A Little Catsup with my Fried Taters

-ice skating class!
-phone still works!
-played first part and not kicked out of band!
-rainrainrain, snowsnowsnow, beesbeesweedingbees, little Mama!
-it's like Christmas!! ...many times per week

So that is what the draft of this post looked like, I will try to piece together what exactly I was thinking, but as to fitting the title in....I am not too sure where that one came from.


-ice skating class!
I took an Ice Skating class at the Ice sheet on my campus this last semester and I loved it! We had an amazing teacher who was not only a fantastic skater but just one of those who is very talented in teaching what he knows and helping others to improve. I had a blast learning new techniques and "basic" skills.


As part of our grade we had to buy a public skate punch pass to go and practice what we learned outside of class time. Some of the times I went in the evenings when all of the dating/scouting/church/party/family groups of people swarmed the rink and you had just enough room to follow the mob counter-clockwise around the rink and around and around again. Other times I would go during the day (if my band class was canceled or something) and there would only be a handful of people there, most of them practicing for an upcoming competition or show or something I would imagine. I was in awe at their expertise in comparison to my own "basic" skills. I was always excited to practice the new things I had learned in class, but sometimes my shaky three-turns looked a little silly against another fellow practicer's beautiful lay-back spin; or my bruising crash landing after attempting a couple lunges would redden my face more than my purple knees as I would watch them practice a toe-loop or lutz. I did feel a little silly practicing with those whose talents were far more worked and perfected than mine but I enjoyed every minute of it. I laughed at myself and watched others in wonder. I gained a whole new appreciation for skaters of all kinds (hockey, figure, speed,..) and my love for skating only grew.


-phone still works!
As for my poor phone. I have had my phone for a good while cell-phone-wise am I am very grateful to have one. I am also grateful to have a nice warm jacket, also one that I have had for a long while (a longer while than that of my phone). My poor jacket's pockets are starting to come unstitched a little...well okay, the one pocket only has three of the three and a half sides still stitched in place (I haven't quite gotten around to fixing it, but it's on the to-do list).

I was doing some cleaning not too long ago and wearing said jacket with my phone in the aforementioned pocket of that jacket. I was cleaning the bathroom and had cleaned the vanity, the mirrors, and scrubbed the toilet 'til it sparkled nicely. I was working on the floors and bent over to pick something up off the floor and heard a dreadful splash near my head. I glanced over and lo! My poor phone slid out of my broken pocket into my glittering-clean toilet! NO!! How many times had I told my phone to fight its urges and desires to test its imaginary wings and fly to freedom?? Well, none, but it should have known better than to try its hand at swimming. Phones don't come installed with floaties and therefore should never be trusted in a lifeguarding post--they sink like an anvil.

I fished my phone out (with only a little hesitation...I had just cleaned the toilet!!), shook it violently until my arms were sore to get as much water out as I could, and let it open to dry overnight. Luckily I was blessed to have not damaged it too much for in the morning when I put the battery back in and turned it on it worked! Happy day when phones get brought back from near drowning experiences!! It has been slightly more temperamental since and I think I might have to get a new phone sometime soon, but hooray for still having a working phone! I now try to keep things in more secure pockets.


-played first part and not kicked out of band!
Well, that one speaks for itself I think. My band director decided last semester to put me on first-solo part in our Symphonic Band with a great solo clarinet player (so we were both covering the parts). He said he wanted to give me the opportunity, and I said I am happy to play any part he gives me. Oh my. I had never played solo-solos in a concert before! It was tons of fun and I enjoyed it greatly. We played all of Johan DeMeij's Lord of the Rings Symphony and a handful of other fun pieces and I wasn't booed off the stage for my one or two little solos. YAY! I had great fun.


-rainrainrain, snowsnowsnow, beesbeesweedingbees, little Mama!
Hmmmm. Oh yeah. So it was quiet an interesting spring this year. I live in a desert so one might think it would often be quite dry and warm by end of April-May-ish. Not so much. I don't think we have had many whole weeks where we have gone without a rainstorm or two. One day it was sunny and very much warm and the next day or two it then cooled forty degrees and rained and snowed on the Spring Daffodils! It even snowed on the first of May! It seems like we have had a good batch of rainstorms this spring season, and I love it!! I love the rain, I love the snow, I love the sunshine, ...I love it all!!


So, one of those warmer days I was weeding. Pulling out dandelions and grass and such out of the garden. There was one particularly thick bunch of dandelions which I noticed must have been quite the party place for all the honeybees around. I avoided weeding around their corner, but then had the urge to go get my camera and play. I had much fun...


My brother also discovered a little bird had made its nest atop a wreath on their front porch, every time anyone would go out the front door the poor little bird would fly off and chide us in her sweet, sing-song voice from a nearby tree and almost make us jump out of our shoes in surprise. A few times I even reminded myself before I went out that the bird was there and would surprise me when I opened the door, but still, every time, I jumped. I looked one day in her nest and found she had four little speckled eggs! I took up watching her from the kitchen window that looks on the front porch. I looked her up on bird watching sites and found that she was a sweet little house finch. I called her Little Mama and we became friends (at least from my side) and I think sometimes she trusted me enough to let me sit out on the porch to read when the sun was out...if I stayed still for the most part.


-it's like Christmas!! ...many times per week
Or maybe its just like Christmas everyday! Whenever someone gets something cool in the mail (anything besides mailers and bills and such), gets something fun from the store, finds something they lost, just has a happy day, does something fun, gets something cleaned (like a car or room or pet), or for no reason at all except for being happy...."It's like Christmas!" My brother and sister more or less told me that it is apparently Christmas everyday according to me. Fine by me! Happy day!!

Onomatopoeia!!

My brother told me that when I tell him stories my regular use of onomatopoeias makes him laugh. I hadn't noticed my use of such exciting language until he mentioned it which in turn made me laugh.

After church one Sunday (it had been sunny for a few days and somewhat warm for winter) I was happily surprised to find an inch or two of slush snow to scrape off my car. I loved it. It was the kind of slush that makes glorious schlopping sounds when you step in it and just solid enough not to get one's feet terribly wet when trekking across parking lots. I successfully cleared my car and went on my way out of the parking lot as the sky half-heartedly rain-hailed.

I got to the road in front of my church and found that the roads too were wet and delightfully slushy so I drove slowly towards the hill I had to venture down to be on my way home. A couple of cars came up the hill headed the the other direction and I paid them no real heed until they were even with me. They were driving quite a bit faster than I was and slush was spraying out from their tires...."SLUSH!" Most of my windshield was covered in the opaque sloppy mess and just the noise it made when it hit nearly had me jump out of my shoes. Luckily my windshield wipers were already on and wiped it away, and by the time it had and when my shoes recovered from being jumped out of, I couldn't help but laugh. The familiar image of someone waiting under umbrella at a bus stop in the rain only to be splashed unsuspectingly by a passing car (in the movies often by a marvelously huge tidal wave of a splash) and left standing, dripping wet, umbrella blown uselessly inside-out by the blow...

I continued on my way home in the on-off rain-snow. About the halfway mark it started snowing full on and the snowflakes kept growing and growing. At their peak, they were the biggest snowflakes I had ever seen in my life and you could hear their soft "plump" when they hit my windshield and left palm sized splotches of snowflake (huge cookie size is the way I explained it at the time). I was in awe and grinning like a goon the whole time. I love snowflakes. I wanted to turn back around and just pull over on the side of the highway to just watch, but my family dinner called to my tummy and that was still another hours drive away after I got home. I left my snowflakes as I turned the corner onto another highway and within two minutes it had stopped snowing and I believe the sun even came out before it started raining again.

I told my brother my story excitedly while on our way to said family dinner (with probably a few more onomatopoeias than I can remember now) and we laughed. I had never before noticed I made such good use of such exciting language until it was pointed out. We then laughed about how "abbreviation" is such a long word, and asked why onomatopoeia isn't its namesake. I then decided is should be, so, onomatopoeia became an onomatopoeia. And there was much onomatopoeia-ing.

Until next time, consider yourself thoroughly onomatopoeiaed.

12-10-2007

IT SNOWED!!! And snowed, and is snowing some more! Happy happy birthday present. :D


More coming soon!

Finals are Imminent

Sorry friends! This semester has eaten me up and I've not gotten around to posting. ...but the semester is almost over!! YAY! I've got plenty of finals, presentations, papers, concerts, pep band games, and rehearsals to keep me plenty busy the next couple weeks, but after that I get to have my wonderful Winter Break! I am excited.

I really don't have time to post much of anything at the moment (I should be finishing up a few papers and things), but I just wanted to make it known that I haven't quite fallen off the edge of the earth. I still have a few fingertips topside.

Summer Randoms

Hello and Summer's Greetings! I had written of a new post a little while ago, but it seems to have gotten eaten. So sad. I don't even remember what it was about either. Instead of backtracking to past weeks', I am just going to start with this week and will probably review past missed stories at a latter time.

So, things that have made me happy. In list format because I am feeling too lazy to connect everything all together in some sort of logical fashion.

-At the moment I am listening to some Eric Whitacre pieces I have played in band (one of my favorite composers, you should all definitely go to his site and take a few minutes to listen to the samples of his songs).

-I have been on a bit of a cleaning kick this week (kicks earn me title of "White Tornado" from my Mother) and have half cleaned the monstrosity that has been my room (sadly neglected during the school year), cleaned/organized random spots around the house, done many loads of laundry, helped to clean my church, and will mow our lawn as soon as we get more gasoline for it (hopefully later today). Cleaning...er, when things are clean I feel happy inside, and accomplished if I helped to do the cleaning.

-I got to go see my little brother's Jazz band concert (he is in my old, awesome high school band program now), and he did awesome! I need to join the Jazz band at my school, the music just makes me happy, like an adrenalin rush. I also got to see one of my best friends and talk with my Junior High German Teacher. I had decided in high school that was a requirement for all German teachers to simply just be awesome. All of mine have been teachers and amazing people.

-I went with some other best friends of mine (who I haven't been able to talk with much because of school) to a young people's activity and got to talk with them for a while and have all sorts of fun.

-I donated blood for the first time ever on Thursday, it was SO FUN, and SO COOL! I had a really good phlebotomist and got to talk with her about her job and other things. (such as how I don't mind blood too much and other things....like how the nurses/dermatologist all thought I was a little strange for being fascinated with watching my skin change colors as it froze and thawed (I had a wart frozen off)) She ended up telling me that I should become a doctor or something and that she had a doctor who was like me (fascinated by things others might see as morbid). I am thinking about doing Phlebotomy as a part time job.

-I was interviewed on Friday for a temporary summer-long job at my Mom's office and was told that they thought I sounded perfect for the job and want me to start next Tuesday. I am still deciding, but I will probably take the job. The Attorney who interviewed me also that I had "an impressive resume for being such a young lady." Wow! That would be a confidence booster.

-I also got to spend that day at work with my Mom (well, it was her half day...so not the whole day) where I went a little crazy and spent about a half an hour sitting under her desk...as her desk troll. I don't even think one of her co-workers, who walked around her desk to try to help with some thing, even noticed I was there. hehehe I should have made troll noises. Later we got to go to lunch with my sister and her fiance at a "hippy vegetarian/raw" place. It was really yummy. Mmmmm Curry. I love my family. I decided that we need to do more stuff as a family together.

-After we went to lunch my Mom and I went to my Jeanie's (we don't call her grandma, she is just Jeanie, because she just isn't a grandma) and helped her with a couple things and talked with her. I am so lucky to have a Jeanie. I love her so much. (don't worry Mom, I love you so much, too! I am excited to work at your office with you ever the summer!)

I think that is all for now. More to come soon!

-the BandNeeek

I'm a Chuggin Along...still

Still working on getting caught up with this...finals are next week (and this week) so after then I will really be able to sprint back up to gear.

Woah! Rewind!

I have not posted in ...a long while, but never fear! I haven't been eaten by the fathomless monster that is schoolwork or brainwashed by the lazy dust bunnies inside my pillow. Well, maybe just a little. A nibble here and a splosh there, nothing an extra Spring Break wouldn't fix (but seeing as extra breaks have been outlawed, I will just have to wait a few more weeks until after finals are done and over with). All is well that ends in Summer break!

So. Happy things. There are many. It has been sunny and warm, and now it is about to rain and snow and be cold for a few days. Both for me are happy.

I ate way too much Easter candy on Easter. I was bouncing off the walls so much I think my family wanted to disown me for a while. hehehe It doesn't help that I haven't been getting to bed as early as I should and missed hours of sleep pile on. And make me even more giddy. It has been fun on my side of things though. Most everything seems funny if you have sufficiently tilted your circadian cycle and added grotesque amounts of sugar to your diet. Not recommended for long term use.

Oh, yes. Easter. Easter was wonderful! My Mom taught my brother and I how to make deviled eggs, which is quite fun, and made us try one when we had finished. I don't think I have ever enjoyed eating hard-boiled eggs, but these weren't so bad. Nevertheless, one is enough for me. We got to spend much of the day with our family, eating, playing, talking, and generally enjoying the day (after church, of course, which was also wonderful). I ended up crashing early-ish in the evening because of all the sugar I ate and all the energy I expended because of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day.

This week has been good, too. We are playing a few fun songs in band and I am still getting used to the new mouthpieces that our band director bought the whole clarinet section (not ours to keep unless we buy them from him). We have had a couple fun sectionals, one in which I ended up being silly and bending notes. Another clarinet friend of mine wanted me to teach her how, so I tried my best (I am not terribly amazing at it myself, but I have fun). She thinks it sounds like a kitty mewing, which had us all giggling.

Speaking of kitties, we took my kitty to the vet on Saturday because he has been acting not so happy lately. He wasn't happy about going, but we wrapped him up in a towel and covered his head and he was just fine. The doctor said he looked great, besides needing to lose a couple few pounds (he weighed in at 15.9 pounds...eek), but took some blood tests to make sure everything was alright. We called back Monday for the results and they came back normal! I was so relieved. We have him on diet food so he should slim down a bit over the next while. I will have to update you on the weekends or something so you too can watch his dieting (I know, so exciting for you).

Alright. I think that is enough for today. I will post more soon! Stay Happy!

-the BandNeeek

P.S. I have a whole handful of posts that I haven't quite finished. I will finish them soon and post them up! Keep an eye out. :)

Happy March!

The first days of March are notorious for coming in as either a Lion or Lamb. While both are soft and furry their images carry significant discrepancies on first impressions. We are taught fear towards Lions because of their ruthless, violent, and bloodthirsty nature; whereas we are taught to love the Lamb because of its helplessness, soft and pure wool, and quiet dispositions. I can't help but smirk, perhaps because I am just a silly person who finds many things in life humorous, or perhaps because I have watched my share of "Nature" episodes.

Lions can be violent and ruthless when thoroughly provoked or starved, but isn't the same true with all creatures (including all of us, as humans, and our lovely friend the lamb)? Haven't we all poked at a sibling until they exploded back at you, or gone a too-busy day without time to eat and found yourself snapping at your peers for trivial matters? Put a mane, tail, sharp teeth, and claws on us and hear us roar! Have you ever watched a litter of puppies, or a couple baby lambs romp around on their awkward legs? They can have all the fun in the world, but if you try to take my food or pounce on me one too many times, you'd better watch out!

Lions, like most other members of the feline family, spend most of their lives not roaring and tearing things to shreds, but sleeping. They sleep up to 20 hours per day and often only wake to quell their rumbling stomachs. Roaring might also be the human equivalent of screaming (in pain, frustration, fear, etc.), and in most cases one doesn't normally hear grown people scream all too often. There is not a need to, and if we did scream constantly we would end up in a "boy who cried wolf" predicament. Who would listen when we really needed help? Lions act much in the same way, only roaring in the most trying circumstances.

I am not an expert on infants whether they be human or animal, but I have been around a few in my life. The first thing that comes to mind when the thought of a "baby" pops up is the crying. It seems that for some babies they are either crying or sleeping (which is an obviously exaggerated comment to fit my purposes...I really do love babies!). They cry when they are hungry, tired, frustrated, scared, alone, with company, bored, or any other reason, it is one of the only things they know how to do instinctively to get what they want/need. I wouldn't think lambs are any different from kittens, puppies, chicks, or infants.

It is true that Lions can be fearsome if you ever catch on while it's awake, and Lambs can be quiet and docile if you can sneak up on it while it is sleeping, but then again maybe I just like to cheer for the underdog.

Either way, March came roaring in with a beautiful, fluffy snow storm!

Have a Fabulous day!

-The BandNeeek

Happy February! (for the last time this year)

I will fill this space with some of my humorous band moments/quotes I have collected.

Daily Practice Schedule written on the board...sometimes r's and n's look alike.
"12:00 Carmina Burana--shift seating (rotating pants)"

On Brass players:
"It's too early", "It's too late", "It's too cold", "It's too hot", "My lip is split", "My valve/slide is stuck/sticky", "I have to empty my spit valve", "Wrong Partial", "My mute slipped", "I don't have my mute", "Huh?"

On Wind players:
"It's the reed (new, old, hard, soft, etc.)", "My instrument has a leak", "My cork needs replacing", "Do you have any cork grease?", "My other (better) instrument is in the shop", "Don't look/laugh at the brass players, it only encourages them", "I can't play: I just ate", "Do you all keep your toothbrushes/toothpaste there (a cabinet in the band room...above the sink)?"

"The Clarinet section is the Heart of any band." -Current Band Director

"You have to play this like you are a mad lady in church!" -Former Band Director


...more to come soon!

-the BandNeeek

Asploxon!

Yup, a-s-p-l-o-x-o-n. I decided one day in my Chemistry class that I wanted to spell 'asplotion ("Your head asplode"-Strongbad...go to homestarrunner, it gives your laughing muscles a workout) with an "x." Asploxon (pronounced explosion, or asplosion, whichever you prefer) was the outcome in the side column next to my titration notes (or was it molality? I don't remember).

So, why the sudden asploxon? It started with my helping to make Sunday dinner, well, dessert anyway. My mission was to make a delicious poppy seed bundt cake (with my help from a lovely store-bought cake mix, a few eggs, a splash of vegetable oil, and some pudding mix). All I had to do was dump everything together, mix, grease, pour, and bake. Sometimes things are easier said than done. Especially when one has too much sugar in her system and has too much energy to simply stand still.

I learned a new lesson that Sunday: Always open cake mixes with scissors, even if you do think you are the incredible hulk (or that's who your Mother says you are impersonating). I ended up losing a bit of the mix all over me, the counter top, and the floor, but luckily not enough to ruin the cake. I made myself hungry every time I got a whiff of my yellow-cake perfume.

The cake turned out fine and quite yummy, but while I wasn't busy with said cake mix I decided I would help my Mother crack some nuts we had left over from Christmas (I wasn't eating them, but she had had one or two before I came to "help"). Needless to say I was in a bit of a bouncy mood that whole day, or maybe asploxon would be more accurate? With nutcracker and pecan, cashew, or almond in hand I shelled a few random nuts (which could have almost been categorized as artillery blasts; my sinister laughs followed by a crack and flying nutshells all through the kitchen). I picked up nut after nut, always asking "Do you want one of these Mom?" or "What's this one Mom?"

I picked up one, small, round, acorn-ish shaped nut and asked what kind of nut it was. "Um..." said my Mom as she looked up. "I think it is a ...? No, I am not sure..."
"Is it a hazelnut?"
"No, not a hazelnut."
"Macadamia, Macadamia!! Ooo! I know! It's a Heckleberry!" said I in my asploxon-mood voice with my giggles and laughs sure to follow.
"There's no such thing as a Heckleberry, BandNeeek." (no, my Mom doesn't really call me BandNeeek)
"Sure there is! That's a Heckleberry!"

I like to make up words if you haven't noticed. It could be considered a favorite past time of mine if you like. Anyway, I continued making a mess (in the just cleaned kitchen might I add) and my Mom kept trying to get me to stop (she didn't want to eat them anymore, and wanted my mess to stop growing...I was picking most of it up as I went...teehee). After a few more minutes I stopped my cracking rampage and we picked up the rest of the prodigal shells.
"Oh, I know what it is!" cried my wise Mother. "It's a Filbert!"
"I still think it's a Heckleberry," replied my goofy self.

Sunday night we got dumped on. By snow. And my brother, sister-in-law, and I all had to drive back up to their home that night in the middle of it. I loved it! We headed out around 10-10:30 , I loaded my stuff in my car, and they in theirs. I started sweeping the 4+ inches snow off my car and found as soon as I had gone all the way around I had to start over again as I found another thick layer of snow on all my windows. I went around 3 or 4 times before I gave up and hoped in. I was covered with snow just as my car was, especially my hair (I love having snow in my hair and eyelashes...it is one of the many things on my "what makes me happy" list).

The snowplows hadn't gotten anywhere in my city yet (there was close to 6 inches on the roads/freeway) and I was doing pretty well for not having much experience with such conditions. I made it up a nasty little hill, around a few turns, and down a couple not quite as nasty hills without sliding much at all.

Then there was the stoplight. I was far back enough that I had to stop, so I pressed the brakes gently, but I was also coming from the bottom of a hill. I slowed, but I slid a few feet to the side and stopped just before hitting the curb. Cool! My wheels spun a little as I got back into my lane (my brother and sister following behind) and I continued my cautious, crawling pace down the road even more cautiously. As we got closer to the freeway my brother called and we decided it would be best for my sister to drive my car the rest of the way. Fine by me! I like to drive in the snow, but only if there aren't many things close around that I could slide in to.

We didn't see the snowplows until we were through the next city on the freeway, by which time the snow wasn't falling as hard and the roads were merely wet and only a little slushy as opposed to buried in a half of a foot of snow. Silly plows. They stayed in front of us (all six of them) plowing the roads already in better condition, but I was grateful for them nonetheless. I am sure they kept the wet roads from turning to an ice sheet overnight.

We got another storm early this morning (Tuesday), but the roads weren't quite as bad. Still unplowed when I left for school, but not as bad. I saw a few Highway patrol/county sheriff/city police stopped with a few cars off the road and only one ambulance (I saw another and a fire engine on the way home though...every time I see an emergency vehicle I want to climb aboard, ride along, learn, and help people! But if I ever did I would probably be arrested and get a restraining order on all vehicles with flashing lights and sirens...Ack! There I go getting distracted again.) the whole drive. I am glad that there weren't any serious accidents, a happy surprise for me.

So, a happy summary: cake mixes, nutshells, and clouds (with added hyperness) make joyous asploxons and big messes. Stay safe and cautious! Catch a snowflake, raindrop, or a ray of sunlight on your tongue today. Savour it, you never know how long it might take to get another.

-The BandNeeek