Scrabble Club Experience
It was a good night at the club. Interesting things happened. I think I played pretty well, but also sort of like a space case.
Jean decided the blind man I gave money too was probably the same one from the other stories.
I played against Jean. I had a blank in my rack for all but three turns, at the very beginning and end. She had closed the board pretty well but with the score 308 (me) - 307 she played GOR on H1 so I bingo-ed to the G with SUPErING to draw the last four tiles, DEWY and won by 58. She remarked that she could have put a T there instead of a G, and so I said "pruniest". She told me "pruniest" is not a word and so I asked "does it have an anagram?" Now I realize it does, from a flash card I have made! The answer can describe bananas.
I was jittery this eve (Mondays 6:30-9:30 we meet) because of Odwalla Serious Focus. I think I will stop trying to use this. (Taurine, Guarana, grape seed extract.)
Next I played Matt DeWaelsche. from San Antonio, arriving for the second game, so I set my board up. I tried to tell him we were out of chairs, but he found a chair anyway. The batteries were out on my SamTimer. I think it will work better to remove them each week. We used Caesar's extra clock which is an analog chess clock. Matt PAX, DEMOTES, ENOL total 117 I had EAU, VI(M)ENA, OGI(V)E 79 Matt played an L and a K to put LIKE, creating a front hook and many possible front extensions that I haven't studied much. (Citylike?)
When he fished (Y)OUR for 8 and I had a sweet parallel play CAY for 36 keeping AITZ - I was almost caught up. Then he had another bingo LADINO? for 220. I had AZOTE(s) for 45 so I was behind by 32. But I got the next bingo N(O)TICERS (There was an A but it wasn't open enough) and next I saw him put ARIGHTS onto the board. So I held for a couple minutes considering the score and my rack (which was EIIILWW) and whether I'm a chump and what happened the last time I saw that phony, til I decided to accept the play. So I played IWIS for 14 , he got 33 with HAIR through the I in ARIGHTS. I had drawn DEILPW? and settled on WI(S)P for 18 to open a triple line hooking under the P. The IWIS gave a 2x2 line hooking over the I, and my rack then was DEELNO? and Matt's last play was the Q for 31 to empty the bag. So then I was behind 404-338 and I went over by four minutes finding (R)ONDELEt so after +30 for his rack BVFUINT I only lost by 13.
So that was a pretty fun way to lose.
The last game was against Ruben Solis and I was winning by a lot at the end so I put (R)AG and he put RAGS with PISSIEr for 82 to go out, and I thought it was phony but when he said his score I became spacy and went into the routine of verifying scores, showing my last tiles etc. and afterwards, tried to challenge, tried to remember the rule (it's 20 seconds now, isn't it?), tried to consider whether it was 20 seconds, and since it really didn't matter (the end of the club game) we agreed on 421 (me) - 406 (Ruben). I have no idea what would have happened in a tournament game. (I could have said it felt like 18 seconds but maybe it is more honest to say it was 23 seconds? Where is videotape when you need it?) I think I ought to get cognitive training so that I won't be as spacy (and my prefrontal cortex will be more involved. I gave it a name. the Boss.)
The End.