By a matter of 10 points, Spring City dropped from 4th to 5th. We needed to get back up to 4th for a good seeding in the ACC Tournament. Practice did not look too promising. Just like the last Thursday practice, I only quizzed out half my matches. I even errored out one. I didn't have a lot of time to practice before then considering I had 2 exams and I quiz I needed to study for in college. So I made up for the lost studying on Friday and Saturday.
I went to church with Spring City on Sunday. No crazy appearal this Sunday. Mike, Tim and I intentionally (and Dave unitentially) wore our Spring City 2007 shirts as I reminder to ourselves and our opponents that this 2008 team is just as powerful as the 2007 team. The only craziness is the quizzing buddy. I brought Stitch, the Stitch made famous by Bekah in 2006 when she tried endlessly to get its affection. I also got my secret sponser. Thank you secret sponser for the Garfield quizzing buddy, almond joys and the highlighters. They will be enjoyed. After church we got to have the lunch we were looking forward to all year: lunch at the Walleighs. It was the typical tacos, but they were good at always. Accompanying the quiz team was Bethany and her huband Steve, Seth and his adorable daughter Madison. Fun was had by all, but we had to get back to the church to get back to studying.
I was feeling more confident about myself after much studying Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. That was about to end in practice. Quizzing out for me became a struggle. I was having brain farts. Things I knew were leaving my mind. I couldn't recall anything. It was frustrating. I wanted to give up, but I knew giving up wouldn't help. So I just studied harder. Dinner was treated as a lunch as I warmed up my soup. We all ate in the kitchen. When we were done, we left for Petra.
When we arrived at Petra, I thought it looked bigger. Apparently they were just remodeling. Mike and Tim went off as usual to unknown locations, most likely the bathroom. Chelsea and Alyssa were roaming around the sanctuary and looking at it. Bobby and I went over keywords. We all got back together for praise and worship. Mike needed to be tuned for his singing. Annoucements told us where the rooms were, but didn't tell us any of the individual standings. Not even the perfect quizzers. I really think that's unnecesary. Shortly after Merv's joke, the quizzing was underway.
Just like last week, we had the last two matches. So we spent the rest of the time watching other matches, mainly future opponents. The first match I watched was Petra 6 vs. Maple Grove. I got to scorekeep. For the first 6 questions scorekeeping was boring because after 6 questions, the score was a tie at 10. Petra 6 was able to score 20 more points, but it lost 10 due to 6 errors. Maple Grove got 2 errors, both in review. Maple Grove won 55-20.
The next match I saw with Petra 2 vs. Conestoga 2. Conestoga was down to 3 quizzers. That meant when we would have a quizzer who would not get bonuses. It helped Petra 2. Petra 2 had quizzers buzzing in and quizzing out. They did get team bonus. One of the most imperssive questions was "With what did...." and Dave Jenson buzzing in, answering "Great pomp" and being correct. Petra 2 won with 120 points. I stayed in that same room to watch Petra 6 vs. Hinkletown 1, which Hinkletown 1 won. After that match, Dave drew the team together for some last-minute questions. We finished up, and watched the end of the match between Petra 4 vs. Weaverland 1 in the sanctuary. Weaverland 1 was the winner. We were now up.
In the second to last round, Spring City was taking on Petra 6 in the sanctuary with Jaime Detweiler as quizmaster. I sat in seat 2. I did not start the match as I wanted to. When I am in a quizmatch, the quizzeranium (the quizzing part of my brain) has 3 functions: first to know the right place to buzz in, second to come up with the right answer, and third is to connect the first two part. At my first buzz in, I had the good buzz. "What was Felix well acq..." but my brain farted and couldn't not come up with the right answer. When I made the second buzz in, and at seemed like the same thing was happening. My brain was farting and I was coming up blank with good buzzes. But the Holy Spirit came in and helped me. He did the connecting part and gave me the right answer scoring my first points. It was easier from there on. With two more questions, one being a situation question, I quizzed out. Tim also quizzed out. We came up short for team bonus. We did win 90-40 but we got a lot of errors. If I'm not mistaken, their points were all off of bonuses we gave them, but I could be wrong (Mrs. Deitrick, if you're reading this, my stats are off a bit. Please tell me what questions Tim and I quizzed out on for both matches.)
We had to hurry to our next match against Conestoga 2. The quizmaster was Bill Blank, which made me uneasy. He's a tougher On the first two questions Mike buzzed in and got both right. Unfortuneatly that the last we heard from him. I quizzed out, and so did Tim. Bobby also buzzed in and got it correct for team bonus! Bobby has now scored over 100 points! Welcome to the triple digits club, Bobby! Alyssa tried another buzz in on review, but this time her "tree" was going to help her. Spring City won 120-55.
So now I have 530 points, and I have now clinched a spot on the top 50 quizzers list. If I continue quizzing out, I will finish with 600 points, the highest yet. Spring City as a team has now scored a total of 1565 points this season, averaging 97.8125, rounded to 98. Our average went up 1 point! Let's see if it propels us back into 4th place.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Neffsville. Nuff said.
As Dave told us on Thursday's practice, 4th place with a gift from God. Our average dropped 40 points, and we were as low as 11th place. God saw that we were deserving to be lifted us to a higher place, and we were. Now the key was to try to stare there. Could we? At practice on Thursday night, for the first time I did not quiz out on practice. Twice I couldn't get higher than 20 points. I obviously needed more studying.
I came to church on Sunday. My strategy beyond hard studying was the intimidate the oppenent by looking insane. So I dressed crazy. My pants were blue and orange. My shirt was green. All 3 clashed, like I couldn't dress myself. To add to that, I had one black sock and one white sock, one white shoe and one black/orange shoe. I wore Mardi Gras beads and to top it all off, I had a inflatable hat with a brain on it. My quizzing buddy was green cow with orange and purple spots that didn't want to be tickled. I looked crazy, but by practice time, I was ready.
Practice was frustrating. Depending on whose questions I got was how I did. When I got Dave questions, I knew them, but I couldn't get in. When I got Vicki questions, I got in, but I couldn't answer them. In fact, I errored out on one of her sets. She was grateful enough to let me until another another error, but instead I quizzed out. I needed more studying. We couldn't do much during free time because there was a baby shower at the church, so I took the time to stay in the room and study. Then came the ackward moment of the year. Apparently, the shower was for someone related to Chelsea in Alyssa Mullins. So here I am, dressed like an insane man, studying aloud (I study vocally because it sticks better), asking myself questions and answers. Suddenly Chelsea and Alyssa come in with some girl (whose age I'm still trying to guess) from the shower. Alyssa says, "This is Graham, the duct tape guy, but today he's just crazy." What are you suppose to say/do in that situation? All I could do was say hi and be nice. Luckily it didn't last too long, so I could feel less ackward and practice more. Since we couldn't have a normal dinner like usual because of the shower, we had pizza in our practice room. Then we went to Neffsville.
Neffsville is only about 3 miles away from my college, so we had a pretty good distance to go up. We got our usual rounds of questions. Even when we got there, we went through more questions. Again we switched name tags. I received Tim's. Tim and Mike decided to have fun and sit in the wheelchairs....after much arguing with Vicki. Our time was cut short as we ran into friends from Slate Hill 2. We went to worship and then went to go watch matches because we had the last two matches of the night.
The first match I watched was Neffsville 2 vs. Akron 1. The match was slow because a lot of the questions would get out. Neffsville did well and got team bonus, leading them for the win. That looked good for our team. The next match I watched was Petra 3 vs. Petra 5. I like a good in-church rivalry. Petra 5 was the favorite in 4th, and Petra 3 was in 12th. Petra 5 showed that they were higher as they brought forth a win. Next was E-Town 2 vs. Petra 2, so I could scout out Petra 2. They struggled in the beginning, yet by the end, Petra 2 won 85-50. Still, it wasn't up to their aveage. Coach Dave thought we needed more practice so he had us meet in the hall for more questions. After those questions, I realized I needed more questions myself. So for one more round, I went off to study myself. After going over questions one more time, I was ready.
We started the match against Akron 1 with me in seat 1. Spring City finally had a match with favorite quizmaster Jaime Detweiler. I quizzed out on question 5. Tim followed by quizzing out later, after getting 2 errors. In the process of trying to score points, Mike errored twice, yet he scored for us 20 points. By the end of question 14, we had 3 quizzers who could get team bonus and one who could quiz out. Yet instead we got a fifth error, causing us to lose 5 points. We won 85 to 55. It was a win, but it wasn't as strong as we wanted. In a points where the standings are measured by points, we needed points.
The back to back match that followed was against Petra 3. A 3rd place team vs. a 4th place team. It wasn't what we expected. We got the early jump in. I quizzed out by question 6, and Tim followed up the next question. Mike and Bobby got us team bonus! Then came review. One question started, "On what was Jesus..." and BZZT came from....Alyssa? Well, Alyssa thought, and so did everyone else on the team, including coaches. No one could come up with an answer. Then Alyssa questionally said "A tree?" out of no where. A pause. Quizmaster Jon Howe smiles and saind, "He did!" Well, you can just imagine how frantic everyone was shouting. We were so happy over 10 points that we confused all the Petra fans. We had to explain it was Alyssa's first points. Good job Alyssa! Way to go! Once again, we had 5 of our 6 quizzers buzz in for a correct answer. We beat the 3rd place team 120-70. After Petra 2 knocked us out of the Invitational, I think we are now even!
We won't home happy. All 6 of our quizzers have points. Bobby is 5 away from reaching 100 (and in his rookie year too!). I have scored 460 points, and am 10 away from clinching the top 50 Quizzers List. Unfortuneatly they stopped posting individual standings, so we can't show you this. They still post team standings. Our team average went up 1 average point. That 1 point, however, was not enough. Petra 4 had a good night and passed us by a matter of half an average point. So we fell back to 5th place. Still, we are rearing to go another week to get back into the top 4, and if we do extremely well, the top 2! Pray for us!
I came to church on Sunday. My strategy beyond hard studying was the intimidate the oppenent by looking insane. So I dressed crazy. My pants were blue and orange. My shirt was green. All 3 clashed, like I couldn't dress myself. To add to that, I had one black sock and one white sock, one white shoe and one black/orange shoe. I wore Mardi Gras beads and to top it all off, I had a inflatable hat with a brain on it. My quizzing buddy was green cow with orange and purple spots that didn't want to be tickled. I looked crazy, but by practice time, I was ready.
Practice was frustrating. Depending on whose questions I got was how I did. When I got Dave questions, I knew them, but I couldn't get in. When I got Vicki questions, I got in, but I couldn't answer them. In fact, I errored out on one of her sets. She was grateful enough to let me until another another error, but instead I quizzed out. I needed more studying. We couldn't do much during free time because there was a baby shower at the church, so I took the time to stay in the room and study. Then came the ackward moment of the year. Apparently, the shower was for someone related to Chelsea in Alyssa Mullins. So here I am, dressed like an insane man, studying aloud (I study vocally because it sticks better), asking myself questions and answers. Suddenly Chelsea and Alyssa come in with some girl (whose age I'm still trying to guess) from the shower. Alyssa says, "This is Graham, the duct tape guy, but today he's just crazy." What are you suppose to say/do in that situation? All I could do was say hi and be nice. Luckily it didn't last too long, so I could feel less ackward and practice more. Since we couldn't have a normal dinner like usual because of the shower, we had pizza in our practice room. Then we went to Neffsville.
Neffsville is only about 3 miles away from my college, so we had a pretty good distance to go up. We got our usual rounds of questions. Even when we got there, we went through more questions. Again we switched name tags. I received Tim's. Tim and Mike decided to have fun and sit in the wheelchairs....after much arguing with Vicki. Our time was cut short as we ran into friends from Slate Hill 2. We went to worship and then went to go watch matches because we had the last two matches of the night.
The first match I watched was Neffsville 2 vs. Akron 1. The match was slow because a lot of the questions would get out. Neffsville did well and got team bonus, leading them for the win. That looked good for our team. The next match I watched was Petra 3 vs. Petra 5. I like a good in-church rivalry. Petra 5 was the favorite in 4th, and Petra 3 was in 12th. Petra 5 showed that they were higher as they brought forth a win. Next was E-Town 2 vs. Petra 2, so I could scout out Petra 2. They struggled in the beginning, yet by the end, Petra 2 won 85-50. Still, it wasn't up to their aveage. Coach Dave thought we needed more practice so he had us meet in the hall for more questions. After those questions, I realized I needed more questions myself. So for one more round, I went off to study myself. After going over questions one more time, I was ready.
We started the match against Akron 1 with me in seat 1. Spring City finally had a match with favorite quizmaster Jaime Detweiler. I quizzed out on question 5. Tim followed by quizzing out later, after getting 2 errors. In the process of trying to score points, Mike errored twice, yet he scored for us 20 points. By the end of question 14, we had 3 quizzers who could get team bonus and one who could quiz out. Yet instead we got a fifth error, causing us to lose 5 points. We won 85 to 55. It was a win, but it wasn't as strong as we wanted. In a points where the standings are measured by points, we needed points.
The back to back match that followed was against Petra 3. A 3rd place team vs. a 4th place team. It wasn't what we expected. We got the early jump in. I quizzed out by question 6, and Tim followed up the next question. Mike and Bobby got us team bonus! Then came review. One question started, "On what was Jesus..." and BZZT came from....Alyssa? Well, Alyssa thought, and so did everyone else on the team, including coaches. No one could come up with an answer. Then Alyssa questionally said "A tree?" out of no where. A pause. Quizmaster Jon Howe smiles and saind, "He did!" Well, you can just imagine how frantic everyone was shouting. We were so happy over 10 points that we confused all the Petra fans. We had to explain it was Alyssa's first points. Good job Alyssa! Way to go! Once again, we had 5 of our 6 quizzers buzz in for a correct answer. We beat the 3rd place team 120-70. After Petra 2 knocked us out of the Invitational, I think we are now even!
We won't home happy. All 6 of our quizzers have points. Bobby is 5 away from reaching 100 (and in his rookie year too!). I have scored 460 points, and am 10 away from clinching the top 50 Quizzers List. Unfortuneatly they stopped posting individual standings, so we can't show you this. They still post team standings. Our team average went up 1 average point. That 1 point, however, was not enough. Petra 4 had a good night and passed us by a matter of half an average point. So we fell back to 5th place. Still, we are rearing to go another week to get back into the top 4, and if we do extremely well, the top 2! Pray for us!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Valentine's Day Reflections
You're probably reading the title and thinking, "This is a little late." Well, I didn't post it on Valentine's Day because I reflected on it on Valentine's Day. I have no intention of making this a rant. I want to be open and honest with you about my thoughts and feelings. So stick with me, and I'm sorry this goes off into a rant by any chance. But if it does, I've only ranted on the holiday once before, so I've been good
First of all, let me establish my relationship history: I am currently single. I have had 2 girlfriends in the past. I don't mean to be blunt, but if I do not say this up front, none of the rest will make to sense to you. This is where the "stick with me" part comes in. And while I'm at it, and I'll establish the fact that Feb. 15 is not Singles Day. Singles get a whole week, and it's the week Sept. 14 is in, 6 months after Valentine's Day.
I'm friends with a guy at college named Brady. Brady and I look so alike we've been mistaken for twins, but that's off topic. What annoys me the most about Brady is also what I like the most about Brady. When Brady has a problem in his life, he will randomly talk over it out loud, and anyone near him can hear it. Maybe Brady looking like me is not coincidence because if he is suffering from a problem I have just like him, it's almost like looking at myself talking over my problems (no joke intended, I am serious). So on February 12, just 2 days before Valentine's Day, Brady mentioned himself being single (as well as dealing with being single), and his struggle to not be able to get a girl. And I saw that mirror reflection of me.
Valentine's Day AKA "Singles Awareness Day [S.A.D.]" Why is it Singles Awareness Day, or S.A.D.? Because on Valentine's Day, the ones that are SAD are the singles. Why? This is a holiday which is spent a lot (although not the entire thing) on boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. And it's public. So public some people, like the Sad Singles, don't want to leave their house (or in the college student's case, the dorm). I had experienced like feelings in high school. The Public Displays of Affection were at their height on this day, so greatly I didn't want to go to school. I started thinking this same thought for college. Do I really want to leave my dorm, a safe haven of guys only and no couples? I dare not go to Lower Level Peterson! I tried to get an idea of what Valentine's Day was like on a Bible College campus. Some said it's bad, others said it was not bad at all. Some said it's not as bad as high school, others said it's fine as long as you have tunnel vision (don't go looking for the couples on purpose, and avoiding it all costs). So since I was leaving at 4, I decided it was safe to venture, but just to classes, the cafeteria for food, and then the rest of the time my dorm.
Ah, I love my dorm. And that's one of the reasons why. It's just guys. Yes, I enjoy the fact that the dorms are not co-ed, and there a place I can go to get away to just guys. Not from girls, but from couples. There not anywhere in sight. Out of sight, out of mind. And they are out of mind because it's not brought up in my quad. Out of the 8 guys in my quad (I'm including the regular visitor Brady), 6 of them are single. And from the 2 that have girlfriends (actually, for one, it's finance), I don't hear about it on a regular basis. Sure they mention them when applicable, but it's not like they are announcing it on a daily. And I am very grateful for that. Thank you guys. Thank you for not making me a part in your relationship, the audience. But back to the cool singles guys. They are awesome. With the exception of Brady (there is nothing wrong with this, and I'll get to that later), none of them complain about not having a girlfriend. Sure, I bet they have girls they like, but I'm not hearing them obsess about it, or depressed because they are not dating. They are content with being single. One guy from my section actually verified this just last night, and I know others has told me this. One even told me that he was putting off any relationship for a long time on purpose. And it's starting to change me.
These guys influenced me all fall semister. And for the first time I can officially say that I'm content with being single. It's been a big help being around these guys. It helped me realize something. I now realize the reasons I wanted to have a girlfriend, and they might be the wrong reason. It goes all the way back to high school. I was in a school of show-off couples, which treated singleness as a curse. I was incomplete, and a girlfriend would complete me. I had no close friends and thought a girlfriend would be a good one. It seemed like I couldn't find anyone who liked me, and I was desperate to find one. Being single made me feel left out, unpopular and unliked. But then coming to LBC and meeting the guys in Peterson Hall 107 changed that. They were good friends, who liked me for who I was. All the past changed. Being able to go to these guys, where I could get away without really hearing about it, I didn't think about it. I had friends. And with these good friends who wanted to hang out with me, the strong feeling of needing a girlfriend just became a weak feeling of wanting a girlfriend. It wasn't necesary in my life. Through both words and actions, I saw that they felt the same way too. And even in the worse times, I could go to my Life Connect person Louis, and he's also helped get me out of the deepest funks of being single to the greatest contentment of being single. And some of my favorite moments with him is either doing Bible studies or playing video games - it takes my mind away from girls, couples, and being single.
And ironically, all my ex-girlfriends have taught me this lesson. This goes back to Brady speaking what's on his mind. On that Tuesday the 12th, Brady was talking about the "girls who got away." In his case it was just good female friends who he could have taken it up to the next stage, but in my case, thinking about the girls who got away from me were my 2 ex-girlfriends. I don't care how pathetic this sounds, it's true: both times I have been dumped by the girl. They left me. So to me, they got away. For the most part, I have gotten over them, but there is still a teeny tiny bit that wishes one of them would come back (let's say I'm 95% over them, 5% wishes one would come back). Thinking about both of them, I realized both had something in common. Both of them, when I started dating them, could be described as "desperately single" and both of them broke up with me after realizing they were happy when they were single. Now I don't believe that to be the full truth, but I think there is truth in that. And I look back at myself, I think when I started out going with those girls, I was a little desperate. Every time we've broken up, I've not wanted to, but I'd allowed it. A girl, who I liked and turned me down once said, "You're not ready to marry until you're ready to be single." I say the same is true for dating. You're not ready to date until you are ready to be single.
So was I ready to be dating? What I mean by that, was I ready to be single? I'm not sure. I can't say I compromised any beliefs or feelings. I was still behaving like a Christian. And they were Christian. They liked me, and I liked them. They met all my requirements. My second girlfriend I didn't go out with until 15 months after dating my first girlfriend, not really liking any girl. Does that say something? So am I ready to be single again? I don't know. I'd like to say I am. I'm not too concentrated on girls. Right now, there is no single girl that I have a major crush on. Yet I find myself having minor crushes on a bunch of girls. Is it a sign of being desperate, or is it keeping me in check for liking one girl too much? I also have found myself liking girls near my sister's age, which is roughly about 4 years younger than me. Now it's nothing sexual...or maybe a better term is nothing physical. I just like them for their personality, for who they are. Is this wrong? Am I getting so desperate that I am looking at younger girls? Or is that I'm just being too influence by Mike? :-P That's a scary thought.
Here's another thing that divides me on whether I am fully content with singleness . May it be a confession to all of you. I confess that I have been using dating applications on Facebook to meet girls. I "poke" them, message them, and add a few to my friends. I've met a lot of girls this way. It mostly is online, and even more stays to just Facebook. But a few I've gotten IM screenames from. And truthfully, my last girlfriend I did not know until I met her on Facebook. It just so happened that we had a common friend who went to a common church. So yes, we met through Facebook. Now I know a lot of people are against, mostly because it's unconventional, but also the fact these people on another computer are strangers. If you're not comfortable, let me tell you this. 6 girls I asked out before I had a girlfriend. All of them I knew face-to-face and had a friendship with. All 6 turned me down. After those 6, I had my 2 girlfriends. Both met me online. Sure the shortest one only lasted 10 days, but that's 10 more days then those 6 other girls gave me.But So I'm not really against it. I can see profiles of girls, with both pictures and info, and from that choose someone who matches me or I think will be good with. Sure they can lie, but I haven't really met that problem before, and if so, I can usually tell by exchanging messages. And it helps get rid of that ackward exchange of basic information on the first date because it's all there online. Same is true for the girl. Girls can see all my information and know who I am before making a move. That leads me to a topic I said I would get back to.
As I said above, Brady does sometimes struggle with being single, and will express it out loud. On that Tuesday the 12th he mentioned looking at himself, and what could attract girls, only to draw up a blank. I drew up that same blank. You ladies reading might be a girl who received an IM in September asking you "Why would you marry me". I had gotten a dating survey for college success that asked why some woman would want to marry me. Truthfully, I didn't know why. I myself did not know why I was worth marrying. This question that took a lot of thought. It got me stumped a couple of times. I had to get help from female friends. And still thinking about it, I can't see a reason why a girl would like me. I will outwardly tell you, I am not attractive to the eyes, not athletic or fit, not musical in any sense, nor artistic in any sense. I’m not really a genius. I’m not too rich either. My sense of humor is dry slap-stick (although my last ex always thought I was funny, and still does). There is nothing I got. Of course on the survey I put "I'm a good Christian." Yeah, that is good for a Christian girl, but seriously, that's a broad category. There are a lot of guys who are Christian. So after he's Christian, the next thing is...well, it's one of the above that I don't have. So pretty much, I'm screwed. It's hard to convince a girl to like you if you have low self-esteem. Now don't get me wrong, I like me for who I am. I realize God created me the way I was because he wanted me that way, and I am satisfied with the way I am created. It's just trying to get the girl to see the same thing, and like me enough to date me. But they're not always interested in that. As Napoleon Dynamite states, they want skills. What girl is attracted to a Bible Quizzer? Let me tell you not even the Bible Quizzing girls are attracted to that. Only I am (and it's kinda made me quizzing shallow, only liking girl quizzers with high scores). Like I said: screwed. So what's a guy to do? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I have come to the point where I say to ladies, "This is me. Take it or leave it." Don't change for someone else, you'll be living a lie. Tell them to take it or leave it. And remember, God made you, so He takes it, and leaves the sin behind.
So what's this got to do with Valentine's? This is what I was thinking during Valentine's, and it all draws to some good conclusions about Valentine's. The holiday can impact you no matter what your relationship status. So what are going to take from it? Couples, are you going to flaunt your love for each other? Careful, it may hurt your single friends. Singles, are you going to complain about how much this holiday sucks? Careful, it may hurt your dating friends. Let's compromise: if dating people promise to keep their displays of affections to themselves, then single people will keep their complaining among themsleves. Deal? Deal. Couples, go off alone and enjoy the time you have for the special someone. For you single people, hang out with a large group of people from the same gender. Guys, hang out with a large bunch of guys. Girls, hang out with a large group of girls. Do what you like doing the best, fellowship and get caught up with each other. And promise that talk about the opposite sex, couples, crushes, or dating will not come up. The idea is to take your mind of those things and focus it on something you enjoy. I know some people get together a co-ed group of single people to hang out, but I think this is going the wrong way at it. At these things, people just end up pairing up for the day, and it's pretty much conforming to be like couples so you don't feel left out. It's missing the point.
So in closing I want to remind you all that everyone will be eventually married...it is stated in Revelations, it's our marriage as the church to Christ. So if you're a couple, dating or married, it doesn't matter because at the end, the marriage is null-and-void. And for you single people, don't worry if you're not married, or not dating. Give God the time. In the mean time, take that love you usually give to the significant other and share it among your friends, family, and most importantly, God. And even if you're still single by the end of your life, know that God still loves you the same. He has given His love to you, more than any spouse can. In my singleness, I've been praying to God and talking through this to Him. And I feel like he's telling me, "Graham, if you do get a wife, you will have to make some compromises. But if you stay single, I promise I will open many doors for you to procede to do My Will and what you please. And I will give you more friends so you can give that love to them." God has not abandoned the single people. He does not choose His servants based on their relationship status. Christians, let us do the same as the Lord does to us. Let us not judge people on their relationship status.
I am single, but I am also taken by the Lord because I am in a relationship with Him.
First of all, let me establish my relationship history: I am currently single. I have had 2 girlfriends in the past. I don't mean to be blunt, but if I do not say this up front, none of the rest will make to sense to you. This is where the "stick with me" part comes in. And while I'm at it, and I'll establish the fact that Feb. 15 is not Singles Day. Singles get a whole week, and it's the week Sept. 14 is in, 6 months after Valentine's Day.
I'm friends with a guy at college named Brady. Brady and I look so alike we've been mistaken for twins, but that's off topic. What annoys me the most about Brady is also what I like the most about Brady. When Brady has a problem in his life, he will randomly talk over it out loud, and anyone near him can hear it. Maybe Brady looking like me is not coincidence because if he is suffering from a problem I have just like him, it's almost like looking at myself talking over my problems (no joke intended, I am serious). So on February 12, just 2 days before Valentine's Day, Brady mentioned himself being single (as well as dealing with being single), and his struggle to not be able to get a girl. And I saw that mirror reflection of me.
Valentine's Day AKA "Singles Awareness Day [S.A.D.]" Why is it Singles Awareness Day, or S.A.D.? Because on Valentine's Day, the ones that are SAD are the singles. Why? This is a holiday which is spent a lot (although not the entire thing) on boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. And it's public. So public some people, like the Sad Singles, don't want to leave their house (or in the college student's case, the dorm). I had experienced like feelings in high school. The Public Displays of Affection were at their height on this day, so greatly I didn't want to go to school. I started thinking this same thought for college. Do I really want to leave my dorm, a safe haven of guys only and no couples? I dare not go to Lower Level Peterson! I tried to get an idea of what Valentine's Day was like on a Bible College campus. Some said it's bad, others said it was not bad at all. Some said it's not as bad as high school, others said it's fine as long as you have tunnel vision (don't go looking for the couples on purpose, and avoiding it all costs). So since I was leaving at 4, I decided it was safe to venture, but just to classes, the cafeteria for food, and then the rest of the time my dorm.
Ah, I love my dorm. And that's one of the reasons why. It's just guys. Yes, I enjoy the fact that the dorms are not co-ed, and there a place I can go to get away to just guys. Not from girls, but from couples. There not anywhere in sight. Out of sight, out of mind. And they are out of mind because it's not brought up in my quad. Out of the 8 guys in my quad (I'm including the regular visitor Brady), 6 of them are single. And from the 2 that have girlfriends (actually, for one, it's finance), I don't hear about it on a regular basis. Sure they mention them when applicable, but it's not like they are announcing it on a daily. And I am very grateful for that. Thank you guys. Thank you for not making me a part in your relationship, the audience. But back to the cool singles guys. They are awesome. With the exception of Brady (there is nothing wrong with this, and I'll get to that later), none of them complain about not having a girlfriend. Sure, I bet they have girls they like, but I'm not hearing them obsess about it, or depressed because they are not dating. They are content with being single. One guy from my section actually verified this just last night, and I know others has told me this. One even told me that he was putting off any relationship for a long time on purpose. And it's starting to change me.
These guys influenced me all fall semister. And for the first time I can officially say that I'm content with being single. It's been a big help being around these guys. It helped me realize something. I now realize the reasons I wanted to have a girlfriend, and they might be the wrong reason. It goes all the way back to high school. I was in a school of show-off couples, which treated singleness as a curse. I was incomplete, and a girlfriend would complete me. I had no close friends and thought a girlfriend would be a good one. It seemed like I couldn't find anyone who liked me, and I was desperate to find one. Being single made me feel left out, unpopular and unliked. But then coming to LBC and meeting the guys in Peterson Hall 107 changed that. They were good friends, who liked me for who I was. All the past changed. Being able to go to these guys, where I could get away without really hearing about it, I didn't think about it. I had friends. And with these good friends who wanted to hang out with me, the strong feeling of needing a girlfriend just became a weak feeling of wanting a girlfriend. It wasn't necesary in my life. Through both words and actions, I saw that they felt the same way too. And even in the worse times, I could go to my Life Connect person Louis, and he's also helped get me out of the deepest funks of being single to the greatest contentment of being single. And some of my favorite moments with him is either doing Bible studies or playing video games - it takes my mind away from girls, couples, and being single.
And ironically, all my ex-girlfriends have taught me this lesson. This goes back to Brady speaking what's on his mind. On that Tuesday the 12th, Brady was talking about the "girls who got away." In his case it was just good female friends who he could have taken it up to the next stage, but in my case, thinking about the girls who got away from me were my 2 ex-girlfriends. I don't care how pathetic this sounds, it's true: both times I have been dumped by the girl. They left me. So to me, they got away. For the most part, I have gotten over them, but there is still a teeny tiny bit that wishes one of them would come back (let's say I'm 95% over them, 5% wishes one would come back). Thinking about both of them, I realized both had something in common. Both of them, when I started dating them, could be described as "desperately single" and both of them broke up with me after realizing they were happy when they were single. Now I don't believe that to be the full truth, but I think there is truth in that. And I look back at myself, I think when I started out going with those girls, I was a little desperate. Every time we've broken up, I've not wanted to, but I'd allowed it. A girl, who I liked and turned me down once said, "You're not ready to marry until you're ready to be single." I say the same is true for dating. You're not ready to date until you are ready to be single.
So was I ready to be dating? What I mean by that, was I ready to be single? I'm not sure. I can't say I compromised any beliefs or feelings. I was still behaving like a Christian. And they were Christian. They liked me, and I liked them. They met all my requirements. My second girlfriend I didn't go out with until 15 months after dating my first girlfriend, not really liking any girl. Does that say something? So am I ready to be single again? I don't know. I'd like to say I am. I'm not too concentrated on girls. Right now, there is no single girl that I have a major crush on. Yet I find myself having minor crushes on a bunch of girls. Is it a sign of being desperate, or is it keeping me in check for liking one girl too much? I also have found myself liking girls near my sister's age, which is roughly about 4 years younger than me. Now it's nothing sexual...or maybe a better term is nothing physical. I just like them for their personality, for who they are. Is this wrong? Am I getting so desperate that I am looking at younger girls? Or is that I'm just being too influence by Mike? :-P That's a scary thought.
Here's another thing that divides me on whether I am fully content with singleness . May it be a confession to all of you. I confess that I have been using dating applications on Facebook to meet girls. I "poke" them, message them, and add a few to my friends. I've met a lot of girls this way. It mostly is online, and even more stays to just Facebook. But a few I've gotten IM screenames from. And truthfully, my last girlfriend I did not know until I met her on Facebook. It just so happened that we had a common friend who went to a common church. So yes, we met through Facebook. Now I know a lot of people are against, mostly because it's unconventional, but also the fact these people on another computer are strangers. If you're not comfortable, let me tell you this. 6 girls I asked out before I had a girlfriend. All of them I knew face-to-face and had a friendship with. All 6 turned me down. After those 6, I had my 2 girlfriends. Both met me online. Sure the shortest one only lasted 10 days, but that's 10 more days then those 6 other girls gave me.But So I'm not really against it. I can see profiles of girls, with both pictures and info, and from that choose someone who matches me or I think will be good with. Sure they can lie, but I haven't really met that problem before, and if so, I can usually tell by exchanging messages. And it helps get rid of that ackward exchange of basic information on the first date because it's all there online. Same is true for the girl. Girls can see all my information and know who I am before making a move. That leads me to a topic I said I would get back to.
As I said above, Brady does sometimes struggle with being single, and will express it out loud. On that Tuesday the 12th he mentioned looking at himself, and what could attract girls, only to draw up a blank. I drew up that same blank. You ladies reading might be a girl who received an IM in September asking you "Why would you marry me". I had gotten a dating survey for college success that asked why some woman would want to marry me. Truthfully, I didn't know why. I myself did not know why I was worth marrying. This question that took a lot of thought. It got me stumped a couple of times. I had to get help from female friends. And still thinking about it, I can't see a reason why a girl would like me. I will outwardly tell you, I am not attractive to the eyes, not athletic or fit, not musical in any sense, nor artistic in any sense. I’m not really a genius. I’m not too rich either. My sense of humor is dry slap-stick (although my last ex always thought I was funny, and still does). There is nothing I got. Of course on the survey I put "I'm a good Christian." Yeah, that is good for a Christian girl, but seriously, that's a broad category. There are a lot of guys who are Christian. So after he's Christian, the next thing is...well, it's one of the above that I don't have. So pretty much, I'm screwed. It's hard to convince a girl to like you if you have low self-esteem. Now don't get me wrong, I like me for who I am. I realize God created me the way I was because he wanted me that way, and I am satisfied with the way I am created. It's just trying to get the girl to see the same thing, and like me enough to date me. But they're not always interested in that. As Napoleon Dynamite states, they want skills. What girl is attracted to a Bible Quizzer? Let me tell you not even the Bible Quizzing girls are attracted to that. Only I am (and it's kinda made me quizzing shallow, only liking girl quizzers with high scores). Like I said: screwed. So what's a guy to do? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I have come to the point where I say to ladies, "This is me. Take it or leave it." Don't change for someone else, you'll be living a lie. Tell them to take it or leave it. And remember, God made you, so He takes it, and leaves the sin behind.
So what's this got to do with Valentine's? This is what I was thinking during Valentine's, and it all draws to some good conclusions about Valentine's. The holiday can impact you no matter what your relationship status. So what are going to take from it? Couples, are you going to flaunt your love for each other? Careful, it may hurt your single friends. Singles, are you going to complain about how much this holiday sucks? Careful, it may hurt your dating friends. Let's compromise: if dating people promise to keep their displays of affections to themselves, then single people will keep their complaining among themsleves. Deal? Deal. Couples, go off alone and enjoy the time you have for the special someone. For you single people, hang out with a large group of people from the same gender. Guys, hang out with a large bunch of guys. Girls, hang out with a large group of girls. Do what you like doing the best, fellowship and get caught up with each other. And promise that talk about the opposite sex, couples, crushes, or dating will not come up. The idea is to take your mind of those things and focus it on something you enjoy. I know some people get together a co-ed group of single people to hang out, but I think this is going the wrong way at it. At these things, people just end up pairing up for the day, and it's pretty much conforming to be like couples so you don't feel left out. It's missing the point.
So in closing I want to remind you all that everyone will be eventually married...it is stated in Revelations, it's our marriage as the church to Christ. So if you're a couple, dating or married, it doesn't matter because at the end, the marriage is null-and-void. And for you single people, don't worry if you're not married, or not dating. Give God the time. In the mean time, take that love you usually give to the significant other and share it among your friends, family, and most importantly, God. And even if you're still single by the end of your life, know that God still loves you the same. He has given His love to you, more than any spouse can. In my singleness, I've been praying to God and talking through this to Him. And I feel like he's telling me, "Graham, if you do get a wife, you will have to make some compromises. But if you stay single, I promise I will open many doors for you to procede to do My Will and what you please. And I will give you more friends so you can give that love to them." God has not abandoned the single people. He does not choose His servants based on their relationship status. Christians, let us do the same as the Lord does to us. Let us not judge people on their relationship status.
I am single, but I am also taken by the Lord because I am in a relationship with Him.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Opening the 2nd half of the quizzing season
Our efforts at Conestoga paid off as we started a slow recovery upward. Now we needed to continue it into the 5th week of quizzing. If we didn't, the season could be over just as the second half was beginning. We were looking for at least 230 points to get us back to our week 2 average of 92.5 points/match. That average would keep us alive.
I went to Spring City for church. Today was what I called "causual duct tape day." I wasn't dressed up, but I had the duct tape on all over. I had a duct tape collar, duct tape tie, duct tape manacles, duct tape belt, and a duct tape cap. OK, maybe with the duct tape belt and cap I "cheated" on because I just put duct tape over a real cap and belt, but everything else was original. I had some duct tape props too. I brought back the duct tape baby, which has been described anywhere from a voodoo doll to the robot on the Day the Earth Stood Still. I also had a boquet of 3/4 dozen duct tape roses, which a few lucky ladies got (and I still intended to give some out to some, so it's not too late). My secret sponser got me some Swedish Fish and PB M&Ms. Thank you secret sponser.
After lunch with Brandon Tedor, we had our normal practice matches. The first three we had a lot of bonuses from errors. It gave our rookies a chance to get a lot of practice, thanks to Tim and Mike. But finally by the last practice match, Tim and Mike could buzz in and answer correctly. Unfortunatly, our rookies couldn't do anything then. It seemed like almost perfect timing, but just after we finished our last practice match and turned off the buzzers, the power went out. It was because of the heavy wind and on-and-off flurries. Luckily my mom cooked a dinner that didn't need to be heated. We ate and left a little before 4 so the coaches could make it to coach's meeting.
We arrived at LMH about an hour before coaches. Since only one coach had to go, Vicki went to the meeting, and Dave found an empty classroom where we could practice. We did rounds of questions. Tim decided just like last year we could switch nametags for this. I was Mike, and Mike was me. He didn't do too good of a job being me because he errored a lot. I did a good job of him: saying his old catch words, grunting a lot, flexing my muscles, "texting Steph" (haha, riiiiight) and beating around the bush for 28.5 seconds. The only thing I didn't do like Schwagg was error. That's good. Before the matches, I spat out my gum and started eating dark chocolate AKA "brain food" (dark chocolate has been said to stimulate memory). After Zion led a wonderful praise time, Merv made announcements and sent us off to quiz.
Before we had our quizmatch, I got to watch a quizmatch of Slate Hill 1 vs. Bowmansville 2. I had been wanting to watch a Slate Hill 1 match, but had not gotten the chance. It was a typical Slate Hill match. Mike Good started the match off. He quizzed out. They got team bonus. They pretty much dominated the match. But I noticed something important. Slate Hill 1 wasn't necesarily fast buzzing, but more..."smart buzzing". All were good buzzes, and they beat the other team in. They weren't concured about how many words came out, but rather what words came out. The only times the other team got in first were bad buzzers. It was 4 words, but Slate Hill 1 knew "In what city did..." was not enough. I took notes :)
Now we had our match. It was Spring City vs. Hinkletown 1, 11th place vs. 4th place. We were expecting a struggle, but the match went differently than expected. I quizzed out as soon was question 4. Tim followed me in quizzing out. Mike got two. Bobby got a bonus, but we still needed one more for team bonus. The other side wasn't looking too active. Cody Hoover quizzed out, and that seemed like it. On the last question, Mike eased up a bit to let Chelsea, Alyssa or Bobby get in for team bonus. Hinkletown 1 took advantage of this and got their last points. Spring City won 100-45.
Between my matches, I went to watch Akron 1 vs. Conestoga 2 for scouting. For some reason, Akron 1 only had 3 of its 4 quizzers this Sunday. It hurt them. Conestoga 2 has their act together. They took control of the match. I thought the match was going slow so I didn't stay the whole time because I wanted to make my match. Conestoga 2 got 2 quizouts and was in the lead when I left. I got to my match's room sooner than usual because they just got to the next question!
We had our next match vs. Emmanuel 2. The team consisted of 4 rookie girl quizzers, and a girl emu. I had predicted this match in the beginning of the year to be the second easiest. It was the easiest. I quizzed out on question 5...Mike followed on question 7....Tim then on question 10.....and even Bobby quizzed out! We had 4 quizouts!! Plus, all 4 of those who quizzed out did it all on buzz ins, so we got team bonus! Even Chelsea buzzed in and got one right. Actually, Spring City buzzed in all 15 questions. We errored 2 times, giving Emmanuel 2 a couple chances to score points, but the bonuses were dropped. We won with a 170 point shutout.
So I finished the night by watching Slate Hill 2 vs. Maple Grove and Petra 2 vs. Rockville 2. I watched Petra 2 because they are next week's competition and one of their quizzers is in my English Comp. class at LBC. They did just as well as we did. Dave quizzed out on all buzzes question 3. They also scored 170 points, but Rockville 2 found some room for getting points of their own. Good job Petra 2.
So I figured it out. I am now at 32.5 point average, which should move me up. Spring City scored 270 points this night, moving our average to 95.83. This should shoot us up, unless everyone else had a good day like we did, such as Petra 2. Speaking of which, I figuring Petra 2 to take the top seed unless they scored under 100 points in their first match. In two matches, Tim scored 70 points, Mike scored 55, Bobby scored 45, and Chelsea scored 10. Spring City is back, and we're having fun doing it. Let's see if we can repeat next week.
I went to Spring City for church. Today was what I called "causual duct tape day." I wasn't dressed up, but I had the duct tape on all over. I had a duct tape collar, duct tape tie, duct tape manacles, duct tape belt, and a duct tape cap. OK, maybe with the duct tape belt and cap I "cheated" on because I just put duct tape over a real cap and belt, but everything else was original. I had some duct tape props too. I brought back the duct tape baby, which has been described anywhere from a voodoo doll to the robot on the Day the Earth Stood Still. I also had a boquet of 3/4 dozen duct tape roses, which a few lucky ladies got (and I still intended to give some out to some, so it's not too late). My secret sponser got me some Swedish Fish and PB M&Ms. Thank you secret sponser.
After lunch with Brandon Tedor, we had our normal practice matches. The first three we had a lot of bonuses from errors. It gave our rookies a chance to get a lot of practice, thanks to Tim and Mike. But finally by the last practice match, Tim and Mike could buzz in and answer correctly. Unfortunatly, our rookies couldn't do anything then. It seemed like almost perfect timing, but just after we finished our last practice match and turned off the buzzers, the power went out. It was because of the heavy wind and on-and-off flurries. Luckily my mom cooked a dinner that didn't need to be heated. We ate and left a little before 4 so the coaches could make it to coach's meeting.
We arrived at LMH about an hour before coaches. Since only one coach had to go, Vicki went to the meeting, and Dave found an empty classroom where we could practice. We did rounds of questions. Tim decided just like last year we could switch nametags for this. I was Mike, and Mike was me. He didn't do too good of a job being me because he errored a lot. I did a good job of him: saying his old catch words, grunting a lot, flexing my muscles, "texting Steph" (haha, riiiiight) and beating around the bush for 28.5 seconds. The only thing I didn't do like Schwagg was error. That's good. Before the matches, I spat out my gum and started eating dark chocolate AKA "brain food" (dark chocolate has been said to stimulate memory). After Zion led a wonderful praise time, Merv made announcements and sent us off to quiz.
Before we had our quizmatch, I got to watch a quizmatch of Slate Hill 1 vs. Bowmansville 2. I had been wanting to watch a Slate Hill 1 match, but had not gotten the chance. It was a typical Slate Hill match. Mike Good started the match off. He quizzed out. They got team bonus. They pretty much dominated the match. But I noticed something important. Slate Hill 1 wasn't necesarily fast buzzing, but more..."smart buzzing". All were good buzzes, and they beat the other team in. They weren't concured about how many words came out, but rather what words came out. The only times the other team got in first were bad buzzers. It was 4 words, but Slate Hill 1 knew "In what city did..." was not enough. I took notes :)
Now we had our match. It was Spring City vs. Hinkletown 1, 11th place vs. 4th place. We were expecting a struggle, but the match went differently than expected. I quizzed out as soon was question 4. Tim followed me in quizzing out. Mike got two. Bobby got a bonus, but we still needed one more for team bonus. The other side wasn't looking too active. Cody Hoover quizzed out, and that seemed like it. On the last question, Mike eased up a bit to let Chelsea, Alyssa or Bobby get in for team bonus. Hinkletown 1 took advantage of this and got their last points. Spring City won 100-45.
Between my matches, I went to watch Akron 1 vs. Conestoga 2 for scouting. For some reason, Akron 1 only had 3 of its 4 quizzers this Sunday. It hurt them. Conestoga 2 has their act together. They took control of the match. I thought the match was going slow so I didn't stay the whole time because I wanted to make my match. Conestoga 2 got 2 quizouts and was in the lead when I left. I got to my match's room sooner than usual because they just got to the next question!
We had our next match vs. Emmanuel 2. The team consisted of 4 rookie girl quizzers, and a girl emu. I had predicted this match in the beginning of the year to be the second easiest. It was the easiest. I quizzed out on question 5...Mike followed on question 7....Tim then on question 10.....and even Bobby quizzed out! We had 4 quizouts!! Plus, all 4 of those who quizzed out did it all on buzz ins, so we got team bonus! Even Chelsea buzzed in and got one right. Actually, Spring City buzzed in all 15 questions. We errored 2 times, giving Emmanuel 2 a couple chances to score points, but the bonuses were dropped. We won with a 170 point shutout.
So I finished the night by watching Slate Hill 2 vs. Maple Grove and Petra 2 vs. Rockville 2. I watched Petra 2 because they are next week's competition and one of their quizzers is in my English Comp. class at LBC. They did just as well as we did. Dave quizzed out on all buzzes question 3. They also scored 170 points, but Rockville 2 found some room for getting points of their own. Good job Petra 2.
So I figured it out. I am now at 32.5 point average, which should move me up. Spring City scored 270 points this night, moving our average to 95.83. This should shoot us up, unless everyone else had a good day like we did, such as Petra 2. Speaking of which, I figuring Petra 2 to take the top seed unless they scored under 100 points in their first match. In two matches, Tim scored 70 points, Mike scored 55, Bobby scored 45, and Chelsea scored 10. Spring City is back, and we're having fun doing it. Let's see if we can repeat next week.
Monday, February 04, 2008
I say CONE, you say STOGA
Quizzing on Superbowl Sunday is always interesting. So we can get home in time for the Superbowl, the matches begin at 2 p.m. instead of the usual 6:30. So this changes a lot of things. First, we had to practice during the Sunday school hour. I quizzed out every match, although I came close once to not. The team was there for the whole worship afterward. Immeadiately afterward, we left for Conestoga. We had to eat our lunches in the van. I had a hoagie with a lot of odd combinations for condiments. I think I might have grossed out Bobby with it. When we got to Conestoga, we spent an hour doing rounds of questions, trying to get the last bit of material in our heads.
Since Conestoga is as close as it comes, we had lots of fans. Most of them were from Spring City, but we had a few from my church as well. My youth group leader Karen came with her sons, blessings from the church, and a cool new quizzing buddy. Everyone's parents were there. There is always a suprise in the crowd for fans. For the last two weeks it was Christine. This time I saw Angela, from Ark quizzing back in 2004. Thank you to all the fans that came out for this match. I hope you were pleased by our performance.
Our first match was the first of the afternoon. It was against Rockville 2. I took seat 4. We started out strong. I got the first question right, but the second question I errored on. Tim taked the Deitricks into a strategy. Once he buzzed in correctly, he sat out to let the others get in for team bous I quizzed out the next question, and Tim was already back in. I was the only one who quizzed out. We still couldn't get team bonus. We did win 75-50, but we were hoping to score more, get more quiz outs, and maybe team bonus. Still, we were happy for a win, and whatever points we could get.
Our second match was awesome. It was against Living Rock 1. On the first question, Tim buzzed in and got the answer correct. For the second question, I buzzed in and got it correct. On question number 3, Mike buzzed in and got it right. Living Rock 1 called a timeout knowing with 12 questions left, Spring City was only 1 question away from team bonus. Tim was pretty sure Chelsea (our other starter) was going to get it, he wanted to put his buzzer down. Mrs. Deitricks sternly told him he would do no such thing. It didn't matter because question 4 was a situation question, which I of course got right. The next situation question was question 6, which I quizzed out on. On one of the questions, they called "the crowd" a what question. Tim contested and said "the crowd" should be a who. Dave and I didn't think it would pass, but it did! The question was thrown out, Tim got the replacement question for his quizout. He hadn't gotten one of those in a long time. Mike also quizzed out, which we haven't seen in an even longer time. Chelsea got us team bonus with the right answer of "turmoil"! Alyssa buzzed in on "What was inscribed..." and we though she would get it, but alas not this time. Bobby finished up the match by buzzing in and naming what something like a large sheet contained. We won 145-20. These were the points we needed. But the coolest thing was 5 of our 6 quizzers buzzed in correctly.
So here's where Spring City is, according to the halfway mark stats. Although Spring City moved up to an 88 points/match average, we are still in 11th. Apparently, everyone else did well, too. Our team has only gotten team bonus 4 of the past 10 match. I rank as the top quizzer on the team, placing 18th in the ACC with 320 points. Tim is next, with 250 points, placing 49th. After Tim is Mike with 175 points and 95th place. Bobby has 50, and Chelsea has 40 points. We are still looking forward to match where Alyssa gets her first points.
The next week we start the second half of the season at LMH, quizzing against a below average team and an above average team. To get back up to our week 2 average of 92.5, we need to score 230 points in the 2 matches next week. That means scoring 120 points in one match and 110 in the other match. We're going to need lots of studying, prayer, and God's favor. Please pray for us. Also, please pray that I can continue to find car rides home!
Since Conestoga is as close as it comes, we had lots of fans. Most of them were from Spring City, but we had a few from my church as well. My youth group leader Karen came with her sons, blessings from the church, and a cool new quizzing buddy. Everyone's parents were there. There is always a suprise in the crowd for fans. For the last two weeks it was Christine. This time I saw Angela, from Ark quizzing back in 2004. Thank you to all the fans that came out for this match. I hope you were pleased by our performance.
Our first match was the first of the afternoon. It was against Rockville 2. I took seat 4. We started out strong. I got the first question right, but the second question I errored on. Tim taked the Deitricks into a strategy. Once he buzzed in correctly, he sat out to let the others get in for team bous I quizzed out the next question, and Tim was already back in. I was the only one who quizzed out. We still couldn't get team bonus. We did win 75-50, but we were hoping to score more, get more quiz outs, and maybe team bonus. Still, we were happy for a win, and whatever points we could get.
Our second match was awesome. It was against Living Rock 1. On the first question, Tim buzzed in and got the answer correct. For the second question, I buzzed in and got it correct. On question number 3, Mike buzzed in and got it right. Living Rock 1 called a timeout knowing with 12 questions left, Spring City was only 1 question away from team bonus. Tim was pretty sure Chelsea (our other starter) was going to get it, he wanted to put his buzzer down. Mrs. Deitricks sternly told him he would do no such thing. It didn't matter because question 4 was a situation question, which I of course got right. The next situation question was question 6, which I quizzed out on. On one of the questions, they called "the crowd" a what question. Tim contested and said "the crowd" should be a who. Dave and I didn't think it would pass, but it did! The question was thrown out, Tim got the replacement question for his quizout. He hadn't gotten one of those in a long time. Mike also quizzed out, which we haven't seen in an even longer time. Chelsea got us team bonus with the right answer of "turmoil"! Alyssa buzzed in on "What was inscribed..." and we though she would get it, but alas not this time. Bobby finished up the match by buzzing in and naming what something like a large sheet contained. We won 145-20. These were the points we needed. But the coolest thing was 5 of our 6 quizzers buzzed in correctly.
So here's where Spring City is, according to the halfway mark stats. Although Spring City moved up to an 88 points/match average, we are still in 11th. Apparently, everyone else did well, too. Our team has only gotten team bonus 4 of the past 10 match. I rank as the top quizzer on the team, placing 18th in the ACC with 320 points. Tim is next, with 250 points, placing 49th. After Tim is Mike with 175 points and 95th place. Bobby has 50, and Chelsea has 40 points. We are still looking forward to match where Alyssa gets her first points.
The next week we start the second half of the season at LMH, quizzing against a below average team and an above average team. To get back up to our week 2 average of 92.5, we need to score 230 points in the 2 matches next week. That means scoring 120 points in one match and 110 in the other match. We're going to need lots of studying, prayer, and God's favor. Please pray for us. Also, please pray that I can continue to find car rides home!
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