Vendi vidi vici

First off, for the record:

subsisto : to stand, withstand / stop, halt, cease / stay, remain.
sermo : discussion, talk, common talk, conversation, rumor.
statim : firmly, steadfastly, on the spot, at once, immediately.
Source: SPQR

So my usage may not be 100% perfect but my definition stands. Extend that across...

Ray H.S. had their tournament last weekend and it was the most fun by far. At previous tournaments the kids were still getting to know me. At this one we were already past the introductions and could get down to the fun.

I had one of the funniest debate rounds ever in which the affirmative team dropped the entire negative case which left negative little to talk about in rebuttals. Well, it would have been little for any other neg team but not these two. The first neg speaker gave voters for the round which included, "Blondes are more fun, so you must vote neg", "We draw pictures which are empirically soothing", and "Grandma's cookies suck balls, stolen cookies are better" along with the regular real voters. The affirmative team, two raven haired Hispanic girls, finally responded to something the neg team said. To paraphrase, "Mexican girls can be more fun, we make tamales...". I swear to God I almost died laughing in that round. Thank you Laura and Lindsey. Grandma's cookies do suck balls compared to stolen ones.

I have also added a new phrase to the end of my critiques. "Go forth and conquer." I don't know why but it just feels good to see such smart kids, ready to take the world by the balls. I feel like Yoda teaching the young padawans. Either that or a Sith Lord, can't figure out which.

In other news, Tiff's uncle John is in town with his family for Thanksgiving which is really cool. It is my first time meeting him and it has been entirely too long for Tiff. We went out to Calallen to visit Tiff's great grandmother Ester, who is one of the sweetest people ever. Tiff often talks of her second great grandmother and every time she mentions it she includes the phrase, "I had the honor of knowing her" somewhere in the conversation. The full meaning of that finally struck me watching Ester and John see each other for the first time in years. I had the honor of seeing it. It wasn't a large thing to anyone looking from the outside but I saw this look of joy on that living angel's face at seeing her grandson and I felt I was witnessing a masterpiece. You see John is the member of the family most like his mother and when Ester sees him she also sees her daughter who passed away a little over five years ago. The joy and heartache all at once painted a glorious masterpiece before my eyes. In that sweet woman's face was all that makes life beautiful.

Now go forth and conquer.