All day, I've been telling myself that I will start this article. It is now 2:30 a.m., and I have finally begun. I am sure you're wondering what I've been doing all day to wait this long to start writing. Well, this morning I slept in until about noon. I woke up, made some lunch, and then got ready for my job interview, which was at 2 p.m. I applied the other day to be a server at "Romano's Macaroni Grill" restaurant.

Paula unearthed this 1964 Cadets pic recently.
I had my first interview yesterday and had my second and final interview today. They told me that they normally don't hire people for a server position if they do not have prior experience. However, I CRUSHED my interview, so they decided to give me the job. As stupid as this may sound, being in drum corps made answering their interview questions a piece of cake. There were a lot of "how would you react in this situation" kind of questions. Being in a leadership position definitely helped me out there, as well as being used to excessive amounts of teamwork and dedication. So to make a long story a little shorter, I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I start my training on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and I can't wait. I am happy to finally have a job lined up because it's been pretty boring not doing anything! Believe it or not, just sitting around all day can lose its excitement after a while.
So, after my job interview I went home and practiced for a while. I finished up my tape for camp. We have "tape assignments" that we must complete each month. We just have to put some exercises, show music, and additional tunes on a cassette tape or CD and turn them in at camp to be evaluated. I think tapes are great because no one can hide -- everyone will be held accountable for what they sound like. I've been in horn lines where we made a tape and ones that we didn't, and let me tell you -- taking the time to make those tapes really pays off once the summer rolls around. After my practice session, my mom and I took a trip to the dentist. Yes. Our dentist is a longtime family friend, so after I got my teeth cleaned, my mom gave him a haircut/coloring. We had to wait until he was done with all of his patients of course, so needless to say, I was sitting around there for hours! Which explains why I got home so late! Anyway, once home I got a call from my wonderful friend Laura. We talked for a while. After getting off the phone, I watched some "Family Guy." In my opinion, that is one of the funniest shows ever made. I can't wait to start getting into voice acting/acting. I've thought about doing it for years but never seriously -- talking in voices was just a fun hobby, but I never really thought that was what I wanted to do. Anyway, I've realized that I want to take this full on and make a career out of it. I'm going to start some stuff while in Florida, but not super hardcore until I get back up to New York. Someday I'll be the voice of a cartoon character. Awesome. While "Family Guy" was playing on the television, I attempted to start this column -- but I kept getting sidetracked because that show is so funny. Anyway, then amazing friend Matt called me and we spoke for a while as well. After we got off the phone I realized that it had to be now or never, and never was not an option, so I decided to shut off the tube and start this thing. It seems to be working out quite well. So now it is a little after three in the morning. I will be waking up in about 2 1/2 hours or so. Why? Well, my friend Jasmine is in her first year as a middle school band director and she asked if I could help her out with some solo and ensemble stuff. So tomorrow, I will listen to as many kids as I can play their solos so I can give them feedback. It will be good for them to have a different set of ears hear them perform.
I am very excited about this because I know I will learn a lot and hopefully give these kids some excellent advice. They start school at 7:15 a.m.! I don't remember starting THAT early! So, I'll be there from about 7 a.m. until 1:45 p.m. I think I might just accidentally bring some drum corps videos to show these kids. I wish someone had told me what drum corps was when I was in middle school, even though I probably wouldn't have understood what it really was. Camp is on Friday and I of course cannot wait. Some of us will be staying over Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl, which I am also excited about. Go Eagles! Due to the fact that it is 3:09 a.m., I cannot guarantee that today's column will be enjoyable and/or make sense. So yeah, I apologize if it's awful. I'm going to end this now so I can get a good two hours of sleep in. Awesome. Paula Hyman is a fourth-year member of the Cadets where she is the mellophone section leader. She is 20 years old and currently single. Originally from South Florida, Paula recently made the move to Allentown, Pa., to work for YEA!, the umbrella organization of the Cadets, Crossmen and the U.S. Scholastic Band Association. She ages out in 2006. Past columns by Paula Hyman: Home again Camp and Florida Paradise awaits me With the new year comes change Cadets camp a success; Time for winter break Notes from a weekend off Banquets, show and tell -- report from a Cadets camp A Cadets camp report Macy's Day extravaganza Your not-so-typical day Trick-or-treating at a band show Trick-or-treating at a band show It's a show day! What's a free day? Rest stop or heaven? The Move to Allentown Welcome back to the real world