lol nh...

For the most part, May ended up turning out pretty awesome. I was able to get in 20K hands of poker, despite having serious computer issues in the beginning and a slew of exams and applications to deal with.  I won at a rate of 3.26BB/100, getting help from an awesome heater in the last 5,000 hands or so.  My bankroll is up to $2,100, so I may start mixing in a couple of shots at NL50.

I started a skype group with about 10-15 other NL25/NL50 players, and have found the overall discussions really really helpful.  I am feeling much more confident in my standard game (e.g., which boards to c-bet, when to double barrel, etc.). I am now really focusing on making adjustments and exploiting my opponents tendencies.  Basically trying to take better notes and rely on my reads to make some non-standard plays.  Should be fun!

I finally got my applications in to NYU and CU and am waiting to hear back from them. I've been doing some math studying on my own in probability theory, though I continue to struggle to get work through the C++ book.  I think my fundamental knowledge of computers really hampers me, because my compiler starts whacking out or something goes wrong in my IDE and I don't know how to fix it so I get frustrated and stop working on it.  It's not that the actual algorithms or computational complexity or problem-solving issues are hard, it's that this god-damn computer sucks.  I know they always say a craftsman never blames his tools, but I'm fairly certain that the people who say that have never worked in Windows Vista.  Grade A piece of shit software IMO.

Climbing has been going unbelievable awesome.  Karen and I are top-roping 5.10s and I'm a regular at the V3s and have even attempted some V4s.  I can't wait to try outdoor climbing, though I imagine it will be much more difficult.

We've started to crank up the wedding planning.  So far, I've met with 2 caterers and 3 photographers.  Karen already picked out and ordered the invitations.  We have our venue and I'm feeling really good about where we are in the whole process.  I am a groomsman in my friend's wedding at the end of July, and I feel less prepared for that.  I haven't thought about speeches or even gotten measurements for a tux.  I really need to get my ass in gear.

My birthday is coming up on June 9th.  My mother is going to take me and Karen out to dinner at A Voce in Columbus Circle.  I am very excited.  Karen has been twice with her firm, while this will be my first time.  I'm also going to hit up Le Bernadin the following week with a good friend and poker buddy who lives in Philly.  Should be a good time. 

This summer will be interesting, because I don't have a "job" per se.  My personal goal is to break into the 5 digits in my bankroll as well as work through several math books.  This made slightly more difficult because my parents don't really know that I play cards, so they essentially think I'm doing nothing.  Also, I think that Karen is less than thrilled about the proposition.  I think her skepticism is good, because it makes me feel guilty when I'm not working at poker or math, which keeps me motivated to work harder and harder.

June Goals: 30-40K hands with 10K+ at 50NL. Chapters 3-6 in the probability book.  Chapters 1-3 in my Diff Eq book.  5:45 mile time (I was reminiscing about my old track days the other day with my mom and it's motivated me to run a sub-5 minute mile again!).