The Gingko?


Sunday, February 18, 2006

Same old starbucking, different destination. I awoke at 6:42 in Leesburg this time, with three nearby Starbucks to visit, and a fan visit at the first one. With the movie release less than three months away, it was more important than ever to get out and meet the fans. Then, after one more new store in Annapolis, I detoured from a direct route to Philly in order to distribute mini flyers to as many of the Philadelphia-area Starbucks as possible about the free screening on Wednesday.

Five minutes late, but as expected, games were barely getting started. When I showed my opening rack to Pesky, he commented "you rushed all this way for that???" CPSTVWZ--yuck!!! Exchanged CPVW, and after the game I could not satisfy my urge to sim because Quackle 0.94 crashed twice on that position. I made a note to download 0.95 ASAP. Anyway, I bingoed first with ACETOUS but then blew a turn with Pl(E)TTING*. But Flo set me up for PeTTING, and despite going on to bingo twice herself (MAL(T)IEST and rEI(N)VADE), I managed to stay ahead.

After my opening phony GAVOTED*, and then quickly drawing three eses, I felt in control during most of my game against Joanne Cohen, though I still felt like I wasn't playing my best and noticed clear mistakes after hitting the clock while having doubts about other plays. When Joanne finally bingoed with her own phony TORRIES* (which I doubted but let go because RIOTERS would also have played), I led by 48 on a closed board, but with both blanks unseen I took nothing for granted. Fortunately I drew them both, though on that board one would have sufficed.

Mitch just couldn't get anything going, and just like the O.D.B. I did the Stomp with sATIATE, ABLUTES, and sTOURIE for a 243-point win. Revenge!

Grabbed a quick lunch (less than mediocre) at Wawa and then ran around distributing more mini flyers. Promotion, promotion, promotion! I didn't get to all the central Philly stores like I had hoped for the reason that their are too many fucking people!!! Traffic was horrible! I couldn't help but look at the mass of people and wonder how others could witness the same overcrowing and yet go about the business of popping out baby after baby with no consideration of the consequences.

Despite the 14-player field, I was once again forced to face Pesky Polsky. And sure enough, he tried to pesk me again by making a couple of middling plays and then bingoing first with ROUSTIN(G). Well, that was enough of that--I had to resort to the nuclear option, a phony, REGLOVE* (missing GROVELE(R)). Pesky held for a looooong time, but he finally let it go, and I then drew a blank to bingo again, CaLDRON(S). My racks then fizzled, and Phil slowly caught up and took the lead, but a last-minute (T)UfTIEST saved me.

AARRGHH!!! I almost had Rahn McKeown! Before the game, he said he wished to have a game like we often played online, and sure enough he went o n to score 45 (because of my misplay), 30, and then bingo-bango-bingo with EVoLUTE, (B)EACONED, and ROTATEs. Oh, and then 42 with GLARY. It took seven turns for his rack to fizzle. Meanwhile, I screwed up by opening with BIZONE instead of BENZOIC, but I recovered with BORAC(I)TE and then ANTIFOG. I was still down, but Rahn gave me a chance by trying (D)ELUMING*, and I was able to take the lead. But then I made an amazing screw-up. With AAEEEIIJLP unseen, and a 5-point lead, I didn't need to bingo to win. I just had play off a few tiles, two preferrably, score, and let Rahn get stuck with drek. But instead I convinced myself (D)IRTLESS* was good, and I ended up losing because of it. Fuck-commala!!! I could have been 5-0!!!



I partially redeemed myself, however, by finding double-double HAnDOVE(R) against David Koenig to take the lead after his SERIA(T)IM and PR(E)X for 63. I was able to score well enough to still have a 2-point lead after his CRETINS, and for the rest of the game reasonably balanced tiles and/or the two case eses helped me to a much-needed win.

Unfortunately for my rating, Verna Berg beat that punk Rahn cuz he missed (C)HISELER, which meant her lower rating would be factored into mine. On the other hand, it was better for me to play Verna and go 6-1 than play Rahn and go 5-2.

Of course, I couldn't take it for granted that I would beat Verna, daddyhood or not. A critical turn came when she tried AUDIBL(E)S/(CENTU)S*. I had made a list of new 5-letter C words months earlier, but couldn't remember if I had checked to see which don't take an S. It was a tough decision, but I challenged, and that allowed me to take a 73-point lead. With both blanks unseen I played LOGOUT* and HINNY for the express purpose of drawing the blank, but Verna beat me to it. Her (M)IDDLErS seemed like a middling bluff, and I gave back the extra turn. Slightly better tiles allowed me to retake the lead, and when I drew the other blank I started to feel more confident, but far from certain. Running low on time, I was sure I was give up a bingo, EIORTV? to an E, but I felt I could win without it or bingo next turn. There was one, TEPhRIT(E), but I didn't know it, so I decided to burn my blank to hook IT and take the TWS at row 15 before Verna did (one es unseen). I started to play (IT)s/sPRITE, but the E would be slotted below a TLS, and I worried about BE or BO for 20. I took the E off and hit my clock, and after a second I realized what I had done--sPRIT!!! Verna let it go so she could play EX for 28, but guess what--SPRIT is good??? Verna led by 11, but I had drawn good tiles to my ET, ABCEOTT, and they just played better on that board for a 7 point win. Before she left, Verna said she would get me in Saratoga Springs. I tried not to snicker as I encouraged her. Now that I'm serious about trying to change the world, I must overcome my assholistic tendencies.



Analysis

#1    
---    
3.8 -CPVW  
0 ZED  
2.0 ROC  
0 ACETOUS  
30 lose turn  
0 PeTTING  
11.9 HAE miss TWINe R hook
2 LIE  
5.2 JEE  
4.2 VAIRS  
0 FLAW  
11 DOG  
4.4 FRO  
0 EARN  
     
     
#2    
--    
4.4 GAVOTED*  
6.9 PO(C)KET  
0 DEX  
1.9 INCAGE  
57.2 US SAUS(A)GES,ASSU(A)GES
4.2 AY(E)  
12.5 (H)AS  
3.6 ET  
0 (A)GAI(N)  
0 QI  
0 HE(T)  
1.9 (P)OlITIES  
9.3 FeRNY FaWNY
0 W(ET)  
     
     
#3    
--    
2.9 -ADFPQ  
5.1 sATIATE  
0 OHIA  
2.7 ROSY UNSAY
0 J(A)M  
13 DAH DATUM/(RETINUE)D
1.7 EXAM  
4.3 ABLUTES* SUBLATE
2.5 FINE  
0 NAE  
0 ZEBR(A)  
15.2 CO(N) CRU(Z)EIrO
0 StOURIE  
0 R(O)TL  
     
     
#4    
--    
1.3 AGIO 8G  
0 MITT  
35 REGLOVE* GROVELE(R)
1.3 CaLDRON(s)  
20.9 YAPO(N) (R)OPEWAY,COOPE(R)Y
8.4 B(O)OZE  
3.5 W(R)ATH  
0 (L)OOIE  
22.4 HE(P) E(T)HERIzE,E(T)HERIsE (saw but didn't know)
21.6 ER(A) (K)EIREtSU,qUIE(T)ERS
0 (T)UfTIEST  
2 F(O)X  
     
     
#5    
--    
47.4 BIZONE BENZOIC (saw it after hit clock, AARRGHH!!!)
0 BORAC(I)TE  
7 SHIM MISHIT,ISTHMI
39.7 KUN(E) ANTINUK(E),TANUKI,UNAKIN
0 ANTIFOG  
11.2 HOP  
32 DU(C)A(L) SUDA(T)ION
0 INIA  
3.6 (C)IS  
0 FOR(T)Y  
63.2 lose turn ((D)IRTLESS)  
16 RILES  
10 T(O)S(T)  
     
     
#6    
--    
2.1 AERATEd  
3.4 BEA(S)TIE  
0 HAnDOVE(R)  
8.3 CO(P)Y  
1.3 UNTOLD 9D  
5.6 FIN(C)H  
0 KA(F)S  
0 JUN  
7.8 FROG  
7.2 AILS  
14.5 (J)ILTED  
0 AE  
0 U(N)  
     
     
#7    
--    
4.3 HARK  
0 ROOF  
4.5 MEM  
4.1 QIS  
5.8 JO(W)ED  
0 LOGOUT*  
9.1 HINNY  
39.4 lose turn  
9.9 GRIT  
0 ZOEA  
4.6 VOE OREcTIV(E),OVERTIr(E),OVERbIT(E),OVERTIm(E)
33 sPRIT TEPhRIT(E)
5 COB  
0 TEE(D)  
     


1 - W - 5.3 (74.5)
2 - W - 7.3 (101.9)
3 - W - 3.4 (47.4)
4 - W - 9.7 (116.4)
5 - L - 17.7 (230.1)
6 - W - 3.9 (50.2)
7 - W - 8.6 (119.7)


Avg: 8.0


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