taz_39: (Default)
I could have slept in on Monday but was wide awake a little after 7. Oh well.

Did a little research on trombones on The Trombone Chat (which is just what it sounds like, a forum and classifieds for trombonists.) Have probably mentioned this before but I do not want to use my precious, irreplaceable Williams trombone in the park, so am looking for a trombone that would be safer to use outdoors...one that I could stand losing, or repairing.

I only have four more scheduled dates at Disney, but in general the Williams (and the Minick for that matter) should not be my ONLY options for theme park work. They're both very rare and once they're damaged they not only lose value, they are also irreplaceable.

ExpandTrombone Nerd Stuff )

Aaaanyway, Jameson and I were at the martini bar because his friend Tracy was performing in a comedy show there (Gaggle Reflex) and she'd asked him to perform on a song. Just one song, so for the rest of the time he could enjoy the show with meeee :)

The blacklight painting on the wall. I can never get the whole thing in frame. There are many martini glasses hidden in the mural.


For the cocktail I went with The Woodsman: Woodford Reserve, St. Germaine, 10-year Tawny Port, Amish fig jam, mint, lime. Not flavors I'd usually get but that's kinda why I got it. It was very good, I especially liked that the fig was gently sweet and gave texture to the drink.


They don't water down the drinks here either...learned that the first time. Enjoyed the comedy show with a lovely buzz, some good laughs were had. Jameson's part wasn't until the end, but he only had a beer so as not to be muddled in the head.

Here he is waiting for his cue. (So cute <3)


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Tuesday I was up early but not early enough, because I felt pretty dissatisfied with everything I touched today.
I got my six hours of data entry and an hour of trombone practice, and went to the grocery for taco salad ingredients, and vacuumed while Jameson was at the gym. I probably just need to go for a walk again to work off this unease, but didn't find time today.

Made the taco salad for dinner, so easy.
And made these super-simple Ritzy Rolos treats (thanks TikTok!)


Take some Ritz crackers. Put a rolo in the center of each one. Preheat oven to 350F. Stick the crackers in there for a minute and thirty or until the Rolos look shiny and start to lose shape (if they're melting you've waited too long.) Take 'em out and slap another Ritz cracker on top. Eat them warm or after they've set. We've tried them both ways and they're awesome warm or cold.

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Wednesday decided to get up at 6am. I'd like to be able to have a real weekend if possible, for once, which means more work up front.

Sometimes the quiet twilight in the morning is nice and calming too, even if I'm very tired. The early woodland/swamp birds calling to each other, hearing people getting in their cars to head to work. I keep forgetting to mention that we've been sleeping with a white/brown/pink noise machine, and I'm surprised that we stay asleep longer and feel more rested when it's on. Not sure why I never got into those before.

Between chunks of data entry I threw out my dead lemon tree, threw out my expired plant fertilizers and sprays, changed our bedsheets, did laundry, applied for some jobs, and did laps in the pool for "exercise."

Our big excitement today was having new toilets installed! We've been trying to do this for ages but contractors here in FL are majority scam artists...I'm not kidding. I got ripped off for nearly $400 while Jameson was at work and I was handling an AC repair alone (the guy refused to leave our house, I wrote a whole rant about it.) And then when Jameson tried to replace our toilets the first time the contractor uninstalled both of them, couldn't install the new ones properly, still charged Jameson the full cost of installation even though we didn't actually get anything new installed, AND THEN reinstalled our old toilets incorrectly. I still don't understand why Jameson paid him, but then he probably doesn't understand why I paid the AC guy either. We're idiots, I guess, for not having become HVAC technicians or plumbers ourselves, or for thinking that people who have business licenses and websites advertising themselves as plumbers are actually plumbers.

Anyway, THESE installers were part of a purchase and installation package from Lowe's, so if they screwed up at least we'd have recourse.
And guess what! While they didn't "screw up," one of the toilets showed up broken in the box!
So we did get the master toilet installed, but the guest bathroom is now just a pipe in the floor.


I joked that we could always just turn it into a Chinese toilet.
Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed; supposedly everything "comes out" easier when you're squatting.

Supposedly we will have another toilet showing up on Friday, fingers crossed because the hole in the floor reeks of sewage.
Meanwhile our one new toilet is lovely. The old one was on the verge of breaking and was running constantly. Our new one is super basic but compared to the old one it's a throne for kings and queens :p

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Another quiet weekend in the works, which I'll try to appreciate since the 4th of July is coming up.
Recall that we live in a vacation rental neighborhood...........

In closing, my banana tree trying to make bananas.
taz_39: (Default)
(I accidentally posted this a day early, so this is an "updated" version that includes today/Sunday. Whuuups) 

Thursday, just another day. After data entry and lunch I finally scrubbed the shower, my least favorite chore. Then memorized half of "Prince Ali."

Jameson expressed interest in shrimp po' boys, which I've made for us many times and am happy to make again, except it involves another 90-minute trip to Whole Paycheck for the best possible shrimp. Which I'm happy to do, just have to plan for it.

We had another lovely thunderstorm tonight. South Florida may be flooding currently, but Central Florida is not and we need the rain.

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Friday, no rain in the forecast for another week.

Data entry while Jameson was at the gym, then after lunch did my Whole Paycheck run. I try to make the most of these trips, so also bought their cornbread mix and puff pastry and a few other things for future dinners I've got pending in my brain.

Traffic was horrific, and for whatever reason Whole Paycheck didn't have hoagie rolls! I spent a stupid amount of time scouring the store, even the freezer section, for some. It took much longer to get home than expected, and then I had to put everything away and make the tartar sauce, then Jameson wanted to tell me about his work meeting...so by the time all of that was done it was nearly 4pm, and I did not get to practice trombone today.

It was one of those days where everything I did felt stymied. Inadequate. Not enough. All I can see is all the stuff I HAVEN'T done: the dead potted plants outside, the banana tree that needs to be trimmed, the overgrown palm out front, the fact that I haven't exercised yet this week, the dentist appointment that I need to reschedule, the bloodwork that I'm putting off again because needles scare me. The dust on the fan blades and light fixtures. Meanwhile I've caught up on the vacuuming, laundry, dusting, dishes, mopping, bathrooms, my own data entry work, and most Disney music. And I'm cooking dinner tonight. But it's not enough.

I don't know why these moods/mental states come on. Maybe it's my dad's ghost; my self, and the things I did, were never enough for him either.

Well. I made grilled shrimp po'boys, and these were local wild-harvested pink shrimp. I didn't think it would matter but was surprised that the flavor was very different than the farmed white shrimp I usually buy. These were sweeter, had kind of a more dense texture, and were more "fishy" in a good way. Glad Jameson suggested this for dinner.


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Saturday, up at 6am because I was still feeling inadequate. My work is not enough, I don't do enough, etc etc.

Did data entry and coffee until 7, then breakfast and cleanup, then more data entry.
Memorized all of "Prince Ali." Now the only one left is the Mary Poppins Medley, but we're getting a new Princess and the Frog piece that will probably come first.

For lunch, tomato and mayonnaise with everything bagel seasoning on rice cakes.
This is a nostalgia meal for me. My mom used to make us tomato mayonnaise sandwiches with similar seasoning every summer.


More data entry, then Jameson went to hang out with friends for dinner so I decided to get some of the yardwork out of my face. Trimmed up this annoying palm in the front yard.

Before and after!


Around back, finally threw out my finger lime which is 98% dead and has never once even flowered much less produced fruit. Probably going to chuck the meyer lemon and black sapote too, they have run their course and I've essentially killed them by being on tour all the time. To replace them I'd like a pineapple plant (will have to see if they can be grown in pots), definitely another meyer lemon...and maybe Jameson will have an opinion on what the third can be :)

As I was trimming the bananas I heard thunder in the distance. And as I was finishing up an errant bolt of lightning CRACKED across the sunny, clear sky! Scared the buhjeezus out of me! One of the hazards of living in a tropical environment: just because it's not raining where you are, doesn't mean you are safe.

I hustled inside and cleaned up, made a simple dinner, watched the storm.
You can watch, too. (CLICK HERE, recommend watching with volume on)

Once the storm was over and it was clear that it wouldn't be raining again tonight, I went for a neighborhood walk. The rain had made it intensely humid, but it was only 82°F which is the best I'm gonna get here in FL.

Soon Jameson was back with his pleasant buzz from drinking with friends, and we relaxed for the night.

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Sunday I didn't set an alarm but was still up at 8am. Guess my days of sleeping in until 10 are behind me.

After Jameson got up I put in a little data entry time (because I don't deserve a day off or a weekend!) and then he wanted to go for a walk so I went along too. It was a shockingly eventful walk because the following happened:

- We saw a little girl in a princess dress skip out the front door of a house and immediately hock a loogie onto the sidewalk like a 40-year-old man,

- A guy in a yellow sports car backing out of his driveway directly in front of us, and hit the gas so hard that he went flying into a bush, narrowly missed a mailbox, and landed in his neighbor's yard (We waited to see if he was ok...he was, so he was probably a moron trying to film a TikTok or something,)

- We were victims of a drive-by dad joke, from a guy with a white work van that said, "We fix what your husband broke" on the side. When he hit us with the punchline we both groaned and he cackled, I shouted, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!" as we crawled away in defeat :p

Eventful walk!

We got cleaned up and had lunch, then we both practiced. Jameson is working on stuff for an American Martians gig coming up, and I played through "Prince Ali" a few more times and started on the Mary Poppins Medley. Then we decided to start the LEGO sets that Jameson's friend got for us using her employee discount.


My set is the "Tiny Plants Collection." It's nine different tiny plants with three plants in each of the following categories: Arid Plants, Tropical Plants, and Carnivorous Plants.


Jameson worked on a Venom-Groot set. He is an experienced LEGO builder, and has even completed the massive 9,000-piece Colosseum set!
I decided to start with the pincushion cactus (the carnivorous are my favorites so I am saving them for last.)

Here's the almost-completed pot. There was a small piece missing from the pot rim, we couldn't find it anywhere so Jameson dug through his box-o-extra-bricks and found me an excellent replacement! Or rather, a "customization." I think it makes my first LEGO set even more special :)


The cactus was a tiny little guy and didn't take long to make, but I stopped to do laundry and document my progress several times.
The finished cactus. How cute!


When all nine are done I'm gonna hide them all around the house. Muahahahaaaa.

For dinner Jameson wanted a juicy burger so we went to Adler's. It is locally owned and by far THE best burger place in our area, but we don't go often because we both try to eat healthy. Jameson got their specialty burger which was a monstrosity topped with jalapenos, peanut butter, and bleu cheese (sounds very odd but he said it was delicious!) I had a classic burger, which I love because it's just a damn good quality smashburger with a lot of crunchy fresh veggies on top. It really hit the spot.


Back home we relaxed for a while, then Jameson went out with his friend Lea who recently got back from China. I had a quiet night of watching anime and researching new plants for the pool patio.

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Next week is a little more active. I have to make caramels for the band, and there's a dentist appointment, and at the end of the week I'm scheduled for two back-to-back days at the Magic Kingdom.
taz_39: (Default)
I got up an hour earlier on Thursday and was glad I did, even though I'll be tired. It feels nice to have an "extra" hour by the time I'd normally only have one.

I went for a walk at 11am because it was mid-80s and waiting any longer would mean mid-90s.
Didn't see anything special but it was good to get the exercise.

Back home and more data entry. I'm doing a really tedious bit today...I often volunteer for tedious work because I'm a throw-away employee and therefore am good for such things, rather than taking someone else off of their project, if that makes sense. Jameson also had a lot of grading to do so we kept "checking in" on one another to alleviate our boredom haha. Nothing to say except, "So...how's it going?" but at least it's a break from staring at spreadsheets!

Before dinner I went outside to look at the vanilla. The beans are definitely beans...they look like snow peas right now! No idea if that's how they're supposed to look or not, but I like it :)



At the end of the day Jameson got info on a potential job...but I'm gonna have to vaguebook it until we get more info. Regardless it was very exciting, and he had difficulty concentrating for the rest of the night!

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Friday I was up extra-early again, partly because I want to have most of the day off on Saturday and partly because I had low-key tumultuous feelings about Jameson's potential adventure...and shockingly, a potential adventure of my own that I received last night. It'll require an audition, and the material is not stuff I'm comfortable with (ugh, JAZZ...*cringe*) but I want to challenge myself and take the audition anyway. Vaguebooking until I can give details.

I ended up not getting enough work anyway because of trombone practice and having to shop for groceries for dinner. Whatever, I'm doing my best. Dinner was just taco salads and they were crunchy and delicious.

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Saturday I "allowed" myself to "sleep in" until 8am.
Breakfast, work, lunch, and about 2 hours of tromboning, because now I need to learn this audition music in addition to memorizing Disney stuff. I've got about 20 days left to memorize all the Disney music assigned, and I have six pieces left which means I have approx 3 days to work on each piece. That's theoretically plenty of time, but some are easier/harder longer/shorter than others.

As for the audition, I plan to record it on Wednesday or Thursday. Like I said it's in a style that I'm not very familiar/comfortable with, so even though they asked for recordings "ASAP" I'm pushing that boundary as far out as I can.

Right now my practice routine for Disney = a full run-through of what I've got memorized, every other day, so as not to forget things. After the run-through I work on memorization. And on the alternate days I just work on the castle set and straight memorization. After either type of session I've added the audition material. I'll only have 3-4 days to work on that before it's GOT to be recorded and sent. But I've got my first castle set with Disney in 48 hours. Note that I don't get PAID to practice all of this stuff. Do you see why musicians want to be paid as much as they do for performances? Music doesn't learn itself, even for a professional.

And to top it off I get my period on Monday! Nothing like pain, exhaustion, bleeding, and bloating to make one feel really top notch for recording an important audition, and marching in WHITE PANTS in full Florida sun and humidity, amiright ladies??

In the evening we had tickets to Peter Pan at the Dr. Phillips, thanks to my friend Kevin who is Reed 2 in the pit orchestra. I worked with Kevin on Tootsie the Musical. We all went out to dinner beforehand at The Bao Spot, a new place in Orlando. It had a weird space--dinosaur--Star Wars themed interior?

(photo courtesy Orlando Weekly)

The food was very good but came out at random; I was the last of the three of us to order but got my food first, then came Kevin's food and the appetizer, with Jameson's food coming out last after I'd practically finished mine. They're pretty new so maybe they haven't got their sh*t together yet for timing but I hope they figure it out.

My bao: spicy soft shell crab with arugula and apple kimchi slaw. It was VERY good, super crispy and fresh. I haven't had whole soft shell crab in a long time and it was lovely. My other bao in the background there is the kalbi beef with kimchi, also very good, tender and well-marinated.


Two bao is enough for me but the boys ordered a few more as we talked, and Jameson got a burger that was sealed like an Uncrustable and fried, it looked pretty amazing tbh. We talked about musician nerd stuff and tour stuff mostly. Peter Pan is going to Monterrey next, and Jameson and I sort of cringed and looked at each other: Monterrey is where the circus got run out of town by a mob of hundreds, and where our animal crew got HIJACKED by a bunch of thugs on motorcycles (our animal crew was mostly huge buff dudes and former circus STRONGMEN, so the thugs got absolutely beaten to a pulp but it was still a scary experience.) Anyway, we warned Kevin, uh, "gently" about Monterrey. Maybe it's different now (I doubt it. Sorry Mexico.)

Soon it was time for the show. We had amazing seats. Thanks Kevin!!


The musicians, who did a fantastic job btw.


I went to the pit to harass Kevin before the show. Here he is warming up on flute! Notice the bass clarinet next to him. Tour musicians are often doubling on other instruments; some reed players have as many as five instruments to play during one show!
(CLICK HERE to see Kevin warming up

The show was great. Kind of a kiddie show but that's to be expected. The child actors did an AMAZING job, especially with the choreography. And the stage featured a hi-def screen that gave a lot of depth, and it really made the flying scene where they all go to Neverland the first time AMAZING. It felt like a ride! The kids are in the air on a fly rig system directly in front of the screen and facing it, to look like they're flying, and I wondered if any of them need to keep their eyes closed for it (I would.)

No spoilers but the crocodile was the best part :p

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Sunday, I let myself sleep until 8am again (just another lazy millennial who doesn't want to work!) and then got up to do the same as Saturday: breakfast, data entry, lunch, tromboning. I memorized more Disney stuff but don't feel any better about the audition music.

I had to exchange some bed sheets at Target so picked up dinner for us there too.
We had a pretty chill evening...both of us are a bit psychologically exhausted from preparing for musical opportunities that may-or-may-not exist. There's a tension while you're waiting to audition, or preparing material, or waiting to hear back about a job offer. It can wear you down.

Tomorrow I take my Minick trombone to my friend Pat to see if he can free up the slide.
Tuesday is Disney day and my first day doing a castle set, plus they could have me do the parade and/or flag retreat.
Wednesday I have to finish up any audition practice and set up for recording, and either do it on Wednesday or Thursday.

The good news is after the audition is submitted, I should have nothing else on the docket for the rest of the weekend except data entry and memorization. But it's going to be a tense week.
taz_39: (Default)
TRAVEL

Was up ungodly early at 4am for the flight.

Long bus ride to the airport, but once there I had time to wander and sip coffee and eat random things.
My flight was direct, so both a blessing and a curse: Get there faster, but be on a plane for a longer stretch of time.
Still, it was a smooth flight with in-seat screens so I got to watch the movie Suzume (beautiful art but disjointed storyline) and even read a little. We must have had a good tailwind because we arrived nearly 45 minutes early!

Jameson came to get me, and we got caught up as we rode back home.
He's gotten a new Queen tattoo! It's pretty big and on his back. It's not done yet, just the line work and some partial coloring, so there will be pics when it is finished.

At home we ate Panda Express and watched Conan O'Brien Must Go, which is both adorable and hilarious.
I unpacked as much as I could, and unboxed all of the court reporting gear that I've wasted money on.

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VANILLA

Friday I woke up feeling like garbage, not really surprising after a whole day on a plane and multi-time zone jump.
Breakfast and hydration and Motrin.
I checked on the vanilla, and it was blooming!




What a beautiful flower!

The flower that I tried to pollinate on Easter seems not to have taken. Maybe I did it too early? Maybe I did it wrong? I'm not sure. Well, I got to try again with this flower, and there are several more that will bloom this week as well. I'll watch more tutorial videos.

Here are the reproductive parts of the flower (I got the taller ladder out this time and was at eye level, much easier to see what I was doing.)



I guess the longest part, the stamen, is what holds the pollen. And then under that there's like a little flap-shield-thing that you have to push aside with the toothpick, and then press the pollen-tip and the female part below the shield together. So I did that, and also used the toothpick to physically take some pollen and rub it on the female part (at least that's what I was trying to do.) We will see if THIS one takes. I left the ladder out on the pool deck since I'll be needing it again.

FRIDAY DOINGS

Jameson went to physical therapy for his hand, and I had wanted to do a loads of things while he was gone but just wasn't feeling great, so took my time. Vacuumed and got groceries...enjoying being able to buy larger quantities of things, not just a week's worth! And I bought some Tillamook German Chocolate Cake ice cream, which I've been dreaming about since we saw it in the store over Easter.

Back home we had lunch together, then while Jameson did his hand therapy and practiced piano I wiped down the kitchen, cleaned both bathrooms, did a load of laundry, washed my trombone, and did my most hated chore: scrubbing the shower. Then swept and mopped the tile in all rooms, had a snack, and we took a break to watch the Cubs game around 3. I drank loads of water and felt better but still very jet lagged.

Dinner was Chick-fil-a, watching TV together, and thanks to a DreamWidth friend's post about his experience with Prolific I was reminded that there's another gig-economy tool in my pocket, so I pulled that up and managed to finally get it set up (I vaguely remember identity verification issues when I first signed up, likely due to that pesky apostrophe.) Did a few surveys while Jameson gamed with his friends.

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HEALTH

Saturday I set an alarm for 8:30, but could not bring myself to get up and fell back asleep for another hour.
When I checked the vanilla there were THREE blooms at once! On different branches of the vine. I did my best to pollinate each one, and we will see how it goes (one was well above my head so I'm pretty sure I didn't get it right.)

My throat feels very strange, scratchy and itchy, but not in the back of my throat, halfway down...around the voice box or larynx I guess? It's not sore, just irritated and constantly giving me the urge to cough. Not sure what's going on with that but I hope it doesn't progress...I've got my Disney costume fitting on Tuesday. So of course I felt worse as the day went on.

This does seem to happen every time I crash-land from tour. Guess my body does not adjust well to the sudden lifestyle shift. I don't know how to prevent that...I hydrate and eat vegetables and try to get as much sleep as I can, but if my show ends close to midnight and I have to be up at 4am for a flight, or if I'm in a new time zone every few days, what can I do about that?

CLERMONT

Anyway, Jameson wanted to go to Clermont to visit a record store and though I wasn't feeling well I wanted sunshine and a nice meal with my boyfriend, so off we went. Clermont is cute, little shops and a park by the lake and a brewery and whatnot. We did the record store first and didn't find anything but enjoyed looking. For lunch we chose the brewery. Jameson got chocolate milk stout, I did the key lime cider.


I'm not usually into cider or beer but when you're not feeling well things change haha.
There was a coal-fired pizza place next door so we got a Sicilian pie that came out piping hot, crispy, and excellent.


Very, VERY good pizza. We walked around a bit more after that but didn't really need anything, so that was it for the afternoon. At home Jameson watched baseball and did laundry, meanwhile I received an email full of Dropbox parts and mp3s from the Main Street Philharmonic so busied myself with downloading all of that, sorting it into playlists and set lists for listening and practicing purposes. This stuff will need to be memorized so if I can listen and play along it's ideal. Listening to the music made me quite nervous...but I will do my best.

By the time I was done with that my head was pounding and I felt lousy. It feels like some sort of virus, I don't know what, but anything that starts in the throat makes me think of covid right away. I took it easy, just watched TV with Jameson and drank lots of water and ate bad things like leftover Christmas candy (yeah I've still got a stash of that.) Jameson insisted that I take some NyQuil, so I did and fell asleep quickly as a result.

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DISNEY MUSIC

Sunday my eyes popped open at 10am, instantly felt guilty for "sleeping in." Isn't it great how childhood traumas get to influence one well into adulthood, and probably right into the grave! Clearly I needed the sleep.

Breakfast and checking the vanilla (it's having a break from blooming after yesterday's extravagance) then a brief chat with the Main Street Phil manager whose name is Mike. I wanted to check on a memorization timeline since I'm sick right now and memorizing is more difficult than usual (brain fog sucks!) He reassured me that there's no rush, nothing to be done anyway until our costumes are complete. That's a relief. He also confirmed that we subs will be guaranteed at least one performance day in the park.

That means, no matter what else may happen, I'll get to fulfill my dream of playing the trombone in the park as a Disney employee.
Oh my gosh. Every time I think about it, I'm amazed and grateful.
(It also still blows my mind that I auditioned no less than FIVE TIMES for this same opportunity, was rejected each and every time, and ultimately got it by a completely different route. Just goes to show, there are other ways to reach a goal besides what you're "supposed to do.")

Jameson went for a walk, and while he was gone I ran the dishwasher, washed our sheets, dusted, and tried to work on my court reporting homework now that I've got most of the needed equipment. I couldn't for the life of me get the audio coming to the correct areas, though, which made me feel very stupid and inadequate...until Jameson spent a solid hour on it and couldn't get it working either. He has WAY more audio tech experience than me, so if he can't get it I'm not stupid, something is actually wrong. Sent an email to the program director, who will hopefully help me out.

Jameson applied for more out-of-state teaching jobs, I played through my Disney music with the recordings. Doing that made me feel much better about the music, less intimidated and more excited :) The Hot Dog Dance especially made me happy, because that's the type of music you can goof off to. I may not be an extrovert, but I have performed in front of crowds before and can be QUITE the goober on stage.

Case in point, Busch Gardens circa 2011:



Taco salads for dinner, German chocolate cake ice cream for dessert. Jameson played Fallout with friends, I took Prolific surveys and watched Fallout the series until bedtime.

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Tomorrow is Monday, so Jameson will have to work.
I'm going to pack a little bag for my rehearsal day at Disney, and practice my music for both Disney and The Florida Orchestra, and run a few errands, and hopefully hear back from the court reporting teacher so I can move along with that.

Very excited and nervous for Tuesday (and hoping my health can hold out until that day is over.)
I'll go first thing in the morning for a costume fitting, then from there I'll get a tour of the Magic Kingdom employee tunnels, followed by an entire day of shadowing the Main Street Philharmonic as they perform sets in the park! I'll pack one meal and eat another at the Magic Kingdom's employee cafeteria. And between sets I'll have my trombone with me, and will practice my music.

Wish me luck :)
taz_39: (Default)
Thursday, my stress levels were pretty high despite having most of the day free.

ExpandCLICK HERE for Stress Things )

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Other than that, all I did was work on my court reporting modules, pack, and walk to a Goodwill (which turned out to be a waste of time as they didn't have fitting rooms, I hate that!! But at least I got some fresh air.) I was feeling low energy, not only depressed but also a stomach ache (stress!), so took a nap and only got up when it was time to make dinner.

At the theatre, we had our final show in Yakima. It was well-attended, and tonight's Cute Audience Moment was when Pickering declared, "Mr. Higgins will miss her? BLAST Mr. Higgins! I'LL miss her." The whole audience in unison did a soft, "Awww!" that was just adorable :)

And then, like, that was it. We packed up and loaded out. Seven more shows to go.


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Friday, up at 5:30am after barely any sleep, and a smaller-than-usual breakfast to try and keep my guts and tummy calm for the six-hour bus ride ahead.

We took off and I was fine, dozing for part of the way but my eyes popping open as the scenery got more and more awesome. Starting with rolling green hills covered in farmland and moss and budding trees:



Then these huge cliffs and rock formations, and Mount Rainier in the distance (I couldn't get a clear pic from the bus.)
We were riding along the river that is the border for Washington and Oregon, and it was quite beautiful.

Pics:





Video (CLICK HERE to watch)

We stopped for lunch in Portland, which looked like a fun city, too bad we don't get to visit :/
Then as we got closer to Eugene everything was so GREEN. And there were so many SHEEP.


We arrived a bit early, but for the most part rooms were ready. There were just about two hours before sound check so I unpacked and scooted over to Bao Bao House. Inside, no one spoke much English and there was handmade bao being constructed. Both very good signs.


I ordered some char siu bao, some walnut brown sugar biscuits, and some anchovy peanut appetizers. All of the buns/biscuits were made fresh and came out scalding hot, to the point where they steamed the containing bag haha. The anchovy peanut snack had been made prior, I could tell because it was cold.

Peanuts and dried anchovies, stir-fried with sesame oil and chili flakes. This was very good: not too salty, not fishy-tasting or -smelling, nor overly spicy. Just good flavors, crunchy peanuts, and the anchovies were kind of chewy AND crunchy. I liked it a lot!


The walnut brown sugar "biscuits" were like a pan-fried doughnut with chopped walnuts and brown sugar filling. Extremely good, crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. I had to get a whole order of 5 so brought them with me to the theatre to share with everyone. (I brought the anchovies too but shockingly, no one wanted that :p )


The char siu bao, of course, were fantastic. Ate two for dinner and will eat two for another meal.

The theatre is pretty interesting-looking. The ceiling looks like a woven basket...or a lawn chair, or something.


Once again I can't see the stage, ah well. That's normal!
It was a good opening night audience. We didn't get back to the hotel until nearly midnight, and then I was up too late reading an unfortunate article about sexual misconduct in the NY Phil. It was interesting to see my male colleagues surprised to hear this story and acting like it's breaking news...meanwhile most female musicians have known about this incident since it happened back in 2010 or 2011. How STRANGE that this is such a SURPRISE to the MEN.

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Saturday I woke up extremely tired and stressed. Too much to do and too little time.

I started laundry and ate breakfast, typed up this blog, then got to work on an application that I'm doing in the hopes of protecting myself against failing the AAERT exam. It was intimidating and frustrating, but I stubbornly plugged away and by the time 10am rolled around I'd gotten about 1/3 of it done. It looked extra-dreary outside but I was INSISTENT on seeing at least one tiny slice of Eugene...I am so annoyed that we don't get more time here! So I Ubered downtown.

A mural that I loved by local artist Liza Mana Burns.


My first stop was a small "hippie grocery" called Kiva Grocery. They were VERY small, and didn't have really anything that I needed, but I found chocolates from Seattle and a pouch of canned tuna that was caught and hand-packaged literally by one local family of fisherpeople. The big draw at this tiny grocery was the HUGE bulk section.


From there I walked to Whole Paycheck and had lunch at the hot bar, got a few things for meals, then walked to the theatre...in the absolute pouring rain. I had planned to visit Eugene's Saturday Farmer's Market, and it looked like a huge and fun affair with loads of vendors selling everything from veggies to bongs to murals, just everything, but the rain got harder and harder and it was cold to boot, and I was carrying groceries, and after struggling past a few stalls I gave up and practically ran to the theatre. I was early so at least there was time to get myself from "soaked" to "damp" before the show started.

The show went well. It was Michael (our assistant MD's) last time conducting, and he did a great job.
Between shows I went back to the hotel to shower, put away groceries, eat dinner, and work on the transcription evaluation some more (yeah that's what it is, I should have said that earlier.) I went faster this time; once all of the case info is plugged in things are easier, and making progress made me feel more confident. Typing things out verbatim is something that I enjoy, weirdly.

The evening show was also fine, though we were all very tired and some note mistakes were made.

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Sunday, I woke up a bit late, but then finished the transcription evaluation and after combing it a zillion times for mistakes, sent it in. There are some things that I'm unsure if I did correctly, but I'm hoping that I did well enough to receive consideration. And if not, it just means going ahead with the plan I'd already initiated.

The break between shows was not very long so I packed dinner to bring to the theatre.
The first show was good but had scant attendance. Between shows I tried to work on my court reporting modules but the theatre's wifi had a "nanny," some sort of annoying content-blocker that for some reason designated the site I needed to use as spam. I was able to get in sporadically through rapid-refreshing, but it was too annoying and I had to give up after a while. Tried to work on this blog too but of course it's a RUSSIAN site so it was ALSO blocked. Tried to watch anime but THAT was blocked too. I MISS THE 90's AND THE WILD WEST INTERNET.

Well, soon it was time for our last show in Eugene and our last day of double shows, ever.
It was packed, which was great, and it was a vibrant and responsive audience.

Again, I really wish we'd had more time here, to get to know the city. Perhaps some day I'll get to come back.


(this amazing photo courtesy Aaron, one of our sound techs.)
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We are flying to Modesto tomorrow, and it's a late flight so I'll get to sleep in a bit and take my time in the morning.
And work on court reporting modules.

In Modesto I don't really have any plans. We are only there for two days, and then tour is over.
If we arrive early enough I'll enjoy a trip to Sprouts for some groceries, but there are no more Foodie Finds for me.
We'll have our closing show party, and pack our bags, and that will be that. Chapter closed.

Let's do it.
taz_39: (Default)
On Monday my eyes popped open at 6am, partly because I remembered, "It's a day off!" and partly because I realized, "I should have shipped my trombone stand back home like EIGHT cities ago. Dammit!"

Shipping the trombone stand to Florida from Washington State or California costs more than the damned thing is worth. I've had it since college, and it's certainly not in the best shape any more...maybe it's time to leave it behind? Anyway, you don't care about all that :p

Today was a golden day..a true day off with no shows and no travel, the last one of the tour.
Let's see how much I got to check off my To-Do List.

First, breakfast and laundry. Since I was up so early and no one else was insane enough to be awake yet, I had the laundry room to myself and was done in no time. Then DCR modules and coursework. I didn't actually get to check off any modules, but did a big chunk of reading and videos for about 90 minutes. That done, I allowed myself thrifting.


No, I didn't buy those FABULOUS $4 golden pants. But I sent the picture to my siblings and was rewarded by my sister quipping, "I dare you to wear those during the eclipse. REPLACE THE SUN." Lol! What a goober.

Speaking of the eclipse, I didn't see a whit of it. Partly because it was cloudy but mostly because it was nowhere near Washington state. Everyone here went about business as usual; no eclipse parties or overpriced eclipse merch to be seen.

I did walk by the falls on last time, and didn't record it because I wanted to just look. For me. To keep in my heart.

From the thrift store to Cochinito, a relatively new taco spot downtown. My two tacos were (left to right): North African lamb sausage with Oregon hazelnut salsa, queso fresco, tomato, mint chutney, and herbs; and Oregon rockfish marinated in honey and chili, fried, with cabbage, radish, crema, cilantro, and chili mango gel.


Of the two, the lamb was my favorite. The sausage was full of rich spices, the salsa had a beautiful roasted flavor from the hazelnuts, the stewed tomatoes were sweet, and the queso brought every bite together with creamy goodness. The only thing missing was the asparagus, for the life of me I couldn't find it anywhere. The fish taco was also very good, but that one was more about texture. Light and crispy, not greasy at all, and the paper-thin radish was peppery, and the mango gel had such a cooling texture and made everything sweet-and-salty. This is another place where, if I lived here, I'd eat here once a week until I'd tried everything on the menu!

Next I got groceries to bring to Yakima, since grocery options there are extremely limited. I will be doing mostly nonperishables and smuggling food from the free hotel breakfast, but picked up yogurt, berries, water for the tea kettle, and eggs. On the way back I made sure to swing by Looff Carrousel in Spokane's Riverfront Park.


This carousel (or carrousel, as they spell it) is significant to me in a roundabout way.
Charles Looff was a master carver, who carved many carousel horses throughout his life, including the horses here.
He ran a shop employing apprentices, one of whom was Charles Carmel, an immigrant from Russia.
And Charles Carmel carved the horses for the Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA.

Which happens to be where I had my very first job, at the age of fourteen.
And where I palmed this carousel ring, 26 years ago. And have carried it with me ever since.


It felt somehow full circle...to be holding this ring from a Looff/Carmel carousel on the east coast, and looking at a carousel by the same maker on the west coast.

For the uninitiated, many carousels in the late 1800s featured a "brass ring game" in which riders on the outer horses could grab iron rings from a mechanical arm as the ride spun past. They could then throw their collected rings at a cloth or wood target, usually an open-mouthed circus animal or clown. A single gold-colored brass ring was included among the iron ones. If a rider was lucky enough to grab the brass ring on their go 'round, they'd receive a small prize (at Knoebels it was a pack of ride tickets.) CLICK HERE to see a short video of what this is like.


As an employee of the park, of COURSE I rode the Grand Carousel many times, and of COURSE I palmed one of the rings to take home as a souvenir :) Never thought I'd get to see a sister carousel, on the opposite coast for that matter!

I didn't ride the carousel because I had groceries with me and that would have been awkward. Only watched for a bit and enjoyed some memories from my own childhood, before heading back to the hotel.

The lavender honey hard cider that I picked up at Huckleberry's last week. It was pretty good! Not overpoweringly floral. It made for a nice chill-out drink after all of my walking around (4 1/2 miles!)


And that was everything on my To-Do List, you guys!
Laundry, classwork, thrifting, groceries, tacos, the falls, day drinking, and the carousel.

While I was plugging away at more court reporting training, two things happened.

One was that I heard back from the transcription job that I tested with last week; they DID send a nightmare 3-hour transcript assessment AGAIN, and this time I flatly refused to do it. Clearly if it takes me three hours to transcribe a 10-page deposition because I'm THAT incredibly unfamiliar with the formatting, I am not qualified for this job. Surprisingly, the recruiter wrote back to say that she appreciated my honesty and hoped I'd reach out in the future once I felt I could tackle it. I'll save their info.

The other was a call from the manager of Disney's Main Street Philharmonic, letting me know he'd gotten approval to officially sublist me with the band! This means I'll be fitted for a costume, attend some rehearsals, and receive a copy of their set list to practice.

(Main Street Phil, stock image)

This does NOT guarantee me any actual performances in the park. It just means that if someone needs a day off, calls out sick, or takes a vacation, I am to be on call and ready to fill in as needed. BUT I will be paid for the fittings and rehearsals. And the odds of regulars needing a day off, for a variety of reasons, are going to be HIGH. I am optimistic that I might actually get to perform as Disney musician this summer!!

And remember: this all came about because I took a chance and sacrificed two weeks of work with My Fair Lady so that I could substitute for Candlelight this past Christmas. I'm reiterating this because at the time I got some raised eyebrows and gently-voiced concerns from musician friends around me, who thought I was nuts for giving up two weeks of pay. But the value that I saw, was that by accepting this one tiny, seasonal substitute job, I'd be added to Disney's employee roster for an entire year. Which could open so many doors. That's why I chose to play the long game. And it's working out!

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Tuesday (it feels weird to be traveling on a Tuesday!) I was up too early and used the time to do more court reporting stuff. There happened to be a live Zoom class, and I got to participate! There were about 30 people there, which was heartening.

It was a short bus ride to Yakima, so we didn't leave the Spokane hotel until 11. I watched out the window a lot because I've never been to this part of the country before. It's very interesting and weird scenery here. Like if you took the flat farmland of Texas, threw in patches of rolling hills and desert scrub brush from California, some marshes and wetland lakes from Florida, and random clumps of tall pines and mountains from Colorado. It came across as kind of a mish-mash...but maybe I've been to too many places. Oh, and these interesting plateau-like boulder formations, some big and towering and some so small that you could mistake them for a stone property fence.


Checking Google Maps while surrounded by "crop circles" :D


We saw very majestic scenery as well, valleys and mountains and lakes with big impressive bridges spanning them. No pics because pics from a bus suck. We stopped at a Love's partway there. I have a habit of making short Instagram stories to share the bizarre stuff I find at these rest stops. Today's weird things: tiny 2"-long knives shaped like keys, guns, bullets, and deer; and this hilarious trinket box shaped like a sow with BEDAZZLED TEATS!!


The pig was $20 unfortunately; had she been $10 or less I'd have bought it no question.

After dropping luggage at the hotel I went to my one and only special meal in Yakima: a Chinese buffet!
I am such an absolute sucker for a good Chinese buffet, and this was a REALLY good one. They had steamed buns, whole heads-on shrimp, a large sushi selection, and a huge dessert bar! Jameson can't eat at these because of his Meniere's Disease (he has a bad reaction to MSG) so this was my last change to enjoy this guilty pleasure.


I ate more than usual but not stuffed-to-the-gills levels. Afterward I walked around and explored surrounding shops until I felt less full, then came back to the hotel and unpacked and chilled.

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Wednesday after breakfast (in which I stole an English muffin, banana, and peanut butter) I worked on finishing court reporting module 1, which ended with a small quiz. I was annoyed to miss three whole questions (= 88%), I need to re-read the material and not rely so heavily on the mock quizzes and flash cards.

Took a break to pack dinner and do misc work on Foodie Finds and listening to Main Street Philharmonic music, then walked to a craft store for a foam cone for my trombone (to protect the bell from being crushed when it gets checked for the final flight home) and then to a mall hoping to find one last tiny travel candle, to make these last few hotel rooms smell nice. I discovered a little plant store that had adorable mini-Mason jar candles from a local maker. This kind of thing gives me a deep, bittersweet nostalgia for my childhood in Pennsylvania...the Amish shops and hardware stores always had hand-poured candles like these. The most nostalgic of all are the Christmas and fall scents.

I got a "Log Cabin" scent, and a "Latte" scent, and lit one as soon as I got back. It made me sad and happy at the same time, which is how I feel most of the time lately. Lighter pictured for scale.


We bused to the theatre. It's an older one, and is a little run down perhaps, but still beautiful.
The ceiling:


This guy up there looks like he has a migraine. I feel those feels, my dude.


To my delight, the stage was shallow and there was no overhang, meaning I'd FINALLY get to see most of the show!!!
So glad that this happened before the tour ended!!
I couldn't take footage of course, but there are several parts in the show where I'm not playing for between 5-8 minutes, and during all of those times I stood with my back pressed against the pit wall, staring up at the stage. Got to see a LOT, it was wonderful :)

Also of interest, because the pit is sort of the shape of a narrow orange segment, the drums have been remoted to a separate room and I am now where the drums would normally be. I have a lot of space to myself (ironic as it's such a small pit) and also, I'm next to these massive screw-like pillars, covered in oil, which are part of the mechanism that raises and lowers the orchestra pit to the desired height.


A short 15-second video so you can see how massive this piece of equipment is...and how far down the drop would be.
As far down as this is, believe it or not I've seen farther. (CLICK HERE to watch)

The show went well and was well attended. I had a pretty solid headache afterward from staring into the stage lights all night! But it was worth it. What a wonderful, unexpected treat to actually see the show I've been providing music for.

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Tomorrow is mostly free, with one more show in the evening and load out to Eugene, Oregon.
I will do lots of boring stuff like court reporting study, packing my suitcases, and perhaps a little thrifting.
taz_39: (Default)
Thursday was a total wash.

The morning was spent nervously waiting for my new boss at my new court reporting job to call, then when he didn't I realized he probably wanted me to get with a court reporting instructor he'd referred me to yesterday instead. I texted to check if that was the case and it was. So another hour of nervous waiting, then a zoom call with her.

The long and short of it is, I'm to take a court reporting course that will prepare me for this job and eventually help me to get an AAERT certification. This is something that I had looked into myself, in the past, but without any sort of job offer on the table or incentive to shell out the $800 for the courses and $1000+ for the equipment out-of-pocket, I never did it. And then I got to go on tour again. But this time my new boss and this program director are offering the course to me for FREE. All *I* have to do is put in the effort and DO IT.

It's too good to pass up; even if everything implodes and I end up with no job again, at the very least the certification (for FREE) would give me a leg up for future work. Still, that meant after our meeting was over I had to spend my morning buying even MORE equipment, and downloading and installing software, and kind of coming to the realization that this is really happening, and I'm going to have to dedicate a significant chunk of time to these courses and to certifying just as quickly as I can, because otherwise it will be entirely my own fault if I don't have work this summer.

Part of me is excited and glad. For my Friends Only crowd, you guys know how much I stress about being entry-level value at every job, and how it hurts to not be contributing to our household more significantly (Jameson has the mortgage and pays ALL of the bills, and I am lucky if I can break $12k in earnings each year at the age of 40.) This could be my chance to break out of that, and have a skills set that can at LEAST get me above the poverty line ffs.

But part of me is freaking out about the NOW...about the money being spent on equipment that I don't yet know how to use, for a job that I don't entirely know how to do.

And part of me is sad and mourning the end of my current job...you know, the thing that I went to school for because I LOVE to do it, as opposed to the job I HAVE to do. Plus currently watching the adventure and freedom that I enjoy on tour coming to an end in real time.

This is all natural...all of the feelings of sadness and nostalgia and kind of inner heel-dragging to start this new job. I go through this at the end of every tour. And so Thursday turned into a day of processing those Big Feels. Which meant that I was depressed and sad, and after I had set up my new profile for the courses and installed the software, I sort of crashed back into bed, not even watching cat videos or anime to make me feel better, just reading a little and sleeping on and off.

At some point in there I ate, and got outside for a short mile-walk (not to the falls, I didn't want to go see such a beautiful place in the mood I was in.) There's nothing else to report, for Thursday. We had our show and it went well.

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Friday I managed to stay asleep until about 6:30am, yipee.

Got up early to start my new courses, but got distracted with finding jobs for a friend. Then partway through the first module, realized I'd forgotten to create a membership with AAERT and download their training manual, which I 100% need to complete ANY of the assignments in this course. So I did all of that, but the manual is emailed to you after the fact and I couldn’t complete the homework until that was received. Rookie mistake. Worked on Foodie Finds for Modesto while I waited, and when the manual hadn't showed up by lunchtime I braved the cold to walk to Kasa Taphouse. It was mid-70s when we arrived in Spokane and now it's 35°F and flurrying/raining. It is still beautiful here, but...sigh. I was looking forward to a last taste of spring weather, before the heat of Florida. Guess not.


This is a fairly new restaurant, with self-seating and QR code menus and a quick-serve environment that I liked a lot. It was pretty busy but I was seated right away and was able to get what I came for: the pork belly bowl. It's one of their more popular dishes and the pork belly is brined for two days, so they sometimes run out of it.

Two-day-brined and grilled pork belly with pickled carrot, radish, and cabbage slaw, tomato chutney, house curry sauce, fluffy house-recipe herbed pita bread, served over yellow basmati rice.


Very very good. I don't usually do pork belly because all the fat grosses me out, but there was actually a lot of meat on these slices and the flavor was awesome. Especially loved the tart pickled veggies with the sweet, warm tomato chutney and spicy creamy curry sauce, what a great combo of flavors. The bread, though, was the BEST. It was as fresh as humanly possible, incredibly light, like a little triangle cloud, not a trace of staleness. Absolutely loved it!

Walked to the grocery for some yogurts and berries for the next few days, and popped into some shops along the way like a record store, rocks & minerals store, and a kitchen supply store (bought nothing because now that I'm doing court reporting I'm REALLY poor, but it was fun to look!)

By the time I got back to the hotel my training manual had arrived, so I spent the rest of the day working on DCR modules. It looks like the hardest part is going to be memorizing terminology, structure of the courts, and history/info about US court and law. Outside of that, I'll just need to learn my equipment, how to set it up, and "best practices" which I feel will come a lot quicker than remembering what a "certiorari" is or a "amicus curiae." One nice thing is that someone has input all of this info into Quizlet, which has an app. So tonight during breaks in our show, instead of reading Wheel of Time, I took little quizzes and flash-carded myself.

When I can start this job depends heavily on when I feel capable enough to do it, so I'm cramming as much as I can...but I'm still on the last two weeks of tour and want to enjoy that.

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Saturday...oooh we are making progress, I managed to sleep until 7:30!

After breakfast I spent a chunk of time completing a surprise assessment from a transcription company...one that I didn't apply to this year, and that sent me a 3-hour nightmare assessment last time I tried to apply for them. This time the assessment was MUCH more reasonable, so I did it, but not sure that I qualify or that they'd be willing to work with me on hours as I prepare for the other court reporting job.

Which is what I did next: spent hours reviewing the first set of flashcards, watching videos on materials, reading the same information in the manual, and reviewing the next set of flashcards and quizzes. Now I supposedly know what "in limine" means. I don't CARE what it means, but I KNOW what it means :p

The first show went fine. I checked on my caramels...you may remember that I brought two big bags with a total of 250-ish pieces:


...and this is what's left. I think there are 12 pieces in there. Good job everyone!


During this show our other Megan, who spells her name Maeghin, put up a disco version of "I Could Have Danced All Night." Pretty cute, and a nice memory for us :) I'm near the tail end of the video, see if you can catch me.
(CLICK HERE to watch)

Between shows the usual, walking back to the hotel and eating random stuff.
Evening show was also good, and it was DEFINITELY a sold out crowd. There was a really adorable moment when "I Could Have Danced All Night" started; the audience made this kind of "Aaaah!" sighing sound and then applauded so enthusiastically when Eliza started singing. It is indeed a beloved number. And I couldn't believe how people were SCREAMING cheers after "Get Me to the Church," like whooping and everything like they wanted to be involved in the bar scene haha.

After the show I stepped out of the stage door and was blown away by the massive amount of people exiting the theatre. It was a good one!

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Sunday I was up at 7, breakfast, working on my DCR training.

That and Foodie Finds for Modesto was pretty much it until it was time for shows.

I don't really have anything to report...both shows were just fine. We were all really looking forward to the golden day on Monday, so perhaps we were a bit distracted, but not to any detriment. And it's still load out, so after we finished I packed up my things as usual and went upstairs to sign our wall tag here. It's been up for several days so for once most people have signed it. Can you spot my initials?


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Tomorrow is Monday, a lovely golden day of no shows and no travel here in Spokane.

My plans are 50/50 chores/fun, so we will see what I actually accomplish from this list:

- Laundry
- DCR modules/training
- Thrifting at the local Goodwill
- Tacos at Cochinita
- Groceries to bring to Yakima (grocery options are super limited there)
- More DCR modules/training
- Some minor day drinking (the lavender honey cider I bought earlier)
- Seeing the falls one last time
- Riding or at least seeing the Looff Carousel
taz_39: (Default)
I slept poorly, as I always do before a travel day. Anticipation and anxiety.

Woke at 4:25am, managed to slap on some clothing and brush my teeth and grab my suitcase before the cab got here (he is always 10 minutes early, which I love.) We drove to the airport chatting almost the whole way; this guy has been picking me up on these early morning rides for nearly three years now! I was sorry to tell him that this would be my last ride for a while.

The first flight was just fine, the second was slightly delayed but otherwise normal. As the pilot pointed out features within the Cascade mountain range, I couldn't see jack from my aisle seat and felt annoyed with myself for not thinking to get a window for the second flight. BUT, my stomach had been upset all day, so the aisle was probably the better choice. Stupid body! Eight hours on planes today.

I split an Uber with Elen (cello) and Michael (clarinet) and we made good time to the hotel. It's a recently remodeled Best Western and the rooms are ideal for tour life. Moderately spacious; plenty of counter space; a larger-than-usual fridge; a big sink with food service-grade hot water; a microwave. I'll take all of that over ginchy decor or vintage charm any day!


I dropped everything and went to a local co-op right next to the hotel.


It was rather small and I was a bit disappointed not to find many local products. But they have a nice hot bar and serve a $5 dinner on Thursdays, which info I was quick to share with my peers.

From there I walked to the next-nearest local grocery called My Fresh Basket. To get to it you have to cross a bridge over Spokane Falls. I was not prepared for how big, how fast-moving, how awe-inspiring this waterfall would be. You could hear the roar of the rushing water from blocks away. It was amazing. Watching TONS of water rushing so violently down made me feel small indeed.
(CLICK HERE for video 1)
(CLICK HERE for video 2)


We are here for a week and I will DEFINITELY be taking more footage, but this was my first time seeing it and I was awestruck.

My Fresh Basket was lovely, and much more what I had in mind for finding interesting and local products! I tried not to go TOO insane here because there are a lot of co-ops between now and the end of tour, but I did take home these gems:


- DOMA coffee: A sample-sized 1/4 pound since it's sold in bulk, I just wanted to try it. A lovely medium roast.
- Ladder Coffee Original Black: another local coffee, canned. Sometimes I like to get a canned coffee for bus rides.
- Heart Water Pink Himalayan Salt: I thought this would taste like, idk, Pocari Sweat or something, but it was just..."soft" water. Like it tasted very neutral. Pretty good, but I can probably make it at home.
- WET Hydration Orange Mango Ginger Turmeric: A hydration booster (so kinda like Gatorade) but with zero calories because it's sweetened with monkfruit. This tasted pretty good! I would definitely try their other flavors.
- Laurel Tree Rosemary Garlic Hazelnuts: I didn't know that hazelnuts were a big Pacific Northwest thing, but apparently they are because there were bags of them everywhere in all kinds of flavors. This was the most unique flavor that I found, and hazelnuts are my favorite so looking forward to trying these :)
- Fage Greek Yogurt Stracciatella: Not local, but I've never seen these "Creamy Dreamy" dessert flavors from Fage before and had to check it out! Will get to this in the 2nd half of the week I'm sure.
- Tillamook Oregon Marionberry yogurt: Tillamook sells marionberry and huckleberry yogurts and ice cream ONLY in this part of the country; I have never seen it for sale on the east coast. A locally-exclusive flavor that I wanted to try!

And I got my usual groceries too (fruit, veggies, plain yogurt, protein, etc.)
Back at the hotel I felt VERY tired, but managed to stay awake and also not eat dinner until 4:30 Pacific Time.
Unpacked, got settled in, and did go to bed around 8pm because that's 11pm Eastern Time and at that point I'd been up for like 19 hours, and I had to get up at 6am tomorrow for court reporting training.

But damn, what a lovely first afternoon in Spokane! I hope the rest of the week is just as good.

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I was awake early, mainly due to the time zone changes but also because I had Digital Court Reporting training at 10am ET, 7am PT. It went pretty well...mostly it was just walking me through where to upload audio files and how to document things. I still need to learn how to use their dictation software, and how to notarize things, and how to use the audio equipment...I'm nervous about all of this, but also, how hard can it be? The job sounds like something I can do, let's just put it that way, and although I'm bound to make mistakes at first if I am conscientious and take notes I should get better over time. We will see what happens but for now I'm optimistic.

After that I had free hotel breakfast, which wasn't as good as I'd hoped (few protein options) but getting free food at all is very nice. I tried to relax for most of the morning because my guts were still upset over something. I don't feel nauseous or anything, just, uh, "overactive"? So it could be nerves, or that I ate something that didn't sit well.

My caramels arrived around noon! Excellent, because then I could bring them to the theatre for opening night in Spokane!


We are in this convention center theatre, which has 2,609 seats. Pretty cool!
It's a modern and new theatre, and the only bummer so far is having to climb three flights of stairs to reach the Green Room (which is where I stashed the caramels for everyone to have easy access.)


The stairwell does have open ports to the backstage area though, which is SUPER COOL.
I'm not supposed to be sharing these so PLEASE don't reshare them, leave them here. Thank you.
Points of interest: to the right you can see a lot of ropes for the fly rigging system. To the left you can see wigs lined up in front of chairs for the actors (a lot of costume changes happen directly backstage.) And of course setpieces and our road cases and all that. Reminder that all photos can be opened full-size in a new tab for easier viewing.



The pit was a normal pit. Our MD is still out because he's got a nasty cold and didn't want to be coughing/sneezing/blowing his nose throughout the show while also trying to conduct, so took a sick day and our assistant MD Michael led our sound check and later the show. The show was very well attended, and the audience was awesome! Lots of cheers, laughter, and applause. It's going to be a good week if that's what we're starting off with!

Also, the caramels got RAVE reviews :) So many people stopped me in the hall to exclaim over them, and three different people said they were the best caramels they'd ever had. High praise! I'm seriously considering entering them in a State Fair competition or something (but I'd have to be actually AROUND for that to happen haha.)
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Wednesday turned out to be very productive.

ExpandCLICK HERE for Foodie Adventures )

After all of that I still had stuff to do, like research for court reporting and a few applications to touring companies and of course typing up this whole blog post. Jameson had his first physical therapy for his hand; it seemed to go well, and they gave him some sort of medical tape to try and help hold his inflammed vein/tendon in position while he plays(?) He has a gig on Saturday so I guess we'll find out how well that works.

And before I knew it it was time for the show.

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I decided to post this before the evening show, so hopefully it goes well haha.
Today was long and fun, and tomorrow I have an early, busy morning of court reporting things. After that I want to do some more exploring downtown (the falls and some thrift stores, a break from foodie adventures.)
taz_39: (Default)
My flight was rather late, so I got a full night of sleep for the first time in several days.

In the morning there was a lot going on already via text and email; it was like everyone chose this Monday to be THE Monday of getting balls rolling. I got a lot of paperwork for a job that I've taken. OH, probably didn't mention that because there hasn't been time with all the running around with family, friends, and shows!

Last year when Tootsie ended, I almost took a Digital Court Reporting job with a Florida contracting company. I ended up declining their job offer in favor of FedWriters, which had health benefits and was more in line with what I wanted to do (transcription.) And then FedWriters ghosted me, leaving me without work for the entire summer. But I kept the contact info for the court reporting firm I'd declined. And while we were in Chicago I reached out to see if they'd be willing to give me another chance. Certainly, they said, they're always needing help in the metro-Orlando area. So this time I ACTUALLY completed their employment paperwork. And this Monday morning, woke to a pile of onboarding info and paperwork. Part of the morning was spent buying equipment I'll need to do this job ($$$ but at least I can claim it as business expenses) and reviewing documents for them.

Then I got a text from the manager of Disney's Main Street Philharmonic, asking if I'm still interested in subbing. YES I am, but he doesn't have rehearsal dates lined up yet, he's just gathering info. Regardless I was very gratified that he reached out, instead of me having to come crawling and groveling for consideration, which is usually the case.

Eventually got to the airport and many MFL people were at my same gate, because layovers in DFW are a thing. We chatted together, flew out together, and I had a nice view of ABQ as we were leaving but am too lazy to embed the video this morning, sorry.

Layover in DFW where I ate random nonperishables for dinner, then a straightforward flight to Orlando. I got in around 8:30pm and Jameson picked me up. I squeezed him really hard, but he's so depressed right now from the whole Disney thing. I don't know how to make it better. At least he's not sitting on his hands; he's been making a CV and a teaching portfolio, and applying to jobs. But he was really quiet and just, down. All I can think to do right now is be here and be supportive, and try to take care of as much as I can so there's less burden on him.

At home an interesting surprise awaited me. A few weeks ago during all of those bus trips, I tried a new flavor of tuna-in-a-pouch: Bumblebee Lemon Sesame Ginger. I was so impressed with how good it was (real pieces of ginger in there!) that I wrote a little note to Bumblebee's "Contact Us" to say how much I liked it. They wrote a nice email back to say they appreciated the feedback, and I figured that was it. But among my mail was a letter from Bumblebee, and some coupons for two tuna pouches! How nice :) Now I'll have to keep an eye out for them again!
(remember that clicking on the image opens it in a new tab, where you can enlarge it further by clicking on it again.)


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Tuesday I was up at 8:30, and as usual was all-fired to get going on my layoff chores.

Breakfast and light cleaning until a tax appointment at 10:30am. I owe the government $80 and the tax preparers $250, so I'm calling that a win.

Then I scheduled training for my new job, to take place via Zoom when our tour is in Spokane next week. Then scheduled my car for a maintenance and repair drop-off tomorrow. Then chores in order of relevance: wiping down the kitchen, vacuuming, mopping the kitchen floor, and when Jameson got back from the gym I went to the grocery store. After lunch, cleaning the bathrooms and doing laundry.

Somewhere in there I popped outside to look at my plants, which I knew would be abysmal since there's been no rain. The bananas are looking weak but hanging on. My potted black sapote is pretty much dead and shedding leaves everywhere, so I dragged it around the side of the house and will figure out what to do with it later. The lemon tree is trying to flower but I doubt there will be fruit this year, it's too scraggly.

The big surprise was the vanilla orchid, which has THREE flower clusters!!
(CLICK HERE for short video)

Pictures of the three flower clusters, from nearest to farthest:




That last one is very high up, not sure if I'll be able to reach it. Two of the flowers in the second photo look like they could bloom before the end of the week, so I'm going to research how to hand-pollinate it and see if I can catch them (they only bloom for a few hours, usually early morning.) It's giving me intense FOMO to know that I'll miss a lot of these flowers because I'll be back on tour on Monday, ARGH. But I'll do what I can...and if I succeed, I could get vanilla beans! Don't get too excited though. In order to get vanilla beans, here's what has to happen:

- I will have to pollinate the flower within SIX HOURS of it blooming. If I don't make that window, pollination will not succeed.
- They MUST be hand-pollinated. There is no insect that can do it in Florida (in their native Madagascar there is an orchid bee that can do it)
- If beans grow, they will need to survive for TEN MONTHS to mature on the vine.
- If the beans survive the ten months, I will have to be around to harvest them!
- I will have to blanch the beans to stop them from growing and to kill bacteria.
- I will have to "sweat" the beans, subjecting them to very hot temps and then wrapping them in cloth at night to "sweat" out the flavors of vanilla. No I have absolutely no idea how to correctly do this.
- The beans will have to be dried until their moisture content is between 18%-35%. Again, no idea how to accomplish this or measure moisture levels in a solid object...
- This entire process can take up to FOUR YEARS.

So yeah. Don't get too excited. Even if I get beans (a year after this) I'm very likely to ruin them through my own ignorance. But now I will get several chances to pollinate a flower (each flower makes only ONE bean), so let's start with that :)

For dinner Jameson took me to an Italian restaurant in Winter Garden, it was very good! He had some sort of cheese-filled pasta, and I had saffron seafood risotto. It was very creamy and rich...did they use cream? I know you're not supposed to but it was SO decadent! It had calamari, mussels, clams, chunks of tender salmon, and big juicy Gulf shrimp. Very good indeed.


We'd wanted to check out a COBBLER dessert spot next door(!) but were too full to actually eat there, so just checked out the menu. We'll come back another time.

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Wednesday I was up early to take my car for repairs that have been needed for like a year and a half. My new job(s) will require a lot of driving and I need to ensure that I'm ready to hit the ground running when tour ends.

I Ubered back so Jameson wouldn't have to get up early, had breakfast, and got started on making a batch of caramels for my coworkers.
You've seen my process a zillion times by now, if you'd like to see the steps again THIS POST details it. They turned out fine. Tomorrow once it's set I'll cut it up, then make a second batch.

We had lunch together, some repair guys came to fix our pool heater (power surge blew out some of the parts.) While waiting for them to finish up I discovered a FOURTH flower cluster on my vanilla! This is great, so many chances to try for pollination! Then Jameson went to the gym and I dusted the house and de-boned some pork chops for dinner. I also signed up for a Papa Pal appointment in Kissimmee; it's a woman who wants help with some housework and just to have someone to talk to, I think that will be a good test to see how this app works and understand the process. Somewhere in there Amazon delivered my court reporting equipment so I unpacked that. And lazed around a bit, because I still feel tired.

My car was eventually finished and it was $$$$, ouch! But that's what I get for putting off repairs.

For dinner I made panko-breaded pork chops in the air fryer, with buttered noodles and candied carrots. It was one of the better meals I've made in a while; the pork was so tender we didn't need knives! And all of the sides turned out perfectly as well. I have to say, seeing Jameson eat the whole thing with enthusiasm, smiling and exclaiming over it, made me feel like maybe I CAN cheer him up a bit. I hope so.

(This photo is from the recipe website. I didn't take a photo of mine and I should have, but it looked just like this sans green salad.)


We watched the end of Fargo Season 5 together (we'd never finished it due to holiday busy-ness) and chilled until bedtime.

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Let's see. Tomorrow Jameson has an early morning rehearsal for an upcoming gig. While he's there I'll check on my vanilla flowers, then cut the caramels and make the second batch. Somewhere in there, hopefully a walk.

Friday is my first Papa Pal job, so we'll see how that goes. Then cutting the second batch of caramels and packaging all of them, either for shipping or my suitcase.

Not much else planned except to repack, one last time, for the final few weeks of My Fair Lady.
It's been a wild, fun ride.
taz_39: (Default)
Was up at 5am to apply for as many jobs as possible and eat breakfast before the bus departed at 8am.

One interesting one that I found is called Papa, it's kind of similar to Taskrabbit but the main focus is on companionship for the elderly and/or small tasks like housework, running errands, or transportation. There's no bathing, cooking, restroom assistance, dressing, administering meds, or other stuff that a certified/insured professional would do. I figure Orlando is probably a good area for such things, so will give it a try or at least have it in the back pocket to pick up side jobs (it's 1099 work.)

The bus ride was uneventful, I was very stressed because I'm about to lose my "me time" for the next four days and psychologically that's a blow to me. I hate not having control over when I get to work, especially, because no matter how much I repeat, "I need to be there by X time" the person I am forced to trust to get me there on time cannot manage it 50% of the time and I end up in a desperate rush to be warmed up and ready for the show. That means I am constantly watching traffic, watching the clock, and generally not being in the moment or fully focused when we are spending time together the closer and closer it gets to show time.

Whatever, there's nothing I can do except give myself an ulcer about it, which I am doing a great job of doing. Whether or not I am at work on time, for the next three shows, depends on other people who are not entertainers, and I'm supposed to be perfectly happy about it. Calm like a little Hindu cow.

We arrived in plenty of time to check in and unpack, but I had to be suuuuuuper careful about unpacking, because the room belongs to Raven this week, really. Tonight I'll use the desk, but after that my suitcase goes in the closet and one of the beds gets to act as my bed, desk, and wardrobe.

The one solo outing that I gave myself was to visit a local grocery co-op. It was really nice, and I would have liked to look around more, but we still had a show tonight so I went as quickly as I could and was grateful for the 30 minutes that I got.

Here is my haul:


- Eldorado Vitamin Drink, Dragonfruit: It's like a Gatorade but made locally. I was fooled into buying it because the nutrition label said it was only 50 calories…but I realized later there were three servings in a 16oz bottle. I don’t like liars, or deceptive marketing.
- TSK Blue Corn and Mulberry Granola: They had about five different flavors, all of which sounded amazing, but this was the most unique and also the lowest in fats and sugars. Won't get to eat this until I get to Orlando.
- Bluefly Tulsi-flavored Sparkling Water: They also had Lavender, Rosemary, and Peppermint. Tulsi is a type of basil, I think used in Thai cooking normally. This company is an herb farm in NM and does not ship these beverages, so you can ONLY get them in New Mexico. I tried it last night and it was very good! Kind of...minty and peppery? I don't know but I liked it so much I went back for another can later in the week. Very good stuff :)
- Local Beef Jerky: It's buried in that pile, it's just locally-made peppered beef jerky. Always a good travel food.
- Bean Stalk Vegan Protein Sticks: Made from soybeans, I haven't seen these before so got one of each flavor to try. Fairly high in protein, low in sodium and fat.
- Spelt Blueberry Coconut Scone: VERY good! They had many kinds of scone, sweet and savory, and it was difficult to choose just one. Delicious with lots of great textures. I cut it in half and ate half for breakfast, instead of oatmeal on Friday.

The sound check and show were fine. This backstage is really weird and maze-like.
On top of that...pardon me, there's a MORGUE??


We looked but did not find it. Mystery.

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Back to Friday. I slept super poorly not surprisingly, then got up very early so I could have time for coffee and half a scone before spending the day with Kayle and her family. I cleaned up the hotel room as much as possible and cornered all of my things in the closet and on the bed. Last night I left a work outfit and some snacks at the theatre in case I end up having to run to work over the next three shows, and might pick up some toiletries while we're out today in case I have to shower at the theatre too (this hotel doesn't have mini-bottles.) Isn't visiting with family during work hours FUN!

Kayle picked me up. She has a sort of station wagon thing, and with her tall husband and three small children all using car seats plus their stroller, diaper bags, etc, the only space available for a third adult is wedged between the trunk and the back of the rear seats, sideways, with your knees under your chin. We took turns wedged into that space all day, starting with Kayle's husband (who is WAY too tall to have to sit back there!) and with Kayle taking majority of the time back there, to her motion sickness detriment.

Anyway, we got to Old Town and enjoyed looking around. Here's some ABQ history for you: at some point there was a misspelling on some railway ledger or something(?) and for a while "Albuquerque" was spelled "AlbuRquerque"!
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Skylar, Kayle's husband, grew up here and has lots of childhood memories, including the house that his dad built with his own hands (the family went there and took pics before they picked me up.) In Old Town we started off exploring the tourist shops, all with turquoise and silver jewelry and canned goods and clothing and such. Eventually we got to San Felipe de Neri basilica, which is a historic church founded in 1706. You can read more about it HERE if you like.
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Behind the church was a sculpture garden so we checked that out too.
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When lunch time rolled around we went to Mary & Tito’s Cafe, a NM institution since I think the 70s. The kids were pleased with tacos, buttered tortillas, and refried beans. I had carne adovada, which is pork slow-cooked in NM red chiles, served with both red and green chile sauces and rice and beans. It was quite spicy, I was sweating, but man it was good! Smoky and tender.
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After lunch they took me to a small market called The Fruit Basket. You walk in and are hit with the pungent, spicy smell of dried peppers! This place dries their own New Mexico red chiles, and stews their own green chiles as well. They had lots of other tasty treats, like candies and dried nuts and fruits and produce and all kinds of spices.
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The stewed green chiles were in Ziplock bags near the counter, still warm. The red ones were in huge bulk bags stacked in piles.
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I didn't need anything but bought some lollipops for the kids and enjoyed the sights and smells :)

We drove from there to a park and nature preserve where we could walk right up to the Rio Grande. It was pretty low right now, but there were flood plains with big rows of netting to help catch debris (I didn’t take a pic of those and should have.)
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There was a little info/activity center with fun things for the kids to do. We checked that out and signed the guestbook before leaving.
Kayle's family at the Rio Grande:
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Kayle got me back to the hotel in exactly enough time to get a rushed shower, before Raven was at the door with her luggage. I got her settled in and we attempted to find dinner (near the theatre at my insistence, I am selfish like that, wanting to be able to get to work on time.) We got to the restaurant at 6pm, ordered a sandwich and salad…and 50 minutes later still did not have our food.

So I got to abandon my sister at the restaurant, run across the street to the theatre, and enjoy a dinner of stale bagels and granola bars before playing the evening show. It wasn’t Raven’s fault, but if I hadn’t put food at the theatre for myself in case of exactly this, I would’ve had to perform the show hungry. Now think if this had happened at a restaurant 20 minutes away! I would have been f*cked for getting to work on time AND for getting to eat. But when I try to explain that this is why I'm so neurotic about sticking around the theatre, or having a time buffer, it’s like I'm describing some wildly foreign concept. If there’s no time/distance buffer and something goes wrong, I could lose my job. But I guess that’s on me!!!

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Saturday, I slept barely at all. We Ubered to Frontier restaurant, another NM institution that’s been around since the 70s and is right on campus, close to the theatre. It was slam-packed in there so we queued up. It was very loud and chaotic, every time you turned around there was someone carrying full plates or drinks and there were many near-collisions happening. There was barely room to turn around, so many people in there. I could feel myself getting really anxious from sheer noise and amount of people.

The food came out quickly but I was so obviously anxious and flustered that everyone asked if I was ok and I wasn’t even sure how to answer. But I felt better when we were sitting together, because it felt less claustrophobic. I guess I hate or struggle with a feeling of being trapped in “herds” of people, and this felt like that. Similar to being packed into a tight line at airport security, or on a hot crowded jet bridge with a bunch of screaming kids.

Anyway, I got a big cinnamon bun and we cut it up to share. It was very good! Sticky gooey :)
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Afterward we walked around the campus, the kids ran around and explored sculptures and stairwells and the big duck pond in the center of campus.

Eventually Kayle wanted to return to Old Town but I opted out, planning to take Raven to the food co-op because I thought she’d like it. But she wasn't feeling well and Ubered back to the hotel to lie down. After making sure she got back safely I went to the co-op myself, had a small snack, and walked to the theatre for the first show of the day.

Kayle and Elliotte came to that show (her husband stayed with the younger kids.) There was a 20-minute hold for technical issues, and since Raven texted to say she was feeling better I asked her to order us some dinner for pickup from a restaurant of her choice, to eat at the theatre. I’m sure that’s inconsiderate of me but my dinner break was now only about 1.5 hours instead of 2, and after yesterday’s experience I didn’t want to risk a sit-down dinner with “only” an hour and a half to eat and get to work.

The show went well other than the hold. Elliotte managed to stay for the whole show, and they came down to the pit afterward to say hello.
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We said our goodbyes, and from there I met Raven and we ate tamales and some local chocolates at a bench on campus. This was of course a very quick dinner, so I felt guilty that I’d insisted on takeout instead of a sit-down, but the food was good and we got to enjoy fresh air and conversation anyway.

Very soon it was time for the next show, which Raven attended, and there was no hold thankfully. She had fun, and I was glad. We rode back to the hotel in one of our company rental cars with Joel (trumpet) and Victoria (flute) so Raven got to meet and chat with them.

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Sunday, Raven was up at 5:30 for her flight so of course I was up too. When her Uber was almost here we hugged and parted ways. I grabbed a coffee in the lobby and started packing back I the room, but realized Raven had left a coat behind. So now I must ship her coat to her, making sure to make room for it in my luggage since today is a Sunday. I’m sure I can throw out some of my own things to make sure my luggage is not overweight, or carry her coat on the plane.

I decided to do laundry, and it turns out the laundry is at a sister hotel behind our hotel, so I got to take a nice long early morning walk to get there. Typed most of this post up while waiting for my clothes.

After that Kayle had wanted to “hang out” at the hotel…not sure what that meant and was prepared to shut down any attempt at “hanging out” with three small children in my room with my half-packed suitcase lying tantalizingly in the middle of the floor. But it didn’t matter because 8:45 rolled around and she wasn’t here, and my friend Lauren was en route to pick me up. So, we called it off and I gave Kayle a texted goodbye.

Lauren has been my longest friend; we’ve known each other for almost 30 years. We don’t always see eye to eye but so what, who’s compatible 100% of the time?


That’s her dog Coco, eyeing our eggs Benedict (her husband made them for us.) We ate the delicious runny eggs, crispy ham, chewy English muffins, and homemade hollandaise and talked and talked about parts of each others’ lives that we’ve missed. Our mothers both died when we were young, and that has always been a strong common thread tying our relationship. We talked about how strange it is to be turning 40, to be getting close to the age that our mothers were when they passed. I think that Lauren looks a little rough, so I asked about her health but she didn’t seem to want to talk about it right now. I hope that in the coming weeks we will be able to get a little more one on one time. A few hours at breakfast isn’t really enough to hash things out on the deeply personal level that our long friendship deserves.


My voice was horse by the time we parted ways, we talked so much. She invited me to breakfast tomorrow morning, but I had to decline mostly because I am just so tired, and even though I care deeply for my friend I have a low social battery and it’s at the limit this week. We promised again to FaceTime in the near future. And she dropped me off at the theater on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

Here's a photo of us as innocent bebes in the 90s, and the selfie we took today. Not much has changed, tbh!



Our first My Fair Lady show went all right, although something is up with our conductor. I think the altitude finally got him. Not surprisingly he called out for the second show, so our assistant conductor took over for that one. I hope he is OK.

Between shows I stayed at the theater because there wasn’t really time to go back to the hotel. Drank a cup of coffee to try and stay awake, and ate the dinner I packed for myself, chatted with people. Pretty soon we'll all be going our separate ways. Hard to think about.

The evening show was just fine. We packed up quickly, and back at the hotel I packed and went to bed just as soon as I could, feeling like my brain was melting and my battery was dead. I love my family, but this was definitely not the best city for visits for many reasons including a very tight show schedule, a lot of physically demanding changes (elevation, dryness), and multiple friends and family groups visiting at once, making it difficult to make sure everyone got as much time as I could give while still doing my job to the best of my ability. I talked about how I felt with each family group, and tried to explain why I was having such anxiety over their visits this particular time. I'm not sure if I got across, but I think so, somewhat.

I just hope next time there will be a little more consideration for my work schedule, and taking into account that between shows I have to do things like get a shower, eat, warming up my instrument for the next show, etc. Additionally, maybe a little empathy for what being "at work" means for an entertainer. I am not hourly and my "free time" is NOT time off. I am literally in these cities TO WORK. I have been contracted to be in this place as part of ACTIVELY WORKING. That means that if I am called to do anything at all in the middle of the day--a last-minute rehearsal, or a covid test, or a PR event, etc--I am AT WORK and HAVE to go do it. Everything else--sightseeing, family visits, personal plans--I can do those if and when there is "free time", but I am still AT WORK and it still has to come secondary to that.

Anyway. Goodbye, Albuquerque. Hello, layoff.

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Tomorrow I'm flying to Orlando. There were no early flights, so I won't arrive until 8pm or so. It'll be good to see Jameson, cook him some meals and clean up and give him what support I can as he works through the emotional aftermath of that Disney interview.

After this layoff we'll have our last four cities: Spokane, Eugene, Yakima, and Modesto.
I'm excited because I've never been to any of these, but also sad because it signals the end of tour life once again, and a return to feeling worthless at some low-paying job. But I will do my best no matter where I am.

In closing, a photo of Kayle and I in Old Town.
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taz_39: (Default)
What a thing, to wake up and realize you have the entire day to yourself!

I could stay in bed all day if I wanted to.
And this is why I shouldn't complain that next week there won't be a moment to myself.
Yet I'll complain anyway :p Ungracious of me. But frankly, I've spent my entire life working to avoid forced social interactions, and interactions in general, and that doesn't change just because of the situation.

Anyway, I rolled out of bed at 8:30am CT...which is 9:30am ET, which is therefore pretty late for ME.
Breakfast, computer time, a little packing because tomorrow we fly to Amarillo for a one-nighter.

And otherwise had a very lazy afternoon. Was supposed to carpool with two others to do laundry, but they backed out. I used a laundry service earlier in the week so wasn't in a super-bad fix, but there will be zero time to do laundry next week even if a washer/dryer are available. Taking an Uber by myself in Chicago would be $30 round trip. A laundry service would be $40 for same-day turnaround. I could walk four miles round trip in the cold and wind to the nearest laundromat. I could take the subway, which only gets me partway there and the stinkiness of which is ironically partly why I have laundry to do today, lol. Or I could wait until we get to Amarillo and fight with at least 30 other people in our cast for the single washer and dryer in the one-nighter hotel.

When there is no apparent "right" option, I like to turn up the heat in the ol' brain pan.
I figured, "It's the Monday after St. Patrick's...it's probably pretty slow today for a lot of hotels. Why don't I just call around and see who will let me use their laundry room?"

Scored on the very first call. A Hyatt just two blocks away said I could come use their laundry room if I showed up in the next 30 minutes! I packed my bag and walked over, and the kind woman at the front desk let me in with her key. So I spent 90 minutes quietly reading Dune and getting a chore out of my face. Not bad! Walked to Target afterward for a yogurt and to get some steps in.

Back at the hotel I packed some and filled out several job applications. Was it an exciting Chicago adventure, no, but it was a quiet day and I appreciated it. I tried the soy milk banana bubble tea from 88 Marketplace.


It had a lovely creamy yellow color, and the banana flavor was gentle and not too artificial. It wasn't as rich as dairy milk, but was yummy anyway. The "boba" was made from konjac which is not nearly as chewy, satisfying, or flavorful as traditional tapioca boba. I know why they used konjac: it adds virtually no calories (a single tapioca pearl can have up to 14 calories.) But the texture was lame and they're visually kinda blech too.

(If those were tapioca pearls there would be 114 calories in that spoon.)

Still, grateful that I got to try it!

Speaking of trying things, by the time I got back to the hotel and had my laundry put away it was time to walk to Kyuramen with our drummer, Laura, for our last meal in Chicago!

Kyuramen is a chain, mostly located in Asia but with a few locations in US cities. In fact there's one in Orlando, and I hope to take Jameson there after tour is over! The restaurant has a "trendy" and very "Instagrammable" design, most notably a tiered honeycomb system of dining booths which opens up more floor space.

(photo courtesy Eater Chicago)

We were seated in a different area with screened and curtained booths.
(I think some Japanese restaurants have booths like this, and they're recreating that?)

(photo courtesy Eater Chicago)

Laura and I both got Thai tea (I had to get mine without cream, sigh) and sipped and chatted, just about generic stuff like audio issues in the pit and plans post-tour and what our families are up to. We both ordered the omurice, hers topped with a pork cutlet.

Omurice is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of fried rice topped with an omelette. When Japanese people eat it at home it is not complicated...you can use leftover fried rice, make a basic egg omelette, put the omelette on top of the rice, and put some ketchup on top. Sometimes the rice is wrapped up inside the omelette. It's a sort of homey economy dish, equivalent to the American Hamburger Helper or tuna casserole.

But omurice can also be made in a very special (and difficult) way. CLICK HERE to see a short video of someone making an omurice. Basically you have to cook the outside of the omelette so that it's thin and delicate, while keeping the inside par-cooked, soft, and runny. You do this by working rapidly with chopsticks while carefully controlling the heat on the egg, especially at the point where you have to flip and seal the omelette, enclosing the runny center.

Once you have your omelette the difficulty isn't over; you then have to place it ever-so-carefully on top of the fried rice, so as not to rip the thin outer egg. Then the egg is dramatically cut open for serving, revealing the perfect interior. The whole thing is doused in curry sauce or demi glace (or you can just put ketchup on it.)

Here's my omelette getting cut open and drowned in beef demi glace, then sprinkled with nori flakes.
(CLICK HERE to watch)

Here's the omelette afterward. It may not be the prettiest thing, but MAN is it good. Warm and salty-sweet, giving that same soothing and nostalgic feeling you'd get from a hearty bowl of chicken noodle soup. I can see why this is a popular comfort food in Japan.


The egg was incredible for texture. It was SO thin and silky, like...well, silk! The par-cooked inside was cooked a bit further from the heat of the sauce, but was still incredibly smooth and soft. It went nicely with the hard-cooked rice and veggies underneath. The rice also had an amazing flavor that we both exclaimed over; it's only fried rice cooked with ketchup, Worcestershire, and veggies, but they also added finely chopped mushrooms that I think added a lot of earthy flavor, and the chicken pieces were strongly marinated and really savory.

The whole thing tasted way better than I had expected. Honestly I thought this was going to be about appreciating the technique that goes into making the dish, and then eating a basic fried rice with eggs on top. But no, in addition to the technique involved it was also very delicious and special. I'm glad we made time to try it!

We walked back, hurrying because it was windy and cold.
The rest of my night was packing, typing up this post, and reading more Dune.
It's been a VERY long time since a book held my interest as strongly as this :)

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Tuesday morning, was up early to have breakfast and finish packing.

Loaded onto the bus for the airport around 10am. Bye, Chicago. Thanks for everything.
(the river is still green!)


The flights were on time and nothing to report except that I had to buy airport food for lunch (but for the other meal I did my nonperishables.) We got to Amarillo around 7:30, and I Ubered to a grocery. It's not ideal but we have a five-hour bus ride to Albuquerque, and the only possible rest stop is a TA with a Subway and NOTHING else, and there are SIXTY of us. The grocery stores in Amarillo are disappointing at best, but I got basic nonperishables.

Today, Jameson found out that he did not get the job with Disney.
I can't fathom how devastated he must feel. I wish I were there to distract him...to take him bar hopping, or out with some of his friends, or to a show...SOMETHING. But I also know from personal experience that he needs to work through the hurt of rejection, and have a lot of feelings, before he can start thinking positively about what comes next. I'm glad there's a layoff coming up so I can be home and we can talk about things, or I can cook some nice meals for him or get him out of the house. But I don't know if that'll be enough to keep him from falling into a depression or a funk over this.

It was not a small thing. He's worked so hard. And he's been rejected by them again, and again, and again.
I suspect that after this, he'll finally start looking away from Disney. It was a big hope for him, a dream job. But frankly there are so many other employers, other companies out there across the US, that would absolutely see value in Jameson's skills sets and be able to put them to good use (for good pay.) We will see what happens next, but for today it's working through disappointment and very difficult feelings.

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Wednesday I was up around 8 and had breakfast, did meal planning, made overnight oats for tomorrow's breakfast, applied for jobs. Partway through the morning I picked up two bagels from a local shop called The Bagle Place.
These will be my Travel Bagels. One on the left is butterscotch, one on the right is honey almond.


Although it was sunny and 70°F out I stayed inside. I was in a bad mood, on Jameson's behalf and on my own behalf, for having to hunt for low-paying work again. It's important to remind myself that if I had a high-paying, full time job I probably wouldn't be able to have tour adventures. That's the trade off.

When it was time I packed dinner and walked to the theatre. Sunny and warm, I was almost sweating by the time I got there.

The building is a convention center complex which reminded me a lot of the ice hockey arenas where the circus used to play. The acoustics were like an ice hockey arena too: boomy and loud. But we made do. It was a decent audience and the show went quickly.

And that’s one night in Amarillo.

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Thursday we leave very early, but we also get to Albuquerque in the early afternoon. With any luck our rooms will be ready so I can see if mine will be ok for Raven and I to share, or if I’ll need to get her her own. And we have a show that night. And I have to check on Kayle’s tickets for Saturday. And bring an extra set of work clothes and deodorant to the theatre in case I get trapped on an outing and can’t make it back to the hotel before a show. And remember not to fully unpack because I need to make sure Raven has enough room. And we have a show tomorrow night. And I need to leave a key at the front desk for Raven. And see if the hotel has an airport shuttle. And, and…

(…and my selfish Albuquerque adventure--if our rooms are ready when we arrive tomorrow--will be to visit La Montana co-op!)
taz_39: (Default)
**This is a long post and if you're reading this in a Friends Feed/on DW there is a cut for the 88 Marketplace part.**

I woke to thunderstorms early Thursday morning. I'd planned to get up early and do grocery errands anyway, but was hoping the rain might let up by the time I was ready to head out.

It did, so I walked back to Eataly to get another bag of mezzaluna for the band, choosing a pistachio-filled bag this time. Also got them a bag of soft fruit gummies (texture similar to Sunkist Fruit Gems.) Then since Whole Paycheck was nearby I walked there and spent the rest of a gift card on supplementary veggies and proteins for the weekend.

Back at the hotel I got dressed in my only nice outfit to go to Jinsei Motto, then walked to the theatre to drop off the treats at the pit, then walked to the restaurant. It was small and not very busy, just a few people sitting at the bar. I was seated right away, and was the only person there for the lunch omakase...so it felt VERY exclusive.

On the way in you could see the dry-aging cabinet, with beautiful tuna steaks waiting to be sliced.


Here's the menu so you can follow along with me! Things with asterisks were for the premium option, which I did not take because I didn't think I could eat that much today.


I chose a glass of Amabuki black rice sake, which not only had a lovely rose color but also a fruity, floral, and nutty flavor.


The first five nigiri, served to me one by one by the chef:
- Sea bream with citrus and sea salt


- Ora king salmon, aged 8 days, with fresh grated ginger
- Ora king salmon, aged 8 days, seared, with marinade and chives


- "Hiramasa" kingfish, with a mildy spicy and citrus-y seasoning (I forget what the chef called it but it was awesome)
- "Kanpachi" amberjack with grated cucumber and sesame


The chef handed me each piece individually immediately after making them, and I had a moist towelette in a bowl to wipe my fingertips after each piece. I asked if photos were OK and he was totally cool with it. The vibe was very chill, probably because it was dead in there; the servers came over to chat, and we all ended up talking about where we were from, traveling, the commute for them today in the rain (my chef rode his bike 20 miles, in the wet cold!!), all sorts of things. I asked some questions about each piece of nigiri, or commented on the flavors (for example I'd never had aged fish before and exclaimed over how rich and smooth the texture was.)

The next five pieces:

- "Hotate" scallop with black volcanic salt and lime zest. Scallops are one of few foods that I consistently do not like, but I didn't say anything because I've never had RAW scallops, and wanted to give myself a chance to like it. And I did! It had a smooth, soft texture and the flavors of lime and earthy salt were incredible. The reason I hate cooked scallops is because they have a texture like greasy, nasty meat gristle. This was NOTHING like that.


- "Akami" lean bluefin tuna with morel mushroom
- "Chutoro" medium-fatty tuna with fresh ginger


- "Unagi" grilled eel with fried shallot. I love grilled eel and this was fire-grilled, so it was wonderfully crunchy and smoky.
- "Tamago" sweet Japanese omelette with honey


Each bite was perfect; not the huge nigiri that you get at a typical restaurant, but a perfectly mouth-sized bite that I didn't have to unhinge my jaw to eat. You're supposed to pop each one in your mouth whole, and I had no trouble doing that. I felt perfectly full after ten pieces, the kind of full where you feel refreshed and energized, not tired.

The sake was absolutely wonderful and went well with each piece of fish no matter what kind it was.
And the simple citrus, herbal, salt, and spice seasonings on each nigiri were so delicate, balanced, and enhanced the unique flavor of each piece of seafood. This truly was an experience!

My favorite bites were the seared aged salmon, and the scallop. The aging process made the fish rich and smooth, and actually made it less briny/fishy somehow. I was amazed at what a difference it made to the flavor and texture of salmon. And in addition to being happy to discover that I enjoy raw scallop, the lime and volcanic salt were such a unique flavor combo and I absolutely loved it.

In closing, this adorable tiny nigiri and green tea that were hiding in the corner near my seat. Cute little hidden art, I see you!


I thanked everyone and left a large tip (there was only $7 left on the gift card after a 25% tip and it was so slow, I felt they should have it)
I walked back to the hotel where I relaxed, typed this up, watched anime, and waited for my laundry to be returned (it was dropped off right at 5pm!)

The evening show was good, we had a guest in the pit who had formerly been an MD for some production of Cats. OF COURSE I messed up my small trombone solo while we have a visiting MD. Of f*cking course! I was so annoyed with myself. During intermission I was huffy backstage, and suddenly a local stagehand popped out of the Trap Room and gestured for me to "come here." I did, and she handed me this small magnet:


Wow! It's....exactly what I needed. Thank you Mysterious Trap Room Woman.
Sometimes I think the universe just GETS me.

After the show there was a meet-and-greet at a nearby bar with the cast/crew of Pretty Woman, another Crossroads show that's playing a theatre right next to ours this week. Their show ended first, but for some reason we all got there before them?? Eileen (French horn) and I went together, did not drink alcohol, and agreed to leave by 11pm at the latest, neither of us being interested in such a crowded noisy scene.

I almost got a Coke but then Eileen said something about a Shirley Temple, and it brought back memories from childhood. My mom was like me in that she never had a good, secure, high-paying job. After my parents got divorced, she worked at the nice bed-and-breakfast in our small town as a server. Sometimes I'd be dropped off at the restaurant for our visitation, and she'd have me wait in a small lounge/bar area while she finished her shift (the bartender would be preparing to OPEN the bar for the evening so no patrons were ever there.) I'd sit quietly at the bar and read a book, and the bartender would give me a small Shirley Temple sometimes.

I haven't had one since then. Until now.


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Friday, oh my goodness. Jameson's Disney interview was at 10am, 9am my time!!
I got up at 7am not only for that, but to get ready for a day in Chinatown!

Ate breakfast and wished Jameson luck, making sure to completely leave him alone when 10am rolled around.
Walked to the subway(?) train(?) and took the Orange line to near-Chinatown, then walked the last mile or so to reach 88 Marketplace as it's not in Chinatown proper.

I won't waste space here on what the building looks like; it's very unassuming and you can look it up online if you're curious. The basement level is a housewares store that didn't open until 10. The level above that is some restaurants (bubble tea, hot pot, etc) and a knick-knacks and souvenir shop, and some Japanese-style vending and gashapon machines. Then you go up an escalator to reach the grocery and the food court.

Forgive me, I didn't take many pictures of the food court. I avoided it, to thus avoid temptation. But they had a bakery with everything you'd see in any Asian bakery (sweet bean buns, custard buns, pork floss buns, mochi donuts, etc); a chilled dessert area with custards and roll cakes and puddings; a seafood and sushi bar; a street food stand; a BBQ/Peking duck stand; a hot pot/noodle stand; a liquor store; and probably other stuff that I'm forgetting or didn't see.

It was a normal Asian grocery, but with a LOT of product. I was in shelf-shock for a while, and spent the first 30 minutes in the front of the store walking dazed through rows and rows and rows of snacks, candies, cookies, pastries, crackers, tea cakes, jellies, chocolates, noodles, sodas, teas...you get the idea.



They even had an island dedicated to Disney snacks!! Like, ASIAN Disney snacks!!


The produce was behind all of the snacky things. Their produce was nice, but there was not the selection you'd see at a large 99 Ranch or H-Mart. This store seems more focused on shelf-stable goods. That said, what produce they had was fresh and lovely, and there were big meat and seafood counters in the back of the store against the walls, and of course dairy and eggs and all that.



I didn't go to aisles where I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything: the freezer aisle, sauce aisle, canned/pickled things aisle, etc. No point torturing myself. Plus, most of what I wanted to get was souvenirs for family. So like a typical Caucasian tourist I wove up and down the aisles of snacks, shelf stable goods, teas, and drinks to find gifts to send to people I care about.

I like to look for interesting food items that I've never seen before. Here are some:

Dragon fruit noodles! Dragon fruit doesn't have much flavor, so I wonder if it's added just for color.


A huge sheet of dried squid. Most Asian grocery stores have dried squid but I've never seen a PLANK like this.


This porridge looks colorful, I wonder what it tastes like!


A bag of premium kumquat, each one individually wrapped, and much larger than those I've seen in American stores. Look at the price...ouch!


A peach drink with chunks of real peaches inside. I especially like the design on the bottle, which is reminiscent of the foam netting that is wrapped around fruit for transport.


Chicken floss meat buns. Perhaps if you've never encountered Asian "meat floss" before, you're thinking, "GROSS!" But let me tell you: pork floss is DELICIOUS. It's sweet and savory, crispy and also melts in your mouth. So I did buy a box of these. The nutrition was good, and I wanted to give it a try.


Ok NOW we're getting weird. "Explosive Juice Cakes." What on earth...? I didn't look at the ingredients but found out later they're usually filled with a lining of mochi + some sort of fruit or nut paste. So they're probably pretty good.


Sometimes things get lost in translation, and it's good to avoid judging (certainly a laugh is justified here, but to make a scene or curl your nose over another culture's food, out of your own ignorance...that's what's GROSS.)

I found this drink on an endcap and was intrigued by what looked like a big olive-shaped black seed inside, and a whitish filament or fungus running through the whole drink. Reminded me of the bird nest beverage that I tried at another grocery. But my translation app wouldn't tell me what this was, so I didn't get it this time. More research needed.


Fully cooked duck heads, ready-to-eat! There was a whole series of fully cooked meats from this company which included whole chickens, other parts of the duck (neck, breast, etc), beef tripe, pork belly and loins and ears, chicken feet, etc. All were stamped "Product of USA." I looked for one that I might be able to buy but in general the portions were too big for just me, and the sodium too high.


While I was shopping Jameson texted to say his interview was over, that they'd asked many of the same questions over again, and that they'd be in touch for the third interview (which, I wonder if that's where they make a job offer?) He said he felt kind of "down" or disheartened afterward...but we talked about it and figured it's probably because he had TWO WEEKS of lead-up time to stress and speculate and make a bigger deal out of it in his head...and then it ended up being just a normal interview that was over in like 15 minutes. And it perhaps felt sudden, or discouragingly short. I don't know. The point is, he got through it well, and hopefully the only thing left to do is get the verdict. Personally, I was glad the actual interview wasn't nearly as stressful as the hype he'd built up for himself.

I killed an additional 30 minutes retracing my steps in the snack aisle, putting a few things back (Orange-flavored Kit-Kats because you can order them online) and picking up different things that I hadn't noticed on the initial "aisle shock" part of shopping. At checkout, I was shocked that I'd only spent $75!! That's about a third of what I spent at Eataly.

Here is what I ended up with for myself:


- Chicken floss buns: These were SWEET, which was strange, but they weren't bad. Michael (assistant MD, keys) says they taste just like a chicken pot pie without any vegetables.


- Pumpkin corn porridge: Delicious. A thin soup with sweet corn, chunks of orange squash, kidney beans, and rice. It was sweet but not overly so (probably had some artificial sweetener.) I'd eat it again.


- Grapefruit Jasmine tea: The flavor was wonderful, floral and citrus, but it was WAY too sweet. There was some sugar but mostly Stevia (I couldn't read the label but it was clearly Stevia.)
- Hawthorne soda: This was very good! And no artificial sweeteners either. It tasted a lot like sorrel drink.
- Soy milk banana boba: Trying this on Monday
- Scallop and soy sauce Pretz: These were really good, because how do you distinguish scallop-flavor from any seafood flavor? So it was fish and soy-flavored delicate tiny pretzel sticks. Really tasty :)
- Dried sea bass snack: I finally have to admit that I'm done buying Asian jerkied fish. It always tastes good...but it is RANK. I could smell this sealed across the hotel room. It tasted good, very very very fishy, mildly sweet and spicy and salty. But no more jerkied/dried fish. It is just so stinky that once the package is opened it's overwhelmingly fishy and stinks up the whole room.
- Hi-Chew premium melon gummies: These were a creamy cantaloupe flavor, very good indeed. They do have milk powder so I have to be careful eating them but it's worth it. Texture is still just like a regular Hi-Chew lol.
- Melon-flavored toothpaste: Will try this at some point in the future when my current toothpaste runs out.
- Fig-flavored Oreos: Yummy! They taste like Oreos, what's not to love. Can't really taste the fig, the chocolate cookie overwhelms the cream.
- Sakura(?) gum: Strongly tastes of cherry, and the flavor lasts a surprising time. I added a piece or two to my family gift bags.

Here's what I got for family:


- Scallion radish rice cakes: These were awesome! They were sweet and savory umami, absolutely delicious. Glad I didn't shun them because the flavors sounded a little weird, these are so good that I'd love to get them again just for me!
- Brown sugar twists: Really good, super hard/crunchy twisted dough brushed with a brown sugar glaze. They are not overly sweet, would be really good with tea.
- Mango gummies/jellies: Did not try these but I've heard they're really good!
- Egg yolk crackers: Loved these too! They're delicate and addictive, umami but leaning more salty than sweet, with a beautiful crisp texture. I could easily eat a big bag of these.
- Plum drink (herbal tea): Didn't try, will wait for family reviews.
- Tom & Jerry “cheese” gummies for the kids (These do indeed seem to be cheese-flavored! Did not try)
- “Lottery” mystery assorted candies for the kids (did not try)
- S’mores kits for the kids (Did not try)

These items may seem less generous than what I got myself, but remember that my family is also getting treats from Eataly which were far more expensive and which I did NOT buy for myself. Also, I didn't buy them drinks or jars of things because heavy items cost more to ship, bottles can break or leak, and larger items means a larger box and more difficulty packing. Sorry to be selfish but judge away because I could also choose not to send anything at all.

I went back downstairs to the basement to check out the homewares store, and so glad I did! Asian homewares are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and CHEAP. There was so much that I wanted to get!


In the back was a big section of hair accessories, and another for stationery, both of which were SO TEMPTING. I badly wanted to get adorable barrettes for Kayle's girls! But I felt shy to try and guess what they might like. Avoided the stationery too because I'd definitely want some sort of lovely expensive pen or notepad...nope, don't even look! I did pick up one can-shaped tupperware with a sealing lid. I had an American tupperware version at the start of tour but it broke pretty quickly; the Asian ones are made from a less brittle plastic so I'm hoping it'll last longer.

After two hours of going up and down aisles and picking and choosing I was tired and hungry. I walked 1/2 mile to MCCB (Modern Chinese Cook Book) in Chinatown proper, where I had hoped to get a whole grilled tilapia with a savory, peppery pork and vegetable sauce. But the server deterred me from that because each fish is two pounds!! That's enough for 4-5 people! I asked if there was anything he'd recommend for one person, and he kind of cringed. I asked about another fish dish, which he said was "somewhat better" size-wise, so I ordered it.

I also got an order of spicy pork dumplings, which is one of the items they're famous for. These were absolutely incredible. They were spicy but not overly so, the seasoning was perfect, the meat inside was juicy, the wrapper was SO delicate and lightly chewy. DAMN.


I ate four of those and packed the rest to take home (ate them for dinner.)

My entree was this HUGE bowl of Sichuan peppercorn tilapia with bok choy, bean sprouts, celery, woodear mushrooms, misc peppers and chilis, cilantro, garlic, other herbs and spices, and a little bowl of rice on the side.


I had never had Sichuan peppercorn before, but have heard that it causes a "tingling and numbing" sensation. My first bite felt like I had licked a battery! I'm sure my eyes must have bugged out with surprise. It felt like an electric current in my tongue and throat, or like pop rocks with warm heat like you get from ginger. Apparently there is a compound in Sichuan peppers that triggers a nerve reaction, and that's what causes the sensation, not the actual "spiciness." Interesting!!

And in addition to the sensation, the food was DELICIOUS. It was a light and tangy broth with a hint of pickled things and citrus. The mushrooms were chewy and wonderful, the fish tender and melt-in-your-mouth flaky and soft. It was herbal and tingly and flavorful; I ate more than intended and enjoyed it very much.

The server packed up my leftovers in a massive tupperware (I looked around and everyone had massive servings whether eating alone or in a group, so I guess that's just how this place is) and I struggled out the door with my bags of souvenirs and still-steaming food. I'd intended to stop at Chiu Quon Bakery, the oldest bakery in Chicago's Chinatown, but my phone battery was dying and I was already at my limit for what I could carry. You can get a good steamed bun anywhere, right?

Rode the train back to the hotel and crashed, then took some time to separate out the souvenirs and try a few.
It was a huge privilege to spend the day in this supermarket, and eat Sichuan food for the first time in Chicago's Chinatown.
Soon tour will be over, so I'm appreciating these moments and experiences even more than usual.

The evening show was...ok. A lot of things went wrong. I'll probably do a Friends Only post about it. We got through it all right, but all of us went to bed hoping that Saturday will not be as stressful as Friday was.

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Saturday I was extra-tired and slept extra-long. Stomping around Chinatown will do that to ya.

I should have gotten up early to get my gift boxes shipped, but was so tired and we had two shows to do. So I had a slow morning instead, and posted in our company chat about needing a small box or two...and someone actually did give me one, complete with bubble wrap inside! My hero! It'll save me buying a box anyway.

Both shows were all right. Between shows I ate leftover "tingly fish" lol. There was so much, I brought the rest to the theatre and offered it to people. No one else wanted any :(

I can't think of anything special that happened, except that after the second show we had St. Patrick's-themed SNOTS (Acronym for Saturday Night [something] Theater Shots) which were green jello shots with a bit of whipped cream and a gummy rainbow on top. I didn't take one but they looked cute!

Also, the river was dyed green! It was chaos downtown, tourists everywhere, so I didn't even try to go see it (the river is the opposite direction of the theatre) but our drummer got a short clip (I stole a screenshot so her text is on the image, sorry):


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Sunday I got up early because after trolling around online, I'd found one single UPS store that was supposedly open on Sunday!! I packed up all of my souvenirs and got there...and they were closed. ARGH.

But! As I was googling around to see if any other options at all were available, the lights came on and a woman unlocked the door. She'd been caught in the Saint Patrick's chaos and was running late, that's all. Lucky! Because I ship very often with UPS all of my addresses are stored in their system, so it took no time at all to get everything labeled and added to the outgoing pile. Nice! One less chore for the Golden Day.

Instead of going back to the hotel I found a local bagel place but there was a line around the block(!) so I went to Gotham Bagels instead (a chain but a small one and they make their own bagels in-house.) Got my Travel Bagel for Tuesday, and got my steps in for today.

We had our last show at 1pm. The streets were a lot quieter than they'd been on Saturday; I think a lot of people need to fly home today. We had a good audience. After the show I snuck the souvenirs for Kayle's family and Raven into my mute bag, and brought my mutes to the hotel with me to go in my luggage. They're bulky but a lot lighter than the souvenirs; this is all about luggage weight for the flight out of Chicago. When we get to Amarillo I'll swap everything back to normal.

And then...blessed NOTHING. Nothing to do this evening, nowhere to be.
I showered, put on pajamas, made a cup of hot tea, ate dinner eventually, watched Seven Deadly Sins.

Ah...the joy of introversion.

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It is now exactly one month until the end of this tour.

As always when this happens (what a blessing, to be able to say that!) I am wondering what happens next.
Will I get to go on another tour? Will I go back to the nursing home job? Will I be able to find full time work this time?

Tomorrow is our Golden Day. I was going to visit a museum but may instead make it a lazy, restful day because next week in Albuquerque I won't have a single day to myself for the whole week (family visiting and local friends too.) I'll do laundry, and maybe it's late enough to start applying for jobs. For dinner I want to get omurice with Laura (drummer.) If I feel up for an adventure I'll have one, but the truth is I've been to Chicago many times and have done quite a lot here over the years! It's OK to have a staycation :)
taz_39: (Default)
We didn't leave Kalamazoo until 11am, so there was plenty of time for a lovely slow morning.

The bus ride felt incredibly long, even though it was the shortest one of the week! It's because we wanted to be in Chicago so badly! And when we could see the city in the distance suddenly everyone was talking excitedly about their plans, where to eat, what to see and do. It was refreshing. This tour got off to such a rough start, and we've had so few extended stays anywhere. We needed this.


The hotel is the Allegro Sonesta, and it's a fancy old one, formerly a Bismark hotel built in the 1920s. As homage to that the decor is Deco-themed.


As with most inner city hotels, the room is small and has limited counter space and outlets. The ironing board will do time as a table for me this week. Because of the limited counter space I was forced to do some furniture rearranging before heading off to Eataly.

Elen (cellist) came with me, although I tried to deter her by essentially being cantankerous and saying I didn't want to socialize. She said she'd walk with me and then leave me to shop, and I agreed to this. We chatted and walked, and shared our worries about what will happen when tour ends. She broke her hand partway through tour and missed several weeks and THOUSANDS of dollars of income that she was depending on :( It is terrifying to lose work, plus, it's incredibly hard to get a basic job any more. We're constantly hearing how "No one is willing to work these days," but have any of the people saying that tried getting a job lately?? I am lucky if I get one interview for every 50 applications, that is NOT an exaggeration.

Anyway, we got to Eataly and I had the pleasure of seeing Elen gape at three floors of Italian awesomeness. I gave her vague directions for where things were likely to be (it's been years since I've been there after all) and we parted ways. I started on the ground floor, where there are grab-and-go cafes with pizza, sweet breads, Italian coffee, chocolates, prepackaged cookies/crackers/biscotti, and dessert pastries.



Near the checkout they tend to keep smaller items that make good gifts for shipping, so I started there and got many nice things for my siblings and their kids, stepmom, step-grandparents, and Jameson of course. Tiny jars of Italian honey; an herbal tea blend for Kate; strawberry-flavored chocolates; a packet of fruit chews for the kids; limoncello prepackaged pastries; a chocolate pistachio "cigar" for Jameson to hopefully "celebrate" good news, haha. And a bag of mezzaluna cookies/pastries for the band :) I wanted to get more savory items like maybe some special olive oils or spices...but those are SO EXPENSIVE. There wasn't a single truffle-adjacent item under $20!! Booo.

On the second floor were the sit-down restaurants, the huge wine department, meats and cheeses, sauces, and pastas fresh and dry.



I got everyone dry pasta last time, so only got some for my stepmom (she didn't get Eataly souvenirs at all last time.) Found a cured salami to send to people, even though it's made in the US I know people wouldn't buy it for themselves. Back on the ground floor I fretted over what to get for dinner. Everything always looks amazing and I want to try all of it! Eventually I settled on a slice of mushroom and a slice of margherita pizza. I checked out and everything was around $250, ouch, but also well worth it. None of my family has ever been to Chicago, and none of us has even a drop of Italian blood, so these are rare delicacies indeed for them. I have the privilege of being here, of being able to spend time and money here. I want to share that experience any way that I can.

Some of my haul to send to family:


It was almost dinner time so I heated and ate the mushroom pizza, it was VERY good and my favorite part was that it didn't depend on loads of cheese. There was some but it was tastefully applied, the mushrooms were so flavorful and the true star. I ended up eating half the margherita later...it was disappointingly bland. Eataly's pasta has NEVER been disappointing in any way, just sayin.

Since it was still early I decided to walk to the nearest Amazon GO store.
Amazon GO is a cashierless, "frictionless checkout" store. You enter using a credit card or your palm (if you have Amazon One), then pick up the items you want, and just leave. No scanning each item, no digging in pockets for card or cash. The store itself is very basic, it looks just like an airport convenience store. But the technology involved in being able to shop like this is FASCINATING, and I wanted the experience.

Here's a video I made of what it was like. It still feels quite strange to walk out of a store without interacting with someone, scanning the items, or proccessing some sort of payment. But I love it :)
(CLICK HERE to watch)

Also, please don't whine at me about jobs being lost to this. Our economy is changing so drastically that we're going to have to reevaluate what humans will be doing for work in the very near future, across many industries. Also, being an underpaid cashier at a convenience store is NO ONE'S dream job, and it does not pay enough for one adult to survive, much less a family. It's a desperation job at best. And as mentioned in conversation with Elen on the way to Eataly, people like us are applying for actual, available, open cashier positions...and not getting them. The purpose of cashierless checkout is to increase efficiency/time savings, and I am FOR that. We all waste YEARS' worth of time standing in line.

Anyway, I got to check out some extremely cool technology that is still very much in the testing phase. If this ever goes mainstream, grocery shopping will be SO much faster! Back at the hotel it was time to fully unpack and chill out for reals. Typed this post up and chatted with Jameson and my sisters, made plans for the week. It's good to be in one place for a while.

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I slept better than expected and enjoyed coffee, oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit in my hotel room.
Worked on some Foodie Finds, looked at and bookmarked some jobs. Worried about how I'm gonna get laundry done this week.

And walked to Russian Tea Time for lunch.

(2nd photo courtesy VOX)

It was slow, and I was seated immediately. This was a moderately upscale place, and even though I'd dressed nicely I felt worried about how...AUSTERE the vibe was. It made me worry about my table manners! But the servers were friendly and helpful with decision-making, which made things feel less stuffy and more friendly. I wanted to try their house-infused vodka but couldn't decide on a flavor. The server said she liked the horseradish one the best, so I was about to get that but she said the smallest pour you could get was 2oz. And a flight of THREE flavors was 3oz. So I mean...!

Beet, horseradish, and coriander. (On the menu the middle shot is tea, but they were happy to switch in the horseradish.)


From spending time with Russians in the circus, I know that you're not supposed to SIP vodka served this way. So I started with the coriander shot; smelled it and threw it back. "Будем здоровы!"
I was surprised at how smooth it was, no booze face at all, and the pickle was a great chaser. The beet shot smelled very good, so I DID sip that and was glad I did. It was sweet and earthy, complex, and it would have been a waste not to savor it.

I waited a solid 15 minutes to do the horseradish shot, hoping they'd bring my food out. I killed time texting pictures of the experience to Jameson, his parents, my siblings, etc, and chatting with them about how their day(s) were going. But in my peripheral vision I could see the servers hovering, like, waiting for me to finish so they could bring out my entree. Fine then: I smelled the shot (powerful horseradish smell!) and down the hatch. IT WAS SO GOOD. Spicy of course, but so flavorful and clean. Obviously would be excellent in a Bloody Mary, but also with charcuterie, or pumpernickel bread, lox, capers, olives...I was seriously impressed, and not just because I had a great buzz going :p

The minute I set the shot glass down my food came out (uh huh, that's what I thought.)
Grilled wild quail, mashed potatoes, polenta, arugula, stewed prunes, and raisins in a Madeira-wine berry sauce.


My goodness. I was worried about how to eat the quail but luckily a gentleman across the room had ordered the same thing, and I saw him picking up the leg and wing bones and eating them as you would wings, so I did that too. I've never had quail before today; it's very good, maybe like deeply marinated chicken thigh meat. Very flavorful. Everything else was fantastic too, with most things being savory and smoky and the sauce bringing a beautiful sweetness. And the portions were perfect.

They sell their infused vodkas in 375ml or 750ml bottles. I decided that Jameson NEEDED the horseradish vodka. He loves Bloody Marys, and nothing would be more perfect for that. I'll ship it with his Eataly and Chinatown treats.


On the way back to the hotel I stopped at Target for a few small things and to kill time and because the weather was shockingly nice (mid-60s, in Chicago, in early March!! Global warming indeed!) Then hydrated and relaxed until sound check at the Nederlander Theatre. Which is gorgeous. It was, of course, formerly a 1920s movie palace. (CLICK HERE to see my view from the pit)

Our cellist showed up with food poisoning, and had to call out (she was shaking it was so bad and kept having to leave to puke) so we got an emergency cellist named Mark. Poor guy had to sightread the book, but he did an absolutely excellent job! And Elen is ok, she hydrated and rested and last I heard was feeling much better, having gotten whatever-it-was out of her system.

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Wednesday we had two matinees and they were earlier than usual (1pm and 7pm) so there was not time for adventures. I booked a laundry service and they said they'd pick up by 1pm, but they weren't there by 12:30 so I had to leave my dirty clothes at the front desk (eew, sorry guys) and get to the theatre for a day of work.


First of all our cellist was feeling much better, having barfed out all of whatever made her sick. Yay! (And now you know why I almost always do my foodie adventures for LUNCH lol. No seriously that is why.) Also, at each of our spots in the pit was a surprise: a bag of Garrett Popcorn from our conductor, DAR. The "Chicago Mix" of cheddar cheese popcorn and caramel corn, of course.
I love this popcorn but have to eat it with Lactaid due to the powdered milk and cream (which I did, immediately. So good.)


The show went well and it was a good audience that laughed a lot. Afterward we saw several of our tour's head honchos checking in at the hotel where we're staying; two Crossroads shows are in town playing simultaneously, so this is a good time for corporate to visit. Gosh, I'll have to behave myself (far too late for that :p )

During the break I did nothing special, just ate dinner and showered and made plans with two of my sisters who are coming to Albuquerque to see the show next week. The evening show was good, it sounded like a full house out there and it was a very responsive crowd.

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On Thursday I'm walking back to Eataly because a local trombonist very generously gave me a gift card! To get something nice for the band. It is convenient because the bag of mezzaluna that I bought for them only has six cookies in it (I didn't realize until I got home) so I will buy more cookies and also some fruit gummies.

In the afternoon I get to enjoy an omakase experience at Jinsei Motto, thanks to a gift card from my sister Raven!
And in the evening we'll have a show and a meet-and-greet with the cast of Pretty Woman (and corporate.)

Weekend Chicago plans include a whole day in Chinatown on Friday; shipping souvenirs to family; two shows on Saturday and one on Sunday; and a Golden Day on Monday whence I hope to try Japanese omurice and visit the art museum!
taz_39: (Default)
Here's a mini-DITL for you.

I got up at 7am, got dressed and packed remaining toiletries and such.

Here is breakfast. I made overnight oats mixed with half a Koia protein shake, and brewed a cup of coffee in advance (it's in the Koia bottle which I washed for this purpose.) I prefer hot coffee in the morning but will sometimes brew it overnight to avoid cleanup (or to avoid drinking from nasty hotel coffee pots with months of used grounds, mineral deposits, and dust caking the parts, no thanks.)


I get dressed and pack everything but computer and toothbrush, so that I can enjoy the morning without worrying about leaving time for finishing up. I put all of the used towels into a pile for housekeeping, and all remaining trash into one bag too. I also wash the soap dish and wipe the sink area, and put anything that I've moved back to it's original spot. Hotel cleaning ladies have a limited time to clean each room, especially after a large group like ours leaves, so I try to leave things as clean as possible for them.

(I could not get that ironing board to fold back down for the life of me! Tried all week :/)

Onto the bus and off we went.


Jameson had his interview, and it went well. He has been invited to the second round, which was supposed to be scheduled this week but has now been pushed to next Friday. He was given a salary estimate and an approximate start date (mid-April which is perfect as it coincides with finishing his Master's program.) I'm very, very excited for him! I wanted to cheer, but it was quiet hours on our bus, lol.

A bathroom break at a Flying J, then onward to a Target for lunch.


As predicted I got hungry way before the 2pm lunch stop and ate a rosemary biscuit, peanut butter, and apple. At Target I found my preferred yogurt and a few pieces of fruit, and walked to Halal Guys for a chicken sandwich to bring along for dinner. Back on the bus, another bathroom break around 4:30 (which is when I ate my sandwich) and another hour and a half to reach the hotel fairly on time. I'd hoped to take a walk and stretch my legs but the weather was cold, wet, and windy, and then the sink in my room was clogged and it took maintenance a solid 30 minutes to unclog it...so forget it. I made a new batch of overnight oats and relaxed until bedtime.

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Early EARLY morning on Tuesday, with a call time of 7am. I got up at 5:30 to have the "me time" and coffee that I need to keep my soul in my body. This hotel has free breakfast but not until 6am, and (**TMI, WARNING, here comes a TMI**) I prefer to eat more than an hour ahead of travel because that usually triggers a bowel movement while we're still at the hotel, as opposed to on a moving bus full of people. The things you learn after YEARS of traveling.

The bus ride was largely uneventful, with a rest stop at a plaza with a Walmart and a County Market. There was a China Buffet next to the grocery with good reviews, so I decided to treat myself to that for lunch.


Popped into the County Market and it's awesome! Lots of locally-produced goodies.
And this leek as long as my arm!!!


I enjoyed looking at lots of things and only getting a few things...I still will need meal options for upcoming one-nighters, but don't want to end up with an overage of stuff in my luggage either. I got a "honey water" from a local apiary; a "lemonade apple" which I've learned is a new apple variant out of New Zealand; a sample pack of Bourbon Vanilla Cream coffee from a local coffee roaster; and this absolute UNIT of an English muffin from the bakery section.


We arrived annoyingly late because our bus driver is incompetent (I'm sorry but she is. She had to call the other driver to ask how to put the bus in drive yesterday. And then today did not refuel until the time when we should have been leaving.) The hotel did not have any stairwells leading from the lobby to the rooms, so we all had to wait for the ONE working elevator, meaning it took 20 minutes to get to our rooms on top of being late already. Still, because I'm in the band my call time is not until 5pm, so I had time to (quickly) unpack and get a shower, and even call maintenance when I realized my fridge was broken (this is the second time this has happened on this short tour...is god laughing at me?)

Sound check was easy. This theatre is VERY small, so we sound very loud in it. And SO many props and setpieces had to be cut to fit on stage! Pretty much all of the tree props, and a lot of wagons and barrels and such too. The evening show went well, the audience was frugal with their general applause throughout the show but did give us a standing O, and we heard several nice comments as people were leaving, so maybe that's just the vibe here.


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Wednesday, we were all THRILLED to have a full day to enjoy in Wausau!!
We still had a show at night, but the day belonged to us :)

I woke fairly early and got some free hotel breakfast, then off to check out Downtown Grocery. It's a cute little mini-organic grocer downtown, and while it had a lot of nice things I exercised restraint and didn't buy anything (there was nothing that I "needed".)

Next I walked a mile to Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum a free museum "only a mile away."
ExpandCLICK HERE for Museum )

Walking back down the hill was significantly easier than walking up :P
I went to Lemongrass, a restaurant close to the hotel, and got some basic spring rolls and some hot sake.
The spring rolls where whatever, nothing special. The steaming, fragrant sake hit the spot after my chilly hill climb :)


With a nice buzz going I took a short nap, then got up to work on Foodie Finds for Kalamazoo before going back out to another County Market nearby. This one wasn't as nicely stocked as the one at our lunch stop, but I still found what I needed (more proteins as usual.)

The evening show was good...this audience was VERY responsive, laughing at a lot of unusual parts, and even after the show as we were packing up people were coming to the pit to ask where we were from, where we'd be going next, do we get to see the country, etc. I mean, this kind of thing happens in a lot of cities with one or two people, but this was like 20-30 people ringing the pit and watching us pack up. We can't often engage as much as we'd like while loading out of a city, but it was very cool to see how interested people were here, and see them smiling after the show :)

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Next we have a load-and-go in Green Bay, WI, then Saturday is a travel day with no show to Kalamazoo, MI, and a show the evening after that. And then...Chicago.

I have been waiting excitedly for Chicago this entire tour! We are there for an entire week, AND it's St. Patrick's Day, AND we have a Golden Day on Monday! (Golden Day = day of both no shows AND no travel, a real day off!)

And Chicago is a foodie HEAVEN. There are so many options, it'll be impossible to do everything I'd like! But here are my foodie hopes and dreams for the week:

- Eataly:
One meal + at least one hour of shopping
- 88 Marketplace, Chinatown: At least one hour of shopping
- Visit the Amazon GO no-checkout grocery store
- MCCB restaurant, Chinatown:
Whole grilled Szechuan tilapia
- Chiu Quon, Chinatown: Steamed buns or cookies
- Russian Tea Time: Whole roasted quail and a shot of house-infused vodka
- Jinsei Motto: Omakase lunch experience + cup of rare sake (thanks to a gift card from my sister Raven)
- [If time allows]: Kyuramen: Omurice!!

It seems like a lot, but considering we're here for 7.5 days and 22-ish meals, eating five of them out plus snacks and groceries is pretty reasonable. And with this tour ending in a month, this could be my last chance. I might never see Chicago again after this. YOLO!
taz_39: (Default)
I got up at 7am to have breakfast and be presentable for my friend Curtis's masterclass.

Curtis was our saxophonist on Tootsie, and he is now teaching some college-level courses in Jersey City. The class was via Zoom, and the topic was P.T. Barnum. I don't know a lot about good ol' PT myself, but Curtis wanted me to share what it was like to be a circus musician in modern times, and perhaps compare and contrast how that may have differed from the early years of the American circus.

As I have discussed these topics in exhaustive detail on Quora, plus lived it for five years, it was easy to describe what our schedules were like; what living on the train was like; the pros and cons; the drama and hierarchies of circus life; the animal treatment; and pretty much anything you could think of, really. It felt like I blabbered quite a bit, but Curtis was well pleased afterward and thanked me profusely. And this time there were more questions from students, really good questions about how I maintained mental health, what the modern circus hierarchy was like, how US animal law pertained to the circus, etc. I was happy to answer any questions (looove talking about my circus days!) and also provided a bunch of relevant links afterward, since in the moment it is difficult to provide references and details.

The whole thing seemed to go well. Afterward I took a little break, then walked to Inheritance for an early lunch. Inheritance is a local juice bar, juicing is not my thing but they had a lot of fun vegan menu items like a sweet potato grilled cheese and a beet Reuben sandwich!


Today I went with their Harmony Harvest bowl: wild rice, carrots, shredded lettuce, cucumber slices, pickled radish (Didn't see these anywhere tho), roasted beets, pomegranate seeds (mixed with the beets), miso tempeh, orange sauce, poppy seeds, cilantro.


It was healthy and filling, lots of different textures, and the orange sauce was a sweet contrast to all the savory things going on. The miso tempeh was especially good; I've never had tempeh because you have to grill/sear it and I only have my Itaki steamer handy on tour. I loved the texture of it.

After such a nice meal I decided to walk the two miles to Gathering Place, a popular local playground for kids AND adults. Tell me, what kid would NOT want to play in a space like this?



Short video of the "River Giants" section (CLICK HERE to watch)

There was a school group there while I was walking through, so lots of kids screaming and chasing each other and doing kid-things. I skirted around the main castle and explored some of the smaller areas, many of which highlight different types of play. There was a sandbox-type playground, with lots of built-in shovels and buckets; and a little "town" section so kids could play at being a gas station attendant or a grocery cashier, etc etc. There were a variety of swings that looked a lot like amusement park rides, and there was a whole water play area that was closed for the winter, but looked fantastic, with lots of waterfalls and interactive fill-and-dump water-powered spinners and wheels and such. I sent a lot of pictures to my sisters with kids so they could be jealous.

One area was especially for playing with sound. There was an echo tube, with ends located on opposite sides of the yard so kids could sort of "telephone" each other through it...and a huge xylophone-like structure that sounded like a wind chime when struck. There was also this mirror maze (not enclosed which is probably best for everyone) (CLICK HERE to watch)

Almost everything was large enough for adults to enjoy too! I could have easily gone through the big castle structure and also many of the smaller play areas. The walkways between play areas are meticulously kept and designed much like garden paths, so even if you just wanted to stroll like I was doing you'd have a lovely experience.


There was a big boathouse with kayaks and paddle boats hanging from it, closed for the season but with manmade "beaches" and seating areas and fire pits all around it. I could easily imagine families having wonderful summers here, paddling around the small pond and enjoying picnic lunches before running off to play in the playground. And in the center of it all, this beautiful building housing a cultural/activity center, cafe, huge outdoor fireplace, koi ponds, gelato stand...and probably more that I didn't see. But look at it.


What a beautiful place, here in Tulsa. Upon further research, it was finished in 2018 and there are still two more phases of construction to come. Very awesome!

When I had covered a lot of ground and felt fulfilled, I Ubered back downtown (hey, two mile walk + two miles exploring the park = four miles already) and went to Rose Rock Microcreamery. I was the only one there--is 50°F still too cold for ice cream?--and after consulting with the cashier, decided on midnight chocolate + honey cashew.


Both were amazing. The chocolate was fudgy and rich, so dense that it had a "chew" to it, which I loved.
The honey cashew was a limited time flavor that the cashier recommended (there were four limited flavors and I asked which he liked best) and after he gave me a sample I had to agree, it was damn good. The ice cream was mostly honey-flavored I think, but there were these swirls of crispy, crunchy, and chewy cashews and maybe crushed brittle running through the scoop. I felt like a miner following a vein of gold :D


ExpandTedious Details + Jameson Update )

The rest of the day was very chill, I had a blazing headache (probably from the wild temp swings here; it went from 75 to 35 and now it's 55) so just took it easy with tea and Motrin until showtime. The show went well, I played better than yesterday. Eliza had a little snafu and was late for an entrance on stage, so Mrs. Pierce had to cover for her with an improvised line. It was hilarious for us, I wonder if the audience had any clue that something was wrong.

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Saturday I was up at 7am because a room across the hall was having a party(!)
Like...I wanted to be mad...but if you're starting your party at 7am, isn't that kind of the way to do it for an all-day bash? Lol.

And since I was up anyway I did a load of laundry. Again, because of the one-nighters coming up. I don't want to be scrambling/fighting sixty other people for the only washer/dryer. So thank you, party people, for getting me up early enough to do that :p

Then breakfast and a tax appointment (oh joy) and working on upcoming Foodie Finds.
Then our afternoon matinee. Someone in Company Management brought in a huge 4,000 piece puzzle and put it in the green room, and there is a frantic effort to finish it before the weekend is over. We made good progress, if you ask me!


The show went well. At the top of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," when Eliza is surrounded by a mob because she's been given a large handful of coins by Professor Higgins, one of the coins escaped someone's hands, flew down into the pit, and PIIINNNG-ED really loudly as it hit directly behind my chair! The MD looked at me and mouthed, "Are you OK?" and I was, the coin didn't hit me, but they are quite big so it would have stung to be hit by one! I only heard it hit once and then silence, so knew it must have flown into the big blackout curtain behind me. At intermission I scrounged around and quickly found it. Pretty sure this is a replica coin modeled after a real one, but it's made of solid metal so it's hefty. After taking these photos I gave it back to the Props department.



Between shows I made a simple dinner, then the evening show went well, nothing to report except that Michael (Assistant MD/Keys) conducted and did a great job.

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Sunday I woke a bit early so I could go for a walk (it was mid-60s and sunny) as we'll be on a bus all day tomorrow, literally ALL DAY. On the way back I picked up a rosemary biscuit from a cafe to add to my travel foods.

The first show went well, and afterward Joel (trumpet) Elen (cello) Victoria (flute) and I walked to Yokozuna for sushi!
Someone should've taken a group picture...or maybe not, maybe that would have made others jealous :p
It was Happy Hour so sushi rolls were a few dollars off, but the heart wants what the heart wants.


"Meesh Mash" sushi salad: marinated ahi tuna, salmon, and yellowtail chunks on a bed of sushi rice, seaweed salad, cucumber, and squid salad, topped with masago (fish eggs), sesame, and crispy garlic. It was so good and fresh! There is something about fish, especially salmon--the B vitamins or Omega 3's I guess--that makes me feel full in such a GOOD way after eating it. This was a delicious and satisfying last meal in Tulsa. We talked about everything from cost of living to orchestral auditions to whether or not we had coasters for our cups growing up. It was a good hang.

There was a bit of time to go back to the hotel and pack some more and shower, then the last show.

Do you think we finished that 4,000 piece puzzle?


We did :) Here are Michael and ??? with the last piece.

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Tomorrow is an all-day bus ride to Des Moines, which is only partway to our destination, Wausau WI.
I hope it'll be generally boring. I hope we make our estimated arrival time, which is early enough to at least go for a walk after an entire day on a bus.
taz_39: (Default)
A bus to the airport, and there was time to hang out before my flight so I snacked, read my book, and trolled for Delta pilots to extort trading cards from them :D

I saw many pilots but most were busy, either heading somewhere with purpose or on their phones. But one pilot actually walked through his passengers to say hello. I thought, someone so personable must have trading cards! And so he did!


Now, I already have an A220 card, but this one is a different year and so the design is different. Cool!

My flight was fine, I watched Kubo and the Two Strings which was a "just ok" story with an interesting animation style.
At the Orlando airport I found another random pilot kind of strolling around, who gave me this card:


Also a duplicate of a plane I already have, but different year and different design.
Here's a side-by-side: the card on the left is from 2016 and the one on the right was released in 2022.


The backs. Notice how the same model of plane has changed over the years.


Jameson came to get me and take me home, and we talked the whole way back, mostly about him finishing his grad program and waiting with intense anxiety for a response from Disney about the corporate job he applied for. It's the hardest thing in the world, to wait.

At home I felt overwhelmed with all the cleaning and packing that I felt needed to be done right NOW. But we were going to see our friend Lea perform, so I held back and only wiped down the kitchen counters, cringed at the guest bathroom (there was mold ON the seat, gag) and did a load of laundry. And opened all of my mail! There was quite a lot because I'd ordered an extra pair of black pants, some supplies for our Mexico vacation...and this HUGE sandwich cookie pillow!


It came all the way from an Etsy seller in Ukraine, beautifully packaged in purple crepe paper stamped with the seller's logo.


You can buy something like this on Amazon as well, from (probably) a Chinese seller, but I like to support small business and it was clear from her photos that the quality would be good. It's fluffy and wonderful to hold, and my favorite part is that the cookies and the cream have two different densities of stuffing, so that the cookies feel stiff while the cream is soft and "fluffy." Cannot wait to curl up and watch TV with this!!

After dinner we drove downtown to The Ren theater to watch Lea perform in "Highlights from RENT", part of a "Musical Mondays" series.


We had a drink each and enjoyed hearing top hits from the popular Broadway show. Lea did a fantastic job, she was one of the top two who performed imo (she was playing as Maureen.) After the show and some socializing we left to get a good sleep, for the next day would be quite busy.

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Tuesday, I woke up moderately early and had breakfast, then when Jameson got up to hit the gym I cleaned both bathrooms, vacuumed, and mopped the tile floors. I wanted to do more cleaning but there really wouldn't be enough time, so the rest would have to wait. When Jameson got back I did some packing for Mexico, while simultaneously re-packing for tour...but only partially because some of the stuff that I use for tour I'm bringing to Mexico. You know?

After lunch we went grocery shopping together, picking up Eat Fresco meals for an easy dishes-free dinner and loading up on medications, tolietries, and other things we thought we might need. I got some hydration multipliers and granola bars "just in case," Jameson got travel Tylenol and Pepto for the same reason. We have a lot of stuff that we probably won't need (a travel towel each, waterproof passport bags, etc) but better safe than sorry.

Back home Jameson finished up work while I finished packing and did little things around the house like take out the trash and recycling, change some air filters, and water the plants. We had our prepped meals for dinner and chilled out...and that was that.

Tomorrow...Mexico.

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We got up early for our flight, I was excited and nervous!

I’ve never flown Frontier before, and thank god. What a chaotic mess compared to regular airlines. I’d had the wherewithal to buy Jameson and I seats and carry-on luggage (yes, you need to buy those separately) so at least we weren’t among the poor saps trying to scramble for the last seats. But apparently in addition, a digital boarding pass is not enough, you NEED a physical, printed pass. Not knowing this, we waited in the boarding line and then had to step out of line to get the pass, then back to the back of the queue. It turned out that this had to do with a new biometric scanning system that they pushed us through/tested on us, which perhaps can't accept QR codes?

At the jet bridge I asked the flight attendant about trading cards, because Frontier does their own version of that though it’s really for kids. It highlights the animals on the planes’ tails, rather than info about the planes. This stewardess was really enthusiastic and gave me quite a lot of cards, including a holiday-special polar bear and a vacation-special grizzly!


The flight was smooth and shorter than I expected, and I loved looking out the window at the clear turquoise waters as we landed. Customs was equally easy, just a biometric scan and a sniff from a narcotics pup.

Then we were in Mexico! We found our assigned shuttle and boarded it, and were at our hotel in just about 40 minutes. Had a drink in our hands just three minutes after that. A piña colada.


Our room was fine…nothing special imo, but if you don’t stay in hotels often it would feel swank I’m sure.


We unpacked and had a snack (the buffet was closed but they do put out nachos and hot dogs and such between meals) and then just wandered. We found the batting cages, and saw iguanas and coati!


When my siblings arrived (Kate, Raven, my brother Jonah, and his girlfriend Danielle) we met up with them and made plans for dinner. Before that we all walked over to the beach together to check it out.


Photo op, of course. This is the first time I've been with ALL of my bio-siblings in years.


And Jameson and I got one together as well. I have a stupid face on but he looks cute anyway :)


Dinner was...an experience. We went to the Italian restaurant, and it was clear that something wasn't right: we only saw two servers for the whole restaurant, and either because of that or additional issues in the kitchen, everything was coming out soooooooo slowly. We had to wait 30 minutes to be seated, then didn't get our appetizers until an HOUR later!! Not exaggerating. The food was "ok" but they messed up several orders and forgot some dishes (since it's all-inclusive we didn't deeply care but, c'mon.) By the time we escaped we'd been in there for nearly three hours with very little to show for it.

Still, we got to have drinks and catch up with each other, so it wasn't a total waste.

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Thursday, Jameson and I went to the breakfast buffet. It was awesome! A great selection of Mexican traditional breakfast foods like chilaquiles, burritos, plantains, ripe guava, sweet breads, and so much more. We discovered these lovely little red plums only slightly larger than cherries, which I hope to find stateside. They had stewed fruit as well seasoned in anise and other spices, and of course fresh cut fruit. It turns out Mexican cottage cheese is not nearly as salty as the American kind, and I enjoyed it immensely. And don't get me started on the sweetbreads. mini conchas, croissants, churro twists, guava-filled brioche rolls...it was heaven.


After breakfast we met up with my siblings and we all hit the beach.


The water was somewhat cold, so we mostly relaxed with drinks and books, taking occasional dips to cool off. Jameson, Kate, Raven, and Danielle got burnt pretty badly; Jonah and I (despite being the palest by far) did not. Though there weren't many shells, there were interesting things to find like large chunks of coral (we kept bruising our feet on these in the water) and this stripey, spiky caterpillar.


For lunch we voted to hit a nearby taco stand rather than the hotel buffet, and DAMN were those tacos good! Homemade corn tortillas, roasted on a griddle, are the bomb-diggety. I got a pollo taco with veg, cactus strips, misc veg, and salsa verde. The others got burritos or tacos in misc flavors, and everyone raved over their food. Way better than the Italian catastrophe we'd had for dinner!

Eventually we moved to the pool, which was also nice and where we discovered they pour somewhat stronger drinks! They made their mango margaritas with Tajin on the rim and Jameson was SOLD on that; they also add Tajin to their Bloody Mary drinks so now I expect Jameson will go out and buy Tajin first thing when we return home, he was so enamored :p We also discovered that people who brought their own cups/thermoses were treated to HUGE pours of liquor before the rest of the beverage was poured in. Note to self for next time!

For dinner we went with a teppanyaki option (because we could SEE the food being prepared in front of us and would know how long it would take, lol) and it was not only fast but quite good! I had the snapper and salmon combo. The chef was extremely skillful and put on a great show for us; rice went flying everywhere as everyone at the table got a chance to catch a little rice ball in their mouths (about 50% success rate!)

Before our meal we were served a sushi "small plate" that was both delicious and beautiful.


And whether you wanted drinks or not, as soon as your glass was half empty someone would come refill it. All-inclusive indeed!
Nicely buzzed and full of food, we wandered over to the "main square" where it was "Mexican night!"


There were fun little games set up, like a skee-ball sort of thing with marbles, a ring-a-peg, and a ridiculous "horse racing" game that we all tried and lost! Here are Kate, myself, and Jameson losing (CLICK HERE to watch)

We stuck around for a mariachi performance (my video was not very good so it is not here, sorry) and then called it a night, because half our group was doing a caving expedition tomorrow!

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Friday Jameson and I were up bright and early to enjoy the breakfast buffet again, before meeting Raven and Kate in the lobby. We rode a shuttle to Rio Secreto, a nature reserve and underground river about two miles from our hotel.

I do not have many pictures of this excursion because we had to stow all of our belongings in lockers, and the only photos allowed were by a professional photographer selling them at $30 EACH. We all agreed early on that this would be a trip for our memories.

When we arrived we were assigned a tour guide who spoke English, along with another group of four ladies from the UK. We were given an opportunity to use restrooms or have a snack for about 10 minutes, then we were hustled onto a large bus with lots of other people, which then took us on a VERY bumpy and wild ride through the jungle for about 15 minutes. This was tough on me because the bus was airborne often and that dropping sensation is what triggers my motion sickness, so I had to put my head down. But it was even worse for Raven, who for some unknown reason had bought a scalding hot cup of coffee at the snack stand and had not gotten a lid, but had boarded the bus with it anyway. After a frantic search of my bag (during which time Raven was desperately trying to keep her hands from being burnt by hot flying coffee) I came up with a small ziplock and some napkins, so she was able to survive the journey with just mild leakage and burns. But WHY, Raven, omg.

At the entrance to Rio Secreto we were all given water shoes, a helmet with a headlight, a wetsuit, a life jacket, and a key to a locker to stow our belongings. Before donning the suits we had to take an ice-cold shower, because they do not want sunscreen or bug repellent or whatnot in their underground river. The wetsuits were damp and uncomfortable, but once they were on and we were marching through the jungle we quickly forgot how squelchy they were.

Before entering the cave system, a Mayan shaman performed a ceremony to "allow us passage through the underworld." It was nice, perhaps a little touristy/hokey but a good reminder that we are VISITORS here, who should observe respectfully and not try to take, touch, or tamper with anything.

Then we turned around and were face to face with the entrance to the "underworld." A gash in the earth, a black gaping maw that was pitch black inside. It was intimidating...but on we went, down a steep wooden staircase and into the cool dark cave.

It was dead silent, the water was clearer than clear, and the space was absolutely massive, like a cathedral full of stalactites and stalagmites and ancient rock and coral formations. As we made our way single file, sometimes on dry ground and sometimes up to our waists in water, our guide described how the mineral-laden water had dripped slowly to create the delicate formations that we were seeing. She told us that each stalactite was hollow and made of limestone (illustrated by putting her flashlight up to a stalactite so we could see how transparent it was) and showed us the structure of the coral that made up much of the cave's ground.

Some stock images from the Rio Secreto site and the 'net:



Because we had opted out of the Tulum ruins excursion, we were the first group to enter the cave and thus there were some creatures around who had not yet been disturbed. Our guide pointed out catfish, who had eyes and were black-pigmented; and we also saw a blind white fish sitting in a still pool of clear water. There were large cave crickets with vestigial eyes and antennae three times as long as their bodies, and tiny sand-grain-sized shrimp which our guide said were the only source of nutrients for many of the creatures living in the caves. There were bats of course, but we didn't see any.

At one point our guide asked us to turn off our headlamps and also turned off her flashlight. We closed our eyes and waited about 30 seconds, for our eyes to adjust. Then we opened our eyes...to blackness. Could not see our hands in front of our faces. The darkness in the cave is so absolute, there is nothing like it on the surface. That was really cool to experience!

Partway through the tour we entered an area where we'd be swimming for several minutes. The water felt cold at first, but I let a little into my wetsuit to create a layer of warm water from my body heat, and that helped immensely. We paddled through an area where the stalactites and ceiling were very close to touching our heads, with the water up to our chests, but you could still see for yards and yards between the stalactites coming down to meet the clear water, and the effect was magical and not at all claustrophobic.

We came to a large pool where our guide instructed us to form a circle and hold hands. Then we leaned back in the water, all lights off, and "meditated" for probably about five minutes in the total dark and silence. It was simultaneously freaky and peaceful. Jameson later said he'd love to have a room just like that, to get the best sleep of his life :) If the water had not been so cold I could have relaxed more, but as it was it was an unforgettable experience.

We swam a bit more, and our guide pointed out interesting rock formations, especially one that looked like a massive fat crocodile looming from the shadows of a cave offshoot. We speculated about the first people to explore this cave...how they probably only had candles or dim lanterns, and what a formation like that must have seemed like with limited light from a flickering flame. How brave those first explorers were!

Soon we were back on dry land and exiting the "underworld" through a beautiful cenote, the sunlight streaming through the natural sinkhole and thick tree roots like ropes trailing down into the darkness of the cave.

(photo courtesy colemanconcierge)

From here we had to do a bit of walking in the jungle, which was a bummer because mosquitoes and our extremities were unprotected (I got a bite directly in the middle of my forehead) but I'll be the summer months are significantly worse. A short walk took us back to the locker area, where we peeled off our wetsuits and turned everything back in, showered once more, got dressed, and rode a shuttle to the gift shop and restaurant. We were each given a small shot of xtabentun, a honey-anise liqueur that is a specialty of the Yucatan and is believed to have Mayan origins. It was QUITE good.

We were given the option to buy photos that had been taken by the professional photographer, and we looked through them and enjoyed them, but at THIRTY DOLLARS EACH it was just way, way too much, even to justify one photo.

For lunch we had a simple buffet of stewed chicken or pork, steamed vegetables, cactus, lime soup, refreshing hibiscus tea, and rice pudding. There were also tortillas being made fresh in front of us, and those were FANTASTIC.


There was a small lagoon with water lilies and a very protective (yet very small) alligator.


We enjoyed our meal and a little rest before getting a shuttle back to our hotel.
What an awesome, magical experience! I'm so glad that Raven pushed for us to do an excursion, it was well worth it.

We all went our separate ways and napped or chilled until dinnertime...our final meal together in Mexico.
We decided to try Aroma, the "upscale" restaurant.


The food was the best we'd had for the entire stay.
I had beef tatake cubes with chili and passion fruit drizzle,
duck confit with dried fig sauce and sweet potato maple syrup hash,
and a small chocolate-and-gelee cake with peach puree.
The last picture is of Kate's tuna medallions (not sure what the side is for that.)



Everyone very much enjoyed their food. The highlights were a three-corn soup in a lobster-based broth (it was incredibly flavorful!) and Kate's perfectly seared tuna medallions, which she let us all try. We talked about so much: family stuff, our individual journeys, how our lives are going now. We got to know Jonah's girlfriend (none of us had met her until now) and hear Jameson talk about his hopes for the future. We had a really lovely time together. After dinner we went to the bar next door to listen to a jazz band and have drinks, and took these photos.

What a fricking wonderful family I have. What an amazing group of human beings.


Then it was time to say goodbye. Kate, Raven, Jonah, and Danielle had an early flight, so we knew we might not see them the next morning. Hugs all around, then off to bed.

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Saturday, Jameson and I got to enjoy the breakfast buffet one last time. We packed our things and checked out, leaving an overall glowing review (the one "bad thing" that we had to mention was the service at the Italian restaurant) then hopped the shuttle to the airport. MX airport is CRAZY, and if it's like that in February I can't imagine what it's like during peak season. We had a lot of time before our flight so had a nice sit-down meal at Wolfgang Puck's: here is my mahi-mahi with rice, plantain chips, and salsa verde.


Before boarding we had a passport check. Jameson and I were in an exit row and had lots of lovely leg room. But we had a bunch of screaming children on our flight, plus four adults who seemed to share one brain cell between them and just WOULD NOT SIT DOWN, we actually got delayed to take off because they kept getting up to stand in the aisle and chat!! WTF!!

But finally we were on our way, and soon enough we were landing at MCO.
I've never been through international customs before, but it was very easy. We followed signage to a sort of security area where we were directed to an agent, who looked at our documents and asked if we had anything to declare. I declared my snacks, confirming that I had no produce or meats...and that was it. They didn't even search my stuff (a dog did have a good sniff.) We found Jameson's car and rode home through the awful I-4 traffic, stopping at Target along the way for small items and dinner.

At home I had a present waiting for me: a box from my sister Kayle and her kids! Full of Asian treats :)
I am especially excited for the coffee candies, which are supposed to act as replacements for actual coffee when you're in a bind.


I did a load of laundry and did some packing, but was too tired for much else. We went to bed early, exhausted but happy and fulfilled from our wonderful little adventure. I really, really hope that we get to do something like this again, maybe as an annual thing.

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I'll write about Sunday as part of the next post, since it was mostly just packing and prep to go back on tour (geez, no time at all at home!)
Next up, Tulsa Oklahoma.
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It was quite the long travel day. After breakfast we loaded onto the bus and had a three-hour ride to Raleigh-Durham International. On the way we passed Winston-Salem, which I haven't seen in a very long time (I went to grad school there and have wonderful memories of living with my awesome landlords) and even the brief glimpse in passing tugged at my heartstrings.

The airport was whatever, I walked around a lot just to get steps in and looked at everything, like I always do. I noticed a Delta pilot sitting quietly and chomping some beef jerky...I wanted to ask him for trading cards but didn't want to interrupt his eating so kept walking. But 20 minutes and at least three laps later he was still munching away, lol. And he had a friendly, relaxed look about him, so I thought "why not" and approached him. He enthusiastically said, "Yes!" to the cards and pulled out a stack, I asked which was his favorite to fly and he said the A321 (I already have a card for that one but since it's his favorite I couldn't decline it!) I thanked him and started to walk away but he said, "Wait, I have more for you!" and handed me two more that I DIDN'T have yet: the 767-400, and the 767-300, which is a holographic card!!


A video of the holograph (CLICK HERE to watch)

What a cool dude! I thanked him profusely and went back to our group to show them off to my friends :)

At boarding I had equally good luck: the pilots had a card for the plane we were actually riding, the A220!


Here are all three cards. Each plane has something unique about it. The A220 has enough cargo space to hold two adult orcas! The 767-400 has a very powerful engine that could inflate a blimp in just seven seconds! And the 767-300 has enough fuel capacity to fill 1600 cars!


I now have seven unique Delta trading cards. Yay! Don't ask what I'll do with them, no idea haha.

We arrived on time and it was a smooth flight. Luggage retrieval, and while we waited I pestered a few more pilots who walked through the airport for cards. Two of them gave me A321s (and said they liked flying it too, I wonder why!) so now I have duplicates of those which I'll give to Kayle's kids or something. And I got my first rejection, a pilot who said, "Aww, sorry, I don't have any on me!" It was bound to happen!

Another bus ride through Boston traffic, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. We got to the hotel only 15 minutes later than scheduled, but with only one working elevator it took an obnoxious long time to get to our rooms. It was too late and dark for walking so it was an Uber for me, to get dinner at the Whole Paycheck hot bar and just a few groceries. We're only here for three days; in addition to the usual fruits and meats I picked up some treats for myself.

These two green juices. The one on the left looks more appealing, but the one on the right contains two servings and the other is only one. The bright green one has more fiber and potassium; the dark green one has lower sugar and more vitamin C. I got both entirely because I couldn't decide between them.


These snacks and rice!


The granola is a brand I've had before but it's very hard to find in stores, this is only the second time I've seen it. It's made by soaking the oats in whole-fruit juices, which gives it incredible flavor and extra fiber and vitamins while still keeping it a low-calorie snack. Last time I got beet, this time went with carrot.

The little can is a milk tea, made with plant milk! FINALLY! Milk tea is wonderful but I can't usually have it because it's made with whole or condensed milk. This brand is called T'wrl and they make four flavors of milk tea: matcha, hojicha (roasted green), Taiwanese-style black, and Ube. At some point I'd love to try them all.

The "forbidden rice" is a microwaveable par-cooked bag, something you don't see too often for black/purple rice. The brand is Jasberry, and this is a proprietary rice that they've grown over a decade of intensive cross-breeding. They claim it has 40x the antioxidants of brown rice, and with that dark purple coloring I can believe it.

Put my food away, chatted with Jameson and people online, and chilled out.
Look at that, a night without a show!

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Was up earlier than I would have liked to have breakfast before heading out to get a massage. Our hotel is eight miles from the theatre this week so we have rental cars, and I was able to borrow a band car, saving me Uber dollars, yay!

I don't get massages very often because I don't like to be touched, but about once a year I suck it up and enjoy one. This one was only 30 minutes; I really should have booked an hour but maybe at the resort in Mexico I can have another :)
The masseuse was great, and 30 minutes later I walked out feeling much more relaxed. A shame to have to step into the 30-degree windy northeast weather! I walked a few minutes down the street to Root and Press, a little cafe lined with bookshelves and serving standard cafe stuff with a lot of vegan options.


I went with their special, a vegan caprese made with Just Egg, cashew mozzarella sauce, basil, lettuce, tomato, garlic, and balsamic drizzle on ciabatta. It was delicious!


I was a little disappointed that the "mozzarella cheese" was only a sauce, because a caprese usually has big slices of fluffy white cheese. But I think they were trying to simulate that with the vegan egg, which was still very good. Drove back to the hotel where I packed dinner to bring to the theatre, drank lots of water and tea, and enjoyed some chill time, making a packing list for Mexico and watching Seven Deadly Sins which my bandmates have recently convinced me is worth checking out.

We carpooled to the theatre (rental cars.) It's a pretty theatre, I guess, but the backstage is horrible. I played here a year or two ago with Tootsie and remember hating the claustrophobic pit...they literally locked us in before each performance, even removing the stairs to get out! And that was terrible for my anxiety. This year thankfully I am not the only one who sees a huge safety concern and/or anxiety inducer in being literally trapped in the pit until someone outside opens the door; our MD insisted that the door remain open and had some stagehands install black pipe-and-drape. People have to be quiet if they walk by the pit but TOO BAD, it's way better than being locked in with no way out.

The show went well, no complaints otherwise.

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Saturday and two shows.

Not much to report for the morning: breakfast, working on Foodie Finds for Tulsa, feeling annoyed at all the cleaning and shopping and packing I'll have to rush through for this Mexico trip, and simultaneously looking forward to the trip such that I didn't feel like working! :p

The first show was ok, we had another hold so there went our "streak". So lame. I hope it stops after the layoff.
During the break between shows I stayed at the theatre because it was so far back to the hotel, plus I had a physical therapy appointment and didn't want to make my carpool come back early on my behalf. Walked to Worcester Public Market and just enjoyed looking around, but it was 20°F outside with a strong wind so my cheeks are now windburnt (can't wait for them to peel in the Mexican sun. Sigh.)

My physical therapy was, surprisingly, possibly helpful! At this point I'm convinced that the weird twinging I've been feeling can't be muscle-related because I have full range of motion. But then...I described what I was feeling to the physical therapist as follows:
"It feels like there's a string tied from the bowl of my right hip, to one of my small lower ribs, and every once in a while at random someone plucks it."
And he pulled up this image:


And I was like, DANG.
Those are hip flexor muscles. And one thing that I really should have considered, is that I have never been able to sit cross-legged. I've always been a W-sitter. For forty years. And just maybe, a lifestyle of lots of sitting in pits and on buses and planes, plus holding a four-pound instrument over my left shoulder for hours at a time, plus continuing to W-sit, could be adding up to weird muscle spasms, cramping, and twinging.
Why didn't I consider this??

We tried some stretches until I was able to simulate the twinging, then he gave me some stretches to do by myself. I'm not entirely convinced that hip flexors are The Whole Problem, but it won't hurt me to focus on it and see if the stretches help diminish the weird sensation. I'm glad that I decided to talk to PT about this; at least it makes me think it COULD be something minor stemming from a lifelong habit, rather than an imminent medical emergency like a hernia or burst appendix or something.

The evening show was ok but the pit is SO COLD. We were all bundled up, the woodwinds were even wearing coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. They don't believe in heat here in Worcester I guess. I hate to disparage any theatre but this one is in the top ten most uncomfortable that I've ever played. It's cramped, cold, only one bathroom backstage, no dressing room for the orchestra, and if our MD hadn't advocated for us we'd be literally locked into the pit before every show with no way to get out if there was an emergency except scaling the pit wall into the audience. I'm sorry but I think that's all a recipe for disaster, eventually, for someone out there.

After the last show we carpooled back to the hotel where Elen (cellist, who broke her hand over the last layoff and just recently rejoined us) gave us each a little Fireball shot! We took them together as a band. Much needed! Actually, I could have used that in the pit to warm me up!

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Sunday, I wasn't deeply in the mood to do two shows but was excited to get to the layoff afterward!

I partial-packed and packed myself dinner for the theatre, then carpooled over.
At the theatre there was a wall tag to sign on stage level, up a creepy rickety spiral staircase that is actually backstage. This meant that on the way to sign the wall tag, I could look out over much of Stage Left, a view that I rarely get to see.


The wall tag. It's just a MFL stencil but the colors are pretty against the matte black.


Our first show was good. Eileen (French horn) had her parents in the pit to watch and listen, and although it was cramped it was nice to have visitors...made the show go faster.

During the break between shows I tried to get steps in by going to a Taiwanese grocery store a half-mile away. And of course I can't do THAT without getting something! My tiny haul is just some cashew candies (literally looks like cashew brittle stuck to rice wafers); some "soft wheat cakes" that resemble rice cakes only with a softer texture and sugary coating; and "creamy corn" candies which I shared with the band. The corn candies weren't bad! If you like sweet corn things like kettle corn, creamed corn, corn fritters/muffins, etc, you'd like these. Just a cheap taffy candy. The others I will have to try later (and I want to share them with Jameson.)


Back at the theatre I ate dinner, then it was "one and done." We packed up, loaded out, got to the hotel...and now, a much-needed break!

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Tomorrow, I get up super early and fly to Orlando.
I'll have the evening to get a few groceries, clean a bit or pack for Mexico, then we're going to see Jameson's friend Lea perform in a local show. The next day, final packing and prep. Then on the 21st we fly to Yucatan for a mini vacay!!
You won't hear from me for a bit because I'll be hopefully relaxing on the beach with a drink in hand!!
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The bus ride was long and a bit boring, as long bus rides often are.
I watched scenery, dozed, read my book on and off until I got motion sick, and ate my nonperishables.

We stopped at a Target for lunch, and since I'd already eaten I just window shopped and walked until it was time to get back on the bus.
We got to the hotel about 30 minutes late, probably partially due to traffic and other factors.

I decided not to hit the grocery since it was night, and I had an early doctor's appointment that would require an Uber. If I have to pay for a ride anyway, may as well kill two birds with one stone and hit the grocery after the appointment.

So my night was chill. I reintroduced myself to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, which gave such childhood nostalgia. Like most 80s and 90s kids, Disney was a keystone of my formative years. Beauty and the Beast came out when I was six years old, and I was INFATUATED. Specifically, like many young girls who saw this movie in theaters, I related on an emotional level to Belle's Reprise where she sings about how it would be awful to be married, and wanting "So much more than they've got planned."  
(CLICK HERE to see the movie clip)

And here I am, tearing up in a random hotel room at the ripe age of forty, listening to this and remembering how I felt watching this scene at the age of six. Emotionally connecting with Belle: I certainly did NOT want to get married! And how exciting it felt not to know what my future would be like. Wondering what I'd be when I grew up, and hoping I'd get to have adventures! (Spoiler alert: I got MUCH more adventure than ANYONE planned.)

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I slept poorly because I was nervous about the doctor's appointment. It was just an ultrasound of my upper right abdomen, not even invasive, yet I am so phobic about medical stuff that any little thing freaks me out. An unfortunate part of my psyche that I'm working on fixing.

A quick Uber to the radiology office and I didn't have to wait long. The radiologist was super sweet and fun to talk to. I expressed interest in what she was doing, and made it clear that I wasn't asking for/interested in a diagnosis...I just wanted to see my guts on the screen! Once she truly believe that I wasn't going to ask her to diagnose anything, she was more than happy to turn the screen so I could watch while she navigated my organs. Too cool!! She showed me where the gallbladder was ("Yours is small!") and explained how the sound waves of the ultrasonic machine actually bounced off the ribs, created rib-shadows across the organs. I realized that I could expand my chest to reduce shadows for her (also very fun to see.)

She said that my scan was "very easy" because "you clearly take care of yourself" (reading between the lines = "This scan is a lot easier to do when you are not overweight.") She did not indicate, verbally or by expression, that anything was wrong or dire, and it's not her job to do so in any case, so no takeaways there. I should have results in a few days.

Regardless of outcome I was interested in the imaging process itself, and so happy that I got to look at my guts today! Could I tell what I was looking at, no! But the radiologist showed me many interesting things, and I could see things move when I breathed and laughed, and the shadows of my ribs across my organs.

After that I Ubered to Ruby's NY-Style Bagels (it was next to a Harris Teeter.)


Look at those beautiful breads! So many great flavors. I definitely wanted the Bloody Mary and Cacio e Pepe flavors. I was considering a sweet bagel also but none of the flavors stood out. While I was deciding the cashier shared that her favorite bagel of them all was the Rosemary Sea Salt, hands down! So I asked her to add one to my order. She gave it to me for free!!


I immediately posted photos to Foodie Finds + social media, thanked the cashier, and went next door to get my groceries.
I didn't need much; we are only here for three days. In the berries section they had red currants!
I've never had them before...time to try them out!


I had them with breakfast one morning. They were...not great haha. I didn't mind that they were sour, but they had a lot more tannin than I was expecting (you know how when you eat walnuts, or drink dry red wine, or accidentally eat a banana string? And it makes a "dry" sensation in your mouth? That's tannins.) I ate a handful with my yogurt, but will try to give a lot of them away too. Womp womp, but glad I got to try them!

Another Uber back to the hotel (geez, $$$) and finally I was done for the morning. Typed this up, had breakfast, and packed dinner to bring to the theatre. For lunch I had another special stop in mind, this time walkeable THANK GOD.


The Grits Counter is another local restaurants specializing in grit bowls, they also do burgers, finger foods, cocktails, and desserts. I got there just as a group of My Fair Lady folks were sitting down, on a lunch break from load in. They all thanked me for Foodie Finds and for recommending this place, which made me warm and fuzzy inside :) I'm sure people would find this place without me, but it's also very gratifying to find out that the info sheets have been useful to my coworkers.

I placed my order and joined them outside (it was a gorgeous high-60s day.)
The Harvest Bowl: carrot cake grits, grilled chicken breast, roasted corn, fried hominy, cranberries, and smoked gouda mornay sauce (on the side since I'm such a loser at digesting lactose)


Lots of flavors and textures here, both sweet and savory. The carrot cake grits were fantastic; I should look into recreating that flavor with oatmeal, it can't be hard. You could also have called this "Corn Three Ways" between the corn grits, grilled corn, and fried hominy! The hominy was nothing special but added nice texture. The whole thing was a little Thanksgiving-esque. The smoked gouda sauce was incredibly good, but I used it sparingly because grits are already made with whole milk. Very delicious and creative use of boring old corn. I'd love to try the other flavors (they have nine!)

I walked back and managed to take a little nap before walking to the theatre for sound check.
This theater is very....bland. It looks like a high school auditorium.

(photo from Robert Windel, Flickr)

The backstage, however, is coated in wall tags!
I took video, but we are NOT allowed to show dressing rooms and they were impossible to avoid.
Instead here are some pics:


Some tags from famous people, that I could find.


And here is a tag from a My Fair Lady tour that took place more than twenty years ago!!


Our cast artist, Ashton, painted our wall tag to be a sort of homage to the older one, which I thought was very cool.
Can you find my initials? :)


The show was fine, kind of a lukewarm audience but maybe they'll warm up over the weekend :)

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On Saturday I was pleased to get an email with my ultrasound results.
ExpandTRIGGER WARNING: ultrasound pics )

For lunch I walked to Big Billy's Burger Bar, excited for their venison burger, but it was unfortunately disappointing. It could have been good but they WAY overcooked it; I asked for medium rare and got a hockey puck. Womp womp.

The evening show went well except there was a hold when a setpiece would not move. It added about 10 minutes to our show, but the audience was patient and the show went smoothly once it started up again.

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Sunday, I thought about walking to Walmart but passed. This last week of shows is a lot of jumping around and at least one flight, so I have to be careful about what I'm traveling with so as not to make my luggage overweight.

The matinee was good, dinner between shows was fine, the last show was good...except AGAIN we had to hold for a "technical issue," not in the same spot but I suspect a similar problem with a set piece not moving as it should. Some of the setpieces (from what I understand) have to be moved with the help of motors, and I think some of the places where we perform are not ideal for this. I don't know. But twice in one weekend is pretty unusual. I hope it doesn't happen again in the next cities!

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This coming week is going to be a little nutty.

We bus to Johnson City TN tomorrow and it's a "load and go," so there will be a show the same night.
Then we have another show there on Tuesday.
Wednesday is a "load and go" to Blacksburg, VA, we probably won't even get to see the town and barely our hotel rooms.
Then a travel day to Worcester, where we'll do a Friday show and weekend matinees.
From there, a layoff!
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The usual loading up the bus and riding to the airport on Monday.

We arrived with about an hour to wait, and many people used the time to get breakfast and whatnot.
I walked the airport for a bit to get some steps in and to window shop. At a Rite Aid I found these "church eggs," which are a nostalgic treat to me. Members of our church in PA used to make these confections and sell them at Easter. They're super delicious, with the standard fillings being peanut butter cream, butter cream (similar to Cadbury Egg filling but less sugary), or coconut cream. Prepackaged eggs will never be as good as homemade, but these are made by a small candy shop in a small town outside Pittsburgh, so this is the closest I'm likely to get to my childhood Easter memories. It felt indulgent to get one of each flavor, but how could I not!


After that I sat to read my book for a while. There were some sparrows flying around inside. I guess birds sometimes accidentally fly in, through loading docks and jet bridges and such. I decided to try an interaction and here was the result.
(CLICK HERE for TikTok video)

Having volunteered at multiple aviaries, I do know how to catch birds...in an aviary. When the birds have plenty of energy, and plenty of space to fly away, yer not gonna catch 'em. Any time I moved toward the birds they quickly reacted. Hopefully a little water was helpful for keeping them healthy a while longer.

The flight was fine and normal; I was a bit anxious but not too bad. After the flight I asked the pilot about Delta trading cards, and he gave me one! Not for the plane that we'd flown on, he didn't have any for our model. Still, it's a new card to me!


We retrieved our luggage and went outside to wait for the charter bus, which just so happened to be coming to the Delta employee pickup area. There I found a female pilot sitting on a bench looking at her phone. When she looked up for a bit I walked over and politely asked if she participated in the trading card program, and she said, "Yes of course!" and brought out hers, two different planes, one of which I hadn't collected yet. And the card is an older print from 2016!

It was interesting to read that this plane was (is still?) operated with a joystick!


I feel like such a nerd but this is a really fun activity when flying Delta! And not once has a pilot seemed annoyed or put out by my asking, and every one of them has had the cards easily on hand. So cool! How many unique cards will l be able to collect before the end of this tour?

Luggage retrieval and a 1.5-hour bus ride to the hotel. Because the hotel is far from the theatre and there's not much around, our company management arranged for a grocery run using a charter bus. This brought back memories of the circus because the circus bus was often the ONLY way we could get groceries back to the train yard. We went to a Kroger and tried to get all we need for two days, and maybe a little extra for the bus rides to the cities to come.

Back at the hotel I ate grocery store sushi and drank tea and water (I still have a sore throat and sinuses, it feels like another virus coming on) and for once, chilled out. I wanted to do laundry but there was a queue so figured I'd try again in the morning.

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Tuesday morning, I had fallen asleep around 10:30 and slept on and off until 7:30, which is great. I want to give myself time to kick whatever-this-virus-is in the pants.

Joined the laundry queue (there's only one washer and dryer for all 60 of us plus other hotel guests) and was able to get my washing done by 9am, then had the free hotel breakfast. I took it very easy all morning. Am I going to feel under the weather for this whole dang tour? I hope not. It's annoying.

In the afternoon I went to a gas station to look for something to help me feel better, and found Propel Immune Boost water. Not something I'd normally want, but it had vitamin C, potassium, zinc, B and E vitamins, etc. And I was surprised to feel noticeably better after downing one! Went back and got two more later on. And that was my only outing of the day, despite the lovely mid-60s weather. Sometimes you just need a day to crash.

Rode the bus to the theatre for the show. For some reason the show time was changed to 7pm instead of 7:30pm (it's been 7:30 since we first got the schedules back in summer 2023) but no one complained; how nice to finish a show earlier than expected and still have some time in your evening!

(Image courtesy Gogue PAC facebook)

This is the Gogue Center, a nice new facility, spacious pit. There were little snacks and drinks for us in the Green Room as well which were much appreciated. The show went well although our MD is going through something personal right now, and was struggling emotionally. I don't know what's going on but I very much wanted to give him a hug :(

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Wednesday...didn't we JUST get here? After breakfast I started my partial packing routine. Luckily because of the time change I'm waking up at 7 instead of 8 and still getting a full night's sleep, which is excellent for being productive. Worked on Foodie Finds and misc paperwork for upcoming appointments, then took an Uber downtown to meet my step-aunt and step-grandpa for lunch. They weren't arriving for another hour and the weather was lovely, I wanted to get out and see the downtown a bit before they arrived (and not make them detour to pick me up.)

The downtown is cute...pretty much your all-American college town, with the sprawling campus and rows of shops and restaurants that only exist because of the economy generated by the school (my hometown is like that too, but smaller.) I saw the big stadium from a distance, but didn't get all that close. The campus was nice, shiny red and white brick buildings everywhere and students hustling between classes.

Most of the campus was clean, but at the part near the main intersection/town I noticed a lot of trash on the walkway and especially around the little gaggle of trees near the University sign.

It took me a moment to realize that those trees must be "The" oaks, which I guess are a historic part of sportsball victory celebrations having to do with toilet paper? But the original trees were poisoned by some idiot so now they've been cut down? And in their place are some small oaks that look super normal, except that they're now essentially living trash cans. Old dissolving toilet paper, gum, wrappers, and bottles stuck to the branches and blowing around the bases.

I'm gonna be honest: I do understand "school spirit" and all that, but there's "school spirit" and then there's "an excuse for piggish behavior." Taking a game so seriously that you decide the right reaction is to poison trees over who won/lost, or to trash a part of campus, seems to me like dumb animal behavior. But if you're an alum of this school, I'm guessing there must be some heartwarming or nostalgic connection in all this that as an outsider, I am not understanding. People used to burn couches in the street at my school when their favorite teams won or lost, and I thought that was idiotic too. Maybe the tradition here in Auburn was different, when the original oaks were there. And besides being trash-riddled the new trees looked like they're doing all right.

Toomer's Drugs was diagonal across the street.


I popped in to look around. It smelled so strongly of lemonade! They had many flavors and also sold it in bottles. I was tempted but decided to pass and just enjoyed looking at all the tiger mascot merch.

Soon it was time for lunch so I got to The Hound, a nice restaurant off the main drag. My aunt and grandpa showed up and got situated, and we asked our server to help with a photo to send to family who couldn't join us.


We got caught up, and as usual it was me who talked too much and answered questions about myself, which makes me feel blabby and self-absorbed though I know people have a lot of curiosity about what I do. I did get to ask after my grandpa's health and my grandma's cats, and everyone's doing "ok" which is all one can expect after a certain age. We talked about age too, since I've just turned 40. What a joy lol.

I had a cup of the gumbo: white rice, andouille sausage, alligator, shrimp, chicken, tasso ham. It was saltier than I'd usually choose but VERY good.


And their grain bowl, which was farro, sweet potato, fennel, cranberries, pistachio, goat cheese, and balsamic. I'm a sucker for hearty grains like farro and REALLY enjoyed this, saving half of it to eat later.


Both my aunt and grandpa got a hot sandwich with turkey, bacon, avocado, brie, mustard, and a few other yummy fillings, that they both enjoyed. Having limited time sucked, but we at least got a few hours together. They took me back to the hotel where we hugged goodbye, and they pushed a birthday card with "a little something-something" in it, which they REALLY shouldn't have. As usual I was spoiled when I do not deserve to be. I hate for people to treat me to things because rarely do I get to pay anyone back; I'm always the taker and never the giver :(

Anyway. From there I chilled for a bit, did more paperwork that had cropped up (taxes), and went for a short walk at a nearby softball field just to get some sun and fresh air.

Soon it was showtime. Bus to the theatre, do the show, pack it up.
We had a wall tag to sign too (I was early to it so not many signatures yet.)


Auburn was good, I got to do more than expected for just a two day stay.

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

Tomorrow morning we have a long bus ride to North Charleston, SC.
I have a bag of nonperishables to get me through snacks and lunch.
We won't arrive until evening. We'll have three days there, two of which are matinee days, so all I have on the docket are a doctor's appointment on Friday and some foodie finds to visit.
taz_39: (Default)
LONG post. You've been warned.

I had set an early alarm for Thursday knowing there'd be limited time to do things before our understudy rehearsal, but was so tired that I went back to sleep for an additional hour.

No matter. It was still a productive morning. I managed to make an appointment to get some testing done while we're in South Carolina; it's always a pain to do/schedule medical things while traveling for work. Then I sent a portfolio and resume to an opportunity I'm interested in. The opportunity isn't until 2025, but I want to be in consideration from the start because you never know what people will need and when. Maybe I'm being an annoyance, but I'd rather get my hat in the ring early than hear later, "Oh, we've already picked someone for that job."

Then, rehearsal. The call time was 12:15 and it ran until 4:30pm. The purpose was for the understudies--not just actors but also our assistant MD--to be able to do a whole show. Since it was for such a good cause I was happy to be there, but near the end my goodness we were getting hungry.

That pretty much took the whole day. I had time to go back to the hotel, shower, eat dinner, and decompress a bit before it was time to do the show.

Also, Jameson has applied to another corporate opportunity with Disney. I don't know if he has good odds of getting it, and after what happened last time (a string of interviews ending in no job offer and literal silence) I don't want to get hopes up. But still, a chance is a chance.

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

Friday, my stepmom and sister drove into town to visit!
After getting them settled into their hotel room, we walked over to Bae Bae's Kitchen, which is kind of mod-Korean plates and cocktails.

My pandan cocktail (with house-made pandan syrup!) and Kate's plum sour.


For the plates you could choose a protein and two sides. I did panko shrimp and two pickled dishes, white kimchi and yellow radish. Everything was fresh and delicious.


From there we took an Uber to Phipps Conservatory, a sort of botanical garden/greenhouse.



For the winter they have an orchid and bonsai tree display. There was also a miniature train set that was cute (didn't get a pic of that), a desert plants area, and many fruiting and spice trees/plants. We had a good time walking through and looking at as much as we could see!







We finished up earlier than planned because the outdoor sections were closed, and also frankly the displays were not as extensive as we had expected overall. I mean, orchids are lovely and everything, but after the fourth room of them or so it's kind of like...ok more orchids...got it...haha. But we did enjoy the experience :)

To kill time I suggested hitting The Strip for window shopping. The initial plan was to go to Prestogeorge's for coffee or tea, but the Uber dropped us off right in front of an Asian grocery and I knew Kate especially would lose her MIND in there!

An hour and a half later we marched out with all kinds of goodies to try! My sister and stepmom are from a rather small PA town, and while it has a small Thai/Asian grocery, there's not nearly the selection that you can find in a large city. I was so happy that they'd enjoyed new and exciting grocery items just as much as I did! We opted to walk back this time as it was only about a mile to the hotel.

After a brief rest and prep we walked to Gaucho, an Argentinian steakhouse where I'd made reservations for us.
Despite being a steakhouse it wasn't super-upscale; the food was certainly steakhouse-quality, but reasonably priced and there were small plates as well as the expensive wood-fired premium steak entrees. Oddly enough, I was the only one who got steak! A sliced steak sandwich with roasted veggies and chimichurri on HUGE fluffy ciabatta. Everything wood-fired and with a beautiful smoky sear to it, even the bread.


Kate got the seafood special which was seared scallops on a bed of pureed potato and turnip with crusty wood-fired bread (nobody took a pic somehow.) My stepmom got a roasted eggplant with roasted carrots, onions, beets, couscous, lemon ricotta, and pistachio gremolata. All of us tried it and honestly, I think it was the best dish of the three. The flavor was just incredible, between the smoke and the rich spices and the creamy lemon ricotta.


For dessert we had coffee and shared a banana dulce de leche bread pudding (as you can see, it was ALSO fire-roasted!)


Everything was amazing. I saved half my sandwich but everyone else crushed their meals. Good job us!
We walked to the theatre and picked up the tickets at the box office, then I left them in the lobby and went to the pit to do the show. It went pretty well, though I made some total weirdo mistakes, probably from being nervous with family there and also from being tired (socialization is draining on me no matter who I'm with or how much I love them.) After the show I found my fam in the lobby and we walked back to the hotel together. They had a great time and said they absolutely loved the show. Yay!

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

Saturday I was up early to work on Foodie Finds for Auburn because it's recently been pointed out to me that we DO have time to explore there. I wanted to add some downtown options in case people find the time/money to Uber there and check things out.

I met my stepmom and sister in the hotel lobby, and we walked to The Speckled Egg for breakfast. I was very thankful to have made reservations because we overheard the hostess say that there would not be open tables until 1pm!!

We were seated right away and enjoyed catching up with each other while eating bagels with lox, a crab and lobster roll, and "Hen's Hash," which was over easy eggs on potato, sweet potato, brussels, mushroom, and onion, with sourdough toast and a drizzle of house-made pineapple habanero vinegar. That was my dish, and it was simple yet the seasoning was perfect and it felt healthy to eat :)


When we were done eating we took time to appreciate the architecture (the restaurant is located inside the Union Trust Building which like many skyscrapers in Pittsburgh is historic and beautiful.)


We made sure to get selfies in the lobby!


I am extremely grateful for this time with family. Because of my lifestyle it is difficult to coordinate visits with family; time home is brief, so much needs to be done when I'm NOT moving all around, and then when I catch them during tour like this our time is limited. Which is why I'm so grateful that they drove four hours just to spend time with me, and see the show. And yeah, eat some great food!

Back at the hotel I walked them back to their room, then we hugged goodbye. I'll see Kate again soon when we do the sibling trip to Mexico! Then it was time to type this post and digest that exquisite breakfast before the 2pm matinee. It went well, and our assistant MD got to conduct the show for the first time and did a wonderful job.

(photo courtesy Laura, drums)

Between shows I finished fixing the Auburn Foodie Finds sheet, and tried to chill and drink tea because I was feeling a little yucky. Our French hornist has a cold (she says it's a cold anyway) and she'd BETTER not have given it to me.

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

Sunday was my birthday! The big 4-0!

I spent the morning responding to a barrage of well-wishes on social media. People are so kind! But today is certainly the day that I hate facebook the most haha.

Then, to my surprise, I got a message from one of the trombonists who sat next to me for Candlelight.
He was the musician from The Florida Orchestra, on the gig where I ran to my seat with only two minutes to spare before downbeat. He wanted to know if I'd sub for the orchestra on Trombone 2, for an upcoming Pops concert in May (Disco-themed!) I have nothing lined up so of course I said yes!

Here it is, you guys! The payoff! All of that finagling last year, and I actually get to sub with an established symphony orchestra. It may not seem like much, but to me it's the fulfillment of a dream (and also an absolute strategical win; my inner INTJ is CACKLING)
A fantastic birthday present!

Soon it was time to walk to the theatre.
There's an art installation on the way. It seems eerily meant for me.


I shared it to my socials, with the following caption:

"Today I am 40, and spending the day being a trombonist with My Fair Lady at the Benedum Center. Which is next to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where I performed with the All-Eastern Band as a high school student in 2001…hoping to become a professional musician.

"In a way, it’s a full-circle moment. I’m surprised, happy, and maybe even a little bit proud…that in the end, I really did get to be a musician after all. And on some pretty amazing gigs too. How wild is that? Looking back, it feels like a miracle.

"Today I’m playing two shows. And the fact that that’s “normal” to me is incredibly special.
————————————
"Edit to Add: It’s special because this wasn’t just my dream. It was my mother’s dream too. She passed away before she could see me realize it.

"She never once discouraged me from music.
She never once tried to bar my path.
She never once suggested I try something “safer.”

"She supported my dream of becoming a professional musician with no reservations.
And I have felt her love, and her unconditional support, every step of the way."


I don't feel particularly older, today. But giving my first masterclass last week made me realize that I AM older...and as a musician, I'm now considered to have "made it" in music. As I'm still struggling to find work and get gigs, this is surprising to me. And yet, from the perspective of a kid in college with no experience, I have done a LOT. I am surprised to look back and see so much. Life is strange. I'm grateful to be here.

The show went well. All of our shows here have been very well attended.
Between shows I partial-packed and did more responding to b-day wishes.
The evening show also went well. At intermission Company Management called me into the office to receive this loverly card from the cast! How nice! Several people took this time to thank me for doing Foodie Finds, which made me feel extra warm and fuzzy.


And then, the show was over. Did the usual pack up, typed up this post, and went to bed.

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

Tomorrow we fly to Atlanta, and from there it's a two hour bus ride to Auburn, Alabama.
I've never been there before, and we do get a little time to explore so I'm hoping to see the downtown and visit a restaurant.
But I also REALLY need to do laundry!

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