Dawn of 2007

First posts of new years should probably set the tone for the 12 months ahead, so I'll attempt to make this one of the better ones and we'll see where we end up.

My last few weeks of 2006 were some of the best times I'd had all year, I finished the years work a week before Christmas and went to Amsterdam with Twister and Hooks for 5 days. Amsterdam rarely fails to live up to expectations and this trip was no different. There was a huge bonus at the end of our trip when the fog covering London meant our return was delayed for not one, not two but three extra days. Amsterdam is now my favourite "winter" city to spend time in and definitely one of the best places to get stuck for an extended holiday ! The casino there has a small poker area by vegas standards but we still got some good cash games going and had a great time in there.

We all returned on the Saturday, the 24th and after spending the day in airports still got together with the other poker regulars for our added prize pool special of the year. Each live game we've had this year has had a little juice added to it which was put into the bonus pool for this game, in the end 6 of us were battling for a £300 prize pool. With no rebuys allowed it was a tight, tricky game and I got bad luck at the beginning dropping about half my chips on a hand vs Twisters trip 10's where I had to lay down on a KTxxx board at the river. I was out soon after and left immediately not taking my medicine like a man at all and being a big girl about the whole thing. Tiredness is my excuse but I was a moody pig that night. Hooks won it and Action Rich came second. Well played guys !

I spent Christmas with my family and we all had a lovely day, even the island-wide power cut from 9.30 till 10.45pm made the day a bit more special and memorable ! Boxing day was spent at Hooks' with our best friends and was another day full of the spirit of Christmas. Then it was on to New Years and Hooks' had planned a fancy dress party at his, we had Tony Montana from Scarface, Corey Taylor from SlipKnot, Cleopatra, Marie-Antoinette, Gimli the dwarf from LOTR, Chav-man, Biker Priest, Ms Electrolux 2007 and a Pirate. It was an awesome night with all the ingredients for a perfect New Years, old friends and new friends, alcohol and good food, chemistry and friendship, love and respect. There were kisses all round at midnight and as has become traditional, the "Hey-yaa" dance.

Now I sit here on the second day of the year contemplating what might be in store for me in '07, but you can't plan too much, you can't dwell too much on the past either so I think I'll set out my goals for 2007 as this.. Enjoy the moment, appreciate my friends and family, make the most of my opportunities and try to be a better man. No poker goals, I'll let the game come to me. No love aspirations either, that can come to me too if cupid wishes it. I'd just like to have a happy, hopeful, fun year with a little success and adventure.

Good luck to you all in '07, I hope you have a year full of joy and happiness.