Scrabble

Too many cancellations this week. As there were last week. I’m going to implement a new system for any new students I get, as well as my current biggest offenders, whereby lessons are booked in blocks of five. At the end of the fifth lesson they’ll need to pay for the next five if they want to continue, and so on. If they cancel within 24 hours of the lesson, or don’t show up at all, they lose out. Anything else just isn’t fair on me. This might mean I get fewer new students but hopefully the ones I do get will be more committed.

All these cancellations mean I’m getting to play a lot more Scrabble than I bargained for. I got in nine games yesterday, six of which I won, although my rating only ticked up a fraction. The first game, against a slightly higher-rated player, was interesting. I found the first two bingos of the game but my opponent hit straight back with two of his own, and some iffy draws and sketchy word knowledge led to my downfall as I lost by 41. Until yesterday I hadn’t made a single 100-point play but, like my cancellations, they came one after another, as I found EXPUNGES (102) and rECYCLE (106) in successive games. What’s more, I drew a P immediately after the rECYCLE play which allowed me to front-hook it for 63 points on my next turn. My other bingos included such delights as FiEFDOM and pETERMEN. I broke 500 in four games and had three wins by over 200. The FiEFDOM game was an extreme form of the kind I try to avoid: almost the top-left half of the board was blocked off, and I had nowhere to play my Q or other high-point tiles. To my amazement my opponent missed an out-play that would have given him a two-point victory, and I scraped home by 20.

It’s getting chilly. And dark. And it’s only two days until our clocks go back. Will this be the last time this happens in Europe? I seem to be in the minority of people who actually like daylight saving. We get lovely summer evenings here, and seeing everybody out and about in the squares is very uplifting. That extra hour of daylight in the evening surely boosts both Timișoara’s mood and its economy. But in winter, when temperatures often fall through the floor, I’d rather it be light at 9am, which wouldn’t be the case if we moved to permanent summer time. Why can’t we keep the best of both worlds?

The Red Sox are on a roll. After beating two very good teams to make the World Series, they’ve now taken a 2-0 lead.

It’s a foggy Saturday morning in Timișoara. Normally I’d be working now, but both the kids I’m supposed to be teaching are apparently sick. It’s been a little disappointing this week, with five cancellations and only 19½ hours of lessons, although with a plethora of new students the immediate future is rosier. The lowish volume didn’t stop my work week being interesting. On Tuesday I went to the nearby Universitatea de Vest for my first session with a teacher of Romanian and linguistics. She said it felt quite strange to be a pupil rather than a teacher. We had a great chat about all matters language-related. If she has time I’d really like her to give me some Romanian lessons. That evening I had a two-hour lesson with two new students: sisters who are both studying medicine. They were at very different levels; I’d put the older sister at a solid 5 on my 0-to-10 scale, while the younger one was at a 1½ so I communicated with her mostly in Romanian.

Thursday was a slightly strange day which didn’t finish until 11:15 pm following a late-night session with my student who once lived in Milton Keynes (she’s at level 9, almost fluent, so how do I help her?). Yesterday I had four lessons. In the morning I had a new student who surprised me when he said he was 47. He looked 55 at least. He then said that he’d inadvertently taken ten years off. We then talked about numbers – he struggled to hear the difference between “thirty” and “forty” when I said them. With my eleven-year-old I did a session on maps and directions. One of my maps included a pub, and I remarked that the boy’s surname was Cîrciumaru, which means “publican” – a cârciumă is a pub. (Under the spelling reforms of 1993, the letter “î” was replaced by “â” except when the letter was the first or the last in the word, but personal names generally kept the old spelling. As for place names, you’ll see both old and new.) Romanian surnames can be quite interesting; last night’s lesson was with a chap whose name was Tărbuc, which is some kind of fishing net.

Last Sunday I caught up with S. We had a lovely late afternoon and evening. We spent some time in the art museum which was fascinating when I think about it, and then just wandered through the botanic park on the way to the Timișoreana restaurant in the square (the prices had shot up since I last visited when my parents were here in June) and finally to my place. She says she needs to escape the fake corporate world before it’s too late, and would like to be either a university lecturer or a high school teacher, even though either of those (particularly the latter) would result in a loss of income. Of course I’ve been there, and for me the need was even more pressing. At least she seems to have found some success in that artificial environment, which I rarely did. We discussed books. She said she’d lend me The Handmaid’s Tale after I’ve finished reading a biography of Charles Darwin. She’ll be back in Timișoara again in a week.

This morning I made myself read about the likely fate of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian journalist who was brutally murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. It’s very hard even to comprehend. Seriously, where do you even start? Yesterday Donald Trump (finally) said something about the murder being “bad” and “sad”. WTF?

In much brighter news, this morning I had my first-ever draw in ISC Scrabble. It was a 13-minute game, a bit shorter than I usually play, so whenever I found a play that scored a decent amount I generally slapped it down. I got some high-scoring tiles early on, and used them to open up a useful lead, but my opponent found a fantastic nine-letter bingo (OUTRaNGED) using the OU that I’d just played, which greatly reduced my advantage. When he was able to score well with the second blank I thought I’d had it. I was lucky that he didn’t have a winning out play (I don’t think). The best he could do was block my winning play, and by playing out I could only tie the scores at 387 apiece. It also tied my best-ever score without a bingo. I had just four seconds left at the end, while he had over five minutes. Maybe I’ll be as fast as him when I’ve played 21,000 games, as he has done. Prior to that game I’d won seven games out of eight.

The Red Sox have stormed into the World Series with a 4-1 win over the Astros, thanks in part to a stunning game-deciding catch in the fourth game, one of several breathtaking catches in the last few days. Their opponents are still unknown: the series between the Brewers and the Dodgers has gone right to the wire, with the deciding seventh game being played in Milwaukee tonight.

A solid week of work: 23 hours, with not a single cancellation. With new students coming aboard and some existing ones clambering back on deck in the coming weeks after various business trips, I expect to have my hands pretty full in the near future. This morning’s lessons with the sister and brother weren’t the easiest: their family seems to be slightly dysfunctional and that doesn’t help. I felt sorry for the girl who was tired and impatient: she complained of being overloaded with homework and under unnecessary pressure from her mother. On Thursday night I reached a milestone as my 50th student came through the door; she was the woman I met last week at one of the ferry stops. Her English is very good indeed. She had lived in Milton Keynes, which she described as a fake, soulless place. Yesterday I saw number 51, an eleven-year-old boy, in his fourth-floor apartment within striking distance of Iulius Mall. He was a fan of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? game I often play with kids. After the session, his dad was almost shovelling money into my hand. Um, it’s only 60 lei, not however many hundred. He did insist on “tipping” me an additional 10 lei. By Western standards Timișoara is poor, but there’s no shortage of well-off people, and sometimes I wonder if I could get away with charging double what I currently do. (I have pushed my rates up a bit. A year ago I would have charged just 50 lei.)

S arrived back in Timișoara a couple of hours ago, but will fly back to Prague after just one full day. We plan to meet at the art museum tomorrow.

The Red Sox did close out the series against their bitter rivals, after a bit of a bum-squeaker in the fourth game, and tonight they start their best-of-seven series with the Astros, an exceptionally strong team, particularly in defence.

Scrabble. Three games today, and not a blank to be seen on my rack. The first game was pretty nondescript, my opponent used both blanks to form the only bingo of the game, and I fell to a 52-point loss. The second game was far from nondescript as my opponent out-bingoed me 4-0 and won 466-387. After being pummelled by bingos from all sides, to get within 80 wasn’t a bad effort. That 387 was in fact my highest ever score without a bingo. Also notable was my opponent’s 102-point play; remarkably that was the first three-figure play I’d seen in any of my ISC games. My highest remains at 98. Game three: I played an early bingo (BEAMIER), my opponent replied with a bingo mid-game, but I was able to edge him out 379-335.

I drink loads of water. More than the two litres a day the man on the radio keeps telling me I need to consume. But I still get dehydrated all the time. It could be the effects of Citalopram, the antidepressant I take. On Thursday I asked my doctor to take my blood pressure. The reading was 110/70, which according to the doctor is below average but still absolutely fine. He told me I should perhaps drink more liquid to ensure it doesn’t drop any lower.

Timișoara is beautiful at any time of year, but in the autumn it’s really quite stunning. Sitting by the river this afternoon made me think that there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be.

Yesterday was an interesting day. In the morning I had lessons with my latest brother-and-sister combo. (The previous pair seem to have blipped off the radar. That happens.) I tried to help the girl navigate her way through the “reading and use of English” section of the Cambridge exam, which isn’t exactly a breeze even for me. There’s a lot of emphasis on collocations in that paper: things like “under no circumstances” and “under no illusion” which you either know or you don’t. That makes actually teaching for the test relatively hard. Her speech is excellent though, so explaining things to her is relatively easy. Then came her brother. Body parts! They make such a great topic. We did the “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” song which I remember from when I was five, then Simon Says, then some matching exercises. Simon Says is always fun. “Now sit down.” [Sits down] “But I didn’t say Simon Says!” We also touched on pronunciation. At his young age, learning correct pronunciation is so much easier, so I really want to make sure he nails it. Then we worked on numbers. His school teachers appear to have taught him that English numbers stop at ten, so I was keen to put him straight. Finally we played some quick games (he won all of them; that helps) and at end of the lesson he said I was a much better English teacher than his one at school. Perhaps he was just buttering me up.

At 4pm I had my first lesson with a guy who contacted me last week. We’d spoken Romanian on the phone, but when he was here it was obvious that he could speak English very well. I’d put him at an 8½, perhaps even a 9, on my 0-to-10 scale. It was equally obvious that he was a complete twat. A truly odious man. He talked about his exploits at the gym (“I’m a really big guy”), his Mensa membership, and his ambition to be Romania’s president in ten years’ time (heaven help us). Then he said, “I’m not a humble person.” You don’t say. “I don’t like humble people.” I told him that I considered myself to be a humble person. He introduced several other topics, saying at one point that luck doesn’t even exist, a contention that I find absurd. He reminded me of the New Zealand man who John Campbell interviewed following the terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011. “When the bomb went off I was on my eighth repetition of a however-many-kg bench press, but naturally I finished my set.” I asked my new student if he wanted to come again at the same time next week, and he said he was so busy that he couldn’t possibly give a day or a time. I wouldn’t be surprised if I never see him again.

Later I met up with my Tinder friend (I’ve called her X previously on this blog, but I’ll now use her real first initial, S). We chatted in English (dammit!) and took a walk around Piața Unirii, which I think is her favourite part of the city. She showed me the map stone – a cool-looking stone inlaid into the square, showing a fairly vague outline of the old fortress. We then grabbed some food and drink at the popular Hungarian market in the centre of town before I invited her up to my flat. She seemed to really enjoy the view here, and it is fantastically wonderful. I told her that when I moved into this place it felt like a dream. We discussed the UK and New Zealand and our various plans, including the idea that I could set up a proper language school. She asked me whether I’d be happy to take on all the hassle that would entail, and I gave her a one-word, two-letter answer. Sadly I won’t be seeing S for two weeks at least: she’s off to Prague on a business trip.

Today I took my new (old) bike to Sânmihaiu Român. It’s not a bad Timișoara bike, and I love the simplicity of it. On the way I met sheep, goats and cows. It was all blissfully Romanian, and a great workout for me. When I got back I played six games of online Scrabble (talk about a change of scenery), winning four. My best move was PAcKAGED for 98, down from the P. I’ve still yet to play (or be on the receiving end of) a 100-point move. Before this session I was on a five-game losing streak, which included some ghastly games, such as a 311-249 loss which would be terrible in a home game, and an encounter that I dominated but because I forgot to check how many tiles were in the bag (partly due to being low on time), I allowed my opponent to go out with a bingo and claim an 18-point win. It was good to put those experiences behind me.

I’ve just got back from my bike trip to Sânmihaiu Român. I’m glad to be back: my arse was starting to really feel it, and I’d slightly underestimated the amount of water I needed on a 30-degree day. Just like me, my bike isn’t quite up to the job. People regularly eased past me in a blaze of lycra. (There wasn’t nearly as much lycra as you’d see in New Zealand though. This is Europe. You’re allowed to ride bikes even if you’re not training for a sodding triathlon. In fact a lot of the blokes who whizzed past me were bare-chested.) At the other end I grabbed an insanely cheap beer, spoke to my parents on FaceTime while at the bar, and read a book in a small park next to the town hall. For some reason my book piqued the interest of two kids.

This morning I had another attempt at fishing. Still no luck. I’m competing with people who use four rods each, the maximum allowed, and one particular dynamic young fisherman who casts his line, reels it in 30 seconds later, and rides his bike to a different spot nearby to repeat the process. My latest batch of maggots had died in the fridge almost instantly, but I imagine fish will eat dead maggots just like live ones.

I’ve got a new student. She’s coming tomorrow evening. We spoke Romanian on the phone; she described her level as intermediate. People tend to underestimate their level, or are just modest, so I expect her to be quite good. On Tuesday I’ll have my first lesson for a while with Matei. He was telling me on the phone about his new dog, a pug.

My Skype lesson on Friday was interesting. My student was happy with my idea of studying a song. I chose Hotel California for him, and sent him a link to a YouTube video which showed the lyrics. I expected him to casually peruse the lyrics, but no, he memorised them all. Had them down pat. I was blown away. That song has a lot of words, some of which are pretty opaque. “Tiffany twisted”? I used that song with another of my students in one of our fortnightly “song and articles” lessons. That time I removed about 15 words from the lyrics, made a list of the missing words, and asked him to fill in the gaps. On Wednesday I had my usual double bill of lessons with brother and sister. The girl went first, and our 90-minute session passed without a hitch. As usual, however, the hour with her little brother was much more of a struggle. Anything that looks vaguely educational is strictly off the menu, as far as he is concerned. He’s getting bored of Last Card now. I’ll bring in the Formula 1 game next time; it’s certainly been a hit with one of the other boys I teach. In fact I’ll try it out on Matei too.

Scrabble. So yesterday I ended up with four losses, including two Jean Van de Velde-style ones, and finally two wins. To hopefully sort out my time troubles I’ll attempt a bunch of quick-fire, five-minute games on ISC. I’m bound to lose a lot and my rating is likely to plummet, but they should benefit me in the long run. My favourite word yesterday I thought was FILLIP. Six-letter words are relatively uncommon, but this one got rid of some very unpromising tiles and scored well, 32 if I remember rightly.

It’s now raining, and I can hear the rumble of thunder in the distance. It’s just as well I got out on my bike when I did.