All the Fun of the Fair · 6:46pm Aug 2nd, 2018
Well, at least it's over. It was exhausting, confusing, and a little irritating. I ate so much junky fair food that I think I've begun to sweat movie theater popcorn butter. I stepped in a lot of poo. But at least the county fair is over. Or, it is until I have to go and pick all of my projects up again. Here's a quick breakdown of the highlights; apologies for not including photos, but I'm having difficulty getting them off my phone. I'll edit this post to include them later.
Welding: I built a platform for a sprayer tank to make it easier for a forklift to lift it and put it in the back of a pickup truck bed. Includes 'feet' made of U-channel to lift it off the ground more easily, a plate on which a motor can be mounted, and some holes that straps can be fed through to tie down the tank. I received a reserve best in class, which is quite good.
Woodworking: I built a cabinet, six feet tall and five foot wide, that will be used by my 4-H club to display our various trophies and awards that we've won over the past century or so. Features sliding glass doors. I won a blue ribbon. Which is good, I guess. I do wish that I'd been given more feedback than 'Keep it up', though.
Cooking 401: I made a baguette. Every person who tried it loved it. Admittedly, they were all members of my family, but still. However, the judges felt that the crust was too tough and the crumb too dry. To which I say, it's a baguette. It's literally designed to mop up soup off a plate. It's supposed to be tough and dry. But I got a red ribbon (second-worst possible) anyway.
Cartooning: I got best in class for my drawing of an archaeologist and a mummy running away from a giant boulder, Indiana Jones style. It was captioned "Take the Mummy and Run."
Overall, I did pretty well. I'm content with what I got. What really ticked me was the fact that my sister got a red ribbon for her electricity project. And it was a good project! It was a three/four-way switch which used LED bulbs to illustrate the path taken by the current. But apparently that wasn't good enough for the judge, who marked her down in everything. Literally everything, including neatness and wire coloration. I really can't tell you how glad I am that I'm finally done with the county fair, and more specifically with the 4-H Extension Office and their stupid petty bureaucracies and judging standards.
*Sees pile of paperwork for 4-H records program* 
AAAnyway, I'm exhausted mentally physically and emotionally from being judged all day and then spending two hours scooping ice cream for a 4-H alumni charity, so I'm just gonna go to sleep now.
Good night,
-6&7
