The Detroit NABC was a nice event, but it left me with some conflicting feelings.  The early NABC+ events I entered were with partners I'd never played with before.  I had some success with each -- making the finals in both the Open Pairs (Jenni Carmichael) and Mixed Pairs (Ali Howard).  In both events we never really got going in the final sessions and finished out of the overalls (being a bit closer in the mixed pairs).  Both showings were reasonable for first time partnerships, but it left me with the feeling that I could do much better.  I left these events feeling that I can compete for these national championship and honestly expecting to challenge for the overalls in the coming years….