jkl
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I have been told that the manager of the Renaissance Hotel had a long very firm talk with Christine Brennan about the article she wrote about the host hotel.
Hereās an amazing female drummer. Her āStereo Heartsā cover got nearly 15 million views in Instagram.If that works people need to start thinking about gifting women some drum sets because I'm pretty sure there are even fewer female drummers than guitarists.
I had a great time despite the challenges and if I get the crud from it then so be it. It was worth it to see Madi and Evan win, the men's SP (Sinnerman!!), Ashley and Tim's performances, and the top 10 in the dance event (so many great young teams!)Did everybody who went have a great time and come home safe and sound?
I sure hope so!
Did everybody who went have a great time and come home safe and sound?
I sure hope so!
I always did that with food by sneaking up between skaters to eat .. that was before Covid.Definitely had a great time and I'm staying on until Saturday to sightsee with my family, who flew out at the end of the competition.
We went to the Country Music Museum and National Museum of African American Music yesterday and walked around Broadway a bit. We definitely stood out like sore thumbs with our masks on at all times even outdoors, but we were able to distance very well at the museums. We ate at two restaurants, but were able to sit far away from others. Enjoyed the music on the Honky Tonk Highway from outside the doors! Today we're just lounging and heading to Centennial Park later.
The snow day and day following were definitely the most challenging days, but fortunately there were just enough snacks and Keurig cups at my Air BnB to get me through. And this CA girl learned where the gaps are in my winter wardrobe! If I ate at the arena, I opted to miss a performance or two so I could eat on an emptier concourse. Not having a hot beverage available under the cold air vents wrecked my throat, but it taught me to always keep throat drops in my skating event bag.
Nathan plays the guitar as well and I believe he has an electric guitar already.
I was pretty much in crud-rage the whole time and actually surprised I didnāt get it. So good decision for you!@mtnskater Thanks for the recap. That likely would have been my experience. I have a dear friend in a Nashville suburb and would have loved seeing her along with the excellent skating, but my head told me that Iād probably be in crud-rage the whole time. Glad I passed on it.
I was pretty much in crud-rage the whole time and actually surprised I didnāt get it. So good decision for you!
I do think that would have been sensible. They should have bubbled as much as possible in the hotel.We were wondering why USFS didnāt have a lounge for skaters only for breakfast, snacks etc., closed to the members of the public staying at the hotel. It seemed odd that potential Olympic team members and all skaters werenāt more protected in that respect.
Oh, I agree! It's the best I can remember and I've been watching skating for a long time.The skating was some of the best we have ever had at Nationals. This was my 29th Nationals and I don't remember a better men's short.
Did everybody who went have a great time and come home safe and sound?
I sure hope so!
Sounds like your close contact was with yourself.Oh, I agree! It's the best I can remember and I've been watching skating for a long time.
Btw, to follow up on my "Close Contact" notification. I finally found a place on my phone that said the contact was "x days ago" and it seems that I was in close contact with someone with c*vid on the Saturday before I left. A DAY I DID NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE.
So the whole thing seems to be some sort of mixup and I had all that anxiety for nothing. And, if you avoided me at Nationals, it was for nothing too. Not that I minded. I would have avoided me too.
I totally agree about the cold. Jacket, jacket, blanket and gloves were required all week. The last day seemed a bit better but all the layers were still required. I am told that the arena does NOT need to be cold in order to keep the ice in good shape, so the only thing I can think is they keep the temperature down as a cost cutting / energy saving measure."It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," I believe is how the quote goes.
By far, the senior mens SP was the best competed event I ever attended in many US National Championships I've attended. The senior pairs SP gave me brief hope for US pairs until the free skates (minus Ashley and Tim).
Also, I briefly got to tell Cain-Gribble/Leduc that I was rooting for them to make the Olympic team (they were sitting a few rows behind me during a practice) and they were so appreciative. So luckily I didn't bring the curse of @rfisher to them. I also was routing for Calalang/Johnson but their free skate (imo) sadly seemed to seal their Olympic chances.
I did find the venue to be good, except it was really, really really cold and my seat was below vents where cold air was coming down almost continuously. The arena staff, especially manning the entrances, were fast, competent and polite without fault. I only ate a slice of pizza the first day between junior sessions and limited the amount of water I drank. Due to the crud, I just didn't feel comfortable eating at the venue, and on the second day of the competition, which stretched on for 13.5 hours with events and practice, I was more dehydrated than an Eteri girl. I felt so lousy, I missed the junior ladies free just to rest, and get liquids and food in me.
I'm guessing my caution paid off, as I've felt fine (tired, which seems de riguer after an emotional week and traveling), knock on wood.
Sadly the weather was also not very nice, and I'm sure helped keep the arena ventilation so very frosty. The snow day (and icy day after) kept most businesses shuttered, so I was glad I chose an Airbnb and got some groceries. And @jkl was so kind on offering me a ticket to the FOFS breakfast and I hated missing it, but my umbrella broke and the rain on Sunday had me wondering if I needed to ask Uber if they had an ark available to get me to even the men's event several hours later.
The sheer number of people in businesses and on the streets without masks was truly astonishing to me. My trip to Whole Foods (and in the arena, where most people were decent with complying) was the only local place where I saw customers and employees masked. I know, it's the "south", but Nashville is also a small bastion of blue in a very red state, so I hoped for more sanity, or at least to feel more safe. I'm sure I'm not the only person from the board who got some openly hostile looks from people for wearing a mask while ordering take-away food.
While I appreciate they wanted to inject local color into the event, I could have lived without the many mini country concerts. Once, to replace the opening ceremony, would have sufficed for me. But if they were going to go that route, they could have at least had some diversity. Nashville is also a booming rock and R&B town after all.
I also have to say, maybe because there was no audience last year, or because really f. s. knowledgeable people were in attendance, but the audiences, for all levels of competition (even when there weren't too many of us in the stands) were the most supportive I have ever seen, even to the most unknown, unseen skaters who made their way to Nashville through the most difficult of journeys. I have to admit it melted a bit of the snark from my heart to see these athletes being so appreciated.
And, as I mentioned elsewhere, says the USFSA would like to put a Worlds on in Nashville. Send they can negotiate some reasonable hotel room prices if that happens, because you know the ticket prices will be insane.
I agree. I think 2 or 3 songs would have been perfect. I actually enjoyed having performers over the normal stuff. But not for 4 songs.I could also have done without the country concerts. If they had cut the number of songs that were sung, it would have been better. However, I don't think it was any worse than the DJ, music, games, and exercises that we have had in other years.
My SIL lives in California as well and has that app on her phone.Oh, I agree! It's the best I can remember and I've been watching skating for a long time.
Btw, to follow up on my "Close Contact" notification. I finally found a place on my phone that said the contact was "x days ago" and it seems that I was in close contact with someone with c*vid on the Saturday before I left. A DAY I DID NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE.
So the whole thing seems to be some sort of mixup and I had all that anxiety for nothing. And, if you avoided me at Nationals, it was for nothing too. Not that I minded. I would have avoided me too.
MacMadame.... thanks again for the gratis Gala tix!!!I agree. I think 2 or 3 songs would have been perfect. I actually enjoyed having performers over the normal stuff. But not for 4 songs.
You should have invited FSU!The suite concierge expected 79 guests and I was the only show.
Everything was closed that night. Nashville & snow don't play well together!MacMadame.... thanks again for the gratis Gala tix!!!
My most serendipitous experience of week: Searching unsuccessfully for food on snowstorm Thursday, and discovering that my suite ticket for the women's short came with a spectacular buffet! The suite concierge expected 79 guests and I was the only show. Unfortunately, I can't eat more than two platefuls of veal ossobucco!