wow
last time the opening ceremony for the winter olympics was on i was a junior in high school. it was the night before the county science fair...a day that would greatly impact the rest of my school year...that morning i had skipped school along with every other science fair participant to work on my project (don't worry, for every class but 1, it was an excused abscense...i luckily had attending that 1 class before skipping out...at LB, science fair kids pretty much got away with murder...)...i remember my dad coming out to the living room (where i had set up camp) at 10pm and i was just starting to put the finishing touchs on my board...i hadnt even given thought to my speech i was going to have to give the next morning at 7am...i knew i was screwed, my dad knew i was screwed, but i kept working...i could see my dad was frustrated, he had put just as much time and effort into the project as i had (the experimenting part at least, his company was my sponsor)...my teacher had told me from the beginning that my project idea sucked ass (in her opinion)...and county science fair was very political...LB students always won, very rarely did any one from any other school win a position to Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)...my teacher was in love with another girl in my category (since most projects could be classified in more than one category, the ones my teacher liked were always spread out so they would all win 1st in their category and thus advance to State Science Fair (SSF)....so i went there knowing that i was destined to fail...
but then something happened...i think it was because i thought i had no hope in the world...i got there early in the morning...couldn't find where i was supposed to set up...finally found it just in time to get my board signed off by the safety crew...and waited...science fair is just that...you are there for 8 hours and you get to talk to maybe 4 people all day for about 15 min a piece...there is a lot of waiting...and you can't look bored while you are waiting, you can't read a book, you have to be social with those around you...everyone around me had really good projects....every time a judge got to me i would spew off some BS about my project...i was able to answer all of my questions but i sitll didn't get very many judges...some of the other students around me got like 6 judges before lunch, i think i had 2...so i went off to lunch and one of my friends birthday was that day so we bought her a cookie cake (did i mention, this takes place in the mall? it helps with the being social thing because shoppers come up and talk to you about your project)...i went back to endure more boredom...this time though, i had more judges than anyone around me...but the afternoon is typically for special awards (ie: cash) and in the past i had always cleaned up with the special awards so i wasnt too surprised...and then we got like 3 hour break before the awards cermony...my best friend came to get me and we went to a movie (we saw a walk to remember)....i got out of the movie and she drove me back to the mall for the awards ceremony...i looked at my phone and my dad had called me like 6 times...whoops...i was late for the ceremony...but i wasnt too worried, its not like i had won anything....awards are announced by category and they always go randomly so people who are in zoology arent always stuck being last...when i walked into the mall they had just started my category...they were on the first floor, and there was like a balcony around the area they were in so i just waiting on the second floor, knowing i wasnt goinng to win anything...i saw my former girl scout leader so i stopped and chatted with her for awhile...they started announcing the winners and they got through third and second...i thought i was going go cry, i thought i would have at least gotten second....and then they announced first...it was me...i ran down the escalator to get my award (did i mention i got a lot of cash, a graphing calculator, and a bunch of other stuff?) and saw my dad in the crowd (looking at little stressed...he thought i wasnt going to make it back in time)...it took me like 10 min but i made my way to him and waited for the SSF announcements and the annoucements for the Orlando Science Center Challenge (i know i was going there because anyone in a physical science category winning first place automatically goes) so i had to stick around for that...of course, i got both and as i was getting ready to leave, they announced ISEF participants (our science fair got to send 4 individual projects and 2 team projects)...students who go to ISEF know well in advance that they are going to go...it is the most political thing in the seminole county school system...well they announce the 2 teams, they announced 3 of the individuals...and there were like 4 other people who thought they were going to get the last slot (trust me, i wasn't one of them)...and then it happened...they called my name...and you have never seen looked out into a crowd that should be cheering and saw more sour faces in your life...i thought it was rather humerous...after i heard some kid go up to my teacher and ask why i got to go and he didnt, when i obviously didnt deserve it (yeah..i will admit that there were other students who had worked a lot harder and for a lot longer for that slot who didnt get it...but i got it, I GOT IT! so get over it)
so yeah...the rest of my junior year i was dealing with my teacher trying to sabotage my project...but i still had fun...staying in the ghetto at state, going to KY for ISEF
anyway, i'm tired now, i have the flu, and i'm waiting for freaking diningin to bring me the other half of my order that they forgot...like always...anyway...i hurt and i have a fever so i am signing off
i know my entry was waay random but whatever, get over it..i've never written down this story before and i've always wanted to and with the winter olympics, i've been remembering it
but then something happened...i think it was because i thought i had no hope in the world...i got there early in the morning...couldn't find where i was supposed to set up...finally found it just in time to get my board signed off by the safety crew...and waited...science fair is just that...you are there for 8 hours and you get to talk to maybe 4 people all day for about 15 min a piece...there is a lot of waiting...and you can't look bored while you are waiting, you can't read a book, you have to be social with those around you...everyone around me had really good projects....every time a judge got to me i would spew off some BS about my project...i was able to answer all of my questions but i sitll didn't get very many judges...some of the other students around me got like 6 judges before lunch, i think i had 2...so i went off to lunch and one of my friends birthday was that day so we bought her a cookie cake (did i mention, this takes place in the mall? it helps with the being social thing because shoppers come up and talk to you about your project)...i went back to endure more boredom...this time though, i had more judges than anyone around me...but the afternoon is typically for special awards (ie: cash) and in the past i had always cleaned up with the special awards so i wasnt too surprised...and then we got like 3 hour break before the awards cermony...my best friend came to get me and we went to a movie (we saw a walk to remember)....i got out of the movie and she drove me back to the mall for the awards ceremony...i looked at my phone and my dad had called me like 6 times...whoops...i was late for the ceremony...but i wasnt too worried, its not like i had won anything....awards are announced by category and they always go randomly so people who are in zoology arent always stuck being last...when i walked into the mall they had just started my category...they were on the first floor, and there was like a balcony around the area they were in so i just waiting on the second floor, knowing i wasnt goinng to win anything...i saw my former girl scout leader so i stopped and chatted with her for awhile...they started announcing the winners and they got through third and second...i thought i was going go cry, i thought i would have at least gotten second....and then they announced first...it was me...i ran down the escalator to get my award (did i mention i got a lot of cash, a graphing calculator, and a bunch of other stuff?) and saw my dad in the crowd (looking at little stressed...he thought i wasnt going to make it back in time)...it took me like 10 min but i made my way to him and waited for the SSF announcements and the annoucements for the Orlando Science Center Challenge (i know i was going there because anyone in a physical science category winning first place automatically goes) so i had to stick around for that...of course, i got both and as i was getting ready to leave, they announced ISEF participants (our science fair got to send 4 individual projects and 2 team projects)...students who go to ISEF know well in advance that they are going to go...it is the most political thing in the seminole county school system...well they announce the 2 teams, they announced 3 of the individuals...and there were like 4 other people who thought they were going to get the last slot (trust me, i wasn't one of them)...and then it happened...they called my name...and you have never seen looked out into a crowd that should be cheering and saw more sour faces in your life...i thought it was rather humerous...after i heard some kid go up to my teacher and ask why i got to go and he didnt, when i obviously didnt deserve it (yeah..i will admit that there were other students who had worked a lot harder and for a lot longer for that slot who didnt get it...but i got it, I GOT IT! so get over it)
so yeah...the rest of my junior year i was dealing with my teacher trying to sabotage my project...but i still had fun...staying in the ghetto at state, going to KY for ISEF
anyway, i'm tired now, i have the flu, and i'm waiting for freaking diningin to bring me the other half of my order that they forgot...like always...anyway...i hurt and i have a fever so i am signing off
i know my entry was waay random but whatever, get over it..i've never written down this story before and i've always wanted to and with the winter olympics, i've been remembering it