21

I'm bored. I'm so bored. I have nothing to do but lie in bed and wait for my spine to fuse back together.

As such, I have been entertaining myself with various distractions and activities. I have a running chess game with my dad, a few Scrabble games here and there, several television series on DVD, and a game I made up called "Fling n' Catch" in which I fling a hair tie at the ceiling and then attempt to catch it.

Three weeks ago, however, I found a new way to keep my brain from mush-ifying:

Learning to count cards in blackjack.

Are there perhaps better, more ethical, moral, grown-up ways of entertaining myself? Absolutely. Should I instead be reading the classics or educating myself in theology, mathematics, literature, history, or how to use the universal remote control? Definitely.

Are those things as fun as indulging my penchant for memorization and algebra?

Not a chance.

Now, it is said that in order for one to be a successful card-counter, one must, among other things, be able to count down the deck in 20 seconds flat. I'm currently averaging an embarrassing 39-42 seconds in total silence and 47-50 seconds with distractions such as television, radio, the yappy dog next door, etc. I plan to decrease this to at least 30-35 seconds within the next week- assuming I haven't found a more satisfying hobby by then, of course.

Tonight is sort of my midterm. My sister is having friends over for poker night, and I plan on innocently suggesting a quick, casual game of Blackjack.

Now, before you get all Moral Orel on me, I am only using this as an opportunity to test my skills and see if this whole thing actually works. If I actually win anything, I plan on giving it right back and explaining the terrible thing I've done. I would never intentionally cheat my sister's friends.

Except for the mustached one.

Never trust a mustached Norwegian.