taz_39 | Recent Entries

**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 was up at 6:30am so I could have breakfast and work on Foodie Finds before heading to the botanical garden. I was worried at first because it was raining but thankfully it was just a quick shower.

It was a little over a mile to the gardens but it was partially through a nice residential area and then a public park. I had prepurchased a ticket and walked right in. There was a large group of Girl Scouts there for a special visit, and "activity stations" were set up all over the place for them to learn extra stuff about the plants, do some arts and crafts, make flower pressings, all that sort of thing. So my timing was NOT great, but I was still able to avoid the huge Scouts group for the most part by watching which way they went first and going in the opposite way (they went right so I went left.)

First was the Rose Garden and the Great Lawn, which had a fantastic view of the city and many lovely flowers.
( CLICK HERE to see the Pretty Flowers! )

It was getting close to lunchtime, and it was 90°F (32°C) and very humid. My water bottle was empty and I could feel myself losing steam so I decided to wrap it up. Later on I realized that in my zeal to avoid the Children's Garden, I had completely missed one of the most iconic parts of Atlanta Botanical Gardens: the Cascades Garden and the Earth Goddess! Rats! But you know, it's ok. If there is a next time, she will be my first stop :)

During food logging this morning I'd realized I was out of protein and oats, so I walked an additional mile to a Publix for those things. At that point I'd walked 4.5 miles (7.24 km) and walking back to the hotel would've been 2 miles and 40 minutes (with meat, in hot weather). An Uber it was. Had a basic lunch, sorted all of these lovely plant and flower photos, and reflected on how much I'd enjoyed the gardens today. Being surrounded by plants is, imo, inherently relaxing and calming. And I got to see many plants and flowers that I'd never seen before. It was a reminder that there is still so very MUCH out there that I haven't seen...rare creatures and plants, places and people, artworks and creations, discoveries and adventures.

I am SO privileged to have seen and experienced so much in my short life already!
And even that said, I want to see as much as I can before time runs out.
Why can't our lifespans be DOUBLE what they are??

I rested for a bit and before dinner walked to pick up my dry-cleaned pea coat. I got back inside and was eating dinner when the skies opened up, huge downpour (no thunder though.) Umbrella'd up and walked over to the theater when it was time. Packed most things in my trunk, warmed up the horns, yada yada. The evening show was fine, we had a hold at the top of "Belle" but it was only about 10 minutes, and the audience was great.

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SATURDAY

Standard morning with standard breakfast and standard packing of final trunk things. Called Southwest because due to their new assigned seating protocol, I'm not unable to change my own seat within our company group bookings, and I'm trying to figure out how to accomplish that. The department I needed is closed on weekends so it'll have to wait, but I tried.

First show was good. One of Jameson's childhood friends was there so I got to meet her, that was nice :)

Between shows the usual dinner at the hotel (butternut squash, avocado, egg bagel, turkey) then back for the evening show, which was good and well attended like all of our shows have been here. I should mention that when our show lets out it creates quite a bit of chaos on the street, a big crowd jostling at intersections and dashing across before the light has changed. I tried to capture the madness but you probably can't tell. It IS a very big crowd, though.

There was some sort of big bash going on at our hotel (wedding afterparty maybe?) and only one elevator was working, and the line for that elevator stretched all the way across the lobby! Thus I ended my night by walking up TEN flights of stairs. Y'all, I am thankful to be in good enough health that climbing ten flights of stairs is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. I am not athletic by any means...I had to stop at floors 5, 7, and 9 to take deep breaths and massage my calves, lol. But it was probably good for me :p

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SUNDAY

Standard morning of breakfast and typing this post, light packing, making overnight oats for tomorrow, and finishing Tucson Foodie Finds (knocking these out but still drastically behind until I can tackle the Los Angeles list.) Ate lunch slightly early, walked to the theater and had the first show which was great. Back to the hotel for an hour of chilling out with anime, then dinner and walking back. The evening show was good, a roaring crowd and a nice sendoff from Atlanta. It's been an amazing week here and I'm gonna miss the enthusiasm and appreciation of the people here.

In closing, here is the on-stage group photo that was taken with Jodi Benson (voice of Ariel/The Little Mermaid) earlier this week. I am at the bottom left, holding my trombone.

(click on the photo to open it in a new tab and click it again to enlarge it)

I've emoji'd out the kids' faces, out of abundance of caution after what happened that last time I naively reshared a social media pic containing Chip Kids. I have asked for and received permission from the parents/guardians to reshare this photo here. But I do not want any kickback on this topic ever again if I can help it, so no kid faces pretty much ever.

There was also an onstage photo taken for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month while we were in Knoxville, and BATB just released the photo yesterday. This was the first time I've ever had my personal Japanese heritage acknowledged and celebrated, and it meant a lot to me! CLICK HERE to see the photo if you like.

Finally, in this city the pit is shallow and in front of the stage. This puts us in range of the "Be Our Guest" confetti cannons. I've been collecting the streamers that rain down on my spot and building a "nest" with them.

At the beginning of the week:

By the end of the week:

This is the biggest "nest" I've managed to make on tour so far! LOL. Wish I had a big plush chicken to put in the middle of it or something. During the Sunday evening intermission I picked it up, carried it backstage, and threw it out so no one would have to clean up after me.

I can envision a book title for this: "Arts, Crafts, and Enrichment for Your Pit Musicians." LOLOL

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Monday: Direct flight to Memphis, later in the day. It's supposed to rain. Fingers crossed that we won't get delayed.

Tuesday: Opening day in Memphis. I do plan to visit a nearby Foodie Find, a local bakery with fresh bagels and croissants!

**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

Woke up to another rainy day in Atlanta. It's supposed to be rainy all week, but I guess they've been in a drought here so the water is needed.

I've held back on some things so as not to make the last entry ridiculously long. Just little things. For example, I saw FOUR food delivery robots on the way to and from the grocery on Monday. I believe it's because we're very close to Georgia Tech and they probably are based there.

We are staying in an old historic hotel near the Fox, and while normally I wouldn't share much about the hotel for protective purposes, in this case anyone with half a brain knows where EVERY tour that is playing the Fox stays. And so, here is the central portico which you can look all the way up or down. I took this photo from the lobby:

...and this video from about the 11th floor. And yes it is fully open, so if I had dropped my phone (or if you drop anything) it would be disastrous. I was squeezing my phone very hard and my stomach was clenching from the height, but it was still very cool!

Watch on YouTube

They have decorated the front desk for us:

Additionally, this is where the reception was for the world premiere of Gone With the Wind in 1939!

Many celebrities have stayed in this hotel including Clark Gable, Bruce Springsteen, Walt Disney, and more. But lots of regular people like me stay here too, and as a historic building people often come in off the street to take photos of the lobby or ballrooms. Anyway, now I am caught up on documenting these experiences :p

It was a normal morning of breakfast, chatting with Jameson, and really buckling down to finish El Paso Foodie Finds. Then I walked to a nearby dry cleaners for my black pea coat, as I bought it for Candlelight way back in November and it's NEVER been cleaned (eew.) Picked up some bagels on the way back to the hotel, then lunch. I felt sleepy after lunch and wanted to nap but made myself go to the thrift store. It is HARD to go for a walk when you're sleepy and low energy! But I was glad to have gone because it's one of the better Salvation Army stores I've seen in a while. LOTS of graphic tees and LOTS of pajama pants, both of which are my JAM.

I ended up with a Maruchan Cup Noodle shirt in a very odd shade of yellow, a tan shirt with a rather basic vector art desert scene design similar to this one in the link, and some light blue linen pajama pants. All of which cost me $6. I've learned to pretty much only bring cheap and replaceable clothing that I won't miss out on tour. I'd love to dress more nicely, but A) I do not like it when my reward for dressing nicely is being heckled or harassed by men, and B) clothing is at a high risk of damage out here and I'd hate to buy something high-quality only to see it ruined by a hotel washer/dryer.

It took me longer than it should have to get back to the hotel and I ended up walking three miles total. Had a snack and lots of water and tried out the en suite washer and dryer. They're old but they do the job and I'm very grateful for them!

Once again we had 4,600+ people in the audience and essentially a sold out show. It was a loud and enthusiastic crowd :) Immediately after the show the cast and crew were invited to a quick closed curtain, on-stage photo op with Jodi Benson (Disney Legend and voice of Ariel/The Little Mermaid) who had come to see our show. The band had to hustle to get up there from the pit in time, but those of us who wanted to participate did make it. I made sure to bring my trombone because without our instruments we musicians look like more members of crew. Jodi has posted the photo to her story (stories are temporary) and you can view it HERE for the next 12 hours or so. I am not sharing it just yet because I want to make sure it's OK to share, as we haven't been sent a copy.

Anyway, Jodi was visibly emotional and touched by our show, and had lovely things to say about our performance. And as I was leaving the theater and walking among patrons, I overheard a woman say to her friend, "I have never seen so many adults crying over a stage show!" This reminds me once again that this show--the Disney animation and the Broadway production--have a very special place in many peoples' hearts. And for that reason it is very important to do our best at every performance :)

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THURSDAY

Awake at the usual time, breakfast, chatting with Jameson and also my sisters. I have decided that today will be my "slug day," i.e. I'll mostly relax and enjoy the hotel and do quiet things. Normally Friday is my day for this, but this hotel wants to do a mass-servicing of all BATB company rooms on that day, so I will use that as my Botanical Gardens day instead and make myself scarce for them.

Today I did the following:

Worked on Tucson Foodie Finds
Wrote a whole big nostalgic comment about my time working at a movie theater for stainsteelrat, which was wonderful for ME but I may have talked his ear off lol
Watched Rooster Fighter, Invincible, and parts of Gone With the Wind because that seems appropriate in Atlanta and in this hotel
Ate lunch and misc snacks
Meal planning
Research on things to do in Memphis
Called UE to ask about having my black in-ear faceplates repaired/replaced/returned, again
Bought my ticket for the Botanical Garden tomorrow
Felt stressed for no reason

...you know! The usual!

The evening show was very good once again. Boy I'm gonna miss these crowds and this enthusiasm!

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Friday: Botanical gardens hopefully early-ish, then some trunk packing prep and plugging away at Foodie Finds again, picking up dry cleaning. One evening show.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows both days and no plans.

The mascot character was out and a lot of our cast queued up for photos! I did not because I was too shy. I'm also not allowed to reshare photos of cast members without asking their permission (and I'm too shy to do that too) so this is a stock image. The one we saw today was wearing a Hawaiian shirt just like this.

(photo courtesy someone on Tripadvisor)

As usual everything about Buc-ee's is big, loud, exciting, and overwhelming. Like a gas station, a Walmart, and an amusement park had a baby. If you've never been to or seen a Buc-ee's before I highly recommend CLICKING HERE to watch this short hard and fast 1-minute rundown to see what it's like. For one thing, there's loads of beaver mascot merch, from cups to clothing to dog toys and plushies.

The walls and aisles are lined with bags and bags of Buc-ee's branded treats like gummies, popcorn, nuts, and jerky. You can also get canned goods like pickled quail eggs, jellies and jams, pickled vegetables, etc.

At the prepared food area there are kolaches, burritos, roasted and candied nuts being made fresh on-site, fudge being made on-site, and a huge soda fountain with every flavor you can think of. But the most popular of all is their slow-smoked brisket. 1000x better than most gas station food.

Buc-ee's is known for having large and incredibly clean bathrooms. I took advantage of these before doing anything else...and outside the entrance was a display with Beaver Nugget-scented potty spray!! LOL!

Based on the packaging design alone, this HAS to be a collaboration with Poo-pourri toilet spray. There was a travel size so I did get one! I also grabbed an OverBite, which is like a giant 1/4lb (4oz) peanut butter cup, but shaped more like a hockey puck and with Buc-ee's face on it of course.

We loaded back onto the bus with our treasures and continued on our way. Got to the hotel right on time and had no trouble checking in, but I ended up having a funny and kind of full circle moment story to share:

( CLICK HERE for Short Story )

Anyway, after freaking out about the amazing room I walked first to a nearby Publix for basic groceries and then to Whole Paycheck for dinner at the hot bar and fancier eats (tofu, favorite protein shakes, etc.) On the way back I got caught in a downpour but had luckily brought my umbrella. Still had to hang up my wet pants and blow the hair dryer at my wet shoes! Unpacked, hydrated, and typed up this post which is already much longer than expected for a Monday.

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TUESDAY

Woke up after a pretty good sleep and feeling like a little princess in my posh suite.
A lovely breakfast, chatting with Jameson, and working on El Paso Foodie Finds.

Today is Jameson's one-year anniversary with Disney Event Group (DEG) as a Producer. I remember the day he was offered the job so clearly, and how excited and relieved he was, and what a big deal it was for him! He has worked incredibly hard and overcome much more than people realize to get that job. I'm endlessly proud of him, and excited for what his future holds :)

At some point in there I packed my snacks for the day, watched some episodes of Rooster Fighter (a hilarious nonsense anime that I'm using to counteract the dark and gory Invincible on Amazon,) and a brief walk back to Publix because Jael (Physical Therapist) had tasted my Drizzilicious snack MONTHS ago, told me she had been thinking about it all this time, so I thought I should get her a bag!

Then it was off to the Fox. This will be the third or fourth time I've played this historic theater.

(photo from Flickr, watermark at bottom right. I tried to get a similar shot but failed.)

To get to this pit you have to actually enter the audience area, which is annoying for practical purposes but does allow us to enjoy the full beauty of the space before climbing into our hole. My pictures don't capture it all but I tried. The Fox is another 1920s Moorish architecture (Egyptian/Islamic-inspired) theater palace, with tons of history and lore which you can read about HERE if interested.

And this is backstage, the Stage Right entrance, where performers are reminded to "Play it pretty for Atlanta" before going on!

Set up my spot in the pit, found our dressing room and set that up too (no one had put up tables or chairs so I did that all myself) and found the trunks and dug through mine. Near the trunks are these autographed memento photos of famous people who have performed at the Fox. I'm certain you'll recognize many of them (ye olde reminder to click on an image to open it in a new tab then click again to enlarge)

Sound check was fine. This pit is shallow so I will get to see some snippets of the show! Yay!
Back to the hotel for a quick dinner and unpacking trunk stuff, then back to the theater for the opening night show. The Fox has 4,665 seats which is twice as many as usual, and we are 97% sold out in this city. That should give you an idea of how the crowd sounded! They were loud and enthusiastic and it was WONDERFUL.

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Wednesday: Taking my winter coat to the dry cleaner, possibly going thrifting. One evening show.

Thursday: No plans as yet and one 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.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

FRIDAY

Up at 8 to catch up on journal readings, have breakfast, and work on Memphis Foodie Finds. It felt odd not to text "good morning" to Jameson, but he's on a boat somewhere and I didn't even know if he had service, so I waited for signs of life and got some eventually :)

It was rainy and dreary and promised to be that all day. I was very annoyed with myself for forgetting my umbrella at the theater last night, but they had loaner umbrellas at the front desk. The concierge made me hold up my right hand and swear that I'd return it! LOL. I saluted him and marched out the door.

First I went to the theater to see if I could get in and retrieve my own umbrella, but it was too early. I continued down Gay St., which is full of cute little shops and art installments and greenery.

Some pics of Charles Krutch (a local famous artist and photographer) Park, and a sculpture:

First stop was Mast General Store.
( CLICK HERE for CANDY! )

Onward to Potchke deli for lunch. I had been here in 2023 with Tootsie and very much enjoyed the bright cheery vibe and the absolutely delicious matzo ball soup and beet slaw. I had always regretted not getting the babka buns because they looked AMAZING. This time I was definitely getting one!

They look different now (they used to be shaped in a lattice like this and now it's a rose swirl) but boy do they still look delicious. They had chocolate, orange, and "everything." I got the chocolate.

It's got a hard, caramelized crust of sugar and chocolate on the outside, but the inside is soft and spiced and swirled. I cut it in half back at the hotel and ate half today and the rest will be for tomorrow. Absolutely incredible, not only the decadent buttery and chocolatey flavor but the mix of crunchy and soft fluffy textures. So incredibly good, I'd be happy to eat this every day until I die.

For actual lunch I got the kosher banh mi: soy-marinated sweet potato and bok choy with sriracha aioli, shredded carrot, red onion, cucumber, daikon slaw, and cilantro on sesame bialy.

Again, great textures and packed with flavor. Soft and salty sweet potatoes, crunchy veg, spicy dressing, chewy satisfying bagel. Really delicious and it made me feel somewhat healthy to eat it :p

It was past noon so on the way back to the hotel I swung by the theater again, and someone was there to let me in! Our company management was there working and so was Wardrobe, which reminds me that while I'm out galivanting around, many of my buddies are working hard to keep our tour operational. Being a musician is hard at times, but we are also very spoiled at times. I'm grateful for the work that everyone puts into this show so that we can ALL enjoy the journey :)

Back at the hotel I admired my candy haul!

This is roughly half of what I got (the other half is going in a box in my trunk for future consumption.) Banana toffee Bubs; chocolate and vanilla mini Moon Pies; teaberry gum; caramel apple lolly; mini Sugar Daddy (remember getting your teeth stuck together with those?); Zebra Bars; vanilla Tootsie Rolls; Joyva sesame candies; honey bear lolly; Ice Cube (this was a favorite of my dad's so I got it in his memory); Charleston Chew; fruit nougat/divinity; Chick-O-Stick bite-size; Goetze's caramel creams in strawberry and caramel apple; Goslings ginger beer hard candies; and my very favorite, Sunkist Fruit Gems! I LOVE the texture of those so much!

It will take a long while to get through all of these, but a lot of them can be difficult to find so I'm happy to stock up and carry them with me for a bit. The rest of the afternoon was packing things to go back in my trunk, finishing reading The Way of Kings, and trying to figure out what to do in Atlanta.

The evening show was good, David (clarinet) was back with us and feeling better, thank goodness. We did have a show hold in a weird spot, a dialogue scene, but it was very brief and I heard later on that some setpiece had been stuck and needed to be un-stuck, that kind of thing. Live theater, baybee!

After the show there was a hang at the Hyatt bar across the street for Josh (Key 2.) He is leaving us to be the Music Director for another show (can't disclose which one yet.) I had a glass of sauvignon blanc and enjoyed chatting and mingling a bit. Made sure to hug Josh and congratulate him of course. At some point everyone clamored, "Speech!" so he said a short and nice "thank you" to us for being wonderful to work with, all the best to everyone, grateful for his time here, etc etc. And after that Josh, Ryu (violin), and Masumi (ensemble) got together for a "Japanese contingent" photo...and insisted that I join as well!! As someone who is "hafu*" and doesn't even look Japanese, while Ryu and Masumi are full-blooded Japanese and Josh is an actual "hafu" who has lived in Japan, I have been kind of shy about considering myself "Japanese" in the same way that these lovely colleagues do. Being included in this photo, and being asked to join actually meant a lot to me. I felt very touched.

(Left to right: Me, Ryu, Josh, and Masumi)
*Clarification of the term "hafu": This word means "half" and was originally used to describe someone that's half-Japanese, but it has come to mean "of mixed heritage" regardless of the actual percentage of Japanese, which is why I use it here to refer to both myself and Josh. I'm saying that we're mixed race.

We are all of course sad to see Josh go...he's been a great musician, a wonderful human, and so easy to work with. I hope he has LOTS of fun on the new show and that it pays off big for him!

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SATURDAY

Awake at 8am. It was still dreary and rainy. I'm still shoving off the dregs of this cold with a lot of nose-blowing, but it should clear out soon. Worked on this blog post, sent Jameson some audio messages, took a short walk to pick up Travel Bagel, and worked on Memphis Foodie Finds.

Our first show went well, nothing to report except that Jameson's dad's brother(?) and wife were there and had a good time. I met with them briefly outside the stage door and thanked them for coming (we don't really know each other well so that was the convo haha.) Back to the hotel for a little chillax and a few pieces of my yummy candies, later dinner and walking back to the theater. The evening show was also good and nothing to report. We tried to take a full-band photo on the stage before the theater was opened to the audience, but Tim got stuck in the parking garage so he didn't make it. I think we will try again tomorrow.

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SUNDAY

Up at 7:30 or so. I know this cold is almost behind me now because I feel like getting up as opposed to feeling like roadkill. Breakfast and light packing and buckled down to finish Memphis Foodie Finds. I am still terribly behind and will have to hustle to do Tempe, Tucson, El Paso, and all the big California cities (the tour is in LA for like two months so that will be a big one.) Packed myself a lunch to eat on the bus tomorrow.

Matinee went well. Someone wanted a photo for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which we took at intermission on the stage behind a curtain. Hopefully I'll have that pic to share with you later.

After the show the band wanted a photo under the marquis. Today is the very last time that all of the OG Beauty and the Beast musicians will be together. That is strange to think about. Sadly I've decided to crop the marquis out because for some reason, maybe the backlighting, it's very blurry and weird-looking. But I still think it's a very nice picture of us.

Before crossing the street back to the theater for the evening show, I snapped this picture.

Inside, our wall tag was ready. My initials should be easy to find because not many people had signed yet.

Josh (Key 2) conducted his very last show tonight. Michael (Key 3) will be promoted to Key 2, and we will have Leslie (vacation sub) here for a week or two until our new Key 3 arrives. I know him from a previous tour but will wait for official announcements to share his name. The last show went well, and during intermission we had a "Happy Trails" celebration for Josh, singing him the song after which he gave a little speech. Connor (Key 1) presented him with a piece of sheet music from the show which we'd all signed, and treats were put out for everyone. It was a really nice send-off. We're gonna miss him.

The rest of the show went normally, all of us probably a bit emotional due to Josh leaving but wanting to do our best for him on his last night as well. Afterward we packed up and hugged Josh one last time.

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Monday: Four-hour bus ride to Atlanta (it's actually 3.5 but I've added 30 minutes for Atlanta traffic.) The usual settling in and getting groceries.

Tuesday: Opening night in Atlanta.

**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

Had a better sleep and remembered to turn the thermostat down a degree before going to bed, which helped. I wore the new Apple Watch to bed because it needs to collect data for 7 nights or so to get baselines for the new health information (respiration, temperature, O2 levels, etc.) I don't plan to wear it at night all the time, but maybe two weeks a month for a while and then one week a month or so after. That way when I'm sick it will be able to notice changes in vitals.

Anyway, breakfast and normal morning things. I did some Atlanta Foodie Finds, filled out my sister's birthday card, put the gift inside and mailed it. Not sure if it'll show up on time since it's a holiday weekend but if I get it close that's pretty good.

Walked to the theater for setup and sound check. It's a tiiiiiny little theater with a cramped backstage, and I'm kinda impressed that they managed to fit our big whomping show in here! Since backstage is so tight I didn't take pics, some things can't be shared on the socials after all, but here is what the house ceiling looks like. Ornate and pretty.

(stock image. My view from the pit is nil.)

Sound check and the evening show were both fine. I got into my trunk and dug out the Instant Pot because I'm selling it. It's been a year and I haven't used it once. Thought I would, but the smaller, lighter Itaki is just too convenient and it's so much easier to just use that.

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THURSDAY

I was up early to do laundry because if I do it now, I can sleep in on Friday and then do something FUN instead of CHORES :p

Found a nice laundromat a short Uber away, read my book and chatted with Jameson while I waited. He's going on a friend's birthday celebration cruise to Turks (I had no clue where that was and had to look it up) and is excited! He took the Brightline down, nice and relaxing for him. I hope he has an awesome time and doesn't think about work AT ALL!!

Back at the hotel I got in the elevator with a guy wearing a Savannah Bananas shirt, and asked if he was going to the game tonight. Turns out, he works for them! Their staff are staying at our same hotel! In fact he'd met Kyra Belle (our Belle) in the lobby last night! Savannah Bananas now have a contract with Disney so we technically have the same employer :) It was really cool to meet someone involved in the Bananas. Hope they have fun here in Knoxville and attract big crowds.

When I got out at my floor, this cleaning robot was vacuuming the halls!

Watch on YouTube

It looks like it might be able to mop tile/hard floors as well. It's cute. I'm sure they make these little guys, and food delivery robots, cute so that people will be less likely to kick them or vandalize them. And when a cute thing gets stuck in a pothole and is crying for help, people DO come running.

I finally finished Atlanta Foodie Finds...I am way behind on these and need to catch up, sigh. Lunch and putzing around until the matinee. Arrived to find out that David (clarinet) was out sick unexpectedly so we had a local clarinetist sightreading the book. Oooooh my heavens. For you non-musicians...it takes a LOT of bravery to sightread a Broadway show. And he was doubling on THREE instruments too. Imagine having to give someone else's speech for them on the spot with no notice....for two hours...and not only that, switching between cue cards, a prompter, and a powerpoint throughout the presentation. Having never seen the speech materials before. It would be horrifying, right? That's what it's like!

He did his best and we did our best as well...to cover, to help, to play our own parts as well as we could. According to Sarah (French horn) David will likely be better by tomorrow. We are just glad he's ok and appreciative that this gentleman (I think his name is Bob) had the guts to step in and cover the part.

After the show, back to the hotel for dinner (brown rice, tofu, zucchini, hazelnuts) and some excited reposting of an audition notice for a Disney Events Group house band!!! You guys, having a house band instead of hiring musicians 3rd party is JAMESON'S idea, he pushed it and proposed it...and they've accepted it!! This is his first real mark on the workings of Disney as one of their producers. He is excited and nervous, and I am SO excited and proud for him! Gah!!

Anyway, back to the theater for the second show. It was one of those crazy ones where a lot of stuff goes wonky...you know, like one of those days at work where an unusual number of things go wrong. We had a show hold during the Mob Song which is very unusual, I don't think we've ever held there before. And I forgot to mention that Ryu (violin) broke a string during the first show too. But we got through it, the audience loved it, and good golly I hope that David feels better tomorrow and that we can get through the weekend without too much weirdness!

After the show I was chatting with Gary (drums) and completely forgot to grab my umbrella, and it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Damn! I'll either ask if they've got extras at the front desk, or hope someone is at the stage door in the afternoon to let me in to get it.

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Friday: Doing a Foodie Find for lunch, visiting Mast General Store, and probably resting because my chest is still rattling. One evening show.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each day, nothing planned except getting through 'em.

Dude had decked out the inside of his car with disco lights, LED phone charging cables that glowed and pulsed in time to the KARAOKE, yes that’s right he had a karaoke rig complete with microphone. When I laughingly declined to sing (I’m not a good singer even when it’s NOT 5am!!) he shrugged and took the mic himself, and sang me a song! He did King of the Road by Roger Miller, if you’re curious.

It was so funny and surreal. I wondered if I was still asleep and dreaming!

Airport was normal, flight 1 was normal and on time. I had a long layover in Detroit and spent the time reading, coughing goop out of my lungs, and wandering looking at everything.

I came across one of these short story dispensers and needed to try it!

Watch on YouTube

I’ve seen these before but haven't had time to try one. I got two nice stories, one a YA short about a kid who goes on a field trip back in time and learns something about her own bravery, the other an adult story about a woman trying to find herself on a hiking trip. They’re just 10-minute reads, but nice little thought-provokers. They’re printed on really nice paper so I was loathe to throw them out; I’ll keep one as a souvenir and leave the other somewhere public where someone else can hopefully read it.

I ran into Michael (Key 3) and Malashia (Assist Stage Mgmt) who were also taking this flight. We had all taken the buyout and booked this flight because none of us trusted the company booking, which was much later and had a very short layover. Our flight was on time AND I was given two packets of Biscoff :) :)

Turns out our mistrust in the company booking was well-placed. Their layover was so tight that they missed their connection, and their rebooked flight did not arrive in Knoxville until 10pm!! Majority of the cast spent the entire day at the airport today. Meanwhile those of us who took the buyout got to check into the hotel, get groceries, and settle in. How oddly similar to my last visit to Knoxville (see top of this post.) Once again it all proves that easier doesn't mean better.

I got to the hotel around 3pm, had a snack and threw a thermometer into the fridge, and Ubered to an AT&T store to upgrade to a new iPhone. It took a lot longer than expected because Apple now has a convoluted security feature where if you can't remember your actual, typed-out password (as opposed to face recognition or pin) you must activate an anti-theft protocol that prevents you from making changes to your phone for one hour. Like most people I rely on face recognition or a pin for all of my Apple devices, so of course I didn't remember my written password and had to wait the hour. But luckily the new phone needed a large update plus I had to eat lunch, and both of those killed the hour nicely. About 90 minutes later I had my new phone and a new case for it. Yay!

Next, an Uber to Whole Paycheck for groceries. My favorite protein bar, Mezcla, is testing new flavors in this market and I was lucky to find them here!! Salted Caramel, Mint Chocolate, and Chocolate Pretzel.

Back to the hotel to unpack, during which I remembered that I had packages at the front desk. My KN95 masks were there but the special card I'd ordered for my sister's 40th birthday was mysteriously missing :( The hotel said it may have been misdelivered and suggested that I ask at surrounding businesses...which I did for a solid hour, wandering around and awkwardly asking if they'd gotten it by accident. No one had it. There is a USPS just a few blocks away so I will see if they can help me find where it was delivered.

Having been up since 4am, I was finally exhausted and went to bed around 11pm.

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TUESDAY (Golden Day)

I woke up VERY late for me, at 9am (which is 8am in the time zone we just came from so actually I guess that's pretty reasonable.)
Would have liked to do fun stuff on this full day off but instead ended up doing many small errands:

Typing up this post
Activating the warranty for the new phone case (it has lifetime replacements!)
Starting the return process for my scratched in-ear faceplates
Picking up bagels from a local shop called K Brew (French Toast, Blueberry, and Hot Honey!)

Visiting USPS to see if they could help find my sister's card. They promised to call tomorrow morning.
Ubering to the mall for a new Apple Watch!
Trying to find black dress pants at the mall (failed)
1-mile walk to Target for coffee and cheap underwear

I got back to the hotel around 3pm and as I walked past the front desk, they flagged me down to say they'd found my sister's card! They didn't say where and I didn't push it :p Took everything upstairs, had a snack, and started the pairing process for my new phone and watch. It feels rather bougie to be buying all these new electronics, but as a musician with a VERY volatile income I've learned to do things like this when you can afford it and then make that good stuff last through harder times.

I want to note that the appeal of getting a newer Apple Watch is the health features. They are astounding. The newest model can take your temperature, track blood oxygen levels, identify hypertension or sleep apnea, and believe it or not even do an EKG. As someone without health insurance, anything that I can afford that can stand between me and a $$$,$$$ hospital bill, or help doctors to figure out what's going on if I DO end up in a hospital, is worth it. Hence, new watch. And trading in the old one paid for the new watch band, too.

The updating of the watch and subsequent pairing took a very long time so I typed up this post and ate dinner while I waited. When it was done I set up all the neat-o health features. And then I got into bed with a cup of tea and binged anime for the rest of the night.

Have I ever mentioned how glad I am to have never had children!

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Wednesday: Opening day in Knoxville. Might try to send off Kayle's gift and card in the morning.

Thursday: Two-show weekday so no plans.

**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.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

Backtracking

I just realized that I never reviewed the foods I got at Maruichi in Boston!

Pear Jasmine Tea: 6/10 It smelled like fresh pears upon opening, but the taste was all floral/jasmine. It was good but personally I thought the floral taste was too strong. Cute bottle tho!

Rice Cracker Assortment: 8/10 These were really good, 7 flavors and each one was distinct, texture was lovely.

Mt. Fuji Water: 7/10 It really did have a different “mouthfeel” and that was pretty unique. In the end most people may not care about that though, water is water 😅

“Mixed Bean Crackers”: 4/10 This was on the discount shelf for a reason lol. Pretty bland, bag contained 90% Japanese-style peanuts, 8% tiny rice crackers, and 2% dried sardines most of which had been pulverized by the heavier peanuts. Oh and there was one wasabi pea 😂

OldNew Candy: 8/10 Traditional Japanese “konpeito” sugar candy coated in cocoa powder. Delicate and delicious.

Petit Croissants: 9/10 Very good and fun to eat! They are not the same texture as a real baked croissant, they’re crunchier and chewier, but the flavor was delicious caramelized vanilla and they were addictive!

Chocolate Nori Snacks: 5/10 These were fine, a low-calorie sweet-and-savory snack…but you could just buy dried nori sheets and eat them with a handful of chocolate chips for the same effect at half the price tbh. Not bad, just something you can easily make yourself at home.

White Peach Nectar: 10/10 VERY good. So delicious. This was real pure peach juice with just a little lemon added for preservation. I love peaches and this was a total hit for me.

Banana Hi-Chew and Grape Candy were for Jameson so they weren’t reviewed 😛

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FRIDAY

I woke up slightly before my alarm at 7am. I did not sleep well because this is not allergies, it is a sinus infection and probably an actual cold. I got up and around and texted Jameson's dad to officially cancel on him for coming over and/or hanging out today. I don't want to put either of them in proximity of something that could affect Jameson's mom, and I also would rather rest and try to ride this out in the hopes of feeling better faster.

Canceling plans due to personal illness always makes me feel horribly guilty, like I'm being selfish or doing something wrong. This is probably because I had one parent who absolutely HATED it when I was sick, and would act accordingly...I suppose I shouldn't go into detail, but it's not hard to guess where the guilt comes from. There's your TMI for the morning :/

Anyway, breakfast and blowing my nose a lot. I did some research into sliding deck doors for Jameson and I; ours are original to the house and are very messed up from the vacationers who used to rent the home. Looks like all estimates are in-home so that's a to-do for me for July.

A quick walk to Target because I'd heard the new Koia flavor was out. They're jumping on the Dubai chocolate bandwagon.

I also got some tissues, Flonase, Q-tips, and Clorox wipes. On the way back I stopped at the Asian grocery that Ryu (violin) had told me about, and it WAS nice, but I just don't NEED anything right now. The weather was gorgeous again and how annoying is it to be sick on a beautiful day so you can't fully enjoy it!!

Back at the hotel, lunch and I tried the Dubai chocolate Koia. It's "ok" but the thing about Dubai chocolate is, it's largely a TEXTURE thing. Creamy chocolate paired with rich pistachio and tahini chocolate and crispy, crunchy filo dough. You can't really replicate that in a smooth shake. So it was just "kinda nutty chocolate" flavor. But hey, it's better than that watery strawberry flavor that they recently released.

I had unfortunately a very boring afternoon of just trying to rest and going through a trees' worth of tissues. I ended up going to the theater early and packing my trunk a day early, why not. The evening show was pretty good despite my being full of snot.

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SATURDAY

Had a rough sleep due to a thunderstorm and also the thermostat in my room decided to lose it's mind and blast cold air for no reason, so I had to get up and restart it (and I still don't think it's working properly but whatever we're leaving soon.) That said I did sleep in later than usual and had weird dreams in which Jameson looked like a Backstreet Boy, LMAO

Breakfast and some light packing. I should have worked on Atlanta Foodie Finds but didn't feel like it, instead bought a box of KN95 masks from Amazon and chatted with Jameson, who is going to Fringe today! I hope he has lots of fun :) Meal planning, getting dressed for work, and all of my other boring morning stuff. I've started watching Invincible on Amazon too...anybody here watching that? WOW is it messed up. I'm only 4 episodes in and the level of intrigue is off the charts.

After lunch I walked to the theater early because there's a farmers market in the capitol square and I wanted to see it. My cold-thing is still about the same, so I wore a mask and was mindful. There were lots of nice stalls and it was a lovely day, I enjoyed looking but once again didn't actually need anything. At the theater I got myself and my horns situated and chatted with my bandmates, half of us coughing or blowing our noses. Good times. The afternoon show went well, I thought. My low E's have been coming out!

During the break, a simple dinner of random leftovers in my room, watching anime and typing this post, then back to the theater for the evening show. It was good and we had a great audience...wish that I had interesting experiences or anecdotes to share, but unfortunately for you all, a lot of performing the same show over and over IS the repetition and nothing more. If nothing crazy happens, that's a "good day" at work!

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SUNDAY

I *think* I slept all right, but the cold-thing has moved into my chest (of course it has!) so now when I breathe out there's a rattle at the end, and it feels like my lungs are fuzzy. I hate this feeling, it makes me think I'm not getting enough air (I totally must be if I can play two big trombones.) Also, it always blows me away (pun intended) that you could chop a leg off, or even a hand, and I'd still have no problem playing the trombone...but a widdle head cold or a wee cracked lip will absolutely DO ME IN and make it insanely difficult to play. Fine Motor Skills And The Little Things That Disrupt Them are wild.

As I'm typing this, I just got back from walking to Gotham bagels for a Travel Bagel (egg.) It was drizzly but normal out. As soon as I got back to the room my phone screamed a tornado warning and sirens started sounding outside! It's not even windy. But people are saying that one touched down about 11 miles south of us. And I just heard a very loud and nasty peal of thunder. My goodness.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

Aaaand we're back. I just spent about 20 minutes eating lunch in a hotel stairwell. I only went down to the 2nd floor figuring I could bound the other two flights to the basement quickly if needed. There was a small window. I munched my cold tofu and bagel and watched the sky briefly darken, a hard rain come down, and it blew past and was over. For us, anyway. I shrugged and took myself back upstairs.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

The cast members who'd been at the theater when the tornado warning sounded had sheltered in place in the basement. The shelter-in-place was lifted right at noon. I walked over and it wasn't even raining any more. Jameson's parents came to this show, and while I didn't see them beforehand Jameson's dad came down to the pit to say hi at intermission. He had a few questions about our tech, and I asked how things were going with the new puppy. He's got some relatives in Knoxville and asked if I'd hook them up with tickets, and I said yes. Tickets are not cheap, but for all the times Jameson's dad has paid for our meals or taken us out, the least I can do is this small favor! I wish we'd had more time to talk, catch up, and most of all hang out, but I can't help getting sick :/

Their seats were only four rows back!

The rest of the show was just fine and it sounded like Jameson's parents had a great time (they called Jameson to tell him about it :) )

Between shows, back to the hotel for a leftovers dinner, requesting tickets for Jameson's dad's relatives, and looking into the possibility of a rental car because we apparently have a golden day on Tuesday!! I didn't know!! I have lots of errands to run but am not totally convinced that the rental car would save money, so ended up passing on that.

The evening show was just fine, although I was frustrated with my own playing. Between my ears popping due to blowing my nose and the mucus in my chest, everything I played felt like an uphill battle. But also by the end of the show I was feeling better than I had, so maybe this is on it's way out. After the show we packed up as usual, and as usual I was the first out of the pit. Wished everyone safe travels and walked back to the hotel, finished packing...and that's it for Madison, Wisconsin.

Usually I have done LOTS in this town, but this time due to being sick I just...didn't.
Sometimes that happens. Example: the last time I was in Vegas I woke up with covid on the 2nd day and didn't see a lick more of the city for the entire stay. In that way I'm grateful to have a lot of "repeat" cities on this tour route. Even if I get sick or something, odds are that I've been here and done things at least once before :) Which is an amazing thing to be able to say.

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Monday: Travel day to Knoxville. If everything's on time and I'm up for it, I'd like to visit a store to see about upgrading my phone. Then groceries and settling in.

Tuesday: Golden Day!! Hoping to hit a Foodie Find and the Natural Science Museum, not sure what else will happen! Also note to self I really wanna call my Aunt just to check in. <3

**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

Normal boring morning. I did go down to scope out free hotel breakfast, and it's very nice. More peanut butter to steal.

I admit to being a single-serving peanut butter HOARDER. I might have a problem lol.

I can't help that they're free AND the perfect size! Now that I've collected this many I'm gonna squirrel a bunch of them away in my trunk, like I do with other nonperishables (mainly the protein bars that I like.) This may seem kind of silly, but having little stockpiles of favorite foods in the trunk is something that a lot of us do. It comes in handy when we're in a food desert/apartheid city (looking at you Oklahoma City, OK; Fayetteville, AR; Louisville, KY.) If you can't get to a decent grocery in a city then you can break into your personal stash :)

Anyway, morning of working on Atlanta Foodie Finds and chatting with Jameson as he went to PT for his neck/shoulder. Watching anime, picking out a few of the new BATB internal merch items to get, deciding which iPhone I'm jumping to next. Adulting.

In the afternoon I walked to get a haircut and that was nice. From there I went to the theater to wash my trombones. They got pretty dusty during the sit in Boston (confetti cannon dust) plus I usually wash them once a month or so anyway.

I took my time and tried to be thorough, then practiced the bass a little bit afterward to try and clean up some parts I've been frustrated with lately. All of that took about an hour. Walked back to the hotel and had a little rest and a snack, and that was pretty much the day.

The evening show was good. This pit is NOT cold, it is comfortable, and that is a wonderful thing!

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THURSDAY

Woke up partway through the night with my nose stuffed and my throat very dry.
In the morning my throat felt sore and my nose itchy. I haven't mentioned it, but over the course of the past week EVERYONE in the pit has developed something like this, I'm just late to the party. I think that it's either very bad allergies (the pollen index is here is incredibly high right now) and/or a virus or infection brought on by allergies. I'll take an Allegra and see if that helps.

I had a late morning, feeling kind of unmotivated to do anything. For the past two days I've walked past the capitol building, wanting to go inside, but there have been HUGE school groups all over the place. I've never seen such a hubub around the state capitols except in DC. I guess the schools need a free educational activity right now and this is IT. I've been to my favorite co-op already, and Ryu (violin) is insisting that I visit a specific Asian grocery here which I DO want to do, but waking up feeling lousy today was a strong demotivator.

After lunch I ended up walking to a nearby laundromat. I'm doing laundry a day early because Friday is usually when I do it, but this week that's supposed to be my day with Jameson's parents...AND their new puppy! Figured I'd do laundry now so I wouldn't have to worry about it over the weekend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and 70 (21.1C.) While my stuff was in the dryer I made myself take a walk outside even though I wasn't feeling great. Got the laundry home and made overnight oats, had a snack and rested with anime and my book (The Way of Kings, if I hadn't mentioned that before) and lots of hydrating.

I was hoping to feel better after the Allegra but things kind of stayed the same with sinus drainage, sore throat, and feeling generally under. So I reluctantly texted Jameson's dad to let him know. Jameson's mom has conditions that make upper respiratory infections extra-dangerous for her; even something small like this could be very bad for her. We decided that it'll be better if I don't come over tomorrow :( :( I'm disappointed but they will still be coming to the show on Sunday at least.

Anyway, I had dinner a bit early because we'd been told there was a "night market" near the theater and I wanted to check it out! (YES I wore a mask and I only passed through very briefly.) I got there only 30 minutes after it opened and it was already packed! These photos are first looking up at the capitol from the bottom of that block, then a picture taken at the foot of the capitol and down that same block after I'd walked up it.

The vendors were everything you'd expect for a famer's market: produce, crafts, baked goods, honey, jerky, teas and coffee, candles, wellness stuff, toys and gadgets, clothing, etc. There were street performers and food trucks, police and government recruiters, and a guy pushing an "anti-Trump merch" cart through it all touting pins and stickers and shirts. As you can see it was a gorgeous day and loads of people were out enjoying the festivities :)

Too soon I had to get to the theater but I really enjoyed looking! It took a lot of self control not to buy anything!

The evening show went well.
I wanna mention that most of the actors and crew are now at the one-year anniversary of starting this tour. Many folks are posting introspective thoughts or fun photos from the first few weeks of this tour. The musicians still have another month to go I think. But it is amazing to see how far we've come already! We are probably close to 400 shows, which is about how many I used to do with the circus as well. Everyone has grown into their roles, and everyone continues to pour their all into this show and make it something truly special for everyone who sees it.

I'll stop now and save some sap for when MY one-year rolls around :p

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Friday: Getting up early just in case I magically feel better and can meet Jameson's dad for coffee, but I kinda doubt it. Guessing it'll be a day of trying to rest and get this cold-thing over with. Possibly a walk to that Asian grocery. One evening show.

Saturday: Two shows and no plans, although there's a farmers market downtown on Saturdays so I may see some of that.

Sunday: Jameson's parents are coming to the matinee! Two shows and no plans.

It was a 5-hour drive and I stopped only twice. And about 90 minutes in I saw the clock on the car dashboard set itself back an hour, and realized I'd completely forgotten about the time zone change!! I could have slept for another hour!! DANGIT!!

Ah well, it just meant I wouldn't have to rush. The drive was very nice, much more pleasant than two short flights with a layover would have been imo. Since I was so early I took myself to a mall to kill time. It was a dead mall (as many of them are anymore) so it was depressing, but I got to stretch my legs and window shop.

When it was closer to lunchtime I drove to the nearest Whole Paycheck for my weekly groceries, and from there to the hotel. Hilariously, the crew's sleeper coach pulled up directly in front of me/we arrived exactly at the same time. Since I keep arriving at the same time as crew, maybe I should just request to travel with crew from now on and save us all some trouble! The hotel had my room ready. I dragged the groceries up first and threw them in the fridge, then went back for my luggage.

There was still an hour before the rental car was due back so I drove to my favorite spot in all of Madison: Willy Street co-op! The original store is downtown and I've walked to it before, but they have an airport location that I've never been to. Conveniently that's where I was returning the rental car! So...!

This location is bigger than the downtown location, far newer, and just as good. I've been to this co-op three times now over the past 4 years or so, and every time they have wonderful fresh produce, a great bulk section, lots of local products, and everyone who works there is kind and helpful. Sure it's more expensive than a chain supermarket, but it's 1000% worth it.

And look! My very favorite brand of jerky!!! Made in Oshkosh, WI. It is special because it's modeled after Native American pemmican, so it contains finely chopped dried fruits or veggies. The texture and flavor are unique and delicious. I made sure to grab two of each flavor.

I also found an interesting buckwheat snack, local cold brew coffee, Freshe brand canned tuna, and a few other bits and bobs. Drove to the airport and returned the rental, Ubered back to the hotel. Unpacked and took a shower, then collapsed in bed for a short but helpful nap. When I woke up I made some plans to meet up with Jameson's parents...looks like Friday will be our hang out day, and they'll come to see the show on Sunday! Woooo!

As I'm typing this it's only 6:30pm but to me it feels like 7:30, and I am just wiped. I will have some nice hot tea and a dessert and the rest of the evening will be curling up with my squishy grey pillow and some anime, I think :)

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TUESDAY

Unsure when I fell asleep but I think maybe 10:30 (which felt like 11:30 to me.) And I woke up "late" at 7:30, which is 8:30.
Jameson, meanwhile, had an overnight at Disney last night so he was up until 3am, slept until 9:30am, and went to work at 11. Worker bee!

It was raining all morning so I busied myself with working on upcoming Foodie Finds, submitting my rental car receipts to Disney, packing a dinner and snacks, and when there was a break in the rain I walked to Gotham Bagels for my weekly bread. However when I arrived the little shop looked like a hurricane had blown through. A harried-looking but cheerful employee told me that a large school group had just come through and basically bought up all of their bagels! They only had plain ones left. So I took two bags of their bagel chips instead, which are made using their day-olds and feature chips in ALL of their flavors :) I'll share them with the band!

In other news, today I happened to pay off my iPhone. While I could just use it until it dies or Apple bricks it (another year or two at best), doing that would also mean losing any trade-in value on it. I'll probably trade it in soon for a newer model, but working out the shipping might be tricky on tour. Maybe it can wait until the July layoff.

Anyway, lunch and some anime until it was time to scope out the theater. I have played here before and remember it well. A really good modern theater with a nice pit and comfortable backstage.

My spot (and Tim's spot there on the right.) Crew has started consistently building us our own little plexi-boxes.

I don't mind the plexi-box but *might* mind the piece of Sorber across the top? I'm not sure if that was the issue but during sound check and tonight's show I felt like I was playing into a pillow. Previous pits have been like that too, so it could just be the acoustics in this pit. It is a hard thing, adjusting to a new acoustic space every week. By the time we start to feel comfortable it's time to leave. But that's part of the gig, and there also must be some professional benefit to experiencing and adapting to so many different audio environments. Listen to me trying to put a positive spin on it, lol.

In any case, I admit that I was frustrated with my playing tonight. That aside it was a lovely opening audience here in Madison, and so nice to have modern facilities! No offense to the Opera House in Boston or Murat in Indy, it's just that I sure do love me a backstage space built AFTER the 1930s sometimes! Bottle fillers!! Actual dressing rooms where we can rest or get changed!! Enough toilets!! 😍

Other fun things that happened tonight include the whole cast singing happy birthday to THREE cast members who had birthdays this week including our own Connor (Key 1), and finally being offered internal company-logo'd merch! In other words, stuff like the Tootsie shell jacket or My Fair Lady hoodie that I've received on those tours. We do have to pay for them but the price is actually pretty fair for custom-embroidered stuff, especially stuff that you can ONLY get if you're on this tour. And most of it is black (can't IMAGINE why lolol) so it'll be wearable backstage and in the pit. At the very least I plan to pick up a full-zip hoodie.

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Wednesday: Apparently breakfast at this Hyatt is FREE (who ever heard of a Hyatt with free breakfast, wow!) so I will check that out. Haircut in the afternoon but otherwise no plans. One evening show.

Thursday: No plans as yet, may try to tour the capitol building or go for a walk by the lake or something. One 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.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

Backtracking Part 1:

On Wednesday night I found The Egyptian Room in our theater.

As mentioned in earlier posts, the Murat Theater that we are playing this week was formerly a Shriners shrine. It was built in 1909, and it looks like someone's idea of a mosque or temple on the outside with terra cotta trim and minarets and full-on murals of men riding camels across the desert on the backside. Like many theaters or social centers built between the 1910s and 1930s, the building's architecture and design reflect a fascination with "exotic" destinations that were new and exciting to the Western world, and in particular the "Egyptomania" that swept the Americas during those decades (first due to the romanticism of the Napoleonic campaigns there and later the sensational discovery of King Tut's tomb, so Wiki has told me.)

Anyway, all of this means that this random theater in Indianapolis has an Egyptian Room on the 2nd floor.

Detail of the chandeliers, which feature scarab beetles and lotus flowers and other fun designs. I think that's real confetti stuck in them, too.

On one end of the room was a big stage used for performances or speeches or what have you. This week it houses our Hair department, lots of Disney Magic™, and half-costumed actors having their hair done, meaning I could not photograph it. Instead here is a big decorative pillar on one side of the stage:

On the opposite end of the room is this rather dramatic, tacky, wonderful entryway:

(AAONMS = Ancient [Egyptian] Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine)

A short clip showing the Egyptian-inspired artwork which encircles the entire room, ending with the dramatic-tacky entryway:

Watch on YouTube

And now a small disclaimer. I understand that some folks may see this kind of thing as offensive, racist, cultural appropriation, etc. I hear you and I respect that. Absolutely do whatever you need to do to address that (scroll past, call Indianapolis City Hall, etc.) But when it comes to ME and my opinion on it, I really have none. I'm here to play a show, and as an added bonus I sometimes document the things I see and share them with you. That is all there is to it, my friends :)

--- --- --- --- --- ---

Backtracking part 2:

On Thursday night Michael (Key 3) and I finally received our in-ears! Ours took longer to arrive because we were the only two who took advantage of the color and style customizations that were offered. The in-ears were free, but adding customizations required an out-of-pocket cost which is understandably why the others didn't go for it.

Here are my new in-ears!! The are the UE model 7 Pro with interchangeable face plates.

Detail of the custom face plates: mother-of-pearl, and black sparkle.

Notice that the black sparkle faceplates are unfortunately scratched. I was of course disappointed by this, but will reach out to the company to see if I can get them replaced. The other faceplates are beautiful, and I am far less concerned with cosmetic issues than with whether or not the monitors actually work!

A short clip that I made for Jameson showing how the faceplates can be removed and interchanged.

Watch on YouTube

In the video I mention being surprised that these in-ears come with "ambient plugs," which I thought was an extra-cost feature. It's basically a small hole drilled into the in-ears so that they don't completely block out ambient noise. You can then use those little clear plugs that I showed in the bag to activate or deactivate that feature. Some people prefer to have audience noise, or need to hear both their mix AND the audio happening around them. I am one such person; typically I'll keep one in-ear in and leave the other out so that I can hear my mix in one ear and my own sound/what's happening around me in the other ear. But that's not how in-ears are meant to be used, so if this feature allows me to keep both ears in while still being able to hear myself/some ambient noise, that would be really cool!

I'm going to try these for the first time on Saturday's two shows. They will probably sound different than my older in-ears so there will be an adjustment, but the sooner I start using them the sooner I can get over the learning curve. Really excited and grateful for this new equipment!!

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FRIDAY

I was up early to do laundry. Glad to get back into a laundry pattern.

Ate breakfast, chatted with Jameson, and sent a support request email to UE about the scratched faceplates. Shared the Madison, WI Foodie Finds with our group. Folded the laundry, ironed my shirts, had a snack. Just Friday Things.

I'm writing this on Saturday and can't recall anything exceptional happening...I didn't go anywhere because it was rainy again. Tried to take a nap, watched anime, and gathered things to put in my trunk a day early. I rode to the theater with Dane (flute) and packed my trunk and warmed up on trombone, and the evening show was just fine.

Oh, I got a response about the UE faceplates! They want me to try the in-ears for at least a week and make sure that they're acceptable, that way if anything else needs to be fixed I can send everything in together. That makes sense to me, so I will test the in-ears through the next city before doing anything else.

And during that conversation, I asked about custom faceplates using your own images (which I know they offer but couldn't find a place to actually order them on the site.) They sent me the info, and it turned out that I could pay for those using my credit card points! In other words, for FREE! So I will be getting another set of faceplates either to replace the scratched ones or in addition to them.

They'll look like this:

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SATURDAY

I had a rough night...felt very tense and kept jerking awake, and felt very anxious upon waking up today. There's just NO reason for it. This intense anxiety has been happening actually kind of predictably, the week before and during my period...as well as that weird heartburn or a stomachache, sometimes. I'm wondering if, like brittdreams has suggested, it could be something to do with hormone changes. I really don't know what to think or what to do about it other than treat it like plain anxiety: ride it out with box breathing, a Pepto, or St. John's Wort as needed.

Anyway, despite the intensity of it I went ahead with my usual morning routine of breakfast and getting ready for the show. It looked lovely outside so I decided to make myself walk to Amelia's bakery about a mile away. It WAS a lovely morning. Because it had rained for most of yesterday, the smell of rain and steaming earth and fresh green plants permeated the air. The sun was warm and bright but the breeze was cool. Lots of birds were singing, and I saw some bunnies and geese too.

I was rewarded for going out by finding one of my very favorite flowers, a musk thistle!! They are so spiky and pretty :)

Amelia's was on a hipster/gentrified street with lots of locally-owned shops. Everything in the small bakery case looked amazing.

I walked back with a roasted carrot and whipped lemon feta danish with hot honey and pistachios. It was AMAZING.

They called it a "toast," but as you can see it's laminated like a croissant, yet it resembles a danish. Whatever you call it, it was delicious. The roasted carrots were sweet and soft and a bit peppery, the lemon feta was tangy and creamy, the hot honey gave everything a sweet heat, and the pistachios were a perfect bit of crunch and nuttiness over it all. The pastry itself was so flaky, light and crispy. I ate half and saved the other half to be an intermission snack.

After a simple and boring lunch I carpooled to the theater with the guys. And today I tried out my new in-ears!! I had tested them briefly with my computer this morning and they seemed to work just fine. Now it was time to use them in the show and see how things would sound in my mix. The answer: VERY different! As I had hoped, these new ones are significantly better than my old Shure 315s. Everything is much clearer and louder in my mix. I can hear EVERYTHING that Ryu (violin) plays, whereas before I could only hear her solo moments. I can finally hear KeyComp Bass!! In my old in-ears I couldn't hear that at all. And with my old in-ears I could hear Keys 1 and 2, but could not tell them apart in the mix, it all sounded like one instrument. Now they are completely distinct (this does matter)

As such I spent the entire first show adjusting my mix while we played. The French horn and keys were brought down nearly by half, which is a lot. Now my mix is a lot more "mid" across the board, with myself, French horn, drums, and KeyComp Bass spiked higher than everything else because those are what's important for me to hear.

I'd hoped that the little "ambient plug" feature on these in-ears would make me feel comfortable with both ears in, but unfortunately because I play a bass instrument, those low frequencies just do not translate well digitally. I can hear myself with both ears in, but what I can't hear is the QUALITY of my sound live in the house unless I take one ear out. Not sure if that makes sense but it's the only way I can think to describe it.

Through all of this I was still SUPER anxious, tense and sweating for no reason. It is wild to me that my body will do this from time to time with seemingly no reason. Between shows we got back to the hotel where I ate dinner and packed a few things, then we had the evening show which went just fine though I very nearly had a panic attack. Luckily if I KNOW it's a panic attack I can head it off using a few tactics in the moment. But it's still uncomfortable, distracting, and I wish it didn't happen.

I get the impression that my posts are too long lately and no one is reading this stuff, and it's just as well since so far my "health scares" are all false alarms. May it stay that I way I suppose, even if it feels awful.

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SUNDAY

I slept poorly and had weird dreams, but woke up completely calm. The opposite of yesterday. So weird.

Breakfast and typing this post, packing some things, and around 9:30 I walked to Enterprise to pick up a rental car because I'm driving to the next city. They gave me a convertible Mustang! I feel silly driving it but whatever gets me there. Parking in Indy is supposedly free on Sunday so I decided to drive myself to the theater.

The first show was just fine, though it is absolutely freezing in the pit again. I hope the next theater will be a break from that issue as it's very uncomfortable and makes it harder to play. Still, I think it was a good show and we had a nice enthusiastic crowd. After the show I stayed at the theater and mostly hung out in the Egyptian Room because they have cushy booths up there. I saw some members of crew using those to catch a quick nap and decided to try it myself, and wow, I did manage to doze! Ate dinner and read my book, then it was time for our last show in Indy!

It was even colder in the pit, to the point where I almost put my coat on again, but tried to tough it out instead. Partway through the show I got a text from my local friend Josh who was here with his wife and mom for Mother's Day! They came to the pit after the show to say hello. It was great to see him and meet his lovely ladies, and a shame it was on load out night so there was not much time to chat. But he seems to be doing well and I'm grateful he came to our show :)

Drove my fancy Mustang back to the hotel, typed up this post, and mostly finished packing because tomorrow I'd like to hit the road early.

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Monday: Hopefully a nice drive to Madison, WI. If I get there early enough I'll use the car to get groceries, check in, and maybe walk to Willy Street Co-op. It's Connor's (Key 1) birthday so we may have a celebratory drink with him!

Tuesday: Opening day in Madison.

**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

Ended up doing virtually nothing today. The weather was better but I wanted to save energy for the zoo tomorrow, and besides that frankly there's not much of "touristy" interest here that I felt the need to go see.

Instead I put in a lot of time on Foodie Finds and got Knoxville entirely done(!), bought my zoo ticket, scoped out the hotel's guest laundry, and received an Amazon package with my new "leak proof" containers, some baru nuts (used to be available through Whole Paycheck but no longer), and the food thermometer. The "leak proof" containers are disappointing because they are leak-resistant at best, and the sizes are smaller than listed as well (the 1.5 cup container is 1.25 at most.) Should have read the reviews more carefully I guess. Still, it's possible that they'll be leak resistant enough that it won't matter, and the slight size difference may not matter either, so I'll give them a fair chance. I just don't like false advertising.

So yes, all of that excitement plus watching anime and eating snacks. After dinner I got dressed for work and walked to the theater. It's only a 30-minute trek and pretty flat. I got there early intentionally to put some stuff back in my trunk and practice my pedal E on the bass using the video that my friend gave me in Boston.

I also visited The Egyptian Room in this theater and took a bunch of photos, but since I'm going to the zoo tomorrow I'll save those photos for the weekend so as to slightly shorten this post.

The evening show was just fine. This pit is deep and well below the stage, so audience reactions are muffled, but there was extended applause and cheering for "Gaston" so that's good!

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THURSDAY

Up early to eat breakfast before heading to the zoo!

My tactics with both museums and zoos/aquariums, for avoiding large crowds, are as follows:

A) Go right when they open. Most school groups arrive 1-2 hours after opening. The animals know this too and will be out enjoying the quiet while they can. GREAT opportunity to see them uninterrupted!

B) Move from top to bottom/work backwards/counterclockwise when possible. That way you’ll be starting at the opposite end from any large groups, and won’t be moving WITH them through the displays.

So far both of these tricks work swimmingly, and today was no exception. For an entire hour I essentially had the zoo to myself. Plus, the animals know the routine too. A lot of them were out stretching or relaxing while it was still quiet.

I started with the Ocean section. A friendly ray:

Lionfish:

There was a very cool dolphin viewing area underneath their pool.

There were other fish, sharks, seahorses, etc. that I didn't photograph. No jellyfish or urchins here that I saw. There was a ray petting pool but I left them alone knowing they were about to be manhandled by busloads of children. Next, some primates. The chimps were not out yet but I saw orangutans and this small monkey (macaque?):

Next, the Desert area. A variety of tortoises. The giant tortoises were still inside but you could view them through windows.

A meerkat standing guard:

That area led into the reptile enclosure. I love reptiles (and insects but they didn't have those here) and was delighted to see a lot of the snakes moving around and active. Most of the constrictor-types were curled up and not visible, but the venomous ones were moving all around. Beautiful!

This one has cloudy eyes and looked irritated, he'll probably shed his skin soon.

This was a spitting cobra. Beautiful and shiny.

This little viper had iridescence in his scales, but I couldn't capture it with my iPhone. Pretty little one.

This one was moving all around, it took a while to get a good photo because he would not sit still!

And this one was SO CUTE. I don't remember what it was but it was in the Indiana Native Snakes display.

I think this was a black mamba, also very energetic and climbing. Look how LONG! (CLICK HERE to watch)

Next was the elephants, two African elephants were out, one was a juvenile.

I saw three white rhinos:

Zebra:

Tiger:

Adorable sleepy lion who rolled over for me. Cuuuuute

Most special of all was getting to actually see a red panda!!! I have been to several zoos that have them, but they have always been sleeping or hiding. This is the first time I've seen one up and walking around. It was from a distance and I had to zoom in a lot, the photos are not good, but it's the best I could do.

By this point I'd been in the zoo for about two hours, and spent another 30 minutes or so looping back to see if there was anything I'd missed. The zoo is under construction currently (they're removing a coaster that used to be in the middle) so some exhibits (kangaroos, giraffes) were closed, and others (aviaries) were not open until later in the afternoon. I decided not to wait around for the aviaries and called it a day, having seen lots of wonderful animals :) Ubered back to the hotel, did my photo editing, had a snack and typed up this post.

After the snack I had an impromptu visit to a walk-in clinic because I've had stomach-or-chest-pain for like four days. It's really centralized on my stomach but as that's right below the sternum, I'm 42, and better safe than sorry especially without health insurance, I hoofed it over there just to rule out a cardiac issue. They didn't think it had anything to do with heart stuff at all (vitals were totally normal) and gave me a GI cocktail which did provide some relief right away, so it's likely just my same old stress-induced GERD or ulcer again. This flares up badly once or twice a year. Grateful that it's not anything worse than that at the moment.

Carpooled in to the theater with Michael (Key 3) and Dane (Flute), and our new in-ears were waiting for us! They look really cool with the customization options that we added, but this weekend we will find out how they SOUND which is WAY more important. Pictures to come in the next post.

The evening show went well, though I felt a bit distracted (when this happens I wish I were a robot, sometimes!)

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Friday: Laundry in the morning (After spending $$$ on laundry in Boston it is SO NICE to be back to $ per load plus doing it myself!!) and no other plans. I will either recoup from Thursday's stomping around, or might go do an explore. One evening show.

Saturday: Two shows but might go get a really delicious-sounding danish from a local place in the morning, we'll see.

Sunday: Picking up a rental car to drive to Madison (they booked us a flight but it's only a 5-hour drive and I like road trips :) ) Two shows.

**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 to Indianapolis:

Circus 2015: Aah yes, this was when PETA called Homeland Security to falsely report that someone on the circus had an active case of Tuberculosis. TB is transferrable between elephants and humans, but we all received TB shots biannually. Because of PETA's TERRORIST THREAT--because that's 100% what this was--all 200-something circus people had to go to a clinic and get chest X-rays to prove we didn't have TB. And yes, this was done intentionally by PETA both to cost Feld Entertainment money and to stoke fear and discrimination against circuses/circus people. Other than that, nothing really stood out about this visit, i.e. no time for sightseeing.

Elf 2024 (part 1 and part 2): I was in Indianapolis with Elf when I got the offer to tour with Beauty and the Beast. And now I get to return to this city, with Beauty and the Beast!!! AMAZING. We're even staying in the same hotel. Aside from that, once again I didn't do much in Indy, probably because it was winter and very cold. Discovered Shapiro's Deli, met a trombone buddy, and bought a bass trombone to begin practicing for BATB.

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MONDAY

I was up at 4:30am to have coffee and a very early breakfast before heading to the airport. Bye, Boston. The flight was on time and totally normal. I got to the hotel around 11:30am, had an early lunch, and walked over to Shapiro's Deli for fresh bagels (egg, blueberry, cranberry walnut.) I also got a black and white cookie...why not!

After putting those away I grabbed my tote bags and walked to the nearest Whole Paycheck. They had everything that I needed and even a few fun extras, like the smoked sturgeon that I love and a pizza-flavored vegan jerky. The 40-minute walk back carrying all of my groceries plus a gallon jug of distilled water for my kettle was not fun. I was overheated and annoyed by the time I got back, but the exercise was probably good for me. Had a snack, unpacked, and settled in.

Often when arriving in a new city and restocking on groceries, that's when I feel the most like an Actual Princess. Like, if you really stop and think about it, I've got more wealth than many kings and queens have had throughout history. Not gold and jewels, but economic convenience and quality of life. I fly hundreds of miles in comfort, for free, while someone serves me snacks and drinks. I live in rooms that are cleaned for me, with hot and cold water on demand and big fluffy beds and climate control so that I'm never too hot or too cold. I can have any foods that I like, and if the weather is bad or even if I just don't feel like bothering to go get food, I can pay someone to bring it to me.

Not to mention that I probably have the most complete and utter freedom and personal independence of any woman in the history of my entire family line.

It's downright opulent, I tell ya.

Anyway, just Monday thoughts as I relax in this hotel room in Indianapolis.

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TUESDAY

There was a very loud thunderstorm last night. Perhaps I should have worn earplugs but I think I still would have FELT the thunder! And anyway it sounded cool.

I was up in time to pilfer the free hotel breakfast. Mostly I will grab peanut butter and nuts (walnuts, almonds) because these are expensive. I take no more than 1-2 servings at a time so that by the end of the week I've got a little more than a weeks' worth to bring on my travels. Maybe that's "wrong" to do, but I don't think so. Whether I take the same amount daily and eat it, or pack it for tomorrow, it is still being offered for free, right? Had a nice normal breakfast and packed my lunch, but my aquarium stick-on thermometer in this fridge says it's at 46°F (7.77°C) and that kinda made something snap inside me.

I have gotten food poisoning and/or stomach virus TWICE this year already, which is way more than usual for me. And unlike when you have a normal 9-to-5, I can't just "call in sick" and spend the day hugging the toilet and hydrating. No, I have to work while sick and sometimes without access to a toilet for extended periods of time. There's nothing less Princesslike than blowing into a tube at full force while nauseous, surrounded by people in a tight space, while desperately trying to keep your body from doing what it needs to do. You can probably see why food poisoning is one of my greatest fears on tour.

For the most part, I think the food in my fridge is still safe. The tofu is vacuum-sealed and in an acidic lemon sauce. Yogurt can often be STORED at room temp as it's already a fermented product. The smoked sturgeon is vacuum-sealed and is of course smoked. The protein shakes are plant-based, sealed, and should be fine. The lettuce will be fine, the beets are acidic. My one concern was the chicken, so I reluctantly threw it out.

It's possible that the aquarium thermometer has become inaccurate (it's several years old now) and overall I am tired of having to guess whether each different fridge in each hotel is at a safe temperature. And I have a trunk now to store things, so there is no reason not to buy what I need. So I went to Amazon and ordered an instant-read food thermometer, an actual digital fridge thermometer, and a set of airtight containers (none of mine are leakproof or airtight and I'm sick of that too in relation to food safety + stuff leaking in my lunch box.) I've been guilting myself and refusing to buy these things because I already have useable containers, and I've been gaslighting myself that I'm being paranoid about food safety. But like I said, I've been stomach-sick twice this year and if it happens again, I will KNOW FOR SURE that it wasn't because of my fridge temp or leaky containers. And I will also be better able to narrow down what DID cause it so that I'm not throwing perfectly good food away. Anyway rant over, this is just how my morning went.

I had wanted to walk to the theater but it was an all-day rain and my umbrella is in my trunk. Instead I messed around for the morning, packed a dinner and snacks, and Ubered (we have rental cars but the other two in my pool wanted to get there at a different time today. Ubers are cheap here anyway.) This theater, the Murat, is another one of those former Shriner shrines like we had in Richmond recently. This one is a lot more run down, though.

Stock image of the whole building, on a nicer non-rainy day:

They went heavy on the Egyptian theme, as you can see. There is even a room upstairs called The Egyptian Room which I will want to find before we leave. For today I only took pictures of the downstairs ballroom, which is where our trunks are being kept (and of course I dug around in my trunk too)...

...and the theater ceiling which has a pretty decorative dome.

The pit is cramped but not terrible and/or average for an older theater like this. The backstage, equally cramped and kinda feels like a bunker because the ceilings are very low. We are right next to Wardrobe though, which is kinda cool because we get to see all their hustle and bustle (and the gorgeous costumes!) plus say hi to our actor friends as they pass through to get changed or whatever :)

Sound check was fine and nothing to report, and the show was fine too though we had one show hold right before Be Our Guest (better before than during, imo!) We were able to start up again quickly from the top so it was no issue. Afterward it was STILL pouring outside so Michael (key 3), Dane (flute) and I ran to our rental minivan and got quickly back to the hotel. It's only a little over a mile and I'd actually hoped to walk in to work this week if weather permits.

At time of typing I've just finished unpacking all of my trunk stuff (extra clothes and the Keurig mostly) and the rain is still coming down hard outside. The new fridge thermometer already arrived and is showing 35°F (1.66°C) which is just about perfect imo. Good opening day in Indy. Time for bed!

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Wednesday: It's supposed to rain again but not all day. If it clears up I may go for a general sightseeing walk, as I truly haven't seen much of Indianapolis. One evening show.

Thursday: Hoping to visit the Indianapolis Zoo! We will see. One 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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Forgot to mention that our in-ears have mostly arrived! Everyone who did NOT get customizations received theirs a few days ago. Michael (key swing) and I were apparently the only two who went all-out, so ours will arrive in Indianapolis fingers crossed. My in-ears are 10+ years old and these new ones are a significant upgrade, so I'm really looking forward to that next week!

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FRIDAY

I finished typing the latest blog post after 1am, fell asleep around 2am, then woke up around 8am. Thankfully this job is not a traditional 40-hour workweek, meaning I have the luxury to rest as much as I like today. (Longtime readers know, but the rest of you, TRUST, I have absolutely done my time as far as working jobs with long hours, low pay, and physical labor. Resume available upon request :p )

Yesterday had been rainy, dreary, and cold. Today was sunny and lovely with a high in the 60s! I wanted to go outside at some point but was having trouble deciding what to do. While figuring that out I enjoyed a slow breakfast, shared Indy Foodie Finds with the group, and finished up Madison Foodie Finds.

I also had a gander in the mirror. A few months ago I turned 42, and my body apparently took that as a signal to start mass-producing grey hairs. Specifically, I have my dad's pattern of greying at the temples.

On a personal level this is not a problem. I'm 42; it would be kinda weird if I DIDN'T have grey hair. But this summer I'm scheduled for at least a few days of playing the character "Phillipa" at Epic Universe. And when you're being paid to portray a character, changes to your appearance will impact the character's integrity. For example my character "Phillipa" is supposed to have her hair tied back in either a ponytail or bun, at the back of her neck. This means that before returning home in July I need to ensure that my hair is long enough to tie back. If I decide to cut my hair in a short bob or something, I will need to talk with my bosses about whether "Phillipa" can have a bob (she likely could since she's from 1930s Paris, it would just have to be cut/styled in a specific way.)

TL;DR for the first time in my life I had to tell management that my hair is now visibly greying and ask if they need me to dye my hair. Actors have to do this kind of thing all the time, but for me it's an age-related first :)
(And for the record, I will NOT have to dye my hair for "Phillipa." My natural appearance is fine. Yay!)

After lunch I was itching to enjoy the lovely weather but did not want to spend more money than I already have in this city. And then I recalled that I have never been to the Capitol Building here, and it's FREE! Off I went.

Crossing through the Commons, it was such a glorious perfect day. Lots of people out enjoying it.

The State House (Capitol)

I first walked around the whole outside of the building, but much of it is surrounded by apartments and quaint side streets. The one open entrance was at a plaza with memorials to firemen and police.

I don't usually take pics of these fluffy pink trees, whatever-they-are, but this one was really going all out.

The outside and inside of the State House features white marble with black veins, I thought it was very beautiful.

Note to tourists: all Capitol buildings in the US are supposed to be "property of the people," so you can walk in any time during government operating hours (some restrictions on where you may wander inside of course.) On the advice of a security guard I went to the 2nd floor. My timing was not good for joining a tour group, but I wandered around myself and discovered beautiful architecture, art, history, and of course politics. There was a big gallery full of yellowish marble and artworks that was roped off/closed, and the Great Hall had a private event going on so I couldn't see that either, but everything else was accessible from what I could tell.

First and most prominent was Memorial Hall. It's a big rotunda with a stained glass ceiling and a collection of historical US flags.

Most of the flags in the hall are actually "transparencies," not the real flags themselves, backlit for better viewing. This was the only flag that I photographed and the oldest one in the collection, having only 13 stars.

The stained glass ceiling depicts the seals of the original 13 states, with Massachusetts in the center.

The floor here and throughout the building features ornate mosaics designed by Charles Brigham, circa 1890.

The Main Staircase.

Nurse's Hall, which was built to honor nurses who served in the Civil War. Notice the black-veined white marble again in the big pillars and stairwell.

Doric Hall. I love the pale blue, and I guess the name "Doric Hall" is because of the architectural style of the pillars? There were some artifacts of the Civil War here, as well as samples of minerals and stones commonly found in Massachusetts.

Moving on to I think the 3rd floor, I took this artistic stairwell shot.

I don't know what this room was but it was pretty and cozy, and was housing a tribute to women who have made contributions to Massachusetts (nurses, poets, scientists, suffragettes, etc)

The House of Representatives chamber. This is a wide shot but if you look carefully there is actually a judge (he was dressed like a judge anyway) on the far side doing some paperwork. There was a security guard near him who stared at me the whole time.

You weren't allowed very far into the room. When turning to my right to leave I was startled to see a large wooden fish dangling above one of the gallery areas. I found out later that there is a pretty hilarious history behind this fish: it's called the Sacred Cod and has been a fixture in the Capitol Building since 1785!! I HIGHLY recommend reading about the hijinks surrounding this fish (CLICK HERE)

(stock image, I couldn't get a good angle from my spot for a pic and with that guard lazering me from across the room)

This was a Senate reception room. I caught up with a tour group here and got to overhear some of what the guide was saying. Notably, that Massachusetts currently has a Democratic supermajority. Cool beans.

The Senate chambers. Like the House chamber, you couldn't go very far into the room but there was no guard glaring at me and the tour group. I looked up and was once again surprised to see a fish, this time dangling on the chain above the central chandelier. See it?

Now I had to look THAT fish up. Turns out, sometime around 1895 the Senate was moved to this room after some water damage occurred in their original chambers, which is also where the Sacred Cod was. They could not bring Sacred Cod with them. The Senate went on with their business as usual in this room...but they missed their fish. So they commissioned another one to hang above the chandelier......and called it the Holy Mackerel.

I did not know that politics could be so ADORABLE.

There were lots of historic paintings depicting wartime heroics, murals honoring labor and industry, and portraits of all of the Governors lining the walls of the hallways. I am not much of a history buff so didn't take pictures of much else, but did very much enjoy looking at everything, reading about many of the things I saw, and scrutinizing architectural highlights like carvings on pillars and stained glass highlights elsewhere in the building. Overall I spent about an hour in there before popping back out into the sun. It was really enjoyable, and freeeee! If you are in a US capitol city, do visit the capitol buildings, they have a lot to offer!

Back at the hotel I had a snack and did manage to take a nap for once. The evening show was, ya know, fine.

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SATURDAY

Our last two shows in Boston.
To sum things up as this is a pretty long post: both shows went fine.
Our wall tag was finished and available to sign. (reminder as always, click the pic to open in new tab, click again to zoom)

This wall tag was done by the amazing Emily Larger, who is Ensemble/Understudy/Lumiere's wife. This tag is special because everyone in the company, from cast to crew to management to musicians, have been included. It is difficult to capture the wonderful details with just photos so here is a short video. Notice that Mrs. Potts is pouring tea into the harbor (Boston Tea Party reference)!! And see if you can guess who the little black stick figures around the edges might represent! (Wardrobe, call board, lighting/sound, etc)

Watch on YouTube

The band is of course along the bottom, as though in the pit :)

And here is little stick figure me!

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SUNDAY

A rare weekend Golden Day! Normally we'd be loading out on Sunday, but Indianapolis is 947 miles (1524 km) away. We have five(?) company trucks that carry our stuff, and driving 947 miles takes about 14 hours WITHOUT counting stops for gas, breaks, weigh-ins, etc. They probably need the extra day to arrive before load in even begins.

And that's how we all got to enjoy an entire extra day in Boston!
But before that, let's take a moment to recap.

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During this visit and on previous visits, here are the things I've done in Boston:

Previous visits, sightseeing:

    - Freedom Trail
    - Historic Burying Grounds (2)
    - MIT campus
    - Harvard bookstore
    - Faneuil Hall
    - Boston Symphony concert
    - North End
    - Day trip to Salem, Mass.

Previous visits, eating:

    - Flour Bakery + Cafe
    - Mike's Bakery
    - Faneuil Hall Boston Chowda Co.
    - Boston Beer Works

Current visit, sightseeing:

    - Chinatown
    - Faneuil Hall
    - Capitol Building/State House
    - Parts of Freedom Trail
    - The Commons/Gardens/Mall
    - Berklee College of Music
    - Fenway Park
    - Newbury Street shops
    - Museum of Fine Arts Boston
    - New England Aquarium
    - Boston Harbor/Waterfront
    - Christian Science Plaza/Reflecting Pool
    - Boston Marathon
    - Maruichi Grocery

Current visit, eating:

    - Bakey (2x)
    - Tatte Bakery (3x)
    - May's Cake Shop, Chinatown
    - Potluck, Chinatown
    - Windsor Dim Sum, Chinatown
    - Nero Cafe
    - Random Italian restaurant on Newbury St.
    - Maruichi Select, onigiri
    - James Hook & Co., lobster roll
    - Faneuil Hall, Boston Chowda Co.
    - Back Deck
    - Maggiano's (company party)
    - Hobgobiln (cocktails)
    - Hotel bar (cocktails)

...plus performing 24 shows, laundry services three times, getting groceries, visiting with Jameson, and attending company events and outings.

All of the above was very expensive, but also very fun and well worth doing! Jameson and I both did, saw, and experienced A LOT. It's been a very fulfilling visit. Boston will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to the time I got to spend here :)

All of that said, please don't give me a hard time if I didn't do something that you recommended. It's not personal, it's that I'm one human with one bank account and there's only so much I can do, you know? Thanks.

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Anyway, SUNDAY. Because of all that I've already done in this city, I made ZERO plans. I have assuredly boosted the Boston economy quite enough, and probably paid someone's weekly salary over at Tatte Bakery too, lol.

I had a lovely chill morning, reading a book and listening to nature sounds while eating breakfast. Checked in for my flight, scheduled tomorrow's Uber, made overnight oats for Monday morning, and started gradually packing. For lunch I walked to Whole Paycheck and got things from the hot bar (whitefish filet, potato samosa, orange chicken, grilled veggies, rice) and a can of coffee for Monday morning so I won't have to brew any.

And that was IT, you guys. Oh, I had to revisit Madison Foodie Finds because I forgot to add coffee shops, and then worked on Knoxville Foodie Finds for a bit too. Most of the day was spent in pajamas, staring at my phone or computer, reading or napping or snacking. I have no problem chilling today because in Indy I intend to do a lot of walking. This'll be the first time I'm there when it's NOT freezing.

Dinner was random leftover groceries: the last of the PBfit, half a bagel, half a can of chicken soup + leftover grocery store chicken pieces, and some almonds. Jameson was similarly having a slow quiet day and sent me some videos of his new Roomba scooting around the house. When I get home I'm putting googly eyes on it right away :p

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Monday: Travel day to Indianapolis. Expecting to get there around noon, get groceries, settle in, maybe look around if weather allows.

Tuesday: Opening day in Indy.

**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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Small Little Updates:

There's an update with Jameson!! I can't share too many details, but he's been assigned a new project at his Disney corporate job, and it involves the opportunity to leave his mark on Disney live events in a BIG way!! He got the news yesterday. I am so excited for him, and proud for him!! Wish I could share more...things should become more public and share-able over time.

Our company Media team sent a link to the recent behind-the-scenes session that a local reporter had with our show...it's pretty cool and you get to see DAR, some of our actors, and some of backstage! CLICK HERE to watch.

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WEDNESDAY

I was up early again for no reason but that's ok. A normal slow morning and Madison Foodie Finds, then I decided to walk back to Newbury Street for a shop that had intrigued me called Muji. At the time we first noticed it, Jameson and I had walked like 10 miles and were too tired to window shop. We stopped in very briefly, didn't see much before leaving. I bookmarked it in my head for later.

Turns out it's essentially a Japanese IKEA. They have affordable and minimalist clothing, pillows/bedding, containers, storage solutions, housewares, and most of the same stuff you'd see at an IKEA except much less furniture (though they did have some.)

Shirt-dresses. Basically linen muumuus. But I guess these are trendy right now.

Bedding and pillows. I especially loved that their sheets and pillowcases came in different TEXTURES, from the roughspun and intentionally coarse to the extra-soft and plush.

There was a massive selection of diffusers. The gentle glow was nice.

These pillows are specifically for napping! They were super squishy :)

I REALLY enjoyed looking at everything, and there was a lot that I wanted but couldn't get...and then I got some things that I probably shouldn't have...but Japanese home goods stores are RARE in America in general, and Muji stores in particular are only found in NYC, Boston, and NJ.

My haul:

(Realized while taking this photo that I'm totally fitting the "Millennial Grey" stereotype. I could have picked any of these items in blue, yellow, white, or tan instead. But, well...I do find grey, especially dark grey, to be a comforting color for some reason.)

The oblong pillow was advertised as having a "mochi" texture. I love it. It's small enough to bring with me, very squishy, and can be used as a neck, back, or knee pillow. But mostly I just want something to squeeze (Throughout life I have always owned small pillows or stuffed animals for this purpose.)

A cheap 16oz bottle there on the left for travel days. Typically I use a 20oz Path reusable bottle, but those are too tall for my backpack side pockets and often fall out. Also Path bottles only last 3-4 months for me before they're either damaged from dropping or start smelling no matter how well I clean them (something to do with the lid I think.) I'm hoping this biomass plastic bottle will last longer, and it looks very easy to clean too.

A tiny lightweight 6oz thermos which I was very excited to find. A lot of soups and protein shakes have two servings per bottle, and yet the containers they come in aren't resealable. Most of my tour containers are not leakproof and not designed to hold liquids. This is lightweight, it's the perfect size for a minifridge, and also looks easy to clean.

A box of brown sugar candies to share with the band (they are quite good!)

And finally, some Malay grass house slippers. I'd bought cheaper Chinese house slippers a while back, but you get what you pay for and they didn't fit properly + the bottoms wore out in no time. These are comfortable plus I love the texture and smell of the woven grass :) It would be great if they'd last at least a year.

Soooo I bought too much, but hopefully most of this will prove useful or at least enjoyable! I certainly enjoyed the shopping. Plus it was a 3-mile walk, yay cardio. Back at the hotel, lunch and chill for the rest of the afternoon. Before dinner I decided to send my laundry out again, this time using a local service ("Wicked Clean Laundry"!) Pricing looked about the same as Poplin so we'll see how they do.

The evening show went "ok," we have Michael (key swing) on one keyboard and Leslie (vacation sub) on another, plus a sub in the woodwinds...so to be honest tempos were a little less locked in than they'd usually be. But with this many people out I think that is not the worst that could happen, and the audience was very enthusiastic. Tomorrow we have our very first sensory friendly performance! I am interested to see how it will go!

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THURSDAY

I was up at 7:30 because our show is at 11 today. Normal breakfast and getting ready. 11am is two hours earlier than usual for us, however it reminds me of my circus days when we'd have "split shows:" a 10am "kiddie show" in the morning and an evening show at 7pm, with the middle of the day free.

The theater was packed with grade school kids, screaming and laughing and having a good time. Since this was a sensory friendly performance, house lights were always kept on at about 25%, many of our usual sound and lighting effects were cut (strobes, gunshots, lightning, etc), and a special announcement was made before the show to describe some of these changes so people could be prepared. There was also a special "chill out room" set up in a downstairs lobby where, if kids got overstimulated and needed a quiet place, they could go down there and color or play with fidget toys.

It all went ahead just like a normal show, only a lot quieter! It felt weird to not be able to hear some things, but also interesting, and it was kind of nice to have to pay attention a little more. And the kids were very engaged, screaming for the exciting moments and gasping in amazement at Belle in her yellow ball gown :) It's probably the loudest audience we've ever had, and it sounded like everyone had a great time!

Between shows I had a late lunch, hit the grocery for bread and protein, and relaxed with some anime.
The evening show went better than the matinee playing-wise, and afterward we were invited to hang out with Jim Abbott who is a Disney producer-of-sorts. He's a friend of Jameson's so it's pretty funny that they've just missed seeing each other in Boston by a few days! We gathered at a cool bar/restaurant called Hobgoblin with upscale Asian fusion food and some creative cocktails, many of which were based on health tinctures and came with adorable little "spell" cards which we read dramatically to each other out loud. For example there was a gin and sage cocktail meant to drive out wicked spirits, and a bourbon drink meant to attract money.

I hadn't planned to drink but Jim was buying and imo when someone offers that, it's rude not to at least have ONE drink. I went with the Cosmic Thief: cacao and vanilla-infused clear rum, passionfruit and lime essences, milk clarified for a smooth feel (which also meant I had to take a lactaid to drink it as milk-clarified alcohols do contain whey.) It was delicious, delicate, fruity, smooth, and a treat worth breaking my calorie count for :D Jim was an incredible host and made sure to talk with everyone at the table, like he even got up and moved around to make sure everyone got a chance to meet him. He and Jameson have been friends for 10+ years so I've heard a lot about him, but this was my first time meeting him. What a cool human!

I said my goodnights around midnight so I could get back and type up this post. Another late night out, but I should be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow (if my body will let me.)

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Friday: Not totally sure what I'll do today but might visit Virtuosity Musical Instruments? Or go take pics in the Public Garden? Or visit a bakery? Haven't decided and it may depend on weather. One evening show.

Saturday: Two show day, nothing planned. It's also load out!

Sunday: Golden Day in Boston!!! One last hurrah. I've already spent too much money here and done quite a lot so don't have high expectations y'all :p

**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

We were up around 8am for some "Jameson's Final Day In Boston Adventures!"

First stop was Tatte, AGAIN. If you have been keeping track (doubt it) we've been there three times now and have gotten:

Muesli Greek yogurt cup
Sourdough toast
Salmon egg sandwich
Ricotta berry French toast
Greek pancakes with pear chutney
Orange juice, mint lemonade, and pear juices

...and all have been absolutely delicious, with excellent presentation and service to boot.

Today's treats were a morning bun for me, a raspberry lemon pavlova for Jameson...

...and we split a traditional shakshuka. Can you believe Jameson has never had it before!

CLICK HERE for a video of delicious shakshuka poached egg yolk!

Again, everything was exceptional. As you guys know, I like to collect enamel pins and have several from some of my top Foodie Finds on tour (Sandwich Hag, Willy Street Co-op, Allie Boy's, etc.) Tatte also had enamel pins for sale so I got one for my collection. I would absolutely recommend this cafe as a must-eat in Boston.

After that we returned to the hotel briefly so Jameson could do some work, then off we went again to Faneuil Hall.

We walked up and down the rows of shops, most of which are very touristy. There was a Newbury Comics so we popped in there, then walked across the street to the harbor to look at the beautiful water and ships.

Back to the Quincy Market portion of the hall to get "chowda" from Boston Chowda Co. They serve it piping hot in bread bowls.
Jameson got the classic New England white chowder, and I got Manhattan red (because dairy.)

Both were delicious (I had a taste of Jameson's.) The flavors were complex, lots of spices, strong seafood stock undercurrents, and clearly not from a can. Mine had loads of veggies including big chunks of potato, pepper, tomato, onion, and carrot, plus lots of herbs and spices, and very large clam pieces. I love the chewy tender clams!

After that we were very full and walked off our meal by visiting historic cemeteries along the Freedom Trail. I think they were King's Chapel Burying Ground, and Granary Burying Ground. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and other American historic figures are buried here. The tombstones are beautiful and well preserved. Here are two of my favorites for the detail of the stonework.

This one features death snuffing out the "Light of Life" while Father Time watches, or something like that.

Most other skulls/crossbone carvings were 2D and simplistic in style, but this artist was able to get a 3D look and realistic details in the skull.

Back to the hotel to grab Jameson's vinyl records, then to the post office nearby to ship them to him. We rested for an hour...and then it was time for Jameson to go :( I walked him to the T station and we hugged goodbye. Thus ends a wonderful long weekend with him in Boston. I'm so glad that he came out, that we got so much time together, that he got to meet the band and see our show. We had great weather the whole time and got to see and do so much! We've made some wonderful new memories in this great city :)

From the station, it was still so nice out that I decided to walk to Whole Paycheck and restock more groceries for the coming week. Back at the hotel a rest and a light dinner, then reclaiming the room for myself by putting my clothes on the bed and redelegating the table as the "kitchen." I loved having Jameson here but also appreciate the joy of selfishly taking up space :p

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TUESDAY

I had fallen asleep early, around 11 I think, but was awake sporadically between midnight and 2:30am following Jameson's travels (I kept my ringer on so I'd wake up every time he gave an update.) He got delayed twice, and the final flight had only eight people on it! I didn't think "empty" flights were a thing any more! Pretty cool. But anyway he got home safely albeit at 2:30am. He went right to bed because it's a Disney workday for him and the most sleep he could hope for was 5 hours.

But I was awake at 7am also, for no reason. The room feels lonely and quiet without Jameson making little snoozy noises in the bed next to me. But selfishly I'm also glad for quiet times, and for being able to spread my stuff all around the room again :p

Kind of reflecting on a comment that

lookfar made on a previous entry: "Now I am interested to hear if it went smoothly, what surprised you about having J visit you on tour, and so on. Tho I suspect it will be more like 'what was I worried about, everything was perfectly unremarkable:'"

( CLICK HERE for thoughts )

In any case, I felt a bit lonely this morning without him. I was a bit tired from the on-and-off sleep last night, and mostly used today to be a slug. Stayed in pajamas, packed things to put in my trunk, ate snacks, walked to a HomeGoods to look for snack-sized tupperware (no luck.)

I went to the theater early both to put stuff in my trunk and to practice the pedal E that I'm having such trouble with. My local friend Walt sent a very helpful video of himself playing it (he's a WAY more experienced bass trombonist than me) giving different examples for how he approaches that note and pedal notes in general so that I could try several things. It's always tough to try and describe to someone else what you're doing with your embouchure and air, you know? It's not like anyone can see inside your mouth. Plus everyone has a different mouth size and structure to consider (for example I've got a pretty big overbite.) But anyway, the video was actually very helpful and I got some things out of it. I'm going to watch and play along with it every day for a while.

The evening show went well, although we had a hold during the fight scene. I heard later on that some piece of the set wouldn't move. As long as no one was hurt, it's all good. And DAR is back and conducted the show :) It sounds like his vacation wasn't very restful, but hopefully getting a break from the repetition of the show was nice for him.

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Wednesday: No plans during the day, we will see what I'm in the mood for. One evening show.

Thursday: Two-show day with our first sensory-friendly show. I'm excited to see how that will go! No plans.

**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

Well, let's start with Thursday night. I got back to the hotel just as Jameson was boarding the T, so had just enough time for a rushed shower before he showed up. I met him in the lobby, hair dripping lol. We caught up a bit but by the time he was unpacked it was past midnight, so we went pretty much straight to bed.

Oh, and I rescheduled another Poplin laundry service because I realized that two of my three black work outfits are dirty so I'm on my last one for the weekend. Argh. Well, maybe they will get it right this time, and it's fair to give them another chance. I mention this because I scheduled it on Thursday night before we fell asleep, then on Friday morning some subconscious part of me woke me up at 7am and said, "Psst. Check your laundry app." And the Poplin guy wanted to pick up between 8am-9am. Thanks, Subconscious Me! So I got up and dragged the bag to the concierge before Jameson was up.

When Jameson was awake I had coffee while he got ready, then we decided to try Tatte, a popular cafe chain here. It was VERY good. I had whipped Greek yogurt and muesli with fresh fruit and honey, and a side of toast. Jameson had a salmon egg sandwich on brioche that looked fantastic.

From there we walked through the Commons. It was cold but sunny, a very lovely day. Jameson was having lots of nostalgia and memories...he went to Berklee School of Music and lived and worked here for a long time.

We walked through the Public Gardens area of the Commons, then down the Mall which is kind of a strip of walkable greenway.

Jameson had lived in several dorms or apartments here, and showed me each one that he'd lived in, described what it had been like for him, roommates, etc., and took pics to show friends. It was very interesting for me to hear him talk about his school days and try to picture what it must have been like. As a VERY rurally raised child, a big city would have been terrifying to me even at college age. Putting myself in Jameson's shoes, I think I wouldn't have been able to handle it!

After swinging by Fenway briefly to take some pics of the ballpark...

...he took me to Berklee, which has changed a lot since he's been here last. They've had a merger with Boston Conservatory, and there are huge new buildings all over campus reflecting that change, built to accommodate a larger student body and also today's music technology, so different than how it used to be. We sort of, erm, caught a door behind a student at one of his old classroom buildings, and he showed me some things in the lobby, but so much had changed--even the location of the stairwells!--that he barely recognized the place. He was pretty flabbergasted! I don't blame him, that's kind of how I felt at MY alma mater too.

After that we were ready for lunch, and walked down Newbury Street to see all of the upscale trendy shops and try and find a good place to eat. We found an Italian place, but before stopping in Jameson remembered that the hotel where he used to work was around the corner so we popped in there. It is a VERY fancy hotel (the Lenox) and it too has changed drastically since Jameson worked there 20+ years ago. The front desk was in a totally different location, he said, and the whole interior had been remodeled.

Anyway, we went back to the Italian place and had a very wonderful lunch of frutti de mare in a white wine sauce for Jameson, and "Clelia's Penne" for me: sauteed chicken with penne pasta, cubed butternut squash, and an apple cider gorgonzola sauce. The sauce especially was unlike anything I've had before, I suppose sort of like piccata sauce but with apple cider instead of the lemon? Very delicious!

After that we were quite tired so started heading back to the hotel, but swung by the Christian Science Plaza to see the reflecting pool.

A quick stop at CVS so Jameson could get some deodorant, then we crashed at the hotel. My laundry wasn't done yet but the room had been serviced, hooray. I was just starting to feel sleepy when we realized it was time for dinner. We decided to try a sit-down grill place next to the theater (I'm forgetting the name right now.) The food was nothing special but was fresh and served hot and quick, what more can you ask? Jameson had lamb lollipops and I had chicken kabobs with rice and salad because we're eating out basically the whole time he's here, so I gotta be KINDA healthy :p

After dinner, back to the hotel where Jameson was done for the day and settled in to eat some candy and watch the Cubs game while I got ready for the evening show. My Poplin laundry hadn't even been packed yet and was due to be delivered in an hour so I was wringing my hands over it, but after I'd walked to the theater I got an alert that it had been delivered.

I'm typing this a day later and I *think* the show went well? Nothing to report?
And when I got back to the hotel and checked the laundry, it was NOT wrinkled. Woot!

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SATURDAY

We started the day off with another walk to Tatte because their menu is so enticing, we had to try it again! This time Jameson got the French toast with whipped ricotta and berries while I had the “Greek-style pancakes.” Apparently that meant they came with Greek yogurt on the side because otherwise they seemed quite like normal fluffy delicious pancakes. And they also came with a house-made pear chutney that was fantastic. Once again, stellar breakfast in Boston :)

After that we relaxed in the hotel for a bit, lost track of time, and had to kinda rush around to find lunch before the matinee. Jameson got to chill at the hotel while I played the show (which went fine.)

For dinner we met Jameson’s musician friend Bleu at a dim sum place. It was hopping and crowded, and we ended up sharing a table with others but that was no problem. We ordered rice rolls and shrimp dumplings, steamed and seasoned greens, egg custard balls…all sorts of delights, and everything was delicious. I was stuffed! Jameson and Bleu talked about teaching and exchanged stories about their students or various gigs, and I answered Bleu’s questions about our tour and the circus and things. Tbh, he’s a bit of a celebrity and I DO like his music a lot, so I was shy to ask him anything for fear of sounding stupid, and just let Jameson handle most of the talking (which he was quite happy to do.)

After dinner we had a little extra time so walked to a nearby bar. The guys had a pint and I just listened until it was time to walk to the theater. Jameson followed me shortly thereafter.

Jameson got to see our show!!! Eeeeee!!!
Obviously his opinion on it means a lot to me. I played my best. He came to the pit before the show and got to meet a few people that way, and also at intermission. The show went really well, it was all lead cast too except for Belle but she/the understudy did a fantastic job and Jameson said as much.

After the show it happened that there was a fun company event backstage: we've been doing a "baby photo matching" game where some of us submitted baby photos and had several days to try and figure out who's who. Our company management made a big display and everything. For days we've been wringing our hands over it between shows and during intermission. My photo is up there...can you guess which one is me?
(Reminder that you can click the image to open in a new tab, then click it again to enlarge.)

So after this show was the "big reveal" where they'd reveal who's who and then give out small money prizes to the people who'd guessed the most correctly. It turned into a whole hang with snacks and drinks and everything, but I'd already planned to go to the hotel bar with Jameson so I couldn't stick around. We got to the bar and I listened to Jameon's thoughts on our show while we waited for band members to come over once the "baby reveal" was over. Overall he loved the show, praised the whole thing and the spectacle of it, with some small critiques of "Personally I wish they'd do X" which all of us have. For example he wished our audio was louder in some portions (not totally sure that I agree) and wished that the Beast's character had been kept more frightening, a la the animated version or the 90s Broadway version (I DO agree with this and wish Beast were a little meaner especially at the start.)

Eventually more people showed up and I got to introduce Jameson to them. He hit it off right away with Tim (trumpet) because they're both Cubs fans, and not surprisingly he spent 95% of the evening with Gary (drums) because they're both ROCK musicians, are into the same music, and have quite a few industry mutual friends.

Eventually we had a pretty large group, everyone except French horn, clarinet, and DAR who is on vacation.
Group photo!!

I was so proud to share Jameson with my colleagues, and grateful to them for taking time on a late night and a heavy show schedule to meet him and make him feel welcome. It was really wonderful. We didn't get back to the room until 1am so I will be exhausted for Sunday, but imo it was well worth it for this lovely experience :) :)

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SUNDAY

I hadn't gone to bed until nearly 2am, Jameson and I were up talking about the show and Boston and all sorts of things. And then I was awake at 7am, sigh. It's gonna be a long day. Made coffee and breakfast in the dark, fumbling around and trying not to make noise. We had talked about it before bed and decided that since my Sunday schedule is 1pm and 6:30pm which doesn't really allow me to eat meals at normal times, we'd do things separately today. Hence, me eating breakfast in the pitch dark. Otherwise I wouldn't get to eat until 10-11.

Jameson eventually got up, and by the time we were both ready to go out it was 11am (see?)
On my suggestion we went to Cafe Nero because it was close and had both breakfast and lunch sandwiches, European-style i.e. reasonable portions not gigantic American ones. He had caprese on a crunchy baguette and I did turkey and Swiss with fig jam on a multigrain croissant (who ever heard of a multigrain croissant! But it was very good.) The cafe was right next to the grocery so after our meal I bought a few things for the coming week (yogurt, blackberries,) dropped those off at the hotel, and Jameson walked me to the stage door.

While I was doing the show Jameson was going on a nostalgic solo walk, listening to music and visiting places that he remembered such as the bandshell on the Charles River and a record store he'd frequented while in college. He swung by a Japanese culture festival happening in the Commons and said it was very crowded with long lines for the food. There was a Greek fest nearby too but he said it was kind of sad-looking compared to the Japanese one, with only a gyro stand and not many people. When the show was done I walked back to the hotel where he told me all this and showed me the record he'd gotten (David Gilmour's daughter doing a single-take album.) Either he'll ship it to himself tomorrow or I'll put it in my trunk and ship it for him later on.

For dinner we did things separately, since he'd eaten snacks while walking and I needed to eat kinda early. He got to watch me make my mish-mash of random foods: tuna, beets, rice cake, PBFit, apple. I mean, I do the same thing at home :p When I was finished eating he walked me to the stage door and as a result got to meet Holly (Madame/Wardrobe character) and chat with her a bit, then he went off on his own to get Taco Bell.

The evening show went well, though I airballed my pedal E for the umpteenth time, lost my temper with myself, and decided that in Indianapolis I will try to get lessons from a bass trombonist. I know two who live in the city and hope one of them will be available to help me out. I just...we are at the end of April, soon I will have been on this tour for a year, and STILL sometimes when I try to play that note nothing comes out. It's happened LESS often, but I am sick of it happening AT ALL, and clearly I am doing something wrong. A little guidance from REAL bass trombonists is in order.

Otherwise it was a great show. it's also the end of Broadway Cares fundraising...and as of today we have raised $262,000!!! Wooooo!!

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Monday: Jameson's last day with me in Boston :( We want to eat at Tatte AGAIN (it really is THAT good you guys) and get clam chowder and sightsee at Faneuil Hall not sure what else we will do, he's got to leave at 4pm so we'll see.

Tuesday: I'll probably use this day to get groceries and decompress from a rather busy week of fun and NINE shows. One evening show.

Please Note: With Jameson visiting + lots of shows this week, I may not be able to stick to my normal posting schedule. Just a heads up. Thanks!

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**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

I slept until 9 which is pretty rare for me. Breakfast and sort of slowly moving things to make more space for Jameson. Shuffling all of my toiletries to the left, making sure there are towels set aside for him, putting my huge suitcase in the closet instead of the floor where I normally leave it. This room is really small, and there's a bit of a challenge because during the four days he's here I'll still need to cook a few meals for myself (on the two-show weekend he'll likely eat on his own for lunch) so I need to leave my dishes and containers out and have a "kitchen" of sorts, but I don't want to compromise surface space for him either.

My solution for this is to have the table cleared off by Thursday afternoon (I still gotta make all of my meals on Thursday) and that can be Jameson's surface space, and all of my food and dishes will llve on top of the cabinet containing the fridge. This will be a tight "kitchen" for me, but it's only for a few days. I imagine we'll eat out most of the time anyway.

Today was a Scheduled Chill Day since the rest of my week is

Thursday: Two shows + Jameson gets into town;
Friday: Sightseeing w/Jameson + evening show;
Saturday: The busiest day with two shows, probable meals out w/Jameson including dinner with his friend Bleu, then Jameson's coming to our evening show, followed by a meet and greet/drinks with the band;
Sunday: Two shows + probably one meal with Jameson and one on my own; and
Monday: Golden Day for me and final sightseeing w/Jameson, then seeing him off at the subway station.

Somewhere in there I'll have to figure out laundry again. It's either going to be Poplin again because I'm not going to waste time at a laundromat while Jameson is here, OR I'll wait until Tuesday morning when I'm supposed to take my trombone to the shop, bring my laundry too, and do it while I wait for the trombone (there are several laundromats near the shop.) Speaking of clothes, the only thing I "did" today was walk to Old Navy after lunch to find cheap travel flip flops and two tees. When looking for tees I ALWAYS check the men's and boy's sections too, because the Pink Tax is very real. At Old Navy, women's tees are $10-$12 while men's and boy's are $8-$10. I did find one awesome graphic tee in the boy's section: breakfast foods strolling together a la "Let's All Go To The Lobby" and the words "Wake Up on the Sunny Side!" underneath:

Who DOESN'T want this shirt! Why isn't this in the girl's section too? Why do little girl's shirts at Old Navy feature candies and sweets and flowers and words like "Sweet Thing" or "Sugar and Spice," the occasional overused "Girl Power" or "Girls Rule," while boys get the dinosaurs and Mario Bros. and cool designs like the above, and phrases like "Watch Me Change the World" and "Adventure Awaits"? Online these shirts are often labeled "unisex" but you still have to click on the "Boys" tab to see them at all, so are they really? And in the physical store they are ONLY in the boy's section. Why does a little girl have to go to the boy's section to get a Minecraft shirt? Freaking terrible, it honestly makes me feel sick to see it :( :(

Ok anyway sexism rant aside, the boy's XL shirts fit me perfectly so this tee was a great find. Never mind that I'm a grown-a$$ 42-year-old-woman who has to hang out in the little boy's clothes section to find a decent graphic tee. Geez.

The evening show was good. Connor conducted again, and Leslie (Key sub, usually he plays on Aladdin I think) was on Key 1 and did a great job. It was actually warmer in the pit too. That was a relief, to not have to spend half the show holding my trombones tightly to keep them warm or pocketing the mouthpieces between numbers.

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THURSDAY

I slept until 8, then breakfast and texting a bit with Jameson to give him hotel info and such. Finished clearing off the table for him to use while he's here, packed my snacks for the two-show day, and started working on Madison Foodie Finds (luckily I've been there recently so it's mostly done.)

The matinee show was good, nice crowd and it sounded well attended out there. And it was still temperate in the pit, even better! Afterward I swung by the grocery for blackberries...I JUST bought raspberries and they molded overnight, I HATE when that happens, they aren't cheap!! Then relaxed at the hotel and felt annoyed with myself because I just now realized that the TV is centered in front of MY bed, not Jameson's, and I should have taken that into account. Argh. Whatever, we'll figure it out.

In case you can't tell from words on a page: I am a bit nervous about having Jameson here. We've lived together for a long time, and lived on the circus train with separate rooms. It's just that this is the first time Jameson's EVER come out to visit me on a touring show. He's never stayed with me while I've been touring, which means he's never seen my lifestyle on tour, how I keep my room, my routine out here. It's not very different than what I did on the circus...but still. It's been a separate life, you know? I'm just a little shy about it, I suppose.

Well, after tonight's show I should have time to shower and do one last room check before Jameson arrives via subway, then I'll either go get him or wait in the lobby for him. Not sure if I'll have time to write about the evening show so I'll end it here (hopefully everything goes fine and you'll have missed nothing.) Excited, nervous, and looking forward to having Jameson here with me!!

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Friday: Sightseeing with Jameson, then an evening show.

Saturday: Two shows. Probably meals out with Jameson, dinner with his friend Bleu, and Jameson's going to our evening show, then a "band hang" at the hotel bar so he can meet everyone.

Sunday: Two shows, Jameson and I will hang out between where possible.

Monday: Another day of sightseeing, then seeing Jameson off.

HEADS UP, I made a post yesterday/Tuesday!! You can read it HERE if you missed it.

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**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 only.

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I was up early so I could have breakfast and get to the New England Aquarium right when it opened.

The plan was to spend 2-3 hours at the aquarium, then walk to James Hook & Co. for a lobster roll as I've been told that's a "quintessential Boston experience." It would have been a good plan except the aquarium is much smaller than I'd anticipated, and only took maybe an hour to completely walk through! That said, they had so many animals and reptiles and fish and whatnot on display that it was worth sticking around for an additional hour and working to get good pictures. Here are some, enjoy.

These penguins look like they're forming a band.

An aquarium worker kidnapping some penguins during a feeding and training demonstration.

Nozzlefish. No that's not what it's actually called.

Some anemones.

I forget what fish this was but he was posing.

Harbor seal.

Right whale skeleton.

This pacific giant octopus was difficult to photograph, even after spending two hours here and coming back to his tank multiple times. People were always jostling and crowding around his tank, and he additionally did not move an inch for the whole time I was there. Ah well, can't blame him. I finally just snapped this picture from the side of a group of pushing children, and gave up on getting a good shot :p

On the other hand, I was able to get REALLY good pics of the aquariums 95-year-old(!) sea turtle, Myrtle. She is huge and beautiful and lives in the big central tank along with stingrays and tuna and blowfish and such.

Here is the top of the central tank, which is four floors deep. You can see Myrtle there by the stairs.

Circling the tank for quite a while, I finally was able to catch Myrtle as she passed close to me.
The second part of this video has a short bioluminescent jelly clip.

Watch on YouTube

Poison dart frog. The kids loved this tank so it was VERY dirty with fingerprints and smudges, plus bad glare on the glass, so it took me several tries and coming back several times to get this picture. Beautiful blue frog :)

Kid looking at fish looking at kid.

By 10:30 or so it was SO PACKED in there, like major airport levels of packed. You couldn't even walk, everyone had to sort of shuffle forward. I was very very glad I'd A) worn a mask and B) come early and been able to see the animals up close before the crowds got there. Like I said, it's a small aquarium but there's a lot to see and it's definitely worth a visit, but if you want good views I'd say come close to opening or closing hours and cover as much ground as you can.

Getting back outside was a relief from the press of people, and it was sunny and nice :) I walked along the pier to James Hook & Co., which is sort of a legendary spot for fresh lobster. The Hook family is from Maine and sometime around 1925, James Hook and his sons began trucking their fresh-caught lobster down to Boston to sell on the waterfront. Soon they were selling to top Boston restaurants, and eventually the family became a distributor and opened a waterfront shack serving lobster rolls and other seafood delights. TL;DR it's a Boston institution and one of those must-eat, historic, specialty places.

The service was lousy but the lobster roll was pretty great. Big chunks of claw meat, sweet and tender, coated in mayo and served on a toasted potato bun. Simple, but that's what highlights the fresh flavor of the meat.

If you want other decorations like lemon juice or pepper they're at a condiments counter nearby. This was the cold roll but there's also a hot one that comes with melted butter instead of mayo. They also sell freshly cooked lobster, live lobsters to take home and cook yourself, misc shellfish, crab cakes, and lots more. But the lobster rolls are the main thing. I enjoyed it very much. Expensive, but what a treat and a taste of Boston history.

Had a lovely walk back in the sun and spent much of the afternoon creating this blog post. No plans for the rest of the day...I'd honestly thought the aquarium + lunch would take longer than it did. No worries, I got to binge some anime, read, eat snacks, and finally finish Indianapolis Foodie Finds.

The evening show was good and we had a really awesome crowd :) Though I gotta say, the pit was too cold even for me (I'm the last to complain about pit temps because I don't use my fingers to play.) It was 61°F (16.1°C). That may be a lovely temperature when you're outdoors and the sun is shining. But do you set your thermostat to 61 degrees in your house before you go to bed at night? No? Whyever not? Because when it comes to air-conditioned rooms, 61 degrees is COLD, that's why. And so we played wearing sweaters and coats tonight (black, of course) and we may source out some hand warmers tomorrow. I really hope tomorrow will be, like, seven or eight degrees warmer, but won't get my hopes up.

But seriously that aside, great show and I'm looking forward to a good week while Jameson is here!!

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Wednesday: Nothing planned, probably a chill day with a walk or something. Prepping the room for Jameson's arrival. One evening show.

Thursday: A rare two-show weekday, so nothing planned. Jameson arrives!

**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 only because both Monday and Tuesday will be long posts with lots of pics.

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Up fairly early. A normal breakfast and livestreaming the Boston Marathon! I had thought it started at 7 or 7:30 but it's actually 9am, which meant I got to watch the kickoff as it happened on TV. For those who don't know (I didn't), the marathon starts in a suburb of Boston called Hopkinton and ENDS in Boston. It is a 26.2 mile route (42.195 km) and the average time to run it is about 4 hours. Top athletes can do it in around 2 hours, but the course is open for about 8 hours so that people of varying abilities can still receive an official time and certificate/medal. A lot of celebrities like to participate, and many of those run for charities. This year Chelsea Clinton ran, as well as an astronaut and a local news personality.

Anyway, after breakfast I texted with Jameson who was nervous about his epidural for his neck/arm pain. I don't blame him. The shot wasn't until 4pm so I set an alarm and made sure my phone would be on all day. Then off I went to the subway with my little tote bag and KN95, ready to face the marathon throngs!

Yeah, so...there was no getting on any train from the westbound Green Line station. Every train showed up completely packed, slowed for a moment for like two people to get on or off, then moved on again. The problem was that the runners were coming in from the west, so that's where everyone was trying to get. After waiting probably about 10 minutes and four trains, I decided that things were not likely to improve and got a Lyft instead. It didn't cost any more than it would have in Orlando so it was fine. The marathon route happened to be near where I was going, so I got to see the crowds a bit from the back of the car.

First I wanted to go thrifting, there were several good thrift stores in this area. I had fun looking but ultimately there was nothing that jumped out at me plus prices were vintage store-high, iykyk. I am more of a Goodwill-level thrifter :p

There was also a record store so I popped in to see what Queen they had in case Jameson wanted some. I did end up getting him a record to add to his collection. By then it was almost noon and I was hungry! This Maruichi is fancy, it has a tea shop and cafe across from the actual grocery. I decided to go there first and see what they had available for lunch. (REMINDER you can click on ALL pictures to open them in a new tab and enlarge them.)

In the sushi case, some beautiful rolls, nigiri, and chirashi. I have had the chirashi before and it is amazing.

At the actual cafe counter they had Japanese-style curry, karaage, katsudon, udon, ramen, and much more! But those are all pretty big meals and I kind of wanted something lighter. I saw a woman making fresh onigiri right there behind the counter. Must-have! I got the braised pork belly and egg onigiri, and the mustard leaf onigiri.

In the background are three cool snacks that I found to try: spring water from ACTUAL Mt. Fuji, a peach nectar, and mini-croissants.

Both onigiri were wonderful. I don't typically care for pork belly but it was cubed very small so it only added rich flavor, and the egg was soft and perfect. The mustard greens were pickled, very flavorful and just a little spicy. And the rice was so chewy and delicious! Onigiri are SO GOOD, and it is so rare to find them freshly made. Yum!

I also want to mention that there was a small room off to the side offering floor seating, and several families were using it. I don't know if this was a tea room or if it was meant for families with kids, or what, but I saw that people were taking their shoes off to enter the room and that there were mostly parents with young kids in there.

Next it was across the street for the actual grocery store. As usual there was an endless list of things that I wanted and only a short list of things that I could realistically get!

Some desserts, including little chestnut mont blanc cakes, roll cakes, mochi donuts, ice cream bars, tayaki, etc.

The most expensive A5 Japanese wagyu that I could find. That's $35 for 1/2lb!!

Some fatty tuna, also very expensive!! Both the beef and tuna are NOT things you find normally even in most Asian grocery stores.

Ryu (violin) had asked for some senbei. I went all out and got her this ridiculous gift assortment! LOL

They had a housewares section with umbrellas, dishes, bottles, face and hair products, utensils, etc. I saw soooo many things that I wanted but just couldn't justify buying. These beautiful tea towels for example. So many wonderful patterns! But I have no realistic use for one out on the road.

A friend had told me to look for this foaming hand soap which dispenses in the shape of a paw print. I found it! Did not buy it though.

I looked at the sake and beer and such, but they didn't have ChuHi (and I'm probably never finding it in the US except at EPCOT once in a while, I'll have to accept it.) Around then I was starting to get overstimulated and I could hear the roar of the marathon crowd and realized that the main body of runners must be nearing the final miles (I was at mile 24 and it was close to 1pm so that tracks.) I didn't even attempt the subway again, just called a Lyft but he got trapped on the other side of the marathon route and asked me to walk to him so I got out there to give it a try.

Stepping outside, people were running to the sidelines, fire trucks were parked there honking and with firemen waving, people twirling noisemakers and blowing vuvuzelas and waving signs, everyone screaming some iteration of "Yeah!" or "Woooo!" or "GO GO GO!!!" Helicopters and drones were circling overhead, adding to the cacophony. It was an amazing, fun, and inspiring thing to see!

Well look at that: I got to watch the Boston Marathon after all! :)

The Lyft got me most of the way back to the hotel but near the Commons it started getting crazy with crowds of pedestrians again, so I jumped out a few blocks early. Runners were walking slowly and stiff-legged through the streets wearing silver thermal foil blankets, clutching bananas or bottles of water, and many of them wearing medals. When I got back to the hotel it was more chaos; hotel staff had put up a huge balloon archway and were in the entryway cheering and waving noisemakers for the exhausted participants. Bottles of water and bowls of fruit were off to the side for the runners. In the lobby there was a DJ playing music full blast, the bar was packed, there was a photo op and activity station and a caricature artist...good lord, just all kinds of stuff, like a miniature indoor festival. I don't like crowds, true, but seeing people happy makes me happy! I smiled and congratulated every runner that I saw on the way to the elevator.

Finally made it to my room. Phew! Now to show you my Japanese grocery haul! In the window because lighting in hotels = abysmal :p

As usual I will rate and review everything here. The banana Hi-Chew and grape candy are for Jameson, and the mini croissants are for both of us. The rest is for meeeeeeee!

I rested and rehydrated for an hour or so, then braved the lobby again to get to the grocery for literally two things. I'd wanted to walk to Whole Paycheck and get some top-rated local pizza on the way, but was too drained. And I didn't even run AT ALL today haha! And it was still early! Jameson messaged to tell me his shot had gone well and his friend Jody had driven him home. They stopped for Taco Bell on the way so he must be feeling all right. I'm sorry he's having to go through this, but glad he's doing it if he can have a chance at going back to being pain-free.

And that was pretty much it you guys, I called it a night at 5pm. Why not? Having adventures is a treat, and so is curling up in a quiet hotel room with some snacks and a good book :)

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Tuesday: The plan is to visit New England Aquarium and have lunch somewhere. Expect lots of pictures of fishes. One 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

I was surprised to wake up at 8:30am. Nice, because I didn't give myself anything to do today :)

It was raining and cold out as well. Perfect!

I'd scheduled a Poplin pickup the night before at 10am. Waited around for the pickup and had breakfast. I don't like to use Poplin because of the cost and because I get leery about people handling my limited set of clothing, but it IS nice to have your laundry washed and folded while you do other things.

Once that was picked up I had an extremely lazy day of reading, finishing up TADC (what a weird show), starting Witch Hat Atlier anime, and getting close to finishing Indianapolis Foodie Finds. Went for a brief walk just to get fresh air and window shop. Meals and a nap.

Right before the evening show my laundry was returned, which shouldn't have been a big deal except some clothing was damp and my pit blacks were VERY wrinkled, which is an accomplishment because they are polyester and almost never wrinkle. Whoever did the laundry either put them into the PLASTIC bag hot out of the dryer causing deep wrinkles, or they overloaded their dryer (possibly putting mine and someone else's clothes together) resulting in compressed and damp clothes, resulting in the wrinkles. Needless to say I had to leave a poor review :/

See, this kind of thing is why I get neurotic about How I Do Things On Tour. Things that are minor when you work a 9-to-5 and live in an actual HOUSE, can be a big headache when you are living out of a suitcase. Literally ALL of my work clothes were in this load of laundry except for one back-up black shirt and pants, and thank god I had those because due to this incident it was all I had available to wear for work tonight. That in itself is not the end of the world...but can you see how trusting someone to handle my laundry could potentially ruin ALL of my work clothes in one swoop? And what that MEANS when I'm hundreds of miles away from my closet in Florida?

And that's why I am so picky about things like what I eat before performing, or how far I'm willing to let people drive me from the theater. It's because I have been screwed before. Having to play a show with food poisoning because someone undercooked my food…or race to the theater at the last minute because someone didn’t account for traffic…or having to re-buy all of my work clothes…all very literally because of someone else's negligence…SUCKS. All of these scenarios have happened before and have contributed to my trust issues. Ultimately if being neurotic helps lower the odds of getting screwed, then guess what, I'm going to be neurotic!

Anyway, off to the theater for the evening show. The hotel lobby is all decked out for the marathon on Monday, and loads of people were checking in.

The evening show was great, well attended and a really enthusiastic crowd that cheered for everything :) I love when our show makes people happy! Not much else to say about it...after the show I had a late night "ironing party," staying up until close to midnight to carefully iron all of my work shirts and pants.

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SATURDAY

I had trouble sleeping last night and woke up tired and cranky. But it's ok. Slow morning of signing up for some company housing and flight bookings for upcoming cities, packing snacks, meal planning, and getting ready for the two-show day. I left early just in case the hotel was busy (it was, there were lines for the elevators both up and down!!)

The first show was nice, a pretty good crowd and I thought it went well. Between shows I hustled back to the hotel for a simple dinner (tofu, sweet potato, bagel, PBFit) and some anime. I had taken the Do Not Disturb hanger down before the first show and housekeeping had spruced up my room which was nice.

The evening show was good too, can't think of anything to report except that it went smoothly and we had a nice big audience. Afterward a bunch of us had planned to go to a local bar to hang out and meet Gary's (drummer's) wife who was in town for a visit, but with the marathon happening and it being a college town the bar we'd planned on was impossibly packed and loud. Instead we did the hotel bar. Ryu's (violinist's) husband was there as well, and everyone swapped stories about how they'd met their SO and such. I ended up talking a whole lot about the circus because everyone was interested :) It was a lovely time and I appreciated getting to know everyone better!

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SUNDAY

Another crummy sleep, or I should say I thought I slept well but for some reason woke up very anxious (probably hormones, it's about that time.) It took a long time to get un-anxious, so it's a good thing I'm an early riser I guess?

The first show was fine, Connor (Key 1) conducted. Nothing to report except that some folks came down to the pit afterward to tell us they'd loved the music. Right now after each performance there's a Broadway Cares speech that sometimes goes on for quite a while, so the fact that people will sit and listen to that and then take time to visit us at the pit is really touching. I will ALWAYS appreciate it!

Between shows it was so dreary, cold and rainy! That's April in Boston for you I suppose. I went back to the hotel for some quiet, a relaxing scented candle, and a book, and all of that helped me to be calm inside. Basic boring dinner (rice, tofu, veg, walnuts) and the evening show. It went all right for me...unsure how others felt haha. I also managed to pick up a little special souvenir for Jameson that I hope he'll like!

After the show I was reminded that we have NINE shows next week, and also a "kiddie show" added for the third week! It's going to be busy around here but hopefully also a lot of fun.

Tomorrow it's the Boston Marathon. All weekend the streets have been packed with tourists, participants, loads and loads of people excited to see this historic event or run in it. There are police EVERYWHERE and all kinds of barricades going up, media centers and press stages and mobile wifi towers and drone launchpads for capturing footage. It's all very cool....HOWEVER I am not a big fan of crowds, especially while alone, and have never really cared about sports that much either. While I am excited and grateful to be here right now, and will be happy to see parts of the marathon on my way to other places tomorrow, overall I don't plan to actually stand along the route or anything like that. PLEASE do not come after me in the comments for that choice. When you are in Boston, you can do what you like; while I am in Boston, I will do what *I* like. :)

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Monday: Braving the marathon crowds to ride the T to get to Maruichi for a Japanese lunch, maybe some goodies to take home, and thrifting at a nearby Buffalo Exchange. Later on, maybe getting takeout from a popular pizza place if it's not too insane. Due to the crowds and cold rainy weather it probably won't be a very eventful day for me. Jameson has his first-ever epidural tomorrow so I'll be worried for him and checking in on him.

Tuesday: With any luck, New England Aquarium and lobster rolls on the wharf! One evening show.

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taz_39

May 2026

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Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 3: Botanical Garden + Weekend Confetti Art
Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 2: Thrifting, Jodi Benson, and Slugging Around
Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 1: Buc-ee's, The Beauty of the Fox
Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 3: The Joys of Adult Money + Breaking Up the Band
Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 2: Sometimes Boring Is Good
Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 1: Travel Day Karaoke, Bougie Errands. Bagels.
Madison, WI 2026 Part 3: A Cold Dictates My Whole Week
Madison, WI 2026 Part 2: JiffyThief, Trombone Bath, Night Market
Madison, WI 2026 Part 1: Travel Day, Co-op Treats, Opening Night
Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 3: The Egyptian Room, In-Ears, Carrot Toast
Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 2: The Zoo!
Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 1: Actual Princessisms, Small Rant, and the Murat
Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 3: The State House, The Wall Tag, The Last Day
Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 2: Muji, Sensory Show, Another Band Hang
Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 1: Final Sightseeing w/Jameson & Thoughts
Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 3: Jameson, Berklee, Band Hang, and More
Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 2: Shows and Shirts and Jameson Prep
Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.5: New England Aquarium and A Show
Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.0: Boston Marathon 2026, Maruichi Adventures
Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 3: Trust Issues, Band Hang, Marathon Prep

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Page generated Jun. 2nd, 2026 02:49 pm

goofball on a train

(adventures of a touring musician)

Recent Entries

Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 3: Botanical Garden + Weekend Confetti Art

Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 2: Thrifting, Jodi Benson, and Slugging Around

Atlanta, GA 2026 Part 1: Buc-ee's, The Beauty of the Fox

Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 3: The Joys of Adult Money + Breaking Up the Band

Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 2: Sometimes Boring Is Good

Knoxville, TN 2026 Part 1: Travel Day Karaoke, Bougie Errands. Bagels.

Madison, WI 2026 Part 3: A Cold Dictates My Whole Week

Madison, WI 2026 Part 2: JiffyThief, Trombone Bath, Night Market

Madison, WI 2026 Part 1: Travel Day, Co-op Treats, Opening Night

Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 3: The Egyptian Room, In-Ears, Carrot Toast

Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 2: The Zoo!

Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 1: Actual Princessisms, Small Rant, and the Murat

Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 3: The State House, The Wall Tag, The Last Day

Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 2: Muji, Sensory Show, Another Band Hang

Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 1: Final Sightseeing w/Jameson & Thoughts

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 3: Jameson, Berklee, Band Hang, and More

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 2: Shows and Shirts and Jameson Prep

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.5: New England Aquarium and A Show

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.0: Boston Marathon 2026, Maruichi Adventures

Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 3: Trust Issues, Band Hang, Marathon Prep

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