Molina... to get MY B.A., I only needed to take 11 classes (33 hours), like Piers said... I had to write a couple 50 pagish papers, but none were dissertations...

I actually DID write one when I got my Master's on sociological affects on Bipolar Disorder... and while it was prolly well writen.... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY was it boring... My Word spell checker fell asleep 3 times just gettin through it...

To my knowledge, no dissertation is required for me to acquire my bachelors. All I need to do is pass my classes. Or perhaps more relevant to last semester... ATTEND those classes!

I failed one of my classes last semester because of neglecting to meet the teacher's BS attendance requirements. He said on the syllabus he'd fail you if you miss more than two classes... so I miss 8 classes thinking nothing of it. I mean, come on, you going to fail me because of that? I guess so.

Almost done with the PokerRoom bonus... it's been nearly a month now since I've had a winning session. I've lost nearly $150 out of the $200 bonus and still have another 25-30 SNGs to complete within two weeks. Hopefully I don't lose too much past the $200 bonus!

Remember what I said about Rachel? Last week we went out to a local restauraunt on a sorta date... neither of us mentioned the "date" word though. I referred to it as "meeting up with her" and she referred to it as "hanging out with me outside of class". Seems casual enough, right? We had a grand ol' time at the restauraunt, although I have nothing particularly fascinating to report.

So where do I stand with Rachel? She's friendly, fun, funny, has a good sense of humor, a love of music, enjoys vegan food (eats at the food co-op routinely), is intelligent, and she's cute. So I like her. But I don't feel like jumping to relationship level already. I'm going the casual route and taking my time. I'll spend some more time with her in different situations, get to know her better, and see what happens. I know I really want to be back in a relationship, but I also remind myself not to hurry it along.

Let's talk about school, bay-bee.

Today was my 2nd day of classes. And today I also learned I am unable to graduate this semester. That class I received a D in... well, it was part of my major's requirements, so I needed at least a C- for it to count towards my degree. So this summer I have to take another class that meets my major's requirements and graduate then. YIPPEE!!

Every semester I try to take at least one class I'll enjoy. This semester it's Children's Literature, which I also took at my past college. I arrived right when class was about to start and took whatever seat was available. As luck would have it, I met a cute girl sitting next to me. Her name's Amanda. We chatted a bit during class, and then I bumped into her while waiting for the bus back home. She lives in the university plaza apartments (right by mine), so we also take the same bus home! JOY! Oh yeah... and something amazing... I actually can remember her eye color! I never remember that! I guess this is God's way of saying she must be special.

I haven't gotten to know her well yet, but so far so good. Every Tuesday and Thursday we'll be next to eachother in class and then on the bus home. Plenty of time!

I know I haven't talked much about poker lately. As I've mentioned, I'm no longer inspired to play it. I just have to clear this bonus before I can take the much needed break. Then I can concentrate on the important things, like graduating and women.

Okay poker-related... still finishing up clearing that bonus and I finally have some good news!

Today I made a profit! $15 profit... but still! That's better than the past month for me! Overall I was happy with my play. I came in 3rd from losing 55 to AA on an A25 flop. No way was I folding my set there!

Hooray for double-posts!

Lately I haven't been able to use my usual connection here in Bing, that is, the one I split with my neighbors. For whatever reason, I cannot access it. I've rolled back drivers, updated drivers, uninstalled and re-installed a bunch of stuff, messed around with configs, and I just don't get what's wrong. Thankfully someone here has an unsecure network up and running that I've been tapping into for a couple weeks! This connection is somewhat reliable... occasional random kick-offs and rare disconnects for an hour or so. Of course losing your connection during poker SUCKS and all (like last night), but I have no other choice at the moment.

Yeah, I normally play $25 NL, or 10+1 SnGs, or HU Limit for a change (limit 6max is my normal game). I'd play Omaha or Stud, but I don't really have time or the inclination to read up on those while school is on.

I finally finished clearing the PokerRoom bonus! After the first month of play, the SNGs drastically tightened up. See my post in Low Content on that one. I've never seen anything like it. My final stats:

215 SNGs
$752 net profit + $200 bonus = $952 net profit
~70 hours, so my winrate was ~$13/hr
24.63% ROI without bonus and 31.18% with bonus

Now that I've cleared this bonus, I'm taking a much needed break from poker.

Later tonight I have a date with Rachel. This weekend is my birthday. I no longer am graduating this semester - I am graduating in summer. I hate physiological psychology. That is all for now.

Last night was part #1 of my birthday celebration. Nevermind the actual party... after the party ended, some of my friends chilled back in my apartment for a bit. Allison, the girl I really like, was there as well. She told me she was about to pass out and lied down on her side. I lied next to her and put my arm around her for a few minutes. I wouldn't let her completely fall asleep on my floor... thanks to me poking her a bunch. This annoyed her a bit, but she knows I'm just being playful. She sits up and we all talk for a little more. Eventually they all head out. I give Allison a hug and tell her "I don't want you to go", she gives me the usual "awww", and I add "stay with me tonight". She responds "no" and I try again. She still says "no" and I have no choice. I have to let her go. Nothing else I can do.

Okay... a little detail about the party. At the party I was all over her practically the entire night. She seemed to enjoy it. I would use any excuse to put my arm around her, hug her, whatever. She just smiled and went along with it.

Here's my dilemma. I really like her a lot, and have for quite some time. Recently I've become even more fond of her. I've been telling my friends that I like her more than Maria, and Rachel, the other two potential girlfriends (especially Rachel with our two "dates"). I'm afraid if I end up in a relationship with Rachel, I'll wish I was with Allison.

But what can I do now? I've directly asked her to be my girlfriend and she's given me the "just friends" response. Last night she could have easily spent the night with me, but I didn't let her pass out and she said "no" to staying over.

She likes me, she really does like me, but she really really likes me as a friend. Lately, everytime I'm with her I treat her like my girlfriend. I'm going to be devastated if she finds a boyfriend.

I love being with her, more than any other person. But when she leaves, I feel like part of me has left. I don't want to ever lose her, but the pain I go through trying to play the "friends" card with her is nearly unbearable. Stop spending time with her? That probably is the best idea in the long run, no matter how much it hurts to admit it.