What a show

Well, the school variety show was last night. And what a show it was.

But during school, I had almost forgotten that it was the day of an A Honor Roll pizza party. I couldn't believe how soon it was. (The last one was last month.) They had pizza and soda for all (I had two slices and a regular Coke), and the best part was, the principal didn't ramble on too much like he always does.

I didn't go home after school, as I had heard that we were going to be practicing right up till showtime. Well, we actually didn't practice much. Instead we just sat around and generally loafed. Some people might have practiced (some of the dancers never took a break, it seemed), but myself and the people I hung out with generally loafed around until the show. Ms. Perlowski, the teacher in charge of the production, bought pizza for us (I decided to have another slice).

In the hour or so before show was to begin (at 7:00), we were in the band room (in the auditorium, behind the stage) practicing our acts. Well, I wasn't, because I had set my guitar backstage already. I didn't even really have anyone to hang out with, as my partner, Andrew, was working in the sound booth and serving as the assistant director of the show. So I paced madly. (Okay, I wandered aimlessly, but madly nonetheless.) I get nervous easily, I guess. I was really nervous because I had only recently learned the song ("Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton) I was going to play with him.

Finally I got on, and he met me backstage a few acts before ours. We set up our amps and everything. I had started to cool down, but playing for an empty room is much different from playing for a real audience. We worked out that Andrew would do most of the talking when introducing the song (I would limit myself to "Hi.") He was going to say, "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Andrew, and for those of you who do know me, I'm Andrew."

Only when the curtain opened did I realize that the house was packed. Andrew delivered his joke but did it so passively that I thought no one heard. Then he began to play the opening lick, but something was wrong. His guitar was way too quiet. He didn't know how it could happen; someone must have messed with the amp. My guitar ended up overpowering his, and even though he told me during the song to turn it down, I didn't have the opportunity to turn it down much. I tried to play more softly, but then I would risk the pick slipping out of my sweaty fingers. So I was alternating between playing more quietly and holding onto the pick. Audience members later said that they could hear his guitar, but that mine was louder.

Initial reports (i.e., acts that had gone before us) had said that the crowd was tough and that there were hecklers in the front. If there were, they didn't really bother us. During the song, which was nice and slow, some people waved their cell phones, which I thought was pretty funny. When we were done with it, I began hearing chanting from the audience: "Jordon! Jordon! Jordon!" I didn't sing at all; I wasn't even playing the lead. It was the weirdest thing. I was wondering who did it, because I couldn't really see; the lights were too bright.

I felt a lot better as I got back in the band room. I stayed there for a while, until I meandered out near an entrance of the building. I was waving at a security camera (a fun little thing I like to do) when someone saw me through the clear glass doors and waved back. I realized that it was a girl from my English class. I went out to say hi, and she said that I was great, etc., etc. I asked if she was the one who started chanting my name. She said yeah. I figured.

Over time, people kept disappearing after their acts went on. They shouldn't have left, I figured. They couldn't. We were all supposed to go on at the end for a big dance number. I realized a lot of them were standing next to the stage (off to the side), watching the acts. The third to last act was a doozy. Apparently, at last year's show, some students made fun of the teachers. So the teachers got back this year by doing a skit where Ms. Perlowski played herself and some of the teachers played dumb, ignorant students. Even the principal got in on it; he slept at his desk most of the time.

The second to last act featured the great Sal singing "I Will Survive." Sal is one of those kind of dense but really funny types. He's also a real ham. I'd say his act was the highlight of the show.

The last act was some Hispanic girls dancing. When they went off, the music continued and all of the cast came on and started dancing. Then the crew (including Andrew) came on. And I think some audience members snuck onstage as well. It was a bit crowded up there. A few people tried to start moshing, knocking down some lights in the process. Then the curtain closed, and that was it.

I've got to rest up tonight, because tomorrow morning I'm going to a math competition at FAU. My geometry teacher from last semester asked me to be in it, and seeing that there were large cash prizes, I decided to go for it. I know I won't have a chance, but she seemed so happy when I said I'd do it. Probably because I turned down the last competition she asked me to be in; that was about a month ago. I'll be in it with my friend Mark, who's a real math genius. (The teacher actually told me that if Mark couldn't go, she wouldn't bother going either.)

After that I'm going to Mark's for a card tournament. That'll be so late at night that I probably won't even go home. So I'll pretty much be out all day tomorrow. It should be fun.

Hey everybody, I finally got Skype. Today I tried plugging in a headset to use for this internet telephony program, but now I know why not everyone uses Skype yet: PC audio is a freakin' nightmare! My dad ended up plugging it in the right way, so I'm good to go for some PC-to-PC conversations. I realized when I first logged in that I have nobody to talk to! My Skype name is fanofthefabfour, if you want to talk. I seem to have absolutely nil free time lately, though.

Like ligers? I bet you do. They are indeed real. Read about -- and see -- some more cross-breed animals.