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Back in Orlando for 2024
Apr. 21st, 2024 09:07 pmTRAVEL
Was up ungodly early at 4am for the flight.
Long bus ride to the airport, but once there I had time to wander and sip coffee and eat random things.
My flight was direct, so both a blessing and a curse: Get there faster, but be on a plane for a longer stretch of time.
Still, it was a smooth flight with in-seat screens so I got to watch the movie Suzume (beautiful art but disjointed storyline) and even read a little. We must have had a good tailwind because we arrived nearly 45 minutes early!
Jameson came to get me, and we got caught up as we rode back home.
He's gotten a new Queen tattoo! It's pretty big and on his back. It's not done yet, just the line work and some partial coloring, so there will be pics when it is finished.
At home we ate Panda Express and watched Conan O'Brien Must Go, which is both adorable and hilarious.
I unpacked as much as I could, and unboxed all of the court reporting gear that I've wasted money on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VANILLA
Friday I woke up feeling like garbage, not really surprising after a whole day on a plane and multi-time zone jump.
Breakfast and hydration and Motrin.
I checked on the vanilla, and it was blooming!
What a beautiful flower!
The flower that I tried to pollinate on Easter seems not to have taken. Maybe I did it too early? Maybe I did it wrong? I'm not sure. Well, I got to try again with this flower, and there are several more that will bloom this week as well. I'll watch more tutorial videos.
Here are the reproductive parts of the flower (I got the taller ladder out this time and was at eye level, much easier to see what I was doing.)
I guess the longest part, the stamen, is what holds the pollen. And then under that there's like a little flap-shield-thing that you have to push aside with the toothpick, and then press the pollen-tip and the female part below the shield together. So I did that, and also used the toothpick to physically take some pollen and rub it on the female part (at least that's what I was trying to do.) We will see if THIS one takes. I left the ladder out on the pool deck since I'll be needing it again.
FRIDAY DOINGS
Jameson went to physical therapy for his hand, and I had wanted to do a loads of things while he was gone but just wasn't feeling great, so took my time. Vacuumed and got groceries...enjoying being able to buy larger quantities of things, not just a week's worth! And I bought some Tillamook German Chocolate Cake ice cream, which I've been dreaming about since we saw it in the store over Easter.
Back home we had lunch together, then while Jameson did his hand therapy and practiced piano I wiped down the kitchen, cleaned both bathrooms, did a load of laundry, washed my trombone, and did my most hated chore: scrubbing the shower. Then swept and mopped the tile in all rooms, had a snack, and we took a break to watch the Cubs game around 3. I drank loads of water and felt better but still very jet lagged.
Dinner was Chick-fil-a, watching TV together, and thanks to a DreamWidth friend's post about his experience with Prolific I was reminded that there's another gig-economy tool in my pocket, so I pulled that up and managed to finally get it set up (I vaguely remember identity verification issues when I first signed up, likely due to that pesky apostrophe.) Did a few surveys while Jameson gamed with his friends.
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HEALTH
Saturday I set an alarm for 8:30, but could not bring myself to get up and fell back asleep for another hour.
When I checked the vanilla there were THREE blooms at once! On different branches of the vine. I did my best to pollinate each one, and we will see how it goes (one was well above my head so I'm pretty sure I didn't get it right.)
My throat feels very strange, scratchy and itchy, but not in the back of my throat, halfway down...around the voice box or larynx I guess? It's not sore, just irritated and constantly giving me the urge to cough. Not sure what's going on with that but I hope it doesn't progress...I've got my Disney costume fitting on Tuesday. So of course I felt worse as the day went on.
This does seem to happen every time I crash-land from tour. Guess my body does not adjust well to the sudden lifestyle shift. I don't know how to prevent that...I hydrate and eat vegetables and try to get as much sleep as I can, but if my show ends close to midnight and I have to be up at 4am for a flight, or if I'm in a new time zone every few days, what can I do about that?
CLERMONT
Anyway, Jameson wanted to go to Clermont to visit a record store and though I wasn't feeling well I wanted sunshine and a nice meal with my boyfriend, so off we went. Clermont is cute, little shops and a park by the lake and a brewery and whatnot. We did the record store first and didn't find anything but enjoyed looking. For lunch we chose the brewery. Jameson got chocolate milk stout, I did the key lime cider.
I'm not usually into cider or beer but when you're not feeling well things change haha.
There was a coal-fired pizza place next door so we got a Sicilian pie that came out piping hot, crispy, and excellent.
Very, VERY good pizza. We walked around a bit more after that but didn't really need anything, so that was it for the afternoon. At home Jameson watched baseball and did laundry, meanwhile I received an email full of Dropbox parts and mp3s from the Main Street Philharmonic so busied myself with downloading all of that, sorting it into playlists and set lists for listening and practicing purposes. This stuff will need to be memorized so if I can listen and play along it's ideal. Listening to the music made me quite nervous...but I will do my best.
By the time I was done with that my head was pounding and I felt lousy. It feels like some sort of virus, I don't know what, but anything that starts in the throat makes me think of covid right away. I took it easy, just watched TV with Jameson and drank lots of water and ate bad things like leftover Christmas candy (yeah I've still got a stash of that.) Jameson insisted that I take some NyQuil, so I did and fell asleep quickly as a result.
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DISNEY MUSIC
Sunday my eyes popped open at 10am, instantly felt guilty for "sleeping in." Isn't it great how childhood traumas get to influence one well into adulthood, and probably right into the grave! Clearly I needed the sleep.
Breakfast and checking the vanilla (it's having a break from blooming after yesterday's extravagance) then a brief chat with the Main Street Phil manager whose name is Mike. I wanted to check on a memorization timeline since I'm sick right now and memorizing is more difficult than usual (brain fog sucks!) He reassured me that there's no rush, nothing to be done anyway until our costumes are complete. That's a relief. He also confirmed that we subs will be guaranteed at least one performance day in the park.
That means, no matter what else may happen, I'll get to fulfill my dream of playing the trombone in the park as a Disney employee.
Oh my gosh. Every time I think about it, I'm amazed and grateful.
(It also still blows my mind that I auditioned no less than FIVE TIMES for this same opportunity, was rejected each and every time, and ultimately got it by a completely different route. Just goes to show, there are other ways to reach a goal besides what you're "supposed to do.")
Jameson went for a walk, and while he was gone I ran the dishwasher, washed our sheets, dusted, and tried to work on my court reporting homework now that I've got most of the needed equipment. I couldn't for the life of me get the audio coming to the correct areas, though, which made me feel very stupid and inadequate...until Jameson spent a solid hour on it and couldn't get it working either. He has WAY more audio tech experience than me, so if he can't get it I'm not stupid, something is actually wrong. Sent an email to the program director, who will hopefully help me out.
Jameson applied for more out-of-state teaching jobs, I played through my Disney music with the recordings. Doing that made me feel much better about the music, less intimidated and more excited :) The Hot Dog Dance especially made me happy, because that's the type of music you can goof off to. I may not be an extrovert, but I have performed in front of crowds before and can be QUITE the goober on stage.
Case in point, Busch Gardens circa 2011:
Taco salads for dinner, German chocolate cake ice cream for dessert. Jameson played Fallout with friends, I took Prolific surveys and watched Fallout the series until bedtime.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow is Monday, so Jameson will have to work.
I'm going to pack a little bag for my rehearsal day at Disney, and practice my music for both Disney and The Florida Orchestra, and run a few errands, and hopefully hear back from the court reporting teacher so I can move along with that.
Very excited and nervous for Tuesday (and hoping my health can hold out until that day is over.)
I'll go first thing in the morning for a costume fitting, then from there I'll get a tour of the Magic Kingdom employee tunnels, followed by an entire day of shadowing the Main Street Philharmonic as they perform sets in the park! I'll pack one meal and eat another at the Magic Kingdom's employee cafeteria. And between sets I'll have my trombone with me, and will practice my music.
Wish me luck :)
Was up ungodly early at 4am for the flight.
Long bus ride to the airport, but once there I had time to wander and sip coffee and eat random things.
My flight was direct, so both a blessing and a curse: Get there faster, but be on a plane for a longer stretch of time.
Still, it was a smooth flight with in-seat screens so I got to watch the movie Suzume (beautiful art but disjointed storyline) and even read a little. We must have had a good tailwind because we arrived nearly 45 minutes early!
Jameson came to get me, and we got caught up as we rode back home.
He's gotten a new Queen tattoo! It's pretty big and on his back. It's not done yet, just the line work and some partial coloring, so there will be pics when it is finished.
At home we ate Panda Express and watched Conan O'Brien Must Go, which is both adorable and hilarious.
I unpacked as much as I could, and unboxed all of the court reporting gear that I've wasted money on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VANILLA
Friday I woke up feeling like garbage, not really surprising after a whole day on a plane and multi-time zone jump.
Breakfast and hydration and Motrin.
I checked on the vanilla, and it was blooming!
What a beautiful flower!
The flower that I tried to pollinate on Easter seems not to have taken. Maybe I did it too early? Maybe I did it wrong? I'm not sure. Well, I got to try again with this flower, and there are several more that will bloom this week as well. I'll watch more tutorial videos.
Here are the reproductive parts of the flower (I got the taller ladder out this time and was at eye level, much easier to see what I was doing.)
I guess the longest part, the stamen, is what holds the pollen. And then under that there's like a little flap-shield-thing that you have to push aside with the toothpick, and then press the pollen-tip and the female part below the shield together. So I did that, and also used the toothpick to physically take some pollen and rub it on the female part (at least that's what I was trying to do.) We will see if THIS one takes. I left the ladder out on the pool deck since I'll be needing it again.
FRIDAY DOINGS
Jameson went to physical therapy for his hand, and I had wanted to do a loads of things while he was gone but just wasn't feeling great, so took my time. Vacuumed and got groceries...enjoying being able to buy larger quantities of things, not just a week's worth! And I bought some Tillamook German Chocolate Cake ice cream, which I've been dreaming about since we saw it in the store over Easter.
Back home we had lunch together, then while Jameson did his hand therapy and practiced piano I wiped down the kitchen, cleaned both bathrooms, did a load of laundry, washed my trombone, and did my most hated chore: scrubbing the shower. Then swept and mopped the tile in all rooms, had a snack, and we took a break to watch the Cubs game around 3. I drank loads of water and felt better but still very jet lagged.
Dinner was Chick-fil-a, watching TV together, and thanks to a DreamWidth friend's post about his experience with Prolific I was reminded that there's another gig-economy tool in my pocket, so I pulled that up and managed to finally get it set up (I vaguely remember identity verification issues when I first signed up, likely due to that pesky apostrophe.) Did a few surveys while Jameson gamed with his friends.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH
Saturday I set an alarm for 8:30, but could not bring myself to get up and fell back asleep for another hour.
When I checked the vanilla there were THREE blooms at once! On different branches of the vine. I did my best to pollinate each one, and we will see how it goes (one was well above my head so I'm pretty sure I didn't get it right.)
My throat feels very strange, scratchy and itchy, but not in the back of my throat, halfway down...around the voice box or larynx I guess? It's not sore, just irritated and constantly giving me the urge to cough. Not sure what's going on with that but I hope it doesn't progress...I've got my Disney costume fitting on Tuesday. So of course I felt worse as the day went on.
This does seem to happen every time I crash-land from tour. Guess my body does not adjust well to the sudden lifestyle shift. I don't know how to prevent that...I hydrate and eat vegetables and try to get as much sleep as I can, but if my show ends close to midnight and I have to be up at 4am for a flight, or if I'm in a new time zone every few days, what can I do about that?
CLERMONT
Anyway, Jameson wanted to go to Clermont to visit a record store and though I wasn't feeling well I wanted sunshine and a nice meal with my boyfriend, so off we went. Clermont is cute, little shops and a park by the lake and a brewery and whatnot. We did the record store first and didn't find anything but enjoyed looking. For lunch we chose the brewery. Jameson got chocolate milk stout, I did the key lime cider.
I'm not usually into cider or beer but when you're not feeling well things change haha.
There was a coal-fired pizza place next door so we got a Sicilian pie that came out piping hot, crispy, and excellent.
Very, VERY good pizza. We walked around a bit more after that but didn't really need anything, so that was it for the afternoon. At home Jameson watched baseball and did laundry, meanwhile I received an email full of Dropbox parts and mp3s from the Main Street Philharmonic so busied myself with downloading all of that, sorting it into playlists and set lists for listening and practicing purposes. This stuff will need to be memorized so if I can listen and play along it's ideal. Listening to the music made me quite nervous...but I will do my best.
By the time I was done with that my head was pounding and I felt lousy. It feels like some sort of virus, I don't know what, but anything that starts in the throat makes me think of covid right away. I took it easy, just watched TV with Jameson and drank lots of water and ate bad things like leftover Christmas candy (yeah I've still got a stash of that.) Jameson insisted that I take some NyQuil, so I did and fell asleep quickly as a result.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISNEY MUSIC
Sunday my eyes popped open at 10am, instantly felt guilty for "sleeping in." Isn't it great how childhood traumas get to influence one well into adulthood, and probably right into the grave! Clearly I needed the sleep.
Breakfast and checking the vanilla (it's having a break from blooming after yesterday's extravagance) then a brief chat with the Main Street Phil manager whose name is Mike. I wanted to check on a memorization timeline since I'm sick right now and memorizing is more difficult than usual (brain fog sucks!) He reassured me that there's no rush, nothing to be done anyway until our costumes are complete. That's a relief. He also confirmed that we subs will be guaranteed at least one performance day in the park.
That means, no matter what else may happen, I'll get to fulfill my dream of playing the trombone in the park as a Disney employee.
Oh my gosh. Every time I think about it, I'm amazed and grateful.
(It also still blows my mind that I auditioned no less than FIVE TIMES for this same opportunity, was rejected each and every time, and ultimately got it by a completely different route. Just goes to show, there are other ways to reach a goal besides what you're "supposed to do.")
Jameson went for a walk, and while he was gone I ran the dishwasher, washed our sheets, dusted, and tried to work on my court reporting homework now that I've got most of the needed equipment. I couldn't for the life of me get the audio coming to the correct areas, though, which made me feel very stupid and inadequate...until Jameson spent a solid hour on it and couldn't get it working either. He has WAY more audio tech experience than me, so if he can't get it I'm not stupid, something is actually wrong. Sent an email to the program director, who will hopefully help me out.
Jameson applied for more out-of-state teaching jobs, I played through my Disney music with the recordings. Doing that made me feel much better about the music, less intimidated and more excited :) The Hot Dog Dance especially made me happy, because that's the type of music you can goof off to. I may not be an extrovert, but I have performed in front of crowds before and can be QUITE the goober on stage.
Case in point, Busch Gardens circa 2011:
Taco salads for dinner, German chocolate cake ice cream for dessert. Jameson played Fallout with friends, I took Prolific surveys and watched Fallout the series until bedtime.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow is Monday, so Jameson will have to work.
I'm going to pack a little bag for my rehearsal day at Disney, and practice my music for both Disney and The Florida Orchestra, and run a few errands, and hopefully hear back from the court reporting teacher so I can move along with that.
Very excited and nervous for Tuesday (and hoping my health can hold out until that day is over.)
I'll go first thing in the morning for a costume fitting, then from there I'll get a tour of the Magic Kingdom employee tunnels, followed by an entire day of shadowing the Main Street Philharmonic as they perform sets in the park! I'll pack one meal and eat another at the Magic Kingdom's employee cafeteria. And between sets I'll have my trombone with me, and will practice my music.
Wish me luck :)
