August 26th
Today was the last regular parade, so all bands were on and we were huge. 9 across!! we also got to do the "in the bottle, out of the bottle" drill. This basically means that we get narrow and long when we need to fit through tight portions of the parade. The sound was huge and I really liked having 9 tubas behind me! The wheels were pretty cool too. This afternoon we rehearsed the Final Parade on the parade square until 4pm. Apparently we don't go onto the hill for the last one. We go to the tomb of the unknown soldier and do a ceremony there while picking up the centuries to end the summer. For this parade we will be 10 across! After the long afternoon of waiting and rehearsing, I packed up my barracks box with everything I could possible squeeze into there and took it to the bus depot with Brian after supper. Mine weighted 96 lbs and the limit was 100. Close call, but now I don't have to take that plus all my own luggage to the airport. There is no way I would make it out with all that anyways. When I got back, I practiced before doing my boots for the last time! man, I really hope I can pack up all my stuff. I've been down sizing and getting rid of things I don't need. Hopefully it will work out!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Day 121
August 25th
Today was the day of the dreaded BFT. But first, everyone who was on the BFT was also on parade in the morning. I drank so much water and juice all day long, I don't think I've ever had that much hydration in one day before. The BFT is a 13km rucksack march in combats while carrying 50lbs on your person. It is supposed to be done with a rifle included in the weight but we did it without the rifle. That just meant more weight on your back, but you could move your arms more easily. I coated my feet with foot powder and even coated the first layer of socks with powder before putting on the thick wool socks. Then I made sure I had about 2.5 liters of water with me and I was set. I discovered that if I rested the waist strap of the rucksack on the lower pouches of my tack vest, then the strap would not rub against my hips and the weight would be more spread out. This worked out well for the most part, but on the way back I was using my free hands to help lift the weight off my shoulders. Our route took us up and down the canal path and on the way up it felt like we were almost running. I was actually close to quitting and then we got to break for about 8 mins at the half way point. The break really helped and since we were really ahead of schedule, we took it slower on the way back. We still wound up doing the 13km in 1hr 53mins. The time limit is 2.5hrs. After you do the ruck march, you have to do a 25 meter drag of a person about your weight. That was really easy lol. Then we had some time to shower, start laundry and relax briefly before getting ready for the final party. I decided to wear my white dress again and it's a good thing I did. The final party was pretty formal. For $40 the food was pretty sad. Basically the thing that made it seem good was that the gravy smelled good. I won't get started on that because I could just tear it apart lol. The slide show was really entertaining and a great idea to do. The awards and speeches were pretty funny! My pants got an honorable mention for "best kit" in the Harry Awards! Only because they were so tight on the thighs and butt ;) After the meal and all the formalities were over, there was a Funk band followed by iPod tunes. Of course they had to play "We've got the Funk" and other Funk tunes, so I was dancing all night! I got back to the shacks after 1:30 sometime and attempted to chat with Dustin, but pretty much failed lol. I drank some more water (probably working on the 4-5th liter of the day) and went to bed.
Today was the day of the dreaded BFT. But first, everyone who was on the BFT was also on parade in the morning. I drank so much water and juice all day long, I don't think I've ever had that much hydration in one day before. The BFT is a 13km rucksack march in combats while carrying 50lbs on your person. It is supposed to be done with a rifle included in the weight but we did it without the rifle. That just meant more weight on your back, but you could move your arms more easily. I coated my feet with foot powder and even coated the first layer of socks with powder before putting on the thick wool socks. Then I made sure I had about 2.5 liters of water with me and I was set. I discovered that if I rested the waist strap of the rucksack on the lower pouches of my tack vest, then the strap would not rub against my hips and the weight would be more spread out. This worked out well for the most part, but on the way back I was using my free hands to help lift the weight off my shoulders. Our route took us up and down the canal path and on the way up it felt like we were almost running. I was actually close to quitting and then we got to break for about 8 mins at the half way point. The break really helped and since we were really ahead of schedule, we took it slower on the way back. We still wound up doing the 13km in 1hr 53mins. The time limit is 2.5hrs. After you do the ruck march, you have to do a 25 meter drag of a person about your weight. That was really easy lol. Then we had some time to shower, start laundry and relax briefly before getting ready for the final party. I decided to wear my white dress again and it's a good thing I did. The final party was pretty formal. For $40 the food was pretty sad. Basically the thing that made it seem good was that the gravy smelled good. I won't get started on that because I could just tear it apart lol. The slide show was really entertaining and a great idea to do. The awards and speeches were pretty funny! My pants got an honorable mention for "best kit" in the Harry Awards! Only because they were so tight on the thighs and butt ;) After the meal and all the formalities were over, there was a Funk band followed by iPod tunes. Of course they had to play "We've got the Funk" and other Funk tunes, so I was dancing all night! I got back to the shacks after 1:30 sometime and attempted to chat with Dustin, but pretty much failed lol. I drank some more water (probably working on the 4-5th liter of the day) and went to bed.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Day 120
August 24th
Today was Dustin's last day, and really it was only half a day too :( He joined me and the rest of the band for an early breakfast and then I had to get ready for parade. After parade we spent one last hour together before he had to go to the airport. After being together almost 24/7 for 10 days, we were still giggling and laughing with each other up to the end of his visit. I think this is a good sign! After he left I showered, went to lunch and started on my practicing for my audition. I didn't sound too bad, but I'll be happy when parades are over. Hopefully I have enough time to get into good shape! Then I came back to my room and took a nap because I had a rough night sleep. After supper it was pretty rowdy in the shacks and ppl were doing all kinds of things to wrap up the summer. I helped out a bit with a slide show for the final party tomorrow and practiced some more. After chatting with ppl online and in the shacks, I think it's time for bed again. Less than a week till I'm home!
Today was Dustin's last day, and really it was only half a day too :( He joined me and the rest of the band for an early breakfast and then I had to get ready for parade. After parade we spent one last hour together before he had to go to the airport. After being together almost 24/7 for 10 days, we were still giggling and laughing with each other up to the end of his visit. I think this is a good sign! After he left I showered, went to lunch and started on my practicing for my audition. I didn't sound too bad, but I'll be happy when parades are over. Hopefully I have enough time to get into good shape! Then I came back to my room and took a nap because I had a rough night sleep. After supper it was pretty rowdy in the shacks and ppl were doing all kinds of things to wrap up the summer. I helped out a bit with a slide show for the final party tomorrow and practiced some more. After chatting with ppl online and in the shacks, I think it's time for bed again. Less than a week till I'm home!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Day 119
August 23rd
We slept in again this morning which was really nice. I went to breakfast at the last possible time and when I got back, I started setting up my teaching studio and registered for some courses. We stayed in for the morning and Dustin finished his book while I practiced a bit. I also packed up my stuff to get ready to move back to the shacks :( After lunch we took off for downtown. We walked down Bank street and looked in some of the shops and book stores. I found some music that I will probably wind up buying before going home. We made it to the mall and did some clothes shopping. Dustin helped me and we found a really nice sweater and LeChateau. I also found a nice shirt at a store that we don't have in Winnipeg so I bought it. We eventually made our way in to the market and checked out all the places to eat. There are a lot of choices there but we decided to go with Stella's. It was very nice and we paid about the same as what you would at any pub but the food at Stella's was much better. On the way back we got a Starbucks drink to share and picked up some bagels for dad. He is getting so spoiled with all the bagels that I'm sending home for him! Altogether it was a very nice day out and we were both glad to be doing something other than going to a museum. Yay for the good weather!! When we got back, I moved most of my stuff back to the shacks and did my boots. Pretty soon I won't have to polish boots anymore!!!!!
We slept in again this morning which was really nice. I went to breakfast at the last possible time and when I got back, I started setting up my teaching studio and registered for some courses. We stayed in for the morning and Dustin finished his book while I practiced a bit. I also packed up my stuff to get ready to move back to the shacks :( After lunch we took off for downtown. We walked down Bank street and looked in some of the shops and book stores. I found some music that I will probably wind up buying before going home. We made it to the mall and did some clothes shopping. Dustin helped me and we found a really nice sweater and LeChateau. I also found a nice shirt at a store that we don't have in Winnipeg so I bought it. We eventually made our way in to the market and checked out all the places to eat. There are a lot of choices there but we decided to go with Stella's. It was very nice and we paid about the same as what you would at any pub but the food at Stella's was much better. On the way back we got a Starbucks drink to share and picked up some bagels for dad. He is getting so spoiled with all the bagels that I'm sending home for him! Altogether it was a very nice day out and we were both glad to be doing something other than going to a museum. Yay for the good weather!! When we got back, I moved most of my stuff back to the shacks and did my boots. Pretty soon I won't have to polish boots anymore!!!!!
Day 118
August 22nd
We slept in hard core this morning to make up for the short night and long day that we had. After lounging around and taking it really easy, we made it to the Museum of Nature by about 3pm. That was a pretty good one to see. There was a lot of variety and even a live insect farm. I guess it wasn't all that bad that we missed the insectarium in Montreal. The only bummer was that on the way, the back wheel on Dustin's bike popped. This was the same bike that we patched up before except this time we were no where near Carleton. So we left with enough time to walk back and get ready before going out for our fancy dinner at 18. We got all dressed up and made our way down there by bus. The restaurant was quite romantic and the waiter was very informative and helpful. We decided to do the 5 course blind tasting with the wine pairing instead of choosing our own meals. First they gave us a little spoonful of flavor. It had apple, cheese, squash and some kind of herb on it. Then we got 2 slices of baguette (I had the whole grain) with whipped butter. We had champagne with this. For our appetizer we had shrimp done 3 different ways. Two of them were with butter and different flavors I think. the one in the middle was the best, it was chopped and made into a hot mixture with who knows what and stuffed into a zucchini blossom! That was tasty :) It came with a white wine. The next dish was a salad with 3 different tomatoes. They were garnished with minced and marinated olives and very smooth goat cheese. mmmmmmmmm That was one of my favorite dishes. It also came with white wine. The next one was BBQ fuagra and Octopus with suuuuper sweet octopus jus all around it. Another winner! This one also had white wine and at this point I was feeling all the wine lol. Then on to the main course which was the ostrich that I was planning on ordering had we chosen our own meals! It was very good. They cooked it so that there was that raw part in the middle and there were bits of pepper corns coating it. There was also a mix of potatoes, corn and a tasty sauce all around it. This one came with red wine! By this point Dustin and I thought we would guess at what the dessert might be but we were both wrong. Dustin guessed some kind of Angel Food cake with berries, I guessed cheese cake with berries but it was a very rich piece of chocolate brownie and Mango gelato ice cream sitting on shredded unsweetened coconut with dried but very tasty cherries on the side. wow! This came with a small glass of ice wine which Dustin said is really expensive. That meal was a real treat and I'm glad we splurged and went out for it!
We slept in hard core this morning to make up for the short night and long day that we had. After lounging around and taking it really easy, we made it to the Museum of Nature by about 3pm. That was a pretty good one to see. There was a lot of variety and even a live insect farm. I guess it wasn't all that bad that we missed the insectarium in Montreal. The only bummer was that on the way, the back wheel on Dustin's bike popped. This was the same bike that we patched up before except this time we were no where near Carleton. So we left with enough time to walk back and get ready before going out for our fancy dinner at 18. We got all dressed up and made our way down there by bus. The restaurant was quite romantic and the waiter was very informative and helpful. We decided to do the 5 course blind tasting with the wine pairing instead of choosing our own meals. First they gave us a little spoonful of flavor. It had apple, cheese, squash and some kind of herb on it. Then we got 2 slices of baguette (I had the whole grain) with whipped butter. We had champagne with this. For our appetizer we had shrimp done 3 different ways. Two of them were with butter and different flavors I think. the one in the middle was the best, it was chopped and made into a hot mixture with who knows what and stuffed into a zucchini blossom! That was tasty :) It came with a white wine. The next dish was a salad with 3 different tomatoes. They were garnished with minced and marinated olives and very smooth goat cheese. mmmmmmmmm That was one of my favorite dishes. It also came with white wine. The next one was BBQ fuagra and Octopus with suuuuper sweet octopus jus all around it. Another winner! This one also had white wine and at this point I was feeling all the wine lol. Then on to the main course which was the ostrich that I was planning on ordering had we chosen our own meals! It was very good. They cooked it so that there was that raw part in the middle and there were bits of pepper corns coating it. There was also a mix of potatoes, corn and a tasty sauce all around it. This one came with red wine! By this point Dustin and I thought we would guess at what the dessert might be but we were both wrong. Dustin guessed some kind of Angel Food cake with berries, I guessed cheese cake with berries but it was a very rich piece of chocolate brownie and Mango gelato ice cream sitting on shredded unsweetened coconut with dried but very tasty cherries on the side. wow! This came with a small glass of ice wine which Dustin said is really expensive. That meal was a real treat and I'm glad we splurged and went out for it!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Day 117
August 21st
We woke up at 3:45 to get showered and walk to the Bus station. Our bus left at 6am and they suggested being there an hour before but that was very unnecessary. We probably could have showed up just 20mins before. We both managed to sleep a bit on the 2 hour ride there which was nice. When we got there, we took the subway to Olympic Park only to find out that the Biodome and Insectarium were closed due to a strike :< That was a bummer but we quickly made a plan B while waiting for the Botanical Gardens to open. The Gardens were beautiful and had sections like Japanese, First Nations, Rose, Chinese, Alpine, Water, Greenhouse, Vegetable and Toxic Gardens. I didn't realize how big the place was until we decided to skip the vegetable and toxic gardens because we were tired of walking. We spent about 4 hours walking through the gardens and some of them like the Japanese and Chinese ones had little Pavilions in their garden. The Japanese one was all about lacker (how to gather, how to use) and displayed the pieces of art that were made with lacker. The Japanese Gardens had a pond with carp in it and I touched them. They seemed to like attention from ppl and thought that we were going to feed them. After eating lunch we moved on to the Chinese Gardens which were pretty cool too. There was a tea house in the middle but part of it was closed for the day. There was also a house where we got to practice our calligraphy. It was quite relaxing and a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the greenhouse. There was a lot of variety and a lot of cool plants to see. It's amazing how many plants are in the world! Our next stop in Montreal was the Bio-sphere which is all about being environmentally friendly. It was a great place for kids and we had fun there too! I learned that I need to step it up and be more environmentally friendly from one of the self quizzes that I did. Then our next stop was the planetarium near Old Montreal. We had supper and then caught a show which brought back childhood memories for me. It was really nice to see all the stars without light pollution. After the show we walked around Old Montreal and then went back to the Bus Depot. The ride home was less enjoyable because we kept stopping to pick up more passengers. Both Dustin and I were glad when we finally arrived back at Carleton!
We woke up at 3:45 to get showered and walk to the Bus station. Our bus left at 6am and they suggested being there an hour before but that was very unnecessary. We probably could have showed up just 20mins before. We both managed to sleep a bit on the 2 hour ride there which was nice. When we got there, we took the subway to Olympic Park only to find out that the Biodome and Insectarium were closed due to a strike :< That was a bummer but we quickly made a plan B while waiting for the Botanical Gardens to open. The Gardens were beautiful and had sections like Japanese, First Nations, Rose, Chinese, Alpine, Water, Greenhouse, Vegetable and Toxic Gardens. I didn't realize how big the place was until we decided to skip the vegetable and toxic gardens because we were tired of walking. We spent about 4 hours walking through the gardens and some of them like the Japanese and Chinese ones had little Pavilions in their garden. The Japanese one was all about lacker (how to gather, how to use) and displayed the pieces of art that were made with lacker. The Japanese Gardens had a pond with carp in it and I touched them. They seemed to like attention from ppl and thought that we were going to feed them. After eating lunch we moved on to the Chinese Gardens which were pretty cool too. There was a tea house in the middle but part of it was closed for the day. There was also a house where we got to practice our calligraphy. It was quite relaxing and a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the greenhouse. There was a lot of variety and a lot of cool plants to see. It's amazing how many plants are in the world! Our next stop in Montreal was the Bio-sphere which is all about being environmentally friendly. It was a great place for kids and we had fun there too! I learned that I need to step it up and be more environmentally friendly from one of the self quizzes that I did. Then our next stop was the planetarium near Old Montreal. We had supper and then caught a show which brought back childhood memories for me. It was really nice to see all the stars without light pollution. After the show we walked around Old Montreal and then went back to the Bus Depot. The ride home was less enjoyable because we kept stopping to pick up more passengers. Both Dustin and I were glad when we finally arrived back at Carleton!
Day 116
August 20th
This morning Dustin woke up at the same time as me to come to breakfast so he would not miss parade lol. When we woke up, there was no power in our building. I walked over to the muster area and it seems like no one had power this morning. When we went for breakfast there was no power in the kitchen either and we had boxed/cold breakfasts. Boo. Oh well, better than nothing. The morning went on as usual and we got power at 7:30. When we got to the drill hall Dustin was there waiting with hid camera. It was too cute. Ryan Wherle and Nelson were also there this morning which was nice because Ryan could answer any of Dustin's questions. The parade started and Dustin was beaming the whole time lol. He walked up with us and took so many pictures and videos that he filled his camera! After parade I found out that I had the next day off! So we booked our bus tickets to Montreal and decided to go see the Biodome, Botanical Gardens and Insectarium. After lunch we took off for the War Museum and spent 5 hours there! Wow, were my feet and brain ever tired! Good thing we decided to take the bus this time. When we got back, we got ourselves organized for Montreal and went to bed early.
This morning Dustin woke up at the same time as me to come to breakfast so he would not miss parade lol. When we woke up, there was no power in our building. I walked over to the muster area and it seems like no one had power this morning. When we went for breakfast there was no power in the kitchen either and we had boxed/cold breakfasts. Boo. Oh well, better than nothing. The morning went on as usual and we got power at 7:30. When we got to the drill hall Dustin was there waiting with hid camera. It was too cute. Ryan Wherle and Nelson were also there this morning which was nice because Ryan could answer any of Dustin's questions. The parade started and Dustin was beaming the whole time lol. He walked up with us and took so many pictures and videos that he filled his camera! After parade I found out that I had the next day off! So we booked our bus tickets to Montreal and decided to go see the Biodome, Botanical Gardens and Insectarium. After lunch we took off for the War Museum and spent 5 hours there! Wow, were my feet and brain ever tired! Good thing we decided to take the bus this time. When we got back, we got ourselves organized for Montreal and went to bed early.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Day 115
August 19th
Today was the day that Dustin was going to come to parade, but he accidentally missed it because he was looking at the time on his iPod which was still set to Winnipeg time :s So he'll just come tomorrow instead. While on the hill today, the rubber band the holds my lyre on properly snapped and I had to hold it in place for the entire march back! That really sucked and made me slightly clumsy on the change music drill. I decided to polish my boots right away today because I forgot yesterday...oops! After lunch, Dustin destroyed me in an epic tickle fight before we went out Kayaking on the lake. Lucky for us we almost got back to the dock just as it started to pour! We had a drink and some nachos at one of the restaurants while waiting for the rain to end. After the walk back, we looked around for the ppl in the shacks to see if anything was going on tonight. We witnessed an air soft gun attack and eventually found Beare, Hardy and Geary who were all going to Beare's house for some hot tubbing. We joined them and had a relaxing evening.
Today was the day that Dustin was going to come to parade, but he accidentally missed it because he was looking at the time on his iPod which was still set to Winnipeg time :s So he'll just come tomorrow instead. While on the hill today, the rubber band the holds my lyre on properly snapped and I had to hold it in place for the entire march back! That really sucked and made me slightly clumsy on the change music drill. I decided to polish my boots right away today because I forgot yesterday...oops! After lunch, Dustin destroyed me in an epic tickle fight before we went out Kayaking on the lake. Lucky for us we almost got back to the dock just as it started to pour! We had a drink and some nachos at one of the restaurants while waiting for the rain to end. After the walk back, we looked around for the ppl in the shacks to see if anything was going on tonight. We witnessed an air soft gun attack and eventually found Beare, Hardy and Geary who were all going to Beare's house for some hot tubbing. We joined them and had a relaxing evening.
Day 114
August 18th
Today Dustin stayed behind to relax while I went on parade. It was pretty good with nothing too interesting. Our Director told us that we would be taking it easy and not learning any new marches for the rest of the summer. I like the sound of that! After parade a couple of us went to The Works for lunch. Perfect opportunity because Dustin was interested in going anyways! Then we walked back because you always feel pretty full after going to The Works. Then we skipped across the canal to go to the Agriculture Museum. It was fairly small and more family oriented, but there was a nice display for bees and we got to see cows get milked! All together a very nice afternoon. After I went for supper, we relaxed a bit and then went for an evening walk to the falls near the beach. Unfortunately it was too dark to see the falls so we will have to go back during the day sometime.
Today Dustin stayed behind to relax while I went on parade. It was pretty good with nothing too interesting. Our Director told us that we would be taking it easy and not learning any new marches for the rest of the summer. I like the sound of that! After parade a couple of us went to The Works for lunch. Perfect opportunity because Dustin was interested in going anyways! Then we walked back because you always feel pretty full after going to The Works. Then we skipped across the canal to go to the Agriculture Museum. It was fairly small and more family oriented, but there was a nice display for bees and we got to see cows get milked! All together a very nice afternoon. After I went for supper, we relaxed a bit and then went for an evening walk to the falls near the beach. Unfortunately it was too dark to see the falls so we will have to go back during the day sometime.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day 114
August 17th
We slept in a bit this morning and got up in time for breakfast. However, we were running a bit behind for our bi-plane ride and had to scoot over to the Aviation museum pronto! I didn't realize how far away the museum actually was, so we were biking pretty fast for almost an hour. When we got there we found out that the guy who was supposed to take us was not there. His plane was still in for repairs. So we decided to do the Beaver plane which was a bush plane that could land on water. We did a tour over part of the city and mostly the Gatineau Hills. It was super cool and we did a brief water landing. Dustin got to sit in the co-pilot chair and got some sweet pictures from that seat. I was waaaay in the back and got a little wooozy from the smell of fuel :s Anyways, it was really nice to see everything that I've seen in the city from an aerial view. When we landed, we had a little freak out from excitement and then once we calmed down, we checked out the rest of the museum. We mosied back and made some stops along the way for snack or sight seeing. Some highlights are the park along Sussex, Rideau Hall and the Rideau Falls. On the way back I picked up my teapot from the Mud Oven. It's looks pretty good and I'm happy with the colors for the most part. I should have done an extra layer of blue water in some spots, but oh well can't change that now. Then we came back and took a nap! My napping habit has become contagious and Dustin is enjoying the down time. After that we had supper and relaxed a bit before going for a nice evening walk.
We slept in a bit this morning and got up in time for breakfast. However, we were running a bit behind for our bi-plane ride and had to scoot over to the Aviation museum pronto! I didn't realize how far away the museum actually was, so we were biking pretty fast for almost an hour. When we got there we found out that the guy who was supposed to take us was not there. His plane was still in for repairs. So we decided to do the Beaver plane which was a bush plane that could land on water. We did a tour over part of the city and mostly the Gatineau Hills. It was super cool and we did a brief water landing. Dustin got to sit in the co-pilot chair and got some sweet pictures from that seat. I was waaaay in the back and got a little wooozy from the smell of fuel :s Anyways, it was really nice to see everything that I've seen in the city from an aerial view. When we landed, we had a little freak out from excitement and then once we calmed down, we checked out the rest of the museum. We mosied back and made some stops along the way for snack or sight seeing. Some highlights are the park along Sussex, Rideau Hall and the Rideau Falls. On the way back I picked up my teapot from the Mud Oven. It's looks pretty good and I'm happy with the colors for the most part. I should have done an extra layer of blue water in some spots, but oh well can't change that now. Then we came back and took a nap! My napping habit has become contagious and Dustin is enjoying the down time. After that we had supper and relaxed a bit before going for a nice evening walk.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Day 113
August 16th
We actually got up early for breakfast and Dustin says I tricked him into getting up early lol. We biked downtown and made it to the hill by 8am oops. We wandered around the hill while Dustin had a hoot with his camera. When it was 9am the info tent opened and we got tickets for our free tour of Parliament. "awesome sauce" - Dustin. We got to see the house of commons and actually go in this time :) the senate, the Library (but ppl were working so we could not take pics or talk while in the library). This time we got to go up the peace tower!!! For some reason they would not let us up while the changing of the guard ceremony was happening. We saw the page turning ceremony in one of the room. The books that had their pages turned were documents of the names of the fallen in all of Canada's wars. We wandered to the Art gallery and saw the war monument along the way. We took some time to read a lot of the things written around the city for heroic acts of Canadian soldiers. We spent about 3 hours in the Art gallery and realized how tired our feet were. After that we had a snack and headed back to Carleton for a nap. Then we got Dustin hooked up with some groceries and took off for the By Ward Market. There we had Indian food for supper and explored a bit before going to the sound and lights show. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Dustin took a lot of pics today so I will get them onto my blog when he is back in Winnipeg. On the way back my tire popped :( good thing we were close to home. We fixed it with George's help and then went to play 99 with the guys in the lounge. It was a hoot toot lol! Wow, we added a card that lets you add rules to the game and that made it so much more fun!
We actually got up early for breakfast and Dustin says I tricked him into getting up early lol. We biked downtown and made it to the hill by 8am oops. We wandered around the hill while Dustin had a hoot with his camera. When it was 9am the info tent opened and we got tickets for our free tour of Parliament. "awesome sauce" - Dustin. We got to see the house of commons and actually go in this time :) the senate, the Library (but ppl were working so we could not take pics or talk while in the library). This time we got to go up the peace tower!!! For some reason they would not let us up while the changing of the guard ceremony was happening. We saw the page turning ceremony in one of the room. The books that had their pages turned were documents of the names of the fallen in all of Canada's wars. We wandered to the Art gallery and saw the war monument along the way. We took some time to read a lot of the things written around the city for heroic acts of Canadian soldiers. We spent about 3 hours in the Art gallery and realized how tired our feet were. After that we had a snack and headed back to Carleton for a nap. Then we got Dustin hooked up with some groceries and took off for the By Ward Market. There we had Indian food for supper and explored a bit before going to the sound and lights show. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Dustin took a lot of pics today so I will get them onto my blog when he is back in Winnipeg. On the way back my tire popped :( good thing we were close to home. We fixed it with George's help and then went to play 99 with the guys in the lounge. It was a hoot toot lol! Wow, we added a card that lets you add rules to the game and that made it so much more fun!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day 113
August 15th
Parade got rained out!!!! So I spent the morning finishing my packing. Then we had a special presentation for Drum Major Pete in the band room. After lunch Alexi waxed my legs!!!! followed by me waiting for Dustin to show up. When he got here we got him settled in his room and then took a walk around the lake. It was raining all day but we seemed to get about an hour of no rain so we could have a nice walk. Then we got back and found out that everyone was at an after fortissimo party in the mess. We stayed and had pizza and danced up a sweat! The we went back to his room and tried some of my newly learned salsa moves together. Turns out that he knows the cha cha and not salsa but they are so similar that we sorta made things work.
Parade got rained out!!!! So I spent the morning finishing my packing. Then we had a special presentation for Drum Major Pete in the band room. After lunch Alexi waxed my legs!!!! followed by me waiting for Dustin to show up. When he got here we got him settled in his room and then took a walk around the lake. It was raining all day but we seemed to get about an hour of no rain so we could have a nice walk. Then we got back and found out that everyone was at an after fortissimo party in the mess. We stayed and had pizza and danced up a sweat! The we went back to his room and tried some of my newly learned salsa moves together. Turns out that he knows the cha cha and not salsa but they are so similar that we sorta made things work.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Day 112
August 14th
We did a short dismount parade today. No reason, I think they just feel sorry for us because of fortissimo. After lunch I took a nap right away and then woke up to start packing. I did my boots and was mostly done packing before going to supper. Funny when Fortissimo starts to become routine :s Nothing to interesting happened before the show. Ppl were taking pictures like "all the tubas" or "with my mom" etc. The RCMP routine went really well and the horns played the "GOAL" note at the perfect time! When we got back, I helped Dustin with packing by answering some last minute questions. Then I had some tea and polished my boots with the guys.
We did a short dismount parade today. No reason, I think they just feel sorry for us because of fortissimo. After lunch I took a nap right away and then woke up to start packing. I did my boots and was mostly done packing before going to supper. Funny when Fortissimo starts to become routine :s Nothing to interesting happened before the show. Ppl were taking pictures like "all the tubas" or "with my mom" etc. The RCMP routine went really well and the horns played the "GOAL" note at the perfect time! When we got back, I helped Dustin with packing by answering some last minute questions. Then I had some tea and polished my boots with the guys.
Day 111
August 13th
This morning we did parade and the US marines joined us on the hill for the inspection tunes. This was the third time in 50 years that another band has joined the ceremonial guard on their guard mount. It was a lot of fun telling them what drill to do while on the hill. We has to whisper it to them right before doing it. This was also the first time since the war on terrorism that any US military band has left the country and not gone to Afghanistan. When we got back from parade, we got the afternoon off! I did my boots and watched Hell's Kitchen with Jeremy and then took an epic nap until supper time. My room mate and I chugged a cup of coffee before going on the bus and I was so hyper! When we got to the hill we did the usual standing around, talking to other bands and tourists. Donegan and I found a lovely family who stood and talked to us for over half an hour! Then we were off to the show! My feet were feeling a bit better this time but I got a huge headache right before our music change. Oh well, I fought through and felt glorious relief when I got to lift my bear after the show. When we got back I did my boots and took some time to settle down before going to bed. I don't know how ppl go out after fortissimo if they have parade the next day.
This morning we did parade and the US marines joined us on the hill for the inspection tunes. This was the third time in 50 years that another band has joined the ceremonial guard on their guard mount. It was a lot of fun telling them what drill to do while on the hill. We has to whisper it to them right before doing it. This was also the first time since the war on terrorism that any US military band has left the country and not gone to Afghanistan. When we got back from parade, we got the afternoon off! I did my boots and watched Hell's Kitchen with Jeremy and then took an epic nap until supper time. My room mate and I chugged a cup of coffee before going on the bus and I was so hyper! When we got to the hill we did the usual standing around, talking to other bands and tourists. Donegan and I found a lovely family who stood and talked to us for over half an hour! Then we were off to the show! My feet were feeling a bit better this time but I got a huge headache right before our music change. Oh well, I fought through and felt glorious relief when I got to lift my bear after the show. When we got back I did my boots and took some time to settle down before going to bed. I don't know how ppl go out after fortissimo if they have parade the next day.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Day 110
August 12th
We did parade today and the fanfare team for Fortissimo came on the bus with us to watch the parade. I can now say that I am over the hump of learning how to play on the march and I can start being more picky with my playing. I am also not as distracted by the percussion when I am in the rank in front of them but this could be because there were cymbals behind me. In the afternoon we were allowed to wear respectable civis for the rehearsal on the parade square. Basically we were fixing up whatever went wrong at the dress rehearsal on the hill last night. After that I went painting one last time and finished my teapot!! Now they cover it in some kind of green paint and put it in the kiln. I can pick it up on Tuesday and I'll post a picture of it :) After a quick supper we were off for the hill once again. This time the show was for real and the canons were fired up for the 1812 overture. We play the I believe song from the Olympics and there is one point where the horns have a really loud dissonant note that is supposed to be the sound when the winning goal of the men's hockey game was scored. This loud note has to line up with the video that is playing on the huge screen above our heads. They show a clip from the winning goal and during the dress rehearsal the band was 30 seconds early. We can't shorten the video because it came from CBC, so we had to play is slower and last night it was only 3 seconds off which is a huge improvement and I think the audience could figure that out. We'll see how close it gets tomorrow! Also during the dress rehearsal there were a bunch of cables and cords running along the ground where we did our RCMP routine and one of the Tuba players almost tripped on it, but thankfully they were not there tonight! There were a lot more ppl out tonight too. One of the band members found the news clip that advertised Fortissimo and invited ppl to come watch. When we got back I hung out a bit trying to stay away to go out and watch the meteor shower, but I fell asleep watching football and stumbled to my room when Jeremy woke me up.
We did parade today and the fanfare team for Fortissimo came on the bus with us to watch the parade. I can now say that I am over the hump of learning how to play on the march and I can start being more picky with my playing. I am also not as distracted by the percussion when I am in the rank in front of them but this could be because there were cymbals behind me. In the afternoon we were allowed to wear respectable civis for the rehearsal on the parade square. Basically we were fixing up whatever went wrong at the dress rehearsal on the hill last night. After that I went painting one last time and finished my teapot!! Now they cover it in some kind of green paint and put it in the kiln. I can pick it up on Tuesday and I'll post a picture of it :) After a quick supper we were off for the hill once again. This time the show was for real and the canons were fired up for the 1812 overture. We play the I believe song from the Olympics and there is one point where the horns have a really loud dissonant note that is supposed to be the sound when the winning goal of the men's hockey game was scored. This loud note has to line up with the video that is playing on the huge screen above our heads. They show a clip from the winning goal and during the dress rehearsal the band was 30 seconds early. We can't shorten the video because it came from CBC, so we had to play is slower and last night it was only 3 seconds off which is a huge improvement and I think the audience could figure that out. We'll see how close it gets tomorrow! Also during the dress rehearsal there were a bunch of cables and cords running along the ground where we did our RCMP routine and one of the Tuba players almost tripped on it, but thankfully they were not there tonight! There were a lot more ppl out tonight too. One of the band members found the news clip that advertised Fortissimo and invited ppl to come watch. When we got back I hung out a bit trying to stay away to go out and watch the meteor shower, but I fell asleep watching football and stumbled to my room when Jeremy woke me up.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day 109
August 12th
We got to sleep in till 9am this morning and it was a glorious sleep in! We had to be on the parade square for 10am where we rehearsed for about an hour and a half. Then we had lunch break for an hour and a half! I decided to relax in my room and go later so I would beat the rush. Good idea but then I couldn't take a nap, mind you I didn't really need one. After lunch we did a run through of the show on the parade square. I decided to keep my feet still the whole time just to see if I could stand at attention for the whole show. It was pretty easy to do in combat boots, but the real test will be in parade boots. We got a 2.5 hour supper break, so I went painting for just over an hour. I am very close to being done, all I have to do is more coats of the blue. I'm not sure yet if I want to outline things in black. The outlining paint applicator is not thin enough for my liking. Hopefully I can finish it the next time I go in. Anyways, our timing was 6pm and we were off to the hill for a dress rehearsal in full ceremonials. It was pretty much a show except we made 2 obvious mistakes in playing the music and there were no canons in the 1812 tonight. I put my insoles into my parade boots and they felt so much better. I don't know why I didn't do that much earlier! It still really sucked to stand still and not move my feet for 2 hours while standing on cement, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Who knows, by the 5th performance I might not be saying that anymore! When we got back I did my boots and laundry and hung out with various ppl before calling it a night. Again, what a long day...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day 108
August 10th
B band was off parade today and we got to sleep in an extra hour and a bit. We spent the morning going through the RMCP routine 5 times and then waited around outside while the other bands did their thing. Then we went to lunch. Over the break I found out that my e-mail address has been sending porn to my contacts :s I had to delete my account and message all my contacts from the new account that I made. Good thing it was only one of my addresses that went wrong. We spent the afternoon doing a run through of the show but skipped the playing of a few tunes. Then we had supper and did the show again after supper. I find it a lot easier to stand for hours in the evening than in the hot afternoon. Then we came back to the shacks, showered and i relaxed but it seemed like there was a huge party going on on our floor.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Day 107
August 9th
Oh my goodness, what a long day! We did the usual parade this morning except the marches got changed at the last minute. I really don't like it when that happens and I don't see the point. It didn't go all that bad though. I can tell that I am doing much better now than at the beginning of the summer. After lunch B band provided music for the NAVY Ladder routine and then joined the rest of the bands (all of the bands involved) in the band room. There are so many musicians here!! It was really loud too. I didn't play much because I couldn't hear myself and was just mispitching because of that. I decided to save face instead, but I do know that I will have to look at some of the stuff. Then we all went for supper and I took a short nap before our next timing. At 6pm we were out on the parade square doing some full band rehearsals. B band got to wait for the first bit because we will not be on the hill for the first few tunes anyways (yay, less music to carry!) Then we played 1812 which was much easier to do on the parade square because I could hear myself and see the conductor who was on a huge podium! Actually all the pieces that we did out there seemed to go better. I really didn't enjoy that afternoon in the band room and I had to wear earplugs which made playing difficult. B band got to leave early because we will be static during Fortissimo and the rest of the bands had to rehearse some more drill. When we got back, we got our timings for tomorrow morning and a set list. I put my music in order, took a shower and went to our bible study. That was a lot of fun too. There were 11 people there today, awesome!! I really enjoyed the passage that we studied and I'm going to miss this group when I go back home. I spent the rest of the evening with Dustin and then went to bed.
Day 106
August 8th
Parade this morning was also very good. We had 3 euphoniums this time so I didn't have to blast my face off as badly lol. We had an earlier timing for the afternoon and got started right away which was nice too. We worked on the RCMP routine again and also got to watch A band rehearse the NAVY ladder routine with the guards. It was a lot of fun because we were all singing our parts from inside the tent where we were on break. Thankfully we got off a bit sooner today, I think it was around 3pm. I took a shower, had a snack relaxed a bit online and then scooted off to the mud oven after finding an umbrella to borrow. I got all the detailed pictures colored in and started on the blue water. I think I will have to give some parts an extra layers but other than that, all I have to do is the water! That might take a while because now I have to get around all the little pictures that I made lol. I came back, had supper, polished my boots, did laundry and practiced one of my pieces. After that Chelsea came over and we had a nice chat with some tea! Then Dustin came online and everything just worked out really well with timing tonight. We managed to talk about details regarding him coming to Ottawa. I was tired though so we cut it short and decided to try to chat earlier this week since I will be tired from long days of Fortissimo prep :s
Parade this morning was also very good. We had 3 euphoniums this time so I didn't have to blast my face off as badly lol. We had an earlier timing for the afternoon and got started right away which was nice too. We worked on the RCMP routine again and also got to watch A band rehearse the NAVY ladder routine with the guards. It was a lot of fun because we were all singing our parts from inside the tent where we were on break. Thankfully we got off a bit sooner today, I think it was around 3pm. I took a shower, had a snack relaxed a bit online and then scooted off to the mud oven after finding an umbrella to borrow. I got all the detailed pictures colored in and started on the blue water. I think I will have to give some parts an extra layers but other than that, all I have to do is the water! That might take a while because now I have to get around all the little pictures that I made lol. I came back, had supper, polished my boots, did laundry and practiced one of my pieces. After that Chelsea came over and we had a nice chat with some tea! Then Dustin came online and everything just worked out really well with timing tonight. We managed to talk about details regarding him coming to Ottawa. I was tired though so we cut it short and decided to try to chat earlier this week since I will be tired from long days of Fortissimo prep :s
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day 105
August 7th
This morning 2 of the euphoniums were not there so it was just Sharpe and I on Parade. Good thing we both kicked butt on parade! We played so loud and didn't make any mistakes...maybe 2 lol. After parade we thought we were going off campus to rehearse the RCMP routine but we wound up staying here. The crappy part was that the parade square got double booked and we had to wait for over an hour before we could use it. Then we put the routine together with the RCMP and worked on it until about 4:45. That was a long day :s and as soon as I could, I made my way over to the mud oven to keep working on my teapot. I think this may take me a long time to finish simply because you have to do so many layers of each color. Since we got off so late, I only got to work on it for an hour and then went for supper. After supper I did my boots while watching the football game which ended terribly! I also got some nice chatting time in with Dustin :) I miss you!
This morning 2 of the euphoniums were not there so it was just Sharpe and I on Parade. Good thing we both kicked butt on parade! We played so loud and didn't make any mistakes...maybe 2 lol. After parade we thought we were going off campus to rehearse the RCMP routine but we wound up staying here. The crappy part was that the parade square got double booked and we had to wait for over an hour before we could use it. Then we put the routine together with the RCMP and worked on it until about 4:45. That was a long day :s and as soon as I could, I made my way over to the mud oven to keep working on my teapot. I think this may take me a long time to finish simply because you have to do so many layers of each color. Since we got off so late, I only got to work on it for an hour and then went for supper. After supper I did my boots while watching the football game which ended terribly! I also got some nice chatting time in with Dustin :) I miss you!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Day 104
August 6th
After 5 days of no parade, I was on again today. Today was also Drum Major Peet's last parade before his retirement. They tried to have his last parade yesterday, but they did it again today so CBC could video tape us and do a story. That was crazy having a camera man walk through the band while we were on parade. There was also someone from CG taking pictures and getting right up in his face! The only crappy part was that we were told what the marches were only 2 mins before the morning rehearsal, so they sounded pretty bad on the way to the hill. In the afternoon we did a sit down rehearsal of fortissimo music followed by a few more run throughs of the RCMP routine. Wow, goo thing we did that refresher because I think we put it together with the RCMP tomorrow. After supper I did my boots and then went to the Mud Oven with two girls from the bible study. At the Mud oven you choose a ceramic object and paint it. Then they glaze it and bake it so that the finished product is shiny, water proof, microwave and food safe. I chose a teapot which was one of the more expensive items, but probably the one I would use the most. I was thinking of just giving it some plain colors with an abstract design or just sponging on a second color, but I decided to have some fun and do an ocean scene instead! It won't look as professional but I'd rather it didn't look store bought. When I got back I made a cup of coffee and went to practice. My body is back in the swing of late night coffee followed by practicing for auditions! I also got to play in the large space of the band room and quite enjoyed my sound tonight :) I'm going to have to make this a regular part of my day now which means that my daily runs may not happen anymore :(
After 5 days of no parade, I was on again today. Today was also Drum Major Peet's last parade before his retirement. They tried to have his last parade yesterday, but they did it again today so CBC could video tape us and do a story. That was crazy having a camera man walk through the band while we were on parade. There was also someone from CG taking pictures and getting right up in his face! The only crappy part was that we were told what the marches were only 2 mins before the morning rehearsal, so they sounded pretty bad on the way to the hill. In the afternoon we did a sit down rehearsal of fortissimo music followed by a few more run throughs of the RCMP routine. Wow, goo thing we did that refresher because I think we put it together with the RCMP tomorrow. After supper I did my boots and then went to the Mud Oven with two girls from the bible study. At the Mud oven you choose a ceramic object and paint it. Then they glaze it and bake it so that the finished product is shiny, water proof, microwave and food safe. I chose a teapot which was one of the more expensive items, but probably the one I would use the most. I was thinking of just giving it some plain colors with an abstract design or just sponging on a second color, but I decided to have some fun and do an ocean scene instead! It won't look as professional but I'd rather it didn't look store bought. When I got back I made a cup of coffee and went to practice. My body is back in the swing of late night coffee followed by practicing for auditions! I also got to play in the large space of the band room and quite enjoyed my sound tonight :) I'm going to have to make this a regular part of my day now which means that my daily runs may not happen anymore :(
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Day 103
August 5th
Happy 6 months Dustin!! I was off Parade this morning to do my QL4 test. Funny, I still had to get up for muster at 6:50 and I still did the morning rehearsal in the band room just for something to do. My test didn't actually happen until 9am. It went well and my sound was actually pretty good! I kicked butt on the scales and sight reading which makes me happy :) the bummer about not being on parade was that I had to spend the rest of the morning in the library. After lunch we got to be live music for the guards as they practiced their NAVY routine. I'm starting to understand why ppl complain about standing still for long periods of time. Although the guard's routine was entertaining to watch, I already know that my knees and lower back are going to be sore after all this Fortissimo stuff is done. After all that I showered, did my boots and went for supper. Tonight everyone is going to a pub on campus to listen to a celtic band made up of CG players. So I spent some quiet time in my room before getting ready and going. It was a lot of fun and I even knew some of the songs which was nice. Then they did some organized dancing and opened the floor to casual dancing too. I found my Folklorama voice and did some drunk cheering followed by some improvised dancing! Around 10:30 I came back to my room to chat with Dustin for the rest of the evening. I'm so excited for when he comes here, it's going to be so much fun!
Happy 6 months Dustin!! I was off Parade this morning to do my QL4 test. Funny, I still had to get up for muster at 6:50 and I still did the morning rehearsal in the band room just for something to do. My test didn't actually happen until 9am. It went well and my sound was actually pretty good! I kicked butt on the scales and sight reading which makes me happy :) the bummer about not being on parade was that I had to spend the rest of the morning in the library. After lunch we got to be live music for the guards as they practiced their NAVY routine. I'm starting to understand why ppl complain about standing still for long periods of time. Although the guard's routine was entertaining to watch, I already know that my knees and lower back are going to be sore after all this Fortissimo stuff is done. After all that I showered, did my boots and went for supper. Tonight everyone is going to a pub on campus to listen to a celtic band made up of CG players. So I spent some quiet time in my room before getting ready and going. It was a lot of fun and I even knew some of the songs which was nice. Then they did some organized dancing and opened the floor to casual dancing too. I found my Folklorama voice and did some drunk cheering followed by some improvised dancing! Around 10:30 I came back to my room to chat with Dustin for the rest of the evening. I'm so excited for when he comes here, it's going to be so much fun!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 102
August 4th
I missed breakfast today, not because I slept too late but because I was too lazy to get out of bed and didn't think the food was worth moving for. So I did my blog from yesterday and did some reading until it was closer to 10am. Then I went downstairs and got the march list for tomorrow and the day after. The band room was freezing again so I decided to practice in my room since it was after 10am at that point. I also reviewed my QL4 pieces because my test should be any day now. When ppl got back from parade, I went to lunch early to beat the crowd. On the way there I was told that I'd be pulled off parade tomorrow to do my QL4 test. Hey, I'm not complaining because tomorrow is supposed to be really muggy again. I came back and did some more reading and was falling asleep on my book. So I decided to take a nap which lasted 2 hours. Hey, at least it's not 4 hours anymore! I woke up really sweaty and thought I might have been sick but it's just because it's so muggy here. As I was waking up there was a huge thunder storm happening, so I watched it for a while and in about half an hour it was over and the sun was shining again. Then I went for supper and practiced euph until I had to leave for my first salsa class at beginner 2 level. I wound up borrowing a bike because the ground was soaked and I could not rollerblade on that. This time we have two instructors, but I think one of them is only there for demonstration and when the guys and girls split up. The splitting up for part of the class is a good idea and gives us a chance to fine tune our steps and hand positions. We did a big fine tuning review and also changed the way we do the basic step. The new step for today was for the ladies and I think it was called the progressive left turn? Anyways, they said it was the most difficult move at this level and it's nice that they started with it so we can get a lot of in class practice done! Now that we all have a bit of a foundation from the first beginner level, we are doing more dancing rather than watching demonstrations during the class time. I'm really excited to get better at this! After I biked home I decided to go for my "daily run". I did the usual run around the lake and since I was feeling good I thought I'd push myself to go towards Moody's bay. The plan was to go half way and then turn around but I just kept going and wound up going all the way! I also took the long route back which made my run an hour long. It seems like running for an hour would suck but after you get into the swing of it, you just keep going like the energizer bunny. I got back and downed two cups of water before taking a shower. Then I made some tea and watched the guy's poker game. After the game I did some tidying of my stuff because we have a room inspection tomorrow morning. Bed Time!
I missed breakfast today, not because I slept too late but because I was too lazy to get out of bed and didn't think the food was worth moving for. So I did my blog from yesterday and did some reading until it was closer to 10am. Then I went downstairs and got the march list for tomorrow and the day after. The band room was freezing again so I decided to practice in my room since it was after 10am at that point. I also reviewed my QL4 pieces because my test should be any day now. When ppl got back from parade, I went to lunch early to beat the crowd. On the way there I was told that I'd be pulled off parade tomorrow to do my QL4 test. Hey, I'm not complaining because tomorrow is supposed to be really muggy again. I came back and did some more reading and was falling asleep on my book. So I decided to take a nap which lasted 2 hours. Hey, at least it's not 4 hours anymore! I woke up really sweaty and thought I might have been sick but it's just because it's so muggy here. As I was waking up there was a huge thunder storm happening, so I watched it for a while and in about half an hour it was over and the sun was shining again. Then I went for supper and practiced euph until I had to leave for my first salsa class at beginner 2 level. I wound up borrowing a bike because the ground was soaked and I could not rollerblade on that. This time we have two instructors, but I think one of them is only there for demonstration and when the guys and girls split up. The splitting up for part of the class is a good idea and gives us a chance to fine tune our steps and hand positions. We did a big fine tuning review and also changed the way we do the basic step. The new step for today was for the ladies and I think it was called the progressive left turn? Anyways, they said it was the most difficult move at this level and it's nice that they started with it so we can get a lot of in class practice done! Now that we all have a bit of a foundation from the first beginner level, we are doing more dancing rather than watching demonstrations during the class time. I'm really excited to get better at this! After I biked home I decided to go for my "daily run". I did the usual run around the lake and since I was feeling good I thought I'd push myself to go towards Moody's bay. The plan was to go half way and then turn around but I just kept going and wound up going all the way! I also took the long route back which made my run an hour long. It seems like running for an hour would suck but after you get into the swing of it, you just keep going like the energizer bunny. I got back and downed two cups of water before taking a shower. Then I made some tea and watched the guy's poker game. After the game I did some tidying of my stuff because we have a room inspection tomorrow morning. Bed Time!
Day 101
August 3rd
I got up in time for breakfast again and apparently a lot of ppl did. There was a group of guys who got up early to dress up in the CG Monster suit and go watch the parade this morning. I got some practicing done, but the band room was so cold that I had to take a break in between to warm up. Then I took a nap because I only slept 4hours last night...oops! After that wonderful nap I went for lunch and practiced in my room while everyone else was at that masterclass. Then Allison came back from her leave and it started raining. She went out slip and sliding lol. I got curious and started reading the book of Mark. I figure it might be a good idea to do a refresher before going into the next bible study. I'll read as much as I can from the other gospels so I have some notes to compare with. Then I went for supper and found out that a bunch of ppl were going out to see inception. I decided to tag along! So I went for my run and showered and was ready in time to go :) When we got there it was sold out of course, so we waited for the 9:45 show. I bought some peanut butter and jam from the bulk barn and some tea from Starbucks. The PB+J will come in handy when Dustin is here. I'm sure we will be having a few sandwich days while we are out and about. The movie was really good and I liked the idea of dream within a dream etc. The special effects were pretty cool too. Anyways, after cabbing it home I chatted with Dustin a bit and then went to bed.
I got up in time for breakfast again and apparently a lot of ppl did. There was a group of guys who got up early to dress up in the CG Monster suit and go watch the parade this morning. I got some practicing done, but the band room was so cold that I had to take a break in between to warm up. Then I took a nap because I only slept 4hours last night...oops! After that wonderful nap I went for lunch and practiced in my room while everyone else was at that masterclass. Then Allison came back from her leave and it started raining. She went out slip and sliding lol. I got curious and started reading the book of Mark. I figure it might be a good idea to do a refresher before going into the next bible study. I'll read as much as I can from the other gospels so I have some notes to compare with. Then I went for supper and found out that a bunch of ppl were going out to see inception. I decided to tag along! So I went for my run and showered and was ready in time to go :) When we got there it was sold out of course, so we waited for the 9:45 show. I bought some peanut butter and jam from the bulk barn and some tea from Starbucks. The PB+J will come in handy when Dustin is here. I'm sure we will be having a few sandwich days while we are out and about. The movie was really good and I liked the idea of dream within a dream etc. The special effects were pretty cool too. Anyways, after cabbing it home I chatted with Dustin a bit and then went to bed.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 100!
August 2nd
Today is 100 day! Just like in elementary school when we counted the school days lol. I did not wake up at 4am today. In fact, I got up at 8 and went down for breakfast. This time I was the only one there from B band. I didn't cover the light from my window this time, so I think it may be the fact that my room mate gets up earlier than I do on our work days. I actually didn't notice until today that I have the whole pod to myself! After breakfast I rollerbladed downtown to replace a battery in my metronome. By the time I got back, it was 12:20 and the conducting masterclass started at 1pm. We had to show up at 12:50 if we were going, but I still had to shower and eat lunch. At the same time I could feel major cramps coming along, so I ate in my room and basically camped out there until supper time. Thanks Dustin for keeping me company :) I showered, got some laundry done and had supper with the guys. After supper I went for a run to test one of the info facts on our "poo calender". It said that you don't have to wait half an hour after eating before you go swimming. Half an hour doesn't make a difference because it takes your food 3-4 hours before it passes to the small intestine. So I ran immediately after supper and didn't get a cramp! I did feel a little heavier than usual, but that's for obvious reasons. When I got back, I looked like I just got out of the shower. I had sweat beads dripping off my body everywhere. It's not really normal that I sweat that much unless I'm on parade on a hot day, so I checked the weather and it was 28 degrees. hmmmmm smart. Off to the shower again! After putting away laundry I chilled for a bit before going to our first bible study! That was super fun and I'm really excited for the next one. The group of people is great and I'm really interested in what we are reading. I was very nervous going into this because the last time I was at a bible study, I was about 6 years old and I played with the other kids lol. I have never participated in a bible study before and I think it's a fun idea. At the end we read the scripture for next week's meeting and we are all super pumped. It's going to be a good one. I like trying to imagine what ppl were like back then and how they spoke, were they smart? Could you trust a stranger? Why does it seem like they all had so much free time? So many questions for discussion! I was able to reference the song "A voice Proclaims" to the scripture we read today. I guess I should say that we are looking at the Gospel of John. This really meant nothing to me when I heard it, but now I know that it starts when Jesus is presented by John the baptist and starts gathering his disciples. We talked for just over an hour and I actually felt really comfortable sharing my ideas even though I had never studied the bible like this before. After that I hung out with some ppl in the lounge and watched some of the poker game. There is almost always a poker game happening in the lounge, so that's pretty much a guaranteed source of entertainment. We got onto an intense discussion about the crappy transit system in Winnipeg and the structure of the city in general. Eventually I made it to my room, did some reading and listened to some good ol' Harry Belafonte!
P.S. After spell checking for 100 days, I noticed that my spelling accuracy has improved! Practice makes perfect :)
Today is 100 day! Just like in elementary school when we counted the school days lol. I did not wake up at 4am today. In fact, I got up at 8 and went down for breakfast. This time I was the only one there from B band. I didn't cover the light from my window this time, so I think it may be the fact that my room mate gets up earlier than I do on our work days. I actually didn't notice until today that I have the whole pod to myself! After breakfast I rollerbladed downtown to replace a battery in my metronome. By the time I got back, it was 12:20 and the conducting masterclass started at 1pm. We had to show up at 12:50 if we were going, but I still had to shower and eat lunch. At the same time I could feel major cramps coming along, so I ate in my room and basically camped out there until supper time. Thanks Dustin for keeping me company :) I showered, got some laundry done and had supper with the guys. After supper I went for a run to test one of the info facts on our "poo calender". It said that you don't have to wait half an hour after eating before you go swimming. Half an hour doesn't make a difference because it takes your food 3-4 hours before it passes to the small intestine. So I ran immediately after supper and didn't get a cramp! I did feel a little heavier than usual, but that's for obvious reasons. When I got back, I looked like I just got out of the shower. I had sweat beads dripping off my body everywhere. It's not really normal that I sweat that much unless I'm on parade on a hot day, so I checked the weather and it was 28 degrees. hmmmmm smart. Off to the shower again! After putting away laundry I chilled for a bit before going to our first bible study! That was super fun and I'm really excited for the next one. The group of people is great and I'm really interested in what we are reading. I was very nervous going into this because the last time I was at a bible study, I was about 6 years old and I played with the other kids lol. I have never participated in a bible study before and I think it's a fun idea. At the end we read the scripture for next week's meeting and we are all super pumped. It's going to be a good one. I like trying to imagine what ppl were like back then and how they spoke, were they smart? Could you trust a stranger? Why does it seem like they all had so much free time? So many questions for discussion! I was able to reference the song "A voice Proclaims" to the scripture we read today. I guess I should say that we are looking at the Gospel of John. This really meant nothing to me when I heard it, but now I know that it starts when Jesus is presented by John the baptist and starts gathering his disciples. We talked for just over an hour and I actually felt really comfortable sharing my ideas even though I had never studied the bible like this before. After that I hung out with some ppl in the lounge and watched some of the poker game. There is almost always a poker game happening in the lounge, so that's pretty much a guaranteed source of entertainment. We got onto an intense discussion about the crappy transit system in Winnipeg and the structure of the city in general. Eventually I made it to my room, did some reading and listened to some good ol' Harry Belafonte!
P.S. After spell checking for 100 days, I noticed that my spelling accuracy has improved! Practice makes perfect :)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Day 99
August 1st
I think I solved my sleeping problem. Step 1, remove room mate from room. Step 2, cover crack of light that shines in my face every morning. Step 3, refrain from taking 2 hour naps in the afternoon...no can do! But seriously, covering the crack of light may be the key. I woke up at 6am because of my alarm and then continued to sleep until 7:30 at which time I decided to go for a run. This time I went around the lake instead of to the beach. It feels like that might also be 5km but I'm not sure. It took me the same amount of time as the 5km did yesterday. Then I showered and made it in time for breakfast! I joined some of the other B band ppl and found out that Jaden had the key to the band room :) so I spent almost 2 hrs practicing. Then I decided to take a break and go look at the menu for the courtyard again so I could decide what I wanted to order. When I got to the website, I noticed a blurb on the bottom that mentioned a fire that they recently had in the air ducts of the restaurant. I read the letter that was posted and realized that that was why no one was picking up the phone when I called to make reservations yesterday. They will not be opening until September, so Dustin and I have to find a different restaurant :s I spent the rest of the morning looking for options and found quite a few that I never noticed before. One of them totally had me convinced as soon as I saw it, but they are not open in the summer months for some strange reason. I managed to find 5 new ones to look at and sent them to Dustin. After lunch, some more practicing and a 3 hour nap, we met up online and quickly narrowed it down to 2. Alelier didn't have any pictures of the actual restaurant on the website and I was at the point where all the menus looked good so the mood of the interior was going to be the tie breaker. So I walked over to the mysterious restaurant and met a lady who was also looking for it! We found the address on a small building that looked like it was a house at some point. There was no sign with the restaurant name on it but when I looked inside it was definitely a restaurant. Really cozy and small and the diners sit in booths which is nice for some privacy. I'm going to go back on a tues-sat when the are open and see if I can look inside while it's up and running. Right now it looks a little sketchy, but I was talking to Emma about it and she said that a lot of places in little Italy look like that but the food inside will not disappoint! It's also only a 25 minute walk away. The neat thing about Atlier is that you just show up and get a 12 course tasting meal for a fixed price. The menu changes due to what's in season and such but it seems like a well thought out idea. The other top choice restaurant is called 18 and the menu is similar to that of the courtyard. They also have a 5 course blind tasting option for a very similar price. It looks like there is more substance to the dishes in this one whereas Atelier looks more like edible art. I think I need to sleep on this lol. Anywho, after my walk I watched "sex and the city" with Emma and then "how I met your mother" with the guys.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
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?
Friday, July 30, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, July 26, 2010
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.
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!
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!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
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!
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 :)
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 :)
Monday, July 19, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
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
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
Friday, July 16, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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.
Monday, July 12, 2010
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.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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
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
Saturday, July 10, 2010
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
Friday, July 9, 2010
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...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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!
Monday, July 5, 2010
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.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
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.
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