(no subject)
cSo, 2006 has come and gone, and 2007 is now upon us.
Let's recap,
January: Turned 17. That's about all I can remember from that month. That, and DISTRICT BAND!
February: Semi was pretty fun this year. Kristi and I had a good time, and it was in the third location in three years. There was also the college fair, which led me to Albright, as well as a dancing fit in my car on route 48 when we should have been in school. :-D
March: STATES! Speed Squad '06! So, even if I didn't do very well in student congress, it was still such a fun experience.
April: Nueva York, anyone? Sure, it poured. And we got stuck in the empire state building's elevator. And our bus broke. And it poured some more. All in all, though, it was fun.
May: I became one of two drum majors for the Tiger Marching Band! Gateway and McKeesport's prom and my first ever encounter with pucker.
June: The whole newspaper thing: bad. But, my senior year of band starting was fun.
July: Vacation. It was ok, not as fun as it has been. But DMA however, was incredible!
August: My last band camp, and my first time attempting to marching with my ripped shorts clothes pinned together. Senior year started.
September: Tiger football was not nearly as good as it was last year, but the band season was a lot of fun. Jack's Mannequin!
October: My senior year of band drew to a close, but not without a literal bang. I'll never forget the snow storm.
November: Nothing exciting really happened, other than seeing RBF!
December: Got ready for the Holidays, Got my letter from Albright.
So, here is what I will remember about 2006:
La Violinista LOCA!!!
Janet and Jim!
"Man, have I got to party!"
"Some say llooooooooooove....."
Making up stories WITH pictures to band pieces
The Promiscuous duet: Sundays @ 7 AM @ 5529!!!
"Heeeeeeeeey RICK!!!!"
"Go ahead, I'll wait for you"
"I SAID NO COOKIES, RRRRRRRR!"
Squad Six and the Fancy Nancies!
My DS Laugh!
Splitting my pants not once, but TWICE!
The podium collapsing from underneath of me
My last time ever doing the funk.
Filling coach's office with balloons
Random drives to Pittsburgh and the Waterfront
Exploring 51
"Mmmmm. I love me's a feeern"
My first time on the skycoaster
and so much more
Drum Major Academy was incredible. It was so hot and sunny, yet I didn't even care. I met some of the most amazing people in my life, and laughed harder than I ever have before. Jon, Erik, Tristan, Nancy, Courtney, Danny, and everyone else were such cool people to meet, and I learned more than I ever thought I could!
"One of my favorite memories of 2006:
It was the second day of band camp, and we were on the field at 8 AM doing basics. The field had that typical, rubbery, fake-grass smell that it always has during the summer. We had just finished warm-ups and were moving on to basics for the day. I grabbed the CD player off the podium, popped in a CD a pressed play. The first song on the CD was Jack's Mannequin - I'm Ready.
"And today was a day, just like any other..."
Except, that day wasn't really a day like any other. It was the middle of August in Pennsylvania, yet it was goreous outside. There were huge, puffy, white clouds dotted across the blue sky. The wind was gently blowing.
That awesome piano introduction to the song was playing, and we started calling out basics commands. At that point, I just thought to myself: This is what four years of marching, and countless more of playing have been leading up to. Sadly, it was also the point that I realized that this was, in fact, my last band camp; One of the last times that I would be able to experience something like that. Yet . . . it was happy. I didn't care that my legs tired, or my arms were exhausted, or that I was sunburnt to a crisp. I was at band, and I loved it. "
I'll also never forget that final performance at Norwin, the hour long wait in the bathroom, standing at attention while getting pelted with hail, Mrs. Cole running at us with her crazy, soaked hair, and despite it all, the band more than pulling through and doing their best.
And afterwards, as we walked across the track, I started to cry, as band dorky as that may be, and when we got the top Mrs. Cole just gave me the biggest hug and said "Now, isn't this the definition of bittersweet."
And so, an era of my life came to a close this year, but not without hundreds of memories, four years worth, that we still talk about to this day.
2006, all in all, wasn't bad. There have been better years, and I'm hoping that '07 is one of them. My senior year isn't as fun as I thought it would be, but I'm more than looking forward to college.
Goodbye 2006, Hello Graduation, College, and Hopefully as host of new experiences!