Day 98

July 31st

Today marks the day of the Folklorama Kick-off!! Also the last parade before leave :) Parade was not so good today. I was the center marker in my rank for the first time since training phase and I played so much less because I was concentrating on maintaining a 2 pace distance from the rank in front of me. I started playing more on the third march on the way to the hill when I noticed that my rank was now only one pace behind the rank in front of us, oops. So I decided to go back to playing less to ensure that I wouldn't screw ppl up. Although I didn't play much on parade today, I did hit the high C twice on the march! We did not have an afternoon rehearsal today, so I took a nap and then went to practice before going to supper. After that I chatted with Dustin a bit which was really nice. I decided to go for another run today and I think I'm doing 5km now. I think I'm going to change my route and go around the lake next time and eventually I'd like to combine the 2 routes to make one big loop. After coming back and showering, I joined the guys in the TV lounge to watch their poker game and the Bomber game. Both games were quite entertaining but it was unfortunate that the Bombers lost. Oh well, off to bed and I wonder when I'll wake up tomorrow morning...4am?

Day 97

July 30th

I liked the parade tunes today and the weather was great too, I had the goose bumps at one point! We had an afternoon rehearsal for Fortissimo again and it only went till 2pm. I'm liking this so far. After that I took a nap and went for supper. Then I went for a much needed run for about 1/2 and hour. I really miss running and after you get started, you get into a nice groove and it doesn't feel like work at all! Then I took a shower and did some much needed practicing. I think I'm going to have to practice twice during the day so I can take a break and rest but get twice the amount of work done. I can't wait to get home and practice at church again. I really prefer practicing when no one's listening. Today the band room was full of percussionists so I took one of the practice pods. When I got back to my room I started reading a book that I got from Amy for secret Santa. It's a supplement to reading to book of Romans in the bible. I really like the supplement book and am excited to read the book of Romans! Then I relaxed in my bed for a while and went to sleep.

Day 96

July 29th

We had yet another room inspection this morning in preparation for random room inspections by the BSM. I liked parade today and I'm feeling a lot better about being a contributing member of the band. After parade we did a recording that will be used for rehearsal purposes for fortissimo. After lunch we had a rehearsal of our own fortissimo music and then we were dismissed for the day at 2pm! I practiced for a while but didn't last too long after a day of playing. Then I lounged around and gathered ppl up for Ethiopian food night! There were 6 of us who wound up going and it was actually a lot of fun. We shared a bunch of food and a bottle of honey wine which was very nice. then we topped it off with Dairy Queen! I have not been there in years and I wasn't really missing all that much. It's pretty cheap ice cream if you ask me. Then we walked back and I nearly fell asleep in the TV lounge. So I chatted with Dustin a bit and went to bed.

Day 95

July 28th

Parade as usual. I was almost put in the second row which would have been scary! Thankfully we just changed things when we go out onto the parade square. We didn't have anything scheduled in the afternoon but I had to go to the drying trailer with other B Band members to do a damage check and a count on all the incoming tunics to prevent problems the next morning. I was also told that I'd be having my QL4 testing at some point in the afternoon. So I went to practice and did my trailer duties, but when I got back to the band room my euph was locked in with a sign on the door saying "QL testing in progress". The testing was actually happening in the lounge in the res building lol. So when it was my turn I managed to get my euph out and got ready to play. Thankfully we noticed an error before I did my test. Apparently for my list "B" selection, I was supposed to have 2 selections. The one I chose was #12 when it said #7 AND 12, not OR. oops! So I will have to get the music tomorrow and do my test tomorrow. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Hell's Kitchen in my room. After supper a whole bunch of us went to see the NYO concert at the NACO. It was a pretty good concert all together and I really enjoyed the 1st violinist. Once again a fairly lazy day.

Day 94

July 27th

I kept waking up early and going back to bed today. Guess I got a little too much sleep yesterday :P We had a room inspection this morning which was really nice, but it's evening now and I don't think it's made much of a difference on my room mate's side. Parade went really well today. I think I'm actually getting better at this! After parade we were supposed to have an afternoon rehearsal but it got cancelled for some reason and we did a work up training ruck march instead. It was 5.something km long and crazy hot outside. Basically we march around in combats and 50lbs in our rucks and with rifle + helmet combined. We only did it with berets and no rifle, but in 30 degree weather it was hot! After that shower I was lazy for about an hour before supper and then practiced a bit before going to my salsa class. Today was a review of everything and she was calling things out faster this time. We also spent some more time dancing with music which was nice. I figured since I already did a practice BFT today that I wouldn't have to do one on the way back from dance, so I rollerbladed back and bought some bread from the rich tree on the way! It's buy one get one at the end of the day lol.

Day 93

July 26th

Parade today went really well considering I just got off leave. One part that required me to be slightly switched on was on the march off. We played 2 marches that were on the same card and had to flip it instead of doing the usual change music drill. We did this one other time in the summer and I forgot to flip it back after the march on. This time I got it and when we did the switch on the way back it was during a wheel too. So I was counting drill time, remembering to flip the card and staying in dressing during the wheel! Nerdy I know, but it was cool. Also, when we got back to the drill hall and did the final counter march, I played all the way through it and up to the halt. First time that I didn't get even a little messed up during the counter march! When I got back, Chelsea wasn't there so we didn't go for a run. I did some work online and went to lunch. After lunch I was planning to go to the beach with ppl but they cancelled. I guess everyone was tired from yesterday's Christmas in July party. I was also tired from the weekend and getting to bed late last night, so I took a 4 hour nap. I missed supper again, or rather just didn't feel like going down for it and had oatmeal instead. I should probably stop having breakfast for supper. Oh well, I did my boots while hanging with the guys and Humps fixed my skype problem for me. He just uninstalled and reinstalled it and it was fine. Then I practiced my minor scales a bit and reviewed one of my QL pieces. I really hate the piece and can't wait for this to be over. I also checked in on one of my audition pieces and was happy to note how much I remembered and how good my muscle memory was since the last time I really practiced it. I think tomorrow is going to be one of those intense practice days (hopefully). I spent some time talking to Nicki and had "tea time" with Chelsea while my room mate cleaned up her half of the room for inspection tomorrow morning.

Day 91 + 92

July 24th + 25th

I tried to sleep a bit this morning but still wound up waking up at 7:30! I spent the morning getting stuff ready for camping and cleaning up from the night before. Then Dustin and I did some grocery shopping for camping before going to his house to load up stuff. At 1pm we went to Vanessa's wedding ceremony. They took a picture of all the guests as they came in and we all signed the guest book right beside where our picture was going to go. I really liked that idea! After the wedding Dustin and I had lunch at my place before packing up and going to our camp site at Bird's Hill!
We got there first and set up our stuff. It was super hot outside. Slowly people started arriving and we got the party started! The fire took a bit of effort because the wood was slightly wet but once we got it going, there was plenty of food to be had. We seemed to be getting a lot of alcohol as gifts so I started serving shooters and we finished off 2 mickeys of tequila and one of Amaretto pretty quick! Oh and there was rum too, man I passed out a lot of shots pretty quick :P I was a little surprised when I heard that Dustin downed 3 rum shots in a row, but I was also too drunk and having too much fun to think twice about it. When it got dark I started making pies and they went over really well! Eating pies is just one of those things I have to do every summer. Also, corn on the cob, but that may not happen this year. Matt and Lee also brought a Genie cake which was tasty. I don't think I've ever had one before. The party kept going and it was loud and super fun. Then Dustin came to me and said he was going to bed and asked me to join him. I was a little surprised that he wanted to go so early, it was only 11pm. So we got into the tent and as soon as he layed down, he felt sick. So I spent the next 2 hours helping him out. Kinda interesting to see him go from not feeling good to throwing up to actually drunk and slurring words to passing out. It's a good thing I've been at least that drunk before and knew how to take care of him. We both woke up at 5:45am because that's when the birds sang loud enough to wake us up. Some ppl had to leave early and then we went back to sleep till about 9:30 when the next wave had to leave. I pulled out the cinnamon buns for breakfast and we played games for the morning. After packing up we played more games :) and went home. After both Dustin and I unpacked and showered I spent the afternoon/early evening with his family right before his b-day supper. We were so tired that all we could do was cuddle on the couch watching a movie (not that I'm complaining). Eventually I had to go home to get a ride to the airport. I grabbed some fruit from the fridge before going and we were off. The flight was direct and it's a good thing it wasn't delayed this time or I would have missed the last O-Train express bus. When I got back, it looked like Christmas in July had just finished and the party was moving off campus. I walked into my room and it smelled like really gross take out leftovers. So I turned the air on high, opened the window and got rid of the garbage. I don't think my room mate comes from a clean family. She doesn't notice when we have fruit flies, doesn't clean up her stuff and can't smell when the garbage needs to be changed. Guess it's back to being the mother again. I got my laundry done and unpacked my stuff just in time to fall onto my bed and sleep!

Day 90

July 23rd

Today was the day for doing errands. I woke up at 7:30, checked over my mail and got ready to go pick up Nina. My diploma came in the mail which is making me think that I will not be attending the convocation ceremony in October. Bit of a bummer but not the worst things that could happen. So I picked up Nina and after depositing a cheque from the government, we made Starbucks our first stop. After that we hung out at my work for a while and chatted with ppl including my boss who will gladly give me some extra hours when I get back! I’m going to take an extra 8 hour shift every 2 weeks. At 11am I had a doctor's appointment for some prescriptions that we brought straight to the pharmacy. Then we swung by the church so I could check on who brought their binders back in. Looks like I need to remind Tanja, Kevin and Natalie to return theirs. I also had to go renew my driver’s license which was apparently almost 2 years expired!! Oops. I thought it was just under a year but still, that's pretty bad. The next stop was home for lunch and then off to KP. My goal was to get contacts but I wound up buying 2 shirts for "back to school" or whatever. I tried calling Gary Pollard to see if I could swing by and get some music from him but he wasn't home. Oh well, now for one of the more important stops; Mountain Equipment co-op. I bought Dustin a backpack that you can put a 3L water "bladder" into and drink out of while you are biking. The sales lady kept saying the word bladder and Nina was squirming the whole time because she had to pee! After choosing a backpack we picked up my prescriptions and went home to start getting ready for the birthday supper. Everyone came over and we had super good food, mmmmm salmon! Turns out that Dustin liked the backpack! He gave me a really nice necklace with my birthstone color on it. I also got a card and some perfume from his family which I was not at all expecting! Of course as the night went on it turned into a dance party on our deck and we worked up a good sweat.

Day 89

July 22nd

Well I'm sitting around at the airport because my flight got delayed, so I might as well do my blog of the day! I think I had the worst parade so far today. My legs were so sore but my shoulders are a bit better. Plus, I got all stuffed up and had trouble breathing. Being able to use your nose makes a big difference! So I made it my goal to stay in step and do the drill. After parade we had lunch and did the same fortissimo rehearsal on the afternoon. I like the routine a lot and we are starting to get pretty confident with it. Hopefully I can post if on my facebook sometime soon. Since B band was going on leave, a lot of use were antsy to get out of there. Finally we finished at 3:30 and I took off to Kettleman's bagels to get 2 dozen sesame bagels for mom and dad. (I also got a cinnamon raisin one for myself) I managed to get my secret Santa person a gift and brought it back to my pod-mate Kristina who is going to pass it on at the party. Basically on July 25th CG does a Christmas in July party on Campus. There is a gift exchange and what else I don't know! Then I had a bit of supper and got all cleaned up to go home! Now I'm sitting here killing time because my flight is delayed for an hour. Good thing I was only an hour early or this could have been a really long wait!

Day 88

July 21st

Wow am I evr sore. Parade was interesting today because most ppl were sore, but the cross fit crazy ppl such as myself were super sore. In the afternoon we did an introduction to our routine for Fortissimo. It was actually really fun and cheesy and I like it! Then I came back to my room to do nothing for a while. I am getting a head cold and my body just doesn't want to move. Eventually I made a to do list to for before I leave and one for in Winnipeg and got started on making it shorter. I cleaned the room and did some more packing. We have a room inspection tomorrow morning and we still have fruit flies here. I cleaned everything that was mine and even scrubbed the garbage cans so that nothing could possibly attract fruit flies. I know I won't have all that much time tomorrow so i tried to get lots done tonight. I also looked over the QL4 material and decided not to bring my euph home with me on leave. All I have to do tomorrow is get bagels and pack the last minute things. I spent the evening talking to Dustin after he studied for his final and then I went to bed.

Day 87

July 20th

Parade as usual this morning and I got complemented on my dressing! This was the first time that all of A band and all of B band were together on parade. I think I like that group of ppl. The euphonium section is strong and gets along well in those two bands. Then we had to shower, eat and get ready for our afternoon of sports which was planned from 12:45-4:45. One could choose from baseball, hockey, ultimate Frisbee and cross training. I chose to do cross training because I wasn't sure what it was and I heard it was a challenge. Wow, that was intense! Here is what we had to do. We did the "dirty thirty" style which means you do 30 reps at each station. It started with running 2 laps around the parade square, jumping up onto a 1 meter wooden box (straighten your legs at the top) Swinging kettle weights until your arm was parallel to the ground, sit-ups, lifting a weights bar from your collar bone up into the air, lifting the same bar from the ground to your chest, lunges, doing squats so that your butt touched the medicine ball and then pushing the bar from your collar bone up into the air, burpees, high jumps(jump your knees up to your hands which are held at waist level). I did all that in 30mins! I think I was one of the faster girls too. One of them almost started crying, and a guy threw up too. I think the fastest time was just over 14 mins by one of the guards. Apparently when you do this professionally, the weights are heavier and you do 50 reps instead! After that lovely time, we all gathered in the other parking lot to watch a bandie v.s. guardie tug of war. Of course the guardies won lol. They also beat the headquarters staff. Supper was a BBQ and I didn't really feel like eating after all that, so i just had a chicken breast and some watermelon. I left the BBQ and made it to my salsa class on time. This was after I cleaned some of my bearings again :S I think I will get new wheels and bearings after this summer, it's time. At salsa class we learned the cross body lead. This was more of a class for the guys, but I practiced my turn from last week and we did a lot of review too which was nice. Then I decided to rollerblade home instead of power walking because I could barely walk to begin with :P When I got back I did laundry, cleaned and made some tea. Phew, what an exhausting day!

Day 86

July 19th

Today was a rainy morning and we were all hoping that parade would get cancelled. We got ready as usual and drove out to the drill hall where we played hangman while we waited to form up. When we left the band room we heard cheering and joined in because parade was cancelled! When we got back I did the ab workout and spent most of the day not doing much at all. I caught Dustin online before going to lunch. Stacy and I decided to go swimming at 4:30 and went to supper after that. I hung around a bit more until Stevenson was bored, so we went downtown a bit earlier than planned. We went for Gelato before going to see the sound and lights show at Parliament. We waited out behind the hill and then went to find a seat around 9:15, but the sign said it was cancelled. Poopers! Oh well. Pretty much a lazy day here, but I did get to chat with Dustin again :)

Day 85

July 18th

Today's parade was pretty good. I got to the band room early and looked over the marches after warming up and before playing them as a band. That seemed to help a bit and I was able to play while stepping off the curb on the hill and other tricky places like that. Ha, I almost did a faceplant on the way back by stepping into a crack on the road. Surprisingly I didn't twist my ankle and stumbled right back into step with the band! We got Popsicles again on the bus ride home and of course Chelsea and I did the usual run after parade. After lunch I was online a bit and then read one of my books before falling asleep for 3 hours! I woke up at 5L30 but decided I was too lazy to go for supper and made oatmeal with coconut shavings instead. It was really good! Then I talked to Mom, Nina, Natalie and Dustin and did some planning for the weekend and Folklorama! I created a beer tent night event and started getting that off the ground. Then Chelsea and I went for a walk and I showed her the falls by the beach. When we got back, we wanted to go to the sound and lights show on the hill but Stevenson and others forgot and played soccer instead. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Then I spent the evening searching attractions in Ottawa, finding deals and chatting with Dustin :)

Day 84

July 17th

Wow, this morning was a mess in the band room for the euph section. I'm going to have to bring my march pack to my room all the time because someone took it out of the tuba room and used it.i was missing the 10 provinces and my baking card. Also, when I got my euph out of the closet it had been thrown around so bad that a trombone lyre was smashed into the side of my case. Now there is a hole! We got our stuff back from dry cleaning and that always takes a bit more time to put together because the wings don't get dry cleaned and the belt and suspenders come off too. Gah, needless to say I didn't have much warm-up time. Now I know to get down there early on the first day after leave. Parade was ok. We did 2 marches that I have never played before and only reviewed the first section of one of them in the band room. I didn't mess up my drill today which was nice! After parade Alexi and I went for a run again. I really enjoy going with her, we have a good pace and push each other to keep going! Then we showered and did lunch and I also managed to get laundry done too. In the afternoon I did my boots and watched the Sponge Bob movie with Amy lol. It was cute. After that I pretty much spent the evening talking to Dustin. Stacy also came by for a visit which was nice. She just found out that she is also teaching a section of dance! Which reminds me, I forgot to practice salsa today...poop! Oh well, it was a nice evening spent with Dustin after not seeing him much during his intense week at school. <3

Day 83

July 16th

I got up at 3:30 wide awake and then again at 8:00. My sleep schedule is so messed up at this point, but my goal for today is no nap! Since I was up so early, I went to breakfast and then did some online reading in my room. When the feeling of taking a nap was starting to hit me, I grabbed my rollerblades and went downtown. I wound up buying a salsa CD with the intention of using it to practice. I also bought a raisin bread at the Richtree store in the mall. I tried on a bunch of clothes and once again got frustrated with how clothes are made. If I had the skills I would just make my own clothes. I don't understand some of the logic behind the clothing designs and how it is fitted. Pardon me for having muscles on my arms and a flat stomach, not everyone has love handles and feeble arms! If I knew how to take in clothing, I would buy things to fit my largest feature and then just tailor the rest to make it fit. After the frustrating time at the mall I went to the market and looked into the Lush store. My room mate has a face mask product from there and I tried it this morning. It's pretty good and I wound up buying my own. Then I figured I had spent enough and went back. After taking a shower and settling down a bit I felt like napping again! Thankfully Alexi knocked on my door asking if I wanted to go downtown with her and then walk back. Well, off we went and she wound up buying the same face mask product! We also looked into some stores in the market area, like a really tasty looking gelato place. Not only is it a gelato store, but it also has a huge candy section in the back. Also, the amount of gelato flavors and the strange assortment was cool to check out. Anyways, we made it back in time for supper and after that I worked on my second pair of boots while watching a brutal football game. No comment.

Day 82

July 15th

I didn't get to bed until 4:30 last night. My sleep schedule is officially messed up and for some reason I was up at 8:30. So, I took my lap top into the lounge to finish all of Kevins music from the WH. Then I started looking up the folklorama pavillions for this summer and got suddenly homesick. I have not missed a folklorama for 7 years, and this year Nina and Natalie are youth ambassadors! As I was checking out the travel guide, the ppl on duty came back and got their rooms inspected. I kinda want them to inspect our room so that my roommate will clean up her stuff a bit. After that, Chelsea and I went for a run. That was brutal. I would have been able to do the 3km without stopping but we stopped twice for her. The tough part is that it is so humid outside. I think she will be my running buddy after parades all the time. After going to lunch, I did some online reading and then fell asleep for 4 hours!! Of course I missed supper again but I wasn't all that hungry. I ate an apple and Bae made pizza pops for ppl so I took one of those. Then a bunch of us spent the evening playing cards in the lounge.

Day 81

July 14th

I love leave. I slept till 10:30ish and stayed in my room until 2pm. Sounds like a lazy day but I was actually getting things done. I did some planning for the blaeserchor and prepared some rhythm sheets that I want to use in warm-ups. We just spent a whole year working on note naming which I think is great, but the right note played at the wrong time is a wrong note. I prepared sheets in 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 time simply because those are the most common time signatures. I also chose a Christmas song for us to do: "And the Glory". We attempted it last year and I learned that every member of the ensemble has to be on board for something like that to work. This year the ppl in the older group are quite motivated to sound good and do more challenging pieces. I also realized that Kevin will be the only guy next year. I don't think he minds, but it does look like I favor girls or something. I will have to think of a way to get more guys in there somehow! Anywho, I registered my finale program which involved me actually purchasing the product online. It's about time I actually pay for the $10 for the product and stop mooching off the 30 day trials. So now I can save and print things! After that I took the part for Amazing Grace out of my room mates march pack and copied the horn descant out of there so that Nina, Deanna or maybe the woodwinds could use it. I really like it and I hope it works well with the harmonies in our Hymn book. Then I started writing out Kevin's part so that he is all caught up with everyone else and I don't have to worry about if he has the music or not. Unfortunately I only have one hymn book with me and the pieces we play come from more than 4 sources. I may just have to grab my binder when I go home. Then George came to my room and asked if I wanted to go rollerblading at 6. So I met up with the guys for supper and then hurried back to clean my other rollerblade. The first 2 wheels were easy to clean, but the back 2 had seized since my trip after the rain yesterday. George helped me take the bearings apart completely and brought over his de-greaser. That and spinning the bearings under hot water finally loosened them up enough to be re-greased. Close call, I thought I might have to get all new bearings. Mind you I should probably do that soon anyways since they are about 7 years old :S. Then we went for a rollerblading trip into Gatineau and back to Parliament to watch the "sound and light show" but it didn't start till 10 and we had already been out for almost 2 hours. So we decided to go tomorrow instead. When I got back there were messages on the master corporals door boards saying that there was an inspection tomorrow. Apparently they don't inspect you when you are on leave but I figured I'd take this as an opportunity to clean the room anyways. Then I showered and continued working on Kevin's music. This could take a while, I didn't realize how many songs we have played!

Day 80

July 14th

So we all woke up today hoping that the parade would be cancelled due to rain but were disappointed by the dry morning. Of course it didn't start raining until we were on parade and half way to the hill. It was funny to hear the woodwinds call out rain drill and suddenly the very strong scent of wet bear filled the air. I actually didn't mind getting rained on but some ppl were complaining about the whole parade when we got back to the bus. We even did a West block dismount so I don't think they have the right to complain. Oh well, we were off after parade anyways and I decided to leave my workout for the evening and did my boots in the afternoon while watching TV in Humps's room. Then Marcel went into the hall to go to his room and was surprised by a growing puddle of water in the middle of the hallway. There was a huge leak from the ceiling in the stairwell and it was running into the hall and flooding our floor! He set up some dams with extra bed sheets so that ppl's rooms would not flood and rolled the huge laundry bin into the stairwell to catch the leaking water. There was another leak in the hallway that we quick fixed with recycling bins. I wouldn't want to be the duty Sergeant this time! After that wonderful adventure we watched a movie and before we knew it, it was time for supper. After supper I put away laundry and rollerbladed to my salsa class which I nearly forgot about! I was actually planning on practicing this evening but the band room was locked and I didn't know who had the key. Good thing i guess! I called Mel to see if we could have a rehearsal while I am back home, but they are out at their cabin for the week and don't get back till late Sunday night :( So I guess we will just do an intense preparation of this audition when I get back. Hopefully it works out. Anywho, I rollerbladed to salsa and we reviewed all te basic steps and the cross body lead. The new move for this week was the lady's turn. This was a lot of fun and I think Dustin taught me this one too? I dunno, it all feels the same after a while. After the class I walked the 7km trip back to Carleton again. There is one bridge that has lights shining into the water and you can see all the way to the bottom at night. One day in June I was looking at all the small fish there and wondered how big they got. Well today I saw a huge fish swim through the light as I walked past. It was over a foot long. Now I know this doesn't seem all that big, but the canal is shallow and the water doesn't flow, so I didn't think there would be many fish in there at all. When I got back I cleaned one of my rollerblades and then played a card game called 99 with Brian, Chelsea and Marcel. Super fun but now it's time for bed.

Day 79

July 13

Today was the usual parade and I thought it went really well. There was a slight breeze which was really nice. However, I managed to sweat more than I ever have before. After parade we got popsicles on the bus again :) When we got back to the dorms, I went swimming with some other ppl. That was also really refreshing. I think I will alternate between swimming and an ab workout? Meh, whatever I feel like. Anywho, I took a long nap after lunch because we didn't have to be back in the band rooom till 3:45. That was great. The show went really well tonight too. After our performance which I learned today was part of the Chamber Music Festival, we got our delicious boxed lunches and then Allison, Banfield and I went to go see the Canadian Brass. It was awesome. They will be doing the same show in Winnipeg in the winter, so I will totally go see them again. I think I will invite anyone from the blaesercor who may be interested in seeing them. Anywho, after that I walked back to carleton and hung out with some of the guys for a bit before going to bed.

Day 78

July 11th

I still had a headache this morning, so I took some tylenol and got ready for parade. I was put in front of a snare drum this time and decided right away that I didn't like it. I could not hear myself on parade at all and that got a little frustrating. We had an extended lunch and had to be back in cerimonials at 2pm. Getting into a sweaty tunic after showering is the most disgusting feeling ever lol. Thankfully we were able to take them off as soon as we got to the performance venue. I fogot which building we were in, but it was on the Ottawa University Campus. We did a sound check/spot check rehearsal and then waited (I took a nap) for an hour and a half for the concert to start. This was part of some kind of music festival but there was no mention of the organization or anything. Mind you the MC said everything in French so I really didn't know what was going on. We were the only group performing at this venue and I found the whole thing a little strange. Oh well, we did our show of concert music for 1.5 hours or so and finished with Gibraltar! I love that piece :) We got a lovely boxed lunch and took off for "home". I spent a lot of the evening talking to Dustin and then wound up going for a walk with some ppl because I couldn't sleep. I'm super excited that Dustin has his plane ticket and room booked for August :) Can't wait to show you everything <3

Day 77

July 10th

Wow, days are starting to fly by! The parade this morning was great due to the cloudy weather and slight breeze. After parade I did the P90X ab workout and got my boots done over the lunch break too. I think I'm going to start doing workouts during the lunch break more often since we have 2 hours. B band had a short rehearsal in the afternoon for the gig on Monday. After that, I stayed and practiced till 3:30 and then took a nap in my room and missed supper again :s After making my own food, I watched another episode of hell's kitchen and got all caught up. Then I checked out the poker game that was happening in the lounge. I learned a bit and eventually I think I will be joining in...just gotta learn a bit more first! The I was all excited to go to the pool since I have not been for quite some time, but I got there and realized it was Saturday = pool closed at that time. They are also on Summer hours now so I have to learn the new schedule. I decided to give Oma and Opa Hanyecz a call and see how their trip to Alaska was. It was cool to hear all the things that they did. After the call I youtubed basic salsa moves and practiced the ones I already knew and learned one more. Then I did all that in heels and it was interesting...beats bare feet on carpet, but I think I will have to work on my balance a bit. I think I practiced my turns a little too much because I have a bit of a headache now and i'm feeling a bit nauseous :s

Day 76

July 9th

Today was a really slack day. We had parade and it was cloudy but we still did a West Block Dismount. Don't get me wrong, it was really muggy and I still managed to sweat through my tunic, but I didn't feel very hot. When we got back, B band was dismissed right away! I was surprised because I thought we'd be working on concert music. Oh well, I'm not going to complain about an afternoon off! I ate my own food consisting of an apple, salmon, oatmeal and milk! Then I had some tea while watching the Opening Parade to the Calgary Stampede with Greg Burns who has been in the parade before. While we were watching, the Halifax ppl came back. We eventually hung out in Hump's room hearing stories and watching TV. Sekine did a quick polish job on my boots and they look great! Then I went to the gym with Maitland and Cimolai followed by supper at "The Works". By the time we got a table and our food it was about 8:30 and I just wasn't all that hungry anymore but somehow I was able to down the whole burger! Good thing I chose to walk home after that. What a lovely day. The only thing I didn't do was practice and sleep...

Day 75

July 8th

I got up at 8:15 today to actually eat breakfast in the dining hall. Then I was off to see the parade and take pictures for ppl! I rollerbladed to the drill hall and took a 10 min break in the shade. I walked/ran along side the parade and took pictures like crazy! When we got to the hill I even took some pics from behind. There were not a lot of ppl out today, probably because it's so darn hot :s They did a West Block dismount and right before they finished, a guard went down. I don't understand how the guards can go down, they just march. We have to play musical phrases while marching and that takes some serious breath control! Marching without playing is like a break for us. Oh well I rollerbladed back, took a shower and posted the pics on facebook before going to lunch. Then I watched a bit of the poker game that was happening in the lounge. I got a little bored so I decided to do some lounging in my room lol. After watching an episode of Hell's Kitchen, I went for supper and found undercooked bread pudding. mmm gross...and some ppl were eating it :P Really the sandwiches are the safest thing to eat there. I got my euph on the way back and did some warm-up stuff before polishing my boots. I tried burn shining today and it worked fairly well. Then I continued with practicing and did some 4 octave scales! weeeee :) I don't know where time went but all of a sudden it was 10pm? My room mate was out for the evening so I cleaned up. I'm also looking into doing Nationals again next year. I think that's the plan, that and CG. Apparently you can get it done!

Day 74

July 7th

Yay, day off! I slept in and had my usual Oatmeal in bed :) Then after some lounging, I went shopping and bought some much needed cleaning supplies and snacks. I also bought milk for my tea and Oatmeal. It's been interesting drinking tea without milk. I have been buying the ones that I drink without milk, but I have some Earl Grey that I would love to put some milk into! Then I ran off to lunch and spent most of the afternoon talking to mom and Dustin. After showing off the summer dress I bought and watching some TV with the guys, we went for supper. After supper Stevenson and I went on a 2.5 hour bike ride and explored the richer end of the city. We found the Prime Minister's house and other huge mansions. We also found the Rideau Hall property and ran around in the sprinklers there! Then we found a really nice view by an ice cream store and explored that area by going down to the water (Ottawa River) and walking around. On the way home, we biked past a really nice waterfall. When we got back, I introduced him to MASH! Ottawa is so beautiful!

Day 73

July 6th

Another extremely hot and humid parade this morning. We even did our uniform inspection inside to minimize the amount of time spent outside. I decided to go into the air conditioned band room when we got to the drill hall this time. It was like a fridge in there! Thankfully no one went down today! Not only am I getting better at playing on the march, but I am getting better at playing really loud too! I listened to a few videos that ppl took of the parades and you really can't hear the bass very much. Also, on my days off I hear them doing a quick practice on the parade square and I can't hear the bass much then either. I heard at lunch today that for the rest of the week we won't be doing the full dismount because it's just too hot. We will simply walk behind the West Block of Parliment and finish up over there. When we got back to our rooms this afternoon, we were all happy to notice that the air conditioning had been fixed! We got to have an afternoon rehearsal in comfortable civis (normal clothes) and we voted to start at 1 instead of 1:30. I really don't know what ppl are complaining about here. I think this is the easiest job ever, if you can beat the heat... I spent some time before supper watching a few episodes of MASH. I miss that show lol. This evening I went to salsa class #2 and we basically did a huge review of last week and did the half turn in more detail since we only spent like 10 mins on it at the end of last class. There were 3 new ppl who showed up which was great, but slowed it down a bit. I don't mind the extra practice and I learned a bit of "styling" on the half turn. Basically it's when the ladies shoot their arms up or to the side to make it look good. Then I decided to do a power walk all the way back to Carleton. I was pleased to have done about 7km in 1hour and 10mins. When i got back I had a shower and made some organic chamomile cirtus tea. wow, that is good!

Day 72

June 5th

This parade went really well for me too! It was sooo hot outside that I sweat through my tunic...things to do in life, check! The only bummer was that the other Euphonium player went down today. She has been here for 5 years and this was the first time she went down. I just remember not hearing her come in for the pipe tune and then I saw her on the grass. We had a concert rehearsal in the afternoon and the air conditioning was not on. So that plus the extreme heat in the morning (I think it was 30? It got to 32 by noon) made my body turn my planned 45min nap into a 4 hour nap! crazy! I wanted to go swimming and then out for sushi, but that didn't happen. I also slept through the supper time, so I made oatmeal. Thank goodness for my little stash of food here :) Then I watched some TV with Stevenson on his computer while polishing my boots, and now I can't sleep and it's 12:30 and 25 degrees in my room. Well, I better try.

Day 71

June 4th

Happy USA Day! lol We played a lot of Sousa on the march this morning. I was a bit nervous about the march while in the band room, but as soon as we stepped off I felt great and was playing a lot! I was able to play the Washington Post without taking any breaks and made it through most of El Capitan too. I felt great on the hill and I think this was my best Parade yet! We had a nice long break in the afternoon before getting ready to go on the evening gig. We met at 2:30 and took off for the US Ambassador's House. Wow, the houses there are HUGE and the whole property was beautiful and also HUGE! There were food/alchohol tents set up everywhere and they were organized by origin. There was mexican, Polish, Greek and American? There were probably more but I didn't look at all of them. There was also a dessert tent with cheese and fruit. I have not had real cheese since I started this job, and I really miss cherries, grapes and strawberries. We played our set and then we were given 45ish mins to go mingle and eat! I had 2 glasses of wine that take effect quicker when you are sweating and mildly dehydrated. There were so many cameras and news stations there, it was crazy! When we got back, I went rollerblading with Stevenson and another trombone player (can't remember his name!) who were on their bikes. We got downtown and bought fruitopia from McDonalds for $1! I got the large and I'm sure it was at least a litre. Then we were set to do the same rout that I did yesterday, but faster! We went to the Champlain bridge and went a little further to the big island where we skipped some stones and I waded in the Ottawa River. The water was really warm, probably because it's so shallow. When we got back, I was tired. So I did my boots and drank some tea. I'm amazed at how much I am drinking here. At home I can get away with not drinking anything all day, but here I drink litres and litres every day. 2 full glasses with every meal, tea in the evening plus anything they give us before parade. Oh well, I watched another episode of Hell's Kitchen and went to bed shortly after that.

Day 70

July 3rd

Ok, So the march up to the hill was great today. I was playing lots and thinking wow, I've never done so well on parade before! Colonel Bogey and other marches that have pretty good euph parts, it was a good march up (no face smashing lol) Then we started 10 Provinces which we play every morning as we step onto the hill. At least most ppl like the piece, it has enough key changes and the instrumentation is pretty clever for a march. Well, I realized that I forgot to add that piece to my stack in the morning, so I tried to play as much as I could off my heart. I think I have about 20-25% of it memorized which is pretty good for me because I suck at memorizing and never actually tried to memorize it anyways. We did our counter march and stood at attention for the guards to do their thing. After a few minutes of standing, I was starting to feel nauseous like I did the first time I wore my forge cap for an inspection. I kept breathing deep, wiggled my toes and did all the things I could think of to make the feeling of vomiting go away. We played our first inspection tune and I was still doing pretty good, but the pipe tune was when things took a turn for the worse. We played it through 1.5 times and I played it all the first time and then had to stop because I was getting dizzy. On the D.S. I just stood there and breathed. I felt better and thought I was good to go again and started playing....baaaaaad idea! Then I got really dizzy and tipped back/left but caught myself. However I did not catch myself on the tip forwards and I went down :[ The two most common reasons for going down are: hung over/still drunk or "bear bite". I had bear bite and learned that you can actually adjust your bear while on parade if you really have to. Too bad I learned that the hard way (after going down) I was so mad when they took me off the hill because after I had my bear off for about 10 minutes, I felt so much better. I was a little shaky, but that's all. I took the bus home with the rest of the band and thought I'd get made fun of, but they were really helpful and gave me all kinds of tips on how to not get bear bite. Then they complained that we are never told how to not get bear bite or not faint due to circulation loss. Oh well, I had to go to MIR when I got back to Carleton just to get a clean bill of health. Then i had lunch and we had a short rehearsal for tomorrow's gig. I tried to record the Amazing Grace with pipes on m phone, but the piper was not very good :S Hopefully things go better tomorrow! We got off early and relaxed in our rooms before heading off to the beach for a few hours! Then we rushed back for supper and I decided to go off rollerblading on an adventure. I took the canal downtown as usual and decided to go West this time. I eventually found a path near the war museum and realized that it was the path that I saw while getting kitted out on BMQ. It's called the Ottawa River Pathway. So I kept going and found some ppl who were feeding bread to a flock of Canada Geese. The Geese got so tame that they let us touch them! It was soo cool, babies are very soft and the big ones are a bit scary but they let me touch them anyways! So I continued down the path until the Champlain Bridge and went up to take a look. (see picture and try to find Parliament!) When I got back to Carleton I checked and my trip there and back was 25.6km! Not too shabby :) I polished my boots which sucked because when you go down, you really scuff them up on the stretcher and everything. Then I made some of the "Organic Earl Grey Tea" that I bought from the tea shop and watched Hells Kitchen online, it was awesome.

Day 69

June 2nd

I got up pretty early today considering it was a day off. I was up by 8:30 just doing things on the computer and making breakfast. I could have gone downstairs for breakfast, but I didn't want to leave my bed or change my clothes :P After surfing the web lol I took a nap and went to lunch. I spent the afternoon cleaning and doing my kit (boots etc) and realized that one of my drawers is broken! I will have to send in an action requesst for that. I think it was broken all along because I can't fiind the screws anywhere. I spent the rest of the afternoon working out my schedule for next year and I'm planning on applying as a sub to the RETSD because it looks like I will have M/W/F off school! On T/TH I will be taking Spanish, German and Wind Ensemble. Now all I have to do is arrange my lesson time and I'm set. I will also contact the music office to see if I need to take a second ensemble or not. I have a feeling that will just mess things up for me :S After figuring out all that and when I can take students etc, I went down for supper. After that I was off to practice and ralized that I had hard core Parade chops! OH NO! I was so tight and couldn't make anything sound relaxed or start notes when I wanted to. It was very frustrating. I eventually figured things out and did a lot of buzzing. Then I took a break and went back to get some work done on my audition pieces. After about 3.5 hours of practicing, I realized that I should be doing a lot more buzzing and long tones on a regular basis so I don't sound like poop by the end of the summer.

Day 68

July 1st

What an exciting day today! We had our regular 10am parade and also the Canada Day Parade for the Queen :) Here is a youtube video that summarizes things nicely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An9G7JX_PiE We marched out from the East block of Parliament at 11:45 to get in position for the Queen's arrival at noon. We waited for a bit and I think the Prime Minister arrived first in a black car of some sort. Then the horses came and apparently they got a bit freaked out when they walked past the guards because they could smell the bear skin and hear the clicking of the boots as they came to attention. I could see a bit of disorganization, but it was corrected quickly. Then the Queen got our of the carriage and we played God Save the Queen followed by one inspection tune as she walked through the Guards ranks. Sadly she did not approach the band :( Oh well, we also played O Canada in there somewhere too lol The crowd was huge and apparently some ppl were grabbing at the musicians who were in the outside ranks! We marched off soon after the inspection and avoided horse poop on the way out :P All together a really fun parade and there were so many ppl there! We didn't march through the streets at all because it would have been impossible. When we got back to Carleton we were dismissed for the day! We had lunch and those who had to work tomorrow did their boots and such. I lounged around and skyped with Dustin :) Around 4:30 a group of us went downtown to start looking around at what was happening. There were a lot of ppl and a lot of garbage. I feel sorry for the clean up crew. We walked around to see what was going on and eventually met up with more CG ppl, had a bit of supper and chilled on the Hill while waiting for the fireworks to start. They started at 10pm and went for about 20mins. Not bad, but I think I'm sick of fireworks and they all seem the same to me now. At this point the streets were packed full of ppl everywhere. We decided to walk back to Carleton because it was waaay faster than taking the bus. I hung out with Brian in his room while we waited for more ppl to come back for a shack party, but apparently the party was at a pub somewhere. Oh well, I learned a lot about the band and previous members and such instead. Also, I learned that the band used to have 2 monsters that would torment the band while on parade. Basically band members on their days off would wear this monster suit and follow the parade downtown. There are all kinds of pictures on facebook too! All together a great day, Happy Canada Day!!!