Any longtime gambler knows all about going thru highs and lows and ups and downs. When it’s great we are on top of the world and when it’s bad we are just hoping to make it to payday..

Big wins meant steak and lobster for dinner or taking my entire department out for lunch. I could go to the mall with confidence to buy nearly anything I wanted, althought most of the time I never bought anything overly expensive.

Heavy losses meant trying to dig up any loose change and then going to one of those machines at the local supermarket to convert all those coins to cash. Or living off of the dollar menu for about a week until payday finally came around. And hoping my car wouldn’t break down or some other unexpected problem.

Speaking of which, there was one unfortunate incident that I will always remember that happened right in the middle of my just trying to survive till payday times. I suddenly get a call from 2 of my aunts who just arrived in town for a few days visit. Now, they had been so gracious and accommodating to me about a year back when I was visiting them in their part of the world. Well long story short, since I had only a few bucks in my wallet, I could not offer to return the favor or spend any time with them. I know they were offended by my lack of attention – even though I don’t think they knew the real reason was because I lost all of my money gambling. Sad to say, things would never really be the same between us. This is something I really regret to this day.