World of Pageantry

Not sure where else to put this...

As some of you already know (if you follow me on Facebook), in six weeks I will be leaving California for good and moving to the midwest. I will be unable to make many (any?) California band competitions this fall and will arrive at my new destination (Wisconsin) after the conclusion of the Wisconsin and Illinois marching seasons.

I'm not INTENDING to disappear from WOP completely, but at the very least my activity on here is going to be severely reduced. A semi-retirement, I guess.

So... it's been real, and stuff.

What is taking you to Wisconsin? The curious want to know.

Good luck with your travels and thank you for all your help over the years!

Bandmaster wrote:What is taking you to Wisconsin? The curious want to know.

Fell in love with the state my first visit back for DCI Finals in 1999. Proposed to my wife there in 2005. Have a lot of friends and a large social network waiting for us. Love the cold, hate the heat. I like seasons. 25% lower cost of living. Almost 50% lower cost of housing (one of the houses we were looking at but did not end up getting: 1400 sq ft, 3 bedroom HOUSE for $900/month; try finding that in California). More relaxing atmosphere, more laid-back. Friendlier people. Visited Wisconsin in the winter every year for the past eight years, always feels like coming home. Just all-around generally sick of California.

... and this upcoming winter is supposed to be a record breaker. I wish you luck shoveling snow.
P.S. We will be leaving CA too, but not sure where to yet. Possibly TX, AZ, or thereabouts.

You will be missed! Good luck!

Sad to hear you're going, but we are friends on Facebook, so I'm sure we will stay in touch.

Also, I know exactly what you mean about wanting to get out of California and FAST! I am moving from Temecula to Escondido in 3 weeks to be closer to work. Originally we wanted to buy rather than rent, however, for a 1 bedroom condo with no washer/dryer in the unit your looking at $150,000!!! In my home state of Utah that will buy you a 3 bedroom house with a nice size yard. I also hate the California heat, meh.

Have seriously considered moving back to Utah, really all that's holding me back is I have an excellent job in San Marcos.

Intend to move back some day.

Good luck in your new life, I'm sure you'll be much happier.

That's a heckuva commute to get a California suntan.

Good luck to you Hostrauser!!!

One fond memory (amongst many) was the one time you drove out west to pick me up from college so that we could go check out the bands at the 2001 Grape Bowl Classic. That was pretty awesome. Not only had I never attended the famous GBC in the past, but we got to witness some first-hand drama (Lincoln HS accrued a 5-pt penalty for not playing continuously throughout the zone and lost sweepstakes because of that...Mr. Holton was M-A-D!!!).

And just overall picking your brain about your extensive knowledge about bands, their strengths & weaknesses, and being about 98% correct on ensemble placements (and pretty good on caption placements as well!). Hostrauser/SHJ/PP was THE walking NorCAL marching band dictionary for many, MANY years...it'll be hard to find someone that will be able to fill his shoes, either in NorCal or Southern Cal :-/

MasterT wrote:One fond memory (amongst many) was the one time you drove out west to pick me up from college so that we could go check out the bands at the 2001 Grape Bowl Classic. That was pretty awesome. Not only had I never attended the famous GBC in the past, but we got to witness some first-hand drama (Lincoln HS accrued a 5-pt penalty for not playing continuously throughout the zone and lost sweepstakes because of that...Mr. Holton was M-A-D!!!).

LOL! I remember that! I even wrote in my program that it looked like Lincoln finished their march with five or six ranks still in the competition zone. Lincoln won most or all of the caption sweepstakes but Foothill Pleasanton ended up taking parade sweeps because of the penalty. I can't remember who the head judge was, but Art Holton was sure giving him an earful even AFTER the awards ceremony.