Fitness. Army. Random.

It all started out with the ABA Convention in Charleston, SC…

That weekend was so bittersweet… but looking at the brighter side of things, it was great having a little free time to roam around the very beautiful, historic city. Marion Square Park was the first place we decided to visit once we got off the bus.

Love this bridge! Luckily, skies were totally clear that day. :)

Here are a few girls and I in front of the fountain. All smiles!

The inside of a church that we randomly walked into on our journey through downtown Charleston.

This is another church we happened to pass by on our way to nowhere. :) Beautiful… don’tcha think?

About two days after our adventure downtown, a few of us split off from the Wind Ensemble to go our separate ways for Basketball Band. The SoCon tournament was happening in Charlotte, NC… so we had to go!

Of course, we’re down two with 5.4 seconds to go in this picture, but… I had to capture the moment. The other team managed another point before the clock hit 2.3 seconds. Imagine this…. RIGHT before the buzzer rings, a (once) popular bballer from Furman goes in for the layup…! The game’s NOT tied. It’s over. Fail.

VC

It’s weird.

I probably should have created a major at Furman that has something to do with Political Science and [Music] Library Science goodness. I spend enough of my time in the library and in the Political Science department while I’m at school. I’m currently chillin’ in the good ol’ Hartsville Memorial Library… on the second official day of my Spring Break because I’m cool.

Okay.

Probably not -that- cool, but it’s where I go to get my internetz since mom decided that she’d rather be independent of the whole thing. I’ve just returned from an “awesome” week of doing band things. The American Bandmaster’s Association (that’s a mouthful) was last week in Charleston, SC. The experience was cool, but it was also a (lotta) bit nerve-racking. The first day we got there was kinda cool… sorta. We stopped along the way to have rehearsal at a high school, had dinner, then went to a 2.5 hour concert. The concert was amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it was a bit much on top of 3hr trip AND an intense rehearsal of our own. Performance day came quickly, but not before a morning filled with Chucktown shopping/perusing at its finest! (The snail-slow computers here at the library wont let me give you a visual representation of downtown Charleston, so maybe later.) Rehearsal was rather interesting. We had two hours and 8 conductors. Each conductor had 20 minutes to work on each piece. Talk about stressful! Members of the Wind Ensemble left feeling not-so-good about the night ahead.

I would be lying to ya if I said that the rehearsal-jitters translated into our performance on Thursday night. We totally rocked! … not to brag or anything. =] Anyway, I’m glad that’s over. Now I’m looking forward to my clarinet recital in April and my last concert with the band. *tear/joy*

Don’t want to write a book or anything, but I’ll definitely keep this thing updated over the break. Strangely enough, I’m excited about the end of this week rather than the beginning. The boyfriend is visiting on Friday to meet the parents. Should be interesting… very interesting indeed.

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/ver1256

Listening to: Pandora Radio :)

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I wish I could say my weekend was productive, but sadly no.

Wanna know how it all went? …in excruciating detail? Okie, here goes.

FRIDAY

• 8am - I wake up to the buzz of my cell phone alarm going off. Generally when I set the alarm during the week, it’s set to this nice, soothing tenor sax jazz solo, but I’m not opposed to waking up to my phone’s vibration. I’m completely okay with that. Anyway, at this point, I turn over, hit snooze, and sleep for about thirty more minutes.

• 8:30 - I groan and roll over to shut off my alarm and drag myself out of bed. Okay, it’s not really that bad, but as you can tell I’m sort of a sleep whore.

• 10:20 - I have my clarinet lesson with Bob. It’s nothing special, really. I’ve really begun to enjoy these 30-minute once-a-week deals. It’s really nice not to have to stress about clarinet… at least not as much as I did during my freshman year here.

• 1:30pm - I work for a random hour at the Science library. I’ll proudly admit that I’m “one of those” college students. Attending a private liberal arts college that claims nearly 46K a school year is stressful business. Anyway, during this short hour, I get a text message from my friend that he’s on his way from Cola (a freaking sweet abbreviation for Columbia, SC) to hang out/ see me perform with the Wind Ensemble. Did I mention that I was a bandie? Intense.

• 3:00 - I get a call from my favorite gay saying that I should come over to his place to chill for a bit. Did I also mention that I’m a fruit-fly? Totally. So, I head over to his place and eventually we decide to watch a movie… instead of going to the gym like we were scheduled to.

• 5:30 - Time to start getting dressed for the concert! My friend from Cola still hasn’t arrived yet and he left to make the two hour trip at 1pm. I-385 detour. D’oh!

• 8:00 - With a flick of the baton, the concert begins with a nice march called “Army of the Nile.” Symphonic Band pieces fly by (at least for me… I’m not too sure about the audience) and then it’s on to Wind Ensemble goodness. During the small break between bands, I go back stage to switch clarinets (B-flat to E-flat) and I find that my reeds have disappeared. I don’t panic. It’s dark backstage. Perhaps it’s underneath this random table… no. My breathing quickens for an instant. Surely there are some reeds in the E-flat case. Yes. But they’re warped, d’oh! So, at the last minute, I decide to use my B-flat reed (which is huge on the E-flat’s mouthpiece) for my clarinets. All ends well. I’m such a bandie.

• 10:10 - Concert’s over! Nearly 15 of us are heading downtown for Mike’s birthday celebration. On the way over, I notice on my car’s thermometer that it’s 35 degrees out. Minus wind chill. Thanks, Greenville.

• 11:30 - Mike’s at least 6 shots in and the food at Blue Ridge is ah-mazing. I decide to text message the boyfriend to see how he’s feeling. He, along with most of his unit, has gotten the plague that’s been making it’s rounds.

• 12:14am - We finally leave Blue Ridge and begin the trip back to FU. When we get there, we head to Mike’s apartment for more fun things.

Now that I think about it, Friday was my most eventful day.

SATURDAY

Nothing/blur

SUNDAY

• Sickness
• Apartment hunting with the boyfriend
• More sickness
• Bed
• Feeling slightly better
• Work
• Here. Now.

So yeah. After all that, you can see how eventful my weekend was. I had fun, but now it’s back to the grindstone… at least until Wednesday when the Wind Ensemble leaves to travel to Charleston to play for the American Bandmaster’s Association. Again, I’m such a bandie.