The Glory of Pokemon Nationals

The whole family is exhausted and emotionally drained from the weekend wonder of Pokemon Nationals....Yes, there is such a thing, for the Pokemon Card Game, and it is huge.

There was a new attendance record of 950 participants, all with good rankings in his or her state, and in three different age divisions. My kids were participating in the Junior and Senior divisions, and anyone over 16 participates in the Masters division. I am amazed, but the grown ups are the largest division by half.
The kids were majorly excited. The youngest had been the state champ in his division, and had earned a travel stipend to come. The older one has won several other events during the year and also ranked well enough for decent pairings.

Dan got the convention pass when we committed to it in the spring, and spent the whole day with them. I have family in the area and hung out with them. Next year, should we do this again, we will split the duties. It was high emotion time for all the kids there. There were a lot of kids who were used to winning in their leagues and tournaments who did not do well at all with the heightened competition. The main prizes were scholarships for $5000 and $3000 and $1000, so it wasn't just for bragging rights. The winners also get invites and travel and lodging for Pokemon Worlds in Orlando, FL this year.

Dan said that there were some really high pressure parents there, really focusing on that getting to Worlds and win win win. There were a lot of stressed out kids, either getting consoled or given boisterous pep talks.

Our kids were just happy to be there and strategizing for next year. The older was 4-4 and the younger 3-5 in the long long day of prelim rounds that went from 10am to 10pm. I dropped them all off at 7:30am to get in line to make sure they even got in. They had moments after a loss where they were disappointed, but they kept at it and kept a good sportsman attitude. Both felt like it was a good showing for their first time there.

It may take a few days to make it back to normal. Just like with any huge competition, time is needed for decompression and regrouping.

Back from California

We did a delightful romp through the Northern CA area for the past couple of weeks.

Mostly, I totally dug it. Showing the kids the first apartment Dan and I lived in, playing tourist in San Francisco, walking all over the place. We found we had a hard time remembering which road to take where, but a lot of it was where it should be. Some of our favorite restaurants were gone, but replaced with new ones. We saw friends and did all the stuff we used to do with them. The apex of my missing Northern CA was visiting our first house, and finding the neighborhood was just as beautiful and idyllic as I remembered it. We even did a trip up to Tahoe for a family reunion that was about as picturesque as one could want.

However, by the end of the trip, I was ready to go back to the Chicago area and be content. I feel at home here. I guess I will never get used to the dryness of the climate in the Bay Area, or the nasty air that hung over Sacramento so much of the year. Over 800 wildfires broke out over the last weekend we were there, and just driving back to San Jose from Tahoe made my lungs feel seared and my eyes red and irritated. I would hate living in Sacramento and having to breathe that for days on end, or live in parched hills where I would have to worry about fire consuming my neighborhood. Earthquakes, eh, not so bad. Tornadoes are easier for me to deal with though because you can hide from them.

California was wonderful for all the years I lived there--always exciting, always something new, full of possibilities. I learned a lot (much of it the hard way) about how to feel out different cultures and customs and avoid offending. The Bay Area is so packed and so diverse, there may be literally 50 different languages spoken in one neighborhood and no way for anyone to insulate themselves in a "village," so you had to find commonalities and forgive each other's mistakes. It was a great experience.

It was also a mixed blessing that the climate doesn't change there. Nothing can get put off for a rainy day, because that would only be two or three times a year. However, you realize that time seems to pass faster because there are no seasonal cues. I was caught off guard one day trying to remember if it was May or December, that I knew I had to get back to real weather.

The trip was great for reminding me what I lost, but also appreciate what I have gotten back moving back to the midwest.

Kids are Entertaining

"Mom, I have to talk to you," said my youngest, a worried look on his face.
"What is it?' I ask.
"Mom, there are little hairs in my sink."
My husband had shaved in the kids bathroom this morning, since I had already taken over our sink getting ready to go for an audition.
"Those are Daddy's, from shaving."
"Oh!" he said, relieved, "I was afraid we might have tarantulas."