You can find me at the club

I've been back at club the past two weeks. In 8 games I'm 4-4 with a spread right around 0 -- almost the definition of average, but I do generally play the better players. Yesterday I had a strange game against Brian Bailey in which there were 5 challenges. I'm going first and on my rack is ANPSTU?. I know that there are bingos in this rack, but I'm having trouble finding one. (The easiest one is PEANUTS, but also I should've seen UNSTRAP and DUSTPAN). I see both STANDUP and UPSTAND, but I don't know if they are valid (they are), as well as UNTAPES (invalid). After minutes of dithering I become slightly flustered and decided to play a safe word and save the blank and S, so I lay done UNTAP. The problem being that UNTAP is not a safe word at all. It's invalid. I didn't even think twice about it. I must have confused it with UNCAP, or something, I'm not sure. It's challenged off the board, and then Brian exchanges some tiles.

With the board still empty I'm going through the same process as before. This time I put down UNTAPES, the one invalid play out of the three I'm considering, and again it comes off the board. On his play Brian bingos ENTERON. Now, I'm ready to try STANDUP, but I notice a play I missed before, OUTSPAN(S). I try this one, because it's more points, off the O in ENTERON. For the third straight time the play is challenged (the director is getting a work out), but thankfully this time the play is valid. Five turns and we have two words on the board, both bingos. (By the way, PULSANT is the only other valid play not mentioned above in my opening rack).

A few turns later I draw DDEIST? and bingo TEDDIES (not challenged) then subsequently draw EEINSST. On the next play I hit SENSTINES for a 2x2. Unsure of this variation, Brian challenges, number four, but it stays. I was 99% sure it was valid (ENTIES = RAVI'S SLY MINX CHILD). Now, I'm up big when a few turns later Brain hits the 2x2 REAVAILS for 91 points. Convinced this is a desperation move, it sounds completely phony to me, I challenge, but shockingly, it's valid (REAVAIL and LEVARIA). Luckily, on the subsequent draw Brian gets a bunch of garbage, and continues to do so for the rest of the game, which is pretty uneventful. I win fairly handily. Overall, this was a very fun game, probably more fun for me since I won, but I complete outdrew my opponent, he did a good job just to keep it somewhat close.