Finishing Off Foothill

According to Courtney, it's the only competition we've gone to all four years, so I'll go with that, since it sounds right. Like last year, we didn't place. And like last year, we didn't do too badly either, but we definitely could have placed...

Woke up at like 5-ish and got ready. I'm FINALLY cutting down my makeup-applying time. It only takes me like 5-10 minutes now. After four years. That's sort of sad, but hey, I don't have practice every day for that like some people... xD So I actually finished about ten minutes before Ross came and picked me up, so that was nice. We had a weird conversation about lots of weird stuff on the way there. And on the way back, but whatever. I miss our carpool convos...

The actual competition went pretty well in general - we definitely had some blips that we shouldn't have had, but overall, it was pretty good. They actually announced auxiliary captains in the beginning this time around - it was sort of weird... We scored in the mid-70s, and were one point away from placing 3rd in our division. At least I didn't drop, or else I'd be blaming myself for that point loss, even if it's probably closer to two drops to bring the score down a point (unless it's a super bad drop that wasn't recovered well). I didn't do the flip at the end though; my thumb got caught in the strap. I REALLY need to practice that more...

Not going to lie either, this comp seemed sort of surreal. There were quite a few times where I completely took in the moment, like, "I'm really doing this." There was one four-count phrase where I was pretty much going off of muscle memory (which isn't exactly good, but...). It's been a while since I've had that feeling - I used to get it all the time during field, because of the environment and the length of the show, but it's been pretty less frequent during parade.

Chris came and visited! He totally got there too late to watch us perform though. Lame. =P It's okay, we talked for a bit and he met Ross - I miss the Go5 like crazy... We are totally getting together during winter break.

Went home, took a shower, ate food. I was planning on doing homework but I sort of fell asleep instead... Same thing happened to Ross apparently. Fun. xD

So symphonic and wind placed 3rd and 1st for the concert competition, but MB/CG didn't get anything at all... =[ We had the highest marching score for our division though! Guard, as I said, was one point away from third, and percussion was 0.2 points away from placing (which is sort of depressing for them)...

To be honest, guard completely has the potential to do super well, it's just the practice etiquette and overall attitude. Band's apparently having the same problem. People just put too much stuff above band or guard, and it's ridiculous. Even with the guard, which normally has perfect attendence at all practices and sectionals, there's just a focus problem. I admit, I talk a lot too, but I know when I need to crack down and work. It's not just an extracurricular - it's a passion and a discipline. It's not some activity where you can be content with where you are at the current point - no team should be like that. I've never kidded myself that I had a perfect show. I've had anything from super crappy to great shows, but never a perfect show. There's always something that can be done better, and I don't think people realize that. Just because you didn't drop doesn't mean you had a perfect show. Just because your work looked like everyone else's doesn't mean you had a perfect show. You need to PERFORM. You need to OWN the work and make it yours, and even then, you probably won't have a perfect show. I don't know if my expectations are higher because of how I was first taught by Kelly and Jhay, but I don't think my expectations are ridiculous in any way. We just need to work harder. We're doing well, but I know we can do better - I'd really like to break 80 my last season, just once...

Four more weeks and two more competitions. Work it.