< 1000 words

< 1000 words

Okay. I should update. I actually have some free time now that I'm not studying for any tests or doing homework. I had two big tests this past week. The art history one wasn't so bad, but my counterpoint test was insane. I think I did okay on it, but you know it's bad when nobody finishes the test within the class period. I spent probably 55 minutes on it and felt pretty rushed.

Anyway, here's a summary of life since the last time I posted:

Last weekend we celebrated Halloween with a party at Raji's. It was a lot of fun - a bunch of us dressed as the cast from Anchorman. Ryan was Brick, and his costume was perfect. It was cool to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. Oh, and my mom made food, so that was sweet.

A couple weeks ago I went with the band down to the state marching band championships. It also happened to be my birthday, and the rest of the staff threw me a little surprise party, complete with a homemade cake. They started to write "Happy Birthday Amy" on the cake with frosting, but they ran out of room, so it turned into "Happy Amy". It was funny. That pretty much turned into the joke for the rest of the weekend, since word got out to the rest of the band about my birthday. They sang "Happy Amy" to me (to the tune of "Happy Birthday"). Then a couple of my students made a card for me and my whole section signed it. All in all, it was a fun birthday.

Unfortunately it started raining that afternoon and the marching band show got moved into a fieldhouse. They marked the floor so the bands could march on it, but I don't think the visual judges actually judged, due to the conditions. We tried to be positive with the students about the move inside, but I know it must have been hard for them. The same thing happened my first year in marching band, but they didn't have the field house yet, so we did the performance at a stand-still in the gym. It was such a let-down. We worked all season for that performance. Now that I'm older and wiser I know that it isn't always about the end result, but that's a hard one to explain to the students. Anyway, we performed indoors and took fifth place. I think we would have done better if we'd been judged on the visual aspect of the show, since that was probably stronger than the musical aspect. The students were disappointed about the move indoors and about their placement, but they accepted it with class and maturity. As one senior said, we'd rather earn fifth place than be given first place out of pity.

I feel like this is the point where I say something to sum up the season, now that it's over. Well, I think Collicott did a really good job of leading the band. I know it wasn't easy, but I admire him because I know it took a lot of physical, mental, and emotional strength to pick up where he and G left off last year. The season seemed very surreal to me. I worked hard to do the best job I could, but it felt weird. I'm sad that the season is over because I looked forward to working with the students and seeing all the other staffers. On the other hand, I feel like some weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Teaching is hard work.

So other than that stuff, I've been spending my free time trying to accomplish everything on my "to do" list. I have started to focus on grad school again. My plans had been on the back burner since the accident, but now I'm trying to get everything sorted out so I can hopefully go to grad school in the fall. I scheduled my GRE - I take it in a month or so. Then I have another month to turn in my applications.

I've also been spending more time exercising and doing physical therapy. I meet with my athletic trainer once a week, and then I do exercises at home every day. When it was nice out last week, I went for a couple long walks on the bike trail. I walked about a mile last friday, which is a very long walk for me. It's the farthest I've been able to go on the bike trail since last October. But I probably walk about that far when I'm shopping or whatever and then I'm not paying attention to it. My knee still aches a lot but it feels a little stronger. I'm so glad my ACL is fixed now - I notice a difference. I used to hate straightening my leg because my knee would kind of lock up, but it doesn't do that anymore. My ankle has still been giving me problems, but that's not really "news". Basically it hasn't gotten much better since whenever it was operated on last, but now the cold weather is making it feel worse.

I still don't have much energy these days, and I'm hoping that comes back soon. I want to settle into a recovery/workout routine and have the energy to keep up with it once I start classes full-time in the spring. It doesn't help that I'm sick now, but hopefully I'll get over that soon.

Speaking of being sick, I think I had more to write but then I just spaced because I am a total zombie right now.

Here's a new picture I took tonight: