Queen Jack, Like AQ, only weaker

Having written about going out with AQ last week, I managed to perform a similar trick with QJ this week, also on the final table bubble.  With blinds at 500/1000, and about 7,000 in chips, I found myself on the button with QJ suited.  This is a hand I will never throw away in an unraised, no callers pot in this position.  The only question that remained was how much to raise, as a call with my chip count was out of the question.  I decided on 3500, exactly 1/2 my chip stack.  I had barely gotten the word raise out of my mouth when the small blind said, "All in".  The small blind was a young kid, very vocal, and always spouting statistics.  He was also showing every hand he won with, whether called or not.  Unfortunately for me, I had sized my bet too large to consider folding, so I called to see his AK.  An ace hit on the flop and I was gone having doubled the kid up for the final table that was now formed.

Highlights of the night:

1.  I dealt table 4, so some "rebate" will be coming to me next week.
2.  I lost a significant amount of chips early when my Q10 big blind met 8/4 in the small blind on an 8/8/4 flop and queen river.
3.  I doubled up through the chip leader with my KK vs. QQ.
4.  I snapped QQ with 10/10 on a river 10.  This was against a "nemesis" so glad he was a shorter stack at the final table.
5.  Knocked out a player with my 7/3 suited in big blind vs. his 9/5 small blind when he raised on the flop with nada and I flopped the flush draw.....which rivered.  His play was so bad.  Had he raised preflop would have folded.
6.  When I was leaving, one of the players who had been at my tables came up to me and complimented me on my play.  That basically never happens, and he was a solid young player.
7.  A guy who was really struggling with weight/health problems looked much thinner.  I told him he looked better, he responded that he had lost a whole person, 155 pounds, and his blood pressure was way down.
8.  Sadly, another young player who often deals is facing late stage prostate cancer that has spread into his bones.  He is optimistic, but has lost a lot of weight and muscle mass.  He was a super buff, fit guy so maybe that will help his fight.  My best to him.