January 2012

I've been a bit MIA for the past two weeks. I was lost in the Writing A Book Very Fast Zone. Now, I'm entirely capable of writing a book in under a month, but it feels a bit like holding my breath under water. If I get distracted or relax too much, I'm likely to drown.

In reviewing this first month in Germany, things have been a mix of awesome, good, and moderately frustrating. I've written and/or revised about sixteen-thousand words in the past few days, so I'll just fire out some bullet points. The awesome:

• Thanks to friends and strangers alike, my Kickstarter was a complete success.
• Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio is complete. The design is mostly done, too. Just a few adjustments here and there, and we're ready to go to print.
• I've gotten to know a new country, home to delicious caramel soy pudding and "Happy end" toilettenpapier.
• Reached my goal of weighing 80kg, despite my new Nirwana Noir addiction.
• I started playing Heads Up Limit Holdem again. Man is this game fun!

The good:

• Got set up on a few Euro poker sites.
• Published the Poker Player Bill of Rights.
• Made some decent cash playing HULHE.
• Kept up with my blog for the first couple weeks.
• Learned enough German to avoid the soup with Schweinefleisch in it.

The moderately frustrating:

• Failed to reopen my PokerStars account. This was a mix of logistics and distraction on my part.
• Importing a Word document into Indesign resulted in some data loss, slowing the process.
• Still feel like an ignorant American who can only speak one language.

To review, I'm happy with the month, but I'm already working hard for a better February.