I probably starting playing poker at a hobby level about 10 years ago. I pretty much only play No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. It's a casual hobby, but one that I enjoy more & more as I get deeper & deeper into the various strategies of play.

After playing live poker for the first time, in Vegas, about 6 years ago, I've taken several trips back solely to play.

Aside from Vegas, there are a few other places where you can gamble that isn't on a Native American reservation. Michigan, happens to be one of those places. 🙂

Not only are online cash poker games legal here in MI, but there's also a few casinos in downtown Detroit... including the MGM Grand.

On my second Friday night in Michigan, my little FR-S found her tires spinning along the highway straight towards downtown Detroit. 20 minutes later, I was parked at the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit. Not long after I was walking my way through the casino floor for the first time, seeking the poker room.

Wow. Not only was there a poker room... but it was packed! 😀

I walked into the poker room at 7:00 and it was a full 30 minutes before I got off the wait list. Longer than I'd want to wait, obviously, but it's a great sign that they're so busy.

I played for 4 hours... choosing to head out at 11:30 because I was just exhausted. You can be sure I'll be leaving this casino in the early, early hours of the day in the future. I'm super stoked to have such good, high-quality poker just minutes away. Super stoked.

If you don't play poker, it's worth pointing out that the only good poker is cash based. It's not a snobbery thing or anything like that, but if real money isn't on the line, people just refuse to play the game seriously enough. So, yes, having legit poker legal and close is genuinely a boon.

Part of the fun of live poker is, in fact, the table talk. Socializing with a bunch of randos... some of which you'll share the next half a day with. It's just like every other human social experiment. Sometimes you get good, fun tables, sometimes shitty ones. Sometimes you even get into little social cliques - whether based on seat position, play style, or just being a regular.

Hilariously, sometimes you also get personality battles among the tables. Disagreements which take on a fantastic dynamic when you're all playing poker (again, for real money!) and are therefore able to piss off someone verbally and then "attack" them financially. It's all great fun. It really, really is.

Well, last night was a great time. Although I've played the MGM Grand in Vegas many, many, many times before... I was surprised to find some of the table rules were different at MGM Gran in Detroit. I"m not a fan of some of the changes, but it's all silly, side-rule shit... the game itself is unchanged.

Beyond the game, was four hours of hanging out with some other Poker folks. There were 5 people (besides me) who were there the entire time. Which left 2 seats of folks joining, busting, and leaving. This is a much slower turnover rate than I've seen in Vegas, and without turning this in to a poker strategy blog, I'll just say that it'll change how I play... so that's be interesting.

Beyond the game strategy, it also meant that for 4 hours I was at the table with the same 5 people... most of which were chatting along. Again, it was just a really nice time. But also, all of them are locals, and regulars. You can clearly tell that there are many regulars. I'm sure I'll get to know many of these people quite a bit more over the next two years.

And, hopefully, I catch enough good cards and play them well enough to keep me there for many, many hours to come.

Speaking of catching good cards, did I win big on my first night? 🙂 Man... I wanted to. I mean, you always do, but wouldn't it have been nice if my first night in I'd hit it big and start this whole thing with a proper bang? 🙂 Well... I did not win big. I bought in for $300, and walked out with $528.... so at least I didn't lose anything.... but a $3,000 night would've been an epic start to my MI poker life. 😉

That's fine... I still need something to aim for on my second night (which... may be tonight). 😀

So let's add a couple more points to the 'Win' column. It's nice to have good quality poker nearby. And maybe, as I become one of the regulars as well, I'll find another social circle blooming.

I like airports. I do. Maybe, even, I love airports.

I don't know what it is, but I enjoy everything about airports except for going through the security bullshit. But quite literally everything else? Love it. That hustle? Love it. The bustle? Give me a double? Those people movers (the moving floor, treadmill, thingie)? Give me 3 in a row with a little gap between each so I can walk on them and launch myself to each next platform, please!

Know what else I love? Hotels. All of that too. The new room. The made bed. Your entire world fitting in a carry-on and a personal bag. Like a dandelion floating around in the wind. Is there a pool? Well... maybe I will! Did you say a complimentary continental breakfast with that little make-your-own-waffle set-up? I may have died and gone to heaven.

You know, when I was in my 20's I worked for this company that had this client. We were in San Antonio, TX, but the client was in Ann Arbor, Michigan (crazy coincidence). There was this point with one of our big projects with said client that they needed very aggressive on-site support. The short story is that that I ended up volunteering to "take the brunt" of the support and travel to Michigan. I can't remember if it was every other week, or one week a month, but for a short while I was traveling very, very often.

You know what's funny? I won some big points at work for stepping up and sacrificing my time. 🥲 I never did tell them how much I loved giving a big tip on a fat steak that was all being paid for ye olde employer. Or how much I loved that single fucking mint sitting on my pillow every, single, night I returned from the day.

My Tiny House

This isn't the first road trip in my little 2 seater. It's at least my 3rd major one. It's not the first time I've slept in my car for that exact reason. But, on those other trips sleeping in my car was a hear-or-there occurrence between planned camping or planned hotel stays.

This time around, it's been a lot more of the sleeping-in-car than I wanted. And, maybe I'll cover some of that in some other post, but I don't want to digress here. But the micro-version is I have other options now, but logistically it turns out to be easier to crash night-by-night than try and plan whatever as I'm figuring out the apartment.

On top of that, it was also planned poorly and hastily (I will literally blame 100% of everything that's happened so far on the entire elevator debacle) because of the rushed exit. I did indeed pack the car for a little camping time, but I've been in the city the whole time... and the road trip was just a mad dash across the country.

OK... so, yes yes, this could be going better. And, in this current phase where I'm literally burning hours just waiting to hear about the apartment, it is shittier than I want. Yes. But, wanna know something? I kinda love it. 🙂

I mean, there are some big, big pains that I could do without. And I'm spending money on gas as if I'm taking a stand against both, financial literacy and environmental sustainability. But I don't find myself having to look too far passed all that to really enjoy myself.

There's a ton of stress regarding the housing situation in every sense (location, timing, availability). But these last couple of days, where I'm stuck just waiting, there's really nothing to stress out about... kinda fun. 😋

I'm "homeless" right now (in the most superficial sense of the word). But, what if I didn't need the apartment to be home?

Do You Know #VanLife? Wanna be a Digital Nomad?

Depending on where you hang out on the internet, the #VanLife movement was pretty popular for a hot second like 5-10 years ago. During that time, I was eating it all up (and left no crumbs?). Airport-loving Kane was all, about, the van life.

Except the no-toilet thing, that was the deal breaker.

But it appealed to me then and always has.

The 'Digital Nomad' was another rager that had its 15 minutes of fame. And, yes, I was all over that too. I still am... more than ever honestly. Quite frankly, if I can end up a successful white-collar digital nomad after the Master's... that alone would make it all worth it.

Anyway, I've always liked the idea of van life, but never found it quite practical enough to give it a try. Though, to be honest, 20/20 hindsight has made it pretty clear I should've spent my money of VanLife and not rotting away in Seattle. Poor choice... but that's neither hear or there now. Back to my point... airport-loving Kane has always loved the idea of van life, even if just as a fantasy.

Did You Say Fantasy? C'mere Baby, I'll Make This Fantasy... Reality!

You know what's been the hardest thing about car life so far? It's not the smallness of living in a 2-seater. It's not even sleeping in the front seat... which has been made shockingly comfortable with a body pillow, a lumbar support pillow, a normal pillow, and the most comfortable planet on the planet. No, honestly, sleeping is surprisingly not bad.

The hardest thing so far is, now that I'm not looking at apartments and talking to leasing agents... wtf do I do with my time? I've been to the movies once, I've been to Dave & Busters twice, another place with go-karts and stuff, and I've spent tons and tons of time in Culver's, Starbucks, and IKEA just to have a place to sit on the laptop.

You know what solves this, other than a house?

🙂

A van.

Now, let's push it a little further. Since getting here... I'm blown away at how many high-roof cargo vans with solar panels and roof vents I've seen. And at every single rest area and truck stop I've stayed in, there's always a handful.

[Fuck.... when I get pictures working, I'll come back here and update this post with some pictures of vans in a parking lot. Until then... imagine them! A dark blue one parked in the corner. 3 Mercedes Sprinters, all in for the night. Beautiful pictures taken by a true photographer.]

When I was fantasizing about van life while living in the Pacific Northwest, I was imagine van life out there. Out there, if you're living van life, you're largely living in campsites and state & national parks. If you don't have a toilet, you're pooping in the woods.

Here the people sleeping next to me are minutes away from civilization (if they want to be), and have ready and easy access to showers and clean toilets pretty easily. Van life here seems just the tiniest bit less crazy out here. And these aren't the broken down RV jalopies that would infest neighborhoods in Seattle. These are modern day vans which, from the outside, look pretty nice. The ones I'm seeing online for like $8OK.

Admittedly I've only been here during good weather. Also, it's been barely over a week, and my spend rate is much too high to be sustainable. Long term would require groceries and cooking. So, I totally know that I've got some rose-colored glasses on. But still, it hasn't been the worst... and when I look at how apartments here are either A) way too expensive or B) way too rundown... I dunno. 🙂 Fun to fantasize I guess.

So... Never?

In the first few days, when I was a bit freaked out about landing a place to begin-with, I spent one night looking at used vans in the area. It was... a back up plan. If things go smoothly, I should have a lease signed in the next couple of days... and will, in fact, be living in an enclosed wooden structure for the next 12 months.

After that? Well... a year from now, I expect life to be looking and tasting very different. And if life looks different, decisions do too. 🙂

I'm probably never going to actually do the van life thing. I admit that. But... who knows... I also said I'd never go to grad school.

Whatever the case, this road trip hasn't been what I wanted. The apartment hunt has taken way longer than I wanted. But stress and school logistics aside, it's been nice to float a bit... and just fall where life pushes you.

The Master's degree will take 2 years to finish, maybe a bit less. I'll have to work 2 or 3 years afterwards to recoup the costs. That takes me to 50 years old... maybe 51.

If it turns out I'm happiest floating... then I should consider floating a little more before my time on our blue little planet wraps up. No?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Not just the housing situation... but the fact I'm signing up for a lot of work and a lot of debt in the coming years. Hopefully, I'm buying wings, and not anchors...

So I've been homelessly loitering around Dearborn for a week and a half now. Aside from an all too intimate knowledge of the local rest areas and truck stops, I've also had a chance to drive around the area for the last 10 days. Long enough to have some collected a few first impressions.

Some early impressions are good, others are less so... but since all I've been doing is bitching for the last week, I thought it would be worthwhile to take some time and focus on some of the good so far. 🙂

How About This Weather?

High temps have been in the low 80's since I got here. At night, it gets cold enough to be incredibly cozy under a blanket (even if I wasn't in my car, I'd have the window on nights like these). This is mid-August... and let's be honest, this could've totally a much, much more difficult experience if I had driven here in the middle of a heat wave or something.

I've been warned about the Winter, and I'm admittedly worried about my car's ability to handle any level of snow/ice... but for now, this has been excellent. Thanks MI. 🙂

You Can Drive!

I hope I don't end up eating my words once I get some more road time... but so far, the people here are the best drivers of anywhere I've driven. Bold claim, I know, but I've logged several hundred miles already (ffs) and so far, road etiquette is top-notch here. Not only do people move to the right if you're approaching faster, but more often than not (so far) people just get out of the left lane to begin with.

But don't think I'm zooming down the left lane blowing past all of Michigan. No no. The speed limit on the highway is 70, I'm doing 80 and people are blowing past me on the left. 🙂 This is nice.

But let's keep going... the lanes? Fuck... after 15 years in the PNW, it's so nice to be on normal width'd lanes again! The highway lanes in Seattle aren't as wide. It's not a huge issue, but it definitely takes more work to stay in your lane, while also forcing you to pay more attention to nonsense from opposing lanes. It's a tiny, tiny thing, I know, but I was surprised at how noticeable it is here. It is noticeable.

Keep going still? OK!

Let's talk about the the roadway system. Pretty much all of western-Washington is "covered" by 3 highways. This is why there's always traffic in Seattle. Politically, it's simply more popular to fuck over cars as part of some "green" agenda, so there's some weird pride in having shitty roads there. Here, it's a web of highways and major roads that, every time I ask the googles for directions, enable me to have multiple highway-based options to get from A to B. If I end up living further out than expected, I'll bit more comfortable with the commute variability here than I ever would've been in Washington.

Peeps

On Day 1, I rolled into Dearborn... straight to U of M campus, and took a selfie in front of the sign. The very next thing I did was find a gas station to fill up (to get a final tally total gas used).

"All the way from Washington? That's far!", some random lady says to me. She's pumping gas at the pump in front of me. We briefly talk, and she shares an ominous, "Have a good time, but stay aware of your surroundings." OK... so, aside from that little warning, the first person I ran into? Immediate normal, nice conversation.

Since then? Too many too count. No, really... people here aren't walking douchebags like all of Seattle. I've got my mountain bike strapped to a bike rack on the ol' FR-S (pictures coming, I promise!!), and I've had no less and 3 conversations about that bike, none started by me. 😀

And I'm not just talking about people forced to interact with me; leasing agents, cashiers and the like. I mean, there's a been a lot that obviously, and yeah, they've almost all been pretty positive... but yeah, even beyond that, people just seem more human here. It's been a nice start.

And More!

There's more to share... but, 1) I've already told you long posts break my blog (for now) because I'm ass and 2) I'm done with dinner. 🙂 That makes this the perfect place to wrap it up. 😉

So, more to come, of course. It's clear this adventure isn't going to be what I envisioned, but it never is, is it? What I can tell so far, is that I'll be driving more than I want (more details to come), I'll be spending more than I want (more details to come), but I may end up enjoying the day-to-day more than I have in quite a while.

Who knows... we're just at first impressions still. But there's more good than bad so far. Once I get a place to live, get my stuff moved in, and get going... it'll be interesting to see where this little blog takes us.

So far? Interesting start. Room for hope.

So... you know what's fucking hilarious in this apartment situation?

By and large, no one gives a shit if I have the money or not. For every single apartment, if I could show three months worth of paychecks, that would be good enough. That's it... 3 months.

Well, it just occured to me... I OWN my own fucking business. It's a fully registered LLC in the state of Washington. This, by the way, is why I've technically haven't been unemployed... because I'm "self-employed".

If I had known this horseshit would've been an issue... I could've quite easily paid myself a very handsome fucking salary for 3 months... since "paying myself" is just transferring money from one account to another. But it would've been legit enought to use as income.

Clearly I couldn't have known.... but I'm just saying... that's how dumb this is. BUT ALSO... I know for moving time next year.

Dumb, dumb shit. 🙂

C'est la vie.

As someone who currently has more free time than places to be... I suddenly wish there was a busy mall to go to.

Remember malls?