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February 07, 2005
Bookworms Anonymous
In 7th grade, I placed fourth in the Valley Tri-Town Spelling Bee. Tri-Town as in three. Three as in fourth place isn't really anything to brag about.
Last night, I attempted to recapture my alphabetical youth by attending the bi-weekly adult spelling bee at Pete's Candy Store. This bee had everything and more: good crowd, witty hosts, geeks galore, and a kick ass theme song.
Abby of 144sheep and I initially decided to survey this event as a research project (more on that later). But quicker than you can say flibbertigibbet, we signed on as real-live contestants.
Here's how it works: There are four rounds. In the first round, each contestant has to spell one word; the second round, two; the third round, four; and the fourth round, eight. Contestants are allowed three misspelled words before being disqualified. While the contest advertises cash prizes, the top three winners actually win varying amounts of food and bar credit.
I'm gonna save you the suspense: I didn't win. While I didn't buckle under the pressure, I didn't exactly get any accolades either. The following are two words I spelled wrong because of stupid errors, beginner's mistakes if you will:
imbibition - I believe the emcee pronounced the word "IN-bibition" and I failed to clarify.
obsecration - My final word. I was tired, and completely forgot the letter "c." Shit happens, what can I say?
But even if I had spelled those words correctly, I would've certainly lost to some of the mighty spellophiles present. You know the type. They participate in every contest, read dictionaries for fun, and when on stage, let loose all the quirky personality tics they hide during the daylight hours. Two of the three winners at least partially fit that profile.
Back to that research... The reason Abby and I attended in the first place is because we, along with some of our other friends, would like to host an adult spelling bee in Manhattan. Beer, prizes and spelling - you can't go wrong! Would you participate? Feedback and suggestions are very welcome.
Posted by Michele at February 7, 2005 11:08 PM
Comments
It's interesting what both of us can only remember 2 of the 3 words we missed.
Posted by: Abby at February 8, 2005 01:17 PM
I'll bring cupcakes to your adult spelling bee and will only particiapte if you let me only spell words that are food. I can spell them fantabulously.
Posted by: Sara at February 10, 2005 02:45 PM
I can't spell worth a darn, but I volunteer to be the audience member who starts the clapping after each contestant correctly spells a word; I’ll even throw in a few ooohh’s and ahhhh’s when appropriate... unless the hosts prefer all clapping and noise to be held until the end of the competition.
Posted by: Jackie at February 11, 2005 12:03 PM
You misspelled there in this post!
"Here's how it works: Ther are four rounds ... "
Heh.
Posted by: Adam at February 11, 2005 09:22 PM
Ha, I did misspell there. Smell the irony?
Posted by: michele at February 13, 2005 08:06 PM
