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

[Jay5780]

You've graduated from high school and aren't on a team, but you still follow the season.

[Vincent Chan]

Originally posted by Sean_330
You dont update your lj more than once every week during build season and when you do, its only about FIRST.

I love LJ.... though I don't get a chance to use it much.

--You come up with a creative scheme for your crate.
--You can no longer speak english because your brain's been fried from lack of speak. (One of my buddies said "I am stopping of the desk from moving.")
--You refuse to talk to the kids who joined the team but didn't do any work.
--You know that you're going to be one of the kids in the control station.
--You built the robot, but don't really care to drive it. (Hey, it's cuz I never got to PRACTICE with it until the night before ship.)
--You come home at midnight on a school night after FIRST and still manage to find the time to post on CD before going to shower and then bed.
--You've eaten more than half your meals for the past week at the work area.
--Those girls you've dubbed distractions have been around enough to befriend you.
--You can manage to build a robot and know most of the rules by heart, yet you can't understand drayage/shipping rules. (I.e., what to put on the crate.)
--Your teachers tell you they saw you working in the parking lot over the weekend.
--You pretend to be relieved that the bot's being shipped off, but realize that withdrawal is already setting in.

I really need sleep now.

<edit>Should have been *lack of sleep.* See what I mean? </edit>

[Clanat]

When you sleep through your first two classes because of staying up too late.
When you kiss the robot goodbye.
When you start kicking people to get them out of the way.
When the robot runs into you multiple times in two days (it hurts a lot)
When you spend the night on the couch in the Robotics room.
When you decide it would be easier to stay up than to try to sleep and wake up again.

[Elyse Holguin]

Originally posted by Scooter
- When you start your local chapter of FIRSTaholics Anonymous

..you know you're going to need a twelve step program to become unaddicted to FIRST, and even then you'll probably go into remission a couple of times.
..you make signs promoting your team's activities and fundraisers in both English and Spanish to impact more people in your community. (we did this today)
..you ask your friend "what is that?!?" while driving home because you hadn't seen the moon so big in so long. (and as it wasn't early it was probably a freak event.)

happy ship day everyone!

[Chubtoad]

When you haven't gone to bed yet because you have to finish the wiring and hook up the pneumatics and make the robot lose 14 pounds before noon today but if someone said they'd do it for you and you could take a nap, you'd never let them because you love doing it!!!! I like caffeine a lot.

[RogerR]

...while dozing in your english class you have a nightmare about splines

[IBApril180]

.....You feel bad for last year's robot because the new one is getting all the attention.


-April

[Katie Reynolds]

... You skip all of your classes on the ship day to finalize the stuff that didn't get done last night.

... The most excited you've ever been about getting new clothes was when your new robotics appearal came in.

... You see someone has the ohm sign as their avatar, and do a double take because you thought you saw a retaining ring/C-ring!

... You fall asleep at your computer while waiting for the "You know you're addicted to FIRST when ..." there on Chief Delphi to load.

- Katie

[scuba_sm]

-You read this thread several times, and still have more things to add

-Your debate teacher tells you to dress up, so you wear your team shirt

-All your fashion discussions are either about team shirts, or saftey glasses.

-All of your buddies on your AIM buddy list say "Working on Robot", including yours

-You actually stay up late enough to see engineers start imitating muppets

-You start imitating muppets too...

-You reply to this post just to keep from thinking that the robot is really gone

[Vincent Chan]

--To avoid withdrawal, you search and find a new robotics project to start on, no matter how large or small. (Ours is rather small... we have a sumobot to mess with until competition.)

--You go over in your head what needs to be done and/or bought before regionals.

--You often wonder how the robot's doing.

--You can think of something to add, at least once a day.
(x2 if you're a rookie this year.)

[Specialagentjim]

...as you crate up the robot, you start spouting off the list of things left to do now to keep yourself from freaking out that you have nothing to do but maybe like school work (Luckily I've got an animation to start on for next year and an OI to design...)

[Ben Mitchell]

I do strategy for my team.

For MONTHS after every regional, I see team numbers: prices, etc.

I could then remember the number, and recall the team's statistics: from what their fuctions where, to how they operated on the field.


Now THAT is scary.

[rust710]

Originally posted by Ben Mitchell
I do strategy for my team.

For MONTHS after every regional, I see team numbers: prices, etc.

I could then remember the number, and recall the team's statistics: from what their fuctions where, to how they operated on the field.


Now THAT is scary.

I will probably see all that stuff for several more years/decades to come. It has been a year and I still remember vividly everything at all competition I went to.

[Jim Giacchi]

... When you walking down the hallway in school and as you pass the numbered classrooms you think of the teams that correspond.

[Tyler Stevens]

-- When your parents grounded you 2 weeks ago and you havn't seen them since then (gone to school to work on the robot before they wake up and get home after they go to sleep)
-- When you get withdrawl after not working on the robot for 12 hours
-- for thinking sleep is a luxury