In my conducting class, the teacher has filmed us conducting a couple of times. The first time we were working on the conducting patterns. A legato pattern and an impulse beat pattern. The second time we were supposed to be focusing on pick ups and cut offs. Today I got my videos back and I have to say... I struggled more with the second one. I will have to keep working on that. But I want to keep all of my videos from throughout the semester so I can hopefully look back and see how much I have improved. A personal self-assessment kind of thing.
Sadly, the second video, I can get to upload. It's not very good though.
I've noticed in my conducting that I seem way too serious and I need to be more engaged in what the ensemble is doing. I come across as serious..yet passive. It doesn't really make sense. I'll be working on it though.
Yesterday I spent the day up in Logan at the Bridgerland Band Invitational. It's a High School Marching Band competition (which I have never before attended anything of the sort) and it was pretty cool. I wasn't exactly there to just watch the high schools perform though. I was there to tell them about the Marching Ute Experience 2012. (Which I think I rocked at.) But it was a long day up in Logan.
I couldn't believe how "into it" everyone at the competition was. The atmosphere of a marching competition was totally foreign to me because I came from a high school that only cares about athletics and where no one thinks marching band is cool. At this competition, it wasn't just cool. It was a really Big Deal! All these kids were serious about what they did, but they all really loved it and had tons of fun with it too. And I couldn't believe how big some of these high school bands were! Totally new concept for me.
So I got thinking, because every high school except mine is big into marching band, I won't really know what I'm doing if I was put into a high school with a marching band reputation.... It would be a little out of my comfort zone because I wouldn't know what I was doing or even how to do it. I've never been in a competitive marching band situation. I guess that's something I'm going to have to figure out. Because I really don't know how that works.
Welll.... for the time being, I have almost completely lost my voice. It's just gone. Poof! Tim and Haley found it pretty funny last night. haha. Welll... it is pretty funny. I sound awful.
But...
I can't believe how horrible this simple head-cold has left me feeling.
Dear Mononucleosis,
I hate your stink'n guts.
You've made me sick.
You are the reason I have no immune system left.
And I really don't appreciate it.
Not Love,
Me
The other thing is that I've been letting too many little things get me down, and I've been having a hard time picking myself back up. Thursday was particularly bad. Just with a combination of feeling really sick and awful and down and yeah.... But luckily for me, I know several outstanding men who without hesitation, were willing to give me a priesthood blessing when I really needed one. I don't feel comfortable repeating some of the words that were spoken in the blessing because they were very personal for me and deeply touched my heart. I know my Father in Heaven was speaking to me that night and I am very grateful for that priesthood holder was in so in tune with the spirit.
Since then I've been gradually doing better. In fact right now, I feel pretty good. Other than the fact that I have no voice. So I guess this is just my way (for now) of showing how grateful I am.
Well..... I've been sick the last few days. And that is because.. (STORY TIME)
First, On Monday, I rode trax to Sandy where I went to "work" on 100000 South and picked up the paperwork I needed and got the information for the drug test I needed too.
Turns out the closest place for a drug test is like a mile away... but it's in West Jordan.
So I rode my bike up 100000 until I reached Redwood Road (to 16000 West from about 300 West) and
proceeded to 90000 South. Which really was not a bad bike ride. It just took me a little while.
I got to where I was going, got inside, started filling out paperwork... and it started to down poor.
In the mean time... this guy (also there for a drug test) started talking to me.. and wouldn't stop.
But. That is when I started texting people to make it look like I was busy.
Then they called me back into the clinic...
I went was done and went back outside to my bike... That guy was waiting at my bike for me..
Asked for my number (which I did not give him.)..
I had a call that I missed in the middle of this which I promptly called back as I stood next to this guy while waiting for the rain to stop...
Luckily, the rain lightened up a bit.. so.. I left on my bike..
It started raining again.
So I stopped close by and tried calling Parker, because I knew he lived in West Jordan.
Only... Turns out, he was at work.
Which just happened to be across the street. Literally.
He walked out of the building and I could see him.
So super lucky me, I just waited there for it to stop raining.
While I was there, Parker was kind enough to fix my glasses for me so they wouldn't be crooked or fall off my face so much...
Before I left, Parker gave me instructions to the nearest trax station..
I rode my bike there just in time to catch the next train..
And I finally made it home. (all of this happened between 2:30pm and 8pm....)
The end.
Phew...!
On Tuesday morning, I tried waking up. But I felt awful and nothing really happened. So I managed to stumble back into bed and I slept like all day.
Moral of the story: Don't get caught in the rain on your bike!
