goofball on a train

This post is only covering Monday and Tuesday, because Wednesday I fly out to join Beauty and the Beast!!!

I am SO NERVOUS.

I've done many tours before, but this one is different in a lot of ways.
The things I'm most worried about are whether I'll be a good fit; whether I've prepared enough on bass trombone; whether my tenor trombone will make it there safely; whether it's possibly troublesome that I'm blogging this experience (in the past other tours have been ok with it, but this one is more high profile, so...)

...I think that's it haha. I'm certainly worried about other things but the main gist is that this is my dream job, and I do not want to lose it because they don't like my playing, I'm not skilled enough, or I unknowingly commit some faux pas.

I am always telling others not to worry about stuff that they can't help or control, but of course here I am doing it myself. Womp wooooomp.

Anyway.

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MONDAY

Jameson and I were both up early, him for Disney corporate and me because my friend Ilan said my mutes were ready and although he wouldn't be home to give them to me, I could come pick them up. I had planned to shop and run errands rather far from home anyway today so it was good timing. After breakfast I drove out to his house and got the mutes, and probably annoyed the neighbors by trying them out briefly in the driveway.

They fit a lot better and sounded just fine, so thankfully I think this is the last time I'll have to trek an hour from home for this project. It's too late to get them to tech rehearsal, so I'll just swap them in after July when I come home for a layoff.

In these pics you can see the little handle on the straight mute (left).
The cup mute (right) is not smaller, I was just holding the horn farther from the camera.


Next I drove to The Loop which is a shopping plaza in Kissimmee.

- Went to several stores for sweatpants/pajama pants and wide leg black pants, did not find any.
- To Yankee Candle and got Jameson a vanilla candle because ours is almost finished.
- To a pharmacy for misc things that we need (Band-Aids and Ibuprofen) and travel-sized stuff.
- To Target where I found two pairs of sweatpants but still no wide leg black pants, so gave up and went home.

Back home I ate lunch, then

- Packed misc things like toiletries, trombone gear, charging cables, and clothes.
- Descaled the hot water kettle.
- Dusted, mopped the tile, and vacuumed.
- Did a load of laundry and packed stuff from that.
- Made appointments with misc brass instrument shops in Chicago since I'll be visiting in July, may as well maximize the time.
- Typed up this post.

By the time I got all that done I was pretty beat, so just tried to chill until Jameson got home.
We had leftovers for dinner.

And I realized with a shock that my trombone and equipment will not arrive until the 11th, which is the day before I need them. Which isn't "horrible," but I don't normally cut it so close and am angry with myself for not leaving a buffer day. If there's even ONE delay I won't have my trombone for the start of rehearsals, and will have to find one in less than 24 hours. Now I've got something else to be worried about :(

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TUESDAY

Jameson had to get up at 7:30am so I got up with him.

After he left it was time for my Last Day At Home chores:

- Checked in for flight to Schenectady.
- Bought ingredients for dinner.
- Practiced bass trombone one last time.
- Washed the bass and let it dry for a while.
- While the bass was drying, finished packing my suitcase and cleaning up the guest bedroom.
- Weighed suitcase (46lbs, perfect)
- Lunch.
- Cleaned both bathrooms + scrubbed the shower.
- Vacuumed the car and put bait blocks under the hood.
- Took recycling out to curb.
- Packed the bass trombone for tomorrow's flight.
- Called the Music & Arts nearest Schenectady to confirm that they've got at least one professional-level tenor trombone in stock, and that it has a return policy, in case mine is delayed in shipping. This did put me at least somewhat at ease.
- Made coleslaw and got the root beer-braised chicken going in the crock pot (for BBQ sliders for dinner)

...and made a cup of tea, and sat the heck down.

I've been on many tours and have done all this Last Day At Home stuff many times. But this time is different. For one thing, I'll be back in less than a month thanks to the musicians' layoff in Chicago. This means I don't actually HAVE to bring everything that I'd need for months at a time on tour.

For another, this tour means a LOT to me. No offense to any other tour I've been on, but this is my first-ever ACTUAL Broadway tour. That's why I'm so upset that my trombone might be delayed in shipping, and why my Impostor Syndrome is absolutely rampant today. Like, odds are that everything will be totally fine...but because I've put so much weight and importance on this tour, it blows everything out of perspective. I know this, yet can't seem to stop it from happening.

What to do, then? Do my prep as usual, make a cup of tea, watch some anime, and ignore it.
Well, write about it to get it off my chest and THEN ignore it.
No point humoring my idiot brain.

Later on when Jameson said he was en route, I boiled some sweet corn and toasted some Hawaiian rolls.
We had root beer-braised BBQ chicken sliders with coleslaw and pickles, sweet corn, and watermelon. 
Very summery and delicious :) 

I want to mention that over the past several days, I have caught Jameson looking at me with the sweetest look :) :)
I can tell that he is proud of me. And that means SO MUCH. 
And he has said so, too, to his friends and his parents over the phone.

I feel the same way about him. We have both been trying and trying and trying and trying, so hard, to reach our career dreams. We have watched each other struggle for about eight years. And that is why this year feels so monumental; it's not just that we've both achieved something amazing. It's that we both know what the other has had to go through to achieve the amazing thing. It wasn't handed to us. That said, there was luck involved, and connections (in our industry that's a given.) But there was also a LOT of work, a lot of uncertainty and rejection, and years of working other jobs that had little do do with our goals without knowing if it would be worth it. 

And here we are. It was worth it. 

After dinner we had a massive thunderstorm, kinda scary, with hail even! 
The guy who was tailoring my shirt chose that moment to say I could come get my finished shirt...at 7pm in the middle of a huge storm...sigh. I wrote that I'd wait an hour to see if it'd let up. It did not let up. So I guess I'm not getting my shirt until the layoff. Sigh again. Whatever, sucks for him that he'll have to hang onto it for that long. 

Jameson did orientation for a class while I waited out the storm, then we had our final evening together, just chilling. 

Cannot believe that this is finally happening.

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Wednesday: Flying to Schenectady. Praying to god that my tenor trombone and other equipment shows up on time. Argh. We might have some onboarding or paperwork, I hope?

Thursday: First day of tech rehearsal for Beauty and the Beast!!

Thursday, work at Epic, the usual routine.

Super hot. We had hoped it would rain but sadly it did not, so it was just stiflingly humid.
Our sets were well attended however, and I saw Small Bee Photography there again, so perhaps we'll have some nice photos of our sets too :) It is so incredibly awesome of these pro photographers to give us FREE access to the images that they take.

At the final set there was a "show dump" happening right when we were going out to start our performance.
A "show dump" just means the audience is clearing out of the theatre and back into the street. The circus was dumping, and all the people who had just seen that show were pouring into our performance space in Place Cachee. We only have one handler and there was no way she could clear all those people out by herself.

(photo courtesy touringplans.com)

So I went out there as Phillipa, ahead of our cart and the handler.
Saw our tech fighting the sea of people to get to his audio spot.
Planted myself in the middle of the square packed with people, looked around, and shouted,
"AH, SACRE BLEU! I MUST TEST ZE ACOUSTICS IN ZIS SPACE!"


Put my trombone up and started playing short loud notes: "BAP BAP BAP"
...and a few longer ones right at eye level for good measure: "BLAAAAAAT"
While doing that, swinging slowly in a circle, forcing people to move away from my slide.

They scattered like roaches!

"Jules" came up behind me and parked the cart. "Wow!" he exclaimed, in character. "Zat was effective!"
I gave him a pleasant Phillipa smile. "Well! I do my best."

When our day was done I got ready to go see Mariah's band play downtown. I wiped myself down with a "bathing wipe" that I picked up ages ago somewhere on tour. Quicker than a shower, and ensured that I wouldn't clear out the venue with my stink. Had started to drive over there when Jameson sent me a long audio message. Turns out he's already being poached by another branch of Disney corporate. This is only his second day of work!!

This one is called Disney Live Entertainment (DLE) which is a part of Imagineering and for whom Jameson has interviews MANY times. They want him to be a producer for them, temporarily, on the Disney Magic cruise ship at the end of June! The ship will be in the Bahamas and there's a band he'll supervise during rehearsals. How cool! He was SO EXCITED.

This is the thing about Disney. Once your pinky toe is in the door, YOU ARE IN. Buckle up and prepare for liftoff.

Feeling happy for Jameson, I continued on to Judson's Live, the venue where Mariah's band Raspberry Pie was performing.
Ages ago I promised to come see her play, and was glad to be able to keep that promise :)

( Raspberry Pie at Judson's Live )
I decided to leave before the end of the second set, having been up since 5am and knowing that Jameson would want to talk my ear off about his exciting cruise ship opportunity. Got home and as predicted he had a lot to tell me! I listened as he described the job and how it had been offered, his speculations about what it would be like, etc, until midnight when we finally wound down.

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Friday, Jameson had to pop over to Disney to work out some technical issues with his logins, but he was back by lunchtime.

I had breakfast and hydrated, washed our sheets, made the bed, did laundry, typed this post, got ingredients for sesame chicken salad for dinner, got the chicken marinating, and made the spicy citrus dressing. I "should have" practiced but was feeling cranky, don't wanna, didn't. I was in a bit of a mood, perhaps from drinking too much the night before and not getting much sleep.

Ultimately I'm grateful that our non-standard lifestyle does generally allow large chunks of time to rest if I choose. From 2pm to 4pm I was able to doze, read, decompress, and try to gentle myself back into a pleasant mindset. I was 50% successful. Cooked the chicken and assembled the salads, which are napa cabbage, romaine, the sweet-spicy chicken, mandarin oranges, pomegranate seeds, toasted nuts (your choice), crispy wontons, avocado, sesame seeds, and a tangy citrus dressing. Jameson loves it and that makes me happy :)

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Saturday. I was kind of a slug. Breakfast and mostly practiced, spending 1 hour on Beauty and the Beast and 1 hour on the Chicago tribute band stuff. I am starting to (barely, sort of) feel better about the Chicago music, but will be happy when that gig is over with.

Jameson went for a walk, and we both kind of lazed around, then decided, why don't we use some more of our Disney Dining Discount coupons? We looked at the resorts, and Jameson recommended Flying Fish which is at the Boardwalk resort.

Got our reservations and drove over around 5, enjoyed looking around a bit, and were seated very quickly.
Very cute steak and seafood restaurant with whole schools of glass flying fish dangling from the ceiling.
We each got a drink (sauvignon blanc for me, vanilla bean bourbon for him) and I got the following:

Strawberry Gazpacho (vegan)


Ash-crusted Salmon with Herb Risotto, maitake mushrooms, baby turnips, greens, and shellfish broth
(I got too excited and dug in before remembering to take a pic)


Matcha Bavarian Cream with guava curd, sesame white chocolate, and vanilla panna cotta


Jameson had the shrimp cocktail appetizer, "Frutti di Mare" entree (assorted shellfish with pasta and red broth), and this Hazelnut Chocolate Bar that came with a golden truffle.


All of it was extremely good. The gazpacho was visually stunning and also amazingly complex in flavor, herby and tart and fresh. There were tiny cubed vegetables hidden in it. The salmon was very interesting, I assume it's capped in charcoal powder with maybe a little salt. The crust wasn't very flavorful but did give a fun smoky, crispy texture. The risotto was excellent, and I could have eaten those baby turnips in a bag as a snack lol. The matcha guava dessert was VERY good, matcha and guava go together quite well. Jameson's favorite was the shrimp cocktail which featured plump white wine-braised shrimp, though he loved the flavorful pasta in his main dish too. We both felt "meh" about the choco-hazelnut bar as it was kind of one-note; a little fruit would have been welcome with it, that's all.

Once again we were able to use a 50% off coupon. With tip it was probably about $100 each (in other words it would have been $200 without the coupon!) Very, very grateful for our castmember perks.

Back home I took time to move some of the furniture off the pool deck because we're having it sealed tomorrow.

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Sunday, Jameson kept kicking me in his sleep and almost kicked me out of bed!
So I finally just got up ahead of my alarm. Poo-head!

Had breakfast and then moved the heavier pool deck furniture outside of the screen, swept the pool deck.
The sealant guy came around 9:30 and after an amicable chat he got to work.
I had hoped to go for a walk, but received a surprise transcription job so plugged away at that instead (it was supposed to be sent on the 30th so I'm a bit annoyed that I've lost those days to work.)

Pool deck dude was done a little after noon. He always does an excellent job and is THE only contractor we've ever called back (three times now.) I always write him a very good Google review with pictures, so this time he asked me to take photos while he was working and made me promise to add them to my review, which I'm very happy to do. His work was $$$$ and it made me cringe, but I definitely couldn't do this myself and it took him 3 hours, and we only have to do it once every 3 years or so.

After that, lunch and trombone practice, all three sizes of trombone. Then back to transcription while Jameson watched the Cubs game.

Checked my email during a transcription break and was thrilled to see that the music coordinator for BATB has finally sent our music, and play-along tracks!! There are only TEN DAYS until tour begins, and I am seeing our actual music for the first time. Turns out, it's exactly the same as the Australian version. Wooooo!!

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Monday: Transcription, rehearsal for the all-chick Chicago tribute band.

Tuesday: Transcription, and finally getting this Chicago tribute band gig out of my face.

Wednesday: Transcription, packing for Epic, getting my trombone stands and mutes ready to ship to Schenectady.

When I was younger I could sleep until NOON.
What happened? Argh.

Up at 7, breakfast, and started organizing the guest bedroom. It's still chaos but now the chaos is in piles: stuff I'm still using to practice, stuff to bring to Epic this week, and stuff mounded into the big suitcase for bringing on tour.

I tried the new mutes and encountered a problem: they're too big!!
I was not expecting that, and don't remember it being an issue when I tried them at Will's house. Anyway, there wasn't much I could do but feel disappointed and send pictures to Ilan and try to coordinate with him for a return visit. He's going to try printing me some smaller ones, but either way I've got to return these, and now I'm out $200 and have NO mutes :(
Disappointed and annoyed with myself for not bringing my trombone to the initial visit to check that they'd fit. It never occurred to me that they might not.

Frustrated, I decided to take myself shopping for a new black shirt to bring on tour, but after driving 40 minutes to the nearest Macy's (in a plaza with an Old Navy, Ross, and Target) I failed to find a single black button-up shirt, between all of those stores.

Even MORE frustrated now, I went to World Market and found a few nice Snack Pod options and didn't even have to pay for them because I had a gift card. I used the HP from that to try visiting a tailor to see if they could shorten the strap on my crossbody bag, but they looked at me like I was insane and said they couldn't do it. So ultimately despite the World Market goodies I still went home annoyed and feeling like I didn't accomplish diddly poo.

Back home I did more packing and planning, ordered dinner for us when it was time, and tried to schedule myself a more productive day for tomorrow. Jameson had a frustrating day at work too. Today felt like we were spinning our wheels, but some days are like that and there's nothing for it but to learn from it and then keep on keepin' on.

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Tuesday, I managed to sleep in until 8:30 which is great because Wednesday will be a LONG day.

The usual routine, breakfast and when Jameson went to the gym I practiced. When he came back I went to the grocery for dinner ingredients, packed my meals for Epic tomorrow, and cleaned the bathrooms. Rested for a bit after that, then visited a different tailor about shortening my bag strap and he was able to do it while we chatted. My hero.

Back home I made dinner (Half-Baked Harvest sweet potato skins filled with spicy turkey, white cheddar, spinach, avocado) and chilled as much as I could.

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Wednesday was the Grand Opening at Epic Universe.

If you missed the livestream, here it is:



Up at 5am, started driving at 6:45, got good parking at 7:30.
Past security is the countdown clock. Here I am in front of it back in March:


...and here it is today. One day left. Wow!


Got into makeup and warmed up with the boys. Our first set was supposed to be at 9:30, but at 8:30 management came RUSHING in saying they needed us in costume and out there NOW.

So off we went. The cart had already been placed for us so we got into position for our first number and played it as a sound check. Then a short wait, then the media showed up so we launched into the top of our set.

We’d been asked to just play the first song again, but at the end of it we looked up and saw both stage manager and cameraman making the “keep rolling” gesture, so we kept going. And going, and going, until we’d finished a set. And then we restarted and played the top again! But after that they were done with us.

Later on we found out they’d only used about 8 seconds of footage, and it was all dialogue, no playing. Here it is (please excuse Mariah screaming in the background, she caught the footage and was excited)



Entertainment is so weird :p

It was, overall, a media day. No guests, just news outlets and streamers and influencers. Therefore when we went out for sets, it was a sea of cameras. Not just phone cameras: big expensive news cameras on stabilizers, high-fidelity cameras with huge $15,000 Canon lenses, fancy mics…one guy even got a boom mic over our heads during dialogue!

During the percussion number the media SWARMED Plume. Our poor handlers had to jump in and politely but firmly force people back. We are behind the cart during that bit and can’t really help. But no one was excessively rude and the excitement was understandable. Overall I think we handled it really well. I’m especially proud of myself for not having a panic attack (very common for me when lots of eyes are on me.)

We had two large breaks. I used the first one to practice bass, and the second to type this post and listen to music for the upcoming Chicago gig I’m dreading. And read my book :)

(The stairwell where I practice sometimes, when the warm-up room is occupied. Do not repost.)

I guess there were celebrities around, including the actors who played the Weasley twins and Professor Flitwick. I heard that Danny Elfman and Gerard Butler were around, and a retired basketball player of some notoriety. I don’t keep up on pop culture so didn’t much care, but it’s nice that the park is getting a high-profile opening.

(photo courtesy disneyfoodblog)

The evening sets were nice because the sun wasn't beating down and there was a breeze, but it was still very hot and humid. We had a few logistics snafus because this was the "gala" portion of the evening, and several food stalls were set up in our performance space that had to be moved. Still, this is all standard special event chaos. We did our set, and mostly got polite applause, but at that point people were too busy eating, drinking, and taking footage to actually interact with us.

We finished up just ahead of the fireworks, which was good because our land was in the fallout zone and they wanted us either out of the building or on lockdown by 9:45. I packed up quickly and got out of there, but enjoyed watching the Stardust Racers looping gracefully around each other, all lit up.

Here is the opening ceremony from the ground:



And I wanted to share what the lighting looks like with an aerial view as well. It's truly incredible!!
This person got test footage while staying in one of the hotels.



Whew. Long day! But it was an exciting privilege to be a part of a WHOLE NEW theme park's grand opening!
I was here from (almost) the beginning. We saw the Wizarding World being built around us. We have already spent more time in our part of the park than most people will in their lifetimes. Although my own experience is, frankly, overshadowed by the work I've found with Disney, it is still an incredibly special thing to be here in this moment. I have memories here that are an absolute treasure.

Although I couldn't find much footage of our trio by the end of the day, I'm sure it'll be forthcoming in the next few days. And tomorrow is the true Opening Day, when guests have full access to the fully open park for the first time. This park will change the theme park scene in Orlando--and possibly across the country--forever.

(youtube screenshot)

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Thursday: Day off. I'm returning my trombone mutes, resting, and preparing for a VERY CHAOTIC DAY at Epic Universe on Friday.

Friday: Work at Epic. Thoughts and prayers because it'll probably be batsh*t insane.

Saturday: Orlando Fringe with Jameson and friends!!

Sunday: Day off and I suspect I'll need it.

Thursday, as you saw, the casting list for Beauty and the Beast went up!
This meant that I was able to share my next adventure with everyone!

I was at Epic early in the morning again as usual. Stopped at Whole Paycheck beforehand to get wings and a few groceries, then practiced bass trombone backstage. Eventually the boys came in and I got with them to discuss the day's plan, and right after that is when someone messaged to let me know the casting list had gone up!

(photo courtesy Disney Theatrical)

I posted to all of my socials, and then had to respond to congratulations and questions between sets for the rest of the day. I did not mind! It has been hard to keep quiet about this gig, it is an actual dream job for me and it has not felt like it's really happening, and still probably won't until I'm actually in rehearsal!

Management at Epic has known for a long time that I'll be leaving, and has invited me to stay on as a sub during layoffs, which I VERY much appreciate. The truth is, I'm not sure that they'll be able to find another female trombonist. That's not to be critical or snooty, but to say that there just aren't that many to begin with. In the whole state of Florida, as far as I know, it is just us three whom they've already recruited who play professionally.

I hope I'm wrong.
Or that they hire some boys to play trombone! Lol.

It was a normal day, though we didn't have the cart or Plume.
The last two shows of the day were "rained out," though it was only drizzling. We don't really have a rain contingency yet so even a drizzle causes a bit of chaos, but for now if We The Band agree to stop the show, it stops. That will likely change.

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Friday I was up early again to drive to the nearest Toyota dealership.
My car is overdue for the 100k service. I delayed that due to the rodent infestation that I had to take care of at the beginning of this year. This time they presented me with about $3000 of work to do, but only half of it was the 100k service, the rest was just stuff they found (something about the undercarriage and linkage, blah blah blah.) They said those things could be addressed later, so I handled $1500 of it today and will come back for the other stuff before the end of the year.

This, combined with replacing ALL of the faucets in our house, has been a financial gut punch.
But it's ok you guys! Because I have Snack Pod.

While waiting for my car I chatted with Jameson, who said he was gonna go on a walk.
Just a few minutes later he CALLED me.
He NEVER calls me unless it's urgent.

HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!

He had just started his walk when Disney Event Group called, and offered him the Producer role.
FINALLY!!!!!!

I almost screamed out loud in the dealership. Managed a medium-loud yelp that made some people turn around haha. So, this role is only part time, BUT. There is already talk of making it a full time role depending on DEG's needs. And as with many aspects of Disney, a foot in the door can be enough leverage to get you REALLY moving within the company. Jameson will still be doing his online teaching for LA Film School, but he is extremely hopeful that the future will center around this job.

After celebrating over the phone with Jameson he hung up to go call his parents, and I checked out the DEG website...and also got a special little gift for Jameson ;) TBA.

Here is where Jameson will be working!!



Shortly thereafter my car was done, yeah yeah whatever I paid for it and drove home as fast as my little wheels could take me! Where Jameson excitedly told me all about how he was offered the job, and showed me that video of the offices, and described all of the hopes that he has for this going forward. He got emotional, because we were both just so excited and exclaiming about all the work he's done, all of the sweat and tears he's poured out for Disney, and all of the years of waiting and of trying SO HARD and not getting any response from the universe. But now, here is a wonderful chance for him. Everything is worth it for that moment of success. I am so, so happy for him.

Also...I'm pretty sure this makes us a Disney Power Couple! What a funny thought!

We had lunch together and I did laundry, Jameson worked and did some research on some stuff he'll need to buy for this role, mainly clothes. He's very excited to have an office again! (That probably sounds weird lol)

For dinner we celebrated with pizza and air fryer wings :)

Late in the evening I was surprised to receive a transcription job!
No announcement of resumption after the long pause to funding/due process. They just said, "Thanks for your patience, here's an extra $0.25 per page as gratitude." I felt a flash of annoyance because I'm off for the next 4 days and as a Lazy Millennial, I like down time. But then I accepted the job and felt good about it. First of all I really do enjoy the work, and secondly I'm happy (and relieved) that at least some people out there will receive their right to due process.

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Saturday I was up earlier than I'd like because of the transcription work.
Felt bummed but, when the universe gives tasks I think it's wise to complete them when one can.

Unrelated, a photographer called Small Bee Photography took some nice photos of Place Cachee Jazz during a set this week.
Here are my two features:


Jameson was up early too for a massage. I simply plugged away at transcription while he was gone, getting through about 30 audio-minutes of the 3 audio hours I was sent. After lunch, practicing. I'm doing tenor and bass for Beauty and the Beast, plus practicing switching mutes, then have to practice Chicago music for the all-female Chicago tribute band I've got at the top of June, so all three sizes of horns were out and the guest bedroom looks like a frickin trombone petting zoo.


After that a small rest before another real-time hour of transcription which completed Case 1 of 3.
We'd planned to go out to celebrate Jameson getting a new job, but he was feeling a bit under the weather so we ordered sushi instead.

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Sunday, transcription. Went to the grocery for myself and Jameson.

I think he's got a cold. I wonder if it's the same thing that I felt earlier in the week, except it's grabbing him a little harder (he eats fewer veggies than me so :p ) Because of that we sort of threw all plans out. I dusted and practiced and did a second round of transcription, and that's about it.

A month from today, I'll be flying to Schenectady for tech rehearsals.
We are still waiting on LOADS of information.
Direct deposit forms, onboarding paperwork, logistics for our instruments, luggage allowances, a route schedule...THE MUSIC. It makes me very anxious, but there's nothing to do. They'll have to give these things to us at some point.

Dinner was the last of the dino nuggets with marinara sauce and whatever leftover shredded cheese we had lying around. And broccoli trees, of course.

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Monday and Tuesday: As much transcription as possible, I need it done before the Epic workdays when I'll have zero time to work on it. Probably some chores and cooking too.

Wednesday and Thursday: Work at Epic.

Thursday at Epic.

I was up early working on Foodie Finds, then had intended to stop at Sprouts on the way in to work but missed my exit because I was distracted/tired so decided to skip it.

At work after getting makeup and costume on I practiced bass, but only for a bit because I felt tired.
I'm about to have like a week off here anyway, so there'll be lots of practice.

Our sets were mostly just fine.
For one set, our puffskein Plume was "dead"...that is, her battery died unexpectedly. So when we revealed her to the crowd she was perfectly still, eyes closed, "in repose," LOL. We continued on with the show because what else could we do, but during my very first break in the music I casually slid back and forced her eyelids open so people could at least get pictures of her.
Sorry b*tch, but if I gotta work, so do you hahaha

Someone from Wardrobe sent me this picture later (Plume is presumably alive here haha)


It was very hot out, with temps in the high 80s and a heat index above that (31C+). The 70-degree days and cool nights are behind us...from now until November, we will not see temps below 80 again.

Traffic getting home was horrific, it took over an hour.
I scraped my makeup off and chatted with Jameson, showered and had a snack, and chilled.

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Friday. I hadn't realized that I've got FIVE days off in a row!
Now that we're past Easter, my schedule is suddenly very light.

There is still a lot of work to do, though.
With the tour in mid-June, I have to practice daily and gather equipment (mostly for the bass as I've never toured with one before.)
This is also a time to clean, cook, and spend time with Jameson.
Selling things that I don't need and then taking what I don't sell to a donation spot.
I've got an all-female Chicago tribute band gig to practice for, and transcription is supposed to start up again in May (fingers crossed.)

After breakfast I was twitchy waiting for Jameson to wake up so I could start on chores, but with five free days ahead of me I could stand to be more patient. He was up soon enough and went for a walk, and while he was gone I cleaned our bathrooms, vacuumed, and mopped the tile floors. Then practicing bass and large tenor. Switching between the two isn't "hard" per se, but one instrument gets cold while you're playing the other and that makes it tough to sound good sometimes. Simply remembering to switch is probably the hardest part...and then on top of that I'll have to learn when to use which mutes.

Since I'm an old lady I felt tired and low-blood-sugar after that, so chilled until lunch and then even after lunch, just figured out what to cook for the week, read my book, watched anime and some luggage reviews, and emptied the dishwasher. Updated my resume with the Epic stuff.

For dinner we went out for once, to Lazy Dog. Jameson needed a break, he had a frustrating week at work culminating in the probable loss of 5 months' worth of his efforts due to the carelessness of his bosses. I don't want to put so much weight on his Disney interview on Monday but...he wants and needs it real bad.

We had fried deviled eggs for the appetizer, and he got a flight of beers while I tried a lemoncello basil cocktail that was ok-not-great (which is why I usually default to wine at chain restaurants.) For entree I got the bibimbap, which I've had here before and is rather inauthentic but flavorful and one of the healthier options on the menu. My favorite part is the carrots, which are spicy as heck.


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Saturday, after coffee I packed up a mixer that sold on Reverb and took it to UPS.
Kind of goofed off until Jameson was up and about...I can't exactly practice or do chores while he's sleeping.

We went to brunch at First Watch! Just because!
Jameson had a bloody Mary, I had a cinnamon toast cereal milk with rum and oat milk. Both were great.
And we both had French toast, he had a tres leches one with strawberries and I went for the seasonal lavender cream + berries.



Isn't that a pretty sight!
Most people would NOT like the lavender cream. By itself it was "soapy" for sure.
But spread evenly on the toast with the blueberry compote, I thought it was delicious.
I don't usually splurge like this. A great treat with my sweetheart :)

(Also when I DO splurge like this, I look up the calories ahead of time, add them to MyFitnessPal, and focus on staying within my normal daily caloric range based around the splurge. In this case, the whole plate of French toast is about 720 calories, the drink was 230, for a total of 950 calories, mostly from carbs and sugar. That left me with about 650 calories for the rest of the day, most of which ideally should be from proteins and veggies to offset the carby and sugary breakfast.)

After our lovely indulgent meal Jameson went to get a haircut and I stayed home to practice.
I played both tenor and bass, practicing switching between them, and also practiced mute changes for the first time. Most of them are tastefully written, i.e. I won't have to hold three damn mutes in my lap like I did on Elf.

After that I had to lie down a bit because playing trombone on an overfull stomach had been a Bad Idea.
But after some water I felt better, and went for a walk to earn myself 100 calories back. Sweet.
The rest of the day was chill and not worth noting.

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Sunday, I am still getting up too early but oh well. After breakfast I went out for ingredients for "white lasagna."
Back home, Jameson went on a walk and I practiced, then while he was having a dip in the pool I measured out and chopped up the veggies for the lasagna.

After lunch we didn't do much...this is Jameson's last day off for a while so he spent most of it trying (and failing) to stay calm about his interview tomorrow. I bought a few stupid things on Amazon, planned what to eat at Epcot on Tuesday when I go to see Jameson play, and turned away some people who came crawling out of the woodwork to frisk me for tickets / entry into Epic Universe.

In case anyone reading this is thinking of trying that:
     - I'm not a Universal employee. I do not receive any of the benefits of a Universal employee, including entrance to the parks.
     - Even if I WERE a Universal employee, employee previews are over. They ended around April 15th. Even employees no longer have free access to the park.
     - The best way to get into Epic Universe before opening day is to stay at one of the hotels: Terra Luna, Stella Nova, or Helios. The hotels are currently offering a limited number of single-day tickets to guests.
     - The second-best way to get into Epic Universe before opening day is to beg an Annual Passholder to get you in, or to purchase an Annual Pass yourself.

Additionally, if we haven't talked in years and you suddenly show up in my PMs pretending to be all chummy, then immediately hit me up for free stuff, you're clearly not my friend and you're definitely not getting shit :)

Anyway. It was a slow day that should have been relaxing but both of us have things on the horizon to be tense about, Jameson especially, so it just felt like a day of annoying waiting. For dinner I made a half-recipe of the "white lasagna," which is supposed to be a copycat recipe for Stouffer's Vegetable Lasagna.

(photo courtesy Sweetly Splendid which is where I got the recipe. Mine looked similar.)

Jameson described it as "A chicken pot pie lasagna," and I think he is right! I'd never thought of it that way but the process to make it is almost exactly the same, just with noodles instead of a crust. He liked it a lot so I'd make it again, but here are three notes for future me:
1) Make double the sauce.
2) Saute the veggies a little instead of throwing them in completely raw.
3) Check your dang noodles for doneness lol

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Monday: Jameson has his Disney interview, then he's got sound check for his gig with Hooligans at Epcot. I'll have a boring day of practicing and scrubbing the shower with bleach, which I only do when I know Jameson is gone so he won't have to suffer the fumes. Might take myself to a luggage outlet store as my tour luggage has taken a lot of damage and won't last much longer.

Tuesday: Normal morning, going to see Jameson play at Epcot in the afternoon/evening. This will be his first performance since getting surgery on his arm.

Wednesday and Thursday: Work at Epic.

Thursday was a blessed, much needed day off.

I was supposed to have a lesson with Will but his doctor had told him to take it very easy (he had a cardiac ablation) so I decided for both of us it was best to cancel.

Instead I had breakfast and washed our sheets while Jameson went to the gym.

Had a phone chat with the financial advisor for my meager investment account. It was boring and a waste of both our time but a chat is apparently required once a year or something. He is an elderly white man, and I despise working with him because every time we talk he interrogates me about my income, expresses bafflement that I haven't considered another line of work or marriage as a form of financial stability, and makes it clear that he disapproves of how inconsistent my income is. It, like, stresses him out that I can never tell him how much I make annually, because it varies so wildly from year to year that I don't know until the year is over. Don't ask why I keep this investment account, I've no idea.

This time at least, for once, he didn't interrogate me about my income.

Him: "Anything new you'd like to share? Any questions about your account?"
Me: "No, I generally avoid looking at my account right now because of the way things are going."
Him: "...Not a fan of the current administration, huh?"
Me: "Considering that the current administration has a problem with the arts, as well as the company I keep as an entertainment industry professional, no, I can't realistically be a fan of the current administration."
Him: *5 second silence* "Ok. Well, this has been a good chat."

I can't relate to people like my financial advisor, for whom money is a god to be lifted above all else.
I'm sure he can't relate to me and my incomprehensible fixation with being a musician instead of a breeding sow, either.

After that my day was pretty much done, and I was grateful for it.
Jameson's parents sent us a Kringle, which is a sort of "pride of Wisconsin" dessert that we've enjoyed while staying with them previously. This one is cherry flavored, and I'm excited to cut into it after Easter dinner on Sunday!

I got an email from the tour I'm supposed to join in June, asking for a headshot.
Wow, communication! The first real official one in about 3 months. I sent a photo and will hope for more info and updates soon.

Before lunch I enjoyed half a Dragon's Milk Crimson Keep (ABV 11% which is why I only drink half a beer at a time, just that small amount gives me a very wonderful buzz) and after lunch I was a lazy a$$, doing nothing but planning dinners and taking photos of stuff I want to sell online.

We watched Top Chef and went to bed.

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Friday I was up early, felt restless. Days off are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, but they just make me feel guilty for not being productive "enough," whatever that means.

So while Jameson slept I had breakfast, then
     - Took pictures of some trombone accessories that I'm offloading and listed them for sale
     - Bookmarked recipes for next week
     - Packed food for Epic tomorrow
     - Looked up how to repair the drippy guest bathroom sink

When Jameson got up I
     - Practiced bass
     - Went to the grocery for tonight's dinner and Easter dinner ingredients
     - Bought a sink repair kit and tried to repair the sink but the handle screw is so stripped that neither of us could remove it
     - Researched how to get our sinks and faucets replaced after consulting with Jameson about it
     - Sold two of my trombone accessories and set up payment and shipping for them
     - Prepped clothes and music for Easter Sunday gig
     - Bookmarked things I might need to buy for tour
     - Cleaned out the bathroom overhead light, which was full of ancient dead bugs

It feels like I did nothing at all today regardless of all this.

Eventually made "summer spaghetti" for dinner which is just pancetta, squash, tomatoes, balsamic, and basil on wheat spaghetti and sprinkled with cheese. One of our tasty staple dinners.

And finally sent notice to Epic and Disney that I'll be going on tour in June.
We're two months away from me leaving, and Epic at least will need to replace me. Disney probably won't be much affected.

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Saturday, up before my alarm for coffee and to work on Foodie Finds because receiving contact from the tour yesterday has re-motivated me. Left earlier than needed to get gas and pick up a Panera sandwich for lunch. Arriving early was good, though, because on Saturday traffic is lighter so for once I got decent parking, and also had time to play bass for 30 minutes.

Our sets were normal. We had one of the subs on trumpet, and…he did great but I really wish we could have a few more rehearsals for all of the subs. We also didn’t have the cart because one of the wheels snapped clean off as soon as it was moved. Yikes! It’ll be out for days if not weeks.

Employee-only previews are over, so now we have actual paying guests in the park (Annual Passholders.) It’s a different vibe but so far not a bad one. We had some good crowds and smiling faces :) I'm embarrassed to say that the only recording I've found of our trio performing today is one where I messed up terribly...and here I am criticizing the sub musicians! How's that for instant karma! Anyway I won't flinch from it. Remembering this performance will keep me humble and remind me to stay focused so I can do a better job next time.

Back home I prepped a light breakfast for Easter service tomorrow, and boiled some eggs for deviled eggs, then hydrated and relaxed.

Random photos from OCRegister, so you can see what's going on in this park right now.
There are more and more people, but it's still not CROWDED.
But oh, it will be.

Astrid/Stormfly meet-and-greet in How to Train Your Dragon / Berk


Frankenstein's Castle, Darkmoor, Dark Universe


The streets of Place Cachee, Wizarding World/Ministry of Magic


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Sunday, up at 4am, UUUUGH.

Before leaving I set out a small Easter basket for Jameson, along with a Japan Series Cubs shirt.


A 90-minute drive to some random Methodist church in the middle of nowhere. I arrived on time and so did the others in the hired brass quartet, we all pulled into the parking lot about the same time. Chatted as we got set up. Met the choir director, who started with a warm up and then ran through "Crown Him with Many Crowns" with us.


We were hired to play prelude music for 15 minutes before the two Easter services, and then play along with any hymns. It was easy. At the first service we were a little timid, and didn't get applause between songs because it was a scant, half-asleep audience. But we did get applause when finished with the set, and after the service many people came up to tell us they'd enjoyed our playing.

The population of this church is 99% blue hairs; I only saw one couple about my age and they looked like they absolutely did not want to be there. This meant that we four in the quartet were the youngest in the room...and also, being from out of town, the most interesting. Thus it was that between services we were invited to enjoy a light breakfast with the choir, and had our ears talked off by these lovely men and women who only had a scant 20 minutes to pelt us with all the questions they could squeeze in, and/or tell us about themselves! :D

It has been a while, and had forgotten what a novelty I am, as a female trombonist, to this generation.
And never before have I had multiple people simultaneously exclaiming over that, as I did today.

Within just a few minutes I got,
"Wow, you're really playing that big ole instrument, huh!"
"My band director wanted me to play the trombone too, but my parents would have been FURIOUS."
"How can a tiny thing like you play a big instrument like that?"
"You must have extra-big lungs to keep up with the boys!"

...and my favorite was,
" *Manly giggle* So tell me, at what age were your arms long enough to reach all the notes?"

Generally, I consider comments like these to be non-offensive, and simply an expression of the fact that very few women play the trombone (and also that it has been a rather frowned-upon thing for young ladies to do, making it novel/more interesting than would be otherwise.) Additionally, most people don't know very much about the trombone and so make assumptions based on pop culture and tropes and whatnot.

It makes me happy that people are interested; to share how I got into playing the trombone, and explain that most anyone of either sex can play trombone, even with little arms :) When it becomes offensive is when a man uses one of the above statements as a segue into a mansplain about trombone technique because he played it back in middle school and is thereby an expert; or continues to describe how women can't or shouldn't play low brass instruments; or turns it into something suggestive. All of which have, of course, happened to me before. But this was a large group of both men and women, and I think people were just plain interested.

The second service was much better attended, and we received enthusiastic applause after each and every prelude song. Adorable! Everything went just fine and we were told many times how our playing had been enjoyed and appreciated.

In all honesty...when it comes to Easter, most of the time I'd absolutely drive 90 minutes at 4am for a few compliments and a muffin.
Money isn't everything.

Here is some of our playing. (Please keep in mind that we've all been up since 4am lol)



Back home I found Jameson standing in our driveway dressed in gym clothes, facing the garage door. I pulled in behind him and he held a hand up, but it was too late...he'd been taking video of a large black racer, but my car scared it away. Drat! He did send me the video, though! They are beautiful and beneficial animals, and I hope this one likes living in our yard.

He went for a walk while I scarfed down lunch, drank the other half of my beer, and whipped up deviled eggs.
When he got back we had a relaxing day, snacking on Easter candy and gaming or watching TV.
Eventually I made a modest Easter dinner of ham, roasted asparagus, crescent rolls, coleslaw, and the cherry Kringle from Wisconsin for dessert. Did you notice what I left out? The stupid deviled eggs! Completely forgot them and left them in the fridge. I felt something was missing and even asked Jameson and he couldn't think of anything. I was SO ANNOYED. Eh, we'll just eat them tomorrow, I only made six.

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Monday: Day off. Shipping the sold trombone accessories, practicing, Something Else Productive.

Tuesday: Day off. Same as above but probably listing more items for sale and cooking dinner too.

Wednesday: Work at Epic.

Thursday I was up at 8 which is late for me anymore.

Breakfast and finished timestamping my bootleg of the tour I'm gonna do this summer, then sort of rushed through breakfast because I am ITCHING to practice this music! I've been waiting for it for a long time. It would have been nice to get it from the actual touring company, but whatever, I'm sure they're super busy with all sorts of other logistics plus it's possible our arrangements aren't even finished yet.

That's right, the part I was given by the guy doing this show in Australia isn't even the part I'll be playing. It's a lot closer, but his version of the music is for a stationary show. A touring show will require changes to set pieces for easier breakdown, and changes to staging to accommodate many stage sizes, and changes to the choreo too. Likewise the music will have more cuts and reorchestrations based on all of these changes that happen on stage. Regardless, being able to practice the actual part is a HUGE leap forward from practicing the 1990s version part, which is what I've been doing up until now.

Anyway, I practiced most of the first act. Right before lunch I went to the bank to deposit some savings bonds that have been sitting around forever. Most of them are within the last 2-3 years of maturity, and I don't feel it's worth the few dollars to keep them lying around when our country is going down the toilet.

Back home, lunch and even more practice just because I am so pleased to have the part!
Then relaxing with Jameson for two hours before driving to my lesson with Will.

Meet Will, who like Jameson is a raging Cubs fan:


This is a "bad" picture of him, he'll be mad that I shared it :p
My lesson went ok, but it's clear that I need to actually get into a routine now that Will's given me all of these exercises to do. I've been kind of grab-bagging exercises, and need to play them daily and consistently instead. Decided that I'm gonna start with deep breathing and stacked breathing, followed by sustaining long tones with a stopwatch, then interval exercises and mouthpiece buzzing, then Rochut melodies, and THEN I can hit the tour music after doing all that.

Second half of the lesson was spent on gear. I need straight, cup, and plunger mutes for bass trombone, and Will has extras of all of these that he was able to let me borrow. He also let me try his new 3D-printed mutes, which I was skeptical of but they really do sound fantastic. Which is a shame because I'd rather save money and use free/cheap mutes! But now I'm tempted to get the new ones!

Here is a traditional aluminum trombone mute on the left, and a 3D-printed Morningstar mute on the right.


To show the bottom of the Morningstar mute, which comes in several metal options (copper, aluminum, brass):


They don't look very different, but there are some important differences. The Morningstar mute is significantly bigger, which isn't necessarily "better" but is probably one reason why they sound so good. It also won't dent during transport because it's 3D-printed. And it doesn't use cork, which dries out and breaks. Instead he uses a velcro system that is actually adjustable so you can move the mute further in or out to get the sound you want. I thought all of this was a gimmick until I tried it...it's not, it's actually very functional and an improvement over traditional mutes which have not seen much innovation since time immemorable. The creator is an actual trombonist too, so my trust level is high. He lives here in Orlando(!) and I'm gonna meet with him in April to try the other types of mutes, schedule permitting.

Will sent me home with his old mutes to play with, plus a gig bag! My monstrous road case is great, but for just getting my bass around town locally a gig bag will be very convenient. I might buy it from him.

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Friday morning, I woke up to an email from our Australian Angel (the trombonist doing my show on the opposite side of the globe.) He'd sent me the French horn part! I quickly forwarded it to Sarah, the French hornist joining me on tour and who sent me frantic texts last week asking if I'd gotten any updates. She'll be thrilled! Super grateful that musicians are willing to help musicians, sort of regardless of any "consequences." This isn't some black market music smuggling ring; we just want to go into rehearsal at our absolute best for this show, and need to see the music in advance to do that.

I poked away online until Jameson got up, then had a rather productive day:

     - washed and seasoned our new saute pan which had shown up last night while I was at Will's
     - practiced bass for an hour
     - took old tax documents and void checks to UPS to be shredded
     - called my doctor to set up a regular checkup in May
     - called my bank to close an inactive checking account
     - dusted
     - trimmed the banana tree

...and went for a neighborhood walk.
The weather today was warm, breezy and 75F (23.8C) and there won't be many more days like this.


One of our neighbors has planted these gorgeous roses.


Back home lunch and a shower, Jameson had an afternoon meeting so I did quiet things like dumping transcription files to an external drive, looking for wallpapers for my new iPad, and researching getting a will. I'm not all that old and I don't have loads of assets, but there are things like my trombones that are rare and valuable and I'd like for those to be handled properly, and would like to leave as little work for my younger siblings as possible whenever I cack it.

While doing that I was surprised to see an email from Epic Universe land in my inbox...an invitation to queue up for PREVIEW TICKETS!!!

(This girl from the Epic commercials is essentially my inner child right now)

Since we are not Universal employees, we have been barred from participating in several other Team Member events that have already taken place. None of us had our hopes up to be included in the park previews. Our third party employer must have advocated for us to get these. I was quick to write them an email GUSHING thanks, then jump into the queue!

Only a limited number of guests may preview the park each day, so just like a popular concert on TicketMaster, you've got to dive into the fray and get that reservation ASAP. It was lucky I'd been working and had my email open to see it come in. Even so, available tickets for the day we wanted were at 10% remaining when I got through just 10 minutes later!! Crazy.

But now, I WILL GET TO SEE ALL OF EPIC UNIVERSE!!!
I may bring one guest, and since I have no friends it's Jameson again. You can bet he doesn't mind!!
I will bring my wand, and we can zap everything we can in the Ministry of Magic!
And we will eat treats and drink drinks and ride rides! And, and...!!

Aaaaah!

Ok, ok, back to the present.

I got our tickets all set up, worked on my will a bit more, did a load of laundry, and when my iPad case arrived I installed that. Ate leftover meatballs with Jameson until he left for a party with friends. After he left I enjoyed several hours to myself to relax. Lit a candle, made tea, watched anime, researched what to check out at Epic Universe. I still have so much to do in coming days...but I also did a lot today, and gotta remind myself that it's ok to do nothing, too.

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Saturday, I had a new transcription job and got started on it. Jameson slept late so I was itching to practice trombone by the time he got up. Practiced, hit the grocery store for dinner ingredients, packed for Disney tomorrow.

More transcription in the afternoon, then made a chicken pot pie for dinner that tasted great but turned out runny, and it was supposed to have a puff pastry "crust" but it didn't work at all. I ended up having to scrape wet puff pastry off the top of the pie, and we were left with only the parts that hadn't touched the filling. Lame. Next time I'll have to par-bake the pastry separately I think.

I felt restless today overall. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

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Sunday, up at 5:30am to make coffee and put in an hour of transcription.
Stopped at 7am to hit Publix for croissants, which when heated in the air fryer become crispy enough that they can be used as a "crust" topping for the pot pie leftovers. More transcription, breakfast, off to Disney with tenor and bass trombone in tow.

It was a cloudy day, but it didn't rain and we didn't get out of anything :p
We did have a shortened second parade because it looked like rain, and the flag retreat was shortened as well because huge thunderheads were rolling toward us, lightning visible. No explorations today, I just practiced bass and tenor and shot the sh*t with the guys.
It was a good day.

Grocery store sushi on the way home, hot tea when I got home.
Jameson has begun putting together a LEGO Piano set that he got at a discount. It's huge and I've no idea where it will live, but maybe we'll figure that out by the time he's finished it!


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Monday & Tuesday: Days "off." Lots of transcription, probably gonna make us Chicago dogs.

Wednesday & Thursday: Epic Universe. Gosh, it's been forever, do I even remember the show? Lol

In closing: Did you know that ChatGPT can make any picture you give it into an anime version? I fed it two photos and they are adorable!

Right before bed, another spoiler sent via a facebook friend:



Finally @bioreconstruct and his helicopter have caught us in costume AND with our instruments!
We still did not have our prop, though, so that should still be a surprise for most people.

(I am still under the NDA, but at this point Universal has officially shared our existence and that we're a trio of musicians with a puffskein, plus I haven't had backlash for the other @bioreconstruct photos I've shared, so I will risk this and see what happens.)

Anyway, was up to do transcription. Finished one case and started another shorter case, which sadly had incredibly poor audio and was difficult to work through. This is why you can't judge a case by it's audio length; it may be a short clip, but the clip could be VERY complicated to transcribe. In fact I worked on it for the whole time that Jameson was at the gym, which was frustrating as I'd hoped to practice while he was gone, too. Ah well. Finished all of the transcription and now only have to review everything and ask my bosses some questions.

I also found a general store in Harrisburg, PA that was willing to ship me some church eggs!

(stock image of peanut butter filled "church eggs")

The name of the store is Zimmerman's, which has been around since 1915 and always carries multiple churches' chocolate filled Easter eggs. The eggs are on preorder at most churches during Lent, so I knew I'd better try to get them now or never. The buttercream are my favorite but the peanut butter are awesome too, coconut coming in third :p I got two of each kind of egg from the top two popular churches in the area. Now they just have to somehow not melt on their way here. We'll see how they do!

And then when Jameson got back from the gym, I whipped up the Quaker Maple Bacon Instant Oats to try.


They were surprisingly good! Weird, but good. No pieces of actual bacon or even fake bacon, just a sort of smoky aftertaste and smell. And the label says "made with MILK ingredients," so while it doesn't say what or how much, I have to assume that it's lactose or whey for sweetening purposes (many Quaker cereals are sweetened with whey concentrate.) Boo. Still, it was fun to try!

After that I went to the grocery for taco salad ingredients, and back home went for a walk. It was sunny and 70F with a brisk breeze and not a cloud in the sky. I'm surprised that we can still have days like this, this late in the spring in Central Florida. Usually by now I remember it being 10 degrees hotter. Not complaining. Didn't see anything special on the walk, it was just good to get some fresh air.

Finished transcription, got notification that the firefly petunias I'd ordered for family have shipped so I notified my fam and sent care instructions for when they arrive. Also ordered myself some vanilla lavender chai, a sample pack, because when I'm feeling anxious sometimes I buy myself small waste-of-money things online. I am anxious, btw, because I feel that I really ought to hear more about the upcoming summer tour, and am impatient to hear something and worried until I hear something. This is typical for me, and simply means that I'm impatient, not that anything is overdue or in jeopardy. Right.
..............right?

Taco salads were nice as usual. I had an Underberg afterward and that felt nice too.

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Had stress dreams, so did Jameson. His were about his job interview today. Mine, weirdly, were about the pork roast I plan to make today. In the dream I had to make it for a huge group of people and only had enough ingredients for Jameson and I. I've always been very stressy about cooking/baking so this is no surprise.

Mariah (one of the other Epic female trombonists) had messaged sometime in the night to say that her grandpa had passed away, and could Andrea or I fill in for her today. Technically I was free, but by the time I woke up to read the message it was 7:30am which is when I'd usually be leaving for Epic. Fortunately Andrea had apparently been up and responded at 6:30am to say she could do it. Anyway, not to be selfish but I really needed today to finish this transcription job, so I'm glad Andrea could do it. (Obviously if she hadn't been able to I would have no matter the inconvenience to me.)

After reading through those messages and eating breakfast I got a late start on transcription review, but plugged away until Jameson went to the gym, then ran to the grocery for ingredients. Back home, switched over to practicing because I did not practice at all yesterday and felt guilty about it. I haven't been memorizing my Disney stuff either, entirely because I feel overwhelmed about it, and because it's not something I was asked or required to do, just something that I took upon myself in case I was needed with our 2nd trombonist out with an arm injury. But it doesn't seem like I AM needed, I haven't been called at all and his subs must be covering for him. There goes my motivation for memorizing the 2nd part.

Well, I got in a good hour of bass practice then went back to transcription until lunch time when I prepared and seared the pork tenderloins and got them going in the slow cooker with peach jam, bourbon, peach balsamic, a bit of soy, molasses, spices, onions, and garlic. This is a photo from the last time I made this but it looks just the same. Also, it was so good that I did an entire post just on this recipe, HERE.


After lunch I made the slaw and some iced tea, and set Hawaiian rolls out to thaw.
Am I getting a jump-start on summer with this meal? Lol.

While doing all that, Keith messaged to ask if I'd cover at the Magic Kingdom for the next two Sundays and I said yes before considering that Mariah might need one of those days for her grandpa's funeral. So I quickly texted back and forth with the Epic Trombone Ladies, and it seems like we should be all right. Phew. I am grateful for the additional work, but in this particular situation I'd waive "Disney Priority" and help Mariah first.

I went back to transcription around the same time that Jameson began his interview with DEG. He was using headphones and had the door shut so I couldn't totally tell how it went, but heard him laugh a few times and speaking passionately about his work at others. When he emerged he told me it had gone well, and that he should hear more by Thursday, and that if there's another interview it will likely be in person. Fingers and toes, fingers and toes. Crossing ALL of our fingers and toes.

Back to transcription review until it was finished (yay!). Now all I have to worry about tomorrow is getting the frankenbone cleaned, practicing, and packing for Epic.

Before bed, received a startling offer to join an Asian tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
This is my first international tour offer. Something that I've hoped and dreamed for.
And I will have to turn it down, because I've already said yes to another equally-dream-job tour!

How strange life is. A few months ago I was scrubbing toilets and selling hats.

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Wednesday, barely slept at all because my mind was racing about what touring Asia would be like, and from angst about not having heard back from the tour I've accepted. Now that this other offer has appeared, I would REALLY like for the other tour to confirm with me, again, that I'm signed with them, A) because they've been silent for 3 months exactly, B) because they haven't sent any paperwork or info as yet, C) because it would be the worst thing in the world to decline a job for another job and then find out you don't have the other job, and D) because I am the type of person who really badly needs legitimate reassurances, or something more than a verbal agreement.

I mean, unless something has gone horribly wrong, I am still slated to head out with the tour I've accepted.
But waiting to know FOR SURE makes me feel like someone is twisting a knife in my stomach.
Just yes or no, guys. Please.

The MD, bless his patient heart, did get back to me to say as far as he knows everything is still a-go.
That is indeed reassuring, but I'd also like to hear it from the music coordinator if possible.

Anyway, was up too early, ate breakfast, drove out to Pat's with the frankenbone.
He went to work on it right away, and I started the drive out to Clermont to kill time but he called to say he was done before I got there. Drove back and we talked about trombone nerd stuff for a bit, thanked him for his work, and drove home.

Where I proceeded to eat lunch, pack for Epic tomorrow, and screw up my courage to call the music coordinator. He did not answer so I left a message. And then I did nothing for the rest of the day because I felt discouraged, annoyed, and put out. I HATE being in limbo, it drives me absolutely bonkers. This should be a set job. I should not be fretting to this extent. But three months of silence plus having to turn down another offer, while trying to patiently wait to hear from someone...it's really, really hard for me in ways and on levels that I can't describe. It makes me absolutely squirm inside.

Jameson was also in a bit of a funk probably for the same reason, as he's supposed to hear back about his job interview tomorrow. We binge-watched three episodes of Traitors and went to bed early, knowing it would be hard to fall asleep anxious.

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Thursday: Epic, followed by my bass trombone lesson. I hope Will isn't put out when I show up with my show makeup on lol.

Friday: Epic again...and Jameson will get to see the park, and my show!!! I am nervous and excited. He will get to see more of the park than I ever will, too, and I'm jealous of that.

Saturday: A day off. I'll have to do a lot of transcription.

Sunday: Filling in at the Magic Kingdom. I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, Monday. A day off.

Jameson had jury duty. He was up at 6, so I figured why not also get up at 6 and do transcription.

I plugged away until noon with a few breaks. Jameson was back before lunch, and the jury ended up dismissed because the case wasn't ready to go forward, so now he's fulfilled his "civic duty" or whatever for at least a year. Yay! Also see, he was nervous for nothing :p

We had lunch together, then I practiced bass while he went out to find new pillows and get groceries. Then he worked and I went back to transcription, with breaks to pester him and eat little snacks.

In the evening Jameson had made plans with a friend, so while he did that I had a half-naughty-half-responsible dinner of vegetables, lean chicken...and the whopping big apple muffin I'd gotten from Universal last week (I'd frozen it.) Then since it was so nice out, I took myself for a walk. It was very windy and the clouds were fluffy and pink, and this made me think of my mom.

She has been gone for over 20 years now. And now that my dad is gone too, I'm realizing that there are some things that I remember about her that no one else does. Not even my younger siblings or my aunt. Of course, they have memories that I don't share either because we were all with her at different points in her timeline.

A sampling of things that I remember, that no one else does:

     - The little "lunch parties" she used to hold for the neighborhood kids. We'd have peanut butter pinwheels, ham and cheese "sailboats," and play games like musical chairs or pin-the-tail. No computers then, so we had story time or sang along with Sesame Street cassettes.

     - For some reason she really had a thing for steamed artichoke leaves and Hollandaise sauce while I was still a toddler. I remember how stinky the kitchen was after the bulbs(?) flowers(?) were steamed. I remember how fun it was to scrape the leaves with your teeth, and the tang of the Hollandaise with the richness of the artichoke meat.

     - The "Play-Doh" cookies that she and I used to make together, and the chocolate teddy bear cookies. My siblings don't remember these at all, and I have trouble finding recipes that replicate them.

     - A huge variety of children's books, many of which I can't remember the titles because I was too young and many of which didn't survive to be read to my younger siblings (probably discarded after my parents got divorced.) A few that I remember include Snow Lion, The Magic Friend Maker, and Donkey Donkey.

These clouds, when they are this color and shape, remind me of her because when she lived near downtown Bloomsburg she rented a house and my sister Kate and I shared a room in it. One day mom offered to paint the room however we'd like. We excitedly argued about how we'd like it, and agreed that we wanted clouds, but Kate wanted a pink sky and I wanted blue. My mom's solution was to paint two walls pink and two walls blue, with the clouds on the blue portions. She wasn't an artist but did have some small skill; my dad had gone to school for art so she likely learned things from him + she had taken 101 arts and had some concept of shading and scale. So it actually turned out really well. She shaded the clouds just like this, and that tied the pink walls in with everything nicely. And when the sun was setting it did shine into the room, making it seem like we really were looking at the sky at sunset. And then as the sky faded to black, the blue walls appeared darker too, and we put up those little pinpoint glow-in-the-dark stars which you could only see on the walls at night, and larger star-shaped ones on the ceiling.

It's a memory with strong nostalgia for me...settling into bed at sunset and watching the walls blush pinkish-purple with the fading sun...then waking up later to little pinpoints of light, hearing my sister snoring quietly in the bunk bed below.

The feelings these memories evoke are complex and hard to describe. But I guess it doesn't matter.
Today's sky, and the gusty cool breeze, gave me thoughts and feelings, and a good walk.


Back home, lavender tea and anime.

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Tuesday, my body wanted to sleep later but I had to make it get up.

More transcription. Upping my workload by an additional audio-hour means 4 actual-hours of work. Plus not being able to transcribe at Epic anymore, and suddenly my time seems limited.

A break for lunch, trombone practice, and grocery for dinner ingredients. I'd planned to make an Asian-inspired meatloaf from a cookbook my sis got me, but Publix didn't have all of what I needed, so chose a NYTCooking recipe instead.

One cool thing that happened today, while I was frantically transcribing, was the Disneyland Band paying a visit to the Main Street Philharmonic! How cool it must have been to hear both bands performing, and see them together! Many of my friends went, and I felt left out and jealous. If this had happened next week I definitely could've gone Ah well.

What a great group photo!

(photo courtesy WDW Cast & Community on fb)

It made me think of the time in the circus when the Red Unit and Blue Unit shared a train yard...a super rare occurrence. Everybody was mingling, swapping hard drives, exploring each others' trains...it was so much fun! I hope today was just as fun for these guys (and the two ladies in the Blue band.)

Oh also, before anyone asks and makes me say it again: I am a substitute musician with the Main Street Philharmonic. This is the same thing as being a substitute teacher for a school; you're only called to work when a regular person is out sick or on vacation or whatever. So I would not have been asked to be part of this day. I could have gone as a guest, but declined so I could finish my work.

Dinner was a lean turkey meatloaf from NYTCooking, with mashed potatoes and green beans. I used my leftover garlic bread butter in the mashed potatoes and that was awesome. The meatloaf was actually extremely good, it includes shredded apple to keep the lean turkey moist. Considering how healthy it is compared to beef meatloaf and how much Jameson enjoyed it, I'll definitely be making it again.

As I was packing for Epic tomorrow, my aunt messaged to ask if she could come visit us in April! I am so excited!! She'll only stay for a few days but I want to take her to Disney of course, and she can relax in our pool, and I'm gonna cook at least one meal for her. What to make...

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...aaaand first thing in the morning I realized that my schedule for Epic, for the week that my aunt wants to visit hasn't been written. Crap!!

I reached out to the scheduler and of course the other two ladies will be out of town or on other gigs, one for the first half of the week and the other for the second half, such that the ONLY days that I'd HAVE to work would be the two days my aunt wanted to come. CRAP!!!

I was so embarrassed because she'd already booked her flights and I had to ask her to cancel them. Hoping that she can come down another week, but who knows because my schedule is so damn chaotic. It's a big reason why I don't see most of my family :(

Well, after that I drove to the park and got through security and did my makeup and got into costume.
We had a normal day of sets but our prop is broken so we had to do our "no prop" alternative script.
It is not hard, but feels awkward without the prop. We had small crowds today so maybe let's just count it as a rehearsal.

Back home I found out that one of Jameson's friends has gotten him into an Epic preview day!!! And on a day that I'm performing!!! I am excited for him (and a bit jealous, I doubt I'll get to actually experience the park at this point.) And can't wait for him to see our show AND the other amazing shows! And eat the food!! And, and...!!

It's next week, so I'll look forward to seeing him in the park!! Eeeeeeeeee!!

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Thursday: Mostly a free day + bass trombone lesson with Will.

Friday: Day at Epic.

Saturday and Sunday: Days off. The usual day off stuff.

Thursday at Epic Universe again.

Today we had Warner Bros. "audits," which only meant that a lot of execs were at our first show specifically to review it and give feedback. Some of us were likely quivering in our boots, but ultimately only three of us would perform, and they of course chose Mariah (trombone), Adam (trumpet), and Adrian (clarinet). They're the preferred group, so we call them "the PR trio."

This was our first time seeing Mariah in costume and she ROCKED it. Especially the hat, now that I've worked at a hat shop I can see that the shape of it suits her face shape very well. Mariah is black, and the color of the suit is flattering against her skin tone. I was a bit jealous but costumes can't suit everyone who wears them, and this one is totally meant for her!

The PR Trio did all of the shows, all day. Which makes sense...why make costumes drag ALL of our costumes out, or put us ALL in makeup? But the rest of us sadly ended up doing nearly nothing all day. Yes we were paid, but it felt awkward that three of us were doing all the work and six of us were just sort of sitting around reviewing lines and blocking. I should appreciate the down time; we will get our turn.
(Fun fact: this happens in orchestra/theater pits as well, usually during rehearsals when actors and lighting/techs get bogged down in rehearsing stuff and forget that there are ten people below the stage who have done nothing for four hours. So it isn't uncommon or exclusive to Universal, performance arts just be that way sometimes.)


(The Epic Universe ad that aired during the Super Bowl)

After lunch we had a really exciting event: we got to see the stage show, Le Cirque Arcanus!!

(photo courtesy allears.net)

It was INCREDIBLE. I mean...here is where Disney is going to be strapped to come up with something that can compete. As usual I daren't share details, but the technology and staging and animatronics and puppetry and visuals and live performers, all coming together in this show, are STUNNING. I've never seen anything like it. You could actually believe you were watching wizarding magic being performed right in front of you. Really REALLY grateful that they let us see it today. Once the park is open we probably won't get another chance.

After that there was one more show, and we were pretty much done for the day.
I hadn't gotten to play my frankenbone other than to warm up, but Andrea is willing to use it as well since she also doesn't want her personal trombone to be used with our prop. Therefore I left Frankenbone in the green room tucked in a corner, and it will live there for any of us to use as needed, with our own mouthpieces of course and cleaning it regularly.

Before leaving today Mariah and I made a point to have a little photoshoot at the Epic Universe countdown clock.
We were denied a full-cast photo here last week, but Universal has since backtracked on that decision and started allowing pics here. It looks like it's too late for a full-cast photo now since too many people will be missing, so we figured at least we could get individual shots.

Just me, with the timeclock and wearing my Epic badge.


Mariah and I cheesing together:



Back home I packed meals as usual, practiced bass trombone, did a load of laundry, then got a bug up my butt to do more since Jameson was out watching our friend Lea perform in a show. After laundry I washed and changed our bedsheets, memorized some Disney music, and scrubbed the shower with a horrifically smelly bleach-based cleaner that Reddit says is the absolute best but warned me to ventilate to the extreme. Even with the vent fan on in the bathroom my eyes and throat were burning, so I had to open the door out to the pool deck and hold my breath while scrubbing away. Florida is very humid and mold and mildew reappear so quickly no matter how hard I scrub. When I was finished it really did look better, but I can only handle suffocating like that maybe 2-3 times a year. So it had better keep the mold away for a long time.

When Jameson got home I told him of my doings and we went right to bed.

Almost forgot, Andrea, the third female trombonist at Epic, got me an Easter gig! Usually I do the cathedral downtown in Orlando but they haven't asked yet. I'm grateful that she asked me :)

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Friday and another day at Epic. This time I was the one in costume and performing sets, which is good because I want the practice and also PR trio needs a break after they did all of the shows yesterday!

Our first set was canceled partly because @bioreconstruct was back, circling in his chartered helicopter. Now that previews are happening the park and everyone in it are behaving as though it's open for business, so there are people in costume and interactives and performances happening all over. There are still a lot of things that Universal wants to keep secret until the big reveal, and we are one of those things. So we ducked under an archway and waited, and waited. Additionally, there was a malfunction with our entrance door that probably ultimately led to the cancellation.

The rest of our sets went very well. We are getting used to working with our prop, interacting, and even the new changes that we've just learned in the past few days. I am getting used to how the costume feels, and learning how long it takes to get in and out of costume/makeup each day. And my "frankenbone," although it's not as fun to play as my own horn, will work for this show.

You know, I think we might be ready to do real shows! It feels like just yesterday we were panicking about memorizing our music. Time flies.

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Before our last set of the day, we were given something really special.
Our 3rd party boss had us get out of costume, then took us into the park.
He took us to our performance spot.
I wasn't sure what was happening, but he looked SO EXCITED.

Cosme Acajor's wand shop is right next to our performance space...

(Image from Harry Potter Fandom Wiki)

With a huge smile, he opened the door to the wand shop and said, "Go on in....pick out your wands!"

That's right: they bought us our very own wands today!!!!

(The nine never-before-released wand options at Cosme Acajor.)

It was overwhelming, suddenly faced with the very personal choice of which wand is "meant" for you! And there were so many to choose from. Cosme's new-release wands are displayed beautifully in the shop, each one on an ornate stand and bearing a description of materials and personal characteristics that may be a good match for the wand. In addition to these, there are character wands "imported" from Ollivander's (Harry's wand, Newt Scamander's, Snape's, Dumbledore's, Death Eater wands, etc) available for purchase. The Ollivander's wands are sold in rectangular boxes, and the Cosme wands in triangles ("prisms.")

After gawking like a tourist I just started popping open boxes to see what the wands looked like, because there were at least 20 different Ollivander's wands to choose from. I was tempted by Skender's wand as it's circus-related, but he was a bad guy known for chaining up animals so decided against. Tempted also by the Cosme black-and-silver Deco wand (the one that I'd thought suited my show character) but it had ultimately been designated to the clarinets' character, so I passed on that too. My character's wand, incidentally, was nowhere to be seen in the shop, but if I want to go get it I've got a gift receipt and could do an exchange.

In the moment and a little overwhelmed by choice, I decided to a) look for a wand that suited me as opposed to my park character, and b) strongly consider the Cosme wands as they are the ones that are actually from the "world" where I'm working. I did in fact end up with a Cosme wand, and although I felt a little dubious about it at the time, the more I look at it the more appropriate it seems.

Can you guess which of the nine Cosme wands I chose?

When we had all checked out we thanked our boss profusely. These wands are not cheap, and they are beautiful, and the fact that he was able to arrange for us to own one even though we are 3rd party is incredibly generous and kind. I am not a Wizarding World fan, but very much appreciate the gesture and having a memento of my time here at Epic Universe, however long that turns out to be.

With that, we performed our final set, got out of costume, and headed home.
On the way out we took a group photo in front of the time clock. Not everyone was present but it was still really nice.
Congrats on making it to Preview Week, everyone!


Some folks went to Top Golf for a fun night out, but I have so much to do that I had to pass.
Instead, Whole Paycheck for salmon dinner ingredients, then home to unpack and tell Jameson about my exciting day.
Practicing trombone, receiving a new transcription job, and making plans for my days off before going to bed.

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Up early but spent a lot of time responding to social media messages, as I've just shared that I'm working at Epic publicly for the first time. Everyone has a zillion questions about the new park, which isn't surprising but is a bit annoying when anyone could google the basic info....well anyway.

After that I had my tax meeting, and found out that I'll be breaking even this year, which is just fine by me.

Then made the dill sauce for salmon tonight, and decided to make some carrot cake muffins using leftover matchstick carrots. I used Half-Baked Harvest's recipe, which is semi-healthy and she has you drop a cube of cream cheese into the center of each muffin which should be lovely. I made them today because Jameson is going to a Savannah Bananas baseball game tomorrow with his friend Hannah, and they have to leave early, and I figure they could take some muffins with them to enjoy on the drive :)


Then lunch, and cleaning up from that took a little while so by the time I sat down to do more transcription it was already 2pm. For dinner I made sous vide salmon with dill sauce, creamy lemon orzo, and roasted asparagus. It turned out quite good.

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Sunday, up early after a crummy sleep to do transcription.

Jameson got up shortly after, and his friend Hannah came to the house so they could leave for the Savannah Bananas game in Miami together. It's 8 hours round-trip driving, so I packed them some muffins to go with their other snacks and they left around 10am.

After they were gone I had quite the productive Alone Day:

     - About 2 hours of transcription
     - 1 hour trombone practice
     - Packing meals, clothes, and equipment for Epic tomorrow
     - Vacuumed, dusted, and mopped, which took quite a long time as I haven't done it in a while and was very thorough about it
     - Shopped for misc things like Tupperware to replace ones that broke recently, new underwear, and random household supplies
     - Shopped for crummy trombones on Goodwill so we'd have more than one at Epic (why I'm the one who has to do this is beyond me, but whatever)

By the time all of that was done it was 5pm, so made myself leftovers and a cup of tea and enjoyed typing this post and a little down time.

Tomorrow will be a very early Epic day, but Dwight is gone again so I think it'll just be our sets and hopefully ending at 4pm instead of 6pm. Also, I'm going to start bass trombone lessons this week! Excited and nervous, but looking forward to getting better at the bass trombone.

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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: An Epic-Disney sandwich, with two Epic days flanking a Disney day. I'll be bringing my transcription work with me too.

Thursday: The first of FOUR WHOLE DAYS OFF IN A ROW. I'll finish transcription, do more household stuff, take my first bass trombone lessons, and cook us some nice meals.