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Into 2025
I dragged myself out of bed at 5 AM, wishing I could sleep for another four hours. But quickly found motivation at the thought of the enjoyable drive ahead, picking up my repaired bass trombone, and seeing Jameson again.
I love driving, and I especially love getting up early and starting a drive before the sun is up, while traffic is light. There is something magical and special about it. And I am one of those people that finds long distance driving to be generally relaxing. The cost of the rental car and the time expenditure is well worth the enjoyment of the drive.
For the first two hours I drove and listened to public radio talk about Jimmy Carter’s legacy and sipped my cold canned coffee. I introspected quietly about the end of this Elf tour, Jameson’s surgery tomorrow, and the busy first week of the new year. Around 7 AM I cracked open my overnight oats, yogurt, and blackberries, and ate breakfast. Fueled up and a bathroom break before lunch, then my aunt called and we had a great conversation that made 40 minutes seem to fly by.
I reached Bill's (trombone repair guy's) house around 1:30pm. The trombone is playable, yay! The bell looks aesthetically a mess, but I don't care about that...in fact it makes me laugh a bit, an inside joke that I'll have to share later.
The strange pattern comes from having to reshape the bell after it was crushed. The brass was lacquered, and what you are seeing is the darker spots where lacquer remains, and the pale spots where the raw brass is exposed after being rolled out.
Before and after:
The triggers, rotors and slide are all just fine, and the slide is so good that Bill suspects Minick worked on that as well. That may be so, but I am spoiled; compared to my dear Williams trombone, all other trombone slides feel clunky and rough. But it is just fine and will do the job nicely. Overall I'm very happy with it and excited to get started on it (still need a mouthpiece and some lessons.)
The Minick trigger and rotor work. I know you can't tell but trust me when I say that this is ergonomic and comfortable haha
A little history of my horn. The King Duo Gravis is well known to be a good “commercial” or “all-around” bass trombone, which makes it excellent for the type of playing that I do. (However upon later research, I think the horn can be dated to the 70s, not the 60s.)
Additionally, in an act of SUPREME and undeserved generosity, Bill offered me his Tank trombone case!!!
There are very few bass trombone cases that can handle being thrown under a plane, and this is one of them. It's got an aluminum and heavy plastic shell, and inside is dense foam that suspends the trombone so it's protected from impacts. This case is made for a tenor, but since it's foam-filled we thought a bass might fit. It sort-of did, although it's VERY tight and I'm going to have to see if the foam can be cut down to make room for the larger bell.
After thanking Bill profusely I hit the road again, stopping at Publix for groceries and going home to dump everything. Jameson followed me to the car rental place, I returned the car and he drove me home. From there we ordered dinner, I did laundry and unpacked, we watched a bit of TV, I cleaned up the guest bedroom in case I end up sleeping there while Jameson recovers, and cleaned the bathrooms. Jameson is very nervous about his surgery, naturally, but hopefully it will go quickly and smoothly and he can have some time to relax over the holiday.
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I was up before Jameson, which is normal. Breakfast and quiet time mostly.
When he was up and around we got ready and drove to the hand surgery place. Waited probably an hour past his arrival time, which isn’t bad. They got him all prepped and when he was ready, let me sit with him and keep him company.
We chatted about empty crap…both of us nervous, and waiting is the hardest part. Finally after what seemed like forever they kicked me out to give him the anesthesia. I camped out in the lobby with some granola to wait. Two hours later:
He was still kinda waking up, and in some mild pain, but alive and kicking. I helped him to dress and got help wheeling him out to the car. We went to Walgreens first to fill his prescription, then Taco Bell because he was ravenous. I cleaned a bit while he rested.
Later on I took my own car out to pick up the prescription, and smelled something horrible. And then I noticed DROPPINGS on my back seat, and some sort of brown debris that turned out to be acorn shells. Ugh...while my car had sat unused, a mouse had moved in! And this is probably why my climate control is broken. When the car is still, I don't smell anything. When it's moving, death-smell quickly comes in...through the air vents. One plus one equals two. I looked under the hood for quite a while and found more droppings and acorn remains, but couldn't find the actual dead mouse. I can smell it near the front of the engine. Was hoping to fish it out so the garage at least wouldn't have to do that, but if I can't find it tomorrow it'll be up to them. At least the mouse was courteous enough to NOT die inside the actual car.
We spent the evening watching LEGO Masters Christmas Edition, eating Chick-fil-a and Christmas cookies, and chilling out. Before bed I remembered to uncap all of Jameson's medications (since he only has one working arm right now) and told him that if he needed anything during the night he should come get me. I slept in the guest bedroom so that if he couldn't sleep he could feel free to watch TV and such. The vacation rental house next door was full of New Years Eve revelers singing bad karaoke at the top of their lungs and setting off fireworks, from about 5pm onward. It was very obnoxious, but it's only one night a year plus we have all day tomorrow to rest.
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I must have been very tired because I did not wake up until my alarm went off at 8am.
Breakfast, and as soon as Jameson was up I dusted, vacuumed, and washed the guest bedroom sheets (they haven't been washed since Jameson's dad stayed over.) I also inspected the Tank trombone case and unfortunately it will not work for the bass; the foam around the bell is already very thin, so what's pressing on the bell is the case shell, and that's no good. It was worth a try, though. I'll return the case in a few weeks, along with some homemade caramels as a thanks. Bill was also able to find another excellent travel case for bass trombone, which will set me back $500 but will protect my instrument.
After lunch Jameson went back to bed, watching TV and dozing on and off. He's in mild pain and discomfort but nothing crazy thankfully. I swept the front sidewalk, dug through some of my things to make a "shred this" pile and a "donate this" pile, made a general to-do list for coming days, then also allowed myself to rest (lazy Millennial.) Later on we watched Deadpool and Wolverine, I packed myself breakfast for the car dealership, and we opened the back porch screen to let in the cool night air.
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Thursday: 80-minute round trip drive to the dealership to fix my climate control and locate/remove dead mouse. I've got the earliest appointment, but this could still take all day.
Friday: 90-minute round trip drive to Warburton for a bass trombone mouthpiece. My friend Kim (trumpet) will be there so she'll certainly want to visit, and she's also got baby bunnies....so this may take a while haha. Afterward, taking my coat to dry cleaning and possibly visiting a bank to offload some savings bonds.
Saturday: Any errands that I need to do + trombone practice + the free acting/movement clinic in preparation for auditioning for Universal.
Sunday: Universal audition. Starting up transcription again. Starting bass trombone practice.
I love driving, and I especially love getting up early and starting a drive before the sun is up, while traffic is light. There is something magical and special about it. And I am one of those people that finds long distance driving to be generally relaxing. The cost of the rental car and the time expenditure is well worth the enjoyment of the drive.
For the first two hours I drove and listened to public radio talk about Jimmy Carter’s legacy and sipped my cold canned coffee. I introspected quietly about the end of this Elf tour, Jameson’s surgery tomorrow, and the busy first week of the new year. Around 7 AM I cracked open my overnight oats, yogurt, and blackberries, and ate breakfast. Fueled up and a bathroom break before lunch, then my aunt called and we had a great conversation that made 40 minutes seem to fly by.
I reached Bill's (trombone repair guy's) house around 1:30pm. The trombone is playable, yay! The bell looks aesthetically a mess, but I don't care about that...in fact it makes me laugh a bit, an inside joke that I'll have to share later.
The strange pattern comes from having to reshape the bell after it was crushed. The brass was lacquered, and what you are seeing is the darker spots where lacquer remains, and the pale spots where the raw brass is exposed after being rolled out.
Before and after:
The triggers, rotors and slide are all just fine, and the slide is so good that Bill suspects Minick worked on that as well. That may be so, but I am spoiled; compared to my dear Williams trombone, all other trombone slides feel clunky and rough. But it is just fine and will do the job nicely. Overall I'm very happy with it and excited to get started on it (still need a mouthpiece and some lessons.)
The Minick trigger and rotor work. I know you can't tell but trust me when I say that this is ergonomic and comfortable haha
A little history of my horn. The King Duo Gravis is well known to be a good “commercial” or “all-around” bass trombone, which makes it excellent for the type of playing that I do. (However upon later research, I think the horn can be dated to the 70s, not the 60s.)
Additionally, in an act of SUPREME and undeserved generosity, Bill offered me his Tank trombone case!!!
There are very few bass trombone cases that can handle being thrown under a plane, and this is one of them. It's got an aluminum and heavy plastic shell, and inside is dense foam that suspends the trombone so it's protected from impacts. This case is made for a tenor, but since it's foam-filled we thought a bass might fit. It sort-of did, although it's VERY tight and I'm going to have to see if the foam can be cut down to make room for the larger bell.
After thanking Bill profusely I hit the road again, stopping at Publix for groceries and going home to dump everything. Jameson followed me to the car rental place, I returned the car and he drove me home. From there we ordered dinner, I did laundry and unpacked, we watched a bit of TV, I cleaned up the guest bedroom in case I end up sleeping there while Jameson recovers, and cleaned the bathrooms. Jameson is very nervous about his surgery, naturally, but hopefully it will go quickly and smoothly and he can have some time to relax over the holiday.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I was up before Jameson, which is normal. Breakfast and quiet time mostly.
When he was up and around we got ready and drove to the hand surgery place. Waited probably an hour past his arrival time, which isn’t bad. They got him all prepped and when he was ready, let me sit with him and keep him company.
We chatted about empty crap…both of us nervous, and waiting is the hardest part. Finally after what seemed like forever they kicked me out to give him the anesthesia. I camped out in the lobby with some granola to wait. Two hours later:
He was still kinda waking up, and in some mild pain, but alive and kicking. I helped him to dress and got help wheeling him out to the car. We went to Walgreens first to fill his prescription, then Taco Bell because he was ravenous. I cleaned a bit while he rested.
Later on I took my own car out to pick up the prescription, and smelled something horrible. And then I noticed DROPPINGS on my back seat, and some sort of brown debris that turned out to be acorn shells. Ugh...while my car had sat unused, a mouse had moved in! And this is probably why my climate control is broken. When the car is still, I don't smell anything. When it's moving, death-smell quickly comes in...through the air vents. One plus one equals two. I looked under the hood for quite a while and found more droppings and acorn remains, but couldn't find the actual dead mouse. I can smell it near the front of the engine. Was hoping to fish it out so the garage at least wouldn't have to do that, but if I can't find it tomorrow it'll be up to them. At least the mouse was courteous enough to NOT die inside the actual car.
We spent the evening watching LEGO Masters Christmas Edition, eating Chick-fil-a and Christmas cookies, and chilling out. Before bed I remembered to uncap all of Jameson's medications (since he only has one working arm right now) and told him that if he needed anything during the night he should come get me. I slept in the guest bedroom so that if he couldn't sleep he could feel free to watch TV and such. The vacation rental house next door was full of New Years Eve revelers singing bad karaoke at the top of their lungs and setting off fireworks, from about 5pm onward. It was very obnoxious, but it's only one night a year plus we have all day tomorrow to rest.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I must have been very tired because I did not wake up until my alarm went off at 8am.
Breakfast, and as soon as Jameson was up I dusted, vacuumed, and washed the guest bedroom sheets (they haven't been washed since Jameson's dad stayed over.) I also inspected the Tank trombone case and unfortunately it will not work for the bass; the foam around the bell is already very thin, so what's pressing on the bell is the case shell, and that's no good. It was worth a try, though. I'll return the case in a few weeks, along with some homemade caramels as a thanks. Bill was also able to find another excellent travel case for bass trombone, which will set me back $500 but will protect my instrument.
After lunch Jameson went back to bed, watching TV and dozing on and off. He's in mild pain and discomfort but nothing crazy thankfully. I swept the front sidewalk, dug through some of my things to make a "shred this" pile and a "donate this" pile, made a general to-do list for coming days, then also allowed myself to rest (lazy Millennial.) Later on we watched Deadpool and Wolverine, I packed myself breakfast for the car dealership, and we opened the back porch screen to let in the cool night air.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: 80-minute round trip drive to the dealership to fix my climate control and locate/remove dead mouse. I've got the earliest appointment, but this could still take all day.
Friday: 90-minute round trip drive to Warburton for a bass trombone mouthpiece. My friend Kim (trumpet) will be there so she'll certainly want to visit, and she's also got baby bunnies....so this may take a while haha. Afterward, taking my coat to dry cleaning and possibly visiting a bank to offload some savings bonds.
Saturday: Any errands that I need to do + trombone practice + the free acting/movement clinic in preparation for auditioning for Universal.
Sunday: Universal audition. Starting up transcription again. Starting bass trombone practice.
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I know lots of people who really do need a nap or two as part of their ability to function. Wish that I could nap more readily tbh.
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Dear god the PO, if that's who it was, did a number on that trombone. So glad it was fixable.
Yeesh, dead mice. Yuck. It may be mummified by now though. There's not much to those critters.
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A few posts back (https://taz-39.dreamwidth.org/271049.html) I shared a screenshot of the actual text in which I instructed this person to put a foam cone inside the bell specifically to prevent it from impact damage. He did not do as I asked = the bell showed up damaged from impact. There are plenty of YouTube tutorial videos on how to package a trombone correctly for shipping, if he didn't want to take my word for it, but he was lazy and just threw some bubble wrap into the case with the bell section, and that was not enough.
(I'll probably always be annoyed by this haha. Just, the fact that it was preventable.)
If the mouse were mummified I don't think I'd be smelling rotting mouse. Whatever, hopefully they can find it and remove it and fix my car.
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And hopefully there won't be any death smell left in your car...
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Thanks. Luckily the smell is only inside the car while air is coming in through the vents (i.e. while it's moving), so certainly they can get in there to remove the mouse and fix the climate control and that would solve it.
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And you've reminded me that I need to renew the rodent deterrents in my car! I battle them every damn winter.
I swear I see a bird in the trombone bell.
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Thanks, Jameson’s recovering very well, just bored and wishing he could shower fully haha
I see what you mean, a bird maybe holding a string for its nest in its beak! I don’t mind the end pattern at all. Generally the aesthetics of a horn aren’t important as long as it plays well, in the pit.
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First I make sure the A/C vent is in the closed loop recirculation setting before turning off my car (that button that's the car with the circular arrow) to give them one less open door to walk in through.
I use a mixture of scented dryer sheets tucked into storage areas with Irish Spring soap bars (both recommended by people I know who have RVs that they winterize), and then I've used both "Fresh Cab" botanical rodent repellent and Grandpa Gus' mouse pouches. I think they work equally well. I've also deployed peppermint soaked cotton balls but WHEW be prepared to feel the mintyness in the core of your being! I've also heard of mothballs working too - basically any strong sent will temporarily deter them, so I sort of rotate through the options and switch it up when I notice an increase in mouse-y leavings. I'd say I end up refreshing about every two months-ish but honestly I haven't really tracked the period of time between it. I've heard of people doing the peppermint in the engine compartment ONLY, but honestly haven't tried that myself.
Glad to hear Jameson's recovering well!
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I’ve let my car sit many times in the past without issue, and think I must’ve just got unlucky. But in case I’m gone for a long time again I wanna know what to try. And I can circulate between different deterrents, like you said.
I’m reluctant to do the Tomcat route because I don’t want them eating that and then dying in the car. So might skip that option.