Livin’

Ok, I’ve got lots of random tidbits to share so here goes: Working Out: is going pretty well and I’m happy with my progress. My weight is going up, but my belly is going down. I started working out in late January and have gained close to 15 lbs, at about 158 right now. I’m also trying to trim my belly, but that’s not all that easy for me for a couple reasons. I’m a vegan who loves carbs, beer, and wine. I’ve cutout the carbs, no more bread really, easy on the pasta, and no rice, but the beer and wine is something I drink about twice a week. As for food I’m eating tons of Tofu, Seitan, and Tempeh, all excellent sources of protein.
I’m definitely getting stronger, but want to get even more fit by the time the WSOP rolls around. I have never, even when I won player of the year, been able to put in an intense 110% physical and mental effort into the grind. Maybe it’s not possible, but I know I can do better. $400-$800 8 game mix: has quickly become one of the most popular games on the internet and I am happy about that. PokerStars.com is the only place you’ll find a game like that, and I thoroughly enjoy playing that rotation. Helps to win too! $10 Personal Challenge: I am still at the grind and my bankroll has finally hit the $100 mark. I’m still playing $0.050$0.10 on PokerStars, but am close to moving up to the final rung of micro limit play, the $0.10-$0.25 game. I’ve also been shooting every session I play for PokerVT, both in these small games, as well as the $400-$800 mixed game. Fantasy Hockey: The “Cheap Thieves” won their division, and then beat the “Rug Rats” in the quarter-finals. I also won my first game of the conference final tonight over “Shoot Loose.” This pool is my passion, I absolutely love it. Poker After Dark: I have been watching PAD this week and it brings back great memories. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing poker in as long as I can remember. I get along well with everyone at the table, and really enjoyed talking to Jennifer Tilly during the show. She has a great personality and is a lot of fun. She gets that people give her a hard time about her poker game, but she seems to be trying harder than most people and I think she’s getting better for real. Laak is always kind of fun to play with, he is a real bizarre cat, a space cadet of sorts, but a good dude all around. Good people and good conversation. Golf swing woes: My golf swing is a real mess right now. It’s been a real struggle to get my swing back on plane and hit it like I was just a month or so ago. I can’t seem to get it right, but we’ve been working hard at it the last couple days. My swing thought normally is “out to the right” which helps me to come from the inside and hit a draw. It’s just not happening right now. So, I have a new swing thought, “back to the ball” which helps make sure that I get behind the ball better and also helps me get on plane a bit better. Problem is I’m hitting a fade now and I hate that. Tomorrow I’m going to work on getting the ball to start out right and draw back.
I’m practicing for a fun tournament, the TPC Summerlin Match Play Championship. My round 1 match is Saturday at 11:30am and unless I can get things right by then I’ll likely get killed. My opponent, Seamus McGiill (sounds more like a video game character to me) is a 9 handicap and will be giving me shots- but I’ll need them! All-Star Week at PokerStars: after two days Team PokerStars is getting beat down, 7-3 for the challengers. I play my match on the 27th and hope we can turn it around. The full schedule of who plays when is up on the site. Toronto Trip: My mother is still in the ICU, still breathing on a machine, still non-responsive, and worsening mostly. Ever since she got to Toronto the flickers of hope we’d seen in the Vegas hospital are few and far between. She sleeps 99% of the time, and when she opens her eyes, not match is happening there in terms of brain activity.
I’m going to stay with my brother for a week in Toronto and spend time with him and Ornella while visiting my mother during the day. I’m going to bring pictures and video of Mushu and Foxy in the hopes that it helps trigger something… can’t hurt.
While in Toronto I have no major plans. The HUGE tourneys on Stars will keep me busy. It’s a fun slate of tournaments and it offers buy ins at levels for literally everyone. Should be fun, and I plan on trying my best. I will NOT be attending the WPT event in Foxwoods. I won’t play another live tournament until the WPT Championship followed closely by the EPT grand final in Monte Carlo. ]]>