Who let the dogs out?

I'm taking a break from my essay to write this post. The essay is kicking my butt. I think I have enough to back up what I'm saying...but I don't know what the lecturer is looking for with the paper. I'm doing it on globalization, but I'm taking a more cultural look at it and now that I'm about half way finished I have this strange feeling he's going to want a more political view on it (something I don't know enough to write about) and there's too much recent history going on at the moment for me to keep up and understand it all at the same time. So for now I'll just stick to what I have and cross my fingers when I turn it in.

But, in other news - I went to the Greyhound dog races yesterday night. I only took 10pounds with me, and to get in set me back a 5er. So anyway, the friends that I went with explained how you bet on the dogs; when you enter they give you a racecard with all the races, all the dogs, and which is the 'best bet'. Well...I didn't exactly want to play like that. So I bet on which names I liked the best. Here are some examples of the ones I bet on - "Cooblers Doodle," "Ninja Magic," "Jack don't Start," "Quivers Blaze," "Ice Flash," "Fintona Falcon," "Bankers John," "Never Ever Stop," "Isadora," "Fantasy Flight," "Quivers Floss," "Pennys Sonata," "Amandas Summer," "Firpits Matt," "Lively Feller," and "Firpits Paddy." - I just thought they were fun!

Well, all of the guys started making fun of me for betting on just the names, they tried to teach me the 'strategy' of the race. Turns out my 'strategy' was a little better than theirs, because I ended up winning money in the end. Not just a little money - I won 30pounds!!! How exciting is that? REALLY exciting! I can see how racing and betting can become addictive though... I think I'll pace myself before I go back there.

After the race I went back to my friend Lance's house (the guy who invited me) with his girlfriend and about 5 other people. We got there, and made a dash to get some food. When we got back we pulled out some cards and chips and started playing Texas Hold 'Em. I had a lot of fun!!! We played untill 3:30 am. I played darts and watched Family Guy and listented to conversations...in a small way it reminded me of home. Everybody was just hanging out, being themselves. It was the first time in awhile that I felt genuinly happy out here on a Saturday night.

Even though I have a cold (and staying out till 4am wasn't the brightest thing to do) I'm really glad I went out! Ok. Now I need to get back to my paper.