Took the day off of work yesterday (I’m a training specialist) to take my son to Registration for middle school. Ended up writing about $300 worth of checks for PE Clothes ($40), Organizer/DayTimer ($20 – whatever happened to PeeChees?), school lunches ($100), yearbook ($20), school pictures ($50), school logo t-shirts ($60), plus some other crap I don’t remember. That’s not even counting the new backpack, bicycle lock, shirts, jeans, etc that we bought at Penney’s this weekend. What a racket!

Taking my daughter in next week for elementary school. Oh joy. All these hands reaching out for money to pay every conceivable fee, almost none of which my parents ever had to pay. At some point, they’re gonna need to modernize the process. Maybe have you register your child in person to avoid school boundary abuse, and then pay online. I ain’t used to writing checks anymore. I do all my bill paying online, and I actually had to THINK about how to write a goddamn check. “Let’s see, the amount goes here… who do I make this out to? What’s the date? What’s my frickin’ name?”

School boundary abuse is rampant here in Pleasanton, CA. We have pretty highly rated schools and people are trying all kinds of devious ways to get their kids into the district, using the addresses of grandparents, friends, churches, and places of work to squeeze little Johnny into the school. Hey, if you want your kids to go to a particular school or district, move to the right frickin’ neighborhood!

Anyway, since I spent a lot of time at home, I thought I’d try some of the longer multis on Pacific. Got into a $10 tourney with 300+ other deadbeats, finished in the top third. Don’t remember much about it, just know I didn’t cash. Jumped to Empire for a O8 $10 SnG, bombed out in 5th there. Fired up Ghost Recon, killed some Ethiopian rebels, and felt better about myself. For some reason, even with an empty house, I’m not focused in the afternoon, at least when it comes to poker.

After cooking up some great Coho salmon on a cedar plank for dinner for me and wifey, I went back to Pacific for 20-seater. (Side note for married/committed men: Cooking a nice dinner always gets you some nag-free computer time for online poker). Placed 2nd for a $80 purse, and really played well enough to win, but the cards didn’t cooperate. Head-to-head for the $32 difference between 1st and 2nd, I had a 2-1 chip lead and a really good read on my opponent. I checked with Ax and an ace on board, knowing he would bet big with nothing and small with the ace. He pushed all-in, and I knew I had him. And I did… until his middle pair on the flop turned into middle two-pair on the river. Now he had the power and eventually took out my Kx with his Ax. I really can’t complain, because I got him all-in when I had a fairly sizable advantage, and just got out-drawn. Que sera sera.

No bonuses for knocking me out of the Monty, although I can send you some lovely educational CD’s I got free from a training gig I had at a children’s software company. We can make the Monty like a White Elephant party… I think I have an Onion Blossom maker around here somewhere…