Solar Power, because it's /so/ sunny outside.

Thursday morning I left.

Saturday evening I came back.The TMEA convention is, as a family friend puts it, "old hat to you, right?" I think my CMT is not favouring the convention, because over the past few years it has been getting progressively worse to walk about to and from the clinics and up and down the out-of-order escalators, and to and from the shuttle bus, whose driver persists on parking at the far end of the parking lot rather than simply the middle. At times I felt perhaps that cars did not exist, or perhaps we were too poor to buy one, when we walked from our really quite nice hotel (we always stay at motels, a Holiday Inn was a nice treat) to dinner and back in the dark. I woke up early in the morning, and found myself falling asleep with boredom by nine or eight-thirty. My dad enjoys the nice conducting clinics and such; I enjoy the booths. I enjoy walking past the fundraising booths such as Little Caesars and lollipops, who insist on offering us free samples, and at a certain extent now know our name because we go by perhaps every fifteen or thirty minutes wanting another slice of their delicious garlic bread or cookies. There are instruments everywhere, people playing them constantly. Trumpets play as loud and as high as they can to make a statement, but saxophones will play the most insanely difficult thing to do. Normally I'll play a few bassoons, and the small bassoon I fell in love with (it's a soprano, I believe just an octave above the regular one, and absolutely adorable!), but I left all my reeds at school and did not wish to spend that crisp twenty dollar bill my parents let me have for the convention be spoiled on a seventeen dollar reed. There's lots of technology, marching band attire, concert band attire, sound systems, practically anything and everything, even things you put on braces to make it easier to play a horn with. However, this year they were overcome with touring places, DisneyWorld and California and New Orleans trips for bands--and those were quite a bore. I did get numerous free pens, though..

I did, however, regain my former obsession with tin whistles--and after much looking for after I remembered what they were called because a man passing us just happened to be playing one, I bought a five dollar one. ^^ I really am a dork. Instead of buying solos or books or music..I buy a tinwhistle.

Oh well. I saw Coraline--incredible. I've always been someone who loves stop animation, not just because of the style, but because I appreciate how much work it takes to get to that. I loved the 3-dness to it, it was really really fascinating. Although Tim Burton always has a way of making things creepy, it's never dark. Things might be a bit odd or eerie, but it's always cutesy or romantic or sad, and nothing about this movie was anything but horrifying. Some parts of the movie made me question it's rating and the young children seeing it. I was sincerely moved, it is a thought-proving movie that will most certainly horrify any young innocent girl who sees it-nevertheless, I absolutely loved it. I loved/hated the music. It did its job and scared the living daylights out of me, because it is gibberish sung by a boy's choir, playful music, in the most evil key possible. Real creepy. Fabulous. Danny Elfman couldn't have done that style, I don't think.

He's too /fun/.

-phew- Sorry about that, I believe you're all caught up now. I tend to ramble on a bit..Anyhow, I find it ironic that the nail polish I've swatched for you today (Solar Power--by China Glaze) depicts the opposite of the past few dark, stormy days. Cheers.

Solar Power is a really cool colour, and is part of the E-Collection (or whatever it's called) of China Glaze. I do like the hue, a lot, but it doesn't work with my skin tone at all. And sorry about my wretched fingers, and the intense dryness. Yellows bring out redness. Like most yellows, this was quite streaky. This is three, maybe even four coats. It took to opacity quite quickly, but took a bit to even out. The formula was a bit dry and clumped, and runny--as if it wasn't mixed properly--and I shook it a lot, which seemed to temporarily work. Ah well, it's a nice colour.

Love,

D.B.