Monday, October 30, 2006

Choosing Between My Mistresses

I didn't realize that November 1st was just around the corner. Two days to go before I have to start cranking out the copy for NaNoWriMo. I'm not all that concerned about hitting the 50K target--as long-time readers of this blog know, I have no problem with throughput. I just have to keep from getting distracted and/or discouraged. And since I think I've mostly figured out how to piece together the two plots I've been chewing over in my mind, I'm looking forward to hitting the keys.

Of course, I have other things to occupy my time. Still need to find a job, as my unemployment runs out at the start of January. Still doing some freelancing, have irons in various fires, and if worse comes to worse I'll start temping again until someone smart recognizes my talent. Wish a few more CEO's read my blog.

Another pastime that's been gobbling up my time lately is poker, Bill Frist be damned. Part of this is research, don't you know--part of the story deals an online poker player. So my staying up to 2AM last night playing was to ensure I can render the grinder's life with sufficient verisimilitude. Plus I'm clearing a bonus at Full Tilt...

I've been playing online for three years now, but I never really moved up in limits. Every time I boosted my bankroll I took the money out and kept playing at my microlimits. And, heh heh, if I don't get a job in a few months I'll be doing that again. But since that probably WON'T happen, I'm actually playing with an eye to the future. Play well, build the bankroll, move up, play better, repeat. The sort of thing the rest of you did three years ago.

I actually struggled a bit at first, which was simply a bit of bad luck, but the last few weeks have seen more ups than downs. I'm in a sort of Zen state right now, where my bankroll is big enough to handle the bad times and I'm playing without fear. Just making the right decisions every hand and, if the cards don't go my way, shrugging and moving on. I'd like to get to the point where I'm playing like this at $15/30 someday, but that's a long way off. Still, nice to see some actual progress.

And there IS progress. I'm winning pretty consistently, winning pretty big. The last few days were pretty brutal card-wise, but I controlled the damage on a few sick hands and clawed and scratched enough to nearly break even. It was very satisfying when I checked my balance last night to see that it was right back where it started on Friday, after some truly disgusting beats.

The novel-writing is going to cut into the pokering, obviously. I don't know yet if I'm going to post excerpts of it here. I probably will, but not the whole thing--I'd like to think that maybe, maybe, I'll end up with something vaguely publishable. I still have lots of structural problems I'll have to deal with as I go along, as the Frankenstein's Novel I'm constructing isn't yet a completed jigsaw. I'm trying to figure out how big a sociopath to make the narrator. Or, how big a sociopath would be plausible. I'm actually looking forward to the twisted sickness. And, no, this story is in no way autobiographical. My mental and emotional problems veer in a different direction.

Think I'm gonna go for a walk. Beautiful day out. Walking always gives me ideas. Probably do a good bit of walking the next 30 days.

posted by Gene @ 1:17 PM   |