Day 2: Sunday May 11, 2014 ... Mother’s Day, Project Set-Up and Pin Trading Ceremony

A beautiful sunny morning at 19’C greeted us for Day 2.  However, we soon learned that LA was going to be besieged with a heat wave that is expected to bring a very hot 38’C for Wednesday’s Judging Day ... ugh!.  Today we were going to be pampered by a balmy 34’C instead.

Dustin’s and my room looks over the hotel's front from the 5^th floor … a nice scenic(?) view that is somewhat compromised by the late night din of the LA downtown.  Lucky I am a good sleeper and Dustin is a NYC Manhattan veteran, so no problems there.  I hope the students have been able to accommodate to the new surroundings as well as us.

One redeeming quality of the Figueroa hotel is its shower’s water pressure or at least our shower’s pressure.  I swear I feel like I am under Niagara Falls and the effect is just short of a machine gun of water bullets.  The fill of the tub is almost 4” with the shower running … a perfect scenario for a Calculus flow rate in a fixed container problem.

Dustin is starting his routine of waking at 6:15 am in order to escort Nicole for her regiment of her morning training … she is a high performance swimmer in training.  Since the Figueroa does not have a gym, Dustin and Nicole head over to the gym at the neighbouring Mariott for a workout.  I think they sneak in.

Breakfast for Team Canada is 8 am at the Hotel Figueroa …. it’s actually a pretty great arrangement; food is good, price is affordable and you can’t beat the convenience. At the morning recap before heading off to project set-up back at the Convention Centre, everyone is reminded that it is Mother’s Day and to do what is expected.

Set-up proceeded smoothly and with many of the new backboards using the printed banner roll-ups, problems of years past were virtually non-existent … except for poor Meagen.  I love working with Meagan; she’s a veteran of many previous CWSFs and she could just not give up her old hinged structure.  I kidded her that she should have used some of her past winnings for a newer backboard.  We jerry-rigged her board and she is now a confirmed inductee to Red Green Duct Tape Hall of Fame.  After the set-ups (only a few had issues that were resolved easily enough) which were completed by noon, we all had lunch at the nearby Panini Café … food was great.

A group of us with Dustin leading the way, went to do some shopping at a local supermarket called Ralph’s.  The purpose was to stock the students’ rooms with key snacks; needless to say, Dustin and I removed much of what the students decided were necessary snacks.  It is obvious that these young students have never applied the same thoroughness to their food shopping skills as they have done with their science projects.

During the afternoon, Team Montreal led by veteran chaperone Gus and assistants Heather and Jessica arrived with their students Wilfred, Alexandra and Nivatha.  Team Canada IISEF was now complete and together in their best Canada reds, they all proceeded to the LA Live for the all famous Pin Trading event.  

There was no doubt who was Captain Canada … Calvin dressed the part and was going to prove to all who is the best pin trader in the land.  But somehow,  Catherine scored a coup and landed a Team Japan Kimono.  She however felt guilty and she tells me that she’s going to try to find the student and give it back because it is too precious.  That’s Catharine for you.

TEAM CANADA WAS DEFINITELY VERY SPIRITED!

The chaperones got together and had a relatively nice dinner at the Yard House.  By 10 pm, everyone was back at the hotel and curfew was set for 11 pm.  We won't tell which students complied with the curfew ... suffice to say that what happens at the Figueroa stays at the Figueroa.  It didn't help that Dan M reported that the Figueroa is haunted ... that would explain some of the noises that a few were declaring they were hearing through the night.

more pics of Day 2 here