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I went solo this year, for the first time since ~2005, Mom had a meeting in GA she needed to attend (but she says she'll be back next year.) After spending too long at work, I drove down to NY, stopping in Mystic for a little 5 Guys, sailing through NYC traffic at 11pm to get to the Marriott hotel. I met my net-found opera-loving roommate from Pittsburgh, Roberta, and zonked out.
The next morning (Friday) we went out to a diner for breakfast together, then I went off to the Metropolitan Museum. I hit the Egyptian rooms (statues of Pharoahess Hatshepsut and 'visible storage' of lots of beads and findings) and the American Wing (lots of furniture, visible storage of everything, beautiful Tiffany stuff) and grabbed a bite to eat, before dipping into the European wing, deciding I was getting overloaded and went to find the special exhibits--Tibetan prayer rugs (flayed men, to remove ignorance and greed), guitars (including a Strad and an Amati violin), and boxes (etui and puzzle boxes). Then I went out to Central Park. The lawns were closed, the croci and daffodils were open, I saw turtles in Turtle Pond, and climbed Belvedere Castle. Then I went back to Brooklyn.
Placements so far:
05 196/455 43%
06 166/498 33%
07 204/698 29%
08 98/699 14%
09 134/684 19%
10 110/644 17%
11 84/655 12%
(12 59/586 10%, or it was 10% before the readjustments)
(13 88/573 15%)
(14 100/580 17%)
(15 189/567 33%)
(16 89/597 15%)
Back to this past weekend. On Friday I met up with Dave's group, including Bob, Marion, Nancy and Beth, Sparky, Jeff, and a couple others (including an internist from Floriday). We went out to Morton's for a lavish steak dinner, which was very nice. Half of us skipped the evening entertainment (a magician and cryptic crosswords) and just hung out there, then went back and played some Anomia in the lounge. I also saw my first game of Celebrity there. Finally hit the hay about eleven.
Saturday morning, up earlyish, I hit my favorite deli (ie within walking distance) for a bagel and caffeine, found a place near the front on the aisle to sit, and went off to do some morning puzzles. Went back for the usual opening ceremonies, met my seatmate Steve King who was a rookie, also ( I think) George Hyde. Did pretty well on the first puzzle, but took time to notice the (helpful) theme. Chatted with Jan O'Sullivan in the hall, and her Millionaire co-player Andy Kravis (9th place for rookies!). Second puzzle tougher, Brooklyn oriented. The third puzzle was a Reagle pun-fest. Afterwards our group from the previous night reconvened to find a Thai place for lunch that one member had fond memories of. It turned out to be a fair walk, and Beth has bad feet, so we did cabs back to the Marriott. But the lunch was lovely. It was the first time Dave had eaten Thai food, although he insisted on the tofu being removed from his pad thai, he enjoyed it.
The next morning (Friday) we went out to a diner for breakfast together, then I went off to the Metropolitan Museum. I hit the Egyptian rooms (statues of Pharoahess Hatshepsut and 'visible storage' of lots of beads and findings) and the American Wing (lots of furniture, visible storage of everything, beautiful Tiffany stuff) and grabbed a bite to eat, before dipping into the European wing, deciding I was getting overloaded and went to find the special exhibits--Tibetan prayer rugs (flayed men, to remove ignorance and greed), guitars (including a Strad and an Amati violin), and boxes (etui and puzzle boxes). Then I went out to Central Park. The lawns were closed, the croci and daffodils were open, I saw turtles in Turtle Pond, and climbed Belvedere Castle. Then I went back to Brooklyn.
Placements so far:
05 196/455 43%
06 166/498 33%
07 204/698 29%
08 98/699 14%
09 134/684 19%
10 110/644 17%
11 84/655 12%
(12 59/586 10%, or it was 10% before the readjustments)
(13 88/573 15%)
(14 100/580 17%)
(15 189/567 33%)
(16 89/597 15%)
Back to this past weekend. On Friday I met up with Dave's group, including Bob, Marion, Nancy and Beth, Sparky, Jeff, and a couple others (including an internist from Floriday). We went out to Morton's for a lavish steak dinner, which was very nice. Half of us skipped the evening entertainment (a magician and cryptic crosswords) and just hung out there, then went back and played some Anomia in the lounge. I also saw my first game of Celebrity there. Finally hit the hay about eleven.
Saturday morning, up earlyish, I hit my favorite deli (ie within walking distance) for a bagel and caffeine, found a place near the front on the aisle to sit, and went off to do some morning puzzles. Went back for the usual opening ceremonies, met my seatmate Steve King who was a rookie, also ( I think) George Hyde. Did pretty well on the first puzzle, but took time to notice the (helpful) theme. Chatted with Jan O'Sullivan in the hall, and her Millionaire co-player Andy Kravis (9th place for rookies!). Second puzzle tougher, Brooklyn oriented. The third puzzle was a Reagle pun-fest. Afterwards our group from the previous night reconvened to find a Thai place for lunch that one member had fond memories of. It turned out to be a fair walk, and Beth has bad feet, so we did cabs back to the Marriott. But the lunch was lovely. It was the first time Dave had eaten Thai food, although he insisted on the tofu being removed from his pad thai, he enjoyed it.
