Night

Warning: viewer discretion advised. The following post contains uncharacteristic emotion and a load of personal crap that most people wouldn't care much for. But if you want to read this, you've been warned. haha

First off, Last Tuesday Was My Birthday! My friends and I headed to Mellow Mushroom, a local pizza place, after my band and orchestra concert that day (band played Smoke on the Water, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Land of a Thousand Dances, and the Final Countdown...Smoke on the water is all trombone, and I think that I did pretty well) Fun day overall.

Now on to the real stuff.

Middle School drama. It's always been there, but last week has been particularly awful. First off, I took he mistake of telling my previously mentioned friends the name of the girl I liked. Naturally, being guys and all, they teased me on it too no end until I was finally pressured into actually telling her. Which resulted in me getting shot down like a fricken World War II plane over Normandy. But whatever, I think its for the best, as now I don't have that weight of a potential relationship balanced on my shoulders. So I'm all cool with it.

Going along with Middle School Drama, I've been caught in a civil war in our grade. Let's rewind a bit: since 6th or 7th grade, I've been friendly with all but a few of the girls in our grade (I know, I know, I am such a player...actually, not like that at all. whatsoever. get your mind out of the gutter :P). Anyways, I found out that that little fact has drawbacks. For some reason that is loss it me, the girls in our class our in some kind of civil war. And not that side-vs-side thing: its complete anarchy here. most of the guys in our grade are as clueless as me, but they're not forced to have to play Switzerland between 5 or so little groups of girls. I am so confused :/

Only 3 weeks of school left...this week, exams next week, and then a week afterwords for make-up test. As always, I've been stuck with pre-exam homework frenzy, as In 2 assignments in every subject each day. But seeing as the is more or less my last week of real school, I think that I can suffer through the next week.

Note: This is not my peice. This is a peice of writing from the book Night, by Ellie Wiesel. It recounts his time during the holocaust...its an amazingly depressing book, as you'll see with the following writing, but I encourage you guys to read it if you haven't already. It's a great book.

The following happens after the Jews has to run- run, not walk- 40 kilometers to the next concentration camp after their old one was evacuated. As men die around them from exhaustion or the bitter cold, one polish boy lifts up his violin and begins to play in the Night. The following are the author's memories of the event:

It was pitch dark. I could hear only the violin, and it was as though Juliek’s soul were the bow. He was playing his life. The whole of his life was gliding on the strings—his lost hopes, his charred past, his extinguished future. He played as he would never play again.

I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget that concert, given to an audience of dying and dead men! To this day, whenever I hear Beethoven played my eyes close and out of the dark rises the sad, pale face of my Polish friend, as he said farewell on his violin to an audience of dying men.

I do not know for how long he played. I was overcome by sleep. When I awoke, in the daylight, I could see Juliek, opposite me, slumped over, dead. Near him lay his violin, smashed, trampled, a strange overwhelming little corpse.

I don't know why, but this particular part really moved me. I haven't finished the book yet, and trust me, there are parts equally depressing as this from what I've read so far. I encourage you to read it, no matter how depressing it is.

And now to end this post on a slightly less depressing note: the legendary piano rock song, Piano Man, by Billy Joel. Great piece of music, pretty Epic :)