Argh

My tolerance level for bullshit is really reaching an all time low.

My wife and I purchased a car in Delaware and were issued a temporary tag.  They were supposed to submit our info to PA and have our license plate shipped to us.  Yeah...this never happened and my temp tag expires tomorrow.

Dena called the dealer and ripped into them something fierce on Friday.  Is it weird that I love it when she yells at other people over the phone?  Anyway, I called today and killed them with kindness. They never submitted the info, but they'll do it on Thursday, and I should have the plate next week.  We'll see.  I have to pick up another temp tag tonight so I can actually drive my vehicle.

I just don't understand why it's so difficult for people to do what they're supposed to do.  I get not giving a crap about your job, but if you're there anyway you might as well do the job instead of...well...nothing at all!

In other news, it was a good and interesting weekend with the drum corps.  The show is still continuing to take shape, and it's going slower than I'd like.  The majority of the drum corps is making amazing progress on the music and guard work, but the drill and visual portion of the show has been a much slower process.  It's not really anyone's fault, it just is what it is.  We were designing a show for a corps that didn't exist.  We didn't know if we'd max out at the 65 member limit, or if we'd have a much smaller corps.  We didn't know what kind of talent we'd have or how well they could retain the show.  Now that we're much more comfortable with the "who" portion of this whole thing, the "what" is now able to take shape a little better.  We learned some lessons and will definitely be making some changes to our approach next year.

All that being said, the show is going to be great.  It's just going to take a little bit of time.  Luckily, time is what we have this year.  As a first year corps, we aren't guaranteed to get into any shows even though we passed our DCA evaluation.  Unlike other circuits, DCA does not schedule corps at shows.  You, as a corps, have to go to the show sponsor and request...or they ask you, and no one is exactly begging for a brand new corps to come to their shows.  We're currently at 5 shows plus championships, which gives us a few weekends to work at our home rehearsal facility and clean/tweak the show as needed.  It also enables us to give our members 2 weekends completely off, which was a big selling point with a lot of people this year.

The uniform fitting was this weekend, and we look absolutely spectacular.  I'm very proud of what this is becoming.  I may become frustrated with the pace of it from time to time, but I just need to keep reminding myself that this is the first year, and that everything we do has to be done the right way so that we can build a foundation for success in future years.  Sometimes that process is slow.  Some things that we've accomplished have come fast and easy.  Some things not so much.  It's all part of the process.

I'm completely finished writing the music, though.  My second drum corps show (first was Fusion 2008's program "Momentum.") really has turned out pretty good. I'm pleased with the construction, the variety, the attention to detail, and the reaction of the members.  I've received overwhelmingly positive reviews from some very discriminating individuals when it comes to arranging for drum corps.  We did a full musical run through of the show on Sunday, and I couldn't have been prouder of the members and of what they're turning this show into.  Yes, I wrote the notes, but the notes don't mean squat if I don't have performers buying in and giving their all to it...injecting part of themselves into the show and making the music truly come alive.  It's such a fulfilling and satisfying process, and I just couldn't be happier with the group of people I've been blessed to instruct this year.  I'm a really lucky guy for having them, and so is Windsor Regiment.