I guess this is my first blog entry of 2010. I brought in the New Year with some friends at a really cool bar called Rogue Tavern on Birmingham's north side. A few days later I headed out to San Diego with Adam Geyer to hang out for a few days. I really fell in love with that city despite only getting to see the Pacific Beach area. I could see myself living in SD at some point in my life.

On January 6 we drove two hours up to Pasadena and got settled at our hotel in nearby Glendale for the BCS Championship Game. A friend of Adam's joined us and later my mom, sisters and brother-in-law all arrived. We spent that night hanging out down by the Rose Bowl and later in the bar district in Old Town Pasadena. We woke up early the next morning and headed back down to the Rose Bowl to begin tailgating. The game was truly unforgettable as Bama beat Texas 37-21 to win the National Championship. It's been 17 years since Bama last won the title, and I've been a fan for each one of those long years. I'm glad I got to experience it with my family there and to be able to say I was a student when it happened this year.

The day after the game we spent most of the day doing touristy stuff around Hollywood. We drove way up into the hills and got pretty much right below the HOLLYWOOD sign, so that was a good time. Later that night we ate at a pretty awful Mexican restaurant off of Sunset and then flew out the next morning.

Aside from that, school has kicked back up after what was a month long break of eating, drinking, and doing nothing productive. This is my final semester, so I really hope it flies by. I had to schedule an 8 a.m. class  in order to have classes on only Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I think it's worth it. I have two more classes those days and have two online classes. The bulk of my time will be spent doing group work for this one class GBA 490 (Strategic Management) and expect I'll have to keep the other 3 business days clear for the most part. That said, it's doubtful I'll be able to get away for much poker for the next 15 weeks before graduation.

I actually WILL be down in Biloxi, Mississippi Sunday playing the WPT event at the Beau Rivage, however. I'm excited about it as it will obviously be my first live event of 2010. So far poker-wise things are off to a slow start as all that I've played is two of the three Sundays online, both of which were underachieving. Additionally and inexplicably, I committed to attending a bachelor party for a good friend of mine from high school before noticing that it overlaps the WPT LAPC main event in late February, and there's a good chance I won't even be able to make it out for the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship in April, an event I final tabled last year, because school will really be heating up near exam time.

Not too much else is going on. I got back in the gym last week and am trying to eat right, atleast on the weekdays. Also congrats to 19 year old would-have-been University of Alabama student Harrison Gimbel who resides here in Tuscaloosa for winning the PCA event in the Bahamas for $2.2 million dollars. 

SS