so, i had this tournament
i still can't really compose coherent thoughts. here are some highlights:
-- i loved putting together the small touches: goody bags, fortunes, tattoos, name tags. the unique details are what make an event memorable, like the loaves of bread that monkey gave out at match school, and the bbq cookout at fourth of july.
-- my mom came through with the first place 'trophy' - a small travel clock that's functional and also very attractive, complete with engraved plaques. yay mom and the family business.
-- i played badly, especially on sunday. i had no routine, no down time between games. i actually preferred it that way for friday, and seemed to be able to put the franticness aside during the games reasonably well. by sunday, when i could tell everything was running smoothly and i could relax, i relaxed too much and couldn't string anything together.
-- it's too hard to be organizer and be social. i didn't get to spend as much time with friends as i'd like, since i couldn't get away for lunches or friday dinner, which left just saturday and sunday dinners. it's too hard to have big group dinners, too, as it takes forever and you still don't get to talk to that many people, and people's feelings get hurt when they can't come. group meals are one of my most favorite and yet least favorite parts of tourneys for these reasons.
-- i wouldn't mind doing this again next year. annette will have berkshires in mid-june next year, so i'll have to find another date if i'm going to do this again. i don't know when that could be for decent rates. i think i would also go to three divisions, potentially 1600 - 1200 - lower, and make it play-ups to the division above only, not wherever you want to play.
-- i gave away a ton of prize money. hopefully i got my budget right and didn't actually lose money. it was pretty close either way, but that's how i wanted it to be.
-- i want to sleep for five days right now. i'm kind of excited about going under general anesthesia on thursday.
-- i loved putting together the small touches: goody bags, fortunes, tattoos, name tags. the unique details are what make an event memorable, like the loaves of bread that monkey gave out at match school, and the bbq cookout at fourth of july.
-- my mom came through with the first place 'trophy' - a small travel clock that's functional and also very attractive, complete with engraved plaques. yay mom and the family business.
-- i played badly, especially on sunday. i had no routine, no down time between games. i actually preferred it that way for friday, and seemed to be able to put the franticness aside during the games reasonably well. by sunday, when i could tell everything was running smoothly and i could relax, i relaxed too much and couldn't string anything together.
-- it's too hard to be organizer and be social. i didn't get to spend as much time with friends as i'd like, since i couldn't get away for lunches or friday dinner, which left just saturday and sunday dinners. it's too hard to have big group dinners, too, as it takes forever and you still don't get to talk to that many people, and people's feelings get hurt when they can't come. group meals are one of my most favorite and yet least favorite parts of tourneys for these reasons.
-- i wouldn't mind doing this again next year. annette will have berkshires in mid-june next year, so i'll have to find another date if i'm going to do this again. i don't know when that could be for decent rates. i think i would also go to three divisions, potentially 1600 - 1200 - lower, and make it play-ups to the division above only, not wherever you want to play.
-- i gave away a ton of prize money. hopefully i got my budget right and didn't actually lose money. it was pretty close either way, but that's how i wanted it to be.
-- i want to sleep for five days right now. i'm kind of excited about going under general anesthesia on thursday.