Day 14: Vancouver, Canada

Today is the first day of the rest of my trip.

Bloated and groggy from days of
Gluttony and Drunkeness,
(all for the very good purpose
of celebrating the wedding of a friend),
I set out this morning with resolve
that such excessive behavior will not
occur again until after the US Amateur championships
(in November).

I must be clear headed and in good shape.
Each day I will study, practice, meditate,
exercise, visualize, and affirm.
I will do whatever it takes to improve my game.

This will be an interesting challenge,
as I have not picked up a cue in almost 2 weeks.
Never in the last 2 and a half years have I gone
so long without shooting some pool.

---

Checked out and got on the road by noon.
First stop was to get the car washed,
the first in 1200 miles, and it showed!
But coming down the Sea to Sky highway (99)
from Whistler to Vancouver,
I got hit with a torrent of debris
thrown from a speeding semi.
Stones, dirt, and who knows what-all
smashed into my brand new car with
startling force.
I haven't had the courage to check the damages.

I decided to make Vancouver my first stop,
just to check out the place.
Got a room with a monster view of the harbor,
with a dozen floatplanes taking off and landing
right in front of the hotel.
But I'm here to shoot pool,
so after checking in I took a taxi to
Commodore Lanes and Billiards.
Beat up tables, but with new cloth.

Members (people who pay $25/mo) get the good tables.
Yesterday was the big tournament.
Nothing going on today. Bummer.

My first few racks were not pretty.
I kept miscueing, even on simple shots.
The chalk looked like Master but it was Jupiter.
So I switched to my own blue Master chalk,
and that solved the miscue problem.

The place was dead, except for waves of Asian teens
who came in groups to play for maybe half an hour,
then leave. Other than that, it was dead.
I practiced for about 4 hours,
and started to feel like maybe
I could regain my touch soon.

But my back was killing me.
I needed some stretching and Advil.
Today was just the start.
I'll work on consistent practice first,
then expand the hours.
I know my game will get better
as the party toxins start to leave my body.

I was thinking I'd be here a couple of days,
but I'll probably move on tomorrow.
Vancouver ain't showin' me nuthin...