We’re re-doing our kitchen this month, which is my way of explaining why I haven’t been writing as much. Getting the tile ripped out, getting new tile put in, re-facing the cabinets, getting Corian countertops, installing a new dishwasher, putting a new door on the pantry… Oh, I’m not doing any of it, but coordinating the multiple contractors, the deliveries of material, the entrances and exits, etc. is a horrific task. Plus the clutter makes it difficult to get to my computer.

Yesterday, I moved the refrigerator and the stove into the garage with little or no physical help from wifey or kids, so my back feels like the rubber band on the Sunday New York Times, stretched to its limit and ready to break. I finally called a buddy to help move the china cabinet after my wife refused to even consider attempting to lower the top section onto a piece of cardboard [so I could slide the hutch across the floor]. My son was willing to give it a try, but my wife said something about lifting heavy objects while he’s growing and stunting his growth and prohibited it.

So my house is basically in ruins now, just so we can get pretty tile and pretty cabinets and pretty countertops and we can have dinner guests over to tell us how pretty it all is. Sigh. Meanwhile, I have a hernia and can’t tie my shoes without taking four Advils…

Poker-wise, I’ve been booking along. Maybe coaching my son has helped me refocus on fundamentals. Six 20-seaters, four cashes including two wins means I’m up a couple hundred more on Pacific. If you remember, I was just going to play with a small chunk that was left over after the Monty and then leave Pacific. Well, that chunk has bloomed rather nicely. After withdrawing $300 more than my original deposit, I have built that small chunk up to an additional $450. I haven’t mentioned to my wife exactly how much I’ve profited online, and I don’t know if I will. *** Question: How many of your wives know exactly how much money you’ve invested/won in online gambling? ***

I’ve been screwing around a lot with Madden 2004 lately. No, not 2005. I like buying computer games like cars, getting them cheap when the new models come out. You can get Madden 2004 for less than $20 now, compared to the $40-50 they want for 2005. I just don’t see the marginal value. After all, that’s two 20-seat buy-ins, and like we’ve seen, those can be very profitable.