I've gotten used to my strange new routine, to the point where it feels sort of like a rhythm, and where I am constantly looking forward to the next step in the journey. When I am in Mexico grinding online, I can't wait to make the trek back up to California to see my girlfriend and spend time in a less desolate coastal area. After a couple of days on the beach in Santa Monica, doing errands, riding my bike, eating burgers, I am anxious to get back down to Mexico to play more online poker.
I'll leave LA on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, stop in San Diego for groceries, and be at my seaside condo south of Rosarito by Friday evening, well rested for the big weekend action on Stars. I'll stay until Tuesday or Wednesday, and I will often drive back to the US after my last session, since the wait at the border becomes relatively tolerable late at night.
I have come a long way from the dread and anxiety that consumed me throughout the middle part of 2011, after Black Friday but before I finally got off my ass to relocate (and even after that, throughout the Canada debacle). I am comfortable with my decisions and the basic pace of my life, but my weird new setup is definitely still a little weird. I sometimes feel like the character from Lost who had to come down to a strange bunker in order to push a button on a computer every day.
Playing online poker tournaments 40+ hours a week is a fairly isolating experience in and of itself, and doing it in a foreign country tends to compound the effect. I do not feel integrated with local life at all. The essential things I need are facilitated by an English-speaking concierge in my building, my helpful realtor and a woman who cooks for me a few times a week. Sometimes, a friend will come down and visit, and I have a part-time roommate. Beyond that, my life is totally self-contained. The scenery where I live in Mexico is great, and having a self-contained existence is exactly why I relocated, so I am not complaining, but it certainly gets a little lonely.
I'd love to learn Spanish, but realistically it's not likely to happen soon. When I am in Mexico, my life is pretty much focused on putting in MTT volume, and after a 10+ hour session, I am apt to cook some pasta, sit on the couch and watch TV. I still struggle with the basics of unplugging and finding a balance in my routine--time for reading, exercise, and socializing, three things I constantly neglect--so I am not sure when I'll find the time to learn Spanish.
Just to reiterate, I am happy with the current setup of my life--surprisingly happy, actually--but there's also a bizarre, compartmentalized aspect of the situation that never quite allows me to relax and just get comfortable where I am.
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There have been a couple of other blogs I found interesting by online players who relocated and their struggles adapting to their new relocated lives. I may have posted this link before, but this one by fellow tournament grinder Marthy Mathis summed up a lot of what I was feeling at the time (my anxiety has since eased a fair amount). And a recent one from high stakes legend Phil Galfond in which he discusses his logistical and emotional conflicts.
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One thing that will help punctuate my back and forth Cali-to-Mexico grind this year is a few well-timed poker trips. For the most part, I am going to be focused on putting in days down in Mexico in front of the computer, but I plan to play the LAPC main event later this month. I'm also legitimately stoked that the EPT Grand Final is returning to Monte Carlo, its rightful home, and I plan on being there for a third time in late April.
I also had a really good time at the PCA, which took up most of the first couple weeks in January in the Bahamas, and I'll try to write up a trip report on that for my next blog entry.