STUY KEY CLUB Caring, our way of life.

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Official Newsletter of Stuyvesant H.S. Key Club/New York Division 11

The Locksmith

Special June-July Issue!

On behalf of all of Stuyvesant Key Club, we would just like to say...

Disclaimer: Gavin Huang and Victor Ma were not involved in the production of the front page.

Inside this issue:

Relay for Life 2-4

NYRR Father’s Day Races

5

Events of June 6-7

Important Key Club Information

8

Relay for Life

WOAH! Watch out, I could’ve run

you over! Why are you on the track in the

first place? There is a relay race going on!

You want to know about Relay for Life?

But the event isn’t even over yet! What do

you mean I’m writing this in present

tense!? O.K. fine, since the other three are

still back there, I can give you a quick

summary of today.

So I got to Relay-for-Life early

because I just took my NYSSMA exam,

didn’t feel like going home, and realized

that they might need some help there. Be-

sides, I was bored. The day was beautiful.

(Remember that phrase “DAY WAS

BEAUTIFUL”.) It was sunny, warm, and

I just wanted to lie down and daydream.

“What a Day for a Daydream.” Yeah,

that’s how great it was. So when I got

there, I saw Gavin helping out. He came

over to me and I got my first assignment

of the day. “Watch the stuff on the

bench.” It was a cooler and a box full of

candy. Anyway, we later moved the stuff

to our table on the side of the track and set

up there. It was still pretty early in the day

but the sun was melting the Pocky sticks

and the rest of the chocolate. When Gavin

picked up two chocolate bars, they

flopped helplessly. “Can’t sell those,” he

said. Then I got the point. We weren’t eat-

ing it, we were selling it! O.K. So he left

to do something, leaving me with the stuff

and soon, volunteers arrived.

So later, after the volunteers set-

tled and Gavin came back, it was time for

the games! When they announced our

team, I heard a gasp of fear as if we were

going to beat the adults in these athletic

events. But the lady up stage assured

them, “Don’t worry, they’re only high-

schoolers”. EXCUSE-MOI? HA! That mo-

tivated me and the rest of Stuy KC to win

these events! But then, looking at the

strong and fast adults on the other teams,

who were we kidding? :/

Relay for Life

Jensen “Flyingbluejensen” Cheong

Relay for Life

So our first challenge was

the tug of war, an easy game that

Sharif, Kevin M, Anna, and I par-

ticipated in. We were matched up

against a team that surprisingly lost

to us. We won the tug-of-war.

Points for Stuy KC! Next event was

the three-legged race. Our two part-

ners were clever enough to tie a

tight knot so that they could slip it

on and off quickly. We won that

too. Nice job, guys!

Then came the relay race.

We had to race a team that was

equal to us in points but much

stronger, bigger, and faster. The

situation was hopeless. But we

never gave up. Jacqueline might

have fallen behind to the other team

but she kept up with him the entire

first lap.

Then she passed the baton to me

and I dashed off in hope of catching

up with the other two runners. Be-

fore the first turn, I heard a loud

voice. “Stuyvesant Key Club moves

into second place.” That’s a good

thing. A couple of steps later, it was

the last time I saw the backs of the

two runners. I passed the first turn

and according to the rest of the

club, I created a lead the stretched a

least a half lap. That felt good!

Kevin and Frankie ran after I fin-

ished my lap and kept our lead safe

and sound.

The potato sack race was a

challenge for us. We lost that to the

team we beat in the relay race. It

was so close but it was tricky to get

out of the potato sack. So in the

end, there was a tie between us and

that team.

We came to the event not

expecting to win events. But now if

we won the tiebreaker, then we

would get $800 to donate under our

name. After winning the contests

why not try to get the prize after all.

The tiebreaker would be……a po-

tato sack race—the only contest we

lost. Still, it was decided that Kevin

and I should race the other team.

IT IS SO TRICKY AND

HARD TO GET OUT OF THE

SACK! We lost because I couldn’t

get out! I didn’t realize that taking

off my shoes would have been a

better idea! Oh well, there’s always

next year. So we didn’t win the

prize but hey, we made a message

that day. Stuy KC is a competitor

next year. And with the experience

we gained that day, we will do bet-

ter next year! What a great after-

noon it was.

Time for the dumpling eat-

ing contest! Man, I didn’t want to

be in this but three of our Key

Clubbers did. The dumplings

were…..green and stuffed with veg-

gies. Lets just say that next year,

we’ll let the incoming freshmen do

that contest.

Relay for Life

Thomas, however, ate about 20

dumplings! Still, we were nowhere

close to the 37 eaten by another

team.

I think the best part (or the

worst) came when it started raining.

It started pouring and we just stood

under a tent for a while. It was rain-

ing so hard that once I stepped out

for a second, I was soaked. But yet,

I was in such good mood I danced

in the rain for a while only for it to

rain harder. Our two Key Clubbers,

Sharif and Jacqueline, bravely

risked their lives (and good health),

to go to each tent and sell the muf-

fins, drinks, and whatever we had

left to sell. It was great!

“OH WHY? CAN THE

DAY GET ANY WORSE?” I cried

as did everyone else. Yes, it just

kept on raining. Even when I left at

eight, it just kept pouring. My shoes

weren’t dry until the week after.

Man, let’s just say that when I fi-

nally sat down with dry clothes at

home, I made a checklist for my-

self.

Things to do next year at Relay for Life

• Win the contests and the $800

• Bring a set of clothes

• And an umbrella, bring an umbrella!

O.K. I’ve said enough, I

have to win this race! What do you

mean, I just said I won!? I’m still

running! Move it man, talk to you

after the race!

And he went like a speeding bul-

let…event sound fun? Then come

next year everyone! Jensen’s gotta

dash! Bye!

Relay for Life

Jacqueline Yeung

It all started with what

seemed to be a sunny and beautiful

day. Everything was setup with the

traditional white tents. However,

this is the first time I've seen the

event have a spot where Key Club-

bers sell food! I was amazed that

we get to participate in selling muf-

fins, cold drinks, and candy. I came

a tad bit late, only to find that we all

had to wait some more before the

event started. Luckily, before the

contests began, there were some

special performances. The one that

caught my eye the most was the

magic show. I know it might seem a

bit childish; however, this show

caught the attention of a lot of the

Key Clubbers. The best act in my

opinion was the animated card

trick! Sharif was chosen as a volun-

teer.

He had to help the magician

chose a card. In the end, the magi-

cian chose the correct card and

made it 'appear' on a piece of paper.

Relay for Life

It literally slowly appeared.

I can't seem to find the hidden trick

to it. (It was sooo amazing, you

should’ve seen the act!) That's why

I think this is the best trick! But this

isn't all there was to Relay for Life.

There was a tug-of-war, three-

legged race, potato sack race, relay,

and dumpling-eating contest. Many

of the Key Clubbers joined around

three contests each. For me, I vol-

unteered for the three-legged race,

relay, and the dumpling-eating

contest. The three-legged race was

so much fun, even though I didn't

really prepare for it. It was scary,

since I was afraid of messing up.

I guess luck came upon us.

We ended up winning that contest.

The relay was so hard since I no-

ticed that two teams decided to put

their fastest runner up ahead.

Sadly, I had the experience

against those runners. I think I man-

aged to keep up with them. Thanks

to my partners, we beat those two

teams in the relay! (Whoo!!!!) The

final contest for me was the dump-

ling eating contest. Guess what

color the dumplings were? Guess!

If you're thinking green, you're

right! I can't believe I had to eat it. I

didn't really imagine green dump-

lings for a contest. The thing is that

since I already signed up for it,

there was no backing out. When it

came to eating, I really wanted to

puke after my fifth one, but I ate

nine instead! Sharif managed to

gulp down seven of them. We both

had a limit of one minute, giving

the last person two minutes. Tho-

mas ate 21 of them. He didn't look

so good afterwards. In the end, we

all managed to get 37 in total.

That's good for us high school-ers.

The thing is that this event

lasted until 8:30, so only five of the

Key Clubbers stayed until the end.

For those who stayed, we didn't ex-

actly experience good weather. It

rained like eight times. It would

come and go. As time passed, the

rain got harder and harder. EVE-

RYTHING was soaking wet! EVE-

RYONE ran to the tents. It was like

an immediate thought that everyone

had. After a while standing, Sharif

and I sort of wanted to get out into

the rain. We decided to sell some of

our remaining food to neighbors

trapped under the tents. We got two

umbrellas and traveled to each tent.

The umbrellas were kind of useless

since our bodies were soaking wet,

from top to bottom. Luckily, in be-

tween rains, we played badminton.

We're really lucky the presi-

dent even brought it out, to think

hours spent doing nothing would

have been boring. Not only that,

there was a NERF ball.

As time passed by, we were

preparing for the night ceremony in

remembrance for those who have

been through cancer. The glow

sticks were so pretty. The people in

charge put one glow stick in each

bag circling the park. Later, every-

one gathered to break their own

glow sticks. This was the night

ceremony. It was beautiful with

everyone holding a glow stick. That

was until, it started to rain again.

The rain really didn't ruin the day. It

actually made it the best event since

it was fun getting wet!

NYRR Father’s Day Races

Running Among Giants

Jensen “Flyingbluejensen” Cheong

It was a very humid and

sticky day in Central Park. I didn’t

think it was unbearable, I thought it

would cool down later. I was

wrong. It just got more humid and

hotter that day. As I made my way

over to the number pick-up table, I

thought, “It is hot today. Can I

make the five miles?” I remember

at the Adidas Run for the Parks

where the weather was perfect, I

was able to run three miles non-stop

before tripping. But there, every-

thing was perfect, weather-wise.

Here I had to go an extra mile in a

sticky atmosphere.

I still didn’t see any fellow

Key Clubbers around to hang out

with so I decided to warm up. I did-

n’t realize I got there a little late

and wouldn’t have much time to

warm up. At Adidas, I was fully

warmed up including running a

quarter mile to get ready. Here, I

barely stretched and ran about two

city blocks as my warm-up. I

thought I was ready to go. Unfortu-

nately, I was not.

1560. That’s my BIB num-

ber. It was red. That meant the sec-

ond corral. Woah, I thought. The

blue corral was in the front because

they were supposed to be the fastest

and could get out of the way for the

rest. The next corral was the red

where I was. I went there are felt

really small when everyone around

me looked like they ran in a full

marathon. I had no clue why they

put me there, but I decided to stay.

As the start time neared I thought,

“Can I run the five miles?”

The start-gun sounded and

unlike Adidas where the back cor-

rals walked to the start line, I was at

the start line so I started running

immediately. My goal was to keep

a steady pace that my body could

keep for the entire race. The prob-

lem was, with guys that take much

longer and quicker strides, keeping

up was a problem. I had choice to

make. Either I blow my energy now

trying to keep up or fall behind to

the green and yellow corral. Falling

back would mean I can keep the

steady pace but lose the people in

my corral.

O.K. I’m going to regret

what I decided to do. I decided to

keep up with them. I was able to do

so without falling back and actually

caught a glimpse or people from the

blue corral until the end of the sec-

ond mile. There, I slowed down be-

cause the humidity was really un-

bearable. I slowed down and

watched many red corral members

pass me. Then I moved to the side

of the road to let quicker-paced run-

ners pass me without turning.

When I saw the mark of the

end of the second mile, I stopped

running and started walking. I real-

ized that keeping up with the red

corral was way too hard and I

shouldn’t have tried. Soon members

of the green and yellow corral ap-

peared but there wasn’t much I

could do to keep up with them. I

walked the entire third mile and al-

most half the fourth. Then I started

running again because the green

and yellow corral members disap-

peared just like red ones did. Also,

it was a nice downhill trip which I

liked. S there I started running

again. Then on the fifth mile, I

started speeding up in hope of see-

ing so green and yellow corral

members. Soon, I did see then and

passed some of them. I never

slowed down on the fifth mile, even

though there was a difficult last hill

to run over.

When I finished, I felt pretty

good even though I only ran a little

over three miles and only two non-

stop. What I saw next made me

happy. It was a sprinkler since it

was so hot. I walked there and

danced in it for a second before let-

ting another runner have it. In the

festival area I saw members of the

red corral talking. I wish I could be

the red corral runner looking at the

boy seeded in the red while finish-

ing among the green and yellow,

instead of the other way around.

Still, it felt good to finish the race

and I improved since Adidas in

some categories. I finished #37 of

my age category but at Adidas I

finished over 50th of my age. I was

happy with that. But next time, I

think I would run with people my

pace rather than run with giants!

These events look fun? Sign up for events similar to these on stuykc.org!

Past Events

Unfortunately, your Locksmith Committee didn’t get many arti-cles for this issue. However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t many events! Here are some pictures from various events for June. =D Special thanks to Jacqueline, Jennifer, Jensen, and Victor — These pictures all belong to them:]

Yeah… This was a fun event!

Feastin’, Not Working

Again, special thanks to Jensen—you rock!

stuykc@yahoo.com

Important Key Club Information Key Club Board (2008-2009)

Antara Afrin & Rebecca Chowdhury

(Advocacy) Snigdha Das and Brenda Nguyen

(Art) Amy Lin & Shayra Kamal

(Fundraising) Bette Ha & Bryan Nguyen

(Locksmith) Amanda Cheng & Helen Luo

(New Projects) Christine Ha & Peiyu Lin

(Public Relations) Jensen Cheong & Chris Yeung

(Web) Helen Song and Donna Koo

(USACF)

The Cabinet

Gavin Huang President

Victoria Tsang Vice President

Kenny Yu Secretary

Adeline Yeo

Treasurer

Victor Ma

Editor

She was reported to be last seen on June 26th and this Locksmith committee head [me] is quite interested in where she may be (:

-BN