Extra Special Opportunity from PoolDawg

This one is for googans everywhere...

After I said that I wasn't going to stuff this blog with ads, I got word from PoolDawg that they have a Southwest Cue for sale.  Wow, the waiting list for one of these babies is about 5 years.  The reason why I am pimping their product is that if you buy it through this link,
 Southwest Cue
I get a percentage of the sale which I will use for my training and travel expenses for another year on the WPBA..

This is a pretty hot item and someone is going to snatch this cue very soon, so if you are interested get on it!!

Stuff I Like

I'm spending a quiet day at home today, reading, listening to music and drinking tea.  In an effort to raise the cash I need for another year of professional pool, I have joined Amazon Associates.  If you follow any of my product links and buy the item, I make training and tournament money. In the interest of trying out all this new-fangled technology, I thought I'd post the products that I am enjoying today.


What I'm reading right now:


What I'm listening to right now:


The electric kettle I used to make my tea:


This blog is about me and my adventures with pool - it is not a web mall.  However, no money = no pool.  This week, I am going to create a compromise - a web store where you can shop at Amazon and PoolDawg and help me play pool at the same time. This will also keep my blog posts from being filled with ads (like this one!)

If we can be serious for a moment... the Beatles stereo box set is awesome!

Merry Chrristmas

I got my first Christmas present today:  Copies of the PAT tests and DVD's from my friend and supporter, Frank Wojciechowski.

Thanks, Frank!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Playing Abilitiy Tests, there is a nice summary here.

He sent them to me because he is sure that when I go to Holland to train, I will be tested on them.  I will be watching DVD number one tonight and will start training tomorrow.

Why I want to go to Holland to train with Johan Ruysink:

- He coaches Nick Vandenberg and Neils Feijen and those guys are awesome
- To see how the Europeans train so that I can enhance how I train myself and others
- To learn 14.1 patterns in a structured way
- To make an investment in my game and be a role model for others to do the same
- To get another stamp in my pool passport


The thermometer to the right shows that I have $850 of the 3k that I need.  My wish for Christmas is to bust the top of that thermometer. Click the donate button if you want to help, no amount is too small.  Maybe I should go sit on Santa's lap.  I can't think of one so please insert your own crude lap-dance joke here :)

Fresh off the tournament trail, I am happy with my playing at The Joss Turning Stone Classic.  I won my first two matches before being beat by two deserving opponents.  The bad news is that I was one out of the cash for the third time :(

Once again it is time to speak about cash: I am on a mission to support myself through another year of vigorous pool playing.  It is a pretty difficult thing to do and I am calling on my large brain to help me find creative ways to make it happen.  It's funny how shame goes right out the window when necessity rises.  In January I'm planning to hit up two corporations a day for 10k each, in the hopes that one of those 40 will give me 5k.  That's basically how it goes in the fund raising business.  The good news is that my skin will be so thick that I won't need a coat.

If that is successful... repeat in March.

More than anything, I want to prove to myself and others that a living can be made in this game.

It's my birthday... my buh-buh-buh birthday!

I was hoping to find the perfect South Park clip to summarize the day...

It's definitely not this one:



This one has the birthday song:



HAHAHAHAHA, this is in fact how I act when I don't get what I want:



What I want this year is happiness and health and maybe a trip to Holland (see thermometer to the right)   :)

What to talk about this week?

I'm feeling the pinch of writer's block these days, I think it is the time of the year.  The cool weather and short days make me curl up on the couch with my cat and vegetate.  I am in favor of bringing back human hibernation - the best part would be all the eating before hand.

Saturday will bring an end to my laziness as I kick off a week full of tournaments.  I will be at the Predator Tour finale at Raxx this weekend and then I leave Wednesday for the Stone.  I love having one tournament right after another, I achieve such an intense focus and find that I start playing some of my best pool.

On another note, I am really happy with the way my interview with Jim Murnak turned out.  It was strange to watch video of myself talking for 45 minutes.  I have to say that part of me doesn't recognize that I am the person talking.  I look and sound much more put together than I feel inside but I think seeing it is going to boost my confidence.

I want to thank everyone who supported the fact that I talked about depression.  The reason I chose to open up about it is that I have always appreciated when others have done the same.  Though I don't wish depression on anyone, I am always comforted when I hear otherwise successful people share their stories - it makes me feel less alone.

Enough poopy stuff!!!  If you watched the interview then you heard me talk about going to Holland to go train with Johan Ruysink, the head coach for the Netherlands.  I am going to try to make this happen in January. 

I have already raised $500 of the roughly $3,000 that I will need.  I am starting a new travel fund, the gimmicky thermometer will be returning. That's only $2.50 from each of my Facebook friends if you break it down :)



Help me get to Holland!:

 No, not for that !!! For pool, silly.

Well, enough of my internet panhandling for now, the cat just got off my lap so I am free to go practice...

-Liz

Video Interview

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I did a video interview for Jim Murnak over at go4pool.net that you should go take a look at!

I really am a googan.  I just googan all over the place - it is almost painful to watch :)

My apologies to Rob Pole of Skyline Billiards, in my nervousness I said that Rob Omen was one of the owners of Skyline! Oops, my bad!

China in Retrospect

This is what 14 hours on a plane looks like!

Thankfully, I've had a few days to sleep after my jet-setting adventures!

Wow, what a great experience the last few weeks have been:

Florida for three and a half days, play my heart out, finish 17th, board a plane home two hours after my last match, sleep for about a day, barely unpack just swap tropical wear for Siberian, off to China! 30 hours in transit from home to the hotel in Shenyang, one day to adjust, play my heart out again, this time on live TV ** viewed by millions! Finish 17th, one day to rest then it is back on a plane to NYC!!!

And I would do it all again this week if there was another event...

That being said, I am grateful to have two large events this month that don't involve planing and deplaning.
First is the Predator Tour finale at Raxx in West Hempstead, NY on December 12th and 13th.
(Then someone is having a birthday... well more like another anniversary of turning 29...)
Then it is on to one of my favorite events, the Turning Stone Classic! (Dec. 17th-20th in Verona, NY.)

Speaking of gratitude, I would once again like to thank everyone who contributed to help bring me to events this year.  I'm pretty misty at the thought of it and China certainly would never have happened without you guys.  The updated list is in the right hand column.

Thank you also to my official sponsors: Gary C. Borge, DDS, Chips to Fix, PoolDawg, Pool on the Net, RT9 Designs and Skyline Billiard Club.

PoolDawg is kicking off the holiday season (Chanukah Sameach, Mike!) with some awesome deals at their crazy Black Friday sale. Even better they have a preview going on now!

I hope everyone stuffs their faces tomorrow surrounded by the people who love them (or at least put up with them! Ah family...)

-Liz

** Can't be viewed in Firefox for some reason