I'd Rather Be At EPCOT
Apr. 30th, 2025 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39By the time you are reading this it will be May. (Unless you are reading this on DW.)
FINALLY.
April felt like it took forever.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday. I was awake at 6am for reasons unknown. Tried to go back to sleep but was restless.
Having "too many" days off in a row does this to me sometimes. Guilt about not doing more with my time.
Also, specific anxiousness today about Jameson's Disney interview.
I could tell he was anxious too because while he didn't roll around in bed much, he did get up at 8am which is quite early for him.
I kind of wibbled around aimlessly today while Jameson worked. Went out to get bagels, listed one or two things for sale on Ebay, and that's about it. I didn't want to start bleaching the shower until after he'd left, same with practicing. We ate lunch together, then he got dressed in a nice black shirt and khakis and I hugged him and wished him luck, and he nervously made his way to wherever Disney Event Group was holding their interviews.
As soon as he left I got to work on the shower. Working with bleach is hell and a half, the fumes are horrific no matter what I do (had the fan on and the door open and left the room several times and STILL got a headache. But the stupid shower is clean.) Tried to practice but the headache made it difficult, then I was interrupted multiple times by people at the door and phone calls from my bank (investment surveys) and Place Cachee Jazz updates, so I finally gave up and called it quits after 30 minutes.
Jameson was home sooner than expected, and told me all about his interview. It seemed to go well, and he is feeling positive about it, but he is realistic in the understanding that he may not get the job anyway as there were many other candidates. I just want him to get a win for once. He's worked SO HARD.
He had to work some more and my headache was getting worse before it was getting better, so I laid down quietly to read my book while he tried to undo the mess his boss had made of his work recently. At dinnertime I felt much better. We went to Publix so he could get groceries and we could both grab dinner. There was an "LJ26" prompt which involved writing about holidays/celebrations, so I did that because it was a slow day and because I hope to wring another year of paid services from LJ despite not being able to pay for a dang thing :( I hate politics.
Around 8:30 poor Jameson's day was not over, he had sound check for his performances with The Hooligans at Epcot this week. Since I had been a good-for-nothing all day I continued the trend by lying on my stomach and watching anime until he came home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I managed to stay in bed until 7:30 but had still been awake at 6am.
Breakfast and packed meals for Epic tomorrow.
Practiced bass for a bit and worked on Foodie Finds.
Avoided eating lunch because I wanted to be able to eat more at Epcot later, so just snacked instead.
Around 2 I hit the road and went bouncing into Epcot. Yay!
CLICK HERE for video of the EPCOT fountain. Sorry that DreamWidth can't be bothered to allow embedding.
These half-fake topiaries are cute. I say "half-fake" because there ARE real flowers added to most of them, but they're mostly artificial.
A dragon topiary outside Japan.
I first went to Honey Bee-stro for one of the treats I wanted to try.
Honey-glazed Cauliflower with Honey-roasted Carrot Purée, Wild Rice Pilaf, Spring Vegetables, Honey-blistered Grapes, and Sunflower Brittle.
Most foodie reviews I'd read had mentioned it, and it absolutely lived up to the hype.
If you're a fan of texture you'll love this. Crisped roasted cauliflower with a smoky, somewhat spicy seasoning; sweet juicy grapes; chewy and earthy rice; fresh veggies. And then the sweet and delicious carrot puree was like a sauce for all of it. All topped with crunchy, nutty sunflower brittle which I could have eaten an entire bag of by itself. So glad I read the reviews because this was totally worth getting!
Next I sort of backtracked because I wanted to ride Living with the Land.
I couldn't remember if I'd ever ridden it, and if I had it would have been when I was 12 years old.
The ride did seem familiar, especially the thunderstorm scene at the beginning, but truthfully I'm still not sure if that was my first time riding it or not!
If you've never ridden this one, it's just a slow relaxing boat ride through Disney's greenhouses and a whole bunch of faux "climate zones" such as a forest, a desert, a rainforest, and an American farm.
The faux landscapes, with little animatronic chickens and monkeys and whatnot, made me wonder how on earth Disney is going to answer to the cutting edge technology on full display over at Epic Universe. They will HAVE to DO SOMETHING.
That said, the greenhouse is very impressive. All the different gardening techniques on display, and REAL fruits and vegetables growing! I am still sad to have missed out on the giant tomato plant; in it's place was some sort of chayote I think? At least, that was the biggest vining plant that I saw aside from the cucumbers. Speaking of the cucumbers, they were GIGANTIC and very cool to see.
There's a Hidden Mickey in the shrimp tank as well! Ssssh.
From there I wandered a bit, enjoying the Garden Festival displays like a butterfly tent and the various floral installations.
CLICK HERE for some video
I had a glass of sauvignon blanc from Canada, and a strawberry nigori sake from Japan.
For dinner I returned to Honey Beestro for the chicken & waffles.
The chicken was pretty standard, and it was a thigh which I was bummed about as it was more stringy and fatty than I would've liked. But the flavors were on point, especially the little dollop of honey butter on top and the slightly-spiced honey drizzle. Yum! The cornbread waffle had jalapeno bits in it and was VERY good.
(photo courtesy wanderandwilde because I ate mine without time for a photoshoot)
From there I had to hustle back to the stage in America, which was all the way on the other side of World Showcase.
Jameson / The Hooligans had sets at 5:30, 6:45, and 8pm. I went to all of them and cheered as much as I could!
CLICK HERE for a short video of Jameson performing!
Jameson's friend Tracy joined me for the last set, along with more friends whose names I don’t know. We had fun cheering together, and when the sets were finished we went to the American bar and each got a drink before the park closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, I was up sooo early for work at Epic.
Went to Whole Paycheck first for the few things I like to get from there, then as I threw my car in park at Epic, realized I'd taken my ID badge out of my bag last night, switching it out for my Disney ID...and had never switched them back. Argh! Had to text my manager and have him come rescue me. How embarrassing! (Literally this happens to everyone at least once though I promise)
From there it was a normal day. I practiced bass and made sure to drink a full bottle of water before my workday began since I'd been out drinking and tromping around in the heat yesterday. All of our sets went well, but now that it's Actual Guests in the park, we are already having problems with people walking directly onto our set WHILE we're doing a show. Today we had a drunk guy get behind us and start dancing, and at another set some kid was doing a livestream and started getting all up in our faces for it, and had to be threatened with calling security before he finally stormed off. One of our handlers also had to face an adult tantrum from a guest who refused to clear out of our performance space ahead of our set.
Watching people behaving as animals before the park is even open doesn't give me much hope for the future of humanity, folks.
But to be fair, MOST people were lovely, watched our set and enjoyed it, and seemed to be having a great day in this exciting new park. So that's good :)
When I got home Jameson was at his Epcot gig. I did laundry, packed meals for tomorrow, scraped my makeup off, responded to misc emails, and typed this post up. Now Jameson is on his way home and I'm splatted on the floor because it feels nice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: Working at Epic followed by my last bass trombone lesson with Will.
Friday through Sunday: Days off. I was able to get TWO Disney rehearsal days so there will be much tenor and bass trombone practice, cooking, and prep for tour.
FINALLY.
April felt like it took forever.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday. I was awake at 6am for reasons unknown. Tried to go back to sleep but was restless.
Having "too many" days off in a row does this to me sometimes. Guilt about not doing more with my time.
Also, specific anxiousness today about Jameson's Disney interview.
I could tell he was anxious too because while he didn't roll around in bed much, he did get up at 8am which is quite early for him.
I kind of wibbled around aimlessly today while Jameson worked. Went out to get bagels, listed one or two things for sale on Ebay, and that's about it. I didn't want to start bleaching the shower until after he'd left, same with practicing. We ate lunch together, then he got dressed in a nice black shirt and khakis and I hugged him and wished him luck, and he nervously made his way to wherever Disney Event Group was holding their interviews.
As soon as he left I got to work on the shower. Working with bleach is hell and a half, the fumes are horrific no matter what I do (had the fan on and the door open and left the room several times and STILL got a headache. But the stupid shower is clean.) Tried to practice but the headache made it difficult, then I was interrupted multiple times by people at the door and phone calls from my bank (investment surveys) and Place Cachee Jazz updates, so I finally gave up and called it quits after 30 minutes.
Jameson was home sooner than expected, and told me all about his interview. It seemed to go well, and he is feeling positive about it, but he is realistic in the understanding that he may not get the job anyway as there were many other candidates. I just want him to get a win for once. He's worked SO HARD.
He had to work some more and my headache was getting worse before it was getting better, so I laid down quietly to read my book while he tried to undo the mess his boss had made of his work recently. At dinnertime I felt much better. We went to Publix so he could get groceries and we could both grab dinner. There was an "LJ26" prompt which involved writing about holidays/celebrations, so I did that because it was a slow day and because I hope to wring another year of paid services from LJ despite not being able to pay for a dang thing :( I hate politics.
Around 8:30 poor Jameson's day was not over, he had sound check for his performances with The Hooligans at Epcot this week. Since I had been a good-for-nothing all day I continued the trend by lying on my stomach and watching anime until he came home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I managed to stay in bed until 7:30 but had still been awake at 6am.
Breakfast and packed meals for Epic tomorrow.
Practiced bass for a bit and worked on Foodie Finds.
Avoided eating lunch because I wanted to be able to eat more at Epcot later, so just snacked instead.
Around 2 I hit the road and went bouncing into Epcot. Yay!
CLICK HERE for video of the EPCOT fountain. Sorry that DreamWidth can't be bothered to allow embedding.
These half-fake topiaries are cute. I say "half-fake" because there ARE real flowers added to most of them, but they're mostly artificial.
A dragon topiary outside Japan.
I first went to Honey Bee-stro for one of the treats I wanted to try.
Honey-glazed Cauliflower with Honey-roasted Carrot Purée, Wild Rice Pilaf, Spring Vegetables, Honey-blistered Grapes, and Sunflower Brittle.
Most foodie reviews I'd read had mentioned it, and it absolutely lived up to the hype.
If you're a fan of texture you'll love this. Crisped roasted cauliflower with a smoky, somewhat spicy seasoning; sweet juicy grapes; chewy and earthy rice; fresh veggies. And then the sweet and delicious carrot puree was like a sauce for all of it. All topped with crunchy, nutty sunflower brittle which I could have eaten an entire bag of by itself. So glad I read the reviews because this was totally worth getting!
Next I sort of backtracked because I wanted to ride Living with the Land.
I couldn't remember if I'd ever ridden it, and if I had it would have been when I was 12 years old.
The ride did seem familiar, especially the thunderstorm scene at the beginning, but truthfully I'm still not sure if that was my first time riding it or not!
If you've never ridden this one, it's just a slow relaxing boat ride through Disney's greenhouses and a whole bunch of faux "climate zones" such as a forest, a desert, a rainforest, and an American farm.
The faux landscapes, with little animatronic chickens and monkeys and whatnot, made me wonder how on earth Disney is going to answer to the cutting edge technology on full display over at Epic Universe. They will HAVE to DO SOMETHING.
That said, the greenhouse is very impressive. All the different gardening techniques on display, and REAL fruits and vegetables growing! I am still sad to have missed out on the giant tomato plant; in it's place was some sort of chayote I think? At least, that was the biggest vining plant that I saw aside from the cucumbers. Speaking of the cucumbers, they were GIGANTIC and very cool to see.
There's a Hidden Mickey in the shrimp tank as well! Ssssh.
From there I wandered a bit, enjoying the Garden Festival displays like a butterfly tent and the various floral installations.
CLICK HERE for some video
I had a glass of sauvignon blanc from Canada, and a strawberry nigori sake from Japan.
For dinner I returned to Honey Beestro for the chicken & waffles.
The chicken was pretty standard, and it was a thigh which I was bummed about as it was more stringy and fatty than I would've liked. But the flavors were on point, especially the little dollop of honey butter on top and the slightly-spiced honey drizzle. Yum! The cornbread waffle had jalapeno bits in it and was VERY good.
(photo courtesy wanderandwilde because I ate mine without time for a photoshoot)
From there I had to hustle back to the stage in America, which was all the way on the other side of World Showcase.
Jameson / The Hooligans had sets at 5:30, 6:45, and 8pm. I went to all of them and cheered as much as I could!
CLICK HERE for a short video of Jameson performing!
Jameson's friend Tracy joined me for the last set, along with more friends whose names I don’t know. We had fun cheering together, and when the sets were finished we went to the American bar and each got a drink before the park closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, I was up sooo early for work at Epic.
Went to Whole Paycheck first for the few things I like to get from there, then as I threw my car in park at Epic, realized I'd taken my ID badge out of my bag last night, switching it out for my Disney ID...and had never switched them back. Argh! Had to text my manager and have him come rescue me. How embarrassing! (Literally this happens to everyone at least once though I promise)
From there it was a normal day. I practiced bass and made sure to drink a full bottle of water before my workday began since I'd been out drinking and tromping around in the heat yesterday. All of our sets went well, but now that it's Actual Guests in the park, we are already having problems with people walking directly onto our set WHILE we're doing a show. Today we had a drunk guy get behind us and start dancing, and at another set some kid was doing a livestream and started getting all up in our faces for it, and had to be threatened with calling security before he finally stormed off. One of our handlers also had to face an adult tantrum from a guest who refused to clear out of our performance space ahead of our set.
Watching people behaving as animals before the park is even open doesn't give me much hope for the future of humanity, folks.
But to be fair, MOST people were lovely, watched our set and enjoyed it, and seemed to be having a great day in this exciting new park. So that's good :)
When I got home Jameson was at his Epcot gig. I did laundry, packed meals for tomorrow, scraped my makeup off, responded to misc emails, and typed this post up. Now Jameson is on his way home and I'm splatted on the floor because it feels nice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: Working at Epic followed by my last bass trombone lesson with Will.
Friday through Sunday: Days off. I was able to get TWO Disney rehearsal days so there will be much tenor and bass trombone practice, cooking, and prep for tour.
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