Fun and Flutes

Hey readers,
Well we had our last and total band event night as we preformed our "Zombie Appocolipse" show for our home crowd. Following that once everyone else had left almost all the flutes stayed and we had a sleepover in the band room to celebrate the end of marching band season. It was by far one of the craziest nights I have ever excpirenced. We had countless twister games, played and go seek for over an hour, and the highlight in my opinion had a cotton ball war. What we did for that was take the head joint off our flutes then put a cotton ball in the end. You then proceed to cover the opening with your mouth and blow hard and quick. At this point the cotton ball comes shooting out the end. It was hillarious all of running around pelting each other with these tiny white balls of fluff. We finally to sleep somewhere between four and five in the morning before waking up at eight fifteen to a yummy breaky of pancakes and mashed potatoes. I'll write again soon so check back in!!

The Last Competition

Dear Reader,
Last night my marching band preformed at our last competition of the year, my favorite Tri-Vally. This competition was our last chance of getting a one and going states, but we didn't make it. As we walked the long way from the feild to buses, my arms linked with my friends all i could feel was frustration and anger. Since the first of August I had worked to get to States, the biggest acheviment for any high school band. As a team we had suffered through blazing sun and we marched back and fourth across black asphalt in our first few weeks of practice. Pouring rain as fall set in, hudddld in our black raincoats our intruments practically up our shirts to stay dry, freezing cold tempertures wrapped in scarves, hats, gloves and coats at practice. Sickness: continous racking coughes for weeks. All of this, and yet somehow we didn't make the cut. When we got on the bus a few people were practically steaming, some were crying. I called my mom who told me anout Swamiji's message the previous night. "you can never look at the outcome" she told me "that will get you no were". So i wrapped myself in my blanket and settled down because she was right, well Swamiji is right, of course. You really can't look at the outcome just the excpirence and what not. Despite the end i had and amazing three months with my fellow band geeks braiding hair, taking pictures, goofing off, more lunches then I can count sleeping on buses, it may sound simple but it was beyond some verbs, nouns, and ajectives. This 2011 marching band year. So now we will spend the next week putting on a "kick butt" senior show to quote my friend Catherine.

band, grades, and braids

Hey people who are hopefully reading!

So I dive back into blog world for another swim with all of you, whoever all of you are. I just wanted to give a quick summery on what's been going on lately. 1. Band our band has gone to two competitions so far. We should have gone to three, except that since it has been raining so much our second one got canceled. At both we have gotten solid twos (OMEA translation for excellent)but have not qualified for states, or scored in the top three of our category. It has been a really cold season, although learning from last year I have gotten quite adept at the art of layering gloves, shirts, sticking scarves underneath uniform etc. We have our final competition at Tri-Vally this Saturday. If we get a one we will qualify for states, if not the band season will be over for the year, except for the senior show, which is a totally different ball game. On the one hand I think we have a fair chance of getting to states, we have the talent, on the other it's not guaranteed.
Grades. For some reason i thought I wasn't doing to well this year, I don't know why I just did. I went with my parents to Parent Teacher conferences though and it turns out I am actually doing REALLY I have A's in almost all my classes including math! Yes I am some how good at math this year, so thank you for all your divine help last year Swamiji, it paid off. Besides that schools is just so so. The one class I really enjoy is D-town the other I just go though, with no real sense of enjoyment or hate. I am trying to be positive about them though.
Braids, well really it just sounded kind of cool up there and gave me an excuse to use the picture above, which is a hairstyle I did a few weeks ago on a friend in band. I have always been great with string, and braids and all sorts of things like that, but for the first time my talent is becoming really useful. In band I get to braid a lot of the girls' hair so they can put it under their hats the pictures above are an example. Step one was pictures one, and the finished product,picture two. OK readers got to get on with the rest of my night good bye!

Young and Stubborn

Hey Readers!
Havn't been able to think of anything to write, but had a very interesting session with Chevy at the stable today that revealed some intriguing things, and also gave me a new project. The thing with Chevy, that young black horse, is she won't lunge, or really round pen. As soon as you attempt to get her to circle around you on the rope, on her own, without pulling her head she just stops and won't move. It's like she shuts everything out, until she get's her way. I have never seen an animal act that way before just like a teenager plain stubborn, "I will not do this". Of course the most important thing in the world in not to run in a circle, in the future she will need to learn how, but for now other plans have come into place.
After using Chevy in a movie for my video production class I realized she is perfect on camera, besides being beautiful she is quiet, doesn't spook and is smart, I decided I wanted to teacher some tricks. Silly ones such as bowing, laying down, nodding on command. For me I thought it would just be fun, but I talked to Jessenia about it today, and she thought my idea was perfect, but thought farther then I. If we can clicker train her to do tricks on command first she will have a job which will give her some purpose at this stage in an area were she doesn't go in stubborn mode and the other thing if we can get her to easily respond to cues, signals and tricks, with treats and clicker and stuff we can basically trick train her into doing what normal horses do, such as trotting in a circle around a stationary human holding a rope (ooooo exciting!) I have always loved training horses and with marching band coming to an end this will be a great project to undertake. I start next week! Updates soon!

Class, Pride, Enthusiasm

In band we have this cheer we say at the end of every practice or performance. Our band director says "Pacer band has...." and we (the band) say Class! and then Pride! and finally we say enthusiasm!
Last year I feel I wasn't totally into everything I did, maybe I was nervous, probably, but what ever the reason I made a strong sankalpa or intention to be enthusiastic about everything. I have always admired people enthusiastic about everything, well you know to a point. The number one person who is like this is Swamiji he is just gets so excited about what he does be it conducting a meditation class or taking a walk. And when he isn't "excited" about it he is enthusiastically board looking. Maybe that is just my view, but I love that quality in Swamiji. So far I have done a pretty good job, when I am somewhere I just really try to enjoy it, now I am not saying I am perfect there are still times I get very annoyed, board, frustrated. (Such as cleaning the bathroom, and sitting through an hour of notes in Biology, or when I have no time for something and have to do it anyway) but I am getting there, and I will get there. And really if your going to live life, then why not enjoy it? Enjoy every minute of it! Yesterday I helped to chaperon the local "intermediate" school homecoming dance. (5th and 6th graders) it was a fundraiser for my video production class and the school newspaper. There were about 770 kids and really loud music, the pizza was horrid, and I almost got hit by balls at least four times. ( I was supervising their "play" area.) But I had SO much fun, when I took my shift in the dance area, I danced, and when I was outside I thoroughly enjoyed kicking the balls around, chatting with other chaperon es, and running across the court, dogging flying footballs to deliver message, and who says no to free food?
Today is another full day of band events, even though it's Saturday, but I'm gonna have fun with it, so check back in soon there will be more!

Photo credit: my sister at Lake Michigan this summer.

Instant Recovery

Every year around this time of year sickness breaks out in school and more noticeably in band. You're out of that field and at times all you can hear is sniffling, coughing, and sneezing. My fellow flutes talking about all the cold medicine they had this morning, and how many tissues they've used, not exactly pretty. On Monday I could feel something coming on, by Tuesday at the end of band practice, I was really tired, came home and simply rested for an hour, something I haven't done in a while. Usually when I get a cold I avoid the traditional American cold medicines and take my mum's favorite Aruvedic remedy a paste of turmeric and honey. The stuff works, for you have to take it six times a day and it tastes disgusting x100. When I told my mum she had better do something for me Tuesday night she made me take this new remedy she has. The name is really long I don't feel like spelling it all out, but it's basically a paste of healing herbs and plants, with Cinnamon sugar, and honey. I can't say it tastes good, but immediately after taking a spoon tip of it I felt better.
Also I have been doing the traditional Vedic netti pot. Basically (I'm sorry if this sounds totally gross) you use the "pot" to pour light salt water up one nostril and down the other. What it does is totally clear the sinuses. After three days of taking the paste twice a day and doing the netti pot every morning I am all better! Just three days, when normally I would have had a cold for weeks.
So not to bore you all with my details of strange medicines I wanted to just state again how the vedic tradition has so many hidden sciences that most of the world doesn't know about and then just suffers. While just by taking a simple concoction and pouring saltwater in my nose I am all better. Hope you enjoy reading many more posts soon!