January 29, 2009

25 things about me

25 things about me.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(This was a thing somebody tagged my in on facebook so I decided to do it and realized that it made a good blog entry as well. Enjoy!!)


1) I just figured out how to snap my fingers earlier today, but only with my left hand

2) I am on the internet way more than I should be, but I'm learning to manage my time better

3) My sister is obsessed with overpriced designer clothing and it makes me want to puke.

4) I have had long hair ever since I can remember and I intend to keep it that way

5) The band room at MASH is my second home. I don't know what I would do without band.

6) I was born on May 6th and 6 is one of my favorite numbers....besides 42 of course

7) I'd really like to hang out with people and get together more often but I am really terrible at organizing. On occasion one of my plans will actually succeed, but usually it just falls apart

8) Also, I don't get invited to do anything as much as I would like. But when people do ask me to do something it makes me very happy :D

9) I have a cell phone and it is almost always on, and I almost always have it. But I'm not incredibly good at talking to people on the phone. It really depends, and I try my best, but most of the voicemails I leave are at least slightly awkward. Text me?

10) I am taking french because I went to France on a family trip when I was younger and it was absolutely amazing

11) I dont like to use apple computers. I am not saying that they suck and I understand that they preform better in some situations, but I just think Windows is more versatile.

12) I like it when people talk to me, but I am not a very good conversation starter

13) Playing drums is the most amazing thing I think I will ever do, and I'll never be satisfied with just being good enough.

14) Which is why I have 3 different drum teachers, 2 of which I see on a weekly basis and the third who is more of a mentor and I only see him from time to time

15) I am generally very good at being tolerant and accepting of other people. I just don't find it that much fun hating somebody and talking crap about them to my friends behind their back.

16) So if I have decided that I don't like you, it probably means that you are either extremely obnoxious and ignorant or astronomically annoying. This is true of few people.

17) Jason Mraz is one of my favorite artists. I saw him in concert a few years ago and know all his albums backwards and forwards, in several different keys.

18) I am amazed at the effect music can have on a person, and want to be as much a part of it as possible.

19) I like to learn to play musical insturments. I dont even know how I ended up with the violin/ drums combo, but i have since been working on bass, guitar, and vibraphone (and singing if that counts as an instrument). I want to learn a wind instrument like the saxophone but its pretty disgusting if you dont have your own beacuse you have to almost make out with the freaking thing.

20) I honestly feel as though I should have been the section leader in the marching band for the last two years. But it doesn't really bother me so long as i get to play.

21) I have not been officially trained in any type of singing, and i don't exactly plan to be (no offense, but I find that many people who focus on voice end up with bad rhythm....but its not their fault). Still, for some reason I'd like to be in a musical at some point. Hopefully before I graduate. It looks like fun.

22) I cant help but try to impress people. Its so awesome knowing that others are getting enjoyment from me doing whatever it is that I do.

23) I love jazz music, listening to it, playing it, discussing it, etc. There is nothing like a good swing. It is my salvation.

24) Sports drive me crazy. Of course I cant complain to much because our marching band wouldn't be quite the same without football. BUT if all those other sports just disappeared, nobody would really be hurt. More members and funding for the one true source of awesome that is the marching band. I tried playing soccer in 9th grade and it was the most outrageously epic failure since somebody took a picture of the car that was sticking out of the roof of somebody's house and posted it on failblog.org. I mean it was terrible. Now I just kick back and enjoy the music, which is frequently interrupted by the compliants of those unfortunate souls bound to physical activity. I dont think I have ever heard somebody saying something positive about having to practice for any kind of sport. "oh god I dont want to go to soccer practice"...."oh how I dont want to swim today"...."oh how football is a waste of time". Me? I get to go bang on drums after school. I am the entertainment. They sit on the bench. I pity the fool.

25) Before I must go to bed, I should say that a lot of the problems I mentioned in earlier numbers (before I got into all that musical stuff) probably have something to do with all the neurological disorders (thats the fancy term) that I have. Ask me about it sometime.

Peace!!!

January 28, 2009

SNOWTF!? Pt. 5- The bus ride from Antarctica

The ride home from school today was so perilous that I decided to write about it. First of all it started snowing like the wrath of god during 6th or 7th period today (Deja Vu?) and by the end of the school day we were practically buried. Everything was canceled. I mean EVERYTHING. They even said everything was canceled over the school's PA. Then they said that everything that all those canceled activities had been re-canceled. And what might one do instead of going to the after-school activity that had just received a double dose of cancellation? All of those things are canceled too. Was anybody planning to dance? Nope. Swim? No. Wrestle? No way. Play basketball? Nay. Band concert? not even close. How about some shoveling?

And of course the snow's final curse was the inevitable cancellation of everybody's ride home. We were standing out there like penguins watching the empty road behind the school remain empty for way to long. Some lucky people got their bus reasonably on time, but of course I don't get home late enough on a regular day. The principals actually started herding us inside to continue waiting. When bus 172 finally showed up (after I'd seen buses 173, 171, 175, 170, 171.69, 154/6x+2, 170.com, 172-3, 1-800-not-172, 17%, $17.20, 42, and so many more), I looked at my watch. "Hmm, I am usually at home by now". Oh well, sometimes you just have to be patient. While I was being patient, bus 172 was taking its good ol' time in the crazy conditions. Getting up one particular street involved pulling more than halfway up, running into a snowbank, hearing sounds I had no idea a bus could make, then painfully backing up down the street to try again (can you back up down a hill? Does that mean you back down going up? I'm pretty sure it should be the other way around). Once this process had been repeated a couple of times, the requirement of nearly running down a pedestrian had to be met. Apparently, my friend Rachel (who lives on the street that we'd just been stuck on for half an hour) fell in to a snowbank that just happened to be right next to an out-of-control school bus that I just happened to be on. She had the living fershizzle scared out of her, but fortunately lived to send my a text message about it. Then when we finally got up, down, around, over, and through to my stop, I faced some snow of my own. I'm used to trudging through the woods to get home, but I was not expecting to have to vault over the Berlin wall at the end. But I did, and ended up kind of wet. Could have been worse, though.

January 17, 2009

An assignment

I finally get to record a piece for a dance studio! My old english teacher and current dance teacher has a song for one of the dances that is not long enough. I'd been bothering her about recording something for her, and since the song had such a good beat she said that she'd let me do an intro so the whole thing is long enough. The song is very scaled down, mostly drum and bass with the vocal lead. I'll definitely do a heavy backbeat, probably layer in some other complementary rhythms and a bass part.Thinking I'll even use brushes and stuff. But I am a whole lot better with rhythm than melody, so I don't know how much I want to go for any other insturments. Some guitar would be nice though. Just easy filler. Violin maybe?

January 11, 2009

SNOWTF!? Pt.4 - Sledding edition!

So normally I'm not a major fan of snow. Its wet and cold and can be quite annoying when it inevitably finds its way into your boots, up your sleeves and down your neck. But more recently I have had a new found appreciation for snow. Being now in possession of a fancy camera, I am able to photograph the snow and admire its beauty. And since I am not being forced to interact with it, I can choose if and when I ever even want to be in the snow. And last night I chose to go sledding.

Let me tell you how perfect it was for night sledding in Meadville yesterday. It stayed light after 10:30. We're not sure why but it probably had something to do with the moon. I came out to Robertson field (the hill at Allegheny's athletic complex) and met a bunch of friends, some of which were in college. But the point was that the normally annoying snow brought us epic sledding awesomeness. There where some crazed college kids there who made a human ramp out of two guys holding sleds next to each other. That caused serious fail at the beginning , but by the end they were getting impressive air as well. Our personal sledding successes involved making a chain, going face first, forgetting the sled (Caitlin!!) and SURFING!! Towards the end I started heading down the slopes snowboard style standing on the sled. I lost balance and would put my hand down, then end up falling onto the sled and ending up hitting the bottom in a tangle of my own limbs. Each time going down would get me a little bit further. By the last run, I stood up all the way to the bottom of the hill, then promptly flew off and landed on my face. That. Was. EPIC!!!