Science Bowl

So I was going to blog about the New Jersey science bowl competition a few weeks ago after it happened, but I decided the issue was too heated at the time, so I was going to wait until after it subsided to write about it, so that I could be more impartial, but then NHSMUN and other work took over so I put it off.  But here it is:

As some of you may know, our AP IPLE team made nationals which is April 29-May 2, which is also the weekend that Science Bowl Nationals take place.  Science Bowl rules stipulate that the winning state team must send its same team to nationals, so in other words, Doc won't let either jon or me compete because IF we advanced (last time we did was 2007), we would not be able to compete, even though we were willing to commute in DC to make it work.  That being said, we appealed to the next link in the chain: Tony. Tony is in charge of the A team, so Jon and I told him the situation. Quite frankly, I told him, "You guys can't win states without us. let's do it right senior year, and put the best possible team together and see how far we can advance. I'd much rather have us win states and forfeit nationals, then not even place in the state tournament at all." (This is almost directly excerpted from my facebook message, so as arrogant as it sounds, it's what I truly believed deep down was true).  Ton'y response was, "I believe in my team and you should believe in yours. I'd never enter a competition I didn't think we would win in, and we can even go 1-2 in states [ie they would get first, we would get second]."  And so, we went into the competition Saturday as Tony leading A team: Karen, Amalan, Phil, Ray (the latter two which are juniors who moved up), and I led the B team: Jon, Wilson, Grace (soph), Aakash.

The first few rounds (as expected), were easy peasy. The tournament always matches the tough teams with scrub teams the first few rounds, not to mention the questions are ridiculously easy.  However, A-team did...ok in the first round, winning by a slight margin. In the past 3 years I've done this competiton, the A-team always won by 200 points the first few rounds. The B-team won by a little over 100, not bad.

Next few rounds happened in the same fashion, we slowly beat teams one by one.  Then we faced Montgomery A, a formidable team, but a team that has never made it past quarterfinals. If we won we would go on to face one of the West Windsors, both of which are very good. We held on close in the beginning, but we were too hesitant, and bonuses help them pull away - we lost that round. A-team did too, so we both fell into the loser's bracket.

We played a lot of scrub teams in the losers bracket to keep going (we had to play double what we would have in the winner's). However, after we beat Livingston by a sizable, yet uncomfortable margin, we found out that the A-team had lost again. This meant that they were out of the tournament and had to spectate us the rest of the way. Tony was devastated, I don't think I saw him look up once while we were playing. Phil and Ray were quiet, but again, they were juniors - they had another year. Amalan was  quiet as well. I didn't say much besides a few comforting words.

Quarter finals eventually came and we were matched against Montgomery A again.  I should mention at this point that for the last 3 rounds I pulled Aakash and permanently put Grace in because Grace was a surprisingly knowledgeable sophomore and Aakash didn't really contribute.  I apologized to him afterwards because ideally we were supposed to rotate, but I did what I felt was best for the team and I have no regrets. I told the rest of my members we would take the rematch. As we played, the game was uncomfortably close. We led in the beginning, but by the 5 minute mark they started pulling ahead, farther and farther until they were leading by 20-30 points at the half. I regained focus and we started the second half slowly but surely. As we almost tied, Jon buzzed in on an energy question. Wilson answered but the moderator recognized Jon, and so we lost the points for that question.  There was about ten seconds left when they asked the last question - we were down by 4 points and the toss-up was 4 points, so we had to beat the other team on this question to tie.  The moderator read, "If the speed of light is 3.00*10^8 m/s and the wavelength is 1, what-" buzzz.
I buzzed in - I figured there's only one thing they could ask at this point and I had to risk it to win it. "1.00 Hz," I answered.
"That's correct" the moderator replied with a hint of a smile, but I didn't catch that as much as I was relieved that Wilson's blunder didnt' cost us the game.
Long story short, we got the 10 point bonus too and beat Montgomery in the historically closest game.  I dropped my pencil after the bonus and embraced Jon and Wilson and shaking hands with the Montgomery captain. We lost to high-tech A the round after, who eventually went on to win the state title. But that match summed up my experience. It really was a pretty good day.

But I must return to my thoughts in the beginning.  We undoubtedly could have medaled had he put the best people on one team.  I wanted tell Doc to smd after the competition but there was no point. Sometimes "I told you so", just doesn't quite say it. And sometimes it's not even what you feel. I could rub in the huge blunder by both Doc and Tony forever. Quite literally even after college, I hope this decision will still bear something in their minds. But as I got mad that they quite literally fucked their team and my senior year (along with Jon's), I realized that I wasn't mad AT tony as much as I was mad FOR him. I tried to tell him what I thought would help us win, and ultimately, I wanted EB to bring back the state title as much as I wanted to win my senior year. Instead, for the first time in over a decade, we didn't place top 3.  That can only hang over their heads.  We split from here, so I hope there's something in this loss that everyone can pick up from and apply later in life. But it's been fun, and I had a great time playing with you guys...

Legends

I'm not talking about myths or anything, but the kind of legend we all leave behind when we leave: high school, college, or the world.

I guess what prompted me think about this was when Spadafino (the chorus director) announced that she was retiring this year, after 35 years of teaching.  Now among my friends, we often talk about the great people that have come in the years before us; the really great people, not people who have gotten into good schools; people who have set the bar so high that they have left, if you may, legends in the school.  In the past ten years, there has been one who made national chemistry and national biology, and placed bronze in the IChO, one who placed gold at the IBO, one who have made the national camp for both math and physics, Mort Pye Scholars, IPLE teams that have won nationals etc.  ...and then we look at my graduating class. On average we're easily better than the year before us, but we lack someone of 'supernatural intelligence', so much so, that they trump the ordinary studyhard workers of each class.

It's easy to get caught in the awesomeness of others, especially when we cannot accomplish something ourselves. But what we fail to see, is that the school doesn't suffer nearly as hard a loss when students leave as when teachers do. Teachers, not the students, turn the school into a potent force in academic/athletic competitions.  I guess I'm pretty fortunate to have all of the great teachers of EB before they retire, but they retired continuously as I go through high school, and whom I write this for is actually the future classes who never know the great teachers and never know how good the school once was.

I guess we could start with Mr Seel, my ap comp sci teacher last year. I did not know until he retired that he taught for over 30 years. Incredible man, great teacher. I heard the new guy is scary. I heard Ambrosy (psych) retired (don't know her). I attended Tedeschi's last concert (orchestra). Charanis (ap physics) was talking about his own retirement. I quite frankly do not know who could ever fill his shoes. Doc Kimmel (ap chem) is well past retirement age.  Even Brodman (AP iple) is probably planning down the road.  All these teachers taught for over three decades.  When they leave, where will our school be? Dr Kimmel runs every science club/team in the school. Brodman has led our IPLE team to nationals every year except one. Not saying I love any of the teachers mentioned above, but I honestly don't know who will fill their shoes. The school would suffer greatly should these people leave.

To put things in perspective, I guess my impact isn't that great, no matter what I do.  If I win a competition or states, I get more personal satisfaction than the school does because things move on and people move on. I guess its I only can keep doing what I'm doing and see where it takets me. I wonder what people will think of me when I leave...

Buffets

What do you do when you're dragged to a buffet with a group of friends and you're not hungry? Well today, I faced a similar situation and luckily, I can help you.

1. Survey the scene: so when you first get there, you want to survey the buffet; see what they have, appetizers, grills, desserts, etc. anything that looks like it's of value. Now today, I was at Makkolis and I know the place like the back of my hand, so I already know where the goods are. But if you're new, take a bit to check out the food (like at Todai, they make crepes and their sushis are real crab)

2. Sort and chronologize: If you're reading this, you can probably can really put food away, but you're not that hungry, and let's be honest, no one's going to wait for you after the fourth plate (fifth plate if you're on a date). So really know what order you want to go in and tackle the big stuff first. You can't go appetizer, meal, dessert, because
-thats weak
-takes too much time
-appetizers fill you up too early
so you can take something light to warm up (like shrimp or sushi), but if you're like me, tackle the real stuff: crab, seafood, etc.

3. Pile your plate one at a time and eat like a boss. I figure this works best unless the restaurant is closing (as was the case for me today), in which case you would want to do multiples at once and really work your chopsticks to pick two or three items at a time. This may take getting used to if you're new, and if you get cramps in your hand, it's best to reduce your amount. Make sure you stretch beforehand.

4. Drinks: order a refill (where it's free of course) once you're about 3/4 done with your first one. It's like starcraft where you construct a pylon at 9 so when you hit the maximum unit capacity another will be here. Don't go too elaborate on drinks - the more you drink the less you can eat real food.

5. Sushi: sushi is a bit tricky. See, the stuff inside is high value, and the rice outside is low value. You can eat them all together since sushis are generally high value (get the real shit, not california rolls or you lose mad money), but a connoisseur would really eat the inside and leave the rice and eating the fish eggs.

6. Max out on high value items. This is probably the most important aspect because if you eat out of order, you might burn out/have to leave and as a result, lose money. It's like sc when you screw up your build order - you probably will lose.  For those who don't know, here's a handy list of what's high and low value:

High:
-seafood. it almost always is high value (crabs, scallops, lobsters, fish)
-expensive desserts: this includes rare ice cream flavors, crepes, rare fruit, cakes
- most anything that comes from the grill (it requires tip so be careful). Usually well worth it though. Watch the time if you invest in something like this

Low:
-anything high in carbs, starch, complex sugars
- desserts that don't require effort: apples, oranges
- poorly prepared dishes for caucasians: fried rice, chicken and broccoli, etc
- american food in an asian buffet: pizzas, garlic bread, fried chicken, fries, etc

If a high value food turns cold, it immediately drops to medium value, in which you'd have to make a judgment and see if they'll come out with new ones or not.

7. Once you finish, summon the check. Now this part is tricky if you're asian: if you're among friends, you split. If you're with a long lost friend, you offer to pay twice, then back off insisting that you will buy him ice cream instead. If you're with a girlfriend, you total up the rough estimate of her meal and the rough estimate of yours. She will most definitely not eat her worth since she has not read this guide. So you subtract your consumption value from hers, and she would pay the difference.  That's why it is CRUCIAL to eat above the amount you paid to get in.

Just follow Jon's Guide to Maxing Out, and buffets will never be a problem for you again. No sweat.  (btw I was kidding about #7 for those people who cant appreciate that humor, always offer to pay)

average acceleration

It's funny you'll never remember simple things in life unless they affect you in a big way. Like how aaron said he'd remember the formula for a trapezoid now since it was beyond his grasp when he needed it during SAT IIs.  Or the area of a rhombus given the diagonals, as I needed during CJMLs. Well today, I will never forget how to calculate average acceleration. For those who don't know, it's: (vf-v0)/(tf-t0)

Regret

I guess if I could pick anything to live my life by, it would be to live without regret. But I'm almost near the end, and when I look back on my high school life, especially in light of recent events, there is only one feeling that resonates in my mind: regret.

I guess if most of us could relive our lives, we would do a lot differently -- maybe study for that chem test or not to fall asleep during bio. I guess those are minor things we all have; for me, it would be to take that apcs midterm and study a little harder for the chemistry olympiad exam last year. But those aren't regrets as much as they are mistakes. Regrets eat away at you, they kill you from the inside.  For me, in one word, it would be: music.

For those who don't know, I started playing piano in pre-k, played for a little over a decade, then stopped. I've played the flute for about the same time, and I still play. I tried violin three times but failed.  But I think I learned a lot along the way, experience-wise.

I was definitely an early bloomer; I played at Carnegie Hall before I could read, and I made 1st flute intermediate regionals the first year I tried out. (The Hammarskjold band director hated me though...I sat 4th chair in the region band but 8th chair in our school band). The year after, I made symphonic orchestra. But that ends the story of my achievements - at freshman year. I guess confidence got the better of me, and I practiced less and less as work got heavier and heavier in high school.  I had this presumption that I was good enough to top other flautists without practice, but I learned something the hard way: people catch up.

It wasn't not making it the subsequent year that filled me with regret; I saw it as a decision: between work and music I picked work and between sleep and music, I picked sleep.  Regret didn't really come to me until this year, when Jon warned me to watch out for this girl who was first chair picc all state.  She came up to me while I was waiting in line striking up a conversation, and I realized that she was my stand partner in regional orchestra in eighth grade.  She was 2nd chair, I was 3rd. Now she's all-state and I'm...nothing.  This girl whom everyone respected as a musician was once at the same level I was.  Let me tell you, that feeling sucks.

I didn't get it. I saw myself as a decent musician: I could identify a perfect consonance by ear, I could transpose pieces by hearing, and chromatic modulations would give me goosebumps - I felt music. I thought (and still do on some level), that I understood music more than a typical high schooler. but how come all these people still performed better than me? The answer, quite simply, is work. I guess a good way to sum up this post is with a quote I read on someone's status a while back: "To get good, work hard. To get better, work harder." I should really work harder.

A quick shoutout to brooke who apparently is the only who reads my blogs. I dont publicize as much as other people, but it's nice to know you have readership.  I'm  gonna end my posts with ellipses so all my devoted fan(s) will know its always to be continued...

Prom

So I was discussing this prom issue with a bunch of people fretting over dates, and I decided to do this the right way.

If you would like to go to the prom with me please leave:
1) Name
2) Height, Weight
3) Bra size
4) How much you are willing to put out on a scale of 1-10. (If you are less than 3 don't bother replying)
5) Ethnicity
6) Past accomplishments (ie is your dad the ceo of google, etc)

This way I'll also know who reads my blog. Email works too.

Second semester...almost

So I decided I'm going to post here more often now, not because I think anyone will read it or it contains any memories of the war, but because I don't keep a diary and I figure I can look back on this in the future and chronologize my thoughts.

If I had posted in over the last month, even once a week, I guess you could see how drastically my thoughts have changed, whether for the better or worse.  I'm only here right now to procrastinate tomorrow, so I guess I'm off to work. For those who care/can help, on Tuesday, I have:

• 2 physics tests, 1 calculus test, Biology Quiz, Biology Worksheets
• A ten page UN paper due I havent started
• Band Midterm that I lost the music to
• College Interview

After tomorrow, I just need to secure my English midterm and second semester here I come...