The Pre-Travel Tying Up of Loose Ends

Am sitting in the airport this afternoon, having been delivered here by Vera just a short while ago as I am flying to Spain a little later for EPT Barcelona, the kickoff series for Season 12 of the European Poker Tour.

I’ll be arriving there earlier than most of the others, getting to the Casino Barcelona in time to start covering various side events including the €1,100 Estrellas Main Event which is already shaping up to be a huge one. There are a couple of satellites tomorrow as well as a charity tournament hosted by Team PokerStars SportsStar Neymar Jr., then Wednesday things get crazy with nine different events in action.

There are 71 events total on the EPT12 Barcelona schedule, which I believe makes it the second-biggest EPT series ever behind last year’s Grand Final (in terms of the number of events). If you set aside the satellites (which are included among those 71), there are 49 events for which the winners will get a coveted EPT silver spade trophy, if I’m counting correctly.

The last few days I’ve been preoccupied with making sure all sorts of loose ends have been safely tied and other necessary business dealt with prior to my leaving. Besides the usual day-to-day business, I’ve been getting everything set to go for my Nixon class this fall (which I mentioned in passing last week). Unlike Tricky Dick in ’72, I’m not letting others deal with any of the planning or preparation -- I’m doing it all myself.

Sitting here at this moment in the terminal typing away, I feel oddly content that everything seems to be in its right place for the moment -- a truly fleeting feeling, I’m sure you’ll agree. And indeed, it won’t be long after touching down at Barcelona-El Prat Airport that I’ll be launched again into that familiar situation of things being unfinished.

Will check in as usual here once all those ends get loosened up and tangled again. More mañana.