Day 20

20 days later and I'm in Oregon. A little over 3 weeks ago i would have never guessed that I would be here. Today I woke up and I was pretty tired. I didn't sleep well on the bus and we only got a out 2 1/2 hours of floor time. But I told myself that I could power through until lunch at least and we'll see how I feel then.

After the day meeting I chilled on the bus until I got bored enough to go watch basics. Then marching started. I think I'm starting to make little games for myself to make the day more interesting. It all depends on what we are doing that particular moment.

I spent the morning with the drums.



They spent almost an hour on the same exercise. The drums are intense. They do until it's perfect. And I think people kind of throw that phrase around.

'perfect'

Nothing can ever be perfect. Don't tell that to the Cadets drum line.

Do me a favor. Pretend you're playing a drum. Now try and get both hands to hit at EXACTLY the same time. Just once. See how hard it is. Now, imagine trying to do that with 17 other people simultaneously while playing difficult rhythms and marching at 184 beats per minute.

Remember when I said I was tired this morning. Well keep that in mind during the next part.

I was with the percussion section after lunch and I was just running the met like normal and drum major Ben came over and told me that I could take a break until the brass came together to march on the field. He was going to run the met for the drums. I said ok and went on the bus and tried to skype with my parents. It didn't work and I was gone about 20 minutes. I still had 20 minutes until I was supposed to be back. And the other drum major Brad told me to get over with the drums now because no one was there.

Why? I don't know.

The rest of the day kind of went like this. Me getting more tired and also me getting yelled at for doing what I'm supposed to. Im just getting frustrated because things break and people want me to magically make them work again. I cannot produce electricity no matter how hard I try!

Ahhhhhh!

Hell week. Hopefully this will work out or I'm in for a looooong month.


We are staying over at this school tonight. Thank God.
Going to bed early, so this day can end.

-Drew

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Location:SW Pacific Hwy,Sherwood,United States

Day 19

Well today started another cold day. Until the clouds broke and I felt like I was back in California.


Until the clouds broke and I felt like I was back in California.






Rehearsal went until about 4:30 and then we got ready for the show tonight.

Tonights show was just an exhibition performance. I think it was for the Oregon Crusaders corps who hailed from the area. There were only 4 corps and no judges/scores. We had a great show. The crowd loved us. We were on last. We played an encore as well. One of my favorite encores, Don't stop Belivin'. The crowd loved us again.

Unfortunately my phone died during some point at the show so I have no pictures.

After the show the food truck had prepared some pizza bagels and ice cream. Winning. Yes.

Now we're on the bus heading for some town in Oregon. Peace. I'm going to sleep.

-Drew

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Location:E 11th St,Medford,United States

Day 18

Today we were in Medford, OR. And we definitely entered the pacific northwest today. It rained basically all day with some sun in between.


After the day meeting everyone ran inside to rehearse inside.



I watched the brass rehearse for most of the morning until it was safe to go outside again.






I called my mom today and talked to her for a good hour or so. It was nice to talk to someone outside of the corps for a while. I felt like a NORMAL person. Instead of a 'go 110% 25 hours a day' kind of person.

Then we went outside when the sun cane out. Oregon is a pretty beautiful place when it's not raining. The sun didn't really last long though.









I never saw clouds that were so fluffy so close to the ground. Off the horizon they were engulfing the mountains!



After a brass sectional rehearsal on the field it was time for laundry day!!
We drove to the laundry mat and did our laundry.


There wasn't much in the area to go see. I went to a grocery store and walked to a subway for supper.

Now I'm back at the school looking at Sibelius for the first time on tour. I'm writing a piece for Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble. Specifically, Penn State's ensemble where I play. It is going to be good when I am done it. It I already pretty cool. I will write more about that at a later date though. For now I'm going to dig into the last movement and then fall asleep! Goodnight everyone!

-Drew


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Location:Orchard Home Dr,Medford,United States

Lost count of days. Maybe day 17?

Yesterday was basically the same day as the previous one. Rehearsal show, sleep. Wasn't really all too exciting and I didn't feel like writing a new post.

Today we had a free day in San Francisco!

It was a lot of fun. We had rehearsal in the morning before we went. We left the school around 2:00.

We got to the city via the Bay Bridge.



We got off the bus at Pier 39. Me and some friends walked around the pier and indulged in some tourist activities. Such as a mirror maze.









It was fun. Then we went to a chinese restaurant for something to eat.









It was... Erm... Interesting. I ate about half of my food. Partly because I ate only about an hour and a half before, and partly because I wasn't really a fan of the food. My friends weren't really too fond of it either. The shrimp and chicken were good, but The veggies, not so much. There were raw and fried veggies and I tried both but didn't really like them. The restaurant was right on the bay at the end of the pier.



Alcatraz


Golden Gate Bridge surrounded by fog

After that we took a walk back up the pier and headed toward fisherman's wharf. I remembered the area from when I visited there in 5th grade.









We walked and shopped for a while. Then we saw the famous sourdough bread place. We decided to stop and have a peek inside. It was a good idea.



Bread animals!



Clam chowder. In a sourdough bread bowl. Ohhhhhhmyyyyygoooooooddddddddd. It was so good!!!!!!!

Then we walked back to the pier and went to see the sea lions.








There weren't that many there. But there was a small family sitting on the dock.

Then we walked around and bought some candy to round out the great free day.



It was a really fun day. Tomorrow is a rehearsal and laundry day. So it's another short day. San Francisco was fun. Until next time San Fran!



-Drew

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Location:The Embarcadero,San Francisco,United States

Day 15

Well today was fun. We had a normal show day rehearsal with a show tonight. Oh, YEAH IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I almost forgot. I got a sticker at the meeting this morning. It was a birthday hat.




It was also very cold. But I was ok with that.


We were outside of San Francisco. We rehearsed all day until around 5 and then it ready for the show.

Tonight's dinner was exceptional. Pasta. Meatballs. Mmmm. It was tasty.


I snapped a picture of the gym after dinner. We are staying in the place 2 nights in a row because the shows are near each other.


Ok show time.

The show was at Stanford University. They had a pretty cool stadium. You can't see it until you are in it. It's covered by woods and grass and trees and stuff like that.

Here's some pics. And by some I mean a lot.
























We won again tonight. It's really cool to have the competition. Hopefully we can keep up this winning streak and gain some momentum.

On our way back to the housing site to eat and sleep. Goodnight everyone. I had a great birthday!
It hasn't really dawned on me that I have completed my teenage years.

Here's to the next 2 decades and the 2 decades after that, and the 2 decades after that...

-Drew


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Location:Ln 7 W,Palo Alto,United States

Day 14

Whew. Yesterday was a buy day. We were in Clovis, CA. We had a kind of short day. We did 3 morning rehearsal blocks. Here's some pictures.









Then we went to a rehearsal for a show called the tour of champions. Basically it is the top 8 corps from last year doing a show together. And at the end they all do an encore. So needless to say it was loud.








After that we went back to our housing site and packed up everything and went to the show.

I did all my normal work and then walked around a little bit. I found our pit warming up and doing some show chunks so I stayed and watched a little bit.




Then it was show time










We won again tonight. And we're slowly making the gap between first and second larger. Tonight we beat the Blue Devils on their home turf. We were pretty excited.

Now I'm on the bus heading for Stanford. And tomorrow is my birthday!!!!

-Drew

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