my name is shannon and i am a (former?) band geek

yes, yes. it's true. i know you find this confession hard to believe (note the irony). during my awkward teenage years, i played the piccolo and flute in my high school band. we did not march. i've never been to band camp. we were fairly technically advanced for a group of acne-prone, socially-marginalized nerds. our repertoire included the 'overture' from leonard bernstein's candide and perhaps more impressively, a selection of marches from the infamous john philip sousa. i loved playing the piccolo solo from "stars and stripes" -- during a regional band competition i remember threatening to wipe the floor with the flutist from a competing high school. she was threatened by the fact i wore earplugs when i played (to protect my hearing -- the piccolo is one loud, nasty little beast) -- those little yellow pieces of foam were indicative of my 'seriousness', much like a crash helmet at your local drag strip.

the band geek that has been dormant inside of me for longer than i'd care to admit was recently ressurrected with the discovery of the sousalarm. ask me in public and i'll pretend to be horrified by the idea -- being startled awake by the opening bars of "hail to the chief" is not something one should admit to taking pleasure in if one is to retain any shreds of a hip identity. as this is an internet confession however, i'll admit to tapping my toe along to the selection this morning, as i shook the plastic jug of orange juice in 2/2 time. once a band geek, always a band geek, i suppose. i'm considering submitting my name to the sousaphone in order to become a member in good standing of the sousalarm club.