Poker Night

Last night, I played in an online poker tournament at site called Party Poker. It was $9 to enter, plus a $1 fee.

Initially, there were roughly 440 players. The game started at 7:30, and I was doing pretty well. After the first hour, I was in the top 10%. After the second hour, I actually had the ninth highest dollar total. After the third hour, I was still in the top 10. At that point, I asked the other folks at my table how the prize money was paid out. I only knew that the top 25 finishers placed in the money. Kiss of death right?

Turns out, the top 22 finishers got their entry fee paid for a $150 tournament, so no matter how high I placed, I wasn't walking away from my computer with more money than I started with. To make a long story short, I finished in 7th place. So, on Thursday afternoon, I'll be playing in a tournament with first prize of around $30,000. Now, that would be sweet!

Hood to Coast

Started training in earnest today. I need to get my mileage up... in a hurry. Ran six in about 61 minutes, which is neither long enough nor fast enough. By the end of June, I should be doing regular 12 mile runs on the weekends.

I'm a little worried (OK, maybe full on scared) about what this race will do to my back. Even six miles makes it sore.

The Back Story (pun intended): Last July 23rd I had the back spasm heard 'round the world. I thought I was going to be crippled for life. Turns out the second and third disks in my lower spine are bulging. After a month of no sleep and general misery, I had a cortisone injection (epidural) on my birthday, August 24. On August 25th, I was ready to run again.

However, my doctor told me that I should run "too far" and I should only run every other day, at the most. I figure the too far-thing is arbitrary. For me, too far is about 23 miles. With proper training, you can BS an 18 mile run. After that, things start getting a little funky with your legs and mind. 23 miles is when it all breaks down for me, which is what makes running marathons so fun :)

So, back to the Hood to Coast. I'm really hoping I can finish it in one piece. If not, I'll be looking forward to a big fat needle to the spine...

Recently Read Books

Read three really good book over the past couple of weeks. First, "Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception." For those of you not familiar, Artemis Fowl is sort of the anti-Harry Potter. He's a boy genius who uses his brain for evil, not good. Refreshing, don't you think?

The second book I read is "Eddie Would Go" by Stuart Holmes Coleman. It's the story of Hawaiian big wave surfer Eddie Aikau. But more than just the tragic story of his life, it also gets into the history of the Hawaiian people and the history of the state, in general.

Finally, I just finished a book called "Out," by Japanese author Natsuo Kirino. A dark, twisted crime novel about a woman who murders her husband and her three friends that help her dispose of the body. It speaks of the oppression of women in the modern Japanese society, while taking readers to the seamier side of Tokyo.

Am I Interesting?

I'm pretty sure you'll think not. I mean, really, how interesting can I be if I spend all day at work on a computer, then come home and spend all night trying to post on two and a half blogs? Ugh.

At some point I'll either just have to get over myself or I'll need to get a life. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my life.

Yeah, I really am a narcissistic bastard.