Chicago + Auditions

I went to Chicago this past weekend for the Marching Band. It was okay. It wasn't super special awesome like I thought it was going to be.

We got on a coach bus (late, thanks to us trying to be on top of things but epic failing and having to go back and forth and to Shopko...) and departed for The State That Never Ends (also known as Illinois).

It was just like Florida all over again. Same kind of bus, same kind of groups, same kind of movies. Remember how bus 2 watched The Producers? Well so did bus 3 for the BMB. Ah, memories. And then there was the awkward napping positions... well, if you've ever been on a coach bus, you know what I'm talking about.

We got to the hotel with no injury after stopping in Madison for dinner. The hotel was okay. It had nice decorations, but the beds were FULL beds, not queen beds. Wtf. How are we supposed to comfortably fit 2 people on that little bed? Well, we did, it wasn't that bad, but I still would have preferred a queen. And there was nothing on the TV except for the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean. I hate the third one. It's stupid. And then the continental breakfast is one of the worst I've ever had. The worst continenal breakfast was one were all they served were bagels and toast. This one had eggs, but they were NASTY.

I think anything east of the Mississippi has a problem with eggs. The eggs used in the cafeteria on campus make me feel ill, and then the hotels in Chicago (or rather, Schaumberg, a suburb of Chicago) were runny and cold and watery and just, ew. I could hardly choke them down.

Then we went to Chicago just for the hell of it. Chicago is all rent. Lots of sweet architecture (pics on Facebook). And lots of hobos. There was actually a battallion of homeless people who sell magazines to you and tell you funny jokes and give tourist information. And then there are the homeless people that smell like pee... but... yeah.

I bought lots of stuff. It was exciting. We went to Navy Pier, and we rode on the gigantic Ferris Wheel overlooking Lake Michigan. I forgot how big the Great Lakes are. I've only been to Superior (and now Michigan!), and... they are freaky. I guess I still can't get over my epic fear of large bodies of water. Except Lake Michigan doesn't look like a trashbag like the Atlantic Ocean does. Or the Zumbro river.

We didn't get to stay for very long in Chicago, though, which was disappointing. There was so much more I wanted to see, like the Field Museum, and the public library (it was cool looking, okay?), and the publishing companies, and the Chicago Tribune... Okay. So I thought it was cool to actually see the building where the Chicago Trib was made. I mean, I've only been putting away and recycling their newspapers for the past four years, it was kind of awesome. I wish I could have seen the inside... Though I'm sure it's a lot like the Post-Bulletin. I guess once you've seen one newspaper building, you've seen them all? I've seen the machines that shove the advertisements in the center, I've seen the printing press and the foldy-machines and the forklifts... eh.

Then we got on a bus and drove back to Wisconsin to go to Greendale, where our exhibition performance was. We're not quite sure why we went to Chicago other than just for fun, since we had to drive 2 hours back north towards Milwaukee...? Whatever. It was kind of a bummer though, since we didn't get to see any of the other bands performing at the competition. Well, some kids did, but not the colorguard 'cuz we had to practice. Ew.

All right, I'm gonna be totally honest. I thought our practice run-throughs were kind of awful. Maybe it was because we were on a bus for several hours and we were all tired and cranky (I know I was). And cold. It was freezing out. But I just don't think any of us (not just the guard, the whole band) were feeling it. It was better by actualy show-time. Except my hands were too darn cold to do anything. I couldn't toss, I could hardly move the flag even with the gloves. We had to stand outside for a full hour before we actually went on though, and we weren't wearing our jackets or anything. The colorguard wears tank tops. Yeah. VERY cold.

I will post video as soon as I find it?





Today I auditioned for Seussical at the Eau Claire Children's Theater. I sucked. End of story. I performed "Oh What a Circus" from Evita, and I didn't even get to the good part ("But who is this Santa Evita/Why all this howling hysterical sorrow?"). I auditioned with 3 other kids (yes, kids). The 8-year-old was easily the best one in there. Then there was this really cocky 13-year-old who was... your typical theater kid if you know what I mean. And then there was a cute little boy who was so nervous and kept forgetting the words. It was really cute.

I'd really like to be in the show. I love Seussical. But 62 people auditioned last night, and there were about another 20-30 tonight. I know I won't get a lead. And... I don't know. I just don't feel confident. I didn't think the show would be so popular... =/



I'm "watching" the Packer-Vikings game. Right now, Vikes are winning 28-14. Lol. That's all I have to say. It's pretty intense here. Everybody is shrieking like howler monkeys. Pretty sure Vikings are gonna win. That's all.