"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard!" "I don't get what she means by 'milkshake'... can you explain it to me?"

So yeah, I actually had to explain that song to my roommate... afterwards, she sort of screamed/cried her way back to sanity... it was hilarious.

On Friday, Ash and I metroed it up to the debate tournament at Gee-Dub. How exciting for us! Although Ash was quite happy with how the tournament went -- and she should be, as she's improving rapidly -- I was furious with myself for my own performance. I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with debate. Unfortunately, I can't see a way to improve. The practices are oriented toward the novices, not the varsity, and they're not helpful at all. I'm thinking about getting a debate coach, but that would be expensive, not to mention time-consuming.

As an example of why debate is upsetting me, let me tell you about my last case on Friday. The opposing team ran a resolution stating that the US should proliferate the Emergency Weapons System and dealert technology it already possesses. Right now you're probably reading this paragraph over, going, "What?" and if you are, you know exactly how I was reacting when I heard it.

Being the Leader of Opposition, and therefore the first on our side to speak and oppose it, I got up and stated that we were running a counter-case, and that we should distribute the dealert technology but not the EWS. Yeah... apparently, as the other team pointed out, it's basically the same thing. GREAT. CAUSE I KNEW THAT.

Let me take you ringside to see my reaction.

*blink blink* "Um... well." *drums fingers* "Um." *rakes a hand through hair* "Yeah. Actually we're just going to oppose the whole thing."

And there you have it... not my proudest moment as a debater... considering that the above pause lasted about thirty seconds. Here is me... being about 120 different shades of unhappy.

My chief problems right now are a) I don't feel like I'm improving or that I know how to improve, and b) the cases I'm running into seem completely impossible to refute without a good knowledge of, you know, what the hell's going on. Another case resolution we had to oppose was that Frederick Douglass should not have allowed his white friends to buy his freedom from his owner. Right... I clearly know enough to coherently argue against that... kay...

After the case on the EWS, Ash and I went outside into the darkness of the DC night. Immediately, a group of guys walked past, loudly hitting on us. We ignored them because that's what we do.

A few moments later a straggler came up and started dancing at us. We clapped gamely... unfortunately... he took this as an invitation to talk with us. Boo. This guy, who identified himself as Derek, proceeded to chat us up as his friends returned to SURROUND US ON ALL SIDES.

At this point, I glanced up and saw some girls walking back toward our building. Let's reenact that conversation.

Kat: Ash, are those debaters?
Ash: Yeah... we should probably get back.
Derek: Heh heh... *at the passing girls* DEBATERS! DEBATERS!
[The girls do not turn around.]
Derek: *evilly* Guess they're not debaters...
Kat: *BUSTED* Yeah... what time is it? It's probably time to get back anyway.
Ash: Yep! Time to get back!
[The guys, grumbling a little, cease to surround us.]
Derek: Can I call y'all sometime? *looking at Kat*
Kat: ...I... don't actually think my boyfriend would like that.
Derek: Aw, y'all got a boyfriend? 'S cool, man, we can still be friends.
Kat: *flashing back to junior/senior year of high school* Um, no. My boyfriend's kind of possessive...
Derek: Aw... how about you? *looking at Ash*
Kat: Yeah, Ash. How about you?
Ash: Um... I just got out of a really bad relationship... yeah... I've kind of sworn off guys.
Derek: Aw, y'all breakin' my heart!
Ash: Yeah... sorry about that.

Memo to the kids back home: Being approached by guys on a dark street in DC? Not as much fun as you'd think.

Fortunately, I woke sick Saturday morning, and didn't have to return. When did being sick become a fortunate occurrence? I still <3 debate... well, actually, I don't... but I'd really like to. I'd like to enjoy it again, and most of all I'd like to improve. The crap about "practice makes perfect" kind of breaks down when practice consists of "Emergency Weapons System? WHAT THE HELL?"

In other news, I'm making a good bit of headway on Guardian. Huzzah!