Day three!

Another early day. Breakfast was 7 to 9 so I arrived at 8. Then we came down to the e-lounge and we all watched "13 Going on 30", which I unfortunately had to leave briefly in the middle for...my final judging interview! It went alright. Questions on stem cells, ideal gases, and the like, some of which can be found in the last post. Afterwards was lunch, during which the shuttle service to the National Academy of Sciences started. I finished in time to take the second shuttle, where my poster, which I had shipped from Long Island on Wednesday, was waiting for me. I set it up, had some pictures taken, and then a quick Q&A on video in front of the poster, and I was done nice and quickly so I could take the first shuttle back to the hotel with Eric and Luke. We met up later with John, who was alone on the second shuttle back, and, having a few hours to kill (most people took much of the afternoon because of late judging and a long poster setup), we headed down the street to the White House, a couple of blocks from the hotel and right in view of it.

It was an amazing experience. A beautiful day out (so we all got to go out in t-shirts, what a relief after two days of suit-wearing!), and when we got there, there was this little protest right outside the gate that was really just fascinating to watch. The protesters got into debates (well, fine, more like ranting nonsensical arguments) with a bunch of the, erm, less-liberal people on the street, and I got a lot of good footage, both photo and video. This is the kind of thing that doesn't quite happen as often on the Island so it was really a new experience (usually the protests in NYC are spaced apart and insanely big, not cozy and comfortable like this one).

After that, we came back and hung out for a little before one of the nicest moments of the week, the selection of the Seaborg speaker. The Seaborg speaker--named after Glenn Seaborg, Nobel Laureate, namesake of the element "Seaborgium", and former head of the Science Service and friend of the STS--is chosen annually from among the 40 finalists, by the finalists, as the person who best represents the group. Someone who is passionate about science, eloquent, etc., to speak for the group at the banquet on Tuesday night. Everyone nominated someone, and the 15 who were nominated (I was not included, although according to some people later I should have been--aw, shucks) were then whittled down to one. I am very proud to say that I led the charge to have the eventual winner elected--one Mr. Carmi Schickler. Carmi is an entertaining, normal (well, maybe not quite) kid but when you get to know him, he's one of the most intelligent and interesting people you'll meet. He is, I think, the ideal Seaborg speaker, and I'm glad to have him representing us Tuesday night.

Then, we left for dinner, this time outside the hotel, at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. What a meal! First we had a little reception in a rather noisy room, where everyone got to mingle with each other, the Sciserv people, and the judges, among others, before we got moved into the equally-noisy dining room. We were assigned tables--it was very fancy. I had the clam chowder, the steak (which was fantastic), and the cheesecake. Yummy!

After that, we returned to the hotel around 10:30 or so, where everyone pretty much went to sleep right away because tomorrow is an early day--we have to be at breakfast at 7, and on the shuttle to NAS again at 7:45!! But then, as I was laying in bed, I realized today was the New York State Science Olympiad and my school's team--which recently won its second consecutive regional championship--and I was really curious to see how we did. So, figuring it would be very quick, I just threw on my suit pants and headed down to the e-lounge (where I'm writing this now). When I got there it was quite crowded, and I quickly got sucked into conversation with Jenny, Shoshana, and Sheela. So much for going to sleep early!! By 12, however, I managed to somehow pull myself away and get to bed. Mmmm....zzzz.

Oh, and for the curious, we placed 13th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):)