AldermanM
04-03-09, 09:30 PM
I’ve been trying to figure out if I should write this for a week now and decided that I wanted to. It’s probably a rehashing of everyone else’s already better written statements, but hey- what else is net-benefits for?!
To start, I wanted to thank and provide recognition to this community has a whole. Scott Weaver said this perfectly in his earlier post and I think it is very true, there is more love this year and it’s fantastic. Last year, I wasn’t sure if I was coming back- I’m very glad I did. You are ALL such wonderful, intelligent, funny, kind people and deserve so much applause. In High School, debate was where I found a community and true friends- I’m glad this didn’t stop when I got to college. Thank you so much for supporting David and me, we are very thankful. I truly believe that there are so many amazing debaters on this circuit that deserved to be in finals and I am sorry we couldn’t all be there, winning some sort of “collective first place prize.” That would have been sick.
But for a few specifics- I have to thank my team first and foremost. Phil- you have been an amazing addition to our team and we are thankful for your support, guidance, and constrained status ;). And teaching me what the hell uniqueness is (though Willamette will contend that I still don’t get it). Keith- I don’t understand how you put up with us for no money and very little congratulations. As a volunteer coach and someone I consider to be a close friend, thank you so much. I don’t think this year would have been possible without you. Debbie- thank you for teaching me Parli debate and being one of the most caring individuals I have ever met in my life. You made our team feel like a family and I cannot even begin to describe how super you are. To every member of this team- Matthew, Elia, Jack, Travis, and Geoff, thank you! Your research, support, and attitude is what made this year possible. Katherine- I’m so excited for next year, can’t even handle it. We are going to kick ass! You are such a sweetheart and gave us so much help preparing for the NPTE and NPDA.
David- you get your own paragraph (I read Smitty’s wiki article and it seemed appropriate). I cannot thank you enough for this year. You are THE most brilliant debater I know. I don’t know how to make arguments without you. Thank you for keeping me debating, thank you for pushing me to the edge, thank you for making me work my ass off. It was worth it. I appreciate it. You are one of my closest friends and I don’t know how to debate without you. I love you, man. You are going to do such amazing things and I can’t wait to say, “thank guy was my partner and he taught me so much.” Good luck at grad school!!
Now to some important people in this community. I’m going to forget awesome people and I’m sorry. But my memory skills are limited:
NAU as a whole- thank you for being such a wonderful squad. Y’all were some of our first friends on the circuit and I have loved getting to prep with you all year. Zach, you are the coolest dude ever. Nicola, I love you and am unashamed to admit it. Tony- I’m sorry I always fail in front of you; we’ll see how next year goes. You’re too cool for school and you know it fool ;).
UoP as a whole- LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys. Emily and Sarah- I can’t even handle how important you are to me. You two are the reason tournaments are fun and you are two of the sweetest people I know. I apologize for my extra friendly, drunken ways :). Steve, Yasir, Will- ballers. Mean to me, but ballers :).
Berkeley- thank you for being some of the nicest people on the circuit. Sharmi= sweetheart and the best aunt an honorary brown person could have, Ankur= nicest person ever and freaking amazing debater, I’m glad I’ve known you since Claremont of last year. Evan= kick ass and scary talented. Our debates next year should be epic sir.
Wyoming- I’m so glad we have gotten to be friends this year. You guys are incredible and so kind. Kristen Owen especially, thank you for helping us this year and being such an amazing friend. And hopefully a “real life” friend, that would make me happy. Jeff Fife- how can anyone NOT love you?!?! You give me gifts and visit Reno…willingly. I adore you.
UCSD- I love you guys. Thanks for teaching me about the electrical grid and being so friendly all the time. You are both ridiculously talented and are an amazing team. Thank you for being you.
SIU- thank you for some amazing rounds. Kevin and Adam, you guys are so freaking talented, I can’t even begin to understand how you do the things you do. Finals and Sems with you were phenomenal and I feel honored to have such a throw down with you cats. Katie- I love you and will miss you more than you could possible know. If I don’t see you again, I’m going to cry. You were so wonderful to me at camp and I appreciate it so much. Thank you for always being so kind. Chris- you’re pretty cool. I’m glad we got to have such great rounds this year at Pt. Loma and NPTE.
Western Washington- I wish I was a 10th of the fantastic-ness that you guys are. Stephen and Susan are so so so talented and our debates together have been my favorite this year. Susan, I hope you have fun in South America and manage to find a computer in the next few years so you can share with the world your experiences. Though I know the goal of your trip is to avoid computers. Annaleigh- thanks for listening to our K’s and providing such helpful feedback. Oh, and helping me fix my dumbass moments in round, there have been a few in front of you.
Oregon- Kick ass squad as a whole. Kick ass. Dodds- you will go down in history as one of the greats and have made such an impact on this community. I’ll probably never forget either of our rounds- at Long Beach when I was radically embarrassing with my “embodiment K” and at NPDA when we had a throw down. McCabe- dude, you are so cool and tall. But mostly tall. Oh, and ridiculously talented. Matt Rose- you know you’re legit and I admire all your…diversity. Lots and lots of diversity. Hailey- you are sweet and I meant every word in finals. That was an amazing round and you are so wonderful. Gander- same as Hailey. Possibly minus the sweetness: P. Can’t wait for some throw-downs next year.
Washburn- You guys rock! All of you. Jotto- thank you for your support this year and all of those wonderful rounds, your encouragement made NPTE finals much less scary. Joe- you’re so crazy good and I can’t wait for next year. Marcus- I hope to come up with an argument that isn’t cheating. That is my goal. Oh, and you’re such a great guy who only makes fun of me in the nicest way. Aly- love you girl. Thanks for helping in finals and providing us with support. And being nice to me since the beginning, I really appreciate you. Shasta- WE DIDN’T CHEAT. And you’re awesome.
Long Beach- Love you folks. Helen- you are too big a sweetheart. AJ- thanks for your support and sassiness this year (and helping in finals). Kirsten- our life together should be pretty damn sweet girl. Love the Tillamook.
USAFA- you guys became some of my best friends on the circuit this year. Which is surprising since I don’t like militarism (shocker). Matt- you are so talented and kind. Thank you for being so supportive, in every silly thing I do, and being a great guy. I hope I see you next year. Josh- you know you’re cool. I’m glad we’re friends. Brandon- dude! Tattoos! And love! You’re great. Sean- you watched our round and are such a sweetheart. Thanks man. Can’t wait to see you dominate next year. Carrie- I love you so much and need you in my life. Escape them and get a job in Reno (I don’t care where, McDonalds will suffice. As long as you are HERE).
Boulder- you guys are so talented and sweet. Rachelle and Nathan, thank you for being so nice and supportive. Your squad is an inspiration and you both achieved so much this year. Than and Will- I love you guys. I wish we had gotten to debate more this year and I hope to see you around. Dara= sweetheart. Weaver- thank you for helping me, teaching us, and finally voting for our K. You are genuinely wonderful and Jeff Fife made the perfect choice in his “straight life partner.” I really hope you are around next year and that ominous final statement in your post is not true.
Willamette- I’m glad we got to finally know you as a squad this year. You are all wonderful and talented. Nick and Mary Anne- y’all rock hardcore. Acacia and Eric- thank you for a fantastic semi’s round. I can’t wait to move into the Tillamook forest with you and Kirsten. The waterslide to the ocean, the Indian food, the ice cream shop, our grotto pool, and the dungeon- ROCKING! Love you guys and good luck next year with everything you do. I better freaking see you.
WKY- This is such an amazing team filled with wonderful people. Rachel, Kelcy, Logan, Tom, Fergie, Liz- all y’all rock. Way to be so sweet and talented. Tom and Logan- you guys are phenomenal debaters and I still don’t know how to beat you. I’m glad some other people did it for me ;). But seriously, all of you are wonderful and deserve such amazing things in life.
Carroll- you two are so talented and sweet. Kirby and Dick, I’m glad we’ve gotten to debate so much and hang out so frequently. Y’all kick ass and I’m going to miss you next year!
Texas Tech Such amazingness from this squad. Mitchell and Horton- LOVES. You both are crazy talented. My lovely wife, Ashleigh, kisses. Jeremy- I'll include you here as well. You are a sweetheart. Thanks.
To the Coaches- thank you for judging this year and giving back to the community. Special thanks to Marlin, Kasey, Kat, Jeff, Doubledee, Joe Gant, Jason and Patty, Derek, the NPDA team, Luke, Paul Bingham and Drutman, Tim West, Tim Kammermayer, Rob Layne, Kevin O’leary, Cheese, Haas, Todd, Joffrion, Bill Neesen, Danny, Brandon, Krupicka, Woods, Donaldson, and almost everyone else. You are the reason this community continues to survive and deserve some of the biggest congratulations.
This was long and I apologize. I just like to hear the sound of my fingers clicking on a keyboard. And I really think everyone is pretty fantastic here. Thanks for a great year and here’s looking forward to the next.
To start, I wanted to thank and provide recognition to this community has a whole. Scott Weaver said this perfectly in his earlier post and I think it is very true, there is more love this year and it’s fantastic. Last year, I wasn’t sure if I was coming back- I’m very glad I did. You are ALL such wonderful, intelligent, funny, kind people and deserve so much applause. In High School, debate was where I found a community and true friends- I’m glad this didn’t stop when I got to college. Thank you so much for supporting David and me, we are very thankful. I truly believe that there are so many amazing debaters on this circuit that deserved to be in finals and I am sorry we couldn’t all be there, winning some sort of “collective first place prize.” That would have been sick.
But for a few specifics- I have to thank my team first and foremost. Phil- you have been an amazing addition to our team and we are thankful for your support, guidance, and constrained status ;). And teaching me what the hell uniqueness is (though Willamette will contend that I still don’t get it). Keith- I don’t understand how you put up with us for no money and very little congratulations. As a volunteer coach and someone I consider to be a close friend, thank you so much. I don’t think this year would have been possible without you. Debbie- thank you for teaching me Parli debate and being one of the most caring individuals I have ever met in my life. You made our team feel like a family and I cannot even begin to describe how super you are. To every member of this team- Matthew, Elia, Jack, Travis, and Geoff, thank you! Your research, support, and attitude is what made this year possible. Katherine- I’m so excited for next year, can’t even handle it. We are going to kick ass! You are such a sweetheart and gave us so much help preparing for the NPTE and NPDA.
David- you get your own paragraph (I read Smitty’s wiki article and it seemed appropriate). I cannot thank you enough for this year. You are THE most brilliant debater I know. I don’t know how to make arguments without you. Thank you for keeping me debating, thank you for pushing me to the edge, thank you for making me work my ass off. It was worth it. I appreciate it. You are one of my closest friends and I don’t know how to debate without you. I love you, man. You are going to do such amazing things and I can’t wait to say, “thank guy was my partner and he taught me so much.” Good luck at grad school!!
Now to some important people in this community. I’m going to forget awesome people and I’m sorry. But my memory skills are limited:
NAU as a whole- thank you for being such a wonderful squad. Y’all were some of our first friends on the circuit and I have loved getting to prep with you all year. Zach, you are the coolest dude ever. Nicola, I love you and am unashamed to admit it. Tony- I’m sorry I always fail in front of you; we’ll see how next year goes. You’re too cool for school and you know it fool ;).
UoP as a whole- LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys. Emily and Sarah- I can’t even handle how important you are to me. You two are the reason tournaments are fun and you are two of the sweetest people I know. I apologize for my extra friendly, drunken ways :). Steve, Yasir, Will- ballers. Mean to me, but ballers :).
Berkeley- thank you for being some of the nicest people on the circuit. Sharmi= sweetheart and the best aunt an honorary brown person could have, Ankur= nicest person ever and freaking amazing debater, I’m glad I’ve known you since Claremont of last year. Evan= kick ass and scary talented. Our debates next year should be epic sir.
Wyoming- I’m so glad we have gotten to be friends this year. You guys are incredible and so kind. Kristen Owen especially, thank you for helping us this year and being such an amazing friend. And hopefully a “real life” friend, that would make me happy. Jeff Fife- how can anyone NOT love you?!?! You give me gifts and visit Reno…willingly. I adore you.
UCSD- I love you guys. Thanks for teaching me about the electrical grid and being so friendly all the time. You are both ridiculously talented and are an amazing team. Thank you for being you.
SIU- thank you for some amazing rounds. Kevin and Adam, you guys are so freaking talented, I can’t even begin to understand how you do the things you do. Finals and Sems with you were phenomenal and I feel honored to have such a throw down with you cats. Katie- I love you and will miss you more than you could possible know. If I don’t see you again, I’m going to cry. You were so wonderful to me at camp and I appreciate it so much. Thank you for always being so kind. Chris- you’re pretty cool. I’m glad we got to have such great rounds this year at Pt. Loma and NPTE.
Western Washington- I wish I was a 10th of the fantastic-ness that you guys are. Stephen and Susan are so so so talented and our debates together have been my favorite this year. Susan, I hope you have fun in South America and manage to find a computer in the next few years so you can share with the world your experiences. Though I know the goal of your trip is to avoid computers. Annaleigh- thanks for listening to our K’s and providing such helpful feedback. Oh, and helping me fix my dumbass moments in round, there have been a few in front of you.
Oregon- Kick ass squad as a whole. Kick ass. Dodds- you will go down in history as one of the greats and have made such an impact on this community. I’ll probably never forget either of our rounds- at Long Beach when I was radically embarrassing with my “embodiment K” and at NPDA when we had a throw down. McCabe- dude, you are so cool and tall. But mostly tall. Oh, and ridiculously talented. Matt Rose- you know you’re legit and I admire all your…diversity. Lots and lots of diversity. Hailey- you are sweet and I meant every word in finals. That was an amazing round and you are so wonderful. Gander- same as Hailey. Possibly minus the sweetness: P. Can’t wait for some throw-downs next year.
Washburn- You guys rock! All of you. Jotto- thank you for your support this year and all of those wonderful rounds, your encouragement made NPTE finals much less scary. Joe- you’re so crazy good and I can’t wait for next year. Marcus- I hope to come up with an argument that isn’t cheating. That is my goal. Oh, and you’re such a great guy who only makes fun of me in the nicest way. Aly- love you girl. Thanks for helping in finals and providing us with support. And being nice to me since the beginning, I really appreciate you. Shasta- WE DIDN’T CHEAT. And you’re awesome.
Long Beach- Love you folks. Helen- you are too big a sweetheart. AJ- thanks for your support and sassiness this year (and helping in finals). Kirsten- our life together should be pretty damn sweet girl. Love the Tillamook.
USAFA- you guys became some of my best friends on the circuit this year. Which is surprising since I don’t like militarism (shocker). Matt- you are so talented and kind. Thank you for being so supportive, in every silly thing I do, and being a great guy. I hope I see you next year. Josh- you know you’re cool. I’m glad we’re friends. Brandon- dude! Tattoos! And love! You’re great. Sean- you watched our round and are such a sweetheart. Thanks man. Can’t wait to see you dominate next year. Carrie- I love you so much and need you in my life. Escape them and get a job in Reno (I don’t care where, McDonalds will suffice. As long as you are HERE).
Boulder- you guys are so talented and sweet. Rachelle and Nathan, thank you for being so nice and supportive. Your squad is an inspiration and you both achieved so much this year. Than and Will- I love you guys. I wish we had gotten to debate more this year and I hope to see you around. Dara= sweetheart. Weaver- thank you for helping me, teaching us, and finally voting for our K. You are genuinely wonderful and Jeff Fife made the perfect choice in his “straight life partner.” I really hope you are around next year and that ominous final statement in your post is not true.
Willamette- I’m glad we got to finally know you as a squad this year. You are all wonderful and talented. Nick and Mary Anne- y’all rock hardcore. Acacia and Eric- thank you for a fantastic semi’s round. I can’t wait to move into the Tillamook forest with you and Kirsten. The waterslide to the ocean, the Indian food, the ice cream shop, our grotto pool, and the dungeon- ROCKING! Love you guys and good luck next year with everything you do. I better freaking see you.
WKY- This is such an amazing team filled with wonderful people. Rachel, Kelcy, Logan, Tom, Fergie, Liz- all y’all rock. Way to be so sweet and talented. Tom and Logan- you guys are phenomenal debaters and I still don’t know how to beat you. I’m glad some other people did it for me ;). But seriously, all of you are wonderful and deserve such amazing things in life.
Carroll- you two are so talented and sweet. Kirby and Dick, I’m glad we’ve gotten to debate so much and hang out so frequently. Y’all kick ass and I’m going to miss you next year!
Texas Tech Such amazingness from this squad. Mitchell and Horton- LOVES. You both are crazy talented. My lovely wife, Ashleigh, kisses. Jeremy- I'll include you here as well. You are a sweetheart. Thanks.
To the Coaches- thank you for judging this year and giving back to the community. Special thanks to Marlin, Kasey, Kat, Jeff, Doubledee, Joe Gant, Jason and Patty, Derek, the NPDA team, Luke, Paul Bingham and Drutman, Tim West, Tim Kammermayer, Rob Layne, Kevin O’leary, Cheese, Haas, Todd, Joffrion, Bill Neesen, Danny, Brandon, Krupicka, Woods, Donaldson, and almost everyone else. You are the reason this community continues to survive and deserve some of the biggest congratulations.
This was long and I apologize. I just like to hear the sound of my fingers clicking on a keyboard. And I really think everyone is pretty fantastic here. Thanks for a great year and here’s looking forward to the next.