Good golf
As I mentioned, I won Monday's round, I think partly because it was a holiday and there weren't many entries. I took Tuesday off work to recover my equilibrium from the long weekend. I played in the weekly competition at 4pm on Tuesday and scored enough points to come second in my division (the third division for the highest handicappers). Monday's and Tuesday's performances were enough to bring my handicap from 37.8 to 35.5.
Wednesday night I don't recall doing much of anything, other than walking Paddy. Thursday night, I played in my first head to head match with Carol. Match play is really cool--each player wins each hole and the match is over when one player builds an unsurpassable lead. So on the front nine, I won four holes, Carol won four, and we tied one. Even Steven. On the back nine, Carol won the 10th, I won the 11th, 12th and 13th. We tied on 14 and 15. Then I won the 16th--game over because I was ahead 8-5 with two holes left. I was surprised by this result to say the least.
On my off day, Tuesday, I bought and delivered flowers and baked goods and cards to a half dozen people who made above-and-beyond contributions to my birthday celebrations. Between running around on Tuesday, and golf Tuesday and Thursday, I'm feeling a bit worn out. I've put the triathlon at the back of my mind b/c I don't have the energy right now to run, swim, or bike. And my knees are getting increasingly dodgy.
As a result of Sunday's party, there is a second table of cards and gifts. I still can't get over the generosity of the people I've met since I moved to Cherryvalley Park.
I voted for the first time on Thursday, giving the Green candidate my first preference and the two Alliance candidates my 2nd and 3rd preferences. The Alliance candidates got in, the Green candidate did not. I voted for three more candidates--I'm not sure the counting has concluded, so IDK how they did. There are five seats in my district--I think there were 10 candidates. You can vote for all 10 in order of preference, but I avoided the extreme parties on either side (lets call them the identity parties). NI has a very complicated voting system that allows a single transferable vote. Because the Green candidate was eliminated, my ballot would have been transferred to one of the Alliance candidates. A ballot can also be transferred if a candidate secures more than the minimum required for election--his or her surplus votes would be distributed. I don't fully understand the system, but I see how it gives more people a chance of having a preferred candidate elected. Winner takes all leaves a lot of people disenfranchised, as the Blue-Red dichotomy shows in the US.
Friday night I was treated to dinner by Ann O'Dwyer and her partner Shaun Henry. It was a really entertaining evening. They let me pick the restaurant and we went to a Taqueria on the Ormeau Road. My perfect Friday night--out for a bit of craic. Their son is the PR/media person for the Greens in NI, so we assume he is out of a job. He's smart and young and has a great CV, so he'll be in good shape. I enjoyed hearing Ann's and Shaun's views on the election outcome and what it means for NI--given the DUP have slid into second behind Sinn Fein and the surge of Alliance among voters who reject the nationalist-unionist polarities.
3-6 May