Richmond, VA 2026 part 2: Friend Hangs
Mar. 5th, 2026 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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 kinda earlier than I needed to be but that's life. Itaki oats, Greek yogurt, Koia chocolate shake, and raspberries for breakfast. Some messing around online and eventual work on DC Foodie Finds, then a run-through of my masterclass.
I was supposed to meet up with an online friend,sparkythegeek (whom I will call STG) for coffee, but it was dependent on when his car would be out of the shop. Around 10:45 he texted to say it'd be done in an hour, and could we meet at the coffee shop a little after noon? Yes! With that knowledge of time frame, I made a rather rash decision to Uber to a mall with an H&M to continue my ongoing quest for The Perfect Black Dress Pants. They are a very specific cut of black polyester pants, high waist and wide leg, with eight gold sailor-style buttons on the front. They are the most comfortable and awesome pit blacks I've ever found, and they've been discontinued, so any time there's an H&M I desperately scour the clearance rack hoping to find some.
Sadly, no luck, and I should not have wasted the $$ Uber on this!!! From now on I must have more restraint; if there's an H&M nearby it's fine to look, but expensive Uber rides just for this fruitless search are ridiculous.
But anyway, I got back in time to scarf a fast lunch and walk to the coffee shop. It's cute and modern with all the classic espresso drinks. As I get older I find that coffee in the afternoon messes me up, but for some reason the caffeine from green tea is still safeish, so I went with an oat milk matcha latte with vanilla syrup. It was both beautiful and delicious :)
STG got a bagel sandwich and an iced maple coffee, both of which looked tasty. We sat down together and basically talked the entire time, about all kinds of things. We've been following each others' online journaling for a while. Topics ranged from things we've written about, to other subjects that we perhaps don't always share online such as other jobs, boss/friend/family doings, hopes and dreams for the future, etc. He's a great listener and also had many questions about my wild and crazy life, and you guys know how I can go ON about things like the circus or what tour is like :P But I wanted to know more about him as well, and asked lots of my own questions. And I got to see some of his really cool recent tattoos in person!! Seeing STG's tattoos reminded me that I'm the only one of my siblings without one...
We were at it for a solid hour and then hugged and parted ways. I'll see him again at tomorrow's show, and we're gonna try to get a picture-selfie-thing :)
From there, my goodness it was SUCH a lovely day outside. 70 degrees (21C) and sunny. Many MANY people were out enjoying the sun. I walked up and down Broad Street and stopped in at every thrift or vintage store I could find (I think there were four.) Did not find anything but being able to be outside, in the sun, without a coat, was fantastic after what has felt like months of frigid temperatures. Even in Florida it is rarely comfortable to be outside in the heat and humidity, so I was extra-appreciative to be able to just exist outside, neither too cold nor too hot. Mmmmm so nice.
After a while I got snackish so returned to the hotel to type this post up, have that snack, and watch Owl House a bit. While that was happening other friends popped out of the woodwork to say they're coming to shows or would like to meet. Goodness! Didn't know I was so popular.
Eventually it was dinnertime, then walking over to the theater for the show. It looked like a full house again! For some reason the pit was exceptionally cold...perhaps because it had been warm out finally and they'd cranked up the AC? Whatever the reason, we were all wearing black sweaters or coats by the end of the second act! Ironic that it's finally warm outside, but not inside! Otherwise it was a good show and a nice crowd.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
I woke up a bit apprehensive. Today I was supposed to meet with a friend...well, someone whom I dated way back in college. We have barely kept in contact over the years, literally one interaction every 5-10 years. But he lives in this area and wanted to meet and catch up. I said yes, but insisted on meeting near the theater and in a very public space. Because one knows the motives of bears, but not those of men.
But before all that, the usual coffee and breakfast, working on DC Foodie Finds and running through my masterclass. In the afternoon I watched Owl House, did research for things I might like to do in Louisville, ate lunch, and walked to the theater. It was kind of freakishly warm out, 80 degrees (26.6C) which is unseasonably warm even for the south at this time of year. But hey...lovely day.
Tim (the friend) was wearing a bright red polo so was easy to spot. Since I had insisted on staying downtown and we'd both eaten lunch, we decided to just kinda wander and talk. I did run out of bread and picked a bagel place 20 minutes away just to have some sort of goal. Tim caught me up on a lot of his doings: work he's had recently, work he's applying for and hoping to get, projects he's got in the works for both his jobs and interests.
One of his primary passions is disc golf; he is an amateur competitor, has won several competitions, and also now owns his own disc golf supply shop! After retrieving my bagels we walked back to his car, and he showed me his discs. These are not just frisbees. They are much smaller than frisbees, and have specialized edges, thicknesses, taper, and materials that allow them to behave in specific ways when thrown.
(image from sydneydiscgolf.com)
Tim explained to me the different types, and showed me some numbers printed on the top of each disc which tell you at what speed the disc needs to be thrown to achieve specific results, such as distance, curve/spin, and point at which momentum ceases and the disc falls toward the ground or curves back toward you. These are called Speed, Glide, Turn, and Fade. He showed me several discs with artworks on them, just like you might see on some snowboards or skateboards. One of his projects is trying to get some of his artist friends commissioned to design artworks specifically for printing onto the discs. Pretty freakin cool!
Pro footage of people playing disc golf:
Of course I talked a bit about myself too, but this time I mostly wanted to hear about Tim because he can read up on my doings online, whereas his online presence is practically zero so I had no clue what he's been up to since the pandemic. It was great to hear about his passion for disc golf, and he expects to hear back about some exciting job opportunities in a week or so. Now I'm invested and want to know how it turns out for him! We parted ways with promises to try and do a better job of keeping in touch.
I'm grateful to Tim for spending time with me today, and most of all for being patient with me and my "man vs bear" attitude going into this meet. One of the (several) catch-22s of hanging out with men is that whether you've known them for one day or one decade, it does not change the fact that you may not know them at all. Familiarity is not a synonym for safety. I think that Tim understood this, but I still felt guilty for having been apprehensive. But also not. Because.
I put my bagels away and was considering going back out in the sun when my Aunt called! We caught up a bit, and by the time we were finished I was all relaxed on the bed. Had a short doze, got ready for the show, ate dinner, and off to the theater!
Sparkythegeek was there already, so I offered to meet up so we could do our selfie! We were near the logo truck and the lighting was all right so we took it there. Here's our smiling faces (and me looking in the wrong direction, typical!)
I followed him into the lobby because I've got more friends coming on Saturday and wanted to scope A) good places for photo ops and B) a place to get to the lobby from backstage. Then of course I went to the pit to set up. The show went mostly-ok but we had a surprising show hold in the middle of Be Our Guest...it looked like a prop got stuck and they couldn't move it! But it was fixed within 15 minutes or so and we moved on. The audience still cheered just as loud for everything as though there had never been a hold :)
After the show STG came to the pit to say hi...and he'd taken footage of Exit Music! I will check that it's ok to share, and then share it :p We chatted a bit, and then a local music teacher got my attention to say hello and express how much she'd loved the music, and to ask some questions. While talking with her I noticed that it was rather noisy in the theater and realized that there must be a talkback happening. And right as I became aware of this, we were suddenly engulfed in a MOB of small children who had run down to see the pit! Most of us musicians had left but I was there and therefore swept up in a bunch of questions:
"How does Chip get in that teacup?!"
(Answer: "It's magic!" and the little girl really believed it too!)
"How long have you been doing this?"
(Answer: I've been playing the trombone for 27 years, and this show for a little less than a year.)
"How do you get down there?"
(Answer: I pointed out where the stairs were.)
"How old are you?"
(Answer: I asked if they wanted to guess and they said yes. The first guesser said 27. Intelligent child! Wonderful child :P But at that moment the cast started coming out, so I leaned into the group and confided, "I'm 42!" before waving goodbye and escaping. Lol!)
Between that and the 15-minute show hold, I got back to the hotel much later than usual. But it's ok! I am always happy when people are interested to see what we do, to answer questions, and to get people excited for music or theater or just the whole experience of coming to our show. It really is special, and I want to make the people who see it feel special too! :) :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: One evening show. Laundry in the morning, a tasty Foodie Find adventure in the afternoon. Possibly a hair trim if I feel up for it.
Saturday: Zoom masterclass with Full Blown Trombone Studio in the morning, followed by two shows. I'm supposed to meet a circus friend before the matinee for pictures, we'll see if that works out.
Sunday: Two shows, packing for the flight to Louisville.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
I was up kinda earlier than I needed to be but that's life. Itaki oats, Greek yogurt, Koia chocolate shake, and raspberries for breakfast. Some messing around online and eventual work on DC Foodie Finds, then a run-through of my masterclass.
I was supposed to meet up with an online friend,
sparkythegeek (whom I will call STG) for coffee, but it was dependent on when his car would be out of the shop. Around 10:45 he texted to say it'd be done in an hour, and could we meet at the coffee shop a little after noon? Yes! With that knowledge of time frame, I made a rather rash decision to Uber to a mall with an H&M to continue my ongoing quest for The Perfect Black Dress Pants. They are a very specific cut of black polyester pants, high waist and wide leg, with eight gold sailor-style buttons on the front. They are the most comfortable and awesome pit blacks I've ever found, and they've been discontinued, so any time there's an H&M I desperately scour the clearance rack hoping to find some.Sadly, no luck, and I should not have wasted the $$ Uber on this!!! From now on I must have more restraint; if there's an H&M nearby it's fine to look, but expensive Uber rides just for this fruitless search are ridiculous.
But anyway, I got back in time to scarf a fast lunch and walk to the coffee shop. It's cute and modern with all the classic espresso drinks. As I get older I find that coffee in the afternoon messes me up, but for some reason the caffeine from green tea is still safeish, so I went with an oat milk matcha latte with vanilla syrup. It was both beautiful and delicious :)
STG got a bagel sandwich and an iced maple coffee, both of which looked tasty. We sat down together and basically talked the entire time, about all kinds of things. We've been following each others' online journaling for a while. Topics ranged from things we've written about, to other subjects that we perhaps don't always share online such as other jobs, boss/friend/family doings, hopes and dreams for the future, etc. He's a great listener and also had many questions about my wild and crazy life, and you guys know how I can go ON about things like the circus or what tour is like :P But I wanted to know more about him as well, and asked lots of my own questions. And I got to see some of his really cool recent tattoos in person!! Seeing STG's tattoos reminded me that I'm the only one of my siblings without one...
We were at it for a solid hour and then hugged and parted ways. I'll see him again at tomorrow's show, and we're gonna try to get a picture-selfie-thing :)
From there, my goodness it was SUCH a lovely day outside. 70 degrees (21C) and sunny. Many MANY people were out enjoying the sun. I walked up and down Broad Street and stopped in at every thrift or vintage store I could find (I think there were four.) Did not find anything but being able to be outside, in the sun, without a coat, was fantastic after what has felt like months of frigid temperatures. Even in Florida it is rarely comfortable to be outside in the heat and humidity, so I was extra-appreciative to be able to just exist outside, neither too cold nor too hot. Mmmmm so nice.
After a while I got snackish so returned to the hotel to type this post up, have that snack, and watch Owl House a bit. While that was happening other friends popped out of the woodwork to say they're coming to shows or would like to meet. Goodness! Didn't know I was so popular.
Eventually it was dinnertime, then walking over to the theater for the show. It looked like a full house again! For some reason the pit was exceptionally cold...perhaps because it had been warm out finally and they'd cranked up the AC? Whatever the reason, we were all wearing black sweaters or coats by the end of the second act! Ironic that it's finally warm outside, but not inside! Otherwise it was a good show and a nice crowd.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
I woke up a bit apprehensive. Today I was supposed to meet with a friend...well, someone whom I dated way back in college. We have barely kept in contact over the years, literally one interaction every 5-10 years. But he lives in this area and wanted to meet and catch up. I said yes, but insisted on meeting near the theater and in a very public space. Because one knows the motives of bears, but not those of men.
But before all that, the usual coffee and breakfast, working on DC Foodie Finds and running through my masterclass. In the afternoon I watched Owl House, did research for things I might like to do in Louisville, ate lunch, and walked to the theater. It was kind of freakishly warm out, 80 degrees (26.6C) which is unseasonably warm even for the south at this time of year. But hey...lovely day.
Tim (the friend) was wearing a bright red polo so was easy to spot. Since I had insisted on staying downtown and we'd both eaten lunch, we decided to just kinda wander and talk. I did run out of bread and picked a bagel place 20 minutes away just to have some sort of goal. Tim caught me up on a lot of his doings: work he's had recently, work he's applying for and hoping to get, projects he's got in the works for both his jobs and interests.
One of his primary passions is disc golf; he is an amateur competitor, has won several competitions, and also now owns his own disc golf supply shop! After retrieving my bagels we walked back to his car, and he showed me his discs. These are not just frisbees. They are much smaller than frisbees, and have specialized edges, thicknesses, taper, and materials that allow them to behave in specific ways when thrown.
(image from sydneydiscgolf.com)
Tim explained to me the different types, and showed me some numbers printed on the top of each disc which tell you at what speed the disc needs to be thrown to achieve specific results, such as distance, curve/spin, and point at which momentum ceases and the disc falls toward the ground or curves back toward you. These are called Speed, Glide, Turn, and Fade. He showed me several discs with artworks on them, just like you might see on some snowboards or skateboards. One of his projects is trying to get some of his artist friends commissioned to design artworks specifically for printing onto the discs. Pretty freakin cool!
Pro footage of people playing disc golf:
Of course I talked a bit about myself too, but this time I mostly wanted to hear about Tim because he can read up on my doings online, whereas his online presence is practically zero so I had no clue what he's been up to since the pandemic. It was great to hear about his passion for disc golf, and he expects to hear back about some exciting job opportunities in a week or so. Now I'm invested and want to know how it turns out for him! We parted ways with promises to try and do a better job of keeping in touch.
I'm grateful to Tim for spending time with me today, and most of all for being patient with me and my "man vs bear" attitude going into this meet. One of the (several) catch-22s of hanging out with men is that whether you've known them for one day or one decade, it does not change the fact that you may not know them at all. Familiarity is not a synonym for safety. I think that Tim understood this, but I still felt guilty for having been apprehensive. But also not. Because.
I put my bagels away and was considering going back out in the sun when my Aunt called! We caught up a bit, and by the time we were finished I was all relaxed on the bed. Had a short doze, got ready for the show, ate dinner, and off to the theater!
Sparkythegeek was there already, so I offered to meet up so we could do our selfie! We were near the logo truck and the lighting was all right so we took it there. Here's our smiling faces (and me looking in the wrong direction, typical!)
I followed him into the lobby because I've got more friends coming on Saturday and wanted to scope A) good places for photo ops and B) a place to get to the lobby from backstage. Then of course I went to the pit to set up. The show went mostly-ok but we had a surprising show hold in the middle of Be Our Guest...it looked like a prop got stuck and they couldn't move it! But it was fixed within 15 minutes or so and we moved on. The audience still cheered just as loud for everything as though there had never been a hold :)
After the show STG came to the pit to say hi...and he'd taken footage of Exit Music! I will check that it's ok to share, and then share it :p We chatted a bit, and then a local music teacher got my attention to say hello and express how much she'd loved the music, and to ask some questions. While talking with her I noticed that it was rather noisy in the theater and realized that there must be a talkback happening. And right as I became aware of this, we were suddenly engulfed in a MOB of small children who had run down to see the pit! Most of us musicians had left but I was there and therefore swept up in a bunch of questions:
"How does Chip get in that teacup?!"
(Answer: "It's magic!" and the little girl really believed it too!)
"How long have you been doing this?"
(Answer: I've been playing the trombone for 27 years, and this show for a little less than a year.)
"How do you get down there?"
(Answer: I pointed out where the stairs were.)
"How old are you?"
(Answer: I asked if they wanted to guess and they said yes. The first guesser said 27. Intelligent child! Wonderful child :P But at that moment the cast started coming out, so I leaned into the group and confided, "I'm 42!" before waving goodbye and escaping. Lol!)
Between that and the 15-minute show hold, I got back to the hotel much later than usual. But it's ok! I am always happy when people are interested to see what we do, to answer questions, and to get people excited for music or theater or just the whole experience of coming to our show. It really is special, and I want to make the people who see it feel special too! :) :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: One evening show. Laundry in the morning, a tasty Foodie Find adventure in the afternoon. Possibly a hair trim if I feel up for it.
Saturday: Zoom masterclass with Full Blown Trombone Studio in the morning, followed by two shows. I'm supposed to meet a circus friend before the matinee for pictures, we'll see if that works out.
Sunday: Two shows, packing for the flight to Louisville.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 11:50 am (UTC)I have some really hilarious stories centered around people asking or trying to guess my age. Last night there was one older adult kind of desperately overseeing this mob of kids. When the little girl asked my age the chaperone looked horrified and started to say, "No, no--!" but I waved her off. Idk about you but I've never understood what's wrong or embarrassing about sharing your age? Like ok, in the 1930s when we were all breeding cows, maybe I can see why you'd hide that...but if we're not baby factories any more, who actually cares? Let the kids guess :p
The best age-related scenario I ever experienced (to sidetrack a little) was when Jameson had hernia surgery two years ago. I was sitting with him in the recovery room, and when he was well enough to head home the nurse came over to talk to me about what to do for him and such while he got dressed behind a curtain.
The nurse opened with, "Now, once you get your dad home, he'll start experiencing some pain so--"
...and I truly almost choked and went into hysterics while Jameson, still half-anesthetized and in pain, howled from behind the curtain, "I'm NOT her DAD!!!!!"
A few days later he posted this:
no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 01:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 01:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 08:08 pm (UTC)Safe travels to your next stop!
no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 09:50 pm (UTC)Take care, and know that I will be rooting for you in all of your endeavors :)
no subject
Date: 2026-03-06 10:16 pm (UTC)