Why am I such an Idiot?

So the other day, during band, we were doing a recording session for graduation. If you 'member, we recorded P&C last year because the Merrell Center wasn't going to hold an orchestra as well. This year, they decided that P&C is much too boring to play in and out, so on the way out, they now get "The Throne Room", the song they play at the very end of Star Wars: A New Hope, when Han Solo and Luke get their medals. We got our band arrangement during class, which wasn't too difficult, rehearsed, and recorded.
We did 2-3 recordings and some practice, and during all of that, I did just fine. Then something bad happened. See, at the end of the song, there's a fermata, then 2-3 silent beats, then a concluding triplet. I had counted it fine all period, but on the very last take, I had a minor lapse and played it a beat early, where there is complete silence. Remember that because this is a recording, that we stay still and perfectly quiet until the microphone is turned off. In the awkwardness, Mr. Janda looks straight at me. Demonstrating my lack of object permanence, I close my eyes really tight and hope that he disappears. Thank goodness they have to cut and paste anyways, and because of that, they can just use part of another recording right there. If they don't, at least I'm immortalized in the music in one more way (last year's recording has a nasty cracked note at the end of the alma mater, and you just might hear "Louie, Louie" during P&C).

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A Proposition

I propose, that in honor of randomness, that we make this Thursday "Speak in Song Day". During this day, all day, whenever you have something to say, you have to say it in song. Regardless of whether you can sing or not, everything must have a beat and a melody to it. It's likely that you'll have to explain it a thousand times, and that you'll make a fool of yourself, but who gives? Oh, btw, if you're wondering why I came up with this, "because I can".

So we had a concert in San An for band this past Friday. It happened to be the Spring Trip one, and because of the financial situation after the NY trip, my mom and I decided that I would not go on the trip, but drive up to San An and play the concert. I skipped the AP US history exam and got out of school at 930, when we promptly drove up to Austin to pick up my sisters who were going to come and listen.
We arrive in Austin at approximately noon, where we take a break to eat lunch while we wait for Nicole to get back from one of her classes. We figure that if we get out by about 1, then we'd have plenty of time. Well, Nicole, unaware of the time constraints, comes back to their apartment at around 120. She hurries through lunch and we leave.
Next, my sister has to drop off a form at ACC. Easy, right? Well, she goes in, and we wait in the car. And wait. And wait. After awhile, she comes back, complaining about the stupid lady at the desk who took forever. By this point, it's about 210. And I'm supposed to be in San An at 3 for warmup. My mom goes through some seriously aggresive driving to cut as much time as possible.
By 3, we're only at New Braunfels. Well, that's okay, I think. I only need to be there for the performance. I can afford to skip a bit of the warmup, as long as I'm there for the performance. We drive and drive, and I become increasingly more worried ('member the 40 measure solo?). In downtown San An, we hit 2-3 traffic jams, which fortunately clear up really quickly. Drive, drive, drive. Trying to cut corners, I put my uniform on in the car. We pull up to Stevens High School at 340, which, as far as I could 'member, was our scheduled performance time. I dash into the auditorium, where I get about halfway up before I, thankfully, realize that it's Symphonic Band performing. Unfortunately, they begin their performance as I sit down, and I feel locked in. Then, rationalizing, I sit there, figuring I'm better off waiting in there, where I know the band will be soon enough, than wandering around for the warmup I may never find.
Halfway through their last song, I hear Mr Bailey beckon, and I rush out of the auditorium, muttering sorries for my delay. We rush over to the warmup room where I bust in, in time for the middle of the warmup, and to an applause. Funny how much more ppl appreciate you when you're not there, eh?
And so I performed with the band, and, in my opinion, did a good job on my solo, with only a few verbal death threats and complaints from Katie. Not bad.

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End of Another CSC Season

The TCEA Computer Science State Competition was yesterday, and it ending marked the end of the regular CS season (discounting other side contests, including UIL and ACSL). But let's rewind.
Friday was the day we were supposed to bus up to San An for the contest, but Wind Ensemble had UIL, so Fairley, Tom, and I went to that and drove up with the Fairleys. UIL went, in my opinion, very well. A lot of it sounded very good, with Nick sounding exceptionally awesome on his solo in "Horkstow Grange", but I've come to expect that. My solo went about how I wanted, with fewer cracked pitches than in the previous days, though I did have to back off a lot, to avoid "offending the judges", as Dr. Sedatole told me to do. Thankfully, I managed to play past the slightly cracked lip and cankersore I received from my darned cold. Sightreading went fine as well, though I can't say it was the most exciting piece I've ever gotten. I don't think there was near enough in the piece itself for us to work with, but that's fine.

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A Moment to Relax

Life has been interesting as of late.
This being jr year, I feel obligated to say something about the workload, and in the end, all I can say is that it's a lot more pressure than actual work. And in the midst of the insanity, there's always time to relax.
And TV and video games don't count.

Even in times like this, with an AP in just under a week with all the preparation, literally, ever done is a single practice test self-graded, I still manage to get in an hour of video games, well wasted. Wonderful, right?
It's times like these that make me wonder if ppl exaggerate the work that they have/do, or if I'm just doing something wrong. I mean, I would guess that compared to many, I do have a lot more work to do, but while they're crapping about it, I'm lining my AK up with the top of a filing cabinet so that I can get an instant headshot when the CT comes in long hallway (if you didn't understand that, aspire to never). But even in the motonomy of such a life, there's still an escape.

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Some More Thoughts on NY

If you haven't read the below post, do so before reading this; it'll make more sense that way. Or not. That's cool too.
So I must say, this is honestly the first true break I think I've ever had, in the sense that I've felt I've needed it and used it. True, every summer break I've had has had the "Thank goodness that school is over; what a pain in the butt". That's pretty natural. But I've realized that until now, I've never really been even vaguely stressed by 'ne of the circumstances. Big things have happened, and I've had to do my work at times, but it was in no way overwhelming. And I guess, honestly, this time, I don't think I've been stressed out either. It's just that the workload is a lot greater than I'm used to, but even that is relative. This is really the first time I've felt like I've taken a break: when I left, I felt like I was getting away from the usual life, and when I came back, I felt like I had truly left my usual life. It wasn't long at all, true, but I never thought of the stresses of school in an emotional sense. I may have mentioned APUSH offhand, and I did crack my psych prep book on the planes, but it didn't even near feel urgent. It wasn't long enough to develop a sense of complacency in the break, and it was long enough to feel like a gettaway. And I was active the entire time. Talk about a perfect break.

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New York

So that was one of the most incredible things I've ever done. I hate to recount events like what shall follow, but it seems to be the easiest, most inclusive way to do it.
Before I even get into the actual events, a humongous hugs and thanks to my group for being a lot of fun. Even though I wasn't really really tight with 'ne of them before the trip, we literally spent as much time together as possible, beyond just a walking group, which is quite a feat considering how much Englebutt managed to screw with the groups. Allison, Kelly, and Denise are probably the perfect example of 3 girls who are just too awesome to ever have to hang out with 'neone else, but still are totally cool about everything. Chris, the least cliquish of us, still managed to inject a lot of life into the group, and Matt got to be our favorite idiot. Ms. Yunker, our chaperone, almost seemed to fit in as another student, and let us do a lot of what we wanted while still eating with us and hanging out with us. And I was me, wvr that means to you. It was a great group.

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Recap

So the band got offered to get a small pep group to play for the Copperheads tonight. I, never wanting to miss an opportunity, jumped on it, and boy, was it a waste of 5 hrs.

Possibly the one great thing that happened all night was this one play, a PAT play. The placeholder guy completely misses the ball as it goes sailing. The kicker runs all the way to the 15 yd line on the other side of the field (it's a 50 yd field, in indoor football) and picks it up. One guy tries to tackle him, misses, and then he throws a 35 yd pass all the way back down to the other side of the field, where everyone was just kinda milling around, figuring the play was over. Some linebacker, I guess, catches it and turns around, stepping over the line for a 2 pt conversion. It was pretty incredible. Even with that, however, I still want my 5 hrs back.

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