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Tootsie Yr2: Hartford part 2
Feb. 27th, 2023 07:00 amA nice chill morning...literally, it was chilly!
The wintry mix had continued overnight and didn't seem to want to let up; it was rainy and misty, damp and cold and dreary outside.
I did data entry and then for some inexplicable reason went down an internet rabbit hole of "decoden".
Perhaps because my phone battery is starting to die, and I know it'll need replacing sooner than later, and looking at stupid accessories for Future Phone was entertaining.
Anyway, after that I bundled up and started walking to my lunch plans.
I didn't bundle up ENOUGH, apparently, because halfway there I felt chilly and my toes were going numb.
Still, it was a nice walk, and I was wearing my stegosaurus had which was making people smile as they passed me :)
The Bushnell where we are performing this week.
Those are our trucks outside, and one of those octagonal windows on the top floor is the band dressing room.
The front of the theatre, with banners for Tootsie and Hadestown (one of these shows has an AMAZING trombonist)
Eventually I got to The Kitchen, an unassuming little brick building with a grey awning.
It was a small cafe with five-ish tables and a LOT of people coming in and out for takeout orders or sitting down to eat.
Must be good food in here!
I had come here because the menu appealed to me, but upon entering I saw this sign near the door:
So eating here is for a good local cause, too. Yay!
I got the vegan wrap: smoked tempeh, roasted sweet potatoes, shaved Brussels sprouts, carrots, arugula, cranberries, and butternut hummus on a wheat wrap. It was indeed very good, flavorful and full of textures, fresh and healthy.
I hadn't planned on coffee but bought a small decaf just because I was so cold from the walk, and my hands needed warming.
Was very tempted by the baked goods, but exercised self control this time.
Walked all the way back, and immediately made hot tea and dove under the covers with my computer to warm up and do some more work. A while ago someone here on LJ suggested that I sign up with Prolific, and I did, and was recently accepted to it. So I tried to do my first survey with them, but the site didn't like my ISP so there went that plan.
Later on, the commute to the theatre.
Some fun random things from backstage for you:
Apparently people have been sitting on, lying on, or otherwise touching this bed, which is a stage prop and shouldn't be touched or used.
Someone made creative Kuzco signage to keep people off the prop :)
Missie (Head of Wardrobe) brought this unripe coconut with her all the way from West Palm Beach, and for whatever reason today was the day to crack it open. I was invited to watch.
Very little water, and no edible pulp. It smelled like a pumpkin. The water tasted neutral actually, like plain water.
Faces of disappointment:
The shattered remains of the disappointing coconut:
The show went well, Kyle (trumpet) was making a recording for personal use and our Music Boss Andrea was in the audience so we were all on our best behavior. We will probably get some notes tomorrow on how our performance went.
-----------------------------------------------------
Friday, a nice long day.
I woke up at the usual time and spent way too much time looking at iPhone cases and new iPhones.
I thought it would be fun to check on Jameson's location, wherever his ship might be out at sea.
He texted to say it's a sea/travel day, so he probably won't have much signal.
Then data entry and lunch.
Then Paul (drums) said he was going to Whole Paycheck again so I asked him to grab me a yogurt to replace the one that froze, and he kindly obliged. After that I bundled up and walked across the river again. It was sunny but there was a strong wind and it was barely above 30F even without that, so again I found myself not wanting to be out and about.
I decided to look for supplemental foods, and then go back to the hotel for the day.
Oftentimes when it gets down to the weekend, I start getting to the last of my groceries, and that's when I need to supplement with random food items or eating out. I started with a convenience store and didn't find anything useful, but I did find an interesting coffee/cocoa seltzer to try.
Next was Four Dads for pizza by the slice because I'm just slightly short of carbs and fats for Sunday.
There are many pizza joints here in Hartford, but the slices from Four Dads looked the best online.
They had margherita drizzled with balsamic and a bit of pesto, I got two of those.
And when I said, "You don't have to heat it up, I'm not eating it yet," the big dude with the handlebar mustache holding the pizza peel looked at me as though I was insane for ever suggesting cold pizza and said, "Oh I DO have to heat it up and I WILL." Alrighty then! :p
From there, a quest to find a single bagel for the travel day on Monday.
I know it sounds stupid, but when you travel as much as I do you learn a few things.
And one thing I've learned, that has saved my ass multiple times, is that a bagel is extremely cheap, travels well, lasts for days, and can settle your stomach when nothing else will.
In other words, The Bagel is to me what a towel is to travelers in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Back at the hotel, I finally got caught up on The Last of Us and started my Foodie Finds for St. Louis.
That's also a two week city so I'm redoing it to be two pages.
The evening show went well, noting especially special happened.
I found myself feeling mopey because there are only about four months left of tour.
And this could be the last time I get to do this.
Wondering what lies ahead. Another great adventure? Or another span of years at an hourly job barely scraping by?
Wondering leads to worrying, speculation, and feeling bad for not being "better".
A better musician, a better-qualified worker, a better girlfriend. Such cheery thoughts.
----------------------------------------------------
Saturday I was up at the usual time and managed to get a load of laundry in (Jameson and I are both getting home at the same time and I want him to not have to worry about his laundry).
While that was happening, oatmeal in the Itaki and a little halfhearted job hunting, cold-emailing and friending on LinkedIn.
Both shows went fine.
It was cold and snowy...I'm trying to appreciate the snow, since soon it will be spring.
Between shows, dinner and working on my St. Louis Foodie Finds.
STL and Cincinnati are such very different cities.
For the Cinci sheet, we are downtown and there are loads of restaurants within 1/4-1/2 mile.
In STL we're also downtown, but the city is so spread out that you have to go at least two miles for most of what you want.
Anyway, Saturday = uneventful.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, I woke up early for no reason and used the time to eat breakfast, do some data entry, and pack before our shows.
The first show went well.
Robert Horn, who is the playwright and producer who wrote Tootsie, was in the audience and came down to the pit to say hello. He's a super busy dude, but somehow he always manages to get out to see us at least twice a year.
Between shows, back to the hotel to pack more and shower and eat dinner.
I ate the "pouch beef" from Whole Paycheck, and it was pretty good. Bland, but it would be an easy thing to drop some BBQ sauce in there and stir it around and have a quick tasty meal. I'll keep an eye out for it in the future.
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday and it's the usual routine of breakfast, final packing, data entry, and posting this post.
Jameson got home yesterday at some point and is hopefully resting up before I come busting in tonight.
I have a direct flight, and am hoping to get home by 4pm or so.
Plans for the week-long layoff include
- two batches of caramels for the cast and some Cinci friends
- much cleaning, per usual
- getting Jameson to try overnight oats (we will do PB-cup flavor)
- repacking/rotating clothing and things in my luggage
- getting pants hemmed
- minor gardening
- letters to pen pals and grandparents
- hopefully some time to chill out
After the layoff, it's a rushed day in Paducah KY followed by TWO WEEKS in Cincinnati!
In closing, some wisdom from Miss Piggy.
The wintry mix had continued overnight and didn't seem to want to let up; it was rainy and misty, damp and cold and dreary outside.
I did data entry and then for some inexplicable reason went down an internet rabbit hole of "decoden".
Perhaps because my phone battery is starting to die, and I know it'll need replacing sooner than later, and looking at stupid accessories for Future Phone was entertaining.
Anyway, after that I bundled up and started walking to my lunch plans.
I didn't bundle up ENOUGH, apparently, because halfway there I felt chilly and my toes were going numb.
Still, it was a nice walk, and I was wearing my stegosaurus had which was making people smile as they passed me :)
The Bushnell where we are performing this week.
Those are our trucks outside, and one of those octagonal windows on the top floor is the band dressing room.
The front of the theatre, with banners for Tootsie and Hadestown (one of these shows has an AMAZING trombonist)
Eventually I got to The Kitchen, an unassuming little brick building with a grey awning.
It was a small cafe with five-ish tables and a LOT of people coming in and out for takeout orders or sitting down to eat.
Must be good food in here!
I had come here because the menu appealed to me, but upon entering I saw this sign near the door:
So eating here is for a good local cause, too. Yay!
I got the vegan wrap: smoked tempeh, roasted sweet potatoes, shaved Brussels sprouts, carrots, arugula, cranberries, and butternut hummus on a wheat wrap. It was indeed very good, flavorful and full of textures, fresh and healthy.
I hadn't planned on coffee but bought a small decaf just because I was so cold from the walk, and my hands needed warming.
Was very tempted by the baked goods, but exercised self control this time.
Walked all the way back, and immediately made hot tea and dove under the covers with my computer to warm up and do some more work. A while ago someone here on LJ suggested that I sign up with Prolific, and I did, and was recently accepted to it. So I tried to do my first survey with them, but the site didn't like my ISP so there went that plan.
Later on, the commute to the theatre.
Some fun random things from backstage for you:
Apparently people have been sitting on, lying on, or otherwise touching this bed, which is a stage prop and shouldn't be touched or used.
Someone made creative Kuzco signage to keep people off the prop :)
Missie (Head of Wardrobe) brought this unripe coconut with her all the way from West Palm Beach, and for whatever reason today was the day to crack it open. I was invited to watch.
Very little water, and no edible pulp. It smelled like a pumpkin. The water tasted neutral actually, like plain water.
Faces of disappointment:
The shattered remains of the disappointing coconut:
The show went well, Kyle (trumpet) was making a recording for personal use and our Music Boss Andrea was in the audience so we were all on our best behavior. We will probably get some notes tomorrow on how our performance went.
-----------------------------------------------------
Friday, a nice long day.
I woke up at the usual time and spent way too much time looking at iPhone cases and new iPhones.
I thought it would be fun to check on Jameson's location, wherever his ship might be out at sea.
He texted to say it's a sea/travel day, so he probably won't have much signal.
Then data entry and lunch.
Then Paul (drums) said he was going to Whole Paycheck again so I asked him to grab me a yogurt to replace the one that froze, and he kindly obliged. After that I bundled up and walked across the river again. It was sunny but there was a strong wind and it was barely above 30F even without that, so again I found myself not wanting to be out and about.
I decided to look for supplemental foods, and then go back to the hotel for the day.
Oftentimes when it gets down to the weekend, I start getting to the last of my groceries, and that's when I need to supplement with random food items or eating out. I started with a convenience store and didn't find anything useful, but I did find an interesting coffee/cocoa seltzer to try.
Next was Four Dads for pizza by the slice because I'm just slightly short of carbs and fats for Sunday.
There are many pizza joints here in Hartford, but the slices from Four Dads looked the best online.
They had margherita drizzled with balsamic and a bit of pesto, I got two of those.
And when I said, "You don't have to heat it up, I'm not eating it yet," the big dude with the handlebar mustache holding the pizza peel looked at me as though I was insane for ever suggesting cold pizza and said, "Oh I DO have to heat it up and I WILL." Alrighty then! :p
From there, a quest to find a single bagel for the travel day on Monday.
I know it sounds stupid, but when you travel as much as I do you learn a few things.
And one thing I've learned, that has saved my ass multiple times, is that a bagel is extremely cheap, travels well, lasts for days, and can settle your stomach when nothing else will.
In other words, The Bagel is to me what a towel is to travelers in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Back at the hotel, I finally got caught up on The Last of Us and started my Foodie Finds for St. Louis.
That's also a two week city so I'm redoing it to be two pages.
The evening show went well, noting especially special happened.
I found myself feeling mopey because there are only about four months left of tour.
And this could be the last time I get to do this.
Wondering what lies ahead. Another great adventure? Or another span of years at an hourly job barely scraping by?
Wondering leads to worrying, speculation, and feeling bad for not being "better".
A better musician, a better-qualified worker, a better girlfriend. Such cheery thoughts.
----------------------------------------------------
Saturday I was up at the usual time and managed to get a load of laundry in (Jameson and I are both getting home at the same time and I want him to not have to worry about his laundry).
While that was happening, oatmeal in the Itaki and a little halfhearted job hunting, cold-emailing and friending on LinkedIn.
Both shows went fine.
It was cold and snowy...I'm trying to appreciate the snow, since soon it will be spring.
Between shows, dinner and working on my St. Louis Foodie Finds.
STL and Cincinnati are such very different cities.
For the Cinci sheet, we are downtown and there are loads of restaurants within 1/4-1/2 mile.
In STL we're also downtown, but the city is so spread out that you have to go at least two miles for most of what you want.
Anyway, Saturday = uneventful.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, I woke up early for no reason and used the time to eat breakfast, do some data entry, and pack before our shows.
The first show went well.
Robert Horn, who is the playwright and producer who wrote Tootsie, was in the audience and came down to the pit to say hello. He's a super busy dude, but somehow he always manages to get out to see us at least twice a year.
Between shows, back to the hotel to pack more and shower and eat dinner.
I ate the "pouch beef" from Whole Paycheck, and it was pretty good. Bland, but it would be an easy thing to drop some BBQ sauce in there and stir it around and have a quick tasty meal. I'll keep an eye out for it in the future.
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday and it's the usual routine of breakfast, final packing, data entry, and posting this post.
Jameson got home yesterday at some point and is hopefully resting up before I come busting in tonight.
I have a direct flight, and am hoping to get home by 4pm or so.
Plans for the week-long layoff include
- two batches of caramels for the cast and some Cinci friends
- much cleaning, per usual
- getting Jameson to try overnight oats (we will do PB-cup flavor)
- repacking/rotating clothing and things in my luggage
- getting pants hemmed
- minor gardening
- letters to pen pals and grandparents
- hopefully some time to chill out
After the layoff, it's a rushed day in Paducah KY followed by TWO WEEKS in Cincinnati!
In closing, some wisdom from Miss Piggy.
