Month: March 2016

Huge Band Update Post!!

Last quarter (3rd quarter;even though we haven’t had Spring Break yet, it’s ALREADY 4th quarter of my 7th grade year) we took a playing test in band. Until today, we hadn’t gotten our tests back. We got them today! I was pretty scared, I thought I messed up on some part, so I was hyperventilating at the beginning of band…I was pretty sure that I would lose my (1st) chair.

Buuuuuuuuut……….

I didn’t! J got 2nd and was SUPER happy about it! D, who had been previously been 2nd, moved to 3rd (they basically switched). Other D (he likes to be referred to as “Better D”) got moved to 5th chair, and he was 7th before.

Anyway, band book 2. We’ve been waiting to finish out our book one, which we’ve been working through since 5th grade. No, we haven’t done the same warmups and practice line since then, but it has gotten annoying and repetitive. We’ve done the same warmup since beginning or middle of 6th grade! Tomorrow, though, we might be getting book 2! I’m excited to get it!

Mr. S, the music teacher who helps us out, recommended getting private lessons…I hope I can get them, because I’ll be able to advance more than a clarinetist who doesn’t take lessons, and because I can get some practice time in. It probably will only be this summer when I start though (if I even get to do them), so I have to wait a pretty long time. Though, considering how fast this year has gone by, I don’t think I’ll have to wait that long.

On another topic COMPLETELY, I’m 16 months post op! It’s almost been a year and a half! That’ll be in May…I’ll probably post about it. I feel like doing something special (like a QnA or something) but I don’t know what to do. I want to post something that I haven’t posted yet. I have a few months to think about it though, so I’ll wait to do anything until May.

-Titanium Girl 😀

Doctor’s Appointment and Band Contest

First, the doctor’s appointment…I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday with Dr. C and he doesn’t want me to come back for another YEAR. I thought he would release me, so I made him a card with a drawing of my spine on it.

I got to see E again (she used to be Dr. C’s assistant). We told her about this blog and she said she could give it to patients. She said that there were some kids who were FREAKING OUT about their upcoming surgeries, and that they could read it. I hope that some kids and teenagers like me read about my experiences get an idea of what they will go through.

Anyway, band contest. Last night I wasn’t feeling so good, and I got sick. Last year I couldn’t ride the buses with my friends to contest, and I had been looking forward to it. So when I got sick last night, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to go to contest today. Mom said I could go if I wasn’t up all night getting sick and I felt better in the morning. I felt better this morning (I felt achy and weak though) and I went. I ended up not feeling that great, but I powered through it and ignored the nausea. It was hard to keep my 4-measure breath phrasing stuff going, especially on the loud pieces, but I did what I could (I took some breaths where I shouldn’t have, but I don’t think it was noticed).

I think it was worth powering through the nausea and breathlessness, since we got gold!! It didn’t make me feel better, in fact, I was more tired after the contest than before, but it felt good to get gold.

We were a half a point away from gold with distinction (the highest level, then gold, silver, bronze, and participation), just like last year. Last year we got gold as well, half a point away from distinction.

Titanium Girl 😀