Calistri's Corner

I’m not complaining about making living by doing what I love.  Writing about poker is a pretty sweet gig all the way around.  But a few things came up this week that reminded me of some of my occupational hazards.  Like, what day is it today?

Writing affords me a very flexible schedule.  I can go grocery shopping on weekdays.  I can talk with people anytime I want without a boss looking over my shoulder.  But when my friend wildbill recently wished me a happy long weekend, I had to stop and think about it.  Was it one of those weekends?  I pretty much work every day - and each day is pretty much like the last.  Sometimes a tournament is going on.  Some days are more poker newsy than others.  But pretty much, if it’s a day, it’s a writing day.  If there’s something on television I want to watch, I pretty much have to TiVO it ahead of time.  It’s not that I don’t have time watch when it’s on - it’s just that I never know what day “today” is. 

Another hazard is communication.  I suck at corresponding in a timely manner.  Just today, I responded to four emails that had been sitting in my inbox for over two weeks.  One of them was to Gene, looking for advice on a camera purchase.  When I apologized for my tardiness, he confessed that he too suffers from the same problem.  Apparently his friends want to know why it takes a writer so long to write back.  Excellent question.  My friends have that same question.  I guess it’s just hard to take time out from writing to write; strange but possibly true. 

My other occupational hazard is poker.  Writing about poker leaves one with suprisingly little time to actually play poker.  It’s the worst when I’m actually on location covering a tournament.  Hearing chips splash into pots and watching cards hit the board just creates the expected Pavlovian response.  I’ve been doing a lot of writing these past weeks, so other than sneaking in for a few hands of HORSE on Full Tilt here and there, I’ve been card dead in the literal sense.  And I’ve been meaning to try duplicate poker, but I still have anted up yet.  Sigh.

Hope y’all are having a good labor day.  And I’m glad wildbill reminded me, otherwise how would I know?  Play a few hands for me if you get a chance.     

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 11:48 am and is filed under Uncategorized.