Get it this year

I'm pretty excited about the new year heading into 2009.

I finished off 2008 on probably the hottest run of my poker career and feel like I'm playing pretty well. Not perfect but definitely way ahead of the competition.

I've told my family that I'm hoping to eventually play professional poker once I have enough money saved up. Everyone has been very receptive of it except for my girlfriend, who is already kind of against all of the time I spend in the casino. I talked to her about it on New Year's Eve and I think I changed her mind a bit. It was basically "Do you want me to always be broke living check to check behind a desk not enjoying my life, or do you want me to make a lot more money doing what I want to do?" and I think she had never really thought about it like that.
She then proceeded to put up an argument that it's not a legit job and I told her "It'd be like if you wanted to be a make-up artist for a living and your parents told you to get a real job, no one is a make up artist for a living," and then she really understood.

Anyways I played one session so far in 09 and it was a mess. I was card dead as hell and anytime I raised preflop with shit like 66, 9s10s, Ax suited, I would completely miss and either fold or get re-raised on my continuation. I was determined to start the year off with a winning session and was down about $800 when I doubled up twice, once with a set of 5's and then with AK vs. AQ on a 446Ax board. I managed to win $500 last night. I lost $43 in the $200 game before I got moved to the $400, where I won $540.

I have a shit load of resolutions and I guess there's no better place to list them than here:

1. Get in shape

1a. Eat healthier
1b. Work out in the mornings
1c. Play ball at least four times a week
1d. Light weights
1e. Run and/or play tennis on the weekends
1f. Get my six pack back

2. Poker

2a. Make at least 50k in poker for the year
2b. Manage my money better
2c. Win a tournament
2d. Finish in the money at a WSOP event

3. More music

3a. Make better music, songs with content and direction and at the same time widespread appeal
3b. Start producing my own beats
3c. Start performing regularly
3d. Get on a track with a big name

4. Money

1a. Conserve my money and manage it better
1b. Get a new car this year (Cadillac CTS?)

5. Family/Friends

5a. Keep in touch with more friends
5b. Make a better effort to see my family and take a couple trips

6. Manage my time

1a. Keep an agenda/schedule
1b. Don't waste time watching tv, on the internet
1c. Be punctual
1d. Get sleep so I'm more efficient

Obviously the last of every list is the high goal of that part of my life. I wish all this would be easy to attain but it's a lot to aim for. Definitely not out of reach though and I think that's important. A lot of it can go hand-in-hand too. The more money I make in poker, the easier it'll be for me to take trips to see my family, etc.

One of the hardest things out of all this will be my time management. That's the hardest part of my life and has been for the past ten years. There's never enough time in the day and I just don't have much down time in my life. I've had a Nintendo Wii for almost a year now and haven't even been able to play it yet, it's still fresh in the box. I even bought Mario Kart because I love it and haven't played it.

I hope everyone else has some goals that they'll reach this year. No reason not to.

I'm going to start the '09 log.

Peace.

2009 Poker
Date, Place, Hours, Game, +/-$

1.1.09, Hollywood Park, 0.25, -43
1.1.09, Hollywood Park, 4.25, +540

Total: 4.5, +497