Work, wear and tear

I have been draining myself thin lately between work, family, poker and then all of the other crap I try to fit in my daily routine. I realized the other day that I try to work on a few things each day, but I very rarely accomplish much.

For instance, cleaning my house. I was working on the pile of papers that need to be shredded, recycled and whatever in the corner next to my computer desk. The pile overflows a 3x3x2ft cardboard box (I don't know how big it is exactly - it is one of the many boxes I used for moving crap from my condo to the house) and extends another foot above it - mostly using the computer desk to prevent a tumble of papers into my bedroom and over the floor. Anyway - I started working on it and promptly walked away after filling about 1/4 of a trash bag. I barely made a dent in it.

Anyway - I think work takes out a lot of my energy, but I'm fairly certain that I am also a little annoyed by how little the rest of my household does in terms of cleaning things up that are not regular cleanups. This is a tension point for me and is certainly something I need to bring up with my wife.

Currently, we also have a live-in guest. He's fallen on hard times, blah blah blah - but he needs to start contributing and he needs to be better about paying what few dollars we have requested of him. That - or he needs to find a place to stay himself. He doesn't put us out very much - I doubt he affects our bottom line - but he is at times very ungrateful and at times a little rude - and this is something that saddens me since I have provided him a place to stay for the last couple of months. To make matters worse, I think he quit his job on a whim last night - and I don't think he has another lined up to take its place.

Anyway - in terms of family, Gabe is doing great in school and continues to adjust to being on a schedule. This past week has been difficult because a cold has been making its way through the household - so Gabe actually stayed home a couple of times. Guenevere is having a good time as well - but its only preschool - so I'm just expecting play time stories from her. Every day though, they both sit at the kitchen table and practice their letters - something I wish we had started earlier (during the summer or even last year). They all know their letters by sight, but writing is still difficult for them.

Poker has been going a little better of late. I managed a deep finish in a cheap tournament the other day and had a monster of a session the other night at a ring game. Also, I'm pretty close to finishing the side work I have that should bring in another $1500. I think I'm planning on taking some of that money and trying a shot in a tournament down at Foxwoods - but I'll have to make plans for that and figure out when is a good time with work and such.

This weekend, I'm hoping to really get some work on cleaning done - whether it be the pile of papers, my front porch or something else. If the weather is nice, I might take the kids to the Zoo - since it is getting close to the time when it closes for the season and it will be a nice time to go (won't be too hot, won't be too busy). I'll check later if they have anything special going on this weekend.