April 26, 2009

Getting to Know Kevin (Part 1)

We have noticed that this blog is slowly becoming more popular than William Hung, officially making us the most famous Asians in America. In honor of us taking over this coveted title, we have decided to treat you, our loyal readers, to a special two-week series of posts about getting to know Kevin and Zhou. Over the next nine days, we will post four separate times for your viewing pleasure. Yes, this means four nights of light reading, four chances to get on our Puzzles for Postcards list of winners, four Scrabble log updates. I can barely contain my excitement in writing this paragraph, so I can’t even imagine how you feel reading it. To make this even more exhilarating, this week Zhou will be answering the questions about Kevin, and next week Kevin will be answering the exact same questions about Zhou. Finally, although it may look like we ripped these questions from a junk chain mail, we actually created them ourselves.

[Zhou: Please note that Kevin wrote this introduction. I had nothing to do with it.]

So with no further ado, it’s time to see how well Zhou knows Kevin.

(1) Favorites (an easy one to get the blood flowing):

Favorite college class: that art class he took freshman year before we knew each other – I think it may have been drawing?
Favorite movie: please, anyone who has read even one post on this blog knows
Favorite food: the one and only… chili dog (or chilly dog)
Favorite animal: the wolf
Favorite book: um…Kevin is more of a listener, not a reader

Correction
My favorite college class was actually a Computer Science algorithm class I took senior year with Dr. Johnson. As an example of how much I liked it: I remember falling asleep one day in that class (I was one of six students, and I sat next to the professor), and I actually felt really bad.


My favorite animal is more specifically the gray wolf (canis lupis). I wish I could post the picture of me dressed up as one for Halloween in third grade, but it’s at my parent’s house.

I have so many favorite books, I can’t believe Zhou couldn’t think of any! If I had to pick one though, it would have to be Rascal, by Sterling North. We were required to read it back in elementary school, and boy am I glad we were.

(2) Most prized material possession (that Kevin is taking on the trip):

In general, I think it’s his car, his golf clubs or his guitar. I remember him telling someone once that the two things he doesn’t like people borrowing are his car and his clubs. (But I’ve borrowed both – shhh, don’t tell.) As for the trip, it’s definitely his iPod.

Correction
I assume that I’m not allowed to answer the travel Scrabble board as my most prized possession I’m taking, since that belongs to both of us. (No wait, that’s mine – Zhou got it for me as a present!) If so, I would say my iPod is tied with my blue Matt Wertz shirt. I know we’re not supposed to bring cotton clothing, but that shirt is so comfortable!

(3) Biggest pet peeve:

Pets wearing clothes – which means this is a perfect place for a picture of a clothed Charlie (complete with Devil eyes)!


Also, I think Charlie looks adorable.

Correction
This is 110% accurate. This makes me just like Monica from Friends.

(4) What will annoy Kevin most on the road:

Rude people. His second biggest pet peeve is when people in cars don’t wave after you let them turn or go in front of you. Also, he doesn’t know this yet, but hearing me say “Just try some – it’s really good!” will probably be a close second.

Correction
None.

(5) First memory:

This one involves clowns and being strapped in a double stroller. Then there is frantic trying to get away from the scary clowns. Then there is lots of blood.

Correction
Wow, Zhou’s good. I couldn’t remember my first memory until she mentioned it. My family and I were in Cincinnati for a Reds game, and one day my parents thought it would be fun to see their older son squirm, so they decided to take us to a parade with… CLOWNS! They knew I hated clowns! And to make it funnier, they decided to tell us while they were pushing the stroller with Steve and me in it up the brick stairs at the hotel. I would have none of it – at the mere mention of the word “clowns” I crawled out of the stroller. Only I hadn’t thought out my full escape route, and hadn’t thought to get out feet first, so I cracked my head on the corner of one of the steps. This is where the blood came in (I guess technically it came out). Also, this is where I realized that my parents weren’t out to get me, because my dad picked me and my bloody face up and began running frantically around in circles. (Maybe the high rate of speed at which he was running would stop the bleeding?) Fortunately there happened to be a doctor eating breakfast nearby, and I don’t remember the rest.

(6) Thing Kevin can’t do without in life:

This is a close tie between college football, March Madness, fantasy football, the Masters, baseball season until the Reds are out of playoff contention and NBA playoffs. But I think college Buckeye football is probably number one by a hair.

Correction
Probably could have included Cavs basketball, Browns football and the Olympics, but Buckeye football is #1.

(7) Story from before we met that Kevin likes to tell most:

This isn’t necessarily the story Kevin likes to tell most, but it’s the one that I like to hear the best. Plus, the story ends with “and then we went to McDonald’s,” which is almost as good any story that ends with “and then I found $20 in my pocket.” So Kevin and Steve were in this (really cool and awesome) math tournament, and they ended up having to face each other in the final round (after beating out millions of other super smart kids). They then tied in the final round (dun dun dun!), so they had to go to a tiebreaker question. BUT! They both solved the problem and raised their hands at the EXACT same time (the judges deliberated for quite awhile). So they were given another tiebreaker (DUN DUN DUN!). This question involved factoring (or maybe limits? No wait, that was Mean Girls), which Kevin knew Steve had yet to learn, being a grade below. So Kevin coolly took his time and nonchalantly solved the problem and won the round. And then their parents took them to McDonald’s. The other funny thing about this story is that when Kevin tells it, he always stresses the fact that the answer was Steve’s favorite number, so if Steve had just guessed, he probably would have gotten it right.

Correction
The way the really cool and awesome math tournament worked was that the 16 top scores in the region squared off in a bracket arranged in alphabetical order (so as not to give away who won the region, which was the highlight later on in the day). Despite my coach’s argument that it was unfair that Steve and I had to face each other, the order stuck, and there we were in a first round battle for the ages. We split the two questions of the best of three, and the tie took place on the third question. Then the answer to the tiebreaker was 8, Steve’s lucky number.

Do you remember when Ohio State beat Miami in a double overtime thriller in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl National Championship game? Yeah, it was like that.


To be continued Tuesday…
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Puzzles for Postcards (list of winners):

Movie VQs:
Hint: the quotes below are from three different (and famous) movies that are from the same genre.

HKNMTT
MMLTNG
TPHNHM*

*I stole this one from Mental Floss. Thanks Mental Floss!
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Scrabble Games: 40 (full log)
Zhou WPLB: 22; 368; 427; DOWnTIME, ASININE
Kevin WPLB: 18; 363; 461; MEANEST, PAgODAS, BROODING

3 comments:

  1. Hakuna Matata
    I'm melting
    E.T. phone home

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jay Leno also hates when people put clothes on animals.

    Kevin gave me a compliment yesterday on my wave to a driver who let us into a line, I didn't know at the time how important it was to him, glad I did it.

    Also, the chili dog link should be to http://www.skylinechili.com/signature.php

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice interesting post guys!

    ReplyDelete