I found some pants and scampered down to the Rose Garden (we were in the "Preferred Dining Room" (although I don't know why they call it that (perhaps it's to give a sense of being somewhere special so you don't realize it's essentially a nondescript 30'-square multi-purpose room (like the way Starbucks calls their small drinks "Tall")))). There was plentiful free food; the organizer is the Special Events Coordinator for the "Blazers" (they're some sort of sports team), but I have no appetite before a contest. It's not being nervous about public speaking, but gearing up for competition, I think. Whatever it is, I'm just not hungry.
I was the second evaluator, so I had to wait through the rest of the evaluations, intermission, and all of the prepared speech entries before we got to the awarding of prizes. I felt pretty good about my evaluation, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. But I won Second Place! Got a trophy, too! As we say in Oregon, I'm only one lead pipe and a pair of knees away from advancing to the next level! Not bad for my first Division contest ever.
For some reason, my parents no longer believe any stories about my exploits unless I can provide photographic proof. So here's a picture of me giving the evaluation:
Would it be petty of me to note that the person who beat me in the Area contest didn't win? Yeah? Okay, then I won't mention it.
Update: There, I added a photo of me with the trophy (yeah, the framing's a little off, but you can definitely tell it's my tie, so you can be sure it's me). The trophy reads "Columbia Division, Runner-Up, Evaluation Contest, 2005"!
