A Week of Contradictions

During the past few days, a couple mixed messages have popped up in my life.

#1 - My poker life is usually spent in ebbs and flows. Just when I think I turn a corner, I regress to playing like a donkey. I'm currently in one of those regressions - to the point that I figured a break for a few weeks would be a good idea. Time to hit the gym, read some books, and begin my kitchen cabinet project.

Then, just yesterday at work, I'm asked to go to the NAB Show later this month.

In Las Vegas.

110,000 people attend this annual convention, including people from 163 countries. The convention floor will have over 1,600 exhibitors. The convention started as a relatively straightforward broadcasting convention, but has since morphed into this monster, all focused on content creation and delivery.

This will be, by far, the largest convention I have ever attended.

That's like bringing a fat kid who was just put on a diet into the All Candy Expo.

I'm very excited to be attending NAB. And very excited to be returning to Las Vegas - somewhere I haven't been in 15 months I believe (I have probably been there about 20 times this decade, 90% of them for work).

#2 - I made it to the gym for the second day in a row (sadly, an accomplishment these days), and after scanning my ID, one of the staff members found me in the locker room and mentioned that my membership had been canceled yesterday.

Hmmm. Odd. I was just at the gym yesterday.

I thought quickly as to what could have happened, and concluded that they did not have the new expiration date on the credit card they used for auto-billing (my old card expired on 3/31/08).

No big deal, he gave me a number to call after I finished up.

So, on the way to Home Depot last night, I called. The billing center informed me that my membership was canceled yesterday. Yes, I told them, it was probably a billing issue since they needed the new expiration date on my card.

No, they informed me. They received a certified letter from me, asking to cancel.

They did? Hmmm.

I told them I did no such thing. They investigated a bit, and learned that they transposed the final two numbers of my account number with the correct person who has elected to cancel his/her account.

So if i am to believe her, and I suppose I should, there was an odd coincidence that my credit card expired on the same day as them canceling my account for an unrelated reason.

No big deal, I should be all squared away.

But I'm taking this as a conflicting sign. Poker on pause, intent to go the the gym more, then I'm asked to go to Las Vegas and my gym membership is canceled.

What should I make of this? None of it was April Fools' either!