I want to also do a (fairly) quick write-up of my time at the CDM:
-Our first flight from Austin to Dallas was a no-brainer and went as smoothly as it should have, but our next flight going from Dallas to Paris wasn't exactly as smooth. We had an ill-explained two hour delay at the airport because our plane was broken and was missing a mechanics' log. I guess that's a good thing (no reason to put our lives into jeopardy, but it caused problems for us later on).
-We had booked the train from Paris to Le Mans well before our flight was delayed, so we were nervous when we landed in France to learn that we had a little under 20 minutes to get to the train before we were completely screwed. Turns out we could have BARELY made it, but because of my poor French and our unfamiliarity with the airport/train station, we missed our train.
-Nes and I essentially skipped all of Tuesday and went straight into Wednesday because of our long flights and the 7 hour time difference between the US and France. The next possible train leaving from the airport railway heading to Le Mans was two hours later, so we again had to wait around an airport with little to do. I was quickly approaching 24 hours without sleep...
-We finally board the train and I nervously sat in our seats waiting to get yelled at for taking up someone else's seat (we couldn't figure out the car number/assigned seating BS). One of the conductors walked by and asked us for our tickets, simply hole-punched them and went on with his business. It was then I could finally put my head back and relax for a little while.
-When we finally made it to La Suze, I immediately texted Karel since I knew that Dan's phone was probably like mine and not exactly able to work in Europe. Karel was finishing up Match Race at this point and told me that someone could swing by to pick us up in about 15 minutes. Since I was aware that La Suze was a small town, I figured I could just walk in the general direction of the venue before noticing someone on the street. This didn't exactly happen. Nes and I spent about 20-30 minutes walking aimlessly around the village with our luggage in the direction that I thought was correct, which wasn't entirely untrue, but we reached the end of the village limits before I began to exchange more texts with Karel about being lost in the smallest town I've ever been in. He told me to meet him at the church, which apparently was 2 minutes from the venue. Turns out that just about everything is two minutes from the venue if you know where the effing venue is...
-We make it to the church and I put my bags down to give my right shoulder a needed rest. After no more than 2 minutes, I see a big bearded man in a black t-shirt yelling "JOE!!" Guilherme Arantes was the first person I met at the CDM. Right behind Guilherme was Dan and his wife Jessica, who thankfully put two-and-two together when they saw a confused person wearing a Texas Longhorns sweater in the middle of France. I was then greeted by Karel and Aron shortly afterward, and we were informed that we had probably walked around the entire city without realizing that the venue was so close.
-So now we finally make it to the wonderful venue, where Clark was finishing up his Match Race barrage. I walk into the middle of the auditorium to meet Sami for the first time since joining the site in early 2005; a full decade later. We chat a little bit about how it's nice to finally meet after so long, and how it was appropriate that I walk into the venue while Clark is being featured on the projection screen. Clark wins his match and I walk up to congratulate him and say hello for the first time in 8 years.
-The rest of this night was primarily spent drinking and laughing and catching up with old friends. I remember playing a bit of Grand Prix against Karel and Moll and maybe some other people, but I hadn't exactly slept in awhile and Clark ended up taking us to the campsite at around 1 am.
-Day 2 was Battle Mode day, a mode that I've never been too fond of, personally. I walked around the venue watching all the people I could, trying to give support to everyone I knew well. When it became clear who was going to make the knockout stage, Drew had my support immediately. Dan and I had to show our country pride, so when Drew ended up winning the Gold medal, we hoisted him on our shoulders like the true champion he is. He's a battle mode legend!
-Day 3 was more of the same laughs and beers, but this time I was participating in the Grand Prix mode against 48 other people. Since my PAL abilities aren't exactly on point with my native NTSC, I wasn't really expecting all that much from my efforts. I figured that there'd be an outside chance that I'd maybe make the knockout round, but that would have been the absolute best case scenario. I ended up making the barrage against Leyla, who would go on to show me a thing or two about her skills at such a young age. She would handily beat me, despite a decent effort by me on MC1 before a last second red shell, which may be able to be seen on tape a little later? I had a good run, but the better player moved on to face the eventual GP champ, Geo.
-Before I knew it, the short trip was practically over. I went onto the stage after placing 45th overall (not bad, eh?), said my quick "et donc, uhhh" which was the inside joke between Clark, Moll, Dan, Karel, and me. Mario caught on to our game and threw in a few more doncs, but we were already well out of beer.
And that was that. Karel and I spent about an hour playing NTSC Grand Prix, which I think came out pretty even when it was all said and done. We played itemless for the entirety of our playing, which was fun to watch because our turning is pretty damn similar. It's always fun to play someone who is practically your mirror from a different continent halfway around the world.
All in all, it was the best trip I could have ever imagined, and I'll remember it for the rest of my life! Everyone was so damn nice throughout the entire time I was there, and I really, really want to thank all of you for making it such a wonderful time. The venue is absolutely perfect, and I hope that everyone can make it out for a future CDM at least once in their lifetime, because it's something that I can only dream of attending again sometime in the near future!
Thanks to all who organized everything, because you guys did everything absolutely perfectly! Brilliant job!
And Clark, let's not wait another 8 years before we share beers again. That goes for you too now, Karel.
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