as much as you do?" Laughter. Lots of action at the table. Most active guy at the table tries to bluff me off a full house for 3 streets and I instantly double up. SWEET. All with good food and lots of diet coke. This isn't so bad after all. I think I'm gonna like being a dancer/poker player. Dancer & Professional Poker Player.

What an eyebrow-raiser. I'll get started on some business cards....

     

8.5 million reasons to be freaking out

It's finally here. We are 3 days away from the biggest event of our lives. Jesse will be in the running to win 8.5 million dollars as the chip leader going into the final table of the World Series of Poker.

We're not sleeping very well anymore. As soon as either of us stirs or rolls over, we're up! A lot of emails and phone calls and Skype sessions and social media to tend to. Constant offers for sponsorships and deals, etc. It's definitely all starting to hit us now. This is BIG.

The company that sponsors Jesse, 888 Poker, has written up a year-long contract for him regardless of whether he wins or not! All of their clients and other players loved him when we were out in Europe and Morocco so they want to keep him for at least another year. For a poker player, a sponsorship deal with a poker website is huge. He will get a regular salary and bonuses for continuing to run deep in tournaments, etc. So he is really living his dream :) Also, something that was pretty surprising and exciting, if he wins, 888 offered him a monetary bonus for him AND me to put towards travel and poker tournaments! (looks like we're going to Australia and New Zealand in January...!!!) they like me too and want me to play and get better.....it's like being a boy in the dance world: you don't have to be that good for everyone to be rooting for you and giving you a lot of attention for being decent :) It's fun to experience something from that side!

Meanwhile, I'm always thinking about what's gonna happen after the dust settles. I finally get to dance on a regular basis AND we'll be living by a beach. Weeeeeee! I got an email from Charles, the choreographer I work with more regularly, with the schedule for 2013 performances. We get to rehearse in January for a week followed by more stuff in March and April. So maybe the traveling life will work well with dancing after all :) My biggest job will be to merge dance and travel together. I've wanted to merge choreography with cities we've traveled to for a long time now but never had the best editing programs for it- and quite honestly, didn't expect to travel THIS much. So now is the time for me to take matters into my own hands and create a dance profile from around the world. If anything, it will help me feel somewhat connected to the dance world. And when all is said and done, I want to have something to show for all of this time away from class and training. It's a hard challenge to discipline yourself to train by yourself everyday when nobody knows anything about dance around you. Therefore, since I'm a huge fan of lists, I think writing my specific dance goals down will help me feel accomplished....

GOALS:

1. Physical therapy every morning for ankle and back.
2. Create a 24-count phrase after therapy. Record the good ones. ;)
3. Expand on the phrases I really like and tape/edit them in cool places we visit.
4. Make a choreography reel for when we are settled in one place for a while.
5. Research ahead of time possible studios to take class in other countries.

Phew. That feels good.


      

A day without cards, almost.

       I'm trying to type myself to sleep. Jesse is playing online poker, we've just finished up at the poker series in Cannes and tomorrow we are spontaneously heading to Sanremo, Italy for- guess what...you got it!- more poker. It really helps that all these tournaments just give as the excuse to travel to such beatiful locations. I can't really come up with as many excuses for going places as there are places that I want to go. That was quite the mouthful. Anyways, there is an EPT (European poker tour) series exactly during our down time between the France and Morocco tournaments. So in the morning, we'll find the train and travel further along the Riviera, cross into Italy and take in the breathtaking scenery along the Mediteranean coast.
       Today was a day to enjoy more of the French Riviera by laying out on the beach, eating sushi and catching up with our lives outside of the gambling arena. It was a wonderfully breezy day and we got to see giant cruise ships docking along the coast while yachts bobbled past them and grandmas went chasing after their hats. On our way up to our hotel room, we say goodnight to real-life French maids (they're so nice!) and prepare for another journey in the morning.

Cannes, France

          We've been in Cannes for a week. It's my first time in France and there's been a lot of poker talk, amazing cappuccinos, Bonjour!'s, Merci!'s and beautiful beaches. It's been the Who's Who of the poker world staying in our hotel; I'm still laughing at the fact that I can even identify ANY poker celebrity...who am I? Just more proof of how much of a crazy ride my life has been since moving to Vegas and being immersed in the heart of the poker community.
           Jesse and I were flown out here by 888 poker, the company who signed him as an ambassador for their website. They are an older company and are known to really take care of their players and they are definitely living up to that here! Our hotel is beautiful and right in the middle of everything. We were immediately picked up from the airport, escorted to the hotel and they paid for his tournament buy-ins too. Cannes is cool because there aren't huge sites to see...in other words, I don't have to feel like a "bad tourist" if I don't get to everything. Instead they encourage you to take long walks through the windy alleys lined with cafes and shops, lounge by the Mediterranean and drink cheap wine :) Easy living. I love my life :)

Where has the time gone!?

I'm writing this on the back of old receipts. I'm at work.

---This guy got a turkey special and large fries over a week ago. Normally a pretty boring choice if everything Josh made wasn't butter and sugar-coated and amazing! Anyway, I feel like our last customer was a week ago...I need coffee.----

Started this job a few weeks ago and I'm done on Sunday. It was just something to do to make money and have a sense of normalcy between trips to Europe. Life has been everything but normal since the end of July, when Jesse literally became an overnight celebrity in the poker world. It's been exciting, overwhelming and adventuresome. A 3-month stint of crazy. I've just recently accepted just how big all of this is- and that pushing my dance career back 3 months to enjoy it is not the end of the world. I feel like July Me has finally caught up to September Me. Nothing like a slow work day, a cup of coffee and some spare receipt paper to clear your mind. Some peace. We are halfway through the most exciting thing that's happened to either of us so far. Time to take a few deep breaths, put a smile on and remember that this is fun.
---One coffee. One Scone. This guy is a regular.---

The World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is two months of chaos in every poker room in the city. At it's peak, you could easily wait 2 hours to get into a game. Jesse didn't cash in any WSOP tournaments at the beginning but he was doing really well in cash games-- definitely making up for busted tourney runs. Plus, Vegas was too much fun to be upset over any losses. All the poker friends I had made sporadically over 7 months were all together in one city to hang out, party and talk about hands with. The city was electric.

Then came the Main Event. It's the biggest poker tournament in the world. $10,000 buy-in. Around 7,000 players every year since 2004. It's the most chaotic adrenaline rush- and I wasn't even in it!
---Four shots of decaf double espresso?? Seems ironic.---

There are 3 convention rooms filled with chip shuffling and hoodies. Amateurs and pros and degenerates. Players just hoping for their "one time". Meanwhile, I'm playing low stakes $1-3 cash games in the next room over trying to show a profit and take advantage of all the fish in town. Jump cut to Day 5 of the Main and Jesse is STILL in it. He calls me to tell me he's at a "t.v. table" and that I should get over there immediately. Where did this run good come from? I rush over and spend the next 3 days, 12 hours each at the Rio with only half a room left with people in it! Suddenly I can count the number of tables on one hand. Then, he's there. #1 on the tv screens with only 9 players left. He gets a patch. He gets interviewed for a day straight; pictures taken; people asking ME questions; congratulations and lots of to-do lists. I'm a manager almost. No more LA until November. But this is too amazing to pass up.

The newest celebrity

 Watch your boyfriend (and yourself!) on national television once a week. Host an ESPN camera crew at your house. Fly to Barcelona. Go to Atlantic City. Smile on camera and make sure to listen to everyone's advice. Schedule flights. Books rooms. Listen to interviews. Practice poker. Dream about dancing in Cali. "Why are you working and worrying about money?" "Isn't he paying?" Your boyfriend is $400,000 richer than you. Uneven and awkward at times. Still oh so proud. Exhale.

What relief looks like!

---2 scones and a large iced coffee? Sure, that'll be $11.16. Thank you very much. You too, see ya tomorrow. 7am-3pm. The first feeling of routine and normal. Until: "BLT?" "Hey me and my boyfriend saw you on tv last week!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah, he grew up with Jesse!" "Awesome...uhh...would you like that in a bag?" Maybe not so normal. But hey, this is freakin fun.