Weird Things We Do at the Holidays

I was considering the fact that Christmas is drawing close yesterday, and thought how much I was looking forward to it, and suddenly realized that the traditions we have are quite random. We all like hearing about each other's wacky traditions, yes? Well, here are ours:

> Christmas music from the Boston Pops, Canadian Brass, Count Basie Orchestra, and other jazzy sources.

> Christmas breakfast at 6:00 a.m. sharp (my dad doesn't like this)

> Me getting up at midnight and sleeping on the sofa for the rest of the night, then waking everybody up at 6 for said breakfast.

> The randomness tree. This is a thing I do. It's a three-foot tree themed with whatever my current obsession might be. Guess what this year's theme will be:

Yep. DCI corps.

> The contents of the above-mentioned breakfast. Most years it's made up entirely of cookies, fruitcake, and smoothies. Although, one year my mom made me eat broccoli too; but that was because I was sick.

> In addition to Christmas music, we listen to Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams all through December. This started last year when it came out and since then it's sort of become our soundtrack of winter.

> Watching The Lego Movie. We do it every year. Not sure why... we just do.

> Setting up the Christmas tree over Thanksgiving break. To those of you out there who get your trees on Christmas Eve... who are you and what do you think you are doing. 
Anyway. Yep.

What We Did At School

What we did during JV jazz yesterday:

Yep, that's the one and only Wayne Bergeron, with the also one and only Varsity jazz band behind him.
Also only 18 days to Hawaii.

What DCI Geeks Do for Halloween

When Halloween rolls around, we can all change who we are for a day, and unfortunately one day only.. honestly I'm going to miss walking around school like this:

Mine.

Yep, I dressed up as someone from the Santa Clara Vanguard today. For those of you that know me, did you honestly expect anything less? For those of you that don't... get used to things like this.

I painted the shirt and made the plume and the star for the hat. It all cost less than $100.
It all made my band director very happy this morning. We were all just sitting there, discussing our last concert, with me casually under my hat, when Mr. Taylor looks around and says, "You are wearing a Santa Clara Vanguard costume. You have no idea how happy that makes me!" I collapsed into a fit of laughter because that was exactly how I imagined the morning going. At the end of class he took a picture to add to the Wonderfulness of Band archives. (Actually I made that up. It's just the band archive. But whatever.)
Thanks, Mom and Dad, for buying the materials; everyone else for noticing (words of Sam: "ten out of ten"); and mostly the Vanguard themselves for always being their awesome selves out there! #SCV @scvanguard 
Thank you all.

Don't you be smiling in uniform! Oh wait... never mind.

It was great. The best Halloween I've had. 

Blog Challenge *Day 26*

If you had $1,000,000,000 dollars to spend what would you buy?

If I had a million dollars I really hope I would have plenty of money in addition to that to donate to things. But we're talking consumerism here... so let's start from the top.

I'd get myself this nice car, in this color:

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia
From Car and Driver

Then I'd also get this nice car, either in this color or white, for more utilitarian purposes:

Also from Car and Driver

Then I would buy 2 trumpets: definitely a Cannonball and possibly a Bach or Yamaha Pro.

Of course I can't decide.
Pics from Cannonball Music.

Then I would buy a Torpedo bag for one of said trumpets:

Black is boring. Get blue instead.
From Torpedo Bags.

I'd build a nice (not especially big) house in California. Mediterranean style, thanks. Beach-side lot. 

intro.dvrlists.com

And I think that would pretty much take up my million dollars. If there's anything left then assume that I would buy clothes. 

Yep.

Blog Challenge *Day 25*

Discuss someone who fascinates you and why.
Erm. IDK. Me being lazy is pretty fascinating cuz I GET NOTHING DONE. 

Blog Challenge *Day 24*

What is your favorite movie and why?
Star Wars, I think; the 3 originals are the very best.

www.theodysseyonline.com

That being said I liked Episode 7 too. 
I like Star Wars because it's a classic adventure story, but it has interesting sci-fi details, such that it really becomes its own type of adventure story.

Blog Challenge *Day 23*

Thus spaek day 23: post 5 pictures of celebrities you find attractive.

...

Do I gotta?

...

Fine.

(Pics from Sparknotes' SparkLife)

Am I not Captain Obvious?

That white suit is ON POINT...

Yes, both then and now. Although if anyone's got a time machine up for grabs that'd be cool. But moving on...

From this article that was interesting even to me.

And I don't even watch Doctor Who! ... this is Matt Smith, by the way, for those of you who, like me, don't watch TV.

www.playbuzz.com

www.bbcamerica.com

The 11th Doctor + this picture I talked about = why I love bow ties. Seriously. 

I know that's only two people but honestly that's about the extent of the film and TV industry's attractiveness.

Anyway. Glad that silly post is done.

Blog Challenge *Day 22*

How have you changed over the past few years?

I used to be a complete introvert/geek/weird person. I played the piano. I did Irish dance. I didn't hardly talk with people.

Now I am still a bit of an introvert, and yes, I remain a band geek, but I'm not so obsessive about things like Star Wars and Seabiscuit as I used to be. I play trumpet and I do marching band. I run. I actually try to be a social human instead of not talking. And most of all, I'm now much more confident. It's GR8.

Mine. Credit, plz, if you want to use.

Confidence means...

> Believing in your style, choices, and actions

> Following a path of life that you think is right

> Not letting others hinder progress to things you want to achieve

> Believing that you can do anything; because you can if you think and tell yourself that you can.

Gaining total confidence takes a lifetime, but starting on it now is certainly helping things right along.

Blog Challenge *Day 21*

Favorite TV shows:

None, cuz we don't have a TV and I'm grateful because that's one less excuse for me to waste time.

Blog Challenge *Day 20*

How important is education to you?

Pretty important. I don't want anything to do with graduate school or a Phd, but I do want to learn as much music as possible and get enough qualification to do architecture and design work as a job. Other than that I think it's important to learn stuff and actually try in school because then you'll have those skills for a lifetime, and it's likely that one day- even if it is just a single day- in your life you'll need to use everything you learn. I also think it's up to every individual how far they want to go with such things beyond high school. No college, fine. Grad school, ok. Medical school? Cool, save money. Whatever you study after high school should be of interest to you, though, so that you stay engaged. For me this means architecture and design, and of course music.

My favorite style: Mediterranean

Blog Challenge *Day 19*

What is your biggest regret in life?

That I didn't take opportunities as a younger kid. 

I didn't do spelling bees.

I didn't go over to friends' houses.

I've never yet had or been to a sleepover.

I didn't like trying any sort of new things.

I ALMOST didn't do marching band until my mom insisted. I'm very grateful she did insist because goodness knows what would have happened if I hadn't done marching band.

The reason I regret not doing such things when I was younger is because I have to break out of my shell NOW. Rawr.

Random thing o' the day. Psychedelic, no?

Blog Challenge *Day 18*

What book could you read over and over again?
Up until about April I would have said the Harry Potter books- but recently I happened upon an excellent mystery series that begins with 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax', a series written over about 30 years about- well- the unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, who applies for work as a spy when life gets boring. They're excellent books, and there are a lot of them, too. To date I've read all but 2 of them. If you're a fan of mysteries you'll certainly like them.

www.amazon.com
The first book

Blog Challenge *Day 17*

Day 17: list your highs and lows during this past year.
I've had quite the nice year, honestly. 
Good: I made it through the spring this school year. 
Bad: I had a REALLY BAD audition for the Wind Ensemble. It was BAD.
Good: I passed the AP test.
Good: I got perfect attendance the first month of summer band.
Good: I went to a music camp and learned things vital to my survival as a musician.
Good: I went to a DCI (Drum Corps International) competition.
Good: I survived band camp.
Bad: I now must go back to school.
Yep.

Another random photo I took, because I can.

Blog Challenge *Day 16*

16. What are your views on mainstream music?
Uhhh... what's mainstream? Is that pop? Yes? Ok.
Well I can tell you when it comes to music, I'm thoroughly stuck in the 80's. Really. 
Here's what my favorite Spotify playlist consists of (we'll do the Song [artist, album] thing again):
1. Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
2. Hold On (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
3. It Can Happen (Yes, 90125 Deluxe Version)
4. Pride/In The Name of Love (U2, 18 Singles)
5. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of (U2, 18 Singles)
6. One (U2, 18 Singles)
7. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (U2, 18 Singles)
8. With or Without You (U2, The Joshua Tree)
9. Running to Stand Still (U2, The Joshua Tree)
10. Bullet the Blue Sky (U2, The Joshua Tree)
11. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair)
12. Driven To Tears (The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta)
13. Hungry For You (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
14. Re-Humanise Yourself (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
15. Darkness (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
16. Spirits in the Material World (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
17. Beat It (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
18. Thriller (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
19. Celebration (Kool & The Gang, Celebrate)
Now let's see the original release dates for all of those:
1. 1983
2. 1983
3. 1983
4. 1984
5. 2000
6. 1991
7. 2004
8. 1987
9. 1987
10. 1987
11. 1985
12. 1980
13. 1981
14. 1981
15. 1981
16. 1981
17. 1982
18. 1982
19. 1980
Now let's analyze those statistics...

I made you a fancy graph. You're welcome.

84% of my music is from the 80's!!! Which of course means I'm not a sucker for pop. I know a lot of/most of the songs on the Spotify current hits playlist, but I don't like most of them. The super trendy sort of music doesn't tend to hit the spot for my liking. It's usually junk. At least The Police sang about important issues and stuff. It was actually meaningful music back in the day, not just love songs. Not to say those didn't exist in the 80's, but back then they were actually sort of bearable. 
Yea. I generally don't like popular mainstream music. It's about weird stuff too. Love and junk. Some are ok, others aren't, a select few are good. Mostly I try to avoid it.
The one exception I'll make is for Coldplay. I LOVE LOVE LOVE nearly all of their albums, including the one that just came out in December, so I guess that's more popular than some stuff I listen to. 
But other than Coldplay- I am very stuck in the 80's when it comes to music.

Blog Challenge *Day 15*

We're halfway done with the blog challenge!!! Today's prompt is this: Write 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Ok. It might go over 15 if I can think of that many.
1. I have never eaten at McDonald's and never plan to.
2. My eyes are an odd mix of blue and gold. 
3. I did competitive irish step dance for 6 years.
4. I haven't been to Disneyland.
5. I've never been outside of the 48 contiguous United States (that'll change in December).
6. So far in my 15 years of existence I've never kissed a guy, nor have I ever been kissed. It's quite inconsequential to me. 
7. I'm terrible at taking selfies, probably because my flip phone doesn't have a front-facing camera.
8. I'm exactly 6 feet tall. I should be playing volleyball but I don't want to. Or I should be running track and cross country, but that's too much work.
9. I'm pretty sure marching band is the reason I exist. *Not really, but it sure feels like it.*
10. I am a Gemini, and, according to my friends, a very typical one.
11. "Da trumpet don't hit things all schmancy like you do!" < I said that to my percussion friends. I'm not good at hitting things in fancy patterns. Also you probably shouldn't trust me with drumsticks as I might promptly break something.
12. I speak un peu de français. Je n'aime pas mon classe de français, mais je le parler chez moi avec ma mère. Un jour, je vais aller à la France, mais pas maintenant. Maintenant je veux aller sur les voyages pour l'ensemble de musique. Mes amis ne sais pas que le français est la langue d'amour. Puis-tu pas leurs dit qu'il est? Merci beaucoup. 
13. I know how to actually cook. Meaning not use a microwave or cake mix or any of that. I can actually cook stuff. 
14. Speaking of that, we haven't got a microwave in our house.
15. I own a single trumpet. Two is a good number, but I haven't got the money for that. Three is on the borderline. Four and above is way too many for one person.

And this is my advice to you.

Blog Challenge *Day 14*

What is your earliest memory?
That's a hard one. It might have been sitting on the floor of my room in our old house in Arizona, while my mom leaned on the doorway and read me words out of a Russian dictionary or a science book (we legit did that a few times). Or it might have been watching our Toyota go through a car wash in Arizona. It was a car wash where you get out of the car and they put it on an automatic belt-thingy, and then you could go inside the gas station's convenience store and watch your car get a wash through the windows. 

Le Toyota which I named "Herbie" when I was 4.

Or it might be riding my tricycle down the sidewalk in Arizona. I'm not sure which order all of those things went in, so I don't know for sure. But you get the idea.

Blog Challenge *Day 13*

Where would you like to visit/live one day?
There are lots of these. If you haven't read my Travels post, that one is a great overview of some places I've been and where I'd like to go. But for convenience I'll list some here too.
Something about me loves costal areas. I have a constant craving for warm, sunny, tropical, ocean-side places, especially in the winter. Thus, I'd like to go to:

• Hawaii. Obviously; lots of people want to go there. The best part, though, is that I DO get to go to Hawaii- in, like, 4 months.

www.theknot.com

• California. My dad grew up there and I'm jealous. Living in a landlocked state just isn't the same.

www.travelchannel.com

• Florida. My mom used to take trips down there every spring.

www.diytransport.com

• France. The French like the beach- Marseille and Nice are actually beach towns.

www.best-beaches.com

• Australia. They have great surfing and snorkeling.

vegansparkles.com

• And many more.

Did you notice a pattern? I did. I think it's called, "I-need-sun-and-surf." Or something much like that.

Blog Challenge *Day 12*

Bullet point your whole day.
Ok. 
Well, today is a Sunday but because this is on auto-post it'll show up on a Monday, so... this is a typical Sunday.

• I wake up at 8:02 a.m. because the sun is very nicely shining in through my curtains.
• I get up, get dressed, and wash my face with cold water, further waking myself up.
• I eat breakfast with my parents- biscuits and bacon. 
• I make a strawberry smoothie.
• I dry the dishes as my dad washes them.
• My dad goes to church. He's the only one of the three of us that goes.
• I brush my teeth and hang up a pair of jeans I accidentally left in the washer overnight.
• I proceed to do work until 12:53. This work consists of 3 hours of trawling through old math notes and creating a study guide for a math test, which is on Thursday.
• My parents play that word game Quiddler while I keep doing work.
• I eat a late lunch that consists of a broiled hot dog, leftover pasta, and celery.
• I go downstairs to our unfinished basement to paint my nails a color that I named 'Marching Band Purple'.

They call it Sultry. I call it Marching Band.
From Revlon

• I go into my dad's office and annoy him while he does work on his YouTube channel.
• I come back upstairs and work on this.
• Dinner.
• I practice trumpet.
• I do more work, this time on maps for a Geography test. And I study vocab words for another test on Thursday. 
• Shower
• Pack school bag
• Goodnight.

The end!

Blog Challenge *Day 11*

Day 11 is hard. It says: Put your iPod on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs. Since I haven't got an iPod, how about I write down the first ten songs on my "Misc." Spotify playlist? It's about as random as shuffling an iPod.
I'll do it in the following format: Song Name (Artist, Album)
1. One World (The Police, Ghost in the Machine)
2. Zoo Station (U2, Achtung Baby)
3. Clocks (Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head)
4. Radioactive (Imagine Dragons, Night Visions)
5. Gold (Imagine Dragons, Smoke and Mirrors)
6. I'm So Sorry (Imagine Dragons, Smoke and Mirrors)
7. A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay, Ghost Stories)
8. The Miracle (U2, Songs of Innocence)
9. This is Where You Can Reach Me Now (U2, Songs of Innocence)
10. Princess of China (Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto)
But 8 times out of 10, I wouldn't listen to all of those first ten songs. I'd probably listen through A Sky Full of Stars and then skip the U2 songs off Songs of Innocence because I don't like them all that much. But yes. That's my very random playlist. It also includes music from Yes, Tears for Fears, Queen, and Owl City. Yes, I know. Very random.
Then I have some other playlists: Best of U2 (my favorite songs from them), Old but Good (music of the 70's, 80's, etc.), Quiet (quiet), and Peppy/Party (louder). My favorites are probably Old but Good and Best of U2, aside from the Misc. playlist, since that's a bit of everything.
But yeah. When it comes to music I'm very random- plus stuck in the 80's. More on that later.
Here's some things you should go find and listen to RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND:
(All of les album covers are from Spotify)

IT RULES OVER EVERYTHING.

Excellent.

GIVE ME MORE, NOW.

Best album of the past year.

Yaaaaaas.

I'm serious. Go find and listen to them now.

Blog Challenge *Day 10*

Another really good one!!! Day 10: What is your guilty pleasure?
STARING AT THIS PHOTO FOR MINUTES AT A TIME.

Why? Because these are cool persons and I wish I were them. But since I'm not I still have to work to get into Varsity (ALSO THEY ARE VERY, VEEEEERRRRY HOT GUYS OBVIOUSLY). 
I also like eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag but since that's not good for you I don't do it as often as I look at that picture. 
Yeet.