Tuesday, May 4, 2004

   Rakes, fights, and snakes, oh my!
I actually had a very good time today at the Hole in the Wall Gang camp. That's surprising, considering we went there to work and not to play. Well, we played a bit. :p

I was grouped with my carbon copy friend Matt, my friend Drew and his girlfriend Valerie, and Kim, the girl I was partnered with for the Plague and Fire of Rome paper. Our chaperone was Mr. Baginski, the Physics and computer teacher. He's kind of short, but very solidly built. Being as he is the wrestling coach, his physique is easily explained.

He told us lame jokes as we raked up leaves. The leaves, we noticed, did not significantly decrease in number as we raked them into the forest. Every time we pulled a rake through the grass to move some leaves, more leaves were brought to the surface. It was a daunting task.

Mr. Baginksi very nearly wiped out the camp's frog population by removing the leaves from the frog pond. He had removed the jelly-encased tadpole eggs in his effort to clear the pool. He picked them up, and after showing them around a bit, he replaced them in the pool. Later on, I found a dead (and decomposing) snake. He picked it up and offered it to Drew, who threw it at Valerie. She shrieked and jumped out of the way, shivering.

While we were raking, we found a sort of rope-wire obstacle area. There were low metal wires held securely taut between sets of trees. The first station, there was one rope to help you get across, and it had a sliding thing that attached it to another wire above you. When you got across, you climbed around the tree trunk to the next station. I made it through without too much trouble.

The second station consisted of another wire, but instead of one movable ropes, this one had three immobile ones. Meh, piece of cake for me.

Then there was a much smaller cable between two tree trunks, where you had to step across without any ropes. About two steps and I was leaning against the second trunk.

Then Matt came barreling into me and knocked my off of the wire. The one and only time I was knocked off of any of the wires in the obstacle course. I got right back on and continued on to the next station.

This one had one long rope that was hitched to the tree at the other end of the wire. It formed a sort of triangle with you, the wire, and the tree. Zip. No problem, once again.

The final station of the obstacle course was a short wire with a rope secured to both trees. Only, there was a good deal of slack to the rope, so you had to either lean one way or the other to use it up. Or, if you were talented, you could bunch it up in your hands and eliminate the need for hazardous leaning. Yeah, that's what I did.

I was the only person who made it through without falling off on their own. I only fell because Matt tackled me. >->;

Another individual station was a long wire that you balanced on using a set of about seven ropes. We went on several people at a time and tried to knock each other off. I was pitted against our Physics teacher, Mr. Baginski, who is also the wrestling coach. He is built like a miniature ox.

He was holding on to one rope to keep his balance, and was systematically pushing everyone off with his free hand. When he reached me, I resisted the shove and kept my balance by using the ropes I had, one in each hand. I tried kicking his feet out from under him, as he had been doing to other students, but to no avail whatsoever. He eventually managed to cause me to lose my balance and fall.

But, my feet stayed on the wire, and my grip tightened about the ropes. I was still on the wire, but at an almost horizontal angle. Everybody was stunned. The feat was particularly astounding because, unlike Mr. Baginski, I am not a particularly small person, nor a very light one.

"Dude, how'd he do that?"

"Did you see that?"

"Whoah!"

Mr. Baginski tried to shake me off, but I managed to pull myself back upright. We went back and forth for a couple of minutes I lost my balance again.

"Dude, he did it again!"

Indeed, I had done it again. I had caught the knotted ends of the ropes and kept my feet on the wire. I knew I couldn't hold my grip much longer, though. I decided to try something different.

Instead of trying to get back up, I wrapped my legs around Mr. Baginski's, trying to jar them loose. Again, he was totally immovable. I eventually lost my footing at the horizontal angle and fell off. It was so much fun.

From then on, whenever somebody tried to imitate my move, it was known as "pulling a Ben."

Shortly after that we got back on the bus and left, eating lunch on the way back to school. We got back about halfway through our last classes, so we were given an Off for the rest of the day.

Ben's Yu-Gi-Oh Update!

I traded John my Newdoria and a card case for 40 common cards that he didn't really want. I didn't mind getting rid of Newdoria or the case, but there were a good deal of cards in that 40 that I didn't have.

John and I dueled when we got back to school. He beat me the first time after having a very good starting hand. We decided to play a Match, however; three duels to determine the outcome of our rankings. Best two out of three.

I beat him the second time by a landslide. He was begging for mercy near the end. And then, I beat him for the second and final time. I had won the Match and the 2nd place title. ^_^ Mark is #1, but I only see him on Saturdays at the League.

I'm using a Light Deck right now, inspired by the two new cards I got; Paladin of White Dragon (and it's Ritual magic card) and a second Airknight Parshath.

It's not as good as my Beatdown decks are, but it's fun to use.

End Yu-Gi-Oh Update.

I had to stay after school today to serve that detention for my shaggy face, which was a complete waste of time. I didn't have any homework, since I had been on a field trip and missed all of my classes, and I don't have anything to study for.

I basically just sat and looked contemplative. I had already prepared a response for if I was questioned on what I was studying, too. We're supposed to have work to do during detentions, or else we're supposed to study.

Well, whatever. I finished up with that, but there was still about another hour until my dad was coming to pick me up. So, I went and helped work on the stage for Godspell. I helped drill on a few pieces of the background, and then I proved most useful in moving Hefty Herman. Hefty Herman is the name of a sort of mobile lift that our school owns. We used it to hang up the sky-blue backdrop we rented. Herman's a heavy son of a gun, and it took three people to move it when I wasn't available. I became some Freshman's hero for being able to move Herman with just me and Mr. Ayres.

By the time we got the backdrop set up, it was time for me to leave. My dad was waiting outside, and we drove home.

I didn't have any homework, so I decided to go for a walk. I haven't been walking for a while, and so I wasn't sure how I would hold up walking on my old four mile route. I settled instead for walking down to Sacred Heart and visiting with Tyler, Christina, and Victoria.

Daycare ended soon after I arrived. Victoria asked what I was doing after daycare ended, and I told her that I intended to walk around Washington Park for a while before heading home.

She decided that it would be a great idea for her and Christina to come along, too. They had both finished their homework and wanted to come along. Their mothers eventually consented, and so we walked to Washington Park.

We talked about all sorts of things as we walked about. Mostly memories inspired by things in the park. A lot of other things they said weren't meant for me, and so they spoke rather vaguely a lot of the time.

We swung on the swings for a little while, and they pestered me about who I like. They kept trying to trick me into giving something away. It's getting harder and harder to put them off. I suppose I'll tell them eventually. I imagine they'll be rather surprised.

We walked back to Sacred Heart, where I was supposed to leave them with their parents. Tyler, however, had invited us along to a science fair at the company where his mom worked. I called up my dad to get permission, and we wound up going to the science fair.

We were given protective glasses, which were tight enough to give me a good headache. =/ Here's a brief synopsis on what we looked at:

Exhibit #1: Make your own magnet.

We coiled wire around a nail and attached the ends of the wire to a battery. The nail was then able to pick up paper clips.

Exhibit #2: Shatter teh Flower.

In this exhibit, we were permitted to take a flower from a vase they provided, and then dip it into a vat of liquid nitrogen, freezing it quite solid in a few seconds. We were then encouraged to smash the flowers on the table. They broke like glass.

Exhibit #3: Coolest Robot you Ever Did See.

This robot was about 6 feet tall, and it knew the names of everyone around it. It would roll up to them and ask them questions about where they came from or who they came with. It shook the hands of several little children.

It was very comprehensive, I must say. Some kid asked it if it ever kissed a computer. It replied something to the effect of:

"That is a personal matter, and one that should not be discussed in a personal forum such as this one."

It was the coolest robot I've ever seen. :p It scared the pants off of me, though, when it called the four of us by name. O.o

Exhibit #4: Pickle Flashlight.

Basically, a guy ran an electric current through a pickle, which makes a decent conductor. The pickle sparked and glowed as a result.

Exhibit #5. Pickin' Pellets.

In this exhibit, we went through owl pellets with tweezers, looking for bones and such. There was a great deal of fur compacted around the bones, so some picking was required. I uncovered a fractured skull and a few ribs, which I left for Tyler to keep. He thought it was one of the coolest things there. :p

So. After a busy day, I finally returned home. I made myself some wanton soup for dinner, and watched the tail end of The Shawshank Redemption with my dad.

Whew. There, I'm done. -_-;

There's an old Irish saying,

"Irish roads are..."

"...potholes loosely joined together with tarmac."
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