This is something I really don't want to talk about. I want to be left alone in my sorrows. After this tragedy, this incident, this mistake, I spent the 20 hours in a dark closet, mouring and weeping over what has happened. 20 hours later, I came out of the closet, just because life called for me to continue on as normal, but inside, I feel like I'm still in the closet, grieving. Louis always said it was good for me to let it out by posting up these blogs/notes on how I am doing in quzzing, and, good or bad, I should inform everyone on what's up. So using the deep philosophy of Kansas (please don't give me lip for finding truth outside the Bible)...
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high
It was going oh so well. For the first time I was striving in the right direction for perfection. True, I came very close the second week, but with help from the Lord and my teammates, I passed that 2nd week. Things went smoothly the 3rd week, only having 1 error. I finally passed the 2-week barrier, not an error in sight. My heart rejoicied to see my name not only perfectly in 1st place, but in that 1st slot. I praised Jesus from the depth of my heart, even to the point you could say I was "dancing" (gasp! a dancing mennonite!). I believed that this was my offering. Jesus gave me the best offering, so I gave it back.
Even at the beginning of Sunday, it seemed so good. Our first match against Bowmansville 2 started out slow, but we caught speed. Tim, Mike and myself quizzed out. Robert got in at some point to give us team bonus. We won the match 135-30. We seemed unstoppable, and actually having a chance against Slate Hill 1.
Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I was still a mad man
Until that Sunday, I would have to say my head was still on my shoulders, if you know what I mean. I realized that we were going up against Slate Hill. Now while it wasn't the Slate Hill I have known for the past 3 years, looking at their standings, I knew that this wouldn't be easy. In fact, I knew it was going to be hard. Then I heard stuff that I should have never heard. I heard Slate Hill 1 scored either 65 or 70 points their first match. I heard something like they either lost or came close to losing. I heard something between Slate Hill doing a service project Saturday and being up most of Saturday ngiht. I didn't need to hear the factual story, all I needed to hear was enough to give me a false sense of confidence and security. I was pretty sure that now Spring City could take down Slate Hill 1.
This led my mind to wander into the wrong territory. Not only did I want to quiz out, but I wanted to quiz out first. Not only did I want my team to win, I wanted us to win by more than our average, and them score less than their. My mind had gotten off the true meaning of quizzing. My desire for success in that match was driving me now, almost to the point of driving my mind mad.
I can hear the voices when I'm dreaming,
I can hear them say...
I can't say I slept well on Sunday night. Now the fact I was right on the hard floor did play a piece in that, no lie. But there was something more. There was struggling with my performance, especially after my incident/mistake. All the voices just telling me that I failed. They were all mine. Mr. Deitrick did always say that I myself am my toughest opponenent. But it just kept pressessing against me. Every form of the word fail just rang in my head... "fail"... "failed"... "failure"... "failing"... "epic fail." But out of them all, one voice was telling me, trying to yell over all the other voices......
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
No lie, the tears flowed all night. I am very well aware that this is my last year. Being perfect to this point has been a distraction of that. It wasn't until I finished being perfect that I realized that March starts next Sunday, meaing I only have 1 month of quizzing left. As I mentioned in the beginning of the year, I said that it was "perfect or bust." "The year of 18 BYAH!s, the year of 18 quizouts." It was 18 quiz outs or bust. We'll I busted. I messed up. I screwed up. And I just didn't want to accept this, my last year, not being the perfect year. I went back to the high school freshman version of me, who just wanted to do what he did on his Nintendo: press the reset button until I did it right. But as much as I look for that reset button, it doesn't exist. Life cannot be reset at a certain point to start all over and try again. But I didn't want to accept reality. Another voice in my head: "No, this can't be happening. It can't be real."
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man
It surely means that I don't know
Sometimes I have a habit of taking the 2004 quizzing parody "Meant to Quiz" a little bit too serious. Sometimes I live life like my sole purpose is to quiz. I was meant to quiz. My performance reflects how well I do my mission. If I succed in quizzing, I am succeeding in life and my mission. If I do poorly in quizzing, my life spirals downward. My actions post-quizzing were not a first. I remember when younger, like my middle school and underclassmen years of high school getting in the same funks for doing poorly. I would become very depressed because I couldn't score any points or because I errored twice in a match or because I fouled. When I got to those upperclassmen years, I would still get upset at poor performances, but the sadness wasn't too deep or long. Why?
Well, for starters, by this time in my career I had gotten so good, I either quizzed out or scored 20 points. No fouls, and I would always slow myself down, even to a stop, after the 2nd error. No longer did I have matches where I scored 10 or less points. So there was less to get angry and/or sad about. But also because I had more developed frontal lobe. For those of you who aren't neurologists or psychologists, the frontal lobe is the part of your brain where your sense of past, present and future are located. Because of this, I realized I had some time to complete my goal of a perfect year. So in my junior year, for example, I would say to myself, "Well, I'm not perfect this year, but I still got 3 more years to try." Well, with every year passing, I started running low on having more "tries." Being the last year, this was the last try. I was not happy at all knowing I blew my last try. There is no more "try again next year." This was suppose my year, but it was mine no longer.
I have to say there's also a little bit more pressure on me. Being the top quizzer on Spring City since 2006, I've been made an official leader of the team. In the past 2 years, my name tag has beared an anchor or a pillar. I'm the anchor of the team, I am the pillar that holds them up. They depend on me to be a leader and set an example. I have seen them countless times, when they are faced with a question they don't know, they put down their buzzers and look at me. I have heard a few times a couple quizzers say, "Well, if Graham doesn't know it, then nobody's gonna get it." I even remember Christine one year straight out telling me, "I pay attention to how well you do. If you're doing well, I know there is hope that I can do well. But if you aren't doing well, I feel hopeless, like I'm not going to be do anything." While no one else has told me this, I can tell some people think this my their reactions. It's pressure on me to do well. It's not like a bad thing. Actually, this pressue actually motivates me to do better. If through my performance I can boost my team's motivation and inspire them to do well, then I want to do my best. I found this especially true the first week of quizzing, when our average was as low as 67.5 to 65. We weren't racking up high points. There was no team bonus, and not too many quizouts...with the exception of one....yeah, that's right - mine. I was able to make sure we at least got 35 point every match. The one match where we got only 30 points was because the team racked up 7 errors, including 2 of mine. They could count on me for points, for motivation, for encouragement. But after that last match, no more. I just praise God that Tim quizzed out. If he didn't, the team would have scored much less than they did have.
And when I had finally gotten to this point, I had finally felt like other people, mainly the quizzers on Spring City, wanted me to be perfect. For the first week, I thought that I was alone in my pursuit to perfection. Truthfully, I thought they might be upset that I was going for my own purpose, not a team purpose. True, my 35 points was helping the team, esepcially making sure that one was a buzz-in for team bonus. But I could see how it appeared that I was selfish by going for an individual goal. But after 4 weeks, especially that 2nd week, I finally felt that my team was on my side. They wanted to see my reach the top of the individual standings. Of course it was easier to say when we were on the bottom. As Tim said, "you're all this team has got now." But when you're higher up, the focus is redrawn back onto team. With our average in the 90s, and Tim and Mike back in the swing of quizzing out, I felt like I needed to compete with them, too.
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed around I'm like a ship on the ocean
Man, it has been an emotional ride. The opening of the quizzing season I was as animated and charsmatic as I had ever been. I couldn't wait to see what the Lord was going to use me this season. With quizzing out after every match, and finishing perfect after every meet, I was exhuberant. I was extremely happy. Inside and outside, I was jumping up and down. I couldn't stop praising God for lifting me up so high. It was great being on the top. But how fast things can change.
How fast can emotions change, especially within a quizmatch alone. First, you go into it all psyched, ready to go. If you get the first few questions, you feel positive and confident in the rest of the match. You feel relieved and happy when you finally get the quiz out. But things are different if it doesn't go that way. If you buzz in and error, you worry. If you can't get in because the other team is being ridiculously fast, you get frustrated, even upset. Feelings get mixed when your own teammates are stealing your questions. You want them so bad for your own quiz out, yet you're glad at least your team is scoring points. And as question after question goes by, with nothing from you but errors, all those negative feelings pile into one. And with that 3rd error, the one that ends your perfection forever, then comes the depression.
The post-quizzing depression sets in hard. I don't want to talk about what happened. I don't want to talk to anyone about anything. I didn't want to do anything. Hopelessness sets in. I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to be in the dark, like I felt. I didn't want to be looked at. I couldn't even look at myself in a mirror. I wore my hood to cover my face and hide it from the world. I wasn't excited about anything. Doubts entered my mind about the future. Would I be able to perform the same? Can I still do better than last year? Will I settle for any less? Then I hear those put-downs on myself again.
I set a course for winds of fortune,
but I hear the voices say...
After I got over that 2-week hump that usually prevents me from being perfect, and after getting past all those 3-match weeks, another hump that usually stopped me from being perfect, I felt like this was the sign that this was going to be the year of perfection. No longer did I have to concentrate on 3 quiz outs in a single Sunday, but now all I needed to concentrate was 2 a week until the last week, which was then just 1. I was already thinking about how to receive/celebrate my perfect award. Maybe I should do a cartwheel or a summersalt when go up to receive it. Maybe I should just jump up and down, break out in tears, or kiss some random girl. Maybe I'll go down in one knee in prayer. I got too ahead of myself. I thought because I was perfect the first half the season, I could mirror it right into the second half of the season. I was ready to finish perfect. I guarenteed something that could not be guarenteed, and look where I am now. My plan is gone, and so is my dream of finishing perfect. All I want to do is think about that, how my dream are up in smoke. But the voice keeps saying...
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
All this studying, all these feelings, and all this worry has made me weary. Sleeping is harder thinking about what has happened, and wondering where my future will lead me. Will this still be a great year without being the perfect year? Being weary has drained me from studying, from quizzing to schoolwork. I need to get back on track, back to studying, both school and quizzing. That's another thing. I sacrificed a lot of time I should be spending on school for quizzing. It has caused some of my grades to drop as low as a C. It was all worth it for a perfect last year. But now that a perfect year, is it still worth it?
And I can't help but think I might have went a little wayward. Maybe you the reader have caught onto that from what they read already. But this didn't register to me at all. All Sunday night, I just kept crying out, "Why, God, why?" pleaing desperately for an answer. It was like a little kid who didn't get the candybar from the grocery store after begging daddy for it. "Abba, why??" I couldn't understand. I studied harder this week than all the other weeks. I read it a couple more times than I usually do. I listened to it more than I usually do. I even wrote questions, which I only did for weeks 1 and 2, not 3 nor 4. I even was generous by giving Robert my situations questions for once. I even prayed more for the team this past week than the rest. Mr. Deitrick told us in quiz practice that he felt the Lord told him to surrender the quiz team unto Him. So I prayed the same thing, giving up my quizzing teammates as "my team" and handing them over to be "the Lord's team." Lord, have I not found favor in your eyes?
So naturally the next thing that I started thinking about is "What have I done wrong that you have cursed me, O Lord?" After thinking a few minutes, I could not think of anything different that I did that was sinful, negative or hurtful. After several minutes of thinking, I thought of something. On Friday afternoon luch, without even thinking, I had a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwhich, with grape jelly. I had accidently broke my Nazarite vow. But now, here's the thing. I know some theologians say there is no such thing as "accidental sin," for if you do not know it's a sin, how can you be sinning? They say that for something to be considered a sin, it must be done intentionally and purposefully. So go with that thinking. When I was at home during winter break (before the vow), most of the time I ate PB&J sandwiches (I only use grape jelly) because that was the only thing in the house to eat. It became a habit so much that I made one and ate one without even thinking about it. It was such a habit to me, I didn't realize it until I thought hard about it on Sunday night. Would you still say I am guilty of breaking my vow? Because this is the only thing I can think of. The only other thing I can think of goes dangerously into Calvinist territory: God, in his all his foreknowledge, planned for me not to be perfect, for whatever his holy reason might be. It is beyond my question.
Maybe, just like Abraham in Genesis 22, God was testing me with my praise. Did I pass? That is debatable. After my slip-up, Coach Dave just kept telling me that I needed to praise God. In fact, many people are telling me that. As a matter of fact, during worship time we sund "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord", which says that we should praise God in good times and bad times, in blessings and hardships. So I went back to my dorm, to a prayer closet (and that's as literal as it will get), and tried to thank God. I opened my mouth to praise God, but the praises couldn't come out. All that came out was lament. Lament, after lament. The song "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" kept playing in my head. Did I do as the song said? That's contestable. I bet a lot of you would say no because I couldn't praise God. But I bet a few of you, like me, know that song is out of context. The song is centered around the bridge "You give and take away, yet my heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be your name'." The bridge comes from the Bible, Job 1:21 to be exact. But read the context of the verse. When Job says that line, he's not prasing God, as we do in the song. Rather, Job is lamenting to God! So I was doing the same, lamenting to God, and I think, I hope, I pray that God appreciates that I am honest with my feelings.
A lot of my laments led to questions. Not doubts, just questions. You've heard the most common one: why? Then came accusations. But none of them were legit. I cried out, "But you promised!" but thinking about it, God really didn't promise. I can't claim God's promises when it wasn't a promise by God. I cried out "It's not fair! How can they buzz in early and get it right, while we can't get a buzz in, and when we do, it results in an error!" But God replied, "Fair? What is fair? Is an AIDS epidemic in Africa fair? Is poverty in southeast Asia fair? Is genocide in Rwanda and Sudan fair? And above all, is it really fair to Me, to allow sinners who have turned against me a chance to receive eternal life in heaven?" And after that, I realized that a perfect quizzing year was the least of my worries. The Voice goes on to tell me...
(Carry on!) You will always remember
(Carry on!) Nothing equals the splendor
Now you're life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
If you follow my blog, the last time I failed out, the song that really helped me was "Save Your Voice (Quiet Down, Boy)" by the ApologetiX, a parody of "Save Your Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by Big & Rich (thank Mike for that). A line stuck out to me: "And I wouldn't trade my reward up in Heaven's gates for success that fades or some cheap charade..." So here I am, wailing over that I'm not perfect, when there is a better perfection (if that's not a paradox) waiting for me in heaven. The Lord Jesus says to me, "I will make you perfect one day." What a wonderful thing it is to be a child of God, to know that I will one day dwell in the Lord's presence, in heaven, in the room prepared for me, in complete perfection like my Savior Jesus Christ!
That's right, I am a child of the Most High God! Because I am His child, I have been adopted into His family, and I am a co-heir with Christ. My life is truly no longer empty. I have God the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, His chosen temple. That is my reward! Beyond any shiny team trophy or any money given to the top 60 quizzers, or any title, whether it be team or individual. Why settle for less when I can have the best! I think that is what took me so far off. I lost sight of my true identity. My true identity is the one I have in Christ. It is not in myself. Because myself cannot do anything, and I am worthless. At the same time, being in Christ and recognizing that I only can function in Him, gets rid of any reason to be prideful. It's all about being in Christ.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
And yet, while my mind is concentrated on a glorious future of redemption, I still believe God has something big planned for my final year of quizzing. I don't know what, but we'll find out by the end. For now, I am not leaving the track I oringinally started on, although I might have been de-railed. There's 5 more matches left, and I'm aiming for 5 more quiz outs. While not perfect, I will have still finished the best I ever had, with the most points and most quiz outs in a year. And I pray that God will be pleased with it, my offering back to Him. Then I will be finally at peace, no longer weary, no longer crying. May God be praised.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The appointed time to be back at LMH
On Sunday quizzers were first to get in line for fellowship meal because the quizzers had to prepare for a mock quiz match against the congregation. Before we had those mock quiz matches, we had to do a demonstration by quizzing against each other. The match was close, with few errors, which showed we knew our stuff. Then we had our mock matches. We quizzed against both Mike's parents and Chelsea's and Alyssa's dad, all parents of quizzers. They claimed they all studied, even though some didn't know about the footnotes :-P . I sat across from Steve the first match. I was kind enough to give him a bonus, but still ended up pwning him. Actually, in both matches (we had two, one of Dave questions, the other of Vicki questions) I quizzed out and we won victoriously. As a matter of fact, both of them we scored over 100 points, with team bonus, and the other side I think never got more than 40 points. Even the one match with Coach Dave in, he was unable to help them. We kept the set up on the sanctuary stage for practice, which was good practice for a real sanctuary match. We stumbled on a few questions, but we got most of them. I continued to quiz out. After making sandwiches for the road, we head off to our matches at LMH.
Since the coaches had to be there early for a coaches' meeting, Dave took us to the cafeteria to give questions to me, robert, chelsea, and alyssa. Tim and Mike weren't there for practice. Instead, they amused us much by walking back and forth, hiding themselves behind "moving plants." We did that until the worship time...well, the supposed worship time. It seems like they've done away with worship, and just play Christian music. Yes, much has changed since Zion has changed...especially now that they are no longer producing the quizzing video. It kinda makes me worried to see what different video we'll get. Just hope for the best. After a few anouncements and a joke, we off to quiz.
We were literally off to quiz because we had the first round match. It kind of made me uncomfortable. I didn't get to scout the team we were quizzing against or the quizmaster. All I knew was that Grace Point 1 had a few familiar faces from Paradise, and they had 2 quizzers one short of perfect. I took seat 1, across from one of them. The match was a slow one. Neither team could reach their average. I managed to quiz out, but it didn't happen until question 11. A highlight we did have is that Chelsea got her first points. And her family missed it! :-P. Tim got one right for our final score, a loss 55 to 75. While we lost, Grace Point 1 couldn't get to their average either.
After a one-round break, we had our second match against Weaverland 1. With Weaverland 1 lower than us, we were expecting ourselves to have the upper hand, but even we surprised ourselves. History was about to repeat itself. Last year when we were at the midpoint at LMH, we won a match 170-0 with me, Tim, Mike and Robert quizzing out, plus team bonus. It was about to happen again. I quizzed out, and Tim followed me the next question. Mike picked up the third quiz out of the match. Robert buzzed in to get us team bonus, but it didn't stop there! He must like the midway matches at LMH, for he got his first quizout of the year, second in his career (both at LMH halfway through)! Both Mike and Robert got to sit back in the seats and just watch. Robert was confused when the person across from him errored, and he got the bonus question. It allowed him to score extra points for the team. We won 170 to 10. This is the 2nd greatest match I've ever been in.
We hurried downstairs for our last match because it was a back-to-back match. We quizzed against Maple Grove 2. Both teams' top quizzer sat in seat 1. It wasn't as glorius as the last match, but it had to be the 6th best match my team has ever quizzed. Once again, Tim and I quizzed out early. This also means I would finish the first half the season perfect :) . With me out, the team needed someone else to answer the situation question. So when the situation question came up, Robert decided to take a whack at it. Good thing he did. After thinking about it, he got it right! Now all we need was Mike to get in for team bonus. But all he tried, he could not get in. After 12 questions, still no avail. Now, Chelsea was able to get another bonus, giving herself 20 points for the meet and the year, and we were all happy for her, but we still needed another buzz in for team bonus. With the last 3 questions being review, would we be able to do it? Well, we know Mike did. On the last 3, Mike got them all, buzzing in, not only getting team bonus, but also getting himself a quiz out. Of course, with all 3 of the questions, Mike had to babel his full 30 seconds. This was the first time Mike got 2 quiz outs in one meet. We won 145 to 35.
I stuck around for the last two matches, mostly for scouting reasons. Both matches were interesting. The first match was Blainsport vs. Bowmansville 2. Bowmansville 2 seemed to be struggling as they had 2 fouls. The second foul was very interesting. On the question, Jordan buzzed in. Seth, however, thought it was his light. So sure he knew the answers, he said it right away (it was the right answer, by the way). But then Seth realized it wasn't his, and let out a weak "oh." Jordan then went in with his audible word "ok," thought about it, and then said, the exact answer Seth did, the right answer. The quizmaster went into the ruling of the judges. When he came out, the quizmaster announced that Bowmansville 2 was right, but needed to be fouled again. A Blainsport quizzer contested that it wasn't fair that Seth could blurt out the answer when it wasn't him and Jordan could easily pick it up. The quizmaster went back to the judges. Together they decided that while Seth messed up and deserved to get the foul, Jordan still had the choice to decide whether or not Seth's answer was right (he did not know, nor was told, that answer was right), and also the choice to choose that answer or another answer. So they got the 10 points for Jordan answering right, but lost 5 for Seth's foul, resulting in a net 5 points. I thought it was a good call. I don't know the official ruling on that.
The last match I watched for the night was Slate Hill 1 vs. Ridgeview 3. Ridgeview 3 was able to sneak a few points in, but Slate Hill 1 owned the match. Mike Good had problems with the first situation question (who to whom and about whom. ouch.), but got the second one. One by one, I saw each one quiz out. Slate Hill 1 knew their stuff. Despite hearing "list the 6..." they knew it was "50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10." They will be a worth adversay for next week.
So in 1 week, we raised our point average by 10. We were hoping it would raise our average 4 or 5 places, but if you see our standings, it only raised us one place. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who had a good week. And it seems like the top 4 is pushing farther away. Top 5 would be a good aim. As for the individual standings, it's good to see Tim is in the top 60 finally, even though I'd like to see him in the top 50. It's also good to see Chelsea on the paper, even though I'm not sure why she is 4 slots lower than her sister, who is on the same team and shares the same last name with her. But above all, and in all humbleness, it's great to see my name is slot 1. Yes, I know I'm tied for first, one among eight. But to see my name in that first slot is so sweet. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your help.
REFLECTIONS:
This past fall semester, a very proud Pittsburg Steelers would always tell me how great his team is in all of history and how they haven't had a bad season and let him down. He couldn't understand why I would be an Eagles fan, when they can be a disappointment. So one time when he asked me, I simply replied, "But that's what exactly makes it so fun to watch. Nothing is guarenteed with the Eagles. It doesn't matter if they are the favorite team, they could either win or lose. They could be the underdog, and either win or lose. It can't be called. They can do as expected or completely suprised us. They can win or lose, by a lot or a little. It's always suprising and exciting."
I can't help but believe the same is true for Spring City quizzing. Ok, yes, last week we did lose to the the team above us, and won against the teams below us, but still, we're the same way. We began this season, guessing that we'd start near the top as we usually do. Instead, our average ended up being 67.5 We hoped and prayed that our average and placing would go up, but instead our average dropped to 65, and we fell to as low as 20th. Things looked hopeless, and it seemed like Spring City would be trampled on for the rest of the season. But didn't happen like that. The next week, when we had to quiz 3 teams tougher than us, including the team in 3rd place, and we won them all. We have our ups and downs. We have our wins and losses. We score lots, we score little. You can never tell. All the more reason to come and watch how Spring City does in a quiz match. It's exciting.
P.S.
Let me explain the past few weeks. Some have you might have seen me wear apparel from back in my Ark Bible days. Do not get the wrong message. You might have taken it as showing rebellion against Spring City, missing and wishing to return to my Ark Bible days. This is the wrong picture because it is not true at all. I am very happy with my team. This is one of the best...no, this IS the best team I ever had. Let me explain properly. It's a two-part response. First of all, being my last year, I have made this a year of rememberance to reflect on how the Lord has used me in quizzing. But the second reason might more of the reason.
Some you may know this, and for those of you who don't, this might be a confession for you. I did not voluntarily leave Ark Bible. I had to leave because Ark Bible did not have a team. Why did they not have a team? The reasons are too complicated to explain in a short time, but I will say that is was not on a happy premesis. I left that team broken, angry, depressed, not trusting nor wanting any peer fellowship. I was so upset that I didn't want anything to do with anybody from Ark. I was unforgiving and prideful. I thought i was better than all of them. But during the rest of my quizzing years, the Lord started to move me and change all that. This is also too long to explain, too. Let me just say part of it was the mentoring of the Deitricks, another part was having Tim Moss back on the team with me, along with a few other smaller pieces. But let me say that those feelings are all past and gone. I have forgiven Ark of any wrongs against me, whether they are sorry or not. The hard feelings are gone. The Lord had to move me to continue my spiritual growth, and I realize that is is now good that I am on Spring City. But I forgive Ark Bible and all their quizzers, holding nothing against them. They are reconciled with me. That is why I dedicated my matches last week to them. I will never forget them and how they have impacted my life. God bless Ark Bible and its quizzers from the 2004 team.
Since the coaches had to be there early for a coaches' meeting, Dave took us to the cafeteria to give questions to me, robert, chelsea, and alyssa. Tim and Mike weren't there for practice. Instead, they amused us much by walking back and forth, hiding themselves behind "moving plants." We did that until the worship time...well, the supposed worship time. It seems like they've done away with worship, and just play Christian music. Yes, much has changed since Zion has changed...especially now that they are no longer producing the quizzing video. It kinda makes me worried to see what different video we'll get. Just hope for the best. After a few anouncements and a joke, we off to quiz.
We were literally off to quiz because we had the first round match. It kind of made me uncomfortable. I didn't get to scout the team we were quizzing against or the quizmaster. All I knew was that Grace Point 1 had a few familiar faces from Paradise, and they had 2 quizzers one short of perfect. I took seat 1, across from one of them. The match was a slow one. Neither team could reach their average. I managed to quiz out, but it didn't happen until question 11. A highlight we did have is that Chelsea got her first points. And her family missed it! :-P. Tim got one right for our final score, a loss 55 to 75. While we lost, Grace Point 1 couldn't get to their average either.
After a one-round break, we had our second match against Weaverland 1. With Weaverland 1 lower than us, we were expecting ourselves to have the upper hand, but even we surprised ourselves. History was about to repeat itself. Last year when we were at the midpoint at LMH, we won a match 170-0 with me, Tim, Mike and Robert quizzing out, plus team bonus. It was about to happen again. I quizzed out, and Tim followed me the next question. Mike picked up the third quiz out of the match. Robert buzzed in to get us team bonus, but it didn't stop there! He must like the midway matches at LMH, for he got his first quizout of the year, second in his career (both at LMH halfway through)! Both Mike and Robert got to sit back in the seats and just watch. Robert was confused when the person across from him errored, and he got the bonus question. It allowed him to score extra points for the team. We won 170 to 10. This is the 2nd greatest match I've ever been in.
We hurried downstairs for our last match because it was a back-to-back match. We quizzed against Maple Grove 2. Both teams' top quizzer sat in seat 1. It wasn't as glorius as the last match, but it had to be the 6th best match my team has ever quizzed. Once again, Tim and I quizzed out early. This also means I would finish the first half the season perfect :) . With me out, the team needed someone else to answer the situation question. So when the situation question came up, Robert decided to take a whack at it. Good thing he did. After thinking about it, he got it right! Now all we need was Mike to get in for team bonus. But all he tried, he could not get in. After 12 questions, still no avail. Now, Chelsea was able to get another bonus, giving herself 20 points for the meet and the year, and we were all happy for her, but we still needed another buzz in for team bonus. With the last 3 questions being review, would we be able to do it? Well, we know Mike did. On the last 3, Mike got them all, buzzing in, not only getting team bonus, but also getting himself a quiz out. Of course, with all 3 of the questions, Mike had to babel his full 30 seconds. This was the first time Mike got 2 quiz outs in one meet. We won 145 to 35.
I stuck around for the last two matches, mostly for scouting reasons. Both matches were interesting. The first match was Blainsport vs. Bowmansville 2. Bowmansville 2 seemed to be struggling as they had 2 fouls. The second foul was very interesting. On the question, Jordan buzzed in. Seth, however, thought it was his light. So sure he knew the answers, he said it right away (it was the right answer, by the way). But then Seth realized it wasn't his, and let out a weak "oh." Jordan then went in with his audible word "ok," thought about it, and then said, the exact answer Seth did, the right answer. The quizmaster went into the ruling of the judges. When he came out, the quizmaster announced that Bowmansville 2 was right, but needed to be fouled again. A Blainsport quizzer contested that it wasn't fair that Seth could blurt out the answer when it wasn't him and Jordan could easily pick it up. The quizmaster went back to the judges. Together they decided that while Seth messed up and deserved to get the foul, Jordan still had the choice to decide whether or not Seth's answer was right (he did not know, nor was told, that answer was right), and also the choice to choose that answer or another answer. So they got the 10 points for Jordan answering right, but lost 5 for Seth's foul, resulting in a net 5 points. I thought it was a good call. I don't know the official ruling on that.
The last match I watched for the night was Slate Hill 1 vs. Ridgeview 3. Ridgeview 3 was able to sneak a few points in, but Slate Hill 1 owned the match. Mike Good had problems with the first situation question (who to whom and about whom. ouch.), but got the second one. One by one, I saw each one quiz out. Slate Hill 1 knew their stuff. Despite hearing "list the 6..." they knew it was "50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10." They will be a worth adversay for next week.
So in 1 week, we raised our point average by 10. We were hoping it would raise our average 4 or 5 places, but if you see our standings, it only raised us one place. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who had a good week. And it seems like the top 4 is pushing farther away. Top 5 would be a good aim. As for the individual standings, it's good to see Tim is in the top 60 finally, even though I'd like to see him in the top 50. It's also good to see Chelsea on the paper, even though I'm not sure why she is 4 slots lower than her sister, who is on the same team and shares the same last name with her. But above all, and in all humbleness, it's great to see my name is slot 1. Yes, I know I'm tied for first, one among eight. But to see my name in that first slot is so sweet. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your help.
REFLECTIONS:
This past fall semester, a very proud Pittsburg Steelers would always tell me how great his team is in all of history and how they haven't had a bad season and let him down. He couldn't understand why I would be an Eagles fan, when they can be a disappointment. So one time when he asked me, I simply replied, "But that's what exactly makes it so fun to watch. Nothing is guarenteed with the Eagles. It doesn't matter if they are the favorite team, they could either win or lose. They could be the underdog, and either win or lose. It can't be called. They can do as expected or completely suprised us. They can win or lose, by a lot or a little. It's always suprising and exciting."
I can't help but believe the same is true for Spring City quizzing. Ok, yes, last week we did lose to the the team above us, and won against the teams below us, but still, we're the same way. We began this season, guessing that we'd start near the top as we usually do. Instead, our average ended up being 67.5 We hoped and prayed that our average and placing would go up, but instead our average dropped to 65, and we fell to as low as 20th. Things looked hopeless, and it seemed like Spring City would be trampled on for the rest of the season. But didn't happen like that. The next week, when we had to quiz 3 teams tougher than us, including the team in 3rd place, and we won them all. We have our ups and downs. We have our wins and losses. We score lots, we score little. You can never tell. All the more reason to come and watch how Spring City does in a quiz match. It's exciting.
P.S.
Let me explain the past few weeks. Some have you might have seen me wear apparel from back in my Ark Bible days. Do not get the wrong message. You might have taken it as showing rebellion against Spring City, missing and wishing to return to my Ark Bible days. This is the wrong picture because it is not true at all. I am very happy with my team. This is one of the best...no, this IS the best team I ever had. Let me explain properly. It's a two-part response. First of all, being my last year, I have made this a year of rememberance to reflect on how the Lord has used me in quizzing. But the second reason might more of the reason.
Some you may know this, and for those of you who don't, this might be a confession for you. I did not voluntarily leave Ark Bible. I had to leave because Ark Bible did not have a team. Why did they not have a team? The reasons are too complicated to explain in a short time, but I will say that is was not on a happy premesis. I left that team broken, angry, depressed, not trusting nor wanting any peer fellowship. I was so upset that I didn't want anything to do with anybody from Ark. I was unforgiving and prideful. I thought i was better than all of them. But during the rest of my quizzing years, the Lord started to move me and change all that. This is also too long to explain, too. Let me just say part of it was the mentoring of the Deitricks, another part was having Tim Moss back on the team with me, along with a few other smaller pieces. But let me say that those feelings are all past and gone. I have forgiven Ark of any wrongs against me, whether they are sorry or not. The hard feelings are gone. The Lord had to move me to continue my spiritual growth, and I realize that is is now good that I am on Spring City. But I forgive Ark Bible and all their quizzers, holding nothing against them. They are reconciled with me. That is why I dedicated my matches last week to them. I will never forget them and how they have impacted my life. God bless Ark Bible and its quizzers from the 2004 team.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
At that time Spring City went to Starsburg to quiz against E-Town 1, Strasburg 4, and Zion 1
Sunday afternoon practice started a little due to a meal hosted by the youth group. The meal was delicious, and during the whole thing, I was able to run through the material with Tim. Tim wasn't joking. He knew his stuff. He got every question I gave him right. As they cleaned up, I got into costume as a quizzing si...jedi with my black si...jedi robe and green lightsaber. Although practice was late, it was fast. Why? Because we were getting in smart buzzes, answering them all correctly, with few errors or bonuses. We went so fast, we got through 4 matches, had time for a fifth, had a fifth, took a break, and still had time for a sixth! We all knew our stuff. Break was fun too. We started out playing Lightning Reaction Xtreme, a fun game which helps practice buzzing. Once the light turns green, you better be the first one to buzz in, or get shocked! While many were cautious to play, we got a few in to play, and the shock came to be a surprise. And just before dinner, Mike, Alyssa and Tim had fun withe chair cart. After dinner, we headed off to Strasburg for our matches.
As we entered the building, we had flashbacks of the last year we were up there in week 2 of the 2008 season. We sat in the sanctuary, where Tim errored out in 2008 (lol), sat in the same exact pew, and worshipped with the praise band (which I am sure were the same people). We had to wait a match, so we watched our next opponent E-Town 1 quiz against Strasburg 2. The match started off slow, but eventually picked up pace. Jordan Keener quizzed out, keeping his perfection. Aaron Gish followed by a quiz out too. E-Town 1 won, but did not get up to their average.
E-Town 1 had a back-to-back match as their next opponent was...Spring City! I took seat 1 across from Jordan Keener. It was perfect quizzer against perfect quizzer. I put my si...jedi robe hood up and got into the game. The match started slow, but the pace picked up. First to quiz out was Jordan Keener on E-Town 1's side. The second quiz out was...me! Tim got the third quiz out. Then Aaron Gish on E-Town 1 got the fourth quiz out. With two quiz outs on each side, you can tell it was a close one. But with help from Mike and Robert, we were able to take the lead and win against E-Town 1 90 to 70. We didn't get team bonus, but more surprisingly, we didn't have a single error the whole match! :-)
Our team had to wait another match in between until we got to our next one, so I stayed in the classroom to watch Slate Hill 1 vs. Forest Hills. Slate Hill 1 brought their first place A-game has one quizzer after another, each one quizzed out, until Brady was sitting up there all by himself. He got them the team bonus, giving them 135 points. It was apparent Slate Hill 1 was in the right placing in the standings.
Next round we had our match against Strasburg 4. If it wasn't for Strasburg 3 having their match in the sanctuary, we'd be there, but instead we were in the fellowship hall. I sat in seat 1 against Strasburg 4's top quizzer Deanna Good. Now were in this match. Spring City owned the first few questions. Later on, I got the first Tim and I continued our quizzing out. Robert and Mike joined in the fun by lining us up for team bonus. Then each of them got another one in, making them both available for a quiz out! While close, neither of them got the quiz out. I think both of them were frustrated because both wanted their first quizout of the year. The final score was Spring City 130, Strasburg 55.
We closed the night with the last match against Zion 1. Ever since Ark Bible shut down, the Spring City "rivalry" (friendly rivalry, of course) was against Zion. I started my match sitting against Hannah Gehman, Zion 1 quizzer. After she quizzed out and Zion did the Zion shuffle, I found myself sitting across from Hannah Christophel, another quizzer I was familar with. I wasn't in for much longer, as I answer my third question right on question 9 and got my third quiz out for the night. I couldn't believe it! For once in my career, I was perfect 3 weeks in! I was so excited I let a loud BYAH! The Lord had me perfect for 3 weeks! :) Through my Savior's perfection he made me perfect! :D The team also had a good match, too. Tim, Mike and Robert got us team bonus. Tim and Mike proceeded to get another one right, making both of them available for a team bonus. Then Mike got his third right, giving him his first quiz out of the season! Tim was unable to get that last question right, but he still got 20 points. Spring City won 120 to 65.
REFLECTIONS:
Now usually in my prayer and meditation time, I usually keep to myself, unless I think it will edify someone else or a larger group. I'll admit somewhat that I sometimes keep to myself because I'm afraid I'm wrong or misunderstand something. But when Alyssa revealed on Sunday the same thing I was hearing, I figure maybe I should share it too.
After a wretched first week, when we got nowhere near where we thought we be, I really struggled with this. I prayed so much for a blessing on the team, but it seemed like we got cursed. I couldn't help but cry out to God, "Why?!"He answered to me through our chapel speaker at college during the week. The chapel speaker spoke on Gideon, and it lingered in my head. For those of you who are not too familiar with the Gideon story, or the quizzers who forgot quizzing 2005 material, let me review using a Graham Holcomb paraphrase...
Once the Lord had finally convinced Gideon that Gideon was chosen to be Israel's next judge and he needed to obey God, Gideon goes and rounds up men for the fight. and he gathers 32,000. So the Lord takes a look at the men and decides there's too many men. Why? Judges 7:2b says [and I will quote this], "In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her..." God didn't want Israel to think they won because they were strong enough. So God tells Gideon to send those who are afraid home. Why is that? Maybe it was just because God was being nice to scared men, but I sometimes thing that maybe it's because God wants soldier than fear Him more than any human. Only the ones who feared God were fit to be in Gideon's army. So 22,000 depart, and Gideon is left to a mere 10,000. So Gideon thinks that these 10,000 will be his army, but the Lord has news for him. He tells him bring the men down for a water break, and watch how they drink. Those who kneeled to drink were sent home, while those who brought the water to themselves. Why? A warrior of God must be head up and alert, always keeping careful attention. The one who dives face forward into the action is foolish and not fit to be a warror. There were only 300 men who brought the water to themselves, and with those 300, roughly a little less than 1% of the original army, defeated their tough enemy.
And the Lord said to me, "I must make you weak before I make you strong, so you and others may know that it is by My Strength, not yours, that you have been blessed and given victory."
So that's my best explanation to what happened these past 3 week. God first had to make us weak before we were made strong. I had to watch 2 of my teammates error out, 3 losses, a match scoring a low 30 points because of 7 errors and me get 2 errors in 2 matches so I (and hopefully my team) could recognize that age, experience, previous standings or hours of practice alone could not lift us up to the top. God was making us weak first. So after being in 20th place with an average of 65 points, God, in His might, lifted the humbled team up. God was preparing a team fit for the top. He gave us the fear of God, greater than fearing a stronger team or a quizmaster, so that we look towards the Lord for favor. Before we were diving head first into questions, not waiting long enough to buzz. Now we were alert. We brought the question to us before we buzzed in. With the fear of God and smart buzzing, this team was lifted up in one week. In that one week, when the opponenets were hard and the material harder, we got 2 quizouts in every match and in two of them we got team bonus. For the second and third time, we scored in the triple digits. Through God's strength, we were made strong.
How fitting that a 2005 quizzing story reminded me of this, for we had a Gideon experience then, during the ACC Tournament. We were made weak through our errors, all 36 of them. There were a couple matches where we lost points because of our errors. We did not control our own fate going into the playoffs. But God did. He put us in the playoffs, he gave us wins in the playoffs (despite errors again), and we won the championship. And so it will be again. We are fully dependant on God to lift us up and bring us further. Praise be to God Most High, Creator of Heaven and Earth, wherever He puts us.
As we entered the building, we had flashbacks of the last year we were up there in week 2 of the 2008 season. We sat in the sanctuary, where Tim errored out in 2008 (lol), sat in the same exact pew, and worshipped with the praise band (which I am sure were the same people). We had to wait a match, so we watched our next opponent E-Town 1 quiz against Strasburg 2. The match started off slow, but eventually picked up pace. Jordan Keener quizzed out, keeping his perfection. Aaron Gish followed by a quiz out too. E-Town 1 won, but did not get up to their average.
E-Town 1 had a back-to-back match as their next opponent was...Spring City! I took seat 1 across from Jordan Keener. It was perfect quizzer against perfect quizzer. I put my si...jedi robe hood up and got into the game. The match started slow, but the pace picked up. First to quiz out was Jordan Keener on E-Town 1's side. The second quiz out was...me! Tim got the third quiz out. Then Aaron Gish on E-Town 1 got the fourth quiz out. With two quiz outs on each side, you can tell it was a close one. But with help from Mike and Robert, we were able to take the lead and win against E-Town 1 90 to 70. We didn't get team bonus, but more surprisingly, we didn't have a single error the whole match! :-)
Our team had to wait another match in between until we got to our next one, so I stayed in the classroom to watch Slate Hill 1 vs. Forest Hills. Slate Hill 1 brought their first place A-game has one quizzer after another, each one quizzed out, until Brady was sitting up there all by himself. He got them the team bonus, giving them 135 points. It was apparent Slate Hill 1 was in the right placing in the standings.
Next round we had our match against Strasburg 4. If it wasn't for Strasburg 3 having their match in the sanctuary, we'd be there, but instead we were in the fellowship hall. I sat in seat 1 against Strasburg 4's top quizzer Deanna Good. Now were in this match. Spring City owned the first few questions. Later on, I got the first Tim and I continued our quizzing out. Robert and Mike joined in the fun by lining us up for team bonus. Then each of them got another one in, making them both available for a quiz out! While close, neither of them got the quiz out. I think both of them were frustrated because both wanted their first quizout of the year. The final score was Spring City 130, Strasburg 55.
We closed the night with the last match against Zion 1. Ever since Ark Bible shut down, the Spring City "rivalry" (friendly rivalry, of course) was against Zion. I started my match sitting against Hannah Gehman, Zion 1 quizzer. After she quizzed out and Zion did the Zion shuffle, I found myself sitting across from Hannah Christophel, another quizzer I was familar with. I wasn't in for much longer, as I answer my third question right on question 9 and got my third quiz out for the night. I couldn't believe it! For once in my career, I was perfect 3 weeks in! I was so excited I let a loud BYAH! The Lord had me perfect for 3 weeks! :) Through my Savior's perfection he made me perfect! :D The team also had a good match, too. Tim, Mike and Robert got us team bonus. Tim and Mike proceeded to get another one right, making both of them available for a team bonus. Then Mike got his third right, giving him his first quiz out of the season! Tim was unable to get that last question right, but he still got 20 points. Spring City won 120 to 65.
REFLECTIONS:
Now usually in my prayer and meditation time, I usually keep to myself, unless I think it will edify someone else or a larger group. I'll admit somewhat that I sometimes keep to myself because I'm afraid I'm wrong or misunderstand something. But when Alyssa revealed on Sunday the same thing I was hearing, I figure maybe I should share it too.
After a wretched first week, when we got nowhere near where we thought we be, I really struggled with this. I prayed so much for a blessing on the team, but it seemed like we got cursed. I couldn't help but cry out to God, "Why?!"He answered to me through our chapel speaker at college during the week. The chapel speaker spoke on Gideon, and it lingered in my head. For those of you who are not too familiar with the Gideon story, or the quizzers who forgot quizzing 2005 material, let me review using a Graham Holcomb paraphrase...
Once the Lord had finally convinced Gideon that Gideon was chosen to be Israel's next judge and he needed to obey God, Gideon goes and rounds up men for the fight. and he gathers 32,000. So the Lord takes a look at the men and decides there's too many men. Why? Judges 7:2b says [and I will quote this], "In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her..." God didn't want Israel to think they won because they were strong enough. So God tells Gideon to send those who are afraid home. Why is that? Maybe it was just because God was being nice to scared men, but I sometimes thing that maybe it's because God wants soldier than fear Him more than any human. Only the ones who feared God were fit to be in Gideon's army. So 22,000 depart, and Gideon is left to a mere 10,000. So Gideon thinks that these 10,000 will be his army, but the Lord has news for him. He tells him bring the men down for a water break, and watch how they drink. Those who kneeled to drink were sent home, while those who brought the water to themselves. Why? A warrior of God must be head up and alert, always keeping careful attention. The one who dives face forward into the action is foolish and not fit to be a warror. There were only 300 men who brought the water to themselves, and with those 300, roughly a little less than 1% of the original army, defeated their tough enemy.
And the Lord said to me, "I must make you weak before I make you strong, so you and others may know that it is by My Strength, not yours, that you have been blessed and given victory."
So that's my best explanation to what happened these past 3 week. God first had to make us weak before we were made strong. I had to watch 2 of my teammates error out, 3 losses, a match scoring a low 30 points because of 7 errors and me get 2 errors in 2 matches so I (and hopefully my team) could recognize that age, experience, previous standings or hours of practice alone could not lift us up to the top. God was making us weak first. So after being in 20th place with an average of 65 points, God, in His might, lifted the humbled team up. God was preparing a team fit for the top. He gave us the fear of God, greater than fearing a stronger team or a quizmaster, so that we look towards the Lord for favor. Before we were diving head first into questions, not waiting long enough to buzz. Now we were alert. We brought the question to us before we buzzed in. With the fear of God and smart buzzing, this team was lifted up in one week. In that one week, when the opponenets were hard and the material harder, we got 2 quizouts in every match and in two of them we got team bonus. For the second and third time, we scored in the triple digits. Through God's strength, we were made strong.
How fitting that a 2005 quizzing story reminded me of this, for we had a Gideon experience then, during the ACC Tournament. We were made weak through our errors, all 36 of them. There were a couple matches where we lost points because of our errors. We did not control our own fate going into the playoffs. But God did. He put us in the playoffs, he gave us wins in the playoffs (despite errors again), and we won the championship. And so it will be again. We are fully dependant on God to lift us up and bring us further. Praise be to God Most High, Creator of Heaven and Earth, wherever He puts us.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
This is the written account of week 2 at Blainsport
Last Sunday was the opening of the quizzing season. We had 4 weeks to prepare for it, and after 4 Thursdays and 1 Sunday preparation, all we got was 1-1 record, 67.5 point average, 10 errors and 2 error outs. Now that we are fully underway into the quizzing season, we now only have 1 Thursday and 1 Sunday to prepare. This Sunday was special because it was Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl pushes quizzing to 2 p.m. and that gives us only the Sunday School hour and whatever little time before the match to study. So that means we only had 1 Thursday and 1/2 Sunday to quiz our best. Let's see what it produced.
Our first match was against the home team Blainsport right in their home sanctuary. I saw Blainsport quiz earlier, and saw their perfect quizzer fall. Since he sat in seat 4, I decided I would also sit in seat 4. The best way to describe the match would be "sloppy." By question 10, I had gotten 2 buzz in correct and 2 errors. My teammates weren't doing any better, getting lots of errors. Luckily Blainsport didn't pick many of them out. By the team we got to review material, I still hadn't quizzed out. On my first match of the second week, my perfection flashed before my eyes. But after our timeout between questions 13 and 14, Tim and Mike asked, "You want this next question?" Of course I said yes. They replied, "This next questions is yours." Question 14 was "What produced..." and not wanting to give up, I buzzed in. At that time, all I could think was how the question would end: "What produced vegetation..." or "What produced living creatures..." I knew I was going to either quiz out or error out. Then it hit me, "either way the question ends, the answer is still the same!" So I answered, "the land" and I got it right! (This is not true because of verb tense changing, and you'll see the irony about that later.) Quizzed out question 14 on full count. Couldn't have pulled it any closer. Sadly that was the highlight of the match. We got 7 errors and lost points, but more greatly lost the match 30 to 60.
We had back-to-back matches, so we had to hurry downstairs to our match with Living Rock 3. I sat in seat 3 this time. This time I had totally changed. I buzzed in on questions 5, 6, and 7, and got them all right. I quizzed out on 3 consecutive right buzz ins! While I was able to turn my game around, the team performed did the same. Tim got 2 errors, and we took him out to increase our change for team bonus. On the brighter side alyssa picked up a bonus, getting her second score for the year. We still came short for team bonus. Another loss, 55 to 75.
Then the next match I went back to as I did the next match, but my team took off. The match was against Emmanuel, and as I usually like sitting across from the top/perfect quizzers, I sat across from Emily Timberlake, perfect Emmanuel quizzer. I started our match off with an error. Tim, probably frustrated because he hadn't quizzed out since the first match (lol), went full throtle into 3 questions, buzzing in on each of them, answering each right, and quizzing out. He was the second Spring City quizzer to do this on Sunday. Two-thirds through the match, I found myself at full count again. But this time, my 2 right was 1 buzz in and 1 bonus. Emily and I at this point had been helping each other by sharing bonuses. On question 12, she quizzed out, keeping her perfect record (Congratulations emily!!). Once again, my perfect record flashed before my eyes. Question 13 was, "What produced thorns..." and I buzzed in. I knew I was either going to quiz out or error out. But I knew this one, and then realized how much blessing I got on the first one. I answered "the ground" and got it right for the quiz out. The following question Mike made the match better by getting us team bonus. This match we won 105-55. This was the first match we got team bonus, first match we scored in the triple digits, and only the second match we won all season so far.
So I guess the best way to describe the whole day was sloppy. I know that a lot of it is my fault. I take full responsibility and apologize to my team. After an errorless week, I got 4 this week. That is unacceptable from me. I should be able to do better than that. As the team's leading quizzer, I feel responsible to not only quiz out, but quiz out as fast as I can to give me subbing teammates an equal oppurtunity. My late quiz outs have denied that oppurtunity for the subs to get in early. I am sorry for that. I cannot be a good example or good leader if I myself keep getting errors. Even though I only average 2 errors a week, I will do my best to decrease these errors. I also want to be able to help my teammates do their best. Any way I can help, just tell me. Let us unite as a team under God to do better and grow in the Lord.
Our first match was against the home team Blainsport right in their home sanctuary. I saw Blainsport quiz earlier, and saw their perfect quizzer fall. Since he sat in seat 4, I decided I would also sit in seat 4. The best way to describe the match would be "sloppy." By question 10, I had gotten 2 buzz in correct and 2 errors. My teammates weren't doing any better, getting lots of errors. Luckily Blainsport didn't pick many of them out. By the team we got to review material, I still hadn't quizzed out. On my first match of the second week, my perfection flashed before my eyes. But after our timeout between questions 13 and 14, Tim and Mike asked, "You want this next question?" Of course I said yes. They replied, "This next questions is yours." Question 14 was "What produced..." and not wanting to give up, I buzzed in. At that time, all I could think was how the question would end: "What produced vegetation..." or "What produced living creatures..." I knew I was going to either quiz out or error out. Then it hit me, "either way the question ends, the answer is still the same!" So I answered, "the land" and I got it right! (This is not true because of verb tense changing, and you'll see the irony about that later.) Quizzed out question 14 on full count. Couldn't have pulled it any closer. Sadly that was the highlight of the match. We got 7 errors and lost points, but more greatly lost the match 30 to 60.
We had back-to-back matches, so we had to hurry downstairs to our match with Living Rock 3. I sat in seat 3 this time. This time I had totally changed. I buzzed in on questions 5, 6, and 7, and got them all right. I quizzed out on 3 consecutive right buzz ins! While I was able to turn my game around, the team performed did the same. Tim got 2 errors, and we took him out to increase our change for team bonus. On the brighter side alyssa picked up a bonus, getting her second score for the year. We still came short for team bonus. Another loss, 55 to 75.
Then the next match I went back to as I did the next match, but my team took off. The match was against Emmanuel, and as I usually like sitting across from the top/perfect quizzers, I sat across from Emily Timberlake, perfect Emmanuel quizzer. I started our match off with an error. Tim, probably frustrated because he hadn't quizzed out since the first match (lol), went full throtle into 3 questions, buzzing in on each of them, answering each right, and quizzing out. He was the second Spring City quizzer to do this on Sunday. Two-thirds through the match, I found myself at full count again. But this time, my 2 right was 1 buzz in and 1 bonus. Emily and I at this point had been helping each other by sharing bonuses. On question 12, she quizzed out, keeping her perfect record (Congratulations emily!!). Once again, my perfect record flashed before my eyes. Question 13 was, "What produced thorns..." and I buzzed in. I knew I was either going to quiz out or error out. But I knew this one, and then realized how much blessing I got on the first one. I answered "the ground" and got it right for the quiz out. The following question Mike made the match better by getting us team bonus. This match we won 105-55. This was the first match we got team bonus, first match we scored in the triple digits, and only the second match we won all season so far.
So I guess the best way to describe the whole day was sloppy. I know that a lot of it is my fault. I take full responsibility and apologize to my team. After an errorless week, I got 4 this week. That is unacceptable from me. I should be able to do better than that. As the team's leading quizzer, I feel responsible to not only quiz out, but quiz out as fast as I can to give me subbing teammates an equal oppurtunity. My late quiz outs have denied that oppurtunity for the subs to get in early. I am sorry for that. I cannot be a good example or good leader if I myself keep getting errors. Even though I only average 2 errors a week, I will do my best to decrease these errors. I also want to be able to help my teammates do their best. Any way I can help, just tell me. Let us unite as a team under God to do better and grow in the Lord.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
In the beginning...we went to LMH
Now I'm not going into detail about everything that happened on Sunday. I just want to set the picture for you on what happened. If I don't, you won't understand.
We had five practice matches the whole afternoon. The hardest practice match was the third one. Mrs. Deitrick's questions were just nasty. Since both Dave and Vicki had written so many questions, and even using questions written 10 years ago, Mrs. Deitrick was really scraping the bottom of the barrell. She was asking lots of footnote questions, putting the footnote in the actual text. (When Tim got heard those questions, he would say, "Those will never be asked!" The irony.) But the last two matches were great. The second to last match was only 2 errors, and none of the bonuses were missed. In our last match, we went 10 questions without an error. Only one error occured, and the bonus was gotten right. Throughout those five matches, everyone quizzed out at least. I myself quizzed out five times. There was even a couple times where Mike quizzed out before Tim. Things were looking good. Our hopes were up, especially knowing we were quizzinga against a brand new team, possibly the easiest team all season. So even when we were driving up, it was looking good. Mike and Tim went up in Tim's car, and the rest of us in the church van. We asked each other questions, and we were getting them right. Things were looking up, things were looking good.
Got to LMH in good timing. Met up with old friends, and find out where they were. Saw who was there, who was not, and whose roles were changed. Some went from quizzer to coach, others were in new churches. Looking around, I realized that the quizzing had completely changed from what I knew it to be when I began. Speaking of which, I decided to dress like I did rookie year, wearing the "jersey" from my rookie year with my first team, Ark Bible. It was different becasue there was no worship, and announcements started at 6:35. I just suspected it was early season confusion. After announcements, I watched the first match of Emmanuel vs. Strasburg 2. Heck, I scorekept. But I was also listening to the questions, and knew the answers to most, if not all of them. I was ready.
But my teammates did not show the same readiness as I was. Robert didn't feel confident. Mike was nervous. We didn't have time for these feelings, we needed to start quizzing. The starters were me, tim, mike and chelsea. Match started well. Tim got the first one right on a buzz in. I knew it, but buzzed too slow. I rebound to answer 2, 3, and 4 in a row, all buzzes all correct. After 4 questions, Goods 1 called the "oh crap" timeout because they were losing 45-0. With my seat now empty, Robert substuted. I had now opened up more room for team bonus. But with no avail. Errors appeared. Tim quizzed out question 9, allowing Alyssa to get in. She helped greatly, buzzing in, and answering "headwaters." We were one away from team bonus. But instead of gaining points, we lost points. We got 5 errors, the 5th error on Mike erroring out question 15. We did win the match against Goods 1, 75-50, but the win was sloppy. I feel bad for Alyssa because she had the first time of participating in team bonus, but we couldn't pull up for her.
We had no time to rest, for our matches were consecutive. The second and final match from the day was against Parkesburg. Not only was this church new to our quizzing, but also one of the first churches that was not Mennonite and quizzing in the ACC. This match was worse than the last one. I quizzed out on question 7, and that was Spring City's highlight of the match. Mike got 20 points, and all were in the last third of the match. Tim got 10 before erroring out himself. Once again, the team gave themselves 5 errors, losing 5 points. We lost our match 60-80.
After the match, Mike said to me, "Graham, I think this is the maddest I have ever seen you." So Mike, if I appeared mad, and that upset/disturbed you, I apologize. I am sorry. It was not meant to be that way. I wasn't really mad, not even upset. I guess "frustrated" would be a better term. I know this is the last year for a lot of people; not only myself, but also you and Tim, and even the Deitricks. I wanted to give that half of the team the best final year. Now for everyone else, I think it is best to recant everything I said in my last post. As much I was hoping we had what it takes, it's not looking good. Spring City already has 10 errors and 2 error outs. Our point average is 67.5. We have to start in 17th place. For the 16 teams ahead of us, we already quizzed 2 of them, and we have to quiz 14 of them in the remainder of the season. I overheard Tim say, "What's the season for? That's for individual." Well, Tim, if that's the way you want go, so be it. I was hoping being our last year, and being in the position we are, we could go for the season championship. But I guess not, since it's all about individual. If that's so, then I am striving to be a perfect quizzer. I was really hoping Tim and Mike could join me for the first couple or few weeks, but I gueess not. If the season is all about individual, then I am shooting for 16 more quiz outs. Please don't interfere. But let me CYB: Cover My Butt. Don't make this look like a selfish stride for pride. I still want our team to do its best. In fact, I make sure one of my questions right is a buzz in so I can set my team up for team bonus. I just don't want to be blamed for making selfish, prideful advances. I do my best for God, my team, and myself every match, which is quizzing out with one buzz in, scoring the maximum 35 points. I buzz in, I quiz out, what more can I do? I don't want those 35 points to be our team only guarenteed points. Let's give it our best, team. Sorry if it seems like I'm now concentrated with individual than team, but I've been put down earlier in my quizzing career and I don't want to be disappointed again this last year.
Thank you, my team, for letting me vent my frustrations. Sorry if this has offened you or made you upset or angry. Once again, don't get me wrong. I am not mad or upset at you. I love my team as a whole, and I love my teammates each individually. All of you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I pray for you all blessings as you go throughout your day and as you quiz. Let us come together as a team on practice Thursday and be prepared to give our best. Let's do this like Brutus! It's on like Donkey Kong!
We had five practice matches the whole afternoon. The hardest practice match was the third one. Mrs. Deitrick's questions were just nasty. Since both Dave and Vicki had written so many questions, and even using questions written 10 years ago, Mrs. Deitrick was really scraping the bottom of the barrell. She was asking lots of footnote questions, putting the footnote in the actual text. (When Tim got heard those questions, he would say, "Those will never be asked!" The irony.) But the last two matches were great. The second to last match was only 2 errors, and none of the bonuses were missed. In our last match, we went 10 questions without an error. Only one error occured, and the bonus was gotten right. Throughout those five matches, everyone quizzed out at least. I myself quizzed out five times. There was even a couple times where Mike quizzed out before Tim. Things were looking good. Our hopes were up, especially knowing we were quizzinga against a brand new team, possibly the easiest team all season. So even when we were driving up, it was looking good. Mike and Tim went up in Tim's car, and the rest of us in the church van. We asked each other questions, and we were getting them right. Things were looking up, things were looking good.
Got to LMH in good timing. Met up with old friends, and find out where they were. Saw who was there, who was not, and whose roles were changed. Some went from quizzer to coach, others were in new churches. Looking around, I realized that the quizzing had completely changed from what I knew it to be when I began. Speaking of which, I decided to dress like I did rookie year, wearing the "jersey" from my rookie year with my first team, Ark Bible. It was different becasue there was no worship, and announcements started at 6:35. I just suspected it was early season confusion. After announcements, I watched the first match of Emmanuel vs. Strasburg 2. Heck, I scorekept. But I was also listening to the questions, and knew the answers to most, if not all of them. I was ready.
But my teammates did not show the same readiness as I was. Robert didn't feel confident. Mike was nervous. We didn't have time for these feelings, we needed to start quizzing. The starters were me, tim, mike and chelsea. Match started well. Tim got the first one right on a buzz in. I knew it, but buzzed too slow. I rebound to answer 2, 3, and 4 in a row, all buzzes all correct. After 4 questions, Goods 1 called the "oh crap" timeout because they were losing 45-0. With my seat now empty, Robert substuted. I had now opened up more room for team bonus. But with no avail. Errors appeared. Tim quizzed out question 9, allowing Alyssa to get in. She helped greatly, buzzing in, and answering "headwaters." We were one away from team bonus. But instead of gaining points, we lost points. We got 5 errors, the 5th error on Mike erroring out question 15. We did win the match against Goods 1, 75-50, but the win was sloppy. I feel bad for Alyssa because she had the first time of participating in team bonus, but we couldn't pull up for her.
We had no time to rest, for our matches were consecutive. The second and final match from the day was against Parkesburg. Not only was this church new to our quizzing, but also one of the first churches that was not Mennonite and quizzing in the ACC. This match was worse than the last one. I quizzed out on question 7, and that was Spring City's highlight of the match. Mike got 20 points, and all were in the last third of the match. Tim got 10 before erroring out himself. Once again, the team gave themselves 5 errors, losing 5 points. We lost our match 60-80.
After the match, Mike said to me, "Graham, I think this is the maddest I have ever seen you." So Mike, if I appeared mad, and that upset/disturbed you, I apologize. I am sorry. It was not meant to be that way. I wasn't really mad, not even upset. I guess "frustrated" would be a better term. I know this is the last year for a lot of people; not only myself, but also you and Tim, and even the Deitricks. I wanted to give that half of the team the best final year. Now for everyone else, I think it is best to recant everything I said in my last post. As much I was hoping we had what it takes, it's not looking good. Spring City already has 10 errors and 2 error outs. Our point average is 67.5. We have to start in 17th place. For the 16 teams ahead of us, we already quizzed 2 of them, and we have to quiz 14 of them in the remainder of the season. I overheard Tim say, "What's the season for? That's for individual." Well, Tim, if that's the way you want go, so be it. I was hoping being our last year, and being in the position we are, we could go for the season championship. But I guess not, since it's all about individual. If that's so, then I am striving to be a perfect quizzer. I was really hoping Tim and Mike could join me for the first couple or few weeks, but I gueess not. If the season is all about individual, then I am shooting for 16 more quiz outs. Please don't interfere. But let me CYB: Cover My Butt. Don't make this look like a selfish stride for pride. I still want our team to do its best. In fact, I make sure one of my questions right is a buzz in so I can set my team up for team bonus. I just don't want to be blamed for making selfish, prideful advances. I do my best for God, my team, and myself every match, which is quizzing out with one buzz in, scoring the maximum 35 points. I buzz in, I quiz out, what more can I do? I don't want those 35 points to be our team only guarenteed points. Let's give it our best, team. Sorry if it seems like I'm now concentrated with individual than team, but I've been put down earlier in my quizzing career and I don't want to be disappointed again this last year.
Thank you, my team, for letting me vent my frustrations. Sorry if this has offened you or made you upset or angry. Once again, don't get me wrong. I am not mad or upset at you. I love my team as a whole, and I love my teammates each individually. All of you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I pray for you all blessings as you go throughout your day and as you quiz. Let us come together as a team on practice Thursday and be prepared to give our best. Let's do this like Brutus! It's on like Donkey Kong!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
There's No I in team
Every year you hear me talk about my goals, but they are always personal, individual. I rarely mention anything about the team. Maybe it's because I've been let down by team in the early years. Maybe it's because that while personal goals I fully control, team goals I could only partially control. I'm dependant on them doing something.
I have to say that I struggle (use that term loosely) with my role in the team. I always use to say, "I buzz, I quiz out, and that's all I can do." If I quiz out, with 1 of 3 right answers a buzz, not only do I get the team 35 points, I have set them up for a team bonus. But 35 points alone won't win quizmatches. And the team bonus won't happen unless 3 other teammates buzz in and answer right. But is team bonus really necesary? To clinch a win in a match, all a team needs to score is 100 points. Now there are many ways to score 100 points, but one way to do it is 3 quizouts, which is 105 points. So imagine if a team has 3 solid quizzers so can quiz out every match (which would be 9 questions, so you would have be sure those 3 quizzers could get 9 questions right). Those 3 quizzers alone could get the win for their team. It almost seems like the other quizzers, whether it be 1 to 4 others, aren't needed. Besides, that will only work for tournaments, when it is goes by win/loss. During the season, it's by points, and you need as much as you can get. But that leads into the discussion whether sometimes maybe a 5 quizzer team might be better than a team of 6 quizzers. But anyway...
There's got to more to team than just strategy. I believe there is. I've noticed in the past that in these last 3 years, that the lowest scoring quizzers always bring something to the team, and it's not points. It's something else. It's the factor that unites the team. That quizzer can take a serious moment, and lighten it by cracking a joke. This quizzer is quick to join in the fun. It doesn't matter how well the team of the quizzer him/herself is doing, they always have fun. Whenever tensions are at the highest, that quizzer lowers them. (S)he can calm nerves. I believe it is a vital part of a team to have this person. Without this person, the team will fail, no matter how good. This quizzer gives the team a laid-back feel. When a team is too serious, or too tense, it will lead to tightening up, which will lead to "brain farts" which leads to failing. In short, quizzers can contribute more than points to a team than just points alone.
Why do I say this? Why am I talking about team? Because I am going to make a bold statement, so bold, I will put it in bold font: I believe Spring City has what it takes to go all the way. Now, hold on. First of all, this is not a self-exhalting quote out of pride. I will explain why later. It is taking a lot for me step out and say this. Also know that I am not saying this out of hopeful team cheering either. I do have good reason for saying. Follow along with me.
First of all, let me introduce you to my team. I am Spring City's top quizzer (once again, not saying this to boast. This can be seen statistically.) I have been Spring City's top quizzer since 2006. Only in 2005 did Brandon Tedor, a wonderful quizzer himself, surpassed me as the top quizzer, and he deserved it. But let's look at my stats since joining the Spring City team in 2005. Since the 2005 season, I scored (in chronological order from 2005) 510, 585, 530, and 600 points. I have also quizzed out 12, 15, 14, and 16 times. This had led me to finish 34th, 12th, 16th, and 8th. That's 4 consecutive years as one of the Top 50 Quizzers in all the ACC. As you can tell scoring points and quizzing out comes naturally for me. Being my last year, I've studied more than usual. As I said in my last post, I'm striving to finish my last year perfect. 630 points will be a great contribution to our team's score.
But enough about me. I am only a sixth of my team. Next on the team is Tim Moss, a solid second quizzer. If the last name isn't enough to convince you, let me give you some stats. Tim has appeared on the Top 50 Quizzers List for 3 total years. In the past two years alone, when Tim joined Spring City, Tim has scored (chronologically, starting with 2007) 480 & 530 points, quizzing out 12 & 15 times. While last year Tim's 3 matches he didn't quiz out were because of error outs, Tim is trustful for a second quiz out. Then we got Mike, a true veteran to Spring City. While only making one appearance on the Top 60 Quizzers in 2006 (the first year they decide to make it the Top 60, lol), Mike has been one of Top 100 quizzers these past 3 years. Although not recognized in ACC Quizzing, it is a feat that should be noticed. To be in the top 100, one usually has to score 300 points or more. Mike has done that 3 times straight scoring (from 2006 on) 450 points, 340 points and 340 points again. While he's not a solid quiz out during the season, he's solid for at least one buzz in, which can contribute towards team bonus. And by the time tournaments come around, he is a regular quiz out. I've talked about the old veterans of quizzing, but let's not forget the younger ones. We don't have any rookies this year, but we got Chelsea in our third year, followed by Robert and Alyssa in their second year. Chelsea is fast at the buzzer, fast enough to frustrate the old veterans when they can't get in (lol). Robert, in his rookie year, scored 105 points and got his first quiz out. Alyssa, she's that factor, the uniting factor. She gives this team something only alyssa can give. Without her, this team would not be the same. We got the right quizzers. Now how's it going to work together in this year?
We've had 4 practices, and it looks very promising. Starting with me, I have quizzed out 15 of the 16 practices matches we've had (and for the record, the one I didn't quiz out was because Tim and Mike were blocking in me. lol). Tim and Mike have been buzzing in and getting them right, just as much as they error. They have quizzed out and errored out the same. They have well known the answer and took wild guesses. So in short, they are doing the same as any year, and can be projected to be the same. Chelsea is doing the fast buzzing as usual, but it's apparent she's gaining experience. She's had a quizout at least once every practice. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets her first quiz out this year and scores in the triple digits for the first time. Speaking of suprises, Alyssa is going to be a surprise. I see her doing all kinds of things in her score column. She gets bonuses wrong, she gets bonuses right. She's buzzed in and errored, and she's buzzed in and got it right. Just the fact she can beat in everyone else buzzing is a feat alone. She can do anything. Don't underestimate her, ACC Quizzing. Robert has had a slow start, but I'm not worried in the least. Why? All those feats I told you he did last year were all in the second half the season. It might take him time to warm up, but later on in the year, don't be caught off guard when he starts taking off.
My last argument is legacy. Pure legacy. Something cannot be measure by statistics or practice evaluation. This is the Deitricks' 3rd time quizzing on Genesis. They have opened their coaching career, and might end it on the same material. This might be ending it on a good note. Every time they have quizzed on Genesis, their team has finished high up and been awarded. This could be an omen. Let's just take it back to the Old Testament. The last time ACC Bible Quizzing has quizzed on the Old Testament, it was on Judges and Kings in 2005. That year, Spring City won the ACC Tournament. Mike and I are the only remnant of that 2005 quiz team. We know what it is like. Now to share that feeling with the others.
I told you earlier my dangerous statement was not meant to be proud and selfish of myself or my team. Now to explain it. I've won a team championship in my 8 years of quizzing, and so has Mike. But the rest of the team hasn't. This may not be big to our younger quizzers like Chelsea, Alyssa or Robert. But it has meant a lot for Tim. Entering his 7th year of quizzing, his team has yet to be recognized as some kind of championship team. Yes, he's been acknowledge by both Spring City and ACC Bible Quizzing, but it's about his individuality. No team trophy. Winning the season are the tournament is no longer about me, it's about the team, it's about Tim. I know I'll be one of the winners on the team, but I'll be happier for my fellow quizzing teammates, who are experiencing this joy for the first time.
So I say my bold statement again, Spring City has what it takes to go all the way. We have 3 old veterans that are solid quizouts, and our 3 younger quizzers are all solid to get us the last buzz in right for team bonus. Some concluding reasons to give you. Spring City has an old team. If you age the total ages of our quizzers together, we are 106 years. Our experience is old, too. Not counting this year, we have 24 total years of experience, and if you count this year, it is a total 30 years experience. I think all 3 numbers could be the oldest in ACC Quizzing. Second, Spring City remembers to keep ourselves spiritually in check. We remember that what we are learning is deeper than just "quizzing material." It is God's Word. It needs to be treated with respect. It needs to be part of our lives, and encompass our whole life. Everything we do, all credit is for God. Finally, we just got a good feeling about it. I can feel in in my veins, Chelsea can feel it in her bones, and Dave can feel it in his spirit. Even if we don't go all the way to end, something great is going to happen this year. We will accept it, and we will enjoy, and we will praise God for his blessing.
Now with 17 hours and 30 minutes left until the first quiz match of the 2009 season, I am going to bed. I probably will hardly be able to sleep with all the excitement. This upcoming quizmeet will be bittersweet, as I come to realization this is the last time the quizzing season will open as me as quzzing. May I not focus on the end of my career, but the beginning of yet another year to do my best.
I have to say that I struggle (use that term loosely) with my role in the team. I always use to say, "I buzz, I quiz out, and that's all I can do." If I quiz out, with 1 of 3 right answers a buzz, not only do I get the team 35 points, I have set them up for a team bonus. But 35 points alone won't win quizmatches. And the team bonus won't happen unless 3 other teammates buzz in and answer right. But is team bonus really necesary? To clinch a win in a match, all a team needs to score is 100 points. Now there are many ways to score 100 points, but one way to do it is 3 quizouts, which is 105 points. So imagine if a team has 3 solid quizzers so can quiz out every match (which would be 9 questions, so you would have be sure those 3 quizzers could get 9 questions right). Those 3 quizzers alone could get the win for their team. It almost seems like the other quizzers, whether it be 1 to 4 others, aren't needed. Besides, that will only work for tournaments, when it is goes by win/loss. During the season, it's by points, and you need as much as you can get. But that leads into the discussion whether sometimes maybe a 5 quizzer team might be better than a team of 6 quizzers. But anyway...
There's got to more to team than just strategy. I believe there is. I've noticed in the past that in these last 3 years, that the lowest scoring quizzers always bring something to the team, and it's not points. It's something else. It's the factor that unites the team. That quizzer can take a serious moment, and lighten it by cracking a joke. This quizzer is quick to join in the fun. It doesn't matter how well the team of the quizzer him/herself is doing, they always have fun. Whenever tensions are at the highest, that quizzer lowers them. (S)he can calm nerves. I believe it is a vital part of a team to have this person. Without this person, the team will fail, no matter how good. This quizzer gives the team a laid-back feel. When a team is too serious, or too tense, it will lead to tightening up, which will lead to "brain farts" which leads to failing. In short, quizzers can contribute more than points to a team than just points alone.
Why do I say this? Why am I talking about team? Because I am going to make a bold statement, so bold, I will put it in bold font: I believe Spring City has what it takes to go all the way. Now, hold on. First of all, this is not a self-exhalting quote out of pride. I will explain why later. It is taking a lot for me step out and say this. Also know that I am not saying this out of hopeful team cheering either. I do have good reason for saying. Follow along with me.
First of all, let me introduce you to my team. I am Spring City's top quizzer (once again, not saying this to boast. This can be seen statistically.) I have been Spring City's top quizzer since 2006. Only in 2005 did Brandon Tedor, a wonderful quizzer himself, surpassed me as the top quizzer, and he deserved it. But let's look at my stats since joining the Spring City team in 2005. Since the 2005 season, I scored (in chronological order from 2005) 510, 585, 530, and 600 points. I have also quizzed out 12, 15, 14, and 16 times. This had led me to finish 34th, 12th, 16th, and 8th. That's 4 consecutive years as one of the Top 50 Quizzers in all the ACC. As you can tell scoring points and quizzing out comes naturally for me. Being my last year, I've studied more than usual. As I said in my last post, I'm striving to finish my last year perfect. 630 points will be a great contribution to our team's score.
But enough about me. I am only a sixth of my team. Next on the team is Tim Moss, a solid second quizzer. If the last name isn't enough to convince you, let me give you some stats. Tim has appeared on the Top 50 Quizzers List for 3 total years. In the past two years alone, when Tim joined Spring City, Tim has scored (chronologically, starting with 2007) 480 & 530 points, quizzing out 12 & 15 times. While last year Tim's 3 matches he didn't quiz out were because of error outs, Tim is trustful for a second quiz out. Then we got Mike, a true veteran to Spring City. While only making one appearance on the Top 60 Quizzers in 2006 (the first year they decide to make it the Top 60, lol), Mike has been one of Top 100 quizzers these past 3 years. Although not recognized in ACC Quizzing, it is a feat that should be noticed. To be in the top 100, one usually has to score 300 points or more. Mike has done that 3 times straight scoring (from 2006 on) 450 points, 340 points and 340 points again. While he's not a solid quiz out during the season, he's solid for at least one buzz in, which can contribute towards team bonus. And by the time tournaments come around, he is a regular quiz out. I've talked about the old veterans of quizzing, but let's not forget the younger ones. We don't have any rookies this year, but we got Chelsea in our third year, followed by Robert and Alyssa in their second year. Chelsea is fast at the buzzer, fast enough to frustrate the old veterans when they can't get in (lol). Robert, in his rookie year, scored 105 points and got his first quiz out. Alyssa, she's that factor, the uniting factor. She gives this team something only alyssa can give. Without her, this team would not be the same. We got the right quizzers. Now how's it going to work together in this year?
We've had 4 practices, and it looks very promising. Starting with me, I have quizzed out 15 of the 16 practices matches we've had (and for the record, the one I didn't quiz out was because Tim and Mike were blocking in me. lol). Tim and Mike have been buzzing in and getting them right, just as much as they error. They have quizzed out and errored out the same. They have well known the answer and took wild guesses. So in short, they are doing the same as any year, and can be projected to be the same. Chelsea is doing the fast buzzing as usual, but it's apparent she's gaining experience. She's had a quizout at least once every practice. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets her first quiz out this year and scores in the triple digits for the first time. Speaking of suprises, Alyssa is going to be a surprise. I see her doing all kinds of things in her score column. She gets bonuses wrong, she gets bonuses right. She's buzzed in and errored, and she's buzzed in and got it right. Just the fact she can beat in everyone else buzzing is a feat alone. She can do anything. Don't underestimate her, ACC Quizzing. Robert has had a slow start, but I'm not worried in the least. Why? All those feats I told you he did last year were all in the second half the season. It might take him time to warm up, but later on in the year, don't be caught off guard when he starts taking off.
My last argument is legacy. Pure legacy. Something cannot be measure by statistics or practice evaluation. This is the Deitricks' 3rd time quizzing on Genesis. They have opened their coaching career, and might end it on the same material. This might be ending it on a good note. Every time they have quizzed on Genesis, their team has finished high up and been awarded. This could be an omen. Let's just take it back to the Old Testament. The last time ACC Bible Quizzing has quizzed on the Old Testament, it was on Judges and Kings in 2005. That year, Spring City won the ACC Tournament. Mike and I are the only remnant of that 2005 quiz team. We know what it is like. Now to share that feeling with the others.
I told you earlier my dangerous statement was not meant to be proud and selfish of myself or my team. Now to explain it. I've won a team championship in my 8 years of quizzing, and so has Mike. But the rest of the team hasn't. This may not be big to our younger quizzers like Chelsea, Alyssa or Robert. But it has meant a lot for Tim. Entering his 7th year of quizzing, his team has yet to be recognized as some kind of championship team. Yes, he's been acknowledge by both Spring City and ACC Bible Quizzing, but it's about his individuality. No team trophy. Winning the season are the tournament is no longer about me, it's about the team, it's about Tim. I know I'll be one of the winners on the team, but I'll be happier for my fellow quizzing teammates, who are experiencing this joy for the first time.
So I say my bold statement again, Spring City has what it takes to go all the way. We have 3 old veterans that are solid quizouts, and our 3 younger quizzers are all solid to get us the last buzz in right for team bonus. Some concluding reasons to give you. Spring City has an old team. If you age the total ages of our quizzers together, we are 106 years. Our experience is old, too. Not counting this year, we have 24 total years of experience, and if you count this year, it is a total 30 years experience. I think all 3 numbers could be the oldest in ACC Quizzing. Second, Spring City remembers to keep ourselves spiritually in check. We remember that what we are learning is deeper than just "quizzing material." It is God's Word. It needs to be treated with respect. It needs to be part of our lives, and encompass our whole life. Everything we do, all credit is for God. Finally, we just got a good feeling about it. I can feel in in my veins, Chelsea can feel it in her bones, and Dave can feel it in his spirit. Even if we don't go all the way to end, something great is going to happen this year. We will accept it, and we will enjoy, and we will praise God for his blessing.
Now with 17 hours and 30 minutes left until the first quiz match of the 2009 season, I am going to bed. I probably will hardly be able to sleep with all the excitement. This upcoming quizmeet will be bittersweet, as I come to realization this is the last time the quizzing season will open as me as quzzing. May I not focus on the end of my career, but the beginning of yet another year to do my best.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
The Year of 19 BYAH!s
If you're a quizzer in Pennsylvania, there's nothing out of the norm with this past Sunday. But in Ohio, this was a special Sunday. All 3 Ohio quizzing conferences opened their quizzing seasons today. Now for you keeping track at home, we got 17 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes until the ACC kicks off their quizzing season. Hearing that Ohio has started quizzing makes me realize how soon my team and I will be quizzing.
This is my last year quizzing. I am 20 years old, the maximum age for quizzing. The only way I could quiz any older was if I started the year as 20 and turned 21 during the quiz year. But after doing the math, I caculated that those who have birthdays during the quizzing season have no advantage of those who do not. Both of them cannot quiz more than 8 years. Quizzing 2009 will be my 8th year. My, how time has flown.
I will start this year the same I start making any goal: Every year I make a goal. The goal is some accomplishment that is to pushed me to do better. At the start, they were accomplishments I couldn't get. In 2003, the first time I made a goal, I said I was going to be on the Top 50 Quizzers List. Only being in 8th grade, I didn't know my strengths and limitations for a 2nd year quizzer. So I was of course disappointed when I finished in 195th with only 120 points. 2004 I got smart about it and set a simple goal: quiz out before Josh Mosh in a real match and quiz out before Jake Moss in one of our practice Ark 1 vs. Ark 2 matches. (This was the year Ark Bible had 2 teams, and Jake and Josh Moss were the best quizzers for Ark Bible Chapel.) I completed that goal...a bunch of times. lol. So my next goal for the next year was to just do better than the previous year. Since in 2004 I finished 78th place was 370 points, 7 quizouts, 2 weeks as a perfect quizzer, and 5 weeks on the top 50 quizzers list. This one I succeeded beyond the minimum. While I couldn't be perfect for even the first week, I was on the top 50 quizzers for 6 weeks, got 12 quiz outs, scored 510 points and finished in 34th. According to quizzing's 2/3 rule, that's a complete goal. The next year's goal was only 3 parts: Be on the top 50 quizzers list every week (especially the last week), be a perfect quizzer for at least 3 weeks and quiz out at least 13 times. One again, I completed this goal on the 2/3 rule, and once again, it was because I couldn't be perfect for even a week. 2007's goal was simple again. Just be one of the top 5. I believed that was a good goal, considering I was only 7 away from the previous year. Of course I was disappointed when not only I couldn't make the top 5, I couldn't even make the 12th place mark I reached the previous year. I got 16th. So I went back to the 3-part goal. For 2008, I revised the top 5 quizzer goal from the previous, revived the perfect quizzer goal from the few years back, then added a new one: score 600 points. Now every year I complete a goal, I finish better than the goal. Every time I fail a goal, I do worse than the previous year. But this last year was different because I did not complete the goal, but did do better. I did score the 600 points, but missed the perfection goal (by one question on one quiz match! blah!) and the top 5 goal (by 3 places). In review, of the past 6 goals I am split evenly because I completed half of them and failed half of them. All completed goals pushed made to better than the previous year.
Now that we know what I've done, I can brainstorm and plan accordingly to what my next year goal should be. As Mrs. Deitrick reminded me, my priority should be to please the Lord in my quizzing, and I agree. As I learned last year, my quizzing can be a memorial offering to God (Acts 10:4). I don't want to make the same mistake Cain did; I want to give the best I can, my quizzing firstfruits. But what is the best I can give? Like I said, I have been improving as a quizzer every year, in the long term picture. So this next year, I should want to improve. Gee, there's very little room to improve from 600 points, 16 quizouts, and 8th place. I can only get (assuming a 19-match schedule) 65 more points, 3 quizouts more than last year, and I can only advance 7 more places. Well, then I guess then that's what I have to do. My goal is to be a perfect quizzer. It fits perfectly. If I'm going to advance, I might as well go all the way. I was only 2 quiz outs and 7 places away last year. It's been a goal I have been striving to get since my fourth year of quizzing...kinda (being perfect for at least 3 weeks was the aim). I also have been aiming for the past 2 years to be one of the top 5 quizzers, and being a perfect quizzer means I'll be the no. 1 quizzer, which means the top 5. Besides, to be a perfect quizzer, I'll need a career high points and a career high quizouts. So being a perfect quizzer I'll hit many record highs, too.
How do I go about this goal? For starters, first and foremost, pray. I have been praying for it. Before I petition the Lord for it, I thank God for everything He has done for me in the past, showing I have not forgotten Him in my quizzing. Then my petition is simple, "What's it going to take to get me to be perfect?" And I feel like his reply is, "If you put My Word in both your head and heart, and give it all you got, your best, you will reap what you sow." I don't mean it to sound like I'm bargaining with God, but more of showing God that I'm fully devoted to learning His Word and worshipping Him through my quizzing, so I can sow what I want to reap. I want to give God my best, I feel like anything short of perfection would not my best. I want to be perfect just like my Savior is perfect :)
So what I am going to do to show my devotion to learning God's Word? At the beginning of Spring City's first practice, Coach Dave asked us if we are just going to add reading God's Word to our life, or if we were going to have God's Word encompass our whole life. My answer is: "All the above." I will do both. Not only will I add time to practice and study quizzing in my life, but quizzing will encompass everything in my life. Let me break that down for you. First, let me tell you how I am adding quizzing time to my life. Efffective when I return to school, I will give quizzing the same attention as my classes by making it the eqivilent of a class. On Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, I will spend at least 1 full hour quizzing and on Tuesday and Thursdays an hour and a half. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will read the material at least once a day. For Fridays and Saturdays, I will read the material at least twice a day. This means by the time I get to the place of the quizmeet, I will have read the material a minimum of 10 times. Furthermore, I will make sure I have the situations and numbers done by Monday. Consider this a mini-resolutionis part of the quizzing goal.
Now to have it encompass all my life. The obvious answer is to apply what I'm learning from in the material in my life. It's the best way to display the Word is in my heart. What else can I do? Keep the Word close to me, even in the most literal way. I will be carry my quizbook around with me at all times, no matter where I go. I have the Audio Bible on my mp3 player (and soon my phone) and will listen to it when I can listen to it. If I can't listen to it, I will be reading my quizbook. For those times I am just reading, I am going to do what I call the 5-5-5 deal. I read every verse 5 times over, then I read every paragraph 5 times over, then I read the whole chapter 5 times over. Go onto next chapter and repeat process. The repitition from reading over and over again should get me to subconsciencously memorize the material.
Finally, to show God I am dedicated, extra dedicated, to Him and learning His Word, I am taking up the Nazarite vow. The Nazarite vow was a special vow to show separation to the Lord. Pretty much, it was to show special dedication to the Lord. I want to show that special dedication to learning God's Word, so I will take up the Nazarite vow. Effective next quiz practice (tomorrow), not a single hair on my body is to be cut, I am not to eat or drink anythin made of grapes (I've decided either natural or artificial, considering that the Israelites never had confronted "artificial grape flavor") nor drink any fermented drink (I don't do that anyway) and I can't go near anything dead. At the end of my Nazarite vow, I'm suppose to present an offering for the Lord. My offfering I plan to give is the perfect season, for it is not mine, but it is the Lord's.
So have you figured out my title to this post? It's from last year. Quizzing gets me excited. I get excited every time I quiz out. I get so excited, I just have to yell or scream, to get out the energy out of me...which may have been put in me because of energy drinks :). So every time I quiz out, I yell out the Dean Scream as made famous by Dave Chapelle, "BYAH!" I quizzed out 16 times last season, so 16 times I went "BYAH!" A quizzing season has 17-19 quizmatches a year. I've never quizzed where there's been more than 19 quizmatches. So to have that perfect quizzing season, to quiz out every match, I will have quizzed out 19 times. Let's start counting ;)
I hope everyone can join me in supporting me this time in dedicating myself to the study of God's Word. I will definitely keep everyone updated on my blogs. Actually, from here on out until the end of the quizzing year, my blogs will have nothing but quizzing. Since we still have time until the first match, for now I will update you on schedules, Spring City's practices, quizzing in Ohio, and just strategy and scouting in general. Here's to perfection!
This is my last year quizzing. I am 20 years old, the maximum age for quizzing. The only way I could quiz any older was if I started the year as 20 and turned 21 during the quiz year. But after doing the math, I caculated that those who have birthdays during the quizzing season have no advantage of those who do not. Both of them cannot quiz more than 8 years. Quizzing 2009 will be my 8th year. My, how time has flown.
I will start this year the same I start making any goal: Every year I make a goal. The goal is some accomplishment that is to pushed me to do better. At the start, they were accomplishments I couldn't get. In 2003, the first time I made a goal, I said I was going to be on the Top 50 Quizzers List. Only being in 8th grade, I didn't know my strengths and limitations for a 2nd year quizzer. So I was of course disappointed when I finished in 195th with only 120 points. 2004 I got smart about it and set a simple goal: quiz out before Josh Mosh in a real match and quiz out before Jake Moss in one of our practice Ark 1 vs. Ark 2 matches. (This was the year Ark Bible had 2 teams, and Jake and Josh Moss were the best quizzers for Ark Bible Chapel.) I completed that goal...a bunch of times. lol. So my next goal for the next year was to just do better than the previous year. Since in 2004 I finished 78th place was 370 points, 7 quizouts, 2 weeks as a perfect quizzer, and 5 weeks on the top 50 quizzers list. This one I succeeded beyond the minimum. While I couldn't be perfect for even the first week, I was on the top 50 quizzers for 6 weeks, got 12 quiz outs, scored 510 points and finished in 34th. According to quizzing's 2/3 rule, that's a complete goal. The next year's goal was only 3 parts: Be on the top 50 quizzers list every week (especially the last week), be a perfect quizzer for at least 3 weeks and quiz out at least 13 times. One again, I completed this goal on the 2/3 rule, and once again, it was because I couldn't be perfect for even a week. 2007's goal was simple again. Just be one of the top 5. I believed that was a good goal, considering I was only 7 away from the previous year. Of course I was disappointed when not only I couldn't make the top 5, I couldn't even make the 12th place mark I reached the previous year. I got 16th. So I went back to the 3-part goal. For 2008, I revised the top 5 quizzer goal from the previous, revived the perfect quizzer goal from the few years back, then added a new one: score 600 points. Now every year I complete a goal, I finish better than the goal. Every time I fail a goal, I do worse than the previous year. But this last year was different because I did not complete the goal, but did do better. I did score the 600 points, but missed the perfection goal (by one question on one quiz match! blah!) and the top 5 goal (by 3 places). In review, of the past 6 goals I am split evenly because I completed half of them and failed half of them. All completed goals pushed made to better than the previous year.
Now that we know what I've done, I can brainstorm and plan accordingly to what my next year goal should be. As Mrs. Deitrick reminded me, my priority should be to please the Lord in my quizzing, and I agree. As I learned last year, my quizzing can be a memorial offering to God (Acts 10:4). I don't want to make the same mistake Cain did; I want to give the best I can, my quizzing firstfruits. But what is the best I can give? Like I said, I have been improving as a quizzer every year, in the long term picture. So this next year, I should want to improve. Gee, there's very little room to improve from 600 points, 16 quizouts, and 8th place. I can only get (assuming a 19-match schedule) 65 more points, 3 quizouts more than last year, and I can only advance 7 more places. Well, then I guess then that's what I have to do. My goal is to be a perfect quizzer. It fits perfectly. If I'm going to advance, I might as well go all the way. I was only 2 quiz outs and 7 places away last year. It's been a goal I have been striving to get since my fourth year of quizzing...kinda (being perfect for at least 3 weeks was the aim). I also have been aiming for the past 2 years to be one of the top 5 quizzers, and being a perfect quizzer means I'll be the no. 1 quizzer, which means the top 5. Besides, to be a perfect quizzer, I'll need a career high points and a career high quizouts. So being a perfect quizzer I'll hit many record highs, too.
How do I go about this goal? For starters, first and foremost, pray. I have been praying for it. Before I petition the Lord for it, I thank God for everything He has done for me in the past, showing I have not forgotten Him in my quizzing. Then my petition is simple, "What's it going to take to get me to be perfect?" And I feel like his reply is, "If you put My Word in both your head and heart, and give it all you got, your best, you will reap what you sow." I don't mean it to sound like I'm bargaining with God, but more of showing God that I'm fully devoted to learning His Word and worshipping Him through my quizzing, so I can sow what I want to reap. I want to give God my best, I feel like anything short of perfection would not my best. I want to be perfect just like my Savior is perfect :)
So what I am going to do to show my devotion to learning God's Word? At the beginning of Spring City's first practice, Coach Dave asked us if we are just going to add reading God's Word to our life, or if we were going to have God's Word encompass our whole life. My answer is: "All the above." I will do both. Not only will I add time to practice and study quizzing in my life, but quizzing will encompass everything in my life. Let me break that down for you. First, let me tell you how I am adding quizzing time to my life. Efffective when I return to school, I will give quizzing the same attention as my classes by making it the eqivilent of a class. On Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, I will spend at least 1 full hour quizzing and on Tuesday and Thursdays an hour and a half. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will read the material at least once a day. For Fridays and Saturdays, I will read the material at least twice a day. This means by the time I get to the place of the quizmeet, I will have read the material a minimum of 10 times. Furthermore, I will make sure I have the situations and numbers done by Monday. Consider this a mini-resolutionis part of the quizzing goal.
Now to have it encompass all my life. The obvious answer is to apply what I'm learning from in the material in my life. It's the best way to display the Word is in my heart. What else can I do? Keep the Word close to me, even in the most literal way. I will be carry my quizbook around with me at all times, no matter where I go. I have the Audio Bible on my mp3 player (and soon my phone) and will listen to it when I can listen to it. If I can't listen to it, I will be reading my quizbook. For those times I am just reading, I am going to do what I call the 5-5-5 deal. I read every verse 5 times over, then I read every paragraph 5 times over, then I read the whole chapter 5 times over. Go onto next chapter and repeat process. The repitition from reading over and over again should get me to subconsciencously memorize the material.
Finally, to show God I am dedicated, extra dedicated, to Him and learning His Word, I am taking up the Nazarite vow. The Nazarite vow was a special vow to show separation to the Lord. Pretty much, it was to show special dedication to the Lord. I want to show that special dedication to learning God's Word, so I will take up the Nazarite vow. Effective next quiz practice (tomorrow), not a single hair on my body is to be cut, I am not to eat or drink anythin made of grapes (I've decided either natural or artificial, considering that the Israelites never had confronted "artificial grape flavor") nor drink any fermented drink (I don't do that anyway) and I can't go near anything dead. At the end of my Nazarite vow, I'm suppose to present an offering for the Lord. My offfering I plan to give is the perfect season, for it is not mine, but it is the Lord's.
So have you figured out my title to this post? It's from last year. Quizzing gets me excited. I get excited every time I quiz out. I get so excited, I just have to yell or scream, to get out the energy out of me...which may have been put in me because of energy drinks :). So every time I quiz out, I yell out the Dean Scream as made famous by Dave Chapelle, "BYAH!" I quizzed out 16 times last season, so 16 times I went "BYAH!" A quizzing season has 17-19 quizmatches a year. I've never quizzed where there's been more than 19 quizmatches. So to have that perfect quizzing season, to quiz out every match, I will have quizzed out 19 times. Let's start counting ;)
I hope everyone can join me in supporting me this time in dedicating myself to the study of God's Word. I will definitely keep everyone updated on my blogs. Actually, from here on out until the end of the quizzing year, my blogs will have nothing but quizzing. Since we still have time until the first match, for now I will update you on schedules, Spring City's practices, quizzing in Ohio, and just strategy and scouting in general. Here's to perfection!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Proud of My Errors: A Lesson Learned in Quizzing
"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness." -2 Corinthians 11:30
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." -2 Corinthians 12:9
The Spring City quiz team is not known for negative qualities, but if there one negative thing about Spring City, it would the number of errors we produced in a year. Spring City is infamous for our errors. For some reason, it mostly happens in the championship. In 2005, during the ACC Tournament, Spring City errored 36 times, and got the championship. In 2006 ACC Tournament, we errored 22 times, half of them were from Mike Schwager. This earned him the title "Mayor of Errorville." In this past ACC Tournament, by the time we lost in the second round of the playoffs, we had collected 38 errors. If we would have made it to the final match, we probably would've past the 40 error marker easily. Heck, this is just talking about our team! You should see the individuals that help propel errors so high. As I mentioned, in 2005 & 2006, Mike was elected "Mayor of Errorville" because of his vast amount of errors. Yet when he "ran for re-election" in 2007 & 2008, he lost both years to Tim. Tim errors out about 1-3 times a year. Last year, by week 5, Tim had already racked up 19 errors by week 5. He could probably tell you how many he had at the end of the year. Now this isn't just something I know, or my team knows, this is known throughtout the whole ACC. After all, the reason Fred decided that the one bonus given during 4-way fun matches would be random was because [and I do quote Fred exactly], "just in case you're sitting across from Spring City."
It's interesting to see the philosophies of errors on my team. Between my coaches, I think this is the only time I've seen them disagree is on errors. Vicki believes the fewer errors, the better, with the best being no errors at all. If there was a way to get negative errors, she probably would've figured it out. Her concern is that no questions are answered wrong. Dave is the other way. He likes the fact we are trying to buzz in so much, it overshadows the fact we error. He's fine if we error as long as we don't kill any seats, lose points, and keep our head in the right place. Vicki demands us to slow down with too many errors; Dave allows to stay the same speed in buzzing. I don't mean to sound like I'm picking on the coaches, the top 2 quizzers on Spring City seem to have the same split view on errors. Tim's approach on errors is liberal, especially looking at his error record. He's more concerned about how fast he's buzzing more than whether he can answer it correctly or not. I'm more conserative with errors. If you haven't heard my illustration, I think of errors like a traffic light. Your first error is still green light, go at full speed. Your second error is a yellow light; slow down. The third error is your red light because you are forced to stop. I do try to error as little as possible. One of the stats that made my 8th place finish even more satisfactory that I only had 8 errors. That tied my lowest number of errors in my career (well, at least since I started keeping track). Likewise, I encourage my quizmates (quizmates = quizzer/quizzing + teammates, if you haven't figured that out yet) to do the same and keep errors to a minimum. Quizmates who are still below average I tell not to buzz in until they know the correct answer. Quizmates with average performances I tell to buzz in when they have enough of the question that is key and can think up the answer. Quizmates who are above average I tell to buzz in when they hear enough to figure out the rest of the question and then the answer.
I talked about the philosophy on how to deal with errors, but I really didn't talk about the why. Why are errors dealt with the way they are? For those who allow errors and don't mind them, they see it as a show of good effort in attempting to buzz in at the correct time and attempting to answer correctly. The more tries, the better one gets. Well what about those who see errors as evil? What about them? I thought about this for a while, about their bane of errors. I pondered possibly because it gives bonuses to the other team, or that 3 of them for one quizzer kills a seat, or that 5 of them hurts the team's score. These all good possible reasons why. Now, for me, who is concentrated on personal scores and stats have more reasons to hate errors. For me, errors are a sign of not knowing the material. They are a sign of not being able to buzz in at the right time. They show that you are unable to think through enough to process a right answer. To sum those all up in one sentence, errors are a sign of weakness.
Nobody likes being called weak. We want to be strong. Weak has such negative connotation. Errors aren't just a sign of weakness in quizzing. It's true in other sports. For example, errors in baseball mean that the fielder was unable to catch the ball as he should have. He was weak. But you don't need to be a sports player to make errors. Make an error in performing your job, you look weak to your boss. Make errors on a test or exam, you get a weak grade. With some medical examinations, if there are errors in your body's performance, you literally have a weak body. You make an error in meeting your buddy, it makes your friendship look weak. Errors make us look weak. We want to forgot our errors and totally avoid future ones.
It's uncommon to see people openly talk about their weaknesses, and it's rare to see them brag about them. Those who do seem crazy to us. How many times have you heard in prideful way, "I'm so lazy...I have bad work ethic...my GPA is less than 1.o...I am terrible at sports...I am so dumb...I have absolutely no musical talent..." etc. Yeah, you probably never hear these things in a bragging way. But 2 Corinthians 11:30 & 12:9 seems to say that's the right way to approach. It's just amazing alone that we are allowed to brag. The Bible commands us to not to boast because our boasting leads to pride, which is at the heart of all sin. Usually we boast about our talents and other things we are good at so we uplift ourselves. You can't do this with our weaknesses. Weaknesses expose our faults, which only destroy our image and pride. Jesus uses that for His own glory. He takes our weakness, and through His grace and power, turns the weakness completely the opposite way through into perfection. So when we praise Jesus for our weaknesses, we are also praising him for His power and grace that give us purpose.
Let's circle this back to quizzing. God has used errors to teach Spring City about humilty and pride, success and failure. The errors keep Spring City in check. Every time that we pray before we go into a match, we pray for God's favor to bless us. If we shown ourselves approved, God grants our prayer and gives us points and wins. Our coaches remind to humble ourselves or God will humble us in a not so pleasant way. God does that through errors. It is if God is saying, "I, the Lord God has given you those points. Now let me step back and show you how weak you are on your own." So God steps back and lets us try on own. No matter how we try, we error. We error, we lose points from those errors, we lose seats to error outs. When we boast about ourselves, God humbles us. When we humble ourselves and acknowledge Christ working in our weakness, Christ uplifts us.
The story that I am reminded of is an incident I had in 2006. I never really talked about because for me, weaknesses and errors are embarrassing and humiliating. I only reffered to it as my "incident" or my "accident", but you probably figured out what it is...an error out. It was my first error out. To me, an error out is the worse thing you can do to both yourself and your team. You stop yourself from quizzing, prevent another quizzer from taking your place, and bring your team halfway to losing points. I condemned anyone for getting an error out. Mine came in the second match of first week in 2006. See, the previous match before was probably my best of my career. I quizzed out on the first questions, all buzzes. I was on a roll and already heading for a perfect season. I was happy for what I did...almost too happy...pretty much prideful. If I wasn't prideful, I was dangerously close to getting there. So the Lord intervened and humbled me. I errored out. Reflecting back on that day, I finally realize that's exactly what the Lord was doing First, he was hhumbling me. Second, he was reminding me that every point and every quiz out was a gift from the Father. Apart fom Him, I am too weak to gain anything on my own.
With that in mind, I thank God every point, for every quiz out, for every win. They are not mine, they are the Lord's. I thank and praise God for four consecutive years on the Top 50 Quizzers List. Even to this day I praise and thank God for our team winning the 2005 ACC Tournament. Ah, yes, the 2005 ACC Tournament! What a perfect example! As a stated above, we reached 36 errors by the time we won that final match. How could that be? Look at 2 Corinthians 11:30 & 12:9. The Lord saw Spring City as excellent canidates for winning the ACC Tournament. But there was only one problem: we were too strong. It's kinda like Gideon. When Gideon brought the army and presented it to God, he said, "Too big. They'll think the won on their own merit. Shrink it down." We were good canidates for winning the whole tournament, but we were still strong enough that the team, as well as other teams, could say we earned it on our own. So the Lord reminded us that He was in control by weakening us with errors. Weakened and broken by our errors, we depended on God to take us into the playoffs, and through the playoffs, and He was faithful to the team. God used Spring City's weakeness for His glory.
So have I changed my philosophy on errors? Yes and no. No on the how; I still want to get as few errors as possible, hoping for none. Yes on the why, in the sense that I am now proud of my errors. My errors remind me that I cannot do this on my own and help me recognize that God is using me. So I boast about my errors. It is a sign that God is active in my life. So for my fellow quizzers, I say to you boast about errors! Now be careful, there's a wrong way to do it. It's wrong to brag about your errors to show how you you are, such as saying "I can error so much and still be on top!" This is a pride to yourself. Instead, boast about your errors in such that God gets the glory for your accomplishments. May this be the prayer of us quizzers...
*O LORD, may You be glorified in our correct buzz-ins, in our bonuses, and even our errors.*
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." -2 Corinthians 12:9
The Spring City quiz team is not known for negative qualities, but if there one negative thing about Spring City, it would the number of errors we produced in a year. Spring City is infamous for our errors. For some reason, it mostly happens in the championship. In 2005, during the ACC Tournament, Spring City errored 36 times, and got the championship. In 2006 ACC Tournament, we errored 22 times, half of them were from Mike Schwager. This earned him the title "Mayor of Errorville." In this past ACC Tournament, by the time we lost in the second round of the playoffs, we had collected 38 errors. If we would have made it to the final match, we probably would've past the 40 error marker easily. Heck, this is just talking about our team! You should see the individuals that help propel errors so high. As I mentioned, in 2005 & 2006, Mike was elected "Mayor of Errorville" because of his vast amount of errors. Yet when he "ran for re-election" in 2007 & 2008, he lost both years to Tim. Tim errors out about 1-3 times a year. Last year, by week 5, Tim had already racked up 19 errors by week 5. He could probably tell you how many he had at the end of the year. Now this isn't just something I know, or my team knows, this is known throughtout the whole ACC. After all, the reason Fred decided that the one bonus given during 4-way fun matches would be random was because [and I do quote Fred exactly], "just in case you're sitting across from Spring City."
It's interesting to see the philosophies of errors on my team. Between my coaches, I think this is the only time I've seen them disagree is on errors. Vicki believes the fewer errors, the better, with the best being no errors at all. If there was a way to get negative errors, she probably would've figured it out. Her concern is that no questions are answered wrong. Dave is the other way. He likes the fact we are trying to buzz in so much, it overshadows the fact we error. He's fine if we error as long as we don't kill any seats, lose points, and keep our head in the right place. Vicki demands us to slow down with too many errors; Dave allows to stay the same speed in buzzing. I don't mean to sound like I'm picking on the coaches, the top 2 quizzers on Spring City seem to have the same split view on errors. Tim's approach on errors is liberal, especially looking at his error record. He's more concerned about how fast he's buzzing more than whether he can answer it correctly or not. I'm more conserative with errors. If you haven't heard my illustration, I think of errors like a traffic light. Your first error is still green light, go at full speed. Your second error is a yellow light; slow down. The third error is your red light because you are forced to stop. I do try to error as little as possible. One of the stats that made my 8th place finish even more satisfactory that I only had 8 errors. That tied my lowest number of errors in my career (well, at least since I started keeping track). Likewise, I encourage my quizmates (quizmates = quizzer/quizzing + teammates, if you haven't figured that out yet) to do the same and keep errors to a minimum. Quizmates who are still below average I tell not to buzz in until they know the correct answer. Quizmates with average performances I tell to buzz in when they have enough of the question that is key and can think up the answer. Quizmates who are above average I tell to buzz in when they hear enough to figure out the rest of the question and then the answer.
I talked about the philosophy on how to deal with errors, but I really didn't talk about the why. Why are errors dealt with the way they are? For those who allow errors and don't mind them, they see it as a show of good effort in attempting to buzz in at the correct time and attempting to answer correctly. The more tries, the better one gets. Well what about those who see errors as evil? What about them? I thought about this for a while, about their bane of errors. I pondered possibly because it gives bonuses to the other team, or that 3 of them for one quizzer kills a seat, or that 5 of them hurts the team's score. These all good possible reasons why. Now, for me, who is concentrated on personal scores and stats have more reasons to hate errors. For me, errors are a sign of not knowing the material. They are a sign of not being able to buzz in at the right time. They show that you are unable to think through enough to process a right answer. To sum those all up in one sentence, errors are a sign of weakness.
Nobody likes being called weak. We want to be strong. Weak has such negative connotation. Errors aren't just a sign of weakness in quizzing. It's true in other sports. For example, errors in baseball mean that the fielder was unable to catch the ball as he should have. He was weak. But you don't need to be a sports player to make errors. Make an error in performing your job, you look weak to your boss. Make errors on a test or exam, you get a weak grade. With some medical examinations, if there are errors in your body's performance, you literally have a weak body. You make an error in meeting your buddy, it makes your friendship look weak. Errors make us look weak. We want to forgot our errors and totally avoid future ones.
It's uncommon to see people openly talk about their weaknesses, and it's rare to see them brag about them. Those who do seem crazy to us. How many times have you heard in prideful way, "I'm so lazy...I have bad work ethic...my GPA is less than 1.o...I am terrible at sports...I am so dumb...I have absolutely no musical talent..." etc. Yeah, you probably never hear these things in a bragging way. But 2 Corinthians 11:30 & 12:9 seems to say that's the right way to approach. It's just amazing alone that we are allowed to brag. The Bible commands us to not to boast because our boasting leads to pride, which is at the heart of all sin. Usually we boast about our talents and other things we are good at so we uplift ourselves. You can't do this with our weaknesses. Weaknesses expose our faults, which only destroy our image and pride. Jesus uses that for His own glory. He takes our weakness, and through His grace and power, turns the weakness completely the opposite way through into perfection. So when we praise Jesus for our weaknesses, we are also praising him for His power and grace that give us purpose.
Let's circle this back to quizzing. God has used errors to teach Spring City about humilty and pride, success and failure. The errors keep Spring City in check. Every time that we pray before we go into a match, we pray for God's favor to bless us. If we shown ourselves approved, God grants our prayer and gives us points and wins. Our coaches remind to humble ourselves or God will humble us in a not so pleasant way. God does that through errors. It is if God is saying, "I, the Lord God has given you those points. Now let me step back and show you how weak you are on your own." So God steps back and lets us try on own. No matter how we try, we error. We error, we lose points from those errors, we lose seats to error outs. When we boast about ourselves, God humbles us. When we humble ourselves and acknowledge Christ working in our weakness, Christ uplifts us.
The story that I am reminded of is an incident I had in 2006. I never really talked about because for me, weaknesses and errors are embarrassing and humiliating. I only reffered to it as my "incident" or my "accident", but you probably figured out what it is...an error out. It was my first error out. To me, an error out is the worse thing you can do to both yourself and your team. You stop yourself from quizzing, prevent another quizzer from taking your place, and bring your team halfway to losing points. I condemned anyone for getting an error out. Mine came in the second match of first week in 2006. See, the previous match before was probably my best of my career. I quizzed out on the first questions, all buzzes. I was on a roll and already heading for a perfect season. I was happy for what I did...almost too happy...pretty much prideful. If I wasn't prideful, I was dangerously close to getting there. So the Lord intervened and humbled me. I errored out. Reflecting back on that day, I finally realize that's exactly what the Lord was doing First, he was hhumbling me. Second, he was reminding me that every point and every quiz out was a gift from the Father. Apart fom Him, I am too weak to gain anything on my own.
With that in mind, I thank God every point, for every quiz out, for every win. They are not mine, they are the Lord's. I thank and praise God for four consecutive years on the Top 50 Quizzers List. Even to this day I praise and thank God for our team winning the 2005 ACC Tournament. Ah, yes, the 2005 ACC Tournament! What a perfect example! As a stated above, we reached 36 errors by the time we won that final match. How could that be? Look at 2 Corinthians 11:30 & 12:9. The Lord saw Spring City as excellent canidates for winning the ACC Tournament. But there was only one problem: we were too strong. It's kinda like Gideon. When Gideon brought the army and presented it to God, he said, "Too big. They'll think the won on their own merit. Shrink it down." We were good canidates for winning the whole tournament, but we were still strong enough that the team, as well as other teams, could say we earned it on our own. So the Lord reminded us that He was in control by weakening us with errors. Weakened and broken by our errors, we depended on God to take us into the playoffs, and through the playoffs, and He was faithful to the team. God used Spring City's weakeness for His glory.
So have I changed my philosophy on errors? Yes and no. No on the how; I still want to get as few errors as possible, hoping for none. Yes on the why, in the sense that I am now proud of my errors. My errors remind me that I cannot do this on my own and help me recognize that God is using me. So I boast about my errors. It is a sign that God is active in my life. So for my fellow quizzers, I say to you boast about errors! Now be careful, there's a wrong way to do it. It's wrong to brag about your errors to show how you you are, such as saying "I can error so much and still be on top!" This is a pride to yourself. Instead, boast about your errors in such that God gets the glory for your accomplishments. May this be the prayer of us quizzers...
*O LORD, may You be glorified in our correct buzz-ins, in our bonuses, and even our errors.*
Sunday, April 20, 2008
My Spring City home dawgs
Last Sunday, 8 days ago, was what I call the "Quizzing banquet." I call it that because when sports team finish their year they have a sports banquet honoring the team's accomplishments, as well as some individual's accomplishments. Pretty much, this is what is done at the end of the year for the quizzers. The quiz team as a whole is mentioned on how they did, then each quizzer is brought up individually to talk about how they did for the team, and finally who the secret sponser was for that person. Dave and Vicki also gave us the chance to be able to say something. All my fellow quizmates got up and said something about the team and their teammates. I got up and said something about our great coaches, at which time I presented our gift to them, a quizbook signed by the whole team. I really wanted to focus that time on our quiz coaches because they did an awesome job coaching us in some many ways. But don't get me wrong, we a great team, full of wonderful individuals. So at this time, as I do yearly, I would like to recognize my quizzing teammates for the accomplishments and what they have done for this team. And as I do every year, I am not going to tag a name onto the desciption. Just in case I might say something that person might find embarrassing. But you can feel free to guess who it is. I accidently might leave hints ;).
for the past 3 years, i have noticed that there is someone on the team who brings a fun, exciting and encouraging Atmosphere to the the team. i also realized that for these Last 3 years it happens to be the Youngest quizzer on the team who finishes with the Smallest Score. first it was bekah, then it was bryan, and now it's you. you were the youngest on the team, but it didn't stop you from joining the big boys in their fun. you were the only one willing to be pushed by mike on the hand cart. you almost took out the deitricks television playing wii boxing. there Are a lot of funny memories you gave this Team. yeah, you scored the lowest of all year, but i swear that had to be the holy spirit. you buzzed in on "on what was jesus..."! first of all, you had some crazy buzzes this year, enough of them to make us older quizzers proud. second of all, nobody knew the answer at the point! that's why i'm sure that the holy spirit gave you that answer. it was random, but right! pretty amazing you're first one Right was not a bonus, but a buzz-in. you made practice and matches fun, Even when we weren't doing too good. your Estatic personality can be uplifting in down times, a strong need for a quizteam. so i hope to see you next year so you can answer more questions right in real Matches. if U don't, i'll keep calling u by your right-answer nickname Longer than you may Like. In god's Name, i pray that he will make you a leader to your peers and church as paul told timothy to be. (Alyssa "Tree" Mullin)
Boy, you are like a sponge. On the first practice of the year, as dave was explaining the Basics of quizzing, like the rules and how scoring works, i could tell you were getting this down. you learned fast. not many rookies can get a Buzz-in correctly on the first week, but You did it! and it got us team bonus in the process, another thing few rookies experience the first week. after christine left, you were just what the DR. ordered for this team. you were a strong 4th seat. you got us team Bonus a few times, and one time you even quizzed Out! after that quizout, since you were quizout number 4, was amazing getting to see you lay Back up there with nothing to do! your triple-digit score of 105 points got u into the top 200, 2 accomplishments that are rare to rookies. i have 2 favorite memories of you getting right answers. the first one is when we were at weaverland. we were doing poorly, and we needed a jumpstart in the next match. on the first question you buzzed in on "whose clutches..." to answer Herod and got it right! It suprised us all and encouraged the older guys to get their butt in gear. Another favorite of mine was that match against petra 3 in the acc tournament. we had tied it Up twice as were in Sudden-death overtime question. the older quizzers Were feeling powerless As the team's fate was in the hands of 2 rookies and a 2nd year quizzer. Last question we would ever have that match. you buzzed in, answered "some bad characters formed a mob" and got it right! without that, we wouldn't be able to have been undefeated in the acc tournament. but we had a lot of fun in practice too. you came up with some creative answers, but they were a little more intellegable than some other person we know. it was funny hearing you say "a geographic location" instead of giving a proper place or saying "small particles of matter" instead of Dust. still, you learned it, and we learned from you. i can truly see a younger self in me. i'm glad you felt like part of a team. we were glad to have you on the team. you are truly one of the spring city boiz. you joined in on our schnanigans, and it showed...literally (i don't care what jen says, you look good with it shaved!) can't wait to see you back on the team next year cuz i think you would make a really solid 4th seat next year. solid! as dave told us many time, i will also tell you. it's great that you have that knowledge in your head, but you got to put that into your heart. you know many things about interpreting the scriptures, but it's no good if in the end you don't apply it. apply it, and you will gain wisdom. (Bobby "Dr. Bob" Hauswald)
after you had an incredible first year, i was glad to that you Chose to try quizzing again for a second year, even as early as april! now from what i collected at the quizzing banquet, you were a little disappointed at How you did this year. trust me, i know Exactly how you feel. i also started my second year after have a strong finish to my rookie year, getting a buzz in right pretty much every match. i too expected me to do so much better the next year, even reaching the top 50 quizzer List. So i too was disappointed when i didn't even reach the top 150! you Expect A lot from yourself, but really it's almost too much. if you look at it statistically, you didn't do worse, you did the Exact same. instead of seeing, what you didn't do, look at what you did do. 40 points is still good. There are at least 30 quizzers below you (if not more) who didn't get Nearly what you did and i bet they wish they did. you also reached some areas where the other quizzers couldn't reach. it was no mistake when i called you "the lady of review." when the rest of us Forgot review after the weekly divisions in the season, you picked Up the same Exact questions. GO you! Maybe i should pick Up a few pointers from you ;). you also were a big contribution to the team. always quick to Laugh at joke or join in a game (admit it, you Liked playing jell-o in the back of the van coming home from the Invitational!) you were also a big help to me. you helped me with the brackets on both tournaments and when i would ask you questions, you would gladly accept them. so i'm glad to hear you are alread onboard for Next year as well. as you said yourself, it may be easier for you since you are going back to homeschooling (i'm telling you, we'll turn into one of those sand ridge kids, lol). and i will help anyway next year to make you better. it was my third year when i took off, and the same might be true for you too. my exhortation to keep bringing people into the church showing god's love to all. be a friend to the friendless and those who are hard to be friends with. in the end, god's love conquers all. (Chelsea "En fuego" Mullin)
ah, yes, although not consectively, i have quizzed with you for a Total of 3 years on the same team, 4 years at the same church. the 4 years on the same team is longer than any of your siblings. congratulations. I have seen you in Many positions, having your ups and down. This year was full of them. Half the time you were up, the other half you we done. it seemed like you either would quiz out or Error out. yet it was always fun to watch you quiz. it goes back to your two poles. we think you know it and you get it wrong; we think "there is no possible way he'll get this" and it's right! my favorite part is watching you contest or rebuddal. you always seem to be able to ENCHANT the quizmaster and judges into thinking you're right, Especially when it comes to grammar, like the difference between "who" questions and "what questions. lol. still, through trials and tribulations, you finished in 29th with 530 points and 15 quizouts. if i'm not mistaken, that is your best so far. you deserved every point you got, but for the Record, i still got More :-). you've been deemed by me a valuable advisory. still, you're gonna have to try better to show you got the power to beat me. may that alone be a reason to come back for another year. i would like you On the team again. in closing, i have a word for you, just as the deitricks did (and this might be another good reason why I do this without any names). i remember one sunday at the pre-worship, you reminded me of what dave has told me over and over: "pride is death to the Spirit." truthfully, i was shocked because I wasn't expecting that from you, nor anyone else on the team but the deitricks. But it was a helpful reminded. hearing it from you told me that you were receiving this word as much as i was. And now that quizzing is over, i send the same word back to you. "pride is death to Spirit." i want to remind you of this because i want you to know this is true even outside of quizzing. whatever you are doing, pride is still death to the spirit. when you are playing your other favorite sports like baseball, soccer or basketball, pride is still death to the spirit. when you are hanging out with your friends or on a date with your girlfriend, pride is death to the spirit. we live in a culture that tells us it's best to be number one, to be on top, to be the best and look done on others. but god's way is different. don't let your pride kill you, but find your life to be a humble one, unlifting god first, and then unlifting others, even your enemies, with kind words and actions. (Tim "the Enchanter" Moss)
it's been 4 consective years we've been on the same team, which makes you the longest guy quizzer that's been with Me. congratulations. It's been an interesting ride. i've seen you on the top of your game and on the bottom. this year your season was not as big and bad. you only scored 340 points. that got you to 85th, finishing in the top 100 for the third consective year. actually, that's pretty much exact same you did last year. but this year is more impressive than last year, i think. you were able to learn the quizzing material while taking physics and Calculus 2 at psu berks (and i remember you telling me that it's a harder program than usual). Heck, you were even working a full time job and you still could study enough to finish in the same place. A lot of quizzers who are in high school cannot balance their schooling and job, and you had it harder! good job! Errors came Less this year, so many fewer that tim beat you by a lot. Sure you didn't do so well in the season, but you Completely made up for that in the tournaments. You were a Heckava quizzer as you gave us team bonus and quiz outs. Winning is what you did best. A lot of the time it seemed like you were carrying a third of the team's burden. Great way to show you Give to this team. Don't get me wrong it's not All about points. Wherever there was fun, craizness or trouble, you always seemed to be there. whether it was going back for a pizza run, shoveling snow off from on top of the van, wrestling in the LBC foyer or driving a car barely inspection, you were there. But my favorite memories have some of the answers you Gave. Sometimes it seemed like your Consistent babbling was right, but you ended up wrong. Half the time you looked like you were clueless, or that you didn't study that part, but you Would pull the answer out of no where And get us the points. my favorite memory is when you would pull your "hat trick." you would pick a random answer out of your imaginary hat, and it would be the right one! hey, if it works, it works! you've been quizzing almost as long as me, and it shows that you also got some "ol' school quizzing style" in you. The craizness of the quizzers of past Generations will live on because of you. you would be always quick to join in on our team pride. whether it was wearing team shirts, goin' cowboy, or shaving the head, you were in (although the shaven head was scary. you did look like a white supremeist). i also have a word for you. i remember you did quiz from 2002, when we quizzed on joshua. i Encourage you to go back and read the book. if you look at it closely and thoughly, you'll see the main message is that god wants to bless his people, but only if they will obey. i believe that applies to today, especially for you. god wants to bless you, but the only way that he will is if you Remember to follow his laws and commands. it's true that good works don't save us, but they do give us blessing. so go, avoid sin, but produce fruit of the spirit. and god will bless you. (Michael "Schwagg dawg" Schwager)
Thank you all my teammates for another great year. I also want to once again thank my coaches Dave and Vicki Deitrick for bringing us together and holding us together. We bonded as a team, and in doing so we reached some major accomplishments. In the season we finished 4th place with an average with 97. 4th place is the highest I have ever finished with a team, and the first time my team was seeded in both tournmanets. We are definitely an improving team. We did better this season and we did better in the ACC Tourament than we did in the past 2 years, going undefeated in the ACC Tourament. You guys were all great to have on a team, and I will miss during the offseason. And a friendly reminder to my quizzers that I do exist ouside the months. I am not Baal! I do not die after the secret sponser banquet and then resurrect in January, fully knowledgeable in the Scriptures! lol. Keep in contact. I'd love to hear from you all. And I'm glad you all have made a decision to come back next year. With everyone experienced, we can only get better!
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