Monday, February 27, 2006

This One Time...At Band Camp.. NO, THAT NEVER HAPPENED, PEOPLE! That was a MOVIE.

Man I have a raging case of PMS and I'm sitting here eating 2% cottage cheese? WTF is my problem? Oh right, there is a side of chocolate chip cookies. Heavy on the chocolate.

Yeah, so I was a band geek...guess that cat shot it's ass out of the bag in last night's post. What am I gonna do - lie and say I was a super duper cheerleader? Pullllease. I'm sure there were a great many perky and friendly cheerleaders out there...but at my school...well let's say the movie Mean Girls is pretty accurate. And I'd rather be remembered as a nice Band Geek than an uptight mean slut. Ooops?! Did I say that in my outside voice??

Details...I started playing the flute in 4th grade. It stunk until about 8th grade when dum dee dum dum - I joined the junior high band. Don't get me wrong - there was NOTHING worse than junior high band because #1 we sucked, and #2 our director was geekier and nastier than any other teachers in the school.

I swear I almost quit in junior high but my mother guilted me into keeping up with it. "Oh so you want to be a quitter?" And my private lesson teacher was really good and got me hooked up with the high school band in 9th grade even though I was still in junior high.

I was pretty nerdy anyway. I had some physical difference with my hands (discussed here) that isolated me from the cool kids. Cause, as you know, being different doesn't fly with kids. And so in looking for an identity, music found me making some friends. I was a little brainy too back then (not sure what happened??) so it was pretty much nerds-ville for me anyway... and I had some friends in the honors classes too.

Only problem is I stopped being quite so smart and most of those friends didn't, so we parted ways in high school where the only subject that still made me look good was English. Probably couldn't tell that by my grammar! I swear to God knowing what I know now - I probably wasn't that far away from ADD - I have an infinitely hard time focusing on one thing for too long. But I think the teachers said it was my inability to "apply myself." Yeah those progress reports caused some painful after-dinner "discussions" about parents being disappointed and me applying myself more.

Anyway, the band geekiness. In high school I got some mentors through the music program and eventually I really came out of my shell because there I was accepted 100%. No one ever even asked me about my hands or my differences. Or snubbed me. The differences didn't matter. And that rocked.

I would say that once I got into that environment, I started focusing in more on my music talent and I got pretty good around my junior year and was first chair in my senior year. Um for those of you NOT in the KNOW regarding orchestra - First Chair = The Shit. The Princess Flutist. The Best On that Instrument. Soloist. Taking bows and crap. It was sweet.

So yeah, be a little nervous if your kid becomes a band geek...but know they will make GREAT friends. And STILL do stupid ass shit like toilet paper houses, drink (oops!), and break curfew.

Geeks can be rebels too!

9 Comments:

  • At 3:18 PM, February 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Okay, so I was a cheerleader also...and a jock...it was a small school, give me a freaking break...ANYWAY, I was the Trumpet playing mirror to your Flute player. Yes, first chair, yes, I liked it, and okay, I still play for Tucker sometimes...I'm a geek and I'm okay with it. I'll be your sister in band geekdom.

     
  • At 3:36 PM, February 27, 2006, Blogger Mrs. Flinger said…

    HAHHAA.. Yes they can, hon. I mean, me? Baritone player? Total nerd but I was ALSO on the friggin' dance team, (the "cool girls") so, eh, it's not about what you play or who you do, it's about who you are. :-)

     
  • At 3:43 PM, February 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    band geek here. but first chair flute (we are so alike!) AND color guard captain during marching season. how geeky is that?!

     
  • At 10:21 PM, February 27, 2006, Blogger RB said…

    Ah, but their rebellion has pretty decent boundaries. Would make me feel better actually. Mr. Belle was a band geek. I am tone deaf so that really wasn't an option for me!

     
  • At 8:53 AM, February 28, 2006, Blogger WILLIAM said…

    Most of my friends are geeks.

     
  • At 11:58 AM, February 28, 2006, Blogger Carrie said…

    *squirming*

    the stereotypes TOTALLY existed in our school, too.

    Despite my less-than-over-zealous attitude towards kids in anything band or theater related back in the day, I was friends with a few.

    and now??? I'm not friends with ANY of them. none of the kids from student council, none of the jocks, none of the dirtbags, none of the honors students, none of the skater kids, or any other clique I was able to comfortably converse with.

    I DO still stay in touch with my longest and best friend... for very valid and lasting reasons. She is my soul-sister... and always will be.

    but the others??? I think I knew early on that the only thing I TRULY had in common with the kids in my school is that we were born in the same town.

    I have a feeling, though, that if I knew you when.. you'd still be my lovah... band stigma and everything.

    oh! but I guess my REAL point is that I'm happy you found something that made you shine. Every kid deserves that. every one.

    XXOO

     
  • At 1:46 PM, February 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey Sus! keep the chocolate coming! And hey the coolest people now we're always the geeks/nerds in High School.;) I was one, so you're in good company girl! I wasn't a band geek, but a drama geek, but not cool drama like acting, oh no I was a "techie" I built sets and stuff. Ahhh the geekiness knew no bounds back then! So rock on girly!

     
  • At 2:57 PM, February 28, 2006, Blogger Unknown said…

    Hurray for bandies!! I just commented on your last post--I was first chair clarinet at my very, small, very cliquish HS. And our cheerleaders were "mean girls" too for the most part.

     
  • At 3:25 PM, February 28, 2006, Blogger Susie said…

    Hooray! I'm surrounded by geeks like high school.

    And Carrie, at my school, Student Council geeks were almost as bad as band geeks! Strange!

    Bridget - Dan was a drama set building tech geek. Oh how we need to expand the room to accommodate his ego when he talks about his days on the set. I'm like Dude...it was DRAMA.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home