{"id":312,"date":"2023-01-13T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/giftofpresent.org\/?p=312"},"modified":"2023-01-15T04:11:11","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T12:11:11","slug":"mpfg-journal-contest-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giftofpresent.org\/index.php\/2023\/01\/13\/mpfg-journal-contest-day\/","title":{"rendered":"MPfG Journal: Contest Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/
Schedule for the day (from the MPfG site)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Breakfast<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After waking far<\/em> too early (am I being melodramatic? Yes. Do I care? No.), MHG <\/strong>and I walked to breakfast from our dorms. We had food. It was decent food. I found MK<\/strong> and LZ <\/strong>at breakfast, and MK<\/strong> being MK<\/strong>, she clearly needed to bring extra orange juice to the competition. For hydration (When I say \u201cMK <\/strong>being MK<\/strong>,\u201d I refer to ice cream exploits at both MOP and g2 that, granted, I was a very large part of, as well). As such, the walk to the competition venue was utterly nerve-wracking as we watched MK<\/strong> attempt to prevent the orange juice from sloshing out. Like, generally, what I do when I try not to spill something I\u2019m carrying (like milk during breakfast), I\u2019ll just take a few sips and it\u2019ll become far less dangerous. Not to mention I\u2019m not, you know, carrying it for six or seven minutes. And my fingers aren\u2019t freezing off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then once we actually got to the building, the doors to the testing room weren\u2019t open yet, or something, so we just all stood on the stairs, MK<\/strong> still holding her orange juice, and waited for another ten minutes. Supposedly, this testing room is infamously hated around campus because a lot of hard math class finals are given in this room. No matter if that\u2019s true or not, the fact is, I don\u2019t think the room is the most financially endowed? Mostly because my desk had a dent in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LZ<\/strong>, MK<\/strong>, and I were not among the first to get into the room, so we sat rather near the back of the room. MK<\/strong> was initially going to sit in the seat I sat in, but then she switched to the one next to it. I didn\u2019t realize why until, well. You know. Dent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Test<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Uh, ook, I\u2019m not talking about the test. It was hard. Moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lunch was in a huge\u2026room filled with round tables. I would<\/em> call it an auditorium, but I don\u2019t actually remember if it was an auditorium. I really should\u2019ve done this a lot earlier, like say right after the end of MPfG.<\/s> Anyway<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each table was covered with a tablecloth and a puzzle. The puzzle was one of those logic puzzles where we\u2019re given some hints and then want to figure out random facts about fictional characters. Kind of like Einstein\u2019s five house riddle thing. All of the people sitting at the table with me\u2014I think some g2 people, MOP people, and MHG<\/strong>, but not Soar<\/strong> because I think she was talking to some other people?\u2014got together to work on the puzzle. Once we finished, we went to stand in line for lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, Soar<\/strong> found us again and, apparently, she also found my phone. Straight out of my pocket. Which I only discovered because she\u2019d started using my phone to take photos and videos of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m laughing in delight as I talk to <\/em>LZ<\/em><\/strong> and <\/em>MHG<\/em><\/strong> and watch <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> being bombarded by autograph requests. Well, technically, it\u2019s only the one autograph request, but it\u2019s still quite funny to think that I technically know many celebrities. Maybe they\u2019re only celebrities in the incredibly small math competition community, but it\u2019s still honestly bizarre to think about.<\/em> JW<\/em><\/strong> glances around somewhat sheepishly, though to be fair, her eyebrows always look a bit sheepish. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the thing is, it\u2019s just bamboozling that <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong>, first and foremost my friend who likes to stay up past midnight to complex bash into incohesion, is actually someone who legit gets asked for autographs. On the other hand, I kind of get it. Because back in the day, when <\/em>Jason<\/em><\/strong> first got into MOP like, more than half a decade ago (!!!), my mom asked him to get an autograph of Alan Liu, too. So it\u2019s kind of like on the same level, you know? Maybe even worse, because <\/em>Jason<\/em><\/strong> actually had to interact with Alan Liu for another month at MOP after asking for that autograph, while this fan would probably never need to see <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, never mind that: that\u2019s food for thought later. For now, clearly my first and foremost priority is to keep teasing <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong>. \u201c<\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong>! I didn\u2019t know you were giving out autographs now. Can I have one?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you have paper?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWrite your name on my forehead then! :)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I open my mouth, perhaps to keep laughing, perhaps to say something to the effect of \u201clol hahaha <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> oh god I can\u2019t believe loool.\u201d But just at that moment I turn, glancing around for perhaps more people approaching for an autograph, and see <\/em>Soar<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cWhen did you\u2014\u201d join us, I was going to say.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait. She\u2019s taking a video. Of me. With\u2026 \u201cIs that my phone?! How did you get my phone!?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, I do believe this only emphasizes the importance of thievery in friendship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards Ceremony?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After we all finished eating, a few of us found a separate table to play Fish! (Or it was probably Fish, it might\u2019ve been Tractor, as well) The fishergals were KS<\/strong>, Me, RW<\/strong>, JW<\/strong>, AGe<\/strong>, and SLu<\/strong> (And probably some other people). As KS<\/strong> tried to check if the deck was complete, I talked a bit with MHG<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, as the room began to empty, the staff members decided to kick us out. Very rude \ud83d\ude41 Like, at MOP, the Resnik staff literally didn\u2019t kick us out until, like, three or four hours after dinner ended. Here, we barely overstayed our welcome by ten or twenty minutes! Lol, jk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, at that point, the awards ceremony had already begun, so we headed over to the big auditorium. We kind of didn\u2019t want to go to the awards ceremony, though, so a few of us went to get some boba at TeaDo, a shop in the Stratton Student Center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My boba! It was called \u201cgrasshopper\u201d or something, which for some reason was autocorrected to \u201cgrad school.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But even after our boba stop, the awards ceremony still seemed awfully boring for us short-attention-spanned teens, so Kaylee<\/strong> from g2, JW<\/strong>, RW<\/strong>, AGe<\/strong>, EB<\/strong>, VH<\/strong>, KS<\/strong>, and I sat outside the awards ceremony room and played Tractor (an epic Chinese card game you should all learn) on the ground. That way, we were able to hear their loud applause and thus when the actual awards part of the ceremony started but we would also be entertained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, LR<\/strong>, Turtle<\/strong>, and friends found us in the auditorium lobby. His friends didn\u2019t actually know our names, so there was a rather amusing scene wherein they actually believed our nametags, not knowing that our favorite hobby (besides cards and math) is apparently switching nametags. It was utterly delightful, because no one has believed our nametags in months!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took a short break in our card game to listen in to the awards<\/a>. JW<\/strong> got first place! VLoh<\/strong> also placed, like, well! (Jason: dElEtE tHe LiKe tHaT\u2019s bad grammar! Me: iT\u2019s a StYlE i KnOw yOu\u2019Re uNsTyLisH aNd cAn\u2019T uNdErStand\u2014Jason: *poke* Sophie: *pout* so very hurt \ud83d\ude41 Jason: \u2026 I barely touched you! Sophie: :)) <\/em>Meanwhile, IZ<\/strong> stole Turtle<\/strong>\u2019s hat and then got second place, so she went onto stage with the hat. Turtle<\/strong> insisted that this clearly meant that he was the one who got second place :P.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Afterpartranking = Afterparty pranking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the awards ceremony, we went outside the auditorium and discovered that JW<\/strong>\u2019s brother + friends had brought a celebratory gift for her! It was an entire cooler-full of packs of fruit snacks. Why a cooler-full, you ask? It was the most convenient container of the right size. They then proceeded to dump it all over her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What followed next was proof\u2014proof, I say<\/em>\u2014that thievery is essential for all friendships, not just my friendship with Soar<\/strong> and MHG<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the great Fruit Snack Dump\u2122, we stood around talking and socialising. I consider such socialization as a way to cancel out the fact that I\u2019m basically impossible to contact when I\u2019m not meeting someone face-to-face, so there needs to be excessive amounts of talking and catching up. There also needs to be excessive amounts of friendliness and agreeability, so naturally, when <\/em>LR<\/em><\/strong> walks over and tells me I should steal <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s purple hat, I couldn\u2019t refuse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BW<\/em><\/strong>, though, is a very observant person. On the one hand, this makes a successful steal very satisfying. On the other, it makes a successful steal very, very difficult. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I slowly drop out of whatever conversation we\u2019re currently having, wandering back over to the cooler for a fruit snack. On my way back, I slowly creep up behind <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>. In my fuzzy pink jacket, I\u2019m not exactly the most inconspicuous. Maybe he\u2019ll think I\u2019m a giant cup of strawberry boba? Who knows, stranger things have happened, right? And we drink so much boba anyway, is it <\/em>that out of the realm of possibility that he might see me, think I\u2019m a cup of boba, and assume he\u2019s just drank so much boba that he\u2019s seeing walking, talking boba? Oh, what am I even doing!? I don\u2019t need to be sneaky about this, I just need to do it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow, what a good motivational speech! Maybe I\u2019ll memorize it for the next time I need to encourage my friends.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rise to my tippy-toes, snatch <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s hat straight from his head, and <\/em>run.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BW<\/em><\/strong> snaps around immediately. I\u2019m hardly a dozen feet away before he\u2019s giving chase. I duck behind <\/em>LR<\/em><\/strong>, for he is an immoveable mountain of will and determination. After all, he made IMO, so surely he can protect me on the very quest that he ordained. It\u2019s like, Gandalf could protect Frodo from a furious Gollum. Clearly this is the same thing! (Not that I actually remember enough of <\/em>Lord of the Rings to know if that\u2019s an accurate analogy)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BW <\/em><\/strong>comes rushing over, all fury and anger and brinestones. <\/em>LR<\/em><\/strong> ducks away. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My immoveable mountain is gone, leaving me in the direct path of <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>. All that\u2019s left is a battle of courage and determination, then. A standoff the like of bull and gladiator of old or two cars both determined not to swerve. A test of who will blink first, who will stand tall and\u2014and oh gosh why is he glaring at me like that no stop it you\u2019re too tall how am I supposed to keep the hat from you\u2014\u201cAaah okay okay! Have your hat back!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pout at my loss and sulk into a corner\u2014or at least, as much of a corner as exists on a large field of dirt\u2014to eat my fruit snacks in peace.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With my stomach a bit more full of rubbery, gummy sugar, my mood also improves. <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> has somehow gotten his golden hat back from <\/em>IZ<\/em><\/strong>, so therefore, since I can\u2019t get <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s for long, perhaps I should give <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s a try. After all, he\u2019s much less attentive!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then again, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s most valuable possession is hardly his hat. Of course, it <\/em>is an iconic part of his vibe, but his raincoat is also an iconic part of his vibe and I\u2019ve never stolen <\/em>that. Rather, his most valuable possessions <\/em>must be his turtles. Because, like, what else would <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> value? Rabbits?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t be as cavalier and foolhardy about this thievery as I was about <\/em>BW<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s hat, however. After all, I\u2019d rather actually be successful for once. So this time, I need a\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLAN (PLot to Accomplished Neatly)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Verify <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s inattention.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Pick a low risk target.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Carry out the thievery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It checks all three of the neccessities for a good plan: Simple, Awesome, and Doable (SAD). Let\u2019s do it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Verify inattention<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walk up to <\/em>Turtle <\/em><\/strong>and start poking him with my empty fruit snack packet. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Po\u2014<\/em>Turtle <\/em><\/strong>opens his hand and accepts the fruit snack, seemingly without even realizing that he\u2019s now holding anything. Loool. I suppose, despite being a human, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> is still sufficiently turtle-like that he wants to prevent pollution. The real question is: how many fruit snack packets can I give him before he notices that I\u2019m giving him trash? Clearly I must figure this out. For the sake of science.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I eat another pack of fruit snacks. Poke. Poke. Poke. <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> accepts the gift.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impressive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think I have the stomach right now to eat another pack, so I suppose I can continue the experiment later.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Pick target<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> seems to have three turtles on him: Mr. Herb on his lanyard, with a silent H; a smaller stuffed turtle on his backpack; and a little plastic rectangle thing with a picture of a turtle. Mr. Herb is a difficult choice because he\u2019s literally hanging from <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s neck and even the least observant person would probably notice something being taken straight from in front of their eyes.The little 2D plastic turtle picture might work because it\u2019s on his backpack and therefore he probably won\u2019t notice me touching it, but at the same time, it\u2019s connected to one of his zippers using one of those keyring things, which are <\/em>ridiculously difficult to remove. Besides, a picture of a turtle just isn\u2019t satisfying.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which leaves us with little stuffed turtle. That one\u2019s not ideal, either, because it\u2019s tied to the backpack on a little rubber rope with the hand sanitizer. It looks like a bit of a bother to remove, but even so, it\u2019s our best option.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Just do it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I eat another pack of fruit snacks to infuse myself with some solid, squishy courage. Then I poke it into <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s hands, which is honestly still too hilarious for words. He still doesn\u2019t notice a thing, so I step behind him to observe his bag. There\u2019s these little bulbous parts on the rubber rope that kind of act like knots on a normal rope that make sure the turtle and hand sanitizer won\u2019t fall off the backpack. If I pull on the rubber too gently, it won\u2019t get past that bulbous part at all and I\u2019ll basically just alert <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> to my actions (if he\u2019s paying attention, which is also somewhat unlikely). If I pull on it too hard, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> might also notice. So I need to do it just right and\u2014oh, alright, I admit it. I\u2019m <\/em>mayybe putting it off a tiny bit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no more putting it off! I shall get to it immediately. As in, like, now. Now now. I reach my hand out and<\/em> tug. Down goes one rubber knot, and two more to go! And thank god and my natural, inherent skill (lol), <\/em>Turtle <\/em><\/strong>doesn\u2019t notice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> does. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d she whisper hisses at me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spin around and smile innocently. \u201cOh, nothing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026?\u201d She raises an eyebrow. \u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, alright. So maybe I\u2019m stealing\u2014er, getting\u2014the turtle.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh, okay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stare at her. She stares back. We each wait for the other to do <\/em>something. Well, okay. <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s not a snitch so clearly this must be fine. I wll continue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I take another <\/em>tug.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this time, I pull too hard. <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s head jerks up, ever so slightly, and he looks around in confusion. I duck behind his back, but <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> is not so fast. <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> catches sight of her before she can even move, which is probably a good thing because at least that means she\u2019s not acting too suspicious when he catches her. \u201cOh, hello, <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JW<\/em><\/strong> shrugs. \u201cJust\u2026eating some fruit snacks.\u201d She pulls a pack out of her pocket and smiles.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure.\u201d <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> has a certain <\/em>tone of saying \u201csure.\u201d It\u2019s a very <\/em>flat \u201csure,\u201d so it always sounds a tiny bit deadpan or sarcastic even if he\u2019s being entirely unsarcastic. I think this time it\u2019s unsarcastic, but he might start getting suspicious. Not to mention everyone else <\/em>can see what I\u2019m doing. Maybe they aren\u2019t paying attention, but maybe they are and plan to bring it up in a few minutes. So I should probably finish this soon before I can\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I give one out tug and it falls open. The turtle tumbles into my hand, I reconnect the hand sanitizer rope, and scamper.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success!<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the adrenaline rush of that success, I <\/em>lose some of what little common sense I have left<\/s><\/em> <\/em><\/strong>am<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>now basically an accomplished cat burglar at this point, so I might as well set my sights on <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s Herb. It\u2019s not something I can get sneakily, so, right in front of <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>, I lift the lanyard off his neck, struggling immensely with getting it around his hat. This time, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> notices. \u201cHey!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee ya!\u201d I shoot off. As I run, I try to think through the logistics of this choice. I\u2019m not going to be able to keep the lanyard because <\/em>Turtle <\/em><\/strong>will insist that it actually has important things, like his room key. I <\/em>will be able to get Herb, but he\u2019ll know I have Herb and will therefore be constantly attempting to get it back. So I need to use getting Herb as a cover for getting something else, so he won\u2019t realize I\u2019ve taken that something else and I\u2019ll be able to keep it for longer. And, well. Speaking of <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s room key, he once mentioned he has, like, at least half a dozen more turtles in his room. So if I want more turtles, the best way is clear.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turtle<\/em><\/strong> hasn\u2019t come chasing after his stuff yet. I suppose he\u2019s busy doing something else, which gives me the perfect opportunity to wiggle the key out of the keyring. I wander away, whistling cheerfully, and pretend as if I\u2019m not doing anything suspicious at all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Score! The key is out, Herb is out, and let me just put a fruit snack empty baggy on the key ring as well, just to see if he\u2019ll notice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/em>JW<\/em><\/strong> joins me on the outskirts of the group. To celebrate her win <\/em>and also because <\/s><\/em>Turtle <\/s><\/em><\/strong>is coming our way<\/s><\/em>, I give her the two turtles and the key. Sure enough, <\/em>Turtle<\/em><\/strong> walks over to us. I shove the lanyard at him, smile angelically, and escape.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, JW <\/strong>and I plotted to sneak into Turtle<\/strong>\u2019s room and steal all his turtles. Well, actually, I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s what we were planning because it\u2019s kind of weird to sneak into someone\u2019s room, even if it\u2019s to steal turtles, but we were plotting something<\/em> and talking about dorms. Anyway,  we didn\u2019t know where his room was, exactly, but luckily, we had LZ<\/strong>. Why luckily? Well, Turtle<\/strong> already showed LZ<\/strong> around campus on Saturday. Of course, his tour was kind of bad because he just took her around a bunch of the tunnels (MIT has a bunch of tunnels running under the campus through which students can get around without actually being touched by sunrays, and thus continue being pale nerds) and showed her some pipes, but she did<\/em> end up getting a room tour, as well. Before we could actually get away, though, Turtle<\/strong> decided to give us a room tour, anyway, so around 5 pm, LZ<\/strong>, VLoh<\/strong>, JW<\/strong>, Turtle<\/strong>, and I headed for Next House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Room Tour!!!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always known that Next House is the dorm full of math nerds. Most MOPpers end up going to MIT, and most MOPpers at MIT go to Next House. The only reason my brother isn\u2019t at Next House is that he was unlucky and didn\u2019t draw \u201cNext\u201d in the dorm lottery. And I\u2019m being serious here, MIT does a dorm lottery. This isn\u2019t an analogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My point being, the moment we walked in, we found LR<\/strong> (who\u2019d long since left the celebration outside the auditorium) standing in the lobby with his computer, trying to get food from the vending machine. Apparently, he was trying to work on the paper he hadn\u2019t yet started that was due in an hour, or something along the lines of that timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, we went up to Turtle<\/strong>\u2019s floor, returned his key to him so he could let us into his room, and then stole his turtles. Um\u2026oops, very sorry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By that point, it was almost 6 pm, so we headed for dinner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Okay, so before we talk about dinner, let\u2019s back up real quick. During the awards ceremony, at 3:30 pm, Jason<\/strong> sent me a text asking if I had any dinner plans. Apparently, JW<\/strong>\u2019s parents (though Jason<\/strong> told me that [JW<\/strong>\u2019s brother\u2019s name]\u2019s parents were doing a free dinner because he heard about it from JW<\/strong>\u2019s brother) were planning to host dinner at 5 Spices House, presumably to celebrate JW<\/strong>\u2019s rank at MPfG. Of course, we hadn\u2019t technically reached that part of the awards ceremony yet, but considering JW<\/strong> got, like, most of the questions right, and a score of 10\/20 was literally enough for the top ten this year because the problems were hard, well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I kind of imagined it as a sort of buffet thing, like what someone did one year at MathCounts. Because I thought that if I was invited by Jason<\/strong> was invited by JW<\/strong>\u2019s brother, there were probably a lot of people going so it can\u2019t possibly be one of those sit-down dinner things where you actually order dishes. So I was like, \u201cMaybe, because I think I\u2019m dinner-ing with some TJ folks\u201d (TJ gang being a group of people at MOP who either went to Thomas Jefferson (TJ) or ended up becoming friends with students from TJ). \u201cLemme see if they want to go?\u201d (to this buffet style thing that I was imagining)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I went and asked JW<\/strong> about if there\u2019s space for one or two more people, and then she was like, \u201cWhat dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that point, I realized something strange was going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it was just supposed to be a surprise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I decided to go and ask the TJs about it, anyway. I found LZ<\/strong>, IZ<\/strong>, and Turtle<\/strong> sitting in a row in the auditorium (well, more accurately, I saw Turtle<\/strong>\u2019s yellow bucket hat, which was on IZ<\/strong>\u2019s head) and asked them about what we were going to eat for dinner. I think MK<\/strong>, the other TJ student present, had already left MIT when dinner rolled around, so I don\u2019t think I asked her. The general consensus was \u201cidk,\u201d so apparently we\u2019d decided to go eat dinner but not where we were going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, we decided to go to dinner with JW<\/strong>\u2019s group if there was space, except it was apparently too far from campus so IZ<\/strong> didn\u2019t go with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward a few hours and it was 6 pm and time to get dinner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner was a two-hour long ordeal. The attendees were JW<\/strong>\u2019s parents, JW<\/strong>, Turtle<\/strong>, LZ<\/strong>, me, and Jason<\/strong>\u2019s entire pod + friends. What do I mean by pod? Essentially, during the pandemic year, all MIT students were put in these groups of up to six students to make sure the entire school of nerds didn\u2019t just spend the pandemic year sitting in their dorms all lonely. Jason<\/strong> and JW<\/strong>\u2019s brother were in the same pod. They also made some additional friends outside the pod that sort of became the group of people that would hang out together and play massive, like, 10-player games of Tractor into the wee hours during weekends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which meant that we had a total dinner party of 13 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of whom couldn\u2019t decide what to eat, so it probably took about two hours for everyone to actually decide what to eat, particularly since JW<\/strong>\u2019s parents decided to let the kids sit at one table while they sat at another, meaning the ordering was left up to said kids, many of whom were also bad at Chinese (myself included). In the end, Jason<\/strong> took charge and went around the table asking each person to pick a dish while I wrote it down. Well, I tried to write it down, but then Jason<\/strong> decided I was taking too long and took over my phone, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good thing about the whole process, though, is that I now know exactly what we ate, even though I can\u2019t remember exactly how it tasted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our meal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n