"You will NOT get your vegetables until you eat your ice cream!!" --Great Wolf Lodge commercial



Saturday, July 24, 2010

After Music Camp

Wow. I'll just put it out there--music camp was WAAAAYYY better than last year, by far. I ended up making 3 times as many friends and getting a boyfriend (we'll get to that part later), and I loved ALL of the music rather than half of it. These are the pieces the Blue Junior Band (the one I was in) played:


  1. "Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major" by Johann Sebastian Bach

  2. "March of the Irish Guard" (I only know who the Prelude and Fugue was by, the others I forget.)

  3. "Shenandoah Valley," and

  4. "Jefferson County Overture"

I started out with a second trumpet/cornet part, but then my brass instructor (not the conductor) bumped me up to the First Trumpet part!! There were only 3 of us doing those parts, and the rest were Second and Third parts. Yippee (; Unfortunately, the first trumpets weren't at the front section of the band, like a traditional set-up would be. We were at the back, where the Percussionists were. Nothing against them or anything, but generally first trumpets/cornets are at the front.

At first during rehearsals (which we had 3 times a day, 1 hour each), I thought they were too hard and boring. Probably due to the fact that I was lacking practice since April (sweat, sweat). . .so that meant my note range went down. If you're musical and play a Treble Clef instrument, you'll know what I mean when I used to be able to play a high G and it went down to a high E. But, as we rehearsed, sometime in the middle of the week, I could reach back up to at least an F, which is a major improvement, seeing how normally it would take me a month to build that back up.

I ended up having the same Musicianship teacher as last year, so it was just as boring. However, unlike last year, I paid more attention and we played a Jeopardy game yesterday to remember what we learned. My team was called, "That Team." I know--very original (; By the way, Musicianship class is basically about the history and theory of music, composers, and culture. Sounds boring, but some of it is pretty cool. Did you know that a Balalaika is a Russian version of a triangular acoustic guitar? Look it up! See, I learned something. . . gosh, I am such a band geek!! And orchestra students are called "Ork Dorks," since band people are called "Band Geeks."

My roommate was pretty awesome. I was friends with her last year, so it was a funny coincidence that she became my roommate ^o^ Remember the family friends I told you about in the previous post that were staying with us? Well, my roommate and I hung out with my then-un-boyfriend, who was part of that family, and his roommate. It's a lot of trouble to NOT mention specific names in this blog, and it'll only confuse me if I give them fake names. So I will refer to my boyfriend as "H" (without the quotes), his roommate as "K", my roommate as "L", and my sister as "A". (phew) That's easier! Anyway, we wandered around campus during free time and/or went to Tate St. (a street near campus we were allowed to shop on within the boundaries) and met up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

After lunch one day, L had to go to an orchestra private lesson early, so me, H, and K were all goofing around outside the Caf entrance. I had my trusty little ipod nano with me, so I took videos of them acting crazy and K sliding down the rails and burning his butt and walking around holding it (you had to be there!!). It was pretty much 100 degrees outside, so of course the rails were searing hot and K didn't stop and think XD

On Monday night, H called me an hour before lights out at 11:00. He asked me to be his girlfriend. I was like, "Are you for real? Or are you just testing your limits?" Because sometimes he doesn't mean what he says, or doesn't think things through enough. However, during that moment, I was holding my breath. He said he wasn't serious. I asked him again and he said "Maaaayybe. . . ." Then H finally said, "Yes, I mean it." I had to call him back later because I needed to check in with my councelors so they knew I was there, and then I said yes. I mean, H and I have know each other for a few years now, and he's my best guy friend. He still is. And always will be. I had liked H before he came down, and I was praying to God that something would happen. It was a miracle that H became my boyfriend ^__^ Unfortunately, he left today to go back up to Pennsylvania :'( We're going to try a long-distance relationship. . . .

Since H was in the Red Junior Band and K and I were in the Blue Junior Band, we couldn't see each others' concerts. L was in the orchestra, so we couldn't see hers anyway. H, A, and C, A's roommate/friend who also came down to visit, were all in Aycock Auditorium, while K and I were stuck in Taylor Theatre. I must admit, we did really well. And my lips didn't give out halfway through a high whole note like it did in rehearsals!! Everyone was on tempo, played most of the right dynamics, and, oddly enough, I never heard a woodwind crack or squeak on a note. This has been the highlight of my summer.

Now, I must survive a heartbreak and prepare myself for marching band camp this week, and Saturday is my 14th birthday. Please continue to comment, and thanks for reading this super-long post!! Been working on it for an hour. . . . by the way, I put the Tang orange juice picture back up, since my stupid background decided it wanted to abort my blog T__T Meanwhile, I am searching for a cool enough background with a black blank so my font can be white.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours (that's how Louis Armstrong signed off all his letters),

<><><>Kristen

Sunday, July 18, 2010

UNCG Summer Music Camp

Today, I am off to music camp, hence the title. I went last year; unfortunately, my MOM put me in the beginner band because apparently there were more people my age there. I was supposed to be in Junior Band. So this year, I am! If you're a musical person, you would love this camp. It's not just for band people; it includes chorus and orchestra. You are given a schedule according to when your lessons are and when you have meal breaks and free time. So basically, in between classes, I get to hang out with my new friends and walk around limited areas in the campus. And the dining hall is huge!! There's a buffet, so it's pretty much all you can eat XD Last year, I got two soft served ice cream cones every lunch and dinner ^o^

I can't wait to see what my roommate will be like--last year, she was pretty nice, didn't cause any trouble. Hopefully my new one will be like that too. I want to mingle as much as possible, not be in an all girls group. Guys can be nice too. By the way, we have family friends who came down here all the way from Pennsylvania last night! They have a 16 year old daughter, who is rooming with my big sister. Then they have a son my age, who I obviously can't room with, but still hang out. Then there's his little bro, who is 6. He'll be playing with my little sister while I'm away with everyone else.

Off the subject of music camp, I was at the beach last week. It was so cool, and the house was amazing (dude, it had an elevator!! XD XD XD). We celebrated birthdays for my aunt, uncle, and me on Tuesday. I don't want to brag, but let's just say I was given an amazing flat iron that is the most sought out and coveted. The InStyler. I was thinking, "Holy crap!! Did my aunt just give me that?! I didn't even ask for it! Who am I kidding, this thing is fantastic." I'm telling you, it's uber-amazing and works like magic on your hair. On Thursday, I woke up at 6:55 am with a mysterious fever. It was weird because I normally wake up around 10:30 or so. I was having cold spells and headaches the whole day, but that night, the fever broke. I still had a mini headache the next morning, but now I'm healed. (shouts heavenward) Thankyou God for this wonderful immune system!!

Okey-dokey, I'm off to eat lunch and watch Phineas and Ferb with everyone else. After that, we're all on the road to music camp!! ^_^

Au Revoir,
<><><>Kristen

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Independence Day

This month is going to be fabulous for me! Yesterday, of course, was Independence Day. There's this corny joke that I learned: "Is there a 4th of July in England?" You're supposed to say, "Yes; there's also a 3rd, 2nd, and so on." TEEHEE I love it!! ^o^ Check out this so cute picture of Hello Kitty:

Don't you love it?! Right now I'm in PENNSYLVANIA with my best friend, *Bubby!! XD XD XD XD Remember how I mentioned in some of my previous posts my summer plans to go up in July? Well, that long-awaited day has finally arrived!! I may not be posting for QUITE awhile; it depends when I can find time between each vacation. Bubby, say hi! "HI EVERY1!!!! IT IS SOOOOO AWSM THAT KRISPY IS UP IN PA!!!!!!! we get 2 go 2 kennywood 2moro which will b soooooooo much fun right krispy?" YES, it will!! Totally cannot wait. In case you're wondering, Krispy is her nickname for me. *Bubby is mine for hers. Hope you can read her text talk X3 Gotta go play some Mario Kart on the Wii!!


Peace out,


<><><>Kristen

Saturday, June 26, 2010

After Recreation

I'm home--yippee!! I can reconnect with the outside world again. So you want to know about Recreation? All right, I guess I can spare some time.

The Recreation Center was at an abandoned school (not dilapidated and battered--we cleaned it), and we had no AC. Instead, we had gigundo fans that were like, 30 in. in diameter. I used that to dry my hair after my short shower =} The girl's room was really large--they were all classrooms. We had clotheslines to hang up swimsuits and towels. Gosh, I guess I'm really NOT used to sleeping on an air mattress!! It was so warm at night that I just slept with no covers, and freezing in the morning.

The worship services were so wickedawesomecool; we jumped up and down and sang along to "Jumping in the House of God," which was to the beat of Peanut Butter Jelly Time with the dancing banana in the video. (which by the way, my counselor [who dyed his hair purple and shaved it off so now he has a purple scalp] dressed up in a banana suit and danced around in it at the last worship service during that song!!) X3 On Monday night, we went out to go to Fun Depot, an arcade/go-cart/laser tag center. Let me tell you--I love speeding and crashing!! (Not in real life, that stuff is fatal and illegal)

Our family that we worked for consisted of 3 girls (ages 7,4, and 1) and a husband and wife. The children were sent to the DSS, the Department of Social Services, because of their living condition and other things. They had open sewage, and a lopsided deck. Our youth group dug 270 freaking feet of 4 ditches, each 1 foot wide and 18 inches deep. If I see another mattock, shovel, or sledge hammer, I'm gonna scream!! On Friday we finally installed the pipes. (sweat, sweat) that was really strenuous. . . .we also put a cool seal on their trailer roof since it was all the way out in the sun, and repaired the deck. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but the only power tool (an electric saw) was used by an adult DX

Wednesday was when we all took a day off and went white water rafting. We did class 1-4 white waters, not above. At one of the stops, we climbed up some big rocks and jumped into the water below (no more than about 10 ft., I guess). There were a whole bunch of yellow monarch butterflies; they were beautiful. I wonder what attracted them there. . . When our raft was going down a 4 ft. drop, my friend somehow managed to stick both arms and legs up in the air and almost fall off the edge! Meanwhile I had put my paddle against her back to push her back onto the raft. I'm (finger quotes) such a life saver (finger quotes)!! I had a really good experience on that, plus my biceps got a workout (; (although the guide told us to use our body when we paddled. . .oh well!) Then the youth group went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Man, their pizza is ah-mazing!

We also went by Walmart on Thursday evening. Youth leader had to pick up a perscription for someone, so some people tagged along. One of the guys got a brilliant idea to buy us all cheap water guns, and when we got back to the Recreation Center, we ran around and squirted each other ^_^ It was a blast!! By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've been guiding you through my trip in chronological order. I hate jumping around. Friday was the last day to work, so we all pushed ourselves until we got it done. By then, we only had 20 min. to get back before dinner started, so we had to take showers afterwards (ew) DX Just so you know, we woke up at 6:00 every morning, and began working at 8:00 after breakfast and worship. So if you do the math, from 8:00 to 4:00 pm, that's 7 hrs of work, excluding the one lunch hour in between.

I had a really great experience, and this isn't corny: our youth group really did learn to work together and bond and and show Christ's ways to the family we helped. Recreation was dirty and gross, sure, but with it came fun and hard work. That's all for now, folks, so peace out!

*yawn*,

<><><>Kristen

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Recreation

Ni Hao everyone (Monica: ni lo.)! Today I'm off with the youth group to go on our mission trip, called Recreation (as you can already infer from the title). I think I mentioned it in my Vacation post over a week ago, but I'm not sure. We will be rebuilding homes and renovating, we might even use power tools. I call the chain saw!! Just kidding--that thing would probably be controlling me rather than vise versa. But I definitely can't wait to white water raft on Wednesday. . . .I've never done it before. I'm totally up for it! And let me tell you, I am bringing ZERO makeup. I mean, I'll probably rub it off from perspiration on my t-shirt, so what's the point? The only "makeup" I'm carrying is SPF 30 chapstick.

I will not be posting for a week, but I may tell you guys all about it on Saturday when I get back. Questions to think about/answer: Have you ever been white water rafting? Been hurt by a power tool (if you have, don't go into detail if you post it because all I will do is upchuck)? If you belong to a church, what kinds of mission trips did you go on? How many suitcases did you end up using? I need to go get my shoes on to leave--pray for my youth group and I as we prepare to help the folks out there!

Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Whoopee. I Got Tagged.

As you can see, Cassidy has tagged me with these questions. Oh, and here's the tag thingy:



Dang it. I can't copy and paste it. . .URRGH now I have to type it all out. . . .

  1. Be extremely beautiful or extremely intelligent? That's easy. Extremely intelligent.
  2. Go without brushing your teeth for a year, or without brushing your hair? WITHOUT BRUSHING MY HAIR!!!! Ugh. . . .just the thought of not brushing my teeth makes me want to puke.
  3. Be rich or famous? Rich. I don't want the paparazzi all over me. If I were rich, I could invest in a security system to keep them out.
  4. Have an amazing shoe or makeup collection? Well, considering I LOVE both, I'm just gonna have to choose "or". XP
  5. Be able to sing or dance? Sing. There are many reasons why I am not in Chorus. Or in dance class, either. I quit that a long time ago.
  6. Be stranded on a desert island or a desert? Desert. As long as I'm on land, I'm good.
  7. Have a computer or TV? Duh, COMPUTER!! Besides, with a computer, I can watch TV shows on there. And I hardly ever watch TV, anyway.
  8. Wear spots or stripes for the rest of your life? Stripes.
  9. Drink out of a teacup, or a mug? Teehee. . . .teacup (;
  10. Receive a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers? Flowers are pretty, buuuutt, I'd have to say chocolates. For obvious reasons!
  11. Hug or kiss from someone you love? Kiss. Not telling who. . . .
  12. Wear converse or stilettos? Stilettos. But not for an entire day. I just love how fancy they look, and my mom won't let me buy myself a pair!!
  13. Meet Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson? Neither. I want nothing to do with either of them.
  14. Faerie or mermaid? Faerie. I want to fly and/or skydive someday!!!
  15. Cup of coffee or tea? I hate tea. And coffee is so overrated. . . .Juice please!! x3
  16. Pink nails or blue nails? Blue. But pink isn't that bad. . . .it all depends on what shade for each color! I wouldn't go with something so mundane like "pink or blue," but rather "rose or turquoise."
  17. Live somewhere sunny, or somewhere cold? Sunny. 'Nuf said.
  18. Have an amazing house or car? I know nothing about cars except that they are dangerous, kill the environment, etc., so I'd go with house.
  19. Be kind or funny? Sometimes when I crack a joke, you only hear crickets. So kind would be a little easier.
  20. Eat sweets or cake? I can't believe they just asked me that. . . .sweets. Cuz cake IS a sweet, baby!!
  21. Hold a tarantula or snake? EEEEEWWW NEITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've already petted a tarantula. I'm telling ya, they may be soft as a kitten, but they are nasty little critters. Same goes for you, snake!!
  22. Wear a necklace or a ring? Necklace.
  23. Laugh or smile? Laugh, because then I could smile. Laughing without smiling is extremely hard. . . .
  24. Be hated or be a hater? Considering we're all haters, whether we like it or not, I'd rather be hated. Being a hater can get you in A LOT of trouble! Always be on the defense, guys.
  25. Wear pearls or beads? Neither. I like chains and studs and gemstones more.
  26. If you had to choose, would you rather lose your sight or hearing? I really need both to play my music and draw and all that, but I'd rather loose hearing because then I could see what I'm drawing or what notes I'm blowing through the bell of my trumpet.
  27. Have lots of money or friends? Friends.
  28. Love or be loved? I'd love, because then most people would love me since I loved them back.

Phew (wipes forehead pretentiously)! That was too much. Here are the people I will tag: Monica, Mizz Ali, and, well, I don't feel like tagging anyone else. So now you two are stuck with the burden of a long post HA!!

Peace out y'all,

<><><>Kristen

Sunday, June 13, 2010

VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY I'M FINALLY FRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry. Mild outburst of celebration there. Well, my apologies for not blogging the day school was immediately out, but as soon as I got home my family and I were headed straight to "the lake." That's right, I put quotes around it for a reason because we all call it "the lake." Not telling the specific name since I don't want you to know where I live (;

So my summer plans go like this: at the end of June, the youth group is doing this thing called "Recreation," where we go to a certain part of the state that is in really bad shape, and help rebuild and clean up homes that desperately need it. We do that for 1 week. After that, I go back to the la--I mean "the lake," then I go straight to PA to visit some old friends. I seriously cannot wait for that; I haven't been up there since exactly 1 year ago! Yes-- June 13th of 2009 was when I moved to where I am now. Anyway, after that I go to the beach for 1 week, then Music Camp for 1 week, and FINALLY, my birthday!!! I really cannot wait to turn ___ (no age specified).

Then in August, right before school starts again, I have *marching band camp* can't wait for that either. . . .even though we will be doing grueling training for the whole day. From what my sister told me, this is what it sounds like. (sweat, sweat) my summer will be really hectic, but I will be doing things that I enjoy, since this is stuff I could never pull off during the school year (dude, do you not know how many unexcused absences that could give me?! I hate doing mini vacations during that time because then I'd have too much make-up work.) Dx

Tell me what your summer plans are, if you're comfortable with doing so.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen

PS: I finally got the first 3 St. Dragon Girl volumes in the mail!! (yippee)