Nearly Time

Why, look at that- we're nearly on tour! Woo! It's 2 1 day until we leave. Or technically, 1 day and some only 20 hours. But anyway. I'm crossing stuff out because I initially started writing this last night, but once last night was over that took us to the less-than-1-day mark. So.
Thursday night was the tour premier in the form of our send-off concert, and now we're free to pack and cram in homework so that it doesn't have to come with us.
But most of us are excited because we don't have to do a week of school! And we're going leaving the cold and wet for the warm/hot!
...and also wet. My hair's going to really poof up in the 100% humidity.
My room is in an interesting state:

Suitcase, bags, trumpet cases on the floor, clothes on the chair, etc etc.
Only 36 LESS THAN 24 hours.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

2 Weeks/Sickness/Blogging Hawaii/Packing Angst

Remember these?

Well, we recently passed the two-week mark (that was Sunday 11/20), and the one-week mark is approaching with extreme expedience. It's a busy week ahead. 
Thanksgiving dinner was great, and thankfully I was feeling well enough to enjoy it. I unfortunately picked up a rather virulent cold from my dad on Monday and have been in bed sleeping ever since (why I didn't post the 2-week mark earlier).
I promise you all that I will try my hardest to live-blog Hawaii, but I will tell you honestly that I don't think I'll have time to do anything more than take snapshots from my phone and then post them all when I get back. Whenever it happens, you'll get the whole story eventually. 
And also I find it amusing that I'm as packed as anyone can be at this point. All I have left is my uniform, which I can't pack until next Friday because we have a performance Thursday night. 
But yea. That's what's going on at the moment.

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.

21 Days

Agh. Fast approaching are three things- a visit to our school from Wayne Bergeron (Monday), the local music dealer's private sale, at which I will get a new trumpet (Wednesday), and HAWAII, the event of the year, in 21 DAYZ. 
WOOOOOOW. 
Right now, I am doing this:

In preparation for this: 

And yes, that is my trumpet on a floor pouf:

We're all getting pumped for Hawaii. Not long at all now. 

Less Than A Month

WE ARE 23 DAYS OUT FROM LEAVING FOR HAWAII ON DECEMBER THE 4TH. Where the heck has the past year gone???
We have an early morning performance at one of the district elementary schools tomorrow (so early it's essentially zero hour, and I get to miss a math test), a send-off concert after that, and then we leave 4 DAYS AFTER THAT.
AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...
!!!
Yay. :D
So my job right now is to study and keep my grades up so I don't fail everything during the week we're across the water on Oahu. 

That rug-looking thing is my beach towel, by the way. It came from Amazon on Monday and I love sitting on it. 
But yea. ONLY 3 WEEKS. O. M. G. WOW.
Happy. :)

Pinterest
The band when anybody says the word Hawaii

In other news, I might (probably will) get a new trumpet next week, but more on that later. Hawaii here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (uh... overreact much?)

*Quick Update*

I am very stressed à la moment. I have a lot to do in a short amount of time, and of course marching band and finals start next week. 
In English today we finished all of the blog assignments that will happen for the rest of eternity, and migrated our blogs to different email accounts so they wouldn't vanish after we finish high school.
So as you probably guessed, there won't be posts on here over the summer. Marching band + online classes + music camp + general craziness = no blog time.
Instead, I'll be back in August. I'll post the new marching band pictures, update you, etc. And to keep myself motivated, I decided to do this:

From this cool place

Now, there are waaaaay to many versions of this challenge out there- just Google it- but of course that means you can do a 30-day blog challenge over and over again, and it'll be a bit different every time. 
Yep. If I manage to take any selfies or anything next week @ marching band I might post those but other than that you can expect me back in mid-August. 
Bye for now, fellow band geeks, and may your marching season be prosperous. Work hard.
--Emay (Emma)

My Blogging Year

As a final hurrah on the blog, we've been assigned to reflect on our blogging journey. 
So I started the year as an ignorant, nerdy girl who brushed the curls out of her hair, played some mediocre trumpet, and didn't have a social life. Boy, has that changed. Isn't it interesting how much you can discover about yourself over the course of less than nine months? I'm not anything like I was all that time ago. 
Back in August and September, I was finishing out my first and awesome summer of marching band. I knew I would be doing a blog, though in June I had wanted to write about Star Wars and Seabiscuit, a dreadful combined topic. But one day in September, something changed. Since I had basically spent each day of my summer around a bunch of upper classmen (the marching band), I wanted to be different. I didn't feel like being that awkward, completely introverted person I had been for the previous 8 years of my existence. It wasn't going to work anymore. So I started to change.
I went from silent to mildly quiet. I let my hair dry in its natural beachy waves, because it just turned into a frizzy mess when I tried to brush it. I stopped being so obsessive about Star Wars. I grew closer to my friends in my free time, instead of spending it reading at home. I practiced trumpet so I could actually be good at it. I amassed a library of music I love and became opinionated about what I listened to and when. I started thinking more about my social life, and how I could be a more interesting person. I tried to be more friendly, and not snap at people when they said silly things. It was certainly an interesting time, and, along with me, this blog's changed through the year. Now, coming out of the transition period, I can look back and say, "...Wow. I'm glad I am who I am now." I am sophisticated! And I will continue to become more so. 
At first, if you don't remember, I said that I would be blogging about, "My experiences in band. What we do in band. What happened last night at band. What we're doing tomorrow in band. What's happening next marching season." I think that was because I watched my friends blog about band; mainly Danielle, she was the other one with a band-themed blog.
...
It didn't turn out like that, I can tell you. 19 of my 44 posts have been about band (that's less than half). 3 of the other 25 were about horses, 3 were general advice, 14 about goings-on in my life, and the remaining 5 were on random opinions and dance. 
It turns out that this is actually a much better mix of posts and subjects than solid band. I learned that if you're running a simple 'about my life' blog like me, it's hard- nearly impossible- to stick to a single subject. You have to put variety into your writing, just like in a novel. When you write a story, you can't repeat yourself over and over and over again. You've got to make it interesting in some way. And so now, I know not to mono-blog. That is to say, don't be such an obsessive band geek that that's all you talk about. It won't be fun for your audience. 
So that's where I started and what I learned. And now I know how to actually blog successfully. I know that once I'm done with high school, I'll be keeping a blog for sure. It helps me to write often like this... so in the end, I can thank my English teacher for giving me more work instead of saying, "Oh, blogging is such a drag" because it was helpful, and, dare I say... made the year more fun. So thanks.

-----------------------

Aaaaaand, we're at the end. It honest-to-gosh looks like this will be the last post of the year. :( I plan to be back periodically next year, but since I don't have an obligation to fill (I won't be getting graded on it), it will probably be longer between posts. Just a fair warning. But thanks for reading this year. It was nice of you, and maybe you learned something about me because I'm an awful lot more extroverted here than in real life.
Now, to wrap up, I thought I'd make an album of the year in photos and drawings from my early posts and such. 
See you as a sophomore, 
Emma (the tried-and-true band geek, smart person, introverted trumpet girl, etc.)

-----------------------

2015-2016 in Photos

In the beginning...

Triple-Crown conquerer
http://www.breyerhorses.com/

Forever summer, forever marching band.

I CAN DRAW... only horses.

Yes, you are a teenager. You must do work.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Homecoming. Coming, happening, gone!

HAWAII, that's where.

Beautiful.
swivelstone.deviantart.com

I <3 cars.
http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/brz/index.html

AND MUSIC. SO MUCH MUSIC.

Shoes, in their respective positions, on their respective surfaces...

Reel pumps/dance shoes on dance floor

Marching shoes on concrete (albeit w/out black socks...oops)

More commonplace shoes on gravel driveway.

Oh yea, that thing...

Yeet.
nhwn.wordpress.com

My life, right there.

February somethingth, à la Band Fundraiser
http://www.pcbands.net/

The sky is blue, of course. I took this. I HAVE SKILLZ.

Congrats, baby.
www.thoroughbreddailynews.com

Luv it.
bvso.org

And here we go again. 

To be continued! Thanks again, everybody. More later. :)

Still sitting on the slowly emptying beach, we watched the sunset. It was warm, cold, sweet and bitter at the same time. I had never lived more than in the past weeks, and here I was watching it come to an end. 

“Not a bad time, was it?” he asked me, studying the patterns in the surf. 

I looked up towards the sky, smiling to myself, and thought for a moment. 

“Certainly not. Went fast, but I’ll never forget it.”

By then we were alone on that beautiful stretch of Outrigger Beach. The stars were coming out. 

He sighed and adjusted his aviator sunglasses.

“I kind of wish we could live it all again. I haven’t felt that… alive… before in my life.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth and turned to smile at him, then spoke again.

“You voice my thoughts- but, listen. Every good thing ends- like this day we’re watching now- and then it begins again. A new sunrise; a new week; a new year. Everything, believe it or not, will begin again. So really… just wait, and it’ll start again for you.”

--From my unnamed, unfinished NaNoWriMo novel

------------------------------

The Marching Band Master List

Since marching band is about to start, I thought we should get back to what this blog's supposed to be about- band! 
I almost like making lists. I'm good at it. I organize things quite a bit, and I clean things the minute they border on getting out of hand. 
So, of course, there has to be a marching band list. Here you go. 

Les Shakos
by ME!

~EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED FOR MARCHING BAND EVER~

STUFF FOR PRACTICE

• That musical instrument thingy. If you forget it everyone will murder you and things won't end well. Plus you won't be able to play, so you'll just be standing there awkwardly while everyone else does lip slurs.
• Mouthpiece. Even if you have above-mentioned instrument, it's useless sans mouthpiece. Always remember this bit.
• SUNSCREEN!!! Oh my GOSH, SUNSCREEN! Especially in an arid mountain environment like where we are, this is SO IMPORTANT. Over the month of June last year- about 30 days total- I had a complete tan and proceeded to become both more tan and sunburnt over the rest of the summer, since I didn't put on enough sunscreen. YOU NEED SUNSCREEN. Even if there's a shared bottle you can usually get at, have your own on hand in case it goes missing, like ours did last summer. We had a nice big bottle the first day of practice; we all used it, but then it disappeared into an instrument locker, and vanished off the face of the earth. I never saw it again. Shame on you, Jack, for losing that so quickly- but whatever. Lesson learned.
• Also- attention, wind players! You need sunscreen lip balm! This prevents embouchure sunburn, which makes it extremely painful to play. And you wouldn't want that, because it would spoil marching band. Prevent it, and wear that lip sunscreen.
• Regular Lip Balm- you'll need this for before and after practice. I've used more lip balm- both regular and sunscreen- in the past year being a wind player than I have in the prior years of my life. It'll be better than having chapped lips when you're not playing your instrument.
• Valve oil and slide grease (Maintenance Materials)- for yourself, of course, but your section will appreciate it when you have some to spare.
• Hair Ties- For tying back long hair, of course, but also to lend, or to use as slide stoppers. That's a useful purpose too. Keep a few in your case, in your pockets, and on your wrist.
• Sporty Watch- digital or analog is fine, whichever you prefer. I have a diving watch that I use, so I can dump water on myself and it's fine. May I give you some advice, though? Don't wear it under your uniform, the gauntlets get in it's way.
• Sunglasses- you want to be able to see the drum major and such without getting the sun in your eyes.
• Marching Shoes- Let's face it. Most teenagers complain that their marching shoes are uncomfortable. But the heels are shaped in a curve for a reason- to help you with your glide step. Your marching just isn't going to be the same if you don't wear the marching shoes. Just wear the shoes- blisters aren't the end of your life. The only exception I make is for people whose shoes literally rub holes in their toes- Emily, for example. But no skipping the marching shoes just because they're inconvenient. They actually help you march.

STUFF FOR PARADE DAYS

• Uniform (including marching shoes) and instrument, of course- check before you leave your house that you have  all the parts of both your instrument and uniform. Also check when you're getting off the bus at the parade line-up area.
• Comfortable shoes for before and after- sometimes I'll wear street shoes to and from  our high school, then change into my marching shoes before I get on the bus. I just leave the street shoes at the school. Some good types include Birkenstocks, Converse, Vans, or boat shoes. A pair with memory foam soles are nice, particularly afterwards. And no, no one will mind if you wear sock and sandals. That's actually quite stylish, to be honest. Just wear shoes that are comfortable.
• Phone- this one's a no-brainer, especially on a long bus ride.
• Sunglasses- for the bus. Stylish aviators are a plus, if that's what you like.
• WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER SO MUCH WATER
• FOOD. NEED I SAY MORE? NO. ... FOOD.

STUFF FOR BAND CAMP

• Everything mentioned above for practice. 
• The comfortable shoes I told you to have on parade days.
• Your phone
• A lunch, even if you plan to go out to Subway or something
• Probably a hat, preferably in the school colors.
• Extra socks. Trust me on this one.
• A first aid kit with Bandaids at least for blisters, probably some Advil, and whatever else you might need.
• Marching shoes. You need to practice your glide step on the field turf. It's a different feel than what you're used to. 

More? I can't think of more right at the moment. Maybe later. But that's really all you need for marching band.

After the Break Time

Today is the last official day of February break, however, since it's Friday we're being led right into a weekend and so I have 2 more school-free days.
The break itself has been good. It went way too fast for me. Last Friday was the band fundraiser. The total number of $$$ we earned hasn't been released yet, but I'm sure it was a good amount. Unfortunately I was stupid enough to NOT sign up to be there the night of, so I looked through the photos my dad took the night after. I wish I had been there! It looked great. We had this thing called the "Giving Tree", which was actually a white Christmas tree with a marching hat on top. Guests would choose a paper tag off the tree and buy/donate whatever it said on the tag to and/or for the band. I didn't see it in person but it looked great. From now on, I think I will always have a white Christmas tree with a marching hat on top at Christmas time.

the "Giving Tree"
(as seen by me)

Saturday and Sunday were normal. Nothing much to say there. I don't find much value in that thing they call 'Valentine's Day' other than giving and eating chocolate and giving valentines to close family members. But that's just me.
My dad had Monday off from work, so we all went shopping together. We went to the mall but didn't buy anything except stuff from The Container Store for our kitchen. I tried on a bunch of clothes but I elected not to buy them. I did end up buying that quality book I mentioned in my previous post- and I also got a coloring book (the complex, detailed kind). These two things have kept me occupied for the past few days. Also that day we went to a shoe store and I decided that my next pair of shoes will be a pair of Vans high-tops, either in entirely white or black Hawaiian print. Or something like that.
Tuesday I stayed at home. I practiced trumpet and wished for more snow, as it was all melting.
Wednesday I had to go to the dentist. I helped my mom with grocery shopping and we went clothes shopping again- this time at a different mall, and I came home with several new outfits. This time, though, my dad was at work so I couldn't drag him off to the Vans store to look at their shoes. I want to get him a pair with hibiscus flowers on 'em. But he says that people won't take him seriously then. I don't understand that, but ok.
Thursday (yesterday) was another stay-at-home day, and it's good we did because we had kind of a mini-blizzard (not the Dairy Queen kind) thing most of the day. And the power was out. I couldn't cook anything for lunch because the stove wouldn't work, obviously. It came on just in time for us to cook dinner, though. 
Today my mom and I went over to my grandparent's house for lunch. My mom and grandma and I played a three-hour game of Earthopoly, a form of that old classic game Monopoly, and it couldn't really end since all the properties were evenly distributed between the three of us. Now I am home and my dad is editing the photos from the band fundraiser and my mom is playing her violin. Bedtime soon. Goodnight!

Break Time FINALLY

Today is/was the last day of school for a week. Next week there's no school and then we go straight through March with no breaks. 
So this is time to recharge. 
Tonight is the big band fundraiser complete with big band music from Varsity Jazz. Stupidly, I signed up to do set up yesterday instead of something today. Next year, I'll do set up again, but I won't be stupid enough to pass up a chance to be there the night of. It's also kind of weird that I helped out yesterday instead of today because both of my parents will be there helping tonight. Oh well. 3 more years to do it. 
Now, on to what I will be doing over break. 
Over the break I am staying here at home unlike a lot of my acquaintances at school. People are going to Hawaii and New York and Sun Valley, for family vacations and ski races and the like. While here at home, I have some organizing to do in terms of my house (I’ve let stuff build up over the past few weeks), a minuscule and insignificant amount of homework, and I know we're going shopping and stuff one day this week. On Wednesday I have to go to the dentist. Other than that, I'm hoping to watch Star Wars or some other movie and continue reading the would-you-rather series from SparkLife. This week's was very perplexing and related to Valentine's Day. See it here. I ended up not deciding what thing I would go with in the end.  

I decided just a minute ago when I paused to think that I would write about why Ireland is a great thing and why I want to go there. First, it’s naturally green! All the green is real pretty especially during the few times when it’s sunny. Then there’s Dublin, the capital, where everything that you could want in a city convenes. And then, of course, there’s all the people! You know there are more famous bands and actors and stuff from Dublin than you might expect? Examples U2 (old but good) and Domhnall Gleeson (most people know who he is, right?). 

Ever since I posted my “Assigned Thing” post I’ve kind of wanted to write to the other actors from Star Wars. Kind of…

Dear Domhnall Gleeson:

…

Who are you?

…

…

I don’t know since I’m not the type to stalk celebrities and also my phone doesn’t have Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/etc. 

…

I like Star Wars. (That’s the only one of the movies you were in that I’ve seen)

…

What’s Ireland like?

…

Um, what else… (Meanwhile in my brain: disrupted binary brain code: 00110a;lsk011dj?*ERROR*wha?t to say… a;lks00111010100dfj?huh what’s happening 01110101010s;l?;aks0101000101ejawkn/;? GET ORGANIZED! 00101111010010end it now10111010001010111010 < organized binary brain code)

…

Yeah.

(end of letter thing)

…but not really. *Sigh* I fail at writing letters and I especially lose my mind around celebrities.

I want to go to Ireland for the abundance of green, Dublin, and the Irish dance (which I used to do competitively).

And while I’m there, I do not wish to run into any famous people if I can avoid it, thanks! 

(For any of you that actually took the time to read the Would-You-Rather above, I REALLY don't want to EVER FIND MYSELF STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR WITH ANY ACTOR OR ACTRESS ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM STAR WARS. I WOULD PROBABLY JUST FLOP TO THE FLOOR AND NOT BE ABLE TO SAY A WORD. FOR THAT REASON I'M NOT RIDING ELEVATORS pretty much ever again. JUST IN CASE. [yeah, just me being paranoid] But I don't want a list of everyone who's ever liked me, either...)

Moving on. 

On Monday, my friend Syscilia shows up next to my locker after lunch and has a huge smile on her face. I ask her what she’s so happy about. She tells me to ask our friend Emily. So I finish packing my bag and then go to find Emily. She’s at her locker. I ask her what Syscilia is so happy about. 

It turns out that she’s dating this Mongolian kid that goes to our school. I don’t have a problem with this except that she keeps bothering me to tell her who I like (which is no one). I have explained to many different people and parties of people over the years since about 5th grade that I don’t yet have a love life, but all of them seem to say that’s not possible. It’s not true that I haven’t ever liked someone, but, especially now, I just don’t give it hardly any thought. That’s why I say I don’t have a love life. For all of you who have been pestering me about it, there’s your answer. Pester no longer.

Excuse me a minute, Seabiscuit demands some hay and an apple.

This is what I spend my time on...
(my pic)

Seabiscuit was made in 2003 by Breyer to accompany the release of the film Seabiscuit, which in turn was the movie adaptation of Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. Maybe I will watch that or Secretariat in the next week.

Most everyone in the band program is currently at the Sweetheart Gala helping with something or else playing big band and jazz music. I wish I was there too. Next year. 

Also during the book I'm going to buy a quality book from Barnes and Noble. Maybe a fancy coloring book too.

And now I need to go to bed. Bye. Goodnight.

Busy (But Good) Times

I, along with the rest of the band department, am heading into a busy time. A week from last Friday (this Friday, which is now tomorrow), we're hosting our biggest fundraiser of the year- a Valentine's Day dance. It's not uncommon for us to raise enough money to sustain the band and (partly) percussion program for the whole year- about $20,000. I helped with set up today. My dad's taking pictures and my mom's managing the student volunteers. This year we have a major fundraising push because of Hawaii (which is 10 and a half months away!!!!), so we're hoping for a good turnout. It'll be a good benefit event if all goes as planned.
After that, we have a recruiting drive for the entire band program grades 6-12 called Band-A-Palooza after February break, which is where each section of band plays music with all the ensembles below it. So that means we're playing with the 8th grade band, 7th grade band, and 6th grade band. Plus the Wind Ensemble plays a more complex song with us. It's a nighttime concert and a lot of the kids from the elementary schools come and see if they want to be in band. Plus we're a bit... inspirational... to the younger bands. 
With the Wind Ensemble we're playing Esprit de Corps, a Grade 5 (the scale goes up to Grade 6) piece that's quite fun to play even though I'm not perfect at it. I'm pretty sure that will be the premier part of the evening, so we're working at it. 
After that, auditions for Wind Ensemble are due. I am trying out. I'm also going to see about trying out for Junior Varsity Jazz, the precursor to Varsity Jazz. If all goes well, I'll be in both Wind Ensemble and JV jazz. :) I'm practicing every night to have a good chance of getting in to both of these. 
After those tryouts have passed and we all know if we succeeded or not, we have region solo & ensemble in March. I'm also doing a bunch of stuff for St. Patrick's Day with dance, so I'll have band and dance to practice. 
We have a band concert in there somewhere. An early spring concert. 
Come April, we have our last or second-to-last concert.
In May, the concert band season comes to an end. I think we have a very-end-of-year concert for the rest of the school. On Friday the 13th of May, I take the AP Human Geography test. I know, bad day for it. 
In the 3 days of school we have in June, we have beginner's camp for marching band, although we all go anyway just for the fun of it. 
Then it's MARCHING BAND SEASON!!!!!!!!
All in all, the next year will be very busy and planned out plus I have to take driver's ed in the summer. 8(

Life.
trompete.ru

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, although I find little to actually celebrate in the holiday other than family and close friends. Whatever, it's all good. :)

Pre-Christmas

I realize it's been quite a while since I last posted about something, but my December has been filled with homework, holiday stuff, and the like, plus I'm sick right now. Luckily we got out of school on Friday!
Important things that happened this month:

1. Holiday band concert! This was on a Thursday, so I missed dance class, but it was a fun concert! It was my first one ever, since I came into the band program late, and I had a good time with it. Varsity Jazz was also playing that night. I went in to see them and was inspired. 8) I also had fun being on stage. Verdict: fun.
2. New ornaments for the Christmas tree! We were allowed to open these early (not on Christmas day) so that we could hang them on the tree and enjoy them before we take the tree down after Christmas. We got a glass fish and a mini-tree made of Legos! I love them both.

Kinda like this...

There were some important things that happened last month, too:

1. November 18th: I got a new trumpet. Nothing fancy, but it's much better than my old one of unknown origin! Next up: save money and buy a Cannonball!
2. *SPOILER ALERT!* November 20th: I placed second out of fourteen girls in my region's championships for dance!

Overall verdict: fun! Next up: Well... get over this annoying cold and have a good Christmas! I'm hoping to get Breyer's model of American Pharaoh... the great Triple Crown champion... yeah...

Well, do excuse me; I have Christmas things to do! Merry Christmas to all of you. :D

A Breyer Christmas!
http://www.breyerhorses.com

December 7th

Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day. Remember that. 

The harbor.
commons.wikimedia.org

Only a year exactly (from yesterday) to our parade in Hawaii!

ONE YEAR LEFT

It's one year, down to the day, until we leave for Hawaii! (It'll be December 4th, 2016) What a year it'll be, too, filled with fundraising and the marching season and pep band (and school). 

I just thought I'd announce that.

www.holidaysurfhotel.com

Yep.

10 Ways to Geek Out About Band...Over the Holidays!

To start off: like Danielle says, you should start preparing for the next holiday the moment the current one ends. That way, you'll have more time to get into the holiday spirit and celebrate the holiday before it's actually the holiday! If that didn't quite make sense, I'm saying that you'll have more time to get into the holiday spirit if you start preparing RIGHT AFTER the last holiday. Fun!
Anyway, I've compiled a list of things you can do to geek out over the winter holidays- especially Christmas- and make band a part of your celebrating!!! Yay band. (Have I said that enough yet?)
But let's continue to the list.
1. If you like cooking: make Christmas cookies and stuff- in the shape of your instrument. For me, this is fitting because horns- mainly French horns and bugles- have some significance to Christmas! On December 20th, you might find me in my kitchen shaping cookie dough into trumpet shapes. If not, then there's probably a fruitcake baking in the oven. Make fruitcake, too, but always brush your teeth after you eat it. Otherwise you might accidentally blow bits of dried fruit into your instrument's mouthpiece. 8(
2. If you're the crafty type (I am not so crafty as I was when I was younger): make an advent calendar, if you're in to those, and call it, "Christmas in the Band Department." Make a band room scene on a piece of paper and put instruments and stuff around it. These can be the pictures you put under the flaps, or just decorative. I've made multiple advent calendars before, but never one like this. Although, my Arabian Nights one complete with the marketplace was pretty cool:

My digital art.

I know they don't celebrate Christmas in Morocco, but I had the idea to do this advent calendar because one of my favorite horse breeds is the Arabian. But back to the list.
If you'd rather not take the time and effort to create an advent calendar, write a holiday story with the name "Christmas in the Band Department." Or, if you don't want to do THAT, just continue with your normal life and experience Christmas in your band department. 
3. Christmas lights are good things! I bought a box the other day for my own 3-foot Christmas tree that I decorate all by myself every year. Observe:

My photo. See Seabiscuit under there?

When I got home I was so excited to use them on my tree this year that I started singing to the tune of "Jingle Bells". The song that I sang all afternoon while I put up the tree went like this: 
"OH, Christmas lights, Christmas lights, Christmas lights galore! 
Buy them now so you won't be wishing you had more! 
OH, Christmas lights, Christmas lights, Christmas lights galore! 
Buy them now so you won't be wishing you had more!
Verse 2:
I went to the store one day,
To buy some nails and keys, (I went to Home Depot with my dad)
When I saw the Christmas lights,
Wrapped up on the trees..."
Yes. It was loud, obnoxious, and ridiculous. But funny at the same time.
The lesson to be learned from this is that Christmas lights are a good thing, and you can hardly have too many of them. So, when you're decorating your Christmas tree, pile on the lights!
4. Ask for new instruments for Christmas (or Hanukah). 
But only if you really need or want them. And have the money for them. 
5. Decorate your family's Christmas tree (or your own, if you can get one) with ornaments of your instrument. I am going to do this, but first I must make the ornaments. It's a good thing that I like making Christmas ornaments!
6. Invite your band buddies over during the holidays and have a holiday band party, complete with holiday movies, instrument cookies (as described above), and time to play holiday music together. 
7. Prepare for your holiday band concert like there's no tomorrow. Then you'll really be ready!
8. On Christmas morning, play your holiday songs from band and wake up your whole family. But they'll be grateful for the music. You can also turn on all the Christmas lights if you want, to add extra ambiance! ;)
9. Spend Christmas day learning any Christmas songs that you don't already know, and playing them loudly. When you aren't opening presents, that is.
10. Form a quartet or other small ensemble with your band friends. Learn some fun holiday songs and, instead of caroling, go around the neighborhood playing your songs for people. This would also be a good way to raise money for band trips! 
Yep. That's pretty much how I am going to spend my winter holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to you all! (Even if it's a little early, but who cares.)

Snow

Have I ever mentioned before that I love snow! I do, and I mean a lot. But only in the winter months of November, December, and January! After that, I'm good with it melting.

Wait... did I say only in the winter months??! Well, duh, it snows in the winter! Do excuse me. Here's what it looks like out my bedroom window right now. 

SNOW. Creds to me.

Anyway, I LOVE snow. I also like summer, though, because of marching band and swimming pools. So I presume that my favorite months are summer and winter. The two extremes. 

The problem with the extremes, though, is that they have downsides, too. Here are some:

Summer:

Good:

1. You can swim outside.

2. Marching band!

3. No school, no homework. Just band.

4. Unlimited time to practice music.

5. Birthdays! (Actually, my entire direct family's birthdays are in May, June, July, and August!)

6. The Triple Crown- Kentucky Derby in May, Preakness and Belmont in June.

Bad:

1. Really hot. 

2. Not winter, which means not Christmas and no snow. 

Winter:

Good:

1. SNOW!

2. Christmas

3. Christmas music in band!

4. Not as hot as summer.

Bad:

1. No marching band.

2. Cold. Last year, the lowest temperature I saw on my thermometer was -20º F.

3. My friends obsess about skiing. 

4. School until Christmas break. 

Oh well. Disregarding these things, both extreme seasons are very nice. I love them both. 

Yay, winter and Christmas!
grandlakechamber.com

I guess I naturally gravitate towards a tropical environment for summer...
travel.utimes.ru

There are some good things about spring and summer, too, though. For example, in the fall, you can start looking forward to the holidays in December. And in the spring, you can start looking forward to the end of school and the start of the marching season! Yay. 

Oh! By the way, Breyer has just released their model of American Pharaoh! I asked for him for Christmas. And the good thing about it is, he's not on backorder! He's shipping freely! This makes me happy. He's available for sale here, at Breyer, or on Amazon if you're a fan. And here's a video for all of you fans that want to watch this champion RUN! Creds to this channel for the video.

Happy winter, everyone. :)