I love a girl with a periodic table on her shirt…

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Nick.

Nick and I volunteered at the Regional Science Bowl held this past Saturday at Los Positas College (just down the street from our place).

These kids never cease to amaze me. They have more random science facts in their brain at age 12, than I’ve ever had.

I was a moderator. I was the Alex Trebek. There were a total of 10 of us and 30 teams of students. I ended the day with a sore throat…..too much talking for me 🙂

It’s like the little league world series but for math and science kids. And, like little league, the parents take it way too seriously. I had a mom yell at me. Just a game. But it’s not. It’s LIFE to these kids. Last year’s national champs came from our regional event. Their coach is a large, stoic man who looks like he eats english majors for breakfast. I haven’t seen him smile. Even when they won. Anyways, too serious for me. Hope the kids don’t get burnt out.

Some of my favorites:

1. The under the table, fist pull, accompanied by a “yes” – when they get the question right

2. When the captain yells out, “it’s PEMDAS guys, it’s PEMDAS” – after I’ve provided them with a question that involves solving an equation with parenthesis, multiplication, addition and subtraction.

3. The mumbling of “Oh man, we have to face Hopkins during the round robin”

4. The Captain pumping her team, “Guys, we know this stuff, we just have to be fast on the buzzers, we know it!”

Love it.