goofball on a train

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.

( Trombone 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.

Monday was I guess a holiday.

Neither of us are very patriotic, so we did absolutely nothing special.
In fact we both tried to work. Jameson got some grading done before his boss emailed to say "STOP IT," and since I work low-pay data entry that doesn't have holiday pay I could do as much or as little as I wanted, which turned out to be about four hours' worth.

And Disney memorization, and when the temp got up to 96°F (35.5°C) with a 100°F heat index, I declined to go for a walk and instead took a dip in the pool.


I did do laps in there; it's a short little pool but exercise is exercise. Swam constantly for about 30 minutes anyway, and it felt nice. Dinner was just Panda Express, watching Jameson play Botany Manor video/puzzle game until I got motion sick, and watching some anime.

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Tuesday was super-boring. I had a regular checkup in the morning, and after that did all my usual things (data entry, memorization, lunch, data entry.)

In the evening Jameson had a short rehearsal to help a friend, and I needed something other than staring at a screen, so went for an evening walk. It was hot, I didn't see any animals. Just walked and contemplated life.

We got our own dinners but Jameson was home early enough that we could have our usual evening chill time together.

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Wednesday wash rinse repeat.

When the days get repetitive like this I get twitchy. Feels like I should be "doing something," taking action in some way to keep from getting stagnant, to help myself get a better job or the next gig. But also, sometimes the best thing you can do is be still and keep your head down.

Feeling a bit dejected about the audition...I haven't heard anything and they have not viewed my videos since I fixed access to them. As part of sulking about it I gave myself a "treat" by ordering the Vedshakti toothpaste that I'd loved so much while on tour. Nothing else has made my mouth feel so clean for so long after brushing.

Jameson, also, nothing from his friend on the Potentially Very Exciting Job that he'd hoped for. This has happened to him so. many. times. We are both tired of it. At least in my case I generally hear back from people regarding gigs (at some point Hadestown will probably at least send a rejection.) But when it comes to non-music jobs, I get ghosted or screwed over just as often as Jameson does.

I guess we are fools to believe that when someone offers you a job, they're actually offering a job. Or for believing that when someone says they'll get back to you, they actually will. Because we both keep falling for it.

Anyway, I'm just griping over small stuff. We are both relatively healthy and both have work, and our complaints have more to do with feeling fulfilled in our professional lives, which truly in this day and age is a first world problem to have. Jameson had a dentist appointment in the morning. I did data entry from 8am-noon. We had lunch, I memorized Disney music and did more data entry and planned for what to make for dinner this week.

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And that's the week, folks. You must be relieved that for once I've posted something less than a mile long.

We had a slow morning in Eugene as it was a late flight.

It turned out to be kind of a wonky travel day, though: first our flight was delayed, then United wouldn't let us check in as a group OR individually. Instead they made us line up at the counter in the order that the bookings had been made, of all things, and then proceeded to check us in AND tag our luggage, person-by-person, all 60 of us. It was absolutely ridiculous, took much more time than usual or necessary, and was probably the least efficient way to check in a large group, ever. I've been a touring musician for 10+ years, and in the hundreds of flights I've taken with all major airlines, no one has EVER demanded that we check in in-person, or in exact booking order, before. Absolute nonsense, and someone at Eugene Airport's United service counter BADLY needs to be re-trained.

Aaaanyway. Thanks to our company management being organized and awesome, it wasn't THAT bad, just idiotic.

Our flight was delayed about 30-40 minutes, and we landed in San Francisco just in time to hit rush hour traffic. The 1.5 hour ride to the hotel quickly became a 2.5 hour trip. I struggled mightily with motion sickness from the stop-and-go traffic, and finally had to resort to wearing my Sea-Bands and eating extra Travel Bagel to stop the acid sloshing around in my stomach. Thank god for that bagel!

When I could do it without my stomach rolling, I looked out the window as there is always much to admire about California.
This is the greenest I've ever seen it here. The last time I was in this area it was badly in drought, and the hills were all brown and crusty.


A housing development in which every single house had solar panels.


We passed many fields of crops, most notably acres and acres of almonds (at least I think they were almonds, the fruit looked pale green and oval. If I'm wrong, they may have been olives instead.)


At the hotel I dropped my stuff and went to Sprouts for one last "Foodie Find," a very small one. Getting just enough groceries for two days; I don't plan to eat out at all here. I found a few fun things to try including Sprout's own brand of seasoned tofu, and a single-serving carton of Woolala Banana Milk (I've had it before but Jameson loved it very much and drank it all :p )

I also picked up some new-to-me apples to enjoy: a cosmic crisp (left), a kanzi (right), and a lemonade apple (yes I've had the lemonade apple recently in another state, but this one looked different and I was interested to try it again since they're pretty rare to come across.)


- Cosmic Crisp: It was pretty good but idk why the big fuss. To me, it seemed like an improved red delicious. The skin was still thick and chewy like a red delicious, but less bitter than one, and the fruit was juicy and had a good sweet flavor. I like at least a little tartness in my apples though, so to me these are, like the honeycrisp, overly sweet.
- Kanzi: And this one was like an improved gala or fuji. Sweet and juicy, thin skin, really nice flavor, and I liked how light and not-woody the flesh was. Some people like a "harder" apple, I prefer ones that are lighter and more "crispy," and this one leans that way. Still more sweet than I prefer but I like it more than the cosmic crisp!
- Lemonade: I'll be eating this guy on the flight home.

Back at the hotel, an auspicious dinner of turkey jerky, nuts, half a NuGo bar, and canned pumpkin. I'm trying to eat down any remaining travel nonperishables, since travel days are about to be over. Unpacked, washed up, felt depressed about the end of tour, and went to bed.

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Woke up on Tuesday a bit disoriented (where tf am I again?) and walked into the bathroom to see water all over the toilet. The room above mine, or pipes I guess, is/are leaking. If there has to be a leak I suppose better over the toilet than, say, over the bed, or my luggage.


Maintenance took over an hour to show up, so I had breakfast and worked on my court reporting modules in the meantime. When they finally did show up he took one look at the ceiling, cringed, and said he was going upstairs to see where the leak was coming from, and I never saw him again after that.

Jameson had a tattoo appointment today and was very excited about it, naturally. I chatted on and off with him while working and worrying about the expanding water zit above the toilet. Finally the front desk called to say that maintenance hadn't been able to access the room above mine because there was a pet in there (they're legally prohibited from entering a hotel room with a pet) and asked if I'd like to switch rooms. I said yes because even if the leak was fixed, there's still standing/stagnant water trapped in the ceiling and I am not a fan of it. They brought a new key up right away and it didn't take me long to switch over.

In the time it took me to switch rooms, all motivation for working on court reporting modules went out the window. I just...I feel like once again I don't have a job. Yes, I have a chance to CERTIFY and THEN start working, but for fuck's sake, that means I need ANOTHER job in the meantime!!!
WHY am I always inadequate?
Why is it never enough?
Am I not human being enough to hold just a normal-ass job?
Once again, I was supposed to know to keep applying for MORE work after being offered a job?
Honestly, I was very upset today. I'm so tired of this happening after each tour.

It didn't even brighten my mood to receive an email from The Florida Orchestra about the upcoming disco concert that I'll be involved in; or shortly after that, a text from the Main Street Phil with directions to the costuming building. I should be excited and happy about both of these fun opportunities, but right now I just feel desperate and ashamed.

With all of that in mind I unpacked (again), and walked to a small fruit stall near the hotel.
Modesto smells a lot like Mexico...hard to describe but it's a mix of, like, hot dust, decaying garbage and food and plant material, grilled meats, and perhaps a touch of brine from sea air brought inland. Just something that I noticed, going outside here for the first time today and coming from a different state.

The little fruit stall/shop had a lot more than fruit, namely dried fruits, nuts, chocolates, and honey. Lots of honey.


I didn't get anything because I'd actually hoped they'd have some veggies, and they didn't.
Went back to the hotel, did work on more court reporting, then did a depressive nap until it was time for sound check.

This theatre has an "ok" pit, and the auditorium is nothing special to look at but the acoustics are "ok" as well.
Some actors started crying a bit during sound check; these folks have performed together for twice as long as I've been on this tour, so there are a lot of emotions as our show comes to a close. After sound check we were given a photo op on stage with the Higgins study set piece.

Full cast (I'm over on the right):



Full cast goofy photo:



My Fair Lady Orchestra only:


When I saw that no one was going to the middle, I planted myself there and did what I hoped might be a good Henry Higgins pose. Note that I took care to wear my shiny reflective shoes.


Opening night went well and the audience was wonderful.

Maeghin, the actress who plays Mrs. Pierce, got us each a pair of "My Fair Shadies" sunglasses! How cute is that!


After the show was our closing night party (even though it's not quite closing night, better to have the party the night before due to load out.) The cute cake:


There were lots of photo ops set up around the event space, mainly a My Fair Lady banner that we took turns with.
Here is my set:



Another set with the band (except Abe, our bassist, who got annoyed with having to wait in line for this photo and left):


A moment before the toasts given by some of our creative team who were present. The woman on the left there is Angela Rowles, the Chief Executive Officer.


To be honest...the party gave "not with a bang but a whimper" vibes. Probably because we just got here, and it feels (to me at least) like we should still have a full week of shows before we close out. The impression is oddly like some sort of "soft closing," with just the two shows and not a lot of fanfare. But each tour is different, and going out quietly like this is a new experience for me. Hey, I got a free glass of wine and got to chat with people a bit, and it was a nice time.

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Wednesday, I woke up at 8am to do a last load of laundry and had exactly the amount of quarters needed. A sign! Lol.
Breakfast, partial packing, and started to do court reporting but my stepmom called so we chatted it up and by the time we were done it was time to eat lunch.

If anyone is curious, I DID end up passing that transcription evaluation for employment that I was working on last week!
And then guess what! They wrote to say that there will likely be no work until JUNE. Hahahahahahahahaha.
So now I "have" two jobs, NEITHER of which will actually have me working and getting paid anytime soon.
That means that although I have two jobs lined up, I still need to find even more work.

Now is the perfect time for a crotchety 65-or-older know-it-all to appear and condescendingly sniff, "No one wants to WORK any more." So I can rip their bloody larynx out.

At least both jobs were up-front about it, and didn't leave me sniveling and groveling for updates all summer like some other transcription companies coughFedWriterscough. At least now I know, for certain, that for the month of May it's back to $12/hr data entry and scrubbing toilets for elderly people via Papa Pal.

Look well, all ye who are envious of my touring lifestyle! For this is the price.

Would YOU be willing to pay it, for the adventures I've had?
As much as I gripe and curse and worry and rant...in the end, I Will Pay That Price every damn time, for as long as I can.
That's how much it still means to me.

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I had planned to get my hair trimmed back in Orlando, but a salon nearby happened to have an opening so I did it today instead. One less chore. The rest of the evening seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was time to walk to the theatre for the final show.

I am not a very boo-hooey person, and still don't even know half of these people, but can empathize with the emotions that they felt tonight. The audience was fantastic and supportive, and cheered heartily for everyone. They knew.
I played the show "like normal," but was so conscious that this was our very last time together. We'll never be here again.

So, ya know. I wore my shiny shoes. For posterity :p


At intermission I joined everyone in signing our very last wall tag, at the top of the stairs leading down to the pit.


And before I knew it, it was over. We were playing the bows, and our MD was crying and so was half the orchestra, the audience was giving us a standing O and I don't know what was happening on stage but can guess lots of emotions. And then we all started packing up like normal, but shook hands and hugged and gave goodbyes. I said, "See you down the road" to everyone because that's the traditional circus parting phrase, implying that you're not saying goodbye; your paths are just forking and they'll come together again someday.

Walking back alone, on a quiet Wednesday night in Modesto, was strange. My mute bag and trombone felt heavy. I had many mixed feelings. But quietly, in the bottom of my shriveled cantankerous little heart, I felt the tiniest ember of hope that this show may be revived overseas. That's the rumor, but as for reality we'll just have to wait and see.

At the hotel packed carefully to protect my mutes and Jameson's souvenirs, and the luggage scale says I'm below 50lbs so hopefully all's well for flying. I missed a text from our MD begging for an impromptu band toast down at the hotel bar...I think he forgot to announce it in the midst of emotions post-show. I felt bad for not going but, I have to be up at 4am tomorrow for an entire day of flying, and though the sentiment is sweet, I don't want to drink tonight (or get weepy haha.)

Packed up, shoved a foam cone into my trombone bell, washed up, typed this blog. And went to bed.
And the curtain is closed on My Fair Lady.

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Tomorrow (or today depending on where you read this) I'm up at 4am, 4:30 shuttle call, 5am departure on a 2-hour drive to SanFran airport. I'll eat breakfast at the airport, then a 5 1/2-hour flight directly to Orlando. Jameson should be able to pick me up, maybe we'll get dinner and groceries.
And the next several days will be spent unpacking, cleaning, catching up with my sweetheart, and preparing for the stationary life.

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"!


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.


Behind the church was a sculpture garden so we checked that out too.


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.


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.


The stewed green chiles were in Ziplock bags near the counter, still warm. The red ones were in huge bulk bags stacked in piles.


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.)


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:


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 :)


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.


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.

*Posting early because so much happened that it requires it's own post.*

TRIGGER WARNING: BAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE / FEAR OF FLYING

I woke up before my alarm to use the bathroom, and although my fever had receded for the moment I had somehow managed to pull a back muscle during the night. It was very painful to bend forward...you know, the movement I'll need to complete ALL DAY today while lifting my 50lb suitcase, 35lb backpack, and 20lb trombone case into Ubers and onto scales. Great! On top of having to travel with a virus. What a joy.

There was nothing that I could do about it, so called an Uber and off I went to the airport.
Checking in and security and all that went smoothly, but at the gate although our plane was there it was delayed because it had been struck by lighting on the way in! Crews were going over the whole plane with cherry pickers and misc equipment. I should have taken a picture. The gate agent said that it was actually considered "routine" for planes to be struck by lightning, but when it happens there are safety processes that need to be completed, which I was absolutely glad to wait for.

The delay ended up being about 3 hours, so I rebooked my connection and called Jim (our company management) to be sure he knew what was going on.

Right here I want to note: this was the first time that I mentioned the possibility of getting a rental car...before the travel day got EVEN WORSE. I suggested offhand that it might be a good option if my SECOND flight was delayed or cancelled due to the INCOMING STORM that had been forecast 72 HOURS AGO and that we could all see was probably going to interfere with flights for the day.

"There's still plenty of time!" said Jim.
I didn't feel confident but didn't say anything, because so far everything was going "moderately ok."

Eventually we started boarding. This was an unusually large model of plane, one of those with a big row of 3 in the middle and rows of two on either side. It occurred to me that I should ask about the Delta pilot trading cards I'd heard about on TikTok (HERE is a link to the video I saw) I asked a random flight attendant...and she knew exactly what I was talking about! She said it was really unusual for this model of plane to be flying domestically (they're usually for international flights) and before I knew it she had popped up to the cockpit and grabbed me a trading card! My first one! They're real!!


These have been around for at least a decade believe it or not, but you have to specifically ask for them. The trading cards were an initiative started by Delta employees who wanted to share their passion for flying with passengers. The designs of the cards are updated every year. I think this is just THE COOLEST. I don't even care about aviation that much but this certainly has me interested to try and collect as many cards as I can!

The flight was unfortunately turbulent due to the storms all over the US, so there were no services offered and we had to stay in our seats. Luckily it was just a short flight to Atlanta. We landed at the farthest possible point from my next gate, so I had to choose: pee, eat, or refill water bottle? I chose "pee,", then rode the ATL airport tram all the way to gate A and got there just as my group was boarding. At the gangway I again remembered to ask the flight attendant about the trading cards, and because we were right next to the cockpit I got to watch as she asked the pilots and one whipped out a trading card right away and handed it to her! I yelled him a thank you which I'm not sure he heard, but other flight attendants exclaimed over the card...several of them had never heard about them either!

Here is the card for my second flight, a 737-900ER.


Feeling good vibes and like the day was off to a decent start, I settled into my seat and got ready for a turbulent but short flight to New Orleans. Little did I know the day was about to get a lot longer, and a lot worse.

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Travel Day From Heck: Part 1

The flight was uncomfortable due to turbulence, plus I hadn't had time to get food or refill my water. I rationed my water and ate a lot of my travel snacks, feeling bad that I didn't have enough to share with my seat-mates. We got all the way to New Orleans...then suddenly everyone's flight monitors updated showing a route to TALLAHASSEE. We got rerouted because NOLA airport had closed due to a nasty incoming storm system (too warm to snow there but tornadoes forming, and hurricane-force winds.)

We were allowed to BRIEFLY deplane in Tallahassee, where I found eight other My Fair Lady folks who were on the same flight! We only had a few minutes so everyone was scrambling to get food and water and pee (I managed all three).

PLEASE NOTE: At this point I texted Jim (company management) and directly asked for a rental car.
"Aren't they going to send you out again?" was his response. At this point I should have listened to my instincts. I should have taken my own safety and wellbeing into my own hands. But other people from my company were waiting for instruction without complaint, and I didn't want to be the squeaky wheel and the outlier who caused an inconvenience.

A few minutes later we reboarded for a second attempt at flying into NOLA. I am a nervous flyer, I get motion sick very easily, so I was worried but figured it was such a short flight, and perhaps the storm system was mostly past and that's why they thought it was worth trying again.

It was very turbulent again...even more turbulent. Frighteningly so.
And then we got to NOLA, and the plane was PITCHING, dipping, lurching. It was nighttime and dark out, no horizon line plus it was absolutely storming out there, and even if there had been a horizon line it would have been dipping crazily everywhere as the plane was pushed around like a toy. We found out later that we had been trying to land in 70mph headwinds (what the actual FUCK.)

I had my eyes squeezed tightly shut and was forcing myself to "go somewhere else" so that I wouldn't go into an absolute meltdown panic attack, or faint. The people around me were not doing much better; the man to my left was doubled over in his seat and the woman to my right clutched the seat in front of her as though her life depended on it.

As the landing gear came out I experienced the absolute worst turbulence I have ever felt on a flight. My entire sense of equilibrium was off, I couldn't tell up from down. G-forces were pulling me up toward the ceiling, then sideways or back down into my seat. It was at this point that I heard people starting to retch and gag. Although it was hard to release my white-knuckle grip that I'd had on my own wrists, I did it and put my hands over my ears to reduce sensory input overall...and to avoid hearing the sounds of people vomiting. Fortunately (I guess), because I was sick with this cold/flu I couldn't really smell any of what was happening, and/or people had been able to grab their barf bags in time.

At this point the plane dipped suddenly and violently, then there was an extreme, crushing amount of G-force that smashed us all into our seats, and the plane seemed to be pulling up almost completely vertical like a space rocket. Some people wailed or screamed. I think that was our first failed attempt at landing, and the pilot pulling back up into the sky where we bounced around again. Then the same thing happened AGAIN, a plunging-toward-the-ground sensation, a second round of intense G-force followed by the sharp vertical pull-up. To me it seemed like we were about to slam directly into the ground, but the pilot got onto the com and lackadaisically suggested that we open up our air vents if we were feeling motion sick, to help get air moving. He sounded not only calm but mildly amused. Good lord.

After that second attempt we went back into moderate turbulence, and the flight path again showed a route to Tallahassee. A flight attendant came through to collect trash/vomit bags, but after that they all had to sit down again because it was still way too turbulent.

You guys. I have NO IDEA how I didn't either pass out from terror, or vomit. I wonder if being sick actually helped somewhat, because my brain was too fuzzy to go into the complete panic that I'd usually feel in such a situation. Or maybe my inner ear was already messed up, making me less nauseous than I would have normally been. Or maybe because I'd scarfed down a big sandwich right before we left, my stomach didn't fill with sloshing acid. Whatever had protected me for this horrific experience, I was grateful beyond words. First of all to be ALIVE, and second of all not to have vomited or fainted. I was shaking like a leaf and sweating, but I think nearly everyone was at that point.

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Travel Day From Heck: Part 2

We landed again in Tallahassee. I was so, so, so grateful to be on the ground. At this point it was late at night (10pm I think?) and Tallahassee is a small airport, so we had to wait while gate agents and crew were gathered so we could get off the plane. Then they told us that if we got off the plane we would not be allowed back on, PLUS our luggage would not be returned to us that night. It was clear that there would be no more attempts tonight, anyway, which thank F*CK.

Our My Fair Lady group gathered on the gangway, and decided to leave the plane with our carry-ons hoping that our company management could figure something out. At this point I'm ashamed to say that I was one of the least-calm people in our group. I have intense flight anxiety on a NORMAL travel day, and now the entire day had been turbulence and terror, and a one-hour flight had turned into a 15-hour ordeal with no end in sight, plus my trombone was in the checked luggage! How was I supposed to do a show without a trombone?! So when Jim (company management) told us to "give it the old college try" on the rescheduled flight the next day...I LOST IT. I could not believe that the expectation was for all of us to be perfectly ok and peachy-keen with flying again after that. And I voiced that, borderline hysterical, to my peers, who listened and to their credit stayed a lot more calm and gave me more deference than I deserved. I apologized for flipping out of course, and they all said they understood that it wasn't directed at them, but I was still letting my anxiety leak out at people who had had just as terrible a day as I'd had, and that wasn't right. I still feel bad about it.

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Travel Day From Heck Part 3 (no, it isn't over, there's EVEN MORE.)

We waited at the airport for at least an hour while the poor gate agent, who was all alone, tried to distribute electronic hotel and food vouchers one-by-one for hundreds of passengers. I never got any vouchers myself, but most of our group did. We were told that the flight was rescheduled for tomorrow at 10:30am. I checked the weather and this is what I saw:


In other words, the same storm system that we had encountered in NOLA was moving east and would be in Tallahassee right when our flight was scheduled to take off. And everyone else was ok with this. I looked around at my peers and could not believe they were nodding and agreeing with this itinerary.

Our company management texted to say they'd gotten us booked at a hotel nearby, so off we went to the luggage carousel downstairs (a crew had been found to take our luggage off the plane after all.) I was thrilled at this because if I had all of my belongings, I was no longer beholden in any way to these crazy company-booked itineraries involving flying into goddamned tornadoes.

But after all of the suitcases had been unloaded, and everyone had their luggage and had called their Ubers to the hotel...my trombone was nowhere to be seen.

I waited and waited, and finally the belt stopped moving. Everyone had left without me. The Delta luggage assistance desk was closed. I circled the airport and asked everyone I could find--security, an American Airlines agent, a TSA agent--where I could look, what I could do. I asked company management for help and they said, "Have you tried asking around?"

Finally I realized that there was nothing I could do, no further recourse I could take that night. It was after midnight and I was so exhausted and stressed to the point of near-hysterics, and could barely think. It was clear that no one was going to help me, except myself. So I fucking did just that. The car rental counter was minutes from closing. I walked up and rented myself one of their last available cars, a minivan, for $150. I threw my suitcase in the back and drove it to the hotel, where I had to wait TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES to check in because there was someone making a scene at the front desk. During that time I texted Abi (company management) to inform her that I'd be DRIVING to New Orleans, so don't make the group wait for me in the morning, etc. Shortly after that Jim called to ask why I was driving, and finally, after all that had happened, I broke down. Through tears, I explained to him that the same storm system that was in New Orleans today was moving east and was supposed to be in Tallahassee tomorrow, right when our rescheduled flight was supposed to take off. Did he REALLY expect me to get back on a plane in the middle of the same storm? REALLY???? He said that he understood and left it at that. At this point I don't really care how needy, emotional, weak, or demanding I sounded. Everyone else seemed perfectly happy to get back on the same plane tomorrow in the middle of a storm. Good for them! Big back-pats and medals all around for being "troopers" and "giving it the old college try" I'm sure. But I had had MORE than enough of putting my safety and wellbeing into the hands of others, and reaping the "rewards" of that today. I was DONE.

I finally got to check in after 1am. Got to my room and was so stressed and tense that it took me another hour to fall asleep.

Right as my eyes were closing, my phone pinged. It was Jim, in New Orleans...holding my trombone.


This is the biggest mystery of the day.
How did my trombone get to New Orleans that night??
My luggage tracker says that it was loaded onto the same plane that I was on, the one that never landed in New Orleans. The last timestamp that I had for it was at 4pm, which was in Tallahassee when we were reboarding for the second attempt at reaching NOLA.


We were only in Tallahassee that first time for about 30 minutes, and we reboarded right at 4pm. So somewhere in there, JUST MY TROMBONE, no other luggage, was pulled off and put on another flight? Or an angel came and spirited it away as we were plunging toward the tarmac in New Orleans? I couldn't believe it, and was awed and grateful.

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Travel Day From Heck Part 4

I woke up around 5:45am, repacked everything, and checked out.

Outside the wind was already high, around 25-35 mph. I checked the weather and saw that there were already tornadoes on the ground along my route. I hesitated, but you know what? I'd rather die on the ground, with my life in my own hands, with some small modicum of dignity, instead of in a tin can in the sky covered in vomit and plummeting toward the ground with my head between my knees. I had let others control my safety all day yesterday, and we can see how that went. Ultimately, I wanted to be treated like a human being and not an inanimate object being moved around on a game board at the convenience of a corporation. And if that's what I wanted, I had to give it to myself, because at this point it was clear that no one else was going to attribute any value to me, except myself.

So off I went while my coworkers slept.


It was scary.


Driving through tornado warnings is not a joke, and it is really no safer than huddling in a hotel or on a plane. But on the ground, you can pull over. You can seek shelter. You have phone service and can call for help. You can pee and eat and drink water when you need to. And most of all, you can avoid an inevitable flight delay. Plus, I am actually a VERY good driver and have a lot of experience driving through severe weather, believe it or not. So I was scared...but I believed in myself, and I trusted myself to pull over if I needed to.
(CLICK HERE for footage of what I drove through.)

I almost pulled over twice, both times when passing through actual tornado warnings. A "Tornado Watch" means tornadoes are possible; a Tornado Warning means there is actually a tornado on the ground somewhere nearby. And oh there definitely was. I couldn't see it, but I had never seen such intense lightning, and the wind was incredible. I was on an interstate so there was enough lighting to see whether debris was on the road. And I stuck close to a line of truckers, keeping a safe distance from them but always keeping their tail lights in my view. When they put their 4-ways on, so did I. And we plodded forward against hurricane-force winds, and we did not see any tornadoes. But I almost pulled over twice because the rain was so hard at those times that my wipers couldn't keep up. That intensity didn't last, so I was able to keep moving forward, somehow.

There were lots of breaks in the weather, as this system was made up of bands, so I stopped several times for coffee or snacks or to pee or stretch my legs.

MEANWHILE, my coworkers who had all stayed behind got up to find out their flight had been delayed, and as the day progressed, the tornado warnings (yep tornadoes still ON THE GROUND) reached Tallahassee, so the entire airport went into lockdown and everyone was herded into the airport stairwells.


As I was nearing the end of my drive around noon, the tornado warnings were lifted and the airport was reopened...but the stairwells had been outside security, so the entire airport had to go back through security screening.


Look at all the fun I missed out on by driving, you guys!
I could have been herded into a cold cement stairwell for an hour, like cattle in a pen!
And made to do TSA security screenings TWICE!
Plus sitting in an airport for three hours while someone else decided how my day would go!
And then having to FLY, again, after all of that!

They did manage to take off around 2pm, and landed in NOLA around 3pm.
By that time I had gone to the grocery store, checked in to the hotel, returned the rental car, and was dead asleep.
So, I don't care that it "worked out in the end."
It is clear to me that I have little value to society, and that overall I'm just another dumb animal, a little cog in a wheel or a plastic game piece to be moved around on a board by people who expect me to "deal with" whatever they decide is "the best option", ultimately, for THEM. But it is MY body, and MY soul, and it has value to ME even if no one else gives two fucks.

Today my employer chose to value the almighty dollar. And I chose to value myself.
And look at that, it paid off.


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After all of that we still had a show to do. I'll probably save that for my usual Thursday post.
Suffice to say that the nap I got before the sound check and show was not nearly enough, but it was better than nothing.

I have been touring for nearly a decade.
I have lived on a moving train for five years, and on a cruise ship for four months, and I have flown hundreds of times.
This was, by far, the worst travel day that I've ever had in my forty years of living.

As I told my sister later on: it was like a real-life nightmare.
Like a frightening dream about the worst flight turbulence; and then not being able to find an important item that you need; and asking people for help but they all just smile and shrug or walk away; and then being chased by a tornado. It was all so over-the-top and bizarre that it felt unreal, a nightmare come to life or like I'd died and been sent to hell.

I hope to never experience a day like that again.

I think I actually slept all right, though had weird dreams about a huge crocodile coming after me in the water because I didn't give it an offering (this seems like a mash-up of TikTik account @fishingarret, which I did watch before bed, and the Mugger of the Ghaut from The Second Jungle Book)

Anyway, before I could run off and have fun I had to do my cooking.
Hello Itaki, it's been a while :)


I cooked my chicken breasts first, in a regular chicken broth and seasoned with Goldy's spice blend and black pepper.
Next were the tilapia filets from Harmon's, also given the spice blend and pepper treatment before going into a turmeric ginger chicken broth.


I have a good sense of timing for the Itaki, and pulled the fish at the perfect time. It was flaky and moist, and the seasoning was great! Ate some of it for lunch with a challah roll and veggies.

Then a whole bunch of emailing and blog updating and meal planning before getting an Uber to the Natural History Museum!!
( Museum Stuff! )

By this time I had spent a solid two hours in the museum, and was getting tuckered.
I was about to head back downstairs when I noticed some people going out onto a sort of patio, and decided to follow them and see what was out there. An incredible view, that's what. (CLICK HERE to see)

There was lots of signage describing the atmospheric phenomenons, cloud structures, solar impacts of blah blah blah, but I just wanted to fill my eyeballs and not necessarily understand the mechanisms this time. It was 3pm, and the sky was just otherworldly.


Imagine what the sunsets must be like.

Unedited proof that I was here.


After that I did call an Uber, which was supposed to take me to Walgreens but we got held up by a "Free Palestine" protest. I was only a few blocks away so popped out of the car in the middle of stopped traffic, watched the protest for a while, then continued on to Walgreens just for a jug of distilled water for my tea kettle.

Back at the hotel I made myself tea and had snacks, and chatted with Jameson while he got ready for the premiere of Jollywood!! I can't believe the show goes live tonight!! He is SO HANDSOME in a suit :D


If you'd like to watch the new Jollywood show CLICK HERE.
Jameson is on the left upper level, sitting across from the blonde female keyboardist.

For dinner I had decided to try Zest, a vegan restaurant around the corner from the hotel.
It had great reviews, but I got a bad vibe as soon as I stepped in. 5:30pm on a Saturday, with a vibrant night life in SLC and lots of events happening downtown, and there were TWO people in the dining room. That should have been my cue to leave, but I didn't take it.

Here's what I ordered from the menu: "coconut yellow curry w/forbidden black rice and sesame stir fry vegetables, mung bean "tofu", sesame seeds, and cashews."

Here's what I got: green curry w/plain white rice in straight-up unseasoned coconut cream, with overcooked squash, bok choy, and green peppers, and mung bean "tofu."

AND IT WAS $25.

As soon as it came out I said something (I mean when you order BLACK rice and it is stark white, and the curry is green not yellow, something is clearly not right), and the server said, "Oh, our menu changed, the yellow curry was a SUMMER dish, this is our FALL curry."
Yeah ok, but like when were you going to tell ME that? Never, I guess. He seemed surprised that I had said something. I decided to eat it anyway--I really shouldn't have, but apparently my self-preservation was in the "off" setting tonight. Not only was it not at all what I'd ordered, it just was not good. The green curry broth itself was flavorful and nice, but the rest of it I'm sorry to say was just LAME. Overcooked eggplant and zucchini, bland goopy rice...and for $25!!!

I wrote them a scathing review but have to wait until we leave town to post it (it's one of the rules of traveling with a show, not to start a stink and invoke repercussions that could reflect badly on the company.) Man, what a disappointment. It WAS edible, but I could have easily made that in my hotel room with the Itaki and done a better job of it. I feel like such a sucker out-of-towner. I should have REALLY looked around and realized that the locals have shunned this place, and there must be a reason.

Ah well. This kind of thing happens from time to time. I'll have to take it as a "fool me once."
The rest of the day was lovely, so if that was the worst part of it I can't complain!

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Sunday was an early sound check because we had two shows, the first one being at 1pm.
So at 9am I was at the theatre warming up. It's a pretty one with a sparkly ceiling.


Sound check was fine, just running through a few numbers for the orchestra and then with the actors doing mic checks on stage. Back to the hotel for lunch, then back again for the first show. I thought it went well AND it was sold out, all three balcony levels were completely full! Yay! We did have a prop bouquet of fake flowers fall into the pit and hit Eileen (French horn), and it's not like a fluffy bouquet, it's a BATON with flowers tied to it, so she said it did hurt. That'll probably be an incident report. That's the second large object to fall into the pit so far, maybe we need a traveling pit net.

Otherwise it went well. Dinner at the hotel, then show number two, which also went well.

And then, opening night party!


It was at a restaurant a few blocks from the theatre, and what a nice setup we had!
Good food, really great mixed drinks (although I stuck with wine myself)


I tried to mingle but am not great socially, plus most of these people know each other already.


One fantastic surprise was my friend Tyler, who was my tour manager over a decade ago with another touring company and just last year was hired by my current touring company to do bookkeeping and tour management! I knew he'd been hired on, but didn't expect to see him here!! We haven't seen each other since 2008!! I didn't get a pic with him but should have! Ah well. We got caught up as much as we could in the loud environment, and it was just great to see him again. It is amazing that we met on tour so long ago, and our paths intersected again for the second time tonight. The entertainment world is a small one indeed :)

I drank and had some finger foods and a slice of cake, and chatted it up with mostly members of the band.
Somehow I managed to stay for almost the whole party (10pm-12am), but peaced out right before the end.
We were each given a lovely gift bag, which I checked out back at the hotel.


Inside were two luggage tags (obligatory, I've met people who use these as a sort of flex to display all of the shows they've been on) and a warm fluffy dusky-blue My Fair Lady hoodie! (It looks grey in the photo but it's not, promise.) I was impressed that they'd given me "my" size without having to ask me about it...I guess someone actually checked my existing records to see what size I am.


Not great photos but it was late at night and hotel lighting, you understand.
Everyone, male and female, also received these flower necklaces. I don't go in for jewelry but did appreciate how short the chains were, it will not interfere with my tromboning so I may actually wear it from time to time.


Overall, really nice party, and I appreciated the chance to interact with my peers outside of work hours :)

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Monday is another day off! Wow!
I'm definitely going to go for a walk, where exactly is TBD.
We also have single evening shows all week so really every day this week is quite free and open, there's no need to cram a lot into one day just because the evening is free. I expect to have small adventures here in Salt Lake, see some sights, play some shows, and then fly back to Orlando for that pesky overnight rehearsal (omg I can't think about it, I'll freak out!)

Other stuff:

There is a pup at this theatre named Tuukka who greets everyone who comes backstage!


Someone stuck googly eyes on this stairs sign. Watch OUT for those stairs, they're gonna getcha!

As promised, pictures from my walk on Sunday.

A locust molt found hanging on a dividing wall.


A cardinal feather, from a female or juvenile.


That's it, haha.

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Monday I got up semi-early for work, and there wasn't anything for me to do, so worked on Foodie Finds and mixed up the ricotta filling for stuffed shells for dinner. Eventually I was given some work to do, did that and had therapy. We talked about my frustrations with work and not being able to contribute to the household, and I was able to explain myself a little better re: what it means for me to be a professional musician, and why I'm not willing to give that up just yet. I'd honestly like to get off the topic, but it's my own fault for griping about it and it IS a big point of stress in my life at this time. Anyway, it brought up another important thing which is how defensive I get about certain topics. So it was good that we talked about that even if it made me kinda huffy. I acknowledged my huffiness at least. And have promised to actively work on how I talk about myself, as a part of the process that leads to being defensive.Which I was ready to do in the moment, but as you will see below, as the week went on I went full-tilt in the opposite direction.

Also, he ended the session by telling me that I need to know and hear that I am loved and cared for.
Which immediately makes me burst into tears if anyone ever says it in my direction.
Because the last people to say those words to me and mean it are either all dead, or are different people now.
When the only person that you hear "You are loved" from is the guy you're paying to say it, that's sad.
But hearing it at all is enough to instantly cut me to the core.
There, now you know my emotional weakness.

As work wound down I threw together a no-knead bread recipe, which is just flour, yeast, water, and salt.
You barely even mix it, then let it sit on the counter for "2 to 3 hours" which in Florida is 1.5 hours.
Then you put a Dutch oven in the oven and let it get super hot, 450°F for 30 minutes.
Shape your loaf, drop it in the Dutch oven, close the lid and let it cook for 30 minutes, then 12 with the lid off.




Tada, bread. Nice and crusty and warm.
When that was done I made the stuffed shells.


With a side salad it was all very nice and Italian. Jameson put Boursin cheese on his bread, how FANCY.

After dinner he had to go to a rehearsal, and there was a big severe thunderstorm that blew through so I was worried for him, but he was able to set up and return home safely.

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

Tuesday I got up early to work and pretty much worked all day.
Jameson got more good news about the Jollywood gig: they want him to MD it!
That means he'll get paid more, and also be involved in most if not all rehearsals.
The best part is that they mentioned the possibility of him doing this gig in the future as well.
Future gigs! Every musician's dream :)

I'm extremely happy for him of course! But on the selfish front, his success threw my failures into stark contrast as I plugged away at my $12/hr data entry job. Yes, I get to go on tour in a few months, but what you may not understand is that Jameson is going to make more than I earn in an entire year from that ONE holiday Disney gig. Plus he has a full time job. I am losing money this summer, so whatever I earn from the tour will just be replacing what was lost; I won't get ahead.

This made me think more about finding something to become certified in, perhaps while on tour.
Because frankly I just don't know what else to do. I want to keep touring and/or performing professionally, but if I'm just going to lose the money anyway and then not be valued anywhere else, there's no point. It's very disheartening. I know that Jameson has felt this same way for a long time, stuck at his dead end job, which is why I'm relieved and happy that he's suddenly got great gigs! But the difference in our situations is that he at least has full time work. He gets paid a living wage. He doesn't have to watch his bank account dwindle down because he's only worth $12 per hour, like me, a piece of garbage. If Jameson kicked me out tomorrow, I would be in absolute poverty despite all the money I've saved. It doesn't make me feel good.

I have to pay someone to tell me I'm loved, but I can't afford it. Lol.

Anyway, at some point I had to stop working because despite being garbage I'm also a human being who needs to eat and go outside once in a while. It was hot and humid and there were big heavy clouds in the sky, but the storms were not coming my way.


On this walk I found a broken wasp or hornet nest...


...and a bagworm cocoon. I don't think I've seen one of these before, it's pretty cool.
I am finding many good things on my walks lately.


Back home I relaxed as much as I could, which wasn't very much, and went around bookmarking types of certifications to look into.

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

I got up at 6:30am to work. I'm currently doing an upload project for the TSOLife app, which offers games and activities for residents (as well as the usual analytics side for the nursing home staff). The activities/games are just things like crossword puzzles, or recipes, or little cupcake toppers for when it's someone's birthday...arts and crafts projects...you get the idea. What I'm doing is basically populating at database with activities, one activity at a time; for example if there are fifty crossword pages, I'm uploading each page as an individual activity, plus instructions, a description, tags, categories, images, etc.

I like this kind of work better than processing the intake forms because it's easier to get into a flow and pattern when you're uploading 50 of the same thing over and over. It makes the time go faster. Which is why I easily got 7 hours in today.

Jameson had a performance at Disney again tonight but we got HelloFresh, and one of the meals had fish so I felt it best to cook it tonight (he's not going to be here for dinner tomorrow night either.) It was yummy but would have been better with company.

In other news, my sister--the one who is an OR nurse and lives in our hometown with her husband and child--made an offer on a house, and got it! And it's not just any house, it's a historic house! Very very beautiful. I'd share the listing but don't want the whole random internet knowing where she'll live (it's bad enough that people might reverse search this image. Don't do that!!!)

The house:


The inside is gorgeous. Hardwood everywhere, original ceilings and fireplaces and replica wallpaper. I am so happy for her!!
Honestly, to me, this is a castle. I will never be able to afford something like this.

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

Currently it's Wednesday night and I'm typing this up in the quiet of the house, doing a load of laundry.
I've just bookmarked a bunch of sites about certifying for digital reporting and/or transcription.
I don't want to do this. I don't want to have to pay to get results, to get value.

"You have value outside of your job!" my therapist says.

Yeah? Prove it. Because I haven't seen any evidence of that.
I have to pay someone to tell me I'm loved. What does that say about my value?
I have to pay (once again) for courses and certifications that may-or-may-not give me value in the workplace. What does that say about my value to society?
I have to pay $180 on Friday to spend fifteen minutes with a doctor, probably so they can tell me to eat antacids and work on reducing stress. What does that say about the value of my physical self?

If I had value, I'd just be valued.
I wouldn't have to constantly pay someone to attribute me some value.

Whatever. I'm in a really bad place this week. But at least my sweetheart and my sister are rocking it! Good on 'em!

I woke up at 3:30am (argh) and rode with some coworkers to the airport.

After stumbling around and sucking down coffee for a bit, I found myself in front of another "frictionless shopping" i.e. "no checkout" i.e. "cashierless" store.


This one is called &GO. You can see the cameras in the ceiling, and this time I also looked for the weight sensors under the shelves.



There was a sign-up kiosk for Amazon One!


Amazon One is a biometric payment option. It uses your palm print as a form of identification, and links that to your payment methods (as many of us have already done with facial recognition.) All I had to do was insert a credit card already associated with my Amazon account, then hold my hand above the sensor at the right distance, and a scan was taken. You can do one or both hands. Then you agree to the terms and conditions.

Voila! I've been assimilated into the Borg.


Some people find this tech invasive. I find it fascinating and efficient.
Sure, someone could steal my identity. Tale as old as time. I'm one of eight billion people, I'll take those odds.

Anyway, that was the exciting part of the morning.
Both my flights were normal.

On the Uber ride home I noticed a LOT of new construction.
New apartments, hotels, and lots of cleared woodlands. Pretty wild!
Orlando is expanding and expanding.

At home Jameson was working, but I snuck in and squeezed him hard before unpacking a little and running out to see the banana tree.

Oh dear.


I can't say I was surprised. But I was sad, and disappointed.
On the ride in, I had seen that water levels in all the lakes we passed were VERY low. And I kinda knew.
We did not get enough rain for the bananas to sustain themselves.
And Jameson dumping a bucket of water at the foot of the tree, once per week, is not nearly enough.

So, no java bananas this year. But! I am SO grateful that the tree grew bananas at all!
And there are four more trees that also have the potential to grow some!
And come June, I'll be around to ACTUALLY garden. So, it's ok :) I can't help but feel sad, but it couldn't be helped.

Jameson felt awful about it when I told him (no he hadn't noticed, like I've said many times he's not a gardener and works full time plus gigs, and I was not going to burden him with "Did you check on my banana trees today?" after he's already done 60 hours of work). He seemed a bit defensive at first, but I strongly asserted that it was NOT his fault, they were not his responsibility, and they're just bananas. Without near-daily care, there's nothing to be done...and I never expected or asked him to become their caretaker.

My little Meyer lemon tree may also be dead, or at least it is unlikely to fruit again.
It has no leaves and is mostly brown and dry. In this case I'm not sure why because the soil was very wet (it's in a non-draining pot).
Maybe it's rootbound. I'll do an autopsy over the weekend.

The vanilla orchid also looks like crap, entirely due to the dry weather.
The pipevine has died back a lot too, but it's still very present and even has a flower!

Look how big it is! The flowers on this variety can get up to two feet long and a foot wide.
It looks like meat, and has a rancid meat smell, because it attracts flies to be it's pollinators.
A lot of tropical and prehistoric plants adopt this stinky strategy instead of sweet nectar :)



Here it is from the side. The green bulb is the seed pod.


Anyway, the rest of the night was unpacking and some light cleaning and dinner from our favorite Greek place down the street.
I went to bed with a massive headache, which I should have paid more attention to, because it was a warning.

( CLICK HERE for medical drama )

Back home I had breakfast and cleaned the bathrooms to work out some of my anxiety, and shared the saga of my wussiness with Jameson. While he was at the gym I did a little photoshoot with the new phone case that I ordered from Japan several months ago.

I am such a huge food nerd, so when I saw this phone case I just HAD to have it!


Hyper-realistic buttered toast!
I mean look at that butter! Seems like it would be wet to the touch!


The extra-crispy crust!


This was made by a shop called Fairy and You in Japan, and sold on the site Minne, which is like the Japanese version of Etsy.
This type of "art" involving hyper-realistic food is called "shokuhin sampuru" and is very popular in Japan.
This person takes about a month to make the cases, and then it's another month to ship.
Since I'm getting a new phone which I'll hope to have for at least four years (hopefully more) I felt it was worth getting such a fun and wacky case!

After enjoying that, I cleaned both bathrooms (but not the shower, my arch nemesis. I'll get to that special hell later.)

After lunch I had an interview for Courtroom Clerk with Osceola County.
It started with a typing test, which made me nervous because it was via Zoom and the interviewer literally watched me typing via my shared screen. I've tested my speed many times but have never taken an actual test in front of someone before. My hands were shaking like mad, but I still managed 78wpm and 97% accuracy (I usually have 98% but nerves). The interviewer was very pleased with that, and we moved on to the other parts which were standard interview stuff. I felt like it went well, and they said I should hear something back by the end of the week.

After that I kind of splatted for the rest of the day.
My nerves were just destroyed because of the blood draw incident. I couldn't nap but felt exhausted in so many ways.
It was nice to just chill with my Jameson and do quiet things, and eat dinner together.

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Wednesday I got to sleep in until about 9 which was glorious and much needed.

After breakfast I went to Target to buy a new phone, bringing my buttered toast case to make sure it would fit.
Jameson's friend Paul works at Target, and we've both bought our phones through him before because he gets commission.
It went pretty smoothly but the phone will need to be mailed to me for some unknown reason.

The whole process took longer than expected, so I ended up doing a scheduled phone interview for a remote data entry position in the car. IMO it went really well, and they sent the application materials after we were finished. I'll be very excited if I make it through the application process!

Back home I had just enough time to scarf down lunch before an in-person interview with Sprouts 40 minutes away.
But just as I was done eating my phone rang, and it was Disney to give me more information about the Candlelight Processional gig.
Yay! Now I feel that it's official.

Drove to Sprouts and got there early, so did a little shopping :)
There was a new flavor of Olipop, and a root beer-flavored canned coffee, and a plant-based strawberry milk that I wanted to try!
The interview went well, but I'm not sure I'd be a good fit because they're mostly looking for someone to work nights.

I popped over to Whole Paycheck across the street to get sushi for dinner and wings to make on Friday.
Driving home was awful because it's I-4, it was 4:30pm on a weekday, and it was raining so people were fleeing the theme parks. What is normally a 40-minute drive took an hour.

Jameson and I ate dinner together, then he left for rehearsal and I did my paperwork for the data entry application, then dusted the house. I had wanted to do the shower too but was too tired.

Oh, and I got a funny ridiculous accessory for my buttered toast case!


That's a 3D-printed, true-to-size, single-serving Smuckers jam!


Someone made it for me on Etsy.
It's going to be a phone charm, attached to the toast at the bottom right corner with a looped cord.
I'll be able to remove it pretty easily when I'm going out somewhere, but on days when my phone is out on a table or desk it's going to crack me up to have my "buttered toast and jam" lol. Listen, life is short, and little dumb things like this make it worthwhile.

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Tomorrow is Thursday already.
It's been a whirlwind layoff for me, but I'm hoping the next few days will be more calm.

Plans for Thursday include attacking the shower filth, setting up my new phone if it arrives, and going out to dinner with Jameson.
For the weekend, I need to repack my suitcases and complete the remaining Megan's Foodie Finds sheets.
I'd also like to cook one meal for us before I leave again.

Thursday was basically a wash.

I felt very tired, perhaps because of the weather or maybe I was fighting the cold that's going around from entering my body.
Either way, I had a lovely indoor day of doing laundry, watching Ousama Ranking, researching jobs, updating Foodie Finds, and sharing Jameson's excitement as he flew to Chicago to MEET DARREN HAYES!!!!


Eeeeeeee!!!

If you don't know, Darren Hayes was the vocalist for Savage Garden, a popular 90s-2000s band.
You'd probably recognize the song "I Knew I Loved You", among others.

Jameson and Darren became internet friends somewhere in the late 2010s, and somewhere in there Darren asked Jameson to arrange some of his classic works to rejuvenate them for his albums and upcoming tour.

Darren is now on tour, and Jameson was able to finally meet Darren in person and hear his own arrangements performed live, in front of an audience of thousands, by his friend and pop idol. I mean HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT!!!


To say I'm proud, happy, and excited for him would be the understatement of the year.
Jameson has worked very hard for musical recognition throughout his life, and often hasn't received it.
I hope that today was very rewarding for him, and fun, and a great experience.
His dad was there with him for all of it, which is absolutely wonderful.
It's got to be an amazing thing to be a proud parent watching your son hug a pop star, and listen to music your son wrote for said pop star, live to an arena full of people singing along. Just, amazing :)

Anyway, that's mostly what Thursday was for me.

Then we had a show which went well, but the band did get a note that we need to step up our game and stay focused, so I will try very hard to meet those expectations. I think that after playing a show 400+ times, perhaps we (I) can go into autopilot too much. I want to stay engaged and give the best possible performance each night!

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Friday started off with disappointment: once again my sink was fully clogged.
I don't know why or how this is happening...all I've done is brush my teeth and wash my dishes (no I am NOT putting food in the drain either!). The hotel offered to have me switch rooms but then didn't have any rooms available, so I packed everything up anyway.

I waited around to see if maybe they'd move me in the next hour but it didn't happen, so walked to a convenience store for some fruit.

Along the way, this giant eyeball:


I wanted to get close but it was in a fenced-off area and it looked like you needed tickets (had I been in a better frame of mind I ABSOLUTELY would have. Maybe next week.)

I canceled lunch with my friend Brandon (the drummer who came to our show a few nights ago). It was just stressing me out to be waiting around when the hotel could call any minute to have me move and we might be out somewhere, plus Brandon revealed that he wouldn't be ready until 2pm which is WAY too late for lunch for me personally (my body still thinks it's east coast time, remember). I'll try to catch him again next week.

Around lunchtime I got the ok to move to another room, so off I went, riding elevators up and down, dragging luggage, unpacking everything, stealing the microwave in the old room because the new room didn't have one and I'm rude like that. By the time I was all moved in and unpacked it was close to 2:30, so I was glad I'd canceled on Brandon though I felt bad about it.

It was a lovely sunny day out, but as I only had 2-3 hours until dinnertime/show prep I wasted it searching for jobs and researching activities for next week. The show went well. Back at the hotel the lobby was packed, some sort of conference in town coinciding with prom festivities. It took a long time to get the elevator to our rooms...and then my key cards didn't work. Alllllll the way back down to have them re-keyed. Straight to bed.

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

It seems the prom night festivities got out of hand last night.
There was an absolutely WILD party happening on my floor, it sounded like WAY too many people for one room, a lot of screaming and general party noises, but around 3-4am it all dissolved into a fight of some sort. Someone had brought young children who were screaming bloody murder, angry adult voices raised, etc etc.

Someone (hopefully the hotel) called the cops, so this morning when I finally dragged myself out of bed after minimal sleep there were many cop cars parked outside, and the elevators were kept busy with cops coming up and down shuttling zip-tied youth out to the waiting patrol cars.


Yowza.

Not going to lie: because of the room issues experienced thus far + this incident, my nerves are kind of shot.

I had breakfast and tried to relax a bit, but housekeeping knocked and as I came to answer the door the woman OPENED it.
She apologized profusely of course...they had the room marked as unoccupied.

But then about an hour later, same thing happened again. This time it was a maintenance or facilities person.
I called down to the front desk to say, "This room is occupied, could you PLEASE update your staff", and was assured that it had been done.

So I went for a walk to kind of lower my blood pressure and find some peace somewhere.

A few blocks away is something called "Thanks-giving Square".
It's a park that came about due to a rare private-public sector partnership; both the City of Dallas and the public raised funds for its construction in the 70s. The garden portion of the square (the gates of which were still locked this early) is 15 feet below ground to isolate it from traffic and create a more serene space. Since it was locked I didn't go in (could have easily slipped the gaps in the fence, but trying to be a "good citizen" here.) I will probably go back again next week.

There are misc sculptures and monuments inside the garden, and scripture quotes scattered about the walls and walkways which convey religious symbolism and ideas without pinpointing one specific religion (supposedly). It's meant to be a nondenominational space of peace and contemplation...and thanksgiving.

Towering 90ft above the sunken garden is a tight spiral structure, unmarked.


This is the Thanks-giving Chapel. It's open for a set time each day, and again, is meant to be a non-denominational place of peaceful thought and thanks. I had known of it while in Dallas with the circus, but had not been able to go inside at the time (possibly due to repairs).

Considering the way things have been going, I figured now was the time to manifest some serenity and thankfulness.

I climbed the spiraling ramp up the side of the tower.


At the entrance was this sign describing the design and purpose of the chapel.


It was completely silent inside except for the low hum of the ventilation system.
See for yourself what it was like to enter the chapel for the first time:


I was awed, and stood gaping for a moment.
A purplish-white, lilac light enveloped the round sanctuary, which was flanked by a circle of plain chairs.
It felt a little creepy at first, like walking into some sort of inquisition space. But it WAS peaceful, and somehow, approachable.

I went up to the big marble cube and touched it.


And of course I stood as close to center as I could get and stared straight up at the gorgeous 73-panel stained glass spiral.


And spun in a circle like an idiot. YOLO, amirite?

Around then someone else came in so I quickly stepped off to the side so as not to mar their experience.
I left without filling out a "gratitude card" at the little station encouraging visitors to leave a note.
I'll come back and write something before we leave.

After such a lovely experience I felt a little better.
I walked back to the hotel but not before stopping at Clean Juice for a "carrot cake" acai bowl.
Blended carrots, banana, almond butter, cacao, almond milk, cinnamon, granola, and dates.
It was supposed to have maple syrup too but I left it out; dates and banana and are sweet enough.


It was very good, and seems easy enough to make at home too.

Unfortunately my improved sense of serenity was immediately broken by ANOTHER person trying to walk into my hotel room :(
I got ready for the show and went downstairs, stopping at the front desk to reiterate, again, that people should not be coming into my room, and would someone please update their records, pleasepleaseplease.

Walked to the theatre, bringing my computer and dinner because the last thing I want to do is go back to that hotel unless I have to.

The first show went well.
I typed up this post and watched some anime in the dressing room during the break.
Jameson flew back to Orlando and arrived safely, and sent me a nice summary of his experience with Darren Hayes.
It's been a whirlwind week for him and it'll take a while for it to sink in that he got to HUG DARREN HAYES and hear his music performed live in an arena! But once it all hits him, I hope he's just as glowing and happy about it as I am!! :D

The second show also went well, and afterward our MD was dishing out "snots" which is a post-show shot of some sort, but I wanted to hustle back to the hotel to wait in line to have my key cards reactivated, and to empty the bucket under the leaking toilet because it fills quickly and needs to be emptied twice a day.


Oh, did I not mention that?
Yeah, in the new room I've been assigned, instead of a clogged sink I get a leaky toilet.
When I tell people this they ask, "Well why don't you just ask them to move you again?"
Because I've just been moved from a room with a clogged sink, to one with a leaking toilet.
Neither of which hotel maintenance noticed at all before I moved in.
So if I switch rooms again...what's going to be broken in the NEXT room? Am I gonna have to do electrical work there? Or take sponge baths in the sink because the tub's clogged?

No thanks. I'm cutting my losses now and emptying a toilet bucket twice daily for the rest of the stay.
That's far preferable to canceling plans with friends, being walked in on by hotel staff or maintenance, or making another disruptive move to a room where it's likely things still won't be right.

Maybe I'll draw a face on my toilet bucket and give it a name.
Gotta laugh or you'll cry, isn't that right?

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

Sunday, a rainy chilly morning.

I did my usual things, breakfast and coffee and anime, and thankfully there was not one incident or interruption.
I walked to the theatre with my computer and a packed dinner and an umbrella.
The show was good, the break spent in my dressing room was relaxing and quiet.
Dinner was chicken soup with tofu chunks, baru nuts, lemon rosemary bread, dark chocolate and coconut turmeric tea for dessert.
The second show was also good, nothing to report except our key 1 Sam was conducting and did a great job :)

I felt very tired, so took a company Uber home with the band guys instead of walking as usual.
It also saved me about 15 minutes of time, which I used to shower and prep things for tomorrow's fun.

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

Monday is our much-anticipated Golden Day!

I am going ALL-OUT. Partly because this week has been stressful, and partly because this tour is coming to an end and it's all part of my mid-life pre-40s crisis :D

The plan is Dallas Arboretum in the morning,
Eataly for lunch and family souvenirs in the afternoon,
H-Mart and 99 Ranch in the late afternoon,
and Billy Can Can for a light dinner and a much-needed glass of wine!

So, on Thursday we had two shows.
It's kind of nice to have a two-show weekday, rather than back-to-back two show days on the weekend.
Makes Sunday just a little easier, and a little more relaxed.

I woke up semi-early this morning because I have wanted to eat at Hail Fellow Well Met ever since this tour started.
It was too far to walk so I called an Uber and waited in the lobby.

They are putting some stencil art on the floor of the lobby currently, so it's roped off.
Look how cool! These folks are carefully painting each part by hand. It looks like FUN work.


Anyway I got to the restaurant, which is just as pretentiously, aesthetically yuppie/hipster as expected from their Instagram posts.
The interior is all pale moss green and beige, with a sort of 70s vibe...curvy abstract furniture, plants here and there, mod lighting, etc etc.

(photo courtesy Halle)

I like to try new and exciting foods, but will usually avoid places that are so...how to put it..."See-and-be-seen", maybe?
But the menu really looked like something special, and I'm at a very YOLO point in life, so here we are this morning.

To my deep disappointment, they were OUT of the dish that I came all the way there to get.
"Monochromatic": otoro tuna with toasted hazelnuts, misc fermented root vegetables and fungi, avocado and edamame pearls, and a tea egg.

You guys, I wanted this dish so badly that I had planned for months to get it.
I had calculated the nutrition ahead of time.
I had called a day ahead to make sure they had it.
I took an $18 Uber to this restaurant, literally just to try this dish.

Only to have the server say, "Sorry, that one isn't available today!"

When preplanning is great, it's GREAT.
But today it was just a whole lot of research and time and money for absolutely nothing.
Had I been impulsive for once, I could have avoided disappointment.
Also, I REALLY should have called the day I was going there, not the day before. Lesson learned.

Instead I got the "Yogurt & Granola". The name is not pretentious...but look how pretentious, lol.



This is blue coconut yogurt with buckwheat berry granola, fresh berries, and honeycomb.
I'm guessing peaflower is what was used to get the blue color for the yogurt.

Details:



In addition to being very aesthetic, it also tasted VERY good.
Like, worth some extra money to have a new taste experience.

The yogurt was acidic and tart, definitely unsweetened. But it was also creamy and rich and light, like it had been whipped.
The buckwheat granola was earthy and just a little sweet, some of it had big crunch factor, and some was light and crispy.
The combination of crunchy buckwheat kernels with the super-smooth fluffy coconut yogurt was wonderful.
I was sure that the little honeycomb cube on top would be too much, but it was exactly the perfect amount of sweetness to take the edge off the tart yogurt without making the whole thing overly sweet.

I can tell that the chefs who work for Hail Fellow Well Met really care about the WHOLE dish.
The careful attention to plating, and the obviously thoughtful balance of flavors, showed skill and technique that was worth paying to experience.
It was very fun to eat!

Not going to lie, I was still salty that after all of my carefuly planning, I'll never get to try the other dish I'd had my heart set on.
But getting to eat herre at all is a huge privilege.

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

Back at the hotel I chilled out and had a light lunch before our 1:30 matinee.
My guts were angry with me...probably not because of anything specific that I've eaten, but due to stress and/or IBS, which usually likes to give me a hard time in the afternoons. For the most part I had to ignore it and feel uncomfortable, because when you're playing a show you can't just leave the pit when you want to. Plus our bathroom was up two floors this week.

During the break between shows, a simple dinner and some planning and checking on flights for upcoming layoffs.
Jameson and I also sent our portfolios out to a few production companies, neither of us expecting any sort of response.
These days it's a big ask to get even a stock response out of someone that you contact.
And then companies wonder why they get "ghosted". Because you get what you give, that's why.

The second show went well too, audiences continue to laugh it up which is great :)

( CLICK HERE TO READ HIDDEN TEXT )

It was a great crowd again, with some people laughing so hard they started coughing!
Afterward I packed up quickly and wished everyone a nice layoff, then went to sign our wall tag.

This is my favorite wall tag art so far this year!
It depicts a line from the show where Sandy says she spent her night doing the 'Dirty Dancing' lift with her cat.
"Turns out...he isn't very strong!!"


On the way back to the hotel two different actors told me they'd visited restaurants on my Foodie Finds list and had a great time, which cheered me up. I'm looking forward to sharing more great foodie stops with everyone :)

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

It's Monday morning and I'm up early to do some data entry before the airport shuttle comes.
I should get to Orlando around 8pm, then it's five days at home with Jameson.

It'll be a little chaotic because he's working, doing rehearsals, and his dad is visiting for half the week, then I leave again.
While home I'll be cleaning, doing data entry, making caramels for the crew this time, swapping stuff out of my luggage, shipping jams to family and friends, and doing all the little errands that need to be done before peacing out for another block of tour cities.

What a wild life right now. But it sure beats being trapped at home circa 2020.