Journal+9-Sneeze+2

__Mark Wood Experience:__

For the past two years, CYSD has done this thing called the Mark Wood Experience. Mark Wood is an electric violinist from the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Each year that he has come, he does a two day workshop with strings at Central from sixth through twelfth grade, as well as the high school's chorus. On the second day of the workshop, the strings and the chorus preform two separate concerts. The Mark Wood Experience is absolutely amazing.

I had much more fun there this year than I did last year. Last year, I didn't get to play many songs with Mark Wood and his band. This year, I got to play a lot more. The only downfall to this year's Mark Wood Experience was dinner. There was a mix up with who was ordering pizza for all of the kids, so we didn't have much time to eat before we had to start our second concert. Also, at dinner, my table was extremely loud and wouldn't be quiet when I asked them to.

The highlight of the Mark Wood Experience, for me, was getting to play an electric instrument. You see, Central bought four electric instruments from Mark Wood. We bought one Cobra cello, two Stingrays, and one Viper. The stingrays can only be played by violins while the Viper can be played by either violins or violas. Since I play viola, I could only play the Viper, and I got to play it on stage with Mark Wood at both of the concerts!

I can't believe that the Mark Wood Experience won't be at Central again until my junior year in high school. I mean, we'll have a few concerts with the electric instruments, but we won't get to see Mark and his band for a while. I can't wait two more years to see everyone from the band again!

__Capture the Flag:__

Tonight is the Freshman Capture the Flag tournament. My team is called Hakuna Matata. I know for a fact that my team isn't going to do well in the tournament, but I know we will have a good time. My biggest worry about the tournament is having Michelle as the only team captain. We used to have Michelle as captain and Viktor as field commander, but Viktor stepped down at the last minute, leaving Michelle in charge of the whole team by herself.

My favorite part about tonight is hanging out with my friends. My one friend who's in tenth grade is planning on coming tonight for a little bit. I like to call him our team's cheerleader, but I don't think he likes being called a cheerleader very much. Another part I like about tonight is getting Rita's. I love Rita's. My sister works right next to Rita's and I never get tired of getting Rita's almost every time my family picks her up from work.

I'm surprised I'm not worried about the tournament tonight. Normally I would be nervous about winning, but that's not the case today. As of now I'm not worried about the tournament at all. I know my team will do as well as they can even though we'll probably get out of the tournament in out first match. Oh well, I guess winning doesn't really matter to me today, I guess it's more about having fun. I can't wait for tonight. :D