Hardly a surprise, but halfway through the month - shortly after my last post - I kinda lost the will to play. It’s not the really bad kind of burnout (the kind where just the thought of playing poker makes me feel sick to my stomach) but more like “don’t really feel like it.” And here the beauty of being a recreational player once again shines through: I don’t have to play.

And seriously, while it’s OK to set a goal like “attempt to play 20k hands this month” I really do reserve the right to abandon it merely on the grounds of “don’t wanna.” That’s the whole point of being a recreational player; to not have to impose strict rules on poker, and to have it be a fun (and moderately profitable) hobby, not a job or something that has to be done.

So no Platinum Star achieved this month, which is OK too. I reached Gold Star, and will probably play 3/6 next month unless something ugly happens downswing-wise at some point.

So, I haven’t been playing much the past week. Hardly anything. That in turn means that I don’t blog very often, because not many of you are interested in knowing what I do during the day that’s not poker related. Frankly, I’m surprised any of you are even interested in knowing how my poker playing goes. Anyway, there are some interesting things happening in the very near future, some of which I’m not at liberty to mention (yet) and some of which I can tell you right now: Lori and I are leaving for our - delayed - honeymoon on Saturday morning! One week in Rome!

Vacation is so desperately needed right now for me. I’m in a real funk at work, and spend most mornings agonizing over having to go there, and most afternoons waiting to go home. This is not how it used to be, and it’s terrible. I can’t take it. I’ve talked to my (awesome) boss about it, and while she sympathizes, it’s going to be a little while before she can actually do something about it which means I’m stuck with this for awhile, no matter what. This is why a week away from it is going to be so great.

/FP