You know you're addicted to FIRST when...

After build season you have this dream. (Yes I actually had this dream this morning.)

Queue up Twilight Zone music:

You just have regained consciousness; it's Thursday morning in the pits. You can't find your pit, when you finally find the pit the robot is still in the bag and nobody from your team can be found. When you get the robot un-bagged. It appears to be almost completely un-assembled. As you frantically try to put it all together it appears to exceed the frame perimeter by at least 400% and weight by 100lbs. With a sinking feeling you realize you will never, ever pass inspection this season.

I am hoping this nightmare isn't someone else's real past life experience I am channeling. I think I have a new psychological disorder. I am calling it "FPRBTSD(FIRST Post Robotic Build Traumatic Stress Disorder)" The only cure is a big dose of FIRST.


.... and after Robert Palmer, if your dreams are like this ....

You better well face it, you're addicted to FIRST.

[Canon reeves]

When you seriously don't know what normal people do in their free time, and so you spend hours after school making to do lists for competition and posting on Chief Delphi.

[adammiller3122]

Originally Posted by Emily_2337

... When you skip out on a family outing to go to a robotic demo for your team

I do that all of the time

[starbound1332]

In my English class, when I have to write about an certain experience you had in your life, I write about how our team won Chairman's!

[xXhunter47Xx]

When your friends question if you have a life outside of robotics
When you start dreaming on how to better the robot in both programming and the 45 lb allotment.
When you start predicting what the next game is going to be.
When you start designing a robot for that game.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by starbound1332

In my English class, when I have to write about an certain experience you had in your life, I write about how our team won Chairman's!

Try having the only thing you feel able to write about in English class be robotics. I put the over/under on 2 papers before my English teacher makes me choose a different topic.

[adammiller3122]

Originally Posted by Katie Reynolds

... When you wish for a snow day, not so you won't have school, but so you'll have extra time to work on your robot!!

My school won't let us work on the bot if we have a snow day... all activities are cancelled

[adammiller3122]

Originally Posted by Rhs953

-You try to make a robotics class. (soon very soon)

That would be sooooo cool!!! Yay FIRST!

[MarcD79]

With already signed up & verified for 3 district events, you look for more to attend/volunteer on your Sundays, even though you are working your normal job on Saturdays.

[CaptainDanger]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Rice

When you seriously consider taking the robot to Prom

It's definitely happening

[MichelB]

When you relate everything to build season, or FIRST and your friends get annoyed with your references they don't understand.

[Koko Ed]

you're willing to risk your life to go to a competition.

[jyaple]

When you go on vacation and find out that there is a robotics competition there and beg your mom to go. (If anyone in Utah is going to the competition on Thursday, message me!! )

When these are a few of your "favorite things:"

1. The smell of ozone and thread tapping oil in the morning.
2. This hiss and crackle of a TIG welder as it lays down a perfect line of buttons.
3. The beautiful long aluminum ribbon coming off the lathe.
4. Pristine lines of code, code that can do anything from launch a mission to Mars or diagnose a fetal heartbeat.
5. The crunch of the crimper or the snap of the POP riveter.
6. The feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when the MC says - "Teams stand behind the line, ready, set.........."

[Ashley Hartley]

...you realize you've been around FIRST longer than you haven't.