goofball on a train

Monday, I was up just a little before Jameson for breakfast and to feel nervous about the Steamboat Lillie rehearsal.

After Jameson went to the gym I practiced bass and packed my meals for Epic tomorrow.
Ate lunch in the car on the way to the musician's union building near downtown, which is where rehearsal would be held.

I haven't been to the union building for ages. Bad memories. When I first moved to Orlando Jameson lived in an apartment so I couldn't practice there without disturbing the neighbors. I'd practice at the union building whenever I could get a reservation for it...but 9 out of 10 times my rehearsal was halved by assholes (men) who insisted on rehearsing past their assigned time, or who would bust in in the middle of my time slot to banter and guffaw and use the space as a hang, and would glare at me for being there (even though I had more right to be there than any of them considering it was MY time slot.)

This was one of the reasons I left the union soon after. And then we moved to a house in Kissimmee anyway.

It all looked pretty much the same, maybe slightly cleaner but not much.


Three ladies were already there practicing. I introduced myself and got set up. Others were running late (people have kids and real jobs) so we used that time to try on our flapper dresses from Amazon. Our bandleader had wisely ordered multiple sizes, knowing that sometimes clothing online is not what it seems. My dress fit perfectly, and it is pale purple, almost the same color I wear as Phillipa in 1920s Paris at Epic Universe. Go figure!

When everyone else arrived we buckled down and plowed through the music piece by piece.
None of it is particularly hard, but some arrangements were pilfered online and are kind of "not the best" as far as making sense. Overall, though, people will have an easy time recognizing familiar Disney classics played in an old-timey jazz style. My favorite arrangements were the ones our bandleader did herself, you could tell she knows what she's doing as an arranger.

Overall this rehearsal went much better than I'd anticipated. Jazz is my biggest weakness as a musician, and improv jazz is worst of all. Playing it makes me feel inadequate and self-conscious. But this was a good group of patient people. And fortunately a lot of what was marked "solo" improv in my part turned out to be optional or for anyone to solo, not just trombone. Phew. It was a big relief not to have to improv much!

Back home I thanked my Morning Self for packing the Epic stuff so I wouldn't have to do it after a long day :p

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Tuesday. Halfway through April, wow.

They've moved our Epic sets by about an hour so I was able to get up an hour later, still 6:45am.

I argued with myself about bringing the bass trombone to Epic because with the schedule change I may actually have time to practice. Decided to bring it and at least have a try.

It was a normal day, quite hot and sunny. I did indeed find time to practice, only 30 minutes but way better than nothing. I was incredibly tired today, but so were a lot of other people, so maybe it's the heat or the alignments of the planets or something. Nothing else to report except that leaving work an hour later (5:30pm instead of 4:30pm) really, really sucks.

This was the "best route" according to the Googs:


What kind of squiggly-snake BS nonsense is this?!
Just horrific. And Epic isn't even open yet. Ugh.

By the time I got home I was truly exhausted, and thanked my Morning Self for insisting that I bring the bass to Epic because Evening Self had absolutely no energy for it. The morning version of me sure is stepping up this week! LOL

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Wednesday. Jameson had to get up at 8 for a doctor's appointment, so I just got up when he did.

Had breakfast and went out to get myself bagels and coffee but otherwise stayed at home and felt nervous about tonight's gig.
Practiced parts of the Steamboat music that I'm uncomfortable with, and tried to relax the rest of the time because I feel stressed and tired. Our third party has been getting our pay wrong, multiple weeks in a row, and it's stressing me out on top of misc other things.

When it got to be time to go I packed some snacks, trombone and music stand, trombone stand, mutes, in-ears, music, and dress shoes, then put on my Phillipa makeup and stockings (I had smuggled my makeup bag and stockings home from Epic for this haha.)

The venue was easy to find. Dragged all of my stuff inside and got set up.
From here, everything kind of went off the rails.

Problem 1: A child--I'm talking Gen Alpha--came running out from somewhere to do our sound setup, already on the phone with someone for help and with a panicked look on his face. Oh, lord. Sound check was supposed to be at 4pm and we did not play one note until 5pm. We found out later that the actual sound guy's grandfather had died and that's why he wasn't there...and we are all sympathetic to that. But the venue also could have told our bandleader that, so she could have had us come earlier, or made arrangements for us to warm up elsewhere while sound got their sh*t together instead of wasting an hour sitting on stage.

Problem 2: The bassist's bass started BREAKING. I don't exactly know how, but suspect that since it was hot outside and she'd had a long drive, she'd brought the car-warmed bass into the absolutely freezing theatre and it had started to crack (this is a VERY common problem with wooden instruments including clarinets, and is why unionized musicians insist on specific temperatures in performance spaces.) We all jumped on our phones and frantically started asking around for any bassists in the area to help...within the next hour.

Problem 3: Our trumpet player's audio pack died immediately meaning she'd have to do the entire show without the click track.

Problem 4: There were four songs that we didn't get to at rehearsal, that we were planning to cover at this sound check. Which we now couldn't do because due to the theater's audio crew (a child) not knowing what they were doing, we were now an hour behind schedule.

We did end up getting an emergency upright bass from a local bassist, god bless her.
And we did get our mixes together. But had absolutely no time to warm up or run any tunes.

And hey, the dresses were nice. Here's mine.


Problem 5: I have to apologize if this sounds snooty or rude, and I have loads of respect for our bandleader, who worked very hard to make this band happen. But truth is truth, and every musician on that stage with me would agree: most of these arrangements were simply NOT GOOD. Even during intermission our reed player was frantically making changes to her part to try and make it sound reasonable. There were so many times that I, a low brass instrument, was written to play ABOVE the trumpet and saxophone. That just doesn't sound good, which is why people don't WRITE that way :/

Problem 6: The click track was difficult to hear, and one of us (trumpet player) didn't have the click at all and so couldn't hear any count-offs. I tried to give her the count offs when I could, but *I* barely knew them either as we'd only had that one rehearsal and one run-through of each song (well, most songs.) The result was that we'd start with the click and quickly migrate away from it. So imagine trying to sing a song while another completely different song is playing loudly in the background. That's what it was like, and it was horrible. I stuck with it for a while but when we hit the Monsters, Inc. medley it's very syncopated AND I have a solo. I locked eyes with the drummer and we simultaneously reached out and yanked out our ear buds, lol. At least that was comedic, because the rest of the situation really wasn't.

Problem 7: Our poor bandleader had paid a professional photographer/videographer to come and take footage of this set, to use for media promotion to hopefully get the group hired for corporate events or weddings or whatever. Yikes. He probably got some decent visual footage...but I doubt much of our audio was usable the way things were going. Between the bad arrangements and not following the click track and the bassist being on an unfamiliar instrument and all of us having to play in a very cold space...it just didn't go very well.

Was it terrible? No. Every woman on that stage is an excellent musician. But circumstantially, we were screwed.
Even without the sound check issues, having a gig based on less-than-ideal arrangements, with only one run-through rehearsal, and using a click track when we had a perfectly excellent drummer, is what did us in. It's a shame. I was grateful that Jameson had NOT come out to support me for this one.

I do think that the idea of an all-female 1920s Disney jazz band is awesome!
But tonight it was too rushed, too unorganized, to come together.
Maybe in the future the parts can be refined, we can talk the bandleader out of using a click past the count-off, and we can have more rehearsals. I think all of that would make this a great band.


(but the odds of me playing with this group again, after that experience, are slim.)

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Thursday: I was supposed to have a bass lesson but Will is still recovering from surgery so it's a day off. Practice, some chores, the usual.

Friday: Another day off, I'll cook dinner and probably find other things that need to be done. Still have a lot of crap to list for sale online.

Saturday: Day at Epic.

Sunday: Easter, Easter church gig, eating candy all day with Jameson hopefully, making us a nice-but-basic Easter dinner. Thinking of my mom (Easter was her favorite holiday.)

Addendum: Someone made a video of our full set at Epic a few days ago! I didn't play my best (this was the last set of Tuesday and I was ungodly tired and unfocused) but now you can hear ALL of the lines and see Plume's big reveal, the percussion number, etc!
(and yes, we know we need to be miked, we've been asking for mics from day one and will continue to push for them!!)

Watch on YouTube

Monday, up early for Epic.

It was a fairly normal day, except now people can record us. Crowds were thin but I think it's because most rides and shows are actually up and running, so people don't need to loaf about under the blazing sun when they could be, you know, petting dragons and such.

There was a snippet video of us posted later on, not the full show, just some nice highlights.
This is the first public footage of me performing with Place Cachee Jazz!
(the timestamp is 14:04 if the video doesn't automatically start there)



Between shows I practiced a little, but there still just isn't time for it...by the time I get everything set up I've only got 10 minutes to play. If there were a dedicated warm-up room I could leave my things there, but there isn't.

After work, Whole Paycheck for the hot bar and some favorites (tofu bites, Koia shakes) before booking it home to pack for tomorrow and practice bass.

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Tuesday, Epic again.

It was a bit drizzly in the morning which made it cooler :)

We did one show without the cart (mostly to protect Plume the puffskein from drizzle) and the rest were with the cart. All of the shows went well, though some were a bit underattended.

TMI WARNING (nothing explicit, just talk about "gut stuff")
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I also felt malaise during the second-to-last show, it felt like either my usual nerves/stress physical reaction or something that I ate causing abdominal cramps, or perhaps both. Sometimes this happens. I've suspected for a while that I've got stress-related IBS or something similar, but since I don't feel nauseous, stop eating, or lose weight due to these episodes, I generally ignore them. A buildup of stress? A reaction to something I ate? Something more sinister? As a Millennial American, I have no financial way of knowing unless it becomes a medical emergency or starts significantly disrupting my daily life. It must be nice to have the privilege of simply seeing a doctor when you don't feel well. What must that be like! Only my parents and grandparents got to enjoy that before pulling the ladder up behind them.
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Rant over...but not really.
I'll probably die from something completely preventable, thanks to this, so will never not be angry about it.
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Anyway, it was a normal day and I drove straight home afterward. It took me a while to pack breakfast, lunch, dinner, and clothing for Disney tomorrow, and afterward I wanted to rest and make sure I'm not getting sick (based on tmi events above.) Ate dinner and dessert just fine...who knows.

Also, on the way home I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the workings of immigration court. I was gratified to hear the host describe the details of the work I've been doing for the past several months. It also made me worried, for the first time, about what it means that immigration trials are currently on hold. And with Trump deporting people like he's doing. That's peoples' rights on hold.

Not for my sake at all...I really hope that immigration hearings resume soon. Because people who come to this country are supposed to have rights. And if these cases DON'T resume....it's pretty damn bad sign.

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I got to sleep in a bit later, 7:30am!
A relaxing morning of breakfast and seeing Jameson off to the gym, then I left for the Magic Kingdom.

The weather was calm and clear, not too hot even, and attendance was clearly up. We had great crowds all day!

Apparently Wednesdays are when the Dapper Dans rehearse under the Castle. They were with us in the warm-up room all day (not the group performing in the park that day, but a different set of four guys, possibly subs.) This meant that the band guys mostly stuck to their man-cave break room, and I stayed in the warm-up room because to me that IS the break room. The Dappers didn't mind at all, so I got to enjoy sitting quietly between sets and listening to their lovely harmonies all day :)

Here's a clip of them in the park.
(For those who are LJ or DW Friends, you'll get to see a video of their actual rehearsal today in a separate Friends Only post!)



We added "Heigh-Ho" to the parade music, and it went quite well. I was glad I'd memorized it in time.
Overall a really nice day.

Small introspection: it is a wondrous thing to be working at two amusement parks right now, one old and one new.
I've possibly mentioned this in previous posts, but felt it again today.

At Epic, everything is frantic with the energy and chaos of a new park about to open.
Everything is innovative and novel, the landscape is constantly changing, excitement is high, things are moving quickly.
There is an incredible undertow of hope and anticipation.
It is stressful, but also exciting.
There is a feeling of being a pioneer of sorts...every day I am aware that I am one of the first to walk these halls, to ride these rides, to look upon this newly-made "world."
My voice--the sound of my instrument--is one of the first to echo in the Ministry of Magic.
Those who work here, right now, are the first to call this park "home."
There's a wonderful feeling of pride to be a part of this new venture, a phenomenon about to be revealed that will surprise and delight millions, and touch the hearts of people around the world.
Memories waiting to be made. A legacy waiting to be written.

(photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel)

And then the next day I'm at Disney, riding the employee bus to the Castle.
The bus drivers are chill and friendly, take time to smile and greet everyone, and in return employees wave and shout, "Thank you!" as they get on off the bus.
Everyone walks patiently into the Utilidors, chatting and clocking in, most already in costume.
Nothing seems rushed or frantic; routines here are established.
Everyone knows their role and if they don't they've got someone to guide them.
The floor is worn, worn, worn by the feet of thousands of Castmembers before us.
The walls are covered in the legacy of Walt Disney...his image, his art, his innovations new and old.
Decades of memories. A legacy writ so deep that it has become a part of human existence.
There is a feeling of pride equally deep...of being part of an old magic, a cherished treasure passed down like an heirloom through time and space.
There is a feeling of belonging.

(photo courtesy AllEars.net)

Both places have such strong magic.
Standing with one foot in each world, as I'm doing, leaves me awestruck when I stop to think about it.

What a treasure.

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Thursday: "Day off" for me, so catching up on housework and practicing AND supporting Jameson as he has another interview with DEG today!

Friday: Epic Universe, but rehearsal is at NIGHT for the first time! I can't wait to see Place Cachee all lit up :)

Saturday: Day off, supposedly meeting with someone to talk about bass trombone mutes.

Sunday: I picked up another day at the Magic Kingdom, hooray!!

The preview day that Jameson and I selected for Epic Universe was Saturday April 5th.

We got up a bit early and fought traffic to the guest parking lot.
(This is one thing that still badly needs work...it took us 20 minutes to get into the lot from less than a mile away, and the park isn't even open yet! I really hope they add more access points soon.)

As we were parking, my WhatsApp started pinging. It was my Epic Universe group chat.
The photo/media ban had been lifted! We were allowed to take pictures and video!!
And here I was pulling up to the park, ready for a full day of seeing it!!

I've never had much luck with money...but BOY do I have good luck with life experiences!!

As we were walking to the Chronos portal, parking employees and security guards and EVERYONE was shouting to guests, "The photo ban is lifted! Take pictures! Take video!" One even screamed, "Someone, take a photo of meeeee!!!"

Everyone has had to keep quiet for SO LONG. It's hard! I think we are all relieved and excited to share what we've been working on all this time!

The Chronos portal, the entrance to Epic Universe, and my first photo of the park!


We walked in and were in Celestial Park, which is the hub where all the "world" portals meet.
Here there are gardens, lots of food options, rides, and kiosks for future shops (most of which are still closed.)
It is a very beautiful park, and has been well-documented already, so I didn't take many photos here.

(stock image)

The primary ride offerings are the Stardust Racers coasters, and the carousel.
We watched the coasters for a while...they are beautiful to see, and I've heard that they're one of the best coasters Universal has ever done. I can believe it. The carousel was running, so we rode that. The animals are not attached at the ceiling, which makes for a really cool effect and you also go up higher than expected! The animals are all based on constellations. It doesn't move in a plain circle like a traditional carousel, either, and that was surprising and fun.

CLICK HERE to see my footage of riding the carousel

We continued to the Wizarding World / Ministry of Magic portal, because we wanted to grab a drink and catch my show's set before seeing the Circus Arcanus show.


It was such a cool thing, to walk into this park as a guest for the first time.
Looking around...there was where we rehearsed for 3 hours one day because there were paint fumes where we normally rehearsed. Here's the wall I watched someone "age" for a week. There's the shop where we got to watch a magical creature animatronic being installed. It is truly such a special thing to have seen a theme park being built from the ground up!

Anyway, we first stopped at Bar Moonshine for a fancy cocktail featuring absinthe and limoncello (no idea what else was in it but it was delicious!)


I could hear my group performing outside, so as soon as we had our drinks we rushed out.

For the first time: meet Phillipa, Chandler, Jules, and our puffskein named Plume!!!

CLICK HERE for footage of the band performing!




(video and first 2 photos from Attractions Magazine, last photo from me)

I am SO GLAD that we don't have to hide our show any more!!!

These three (Mariah as "Phillipa," Adrian as "Chandler," Adam as "Jules") are "the PR Trio" that I've been talking about.
They're the three who are chosen to perform any time there's a PR event or Warner Bros. execs in the park. So of course they did an amazing job today!!

After they finished I was gratified to see one of our stage managers take a group photo of them and immediately share it on LinkedIn. The media ban is INDEED lifted. Hooray!

(photo courtesy Brendan)

Soon, I'll have media of my own performances to share! How exciting!

We finished our drinks quickly and queued up for Cirque Arcanus.

Jameson in the queue. The theming of the queue gave us both a bit of nostalgia for our time with Ringling Bros.


The show was, once again, mind-blowingly incredible.
I'll say it again: if you get a chance to visit Epic Universe, this show is a MUST. Make time for it in your itinerary.
The level of performance, and staging technology, happening in this show, is going to change the entertainment industry.

We explored some of the Place Cachee shops and mentally bookmarked some things that we might want.
We visited Cosme's wand shop so I could show Jameson the circus Ringmaster's wand, and introduce him to Cosme herself (all of the Place Cachee / Ministry of Magic performers share break rooms and dressing rooms, so I see all of the Cosme performers, Aurors, Exchange Students, Living Portraits, and Circus performers, EVERY day!) Cosme has a custom wand, and showed it to Jameson, that was super cool :)

We then used my wand to cast a few spells around the park, getting a niffler to drop it's horde of coins and making some musical instruments move around in a shop window!

From there we entered the portal to Super Nintendo World.
The last time I was able to go, the park was still heavily under construction. This was my first time seeing it complete!

CLICK HERE to see the portal to Super Nintendo Land courtesy Attractions Magazine

We saw that Mario and Luigi were out for a meet-and-greet, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for that!


We explored the gift shops and saw LOTS of things that we wanted, but managed to narrow it down to a few things haha.
Since it was about lunch time we decided to eat at Toadstool Cafe.

(stock image)

The theming in there is absolutely adorable. Every once in a while Bowser's flying battleship floats through and the lights dim, things become ominous, ADORABLE, then it moves on and the Mushroom Kingdom continues going about it's business :D

All of the restaurants in the park, by the way, are self-serve, which is SO MUCH FASTER.
There are QR codes at every table. You scan them for the menu, pick what you want, order it, and pay.
Done. No waiting for the check. No hoping your server heard you say "No mayo" above the racket. You just eat and leave when you're ready. We absolutely loved the convenience of this throughout the day!

Anyway, We got a bunch of foods to try!

Jameson had spaghetti and meatballs. I tried his meatball and it was delicious, tender and with a little bit of spicy heat (not too much, just barely noticeable and very tasty!)

(LA Times photo)

I had the chicken Caesar salad, which I realize is "boring" but A) look at the adorable Super Star plating! B) I knew we'd be eating A LOT today so tried to at least be slightly healthy here lol.


Mushroom-shaped "garlic knots." Very tasty!


Our dessert, a Question Box tiramisu. The question box was shortbread cookies, and inside was an absolutely decadent and delicious tiramisu. We enjoyed it very much, and it looked so cute!


We decided to walk our lunch off at Berk.

(stock image)

This is the only park I'd never visited during construction, so I was very excited to see it. It did not disappoint! The theming is immersive and adorable. It's a land definitely geared toward a younger audience, but it is also beautiful and there's lots of people of all ages to enjoy. We tried to ride a Viking water boat ride/shooting game, but it broke down while we were in queue so we ended up bailing. Then we queued up for a Toothless meet-and-greet, which was going smoothly until a huge crowd of INFLUENCERS showed up with media passes and bogarted the line (-_-#) What started as a 15-minute wait became an hour.

But we consoled ourselves with the knowledge that once the park was open, the wait would be at least 2 hours long, daily. Not only that, during previews meal and merch prices are HALF OFF. There were only about 11,000 people in the entire park, across all the worlds. Every queue that we were in, every experience that we enjoyed today, was EXCEPTIONAL compared to what paying guests will have to endure. We made very sure not to EVER forget that, and be appreciative even while waiting!!

Finally, our patience was rewarded :)

CLICK HERE to see our meet and greet with Toothless!



As you can see from the video, the level of expressiveness and interaction from Toothless is astounding. I know that he is controlled by a puppeteer, and also some of his sounds and expressions are controlled by someone with an iPad somewhere. Seeing al this artistry and tech come together in this experience was absolutely wonderful. We got to see several small children interacting with Toothless, and you could tell...they completely thought he was REAL. It's going to be a very memorable experience for kids and their parents, that's for sure.

We saw lots of other cool interactive tidbits throughout this world, including an Astrid and Stormfly meet and greet, and several fun statues that would move or make noise if you turned a big wheel at their base. I'm sure loads of footage will be forthcoming...we didn't take as much footage here because of all the media/press swarming around while we were in this world. I felt silly with my little phone while surrounded by people wearing stabilizers and high-fidelity mics and thousands of dollars-worth of media gear. Let them document this for you :)

We entered the Untrainable Dragon stage show. You can already see this show in its entirety on YouTube because it's in Universal Beijing. Jameson had seen it before, but I hadn't. Again, the technology and puppetry, animatronics and acting and staging, all made for an incredible show! In my opinion the Circus show is still "the groundbreaking one," but this show is also extremely impressive and well worth seeing if you can stand the wait.

(stock image)

We wandered Berk a bit looking for the Mead Hall, yet somehow couldn't find it? Not sure what our problem was haha.
From there we went to Dark Universe for a cooldown and a drink. The Toothless queue had been in the sun for nearly an hour, and the show queue hadn't been much cooler. Stepping into Das Stakehaus, we were greeted by blessed darkness and cool air :D The whole ambiance is to make you feel like you're underground, among twisted tree roots and coffins shifting in the soil of the walls. The lighting is reddish and dim, and it flickers every once in a while whenever Frankenstein's daughter harnesses the town's electricity for one of her experiments.

In other words, it's a VERY cool restaurant!

(stock image. I'm sorry for all the stock images but I was far more intent on enjoying my experience than being an influencer!)

Jameson had a spiced beer, and I enjoyed a Darkthorne Mead which was a very tangy, sweet cider featuring blackberries, vanilla, and spices. Jameson took a lot of footage here for his mom, who enjoys all things spooky.

Outside the restaurant it is quite themed too. Some vampires on display:


As we were rounding a corner we saw Bride of Frankenstein doing a meet-and-greet! Couldn't resist!
We had a big ol' philosophical discussion. She knew right away that I was a musician....I wonder how.... ;)

CLICK HERE to see our interaction with Bride of Frankenstein



I'm kind of going out of order here, but actually the first thing we did when we got to Darkmoor / Dark Universe was try to ride Monsters Unchained. I was very apprehensive about it, but Jameson really wanted to try it so I screwed up my courage.

Nothing to do with monsters....EVERYTHING to do with MOTION SICKNESS.

The queue was incredibly themed and amazing to walk through, I'm sure there will be MANY spoilers soon (HERE is one of the ride.) The preshow is apparently amazing too...but we didn't get that far. Right before the preshow is a holding area where they show you what the ride will be like...yikes. I could feel the blood draining from my face as I watched the seats jerk around, sideways and around and nearly upside-down. Nope. Even just 5 minutes of that was going to be too much. Universal is known for using high-res screens and simulated motion to create an immersive experience. This is not something that my brand of motion sickness can handle, at all. Jameson and I looked at each other, then backed out, following the single-rider lane out to the gift shop.

I'm sorry that we missed out, but also, crisis averted. This was a definite case of "know thyself." Many other people will greatly enjoy this ride. For us, it would have ended the day!

We returned to Super Nintendo World to ride some rides we KNEW we could handle lol.
The Mario Kart ride was awesome! First the queue, which was themed to look like Bowser's castle study. The second part was a factory for the Bomber Bills and Bob-ombs, I didn't record that part. Bowser's study was great, I loved the titles of the books, the Bowser-sized furniture, and the little Boos floating around!

CLICK HERE to see my footage of Mario Kart queue

The ride itself uses Augmented Reality, which is just so incredibly cool and immersive. It felt like you were really in the game at times! There probably won't be many POVs of this ride because cameras won't be able to focus through the AR goggles. If you've played Mario Kart, it's very similar. Jameson got 117 coins, I won with 132! TAKE THAT MUAHAHAHAHAAAA :p

(stock image)

We rode Yoshi's Adventure as well. It's meant for little kids BUT is worth riding for the incredible view of Nintendo World. HERE'S a good clip of the ride in Japan, the one in Orlando is exactly the same.

We went back to the gift shops for the items we'd picked out earlier, then returned to Ministry of Magic for dinner.
Neither of us were deeply hungry, so we treated ourselves to butterbeer and butterbeer crepes.
I got to try the crepes during restaurant testing/rehearsal, but Jameson had never had them and he loved them.
Definitely one of the best dessert offerings in the parks!


We cast a few more spells, including a kite shop spell that blasted air on us and a mysterious shop where a Demiguise apparated and then faded away. So cool.
We then walked the Ministry of Magic queue. The ride was not open (it's had troubles since day one), but the queue is so immersive, incredible, themed, and MASSIVE, you have GOT to check it out!

THIS Attractions Magazine footage is better than what I got, so check it out! Simply astounding.

We hit one more gift shop, then it was after 7pm and time for us to leave.

Wow.

Such an incredible experience, that we were grateful to have.
Being able to see and do as much as we did, without massive crowds and essentially for free/at significantly reduced cost, and with a fraction of the wait times, is something that will NEVER happen again in our lifetimes. This was an experience I'll never forget!!

Back home, I lined up our modest merch haul for a photo.


Jameson got the Mario Kart magnets for himself.
He also bought me that Place Cachee picture frame shaped like the Phoenix Arch. He got it so I can put my first decent show photo in it. This was so thoughtful and sweet! I can't wait to find a good photo for it!

For myself, I got a Chain Chomp shirt and a matching Chain Chomp enamel pin (Jameson saw it at the register so I HAD to get it lol)
The Japanese text says "Wanwan," that's what Chain Chomp was originally called. "Wan wan" is the sound of a dog barking.

My wand is pictured just because I've shared it here in Friends Only posts, but not in public ones (I think.)
We also kept our Bar Moonshine cups as a sort of souvenir.

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I know I've said it like 80 times but this was such an incredible experience.

I know that the park will be packed and crazy and expensive the minute it opens. But in a year or two, if you have a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. There is no other theme park like it out there. Even with previews (not all rides working, not all restaurants and shops open) we had an incredible time, and this is going to be well worth a visit for anyone coming to Orlando.

Thanks for following my journey of working for Epic Universe, and getting to experience it!

Starting today, there will be LOADS of footage of the entire park.
The jig is up, the secret is revealed!

I cannot wait to work in coming days and see footage of our show popping up!!

Thursday I was up at 8 which is late for me anymore.

Breakfast and finished timestamping my bootleg of the tour I'm gonna do this summer, then sort of rushed through breakfast because I am ITCHING to practice this music! I've been waiting for it for a long time. It would have been nice to get it from the actual touring company, but whatever, I'm sure they're super busy with all sorts of other logistics plus it's possible our arrangements aren't even finished yet.

That's right, the part I was given by the guy doing this show in Australia isn't even the part I'll be playing. It's a lot closer, but his version of the music is for a stationary show. A touring show will require changes to set pieces for easier breakdown, and changes to staging to accommodate many stage sizes, and changes to the choreo too. Likewise the music will have more cuts and reorchestrations based on all of these changes that happen on stage. Regardless, being able to practice the actual part is a HUGE leap forward from practicing the 1990s version part, which is what I've been doing up until now.

Anyway, I practiced most of the first act. Right before lunch I went to the bank to deposit some savings bonds that have been sitting around forever. Most of them are within the last 2-3 years of maturity, and I don't feel it's worth the few dollars to keep them lying around when our country is going down the toilet.

Back home, lunch and even more practice just because I am so pleased to have the part!
Then relaxing with Jameson for two hours before driving to my lesson with Will.

Meet Will, who like Jameson is a raging Cubs fan:


This is a "bad" picture of him, he'll be mad that I shared it :p
My lesson went ok, but it's clear that I need to actually get into a routine now that Will's given me all of these exercises to do. I've been kind of grab-bagging exercises, and need to play them daily and consistently instead. Decided that I'm gonna start with deep breathing and stacked breathing, followed by sustaining long tones with a stopwatch, then interval exercises and mouthpiece buzzing, then Rochut melodies, and THEN I can hit the tour music after doing all that.

Second half of the lesson was spent on gear. I need straight, cup, and plunger mutes for bass trombone, and Will has extras of all of these that he was able to let me borrow. He also let me try his new 3D-printed mutes, which I was skeptical of but they really do sound fantastic. Which is a shame because I'd rather save money and use free/cheap mutes! But now I'm tempted to get the new ones!

Here is a traditional aluminum trombone mute on the left, and a 3D-printed Morningstar mute on the right.


To show the bottom of the Morningstar mute, which comes in several metal options (copper, aluminum, brass):


They don't look very different, but there are some important differences. The Morningstar mute is significantly bigger, which isn't necessarily "better" but is probably one reason why they sound so good. It also won't dent during transport because it's 3D-printed. And it doesn't use cork, which dries out and breaks. Instead he uses a velcro system that is actually adjustable so you can move the mute further in or out to get the sound you want. I thought all of this was a gimmick until I tried it...it's not, it's actually very functional and an improvement over traditional mutes which have not seen much innovation since time immemorable. The creator is an actual trombonist too, so my trust level is high. He lives here in Orlando(!) and I'm gonna meet with him in April to try the other types of mutes, schedule permitting.

Will sent me home with his old mutes to play with, plus a gig bag! My monstrous road case is great, but for just getting my bass around town locally a gig bag will be very convenient. I might buy it from him.

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Friday morning, I woke up to an email from our Australian Angel (the trombonist doing my show on the opposite side of the globe.) He'd sent me the French horn part! I quickly forwarded it to Sarah, the French hornist joining me on tour and who sent me frantic texts last week asking if I'd gotten any updates. She'll be thrilled! Super grateful that musicians are willing to help musicians, sort of regardless of any "consequences." This isn't some black market music smuggling ring; we just want to go into rehearsal at our absolute best for this show, and need to see the music in advance to do that.

I poked away online until Jameson got up, then had a rather productive day:

     - washed and seasoned our new saute pan which had shown up last night while I was at Will's
     - practiced bass for an hour
     - took old tax documents and void checks to UPS to be shredded
     - called my doctor to set up a regular checkup in May
     - called my bank to close an inactive checking account
     - dusted
     - trimmed the banana tree

...and went for a neighborhood walk.
The weather today was warm, breezy and 75F (23.8C) and there won't be many more days like this.


One of our neighbors has planted these gorgeous roses.


Back home lunch and a shower, Jameson had an afternoon meeting so I did quiet things like dumping transcription files to an external drive, looking for wallpapers for my new iPad, and researching getting a will. I'm not all that old and I don't have loads of assets, but there are things like my trombones that are rare and valuable and I'd like for those to be handled properly, and would like to leave as little work for my younger siblings as possible whenever I cack it.

While doing that I was surprised to see an email from Epic Universe land in my inbox...an invitation to queue up for PREVIEW TICKETS!!!

(This girl from the Epic commercials is essentially my inner child right now)

Since we are not Universal employees, we have been barred from participating in several other Team Member events that have already taken place. None of us had our hopes up to be included in the park previews. Our third party employer must have advocated for us to get these. I was quick to write them an email GUSHING thanks, then jump into the queue!

Only a limited number of guests may preview the park each day, so just like a popular concert on TicketMaster, you've got to dive into the fray and get that reservation ASAP. It was lucky I'd been working and had my email open to see it come in. Even so, available tickets for the day we wanted were at 10% remaining when I got through just 10 minutes later!! Crazy.

But now, I WILL GET TO SEE ALL OF EPIC UNIVERSE!!!
I may bring one guest, and since I have no friends it's Jameson again. You can bet he doesn't mind!!
I will bring my wand, and we can zap everything we can in the Ministry of Magic!
And we will eat treats and drink drinks and ride rides! And, and...!!

Aaaaah!

Ok, ok, back to the present.

I got our tickets all set up, worked on my will a bit more, did a load of laundry, and when my iPad case arrived I installed that. Ate leftover meatballs with Jameson until he left for a party with friends. After he left I enjoyed several hours to myself to relax. Lit a candle, made tea, watched anime, researched what to check out at Epic Universe. I still have so much to do in coming days...but I also did a lot today, and gotta remind myself that it's ok to do nothing, too.

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Saturday, I had a new transcription job and got started on it. Jameson slept late so I was itching to practice trombone by the time he got up. Practiced, hit the grocery store for dinner ingredients, packed for Disney tomorrow.

More transcription in the afternoon, then made a chicken pot pie for dinner that tasted great but turned out runny, and it was supposed to have a puff pastry "crust" but it didn't work at all. I ended up having to scrape wet puff pastry off the top of the pie, and we were left with only the parts that hadn't touched the filling. Lame. Next time I'll have to par-bake the pastry separately I think.

I felt restless today overall. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

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Sunday, up at 5:30am to make coffee and put in an hour of transcription.
Stopped at 7am to hit Publix for croissants, which when heated in the air fryer become crispy enough that they can be used as a "crust" topping for the pot pie leftovers. More transcription, breakfast, off to Disney with tenor and bass trombone in tow.

It was a cloudy day, but it didn't rain and we didn't get out of anything :p
We did have a shortened second parade because it looked like rain, and the flag retreat was shortened as well because huge thunderheads were rolling toward us, lightning visible. No explorations today, I just practiced bass and tenor and shot the sh*t with the guys.
It was a good day.

Grocery store sushi on the way home, hot tea when I got home.
Jameson has begun putting together a LEGO Piano set that he got at a discount. It's huge and I've no idea where it will live, but maybe we'll figure that out by the time he's finished it!


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Monday & Tuesday: Days "off." Lots of transcription, probably gonna make us Chicago dogs.

Wednesday & Thursday: Epic Universe. Gosh, it's been forever, do I even remember the show? Lol

In closing: Did you know that ChatGPT can make any picture you give it into an anime version? I fed it two photos and they are adorable!

(It's Been A While Since I Did A DISCLAIMER: The viewpoints and opinions expressed in this post and throughout this blog are my own, and do not reflect the viewpoints or opinions of my employers, including Disney, Universal, Epic Universe, Warner Brothers, and any other parties mentioned herein. I take full responsibility for my own content.)

Thursday up early for Epic.

Started the day a bit cranky as often happens when one gets up at 5:30am.
But it was a nice day, we had good sets, and I was happy to think that tomorrow Jameson will be here to enjoy the park!

(picture of the Toothless and Hiccup meet and greet available at Isle of Berk.)

And then,
throughout the day,
people FINALLY started communicating with me!!

First my boss at Main Street Philharmonic communicated to ask if I'd like to do a rehearsal next week.
So I communicated with my transcription boss and asked if I could reduce my workload by one hour.
He communicated back right away with a yes, so I scheduled the rehearsal. This will not only be additional money, but a chance to work on memorizing the Trombone 2 book, which I've slacked off on last week.

Then, the music coordinator for the tour I've ACCEPTED finally communicated three days after I'd reached out to him, apologizing for the delay and confirming that YES, I am CONFIRMED and itineraries will be sent out SOON. Thank god! I felt bad for having heckled him, but also three months of dead silence is a very long time to sit meekly and trust that someone still intends to employ you.

Finally, I communicated with the Asian tour that I HADN'T yet accepted, to politely and regretfully decline their offer. I made sure to express how much I wished I could have done it, and asked them to keep my 'fo on file for future opportunities.
The MD communicated back to say he'd absolutely keep me on file. Yay!

I guess I'm sorry to have worried and complained as much as I did?
But not really.
I am a human with obligations and commitments and needs just like everyone else, and limits to my patience just like everyone else.

After work I went to Whole Paycheck, made myself a hot bar plate, and just kinda hung out because Will lives 20 minutes away so it was easier to just stay in the area before my lesson. The lesson went "ok," but this was my first one after a day of playing tenor trombone at Epic. Switching horns was weird. I'll have to remember that for next week and see if I can mitigate it.

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Friday, a normal day but unusually cold.
( Shirt Shenanigans )

Aaaanyway, I was a bit nervous for Jameson being there to see the show, but when the time came we had a great energetic crowd and he stood right in front to watch :) I was so happy to see him! I only wish we'd had our prop, with our little animatronic puffskein. Ah well, he will be able to watch videos of it online quite soon.

My day went completely normally, I left Jameson alone knowing that he had a limited time to enjoy as much as possible today and wanted him to have that experience without interruptions. After work, Whole Paycheck for wings, and they were giving away Irish soda bread(!) so I HAD to take a loaf!

Back home I got cleaned up and chilled until Jameson got home to tell me about his "Epic" day (ha-ha)
He first of all said that he LOVED our band. Not just because I'm in it and he's biased :p but because he's a musician too. He said that we sounded tight, we were energetic and entertaining, and after seeing almost all of the other "atmosphere" entertainment in the other worlds, he felt that none compared to how good we sounded or how put together we were. That was big flattery and I passed it on to my bandmates right away :)

He got to spend a lot of time in Super Nintendo Land and loved it, and ate at Le Gobelet Noir and said it was exceptionally good. A lot of rides and experiences were unfortunately down today, but he did get to ride some rides and saw most of the major stage shows. He was impressed by the How to Train Your Dragon show but said some of the effects were not quite working right today. And he was blown away by the Cirque Arcanus show...like REALLY blown away, which was awesome to hear because I was ALSO blown away by it and have been dying for him to see it. It's truly a crown jewel of the whole park. I bet Warner Bros will win a load of awards for it.

He must have had a truly amazing time because he raved about all he'd experienced for a solid hour, and said it had been a fantastic day! Also, he did most of this experience with Kristen, his longtime friend and one of my bosses at Epic Universe, and Jodie, another dear friend who had a hand in the actual construction of the Ministry of Magic. She was able to tell him all kinds of insider stuff related to the buildings and artistry and such.

I was so, so happy for him, that he got to experience this park! Once it opens it'll be packed solid for YEARS. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm so grateful to Kristen for getting him (and Jodie!) in!

(Jodie, Kristen, and Jameson in front of the Ministry of Magic portal)

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Saturday I slept poorly and was up early to do transcription, but the job was sent later than expected so I didn't get started until 9. Plugged away at it until lunch, then trombone practice and a trip to Publix just for cottage cheese, then packed breakfast and lunch for tomorrow.
Then more transcription.

Somewhere in there, our Epic Universe scheduler wrote to say that next week we will have two paid days off!!
This is because the park will be "dark" on the 26th and 27th (i.e. it won't be open for guest previews) but it seems Universal forgot to tell our third party employer that. So they scheduled us as usual, but we aren't even allowed to be on property. At first they tried to schedule an off-site rehearsal, but I guess it didn't work out.

I'm EXTREMELY grateful that we can still be paid!!

Jameson relaxed for most of the day, his knees were bothering him after stomping around Epic all day yesterday.
We had pizza and air fryer wings for dinner, and watched the season finale of Severance. What a crazy, innovative show.

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Sunday, subbing in at the Magic Kingdom.

I decided to take my bass trombone, to practice and to show to Tony (Main Street Phil bass trombonist.)
This was my first time actually using the heavy duty, hardshell trombone case that I got for this bass.
The wheels turned out to be a huge lifesaver! I am ABLE to carry it, but it's very heavy and difficult while also carrying my tenor trombone and my backpack. The wheels saved me a lot of sweat and backache.

This case:


Tony liked my trombone a lot. He played it a bit, and also gave me tips on breathing and finding the center of the pitch instead of wibbling around (like I tend to do.) I also practiced throughout the day between sets, and that was so nice that I'll probably do it again! Notice how I'm always trying to do two jobs at once :p

There was a new signed drumhead in the band's dressing room:

(Do not share this picture, please.)

This is from the Disneyland Band!
The two bands exchanged signed drumheads during their visit last week. How adorable :)

It was a normal day, two parades and two sets and the flag retreat. I enjoyed it very much, got my bass practice done, got to see lots of smiling and happy Disney guests, and got my 17,000 steps / 7 miles of walking.

Back home, unpacked cleaned up and relaxed with Jameson. He found a Savannah Bananas game on TV! That was fun to watch.

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Monday: "Day off," mostly transcription, trombone practice, maybe some chores.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdom rehearsal day.

Wednesday: A PAID day off!!! Wow!!!

Aaaah. You guys.

I got an offer, just now, to join the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Asia tour.

Two years touring China, Taiwan, Manila, Macao, Singapore, India, Malaysia/Indonesia, UAE/Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong.

The MD for Tootsie recommended me for it.

and...I will probably have to turn it down.

ARRRRRRRRRRRGH.

-- -- -- -- --

Why? Because
A) Another tour during the same time frame has made an offer first, and I have already accepted.
B) The other tour is union, which equals higher pay and benefits.
C) The other tour is with a company that is typically VERY beneficial to work for, if you want more opportunities in the future.
(and I will share who and what Other Tour is, as soon as I can. Whenever that is.)

But oh.
I have wanted an international tour for SO LONG. 
And now I have to turn down one dream for another.

This is one of those times where you're supposed to be grateful to be showered in opportunities beyond your wildest hopes.
And I am! Oh my god, to be considered at all for these things is all that I've wanted, all this time.
I could not ask for more.

But the FOMO, you guys! 
It HURTS. 

And...to me, adventures are just as good as, if not better than, money. 
Which is why although one gig pays more, the one with more adventure is just as valuable, and just as hard if not harder to decline.

-- -- -- -- -- 

Well, the thing is, I have not heard from the other tour for close to 3 months since receiving their offer.
So, I've written to everyone I know there asking someone to confirm with me that I'm still "signed" for that tour.
And while waiting for a response, I've thanked the MD for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and expressed interest, but told him my situation and asked if he'd be willing to wait a few days for my response. He was very gracious about it.

And now I have to wait. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

Other than the radio silence for several months (which is sadly not uncommon in this industry) I have no reason to think anything's changed with the tour I've already committed to. And I am a person who sticks to my commitments and contracts. So unless something went wrong and I just don't know it yet, I sadly will not be going to Asia this time. Because I've committed to another glorious opportunity instead.


ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH.
I am blessed.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

Oh, Monday. A day off.

Jameson had jury duty. He was up at 6, so I figured why not also get up at 6 and do transcription.

I plugged away until noon with a few breaks. Jameson was back before lunch, and the jury ended up dismissed because the case wasn't ready to go forward, so now he's fulfilled his "civic duty" or whatever for at least a year. Yay! Also see, he was nervous for nothing :p

We had lunch together, then I practiced bass while he went out to find new pillows and get groceries. Then he worked and I went back to transcription, with breaks to pester him and eat little snacks.

In the evening Jameson had made plans with a friend, so while he did that I had a half-naughty-half-responsible dinner of vegetables, lean chicken...and the whopping big apple muffin I'd gotten from Universal last week (I'd frozen it.) Then since it was so nice out, I took myself for a walk. It was very windy and the clouds were fluffy and pink, and this made me think of my mom.

She has been gone for over 20 years now. And now that my dad is gone too, I'm realizing that there are some things that I remember about her that no one else does. Not even my younger siblings or my aunt. Of course, they have memories that I don't share either because we were all with her at different points in her timeline.

A sampling of things that I remember, that no one else does:

     - The little "lunch parties" she used to hold for the neighborhood kids. We'd have peanut butter pinwheels, ham and cheese "sailboats," and play games like musical chairs or pin-the-tail. No computers then, so we had story time or sang along with Sesame Street cassettes.

     - For some reason she really had a thing for steamed artichoke leaves and Hollandaise sauce while I was still a toddler. I remember how stinky the kitchen was after the bulbs(?) flowers(?) were steamed. I remember how fun it was to scrape the leaves with your teeth, and the tang of the Hollandaise with the richness of the artichoke meat.

     - The "Play-Doh" cookies that she and I used to make together, and the chocolate teddy bear cookies. My siblings don't remember these at all, and I have trouble finding recipes that replicate them.

     - A huge variety of children's books, many of which I can't remember the titles because I was too young and many of which didn't survive to be read to my younger siblings (probably discarded after my parents got divorced.) A few that I remember include Snow Lion, The Magic Friend Maker, and Donkey Donkey.

These clouds, when they are this color and shape, remind me of her because when she lived near downtown Bloomsburg she rented a house and my sister Kate and I shared a room in it. One day mom offered to paint the room however we'd like. We excitedly argued about how we'd like it, and agreed that we wanted clouds, but Kate wanted a pink sky and I wanted blue. My mom's solution was to paint two walls pink and two walls blue, with the clouds on the blue portions. She wasn't an artist but did have some small skill; my dad had gone to school for art so she likely learned things from him + she had taken 101 arts and had some concept of shading and scale. So it actually turned out really well. She shaded the clouds just like this, and that tied the pink walls in with everything nicely. And when the sun was setting it did shine into the room, making it seem like we really were looking at the sky at sunset. And then as the sky faded to black, the blue walls appeared darker too, and we put up those little pinpoint glow-in-the-dark stars which you could only see on the walls at night, and larger star-shaped ones on the ceiling.

It's a memory with strong nostalgia for me...settling into bed at sunset and watching the walls blush pinkish-purple with the fading sun...then waking up later to little pinpoints of light, hearing my sister snoring quietly in the bunk bed below.

The feelings these memories evoke are complex and hard to describe. But I guess it doesn't matter.
Today's sky, and the gusty cool breeze, gave me thoughts and feelings, and a good walk.


Back home, lavender tea and anime.

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Tuesday, my body wanted to sleep later but I had to make it get up.

More transcription. Upping my workload by an additional audio-hour means 4 actual-hours of work. Plus not being able to transcribe at Epic anymore, and suddenly my time seems limited.

A break for lunch, trombone practice, and grocery for dinner ingredients. I'd planned to make an Asian-inspired meatloaf from a cookbook my sis got me, but Publix didn't have all of what I needed, so chose a NYTCooking recipe instead.

One cool thing that happened today, while I was frantically transcribing, was the Disneyland Band paying a visit to the Main Street Philharmonic! How cool it must have been to hear both bands performing, and see them together! Many of my friends went, and I felt left out and jealous. If this had happened next week I definitely could've gone Ah well.

What a great group photo!

(photo courtesy WDW Cast & Community on fb)

It made me think of the time in the circus when the Red Unit and Blue Unit shared a train yard...a super rare occurrence. Everybody was mingling, swapping hard drives, exploring each others' trains...it was so much fun! I hope today was just as fun for these guys (and the two ladies in the Blue band.)

Oh also, before anyone asks and makes me say it again: I am a substitute musician with the Main Street Philharmonic. This is the same thing as being a substitute teacher for a school; you're only called to work when a regular person is out sick or on vacation or whatever. So I would not have been asked to be part of this day. I could have gone as a guest, but declined so I could finish my work.

Dinner was a lean turkey meatloaf from NYTCooking, with mashed potatoes and green beans. I used my leftover garlic bread butter in the mashed potatoes and that was awesome. The meatloaf was actually extremely good, it includes shredded apple to keep the lean turkey moist. Considering how healthy it is compared to beef meatloaf and how much Jameson enjoyed it, I'll definitely be making it again.

As I was packing for Epic tomorrow, my aunt messaged to ask if she could come visit us in April! I am so excited!! She'll only stay for a few days but I want to take her to Disney of course, and she can relax in our pool, and I'm gonna cook at least one meal for her. What to make...

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...aaaand first thing in the morning I realized that my schedule for Epic, for the week that my aunt wants to visit hasn't been written. Crap!!

I reached out to the scheduler and of course the other two ladies will be out of town or on other gigs, one for the first half of the week and the other for the second half, such that the ONLY days that I'd HAVE to work would be the two days my aunt wanted to come. CRAP!!!

I was so embarrassed because she'd already booked her flights and I had to ask her to cancel them. Hoping that she can come down another week, but who knows because my schedule is so damn chaotic. It's a big reason why I don't see most of my family :(

Well, after that I drove to the park and got through security and did my makeup and got into costume.
We had a normal day of sets but our prop is broken so we had to do our "no prop" alternative script.
It is not hard, but feels awkward without the prop. We had small crowds today so maybe let's just count it as a rehearsal.

Back home I found out that one of Jameson's friends has gotten him into an Epic preview day!!! And on a day that I'm performing!!! I am excited for him (and a bit jealous, I doubt I'll get to actually experience the park at this point.) And can't wait for him to see our show AND the other amazing shows! And eat the food!! And, and...!!

It's next week, so I'll look forward to seeing him in the park!! Eeeeeeeeee!!

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Thursday: Mostly a free day + bass trombone lesson with Will.

Friday: Day at Epic.

Saturday and Sunday: Days off. The usual day off stuff.

Goodness, I got so caught up in this and that that I forgot to write at all about Monday until a day later.

Up very early to fight traffic to Epic. Upon arrival I saw that there was a Team Member Appreciation event in the lobby of the main employee entrance, and tried to skirt around it. I'm not a team member, being third party, and since we've been refused entry to some TM events I find it safest to assume "Team Member event" = "not for me unless I'm directly invited." This time I WAS invited, ushered over by an enthusiastic helper who gave me a lanyard and a big apple cinnamon muffin. Nice!

Even nicer, my friend Taylor was there! He's a former Ringling clown and now works for Universal's events department. We didn't have much time as he was working and I needed to get to work, but we hugged and it was great to see him regardless.

Onward to the Ministry of Magic. A makeup bag was waiting for me.


I still felt leery about applying my own makeup, so took it to the makeup station where they very kindly and patiently walked me through everything. And it was good that I went to them because some items in my kit were not correct for my skin/hair color, so they'll have to be switched out.

After that we had sets in full costume and with our prop. All of them went well except one, because the janky door where we enter the park decided to lock itself. I really hope they fix that soon. Otherwise we did all five sets. I was able to do some transcription between sets but not much.

Back home Jameson was doing a new student orientation via Zoom so I quietly packed my bag for Disney and less-quietly practiced bass. Once we were done with all that the rest of the night was chill/normal.

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Up early again to do transcription before Disney, and was glad I did as the day turned out rather busy and I didn't have time for it later. Before going to the park I stopped at a new bagel place and was impressed by the quality of the bagels, so will be back there again.

We did all parades and sets so by the end of the day I had easily gotten my 7 miles of walking.


We also had a rehearsal in the morning (I always forget that there's rehearsal EVERY Tuesday!) and some blocking in the afternoon, hence no time for transcription. It's ok, it'll still be done in plenty of time :) Anyway it was nice to see the guys and have a lovely day. It was Fat Tuesday so we did all the NOLA stuff we have, which is all Princess and the Frog music. Very much fun.

Someone got a nice recording of us doing Mary Poppins, here it is if you like:



A photo with myself, Tony, and...I forget the guy's name but he's retired Army and he's who requested the picture, as he rarely gets to perform with the band. Don't we look spiffy!


Afterward I stopped at Publix for a few things, then home to pack for Epic and catch up with Jameson.

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And Wednesday, and the end of my Epic-Disney-Epic sandwich.

It was raining when I left for work which is the weather that Outdoor Performers Everywhere dream of. Who doesn't love a rain day and a little extra down time? And I'd brought transcription to do of course.

We did do all of the morning shows, but after lunch it was pouring so we missed the first afternoon show. We tried to go out for the middle show but the rain was coming in spats so we had to call it off (our prop has not been weatherproofed yet.) And then we were able to do the last show, and it was clear and cool.

I am getting better at packing up my costume and prepping my stuff for a speedy departure, so today I got out of there in record time and made it home by 6! Magical. Jameson had just gotten back from hand therapy. He got to work consolidating some hard drives while I practiced bass trombone and scraped Epic makeup off of my face. I could have done more transcription but know that I focus better in the morning. Instead I just chilled and shopped recipes for upcoming dinners.

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Thursday: A day off from the theme parks, but I have to wrap up my transcription work and will have my first bass trombone lesson!

Friday and Saturday: Household chores, practicing, new transcription jobs, and cooking some meals.

Sunday: Day at Epic.

Enjoyed Monday very much, because it was a weekend for me :)

Woke up early to do transcription, but it was raining heavily outside, and with a lovely cup of coffee and an easy case it was very relaxing. Jameson was up early as well for physical therapy for his arm. It's going well but is of course painful.

Other events-of-the-day:

- It ended up raining all day. It was wonderful.
- In addition to transcription, I practiced bass and went to the grocery for lasagna ingredients.
- Enjoyed writing and chatting with misc friends throughout the day.
- Cooked us teriyaki chicken kabobs, Mila chicken soup dumplings, and steamed edamame for dinner. It was "ok" but the teriyaki sauce needed something, it was kinda boring.

- I got a gig! It's not until April and it's just a one-nighter. BUT I get to wear a costume and play 1920s stuffs!
Not confirmed but I'm pretty sure it's this band:



Now I've got another fun thing to look forward to!

Hmm. Somehow I thought I did more than this today, but I guess not. Oh well! :p

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Tuesday was another glorious day off but wasn't very relaxing. A lot to do!

First was transcription early in the morning. I submitted one job and will hold the other hostage until the day before it's due so they don't send me new work during the back-to-back Epic rehearsal days.

Then I drove the caramels out to my friend Bill, which is two hours round trip. It's a nice drive, but I spent half of it using dictation to respond to a flurry of text messages and group chats as our Epic rehearsal was rescheduled twice and then put back to the original time, and then the musicians in the gig I just got were messaging about reserving a rehearsal space. Anyway got the caramels dropped, chatted with Bill a bit. He tried a caramel and said they were excellent. Good!

Back home lunch, then prepping the salad and parts of the lasagna for dinner tonight.
Practicing bass and memorizing another Disney tune.
Packing lunch and dinner for Epic tomorrow, and prepping breakfast too.
Made the lasagna while Jameson was in a meeting. It's a recipe I've used before, halved, and it turns out great every time. Now he can eat out a little less while I'm at Epic for the next three days.

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Wednesday, up early to shove my soul into my body for Epic rehearsals.

Showed up early enough to get a decent parking spot, even!
I brought the remaining caramels from the batch I'd made for Bill, and everyone who tried them enjoyed them (we didn't get much indoor time today.)

It was a very weird day. Mock service is in full swing, so lots of employees walking around in civilian clothes riding rides, eating at restaurants, shopping, and taking in entertainment as though they were guests. There were also some Warner Bros. honchos on site later in the day.

Both of the other trombone ladies had gigs that night and left at 2pm. Up to that point Dwight (show director) had us practicing things with our prop "backstage" since we couldn't do it in the actual park during mock service. Then we were told we'd do shows at 1:30 and 3:30, so I got into costume and makeup, but the schedules were running behind (shows are on a schedule so as not to overlap/compete. If one is late, subsequent shows can be late or even canceled.) We didn't do the 1:30 but did do the 3:30.

It was the first time any of us have done a show, in full costume, with our special prop. With EVERYTHING! We even had our hats and wands!! Fun fact (which I'll hope is not an NDA violation): My wand is from Ollivander's, but the boys' wands are from Cosme Acajor. I am a bit jealous because Cosme's wands are new and shiny, but having a wand at all is very exciting!

The new wands from Cosme Acajor's shop in the Ministry of Magic.
Remember that you can click on images to enlarge them.

(photo courtesy wdwnt.com)

And they WORK on the interactives in the park!! Between activities Adrian the clarinetist and I snuck away to wave our wands at as many interactive things in the park as we could. Mine did not work, possibly because it's from the "other" wizarding world. But Adrian's set everything off and it was very fun to see!

Ahem. The 3:30 went as well as it could considering all of the new factors that we were dealing with. Some things went pear-shaped, but for the most part it went pretty well. It's really exciting to be SO CLOSE to a truly complete show :)

All day long the WESH2 helicopter was circling. All. Day.
Here's what they got:



To close out the day we did a show run in the park out of costume (mock service ended at 4pm.) So OF COURSE that’s when the Warner Bros honchos came through! Lol. That run went fine. Personally I don't care who's in the audience; it doesn't change how I play. Unless it's my parents. But that's a moot point now.

It was a more relaxed day than expected, and I was thankful for that.

Back home Jameson was helping some friends with a keyboard issue...he knows so much about all types of keyboards!...and instead of practicing I took it upon myself to dig out the old, ugly, stinky "frankenbone" that my friend Brett sent me a while ago when I was looking for a spare trombone to use at Disney. I hadn't ended up needing it because I found a guy with a spare Earl Williams that he was willing to trade for my Minick. But when I'd tried to return it to Brett he'd asked me to just keep it or donate it. A throwaway horn.

Part of using our new prop at Epic Universe involves setting my trombone down and, uh...."doing lots of stuff involving movement" around it. Not just me, but my colleagues in the show. As my trombone is one-of-a-kind and not replaceable if something happens to it, I am VERY uncomfortable with this. Myself and the other trombone ladies have voiced this discomfort many times, but ultimately the problem is that I'm bringing a rare trombone into a situation where it could be damaged. So, fine. I cleaned up this "frankenbone," which is not very fun to play, but the guests don't know that. I'll have no problem if it's hit, knocked over, or damaged during our show.

Cleaning the trombone took me until 9pm, so no practice today, but that's all right.

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Thursday and Friday: Two more Epic rehearsal days.

Saturday & Sunday: Days "off." Starting a new transcription job, meeting with a tax preparer, cooking dinner, practicing, cleaning...the usual.

Monday, I was happy to wake up at 7:30 for Disney (as opposed to 5:30 for Epic Universe.)

(stock image, Mickey & Minnie in the Utilidors)

A cold front came through, and it was mid-60s (about 18C) and sunny! How glorious!!
(Yes mid-60s/18C is quite cold for Florida)

Additionally, it was Free Food Day (Employee Appreciation) and although I didn't partake due to transcription it was nice to see people happily strolling the Utilidors with plates of food and goodie bags throughout the day :)

We had all of our parades and sets, and good crowds due to the lovely weather.
I got 7.5 miles/17,000 steps.

After today I have no more scheduled days with the band, so I made sure to say "bye" to the guys and thank everyone for a good time. Everyone is always so classy: they all said I'd done a great job and that they loved having me, super kind. I'm grateful to have this gig, even if it's just filling when someone's absent.

Back home I re-packed for Epic Universe and practiced bass trombone and watched Severance with Jameson.
It sounds like we're doing sets tomorrow, and Mariah says she had down time between sets, so I'll bring my transcription and hope that there'll be time to work on it.

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I was up at 5:30am because there was a message in our group chat that security was now using the bag scanners. Going to have to start getting there earlier from now on.

("The Phoenix Gate," modeled after the Arc de Triomph. Photo courtesy @bioreconstruct, I'm risking sharing one of his aerial photos since the Phoenix Gate has been prominently featured in Universal's own fly-through videos for months now.)

Now that we are out of full-time rehearsals, things are so much simpler.
We show up. We warm up our instruments. We mentally get into character.
Then we walk out to the park with a sound tech, get to our entrance places, and do a run of the show.

And that's all we did, all day.
Normal-ass sets to reflect what our day will be like when the park is open.
FINALLY no show director breathing down our necks or correcting how we move or play or blink or breathe.
No endlessly playing the show over and over to the point where I am also playing it in my sleep.
No more music to memorize or lines to learn.
The hard part is over.

Today we were totally left alone to just do our show runs, eating lunch in between. I had plenty of time to work on transcription between sets, and although I still didn't get it all done I've only got about 30 minutes left to transcribe. Yay!!

We also had free food offerings today at Epic (gosh, both theme parks are throwing free food at us, it's awesome!) and it was meatballs, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Since I'd packed a lunch I passed on the hot food, but there were lots of free snacks as well so I picked up some peanut butter crackers, almonds, Fig Newtons, and other stuff. Very much appreciated!

And there was a film crew in the Ministry of Magic while we were rehearsing. They didn't come near us but we got to see them load in tons of very $$$,$$$-looking equipment, and also what seemed like "faux families," little clusters of actors who'd been grouped in what looked like couples or family units and were probably there to act in a commercial for the park. I'm assuming that's what they're filming anyway, since the MoM is like 90% complete.

We were released at 4:30pm, right after the final set. What a treat!!
Before going home I went to Whole Paycheck and got ingredients for skirt steak taco salad.

Back home I opted not to practice trombone or transcribe, and didn't have to pack a meal for tomorrow.
I just wanted to rest for a few hours. It has been five freaking weeks and these are my first consecutive days off in forever. I think the world can spare me two extra hours to exist without having to do something every minute.

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Wednesday, was up at 7:30 for breakfast and an hour later got started on transcription.
I was still at it by lunch time, then Jameson went to a doctor's appointment and I hit Publix for a few small items that Whole Paycheck hadn't had. Back home I finished and submitted my transcription project, got the steaks marinating, and practiced bass trombone for a solid hour while sipping half a Dragon's Milk beer. To me that's a lovely afternoon indeed.

The skirt steak(s).


I did everything right...marinated them for 2 hours, let them come to room temp before cooking, seared them on a screamin' hot pan until the kitchen was filled with smoke and the internal temp was 130F, let them rest, then cut them "against the grain." And they were still chewy as hell. So I cubed/minced it and tossed it in the pan again, and then it was edible. Just...what I can I say. I'm not an abuela with generations of skirt steaks in my blood.

The flavor was good, though. Crunchy chips, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, cotija cheese, salsa, sour cream (for Jameson), hot sauce.


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Thursday: another glorious day off, wow!

Friday: Epic Universe rehearsals

Saturday & Sunday: ALSO days off but I’ll have transcription, bass trombone practice, chores, and caramels to make!