Almost time to leave!

Time has flown by so quickly. It is hard to believe that we will be leaving in just a few days.
We are mostly ready to go. Our primary goals from now until then are:
- finish other homework
- prepare team reference document (we can have a "reference document," which is basically a collection notes to use during the competition)
- practice, practice, practice
- listen to the rest of the (applicable) online MIT algorithms lectures
- logistics such as packing

Of course we really want to do well. However, we also are trying to be reasonable. Northwestern is an absolutely outstanding school. Unfortunately, many of its best characteristics(small, liberal arts, open to many) are the opposite of the ideal characteristics for preparing for this (many classes, tech, very high admissions standards).
I'm not blaming Northwestern by any means. I am so thankful for the college and would go to NWC all over again in a heartbeat. Rather, these characteristics of the institution are in many ways representative of ourselves. Because even among us, we have a broader scope than just computing. John is studying literature. Curt is majoring in math teaching. I'm an actuary. None of these will probably help us in the competition, but that is OK.
Also, we aren't exactly the favorites to win this. Looking at teams from our region in the past, they typically don't score at the top. And we are the 4th team out of 4 in the advancing group of our region.

Don't get me wrong, this is a really great team. In addition to a computer science major (which we all are getting), all of us are working towards a major or minor in the math department. Curt works hard and applies his keen mind to all of life. John is an expert in many technical aspects of computing. And my actuarial exams have to count for something, right?
That being said, we are thrilled to compete. Just being around 300 of the top young computer-minded minds in the world will be an experience. We don't have high expectations for ourselves, so every team we beat will be a thrill. Who knows, we just might finish in the top half and place.
Thank you all so much for supporting us. We are a few days away from one of the most memorable weeks of our lives.