Turkey Bowl

Thanksgiving is all about tradition.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  So much love, happiness….thankfulness.  I know that’s cheesy, but it’s such a warm holiday.  Nothing gaudy or overly commercialized.  And let’s be honest here, everyone looks forward to Thanksgiving dinner.  But in my family, Thanksgiving dinner is not even the half of it.  Let me tell you about some of our other rituals on this fall holiday.

First is the family football game.  My dad’s family has had a football game on Thanksgiving morning every year since far before I was born.  It’s just a standard game of touch football, but let me tell you, it gets pretty intense.  I started playing when I was around 7 years old.  And if you know anything about me, you know that I am in no way good at football.  I think it has something to do with the combination of me not being able to throw or catch, much less both at the same time.  (Last year in gym class we played flag football and I got placed in the B League, so we spent a week running drills.  In the five days, I did not catch the ball once.  Eventually my teacher took pity on my and handed off the ball so that I could feel somewhat accomplished.)  So needless to say, I am not a huge asset to the team.  My cousin is my age, and for a few years they let us play on the same team.  They would periodically stop, about once every 45 minutes, to run a “G-Play.”  Let me take a second to break down a typical Girl Play.  Everyone pretends to actually try, but nobody really does.  Someone throws the ball to one of the girls on the team, and we all ignore the rules of the game, meaning whether the girl drops or catches the ball, she grabs it and runs until she gets a touchdown while everyone fake lunges at her so that she thinks she really made a contribution to the game.  And then the game continues as usual.  A few years ago, I realized that these plays didn’t count towards the final score.  I felt a little dejected. 

Once we outgrew G-Plays, however, it was time to throw us into the actual game.  Meaning my cousin and I had to be on opposing teams to guard each other.  Both of us complained and put up a huge fight, but our fathers could not be swayed.  Once the game started, we were down to business and, eager to prove ourselves, got a tad bit too aggressive.  It started with harmless guarding and running, but soon swelled into pushing, hair pulling, elbowing, clawing, and I think I was even slapped across the face.  So that was the end of that experiment.  Now we usually play for a few minutes, and then sit on the sidelines drinking hot chocolate. 

Then we have the usual Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, which is always delicious and leaves everyone pleasantly (or unpleasantly) full and satisfied.  My grandpa usually lets out a good ol’ “Buaaaaaaah” at the end of the meal, so you know it’s good.  And then comes black Friday.

Black Friday has changed in my family throughout the years.  My parents used to try to take my brother and I to museums, but those days were filled with complaining and Museum Legs (You know, that feeling when your legs feel like jello that you only get when walking around a museum?)  Then we tried shopping, but after several near trampling incidents, we decided that perhaps a movie would be best.  So now we see a movie every year on Black Friday.  This year we’re going to see, you guessed it, Harry Potter.  I feel like the last person on the face of the earth to see it, so I’m excited.

Anyways, Thanksgiving is filled with family, tradition, good food, and great leftovers.  So when you’re packing up the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (mmmmm) and cranberries, and you need a bag to place all of the Tupperware in, you know where to find one.  A tote bag, available in lovely fall colors, is perfect for the job.

-Emma 

Dance Away

I may already have mentioned this, but I am a dancer.  I have been dancing since I was two years old, and I love everything about it. But my favorite part of dancing is performing.  I’m not an attention-seeking weirdo or anything, but I absolutely love dancing on stage: the lights, the costumes, the loud music, I live for it.  So what has inspired this discussion of my dance life?  Orchesis.

Many of you may be scratching your head and furrowing your brow thinking, “what in God’s name is an Orchesis?”  Orchesis is the dance company at my high school, and it has been a huge part of my life for the past two months.  Every year we hold auditions in September, and we have performances in November and May, with a three-month break between seasons.  So our November showcase is next weekend.  Which means that this is the week that I go around telling everyone that they simply MUST come see the show.  Often enough, people hear the word Orchesis and ask one of two questions:

1.     “Oh, so do you, like, play the violin or something?”

2.     “Isn’t that some kind of interpretive dance… thing?”

The answer is no. No, Orchesis has nothing to do with Orchestra, and no, Orchesis is not an interpretive dance group…the idea scares me a little bit. 

So every year we start rehearsals just after auditions, in the first or second week of September.  Once you make the company, you are cast in a certain number of dances, depending on your year in school and how many seasons you have been on Orchesis.  There are several seniors each season who choreograph pieces. The rest are choreographed by Ms. Riner (the dance teacher in charge of Orchesis), other teachers, and guest choreographers.  This year, I am doing an independent study in choreography with Ms. Riner, so I choreographed a full piece and a mini solo that is in another dance.

But what I really want to talk about is tech week.  Tech week is the week before the show, and we run the entire show once or twice each day with lighting and costumes.  Tech week is also a week of traditions.  Each day, we dress up according to some ridiculous theme to advertise for the show.  Past dress-up days have included: dress like a dancer day, dress like an athlete day (which we were all made fun of, so that one didn’t stick), white t-shirt/hallway marker wars day, monochromatic day, etc.  So you get the idea.  This year is pretty exciting, because the seniors decided to bring back pajama day, which means….wait for it…drum roll please…ONESIES.  That’s right, this Tuesday I will be sporting a bubble-gum pink adult onesie complete with dogs for feet to school.  If you can’t tell, I’m kind of excited. 

Besides dress up week, we have other traditions, most of them revolving around food.  Don’t think for one second that we are those kinds of dancers who don’t eat anything.  I would venture to say that at least half of Orchesis traditions involve food.  On the Friday of the first show, we are called out of eighth period so that we can go get some food before our 4:00 pm final dress rehearsal, which means that we all pile into cars and go to get Italian ice and French fries or milk shakes.  Then, after the final dress and before the opening show, we sit in a giant circle, eat pizza, and talk.  And then there’s always the random nights during tech week that we order $80 worth of Thai food for the company to eat during the run-throughs. 

So what do I do when I have lots of costumes, dance shoes, and makeup to bring for the shows?  I throw all of it in my Tote bag, of course! For all of you dancers out there who have tons to carry around for classes and shows, and the athletes who have their own equipment, you’ll need a big bag to transport all of your goods.  Make it a tote bag. 

-Emma