Story Time: Homecoming

Things really haven't changed a whole lot around here... Still going to school, and actually doing pretty well in pre-calc, with a surprising 94 on my second test... Economics is still a work in progress. Still hunting for jobs...

So it's time for a story.

It's homecoming week at the University of Alabama... Ole Miss is coming to town Saturday afternoon. Never been a real big HC kind of guy. It's great for those who enjoy that sort of thing, but the thing I'm looking forward to most is the end of chalking every square inch of campus sidewalk with 'vote for X for queen.' I'll be working my concessions gig on gameday, so I'll see the game, work, and pick up a few bucks in the process.

I remember homecoming at Andress High School my senior year. I've never been a real active sort of guy, getting involved in a lot of activities, etc. But we in the orchestra decided to decorate a car as an eagle, our mascot. We went to Cynthia Vasquez's house on a Thursday night and proceeded to work on a red Oldsmobile with a white, vinyl top. Red and yellow crepe paper to resemble feathers... I don't remember what metal device we tried to rig onto the grill to resemble a beak, but this process took most of the evening-- getting the paper cut up and adhered to the car, coming up with a plan for the grill, etc.

Like I say, took most of the night, 11 or so. came home, went to bed and got after it the next morning, 6:30 or so, for final touches. Turns out that we got to school late with the car, so we were ruled ineligible. Swell-- we thought we had a chance to win whatever award was out there. But someone did drive the car around the track at half.

That weekend was also kind of the beginning of the end of my honors trigonometry career. I had a quiz that morning that I just absolutely tanked. Things kind of went downhill after that. I went to tutoring and everything, but it didn't seem to help. I was a statistician for the basketball team, so I had to get waivers from Mrs. Caldwell to be able to make road trips. The semester final was 10% of the final grade, and I figured out that I needed a 54 to get 5.4 points to pass the course and get my credit. I was never so happy for a 59.

So I never wonder about how much half a point is. Sometimes it's enough. It makes my success in pre-calculus all the more amazing. Have to work my arse off for good test scores, but it gives me a reason to believe that maybe I can evolve and shore up my weaknesses.