Thought or Rant of the day!!!

[Arenti]

Also because this way I invest less time in Cantr it sometimes makes me feel bad because of not doing much.

[Chroma Key]

Rain, rain, rain... Cold, cold, cold... Depressing... Depressing... Depressing...

[Snickie]

That's the one thing I dislike about Klojt: hardly anybody is awake when I'm around, except for that one night involving Kelli's (dead) char, and I went out of my way to see that and regretted it dearly when I had to wake up three-and-a-half hours later. I mean, I regretted that I'd stayed up so late, but I didn't regret seeing what I'd seen (except that I wish I knew more than I do, due to my quietly nosy nature).

But anyways. I'm also busy on Sundays doing other band-related stuff and studying and stuff like that. Usually I'll be doing the homework I neglected to do on Friday and Saturday.

Edit:
Warning: I'm about to rant really longly...and I don't care that it's not a word.
And it's great to see that someone else besides me and the other band kids and parents like marching bands! Seko, you are officially on my good list.
Most people I've met outside of band, especially here in America, are the whole "sports and cheerleading is the only good extracarricular thing about schools, bands just waste money" crowd. It drives me crazy because most of them don't realise how hard we work and often the academic benefits it brings to its students. Colleges love band students; band students are more readily accepted in top schools and excel at what they do later in life, whether it be doctoring, business, whatever. And yet here in America, the music and fine arts programs are often the first to be removed from schools when the budget starts getting tight. I find it ridiculous. I remember running some statistics back in April, and I found that about 3–5% of high school athletes get a scholarship for it and get to move on to professional sports and such. Meanwhile, some ridiculously higher percentage of band students (like, ≥60%) get music scholarships to colleges. I'm not saying sports is bad and music is good and that's the end of the story; some people just aren't good at music and excel at sports, and that's okay. What bothers me is when people bash the music programs and don't consider us as beneficial to the school culture (and real-world culture too).

I remember one time our band was at an away football game and our team was losing (which was no surprise), and this guy just starts yelling stuff like, "I wish the band would stop playing. They're not helping anything. Make them stop playing." And another time at a parent meeting, there was a parent and her daughters there, and. The mom was all like, "I raised these girls to be cheerleaders, and then SHE *points to her daughter* decides to do BAND instead. Band, of all things!" And the younger daughter's being a snob and all like, "Ugh. I can't believe I'm at a band meeting."

Newsflash to all of you people who bash bands: band isn't hell. In fact, it isn't even close. You make yourselves think it, though, because that's how you treat us. Remember your favourite movies where...uh...maybe the hero has just rescued the pretty lady and they share true love's first kiss and it's all the sweet, and music of the angels fills the background. Or maybe you like action movies and everyone is sword-fighting and blood is flying everywhere, and fast upbeat music in the background and makes your heart race and makes it that much more exciting. Whatever it is, it's likely the music that added that little bit of emotional attachment or enjoyment to it. Imagine how boring movies would be without it.

I'm not hating on people who treat us like hell, but rather the fact that they treat us like hell. And yeah, okay, I know that not everybody regards us that way and that some people go to our football games simply to listen to the band play (especially at my school, where we have both a strong band program and a bad football team). And I know some of you are going to find flaws in my argument, because I know there are flaws in my argument. I'm human like the rest of you; I'm not perfect, and I don't claim to be. Neither do the rest of the music students. We're all human beings, so why don't you treat us like humans?

^ I suppose that counts as my rant of the day. And believe it or not, I could go on about this, but I'm not going to since y'all are probably hating me already for posting this much. But it's the rant-of-the-day thread for a reason. So here's my rant.

I assure you, I don't talk this much IRL. And I'm going to shut up now.

[Rebma]

Hm, I didn't realise things got that bad in places. Maybe it's because I'm Canadian. Band members were never treated any different than anyone else in our school, but then again we never had a hierarchy type system with students either. Everyone just got along with who they got along with.

Our band and choir were filled with different types of people from different "crowds" who just liked to play and sing. Jocks, preps, foreign exchange, stoners, browners, class clowns, etc. Some of every one there.

[Snickie]

Hierarchies, as far as I see it, exist everywhere: everybody ranks people, even I do, as hard as I try not to. But people in America (or at least down where I live) seem to think that sports (particularly football) is where it's at, and cheerleading is the highest bestest* thing a high school girl can do in as far as extra-carricular activities go. I'd wager half of them if not more of people with that mindset have scorn on band therefore, for that reason. It makes no sense to me; football doesn't help you in math, cheerleading doesn't help you with language arts. Band helps with both of those things. So why is it shot down so quickly and strongly? *shakes head*

There's a country in Europe—Poland, if I'm not mistaken—that is basically centered on music. They test their youth very early in life for musical capabilities and aptitude, and if it's high enough, then it pretty much means that kid is doing music for life. I might have one or two of the details of it wrong or exaggerated or whatever, but I admire them for that.
*mustnotstartsuperlongrantagain*

* (no, I don't care that 'bestest' is not a word)

[raspberrytea]

My school was probably more like Rebma's, though I spent high school in the middle of Texas (the liberal middle ). Both the staff and the students seemed to treat band students very kindly. The football team and cheerleaders were probably at the bottom of our school, and mostly unknown. My school was very academically-oriented, though, so that may have made the difference.

[Snickie]

Ugh! Our school pretty much worships their football players, and then you have the band kids who people are like, "Oh, you're in the band? That's cool." *nods non-committally and changes the subject* They announce everything about the football team on the intercom in the mornings, and then when we come home from state marching band championships with straight Superiors and Distinguished's, it's as if nothing happened. I wish we'd get recognised just a little. A mention. "Oh, hey. Congratulations on doing so well at the band thing." I'd appreciate that. But don't do it just because I said do it.

If they don't know you're in band or you never bring it up ever, though, they treat you completely normal. And the academic teachers at my school (in my limited experience) don't like anything or anybody that interferes with their teaching rituals, so they don't care for band kids all that much.

At least our principal last year was a former band director. But now we have entirely new administrative personnel coming in. A few are coming from my middle school, and—lucky for us—are the ones who disliked the band program at the middle school, but stayed quiet about it because we stayed quiet about it. It's not like that in high school, not at all. It's much more intense, much more involved. I don't know how they're going to like it or anything, and if they don't, what does it mean for the music program?

[Mr. Black]

Man, I was in a marching band when I was in high school. Played the trumpet. For the first few years, it was absolutely awesome. In my last year, eh, not so much.

Getting shoved up against a locker and beaten by a bunch of jocks a year younger than you kinda ruins the fun.

[EchoMan]

Jocks are schmocks!

[nateflory]

<---- Band geek, and proud of it!
Had not quite enough musical talent, and never grokked the instruments I tried, so was an "equipment handler", which are those stage-crew-like people who ran around setting up the flags for Color guard, and stuff. Still got to hang with the Marching band and do competitions and games, and. I miss those fun times.

[Snickie]

^ Yay band geeks!
<-- is also a proud band geek.

RotD: I can't wait until the voting is over.

I. Hate. Political. Calls.

"Vote for Buddy Atkins, the TRUE conservative!"
"Please support my good conservative friend Bill McCollum."
"Hi. I'm Rick Scott. Please vote for me."
That's pretty much all it is.

LEAVE US ALONE. WE'LL VOTE FOR WHO WE VOTE FOR. STOP CALLING US.
*claws off ears and pours bleach in eyes*

[raspberrytea]

The only positive side to getting 4 wisdom teeth removed this morning is that I now have an excuse to do nothing but play MGS3 all day long. Work? Pfffff. I'm recovering, I can't work!

[SumBum]

I was so drugged up when I got my wisdom teeth taken out that I was pretty much stuck on the couch of a friends' house watching "Air Bud" because that's what her kids put in the VCR before running off to do other things.

[raspberrytea]

I slept off most of the effects of the Valium, but the side effects of the triple-pain-med cocktail are making me pretty woozy. I've crashed into more doorways and sofas than usual (which is already a lot). Luckily it doesn't seem to impact my shooting skills much. :p

[SekoETC]

I think I made a new record of getting to school early. I looked at the clock on my cellphone and it said 7:18 and it must've been more like 7:17 or 7:16 since it's a minute or two early. So I get to use the computer for maybe 20 minutes. It wouldn't make much sense to go waiting outside the kitchen since the door will only be unlocked around 8.