It's 11:27 and I've got a lot to do, so I'll make this blog post short just for you.

Two plates of brownies, Two liters of soda, a pizza, an answer to senior ball, music, friends, happiness, and getting paid to do it.

You wonder why I like my job?

So... It Has Come To This

The End.

For truly. I just performed in my very last Percussion concert ever. With Timpview, anyway.
And it was fun, because I somehow managed to weasel my way into playing in nearly every song!

First I played in Bien Sobroso, which was a party, and then I played a happy little solo (I wasn't aware that I was supposed to play a solo until today, so I hadn't practiced it in quite a while, and didn't really do very well, but that's okay. I had fun.) After that I played in Slavonic Dance, which I got the music for 2 days ago, and I still managed to play pretty well. I'm proud of myself. Then I played in the Bells, and then Why Not, which I've had the music for for four forevers, so they were easy, but still really fun. Then everybody got to play in Mo Java, which basically means we had a grand old time.

Oh, life is grand when all you have to do is wander around and hit stuff.

Fiesta on Cinco de Mayo

I just thought it was funny that for state band we played Fiesta, and it's Cinco de Mayo today. What a fun thing.

Anyway, my life just basically ended, but not in a bad way. We just had our very last ever Symphonic Band performance at state band today, and it was a beautiful performance indeed. I really can't say how much I love band, or how much it's changes my life, or how much I love all of the people in band, who have helped me to learn and grow so much that I feel like a completely different person than I was four years ago.

Sigh. And now it's over. But everything I learned will live on inside me forever, there's no way that I'm done improving. More importantly than helping me to get better, band has taught me how to get better, so I can continue doing it my whole life, and then help others to do it as well. One of the major reasons why I love people so much is because of band, and the love that people have shown me there.

Plus we did the name game in 1 minute and 22 seconds, which is the all time record.

My joy is full.

If Ever There Was a Time for Tears

That was very likely the last time that I will ever perform on the Timpview Stage. I'm leaving. Graduating. Hundreds of my brothers and sisters will I never see again. This was so beautiful, too. Everything was so perfect, and so happy, and so sad. I am of course looking forward to meeting new people and everything, and I know that I really will see these people again someday, but it's very emotional for me nonetheless. I just wish I could do something more for each of these people. Something that they will never forget, and will change their beautiful unique lives for the better forever. I wish that I could really show everyone how much I love them, but no matter what I do is not enough.

I can't give them a real gift by just setting up lights for their shows. It's not even enough to pour my soul into the music we play, so that our musical gift is the best it can possibly be. But what can I do? I'm so very small. Just a tiny dot in a world that billions and billions of people have lived and will live on. Most of them I will never be able to see, or help, but I want to! What can I do? I want to know.

Sometimes I think that what I've done is special, or that I do a lot for other people, but I don't. I feel terrible when I look back at how many people I could've helped, but I was too caught up in my tiny little world of my own to notice. I was too selfish, or too "busy" to help one of my eternal siblings in a time of need. And here I am again, being "tired" when there's so much work to be done--that needs to be done and needs me to do it.

My thought train sort of ran away from me there. Basically, I will very much miss the Timpview Band when I have to leave, and all of the people in it. And all of the other people that I've ever met. I even miss the people who I haven't met yet and it's driving me insane! I know that there are so many people out there who I know and love, but I don't know how I'm going to find them!

I'm so very excited to serve a mission. I want to find my brothers and sisters, and make sure that we can get back to the celestial kingdom together. 

Some More Musics

Here's to Concert Percussion:

Anyway, the point is that I played at BYU today with the Symponic Band. It was actually pretty awesome, although my music is just a little bit on the boring side. But hey, that's life, right? Anyway, I love the symphonic band; we sound amazing. That's basically all.

76 Trombones and 1 Bass Drum Player

Today started out fairly normal. Alright, at the rate this is going, this is going to be a bad post.
Let me start again.

Arghh, and avast, ye mateys! I done spotted land close to yonder shore thus beetafil' spring mornin', as me ship sailed to the cereal filled land of Journalism. After that adventure, I started walking to seminary, when I was interrupted by me favorite band student teacher Mr. Tippets. So, he says to me, he says "Sonny, I have a job for ye to do.  And I says back to him, "Any task can I complete." So basically, he tells me that I need to play in a concert at BYU tonight and sight read the music for it. WHAT?!?!?!? So, obviously, that kinda scared me, but I continued on me way anyway. And then I did EHS during 8th period in the journalism lab, and was happily joined by Riley and Kat.

Later that day...

I went to Timpanogas to spielen some music for region solo and ensemble, and we were way ahead of schedule, so the judge had me play right when I got there even though I was fifteen minutes earlier than my original time, so I didn't have time to warm up or anything. And, SURPRISE! My music was terrible. As I played it my ears cried and my spirit fled from my body. At School solo/ensemble I did pretty good, so I assumed that I'd do good at region too. Now I'm not even sure that I played the same song. It was hideous. After my tragic solo moment I somehow regained my composure and managed to perform decently in my ensembles, but that was definitely the end of my marimba solo life. The results are obvious, I got a 1- on my solo so I didn't make it to state, and the two ensembles both got 1's so I can still go to state.

Even later that day...

I rushed home from me solo-sailin', an' I wen' upon the high seas where I found me a de jong concert hall. This went much better than solo/ensemble. I thoroughly enjoyed sight reading the Bass drum part to 76 Trombones for 76 Trombones, arranged by Dan Barrett, who's an awesome Jazz Trombonist, in the concert, and I actually did fairly decently. (It was really easy music, but that's not the point. The point is that I got to play music in the de jong with BYU with Steve Call, and Dan Barrett conducting, and super awesome music majors all around me and it was SO COOL!!!! Basically it was the bestest most amazing thing ever. I felt special.) There's a video of it that will supposedly end up on youtube and that I will hunt for until I find so that I can post it on here.

Words cannot describe. Well, they can, but I'm too lazy to put that much effort into doing that right now, mostly because it's very lates at night.

Oh yes, the time is upon us where the ensembles loom and the solos approach, reaching out to slowly drain our life force and force us to forget about everything we ever knew. It really is a wonderful time of year.
Aside from that, this was definitely the most romantic Valentines day of my entire life. I would give details, except that there aren't any.
Anyway, there are things that are insanely cool, and there are things that are insanely boring, and there are things that are insanely brilliant, and there are things that are just plain insane, but no matter how you look at it, there's always something beyond even that. (No pun intended.)
You know that impulse you get to bang your head against the keyboard and then post it on your blog? Well, it annoys people, so I'm going to resist the temptation, even though it may be immensely satisfying. Although, I'm sure that some of you are thinking that this post is a result of that very activity. Well, it's not. And if you don't like my ramblings, leave a comment critiquing my soul. I believe that I am now going to go create a blog in which I can bang my head on my keyboard freely and receive no judgement for doing so.


This is a test to see if my brain and my keyboard are both still functional, and it looks that at least one of them still works.

Anyway, 12-2-14 = 0, so Valentines is cancelled anyway.



















The above blank space is dedicated to a person. It's very symbolic, but I won't tell you how.

The blank space is my brain isn't dedicated to anyone, so feel free to claim a portion. Maybe I should sell it. $25 a share.

The Life of a Me

Once upon a time, in the land of Timpview, realm of the fierce Thunderbird, there lived a strange little man named John. There was an annual festival in this mystical cavern known as the Christmas Band Concert, and as it loomed closer John was enlisted by DF, the chief of the tribe of "Bandies," to collect a token from each of the  eldest children of the tribe, and he succeeded (for the most part.) He then put these relics into a public display so that the eldest bandies could be remembered by those still new to this life in Timpview.

Anyway, enough of that.

Basically the Christmas concert was insane. It was no easy task hunting down those baby pictures.

Also I tried to do all of the stage tech by myself, while playing music that I had never seen before. In fact, we had 3 percussionists sight reading at least 6 different instruments off one sheet of never-before-seen music for the last song. It was definitely a unique experience. Good thing my slide show was going so nobody noticed the music. :)

I actually really enjoyed that concert though. It was the Christmas concert! You just can't not love it. Plus Steve Call is now my buddy, and I really like his double-belled euphonium.

This is Probably the Longest Title That I Have Ever Had For a Blog Post, But I'm Not Sure Because I Don't Want to Check

Last night I was sitting quietly contemplating life when I received a text message from Karli Ellis inviting me to the Ugly Sweater stag dance. Psh. Why in the world would I go to something like that? It sounds lame. Yet, my unpredictable mind forced me into a trance in which I put on an ugly sweater, hopped in my car and made the all-too-familiar trip to Timpview. When I came to, I realized that I was in the midst of a pretty sweet party. I thought that nobody that I knew would be at said stag dance, but it turns out that some of my very favorite people were there, and I ended up having a very enjoyable time. (And of course I ended up helping put the tech away afterwards, but that's beside the point.)


Today I had a happy time. This morning I got to witness the lunar eclipse, and this afternoon I got a stylish haircut. I do have to say though that the highlight of my day was the band concert. I was kinda worried about it because my music was pretty difficult, but I ended up playing it a lot better than I thought I would. Except secretly I messed up a little bit on Fiesta...


Well, now I must start putting together the senior slide show for the Christmas concert on Tuesday. Fun.