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#41
08-16-2006, 10:01 PM
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Week Four, Day One
Creamed again on day off [Aug. 16th, 2006|10:50 pm]
Really thought I was pretty damn smart for singling that Levine horse in the 7th, then Octave set my pick four ticket aflame. Earlier in the day, I was ready to kill someone after I tried to beat Wild Fit in the pick four with every horse except Frankel's.. Luckily that $1,500,000 dog (who I singled) didn't win the fourth, so I didn't have to go 'cidal. As it is, the pick four was kinda light ($1,037) considering that two odds-on favorites got beaten (one at 1/4).. Other than wagering-wise though, today was great. I got to sit and talk to Chuck Simon one-on-one for about an hour, and he's a very cool guy. Then, a little later on, Frankel came by and sat with us to eat, which was nice. Also, after Sciacca finally broke through in the win column, Esteban and I got to be in the photo, which had to be rushed like a mother****er since Bold Love was going totally haywire.. The horse took a bite at Gary's head and actually cut him pretty good, which sparked plenty of jokes (if only he had known all it took to get a 'toga win was a part of his scalp, etc.).. Back to work tomorrow.. Sigh.. 
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#42
08-17-2006, 09:25 PM
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Week Four, Day Two
Lobster [Aug. 17th, 2006|10:21 pm]
Why does the lobster get the shaft as far as cooked animals goes? They're the only ones who have to sit there and wait to get cooked and eaten. It was mighty good though.. I felt bad, but it was tasty.. Two more people in the house tonight. You know, as long as they handicap, the more, the merrier. Steve is hiding out.. Lobsters were on the house, courtesy of Baymont..
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#43
08-18-2006, 09:26 PM
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Week Four, Day Three
I don't know what's up [Aug. 18th, 2006|10:18 pm]
Seems like I'm dealing with my first episode of homesickness.. Dunno why really.. Just suddenly I feel very out of it, very estranged, very alone.. Not that I don't like it up here, and Byk is as accomodating a host as there is.. I just miss home.. But I know I have to make it at least until Travers.. On a brighter note, there is an absolutely terrific card tomorrow. Best card of the meet thus far, in my opinion. Might pull out the big guns and try to hit something rather hard. Just don't feel like writing much..
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#44
08-19-2006, 09:25 PM
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Week Four, Day Four
Beat like a dirty rug [Aug. 19th, 2006|10:17 pm]
Absolutely insane today.. Busiest day of the meet thus far. No real breaks, but thankfully, it wasn't ever too overwhelming. I think I handled it pretty well. Was getting my ass served to me throughout the whole day until I bailed out with the exacta in the finale. Needed that one pretty badly.. Now I can still go into tomorrow's pick six carryover slightly in the black. Matt and I came up with an $864 ticket.. Hope we can get Mr. Krabs to pitch in a few Benjies considering I don't really wanna spend more than a c-note.. I'd rather play the late pick four, which looks fairly straightforward. ****ing rain might throw a wrench in all of those P6 aspirations though. It isn't severe rain, but it's been constant since about 7:00. A little over the homesick **** for the moment, but I'm still at the point where I may hit the road after The Travers. If it is gonna rain tomorrow, I hope it's a total washout and it keeps everyone away.. I need two slow days heading into Travers week. Still haven't gotten my ID **** from home to take the permit test and start driving. I'm pretty disappointed, as that was one of my main goals this summer.. To get my license. I suppose I could still put in some work.. I wanna take some spins out here before trying to drive in the city.. Off to bed.
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#45
08-20-2006, 10:04 PM
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Week Four, Day Five (Check Link for pic)
This far from pick six glory [Aug. 20th, 2006|11:01 pm]
Major update tomorrow..
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#46
08-21-2006, 09:24 PM
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Week Five, Day Six
I lied.. [Aug. 21st, 2006|10:21 pm]
Drunk off Captain's and Coke.. Update postponed until tomorrow. Last edited by ateamstupid : 08-22-2006 at 09:50 PM.
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#47
08-22-2006, 09:52 PM
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Week Four, Day Seven (LOL @ me skipping ahead a week)
So yeah [Aug. 22nd, 2006|09:48 pm]
Got nice and wasted last night.. And I mean NICE and wasted.. Not like last time. Captain and Coke is too delicious. I love Steve's mom.. Apparently she got in a tizzy because I dropped the N-bomb in my last post.. Steve had to explain that it was a colloquialism and wasn't malicious.. I still edited it out because the last thing I wanna do on this **** is offend anyone. Did some funny stuff last night.. Gave myself a drunken haircut and got a nice mohawk going just because I've always wanted a mohawk, even if only for a day.. Figured I'd scare the pants off of Barry as we head into Travers week. Really had a blast.. Sam and Hooves also got to hear my raps for the first time. The fair's in town and the Carny Code is in full effect ladies and gentlemen. These girls swear they're gonna take me, but as of yet, no call has been placed. Think I gotta decide quite soon (as in tomorrow or Thursday) what I'm going to do after this week. If I bounce, I'll hand the diary reins to.. Not sure about that yet. Still missing home.. Tryna pass the time capping with the boys. ****ing hit about seven exactas at Suffolk today, but still somehow ended up in the red for the day. Tomorrow I'm gonna go pretty heavy since I've got the day off. I've gotten creamed on both my vacation days thus far.. Gotta switch it up. Gonna actually try to take some pictures tomorrow, as my photog game has been on slack. Off like a dirty shirt.. Peace with two fingers. All that.
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#48
08-23-2006, 09:33 PM
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Week Five, Day One
Carryover fever [Aug. 23rd, 2006|10:22 pm]
Who's got it? Not us, considering we've been 'capping for about three hours straight and have only come up with a $480 ticket that none of us have any confidence in. Paddock draw for The Travers was today.. Went there, but realized I forgot my camera. Could've gotten a great shot of Durkin looking like The Phantom of the Opera and **** up in a gazebo with the curtains down around him. You know what I love? All the Bernardini naysayers.. If these guys' wallets were half as big as their mouths, I might actually get a decent price on that ****ing monster this Saturday.. Spent some more time discussing the game and trying to pick some winners with Chucky Simon today. I broke even for the day even though I hammered that Schwartz baby and Low Creek later on.. Figure I gotta nail something huge this weekend and either send me off right or carry me through the rest of the meet. I'm still just treading water, and it's no good. Think I'll do a real nice writeup for Saturday's card tomorrow night. All the girls are leaving.. Julie looks ****ing tremendous outside of work.. Got the digits just in case. Stay cool folks.
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#49
08-24-2006, 10:15 PM
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Week Five, Day Two
Building up [Aug. 24th, 2006|11:04 pm]
You can feel the tension mounting as we get closer and closer to the big day. Today was fairly slow, and was my kinda day.. Just enough customers to keep me from being bored, but not so many that I'm overwhelmed.. I'd be very shocked if tomorrow wasn't at least 25% busier. Barry tells me that Ace is gonna be my wingman this Saturday.. Great, they give me the dude that can't even see over the counter.. Nah.. Ace is my man, I just have to figure out how the hell I'm gonna organize ****.. That's not really my strong suit. Started out on Saturday's pick four and pretty much gonna go balls to the wall and hope for the best. Bernardini will be a single on every ticket.. I'm not pulling any sissy ****. If he goes down, so to will I.. I don't think he'll disappoint me. I'm still incredibly torn on whether I wanna cut out early.. I'd love to stick it out for the whole meet.. If only school got pushed back a week.. Ugh.. Had three of four in today's pick four and made the mistake of singling Cherokee Jewel.. She was a big flop. Tomorrow, I'll probably **** around with a couple of cheap tickets.. Sky High Flier, Battle Chant, Manchu Prince and Fleet Indian all look like solid singles, with SHF and FI being my most confident ones. Watch out for Weaver's babies, especially on the grass.. He's been doing VERY well with his 2-year-olds, and I don't think the public has caught on just yet. Back tomorrow with as much Travers **** as I can come up with.
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#50
08-25-2006, 09:37 PM
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Week Five, Day Three ('twas the night before Travers..)
Have to hammer tomorrow [Aug. 25th, 2006|10:02 pm]
It's imperative. Gotta nail it. Not sure how.. pick six? Pick four? Combination of the two? 'dini is a lock.. Henny's close to a lock.. I like Ashkal Way a lot.. I like Sweet Talker a lot. So know that if those four horses get it done, or if 2-3 of those four win and no total bombs come in.. I'll have it a few times. Frankel's horse in the seventh, On Board Again, is a must bet.. And here's rooting for Chucky Simon to get that elusive win with Brilliant Son if OBA doesn't run. Well, it's the big day.. About to get outta here so I can get (hopefully) five hours of sleep.. Gotta be at the track for about fourteen hours tomorrow. The coronation tomorrow.. And on a related topic.. HOW THE **** ABOUT DISCREET CAT TODAY.. I really can't remember the last time I was that blown away after watching a race.. 'dini had a similar performance in the 'Dandy, but I was EXPECTING him to roll. I mean.. This horse apparently was short.. Was facing a solid field.. Coming off a long layoff.. Broke from the far outside.. And just ****ing totally romped. All by himself. He probably could've won by twice the margin he did.. Then to bust out 1:21 on the timer.. This is gonna be a 150 Beyer.. It's almost unfathomable what this horse is capable of. Enjoy this time, racing fans. In the span of two days, we might be seeing two of the best 3-year-olds in a LONG, LONG time. Have a fun, safe and profitable Travers day, folks.. 'diiiniii to the rescue..
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#51
08-25-2006, 11:09 PM
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Someone posted that Discreet Cat ran a 112 and what a performance he put on while running in hand 4 wide round the turn and being geared down in the stretch. A prep for the Jerome the connections say. Hmm.. the Jerome was Silver Train's prep for the BC Sprint. I think Discreet Cat could be a champion sprinter/miler and turn back in distance will not be a problem for him. It's good to have a great horse like Discreet Cat back on the track in the States.
Sweet Talker ran a real game race last out at a distance which was probably a tad too far for her and she still ran a great race. She's 4 for 4 at the 8 1/2 furlong distance and with her post some sit a ground saving trip. There appears to be a bit of pace in here with My Typhoon and Stella Blue to let Sweet Talker sit a nice close to the pace stalking trip. The Baruch might have a pace setup which suits Ashkal Way perfectly. I read somewhere that my top choice Fishy Advice is hurt and will skip the race. If that is so my top choice is the Godolphin entry since the pace should be swift and Ashkal Way has a good closing kick.
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#52
08-26-2006, 08:03 PM
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Week Five, Day Four (Bernardini's coronation.. CHECK LINK)
And that's that [Aug. 26th, 2006|08:53 pm]
I don't wanna hear anything negative about this monster again. Until he proves that there's something he can't do, SAVE IT. This ****ing horse was a MAN AMONG BOYS today, and he will continue to be against anyone not named Invasor or Discreet Cat. Here's a rough transcript of the Javier-'dini interaction in today's stretch.. Javy: Let's go 'dini.. Bern': Chill man.. This Bluegrass Cat still thinks he's catching me.. I wanna tease him. Javy: No 'dini, it's time to go.. Bern': C'mon son.. Just let me string him along a little longer. Javy: No 'dini. Bern': C'mon.. Javy: *CRACK* Bern': Fine, fine.. WE OUT! Did okay at the windows, but had Dreadnaught nosed out Ashkal Way, it would've been a VERY good day.. pick four would've paid about $300 and I had it six or seven times. As it is I had the $58 ticket seven times.. Can't complain. Spoke to the old man and told him he HAS to come out to Belmont to see this horse.. He agreed. Aw yeah.. Forgot.. Might as well have gotten this started Wednesday night.. Canoe tomorrow.
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#53
08-27-2006, 09:54 PM
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Week Five, Day Five
Gotta make this quick [Aug. 27th, 2006|10:52 pm]
As I'm about to fall asleep last night, I hear "zzzZZZttt" and see a bright ass light on the side of my bed.. Turns out the wire of the charger for my laptop got burned through.. So I'm not taking any chances trying to plug that back in and therefore, I have to make this short in order to conserve battery. I'm outta here Saturday.. Told the boss man I'd work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.. As much as I wanna leave, it's kinda hitting me now how quick this summer has gone by and how much I'm gonna miss it. There's a lot of **** I didn't get to do, but hopefully we can have a lot of fun this week. Tomorrow is a Byk AND Barry-free Monday, so we gettin' hammered son. Whoops.. battery just died and now I'm on Byk's computer.. Guess the Travers canoe pictures are going to have to wait. See you tomorrow.
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#54
08-29-2006, 04:05 PM
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Week Five, Day Six-Seven
Whoops [Aug. 29th, 2006|04:59 pm]
Got way too drunk last night to make an update.. By about 11:00, I was at the point where I couldn't even stand up straight, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a coherent, non-offensive entry. It's just me and Matt at the crib right now. Barry's in PA, Steve's in VT and Sam is back home. We trekked to Albany today and hit the Crossgates mall, but not before getting lost about thirty times. Matt also got fined for making an illegal U-turn, and we couldn't figure out how they knew at the tollbooth that he did an illegal U-turn like twenty miles away.. So I might be here until the end of the meet after all. Thinking I'll just hang out and you know, HAVE FUN this weekend.. I'm pretty sure this is Saratoga and you're not supposed to dread going to the track. Every night now, it's get drunk and listen to the rat pack.. Absolutely outstanding. Sinatra's on pump right now. LOTS of rain here today.. Can't see them running on the turf tomorrow.
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#55
08-31-2006, 07:52 PM
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Week Six, Day One-Two
Hysterical [Aug. 31st, 2006|08:42 pm]
Matt just called Barry "Krabs" by accident. Gotta be one of the funniest things I've heard since I got here. So, time's winding down.. Tomorrow's my last day on the job and then I'm probably gonna be on my way back to the city Saturday night. As much as we talk about how this **** is like Groundhog Day and how tiring it is, this whole thing went by quick as hell. I can't believe the summer's about to end.. Everything happened in the blink of an eye now that I look back on it. Never thought I'd be sad to leave this.. On a brighter note, we sleepin' in tomorrow baby.. Getting to the track at 1, first post at 3. I still think everyone's overhyping this whole thing.. It's freaking two hours different.. Dudes out here are acting like they're racing at midnight and ****. I'll most likely be writing more before the end, but in case I forget to mention it.. Thanks for reading my nonsense this meet and I really hope it's been as fun for you as it has been for me. Peace.
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#56
09-01-2006, 04:46 AM
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#57
09-01-2006, 09:48 AM
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#58
09-02-2006, 10:53 PM
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Week Six, Day Three-Four
All computers lagged [Sep. 2nd, 2006|11:47 pm]
We've got about two dozen people in the house now. Kelly and Martin brought the whole family to hit up the Slavecue. Today was the first day in about two years I've felt like crying at the track.. Anybody that was here knows that I opened the Form last night and IMMEDIATELY pointed to Pomeroy.. "This is the winner".. And what happens? You know it. The horse pays $14.20 and I don't have a dime on him to win. Bad day.. Very bad.. J to the OEY goes home tommorrow. We're partying tonight. $335k carryover.. Bust that ass. WE'RE GOING GOING.. BACK BACK.. TO BROOKLYN, BROOKLYN.
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#59
09-04-2006, 11:53 AM
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#60
09-09-2006, 12:40 AM
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Conclusion to Saratoga: Diary of a Summer (Check link for pics)
Conclusion.. [Sep. 9th, 2006|12:05 am]
Now that I finally have some time to do this, I think I'm about ready to roll. Let's get this out of the way first.. Random unused pictures from the Saratoga meet.. Whew.. So where to begin.. Where does the time go? Seems like just all too recently, I was arriving at the Byk house, dropping my bags in my room and taking that first breath of country air.. Then I close my eyes and it's opening day. Thrust into the flames. I take another look around and it's week two.. Saratoga's closed because of the heat, but that doesn't stop Sciacca, Sonny, Shrek and Donkey from posting up at Steve's stand and eating. I catch my breath and we're five alive in the pick sixer on Hall of Fame day.. Before I can even turn around, Pine Island and Teammate are slugging it out in The Alabama. I take a walk to the window and by the time I come back, the old-time Travers replays are blaring on the TVs. I sell some dude a sandwich and they're in the gate for the big one. Bernardini crosses the wire and before I can go take his picture, it's twilight racing at the Spa. I bend over to tie my shoes and by the time I get back up, my bags are packed. I wanna start soaking it up and I'm saying goodbye to Steve. Six weeks, fourty-two days. That's it. But the amount of memories, jokes, anecdotes, new friends, food and excitement extracted from those 1,008 hours? Unmeasurable. I'm back in Brooklyn now. I missed the city. I missed home. But you know what? It ain't quite the same feeling I used to have when I would just get back from outta town. This is the greatest place in the world to be, the capital of the universe, and I'm missing ****ing Greenwich. What kinda sense does that make? I'll letcha know why it makes sense. Because of all this.. THE FRONT OF THE SHIRT: Matt AKA Squidward.. Instantly became one of my best buddies. [Paulie]You're the man[/Paulie].. Good luck with everything and we'll definitely be in touch. Too many inside jokes would fall by the wayside if we weren't. ****ing hilarious dude this Hooves is, folks. Cool as ****, and sharp as a tack.. I don't know how he does it, but he finds ways to cash tickets even when I can't figure out his logic at all. Sam AKA Patrick.. Busting my balls constantly, but I know it's out of love (I hope).. You talking in your sleep, Kool Aid drinkin', D&G shades wearing summummabitch. Keep them fiends on the strip double red, and hopefully I see you for the SB. Barry AKA Mr. Krabs.. Tight as a Twizzler that I stayed an extra couple of days just to gamble, but he'll get over it. I ran that Clubhouse like a well-oiled machine.. The sternos may have kept on running out, but I was ready. Thanks for the employment boss man. Arrr.. Chuck Simon.. This ****ing dude is great. Spent day after day just bull****ting with a 19-year-old shmuck like me and you know why? Because he's an awesome guy and he LOVES THIS GAME. I was pulling for him to get that win, but it's cool.. He'll crush in KY as usual. Steve Grabowski and family.. Grabo's the man. Period. If you don't know, now you know. Respect him. Easily one of the best guys I've ever met. And if that weren't enough, he's a fellow Jet fan (sufferer). His mom is also a kickass handicapper and cool as can be. Paulieman.. "What's up Bernardini".. "You're the man".. "It's a little shawt"..Red Sox suck big man. You know, we were thinking of what Spongebob character Paulie should be and what his action figure should be like, but we realized.. It's not possible to recreate the Paulie experience and if he were ever on a TV show, he'd HAVE TO play himself. There's just no one quite like P-Dub. The canucks.. Martin, Kelly, Alex, Teeny and other Kelly. You have to love people who are just drunk 24/7. I mean it's unbelievable. Literally 24/7. It's a way of life for these people.. I'm a pretty good drinker and I was just aboot blown away. Fantastic stuff. Sciacca, Shrek, Donkey and Sonny.. ****ing characters, one and all. That's all I gotta say. Tank.. Hilarious dude. So full of ****, such a hoe hounder, such a freeloader. You can't help but love the guy. Everybody that's Slavecue for life.. Amanda, Jules, Britney, Susie, Pat, Tom, Ace and Gary (too funny), Billy, Ryan, Caroline, Jared, Brendan, Kyle, Kim, Cathy, Rosemary.. The whole clique. Ride high. The salt shaker man. Let me explain this one. Every day, this old dude, probably in his 70s, would buy popcorn nextdoor to my stand, then come over to my stand, make sure he got my attention, and give me the crook eye while shaking all my salt onto his popcorn. And every day, no matter what kinda mood I was in, it cracked me the **** up. Found out later on his name and he wished me luck with everything. Throw them shakers up for Tom everybody. Amber, my homegirl who ran the popcorn stand. I could never possibly imagine this girl getting angry.. Simply the most happy-go-lucky, genuinely (as far as I could tell) sweet chick I've met in a LONG time. Very quickly, as it's getting late and daylight fast approaches.. Brockguy Gales Timmy Kev Seth Merrow John DaSilva Dr. Allday Dr. Bzyg.. Byzyg.. Byzyzyg.. Serling Bethani That cute ****ing teller I kept feeding but never picked up All the customers that tipped me this meet (just know that your money is going into books for college.. Or liquor and gambling, whichever I get around to first) Everyone who made me laugh this meet, because there were definitely times I needed laughs ALMOST as much as winning tickets All the horses, trainers, jockeys, owners.. Pretty much everyone who makes Saratoga run.. A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ SARATOGA: DIARY OF A SUMMER AND TO EVERYONE WHO GAVE ME FEEDBACK! I APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY KNOW! And of course.. Last but certainly not ****ing least.. The man who made it all possible.. Steve Hollywood Spongebob Schmoopie Byk! Seriously, this guy is the ****ing man. There really is no other way to put it. Go search the earth and find me a more generous, caring, smart, others-before-self person who can balance everything this dude does. You ain't gonna find one. Even though I complain about him from time to time, the bottom line is he's sacrificed a ****ing TON to accomodate me and so many others. Anybody who has anything negative to say about him has no idea what the hell they're talking about. Trust me.. I've seen the best and the worst from the Bykster.. And he's A+.. 10 out of 10. Like no one else I've ever met. To the point where I've told him anything he ever needs from me, it's done. It's that simple. And considering I've only known him for about a year and a half, that's saying something.. But you know what, no matter how much courtesy I ever extend to him, I'd really only be doing what he does for everyone he comes in contact with. Can't thank you enough Esteban.. It was a ****ing GREAT ride. Joey Last edited by ateamstupid : 09-09-2006 at 06:56 PM.
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