It seems as though this week things have been getting under my skin, and this blog post will be my means of venting. There are just some small things in this world that really get me, and I'd appreciate if there was a way to fix them, or primarily get rid of them altogether. Consider the comment box a suggestion box.
1. I absolutely despise when my conditioner runs out faster than my shampoo. I tend to use a heavy amount of conditioner just because it feels so amazing. Soft hair, who doesn't want that? Why can't they make shampoo that is equally as luxurious? And I'm sorry, the 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner comes nowhere near the effects of having shampoo AND conditioner, but nice try.
2. Plain and simple, I'm annoyed by The Spirit of Troy. Yes, they supposedly shoulder all the school pride for USC, and are supposedly the largest marching band, but their presence and band-nerdish quality is something that can't be ignored. Another thing I've heard a lot is, "and here's the Spirit of Troy with a rendition of 'September' by Earth, Wind, & Fire" said by the announcer at the football games way too much. The best was when the band War played with them during a halftime show. Who even knew that War was a legitimate band, let alone noteworthy of a reunion? Oh yeah, and for some reason George Lopez showed up, but he seems to do that a lot in my life. My enjoyment of football games do seem to be taken down a notch by these kids, but the worst is hearing them practice. Can you imagine not just hearing the entire group in unison, but just the tubas playing in a sectional, or all the percussion? It has haunted my nightmares many a time.
3. On the list is the USC Symphony, or maybe just orchestras and symphonies in general that I participate in. Their rehearsals tend to be around 3 or more hours and the music isn't challenging, but sometimes I need to put my much practiced faking skills into use. The worst is when you've practiced for a few hours before rehearsal, then you play a really loud composer (will not be named) at rehearsal and the conductor expects you to play the part over and over again super loud and "with every ounce of feeling in your body." After about 1 1/2 to 2 hours into the rehearsal my left and sometimes right hand start to hurt. It's just annoying that a symphony rehearsal does that to you. My remedy is to play really quiet because one person's sound doesn't matter.
4. Along with the music theme, another thing I can't stand are boring stand partners. One thing I have in this life is my bitter and sarcastic sense of humor, and it gets hurt feelings when it's ignored. There is a point of professionalism that needs to be brought to rehearsal, but come on, crack a smile every once in a while. When the conductor does something outrageous, or there's just a funny noise, nothing's worse than looking at your stand partner for a reaction and they're staring stone faced at the conductor with their bow ready to begin the next section. Really, really?! Sometimes I have to resort to looking at friends across the room or even texting to comment on the situation. Sometimes good jokes cannot go unnoticed.
5. Lately LA has had crazy Sahara Desert type weather with a heat wave that has had many repercussions. One of them being arm pit sweat stains. Yes, I'm talking about the part of your clothing under your arm that progressively gets darker throughout the duration of the day because your sweat progressively sinks more and more into the fabric of your shirt. It sucks. Sometimes I consider buying clinical strength deodorant or having that surgery people talk about that supposedly takes away the sweat or something like that. The only comforting element about this embarrassing condition is that most others have it too, and not just the extremely overweight guy sitting next to you on the bus. Normal, everyday people suffer from it. The part where I draw the line is when other mysterious sweat stains start to appear at your lower back or some part on your ribs, and you're not at the gym. Then you have a severe problem. Note: I do not have a mysterious sweat stain problem, just the arm pit kind. Although this condition can't be helped most of the time, it's extremely annoying and forces a person to keep their arms locked to their side the rest of the day, always afraid to raise their hand, thus perpetuating the condition because the sweat just gets worse. Woe is me.
6. Maybe this is just a problem for girls, but walking into a public toilet stall and finding that the previous occupant has not flushed. I can usually handle a number 1 with a little toilet paper mixed in (hopefully there's toilet paper), but anything worse is just vomitrocious. (Vomitrocious is the only word appropriate for this situation.) How hard is it to remember to push the little lever after you've finished? Not hard at all. I can definitely go into detail on this situation, but I'll save it for your imagination. Yes, I've seen all combinations of what's left behind, and each time I literally jump back and whimper a little. Remedy to this situation: a perfect society.
7. Have you ever read "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss? I did. In fact in Kindergarten I had it memorized and the teacher would let me read it to all the other students. Definitely a highlight in my life. Well, as is the Seuss style, he makes feet seem very simply, even nice, all with the use of a few rhymes. Well you know what? He was wrong. So wrong. Feet are the most atrocious thing on this planet, especially when paired with inappropriate footwear. If the heels of your feet have started cracking - don't wear flip-flops. If your feet have this dry, almost discolored quality - don't wear flip-flops. If your toenails do not have a color within the family of peach - DON'T WEAR FLIP-FLOPS! You see where I'm going here. It's almost like people think because feet are so far from their brain it doesn't matter what they wear. I'm not saying that every foot needs to have a pedicure and have perfect skin, but it doesn't hurt.
8. I cannot stand people who sit in the front row of a class or raise their hand every time the professor asks a question. Although it's much less common for people to always raise their hand, you always have the front row gang. Do they think because they're so close to the screen they'll automatically learn by osmosis? Or do they not believe in their will power? Way to go. Anyway, since this kid in one of my classes most likely doesn't read this blog, let me use him as an example. He's a freshman. Normally that would be enough to say, but I'll continue. He seems a little lost in this world, okay, but does that mean every time the professor asks a question in lecture he should raise his hand? And let me tell you, his answers have been wrong 99.5% of the time. (One time the professor was kind and tried to transition his answer into the correct answer.) Either way, unless you're 100% about the answer you're about to give, or you know more about the subject than the professor, keep your mouth shut.
9. Technological glitches. Yes, I get we should be very grateful for the technology that we have, but shouldn't the technology we have work properly? For example, I have a Macbook Pro. Solid piece of equipment, right? Even as I was writing this blog post the space bar stopped working for some reason and every time I pushed it the number 5 would come out. I then proceeded to the only solution I know: to hit it aggressively a few times, then restart my computer. Lucky thing it worked. Who knew one little thing can put so much imbalance in my life.
10. Last, but definitely not least, the PIC practice rooms. These are where the practice rooms at USC are located. There are so many negative qualities of this place, I don't even know where to begin. Oh yeah, how about with the fact that all the doors are pure glass so every passer-by can look in. Sweet, so in my PRIVATE practice session I'm basically performing for the entire world. Next is the practice schedule, there are NEVER practice rooms available. If they are available, then someone has them reserved in 15 minutes. You're always practicing with the feeling that you'll be kicked out at any second, like some refugee from a foreign country with no home. Not fun. Lastly, the temperature outside the building is probably the same or cooler than inside. Sitting in one of these rooms for an extended period of time is like sitting in a sauna. May as well wrap a towel around your head. As USC has decided to make some changes, they are tearing down this building in the next few weeks and are relocating us to this new building on Figueroa and Jefferson, probably a mile away. Make it 10 miles while carrying a cello. Although I have hopes for this new facility, I still have doubts that it'll be so difficult to practice I'll just go upstairs to the new Yogurtland and drown all my sorrows with some cookie dough bits and Vanilla Wafer yogurt. Not a bad death, eh?
These are in no specific order, but hopefully you can relate to one or two of them. In fact, I would love additions to this list because I feel that acknowledging an annoyance somehow helps the problem. Although we can't live in a perfect world, we can at least complain about it.
