As those of you who saw my World Series of Poker entry know, I enjoy Texas Hold ‘Em. Twice in the past week I was playing on Yahoo when I got a pair of Aces, which is the best starting hand you can have.

This game I didn’t win as there was a flush or something.

This game I should have won because an Ace appeared on the flop giving me three Aces. I took a snapshot of that(I thought) but my computer froze instead. I timed out of the table and by the time I got back the hand was over.

Do you play any kind of poker?

Around this time 5 years ago on August 27th I became a Christian.

I thought I would outline what I will be up to for the next eight months. That will take me from this Saturday, when my brother leaves for his junior year of college, to next April, when he gets back. Perhaps it’s just a quirk but with his work and friend schedule so unpredictable I simply cannot plan out my writing schedule. But he’ll be gone for most of the next eight months and so I can finally plan things out.

1. August. Starting next Monday I will reread and revise the Prologue and six chapters of my book that I have so far. At the same time I will write notes in the front part of my next notebook(the first complete notebook was orange while the next is green). I haven’t taken notes up to this point simply because I LOVE making it up as I go along. But between coming up with about 100 or so names to be used for characters and the fact that there are so many ideas I want to put on paper and I’m too impatient to wait a couple years to get to them, I figure it’s time to jot down some notes. I’m actually not counting this month in the 8 month plan.

2. September. I should be able to finish two chapters by the end of September. The only thing is there might be another vacation(or staycation?) in there which might throw off my schedule. Yes I love to make it up as I go along, but I need to be on a disciplined schedule in order to truly be creative. Also starting next month I will try to make at least one song a month using Acid Pro 7.0. Most people know I bought it a few weeks ago, but up to this point I have only partially completed two projects. I have another 20 song names listed down that I look forward to using.

3. October. Two more chapters and one more song. It takes about 7 weekdays to complete a chapter so that leaves me with about three days over two weeks to refresh myself(not counting weekends). During this time my regular journaling will seriously level off, but I should be able to use those three days to write about whatever else is on my mind. Also, October 18-21 may be spent at my Dad’s depending on a couple of things. Have to see about that last part.

4. November. One chapter and one song. Last year I was working on Finding Bigfoot(short story) all during Thanksgiving and it was a major hassle. Yes my Mom enjoyed her birthday present, but the unpredictability of the schedule around that time means that I will concentrate solely on regular journal entries and perhaps taking down some notes for when I pick things up again in December. Also, November 10th is my 31st birthday! . I will gladly accept any nudie pics as birthday presents!

5. December. One chapter and one song. Duh. Christmas. Also my Mom’s birthday is at the beginning of the month and she likes to take a few days off. Also, my brother will be home after the first week so most of this month will be spent on regular journal entries and making music. Maybe I will ask for some music loops for Christmas so that I’m not spending tons of money getting new productions done. They range from 20-40 dollars though so I would only ask for one from each family member. I would LOVE to have the Bill Laswell collection as he makes quality stuff. But that’s a few months away and hopefully the world doesn’t end on 12/21/12 so that everything up to this point isn’t wasted. lol

6. January. One, maybe two chapters and one song. On or around the 10th of January my brother will head back for his second semester. After this point it will be a free for all of work on the book. Very few holidays and no vacations really from this point through April.

7. February. Two chapters and one song. The music will seriously depend on whether I receive any new loops, synths, pads, etc for Christmas.

8. March. Two chapers and one song.

9. April. Two chapters and one song.

Obviously I have no idea what to expect next year and just about anything could occur to knock me out of rhythm. This is just a plan. Also, I figure that what I am writing now is really just an outline for what is to come. The outline alone will hit the 60,000 word mark by next April and I will still have a year or so to go. There is certainly a risk of burnout, but those of you who remember the game this book is based upon will know that this is what gets my juices flowing. Yes Xanga is fun. Yes making music will be fun. But writing this book may very well be the defining moment, for me at least, in my life. I figure it will take me from age 30(January of 2012) through age 35(November of 2016) to get the outline finished and into a ‘real’ book form.

So thank you for reading all of this. Now the question I have for you! What is your passion? What gets your juices flowing? What will be your life’s work?

So I got back from vacation earlier today. A great time was had by all and I feel really relaxed. I’ll probably post more about it tomorrow but for now, here’s a photo of myself, my sister-in-law, brother(her husband), their dog Leanard(yes with an a and he’s between them), and my other brother on the far side. The photo was taken by my Mother so she’s not in it. She’s in other photos but these were the ones emailed to me.

I just uploaded this beast, and it is over 3 megabytes. Is that normal? lol. I’ll be on later tonight so take care til then.

This is for all the ladies who said they would look at a pair of boobies. Here are some that are actually bouncing for you!

And with that I bid you farewell as I go on Vacation for a few days.

This was me about five minutes ago playing some good ol’ fashioned Yahoo Texas Hold ‘Em. I’ve been playing again these past few weeks because the World Series of Poker starts tonight at 8 Eastern on ESPN. From about 2003-2007 I was a HUGE Hold ‘Em poker fan and would watch every chance I could get. Granted it was on a TV with no cable so it was the midnight poker sessions on Fox that I would watch, but it was still great. And I would play all the time for hours on end in the Yahoo Games Hold ‘Em Poker Social Lounges.

So I figure this is just a friendly advertisement to anyone else out there who enjoys Texas Hold ‘Em to look for me in the more populated social lounges of the Yahoo Games section. I’ve heard there are versions on Facebook, but I’m not on Facebook so yeah, not happening there. I don’t play anywhere near as many hands anywhere near as often as I once did, but if you find me in a room just come on in and sit down and feel free to lose some chips to me! Mwa ha ha. That monstrous pair of deuces I’m holding in that screenshot? Yeah, best hand I got the whole hour I played and I ended up folding. A/K suited is usually the best hand and I’ve had that a couple times in the past couple weeks. I have yet to gain a pair of Aces, or pocket rockets, since my return.

Oh and if you’re wondering. I’ve never played in a real casino or anything. The closest I’ve come to playing in real life is when I got a Yahtzee Texas Hold ‘Em game for Christmas and my youngest brother and I would raise each other ridiculous amounts and tick off everyone else who didn’t have the stomache to call with FAKE money. Haha. Which brings me back to the Yahoo game. It’s all free. Newbies start out with 1000 chips and you just go up from there. You don’t have to pay a dime and most of the people who still play poker there are friends and will say things like, “Nice hand(nh)” when you win, or “Very good hand(vgh)” if you get 4 tens like I did yesterday. Come on in and see, you’ll get the hang of it!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I will be on vacation from next Wednesday afternoon through Sunday afternoon sometime. Just an FYI.

Have a good one.

Specifically your help. Today Jared Laughner pleaded guilty to the crime he committed in Tucson Arizona last year. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the article on the netscape news reel did not hold back that fact. So why do I need your help? Because the comments I saw in there have me very distressed. I need to know what I am dealing with here if I am going to proceed to raise awareness about this disease. So this post is your chance to lay it all out there in terms of what your opinion is of the disease and what it means for the individual who has it, the family members who deal with it, the caretakers, society as a whole, mental institutions, everything. What are your pre-conceived notions about the illness?

You can rest assured that I won’t bite your head off for your point of view. I want to hear every single opinion that there is about schizophrenia. The good, the bad, and especially the ugly. Whatever your opinion, if I choose to address it in the future, I won’t say something like, “@personx said this”.Thus far I have talked primarily about myself and how I relate to this illness. I want to start taking on broader subjects and begin to form a vision for where the ‘schizable’ series can go. So let’s have it. Out with your opinions. Please please rec so that I can get as many opinions as possible.

One other thing I would like from you. If you have any experience at all with this illness feel free to post your own views on the subject. Whether you suffer from it and want to tell your story, or you know someone who does and you have seen firsthand how it affects them, please tell your story! All I ask is that you let me know where it’s posted so that I can make some kind of announcement here. That’s it.

Thanks to all of you who comment and rec. I know my page has some difficulty with the recommend button, but if you can’t do it that way, please rec through comment.

-Shadowrunner81