Push

Inspirational song: Up on Cripple Creek (The Band)

I think I came out just about even today. All things considered, that's pretty freaking amazing.

Yesterday's migraine lingered into this morning, and after the household woke at quarter to six (gotta retrain all the quadrupeds to sleep in soon), I went back to bed with a pair of black yoga pants tied around my eyes to block out light. I managed to sleep all the way to 10 am, for the first time in months. It was almost enough to be rid of the migraine completely. The Mister and I sat around for another couple hours playing computer games while I waited for ibuprofen to work and for motivation to strike either of us.

By early afternoon we remembered that we intended to drive in the mountains today, finally making that gambling trip we canceled a few weeks back. After discussions of off-roading with other people (I generally prefer driving on asphalt), I suggested that I would enjoy the drive much more if I were behind the wheel. So off we went into the hills. Golden Gate canyon is beautiful, and I was more interested in the scenery and learning how to use my Autostick to climb hills than in paying attention to my speed. I had just shifted into third gear to climb a hill with some guy riding my bumper and guilting me into driving faster when I noticed an SUV with the door slightly cracked and a guy facing back toward me. As I got closer, the cop pointing the radar gun made eye contact with me and gestured with his thumb for me to pull over. Yep. Mea culpa. And that's basically what I told him when he arrived at my window. He said I was going faster than I thought I was, 44 in a 35, but it didn't seem to matter. I managed to talk him into a warning without actually trying. I had been sitting trying to decide what Mr S-P was going to insist I forego to pay for my ticket when he came back with a written warning. And then it got weird. The cop was on the passenger side of the car (safer on a mountain road), and he and my man chatted for 15 minutes about the various local trails and where good four-wheeling could be found. Mr S-P even drew him a map of a cool place in Gilpin county to drive. And then we drove off on our merry way.

Central City was crowded and half blocked off for a multi-day race and outdoor festival. Finding parking was a challenge, until we saw the free parking under a casino. We wandered around, waiting for some slot machines to speak to us. I did fine on the first round of video poker, putting in 5 bucks and leaving with 15.50. I then lost every bit of that in a penny slot, and then I sat and watched the man play a little longer. We moved to better machines, and I found the one I'd been searching for. I had made a joke to my older daughter about needing a little buffalo luck when I donned the buffalo socks she sent me, and when I found a machine decorated with the same, I knew I was in the right place. A twenty dollar investment netted me 32 and change, and I quit while I was ahead. Two potent cups of red wine and a different casino later, and I translated 10 of those winnings into 11 in quarters. There is still a casino in business who pays in quarters. Who knew? I guess now I won't be caught in a pinch next time I find myself on an Oklahoma toll road that only takes change. Never again.

The man doesn't gamble the same way I do. He goes with a set amount he is prepared to spend and he keeps going until it's gone. I broke his normal pattern by insisting I was ready to leave while he still had 20 bucks in credit. So neither of us won big. We still have to get a loan to buy the house in a couple weeks. But we also don't have a hundred-dollar speeding ticket to pay, so overall it was a push. Fun, though.