You too can try for second place

Yesterday, over 180 of my closest friends and I participated in the 5th Annual People4People Games (http://www.people4people.org/), the fundraising event for the People's Community Clinic, a non-profit clinic providing quality, affordable healthcare for under- and uninsured adults and children in the Austin area. The P4P Games blend corporate morale and community goodwill into a tapestry of obstacle courses, bull horns, and dillo dirt. (Yes, I got that from their website.) One hundred percent of the money raised through P4P events goes directly to benefit People's Community Clinic.

I am proud to announce that after a three year hiatus, Team BMC has once again returned to its rightful place atop the standings, which coincidentally happened the first time I participated on the BMC team. (Four other players were also on the team for the first time, but this is about me!) The team, led by me ... uh, I mean, led by our team captain Gus, finished in the top 4 after the main events were done (2nd or 3rd, I can't remember), which qualified us for the winner-take-all final relay event. And we took all.

In the individual events, Team BMC won the basketball event for the 5th year in a row. No other team has ever won this event, although it was a lot closer this year. One guy on our team was the only one who made a significant number of shots, which was enough to carry us. Personally, I stunk on ice! I probably could have made more shots with my eyes closed. I think the balls were over-inflated, and I believe we all know how painful that can be.

But, I made up for my poor shooting skills in the Brain Teaser event, which Team BMC also won. Brain Teaser consisted of a set of true/false questions, a set of Mensa-caliber brain teasers (most of which couldn't be answered in the time allotted), and a set of trivia questions. I earned my keep during the trivia portion ... who knew that no social life and watching lots of TV would come in handy. :)

So that's it for this year's event. For those of you in the Austin area that would like to have a team participate next year, check out their website for contact numbers and e-mail addresses. You'll need at least 2 girls and 4 guys, although it's a good idea to have a few extra people as alternates, because you'll get tired if you try to do every event. Please remember, you will be aiming for second place. :)