Jan. 25th, 2024

taz_39: (Default)
I was nervous for the flight out of San Antonio because it was pouring rain in the morning, but by the time we loaded up and got to the airport it was a drizzle. Even so, I was watching myself carefully because anxiety/the fight-or-flight response likes to jump out at you unexpectedly.

Several coworkers kindly checked on me to make sure I was ok. I felt both grateful and embarrassed by this. I don't like to be the "weak link" or the "wuss" and I DEFINITELY hate to make others feel like they need to expend time and energy on me. But also, it was nice to know that people cared and empathized.

And then, the flight was fine. I was more nervous than usual of course, but also less nervous than I used to be about flying in the past, if that makes sense. In other words I haven't been set back entirely by the bad flight experience to NOLA. Just a little bit, and I think that's understandable and will only require a bit of patience to overcome. I was so grateful that this was a normal flight, so that I could be kind to myself and reinforce that flying is GOOD and SAFE to my subconscious.

Anyway, we landed in Charlotte and rode a bus for 1.5 hours to Columbia. The last time I was here was with the circus, and though there wasn't much time for sightseeing I have fond memories of doing an elephant walk here, and of the fun college atmosphere.

We are staying in a Graduate hotel (this is probably the fifth one I've stayed in at this point) so the room key is a fake student ID card.


And the decor is...interesting. (The school mascot is a gamecock)


The room is huge! I have a living room! Once again it's a shame we're only here for a few days because how comfortable and nice!
(CLICK HERE to see)

After dropping my luggage I walked to Good Life Cafe. They specialize in healthy food, and there's nothing like some refreshing veg after a long travel day!


Shrimp spring roll: avocado, kelp noodles, mango, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, red peppers, wrapped in rice paper, served with wasabi and teriyaki dipping sauces. Yummy and colorful!


From there I walked to Publix, and immediately recognized it so I must have been there during my circus days also. Ran into Kyla in the produce section (our substitute cellist) and we split an uber back to the hotel. Our MD wanted to have a "band hang" at the hotel bar, so after putting groceries away I went down and had a glass of wine with everyone. We talked about random stuff, like you do, and I was happy to learn more about my bandmates :)

Sneaky and not very good pic, taken by me


Better, organized group photo taken by our MD. The guy wearing grey/white is Jim (Company Management.)


After that I unpacked, filled out some paperwork for the masterclass I'm doing at USC on Wednesday, and reviewed some Mexico excursion options that Raven had sent for our Sibling Reunion trip coming up in February. I tried to narrow it down to just two excursion options, but there were so many price points/factors that I decided to have a closer look in the morning when I was more awake and focused.

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As promised to my brother and sisters, I narrowed down the Mexico options (to three not two) and offered them up in the Sibling Chat for discussion. So far no one has voted on them. I'm not surprised, we're all "beta" personalities when it comes to decision-making :p

I'd ordered some black pants from Amazon, because my black yoga pants are fading from being washed and it's become too apparent that they're NOT dress slacks.  One pair fit pretty well and the other was too big so I packaged it back up and walked to a UPS Store to return it. Right next to the store was smallSUGAR, a bakery that I'd planned to hit anyway, so I popped in for lunch.

(image stolen from a random review site)

They were low on pastries (it was lunch time after all) so I went with their "shakshouka-ish": spicy tomato and onion sauce with a ramen-style soft-boiled egg, marinated eggplant, za'atar seasoned toast, and a big pile of parsley.


It tasted just as good as it looked. The bread was crusty and flavorful, the za'atar seasoning a perfect complement to the tangy tomato sauce, the rich jammy egg taming the acidity of the sauce, and the marinated eggplant which was tangy in a different, almost citrusy way. Everything worked together so well, I could have eaten this all day! But I saved 2 of the 3 bread pieces and half the sauce to eat later. The chef area is open to the dining room so I made sure to tell the guy who prepared my food how amazing it was, he looked very pleased (as he should be, he put quality and love into this food!)

I was glad for the walk back, it was in the mid-50s and dreary but the fresh air was nice. Between getting cooped up for a day and a half in Jackson, and then all the one-nighters of being crammed on buses for 15 hours and shuttling around between theatres and hotels, it feels like I haven't been outside in ages.

Walking past the SC State House, there was some press conference going on so I circled wide but also documented it.


Back at the hotel I printed out some notes for the masterclass tomorrow, then packed dinner and chilled until sound check.
The "theatre" is more of an auditorium. It's the Koger Center, which is part of the USC campus. The whole performing arts complex is very big and looks new and modern.

(stock image)

The pit is shallow, so I have an unusually good view of the stage for once!


After sound check I ate a packed dinner, then we had the show. It was a full house, and went really well! Our understudy was in for the character of Freddie and he did an excellent job :)

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Wednesday I woke up SO NERVOUS for the USC masterclass!

Nathan (the grad student in charge) showed me around a bit, then we went to a studio room where about 12 young trombonists were waiting for us. It felt so weird...I swear I was JUST a student myself not so long ago! And now I was the one coming in to describe how to "make it." SO WEIRD.

It was very casual, and really just a chat. It was supposed to be Q&A but this group seemed fairly introverted, and not many questions were asked. Nathan mostly directed the questions, asking the usual stuff like my background, how do I handle the logistics of travel, the pressures of auditions and applying for music work, etc. A few kids had good questions; one asked an especially pertinent one about how to handle the physical trials that come with a lifestyle on the road.

I gave the best answers that I could, and probably rambled somewhat, but with only about an hour to work with it's tough to cram in the information and advice that comes with 27 years(!) of playing the trombone. The main points that I did get to speak about:

- Challenges of traveling for work, and finding time to practice and stay healthy
- Descriptions of what the work was like, and what types of horns/gear I've used for various gigs
- Handling your "inner voice" and Impostor Syndrome when auditioning or performing or just existing
- How I got these jobs in the first place (I really wanted to touch on this and was glad it came up; all of my gigs have come from cold-calling, so I wanted to encourage students not to be afraid to do that)
- What life was like in the circus (of course, you gotta go into that more in-depth!)

Other non-musical topics were things like my interest in food and restaurants across the US, and some things that can make each city interesting and fun, or how we keep ourselves entertained on travel days and such. I brought up that I like anime, which was the most engaged moment of the masterclass, lol. Everyone wanted to know what shows I was into, so I listed my classic favorites (Cowboy Bebop and Trigun because I'm an old lady) and some new shows that I'm into recently. I felt "cool" for about five seconds :p

Parting advice, from me, was "Don't make decisions based on fear." The topic of anxiety and Impostor Syndrome came up more than once, and I expressed that those were things that I face constantly. Every show, every night, and between shows too. And the nasty voice in my head that tells me I'm garbage and don't deserve to be here never goes away entirely. My advice was to not let that voice make decisions. Feel however it makes you feel--inadequate, afraid, frustrated, whatever--but don't let those feelings, or that voice, have a say in your life path, in whether or not to take an opportunity or apply for a job. Feel inadequate, and apply anyway.

Also, cold calls!
I hope that was good advice.
And I'm annoyed that I forgot to ask for a group photo.

Afterward I shook hands all around and walked to Food Lion for supplemental groceries, mostly for the upcoming bus rides to Greensboro and Pittsburgh. We have lunch stops on those rides but I often get hungry between stops. Then I did laundry and enjoyed some tea before the evening show.

The show went well but there was some weird chick in the crowd wearing a puffy, bright pink "Barbie dress" who talked the entire first act in a high-pitched baby voice that everyone could hear. Then she got up to pee in the middle of the show and nearly fell on her face...and when she came back, she went down the wrong row! And instead of just turning back around and going out, she loudly apologized, in her baby voice, to every single person she passed. It felt like she was doing a bit. But she was probably either really drunk or really messed up in the head. We didn't see her for the second act so either she/her companions were smart enough to leave, or they were "removed."

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I usually post early on Thursday, but because our schedule has been so weird I'm posting later.

Today is our last day in Columbia. I was grateful to get up knowing I had nothing to do except pack and perform the show in the evening. Breakfast and a lovely chill morning of watching anime, doing a few updates to the Pittsburgh foodie finds sheet, and chatting with Jameson as he went about his day. He's been going to the gym and has changed his eating habits, and has lost nine pounds already!! I'm extremely proud of him :)

For lunch I walked to a restaurant called MOA for bibimbap. The pictures of the food looked great, but it turned out to be one of those pretentious "power lunch" places, so it was me and a bunch of middle-aged white men in suits guffawing loudly and making demands of the wait staff as though their needs took priority over everything. Very cringe. The bibimbap was good, and came with a rainbow of veggies on top and a fried egg. I appreciated that the sauces were served on the side so I could control the salt and heat levels.


(CLICK HERE to see me pop that egg!)

And of course the best part of stone bowl bibimbap is the sizzling, crispy rice on the bottom! (My bowl was not very hot so sadly I didn't get much crispy rice to speak of.)


Going to be honest, it didn't hold a candle to the bibimbap from Drunken Bento in Cincinnati. And the vibe in the restaurant was pretentious and offputting. But it was still very tasty bibimbap, and I loved the variety of veggies. I ate half and will eat the other half tomorrow on the bus.

Back at the hotel I pretty much crashed for the day, only getting up to make tea and to pack my suitcase, and eventually get ready for the show.

I'm posting this to DW before the actual show so let's just say "it went well."

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Tomorrow, bussing to Greensboro. There's a stop at a Walmart, and ETA is 2:30pm with a show at 8pm.
I'm hoping that this'll give me enough time to hit an Asian grocery near our hotel, but won't hold my breath over it.
It's a tight show schedule with two shows on both Saturday and Sunday, so I won't have a lot of time for sightseeing but hope to walk around downtown a bit if the weather is nice (it's not supposed to be but why not hope)

And my aunt and uncle are coming to a show! I'm excited to see them and spend a little time with them!

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