I came home from work today to find that mine is the featured blog of the day. It was a pleasant surprise. And it leads me to wonder how many people actually READ the blogs as opposed to just writing theirs. I know I've taken time to read a number of them when I have time. It would be neat if there were counters with which we could track the number of times our blogs have been viewed. But I know that is a feature that has been suggested in the blog features thread a number of times already. We'll see what happens. So, in the event that you've never read my blog before, I hope it isn't a complete waste of your twine...er ... time.

So, my job.

I work in a video lottery casino. And boy is it depressing sometimes. I'm a guy that pretty much cherishes each dollar that comes my way. And by that, I don't mean that I possess that love of money that is the proverbial root of all evil. I mean that pretty much each dollar is counted and used for something I need (i.e. food, clothing, rent, etc.) So working at a place in which thousands of dollars can pass through my hands - thousands that are being dumped straight out of their wallets into the bowels of the machines - is somewhat harrowing. I really could use some of that to gas up my car so I can actually drive to work tomorrow.

Usually, people tend to spend what they can spare. Little old ladies with millions in the bank can throw a thousand bucks into a machine with no problem (hey, wanna throw a thousand bucks into my student loans fund?). But then you get the sad cases. Cases in which people are down on their luck and they mistakenly believe they can cure their problems with a Royal Flush. Well, I'll tell ya; that hand is few and far between in the world of video lottery. But the lure of winning a thousand dollars overpowers logic. They blow the last fifty bucks they have in an attempt to turn it into winnings and they walk out, head hanging, eyes downcast, empty-handed.

One woman I dealt with today is so far gone that she has been writing checks on a closed account. I didn't know it until my boss noticed the name on the checks. She wrote TWO two-hundred dollar checks today and blew it all in roughly thirty minutes. She's so desperate to win that she's risking arrest and jail in casinos all over town.

Is it really that much of a thrill?

Occasionally - and by that I mean perhaps once a week - I'll plug a dollar into a machine after work and try a couple hands of poker. But that's my limit. One dollar. If I'm meant to win, I will in my dollar. If not, well then I payed a buck to play a game. Not a big loss.

It's depressing being poor and working in a casino. I do not recommend it to anyone. All that money, going to waste. That's where it's going. To waste.

But on the bright side, to those who have been reading my blog, tonight is MY night to pick the movie. So what will we watch? Why, Episode I, of course. Day after tomorrow it will be Episode II, and then we'll go to Revenge of the Sith together. And that will be good.

Hopefully she doesn't think they're garbage.

Rawk on,
...twineball...