Earthquake

How exciting was that? 5.9 on the Richter scale centered near Richmond, Virginia! I wonder what it was here in Maryland (a co-worker is speculating around a 3).
I was standing in front of a fume hood, when the hood began to shake. I looked up, wondering if someone was doing work on the roof of the building. Then I thought, nah, maybe a big truck is going by. But as the next few seconds passed, and the shaking didn’t stop, I moved into the hallway, and saw my computer monitor through the office door shaking like crazy. I have never experienced an earthquake before, and it was really kind of cool.

Ravens vs. Chiefs

Today’s preseason game against the Chiefs was really disappointing, from my musical point-of-view. My disappointment came because of the weather. Prior to every game, the band performs a concert. Today, there was the danger of thunderstorms, so we cut the concert extremely short. The game went well, though, with the Ravens winning 13-31.

Birthday Shadowbox Sent

Well, I finally finished it!

A month after it was due to be sent out, I finally mailed out my Birthday Shadowbox. I will never let myself get that far behind again!

Howard County Fair

Today’s band gig was the Howard County Fair. Every year, we perform a concert, and march in the parade around the fairgrounds. This year, it rained a little on us. Other than that, we were fabulous, as usual.

Ravens Scrimmage and Martina's Party

This morning, the Pep Band performed for the Ravens Scrimmage.

We played outside the stadium for the fans waiting to get into the event. Then, we went inside the stadium and performed during the scrimmage. I must admit, it was a tad bit boring, but I think it was because I couldn’t understand what the announcers were saying. It would have been a lot more interesting if I understood what the team was doing out on the field.
Afterwards, I went to Marty & Martina’s annual end-of-summer party. I saw Dawn and Brenda (old co-workers from the Tidewater) and their spouses. Unfortunately, it rained pretty hard, so I left after about an hour and a half, but it was really nice to catch up with old friends.

Diaper Cake for Hilary

This is my latest diaper cake, which I've been working on for about a week.

Instead of running out to Bel Air to get the plastic cake tiers, I used cardboard cake rounds with Johnson's Baby products for the pillars. And instead of the flowers I've decorated with in the past, I used more baby products from Johnson's, and a few toys. Our baby shower is on Friday, and I hope Hilary likes the cake!

Room

Wow, how good was "Room" by Emma Donoghue?

Told from the point of view of the 5-year old inhabitant of Room, it's about his life there and after. It was certainly a tear jerker, and a little disturbing at times (sometimes I couldn't read it for a few days at a time). When I told Tom what it was all about, he said it sounded stupid, but what does he know? I still liked it a lot, and I thank Chyanna from the Tidewater for recommending it.