Looking back...Looking forward....

As the year ends..my first year on this blog also ends...I first posted on Jan. 17th. This year has been the most incredible of my life so far. My daughter was born on May 5th. It was the most incredible thing to witness. She was born on May 5th...that's a date of 05/05/05! She's staring at me now as I type this post. More incredible is that my wife and I weren't sure if we'd ever be able to have a child.
Anyway...I've documented my beginnings as a card player thanks to my late Grandfather...his name was Ozzie.
I first started reading blogs in '04 that were locally done in Boston...they were interesting to a point but after a while I got bored with reading some liberal viewpoint to some random subject..I thought..there has got to be something more interesting. Then I came across a blurb in my googled poker search that said "Bonus Code Iggy". I thought.....what hell does that have to do with Poker? I soon stumbled into a world of Poker bloggers. Blogs that talk about Poker Strategy and random stuff related to Cards, Gambling, Music, Sports, and all other stuff I enjoy on a regular basis. There were people out there who think about these things the same way and in different ways than I do...and it became dynamic...not static like those old blogs. After all most of the blogs document more than just online poker and casino cards...they document life.
Soon after that I noticed the Tao Of Poker and my 'favorites' list on my Internet Explorer became packed with poker blogs. I started reading them with a fervor...and my so-called workplace productivity went from low to zero (I am sick of my job after 8 years and part of my New Years resolution is to do something about it).
At the beginning of the year I started my own blog and haven't regretted anything. It's a great way to escape the monotony of the daily grind...and a way to get things off my mind. I'm sure i've probably played against some blogger at Foxwoods this past year as well as online. Once in a while someone else will start talking about "dropping the hammer" of some other common term and you just know that they read the same blogs.
This year has also spurred an interest in other card games that I wanted to learn..like the Hi/Lo games and Razz. I haven't forayed to far into them but they provide an avenue that will keep me occupied and interested for years to come.
It's also interesting how some of the blogger out there are actually writers that get published! There have been poker strategy books/manuals and articles that have kept my non stop learning curve.

This coming year I expect more incredible blog posts..more poker than ever before...and due to the birth of my daughter I will play pocket fives like Aces!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!