Departure Day - AP Reading 2018

Departure Day 6/18/2018: I woke just before 4am to walk with Tim to the lobby as he boarded the bus to the airport. He had an early morning flight while my flight isn't until 3:30pm. I made one more trip to the Missouri River on a 5 Mile run. On the way back, I visited the City Library building. Since it was hot and humid, I decided not to visit any other area for the day. It turned out to be fruitful because I met and chatted with an university statistics professor Derek from Arizona who shared a lot of knowledge with me. On the bus ride to the airport, I had the priviledge to sit just in front of our Chief Reader Jessica. She was very warm and kind to everyone. We thank her for all that she's done.

KC Public Library

KC Public Library

Memorial Day Collection KC Hat

"MLB will donate its licensed royalties from the sales of these caps to MLB Charities to support programs for service men and women, veterans and military families." 

The KC hat collection this year

Day Seven - AP Reading 2018 (Funstravaganza Night)

Day Seven 6/17/2018: We retrained on Question #4 first thing in the morning by reviewing the rubric. After scoring a few folders, we again had some down time. Since there were no instructions by lunchtime, we returned to the reading rooms after lunch. To our delight, we were released just around 1:15pm. I got in a quick nap then took a day tour of the city on a sunny and warm afternoon. I took the Street Car south to Union Station. For the first time, I walked around the Crown Center. This location also has a Lego and Sea Life exposition. Next, I returned to the Street Car and headed north to the City Market. I purchased some coffee beans for gifts at the City Market Coffee House, they also had drink called "Hippie" (iced coffee with honey and soy milk) which was very good. Next door to the coffee shop, I bought some "voodoo" beignets to share with Tim. There was a long wait for the Street City to return to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, but the delicious beignets with nutella and strawberries made it worthwhile.  On the way to Funstravaganza Night, I got a text from one of my best friends who just became a father on Fathers Day!  We closed the evening in the Social lounge with table tennis and card games.

From
https://starfishproject.com/the-parable/

One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.

The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”

Table Leaders Steph and Darin (who is a Hulk fanatic) gave the readers in the room the coolest parting gift:

We each received a copy of a Hulk comic!

Steph, who is from Alaska, also gave us some cute postcards:

Day Six - AP Reading 2018 (Best Practice Night)

Day Six 6/16/2018: In the morning, I ran 5 miles to the riverwalk with Tim. To thank Erica for her efforts for the fun run and all other social events, I gave her a Starbucks Kansas City mug. We were asked to wear our Outlier shirt for a quick photo shoot during lunchtime. The four t-shirt winners put on our mad outlier faces. Again, we scored Question #1 most of the day. At 3:30pm our room had some down time, which was welcomed. At 5pm, I did some more shopping at Raygun where I got some magnets and postcards. On the way back, I stopped by the Rally House for a Memorial Day KC hat. I also tried a frozen coffee at Kaldi Coffee. This year's Best Practice Night included 17 presentations, I picked up on some new ideas and resources. I hung out at the social lounge with Bill and Daryl in the evening.

Morning Flap Jack pancakes

Day Five - AP Reading 2018 (Prediction Fun Run)

2018 Fun Run Shirt

Day Five 6/15/2018: I walked to Starbucks on Main/12th early morning to get a KC mug. The day called for scoring Question #1 all day. I attended the Debrief Session for Question #6, this year's investigative task will turn out to have the lowest score in history. I skipped dinner and got a Baby Hulk for Darin and a notepad for Steph at the local supermarket. For the Prediction Fun Run: I finished 11th for three laps around the square in 6:01. Through the raffle drawing, I won a red Outlier shirt. After the run, we walked to the Rally House to check out some KC gears.

My KC running partner and roommate Tim

Tim and Daryl ran a great mile

Fun run at the site of a shooting the day before

Daryl, Marcia, Tim, and Sharon

Day Four - AP Reading 2018 (T-Bones Game)

Day Four 6/14/2018: In the morning, I did a 5 Mile solo run to the Missouri River and back on a pleasant morning. We scored Question #1 all day.  Just before 5pm, there was an active shooter lockout.  The AP Reading community was safe and we were released around 5:15pm.  A group of us boarded the buses to KC T-Bone Game on a hot and humid day.  The BBQ chicken/pork dinner was excellent. I got a T-Bones team hat and recorded a video of the group singing during the 7th Inning Stretch. The hecklers made the night memorable. Is it Dexter or Dexture?

Dine-Out Night

T-Bones welcomed us

One of the best meals in KC

Independent stadium

My first independent league baseball game

Unique Souvenir

T-Bones team hat at the shop "Meat Locker"

T-Bone

Family friendly environment

It was a hot and humid evening

AP Readers leading the 7th inning stretch

The game went deep into the evening

ASAP - Mile 72 (Migrant Children)

With this 25th delivery, we have donated 112 pairs of shoes.

A Shoe Adoption Project Update - We donated five more pairs of shoes to David & Margaret Youth and Family Services on Monday morning. Dinna, a lead case manager, tells me that they are receiving more migrant children due to the recent immigration situation. Often the children arrive at the facilities without shoes. These shoes go to five boys (ages 6-14) who have been separated from their parents. Thank you to all of the donors, supporters, and friends of this charity project.

Zoe & Zac (Size 10 - Age 6)

Smart Fit (Size Y9 - Age 6)

LA Gear Intercept (Size 7 - Age 14)

AND 1 Rocket 4 (Size 7 - Age 14 & Size 6.5 - Age 15)

Have a wonderful summery.

Day Three - AP Reading 2018 (Royals Game)

Gift from the College Board

Day Three 6/13/2018: My room graded Question #4 in the morning and received training on Question #1 (Customers/Check-Out Scatterplot) in the afternoon. After 5pm, we attended a Royals vs Reds game on a beautiful day at the beautiful ball park. The Uber to/from game was very convenient. I purchased a KC hat for my dad for the upcoming Fathers Day.

Kauffman Stadium

Gift for Dad

Tim, Jennifer, Sharon, and Marcia

Free t-shirt for completing a survey

George Brett Statue

Royals Country

Royals Mascot Slugger at the Kids Play Zone

Let's play ball 

Beautiful jumbotron

A beautiful night

The Reds beat the Royals that night

Good times with AP friends

Night time at Kauffman Stadium

Back to Downtown KC