January 2, 2007

I spend all term harping on about how badly we need a rest, and when the holidays finally roll around it takes me at least half of their duration to realise that I am officially meant to be enjoying myself! I stayed up until the early hours last night, winning overdraft money dollar by dollar on the poker tables of the electronic superhighway. Far from the neon eternity of Las Vegas, my brush with gambling success is actually fairly mundane, blinking boxes and tacky pixellated chips litter the screen as my increasingly needy account balance drifts from $400 to $300. In the past, I have been financially comfortable, maybe even affluent as students go, thanks to my modest talent for the game. At one point, I even converted $50 into $5500 after a few large wins. But now, without the money to invest, one cannot expect to win something for nothing. I have carelessly blown my previous profits on jollities such as food, and rent. What little is left is earmarked for next summer's medical elective to Mumbai, and is strictly vetoed. In the days following Christmas I enetered the online fray once again, using only $25 which I only incidentally happened to find loitering in one of my accounts. I performed my handy party trick of converting this into $450 in two days, but to be frank this is equatable to making a hole in one when your opponent is already downing his third celebratory pint. It's not going to make much difference... Still, it's all I can do to stem the tide of my financial downfall. By the way (rant #1), for the first time ever I failed to pay my credit card on time. In my defence I'd forgotten I'd even used it, and quickly paid of the £50. For my heanous sin, I recieved a £12 late payment charge, £2 interest, a 50% reduction of my credit limit, and a removal of my cash withdrawing priveliges. And not a reprimand too small, either. My disgusting abuse of the system had to stop!
Aside from having my masculinity torn to pieces at poker, I spend a significant amount of my free time reading these days, and my new reading list displays this. Michael Palin's book, although obviously not written with mind towards publication, is notable for the fact that it contains many characters which unbeknowst to the author would become famous in their own right. David Attenborough, Connie Booth, and of course all the Monty Python team for example. Jonh Man's biography of Atilla the Hun is detailed, maybe or maybe not for the best, and goes to great lengths about background information.
My 21st birthday curry in a few days (I'd kill for a vindaloo), and despite the apathy of my distant family (for whom I believe I never was quite refined enough for) I think it should go pretty well, as long as my girlfriend is there then I'll have a great time. She's spending this academic year in France, for her languages degree, and I hardly get the time to se her form month to month. Our second anniversairy is on the 7th, and I think I'm correct in saying that we're closer than ever.
No inflammatory remarks here yet, mainly due to my Xmas hibernation. As soon as something rubs me up the wrong way, I'll let you know. Promise.