taz_39: (Default)
Thursday I was still up too early...I've been conditioned!

Received a new transcription job right away (yay!) so after breakfast I got to work setting that up.
Jameson went to the gym and while he was gone I scanned all of my tax documents and set up a tax appointment (I use Brass Taxes if anyone's interested.) Partway through that process Keith messaged to ask if I could cover for him at Disney on March 4, and that's a day where I'm at Epic, so I messaged the other Epic trombone ladies to see if anyone could cover for me. Andrea could not, but Mariah could.

Disney remains my priority, so I will ALWAYS try to accommodate them even if it means losing a day at Epic (maybe someday I'll go into detail about why that is, and some of you can probably guess based on posts. But if you're stumped, for now just think of it as "first come first serve," and Disney hired me FIRST.)

A small snack and then bass trombone practice, followed by packing meals for Epic tomorrow, eating lunch, and starting transcription.
It was so, so nice to just have a quiet day on my butt and neither in a construction zone nor stomping all over creation.

Later on we both stopped working to watch the first baseball game of the season which happened to be Cubs v Dodgers. Ordered Olive Garden for dinner. Jameson gamed, I worked on Foodie Finds and trolled around for a new anime to watch. A nice night.

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Up at 5:30am for Epic.

UPDATE: Remember that time I got to eat at Cafe Lair de la Sirene? And mentioned that the dessert was fantastic? Well now that the dining options for that restaurant have been officially revealed...

...it was the butterbeer crepes!

They were SO GOOD. Essentially butterscotch crepes...but even the whipped cream was butterscotch-flavored, and the crepes were so perfect and light and thin. This one's a must-eat at Epic Universe.
Butterbeer-Crepe-at-Cafe-Lair-De-La-Sirene-in-The-Wizarding-World-of-Harry-Potter-Ministry-of-Magic-at-Universal-Epic-Universe-1536x864.jpg
(photo courtesy orlandoparkstop.com)

We started the day fairly normally, with a warm-up and one rehearsal show in our spot in the park.
Then we had a session of character building with our entertainment manager, Rusty. He led us in developing our characters by consciously thinking about how we interacted with each other...or rather, how our characters would respond to each other instead of just presenting for an audience. Doing this will make things feel less forced/scripted. I thought it went really well, and it made me excited to think about how expressive we could be as our characters.

We'd planned to do another show after that, but the fire alarm went off so we were all hustled outside. Upon being hustled back INside just a few minutes later, another of our managers whisked us off to Wardrobe for a costume fitting!

As someone who has worked for many amusement parks and shows, by this time I am very used to fittings and what they entail. Mostly you just strip down to underwear or some kind of fitted undergarment, then people measure the crap out of every inch of you and ask you your sizes (they've asked before, but they'll keep asking always in case anything's changed.) And once that's done they'll slap a costume on you piece by piece, see how each piece fits and looks, and tweak or pin it while it's still on your body. Plus lots and lots of photos from every angle to help them make more decisions after you've left.

Since I can't record this process, here's a 2-minute video that very well captures what it's like.
I especially like how the wardrobe folks describe their process for curating the look for the character.



This fitting had a lot more people in the room, and as I hadn't known there'd be a fitting today I hadn't shaved my legs :(
But although I felt 50% embarrassed, the other 50% of my brain was proclaiming subconsciously, "It's a CONSTRUCT. Leg hair is natural, so is armpit hair. And if hairy legs on a woman is the worst thing these people have ever seen, then they haven't seen much at all!" Lol. Thanks, I guess, subconscious.

I'm not allowed to describe my costume, but today was my first time seeing it and I have to say that I mostly like it very much. The colors and materials are nice, and I especially enjoy the pattern on the shirt. There's one part that I don't really care for, but it's for cooler weather so hopefully I won't have to wear it *crosses fingers*

I also got to see the boys' costumes, which are very different but period-appropriate and rather dashing, each in their own way. And the colors across our costumes are complementary, so that is nice as well. Lots of photos were taken, and we even got to pose with our instruments while in costume! I can't wait for you to see them. Many of my friends will guffaw at mine...it is definitely out of character for me...but not for my character!

(Psst....if you're an LJ or DW, there's gonna be a Friends Only post related to this............just sayin'.............)

After we'd re-dressed we got to wolf down a late lunch before heading out for training with our Main Prop!
That pesky NDA...I can't tell you a single thing about it other than we were able to touch it and interact with it for the first time, and it looks great and a lot of work has gone into it. There are still tweaks and fixes to be made, but we are closer and closer to actually using it! Between that and the costumes, it's all very exciting and makes it feel like the opening of Epic Universe is right around the corner. Eeeeee!!

After an eventful day I drove home, caught Jameson up on my doings, and did an hour of transcription since I hadn't had a moment to work on it today. After that it was a quiet evening.

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Up at 6:30am to transcribe and make caramels.

I don't want to be up this early, but was scheduled for an additional day at Epic.
Which is great--could always use more money--but I lose a day of spending time catching up on Life Things.

When I told Jameson I'd be making the caramels, and then driving an hour on Tuesday to deliver them, he chided me, "Don't kill yourself bending over backwards for other people. You've got to take care of yourself, too!"

He's right. But I also think maybe he's forgotten that the guy I'm making caramels for bent over backwards for ME, by emergency-repairing my bass trombone on Christmas Eve night, for free, and then even giving me a case to use for free (although it didn't fit and I ended up returning it.) The absolute least I can do is take a little time out of my day to make him caramels. That said, Jameson's right that it doesn't have to be done this exact moment. But I've already put it off twice due to Epic and I just want to have it done. Plus, we have group rehearsals again next week so I'll be able to bring them in for everyone else too!

Anyway, Transcription for an hour, breakfast for a half, caramels took about 90 minutes and turned out great.
Best batch I've made in a while, entirely because I was patient and didn't keep cranking the temp up.
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Lunch, then packing meals for Epic and practicing bass trombone, plus Disney memorization. I only memorized one piece but that's ok, one is better than none and it's ok to start gradually. After that a snack and the other half of my Dragon's Milk beer while transcribing. Meanwhile Jameson did his own taxes, gamed, and watched the Cubs game. We were both very appreciative to have a slowish day.

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And Sunday, another day at Epic. I forgot that traffic would be lighter on the weekend and got up too early, but it was ok.

Apparently we are now doing "mock service" in our part of the park.

"Mock service" or "mock run/shift" is restaurant lingo, and describes a training exercise where employees practice their roles on other employees instead of on paying customers. This is meant to be a low-pressure simulation of what a restaurant will be like when it's open, allowing waiters to practice reciting menu items, checking on guests, serving food, processing payments, etc without having to worry about screwing up and causing a bad guest experience.

In Epic Universe right now, this means that the restaurants and some stores are open to serve a limited menu or sell limited goods, and only to Universal employees who are working or rehearsing that day. And some of the rides are open for employees to ride, too! And of course, performers like us are being asked to put on full sets in the park to not only practice ourselves, but to test audio systems in the park and gauge audience interest and reactions.
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(Stardust Racers, a dueling coasters ride in Celestial Park and probably the most visible ride in the park. Employees were able to test-ride it today! Image publicly available at universalorlando.com)

All of this meant that we immediately went to costumes, to get suited up for our first performance, in costume, in the park!
My costume had been hemmed to fit me better, and I gotta be honest...I LOVE IT (aside from the winter piece previously mentioned, which I won't have to wear anyway :p ) I also found out that I'm gonna have to wear makeup (boooo) and do my hair a certain way. I have only worn makeup one other time in my life, when I worked for Busch Gardens. Which, incidentally, was also the only other time my costume was a DRESS and I was treated as a WOMAN instead of one of the guys. So, there you have it. My character is very feminine, and so shall I be while I'm her :)

As it turned out, we weren't able to do our "real" show anyway because certain elements were not ready. We did our best with a sort of "concept of a plan" of our show. People still seemed to enjoy it very much, and it wasn't hard other than being a routine we hadn't rehearsed (I was so very nervous!) We got a good response and it felt good to be in costume, and REALLY feel like we were performing for actual guests.

We did only three sets, and in between rested or enjoyed the mock service in the park (we were allowed to participate too!) Still, after being fussed over by wardrobe/makeup, and performing a set we've never done for bigger crowds than usual, I felt drained at the end of the day. Drained, but happy. It was a good one.

Went to Whole Paycheck for sushi for Jameson and I, then at home after catching Jameson up I cut and wrapped the caramels, practiced bass trombone, memorized another Disney song, and did a bit more transcription. It was a busy but productive day. Many more of those to come, I'm sure.

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Monday & Tuesday:
two days off in a row, what a dream! Transcription, housework, practicing, cooking, delivering caramels to Bill to thank him for repairing my bass trombone.

Wednesday:
The start of three days of Epic rehearsals, which we have been calling "The Dwight Days" because our show director Dwight will be back from California to cram stuff into our heads again.

Free Food

Feb. 20th, 2025 07:59 am
taz_39: (Default)
Monday, I was happy to wake up at 7:30 for Disney (as opposed to 5:30 for Epic Universe.)
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(stock image, Mickey & Minnie in the Utilidors)

A cold front came through, and it was mid-60s (about 18C) and sunny! How glorious!!
(Yes mid-60s/18C is quite cold for Florida)

Additionally, it was Free Food Day (Employee Appreciation) and although I didn't partake due to transcription it was nice to see people happily strolling the Utilidors with plates of food and goodie bags throughout the day :)

We had all of our parades and sets, and good crowds due to the lovely weather.
I got 7.5 miles/17,000 steps.

After today I have no more scheduled days with the band, so I made sure to say "bye" to the guys and thank everyone for a good time. Everyone is always so classy: they all said I'd done a great job and that they loved having me, super kind. I'm grateful to have this gig, even if it's just filling when someone's absent.

Back home I re-packed for Epic Universe and practiced bass trombone and watched Severance with Jameson.
It sounds like we're doing sets tomorrow, and Mariah says she had down time between sets, so I'll bring my transcription and hope that there'll be time to work on it.

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I was up at 5:30am because there was a message in our group chat that security was now using the bag scanners. Going to have to start getting there earlier from now on.
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("The Phoenix Gate," modeled after the Arc de Triomph. Photo courtesy @bioreconstruct, I'm risking sharing one of his aerial photos since the Phoenix Gate has been prominently featured in Universal's own fly-through videos for months now.)

Now that we are out of full-time rehearsals, things are so much simpler.
We show up. We warm up our instruments. We mentally get into character.
Then we walk out to the park with a sound tech, get to our entrance places, and do a run of the show.

And that's all we did, all day.
Normal-ass sets to reflect what our day will be like when the park is open.
FINALLY no show director breathing down our necks or correcting how we move or play or blink or breathe.
No endlessly playing the show over and over to the point where I am also playing it in my sleep.
No more music to memorize or lines to learn.
The hard part is over.

Today we were totally left alone to just do our show runs, eating lunch in between. I had plenty of time to work on transcription between sets, and although I still didn't get it all done I've only got about 30 minutes left to transcribe. Yay!!

We also had free food offerings today at Epic (gosh, both theme parks are throwing free food at us, it's awesome!) and it was meatballs, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Since I'd packed a lunch I passed on the hot food, but there were lots of free snacks as well so I picked up some peanut butter crackers, almonds, Fig Newtons, and other stuff. Very much appreciated!

And there was a film crew in the Ministry of Magic while we were rehearsing. They didn't come near us but we got to see them load in tons of very $$$,$$$-looking equipment, and also what seemed like "faux families," little clusters of actors who'd been grouped in what looked like couples or family units and were probably there to act in a commercial for the park. I'm assuming that's what they're filming anyway, since the MoM is like 90% complete.

We were released at 4:30pm, right after the final set. What a treat!!
Before going home I went to Whole Paycheck and got ingredients for skirt steak taco salad.

Back home I opted not to practice trombone or transcribe, and didn't have to pack a meal for tomorrow.
I just wanted to rest for a few hours. It has been five freaking weeks and these are my first consecutive days off in forever. I think the world can spare me two extra hours to exist without having to do something every minute.

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Wednesday, was up at 7:30 for breakfast and an hour later got started on transcription.
I was still at it by lunch time, then Jameson went to a doctor's appointment and I hit Publix for a few small items that Whole Paycheck hadn't had. Back home I finished and submitted my transcription project, got the steaks marinating, and practiced bass trombone for a solid hour while sipping half a Dragon's Milk beer. To me that's a lovely afternoon indeed.

The skirt steak(s).
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I did everything right...marinated them for 2 hours, let them come to room temp before cooking, seared them on a screamin' hot pan until the kitchen was filled with smoke and the internal temp was 130F, let them rest, then cut them "against the grain." And they were still chewy as hell. So I cubed/minced it and tossed it in the pan again, and then it was edible. Just...what I can I say. I'm not an abuela with generations of skirt steaks in my blood.

The flavor was good, though. Crunchy chips, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, cotija cheese, salsa, sour cream (for Jameson), hot sauce.
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Thursday:
another glorious day off, wow!

Friday:
Epic Universe rehearsals

Saturday & Sunday:
ALSO days off but I’ll have transcription, bass trombone practice, chores, and caramels to make!
taz_39: (Default)
If I'm not interacting with your posts as much, please don't be surprised RE: suddenly working from 8am-7pm every day.
I'll try to catch up on weekends.

Also sorry for the lack of photos. For the very obvious reasons that I cannot even think about taking my phone out while at the new theme park, and having signed the NDA.

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Had a horrible night's sleep on Wednesday into Thursday. Something fell over in Jameson's studio and made a loud crash at 1am, scared the absolute daylights out of me (my Apple Watch informs me that my heart rate jumped up to 111 bpm when it happened.) I walked two circuits of the house looking for whatever-it-had-been before I realized it was a piece of his wall lighting that had fallen off and gone crashing into a shelf. F*cking hell.

This was followed by absolutely horrific stress dreams about an imaginary blonde-haired, blue-eyed nephew who got ahold of BOTH of my rare, one-of-a-kind Williams trombones....both of them!....and smashed them to dented useless messes while I was at work(?) In the dream I was screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, and very sincerely trying to murder this child with every ounce of dream-strength in me (I was trying to choke him to death.) I never can seem to kill people in dreams, which I suppose is part of what makes it a stress dream; the tormentor always survives and justice is not served.

At least it was good to wake up and realize it had only been a dream.

Breakfast, and off to Epic Universe rehearsal again.
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The cranky mood from Wednesday persisted, and at first I was annoyed with myself because this is the second day in a row that I'm acting like it's a chore to be there when it should be thrilling and exciting and a dream come true. But at these times I take care to consider the WHYS behind the feelings:

     1) I'm an introvert, and have now spent four straight days and 28 hours in a brightly-lit room with a group of loud, excited, boisterous actor-musicians and one endlessly energetic and attentive Show Director. I've had almost no time to decompress and "recharge" my introvert batteries.

     2) The way that I memorize music is to spend time with the music. Alone. In a quiet place where I can hear myself think and focus fully on memorization. All rehearsals so far have been group activities, we have not been given any "alone time" for personal memorization, and yet it's expected that we should have started memorizing by now. This has been incredibly frustrating for me.

     3) Standing in front of a group of people and acting out a character, in a loud voice, is something that I have NEVER done in all my 40 years on earth and I would have collapsed in utter terror if I had even tried it at a younger age. I am doing something THAT intense and scary, for the very first time in my life, for the past four days straight, and although I'm happy to be doing it it is incredibly stressful.

     4) In the back of my mind all week have been my Disney music and upcoming fill-in dates, the bass trombone music I'm supposed to be practicing for a potential tour, the possibility of losing my transcription job for this theme park, and the housework piling up while I'm away all week.

     5) On average I've only gotten about 5 hours of sleep per night, on top of all that's happening while I'm awake. Which may be enough for some people but definitely not for me.

So when I really think about it, there are plenty of reasons to be moody even though this is such a wonderful and exciting situation!
I am doing my absolute best to simply be quiet and keep to myself when in such moods, rather than snapping at people around me or detracting from rehearsal. There's nothing I can do about it this week except take deep breaths and plow ahead.

The most exciting thing that happened today was that we got to actually see where we'll be performing in the park!! There was still so much construction going on, but our section of the park is the only area where PPE is not required. This means we were the FIRST performers in the park!!! Incredible.
(CLICK HERE to see flyover of Ministry of Magic world)

And it WAS incredible. God, I wish I could describe it to you. I've said this like eight times but if you're a Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts fan you will lose your mind. The only spoiler I can give at this point is that big parts of this "world" are to-scale, brick-for-brick renderings of parts of the Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald movie..........
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(photo from discoveruniversal.com)

Aaaanyway. After visiting the spot we watched a bit of the movie to see the parts where our set appears. We also did run-throughs again, this time in a slightly different format as we were missing some musicians with prior commitments. I also got a more definite schedule finally, so ended up emailing and texting misc bosses to let them know that for the next several weeks my time is limited.

After rehearsal I picked up dinner and got home to Jameson, packed lunch for tomorrow, told him about my day, etc etc. His surgery wounds are healing nicely, and he's been told he can use his arm as normal to build up strength.

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Friday I was excited to get the day over with!
Again not that I don't enjoy what we're doing, but it's been a very intense week and I'd really like to get a full night's sleep.

Rehearsal today was rhythm exercises, as well as running through the music and practicing the script as we had in previous days. We also recorded ourselves and watched it back, something that I hate doing but is very informative. For example I learned that although I had planted my feet while acting, as we were told to do, I still sway back and forth which is distracting for the audience. Was able to stop doing it on the next take, and will make a conscious effort about it going forward.

Back home it was nice to drop my things and relax without having to pack a lunch or set clothes out or do transcription.
I also got a few more Main Street Philharmonic dates in February, which means that for about a week during that month I'll be bouncing back and forth between the two parks. It feels like working for Coke and Pepsi at the same time, lol. Definitely one of the top unexpected things to happen in my musical career!

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Saturday, I slept poorly and was up at 7:30. That's normal after a week of getting up early, so I was not upset.

It was so nice to have a slow breakfast and enjoy the quiet house. Aaaaah. :)

Once Jameson was up I vacuumed, went out to get bagels and groceries, practiced bass trombone, had lunch, and went for a walk. Called my stepmom on the walk, she recently had a fall and bashed her face up pretty badly but she's recovering well.

Back home we had taco salads for dinner. After the intensity of the week I felt too tired to memorize so left it for tomorrow.

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I must have been exhausted because I didn't wake up until 9, which is late for me.
It felt good. I needed the rest, but I also felt guilty for losing potentially productive hours.

Breakfast and when Jameson got up I practiced the bass for 30 minutes, then buckled down to memorize for an hour.
There are five pieces total, plus the script, to memorize. My goal today was to get the first piece and ALL of my lines, and I think I've got it (you always think you've got it until you're doing it in front of other people.) We went to the grocery in the afternoon, he did laundry, and I packed lunch and breakfast for tomorrow. It rained for about two hours which was nice and soothing. For dinner I made sloppy joes with coleslaw and smiley fries. We watched The Traitors and I ordered myself a new lavender-and-rice pad/pillow. My sister made them for us one year for Christmas and I've become quite attached to it, but it's several years old and is getting worn. Lord knows I could use some nice aromatherapy right now.

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Monday through Thursday: more rehearsals. We're supposed to be rehearsing in our actual performance spot this week, but it's supposed to rain so we'll see what happens. I'll be very tired because I'll also have to practice bass and memorization once I get home each night :/

Also:
     RE: TikTok getting banned: Where is my health care?
    
RE: Trump's inauguration: Health care?
     RE: People crying, screaming, and ranting about either TikTok or Trump: But when do we get health care?

All of this daytime soap drama about TikTok and Trump is a distraction from Real Actual Issues.
HEALTH CARE. INFRASTRUCTURE. LIVING WAGES.
I don't care which party you're from, if those aren't your priorities then you do not represent me or my needs.
taz_39: (Default)
Up on Thursday with the knowledge that things are moving ahead with the Universal job opportunity.

All it means at time of this writing is that I've got orientation on Friday, it's 9 hours long and no idea what it will entail. So I'll dress nice-casual and pack a lunch and have my trombone in the trunk? Idk. Maybe by the end of that day we'll have actual job offers.

Meanwhile I've got transcription to do. Ate breakfast and worked on it, chatted with Jameson, planned to make enchiladas for dinner. Finished this messed-up transcription project and sent it in hoping I'd done everything right (it's a new scenario for me, getting broken audio.) Went to the dentist, got ingredients for dinner, made the enchiladas.

Nice, normal night.

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Up early to enjoy "me time" before Universal orientation. Did I mention that this orientation is optional? Yeah, so weird. I suppose because it was so last-minute, and because they haven't actually given anyone an offer yet? I hadn't made plans for today anyway.

It was a long day.
(IMPORTANT: I've signed an NDA with Universal. I will not be sharing any unreleased or confidential details about the new park, sorry :/ But there are still exciting details here if you're a theme park fan!)

Universal Orientation! )

I drove home and told Jameson everything. He’s very excited and happy for me, as you may imagine! I feel guilty to have such good windfalls while he is struggling. But also, I'm not an idiot. I know that we are all dealt different hands in life at different times. And when you have a good hand, you play it.

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Saturday, I got a new transcription job and was up early to work on it knowing that my time will be limited next week.

In the afternoon I took a break to sweep the pool deck and move our furniture to the garage in preparation for pressure washing on Sunday. Then lunch and practicing bass trombone for a bit before returning to transcription (I won't get this project done before rehearsals start but need to do as much as I can.)

Jameson had a day off plus he can't do much with his arm yet, so he watched the classic Batman movies and relaxed.

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Sunday, up early and worked at transcription until the pressure washer showed up. He's done our pool deck before so I knew what to expect. While he worked I ate breakfast and continued transcription. He finished up around 11am, and did a great job.

Before and after of the whole pool deck. Notice the dark rust spots are gone in the second photo.
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Before and after of the area around the pool.
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When he'd left I moved all of the furniture back to the pool deck, had lunch, and went out to get ingredients for dinner. A few more hours of transcription and I didn't quite finish where I'd wanted to, but it's better than nothing. Since I'll be in full time rehearsals all week now, that means anything I didn't finish today will have to be done either VERY early in the morning, or at night after the workday.

Dinner was a pork tenderloin I found in the freezer, cooked with apples and onions and thyme and a mustard rub, with roasted potatoes and brussels on the side. It feels nice to cook again.

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Monday:
First day of Epic Universe rehearsals! And, you know...transcription.

Tuesday through Thursday:
Rehearsals every day, transcription, and whatever else I have energy for.
taz_39: (Default)
I was able to ride the company charter bus to the airport on Monday. Flights were normal, in Charlotte the tour stopped and stayed because that’s our last city, but many people traveled home for Christmas from there. I had a flight to Orlando which went just fine, and Jameson picked me up from the airport.

I can tell he’s not feeling great mentally, from his body language and such. I asked how his arm is, and he says it doesn’t hurt but he can’t feel his thumb or pinky finger normally, they’re constantly tingling or numb. His surgery will be on New Year’s Eve Day. He is very nervous about it, naturally. This will either help him, or end his career as a pianist. I am terrified for him, but also determined to support him in any way that I can.

Anyway. We talked about that, and how his work is going, and games he’s into and shows he’s watching. I avoided the subject of my new and exciting gig, because I know he’s got feelings to work through about it and I know (from personal experience) how difficult it is to talk about something, that someone else got, that you maybe wanted for yourself. I get that.

Back home, Jameson has decorated the house for Christmas! We have new lights and they are awesome!
You can do all different colors and patterns. CLICK HERE to see!

I cringed a bit at how dusty the house is, and the state of the bathrooms, but I’ll do my best to get things clean before Jameson’s surgery. I won’t be cleaning for Christmas, though. No time.

We ordered taco salads for dinner, then I did a load of laundry, washed our bedsheets, and went out to brave the last-minute shopping crowds for Christmas dinner ingredients and stocking stuffers for Jameson. It took WAY longer than usual…traffic was horrific. But I got everything more or less.

Back home, our neighbors came over to drop off cookies (woot!) so we each had one and then relaxed for the rest of the night. Well, he relaxed and I wrapped presents and assembled stockings. Also, while out driving I’d noticed that my climate control panel in my car was not working.

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Tuesday, Christmas Eve Day, turned out to be unfortunately anything but relaxing.

I was up at 6:30am to take my car to Firestone…and of course they opened an hour later than usual for the holiday. So I dozed in my car with a Wawa coffee until they opened. An additional 30 minutes of sitting in this waiting room, only to be told that the problem is with my car's BRAIN, meaning I'd need to take it to a dealership. Called the two closest to me (30-40 minute drives) and both unsurprisingly had no openings on a holiday.
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Initially I thought maybe I could still drive up to Charlotte with my car--everything else seems to be working, right?--but both the mechanic and Jameson seemed to think that was a Bad Idea. Apparently if your car's computer (PCM) goes bad, your car could just...stop? Lose power? The problem is, it's unclear whether it's the brain (PCM) or the AC control module malfunctioning. But Jameson was adamant that I not drive my own car, to the point of offering to pay for the rental car for me. So...f*ck. Now I needed to find a rental car on Christmas Eve Day. Sigh.

But one thing at a time. I got home and made us Christmas breakfast. We had basic shake-n-bake pancakes, with a blueberry compote that my sister made and egg nog whipped cream. I also added Greek yogurt so I could pretend I'm healthy. It was simple but very good.
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We then opened Christmas presents and stockings together.
Jameson's parents got me the latest Half-Baked Harvest cookbook, and Jameson got me a Japanese Classics cookbook! I've already dog-eared a bunch of new recipes to try (when I'm home...I might make some things and freeze them for Jameson.) Conveniently, one of Jameson's presents was salicornia "salt." Jameson has Meniere's, which means too much sodium causes him to have vertigo and nausea. Salicornia tastes just like salt but actually contains only half the sodium of regular salt. So theoretically he should be able to eat more of it with less ill effect. And THAT means that I could probably try making the ramen in the cookbook he got me!

Anyway, another lovely present was from my sister Kate. She made all of her own gifts this year. Pistachio butter, peanut butter, brown sugar syrup, homemade granola, garlic salt, a clove-scented candle, and a lovely decoration. Homemade gifts really are the best. I used to do this too, but haven't had time any more.
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Jameson's presents to me were very thoughtful, as usual!
Look at these hilarious bread-themed computer cushions! Baguette for wrists, croissant for mouse hand/wrist.
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And these adorable alligator socks! There will probably be more pictures of these, for now I want to protect them so will only wear them once tour is over.
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His big gift to me this year was an Apple Watch!!! He REALLY shouldn't have done that, argh.
I spent a lot of time this afternoon getting used to it. It's shockingly comfortable...twice today I almost submerged my hand with the watch on! (It's waterproof but still.) Probably the most useful part of it is going to be accurate fitness tracking. With an accurate BPM and other vital signs, I'll be able to see how many calories I really burn instead of having to guess. Convenient!

In the afternoon he drove me to the nearest Avis for a rental car. I felt very stressed about this...that's hundreds more dollars that I didn't plan on spending, all because I stupidly thought I could just grab my car out of storage and shoot up the coast with it. The cost of this added to Jameson's tension and I think made him feel guilty for insisting, but I also do see his point about my car's computer being a risk, especially for a long-distance drive on a holiday when I may not be able to get help if something goes wrong. And money aside, I am abashed and very touched that he is worried for me.

Back home was another shock.
My bass trombone arrived!! FOUR DAYS early!!
How that's even possible, coming from California, I have no idea. But I was amazed and excited.
That was the good news.

The bad news: I opened the case and the bell was CRUSHED.
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This 100% happened because the guy who packed it didn't do it properly. And that made me REALLY mad.
I LITERALLY texted him a week ago describing how I wanted him to pack it...and describing exactly what ended up happening to this horn because he didn't do ask I asked.
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Like...are you kidding me??? Why???
Probably because it's a busy time of year and he just threw it in the case with some loose bubble wrap and thought it would be fine. But dude, that is so not enough. I didn't want to be a Karen on Christmas, but couldn't help but send him pictures and express how disappointed I was that it had showed up in this condition entirely because he didn't do what I asked. He apologized profusely, I huffed a bit more but accepted that what's done is done, and he found a buddy in Florida who says it can be repaired (it probably can be, crushed bells are shockingly common.) In fact, this person's house is on my route to Charlotte, so he agreed that I could drop the horn off on Christmas day and pick it up on the way back down. Considering that I didn't even expect to get the horn until the new year anyway, this is perfect and the best I could hope for.

And yes of course the guy who sent the horn will pay for the repairs. Butthead!

Otherwise, the slide and rotors are quite good. So as long as the bell can be repaired I'll be satisfied. It was just very stressful and disappointing to receive it damaged like this after I SPECIFICALLY SAID...argh. Well, you know.

The trombone arriving damaged compounded the stress of unexpectedly renting a car, and the stress-guilt that Jameson was feeling for insisting on that cost. If you've kept up, I've bought a bass trombone that's damaged and now needs repairs, my car needs repairs as soon as tour is over, and I have to rent a car unexpectedly for this last leg of tour. FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Also, here is what the first week of 2025 looks like for me:

     - Dec. 30: Drive 10 hours to Orlando, picking up repaired bass trombone on the way
     - Dec. 31: Jameson has hand surgery
     - Jan. 1: I expect to spend the day cleaning and taking care of Jameson post-surgery but also need to practice for an audition
     - Jan. 2: Appointment to have car repaired (will probably take between 4-6 hours + the commute)
     - Jan. 3: Driving 4 hours round trip to Warburton for a bass trombone mouthpiece (this one didn't come with one)
     - Jan. 3: Supposed to start receiving transcription jobs again, including urgent/express jobs
     - Jan. 4: Acting coaching class for my audition for Universal
     - Jan. 5: Audition for Universal
     - Jan. 6 thru 8: Oh my god, could I possibly finally unpack from tour?


I really doubt that all of this will actually happen...like, I'll probably have to delay getting a mouthpiece for the bass, which means delaying practicing it. And I might need to delay transcription too. And I don't know what Jameson's needs will be during this time either. It feels like a lot. It'll probably be ok, but it feels like 2025 has grabbed me by the collar and is THROTTLING me.

Anyway, we relaxed for the afternoon, I packed a bit and made all of the arrangements for the bass repair and car service, then for dinner we tried out the new grill that Jameson's parents got us! Jameson fired it up while I did prep on the veggies and sides. The burgers turned out great! Jameson said he'd have wanted maybe 3 minutes more as they turned out medium-rare, but they were still restaurant-quality. I also tried grilling some zucchini slices that turned out delicious. Can't wait to grill more!
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More relaxation after that, eating Christmas cookies and trying to lower our stress levels.

-----------------------------------------

This post was heckin' longer than intended. I thought it would be a nice quiet Christmas Eve Day, but it turned into quite the stress-fest. Oh well, the world doesn't stop turning just because it's a holiday. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Wednesday: 10 hour drive to Charlotte

Thursday: two shows and an afterparty hosted by the theatre

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: last six shows of Elf the Musical on tour.

taz_39: (Default)
Wednesday's hat:
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Comfortable and fluffy. Just what I needed today.

Hat shop was normal. It was rather busy so we met our sales goal. I was annoyed because at the end of the night the keyholder was nitpicking how the hats looked on the shelves, so we didn't get out of there until nearly midnight (closed the store at 11pm.) But whatever, that's retail, and I have to accept that an employer who doesn't care how late I get home is just a part of life.

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Thursday, I got up an hour early so I could start reviewing my transcription project earlier. There was a LOT to do today plus a 7-hour hat shop shift.

Today's activities:

- Reviewed, edited, and submitted transcription project. It took two hours. Phew.
- Publix for pumpkins for carving tomorrow and cheap sushi for dinner
- Called my Aunt back (she'd called yesterday while I was at work) and caught up with her
- Impromptu final load of laundry so I could pack all of my clothes for tour
- Practiced and marked my book for Elf
- Measured ingredients for overnight crock pot oats and laid them out to assemble when I got home from work
- Chopped down dead banana trees
- Packed snacks and dinner for work
- More tour packing


My original firefly petunia, and cutting.
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I think it may die before I leave :(
It got some kind of root rot or fungus, the cutting has it too, and nothing I do seems to help.
Oh well...it's been a fun and beautiful plant.

My large cutting, though, is currently doing very well though also suffering from being outside in temps above 85°F (29°C). I don't expect it to survive while I'm gone.So here it is while happy. I want to remember it like this.
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A big swallowtail that was resting on my neighbor's banana.
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Today's hat:
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It was my last shift at the hat shop, and I couldn't decide which hat to wear.
I brought my own, a stegosaurus hat I'd gotten from Etsy one year. But was quickly told I wouldn't be allowed to wear it after too many guests asked where I'd gotten it.

This was probably the weirdest day I've ever had working retail.
Hat Theft )

All of this DID make me calm down and feel better. But damn. What a way to end my two-month employment with Chapel Hats.

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I barely slept because I was worried about the overnight oats. I had assembled them right when I got home at midnight, but something troubled me about them. And then in the middle of the night I realized what it was: last time I made them, I'd set an alarm for 4am and had started them THEN. In other words, by starting them at midnight, I'd overcooked them :(

The good news is that they were still perfectly edible and flavorful. The bad news is that the fruits were overcooked and essentially became applesauce with very soft oats on top. To try and counteract this I got up at 7am to cut up a fresh apple, toast some pecans, and run to a gas station for a Nature Valley bar to crumble up (those f*ckers are super crunchy haha)

Adding crunchy items did help. I had mine over Greek yogurt.
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I wanted to go back to sleep, but there was too much to do.

After breakfast I got to work on the pumpkin and seeds. A messy business as usual, but those seeds are so worth it!
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I carved the orange pumpkin, put a Skellington face on the white, and put them outside with the squash that Kate sent me last week.
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My carving is a derpy li'l guy!
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Cleaning up from that took a while, then washing our bedsheets, putting them on the bed, and folding Jameson's laundry as a small surprise for him while he worked (it's his least favorite chore.) I also packed to 98% completion, cleaned up the guest bedroom, and put the sheets on the guest bedroom bed. I'd meant to weed out front but felt too tired.

Was glad to splat in front of the TV for a bit with Jameson. I will miss him while I'm away :(

I'm doing all this "extra" Fall Stuff because it's our only chance to do it before I leave.
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Saturday. Cannot believe that there's only one day left before I'm supposed to fly off.

To be completely honest...I have never felt so negative about going on tour before.

Usually I look forward to the freedom...being in places I've never been before, discovering foodie finds, networking with other musicians, playing a fun new show. I think this time is different because it's only a short two months. It feels less like an adventure and more like sacrificing the holidays so that I can make up some of the money I lost over the summer. Maybe once we get started it'll feel better about it, but right now I'm just anxious.

After Jameson left for a massage, I

- Cleaned both bathrooms including bathtub and shower
- Vacuumed
- Watched part of my step-Grandpa's funeral online (grateful that they thought to stream it for those of us who couldn't be there in person)
- Wiped down the kitchen
- 90-minute drive to Whole Paycheck for wings because I want to make them for Jameson one last time
- Dusted
- Weighed luggage
- Wrote out contact info, important dates, and plant care info for Jameson. I do this every time I go away.
- Weeded out front


I'd intended to practice a bit today too but was not feeling up to it. Considering I'm about to be in rehearsals every day for a week, I think it'll be ok. Famous last words.

Dinner was a pizza, air fryer wings, and a glass of wine. I feel so stressed haha :/

------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, Jameson slept in for as long as he could. Overnight Jollywood rehearsals begin for him this week, and that's gonna be really hard on him.

I was up at the usual time for breakfast, and also to review travel info for tomorrow and my contract for the tour. Briefly researched the hotel and found that they've got free breakfast, hooray hooray. Because I hustled yesterday and got pretty much all of the cleaning done, today all I had on the docket was

- Descale hot water kettle
- Brief practice session
- Overnight oats for tomorrow's breakfast
- Water plants a final time
- Pack anything remaining to pack
- Put away anything remaining to be stored
- Give homemade caramels to our neighbors
- Neighborhood walk with Jameson


All of these things got done, and we had Pub Subs for dinner. I am nervous and excited for tour to start, and Jameson is nervous and excited for Jollywood. We're a mess but a good mess haha.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Monday: Travel to Richmond, KY

Tuesday: First day of tech rehearsals for Elf

Wednesday: Hopefully, a special surprise involving chestnuts + tech rehearsals

Thursday: I think we'll already be in
Wandelprobe, jeez
taz_39: (Default)
Sunday's hat:
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It's my no-trim Kathy Jeanne straw hat, with one of the store's elastic trim bands attached. Disney-themed, with a cotton candy-colored castle and blue and pink feathers. The band is too tight so I only wore this hat for four hours, then switched to a fuzzy winter hat so I wouldn't get a headache.
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Customizing the trim on this hat should be fun and easy. While on tour I'll check thrift stores for scarves, belts, or ribbons.

Ah yes tour...that thing I'll be doing IN A WEEK.
And they STILL haven't gotten us the music!! :(

I mean...I've been practicing the original score, so expect I'll be fine. They're overnighting us the books today or tomorrow, which means I'll have to find room in my luggage for a binder full of music.

Anyway, Monday I woke up mildly annoyed about all that there is left to do. But grateful that I might still be able to do most of it.

Today's Stuff:

- A load of laundry
- Trip to bagel shop (French toast, cinnamon raisin, egg)
- To Publix for a roll of quarters for tour laundry
- Transcription
- Practicing Christmas Disney stuff + a little Elf
- Prepping mutes for possible shipping to Kentucky tomorrow
- Planning dinner tomorrow
- Finding Pumpkinhead beer for Jameson (one is for meeee)
- More transcription
- A nice walk with Jameson :)


I didn't get as much done today as I wanted to, but there is still time and every little bit helps.

Technology-Is-Cool Sidenote: Pumpkinhead Ale is really difficult to find around here. Publix gets a limited amount but it sells out VERY quickly. Today I could only find it at Total Wines an hour away (two hours of driving round-trip.) But then I remembered that you can order alcohol via DoorDash! I checked, and there was a small liquor store that had it in stock a 30-minute drive away. I ordered some and it showed up right as we were finishing dinner. The Dasher scanned my ID, and that was that.
It only cost slightly more than the in-person price, and saved me a HUGE long drive to get something nice for Jameson. Yay!
Shipyard-Pumpkin-Head.jpg
(stock image)

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Tuesday, Jameson was up early for Jollywood rehearsal.

After he left I had breakfast and did transcription until my Elf music showed up, at which point I stopped to check some other things off my to-do list:

- Booked a rental car for Candlelight rehearsal in November
- Printed a gift card to add to Jameson's birthday presents
- Ran and emptied dishwasher
- Put recycling out
-
Deadheaded the petunia
- Shipped my mutes to the hotel in Kentucky (I hate doing this but each one is the size of a wine bottle, and there are FIVE OF THEM, they take up SO MUCH SPACE in my luggage!!)
- Target for dinner ingredients + last-minute tour items
- Practiced and marked mute changes in my new Elf book
- Ordered more crap for tour on Amazon
- Cooked pork chops for dinner
- Voted!


Preparing for tour always costs more than I expect. This time I had to get new black socks, some new toiletry bottles, and music editing materials since I have to deal with a PAPER book. The original plan was to scan the music to PDF, and I probably still will. But when I got the book there was a not inside implying that they REALLY want us to use the physical book. Plus, whoever arranged it actually did a really good job with the page turns. So...okay. I'll try using the book :p
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This year I voted by mail. The ballot didn't show up for two weeks so I thought it was lost and requested another. And today the other one showed up! I spent a solid 40 minutes researching the candidates and the amendments up for consideration (because I'm a centrist and don't believe in voting for someone just because of their party affiliation)
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Vote, y'all.
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Wednesday I woke up mildly panicked, thinking about all that's left still to do.

What's still on my To-Do List:

- Weeding front yard
- Thorough cleaning of whole house (vacuuming, mopping, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing both showers, washing bedsheets)
- Finish packing
- Wash trombone
- Pumpkin carving with Jameson
- Finish final transcription project
- Leave plant care instructions for Jameson


This may not seem like a lot, but "thorough cleaning of whole house" is many tasks in one. And I still have two hat shop shifts, and need to practice not only the changes to my Elf music but also Main Street Philharmonic music and Candlelight music. Plus there's cooking final meals for Jameson, and roasting the pumpkin seeds after carving. It's all stressing me out tbh, and the last two days have not felt like days off at all.

Today's activities:

- Putting ballot in mail
- Transcription
- Practicing new Elf part and making notations
- Ordering Pub Sub for dinner and picking it up.
- Getting ingredients for crock pot oats for Friday
- Transferring dish soap and olive oil to new Nalgene bottles
- Watering petunias
- Moving some things to garage for storage while I'm gone


Transcription ended up taking longer than expected because I had a lot of questions, but I did finally get it done.
Practicing also took a long time because I had to stop and practice the new parts over and over.
As I type this, the Nalgene bottles just showed up so I'll be filling them momentarily.

Soon it's time for my second-to-last hat shop shift.
Thursday's hat will be in the next post.

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Thursday:
Scrambling to get more tour stuff done, editing and submitting transcription project, buying pumpkins for carving, practicing the other half of Elf (I only got through half the book today), making overnight crock pot oats

Friday:
Crock pot oats and pumpkin carving with Jameson, making pumpkin seeds (or at least starting the process,) washing bedsheets, practicing if needed, finishing packing, any chores that I can knock out

Saturday:
Any and all of the household cleaning. Hoping it will go faster than I think. Last-minute tour prep. Possible trip to the thrift store to drop stuff off.

Sunday:
I'm hoping to mostly rest, but also anything I haven't done yet. Because Monday...off I go.
taz_39: (Default)
LJ friends, Once again I ask for your forgiveness for interacting less, or just "liking" things and moving on rather than commenting. A lot on my plate again.

Thursday morning and the reality has set in: 11 days until I go on tour!

Good grief, where does the time go.

It was nice and chilly out this morning, thank god, so I opened the screen to enjoy it, rushed through breakfast, and began transcription. I won't be able to accept new jobs for the entire week of tech rehearsal, so need to get this job submitted early so I can squeeze in one more before I fly out.

Worked on it all morning, stopping for lunch. I'd planned to practice but instead repotted all of the firefly petunias. It's cool out (for now), I can leave them outside today and tomorrow, and I'd rather do it now and deal with the wilting myself than leave Jameson with a bunch of newly-potted, distressed plants.

Before:
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After:
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Then I finally dug out my suitcase. Time to start throwing stuff in there.

Luckily I've left it as a sort of time capsule from the last tour, so a lot of things that I need are already in there. But this year I've got new stuff to bring like my shockingly heavy transcription pedal, and several mutes that I haven't used in the past. I'll have to do some finagling.
And then, night shift at the hat shop.

Today's hat:
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Getting into the spirit I suppose.

My custom Kathy Jeanne hat finally came in! I was excited, but when I saw the custom interchangeable trims my heart sank. My boss had already looked at them, and must have seen the look on my face, because he nodded and said, "Yeah, they're not what I was expecting either."

It was supposed to be just their normal ribbon-and-flower, removable.
Here's how it looks on their hats typically:
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Here's what they sent me:
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The immediately noticeable issues are

1 -
For some reason they have made the flowers detachable from the ribbon. Nobody asked for that. This meant putting a heavy felt backing on each flower, then bulky metal clips. I have no idea why they decided to do this.

2 - With the felt backing and metal pin attached, the flowers are now very heavy. Because of that, the standard ribbons used for trim are no longer strong enough to hold the flowers. Especially that navy blue one...WHY did they make that one half the size?? When I attach the flowers, the trim ribbon cannot hold the weight and is pulled away from the hat, causing the flowers to lean away from the hat as well.

3 - The pink flower is not the color that I asked for at all. It was supposed to be fuchsia (a darker purplish-pink.) This is like Barbie-magenta. Unusable.

4 - The quality of the trims is very poor. There's visible glue, the ribbons have loose threads, and the elastic on the blue ribbon is already coming apart. I'm not sure that either trim is actually realistically usable. Did anyone even test these designs??

The silver lining: The hat itself is perfect (it's the same straw hat as the stock image above.) It fits perfectly, it's handmade, it's their usual high quality hat base. This is wonderful because I can attach my OWN trims. I'll get a black ribbon to make a Panama-style trim; I'll go to the thrift store and find interesting scarves to adorn it with. Or to a fabric store to get wide satin ribbons, or jeweled laces, or patterned fabrics...or frankly anything that appeals! Getting my hands on the Kathy Jeanne base hat without trim is actually awesome for customization. Considering I purchased this essentially at wholesale price, it was worth it just to have the plain base hat.

Overall I'm disappointed and exasperated with Kathy Jeanne's sad attempt at removable trims. There's no way they'll be able to sell the current effort as a product line. But now that I'm leaving, that's a problem for my boss. I hope he just drops the topic with them. Clearly these people were not ready for such a revelation haha. A shame. We were so excited for our idea!

Unrelated: in our company hub (Sling) my boss has listed me as "OFF from October 24 - January 5." In other words he won't be removing me from the employment roster, and wants to consider me for potential rehire in January. It's good to know that he want's me back once tour is over (it would be nice if I didn't HAVE to go back, but we'll see. It was a good job as far as retail goes, so I'm very grateful!)

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Friday I was up to type this post up and plow through transcription.
I got it done right before lunch, then after lunch went to get a deep tissue massage.
I don't get massages often because I don't like to be touched, but once a year or so I'll suck it up and go do it.

Maybe deep tissue was a bad choice, because I came out of there sore, dizzy, and feeling a little sick. I've since read that this is pretty normal for that intensity level, so will have to remember for next time. I tried to compensate by resting and drinking lots of water, but felt like crap for the rest of the night.

Had meant to practice but didn't, the aftermath of that massage made the idea of fine muscle movements for two hours seem impossible. Instead I wrote to my aunt, texted my step-aunt and grandma to see how they're holding up after my step-grandpa's death, and did some more packing including pouring misc toiletry fluids into travel-sized containers and gathering some clothing that I want to bring.

When Jameson was done with work we went to Lowe's for a new pool skimmer, then to Chick fil a to pick up dinner and come home. I had some wine to console myself from feeling sore ;)

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Saturday, my shoulders feel like ground meat but I don't feel as yucky as yesterday.

Breakfast, reviewing my transcription (the audio is two hours long so that's about how long it took me) and submitting it so I can receive another job. Before lunch, a trip to Target for Tour Things: Travel Clorox wipes, travel-sized dish soap, a sponge, laundry detergent sheets, ginger candies for motion sickness...stuff like that.

Lunch and then playing through my Disney music for a change. Then more packing.

By the time all that was done, the new transcription job had come in. This will be my last job until after tech rehearsal for Elf in Kentucky. Tech rehearsals are a messy business, usually 8-10 hour days and last-minute scheduling changes, so it's a bad idea to commit to other things during that time. Hopefully after tech, transcription will slot right into tour life.

But for now, off to the hat shop.

Today's hat:
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I'd originally planned to wear a purple cloche, but that was too much purple; and then I wanted the white version of this hat, but it had been sold out. Ah well, the black is fine anyway.

It's homecoming for some of the local schools, and Disney Springs was packed with kids in fancy dresses and sharp suits. We quickly met our sales goal, but also spent way more time than usual putting hats back in their places as big groups of kids (and adults) kept coming in to do photo ops, flinging the hats wherever when they were done, and then leaving without buying anything. I kept my little NPC retail slave mouth shut and picked up after people.

My boss was there for part of my shift, and gave me a real-life in-person SMH for leaving him in a week :p
He reiterated that he wanted to keep me on the employment roster: "You're a good one."
Yay, that's what I want. Whether I come back to work here or not, I want them to want me back.

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Sunday I woke up dreading my hat shop shift after a restless night of weird dreams. But what can ya do.

Breakfast, starting transcription, packing dinner, random small errands until it was time for work.

Spoiler alert: Sunday's "today's hat" will be my new Kathy Jeanne hat, but with one of the hat bands we sell in the store instead of those sad glue-covered messes that they made me.

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This next week is my last week at home. After that it's off to Kentucky to begin eight weeks of Elf the Musical!

Monday and Tuesday:
Two days off in a row! Lots of tour prep, lots of transcription, definitely doing at least one walk and cooking dinner once. Some sleep would be kinda nice too.

Wednesday and Thursday: My last two hat shop shifts. Also hopefully completing my transcription job and being mostly packed for tour.
taz_39: (Default)
Sunday's Hat:
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I was delighted to find these among the winter hats! Wearing it drew a lot of interest, and several people tried it on throughout the night. Finally someone bought one, which pleased me greatly as that was the first sale of that hat since they've arrived. "Wear the hat you want to sell!"

It was very busy all night, but we were fully staffed for most of it so we got through it. And because there were more hands to help with closing tasks we got out of there more quickly too.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday's activities:

- Mailing the condolence letters to my step-aunt and stepmom (aaaand it's Indigenous Peoples Day so the letters sat out there all day.)
- Requesting a new vote-by-mail ballot as mine was sent on 10/03 and either never appeared or I threw it out accidentally
- Laundry
- Trombone practice with a focus on mute changes (such a pain argh mutes)
- Making the caramels I've promised to send before going on tour
- Sweeping hurricane debris from the pool patio
- Meeting w/transcription QA person


For the first time in a really long time, I messed up my caramels.

Near the end of the process, just as the temperature of the candy was starting to hit remove-from-heat stage, I smelled burning. But there was nothing I could do with only three degrees to go; I just kept stirring and then removed from the burner as soon as the correct temp was hit.

Upon pouring out the caramel I saw that one small crescent-shaped sliver on the bottom of the pan was truly burnt, like my spatula hadn't even touched there.

What I believe happened is that I used a different spatula today, and it's the wrong shape.
The purple spatula is the one I used (it's also discolored after only one use which is disappointing.)
The red spatula is the kind I've used in the past (I went out and bought it from Publix after realizing what had happened.)
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You can kinda see that the purple one doesn't have as much surface area at the tip because it's so strongly curved. The red one has a defined flat surface area, if that makes sense. I think I was doing my normal stirring pattern, but the new spatula wasn't reaching an area of the pan, hence it burned.

Anyway the caramel is still good, but it's not **PERFECT** so I feel disappointed :(
After tasting it myself and making Jameson taste it, we agreed that it doesn't have a burnt flavor/aftertaste.
So if you're getting caramels from me: I'm so very sorry. They're not the best example of what I can do, and I wanted you to have the BEST caramels I could make :( :(  But hopefully you will still enjoy them, and you will let me try again after the holidays?

The transcription meeting was to let me know that I've done well enough to be allowed to turn in work without direct supervision/correction from now on. YAY! This is a type of work that I very much enjoy, and it's important to me to do an exceptional job. They seem well pleased and that was wonderful to hear. There are still quite a few things that I need to work on, but many of them are experience-based (I will understand things better as I go.)

This bucked up my mood from the earlier caramel fail.
The rest of the night was quiet.

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Tuesday's doings:

- Setting up and starting my new transcription project
- Processing the caramels (cutting and wrapping them, forgot to photograph this process)
- Lowe's for a hanging basket for one of the petunias
- A local car repair shop that has serviced my car many times, to drop off caramels I've promised like four times lol
- Checking on my vote-by-mail ballot (it'll be here soon)
- Grocery for ingredients for tomorrow's dinner
- Shipping caramels to an LJ friend :)
- More transcription
- Closing shift at the hat shop


Today's hat:
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Yes I've technically worn this hat already in a different color, but that was on Hurricane Day and there were almost no customers, so I feel it's OK to have a repeat just this once :p

It was moderately busy and we beat our sales goal by over $1000, yay (we don't get commission, just $1/hr extra in pay for that day, which frankly is the equivalent of finding five bucks in your coat pocket.) At the end of the night I was less cheery than usual because my back was hurting again...I don't suppose it could be because after straining it, I then swept and mopped at the hat shop two shifts in a row, and also spent 40 minutes sweeping our pool deck. DUH. Well, hopefully the massage on Friday will work that out.

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Wednesday was the first "cool" day of "fall" here in Florida. It was about 68°F (20°C) when I woke up. I opened the screen door to enjoy it while eating breakfast.

Today I didn't have a to-do list because the transcription work trumped everything else.
Worked on it all morning, ate lunch, practiced Elf.

After lunch Jameson and I went out back and breathed the cool air. I'm from the northeastern U.S. and Jameson lived in the north for a significant time as well, so we both often long for cooler, drier weather. In 48 hours it's supposed to be back up to the mid-80s. We will savor this cool weather while it lasts and what a treat it was today. Never thought that I would view temperatures in the mid-60s as a rare treasure, but here we are.

For dinner I made us butter chicken meatballs with brown rice and peas, naan on the side.
The sauce was so good I could have drank it! Jameson liked it a lot so I'll be making it again.
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We left the patio door open to enjoy the cool air for as long as we could before going to bed.

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Not a lot on the docket for coming days...I've still got the to-do list but am also not sure if my hat shop boss will continue to schedule me, or decide to cut me loose early. I've got a massage on Friday and of course continued tour prep.
taz_39: (Default)
Friday, slept poorly and had to be up early.

When moving the plants back to the patio, I made the idiot decision to lift my small lemon tree--it's in an incredibly heavy and smooth-sided cement planter--starting from a squatting position. Needless to say I pulled or strained something in my lower back, like right above my hips. It doesn't "hurt," but the feeling is uncomfortable and kept me up. I'll have to be careful bending and lifting for a bit.

Rehearsal at the Magic Kingdom was lovely. It was about half the regulars and subs, and the other half will come in to rehearse on a different day. We all checked in with each other: "How'd you weather the storm?" "Do you have power back yet?" and "Do you need anything?" What a kind and cool group of musicians :)

Additionally, our boss Mike kept the rehearsal very casual, taking into account that many of us would be tired or strained from dealing with hurricane recovery. We played through the Christmas music, first the parade sets and then the show sets, but with frequent breaks and time to get up and stretch.

Here are the little trombones conspiring together in our towel hamper during one such break :D
From left to right, Keith's trombone; my trombone; and Cory's trombone.
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(this is a "backstage" photo, please do not share/distribute.)

Several of the songs involve literally singing some of the carols, and the guys yelled them enthusiastically or sang them falsetto or interjected "creative" lyrics. Honestly it was a lot of fun, and before I knew it rehearsal was already over!

Though it was fun, I was relieved because I wasn't feeling well again. Not sure what's going on but typically when I feel haggard or run down and can't put my finger on a cause, I blame it on stress. I stopped at the grocery on the way home, then at home the solar guy was there to repair some pipes (our pool is heated via solar panels) so I handled that. Then prepped ingredients for dinner.

Meanwhile Jameson had been rehearsing Jollywood over at Hollywood Studios (it's so cool that we both got to be Disney musicians today!) When he got home he was in a foul mood, having been diverted all around Disney due to flooded roads and downed trees from the hurricane. The drive usually takes him 20-30 minutes; today it took an hour! I'd be pissed, too.

While he went to check on his online students, I laid down on the floor and dozed. This is very unusual for me, so I must be very tired.
We had taco salad for dinner, and I did feel a little better after eating and resting. But there is so, so, SO much to do and it feels overwhelming. Now that the hurricane is past, I feel frantic inside.

Some things that need to be done yet:

- Make banana bread so as not to let these home-grown bananas go to waste!
- Buy and wrap Jameson's birthday presents
- Acclimate the petunia outside (I think this should happen next week)
- Make and send caramels (also going to happen next week)
- Memorize Disney Christmas music, even though I'll probably never get to play it
- Find out whether I'm attending my grandpa's funeral
- Give notice at the hat shop (doing it tomorrow)
- Continue working at the hat shop and doing transcription jobs
- Start actually packing for tour
- Reserve tickets for friends and family along the tour route
- Get a massage (now that I've wrenched my back it really is needed)
- Plan a pumpkin carving day with Jameson, and roast the seeds (our tradition, I won't skip it!)
- Make Jameson's birthday treat, since I won't be here to celebrate with him


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Saturday doesn't feel like Saturday. The storm threw off my sense of time.

I got up at 8am, would have loved to sleep until 10.
Went to get bagels so they'd be here when Jameson wakes up.

Put my large petunia outside because it's yellowing; I think I've overwatered it + I'd moved it away from the grow light to make room for the cuttings and that's had a negative impact. It's still too hot for it to live outside but I want it to dry out a bit. It doesn't look THAT bad, but watch, it will wilt today from being outside (sure enough it did.)
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Next was the cringey task of writing my Letter of Resignation for Chapel Hats.
I always feel bad to write these, and especially now because just after the storm a lot of people are abandoning their shifts to take care of personal problems. But it's got to be done.

That sent off, I got to work making banana bread using the mini-bananas from my tree! Jameson had requested "pumpkin spice" banana bread, and there IS such a thing so that's what I'm making! It was lucky we had two eggs left in the fridge because there are no eggs to be found around here right now (many gas stations also still don't have gas.) The only change I made to the recipe was to exclude 1/4 cup of pumpkin, and replace it with 1/4 cup of sour cream.

The bananas, smooshed:
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The completed bread. Needless to say it made the house smell fantastic. The bread was perfectly moist and springy. Definitely banana-forward, but with all those great fall spices. And the walnuts for a nutty crunch.
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Just as I'd sliced us each a piece, our neighbors came over with chocolate chip cookies to thank us for the bananas I'd given them! How sweet! We each had a piece of warm bread and a cookie, and it warmed my heart :)

After lunch Jameson got an interesting job offer involving fake-playing the piano for a commercial, which pays big bucks for him to just sit there and act. It did have a rather extensive audition process, and I helped him to film a few parts of it. Then cleaned up from baking, ran the dishwasher, packed my dinner, added a bunch of flight confirmation numbers to my tour itinerary, emptied the dishwasher, checked the mail...and took a nap on the floor again. I just---I don't think I'm getting adequate sleep lately. Maybe tomorrow I can force myself to sleep in extra.

Today's hat:
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This is a new Kathy Jeanne hat, sort of an angled top hat with this massive magnolia flower on the side. In fact the flower was so heavy it pulled the hat sideways all night haha. It doesn't suit me, but despite that it got loads of compliments and interest. In fact four different people tried it on and seriously considered it!

At least three people abandoned their shifts last night--literally called out with absolutely zero notice or time to find replacements--so it was me and Jordan alone. I agreed to stay an hour later to close the shop, plus he managed to get the sock kiosk employee to work with us for three hours, then got another part-timer to come close the store with us too. It made me feel bad to tell them that I had given notice (my boss hasn't responded to my email and apparently hasn't told anyone yet either) but it was also a relief to be able to talk about going on tour instead of having to bite my tongue every time someone asked about my holiday plans this year.

It was very busy at the Springs but we managed. I have a longer closing shift tomorrow and am not looking forward to it.

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Sunday, I did allow myself to sleep-and-doze until 8:30-9.

Breakfast, typing this up, adding the tour travel itinerary to my tour spreadsheet, adding musician contact info to my phone. Even though I don't know these people yet, it's good have their numbers in case someone is late to rehearsal or a message needs to be conveyed quickly. You'd be amazed how many times the task of mass-messaging has fallen to me simply because I bothered to put everyone's numbers in my phone.

I intentionally tried to make myself relax and "do less" before work today. It didn't really work.
There's a lot to do, but it's no good feeling frantic about it.

So ultimately: practicing Elf. Grocery shopping for cheap sushi for dinner, random household items that we need, wrapping paper, and condolences cards for my stepmom and step-aunt. Filling out the condolence cards to be ready to go out in Monday's mail. Wrapping Jameson's birthday presents. Giving the large petunia time in the sun and bringing it inside when the temp got too high.

Generally still getting stuff done, but trying to keep calm and centered until it was time for work. Jameson's presents (there are five things in here, mostly little things but one is a commissioned piece that I hope to share with y'all later!) I have no idea how I'm going to manage getting Christmas presents arranged while jumping between time zones this year. Sigh.
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As usual, Sunday's hat will be in the next post since I'll get home too late to share it tonight.

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To-Do:

Monday:
A day off. Make caramels, practice, weeding and cleaning up outdoors post-hurricane. Expecting to receive a new transcription job.

Tuesday: Package the caramels and possibly ship them. Practice, start the transcription job if I have one, closing shift at hat shop.

Wednesday: Day off. Transcription, getting the suitcase out and beginning the packing process.
taz_39: (Default)
Sunday's hat: the buffalo hat!! There was only one left so I snatched it and wore it all night. Not excited AT ALL.
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Sales were abysmal because it rained for the entire night. It's supposed to rain from now until Milton hits.

Monday. Jameson's alarm went off at 8 because he's got Jollywood rehearsals in the mornings all week. He's very excited and nervous :) I'm happy for him and sorry that he's got to kick it off with a cold.
I'm feeling better...I have steps that I take when I think a virus is after me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but this time it seems to have worked temporarily.

Monday was a day off for me but I have so much to do that it didn't feel like one. It was 72 degrees out which was a blessing. I savored the feeling of "chilly air" on my skin as I brought the bananas inside. Then:

- Laundry
- Running the dishwasher
- Subsequent folding of laundry and putting away of dishes
- Planning dinner
- Breakfast and two hours of transcription
- Lunch and to the grocery for dinner ingredients

Since this hurricane is now a Cat 5 I used that as a psychological excuse to drive all the way to Whole Paycheck and get some of my favorite treats. They have a new flavor of Koia: matcha latte! Maybe it's dumb to buy perishable stuff right before a storm like this, but oh well.

Back home I decided to once again skip practicing so I could focus on transcription and prepping dinner. I made Chicago dog salad: pretty much all the toppings on a Chicago dog but mixed together in a big bowl with romaine and coleslaw mix, like a salad. Then I cooked the hot dogs in slices and mixed them in too. Instead of buns we sometimes use russet potato skins, which I roast in the oven with celery salt and black pepper. Turned out very good.

Jameson got home and immediately had to do his online teaching work, so I delayed dinner and did more transcription.
After dinner we discussed what to do about the hurricane.
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The tough thing is that it's a Cat 5 now, but it's "probably going to" weaken to a Cat 3 by landfall. Probably.
We agreed we'll have to wait and see what happens with the forecast.
If it looks like it's going to hit as a Cat 4 or 5, we'll throw some things in our cars (we decided to drive separately to have double vehicles and double gas and more room for stuff) and GTFO. We'd aim for North Carolina; my aunt lives there and I have good friends there who would take us in. Jameson's brother lives in Georgia, but he has kids and also didn't offer to host us.

Right now, though, we're not planning to evacuate. We've stocked up on food and snacks, water and toilet paper. We're charging our battery packs, bringing anything loose on the deck into the garage, and filling our tanks with gas (I forgot to get gas so will have to do it tomorrow morning.) We're packing small "flee-bags" in case we can't take our time packing.

...I think that's all we can do.
Meanwhile, I still have to work at the hat shop tomorrow.

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Tuesday morning I was up early to go get gas, and was glad I did.
There is a run on gas stations even here in Orlando. I had to queue up, which I've never had to do around here, and wait my turn to top off my tank. But now it's done and one less thing to worry about.

Jameson had rehearsal again this morning, and as he was leaving we conferred again about whether we need anything and what needs doing. The main thing today is picking up anything we think we will need + moving stuff from the deck to the garage.

We shared the first ripe home-grown banana as well. It's so cute! Very sweet, sweeter than store-bought, and the texture is a little more...dense, I guess? But it was quite delicious and definitely a success. Hooray, after 3+ years of cultivating I've successfully grown bananas!!!
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They are ripening extremely quickly, so we will just have to eat them as little snacks and I'll freeze some if we don't lose power.
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After Jameson left I moved my plants and the outdoor furniture cushions to the garage, and pushed the wicker furniture up against the wall instead of the screens. It took all of 10 minutes.

I drove to CVS for quick oats and candy corn and two extra jugs of water "just in case."
Not necessities at this point but oats can conveniently be eaten just by soaking in water, and you can never have too much water around anyway. It was chaos out there. The CVS was out of propane, gas stations were running out of gas.

Back home I checked our battery supplies, packed my dinner for work, and dusted.
Practiced some of the Disney Christmas music, then finished my transcription job although it took forever because I was constantly interrupted by alerts, texts, calls, and messages from family, friends, the government, and workplaces about the hurricane. I am grateful that there are people concerned for our wellbeing!

But the result was that I felt very scatterbrained and flustered for most of the day, like I should be doing something but kept getting pulled away to receive updates or reassure loved ones.
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In fact, I was so flustered today that I forgot it was the anniversary of my dad's death (this also means that my mom's death anniversary is tomorrow.) But my sister Kate remembered. And she sent me a beautiful, thoughtful package which arrived today:
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She and our stepmom were able to have a lovely fall outing recently, plus it was the Bloomsburg Fair, and she wanted me to have a taste of our traditional autumn in Central Pennsylvania :)

This is
- decorative squash and corn
- A fresh apple from Rohrbach's Orchard
- Buckwheat honey and apple butter made locally
- Caramel apple and whoopie pie from Rohrbach's
- Apple pie filling made and canned by my stepmom
- A painted wooden decoration from my nephew Declan <3
- Honey sticks and a Cow Tale candy
- Hard ginger candies, which they know I love
- Roasting chestnuts (I've never roasted chestnuts before!!)
- Cloves (the container has holes in it, so this is meant to be for scenting the room)

In addition, several big sheets of locally-made beef and venison jerky from the Bloomsburg Fair!!
I've already eaten some and it's fantastic. Nothing beats homemade.
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There was also a large Ziplock full of leaves, acorns, and nut shells, direct from trees in our hometown.
I was so incredibly touched by this. I mean...it really IS my hometown's autumn, in a box!
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When I was still a toddler, my mother and I would go for walks and collect all sorts of little nature-things.
In the fall we'd find pretty leaves, and press them between the pages of books.

As soon as I saw the leaves from my sister, I remembered something.
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This is a book I've had since before I could read.
And my mom and I used it to press leaves.

That's right...this leaf was pressed in 1987.
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I texted my sister, told her about the book, and sent her pictures of me adding her new leaves to the book.
Alongside our mother's leaves, pressed so long ago.
Doing this today, on the day my dad died and a day before my mom died.
On the day before we're hit with a hurricane.

I will remember this.
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And then it was time for work.

Today's hat:
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We recently got these knitted cloches in, and I was very interested in this deep teal color. Lucky me, my shirt matches almost perfectly! Not that anyone noticed or cared. The few customers that we did have seemed more interested in Disney's hurricane prep than in hats. Interestingly (and perhaps reassuringly) most people in the Springs were refugees from Tampa. This means that people believe it's safer here; that they can ride out the storm here.

I hope they're right.

We closed the store 1/2 hour early.

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Wednesday I was up early to review and send my transcription job. I'm very pleased to find fewer and fewer errors with each job I submit.

Turned it in nice and early and alerted my supervisors that I might be unreachable in coming days.

In order to keep this post short, and have it up before we lose power, I think I'll end it here.
This week, because of the hurricane, I'll do some "Live From The Shit Show" posts, so that I can just update whenever I have power and also not have one long gigantic post that no one will read because no one reads any more.

Here we go. Stay safe y'all!
taz_39: (Default)
Sunday's hat:
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A lacy sun hat, we are back into triple-digit heat indexes this week and I started off with a felt hat but it was just too uncomfortable.

It was a pretty chill day at the hat shop, busy at normal levels. At closing I was allowed to leave after chores were done instead of having to wait around for the keyholders to finalize the registers, which was nice.

Jameson had been to a concert at House of Blues at Disney Springs, it was Lawrence the Band with Jukebox the Ghost as the cover. I don't know much about either band except that they've got heavy Queen and Ben Folds influences, which is why they're right up Jameson's alley. Apparently a lot of local musicians went to see them, there was a lot of chatter online about the concert.

Jameson And Friends swung by the hat shop after the concert, but that was literally five minutes from closing time so I had to sort of rush them through a tour of the shop and then kick them out.

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Monday. Here it is, the last day of September!

Breakfast and messing with the firefly petunias.
I moved the two cuttings to get more light and the mother plant to get less. Trying to cram everyone in under these lights is very annoying, and I really wish it would stop being horrific outside so I could put them out.
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After breakfast a trip to the grocery for dinner ingredients, then transcription until lunch, practicing and more transcription. I finished the project today, which is great because Tuesday was my original due date. Now I know that even if I hadn't asked for extra time I would've been "ok," though it would have been a closer call than I'd like. As it is, I will both be able to turn in the project early and also spend quality time checking it carefully for errors.

For dinner I made us avocado tuna melts, recipe from Dude Diet Dinnertime.
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These are a healthy version of a classic tuna melt: avocado in place of mayo, whole wheat English muffins, and crispy turkey bacon bits mixed in for texture and smoky flavor. Other ingredients include Old Bay, shallots, dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, lemon juice, salt and pepper, hot sauce, tomato, and cheese. They were very delicious.

During dinner prep my aunt called, and she's ready for her petunia now so I'll try to send it ASAP.

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Tuesday, October first.
The countdown begins.

I woke up early all in a tizzy to get that firefly petunia in the mail! One less pre-tour chore to worry about :p

After breakfast I packaged it up and repotted the other two cuttings as well, essentially moving the next-largest cutting into my aunt's cutting's previous pot, and the next-smallest into that one's pot, etc etc. In the process of doing all of this I noticed that my pineapple crown that I planted last week had rotted, so I threw it out :( The lemon tree also does not look good, I think everything just got way too much water this summer.

Shipped the plant, it was INSANELY expensive but it's a gift so I'm not thinking about that, lalalala.
Back home I prepped food for work, washed our sheets, changed the bedsheets, and reviewed my transcription work.
After lunch Jameson went to the gym so I vacuumed and swept the tile, then more transcription review. I decided to forego trombone practice so that I could complete and submit the assignment today, and hopefully get another assignment going. Then it was time for work.

Today's hat:
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This is the 30th hat I've worn, so I have made a social media post of all the hats I've worn up to this point. You all have gotten the sneak peek, but CLICK HERE if you want to see all of the photos together in one place :)
Most people don't have any idea I've been working at a hat shop, so I guess this is the big reveal.

It was slow at Disney Springs tonight, I sold what I could but it rained for over an hour and that killed what little custom there was.

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Wednesday after breakfast it was 76 degrees (24.4C!) so I went for a walk! (The heat index is still around 86)

During the walk I contemplated many things. In ten days I'll give notice at the hat shop, and also let the transcription company know that I'll be going on tour. 14 days after that, I'll have three days to pack and get ready to fly to Kentucky for tech week. There is still a lot on my To-Do List between now and then. It feels overwhelming and I wonder how much I can realistically do on top of work.

Right as I was rounding our block, I saw movement in the middle of the road. It was a rat with his head in a trap.
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He was stumbling around in circles, poor guy, probably in great pain. There was a car coming so I stood by the rat until it passed, then inspected the trap and found it was just a snap-type, a lot like THIS. This meant that all I had to do to release him was squeeze the other end. I tried to do it with my foot/shoe first, but the trap skidded out from under my shoe and frightened the rat. So I decided the risk was worth taking and grabbed the trap with my hand, watching the rat carefully, and squeezed to open it.

The rat shot away immediately, staggered across the road, got himself together, and ran into the bushes.
There was no blood on the trap and he looked "ok," so I think he's all right.

With how many hawks and snakes are in this neighborhood, I can't believe that someone needed to set a trap outdoors.

Anyway. Inside I washed up and ate lunch, then to the grocery for lasagna ingredients, then mixed up the cheese filling ahead of time and made a salad for a side. A small rest and trombone practice, then I got to work on the lasagna because cooking the meat sauce and assembling the pasta takes a while, followed by an hour or so in the oven. It tasted good, normal lasagna.

Jameson thinks he's coming down with a head cold, so we're taking it easy tonight.

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Thursday: Night shift at the hat shop. Maybe I'll have a new transcription job by then too.

Friday: Day off. I'll probably take my car for an oil change or try to knock out some other pre-tour chore.

Saturday:
Night shift at the hat shop.

Sunday: ???
taz_39: (Default)
If I am not engaging with your posts at the usual levels it's because this week is crazy for Jameson and I. There's yer disclaimer.

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I wanted to get up at 7 on Thursday to work on transcription, but was incredibly tired and ended up sleeping until 8:30. FOR SHAME.

Breakfast and right into transcription. Well, formatting came first.
Just the formatting--JUST the formatting!--took about two hours!

This is because I have no idea what I'm doing + I REALLY want to do a good job. For everything I did I ended up re-watching training videos, taking more notes, reviewing and reviewing. I also had to set up misc signatures and auto-inserted data, which right now is a pain but will save time later. I haven't done my shorthand hotkeys yet because I want to do a case without them first, but I can already see how they'll save time and am itching to add them.

You probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

Tomorrow I'll tackle the ACTUAL transcription and see how that goes.

After that I went to the tailor again because he'd screwed up the velcro placement on my pants. Then to Target for shampoo, then lunch, then mixing up the crab Rangoon filling. A little more transcription prep, an hour of trombone practice, and a short time for a rest and a snack before cooking dinner. Along with the Rangoon we had char siu chicken thighs and sugar snap peas. The chicken was very good, I only wish they could've been done in the air fryer for a more crispy exterior. The rangoon were "ok," for Chinese-American authenticity I'll need to A) use imitation crab next time and B) more cream cheese.

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Friday I managed to get up a little after 8 and had started transcription by 9:30 or so.

My pedal was not acting normally so I wasted probably 45 minutes troubleshooting and getting outside help with that. Then my case needed additional unexpected formatting, so another hour of watching training videos and applying the correct changes. Then I ended up deciding to program the hotkeys/shorthand after all, because I couldn't stand copy/pasting the speaker names over and over!

The result was after two hours, I had actually transcribed only five minutes of audio. Argh!
But it's ok, it's ooooook. There are always technical issues and troubleshooting early on, for any job. I feel very tense, but the truth is I have plenty of time, a whole week. Future transcriptions will go a lot faster because I'm taking extra time to learn now. I need to calm down about it and give myself grace/permission to go slow. Easier said than done.

I had to stop transcribing after lunch to practice trombone, pack dinner, and go to work. Before leaving I happened to glance outside and was devastated to see that the banana tree with the fruit had broken. GO FIGURE!!
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You can see in the pic I've moved the support closer to the fruit...I don't know what else to do. I could cut them off but would have to hang them somewhere else and hope they ripen. In that case I think they may as well stay on the tree and suck up whatever nutrients they can.

Today's hat:
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During my shift Keith, the trombonist whom I sub for on the Main Street Philharmonic, asked if I could do a rehearsal on Tuesday and then cover for him this coming Thursday. I was very excited for the work (and I'll get to play the Halloween music!! WOOOOO!!!) but I am also scheduled to work at the hat shop on both of those days.

This means on both Tuesday and Thursday, I'll have to be at the Magic Kingdom from 10am-5:30pm performing outdoors all day (yes it is still in the low 90s here), then rush over to Disney Springs to clock in at the hat shop by 6pm and work until midnight. It's going to suck.

This also means I'd better be finished with transcription by Tuesday.

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Jameson went to Mickey's Not So Scary last night. He and friends dressed up as the Fairy Godmothers from Disney's Sleeping Beauty! Look how frickin' cute they are!
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He got back after the midnight fireworks show and wasn't in bed until 2am, so I hardly got any sleep.
HOWEVER he brought home two absolutely massive bags of candy, so I couldn't possibly be upset :p
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I'm so anxious about transcription that I was up at 7:30, and after breakfast (and yeah a mini Milky Way) I got right down to it.

Pros: my pedal worked; I got most of the actual transcribing done; I learned a lot during the process.
Cons: I ran into a lot of formatting issues that I don't understand; it's the weekend so no one is available to help; it literally took me all day, from 8:30am to 5pm, to get 90% of the way through this one hour of audio.

Since I have questions that need to be answered before I can submit my work, I won't be able to finish until Monday. I hate that it took me DAYS to process just one hour of transcription. I really, really hope that this is just a learning curve, and that things go a lot faster by leaps and bounds on future jobs.

And I'd love to feel less stressed about this. Normally transcription is enjoyable to me but there's too much going on.
I didn't have time to practice at all.

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Sunday I was up early again by necessity even though it's closing shift at the hat shop tonight.

After breakfast I finally actually FINISHED the transcription job. Phew!
After receiving some feedback and help, I was even able to submit it! I Should have waited another day and reviewed it more carefully, but I've already taken so long just to get through it that holding it for even one more day is abhorrent to me. I've got a really good idea of which parts are going to have a lot of errors. And also, if this is something that I want to take on tour there will be many times where I won't get to review as thoroughly as I'd like. So I'd better learn to do a better job up-front.

After that I got groceries, practiced my Disney music, packed dinner, and prepped some things for Tuesday.

Today's hat will have to wait until Monday since I'm closing tonight.

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Monday: A day off. Hopefully getting a review of my transcription job with corrections/errors to go over. Practicing for Disney, packing an all-day bag and meal planning for Tuesday. Resting as much as I can.

Tuesday: Disney rehearsal, hat shop.

Wednesday
: A day off, I'll probably be dead on my feet but will need to practice and probably start another transcription job, among other things.

Thursday:
Same as Tuesday.
taz_39: (Default)
Sunday's hat:
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In just a few more shifts I'll have 30 hat pictures! I'll post them all on socials at that time I guess.

The shift was fine, it was crazy-busy at Disney Springs for some unknown reason so for the first time all week we were able to meet and exceed our sales goal. That felt good, though not much comes of it at the bottom-feeder level really. I surprised myself by selling one of the "My Fair Lady" hats, the one with the gigantic brim.

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Monday I was up at 8, breakfast and goofing off until 9:30 or so, then transcription practice. As I get closer to finishing I feel more and more nervous about actually starting the work. It'll be fine, it's just that the unknown is always intimidating.

After an hour of transcription Jameson was awake so I cleaned our bathrooms, then popped to the grocery for a pork tenderloin. Got it marinating at home, ate lunch, and practiced. I'd meant to have a sort of Repotting Party for my indoor plants but time got away from me.

Instead I ended up unexpectedly harvesting my pineapple. It had turned golden yellow and smelled fantastic, so I knew it MUST be ready....but it hasn't gotten any bigger in the months I've had it, and is about the size of a softball....
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...and yet the crown is GIGANTIC. It looks absolutely ridiculous! I couldn't stop sniggering at it.
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It's like, I don't know....a little pineapple comet with a giant tail haha.
Why didn't the fruit get bigger? Why is the crown so huge? I've never grown pineapples before and have no idea. But it's hilarious, and judging from the mouth-watering smell coming off the fruit it'll still taste wonderful. I'll probably try and plant the crown too.

For dinner I made a pork tenderloin rubbed in brown sugar, rosemary, coarse mustard, sherry, salt, and pepper.
I used a new meat thermometer, the kind that goes in the oven while the meat cooks, and as a result the tenderloin was cooked PERFECTLY. The only thing I messed up was the crust, but I think starting that process earlier will give better results next time.

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Tuesday 8am, same as yesterday, breakfast and transcription.

Ordered misc things from Amazon: a container for shipping the firefly cutting to my aunt; a measuring tape because mine broke; two small toiletry containers for tour; fermented red bean curd because Jameson expressed interest in air fryer crab Rangoon and I want to make char siu chicken to go with it, which involves the curd, which I can't get anywhere but the Asian grocery stores an hour away.

I finished all of my training modules, and must now take the tests. YEEK.

Did a load of laundry; went to Lowes for an outdoor light timer (for the petunia while I'm on tour) and perlite; Publix for a PubSub; home to eat lunch, process the pineapple, dry and fold the laundry. Planted the pineapple crown and we'll see if it roots.

Checked on the banana. The new flower has opened, and the bananas are looking more plump. Waiting is hard.
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Did some air tromboning over some difficult sections of my music.
Went to work a closing shift at the hat shop.

Today's hat:
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My boss was there for the closing shift, which I don't mind because he's cool...but I disliked having to endure the social construct of "Everyone be on your best behavior, the BOSS is here!" Like.....how I work every day, IS my best behavior for that day. I'm not going to change how I act or work just because of "the boss." If I have to do that, something's wrong. And if I'm not performing to company standard, I'd rather someone tell me than "fake it" when he's around and continue to do a bad job. Eh, maybe this is what happens when you get old, you don't give two f*cks :P But it IS a construct, and a rather ridiculous social expectation, and any time I get to either ignore or stomp on a construct it pleases me greatly. Perhaps it's not an age thing after all, but an INTJ thing.

Anyway I worked like I normally do, and no one complained :p

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Wednesday Jameson and I both woke up nervous. Him because of his interview with Carnival Cruises; me because I was taking my transcription tests. His interview took about an hour and seemed to go really well. They gave him more info about the job, but didn't specify pay or set up a secondary interview. To me that says the next time they reach out it would be to make an offer. We will see.

I completed my quizzes and did an OK job, only getting one answer wrong (I should have gotten NO answers wrong because I could reference my notes, sigh.) I was then offered my first transcription job, due a week from today. I am terrified and excited! My QA guy took the time to make me a video on how to get started with my case, so I am encouraged by his help and support. I wanted to start right away, but know that this is the kind of thing that requires undivided attention. Instead I focused on side-chores.

I went to both Sprouts and Whole Paycheck for ingredients for dinner for the next two nights, that took two hours (40-minute drive both ways.) Lunch, then putting chicken thighs in a char siu marinade and finally having that Potting Party.
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It doesn't look like much but it did take a while. My philodendrons are pitiful and scraggly, and needed to be untangled and trimmed, then painstakingly dipped in rooting hormone and potted in new soil. Then I took one more cutting from the firefly petunia, potted that, watered everyone, and cleaned up. I couldn't have been outside for more than an hour but the petunia was already wilting when I brought it back in. Thanks Florida.

For dinner I made simple caprese sandwiches, toasting ciabatta rolls and brushing them with pesto, adding fresh basil and tomato and fluffy mozz, topped with cracked black pepper and balsamic glaze. They were so good and refreshing, a last taste of summer :)

After dinner Jameson had a lot to deal with (in addition to the interview he got slammed with more work and also has a friend's show, Jollywood, and Candlelight to practice for) so I took the trash out, showered, cleaned the shower, and typed up this post. This week has felt very hectic but some weeks are like that.

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Thursday: Starting my first transcription job, going to the tailor again (he messed up one pair of pants), doing misc chores, making air fryer crab rangoon and char siu chicken for dinner.

Friday: More transcription (finishing the job would be ideal here) and night shift at the hat shop.

Saturday:
A day off. Probably going to start gathering things for the thrift store and/or online selling.
taz_39: (Default)
You see, I am typing this on September 12th.
We are already nearly halfway through September.

Got up at 6:30am on Thursday, did NOT want to be up that early but life is life.

Did about 1.5 transcription modules, had breakfast, did another 30 minutes until it was time to get ready for work.

Today's hat:
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A leather flat cap, handmade in Belgium and selling for around $130.
It's the only flat cap in the shop that looks "ok" on me. I am eating lunch super fast because I was offered a paid 15 in place of an unpaid 30, and took it (money is money.)

It was a very slow shift, I sold what I could but most people were just coming in to kill time before their meal reservations.
At 4pm I clocked out and drove 10 minutes to Epcot.

The Food and Wine Festival is going on right now, so there is Remy and Ratatouille decor everywhere.
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Night at Epcot )
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Friday, I got up at 8 to get as much done as possible before my hat shop shift.
Something I ate or drank last night did not agree with me; I didn't feel nauseous but (TMI WARNING)            my body definitely wanted something to get out, ASAP. I suspect the kabob or the carrot salad, it's hard to believe the drinks would've had anything to do with it.

Anyway, those "interruptions" messed up my timeline a bit, but I still did an hour of transcription training, washed our sheets and made the bed, practiced the first act of Elf, and packed myself dinner. I felt exhausted but also know that tomorrow is a day off and maybe I can allow myself to rest a little extra.

Today's hat:
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As soon as I walked in Rin, the quietest retail worker I have ever worked with, jumped in front of me in a full-on goth red-and-black getup, 13s painted under her eyes, flapping her arms excitedly. "HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!" she said. Oh! I hadn't realized...but I'd conveniently worn red and grey with black shoes, so thought, why not do a novelty hat to celebrate!

The day started out unfortunately slow but picked up after 8pm thankfully.
And I had a wonderful surprise!

As I finished checking a customer out, a woman came up to the register and said something like, "I hope this isn't weird but...I'm bringing you a part of your digital life, in person!"

It was [personal profile] brittdreams from DreamWidth!!! She lives nearby and happened to be at Disney Springs, and thought she'd drop in to see if I was working!! AAAAAAAH this was such a treat! I've only ever met my LJ and DW friends a few times in person, but each one of them has been absolutely wonderful. And I admire brittdreams SO MUCH. Like most of us on these blogging sites, she writes about her work and her general life, outings and travels and day-to-day. But in doing so, she shares a deeper look at the challenges that she, specifically, faces, as a black woman. Reading her blog has revealed to me many areas where I've been blind to my entitlements...or rather, society's built-in entitlements. That aside, she also works damn hard at everything she does, and shares her travel adventures (especially what she gets to eat!), and all of this means that I look forward to her posts and root for her endlessly on the interwebs :)

We chatted a bit, as much as we could; the store was kinda busy and she had to get home. But we got to meet in person!! Really made my day!

Before I knew it the shift was over. And back home, Jameson had two pieces of amazing news!

1 - His masters degree arrived in the mail! He's going to get it framed :)

2- While he was holding his degree and pondering what opportunities he could now apply for with it, his phone rang. It was Carnival Cruises, inviting him to interview with them for a music production position!!! He applied for this job over a month ago, really wanted it, and was elated to finally hear back from them today!! I am SO EXCITED for him!!

Of course, we have both had bad luck and let-downs when it comes to exciting interviews/auditions, so my excitement and hope are tempered with bracing myself for the aftermath if he gets rejected. But at least he's got an interview and a chance. This job would take him to Miami, either a few days a week or we'd have to move there (we need more details.) This is actually a factor in our favor, because being touring musicians with no children or pets, we are more flexible than most when it comes to relocating. But again, we need to wait and see.

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Saturday, I was up at 8 to type this post and harvest my jalapenos.
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I'm making cowboy candy! It's just jalapenos boiled in sugar and spices, and it tastes fantastic as a topping for eggs, sandwiches, etc. Think spicy pepper jam. Good stuff.

In firefly petunia news, one of my cuttings (the smallest one, that I started out in a dish of water) has survived and is now growing exponentially!! I will repot it before going on tour, and would like to give it as a gift to my Aunt. She has always been so supportive of me, and I'd love for her to have my first cutting from this rare plant.
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It glows very nicely, though being so small it's hard to get my camera to focus on it :p
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When Jameson went to the gym I worked on transcription modules, then hit the grocery before lunch.
After lunch I practiced and then made the cowboy candy.

Sugar, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, garlic, celery seed, turmeric, and ginger.
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The sliced jalapenos and garlic are added to the slightly thickened syrup.
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The finished jars. I'm not water canning them, so they'll go in the fridge and last a month or so. We are supposed to wait a week before eating them, to let the flavors mingle. Yum!
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Cleaned up after that, vacuumed and mopped the floors, and chilled for an hour. I ended up doing more transcription modules after dinner. I'm now more than halfway done.

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Sunday...I was up at 8 because there's so much to do :(
Would really like to sleep in one of these days and have eight hours of sleep.

The firefly petunia (the main plant) was the brightest I've ever seen it last night.
I had to put it on the floor so I could sleep!
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This is the most blooms it's ever had too. I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible because once I go on tour it will probably have to live outside, it will not be getting full care, and I expect it to either die off or die completely. In fact tomorrow I'm probably taking another cutting, since I've promised the first one to my aunt.

Anyway I won't bore you with the rest of my day. In summary: typing this post, doing transcription modules, going out to get printer ink, installing said printer ink, getting cheap sushi for dinner, practicing Main Street Philharmonic stuff, and going to work the closing shift at the hat shop. "Today's hat" will appear in the next post since I have to post this before work tonight.

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Monday: A day off. I need to catch up on cleaning, take a petunia cutting, and other chores.

Tuesday: Hoping to take my transcription tests + closing shift at the hat shop.

Weds & Thurs: Days off. Jameson's Carnival Cruise interview. I might pick up some Papa Pals, and I plan to possibly make a batch of caramels and send them out just so I can check it off my To-Do list. Definitely making dinner one of those nights. And definitely expect to be taking the transcription onboarding tests by then.

To-Don't

Sep. 11th, 2024 08:17 pm
taz_39: (Default)
Monday I received some onboarding stuff for transcription and got started on that, then slammed down breakfast, then called someone at NETworks and left the most awkward voicemail in the world asking if I could break away from the tour on 11/25 to attend the Disney overnight rehearsal. I felt it needed to be a phone call so that I could adequately explain the situation and answer any questions. But the guy didn't answer, so I had to leave a message and then follow up with an email trying to explain myself anyway.

Having to ask for accommodation right off the bat terrifies me. The fearmongering part of my brain insists that they'll decide I'm more trouble than I'm worth and find someone else for the gig. But the logical part of my brain insists that's unrealistic. I hope the logical part is right.

I'd meant to make a nice fish dinner but that bubble was popped when I drove all the way to Fresh Market and they didn't have halibut OR a good substitute for it; the nearest Publix didn't either; and a check of Whole Paycheck's inventory showed that even THEY didn't have any, not even a thick cod fillet. Is halibut seasonal? I never knew. So I threw up my hands and got frozen pollock and fries. Lame, but oh well.

Back home I practiced Elf, chatted with my Aunt on the phone, and had a brief onboarding with the transcription company QA guy. He was super nice and informative. I found out that I WILL be able to take this transcription job on tour with me!! Excellent!!

Jameson had Hooligans rehearsal in the evening, and up until he left I sat down with a cup of tea and tried to get my life together. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed but making lists is very helpful for seeing that, yes, I CAN handle all of these things if I do them a little at a time.


My current To-Do before going on tour:

  • Complete transcription training (6 hours) and the two tests, and start the job (20 hours per week max.)
  • Learn Elf music including mute changes BUT! Be prepared to receive and learn a new orchestration in October.
  • Continue upkeep on Main Street Philharmonic memorized music in case they call before tour starts.
  • Confirm that I can attend Disney Candlelight rehearsal in November while on tour, then buy flight tickets for that.
  • Continue working at the hat shop through 10/14.
  • Make plans for firefly petunia, banana tree, and other plant care while I'm gone. This includes a watering and fertilizing schedule, and making a trunk support for the banana tree.
  • Make "cowboy candy" because the jalapenos are almost ready!
  • Make a batch of caramels to send to people (you promised!)
  • Go through personal belongings and take unneeded items to the thrift store.
  • If the transcription job works out, list and sell the equipment that you bought for the digital reporting job.
  • Buy, wrap, and store as many Christmas and birthday presents as you can now since you'll be on the road for the holidays this year.
  • Plan pumpkin carving and seed roasting with Jameson before going on tour.
  • Take car for service and clean it inside and out in preparation for storage.
  • Pack for tour. Includes buying anything needed and planning for items like extra mutes, transcription equipment, etc.
  • Once packing is done, clean the guest bedroom in preparation for Jameson's parent's visit.
  • Book a massage and haircut.

That's about all I can think of right now, there's definitely more than that involving cleaning and yard work and cooking/baking things for Jameson. But you get the idea. I have from now until the end of October to do all of this, so it'll get done bit by bit.

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Tuesday, fertilized the firefly petunia. It's looking great after resuming indoor life. It's gotten pretty big!
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And of course still glows softly every night.
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After breakfast I did laundry, ran the dishwasher, folded the laundry, put away the dishes, and worked on my first transcription training modules. Additionally the banana trees, one with fruit and one with a new flower, are BOTH leaning, so I really needed to get that tree support ASAP. You can see a banana flower coming in on the second tree, and the first tree is actually touching that flower, interfering with it's path. I needed to get them a bit apart.
banan1.jpg

I went to Lowes and ended up with two very thick 8-foot poles...bamboo would have been preferable and PVC would have been cheaper, but there was no bamboo and I was worried that PVC would be too slippery. I got the poles home and immediately realized they were too short; I should have gotten the 10-foot (if there were 12-foot I hadn't seen 'em.) Ah well. You are supposed to put the "x" directly under the banana fruiting stem but since the poles are too short I did it further down. I think it will still prevent the tree from falling, though it may not help the fruit stem if that decides to break.

You can see that the second banana flower now has room to drop next to the fruiting tree, instead of being obstructed.
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From another angle.
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I put my whole body weight on the poles to get them in the ground, but it's sandy soil back there so not sure if it'll be enough the next time it rains. We will see. The tree is still leaning but it's not, like, imperative that it be vertical, just that it not collapse.

After lunch I practiced, Jameson went to his first Hooligans performance, I filled out new tour paperwork. Still no word on whether I'm allowed to separate from the tour for that Disney rehearsal but I got an employee handbook that seems to have a provision for buyouts (an option to travel separately from tour) and this puts me at ease.

Eventually it was time for work.
Today's hat:
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I've been away from the hat shop for three days, and since then we've gotten a pile of multicolored berets. I've never worn a beret before but as soon as I walked in my coworker plopped one onto my head, so in the spirit of trying new things I kept it on. Not really the hat for me, but fun!

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Wednesday I woke with a blazing headache, likely from the barometric pressure/humidity. It is INTENSELY humid right now, fluxing between 96% and over 100% (yes, that's possible) so a headache is not surprising.

Breakfast, packing lunch and dinner, and finally buying flight tickets for my Disney rehearsal on 11/25. In the Elf paperwork that I got yesterday, the provision for buyouts means that the tour DOES allow people to handle their own personal travel. This tells me that they have no reason to prevent me from going to that rehearsal, as long as I show up on time for sound check the following day. It'll be a VERY long day, but I've done it before and can do it again :)

After that I did a big chunk of transcription training, then went to work for my afternoon shift.

Today's hat:
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"It looks like a Cinnabon," said Jameson.
Another customer said, "I can't tell if that's multiple hats, or one hat?"
Both of them have a point!

It was a normal-if-slow shift. My boss gifted me another shift tomorrow, which I accepted but haggled to leave an hour early so I can get to Epcot before 5pm and watch Jameson perform. Excited for that!

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Thursday: Transcription training, hat shop shift, then going to Epcot to see the Hooligans (and Jameson) perform!

Friday: Night shift at the hat shop.

Saturday: A day off. Possibly making "cowboy candy."

Sunday: ???
taz_39: (Default)
The firefly petunia was glowing mainly from the leaves and stems last night. I like when it does that :)
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Jameson told me all about his haunted house adventures when he got home (around 2am, good GRIEF, he's a night owl for sure!) and said the Insidious house was amazing. Also that he didn't have to wait more than 50 minutes for any of the houses, meaning next time we need to make sure we don't book our trip on a holiday weekend. He and I were only able to see three haunted houses because of the crowds; by contrast he and his friends were able to see seven houses plus a stage show last night. Jealous!

Despite being awoken at 2am I was up at 8am for breakfast. It had rained hard last night so I took the opportunity to fertilize the bananas while the soil was still wet. They are looking good, though they may be ready to harvest while I'm on tour!
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The second tree also has a banana flower now!! But I suspect it's coming too late in the year to bear fruit. We'll see.
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The rest of the day was a day off. I hope that doesn't make me lazy.
I worked on Foodie Finds, watched anime, wrote a letter to my grandma, received a mute from a friend who's letting me borrow it, ate snacks, and generally WAS lazy. Working at the hat shop is not difficult, but it is 5-7 hours of standing and moving around and, well, WORK after all. For dinner I made us Dude Diet Cheeseburger Fusilli which we've enjoyed many times before.

Before bed I received onboarding paperwork for Elf. Once that's processed I'll get an official contract. Eeeeee!

Near the end of the onboarding paperwork was the question, "Is there anything else that you'd like tour management to know?"
I said, "I am willing to make and eat Buddy the Elf's Breakfast Spaghetti."

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Friday, I slept poorly again. Latent tension or anxiety I'm sure.

Jameson got his official offer and schedule for Jollywood Nights. The event is being extended an extra week this year which is great, more money for him and more enjoyment for guests.

I got my official Elf contract offer and payroll setup paperwork, and filled them out right away.
It's official. Looks like we both have our holiday gigs lined up!
Here are the cities for Elf on Tour. You can see dates and get tickets HERE.
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The week of Thanksgiving Elf happens to be in Milwaukee, which is very close to Jameson's parents. He's hoping to fly up to visit, and then we can all be together and they can see the show. That would be awesome, I really hope it works out!

Then came the cringey task of letting Main Street Philharmonic and Candlelight know that I'm no longer available for Nov/Dec. I feel bad about it, but if all they're able to offer me is substitute work (as opposed to actual scheduled performance dates,) I'm sorry but I can't just wait around hoping for calls from Disney that may never come. Hopefully they can understand that.

And in October I will give two weeks notice at the hat shop. Thankfully none of those people follow or check my social media (to my knowledge) so I should be able to share the news online without serious consequences.

Anyway. Spent the morning filling out the paperwork and contract. Jameson went to the gym and for a haircut, and I went to the bagel shop and to Skechers for lightweight black sneakers for tour. I'd meant to practice but air-tromboned instead.

Today's hat:
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I hadn't planned to wear another cloche, but the sun hat I'd picked out wasn't right.
It turned out to be a good choice because just a few minutes into my shift a woman walked in, saw my hat, and immediately lost her absolute mind over it! She not only bought the hat I was wearing, but also two more Kathy Jeanne hats and FOUR hat boxes, for a total sale of $600. I was the hero of the shift lol.

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Saturday, I received an email from the transcription job that I've been approved to start training!
I'm very nervous about it, especially with the tour coming up, but am going to plow ahead and do my best. I could certainly use the money and the new skills set.

Disney's Candlelight coordinator also got back to me, and said that if I want to remain on the call list despite my unavailability I need to attend at least one of the three overnight rehearsals. The only one I could possibly make would be on 11/25 because that's a travel day on the tour. And to make it I'd have to fly from Newark to Orlando, rehearse overnight from 6pm-3am, then basically go straight to the airport and fly to Milwaukee in time for the afternoon sound check and evening show. It's....a lot. I'll have to see if NETworks will be cool with it.

Things I did after breakfast: filled and sent transcription paperwork; practiced the 2nd act of Elf; dropped some pants off at the tailor for hemming; got wings and hot sauce for dinner. I'd meant to do more but the tailor took longer than expected. There's a lot to do before I go on tour such as cleaning, preparing my car for storage, prepping the plants for my absence, packing, learning the music of course, and gathering some Christmas presents in advance. Not to mention the hat shop, starting the transcription job, and maintaining my memorized Main Street Philharmonic music. There's plenty of time, but also two months can fly by quickly so I gotta stay on top of stuff.

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Sunday I had taken the day off from the hat shop because our friend Alan (a sound guy that we worked with on Ringling Bros) was doing a Queen tribute show in Melbourne and we wanted to meet up!

During the day I practiced my entire part for Elf, washed my trombone, and made us some air fryer bagels as a mid-meal snack.

We found the recipe on TikTok but it's pretty simple:

   - Slice a bagel like you would a pie, in eight chunks/"slices", making sure NOT to cut all the way through the bottom.
   - Fill the cuts with cream cheese of your choice.
   - Brush with a butter glaze.
   - Air fryer at 400°F/204°C for 8 minutes.
   - Let cool a bit and enjoy!


Here's a plain bagel with garlic herb cream cheese and parmesan butter brush, before and after air frying.
(We also brushed it with butter again after I took this pic.)
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And here's a cinnamon raisin bagel with honey cinnamon cream cheese and a cinnamon sugar butter brush.
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Both were fantastic! Different than toasted bagels because they were more crisp on the outside, the cheese got crisped on the outside too, and the insides of the bagel were soft and saturated with liquid and flavor from the butter and cream cheese. This was super easy to do. I can think of many other great combos like chocolate chip bagel and strawberry cream cheese; blueberry bagel and lemon or strawberry cream cheese: cheddar jalapeno bagel with chipotle or BBQ cream cheese. Etc etc.

We drove the 1.5 hours to Melbourne and retrieved Alan for dinner at a burrito place together. He seems to be doing well, in fact has hardly changed at all since we last saw him seven years ago! I don't have a pic but Jameson took one (he's asleep as I type this) so may post one later. We got caught up on our doings. He's having fun with the Queen tour and says they're extremely popular in France.
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After dinner he took us backstage to meet the Freddie Mercury impersonator, who turned out to be an older Scottish dude with a VERY thick accent and a fantastically crass sense of humor! He and Jameson yapped it up, swapping stories about the time they met Brian May or the time they've performed Queen's works. It was clear they'd hit it off, and later Alan sent the guy's contact info so they'll be able to geek out even more haha.

This was the tribute band's last show and it ended up being a great audience despite Melbourne having sort of an "older demographic." Lots of standing up to dance and cheer just like at a rock concert :) Jameson is a Queen superfan so I was worried he wouldn't like them, but he had loads of good things to say (some critiques, of course, but he said he was nitpicking.) I'm not a Queen superfan, but could tell that the impersonator had put LOADS of research and effort into emulating Freddie Mercury. He was very impressive, and the band sounded great.

Afterward it was load out for Alan, so we waited a bit while he packed his equipment and then went outside to hug goodbye. It was very cool of Alan to take us backstage, get us tickets to the show, and spend time with us! Glad we got to see him again :)

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I completely forgot to post this blog before the concert last night, so am speed-typing the last bits this morning.
Our pool solar heater broke last week, and the pool guys came to look at it this morning while Jameson was sleeping, and said they didn't have the right part (I swear he took and sent a picture of the exact part -_-) They'll try again next week.

Today: practice, starting transcription training, calling NETworks to see if I can go to that Disney rehearsal, making dinner, Jameson has a rehearsal for a Hooligans gig at Epcot.

Tuesday + Wednesday: Hat shop shifts. I'll also practice, and will probably have more transcription training.

Thursday: Another day off, not sure what will happen. 
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I woke up later than usual, must have needed a little extra sleep.

After breakfast Jameson wanted to go for a walk so I joined him. We talked about this and that, and speculated about a house in our neighborhood where the mail and trash have been piling up, the car parked in the driveway has not moved in months...and we're starting to wonder if we, or someone, should call the cops for a wellness check. A younger guy used to live there, or that's who we saw coming and going. We don't really know what to think but, if the next time we walk past the house nothing has changed we might call it in.

Back home we cleaned up and I practiced while Jameson packed an overnight bag. He's celebrating a friend's birthday in Miami, and will be taking the new Brighline train from MCO! He had a 40% off coupon for the ride, so splurged on the all-inclusive which includes a free lounge before the trip. It's about a four hour train ride, and I'm very excited to see how it goes for him! He plans to spend most of the day on the beach with friends, then they'll go out for a fancy dinner. Glad he's getting a daycation!!

For dinner I made us THIS RECIPE from Half-Baked Harvest, crispy buffalo chicken.
It was VERY good, and I'll probably make it again, in fact I'd like to try this breading on some air fryer wings!
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(photo from Half-Baked Harvest, mine looked just as good as this and it was so easy to make!)

Jameson and I were relaxing in front of the TV when an unexpected TOUR OFFER fell out of the sky and landed in my inbox!
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Yep, Elf the Musical!
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The tour is through NETworks Presentations, whom I've only worked with once before and a very long time ago (circa 2010!) Incidentally that was ALSO a seasonal holiday/Christmas tour called Handel's Messiah Rocks. It was an abject failure as a show, but the soundtrack was actually quite good and won two Emmys. CLICK HERE for a compilation of some of the songs.

Ever since that tour in 2009, I have consistently applied for every available NETworks touring opportunity...and have never once received a response. Until today. Never give up, kids :p

I'm going to accept the offer. As usual, the pros of touring out weigh the cons and include gaining musical experience, networking, and of course, adventure. It's also a chance to visit with family, as the route has several NC and PA cities. And any time there's paid work in music available, I'm still gonna take it.

The biggest con is that I won't get to spend the holidays with Jameson :( I will get Christmas Eve and Day off so will be home for that, but that doesn't give me time for baking cookies, picking out a tree, or the other activities that tend to make that holiday special. The next-biggest con is that I won't be available for any Disney work this holiday season. That said, they DID choose to sublist me once again after I gave them my full availability, so if I look elsewhere for work it shouldn't be a surprise.This tour is so short that I can't (and won't) take time away from it for Disney like I did with My Fair Lady. Finally, I'll have to quit my hat shop job after only three months of employment. They'll get two weeks notice, and I'll try to do a great job so that they'd consider taking me back after the tour is over.

Anyway. I can't tell you how shocked I was to open my email and randomly have a sudden job offer.

I spent the rest of the night in a sort of bewildered shock. I still have the hat shop and Papa Pals and other stuff to do...but now I gotta think about being packed and ready to travel by October. Wild.

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The coordinator sent my contract summary right at midnight, so of course I barely slept because all I could think about was going back on tour! Jameson was tossing and turning next to me too, excitement for his trip.

We both got up early and I hugged him goodbye, then dusted our bookshelf (it's very large and cluttered so I only do this 1-2x per year) and vacuumed. Went to Marshall's hoping to find a few cheap work shirts but no luck. Ate lunch, received and email from the Elf coordinator letting me know that the orchestra parts are being reorchestrated so they won't be sending them until a few weeks before tour starts. So instead I pilfered it from a previous trombonist (this is why it's good to network), and got to work indexing it on my iPad and finding a bootleg video to practice with. Lucky for me, a clarinetist on the 2014 national tour took a full pit recording of the show!! This is so super rare, and the absolute best practice track! I added timestamps to about 1/3rd of the video and had to quit because I got tired and needed a mental break, but listening to the music and seeing that it fit with my part was a big relief.

Today's hat. I wore this specific shirt with this specific hat in mind.
The purples didn't *exactly* match, but I think it's all right.
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Of all the hats I've worn so far, this one got the most compliments and exclamations from both men and women. So due to popularity this combo will probably make a repeat appearance. It turned out to be a hard sales day overall. I did sell more fascinators than usual, and a new cream-colored felt fedora (that is now my favorite fedora in the shop, it's quite beautiful.)

Quick Story: One of the fascinators that I sold was to a little girl. She wanted a green one for a Halloween costume. I asked what the costume was, and she described it: she's gonna be a pumpkin, and the green fascinator is her "leaves." That's cool but check this out: her friends are ALSO going as pumpkins, wearing hair accessories like green fascinators or bows or scrunchies. And they're gonna get a green jump rope, and run it through their green hairpieces...and that will be their "vine" that they are growing from!!

How adorable is that? And what a cool costume idea!

Back home it was a kinda strange going to sleep without Jameson, but I managed.
It looked like he'd had a nice dinner with friends and a lovely day on the beach. Wonder how burnt he'll be when he gets back!

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Saturday I was up very early for no reason.

Coffee and fertilized the petunia, then worked on Elf timestamps and practiced the part for the first time. I can only describe it as "manic," almost circus-like with a lot of vamps and cuts based on what's happening on stage. But that's a fun challenge, and it's probably the style of music that I'm most familiar with at this point. After lunch I felt tired and sort of dozed, packed a lunch and started working on a "Foodie Finds" for Elf.

If you have followed this blog for my previous tours (Tootsie and My Fair Lady) you'll know that I've done a food recommendations group for my coworkers on tour, called Megan's Foodie Finds. This time I'm just doing it for me, firstly because the tour is only ten cities long and secondly because this is a new production company for me and I don't have the internal resources to promote a company-wide group here. It feels nice, actually, to just make a selfish list and not have to think about what others might like :p

After that I napped, then drove to work.

Today's hat:
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Peanut butter themed again, this time with a tan cloche to go with my peanut butter + banana shirt.
I'm taking a cloche hiatus after this haha. I love them but need a break!

Disney Springs was absolutely PACKED today, because of the holiday weekend and because for once it didn't rain and because it's the final weekend for the drone show. It was so busy that at times the shop felt claustrophobic and overwhelming, but I hung in there. Sold three fascinators to one lady, and cowboy hats to every single member of a five-person family (I'm talking LEATHER cowboy hats, $$$), plus a bunch of other hats throughout the night. My keyholder supervisors were right pleased with me and even included a note in their nightly email to corporate to say that I'd done a good job :)

Back home Jameson had returned from his day trip to Miami and told me all about it! He said riding the Brightline there and back had been the best part of the trip. He showed me pictures of the new train stations and lounges, which looked spacious and included snacks and free drinks/booze! He also got free snacks and lunches for the four hour ride, and said that even with shared seating he had plenty of leg room and working wifi for the entire trip. The train departed and arrived on time both times, and his ticket included a voucher for Uber rides to and from his hotel! Overall it sounded like a great experience, and I'm now looking for excuses to take a train ride to Miami lol. He said the birthday celebration was all right, but he's not really a beachy guy and some of his friends like to bar hop more than he does, so the highlight was really the train.

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Sunday I was up way too early again. Having such trouble sleeping lately too, not sure why :(

After breakfast and once Jameson was up and about I practiced for quite a while.
Then did some research on Detroit, as it's on the route list for Elf and I've never been there before.
Gotta get an authentic slice of pizza, but will probably pass on a coney dog.

Later in the evening Jameson and I went to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights, but that will be in the next post since we'll get back too late to post about it tonight.

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Monday thru Wednesday: Hat shop, two closing shifts and a day shift. Probably won't pick up any Papa Pals this time.
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Sunday's Hat:
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Yes, I've worn the baseball cap version of this bejeweled bucket hat, with the same shirt.

We got a load of new cloche hats for fall. Cloches are good on me so I'll definitely try them all.

The shift was "normal," nothing to report. I helped to close the store...Carter (keyholder) went to the sock kiosk to help them close, Jordan (keyholder) finalized our drawers and re-sorted most of the sized hats, and I swept, mopped, wiped the mirrors and windows, and helped with hat re-sorting.

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Monday I checked on all of my plants. Will have to bring the pineapple and lemon in under the overhang of our roof for the next few days, they've had more rain than they'd like. It feels like the bananas have been growing forever; I keep checking them to see if they've started yellowing but so far they're all still green. I wonder how much longer it'll be. (Edit: Have looked back, and it's only been about two months! They've got at least 2-3 months to go!)

The petunia is not doing well outdoors, it's yellowing and wilting so I'm bringing it back inside. Very annoyed because I've been following "internet advice" about how to care for it, and every time I take that advice my plant seems to get worse. Most people are probably thinking of their own climates and needs when giving advice, not considering, you know...FLORIDA.

Today's hat is one of the new felt cloche hats in grey and black. Sadly it's not a great fit but I do like the style anyway.
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The big excitement today was a guy who bought two Panama hats from me, then came back later and bought three more! Each Panama hat in our store is AT LEAST $120, most range from $180-$300. And he casually bought five. Needless to say we reached and exceeded our sales goal primarily due to this Panama Hat Mogul.

I also discovered my pet peeve about working at the hat shop: large organized groups (bridal showers, birthday parties, etc) packing into the shop not to buy anything, but to have a free photo op.

We had two such groups last night and despite my best effort to smile and put on a good face I could not have been more angry and annoyed. It's between 8-20 people cramming into our tiny shop, all wearing matching "I'm with the Birthday Girl" shirts or those stupid bridal shower sashes or whatever; then going to the shelves and grabbing the zaniest hats they can find, ripping the delicate handmade fascinators off their clips and damaging them, throwing hats on the floor or on random shelves after each photo. Taking up a massive amount of floor space to do photo ops, forcing everyone to squeeze around them. Twenty grown-ass adult women, screaming and squeeing and making duck faces for the camera. And then they leave the store in an absolute mess that we have to clean up while actual customers are waiting to be helped.

"It's my special day!" is not an excuse to devolve into a selfish pig.

When the second group like this came in last night (a bunch of teens, for someone's birthday) I stayed as far on the opposite side of the store as possible and made myself busy. Not sure if my coworkers noticed my avoidance, and I don't really care. I signed an employment contract to sell hats and provide excellent CUSTOMER service, not to babysit. If someone's there to shop or ask directions or even complain about something, I'll always be kind, and I'll be happy to clean up after people. But I'm not going to hover around these groups who are obviously NOT shopping and force a smile while they damage the merch right in front of my face for a photo op.

The social expectation, I'm sure, is for us to be good little retail slaves, bend over, and take it. But I think everyone who has followed this blog knows that when it comes to socially-expected groveling, sugar-coating, and spoon-feeding, I'm pretty much the worst.
Anyway. Majority of the night was fine and writing about this gets it off my chest for the moment.

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Tuesday I was up early for Papa Pals. Both visits were at the same memory care facility that I visited last week.

Papa Pal Visits )

--  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --

On the way home I stopped for groceries, treating myself to these huge muscadine grapes.
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We had a wild muscadine in the backyard when I was little, and my sisters and I would eat them while playing outside. They were small, tough, and chewy, with tart fruit and sweet but tannin-filled skins that made one's mouth feel funny. But they tasted great and I loved the chewy texture of them. These are not as tart or chewy as my childhood grapes, but the skins taste the same and they definitely give me nostalgia to eat :)

For dinner I made keto empanadas again, in which the empanada dough is replaced with ground chicken and filled with whatever-you-feel. Last time I followed a recipe that was jalapeno popper inspired; this time I invented my own "pizza poppers," filling each one with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, little mushroom pieces, and pepperoni. Coated them in parmesan cheese and spices, and air friend 'em. They were pretty good but next time I want to season the chicken better.

Before bed I got a message from a coworker asking if I'd cover his shift. Yes! That would bring me up to 29 hours for the week and I could use the money.

Now that the petunia is back inside I'm doing some photo ops again :)
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Wednesday I woke to find that my coworker had taken his shift back so I was stuck with my day off again. Not that I don't appreciate a day off, too. I'd planned to cram in all sorts of chores and some exercise, but it was thundering by lunchtime so I practiced trombone for longer than usual, watched the Cubs game with Jameson (it was a riveting one,) and kind of didn't do much all day.

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Thursday: The plan is to go for a walk, practice, shop for cheap shirts and fall scents at Marshalls, and cook dinner.

Friday: Jameson is going to a friend's party in Miami for the night, so while he's gone I'll dust our bookshelf and vacuum, practice, night shift at the hat shop.

Saturday: No plans except night shift at the hat shop.
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Woke up to glorious, glorious rain and a temperature below 90. Hooray!

I was scheduled for a rehearsal day at Disney, and it was doing an all-day drizzle when I arrived. We went out for the first set and as soon as the door opened there was a peal of thunder. Nope! We all piled back downstairs. We ate our packed lunches, and I played through my Halloween stuff. The guys played Rochut etudes or drum exercises, watched YouTube, chatted.

I got caught up with Keith (full time trombonist) and he’s doing well. Most of the guys are. They were able to do the second set which included two songs that I had wanted to record for choreo purposes, so that was great for me.

And the Fall decor is up, which makes me feel a bit nostalgic and also wistful for cooler temperatures.
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For the parade they did the “dog bone” which is a shortened route that is shaped like a dog bone, hence the name. I placed myself at the “When You Wish” stopping point. Two of the trumpets have found me in this photo lol.
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Also took a look at the spooktacular merch on Main Street. Tempting stuff! Sent a lot of pics to Jameson’s mom. (Reminder that you can enlarge images if you want a closer look. This is a tiny fraction of all the spooky merch in the shops.)
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I was supposed to do the 3rd set but it got rained out, so instead I practiced and read my book and showed off pics of my glowing petunia to the guys. Overall I was a waste of space today, but am VERY grateful for, essentially, the free money and free Fall vibes. It must be nice to be a full time member of this band.

Back home, dinner and chill.
Jameson got an email from Disney's Candlelight Processional offering him a performance date.
I got an email from Disney's Candlelight Processional informing me that I'd be sublisted again, to fill in if a regular member is out sick or wants to be with their family. It would be lying to say I'm not frustrated and feeling inadequate, for having part-time work and gig economy contracted work instead of a "real job." But I need to remember to be grateful to have these opportunities at all, because many people do not. And if it's hard for me as a 40-year-old to be earning the same wage I earned in high school, imagine being a high schooler in 2024 with 2024 prices, and earning 2006 wages :(

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I was still in a mood on Friday morning re: always a last-resort musician and never a first call, so while Jameson was at the gym I dusted and then mopped so aggressively that I broke the Swiffer and will have to get us a new one (well, the truth is I got it jammed between a desk and the kitchen cabinets and yanked it free instead of being patient, and the head snapped off.)

At Disney Springs before going to work I swung by Sephoria for a sample-sized Commodity Milk perfume. I don't wear makeup or have any skin care routines, so have not been in a Sephoria before and don't care to go again. I've simply got heartache for Autumn Things, and am hoping that this perfume smells like chai. And as a Disney Springs worker I get a discount that makes it worth trying.

Today's hat:
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You needed to see the shirt to understand why I chose the peanut butter-colored hat :p
I got just as many complements on this humble bucket hat as on the fancy derby hat last week. Just goes to show that the right hat at the right time is always a good fashion choice haha.

It started off moderately busy, but a big thunderstorm rolled through and cleared everyone out pretty quickly between 7-9pm. It rained very hard for quite a while. Though the rain was nice it made the night seem to drag on; I'd rather it be at least a little busy to make the time go faster. Though I did have time to notice, for the first time, that our lights lining the ceiling are fashioned from bowler hats!!
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Highlights of the night included selling a Panama hat for $180, and my boss dropping in and telling me that Kathy Jeanne is working on my hat, they'll send it to our store so I can buy it at the employee discount + contribute toward our sales goals, and that we are just waiting for the owner of Chapel Hats to see if he'd be willing to go in on a new "interchangeable trims" product line with Kathy Jeanne. Either way, I'll have a hat with removable trim which I think will come in very handy. There are the two custom trims; then there are also elastic trims in the store that I could put on it; and then there are the fascinators which may be pinned to it. I intend to get a lot of use (and marketing for misc products) out of this hat.

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Saturday, I couldn't sleep so was up at 7:30am for no reason.
Made iced tea, swept the front walkway, took care of the petunia and cuttings.
When Jameson woke up I washed and changed our sheets. Made a quick trip to Target for a new Swiffer.

Watched The Boy and the Heron, finally. It was hurtful to watch. I suppose it's a lot of symbolism of grief, and processing personal trauma. It came across very "What Dreams May Come," which if you've ever seen that I'll bet you were only able to watch it once, that's how painful THAT was.

Our friend Rebecca was in town, she's Head of Wardrobe with Feld Entertainment and a total bada$$.
(CLICK HERE to learn about our friend Rebecca)

She lived on the band's train car in our Ringling days (mid-2010s.) We have a lot of great memories together :)
Jameson and I picked her up and we went to dinner at The Stubborn Mule, all of us getting the prix fixe for $40 each. I decided to live it up and have two glasses of wine because "it's been a week," what with hospice visits and retail work and feeling low in the self-esteem department.

I had the Korean sticky ribs, ratatouille with rice, and chocolate cake. Ratatouille not pictured because it was just a mess of veggies over rice, it was tasty just not very photogenic.

The ribs, despite being a starter, were a half-rack! So I ate three and took three home. Can't wait to fight Jameson for them later :p
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Cake was cake. Can't complain about chocolate!
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We talked about ALL things: our past together in the circus, all of the countries Rebecca has traveled to with Feld shows, some drama and experiences she's had on those shows, spilling tea on what circus friends and family are up to these days. It was really good to connect with her, we haven't seen each other for YEARS, probably close to a decade! I'm annoyed that I didn't think to ask for a group photo before we parted ways. She's currently doing the new Feld show, called "Let's Dance!" It's still in rehearsals but there will be performances this coming weekend, I work but maybe Jameson can go.

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Sunday, I woke up feeling those two glasses of wine a bit but nothing some water won't fix.

Late breakfast and then practicing trombone and packing dinner for work.
I'd wanted to go for a walk but didn't get up early enough before the heat hit.
Picked up two Papa Pal visits for Tuesday, both at the same memory care facility I'd visited last Monday. I didn't see any for the hospice place this time.

Visit 1 is a dementia patient who's hard of hearing and likes walks, watching TV, and games.
Visit 2 is a mid-60s guy in a wheelchair who rolls around with a speaker and loves listening to music and chatting it up.

Not sure what to bring them but sure I'll think of something.

I'll be doing a closing shift at the hat shop tonight so Today's Hat will be in tomorrow's post.

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Monday: Probably a walk, closing shift at hat shop.
Tuesday: Papa Pal visits, possibly cooking dinner.
Wednesday: A day off, not sure what I'll do with it yet but probably chores.
Thursday: Also currently a day off.

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