"I'm not going to use fire to cook my meat. It's too bourgeois."

It seems strange now, I guess, but I really don't have much memory of what I did with myself on Friday. I may have napped at some point. I'm pretty sure I did some reading, and also some writing. Ancient Egyptian hermaphrodites were involved. I know I had meant to go grocery shopping, but I ended up not, because after perusing the circulars I found that there were some pretty good deals that didn't start until Saturday, so I waited the extra day so I could save the extra 33 cents on broccoli, or whatever the hell I decided was so important. Oh, and I also failed to go to the casino. Here's the thing...there was this money drawing on Friday night, and it had been in the back of my mind to head into A.C. to show up for that, but really I just couldn't be arsed. There was another drawing the next day, and...I dunno. You can only expend so much effort on a longshot, know what I'm sayin'? Even if it is free. Instead, I played a free tourney online and called it a day. I really can't imagine I got much of anything else done.

Then Saturday happened. As planned, I went grocery shopping. I think I'm getting better at budgeting and stuff. In fact, probably the least cost-effective foodstuffs for me these days are the Hot Pockets. I'm starting to fall into the But I Have A Coupon trap with those...I may be able to excise them from regular purchases. And make my food budget just that much tighter. Exciting.

So it had been planned all along that I'd end up at the casino at some point and stay through the cash drawing that night. As the afternoon wore on, though, I kept missing bus after bus and I started to wonder whether I should (a) take the car, or (b) go at all. I decided against taking the car, just as a matter of pride, and eventually I did actually manage to drag myself out of the house, so...that's always good. The bus ride gave me a chance to start my new library book, another Jonathan Carroll book. I was talking with unstuck_in_time recently about Carroll, and that put the bug in my ear to see if the local library had titles of his that I haven't read yet. And indeed they do! Many, in fact. So I'm hitting 'em alphabetically; I've just started After Silence. Anyway, I hit the casino, I played some poker, I won some money, I failed to win anything in the cash drawing, I came home.

Sunday I did exceedingly little except play poker online and listen to NPR shows. Oh, and speaking of which, I really enjoyed this week's episode of This American Life. It's called "Getting and Spending", and I'm sure they'll have the audio up there online eventually, if not already. That's also the source for this entry's title, by the way. I remember when listening to NPR shows on the weekend was a strictly observed ritual for me. I've only recently started that up again, now that I have the time and space to myself to do so, and that makes me happy, so...yay me. Also I lost at online poker, so...boo me! I also spent some time today playing more XIII. I feel like I may be nearing the end of this one, but I'm not sure. I'm generally bad at judging these things, though, so...we'll see. My mediocre first impressions of the game haven't been improved upon, really. Though I am now aware that I enjoy games where I can sneak around and snipe people, so I'll have to bear that in mind. And speaking of games, during my lunch-making adventures today, I discovered a fun new game called How Could I Have Possibly Burnt That. Fun for everyone!

So...I go to my first day of casino school tomorrow. I'm actually a bit excited. I have no idea what to expect, frankly, so the whole thing is a big unknown right now. Just looking at the situation on paper, I wouldn't expect myself to be too jazzed about it; I get antsy when I have to...you know...keep a schedule. :) I also fear change. But even with all that, I'm almost...dare I say it?...looking forward to doing something else with myself for a change. Anyway...we'll see. I'll get to know what's in store for me firsthand soon enough. And afterward...well, you get to hear all about it. :) So with that, I think I'll call it a night. Big day tomorrow!

You know, I actually have a queue of LJ things lining up again? Been quite a while since that happened. Tonight I think I'll sign off with something from the queue, a little quote from Star Trek's 40th anniversary that just past. This is courtesy of your friend and mine, Space Nerd Wil Wheaton and his hawesome blog (which, incidentally, is actually here): "Today, Star Trek turns 40 years old, which means that the Enterprise is totally going to grow a ponytail and start dating younger star ships. Sweet!"

Peace out, everybody. Smell ya later!