Every day on the Strip, I pass by homeless people with signs asking for money. I wonder if they're better off than I am and if I should be asking them for whatever they can spare.

A friend asked if I'd survive prison, and at first I thought I would, having survived this long on my own requiring very little. I'd exercise daily, have a job, and live rent-free in prison.

But with all the unsavory things going on and me with a clean, hairless ass, I'd get pretty messed up. I'd probably have to go proactive and pick a fight with some other prisoner, just to gain respect from the others. I don't know if I'd have it in me to anally rape someone to show who's boss.

Jail and consequences have been on my mind. Sometimes I walk through a casino and consider grabbing chips from a table and bolting, thinking it would get me jail time for at least a year. I keep thinking if I can just make it to June 2007, I'll be okay.

That's when I'll be able to redeem the company stock that I still own (after 10 years, their loan will finally be paid off). Assuming the company still exists and the value doesn't decrease by June 2007, cashing it in should pay off the credit cards, minus the interest rate and its own tax for cashing out. A year of cash-advance credit card interest isn't insignificant, though, and I still expect to be making minimum payments for quite awhile.

I ran out of money in November. That's when I began using credit cards, beginning with a flight to California for Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I took the car in for an overdue oil change (5000 miles) and when I did, they of course found other things (axle, gas filter) that needed fixing. Socked with a $400 bill.

These car repairs plus April's rent charged to the cards makes me completely maxed out.

I've applied for more credit cards with a temporary 0 percent interest rate for balance transfers. All in an effort to make it to June 2007.

Taxes are still not done because I'm in denial about what I'll owe from cashing out stocks and my 401(k) last year. Also a $1500 W-2 win from a casino, the win-loss statement of which shows a $11,000 loss. I presume I still owe taxes on the $1500.

The 401(k) statement shows $1500 taken out for state tax last year, yet Nevada has no state tax, so I should get this back, if I can figure out how.

My latest cost-cutting move is to cancel my health and dental insurance, which will save almost $200 a month. I didn't go with COBRA when moving here (over twice as much) but found a good Blue Cross policy on esurance.com. Never used it or the dental. I'm counting on getting something full-time soon, taking care of insurance.

Food isn't a problem because of my Harrah's Diamond card and slot points at casinos. Collectively across half a dozen casinos, I've built up almost $1000 worth of food comps and am slowly cashing them in, usually with one buffet lasting me the entire day. Through March 2007, I can grab food and drinks for free at the Diamond Lounges at Harrah's, Flamingo, and Rio (and soon, Caesars, Ballys, and Paris). And it's good food, too, with the only drawback that they don't open until 4 p.m. on weekdays.

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Today I get my first paycheck from my part-time job, which I'm looking forward to cashing at a casino. Many local casinos try to draw people in on payday by cashing paychecks in exchange for a free spin, drink, points, matchplay, etc. Now that you have cash in your hand, their hope is you'll be unable to resist blowing some of it gambling.

That job is as a courier three times a week for five hours a day, though it averages three hours a day. There's no guaranteed minimum, so when I finish for the day, I go home. Being fast and efficient actually works against me. Many of the stops are at casinos, and knowing them and their shortcuts, I can pick out the best routes in the shortest amount of time.

The pay is $8.50 an hour, something I would've balked at in the past, but something I can't turn down now. It's in Summerlin (The Lakes area) and takes 35 minutes to get there without traffic, so on the days when I only work 90 minutes, it doesn't make sense to get out of bed.

But I like the people, they reimburse mileage, and it's fun exploring more of Las Vegas, particularly casino offices. I'm picking up from and delivering to some of the same places I've interviewed. As I get to know the contact people (I go to the House of Blues enough that they don't ask I.D.), you never know if I might end up in the right place at the right time if a job opens up.

I'm realizing experience and education really doesn't matter in this town. It's who you know and whose palms you can grease.

Because of the nature of the courier job and because I look young, people tend to assume I'm going to UNLV. Which is fine, expect when running into people dripping with condescension (ahem, MGM Grand).

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On Wednesday I began another part-time job, with a radio station's morning show as a phone screener. The hours are 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Yep, a.m. I have to get up at 4:15 a.m.

I'm still in training and getting a feel for the show. So far I've given away free lunches and Bob Dylan tickets, which was fun. I love giving away prizes. I also like how the station has a policy of telling each caller who didn't win, "Sorry, we have our winner." I wouldn't think many shows would bother with this, and it's a nice touch. It's something like this that would make me comfortable working with them.

They're nice, savvy people and the show is relaxed and conversational. If it were something like a morning zoo, I wouldn't be able to stand it. I'm not good at lying, and faking my passion for a morning zoo would be an obvious tell.

I also think it'd be a good creative outlet and may even lead to other opportunities.

Today I'll be on the phones fielding people's April Fools' Day pranks to put on-air. Trial by fire, but it should tell me and them if I have a knack for it. There's certainly much more going on behind-the-scenes than I thought. The one producer they have has been doing everything, and he's moving more into promotions.

Later today we'll be talking to see if it's something I want to do beginning Monday. Not sure what the pay would be, but it could be minimum wage. Listening to other radio shows, this job seems to usually be done by interns (and indeed, one of the radio personalities asked if I was going to UNLV).

My first job during school was at a courier company, though I wasn't delivering, I was taking calls.

In some respects I feel like I'm going backwards in life.

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Had an interview at Primm (used to be called Stateline, on the southern border of Nevada and California) last week for a casino player's club representative position, as a result of a job fair the prior week.

I timed the trip out to 35 miles and 40 minutes. I avoided the Strip completely, traveling on St. Rose Parkway and picking up I-15. Not too terribly bad a commute, made much better when going 90 miles an hour.

This may be me jinxing things again, but the interview went well and it seems the job's mine once passing the background checks, drug test, etc.

Pros:

• full-time, meaning health and dental insurance
  
• willing to work around the schedule of my part-time job(s)
  
• gets my foot in the door at an MGM-owned property
  
• one free meal a day
  
• uniform -- I hate having to figure out what to wear

Cons:

• difficult for me to drive long distances without falling asleep
  
• cost of gas
  
• wear and tear on the car
  
• traffic when in rush hour
  
• $8 an hour
  
• paychecks are direct deposit only; can't cash at a casino

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Talked to someone who knows someone who can get me a poker dealer job at the Venetian (whose new poker room opens this weekend). He said, "You take care of him, he'll take care of you." Whatever that means. It's Vegas, so I'm guessing it's a payout or a percentage of whatever I'd make. I know someone who works at Wynn who said one of their doormen paid $10,000 for that position (highly coveted, because it pays at least $80,000 with tips). Turned out to be a good investment, because he made back that $10,000 in a couple months.

Now I'd heard that Venetian is seeking 300 experienced poker dealers, which would be extremely difficult in Vegas. Caesars wasn't able to and had to hire break-ins. This guy said 80 of those people will be new.

With Venetian and Treasure Island opening poker rooms, I'd assume they're gutting other poker rooms of their dealers. Should be plenty of dealer jobs to go around.

Earlier this week I interviewed for a poker dealer position at a local casino whose poker room has six tables. The first interview went well and I'm waiting to hear back about a second interview with the poker manager, along with an audition.

Their poker room has six tables, which would be ideal. I don't mind at all starting small; in fact, I'd prefer it. It would of course be nice to work at a high-profile place like Venetian, but if offered the choice, I'd like to start small where I'd have the freedom to make mistakes, learn, and get my chops. I don't want to be messing up while dealing high-limit tables. I've only been in the box twice, and I haven't raked a pot (I'll talk about this later, but the poker dealer school ended prematurely).

The Venetian is my morning zoo: I hate it. Traffic is always backed up, there's no easy way in, and the garage is complicated.

Don't hold me to this opinion, however. I can learn to love any casino with full-time job in hand.