My fellow passengers and I were booted off the Green Line somewhere near the Citgo sign due to a mechanical issue, but the air was cool and the walk pleasant. I chilled at home for a time and worked on our "sports wall". Next,I packed for Relay For Life; due to new regulations, only tiny bags are allowed and the packing took forever as I had to cram everything into 3 string bags and totes. I booked it over to the band office for the pep band's opening-ceremony performance, which I set up in the laziest way possible for the second year running. When I arrived, just about everyone was ready to roll, and we settled on "Some Nights", "No Diggity" and "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" for a closer if needed.
Our little band moved outside for a two-minute refresher on marching and moved toward Matthews in step, practicing on ice-cold instruments along the way. (It had taken us a while to figure out the marching formation.) Maddie's trumpet looked beautiful in the snow, a broad red ribbon winding around its silver pipes. At Matthews, we practiced in one of the visiting-team locker rooms nestled under the seats before taking up position near the main stage. We got in one lap, as planned, and "Some Nights" was the perfect length to carry us through it. The band sounded fine, and I figure that my choice of song was an appropriate blend of melancholy and uplifting for the occasion.
I bailed to put my instrument away and pick up a Gobbler, and then Relay was on for me. I stuck around to catch Sean perform with the Unisons, then left again with Alaric, Chris and Clay. We hung out at NASA for a couple of hours, chatting, sipping on drinks and watching the Ducks beat the Avalanche. On the walk over, we worked on a strong whiskey drink before throwing it (and the horrible Disney princess cup) away. We got to Matthews at 11:57, three minutes before it was set to close to new arrivals. It makes me tired just thinking about it, but we and five or six other students were disrespected and dismissed by an NUPD officer and a Matthews security guard. These men were both factually incorrect (on the time, as multiple timepieces showed) and procedurally incorrect (by implying that by not being "early enough", we were in fact late, and also for being dicks in general.) Alaric had run ahead and got in before they shut the doors, so after Clay, Chris and I missed the Luminaria ceremony (aka the only significant part of Relay), he snuck us in through the side doors. I sent a pissed-off email to my contact person, gathered up my shit and left. This was the second time I've been shit on by NUPD and it's unfair that they treat students like misbehaving children. At home, I smoked and watched House of Cards with Alaric (who took off with me) in order to take the edge off.
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