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taz_39**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
I was up way too early. There is a lot of traffic noise here and I think that kept waking me up. Earplug time!
Back to hotel breakfast to steal more peanut butter, then eating my own breakfast and working on Foodie Finds and checking on Jameson. It seems like people are catching up on their journaling/blogging after the holidays, and I'm appreciating reading about everyone's doings, as nosy as that might sound. We often get bored with our own lives, but our day-to-day can be quite novel to someone else!
After a while I decided to go for a walk, to check out Sam Houston Park at the least and perhaps parts of the Buffalo Bayou trail if I ended up feeling motivated. A collection of several murals on a building near our hotel.
In addition to the lovely art, please notice how there are no people in this photo.
As I walked, I was reminded of what a...how to put it..."business-oriented" city Houston is. Frankly, if you are out on a weekday and are not dressed either for a power lunch or as a homeless person, you will stick out like a sore thumb. As a woman wandering around a big city on her own, I do not want to draw attention. If anyone does happen to notice me, I want to look like I live here and/or know where I'm going so that I won't be heckled, stalked, or harassed. Here in Houston it is weirdly difficult to accomplish that. Simply by dressing casually--neither as a "power lunch yuppie" nor "feral homeless woman"--I stand out terribly. I can FEEL it. I walked today for an entire mile and saw NO ONE dressed like me (nondescript t-shirt and cotton pants.) Having been to many cities across America and to Houston many times as well, I am kicking myself for not packing a Houston Disguise Outfit!
Anyway, what this boils down to is that I felt supremely uncomfortable stopping to take pictures of stuff or loitering to look at things because even WITHOUT doing those things I was already giving "tourist" to anyone looking. So I will just tell you what I saw.
Lots of big, clean, impressive skyscrapers. But also lots of very empty streets. During the nine-to-five, Houston is not a bustling city whatsoever. I suppose everyone was in their offices at work. The few people that I did see around were men and women of varying ages in suits or polos or prissy little secretary outfits, hair done nicely and fully make-upped, wearing important-looking name tags or lanyard badges and moving quickly between buildings in groups of between 2 and 5 people.
I took note of the light rail, which has a station right next to our hotel and which I'll be using on our Golden Day to go sightseeing. There is a rectangular pool actually on top of the light rail tracks on Main Street. I have seen it many times before, but have never seen the fountains in action. Today was my lucky day. I wanted to take video but did not want to draw the attention of those who prey on tourists, so here instead is someone else's video of what I saw:
As I got outside the downtown and entered Sam Houston Park, I was not at all surprised to find it heavily populated with homeless folks. No one bothered me and I didn't bother anyone, but there was someone on every bench and under every tree, along every walkway, and so once again I didn't want to linger or gawk or take pictures. The park was pretty and had a lot of historic buildings. There was a preserved cabin from 1823, a cast iron fountain green with age, and a sort of art installation featuring statues of coyotes in a variety of poses.
(photo courtesy Houston Arts Foundation)
I didn't stay long and didn't go onward to Buffalo Bayou either. Don't worry, there will certainly be more sightseeing :)
On the way out of the park I did take this photo. Houston, y'all.
Back at the hotel, lunch and some anime and researching what kinds of fun things I'd like to do here. I've been to the Museum of Natural Science many times (because it's awesome, you should absolutely go if you're in Houston) but have never been to the Fine Art Museum, so right now that's the plan along with at least two Foodie Finds. Possibly also a trip to the Downtown Aquarium since it is so close. Then I got into a back-and-forth email convo with some folks at O'Malley Brass Instruments to work out details for the trombone I want to buy. We've mostly got it figured out, but I'll have to get a banker's check at some point...physical paper money, EUUGH.
Dinner and then a 1/2 mile walk to the theater for the evening show.
Turns out, it was our 200th show!! There were some pretty cookies for us to celebrate!
Additionally, Melissa (the Chip Kids' chaperone) had made cookies over the holidays and had thoughtfully frozen some so that those of us who were laid off could enjoy them when we got back. How awesome! There were two kinds, butterscotch and some sort of white chocolate cluster thing. Both delicious :)
We found out that during the Dallas run, our show had the second-highest-grossing 3-week run ever in that theater's history, just behind Hamilton. Wow! And here in Houston, we are sold out or nearly sold out for the entire two weeks! That is amazing!! I am very proud to be a part of a show that people REALLY want to see!!
The show went all right, I did not play as well as I wanted but Tim (trumpet) complemented some of my pedals so I will see the silver lining there, haha.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
I had trouble sleeping, mostly because I ended up with a lot of things to do on Thursday and kept thinking about them every time I woke up :p
First after breakfast I walked to my bank to take care of getting that banker's check for my O'Malley trombone. I found a UPS just a few blocks away and mailed it out from there. It makes me cringe to part with such a very big chunk of cash--essentially it's 3/4 of the money I just got from selling my car--but that was kind of the whole point. Theoretically I'll end up with an instrument that's well worth it.
Next was my dermatology appointment for the recent breakouts and itchy irritation I've been having on my face and stomach. I've gotten progressively more "hive-y" as I've gotten older, and as you can imagine traveling to all different environments (hot, cold, dry, humid, pollen, pollution) and staying in different hotels (different sheet fabrics, detergents, shampoos/soaps, cleanliness levels, etc) could potentially all be causing it. PLUS I'm approaching 42 and could be going perimenopausal. Whatever the cause, I've never been to a dermatologist before and thought it might be worth doing while I can afford it.
She listened attentively to all of my factors and symptoms, inspected my skin carefully, took pics, and looked at pics I'd taken a week or two ago when my face was more of a mess. Based on all of this she diagnosed seborrheic dermatitis + acne, and prescribed a topical antifungal and 2 types of pills plus a skin care routine that will involve a bunch of washes and moisturizers that I'm rather overwhelmed by at the moment. Some of the products I already have, but I'll have to pick up the prescription topical, a glycolic wash, and a niacinimide cream. Whatever ANY of that means. Ugh. Perhaps it's time to pop into the ladies ensemble dressing room and ask for tips. Actors are well-versed in this stuff, after all.
What they gave me:
Back at the hotel I felt tired but typed up this post and updated Jameson on my doings, and researched each product I'd been prescribed to find out what it does and how to apply it (and the price of course.) Tbh I'm unlikely to do the oral medications...it seems so over-the-top to be ingesting pills for mild acne and/or mildly irritated skin.
Anyway, soon enough it was time for dinner and then the evening show. Nothing to report except I forgot to mention we've got a "vacation sub" in on keys while Michael (key 3) is out on a planned leave. Tonight was the sub's first night and he did a great job! I am still not playing how I want to, but that is a personal problem, it is unlikely that the audience notices.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Trip to CVS for my prescription and misc cosmetics. One evening show. Nothing else planned.
Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each day, unlikely to do much. Monday will be a Golden Day so I look forward to exploring then!
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
I was up way too early. There is a lot of traffic noise here and I think that kept waking me up. Earplug time!
Back to hotel breakfast to steal more peanut butter, then eating my own breakfast and working on Foodie Finds and checking on Jameson. It seems like people are catching up on their journaling/blogging after the holidays, and I'm appreciating reading about everyone's doings, as nosy as that might sound. We often get bored with our own lives, but our day-to-day can be quite novel to someone else!
After a while I decided to go for a walk, to check out Sam Houston Park at the least and perhaps parts of the Buffalo Bayou trail if I ended up feeling motivated. A collection of several murals on a building near our hotel.
In addition to the lovely art, please notice how there are no people in this photo.
As I walked, I was reminded of what a...how to put it..."business-oriented" city Houston is. Frankly, if you are out on a weekday and are not dressed either for a power lunch or as a homeless person, you will stick out like a sore thumb. As a woman wandering around a big city on her own, I do not want to draw attention. If anyone does happen to notice me, I want to look like I live here and/or know where I'm going so that I won't be heckled, stalked, or harassed. Here in Houston it is weirdly difficult to accomplish that. Simply by dressing casually--neither as a "power lunch yuppie" nor "feral homeless woman"--I stand out terribly. I can FEEL it. I walked today for an entire mile and saw NO ONE dressed like me (nondescript t-shirt and cotton pants.) Having been to many cities across America and to Houston many times as well, I am kicking myself for not packing a Houston Disguise Outfit!
Anyway, what this boils down to is that I felt supremely uncomfortable stopping to take pictures of stuff or loitering to look at things because even WITHOUT doing those things I was already giving "tourist" to anyone looking. So I will just tell you what I saw.
Lots of big, clean, impressive skyscrapers. But also lots of very empty streets. During the nine-to-five, Houston is not a bustling city whatsoever. I suppose everyone was in their offices at work. The few people that I did see around were men and women of varying ages in suits or polos or prissy little secretary outfits, hair done nicely and fully make-upped, wearing important-looking name tags or lanyard badges and moving quickly between buildings in groups of between 2 and 5 people.
I took note of the light rail, which has a station right next to our hotel and which I'll be using on our Golden Day to go sightseeing. There is a rectangular pool actually on top of the light rail tracks on Main Street. I have seen it many times before, but have never seen the fountains in action. Today was my lucky day. I wanted to take video but did not want to draw the attention of those who prey on tourists, so here instead is someone else's video of what I saw:
As I got outside the downtown and entered Sam Houston Park, I was not at all surprised to find it heavily populated with homeless folks. No one bothered me and I didn't bother anyone, but there was someone on every bench and under every tree, along every walkway, and so once again I didn't want to linger or gawk or take pictures. The park was pretty and had a lot of historic buildings. There was a preserved cabin from 1823, a cast iron fountain green with age, and a sort of art installation featuring statues of coyotes in a variety of poses.
(photo courtesy Houston Arts Foundation)
I didn't stay long and didn't go onward to Buffalo Bayou either. Don't worry, there will certainly be more sightseeing :)
On the way out of the park I did take this photo. Houston, y'all.
Back at the hotel, lunch and some anime and researching what kinds of fun things I'd like to do here. I've been to the Museum of Natural Science many times (because it's awesome, you should absolutely go if you're in Houston) but have never been to the Fine Art Museum, so right now that's the plan along with at least two Foodie Finds. Possibly also a trip to the Downtown Aquarium since it is so close. Then I got into a back-and-forth email convo with some folks at O'Malley Brass Instruments to work out details for the trombone I want to buy. We've mostly got it figured out, but I'll have to get a banker's check at some point...physical paper money, EUUGH.
Dinner and then a 1/2 mile walk to the theater for the evening show.
Turns out, it was our 200th show!! There were some pretty cookies for us to celebrate!
Additionally, Melissa (the Chip Kids' chaperone) had made cookies over the holidays and had thoughtfully frozen some so that those of us who were laid off could enjoy them when we got back. How awesome! There were two kinds, butterscotch and some sort of white chocolate cluster thing. Both delicious :)
We found out that during the Dallas run, our show had the second-highest-grossing 3-week run ever in that theater's history, just behind Hamilton. Wow! And here in Houston, we are sold out or nearly sold out for the entire two weeks! That is amazing!! I am very proud to be a part of a show that people REALLY want to see!!
The show went all right, I did not play as well as I wanted but Tim (trumpet) complemented some of my pedals so I will see the silver lining there, haha.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
I had trouble sleeping, mostly because I ended up with a lot of things to do on Thursday and kept thinking about them every time I woke up :p
First after breakfast I walked to my bank to take care of getting that banker's check for my O'Malley trombone. I found a UPS just a few blocks away and mailed it out from there. It makes me cringe to part with such a very big chunk of cash--essentially it's 3/4 of the money I just got from selling my car--but that was kind of the whole point. Theoretically I'll end up with an instrument that's well worth it.
Next was my dermatology appointment for the recent breakouts and itchy irritation I've been having on my face and stomach. I've gotten progressively more "hive-y" as I've gotten older, and as you can imagine traveling to all different environments (hot, cold, dry, humid, pollen, pollution) and staying in different hotels (different sheet fabrics, detergents, shampoos/soaps, cleanliness levels, etc) could potentially all be causing it. PLUS I'm approaching 42 and could be going perimenopausal. Whatever the cause, I've never been to a dermatologist before and thought it might be worth doing while I can afford it.
She listened attentively to all of my factors and symptoms, inspected my skin carefully, took pics, and looked at pics I'd taken a week or two ago when my face was more of a mess. Based on all of this she diagnosed seborrheic dermatitis + acne, and prescribed a topical antifungal and 2 types of pills plus a skin care routine that will involve a bunch of washes and moisturizers that I'm rather overwhelmed by at the moment. Some of the products I already have, but I'll have to pick up the prescription topical, a glycolic wash, and a niacinimide cream. Whatever ANY of that means. Ugh. Perhaps it's time to pop into the ladies ensemble dressing room and ask for tips. Actors are well-versed in this stuff, after all.
What they gave me:
Back at the hotel I felt tired but typed up this post and updated Jameson on my doings, and researched each product I'd been prescribed to find out what it does and how to apply it (and the price of course.) Tbh I'm unlikely to do the oral medications...it seems so over-the-top to be ingesting pills for mild acne and/or mildly irritated skin.
Anyway, soon enough it was time for dinner and then the evening show. Nothing to report except I forgot to mention we've got a "vacation sub" in on keys while Michael (key 3) is out on a planned leave. Tonight was the sub's first night and he did a great job! I am still not playing how I want to, but that is a personal problem, it is unlikely that the audience notices.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Trip to CVS for my prescription and misc cosmetics. One evening show. Nothing else planned.
Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each day, unlikely to do much. Monday will be a Golden Day so I look forward to exploring then!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 04:47 pm (UTC)Ok!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 05:25 pm (UTC)"Morning: gentle wash, Niacinimide cream, spf moisturizer
"Night: glycolic wash, retinol, moisturizer (with a footnote of "dermalogica")
"Prescriptions: ketoconazole 2% topical cream (followed by the tablets)
"I recommended the following: Cleansers: CeraVE or La Roche Posay; Moisturizers: Resilience Skin Care; Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 30+: Black girl sunscreen; Topical Retinoids: Tretinoin"
Based on the "Morning" and "Night" order of things, I'm assuming the following:
Morning: Cetaphil wash, then the prescription cream (Google mostly says to apply any prescriptions first and let sit for 30 minutes), La Roche (because I see niacinimide in the ingredients so I assume that's the niacinimide cream?), CeraVE AM sample lotion that I was given, if needed.
Night: Dermalogica glycolic wash (assuming I'm supposed to pick this up from the footnote), then the prescription cream (again assuming this is the order), retinol cream, CeraVE PM sample if needed.
I took this plan to a friend who used to work in makeup/skin care, and he said the order I've assumed is correct, but he added two caveats: rule of thumb is to apply things in order of thickness, from thinnest to thickest products; and the niacinimide cream (day) and retinol cream (night) can finalize the routine, I don't HAVE to apply the additional CeraVE moisturizers if I don't feel they're needed.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 05:29 pm (UTC)I hope these products work for you! Curious to see how long it takes before you feel or see a noticeable difference.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 06:03 pm (UTC)Haha aaaaanyway yeah so far I've managed to live a perfectly acceptable life with or without zits as they come and go. But the skin is an organ, and I've noticed changes in mine that I'm interested in addressing for the overall health of my skin, not just my face/vanity reasons. With the desert climate leg of our tour coming up, I felt it prudent to look into this before putting my skin through that.
Same, I'm interested to see if any of these products do help and how long it takes. My paperwork suggests 2-3 months before overall improvement can be noticed. I researched retinol and it HAS been proven effective. And one bottle of each of these will in fact cover 2-3 months, so I'm willing to try it *thumbs up*
(but again I will not be taking PILLS that she prescribed, just for zits! Just, what? No.)
no subject
Date: 2026-01-09 06:44 pm (UTC)Wise to consult someone before leaping in, and it's worth a try!
Edit to add: I too, have zero clue, and am mainly faffing around based on the advice of those who know more than me.