Still, pretty much no one out there was there with me throughout the year and I don't have time to write a book, so a blog of lists it is. Without further adieu....
2008 highlights:
- Catherine has made some huge progress. She has her good days and bad days, but I can tell a big difference. She made some huge strides.
- In line with that, Catherine and I have been married for 5 years now and we're still crazy in love. I still can't get enough of her.
- Our house. We are officially home owners in one of the richest areas in America. I have no idea how it happened. One day we were content apartment renters, the next we were making an offer on a house. Then the story behind it just seemed to confirm that there is more to this than random chance. Every once in a while God seems to force his way into your life, despite your own desires, and make himself known. I can't help but think that this house is a promise. I feel like he's letting us know that he's taking care of us and he still loves us, even if we aren't acknowledging him.
- The Gantt family grew this year with the addition of little Samuel Gantt, my brother's new son. He's a cute little pudgie thing.
- Since I started getting serious about poker I have wanted a coach or mentor to help me grow as a player and weather the ebb and flow of variance. I finally found one through Deucescracked. I started having regular coaching sessions with Jared Kenworthy (jk3a) back in September I think and, while it is expensive, it is worth every penny. I have grown so much as a player and technically the lessons have paid for themselves. After the first couple of sessions I have paid for the sessions from my poker winnings. Ship it.
- We discovered some great new tv shows like Dexter, Curb Your Ethusiasm, and 30 Rock that have quickly become all-time favorites.
- It was one of the toughest years of my life trying to care for Catherine. We both struggled so much almost every day to just ensure that she made it through each one. As a result, for much of the year we were in survival mode. Everything else took a back seat, even our relationship at times.
- The economic slow down, while it hasn't affected us too much, has affected a lot of people, and is scary in a lot of ways. I am the type of person that is generally optimistic about things, so I believe it will turn around soon. But there is a part of me that sees the future as very uncertain overall.
- It was a rough year for poker overall. The UIGEA regulations are beginning to be implemented, the World Poker Tour is declining, the cheating scandals at Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker being exposed and subsequently being highlighted by the 60 Minutes show, which also painted online poker is such a negative light in general. The list goes on. There is some hope that with the Obama administration we can get the UIGEA overturned and legitimize online poker, but even that is just a hope at this point. What really happens remains to be seen.
- Get Catherine better.
- Get back to church, in some way and spend real time with God as much as possible.
- Take Catherine on more dates.
- Read more books and finish the ones I've started.
- Become a winning 100nl player and begin to take shots at 200nl.
- Play in at least one WSOP event.
- Play more guitar.
- Fix up my house.
- Eat healthier and exercise at least 4 times a week.
- Start going back to school to finish my degree.
- Get my CSP certification.
- Be a more thoughtful, aware person.
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