Scrabble HPOWNCs

...no, there's no six-letter word in that. You can stop trying now. (Of course, I don't rule out the possibility that some Division 1 player is now going to email me or comment that I'm wrong and there is in fact some term meaning "a rare Asian type of shrub that grows only in May under a full moon" or something in there...)

It's funny to note that there are certain areas of the United States that are quite hoppin' parties of wild and craziness (HPOWNCs) for Scrabble. The funny thing is, the Scrabble HPOWNCs are not always HPOWNCs in other respects. You'd think that an area which was accommodating enough of diverse interests to have a Scrabble scene would have a lot of other stuff going on, too. But instead, Scrabble hotspots are places like....

...Michigan. Okay, Michigan's got Ann Arbor, which I can say firsthand is cool and probably as cool as a college town could ever get. But Scrabble tournaments are never IN Ann Arbor! Instead, they're in the boonies of Farmington, Fenton, and even places this native Michigander has never heard of, like Ortonville. These places are cheap, I'm sure - and I'm not trying to say that our wonderful MI directors pick bad venues. Only that....other than Ann Arbor, sedate places like these are all Michigan's got!

...Ohio. Michiganders, 'nuff said, right?! Who ever finds a wealth of fascinating and diverse entertainment in Ohio?! Just a couple months ago, I swore up and down (even directly in front of my wonderful native Ohioan boyfriend) that I would never ever live in Ohio. Of course, look at me now - and I even actually really like it! But am I gonna end up permanently in Ohio?! You are all allowed to deliver to me a very swift kick to the head if I do in fact, because maybe that will restore my sanity. There are so many completely boring parts of Ohio...yet so many Scrabble tournaments!

...Texas. Okay, none of my exes live in Texas, and I've actually never been there. I love warm weather and would not mind ultimately residing in a place where snow and subzero temps are completely alien. But 110 degrees and even above?! I think it's just as bad to not be able to go outside because of the cold, as it would be to not be able to go outside because of the heat!

...North Carolina. This one for me holds the allure of "I've never been there and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about it." But I've never heard anyone say anything good, either! What on earth is in fact in North Carolina?! Apparently Scrabble tournaments...and....c'mon, help me out here! Anyone? anyone?

....California. I like Cali. Lots of stuff going on if you're in the right places. But those places aren't always where tourneys are, and are expensive as all get-out, because you like Cali but so does everyone else...and I don't see the point of the random extraneous isolated suburbs because you now have all this money that you can't do anything with because you're not around any cool place to spend it!

Where Scrabble Tournaments Are Not:

-Chicago. This one makes me sad. I'd probably be very happy in Chicago, but then again I'd get to go to - what, one or two tourneys a year?! CLNOOU!!!! Chicago has such a wide variety of stuff going on...you'd think there'd be some nerdy wordy people around??

-New York. Except Albany (Michael and I are totally going this year, btw - anybody else?!! We've never been and are deathly curious). Another cool place you'd think would have a better Scrabble scene than it does.

-Iowa. This makes me sad, too, only because I might go to the University of Iowa for a PhD in speech path eventually. And when/if I do, what am I supposed to do about Scrabble?! Go to a big city like Chicago for my Scrabble fix?! Oh, wait...can't....nothing there! I do imagine getting a PhD would take up a good bit of my time, but not so much that I'd want to/have to give up what is currently probably my favorite hobby that I've ever had.

-etc.

It's just kind of funny, if you think about it. So...as a Scrabble tourney player who wants to continue playing avidly, but who probably does not want to live in either Michigan or Ohio for the rest of her life....what on earth does one do?!?

And there, my dear readers, is where I shall leave you hanging, wondering where on earth I'm going with all this.

....Stay tuned for the answer in an upcoming post from Michael and Heather.......

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