Do you know the way to San Jose?

Or maybe that should be,"Do you know the way to Las Vegas via Palm Springs?"
OK....the goal is simple: I am a poker player,or at least I try to be one,and my goal is to get better.
I am always bitching about playing with people who seem to have no apparent skills in poker. Not that I am outstanding, but I do study poker and play religiously and have won my share of smallish tourneys.
I like to think off my self as a fish with a bigger brain...although I tend to play at times with no apparent brain waves at all. I try hard and am learning,and through this learning I tend to make ridiculous plays as well as seemingly great ones.
Like my idol Mike Matasaw,I tend to have some pretty horrific beats. Guys hitting one outers;runner,runner this;runner,runner that. It gets tiring after awhile but I still plod on and try my best to avoid races unless those races favor me severely. My "huge beat" streak did go on for months though and I started to doubt myself. If one more person was to say to me,"well,at least you had the best hand going in," I would seriously think about ways to dismember that person. It was getting ugly!
I am off to California and Las Vegas for 3 weeks to try my hand at real cash and real tourney games. I say "real" only because I have been getting complacent in my poker when I play with friends. I play too many pots and goof off too much at times,especially during our 1 hour rebuy period.
However,when I play in Vegas or Palm Springs for that matter,I try to play a solid game. Still have fun mind you,but enjoy the thrill of real money and real stakes.
I am off to Palm Springs tomorrow for a few days and then to Vegas to play some cash games and tourneys,with the ultimate goal of playing in a WSOP event.
I have never laid out $1,000 for a tourney before and I am a bit leery to be honest. The bad beats have started to dissipate a bit. Still there of course,as they are part of poker. Nonetheless,if they start again,I hope that they start after the WSOP is over. I can live with the beats if I am rich!
Tourneys are based on luck and skill. I feel that the skill level is there but I worry about the luck factor BUT...I must try and do it. I must swim with the fishes.
So....I wish myself luck. I want to improve my game and do well just to prove to myself that I do not suck. That I can play.
Since I have no laptop I will try and keep you posted through hotel computers.
Will I come back "king o' the fish?" Or......will I be "minnow man?"
Stay tuned....I will keep you posted.