You Can't Make This Shit Up.

AHHHHHHHHH

2006-10-13T01:37:00.000-04:00

I GOT INTO THE SYDNEY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM!!!!

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!

More thorough update at work after I have slept.

Wednesdays = Blah.

2006-10-11T12:04:00.000-04:00

Yeah, my Wednesdays aren't very exciting.

9am-ish: Wake up.
11am-5pm: Work. You know the deal here. It's boring.
5-5:30pm-ish: COMSA. Not that I don't love it, but I don't really do much.

Then I go to dinner.

7:30-11:30pm: Rehearsal for the Northeastern U. Winterguard.

Not exactly a thrilling day. But I guess it's better than having hours and hours of class. Ah well.

Thugged-Out Thursday

2006-10-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not thugged out today. I'm actually wearing a white long-sleeved Abercrombie polo with a sleeveless blue Guess shirt I stole from Rei this summer underneath it, jeans and flip-flops from American Eagle. Super cute - definitely not thugged out.

Today's been pretty chill. Went to SO203 and learned a little - and found out I really got an 87 on my quiz instead of an 80...which is a lot better than the 67s the people around me got. Oh well, guess that's what happens when you actually pay attention. Then I went to CM323, but Joyce (Prof. Macario) wasn't in. So we presented our projects, took a trip down to CFA to see an art gallery for "inspiration" and then got out 2 hours early. Hooray! They were giving out free food in Marsh Plaza, so on the way to the gallery, Liz Osaki and I got free donut holes, peanuts and English muffins!! Went back to the apartment, chilled for about an hour and a half (should've taken a nap), and now I'm at work....doing nothing.

Today is 8 months...hooray! Won't get to see him until Saturday, but it's okay. I'm patient :-)

The NU guard thing went well last night. Helped out a little with dance class, ran weapon block and taught flag work. I really want to push these kids - they can be really good...I know they can. On the way to rehearsal, though, Humphrey kept stalling whenever I stopped at a light or behind a cab or something. No good. I need to get him to Cheshire ASAP to get fixed! :-( Poor Humphrey.

I guess that's all for now. 20 minutes left of work, don't know what I am going to do to entertain myself - I'll figure out something I'm sure.

Technology Hates Me

2006-10-04T16:03:00.000-04:00

So it turns out that Humphrey's starter is fine. His battery was dead and needed to be replaced. So a potentially $400 disaster was a minor $125 problem. Fixed. Thank god. But the guy said the timing belt is loose and needs to get looked at. When I'm home this weekend, Humphrey will have a nice visit with Cousin Franky.

Unfortunately, this is not where my techonological problems end. Whenever I plug my cell phone in at my apartment, it shuts off, which is followed by me having to remove and put in the battery about two or three times before it turns back on. And when I went to the Cingular store to see what was wrong, the guy was a jerk, said nothing was wrong and that he was a "trained professional" so he obviously knows what he's talking about. Schmuck. So when I'm home this weekend I'll bring it to Lucy at the Cingular store in Cheshire and have her take a look.

And now, my iPod is broken. Bipolar, stubborn and broken. Apple can't help me because apparently it's an HP iPod, and, well, HP's tech services are going to cost too much. So when I'm home this weekend Justin is going to take a look at it. And if that doesn't work, looks like I'm spending the $263 to get myself a new iPod. Wahoo!

In other news, Justin really really really cheered me up on Sunday by surprising me in Boston. As a sidebar, I was watching a football game with Rob at the time. That's right. A football game. Mom asked me if I have a fever. I'm pretty sure I was healthy at the time, but who knows. Anyways, my eight month anniversary with Justin is tomorrow and I'm really excited about it. Eight months - can you believe it? That's crazy...but in the best way possible.

Tonight I'm going in to teach the Northeastern University winterguard. Should be interesting. I'm really excited for it. I'll be sure to write more after tonight.

Oh - and good news. Emily and I have gone to the gym TWO nights in a row. Yep - two. We're pretty intense, really. We're going to have six pack abs by Christmas. Which may or may not actually happen, considering last night after the gym we stopped and got chicken fingers and fries from Late Nite. Oops.

At work bored, but reading "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs - soooooooo good. I'll go back to reading that, and write again soon.

Humphrey Update

2006-09-30T17:07:00.000-04:00

The starter is broken. Won't be fixed 'til Monday. Can't go to Connecticut. Bullshit.

Poor Humphrey

2006-09-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

FYI: Humphey = My '97 Red Ford Contour. Love him. We've been through a lot together. Now we can add another adventure to the list...

So I am about to drive off to Cranston, RI for the Cheshire's show. Buuuut I went to start my car and it made some AWFUL noises. AAA is on their way and will hopefully make poor Humphrey work :-(

Keep your fingers crossed.

I know, I know...

2006-09-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

It's been almost six whole weeks since my last updates. I'm a bad person. I know. But in my defense I have been really busy...and just didn't feel like writing...

Since my last update, well, let's just say a LOT has happened.

Livin' the 5 Gardner Life - Yep, I am embracing the off-campus experience. The apartment is really fun, we are like a little family. And the apartment's already gotten busted (but I wasn't here, thank god). Sharing a room with Emily is like summer camp, and I love it. We have room goals (#1 - cuddle more), foam darts, fun posters (i.e. Fraggle Rock) - it's good times. Haven't embraced cooking yet, but as McDonald's used to say..."Hey! It could happen!" Now they say "I'm lovin' it" which isn't as much fun to say, but I guess I can use it at some point.
Junior Year...What?! - Just let that one soak in. I am a junior in college. Woah. My classes are really good. Well, SO203 kinda sucks but I love Professor Go so it's cool. And all my COM classes rock - Macario for two classes and Parenio for another. It's the deal, for real (Jesse Sani?). I'm PA-ing again, and my group seems to be a bit apathetic towards the program, but I have some great kids and I love the PAs! It's weird not doing Stage Troupe in the fall, but at the same time I realize it was the right decision. I am getting a lot more involved with Bay State and that is really fun. As for where I will be next semester, it's all up in the air. I turned in my application for Sydney a month early, but the program was already full! So I am third on the waiting list and desperately hoping that 3 people will drop out, or more spots will somehow become available. If not, maybe I'll go to London or L.A. or someplace. I have to go somewhere - Sasha's taking my spot in the apartment next semester; thus, I have nowhere to live in Boston. We'll see what happens - keep your fingers crossed.
Teaching Up a Storm - Continuing my love for teaching, I am a marching tech for the CHSMRB. In addition to loving teaching, I must say that it is incredible to finally get paid for it! Hooray! The band is doing well, I guess. This weekend we have a double-header against Dartmouth HS, so we'll see how all that goes. I was also just hired to go in and teach the Northeastern University Winter Color Guard, which should be fun and interesting.
The Captain's Surgery - Never really mentioned it on here before, but on September 11th, my dad had the first of two surgeries to implant an electrode into his brain that will hopefully reverse his Parkinson's by at least five years. Me, Justin, Alex and Michelle went with Mom for the day of the surgery. It was a long, tough day - and the worst day of my dad's life. Can you imagine? Awake for the brain surgery that lasted almost six hours, having a clock right in front of you, being stuck in one of those halos? Crazy. But he got through it, like we knew he would. He went in for surgery #2 on the 21st, and goes in on Oct. 3rd to get the electrode turned on. That's when we should start seeing improvement, and when this whole thing will finally be worth it.
Almost 8 Months - Who knew, right? It's been a great 8 months for sure, and I can't wait for what the future will bring. Tu j'adore, JDC.

So yeah, I will hopefully be updating this more now. I read through the whole thing tonight and it was really cool being able to look back on last semester and remember the little things that happened and see how things progressed. This blog thing is actually kind of worth it.

'Til next time...

Back Home

2006-08-18T06:54:00.000-04:00

So it's been three months, but I am finally home. The 2006 Cadets season is over, and I am now officially an age-out...I already miss the Class of 2006 but am excited to have an amazing last season with the cbccg07.

Tour was interesting...definitely some major high points and low points. We ended up in fifth place, but it didn't matter because we worked our asses off and did some incredible shit (i.e. jumping off of benches and our entire ballad).

Now I have about two weeks 'til I head back to Boston for my junior year :-)

Cadets 2006 Contact Information and Tour Schedule

2006-05-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

So tomorrrow is the day. May 18th. Move-in for my third summer with The Cadets! Really excited - can't wait for this one PLEASE send me letters and care packages and e-mails - they are the best on tour!

The Cadets

601 W. Hamilton St.

Allentown, PA 18101

*Brian Forte - Color Guard*

*You MUST put my name and section in the lower left-hand corner!!!!!!

The email address is: cadetsontour@yea.org

You MUST put "Brian Forte - Color Guard" in the subject line.

This communication will be printed and put in the mail bin to the corps for delivery on mail drop days. E-mail does not receive priority service. THIS IS NOT FOR EMERGENCIES. Members will only receive email about once a week.

If you are in the northeast...here are performances around here...
May 28 - Memorial Brass...Allentown, PA
June 11 - Bunker Hill Parade...Charlestown, MA
July 1 - Allentown, PA Show
July 2 - Beverly, MA Show
July 3 - Bristol, RI Show
July 4 - 4th of July Parades...Bristol, RI and MA Area
July 5 - Rehearsal Day...Fairfield, CT
August 3 - Clifton, NJ Show
August 4 - DCI East Regional...Allentown, PA

For the entire tour schedule...go here.

Please come to a show, e-mail me, call me, write to me, send me a care package with yummy food and pictures in it!!!!

I hope you all have a great summer - I'll miss you and can't wait to see you in August (when I am tan and skinny). Love you!!!

Tomorrow Is The Day...

2006-05-17T09:54:00.000-04:00

And I have a TON of stuff left to do!

--Door Decorations
--Write my PA Letter
--Buy 20 postcards for my advisees
--Make sure I have everything purchased
--Print out pictures at CVS
--Look through my boxes from school for tour stuff
--Make a CBCCG06 t-shirt
--Pick up my corps jacket that now has my patches on it
--Find pictures for the stage show
--PACK!!!!

Wish me luck! In like 5 seconds I am posting an entry with all my contact information for the summer.

The Countdown Has Begun...

2006-05-14T16:04:00.000-04:00

In just 4 days I will be on a Cadets bus on my way from the Pittsburgh airport to West Virginia's Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV to begin my 3rd summer with The Cadets. I can't believe it is already here, but I am so excited for it to start! I went tour shopping today with Mom (I know - "Happy Mothers Day, now buy me tour stuff!") and got a lot of stuff that I need. Best purchases of the day? My AEROBED and these HOT shoes...

Going shopping again with Justin tomorrow. Already planning good-bye dinners and all that...so weird.

I made two different CBCCG06 logos today. One has the show name and one doesn't. Not sure which one I like better yet, so I'll just post both :-)

Before I levae I will definitely be posting my contact info and tour schedule and all that.

Lovin' the Break

2006-05-11T00:42:00.000-04:00

Quick post...

Being in Cheshire before tour is grand. Getting to hang out with the family, friends from home, and of course Justin is a great thing. I've been super cleaning (my mom is calling it "purging") my room the last few days and it looks a lot better. Now I need to go through all the stuff from school.

I leave for Cadets a week from tomorrow - so weird. Can't wait though :-)

Recapping Half of a Month

2006-05-04T12:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a long time since my last entry. When was the last one...oh, Marathon Monday craziness and all that. Right. So needless to say these past few weeks have been out-of-control crazy with the end of the semester...but now it's done. Which gives me plenty of time to fill y'all in on the wonders of my life. Hah.

End of the semester work sucks. A whole lot. Let's review...one 5-page paper, 2 10-page papers, 2 exams and one final advertising presentation. Super fun. Considering how much I could've been killing myself, it really wasn't too too bad I guess. I busted out 3 good papers, rocked out 2 exams and my team got the "silver medal" award for our presentation - hooray!

Much more exciting than all that is the fact that the 2006 Cadets Color Guard has officially started!!!! We had the April camp last weekend and it was awesome. This group is going to be the deal for real - everyone is really talented and really fun! I didn't have to spin weapon (beside a few things on sabre in the ballad) so it was a great weekend hahaha. I am not going to talk too much about the show - just know that it is going to be FIERCE. And if you thought the color guard was doing some crazy dance shit in 2005, you ain't seen NOTHING yet! So excited. Get it, CBCCG06 :-)

Yesterday I had jury duty. Awesome. I was so nervous I was going to get picked - especially since the trial they brought my group in for was going to be 1-2 weeks and was a dead serious criminal case. No thanks. Luckily I was excused (thank you, Judge!) and went on my merry little way back to college life. Which, by the way, ends tomorrow because that's when my mom is coming to pick me and all my stuff up and bring us back to the 06410. So scary. In case anyone is missing the math - I am HALFWAY through college. 2 down, 2 to go. That's not right. But at the same time, it's the best thing ever. I can't wait for the next 2 years, and I can't wait to get into the real world and be in an actual agency and make money and have my ads published. Woo!!!

Justin came up last night :-) He's just kind of chillin in the room right now while I'm at work. Things are great between us - 3 months tomorrow! How exciting :-)

This is my last day of work before September. This job is great..I am sooo happy I found this one and not a crazy-go-nuts job like the ones I had been applying to before this one. Hooray for ECE!!!

OH! Brief mentions for last night's television viewing..."Lost" was AMAZING...I am really pissed Paris was kicked off "Idol"...and even though Jade needs to go, I'm kind of glad Feronda got kicked off "Top Model."

Okay so that's enough rambling. Going to go find other ways to waste time at work - maybe I'll tackle some Sudoku!

Until we meet again...

Marathon and Smoking

2006-04-19T11:55:00.000-04:00

So Monday was Patriots Day here in the lovely state of Massachusetts. This holiday is more commonly referred to as "Marathon Monday" here in Boston because it is the day of the Boston Marathon. And if you are me or Emily, you affectionately call this day "White Trash Monday." Definitely one of the best days of the year. Why a bunch of people from all over the world running 26 miles through our city means we don't have to go to classes and can drink at 11 in the morning, I don't know. But why ask questions? In the words of Nike - just do it. And we did. In trucker hats, aviators and other such white trash garb. We also met some friends along the way: the Beantown Bean, a blue-haired lab assistant and a pair of robots. We made friends with a giant chicken, but unfortunately he ruined the friendship by denying us a free T-shirt, even though we had the best chicken imitation. That jerk. Oh, and if you think I am completely talking shit right now - check out the pictures. They are proof and they are magic. Check 'em out here.

Last night, per usual, Jason, Lilla and I watched American Idol. And it was a pretty damn good episode. My favorites were Elliot, Paris and Katherine. Voted for all of them. Hopefully Ace will be kicked off. Then cut his hair. Then surprise me in my bed. Just kidding, Justin :-)

Anyways, after the show was over, we were all talking about movies we wanted to see and how we had to do work tonight but didn't know where to start. And I thought "F--- this, let's go to the movies." So at 9:06 I checked movietickets.com, and at 9:20 we walked into AMC Fenway and saw Thank You For Smoking. It was really really good. Funny and different and just plain good. Hooray! And much better than doing work. Spontaenity is a beautiful thing. Plus - I got to eat movie popcorn and have a fountain soda. Yummmmm. Can't wait to go to Cadets in a week and a half and have them tell me I gained like 30 pounds since tour. Oh well, I'll lose it anyways.

At work now, [sarcasm] having the time of my life [/sarcasm]. Oh lord, I can't believe I just used an HTML joke - working with engineers must really be getting to me. Gotta go to office hours for EN141 in about an hour to talk about the essay I am turning in tomorrow. Can you believe I finished it yesterday?? That's 2 days before it was due, and I was done. That has got to be a record for me. Let's just hope my two 10-page papers (CM380 and SO333) go just as smoothly, as well as these print ads for Six Flags I have to do for CM417. Here's hoping!

Okay, enough rambling. Time to do something worthwhile, like check MySpace or something. Hahahahaha. Later.

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T11:40:00.000-04:00

What Really Happened In Dayton

2006-04-13T20:02:00.000-04:00

Okay so instead of giving you a day-by-day account, I will summarize the best parts of the 2006 WGI Sport of the Arts World Championships...

Cheshire HS wins the Scholastic Open class - WORLD CHAMPIONS! Yup, that's right. The guard I got 10th place at the Norristown Regional in the A-class with in 2001 just became Open Class World Champions. I couldn't be happier or more proud of those girls. They were simply 'bellissimo.' And yes I cried. A lot. Especially when putting medals around their necks. So in addition to all that excitement, I realized that starting with WGI 2005 I have had a pretty successful colorguard year - a WGI World bronze, a DCI Div I gold, 2 MAC WG golds (Open and AA), and a WGI Open gold. Not too shabby lol.
Captain Mike Forte named 2006 WGI Open Class Volunteer of the Year! Can you think of anyone that deserves it more? Cuz I sure can't. My dad is the deal and he puts so much (like his entire life) into that program. He basically started it from scratch in 2001 when he "took over." And now they are world champions. Damn - my dad is awesome.
My first experiences at HeadQuarters involve meeting half the colorguard world. Gotta love Mickey Kelly and Dennis Banks for introducing me to everyone and Dennis for calling me "the one who is going to take my job." Not gonna lie - that's pretty cool to hear. Sidenote: if you are under 21, headquarters is only fun for so long...then people go into the bar and you can't follow. But, oh well, I still had a great time.
I watched a lot of great colorguards.

James Logan HS (who, btw, deserved their 9th consecutive win)
Avon HS (one of the best 2nd place SW performances I've ever seen)
Arcadia HS (best world class flag book)
East Lake HS (best cowboy show ever)
Fantasia (absolutely breath-taking)
Corona (super cute and some great vocab)
Blessed Sacrament (I held my breath the whole show)
Northern Lights (that middle movement feature - wow)
Leigh HS (modern swan lake - loved it!)
Cheshire HS (of course)

And in addition to all that I got to become a lot closer with Erika Meads and Michael Amador, both of whom I love! And I got to see a ton of people from Cadets and elsewhere. Overall, one of the best WGIs ever.

Here are some pics (The Captain saluting the guard at retreat after getting Volunteer of the Year; Kimmi, Me, Caitlin and Tommy after World Retreat; the Sch. Open Trophy and a Gold Medal)...for more pics go to my Webshots!

Wow

2006-04-09T19:26:00.000-04:00

Cheshire High School
2006 WGI Scholastic Open
WORLD CHAMPIONS
98.05

Captain Mike Forte
WGI Open Class
Volunteer of the Year

More stories to come.

CHSWG MAC Champions

2006-04-03T22:29:00.000-04:00

Cheshire High School Winterguards:

2006 MAC Scholastic AA Champions
2006 MAC Scholastic Open Champions

Now on to WGI!!!!!

Obesity, Peer Advising and Sickness...Oh My!

2006-03-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend was great. Let me start by saying I was SUCH a fat-ass all weekend...

Coldstone - Thursday night
Zaftig's Breakfast - Friday Morning
Vocatura's Grinder - Friday Afternoon
MAXED OUT Mohegan Sun's Tuscanys Dinner - Friday Night
Peter's II Breakfast - Saturday Morning
Bagelicious Wrap - Saturday Afternoon
Pasta and Cheese Fries @ the show - Saturday Night
McDonald's Fries - Saturday Night
Steak - Saturday Night
McDonald's Breakfast - Sunday Morning
Papa Gino's Pizza - Sunday Afternoon
MAXED OUT Dinner for Elizabeth's Birthday - Sunday Night

So yeah, I gained about 80 pounds. The Ramsey show wasn't too great - but MAC finals is this weekend so hopefully the guard will be a lot better. Both guards are ranked first in their respective classes - so that's good. Went to the NESBA percussion show on Sunday which was definitely a new experience. I didn't really understand the music but it was entertaining nonetheless

In other news, I got accepted into the Peer Advising Program again for next year - really excited about that...it should be another great year!!!

So I woke up this morning feeling awful! First of all, I really wanted to sleep in - but woke up at 7:45! My nose was all clogged and I felt terrible. So I relaxed all day, didn't go to dance class, and took a nap. I've been taking Sudafed Severe Cold, so hopefully I will feel better soon!

I guess that's all for now...adios!

TGIF (fa real!)

2006-03-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

So I finished Angels and Demons yesterday...it was wicked good! Still haven't decided which one I like better (that or DaVinci Code), but it doesn't really matter because both books were amazing. Dan Brown is a genius! I am so mad the DaVinci Code movie (starring Tom Hanks) comes out the day Spring Training starts for Cadets (in West Virginia....).

Things have been good - it was a busy week, but now it's over! Justin and I are heading off right now to have breakfast at Zaftig's with Claire because she is in Boston to look at Emerson (she got into their grad program which I hope she ends up going to because it is really good aaaaaaaand it's close to me!).

Tonight we are having dinner at the Mohegan Sun Casino with the 'rents - that meal is going to be amazing...I can't wait!

Okay time to head out - more to come later...peace!

Kick-Ass Mode Activated

2006-03-21T23:02:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's right - the "kick-ass mode" made famous by Mr. Jason Scott Myers of Sandy, Utah (currently of Boston, Massachusetts) was put into full gear by yours truly today.

Woke up early in my nice, clean room and packed up, ready for a long day. In my first two classes (SO333 and EN141) I participated more than anyone else - it was practically a conversation between me and the professor at some points. Then went to CM417 where my partner and I came up with a really good TV commercial for Cup O' Noodles. Off to work, where I read through a huge chunk of Angels and Demons - which is a wicked good book.

Hooray for kick-ass mode!!! :-)

CM380 is the Devil

2006-03-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

Just took my CM380 exam...kill me. I despise that class.

Just wanted to get that off of my chest.

CM380 = Satan.

Pics are Posted

2006-03-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

Check 'em out.

Miami Vol. II - Spring Break 2006

Cheers!

Adios to Miami

2006-03-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

So Spring Break is over. I'm back in Boston and back into the swing of things at school. Got a midterm back in EN141...A-!!! Wahoo!

Here's a look back at Miami since my last update...

Tuesday: As I predicted, Tuesday was really chill. We watched Crash again because Caitlin hadn't seen it. So good, maybe even better the second time around. Then we went to Stina's and had fondu and watched Wedding Crashers which was really funny.
Wednesday: Breakfast at IHOP with Stina, Caitlin, Mario, and Roxy. Then off to hang out at Rei's for the afternoon - so much fun spinning and writing stage shows while dropping the sabre into the pool about 100 times. But I threw a 7 which was awesome - yay for me. Wednesday night we returned to martinibar. A lot of people were there this time - and we drank up quite the check. But thank you, Reinaldo, for hooking us up. And for giving Manny that cranberry juice shot.
Thursday: After Nicole got back from classes we went to South Beach and then went again to the Big Pink (I got the same Phantom Regiment 2004 Flower Sandwich, a.k.a. the Portobello Mushroom sandwich). Thursday night we were supposed to go to The Pawn Shop, buuuuut we wouldn't have been able to get in, so we just chilled and then went to Bennigan's for $1 margarita night with Paulo, Stina and Rei.
Friday: Dropped Caitlin off at the airport, chilled with Luis and Nicole all day, and then we left to Braddock rehearsal. Stina picked me up at the beginning of rehearsal to get dinner and go birthday present shopping for Mom and Michelle. Went back to Braddock and watched the end of rehearsal and then drove up with them to Westin to spend the night at Tiffany's. So much fun - met 2 of the famous Jordan sisters and they are super nice!
Saturday: Braddock rehearsal. For 12.5 hours. Daaaaaamn that's a long time. Matt was supposed to come pick me up so we could hang out but he got in a car accident on the way and busted up his car :-( Luckily he is okay! So I sat and watched all day. The rehearsal was at Stoneman Douglas so I got to see them too. Seeing April was awesome - I absolutely love her!!! :-) After rehearsal we went to Flanigan's with Ariel and then Nicole and I drove back to Miami.
Sunday: Bye bye, Miami. Uneventful flights from Miami to Raleigh/Durham and then to Hartford (on a prop jet...scary). Justin picked me up - so good to see him again. And theeeeeen surprised Mom for her birthday!!!!!!!!!!! She was so surprised, it was awesome.

So then Monday I came back and it's been the same old stuff for the past two days. That's all for now I guess. If something exciting happens soon (which I hope it does), I'll write.

Spring Breaks will be posted soon on Webshots.

Hola from Miami

2006-03-07T16:38:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update from South Florida.

I am having such a great time down here. The weather is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it's been so nice to get away from the cold, snowy Northeast. Caitiln got here yesterday and we have been lounging and catching up and it has been fantastic! I've seen so many people since I've been down here, but there are still a lot I have yet to see (Paulo, Matt, Emma, the Flanagans, Mario, Roxy, etc. etc. etc.). I still have 5 more days and I am so excited to be able to be down here!

Here's a little recap for ya:

Friday: Arrived in Miami and Luis picked me up at the airport. Stina made us dinner and then we went to martinibar, a club/bar that Rei works at. We had a lot of fun, and then we crashed at Luis' house (and I got to sleep in his waterbed lol).
Saturday: SOUTH BEACH! After eating Cuban pastries (mmm) we went to South Beach and played frisbee, got some sun, and ended up getting food at The Big Pink (so good). Luis and I went to the SFWGA color guard show at night - saw the Florida Special Needs Color Guard and got really excited. After the show we hung out with Hayden, Ariel and Cameron (who I just met) - we were such fatties at Taco Bell (Crunch Wrap Supreme...mmmmmmm).
Sunday: Around 2pm Luis and I decided we should probably start our day, so we went to Sunset Place and went shopping, then went to Keith's to watch the Braddock tape, and then met up with Nicole for Chicken Kitchen and to watch Crash - such a good movie, definitely deserved Best Picture of the Year (which it won 5 minutes before we finished watching it).
Monday: Picked up Caitiln at the airport and then Rei, Stina, Nicole, Caitlin and I went to lunch. Hung out at Rei's house, lounged by the pool and soaked up some more sun (got a lil' red on my foot and upper left clavicle area...lol), then got ready to go out to Green Street and Backdoor Bamby's (which we could get into 'cuz it's 21+...oops).
Today: Woke up, went to lunch with Stina and Hayden, and then Caitlin and I have spent the afternoon soaking in some rays and talking and talking and talking - so much fun. Today is definitely going to be a chill day.

More updates to come. I am lovin' Miami!

Spring Break!!!

2006-03-03T01:06:00.000-05:00

So it has finally arrived. Spring Break. Today I attended my last classes, took my last pre-break midterm, clocked in my last few hours at work...and now I am on break. Until March 13. That's a good 11 days of nothing.

And in less than 13 hours...my flight will take off for Miami so I can spend 10 glorious days in the fun and sun with some of the hottest Cadets ever! I am soooo excited :-)

Clearly there will be updates from Miami, so stayed tuned.

Party in the city where the heat is on
All night on the beach 'til the break of dawn
I'm going to Miami
Bienvenidos a Miami!

I Love This Show

2006-02-26T10:58:00.000-05:00

"At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out-- they fence you in. Life is messy, that's how we're made. So, you can waste your life drawing lines, or you can live your life crossing them."

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

2006-02-25T22:58:00.000-05:00

Watched the last hour or so of Forrest Gump tonight....such a good movie.

"I'm not a smart man. But I know what love is."

"My Mama always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on."

Choosing Your Attitude

2006-02-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

So I sent this e-mail to Hop this afternoon:

Hey Hop,

Today I had a very "Hop-inspired" moment and I thought you might like to hear about it.

I was in my dance class and we were running a combination we had just learned
(sidebar: the combination was baseball themed, very Cavies 05). Around the 3rd time running it I was exhausted and started to just go through the motions. Now, this class is pass-fail; in other words, if I show up, I get a good grade. There is no performance aspect involved, we just go to class and learn. If I slacked off a little, what was the big deal?

And then I thought about Cadets. I thought about being in San Antonio the day of the regional last summer when we took the last chunk of "Mirrors" endlessly without water. We could have given up - but why? The only people we would have hurt by giving would have been ourselves. We had the opportunity to max it out, so why not? I thought of "choosing my attitude," of "putting it on a breath,"
and most importantly of the feeling of accomplishment I get during the summer when I know I have truly maxed everything out.

So instead of marking through the dance, I performed it even more than before.
And at the end of the class, I felt great. Exhausted, out of breath, ready to collapse, and great. Just like in San Antonio. Just like in Louisiana. Just like in Foxboro on Finals night.

I guess my point in writing this e-mail is to show you that your goal for The Cadets is being achieved - we are learning lessons and applying them to life!
Drum corps really is about more than riding on a bus all summer and performing a show. It is a way of life. Thanks for giving that to us.

See you in April!

--Brian Forte--
CBCCG04-07

And almost immediately received this reply:

Brian...
You bring me to tears!

Thanks --- heck --- I needed this more than you did.

You just taught the teacher a few things.

Hop

And then on his blog he posted this, which was followed by my e-mail:

When I run out of steam in pursuing success with others, I also withdraw or , go into the closet.
I do my work. I stop talking. I stop going to bat. I stop trying.

And then ... I get a letter like this ...

And I learn. I learn I need to keep at it and YES, I need to choose my attitude.

Enjoy ... heaven knows I was choked up!!!!!!

It felt really good to know I made his day. Everything I said in the e-mail is 100% true. You can choose your attitdue. You can put it on a breath. You can live a happy life as long as you stay positive!

Laundry Room Angst

2006-02-21T12:53:00.000-05:00

Dear South Campus Laundry Room,

I hate you. I suppose you would like to know why. It is because your dryers do not dry.

This morning, at approximately 11:25 am EST I placed my recently washed clothing into Dryer #6. Knowing that often clothes take longer than the default 50 minutes to dry, I purchased 2 extra dry cycles, allowing 70 minutes of tumbling, warming and, most imporantly, drying. I returned to my room, pleased that I was being so productive. I had already put away two laundry baskets full of clothes and finished a response paper - I was on my way to having an extremely productive morning. At approximately 12:42 pm EST I approached the laundry room. The cycle had completed and the display screen read 00:00. I interpreted this series of zeroes to mean that in no time I would have warm, dry clothes to put away into my drawers and closet. Unfortunately, it turned out to mean that NONE (zero) of my clothes were dry. This was not a problem that could be fixed by an extra 10 minutes of drying. No no. My clothes were still damp, about as damp as they would have been had I just left them out in the open, without spending money on a dryer. I not only had to purchase another cycle of drying, but also had to switch dryers because I would actually prefer dry clothes to damp ones. In addition, since my afternoon and evening are so busy, I will not be able to retrieve my clothes until after 9:00 pm EST, which is frustrating beyond belief because now my clothes are simply sitting there in a giant pile, hopefully dry. It is very curious that in the ghetto laundromats I am dumped at every summer on tour (in such locations as the projects of Orlando, FL and San Antonio, TX as well as hick states such as Missouri and Pennsylvania), the dryers work perfectly fine and dry my clothes beautifully. In contrast, I pay over $40,000 a year to attend Boston University and cannot even get dry clothes.

Thus, South Campus Laundry Room, I hate you. A lot.

Love always,
Brian

P.S. - To my blog readers, although the events in this letter are real, I am simply being overly dramatic. Don't take it too seriously, even though I really do want dry clothes!

Tribute to Taco Salad

2006-02-16T17:30:00.000-05:00

I love taco salad. They have had it in the dining hall the past two days for the first time all year! Definitely a favorite food on tour. Embrace it. Live it. Love it.

Today we salute you Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor
(Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor)
A culinary invention that baffles the human mind, a twelve thousand calorie salad.
(ay-carumba)
Ground beef, refried beans, guacamole, cheese, sour cream and, if there is any room left, a few shreads of lettuce.
(I don't see no lettuce)
Some may ask, is your Taco Salad Healthy? Of course it is, it's a salad isn't it?
( You can eat that deep fried crunchy bowl )
So crack open an ice cold Budlight, conquistador of the calorie. You put the feast in fiesta.
(Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor)

Blizzard Bonanza and Other Events

2006-02-15T11:25:00.000-05:00

So I am here at work, and I just finished typing up a bunch of faculty evaluations from last semester. And I need to get something off of my chest..."homeworks" is NOT A REAL WORD!!!! There must have been 40 people who used it as a word - it isn't a real word! Ahhhhhh!!!

Okay. I'm good now.

So I guess it's been a bunch of days since my last update. Thursday night I spontaneously decided to go to Hartford to spend the night with Justin. The plan was for my mom to pick me up in Hartford and we'd drive up to Boston because the Cheshire Open Guard had the WGI Boston Regional. Wonderful. Until the Cheshire BoE decided the guard couldn't go because of the impending blizzard catastrophe.

So I ended up staying in Hartford all day Friday and Friday night (which including going to Melanie's party and meeting a couple more of Justin's friends and seeing a guy from Jersey Surf. Weird.) and then Justin and I drove to Cheshire Saturday morning. I taught both guards (AA and Open), and even judged the Open guard's runthrough (I was GE #2 and gave them a 16.5) which was really fun. Saturday night was a steak dinner with the fam and Justin (who went and taught Stamford and then came back to Cheshire) and then watching Anchorman, which my parents hated.

Woke up Sunday morning to TONS and TONS of snow!!! So clearly I wasn't going back to Boston. Justin and I shoveled and plowed with the Captain and then watched Napoleon Dynamite with Mom. She loved it - I was really really surprised lol. Had some good, home-cooked blizzard food and enjoyed the hot tub for the first time (yeah..I was home for all of winter break and didn't use it...I'm an idiot).

Getting back to Boston on Monday was a project...but after an abandoned Amtrak and 2 busses I arrived back in my beautiful city. Didn't go to dance class or my real class - but whatever, it was nice having a day off. Justin came up Monday night to celebrate Valentine's Day and it was awesome.

Last night, Emily and I celebrated Valentine's Day by watching Saw II. It was really friggin good...the twist at the end was AMAZING! Well done, Saw. Can't wait for the third one (coming out Halloween Weekend 2006!)

WARNING: I will be talking about my relationship in the next paragraph. If you don't want to read about it - stop here. I am really reluctant to write about relationship stuff on here, because I am afraid that if something goes wrong I'll look back at this and hate myself for being optimistic or anything like that. But I think I'm gonna do it anyways. I'll suffer the consequences if need be. Justin is amazing. He drives up to Boston from Hartford all the time to see me - who does that?? He is so sweet and funny and adorable and all those things. This summer I will be seeing him so much which will be awesome (it's great having a boyfriend within the YEA family...works out better) and I cannot wait. So yeah - Justin is awesome. That is all :-)

The American Dream

2006-02-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

So I am reading Al Franken's latest book The Truth (with jokes), as I have been for about a month. I definitely would've liked to read it faster, but school work and all that gets in the way. But anyways, I was reading it today and at the end of one of the chapters he quotes Barack Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (held here in Boston). It is such a great speech and I am posting it here because it really speaks to what the American dream has been, and should be. Right before it, Franken writes, "Here's the part of Obama's speech that made me proudest, not just of my party, but of my country." I agree 100%.

Alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief — I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper — that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America — there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

The encapsulation of it all...

2006-02-09T00:41:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about you and me. :-)

Smiling :-)

2006-02-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

The last 4.5 days have been amazing. Here's a recap...

Friday Night: Justin came and picked me up and drove the two of us back to Hartford. Spent the night at his place on his air mattress because I was NOT going to risk my life in his lofted bed.
Saturday: Went to rehearsal with my Cheshire AA girls. So good to be back with them! We had rehearsal for a couple of hours after which Jen, Sasha Cassandra (a.k.a. Whitney Slade) and I drove down to Brookfield HS to do the sound check for the show. The show was okay - kind of droppy but not bad at all. They got 3rd place in their class with a score of 60. Not far behind 2nd place, so good for them! Then I went with the Open Guard. Again - a little droppy, but still an amazing show. I can't wait to see them again this weekend! Went to critique for both guards and then went to dinner with Justin, the parents, Mickey, Dennis and the staffs from a couple of other color guards. The drive home was treacherous because of all the fog and rain - but we made it!
Super Bowl Sunday!!: The day started with Justin, my parents and I going to the Milldale Diner to have breakfast and have the lovely Terry Tu be our waitress (great job, Terry!). Mmmmm...I got eggs and pancakes and bacon - such a fatty. Then went back to the house and chilled and got ready for the Super Bowl Party, which was really fun. Susan and I did the annual pool and the food we had was really good. Justin's mom made chili that was friggin amazing and Susan made this antipasta appetizer that was wicked good. The game was pretty good - suspenseful and all. The commercials were okay - FedEx and Budweiser win for best commercials. Budweiser had some really really good ones - definitely stuff I'd love to be able to do in the future.
Monday: Woke up in time for Justin to realize he was late for an equipment load, so he peaced out. The Captain drove me to the train station and, although my train was 30 minutes late, I made it back to Boston in one piece. Rushed over to FitRec for dance class and then ran back to South so I could write a response paper for CM380 and race to Campo Del Fiori for a group meeting with our 380 professor about the discussion for that night (did you notice all of my active verbs? hoorah!). Had class from 6-9 which was heinously boring, then came back to South. 'Bout 3 hours later (after playin' some hardcore Mario Kart 64 with Jason) Justin showed up (I only knew around 4 that he was coming up) and after hanging out for a little bit we fell asleep.
Tuesday: Inspired by Jason and coaxed by Justin - I skipped sociology (my first skipped class of the year) and had breakfast with Justin and Emily. Then went to English and Ad (in which Lilla and I kicked serious ass with our writing skills) and had lunch at Noodle St. with Justin. Work from 2:30-5 was wicked boring, and the rest of the day has been pretty uneventful. Justin is back in CT which makes me sad, but I'll see him soon I'm sure.

So yeah, it's been a good couple of days...here are some pictures from the show on Saturday...

Me and Sasha being divas at warm-ups

Cheshire AA Guard Performing "Tunnel Run"

Helping Miss Whitney Taylor Muthig stretch out

Cheshire Open Guard setting up for "Bellisimo"

Looking forward to the weekend!

2006-02-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

This week has tired me OUT! Classes, meetings, papers, work...everything! Emily should be here soon and we are going to watch a movie and fall asleep. It's just what I need right now.

Justin surprised me last night by showing up in Boston :-) It was wicked sweet, even though he is crazy because he had class this morning. So I had to wake up and kick his ass out so he could drive back to Hartford. I'll be seeing him again tonight, though. He's driving back to Boston to pick me up and drive us both back to Hartford. Spending the night there and then...

I GET TO SEE MY GIRLS TOMORROW!!! I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to see the Cheshires. It's only been 3 weeks but I miss them like crazy. I cannot wait to run dance class and clean work and write some changes and then see all of them perform tomorrow night. It's going to be grand times. Watch out, MAC...here comes the Cheshire AA Guard! And I know the Open guard is going to be fierce, too. I'll just be there for warm-ups and the show with the Opens tomorrow, but next weekend I will be full-time staff for the Boston Regional...it should be good times.

Saw Transamerica last night. It was soooo good. Felicity Huffman was incredible and the story was so emotional and inspiring and just really well done. Go see it - it is totally worth it. Felicity Huffman should definitely win the Oscar for Best Lead Actress. We had to go to the Kendall Cinemas in Cambridge because it is an independent film, so AMC Fenway (which is a 3 minute walk) isn't playing it. Oh well - the trip to Cambridge was fun. It is such a beautiful city, and the bells in the Kendall T-stop are really fun.

In other news, I got a lovely little letter today from the State of Massachusetts, summoning me for jury duty. Blech! My assigned day is Thursday, April 20...buuuut that's the last Thursday before the last week of the semester. And I have three classes and work on Thursdays. So, I have to postpone the date. I'm not going to postpone it very long (I wrote down May 3 on the response card) because who knows what I will be doing next fall, and then hopefully I'll be in Australia next spring!!!! So after May 3, my civic duty will be done for the next three years. Woop-dee-doo. I just hope I don't get assigned to a case. Can you imagine if I had to call up Jonathan and say "Uhhhh I can't move in to Cadets on time this season because I have jury duty." He'd be so bullshit. PLUS this is going to be my first summer of drum corps EVER (including the two seasons of Hurricanes and two previous seasons of Cadets) when I am going to be there the entire time - so I don't want to screw it up!

Okay that's enough for now. I'll write later in the weekend with updates on how the show went and all that. Oh - and Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend...biggest night of the year for advertising, so you bettah believe I'll be watching :-)

Peace.

Workin' (Not So) Hard for the Money

2006-02-01T11:58:00.000-05:00

So I'm here at work. For those who don't know - I'm an office assistant for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department here at BU (hence the logo). The office is in the BU Photonics Center which is maxed out and out of control...the top floor is owned by NASA and BU people aren't allowed on it. Right. I don't really do much here. In fact, I have been working today already for about 3 hours, and the only thing I've done is taken an inventory of the print catridges we have in the storage room. Party on. But it's a job and, most importantly, it pays! So here I sit.

Right now I'm in the midst of finishing up Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist. Interesting story we have to read for EN141 and I have to write a short paper on tonight. Time to go back to reading that. Yeah...so...bye...

First Entry...who's excited?!

2006-02-01T00:16:00.000-05:00

So today is February 1, 2006. A new month in a relatively new year. Time to start something to record the everyday happenings, thoughts and ramblings in my life...for whatever it's worth. Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this and see changes in myself, be able to look back and laugh at myself and the things that happened and, above all, be able to more crisply remember this amazing time in my life.

Things are going well right now. My classes (for the most part) are interesting and I am surprisingly participating a lot in each one - answering questions and posing new ones, volunteering, etc. We'll see how long that lasts of course, but for right now I am liking it. Another thing I am really enjoying is my Intermediate Modern dance class. It is so much fun and I am finding myself looking forward to it so much. Micki is a great teacher and I am cherishing the opportunity to dance without the pressure of having to learn an entire winterguard/drum corps show in addition to getting better. In this class, I can just work on the dance. The ultimate goal is to be able to go to the April camp for Cadets and blow them away with my improvement. Lord knows I will be a hot mess in the equipment caption from not spinning all winter - so I might as well be a diva dancer!

This semester is very odd for several reasons.

Arestia is in Los Angeles. I miss her terribly! I know she is having the experience of a lifetime out there, but I don't think it's wrong for me to wish she was still here.
I am feeling more academic pressure from myself than before. The last three semesters I have done very well. Last semester I did exceptionally well - a 3.6, are you kidding me? Who knew. But now I am feeling the pressure to continue this success. Dean's List is in sight, and in COM that is not an easy thing to achieve. If I can get above a 3.5 this semester, I will be a very happy person.
My last semester on campus. You don't realize how many things you might (key word = might) miss until suddenly you are making apartment plans and figure out rent and down payments and who is going to live in which room. So long, on-campus residence...hello, apartment. Weird.
Not marching winterguard. Whaaaaat?! Craziness. First time my weekends have been free since, umm, 1999. And, believe me, I am making the most of it. Having people visit Boston, going to CT to see my amazing Cheshire AA girls perform (like this weekend), etc. It's new and fun and different. Do I miss winterguard? Of course. Do I regret my decision? Not yet.

This entry is getting long, huh? I guess I have stuff to write about, after all. May not be terribly interesting, but it is what it is. I have work in 8 1/2 hours, so perhaps I will head to bed. I'll finish this entry with a picture, just for fun...

Tango-ing directors. Good timez.