Days 7, 8, 9, and 10: From Home, to Home, and Back.

June 20, 2011


50 days - Blue Band Officer Week
57 days - Blue Band Marching Auditions/Band Camp Begins
75 days - Penn State vs. Indiana State


The past four days have been a whirlwind, or some kind of dream.  I feel so refreshed and in an entirely different mood than I was four days ago sitting at home fuming about my job, my place in life, and the "waiting game" that is the summer of 2011.  A trip to State College will do that.  Friday I worked a six hour morning shift at work, and thanks to a nice storm system set up over the area, business was slow, which meant I didn't have to do much of anything.  I would have posted that night but I ended up going to my cousin's graduation party, and then passed out early after I got home because Saturday was a marathon of a day.


Saturday I woke up at 7am to go see my younger cousin (the only cousin I have on my mom's side of the family) graduate from Delaware Valley HS in Matamoras, PA... Man, that makes me feel really old now.  He's going to Dominican College this fall to play NCAA Division II golf.  The ceremony itself was completely opposite of what my high school graduation was like - very informal, much quicker, less decorated, less structured.  It made me appreciate my school much more.  The graduates were facing with their backs to the crowd, and when they went to get their diploma, they walked further away from the grandstand, which makes absolutely no sense.  They stressed how graduation was a "family affair", yet photo opportunities for family members were at a minimum.


Well, after I left there, I got home, packed up for the gym and got in a rather lackluster workout, but it was something.  I focused on hitting biceps and abs pretty hard in as few sets as possible.  I'm still dealing with a nagging shoulder injury that I got back in late April doing 365lb barbell shrugs.  I'm thinking it's tendonitis that I keep aggravating every time I do chest flys or shoulder raises, so I'm deciding to take some time off to see if it heals, and focus on leg strength, cardio, and core instead.  It'll time perfectly for when I can afford to start my new supplement stack in late July, then I'll hit the weights hard for a few weeks and attempt to build up some more before the marching season begins.


I left the gym, packed up all of my things in an hour, and then hit the road for State College and made it in under three hours with two stops, great timing.  I pretty much immediately jetted off to downtown to walk around and enjoy being in State College since the weather was so nice.  I went to Kiwi to catch up with a few friends, and then I stopped by Beaver Terrace for a little while too.  I spent the rest of the night jamming through various songs with Pat for the band this fall until 2:30 in the morning. We worked through what vocal harmonies we'll be using, and figured out some songs I could take the lead on as well.  I'm particularly excited about Jumper by Third Eye Blind.


Sunday I woke up late after sleeping in, almost until noon.  We went back downtown for breakfast, and I picked up a Father's Day gift and a decal to put on my back windshield opposite of the Red Sox one that I ordered (I'll post a picture this week).  Pat and I played through some more songs that afternoon and then went to the Spikes game later that evening with a few other friends. I spent the night watching TV and relaxing.

Today is going to go down as one of the most memorable days of my life.  I constantly put myself through a reality check that I was actually on the same stage as coaching legends Joe Paterno and Mike Krzyzewski, as well as Matt Millen, Michael Robinson, Jay Bilas, and Jay Williams, all legendary athletes.  Above picture related:  I'm sitting in the top row in the bright blue shirt.  Also, photo credit goes to Mark Selders/Replay Photos.  Always good to give credit where credit is due.  I'll eventually be buying the high-res file and framing it... Anyway, ESPN really went all-out for this program, and it was an incredible experience to be a part of it.  All of the "who's who" at Penn State were all sitting right in front of me:  Sue Paterno, Tim Curley, Coach Chambers, Coquese Washington, Graham Spanier, Jay Paterno.  The production value of the special was really impressive.  It's going to air on ESPN on June 30th at 8pm - I've got my calendar marked.  I got to see so many friends today; I feel rejuvenated because of it. Just talking about this fall has got me so hyped up about marching season and what gamedays are going to be like this season.  I was pretty excited when the Paternoville guys said they plan on making a banner for me in Beaver Stadium this year.  I feel like a little kid who just went to Disneyworld, it just doesn't seem real.


The three-hour, twenty-minute drive home was pretty uneventful aside from trying to find a Sheetz in Dunmore to get a gas discount on the way home, and as it turns out I didn't even have the Weis card on me to swipe anyway, so that was a waste of a half-hour.  The weather was mostly nice and the Red Sox game was on the radio, so I didn't mind the extra driving.  


Tonight I'll be settling back in and getting ready to work from 12:00 to 5:00 tomorrow, and then I'll be taking the first charts from paper and putting them onto the drill designing software, and then possibly doing a flip or two so I can break down some video and see what needs fixing. 


That's all for now.
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