More Plants & Trombones
Jul. 14th, 2024 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39Before 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-15 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-15 02:24 am (UTC)Hah, I missed it too, can't remember if I mentioned it!
What started it was my first few days playing trombone at Disney. My Williams trombone was made in the 1950s and the lacquer is very worn. When the raw brass is exposed to air and intense heat like that + humidity, rain, sweat, acids from skin, etc, it can damage and discolor the instrument.
But what really got me nervous was the Encanto Medley because it involves audience interaction, where I'm expected to hold my trombone in the crook of my elbow while handing maracas to kids (who of course come running and gather around the maraca bag...and my trombone.)
My Williams is an extremely rare trombone, handmade by a craftsman. His trombones are revered among trombonists; they're like the Stradivarius of the trombone world. Once that trombone is damaged, it's gone. I can't just go out and buy another one (one might appear on ebay about once every 5 years) and there are few craftsmen with the skill to restore one to original playability if it gets badly damaged.
Also, it's my favorite horn! I have played it on almost every gig: the circus, cruise ships, tours, weddings...everywhere that I possibly can. I'd be heartbroken if it were damaged beyond repair.
So instead I decided to play my Minick in the park...but unfortunately THAT is a rare horn too! Even rarer than the Williams...Larry Minick was less a craftsman and more of a custom work expert, his best work was when he made improvements and customizations to existing horns. He only made a handful of horns himself, in fact the number is unknown but it's believed there are no more than 20-30 Minick-made trombones in the whole world.
And I was using one of these as a backup to the Williams, in the park, where it could just as easily be damaged and lost to the world because of some kid with a maraca :p
So I started looking for a "burner horn," just something decent but that I'd be willing to risk in an outdoor amusement park setting. While shopping around I got into conversations with misc trombonists, and during one of those chats Trombone Guy appeared, expressed admiration for my Minick, and said if I was ever willing to sell it to let him know.
I checked his page and turns out, he'd HAD a Minick, and it had been STOLEN just last month!! His odds of finding another were slim-to-none, you almost never see them for sale. But on top of that...he had a Williams trombone that he was willing to sell!! With a serial number just a few digits from mine!!
So I said, "Hey...what do you think about doing a trade?"
He had something I wanted, and vice versa. The horns are more or less equivalent financial value. I don't care for how the Minick plays, I was keeping it because of it's rarity. It would be much better to have someone actively playing it and enjoying it :) And he felt the same way about his Williams, it wasn't a good fit for him, he prefers something like the Minick. It really felt like the universe brought us together for this haha.
My idea with having a second Williams is that if one gets damaged, I have another. Or I have one that can be a "burner" and supply parts if the other gets broken/damaged. Basically it's still super rude of me to use a Williams in a risky outdoor setting, but I'll feel less bad about it knowing there's at least a possibility of repair and recovery.
That's why we decided to trade! It only cost us both the shipping and insurance. Hopefully we both get what we're looking for. Thanks for asking!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 02:15 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-16 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-20 11:49 am (UTC)Anyway just letting you know if your friend will be in the park today. Our sets are in front of Cinderella's castle at 10am, 11:10am, 12:25, 1:25, parade at 2:35 starting in Frontierland and looping in front of the castle, 4:05pm set, and the flag ceremony at 5pm at the flagpole in Main St USA.
They should do the hot dog dance with me. :p
no subject
Date: 2024-07-20 03:46 pm (UTC)Also, wow, now I understand why your disney days are so exhausting.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-20 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-24 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-15 11:41 am (UTC)Hopefully the horns will both travel safely
no subject
Date: 2024-07-15 02:07 pm (UTC)That glowing plant is so COOL.