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the double-round day, then a rest day!
Leading up to the double-round day, we had some little natural developments that I must admit never having thought of before! First of all, sometimes outside the end of the playing hall where my section is, later in the evening, the local wild dogs have some kind of barkfest. This might also be happening outside other ends of the playing hall, but it is so massive to seat 1000 players, that I cannot hear from where I am. Some of the players seem to notice, but it seems we are all just assuming that it is some kind of happy barking, and that there is nothing to worry about when leaving the playing hall in the dark! I should point out that regardless of the number and sizes of the wild cats and dogs, that I am not aware of even a single aggressive move by any of them!
And at the FA seminar session on Saturday, we got a little visitor who seems intent on building a nest around the edges of the big center dome in the playing hall. I can't see how we can get him out against his will, which is fine, as it's quite neat how everyone, across all cultures, finds little birds cute! :)
And now to the serious stuff, the double-round day! I am sure most people would agree that the tradition of a double-round day changes everything! This is especially so during a marathon event like this one. So much happens in re-checking and pairings after a round, that the challenges of getting the second round off and running in time are massive! For this tournament, there is a rest day after the double-round day. For myself, about half of that rest day will be taken up by entering the games for the double rounds, but I hope to get some time to explore the resort in leisure. Realistically, it could just end up being mostly a lazy rest day! You know that the double-round day will be rough when the Organizers warn the Arbiters to get to bed "on time" the night before! ;)
In closing today, there have been two little lifestyle things here that I find really cute. First of all, being a youth championship, at virtually any time during the day before the round, there are literally hundreds of little kids sprinkled around with their laptops, and their younger siblings with DSes, PSPs, etc. I don't know if I am doing this justice, but they are like cute little mushrooms, with their faces being illuminated by the seemingly warm glow of electronics!
Finally, more Europeans seem to use music ringtones on their cell phones, and very many of them here seem to be classic songs from the 50s and earlier! So, if you are old enough like I am, LOL, when someone nearby gets a call on their cell, you could find yourself humming for hours a song that brings back forgotten memories of songs your parents listened to, which also reminded me of Ed Sullivan, Tom Jones, and the best theme song ever: Hawaii 5-0 !!! :)
And at the FA seminar session on Saturday, we got a little visitor who seems intent on building a nest around the edges of the big center dome in the playing hall. I can't see how we can get him out against his will, which is fine, as it's quite neat how everyone, across all cultures, finds little birds cute! :)
And now to the serious stuff, the double-round day! I am sure most people would agree that the tradition of a double-round day changes everything! This is especially so during a marathon event like this one. So much happens in re-checking and pairings after a round, that the challenges of getting the second round off and running in time are massive! For this tournament, there is a rest day after the double-round day. For myself, about half of that rest day will be taken up by entering the games for the double rounds, but I hope to get some time to explore the resort in leisure. Realistically, it could just end up being mostly a lazy rest day! You know that the double-round day will be rough when the Organizers warn the Arbiters to get to bed "on time" the night before! ;)
In closing today, there have been two little lifestyle things here that I find really cute. First of all, being a youth championship, at virtually any time during the day before the round, there are literally hundreds of little kids sprinkled around with their laptops, and their younger siblings with DSes, PSPs, etc. I don't know if I am doing this justice, but they are like cute little mushrooms, with their faces being illuminated by the seemingly warm glow of electronics!
Finally, more Europeans seem to use music ringtones on their cell phones, and very many of them here seem to be classic songs from the 50s and earlier! So, if you are old enough like I am, LOL, when someone nearby gets a call on their cell, you could find yourself humming for hours a song that brings back forgotten memories of songs your parents listened to, which also reminded me of Ed Sullivan, Tom Jones, and the best theme song ever: Hawaii 5-0 !!! :)
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