So Close, and yet so Far

Currently, I am just back today from Syracuse, New York. The tournament only qualified one team, but at least my sister got into finals. The real fun of the tournament started when she found out that she and Charlie got into quarterfinals. One of the things that ended up making this round so funny was that Katie and Charlie were eighth seed going into the round, so they ended up going against the first seed. Katie ended up winning by a 2-1 decision, and moved onto semi-finals. Unfortunately, Katie met another team from our area and only one of them could go on. Fortunately (from my perspective), Katie ended up winning that by a 4-1 decision and moved onto finals. Katie said finals was probably the best round she had at the tournament and that it was a good example round for everyone watching. I couldn't watch the actual debate, because I was too nervous, but I listened to her 1AC and the CX. The CX was tough and I knew right then and there it would be a tough round, especially since Katie and Charlie were 2AC, running a case they had just gotten together 2 days before. They had put a lot of work into it though, so they were pretty prepared for most of the arguments. Their case had lost twice in prelims, and Katie lost the toss, or else I think they would have gone negative. Oh well. It was a 6-1 decision, and Katie and Charlie will be going to nationals! Katie is ready to go, but nationals is so far away so hopefully she won't lose some of her eagerness before then.

And that was a long paragraph, so I'll make this one a lot shorter!

While at the tournament we stayed at a motel, didn't get lost, and ate out with some friends afterward. I was in charge of driving 750 miles and keeping track of the money, and while I apparently did alright, it was extremely nerve-wracking. I guess I was learning first-hand why managers tend to die younger than most - being responsible over things adds a lot of pressure to an otherwise enjoyable trip. But, whatever my nervousness, the Lord was still looking over our trip, because the car we were going to take had just gone to the shop and the mechanic said that the car was getting rusty and the axle didn't look too good. Normally, we don't mind driving cars that are in poor condition because they seem to hold up well for us (another blessing by the Lord), but this time, my mom decided to play it safe, and we took my car for the trip. The day we left, my mom went to get some groceries, and as she was making a turn on the way home, the car started squealing horribly. Mom pulled over to the side and called my dad and AAA and then waited. She decided to try the car again, and she turned it on alright, and she put it into gear with some trouble, but when she hit the gas, nothing happened. She learned later that the axle had fallen out of the car!

As a side note, I'm shaving my beard tonight!