Personal Journal

The Tournament

Well, Tulio won best overall at the tournament, and that rubs me the wrong way, but it need not. It's not an outcome I had anything to do with, and I don't choose to think about it any longer. I did not have to play either him, or Ron, who are the two best players in our area. I had actually hoped to play one of them, just to give myself a better chance at the "best general" award. It's a nice trophy.

So anyway, I had a pretty good time. I got a draw on my first game, and I won the next two without much effort. The draw was my favorite game because it was tooth and nail, I started poorly, but drew even as the game went on. That's my favorite feeling as a player, turning a bad situation to my advantage. Makes me proud of myself. I've only had two draws the whole time I've been playing this game, and I think they are my favorite games in my memory. Nice kid I was playing too.

The second game was against a 16-year old who plays the same force as I do, and I mopped the floor with him, because he had no idea the capability of his units, nor did he have a plan. Rope-a-dope. At one point he took an expensive elite unit and shot at one of my tanks not realizing he could absolutely not hurt the tank. I debated before he rolled the dice telling him this so he could choose another target. Then I thought to myself "this is a tournament. Let him learn the hard way, and he'll remember." After about the third turn, when I was safely aware he had no chance at scoring enough to cost me any points, I started teaching him. I could tell he didn't have that much fun, though, because his shit was blowing up left and right every turn (LOL!).

The last game was another slaughter. But the man I played was just great. Extremely cool, easy-going as I butchered his army, and the thing I loved was that he had OUTSTANDING paint jobs. I voted him best sportsman, best painter, and most fun to play against. I felt bad because through no fault of his own, I devestated him. It was a bit of a rock-paper-scissors matchup in my favor, mostly because the table we played on, which had very little cover for him to hide in.

I did think about leaving early. When the first game started, I was really having some misfiring adrenaline. That's one of the reasons I don't like competing. Something in my body gets caught up in it and it's uncomfortable. I've come to realize that my first round opponent, if he's nice and genial, can help me out with that. If I play Tulio someday in the first round, big problem!

But I'm more convinced that I'm a really quality player. Two tournaments, four wins, one loss, one draw. And I've played enough of those games where I have to adjust my plan on the fly to know I can do it. I know my army and what they can and cannot do. So I'm ready for Tulio and Ron (Ron, incidentally, is the greatest guy, but that's another story).

The only thing that really sucks about the tournament is having to play three games back to back. Eight hours of this game is draining, and all that standing on a cement surface is tough on my back. I wouldn't go to the tournaments, probably, if it were not for the fact that the best players show up for them and that's the only chance you get to play them.

I just realized something. Tulio never said a word to me. Ahhhh... Hopefully one of his friends updated him on what I was discussing this week. I certainly hope so. I'd hate to think he was ignorant of my feelings toward him. It would be nice to think that if he does know what I was discussing, he's not man enough to say a word about it to me. Well, enough of that jackass.

I slept for about 6 hours last night, 4 of them in a row without waking up, I think, or maybe once. That's the first time I've slept for more than 2 hours in a stretch since last Sunday. Hopefully I'll get more sleep in coming days.

It is never too late to be what you might have been. -- George Eliot
Courage to start and willingness to keep everlasting at it are the requisites for success. -- Alonzo Newton Benn