SciOly Scavenger Hunt 2012

First, "Bitches be bitches".

Second, wow. Today was a roller coaster ride of emotions.

Yesterday, I went to a mathlete competition at SUNY Old Westbury and got to miss school to do math...it was actually a lot of fun. We got free shirts and lunch and didn't have to take a Euro test. WOO! When we got back, we went straight to Colavita's room to start cramming for today. Today was the regional Science Olympiad tournament at Kellenberg. Kate drove me and Elaina there and we got there at about 8:05. We moved into our rooms and got ready to go. My first event was Geo-Logic Mapping with Hailey. We were really nervous but when we got in there, we became more confident. The multiple choice questions were easy but we didn't answer some of the more difficult short-answer questions. Then I tuned up my abomination and went to Sounds of Music with Belinda. We really screwed up the test but our playing wasn't terrible. Finally, after hanging out in the room and letting our arms sink into the floor, it was time for Forestry with Jill. We made that field guide our bitch. I'd really rather not get into this again but for historical purposes, I'm afraid I must. This will be the last time I think and/or write about this. As some of you know, Me and Jill were on Team B. Two of our friends were on Team A. We walked into the room together, wished each other good luck, and began. We tore through those pages and 44 minutes later, the test was over. Images of leaves were displayed on a projector at the front of the room and there was supposed to be a noise when slides changed. There wasn't. Instead, we had an old man stand behind us and interrupt us every now and then to ask if the slides had changed. When we said yes, he yelled "CHANGE". He missed quite a few changes. Right after the last slide of the test, a slide came up saying that the test was over. Most people didn't notice because their heads were buried in their books and the man wasn't yelling out the changes. Suddenly, the female test proctor said "Pencils down" in the softest voice I've ever heard. One of the students on our Team A rushed to finish writing the word she was in the middle of, as did many others. Unfortunately for them, they had two things working against them. First, a horribly rude and mean proctor and second, they were sitting in the proctor's direct line of sight. The proctor yelled at her, saying how she said pencils down and she kept writing and she took her test. Disqualification. Plain, simple, unjust disqualification. That's something like 70ish points added onto the team score (the lower, the better). They begged, they pleaded, they had a legitimate case, but the battle was lost. Everyone was upset when they found out, but it gets worse. We're at the awards ceremony after finishing up the events. At this point, we have received word that a few people on Team A had made some mistakes that might have cost the team some points. Fast-forward to the team awards. Many Team A members won medals, meaning that they placed in the top 6 of 72 teams. Just a quick side-note; me and Jill got 6th place for Forestry!!! We were so surprised and we were the only Team B pair to medal (although I'm sure astronomy was close). So, back to the team awards. Because one school had two teams in the top eight teams (the top eight go to states), they send the top nine teams to states. Guess what place Wantagh (A) came in. Even with a disqualification, a place in the 50's, and some other not-so-great scores, they got 10th. That's amazing. Every single person on all of the Wantagh teams should be proud of how well we all did.

Me, Dan, Kate, and Elaina went to a secret location (secret for the sake of Dan's "reputation") and relaxed for about an hour. Then they dropped us off at Dan's house and we stayed there for a few minutes. He got changed to run and then we drove to my house. I got changed and showed Dan all of the music stuff in my basement. It was tough getting him to leave... Then we ran to the track and met Kate and Elaina there and went for a run. It was quite fun. Then Dan and I ran back to my house and he drove home. And here I am now...

This day was stressful but fun, heart-wrenching but exhilarating. I can't wait for next year.

Word of the Day: Caprice - A sudden, unpredictable change, as of one's mind or the weather

This is Adam and Briana and a horse...