I Love It When They Call Me Big Papi

          Fifteen pep band members loaded on to a bus over to Yawkey Way this morning, ready to perform for the crowds milling around Fenway Park before the game. Georgia and I bonded over a breakneck run to Sal's, a pizza place nearby, where they somehow forgot my order and held us up for several minutes. In any case, we got back on time and the band kicked ass. Playing for drunk baseball fans is an enjoyable experience, and we had to increase the hype level by starting the cheering after each of our own songs (since no one in the crowd ever wants to be the first.) Jake and I were holding down all of the trumpet work, so after an hour and a half we were hanging by a thread, but that wonderful feeling that public performance inspires made up for it. When our time was finally up and the crowds dispersed into the park, the band went to Tasty Burger for a communal meal before returning with guest passes in hand. They're technically "standing room only", but on a day like today there were bound to be some empty seats. It was god-awfully chilly after night fell -- I only wore a windbreaker, and I forgot how dragged out baseball can be -- but it was kind of pleasant to see the Red Sox own the Rays, 7-4. In more pertinent news, the Rangers lost game 6 to the Flyers, meaning game 7 will decide who comes out on top. Neither team has won more than one consecutive game in this series, so the last one should be a nailbiter. After the game, I went to Ariel's with Alaric, Georgia and Nathan for drinking, dancing, and conversation. Georgia and I are both runners from the Hudson Valley, and we probably ran meets against each other in high school (Marlboro v. Saugerties), so we shared a bunch of incidentally shared memories. For example: the "running families" from Red Hook that each had like 13 kids of the same gender, all of whom could and did make you eat their dust; the playful, torturous Mills Mansion cross-country course; and the joys of hurdling.
          Quotes of the day:

"It's a double layer band cake!" - Becky

"Your Batman impression is SHIT!" - Georgia