This is how you get it done....

... or my three years in High School Marching Band

I know I've talked about this before... but since my guys won the state championship... indulge me.

I got tears watching the video that goes along with that above article. Why? Because moments like that you'll never forget.

Let me paint a picture of what it takes to stand on that field, and be presented as the state champion:

The season starts soon after the 4th of July. The band gets the music, the guard starts learning the flag work. Everyone gets refreshers (or lessons) on marching. By the end of that month everyone can march, left foot first. We can all take exactly 8 steps for ever 5 yards (10 steps going backwards). We can all stand at attention. We all have pride.

Every rehearsal starts that same. When I was in school it was 3 4 hour rehearsals a week, one 2 hour one. Everyone arrived at 5:45, because at 6 you were lined up in your sections and you marched to the field. You gave your very best while you were out there. If you messed up (dropped a flag, tripped over your feet, got yelled at by the Drill Staff) you did push ups. Trust me, the same mistake was never made again.

Band camp never yielded stories like they did in the movies. Band Camp was a week of 6 hour rehearsals in the hottest part of the summer. (The only story I ever had was when I nearly passed out) By the end the show has basically been learned. All that is left is perfecting it.

Starting soon after Labor Day, the competitions start. Those days are long: three hour rehearsal in the morning, dinner, dressing then off to compete. Competition started long before we got into the stadium. Competition started on the buses. Traditionally, the buses went silent as soon as we exited the highway. Everyone mentally went through the show, and got ready for the night's performance. After warming up, the band gathers, and the director says the same thing: "Say a prayer, say a silent prayer. not for yourself, but for others. That they might do their very best." That's the definition of team. Then the band gets into formation, and marches over. Silent feet, proud faces to the ticking of drum sticks.

How does West Genesee achieve excellence year after year? The staff, students and alumni expect excellence. It's as simple as that. The expectations are set high, the students practice discipline and everyone works hard.

That's why you saw tears in the eyes of the guard as the final score was read. They, and obviously the rest of the band set an amazingly high standard and worked spectacularly hard to achieve it.

And when you are touched by something as great as this, it changes you forever.

Something afoot at the Circle-K

Well, no... it's church, but that title was better.

I got less than lovely news over the weekend. Apparently church is hurting for money, and among other things, they are keeping the heat at 58 degrees. Yes, we'll have to wear gloves and winter coats.. inside.. on Sunday mornings. I find this disturbing for many, many reasons.

• To any visitors, it makes us less than desirable.
• I don't think the choir can practice, or sing in those temperatures. I know I can't. (I have cold induced asthma)
• It's going to drive people, and their money, away.
• We give money to charity every week... maybe we should keep it a few weeks to catch up?
• How about the children, and babies in the nursery? That can't be healthy.

I've heard of people considering leaving the church, and going to one with heat. I've considered stopping my automatic payments.. especially if I'm going to avoid the place until warmer weather comes.

I, and many others, pay as much as we can every month. I, and many others, have the money automatically sent to the church. We're doing all we can, but they want and need more.

I don't have any money left for y'all. Sorry.

Now, I need to decide if I want to even bother going to service tomorrow. I might stay in my warm house and do laundry.

Poor planning on your part shouldn't require a crisis on mine...

... but all too often it does.

There are a few things I can't do in short notice. I can't find you meeting space in our building after 3, I can't have a meal catered. I can't get you an AV person for your lecture. I can't order lunch for you (especially if you don't tell me what you want!).

Now, I'm usually very good at my job, but some things I just can't do.

And when do I get asked to do these things? When the professors forget to tell me that they need something. They forget, and I get panicked emails over night about said things. And it's up to me to fix it.

Sometimes it just doesn't get done. And I feel awful.

I shouldn't.

It wasn't my fault.

I need to let it go.

I woke up today thinking it was Friday

Oh how wrong I was! Don't you hate that?

The FlyLady approach goes on, albeit a day behind schedule. I'm hoping to catch up over the weekend.

I'm contemplating going back to Weight Watchers, since it was working. But it's $40 a month. I'd get half of that back, but man, that's a lot of money. And if the rumored changes at church happen, money is about to become a very sore subject.

Can I justify the cost (that will leave me VERY short every single paycheck.)

It will take some more pondering, I think.

Well, it was a good start....

I decided that I'm going back to FlyLady this week.

Well, a modified version. Fly lady focuses on a room a week. I live in a small two bedroom apartment.... I focus on a few tasks in each room every day.

Well, I'm already behind. We went on a campus tour, and the almost two hour walk around campus (and the five hours of office crap after) just sucked the life out of me. Between setting up my new computer (the office bought me one, for working from home), making dinner and the fatigue.. I'm kinda done.

But fear not. I'll regroup tomorrow and just add scrubbing the kitchen counters to the bathroom cleaning on tap for tomorrow.

I have a plan. I just need to keep with it!

And in the realm of less angsty news....

FINALLY, I'm looking at a week where I have little in the way of outside commitments. And this is good! Because it looks like a bomb exploded in my house.

I have a plan, I have help. I just need motivation. Why? because a nap sounds really good right now.

And there's an added bonus of shingles going around the office. Great.....

Warning! Not fit for Human Consumption!

I need that warning written on a t-shirt sometimes.

I completely blew up at a friend yesterday. I understand that he's all clean food crusading. I totally get it. But when I say that I have monetary and time issues with shopping at farmers markets, don't tell me that I don't. I know he meant well.

I've gotten awfully tired of being.. well... preached at... at church. Now, my church doesn't preach about God or Jesus or all. My church usually gets preachy about environmental issues, social justice issues and money. These topics seem to come in waves. The spring generally brings the environmental topics, and the winter brings the money. I understand that these are serious issues, but really do we need to hear it from different people, in different ways, for months on end?

Maybe it's just my non-confrontational nature acting up. Maybe it's my situation (No, I can't use a rain barrel or plant a garden, I live in an apartment!). Maybe it's just fatigue. I've done what I've can. I've given all of the money that I can give. I understand that Wal-mart is bad, but they have whatever I was there for cheaper that the store you prefer.

In the end, I'm sure that this pressure to be a perfect UU is all internal. I know that I'm not being judged, or laughed at. But at times I feel under a microscope.

And when I'm under that microscope, I need to learn to tell people to drop the subject. Or I need to walk away.

Or there might be tears, like there was yesterday.