Totally Unauthorized

You got Kentucky, you got Colonels

I played better this afternoon than I did this evening.

We were dead last this afternoon, took a section 3rd in the evening.

Sometimes, you make mistakes that don’t matter.  Sometimes, the opponents just don’t make any mistakes and there isn’t anything you can do.

We were playing the IMP pairs–a pairs game where the boards are scored in IMPS instead of matchpoints.  It’s a very difficult scoring method, and more random.  If you opponents bid a silly slam that makes, it can take you right out of the event.

This afternoon, my focus was about as good as it has ever been.  I was paying attention and counting every single hand.  Didn’t fall asleep once.  Made a couple of bidding errors, unfortunately, but they were errors of judgement, not lapses in concentration.  I was proud of the game.  And it sucked–we were 31 imps negative.

Tonight, I was just a little looser. Still counting, still thinking, but I slipped a trick or two, and made one major error in bidding.  We had a great game, largely because we got a few gifts.  Maybe if you are Zia you can win without gifts, but the rest of us need some luck. We had it tonight, not this afternoon.

Tomorrow, compact KO’s.

On to the food:  Mike and I went to Bistro 301 tonight.  Two blocks from the hotel, and supposed to be one of the better places to eat around here.  It rated $$$ in the restaurant guide–which should tell you something about Louisville, since I had a salad and a pasta dish and ice tea, and my bill was $28, including tip.  Not that I was inclined to be a big tipper, since they brought our entrees about 1 minute after the salads.  After I politely inquired “Am I not eating my salad fast enough?” they took the dinners away until a more propitious time.  I also note that Mike asked for additional salad dressing, and they brought it in a little throw-away plastic cup.  Really good bistros don’t even have those little plastic cups.

Here’s something odd: the Daily Bulletin specifically said that there would be no food or entertainment tonight–and then, as they called the last round,  the director announced that there would be both.  The hospitality room is across the street, up one floor to the bridge connecting the buildings, then down one floor, then through to the back.  They couldn’t have put it farther away if they wanted to.  But the pulled pork sandwich was pretty good, and the bluegrass music was, er, loud.  Yeah, that’s it.  Loud.  I guess I’ll get used to it this week.