Many of you have seen us taking photos, talking to people and generally getting in everyone's way at
various contests, but there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes with SI that you never see...
...until now.
A new feature that we are trying out for 2003 is a look at what we do on contest days. We are tentatively
calling it Contest Journal. In this weekly series, we will document what we do on a typical contest day.
Also you can read some of our comments about events pertaining to the world of pageantry arts. Some of the
entries might seem a little edgy, others silly, and even weird. The point is to give everyone a glimpse of
what it is like to be an SI staffer. We see a lot of things that are entertaining and make us laugh, so we
thought we would share them with you.
Enjoy!
Our first entry in the 2003 Contest Journal is the winter guard show at North Posey High School on February
15, 2003.
In January we began to live healthier lives. That means eating better foods, getting plenty of sleep, and of
course more exercise. Before every show, Tim and I try to limber up by doing a little yoga. We both find
that yoga energizes us and gets us ready for a long day at the show - plus the added flexibility makes it
easier for us to scratch our own backs. Tim took this shot of me because he managed to unwrap himself
first, while all I could do is sit there and kick myself in the back of the head.
Leading healthier lifestyles means that we now eat healthier foods, but we also take the time to eat slowly
and enjoy each bite. We don't want to have to repeat the incident that happened last season when Scott
devoured his Happy Meal in the McDonalds drive through
so fast that he accidentally swallowed the BattleBots action figure that was in the bag.
Listening to the proper music on the way to the show is critical if we expect to stay sharp. What type do we
listen to? One word - Zamfir. Nothing gets us prepared for a day of pageantry more than some righteous tunes
belted out by the world's premier pan flutist! His
"Folk Songs & Dances"
album from 1991 is a tour de force and his "Love Themes from the Movies" album (released in 1996) is completely
off the hook!
One of the perks of being SI staffers is that we get special admission rates to contests. The North Posey
show was no different.
In the past couple years, our photographs of marching bands and guards have become quite popular with people
across the country. Visitors to our site have come to expect high quality pictures. Some of our more cutting
edge photos have won awards based on their artistic merit. Above is an award winning and truly
Avant Garde
photo taken by Scott in 2001 called "Back of Lens Cap"
Say what you want about winter guard contest food, but for our money it doesnt get any better. Every
mouth-watering bite is like a celebration in our mouths and everyone is invited! In this photo, Tim tries
out the nachos with the special 5-alarm napalm
jalapeno cheese sauce.
The winter guard show at North Posey was GREAT! Here is a photo of Scott congratulating Princeton's Guard
Director Stacy Milheiser on a fine show!
Wasn't that great? You probably feel a little winded, so we'll give you a second to catch your breath.
We hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed the tens of minutes we spent putting this stuff
together. Don't miss our next installment of the Contest Journal. It promises to be as mediocre as this
one, we can assure you of that!
