Nationals, Day Two

One of the most interesting things about being at Nationals this time is the whole internet connectedness thing. It certainly is different than in '07, when it felt like I was the only person here who was on the internet trying to talk and report on my experiences. This time, with Twitter and the trend on the internet of more social connectedness and networks, my experience of Nationals is very different in that respect.

I don't feel compelled to report about what's been going on like last time. If anyone wants to know anything about a particular skater's score, it's easy enough these days to find them. Someone from Figure Skaters Online, for example, has been tweeting her little heart out all through the competitions. Someone who wants to know that kind of detail can simply follow her on Twitter. If I had a laptop at the Arena, I might do that same, but it's a little unwieldy on my phone. It's fun, though, to follow her tweets and the tweets of the other skaters here. I think I'm the only fan that's been on Twitter here, though.

So I'm feeling more connected to what's been going on here this time. In just three years, it's so much easier to access all kinds of information and opinions. I don't feel as alone here this time. That's an odd statement, I realize, since there were over 200,000 attendees in '07, but because of the social networks out there at this time, I feel like I'm a part of a community that's here.

So this blog has a very different focus this time. I feel more compelled to be a writer, and to record my meta-experiences. I'm compelled to go a little deeper than things like, "After the short program, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir are only .18 points apart and in 2nd and 3rd place." Anyone who wants that information can get it easily, so I don't feel much a point to do that.

That being said, yesterday was very fun, with some frustrations. I'm happy to report that I now have my inerrant luggage. My husband sent it on a shuttle that travels from Pullman to Spokane. Without going into the excruciatingly boring details, it was a real comedy of errors that in some ways, paralleled the strangeness of the senior pairs' short program earlier that afternoon, made me miss the Opening Ceremonies, and cost us $50. I got back right in time for the senior men's short program, so all was forgotten.

Perhaps I'll go into more details at a later time. For anyone who's following the Nationals, I'll tweet from time to time. I also suggest using Twitter to find out the particulars.