I was asked to become a guest instructor for a new poker training site called pokerpwnage.com today. The site already has quite a few of the top ranked online tournament players as instructors, including USCPhildo, GhettoFabulous, UHBigTex, and Assassinato. Since I do not play anywhere close to the volume of these top ranked players (they play about 4 times as many tourneys as I do), I am not nearly as well known as them, so I was somewhat surprised even to be asked.
Anyways, my current poker goals are: 1) to keep winning at the same rate that I have been this last year, but also 2) to get my name out in the poker community as much as possible to try and bring in some other money making opportunites such as this one. So I am excited to this, and hopefully this site will take off and people will like my videos. If so, maybe some rizenesque opportunities could come my way. We shall see...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Nice Sunday score
I got 5th in the 200k guarantee on UB for just over 10k.
I was a little disappointed not to win it since I was in first place with 6 to go, but winning 5 figures in a day is still a big deal for me.
So wheeeeeeeee!!
I was a little disappointed not to win it since I was in first place with 6 to go, but winning 5 figures in a day is still a big deal for me.
So wheeeeeeeee!!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Poker Year in Review
After getting 9th place in a big tourney last night and going to place dejected that I didn't get a top 3 finish I realized today that I needed to take a step back and review the year.
For the year I have played 540 tourneys, cashed 87, final tabled 16 (5 firsts (all on Tilt), 1 second, and 1 third).
Considering that I really didn't play much the first three months of the year since I was studying for the bar, I am very happy with both my profit (over 30k) and ROI over 70% for the year.
I am still on target to make over 60k this year, for my roll to grow, and for good things to keep happening. The toughest part for me has been the mental aspect since I am always expecting to win it still frustrates me to run bad. I also still want to become more socially and physically active. But all in all, I really have nothing to complain about. When you add in the fact that I passed the bar and can become employed if I need to, life really is purty good.
This weekend we should be test driving some cars, once we make the final purchase I'll post pics.
For the year I have played 540 tourneys, cashed 87, final tabled 16 (5 firsts (all on Tilt), 1 second, and 1 third).
Considering that I really didn't play much the first three months of the year since I was studying for the bar, I am very happy with both my profit (over 30k) and ROI over 70% for the year.
I am still on target to make over 60k this year, for my roll to grow, and for good things to keep happening. The toughest part for me has been the mental aspect since I am always expecting to win it still frustrates me to run bad. I also still want to become more socially and physically active. But all in all, I really have nothing to complain about. When you add in the fact that I passed the bar and can become employed if I need to, life really is purty good.
This weekend we should be test driving some cars, once we make the final purchase I'll post pics.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Back from Vacation
I just got back from a great couple of weeks relaxing, playing, visiting family in Santa Barbara and L.A. The plan now that I'm back is to make a whole bunch of doctorish appointments (I need new glasses, dentist, etc.), buy a new car, and of course play some poker.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Rest of Vegas
After bubbling the 5k I had a few days open so I entered a $350 tourney on my own dime at Caesar's. I played super well and ended up losing 3 hands where I was at least a 70% favorite at the final table. If I had won any of those (especially the last one AQ < AT) I would have made at least $10k more. As it was, I am still very happy with my first live cash being over $14k.
The other highlight was busting some lady who for whatever reason felt she had to enter every pot that I played.
My next tourney was the 3k WSOP event where my KK got cracked by A3s on a 337 board fairly early.
I then made another day two and my first cash in an WSOP event when I cashed the 1.5k event. I had a huge stack going into day 2 - I was 7th out of like 150 players, but I made a huge bluff against the eventual winner on the turn with 55 on a 227Q board and he had AQ.
My last tourney was another bad beat when my JJ < TT in another 1.5k WSOP event.
After that tourney, I was scheduled to stay in vegas for like 5 more days, but I was just vegased out, so I switched flights and came home early.
Looking back on it, the trip was great. I played well, I made some decent money, and I will definitely be playing some more live events in the future. I played against some well-known pros and even busted one (Eric Seidel) who is the current #1 ranked player.
Tomorrow we are off to Santa Barbara and I will be staying in So Cal for the next 2 weeks so I probably won't be posting or playing much.
The other highlight was busting some lady who for whatever reason felt she had to enter every pot that I played.
My next tourney was the 3k WSOP event where my KK got cracked by A3s on a 337 board fairly early.
I then made another day two and my first cash in an WSOP event when I cashed the 1.5k event. I had a huge stack going into day 2 - I was 7th out of like 150 players, but I made a huge bluff against the eventual winner on the turn with 55 on a 227Q board and he had AQ.
My last tourney was another bad beat when my JJ < TT in another 1.5k WSOP event.
After that tourney, I was scheduled to stay in vegas for like 5 more days, but I was just vegased out, so I switched flights and came home early.
Looking back on it, the trip was great. I played well, I made some decent money, and I will definitely be playing some more live events in the future. I played against some well-known pros and even busted one (Eric Seidel) who is the current #1 ranked player.
Tomorrow we are off to Santa Barbara and I will be staying in So Cal for the next 2 weeks so I probably won't be posting or playing much.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 2 of the $5k NL Event
So I made it through a grueling 13 hour day and was in good shape with over 70k in chips to start day 2. I had a hard time sleeping that night as I was both exhausted and amped over the possibility of not only cashing but making some major cash in my very first event - being in a strange bed didn't help either.
I had thoughts of just sitting on my stack and folding to the money but that's just not my style so I just tried to relax and play my game and take the opportunities as they came. I actually was pretty aggressive early on and people were folding to me. I then made a bad double barrel bluff against an older guy at the table which lost me some chips but I still had a decent stack. Soon thereafter an older French guy got moved directly to my left and I had played with him the day before and knew that he made some bad shoves. With blinds at 800/1600 I got dealt 99 from the button and made a standard raise to 4500ish and Frenchie overshoved like 35k more. It folded to me and I snap called much to the table's surprise. I was delighted when he showed A9 offsuit, but wasn't as happy when the A came on the flop. That hand decimated me, but I was able to chip back up to about 20k when I then ran AK into TT and couldn't win that race and I was out in 80th place when 72 got paid.
I was definitely disappointed in the result and just went back to my hotel room to sit and sulk. But I was happy about my play and can't be upset about getting all my chips in when I was way ahead. I also had not played much live, so it was a confidence builder to know that I could get deep in a high buy-in event against players who are some of the best in the world.
Next post will detail my foray into a Caesar's tourney and my first live cash.
I had thoughts of just sitting on my stack and folding to the money but that's just not my style so I just tried to relax and play my game and take the opportunities as they came. I actually was pretty aggressive early on and people were folding to me. I then made a bad double barrel bluff against an older guy at the table which lost me some chips but I still had a decent stack. Soon thereafter an older French guy got moved directly to my left and I had played with him the day before and knew that he made some bad shoves. With blinds at 800/1600 I got dealt 99 from the button and made a standard raise to 4500ish and Frenchie overshoved like 35k more. It folded to me and I snap called much to the table's surprise. I was delighted when he showed A9 offsuit, but wasn't as happy when the A came on the flop. That hand decimated me, but I was able to chip back up to about 20k when I then ran AK into TT and couldn't win that race and I was out in 80th place when 72 got paid.
I was definitely disappointed in the result and just went back to my hotel room to sit and sulk. But I was happy about my play and can't be upset about getting all my chips in when I was way ahead. I also had not played much live, so it was a confidence builder to know that I could get deep in a high buy-in event against players who are some of the best in the world.
Next post will detail my foray into a Caesar's tourney and my first live cash.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Las Vegas Recap
Day 1
I arrived in Vegas on Tuesday, June 10 in the afternoon and checked into the Imperial Palace which would be my home for the next ten days. It's one of the crappier hotels on the strip, but it is on the strip, it is cheap, about $50/night (I was staying with a poker friend to make it even cheaper), and it has a bed, shower, and tv which is all I really need. I unpacked and then headed over to the RIO to get my registration finalized. I had heard of hugely long lines the previous year, but I must have picked a good time because I had no wait and was quickly registered for the $5k event the next day, as well as a $3k and two $1.5k events in the upcoming days. Since I had time to spare, I went in and checked out the main poker room and got to just soak in the atmospehere a bit. The whole thing really is a zoo. When I got there the last three tables of a big buy-in ($5k) rebuy lowball event was going on. Because this event was so expensive to play, the field was stacked with well known pros who I have spent the last 5 years watching on t.v. Doyle Brunson, Mike Matusow, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Erik Lindgren, were all playing and the crowd was 3 people deep with people snapping pictures. There are usually at least 3 different tourneys going on at once during the series, and this day was no different, so across the room were hundreds of other players in a different tourney and there is a constant chirping of chips being shuffled and shouts of "seat open" at table x when a player is eliminated. After watching the big names play for a bit, I headed back to my hotel and just watched tv and relaxed until the next day when I would be playing my first WSOP event.
Day 2 - Day 1 of the $5k NL Event
I think I was probably the only player to arrive to the RIO on the free shuttle which runs every 30 minutes from Caesars, but I got there plenty early and just waited for the fun to begin. The structure of this tourney was very deepstacked, we started w/10k in chips and blinds just starting at 25/50 with one hour levels so there was plenty of play.
I picked up AA early to win a small pot and that helped to ease the nerves. Other than that there was nothing really spectacular. The only really two good players at the table were directly to my left, which didn't leave me much wiggle room. I lost a decent sized pot w/AK and was down to about 7k with blinds at 200/400 when a young internet player to my right who had just been moved to the table raised and I woke up with AQ in the cutoff and shoved. The BB called me w/TT and I won that race to stay alive.
After that I was able to chip up simply by stealing and restealing. I didn't show down any other hand until late at the end of day 1 when I was fortunate to have my AA run into AK and doubled through to like 70k. Since I had never played live before I felt a little retarded going through the process of bagging my chips for the next day (I forgot to put the confirmation sheet in the bag before sealing it so had to do it over), but I felt super good that I had survived the first day and had a decent chip stack and a really good shot to make the money the next day. We finished that day with like 120 players and 72 would get paid. The one thing I was super surprised about was how tired I was. We played for 10 hours, but with breaks we were there for over 13 hours and by the end of the night I was just blitzed. I also had a really hard time sleeping that night. I am generally a pretty laid back guy, but being in a new bed, going deep in a high buy-in event, and having a shot to make big money all kept me from getting the deep sleep I craved.
Next post will detail my quick day 2 and then my first live cash.
I arrived in Vegas on Tuesday, June 10 in the afternoon and checked into the Imperial Palace which would be my home for the next ten days. It's one of the crappier hotels on the strip, but it is on the strip, it is cheap, about $50/night (I was staying with a poker friend to make it even cheaper), and it has a bed, shower, and tv which is all I really need. I unpacked and then headed over to the RIO to get my registration finalized. I had heard of hugely long lines the previous year, but I must have picked a good time because I had no wait and was quickly registered for the $5k event the next day, as well as a $3k and two $1.5k events in the upcoming days. Since I had time to spare, I went in and checked out the main poker room and got to just soak in the atmospehere a bit. The whole thing really is a zoo. When I got there the last three tables of a big buy-in ($5k) rebuy lowball event was going on. Because this event was so expensive to play, the field was stacked with well known pros who I have spent the last 5 years watching on t.v. Doyle Brunson, Mike Matusow, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Erik Lindgren, were all playing and the crowd was 3 people deep with people snapping pictures. There are usually at least 3 different tourneys going on at once during the series, and this day was no different, so across the room were hundreds of other players in a different tourney and there is a constant chirping of chips being shuffled and shouts of "seat open" at table x when a player is eliminated. After watching the big names play for a bit, I headed back to my hotel and just watched tv and relaxed until the next day when I would be playing my first WSOP event.
Day 2 - Day 1 of the $5k NL Event
I think I was probably the only player to arrive to the RIO on the free shuttle which runs every 30 minutes from Caesars, but I got there plenty early and just waited for the fun to begin. The structure of this tourney was very deepstacked, we started w/10k in chips and blinds just starting at 25/50 with one hour levels so there was plenty of play.
I picked up AA early to win a small pot and that helped to ease the nerves. Other than that there was nothing really spectacular. The only really two good players at the table were directly to my left, which didn't leave me much wiggle room. I lost a decent sized pot w/AK and was down to about 7k with blinds at 200/400 when a young internet player to my right who had just been moved to the table raised and I woke up with AQ in the cutoff and shoved. The BB called me w/TT and I won that race to stay alive.
After that I was able to chip up simply by stealing and restealing. I didn't show down any other hand until late at the end of day 1 when I was fortunate to have my AA run into AK and doubled through to like 70k. Since I had never played live before I felt a little retarded going through the process of bagging my chips for the next day (I forgot to put the confirmation sheet in the bag before sealing it so had to do it over), but I felt super good that I had survived the first day and had a decent chip stack and a really good shot to make the money the next day. We finished that day with like 120 players and 72 would get paid. The one thing I was super surprised about was how tired I was. We played for 10 hours, but with breaks we were there for over 13 hours and by the end of the night I was just blitzed. I also had a really hard time sleeping that night. I am generally a pretty laid back guy, but being in a new bed, going deep in a high buy-in event, and having a shot to make big money all kept me from getting the deep sleep I craved.
Next post will detail my quick day 2 and then my first live cash.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Back from Vegas
I wasn't due back until Tuesday, but I played my last tourney today and realized that I am just spent. So I came home early. Vegas was profitable and educational. I'll write about it tomorrow.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Off to vegas on a Good Note
I got deep in the Sunday Warmup today but then lost a race, went card dead and I was out in 35th. I was definitely hoping for a final table there as first was almost $100k, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Still, I am clearly playing very well, my bankroll is in good shape so I can leave and feel fine when I get back, and since I am being staked for Vegas there is really little downside to me going. Tomorrow I need to tie some loose ends around the house, and then I'm off on Tuesday. I'm excited to go.
Still, I am clearly playing very well, my bankroll is in good shape so I can leave and feel fine when I get back, and since I am being staked for Vegas there is really little downside to me going. Tomorrow I need to tie some loose ends around the house, and then I'm off on Tuesday. I'm excited to go.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Swingy much?
After 2 really frustrating months I have had back to back nice days and everything feels good again. Got 4th in the 40k daily guarantee on Tilt for close to $5k. So that's about 10k in the last two days, which makes me feel good again.
This is definitely a game that plays with your mind. I just need to remember that these good days should return when I'm grinding through the days where nothing seems to work.
This is definitely a game that plays with your mind. I just need to remember that these good days should return when I'm grinding through the days where nothing seems to work.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Little win = Huge confidence boost
I won the 17.5k guarantee on Tilt which is a $75 FO tourney for $5.7k. My bankroll had been in a slow and steady decline prior to this the last couple of months so it just feels good to win again.
Next week I am off to Vegas and I'm looking forward to it, when I get back my wife has some time off work so I'll be vacationing until probably mid July. I want to get into some basketball/volleyball leagues when I do get back in July and will also look into volunteering. Either at a Boys & Girls Club type place or maybe some sort of pro bono work now that I can actually practice here in CA.
Next week I am off to Vegas and I'm looking forward to it, when I get back my wife has some time off work so I'll be vacationing until probably mid July. I want to get into some basketball/volleyball leagues when I do get back in July and will also look into volunteering. Either at a Boys & Girls Club type place or maybe some sort of pro bono work now that I can actually practice here in CA.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Back to work
So the inlaws have come and gone. We bladed, ran, biked, walked, weeded, ate, and made numerous trips to Starbucks. And now it is back to the routine. I have a couple of weeks before I am off to Vegas and I am hoping to get a decent score in between now and then.
As far as my bar privileges, it turns out my score is valid for 5 years. So my plan now is to just sit on them and if I can't make the money I want playing poker then I will swear in and start looking for a job. If the poker train keeps steaming along, then I'll still swear in in a couple of years and then transfer to what is called "inactive" status where I get to keep my bar privileges without having to take that stupid exam again.
As far as my bar privileges, it turns out my score is valid for 5 years. So my plan now is to just sit on them and if I can't make the money I want playing poker then I will swear in and start looking for a job. If the poker train keeps steaming along, then I'll still swear in in a couple of years and then transfer to what is called "inactive" status where I get to keep my bar privileges without having to take that stupid exam again.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Passing the CA Bar Exam
I have been reading blogs of some of the other people who took the bar exam with me this February. Some passed, some failed. For those who failed, I understand the ego crush since I failed my first time as well. I received a 1369 my first time (you need a 1440 to pass), which from what I have gathered is a pretty bad score. Basically I got 55s on all my essays. So for those that failed - if I can pass it, so can you.
Double wheeeeeeee!!
I passed the CA bar exam!!
I am not sure how long this poker thing will work out, so having the ability to practice law and become relatively quickly employed is a huge relief.
Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!
I am not sure how long this poker thing will work out, so having the ability to practice law and become relatively quickly employed is a huge relief.
Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Trying very hard to keep focus
I just have not had any good results for the last month. I have been playing well, reviewing hand histories, and generally not tilting (although I do whine a bit occassionally). But the cards are just not falling my way. Poker people call this variance. I call it insanity provoking.
Tomorrow is another day...
Tomorrow is another day...
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Still waiting for that big score
2 final tables the last two days, but nothing big. Then I ran horribly playing just for like 15 minutes of cash, lost my daily risk of $600 and am now sitting here shaking my head.
The good thing is, last year I would be chasing my losses and losing multiple buyins. So this bankroll management thing has finally sunk in. Now I'm just waiting to be rewarded.
The good thing is, last year I would be chasing my losses and losing multiple buyins. So this bankroll management thing has finally sunk in. Now I'm just waiting to be rewarded.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
My world of backing is getting bigger
So I just found out that someone else wants to back me for a longterm deal. This will allow me to play the majority of the FTOPS events which I will be looking forward to in May.
April didn't turn out for me as I had hoped results wise, but I am confident May will be better.
April didn't turn out for me as I had hoped results wise, but I am confident May will be better.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
I hate losing
So I put in another pretty full week of close to 50 tourneys and although I won one small one, I ended up losing money for the week. No matter how much I realize and understand that losing streaks like this will happen, I still hate to lose and it frustrates me. That's probably the worst part of being a poker player for me.
On other fronts, I am getting back in shape and it feels good. It is hard for me to believe that I am so out of shape when I feel like it was just yesterday that I biked 120 miles from Santa Barbara to L.A. on the spur of the moment; or that I climbed a 13,000 foot volcano. Now, I am still dying after running just 20 minutes - but it is also starting to feel good too. So I'll keep at it.
The weather here is supposed to get super nice this weekend - too bad my wife is on call tomorrow to miss it. I absolutely, positively could not work her hours. Since she is on call tomorrow, this week will be close to 100 hours for her. Which basically means that her day off, Sunday, will just be spent sleeping. It's a stupid system which needs major retinkering for the good of the mental, physical, and spiritual health of all new doctors and their families.
On other fronts, I am getting back in shape and it feels good. It is hard for me to believe that I am so out of shape when I feel like it was just yesterday that I biked 120 miles from Santa Barbara to L.A. on the spur of the moment; or that I climbed a 13,000 foot volcano. Now, I am still dying after running just 20 minutes - but it is also starting to feel good too. So I'll keep at it.
The weather here is supposed to get super nice this weekend - too bad my wife is on call tomorrow to miss it. I absolutely, positively could not work her hours. Since she is on call tomorrow, this week will be close to 100 hours for her. Which basically means that her day off, Sunday, will just be spent sleeping. It's a stupid system which needs major retinkering for the good of the mental, physical, and spiritual health of all new doctors and their families.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
WSOP Dreaming
I started playing poker back in law school about 5 years ago when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series Main Event and poker was becoming huge on T.V. At that point I had no real concept of bankroll management, pot odds, or any of the other intricacies of the game. But I saw some regular guy winning lots of money and I thought in the back of my head "wouldn't it be great if I could do that?"
Because playing in the Series this year just seemed to fall into place, I somewhat forgot about how much of a dream this really was just a few years ago and how crazy it really it is that I am able to play poker as a profession. Here's to hoping even more dreams come true.
Because playing in the Series this year just seemed to fall into place, I somewhat forgot about how much of a dream this really was just a few years ago and how crazy it really it is that I am able to play poker as a profession. Here's to hoping even more dreams come true.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Why Being a Poker Player Rocks
My internet was acting funky last night and today + people are coming over tonight but I don't really know when or what I am supposed to do + it is really nice outside today = I just won't play today and can't get in trouble.
wheeeeeeeeeee
wheeeeeeeeeee
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Going to the WSOP
wheeeeee
I got staked my full amount, so now I just need to buy a ticket and find a place to stay.
I'm excited to get some bigger buyin events under my belt.
I got staked my full amount, so now I just need to buy a ticket and find a place to stay.
I'm excited to get some bigger buyin events under my belt.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Looking for Backing for the WSOP
Ok so here's my pitch:
I am looking to get staked $11 k in order to play 4 events in this year's WSOP. All of the tournies I am looking at are NL Holdem events.
1) The $5k on June 11th
2) The $3k on June 15th
3 and 4) 2 out of the 3 $1.5k events running on the 17th, 19th, and 21st. I will register for these events depending on how well I do in the $3k event (i.e. if I make the final table of the $3k 3 day event, then I clearly won't register for the one on the 17th).
A schedule for all of these events can be found here.
In 2007, I basically just played on FullTilt and PokerStars. I trust that you can look my stats up yourself at OPR. Combined I played just over 700 tournies and has an ROI of 425%. If you take my 6 figure score out of the equation then I had a combined ROI of 81%.
In 2008, I had to study for the bar exam so I haven't been putting in any volume until recently. I have added UB into the mix this year as well. So far, I have played just over 150 tournies and have a combined ROI of 142%.
If you are interested in a longterm deal covering more than just this series I would be willing to talk about that and would be looking for a 50/50 deal with makeup.
If you are interested in just staking me for this series, I am looking for a 75% staker/25% me deal.
(For those of you who are reading my blog and have no idea what that means, it means that any money I profit will be divvied up by giving 75% to my backer and 25% goes to me).
If interested, the best way to contact me is through e-mail at chardrian@hotmail.com
EDIT - I Will be keeping an update of how much is available here as well.
As of 4/16 I have been staked $4k; $7k to go.
REEDIT - I am now fully backed for the WSOP.
I am looking to get staked $11 k in order to play 4 events in this year's WSOP. All of the tournies I am looking at are NL Holdem events.
1) The $5k on June 11th
2) The $3k on June 15th
3 and 4) 2 out of the 3 $1.5k events running on the 17th, 19th, and 21st. I will register for these events depending on how well I do in the $3k event (i.e. if I make the final table of the $3k 3 day event, then I clearly won't register for the one on the 17th).
A schedule for all of these events can be found here.
In 2007, I basically just played on FullTilt and PokerStars. I trust that you can look my stats up yourself at OPR. Combined I played just over 700 tournies and has an ROI of 425%. If you take my 6 figure score out of the equation then I had a combined ROI of 81%.
In 2008, I had to study for the bar exam so I haven't been putting in any volume until recently. I have added UB into the mix this year as well. So far, I have played just over 150 tournies and have a combined ROI of 142%.
If you are interested in a longterm deal covering more than just this series I would be willing to talk about that and would be looking for a 50/50 deal with makeup.
If you are interested in just staking me for this series, I am looking for a 75% staker/25% me deal.
(For those of you who are reading my blog and have no idea what that means, it means that any money I profit will be divvied up by giving 75% to my backer and 25% goes to me).
If interested, the best way to contact me is through e-mail at chardrian@hotmail.com
EDIT - I Will be keeping an update of how much is available here as well.
As of 4/16 I have been staked $4k; $7k to go.
REEDIT - I am now fully backed for the WSOP.
Poker Happenings
So I put in my most volume last week, playing 50 tourneys from M-F. That should be a standard schedule for me, but it was my first time doing it. The results were not great, but I didn't lose a ton either.
Last night, I finally made some $$ by getting 2nd in a $35k guarantee on FullTilt for over $5k.
It's nice to be making money again but I also realized that I will not make enough these next two months to be able to play in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) off of my own bankroll, so I am going to try and get backed. I know there are a lot of players out there who are backed, but I've always thought that I'd rather make 100% of my own winnings and not have to feel bad or pressured if I lose because it is on someone else's dime. But I also feel like this year's WSOP is a great opportunity for me to play some live events, and maybe get a little more exposure. So I am going to put my name out there and see if I get any bites.
We'll see...
Last night, I finally made some $$ by getting 2nd in a $35k guarantee on FullTilt for over $5k.
It's nice to be making money again but I also realized that I will not make enough these next two months to be able to play in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) off of my own bankroll, so I am going to try and get backed. I know there are a lot of players out there who are backed, but I've always thought that I'd rather make 100% of my own winnings and not have to feel bad or pressured if I lose because it is on someone else's dime. But I also feel like this year's WSOP is a great opportunity for me to play some live events, and maybe get a little more exposure. So I am going to put my name out there and see if I get any bites.
We'll see...
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Finally into a Routine??
So I finished our fed taxes (yikes!!), there are no trips or vacations or family visits on the horizon, and I think I finally will get to start playing lots of poker.
It always takes me a bit to get back in the swing of things after a long layoff, so yesterday I only played like 5 tourneys and then watched the basketball game.
Today I've already played 5 and plan on playing again tonight, so hopefully things will start heating up at the table for me.
It always takes me a bit to get back in the swing of things after a long layoff, so yesterday I only played like 5 tourneys and then watched the basketball game.
Today I've already played 5 and plan on playing again tonight, so hopefully things will start heating up at the table for me.
Monday, March 31, 2008
I'm back
Vacation was great. Getting back home is always a double edged sword. It's nice to be back in my own bed, in my own house. It stinks getting everything back in order.
I did manage to get a weird case of vertigo right when I got back from Belize, but I googled it, and have self-diagnosed myself with BPPV - you can read about it here. I've also started home treatment so hopefully I won't be spinning when I don't want to anymore. (Of course my doctor wife loved hearing about my self-help rather than making an appointment with a doctor).
The rest of this week should be spent doing taxes, cleaning the house, and playing poker. On Thursday my sister, 3 of her kids, my dad, stepmom and their two kids all come to stay for the weekend at our lovely 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house. Should be fun.
Oh - I also got a brand new tv today. 37 inches. I even managed to set it up and program one remote to control everything. Fairly successful for my first day back home.
I did manage to get a weird case of vertigo right when I got back from Belize, but I googled it, and have self-diagnosed myself with BPPV - you can read about it here. I've also started home treatment so hopefully I won't be spinning when I don't want to anymore. (Of course my doctor wife loved hearing about my self-help rather than making an appointment with a doctor).
The rest of this week should be spent doing taxes, cleaning the house, and playing poker. On Thursday my sister, 3 of her kids, my dad, stepmom and their two kids all come to stay for the weekend at our lovely 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house. Should be fun.
Oh - I also got a brand new tv today. 37 inches. I even managed to set it up and program one remote to control everything. Fairly successful for my first day back home.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Vacation
My wife started her vacation tonight, which means I start mine tonight as well.
We're going to Belize for 10 days and then to Santa Barbara for a couple of days.
Maybe I'll even post pictures when I get back.
We're going to Belize for 10 days and then to Santa Barbara for a couple of days.
Maybe I'll even post pictures when I get back.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Adventures in the Snow
My wife and I went for a hike yesterday about an hour drive away from our house and were unpreparedly surprised to find out that half of it was through snow. Wet feet and pants legs were worth it. Photos were taken on the wife's camera, but hopefully I'll figure out how to post them.
EDIT - I figured out how to post them, but whenever I post pictures they go to the top instead of the bottom. I'll figure that out later - this is good enough for now.
Friday, March 07, 2008
A Taste of Spring
Although I love Wisconsin, by the time February came around, I was ready to migrate. And when March came, spring fever was in full force. So for that, I am happy to be in Sacramento, where spring has already begun. For my badger friends, who are still head high in snow, here are some photos of things to come...
Trees will bud, and dogs will lounge outdoors in the sun.
Trees will bud, and dogs will lounge outdoors in the sun.
Flowers will bloom, maybe strawberries will come?
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Playing Poker Again and Still Ruminating over the Damn Bar
Well I started playing again last night. I put in a solid 7-8 hours and felt like I played fine. Hopefully I can get some decent results these next two weeks.
The night before last was the first good night of sleep I had gotten in a week. Prior to the bar I was stressing, while taking the bar I was stressing, and then even the 3 days following the bar I was still stressing because I would realize issues that I missed - and all of that led to bad sleep. The good thing about realizing I missed issues is that it demonstrates how much more I actually knew this time around because I didn't even know enough law last time to realize what issues I had missed. The bad thing is I know I missed issues. My pat answer to everyone who has asked "how did it go" is that I will be very disappointed if I failed, but I won't be surprised if that's the case.
I really don't want to study again for this stupid exam (especially since motivating myself to study is so hard when I know that I would rather play poker than practice law), but I also really want the security of having the privilege to practice law in my back pocket in case this poker thing doesn't work out. I also realize that there isn't anything I can do at this point but sit and wait for the results. But that doesn't stop me from ruminating.
The night before last was the first good night of sleep I had gotten in a week. Prior to the bar I was stressing, while taking the bar I was stressing, and then even the 3 days following the bar I was still stressing because I would realize issues that I missed - and all of that led to bad sleep. The good thing about realizing I missed issues is that it demonstrates how much more I actually knew this time around because I didn't even know enough law last time to realize what issues I had missed. The bad thing is I know I missed issues. My pat answer to everyone who has asked "how did it go" is that I will be very disappointed if I failed, but I won't be surprised if that's the case.
I really don't want to study again for this stupid exam (especially since motivating myself to study is so hard when I know that I would rather play poker than practice law), but I also really want the security of having the privilege to practice law in my back pocket in case this poker thing doesn't work out. I also realize that there isn't anything I can do at this point but sit and wait for the results. But that doesn't stop me from ruminating.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Studying for the Bar made me fat
I think it was all the soda I was drinking. But I am the portliest I have ever been.
I went for a run today and started my stomach crunches. My goal is to lose 10-15 lbs in two weeks for our vacation to Belize. Winning a couple grand in that timeframe would be nice too.
I went for a run today and started my stomach crunches. My goal is to lose 10-15 lbs in two weeks for our vacation to Belize. Winning a couple grand in that timeframe would be nice too.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Done with the Bar
Yippee!!
Yesterday was the multiple guess day which is impossible to tell how you've done. Today was 3 more essays - a community property question which I feel good about, and then a wills and trusts and a corporations question which I have no idea how I did (I am not an expert in either subject). I feel that I knew a lot more substantive law this time in comparison to July, so I am hoping that I passed, I will feel very disappointed if I didn't, but at the same time I wouldn't be totally astonished if I failed either.
The test is just so hard. And long. And tiring. And it's hard to tell what the graders are looking for. But at this point, it's over, and it's not worth worrying about.
Tomorrow, I get to clean our house, and back to playing some poker. I'm hoping to get out and enjoy our weather too (it got up to like 70 today which would never have happened in Madison).
Yesterday was the multiple guess day which is impossible to tell how you've done. Today was 3 more essays - a community property question which I feel good about, and then a wills and trusts and a corporations question which I have no idea how I did (I am not an expert in either subject). I feel that I knew a lot more substantive law this time in comparison to July, so I am hoping that I passed, I will feel very disappointed if I didn't, but at the same time I wouldn't be totally astonished if I failed either.
The test is just so hard. And long. And tiring. And it's hard to tell what the graders are looking for. But at this point, it's over, and it's not worth worrying about.
Tomorrow, I get to clean our house, and back to playing some poker. I'm hoping to get out and enjoy our weather too (it got up to like 70 today which would never have happened in Madison).
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
One day down two to go
So the bar exam started today. The 3 essay questions involved, torts, crim law, and professional responsibilities. I don't feel like I bombed any of them, but it's also really hard to know what the graders are looking for. The second half of the day was a performance test which was basically writing a brief. My only apprehension there was simply time management - I would have liked to write much more.
Tomorrow is the multiple guess session. If I do decent tomorrow I feel I should be in decent shape to pass. I will probably review some civil procedure and corporations for the essays on Thursday - if I feel the same about the essays as I did today, I will be surprised if I fail (but I don't want to jinx myself either).
Tomorrow is the multiple guess session. If I do decent tomorrow I feel I should be in decent shape to pass. I will probably review some civil procedure and corporations for the essays on Thursday - if I feel the same about the essays as I did today, I will be surprised if I fail (but I don't want to jinx myself either).
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
6 days until the Bar...
And I've hit somewhat of a wall. I am feeling so-so about the 6 core areas but I still have a lot to review/learn in the other areas which could come up on the essays. But I'm also just bored of it right now. I tried getting through some wills and trusts this morning but just couldn't. My hope at this point is that my multiple guess score will be above average so that my essays can be just a little under average and I'll scrape by. I am so looking forward to this being over...
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sitemeter is funny
So I am taking a quick study break and figured I'd see if anyone actually reads this thing. It turns out the answer is basically no, but the rare few who do meander here always interest me. Yesterday someone from Portugal googled my poker screen name and came upon this blog. Which makes me think who in the hell do I know from Portugal - and why would anyone be googling me recently since I haven't been playing poker at all? I have no idea. But it is a nice diversion from studying.
On that note - studying is going ok. I think I will do much better on the multiple guess section this time. I am still not sure how well I will do on the essays, but I don't see how I could do worse. The 4 month wait will be the hardest part.
On that note - studying is going ok. I think I will do much better on the multiple guess section this time. I am still not sure how well I will do on the essays, but I don't see how I could do worse. The 4 month wait will be the hardest part.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Eeeek - 2 weeks until the Bar Exam
Ay ay ay. 2 weeks to go. I am still not sure I will get everything pounded into my head. But I think I know more now than I did last time. It's funny - I wish I had more time to study, but I also am so sick of this already that I am glad I only have 2 more weeks to go.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Wheeeeeee
I took the day off from studying to play some poker and I'm glad I did.
I won a $150 tourney of FullTilt for almost $15k. That will be the last time I play until I finish taking the bar. But I now feel good knowing that I have a nice cushion to fall back on when I come back and play.
Feels good.
I won a $150 tourney of FullTilt for almost $15k. That will be the last time I play until I finish taking the bar. But I now feel good knowing that I have a nice cushion to fall back on when I come back and play.
Feels good.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
3 weeks to go
Ok down to three weeks to go and we have now gotten through the nitty gritty 6 core subjects (Real Property, Torts, Crim, Constitutional, Evidence, and Contracts) which make up the areas tested on the multiple guess portion and are also free game for the essays. We are now going through the add-on subjects which are also free game for the essays (Civ Pro, Prof. Responsibilities, Agency, Corporations, Wills, Trusts, Community Property, Remedies, and maybe other stuff I am forgetting). I freaked out last week when I got a worse score on the practice multiple guess test they gave us then I did when I actually failed the bar, but it turns out the test they gave is freakishly hard. My score was actually in the top 25% so I feel ok again.
There is still lots of stuff I haven't memorized, I still am awestruck at how anyone could write an answer as good as the sample answers for the essays in just one hour (that's all we get, is one hour per essay), and I am still nervous that I won't get it all done. But I also just hit a point each night where enough is enough and so I just stop. I am feeling good about spotting issues, now it is just a matter of regurgitating the rules rather than just knowing the correct conclusions.
Wish me luck.
p.s. I played a couple of tourneys on Sunday and made a final table in one. Unfortunately it was just for 6th place but it still feels good to know I can play good.
There is still lots of stuff I haven't memorized, I still am awestruck at how anyone could write an answer as good as the sample answers for the essays in just one hour (that's all we get, is one hour per essay), and I am still nervous that I won't get it all done. But I also just hit a point each night where enough is enough and so I just stop. I am feeling good about spotting issues, now it is just a matter of regurgitating the rules rather than just knowing the correct conclusions.
Wish me luck.
p.s. I played a couple of tourneys on Sunday and made a final table in one. Unfortunately it was just for 6th place but it still feels good to know I can play good.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
4 weeks to go
Still just grinding the studying out. The bar exam is a 3 day exam. The 1st and 3rd day are the same format - 3 essays in the morning and then a "performance test" in the afternoon (basically this consists of being given a file to read and then pretend you're an underling lawyer and write a memo, so this part doesn't freak me out as much). The 2nd day is pure multiple guess (yeah, yeah I know it is really supposed to be multiple choice). So yesterday the bar review course gave us a practice multiple guess test.... and I'm not sure if they are trying to freak us out or not but I did worse on this exam than I did when I took the real bar in July after hardly studying at all. From what I can tell from other students in the class, everyone did pretty bad, but it's still pretty dumb to give a practice test that is way harder than anything we'll ever take.
In general this whole process is like one of those graphs we had to do in calculus. Totally up and down (vacilating might be the "correct" term). Some days I feel like I will pass no problem since all I need to do is get one level higher on each essay than I did when I took it in July and I should be able to do that since I'm studying this time. Other days I feel like no matter what I do, I am not going to memorize all of these stupid rules and I'm just destined to keep getting about the same score (this is basically an IQ test after all, and IQs shouldn't change).
Meh - enough whining. Whatever happens, happens. Just 4 more weeks to grind.
In general this whole process is like one of those graphs we had to do in calculus. Totally up and down (vacilating might be the "correct" term). Some days I feel like I will pass no problem since all I need to do is get one level higher on each essay than I did when I took it in July and I should be able to do that since I'm studying this time. Other days I feel like no matter what I do, I am not going to memorize all of these stupid rules and I'm just destined to keep getting about the same score (this is basically an IQ test after all, and IQs shouldn't change).
Meh - enough whining. Whatever happens, happens. Just 4 more weeks to grind.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
I have good moral character
Or at least that's what the state bar of California thinks. To get bar privileges you need to basically tell the state where you've been and what you've been doing since birth, and then give references who will basically say that "yes, it's true, chardrian has never been convicted of a felony." I remember the Wisconsin one being worse than California's but California took longer to determine that I am in fact morally qualified to practice law here.
Now, whether or not I am legally qualified (by passing this stupid test) is a whole other question. At this point I am feeling very overwhelmed, which is a rare feeling for me (I am generally verrrrrrrrrrrry laid back). Mostly because there is just too much stuff and I haven't memorized it yet, but also because I keep turning in these damn practice essays to my Bar/Bri course and keep failing them. Not only did I never fail an exam in law school, but I was usually towards the top of my class and now I keep failing which is not very good positive reinforcement.
Mostly, it's because I need to dumb it down a bit. You are supposed to use a system called IRAC where you first spot the issue, then you state the rule of law that applies to that issue, then you apply the facts to the rule and issue, and finally you give a conclusion. I was taught to give a conclusion at the beginning and at the end because judges want to know up front what you are arguing so I need to stop doing that I guess. And I also will often join the rule with the facts because it makes it a lot quicker and I think easier to read. But my reader doesn't seem to like that either, so I guess I will try and break it down more.
The whole thing is still pretty dumb though I think. A huge part of the exam is simply memorizing rules and their exceptions (e.g. contracts for goods over $500 must be in writing to be enforceable pursuant to the Statutue of Frauds - and then there are a whole bunch of exceptions to the rule). But in real practice, you don't really need to have any of these rules memorized because you can always just look them up. So my law school training focused more on spotting issues and then learning how to apply facts to rules rather than memorizing rules (except for Evidence I can't think of a class where we were not allowed to use an outline). This exam, on the other hand, focuses more on memorizing the stupid rules and there are just kazillions of them to memorize.
Anyhoo, I am still hating studying. But if I pass the exam at least I am now qualified to practice here.
Now, whether or not I am legally qualified (by passing this stupid test) is a whole other question. At this point I am feeling very overwhelmed, which is a rare feeling for me (I am generally verrrrrrrrrrrry laid back). Mostly because there is just too much stuff and I haven't memorized it yet, but also because I keep turning in these damn practice essays to my Bar/Bri course and keep failing them. Not only did I never fail an exam in law school, but I was usually towards the top of my class and now I keep failing which is not very good positive reinforcement.
Mostly, it's because I need to dumb it down a bit. You are supposed to use a system called IRAC where you first spot the issue, then you state the rule of law that applies to that issue, then you apply the facts to the rule and issue, and finally you give a conclusion. I was taught to give a conclusion at the beginning and at the end because judges want to know up front what you are arguing so I need to stop doing that I guess. And I also will often join the rule with the facts because it makes it a lot quicker and I think easier to read. But my reader doesn't seem to like that either, so I guess I will try and break it down more.
The whole thing is still pretty dumb though I think. A huge part of the exam is simply memorizing rules and their exceptions (e.g. contracts for goods over $500 must be in writing to be enforceable pursuant to the Statutue of Frauds - and then there are a whole bunch of exceptions to the rule). But in real practice, you don't really need to have any of these rules memorized because you can always just look them up. So my law school training focused more on spotting issues and then learning how to apply facts to rules rather than memorizing rules (except for Evidence I can't think of a class where we were not allowed to use an outline). This exam, on the other hand, focuses more on memorizing the stupid rules and there are just kazillions of them to memorize.
Anyhoo, I am still hating studying. But if I pass the exam at least I am now qualified to practice here.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Still studying
Well 2 weeks down and I'm still overwhelmed but grinding through it. As homework, the program gives us lots of multiple choice practice as well as practice essays. The problem is I spend so much time doing the questions that I don't have time to memorize the black letter law. So I keep having to cheat on the essays and look up the black letter law and then apply the facts. I am hoping that by doing enough of these the law will start to just sink in. The dumbest part of this bar exam is that it is basically a memorization test and in real life, lawyers don't really need to have anything memorized because you can always look stuff up (the only exception is perhaps knowing evidence if you have to go to trial, since you can't make an objection the day after). I am fine with spotting issues and applying facts to law - but I am bad at memorizing the exact law because I've never had to (even in law school we got to use outlines). 6 more weeks and it will be done.
On another note one of my poker forum buddies directed me to this. I thought it was pretty insightful. At this point in my life I still believe that poker is my calling and I'm looking forward to getting back into it once I'm done with this studying. That doesn't mean that I am positive this will be my calling forever and ever, but for now it is something I am passionate about and I feel fortunate to have a shot to work at something that is my passion. Hopefully it will all work out...
On another note one of my poker forum buddies directed me to this. I thought it was pretty insightful. At this point in my life I still believe that poker is my calling and I'm looking forward to getting back into it once I'm done with this studying. That doesn't mean that I am positive this will be my calling forever and ever, but for now it is something I am passionate about and I feel fortunate to have a shot to work at something that is my passion. Hopefully it will all work out...
Monday, January 07, 2008
Contracts and Torts
So the first week is over, and I'm still alive, but barely. The course consists of sitting in a law school room (like a big ampitheater) and watching professors ramble on about a whole subject in the matter of 8-12 hours (they usually try to throw some humor in there too). Whereas when I was actually in law school we got like 50-60 hours per subject. Anyhoo, it looks like they try and break most subjects into 2-3 lectures but yesterday we had to endure 8 straight hours of torts and get it all over in one day.
At this point Statute of Frauds, duress, warranties, consideration (that's all Contracts lingo), are still just as jumbled as battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and strict liability (torts) but hopefully it will all come together by the end of next month (if not, I might have to commit some sort of tort against myself). No matter what I'll keep forging ahead.
At this point Statute of Frauds, duress, warranties, consideration (that's all Contracts lingo), are still just as jumbled as battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and strict liability (torts) but hopefully it will all come together by the end of next month (if not, I might have to commit some sort of tort against myself). No matter what I'll keep forging ahead.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Let the classes begin
So today was my first day of my bar review classes. And the next two months are going to suck. Looks like 8-12 hours of studying/classes every day. Barf. Reminds me a little bit of my first semester of law school, where I just studied like a maniac because I had not been in school for a while and wanted to make sure I started off well. I know I'll get it done, but I'm not looking forward to it.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Weekly recap
So my mother-in-law came and visited for the weekend before Christmas and it was nice to have her. But it meant I didn't play until Christmas day (when my wife had to work the whole day). So I've played just 3 nights this week. The only notable night was Christmas when I got very deep in two tourneys and then just took 2 brutal beats in each one which kept me from the final table and really nice 4-5 figure scores.
Oh well - it happens.
Tomorrow my folks come to visit until New Years and then my classes start the day after New Years so from here on out it is going to be study first, and then only if there is some time left over, will I play poker. Otherwise I'll be back at it starting in March.
Wish me luck - I need to pass the stupid exam this time!!!
Oh well - it happens.
Tomorrow my folks come to visit until New Years and then my classes start the day after New Years so from here on out it is going to be study first, and then only if there is some time left over, will I play poker. Otherwise I'll be back at it starting in March.
Wish me luck - I need to pass the stupid exam this time!!!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Happy Holidays
Just a quick message wishing you and yours a happy holiday season.
My wife's gift is a 36 hour work day, but we had a great time with her mom the last couple of days and she then gets 4 days this next weekend as well when my dad and family come visit us as well. Given everything that has gone well for us this year we can't complain too much (but I still think we can complain a little).
Oh, I also finally received my bar review books, so I can start studying as well. I am not looking forward to it, but I know I need to get it done. My Christmas wish is twofold: I want to pass the Bar and do well enough this year playing poker that I just keep those bar privileges in my back pocket and can continue to play fulltime.
My wife's gift is a 36 hour work day, but we had a great time with her mom the last couple of days and she then gets 4 days this next weekend as well when my dad and family come visit us as well. Given everything that has gone well for us this year we can't complain too much (but I still think we can complain a little).
Oh, I also finally received my bar review books, so I can start studying as well. I am not looking forward to it, but I know I need to get it done. My Christmas wish is twofold: I want to pass the Bar and do well enough this year playing poker that I just keep those bar privileges in my back pocket and can continue to play fulltime.
Monday, December 17, 2007
wheeeeeeeeeee
Finally made a final table again tonight, and I even took it down. It was the $10 rebuy on FullTilt for just under $4k.
Feels good to have somewhat of a roll again, which means that I won't be totally decimated when I come back after 2 months of studying.
Feels good to have somewhat of a roll again, which means that I won't be totally decimated when I come back after 2 months of studying.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Break Time
So I put in a pretty good amount of hours this last week, playing pretty much every night. I haven't made any final tables in a while but I am confident my game is still fine - just losing lots of important hands.
My wife finally gets a weekend off, so I am going to take that time off too.
I keep wanting to get started on studying but I neither have the ganas (the desire) nor the books to do so. My classes start Jan. 2, so no matter what, if I haven't started studying by then, I will be putting in major hours in Jan and Feb. I am a very good procrastinator, so it's good that I signed up for the bar review course because that will force me out of the house and make me study... And when I put in the hours I tend to do pretty well on tests, so hopefully it will turn out this time.
My wife finally gets a weekend off, so I am going to take that time off too.
I keep wanting to get started on studying but I neither have the ganas (the desire) nor the books to do so. My classes start Jan. 2, so no matter what, if I haven't started studying by then, I will be putting in major hours in Jan and Feb. I am a very good procrastinator, so it's good that I signed up for the bar review course because that will force me out of the house and make me study... And when I put in the hours I tend to do pretty well on tests, so hopefully it will turn out this time.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Frustrating Week
I put in a pretty full schedule this week - 50 tourneys, made the money 9 times which is fine. But no final tables which is frustrating. I also really need to start studying next week, so from now until March I should be playing a much lighter schedule.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Mental Fortitude
I don't think there's a question that for me, the hardest part of playing poker is getting through the long dry spells. I had to return my Bar Review books from the summer (or forfeit my deposit) and am now waiting for the new materials to arrive (I am expecting they will be the very same books) so I have had time the last three nights to play a pretty full schedule which for me usually ends up being about 8 tourneys a night. I have been playing well but have not had any real good results. Of course I realize that this is expected - as a top player I am only going to make the money in a tourney between 15-25% of the time and am only going to make the final table somewhere around 3% of the time and the top 3 of the tourney (where the real big payouts happen) maybe 1-2% of the time. So a streak of 25 tourneys and no big cashes is going to happen repeatedly....
But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I don't know what it is about my mental make-up but I expect to win every hand I am in and when I don't, I get upset. When I lose over and over and over again, I get frustrated. And for me, making sure that that frustration does not make me play bad in other tourneys that I am still in and making sure that I don't try and chase my losses by playing in cash games (which I have proven I am a loser at) is the most important part of protecting my roll.
So here's to staying on top of my emotions and waiting for that next big score...
But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I don't know what it is about my mental make-up but I expect to win every hand I am in and when I don't, I get upset. When I lose over and over and over again, I get frustrated. And for me, making sure that that frustration does not make me play bad in other tourneys that I am still in and making sure that I don't try and chase my losses by playing in cash games (which I have proven I am a loser at) is the most important part of protecting my roll.
So here's to staying on top of my emotions and waiting for that next big score...
Monday, December 03, 2007
I'm an Uncle again
My sister just delivered her second child, a boy named Jack, this morning. He came out best end first just like me (butt-first) and no c-section needed.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Back Home
We had somewhat of a hellish time getting home. Our flight from Dallas to Santa Barbara was delayed for hours because of mechanical problems, then we faced traffic driving home the next day making what is normally a 6-7 hour drive into a 9-10 hour one. And to top it all off, I have caught my yearly cold, which makes the idea of studying even less appealing than it already was.
Meh.
Meh.
Monday, November 19, 2007
vacation bummer
Well I looked on-line and found out what I already knew was coming but still sucks anyways - I failed the Bar exam that I took in July. I was like 98% sure I had failed because I just didn't give myself enough time to study and CA's exam is one of the if not the toughest exam in the states (only about 50% pass), but that 2% hope still makes the fact that I failed a little gutwrenching.
The good thing is that poker has given me the opportunity to take the next three months to really crack down and put in enough hours to study seriously this time and hopefully pass it when I take it again in February.
My goal is to make 6 figures again next year playing poker so that I don't even need to look for a "real job" again, but, in case poker doesn't pan out I want to have my bar privileges in my back pocket so I'm probably going to continue to play sporadically from now until February when I take the exam to make sure that I actually put in the number of hours I need to study effectively so that I pass it this time...
Other than this minor setback, this year has actually been very very fortuitous so I am actually quite thankful during this Thanksgiving season. My wife graduated med school and got into the residency program she wanted, I have won enough money playing poker that we were able to buy our first home that we are still loving, our dog (who we treat like a baby) should have died when she ran away from a relative's home in a busy area of a L.A. suburb but somehow got scooped up by an animal control person, my sister is about to have another baby, and even after 8 years of marriage I still think my wife is my best-friend and enjoy spending every free minute I have with her (even if those minutes are harder to come by). So, in the big scheme of things, I am willing to take the rejection of being a failure considering everything else that I have going for me.
The good thing is that poker has given me the opportunity to take the next three months to really crack down and put in enough hours to study seriously this time and hopefully pass it when I take it again in February.
My goal is to make 6 figures again next year playing poker so that I don't even need to look for a "real job" again, but, in case poker doesn't pan out I want to have my bar privileges in my back pocket so I'm probably going to continue to play sporadically from now until February when I take the exam to make sure that I actually put in the number of hours I need to study effectively so that I pass it this time...
Other than this minor setback, this year has actually been very very fortuitous so I am actually quite thankful during this Thanksgiving season. My wife graduated med school and got into the residency program she wanted, I have won enough money playing poker that we were able to buy our first home that we are still loving, our dog (who we treat like a baby) should have died when she ran away from a relative's home in a busy area of a L.A. suburb but somehow got scooped up by an animal control person, my sister is about to have another baby, and even after 8 years of marriage I still think my wife is my best-friend and enjoy spending every free minute I have with her (even if those minutes are harder to come by). So, in the big scheme of things, I am willing to take the rejection of being a failure considering everything else that I have going for me.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Last full night for a while
So I played a pretty full schedule last night and played well but the cards didn't hold up. Oh well. My wife's last day of work before starting her vacation is today, so I probably won't be playing or posting much, if at all, the next two weeks.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
First full night for a while
So tonight I played my first "full" session for quite some time. I only made the money in one tourney out of 8 but I got about 6 hours of play in, which for me is about as much as I generally play unless I make a final table. I wasn't real happy with my play tonight as I let myself get tilted a bit, which I really haven't done lately. But now that the night is over I am just mulling over how ludicrous my life really is right now. And it really is rediculous. Poker has made me lose some of my "common sense" when it comes to money and "real life" but when I take the time to really think about what I am doing and how I am surviving it makes me laugh.
When I started this little foray into becoming a professional I agreed with my wife that I would play no more than 40 hours a week since that is how much I worked as an attorney, and I really thought I would be playing that much each week. But so far stuff has kept coming up. I took a break after I made all that money in the FTOPs tourney, and then family has come to visit, and we have gone down to Santa Barbara to visit family, and then there was a lot of work dealing with buying the house and moving in, and now next week my wife goes on vacation so I won't be playing for those two weeks either.
So what it comes down to is that since August 23 I have only "worked" a total of just over 150 hours or about a whopping 15 hours a week. And that work is doing something I love to do, which is play poker. And here's the kicker... so far this little foray into playing professionally is actually working!! Even with only an average of 15 hours a week my bankroll is actually increasing. It's not drastically increasing, but it is not decreasing (which is all I really care about) and that includes the monthly withdrawals I am making (i.e. I am netting more than I am withdrawing). And when you really think about it, that's CRAZY!! I sit in front of a computer, get dealt two cards over and over and because I make better decisions about what to do with those 2 cards then the average person does, I win money.... and I like it so far.
When I started this little foray into becoming a professional I agreed with my wife that I would play no more than 40 hours a week since that is how much I worked as an attorney, and I really thought I would be playing that much each week. But so far stuff has kept coming up. I took a break after I made all that money in the FTOPs tourney, and then family has come to visit, and we have gone down to Santa Barbara to visit family, and then there was a lot of work dealing with buying the house and moving in, and now next week my wife goes on vacation so I won't be playing for those two weeks either.
So what it comes down to is that since August 23 I have only "worked" a total of just over 150 hours or about a whopping 15 hours a week. And that work is doing something I love to do, which is play poker. And here's the kicker... so far this little foray into playing professionally is actually working!! Even with only an average of 15 hours a week my bankroll is actually increasing. It's not drastically increasing, but it is not decreasing (which is all I really care about) and that includes the monthly withdrawals I am making (i.e. I am netting more than I am withdrawing). And when you really think about it, that's CRAZY!! I sit in front of a computer, get dealt two cards over and over and because I make better decisions about what to do with those 2 cards then the average person does, I win money.... and I like it so far.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Easing back in to playing
Well I took the MPRE this morning (a professional responisbilities test that you have to take to get bar privileges) and I have no idea how I did.
I also broke down and ordered cable internet last night because I don't want to have to deal with my dsl cutting out anymore. But of course as soon as I did that my dsl seems to work fine... so I played for the first time in a long time tonight.
Nothing huge, I only played 5 tourneys. Bubbled 2 and lost races in the other 3 but it felt good to be playing again even if I didn't get any good results. I am hoping that I play a pretty normal schedule this next week, because after that my wife goes on vacation and I will (once again) be playing very infrequently for the following 2 weeks.
I also broke down and ordered cable internet last night because I don't want to have to deal with my dsl cutting out anymore. But of course as soon as I did that my dsl seems to work fine... so I played for the first time in a long time tonight.
Nothing huge, I only played 5 tourneys. Bubbled 2 and lost races in the other 3 but it felt good to be playing again even if I didn't get any good results. I am hoping that I play a pretty normal schedule this next week, because after that my wife goes on vacation and I will (once again) be playing very infrequently for the following 2 weeks.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
7-UP Tree
I always thought that 7-UPs lemon/lime slogan was funny, but I guess that was because I had never seen a lemon/lime tree before. Well, our new house has one, and the lemon/lime-ade it provides is pretty tasty. Even tastier when you add some vodka.
I am not sure if the phone guys came yesterday when I was cleaning the carpets at our rental (we want our security deposit back!!) because although I now have a constant strong green dsl light on my modem, the internet is still slowwwwwwww here. I am a little worried it might be because we have it hooked up in our converted garage through 50 feet of standard phone cable rather than through the grey dsl cable that came with the modem. But I don't know anything about computers, so I don't know if that would slow things down or not.
I am hoping that it at least works for playing poker, because I plan on playing tonight and don't want to be getting disconnected.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Funky internet
Apparently there is something causing interference with the phone line at our new house which makes my dsl disconnect a lot. Hopefully, someone is coming out tomorrow to fix it, because without internet, it is hard for me to play poker, which means I can't work.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Still Moving
After one long day and lots of help from my family who drove up from L.A., we are finally all moved in. Internet is now on, and tomorrow we get cable... All that is left to do now is clean the place we were renting, and buy a sofa and maybe a buffet for our new house. But it already feels like home, and it's a nice feeling.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Moving
Today we got a house. My wife's and my biggest purchase prior to this had been a dining room table and chairs. We have never bought a car, never bought a huge tv or stereo system, never boguth much of anything. And today we have a house. We might be the only ones in America buying a house right now, but it's ours. Let the tax write offs begin!!
I've never downloaded a picture onto this thing before so it kinda got screwed up, but the top picture is the backyard/deck and the bottom one is the front of the house. I would have taken photos of the inside except that it's just a bunch of boxes right now.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I'm back
So it's been two years and a lot has changed.
I no longer work as an Assistant Attorney General in Wisconsin. In fact, I am no longer living in Wisconsin or working as an attorney at all.
My wife finished her medical school education at UW in May and we moved to Sacramento, CA in June for her to start her residency program in OB/Gyn here at UC-Davis. I took the bar exam here in June, but don't get the results back until November and I don't think that I passed because I did not give myself enough time to study (if I do fail I will retake the exam in February and should pass with 3 months of study time). In the meantime we decided that I would take this time as an opportunity to play poker fulltime which has been a dream of mine for the past couple of years. The agreement that my wife and I made is that I must withdraw a certain amount each month from my poker bankroll and if I ever lose all of my poker bankroll than I have to quit and find a "real job."
Luckily, I have been able to keep my end of the agreement and more. A couple of months ago I came in 3rd place in a very large tournament and won more than I would have made in 3 years as an Assistant AG. We have used that money as a down payment on a house and we close tomorrow and are hoping to be all moved in by Saturday.
So that's the background... now let's let the blogging begin (again).
p.s. I am not planning on using this blog to go over hand histories and whatnot because I do enough of that already on flopturnriver.com.
I no longer work as an Assistant Attorney General in Wisconsin. In fact, I am no longer living in Wisconsin or working as an attorney at all.
My wife finished her medical school education at UW in May and we moved to Sacramento, CA in June for her to start her residency program in OB/Gyn here at UC-Davis. I took the bar exam here in June, but don't get the results back until November and I don't think that I passed because I did not give myself enough time to study (if I do fail I will retake the exam in February and should pass with 3 months of study time). In the meantime we decided that I would take this time as an opportunity to play poker fulltime which has been a dream of mine for the past couple of years. The agreement that my wife and I made is that I must withdraw a certain amount each month from my poker bankroll and if I ever lose all of my poker bankroll than I have to quit and find a "real job."
Luckily, I have been able to keep my end of the agreement and more. A couple of months ago I came in 3rd place in a very large tournament and won more than I would have made in 3 years as an Assistant AG. We have used that money as a down payment on a house and we close tomorrow and are hoping to be all moved in by Saturday.
So that's the background... now let's let the blogging begin (again).
p.s. I am not planning on using this blog to go over hand histories and whatnot because I do enough of that already on flopturnriver.com.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Monday, October 03, 2005
Good Week
Well it was a good week for me last week:
1) I won my first trial as a lawyer (I tried juvenile criminal cases last summer as an intern and won, but those don't count). It was a small claims case and the pro se plaintiff inmate appeared by phone - but hey, a win is a win.
2) I became an uncle. To a niece named Elliot. Now I get to enjoy giving this new child an E.T. phone home complex for the rest of her life (one E.T. plush doll is already in the mail).
3) I won enough money in an online poker tournament last night that I can pay off the rest of my law school loans. Only downside is that I am still on a sort of high and have accomplished little to nothing at work today.
1) I won my first trial as a lawyer (I tried juvenile criminal cases last summer as an intern and won, but those don't count). It was a small claims case and the pro se plaintiff inmate appeared by phone - but hey, a win is a win.
2) I became an uncle. To a niece named Elliot. Now I get to enjoy giving this new child an E.T. phone home complex for the rest of her life (one E.T. plush doll is already in the mail).
3) I won enough money in an online poker tournament last night that I can pay off the rest of my law school loans. Only downside is that I am still on a sort of high and have accomplished little to nothing at work today.
Friday, September 30, 2005
I'm an uncle!
My sister just popped yesterday. I have a niece named Elliot. Ellliiiooottt - looking for an E.T. doll right now to send as a b-day gift.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
So this is where those fingers come from
I think I'm going to ask this guy to send me his finger so I can put it in some custard and then sue somebody with nice big deep pockets.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
I'm an old fart
My freshman year at UCSB I basically just decided that the sun was much more important then school. So I basically just stopped going to class. I did, however, start playing a lot of basketball. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at noon there was a group of these guys from one of the local engineering firms who came to the outdoor courts on campus to play some ball for an hour. Since I was no longer going to class, I too was often out shooting hoops and soaking up the rays, and eventually I became the one college kid who was allowed to play in their game. As an 18 year old, I of course called this thrice weekly game my "Old Fart" game since I was playing with a bunch of guys who were in their 30's, 40's and even 50's.
Well as of yesterday, I am now officially an old fart. That's right the big 3 0. Last year I was still in school, having fun, farting around. Now I'm a working man, who still farts around a lot, but damn I just feel OLD.
Well as of yesterday, I am now officially an old fart. That's right the big 3 0. Last year I was still in school, having fun, farting around. Now I'm a working man, who still farts around a lot, but damn I just feel OLD.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Bitch Dog
Of course you never get the real story from the news. So let me tell you how this really went.
Crabby lady has nothing better to do than repeatedly call cable company to bitch them out. After her umpteenth call, the 19 year old receptionists get sick of transferring her to the person who has been picked to deal with her that day, so they come up with the novel idea of adressing her bill to "Bitch Dog." Unfortunately "Bitch Dog" knows how to read and notices her bill, so surprise, surprise she complains again and the geniuses who came up with the idea are fired.
Now comes the fun part: It is up to you my two dear readers to come up with a story as to why Jeffrey's bill was addressed to Jeffrey "Scrotum Bag" Barnes.
Crabby lady has nothing better to do than repeatedly call cable company to bitch them out. After her umpteenth call, the 19 year old receptionists get sick of transferring her to the person who has been picked to deal with her that day, so they come up with the novel idea of adressing her bill to "Bitch Dog." Unfortunately "Bitch Dog" knows how to read and notices her bill, so surprise, surprise she complains again and the geniuses who came up with the idea are fired.
Now comes the fun part: It is up to you my two dear readers to come up with a story as to why Jeffrey's bill was addressed to Jeffrey "Scrotum Bag" Barnes.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Oompa Loompa
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Doo
I've got a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Die
I've found a "little person" in a lie.
Of course we all know this guy couldn't have been a true Oompa Loompa because:
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah
If you're not greedy you will go far
You will in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doompadee D0
Doompadee Do
I've got a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Die
I've found a "little person" in a lie.
Of course we all know this guy couldn't have been a true Oompa Loompa because:
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah
If you're not greedy you will go far
You will in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doompadee D0
Doompadee Do
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Geronimo!!
What a dumbass! He's not a 4 year old wondering if it really will hurt if he sticks his finger in the fan, the kid is 18. I'm not sure why this struck me as so funny, but it did.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Wasn't Middle School/Junior High Great?
I do have to say, I am eternally grateful that the days of titty twisters, wedgies, and wet willies are over. But I thought it as only in First Year Law School hypotheticals that someone would actually be charged for committing these acts. Guess I was wrong.
So for any soon to be first year law student at UW who wants to know what Substantive Crim Law will be like, read this article and then decide:
What charges can you bring? As a great LEO ambassador I'll help you out for this first one - I'm saying Simple Battery, 2nd Degree Sexual Assault, and Fourth Degree Sexual Assault as a lesser included offense.
What charges would you bring if you were the DA?
What would your decision be if you were the jury?
Wouldn't it be great if we got paid to do that instead of what we actually end up doing?
So for any soon to be first year law student at UW who wants to know what Substantive Crim Law will be like, read this article and then decide:
What charges can you bring? As a great LEO ambassador I'll help you out for this first one - I'm saying Simple Battery, 2nd Degree Sexual Assault, and Fourth Degree Sexual Assault as a lesser included offense.
What charges would you bring if you were the DA?
What would your decision be if you were the jury?
Wouldn't it be great if we got paid to do that instead of what we actually end up doing?
Monday, August 08, 2005
I'm Back
I have come to realize I am a much better blog reader than I am a blog writer. So... it is very possible that this thing may go into total hibernation in the near future (we'll see, maybe I'll get into it again).
Last week I was in Chicago for a trial ad conference. I never did Moot Court or Mock Trial in law school so this was as close as I was going to get. They gave us a fake case and made us prepare it. Direct and cross examination of witnesses, openings, and closings, blah blah blah. No pressure, no real trial, no grade at the end - and yet ALL of the other assistant attorneys general (there were like 50 of us from almost every state) took this thing super serious. Preparing for hours the night before, etc.
Well they can put the slacker in with the super aggros but they can't take the slack out of this slacker. I just wanted to go see a ballgame, take in the sights (we were right in the Loop), etc. We were at this thing 8 hours a day and they wanted me to do homework?? Get real. The funniest part was that I just winged it everytime - and did fine. In fact I kept getting compliments for going "without notes." And any time I screwed up I got to fall back on the "well, I'm really trying to learn to wean myself from using notes in front of a jury" excuse.
Anyhoo, I'm back - we'll see if I have anything interesting to write about.
Last week I was in Chicago for a trial ad conference. I never did Moot Court or Mock Trial in law school so this was as close as I was going to get. They gave us a fake case and made us prepare it. Direct and cross examination of witnesses, openings, and closings, blah blah blah. No pressure, no real trial, no grade at the end - and yet ALL of the other assistant attorneys general (there were like 50 of us from almost every state) took this thing super serious. Preparing for hours the night before, etc.
Well they can put the slacker in with the super aggros but they can't take the slack out of this slacker. I just wanted to go see a ballgame, take in the sights (we were right in the Loop), etc. We were at this thing 8 hours a day and they wanted me to do homework?? Get real. The funniest part was that I just winged it everytime - and did fine. In fact I kept getting compliments for going "without notes." And any time I screwed up I got to fall back on the "well, I'm really trying to learn to wean myself from using notes in front of a jury" excuse.
Anyhoo, I'm back - we'll see if I have anything interesting to write about.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
A good news day
No, I don't really have any good news in my life, but there is some very good/weird news today.
1)The barfing student - what an incredibly useful talent to have. And what lawyer couldn't create reasonable doubt that he meant to do this?
2) The bad writer - I have a goal which is clearly in my reach for next year (and if I don't win, can I submit a prisoner's brief?)
3) The lying juror - The only jury I've been on, I also tried my hardest to get on. I had a union job at a grocery store at the time and would get paid by my job to go to jury duty so I really wanted on. I didn't lie however, instead I just said nothing which seemed to work well. After a one day trial, we deliberated for over 3 days on a couple of misdemeanor counts. Take a wild guess who the foreman was?
1)The barfing student - what an incredibly useful talent to have. And what lawyer couldn't create reasonable doubt that he meant to do this?
2) The bad writer - I have a goal which is clearly in my reach for next year (and if I don't win, can I submit a prisoner's brief?)
3) The lying juror - The only jury I've been on, I also tried my hardest to get on. I had a union job at a grocery store at the time and would get paid by my job to go to jury duty so I really wanted on. I didn't lie however, instead I just said nothing which seemed to work well. After a one day trial, we deliberated for over 3 days on a couple of misdemeanor counts. Take a wild guess who the foreman was?
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Tag - I'm it
I guess I'm supposed to list my Top Ten turn ons and turn offs. But I suck at these things.
Turn Ons
1) my wife
2) sense of humor
3) sports
4) poker
5) sense of adventure
6) vacation
7) ability to put up with me
8) TV (reality shows)
9) Stupid tricks (gleeking, squeeking ears, etc.)
10) fairness
Turn offs
1) huge egos
2) absolutely no ego (not into the fishing for compliments thing)
3) mean drunks
4) holier than thou attitudes
5) the telephone
6) losing
7) stress
8) having to list things when you have no idea what to list
9) seafood
10) smegma
Turn Ons
1) my wife
2) sense of humor
3) sports
4) poker
5) sense of adventure
6) vacation
7) ability to put up with me
8) TV (reality shows)
9) Stupid tricks (gleeking, squeeking ears, etc.)
10) fairness
Turn offs
1) huge egos
2) absolutely no ego (not into the fishing for compliments thing)
3) mean drunks
4) holier than thou attitudes
5) the telephone
6) losing
7) stress
8) having to list things when you have no idea what to list
9) seafood
10) smegma
Monday, July 25, 2005
Fun Little head Games Take 2
Just for kicks - the answer is you should always switch. You have a 2/3 chance of winning when you switch and a 1/3 chance if you keep your original choice. How is that possible when there are only two doors left though??
MMM MMM MMM
If it's not kangaroos, it's missing digits in food.
here's another chooped off finger making it into food. Too bad it's in CA - if it were here, I'd get to defend the state, and then my surveys into how much is eating a chopped off figner worth would actually come into play.
here's another chooped off finger making it into food. Too bad it's in CA - if it were here, I'd get to defend the state, and then my surveys into how much is eating a chopped off figner worth would actually come into play.
Friday, July 22, 2005
The opposite of Greg Louganis - Ouch!!
Yikes, instead of whacking the back of her head into the board like Louganis did, she decided to go face to face with the board. Ouch!
Fun little head games
I've decided I should give my 2 readers my own LSAT. So here's the logic question:
You make it into the final part of Let's Make a Deal and chardrian (the new host) has you pick one of three doors. Behind one door is a stack of cash so big that all of your law school loans would be taken care of. Behind the other two doors are... well, I could describe humorous items but instead I'll leave it to your imagination as to what crappy prizes are behind these two doors (just know that you don't want them).
Now chardrian knows where the prize is, and to liven thinks up for the crowd and that zany tv audience, after the contestant picks a door he will always show him one of the two remaining doors that has one of the crap prizes. Chardrian will then always give the contestant a chance to stick with his/her original choice or change it.
To have the best shot of winning the cash what should the contestant do?
A) Stick with his/her original choice.
B) It doesn't matter - it's 50/50.
C) Change and pick the other door.
D) Put chardian in a sleeper hold and demand that he tell you where the damn money is - the opportunity to not have to spend the next ten years paying off your damn loans is just too much for you to risk doing anything else.
You make it into the final part of Let's Make a Deal and chardrian (the new host) has you pick one of three doors. Behind one door is a stack of cash so big that all of your law school loans would be taken care of. Behind the other two doors are... well, I could describe humorous items but instead I'll leave it to your imagination as to what crappy prizes are behind these two doors (just know that you don't want them).
Now chardrian knows where the prize is, and to liven thinks up for the crowd and that zany tv audience, after the contestant picks a door he will always show him one of the two remaining doors that has one of the crap prizes. Chardrian will then always give the contestant a chance to stick with his/her original choice or change it.
To have the best shot of winning the cash what should the contestant do?
A) Stick with his/her original choice.
B) It doesn't matter - it's 50/50.
C) Change and pick the other door.
D) Put chardian in a sleeper hold and demand that he tell you where the damn money is - the opportunity to not have to spend the next ten years paying off your damn loans is just too much for you to risk doing anything else.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Sometimes you just gota wonder...
I've never really understood protests that make absolutely no sense. This guy is protesting wasted water by wasting water. Sort of like pro-lifers who feel that the best way of showing that abortion is murder is by murdering doctors who perform abortions. Dumbass.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Interview from the Rican
Ok I'm being interviewed by the Rican.
Here are the rules:
1) If you want in - leave a comment saying interview me.
2) I then get to continue the madness by asking you 5 questions.
3) You continue this circle of life by posting your answers on your blog with this same (or similar) info.
Here are Rican's questions and my answers:
1) What's it like being the tallest, honkiest Mexican at the DOJ?
Since I hardly ever get out of my office it's sort of a non-issue. The DOJ is very very wonder bread so being the albino latino that I am it makes me fit in purty easy, but also makes me realize how although our lawschool might have been diverse, our state bar is not. One of the inmates who I'm up against wrote me back saying he liked my name though. And the three whopping times I've actually gotten to go to court the judge has stated the appearances for the inmate plaintiff then looks down and reads my name and says the State is represented by Assistant Attorney General... (and makes me fill in my last name, but I like to pause for a bit to see if they'll actually give it a go).
2) If I could go back would I finish a semester early like I did or finish with everyone else?
Ehh - probably the same. This job opened up for me (it is a pretty good starting gig even if it is white bread); one semester less of loans; and although I got gypped on the partying and gifts thing, personally I'm also not big into the whole graduation whoopla and didn't really mind not having to rent a silly gown and spend half a day listening to people's names be read while you wait to pick up an empty folder. But I also understand people who think graduation is a really big event close to a wedding or birth (e.g. when my wife graduates med school it will be a very very big deal for her).
3) How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Because the second "could" implies that a woodchuck can't actually chuck wood, the question is unanswerable. See U.S. Forest Service vs. Woodchucks Inc., 503 U.S. 1223 (1992).
4) Where in the world would you go if all expenses were paid?
Tough one - I can actually afford to go back to Guatemala it's just a matter of getting the time to do so, so that's off. When I was in undergrad I went to South Africa for a year and the wife and I went to an all-inclusive resort on an island off the East coast of Africa called Mauritius - I wouldn't mind doing that again (and maybe visiting the Seychelles and Madagascar as well). Also up there would be a nice vacation through the Mediterranean (never been).
5) What food can't I live without?
Are margaritas a food? Otherwise I'm an eat to live rather than live to eat kinda guy. But a nice steak dinner at Tornado is always nice every once in a while.
Here are the rules:
1) If you want in - leave a comment saying interview me.
2) I then get to continue the madness by asking you 5 questions.
3) You continue this circle of life by posting your answers on your blog with this same (or similar) info.
Here are Rican's questions and my answers:
1) What's it like being the tallest, honkiest Mexican at the DOJ?
Since I hardly ever get out of my office it's sort of a non-issue. The DOJ is very very wonder bread so being the albino latino that I am it makes me fit in purty easy, but also makes me realize how although our lawschool might have been diverse, our state bar is not. One of the inmates who I'm up against wrote me back saying he liked my name though. And the three whopping times I've actually gotten to go to court the judge has stated the appearances for the inmate plaintiff then looks down and reads my name and says the State is represented by Assistant Attorney General... (and makes me fill in my last name, but I like to pause for a bit to see if they'll actually give it a go).
2) If I could go back would I finish a semester early like I did or finish with everyone else?
Ehh - probably the same. This job opened up for me (it is a pretty good starting gig even if it is white bread); one semester less of loans; and although I got gypped on the partying and gifts thing, personally I'm also not big into the whole graduation whoopla and didn't really mind not having to rent a silly gown and spend half a day listening to people's names be read while you wait to pick up an empty folder. But I also understand people who think graduation is a really big event close to a wedding or birth (e.g. when my wife graduates med school it will be a very very big deal for her).
3) How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Because the second "could" implies that a woodchuck can't actually chuck wood, the question is unanswerable. See U.S. Forest Service vs. Woodchucks Inc., 503 U.S. 1223 (1992).
4) Where in the world would you go if all expenses were paid?
Tough one - I can actually afford to go back to Guatemala it's just a matter of getting the time to do so, so that's off. When I was in undergrad I went to South Africa for a year and the wife and I went to an all-inclusive resort on an island off the East coast of Africa called Mauritius - I wouldn't mind doing that again (and maybe visiting the Seychelles and Madagascar as well). Also up there would be a nice vacation through the Mediterranean (never been).
5) What food can't I live without?
Are margaritas a food? Otherwise I'm an eat to live rather than live to eat kinda guy. But a nice steak dinner at Tornado is always nice every once in a while.
I only hope this works...
It looks like Madison is finally trying to make it known that pedestrians really do have the right of way.
I grew up in Madison so I was taught that you always need to be careful of cars blah blah blah. Then I went to school and lived in California for a good long while, where if a pedestrian steps into the street (especially in a crosswalk), cars just stop. Then I come back here for lawschool, and almost get killed everytime I try to cross University Ave (even with the damn green man telling me to go baby go). The funniest part is that when I actually do drive (which is very rarely) I end up almost getting rear-ended by cars because I actually do wait for pedestrians to cross.
Madison's a funky-ass town when it comes to pedestrians/cars/bikes - but if more cars actually gave pedestrians the right of way I'd be a happy camper.
I grew up in Madison so I was taught that you always need to be careful of cars blah blah blah. Then I went to school and lived in California for a good long while, where if a pedestrian steps into the street (especially in a crosswalk), cars just stop. Then I come back here for lawschool, and almost get killed everytime I try to cross University Ave (even with the damn green man telling me to go baby go). The funniest part is that when I actually do drive (which is very rarely) I end up almost getting rear-ended by cars because I actually do wait for pedestrians to cross.
Madison's a funky-ass town when it comes to pedestrians/cars/bikes - but if more cars actually gave pedestrians the right of way I'd be a happy camper.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Vacation
So - for those three readers out there, you probably noticed that I haven't been posting for a while. Well I took a nice little vacation to Cali to see the fam and just relax.
The crappy part about having a real job though, is that when I got back I didn't get to just start from scratch like I was used to at school. Noooooooo - instead I managed to pick up three cases while I was gone and spent the first day back just trying to go through all my e-mails and messages and catch up to try and be as far behind as I was when I actually left.
The crappy part about having a real job though, is that when I got back I didn't get to just start from scratch like I was used to at school. Noooooooo - instead I managed to pick up three cases while I was gone and spent the first day back just trying to go through all my e-mails and messages and catch up to try and be as far behind as I was when I actually left.
Friday, June 17, 2005
What's up with runaway kangaroos?
First there was Roo. Now there is Kanga. LLamas I've seen and heard of, but how many people own kangaroos as pets? How the hell are they escaping? MT - maybe Mr. Snuff could be tied in to this story somehow.
Poor kangas - they're wandering much further today than they should. And now they can't find their way back to three acre wood. So help them if you can because they've got to get back to the house at pooh corner by 1... to count all the bees in the hive, chase all the clouds in the sky.
Well, if you know this song at least it's not a horrible one for me to get stuck in your head.
Poor kangas - they're wandering much further today than they should. And now they can't find their way back to three acre wood. So help them if you can because they've got to get back to the house at pooh corner by 1... to count all the bees in the hive, chase all the clouds in the sky.
Well, if you know this song at least it's not a horrible one for me to get stuck in your head.
Friday, June 10, 2005
The Streets of Laredo
Freakin Rican has given me the impetus to write a post. I've been lagging due to my first brief being due to the WI Supreme Court on Monday. Anyways, When I was a kid, I had a nutty music teacher who loved John Denver and Johnny Cash, and she made us sing this wacky old song called "Streets of Laredo" which I guess Johnny Cash sang at one point too. As any 4th or 5th grader would, we all would get all amped and snicker whenever she had us sing this one cuz we would get to say both the word "breast" and "gay" - a 4th graders dream come true. Anyways Freakin's post made me remember this song - although not an honest to god cowboy, it looks like the song has come to life once again. Pobrecito - got shot in the breast and he knew he must die.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Another headscratching Sitemeter foray
I haven't posted anything since last Friday. And yesterday I got 40 visits (a way over the top all-time high for me - shoot I don't think I even know 40 people). What's up with that? Not that I mind it of course - no videos, no giraffes, no ricancitos, and still I'm famous.
Friday, May 27, 2005
"Here comes the story of the hurricane"
Why didn't anyone let me know they named a hurricane after me? But fizzled out? Of course I'm not going to unleash my total fury, as that would involve residual damage to Guatemala. Give me some credit - you don't think I would really go after Guatemala do you?
Thursday, May 26, 2005
EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!
Another reason why spitting and rinsing is so important at the dentist's office.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
On Wisconsin!
Gotta love Wisconsin. What makes this story great is not the wacko lady with a million cats - every state has those cat ladies. But only Wisconsin's wacky cat lady keeps 65 dead cats.
Monday, May 23, 2005
I can't imagine what she is referring to...
"I saw old parlors converted to bedrooms, ancient radiators and something that looked like a hookah on the kitchen table." A hookah huh? I wonder what that could have been? And with such a strange device isn't it odd that "most of the seven roommates were still asleep at noon?"
The quotes can be found in this WSJ article.
The quotes can be found in this WSJ article.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Queen of Camelot Take 2
So I woke up way way too early this morning to go to Green Bay today for my motion to dismiss hearing against the Queen of Camelot. Motion granted. The judge basically talked for five minutes explaining why the motion should be dismissed and I just had to say "that is correct your honor" ... "that is also correct your honor." So her action was dismissed and we have been awarded costs. But, now I have to go back next month because we are having a hearing for costs. Scary thought - if I'll eat a finger for a box of cookies, how much is my work on this case worth?
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
I Suck at Titles
Well I didn't graduate, so I can't post on how blitzed I got this weekend (in fact even when I did graduate I didn't get blitzed since no one else graduated with me). Instead we went to Door County to go camping. Ahh, camping - yeah except it was Door County which doesn't get warm until July. Luckily we stayed at a B&B the first night, except the guy we were with snored like I have never heard before. I yelled at him twice and ended up just waking everyone else in the room up, but he kept right on shnaaarrrkkkking. Next day we risked it - most of the day was ok, but it did rain a bit, we did forget our ThermaRests and it was butt-ass cold that night. All in all a good weekend.
Even better was practicing my drive up to Greenbay - the Queen of Camelot awaits me this Friday.
Even better was practicing my drive up to Greenbay - the Queen of Camelot awaits me this Friday.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Pooping and the Law... In this case the Law didn't win.
Gotta love Wisconsin. Even those of you who might have mistakenly happened upon this blog and have never read a court opinion, this decision is one for you to read. Shoot, it's only 16 paragraphs long and it talks about pooping and how in our society pooping "is a private matter, not often done in the presence of others."
Long story short - don't give ex-lax to a drug swallower unless you have a doc testify that doing so is in the best interests of the swallower.
Gross sidebar. How do you think the cops decided who had to fish through the poop and extract the baggie? It might only take a box of cookies for me to taste someone's chopped off finger, but for whatever reason it would take a hell of a lot more to get me to fish through someone's crap.
Long story short - don't give ex-lax to a drug swallower unless you have a doc testify that doing so is in the best interests of the swallower.
Gross sidebar. How do you think the cops decided who had to fish through the poop and extract the baggie? It might only take a box of cookies for me to taste someone's chopped off finger, but for whatever reason it would take a hell of a lot more to get me to fish through someone's crap.
Monday, May 09, 2005
The Incredibly Non-exciting Life of a Newly Minted Lawyer
I have been recently criticized for failing to update my blog. Well that's cuz there's been nothing interesting going on lately. Write a brief, file a motion, same old same old. Even my cursory glances of the news of the weird have not been blog worthy. I was thinking of adding some excitement to this building and my life by streaking every floor, but figured I should wait until I pass my probationary period for that (and oh what a post that will be). I am hoping things will pick up this week so that my faithful two readers do not abandon me.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Site Meter
Gotta say, the best part about having a blog is the Site Meter. I spend a good part of my blogging time just checking out who has been visiting me. Usually I have like 3 visitors a day (well actually I can say it is 10-15 but it doesn't really count since I am one of the visitors around 12 times a day). But lately I have been Mr. Popular (shoot 4 people have viewed my blog just as I've been typing this). The very bestest part is that the referring URLs are all these blogs from people and places I've never heard that make absolutely no mention of me (to all those referring blogs that are in Spanish you can call me Sr. Popular). So how the hell am I actually getting reffered by them?? (To be honest I don't really care, as long as the numbers keep coming to inflate my tremendous ego).
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm Finger in Custard
A finger in custard has got to be way better than a finger in chili. Since it was seemingly kept frozen, I would if they could have tried to reattach it?
And since chopping off your finger is going at a rate of a million, I wonder how much tasting someone's chopped off finger goes for?
And since chopping off your finger is going at a rate of a million, I wonder how much tasting someone's chopped off finger goes for?
Monday, May 02, 2005
[A]Musings
Is this what Wisconsin will [would] have in store if cat shooting actually became legal?
Isn't great that Audrey Seiler (if the name doesn't ring a bell she was our lovely badger who faked her own abduction and curled up in the marsh for a couple of days over by the Coliseum) now has company?
Isn't great that Audrey Seiler (if the name doesn't ring a bell she was our lovely badger who faked her own abduction and curled up in the marsh for a couple of days over by the Coliseum) now has company?
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