If you don't want the truth then don't read this.

I am just returning from Atlanta where I took part in the SkillsUSA competition; my area of expertise was extemporaneous speaking. Quite a bit happened over these past three days, and I will do my best to present the chronology of these events in a clear, lucid manner. Of course I cannot name names, so please understand that even though I may be disgruntled to some degree, this in no way keeps me from showing tact and respect to those who, at times, may not have deserved such.

It was made abundantly clear that someone in a position of authority is--by their own actions and comments--a racist. I suppose I should be used to it by now, but it still stings every time someone reveals their true nature.

The hackneyed shenanigans of the SkillsUSA officers was undone only by the blatant buffoonery of the participants. We are supposed to be a group of professionals, yet our opening ceremony resembled nothing more than immature high school antics. I was very disappointed in the officers. I was asked to be a delegate in the voting for the next set of officers (2012-2013), a station I accepted with much pride and alacrity. Prior to the new candidates' speeches I spoke with most, and as I heard their formal speeches I made my decisions based on how effectively they communicated their beliefs/desires/etc. When the speeches were over I, along with the host of other delegates, made my way to the front of the room to cast my vote. I was stopped by an advisor who held a piece of paper toward me and said, "This is who they want you to vote for." I assured this advisor that I was more than capable of making that choice on my own--was this not why I was asked to be a delegate?--and would do so accordingly. I further stated that once I turned in my ballot, I would then look at the list and inform as to who did and did not make the cut. Well, only two of the four people who were on the list found their way onto my ballot, and for that I am not sorry. As an FYI, of the five people I cast my vote for, four were elected. The fifth, some jackass who apparently studied Buffoonery 101, was the only candidate whom I did not vote for. I was really pissed with this whole voting thing because it seemed that advisors did not want the best person for the job, but the person representing their school. I have nothing to apologize for; I did what I felt was best.

I made mistakes in my speech. Mistake #1 was apparently looking at the topic and being so prepoared that I was ready to give my speech immediately after reviewing the topic. I have always been better at delivering from the hip than taking time and planning an outline, and what tripped me uip was that even though I was ready, the judges were not; I was made to wait three and a half minutes while they wrote their critique of the previous speaker (we were to take five minutes preparing a speech, but I felt I did not need this time). So as I was standing in the middle of the room waiting, my mind began to wander on what I should talk about instead of just allowing it to naturally pour from me. Big mistake. It would end up being my deathknell. I should have elaborated on the three I's, and I should have closed with a summary--both of which I would have done if I did not begin formulating that speech in the three and a half minutes of downtime. But as the signals for "3 minutes, four minutes, and five minutes" were flashed I began to race toward my conclusion. Bottom line is that I know where I messed up, and realize it cost me the gold or silver medal. I won the bronze--third place--for which I am truly grateful, because I had already decided that if I had won the gold there was no way in hell I would go to the nationals, not after the few days I had already had.

I awoke this morning around 6 a.m., packed my bags, got dressed, went downstairs and smoked a cig, and returned to my room to find my roommate had exited in my absence. I also found my watch was missing. I looked under the bed, behind the dresser, then took everything from my bags and carefully looked through them, but to no avail. I informed my instructor of this, and she in turn informed the (Wiregrass) event organizer. I was told they "would get to the bottom of it." I went to have breakfast, but cut things short because I really did not feel right about accusing my roommate; I had allowed for that one percent chance that I had overlooked something. So I returned to my room and while I was searching my roommate came in and informed me that he and I had the same watch--he showed me "his" and sure enough it was an exact replica of mine. He told me the organizer had mine, so I immediately returned downstairs to have "my" watch returned to me. I put it on and knew right away it was not mine. I took it off and looked under it to see rust and grime, which confirmed it was not mine. I turned to tell the organizer but she was nowhere in sight. I entered the hotel lobby, found my roommate, and told him to take off the watch he had on. He handed it to me, I looked under it and noticed no rust or grime, then thrust his filthy watch toward him and said, "This one is yours!" He said nothing, slowly took the watch, at which point I walked away from him. It is my contention that he had planned this all along in a feeble attempt to swap his old, grungy watch for my newer, shinier watch. I kept my effects on the corner of the dresser across from my bed. He stated he thought the watch was his, but he never could explain how "his" watch got mixed in with my pen, lighter, cigarettes, room cardkey, change, comb...you get the point. What pissed me off even more was the fact that everyone was buying into his "innocent mistake" fable. The god-damned bastard tried to steal my watch and replace it with a piece of shit. Period. He is in another department at my school, but I will be thrice-damned if I ever acknowledge his existance again.

It was not a completely awful experience. I did have perhaps the best prime rib I have ever eaten last night. Definitely well worth the $32 pricetag. Aside from that, Momocon was going on these past few days, and let me tell you that these kids put a lot into their costumes. I was able to get my picture taken with Lady Yuna and Auron, Link and Dark Link, Nightcrawler and Mystique, SS3 Goku and Broly, Harley Quinn, V (for Vendetta), Sora and Ansem, Cloud, and a ferw others I can't remember at the moment. These young adults were very polite, respectful, and accomodated everyone's request for pictures. Freaks and Geeks? Nah. They were more professional than most of my colleagues.