the tournament

You know, when I thought about the Academic Team GMC Tournament, I pictured groups of trivia nerds huddled in classrooms for four hours until one group was finally declared the winner. Definitely not the most exciting of ways to spend an afternoon.

Boy, was I wrong.

It started with barely enough students showing up for the bus. We told them to meet at 11:15, expecting to leave at 11:30. But 11:30 rolled around and we had the bare minimum - four. And our best player, Ray, was a no show. So we sent out reconnaissance to find the Science Olympiad competing in the building and they returned with Ray in tow. So at least we had a team, with one substitute even.

When we arrived at Hamilton, we figured out the tournament seeding. Based on the regular season total points, we finished in third place behind Lakota West, who we beat, and ahead of Lakota East, who destroyed us. But the good news was we ended up in the pool opposite from the 18-0 Sycamore team. Our pool included West, Princeton, Fairfield and Colerain. I liked our chances.

I spent the afternoon keeping time for the other pool so I didn't get to watch the matches. But I checked in during the breaks. Going into the final round, we needed a win by Fairfield to put us in a three-way tie with Fairfield and Colerain. We beat West (who dropped every match - so much for 2nd seed) and Fairfield won, so now we had to decide who would battle Sycamore in the Championship Round. We beat Fairfield, who beat Colerain, who beat us. So we went to the second tie break, which was point differential. Fairfield was at -5, Mason was at +3 and Colerain at +2. So going by the book we should have been in the the Championship Round and on our way to a second straight state tournament. But there was one tiny problem: seems during the Mason/Colerain match, Colerain had challenged one of the answers. They claimed the Catholic Reformation should have been accepted along with the answer in the book, Counter Reformation. The moderator didn't give them the points, so instead of winning by 5, they won by 2, meaning that question changed the point differential.

Still with me?

So we called a coaches meeting to figure out what to do. Technically, we should have won. When this had happened in the past, the book answer stood, which makes sense because otherwise you could end up having to google every question. But wanting to be fair (well, fair to Colerain anyway), we decided, since Sycamore was already going to state, to do a playoff, Colerain vs Mason, the winner going to state and taking on Sycamore in the final round.

The round was tense, Colerain feeling they'd been cheated by a bad question, Mason believing we had won according to the rules. But at least this way there would be no lingering questions. The set used was a nine, the hardest of the questions. At the end of the category round it was all tied, 24-24. I realized time was slipping away, so I stepped outside to let the bus driver know the situation and came back after the alphabet round was over and the lightning round had started. I looked at the score - Mason was behind by three points. The questions went back and forth. We'd get a question, they'd get a couple questions, we'd come back. When the dust cleared and all was finished, we tied the lightning round but found ourselves three points down. Three points away from state. But we had lost and so we loaded our bus, buoyed by our showing, but disappointed to have come so close to continuing our season.

The irony of it all is that in the category round, we technically got a question right, which would have given us three points, which would have made us tied at the end of the match. Unfortunately, by the time we figured out we should challenge, it was too late. But like Mark pointed out, we lost twice to the same team and if we were meant to go on, we would have beat them. Still disappointing and while I tried to put on a good face, it was hard. I felt the worst for our seniors, who were so instrumental in making this team what it was this year.

There's still a slim possibility we could make state by attending another tournament, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. I will definitely be looking into it on Monday though, because after the excitement of today, another day spent at a tournament sounds like the best way to spend an afternoon.
Æ

----------------
Now playing: Wally Pleasant - She's In Love With A Geek
via FoxyTunes

opening night

been a while since i've used this notebook. currently sitting in a frigid hallway backstage waiting for act i to end so i can get into my habit and veil and become a bride of Christ for act ii. at first i wasn't sure about this play - it's a little out there and a little artsy-fartsy at times. but it's turned out to be a hilarious farce, and not just because it has men dressed as nuns (though that definitely helps). If you're reading this and are in the cincinnati area, it's a fun night at the theater. Probably not good for younger viewers (especially the end) but there's plenty of laughs for everyone.

it's always strange to talk about my fasting, as happened today at school. i'm afraid, i think, to have it sound like i'm bragging. my sacrificing at Lent doesn't bring me pride - it makes me realize just how weak i am the rest of the year. my students today pointed out how unhealthy my fasting was. quite true, but then that's not why i'm doing it. no grand epiphanies yet, though falling into the rhythms of the season has already helped.

i've been grading while i'm waiting backstage, just read a story by one of my students - amazing piece of work. such a mature writer. however, the assignment was due last december, which means she should only get half credit. but it's so well done i'm tempted to forgo the consequences. but iwll that teach her procrastination will pay off? i sometimes need to be careful of the hidden curriculum i teach my students. i'll have to think about this this weekend, figure out how to approach it. what will most help her?

another long day tomorrow, but at least i'll get to sleep in. i hope. here's hoping the team is well-rested and in good form. looks to be all guys - my other female-type cannot make it. been great fun coaching the team this year. next year will be even better since i'll know what i'm doing, assuming we have enough students for a team. must do some recruiting. ray cannot do it alone (well, he probably could, but be good to have some backup).

ok, time to get my habit on. more later, perhaps.
******************************************
later. act ii, scene ii is on and i am finished. it went well - small but reactive audience. helped to energize us. of course, my wimple/veil fell off at the end of my scene, but i think it probably only added to the hilarity.

i had hoped there would be revelry tonight, but most of the cast is sick and everyone is heading home. for the best, i'm sure. there'll be plenty of time for revelry during the run when everyone is feeling better.

irony: today i was discussing Lent with christina and asked her what church she went to. turns out she's nazarene - attend springdale church. ironic that i agreed to hep mvnu because of my nazarene ties, but holly turned out to be non-nazarene. and so i'm able to help allen out and his student teacher turns out to be nazarene. funny how God works sometimes.

looks like U23D is around for one more week. will try again on Monday. Thought about doing it today, but figured it would be pushing it to try and squeeze it in. so i came home and took a nap instead, after watching my daily dose of stewart/colbert. always good to relax before the show - i feel it helps my performance.

babbled on long enough. the show is nearing the end and i have to put my veil back on for curtain call. three down, 37+ to go. here's hoping i find time tomorrow....
Æ

----------------
Now playing: Ty Tabor - Another Day
via FoxyTunes

sick

second day of lent and i'm already sick. not good.

by the way, one of my promises for lent is to blog every day. we'll see which lasts longer - not eating until sundown or blogging every day.

many have asked why i celebrate lent - why sacrifice? why set your self aside? what is to be gained? here are buechner's words:

In many cultures there is an ancient custom of giving a tenth of each year's income to some holy use. For Christians, to observe the forty days of Lent is to do the same thing with roughly a tenth of each year's days. After being baptized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus went off alone into the wilderness where he spent forty days asking himself the question what it meant to be Jesus. During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves.

...To hear yourself try to answer questions like these is to begin to hear something not only of who you are but of both what you are becoming and what you are failing to become. It can be a pretty depressing business all in all, but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.

i sacrifice what matters to me to find out what makes me me. am i my possessions? my appetites? my time? where do i find my identity? Lent forces us to strip away what we sometimes think of ourselves and face what really lies there beneath. at least that's what is supposed to happen. the problem is, we become too focused on finding out what it means to be ourselves and we lose sight of the fact that ultimately it's not ourselves who are most important.

need to run out and get some stuff for this weekend - basics like underwear/undershirts/vitamins, etc. i might do some grocery shopping but fasting all day has made me hungry and i'm afraid of what i would buy. don't want to spend too much time out and about - still feeling really tired.

just checked the academic team standings - mason ended up tied for second record-wise, but should end up third in the standings since we lost twice to lakota east and beat lakota west twice. this bodes well for our tournament. tournament starts at 1:00 on saturday - the championship round is supposed to be at 4:30. here's hoping for an excellent showing, though we'll be down our literature expert. but i don't think it will hurt us too much.

oh and for those who are far away, i am once again beardless for the play. and my hair is quite short. i joked yesterday that i had given up being hairy for lent. but i guess i'm not completely sold out because i didn't shave my head. i don't have the head to be bald. would not be good for anyone. it's times like these that i wish i had a camera so i could upload pics. there will be pics from the show, so you can see what i look like as a nun. i'll link to them as soon as i know they're available.

ok, time to get the necessities. that's two days straight writing. here's hoping i don't slack off.
Æ

----------------
Now playing: Galaxie 500 - Melt Away
via FoxyTunes

wednesday of ashes

quick drop in to say hello on my way to bed after seventeen hours away from home. school. academic team. rehearsal. and now bed, if i can get my brain to slow down enough to fall asleep. hasn't happened yet this week. add to that feeling a bit queasy to my stomach, and it could be quite the long night.

so today officially starts lent. i heard no clear call from God this year on something to give up, so i fell back on my default - ye olde sunrise/sunset fast. and chocolate. i always give up chocolate. none of my other ideas seemed to call to me. we'll see how it goes. usually not too bad until around an hour before the sun sets. then it gets rough.

academic team finished the regular season with two wins over middletown. not sure what that does for the standings. currently we're fourth place - it will depend on how the teams tied with us and lakota west did today. we're really hoping for second or third, which will keep us out of sycamore's pool. they didn't drop a match. they'll split us into two pools for the tournament - the winner of each pool goes to the championship. fingers crossed.

ok, must to bed. not feeling well. here's hoping my brain lets me sleep tonight.
Æ

----------------
Now playing: Phil Keaggy - Round About You
via FoxyTunes