Everybody gather around, it's time for a story.
This weekend I attended a show choir competition at Urbandale. After watching our prep group, Protégé, perform extremely well, I was walking with a friend back to our room to take curlers out. We were walking along, minding our own business, when a guy, who was walking next to us, decided to strike up a conversation with us. This is how it went.
Guy: hey, where are you guys from?
Us: Happiness. Same school as Protégé, the school that just went
Guy: Ohhhh really. I’m from Linn-Mar In-Step (Linn-Mar’s prep group)
Us: Oh cool. Well good luck today!
Guy: Thanks but we already performed (said in an extremely snotty way)
Us: Aw really? We missed it. We’ve been meaning to see you too. Did it go well? We hope it did.
Guy: Oh yeah. It we did soooooo well! I think we have a pretty good shot at getting first this time. (Said with nose stuck up in the air)
Us: Well good job! We wish you the best of luck tonight at awards (flashes hugnormously fake smile)
Guy: Yeah thanks, but we don’t need it (walks away)
We stood there for about 30 seconds a little dumfounded at what just happened. We had always been told to be good people first so by hearing this extremely arrogant underclassman, it was hard not to tell him something like, “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t go around saying things like that to people! That is extremely rude, arrogant, and unnecessary. You’re giving your show choir and extremely bad name by saying all of that to us. Especially since we aren’t even competing against you.” It would’ve been so easy to tell him off, but we had to stay cool and wish him the best of luck because we have always had people with extremely good sportsmanship. So instead, we went back to our homeroom where we proceeded to tell everyone we could about what just happened and gossip about how extremely dumb and arrogant all the Linn-Mar members think they are. That’s how it’s done. It got even better when In-Step got third place and Protégé got first.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Psychotic God Warrior
Attached is one of the most ridiculous videos on youtube.com I have ever seen. It’s a section of one of Fox’s Trading Spouses episodes.
Some background; trading spouses is another one of those reality shows that basically exposes the idiotically, insane people of the world these days. It takes two families who have agreed to trade moms slash wives and in the end they each get a fairly hefty sum of money. The scandalous part is the families are always opposites and the other wife gets to choose what the other family spends their money on. So there are obviously going to be numerous fights and conflicts and name calling going on. Really shows off America’s good side.
In this particular episode, there are two families. One that is pretty hardcore Christian and follows the bible to the tee. The other that has an open mind about things and follow astrology and hypnotism. When the wives returned to their homes is when this video begins. The good ol’ Christian woman is the definition of a nut case. She runs (kind of) around yelling “That house is dark sided!” “I am a god warrior! I had to put on armor just to walk up out of that house!” “I AM A GOD WARRIOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” then she proceeds to blame her family for all of it because they didn’t pray for her and complained that she had to take the family to a catholic church.
Isn’t that what a “god warrior” is for? To make believers of people? Instead of worrying about herself and whining and crying, she probably should’ve been trying to make people see her side of things. She should have taken the advantage to giver her side of all their beliefs and discussed them with the family she was staying with. It’s unbelievable to ridiculous some people can be.
When I saw this video, I wanted to yell at this lady through the computer screen and maybe even slap some sense into her. She is throwing a huge tantrum over an experience she should be thanking fox for giving her. This experience showed her she’s not quite as strong as she thought she was and needs much more faith.
Some background; trading spouses is another one of those reality shows that basically exposes the idiotically, insane people of the world these days. It takes two families who have agreed to trade moms slash wives and in the end they each get a fairly hefty sum of money. The scandalous part is the families are always opposites and the other wife gets to choose what the other family spends their money on. So there are obviously going to be numerous fights and conflicts and name calling going on. Really shows off America’s good side.
In this particular episode, there are two families. One that is pretty hardcore Christian and follows the bible to the tee. The other that has an open mind about things and follow astrology and hypnotism. When the wives returned to their homes is when this video begins. The good ol’ Christian woman is the definition of a nut case. She runs (kind of) around yelling “That house is dark sided!” “I am a god warrior! I had to put on armor just to walk up out of that house!” “I AM A GOD WARRIOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” then she proceeds to blame her family for all of it because they didn’t pray for her and complained that she had to take the family to a catholic church.
Isn’t that what a “god warrior” is for? To make believers of people? Instead of worrying about herself and whining and crying, she probably should’ve been trying to make people see her side of things. She should have taken the advantage to giver her side of all their beliefs and discussed them with the family she was staying with. It’s unbelievable to ridiculous some people can be.
When I saw this video, I wanted to yell at this lady through the computer screen and maybe even slap some sense into her. She is throwing a huge tantrum over an experience she should be thanking fox for giving her. This experience showed her she’s not quite as strong as she thought she was and needs much more faith.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Blogs
This is a required blog so I’m just gonna get it out of the way right off the bat.
Mr. Ayers, our AP Lang teacher wants a whole bunch of feed back from everyone about blogging and all that good stuff, so here goes:
I think there are pros and cons to blogging. Let me start with the pros. It gets the students to write a little every week and experiment with certain types of techniques we may have learned recently. It lets them figure out what they like and dislike and get a little more comfortable with different techniques. Those are the obvious pros.
Now to mask those pros with some cons. I personally dislike blogging. It causes frustration and uses up time that I would much rather be using for something more productive like watching TV or hanging with friends. Now that may not seem like a productive way to use my time if you’re at all like my mother, but it keeps me happy and sane so what’s there to complain about? The blogs, however, do not do a great deal in keeping my sanity in check. It’s so frustrating to have to sit there and pull something out of thin air to blog about. There are only so many show choir competitions and events we attend to rave or complain about and as of right now, show choir is basically my life. Nice segue into my next complaint.
Blogs take up many of my precious minutes in a week. As I mentioned, I’d much rather be doing something else. With show choir season in full boom, I have little time to spend with my friends, much less my family. I’d rather spend that time making relations with people and having fun.
It’s not that I have ADD, but I get distracted extremely easily when I get on the computer to do school work. It’s like the internet is against me. On those little nifty side bars on every single page there are different websites to go to that look so inviting. It’s like they’re crying out to me, “Katrina! I hate you and I want you to procrastinate further. Looky here! Here’s some pretty cool websites to check out with cute clothes, funny videos, and cute little animals that say really funny things! Go there! It’ll be worth it! Blogging doesn’t matter!” What can I do when an opportunity like that presents itself? Not go there? I don’t think so! Everyone has to admit they’ve been distracted by those devious little sidebar attractions. If not, cudos to you. You’ve obviously got this whole “priority” concept down. If we were to go back to writing notebook entries, that may help me out a little. I could put myself in my room and not be so easily distracted.
I’ve never taken the initiative to actually sit down and make a pros and cons list, but it seems to me that if one would do that for blogs, cons would win. It may be because I don’t see all the pros in my frustration with the cons, but as far as I’m concerned, cons dominate.
Mr. Ayers, our AP Lang teacher wants a whole bunch of feed back from everyone about blogging and all that good stuff, so here goes:
I think there are pros and cons to blogging. Let me start with the pros. It gets the students to write a little every week and experiment with certain types of techniques we may have learned recently. It lets them figure out what they like and dislike and get a little more comfortable with different techniques. Those are the obvious pros.
Now to mask those pros with some cons. I personally dislike blogging. It causes frustration and uses up time that I would much rather be using for something more productive like watching TV or hanging with friends. Now that may not seem like a productive way to use my time if you’re at all like my mother, but it keeps me happy and sane so what’s there to complain about? The blogs, however, do not do a great deal in keeping my sanity in check. It’s so frustrating to have to sit there and pull something out of thin air to blog about. There are only so many show choir competitions and events we attend to rave or complain about and as of right now, show choir is basically my life. Nice segue into my next complaint.
Blogs take up many of my precious minutes in a week. As I mentioned, I’d much rather be doing something else. With show choir season in full boom, I have little time to spend with my friends, much less my family. I’d rather spend that time making relations with people and having fun.
It’s not that I have ADD, but I get distracted extremely easily when I get on the computer to do school work. It’s like the internet is against me. On those little nifty side bars on every single page there are different websites to go to that look so inviting. It’s like they’re crying out to me, “Katrina! I hate you and I want you to procrastinate further. Looky here! Here’s some pretty cool websites to check out with cute clothes, funny videos, and cute little animals that say really funny things! Go there! It’ll be worth it! Blogging doesn’t matter!” What can I do when an opportunity like that presents itself? Not go there? I don’t think so! Everyone has to admit they’ve been distracted by those devious little sidebar attractions. If not, cudos to you. You’ve obviously got this whole “priority” concept down. If we were to go back to writing notebook entries, that may help me out a little. I could put myself in my room and not be so easily distracted.
I’ve never taken the initiative to actually sit down and make a pros and cons list, but it seems to me that if one would do that for blogs, cons would win. It may be because I don’t see all the pros in my frustration with the cons, but as far as I’m concerned, cons dominate.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Show Choir Rankings
The long awaiting, annual show choir rankings are finally up. Show choir ranking is a system an organization has come up with to place all show choirs in the nation. There are, of course, flaws in the system. If a show choir has only competed in one contest and did well, of course they’ll be at the top of the list; whereas a show choir who’s competed at a few competitions and did extremely well at two and got maybe third or second at the other one will be placed below the show choir who has only competed in one competition. The list will be updated throughout the year as the show choir season progresses. That will give everyone a more accurate look at how each show choir is doing. This list shouldn’t be taken to heart, but it’s a fairly decent source to refer to. Following are the top 100 show choirs in the nation, according to this system.
1-Wheaton Warrenville -220.00
2-Linn-Mar-212.00
3-Urbandale-208.00
3-Waubonsie Valley-208.00
5-Findlay-202.50
6-Cedar Rapids Kennedy-192.50
7-Fairfield (OH)-191.00
8-La Crosse Central-190.50
9-Franklin Central -190.00
10-Buffalo Grove -188.00
11-Olentangy -186.00
12-Twinsburg -183.67
13-Ankeny-183.00
14-Cedar Rapids Washington-182.00
14-Eisenhower (IL)-182.00
16-Petal-180.00
17-Piqua-179.33
18-Center Grove-178.00
18-Hastings-178.00
18-Teays Valley -178.00
21-Omaha Westside-177.00
22-Poca-174.00
23-Lincoln Southwest0-173.00
24-Grand Island Northwest-172.00
25-Pella-170.00
26-Janesville Craig-169.00
27-Homewood-168.00
27-Milton -168.00
29-Cedar Rapids Xaiver-166.00
29-Dekalb-166.00
29-Waconia-166.00
32-Marysville -165.00
33-Cedar Rapids Prairie-164.00
33-Johnston-164.00
33-Troy Buchanan-164.00
36-Wahlert-163.00
37-Pleasant Hill-162.00
38-Eau Claire-161.00
39-Dowling Catholic-158.00
39-Emmetsburg-158.00
41-Brodhead-156.00
41-Chesterton-156.00
41-Cory-Rawson-156.00
41-Newton-156.00
45-Albertville-154.00
45-Carroll (IN)-154.00
45-Davenport Central-154.00
45-Garfield Heights -154.00
45-St. Clairsville -154.00
50-Colerain -153.00
50-Iowa City West-153.00
50-La Crosse Logan-153.00
53-Sioux City East-152.50
54-Bemidji-152.00
54-Preble-152
54-Solon-152.00
54-Sullivan -152.00
58-Mt. Zion -149.00
59-Nevada-146.00
59-Hudson-146.00
61-Mayville-145.00
62-Hurricane-144.00
62-North Side-144.00
62-Pascagoula-144.00
65-Valley-143.00
66-Sauk Prairie-142.00
66-Waukee -142.00
68-Medina -141.00
69-Northrop -140.00
69-Onalaska-140.00
69-Southeast Polk-140.00
72-Cabell Midland -138.00
72-Kettering-Fairmont -138.00
74-Nitro-137.00
75-Altoona -134.00
75-Keller Central -134.00
75-Mitchell-134.00
75-Neosho-134.00
75-Norwalk-134.00
80-Bloomington Jefferson-132.00
80-New London-132.00
80-West Jones-132.00
83-Manteno-130.00
84-Cedar Rapids Jefferson-128.00
85-Millard West-127.00
85-Papillion-La Vista-127.00
87-Harrisonville-122.00
88-Grand Island Senior-121.00
89-Beech Grove-120.00
89-John Hersey-120.00
89-Ravenswood-120.00
89-Reedsburg Area-120.00
93-Totino-Grace-118.00
94-Beavercreek -116.00
95-ARTS-111.00
96-Bishop Heelena-110.00
I’m very happy with these results. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is ranked 6th and, as far as I can recollect, hasn’t ever done this well. Last year they were placed 30th in the nation and felt that was pretty good. This is the best thing that could happen to boost our moral and get us going to achieve even greater things like getting into the top 5. It’s a great year to be in Happiness.
1-Wheaton Warrenville -220.00
2-Linn-Mar-212.00
3-Urbandale-208.00
3-Waubonsie Valley-208.00
5-Findlay-202.50
6-Cedar Rapids Kennedy-192.50
7-Fairfield (OH)-191.00
8-La Crosse Central-190.50
9-Franklin Central -190.00
10-Buffalo Grove -188.00
11-Olentangy -186.00
12-Twinsburg -183.67
13-Ankeny-183.00
14-Cedar Rapids Washington-182.00
14-Eisenhower (IL)-182.00
16-Petal-180.00
17-Piqua-179.33
18-Center Grove-178.00
18-Hastings-178.00
18-Teays Valley -178.00
21-Omaha Westside-177.00
22-Poca-174.00
23-Lincoln Southwest0-173.00
24-Grand Island Northwest-172.00
25-Pella-170.00
26-Janesville Craig-169.00
27-Homewood-168.00
27-Milton -168.00
29-Cedar Rapids Xaiver-166.00
29-Dekalb-166.00
29-Waconia-166.00
32-Marysville -165.00
33-Cedar Rapids Prairie-164.00
33-Johnston-164.00
33-Troy Buchanan-164.00
36-Wahlert-163.00
37-Pleasant Hill-162.00
38-Eau Claire-161.00
39-Dowling Catholic-158.00
39-Emmetsburg-158.00
41-Brodhead-156.00
41-Chesterton-156.00
41-Cory-Rawson-156.00
41-Newton-156.00
45-Albertville-154.00
45-Carroll (IN)-154.00
45-Davenport Central-154.00
45-Garfield Heights -154.00
45-St. Clairsville -154.00
50-Colerain -153.00
50-Iowa City West-153.00
50-La Crosse Logan-153.00
53-Sioux City East-152.50
54-Bemidji-152.00
54-Preble-152
54-Solon-152.00
54-Sullivan -152.00
58-Mt. Zion -149.00
59-Nevada-146.00
59-Hudson-146.00
61-Mayville-145.00
62-Hurricane-144.00
62-North Side-144.00
62-Pascagoula-144.00
65-Valley-143.00
66-Sauk Prairie-142.00
66-Waukee -142.00
68-Medina -141.00
69-Northrop -140.00
69-Onalaska-140.00
69-Southeast Polk-140.00
72-Cabell Midland -138.00
72-Kettering-Fairmont -138.00
74-Nitro-137.00
75-Altoona -134.00
75-Keller Central -134.00
75-Mitchell-134.00
75-Neosho-134.00
75-Norwalk-134.00
80-Bloomington Jefferson-132.00
80-New London-132.00
80-West Jones-132.00
83-Manteno-130.00
84-Cedar Rapids Jefferson-128.00
85-Millard West-127.00
85-Papillion-La Vista-127.00
87-Harrisonville-122.00
88-Grand Island Senior-121.00
89-Beech Grove-120.00
89-John Hersey-120.00
89-Ravenswood-120.00
89-Reedsburg Area-120.00
93-Totino-Grace-118.00
94-Beavercreek -116.00
95-ARTS-111.00
96-Bishop Heelena-110.00
I’m very happy with these results. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is ranked 6th and, as far as I can recollect, hasn’t ever done this well. Last year they were placed 30th in the nation and felt that was pretty good. This is the best thing that could happen to boost our moral and get us going to achieve even greater things like getting into the top 5. It’s a great year to be in Happiness.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Fab Five
Every year Cedar Rapids has a show called Fab Five for the public. It’s a show where the five varsity groups in Cedar Rapids perform their show for anyone who would like to watch. Tickets are 15 dollars but it usually always gets a lot of people out to watch. It’s really nice to see the support of the public show.
This event typically takes place at the paramount theatre. Because of the flooding that happened over the summer, we weren’t able to use the theatre. Prairie High School had just built a new theatre onto their school and it’s a really big auditorium, so they decided to have them host Fab Five this year. The first time I got a chance to get a look at this auditorium was when I was on stage, ready to perform, and the curtains opened. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. It reminded me of the paramount theatre. It had a balcony and everything. The acoustics were absolutely amazing as well. The contractors obviously knew what they were doing.
The stage was absolutely gorgeous as well. It was plenty big for everything to fit on it; the whole band, both ours and their changing rooms, the risers, and plenty of room at in the front of the stage to dance! It was one of the prettier auditorium packages I have seen. It was truly an honor to perform in it.
They had a good set-up as well. They provided show choir-like foods for us to buy in between the two shows because we were not allowed to leave to get any. The only thing I didn’t like was that we weren’t allowed to play any music in our room because apparently it traveled down the hallway, through the door, down another hallway, and into the auditorium. This was a little frustrating because we always play music while we’re getting ready and sing to it and get pumped up for our performance. With no music, it just wasn’t the same. I would have listened to my iPod, but I had forgotten it this time, so I had nothing. Due to that and the fact it wasn’t a hardcore competition, it was really hard to get into it and do a really good show for the public. It definitely wasn’t our best, but I’m sure all the other groups had the same problem as they were performing. Despite all of this, we got told we gave a really good show and were very entertaining.
This event typically takes place at the paramount theatre. Because of the flooding that happened over the summer, we weren’t able to use the theatre. Prairie High School had just built a new theatre onto their school and it’s a really big auditorium, so they decided to have them host Fab Five this year. The first time I got a chance to get a look at this auditorium was when I was on stage, ready to perform, and the curtains opened. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. It reminded me of the paramount theatre. It had a balcony and everything. The acoustics were absolutely amazing as well. The contractors obviously knew what they were doing.
The stage was absolutely gorgeous as well. It was plenty big for everything to fit on it; the whole band, both ours and their changing rooms, the risers, and plenty of room at in the front of the stage to dance! It was one of the prettier auditorium packages I have seen. It was truly an honor to perform in it.
They had a good set-up as well. They provided show choir-like foods for us to buy in between the two shows because we were not allowed to leave to get any. The only thing I didn’t like was that we weren’t allowed to play any music in our room because apparently it traveled down the hallway, through the door, down another hallway, and into the auditorium. This was a little frustrating because we always play music while we’re getting ready and sing to it and get pumped up for our performance. With no music, it just wasn’t the same. I would have listened to my iPod, but I had forgotten it this time, so I had nothing. Due to that and the fact it wasn’t a hardcore competition, it was really hard to get into it and do a really good show for the public. It definitely wasn’t our best, but I’m sure all the other groups had the same problem as they were performing. Despite all of this, we got told we gave a really good show and were very entertaining.
Happy Jackets
Happiness has always been known for its great sportsmanship and being good people. Our director always tells us that no matter how well we do in a competition, we always, always, always need to be good people first. That reputation matters more to him than a trophy.
I personally completely agree with him on this subject. It’s important for people to see us as good people and for us to be liked and looked up to in that way. Directors of other schools have used us as an example for their kids. They tell them to act like us. We have those bright yellow Happiness jackets on and are extremely easy to spot, so it’s easy to know if Happiness as a whole aren’t being good people.
There has always been a 12 year old tradition that Protégé kids wear Happiness member’s jackets while Happiness performs. There’s always so much clambering around to get everyone a jacket to wear. It’s always a relief seeing those bright yellow jackets in the front two rows when we first get on stage. This will be no more for the rest of the year.
Two members of Protégé were wearing a Happiness jacket while watching another group’s show. While watching, they decided to point at one of the members on stage and laugh. I was told it wasn’t in a negative way, they were complimenting, but by pointing and laughing, it was taken the wrong way. The two girls were sitting next to one of the parents of a member in the group. Unfortunately, he took is the wrong way and got the impression the two girls were making fun of something in the show. The father wrote a strongly worded e-mail to our director to inform him of the act. He wasn’t mean or hateful in anyway, just a little upset by the events that had happened.
Our director wasn’t extremely mad by this, just a little saddened. He talked to Happiness about it and decided for the rest of the year that no one would wear Happiness jackets unless they are a member of Happiness. If he caught anyone else wearing a jacket, the person who was wearing it and the owner of the jacket would get talked to. He did this because he believes the members of Happiness get that we need to keep the reputation we have and some of the Protégé kids don’t. If the reputation is going to be ruined, let it be ruined by a person actually in Happiness, not by one not even in it. He’s willing to give it another try next year, but for the rest of the year, we aren’t allowed to give our jackets away.
I personally completely agree with him on this subject. It’s important for people to see us as good people and for us to be liked and looked up to in that way. Directors of other schools have used us as an example for their kids. They tell them to act like us. We have those bright yellow Happiness jackets on and are extremely easy to spot, so it’s easy to know if Happiness as a whole aren’t being good people.
There has always been a 12 year old tradition that Protégé kids wear Happiness member’s jackets while Happiness performs. There’s always so much clambering around to get everyone a jacket to wear. It’s always a relief seeing those bright yellow jackets in the front two rows when we first get on stage. This will be no more for the rest of the year.
Two members of Protégé were wearing a Happiness jacket while watching another group’s show. While watching, they decided to point at one of the members on stage and laugh. I was told it wasn’t in a negative way, they were complimenting, but by pointing and laughing, it was taken the wrong way. The two girls were sitting next to one of the parents of a member in the group. Unfortunately, he took is the wrong way and got the impression the two girls were making fun of something in the show. The father wrote a strongly worded e-mail to our director to inform him of the act. He wasn’t mean or hateful in anyway, just a little upset by the events that had happened.
Our director wasn’t extremely mad by this, just a little saddened. He talked to Happiness about it and decided for the rest of the year that no one would wear Happiness jackets unless they are a member of Happiness. If he caught anyone else wearing a jacket, the person who was wearing it and the owner of the jacket would get talked to. He did this because he believes the members of Happiness get that we need to keep the reputation we have and some of the Protégé kids don’t. If the reputation is going to be ruined, let it be ruined by a person actually in Happiness, not by one not even in it. He’s willing to give it another try next year, but for the rest of the year, we aren’t allowed to give our jackets away.
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