taz_39 | Entries tagged with art

Long post again b/c I love Grand Rapids.
Sorry not sorry.

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Thursday it was still cloudy and rainy, and it's getting colder too.
I'm going to have to start getting used to walking in the rain and cold again.

I made a TikTok for the first few days in Grand Rapids (HERE)

And here's one that can serve as a TL;DR for the below blog, since I know people don't like reading and actively thinking about things (HERE)

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to put forth the effort to make these videos on top of everything else.
But every day while I'm traveling between cities, or eating great food, or exploring, or doing meal prep...whatever I'm doing, it's always in the back of my mind that I wish everyone could experience all of these things. Both the good and the bad. To me, it's a privilege and a dream. To others it's probably a horror show lol. Still, I want to share as much of it as I can for those who are intrigued or interested or want to be here but can't.

Anyway, I had a slow morning of creating the TikTok, taking the weekly covid test, and doing some data entry.

For lunch I had planned to get a lobster roll from Downtown Market...but can you guess how much lobster rolls are going for these days?
THIRTY-FOUR DOLLARS. Yeah, no, not paying $34 for a sandwich!!

So instead I walked to Two Beards, an infamous local deli where they've got around 100 sandwiches to choose from, all named after celebrities (or musicians, or politicians, etc).

Cute cafe-like setting, and it was very busy right at noon. Construction workers, students, dudes in suits, DoorDashers...the locals know this is where to get a great lunch at a good price.

I chose the Samuel L. Jackson: grilled chicken with smoked gouda, roasted apples, spinach, and walnut honey mustard on white roll.

Tasty as heck! And also a HUGE sandwich; the piece I'm holding there is half of a "half"!
My only regret is that I didn't swap out the white roll for a pretzel roll instead. Note to self if there's a next time.

After that tasty lunch I had a nice walk to the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
It's a pretty small museum with only three floors, but a nice selection of art that gets rotated out frequently.

My favorite two arts of the day:

I think this was called "Dawn Launch" or something, and the artist was from Maine.

This one struck a chord with me, because of the lighting in the painting making it seem like the long shadows of fall:

...and also because there were images hidden under the paint.

People as part of the land.
Maybe because I'm currently reading The Grapes of Wrath, I felt something when I looked at this artwork.

The main draw today, however, was The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.
( Read more... )

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On Monday we are leaving rather late, and we have two flights and a long bus ride, so won't arrive in Wilmington NC until 8 or 9pm.
We're stopping at a Pilot on the way, so that's where I'll probably have to pick up dinner and breakfast for the next day.
Then Tuesday we'll have one show before moving on to Lexington, KY for four days.
That flight is late too, so these will be long travel days.
The goal is to endure all that, play some great shows, and make it to Providence RI, where we will have a 6-day stay.

Monday was a "golden day".

This is what theater people call a day off...because "day off" can mean no shows, but it can still mean a day of travel, or a day of rehearsals.
"Golden day" means you really do get the whole day free with no company obligations.

I was wide awake at 7am, because I am the type who would rather do a lot in the morning so I can have no worries in the evening.

First, breakfast and packing up a few things that I'm done with (tupperware, the Itaki, the aeropress, misc cooking tools).
Next I loaded my small suitcase with laundry and headed out to the laundromat.

It was raining so the walk was uncomfortably cold and damp, but not unmanagable.
I stopped at the co-op for some breakfast items for tomorrow.

Laundry was uneventful. An hour later I folded it all up, packed it into the suitcase, and walked to Original Grains for a poke bowl.
This place wasn't on my foodie list; it just looked healthy and was on my way back.
I got tuna with a variety of veggies over herbed basmati. It was larger than I expected, and very good.

Back at the hotel I put away the laundry and did 90% of my packing.
All that's left out are some toiletries, the kettle for tea later on, some food, and my computer.

The rest of my day was relaxing. I did some data entry work, napped, watched anime and Food Network with Jameson.

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Tuesday morning I woke up super early, having slept SO poorly.
I really hope the next hotel is QUIETER.

Had some breakfast, and at 8:30 packed up the last of my things and got on the charter bus.
Our flights were on time, retrieving luggage was fine, the 40-minute ride from Boston to the hotel in Marlborough was fine.
And despite what our info sheet had said, we DID get refrigerators in our rooms! Score!

I walked to the nearest grocery and stocked up on some nice things, but we have a long commute this week so there will be less fancy cooking. I did get some fancy Al Fresco chicken sausages (precooked), a lemon pepper raw chicken breast, and some local eggs to steam in the Itaki. But most of my veggies and some of my other food items are nonperishables in case there's no fridge at the theater.

Once that was done I unpacked for the week, using the desk as my cooking space and a small side table for my coffee station.

One of our rental cars was reserved under my name, so I picked up the key and went to Kennedy's Restaurant and Market for a takeout dinner. I ordered the "Carolyn's Favorite", which was described as a popover "stuffed with warm roast beef, served with au jus and horseradish sauce". What I got was a very soggy halved popover, buried under lukewarm beef and congealed gravy, no horseradish sauce to be seen.

I rescued the meal by buying a fresh popover unmarred by gravy, rinsing most of the nasty gravy off the beef, and adding steamed veggies. This restaurant is on my foodie list and I'm having second thoughts about it, but there are very few restaurant options in the area. Plus, many of their other meal options still look quite good.

And the additional popover that I bought was VERY good. Clearly freshly baked, light and eggy and wonderful.

Inner texture. If you've had a Dutch baby, a Yorkshire pudding, or a French cruller, the texture is similar.

I'll leave Kennedy's on the list for now, solely based on this heavenly popover and for lack of better options near the hotel.

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Wednesday was, weirdly, another golden day.
Last year I could count on one hand how many golden days we got, and this year we have two nearly back to back!

No matter. Since I had a rental car, and since no one else asked to use it, I woke early to drive to downtown Worcester.
First I drove to the theater and the parking garage so I could see what they were like, so I'd be less likely to get lost on opening night.
Then I went to BirchTree Baking Co for breakfast.

( Read more... )

It's Thursday and we'll finally get to have opening night.

Some things that I haven't mentioned:

For travel this week we were broken into two groups, and while our group arrived with no issue the later group had an issue with their plane that delayed them by like five hours.
Also Jared, the guy who plays Jeff in our show, fractured his foot (DURING the show, worker's comp) so now the whole cast has to go back into rehearsals to figure out how to cover.

We only have one show on Friday but I expect the actors and a lot of crew will need to rehearse for much of the afternoon.

The info sheet for Athens, GA has already been given out...we are only there for one day.
This will be my first time doing a "load-and-go" with only one night in a city. I imagine it'll be rushed and stressed.

I still made a MFF foodie sheet for Athens, but it only has the VERY nearest grocery (a Target), nearest pharmacy (a CVS inside the Target probably), and two suggested restaurants listed as "One Shot Stops" for people to consider if they get time to order out and want to make it something special/local.

Anyway, today I'll do some data entry work and take a walk and pack a dinner to bring to the theater since we have a 20-minute commute.

Monday was less of a clusterf*ck than it could have been because I knew which rooms were available to me.

I got there right at 7:30 and started setting up in two rooms. Whichever computer loads fastest, wins.
That turned out to be the computer in Room 5, so there I went.

Got all of my documents ready, gathered my video meeting invites, reached out to the judge to let her know I was here.
She requested that I add her to the meeting first.

So, I opened Teams. And there was no waiting room.
Everyone was just, THERE, all at once.

The judge decided that this was MY fault and had a lot to say about it, followed by a lot of heavy sighing and exasperation because the lawyer said he was in the waiting room (there WAS no waiting room!)
I contacted tech support to confirm that the issue was not on my end, and then getting a new link for a new meeting took about 20 minutes. While this was happening I tried to break the awkward silence with updates on what was happening, only to have the judge snap, "I'm not familiar with the technology," so, ok, my bad, shutting up now :X

In the judge's defense, they said this was the third or fourth time they've held this hearing because some technological snafu has always gotten in the way of either the proceedings or transcript. I get it, and I hate MS Teams for this reason. But considering we were still perfectly able to hold hearings and were only delayed 15-20 minutes, I didn't think it was worth the rage being dished out.

But whatever, it's just another Monday in whatever miserable alternate timeline we've all fallen into here in 2022.

Thankfully we only had two hearings, and the second one was only five minutes long.
But then I looked at my docket for tomorrow and it's the same judge for the whole day. Sigh.
They are all phone hearings, so hopefully things will go smoothly and that will put the judge in a better mood.

The IT department was too busy to set me up in any rooms today, so I spent a little extra time preparing my paperwork for the next two days, hoping to spare myself stress. With that done my biggest concern is being able to find an available hearing room, and frankly if there isn't one that's not my fault either.

On the way home I stopped at FedEx to mail out some of the custom Beef on Weck pins I'd ordered to my bandmates.

It is really bothering me that I haven't heard anything about Tootsie yet, but I know I need to be patient.

On the way home I picked up Target sushi for myself, but then Jameson's rehearsal got cancelled so I had nothing for him.
Not only did the rehearsal get cancelled; the whole show, because of covid. I guess we're not through it yet.

And then he got the bill for his surgery ("Not a bill, just a summary") for FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Not a real bill, but god DAMN, I truly hope his insurance covers 99% of that because otherwise we are in TROUBLE.

I try not to think about this country's horrific, bullshit healthcare system.
But at some point it will rear it's ugly head, and one of us will be facing bankruptcy over a stubbed toe.

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Early, so early on Tuesday.
Breakfast of cold overnight oats with flax and raspberries, Greek yogurt, and ultrafiltered protein milk. And coffee.

At work I was able to sign in and get set up with minimal issues. A miracle.

It was the same snippety judge as yesterday, except today they were in a good mood so there was no excuse for how they talked down to some of the claimants, and at one point bit the vocational expert's head off for talking too fast (she was talking at the same speed she'd been all day as far as I could tell). Whatever, this is just not my favorite judge and hopefully I'll be assigned to them infrequently.

I avoided any demeaning talkdowns in my direction by simply saying "Yes Judge" and "No Judge" and "We're on the record Judge" and not much else all day. All of the hearings went smoothly because MS Teams wasn't involved, thank god. I was happy to send my paperwork in and drive home.

Another day of hearings tomorrow, this time they'll be spaced an hour apart which I think is perfect. Most hearings are around 30-45 minutes, and having 15 minutes at the end to wrap up paperwork or set up for the next hearing or just PEE is ideal. I don't care if it makes the day longer, it makes more SENSE and it's more accommodating to claimants, too. When the hearings are only 15 minutes apart you are guaranteed to be seen late, and I think that's inconsiderate scheduling. But what do I know, I just got here.

Just to clarify, I really do like this job. I like the work, the people seem really nice, most judges so far have been awesome, and hearings are incredibly interesting. I complain either because something got under my skin (happens at every single job) or because there are inefficiencies that I dearly wish could be made better, thereby making this a better job.

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Another 5am wakeup because I needed to set up in a different room and early morning is the only time it's usually possible.

Bless his beautiful heart, John the IT guy was ready and waiting for me when I walked in at 7:30.
We got my station all set up, just in time for my first case at 9am.
Yes, it took about an hour to set up a normal Windows profile and applications.

But unfortunately the Judge was the one with issues this morning.
I dialed everyone into the Teams meeting, and she couldn't hear anyone, although we could all hear her.
This was definitely an issue on her end, so there was nothing to do but wait while Tech Support helped her out.
That took a whole hour, so we didn't get started until 10am.

We continued on that way, an hour late for each case, until noon because that had been a scheduled break.
So, skipping the noon break made the last two hearings on time.

Go figure. I desperately stole bites of wheat bread, green beans, "Tone It Up!" bar, tuna, and pear during lulls in transcription.
At least I was still able to eat.

The worst part of all of this isn't the technical issues or the missed lunch breaks.
It's that those issues, combined with poor scheduling, mean you end up sitting in uncomfortable chairs hunched over a keyboard for the ENTIRE DAY. No time whatsoever to stretch or go for a short walk, except to the bathroom. Overall it seems like whoever is running this operation thinks everyone working in this system is a robot with no biological needs. It's really weird. I mean I know some jobs are intensive or repetitive or whatever...but it seems to me that an agency that handles nothing but disability claims would have, I don't know, policies in their own workplace to prevent work-related disability!

Anyway, Despite all that it was a good day because all the cases were held.
I was exacting with my transcripts, so didn't have to stay late to edit them.
Doing my paperwork a day in advance was wonderful. I just had to check a few boxes for each case. Glorious.
I set up my paperwork for my next workday before leaving.

On the way home I stopped at Sprouts to get bulk seeds.
I want to add seeds to my next loaf of wheat bread, just to see how it goes.
I got pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds (I wanted chia but they didn't have.)
And I grabbed some wings, we can enjoy them for dinner tomorrow.

Pretty bland week because I was working, but I'm glad to have the work.

**Disclaimer: The content of this post reflects my own personal views, opinions, and experiences.
This post does NOT express the views or opinions of my employer.**

The venue: Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts

(stock images)

Covid Tests to Date: 96

TL;DR TikTok: CLICK HERE

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First of all, what a beautiful theatre to end our tour in! I mean look at that!

Too bad I won't get to join for a whole 'nother week!

That's a very strange thought. I've played shows feeling MUCH worse than the worst of covid.
For example in Brooklyn with the circus in 2015, Jameson and I both had what was possibly the worst flu of our lives (in the post I see I called it a "nasty sinus infection", but I had a 103-degree fever for a full 24 hours. It was a flu).
I could certainly have played all of the shows last week. It would have sucked, but I could have done it.

But, covid.

So now that I'm nearly better, it feels very odd indeed that I'm not allowed to rejoin the show for five more days!

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I barely slept on Monday night and woke up early Tuesday.
Sleeping has been difficult in The Golden Nugget anyway, as you can imagine.

I ate breakfast and made sure I was packed, then decided to go to the car rental place an hour early.
Good thing I did too, because it took nearly an hour to rent a car even though I was the only one there.
That is NOT an exaggeration.
There was only one associate, a young girl, and she was having to do everything by herself: fill new contracts, accept rental car returns, clean the returned cars, bring out cars for new rentals, and answer the phone. I felt bad for her and wondered why Avis doesn't hire just one other person for that location.

Eventually I got my car...and I was so, so relieved to get the heck out of Vegas.

4.5 hours later I checked in in Costa Mesa.
It is very odd that I'll be allowed to walk around and go where I please, but can't interact with the cast in any significant way.
But, thems the rules.

The rooms here are very nice. Each one has a little balcony with a great view.

After checking in I took the rental car for groceries.
First was H-Mart, but I did not spend NEARLY as much time as usual in there.
In the prepared foods I found a whole steamed squid with hot sauce, and got that and some steamed yams and garlic-sauteed spinach for dinner.
I ignored most other aisles and just hit the produce for some bok choy.
I also lucked out and found mangosteen!!
Then I did a lap of the drinks and found the most ridiculous mango yogurt milk in a real glass baby bottle.

Then off to Whole Paycheck, where it's much easier to shop socially distanced.
Most things I had already ordered and were waiting for me on a pickup shelf. I only grabbed the eggs myself, and also went down the beverage aisle because there are always new and interesting things there. This time, it was a cherry cacao seltzer! What the heck will that taste like??

Dropped the food at the hotel and returned the rental car, then walked back to the hotel (it was only a mile).

I was very hungry and nommed my squid hard. Felt like a ravenous sea lion chomping down prey, lol.

The yam and spinach were nice too. Went out of my way to pick nutritious and fresh foods.
And after eating those things I did feel quite a lot better.

( Read more... )

A week from today, I'll be on a plane headed back to Orlando, and this tour will be over.

There IS a second season planned for Tootsie.
Musicians are currently awaiting contracts and a confirmed tour route.
I have been offered the chance to return, but as a pessimist and especially in the post-covid entertainment industry, nothing is official until there's a signed contract in my hand. That said, I will keep my hopes up and will be very excited if I get to do this again!

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In the meantime, I will continue working my new part-time job while waiting to hear back about a second job as a Verbatim Hearing Reporter.
I'll be home to support Jameson as he goes through hernia surgery, and once that is over with I hope to cook and bake some new and exciting foods for us!

**Disclaimer: The content of this post reflects my own personal views, opinions, and experiences.
This post does NOT express the views or opinions of my employer.**

The venue: Buell Theatre

Covid Tests To Date: 80

TL;DR TikTok: CLICK HERE to view

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I had trouble sleeping on Monday, not sure why but perhaps because my body is used to waking up early to travel.

It felt strange to stay in bed as long as I liked (which wasn't long) and to take my time on a Monday morning.

I had a nice breakfast and goofed off.
Bobby was at the airport and we chatted a bit. I wish him luck in all of his future ventures.
My sister wants to have breakfast together tomorrow, and I think that's a great idea because our covid tests have been shifted to Wednesday and Friday and there's a matinee on Thursday this week, so Tuesday may be our last chance to hang out.

Before lunch I walked to Whole Foods to replenish my grocery supplies.
I got berries, grilled chicken, peas, shredded brussels sprouts, Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, some protein shakes, eggs, smoked salmon, and some interesting soups from a company called Something Good to Eat. The butternut squash soup from last week was theirs, and I've had their pomegranate beet soup as well (enjoyed it but the lentils were WAY undercooked) so I thought I'd try their other two flavors: Spicy Mushroom with lemongrass and quinoa, and Hearty Tuscan with veggies and buckwheat. I also got a can of "pineapple spice" low-calorie soda, just because it was an interesting flavor. I already have my bread for the week, and barley that I can cook as well, so carbs are covered.

Back home I ate lunch and treated myself to the little mini-bottle of peanut butter whiskey I've been dragging all over the country ever since Greenville. It's a day off, after all!

In fact, for the rest of the day I didn't do much at all. I cooked some barley to use in coming days, and I did my meal planning, and bookmarked some more jobs to apply for. I watched Netflix and read a book and had some snacks and dinner.

On tour, we almost never get a true day of rest. There were only three "Golden Days" on our schedule; that's only three true days off that were not layoffs. Usually we have at least one show per day, and the "day off" is spent at the airport or on a bus, dragging luggage around or getting delayed or packing/unpacking at the hotels. It is rare for me to do nothing all day, but I think it is justified, and I definitely appreciated it.

Other folks on our tour went hiking out on the Flatirons, or visited Red Rock, or went skiing, or went out to eat together.
A lot of people have spouses or loved ones in town to visit since we're actually sitting still for a significant time.
I hope everyone had a beautiful day, just as beautiful as mine was :)

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Tuesday, I got up just slightly early to have breakfast with Kayle, Elliotte, and Drexel!

We decided on Jelly Cafe since it was one of few places open before 11am.
They had a lot of great-looking food on the menu including pancakes, grain bowls, benedicts, and little mini donut bites in a variety of different flavors. Kayle got the veggie benedict, and I went for the veggie biscuit. We are so "healthy", lol.

But seriously, this is just what appealed to me today. A nice fluffy biscuit with an herb gravy made of pureed rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, carrot, and onion. It was lighter than you'd expect, and very good.

The company wasn't bad either :)

Wrangling kids is tough at any meal, but both kids were reasonably well behaved for long enough that we could eat.
Drexel started thrashing and howling partway through, but surprisingly when Kayle passed him to me he sat calmly for a solid five minutes so she could wolf down her eggs. We went to the window where we could see multiple tow trucks lining up to drag away unfortunate cars that had been parked on the wrong side of the street for cleaning day. Kids love flashing lights.

A quick stop at my hotel so I could grab my coat because it was very windy and drizzling, then Kayle drove me to the Denver Art Museum and took off to meet another friend at the history museum for a kiddie play date. It was great to see the kids again!
But forever and ever, I'm eternally glad that I don't have kids :p

The museum is an interesting building indeed.

The inside is angular like the outside, and although it's a bit dizzying it's also a fun effect.
I wonder how many people fall down these stairs because they get disoriented!

The circles on the angled walls are an art installation themselves; the circles light up in a pattern of LED numbers, though I'm embarrassed to say I forgot to note what they signified.

The exhibit rooms themselves were like a work of art.
I love to think about how much effort and care went into the wall colors; the lighting; the frames; the height and placement of each work. Consideration for the impression a visitor would get upon walking into a display area for the first time.
It was quite beautiful.

The simplicity in this one is so powerful. I felt my heart vibrate to see it. I felt closer to my own god.

( Read more... )

**Disclaimer: The content of this post reflects my own personal views, opinions, and experiences.
This post does NOT express the views or opinions of my employer.**

Note:
This week I had a family emergency, which I do not want to discuss at this time so please do not ask.
I wrote this post BEFORE that emergency occurred.
Due to these circumstances, I may be posting less often for a few weeks, or with less content because I will be helping my family during a difficult time.
Thank you for your understanding and please know that at some point regular posting will resume.

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Monday was my first day off on tour! Woohoo!

My friend Molly, a drummer that I worked with on the Ruby Princess, lives in Buffalo and came to get me for brunch!
Of course neither of us checked to see if the cafe we wanted to hit was open ^^; lol
But Molly knew of several other good cafes in the area, and it didn't take us long to find another!

We went to Tipico, which had a great selection of coffee and a pretty exciting menu of tasty treats to try.
There were a lot of vegan options, and since I'd had my heart set on a lox bagel I opted for the "vegan lox", which was large carrots sliced, cooked, and marinated in a variety of sauces and spices to taste similar to smoked salmon. Served with sprouts, avocado, dill, capers, fig cashew sauce, and pickled red onions on toasted sourdough. It was delicious!

While we ate we caught up with each other. Molly wanted to know all about tour life, and although there's not much to tell yet I shared what's been up so far. She told me about what she's been up to, considering secondary careers mostly, just like the rest of us who learned very quickly that the arts could not weather a pandemic very well. We talked about the other members of our Ruby Princess all-female band, what we'd heard from them lately and how we wished they could be there with us today :)

After brunch we walked around and explored some of the local shops. It being Monday, a lot of shops were closed, but we enjoyed browsing the ones that were open and that had local crafts and goods on display. In one shop we were greeted by this dapper young man in a tie. How professional!

Along our way Molly pointed out some places she recommended for meals while I'm in town. I took note of a ramen bar, and a hot dog place, and another great coffee shop. It's unlikely that I'll be able to visit all of these without gaining 500lbs, but I certainly want to enjoy what Buffalo has to offer as much as I can! We stopped in a local organic grocery and both got big giant cookies.
Here we are getting ready to chow down!

Too soon it was time for me to return to the hotel so I could deal with some non-tour issues that had come up during the day. We promised to meet again for wings next Monday. Man, it was so good to see Molly in person!! I'm so glad she made time to visit with me today!
( Read more... )

I am exhausted.

Thursday night/Friday morning, Jameson's dad had a redeye flight and didn't arrive until around 2:30am.
Jameson got home just about an hour before that. So I'm not sure how much sleep I got but it wasn't much.

Work the next day was same old, just harder because I was very tired.
After work I drove straight to the dealership to have my car looked at (nothing wrong, just regular maintenance plus since I'm driving to PA and back I want it looked at). I brought my steno machine because I need to get as much practice in as possible, to make up for the practice I'll miss while home. I got a few weird looks, but I don't really care.

My technician of course wanted to know what it was and how it worked, so I described to him what I was doing and pulled up a letter map of the keyboard. He must have told his buddies because while I was checking out they also had questions, which I was happy to answer and show the machine to them as well. Felt like I was giving a demo.

Anyway, happily my car is fine, just regular upkeep. I'll probably need new tires soon after I get back, not surprising.

Back home I hung out with Jameson's dad for a bit, showed him my plants. I got lucky and caught a fly in the bathroom, and asked if he'd like to see me feed it to my flytrap, to which he responded with a very enthusiastic "Yes!!". So that happened. Much less excited than you'd expect, it just, you know, traps the fly. I explained that I only need to feed it a fly once a month or so, and that it doesn't even really need to be fed that often either, but probably enjoys it.

Back inside I got my pajamas on and we watched the Queen movie and talked a bit.
We went to bed around 10, I fell asleep around 11 but kept waking up to check my phone for where Jameson was. 2:30 rolled around and he still wasn't home, so I texted him suggesting a hotel if needed (he was out with friends after that night's show). He responded quickly that he was just leaving, and got home around 3 or 3:30am. I get up at 5:30am for work.

So, another night in a row of less than 5 hours of sleep.

Saturday, getting up felt terrible, so did going to work.
I did a bit extra stuff since I'll be leaving a day early. Otherwise it was a normal day.

After work I tried (unsuccessfully) to take a nap in a spare room, then drove out to Pig Floyd's to meet Jameson's dad for dinner before Jameson's show. The restaurant is closer to my work than home, so we both agreed it was better to meet there separately, rather than having me drive an hour home and 45 minutes back just so we could ride together.

Pig Floyd's is one of many small, non-chain, amazing restaurants found on Mills 50, a stretch of road in Orlando that is traditionally bohemian, housing the city's Chinatown and with a prominent LGBTQ presence. Murals decorate every building with a bare side.

Many of the murals are dedicated to the victims of the PULSE nightclub shooting.
The nightclub is located at the far end of Mills.

( Read more... )

Thursday:

Woke up earlier than I wanted to, but all I could think about was getting that dang giant milkweed into the ground already.
I'm glad I waited an extra day to do the major gardening, because it was about 20 degrees cooler out. A nice cold front passing through. It made gardening pleasant. Well aware that I might not see weather like this again for there rest of the year, I not only planted the milkweed but also moved a lot of soil (i.e. SAND) to fill in the pollinator garden. It's on a slight slope, so the torrential rains wash a lot of stuff away and it creates channels that pull water away from the plants. So I dumped sand and my leftover garden soil around the plants, then stole mulch from the neighbor's edging to top it all off. Don't feel bad for the neighbors, it's a vacation rental. No one comes to Florida on vacation looking at the mulch.

Here's the giant milkweed, next to the regular milkweed that has all the fungus spores or whatever.
(the plant should survive the spores, just the caterpillars prefer uninfected leaves as you can well imagine)

To top off my work, I added a butterfly puddler that I'd bought on Etsy (for far too much, but it's handmade and all).
Supposedly this is a high-fired mineral clay that will exude minerals when wet by summer rains and then left to dry.
I kind of don't believe it'll work that way, especially since I soaked it for about an hour and it dried out in seconds. I'm wondering if I should have it sitting in a tray of water or something. Whatever, it looks pretty anyway. We'll see how functional it is.

I checked on the caterpillars, and there was a lot more poop, which is great, they're eating and growing.
In fact, I caught this guy eating his molted skin, meaning he';s probably on the fourth instar. Damn! Just one more until he's ready to try to become a butterfly! It's only been a week!! (Click the little right arrow to see a few more pics)

https://instagram.com/p/CNIiaGAgan6

I feel an overwhelming urge to buy a GoPro so I can document the whole chrysalis thing while away at work.
I have a Hero 4, but I think it's bricked. I haven't been able to get it to work or hold a charge, and the latest update I can find is from 2016.
Hmm.

After lunch I boiled some eggs for deviled eggs for Easter Sunday, then Jameson asked for potato Chicago dogs (it's the start of baseball season!) so I hit Publix for potatoes and hot dogs. It's pretty much the same as a Chicago dog but on a potato instead of a bun.

After dinner I surprised myself by actually practicing steno while Jameson played games, and then we watched Top Chef together.

Tomorrow (Friday) I have an interview for another internal job opening. Then I pick up some ham for Easter from HoneyBaked Ham. Then I've promised to bring a roselle seedling to someone "on the way" home from work, which is actually 30 minutes out of the way, but whatever. She will give me a white milkweed in exchange.

Lots of plant stuff this week, huh. Lots going on. Next weekend I've got three days off.

Another week at work.
Another weekend spent cooking and cleaning.
Purgatory ain't so bad, I guess.

Jameson has gigs every night this week, or rather rehearsals for a local performance of Sister Act.
I'm excited and happy for him, hoping that this breaks up the covid routine for him a bit and at least gets him out of the house and around some friends.
I've also got to admit, the alone time is nice. A lot of times when we're home together in the evenings, we watch TV together or do a puzzle, but otherwise default to playing on our phones or doing our own solitary activities.
I do enjoy this, but also it's nice to have a little time in the evenings by myself. Not that I do anything different...if anything I just clean extra because I can do it knowing I'm not bothering him, and I watch more anime because that's my thing and not his.

It makes me sad, though. On the circus, we did all kinds of fun stuff together.
I want to take him on a vacation. I want to take him away from all of the craziness, and depression, and sadness that swirl around us.
But I can't. I can't give him what he wants. And that makes me deeply sad.
At some point, something will change. Some element of our lives will shift, and make things better, or worse.
I wonder what that will be, and when it will happen.
In the meantime: purgatory.

So as you can guess, work was work. I worked all week, came home, ate, practiced steno, slept. Wash rinse repeat.
I seem to be making zero progress in steno, and it's depressing.
I could spend hours and hours practicing steno. As it is, I'm doing at least 5-8 hours per week. They want ten, so I really need to fit in more. But even so, I want this to be a job, not my whole goddamned life. Wendesday and/or Thursday are my only days to clean and cook, to garden, to have even a moment to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do. Do I really have to sacrifice that as well?

Trying not to think about it.

I ended the week feeling deeply exhausted and unmotivated. I slept in pretty late on Wednesday morning, finally dragging myself out of bed when it became clear that Jameson was about to get up. I started right away on making a pork shoulder roast because I knew it would take several hours, and it did. It had been curing overnight in salt, sugar, herbs, and spices. I rinsed all that off and roasted it in the oven along with some garlic bulbs, then after it cooled rubbed it down with the soft roasted garlic, honey, and rosemary. Back in the oven for 15 minutes until the coating caramelized.

When it had cooled I sliced it open and stored it in the fridge. Supposedly it's better on the second day. Gonna make some pork broccoli rabe provolone sandwiches with it.
( Read more... )

In the morning I went to the Norfolk airport, and from there flew out to Kansas City. The flights were comfortable, the weather nice. Thanks Delta! By the time I got to the hotel in KC it was pretty late, so I ate a late dinner and went to bed, because tomorrow would be an early day!

I woke up around 5:30am (yuck!) and drove out to the BAC Music factory. Mike Corrigan (founder, owner) met me at the door. He gave me a quick tour of the factory. It's AWESOME. I love seeing what goes into making brass instruments. The fact that these are made in-house, by hand, is just incredible and so rare these days.

Mike stamping a trumpet bell with the BAC logo.

( Read more... )

Since the overland to DC was so short, Jameson and I made plans to spend Monday at the Natural History Museum. We'd both been before but not recently. There were some new exhibits, including two photography galleries showcasing National Geographic's "20 years of Nature's Best Photography" and specifically the photography of Frans Lanting. The images were displayed without frames, in an intensely high quality. A summary to the side of each photo described the conditions under which the photographer took the photo, equipment used, and their thoughts and feelings as they captured the images.

Because it was spring break, the museum was VERY crowded. We inched our way through a display of skeletons of various animals, saw the bugs (but couldn't get into the butterfly dome because there was a waiting list), and enjoyed the hall of gems and minerals.

( Read more... )

My last week home was a good time. On Monday I took Raven back to New York, to her office at the startup company Alley NYC. She gave me a tour of the building; it's a coworking space for all kinds of companies...and that's about all I understand about it! But the workspace is awesome and I'm awfully proud of Raven for the work she does here.

( Read more... )

Jameson and I drove to Cleveland on Monday. It was six hours from our hotel, so not a bad drive. It's strange (and nice) to be back in the eastern US...there are green plants, real trees, and rolling mountains. I don't think I realized how completely dry California is until I had something to compare it to!

Anyway, when we got to our next hotel we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was right next to a large mall! We decided to go see Crimson Peak. It was a good movie, but we were both disappointed at the lack of actual scary scenes. Still, a fun time :)

The next day we got up late and enjoyed lunch at The Rail, a burger place attached to the mall. They've got really good locally-raised beef, locally-made ice cream, and locally-brewed beer. I treated myself to a root beer float along with my "bootlegger" burger. Yum!

After that we did a little shopping (both of us needed shoes), then got groceries, then found the train, hopped on, and unpacked.

Opening day was good, good rehearsal followed by a good show.
Thursday was similar, with only one night show. During the day I did chores: laundry, cooking, cleaning, taking care of internet business. After the show, it was time for the annual Halloween tradition...Haunted Clown Car!!!

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Monday was a fairly normal day. After the show, Jameson and I drove a few hours to a hotel. Around the time we arrived, the Cubs were finishing up their 9th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. They won! Jameson and his whole family are avid Cubs fans, so his reaction is hardly surprising! **PROFANITY WARNING**

To celebrate the win (and just to eat because we were starving by that time) we hit the highly-rated Kome Sushi where we shared some specialty rolls and sake :)

( Read more... )

Three days off again! Gosh!

Monday:
Mostly house chores. Cleaned my room top to bottom, changed my sheets (not easy on a bunked bed!), changed my air filter, did laundry. Wrote answers to some lingering circus questions on Quora, one of which required me to watch Water for Elephants. Near the end of the day I got a notification that one of my answers had been published on slate.com.

(link to full article is HERE)

I'm really happy that my lowly perspective is considered good enough to publish! It's very awesome that people are interested in finding out what circus life is like. I wrote the answer to this question more than a year ago, and hadn't really looked it over since. IMO there were a few things that I should have cleaned up before it was published. Still, I think it's a good start! The next ones will (hopefully) be even better!

Tuesday:
Jameson and I went to the grocery in the afternoon. I bought the ingredients for meatloaf and made it for the first time ever, using this recipe and the NuWave infrared oven. The meat shrank an awful lot more than I was expecting, but otherwise I think it turned out very tasty!

Later in the day I borrowed Jameson's car to visit the post office and drop my bike off at nearby Urban Bike Fitters for maintenance. It ticks me off that I haven't ridden my bike at all yet this year, but the brakes aren't working :/ No gouda. The gent who will be repairing my bike, Mr. Pan, seemed really interested in it (it's a vintage Raleigh Folder custom restoration) and asked if he could keep it through Friday. I said sure, why not! May as well spread the love :D

( Read more... )

We spent the night in Tucson, because why not, it's a whole five degrees cooler than Phoenix :P

In the morning we decided to drive the two hours to Phoenix and eat lunch, then check to see if the train was spotted so we could drop off our luggage before heading to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). For once our timing was pretty good; the train arrive just as we were finishing lunch at Zookz Sandwiches. They make a unique toasted "pocket"-style sandwich stuffed with all kinds of goodies! Jameson had the No. 45, fresh mozzarella, tomato, mixed greens and a honey Baslamic dressing. I had the No. 30, thin sliced ham with apricot preserves, Brie cheese and almonds. For dessert we split a Coco Loco, a sandwich pocket filled with melted chocolate, coconut, almonds, and rice crispies. If you are ever in Phoenix looking for a quick but healthy and incredibly tasty meal, this is the place!

We dropped our things off at the train, the Jameson drove us to the MIM. They've got a vast collection of musical instruments, mostly organized by geographic origin and then subdivided into genres and cultural uses. In addition to viewing the instruments, each guest is given an audio pack and headphones. As you approach the screens mounted behind each display, you are treated to an audio sampling of some of the things you're looking at. It was AWESOME. We were there for about 2.5 hours and STILL didn't see everything! (Which is great, it means I can go back again!!!).

(image stolen from scottsdalerealestates.com)

There were trombones in almost every section (awesome) and most were fairly standard sizes and materials, though they varied in age and condition. In the "France" section I found a dragon trombone!! I've always wanted to see one!! (The real name of this instrument is the Buccin).

( Read more... )

We woke up in time for the complementary breakfast in Hotel 32's lounge. Joel was at the front desk, so we were able to say hello and thank him for generously upgrading our room. He regaled us with stories from when he was in the circus as a clown during the 80s-90s, and showed us one of the Penthouse Suites typically rented out for parties (holy CRAP). We gave him some elephant hairs courtesy Brett :) It was great to meet Joel, and I hope next time we'll have time to actually hang out!!

Now it was time for an adventure! We drove an hour to the Hoover Dam. After parking and signing up for the next available tour, we explored the memorials and viewpoints surrounding this amazing structure. Deco architecture could be seen all over the place. This memorial commemorates the completion of the dam, and features two winged figures seated on a diorite platform above a celestial calendar of the dam's dedication date.

Nearby we found memorials to those who died building the dam (96 workers, of various causes, none of whom are entombed in the dam) and the grave of a dog that workers had adopted as a mascot but who was run over by a truck :/

Photo of the dam from the parking garage:

From the observation deck (bowling, anyone?):

A panorama of the dam, memorial bridge, and visitor's center:

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After the last show on Sunday I drove a few hours to my Aunt Chris's house. It was late at night so I went straight to bed in her guest room, but the next day we shared a cup of coffee and talked for almost two hours, catching up on as much as possible :) A lot has happened this year already, only four months in. It felt great to sit together and talk about everything. I've missed her company.

After a tasty omelette breakfast we went for a walk in a nearby park. We continued to chat while enjoying the lovely weather and natural surroundings. We walked for nearly three miles!! Felt so athletic :P Then she took me to Great Harvest Bread Co. for some amazing bread! Although Great Harvest is a chain, each of their stores mills their own flour from whole wheat berries. They do this because when flour is milled, the nutrients in the wheat begin to deteriorate immediately. Grinding the flour fresh ensures the maximum nutritional content and also gives the bread a flavor and quality not found in other brands. My Aunt treated me to a loaf of honey wheat and a peach oatmeal square. Yum!!

Then we visited LaFarm Bakery, an authentic French bakery run by Master Baker Lionel Vatinet. In addition to the amazing baked goods, the cafe also sells sandwiches that vary depending on what's available locally. We got a poulet tartine to go and shared it back at the house. Chicken, spinach, brie and havarti on LaFarm's sourdough bread smothered in pear slices, petite tomatoes, onions, a bit of salad, and some honey mustard. You can't see the bread and cheese in this photo, but believe me, they were there and delicious!

When she's not working, my Aunt has been participating in many "extracurricular" activities, including painting! After seeing a tutorial about painting a pear in acrylic, she wanted to give it a try. I was reluctant given my last fiasco with the watercolor leaf...but what the heck! We ran to the art store for supplies, then got right to work. We had to stop partway through to prepare dinner (chorizo-infused yellow rice and chicken thighs!) but were able to continue afterward. It seemed to take hours, but we were both pretty satisfied with the results. Here they are, our first acrylic paintings!

Finally finished, I spent a little time cleaning up and catching up with my Uncle Andy before heading off to bed.

( Read more... )

This is the first long train run we've had in a while. The weather was awesome, starting out cold as we left NJ but gradually getting warmer and warmer as we headed south. I didn't get many pictures on the first day, but on the second I woke early and saw the blue light of dawn outside, and decided to play with the GoPro.

We have passed this peninsula several times in the past three years, and every time I try to get a picture the trees are in the way. Fed up with trying to get a good shot, I kept a blurry picture :P

I didn't get many good shots with the GoPro...still not used to it. After breakfast I came back out armed with my usual phone camera. We went under this thing, whatever it is:

There was lots of construction on the track next to us. The machinery was cool to watch.

We passed some Norfolk Southern camp cars, and this gent was waving enthusiastically from the "kitchen".

The weather was nice for the whole run, and we saw many trainspotters, but these guys were the most handsome. My camera thought so ;)

An unintentionally artsy-fartsy shot of some bridge pillars.

The train taking a mountain curve.

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On Monday we had a short train run to Newark.
It took a while to get moving...there's a lot of traffic on the rails around here as you can imagine! By the time we were on our way, I was in bed. But Eryn was up, and got some awesome photos of our train passing under the East River and through Penn Station!

The next morning we awoke to find ourselves in Newark. Aah, that fresh NJ air :P
mar15-2015-3

We're in the same yard--the one next to the prison and the airport--but in a different part, so that we won't have to pass through the guardhouse every time we want to get home. I spent the morning enjoying the internet (haven't had good internet for three weeks!!), repairing my blog, and reading up on the "elephant issue" until I became too aggravated to continue that. Then it was time for a Hangout chat with my tax preparer. Then it was time to do several loads of laundry.
( Read more... )

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July 2025

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Tootsie Yr2: Grand Rapids, MI Part 2
Tootsie Yr2: Worcester, MA Part 1
Actual Work
Tootsie on Tour: Costa Mesa Week 1
Tootsie on Tour: Denver, CO Week 2
Tootsie Rehearsals Week 2
Tiny Violin
Raising Gazorpazorp Part 3
Every Month is March
Circus Xtreme Wilkes-Barre, PA - KCMO Visit, Home Visit, and One Month Left
Circus Xtreme Washington, DC - Yummy Dumplings and Fun Crowds
Circus Xtreme - December Break Week 4
Circus Xtreme Cleveland, OH - Haunted Clown Car, The Gold Unit Closes
Circus Xtreme St. Louis, MO - Food and Camels.
Circus Xtreme San Francisco, CA - Chinese treats, Cow Palace
Circus Xtreme Phoenix, AZ - Beating the Heat
Circus Xtreme Tucson, AZ - Adventures, and Heat
Circus Xtreme Hampton, VA - Family & Friends
Circus Xtreme Huntsville, AL - Warm Welcome
Circus Xtreme Newark, NJ - Train Life

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Page generated Jul. 5th, 2025 02:30 pm

goofball on a train

(adventures of a touring musician)

Entries tagged with art

Tootsie Yr2: Grand Rapids, MI Part 2

Tootsie Yr2: Worcester, MA Part 1

Actual Work

Tootsie on Tour: Costa Mesa Week 1

Tootsie on Tour: Denver, CO Week 2

Tootsie Rehearsals Week 2

Tiny Violin

Raising Gazorpazorp Part 3

Every Month is March

Circus Xtreme Wilkes-Barre, PA - KCMO Visit, Home Visit, and One Month Left

Circus Xtreme Washington, DC - Yummy Dumplings and Fun Crowds

Circus Xtreme - December Break Week 4

Circus Xtreme Cleveland, OH - Haunted Clown Car, The Gold Unit Closes

Circus Xtreme St. Louis, MO - Food and Camels.

Circus Xtreme San Francisco, CA - Chinese treats, Cow Palace

Circus Xtreme Phoenix, AZ - Beating the Heat

Circus Xtreme Tucson, AZ - Adventures, and Heat

Circus Xtreme Hampton, VA - Family & Friends

Circus Xtreme Huntsville, AL - Warm Welcome

Circus Xtreme Newark, NJ - Train Life

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July 2025

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