Qatar Airways agent: "Would you like me to check your bag through to...um...IND? ...where is IND? India?"
hahaha
No, that would be Indianapolis. It's a small city in the middle of the United States.
After almost four months of globe-trotting, I am finally returning to the United States...and I couldn't be more excited. Who cares if no one in the entire country of Qatar has heard of my final destination. The only thing I cared about was being back to see some old friends and watch some live drum corps for the final show of the season.
I was still a little buzzed from dinner when I passed through security and I was more-than a little paranoid that I would be arrested for public intoxication. In reality, I don't think my two drinks over the course of the entire night would be enough to get me into any trouble, but I was also exhausted because my flight wasn't even scheduled to depart until 2:30AM.
These overnight flights are killer because they mess up my sleep pattern even more, but I didn't have many options if I wanted any chance of arriving in Indianapolis for Saturday's show.
The first flight to Rome was uneventful and, of course, I didn't sleep at all. Movies on a tiny screen are just too enticing.
I then connected on an American Airlines flight to JFK, which was delayed for unknown reasons. For the first time in a while, I was hearing familiar accents all around me and it was glorious.
There were several factors that made my flight annoying. Generally speaking, American Airlines is completely sub-par to all other international carriers. The flight attendants are all rude and ugly, no personal entertainment systems, and food that is completely inedible. When I declined both meals they served, the flight attendant actually asked: "Are you on a diet, honey?" I responded honestly that I am actually quite hungry, but I simply can not eat the food they are serving. Frozen pizza on a flight from Italy?? Seriously?? Shame on you, American Airlines.
The woman next to me was really annoying and she took up part of my seat, which just added to my aggravation. Her only redeeming quality was when she spit out the coffee and exclaimed: "What am I drinking?? This cannot be coffee!!" Oh, America...
By the time we arrived in New York, our flight was delayed just long enough for me to barely miss my connection. My annoying seat partner also missed her connection and she was uber stressed about it throughout the entire flight. The silver lining is that American re-booked me on a Delta flight later that evening.
In retrospect, I actually needed the extra layover time so that I could get some urgent work accomplished. I don't recommend working after being awake for more than 30 hours, but I didn't have much of an option. I frantically secured some flights and visas for the next round of business travel. The flights were not much of a problem, but the requirements of the Indian visa application were stressing me out.
Finally, after another flight delay (I hate New York airports), I boarded my flight to Indianapolis. As soon as the plane was about to take off, I started feeling faint and then I realized that I had forgotten to eat in the airport. Once we were in the air, I felt like I was about to vomit and I just anxiously awaited the flight attendant to bring something to ease the hunger pains. Unfortunately, the remainder of the flight was just as bad. My apologies to the people in the last row, adjacent to the toilet. I could not arrive in Indianapolis fast enough.
I felt like death by the time I arrived at my hotel - probably a combination of stress, lack of food, and lack of sleep. By this point, it was almost midnight, so I decided to just inhale a chocolate bar and get to sleep.
Saturday morning, I felt marginally better and started my day with a breakfast sandwich from Subway that tasted like heaven. I then rushed to prepare the remaining documents for my visa application and sent everything to New York for processing.
By 10am, it was FINALLY time to start my vacation.
A couple friends met me at the lobby of the hotel and we caught up with some stories and a lot of laughter. Apparently, people were talking about me at the bars the night before and popular opinion is that I am in the CIA!
We then decided to walk over to Lucas Oil Stadium so I could get tickets for DCI Championships. No good seats were available. Bad for me, good for drum corps. Still, I was excited just to be there. Even though I have never lived in Indianapolis, I felt like I was at home.
The afternoon consisted of lunch at Rock Bottom (where we became BFF's with the waiter), souvenir shopping at the DCI festival marketplace, and a little corsage-making at a nearby hotel for all the Boston Crusaders age-outs. Just being around drum corps people was making me happy.
The show was SO GOOD and I was totally psyched to be able to see some live drum corps for the first time all summer, even though I was falling asleep by the end.
Here's my brief recap on the 2013 Top-12:
- Blue Stars and Spirit - Didn't see them because I was too busy watching Crusaders brass warm-ups with Kristen. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything too exciting.
- Blue Knights - Good show for their standards, but a little too "Bands of America" for me. What's with the giant ball they kept pushing around the field?
- Madison Scouts - My favorite Madison show since 2003. Awesome emotion and accessible music. Bravo.
- Boston Crusaders - As an alumnus, I always support what they're doing. Early in the season, I thought the show felt disjointed. By finals, it was my favorite show on the field. Bravo, Boston!
- Cavaliers - Big step up from last year but still missing the magic from their championship years in the early 2000's. I love the secret society theme for the all-male corps.
- Phantom Regiment - Also, as an alumnus, I am always a huge supporter of their sophisticated style. No one has the mystique of Regiment and everything was performed well, but I just feel like the show needed more "wow" moments.
- Bluecoats - Good show from them and nice twist on a patriotic theme.
- Santa Clara Vanguard - Best SCV show since Scheherazade. Brass arrangements were stellar (nice job JD Shaw), and every section was strong. If it only had a little more demand, they would be competing for the championship.
- Cadets - The corps is so precise but their props are a mess. Get it together, Cadets! Those boxes cost you a shot at winning.
- Blue Devils - Snore. I can never get into BD. This year was no exception. They have some innovative ideas but their show felt like it lasted for an hour.
- Carolina Crown - New. Fresh. Interesting. Brass and guard were particularly amazing. Well-deserved win and I'm so excited I was there to witness the first new DCI champion since 1996!
Once the scores were announced, I literally could not keep my eyes open any longer. I really wanted to hang out with my friends after the show until 4am like last year, but I needed to catch some z's.
The next morning, I was forced to set an alarm for myself because I somehow thought it would be fun to run 2 races...on the morning after finals...one day after flying for 28 hours from Qatar.
With less than 12 hours of sleep in 3 nights and still feeling a little queasy from my freak illness, I braced myself for the worst.
The first leg of the race was a 10k. I struggled a lot, but I still managed to finish in 9th place overall. Then, there was an hour-long break. Then, a 5k. My body was not amused. I finished with my slowest 5k time ever, but still somehow managed to place 10th overall. With a combined time from both races, I earned another medal for finishing 2nd in my age group!
After the awards ceremony, I rushed back to my hotel. Quick packing. Lunch. Back to the airport. My seat partner on this flight was a member of Carolina Crown percussion. Sweet! We became friends and talked about drum corps throughout the entire flight.
I landed in Boston, completely satisfied with my decision to take the detour to Indianapolis. It was far too short of a trip, but I maxed it out and was so happy to be there for finals. It also felt good to race again, even though my times were not so hot. My life sometimes feels like a whirlwind, but I like to live without regrets.
hahaha
No, that would be Indianapolis. It's a small city in the middle of the United States.
After almost four months of globe-trotting, I am finally returning to the United States...and I couldn't be more excited. Who cares if no one in the entire country of Qatar has heard of my final destination. The only thing I cared about was being back to see some old friends and watch some live drum corps for the final show of the season.
I was still a little buzzed from dinner when I passed through security and I was more-than a little paranoid that I would be arrested for public intoxication. In reality, I don't think my two drinks over the course of the entire night would be enough to get me into any trouble, but I was also exhausted because my flight wasn't even scheduled to depart until 2:30AM.
These overnight flights are killer because they mess up my sleep pattern even more, but I didn't have many options if I wanted any chance of arriving in Indianapolis for Saturday's show.
The first flight to Rome was uneventful and, of course, I didn't sleep at all. Movies on a tiny screen are just too enticing.
I then connected on an American Airlines flight to JFK, which was delayed for unknown reasons. For the first time in a while, I was hearing familiar accents all around me and it was glorious.
There were several factors that made my flight annoying. Generally speaking, American Airlines is completely sub-par to all other international carriers. The flight attendants are all rude and ugly, no personal entertainment systems, and food that is completely inedible. When I declined both meals they served, the flight attendant actually asked: "Are you on a diet, honey?" I responded honestly that I am actually quite hungry, but I simply can not eat the food they are serving. Frozen pizza on a flight from Italy?? Seriously?? Shame on you, American Airlines.
The woman next to me was really annoying and she took up part of my seat, which just added to my aggravation. Her only redeeming quality was when she spit out the coffee and exclaimed: "What am I drinking?? This cannot be coffee!!" Oh, America...
By the time we arrived in New York, our flight was delayed just long enough for me to barely miss my connection. My annoying seat partner also missed her connection and she was uber stressed about it throughout the entire flight. The silver lining is that American re-booked me on a Delta flight later that evening.
In retrospect, I actually needed the extra layover time so that I could get some urgent work accomplished. I don't recommend working after being awake for more than 30 hours, but I didn't have much of an option. I frantically secured some flights and visas for the next round of business travel. The flights were not much of a problem, but the requirements of the Indian visa application were stressing me out.
Finally, after another flight delay (I hate New York airports), I boarded my flight to Indianapolis. As soon as the plane was about to take off, I started feeling faint and then I realized that I had forgotten to eat in the airport. Once we were in the air, I felt like I was about to vomit and I just anxiously awaited the flight attendant to bring something to ease the hunger pains. Unfortunately, the remainder of the flight was just as bad. My apologies to the people in the last row, adjacent to the toilet. I could not arrive in Indianapolis fast enough.
I felt like death by the time I arrived at my hotel - probably a combination of stress, lack of food, and lack of sleep. By this point, it was almost midnight, so I decided to just inhale a chocolate bar and get to sleep.
Saturday morning, I felt marginally better and started my day with a breakfast sandwich from Subway that tasted like heaven. I then rushed to prepare the remaining documents for my visa application and sent everything to New York for processing.
By 10am, it was FINALLY time to start my vacation.
A couple friends met me at the lobby of the hotel and we caught up with some stories and a lot of laughter. Apparently, people were talking about me at the bars the night before and popular opinion is that I am in the CIA!
We then decided to walk over to Lucas Oil Stadium so I could get tickets for DCI Championships. No good seats were available. Bad for me, good for drum corps. Still, I was excited just to be there. Even though I have never lived in Indianapolis, I felt like I was at home.
 |
| I was so excited to see Silver Jewel again! |
The afternoon consisted of lunch at Rock Bottom (where we became BFF's with the waiter), souvenir shopping at the DCI festival marketplace, and a little corsage-making at a nearby hotel for all the Boston Crusaders age-outs. Just being around drum corps people was making me happy.
 |
| We're such crafty florists! |
The show was SO GOOD and I was totally psyched to be able to see some live drum corps for the first time all summer, even though I was falling asleep by the end.
Here's my brief recap on the 2013 Top-12:
- Blue Stars and Spirit - Didn't see them because I was too busy watching Crusaders brass warm-ups with Kristen. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything too exciting.
- Blue Knights - Good show for their standards, but a little too "Bands of America" for me. What's with the giant ball they kept pushing around the field?
- Madison Scouts - My favorite Madison show since 2003. Awesome emotion and accessible music. Bravo.
- Boston Crusaders - As an alumnus, I always support what they're doing. Early in the season, I thought the show felt disjointed. By finals, it was my favorite show on the field. Bravo, Boston!
 |
| I will rise! (In my opinion, the best moment on the field in 2013) |
- Cavaliers - Big step up from last year but still missing the magic from their championship years in the early 2000's. I love the secret society theme for the all-male corps.
- Phantom Regiment - Also, as an alumnus, I am always a huge supporter of their sophisticated style. No one has the mystique of Regiment and everything was performed well, but I just feel like the show needed more "wow" moments.
- Bluecoats - Good show from them and nice twist on a patriotic theme.
- Santa Clara Vanguard - Best SCV show since Scheherazade. Brass arrangements were stellar (nice job JD Shaw), and every section was strong. If it only had a little more demand, they would be competing for the championship.
- Cadets - The corps is so precise but their props are a mess. Get it together, Cadets! Those boxes cost you a shot at winning.
- Blue Devils - Snore. I can never get into BD. This year was no exception. They have some innovative ideas but their show felt like it lasted for an hour.
- Carolina Crown - New. Fresh. Interesting. Brass and guard were particularly amazing. Well-deserved win and I'm so excited I was there to witness the first new DCI champion since 1996!
 |
| All the corps lined up for scores |
Once the scores were announced, I literally could not keep my eyes open any longer. I really wanted to hang out with my friends after the show until 4am like last year, but I needed to catch some z's.
The next morning, I was forced to set an alarm for myself because I somehow thought it would be fun to run 2 races...on the morning after finals...one day after flying for 28 hours from Qatar.
With less than 12 hours of sleep in 3 nights and still feeling a little queasy from my freak illness, I braced myself for the worst.
The first leg of the race was a 10k. I struggled a lot, but I still managed to finish in 9th place overall. Then, there was an hour-long break. Then, a 5k. My body was not amused. I finished with my slowest 5k time ever, but still somehow managed to place 10th overall. With a combined time from both races, I earned another medal for finishing 2nd in my age group!
After the awards ceremony, I rushed back to my hotel. Quick packing. Lunch. Back to the airport. My seat partner on this flight was a member of Carolina Crown percussion. Sweet! We became friends and talked about drum corps throughout the entire flight.
I landed in Boston, completely satisfied with my decision to take the detour to Indianapolis. It was far too short of a trip, but I maxed it out and was so happy to be there for finals. It also felt good to race again, even though my times were not so hot. My life sometimes feels like a whirlwind, but I like to live without regrets.
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