[1/2/24] #38 - A year in review

[1/2/24] A year in review

It's weird how I began this blog to free my mind with a little musing while my dad was recovering from heart surgery.

I think this is year 3 so let's start this year off with a review.

Work in 2023 was good and bad. Mostly good. I had my first losing NBA season and I can safely say that was important in that I needed to come down to earth in my expectations.

I needed to win in CFB probably more than ever before not financially (nothing will ever top being all in every week financially for the first 2 years of my CFB betting career) but mentally I needed to see some positive momentum and it was a pretty damn good season by anyone standards thankfully.

Confidence is just so ridiculous in this life I live. Run a little better than normal and I'm a god. Two weeks of terrible variance and I'm the worst to ever attempt to make a living doing this.

So I seeked help regarding the above back in 2021. This is not the solution for everyone but for me... It is and I continue to work with a professional to figure out why work carries over into all other aspects of life.

My self worth is directly impacted my wins and losses in which I have very little control over other than the market I bet into. Strange existence eh? Yes but one that is manageable.

Today's variance is not tomorrow's outcome. You got it pretty damn good if your only issue is losing money you can afford to.

I had 3 or 4 things help keep things in perspective for me in 23. I'm so fucking lucky win or lose.

Reality check 1 Chan my best friend and long time assistant who many of you know by now. Has 2 children in her custody, her nephews as her sister couldn't kick a drug habit.

A new mom to a 14 and 6 year old who were raised in the back of a SUV, barely literate and refuse to eat a vegetable in the 5 months she's now had them. Needless to say I'm not moaning about the 6ers lack of scoring in front of her and the kids.

Reality check 2 My dear Yee has all but beaten diabetes. Her A1C is 6.3 but while that's great she still has to stick a needle in her stomach for who knows how long and she had to do this on... Saturday at noon.

We haven't had a single grain of processed foods in our home for 12 weeks, no unnatural sugars. I met her mom, 13 siblings and 42 people in all on Christmas and everyone was so proud of her but it's not like we are in the clear as her aunt with 4 fingers in total was a stark reminder.

Guess who couldn't bitch about bad beats around noon this entire football season?

Reality check 3 My sister Danielle called on a Monday to ask what I could recommend for TV shows as she had a sinus infection.

Tuesday night November 6th I'm watching Maction yelling at a ref when my phone rings at 8 pm it says Mom (I knew it was bad news, my mom has her pajamas on at 530 and in bed reading at 7.. don't call after 7!) And Danielle was in ICU with Pneumonia.

A little background on the best sister ever. She is in the happiest marriage ever witnessed by normal people. A retired chef she met a foodie and they have date night 4 nights a week for a decade!

I'm talking real dates. Dueling cook offs, dive bar hopping, karaoke. No need for many friends but somehow have a different themed party at their house bi weekly.

She is well over 300 pounds as is her husband so this illness was not normal for someone in normal health in terms of recovery.

6 nights in the hospital and 3 in ICU. Oxygen for 34 days in total. She was so sick she watched a game I had money on... Couldn't find the energy to change the channel. I lost, naturally.

She's lost 23 pounds and her husband 17 in less than 2 months. They each have a huge goal of 100 pounds. Their new date nights consist of gym, hiking with the dogs (can't even imagine but makes me smile) and healthy cookoffs and grocery shopping challenges. Thanksgiving will never be the same and that's okay

Now the good stuff. I'm probably getting married soon enough. If she says yes!

My circle of friends is filled with people I care about and vice versa I feel. I had a lot of cleaning up to do in my inner circle.

My father is fully recovered from his heart attack in early August and is crushing a walk around a lake near his house every morning and sending me books I'll never read and arguing in favor of trump... His heart is just fine I feel haha.

In the process of buying a newer home. Love my home but it's too much work. Built in the 50s and I spend too much time and money repairing things. Also with my neighborhood going from the hood to being full on gentrified it's lost most of what I loved not even a decade ago.

I'm in the gym 4 days a week now but will be upping it to 6. I'm 190 was at 209 when Yee got diagnosed fully in September. Goal is 174 to get a 14er(2 would be insane but let's keep it real im 45) this June.

My step father Wally is using a walker and already in 11 fantasy leagues for MLB.

Rich and I are still crushing mid to high stakes poker or finding others who can but in 24 I want to play much more. I am a strong believer of you get what you put into something and this year we had a once in lifetime opportunity which I'll write about soon and we fumbled the bag in embarrassing fashion.

My oldest crew of marc, Cory, Jeff are dealing with a lot as Jeff was diagnosed with lymphoma in November but is doing extraordinary in his treatments and it's looking more promising every week. We have a trip to Moab planned the second he's in the clear.

I asked for Marc's permission to talk about him publicly but he never loved gambling and he was a video animator when we were 21-24.

He went onto work for video game companies as the head of many successful titles. Mafia 2, sims 3 and many more.

At a congratulatory dinner last week we reflected on his and mine journey and how odd life is.

Marc is the executive producer of Baldurs Gate 3 which won game of the year. That's a world wide award. He hasn't bet in ten years now...but he has never let me go more than a month in a season without checking in with him.

109 people under him for his latest game, a mom and dad he takes care of in house (moved back to Colorado to do so) and he is calling me asking how the last couple weeks have gone.

Don't let me ever tell you I'm unlucky.

I'm sure there's more to relay but feels like plenty for now.

Thank you for the space. With love and respect your friend, Eddie