One Month Until Launch
Oct. 4th, 2023 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39A bit of a slog for me on Monday.
I worked but got distracted because the music coordinator and I have finally chosen my trombone sub for My Fair Lady, for when I have to come back to Florida to be available for Disney's Candlelight. I had already sent the sub some information and practice materials, but I also wanted to be a Good Communicator and respond to everyone who had applied, thanking them for doing so. Because that's what I'd want someone to do for ME.
It was a bit of a mistake time-wise though, because several people wanted to know why they'd been rejected.
I can remember when I was younger, I took every rejection personally (I still do take some personally!) so I completely understand wanting some feedback. The problem, though, is that it wasn't my decision. The MD chose someone, partially because they sounded good to him, but other factors may have been involved that I know nothing about.
Especially when it comes to touring shows, there is SO much to take into consideration.
Has the person performed professionally before? Have they performed with DIALOGUE before? Have they traveled before? Have they used touring show equipment? Have they played in a pit environment? Do they have a good temperament? Do they have good HYGIENE?
Most of these factors are WAY more important than how good they are as a musician.
You don't want someone to suck at the part...but if they do, audio can just shut their mike off.
Worse than that is a musician who doesn't know how to stop-and-start for show dialogue; or who can't handle a tight travel schedule; or doesn't know how to pack for travel; has never used in-ear monitors, or doesn't know how to read theatre cues. Anyone who has experience in these things is going to have major advantage, even over someone who is a highly skilled musician.
Anyway, I blew a lot of time on responding thoughtfully to those who wanted feedback. Then I had therapy, then I decided that since Jameson wasn't here I was going to do all of my cooking for the week RIGHT NOW TODAY, just get it out of my face so I'm not having to cook each day.
First I made a cannoli dip using some leftover ricotta. It's just ricotta, honey, and vanilla (technically I should have added cream cheese and nutmeg too but we don't have any, it still tastes great.) I'll buy some waffle cones for it later, and add chocolate chips when it thickens up.
Then I made a quick marinade for the shrimp left over from our po'boys, and cooked them, to be eaten with my leftover fried rice for dinner tonight.
Simultaneously I tried my hand at baked tofu since the marinades were very similar. It turned out to be kind of a disaster because I'd bought the wrong kind of tofu (too soft) but it was still edible so I'm eating it. Next time it's gotta be extra-firm tofu if I want to bake it.
Finally I replicated the sweet potato vegan curry that one of my sisters made last week, just because it looked really good!
Sweet potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, curry, garam masala, pepper and salt. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Colorful and healthy.
Just as the curry was finished the doorbell rang, it was the tree trimming service I'd called for an estimate. They happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to know if they could do the estimate now. Sure! First thing he said when I opened the door was "God that smells fantastic! Sorry! Are you cooking?" Lol!
Trimming the trees will be expensive but it needs to be done, so I will grit my teeth and do it. Jameson already pays for everything else around here. I gave the guy a bowl of curry for the road, he was super excited about it. Hope he liked it!
After dinner I worked some more since I'd blown most of my day cooking instead of working, then practiced My Fair Lady even though I didn't feel up for it. Now that it's October I'm not giving myself the choice, I am MAKING myself practice every day.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was more slogging at data entry, then the tree service guys showed up nearly two hours early so that was a fun distraction for me.
They did a great job and did exactly what I asked, which was getting our tree's branches away from our neighbor's roof...
...and trimming the backyard tree up and away from the lanai.
It was $$$ but worth it. We only have to do that bianually or so.
Also, dude said he'd shared the curry I'd given him with his wife, and they absolutely loved it!
Back to work, and Jameson was back home around lunchtime.
We got caught up with each other, and both of us had lots of work to do so it was a quiet day.
For dinner he wanted Chick-fil-a so I ran out for it, and was amazed at how hazy it was outside.
Apparently the Canadian wildfire smoke is still a thing. Like, my eyes and throat were itchy and I was only outside for maybe 10 minutes. I'd had a low-grade headache all day and I think this is why.
I had my sister's curry for dinner, and it was VERY good if I do say so.
After dinner I had orientation for My Fair Lady.
I was glad to see some familiar Troika Entertainment faces, and also most of the employee handbook has the same policies and travel standards that Troika had (there had been a merger last year and the company is now called Crossroads Live, and you never know what will happen in mergers.) At the end of the session there was a Q&A, and I took that as my chance to jump in and do a plug for Megan's Foodie Finds! I saw several cast members reacting excitedly in their Zoom videos, so I hope that was genuine. I tried to share a QR code for joining the group, but Zoom wouldn't let me upload an image from my computer and I didn't have screensharing permissions. Hopefully our show management will send out the invite in a few days as I've requested.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up at 7:30 instead of 6:30 to work and was bitter about it because I needed that extra hour.
In fact, I was pissy with Jameson too when he got up. And felt "over it" and generically cranky all day for no discernible reason. Later on I realized that I was feeling bloated and headachy, and it clicked that this is how I feel when I've missed a birth control pill. Sure enough, that's what happened. No wonder I was a mess all day. I apologized to Jameson but he looked at me like I was nuts (my idea of "being pissy" is giving one-word answers to questions, and sighing a lot, which are not typically offensive to people.)
Later I took a trip to Lowe's for light bulbs for the bathroom, dishwasher and disposal cleaners, caulk/sealant for our front door because there's a crack in the frame and lizards have been getting in through it, and a water filter for the fridge.
Then I went to Publix for quiche ingredients, and while there the new national cell phone alert system went off.
For about 20 seconds the store became a cacophony of screeching, buzzing phones, and people exclaiming and cursing.
It was kinda fun.
Back home we had dinner (not quiche, I'll make that tomorrow) and watched Great British Baking Show.
Then Jameson practiced Disney stuff while I went for a walk.
It had just finished raining so everything was drippy and it smelled like earth and decay (another thing I hate about Florida, something is ALWAYS rotting.) But there was a nice breeze and it was overcast.
There are mushrooms everywhere right now.
These are unusual, and clumped together.
Some animal or kid had dug some up. I thought the crinkly tapered undersides made them look like steamed buns.
The lake. I usually run my pics through a correction filter but was too lazy this time so it's a raw pic.
There was a nice sunset.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow I will get up at 6:30 to hopefully get a lot of work done, and make the quiche for dinner.
Other plans for the weekend: clean my car, practice, sweep and possibly power wash the pool deck, really plug away at Foodie Finds, and go to brunch with Jameson.
I worked but got distracted because the music coordinator and I have finally chosen my trombone sub for My Fair Lady, for when I have to come back to Florida to be available for Disney's Candlelight. I had already sent the sub some information and practice materials, but I also wanted to be a Good Communicator and respond to everyone who had applied, thanking them for doing so. Because that's what I'd want someone to do for ME.
It was a bit of a mistake time-wise though, because several people wanted to know why they'd been rejected.
I can remember when I was younger, I took every rejection personally (I still do take some personally!) so I completely understand wanting some feedback. The problem, though, is that it wasn't my decision. The MD chose someone, partially because they sounded good to him, but other factors may have been involved that I know nothing about.
Especially when it comes to touring shows, there is SO much to take into consideration.
Has the person performed professionally before? Have they performed with DIALOGUE before? Have they traveled before? Have they used touring show equipment? Have they played in a pit environment? Do they have a good temperament? Do they have good HYGIENE?
Most of these factors are WAY more important than how good they are as a musician.
You don't want someone to suck at the part...but if they do, audio can just shut their mike off.
Worse than that is a musician who doesn't know how to stop-and-start for show dialogue; or who can't handle a tight travel schedule; or doesn't know how to pack for travel; has never used in-ear monitors, or doesn't know how to read theatre cues. Anyone who has experience in these things is going to have major advantage, even over someone who is a highly skilled musician.
Anyway, I blew a lot of time on responding thoughtfully to those who wanted feedback. Then I had therapy, then I decided that since Jameson wasn't here I was going to do all of my cooking for the week RIGHT NOW TODAY, just get it out of my face so I'm not having to cook each day.
First I made a cannoli dip using some leftover ricotta. It's just ricotta, honey, and vanilla (technically I should have added cream cheese and nutmeg too but we don't have any, it still tastes great.) I'll buy some waffle cones for it later, and add chocolate chips when it thickens up.
Then I made a quick marinade for the shrimp left over from our po'boys, and cooked them, to be eaten with my leftover fried rice for dinner tonight.
Simultaneously I tried my hand at baked tofu since the marinades were very similar. It turned out to be kind of a disaster because I'd bought the wrong kind of tofu (too soft) but it was still edible so I'm eating it. Next time it's gotta be extra-firm tofu if I want to bake it.
Finally I replicated the sweet potato vegan curry that one of my sisters made last week, just because it looked really good!
Sweet potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, curry, garam masala, pepper and salt. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Colorful and healthy.
Just as the curry was finished the doorbell rang, it was the tree trimming service I'd called for an estimate. They happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to know if they could do the estimate now. Sure! First thing he said when I opened the door was "God that smells fantastic! Sorry! Are you cooking?" Lol!
Trimming the trees will be expensive but it needs to be done, so I will grit my teeth and do it. Jameson already pays for everything else around here. I gave the guy a bowl of curry for the road, he was super excited about it. Hope he liked it!
After dinner I worked some more since I'd blown most of my day cooking instead of working, then practiced My Fair Lady even though I didn't feel up for it. Now that it's October I'm not giving myself the choice, I am MAKING myself practice every day.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was more slogging at data entry, then the tree service guys showed up nearly two hours early so that was a fun distraction for me.
They did a great job and did exactly what I asked, which was getting our tree's branches away from our neighbor's roof...
...and trimming the backyard tree up and away from the lanai.
It was $$$ but worth it. We only have to do that bianually or so.
Also, dude said he'd shared the curry I'd given him with his wife, and they absolutely loved it!
Back to work, and Jameson was back home around lunchtime.
We got caught up with each other, and both of us had lots of work to do so it was a quiet day.
For dinner he wanted Chick-fil-a so I ran out for it, and was amazed at how hazy it was outside.
Apparently the Canadian wildfire smoke is still a thing. Like, my eyes and throat were itchy and I was only outside for maybe 10 minutes. I'd had a low-grade headache all day and I think this is why.
I had my sister's curry for dinner, and it was VERY good if I do say so.
After dinner I had orientation for My Fair Lady.
I was glad to see some familiar Troika Entertainment faces, and also most of the employee handbook has the same policies and travel standards that Troika had (there had been a merger last year and the company is now called Crossroads Live, and you never know what will happen in mergers.) At the end of the session there was a Q&A, and I took that as my chance to jump in and do a plug for Megan's Foodie Finds! I saw several cast members reacting excitedly in their Zoom videos, so I hope that was genuine. I tried to share a QR code for joining the group, but Zoom wouldn't let me upload an image from my computer and I didn't have screensharing permissions. Hopefully our show management will send out the invite in a few days as I've requested.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up at 7:30 instead of 6:30 to work and was bitter about it because I needed that extra hour.
In fact, I was pissy with Jameson too when he got up. And felt "over it" and generically cranky all day for no discernible reason. Later on I realized that I was feeling bloated and headachy, and it clicked that this is how I feel when I've missed a birth control pill. Sure enough, that's what happened. No wonder I was a mess all day. I apologized to Jameson but he looked at me like I was nuts (my idea of "being pissy" is giving one-word answers to questions, and sighing a lot, which are not typically offensive to people.)
Later I took a trip to Lowe's for light bulbs for the bathroom, dishwasher and disposal cleaners, caulk/sealant for our front door because there's a crack in the frame and lizards have been getting in through it, and a water filter for the fridge.
Then I went to Publix for quiche ingredients, and while there the new national cell phone alert system went off.
For about 20 seconds the store became a cacophony of screeching, buzzing phones, and people exclaiming and cursing.
It was kinda fun.
Back home we had dinner (not quiche, I'll make that tomorrow) and watched Great British Baking Show.
Then Jameson practiced Disney stuff while I went for a walk.
It had just finished raining so everything was drippy and it smelled like earth and decay (another thing I hate about Florida, something is ALWAYS rotting.) But there was a nice breeze and it was overcast.
There are mushrooms everywhere right now.
These are unusual, and clumped together.
Some animal or kid had dug some up. I thought the crinkly tapered undersides made them look like steamed buns.
The lake. I usually run my pics through a correction filter but was too lazy this time so it's a raw pic.
There was a nice sunset.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow I will get up at 6:30 to hopefully get a lot of work done, and make the quiche for dinner.
Other plans for the weekend: clean my car, practice, sweep and possibly power wash the pool deck, really plug away at Foodie Finds, and go to brunch with Jameson.
Tags:
