Catching Up

Sometimes my wife just does not understand how fatigued I get at this time of year -- our busiest at work.

Wife: "You fell asleep in your chair and didn't wake up for a few hours."
Me: "You know that this is the worst time of the year at work for me. I am run down."

Wife: "Why don't you invite your friends over to play on your new poker table?"
Me: "I am exhausted. I'll set up a game when the busy period at work is over."

Wife: "Wow -- you haven't posted in your blog for a few weeks."
Me: "Uh, dear, ..."

And so it went. The torture at work goes on for 2 1/2 months. We are now at the beginning of the end. Life is good. I can become a real person again.

A Little Live Poker

I was able to play poker at the Par-A-Dice casino in East Peoria a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday. I decided against playing in the morning tournament and instead just went for the cash games in the afternoon. The table dynamics and the cards both played a part in my success or lack of it. When I began, there were several good players at the table. My cards were drap, so I folded, folded, folded. A little later, someof the better players left and were replaced by weaker players. I then got cards. Win, win, win. Sometimes poker is easy! I left up 1 1/2 buy ins, so it was a nice Sunday afternoon at the table.

Freaking Online Poker ...

Online, I have been coping with a run of horrific beats. My short stack tournament play led to my laying on some nasty suckouts, so I shouldn't complain too much. Although I probably still spend too much time playing online, it is just mostly goofing around in private tournaments, sit and goes, or low limit tables. It almost seems like I have had a tough time recovering after the last Battle of the Blogger Tournaments games last spring. I just am not enjoying online play like I used to a few years ago.

A Major Change is Almost Here

However, a drastic change in my life is now less than two weeks away. I have been granted a sabbatical for the spring 2010 semester. Instead of starting it at the beginning of the semester, however, I decided to work through the end of this month so as not to leave my work colleagues in a pinch. My last day of work wil be January 29. I will then be on my own to refresh and upgrade my clinical skills through reading and workshops. I will not have to be back in the office until mid-July.

It is hard for me to even imagine what this freedom will be like. I have been in my current job for 15+ years, in my occupation for 27+. Since I worked in high school and was heavily involved in sports and worked 60-80 hours/week when on break from college, my time was always scheduled with something. The last time that I had an extended period in my life with most of the planning up to me? Try the summer after 8th grade. This will certainly be different.

I do plan on using some of this freedom to travel, maybe even play some distant poker tournaments. I might try a WSOP Circuit Event in Tunica, MS, maybe a few others. I hope to take at least one trip to Las Vegas for a seminar and hope to take a rare trip away with my wife. We are considering Hawaii, but will probably try to visit Europe again. Italy looks inviting, as does Germany. The kids are getting older, which makes getting away a lot easier.