taz_39: (Default)
A bus to the airport, and there was time to hang out before my flight so I snacked, read my book, and trolled for Delta pilots to extort trading cards from them :D

I saw many pilots but most were busy, either heading somewhere with purpose or on their phones. But one pilot actually walked through his passengers to say hello. I thought, someone so personable must have trading cards! And so he did!


Now, I already have an A220 card, but this one is a different year and so the design is different. Cool!

My flight was fine, I watched Kubo and the Two Strings which was a "just ok" story with an interesting animation style.
At the Orlando airport I found another random pilot kind of strolling around, who gave me this card:


Also a duplicate of a plane I already have, but different year and different design.
Here's a side-by-side: the card on the left is from 2016 and the one on the right was released in 2022.


The backs. Notice how the same model of plane has changed over the years.


Jameson came to get me and take me home, and we talked the whole way back, mostly about him finishing his grad program and waiting with intense anxiety for a response from Disney about the corporate job he applied for. It's the hardest thing in the world, to wait.

At home I felt overwhelmed with all the cleaning and packing that I felt needed to be done right NOW. But we were going to see our friend Lea perform, so I held back and only wiped down the kitchen counters, cringed at the guest bathroom (there was mold ON the seat, gag) and did a load of laundry. And opened all of my mail! There was quite a lot because I'd ordered an extra pair of black pants, some supplies for our Mexico vacation...and this HUGE sandwich cookie pillow!


It came all the way from an Etsy seller in Ukraine, beautifully packaged in purple crepe paper stamped with the seller's logo.


You can buy something like this on Amazon as well, from (probably) a Chinese seller, but I like to support small business and it was clear from her photos that the quality would be good. It's fluffy and wonderful to hold, and my favorite part is that the cookies and the cream have two different densities of stuffing, so that the cookies feel stiff while the cream is soft and "fluffy." Cannot wait to curl up and watch TV with this!!

After dinner we drove downtown to The Ren theater to watch Lea perform in "Highlights from RENT", part of a "Musical Mondays" series.


We had a drink each and enjoyed hearing top hits from the popular Broadway show. Lea did a fantastic job, she was one of the top two who performed imo (she was playing as Maureen.) After the show and some socializing we left to get a good sleep, for the next day would be quite busy.

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Tuesday, I woke up moderately early and had breakfast, then when Jameson got up to hit the gym I cleaned both bathrooms, vacuumed, and mopped the tile floors. I wanted to do more cleaning but there really wouldn't be enough time, so the rest would have to wait. When Jameson got back I did some packing for Mexico, while simultaneously re-packing for tour...but only partially because some of the stuff that I use for tour I'm bringing to Mexico. You know?

After lunch we went grocery shopping together, picking up Eat Fresco meals for an easy dishes-free dinner and loading up on medications, tolietries, and other things we thought we might need. I got some hydration multipliers and granola bars "just in case," Jameson got travel Tylenol and Pepto for the same reason. We have a lot of stuff that we probably won't need (a travel towel each, waterproof passport bags, etc) but better safe than sorry.

Back home Jameson finished up work while I finished packing and did little things around the house like take out the trash and recycling, change some air filters, and water the plants. We had our prepped meals for dinner and chilled out...and that was that.

Tomorrow...Mexico.

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We got up early for our flight, I was excited and nervous!

I’ve never flown Frontier before, and thank god. What a chaotic mess compared to regular airlines. I’d had the wherewithal to buy Jameson and I seats and carry-on luggage (yes, you need to buy those separately) so at least we weren’t among the poor saps trying to scramble for the last seats. But apparently in addition, a digital boarding pass is not enough, you NEED a physical, printed pass. Not knowing this, we waited in the boarding line and then had to step out of line to get the pass, then back to the back of the queue. It turned out that this had to do with a new biometric scanning system that they pushed us through/tested on us, which perhaps can't accept QR codes?

At the jet bridge I asked the flight attendant about trading cards, because Frontier does their own version of that though it’s really for kids. It highlights the animals on the planes’ tails, rather than info about the planes. This stewardess was really enthusiastic and gave me quite a lot of cards, including a holiday-special polar bear and a vacation-special grizzly!


The flight was smooth and shorter than I expected, and I loved looking out the window at the clear turquoise waters as we landed. Customs was equally easy, just a biometric scan and a sniff from a narcotics pup.

Then we were in Mexico! We found our assigned shuttle and boarded it, and were at our hotel in just about 40 minutes. Had a drink in our hands just three minutes after that. A piña colada.


Our room was fine…nothing special imo, but if you don’t stay in hotels often it would feel swank I’m sure.


We unpacked and had a snack (the buffet was closed but they do put out nachos and hot dogs and such between meals) and then just wandered. We found the batting cages, and saw iguanas and coati!


When my siblings arrived (Kate, Raven, my brother Jonah, and his girlfriend Danielle) we met up with them and made plans for dinner. Before that we all walked over to the beach together to check it out.


Photo op, of course. This is the first time I've been with ALL of my bio-siblings in years.


And Jameson and I got one together as well. I have a stupid face on but he looks cute anyway :)


Dinner was...an experience. We went to the Italian restaurant, and it was clear that something wasn't right: we only saw two servers for the whole restaurant, and either because of that or additional issues in the kitchen, everything was coming out soooooooo slowly. We had to wait 30 minutes to be seated, then didn't get our appetizers until an HOUR later!! Not exaggerating. The food was "ok" but they messed up several orders and forgot some dishes (since it's all-inclusive we didn't deeply care but, c'mon.) By the time we escaped we'd been in there for nearly three hours with very little to show for it.

Still, we got to have drinks and catch up with each other, so it wasn't a total waste.

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Thursday, Jameson and I went to the breakfast buffet. It was awesome! A great selection of Mexican traditional breakfast foods like chilaquiles, burritos, plantains, ripe guava, sweet breads, and so much more. We discovered these lovely little red plums only slightly larger than cherries, which I hope to find stateside. They had stewed fruit as well seasoned in anise and other spices, and of course fresh cut fruit. It turns out Mexican cottage cheese is not nearly as salty as the American kind, and I enjoyed it immensely. And don't get me started on the sweetbreads. mini conchas, croissants, churro twists, guava-filled brioche rolls...it was heaven.


After breakfast we met up with my siblings and we all hit the beach.


The water was somewhat cold, so we mostly relaxed with drinks and books, taking occasional dips to cool off. Jameson, Kate, Raven, and Danielle got burnt pretty badly; Jonah and I (despite being the palest by far) did not. Though there weren't many shells, there were interesting things to find like large chunks of coral (we kept bruising our feet on these in the water) and this stripey, spiky caterpillar.


For lunch we voted to hit a nearby taco stand rather than the hotel buffet, and DAMN were those tacos good! Homemade corn tortillas, roasted on a griddle, are the bomb-diggety. I got a pollo taco with veg, cactus strips, misc veg, and salsa verde. The others got burritos or tacos in misc flavors, and everyone raved over their food. Way better than the Italian catastrophe we'd had for dinner!

Eventually we moved to the pool, which was also nice and where we discovered they pour somewhat stronger drinks! They made their mango margaritas with Tajin on the rim and Jameson was SOLD on that; they also add Tajin to their Bloody Mary drinks so now I expect Jameson will go out and buy Tajin first thing when we return home, he was so enamored :p We also discovered that people who brought their own cups/thermoses were treated to HUGE pours of liquor before the rest of the beverage was poured in. Note to self for next time!

For dinner we went with a teppanyaki option (because we could SEE the food being prepared in front of us and would know how long it would take, lol) and it was not only fast but quite good! I had the snapper and salmon combo. The chef was extremely skillful and put on a great show for us; rice went flying everywhere as everyone at the table got a chance to catch a little rice ball in their mouths (about 50% success rate!)

Before our meal we were served a sushi "small plate" that was both delicious and beautiful.


And whether you wanted drinks or not, as soon as your glass was half empty someone would come refill it. All-inclusive indeed!
Nicely buzzed and full of food, we wandered over to the "main square" where it was "Mexican night!"


There were fun little games set up, like a skee-ball sort of thing with marbles, a ring-a-peg, and a ridiculous "horse racing" game that we all tried and lost! Here are Kate, myself, and Jameson losing (CLICK HERE to watch)

We stuck around for a mariachi performance (my video was not very good so it is not here, sorry) and then called it a night, because half our group was doing a caving expedition tomorrow!

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Friday Jameson and I were up bright and early to enjoy the breakfast buffet again, before meeting Raven and Kate in the lobby. We rode a shuttle to Rio Secreto, a nature reserve and underground river about two miles from our hotel.

I do not have many pictures of this excursion because we had to stow all of our belongings in lockers, and the only photos allowed were by a professional photographer selling them at $30 EACH. We all agreed early on that this would be a trip for our memories.

When we arrived we were assigned a tour guide who spoke English, along with another group of four ladies from the UK. We were given an opportunity to use restrooms or have a snack for about 10 minutes, then we were hustled onto a large bus with lots of other people, which then took us on a VERY bumpy and wild ride through the jungle for about 15 minutes. This was tough on me because the bus was airborne often and that dropping sensation is what triggers my motion sickness, so I had to put my head down. But it was even worse for Raven, who for some unknown reason had bought a scalding hot cup of coffee at the snack stand and had not gotten a lid, but had boarded the bus with it anyway. After a frantic search of my bag (during which time Raven was desperately trying to keep her hands from being burnt by hot flying coffee) I came up with a small ziplock and some napkins, so she was able to survive the journey with just mild leakage and burns. But WHY, Raven, omg.

At the entrance to Rio Secreto we were all given water shoes, a helmet with a headlight, a wetsuit, a life jacket, and a key to a locker to stow our belongings. Before donning the suits we had to take an ice-cold shower, because they do not want sunscreen or bug repellent or whatnot in their underground river. The wetsuits were damp and uncomfortable, but once they were on and we were marching through the jungle we quickly forgot how squelchy they were.

Before entering the cave system, a Mayan shaman performed a ceremony to "allow us passage through the underworld." It was nice, perhaps a little touristy/hokey but a good reminder that we are VISITORS here, who should observe respectfully and not try to take, touch, or tamper with anything.

Then we turned around and were face to face with the entrance to the "underworld." A gash in the earth, a black gaping maw that was pitch black inside. It was intimidating...but on we went, down a steep wooden staircase and into the cool dark cave.

It was dead silent, the water was clearer than clear, and the space was absolutely massive, like a cathedral full of stalactites and stalagmites and ancient rock and coral formations. As we made our way single file, sometimes on dry ground and sometimes up to our waists in water, our guide described how the mineral-laden water had dripped slowly to create the delicate formations that we were seeing. She told us that each stalactite was hollow and made of limestone (illustrated by putting her flashlight up to a stalactite so we could see how transparent it was) and showed us the structure of the coral that made up much of the cave's ground.

Some stock images from the Rio Secreto site and the 'net:



Because we had opted out of the Tulum ruins excursion, we were the first group to enter the cave and thus there were some creatures around who had not yet been disturbed. Our guide pointed out catfish, who had eyes and were black-pigmented; and we also saw a blind white fish sitting in a still pool of clear water. There were large cave crickets with vestigial eyes and antennae three times as long as their bodies, and tiny sand-grain-sized shrimp which our guide said were the only source of nutrients for many of the creatures living in the caves. There were bats of course, but we didn't see any.

At one point our guide asked us to turn off our headlamps and also turned off her flashlight. We closed our eyes and waited about 30 seconds, for our eyes to adjust. Then we opened our eyes...to blackness. Could not see our hands in front of our faces. The darkness in the cave is so absolute, there is nothing like it on the surface. That was really cool to experience!

Partway through the tour we entered an area where we'd be swimming for several minutes. The water felt cold at first, but I let a little into my wetsuit to create a layer of warm water from my body heat, and that helped immensely. We paddled through an area where the stalactites and ceiling were very close to touching our heads, with the water up to our chests, but you could still see for yards and yards between the stalactites coming down to meet the clear water, and the effect was magical and not at all claustrophobic.

We came to a large pool where our guide instructed us to form a circle and hold hands. Then we leaned back in the water, all lights off, and "meditated" for probably about five minutes in the total dark and silence. It was simultaneously freaky and peaceful. Jameson later said he'd love to have a room just like that, to get the best sleep of his life :) If the water had not been so cold I could have relaxed more, but as it was it was an unforgettable experience.

We swam a bit more, and our guide pointed out interesting rock formations, especially one that looked like a massive fat crocodile looming from the shadows of a cave offshoot. We speculated about the first people to explore this cave...how they probably only had candles or dim lanterns, and what a formation like that must have seemed like with limited light from a flickering flame. How brave those first explorers were!

Soon we were back on dry land and exiting the "underworld" through a beautiful cenote, the sunlight streaming through the natural sinkhole and thick tree roots like ropes trailing down into the darkness of the cave.

(photo courtesy colemanconcierge)

From here we had to do a bit of walking in the jungle, which was a bummer because mosquitoes and our extremities were unprotected (I got a bite directly in the middle of my forehead) but I'll be the summer months are significantly worse. A short walk took us back to the locker area, where we peeled off our wetsuits and turned everything back in, showered once more, got dressed, and rode a shuttle to the gift shop and restaurant. We were each given a small shot of xtabentun, a honey-anise liqueur that is a specialty of the Yucatan and is believed to have Mayan origins. It was QUITE good.

We were given the option to buy photos that had been taken by the professional photographer, and we looked through them and enjoyed them, but at THIRTY DOLLARS EACH it was just way, way too much, even to justify one photo.

For lunch we had a simple buffet of stewed chicken or pork, steamed vegetables, cactus, lime soup, refreshing hibiscus tea, and rice pudding. There were also tortillas being made fresh in front of us, and those were FANTASTIC.


There was a small lagoon with water lilies and a very protective (yet very small) alligator.


We enjoyed our meal and a little rest before getting a shuttle back to our hotel.
What an awesome, magical experience! I'm so glad that Raven pushed for us to do an excursion, it was well worth it.

We all went our separate ways and napped or chilled until dinnertime...our final meal together in Mexico.
We decided to try Aroma, the "upscale" restaurant.


The food was the best we'd had for the entire stay.
I had beef tatake cubes with chili and passion fruit drizzle,
duck confit with dried fig sauce and sweet potato maple syrup hash,
and a small chocolate-and-gelee cake with peach puree.
The last picture is of Kate's tuna medallions (not sure what the side is for that.)



Everyone very much enjoyed their food. The highlights were a three-corn soup in a lobster-based broth (it was incredibly flavorful!) and Kate's perfectly seared tuna medallions, which she let us all try. We talked about so much: family stuff, our individual journeys, how our lives are going now. We got to know Jonah's girlfriend (none of us had met her until now) and hear Jameson talk about his hopes for the future. We had a really lovely time together. After dinner we went to the bar next door to listen to a jazz band and have drinks, and took these photos.

What a fricking wonderful family I have. What an amazing group of human beings.


Then it was time to say goodbye. Kate, Raven, Jonah, and Danielle had an early flight, so we knew we might not see them the next morning. Hugs all around, then off to bed.

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Saturday, Jameson and I got to enjoy the breakfast buffet one last time. We packed our things and checked out, leaving an overall glowing review (the one "bad thing" that we had to mention was the service at the Italian restaurant) then hopped the shuttle to the airport. MX airport is CRAZY, and if it's like that in February I can't imagine what it's like during peak season. We had a lot of time before our flight so had a nice sit-down meal at Wolfgang Puck's: here is my mahi-mahi with rice, plantain chips, and salsa verde.


Before boarding we had a passport check. Jameson and I were in an exit row and had lots of lovely leg room. But we had a bunch of screaming children on our flight, plus four adults who seemed to share one brain cell between them and just WOULD NOT SIT DOWN, we actually got delayed to take off because they kept getting up to stand in the aisle and chat!! WTF!!

But finally we were on our way, and soon enough we were landing at MCO.
I've never been through international customs before, but it was very easy. We followed signage to a sort of security area where we were directed to an agent, who looked at our documents and asked if we had anything to declare. I declared my snacks, confirming that I had no produce or meats...and that was it. They didn't even search my stuff (a dog did have a good sniff.) We found Jameson's car and rode home through the awful I-4 traffic, stopping at Target along the way for small items and dinner.

At home I had a present waiting for me: a box from my sister Kayle and her kids! Full of Asian treats :)
I am especially excited for the coffee candies, which are supposed to act as replacements for actual coffee when you're in a bind.


I did a load of laundry and did some packing, but was too tired for much else. We went to bed early, exhausted but happy and fulfilled from our wonderful little adventure. I really, really hope that we get to do something like this again, maybe as an annual thing.

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I'll write about Sunday as part of the next post, since it was mostly just packing and prep to go back on tour (geez, no time at all at home!)
Next up, Tulsa Oklahoma.
taz_39: (Default)
It was quite the long travel day. After breakfast we loaded onto the bus and had a three-hour ride to Raleigh-Durham International. On the way we passed Winston-Salem, which I haven't seen in a very long time (I went to grad school there and have wonderful memories of living with my awesome landlords) and even the brief glimpse in passing tugged at my heartstrings.

The airport was whatever, I walked around a lot just to get steps in and looked at everything, like I always do. I noticed a Delta pilot sitting quietly and chomping some beef jerky...I wanted to ask him for trading cards but didn't want to interrupt his eating so kept walking. But 20 minutes and at least three laps later he was still munching away, lol. And he had a friendly, relaxed look about him, so I thought "why not" and approached him. He enthusiastically said, "Yes!" to the cards and pulled out a stack, I asked which was his favorite to fly and he said the A321 (I already have a card for that one but since it's his favorite I couldn't decline it!) I thanked him and started to walk away but he said, "Wait, I have more for you!" and handed me two more that I DIDN'T have yet: the 767-400, and the 767-300, which is a holographic card!!


A video of the holograph (CLICK HERE to watch)

What a cool dude! I thanked him profusely and went back to our group to show them off to my friends :)

At boarding I had equally good luck: the pilots had a card for the plane we were actually riding, the A220!


Here are all three cards. Each plane has something unique about it. The A220 has enough cargo space to hold two adult orcas! The 767-400 has a very powerful engine that could inflate a blimp in just seven seconds! And the 767-300 has enough fuel capacity to fill 1600 cars!


I now have seven unique Delta trading cards. Yay! Don't ask what I'll do with them, no idea haha.

We arrived on time and it was a smooth flight. Luggage retrieval, and while we waited I pestered a few more pilots who walked through the airport for cards. Two of them gave me A321s (and said they liked flying it too, I wonder why!) so now I have duplicates of those which I'll give to Kayle's kids or something. And I got my first rejection, a pilot who said, "Aww, sorry, I don't have any on me!" It was bound to happen!

Another bus ride through Boston traffic, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. We got to the hotel only 15 minutes later than scheduled, but with only one working elevator it took an obnoxious long time to get to our rooms. It was too late and dark for walking so it was an Uber for me, to get dinner at the Whole Paycheck hot bar and just a few groceries. We're only here for three days; in addition to the usual fruits and meats I picked up some treats for myself.

These two green juices. The one on the left looks more appealing, but the one on the right contains two servings and the other is only one. The bright green one has more fiber and potassium; the dark green one has lower sugar and more vitamin C. I got both entirely because I couldn't decide between them.


These snacks and rice!


The granola is a brand I've had before but it's very hard to find in stores, this is only the second time I've seen it. It's made by soaking the oats in whole-fruit juices, which gives it incredible flavor and extra fiber and vitamins while still keeping it a low-calorie snack. Last time I got beet, this time went with carrot.

The little can is a milk tea, made with plant milk! FINALLY! Milk tea is wonderful but I can't usually have it because it's made with whole or condensed milk. This brand is called T'wrl and they make four flavors of milk tea: matcha, hojicha (roasted green), Taiwanese-style black, and Ube. At some point I'd love to try them all.

The "forbidden rice" is a microwaveable par-cooked bag, something you don't see too often for black/purple rice. The brand is Jasberry, and this is a proprietary rice that they've grown over a decade of intensive cross-breeding. They claim it has 40x the antioxidants of brown rice, and with that dark purple coloring I can believe it.

Put my food away, chatted with Jameson and people online, and chilled out.
Look at that, a night without a show!

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Was up earlier than I would have liked to have breakfast before heading out to get a massage. Our hotel is eight miles from the theatre this week so we have rental cars, and I was able to borrow a band car, saving me Uber dollars, yay!

I don't get massages very often because I don't like to be touched, but about once a year I suck it up and enjoy one. This one was only 30 minutes; I really should have booked an hour but maybe at the resort in Mexico I can have another :)
The masseuse was great, and 30 minutes later I walked out feeling much more relaxed. A shame to have to step into the 30-degree windy northeast weather! I walked a few minutes down the street to Root and Press, a little cafe lined with bookshelves and serving standard cafe stuff with a lot of vegan options.


I went with their special, a vegan caprese made with Just Egg, cashew mozzarella sauce, basil, lettuce, tomato, garlic, and balsamic drizzle on ciabatta. It was delicious!


I was a little disappointed that the "mozzarella cheese" was only a sauce, because a caprese usually has big slices of fluffy white cheese. But I think they were trying to simulate that with the vegan egg, which was still very good. Drove back to the hotel where I packed dinner to bring to the theatre, drank lots of water and tea, and enjoyed some chill time, making a packing list for Mexico and watching Seven Deadly Sins which my bandmates have recently convinced me is worth checking out.

We carpooled to the theatre (rental cars.) It's a pretty theatre, I guess, but the backstage is horrible. I played here a year or two ago with Tootsie and remember hating the claustrophobic pit...they literally locked us in before each performance, even removing the stairs to get out! And that was terrible for my anxiety. This year thankfully I am not the only one who sees a huge safety concern and/or anxiety inducer in being literally trapped in the pit until someone outside opens the door; our MD insisted that the door remain open and had some stagehands install black pipe-and-drape. People have to be quiet if they walk by the pit but TOO BAD, it's way better than being locked in with no way out.

The show went well, no complaints otherwise.

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Saturday and two shows.

Not much to report for the morning: breakfast, working on Foodie Finds for Tulsa, feeling annoyed at all the cleaning and shopping and packing I'll have to rush through for this Mexico trip, and simultaneously looking forward to the trip such that I didn't feel like working! :p

The first show was ok, we had another hold so there went our "streak". So lame. I hope it stops after the layoff.
During the break between shows I stayed at the theatre because it was so far back to the hotel, plus I had a physical therapy appointment and didn't want to make my carpool come back early on my behalf. Walked to Worcester Public Market and just enjoyed looking around, but it was 20°F outside with a strong wind so my cheeks are now windburnt (can't wait for them to peel in the Mexican sun. Sigh.)

My physical therapy was, surprisingly, possibly helpful! At this point I'm convinced that the weird twinging I've been feeling can't be muscle-related because I have full range of motion. But then...I described what I was feeling to the physical therapist as follows:
"It feels like there's a string tied from the bowl of my right hip, to one of my small lower ribs, and every once in a while at random someone plucks it."
And he pulled up this image:


And I was like, DANG.
Those are hip flexor muscles. And one thing that I really should have considered, is that I have never been able to sit cross-legged. I've always been a W-sitter. For forty years. And just maybe, a lifestyle of lots of sitting in pits and on buses and planes, plus holding a four-pound instrument over my left shoulder for hours at a time, plus continuing to W-sit, could be adding up to weird muscle spasms, cramping, and twinging.
Why didn't I consider this??

We tried some stretches until I was able to simulate the twinging, then he gave me some stretches to do by myself. I'm not entirely convinced that hip flexors are The Whole Problem, but it won't hurt me to focus on it and see if the stretches help diminish the weird sensation. I'm glad that I decided to talk to PT about this; at least it makes me think it COULD be something minor stemming from a lifelong habit, rather than an imminent medical emergency like a hernia or burst appendix or something.

The evening show was ok but the pit is SO COLD. We were all bundled up, the woodwinds were even wearing coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. They don't believe in heat here in Worcester I guess. I hate to disparage any theatre but this one is in the top ten most uncomfortable that I've ever played. It's cramped, cold, only one bathroom backstage, no dressing room for the orchestra, and if our MD hadn't advocated for us we'd be literally locked into the pit before every show with no way to get out if there was an emergency except scaling the pit wall into the audience. I'm sorry but I think that's all a recipe for disaster, eventually, for someone out there.

After the last show we carpooled back to the hotel where Elen (cellist, who broke her hand over the last layoff and just recently rejoined us) gave us each a little Fireball shot! We took them together as a band. Much needed! Actually, I could have used that in the pit to warm me up!

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Sunday, I wasn't deeply in the mood to do two shows but was excited to get to the layoff afterward!

I partial-packed and packed myself dinner for the theatre, then carpooled over.
At the theatre there was a wall tag to sign on stage level, up a creepy rickety spiral staircase that is actually backstage. This meant that on the way to sign the wall tag, I could look out over much of Stage Left, a view that I rarely get to see.


The wall tag. It's just a MFL stencil but the colors are pretty against the matte black.


Our first show was good. Eileen (French horn) had her parents in the pit to watch and listen, and although it was cramped it was nice to have visitors...made the show go faster.

During the break between shows I tried to get steps in by going to a Taiwanese grocery store a half-mile away. And of course I can't do THAT without getting something! My tiny haul is just some cashew candies (literally looks like cashew brittle stuck to rice wafers); some "soft wheat cakes" that resemble rice cakes only with a softer texture and sugary coating; and "creamy corn" candies which I shared with the band. The corn candies weren't bad! If you like sweet corn things like kettle corn, creamed corn, corn fritters/muffins, etc, you'd like these. Just a cheap taffy candy. The others I will have to try later (and I want to share them with Jameson.)


Back at the theatre I ate dinner, then it was "one and done." We packed up, loaded out, got to the hotel...and now, a much-needed break!

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Tomorrow, I get up super early and fly to Orlando.
I'll have the evening to get a few groceries, clean a bit or pack for Mexico, then we're going to see Jameson's friend Lea perform in a local show. The next day, final packing and prep. Then on the 21st we fly to Yucatan for a mini vacay!!
You won't hear from me for a bit because I'll be hopefully relaxing on the beach with a drink in hand!!

Monterrey

Jun. 19th, 2014 10:18 am
taz_39: (Default)







We are finally leaving Mexico City!!

With all of the shows that we played, I didn't make time to visit other areas of Mexico City, and so what I experienced here was only a fraction of what this huge city has to offer.

Some things that were different from two years ago:
The area near the arena seemed a bit cleaner, and there was a stronger police presence. This may just be my imagination, but that's what I noticed. There were also far fewer people attending our shows. This was really disheartening. Feld doesn't get money from ticket sales here(?), but still...some nights we had to start the show with fewer than 100 people in the audience, and in a 22k arena that's just depressing. It's a big change from two years ago, when we had to delay the start time because so many people were on the arena floor taking pictures. I really hope that in the future, we'll find a way to advertise more or do what needs to be done to get butts in the seats, because it's a hard thing to do twelve shows a week for only a handful of people per night.

june18-2-16
(photo courtesy Brett)

Some things that were the same were the houses and the general living conditions of the working class. Although many people here seem happy, it makes me feel sad to see families living in houses made of scraps with no doors, no clean water. As mentioned in the last post, stray animals are rampant. I have seen so many types of feral cats and dogs wandering the streets, and some lying sick or dead next to the road. I wonder if the Mexican government has any programs in place to at least begin to address the problems of potable water, sanitation, and animal control.

Anyway, although I personally didn't get out much, I think many people had a good time in Mexico City. We did a better job of taking care of ourselves this time around; fewer people got The Revenge, and I didn't see many people passing out either. We got through it! Great job everyone :)

I had been a bit under the weather on Sunday, so spent the Monday train run resting and taking pictures from my window.

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This is kinda interesting, some walls use broken glass cemented to the top in place of barbed wire.
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Read more... )
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Monday, our one and only day off. A large group of circus folk went to the pyramids, and then to other destinations such as the cathedral. I didn't go because I went to the pyramids last time, but will steal some pictures as soon as people post them ;)

I stayed home to rest and to take care of my mouse problem, i.e. I went to Wal-Mart to buy rat poison. Here are some photos of Mexican Wal-Mart.

Very similar to an American store, but set up more like a Sam's Club.

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Instead of the smiley they have a yellow shopping cart mascot :)
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An aisle dedicated to tuna. There was also a rice-and-beans aisle and one just for juices and nectars. It is very difficult to find fruit juice without added sugar here.
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The bakery.
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The meat section.
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I got the rat poison and also a storage bin to hold food/keep mice from my food. For the ride home I got a popular Mexican snack: a pressed cake of nuts and seeds held together with a sort of caramel coating.
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Back at home, I spent several hours removing all of my items from storage so that I could drop rat poison down into the gap between the wall and my floor. I was pretty tired after that, so enjoyed a relaxing evening of chilling out.
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Read more... )
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Well, here we are again! The yard:
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I found a little shrine near the end of our cut. As I was shamelessly taking photos, a yard worker came up and offered to unlock it for me. He spoke no English but made it clear by gestures. Using small words so that I could understand, he explained in Spanish that the shrine was there because today is a national holiday. I was too shy to actually go inside; as you can see, it's a very small space and I didn't want to dirty the floor.
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Walking around the yard, I encountered a few groups of people getting ready to go out and see various sights. I was tempted to tag along, but then I found out that there'd be another run to Wal-Mart so decided to do that instead.

It's just as I remembered it :) I didn't need much, but picked up some favorite candies to share (Bubulubu, Glorias), some stuff for Jameson, and a big jug of water. Oh, and that wash that they sell for cleaning produce.

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Actually it's ionized silver, and you can use it to disinfect drinking water as well. I have plenty of water but am feeling paranoid about the train water as it's hooked up to a pipe sticking out of the ground. I'm washing dishes normally but rinsing them with the BacDyn water. That's probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.

The only other interesting thing that happened today was a mouse got into the cubby where I was storing canned goods. A mouse!! I didn't see it--it's probably following the wiring through the train--but opened the cubby to find little turds everywhere and a chunk missing from my bag of rice cakes. He didn't get into anything else, thankfully. I spent a lot of time emptying the space and cleaning it, and relocating everything that's not canned or bottled. Sigh.


Read more... )
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We arrived in Loredo on Thursday night, a few hours late. As we were spotted, we were also informed that no 'greywater' would be allowed in this yard. This meant no showers, dishes, etc., because all of that water gets flushed right onto the tracks. A little frustrating, as many people have gone days without showering at this point. Eew.
On the upside, there is 'ok' internet and phone signal! I'm savoring the connection before a month of data withdrawal :P

During the night there was a big thunderstorm. Kinda cool and unexpected!
In the morning around 7am an announcement was made that inspectors would be coming through. I made my preparations and waited, and waited. Eventually some train crew came through with trash bags to take any food that we wanted to throw out before customs came through. Around 9:30am customs reached our car (they started at the high end and we're in the middle). It was about the same as last time, except this time they did actually bother to come into the room and look around (last time they just stood in the hallway and glanced in).

Guy #1 wished me 'good morning' and came in with a big binder. He stood in the center of the floor and kind of turned in a slow circle, looking at my countertops and cabinets. Then he made a little note in the book and stepped back into the hall. There were three other dudes in the hallway with him; the second guy told me to take my passport down to Pie Car for paperwork. The third guy glanced into my room and said, "Nice floor!" (you remember I installed some vinyl faux wood flooring a few months ago). I said thanks. Guy #2 came back to glance in again and asked if I had installed it myself ("Yes") and complemented me on how it looked compared to the standard flooring. :D

Anyway, I took my passport to Pie and was surprised to find both US and MX customs set up inside, and doing a great speedy job of processing everyone. Last time this part was a mess; this time it took less than five minutes. US Customs checked me off first, then MX Customs filled out an FMM form for me and stamped the passport. Everyone was polite and quick, and it was really easy.

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(photos courtesy Claudia)

I was glad to have my feet on the ground even for a little bit!
The weather was nice, cloudy and rainy-looking. I had hoped to find some dung beetles rolling poop around to photograph for you, but I guess they're not fond of this weather.



When I returned to my car, there was an orchid in the trash. Someone had dumped it either because customs told them to or they figured customs would take it. I fished it out.

Train Run )
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Day 1

From about 5-6am to 2:30pm, we did nothing but jerk back and forth as far as I could tell. I'm sure there was a reason, but if you don't know it, it's hard to assign logic when you wake up after eight hours of movement only to realize that you're still in Louisville.

Anyway, the sun was shining and there was a bit of internet. I got up and ate breakfast, then went back to bed as I'd only gotten about four hours of sleep. Later in the day we got a weak internet signal, and I used it to gather some useful Spanish phrases including how to ask for small bills at the bank (a definite need-to-know) and current exchange rates. I also downloaded a map of the Metro in case there's time for sightseeing.


Mexico_City_Metro_System_Diagram_(2013-03-01)

Starting today, I am trying to go cold turkey on coffee just because I've got four days to do it and I don't want to HAVE to have a cup every morning or else suffer a blinding headache. Actually so far it's not that bad; I feel a little fuzzy in the brainpan and have a mild headache, but it's a much better reaction than I expected.

Monday is a day of rest for me. I won't usually exercise or do anything super productive. But since this run is so long, I'm gonna start a routine tomorrow: morning stretches, resistance band exercise, practicing with a mute in, and spending X amount of time outdoors. I've also got a few little art projects planned, and some books and movies. With all of this, I hope to ward off cabin fever.

A few hours later the headache gets a little stronger. Well, I knew it wouldn't be fun! We passed through some lovely forest areas, with goldenrod lining the tracks and a nice clean tang to the air. I'm enjoying it very much.

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At dinnertime Jameson and I went down to Pie Car to see what's up. He got stead & eggs, I got chicken parm on brioche and a Mtn Dew to help combat the headache. Clockwork Orange was playing so we watched a bit of that. Uncle John came through and gave us each two jello shots. It's a train run, after all ;)


Many people call this the "ghost run" because few people are on the train; many opt instead to take a vacation or visit relatives. This year I feel like there are more people here, but maybe that's my imagination.

We spent some time on the vestibule, then went back to our rooms. I watched Wreck It Ralph and made a schedule for myself for the next several days so I don't get too bored. We'll see if I stick to it.

Read more... )
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The train run was looooong.
We were supposed to arrive on Monday night around midnight, but didn't even leave Columbus until after 6pm. We missed our window. It was a long day. In its own way that's relaxing, but still wish I could've gone outside for a bit. Instead I cleaned up my room, made a list of things to do before Mexico, and tried to create my own flavored water using mint/vanilla extracts (a horrible failure as extracts are 98% alcohol).

Old telephone poles:

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I recognized this farmhouse...we were stopped in front of it for over two hours the last time we were through. The house itself is gorgeous (not pictured) and so is the barn. The owners were out front waving to us. They have a big brown horse and a dog. I'm kind of jealous :)
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I had hoped to take Jameson for a date on Tuesday but he came down with a chest cold, poor guy. So instead I went downtown to enjoy the fine weather. I visited the Waterfront Park again (had been there with Cindy the last time we were in town).

The Ohio River.

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A statue of York, the first African American to cross the country. He was a slave, but participated fully in the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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The long-distance viewer for looking at stuff across the river. And the view through said viewer :D
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Then I went to my bank to deposit some checks and make sure they knew that I'd be going to Mexico soon. Then I went to a nearby salon to get my hair cleaned up, as there won't be another chance for haircuts until June. Then I was going to go grocery shopping, but got hungry and tired and decided to pick up dinner for Jameson and I at Panera instead.

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As you might expect from one of our country's most dangerous cities, Trenton is kind of a bummer.
There wasn't much to do within walking distance of the arena.
In fact the only attraction was a Food Bazaar across the tracks.

It's like a Fiesta grocery, with lots of Hispanic and international foods
and tons of produce at a great price.
I got cactus fruit, pineapple coconut candy and fresh mango along with my usual groceries.
The snack aisle reminded me of the Mexican Walmart :D



They had Jamaican hard dough bread from Golden Krust, a Brooklyn-based chain.
I've seen this bread in other stores in the past, and was interested to try it.
Just one loaf weighs almost two pounds!!
Turns out it's just like any other bread, only more dense and maybe just a little sweeter.

I threw half of it in the freezer...probably can't eat something like this in one week!


I also got a 'round bun', a sort of muffin-sized fruitcake that tastes strangely like egg nog.


Anyway.
A totally uneventful week.
I'm excited to get to Hershey,
where I'll get to see friends and family before the Red Unit goes west for the summer.

The Blue Unit crossed the border into Mexico this week, and will be there for almost a month.
Have fun guys! Don't drink the water!


Read more... )
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*warning, this is a long post.*

We're in the trainyard waiting to go. The train was broken into 7 pieces to fit into this yard, so it's going to take a while to reassemble it. When the train is being put together/taken apart, the power goes on and off several times probably because it needs to be shut off to add other cars.

I can't wait to get back to the US, mostly because I miss digital conveniences :)
It's been so long since I've had a phone conversation! I'll probably spend a day just calling everyone. That and catching up on facebook!

This weekend was difficult for everyone...nine shows! Compared to a regular job, it's only 18 hours. But imagine being a strongman and having to lift a telephone pole with two people sitting on it, and spin it around, for five minutes three times a day for three days. Or the animal trainers, who have to make their animals perform the same tricks even though the animals may be tired or aggravated. (You could tell the horses were over it this weekend...there was a lot more kicking than usual.) Or the floor crew, who has to scrape elephant poop off the floor and move heavy set pieces around pretty much constantly. That's a lot of work! As for the band, we really did get 18 hours of playing in the past three days (now I know why circus musicians are called 'windjammers' haha).
Even if people don't get physically tired from the job, it can be psychologically tough to do the same show that many times in a row without time for R&R in between!

In other words, I'm totally impressed with everyone who works here and am awfully proud to be among people like this who buckle down and do their jobs with minimal complaints. We're pretty epic. :D



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It's been two months since I joined the circus :)

I'm starting to get a feel for circus life. It's not the same as traveling with a touring group, where the show ends on a set date and everyone goes their separate ways. Most people are here for the long haul...some families have even been here for generations. As a result of that, living here feels like being part of a large family or small neighborhood. Everyone looks out for each other whether they speak the same language or not, whether they're acrobats or floor crew or concessions. Of course everything's not always rosy and some people don't get along, but for the most part it's a really great environment.



Read more... )
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5/31

This morning a group of us went to an artist's market!

It was Brett and his wife and kids, some of the sound crew, and Slick (trumpet) and I.
We shopped for souvenirs :) Some stuff was really tourist-y, like little tequila bottles with sombreros. But there were unique handcrafted items as well: paintings, blankets, sculptures, glasswork...all that good stuff.
I got to practice my haggling :) Though I may not have always gotten the best deal possible, I did save at least 40 pesos on everything I bought. My best bargain of the day was something that started out at 180 pesos, and I got it down to 100. Not bad I think!

One or two vendors spoke excellent english, but most knew little to none. But luckily numbers translate pretty well. For one transaction I used my phone to type out the prices I wanted, and the vendor responded with a calculator.

I'm sorry there are no pictures from this trip...Julio is borrowing my camera.

Oh, getting there was somethin' else too! We must have picked a bad time of day for public transit, because it was PACKED. And I mean packed into the cars like sardines. Even in New York I've never been so squished on a subway! Haha.

Now it's time to grab lunch and play some shows!!

Last Show Day )
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5/28
Well, it's been a full week of shows!

The first several shows were pretty small audiences :/ The arena is HUGE, with more than five levels, 120 suites and seats all the way up to the ceiling. So I guess it would be hard to fill. But Sunday afternoon seems to be the time when most people want to go. It was packed yesterday!

I haven't written anything because I got Montezuma's Revenge :( :(

icky. )

Anyway, I wasn't about to let Montezuma wreck my good time ;)
Today Aaron, Jason, Gerome, Tom and I went to Xochimilco and rode a riverboat!



We took public transit to get there, which is THREE PESOS. That's like $0.20. FABULOUS.

It was relaxing and fun in a quiet sort of way, just what we all wanted after a week of performing and being sick.

More pics & stuff )

The souvenir hawkers weren't too pushy, I was glad for that. Aaron bought a little wooden replica of the riverboat, Tom got a beautiful necklace for his wife, and I got some souvenirs as well though I can't share what because they might be gifts ;)

Overall it was a great way to spend the day!

Let's see, what else has happened this week...

There's an outdoor market right next to our venue that sells fresh produce, tacos and tortas, and clothing:


Many people like to go there for meals between shows because it's super cheap and better/cheaper than the catering the stadium provides. I got a meal and a drink yesterday for $2.50 USD. Can't beat that!

The language barrier is a little less daunting than it was when I first got here. Vendors and people in general are very patient :) To get to the boats today, we spent a very long time on Mexico City's lightrail and subway system. Aaron speaks spanish at a high level, and he helped me to ask for smaller bills at the bank and to get tickets for the lightrail. Jason knows limited spanish, but was able to hold a short conversation with a child on the metro. We ran into a few english-speakers too who were excited to try out their knowledge on us.

As far as safety, Mexico City during the day seems average for a major city. No one bothered us and we saw no one else being bothered.

Oh! Speaking of being bothered! PETA is here!!! Can you believe it??
Human rights is a big issue in Mexico right now (there were loud protests at one of our subway stops today). So PETA is protesting for animal rights in a place where people are living in scrap heaps.
I don't think much of that.

Well, Mexico is a complicated and beautiful place. I'm looking forward to Monterrey in a week...maybe that city will offer a different perspective on life in Mexico!

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This is going to be a VERY long post, sorry about that :/ Internet is scanty here so I want to post as much as possible when I can!

The post is divided into sections by date. I can't upload all the photos now, so will be adding more later!

Getting Into Mexico (May 18) )

We are in Mexico! (5/19) )

The Pyramids! (5/20) )

Free Day (5/21) )

Day 3 of 4

May. 16th, 2012 02:33 pm
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So far it's been a good train run. We're passing through Monroe, LA now.

Yesterday it rained for a few hours, so didn't spend as much time outside. We also had a VERY long stop to walk the animals, and during that time we weren't allowed off the train :( But it was nice out, so I took a book out on the vestibule and also went to the pie car to grab a homemade fruit parfait :)

I haven't gotten many good pictures either...either I'm not quick enough with the camera or it's too dark by the time we see something particularly awesome. Pardon my french, but it's a damned shame I can't take night photos. Everything looks so different in the dark...more animals come out, and going over bridges is a whole new experience too!

Today I woke up and went onto the vestibule, and was surprised by how different the air smelled and how humid it was. We're definitely in the south!

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Just a quick note!

The train's moving now. Not sure how long I'll have internet, but we'll be moving for four days and I'm sure we'll pass through towns with signal.

I have lots of books and movies to keep me occupied, but will probably spend a great deal of time on the vestibule enjoying the scenery :)

Everyone in the band has chosen to visit family or take short vacations during this time, so I'm more or less alone on the train car. I like the quiet, but will probably be visiting the pie car more often this week to socialize.

I don't know how much we will get to do and see in Mexico, but there's no sense worrying about it. We'll do our job and get on with it :D

If I have internet, I will post more!

Sidenote, I've been picking up locally-baked bread at almost every stop since West Virginia. The Charleston Bakery sourdough was very good; I got it fresh and warm first thing in the morning, and it lasted for about two weeks and was light and good as toast. It started getting very dry near the end, though.
The Albany, NY sourdough was labeled "Local", but turns out it was from Berkshire Mountain Bakery in Massachusetts. Might explain why it went bad in less than a week *frowny face*. It was 'just OK'...very moist and had a strong sour flavor. But because of the moisture, it was not good for toast...because of the strong flavor, it was no good for sandwiches.
The most recent bread from Columbus, OH is from Crumbs Bakery, and it's the best so far. I got the whole wheat, so maybe it's not a fair comparison. Very simple ingredients, but wonderful flavor and texture. Probably won't make good toast because it's kinda dense.

I'm not a breadophile, really! :P

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We had a meeting on the trip to Mexico yesterday.

So, it looks like we'll be there for about a month, from May 15 through June 15 give or take a few days. During that time, my phone will be off, so don't try to call me :)

The tickets for these shows were sold to an outside company, so if you were thinking of flying down to see me, don't :P There will be no family/friends discounts or freebies.

I will not be allowed to leave the train alone, or even with a group of girls...I'll have to bring a guy(s). Laaaame.

It's unclear whether we'll need pesos or not, but tomorrow I'm going to try calling the nearest PNC to see if they can do a currency exchange for a small amount. At the very least I can then avoid an astronomical charge at the venue's ATM.

We're not allowed to bring any plants, produce, or weapons. My fish is a subject of debate, but worst case scenario I may give him to the person who's holding our plants in Loredo.

We're also not sure about exactly which foods will be allowed across the border. According to Google, frozen foods are ok, so I'm crossing my fingers that my frozen veggies will pass. I guess it all depends on the mood of our border crossing agent.

There will be security on and off the train, both Feld's and a hired company.

Not sure if we'll have internet at the venue, but I know in Monterrey I should be able to find some so I'll check in then at the very least.

That's all I can think of for now. Gotta go make a last-minute grocery list!

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