The Road Not Taken (Yet)

Thursday, May 24th, 2007, 4:00AM

I arrived at the band room a little early, as usual thanks to my marching-season habits. I noticed a few people there, but I was pretty alone. I was heading to California. More specifically, Anaheim California, I was to stay at a hotel no less than 300 feet from the front gates of the Happiest Place On Earth™. I didn’t know this trip would serve as a catalyst for a life-changing reaction, starting deep in the gut and manifesting itself in the form of spent cash, vocabulary, and attitude. They (I) say Cali can change a man. Friends and loved ones shot over gold ownership. I’d have to agree. What followed from this trip wasn’t just a vacation and chillaxation. It was a realization.

I’m 18. 18 is a common theme throughout the trip.I’ve been an ‘adult’ for about 5 months now. Legally, at least. I still live with my parents, I’m still in high school, I’m still young on the long download of life. Yet, I’m no longer a kid in several ways. I’m not just talking about the cigs, porn, guns, and lottery tickets, although they have their place. My peeps, how I talk to my peeps, what I talk to my peeps about, are all different. I’m going to college in 4 months. I’m going to be living with someone I don’t know. It’s insane! As an example of my new-realized power, I bought my first 18-only item of any real interest. I bought my friend some lighter-fluid. (ATF eat your heart out). Sure, it tain’t a big deal to anyone who has ever owned a zippo before, but it’s big to me. I can do that kind of thing. I can vote. And worst of all, I’m only going to get older. That part made me sad. Do I want to grow older? Sure, I want a job, I want to poor exorbitant amounts of money into my Mustang, I want to travel the country; but I don’t want to get older. More on this later, but the ‘older’ part of my epiphiny hit me hard.

The plane touched down rather smoothly. I felt it was going a little too fast. I hadn’t quite earned my wings from The Interntaional Microsoft Flight Acadamy located in Tyler’sRoom, Washington, so I left the pilot alone. The first day consisted of some touring (Cali isn’t where I’d want to live. NW is the greatest!) around Hollywood. The first thing I decided was needed to survive waves of immigrant attacks, crime, poverty, scam artists, and angry mothers, was a pair of sunglasses. I targeted the nearest gift shop with the frame in mind, whatever matched the closest would become mine! Amazingly, it took me about 30 seconds to locate the perfect pair. Purple sunglasses, in the style of frame I enjoy. I snatched them expecting a 15-30 dollar price tag. You can imagine my amazement when it was only 8 bucks! The sunglasses served as honorable protectors of my eye, and also an expression of the change in me to come.

I’ve been sad. I’ve been very, very, sad. I know that outwardly, I’ve pretty much been me. Cheery, witty, sarcastic, a jerk, and a little bit of gay. Inwardly, however, I’ve just been sad. A relationship so a part of me and my life ended. That’s not easy, no matter how easy I made it look. I went to Disneyland fearful of the outcome. I’m not a ride person. Roller Coasters scared me, Cali has bad air, and band trips generally lack a sense of logic or order. Yet I knew I needed a vacation, some time away from drama, life, school, graduation. I needed some time with my friends. And time I got. I went on more rides in two days than I have in my entire life! I had a blast!

The best part about the trip wasn’t placing 2nd out of 30 bands. It wasn’t sucking my wallet dry at House of Blues. I enjoyed the Pirate Dinner Adventure, but it wasn’t the best. On top of the list of awesome, was growing closer to some friends. Thank you Amy, for being my best friend, and thank for for beating my fear of Roller Coasters! Thanks Elissa, Jesika, Jessica, Amy G., Tie, Nathan, Devon (Although the last three should refrain from talking about black anything), Adri, Janna, and Minna, for making my trip the best senior band trip ever, and the best vacation I’ve ever had. Thanks Steph, Ian, and others for being my friends too, sorry we didn’t hang much at the Happyiest Place On Earth™.

Which bring me to my concluding thought, at least for the moment. I cried at Disneyland. Yup. Not because mommy wouldn’t buy me the Mickey Hat (Though it was a damn sexy hat). Not because my favorite ride was closed down. Nope, I cried in line for Soaring Over California. I was standing in line, looking at everyone (I was in the back for once), and I realized that we are all going to graduate, and we won’t know if we’ll see, talk, or even like each other in the future. Will I buy from Janna’s company? Will I goto Amy’s performances? Will they vote for me? Might my kids attend Adri’s preschool-music-therapy-thing? Will Jesika’s novels be good? We don’t know. It’s a little scary. And so I cried, because I’m going to miss you guys. All of you.

Tommy Is A Sissy: A Story Of The Effects of Dehydration

By: Tyler Doyle & Amy Johnson

There are a few things in this world that are always constant, and never false. One, you will die. Two, you will pay taxes. Three, it is important to keep your body hydrated. It is important for your health, and your daily performance. Let us consider the following example: Tommy was an average boy. He liked to hang with his friends, he liked to surf the internet, and like all boys, he liked to play sports. Unfortunately for Tommy, he didn’t like to drink water. Sometimes he’d get a headache or a cramp, but he shrugged it off, after all, he didn’t want to be teased. (Or for the more graphic readers: he didn’t want to be called a sissy). After school, on Wednesday, Tommy was playing rugby with his pals. He was convinced that all liquids were equal in the eyes of his body, and loaded himself down with Diet Coke. During the game, he didn’t want to take any breaks, lest he be called weak, so he drank no additional water.As the game went on in the 90 degree Arizonaweather, Tommy lost 6% of his body weight from a lack of hydration. At that stage in the game, he began to have difficulty concentrating. Soon he was tackling the wrong players, and couldn’t catch a single pass. His friends just thought he was being silly, but they didn’t realize the hemoconcentration was slowly suffocating Tommy. His body temperature rose to 99, and continued to climb. He no longer could spare what little water he had left to sweat and cool down. His tissues, once composed almost 75% of water, were shrinking as his body literally sucked them dry, as the baby boomers are doing to the current state of social security. As from the example Tommy did not realize the importance of drinking water and how related it is to keeping your body functioning. Tommy’s overall performance and his health were jeopardized. In the future, Tommy should drink water. He should drink one to two cups of fluid at least one hour before the start of exercise. And as well, drink eight ounces of fluid 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercising. It is also important to drink water through out the day and the sign of thirst means you are already dehydrated. In essence, water is your body (observe the use of a metaphor), and you must replenish your body’s lifeline. Not supplying water can lead to disastrous effects. Unlike Tommy, I understand how much hydration affects my performance. With an active lifestyle, it is important for me to remember and keep in mind my body’s need. Little changes, such as drinking water or juice instead of pop (I love soda pop so much I could swim in it! Really, it’s true), will make a huge difference and will be very much appreciated by my body. For me to pursue my lifelong ambition of being a professional Body Builder, a companionship with water is not only essential, it means we must become a team; my body, my dreams, and water…Team Success. 

Above is the product of Amy’s not wanting to do homework, and my easily-amused rantings. Enjoy.

Best part, she turned it in, minus the part about the sissy, and a few other minor alterations. I’d say that is deserving of an ‘A’