goofball on a train

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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First, Thursday evening's show was "ok-but-weird."
For some reason, every single one of us in the pit was struggling. Even DAR, even the drummer!
I remember there were days like this on the circus sometimes...it was like we all hit a cosmic stumbling block and struggled for no discernible reason. It's a thing that happens on tours, I think? Where you're playing the same thing over and over again, and idk what causes it. It's very mysterious and weird.
DAR actually apologized afterward, and we were like, "No, don't apologize, it's us too! Join the club!"

But other than that, the show was still just fine, so....*shrug*

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FRIDAY

I fell asleep early. Woke up once to pee and saw that Jameson had finished his third/final overnight with Disney around 3:30am(!)
Congratulated him via text so he'd see it in the morning, and slept again until 7:30am.

I was up early to do laundry. My throat feels bad from postnasal drip, but whatever, it still feels like a mild thing brought on from stress. I am SO GLAD that I managed to reserve Friday entirely for myself to rest and recharge.

Some of you will think I'm being a baby / overly dramatic by needing a whole day to recover from extroversion like it's some big deal. And maybe I AM being a baby? But my anxiety used to be a LOT worse than it is now, and has gotten much more manageable over the years. When there are weeks like this one, where every day is non-stop go go go--outings, interactions, performances, events, evaluations, every single day--I may be able to HIDE the fact that I'm stressed, but ultimately "the body keeps the score." Long-term fight or flight activation for days in a row often results in physical symptoms and a need to intentionally withdraw so I can rest, recover, and convince my subconscious to calm down. I don't WANT to have to do that, but haven't found a better solution that doesn't involve dependency on some sort of drug.

All that is to say that I did laundry and then stayed in my pajamas for the entire day. After lunch I walked to MOMs Organic Market for another tube of that fantastic chai lotion (I never want to run out of it!) and some oats. Wrote to O'Malley Brass Instruments, who is building my trombone, and was dismayed to hear that the timeline is now 6 months or so. In other words I won't have a trombone until the end of this year at the earliest. That isn't the timeline we'd discussed by far, but at the same time I understand they're literally five people building horns from scratch and they'll take as long as they take.

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SATURDAY

TMI Warning, highlight white text to read: ( Around 2am I woke up with painful abdominal cramps and had to rush to the bathroom. And that's pretty much how the rest of the night went, all the way up to 8am or so :( It was diarrhea and nausea but no vomiting. I have no idea if I ate something bad, or if it's a virus, or what. Around 7:30am after I'd been dealing with this for 5 hours, I tried to eat breakfast and found I was too nauseous for it. Forced myself to drink half a cup of coffee just to avoid a caffeine headache later. Texted DAR to simply say I wasn't feeling well and could we make sure that the pit door would not latch behind us (it has an auto-lock function, as we found one intermission when it locked us into the pit!) I'd hate to have a bathroom emergency and be TRAPPED in the pit!! He confirmed and sent condolences. I then texted Raven, who was supposed to arrive around 10am, to let her know that I was sick and might not be able to follow through with our plans for the day (which were Liberty Bell and lunch at a nice restaurant.) She said she'd gotten delayed anyway and wouldn't arrive until 11ish. In lieu of breakfast, I found sugar and salt packets in the hotel room and mixed them with water to create a nasty sort of electrolyte-thing, sipped that, and curled up in the bed trying to ride out this nastiness.   END)

When Raven arrived I was still feeling bad enough that I didn't want to come get her. Instead, I suggested she swing through Reading Terminal Market because she's like me and I knew she'd be captivated by everything in there. Asked her to find something nice for herself for lunch and bring it to the hotel, where she could either risk being in the room with me or I could give her a key to the lounge on the lower level and she could eat in warmth and with a TV. While she was doing that, I dragged myself out of bed, got cleaned up and dressed for work, and straightened up the hotel room for company. AND wiped down all the touch points, AND put on a mask.

Being my sister, she wouldn't hear of anything but coming to my room, and not only that she picked me up a Gatorade and a big hot bowl of homemade Amish chicken soup!! I could have cried. It has been a long time since anyone "mothered" me and it was very much needed today.

We ate together...well, she ate, and I took a few bites and sipped some broth before feeling nauseous again and having to stop. We chatted about everything that sisters talk about, as much as we could, before it was time to walk to the theater for the show. And before anyone asks: yes, I had two shows to play today while sick. This is the downside of a life in music (and many of the arts, while we're at it.) It's a selective skill to begin with; only so many professional-level trombonists are in the area, even in a big city like Philly. And then, even among professional-level trombonists, there are few who could sightread a Broadway show requiring doubling on tenor and bass trombone, to the level required for the show. I'm not even sure that *I* could do it if asked. So unless it is a REAL emergency, i.e. your appendix has ruptured or you cannot stop puking or something, you MUST play the show no matter how badly you feel (or whether your peers might also become infected.) Womp WOMP sad trombone, but that is the price of doing what you love.

I walked Raven to the box office where we retrieved her tickets, then to the lobby where we parted ways. I went backstage and steeled myself for a rough show, and it WAS rough for me. It is hard to blow air through big tubes when your stomach is a mess and when your body is exhausted and aching. But my personal issues aside, the show went very well. I was glad that nothing wonky happened while Raven was there! She came to the pit at intermission to say hello, and also after the exit music so that I could introduce her to my coworkers. DAR and Tim (trumpet) were so sweet, they took the opportunity to butter me up and say how they enjoyed working with me :)

Raven is not much of a one for pictures; she took a pic of the program and that's about it.


On the way out the door I saw that our presenter (the theater reps, I think that means?) had brought a huge goodie bag full of Pennsylvania specialty treats: TastyCakes, Herrs potato chips, Keebler cookies, Utz pretzels, Asher's chocolates, and more!


I grabbed one with the intention of giving it to Raven but Ryu (violin) said she didn't want hers, so I took that one to Rave instead! We walked back to the hotel...slowly, because now I had a low-grade fever and body aches. Uuuugh :( When we got back we decided to just DoorDash something. Raven ordered tacos and I got some al pastor tacos knowing I couldn't eat them now but maybe they'd come in handy tomorrow. When the food arrived she ate her burrito and I warmed up the chicken soup. I was pleased to be able to eat half of it this time, along with half a bagel and half a banana (why all these halves lol.)

Soon it was time for Raven to catch her bus, and I had to walk to the theater. We hugged and parted ways in front of the hotel. Although I really wish I hadn't suddenly gotten sick and ruined our well-laid plans, I am so, so grateful for my sister and for being able to spend any time with her. And I really, really hope she doesn't catch whatever I've got. C'mon universe, don't repay her kindness with yuck!!

The evening show was good but we had one show hold when Maurice's invention broke (that thing, I swear! Crew must be having a meltdown over it!) I had taken some painkillers with dinner and they got me through the show, but by the end of it I was very much ready to lie down. On the way back to the hotel I met some of Tim's (trumpet) family, who had come out to see the show. They were all adorable and pleasant, and I made sure to butter Tim up as he had done for me with my sister!

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SUNDAY

Thankfully, oh thank goodness, I was able to sleep through the night (or as much as I normally would.) I did not have a fever when I woke up, or anything else going on except (TMI highlight text to read:   still having the runs and starting my period and  )  still feeling under the weather. I decided to try a normal breakfast, and although that went well, digestion made me feel too nauseous for a full lunch. I managed half a banana and the last dredges of chicken soup. Packed snacks for the theater and started packing for the bus ride to Pittsburgh.

Forgot to mention that yesterday we found out that there's a nor'easter moving in. Being from Pennsylvania, I have been through several of these storms. They are essentially a winter hurricane. And as such they feature heavy snowfall, high winds, whiteout conditions, and are overall extremely dangerous. Forecasts were conflicting on Saturday, but as of today they're saying between 16-22 inches (40-55cm) in Philadelphia between Sunday night and Monday, plus 45mph (72kph) winds. We have a 6-hour bus ride to Pittsburgh on Monday, and we're all kind of wondering how that's going to go.
(remember that you can click on the image to open it in a new tab, and click it again to enlarge it.)


But the other issue was my that sister Kate and her family were to come see the show on Sunday. They would be driving 2.5 hours to get here, then 2.5 hours back in the initial phases of this incoming storm. I wrote to her to reassure her that it was totally OK to cancel if she didn't feel safe. And ultimately after watching the forecasts for a while, she decided she'd rather not risk it (and I don't blame her one bit.) I am bummed that she won't get to see our show and we won't get to visit...but on the upside I'd much rather she be safe, AND I was able to get a refund for her tickets, which I was not expecting (there's usually a no refund policy.) Huzzah!

And that's why I got to have a slow morning with time to settle my stomach and pack before getting dressed and walking to the theater for our final show here in Philly.



It was a totally normal show and a good audience, though clearly weather had been an issue for more than just my family as there were several patches of empty seats. I could FEEL everyone's impatience to finish the show; many people are involved in loading out in this blizzard, and many are driving their own cars and were anxious to get out of dodge ahead of the storm. But we all still did an excellent job, and soon enough the show was finished and we were hurriedly packing up. 

While I was packing, a little girl waved and yelled down to me: "How does Chip get on that table?" 
It's the first time I've been asked that! I finally got to give the classic answer: "It's DISNEY MAGIC!!"
She put her hands on her hips and gave me a questionable look while her parents laughed. Sorry, no spoilers, kid! :D

(photo courtesy QPAC/Queensland production. Chip is in the center of the table.)

I am always very fast to load out. As I was leaving, I could see that crew were FLYING to pack up...they're always fast but this time they were HUSTLING. And once outside I could see why. It was already snowing heavily. Big wet flakes falling from the sky so fast and thick that I was soaked in minutes. 


Video w/sound.


I walked quickly back to the hotel and typed this post off while my coat dried. And then...sweet rest. 
A hot cup of tea and the tacos that Raven had gotten me yesterday (managed them without too much stomach complaints.) 
Curling up under the covers with Priory of the Orange Tree. 

Bye, Philly. 
Maybe next time I'll actually get to SEE you!! 

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Monday: A riveting 6-hour bus ride to Pittsburgh, and settling in.

Tuesday: Opening day in Pittsburgh.

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Tuesday.

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TUESDAY

Not surprisingly, tossed and turned, and every time I woke up I was halfway through part of my presentation haha. Got up reluctantly with my alarm. Coffee, and decided to eat breakfast on the road so packed it along with some snacks and water.

Around 7am I walked to get the rental car. It was easy and I was finished around 7:30...which I was banking on, because Sprouts down the street opened at 7! This meant I had time to pop in there and poke around. They always have interesting foods that I don't find elsewhere. I found two more flavors of Drizzilicious, Very Berry and French Toast, and picked those up to go in my trunk. I can try them in upcoming cities. Also picked up some hand lotion, fruit, and a new flavor of Mezcla bar which happens to be strawberry, like the new Koia shake flavor that came out a few days ago.


I'm sure this flurry of strawberry-flavored products were released intentionally close to Valentine's Day, but unlike Koia, Mezcla didn't at all advertise that there would be a new flavor, which I find odd.

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The Masterclass

Anyway, from there I drove 90 minutes to Delaware State University. A straight shot down I-95, eating my overnight oats and yogurt.

Arrived well on time and happened upon the organizer, who had just pulled up with catering trays of cold cut sandwiches and cookies. He wouldn't let me help carry anything but I held a few doors and followed him to the green room. He set up the food and got me comfortable. I ate a snack and listened to the presenter before me, who was giving a jazz clinic. It sounded great! There were several high schools visiting for the event, and some students got up to take solos with the presenter.

As they were finishing up, a tech helped me to get my laptop and PowerPoint set up backstage. We chatted and I felt nervous until it was time for me to go on.

There were maybe 40-50 students in the crowd, plus their teachers. The presentation went exactly as I'd practiced it in my hotel room. I only tripped over my tongue once or twice, and sometimes while gesturing I'd hit the lavalier mic because I'm not used to wearing one (but it was better than a handheld.) The PowerPoint went flawlessly which was a huge surprise. I wrapped up in plenty of time for the next presenter to set up while I was doing the Q&A. As far as whether the students got anything out of it...I'm honestly not sure :/ Several were making eye contact and nodding, or laughing at my little interspersed jokes. But others looked bored, or were clearly looking at their phones, and a few looked like they were half asleep. Most were high school students so this didn't bother me...kinda typical, you know?

I did see several students taking pictures of some of my slides that contained detailed information about application processes and contact info. And afterward pretty much all of the teachers/faculty made a point to tell me they'd enjoyed the presentation and found it informative...in fact, the teachers had more questions during Q&A than the students! I hope this doesn't mean my presentation wasn't a good fit for this audience...I hadn't been aware that high schools would be attending too. A lot of those kids haven't decided on careers yet.

Afterward I thanked the presenter, packed up my gear, wolfed down a catered sandwich and cookie, and hit the road. Whether anyone learned anything, I don't know, but at minimum it's good for me to get more practice doing these. Hopefully I'll get feedback from the presenter in a few days.

Drove all the way back, returned the rental car, and had just enough time to get dressed for the show and put away my Sprouts goodies before heading back out to meet Jonah and his fiancee's family for dinner.

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The Family Visit

They had chosen an Italian place near the theater. It was very small, but warm and inviting and the portions were HUGE. Danielle (his fiance) and I got gnocchi, hers was sweet potato with alfredo sauce and mine was regular with a 12-hour beef ragout. It was real homemade gnocchi and was AMAZING, pillowy and fresh. The ragout was incredibly flavorful and had chunks of tender beef. Everyone else’s food looked amazing as well (no pics because I didn’t want to be rude.)

This was my first time meeting Jonah’s soon-to-be in-laws. They seem completely pleasant; Danielle’s dad in particular was chock full of agonizingly awful dad jokes :p We talked a LOT, and of course they all wanted to know all about touring and the shows and whatnot. But I made sure to ask everyone at the table about their work, or wedding prep, or basic facts in the case of Danielle’s parents since they’re New Family.

This is maybe an odd thing to say, but as Jonah doesn’t really have parents—his dad/our stepdad is an absentee drug addict, and our mom has passed away—aside from my Aunt, I'm kind of the oldest family representative he's got. As such, I was a bit nervous to give a good impression. I certainly got a good impression of all of them!

After our lovely meal it was still a bit early, so we killed time at a nearby bar (I didn't drink.) When it was time I walked over and they followed to get their tickets. 

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The Show

Backstage, we had a lovely surprise from Disney Theatrical Group and the venue for Lunar New Year:

(photo courtesy Darrel, ensemble)

The pretty envelope is called hongbao, and they are traditionally filled with money and given as gifts during the New Year to wish good fortune, blessings, etc on friends and family. These had New Years wishes in several Asian languages, and a chocolate gold coin :) There were also cupcakes backstage which I was too full to eat but took one for later.

The show went just fine. I am not shaking any more...it went away on it's own. And I was exhausted, having spent all of my adrenaline on that masterclass. Jonah & Co. enjoyed the show very much, but we didn't meet up afterward because everyone had to work early tomorrow. It was great to see my little brother and spend time with him and his soon-to-be wife and in-laws!

Additionally, housekeeping DID service my room today, yay!

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Wednesday: Two shows so no plans.

Thursday: Meeting an online friend for lunch at a cafe, possibly visiting the African American History Museum, and an evening show.

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

Restless sleep, but that's ok. Kind of lazed around in bed for a while before doing breakfast, and doing something unorthodox: placing an Instacart order. The new Strawberry Koia flavor was released ONLY at Wegman's, it's too far for me to Uber, I wanna try it, and this city is the last time we'll be anywhere near a Wegman's. I added other stuff to the order to make it worth their while.

Packed myself snacks and dinner, worked on Richmond Foodie Finds, and had gotten 2/3rds through my presentation rehearsal when the Instacart arrived.

Strawberry Koia (stock image from their IG):


I also got an avocado, some yogurt, and Drizzilicious Salted Caramel. Yes, still obsessed with these and aiming to try all of the flavors!


I had paused my masterclass timer to retrieve the delivery, and picked up again after putting everything away. 47 minutes seems to be my average (and I did work in more comments to make the info more applicable to non-performance students.) I had a snack and did a little research for potential Philly sightseeing. So far the rest of the week looks like this:

• Today, 2/13: Rehearsal with Koz, evening show
• Saturday 2/14: Doing laundry, 2 shows, possible meeting with our musician's union rep.
• Sunday 2/15: Two shows.
• Monday 2/16: Golden Day. Attending a Ringling Bros show at Xfinity Arena, possible outing with a friend.
• Tuesday 2/17: Picking up rental car, driving 2 hours to Delaware, giving masterclass. Running carworthy errands afterward if time allows. Returning rental car, dinner with my brother/fiancee and their family, and the evening show.
• Wednesday 2/18: Two shows. A friend wants to meet up so possibly that if I feel up for it.
• Thursday 2/19: Another friend meet-up for lunch. Company-sponsored tour of the African American Museum, which I have signed up to attend so that I can at least enjoy ONE cultural experience in Philly. One evening show.
• Friday 2/20: This is my only truly free day so I am trying to protect it from social things! Laundry rest please, and one evening show.
• Saturday 2/21: Two shows, my sister is coming to the matinee so she'll want to do a meal or hang out.
• Sunday 2/22: Brunch with another sister and her family, they're attending the matinee. Load out and packing for Pittsburgh.

Yeah, I'm kinda glad the other masterclasses got cancelled. For some people this schedule is nothing, but for me that amount of extroversion is a lot.

I walked to the theater early, nervous for rehearsal. The actors had been there already for several hours rehearsing with The Creatives, with DAR conducting and some keyboardists there to play some parts. I tiptoed around in the pit to get my horns set up, then filled my water bottle and dug around in my trunk until they were ready for us.

Rehearsal went pretty well. There is a new ending to one of the numbers so we rehearsed that a few times, then the decision was made to keep it and put it in the show. Another change was made to the ensemble, we rehearsed that for a while until The Creatives were satisfied with it and it was likewise added permanently. Next Koz had a list of things that he wanted to address, but thankfully most of them had to do with house audio meaning he was not asking US to change anything, but rather the Sound Department. They spent the next hour-or-so adjusting this-or-that level at Koz's direction until he was satisfied. It is hard to tell from the pit how much difference these changes make, but I hope it'll be an improvement for our audiences! We closed with tweaking a few articulation things, but overall the band did not get a lot of corrective notes, which is great! One can infer that we're doing a good job. And Koz made sure to come to the pit and tell us that :)

During the break before the evening show I chose to stay at the theater because I just did not feel like walking back in the bitter cold. I'd packed dinner, and took it to the warmest part of the building that I could find to eat and read my book. "The warmest part of the building" happens to overlook some offices of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I noticed some ads in the windows for the Curtis Institute of Music. Long ago, I auditioned for Curtis and was rejected. Funny how things work out.

The evening show was good. All of the new changes were incorporated. I was impressed with how the ensemble did them seamlessly, as though they'd always been a part of the show. That's why these people are professionals!! Personal playing-wise, I didn't do as well as last night's show. After 48 hours of being evaluated, my nerves were shot and my fight or flight kept trying to grab the wheel. I still did a very good job, but had some quavering notes due to nerves and a few small mistakes related to nerves.

After the show DAR was beaming. I think during intermission he got to talk with The Creatives and they were pleased. He showered us with complements and expressed gratitude for us. He's such a class act :) And his praise was much appreciated after spending two days wondering what The Creatives are thinking!

Also, I checked my socials before bed and saw that Full Blown Trombone Studio has posted an ad for my masterclass in March! So spiffy!


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SATURDAY

I was awake early to do laundry. Breakfast and coffee between elevator rides to switch stuff from washer to dryer. Folded and put away the laundry. Masterclass run-through was a whopping 49 minutes but I think it's because I should have stopped the timer at a point when the PPT got messed up.

Lunch and the walk to the theater. No Creatives in the audience. My nerves were still a bit high BUT it was a good show and a great crowd. After the show our musician's union rep met us backstage for a quick talk. Mostly he wanted to give us a paper copy of our contracts and go over a few points of it that can be difficult to understand, then opened the floor to any questions. We had a bunch, so there was back and forth on those topics for a while. Not sure that anything will actually get accomplished, but airing concerns at least gets them on the radar for the future.

Hustled back to the hotel for dinner, only a short break before having to turn right back around but at least it wasn't so cold out tonight!

At the theater there were some Valentine's Day surprises!
The Chip Kids got us all cards with little $1 lotto scratch cards attached.
Jasmine (ensemble/Babette and Wardrobe understudy) gave the band some lovely cards.
DAR got us a box of cookies to thank us for doing well in rehearsals, and our management team got us little treat bags with Valentines inside.


At our places in the pit we found "love notes" from Koz and DAR as well :p
Just things we'd rehearsed and that they'd like to change/improve. I didn't get any direct notes, which I count as a big win! There were some general ones for all of us, but for the most part it's poor DAR who has to implement a lot of the changes that Koz wants to see. These were in our notes because we all need to be aware of them so we can help make them happen (by watching and following DAR.)

For the evening show our union rep was in the audience for the first act and came to sit in the pit with us in the second act. This show was personally my worst one of the week. It's like, all of the tension I've been shoving down or trying to ignore came spilling out. It manifested, unfortunately, into SHAKING in my lips while I was trying to play delicate and exposed passages. The fact that it was ONLY happening during those specific parts tells me that it was psychological. Luckily I do not have many exposed lines but it was VERY annoying, and I had to then explain to Tim (trumpet) and Gary (drums, who is nearby this week) why I sounded shaky and weird.

I was able to calm down for the second half by reminding myself that despite his decades-long career and well-established mastery of his craft, Brian May himself still has Impostor Syndrome. Even a musical genius like him still has days where he doesn't play well. We (the entire company) have been evaluated and scrutinized a lot this week. This is my dream job...it means the world to me. Showing that I deserve to be here and not letting DAR down has been at the forefront of my mind all week. I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself, especially while Koz was here.

Thankfully, Sunday is supposed to be a normal 2-show day. I am hopeful that my nerves will settle back down, and I can get back to playing like I normally do.

(NOTE: RE: "Have you tried beta blockers?" No, I haven't, and I don't intend to. A: that's not what that medication is supposed to be used for, and B: there is dependency/withdrawal if you stop them. One becomes reliant on using beta blockers to be able to perform, rather than coping with fight or flight and developing an ability to perform despite it. I.e., beta blockers are not a solution for the problem, they just make it so you don't have to face the problem. To each their own and this is my choice.)

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SUNDAY

Normal morning stuff, coffee, breakfast, typing up this post. Prepping my room for housekeeping as I hope they'll come through on Monday. Doing a little research on the best way to get to Xfinity Arena for the circus on Monday.

I did a final run-through of my masterclass (I don't want to do one on Monday.) 47 minutes with only a bit of stumbletongue, that's all I can ask for.

The matinee was good. I played better, there was a little shaking but it was barely noticeable. The crowd was wonderful and enthusiastic. Back to the hotel for dinner and some decompression. Walking back for the evening show. Again, a decent show but I think we are all kind of mentally burnt and in need of a day off. Several folks will be visiting friends or family on the east coast, or going into NYC to blow off steam. 

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Monday: Golden Day. Seeing the circus, then hopefully having a quiet evening of resting and packing stuff to bring for this masterclass.

Tuesday: Busiest day of my time in Philly. 4-hour round trip drive, Delaware masterclass, dinner with my brother's family, evening show. 

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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Previous Visits: I have been to Philly before, but that was more than a decade ago and so it's not even worth mentioning. Let's hope I find time for touristy stuff during this visit!

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MONDAY 

Travel day! I was up early for breakfast and to finish "resetting" my airbnb to it's original state. There's no desk so I'd moved a few things kind of weirdly to create my own faux desk, haha. Uber came to get me right on time, and I had no trouble at the airport or with the first flight.

But our second flight was delayed significantly (about 3 hours.) We found out later that it was because our original plane had a cabin pressure issue(!) that was significant enough that the plane would need 24-48 hours in the shop(!!) I was disappointed with the delay, but oh my goodness, I'd rather be mildly disappointed and Arrive Alive!!

We finally got to Philly around 8:30, luggage at 9. I tried to get an Uber but they were a 10-15 minute wait so I went old-school and got an actual airport cab. $40 later I was at the hotel, checked in, and unpacking. I wish I could share which hotel but that will have to wait for when we've left town. I lucked out with a corner room, meaning I have a great view and nearly wrap-around windows!!

After unpacking I was up rather late making arrangements for my presentation at Delaware State University. Travel logistics, asking the host about what equipment is available, whether I need a parking pass, stuff like that. Oh, and we finally got info about the in-ear monitors that Disney will be providing for us!! I made sure to submit the form right away because EXCITING! My own in-ears are 10 years old, so these new ones will be an improvement no matter what. I'm very grateful for them!

By the way, forgot to share these pictures that Kizzi (my circus friend) took last week in Fayetteville. 
Here I am in my office: the pit, that mysterious hole where music is produced at theatre shows.


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TUESDAY

I was up earlier than usual, anxious to get my stinkin' groceries. But the stores here don't open until around 9am. First I hit hotel breakfast. It was "ok." I got some hot oatmeal and boiled eggs and coffee. Then since it seems like I don't have neighbors in the rooms next door yet, I ran through my masterclass (47 minutes.) Next, off to MOM's Market which is a smallish chain similar to Sprouts. They had lots of lovely things and I picked up about 1/2 of my typical groceries, then walked to Whole Paycheck for the rest.

Some newish items that I'll get to try this week: Merzbacher's Sweet Potato Buns, Mayana Spring Passion Mini Bar, and Ivy City Pineapple Black Pepper Salmon Jerky! Not sure if I'll do a food review or not because the schedule here is SO intense that I may not have time.

Back at the hotel I put everything away and ate lunch, then bundled back up and walked to an H&M down the street, hopeful to find my very favoritest black dress pants. Nope! They had them in XL but not my size. Popped into a Ross Dress for Less and they had my favorite underwear so I did pick up a pack of those. Swung into Reading Terminal Market and immediately regretted it because they have SO MUCH that I want!! Whoopie pies and Belgian candies and Amish meats and farm eggs and...ugh! At some point this week I want to eat a meal in there.

(Stock image courtesy Matadornetwork.com)

Returned to the hotel and spent some time chilling out, as that had been significant walking. Forgot to mention that here in Philly I have already seen two Waymo vans! Supposedly they are not driverless just yet. I haven't been close enough to look.

(Stock image courtesy Phl17)

Around dinnertime I met some circus friends for dim sum! From left to right: Alan, who was sound crew on the circus; Rob, who was our manager on Ringling and is a Tour Manager with the redesigned show today; Alan's wife Jenna, who was a circus teacher; and me.


This was such a treat, not only seeing these peeps again but also eating dim sum because it's not really meant for solo diners so I never get to have it. We split two kinds of soup dumplings, scallion pancakes, a fried pork noodle dish, steamed veggie dumplings, and shrimp skewers. It wasn't the best I've had but it was reasonably good, especially those juicy dumplings, yum! We got caught up as best we could in this short time. To be honest I feel like there is so much to reconnect over that we could never cover it in one meal. Alan is on tour with a popular Queen cover band and is currently on a break. His partner Jenna is still teaching though I thoughtlessly didn't think to ask where, and she is keeping herself busy when Alan is away on tour. Rob is of course managing the Ringling show and is extremely busy with that. It's possible-but-unlikely that I could attend a circus show on Monday depending on when the Temple masterclass is...I hope it happens, but won't hold my breath. 

Too soon we had to part ways. But I was glad to get this time with my dear friends and circus colleagues. 

Back at the hotel I had some tea to calm my nerves...(Trigger Warning for descriptions of anxiety, highlight white text to read: Over the years I have found that pretty much ANY stressful situation can trigger my fight or flight. It is random. Sometimes the trigger is standing in front of a crowd giving a masterclass; sometimes it's meeting with friends to catch up; sometimes it's even grocery shopping. When it first started happening I would freak out, hyperventilate, and make things worse thinking that I was having some sort of medical episode. But over the years I've learned to recognize that my body is expressing intense anxiety and then trying all sorts of things to get me to leave the situation. And I have learned to ignore it. Tonight I was distracted for the entire evening by a thing my body was doing to try and force me to take the "flight" option. Even though it was distracting and painful I ignored it...and knew afterward that it had been anxiety because as soon as I got back to my hotel room I felt fine. A shower and hot cup of tea helped. And I didn't give in, and got to enjoy the time with my friends anyway. Take that, evolution!) (END) 

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Wednesday: Opening day here in Philly! The usual thing of getting into my trunk, setting up, etc etc before the evening show. 

Thursday: Two shows so I have nothing else planned. I think that Koz will be in the audience to listen, yeeeek! I want to do my best!

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Interestingly, despite not setting an alarm, I was awake right at 7:35am, which is pretty much within minutes of when I was born on this day 42 years ago!


First thing's first: responding to the slew of facebook birthday messages. Like, "Thank you," like, "Thank you!" I don't mind because it's only once a year, and it's kind of people to take even a split second of their day to wish me well :)

Next, my Aunt called so we chatted it up for an hour while I made coffee and got my slow-cooked oats going. She shared her recent adventures in trying to find a new gym. Ugh! I've been there and it's no fun. After breakfast I paged through the French horn book and made notes about where solos exist. This will save time later when I have my iPad in front of me (hopefully later this afternoon.) While doing this I also responded to all of YOUR lovely LiveJournal and DW well-wishes, and continued to "like, 'Thank you!'" on facebook posts :D

I looked up The Muppet Show and it doesn't premiere on ABC until evening, so either I'll have to watch it after the show tonight or catch it tomorrow. Womp womp. I texted the charcuterie place to ask if I could pick up the tray earlier (it's a 20-minute walk and I accidentally scheduled pickup too close to dinnertime) and they said no problem.

AND! I might get to give another masterclass while we're in Philly! At Temple University! That would be really exciting, they've got a big trombone studio. I sent the guy the information and we'll see if he's interested and/or can arrange it.

---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

All of this before noon, and kind of contemplating my age while doing all of these things.

My mom passed away when she was 41 years old.
I am now older than my mom ever got to be, and that is a strange thing to understand and think about.
Additionally, if you double my age you get 84. It is not common on either side of my family to reach 80.

This means that I am probably more than halfway through my lifespan. That's not to be dark or negative, it's simply a fact. A fact that puts this particular birthday in perspective. Overall, despite a LOT of obstacles and hardships, I think that I have been more privileged than most RE: how I was raised and what opportunities I've had, had help getting, or was able to create for myself. Of course I have some regrets, painful memories, and life-trauma. My heart and soul have been cracked and broken many times. But isn't that a part of being alive? No one gets through unscathed. Looking back on all that I've gotten to do and experience and BECOME, and the incredible souls that I've been privileged to meet along the way...honestly, so far life has been GREAT! My goodness, it has been FUN and exciting! Scary too, and sad and awful. But majority positive, successful, and GOOD. I have such a deep feeling of gratitude for that today. No one knows how long they'll get to breathe in and out. I do very much appreciate every moment, and am in full realization of that today.

---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

At 10:30ish I did a masterclass run-through: a solid 45 minutes! Excellent! Then lunch, and I walked to the theater to see if I could get in and retrieve my iPad. I could and did.

Here's the plan: I'm not downloading the WHOLE French horn book, but will extract any parts of the show with solos OR with lines that I know I can cover because I have rests in my own part. I'm arranging those pages in order, into a playlist. And then I'm going through and transposing the solos/parts that I can cover, i.e. writing the note names above the notes.


When that's done, I'll choose some emoji or marker to indicate, in both my book and these French horn parts, when to switch back to the other book. Cues, essentially, so I won't compromise my own music to cover the horn's music. This may all seem crazy, but remember that reading multiple books like this is something only to be used in extreme emergency. If it happens, I will likely be sightreading while freaking out. Future Me will thank Past Me profusely for doing all of this, if I ever have to use it.

At some point I'll do something similar to the trumpet book, but since I can read trumpet parts fairly well that's not a priority just yet.

Around 3pm I decided that it was cupcake time! Look at this BEAST! Chocolate espresso.


My favorite thing about it is that the icing is as big as the cupcake :D It was delicious! Moist and decadent.

As I was finishing my treat, a Philadelphia friend who is also a music teacher messaged to ask about having me do a masterclass! ANOTHER masterclass in Philly! Why does everyone want to do stuff in Philly? If I take her up on it, that'll be THREE masterclasses while we're in that city. Like the professor from Temple U, she's going to have to get approval first. While I was interrogating her via text about her students' age levels and what her program is like, I bundled up and walked 20 minutes to pick up the charcuterie. The theater was on the way so I dropped it off on the way back and went back to my apartment-thing. Had just enough time to send off all of the info, PowerPoint links, reference material, bios, etc to my friend so she could pitch my presentation to her education heads, then wolfed down some dinner and got back to the theater to set up the charcuterie in our break room.

Look how lovely! This is WAY better than I was expecting.


There were so many different things! Mixed nuts, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, dried cranberries, chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, chocolate pretzels, a zillion kinds of cheese, several delicious cured meats, artichoke dip, pickles, honey, crackers...there was even some fresh thyme scattered around. Absolutely gorgeous, I'm so glad I went this route instead of doughnuts or something.

And there was another surprise: the orchestra ladies (Sarah/horn and Ryu/violin) had gotten me these beautiful flowers!!


Here is the card:


I was really touched. We are still kind of just acquaintances at this point, and I never expect anyone to get me anything for my birthday, especially people who barely know me. This was so incredibly thoughtful.

Additionally, Tim (trumpet) brought treats for my birthday! He went to the co-op and got not only the chocolate espresso cupcakes (I truly would have eaten a second one lol they are so good) but also a variety box of delicious brownies and cookies. We mostly ate this stuff during intermission and everyone enjoyed it immensely. Some of the guys even said it was one of the best charcuteries they'd had.

The show went well, our horn sub did a fantastic job again. I think (I hope!) that Sarah will be rejoining us tomorrow?
Personally I also played well and that made me happy since it's my B-day and all :p
And the audience was enthusiastic and lovely :)
Throughout the night people made a point to wish me happy birthday.
And by the end of the day I had hundreds of birthday wishes online! WOW!! I felt like a celebrity!

To sum it up, everyone made me feel very special and loved today. AND I got to play Beauty and the Beast! I am so grateful for all of it...the people who went out of their way to make me feel special, and the ability to do what I do. This will definitely go down as one of my top birthdays on tour!

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THURSDAY

Awake early because we got Philly ticket confirmations last night, but I am missing one so I'm stressed about it. SURELY it's just a mistake, right?

Coffee, breakfast, adding some updates to Philly Foodie Finds thanks to ratphooey who had some awesome additions. That'll be sent to the company tomorrow. Texted back and forth with my friend who wants me to do that third masterclass...it sounds like she's at an ARTS school, meaning she needs someone who can speak to, I guess, ALL of the arts disciplines? And I don't feel nearly qualified to do that. Sent an email to a friend who recently got back in touch, just to catch up. Responded to belated birthday wishes. And ran through my masterclass again (47 minutes.)

Jameson got new glasses and sent a pic to show me :p 


Got dressed for the show, had lunch, and walked over there a bit early to ask about my missing ticket confirmation. I had worried for nothing; the tickets were there, the confirmation email had just gotten lost along the way. Phew. This means that everyone who wanted tickets from me in Philly did get their tickets. GOOD. 

The matinee went well. Sarah (horn) is not back yet so we had the horn player who covered in Dallas. She presumably flew out here to sub. We had a really incredibly loud and enthusiastic crowd that sounded like it was made up of school kids. SCREAMING during Be Our Guest, and during the Transformation, and during bows! It reminded me of the kiddie shows we used to have in the circus (click HERE to see a video of that and make sure volume is on!) Love that energy and excitement!

Between shows I came back to the apartment where I coordinated some masterclass logistics, made a plan for Friday, and ate dinner. Then back to the theater for the evening show, which went well but I was in my head a little and didn't play as well as I'd like. The audience would never know...but I know! Bleh! 

But if I think about how I sounded during tech rehearsal, versus now, there has been vast improvement, and this encourages me to be patient because I WILL get the level I want to be at with this show. 

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Friday: One show in the evening. I plan to do my usual routine and masterclass prep, laundry, work on the French horn solos, and go thrifting!

Saturday: Two shows so I probably won't do much except load things into my trunk.

Sunday: One show! No plans as yet but we'll see.

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

I had a rather productive Friday morning.

• Laundry. I'm on the 10th floor and it's on the 3rd so a lot of back and forth.
• Reposting on the socials about masterclass opportunities. This does take some time as I have to look up the available dates over the next 4 months, create the post, make sure I'm not violating Group rules (some groups ban "self-promotion") and share the post across multiple platforms.
• Sharing the Fayetteville Foodie Finds to our tour chat, both as a Google Docs link and a PDF.
• Working on Philadelphia Foodie Finds. I'm about finished, but enlisted the help of some locals to get further recommendations.
• Texted my brother and his fiancee to coordinate a meet-up while I'm in Philly.
• Folded the laundry.
• Meal planning for coming days.
• Packing things to go back in my trunk.
• Full run-through of my masterclass presentation. I wait until after 10am to do this, but the people staying in rooms adjacent to mine probably still hate me.

By the time I was done with all of that, it was lunch time. And then there were a few pings on my masterclass postings so I answered those. Most just wanted a bit more information, but one was an actual request to do a Zoom/remote masterclass in February/April! It is for THIS brass studio.

Up to this point, my masterclass has been designed around college-age students pursuing degrees in music. These studio kids are YOUNGER...middle school and high school-aged. I looked at my PowerPoint and was like...yeah, no, none of this applies. And that is why I spent the entire rest of the afternoon building a new PowerPoint for a younger age group! This one will not be about career moves; it's centered around "What's it Like" to perform in all the different types of gigs. It's designed to showcase all the fun options out there besides the "band and orchestra" programs that these kids are offered in school. Theme parks! Circus! Cruise ships! Broadway tours! With lots of pictures, videos, fun facts, and a few surprise questions to keep them involved. At the end there is ONE slide that suggests students can work toward playing these fun gigs themselves (i.e. "Keep practicing!" "Follow your dreams!")


It took several hours to build, but when it was mostly done I sent it off to the studio owner and she seemed to genuinely love it! We're on for an early March presentation. I think it'll be a lot of fun for both me AND her kids!

Meanwhile, the new couch (or whatever you call this thing) that Jameson and I picked out together has arrived! One of Jameson's friends helped him move the old couch to the curb. The new couch-thing looks great and Jameson is enjoying it very much :)

(Also let's take a moment to reflect on the fact that the reason Jameson FINALLY got rid of his 30-year-old, filthy, sagging couch, and is enjoying this nice new couch, is because I tripped over a ladder and put a hole through the back of the old one. Suddenly I am rather pleased about having done this :p )

It is obnoxiously cold again, single digits with that Oklahoma signature wind. After dinner I bundled up and quick-walked to the theater. Connor was conducting again and did a great job, but I made some weird mistakes and was unhappy with my playing. When I don't play as well as I'd like, I always consider (in real time and afterward) why it's happening and whether there's anything I can do about it. Sometimes it's just that I'm tired or distracted, but often it's a combination of factors--mental state, the cold (which makes me more tense in my body), and sitting in front of a computer unmoving all day today--that impact how I play whether I realize it or not. So tomorrow, even if it's cold, I'm at least going for a short walk.

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SATURDAY

Woke up to 8°F (-13.3°C) plus windchill. Big words about going for a walk yesterday!! Will I still do it??

Meanwhile, coffee and keeping my shades drawn because the hotel has floor-to-ceiling windows that are uninsulated and are letting cold air in. I have to set my thermostat to 73 for the room to be 68. Breakfast, working on Pittsburgh Foodie Finds now, and I managed to squeeze in a run-through of my masterclass before a non-mandatory Disney safety meeting. It was very brief, they just wanted to refresh on some things. After that I could have gone for that walk. I could have! But did I? NO! It is VERY COLD! And I refuse to hold it against myself either! :P

Lunch, adding more fun circus pictures and facts to the kiddie PowerPoint, and now I think that one really is done. Walking to the theater with all of my trunk stuff and putting it away, warming up just a little, then the matinee. It was well attended, and Josh (Key 2) conducted and did a great job. Back to the hotel to catch up on reading blog posts and drink some nice hot tea, then dinner and walking back for the evening show.

Everything went fine but it looks like we're gonna have a clarinet sub for a day, as our clarinetist has had something unexpected come up. This kind of thing is going to happen for each of us throughout the tour, and I'm grateful that this group of musicians are empathetic and understanding about it. I'm glad we were able to find a sub! He sat with us in the pit and audited the show, and should hopefully be playing it tomorrow.

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SUNDAY

I had trouble sleeping...my brain would not shut off, it was noisy in the hallway starting around 5am, and I was also hungry and unable to fall back asleep because of all those things combined. Oh well.

Breakfast and preliminary packing, Foodie Finds work, watching the final episode of Vox Machina Season 3. Whew, what a crazy and fun show. I suppose next up will be The Mighty Nein, then by the time I finish that some of the anime series that I watch should have enough new episodes out to binge.

When 10am hit I did a run-through of my masterclass. 46 minutes, which is just fine. Lunch and then walking to the theater (with fewer layers on because it was a whole 30°F/-1.11°C! Hooray!) The matinee was fine, DAR is back from conducting the Oklahoma Philharmonic, and our substitute clarinetist did very well especially considering that he had less than 24 hours to review the music. I'd be scared out of my wits to read a book like ours on short notice, but he was cool as a cucumber. Jealous of that!

Oh, we did have something kinda funny happen! During "Belle," Gaston shoots a duck out of the sky with his blunderbuss.

Here's the scene from the animated movie:


We do the same scene, using a prop blunderbuss with pyro and a stuffed duck prop that falls from somewhere above the stage.

Well the duck fell like it was supposed to, and LeFou missed it like he's supposed to...and it hit the stage and exploded open, scattering stuffing and feathers everywhere! The actors and ensemble got through Belle to the next dialogue scene, but before Maurice makes his entrance they had to stop the show to sweep up all of the fluff!

The weirdest stuff happens in live theater shows!

During the break the usual thing of going back to the hotel for dinner, more packing, and researching which anime to binge next.

Back at the theater, and several of you were curious about the "Please Don't" sign in the pit, so I went back to have a better look and show you what's going on with that. Here's the original picture that I took, and here's what is underneath the "Please Don't" sign. 


I have no idea what it is but you can see a key/lever of some sort, a hole presumably for the key, and also a sort of wrench-tool. Generally when you find things like this in the pit it's a REALLY good idea to leave them alone...it could be the mechanism that raises and lowers the entire pit, or an emergency lockdown function that seals the doors to the pit. Yes, such things very much do exist and I've seen them in other theaters. NO TOUCHIE.

The show was "ok." DAR is back but I think he was pretty tired, plus we had the sub on clarinet who did a great job but did miss a few things this time. Again, he is essentially sightreading so that is still an absolutely amazing job. We all made sure to shake hands with him and thank him for filling in. I do hope that our clarinetist David feels better soon, though! 

Random pic of this stage, from the pit.


As always I was The Fastest to load out of the pit, and escaped quickly back to the hotel to type up this post. 
Thus concludes our Oklahoma run. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us, so it was a lot of holing up to avoid cold and snow. Next up is Fayetteville. I have been there before with Tootsie and will link back to that post. There is not a lot to DO in Fayetteville, but it's a college town so there's a campus that we can walk around and lots of fun restaurants. 

Sarah (French horn) and I BOTH have birthdays this week too, back to back! Hers is Tuesday and mine is Wednesday. I've ordered a nice charcuterie to bring to our band room to celebrate (gosh, I hope we'll have a fridge...)

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Monday: Afternoon bus ride to Fayetteville, AR. This time I have an airbnb, so I will ride the company bus to the hotel and then Uber downtown and get settled in with the usual grocery routine.

Tuesday: Opening day in Fayetteville.

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

Up at 7:30 but stayed in warm fluffy bed until 8.
Downstairs to hotel breakfast for coffee since I've packed up all of my coffeemaking gear (I often feel lazy about brewing coffee on travel days.)

The bus wasn't leaving until 11:30 so I packed, ate breakfast, worked on Philly Foodie Finds, and practiced my PowerPoint until it was time to go. The bus ride was graciously uneventful; the highways were mostly-clear and we had no trouble though we did drive more slowly (not a complaint!) When we pulled up to the Tulsa hotel I recognized it right away...I'd stayed here with My Fair Lady in 2024. And then from my hotel room, I was surprised to realize that I can look out the window and see the hotel across the train tracks where we stayed while on tour with Tootsie in 2022!

Tour deja vu is so weird. All of these different pieces of past lives, all of these memories, intersecting and overlapping. I have been to so many places that I have started to forget some of them, while others seem burned into my brain forever.

(A photo from my visit to Tulsa in 2024.)

Also My Dear Readers: if it seems like I'm not doing much/exploring much in a particular city, chances are I've been there before and have done a lot on previous visits. For example, here in Tulsa I've:

• done a tour of Black Wall Street
• seen Boston Avenue Methodist Church
• visited the downtown Deco architecture museum (Decopolis)
• explored parts of Route 66
• spent an afternoon at Gathering Place

...and have eaten at Sisserou's, Lone Wolf Banh Mi, Chimera, Antoinette Baking Co., Inheritance, Yokozuna, and Rose Rock Microcreamery.

I'm probably gonna start back-linking entries where I wrote about these previous visits, so that readers can have context (especially new readers.)

Having been to Tulsa many times, then, I knew that the best grocery option was a Reasor's next to a Whole Foods a few miles outside of town. Initiated my traditional luggage-drop-and-Uber to those stores and got everything I needed.

Two Foodie Side Notes from today's groceries:

1 - Whole Paycheck has started carrying Tsar Nicoulai smoked sturgeon, and it is FANTASTIC. Delicious, mild, meaty, and flavorful. It is not as fatty as salmon but still has lots of Omega-3s and B12, and is lower in sodium than smoked salmon. While it's a bit expensive, I'm going to keep an eye out for it because DANG it is good!

2 - Drizzilicious Mini Rice Cakes. They're SO GOOD! I was skeptical at first but the Birthday Cake ones were addictive. I got the S'mores ones this time and I don't like them as much but they're still awesome and quite low in calories. I want to try all of the flavors!

Anyway, I got back to the hotel and put things away and unpacked. For the last several cities we've been blessed with extended-stay-type hotels which have a big fridge, microwave, kitchen sink, stovetop, dishware, etc. But this time we are in a "normal" hotel. The mini fridge is bigger than most, but there's no microwave. Dishes will have to be done in the bathroom sink (Fun Fact: I always delegate one hotel hand towel and washcloth to be used exclusively for dish drying. Don't want to wipe your face and then use the same towel to dry clean dishes.)

There is a small table near the bathroom and that's where my food setup will be. Instead of the microwave I'll use my Itaki steamer (on the right.)


Nothing to report about the rest of the night, I ate dinner and relaxed.

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TUESDAY

Up a little late (8am.) Jameson had an overnight last night that STARTED at 2am, and he didn't get home until 5! So I did not text him!

Made myself coffee, yogurt, and Banana Creme Koia-infused oatmeal. Incidentally I accidentally bought steel-cut oats last week, but they cook up wonderfully when slow-cooked in the Itaki.


It has "warmed up" to 20°F (-6.66°C) and I felt twitchy from two days stuck inside for the snowstorm, so after breakfast I had a brisk walk to the DGX (that's a Dollar Store that also carries groceries.) I only needed disinfecting wipes and scotch tape. Worked on Foodie Finds, tried to work on my PowerPoint but felt kinda scatterbrained so set it aside for today. Read my book and ate lunch and finally walked to the theater (I am so impatient haha) 

I remember this theater well and knew where to go. But I don't remember these bizarre music stands that look like they're made out of a chunk of grocery cart!! LOL!! 


There was also this vaguely ominous sign in the pit. Um...ok, I won't? :p


Configured my little space to my liking, then found my trunk and dug things out and put things in. Popped by Company Management to steal a piece of candy and to sign a congratulations letter going to Great Gatsby for their opening night on January 31st. Yes, shows send nice cards and letters to each other! We've received our share and sent a bunch too :) 

Sound check was fine, and in fact for once all of us were HAPPY with the sound in the pit! A miracle! And a testament to the acoustics of the hall I'm sure. Our hotel is so close that I could walk back to eat dinner, then our show. I was pleased with how I played, especially after 3 whole days off due to that snowstorm. It wasn't a packed house, but it was an appreciative audience.

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Wednesday: Gonna have to Uber to a UPS to return those mutes, and eating at Lone Wolf Banh Mi. One evening show. 

Thursday: One evening show, no plans as yet. 

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Up early, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds, then off to Teszeract Salon for a haircut! I have been here once before with Tootsie in 2022 and they did an excellent job on my hair.

Today was no different :) Picture in the salon right after she finished, and in the car with nicer lighting.


Can't they move their business to Florida so I can look this good year-round?? Lol.

The big talk at the salon (and everywhere in OKC right now) is a huge winter storm moving in and predicted to hit between Friday and Saturday. Current snowfall predictions are around 8-12" (20-30 cm) and temps are supposed to drop to 10°F or less (-12°C) plus windchill. Being from Pennsylvania, I have been through weather like this before, but that was a very long time ago. Still, I am trying to think ahead about all that I might need to have ready in the hotel room in case we get snowed in. This level of snowfall is unusual in Oklahoma and a lot of businesses may shut down.

Anyway, today was the last nice day before the storm hits. Tomorrow will be cloudy and colder, and Friday will start to look miserable. I wonder if any of our shows will be cancelled?

Back at the hotel my new carbon fiber Butler mutes had come in.


Each one is a cup mute, but the cup can be removed to make each one a straight mute. I need that "convertible" function while on tour both to save space and make transitions between numbers easier. Just as I had unpacked them, Ryu and Sarah texted to say they needed the rental car. I gave them the key, then decided that since I won't have the car I'll pack a dinner and walk to the theater early to try out the new mutes. If I'm comfortable with them I'll use them in the show tonight.

Meanwhile I worked on finishing my masterclass PowerPoint, and even tried timing some of the sections. Glad I did, because it made me aware of how I tend to go into sub-stories instead of sticking to the bullet points on each slide. Meanwhile Jameson had been doing some auditions for Disney and messaged to tell me about them. It sounded like fun (for him...probably nerve wracking for the auditionees!)

An hour or two before the show I got bundled up and walked to the theater to try my new mutes. They were good-in-practice so I did decide to use them in the show...and that turned out to be a mistake. The tenor trombone mute literally cracked in half when I put it in the first time, I had to grab some tape and put it back together. For what I paid for these mutes that is inexcusable. And the bass mute was mostly-fine, but for whatever reason I could not get low D to come out at all during the show while it was in :( I think in the practice session I hadn't played it as quietly as I do for the show, and at low volume it seems it doesn't want to come out. Welp. Hopefully they'll let me return them because these are definitely not worth what I paid.

Other than that the show went just fine, and it was National Swing Day so we had a special little speech after the bows, and Michael (our Key 3 and therefore our "swing" keyboardist) got to go up on stage and take a bow! That was awesome :D

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THURSDAY

Woke up early, had breakfast, and finished Fayetteville Foodie Finds. Got a notification to renew my PreCheck so did that ($70.) Received a bunch of tax forms from a student loan, a 1099 employer, and my Epic Universe employer, and downloaded those. Filled out a Return Request form for the mutes and received apologies and a promise of a shipping label.

While the tour was in Dallas there had been an internal BATB merch sale, and I'd taken that opportunity to buy my sister's kids a bunch of souvenirs for when I see them again. I've since found out that they won't be coming to a show until October, and I don't want their gifts to get damaged riding around in my tour trunk for nearly a full year. I brought them all back to the hotel last night and packed them in the box from the mutes (it'll probably be a while before the return is authorized and I can find another box then.) Bundled up and walked to the nearest UPS store, sending it all to Florida, and from there I'll ship it directly to my sister on the April layoff.

On the walk back I remembered that the musician's union Zoom meeting was today. Shoot! I barely made it back to the hotel in time. Nothing important happened, but you never know so I like to attend every meeting that I can. The meeting went for an hour. Afterward I ate lunch, chatted with Jameson a bit, and checked on an unimportant amazon order that is running late. Practiced talking through my PowerPoint again, trying to hit my time stamps for each section, and wore out my voice doing that. Chilled with some anime.

Carpooled to the theater with Ryu. It is cloudy and quickly getting colder. The storm is coming, and so far the snowfall estimates have only been going UP.

The evening show was good; Be Our Guest got a partial standing-O, which we haven't had in a bit! There are some things that I consistently play "not to my liking," and tomorrow I hope to come in early to workshop those a bit, and to give the trombones a bath.

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Friday: One evening show. The temp is supposed to drop drastically and the snow/sleet will begin, so I'm probably not going anywhere unless there's something I need to weather the storm. If any of our shows will be cancelled for Saturday, we will find out today.

Saturday: Big ol' snowstorm. The forecast calls for bitter cold and between 10-13" of snow as of now. It's supposed to be a 2-show day but we'll see what happens.

Sunday: Two-show day, and packing for Tulsa which should be a short bus ride on Monday.

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

I forgot to mention in the last post, an update on the acne + rash thing: while the misc face washes and creams seem to have helped both general acne and the irritation, I'm still getting cystic acne on my chin full force. This is probably because I declined the spironolactone prescription, which is a medication prescribed to those with high blood pressure but can also be used to treat cystic acne. The "common" side effects were nausea, dizziness, fainting, and frequent urination. The dermatologist prescribed me a 100mg dosage per day, which is high compared to other dosages.

Acne is not a serious medical condition. It's uncomfortable, and having big red welts on my chin makes me self-conscious. But I am sorry, to me, that does not justify possibly putting my ability to do my job at risk by taking a medication that is A) intended to treat something else entirely, and B) has side effects that are very impactful to what I do for a living. Noooope nope nope nope

So big red zits it is. Maybe I'll invest in a concealer.

Anyway. I was awake early for no reason. Breakfast and working on Foodie Finds, research for OKC, research for Fayetteville because Sarah (French horn) and I have back-to-back birthdays that city. Before lunch I walked to a grocery for travel nonperishables, and did get a concealer after all though I think it's too pale...how is THAT possible lol.

Then a detour to Thien An Sandwiches. It was packed in there, the locals clearly know about and frequent this place. The banh mi on the menu all looked amazing. I had hoped to sit down and eat at the restaurant but since it was crowded I opted for to-go.

This is my banh xeo. It is ENORMOUS.


Banh xeo are savory crepes made with turmeric, rice flour, and coconut cream. Hard-cooked pork belly, shrimp, and bean sprouts are usually added either into the batter or as a filling, along with some spices and onion.


They are then served with big lettuce leaves, Thai basil, cilantro, mint, pickled veggies, and fish sauce.
Traditionally you use a lettuce leaf to hold some crepe, herbs, and veg, dip that in the sauce, and chow down.


It is REALLY hard to find restaurants that will make banh xeo, and equally hard to find a restaurant that does it RIGHT. Ordering them on tour across the country has been hit or miss. I'd say 60% of them have been too thick, or way too greasy, or disappointingly bland. But Thien An in Houston knows what's UP. The crepe was thin, delicate, and crispy. Because it was so big it was thicker in the center, but still well cooked and not too thick or too greasy. It had wonderful turmeric-coconut flavor, and paired with the fresh herbs and crunchy lettuce and sweet-tart fish sauce, it was SO GOOD.

After scarfing 1/3 of it down I stashed the rest for later, and the rest of my day was spent gathering things to put in my trunk, reading, and trying to get my guts to calm down. Trigger warning for bodily function TMI, highlight white text to read: I don't feel sick but had loose stool and abdominal cramps all afternoon. It might be a reaction the saffron I've been taking (seriously? It was a half-dose!), or perhaps I ate something that disagreed with my intestines but not my stomach, or perhaps it's a bug. At least it WASN'T the banh xeo, this started happening before that. I have a few suspects and will do research to see what might have caused it. (END)

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Anyway, walked to the theater early dragging my "trunk junk" and packed it all carefully for travel, and warmed up before the show. The show was good and well-attended. At intermission I had a HUGE group of kids on my side all asking questions, so I described each instrument and the Avioms and the drum cage and my iPad/foot pedal setup and played them a few notes, and pretty much anything else that they asked about or that I could think of to share :) There was one adult woman who was astounded to see that there were actual musicians: "There's a whole band down there?! I had no idea!"

We are truly spoiled with all of this love and attention from the audience here in Houston and in Texas in general! As I've said many times now, I'm so glad that people want to know and learn, are interested and curious about what we do, and especially hope that the kids would be influenced to try picking up an instrument themselves, or being inspired to check out more of the arts!

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SATURDAY

I must have been very tired because I slept like a dead person, only waking when my alarm went off at 7am. I was up early to do laundry. No one else was doing it so I could have slept in, but you never know and getting up early pretty much guarantees no line for the washer. Breakfast and packing snacks for between shows; researching birthday treat options for Fayetteville and forwarding them to our French hornist to see if she wants in on that; sending a few emails to check on upcoming events like the masterclass I'm scheduled for in February or Jameson's visit in April.

The walk to the theater was pretty cold and windy. I slathered on the chapstick and wore a mask. Matinee went very well, I felt that I played well and again at intermission we had a big crowd of kids and parents pelting us with questions :) Our wall tag was ready to sign and I signed it, but am waiting for more signatures before taking a pic.

Between shows, a brisk chilly walk back to the hotel for rice, tofu, and beets. Only about an hour to relax, then back to the theater for the evening show which also went just fine with Josh (Key 2) conducting.

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SUNDAY

I had weird nonsensical dreams.

Dream 1: I was in a field and there were lots of cats and a few small dogs. The cats, weirdly, were forming up as though to charge, and the small dogs soon joined them, and we all ran together across a nearby street. It was "understood" in my dream that although I was human, if I ran on all fours I'd look like a large dog that was, I suppose, herding cats! Haha yeah...your guess is as good as mine!

Dream 2 which happened after I woke up and fell back asleep: I had caught a blowfish and was holding it gingerly (what with the spikes and all) while two people on either side of me admired it. Then I felt a little prick on my upper arm and realized that the blowfish had a long tail with a barb on the end, like a stingray, and it had stung me multiple times. The two people alongside me fell silent, then one called 911, from which I gathered that I was "gonna have a bad time." Woke up from THAT dream rather tense! Lol. What in the world.

Normal morning of breakfast and packing for the flight to OKC. Here's a small update on the gastric issues/TMI from Friday, highlight white text to read: I think I've found the culprit: 18 Chestnuts tomato soup. I really love their carrot ginger soup, but have noticed that it sometimes causes a gastric reaction. Well this week I tried the tomato soup for the first time but didn't check the ingredients. And what sweetener do they add? ERYTHRITOL. Which I am sensitive to, and is a known diuretic. And I ate the soup two days in a row before Things Happened. So bummed! I really love their soups :( I did write to 18 Chestnuts to express that I love their soups but can't handle erythritol, and would they possibly consider reducing it, but unless a lot of other customers write in I doubt they'd do anything. Fun fact, I found out that I was sensitive to sugar alcohols after trying a Barebells bar for the first time a few years ago and having a similar reaction. And those are delicious too. Sigh. But at least it likely wasn't food poisoning, or the saffron supplement. (END)

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Ah, and here's my review of the Small Haul that I got from Central Market last week!

• “Mandarinquats”: 5/10 These are a mandarin-kumquat hybrid. They’re fine, but tasted just like a kumquat, only larger. Sooooo…I’d rather just eat kumquats then!

• Folkington Elderflower Drink: 6/10 This was lemon and rhubarb juice with elderflower extract/essence. The flavor was very nice but it was VERY sweet, and super-sweet-floral is not for me. Next time I’d try it over ice.

• Jubilee’s Flavored Milk: 11/10 Ok so this was REALLY GOOD. It’s shelf-stable whole milk with veggie juices and a little natural sweetener. I couldn’t believe how delicious the Banana Cream Pie flavor was!! And lots of vitamins and healthy stuff in there. Oh my goodness, I’m definitely drinking this again (wiiiiith Lactaid haha)

• Pegasus Sweet & Savory Jerky: 8/10 Very good! A dry, thin-sliced jerky that was very flavorful and delicious, not too high in salt either. Sadly at $8 for only 2 servings, this is not something I could afford to get regularly. But appreciated the chance to try it!

• Queen of the Sea Tuna with Veg: 8/10 Flavorful, fairly low in sodium, a nice meal-in-a-can that would be great on the go The tuna and veg were high quality. This would be great on toast or over rice. Only downside is it’s rather watery and the can doesn’t facilitate draining.

As always, I'm grateful to have been able to try all of these things whether I ended up liking them or not!

Another small interlude to say that this picture of Jameson and I came up in my Facebook Memories today. This is us 12 years ago. We were in the circus and had just started dating.


In this pic we are wearing our "plant" costumes and waiting in the audience for the show to start, snarking off to each other to kill time. And then we'd do our little opening gag bit, and play a 2-hour show alongside elephants and clowns and acrobats. 400 shows a year, 40 cities a year.

TWELVE years ago. It is wild to look at this picture and think about what our lives were like then vs now. So much happened to change us...devastating things like the circus suddenly closing; the pandemic; struggling to find work; my dad passing away; both of us fighting depression and our own demons...but still, we were together. And last year is probably the first year since 2017 that I can FINALLY say we've clawed our way back up and come out on top. It took nearly a decade, but here we are :)

Aaaaaanyway. Lunch and walking to the theater as usual. And here is our lovely wall tag which has now been signed all over! Can you find my initials? I made it larger than usual this time! (Remember that you can click the image to open in a new tab and enlarge.)


Our Physical Therapist, Jael, made stickers and passed them out to everyone. Aren't they hilarious!


Top sticker says, "Tale as old as trap tightness." Bottom left: "This injury wasn't in the score!"
Bottom middle: "Beast mode: rehab." Bottom right: "The show must limp on."

The matinee was good and once again we had a big flock of children come to visit us. I did take pictures but am leery about sharing them, because kids and privacy, sorry. At intermission there was cake to celebrate Levi's (Chip Kid's) birthday, and before the second show there was pizza as a send-off for one of our Stage Managers. I declined cake but got in on the pizza. With a Lactaid. 

Evening show was good, though attendance was lower than the other shows we've still had incredible turnout here in Houston. And afterward people STILL came down to the pit and watched us start packing until ushers came to kick them out! 

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Monday: Flight to OKC. Should be a pretty short one, fingers crossed. The usual settling-in-and-groceries.

Tuesday: Opening day in OKC!

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

I was awake early, tired but excited because I am Treating Myself today! YAY Golden Day!!
(A "golden day" is slang for a true day off on tour. No shows + remaining in the same city.)

The plan: Houston's Galleria mall (possibly, no pressure), a noon showing of Zootopia at a fancy theater, and Central Market!

Breakfast and admiring my "clown lips" in the mirror. My lips are swollen, chapped, and kinda burn-y. This is because A) it's the first week back on tour after a layoff where I played less than half as much as usual; B) we had a temperature drop of 30 degrees a few days ago; and C) the streets between Houston's skyscrapers create wind tunnels, i.e. skin gets windburnt and dried out faster. It may not LOOK that chapped, but it FEELS chap-tastic.


But don't worry fam. This is nothing new.
Ringling Bros Circus, circa 2014.
"Clown lips" at the end of a 6-show weekend (12 hours of playing.)
I was sitting on the ringmaster float backstage, waiting for the bus.


I slather on chapstick or Vaseline, wear a mask or scarf, and take every possible precaution, but this happens at least once each winter no matter what I do. It makes playing a bit harder for a while, but ultimately resolves itself. Just thought I'd share one of the joys of brass musicianship!

Right as I was finishing breakfast, housekeeping came by to do my room. Yay! I ran away and goofed off in the lobby for 15-20 minutes and that was enough for them. How nice to start a new week with clean sheets and towels :) Then an Uber to The Galleria to look around!

The Galleria is a big fancy mall with lots of high-end stores selling stuff I can't afford like Hermes watches and designer clothing and "real" jewelry. But they also have some shops for Us Poors, like Macys and Hot Topic. I went to the former to rifle through their clearance rack, and the latter to see if there was any new Hazbin Hotel merch. Nothing found for me, but I did get Jameson a Hellfire Club shirt.

From there I walked to the movie theater which was in an even snootier, even MORE posh shopping plaza, with people in rare $,$$$,$$$ sports cars cruising up and down and security posted at the entrances to most shops. I didn't even recognize the names of most stores...it was true designer stuff, premium leather goods, platinum jewelry, and even an upscale tobacco shop. The movie theater had a fine dining restaurant and bar in the lobby, no cheapo popcorn or candy to be seen (though it's on their menu.) The theaters are small and intimate with maybe 30-40 seats, all of which are plush recliners complete with fluffy blankets and little tables for your food. I had the entire theater to myself today!


I had arrived early on purpose so that wait staff could serve me before the movie started and not have to grope around in the dark. I got a sauvignon blanc and a bison burger with white cheddar, blueberry aioli, sunflower seed pesto, arugula, and fire-roasted tomatoes on brioche. It came with sweet potato fries. Oh and there's bacon on there (I took some of it off tbh)


Now THIS is luxury! Having that whole theater to myself, it was essentially a private showing. The burger was delicious and the wine hit the spot. Zootopia 2 is almost as good as the first movie! I only wished they'd fleshed out the primary reptile character a bit more so that the emotional connection to them might have been stronger at the end (it was still a very touching ending.)

A chill movie and some comfort food were just what I needed today. Afterward I walked to a nearby Central Market for my groceries for next week. Central Market is H-E-B's upscale answer to Whole Paycheck, and it is AWESOME! They have normal groceries, but also so much interesting food that I'll spend an hour or more just staring at everything.

They grow many of their own herbs and mushrooms in house.


There are always delicious-looking fresh fish in the seafood area, and the cuts of meat look amazing too. There were a lot of people at the butcher counter today so I didn't get a picture there.


The bakery section is massive and mostly features their own house-made loaves. There are so many flavors that I want to try!!


In addition to the huge bulk section with grains and dried fruits and nuts and candies, they've got a whole bulk chocolate section with every kind of chocolate you can think of including rare ones like ruby chocolate or couverture chocolate.


Some other interesting things that I saw, not pictured, included floral-infused salts, black cherry brie potato chips, ube potato spread, herbal sparkling water from France, basil hawthorn berry tea, camel milk yogurt, and so much more! I only needed a few things and am trying hard not to overbuy, so just looked for the most part. But I can never resist picking up at least a few intriguing things to try!

Here's my Small Haul.


As in the past, I will do a review once I've tried one of everything. The two little orange fruits are "mandarinquats." I expect them to be like a larger and slightly sweeter kumquat. I was SUPER intrigued by the two shelf-stable milks in banana cream and cookie flavors...they are whole milk so I'm gonna have to take Lactaid with them, but could not pass them up. Those little tuna tins are relatively low in fat and sodium, I wonder if they can still manage to taste good? As usual, can't wait to try everything!

Back at the hotel, put everything away and had a nice hot shower and tried a new face wash (it seems fine?) A very light dinner and lots of hydrating, starting on the 3rd season of Vox Machina, chatting with Jameson and my sisters via text. This was a very nice Golden Day :)

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TUESDAY

Woke up "late" for me, 8:30. Breakfast and kind of wondering what to do with myself...the whole day was free until the evening show. As it turned out, it was rainy wet and cold for the entire day so my motivation to do anything at all went directly down the toilet.

Ate lunch, read my book, watched anime, had a nap, and the only productive thing I did all day was to work on building a powerpoint presentation for future masterclasses that I might do. This is one instance where I will allow AI to interfere, because formatting the slides myself is both tedious and doesn't look good. I only got through the introductory slides and the first portion of the "gig info" slides, but did learn how to effectively insert pictures and video. From here on most of the slides should be fairly copy-paste as far as layout.

Dinner, and I tried eating a saffron gummy for mood/anxiety about 2 hours before showtime. The dosage is 2 gummies but I'm paranoid about medications that could impact my work, so I'm doing half for a week and then adding the other half next week. The reason for this, by the way, is that I am a tense and anxious person. Up until now I've handled it with square breathing and Saint John's Wort, but was recently informed by my birth control provider that I need to stop taking that as it interferes with the birth control. I'm trying to find a substitute, so it's saffron first and if that doesn't work I'll try L-theanine.

Anyway, I walked to the theater a bit early to put my horns together and warm up. As band buddies filtered in we asked each other about our days off; some people had gone to see local bands perform, or had gone out of town with loved ones in the area, or eaten at nice places. I had a new sticker to add to my case as well: it's 1930s Mickey Mouse (who is public domain) riding an alligator, holding a six-shooter and smoking.


I didn't share this on my socials because while Mickey HAS had guns (Minnie too for that matter), he's never smoked. Maybe we can pretend he picked up the habit from Walt? There's a corresponding Minnie Mouse sticker where she's riding a flamingo, has a python around her neck like a scarf, and is equally six-shooting and smoking. As a Florida Person I thought it was funny and cute. 

The show was nice, there seemed to be some high school-aged school groups here and they were energetic, cheering for just about everything and REALLY cheering during bows :) And at intermission lots of young little kids and their parents came to the pit edge. I answered lots of the usual questions ("How many people are down there?" "How do you GET down there?" "What's this net for?" "Why are the drums in a box?") and when the questions ran out I made slidey noises and race car noises for the kids. There was lots of giggling over it! Gotta teach 'em young why the trombone is THE COOLEST :p 

On the walk back to the hotel I saw two interesting things.
The first was a Waymo sitting at the light across from me. Apparently they are edging into Houston now too. But they've got drivers here. 


The other was a juvenile raccoon (at least I assume because it didn't look full grown) sitting directly in the middle of the sidewalk. It got up as I approached but didn't run away, just moved to the side. I spoke gentle words as I passed, and weirdly, it moved as though it wanted to follow me then. But I kept walking and saw it hesitate, then turn and trot into the bushes. Perhaps someone has fed it or been kind to it...which is nice in the moment but ultimately puts these animals in danger. 

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Wednesday: One evening show and a trip to the fine art museum!

Thursday: One evening show. Possibly a Foodie Find? Haven't decided yet.