Long time, no entry. So the first thing I write about is Band, and the first competition.
So we performed on Saturday.
Practice was brutal, from 10:00 AM straight until a little before 2:00PM with only a few breaks for water. I was put in charge during warm-ups while Laura (our captain) was doing something else (fixing something? Talking to Kim[the instructor]? I don’t remember). Then we started running through the sets of each movement. For the third number, we had a runner for the show; Laura’s little sister Rachel. We did a little better with the work for the last number.
Now on to the interesting parts!
So practice ended and we had a while to eat and get dressed, etc. The headbands and sashes didn’t come in, so the pants people only had black pants and leotards, but luckily Tori’s mom brought in some nifty stuff for us; red fake flowers. So the pants people had a red flower over their hearts, as did we, since just a black leotard and red skirt was a little boring. We had our hair up, just in ponytails and buns, and Laura had a flower in her hair and a different flower on her uniform.
On to the makeup!
As Kim said, it wasn’t to make us look pretty, but to make us seen.
Eyeliner on the lower eyelid, with a little line at the corner of each eye (making it look like more eyelash) brown eye shadow up to the eyebrows, blue near the eyelashes, a slash of blush-stuff across each cheek bone, and then lipstick and mascara. (Note that this part is mostly for reference for later).
I was the first one done, and when I looked in my mirror, I made a face. “I look like a prostitute,” I said sourly.
Then Tori jumped in and said the funniest thing.
“No, not a prostitute. A SPANISH prostitute.” So we all had a laugh for a while.
And the uniforms were very cool. I love the skirt.
Oh, and I gave Zach some mountain dew and a bottle of rose quartz. He was happy.
And during the bus ride to Putnam, we sang songs from RENT on my MP3 player. It was fun.
So we got there, warmed up, and then were ready to perform.
After setting our flags, we circled up, holding our flags for the first movement. Laura gave us a small pep talk, telling us to just have fun, keep smiling, and all that. Then we put our flags together and cheered, “Color Guardians!” Much better than our cheer from last year; we didn’t have one then.
So we performed. I dropped my flag once, and that was after the 32 count hold, with the pole toss, but I picked it up quickly.
The second movement transition was really sloppy.
And then in the third movement, something bad happened.
During the side flourishes, I got my flag caught in my skirt.
Luckily it wasn’t caught too much, so I was able to fix it and keep smiling. Then I nailed the parallel toss/pop, shot it off to the side, and then we danced. Apparently the crowd was cheering really loudly when we started dancing, but I didn’t hear them; I was too busy listening to the sensual beat of the drums.
Actually, I was too busy counting and remembering the dance.
But then our runner didn’t pick up the flags when that movement ended; she picked them up at the end of the actual whole performance. So after we went through Brazil, which went better than I thought it would, we got some crap from Mike about the flags we have to shoot off. It wasn’t our fault that the runner didn’t know what to do.
But the entire show went by faster than it should have gone. Like we skipped a movement or something, but I know we didn’t skip anything.
So I’m tired of writing, but I want to finish the entry.
Funny thing: All the girls were on the bus first, changing, and Kiersten wasn’t going to let Zach and Brandon on the bus, but then the color guard was all, “Oh, it’s fine, let them on, it’s just Zach and Brandon, they don’t care, they’re gay.” And apparently, according to Zach, the guys outside the bus were giving him the dirtiest look.
Then we all went out to the bleachers to wait until the awards.
Emily and Adam hung out for a lot of the competition, and I was so happy for them that I just wanted to give Emily a hug. (She has a huge crush on him).
So then we went to the fence and watched as we received first in our division, fourth place overall, and….
Best color guard.
When the captains came over to the fence to show off our trophy, Zach said, “So, Laura, what’s this about never winning best color guard?”
Laura just made a face and told him to shut up.
Then some guys put the smallest band member, a trumpet player, on their shoulders as he held up the trophy. It was hilarious.
Now for the whole irrelevant details and mentions of my favorite percussionist (AKA the guy I still have a crush on).
After the whole trophy-getting, Zach and I skipped away, arm in arm, singing something, and we caught up with HIM. Now those two chat often, because they’re in the same grade and in Choir, and probably for some other reasons too. We all noticed how we didn’t get best percussion, and HE was saying that his section had a lot of work to do.
Now, for the record, I DID say something, so technically I talked to him. I said, “But you guys sounded really good anyway,” but I doubt he heard me, because he didn’t answer. So that made me a little sad, but I was just happy to hear his voice.
But damned if I can remember exactly what he sounds like!
Sigh. And that’s pretty much it. But then as we were nearing the school, I just got so tired of it all, tired of Zach’s energy, of the noise, of the aching in my bones, and all the excitement and lack thereof, that I wanted to cry. I didn’t though, so I’m happy about that.
Oh, here’s the strange thing.
I felt no high after the performance. I was not excited before or after. There was nothing. It was like a drug, yes, but in the way where you just take the drug to feel normal and can’t get a high anymore. That’s what it felt like.
Maybe it’s just because I was annoyed at Leanne and Abby and Zach.
I don’t know.
Well, either or any way, I feel really good about this season. We have everything that we lacked last year; more people, an instructor to learn from (as opposed to a DVD), another movement, a good captain, and something to have pride in.
Next competition: Saturday, September 27th, 2008, at Cranston East. We have all the guard work done, but not all the drill yet, so hopefully we'll get even more "best" things next time.
This is Horse lady, part of the smexiest color guard ever, signing out.
Katie Sea Community Member 
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