Outpost of the World

Woo! I'm home for the week! :D

I took a break from dA from Tuesday through Saturday and it was actually pretty nice. I came back to a boatload of really sweet, encouraging comments, so that was cool. :3 I'm still nervous about the charms I'm going to be selling though... I was really confident when I sent out the order, but now I'm like, "Hmm... I probably won't even sell one..." or "I'm not going to sell enough to earn back what I put into the project..." I hope it's just nerves. I still haven't decided on a price, either. Most people are selling similar items between $4.99-$5.99 + $2 shipping, so I was thinking $5.50 each. We'll see. :/

In other news, I did a little shopping, and I'm gifting myself some real APH One Coins for Christmas this year. XD



Yay! I ordered Austria back in July for a steal--$9!--and I just found a reasonably priced Hungary a couple minutes ago.

My computer is fixed, and it turns out that I won't be going to Maine for my aunt's funeral because I need to stay behind with my sister, who has an exam Thursday morning that she paid to take and can't miss. I really wanted to go, and I feel a little guilty. D: More on that a little later. I'm really bummed out over a lot of things right now, but those are tales for a different entry. :D

ICON MEME.

default	oldest	newest
saddest	happiest	angriest
cutest	sexiest	funniest
fave ship	fave fandom	fave animated
best quote	best textless	best stolen idea
use the most	favorite

HOW MANY ICONS DO YOU HAVE:
Thirty-seven, though I had around sixty-five at my highest. :3

OUT OF HOW MANY AVAILABLE ICONS SPACES:
Forty-five.

IF YOU COULD BUY SPACE FOR MORE, WOULD YOU:
Yes, but it's ridiculously expensive. Ten bucks for such a small add-on? u__u;

DO YOUR ICONS MAKE A STATEMENT:
I hope so! I try and match them by comment and entry. They're selected with love!

WHAT FANDOM DO YOU HAVE THE MOST ICONS OF:
Ace Attorney.

AND THE SECOND MOST:
Fire Emblem.

WHAT SHIP DO YOU HAVE THE MOST ICONS OF:
Phoenix/Edgeworth, oddly enough. XD

ARE YOUR ICONS MADE MOSTLY BY OTHER PEOPLE:
I think it's a pretty even split between my own and others, to be honest.

DO YOU MAKE ICONS:
Yes. But I never use my own fanart because I get tired of looking at it pretty quickly. XD

ARE THEY ANY GOOD:
I think so. :3

ANIMATED ICONS ARE:
They're fun, but I prefer a single powerful, static image. XD



DO THE MEME.
Coding can be found here

This weekend, FIRST Robotics FRC Team 116 went to the New York City Regional Championship at the Javits Center and won the Chairman's Award. This is the most coveted award the program has to offer, and is presented to the team who best embodies the message of FIRST. Winning this award not only guarantees us a spot at the world championship in Atlanta, but also, bragging rights for the rest of our existence as a team. 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Wow. Now that I'm done being serious... XD

Winning this award is like... winning the Nobel Peace Prize for Robotics! That's the only way I can explain the Chairman’s Award to a FIRST-outsider. Seriously. XD And I'm going to go on to say that right now, Team 116 just might be the team to beat.

Our FRC division [FRC: Think large, incredibly expensive, student-built robots] just clobbered the competition for the Chairman's Award at the NYC Regional, the biggest regional in the world, thus securing a spot in Atlanta; our FTC section [FTC: Think smaller-scale, less expensive, also student-built robots] (AKA Team 519) as you know, won first place at the Maryland Regional, also gaining a spot in Atlanta; and finally, our animation team won first place in the Autodesk Visualization competition at the Richmond VCU Regional for the sixth year running, giving them a spot in Atlanta and, promoting them as one of this year's top five national, award-winning animations.

I can't think of any other team in the world who can match this, or rather, us. And there's a lot of teams out there. XD

I have a little anecdote I want to share before I tie this up. When you get selected for an award at a FIRST event, the team leaves the stands, walks onto the field, and runs by a line of judges, sponsors, etc. for a quick congratulations and a high five. After Lori and I stopped screaming and hugging each other, we went down and joined the line with the rest of the team.

Now, I doubt many of you to know this name, but Dean Kamen, who among many things, founded FIRST, invented the Segway, and is a pioneering force in prosthetic limbs for veterans, was waiting at the end of that line with the massive Chairman's trophy. ((Can you see where this is going? XD ))

I walk up to him, noticing that no one has grabbed the award, but before I can shyly sneak away, he says, "Congratulations! Why don't you hold onto this." He then proceeds to maneuver the trophy into my arms, to which I'm totally shocked and panicking, and as I leave the field, I hear, "Stop! Stop!" coming from behind me. I turn around, and two photographers, one from th New York Post, snaps a few shots of me with the trophy and starts interviewing me, mentioning how he's going to put me in the press tomorrow and blah blah blah. It was incredible. 'Easily the best moment of my life, though, I feel bad for getting press attention regarding a submission I didn't actually work on. Obviously, my contributions to the team were a big help to our victory, but I only wish the people who actually wrote and delivered our presentation had thought to snag the trophy. XD

Anyways, we've been after this award for fourteen years, and I'm just so thrilled to be able to say that I was on the team the year we won, and also, the year that all of our sub-teams qualified for the world championship.



( A few photos...! )