Out of my depth
As a schoolkid, I signed up for a public speaking contest purely as a ruse to meet girls. It haunts me still: in front of 300 people, I started to speak, dried up, stood there for what felt like half an hour staring at the floor and then slowly walked back to my seat. Oh, and the girl I liked laughed.
Have you ever been utterly, completely, devastatingly out of your depth?
( , Thu 14 Oct 2004, 15:07)
As a schoolkid, I signed up for a public speaking contest purely as a ruse to meet girls. It haunts me still: in front of 300 people, I started to speak, dried up, stood there for what felt like half an hour staring at the floor and then slowly walked back to my seat. Oh, and the girl I liked laughed.
Have you ever been utterly, completely, devastatingly out of your depth?
( , Thu 14 Oct 2004, 15:07)
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My first year of high school, i decided that i wanted to play the saxophone.
I barely knew how to put the thing together, let alone play it. Every thursday, i used to lug around what felt like a 10kg box on a 1/2 hour walk to my school.The only real reason that i started playing was so i could avoid having to go the 2 hour religious education classes. After about a year of convincing my teacher and my family that i could play, i was unknowingly put forward for the school recital. My task was to play "London Bridge Is Falling Down", so for the next week i was panicing. I figured out that i could play the song by writing the notes down in sequence, E,G,D and so on. So recital night comes and i was told that i was going to be part of a duet. The relief poured through me, so we were called onto the stage and i was greeted by about 300 parents that had come to see the recital. I tenderly placed my piece of paper on the stand and started to play. The first few notes went well, until i noticed that the other person wasn't playing with me. She was just stood there, looking at me. I looked back at the paper and could no longer read my writing, the notes had somehow re-aranged them selves. My playing had reduced itself to a note a second, kind of like a tooting sound. I looked out into the audience and i could see people shrinking into their seats, cringing. Thats the last thing i remember until my music teacher revived me with smelling salts. The saxophone is now rotting under my bed.
( , Thu 21 Oct 2004, 14:50, Reply)
I barely knew how to put the thing together, let alone play it. Every thursday, i used to lug around what felt like a 10kg box on a 1/2 hour walk to my school.The only real reason that i started playing was so i could avoid having to go the 2 hour religious education classes. After about a year of convincing my teacher and my family that i could play, i was unknowingly put forward for the school recital. My task was to play "London Bridge Is Falling Down", so for the next week i was panicing. I figured out that i could play the song by writing the notes down in sequence, E,G,D and so on. So recital night comes and i was told that i was going to be part of a duet. The relief poured through me, so we were called onto the stage and i was greeted by about 300 parents that had come to see the recital. I tenderly placed my piece of paper on the stand and started to play. The first few notes went well, until i noticed that the other person wasn't playing with me. She was just stood there, looking at me. I looked back at the paper and could no longer read my writing, the notes had somehow re-aranged them selves. My playing had reduced itself to a note a second, kind of like a tooting sound. I looked out into the audience and i could see people shrinking into their seats, cringing. Thats the last thing i remember until my music teacher revived me with smelling salts. The saxophone is now rotting under my bed.
( , Thu 21 Oct 2004, 14:50, Reply)
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