AimlesslyChasingAmy

All in all, it was a different sort of week for me; one that had me revisiting the past and trying to envision the future.  I promise the next few posts will be poker-related as so much is happening in that space.  Indulge me for now. 

Staring into the ner tamid (the eternal lamp) at the Agudas Achim Synagogue (pictured above), I was suddenly transformed back in time.  While other people cut school for a myriad of reasons, Susie Greenberg and I habitually cut school for one reason; to attend the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  BSO was featuring some of the greatest pianists in the world back when we were in high school and together Susie and I heard some amazing performances; I specifically remember Arrau and Ashkenazy - hopefully Susie will remind me of the rest of the alphabet.  I spent some quality time in that hall - one time even singing in it with the Boston Pops.  I thought of my former piano teacher, Ida Fine, who would also sometimes invite me to the BSO.  Ida is well on in years now and remembers little of the people and world around her - but still miraculously remembers every note of music she ever read. 

The memories flooded back to me as the Ciompi Quartet, pictured above, began to play.  The violist and (probably not coincidently) Susie’s husband, Jonathan (on the right), was in Austin with the quartet.  While I had heard Jonathan play many years ago, it predated his association with Ciompi, the resident quartet of Duke University.  It was an emotionally riveting program, which closed with a work by Osvaldo Golijov, who (again probably not coincidently) now lives in the town where Susie and I grew up.  Somehow the intimacy of the setting coupled with the raw tension and subtle playfulness of the performance made me feel like I was witnessing something wonderfully forbidden.  

Another odd blast from the past came when I interviewed Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh for PokerNews about her current feature in Playboy Magazine (their pic above - mine below).  It reminded me that somewhere, at the bottom of my nightstand drawer, is a letter with a Playboy letterhead, saying ”We are most interested in talking to you further about a photo session” for the upcoming “Girls of the Ivy League” issue.  Don’t go hunting around in your dusty archives; I never did anything about it.  I had mostly gone to the initial (clothing intact) interview to keep my roommate Amanda company and to see who else showed up.  And besides, the issue would have come out one month prior to my employment at IBM; reputed to be one of the more conservative companies in its day.  I’m not sure why I saved the now yellowing letter; maybe I knew it had all the potential to become the non sequitur that it is.  

The next stop on the space-time continuum was donning a suit and pantyhose one day last week.  In my years at IBM, they were my uniform.  There was a point in my career when I helped write technical speeches for IBM’s president, Jack Kuehler.  I remember that I would always bring an extra pair of pantyhose with me to corporate headquarters lest I get a run.  Although this week’s suit was from my post-IBM years, I still have many of my IBM-era pinstripes and charcoals hanging in my closet; the shoulder pads covered in a light dust that I hesitate to brush off.  Why do I still have them in my closet?  Maybe to remember that I enjoyed many of the years I spent at IBM.  Or more likely; maybe they are there to remind me that when a working environment ceases to provide learning and interest, a paycheck seldom compensates.  

Matty called from the ski slopes this weekend.  I immediately thought of another one of his calls from the slopes (well technically the back of the ambulance) he made about 8 years ago.  That time, his leg was so shattered they had the thread pieces of his bone onto a rod like beads onto a string.  This time, it was a far less severe break of the upper arm.  And thankfully this time he didn’t make me break the news to Mum.     

I also spent more time listening to Congress last week than I have in a long time.  I hesitate to watch Congress in action because it always shocks me how little they know about important issues.  For the poker-centric, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled “Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden Without Benefit?”  For write-ups, check out Short-Stacked Shamus’ piece in PokerNews and Otis’ piece in Up For Poker. 

Also last week, the Senate Banking Committee got an earful about the Fed Reserve’s intervention on the Bear Stearns deal.  Some interesting tidbits.  JP Morgan was willing to buy BS without the Fed footing the bill - but hey, why not let the Fed be your backer? The Fed was anxious to keep the buy-out price low (initially $2/share) so it wouldn’t look like a bail out.  Trying to stiff the stockholders with a below market price bailed out a ton ‘o folks - just not the employees or shareholders.  On the investment front, I diss’ed buying new inflation indexed bonds last week.  But this week I came across an interesting article by Carla Pasternak at StreetAuthority.com that suggested some funds that held existing TIPs - which got me to thinking about a TIPS EFT.  Something to ponder anyway. 

I took some of my old books to Half Price Books today.  I got $11 for them.  Usually I turn around and immediately reinvest, but I couldn’t make up my mind.  I had the following choices (all below $8) but couldn’t decide:

Ashkenazy Live in Moscow - the past
Gary Carson’s The Complete Guide of Hold’em Poker - the present
Faster Smarter Microsoft Office FrontPage - the question mark