Hell Week Update

Hello, friends! I'm still here. I know you were terribly worried. No acrochallenge, no blog in earnest, just a Picture Sunday and a cloud of dust.

But you see, I'm smack-dab in the middle of Hell Week here. This is the week I've been alternately looking forward to and dreading for some time. Something going on every day this week. So let's do a little update.

Monday: School Band Concert

Yes, the last-ever school band concert featuring The Nephew. Hauled my cookies (and my mom's cookies) to the high school to listen to not one, not two, not even three, but four bands. The sixth grade band, the middle school band, the high school band, and in between those, the high school's jazz band.

The sixth grade band was horrible. They're always horrible, but normally they're horrible in a way where you say, "Awww, that's the sweetest thing I've ever seen." This year they were horrible in a way where I said, "If they play one more song, my head's going to explode and go flying right into the saxophone section." I sat beside my sister, and spent about a half-hour saying to her out of the side of my mouth, "Don't look at me. Do not look at me." I knew if she did the giggles would begin, and I'd be escorted out of the building by parents with hurt feelings.

The middle school band was OK, but had the annoying feature of playing two or three songs they play every single year. I swear, I could pick up my horn and play those songs, simply from the memory of going to 7 years' worth of band concerts.

The high school band was rather unfortunate. Every time I see the high school band these days it's rather unfortunate. Wasted potential, man. I guess it comes from the days when I was a high school bander, and we used to play really hard numbers and have practice every night, and, well, I guess no one wants to do that anymore.

However, the jazz band rocked, I mean, they rocked the house, and had the added attraction of Mr Nephew on the drums. He played a solo so volatile that I found myself, right there in the high school auditorium, going, "Woooooo!" I don't "wooooo" often.

However, one small thing I must say. When a band has two directors, both of them brass players, the woodwinds are always sorely lacking. I've never heard such badly out of tune clarinets, nor seen more horrifically unnatural embouchures, in my entire life. Frightening. Mr M needs to get hold of those clarinets.

Afterwards, it was home, dinner while watching the season-ending "Riches" with Stennie (over Skype), and the podcast. Then, falling into bed.

Tuesday: Car Day

Nothing Tuesday night, but my car was 1000 miles past due for a servicing, and I have traveling out the wazoo in my future, and I had to squeeze in some podmobile2 love. Had Mom follow me to the dealership early in the morning and then back to work (Thank You Mom! You have way too much to do without me), and was without a car all day.

Mom drove me back to get the car after work (Thank You Mom! etc), and when I went in to pay there was a little problem. The service manager kept making calls and checking his computer and making fretting sounds. Finally he said something about the service people writing something up wrong, and said, "OK, here's the deal. I'll charge you $9.12."

Huh? Apparently they were eating the mistakes in the writing up, and I have got no problem whatsoever with a $9.12 car servicing. They also replaced my broken dash vent for free because my car's still under warranty, which I thought was mighty nice since I broke the vent myself.

Tuesday night was free, but it rained so I once again couldn't walk (I may have forgotten how to walk by now), but I cleaned house very well indeed, stripped beds, did laundry, and practiced the clarinet so hard that I am now forbidden by Mr M to practice anymore.

Wednesday: Band Concert

Community Band concert at a retirement village in B'burg. I shouldn't have gone with all else that's going on this week, but it's always a fun concert, and I'm also doing the whole "Kellie (with an ie) Farewell Tour" thing. Have to squeeze in those last concerts she's playing in.

This was a real happening, as the band had our very first ever - heckler! I'm surprised it hasn't happened before now, really. Anyway, as we were towards the end of one song, there was a very loud booming voice, the voice of a man, with oxygen, on a Hoveround, talking on a cell phone. It continued into the director's introduction of the next song, and someone in the crowd yelled to the man, "Get off that cell phone! We're listening to music here!" To which the man replied, "Well, that music's not any good anyhow!" And of course we all got the helpless giggles, and it went back and forth for a while, he sat there on his Hoveround for a couple more songs, then he scooted away.

Afterwards it was a quick stop by Mr M's for one last run-through of our duet, a discussion of the "Riches" season-ender with ESP, a hug for the DeepFatFriar who's visiting, and the picking up of the recital programs to bring home and fold. Which I did, then went to bed.

Thursday: The Recital & Hackensaw Boys

Yep, today is the big day. Tonight is Mr M's long-awaited (well, I've been waiting a long time for it) clarinet recital. I'll be a very small part of this, playing a duet with the man. I'm nervous, I'm going to tank it, and then I'll sulk away and never be heard from again. Jude the Corruptor will also be a part of things, playing a tuba/clarinet duet with Mr M.

It's going to be a long concert.

Which worries me, because immediately afterwards I'm hauling ass (and Kellie with an ie's ass, I'm so excited) to R'noke to see the Hackensaw Boys! There's no way we'll get there before it starts, it's at a club I've never been to and am not totally sure where it is, but we'll get there, I have faith.

A side note - my friend Kellie (with an ie) is so me. I sit at home saying, "I should call Kellie and see if she wants to do something, but she has a family and wouldn't be interested." She sits at home saying, "I should call Bet and see if she wants to do something, but she's always got something going on, she wouldn't be interested." And so we don't do things. In fact, she wanted to ask at her Farewell Dinner if she could go see the Boys with me, just as I was sitting there wanting to ask her! Finally, she made the move via email, I was so happy, and we're going to have a big bust-out before she has to leave.

I still have to clean out podmobile2, do a quick shopping run, shower, get dressed, make sure I have my camera, horn, and Sherman, get my Hackensaw clothes ready to go - and I'm sitting here writing this blog. Time management was never my strong suit.

Wish me luck. With the recital and making it to the concert on time.

Friday: Graduation Night

Yep, the Big Night, my Dear Nephew will be walking down the aisle, getting that diploma, and moving his tassel from one side to the other. We hope. The latest in Taytie's "Will I or Won't I Parade" is that if he doesn't return his government book by today he will receive no diploma. He hasn't been to a class in two weeks, and though when you remind him of this task he says calmly, "Oh, yeah, it's on my list," I am certain he has no idea where it is. This is the boy who borrowed my copy of "Farenheit 911" about 3 years ago, and I've not seen it since.

Will I cry? Probably. I'll also be sitting by myself, as parents of graduates get an alloted number of tickets, and that number covers parents and a couple of grandparents. How dare school administrators not consider the importance of the aunt. Anyway, due to my dad's eyesight, my parents are the grandparents who get the tickets, and I'll be left wiping my tears on the shoulder of the stranger sitting beside me. But what a better way to make a new friend. Or enemy.

Then I'll come home and have a special Graduation Friday Chill with a big pitcher of martinis.

Saturday: Collapse

Ahhhhh. I've been looking forward to this collapse. I deserve it.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* Speaking of the Hackensaw Boys, tunes from the new album are up on their myspace page. You really should go check it out, because my favorite of the new tunes, "Radio" is one of the songs. Such lovely boys, they are.
* Paris Hilton already released from jail? Oh, that is bogus. Unspecified medical condition my ass. When did being obnoxious become a medical condition?