Iowa Summer Open Tournament Report - Round !

How in God's green earth am I ever going to get a title if I don't play more OTB?  And thus, I signed up for the Iowa Summer Open. 

Do you guys still get nervous before a tournament? The event was to be 5 rounds of G120 D5 on a Saturday and a Sunday but by Friday, I could hardly focus! I wasn't so much worried about losing (how I normally feel) but just anxious in general... 

The Iowa Summer Open is by no means a "major event" so I was expecting that at 1703, I would be well into the top half and get paired up for easy win for the first round.

Round 1: 10:00 am the pairings are posting.  I am paired with a 2191 and I get the black pieces... wonderful.  As it turns out, I was actually one of the lowest rated players in the event and looking to have a tough day ahead of me!