time slipstream

There are several periods on the school timetable marked as "Break". The choice of word is rather unusual... I think "Recess" is a better term; because I spend 70% of my breaks doing work. The remaining 30% is spent eating or having a private meeting with friend(s) [typically 1] so... perhaps "Break" isn't quite the best word to use.

I talked to a relatively close friend on the phone today, a Scholar's Cup competition mate, and suddenly my brain felt better for seemingly no reason at all. It's still tired (thats what one week of mugging close to 800 pages of content and sleeping at 2-3 am does to you) but its better.

Academics are getting somewhat shaky because a lot of my scores are very borderline. I like the concept of borders in general, but its difficult to appreciate it sometimes when it presents a danger to you. And of course, I want 45 points (who doesn't?) so that places a great deal more pressure...

Despite all my complaints about mental headaches, I can say that the experience of World Scholar's Cup, despite bringing about such mental "anguish" (?) was more than worth it. Other than giving me a sense of satisfaction for my effort as well as getting to know my teammates Shaun and Timothy better, it was also, I believe, to some extent a display of God's control.

I was somewhat concerned about the debate section, though I breathed somewhat easier when I saw the rubrics (style 20, organisation 20, content 50) that we would be assessed on. Looking at the teams and resolutions, I was pretty confident of winning round 1, but not round 2. Still, it wasn't the debates specifically, but really many other things that just fell into place. The prayers we said before and after the debates, the Scholar's Quiz and the award ceremony were really answered.

As I've said before, I really never expected to win the Scholar's Cup team or individual prizes. I figured at the start of the competition that my team was lucky if we scraped a pass through to the World Finals - and, by God's grace, we did more than that. God has really showered my team and I with blessings for this Scholar's Cup, and I know that when the World Finals rolls about we will really do our best to glorify God through the competition.

The products of 2 days of last-minute mugging (especially last day):

• Overall Team Champions
• Overall Individual Champion
  
• Sub-Team Champion (ie guy with highest score within the team)
• Scholar's Challenge (MCQ Exam) Team 1st Place
• Scholar's Quiz (MCQ... Quiz?): Team 1st Place
• Debate: Team 2nd Place
  
• Literature: 3rd place
• Mathematics: 3rd place

jk