Thoughts on Lollapuzzoola 4

Sorry I've been away from here for a few days. Things were hectic at work and at home.

Yesterday I competed at Lollapuzzoola 4. This is a smaller version of ACPT and a lot more fun. Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht--two very funny guys who used to run a blog called "Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords"--started Lollapuzzolla three summers ago with about 30 people. The tournament initially started in Jackson Heights, at a church where the first Scrabble game was played. Well, the tournament outgrew its space and this year it moved to All Souls Church on Lexington Ave. Over 170 people participated, along with I don't know how many at-home players. Unlike ACPT, there are no money prizes, but the top 10 finishers in each division (Local and Express) get puzzle books, and the top 3 get trophies as well. Patrick Blindauer took over Ryan's spot as co-host this year.

Yesterday's puzzle constructors were Mike Nothnagel, Elizabeth C. Gorski, Andrea Carla Michaels, Tony Orbach, Doug Peterson, and Byron Walden. I will not post any spoilers here because there are people competing at home. All I can say was that puzzle #5 was by far my favorite because I loved the theme and the way it was constructed.

Upon registering, we were handed a card with a person from a famous group or family. I got "Homer", which meant I had to hook up with The Simpsons for a game we played at the end of the day. This game was created by Neville Fogarty.

I sat next to Ellen Ripstein, who won the ACPT in 2001 (I think). She was featured in the movie "Wordplay." I had a very nice conversation with her, and the other people at my table were nice too.

I don't usually check the standings because I know I was near the bottom. Instead, I measured how I did against past performances. I finished 3 out of the 5 puzzles yesterday, and came close to finishing puzzle #2. Puzzle #4 was virtually impossible. I was happy with my performance, but I need to practice with a timer.

Jeffrey Harris was the winner of the Express division. The Express division consists of people who finished in the top 20% in either ACPT or Lollapuzzoola. The Local division winner was Andy Kravis (in his very first tournament!). The Pairs division title went to Amy Goldstein and Evan O'Donnell (who I think is only 13 or 14). Joon Pahk had the dubious distinction of having the worst handwriting (they give out the best handwriting award at ACPT).

We are watching the "I Love Lucy" marathon on the Hallmark Channel in honor of Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. They just showed the very last episode. "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", her follow-up show done in the late 50s, was nowhere near as funny. You also could see the marital discord between Lucy and Desi. I posted this link on my Facebook page yesterday on why Lucy still keeps us laughing.

We did "old school" music at my Zumba class this morning. Otherwise it was a quiet day, except for the altercation that Matthew had with a cashier at Wendy's. The oven was down and they were unable to grill chicken for his salad. Then they told him that the oven would be fixed and it would take about 5 extra minutes . . . 20 minutes later he was still waiting. The oven was still down . . . no salad. They didn't even offer him anything else. He got his money back, but he was told to stop arguing. This is the second time it's happened with the same cashier. I don't think we'll be going back there for a while.

Back to the Newsday puzzles tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick