Every year for middle schoolers who play a band instrument there is something in Illinois called IMEA, or Illinois Music Educators Association. It is a program that allows you to spend a whole day playing your instrument with some great musicians from all over the state, and then putting on a show for whoever wants to come and see it. I play clarinet, and I really wanted to be in it this year. You have to audition to get in to it. I auditioned last year and made it, and it was a great experience. I learned a lot from the guest band director, and from the clarinetists sitting near me. The auditions for this year were held yesterday. I have been practicing the music since June, but I was still very nervous to audition. Only 24 clarinets can get in, and about 70 try out every year, so it's an extremely nerve-racking experience. Last year I was 6th, and this year I am hoping to get a higher chair, if I get in at all. I was so nervous during the audition; I was shaking and practically hyperventilating with fear. I went into the first room and the judge there was very nice. She asked me to play a chromatic scale and then the scale sheet that I've been practicing. I made a few stupid mistakes there because I was so nervous, but overall it was OK. After that I went in to the second room, which had another judge in it who happens to be my private teacher for clarinet. He told me to play the etude, and a few excerpts from all four movements of the first piece, and then one small section from each of the last two pieces. Once it was all over, I was so relieved that I really didn't care if I made it in at all, but after about an hour I started getting anxious about my results. When I came out of the second room, my band director and parents were there, and they told me that I did a great job, which I really hope is true! I know Marisa also auditioned on flute. I'm sure s I find out whether I made it or not either tomorrow or Tuesday, so wish me luck!
This is going to be a short post, but has anyone else noticed that above every single persons' pictures is the word 'MEEP' ? Or am I just going crazy? Let me guess, you are now very curious and have stopped reading to see this for yourself. Let me know if you see it too, or if I should get my contact prescription renewed.
I am such a hypocrite. A few days ago, I commented on Fiona's blog that I didn't see the point in seeing Finding Nemo 3D, since I've seen the movie a bajillion times. Well, guess what movie I saw today. You guessed it, Finding Nemo in 3D. I found that in 3D, this children's movie is more like a horror movie. Before you start calling me crazy, you must understand that I don't do well with 3D movies. I am a very anxious and jumpy person. If you stand in front of my face, tell me you're going to scare me, and then say "Boo" I will scream. Literally. I screamed during this movie several times. You know that part when the shark is right behind Marlin and Dori, and the scary music plays, and then it flashes to the sharks teeth? Well, I don't quite know what happened, but I found myself sitting in the seat with my hands covering my stylish-10 sizes too big 3D glasses, my knees pulled up to my face, and I couldn't breath. To answer any questions you are asking yourself right now: yes. And then, of coarse, there's the part where they see the light, but really it's one of those fish with the giant teeth trying to eat them. I jumped so high in my seat that when I landed back down, I was five feet closer to the edge of the chair then when the movie started. Yes, this is pathetic. Yes, I am a wimp. If you think that this is bad, you should've seen me watching The Knowing. It wasn't supposed to be that scary; the scariest part was that a man came up in a car and handed this little boy a rock. Within the first 20 minutes I was curled up in a ball with my face under a pillow, crying my eyes out because I was so scared. I think I'm just about the most pathetic person I know, when it comes to watching movies. And everything else. Bottom line, Finding Nemo 3D does not deserve a G rating. More like PG 13 for violence and foul language. I mean really, when Dori says " Just keep swimming".... I mean that's some R rated material right there...
As you probably don't know, or maybe you do, I am on the school cross country team. When we go to meets, we have to take the bus to another school, which can sometimes be pretty far away. On these bus rides, we tend to get a little bored, tired, and especially hungry. To solve this, we eat Gu. It is literally called Gu. It's an gooey brown substance made by the brand Cliff (if you're familiar with Cliff bars) that tastes (and smells) like sewage, but it is supposedly supposed to give you a giant burst of energy for when you run. I had never heard of this previous to our first cross country meet, and I could have lived my life perfectly fine without ever trying this nasty stuff. But, ever-so-conveniently, one of my friend's cousins works for the Cliff company. So she brings the Gu to every meet. And makes us all choke it down our throats until we are literally gagging. It's that bad. I have only ever had a finger-full of Gu, just to sample it. I will NEVER consume that stuff again. Ew. But there's more! Goo is not the only form Gu comes in. Oh no, it also comes in block form. Squishy blocks of goo that are sort of like a mix of play-do and syrup. I'm sure you're mouth is watering just imagining this. The worst part is that it doesn't even work. According to my friend, you have to eat a WHOLE package of liquid Gu or at least 6 cubes of block-form Gu, for it to take effect and give you a burst of energy. None of us were planning on experimenting with that, so, naturally, we told a poor little sixth grader that it tasted delicious and to eat the whole thing. He did. And he loved it. He scooped it up with his hands and shoveled it into his mouth until there wasn't a drop left. I don't know what's in that Gu, but five minutes later he was bouncing in his seat and shouting "ROARRRR! ROARRR!" ...so we figure it must have worked.
I am currently reading a book called the Diary of Anne Frank. It is an extremely depressing book. It's a true story about a young Jewish girl living in Germany during the time of Adolf Hitler. She has to go into hiding in a place called the secret annex just so that her family is not killed, and only because they are Jewish. The book is her diary that she kept during this struggle, and it's been translated into English so we can read it. It just makes me think how lucky we have it that we live in a time where we are free to be whatever religion we'd like. After the book it gives an epilogue that tells of the fate of Anne and her family. They all ended up being captured and sent to concentration camps, where they all died, except her father, who survived the camps. He then went on to publish Anne's diary, and since then it has become a widely known book. It is very interesting, but also very sad, to read about such a dismal time of Germany's history. As everyone knows, we had this Monday off of school for Labor Day (yay!). The Sunday before, I got together with my cousins and other relatives at my cousin Madison's house in Hawthorne Woods, Illinois, for a family barbeque. Madison has a dad named Harry (also my cousin, not my uncle) who's a construction worker, and she happens to have a HUGE backyard with a giant hill in it. I will never fully understand how he came up with this idea, but i guess to Harry, giant backyard plus giant hill, equals giant slip n' slide. Each summer, the slip n' sllide has progressed. First it started out as just a long tarp with only a tiny pool at the end. The next summer the pool got a little bigger. And next year, even bigger. And bigger. And bigger. Until I arrived at Madison's house and saw this monstrosity. V ( that's supposed to be an arrow... and the people in the pool and sliding down are some of my cousins.) Now equipped with a pool deck, a latter, and a swimming pool that Is 7 feet deep in the deep end, the slip n' slide was a great way to end our summer. We slid down it all day: on our stomachs, on our backs, going backwards, on tubes, in 3-person trains, on our knees, you name it. Someone is bound to get hurt on it one of these days... but for now it's the very best way to cool down on a hot summer day.
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me: aka an awesome personHello i'm Emily. Some things I do often are dancing, running, playing clarinet and tripping over things... I hope you enjoy reading about my super-exciting life! Archives
October 2013
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