left it all behind

One of our sayings from marching band is to leave it all on the field after we perform. We want to do so good that there is nothing we could have done better, nothing more we could have put into the performance. We want to put so much into our show that we collapse as we leave the field. We want to leave EVERYTHING on the field.

Well, Abby took that literally. She took a pin with footprints on it, and tried to leave it on the dome floor (she lost it in warmups). Theresa took a different approach. She found a safety pin in warmups, and figured it was close enough to the dome to be called a suvenir. Matt begged to be allowed to take a hash mark (they were velcroed to the floor, because bands use different hashes than college football does).

I took yet another approach to this. I left my voice in the dome. Seriously. I’m left with just a notch above a whisper.

After teepeeing my director last week, I got a cold. A sore throat, a little sniffley. I figured that’d be it. I didn’t have time to get sick anyway. But no, I’ve gone all the way through sore throats, sniffles and stuffyness, problems breathing, not eating (I always do that when I get sick), ear aches, and now I have no voice.

It was really, really cold on state day. We had a LONG walk from the bus to our warmups. And when the big air locks closed around us, letting us into our warmup area of the dome, my voice was gone. That was it. No warning, no farewell. Just no voice.

Well, you know I have a lovely story to tell you about state. Right now all I want to do is complain about not having a voice. Do you know how hard school is? I mean, I can’t TALK to anyone. I can try. I squawk. Also, I have to ask this guy to snowball, he’s like the LAST MAN LEFT ALIVE that doesn’t have a date. But I can’t TALK, so I can’t ASK. Today had to be the longest day of my life. I can’t believe I ever contemplated being a mute. This is torture!!

Okay, now I WOULD tell you my state day story, believe me I would, but I have NO TIME. I’m going with Audra tonight into town. She has a voice lesson, and we’re going to a music shop (I have to get my clarinet fixed), and we’re turning in some applications for jobs. I have 2 applications to turn in today. I don’t know if I want to beg for more hours at the bar, go with this other job that a waitress at the bar offered me, go work with Jill at a fast food restraunt, or go with those 2 applications I’m turning in to be a host at semi fancy restraunts. AHH! Help.

One last thing. I got my research paper back today. After turning mine in, I helped Miranda write some of hers. And last night I helped Jill with hers. All this time I’ve felt so guilty, because I just did mine as quick as possible and turned it in. I hardly even checked for subject verb agreement! But, I got an A on it!! I’m so happy. I can’t remember all of the scores, but it averaged to a 91.9%