goofball on a train

Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 3: The Egyptian Room, In-Ears, Carrot Toast

Mon, 11 May 2026 02:13:11 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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Backtracking Part 1:

On Wednesday night I found The Egyptian Room in our theater.

As mentioned in earlier posts, the Murat Theater that we are playing this week was formerly a Shriners shrine. It was built in 1909, and it looks like someone's idea of a mosque or temple on the outside with terra cotta trim and minarets and full-on murals of men riding camels across the desert on the backside. Like many theaters or social centers built between the 1910s and 1930s, the building's architecture and design reflect a fascination with "exotic" destinations that were new and exciting to the Western world, and in particular the "Egyptomania" that swept the Americas during those decades (first due to the romanticism of the Napoleonic campaigns there and later the sensational discovery of King Tut's tomb, so Wiki has told me.)

Anyway, all of this means that this random theater in Indianapolis has an Egyptian Room on the 2nd floor.

Detail of the chandeliers, which feature scarab beetles and lotus flowers and other fun designs. I think that's real confetti stuck in them, too.

On one end of the room was a big stage used for performances or speeches or what have you. This week it houses our Hair department, lots of Disney Magic™, and half-costumed actors having their hair done, meaning I could not photograph it. Instead here is a big decorative pillar on one side of the stage:

On the opposite end of the room is this rather dramatic, tacky, wonderful entryway:

(AAONMS = Ancient [Egyptian] Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine)

A short clip showing the Egyptian-inspired artwork which encircles the entire room, ending with the dramatic-tacky entryway:

And now a small disclaimer. I understand that some folks may see this kind of thing as offensive, racist, cultural appropriation, etc. I hear you and I respect that. Absolutely do whatever you need to do to address that (scroll past, call Indianapolis City Hall, etc.) But when it comes to ME and my opinion on it, I really have none. I'm here to play a show, and as an added bonus I sometimes document the things I see and share them with you. That is all there is to it, my friends :)

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Backtracking part 2:

On Thursday night Michael (Key 3) and I finally received our in-ears! Ours took longer to arrive because we were the only two who took advantage of the color and style customizations that were offered. The in-ears were free, but adding customizations required an out-of-pocket cost which is understandably why the others didn't go for it.

Here are my new in-ears!! The are the UE model 7 Pro with interchangeable face plates.

Detail of the custom face plates: mother-of-pearl, and black sparkle.

Notice that the black sparkle faceplates are unfortunately scratched. I was of course disappointed by this, but will reach out to the company to see if I can get them replaced. The other faceplates are beautiful, and I am far less concerned with cosmetic issues than with whether or not the monitors actually work!

A short clip that I made for Jameson showing how the faceplates can be removed and interchanged.

In the video I mention being surprised that these in-ears come with "ambient plugs," which I thought was an extra-cost feature. It's basically a small hole drilled into the in-ears so that they don't completely block out ambient noise. You can then use those little clear plugs that I showed in the bag to activate or deactivate that feature. Some people prefer to have audience noise, or need to hear both their mix AND the audio happening around them. I am one such person; typically I'll keep one in-ear in and leave the other out so that I can hear my mix in one ear and my own sound/what's happening around me in the other ear. But that's not how in-ears are meant to be used, so if this feature allows me to keep both ears in while still being able to hear myself/some ambient noise, that would be really cool!

I'm going to try these for the first time on Saturday's two shows. They will probably sound different than my older in-ears so there will be an adjustment, but the sooner I start using them the sooner I can get over the learning curve. Really excited and grateful for this new equipment!!

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FRIDAY

I was up early to do laundry. Glad to get back into a laundry pattern.

Ate breakfast, chatted with Jameson, and sent a support request email to UE about the scratched faceplates. Shared the Madison, WI Foodie Finds with our group. Folded the laundry, ironed my shirts, had a snack. Just Friday Things.

I'm writing this on Saturday and can't recall anything exceptional happening...I didn't go anywhere because it was rainy again. Tried to take a nap, watched anime, and gathered things to put in my trunk a day early. I rode to the theater with Dane (flute) and packed my trunk and warmed up on trombone, and the evening show was just fine.

Oh, I got a response about the UE faceplates! They want me to try the in-ears for at least a week and make sure that they're acceptable, that way if anything else needs to be fixed I can send everything in together. That makes sense to me, so I will test the in-ears through the next city before doing anything else.

And during that conversation, I asked about custom faceplates using your own images (which I know they offer but couldn't find a place to actually order them on the site.) They sent me the info, and it turned out that I could pay for those using my credit card points! In other words, for FREE! So I will be getting another set of faceplates either to replace the scratched ones or in addition to them.

They'll look like this:

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SATURDAY

I had a rough night...felt very tense and kept jerking awake, and felt very anxious upon waking up today. There's just NO reason for it. This intense anxiety has been happening actually kind of predictably, the week before and during my period...as well as that weird heartburn or a stomachache, sometimes. I'm wondering if, like brittdreams has suggested, it could be something to do with hormone changes. I really don't know what to think or what to do about it other than treat it like plain anxiety: ride it out with box breathing, a Pepto, or St. John's Wort as needed.

Anyway, despite the intensity of it I went ahead with my usual morning routine of breakfast and getting ready for the show. It looked lovely outside so I decided to make myself walk to Amelia's bakery about a mile away. It WAS a lovely morning. Because it had rained for most of yesterday, the smell of rain and steaming earth and fresh green plants permeated the air. The sun was warm and bright but the breeze was cool. Lots of birds were singing, and I saw some bunnies and geese too.

I was rewarded for going out by finding one of my very favorite flowers, a musk thistle!! They are so spiky and pretty :)

Amelia's was on a hipster/gentrified street with lots of locally-owned shops. Everything in the small bakery case looked amazing.

I walked back with a roasted carrot and whipped lemon feta danish with hot honey and pistachios. It was AMAZING.

They called it a "toast," but as you can see it's laminated like a croissant, yet it resembles a danish. Whatever you call it, it was delicious. The roasted carrots were sweet and soft and a bit peppery, the lemon feta was tangy and creamy, the hot honey gave everything a sweet heat, and the pistachios were a perfect bit of crunch and nuttiness over it all. The pastry itself was so flaky, light and crispy. I ate half and saved the other half to be an intermission snack.

After a simple and boring lunch I carpooled to the theater with the guys. And today I tried out my new in-ears!! I had tested them briefly with my computer this morning and they seemed to work just fine. Now it was time to use them in the show and see how things would sound in my mix. The answer: VERY different! As I had hoped, these new ones are significantly better than my old Shure 315s. Everything is much clearer and louder in my mix. I can hear EVERYTHING that Ryu (violin) plays, whereas before I could only hear her solo moments. I can finally hear KeyComp Bass!! In my old in-ears I couldn't hear that at all. And with my old in-ears I could hear Keys 1 and 2, but could not tell them apart in the mix, it all sounded like one instrument. Now they are completely distinct (this does matter)

As such I spent the entire first show adjusting my mix while we played. The French horn and keys were brought down nearly by half, which is a lot. Now my mix is a lot more "mid" across the board, with myself, French horn, drums, and KeyComp Bass spiked higher than everything else because those are what's important for me to hear.

I'd hoped that the little "ambient plug" feature on these in-ears would make me feel comfortable with both ears in, but unfortunately because I play a bass instrument, those low frequencies just do not translate well digitally. I can hear myself with both ears in, but what I can't hear is the QUALITY of my sound live in the house unless I take one ear out. Not sure if that makes sense but it's the only way I can think to describe it.

Through all of this I was still SUPER anxious, tense and sweating for no reason. It is wild to me that my body will do this from time to time with seemingly no reason. Between shows we got back to the hotel where I ate dinner and packed a few things, then we had the evening show which went just fine though I very nearly had a panic attack. Luckily if I KNOW it's a panic attack I can head it off using a few tactics in the moment. But it's still uncomfortable, distracting, and I wish it didn't happen.

I get the impression that my posts are too long lately and no one is reading this stuff, and it's just as well since so far my "health scares" are all false alarms. May it stay that I way I suppose, even if it feels awful.

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SUNDAY

I slept poorly and had weird dreams, but woke up completely calm. The opposite of yesterday. So weird.

Breakfast and typing this post, packing some things, and around 9:30 I walked to Enterprise to pick up a rental car because I'm driving to the next city. They gave me a convertible Mustang! I feel silly driving it but whatever gets me there. Parking in Indy is supposedly free on Sunday so I decided to drive myself to the theater.

The first show was just fine, though it is absolutely freezing in the pit again. I hope the next theater will be a break from that issue as it's very uncomfortable and makes it harder to play. Still, I think it was a good show and we had a nice enthusiastic crowd. After the show I stayed at the theater and mostly hung out in the Egyptian Room because they have cushy booths up there. I saw some members of crew using those to catch a quick nap and decided to try it myself, and wow, I did manage to doze! Ate dinner and read my book, then it was time for our last show in Indy!

It was even colder in the pit, to the point where I almost put my coat on again, but tried to tough it out instead. Partway through the show I got a text from my local friend Josh who was here with his wife and mom for Mother's Day! They came to the pit after the show to say hello. It was great to see him and meet his lovely ladies, and a shame it was on load out night so there was not much time to chat. But he seems to be doing well and I'm grateful he came to our show :)

Drove my fancy Mustang back to the hotel, typed up this post, and mostly finished packing because tomorrow I'd like to hit the road early.

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Monday: Hopefully a nice drive to Madison, WI. If I get there early enough I'll use the car to get groceries, check in, and maybe walk to Willy Street Co-op. It's Connor's (Key 1) birthday so we may have a celebratory drink with him!

Tuesday: Opening day in Madison.

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Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 2: The Zoo!

Fri, 08 May 2026 03:34:49 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Ended up doing virtually nothing today. The weather was better but I wanted to save energy for the zoo tomorrow, and besides that frankly there's not much of "touristy" interest here that I felt the need to go see.

Instead I put in a lot of time on Foodie Finds and got Knoxville entirely done(!), bought my zoo ticket, scoped out the hotel's guest laundry, and received an Amazon package with my new "leak proof" containers, some baru nuts (used to be available through Whole Paycheck but no longer), and the food thermometer. The "leak proof" containers are disappointing because they are leak-resistant at best, and the sizes are smaller than listed as well (the 1.5 cup container is 1.25 at most.) Should have read the reviews more carefully I guess. Still, it's possible that they'll be leak resistant enough that it won't matter, and the slight size difference may not matter either, so I'll give them a fair chance. I just don't like false advertising.

So yes, all of that excitement plus watching anime and eating snacks. After dinner I got dressed for work and walked to the theater. It's only a 30-minute trek and pretty flat. I got there early intentionally to put some stuff back in my trunk and practice my pedal E on the bass using the video that my friend gave me in Boston.

I also visited The Egyptian Room in this theater and took a bunch of photos, but since I'm going to the zoo tomorrow I'll save those photos for the weekend so as to slightly shorten this post.

The evening show was just fine. This pit is deep and well below the stage, so audience reactions are muffled, but there was extended applause and cheering for "Gaston" so that's good!

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THURSDAY

Up early to eat breakfast before heading to the zoo!

My tactics with both museums and zoos/aquariums, for avoiding large crowds, are as follows:

A) Go right when they open. Most school groups arrive 1-2 hours after opening. The animals know this too and will be out enjoying the quiet while they can. GREAT opportunity to see them uninterrupted!

B) Move from top to bottom/work backwards/counterclockwise when possible. That way you’ll be starting at the opposite end from any large groups, and won’t be moving WITH them through the displays.

So far both of these tricks work swimmingly, and today was no exception. For an entire hour I essentially had the zoo to myself. Plus, the animals know the routine too. A lot of them were out stretching or relaxing while it was still quiet.

I started with the Ocean section. A friendly ray:

Lionfish:

There was a very cool dolphin viewing area underneath their pool.

There were other fish, sharks, seahorses, etc. that I didn't photograph. No jellyfish or urchins here that I saw. There was a ray petting pool but I left them alone knowing they were about to be manhandled by busloads of children. Next, some primates. The chimps were not out yet but I saw orangutans and this small monkey (macaque?):

Next, the Desert area. A variety of tortoises. The giant tortoises were still inside but you could view them through windows.

A meerkat standing guard:

That area led into the reptile enclosure. I love reptiles (and insects but they didn't have those here) and was delighted to see a lot of the snakes moving around and active. Most of the constrictor-types were curled up and not visible, but the venomous ones were moving all around. Beautiful!

This one has cloudy eyes and looked irritated, he'll probably shed his skin soon.

This was a spitting cobra. Beautiful and shiny.

This little viper had iridescence in his scales, but I couldn't capture it with my iPhone. Pretty little one.

This one was moving all around, it took a while to get a good photo because he would not sit still!

And this one was SO CUTE. I don't remember what it was but it was in the Indiana Native Snakes display.

I think this was a black mamba, also very energetic and climbing. Look how LONG! (CLICK HERE to watch)

Next was the elephants, two African elephants were out, one was a juvenile.

I saw three white rhinos:

Zebra:

Tiger:

Adorable sleepy lion who rolled over for me. Cuuuuute

Most special of all was getting to actually see a red panda!!! I have been to several zoos that have them, but they have always been sleeping or hiding. This is the first time I've seen one up and walking around. It was from a distance and I had to zoom in a lot, the photos are not good, but it's the best I could do.

By this point I'd been in the zoo for about two hours, and spent another 30 minutes or so looping back to see if there was anything I'd missed. The zoo is under construction currently (they're removing a coaster that used to be in the middle) so some exhibits (kangaroos, giraffes) were closed, and others (aviaries) were not open until later in the afternoon. I decided not to wait around for the aviaries and called it a day, having seen lots of wonderful animals :) Ubered back to the hotel, did my photo editing, had a snack and typed up this post.

After the snack I had an impromptu visit to a walk-in clinic because I've had stomach-or-chest-pain for like four days. It's really centralized on my stomach but as that's right below the sternum, I'm 42, and better safe than sorry especially without health insurance, I hoofed it over there just to rule out a cardiac issue. They didn't think it had anything to do with heart stuff at all (vitals were totally normal) and gave me a GI cocktail which did provide some relief right away, so it's likely just my same old stress-induced GERD or ulcer again. This flares up badly once or twice a year. Grateful that it's not anything worse than that at the moment.

Carpooled in to the theater with Michael (Key 3) and Dane (Flute), and our new in-ears were waiting for us! They look really cool with the customization options that we added, but this weekend we will find out how they SOUND which is WAY more important. Pictures to come in the next post.

The evening show went well, though I felt a bit distracted (when this happens I wish I were a robot, sometimes!)

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Friday: Laundry in the morning (After spending $$$ on laundry in Boston it is SO NICE to be back to $ per load plus doing it myself!!) and no other plans. I will either recoup from Thursday's stomping around, or might go do an explore. One evening show.

Saturday: Two shows but might go get a really delicious-sounding danish from a local place in the morning, we'll see.

Sunday: Picking up a rental car to drive to Madison (they booked us a flight but it's only a 5-hour drive and I like road trips :) ) Two shows.

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Indianapolis, IN 2026 Part 1: Actual Princessisms, Small Rant, and the Murat

Wed, 06 May 2026 03:22:38 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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Previous Visits to Indianapolis:

Circus 2015: Aah yes, this was when PETA called Homeland Security to falsely report that someone on the circus had an active case of Tuberculosis. TB is transferrable between elephants and humans, but we all received TB shots biannually. Because of PETA's TERRORIST THREAT--because that's 100% what this was--all 200-something circus people had to go to a clinic and get chest X-rays to prove we didn't have TB. And yes, this was done intentionally by PETA both to cost Feld Entertainment money and to stoke fear and discrimination against circuses/circus people. Other than that, nothing really stood out about this visit, i.e. no time for sightseeing.

Elf 2024 (part 1 and part 2): I was in Indianapolis with Elf when I got the offer to tour with Beauty and the Beast. And now I get to return to this city, with Beauty and the Beast!!! AMAZING. We're even staying in the same hotel. Aside from that, once again I didn't do much in Indy, probably because it was winter and very cold. Discovered Shapiro's Deli, met a trombone buddy, and bought a bass trombone to begin practicing for BATB.

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MONDAY

I was up at 4:30am to have coffee and a very early breakfast before heading to the airport. Bye, Boston. The flight was on time and totally normal. I got to the hotel around 11:30am, had an early lunch, and walked over to Shapiro's Deli for fresh bagels (egg, blueberry, cranberry walnut.) I also got a black and white cookie...why not!

After putting those away I grabbed my tote bags and walked to the nearest Whole Paycheck. They had everything that I needed and even a few fun extras, like the smoked sturgeon that I love and a pizza-flavored vegan jerky. The 40-minute walk back carrying all of my groceries plus a gallon jug of distilled water for my kettle was not fun. I was overheated and annoyed by the time I got back, but the exercise was probably good for me. Had a snack, unpacked, and settled in.

Often when arriving in a new city and restocking on groceries, that's when I feel the most like an Actual Princess. Like, if you really stop and think about it, I've got more wealth than many kings and queens have had throughout history. Not gold and jewels, but economic convenience and quality of life. I fly hundreds of miles in comfort, for free, while someone serves me snacks and drinks. I live in rooms that are cleaned for me, with hot and cold water on demand and big fluffy beds and climate control so that I'm never too hot or too cold. I can have any foods that I like, and if the weather is bad or even if I just don't feel like bothering to go get food, I can pay someone to bring it to me.

Not to mention that I probably have the most complete and utter freedom and personal independence of any woman in the history of my entire family line.

It's downright opulent, I tell ya.

Anyway, just Monday thoughts as I relax in this hotel room in Indianapolis.

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TUESDAY

There was a very loud thunderstorm last night. Perhaps I should have worn earplugs but I think I still would have FELT the thunder! And anyway it sounded cool.

I was up in time to pilfer the free hotel breakfast. Mostly I will grab peanut butter and nuts (walnuts, almonds) because these are expensive. I take no more than 1-2 servings at a time so that by the end of the week I've got a little more than a weeks' worth to bring on my travels. Maybe that's "wrong" to do, but I don't think so. Whether I take the same amount daily and eat it, or pack it for tomorrow, it is still being offered for free, right? Had a nice normal breakfast and packed my lunch, but my aquarium stick-on thermometer in this fridge says it's at 46°F (7.77°C) and that kinda made something snap inside me.

I have gotten food poisoning and/or stomach virus TWICE this year already, which is way more than usual for me. And unlike when you have a normal 9-to-5, I can't just "call in sick" and spend the day hugging the toilet and hydrating. No, I have to work while sick and sometimes without access to a toilet for extended periods of time. There's nothing less Princesslike than blowing into a tube at full force while nauseous, surrounded by people in a tight space, while desperately trying to keep your body from doing what it needs to do. You can probably see why food poisoning is one of my greatest fears on tour.

For the most part, I think the food in my fridge is still safe. The tofu is vacuum-sealed and in an acidic lemon sauce. Yogurt can often be STORED at room temp as it's already a fermented product. The smoked sturgeon is vacuum-sealed and is of course smoked. The protein shakes are plant-based, sealed, and should be fine. The lettuce will be fine, the beets are acidic. My one concern was the chicken, so I reluctantly threw it out.

It's possible that the aquarium thermometer has become inaccurate (it's several years old now) and overall I am tired of having to guess whether each different fridge in each hotel is at a safe temperature. And I have a trunk now to store things, so there is no reason not to buy what I need. So I went to Amazon and ordered an instant-read food thermometer, an actual digital fridge thermometer, and a set of airtight containers (none of mine are leakproof or airtight and I'm sick of that too in relation to food safety + stuff leaking in my lunch box.) I've been guilting myself and refusing to buy these things because I already have useable containers, and I've been gaslighting myself that I'm being paranoid about food safety. But like I said, I've been stomach-sick twice this year and if it happens again, I will KNOW FOR SURE that it wasn't because of my fridge temp or leaky containers. And I will also be better able to narrow down what DID cause it so that I'm not throwing perfectly good food away. Anyway rant over, this is just how my morning went.

I had wanted to walk to the theater but it was an all-day rain and my umbrella is in my trunk. Instead I messed around for the morning, packed a dinner and snacks, and Ubered (we have rental cars but the other two in my pool wanted to get there at a different time today. Ubers are cheap here anyway.) This theater, the Murat, is another one of those former Shriner shrines like we had in Richmond recently. This one is a lot more run down, though.

Stock image of the whole building, on a nicer non-rainy day:

They went heavy on the Egyptian theme, as you can see. There is even a room upstairs called The Egyptian Room which I will want to find before we leave. For today I only took pictures of the downstairs ballroom, which is where our trunks are being kept (and of course I dug around in my trunk too)...

...and the theater ceiling which has a pretty decorative dome.

The pit is cramped but not terrible and/or average for an older theater like this. The backstage, equally cramped and kinda feels like a bunker because the ceilings are very low. We are right next to Wardrobe though, which is kinda cool because we get to see all their hustle and bustle (and the gorgeous costumes!) plus say hi to our actor friends as they pass through to get changed or whatever :)

Sound check was fine and nothing to report, and the show was fine too though we had one show hold right before Be Our Guest (better before than during, imo!) We were able to start up again quickly from the top so it was no issue. Afterward it was STILL pouring outside so Michael (key 3), Dane (flute) and I ran to our rental minivan and got quickly back to the hotel. It's only a little over a mile and I'd actually hoped to walk in to work this week if weather permits.

At time of typing I've just finished unpacking all of my trunk stuff (extra clothes and the Keurig mostly) and the rain is still coming down hard outside. The new fridge thermometer already arrived and is showing 35°F (1.66°C) which is just about perfect imo. Good opening day in Indy. Time for bed!

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Wednesday: It's supposed to rain again but not all day. If it clears up I may go for a general sightseeing walk, as I truly haven't seen much of Indianapolis. One evening show.

Thursday: Hoping to visit the Indianapolis Zoo! We will see. One evening show.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 3: The State House, The Wall Tag, The Last Day

Mon, 04 May 2026 00:15:45 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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Forgot to mention that our in-ears have mostly arrived! Everyone who did NOT get customizations received theirs a few days ago. Michael (key swing) and I were apparently the only two who went all-out, so ours will arrive in Indianapolis fingers crossed. My in-ears are 10+ years old and these new ones are a significant upgrade, so I'm really looking forward to that next week!

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FRIDAY

I finished typing the latest blog post after 1am, fell asleep around 2am, then woke up around 8am. Thankfully this job is not a traditional 40-hour workweek, meaning I have the luxury to rest as much as I like today. (Longtime readers know, but the rest of you, TRUST, I have absolutely done my time as far as working jobs with long hours, low pay, and physical labor. Resume available upon request :p )

Yesterday had been rainy, dreary, and cold. Today was sunny and lovely with a high in the 60s! I wanted to go outside at some point but was having trouble deciding what to do. While figuring that out I enjoyed a slow breakfast, shared Indy Foodie Finds with the group, and finished up Madison Foodie Finds.

I also had a gander in the mirror. A few months ago I turned 42, and my body apparently took that as a signal to start mass-producing grey hairs. Specifically, I have my dad's pattern of greying at the temples.

On a personal level this is not a problem. I'm 42; it would be kinda weird if I DIDN'T have grey hair. But this summer I'm scheduled for at least a few days of playing the character "Phillipa" at Epic Universe. And when you're being paid to portray a character, changes to your appearance will impact the character's integrity. For example my character "Phillipa" is supposed to have her hair tied back in either a ponytail or bun, at the back of her neck. This means that before returning home in July I need to ensure that my hair is long enough to tie back. If I decide to cut my hair in a short bob or something, I will need to talk with my bosses about whether "Phillipa" can have a bob (she likely could since she's from 1930s Paris, it would just have to be cut/styled in a specific way.)

TL;DR for the first time in my life I had to tell management that my hair is now visibly greying and ask if they need me to dye my hair. Actors have to do this kind of thing all the time, but for me it's an age-related first :)
(And for the record, I will NOT have to dye my hair for "Phillipa." My natural appearance is fine. Yay!)

After lunch I was itching to enjoy the lovely weather but did not want to spend more money than I already have in this city. And then I recalled that I have never been to the Capitol Building here, and it's FREE! Off I went.

Crossing through the Commons, it was such a glorious perfect day. Lots of people out enjoying it.

The State House (Capitol)

I first walked around the whole outside of the building, but much of it is surrounded by apartments and quaint side streets. The one open entrance was at a plaza with memorials to firemen and police.

I don't usually take pics of these fluffy pink trees, whatever-they-are, but this one was really going all out.

The outside and inside of the State House features white marble with black veins, I thought it was very beautiful.

Note to tourists: all Capitol buildings in the US are supposed to be "property of the people," so you can walk in any time during government operating hours (some restrictions on where you may wander inside of course.) On the advice of a security guard I went to the 2nd floor. My timing was not good for joining a tour group, but I wandered around myself and discovered beautiful architecture, art, history, and of course politics. There was a big gallery full of yellowish marble and artworks that was roped off/closed, and the Great Hall had a private event going on so I couldn't see that either, but everything else was accessible from what I could tell.

First and most prominent was Memorial Hall. It's a big rotunda with a stained glass ceiling and a collection of historical US flags.

Most of the flags in the hall are actually "transparencies," not the real flags themselves, backlit for better viewing. This was the only flag that I photographed and the oldest one in the collection, having only 13 stars.

The stained glass ceiling depicts the seals of the original 13 states, with Massachusetts in the center.

The floor here and throughout the building features ornate mosaics designed by Charles Brigham, circa 1890.

The Main Staircase.

Nurse's Hall, which was built to honor nurses who served in the Civil War. Notice the black-veined white marble again in the big pillars and stairwell.

Doric Hall. I love the pale blue, and I guess the name "Doric Hall" is because of the architectural style of the pillars? There were some artifacts of the Civil War here, as well as samples of minerals and stones commonly found in Massachusetts.

Moving on to I think the 3rd floor, I took this artistic stairwell shot.

I don't know what this room was but it was pretty and cozy, and was housing a tribute to women who have made contributions to Massachusetts (nurses, poets, scientists, suffragettes, etc)

The House of Representatives chamber. This is a wide shot but if you look carefully there is actually a judge (he was dressed like a judge anyway) on the far side doing some paperwork. There was a security guard near him who stared at me the whole time.

You weren't allowed very far into the room. When turning to my right to leave I was startled to see a large wooden fish dangling above one of the gallery areas. I found out later that there is a pretty hilarious history behind this fish: it's called the Sacred Cod and has been a fixture in the Capitol Building since 1785!! I HIGHLY recommend reading about the hijinks surrounding this fish (CLICK HERE)

(stock image, I couldn't get a good angle from my spot for a pic and with that guard lazering me from across the room)

This was a Senate reception room. I caught up with a tour group here and got to overhear some of what the guide was saying. Notably, that Massachusetts currently has a Democratic supermajority. Cool beans.

The Senate chambers. Like the House chamber, you couldn't go very far into the room but there was no guard glaring at me and the tour group. I looked up and was once again surprised to see a fish, this time dangling on the chain above the central chandelier. See it?

Now I had to look THAT fish up. Turns out, sometime around 1895 the Senate was moved to this room after some water damage occurred in their original chambers, which is also where the Sacred Cod was. They could not bring Sacred Cod with them. The Senate went on with their business as usual in this room...but they missed their fish. So they commissioned another one to hang above the chandelier......and called it the Holy Mackerel.

I did not know that politics could be so ADORABLE.

There were lots of historic paintings depicting wartime heroics, murals honoring labor and industry, and portraits of all of the Governors lining the walls of the hallways. I am not much of a history buff so didn't take pictures of much else, but did very much enjoy looking at everything, reading about many of the things I saw, and scrutinizing architectural highlights like carvings on pillars and stained glass highlights elsewhere in the building. Overall I spent about an hour in there before popping back out into the sun. It was really enjoyable, and freeeee! If you are in a US capitol city, do visit the capitol buildings, they have a lot to offer!

Back at the hotel I had a snack and did manage to take a nap for once. The evening show was, ya know, fine.

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SATURDAY

Our last two shows in Boston.
To sum things up as this is a pretty long post: both shows went fine.
Our wall tag was finished and available to sign. (reminder as always, click the pic to open in new tab, click again to zoom)

This wall tag was done by the amazing Emily Larger, who is Ensemble/Understudy/Lumiere's wife. This tag is special because everyone in the company, from cast to crew to management to musicians, have been included. It is difficult to capture the wonderful details with just photos so here is a short video. Notice that Mrs. Potts is pouring tea into the harbor (Boston Tea Party reference)!! And see if you can guess who the little black stick figures around the edges might represent! (Wardrobe, call board, lighting/sound, etc)

The band is of course along the bottom, as though in the pit :)

And here is little stick figure me!

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SUNDAY

A rare weekend Golden Day! Normally we'd be loading out on Sunday, but Indianapolis is 947 miles (1524 km) away. We have five(?) company trucks that carry our stuff, and driving 947 miles takes about 14 hours WITHOUT counting stops for gas, breaks, weigh-ins, etc. They probably need the extra day to arrive before load in even begins.

And that's how we all got to enjoy an entire extra day in Boston!
But before that, let's take a moment to recap.

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During this visit and on previous visits, here are the things I've done in Boston:

Previous visits, sightseeing:

    - Freedom Trail
    - Historic Burying Grounds (2)
    - MIT campus
    - Harvard bookstore
    - Faneuil Hall
    - Boston Symphony concert
    - North End
    - Day trip to Salem, Mass.

Previous visits, eating:

    - Flour Bakery + Cafe
    - Mike's Bakery
    - Faneuil Hall Boston Chowda Co.
    - Boston Beer Works

Current visit, sightseeing:

    - Chinatown
    - Faneuil Hall
    - Capitol Building/State House
    - Parts of Freedom Trail
    - The Commons/Gardens/Mall
    - Berklee College of Music
    - Fenway Park
    - Newbury Street shops
    - Museum of Fine Arts Boston
    - New England Aquarium
    - Boston Harbor/Waterfront
    - Christian Science Plaza/Reflecting Pool
    - Boston Marathon
    - Maruichi Grocery

Current visit, eating:

    - Bakey (2x)
    - Tatte Bakery (3x)
    - May's Cake Shop, Chinatown
    - Potluck, Chinatown
    - Windsor Dim Sum, Chinatown
    - Nero Cafe
    - Random Italian restaurant on Newbury St.
    - Maruichi Select, onigiri
    - James Hook & Co., lobster roll
    - Faneuil Hall, Boston Chowda Co.
    - Back Deck
    - Maggiano's (company party)
    - Hobgobiln (cocktails)
    - Hotel bar (cocktails)

...plus performing 24 shows, laundry services three times, getting groceries, visiting with Jameson, and attending company events and outings.

All of the above was very expensive, but also very fun and well worth doing! Jameson and I both did, saw, and experienced A LOT. It's been a very fulfilling visit. Boston will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to the time I got to spend here :)

All of that said, please don't give me a hard time if I didn't do something that you recommended. It's not personal, it's that I'm one human with one bank account and there's only so much I can do, you know? Thanks.

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Anyway, SUNDAY. Because of all that I've already done in this city, I made ZERO plans. I have assuredly boosted the Boston economy quite enough, and probably paid someone's weekly salary over at Tatte Bakery too, lol.

I had a lovely chill morning, reading a book and listening to nature sounds while eating breakfast. Checked in for my flight, scheduled tomorrow's Uber, made overnight oats for Monday morning, and started gradually packing. For lunch I walked to Whole Paycheck and got things from the hot bar (whitefish filet, potato samosa, orange chicken, grilled veggies, rice) and a can of coffee for Monday morning so I won't have to brew any.

And that was IT, you guys. Oh, I had to revisit Madison Foodie Finds because I forgot to add coffee shops, and then worked on Knoxville Foodie Finds for a bit too. Most of the day was spent in pajamas, staring at my phone or computer, reading or napping or snacking. I have no problem chilling today because in Indy I intend to do a lot of walking. This'll be the first time I'm there when it's NOT freezing.

Dinner was random leftover groceries: the last of the PBfit, half a bagel, half a can of chicken soup + leftover grocery store chicken pieces, and some almonds. Jameson was similarly having a slow quiet day and sent me some videos of his new Roomba scooting around the house. When I get home I'm putting googly eyes on it right away :p

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Monday: Travel day to Indianapolis. Expecting to get there around noon, get groceries, settle in, maybe look around if weather allows.

Tuesday: Opening day in Indy.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 2: Muji, Sensory Show, Another Band Hang

Fri, 01 May 2026 04:54:35 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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Small Little Updates:

There's an update with Jameson!! I can't share too many details, but he's been assigned a new project at his Disney corporate job, and it involves the opportunity to leave his mark on Disney live events in a BIG way!! He got the news yesterday. I am so excited for him, and proud for him!! Wish I could share more...things should become more public and share-able over time.

Our company Media team sent a link to the recent behind-the-scenes session that a local reporter had with our show...it's pretty cool and you get to see DAR, some of our actors, and some of backstage! CLICK HERE to watch.

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WEDNESDAY

I was up early again for no reason but that's ok. A normal slow morning and Madison Foodie Finds, then I decided to walk back to Newbury Street for a shop that had intrigued me called Muji. At the time we first noticed it, Jameson and I had walked like 10 miles and were too tired to window shop. We stopped in very briefly, didn't see much before leaving. I bookmarked it in my head for later.

Turns out it's essentially a Japanese IKEA. They have affordable and minimalist clothing, pillows/bedding, containers, storage solutions, housewares, and most of the same stuff you'd see at an IKEA except much less furniture (though they did have some.)

Shirt-dresses. Basically linen muumuus. But I guess these are trendy right now.

Bedding and pillows. I especially loved that their sheets and pillowcases came in different TEXTURES, from the roughspun and intentionally coarse to the extra-soft and plush.

There was a massive selection of diffusers. The gentle glow was nice.

These pillows are specifically for napping! They were super squishy :)

I REALLY enjoyed looking at everything, and there was a lot that I wanted but couldn't get...and then I got some things that I probably shouldn't have...but Japanese home goods stores are RARE in America in general, and Muji stores in particular are only found in NYC, Boston, and NJ.

My haul:

(Realized while taking this photo that I'm totally fitting the "Millennial Grey" stereotype. I could have picked any of these items in blue, yellow, white, or tan instead. But, well...I do find grey, especially dark grey, to be a comforting color for some reason.)

The oblong pillow was advertised as having a "mochi" texture. I love it. It's small enough to bring with me, very squishy, and can be used as a neck, back, or knee pillow. But mostly I just want something to squeeze (Throughout life I have always owned small pillows or stuffed animals for this purpose.)

A cheap 16oz bottle there on the left for travel days. Typically I use a 20oz Path reusable bottle, but those are too tall for my backpack side pockets and often fall out. Also Path bottles only last 3-4 months for me before they're either damaged from dropping or start smelling no matter how well I clean them (something to do with the lid I think.) I'm hoping this biomass plastic bottle will last longer, and it looks very easy to clean too.

A tiny lightweight 6oz thermos which I was very excited to find. A lot of soups and protein shakes have two servings per bottle, and yet the containers they come in aren't resealable. Most of my tour containers are not leakproof and not designed to hold liquids. This is lightweight, it's the perfect size for a minifridge, and also looks easy to clean.

A box of brown sugar candies to share with the band (they are quite good!)

And finally, some Malay grass house slippers. I'd bought cheaper Chinese house slippers a while back, but you get what you pay for and they didn't fit properly + the bottoms wore out in no time. These are comfortable plus I love the texture and smell of the woven grass :) It would be great if they'd last at least a year.

Soooo I bought too much, but hopefully most of this will prove useful or at least enjoyable! I certainly enjoyed the shopping. Plus it was a 3-mile walk, yay cardio. Back at the hotel, lunch and chill for the rest of the afternoon. Before dinner I decided to send my laundry out again, this time using a local service ("Wicked Clean Laundry"!) Pricing looked about the same as Poplin so we'll see how they do.

The evening show went "ok," we have Michael (key swing) on one keyboard and Leslie (vacation sub) on another, plus a sub in the woodwinds...so to be honest tempos were a little less locked in than they'd usually be. But with this many people out I think that is not the worst that could happen, and the audience was very enthusiastic. Tomorrow we have our very first sensory friendly performance! I am interested to see how it will go!

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THURSDAY

I was up at 7:30 because our show is at 11 today. Normal breakfast and getting ready. 11am is two hours earlier than usual for us, however it reminds me of my circus days when we'd have "split shows:" a 10am "kiddie show" in the morning and an evening show at 7pm, with the middle of the day free.

The theater was packed with grade school kids, screaming and laughing and having a good time. Since this was a sensory friendly performance, house lights were always kept on at about 25%, many of our usual sound and lighting effects were cut (strobes, gunshots, lightning, etc), and a special announcement was made before the show to describe some of these changes so people could be prepared. There was also a special "chill out room" set up in a downstairs lobby where, if kids got overstimulated and needed a quiet place, they could go down there and color or play with fidget toys.

It all went ahead just like a normal show, only a lot quieter! It felt weird to not be able to hear some things, but also interesting, and it was kind of nice to have to pay attention a little more. And the kids were very engaged, screaming for the exciting moments and gasping in amazement at Belle in her yellow ball gown :) It's probably the loudest audience we've ever had, and it sounded like everyone had a great time!

Between shows I had a late lunch, hit the grocery for bread and protein, and relaxed with some anime.
The evening show went better than the matinee playing-wise, and afterward we were invited to hang out with Jim Abbott who is a Disney producer-of-sorts. He's a friend of Jameson's so it's pretty funny that they've just missed seeing each other in Boston by a few days! We gathered at a cool bar/restaurant called Hobgoblin with upscale Asian fusion food and some creative cocktails, many of which were based on health tinctures and came with adorable little "spell" cards which we read dramatically to each other out loud. For example there was a gin and sage cocktail meant to drive out wicked spirits, and a bourbon drink meant to attract money.

I hadn't planned to drink but Jim was buying and imo when someone offers that, it's rude not to at least have ONE drink. I went with the Cosmic Thief: cacao and vanilla-infused clear rum, passionfruit and lime essences, milk clarified for a smooth feel (which also meant I had to take a lactaid to drink it as milk-clarified alcohols do contain whey.) It was delicious, delicate, fruity, smooth, and a treat worth breaking my calorie count for :D Jim was an incredible host and made sure to talk with everyone at the table, like he even got up and moved around to make sure everyone got a chance to meet him. He and Jameson have been friends for 10+ years so I've heard a lot about him, but this was my first time meeting him. What a cool human!

I said my goodnights around midnight so I could get back and type up this post. Another late night out, but I should be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow (if my body will let me.)

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Friday: Not totally sure what I'll do today but might visit Virtuosity Musical Instruments? Or go take pics in the Public Garden? Or visit a bakery? Haven't decided and it may depend on weather. One evening show.

Saturday: Two show day, nothing planned. It's also load out!

Sunday: Golden Day in Boston!!! One last hurrah. I've already spent too much money here and done quite a lot so don't have high expectations y'all :p

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 1: Final Sightseeing w/Jameson & Thoughts

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 02:48:27 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

We were up around 8am for some "Jameson's Final Day In Boston Adventures!"

First stop was Tatte, AGAIN. If you have been keeping track (doubt it) we've been there three times now and have gotten:

Muesli Greek yogurt cup
Sourdough toast
Salmon egg sandwich
Ricotta berry French toast
Greek pancakes with pear chutney
Orange juice, mint lemonade, and pear juices

...and all have been absolutely delicious, with excellent presentation and service to boot.

Today's treats were a morning bun for me, a raspberry lemon pavlova for Jameson...

...and we split a traditional shakshuka. Can you believe Jameson has never had it before!

CLICK HERE for a video of delicious shakshuka poached egg yolk!

Again, everything was exceptional. As you guys know, I like to collect enamel pins and have several from some of my top Foodie Finds on tour (Sandwich Hag, Willy Street Co-op, Allie Boy's, etc.) Tatte also had enamel pins for sale so I got one for my collection. I would absolutely recommend this cafe as a must-eat in Boston.

After that we returned to the hotel briefly so Jameson could do some work, then off we went again to Faneuil Hall.

We walked up and down the rows of shops, most of which are very touristy. There was a Newbury Comics so we popped in there, then walked across the street to the harbor to look at the beautiful water and ships.

Back to the Quincy Market portion of the hall to get "chowda" from Boston Chowda Co. They serve it piping hot in bread bowls.
Jameson got the classic New England white chowder, and I got Manhattan red (because dairy.)

Both were delicious (I had a taste of Jameson's.) The flavors were complex, lots of spices, strong seafood stock undercurrents, and clearly not from a can. Mine had loads of veggies including big chunks of potato, pepper, tomato, onion, and carrot, plus lots of herbs and spices, and very large clam pieces. I love the chewy tender clams!

After that we were very full and walked off our meal by visiting historic cemeteries along the Freedom Trail. I think they were King's Chapel Burying Ground, and Granary Burying Ground. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and other American historic figures are buried here. The tombstones are beautiful and well preserved. Here are two of my favorites for the detail of the stonework.

This one features death snuffing out the "Light of Life" while Father Time watches, or something like that.

Most other skulls/crossbone carvings were 2D and simplistic in style, but this artist was able to get a 3D look and realistic details in the skull.

Back to the hotel to grab Jameson's vinyl records, then to the post office nearby to ship them to him. We rested for an hour...and then it was time for Jameson to go :( I walked him to the T station and we hugged goodbye. Thus ends a wonderful long weekend with him in Boston. I'm so glad that he came out, that we got so much time together, that he got to meet the band and see our show. We had great weather the whole time and got to see and do so much! We've made some wonderful new memories in this great city :)

From the station, it was still so nice out that I decided to walk to Whole Paycheck and restock more groceries for the coming week. Back at the hotel a rest and a light dinner, then reclaiming the room for myself by putting my clothes on the bed and redelegating the table as the "kitchen." I loved having Jameson here but also appreciate the joy of selfishly taking up space :p

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TUESDAY

I had fallen asleep early, around 11 I think, but was awake sporadically between midnight and 2:30am following Jameson's travels (I kept my ringer on so I'd wake up every time he gave an update.) He got delayed twice, and the final flight had only eight people on it! I didn't think "empty" flights were a thing any more! Pretty cool. But anyway he got home safely albeit at 2:30am. He went right to bed because it's a Disney workday for him and the most sleep he could hope for was 5 hours.

But I was awake at 7am also, for no reason. The room feels lonely and quiet without Jameson making little snoozy noises in the bed next to me. But selfishly I'm also glad for quiet times, and for being able to spread my stuff all around the room again :p

Kind of reflecting on a comment that lookfar made on a previous entry: "Now I am interested to hear if it went smoothly, what surprised you about having J visit you on tour, and so on. Tho I suspect it will be more like 'what was I worried about, everything was perfectly unremarkable:'"

( CLICK HERE for thoughts )

In any case, I felt a bit lonely this morning without him. I was a bit tired from the on-and-off sleep last night, and mostly used today to be a slug. Stayed in pajamas, packed things to put in my trunk, ate snacks, walked to a HomeGoods to look for snack-sized tupperware (no luck.)

I went to the theater early both to put stuff in my trunk and to practice the pedal E that I'm having such trouble with. My local friend Walt sent a very helpful video of himself playing it (he's a WAY more experienced bass trombonist than me) giving different examples for how he approaches that note and pedal notes in general so that I could try several things. It's always tough to try and describe to someone else what you're doing with your embouchure and air, you know? It's not like anyone can see inside your mouth. Plus everyone has a different mouth size and structure to consider (for example I've got a pretty big overbite.) But anyway, the video was actually very helpful and I got some things out of it. I'm going to watch and play along with it every day for a while.

The evening show went well, although we had a hold during the fight scene. I heard later on that some piece of the set wouldn't move. As long as no one was hurt, it's all good. And DAR is back and conducted the show :) It sounds like his vacation wasn't very restful, but hopefully getting a break from the repetition of the show was nice for him.

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Wednesday: No plans during the day, we will see what I'm in the mood for. One evening show.

Thursday: Two-show day with our first sensory-friendly show. I'm excited to see how that will go! No plans.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 3: Jameson, Berklee, Band Hang, and More

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 02:24:54 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

Well, let's start with Thursday night. I got back to the hotel just as Jameson was boarding the T, so had just enough time for a rushed shower before he showed up. I met him in the lobby, hair dripping lol. We caught up a bit but by the time he was unpacked it was past midnight, so we went pretty much straight to bed.

Oh, and I rescheduled another Poplin laundry service because I realized that two of my three black work outfits are dirty so I'm on my last one for the weekend. Argh. Well, maybe they will get it right this time, and it's fair to give them another chance. I mention this because I scheduled it on Thursday night before we fell asleep, then on Friday morning some subconscious part of me woke me up at 7am and said, "Psst. Check your laundry app." And the Poplin guy wanted to pick up between 8am-9am. Thanks, Subconscious Me! So I got up and dragged the bag to the concierge before Jameson was up.

When Jameson was awake I had coffee while he got ready, then we decided to try Tatte, a popular cafe chain here. It was VERY good. I had whipped Greek yogurt and muesli with fresh fruit and honey, and a side of toast. Jameson had a salmon egg sandwich on brioche that looked fantastic.

From there we walked through the Commons. It was cold but sunny, a very lovely day. Jameson was having lots of nostalgia and memories...he went to Berklee School of Music and lived and worked here for a long time.

We walked through the Public Gardens area of the Commons, then down the Mall which is kind of a strip of walkable greenway.

Jameson had lived in several dorms or apartments here, and showed me each one that he'd lived in, described what it had been like for him, roommates, etc., and took pics to show friends. It was very interesting for me to hear him talk about his school days and try to picture what it must have been like. As a VERY rurally raised child, a big city would have been terrifying to me even at college age. Putting myself in Jameson's shoes, I think I wouldn't have been able to handle it!

After swinging by Fenway briefly to take some pics of the ballpark...

...he took me to Berklee, which has changed a lot since he's been here last. They've had a merger with Boston Conservatory, and there are huge new buildings all over campus reflecting that change, built to accommodate a larger student body and also today's music technology, so different than how it used to be. We sort of, erm, caught a door behind a student at one of his old classroom buildings, and he showed me some things in the lobby, but so much had changed--even the location of the stairwells!--that he barely recognized the place. He was pretty flabbergasted! I don't blame him, that's kind of how I felt at MY alma mater too.

After that we were ready for lunch, and walked down Newbury Street to see all of the upscale trendy shops and try and find a good place to eat. We found an Italian place, but before stopping in Jameson remembered that the hotel where he used to work was around the corner so we popped in there. It is a VERY fancy hotel (the Lenox) and it too has changed drastically since Jameson worked there 20+ years ago. The front desk was in a totally different location, he said, and the whole interior had been remodeled.

Anyway, we went back to the Italian place and had a very wonderful lunch of frutti de mare in a white wine sauce for Jameson, and "Clelia's Penne" for me: sauteed chicken with penne pasta, cubed butternut squash, and an apple cider gorgonzola sauce. The sauce especially was unlike anything I've had before, I suppose sort of like piccata sauce but with apple cider instead of the lemon? Very delicious!

After that we were quite tired so started heading back to the hotel, but swung by the Christian Science Plaza to see the reflecting pool.

A quick stop at CVS so Jameson could get some deodorant, then we crashed at the hotel. My laundry wasn't done yet but the room had been serviced, hooray. I was just starting to feel sleepy when we realized it was time for dinner. We decided to try a sit-down grill place next to the theater (I'm forgetting the name right now.) The food was nothing special but was fresh and served hot and quick, what more can you ask? Jameson had lamb lollipops and I had chicken kabobs with rice and salad because we're eating out basically the whole time he's here, so I gotta be KINDA healthy :p

After dinner, back to the hotel where Jameson was done for the day and settled in to eat some candy and watch the Cubs game while I got ready for the evening show. My Poplin laundry hadn't even been packed yet and was due to be delivered in an hour so I was wringing my hands over it, but after I'd walked to the theater I got an alert that it had been delivered.

I'm typing this a day later and I *think* the show went well? Nothing to report?
And when I got back to the hotel and checked the laundry, it was NOT wrinkled. Woot!

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SATURDAY

We started the day off with another walk to Tatte because their menu is so enticing, we had to try it again! This time Jameson got the French toast with whipped ricotta and berries while I had the “Greek-style pancakes.” Apparently that meant they came with Greek yogurt on the side because otherwise they seemed quite like normal fluffy delicious pancakes. And they also came with a house-made pear chutney that was fantastic. Once again, stellar breakfast in Boston :)

After that we relaxed in the hotel for a bit, lost track of time, and had to kinda rush around to find lunch before the matinee. Jameson got to chill at the hotel while I played the show (which went fine.)

For dinner we met Jameson’s musician friend Bleu at a dim sum place. It was hopping and crowded, and we ended up sharing a table with others but that was no problem. We ordered rice rolls and shrimp dumplings, steamed and seasoned greens, egg custard balls…all sorts of delights, and everything was delicious. I was stuffed! Jameson and Bleu talked about teaching and exchanged stories about their students or various gigs, and I answered Bleu’s questions about our tour and the circus and things. Tbh, he’s a bit of a celebrity and I DO like his music a lot, so I was shy to ask him anything for fear of sounding stupid, and just let Jameson handle most of the talking (which he was quite happy to do.)

After dinner we had a little extra time so walked to a nearby bar. The guys had a pint and I just listened until it was time to walk to the theater. Jameson followed me shortly thereafter.

Jameson got to see our show!!! Eeeeee!!!
Obviously his opinion on it means a lot to me. I played my best. He came to the pit before the show and got to meet a few people that way, and also at intermission. The show went really well, it was all lead cast too except for Belle but she/the understudy did a fantastic job and Jameson said as much.

After the show it happened that there was a fun company event backstage: we've been doing a "baby photo matching" game where some of us submitted baby photos and had several days to try and figure out who's who. Our company management made a big display and everything. For days we've been wringing our hands over it between shows and during intermission. My photo is up there...can you guess which one is me?
(Reminder that you can click the image to open in a new tab, then click it again to enlarge.)

So after this show was the "big reveal" where they'd reveal who's who and then give out small money prizes to the people who'd guessed the most correctly. It turned into a whole hang with snacks and drinks and everything, but I'd already planned to go to the hotel bar with Jameson so I couldn't stick around. We got to the bar and I listened to Jameon's thoughts on our show while we waited for band members to come over once the "baby reveal" was over. Overall he loved the show, praised the whole thing and the spectacle of it, with some small critiques of "Personally I wish they'd do X" which all of us have. For example he wished our audio was louder in some portions (not totally sure that I agree) and wished that the Beast's character had been kept more frightening, a la the animated version or the 90s Broadway version (I DO agree with this and wish Beast were a little meaner especially at the start.)

Eventually more people showed up and I got to introduce Jameson to them. He hit it off right away with Tim (trumpet) because they're both Cubs fans, and not surprisingly he spent 95% of the evening with Gary (drums) because they're both ROCK musicians, are into the same music, and have quite a few industry mutual friends.

Eventually we had a pretty large group, everyone except French horn, clarinet, and DAR who is on vacation.
Group photo!!

I was so proud to share Jameson with my colleagues, and grateful to them for taking time on a late night and a heavy show schedule to meet him and make him feel welcome. It was really wonderful. We didn't get back to the room until 1am so I will be exhausted for Sunday, but imo it was well worth it for this lovely experience :) :)

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SUNDAY

I hadn't gone to bed until nearly 2am, Jameson and I were up talking about the show and Boston and all sorts of things. And then I was awake at 7am, sigh. It's gonna be a long day. Made coffee and breakfast in the dark, fumbling around and trying not to make noise. We had talked about it before bed and decided that since my Sunday schedule is 1pm and 6:30pm which doesn't really allow me to eat meals at normal times, we'd do things separately today. Hence, me eating breakfast in the pitch dark. Otherwise I wouldn't get to eat until 10-11.

Jameson eventually got up, and by the time we were both ready to go out it was 11am (see?)
On my suggestion we went to Cafe Nero because it was close and had both breakfast and lunch sandwiches, European-style i.e. reasonable portions not gigantic American ones. He had caprese on a crunchy baguette and I did turkey and Swiss with fig jam on a multigrain croissant (who ever heard of a multigrain croissant! But it was very good.) The cafe was right next to the grocery so after our meal I bought a few things for the coming week (yogurt, blackberries,) dropped those off at the hotel, and Jameson walked me to the stage door.

While I was doing the show Jameson was going on a nostalgic solo walk, listening to music and visiting places that he remembered such as the bandshell on the Charles River and a record store he'd frequented while in college. He swung by a Japanese culture festival happening in the Commons and said it was very crowded with long lines for the food. There was a Greek fest nearby too but he said it was kind of sad-looking compared to the Japanese one, with only a gyro stand and not many people. When the show was done I walked back to the hotel where he told me all this and showed me the record he'd gotten (David Gilmour's daughter doing a single-take album.) Either he'll ship it to himself tomorrow or I'll put it in my trunk and ship it for him later on.

For dinner we did things separately, since he'd eaten snacks while walking and I needed to eat kinda early. He got to watch me make my mish-mash of random foods: tuna, beets, rice cake, PBFit, apple. I mean, I do the same thing at home :p When I was finished eating he walked me to the stage door and as a result got to meet Holly (Madame/Wardrobe character) and chat with her a bit, then he went off on his own to get Taco Bell.

The evening show went well, though I airballed my pedal E for the umpteenth time, lost my temper with myself, and decided that in Indianapolis I will try to get lessons from a bass trombonist. I know two who live in the city and hope one of them will be available to help me out. I just...we are at the end of April, soon I will have been on this tour for a year, and STILL sometimes when I try to play that note nothing comes out. It's happened LESS often, but I am sick of it happening AT ALL, and clearly I am doing something wrong. A little guidance from REAL bass trombonists is in order.

Otherwise it was a great show. it's also the end of Broadway Cares fundraising...and as of today we have raised $262,000!!! Wooooo!!

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Monday: Jameson's last day with me in Boston :( We want to eat at Tatte AGAIN (it really is THAT good you guys) and get clam chowder and sightsee at Faneuil Hall not sure what else we will do, he's got to leave at 4pm so we'll see.

Tuesday: I'll probably use this day to get groceries and decompress from a rather busy week of fun and NINE shows. One evening show.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 2: Shows and Shirts and Jameson Prep

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:06:02 GMT

Please Note: With Jameson visiting + lots of shows this week, I may not be able to stick to my normal posting schedule. Just a heads up. Thanks!

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**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

I slept until 9 which is pretty rare for me. Breakfast and sort of slowly moving things to make more space for Jameson. Shuffling all of my toiletries to the left, making sure there are towels set aside for him, putting my huge suitcase in the closet instead of the floor where I normally leave it. This room is really small, and there's a bit of a challenge because during the four days he's here I'll still need to cook a few meals for myself (on the two-show weekend he'll likely eat on his own for lunch) so I need to leave my dishes and containers out and have a "kitchen" of sorts, but I don't want to compromise surface space for him either.

My solution for this is to have the table cleared off by Thursday afternoon (I still gotta make all of my meals on Thursday) and that can be Jameson's surface space, and all of my food and dishes will llve on top of the cabinet containing the fridge. This will be a tight "kitchen" for me, but it's only for a few days. I imagine we'll eat out most of the time anyway.

Today was a Scheduled Chill Day since the rest of my week is

Thursday: Two shows + Jameson gets into town;
Friday: Sightseeing w/Jameson + evening show;
Saturday: The busiest day with two shows, probable meals out w/Jameson including dinner with his friend Bleu, then Jameson's coming to our evening show, followed by a meet and greet/drinks with the band;
Sunday: Two shows + probably one meal with Jameson and one on my own; and
Monday: Golden Day for me and final sightseeing w/Jameson, then seeing him off at the subway station.

Somewhere in there I'll have to figure out laundry again. It's either going to be Poplin again because I'm not going to waste time at a laundromat while Jameson is here, OR I'll wait until Tuesday morning when I'm supposed to take my trombone to the shop, bring my laundry too, and do it while I wait for the trombone (there are several laundromats near the shop.) Speaking of clothes, the only thing I "did" today was walk to Old Navy after lunch to find cheap travel flip flops and two tees. When looking for tees I ALWAYS check the men's and boy's sections too, because the Pink Tax is very real. At Old Navy, women's tees are $10-$12 while men's and boy's are $8-$10. I did find one awesome graphic tee in the boy's section: breakfast foods strolling together a la "Let's All Go To The Lobby" and the words "Wake Up on the Sunny Side!" underneath:

Who DOESN'T want this shirt! Why isn't this in the girl's section too? Why do little girl's shirts at Old Navy feature candies and sweets and flowers and words like "Sweet Thing" or "Sugar and Spice," the occasional overused "Girl Power" or "Girls Rule," while boys get the dinosaurs and Mario Bros. and cool designs like the above, and phrases like "Watch Me Change the World" and "Adventure Awaits"? Online these shirts are often labeled "unisex" but you still have to click on the "Boys" tab to see them at all, so are they really? And in the physical store they are ONLY in the boy's section. Why does a little girl have to go to the boy's section to get a Minecraft shirt? Freaking terrible, it honestly makes me feel sick to see it :( :(

Ok anyway sexism rant aside, the boy's XL shirts fit me perfectly so this tee was a great find. Never mind that I'm a grown-a$$ 42-year-old-woman who has to hang out in the little boy's clothes section to find a decent graphic tee. Geez.

The evening show was good. Connor conducted again, and Leslie (Key sub, usually he plays on Aladdin I think) was on Key 1 and did a great job. It was actually warmer in the pit too. That was a relief, to not have to spend half the show holding my trombones tightly to keep them warm or pocketing the mouthpieces between numbers.

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THURSDAY

I slept until 8, then breakfast and texting a bit with Jameson to give him hotel info and such. Finished clearing off the table for him to use while he's here, packed my snacks for the two-show day, and started working on Madison Foodie Finds (luckily I've been there recently so it's mostly done.)

The matinee show was good, nice crowd and it sounded well attended out there. And it was still temperate in the pit, even better! Afterward I swung by the grocery for blackberries...I JUST bought raspberries and they molded overnight, I HATE when that happens, they aren't cheap!! Then relaxed at the hotel and felt annoyed with myself because I just now realized that the TV is centered in front of MY bed, not Jameson's, and I should have taken that into account. Argh. Whatever, we'll figure it out.

In case you can't tell from words on a page: I am a bit nervous about having Jameson here. We've lived together for a long time, and lived on the circus train with separate rooms. It's just that this is the first time Jameson's EVER come out to visit me on a touring show. He's never stayed with me while I've been touring, which means he's never seen my lifestyle on tour, how I keep my room, my routine out here. It's not very different than what I did on the circus...but still. It's been a separate life, you know? I'm just a little shy about it, I suppose.

Well, after tonight's show I should have time to shower and do one last room check before Jameson arrives via subway, then I'll either go get him or wait in the lobby for him. Not sure if I'll have time to write about the evening show so I'll end it here (hopefully everything goes fine and you'll have missed nothing.) Excited, nervous, and looking forward to having Jameson here with me!!

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Friday: Sightseeing with Jameson, then an evening show.

Saturday: Two shows. Probably meals out with Jameson, dinner with his friend Bleu, and Jameson's going to our evening show, then a "band hang" at the hotel bar so he can meet everyone.

Sunday: Two shows, Jameson and I will hang out between where possible.

Monday: Another day of sightseeing, then seeing Jameson off.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.5: New England Aquarium and A Show

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:06:05 GMT

HEADS UP, I made a post yesterday/Tuesday!! You can read it HERE if you missed it.

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**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Tuesday only.

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I was up early so I could have breakfast and get to the New England Aquarium right when it opened.

The plan was to spend 2-3 hours at the aquarium, then walk to James Hook & Co. for a lobster roll as I've been told that's a "quintessential Boston experience." It would have been a good plan except the aquarium is much smaller than I'd anticipated, and only took maybe an hour to completely walk through! That said, they had so many animals and reptiles and fish and whatnot on display that it was worth sticking around for an additional hour and working to get good pictures. Here are some, enjoy.

These penguins look like they're forming a band.

An aquarium worker kidnapping some penguins during a feeding and training demonstration.

Nozzlefish. No that's not what it's actually called.

Some anemones.

I forget what fish this was but he was posing.

Harbor seal.

Right whale skeleton.

This pacific giant octopus was difficult to photograph, even after spending two hours here and coming back to his tank multiple times. People were always jostling and crowding around his tank, and he additionally did not move an inch for the whole time I was there. Ah well, can't blame him. I finally just snapped this picture from the side of a group of pushing children, and gave up on getting a good shot :p

On the other hand, I was able to get REALLY good pics of the aquariums 95-year-old(!) sea turtle, Myrtle. She is huge and beautiful and lives in the big central tank along with stingrays and tuna and blowfish and such.

Here is the top of the central tank, which is four floors deep. You can see Myrtle there by the stairs.

Circling the tank for quite a while, I finally was able to catch Myrtle as she passed close to me.
The second part of this video has a short bioluminescent jelly clip.

Poison dart frog. The kids loved this tank so it was VERY dirty with fingerprints and smudges, plus bad glare on the glass, so it took me several tries and coming back several times to get this picture. Beautiful blue frog :)

Kid looking at fish looking at kid.

By 10:30 or so it was SO PACKED in there, like major airport levels of packed. You couldn't even walk, everyone had to sort of shuffle forward. I was very very glad I'd A) worn a mask and B) come early and been able to see the animals up close before the crowds got there. Like I said, it's a small aquarium but there's a lot to see and it's definitely worth a visit, but if you want good views I'd say come close to opening or closing hours and cover as much ground as you can.

Getting back outside was a relief from the press of people, and it was sunny and nice :) I walked along the pier to James Hook & Co., which is sort of a legendary spot for fresh lobster. The Hook family is from Maine and sometime around 1925, James Hook and his sons began trucking their fresh-caught lobster down to Boston to sell on the waterfront. Soon they were selling to top Boston restaurants, and eventually the family became a distributor and opened a waterfront shack serving lobster rolls and other seafood delights. TL;DR it's a Boston institution and one of those must-eat, historic, specialty places.

The service was lousy but the lobster roll was pretty great. Big chunks of claw meat, sweet and tender, coated in mayo and served on a toasted potato bun. Simple, but that's what highlights the fresh flavor of the meat.

If you want other decorations like lemon juice or pepper they're at a condiments counter nearby. This was the cold roll but there's also a hot one that comes with melted butter instead of mayo. They also sell freshly cooked lobster, live lobsters to take home and cook yourself, misc shellfish, crab cakes, and lots more. But the lobster rolls are the main thing. I enjoyed it very much. Expensive, but what a treat and a taste of Boston history.

Had a lovely walk back in the sun and spent much of the afternoon creating this blog post. No plans for the rest of the day...I'd honestly thought the aquarium + lunch would take longer than it did. No worries, I got to binge some anime, read, eat snacks, and finally finish Indianapolis Foodie Finds.

The evening show was good and we had a really awesome crowd :) Though I gotta say, the pit was too cold even for me (I'm the last to complain about pit temps because I don't use my fingers to play.) It was 61°F (16.1°C). That may be a lovely temperature when you're outdoors and the sun is shining. But do you set your thermostat to 61 degrees in your house before you go to bed at night? No? Whyever not? Because when it comes to air-conditioned rooms, 61 degrees is COLD, that's why. And so we played wearing sweaters and coats tonight (black, of course) and we may source out some hand warmers tomorrow. I really hope tomorrow will be, like, seven or eight degrees warmer, but won't get my hopes up.

But seriously that aside, great show and I'm looking forward to a good week while Jameson is here!!

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Wednesday: Nothing planned, probably a chill day with a walk or something. Prepping the room for Jameson's arrival. One evening show.

Thursday: A rare two-show weekday, so nothing planned. Jameson arrives!

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.0: Boston Marathon 2026, Maruichi Adventures

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 01:31:56 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday only because both Monday and Tuesday will be long posts with lots of pics.

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Up fairly early. A normal breakfast and livestreaming the Boston Marathon! I had thought it started at 7 or 7:30 but it's actually 9am, which meant I got to watch the kickoff as it happened on TV. For those who don't know (I didn't), the marathon starts in a suburb of Boston called Hopkinton and ENDS in Boston. It is a 26.2 mile route (42.195 km) and the average time to run it is about 4 hours. Top athletes can do it in around 2 hours, but the course is open for about 8 hours so that people of varying abilities can still receive an official time and certificate/medal. A lot of celebrities like to participate, and many of those run for charities. This year Chelsea Clinton ran, as well as an astronaut and a local news personality.

Anyway, after breakfast I texted with Jameson who was nervous about his epidural for his neck/arm pain. I don't blame him. The shot wasn't until 4pm so I set an alarm and made sure my phone would be on all day. Then off I went to the subway with my little tote bag and KN95, ready to face the marathon throngs!

Yeah, so...there was no getting on any train from the westbound Green Line station. Every train showed up completely packed, slowed for a moment for like two people to get on or off, then moved on again. The problem was that the runners were coming in from the west, so that's where everyone was trying to get. After waiting probably about 10 minutes and four trains, I decided that things were not likely to improve and got a Lyft instead. It didn't cost any more than it would have in Orlando so it was fine. The marathon route happened to be near where I was going, so I got to see the crowds a bit from the back of the car.

First I wanted to go thrifting, there were several good thrift stores in this area. I had fun looking but ultimately there was nothing that jumped out at me plus prices were vintage store-high, iykyk. I am more of a Goodwill-level thrifter :p

There was also a record store so I popped in to see what Queen they had in case Jameson wanted some. I did end up getting him a record to add to his collection. By then it was almost noon and I was hungry! This Maruichi is fancy, it has a tea shop and cafe across from the actual grocery. I decided to go there first and see what they had available for lunch. (REMINDER you can click on ALL pictures to open them in a new tab and enlarge them.)

In the sushi case, some beautiful rolls, nigiri, and chirashi. I have had the chirashi before and it is amazing.

At the actual cafe counter they had Japanese-style curry, karaage, katsudon, udon, ramen, and much more! But those are all pretty big meals and I kind of wanted something lighter. I saw a woman making fresh onigiri right there behind the counter. Must-have! I got the braised pork belly and egg onigiri, and the mustard leaf onigiri.

In the background are three cool snacks that I found to try: spring water from ACTUAL Mt. Fuji, a peach nectar, and mini-croissants.

Both onigiri were wonderful. I don't typically care for pork belly but it was cubed very small so it only added rich flavor, and the egg was soft and perfect. The mustard greens were pickled, very flavorful and just a little spicy. And the rice was so chewy and delicious! Onigiri are SO GOOD, and it is so rare to find them freshly made. Yum!

I also want to mention that there was a small room off to the side offering floor seating, and several families were using it. I don't know if this was a tea room or if it was meant for families with kids, or what, but I saw that people were taking their shoes off to enter the room and that there were mostly parents with young kids in there.

Next it was across the street for the actual grocery store. As usual there was an endless list of things that I wanted and only a short list of things that I could realistically get!

Some desserts, including little chestnut mont blanc cakes, roll cakes, mochi donuts, ice cream bars, tayaki, etc.

The most expensive A5 Japanese wagyu that I could find. That's $35 for 1/2lb!!

Some fatty tuna, also very expensive!! Both the beef and tuna are NOT things you find normally even in most Asian grocery stores.

Ryu (violin) had asked for some senbei. I went all out and got her this ridiculous gift assortment! LOL

They had a housewares section with umbrellas, dishes, bottles, face and hair products, utensils, etc. I saw soooo many things that I wanted but just couldn't justify buying. These beautiful tea towels for example. So many wonderful patterns! But I have no realistic use for one out on the road.

A friend had told me to look for this foaming hand soap which dispenses in the shape of a paw print. I found it! Did not buy it though.

I looked at the sake and beer and such, but they didn't have ChuHi (and I'm probably never finding it in the US except at EPCOT once in a while, I'll have to accept it.) Around then I was starting to get overstimulated and I could hear the roar of the marathon crowd and realized that the main body of runners must be nearing the final miles (I was at mile 24 and it was close to 1pm so that tracks.) I didn't even attempt the subway again, just called a Lyft but he got trapped on the other side of the marathon route and asked me to walk to him so I got out there to give it a try.

Stepping outside, people were running to the sidelines, fire trucks were parked there honking and with firemen waving, people twirling noisemakers and blowing vuvuzelas and waving signs, everyone screaming some iteration of "Yeah!" or "Woooo!" or "GO GO GO!!!" Helicopters and drones were circling overhead, adding to the cacophony. It was an amazing, fun, and inspiring thing to see!

Well look at that: I got to watch the Boston Marathon after all! :)

The Lyft got me most of the way back to the hotel but near the Commons it started getting crazy with crowds of pedestrians again, so I jumped out a few blocks early. Runners were walking slowly and stiff-legged through the streets wearing silver thermal foil blankets, clutching bananas or bottles of water, and many of them wearing medals. When I got back to the hotel it was more chaos; hotel staff had put up a huge balloon archway and were in the entryway cheering and waving noisemakers for the exhausted participants. Bottles of water and bowls of fruit were off to the side for the runners. In the lobby there was a DJ playing music full blast, the bar was packed, there was a photo op and activity station and a caricature artist...good lord, just all kinds of stuff, like a miniature indoor festival. I don't like crowds, true, but seeing people happy makes me happy! I smiled and congratulated every runner that I saw on the way to the elevator.

Finally made it to my room. Phew! Now to show you my Japanese grocery haul! In the window because lighting in hotels = abysmal :p

As usual I will rate and review everything here. The banana Hi-Chew and grape candy are for Jameson, and the mini croissants are for both of us. The rest is for meeeeeeee!

I rested and rehydrated for an hour or so, then braved the lobby again to get to the grocery for literally two things. I'd wanted to walk to Whole Paycheck and get some top-rated local pizza on the way, but was too drained. And I didn't even run AT ALL today haha! And it was still early! Jameson messaged to tell me his shot had gone well and his friend Jody had driven him home. They stopped for Taco Bell on the way so he must be feeling all right. I'm sorry he's having to go through this, but glad he's doing it if he can have a chance at going back to being pain-free.

And that was pretty much it you guys, I called it a night at 5pm. Why not? Having adventures is a treat, and so is curling up in a quiet hotel room with some snacks and a good book :)

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Tuesday: The plan is to visit New England Aquarium and have lunch somewhere. Expect lots of pictures of fishes. One evening show.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 3: Trust Issues, Band Hang, Marathon Prep

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 02:31:29 GMT

**DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

I was surprised to wake up at 8:30am. Nice, because I didn't give myself anything to do today :)

It was raining and cold out as well. Perfect!

I'd scheduled a Poplin pickup the night before at 10am. Waited around for the pickup and had breakfast. I don't like to use Poplin because of the cost and because I get leery about people handling my limited set of clothing, but it IS nice to have your laundry washed and folded while you do other things.

Once that was picked up I had an extremely lazy day of reading, finishing up TADC (what a weird show), starting Witch Hat Atlier anime, and getting close to finishing Indianapolis Foodie Finds. Went for a brief walk just to get fresh air and window shop. Meals and a nap.

Right before the evening show my laundry was returned, which shouldn't have been a big deal except some clothing was damp and my pit blacks were VERY wrinkled, which is an accomplishment because they are polyester and almost never wrinkle. Whoever did the laundry either put them into the PLASTIC bag hot out of the dryer causing deep wrinkles, or they overloaded their dryer (possibly putting mine and someone else's clothes together) resulting in compressed and damp clothes, resulting in the wrinkles. Needless to say I had to leave a poor review :/

See, this kind of thing is why I get neurotic about How I Do Things On Tour. Things that are minor when you work a 9-to-5 and live in an actual HOUSE, can be a big headache when you are living out of a suitcase. Literally ALL of my work clothes were in this load of laundry except for one back-up black shirt and pants, and thank god I had those because due to this incident it was all I had available to wear for work tonight. That in itself is not the end of the world...but can you see how trusting someone to handle my laundry could potentially ruin ALL of my work clothes in one swoop? And what that MEANS when I'm hundreds of miles away from my closet in Florida?

And that's why I am so picky about things like what I eat before performing, or how far I'm willing to let people drive me from the theater. It's because I have been screwed before. Having to play a show with food poisoning because someone undercooked my food…or race to the theater at the last minute because someone didn’t account for traffic…or having to re-buy all of my work clothes…all very literally because of someone else's negligence…SUCKS. All of these scenarios have happened before and have contributed to my trust issues. Ultimately if being neurotic helps lower the odds of getting screwed, then guess what, I'm going to be neurotic!

Anyway, off to the theater for the evening show. The hotel lobby is all decked out for the marathon on Monday, and loads of people were checking in.

The evening show was great, well attended and a really enthusiastic crowd that cheered for everything :) I love when our show makes people happy! Not much else to say about it...after the show I had a late night "ironing party," staying up until close to midnight to carefully iron all of my work shirts and pants.

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SATURDAY

I had trouble sleeping last night and woke up tired and cranky. But it's ok. Slow morning of signing up for some company housing and flight bookings for upcoming cities, packing snacks, meal planning, and getting ready for the two-show day. I left early just in case the hotel was busy (it was, there were lines for the elevators both up and down!!)

The first show was nice, a pretty good crowd and I thought it went well. Between shows I hustled back to the hotel for a simple dinner (tofu, sweet potato, bagel, PBFit) and some anime. I had taken the Do Not Disturb hanger down before the first show and housekeeping had spruced up my room which was nice.

The evening show was good too, can't think of anything to report except that it went smoothly and we had a nice big audience. Afterward a bunch of us had planned to go to a local bar to hang out and meet Gary's (drummer's) wife who was in town for a visit, but with the marathon happening and it being a college town the bar we'd planned on was impossibly packed and loud. Instead we did the hotel bar. Ryu's (violinist's) husband was there as well, and everyone swapped stories about how they'd met their SO and such. I ended up talking a whole lot about the circus because everyone was interested :) It was a lovely time and I appreciated getting to know everyone better!

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SUNDAY

Another crummy sleep, or I should say I thought I slept well but for some reason woke up very anxious (probably hormones, it's about that time.) It took a long time to get un-anxious, so it's a good thing I'm an early riser I guess?

The first show was fine, Connor (Key 1) conducted. Nothing to report except that some folks came down to the pit afterward to tell us they'd loved the music. Right now after each performance there's a Broadway Cares speech that sometimes goes on for quite a while, so the fact that people will sit and listen to that and then take time to visit us at the pit is really touching. I will ALWAYS appreciate it!

Between shows it was so dreary, cold and rainy! That's April in Boston for you I suppose. I went back to the hotel for some quiet, a relaxing scented candle, and a book, and all of that helped me to be calm inside. Basic boring dinner (rice, tofu, veg, walnuts) and the evening show. It went all right for me...unsure how others felt haha. I also managed to pick up a little special souvenir for Jameson that I hope he'll like!

After the show I was reminded that we have NINE shows next week, and also a "kiddie show" added for the third week! It's going to be busy around here but hopefully also a lot of fun.

Tomorrow it's the Boston Marathon. All weekend the streets have been packed with tourists, participants, loads and loads of people excited to see this historic event or run in it. There are police EVERYWHERE and all kinds of barricades going up, media centers and press stages and mobile wifi towers and drone launchpads for capturing footage. It's all very cool....HOWEVER I am not a big fan of crowds, especially while alone, and have never really cared about sports that much either. While I am excited and grateful to be here right now, and will be happy to see parts of the marathon on my way to other places tomorrow, overall I don't plan to actually stand along the route or anything like that. PLEASE do not come after me in the comments for that choice. When you are in Boston, you can do what you like; while I am in Boston, I will do what *I* like. :)

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Monday: Braving the marathon crowds to ride the T to get to Maruichi for a Japanese lunch, maybe some goodies to take home, and thrifting at a nearby Buffalo Exchange. Later on, maybe getting takeout from a popular pizza place if it's not too insane. Due to the crowds and cold rainy weather it probably won't be a very eventful day for me. Jameson has his first-ever epidural tomorrow so I'll be worried for him and checking in on him.

Tuesday: With any luck, New England Aquarium and lobster rolls on the wharf! One evening show.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 2: Nourishing Tummy and Eyes

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 03:13:09 GMT

**DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Managed to sleep until 8 despite my neighbor having a very loud phone conversation at 6am that could be heard through the walls. Yay earplugs.

A slow morning and sort of using today to figure out what I want to do and see, and when. There are things I'll do on my own, things that I'll save to do with Jameson during the time he's here, and things I'll need to plan around our show schedule and time-consuming chores like doing laundry and walking to grocery stores.

I have THREE golden days in Boston, so there's a good chance I'll get to do all of this and more. But we will see!
("golden day" = a true day off. No travel and no shows.)

But as for today, I wanted to keep it chill. Worked on Indianapolis Foodie Finds and walked to Target to get a retinol cream. Stopped in at UNIQLO to see if they had any cool graphic tees (none that appealed to me) and past the Commons to get to Bakey for more of those scrumptious challah dough bagels! They also sell babkas, croissants, actual challah loaves, and coffee/tea.

Back to the hotel for snack and rest and binging TADC until showtime. The evening show went well, though I made a few weird mistakes. This happens once in a while especially with the bass; I get a little of what I call "slide dyslexia" in which I either accidentally reverse a slide position, or hold down the triggers on the bass in the wrong order. It is no different than a pianist hitting the wrong note once in a while I suppose. Anyway as soon as it happens I drop the note so it won't be heard, I doubt anyone noticed.

After the show we had a party sponsored by this theater's promoters/presenters, at a nearby Maggiano's. There was pasta and salad of course, but also tiramisu and cake and other desserts! I had a glass of red wine and chocolate cake :) As usual we talked a lot, and as actors arrived the volume in the room reached impossible decibels, so I left when we had to scream at each other to be heard :p Still, I am glad for the social time and interaction with the actors!

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THURSDAY

Was up at 8, breakfast and excited because today's plan was pan-fried dumplings and a walk to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts!

The dumplings were for a slightly early lunch. I'd seen them on TikTok and figured I'd better show up before actual lunchtime to avoid any rush of young people hitting this now-viral tiny takeout place. It really is just a little hole in the wall called Potluck. They have a hot bar of Chinese prepared dishes, but the dumplings come out separately on a big black wok. The bottoms are toasted and caramelized, and the tops are soft and drizzled with oil, sesame seeds, and chives. The inside is pork with scallions. They were juicy and delicious! The bottoms were so crispy and lovely. You get eight dumplings for $10.

As soon as I sat down to eat an actual CROWD of students piled in. The restaurant owner/cashier had to organize them into a line going out the door! I was right to show up early. I ate pretty quickly and got out of there, but MAN were those dumplings good! Glad I got to try them.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I couldn't help but oogle like a tourist on my way to the museum.

Preparations are underway for the Boston Marathon on Monday.

I stopped at an H&M to look for my Perfect Black Pants but they did not have them, sigh. That delayed me a solid 20 minutes but I still got to the museum around 1pm.

There was so much to see, they've got a gigantic collection spanning two floors and organized by geographic location (American art, European, Asian, African, etc.) I just allowed myself to wander and soak it all in. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to be in the moment.

But I did photograph some of my favorites of the day, and here they are.

( See Some Art Here )

I walked through exhibits for a solid two hours, then decided I was tired and needed to head home. Got an Uber (Yes I know the T would have been cheaper, but not faster, and I wanted time to rest and was willing to pay for the privilege.) Got to the hotel and rested, had a snack, and got ready for the evening show. It went well, and we had an interesting "guest actor" who was an ABC anchor and who appeared during "Belle" as a villager. She even had some lines! From what I heard her lines went well, I am not sure how the acting part went but it should be shown on TV at some point so we'll find out!

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Friday: I have not found a laundromat within a mile and don't want to walk extensively/Uber tomorrow, so I will shell out extra dough for a wash & fold service this once. No other plans as Friday is normally my day of rest. One evening show.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each and no plans.

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 1: Travel, Chinatown Eats, Citizens Opera House

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 03:40:45 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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Previous Visits to Boston:

Ringling Bros Circus, 2012: I had only been with the circus for a few months. Jameson and I were not dating yet. I explored a lot! Visited the Harvard Book Store and Follow the Honey specialty shop, and visited a friend at MIT where I got to view malaria under a microscope. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston Beer Works, and Mike's Bakery. Walked much of the Freedom Trail and got sidetracked at misc historical sights along the way.

Ringling Bros Circus, 2014: Jameson and I were dating at this point. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe again and visited Follow the Honey again. There was an Elephant Brunch for which I was an attendant (I held a rope to keep kids or activists from getting too close to the animals.) Boston Beer Works with my friends again, and I met some local tubists and trombonists and got them tickets to the circus. I am also reminded that on this trip, we got to see our born-and-raised New Jersey bus driver absolutely verbally tear the arena's security to shreds when they wouldn't let our bus leave at the end of the night! What a great memory lol.

Ringling Bros Circus, 2016: Jameson and I took a day trip to Salem, MA and had a wonderful time eating lots of great food and seeing the witchy sights. I took my trombone to a pro music shop for cleaning. Ate chowdah at Faneuil Hall. Brett (the bandmaster) and I went to see the Boston Symphony play Night On Bald Mountain and that was one of my best tour memories ever tbh because we were nearly late and Brett threw his car into park right in the middle of the parking garage so we could make it, PLUS the principal cellist broke a string mid-performance and we got to watch dumbfounded as she literally flung her instrument at the 2nd cellist, who flung HER instrument back at her...the principal kept playing on the 2nd cellist's instrument while a replacement string was passed up through the cello section while the performance kept going, then the 2nd cellist changed the string mid concert and they swapped instruments back before the end of the piece. Absolutely epic and I'll bet the orchestra was talking about it for weeks afterward!!

All this is so that if you DON'T see me walking the Freedom Trail or eating at Mike's Bakery or visiting Faneuil Hall, etc., you won't give me "You should have done [X]!" Know that I have done some things here during past visits, and may decide to do other things on this visit instead :)

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MONDAY

Despite the luxuriously late 11:30am departure, I was wide awake at 6am for no reason whatsoever.
Whyyyyy body whyyyyy.

When I couldn't get back to sleep I got up, raided free hotel breakfast one last time for coffee and some eggs to eat for lunch, and had my oats and yogurt back in my room. Messed about online or read my book until it was time to load up and leave. We have an odd situation in Boston because our hotel reservation was cancelled without notice AND we're there during the Boston Marathon, meaning our management team had to scramble to get us re-housed. They were amazingly able to get us two options: one right in the middle of downtown but with small rooms and no laundry, microwaves, or free breakfast; and one three miles away WITH laundry/microwaves/free breakfast and a kitchenette, but involving a 20-minute subway commute (the cost of which will be reimbursed.)

I chose the hotel close to the theater because I love being walkable from the theater...AND from all the cool things to do in Boston! Since I have the Itaki I am just fine without a microwave, and half the time I don't take full advantage of free hotel breakfasts anyway. Not having laundry is inconvenient but not the end of the world, there are several laundromats walkable. Plus Jameson is visiting, so being close to the theater and sightseeing options is ideal. I'm really grateful that we had choices here!

Anyway, the bus ride was a bit uncomfortable because the AC was broken. We had a rather sweaty stuffy trip. Luckily it was less than two hours. We got there right at 2pm, leaving plenty of time for exploring! My room is tiny compared to the giant suite we had in Hartford, but I am not surprised or inconvenienced. Remember, I lived in a 7x7 room on a moving circus train for five years straight. I can certainly handle a slightly cozy hotel room.

Per tradition I dropped my things and hoofed it to Whole Paycheck...but the route took me directly through Boston's Chinatown!

(stock image, Wiki)

I had done a little foodie research before arriving today, and knew that I wanted to get pan-fried dumplings and/or rice rolls at some point. It was between meals so I went for the rice rolls, which are also called "cheung fun" and are delicate rice paper crepes either served plain or stuffed with meat/veg, and drizzled with soy, peanut, or hot sauces. These are not an entree, they're considered a snack, and come in a small portion size.

I got mine from May's Cake House, a basement-level takeout spot also serving fluffy char siu buns and mochi and a variety of Chinese baked goods. Might have to come back! The cheung fun were four for $5 and you could get beef, shrimp, or plain. I went with shrimp.

OM NOM NOM

This was one of those times where "simple food tastes best." The crepe or rice noodle or whatever was thin and delicate, but also satisfyingly chewy and filling, and it had a lovely savory-yet-sweet flavor. The shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked, and the soy sauce was umami heaven, sweet and salty at the same time. Absolutely addicting textures and flavors, I could eat these every day for months and not get tired of them. And knowing I can get them so easily here...*swoon*

But there are lots of other goodies to try here in Boston! Can't wait!!

Did my grocery shopping and hauled it all back to the hotel, then went out again to a different grocery for the jug of purified water I'll need for the Itaki and coffee pot this week. Unpacked, settled in, and ate some of my groceries for dinner. Already a big fan of Boston :)

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TUESDAY

Slept in to almost 9am! Good! Breakfast and puttering around, then started watching The Amazing Digital Circus on the recommendation of a friend. It's disturbing so I'm struggling with it a bit but it's also really unpredictable and that kind of thing always ropes me in.

It was overall a slow day of anxiously waiting around to go to the theater. I had lunch and took myself for a walk and tried to figure out when I wanna do what in this city. Finally it was time to go check out Citizens Opera House!

It's a beautiful venue and the acoustics are great.

This theater allows wall tags and there are lots of nice ones lining the stairwells and hallways. Here are just a few. **Jumpscare warning** I forgot to remove the audio from the second half of the video, I am so sorry!!

Not only is this a lovely venue, they are also very generous here! We arrived to find cookies and branded mugs arranged for us near the pit :)

We were also later given umbrellas by the theater's presenter...convenient, because it WAS raining after the show!
And finally, the theater's music coordinator was waiting for us backstage with a big box of cookies and bagels from a local bakery. She's a friend of DAR's and was super warm and kind. The bagels are made with challah bread and....yeah...I'm going to need to get more of those STAT.

Sound check was good. The drum box is remoted (in another room) so there's more space in the pit, but I do miss hearing Gary more loudly. Between sound check and the show I dug stuff out of my trunk and walked back to the hotel for dinner (sweet potato, chicken, walnuts, sourdough bread. Just reminding y'all that I don't eat fancy foods most of the time!) The opening night show went very well, we had one small KeyComp snafu but that does happen once every two months or so, the nature of complex technology. It was a good way to start our sit in Boston. I feel very welcomed and comfortable in this theater and in this city, and am hoping it'll be a good time here!

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Wednesday: Not much planned except walking to Target for retinol cream (I'm out) and figuring out what sightseeing I want to do in the next few days. One evening show.

Thursday: Possibly going to the art museum or some other sort of sightseeing. One evening show.

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Hartford, CT 2026 part 3: Nostalgia, Family, Gratitude

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:45:57 GMT

*Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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Thursday Night Recap

I posted earlier than usual due to having an annoying day so here's the missing chunk of Thursday :p
Koz (our music supervisor) was at the theater when we arrived and was hanging out backstage with DAR. I caught up with them near the management office and the candy bowl. Koz looked over as I picked through the candy and said, "Too late, I ate all the good ones :p " and I replied "Figures :p " and that was our interaction for the evening.

The show went well (I thought) and we all played well. Connor (Key 1) conducted us. On our schedule there was a "full company" rehearsal on Friday afternoon, and we'd all been wondering whether we'd be included in that. DAR said it would depend on what Koz wanted to do. After the show Koz came down to the pit just as Connor was telling us we'd get an email or text about the rehearsal. Koz overheard and said, "What rehearsal?" Apparently we weren't even on the radar to be included! Awesome :D

As we were packing up some people came down to the pit edge, stood right next to Koz, and RAVED about how wonderful the music had been. That's right, shower us with flattery in front of our boss!

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FRIDAY

Up early to do laundry. This hotel has three washers and six dryers so getting up early probably isn't necessary, but I do it out of habit. And with my luck a 30-person boys soccer team will have checked in the night before and all of them will need to do laundry or something. I'd rather get up early and get it done before it gets busy in there.

Breakfast and then packing my trunk items early because my sister and fam will be here tomorrow. I don't want to have to worry about dragging all of my stuff to the theater in the middle of visiting with her.

It was so nice out that after lunch I decided to go for a walk. Specifically, I wanted to visit the arena where the circus used to play, and from there walk to the entrance to the train yard where we used to stay.

It was hard.

It has been nine years since I was last here with the circus. Hartford was one of our last cities, too. I remember that everyone was very emotional, self included. Though I don't get emotional easily or often, I was absolutely heartbroken over the closure of the circus. I spent much of the week capturing as much footage as I could, writing extensively about everything that was happening, and spending time with our animals. I wrote about it HERE if you're interested...nine years later I still can't read this post, it hurts too much.

It seems like a long time ago, but whoever said "Time heals all wounds" was absolutely wrong.
I have said it before and know that most people will not understand, but I'll say it again anyway: the circus was more than a job.
We lived together, traveled together, worked together, ate together, slept together, laughed and cried together.
We saw babies born here. We saw people die here.

It was not just a job, it was a whole life. A living breathing thing. And watching it end was like watching a loved one die.
It hurt just as much as that, and I mourn it just as much as that.

First I went to the arena's garage and loading dock entrance. I have many memories here; it's where we'd enter to go to work.

2017: A circus BMX biker doing a trick off the arena ramp wall. Notice the circus wagons to the back left.

Today:

Across the street is Agave, a restaurant where Jameson and I and many circus folks would hang out or go to eat after our shows were done. The band especially used to come here for apps and drinks on Sunday nights because we didn't have to load out. We'd watch the crew load the wagons and tow them back to the train.

2017:

Today:

The train yard entrance didn't have an address, of course, so I "navigated on vibes" to get there.
I followed my little heart across two highway overpasses, down a hill, and a sharp left turn to an underpass that I remembered well.

2017: This was how we'd get home to the train at night after shows were done. It looks foreboding, doesn't it?

Today. Not so scary in the middle of the afternoon.

After walking through this tunnel/underpass, you pop out the other side and cross the street on the right, and there is the entrance to the train yard which is just a dusty hill leading to the tracks.

I sent all of these pictures to Jameson along the way. If he were here he would have walked with me.
It's a comfort to know that there are still many circus people besides Jameson and I out there who remember these places, and care.
A life that no longer exists. Places that look mundane, but are kept as treasures in our hearts.

I walked back to the hotel slowly, thinking about the past and what that life was like. Lots of really great memories, and experiences that have helped me get to where I am today. Back at the hotel, cooling off and a little snack and some anime. I walked to the theater a little early to access my trunk and put stuff in there, get my horns ready, etc. Koz was still there and gave us some notes on tweaking the music, but I didn't get any individual notes. Victory! The evening show went well and we had a very excited and enthusiastic crowd. I was thankfully not too-badly nervous about Koz being there and did a good job.

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SATURDAY

I had stress dreams, not really surprising. We're back on tour, I'm tense about Koz being here and doing a good job in general, and about my sister and her family driving four hours just to see our show today. Breakfast, nervously putzing around on the computer and getting dressed for work until she texted to say she was close. I walked to the park intending to scope out a picnic spot for us but she beat me to it; I found them at a table setting up huge boxes of pizza! We hugged and got reacquainted over big NY-style slices of margherita and bruschetta. So good! And it was great to see everyone! Her son, Declan, is getting so big!! Everyone looks happy and healthy.

There was a playground nearby so when we'd finished eating we wandered over there so Declan could enjoy it. I admit I went down the kids slide once too :P We got caught up as much as we could in the short time that we had before the show started. There honestly wasn't much to report except that we're all doing our best at life? Plugging along I suppose, and that's great, it shows we're blessed.

Eventually we walked over to the theater. My sister's husband took a picture of us in front of a pretty blossoming tree out front.

I followed my sister to the box office to make sure her tickets were there, then we parted ways so I could go backstage and get ready. I forgot to mention, Kate gave me some lovely gifts! A little knit Encouragement Potato much like the one Jameson has gotten me, except this one has a sprout on top of his adorable head:

...and a little black obsidian cat, curled up in a sleeping pose. Our mom used to have a cat statue like this, only made of wood and much larger. Kate's idea was that this one would be small enough to travel with me. And symbolic in other ways, with obsidian being a stone of protection and grounding and travel safety. As always my sister is so thoughtful and sweet.

(In the background there is a note that she wrote to go with the cat, on beautiful natural paper)

Before the show started my sis was able to come down to the pit to say hi, and snap a pic of me in my "cage" haha

The show went well though I was nervous because family was there! I just want them to have a good experience (and they did!) Afterward we walked to Agave for dinner. It was nostalgic for me as this is a restaurant I frequented with my circus family, and it was fun and novel to bring my bio-family here to experience it too!

It's just a normal Mexican restaurant, but the food is always fresh :) They brought us loads of corn chips to start and there were some colorful green and red ones mixed in, Declan enjoyed picking those out :D We talked and talked about our work, Declan's homeschooling, a tiny bit of politics, plans for the summer, all kinds of stuff. The food was great, I had chicken tacos and ate them both! When finished we walked back to my sister's car where we hugged and parted ways. It was such a shame to have such a short visit but I had another show to do, and they had gotten a hotel because it was quite a long drive for them. Still, I'm glad they got to see the show and they enjoyed it very much, and I'm very grateful for our time together.

The evening show was good too, though I felt very tired. I don't WANT socializing to be a drain on me, but it IS no matter how much I enjoy it. I was glad to wrap up that show and head to bed!

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SUNDAY

Awake earlier than I needed to be out of habit. Quiet and slow morning, which I love. I lit my Chai Tea candle, which I still get to enjoy on a Sunday because we're busing to Boston so my luggage weight doesn't matter (normally it would be stored in my trunk by now.) My eyes were watery and nose itchy, probably allergies from being in the park for hours with my family yesterday (it had BETTER be allergies, I have done my time with illnesses this year!! Sheesh.) Did some light packing but we are leaving luxuriously late on Monday so I can pack a lot in the morning too.

Oh, right! I promised to share what this gigantic suite of a hotel room looks like!

It is an older hotel so it's not "fancy," but it turns out ALL of the rooms were like this so each of us had essentially a small apartment here. A very nice treat. I do not expect Boston to be like this, being an older New England city where space is at a premium.

Walked to the theater when it was time. It was very nice out today.

The first show went well. I had packed my dinner and stayed at the theater during the break to eat, reading my book and researching things to do in Boston. Before I knew it it was time for the evening show. It went "ok" but as is typical for my first week back on tour, I felt more tired than usual. Never mind, next week I'm sure I'll have gotten back into the swing of things!

And we'll be in BOSTON!!! I have been looking forward to this city for a while!!
We are there for three weeks which is just wonderful. There is so much to see and do! And Jameson will be visiting me and seeing the show!!
I have been here with the circus but never a touring show before. And it's been 10+ years since I've been to Boston AT ALL so it will definitely seem new and exciting to me.

Can't wait!

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Monday: A nice late morning and a bus ride to Boston. Groceries, unpacking, and something nice for dinner :)

Tuesday: Opening day in Boston!

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Hartford, CT 2026 part 2: First World Problems (or are we 2nd or 3rd world now, hmm)

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:02:59 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

I was awake rather early, so went to free hotel breakfast again to steal more peanut butter :P

Breakfast and updating Boston Foodie Finds because I found out that Maruichi, the Japanese grocery that I just visited here in Hartford, has a location in Boston too! I'd really like to go! On a less positive note, it looks like DAR's Boston vacation is happening while Jameson is visiting. Jameson was very much looking forward to meeting DAR, but that will have to wait for another time. Rats.

As planned I had a slow morning, just doing a bit of meal planning and binging several episodes of Beastars and waiting for the temp outside to get above 40°F (4.44°C.) At least it was sunny and clear out!

I ended up walking to Grocery on Broad. It's a small bodega with a portion of their proceeds going toward local job training, with a special focus on people who often have trouble finding work (former convicts, homeless folks, addicts, etc.) Sadly there was not much LOCAL produce or goods, only raw meats, and even though I have an oven I don't want to cook this week. Soooo walked all the way back. But I got some fresh air.

The rest of the day was quiet. I had a little nap and a snack, watched more anime, read my book, and talked with Jameson who was having his first day of PT for his neck/shoulder (the PT will solve nothing but is to convince his insurance to cover surgery, which like every aspect of our "health care" lately is completely idiotic.) It sounds like it went as well as it could. Later in the day I lit one of my Bittersweet Candle Co candles, listened to music, and tried to center myself. I still felt stressed by the time showtime rolled around, though. Not sure why but it's likely because Koz (our supervisor) is coming tomorrow, and my sister's family is coming on Saturday, and overall it kind of feels like Philadelphia all over again with anxiety and feeling like I'm under scrutiny and judgement.

I had a hard time performing the show because of the anxiety + acid reflux/fluttery stomach, but got through it and DAR seemed very pleased with how we played. That's great, I hope we do just as well for Koz tomorrow.

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THURSDAY

I was wide awake at 6:30am and had to force myself back to sleep. This probably means I'm caught up on sleep debt and now I'm swinging back toward restlessness and twitching to Do Things. Breakfast and chatting with my sister about her visit on Saturday/planning to have a meal together. It was significantly warmer today but I had nowhere to be and had walked five miles yesterday, so was inclined to stay at the hotel for most of the day.

I did do an Amazon grocery delivery because I'm already short on protein and there are no viable grocery stores or even convenience stores downtown (food deserts/apartheid are the WORST.) And ONCE AGAIN they screwed up: they delivered to the wrong address (I literally JUST had an Amazon order disappear in Orlando as well.) This is the picture the delivery driver sent:

One of the hotel staff recognized the floor and was able to guess where it might have ended up, but by the time I had walked all the way there and found the random corner of the freaking public transit plaza where the bag had been dropped off, someone had not surprisingly stolen it.

Fuming, I walked back and placed an identical order again, this time writing "HOTEL NAME!!!!!" all caps AND I wrote the address twice, both in the address bar and in the delivery instructions, AND I switched delivery from "drop off" to "hand off" so that they'd physically have to put it in my hands.

An hour later a delivery driver arrived, smiling, with my order. I took the grocery bag from him, relieved....
....and opened it and saw that half of the items were NOT what I had ordered.

I'm never ordering Amazon/Whole Paycheck delivery again.

Went back to my room and had a frustrated scream and threw an empty cardboard box against the wall a few times. Requested refunds for both orders (for the second one, just for the items that were wrong/missing.) Fumed some more. Then went on with my day.

At 1pm we had an "allieship" meeting, optional, in one of the hotel's conference rooms. It was pretty good but even at 90 minutes it was not long enough for such a complex topic, for this group of people from various walks of life who all have so much to contribute and learn on that topic. The presenters did a great job and I got some new perspective on what it means to be an ally and some actions that can be taken in-the-moment, but on the feedback survey I did say that I wish we could do a more involved course or longer seminar to get a better understanding. Personally the thing I was hoping for was this: I find it difficult to be a good ally when I'm coming from a place of ignorance. I don't have any idea what it's like to be black, or gay, or Muslim, etc etc and all sorts of people whom I would like to be an ally to. And this means if I try to take action or support someone from a place of ignorance, even if well-meant I can cause more harm than good. I wanted to learn more about how to navigate that. We did talk about being willing to make mistakes, and I AM willing to make mistakes, but not at cost of making things worse for someone. Does that make sense?

Anyway, afterward I was still feeling stressed from the whole grocery thing and from trying to engage during the meeting, and because I was worried about playing well in tonight's show....I was just overall not in a great mood, so I stayed in my room and tried to play some relaxing music and read and other waste-of-time stuff.

In fact, you know what, I'm just going to end this post here and call today a wash.
In about an hour I'll walk to the theater, I'm sure that tonight's show will go fine, and maybe tomorrow I can start fresh and with a better attitude.

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Friday: Laundry in the morning, possible rehearsal with Koz in the afternoon TBA. One evening show.

Saturday: My sister and her family are here to see the show so I'll spend as much time as I can with them. Two shows.

Sunday: Two shows and packing for Boston.

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Hartford, CT 2026 part 1: Travel Day, Bento Joy, and Hartford

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 04:08:23 GMT

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

I had only gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep on Sunday before the church gig, and then spent the rest of Easter Sunday packing and prepping Easter food and spending time with Jameson. Around 9pm he was gaming and I finally crashed out, curling up on the couch and dozing because my head hurt from lack of sleep. We went to bed at 10pm as usual, and I fell asleep probably around 10:30...

....but had to be up at 1:30am to head to the airport. Bluuuurgh. Grand total of 7 hours of sleep across two days.

I was very tired but even mundane travel still feels like an adventure, and this inevitably cheers me up :) Loaded up the rental car with my luggage, got to the airport and dropped off the car, and ended up waiting in Delta's baggage line for an entire hour. At least I could sit down on my trombone case, others who were waiting stood or sat on the floor. Apparently the bag drop doesn't open until about 2 hours before the first flight's departure...my flight, 5:30am, so they'd open at 3:30am. Which I suppose makes sense. I didn't mind waiting because by the time the attendants arrived there was a MASSIVE queue behind me.

Checked my big suitcase and as usual, after checking the bass trombone I was instructed to carry it to the side and place it with all the oversized stuff. You all know that I hate having to check my trombone period, but a specific thing that I dislike about checking it with MCO is that their "Oversized Luggage Area" is literally a spot on the floor in a public area where anyone could walk up and grab them.

My trombone is standing up on end to the right of all the golf bags lying on the floor there. There is no oversized cart to put things on, no signage to show that this is luggage belonging to people, and no attendant to watch the bags. I always wait here as long as I can to see the attendant arrive and load my trombone, but this time I could only wait about 8 minutes before heading to the gate. It has an AirTag, it is insured, but I'm sorry, none of that helps me if someone simply grabs my instrument and walks off with it leaving me with no bass trombone for the show. TL;DR I simply wish MCO would change how they handle oversized bags.

Anyway, both of my flights were on time and perfectly normal. I dozed a bit but have never been able to actually sleep on planes. Retrieved my stuff in Hartford (the trombone arrived just fine,) Ubered to the hotel. Got there around noon and they had my room ready. Or rather, my penthouse suite!! I can't show it to you for cast safety reasons but after we've left I'll give you a tour. It really is like a small condo. There's a hallway when you enter, that leads to a huge open dining room/living room. Then to the left is a full kitchen and the master bedroom and bath. And then if you turn right up some stairs(!!!) there is another smaller bedroom with a private bath. The whole thing is lined with gigantic windows, there are THREE tvs!! I sent pics to my sister and she says it's bigger than her New York apartment. WILD. I have no need of such acreage and feel a bit guilty about it. At least housekeeping should have an easy time of cleaning because I'll only use the small bedroom/bath!

Dropped my things and Ubered to Maruichi, a Japanese grocery store across from a Whole Paycheck here in Hartford. Maruichi is a chain that I first encountered in Stamford while on tour with Elf. They are small, but they have high quality Japanese food, cookware, beauty supplies, etc.

Most importantly they have fantastic authentic bentos, sushi, and onigiri made on-site each day!

Got myself an unagi (eel) bento and a maple-flavored milk bun for later. The eel bento was awesome and featured lots of great sides, like fried chicken pieces, dumplings, tamago, sweet kabocha pumpkin, and pickled veg. There was a small seating area so I ate it right then and there in the store.

After lunch I walked across the street for Whole Paycheck. Got everything I needed and then some. Ubered back to the hotel and had started unpacking when I remembered I'd sent coffee pods to myself. Went to the front desk to pick those up and the staff said they didn't have any packages for me. I was confused until I remembered I'd thought we were staying at a different hotel, and had accidentally sent the pods there! Luckily it was just a few blocks away. I walked there and sheepishly retrieved them. THEN I finally unpacked. By the time I'd gotten a shower and into pajamas it was about 4pm. I CRASHED in bed and slept a solid 3 hours. Had a late dinner and typed up this post.

Now as I type this my throat feels kind of dry (arrrrgh pleeeease don't get sick, good grief) and I'm still very tired so it's back to bed with a book for me.

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TUESDAY

I'd fallen asleep between 10:30pm-11pm and woke up around 7:30am, so that's 8ish hours and a good job recovering some of my sleep debt. Went downstairs to check out the hotel's free breakfast. Restocked on single-serve peanut butter :D

A slow morning. My throat feels better and my skin feels dry so the scratchy throat yesterday was probably just the change in climate (a 50-degree difference plus massively less humidity.) Breakfast and starting the finale season of Beastars, packing lunch and snacks for the theater, walking to a nearby small bakery and convenience store only to find neither had what I was looking for (stuff that Whole Paycheck doesn't sell like Clorox wipes, tuna pouches, etc.) Lunch and afterward I dozed for a bit, then lubricated the bass trombone slide and played a few nervous notes. Returning to tour after a long time away is always a bit nerve-wracking. What if I suddenly suck? Lol. But it's a real thing that can happen: waking up one morning to find that you've lost your voice (singer,) going to the "white room" (actor,) or focal dystonia (musicians.) These are the boogeymen that come for entertainers in the night.

Anyway, I killed time until 3pm then got an Uber to the theater. Normally I will walk but today I have the 30lb (13.6kg) bass, backpack, tote bag of trombone-packing materials, and my lunch, and a 20-minute walk with all of this on broken sidewalks while wearing my work clothes and getting heckled by homeless folk is not something I want to do. And so I rode to the theater and remembered the backstage immediately, it's cramped and overly warm because it's an ancient HVAC system. But there are more bathrooms than I remember, and they put our dressing room on the pit level instead of on the FOURTH FLOOR like the last time I was here.

Speaking of which, I've been to Hartford MANY times.

Ringling Bros 2013: My first time in Hartford. I got to attend an Elephant Brunch. Thorough exploration of the Capitol building. First time eating at Agave with Jameson, and it would come to be one of our favorite restaurants in Hartford :)
Ringling Bros 2015: I showed a lot of our train yard in this post, and pics from a train yard party too. We ate at Agave again :)
Ringling Bros 2016: I think this was one of our first shows without the elephants (they were removed a year before the circus closed.) Ate at Agave again of course, and I took a CPR/First Aid class.

Ringling Bros 2017: This visit was...rough. And the post is very long and emotional. This was shortly after they'd announced the circus would close. I visited the Hartford circus fire memorial, stood where the bandstand had been, and "poured one out for the guys"...I brought a small bottle of vodka, took a sip, and poured the rest on the ground to "have a drink" with Ringling band members past. I spent a lot of time writing resumes for circus people...many of them had never had to apply for jobs before, having been born and raised in the circus. Jameson wasn't here so I think he had left already to start his job teaching with LA Film School, and that was crushing for me...I wasn't sure if we'd ever see each other again (thank goodness we stuck together!!!) And I took many, many, many pictures of the animals, because we were about to lose them forever, and I was so heartbroken and livid that random strangers, who would take zero responsibility for these animals' care, were getting to dictate what would happen to them. I still don't know where most of these animals ended up, but I'm sure PETA is very pleased with themselves imagining a utopia for them that doesn't exist. Anyway. I can't even read this post tbh, it still hurts too much.

Tootsie The Musical 2023, Part 1 and Part 2: This was my first time here non-circus. I walked around and saw much of downtown, didn't eat at Agave but did visit a favorite halal stand. Jameson was on a cruise with friends at the time. And I ate at a place called The Kitchen which is now called Forge & Fire and serves a completely different menu. It was near the end of the tour, and I wrote about how I was worried for what would come next, and that this might be my last time touring (it was in fact NOT my last time touring. By far. Who knew.)

Now you know some of the places I've already been in Hartford. We will see what I end up doing this time...

I'd gotten there early enough to get set up and then find my trunk and raid it. I'd put so much stuff in there! Thanks, Past Me! The pit in this theater is kinda tight, but we made it work. Remember that DAR, the drummer, and the keyboardists have not had a layoff or a break from the show for quite long time now...DAR seemed very tired and the keys, too, seem like they are ready for a break from the show. Everyone loves being here, but we are organic creatures that need rest and variety and time with our loved ones and away from repetition, you know? Fortunately it looks like DAR has a vacation in Boston, and that's VERY well deserved. It was great to see everyone and be welcomed back :)

The show went well. There is a bit of an adjustment while the five of us who were gone for 3 weeks get settled back in, but I'm sure by the end of the week we'll be settled back in fully. After the show a young lady and her mom came to the pit specifically to see me; the girl has been playing the trombone in band for 3 years! Good for her! It was great to see the mom so supportive of her. I tried to give enthusiastic and encouraging words. That was a really nice way to resume tour :) :)

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Wednesday: Mostly planning to rest and make sure I'm caught up on sleep, but might go for a generic walk. One evening show.

Thursday: We have an "allieship" meeting, which I'm looking forward to, and one evening show.

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March (April) Layoff Week 3 part 3: BarFly, Easter, Wrapping Things Up

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:14:57 GMT

FRIDAY

Jameson's alarm went off at 8:30. He went for his Mental Health Walk while I messed around online and had breakfast.

After Jameson had returned, had breakfast, showered, and gone off for a haircut, I practiced trombone for a solid hour. It was easier to switch from the bass to the tenor and back this time, which is a relief. Jameson got back and I admired his haircut :) then did a "faux pack" so I could see how much my luggage would weigh. Forty-four pounds (19.95 kg) without the pea coat, which is perfect because it's 80°F here (26.6°C) and will be 47°F in Hartford (8.3°C) so I want to throw the coat in the suitcase and yank it out once I arrive.

We had lunch together, then Jameson had some work to do and....well I didn't really know what to do with myself. I didn't want to go for a walk because it was hot out, and I have done pretty much all of the major chores. I made an ingredient list for Easter dinner and made a general plan for tomorrow. Wiped down a few things, checked the mail, tried out a new anime that was "meh," and was kinda bored.

Until our management team posted the Hartford info sheet and I realized I'd gotten the hotel wrong AGAIN.

This keeps happening because when Sonder went bankrupt, a lot of our Marriott hotel bookings were cancelled abruptly and without warning. Our management team had to re-book us in different hotels, which meant that the Route Sheet that I had been using to create Foodie Finds and map distances was now out of date. What I SHOULD be doing, going forward, is when our housing sign-ups go out a month before we arrive, cross-check and make sure the hotel is accurate. This time I was spared a major reworking of Foodie Finds because the new hotel is just a block or two over. But other times I may not be so lucky.

Anyway, got to kill an hour fixing Foodie Finds and sending it out again, then another hour with more anime and a snack. We watched some Cubs game or something, and ordered Panda Express for dinner, and then drove nearly an hour to Winter Park because Jameson's friend Roger was celebrating his birthday at a local dive bar there. Y'all probably know that dive bars are not my scene whatsoever, but if Jameson is with me I will go nearly anywhere :p

Also, Roger is the guitarist in a band called BarFly and Jameson used to be a member, so I know all of these guys pretty well (except the drummer, he's new and he's INCREDIBLE. We were all wowed by his performance.) And BarFly was performing at the bar for Roger's birthday. As a musician, is there a better way to spend a birthday than performing WHILE hanging out with your friends? :)

Roger is a pretty freaking awesome guitarist. Check it out:

After a few drinks Jameson was asked to come up and sing a song (former member so he knows their whole setlist.)
I took video but afterward he was being down on himself and self-conscious, so instead here are some screenshots.

He did just fine and I was super proud of him for rocking out! But I know what it's like to be self-critical.

There was a Mystery Vending Machines at the bar too! I'd had fun with one of these at an arcade bar a few years ago.
This one was a little more adult-themed than the last one!

I ended up getting the 90s mystery bag and a mystery enamel pin.
The enamel pin was this:

...and the 90s bag had some fun little toys, stickers, and candy, but honestly nothing worth keeping. A finger skateboard, knockoff Tamagotchi, self-inflatable foil balloon with a Pokemon on it, stuff like that. I passed everything around the table of Roger's friends and people got a kick out of it, especially the finger skateboard which ended up doing a lot of tricks on empty drink cups or across the backs of phones :D

Finally the bar started emptying out a bit around midnight, so we said our goodbyes. Gave Roger a hug and peaced out for the long drive home. I think we got to bed around 1:30am. I didn't shower which is super unusual for me (I HATE going to bed "dirty.")

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SATURDAY

I was up early, twitching because today's the day I prep Easter dinner and pick up the rental car that I'll need for both my Easter gig and to get to the airport on Monday. But first breakfast, typing this post, and boiling the eggs for deviled eggs. Since there's only us two, I only needed to boil the three leftover eggs we had in the fridge (which will make 6 deviled eggs, which is two more than either of us will eat)

Pro tips:
1) Add a splash of vinegar to your boiling water for PERFECT-PEEL eggs!!
2) When the eggs are done, IMMEDIATELY drop them into a bowl of ice water.
I am serious when I say this has NEVER failed me. Perfectly smooth and easy-to-peel eggs every time.

Jameson went for a walk while I was putting the eggs away, so I practiced first the bass then the small tenor. Had lunch with Jameson when he got back, then it was an Uber to the airport for the rental car.

This one was through Alamo and it was a "skip the counter" thing. I'd gotten a barcode in my email. Instead of going to the rental counter inside the terminal I went across the street to a rental car garage. Each lane was labeled just like a grocery aisle with signs hanging above: "Compact," "Minivans," etc. All of the cars have keys on the dash, you can pick any car.

(stock image, Google Maps)

I went down the "Compact" aisle and picked a random car, fired it up, drove it to the gate where an Alamo associate scanned my barcode, asked if I wanted any add-ons, then waved me off. From the time I was dropped off by the Uber to the time I pulled away, the entire process took about 15 minutes (and most of that was me walking to the garage.) I wish ALL car rentals were so easy.

First stop was HoneyBaked Ham. the smallest ham they had was far too big for us but I got it anyway. I'll just freeze most of it.
Next was Trader Joe's because there is a lot of hype around their crescent rolls. Got a can of those.
Last was Whole Paycheck where I got most of our Easter dinner ingredients and a hot bar dinner for myself as Jameson was going out with friends that night.

I got home around 3pm, had a snack, and got to work on Easter prep.
Split the ham in half and froze half, the rest in the fridge for tomorrow.
Got the potatoes washed and boiling on the stove for potato salad.
While that was going, cut the boiled eggs and made the deviled egg filling.
When the potatoes were done I let them cool while mixing up their dressing.
And when they were cool enough I cut the potatoes, tossed them in the dressing, and cleaned up the mess I'd made in the kitchen.

Now on Easter all I'll have to do is let the ham sit out, roast the asparagus, and bake the crescent rolls. Easy peasy!
I also got us some small mini-tarts and carrot cake parfait for dessert :)

Shortly thereafter Jameson left for his friend hang. I dry-Swiffered the floor one last time, packed up the tenor trombone and iPad, put the music stand in the rental car. Got my outfit laid out for tomorrow, triple-checked my arrival time, and set an alarm for 4am (uuuugh.) Ate my Whole Paycheck dinner. Took myself for one last neighborhood walk. And tried going to bed early, but failed miserably. I did doze off and woke up when Jameson got home (1am?).

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SUNDAY

Easter Sunday!

I was up at 4am. uuuugh.

Coffee, getting dressed in the dark, out the door by 4:45 or so. Drove straight to the church and arrived by 6am.
It was the same as last year, so here's last year's photo.

We rehearsed for about 30 minutes with the choir, had a short time to take a break and chat, then the brass quartet played prelude music for about 15 minutes before the service started. I was unusually nervous but didn't ruin anything. Before I knew it the service was over and we'd done well. Just like last year, we were treated to a breakfast of homemade frittatas, muffin quarters, bagels, etc while congregation members introduced themselves, complemented our playing, and were generally wonderful.

The second service went just as quickly. It's a long drive but easy money, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring some beautiful music to this small church on Easter :)

I got back home around noon, had a light lunch, and got to work packing. Dried my small tenor and put it away for long term storage. Packed my suit jacket and remaining clothes. Jameson had gotten me some Easter candy...I ate some and packed some :p Then we watched The Traitors UK finale...it was REALLY good this year. No spoilers but the people who won absolutely deserved to win. From there Jameson gamed while I tried to stay awake long enough to make Easter dinner. VERY grateful to Past Me for making the potato salad and deviled eggs in advance!

The ham, deviled eggs, potato salad, roasted asparagus, and crescent rolls.

Everything was good-not-great, but I didn't put a lot of effort in. The ham was the star, I love the crunchy sugary bad-for-you crust!
Potato salad, next time I want it to have more acid...maybe mustard or dill pickle juice instead of sweet.
Jameson must have liked the deviled eggs because he ate three.
Additionally I'd gotten mini carrot cake parfaits and little mini tarts for us for dessert.

It was a lovely meal together, but I could tell that Jameson is sad that I'm leaving :(
I was also running on about four hours of sleep so was a bit spacey-brained, haha.

In fact I'm posting this tonight because tomorrow I'll be dead tired and doubt I'll have brain power for blogging.
But it's ok...if my flights are on time I plan to be in bed VERY early on Monday.
For now, I am just glad to be leaving with the house mostly clean and having accomplished a lot around the house.

Back to work.

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Monday: Extremely early flight to Hartford. Hoping to arrive on time, get groceries, unpack, and crash/catch up on SLEEP.

Tuesday: Opening day in Hartford. Back on tour!

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March (April?) Layoff 2026 Week 3 part 2: Those Purgatorial Days

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:39:24 GMT

WEDNESDAY

Before going to bed last night I placed an Instacart order for dinner ingredients. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything this time!

Jameson was up at 7:30 for Disney. He typically works from home on Wednesdays with a combo of teaching online and Disney remote work, but today he had meetings on-site for upcoming projects and then a doctor appointment. I got up with him so that I could knock out a big chunk of Boston Foodie Finds, prep some of my meals for tomorrow, eat breakfast, and then clean the bathrooms and floors.

All cleaning right now is considered part of Dust Battle, but since this is the second go-round the dust has been much reduced and it doesn't have to be as intense of a scrub as the initial dust removal was. I can pretty much clean as normal but keeping an eye out for any grey powder or residue anywhere. As such, cleaning both bathrooms probably took about 45 minutes, and dry-Swiffering and mopping the floors took another 20 or so.

WHY am I doing all of this?
I leave on Monday and will be gone for three months.
During that entire time Jameson is unlikely to clean more than once, and then only a cursory brush-up.
I'm working hard to remove as much silica dust as possible AND doubling down on the regular cleaning.
Jameson may not care about breathing in all that dust, but *I* care!!
I want to do all I can to make it a safer and healthier environment for him, you know?

A break for lunch, and I had planned to painstakingly scan my Epic Universe music and script page by page to my iPad. Thankfully one of the other trombone ladies already has a digital copy and was willing to share it with me! That saved me a lot of time :) My next layoff will be two months long. If I'm offered work at Epic I'll need the money, and will want to review all the materials before that layoff starts. Same with my Main Street Phil stuff.

After a little mindless YouTube time I practiced trombone, focusing on music for the upcoming Easter gig. After that Jameson was wrapping up his Dr appt so I had a small snack and tried to knock out more of Boston Foodie Finds until it was time to make dinner.

Cheeseburger Fusilli from The Dude Diet. One of our favorites.

(stock image from the site)

We watched an episode of Top Chef and then went for a walk. I hadn't planned on going for walks two days in a row and was delighted: more calories burned = more dessert! Heehee! Jameson's meeting at Disney had gone well. He has a new project to be excited about. I enjoyed listening to him talk enthusiastically about it, and will hope that it pans out well for him. Back home I ate my last Tokyo Banana and some Drizzilicious while he got a shower, then it was time to chill.

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THURSDAY

I got up with Jameson at 7:30 only because I felt hungry. Breakfast and seeing him off to work, then I put in a big effort to finish Boston Foodie Finds. Yay! But I may still make a "Golden Day" list with eats near points of interest. We'll see if I drum up energy for that.

I spent significant time practicing both bass and tenor today. The horrible thing about switching from the SMALL tenor to the bass, is that it really is too much of an adjustment. If I play bass first and switch to small tenor it sounds wobbly for a while until I find my pitch center. If I start with small tenor a lot of notes on the bass won't come out at all for the first several minutes. THAT'S no gouda!! My plan going forward into the weekend is to make a bass sandwich with tenor filling. Start always with the bass, then tenor, then end with the bass. Keeping my bass playing consistent and good is way more important than whether I sound wibbly or not for just one church gig. Of course I will do my very best regardless, but Priorities.

Ordered a new fridge water filter for us, brought the trash can back in, did a load of laundry, packed some more, updated my iPad software, had lunch and a snack. That's about it. This was one of those "purgatory" days where I find myself in limbo between Home Life and Tour Life. Wrapping up my home projects to the point where I've done most of 'em; beginning to plan and pack for return to tour but unable to act on any of it until I'm actually back with the tour. Purgatory.

Jameson got home 10 minutes before the DoorDasher bringing our crunchy taco salads for dinner. We ate and talked as usual. Jameson needed a break from the evening walk and it was drizzling on and off anyway. We watched The Traitors and had a quiet night.

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Friday: Sharing Hartford Foodie Finds with the tour chat. Possibly cooking dinner for us. Practice.

Saturday: Packing for tour, picking up rental car for Easter, shopping for Easter dinner ingredients, any other running around that I need to do before Easter Sunday.

Sunday: VERY early morning Easter gig, back home to check in for my flight and finish packing and make an Easter feast for Jameson and I!

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March 2026 Layoff Week 3 part 1: More Dust Battle + A Nice Little Surprise

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:51:16 GMT

MONDAY

Up earlier than I wanted to be. Jameson was up early too for Mental Health Walk. Coffee and breakfast. I had wanted to Uber to the grocery for dinner ingredients and pick up my dry cleaning, but remembered that the air fryer needed to be washed out...and while I was pulling it down from above the cupboards a bunch of The Dust poofed up, and that triggered me right into Hazardous Materials Containment Mode. There was a gross layer of Dust and large pieces of tile up there ranging in size from rice grains up to quarters. This is above the oven and microwave vents so everything was sticky with microparticles of grease from the vents. It took significant time to wipe everything down with wet microfiber, pick up the tile chunks, scrub harder to get the greasy dust-paste lifted up, and then wipe down the stovetop and counters that are below the cupboards since I'd undoubtedly knocked dust/debris onto these.

Then I washed the air fryer, which didn't seem bad at first but silica dust really does seem to react in some way with grease. It seemed to have created a sticky, waxy paste that acted much like candle wax. It did not come off even with scrubbing and dish soap, just kept moving around as I scrubbed and resolidifying, if that makes sense. There wasn't much of it but what was there was very difficult to remove. I did the best I could and have to hope it's enough that we'll not be eating it with our pork chops tonight.

Finally after all of that, I could Uber to get my dry cleaning and to the grocery.
And as soon as I got home, realized I'd forgotten the damn carrots!!! FUUUUUUUUU
I KNEW I'd forget something at some point, I always do. But it's still frustrating. Had to place an Instacart order which is a minimum of $10. Carrots being only a few dollars, I added Drano and some feminine products.

Practiced trombone while Jameson worked, then we both broke for lunch. My guts were having a dairy tantrum due to the cheesecake + cheesecake leftovers the night before so I did not eat much. When Jameson went back to work I wiped down all of the kitchen countertops, dusted the living room using microfiber, and dusted the tops of picture frames and door frames. The blinds above the sliding door were hiding more tile pieces.

After dusting I decided to dry-Swiffer and was glad I did because it came back grey again.

Maybe you won't think this is so bad but I just Swiffered and mopped less than a week ago, we have no pets, and there's just the two of us. This seems like more dust that we normally generate. That said, it is worth noting that I'm used to vacuuming this floorspace and for all I know this could be normal.

Jameson had a meeting at 1pm so I did quiet things like type up this post, order some flavored decaf coffee pods to be sent to the hotel in Hartford, and booked housing for my brother's wedding in October. He had a few more meetings throughout the afternoon and I was embarrassingly lazy, reading a book for a solid 40 minutes and prepping ingredients for our dinner. I made air fryer panko pork chops with buttered noodles and candied carrots, a very basic Americana meal. The chops were slightly overcooked but otherwise it was a good dinner (and of course I forgot to take a pic.) We watched Traitors UK, Jameson gamed for a bit, then watched the Cubs game while I tried to get through the finale of Owl House. For a kids show it got REALLY dark near the end, I can see why Disney decided to back away from it...but I still wish they hadn't.

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TUESDAY

We both got up at 7:30, Jameson for Disney work and me to have breakfast, work on Boston Foodie Finds some more, and engage in Dust Battle with the bookshelf in the bedroom.

I dust this bookshelf several times a year. Removing each and every little item, dusting each one, dusting the shelves they're on, and putting them all back. This time I used wet microfiber instead of paper towels because silica dust. The bedroom was not a part of renovations so it wasn't so bad, just time consuming. It took about 45 minutes. Afterward I dusted the rest of the bedroom furniture, removed the bedsheets and washed them, vacuumed, and put new sheets on the bed.

Lunch, then practicing trombone sort-of. I was feeling mopey so practiced on and off, reading my book in between. On days like this where there's not a lot going on and motivation is low, I get anxious and impatient for Things To Come. For example the upcoming Easter gig, or resuming tour, or spending time with Jameson in Boston. I also feel like I'm not "doing enough," whatever that means. Because Jameson is working and I'm lolling about I suppose. Yes I'm aware that cleaning is "something," but it generally doesn't take all day, and free time leaves me feeling guilty if I don't use it in a productive way.

That's all to say it was a slow afternoon and I was glad when Jameson got home with sushi for us :)
We shared about our day, then went for an evening walk again. Right now temperatures are still dropping in the evenings (doesn't really happen in full summer) and the breeze is cool (another thing that won't be happening in summer) so sunset is a lovely time to be outdoors. We talked about all sorts of things as usual and observed various changes that have taken place throughout the neighborhood. Back home Jameson put on the Cubs game and I showered and had dessert.

I was then surprised to get an email from Disney about our in-ear monitors (IEMs.) You may recall that we were fitted for custom molds in Louisville about a month ago. Additionally we were sent a sheet offering several color and monogramming options. All of this was excellent, especially as the IEMs are being provided by the company AND we get to keep them! But then I found out that the IEM company offers some really cool premium designs on their site. I decided to email the person handling the in-ears for us and ask politely if we might be able to pay an additional fee out-of-pocket to receive some of the customizations.

I hadn't heard anything and had assumed the request would be denied (and was totally ok with that.)
But tonight's email was to say that yes, we COULD pay extra for premium designs! Eeeeeee!!!
I spent a little time wibbling between all the great options but finally settled on some and sent my request.
It is incredibly cool of Disney to allow this level of customization. They did not have to be so accommodating for something like this. VERY grateful!!

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Wednesday: Cleaning the bathrooms and dry/wet-Swiffering the floors again. Instacart ingredients for dinner and cooking dinner. Practice.

Thursday: Any residual cleaning that I haven't done yet. Finishing Boston Foodie Finds. Probably laundry. Practicing.

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March 2026 Layoff Week 2 part 3: Treats n' Eats

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:13:41 GMT

Here are my Asian snack reviews for the stuff we got from H-Mart!

Chocolate Churro Turtle Chips: 20/10 I can see why these are viral. DANG! The texture is amazing and the flavor is chocolate with a little spice and crispy sugar. Really really good, grab these if you see them.

Fruit/Veggie Electrolyte Drink: 8/10 No artificial sweeteners, just a lightly sugared/salted drink with a mild fruity flavor. Rehydration without dyes or weird ingredients. Very good!

Wasabi Shiitake Chips: 10/10 These were way better than expected, crunchy and light with a mild wasabi flavor (I do wish they were spicier.) Lovely texture and not overly mushroom-y or earthy. I will keep an eye out for these and get em again.

Pumpkin Yakgwa: 5/10 These are fried honey-soaked cakes/cookies with pumpkin powder added. They are good, but very oily and the flavor of the oil kind of overpowers both pumpkin and honey for me. Ok but I wouldn’t buy them again.

Pine Bud Drink: -5/10 Eugh. I’m a person who LIKES other pine-flavored things, but this was too sweet and it was like sugary PineSol. Nope.

Grape Jelly: ??? Haven’t tried yet but I’ll bet it’s good :P

Hawaiian Pineapple Citrus Soda: 9/10 Just like Olipop sodas, even the ingredients are mostly the same. Delicious and refreshing!

Tokyo Banana: 7/10 Lovely packaging, soft sponge cake with a smooth creamy banana filling. Flavor-wise it’s nothing special…just a basic prepackaged dessert. But grateful I got to try it since they’re hard to find!

White Peach Ice Cream: 20/10 Another viral hit, the flavor and ultra-smooth texture were 🤯🍑 Like oh my GOODNESS. The white chocolate coating was soft, not crunchy, so it felt like biting an actual juicy peach, with loads of sweet cream. If you want to treat yourself to something really special and unique this is IT. They’re expensive but absolutely worth trying at least once in your life.

There ya go.

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FRIDAY

Jameson and I were both up early. I placed an Instacart order, had breakfast, and wrote the review above while Jameson went for a mental health walk. He wants to get outside more to see if it will help with both depression and losing a little extra weight, and I wholeheartedly support this. I love that he will often (not always, but often) step up and take initiative himself on things like this, even when depression tries to stop him from helping himself out. Not everyone can do that.

The Instacart arrived a little after Jameson got back, everything was accurate so we'll have a nice dinner tonight. Put it all away and practiced trombone for a bit, then had the BATB safety meeting via video chat.

The topic was "Unannounced Law Enforcement Visits," which of course refers to ICE without outright referring to ICE. A lot of reassurances were given, which imo were needed since ICE is now being sent to airports and we have quite a few international cast members, some of whom happen to be POC, many of whom may travel independent of company-booked travel, and who may fly overseas for visits home. And imo considering how we've seen ICE behaving, any and all concerns or fears related to ICE are completely valid and should be discussed. I did find the meeting to be reassuring for the most part, though all of this nonsense of being illegally detained will continue to be a real concern for EVERY American until someone else is in the WH. But anyway.

Lunch with Jameson, then he went back to work for a bit. I requested tickets for our show for my sister and her family in Hartford, since she'd had to cancel in Philly due to a winter storm. The show is still very sold out in Hartford, but no one has said they're revoking or limiting our house seats like they did in Philly so hopefully my request will be approved.

Also, most (definitely not all) of the 2026/2027 tour dates and cities are now live on the company site.
LaughingPlace wrote a brief article about the extended route. Is your city on the list?

There was another company meeting at 2pm about social media. While waiting for that I mixed up an elote sauce for dinner tonight, which is street corn chicken rice bowls. The social media meeting was informative, nothing else really to report about it. After that a little rest, then I made our dinner.

Chicken breast cubed and rolled in Mexican spices (cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder) topped with roasted corn, red onion, mayo, Greek yogurt, cotija cheese, and lime dressing, served with brown rice and avocado. A drizzle of hot sauce added after this pic.

It was very good and very easy to make. I will see if Jameson eats any of the leftovers and that'll tell me if it's worth making again :p

After dinner we listened to Jameson's Queen II Collector's Edition vinyl, which he'd just gotten in the mail. It comes with not only the vinyl but also several CDs and a 112-page book, high-quality photos of the band, etc. Jameson is a huge Queen fan and was thrilled to hear this album (and I was happy to listen along; I may not be a superfan but I can appreciate musical genius.)

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SATURDAY

I was up early, Jameson slept in. I enjoy having quiet coffee time in the mornings :)
Boston Foodie Finds work, a vague shuffling around of my tour items because a week from now I really will be packing to go back. We had a slow and rather lazy morning, then hopped in the car for Disney Springs. We somehow managed to catch almost every red light, so it took nearly an hour to get there! Crazy!

Our destination was The Boathouse, which is supposed to be upscale but this is Disney Springs so it was packed with sweaty tourists and huge family groups, kids crying and screaming. The restaurant is huge, however, and we were taken to a quieter section (there were still loads of poorly-behaved children around but we were away from the dueling pianos at least and could hear each other talk.) Placed our drink orders and received some honeyed dinner rolls.

Jameson's ridiculous hard blueberry lemonade. I angled my phone intentionally to make it look bigger, but it was pretty big!

Despite the lovely aged steaks, lobster tails, raw oyster bar, and other delicacies on the menu, we observed that nearly everyone around us was ordering the Wagyu sliders and the side of fries. I'm guessing that's an affordable option that can still feel like a special lunch. Especially if you have little kids...sliders are perfectly sized.

Jameson had the shrimp and andouille mac and cheese in a spicy beer sauce. I was surprised because he doesn't usually go for sausage, but he said it was excellent and not too salty.

I had the seared coriander-crusted yellowfin tuna, with blistered shishito peppers, sitting in a soy lime vinaigrette, with wasabi mayo and sriracha on the side.

The tuna was fresh, clean-tasting, meaty, and cut like butter. The peppers and vinaigrette added perfect seasoning and pops of flavor. This was a strategic choice because it had no carbs or heavy sides, thus leaving room for THIS MONSTROSITY:

Key Lime Pie for Two! I felt that it was more of a cheesecake situation than the traditional custard pie, but it was still damn good. We each lopped off a big chunk of it, but there was still a large 1/3rd left when we reached our limit. Phew! But it was worth it!

After that we walked around the Springs a bit. Near The Boathouse is Chapel Hats, and some of you may recall that I worked there in 2024 while between tours. Therefore it was mildly traumatizing to go back in, haha. Anyone who's worked a retail or service industry job knows what I'm talking about. But it also felt good, because seeing it reminded me how hard I worked here (and for very little pay.) Doing my best without knowing what would come next. Now I get to look back on that period...a past life that helped get me to where I am today. It wasn't that long ago, but it feels like a lifetime has passed since then. So much has changed.

We tried to visit the LEGO store but there was a huge line, so instead we scoped out the Christmas store for potential gifts for Jameson's mom, then decided to head home. On the way we stopped at a LEGO reseller that we'd noticed in a strip mall. It was pretty cool, but considering that most of their sets were used they were selling at near-new prices, and that was a bummer. Still, it was fun to look. Back home we watched the end of the Cubs game and rested and digested. Jameson ate a light dinner, then because a cold front was blowing through we went for a walk. It was windy and cloudy but much cooler than you'd expect from Florida, and I'm glad we'd done a walk because it felt nice :) We talked about this and that...I think we were both feeling kind of pensive today. Talking about past jobs, and Jameson dreading regular colonoscopies soon while I wondered out loud what menopause will feel like when it's fully upon me (I think some peri has started already.) As mentioned in other posts, Jameson is feeling his age lately and struggling with it, and I of course am thinking about it more as well by proximity.

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SUNDAY

I was up early, working on Boston Foodie Finds again and starting a load of laundry. I'd finished breakfast by the time Jameson was up. He went for a walk and I practiced bass while he was gone. Folded my laundry, he started a load, yada yada, domestic stuff. We watched an episode of The Traitors UK while I tried to figure out what to make for dinner tomorrow (air fryer panko pork chops, butter noodles, and candied carrots I believe.) We watched the Cubs game and ordered subs for dinner. It was a very "nothing" day...and I'm ok with that.

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Monday: Picking up dry cleaning and ingredients for dinner, practice, and beginning one more round of cleaning.

Tuesday: Cleaning the bookshelf using Dust Battle tactics, probably changing our sheets, practice, any other chores I'm up for. No other plans.

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March 2026 Layoff Week 2 part 2: New Emojis, Chores, Yada Yada

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 01:30:23 GMT

Things that I Forgot to Write About Before Bed on Tuesday Night:

🌸Jameson asked if I'd like to go see Into the Woods in July at Dr. Phillips. It's being produced by our friend-in-common manager at Universal AND Dr. Phillips itself, AND it features Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid.) It's a big deal to us for all of these reasons, but mainly the fact that Dr. Phillips is now producing it's own shows instead of just being a venue...that's really exciting and we want to support that (AND our friend who is managing the show!) The tickets are rather expensive but I splurged on them for us :)

🌸A while ago on TikTok I saw that The Boathouse, an upscale restaurant at Disney Springs, has a gigantic Key Lime Pie slice on their dessert menu. Key lime pie is Jameson's favorite. I sent the video to him and asked if he'd like to make a reservation. That was maybe a month ago, and last night we remembered it. I've been trying to get dinner reservations with no luck, but for some reason there are plenty of lunch spots, so we are going to get that key lime pie on Saturday afternoon!

🌸I've mentioned before that Broadway Cares is currently doing fundraising. This organization was founded mainly to fight AIDS, but they also support lots of other initiatives like women's health, health care for actors, etc. To make the process more interesting and fun, this is a fundraising competition between all the Broadway touring and stationary shows to see which show can leverage it's fan base and raise the most money. There is currently a Spring Fling marathon where you can sponsor different running teams with your donation. Beauty and the Beast's team, "The Beasts," is winning!!!

🌸My phone was acting funny on Tuesday night, and I realized the new iOS update must be available....and that means.....
THE TROMBONE EMOJI IS HERE!!!!!!!

I know how silly this may sound, but the trombone community has been advocating for an emoji for SEVEN YEARS so it's a really big deal to see this dream become a reality! The design and proposal were submitted in 2019 by a group of high school students (you can read about the journey from proposal to approved emoji HERE.) Finally, today, we got it!!! Immediately after the update I posted an obnoxious slew of emojis all over the socials. I am going to be insufferable about this for 48 hours :p

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WEDNESDAY

Despite all of the lovely happenings above, I woke up in kind of a sour mood. Not really sure why but there's always hormones to blame...and really, I think it's Jameson's diagnosis of bone spurs and nerve compression in his neck. I'm worried for him. Not about the medical stuff, because that is just par for the course as we age and when you have a preexisting condition like he does. I'm worried about his mental health. He was very down on himself yesterday...not just because he has to face the possibility of ANOTHER surgery AGAIN, but also because he hasn't been able to go to the gym due to both his work schedule and the pain. He's gained some weight (not a lot) and is depressed about that, and he has some gigs coming up that he'll have to play while in pain. The gigs are a reminder of how he cannot pursue his dream of being a musician any more, but he doesn't want to give up performing when he can. It's kind of a double-edged sword...he WANTS to play so he keeps taking gigs, but taking the gigs is a painful reminder of why he can't pursue his dream. He's trying really hard to go the corporate route with Disney, and don't get me wrong, he enjoys the corporate work too and can envision himself doing it long-term. But it's not his dream. And his body continues to betray him.

We all know how it is...this kind of thing is coming for us all. But he's 45, there are lots of things that he still wanted to be able to do at this age, and the health issues are coming for him sooner than anticipated :(

Anyway, me and my mood were up late and had breakfast late and generally had a late start to the day. I did a little Boston Foodie Finds. Jameson was hoping for shrimp po' boys for dinner, so I decided to have an "Uber Day" and knock out a bunch of errands. I knew that a day like this would happen during the layoff, where I'd have to take multiple $$ Uber rides. Sometimes it'll be avoidable and sometimes not.

Before lunch was Foodie Finds, meal planning and ingredients list, cleaning up my trombones and practicing. After lunch Jameson went to Disney to do some work, and that's when I did my Ubering: to the dry cleaner to drop off my pea coat, and to Publix for ingredients for dinner. I'd wanted to do Walgreens too for Easter candy for Jameson, but didn't want to drag all of my groceries around for that. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow and there's a CVS next door.

One fun thing that I found at Publix today was strawberry English muffins from Stone & Skillet. Excited to check em out :)

(stock image from Publix)

Back home, mixing up the tartar sauce, emptying the dishwasher, and I started to grab the stepladder to dust the ceiling fans but noticed the push lawn sweeper and decided to do that instead. All of our neighbors have raked their yards, and we have an HOA, so...ya know. That took longer than expected and I feel like it still needs a once-over with a real rake. I felt tired and headachy after that so did a quick dry-Swiffer of the new floors (the Swiffer is still coming up completely grey, oh joy) and then had a snack and relaxed for an hour.

Dinner prep, Jameson texted when he was on his way home so I was assembling our po' boys right as he walked in the door. I do a grilled shrimp recipe to make it healthier, but we still slather the hoagie rolls with homemade tartar sauce, and crunchy fresh iceberg lettuce and juicy tomatoes. That with the spicy zesty shrimp, so yummy! It's a favorite of ours.

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THURSDAY

I'd gone to bed with a headache, and Jameson woke up with one :/ Did not know that headaches were contagious! (jk of course)
We ate breakfast together, then he went off to work at Disney. I worked on Boston Foodie Finds, and upon looking back at my Hartford list just to clean it up, found that the Whole Paycheck there is right next to a Japanese grocery store!!! Eeeeeeee!!!! Something to look forward to!

Around 9:30am I Ubered to my dentist appointment. It took longer than expected but there's nothing new in my mouth so, great. Walked across the street to CVS and got an Easter basket and grass for Jameson, and some candies. I know he's 45 but, come on, who doesn't like a little reminder of childhood on the holidays?

Back home I wiped the fan blades, had lunch, then got to work scrubbing the shower.
I hate, hate, HATE cleaning the shower. Because I'm only home once every few months, I clean with a very intense bleach scrub that keeps mold and mildew away for like 60 days or so, but it smells horrific and makes one's eyes burn. I spray the entire shower, turn the ventilation on, and let it sit for 30 minutes, then scrub it away. Sometimes I'll scrub it twice if needed. It's awful and gives me a headache, but at least I only have to do it once every 4 months or so.

After that I practiced a bit, then decided to wet-Swiffer the floors since dry Swiffering had collected so much dust the other day. And finally I raked the front yard using the actual rake this time, and got three trash bags' worth of leaves out of that. It was hard and sweaty work, but I am a tough cookie :p

Jameson got home at his usual time, and we just ate leftovers. He was in a depressed mood, and I listened while he ranted about work. Lord knows he's listened to me complain about my myriad, low-paying, frustrating jobs over the years. I can see why he was down today: both jobs are just being unsatisfactory in their own ways. Things will get better, but today they were hard, that's all.

I also must admit that in the context of the health issues he's experiencing, I am feeling much more aware of my own health, how fortunate I am to have it, and that I need to appreciate it and protect it. For example, to dispose of the raked leaves in the wooded area behind our house I had to pull our trash bin (it looks like THIS) back there, and lift the full bin over my head to dump the leaves over the side of the chain link fence. Multiple times. Without pain, and with the strength to be able to do that. There will quickly come a day when my body won't be able to do that any more. Even a small accident could take that ability away from me. Seemingly little things like raking leaves or doing house chores, that I do without thinking twice, require a level of physical health that also equates to self-reliance and independence. There are a lot of things that Jameson doesn't do right now because he's in constant pain. I need to appreciate what I have, and do what I can to support him.

Just thoughts, today.

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Friday: We have a BATB "safety meeting" via video chat to discuss...."Unannounced Law Enforcement Visits." What does THAT sound like to you? I know what it sounds like to ME (-_-) Other than that, I have no plans except continuing to wage Dust Battle, practicing, and making us dinner.

Saturday: Lunch at The Boathouse with Jameson, no plans otherwise.

Sunday: Nada. This'll be about the time I'll find myself wishing for a part time job that I can pick up when not touring.

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March 2026 Layoff Week 2 part 1: Posthumous Gardening, Magic Kingdom Magic

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:48:39 GMT

My Whole Paycheck (Amazon) grocery order magically disappeared last night. I was refunded. Luckily this was just foods I wanted for the coming week, nothing I needed badly. I wonder what Amazon does when this happens? I guess it depends on the circumstances (did the driver's car break down? Did they forget my order in the back of their trunk? Who knows.)

After a bit of wibbling I decided to place the same order again for tomorrow. Give them another chance. If it falls through again I'll stick with Publix/Instacart for the rest of the layoff and call it a lesson learned.

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MONDAY

A normal morning. Breakfast and I whipped up some Oreo truffles to bring to the Main Street Phil guys tomorrow. If you've never made Oreo truffles they're super easy: smash a whole package of Oreos (normal-sized, not family-sized), mix it with a softened block of cream cheese until uniform color, roll into 28-ish balls, and dip in melted white or dark or milk chocolate. Let harden in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, and box 'em up. Easy-peasy and they taste great.

After that and cleanup, my Publix/Instacart groceries showed up. This was mostly replacing cleaning supplies around the house, not much in the way of food. The Whole Paycheck order was still en route because that store is much farther away.

I used the time waiting to get rid of any potted plants that are around. The sad truth is that there is no point keeping plants at all if I'm not here. Jameson is not a gardener, and nearly everything has died since I've been gone. The ONE plant that is doing well is a small misc houseplant pot that I bought because it's in sphagnum moss, which only needs watering like once a month, and Jameson seems able to remember to do that much.

This one is the survivor:

The succulent pot that I bought in October(?) did not work out. They're all dead or dying.

Around the outside of the house were two potted pineapples (dead) and my lemon tree that has done poorly. I dumped the pineapples and sort-of planted the lemon tree, we'll see if it survives.

My vanilla orchid is dead. I'm sad but not surprised. Florida had some brutal frosts this year with lows in the 20s, and this plant can't survive that. I tore down as much of it as I can reach. I am left with memories of when it was thick and green, and that one special Easter when it bloomed for us :)

And finally, my banana trees "died" in the frost as well. The two biggest, anyway.

"Died" in quotes because bananas are clones. They are not a true tree but a rhizome that reproduces by sending out little copies of itself at the base of the trunk. Sure enough, there are three "pups" still living. I don't know how they'll do but they at least have a shot. I cut down the dead trees and cleaned up the little ones.

As I was finishing up with the bananas my Whole Paycheck grocery order arrived. There was a packet of raw chicken, which is going straight in the freezer and when I thaw it in a week or so that will tell the tale of whether it was kept cold during this delivery. Cleaned myself up and had lunch with Jameson, packed a lunch and snacks for Main Street Phil tomorrow, typed up this post, and practiced trombone. Checked the mail, wiped the silica dust off the front door (the door is black/dark so the dust shows up strongly there.) A light snack and Jameson had to give a Zoom class so I quietly researched hotels and flights for my brother's wedding, which isn't until October but I should look at bookings now.

Jameson was in a mood for BBQ and neither of us wanted to cook, so we went to Sonny's which is a chain. It wan't anything mind-blowing but was very good and service was awesome. We talked about lots of things, but mostly the upcoming sit in Boston. Jameson will see our show for the first time, and he went to Berklee too. He hasn't been to Boston in a long time and is looking forward to showing me his old haunts...where he lived and worked, some of his favorite restaurants, stuff like that. I'm THRILLED that we can spend time together while I'm on tour! Although most family visits tend to stress me out, a lot of that is because my family is not musicians and they don't understand a lot of what I do or why I have to do it. Jameson is a musician too. He GETS it...he gets this world and my work. I can relax with him here and not worry so much. And we can do fun things together!!

We also worried about the current TSA situation. There are reports across the socials of people being trapped in TSA lines for 2+ hours and missing their flights. Footage of huge long lines extending out into airport parking lots, and reports of PreCheck lanes being closed. In Jameson's case he can just get a refund and use the money for a flight some other time. But in my case, I have to get to WORK. The alternative would be to drive 20+ hours to Hartford after the layoff. I'll keep watching the MCO airport live tracking, and hope it doesn't come to that.

After dinner we chilled with gaming in his case and reading/playing solitaire in mine. We went to bed early as we both have to get up early tomorrow.

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TUESDAY

I was up early for breakfast ahead of a full day at the Magic Kingdom! Jameson was working at Disney as well and we left at about the same time, he by driving and me by Uber. It is decidedly odd to Uber onto Disney property instead of driving myself, but I will get used to it.

Going back down into the Utilidors (employee-only area under Cinderella's Castle) was absolutely nostalgic. Yes it's kinda smelly and old under there...but it's historic and beautiful too. In the same way that a dusty 1920s Fox or Orpheum theater is worth preserving and appreciating, so is Disney, so is the Magic Kingdom and the Utilidors. It's truly a privilege to walk in these amazing places freely, as though at home.

(stock image)

I wasn't totally sure what to expect today...it started out as me asking if I could swing by for a social visit, to bring treats and say hello because I miss the guys :) But Mike (the boss) said ihe could make it a paid rehearsal day. It's been a full year since I've played ANY Main Street Philharmonic music, and I was concerned they might ask me to play a set. But no, Mike understood completely when I said I'd rather audit, shadow, and practice. It's been a year, after all.

We started the day with a rehearsal (Tuesdays are always rehearsal days for the full timers.) I made sure to leave the Oreo truffles and turtle chips out, and they were very appreciated.

Next, the first set. It was special! Because MAIN STREET MICKEY showed up to conduct the band!!!

As soon as "Mickey is here!" rippled through the crowd, people RUSHED to see, hoping to get a photo op with Mickey. They are still working out the logistics of having Mickey as part of this set due to the mad rush of people, but from what I saw it was handled very well and people were VERY happy to see Mickey up close. Self included! I still don't have a picture of myself with Boss Mouse, and this was the closest I've ever been to him!

During this set I noticed that there were cherry pickers all around the Castle.

This is very unusual during operating hours, but the guys said the park is working around the clock to get the Castle repainted (it was previously pink and now it'll be more white/blue.)

There was another set during which I got to see the band do an updated version of our Encanto Medley and made a recording of that for myself. During the breaks between sets I practiced the changes to the music, ate lunch, and tried on my costume(s) to make sure they still fit (they do.) I walked with the band to the parade start point and watched their entrance because they'd made a change to that, and to some of the music along the route.

Took a little video. It was wonderful to walk through the people and hear excitement as the band approached, and see cheering and clapping and smiling.

I know that there's a lot to see at Disney, but to know that people will stop to enjoy the band's performance, to wave and cheer, and then go on with their vacations hopefully with a little more positivity and joy because of it...well, it's really lovely to think about. And it makes me proud, that I can sometimes be a part of bringing that joy to others.

After that was a longer break. Tony (bass trombone) used that time to check out my Yamaha bass which I'd specifically brought so he could give it a whirl :) He spent a solid 20 minutes with it and enjoyed it very much! And then he asked if there was anything I'm struggling with on bass, and when I told him he gave me basically a free lesson! He also showed me how to properly lubricate the rotors, something that I've never been taught. Embarrassed to admit that but also very grateful that Tony kindly showed me how without judgement. Hhe is such a kind, cool dude! I gave him a BIG hug and thanked him profusely.

There was one more set which I went out and watched, then I left before the Flag Retreat because nothing has changed with that and I figured it'd be better to call an Uber as early as I could. Overall it was a fun day at the park hanging out with my coworkers and friends. Whether I get paid for it or not, it was absolutely worth doing!

Back home I got caught up with Jameson. He has the results of his MRI: bone spurs and nerve compression in his neck, ranging in severity in several locations. His next step will be to speak with a specialist about treatment options. We expect that his insurance will make him do physical therapy first, but he is prepared to endure that if it means he might finally be in less pain.

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Wednesday: More Dust Battle, and I may make us something for dinner. Jameson will have half a day working from home and the other half at Disney.

Thursday: I have a dentist appointment and will probably also drop my coat off at the dry cleaner's. Scrubbing the shower (ugh.)

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March 2026 Layoff Week 1 part 3: H-Mart Adventures, Dust Slog Continues

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 21:27:01 GMT

FRIDAY

Breakfast and coffee, working on Hartford Foodie Finds. It should be done by now but my heart is not in it, and I know that Boston Foodie Finds is immediately after and I'm daunted by THAT task.

As I was preparing overnight oats for myself for tomorrow, I reached into the spice cabinet to grab the cinnamon and saw The Dust coating every single jar of spices (I have already wiped down the spice RACK, but this is the spice CABINET, you see.) Cue a big heavy sigh and taking every single jar of spices out....wiping them down....wiping the cabinet, wet and dry....putting everything back....

...and there were three shelves, only the BOTTOM one was spices and the next one up is MEDICINES....and the one above that is bandages and first aid stuff.....

It took, I don't know, 20-30 minutes. And this is going to continue happening.
But whatever. Aside from that sneak attack, I would like a break from Dust Battle today. I've pushed really hard to do a lot in this first week, and feel that means it's OK to take a break from it for a day?

While Jameson worked on Disney stuff in his studio, I cooked some chicken breast because I'm making enchiladas for us tonight. We ate lunch together while the chicken cooled. I shredded the chicken and stored it for later, and practiced trombone for just 30 minutes or so. Took the small trombone (my Williams 6) out to give it a whirl and it feels so tiny. I have definitely adjusted "down" since starting Beauty and the Beast, such that the small horn I used to be very comfortable with now feels like a stranger. Starting tomorrow I'll be playing through some Main Street Phil stuff and the Easter gig stuff on the Williams, to get ready for those upcoming gigs.

Next, Jameson had a massage at 2pm and I had a tax appointment. UGH.
Thankfully I use a company that is familiar with musician-taxes. I thought for sure that the untaxed 1099 income from Epic Universe work would be financially devastating this year...but it turns out the withholdings from the tour pretty much covered that. Phew!! I ended up owing about the same amount that I do every year. That was a huge relief.

I cooked the enchiladas for dinner and they tasted delicious but turned out strangely mushy. Jameson thinks it's because I lined the bottom of the pan with foil, and that prevented crisping. I think he may be right.

To my surprise, Jameson suggested going to the new H-Mart tomorrow!!
It's the biggest H-Mart in the US, and just opened in Orlando last year. I've been DYING to go but it's been a madhouse. I expect it to be pretty crazy on a Saturday afternoon too, but we both really want to check it out just once. I have a short list of snacks that I want (Tokyo Banana, chocolate churro turtle chips, Chuhai if they sell it, white peach ice cream) and we're gonna have lunch in the food court. Yeeeek, can't wait!

A video because I plan to be in the moment tomorrow with Jameson, not looking at everything through my phone.

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SATURDAY

I was up early due to H-Mart excitement :)

Breakfast and finishing Hartford Foodie Finds (finally), digging a styrofoam cooler out of the garage in case we find cold things to bring home, and doing a little tour planning...the company has booked us some rather late or tight-connection flights coming up, so I've taken more buyouts than usual and need to notate those so I don't forget them.

When Jameson was up and around he did some grading and I got dressed, and off we went. I was relieved to see there was no line to get IN...that has been the case since it opened during peak hours. We were there on a Saturday at lunch time so we were risking it.

( CLICK HERE for H-Mart Adventures )

Back home, our haul (or part of it):

Pictured:

Chocolate Churro Turtle Chips (viral)
Mystery fruit AND veggie electrolyte drink(?)
Wasabi Shiitake Chips
Pumpkin flavored yakgwa (we didn't know what this was but it looked nice, I looked it up later)
"Pine bud" soda
Muscat Grape Dessert Jelly (this is Jameson's but imma try it)
Pineapple Citrus Soda
Tokyo Banana
White Peach Ice Cream

Not pictured (Jameson's stuff):

Cheeseburger flavored popcorn
Misc grape or peach-flavored sodas and beverages
Watermelon seltzer
Sushi assortment

I am excited to try all of these! I still have two weeks at home, but might have to try packing some of this or ship it to myself if my luggage gets overweight. Because there are other things I'd planned to pack, like my sister's homemade fruit jams and my black pea coat and my black boots and, and...

Anyway I'm so glad that we got to experience H-Mart together! We were in there for two hours, but if you consider that part of that was sitting to eat lunch and a lot of it was having to move slowly due to crowding, we still got to see the entire store and it was still a lot of fun. I'd love to go back on some random Tuesday between like 2-3pm and see if it's not so crowded.

We chilled out for the rest of the afternoon and ate a late dinner, being full from lunch. I ate random things to fit my macros (an apple, canned pumpkin, tuna) and Jameson had his sushi.

Later on we enjoyed the white peach ice cream. WOW is it good. Often if a food is "pretty," it looks better than it tastes. That is not the case here. I know these are expensive, but I think that if you're able to try them, go for it just once! The peach flavor was exceptional, the ice cream was incredibly smooth and rich, the white chocolate shell painted to look like a peach was a perfect accent and texture. We want to go back for the lemon-flavored version.

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SUNDAY

I was awake at 8am and could have slept for another two hours easily, but I almost never let myself. There is always too much to do, and I feel guilty about lazing in bed (though I probably do need the sleep.)

Breakfast and starting on Boston Foodie Finds. When Jameson got up I went outside to tackle the pool deck. Sweeping the deck is something I do every few months anyway, but it's part of Dust Battle now because the contractors thought it would be smart to shove tile out the bathroom entrance door.

Before sweeping. It's hard to tell but there's a layer of grey-white dust, some small tile particles and pieces, and in the right corner there are chunks of broken tile that I guess they just shoved out the door while they were renovating the bathroom.

After sweeping.

And yes, we have a door from our bathroom to the pool deck. A lot of FL homes have this so you can go straight from the pool to the shower/toilet without tracking water all through the house.

The rest of the deck was pretty normal although there was a lot of debris because it's been too long since I did it last.

A big red millipede. These are very common, if you live here and have a pool or water nearby you will see them pretty much daily.

I had to move all of the deck furniture around and shake out the rug and wipe down the chairs and such. By the time I was done I'd burned 200 calories. Which is good because I want to eat my Asian snacks :p

Speaking of, I tried the "Pine bud drink." Doesn't it LOOK like Pine Sol? And so, it tastes EXACTLY as you are imagining right now, LOLOL

I left it out for Jameson to try (he choked and was very dramatic which made me laugh) then poured it down the drain. Kind of knew that might be the outcome but as a person who enjoys pine cone jam, you never know what might surprise you and it's good to try new things. We had lunch together, I placed a grocery delivery order for Whole Paycheck and also ordered some small replacement items from Amazon. Hate to say it but without a car, services like Amazon and Instacart are going to be necessities for me regardless of which of their business practices or politics we're boo-hooing this week.

While I waited for the groceries I practiced trombone and Jameson worked on a birthday composition for a friend. I did a little more Dust Battle by climbing up above the kitchen counters to wipe the top of the fridge and cabinets...and was shocked to find not only the expected grey dust, but also HUGE chunks of tile!!! They HAD to have used a circular saw or a REAL jackhammer, to fling huge tile pieces up this close to the ceiling!! I guess I should be grateful that they cleaned up as much as they did. Christ. I wiped the fridge and edges of cabinets but left the area with tile chunks alone and will photograph it another time. Not sure how I will approach that. Then I did the mug cabinet, removing everything, rinsing all cups, wiping the inside of the cabinets, and putting everything back.

The groceries should have been here by 3pm at the latest, but by 2:45pm the driver looked to be sitting still and far away from my address. It took a while but I was able to get a refund. I guess tomorrow I'll either try again, or Uber somewhere.

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Monday: Making Oreo truffles for the Main Street guys. More Dust Battle; probably wiping the front door, wiping the ceiling fan blades in every room, the tops of more doors and picture frames. Practicing trombone and packing for Main Street Philharmonic day.

Tuesday: All day with the Main Street Philharmonic! Hopefully they truly are OK with me just having a rehearsal day/not performing in the park, because it's been nearly a year since I've done any playing with them!!!

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March 2026 Layoff Week 1 part 2: Dust Battle

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:14:22 GMT

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PSA: I am reading and catching up on everyone's writings even if all I do is "like" or don't leave any feedback. It's been a crazier last-couple-days than expected. Haven't even gotten to unpack yet. But I do read everyone's posts when I wake up and before bed. Promise!!

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Dust Info

TL;DR the majority of our flooring was tile, and one way or another breaking up the tile generated dust.

As far as how it got all over everything or why there's so much of it:

The floors were installed a month ago, and Jameson has done little to no cleanup since then (not a criticism, just a fact.) The dust has had an entire month to spread around the whole house via HVAC, ceiling fans, or being tracked from room to room.

From what little I saw of the renovations, a jackhammer and a sledgehammer were used to break up the floor. They may have used other tools like circular saws that might have generated a lot of dust. But ultimately I was not present for the renovations and did not see what happened.

Although Jameson removed or relocated the furniture, and the cabinets and immovable objects were covered with plastic, there is dust inside many of the cabinets and on all of the flat surfaces. The dust is lightest in the kitchen and dining room, moderate in the guest bedroom, and heaviest in the two bathrooms. I'm sure this has somewhat to do with size of space (containment) and what was and was not covered/protected during floor removal.

Cement/tile dust is a cancerous material (silica dust) and is dangerous/damaging when inhaled. That is why I'm especially anxious about it, cleaning it up in a specific researched way, while wearing a mask.

All right, there it is...I hope that makes sense or helps fill out the picture.

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WEDNESDAY

Jameson was up at 7am to go get his MRI. I couldn't go back to sleep. Breakfast and scanning my zillion tax forms. I have nine W2s, three 1099s, and a bunch of misc other forms from doing things like redeeming old savings bonds last year. Whoever is handed my taxes will have their work cut out for them.

I finished up about the time Jameson got home, looking pale and shaky. This was not his first MRI, but last time he went in waist-first. This time he went in head-first, and that triggered a MASSIVE panic attack. They had to pull him out and try again with fewer neck restraints and a towel over his head so he could get through it. I hugged him (not too tightly because he was literally JUST in a confined space) and when I let him go he seemed close to tears :( He is not prone to panic attacks so this was especially scary for him. He said his body just reacted and there was nothing he could do to make it stop. As someone who suffered intense panic attacks for a full year, I completely understand what it feels like, how terrifying it is, and how little control you have to make it stop once it's started. But he got through it, somehow, and that's great because hopefully he'll have results that will reveal more about what's going on with his neck and arm.

Jameson took a few deep breaths and went to work while I set a tax appointment and then started Dust Battle with the guest bedroom. I chose to clean this room next because it’s where I practice trombone and do my tour packing. I want to play the trombone with minimal dust inhalation, AND I still need to unpack but don't want to do that where dust will get on my tour clothing, cooking supplies, in my suitcase, etc.

Jameson had sort-of wiped some parts, and you can see where he did that and what level of dust we're dealing with here. It is odd to me that there's so much dust in this room as it was not a part of the renovation. But I wasn't here so I don't know what happened.

I put on a KN95 and did the same wet microfiber followed by dry microfiber tactic as used in the kitchen, starting at the tops of furniture and doors and light fixtures and working my way down to countertops and tables. Same dresser as above, after I'd finished:

I took the quilt outside and shook it thoroughly, and when it was back on the bed I moved my suitcase, trombone, and other things from the floor onto the bed and vacuumed. Then I put the things back on the floor and wiped everything down again with the dry microfiber as new dust was settling from the vacuuming.

Lunch break with Jameson, and I should have practiced trombone but didn’t feel like it. Instead I wiped all of the windowsills (LOADED with all kinds of dust, not just from the floor reno) then emptied the kitchen island because plaster and dust had gotten in there. Here you can see some of the pieces of plaster and tile, as well as a fine coating of dust near the inner walls.

I rinsed all of the Tupperware and dishes that were down there, wiped all of the appliances, wiped the shelves down, and put everything back.
Drew a smiley in the dust on the crock pot. Sometimes the dust was hard to see, but on black appliances or surfaces it's pretty obvious.

Had meant to do the cup cupboard too but lost my steam for this. Instead I basic-dusted all of the furniture and surfaces in the living room and bedroom, as these were some of the least-dusty areas. Then I dry-swiffered the entire new floor with a microfiber cloth.

It was a little futile to Swiffer at this stage. Until I deep-clean the bathrooms (which are the dustiest/dirtiest) we will continue tracking debris and dust from the bathrooms throughout the house. I’ll definitely have to sweep again. But the feeling of stepping on plaster bits and grit all day has been annoying me, and it felt much better afterward.

We had dinner and watched TV together. Jameson did laundry and then I did mine, followed by a load with just the microfiber cloths and some towels that had been exposed to The Dust. I can't see dust on the towels but it must be there. Jameson had an overnight at Disney tonight. After he left I vacuumed and dusted the bedroom (but not the gigantic bookshelf in the bedroom, that will have to be a separate project.)

Overall I got a lot done today, but there is SO much more cleaning to do. I'll have to wipe the blades of ceiling fans, the tops of kitchen cabinets, the tops of doors, the baseboards. The bathrooms will need intense deep cleaning. The cups need to be rinsed still, and other kitchen cabinets probably need to be emptied and wiped. And then I'll have to wipe everything down AGAIN after knocking dust down from those high areas. But I've only been back for three days and so I think it's going as well as possible.

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THURSDAY

Jameson was up at 7:30am for Disney. I got up shortly after him for breakfast. Spent way too much time typing things out/venting, but felt better afterward and ready to move forward.

Dust Battle continued with the master bathroom. I should mention that after the new flooring was installed, the toilets had to be pulled out and re-installed to be level with the new floor (a $3,000 fix, paid for by me.) That probably generated extra dust and debris.

I started with removing everything from the counters, and either washing each individual item in the sink or wiping it down to get the film of dust off. I opened the medicine cabinet and did the same there, removing everything, wiping each thing down, wiping the shelves, and putting things back. Under the sink, I didn't take everything out because only the few items nearest the doors had dust, but did wipe the insides of the doors and the bottom of the cabinet.

Next I wiped the tops of all the doors, the fronts of the doors and cabinets, the tops of all light fixtures (had to bring in a stepladder for that,) and the blinds for the pool entrance door. The blinds were awful, lots of plaster and dust had been trapped in them. Here's some of the plaster (this isn't even half, most of the rest I caught in the microfiber cloths)

Next the top of the standing shower, which was caked with fine white dust-paste. Again, this is a fraction of what was up there and it took multiple passes and washings of the microfiber cloth to get 90% of it.

I wiped down the shower walls and shower head/handle, but did not scrub the shower as I consider that a separate chore from "cleaning the bathroom." I got behind the toilet to sweep up all the plaster back there, wipe the dust with wet microfiber, and then was finally able to do a "normal" cleaning of the bathroom albeit with two passes to wipe the toilet, once to collect dust and the second time to actually clean and disinfect. Cleaned the sink and counters with wet microfiber and then as normal. Swept the floor with a broom (wearing a mask,) then again with a dry microfiber, then again with a wet microfiber mop. Vacuumed the bath mats and put everything back.

I know there's no point of comparison but just trust me that this is significantly cleaner than it had been, and it was a huge relief to have gotten most of the gross dust out of there. I am looking forward to Jameson's reaction because he is always VERY appreciative of what I do around the house :)

The bathroom took about 90 minutes (3x longer than usual.) I finished at lunch time and took a break to eat. Made myself practice bass for 20 minutes.

Before continuing Dust Battle I swept out the garage and wiped the tops of some picture frames and door frames, then it was on to the guest bathroom. This is the tiniest room and the dust is most condensed here. Here is the counter by the sink.I ran a finger through the dust on the left there so you could see the difference.

The shower handle.

Same process as the master bath: removing each little item, wiping it, wiping the insides of cabinets, tops of doors, shower walls, etc etc. There was a lot of plaster in the tub so I wet-swept that out. Wet microfiber, clean and disinfect, dry microfiber, wiping and mopping the floors. It was done faster than the master bath but I didn't time it.

After that I was VERY tired, but there was one last thing to do. Microfiber-swiffered all the new flooring, wet-microfiber-mopped all the new flooring, and vacuumed all of the carpet again (having knocked a bunch of dust down from on high today.)

With that, I have done the majority of MAJOR dust cleanup, and everything else will be single-projects (the shower, the bookshelf) or touch-up (light fixtures, windowsills, picture frames, etc.) And a week from today I'll check and see how much more dust has settled or been pushed out of the HVAC, and do a full (regular) cleaning again.

The house after all of my work on it. Not that you'd be able to tell a difference.

The kitchen, which I don't think Jameson ever sent a good pic of after the floor had been installed.

Though I was tired, I called an Uber to the grocery for ingredients for dinner tomorrow and to replace some cleaning supplies I'd used up. Would rather do that today and get it over with. Picked up premade sushi for Jameson and I, and he got home just a few minutes after me. We ate and chatted about our day, I showed him my work around the house and he was happy and grateful as predicted :) We spent the evening relaxing on the couch. He's still struggling with anxiety from the MRI (sometimes it can take days for a panic attack to let you go) and I was exhausted and actually sore from all the housework over the last several days. It was good to sit still and quietly together.

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Friday: Tax appointment. I will owe a lot this year thanks to Epic Universe which was all 1099 work. Other than practicing and cooking us dinner, I have no plans. I'd like to take a break from cleaning since I've made huge progress.

Saturday: Jameson wants to go to the new giant H-Mart and I am SO EXCITED!!!

Sunday: No plans but will probably do one project-clean like the bookshelf, and practice.

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March 2026 Layoff Week 1 part 1: Are We There Yet + The Dust + Irish-ness

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:39:58 GMT

Generally speaking, considering how much I travel (probably around 60 flights, drives, or bus rides per year), I've had incredibly good travel fortune *knocks on wood*

Certainly every year there are 1-2 major snafus, and several delays and inconveniences, but in the end I always do get where I'm going.

I am saying that out loud because it has been less than a year touring with BATB, and already we've had several..."trying" travel days. I want to remember to be appreciative that things have mostly gone smoothly.

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That said, I went to sleep around 11:30pm and was rudely awoken just a few minutes later by my phone screaming and the following alert
(remember that you can click to open in a new tab and enlarge)

....followed shortly by a tornado siren outside. Wheeeee.

Fortunately there was not an actual tornado in Louisville, but this is their alert system for watches as well as warnings. The siren continued for about 20 minutes, and stopped after the imminent threat was deemed to have passed. It took a long time to get back to sleep but I finally managed around 1am. My alarm went off at 3:30am...at which point I saw that my flight had been cancelled. Sigh.

Hilariously, if I had booked an even earlier flight (5am takeoff!) I might have actually made it!!
American Airlines had auto-rebooked me on the next available flight: an overnight/redeye that would arrive around 1am on Tuesday. Umm, no. I searched flights frantically, but everything was of course either cancelled or astronomically priced, and only 3 flights would get me to Orlando today, and all of them had late night arrivals.

And so of course next I looked at rental cars. It would be an awfully long drive, but considering the flights would arrive at the same time it didn't really make a difference to me. ALL of the airport rental cars were sold out (not surprising, I'm sure there were a lot of cancellations) but there was a Hertz nearby that seemed to have some rentals. I made a booking for $400, which was the cheapest I could find for a one-way.

At that point I checked my email to see the rental confirmation and saw that Aaron (Company management) had sent flight rebooking options. They were the same ones I'd found, astronomically priced, and although Disney was willing to both pay for that AND extend my hotel room, I'd have to sit around for the whole day and then Uber to the airport, fly, Uber home, and still arrive later than if I'd driven. Therefore I sent Aaron my rental car findings and asked if Disney might cover it. He said yes. I was unable to get back to sleep after that, so spent the time submitting refund requests for my prepaid luggage and cancelling my Instacart order for today (I'll have the rental car through Tuesday morning so why not use it.)

At time of typing, I've finished breakfast and in a few minutes I'll Uber to the rental place to see if they actually do have cars available. If so, this travel day will be a 14-hour drive on 3ish hours of sleep.

But you know what? That's still way more sleep than most parents of newborns get!! BAM.

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MONDAY

They had THREE rental cars available and were way overbooked, but I was the first to show up and therefore I got a car. YAY! I let Aaron know, then hit the road. The sky looked very interesting. It was very windy, and although the storm system had passed Louisville I'd be driving right into it on the way to Orlando.

The first part of the trip was fine. When I got to the Cumberland area of Tennessee, though, I-65 S was quite the winter wonderland. The wind made the snow blow directly AT the windshield, plus the highway wound through the mountains, up and down steep inclines.

Still, it is nothing I haven't driven before (compared to driving through the Rockies this is NOTHING) and I just went slowly and diligently along until the snow turned to slush, then rain. Stopped for gas or snacks or to pee as needed, and tried to go for as long as I could between stops. Hit the expected awful traffic in Atlanta, some construction traffic elsewhere, and there were one or two accidents. But overall it was a very smooth trip.

10-or-so hours later I was in Florida. Even if I hadn't seen the welcome sign, the change in the foliage is immediate. Swampy trees draped in Spanish moss, pines that look prehistoric, saw palms and tall palms and cranes that look like pterodactyls flying overhead. Ospreys carrying fish. I could easily imagine a dinosaur peeking out from among the trees along the highway.

I finally reached home in the 13th hour (10pm.) I made REALLY good time all things considered. Jameson was just getting ready for bed when I walked in the door. I'd barely gotten any sleep and was bleary-eyed from staring at the road for 13 hours, but hugged him tightly and took time to marvel at the lovely new flooring! (And cringe at the absolutely awful coating of GREY DUST on EVERY SINGLE SURFACE. More on that later.) We went to bed pretty quickly.

As I was starting to drift off I was still getting notifications for the auto-rebooked flight that I hadn't taken: it was delayed twice, and had just landed in Charlotte at 11:30pm. Where the connecting flight was also delayed. Yeah, I made the right choice.

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TUESDAY

Sadly I could not catch up on sleep just yet. The rental car needed to be returned, but before that I was up at 6:45am to be at Publix right when it opened. I needed food for myself and ingredients for dinner for us. I don't have a car any more, remember? So it was now or never. That done, I slammed down breakfast as Jameson left for work, then fought rush hour traffic to the airport. Returned the rental and got an Uber back home.

And then...it was time to face The Dust.

The floors are beautiful...but literally every surface is coated in very fine, slightly sticky grey dust. And there are small pebbles of plaster or tile here and there. It's even gotten inside the cabinets, so it's on some of our dishes, clothing, appliances, etc. Not to mention on the tops of picture frames and on chairs and between keyboard buttons, and...

Just looking at it made me SO anxious and upset. It's impossible. We are going to be breathing and eating this dust for YEARS and there's absolutely nothing to do about it. But after a few deep breaths and thinking carefully about it, I accepted that I was just going to have to spend a little time, every single day for the next three weeks, fighting The Dust.

It's the same as practicing trombone. A little every day, and as long as you stick to it, relentless and gradual progress is made. Half as much dust is better than full dust; 1/4 as much dust will be better still. With that in mind and some desperate determination, I put on a KN95 and got to work. The kitchen was first because we need to be able to prepare food safely first and foremost (wtf has Jameson been eating?! The Dust, that's what :/ ) After researching online I had bought some microfiber cloths. I wiped each counter down with a wet microfiber, then a dry one to avoid kicking the dust into the air. I wiped or hand-washed every single bottle, cup, appliance, and piece of dishware on the counter. I wiped down all of the cabinet doors and inside the doors. Wiped each individual spice jar and the rack. Carefully wiped down the stove, my coffee pot, the toaster.

Ate a quick lunch then tackled the cupboard. Every single food item, jar, box of supplies was coated in The Dust. Starting at the top shelf, I removed and wiped every single thing using a Swiffer dry duster, then wiped the shelf down, then put everything back and proceeded to the next shelf down. Throwing away expired items as I went. Wiped and mopped the entire kitchen floor. Then wiped the kitchen chandelier, table, all of the chairs, placemats, etc.

By the time all of that was done it was about 2pm and time to start prepping dinner, a stew that would take 3 hours to simmer. I washed all of the dishes I'd be using and then cooked as normal. Got the stew bubbling on the stove, then got to work on the brown Irish soda bread. This isn't the sweet kind with raisins and caraway seeds; it's a rustic loaf that comes together like biscuit dough. A mix of wheat and white flour, buttermilk, egg, salt, baking soda, and butter. Smoosh it loosely together, bless it with a cross and poke it in each quarter to "let the faeries out." Bake for 45 minutes.

A few minutes before Jameson got home I made mashed potatoes and took the lid off the stew. Jameson walked in just as I was finishing, took a deep whiff of the homemade food, and smiled :) He doesn't cook for himself much at all, and this is probably the first homemade meal he's had since I left for tour months ago. It turned out wonderfully. The stew was tender beef cubes with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, bacon, salt and pepper, Guinness, and a splash of Worcestershire. It was REALLY good, and we both used the hearty brown bread to sop up the rich broth. The potatoes were just a good blank canvas and texture contrast.

I cleaned up while Jameson gamed, then we watched baseball together on the new couch-thing (I can sit there too now! Nice!)

A very productive day. And, Happy St. Paddy's Day!

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Wednesday: Jameson has an MRI for his shoulder, and work. I will tackle the guest bedroom so I'm not breathing in loads of dust while practicing trombone, and I need to scan all of my tax documents.

Thursday: Jameson will be working at Disney so I'll have the house to myself. Will tackle the master bath, and if there's time I'll dry-Swiffer and mop ALL of the new flooring too.

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