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My Fair Lady - Worcester, MA
Feb. 18th, 2024 10:53 pmIt was quite the long travel day. After breakfast we loaded onto the bus and had a three-hour ride to Raleigh-Durham International. On the way we passed Winston-Salem, which I haven't seen in a very long time (I went to grad school there and have wonderful memories of living with my awesome landlords) and even the brief glimpse in passing tugged at my heartstrings.
The airport was whatever, I walked around a lot just to get steps in and looked at everything, like I always do. I noticed a Delta pilot sitting quietly and chomping some beef jerky...I wanted to ask him for trading cards but didn't want to interrupt his eating so kept walking. But 20 minutes and at least three laps later he was still munching away, lol. And he had a friendly, relaxed look about him, so I thought "why not" and approached him. He enthusiastically said, "Yes!" to the cards and pulled out a stack, I asked which was his favorite to fly and he said the A321 (I already have a card for that one but since it's his favorite I couldn't decline it!) I thanked him and started to walk away but he said, "Wait, I have more for you!" and handed me two more that I DIDN'T have yet: the 767-400, and the 767-300, which is a holographic card!!
A video of the holograph (CLICK HERE to watch)
What a cool dude! I thanked him profusely and went back to our group to show them off to my friends :)
At boarding I had equally good luck: the pilots had a card for the plane we were actually riding, the A220!
Here are all three cards. Each plane has something unique about it. The A220 has enough cargo space to hold two adult orcas! The 767-400 has a very powerful engine that could inflate a blimp in just seven seconds! And the 767-300 has enough fuel capacity to fill 1600 cars!
I now have seven unique Delta trading cards. Yay! Don't ask what I'll do with them, no idea haha.
We arrived on time and it was a smooth flight. Luggage retrieval, and while we waited I pestered a few more pilots who walked through the airport for cards. Two of them gave me A321s (and said they liked flying it too, I wonder why!) so now I have duplicates of those which I'll give to Kayle's kids or something. And I got my first rejection, a pilot who said, "Aww, sorry, I don't have any on me!" It was bound to happen!
Another bus ride through Boston traffic, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. We got to the hotel only 15 minutes later than scheduled, but with only one working elevator it took an obnoxious long time to get to our rooms. It was too late and dark for walking so it was an Uber for me, to get dinner at the Whole Paycheck hot bar and just a few groceries. We're only here for three days; in addition to the usual fruits and meats I picked up some treats for myself.
These two green juices. The one on the left looks more appealing, but the one on the right contains two servings and the other is only one. The bright green one has more fiber and potassium; the dark green one has lower sugar and more vitamin C. I got both entirely because I couldn't decide between them.
These snacks and rice!
The granola is a brand I've had before but it's very hard to find in stores, this is only the second time I've seen it. It's made by soaking the oats in whole-fruit juices, which gives it incredible flavor and extra fiber and vitamins while still keeping it a low-calorie snack. Last time I got beet, this time went with carrot.
The little can is a milk tea, made with plant milk! FINALLY! Milk tea is wonderful but I can't usually have it because it's made with whole or condensed milk. This brand is called T'wrl and they make four flavors of milk tea: matcha, hojicha (roasted green), Taiwanese-style black, and Ube. At some point I'd love to try them all.
The "forbidden rice" is a microwaveable par-cooked bag, something you don't see too often for black/purple rice. The brand is Jasberry, and this is a proprietary rice that they've grown over a decade of intensive cross-breeding. They claim it has 40x the antioxidants of brown rice, and with that dark purple coloring I can believe it.
Put my food away, chatted with Jameson and people online, and chilled out.
Look at that, a night without a show!
-------------------------------------------------------
Was up earlier than I would have liked to have breakfast before heading out to get a massage. Our hotel is eight miles from the theatre this week so we have rental cars, and I was able to borrow a band car, saving me Uber dollars, yay!
I don't get massages very often because I don't like to be touched, but about once a year I suck it up and enjoy one. This one was only 30 minutes; I really should have booked an hour but maybe at the resort in Mexico I can have another :)
The masseuse was great, and 30 minutes later I walked out feeling much more relaxed. A shame to have to step into the 30-degree windy northeast weather! I walked a few minutes down the street to Root and Press, a little cafe lined with bookshelves and serving standard cafe stuff with a lot of vegan options.
I went with their special, a vegan caprese made with Just Egg, cashew mozzarella sauce, basil, lettuce, tomato, garlic, and balsamic drizzle on ciabatta. It was delicious!
I was a little disappointed that the "mozzarella cheese" was only a sauce, because a caprese usually has big slices of fluffy white cheese. But I think they were trying to simulate that with the vegan egg, which was still very good. Drove back to the hotel where I packed dinner to bring to the theatre, drank lots of water and tea, and enjoyed some chill time, making a packing list for Mexico and watching Seven Deadly Sins which my bandmates have recently convinced me is worth checking out.
We carpooled to the theatre (rental cars.) It's a pretty theatre, I guess, but the backstage is horrible. I played here a year or two ago with Tootsie and remember hating the claustrophobic pit...they literally locked us in before each performance, even removing the stairs to get out! And that was terrible for my anxiety. This year thankfully I am not the only one who sees a huge safety concern and/or anxiety inducer in being literally trapped in the pit until someone outside opens the door; our MD insisted that the door remain open and had some stagehands install black pipe-and-drape. People have to be quiet if they walk by the pit but TOO BAD, it's way better than being locked in with no way out.
The show went well, no complaints otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday and two shows.
Not much to report for the morning: breakfast, working on Foodie Finds for Tulsa, feeling annoyed at all the cleaning and shopping and packing I'll have to rush through for this Mexico trip, and simultaneously looking forward to the trip such that I didn't feel like working! :p
The first show was ok, we had another hold so there went our "streak". So lame. I hope it stops after the layoff.
During the break between shows I stayed at the theatre because it was so far back to the hotel, plus I had a physical therapy appointment and didn't want to make my carpool come back early on my behalf. Walked to Worcester Public Market and just enjoyed looking around, but it was 20°F outside with a strong wind so my cheeks are now windburnt (can't wait for them to peel in the Mexican sun. Sigh.)
My physical therapy was, surprisingly, possibly helpful! At this point I'm convinced that the weird twinging I've been feeling can't be muscle-related because I have full range of motion. But then...I described what I was feeling to the physical therapist as follows:
"It feels like there's a string tied from the bowl of my right hip, to one of my small lower ribs, and every once in a while at random someone plucks it."
And he pulled up this image:
And I was like, DANG.
Those are hip flexor muscles. And one thing that I really should have considered, is that I have never been able to sit cross-legged. I've always been a W-sitter. For forty years. And just maybe, a lifestyle of lots of sitting in pits and on buses and planes, plus holding a four-pound instrument over my left shoulder for hours at a time, plus continuing to W-sit, could be adding up to weird muscle spasms, cramping, and twinging.
Why didn't I consider this??
We tried some stretches until I was able to simulate the twinging, then he gave me some stretches to do by myself. I'm not entirely convinced that hip flexors are The Whole Problem, but it won't hurt me to focus on it and see if the stretches help diminish the weird sensation. I'm glad that I decided to talk to PT about this; at least it makes me think it COULD be something minor stemming from a lifelong habit, rather than an imminent medical emergency like a hernia or burst appendix or something.
The evening show was ok but the pit is SO COLD. We were all bundled up, the woodwinds were even wearing coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. They don't believe in heat here in Worcester I guess. I hate to disparage any theatre but this one is in the top ten most uncomfortable that I've ever played. It's cramped, cold, only one bathroom backstage, no dressing room for the orchestra, and if our MD hadn't advocated for us we'd be literally locked into the pit before every show with no way to get out if there was an emergency except scaling the pit wall into the audience. I'm sorry but I think that's all a recipe for disaster, eventually, for someone out there.
After the last show we carpooled back to the hotel where Elen (cellist, who broke her hand over the last layoff and just recently rejoined us) gave us each a little Fireball shot! We took them together as a band. Much needed! Actually, I could have used that in the pit to warm me up!
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, I wasn't deeply in the mood to do two shows but was excited to get to the layoff afterward!
I partial-packed and packed myself dinner for the theatre, then carpooled over.
At the theatre there was a wall tag to sign on stage level, up a creepy rickety spiral staircase that is actually backstage. This meant that on the way to sign the wall tag, I could look out over much of Stage Left, a view that I rarely get to see.
The wall tag. It's just a MFL stencil but the colors are pretty against the matte black.
Our first show was good. Eileen (French horn) had her parents in the pit to watch and listen, and although it was cramped it was nice to have visitors...made the show go faster.
During the break between shows I tried to get steps in by going to a Taiwanese grocery store a half-mile away. And of course I can't do THAT without getting something! My tiny haul is just some cashew candies (literally looks like cashew brittle stuck to rice wafers); some "soft wheat cakes" that resemble rice cakes only with a softer texture and sugary coating; and "creamy corn" candies which I shared with the band. The corn candies weren't bad! If you like sweet corn things like kettle corn, creamed corn, corn fritters/muffins, etc, you'd like these. Just a cheap taffy candy. The others I will have to try later (and I want to share them with Jameson.)
Back at the theatre I ate dinner, then it was "one and done." We packed up, loaded out, got to the hotel...and now, a much-needed break!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow, I get up super early and fly to Orlando.
I'll have the evening to get a few groceries, clean a bit or pack for Mexico, then we're going to see Jameson's friend Lea perform in a local show. The next day, final packing and prep. Then on the 21st we fly to Yucatan for a mini vacay!!
You won't hear from me for a bit because I'll be hopefully relaxing on the beach with a drink in hand!!
The airport was whatever, I walked around a lot just to get steps in and looked at everything, like I always do. I noticed a Delta pilot sitting quietly and chomping some beef jerky...I wanted to ask him for trading cards but didn't want to interrupt his eating so kept walking. But 20 minutes and at least three laps later he was still munching away, lol. And he had a friendly, relaxed look about him, so I thought "why not" and approached him. He enthusiastically said, "Yes!" to the cards and pulled out a stack, I asked which was his favorite to fly and he said the A321 (I already have a card for that one but since it's his favorite I couldn't decline it!) I thanked him and started to walk away but he said, "Wait, I have more for you!" and handed me two more that I DIDN'T have yet: the 767-400, and the 767-300, which is a holographic card!!
A video of the holograph (CLICK HERE to watch)
What a cool dude! I thanked him profusely and went back to our group to show them off to my friends :)
At boarding I had equally good luck: the pilots had a card for the plane we were actually riding, the A220!
Here are all three cards. Each plane has something unique about it. The A220 has enough cargo space to hold two adult orcas! The 767-400 has a very powerful engine that could inflate a blimp in just seven seconds! And the 767-300 has enough fuel capacity to fill 1600 cars!
I now have seven unique Delta trading cards. Yay! Don't ask what I'll do with them, no idea haha.
We arrived on time and it was a smooth flight. Luggage retrieval, and while we waited I pestered a few more pilots who walked through the airport for cards. Two of them gave me A321s (and said they liked flying it too, I wonder why!) so now I have duplicates of those which I'll give to Kayle's kids or something. And I got my first rejection, a pilot who said, "Aww, sorry, I don't have any on me!" It was bound to happen!
Another bus ride through Boston traffic, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. We got to the hotel only 15 minutes later than scheduled, but with only one working elevator it took an obnoxious long time to get to our rooms. It was too late and dark for walking so it was an Uber for me, to get dinner at the Whole Paycheck hot bar and just a few groceries. We're only here for three days; in addition to the usual fruits and meats I picked up some treats for myself.
These two green juices. The one on the left looks more appealing, but the one on the right contains two servings and the other is only one. The bright green one has more fiber and potassium; the dark green one has lower sugar and more vitamin C. I got both entirely because I couldn't decide between them.
These snacks and rice!
The granola is a brand I've had before but it's very hard to find in stores, this is only the second time I've seen it. It's made by soaking the oats in whole-fruit juices, which gives it incredible flavor and extra fiber and vitamins while still keeping it a low-calorie snack. Last time I got beet, this time went with carrot.
The little can is a milk tea, made with plant milk! FINALLY! Milk tea is wonderful but I can't usually have it because it's made with whole or condensed milk. This brand is called T'wrl and they make four flavors of milk tea: matcha, hojicha (roasted green), Taiwanese-style black, and Ube. At some point I'd love to try them all.
The "forbidden rice" is a microwaveable par-cooked bag, something you don't see too often for black/purple rice. The brand is Jasberry, and this is a proprietary rice that they've grown over a decade of intensive cross-breeding. They claim it has 40x the antioxidants of brown rice, and with that dark purple coloring I can believe it.
Put my food away, chatted with Jameson and people online, and chilled out.
Look at that, a night without a show!
-------------------------------------------------------
Was up earlier than I would have liked to have breakfast before heading out to get a massage. Our hotel is eight miles from the theatre this week so we have rental cars, and I was able to borrow a band car, saving me Uber dollars, yay!
I don't get massages very often because I don't like to be touched, but about once a year I suck it up and enjoy one. This one was only 30 minutes; I really should have booked an hour but maybe at the resort in Mexico I can have another :)
The masseuse was great, and 30 minutes later I walked out feeling much more relaxed. A shame to have to step into the 30-degree windy northeast weather! I walked a few minutes down the street to Root and Press, a little cafe lined with bookshelves and serving standard cafe stuff with a lot of vegan options.
I went with their special, a vegan caprese made with Just Egg, cashew mozzarella sauce, basil, lettuce, tomato, garlic, and balsamic drizzle on ciabatta. It was delicious!
I was a little disappointed that the "mozzarella cheese" was only a sauce, because a caprese usually has big slices of fluffy white cheese. But I think they were trying to simulate that with the vegan egg, which was still very good. Drove back to the hotel where I packed dinner to bring to the theatre, drank lots of water and tea, and enjoyed some chill time, making a packing list for Mexico and watching Seven Deadly Sins which my bandmates have recently convinced me is worth checking out.
We carpooled to the theatre (rental cars.) It's a pretty theatre, I guess, but the backstage is horrible. I played here a year or two ago with Tootsie and remember hating the claustrophobic pit...they literally locked us in before each performance, even removing the stairs to get out! And that was terrible for my anxiety. This year thankfully I am not the only one who sees a huge safety concern and/or anxiety inducer in being literally trapped in the pit until someone outside opens the door; our MD insisted that the door remain open and had some stagehands install black pipe-and-drape. People have to be quiet if they walk by the pit but TOO BAD, it's way better than being locked in with no way out.
The show went well, no complaints otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday and two shows.
Not much to report for the morning: breakfast, working on Foodie Finds for Tulsa, feeling annoyed at all the cleaning and shopping and packing I'll have to rush through for this Mexico trip, and simultaneously looking forward to the trip such that I didn't feel like working! :p
The first show was ok, we had another hold so there went our "streak". So lame. I hope it stops after the layoff.
During the break between shows I stayed at the theatre because it was so far back to the hotel, plus I had a physical therapy appointment and didn't want to make my carpool come back early on my behalf. Walked to Worcester Public Market and just enjoyed looking around, but it was 20°F outside with a strong wind so my cheeks are now windburnt (can't wait for them to peel in the Mexican sun. Sigh.)
My physical therapy was, surprisingly, possibly helpful! At this point I'm convinced that the weird twinging I've been feeling can't be muscle-related because I have full range of motion. But then...I described what I was feeling to the physical therapist as follows:
"It feels like there's a string tied from the bowl of my right hip, to one of my small lower ribs, and every once in a while at random someone plucks it."
And he pulled up this image:
And I was like, DANG.
Those are hip flexor muscles. And one thing that I really should have considered, is that I have never been able to sit cross-legged. I've always been a W-sitter. For forty years. And just maybe, a lifestyle of lots of sitting in pits and on buses and planes, plus holding a four-pound instrument over my left shoulder for hours at a time, plus continuing to W-sit, could be adding up to weird muscle spasms, cramping, and twinging.
Why didn't I consider this??
We tried some stretches until I was able to simulate the twinging, then he gave me some stretches to do by myself. I'm not entirely convinced that hip flexors are The Whole Problem, but it won't hurt me to focus on it and see if the stretches help diminish the weird sensation. I'm glad that I decided to talk to PT about this; at least it makes me think it COULD be something minor stemming from a lifelong habit, rather than an imminent medical emergency like a hernia or burst appendix or something.
The evening show was ok but the pit is SO COLD. We were all bundled up, the woodwinds were even wearing coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. They don't believe in heat here in Worcester I guess. I hate to disparage any theatre but this one is in the top ten most uncomfortable that I've ever played. It's cramped, cold, only one bathroom backstage, no dressing room for the orchestra, and if our MD hadn't advocated for us we'd be literally locked into the pit before every show with no way to get out if there was an emergency except scaling the pit wall into the audience. I'm sorry but I think that's all a recipe for disaster, eventually, for someone out there.
After the last show we carpooled back to the hotel where Elen (cellist, who broke her hand over the last layoff and just recently rejoined us) gave us each a little Fireball shot! We took them together as a band. Much needed! Actually, I could have used that in the pit to warm me up!
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, I wasn't deeply in the mood to do two shows but was excited to get to the layoff afterward!
I partial-packed and packed myself dinner for the theatre, then carpooled over.
At the theatre there was a wall tag to sign on stage level, up a creepy rickety spiral staircase that is actually backstage. This meant that on the way to sign the wall tag, I could look out over much of Stage Left, a view that I rarely get to see.
The wall tag. It's just a MFL stencil but the colors are pretty against the matte black.
Our first show was good. Eileen (French horn) had her parents in the pit to watch and listen, and although it was cramped it was nice to have visitors...made the show go faster.
During the break between shows I tried to get steps in by going to a Taiwanese grocery store a half-mile away. And of course I can't do THAT without getting something! My tiny haul is just some cashew candies (literally looks like cashew brittle stuck to rice wafers); some "soft wheat cakes" that resemble rice cakes only with a softer texture and sugary coating; and "creamy corn" candies which I shared with the band. The corn candies weren't bad! If you like sweet corn things like kettle corn, creamed corn, corn fritters/muffins, etc, you'd like these. Just a cheap taffy candy. The others I will have to try later (and I want to share them with Jameson.)
Back at the theatre I ate dinner, then it was "one and done." We packed up, loaded out, got to the hotel...and now, a much-needed break!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow, I get up super early and fly to Orlando.
I'll have the evening to get a few groceries, clean a bit or pack for Mexico, then we're going to see Jameson's friend Lea perform in a local show. The next day, final packing and prep. Then on the 21st we fly to Yucatan for a mini vacay!!
You won't hear from me for a bit because I'll be hopefully relaxing on the beach with a drink in hand!!
