We're Here!

We go live in 3, 2, 1...
Hi! So I'm officially at NYO right now. I meant to post yesterday but couldn't find the charger for my laptop; so I apologize. But yes. I am here!
It's been a really chill, really cool day so far; I've gone around meeting everyone I see, and while that's definitely been fun, it's also exhausting. I can only be social and outgoing for about 1-2 hours at a time; after that I just crash wherever I am and stick with whomever I happen to be next to. But I've met people across all the sections and instruments; I met all four bassoonists, most of the rest of the wind section, and of course tons of strings. I actually don't think I met any brass players today. But I also did meet plenty of percussionists and apprentices. I was really surprised actually at the speed at which I got along with so many of the people I met. The ones who came early (apparently I was early, but I arrived around 1-1:30 ish) wandered around welcoming others as they came in, while figuring out where everyone was from at the same time. There was a camera crew there, and it was pretty funny because they actually made some of the people who arrived on the shuttle get back on and off so that they could record it.

Everyone basically alternated between the 3rd, 4th, and 1st floors while waiting for everyone to get here/dinner to be ready, which was at 5:30. We sat around talking for a majority of the time, and then after dinner I went with some of the bassoonists/oboists to watch them make reeds and talk to them. After that I went and practiced a bit. Well, I told myself that. I actually practiced for about 5 minutes then went to waste time on the internet until about 9, when I went back to the 4th floor and played a gigantic round of Prez first and then E.R.S. with about 13 people before going to meet with our RAs and then sleeping. Which is where I am now. So now you're all caught up!
We start icebreakers tomorrow, and aside from that I'm not sure I know if anything else is happening. We've got seating auditions the day after that (I'm at 10:40) and wardrobe fittings for the next 3 days. I think I'm last for those.
I won't be able to take pictures because I'm using a phone that doesn't have a Blogger app and my camera's charger has gone missing. I do, however, have a nice Wi-Fi-working laptop that Blogger works perfectly, as you can see. So, I won't be able to make this blog any more visually exciting, but I'll keep you updated on all the details of NYO here. Also, once we're in China, I'm not sure I'll be able to blog anymore. So that's still a tossup.
But I'm super glad I'm finally here and I've gotten to meet everyone I've heard about online; it's kinda surreal, seeing all these people (everyone's way taller than I expected :) ) and it's cool actually talking to them. Most of the returning members are in no way standoffish, but rather pretty eager to help out and talk to new members. It's pretty crazy how old and old, new and new, and old and new members all get along fine.
So I'm super excited for tomorrow, very satisfied with today, and will bet that by the time I return home from NYO, I'll finish all my snacks except one Clif bar, and will have eaten something non-vegan in China, while staying vegan in New York. I thought it would keep things interesting to place some bets early on in the process. Let's see how that goes.
So stay tuned for more stories, and post any and all questions below!