A Look Into My Future, etc. - 6/6/2007 in 2005 - 2007: High School

Ugh.

My biological clock is feeling the forty-eight hours from Sunday night to Tuesday night as one very long day right now. My body and mind are reacting accordingly. I have been very disoriented since the mid-afternoon of the very long day, which I think was Monday morning. So these entries might be somewhat incoherent. Which I will no doubt find very frustrating.

Sunday night was the jazz band's final concert. It was at a jazz club in the city. We rented the place out. So it felt like we were actually playing at a jazz club, while in reality we were just playing for our parents in a building that is normally a jazz club. It was pretty cool, I guess.

I was talking to Dave on the sidewalk outside the club when Rob walked up to us.

"Woah, hey," said Dave. "Are you playing? Are you the surprise combo?"

"Yup."

"Is Jay here?" I said.

"Yup. He's across the street buying Mr. Casto a drink. And probably getting a drink for himself."

"Isn't he like nineteen?"

"Yup."

"How's college?"

"Drunk. Very drunk. I basically just drink. All the time."

"What about marching band?" said Dave.

"Man, marching band is awesome. Marching band is so much better than high school marching band. So, first of all, the parts are amazing, because everybody's on such a higher level musically. Plus, they don't actually make me do anything. They don't make me march or anything. I just have to push around my cart. Plus, we get drunk all the time."

"What about... classes?" I said.

He laughed. "I haven't read a book yet this year. Freshman year's so easy. I just have my engineering classes, plus like, English. I never went to that class, and then I wrote three essays that I completely made up, and then I got an A. Man, college is awesome. Someday, when you both go to college, you'll sleep a lot, and then you'll wake up, and then you'll realize that you have actually slept through your hangover. And you will be a better person."

Dave laughed. "I'm... I... Look forward to it," I said.

There was a pause.

"Hey, I haven't played my bass in like three months. This might be a problem." He walked away.

The performance went okay. I had three solos which ranged from mediocre to better than usual. It was kind of weird to play three feet away from people eating buffalo wings. The alumni band was amazing despite the fact that Rob hadn't played his bass in three months. At the end of the night, Mr. Casto gave Julian the newly created MVP award. Then the alumni band rhythm section started playing the chicken, and Mr. Casto said that anyone who knew the song could come up and play. So Julian and Mike and JV Jazz Band Guy came up, and I came up with my flute. I quickly realized that I don't know the chicken on flute. I took a very short and really pretty bad solo and faked my way through the melody a few times. But it was still fun. And if anyone asks, I can say that I've jammed with Mr. Casto and JV Jazz Band Guy, who continue to be ridiculous musicians.

Really the only other significant event of the night was the more-emotional-than-I-expected goodbye with Jack. He told me how much he liked that song I wrote and thanked me for starting the band and told me to come back and visit and gave me big puppy dog eyes as I walked away. Later my dad told me that Jack's mom told him that Jack was really flattered that I asked him to record Julian's song at all, because he thinks I'm so talented or whatever. I had no idea Jack respected me so much. I see him as my musical equal...

Mr. Casto also shook my hand very hard and told me that I am very creative and that I should definately keep in touch. I think I said something like, "Uh,"

I suck at goodbyes.

More soon.