The future is beautiful

She's a sweet girl and I love her to pieces, but fuck her, man. You got to get on with your life. You've got to let go of the past Mikey, and when you do, the future is beautiful.
-Swingers

Skipping out on the Blogger tourney. I don't have any troops in 'Stars anyway and I'm just a pile of goo. I've run for nine straight days (11 of the last 12). I'm getting my road legs back but I am a little tired. LOL. My two poker cats also are sacked out on the couch next to me like it's a Mutts comic strip.

Today after work I ran a 4-mile route down to a Borders where I used to stop and, usually really sweaty, go upstairs to the games section and sit down and read all the new poker books. The weather is warm enough that even at sunset, I can wear just a T-shirt and shorts.

I like how I haven't run in months but it's never left me. I've done this kind of hard running before, in the months leading up to Doug and Carolina's wedding and the first few months that Mark and I and the crew ever started playing poker. I can run day in and day out and I've never been injured. Sometimes I would run twice in a day.

I remember how Mark talked about this book called Hold'em for Advanced Players. I'd go to Borders, sit down on the wooden bench and flip through it, trying to glean new secrets, while trying to catch my breath.

I haven't bought a new poker book in months. I think the last one I bought was Sklansky and Miller's No limit hold'em. I notice on the shelf is one that I'll probably pick up -- Phil Gordon's Little Blue Book.

I pass up the thick volumes of Super/System 2 and pick up Michael Craig's book, remembering that a boss still has my copy. I always flip to the prologue where Ted Forrest sits down on the game between Chip Reese and Andy Beal. I note that Craig's writing in the book is more formal than in his blog.

I flip to another chapter titled "The Next Best Thing," followed by a quote by Nick the Greek:

The next best thing to gambling and winning is gambling and losing. At least it's gambling.

This reminds me of the break-up and all of the final things that led up to it. It's like how I felt stupid by being busted by a set with AA after coming back from that movie at Dorie's. I was really relaxed. I could see it coming. Yet I still made a stupid mistake.

I am so glad that I will be in Las Vegas in four days. It's appropriate, like how Jon Favreau's character goes there after his break-up in Swingers. You are so money and you don't even know it.

It'll be an appropriate refuge. She was there and I was there. But it's always been my city. Atlanta is also my city now. My route on Peachtree to the bookstore takes me under the lights of some of the city's newest skyscrapers. They're no less awe-inspiring than seeing the Bellagio at night.

I'll be back online soon. Little steps first, just like the running. Before too long I'll be playing day in and day out. Maybe even twice in a day.

The future is so money. It also is so beautiful.