taz_39: (Default)
[personal profile] taz_39
Before Jameson got back from his concert last night, I couldn't take it any more...I HAD to see if my new Firefly Petunia really glowed!

So I brought it into the guest bathroom which has no windows, and let my eyes adjust.
You guys...............!


It really does glow!!
It's a very dim, gentle glow, like you might see from a dying firely or a glow-in-the-dark toy that hasn't been charged in the sun. But also, the company was very clear that this was not going to be a light display :p It's the first of its kind, and the fact that it produces its own light AT ALL, strong enough to be seen with the naked eye, is a scientific breakthrough. I found myself amazed, looking at this little glowing plant and realizing that it is a whole new "creature," made to be the way it is by humans. Even more impressive, since this was done through DNA/genetic modification, the bioluminescent trait will carry on through the seeds as well. They can be cultivated. SO COOL.

(I know that the fruits and veg that we eat are all heavily modified in a similar way, it's just that this is a whole 'nother direction for the same concept!)

Here's the same photo + another one, both have been enhanced to bring out detail and brightness.



All photos were taken with my iPhone's Night Mode and the longest exposure it offers (10 seconds.) There are much better pictures online from people with actual high-res cameras, but for me this will have to do.

After that excitement I decided to take a night dip in the pool. Our pool light is broken, but I like swimming in the darker water with our solar lights sparkling across the surface. No sun to burn my eyes out...insects and frogs singing in the woods...the cool still water. It was lovely.


When Jameson got home he told me all about the concert, he still had adrenaline going  and I wanted to hear all about it anyway plus tell him about my new plant, so by the time we got to bed it was probably 1am.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday I was up early knowing that the new AI had been unleashed. I tried to pick up an AI ticket, but there were none to be found. There also seemed to be no protocol in place for finding one, so I screwed up my courage and at risk of sounding like an obsolete dinosaur who can't figure it out on my own, posted in the chat to say, "I can't find any AI tickets to work on, can someone please assist" or something like that. To my great relief several people chimed in to say they were having the same issue. An admin instructed us to go back to the old way of processing, but keep an eye out for a list of available AI tickets. So I have another reprieve and a delay from teaching AI to replace me.

It poured all morning which was a surprise. I think the remnants of Beryl might have been passing through? I wrote this post, which cost me time at work, but throughout the day I continued to be interrupted by Trombone Things!

Trombone Things (and other distractions):

- A local trumpet player messaged to ask if I'd be interested in joining an all-female Chicago tribute band. Uuuh, YES PLEASE!! Not sure if I'm "good enough" but then I always feel that way. Sent her some videos of my playing so she can decide for herself, and offered to help with any legwork.

- The trombonist who wanted to do a Williams/Minick trade got back to me, and we initiated the trade. It DOES involve exchanging the monetary cost of the horns, which we agreed is $$$$. He is able to ship my horn first, so I am going to pay him first, using PayPal (and Buyer Protection) of course. Plus this is definitely a known professional trombonist, not some random dude on Ebay or whatever, he has a long history in the music community and would be in deep professional doodoo if he screwed me over. Still, sending the money did make me cringe. As I type this I'm currently waiting for him to send tracking on my horn AND to send me payment for the Minick, which he said he'd also do today but which I have no problem waiting for since I can't send him the Minick until Sunday (there will be no time on Fri/Sat when I'm working for Disney all day.)

- As mentioned earlier it was pouring for several hours this morning, and it was also windy, and when I looked outside my fruiting banana was leaning quite a bit further than it had been. So I commenced a rescue operation, using three bungee cords to tie it to the tree next to it. Hopefully they don't BOTH fall over (they won't.)


...and then it was lunch time, and then Jameson wanted to show me something, and then I had to practice and pack for Disney...and by the time all that was done it was 2:30pm and I had only done about 3 hours of work. Argh!!

Trombone Guy didn't send me tracking because his post office closed early. But he did send pics of the package ready to be sent tomorrow morning. I'm sending his on Sunday, and am hoping he'll reciprocate with me re: sending the money in advance like I did.

Before bed I dragged Jameson into the guest bathroom to look at my glowy petunia.
Interestingly, it is now glowing not only in the flower buds but also the stems of the plant!!
And the largest flowers are not glowing any more (they are also wilting) so it's like you can SEE where the plant is sending it's energy, to the new buds and new growth. Supposedly the roots also glow, but we will see that when I repot it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Main Street Philharmonic has added more performance sets, but they are shorter.
So now instead of 12:10 or whatever the first set of the day is at 10am!
This means I have to get up around 6:30 if I want to make and eat breakfast, get cleaned up, start driving around 8am, and get to the band room to warm up between 8:30am and 9. So that's what I did, stopping at Publix on the way because I used the last of my coffee without realizing it.

The day went quickly and was pretty simple because we had two subs who aren't versed in the longer medleys. I played "all right" but not as well as last week, not sure why but I just wasn't really feeling confident I guess. We had good crowds and the parade especially was well attended.

Back home, Trombone Guy shipped my trombone and also sent my money! Now all that's left to do is get his Minick packaged and sent out. I have been playing it in the park, and decided to wash it today so it will have time to dry overnight, then pack it tomorrow and ship it UPS on Sunday. My Williams is supposed to arrive on Monday, so I'm guessing he'll get his Minick by Wednesday or Thursday. I really hope he likes it and that this trade works out.

It felt strange, washing the Minick tonight and realizing that today may have been the last time I've played it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slept very poorly and got up at 6:30, this time leaving the house a bit early so I could hit Walmart in the morning for bubble wrap. Someone caught our performance of "When You Wish Upon a Star" yesterday! This is usually a parade tune, but since we're doing shorter sets and more sets we've started using parade music to give more variety.
(CLICK HERE to watch)

I finally got to play the Frozen medley in the park, and it went just fine. It was very hot and humid out and I was tired, so it was a struggle, but made it through. I was playing my Williams since the Minick is awaiting packaging. During the second set we were doing the Hot Dog Dance which is audience interactive, and an adorable little girl toddled over. I said, "Would you like to dance?" and she reached out her hand...and GRABBED the end of my slide before I could react!

Since she was very small, I wasn't deeply worried. I just held the top portion of the slide as she pulled it up and down, so that I'd still have more-or-less full control. And she quickly lost interest, let go, and started doing that weird bounce-squat dance that little kids do. But inside I was having a nice ironic chuckle. Wouldn't it just go to figure if a tiny child were the one to wreck my vintage trombone!

It was fine, by my trombonist bandmates were soooo horrified. "Can't believe you let her do that!" they exclaimed.
At the end of the day, a trombone is just a thing.

Anyway, day was fine and nothing else to report except I was itching to get home and pack the Minick.


It's so weird to be sending it off. There was a time that I swore I'd never sell it. But that was a time before I'd ever played a Williams. Took a load of pictures and sent them to Trombone Guy for approval, then boxed it all up. Tomorrow I'll get up early, do some work until UPS opens, then ship 'er out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, up at 6am to do work. We are supposed to be doing things differently with the new AI training program, but I am diving in after two days off and am not sure yet if I'm doing things "right." I asked for help but it's Sunday so there aren't a lot of people around to give feedback.

UPS opened at 9am, so I got the Minick shipped off and swung by the grocery for a pork tenderloin for dinner tomorrow.

Back home, more data entry then lunch and trying to make the "healthy version" of the peanut butter yogurt popsicles from last week, which involved substituting PB Fit for the peanut butter and keeping everything else the same. It turned out a lot more watery, so I think what I should have done was mix the PB Fit into the yogurt without adding liquid to it first. Will do that next time, or maybe just do a half-substitution. Some fat is certainly good to have!

After lunch Jameson went to the movies with friends and I did more work and applied to some jobs.
We had a nice thunderstorm at night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow I'm supposed to receive the Williams in the mail, but the tracking shows it's still in New York so I won't hold my breath. Otherwise anticipating a normal day of data entry, cooking dinner, etc etc.

Date: 2024-07-15 01:38 am (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
I probably missed it but did you talk about why you decided on the trombone trade?

Date: 2024-07-16 02:15 pm (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
All good! Thanks for the explanation and that's both cool and awesome that it worked out.

Side note: a good friend is going to the Magic Kingdom this week. Will you be playing in the park at all? If so, lmk so I can tell him to look out for you.

Date: 2024-07-16 03:51 pm (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
Darn! They'll be there Thursday to Sunday. If you end up with any extra shows, let me know and I'll pass it along. They were very excited about seeing more women in the Main Street band (they're an adult Disney fan that flies into town to go to the parks regularly).

Date: 2024-07-16 06:10 pm (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
Definitely! I've let them know about the other female musicians too.

Date: 2024-07-20 03:46 pm (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
Thanks for the update and the detailed information! Just texted it to my friend.

Also, wow, now I understand why your disney days are so exhausting.

Date: 2024-07-24 01:39 am (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
Ugh! Hopefully the bonus Disney day went well. Sadly, my friend didn't catch y'all.

Date: 2024-07-24 02:41 am (UTC)
brittdreams: (Default)
From: [personal profile] brittdreams
My friend is a Disney regular (two trips already this summer, despite living in the mid-Atlantic) so hopefully there's another opportunity for them to see you.

Date: 2024-07-15 11:41 am (UTC)
zoefruitcake: (Default)
From: [personal profile] zoefruitcake
The glowing pictures are fantastic!

Hopefully the horns will both travel safely

Date: 2024-07-15 02:07 pm (UTC)
pineapple_sour: (Default)
From: [personal profile] pineapple_sour
Safe travel to the horns!

That glowing plant is so COOL.

Profile

taz_39: (Default)
taz_39

June 2025

S M T W T F S
123 456 7
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 10th, 2025 11:42 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios