A BUNCH of stuff did transpire though, and it would be cruel not to backtrack a little bit.
(flashback music)...in case you need it.
In February, I participated in All-University Sing here at Baylor University. I often struggle to describe exactly what Sing is. My dad once told me that writers who use the phrase "indescribable" are lazy people without the guts to construct a decent thought, and you know, he could not be more right. Anyway, Sing is basically indescribable. The basic structure of Sing is a musical review based on a theme. For example, if your theme was "puppies" (which is always my suggestion), your group would decorate a backdrop devoted to puppies, wear puppy costumes, dance on all fours, and sing songs such as "You aint Nothin' but a Houndog" and "Welcome to Puppy Town". The act has to be seven minutes long, and it has to BLOW PEOPLE'S MINDS.
Seriously. Sing is ridiculous. I am not sure who thought of it or how. When done right, it is just flat out impressive. However, when done half-assed, it is PURE GENIUS. As an audience member, I would sit through the good acts and think "Holy crap. When did the cast of 'A Chorus Line' start going to Baylor?", but to be honest I was always looking for that act that just crashed and burned. Maybe the theme was nonsensical, or maybe the costumes looked like sumo suits, or maybe someone fell into the orchestra. If just ONE of these elements was in play, I was entertained.
That's just part of the fun. Some groups are bananas-amazing and some groups are hilariously awful (either intentionally or otherwise). I will refrain from using specifics about my opinions for this year's Sing simply because I was in it (however, be as free as you like in the comments section), but I will say that most groups leaned towards the bananas-amazing side.
Sing Alliance, the group I got the chance to be apart of, was one of those. In the words of Lil Mama from "America's Best Dance Crew", "y'all was on POINT!" We actually ranked in the top 3 along with two other intensely amazing acts. Our theme was newspapers, and it was just cute as I'll get out. We had two backdrops and a full costume change (which for those of you who are new to Sing, two backdrops and two costumes is a BIG deal). I actually got to be a part of a trio which sang the song "Want Ads". Below is a video of our act taken from the first night of the show.
As you can see, Sing is just good fun for everyone involved.
For me, however, things got a little hairy whenever I contracted SWINE FLU. Unfortunately, getting swine flu these days is so not as interesting as it was a few months ago. It just sucks.
The progression of my disease went a little something like this:
February 18 (Day 1 of Sing) - I texted Daniel while in my English class because I wanted him to come pick me up. I just felt weird, kind of like I was walking around in a dream, only in this dream there was a really boring group presentation on "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Dan picked me up and I got home and, for some reason, decided to draw a bath, and I sat in that bath for a good 45 minutes. Then I felt fine.
February 19 (Day 2 of Sing) - I felt fit as a fiddle. My family came to visit this day as well and stayed for the night.
February 20 (Day 3 of Sing) - I woke saying "uh oh..." because my throat hurt which made my sister think that I wet the bed. I sang okay, but when I got home, I freaked out on Daniel about GOD KNOWS WHAT and came down with a fever of 102. I decided it was probably time to go the doctor, but I wouldn't be able to until Monday.
February 21 - I woke up making a sound that went something like "hoo-EH! hoo-EH!". I hope it woke the neighbors because they are RUDE.
February 22 - I went to the doctor and was told I had swine flu. I had to wear a mask out of the building which made me feel like a jerk. I then spent the entire day with a fever ranging from 101 - 103. I think this may have been the day my fingernails turned blue. I sat in the bathtub trying to warm myself FOREVER, but nothing was working. I had several weird panic attacks where I believed everyone was out to get me while Daniel tried to explain otherwise. With his help, my fever FINALLY broke for the first time in 3 days.
February 23 - SNOW DAY. But not for me. However, Kaley made a fairly decent snowman representation of what it was like to be quarantined with swine flu.
Anguish.
From that point on, the Tamiflu kicked in and I started to feel much better. My voice didn't fully recover, so that weekend in Sing I just did whatever I could. Save for barfing on the microphone, doing a fever-induced Irish jig, and proposing gay marriage to Ken Starr from my platform, I would say I did alright.
Major props to Daniel Glenn O'Shoney (pictured below).
He was the very definition of gentleman through my piglet ailment. He dealt with all of my crazy spells (pre, during, and post) and never complained once. Every now and then, he treated me like a baby, but mind you, I was the very definition of baby.
There is SO much more to report, but I will let you digest this entry first. Be prepared because when I come back (keep me accountable in this), you will hear the rousing tales of mine and Daniel's trip to Chicago. In the meantime, here is a little teaser of an absolutely typical moment for Dan and I.
