WBA CHAMPIONSHIPS WEEKEND
Saturday morning, 6am and it’s time to fly and I’m not excited about going at all. Rut roh. I’d been burning my candle at both ends all Fall and I was feeling like it had caught up with me just a couple of days too early. I was so prepared for this show that I kind of peaked too early in the season?!? Once I got on board the plane and saw Southwest’s “Spirit” magazine cover though my own spirits were seriously lifted. Southwest’s “Spirit” magazine this month (quarter?) has a sizeable article about BOA and marching band in it and reading it infused me with a sufficient amount of excitement and happiness for the upcoming weekend. (I stole the magazine off the plane so I could share it with the newbs later … hee).
The weekend went seamlessly. No delays. No missed rides. No stuck tapes. No dead batteries. An intact 100% accountability on the DVR. Fabulous for once! I did all of the 1A bands at prelims and had anticipated that being kind of a drag … surprise, surprise … I genuinely enjoyed them all. The sun was out, the air was crisp and the field vibe was fierce. I fed off the kid’s championship excitement. 13 bands total and it all went by really, really fast. Immediately afterwards I checked my phone for messages and had one from my over-excited newbs screaming at me that they “took 1st place at the parade!!”. Happy news. Later that day I found out the kids cracked an 81 at the field show that night. Hooray! I’m glad their season ended on a high note. I stayed and watched the rest of prelims with my very good friend Alton. That night over cocktails I not only caught up with friends and had a good time but also made a few good new connections that I hope will help further my goals in the land of judging.
I was happy that the only downer was at the tail end of the weekend when I had plenty of time to handle it – my flight home out of Burbank was cancelled due to fog and then my rebooked flight was delayed due to fog so I had about two extra hours at the airport to watch some lady use nursing her baby as an excuse for public nudity, see some stealth-lacking moron pick his nose and wipe his big ol’ booger under his seat, hear the woman next to me unapologetically loudly fart out a stink bomb … it was as indecorous and ill-mannered an environment as I could imagine any 3rd world country sporting and it brought to mind the saying “familiarity breeds contempt” … a big OH YEAH to that one. I also couldn't help but understand where Europeans get the idea that Americans are so lacking in intelligence and decorum. I'm sure "we" do these things in international airports too. Good grief. Where have manners gone anyway? I was relieved when they finally called the A group to board and thankful to have a drink coupon in my hand and an entire 3-row seat to myself. I must really be getting old and crotchety.
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
I didn’t realize how I was missing family time until I had some this weekend. Time spent with family and friends made for a really nice Thanksgiving weekend and more than compensated for what was a stressful work week leading into the long weekend.
Went to the movies with the whole family and saw “The Mist” (which I’ve been dying to have made into a film for about ten years now … ever since I read Stephen King’s original story). Here’s an unqualified “Go see the movie” recommendation. It’s a very worthwhile two hours of entertainment. Nightmare inducing for kids though … well and maybe for you adults too!
I had a great time working off Thursday’s huge intake of really good food (made even better because I didn’t cook it) at Friday night’s first ever “Trifecta Colorguard” rehearsal. Afterwards a group of us hit Chevy’s and it was there that I finally let go of the stress of the work week and started looking forward to the long weekend.
Saturday morning it was rise and shine pretty early to go meet Trifecta again to decorate Stubert’s truck (which carried our music) and compete in Trifecta’s debut performance at the Downtown Sacramento Santa Parade. I have no idea how we placed but I had an ab-fab time with good friends. It reminded me of how joyful performing is for me and it felt like the start of a truly great yearly tradition ….
Oh, and for the second year in a row … I missed seeing Santa come to town >(
Saturday night I got a terrific email about my WBA judging efforts that quite simply made me giddy <$1 to Stu>. I guess I’m still floating on that cloud a little even today.
On Sunday I cooked our family Thanksgiving meal at home and we watched PPV movies together back to back …. it was a very good, high-relaxation, afternoon and evening.
I slept a lot this weekend. Pretty much fell out every time I sat down. Triptophane combined with my free-to-me-thanks-to-Stu couch and a case of the sniffles is a really dangerous combination but I feel really good today so I guess I must have needed it.
So now it’s onto the winterguard season. My calendar is already bulging like a teenager’s muffin top outta’ her jeans with judging gigs and teaching commitments. Teaching wise I currently have a winterguard to teach, another one that Stu and I may work on together and a clinic to do. Judging wise I have 13 confirmed assignments with a possible 2-5 more yet to come … AND I’m excited to have been invited to be part of the new Bakersfield WGI circuit getting started this year. I have two fly-to assignments there as well.
First on my list of priorities is to put together a short Christmas concert piece for my Elkies. My mood says it’ll be something pretty and emotional that befits the holiday season … something with swing flags … a piece they can really knock out of the park for their parents. I like doing these concerts because they always get me in a holiday mood and, they have the added benefit of getting the kid’s bonded and confident before we really get invested in our winterguard season.
Similar to my plans for the kids Christmas concert, our winterguard show is going to be “interesting” and something with which they can hit a homerun … and by that I don’t necessarily mean “win” … it’ll be a homerun if it builds the kid’s skills, makes them better performers and makes the guard attractive to other kids making them want to join … all of that ultimately culminating in a bigger, stronger, and more importantly, sustainable program. Never mind the sheets, the scores, the judges or the parents for now. It’s all about the kids and the learning process. So we’re using Blue October’s “Into the Ocean” and, if the fates allow, we’ll have about 20 feet of really cool painted back drops and even be “underwater” at one point. Cross your fingers.
Hasta la Pasta
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1 comment:
That's a really awesome song. I thought about using it too. Have you heard Seal's Love's Divine? That's a good WG song too.
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