Okay...here we go; Purple's adventures in Sacramento.
Flight up, no prob (hey, it's 45 minutes in the air from Burbank...barely
enough time to down the complementary drink). Unlike my Vegas flight
earlier in the year, the check-in guys in Burbank charged me an oversize fee
for my bag ($45!), but the guys in Sac just let it in....of course, it
MISSED the flight! Good thing it was on the return home flight. On the
other hand, had it not made it to Sac, Southwest would've gotton nailed for
a few bucks, replacing all my FIE clothing, and other gear for eight weapons
Ka-CHING!! Gotta pick it up today. Got my rental car okay, and KNEW it was gonna
be a good weekend when it was the same car as that of my wife! Found the
motel easily enough...'bout 8 miles outside town (couldn't afford the host
hotels).
This is where the first day sorta fell apart. When I travel out of town to
fence, I make sure I arrive the day before the comp and do two things...1)
find the venue and 2) if it's a big event like a sectional or NAC, get my
gear checked early so I don't have to fight the line the day of my comp.
UNFORTUNATELY, Nats were in the city with the most asinine street layout
this side if Hades...who was the mental giant who decided 2nd Ave. should
intersect 24th St.? And why of God's name are there two freeways designated
as the 80...and why do they go on opposite sides of the city?
Oh wait...this is my wonderful state capital. Never mind...explains
everything.
I got lost on the wrong side of Sac for about an hour before I finally found
the venue...then had to park 6 blocks away because there's NO parking
directly associated with the convention center. Hello? A slight lack of
city planning here? Imagine (if you've seen it) dragging my equipment case
six blocks...even with wheels, it gets REAL heavy after a while. I'm
definitely designing a set of support wheels I can strap on for those long
hauls...I think my arms got stretched...too bad they didn't stay that way
for the next day. I got my gear checked, then gave a friend a ride back to
the Red Lion, where I found the shuttle bus picked up from. YAY! No
parking fees!
The event was great, but even L.A. streets
aren't that screwed up!
I've been to Sacramento three times now (Nats and two sectional) and each time, I
get lost because of the street layout.
I really need money next time so I can stay in the venue hotel.
Despite all this, I had a wonderful time. Met Neevil, Oiuyt (did your legs
ever get going after sitting for four hours between pools and DE, dude?),
Peach (congrats on the "A" sabre, dear), and Clean Touch...and ran into Edew
when he was in director's mode (we'd met earlier in the season). I got a
lot of compliments on my bag, too.
I did fairly well. Got pulled into doing team epee because one of our guys got sick and returned home...after the first complete rotation, we were down 15-0. but I ended up scoring more than the other two guys on the team...and epee's by worst weapon. In DIv III sabre I didn;t do so well. 1-3 in pool (although I should'a won one of them), and got creamed in DE. Div III foil was another matter entirely, however. 2-2 in pools, came out seeded 100T. I had an extremely tough 1st DE (damn left-handers), but pulled thorugh it. Won the next two (and if you were in the venue, you probably heard me screaming
Now, allow me to post about the most amazing display of sportsmanship
I've seen or experiences on the piste...and I was the one who benefitted
from it. Everyone I've told it to had to pick up their jaws.
It was my last fight in Div III foil pool. I'd just been scored on, and was now down 3-2. As soon as I came on guard, the director said "fence." Obviously, I wasn't ready and got nailed. I told the director I hadn't heard him as if we were ready. Had the director said too bad, I would've accepted it, 'cause arguing just pisses them off and I've never seen a call changed at the local level, let alone at Nats. However, my opponent, Michael Mercy from Salle Boise, turnedf ald told the director that I was right, and the call to fence HAD been a bit quick.
Michael voluntartily gave up the touch! I saluted him and thanked him, then went back to my on guard line, KNOWING it was going to come back and haunt him. I ended up winning 5-4.
I know it was only a Div III, but still...
I just wanted to make sure everyone knew who he was and what he did. Michael, if you read this...thank you. And I'm SO glad I didn't face you in DE...'cause it wouldn't happened again
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Sam Signorelli -- Boldly going forward...'cause I can't find reverse!
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