Paternity Leave

Sometimes it's hard not to think that maybe Pangloss (surely you know your Voltaire?) was on to something; it can sure seem like all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Or, to adopt a more modern perspective, from the movie The Ladies Man: Things will randomly work out.

And they have. Again.

The plan, before Benjamin was even born, was for Lori to be on maternity leave until December 31st, and me to be off from then until summer. This plan was somewhat upset by the fact that Lori was laid off as the company she was working for was downsizing. However, if she had to lose her job, the timing for when it happened couldn't possibly have been any better. As she had already - that is, before they announced the cuts - declared her intention to be on maternity leave, she was still entitled to the same reimbursement as had she kept her job. In practise, she actually kept her job until her maternity leave ran out, at which point her 4 weeks notice started ticking (which was December 31st until January 31st). And since she had never intended to keep that job indefinitely anyway - she's a teacher at heart, and teachers want to teach, not program automatic tests for cell phones - looking for new jobs right at the start of the spring semester wasn't all bad.

Searching for a job was a little tough, but to keep a long story short(ish), she - yesterday - scored a job at the school she used to teach. She left because of, uh, irreconcilable differences with her boss. That boss was later "relocated" (as far as I know, to a different company - you get the idea) and Lori was, at least a little bit, beating herself up over not sticking it out since she loved the job but not the principal. But now, alas, they have a new principal. And Lori's back.

Things will randomly work out.

And so here I am, at home with Bennie. He takes two naps in the day, during which my plan is to get some poker played. Since I'm playing at less than an optimal time of day at Party Poker, game selection can be a little bit of a problem at the midstakes, so instead of spending a third of the narrow window of time I have to play waiting for good tables to pop up, I decided to cash out a significant amount of money and simply move back down to 200NL where even in the mornings it's easy to find 8 juicy tables. I think my bottom line works out better for it, even if my e-penis shrinks a little bit because I'm no longer playing 600NL. But when the choice is between 8 tables of juicy and readily available 200NL tables or two-to-three juicy 600NL tables, I opt for the former.

"But FP, couldn't you sit at the 600NL tables and just fill up your open slots with 200NL?"

I've tried that. It doesn't work for me. I really hate mixing stakes. Hate it hate it hate it.

So no.

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I'm trying to come up with a realistic way in which my life could be better right now. I'm not sure I can. So, Dr. Pangloss: I think you may have a point.

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But not everyone is as well off as me. I hope you will join me in donating to the Haiti victims. One of the best inventions I've seen lately is the LiveSaver Bottle. If you're curious, check out the TED talk where the inventor demonstrates it. You can of course donate via PokerStars or FullTilt, but on top of that, getting these bottles onto the island is probably a really good idea. And getting the word out about them and increasing the production of them will ultimately come in handy for other disaster areas in both the present and the future.