taz_39 | San Francisco, CA (Reply)

Tuesday:
The week got off to a relaxing start with no train run :)
The train will stay in San Jose, and we will commute via charter bus to the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
The band will be using the tech van, hooray!
Because of the long commute, it is likely that some people will sleep overnight at the arena.

Today I got to do a volunteer PR at Family House SF.
While the clowns entertained the kids, we volunteers reorganized donation containers for Family House.

Although the turnout was a little lower than expected, the kids seemed to have a good time :)

(all photos courtesy Family House SF)

The Stroopie Gourmet was there to 'cater' the event.
Have you ever had a super thin waffle, sliced in half, layered with caramel and jam?
Made right in front of you and served piping hot?
If not, add these guys to your foodie list! NOM NOM NOM!

After a very long ride back to the train, I walked to a nearby Chinese grocery.
I didn't need anything but had to check it out, and am sorry I did because now I'll be tempted to buy
lots of new exciting foods :P
I exercised some restraint and only got white pepper, durian jam, almond jello, and some fruit.

Wednesday:
A nice relaxing day. I cooked and cleaned,
then went for a short bike ride through a nearby apartment complex.
There was a small park there. I enjoyed lying in the grass and listening to the trees rustling in the wind.
It may not seem like much, but sometimes I forget how little time I've spent in nature after getting this job.

Thursday:
Cow Palace is STRANGE. It smells strongly of hay, has poor ventilation, and the lighting is...unreliable.
Built in 1941, it was used as a processing center for soldiers bound for the Pacific Theater.
Some people say it's haunted ;)

After realizing how little time I'd have to explore downtown SF (the commute is longer than I thought), I've decided to rent a car between Bakersfield and Sacramento, when we've got several days off.

Friday:
We had one show in the evening. I spent the day relaxing, taking another short bike ride and reading.
Clown auditions were today! Taylor (boss clown) says they've got some great candidates for next year.

Saturday:
Three shows. My friend Miles and his wife Abby came out to see the late show.
Miles and I used to work at Knoebels together. It's been ages since I've seen him!
It was great to reconnect :)

Sunday:
Two shows. During the first show's entr'acte a dancer ran up to me and gave me Ivan (clown)'s hat.
The second half was already starting and there was no way to get it back to him, so what the heck.
I played with it :D

(thanks Jameson for the pic!)

During the second show a flower magically appeared near my music stand...wonder who it was from!
Former clown Megan Ivey came to this show and brought me a pack of cards (because last week someone posted a pic of me stacking a card pyramid). Thanks Megan! We didn't meet in person this week, but she'll be in Stockton :)

Oh and it was Slick Sunday, so doughnuts in the dressing room! Thank you Slick!!

Monday:
We had two shows, and were back at the train in time to hit the grocery once more before the train moves :)
All in all, this was a nice week!
Bakersfield sounds like it might be uninteresting...it's in the desert so it'll be hot again, and supposedly there's not much to do there. On the other hand, the arena will be within walking distance from the train. Hooray biking!

More stuff from this week:

An interview with our ringmaster Andre (here's the link):

We had three birthdays this week!
Happy Birthday Jeff, Jessi, and Ivan!