Factorials and Frisbee

     I love that feeling of euphoria within my literary mindset after creating such flawless alliteration for a title!  Factorials and Frisbee!  The consonants just roll off the tongue like marbles.  Today was just a normal day of routine and monotony that involved school, Ultimate, and some sort of musical rehearsal.  On the school topic, specifically mathematics, I have a new topic that is quite interesting to my easy-to-impress mind.  This topic is factorials.  A factorial is the partial product of a series.  This means that 4! is the same as 4x3x2x1, which isn't useful at all in the real world.  Something I do enjoy, however, about factorials is the fact that whenever I see a factorial, I don't say in my head "three factorial", but rather I say "THREE!"  This makes math a little more fun than the simple, yet difficult material.

The start of my anticipated Ultimate Disc collection.  My future plans are going to make
these walls filled with discs.  

     I've come to the conclusion that I really want to succeed at this sport of Ultimate Frisbee.  After witnessing arguably the biggest high school Ultimate Tournament, I've gained a new appreciation for what the sport looks like.  I think that it's a very materialistic sport in the sense that it's all about having a nice jersey and disc.  Maybe that's just my personal experience giving me a tunneled vision of what Ultimate is like, but regardless, the sport itself is very legitimate.  Seeing the top teams in the Midwest play together smoothly was amazing.  All of their throws were perfect and they knew exactly what to do.  Today at practice, much to my disappointment, I still did badly during our scrimmages.  I just have trouble judging my throws and controlling them.  It's much different to throw a disc with someone than it is to throw it with mayhem going on in every angle of your peripheral vision.  

Charitable Tournament

      This weekend was quite dense with activity.  I spent most of my time at an Ultimate Frisbee tournament as a volunteer of my time.  A few of my many tasks included score keeping, basic statistic recording, set up, and tear down.  I decided to do these generous tasks because of the many perks I would receive.  At the end of all my volunteering, I was rewarded with three discs, a Volunteer jersey, three water bottles, free Which Wich each day, and some sweat bands.  It was quite the deal considering the work I was asked to do wasn't boring or strenuous.  I actually enjoyed myself when it wasn't freezing cold and windy.  

     Also this weekend, my Relay for Life team and I made cupcakes to sell at the Tournament.  We hoped that the deliciousness of the cupcakes would relieve the players from their stressful games and in turn lead to donations.  On Friday night, two of my team members, and my mom and I made cupcakes to sell.  My mom and I used cheap GFS cake mix and frosting mix while my friends used nice Betty Crocker cake mix and Pillsbury frosting.  Their cupcakes were a lot better than ours.  

It seems like that will make quite enough cupcakes!  

 This picture may not seem like it, but she actually posed for it.  I told her to turn around and look as if she was actually cooking, but instead she pulls of a pose like this where you can obviously see her smile.  I asked her "Would you really be grinning this wide if I were taking a candid picture of you making cupcakes?"  I told her to take another picture and her next pose was much less appropriate.

 Mom left me alone because she had some errands to run.  I look at these cupcakes and don't know if they are done or not.  They still looked like batter to me, but I wanted to be sure so I didn't produce nasty cupcakes with burned bottoms.  Unfortunately, my keen baking reflexes don't exist, and as I tried to get my hand around the tray without dipping my mom's favorite hot pad into the cupcakes, I lifted the tray up and rubbed the cupcakes all on the top tray!

The batter got all over the oven and I knew mom would be mad.  Every time I use the oven I spill something everywhere.  Here's the thing, I don't know how to clean an oven so after I did this I had to think fast.  I took a rag and moistened it to wipe off the rack and oven bottom the best I could.  Sadly, it wasn't enough because my mom walked in and exclaimed "Sam!  Did you leave the cupcakes in?  Are they burning?"  Things went downhill from there.

 They're quite fluffy for a cheap GFS brand.

 Look at the variances in color!  I'm such a professional.

 Look at the variances in size!  I don't think I should make cupcakes for a living, or rather ever again.

 This beautiful sign was a contribution of the mighty Mira!  She donated the sign with the nicely personalized message of "Help Support the Lifesavers :)" and 12 store bought cupcakes.  I guess something is better than nothing.

 Oh the things money can do.  Small pieces of paper and little metal circles control the world.

    

Charity and Misfortune

     Sadly, I learned that my baking skills, especially those that involve the creation of palatable cupcakes for charity, are lacking from what I expect.  Despite the impressive turnout of this baking endeavor, I am not pleased to admit my mistakes considering the fact that they were horrifyingly simple.  My mom describes my mistakes by saying "You are intelligent!  Why can't you bake cupcakes?"  My mind ceases to work when I don't need it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when I have to save it to solve complex math problems that multiple high school math teachers can not solve. Despite my obvious problems with the creation of edible cupcakes for charity, my mom and I were able to create a hefty collection. We made a little over 60 cupcakes, and my mom decided to take the excess batter to produce a small pseudo pound cake. All the glory that came from the moment when I presided over the brilliantly elegant cupcakes that expanded across my counter. These cupcakes, although they will most likely be considered "flops", will resemble true effort and determination to fight against cancer. The human body is a miraculously complex machine that is strong, yet very fragile. Sadly, cancer is one of the many ways fate and misfortune creep into the daily lives of many people. Cancer shall be cured someday. And this someday, in comparison to how long humans have been and will be around, will be very very soon. Whoever discovers this cure will be considered the best human to have ever lived! He or she will go down in history as the most influential person ever. This person won't find it for money and he won't find it for the fame. He won't be rewarded with this money or fame. He will be rewarded with all the lives that people will continue to have! He will be rewarded with many more people, people he won't even know, having birthdays! Birthdays are a celebration and a blessing.

Happy birthday world! Cancer is soon to be gone!

Help support Team Lifesavers!

Storytime?

     A boy by the name of Dave wandered down the the river, obsequious with it's shimmer and fluidity.  Oblivious to the rock that lay before him, he stumbled as his foot made contact with the uneven rock face.  Out of the two unfortunate directions to fall, away from the river or into the river, fate decided to leave his back this instant.  Dave fell into the river without an ounce of grace, considering this fortuitous event caught him off guard.  The water was frigid and the current was robust, but Dave, still dazed, hadn't yet realized that he could not swim!  The current pulled Dave down beneath the water's reflective surface and sadly, Dave could not keep up.
     Dave's fate, as predetermined by his absent mind and fate itself, wasn't one that most people would want.  In fact, someone would feel computation to experience something as preventable as drowning!  Dave, however, was never instructed how to swim.  His parents, and he, found it quite unnecessary; it was a waste of money.  Now they sit at his graveside service thinking "Oh fate, why must you choose the weakest?  Why must you choose he who cannot swim?", while up on the wheel of fortune the fates are saying "Our punishment is complete."

A Rainy, Yet Productive Day

     Oh, how I don't long for the week ahead that will be filled with learning and hard work.  Oh, how I don't look forward to the monotonous practice and rehearsal schedule with no time in between.  I'm so thankful for the weekends in between five days of STUFF STUFF STUFF!  Unfortunately, my Sunday was anything but relaxing.  I woke up to the sights of an overcast day, which surprisingly made me feel comfortable.  I went for a hot, humid run with my nifty little iPod shuffle providing me with songs that keep my brain from turning into mush as I run past the same scenery and same everything.  I hate the suburbs.  There isn't enough going on for me.  After my run and shower, I started on a long journey called "Typing an Essay", which takes more brain power than I'm willing to muster out on a Sunday morning.  I start compiling all my research and knowledge into one document, and this is no simple task.  I had to compile multiple sources of information together to prove how Humans descended.  Yeah, I think it sounds a little complex, too.

     Meanwhile, the weather radio is freaking out about the approaching storms.  Somehow, the radio is set to receive alerts from almost half of Illinois.  My dad says that it's because I used to be deathly afraid of thunderstorms so he set it up to alert us even if the storm is 100 miles away.  He said it got quite annoying when it would go off and there wouldn't even be the slightest sign of an approaching storm.  The storm, as alerted by the screaming radio, approached and did what storms do best.  Joe and Dad were at baseball, but Joe forgot his phone on the counter so they had to return home to get it.  I, however, was making lunch.  I made a hot sandwich with turkey and Swiss Cheese.  I love Swiss Cheese!  I took it out back, along with tortilla chips and delicious bean dip, to watch the storm's wrath take hold while I simply ate my sandwich under the protection of the deck.  Joe and Dad came out when they got home because they were in no hurry to get back to the baseball game.  Joe's hopes and wishes were futile because his game was cancelled in the end.

   After church ended, I went with Lucas to collect food for the Harvest Sunday drive.  Not even half the people donated, but those who did donated generously.  We returned to sort the food out, and took it to the church.  Overall, it took about 3 hours, which isn't too bad.  As soon as I stepped foot into my house, I knew I needed to get to work on that forsaken Biology paper.  I finally typed my last words, printed it, had my dad proofread it, printed again, stapled, and put it in my binder, never to be touched again until I get my feedback from the teacher.  My allergies have been acting up again, which is quite annoying when sitting in an awkwardly
 silent church with snot dripping down your face.  The lady next to me wouldn't even interact with me because she thought I was sick.  Oh well.  She wasn't acting kindly in the house of God, which is her loss.  Today, I have probably went through an entire box of tissues, and I wouldn't be surprised if my nose gets a painful rash tomorrow.  I hate being allergic to Springtime.

Cinco de Mayo!

     I give my deepest apologies for having forgot to post about Cinco de Mayo.  I also don't really know what Cinco de Mayo celebrating looks like, but I know it is a cultural celebration.  Mexicans celebrate their victory over the French at The Battle of Puebla and in the United States, Mexicans celebrate their cultural characteristics.  How did I celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  I listened to the whole Mexican Symphony for concert band called "La Fiesta Mexicana!"  Is there any other way to celebrate this joyous day?  I don't think so.

Prelude and Aztec Dance

Mass

Carnival

Celestial Event Enthusiasts

     Tonight, May 5th, Cinco De Mayo, is an important event for Celestial Event Enthusiasts, such as myself.  I enjoy going to view eclipses, planets, and the moon.  Of course, these nights would be nothing without a little bit of fun.  Enjoy this album from our viewing of "The Supermoon".

      Mindy is prepared for quite the experience of Supermoon searching!  Sadly, nature is going to disappoint us, and especially Mindy.

      "I wonder how big this moon will be!  Do you think it'll be large?"

      "Are you kidding!  Why else would it be called SUPERMOON?!"

      I couldn't resist the chance to put the camera in Joe's hands and force him to take an "Indie" picture of me.  It's just irresistible to someone you might call a "Hipster". 

      I then showed Joe how to take a real photo.  When you do a comparison, Joe takes horrible pictures.

      Making faces could be what you call my "Forte".

      The beautiful Ford Escort that I will most likely be driving around.  So so beautiful...

      It's great to be home.  I'm going to express my excitement by laying my body on the dirty garage.

    Returning the Wii Remotes to play our game of "Mariokart"

     It's just pizza.

      Homemade milk shake?  There is no better way to fend off disappointment than to drink ice cream, oreos, and milk from a tall glass.

      Even Penny is upset about the invisible Super Moon

 I don't see it.  Our second effort is futile.

     The empty sky brings tears to my ambitions and wants.  There is nothing but the fog that hides the guiding light of the rare and mysterious "Supermoon".  

 

     The absence of the Supermoon caused much disappointment and sorrow.  How often could such a celestial event occur?  I would assume this event is annual, but a year is a long time and a lot can change in a year.  Such Celestial Event Enthusiasts will travel to witness them, but we prefer to wait for them to come to us.  They make them more genuine and memorable.  Goodnight, and may the Supermoon's presence give you good dreams and happy thoughts.