Must it end?

Summer's just about over. Pooh. Double-pooh, even.

I like it hot, weatherwise. And actionwise. Come next week, though, it'll be back to working: lots of modeling assignments scheduled for schools and groups and such. And massage appointments. And writing. The creativity and the socializing will be great; the travelling and the public anxieties won't be.

Been a good summer. Undisciplined a tad, perhaps, but on the whole good. Went from the lows of a $4K bath in Vegas to a bunch of wins and cashes online, including a personal record of around $1,200 while finishing fourth in a knockout tournament at Full Tilt.

I've been picking and choosing my games more and more, instead of just plunging in willy-nilly. That works. So does doing my best to avoid playing more than one at a time, although I still fall into that rut far too often. Still a negative expected value (-EV) for me.

Big shoutouts to Pauly for the Saturday afternoon tournament he runs weekly at PokerStars; also fun to table with him during The Tuesday Night Game hosted by author Anthony Holden. And to Irongirl, who finally won herself a Mookie blogger tournament (shame she's so down on online playing, she could be ... nevermind, to each their own). And to sharbear, making MaximumPokerLeague a busy and fun place and about to try her luck at Poker Analysis, basically my home forum, and its stupendous leagues. And to billmaxx, for winning the MPL Fantasy Baseball League (I won the regular-season best record, but couldn't beat Bill in the playoff finals). And to AAs88s, about to dump another bridesmaid role on me in the Poker Analysis Fantasy Baseball League. And to all my friends at PA, Aces Cracked, poker101a, Real Poker Players, Suited Pockets, Ray101Bassman and on and on. I believe you can learn a lot playing good rivals over and over, and the training's benefits become apparent on down the line when you tackle major events for bigger stakes. One big finish more than balances 50 frustrations.

My goals for the remainder of the year: Cash in the Blogger Championships at PokerStars in October; take down a major tournament; beat my cash record; continue to improve; win a monthly title at PA (won't be easy with the busy school/work schedule making me miss a lot of games); post more regularly; get a keyboard that doesn't make so many errors and puts up with my fat fingers; re-learn how to put html links in my posts; learn more about poker, and myself; and, most of all, to have fun, and help other people enjoy themselves on the faux felt. Life's too short not to do things you love and have a good time with. And so it goes. Busy weekend ahead -- here's hoping it's a successful one, in many ways.

Stay happy.