In which we prepare for a Roman Catholic weekend

The legendary Regis Kristmas Klassic (AKA the Christmas Chlassic) is this weekend. Everyone at Ridge last weekend seemed to be heading out to Blake, so I didn’t have anyone to compare CFLish notes with. The RKK AKA CC tends to be an easygoing affair with 3 rounds, the ringing of bells on the streets, the light drifting of snow flurries and an early home because we don’t even pretend to try for 4 rounds. This year, out of the goodness of our Roman hearts, we’ve invited the NYC debate league folks to pepper our ragout with some policy teams, and they’ve provided us with a goodly number in the novice division. Their man Aubrey will be in tab with me, making that all happen. I haven’t worked with him since the NYSDCA finals last spring, which reminds me that the assembled NY learned brethren at Ridge were talking about holding one more NYSDCA event this year, and then officially merging with the NYSFL next year, which for many of us was the goal all along. The nay-sayers have all gone, once again proving that waiting out the bastids is often the best strategy. I find that it has worked for me more often than not over the lengths of my various careers, but maybe I’m just lucky.

I won’t be going for that post-tournament early home mentioned above, though. I’m getting together with HoraceMann, the Superhero Without Any Superpowers (there’s a phrase I haven’t typed for a long time) to catch up on this and that. We always seem to end up comparing movie notes, as I think I’m one of the few people he knows who has ever seen a movie made before 1977 and, for that matter, still watches movies made before 1977. We classicists are few and far between. Maybe we can argue about Vertigo. I just rewatched it, and my first reaction was that I was exhausted from all that driving around, and I still don’t place it number one on my all-time list, but then again, I did sort of enjoy it…

Things will quiet down after this weekend. I’ll take the odd swat at Columbia, but that’s all booked up, and Penn, but that’s also all booked up, but mostly I’ll be of good cheer decking the halls and all that for a couple of weeks. My first event on the other side of 2016 will be Bigle X, with the joy of managing round commitments, which CP says is the greatest thing since sliced pizza. We’ll see. I keep hounding Kaz to get us a better tab room this time out; last year we were in a dungeon with a view of the midden, with no one but the ordure collectors to keep us company. There must be a comfy chair in that building somewhere!