Week 2 was much better than week 1. I'm definitely starting to get the feel like I *should* make money every time I play.  I had one really bad session and one bizarre session in there, but overall, I feel like I'm playing better.  And the best part is I have a few key areas where I think my game is particularly weak, so there is a lot more upside.

It's interesting to me that I've been playing professionally for 21 months now, and I'm still learning the game.  It really is true what they say - poker takes five minutes to learn but a lifetime to master.  Or was that an Othello commercial I'm thinking of?  Not sure why this picture makes me laugh - partly because I use the panda avatar on FT, partly because I feel like I'm just bumbling around playing poker, or maybe just that the facial / physical resemblance to me is astonishing.  And I just realized his name sounds like mine.  "He was so deadly, in fact, that his enemies would go blind from over-exposure to pure awesomeness!"  Maybe I should have that be my new poker goal.  :-)  My second choice would be "I'm not a big fat panda. I'm THE big fat panda."

WHAT'S FOR DINNER

Dinner at Maria & Luigi's house was great as usual.  Usually I just sip a lot of wine during parties.  But Luigi made a great cocktail with vodka, sparkling orange beverage, and grapefruit and I had to have a second tall glass.  Dinner was ribs, chicken. mac & cheese, baked beans, corn, and I'm forgetting something - probably a vegetable.  All home-made and all very good.  Oddly, I thought the best thing was the beans.  As you all know, I have a low opinion of any food that wasn't moving at one point, but these beans were really outstanding, and I've been to enough rib joints to have had my share of beans.  Maria made this coconut pastry that was really outstanding too.

The most interesting flavor of the night was this goat cheese and fig preserve combo (on the left) that was recommended at the local cheese shop.  Not a real fan of strong cheeses, but that flavor combo was really amazing.  Mrs.  Fly kept asking me to make her another cracker and by the end of the evening, the entire tray moved over to her side of the table.  I hope she took the 5 finger discount on the jar of preserves, like I told her to.

Also a photo of the ribs:
[x] ribs
[x] fall off bone
[x] home made BBQ sauce
[ ] leftovers