! Feathers and Lead.

I am finally getting my chance to redeem myself.
What, you may ask, do I need to redeem myself from? What could possibly be the issue?
Well, it's been four years.
Four years of hating Ricky Serino and proper nouns and yelling/throwing soft objects at contestents on trivia game shows because they're completely, totally, utterly vapid, brainless morons. I am not bitter.
Most of you know (because some of you were there) that all I wanted out of the 2006 Malden Catholic Quiz Bowl was to use the buzzer that the finalists got to ring in their answers with--nothing more, nothing less. A simple goal, you may say. I would agree. However, I did not get to be a finalist in the 2006 Malden Catholic Quiz Bowl due to a series of circumstances out of my control, including an incident that eats a little piece of my soul every time I talk about it. I will say only this: a pound of bricks, Richard, is not, in fact, heavier than a pound of feathers. I am not bitter.
Today, though, was a day of quenched vendettas against quiz bowls, a day that has been four years coming. In truth, I never stopped wishing for a second chance at a trivia competition, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Nothing else takes my ability to remember the most absolutely useless information known to mankind and turns it into something that we can fight over for a shiny trophy (or, someday, maybe shiny cash. Can I do this for a living?)
Anyways, the B Team I was on did pretty well, with 6 wins and 4 losses and several almost-ties. The A Team had a 10-nothing winning streak, and overall we won first place. They're competing again next Saturday, and then again for state championships. I'm not going to be able to go to all of these, since I have dance at that exact time, but I think I have one more round left in me. Then, my friends, we're going to take gold.

Oh. And I got another full scholarship to one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, Washington and Lee. I never understand what's going on in my life.

MP