i’m finally getting head again

man, there have been so many updates that i didn’t make.  goofy stories, mini-realizations.  phfft.  gone from my memory banks.  but fear not, i do have a post for tonight.  although it’ll be a ton of rambling.  so be it . . .

i think the first thing is that i’m recognizing this month as being a “Set Up” piece of time.  i have a couple of things that i want to put into place, but not right this moment.  i want to find out what pieces i need, build the machine, get the bugs knocked out, then add gas, open the throttle and let her rip.  and that’s on the business front, and the poker front.  i’m afraid it won’t happen on the drumming front, but you can’t have everything.

i’ve seen the Tony Robbins ”refresh yourself in my motivational cd’s” infomercials and they caught me a few times.  never enough to push buy though.  but, and this’ll make Larry laugh ’til he pukes, i found some of his books on amazon for a penny.  well, for a penny i’ll take the plunge.  so i got two.  they’re on their way.  i can add them to the unread books sitting over to my left, or i can digest them bit by bit during the month and see if they can aid me in setting up a better approach to life and all its endeavors. 

i also found a Charles Givens book for a penny.  that’s on its way too. 

Here’s what i expect to find:

> habits string themselves together.  to break old ones, you should shear it away from it’s partner habits.  (Mr. X always smokes when he drinks, eats popcorn at the movie theatre, does the impulse buy thing when shopping while hungry, etc.).  task rearrangement number one for me is no more poker at night.  or say, past 11pm.  i’m not at my best.  if i play during the day, it’s a portion of time that i can spend on a project.  NOT a lazy endeavor. 

i’m much better at not being a goof when i’m spending time on a project than when i’m indulging in a lazy endeavor.

> there’s a TON of hidden money lost in Taxes and Insurance.  i know that i “took money out” of the businesses recently, and the conversation with the accountant went like this . . .

“I have a pile of money i want to take out for the family.  i need a sleeve for the chimney we run the wood burner under, and the water at the bottom of the hill here is acidic.  it’s eating the copper pipes it’s that bad.  gotta get a soda ash system put in to balance it out.  so, if i have X AMOUNT OF MONEY that i can take out, how much can i keep for bills instead of sending to the government?”

the answer was 52% of X. 

that.  blows.

and this instance is whatever it is.  but, this whole simple-man-blind-eye-to-tax-ramifications-lifestyle that i lead ends in 2009.     R.I.P.

INSURANCE is without a doubt, my #1 expense (medical, car/auto, fire, liability, life).  and it’s probably pricey stuff on many fronts.  but i dont’ shop for it.  i don’t view it as buying a product, i view it as “please Mr. insurance company, accept me and let me pay the price to find a space under the shield of your protection.” 

there might be a better, or at least a more informed, approach. 

but, i’m not  making this decision tomorrow at all costs, i’ll take some time to figure it out.  but,  let’s just say that either 2010 will be  painful realization of the state of affairs of the industry, and how i fit in as a consumer – OR, after taking a financial fillet knife to this area i’ll feel as though the cost/benefit relationship is right where it should be. ;)

CARDS – here’s some adjustments.  i checked out Stoxpoker, and they have “courses” set up.  and i thought, all right, that’s interesting enough.  so i spent some FTP points and bought a 3 month access.  turns out the courses are a video a day.  well duh, if i watched 30 videos a month i’d be better.  which leads me to . . .

duh, “there’s the path kid, walk it or don’t.  i don’t give a shit.”  that’s pretty much what i’d tell someone asking drumming questions. 

at a video a day i can do the entire whiteHeatSyd saga before new year’s.  but, i get the point.  from where i’m sitting, five videos a month isn’t going to do it.  oh, and did i mention pokey is involved in stox?  for whatever reason on the small stakes front i’ve felt like Verneer, check.  Citizenwind, ack, check.  tubaSteve, check.  Pokey – BLAM – that’s the guy.

i can’t keep up the pace, but, i kinda have a life to lead outside of cards.  for instance, Saturdays have been 15 hour days.  start work at noon, and get home at 3am.  squeezing in a vid is not gonna happen.  and even if i did do it, after 14 hours of constant babble, is it all going to be in one ear and out the other?

still, if i put into it what i can, and that means both minding the cards and Maintaining A Proper Mindset, i can use December to work through some growing pains.  obviously i expect it to be a combination of turning off leaks, and learning to see a little bit deeper into the game.  and the deeper part will involve some mistakes.

then come January i should have established some new habits, and acquired some new insight;  i’m hoping that will translate into greater success at the tables.

TAVERN UPDATE – this post has been sitting in the drafts.  just got back from the tavern tonight where i talked to a young lady from down the block who was out last Monday (Team Trivia Night).  she said she indulged in too many Captain and Cokes.  to the point that when she woke up she had a very happy husband, but no recollection of the frolic from the night before.  it was part of her blackout period. 

she said the only thing he’d let her in on was that she did things she never did before.  i told her “congratulations”. she said “but my clothes were scattered throughout the house.” and i said . . . “congratulations”.  

fast forward four beers and she tells me that if she took my wife out for the night, the wife would come home and do things i’ve never dreamed of.  i said “how does wednesday sound?” she said “oh, when i’m done with her, you won’t know how to handle her.”  to which i replied, “i’ll enjoy having the chance to try.”

so she says “and i’ll man the camera.  well, only for so long.  sooner or later we’ll have to put it on a tripod.  i mean, i’m not gonna just watch the whole time.”

at that point, i thought . . . this is not a bad gig.  of course it all ends in a wink and a chuckle, but it’s sooo much better than water cooler banter involving American Idol or fantasy football.

oh – my Kegmeister is back from limbo, so i’m back on draft beer instead of cans.  the very first thing that struck me was that wonderful layer of foam that rises to the top of the glass.  you just don’t get that from a can.  and to be honest, when given the choice of head or no head – i’ll take head.

December 8, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized

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