The cat asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know", Alice answered.

"Then," said the cat, "it really doesn't matter, does it?"

Senior year of high school, our class made it to DC for the "We the People" national-level competition. We made it to the Top 10 for the first time in school history, and it was this huge deal that we'd been aiming for all year - our coach was amazing (and a nerd) and wanted it so badly. So we heard the news and were so excited, and all 21 of us squished into the large-than-usual hotel elevator. It starts going up and then starts slowing. It's clear something is wrong. We make it nearly up to the fourth floor, and the doors open even though we're a foot or two below the floor. A few people jump out. One girl got her leg out (ala Titanic boiler room scene) just as the elevator began falling with the doors still open. We fall to the second floor. Doors open all the way. Everyone runs out. After that, people were super freaking paranoid and would only let like four people in the elevator at once.

Additional Info

I usually tell people it was a constitutional debate team. It was actually an AP class at our school, but we didn't follow the AP American History curriculum. We did whatever our teacher wanted. But we all aced the AP exam. I didn't study, and I got a 4. It was a class of like 20, with six teams of 3-4 people. Each team had an overarching theme to their debates. For the regional, state, and national competition, each team is given three questions. We prepare a four-minute oral response to the question and then participate in eight-ish minutes of follow-up questions from the judges. Judges at the national competition were congressmen, etc. For the Q&A portion, we had to know all sorts of court cases, laws, precedents, founding father quotes, etc.

The Web site says it better: "The culminating activity is a simulated congressional hearing in which students "testify" before a panel of judges."

Here is more info: http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=wtp_introduction

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So at the trailer on Saturday, we were coming back from the winery at like 7:30 p.m., and this old man was walking up one of the giant hills in the campground and flagged us down. At first we didn’t understand what he was saying because of his accent, and when he saw that the car was full he waved us on. I realized he must want a ride and realized he was saying, “to Birch,” which is the name of our area of the campground. I made my aunt and cousin get out of the car so we could turn around and go get him. The poor guy – my uncle was right behind us but didn’t understand what he was saying so he drove away. So we went and got him and he was so winded and shaking. He said, “No fish. All day, no fish.” So he had been out there all day in the sun and heat until 7:30 p.m. and was trying to walk up these huge hills. I felt so bad. Then at like 9 p.m. we realized that maybe he didn’t have dinner and that’s why he was trying so hard to catch a fish. He lives right around the corner from us, so we cooked him some burgers and green beans and went over but the place was totally dark. There was no car in the driveway, so we were really sad that he was alone and his family had ditched him with no food. So after almost getting eaten by bears in the woods with these burgers, we went home. In the morning, me, my mom and aunt walked over, and he came right out. He was like, “Ein momENT! Ein momENT!” because he was in his boxers. Then he came out, and we said, “No fish. Dinner,” and pointed at the plate, and he put his hand over his heart and was so touched. So he made us come up on the porch and he was like, “Ein momENT!” and went and got this bottle of wine (at 10 a.m.) and made us drink the whole bottle with him. He served in the Russian army for 30 years and showed us photos and gave us marshmallows with toasted almonds on top to eat. It was awesome. I can’t wait to hang out with him again. He said his wife speaks better English but she had teeth surgery and wasn’t coming up until tomorrow. His name is Liev.

> Why the Fuck Do You Have a Kid

> Look at this Fucking Hipster

> Forgotten Bookmarks

Good example: Pandora
Bad example: YouTube

The full line-up is below. (These dates are not exact after Memphis, as I do not want to be found, particularly if I run off with my soulmate who is, no doubt, a cowboy.)

I will most assuredly be tweeting/TwitPic-ing. And if I'm not too lazy, I'll have photos up on Facebook once I get back.

June 30 - Winchester, VA (changed hands 13 times in one day during the Civil War)
July 1 - Monongahela National Forest; Mount Airy, NC (aka Mayberry/Andy Griffith’s hometown)
July 2 - Sliding Rock (natural water slide); Pisgah Forest; Asheville, NC
July 3 - Blue Ridge Parkway; Jonesborough, TN (Tennessee’s most haunted town!)
July 4 - Nashville, TN; Belle Meade Plantation
July 5 - Memphis, TN; Civil Right Museum (where MLK Jr. was shot)
July 6 - Graceland; Mississippi (location TBD)
July 7 - Tuscumbia, AL (Helen Keller’s birthplace)
July 8 - Georgia (location TBD)
July 9 - Savannah, GA
July 10 - Charleston, SC
July 11 - Wilmington, NC