2009 was the first year that Bodybuilder Hubby ran the local bodybuilding contest. It was definitely a learn-as-you-go kind of experience. So many things came down to that last two weeks – lots of late nights. I finished stuffing the competitors' goodie bags at 3am the morning of the contest. I got an hour of sleep before having to leave for the contest venue.
My big goal for the day of that contest was not to burst into tears of exhaustion in front of anyone. And I succeeded at that goal. Yeah, me!
One of the tasks I had taken on was making the badges for the competitors. The competitors wear a pin with a number on it while they are on stage; the number is how the judges identify the competitors on the score sheets.
I remembered making badges at a summer camp in junior high. It had been really fun to do. So I thought, wouldn’t it be nice and look more professional if I could make a badge like that for each competitor, instead of using those plastic name tag holders with hand-written numbers.
So, three weeks before the contest, I did an on-line search and found Badge-a-Minit, a company that sells the parts and equipment needed to make the badges. I ordered a hand-press machine and parts to make 100 badges.
While I waited for the materials to arrive, I made the numbers. I printed out numbers in several different fonts to figure out which was easiest to read from a distance. I taped the printed page to a kitchen cabinet so Bodybuilder Hubby could tell me which was best. His eyesight is amazing; mine… well, let’s just say that I live in a world with slightly fuzzy edges.
I had the numbers printed and cut out by the time the box arrived from Badge-a-Minit a week before the contest. But when I opened the box, the back pieces of the badges – the part with the pin on it – was missing.
I called the company in a panic and spoke with the nicest-ever customer service lady. She made me think of down-home, mid-west America; I pictured her sitting at an old metal desk with a rotary phone decked out in a cardigan sweater and curly grey hair. She promised me the pin backs would be shipped that day.
They arrived the following Wednesday, three days before the contest.
Each badge starts with four parts: the pin back, a metal disk backing, the paper circle with the image (in this case a number), and a clear plastic circle that covers the front. So you start by stacking a metal back, a paper circle, and a plastic circle. Then you line up the top center with a little triangle on the blue circular frame. The yellow circle part fits inside this one, twisting on to hold everything in place. Then you flip it over. The purple circle fits inside the blue one, and the green circle stacks on top. Then you use the heels of both hands to push down – THUNK! – until they snap together. Then you take off the purple and green circles and flip the blue frame over. The red circle fits on top of the front of the badge inside the blue frame. Next you push down on the red circle. Then you flip it over again and use the tip of a fingernail to make sure the edges of the plastic and paper circles are folded under neatly. Next you put in the pin back, line it up, stack the green circle on that. The whole thing fits inside the press. Line it up and squeeze like crazy. Then take it all apart.
That makes one badge.
I finished the 100th badge at 2am Friday morning, the day before the contest.
And I made a promise to myself that I would never wait until the last minute again.
For the 2010 contest, I started a couple months ahead and completed 150 badges in five hours with the help of a friend.
For the 2011 contest, I’m starting in November. The sooner those badges are done, the better.
I’ll make enough again to have a total of 150, but we have some left over from last year, so there’s only 113 that I’ll actually have to do. The junior high camper somewhere inside me thinks it will be lots of fun.
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