taz_39 | Circus Xtreme Ontario, CA - Where I Started Dating Jameson (Reply)

On Tuesday in LA we had two more shows. Nothing special :P
During the split Jameson and I went to a nearby sushi place. I got the sashimi special. Yum!

After the last show load out took place as usual. Except this time, Lina Angelina (aerial artist) decided to take some photos! She's given us a great look at how the circus packs up and gets outta town :)
Here are some crew members dismantling the portal.

Taking apart the aerial rigging for the Bungee Act.

The lighting grid with the tiger cage (the big circle) attached.

The tiger cage has been lowered from the grid and is being taken apart.

The last thing you probably notice during a show is the floor. When the circus comes to town, we put down our own flooring to protect whatever is underneath (basketball court or hockey ice, usually). Each strip of heavy rubber must be laid out...and pulled up...by hand. This is straightforward yet difficult work.

While all of this was going on, Jameson and I drove to a town just a bit outside Ontario and waited for the train to get in. We didn't plan anything, in part because a day to rest is always good and in part because my Mom was undergoing a difficult surgery, and I wanted to be ready to fly home if need be. Fortunately the surgery was a success. Now she faces the difficulties of rehab, but she's a strong, wonderful person and is doing great so far. A huge thank you to my sisters and my Dad for keeping me up-to-date on Mom's condition. Thank you also to all of the friends and family who prayed for my Mom as she went under the knife and as she continues to recover. Thank you to the surgeon, who by all accounts did a fantastic job. Thank you especially to Jameson, who was an incredible support to me the whole time, whether I was up at 4am staring at the phone or just generally tearing my hair out because I wasn't by her side. And thank God for keeping her with us. Thank you.

On Wednesday we had lunch and went to see the new Minion movie. It was cute! By then the train had arrived so we found it and unpacked. Then I helped Jameson to scrape the peeling window tint from his car windows. It took probably about two hours to get the tint and the glue off, but it was nice satisfying repetitive work. While doing this, I noticed a large round ball of metal sitting on a tie near some live tracks. I took it inside and soaked it in vinegar to get the rust off (ball on the left is "before", ball on the right is "after").

There's currently a debate going on about what exactly it is. Some say it's a ball bearing, others that it's a ball mill or a pig of raw metal meant to be melted down into a mold. One guy on our show even thinks it's a cannon ball! I'm inclined toward the ball mill theory, because it's not a perfect sphere as a ball bearing would be.

Thursday was the load in day. I didn't do much, just chores and a trip to the grocery.

Friday was opening day. Some changes for this week included the "large orb" in the aerial act replaced by Nadia and Dima's "iron jaw" act (due to the low ceiling I think) and Michael occassionally filling in as ringmaster for David while he continues to recover vocally. The show went well and we had a great crowd :)

Saturday was a three show day. Nothing amazing to report other than the final show, where Tim (sax) was conducting and had to think fast when Taba (tiger trainer) skipped a trick. If you were in the audience that night, you didn't notice this happening because Tim created a nice smooth transition. But everyone showside felt it go down. Way to catch the ball Tim!!!

Sunday was a two show day, a rare one in that the last show was at 3:30 leaving us the entire evening to ourselves!! Jameson and I had a special dinner. We returned to the revolving sushi restaurant where, two years ago, we had our very first date. We even sat in the same spot!

I remember being so nervous that day. I had confessed my feelings to Jameson via text, and he suggested that we have dinner and talk further. I was convinced that he was going to let me down gently. Instead he said, "I've been trying to figure out how to ask you out for months!". That was the beginning of an amazing, fun-filled relationship with Jameson Boyce. Every moment has been a blast. This guy's a total keeper!!

Our "real" anniversary...like, the actual date...is in just a few days :)

We still have three shows this week, one tomorrow evening and one on Tuesday. But I hate posting irregularly so too bad, you'll have to wait until we're in Anaheim to see how the rest of our week in Ontario went :P

Other stuff:

A short article and video about the nuns who minister to circus folk. It's really beautifully done, have a look.

The clowns all dolled up for a visit to The Magic Castle. What an incredibly attractive, spiffy bunch!!

(photo courtesy Walter D.)

This random teen showed up to the circus dressed as Marty McFly! When asked why the cosplay, he shrugged and said, "Just because". AWESOME. Pictured here with Koji (BMX) and Hayden (dancer).

(photo courtesy Jameson B.)

Look out!! Elephant nozzle!!

(photo courtesy Adria C.)

During one of the numbers in Act One, Angela (floor crew) places a basket near the bandstand. It's a prop to be used by one of the dancers during the Spec (Spec = "spectacular", the production number usually about halfway through Act One, where majority of cast participates). One day I asked Angela to hand the basket to me, and during the Spec I passed it to the dancer at the right time (it's a part where I don't play). Since then Angela's given me the basket almost every day! Today Bill (trumpet) caught me using it as a hat :)