The Tuxedo Post

This has basically been one of the best days of the year so far for me. Granted... there's only been nineteen days this year, but the first weeks back from school were kind of sucky and left me feeling defeated, plus the whole Zodiac scare didn't do much.

Anyway, the big news of today is that NYU apparently liked my prescreening CD I sent in and have invited me to audition on campus. Should I choose to accept this invitation, I'll go over to Manhattan one weekend and audition, and hopefully see a Broadway show while I'm there... maybe. We'll see. :D

I'm not as excited about NYU as I was earlier (I'm probably most likely going to CSU and then hopefully transferring to Manhattan School of Music), but I definitely want to keep my options open, and NYU is still my dream school, because it's freaking NYU. So if I get some sort of excellent offer, then so help me I'm going there.

But that's not the point of this post. What really put the icing on the cake was tonight's Senior Choir Concert. OH MY GOD. IT WAS SO AWESOME.

Everything went right... there was no "Groove Thing" Debacle like last year (though I'm of course not trying to say that last year's Senior Concert was in any was inferior to this year's... they're far too different to be even remotely comparable).

Last year's concert was a lot more traditional. All the choirs were separated, and there was very little movement among the choir as a whole. Sure, we danced and had fun, but it was different. We also ended on a mellower note, Josh Groban's "Thankful," a beautiful and meaningful piece, but not quite an audience-pleaser.

This year we ended with "Don't Stop Believin'," by Journey, to raucous applause. All the risers were placed in one long arch on the stage. There was no real sense of division between the choirs. And there was a heckuva lot more movement. I'm talking full-out dancing. I don't think I've even been in a show (and I've been in Footloose, the premiere dancing show) with such intricate dance moves that, overall, we're performed well by everyone. I would have never guessed that that would have happened, because such a large group of people would be difficult to do more than just a little bit of swaying, right?

Wrong.

Time and time again I am amazed at what this group of students can do. I first noticed it at the first dress rehearsal of Tale of Two Cities, where everyone was put together for the first time and everything just clicked, as if we'd been rehearsing for years. Then I was amazed on Art Day, when we have to maneuver ourselves around hundreds of students and faculty members AS A GROUP, all in the space of a few minutes. And now we managed to pull this off, against all odds. This group is truly miraculous.

Now, as a senior, I have the option to dress up formally for the concert as to contrast against the underclassmen, who are clad in the traditional white shirt and dark pants. I, being the freak about formal clothes that I am, decided to wear my tuxedo with my new emerald green vest. I figured there'd be a few other boys wearing suits, so the fact that I was being obnoxious wearing a tuxedo would blend in well.

Well, I was the only one wearing a tuxedo. A gentleman after the concert told me (and I choose to believe that he was just teasing playfully) that I had overdressed for the occasion.

I don't think I did.

I only get one Senior Concert. After tomorrow night, there will be no more Senior Concerts. No more miraculous dancing to tunes from Glee. Sure, I'll hopefully still be in choral ensembles in college, but there won't be anything like what I've had to offer from the THS choir.

So, I don't think it's possible to overdress for the occasion. There were plenty of girls wearing gowns worthy of prom... they didn't overdress either.

The truth is, when celebrating something as magnificent as this choir, there is nothing that can be done overboard. This choir deserves my utmost, sincere respect. In that regard, I was underdressed. There is no way to wear an outfit worthy of celebration of this magnificent group of people.

But I'm guessing a tuxedo comes close. And I'll be wearing it again tomorrow night. :)

Thankful

Greetings, faithful readers! (All four of you... lol.)

(Actually, apparently my aunt also follows my blog, so I guess she counts as an unofficial fifth reader. So there you go.)

Anyway... Happy Thanksgiving!

I happen to be celebrating Thanksgiving in a fairly less-than-traditional way-- my parents are out of town, celebrating their anniversary, so my dear, darling aforementioned aunt offered to allow me to stay at her condo for the weekend-- God bless her-- so I have been able to have a nice Thanksgiving.

Not that I'm upset that my parents are out of town-- I'm very happy for them, actually. I'm glad that they are able to still go off on random trips to continue their strong relationship. But I'm glad I was able to have a nice Thanksgiving with some family, at any rate.

That brings us to the universal theme of this post-- thankfulness. In case you haven't followed my everyday life, THS's choir actually sang a version of Josh Groban's "Thankful" at our senior concert last year, which is a very moving song. For your sake, I'll post an excerpt of the lyrics:

Somedays, we forget to look around us
Somedays, we can't see the joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we pray for
What we still can't see.
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for.

I never quite understood the meaning of this song while I was singing it during my penultimate senior concert. Now that I've become more immersed and started to grasp the fact that I'm a senior and am leaving a major part of my life behind soon (GOOD GOD, HOWARD), it really rings true. There are parts of my life that are really little things that I shouldn't be worrying about, and so many things I take for granted. When the THS Vocal Jazz Ensemble picked this up randomly one day a few weeks ago and brought it back, it truly spoke to me... despite the fact that the song itself was a bit rusty... :)

But anyway, I'm very thankful for everything that I've had the privilege to have. Even if my Thanksgiving is a little unorthodox, I realize that I should be thankful for everything I have in my life-- my family, friends, and life in general. I'm extremely privileged, and I don't think I should only look at that one day a year. I should have daily reflections of the fortune in my life, especially on those days when IB and my stressful schedule are weighting me down.

And on that note, I think I'll have another slice of pumpkin pie. :D

Bananas!

Bananas are tied with pomegranates for the award of most obscure albeit comedic fruit. And they've been the focus of my last two evenings.

In case you are blissfully unaware of my life situation, I've been playing the role of Mr. Salt in NYT's performances of Willy Wonka. And it's been an absolute blast. I can't even tell you. To properly understand the glory of NYT, you must be in one of their shows. It's absolutely wonderful.

You may also notice that I'm posting this at 2:11 am on the morning of November 21st. (The blog might be stupid and say it's 1:11 am-- it thinks I live in California). This is because I've been up till 2am these past two evenings, decorating bananas.

Yes. Decorating bananas. Dear reader, you heard (or read) me correctly.

(Disclaimer: Since I'm typing this so late at night, I cannot be held responsible for anything in the content of this blog. Then again, I'm conscientious enough to include this disclaimer, so perhaps this disclaimer should be disclaimed.)

So me and three other great NYT friends (Dave Moyer, Ali "Baba" Bongiardina, and Christa Valdez) decided to participate in the traditional "Dress-A-Banana" contest that each show offers. The winner gets the products of the fine jar (probably around $3.) The only other show I've done at NYT is Aida, and I was too afraid to dress a banana back then. But we went all out, incorporating a total of six bananas into a diorama of our stage, along with bananas representing Charlie, Willy, Grandpa Joe, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Teevee, a stage techie (representing Ali), and an oompah-loompah (dedicate to Danielle Jackson.)

All this time, I've been thinking something along the lines of "Most teens who stay out this late on weekends are drinking or partying or having intimacy with every thing that moves." But no, we decorate bananas. And if we don't win this friggin' contest, I intend to sue God, because it would be obvious that He did something wrong in the creation of this world. ¿Sabes?

And with that, my dear faithful readers (all four of you... ;D), I bid you all a pleasant evening.

Holy Crap It's Midnight

Actually... it's midnight-thirty.

And I still have work to do.

And yet I'm blogging.

Happy November!

I really don't have much to say. :P

Homecominggggg

It actually went pretty well. Much better than last year's Homecoming. The DJ was ten thousand times better. (Seriously. I did the calculations.)

Then again, maybe I'm blowing things way out of proportion since this was my last ever high school Homecoming. Depending on where I go to college (I still have no idea. :P), it may have been my last Homecoming ever. It's weird when I think about it. A year from now I'll be in college, surviving off of Ramen. It's hard to believe that this chapter of my life is coming to a close. It kinda makes me want to cry and jump for joy at the same time.

On one hand, I am very excited to be independent and start supporting myself (though my parents, God bless them, are willing to back me financially.) On the other hand, I'm going to miss the lack of responsibility that the dependence of childhood has to offer. Though college is not quite an accurate simulation of the real world, it's going to be a lot more real than the life I'm currently living.

Anyway. Tangent.

Homecoming was pretty awesome. They played some good songs-- luckily, thanks to my iPod malfunction a few months ago, I had to use the radio and so I was able to sing and dance along to most of the songs played. And, of course, the DJ played three Lady Gaga songs, which made my night. :D

Really, a night with my friends is something to be cherished. We could hang out in an old junkyard and have a great time. Though, I'm sure Homecoming (for the most part, anyway-- there were some sweaty kids) would smell a tad better. ;)

In other news, I am currently in the middle of a poke war with Jimena Vallejo. She is one stubborn son of a gun. I am also working on my ToK debate. I have to represent Diogenes, a so-called "cynic" who believed that a life free of possessions and doing whatever the heck you wanted (playing with yourself in public, for example) was absolutely okay. He was quite an interesting persona.

Reevaluating Reevaluation

And, once again, we have reached the end of a weekend. And it's 11:33, and even though I'll regret this in the morning, I'm taking the time to blog a bit, since I find it therapeutic. :)

This weekend was fairly mellow. After our Chem Test on Friday, there really was nothing that we particularly had to study. And so, I finally found some extra time to put together my college essay for the Common Application. So, I'm pretty much ready to submit my application to everything but the Manhattan School of Music, which does not accept the Common App (they just have to be different, don't they?)

So anyway, I had another college talk with my parents, who are once again suggesting that I go to CSU, because it's cheap. Don't get me wrong, CSU would certainly be a good choice for me, but I've told my parents time and time again that I feel like it's taking the easy way out. I know I can get into CSU. I want to at least try to raise sufficient funds to go to a music school.

I've always lived by a philosophy that the only you can 100% ensure you won't get something is to not go for it. There's a chance that I can get significant financial aid and live my dream of studying in New York City, which is where I'm going to end up working, anyway. (I know I can at least get a job at Ellen's Stardust Diner as a singing waiter. ;) ha.)

There is a significant advantage of going to CSU, though, even though it's in-state. There's a professor there who's been following me since I was a freshman, and I'm pretty sure I can get a significant scholarship there-- and it's already an inexpensive school to begin with. If I get a Bachelor's of Music there, I should be able to make the transfer to MSM for a 2-year grad program. Two years at Manhattan would still be enough to send me on my way in NYC, and it'd be significantly less expensive. Plus, at CSU, I would be able to study more than just music, so I could ensure that I'd have some sort of career when I get out of college to support myself-- music performance is a risky business. Especially with all the tenor-happy composers out there on Broadway. :P

I seem to be changing my plans for school every week. And I haven't even submitted any apps yet. Three weeks ago, my dream school was NYU. Now I'm not so sure.

Why must college cost so much?!? GAH.

But since I don't want to end this blog on a negative note, I had chicken Parmesan for dinner tonight. It was delicious and ate far more than the Department of Agriculture deems a full serving. :D

Art!

So, in honor of the Congress-passed National Art Appreciation Day, all of THS's choir, band, orchestra, and art students were given the day off to perform for the other students. And I've gotta say-- it went really well! :)

Now, as I'm sure everyone and their brother is aware, THS isn't exactly known for its art programs. First off, we're not an art-based school. Second off, THS is in a lower-income area, where people can't always afford the necessary materials for the creation of visual and performing arts. A lot of people will turn their noses up at Thornton High School (its art program as well as the school itself), simply because of the stereotypes that surround it. Students at the school themselves also have probably been turning blind eyes, deaf ears, and other disabled appendages to the miracle that is the Thornton High School art program.

Until today.

I was frankly amazed at the number of students who came in to watch the choir performances. We were sure that we'd get a few people out of genuine interest. But we feared that would be it. We were shocked as the auditorium slowly began filling up. Sure, a lot of them had come because their teachers had their class watch the performance, but a lot of them came out of genuine interest. (Or boredom... ha.) And a good 95% of them-- I exclude a few people who were forced by others to come, or were simply disrespectful-- allowed themselves to enjoy the performance. I think a lot of them were shocked, too. This was the first time that several of these students had ever heard the choir. Given the aforementioned stereotypes surrounding the school, they had simply assumed that the choir program would be bad. That made the performance all the more effective.

The most important thing about art day is that it raised awareness to administration, the principal, and the friggin' SUPERINTENDENT (who was kind enough to make an appearance. :D) about the importance of the arts. We survived the first $24 million budget cut, and we've got another $20 million cut to go. Historically, the arts are the first to go. Hopefully, after today's demonstration, the school board will think twice before taking anything out of the art programs.

I'm super proud of everyone (band, choir, orchestra, and visual art kids alike) who participated in today's activities. Each and every one of you took a part in maintaining what is an amazing art program. I commend each and every one of you.

You humble me. :)

Salt

Mr. Salt.

That's me. :)

When I first got the call, I wasn't entirely sure of what to make of this part. My first thought was something along the lines of "That's not a very significant role at all. :(" I, along with several other hopefuls, was hoping for the role of Willy Wonka. I'm not gonna lie. I was a tad disappointed. But after a few hours of reflection, I've come to terms with the part, and I know I'm going to enjoy it.

Mr. Salt is going to be a very fun role to play. The father of the spoiled brat. And as far as I know, I'll get to speak in an English accent, which is just legit enough for me to be completely happy with the role.

Let's think of it this way. There were 75 kids at callbacks. Even more than that auditioned. I know people who couldn't even make callbacks. People who are talented. People who did well. There were 75 kids at callbacks and only 35 roles in the show. More than 50% of the kids at callbacks have nothing. Take the 40% who do. Half of them are chorus roles. People who might... just might... have one line. If that.

I feel very fortunate indeed.

Would I rather be Wonka? Of course. In a heartbeat. But will I enjoy this role? Yes.

And I'm gonna steal the friggin' show if I can. :D