Saturday, August 16, 2003

I wasn't going to post this, but, what can I say....I'm weak. So I was looking at Wartburg's scheduled breaks for 2003-2004 and I noticed something strange. Last year we had a Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break (it's a lutheran school so yes it is called christmas break), Winter Break (the break between the Fall and Winter Terms), and Tour Week. So this year, I figured it would be the same.....It almost is the same, except this year Easter doesn't fall during the allotted period for Tour Week (which is the break between the Winter and May Term). So this year we get 4 days off for Easter, then classes resume on a tuesday, but then the term ends that same week on Friday......so then go home for Tour week. So we get 4 days off, then 4 days of class, then 9 days off. How awesome is that??!?

Friday, August 15, 2003

I was just all snuggled in to watch Conan tonight, totally forgetting about the huge power outage in the Northeast. So when he came on, there was no audience, it was all black except for some flashlights, he was in normal clothes, and the announcer was sitting next to him. As they explained that there was not going to be a show on tonight and that they would put on a re-run, it struck me that this would be something that I would be able to tell my grandchildren. That on the evening of the great blackout of 2003, I was watching the late-night t.v. shows and even they were having problems......well.....maybe that wouldn't be such a great story. Oh well....it was still super cool.

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

what a day, what a day.....I bought a new wallet today. I'm excited. It may be boring for you to hear, but it's really cool....I swear. My problem was that I was really unorganized. In addition to having two checking accounts with checkbooks (one in Iowa, one here), I have two check-cards. I would frequently use one of these check-cards and then forget to enter it into my checkbook....only to find out when my statement would come. So my new wallet fixes this. Although it's pretty big, I'm now waaay organized. It's like a leather Checkbook cover, only with more space for cash and credit cards. It's perfect. yay.......
Later tonight, I went to the church to practice my trombone. (I cant' find my portable stand, so I can't practice at home) So I practiced for about an hour and 10 minutes. It was great. Except my lip is out of shape.....horribly out of shape. The good thing is, though, I can already feel it improving. Tonight I focused mainly on this march I need to have learned for band auditions (I also have another piece, plus scales). The sugested tempo is 160 = a half note, but it's in cut time......yea that's wicked fast....especially since it's full of eighth note runs....which then are sixteenth note runs when I'm in cut-time. For all of you who know nothing about music and tempo and whatnot, 160 means I play 160 beats per minute. So 60 = a quarter note means i play a quarter note every second, on the second. If I'm playing sixteenth notes when 60 = 1/4 note, then I play 4 beats every second, on the second. That may seem a little fast, but it's not even close to playing 160 beats per minute. You math nerds can figure out how many beats that is per second.......but trust me, it's a lot. So anyway, I started out the night playing 100 beats per minute, and I increased my tempo by the end of the night to 116 beats per minute. Pretty good progress I think. I highly doubt I'll be able to play at 160 during an audition, but I want to be as close as possible. yessssireee. k. thats it.

I tried to turn on my charm, but I guess it didn't work with this fine lady (or guy.....ew)

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bbeastieboyfan88 (1:00:38 AM): woah a webcam
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:00:47 AM): thats totally neato
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:00:51 AM): not
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:01:22 AM): soooo.....been to chicago lately?
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:02:12 AM): yea thats what I thought
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:02:22 AM): yup....it's a greaat place
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:03:04 AM): I like to cruise the streets in my old blue ford
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:03:21 AM): it's a classic
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:04:31 AM): hmmm....somehow I don't think you're interested in chicago
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:04:45 AM): are you trying to take advantage of me???
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:05:02 AM): Oh no you di'int
bbeastieboyfan88 (1:06:25 AM): thats it beeeeaaatch, I'm taking my crappy old ford and driving this booty somewhere else.

So as you may have seen on tv, there's a new "skateboarder" movie coming out. I put that in quotes because, although I'm not a skateboarder....anybody can see the movie just plays off the stereotypes and cliches of a "skateboarder"....and then adds some crappy skateboarding footage. Obviously no true skatboarder dude is going to want to sit and watch a movie that basically makes their whole lifestyle look like a joke. Anyway, back to the reason why I brought this up......have you noticed that the movie has strong similarities to the CKY videos? I can name a few off-hand.....riding a toilet down the street, jumping off a roof into a pool, and for god's sake.....Wee Man is in it. It's like the dude that wrote the screenplay just sat on his butt all day watching the CKY movies and decided to rip off their ideas and make his own movie. Has it really come to this? I mean I can understand remaking "Freaky Friday" eight times....actually....no I really can't. That movie was horrible the first time. Why oh why oh why oh WHY would they continue to drive that weak plot into the ground??!?

Sunday, August 10, 2003

oh yea, and my blinds and whatnot have been taken down....it kinda makes me uncomfortable because my window is right at street level, plus it looks right into my neighbor's kitchen window.

So we're getting a bunch of new windows installed in our house over the next 3 days. One of those is in my room. So everything is covered in plastic, and moved around. I can't get in my closet, my t.v. is unplugged and I can't sleep in my bed......which wouldn't be a problem, except all of the spare bedrooms are in similar condition, leaving me on the downstairs couch.....and I have to work tomorrow morning. Yes, I know.....it sucks. So our house is chaos and I have absolutly no private space for the next 3 days. Not even downstairs where I am sleeping.....the window there is also getting replaced.