Found a Friend in the Business

I left my backpack in Mom's car and she's on an inspection. So I can't do homework until she comes home.

I'm obsessed with Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" and "With You". Mostly "With You".

Today was band's last day for a week. A whole week. They're heading up to Canada tomorrow morning. Since I have nothing better to do and since I adore band, here's the itinerary my friend dropped off for me [my notes are in brackets]:

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
4:45 AM: Arrive at school
5:00 AM: Buses depart for Los Angeles [the port is in Los Angeles]
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Arrive San Pedro, check in for cuise, board Sapphire Princess
2:00 PM: Welcome aboard meeting in Club Fusion for all students and parents
3:00 PM: Compulsory guest muster drill [I've tried, but I can't understand this]
4:00 PM: Sapphire Princess sails for Vancouver, Canada
5:45 PM: Dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room - casual dress, no shorts, blue jeans, or T-shirts
7:00 PM: Dinner ends, enjoy the ship and entertainment
11:00 PM: Lights out

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Please refer to the daily Princess Patter for information on ship activities, food service, and entertainment options.
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Performance/clinic in Princess Theater - Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble Perform
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM: Band Awards (Senior Banquet) in Club Fusion - formal attire, drinks and hors d'oeuvres served
5:45 PM - 7:00 PM: Formal dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Student only dance party in Skywalkers - please stay in formal attire for the entire evening!
11:00 PM: Lights out

Friday, May 16, 2008
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Jazz Band performance in Princess Theater Mike Vax and Bill Hill - clinicians
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: CLINIC OF ALL BANDS & SEMINAR - HISTORY OF MUSIC - JAZZ APPRECIATION - MIKE VAX AND BILL HILL - Princess Theater
4:00 PM - 5:15 PM: Student only karoke party in Skywalkers
5:30 PM: Group photo - open deck area by pool
5:45 PM - 7:00 PM: Dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room - casual dress, no shorts, blud jeans, or T-shirts

Saturday, May 17, 2008
7:00 AM: Breakfast
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Disembark the Sapphire Princess in Vancouver, Canada
10:30 AM: Vancouver City sightseeing tour
1:30 PM: Check in for ferry
2:00 PM: BC ferry to Schwartz Bay
3:15 PM: Arrive Schwartz Bay, transfer by bus to hotel
4:00 PM: Check into Victoria Marriott Hotel
5:00 PM: Jazz Band performs at Causeway near Milestone's Restaurant
6:00 PM: Concert ends with dinner on your own
10:00 PM: All students in their own hotel rooms
10:30 PM: Lights out

Sunday, May 18, 2008
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Breakfast at hotel
8:00 AM: Depart hotel for tour of Butchart Gardens
11:15 AM: Boxed lunch provided, board buses for return to hotel
12:15 PM: Return to rooms, prepare for performance
2:00 PM: All American Band Show and Contest - FULL UNIFORM [field show]
4:00 PM: Show ends at Parliament Building
5:00 PM: Dinner on your own in Victoria
10:00 PM: All students in their own hotel rooms
10:30 PM: Lights out

Monday, May 19, 2008
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Breakfast at hotel
7:15 AM: Depart for parade line up
8:00 AM: All bands in formation - we are #3 in parade
9:30 AM: Victoria Day Parade steps off
10:30 AM: Load trucks and buses for return to Vancouver
11:30 AM: Depart Victoria for ferry to Vancouver from Schwartz Bay
12:30 PM: Check-in for BC ferry
1:00 PM: BC ferry departs for Vancouver
3:30 PM: Arrive at Vancouver airport and begin checking in for flights to San Francisco.
6:40 PM: United #564 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 8:51 PM
7:45 PM: Alaska #714 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 10:14 PM
8:00 PM: Air Canada #534 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 10:15

In a nutshell, we bus down, cruise up, and fly back down. One of my friends in band is really consciencious about her grades and knows that she will have a ton of work to do when she returns. Her solution? Don't bus down or cruise up. She will just fly up on either Friday night or Saturday morning and meet band there. She flies back with band on Monday night. Though she will miss the entire cruise, I really admire her for making the sacriffice for her grades. AP testing is on Thursday for World History, and she does not want to make it up on the Wednesday after she returns. She has to take major tests on Tuesday and then she has an in-class essay on Friday, so she will be bombarded already. So she'll stay here with me and just miss school on Monday. My band geeks are going to call me at least three times a day. :) It's wonderful!

Today in orchestra, the conductor said something about how we were progressing on a certain song. He said we sounded better than his band. Because he is not the official band director (he's just the assistant band director), all the good bands (like Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble) don't go to him. He gets the... kind of reject bands (Concert Band (aka Symphonic Band) and Jazz B; Jazz A is the official Jazz Band and Jazz B is the other one for people who didn't make Jazz A). So when he made this comment, my friend whipped around to me, and yelled, "HAH! WE SOUND BETTER!" fully knowing my love for band. And of course, I shouted back at her, "YEAH, WELL IT'S CONCERT BAND! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?" Then I turned to face the conductor and he was looking at me a bit suspiciously. Oops. I totally dissed his band right there. Oh well. He'll be gone until Tuesday with band, so I guess it's okay.

There was a sign in the quad last week that said "LEI'S 4 GRADUATION". I wanted so badly to take a picture of it and upload it to the English Fail blog, but I never got around to bringing my camera to school. I'm sure there will be other signs with apostrophe misuse anyway.

Ah yes. I found a friend today. This is what this post is supposed to be about, but I digressed. She's at What She Said. I know her from camp. Band camp, of course! She's a flautist.

The backpack has returned. Time for math homework.