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taz_39Just two weeks until 2024!
Monday was nice and boring. 6:30am data entry, then breakfast and Jameson wanted to go for a walk so we went together. It was sunny and 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, very pleasant. We don't have a lot to talk about because we're around each other all the time, but being in each other's company is enough :)
Back home I washed our sheets, ate lunch, more data entry, and a drive to Places to get stocking stuffers for Jameson. I had planned to drive pretty far out today but partway through, it was so hectic in every store that I went to and lines were so long...I must have gotten fed up and/or tired, because my energy for this excursion just evaporated. I did get some nice things so it wasn't a wasted trip at all, plus I'll have to go out again on Thursday for our Christmas dinner ingredients and can pick up more stuff then (the crowds will be even WORSE I'm sure.)
Back home data entry and I was offered a Christmas gig! It's on the 23rd in the evening which is really nice, and it's for the Spanish church that I played with in September. It's a pleasure to play for them, and I'm looking forward to it :)
Jameson had Jollywood tonight, so after he left I cleaned our bathrooms and did a little more data entry--and ate cookies--before relaxing for the night. My anxiety wanted to work on the church music tonight, but my blazing headache and tired eyeballs said "no thx."
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I felt better as far as eye strain/headache, but was feeling incredibly unmotivated still.
So I stayed in my pajamas and big fluffy bathrobe all day, and did data entry, ate lunch with Jameson, listened through my Spanish church music, and played through it later (it is very easy.) I felt bad that I hadn't planned for dinner, but also everywhere you go is so crazy right now that I DON'T feel bad. After all I'll have to spend literal hours trying to find a beef tenderloin in a few days.
With that in mind I spent a solid moment planning what exactly to do over the next several days. I have a package to ship to my sister, things to get from the hardware store, Christmas breakfast and dinner items to gather, regular grocery items too, and final stocking stuffers to grab. It seems best, to me, to get the regular household stuff tomorrow, and then the special Christmas things on Thursday, which is the latest I'm willing to venture out with the Eve being on a Sunday this year. I feel like Friday will be absolute chaos and not worth it.
A package arrived with stocking stuffers for my siblings, too late for Christmas but they'll get it eventually.
Wonka chocolate toothpaste from hismile!
I was a bit jealous that they'll get to try this and I won't...until I saw that the company had included some sampler packs!
Those are for meeeeeee
I am most intrigued by Red Velvet and Coconut Whip.
I don't expect to like Peach Iced Tea.
I think Watermelon and Strawberry are already fairly common flavors, even for toothpaste.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday was much the same. I worked, Jameson worked.
In the afternoon I practiced my church music and took myself for a walk.
It was a bit unpleasant because the landscapers were out and about and just happened to be moving in the same direction that I was for a good 20 minutes, so it was a big racket and I felt awkward trying to avoid them on the sidewalk. But eventually we parted ways. I saw some sandhill cranes from a distance, and some fun Christmas decorations which I didn't photograph this time but will another time.
In the evening Jameson got ready for his final Jollywood performances. The event has been very successful, and I hope they'll do another one next year! Such a great show, with this fun Roaring 20s vibe thanks to the inclusion of Tiana from Princess and the Frog (and guests bringing that vibe themselves by dressing in literal flapper outfits and suits and such!)
Anyway he was getting ready, and I was curled up watching Tiktok in my comfy pajamas thinking about which cookie to eat tonight, when I got a text. From the stage manager at Disney.
Could I come play the evening Candlelight show? At 8:30pm?
I looked at the clock. It was 6:45. Um....ok!
A mad scramble to find not just black clothing, but NICE black clothing.
Suddenly Jameson and I were both heading out the door to separate Disney gigs. How fun!
Is this what musician romance is like? Lol.
I got backstage right at 8pm and unpacked my stuff while introducing myself to the trombonists...who, by the way, are also trombonists for the Orlando Philharmonic. I have chatted with Jeff (the principal trombonist) several times online, and our interactions have occasionally been....contentious? Many of you know that I come across cold or unnecessarily blunt online, and that I prefer being honest to being considerate of feelings (which is often NOT the right choice.) So, we have had those interactions. But, we have also both been adults and talked them out.
And so it was NOT awkward, and rather nice, to finally meet Jeff in person, although I felt a bit shy.
I also found out that the trombonist whom I was subbing for was OK, he had a preexisting medical condition that decided to flare up and he chose for his own health to sit the last show out. I was relieved; it's hard to be excited for a gig if someone is sick or hurt. I would much rather the "emergency" be that someone simply wants to spend Christmas with their family.
Just a few minutes after meeting everyone it was time to get on stage. I was SUPREMELY nervous--remember, I had ONE rehearsal at 3AM and that was a MONTH ago--but sucked up my courage and reminded myself that this is Christmas and gosh darn it, Christmas is about FUN.
And it was fun! I was nervous yes, but I filled the part. I didn't make any major stand-out mistakes. I blended as well as I could with the section while essentially sightreading the music. And it was nice to play with a big orchestra and an absolutely huge, talented choir and an awesome narrator (the celebrity guest tonight was Sterling K. Brown, and he had wonderful pacing and stage presence.) Jeff kindly gave me notes as we played along so I wouldn't be taken by surprise by the conductor's styles/choices and musical changes that had happened since that November rehearsal so long ago. I mean, I think it went really, really well.
Afterward everyone thanked me for filling in and said some incredibly nice things.
For my part, it was a dream to play with such a tight and talented brass section. And getting to sub for Candlelight, even once, was truly all I could ask for after having lost two weeks of work with My Fair Lady to make sure I was available for them.
This is what I was hoping for: one chance. Just one.
And somehow, I got it.
It's moments like this that continue to make me believe that my mother--the only person who fully supported me in music--is looking out for me. If she exists somewhere, I really do think she'd do that, that's the kind of person she was and the kind of relationship that we had. And I have been blessed with more opportunities and chances than I deserve OR have leveraged for myself, which imo makes it difficult to wave off as chance.
Anyway. That's a navel-gaze for a private post I think.
Sorry that I don't have photos or video, obviously being backstage and onstage and performing, we are NOT allowed to take footage!
Here is a video from the last time Mr. Brown narrated this event, two years ago, if you want to see sort-of what it was like for me tonight. There are chapters in this video so you can click through them rather than watching the whole thing.
(CLICK HERE to watch)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Now I'm home and back in PJs, waiting for Jameson's Jollywood to wrap up.
We will have a lot to talk about tonight!
Tomorrow I have to venture out for Christmas breakfast and dinner ingredients, and last-minute stocking stuffers, so I am getting up at 6:30am for an early start. I don't want to be out there in the afternoon or evening when it's going to be a madhouse, or over the next two weekend days when it'll probably be best to stay off the roads altogether.
And then...wow...it'll be Christmas!!
Monday was nice and boring. 6:30am data entry, then breakfast and Jameson wanted to go for a walk so we went together. It was sunny and 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, very pleasant. We don't have a lot to talk about because we're around each other all the time, but being in each other's company is enough :)
Back home I washed our sheets, ate lunch, more data entry, and a drive to Places to get stocking stuffers for Jameson. I had planned to drive pretty far out today but partway through, it was so hectic in every store that I went to and lines were so long...I must have gotten fed up and/or tired, because my energy for this excursion just evaporated. I did get some nice things so it wasn't a wasted trip at all, plus I'll have to go out again on Thursday for our Christmas dinner ingredients and can pick up more stuff then (the crowds will be even WORSE I'm sure.)
Back home data entry and I was offered a Christmas gig! It's on the 23rd in the evening which is really nice, and it's for the Spanish church that I played with in September. It's a pleasure to play for them, and I'm looking forward to it :)
Jameson had Jollywood tonight, so after he left I cleaned our bathrooms and did a little more data entry--and ate cookies--before relaxing for the night. My anxiety wanted to work on the church music tonight, but my blazing headache and tired eyeballs said "no thx."
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I felt better as far as eye strain/headache, but was feeling incredibly unmotivated still.
So I stayed in my pajamas and big fluffy bathrobe all day, and did data entry, ate lunch with Jameson, listened through my Spanish church music, and played through it later (it is very easy.) I felt bad that I hadn't planned for dinner, but also everywhere you go is so crazy right now that I DON'T feel bad. After all I'll have to spend literal hours trying to find a beef tenderloin in a few days.
With that in mind I spent a solid moment planning what exactly to do over the next several days. I have a package to ship to my sister, things to get from the hardware store, Christmas breakfast and dinner items to gather, regular grocery items too, and final stocking stuffers to grab. It seems best, to me, to get the regular household stuff tomorrow, and then the special Christmas things on Thursday, which is the latest I'm willing to venture out with the Eve being on a Sunday this year. I feel like Friday will be absolute chaos and not worth it.
A package arrived with stocking stuffers for my siblings, too late for Christmas but they'll get it eventually.
Wonka chocolate toothpaste from hismile!
I was a bit jealous that they'll get to try this and I won't...until I saw that the company had included some sampler packs!
Those are for meeeeeee
I am most intrigued by Red Velvet and Coconut Whip.
I don't expect to like Peach Iced Tea.
I think Watermelon and Strawberry are already fairly common flavors, even for toothpaste.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday was much the same. I worked, Jameson worked.
In the afternoon I practiced my church music and took myself for a walk.
It was a bit unpleasant because the landscapers were out and about and just happened to be moving in the same direction that I was for a good 20 minutes, so it was a big racket and I felt awkward trying to avoid them on the sidewalk. But eventually we parted ways. I saw some sandhill cranes from a distance, and some fun Christmas decorations which I didn't photograph this time but will another time.
In the evening Jameson got ready for his final Jollywood performances. The event has been very successful, and I hope they'll do another one next year! Such a great show, with this fun Roaring 20s vibe thanks to the inclusion of Tiana from Princess and the Frog (and guests bringing that vibe themselves by dressing in literal flapper outfits and suits and such!)
Anyway he was getting ready, and I was curled up watching Tiktok in my comfy pajamas thinking about which cookie to eat tonight, when I got a text. From the stage manager at Disney.
Could I come play the evening Candlelight show? At 8:30pm?
I looked at the clock. It was 6:45. Um....ok!
A mad scramble to find not just black clothing, but NICE black clothing.
Suddenly Jameson and I were both heading out the door to separate Disney gigs. How fun!
Is this what musician romance is like? Lol.
I got backstage right at 8pm and unpacked my stuff while introducing myself to the trombonists...who, by the way, are also trombonists for the Orlando Philharmonic. I have chatted with Jeff (the principal trombonist) several times online, and our interactions have occasionally been....contentious? Many of you know that I come across cold or unnecessarily blunt online, and that I prefer being honest to being considerate of feelings (which is often NOT the right choice.) So, we have had those interactions. But, we have also both been adults and talked them out.
And so it was NOT awkward, and rather nice, to finally meet Jeff in person, although I felt a bit shy.
I also found out that the trombonist whom I was subbing for was OK, he had a preexisting medical condition that decided to flare up and he chose for his own health to sit the last show out. I was relieved; it's hard to be excited for a gig if someone is sick or hurt. I would much rather the "emergency" be that someone simply wants to spend Christmas with their family.
Just a few minutes after meeting everyone it was time to get on stage. I was SUPREMELY nervous--remember, I had ONE rehearsal at 3AM and that was a MONTH ago--but sucked up my courage and reminded myself that this is Christmas and gosh darn it, Christmas is about FUN.
And it was fun! I was nervous yes, but I filled the part. I didn't make any major stand-out mistakes. I blended as well as I could with the section while essentially sightreading the music. And it was nice to play with a big orchestra and an absolutely huge, talented choir and an awesome narrator (the celebrity guest tonight was Sterling K. Brown, and he had wonderful pacing and stage presence.) Jeff kindly gave me notes as we played along so I wouldn't be taken by surprise by the conductor's styles/choices and musical changes that had happened since that November rehearsal so long ago. I mean, I think it went really, really well.
Afterward everyone thanked me for filling in and said some incredibly nice things.
For my part, it was a dream to play with such a tight and talented brass section. And getting to sub for Candlelight, even once, was truly all I could ask for after having lost two weeks of work with My Fair Lady to make sure I was available for them.
This is what I was hoping for: one chance. Just one.
And somehow, I got it.
It's moments like this that continue to make me believe that my mother--the only person who fully supported me in music--is looking out for me. If she exists somewhere, I really do think she'd do that, that's the kind of person she was and the kind of relationship that we had. And I have been blessed with more opportunities and chances than I deserve OR have leveraged for myself, which imo makes it difficult to wave off as chance.
Anyway. That's a navel-gaze for a private post I think.
Sorry that I don't have photos or video, obviously being backstage and onstage and performing, we are NOT allowed to take footage!
Here is a video from the last time Mr. Brown narrated this event, two years ago, if you want to see sort-of what it was like for me tonight. There are chapters in this video so you can click through them rather than watching the whole thing.
(CLICK HERE to watch)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Now I'm home and back in PJs, waiting for Jameson's Jollywood to wrap up.
We will have a lot to talk about tonight!
Tomorrow I have to venture out for Christmas breakfast and dinner ingredients, and last-minute stocking stuffers, so I am getting up at 6:30am for an early start. I don't want to be out there in the afternoon or evening when it's going to be a madhouse, or over the next two weekend days when it'll probably be best to stay off the roads altogether.
And then...wow...it'll be Christmas!!
