goofball on a train

Monday, up early again for transcription. It was raining hard and looking like an all day rain, which is wonderful as we've been in a drought.

I transcribed and had breakfast, then shot over to Walmart for cough drops for Jameson and some special ice creams that we've been waiting to appear on shelves! Pop Tart ice cream sandwiches, and Butterfinger bars!


We have also been waiting for Rice Krispy Treat ice cream sandwiches and Eggo Waffle ice cream, but those have not been forthcoming yet :p Ah, it's good to be bad!

Back home to show the haul to Jameson. He was in the process of getting more info from Disney about his new job. He'll receive a work-only cell phone and a work laptop, his choice of Mac or PC. They are also working on setting up a music studio for his use. How official! How awesome!

The rest of my day was just plugging away at transcription. I was able to get most of it done, but even with going at it for 6-7 hours today I'll still have to spend 3 hours on the review and edit tomorrow. Argh. Didn't get to go for a walk or practice or plan dinner. We ordered taco salads and tried the Butterfinger bars. They are very good and were worth buying.

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Tuesday, up at 6am to finish transcribing and start the review process. I hate to get up so early on one of my few days that I COULD sleep in, but there is so much that I should be doing BESIDES transcription, and I need it out of my face.

So, coffee and an hour of typing followed by breakfast and almost four straight hours of poring over text and audio to catch errors. With breaks to pee and stretch and chat with Jameson, I finished it all at 11:30 and submitted the one job that's due 48 hours from now. The others I'll submit on one of the Epic days.

That out of the way, still a lot to do. To the grocery for dinner ingredients, then lunch. Packing meals for Epic, practicing for an hour, taking down my listings for my old trombone stuff and dragging said stuff out to the curb for bulk pickup tomorrow.

In the middle of all that I got a nice notice from LJ, about having won a year of professional service from participating in the LJ Birthday hashtag thing:



This is very nice, and I'm grateful :)
Because I'm American and can't pay like I ought to, I'd hoped to win, and put significant effort into the entry.
Just wish that I could pay and not be a leech, and not have to worry about it!

For dinner I made us a buffalo chicken recipe from Half-Baked Harvest that Jameson likes a lot.


He startled me several times today by laughing, humming to himself, openly smiling, and generally being chipper.
It's been so long since he's been actually happy about something that I forgot what it's like!

That makes me sad. But that's clinical depression.
Long-term. Hard to break out of. Always lurking, even when by all appearances things are going well.

He basically hasn't had employment-based validation since the pandemic.
And on top of that, his body has been betraying him these past few years (kidney stones, hernia, arm muscle atrophy and surgery.)
And on top of THAT, constant job rejections and interviews that led to nowhere.
All of this led to this depression in him, that has lasted for YEARS.

Like Jameson, I also get a lot of personal value from my work. Unlike him, I can glean validation from most any TYPE of work as long as it's useful to society OR I am appreciated on some level by bosses and colleagues. But Jameson has specific expectations of himself, or needs more specific validation...I don't fully understand, I just know that he needs something that he hasn't been getting since 2019.

For now, I'm grateful to have The Real Jameson back for a bit. I hope he sticks around longer this time :)

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Wednesday...

7 DAYS UNTIL EPIC UNIVERSE IS OPEN.

It seems like just yesterday we were crowding into orientation, excited and nervous, wondering how we were gonna memorize all that music, shocked that we were also being asked to ACT and do CHOREOGRAPHY. In just a few days this park will be officially complete and open; the rehearsal period will be over, and a new phase will begin.

It's been an amazing journey. I'm so grateful to be a part of this massive, exciting new theme park!!

---    ---    ---    ---    ---   

I drove straight to Epic and practiced bass trombone.

Right as I was wrapping up, Jameson sent a picture of his official offer letter for the position of Producer with Disney Event Group. He'd gotten it, and a contract to sign, this morning.

(this is the logo used at the top of his offer letter.)

Just a few hours after that, I received the American Federation of Musicians official contract for Beauty and the Beast.
Took a picture and sent it to Jameson. Signed it and sent it off.

Wow.
Life is SO STRANGE.

We are so, so fortunate.
Not only do we get to experience these monumental career highs...
...we also get to do it at the same time, and with the same company!!!

No matter what happens next, no one can take this moment away from us :)

---    ---    ---    ---    ---   

My day was normal otherwise. It was hot and sunny, we did all of our sets without the cart or Plume. The cart is supposed to be back with us by Saturday, so that's good.

Partway through the day Universal announced that they'll be livestreaming a special Grand Opening event on the night of the 21st, starting at 7pm EST.


We knew that there was an event planned; I'd already been scheduled to work that day and was asked to stay and perform three additional sets for a bit of extra money. So I'll be there for whatever happens, though I won't get to see much because I'll be working. YOU can watch the whole thing, though! I hope whatever-it-is is really cool!!

Additionally, I got a detailed route sheet from Beauty and the Beast. It's a document that shows which hotels we'll be staying in on tour, whether we'll be taking buses or flights between cities, and other small details like rehearsal days and some venue info.


I need this info to complete my Foodie Finds, but also to help plan whether or not to take buyouts and book my own travel or housing. And also, receiving this kind of detailed info really locks you into a tour; they only give it to people who WILL be traveling with them. It's a huge security risk otherwise. So, all of this makes everything REAL. It's really happening! I know I keep saying that but it's been so hard to believe without a scrap of paperwork.

(Regarding tour buyouts: When on tour, the production company books hotel rooms for the entire traveling company, but sometimes people want to visit with relatives, save money by pooling on an Airbnb, rent a car instead of riding the company bus, etc. To accommodate this, the company offers what's called a buyout, where you let them know that you want to book your own shit in X city and they give you the money that they would've spent on your housing or travel. It's really convenient!)

There are a few things in this BATB info that tells me this tour will be different, in a good way.
One of those is that we MIGHT get our own storage boxes that will travel by truck!!
That means I could bring more than what fits in my luggage! What a luxury!

The other thing is that nearly all of the hotels are EXTENDED STAY.
That means REAL REFRIGERATORS!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!

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Thursday: Another day at Epic.

Friday: Jameson and I celebrate our career success with a day at Hollywood Studios!

Saturday: Lots to do, but hopefully catching a little bit of rest too.

Sunday: Day with Disney and the Main Street Phil :)

Finally, I can share:

I will be joining the all-new Beauty and the Beast national tour!!


Cities list and tickets will be HERE for anyone interested.

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I think most of you kind of knew about this already because it was so hard for me to keep my mouth shut haha.
I was offered the trombone chair way back in December!
Today a casting announcement went up, so it’s finally public :)

Australian promo video. The show premiered in the West End and is now in Australia through July.
This is an all-new edition: new costumes and new orchestrations!



I want to explain a little bit why this tour is different from others I’ve done.

Think about The Lion King.
It's both on Broadway in New York, and on tour.

The Lion King national tour has been running for 23 years.

(image courtesy London Theatre)

I don't expect BATB to run for THAT long.
But the schedule that I was handed goes at least to 2027.
It DEFINITELY has the potential to go for years more.

Additionally it's a union tour, produced and managed exclusively by Disney.
That is a higher production value--and pay scale--than any other tour I've ever been involved in.

And finally, if they like my work, there is so much potential to be called for even more Disney musical opportunities. On tour, internationally, AND on actual Broadway in New York City.

Hercules the Musical is currently opening in the West End.
There is a Tangled musical being written right now.

You know?

I promise, I am not just playing this up to be a big deal.
It IS a big deal, for any musician.
It is potentially life-changing for me.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---   

On one had, I am very intimidated and terrified.

Most of these people have never heard me play before.
What if I'm not good enough?
There is a layoff right away in Chicago in July.
They could easily replace me at that time if they don't care for my playing.
Of course I can't control that, and worrying about it accomplishes nothing.

To be asked to perform with a tour of this level is currently the biggest accomplishment of my entire musical career.
Terrified and worried about it as I may be, every day I remember:

They could have asked anyone. And they asked me.

And THAT has already been given, and cannot be taken away from me.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---    

Warning: at some point I'll probably write a really sappy navelgaze post about all the struggles and hardships, the experiences and relationships and connections, that ultimately got me to this point in my career. But for today, it's enough to say that I'm gonna get to play Beauty and the Beast!!

By the time you are reading this it will be May. (Unless you are reading this on DW.)

FINALLY.

April felt like it took forever.

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Monday. I was awake at 6am for reasons unknown. Tried to go back to sleep but was restless.
Having "too many" days off in a row does this to me sometimes. Guilt about not doing more with my time.
Also, specific anxiousness today about Jameson's Disney interview.

I could tell he was anxious too because while he didn't roll around in bed much, he did get up at 8am which is quite early for him.

I kind of wibbled around aimlessly today while Jameson worked. Went out to get bagels, listed one or two things for sale on Ebay, and that's about it. I didn't want to start bleaching the shower until after he'd left, same with practicing. We ate lunch together, then he got dressed in a nice black shirt and khakis and I hugged him and wished him luck, and he nervously made his way to wherever Disney Event Group was holding their interviews.

As soon as he left I got to work on the shower. Working with bleach is hell and a half, the fumes are horrific no matter what I do (had the fan on and the door open and left the room several times and STILL got a headache. But the stupid shower is clean.) Tried to practice but the headache made it difficult, then I was interrupted multiple times by people at the door and phone calls from my bank (investment surveys) and Place Cachee Jazz updates, so I finally gave up and called it quits after 30 minutes.

Jameson was home sooner than expected, and told me all about his interview. It seemed to go well, and he is feeling positive about it, but he is realistic in the understanding that he may not get the job anyway as there were many other candidates. I just want him to get a win for once. He's worked SO HARD.

He had to work some more and my headache was getting worse before it was getting better, so I laid down quietly to read my book while he tried to undo the mess his boss had made of his work recently. At dinnertime I felt much better. We went to Publix so he could get groceries and we could both grab dinner. There was an "LJ26" prompt which involved writing about holidays/celebrations, so I did that because it was a slow day and because I hope to wring another year of paid services from LJ despite not being able to pay for a dang thing :( I hate politics.

Around 8:30 poor Jameson's day was not over, he had sound check for his performances with The Hooligans at Epcot this week. Since I had been a good-for-nothing all day I continued the trend by lying on my stomach and watching anime until he came home.

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Tuesday, I managed to stay in bed until 7:30 but had still been awake at 6am.

Breakfast and packed meals for Epic tomorrow.
Practiced bass for a bit and worked on Foodie Finds.
Avoided eating lunch because I wanted to be able to eat more at Epcot later, so just snacked instead.

Around 2 I hit the road and went bouncing into Epcot. Yay!
CLICK HERE for video of the EPCOT fountain. Sorry that DreamWidth can't be bothered to allow embedding.

These half-fake topiaries are cute. I say "half-fake" because there ARE real flowers added to most of them, but they're mostly artificial.


A dragon topiary outside Japan.


I first went to Honey Bee-stro for one of the treats I wanted to try.
Honey-glazed Cauliflower with Honey-roasted Carrot Purée, Wild Rice Pilaf, Spring Vegetables, Honey-blistered Grapes, and Sunflower Brittle.


Most foodie reviews I'd read had mentioned it, and it absolutely lived up to the hype.
If you're a fan of texture you'll love this. Crisped roasted cauliflower with a smoky, somewhat spicy seasoning; sweet juicy grapes; chewy and earthy rice; fresh veggies. And then the sweet and delicious carrot puree was like a sauce for all of it. All topped with crunchy, nutty sunflower brittle which I could have eaten an entire bag of by itself. So glad I read the reviews because this was totally worth getting!

Next I sort of backtracked because I wanted to ride Living with the Land.
I couldn't remember if I'd ever ridden it, and if I had it would have been when I was 12 years old.
The ride did seem familiar, especially the thunderstorm scene at the beginning, but truthfully I'm still not sure if that was my first time riding it or not!

If you've never ridden this one, it's just a slow relaxing boat ride through Disney's greenhouses and a whole bunch of faux "climate zones" such as a forest, a desert, a rainforest, and an American farm.

The faux landscapes, with little animatronic chickens and monkeys and whatnot, made me wonder how on earth Disney is going to answer to the cutting edge technology on full display over at Epic Universe. They will HAVE to DO SOMETHING.

That said, the greenhouse is very impressive. All the different gardening techniques on display, and REAL fruits and vegetables growing! I am still sad to have missed out on the giant tomato plant; in it's place was some sort of chayote I think? At least, that was the biggest vining plant that I saw aside from the cucumbers. Speaking of the cucumbers, they were GIGANTIC and very cool to see.

There's a Hidden Mickey in the shrimp tank as well! Ssssh.

From there I wandered a bit, enjoying the Garden Festival displays like a butterfly tent and the various floral installations.
CLICK HERE for some video

I had a glass of sauvignon blanc from Canada, and a strawberry nigori sake from Japan.


For dinner I returned to Honey Beestro for the chicken & waffles.
The chicken was pretty standard, and it was a thigh which I was bummed about as it was more stringy and fatty than I would've liked. But the flavors were on point, especially the little dollop of honey butter on top and the slightly-spiced honey drizzle. Yum! The cornbread waffle had jalapeno bits in it and was VERY good.

(photo courtesy wanderandwilde because I ate mine without time for a photoshoot)

From there I had to hustle back to the stage in America, which was all the way on the other side of World Showcase.
Jameson / The Hooligans had sets at 5:30, 6:45, and 8pm. I went to all of them and cheered as much as I could!

CLICK HERE for a short video of Jameson performing!



Jameson's friend Tracy joined me for the last set, along with more friends whose names I don’t know. We had fun cheering together, and when the sets were finished we went to the American bar and each got a drink before the park closed.


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Wednesday, I was up sooo early for work at Epic.
Went to Whole Paycheck first for the few things I like to get from there, then as I threw my car in park at Epic, realized I'd taken my ID badge out of my bag last night, switching it out for my Disney ID...and had never switched them back. Argh! Had to text my manager and have him come rescue me. How embarrassing! (Literally this happens to everyone at least once though I promise)

From there it was a normal day. I practiced bass and made sure to drink a full bottle of water before my workday began since I'd been out drinking and tromping around in the heat yesterday. All of our sets went well, but now that it's Actual Guests in the park, we are already having problems with people walking directly onto our set WHILE we're doing a show. Today we had a drunk guy get behind us and start dancing, and at another set some kid was doing a livestream and started getting all up in our faces for it, and had to be threatened with calling security before he finally stormed off. One of our handlers also had to face an adult tantrum from a guest who refused to clear out of our performance space ahead of our set.

Watching people behaving as animals before the park is even open doesn't give me much hope for the future of humanity, folks.

But to be fair, MOST people were lovely, watched our set and enjoyed it, and seemed to be having a great day in this exciting new park. So that's good :)

When I got home Jameson was at his Epcot gig. I did laundry, packed meals for tomorrow, scraped my makeup off, responded to misc emails, and typed this post up. Now Jameson is on his way home and I'm splatted on the floor because it feels nice.

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Thursday: Working at Epic followed by my last bass trombone lesson with Will.

Friday through Sunday: Days off. I was able to get TWO Disney rehearsal days so there will be much tenor and bass trombone practice, cooking, and prep for tour.

Monday, up early for Epic.

It was a fairly normal day, except now people can record us. Crowds were thin but I think it's because most rides and shows are actually up and running, so people don't need to loaf about under the blazing sun when they could be, you know, petting dragons and such.

There was a snippet video of us posted later on, not the full show, just some nice highlights.
This is the first public footage of me performing with Place Cachee Jazz!
(the timestamp is 14:04 if the video doesn't automatically start there)



Between shows I practiced a little, but there still just isn't time for it...by the time I get everything set up I've only got 10 minutes to play. If there were a dedicated warm-up room I could leave my things there, but there isn't.

After work, Whole Paycheck for the hot bar and some favorites (tofu bites, Koia shakes) before booking it home to pack for tomorrow and practice bass.

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Tuesday, Epic again.

It was a bit drizzly in the morning which made it cooler :)

We did one show without the cart (mostly to protect Plume the puffskein from drizzle) and the rest were with the cart. All of the shows went well, though some were a bit underattended.

TMI WARNING (nothing explicit, just talk about "gut stuff")
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I also felt malaise during the second-to-last show, it felt like either my usual nerves/stress physical reaction or something that I ate causing abdominal cramps, or perhaps both. Sometimes this happens. I've suspected for a while that I've got stress-related IBS or something similar, but since I don't feel nauseous, stop eating, or lose weight due to these episodes, I generally ignore them. A buildup of stress? A reaction to something I ate? Something more sinister? As a Millennial American, I have no financial way of knowing unless it becomes a medical emergency or starts significantly disrupting my daily life. It must be nice to have the privilege of simply seeing a doctor when you don't feel well. What must that be like! Only my parents and grandparents got to enjoy that before pulling the ladder up behind them.
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Rant over...but not really.
I'll probably die from something completely preventable, thanks to this, so will never not be angry about it.
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Anyway, it was a normal day and I drove straight home afterward. It took me a while to pack breakfast, lunch, dinner, and clothing for Disney tomorrow, and afterward I wanted to rest and make sure I'm not getting sick (based on tmi events above.) Ate dinner and dessert just fine...who knows.

Also, on the way home I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the workings of immigration court. I was gratified to hear the host describe the details of the work I've been doing for the past several months. It also made me worried, for the first time, about what it means that immigration trials are currently on hold. And with Trump deporting people like he's doing. That's peoples' rights on hold.

Not for my sake at all...I really hope that immigration hearings resume soon. Because people who come to this country are supposed to have rights. And if these cases DON'T resume....it's pretty damn bad sign.

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I got to sleep in a bit later, 7:30am!
A relaxing morning of breakfast and seeing Jameson off to the gym, then I left for the Magic Kingdom.

The weather was calm and clear, not too hot even, and attendance was clearly up. We had great crowds all day!

Apparently Wednesdays are when the Dapper Dans rehearse under the Castle. They were with us in the warm-up room all day (not the group performing in the park that day, but a different set of four guys, possibly subs.) This meant that the band guys mostly stuck to their man-cave break room, and I stayed in the warm-up room because to me that IS the break room. The Dappers didn't mind at all, so I got to enjoy sitting quietly between sets and listening to their lovely harmonies all day :)

Here's a clip of them in the park.
(For those who are LJ or DW Friends, you'll get to see a video of their actual rehearsal today in a separate Friends Only post!)



We added "Heigh-Ho" to the parade music, and it went quite well. I was glad I'd memorized it in time.
Overall a really nice day.

Small introspection: it is a wondrous thing to be working at two amusement parks right now, one old and one new.
I've possibly mentioned this in previous posts, but felt it again today.

At Epic, everything is frantic with the energy and chaos of a new park about to open.
Everything is innovative and novel, the landscape is constantly changing, excitement is high, things are moving quickly.
There is an incredible undertow of hope and anticipation.
It is stressful, but also exciting.
There is a feeling of being a pioneer of sorts...every day I am aware that I am one of the first to walk these halls, to ride these rides, to look upon this newly-made "world."
My voice--the sound of my instrument--is one of the first to echo in the Ministry of Magic.
Those who work here, right now, are the first to call this park "home."
There's a wonderful feeling of pride to be a part of this new venture, a phenomenon about to be revealed that will surprise and delight millions, and touch the hearts of people around the world.
Memories waiting to be made. A legacy waiting to be written.

(photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel)

And then the next day I'm at Disney, riding the employee bus to the Castle.
The bus drivers are chill and friendly, take time to smile and greet everyone, and in return employees wave and shout, "Thank you!" as they get on off the bus.
Everyone walks patiently into the Utilidors, chatting and clocking in, most already in costume.
Nothing seems rushed or frantic; routines here are established.
Everyone knows their role and if they don't they've got someone to guide them.
The floor is worn, worn, worn by the feet of thousands of Castmembers before us.
The walls are covered in the legacy of Walt Disney...his image, his art, his innovations new and old.
Decades of memories. A legacy writ so deep that it has become a part of human existence.
There is a feeling of pride equally deep...of being part of an old magic, a cherished treasure passed down like an heirloom through time and space.
There is a feeling of belonging.

(photo courtesy AllEars.net)

Both places have such strong magic.
Standing with one foot in each world, as I'm doing, leaves me awestruck when I stop to think about it.

What a treasure.

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Thursday: "Day off" for me, so catching up on housework and practicing AND supporting Jameson as he has another interview with DEG today!

Friday: Epic Universe, but rehearsal is at NIGHT for the first time! I can't wait to see Place Cachee all lit up :)

Saturday: Day off, supposedly meeting with someone to talk about bass trombone mutes.

Sunday: I picked up another day at the Magic Kingdom, hooray!!

Monday was a "day off."
I was supposed to be at Epic, but someone somewhere messed up our schedule and we ended up with two PAID days off. Whee!!

Jameson was up early for physical therapy, so I got up early too to finish transcribing.
I started off strong but after Jameson left I decided to vacuum, dust, touch-up clean the shower with bleach, then finally bit the bullet and went shopping on macofalltrades.com for a refurbished iPad.

I use my iPad for most gigs. Musicians can easily airdrop music PDFs to each other, and it's easy for me to upload big Dropbox folders to ForScore. Right now I have all of my Disney music on my iPad, plus my Easter gig music and Steamboat Lillies gig music, all of my bass trombone stuff, and a load of show music and ancient Real Books that I don't want to lose.

My iPad is an ORIGINAL iPad Air! It's so old that there have been no updates for it for a long time, and I have to keep it in Airplane Mode otherwise it will freeze up. But lately it's been freezing up anyway, and the battery barely lasts a full day anymore, and I can't even sell it on trade-in because nobody will buy it. Time to ditch it before it crashes and I lose everything.

Anyway, spent $$$ on a 13" Air, and was trying to go back to transcription when I got bombarded with texts from one of the musicians on the upcoming tour I'm signed with. She was having a freakout just like I had a few days ago!

Had I heard anything new?
Why don't we have music yet?
Have I tried reaching out to anyone?

I was delighted to hear from her! See, I'm NOT an overreacting Karen after all! Three months IS far too long to keep your employees in the dark, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I was able to share with her all of the legwork I'd done recently, and though there was little to show for it at least there was the text from the Music Coordinator saying that I'm "confirmed" on Thursday. After chatting with her I also decided to message the trombonist who's currently doing our show in Australia to ask him for a pdf of my part. I didn't want to have to do that, but feel like if we musicians don't scrounge these parts ourselves, we won't see them until a week before the gig when management finally gets around to it.

After that it was time for lunch, then I had to cook some beef I'd thawed, then pack lunch and dinner for Disney tomorrow. Then I FINALLY got back to transcription, but it just took so much longer than usual...it's a different type of case so there was a lot of terminology that I had to look up because it was new to me. This is why you can't assume a shorter case will be easier.

Somewhere in there, my "church eggs" arrived from Zimmerman's in Pennsylvania!


There were 18 eggs in total (I'd expected 16) and there were supposed to be 2 or 3 of each flavor from 2 different churches.
Somehow we ended up with 8 peanut butter eggs, 7 coconut eggs, and only 3 buttercream eggs (which is a big shame because those are my favorite!), and from 4 different churches to boot!


I am definitely NOT complaining! What an adorable grab bag of eggs. The woman gathering the eggs for me had sounded excited and flustered over the phone, so I think she lost her mind a little bit and just started throwing eggs in the box :) I was impressed that they all arrived intact, and after a bit of time in the fridge to firm up they'll be ready to enjoy. I made sure to write the store a good review on Google. This is the first time I'll have real "church eggs" for Easter since I was a little girl, and I'm so grateful that this person was willing to send them to us.

Even after dinner I had to continue transcription, but finally completed it (there is still the audio review to do, sigh.)

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Tuesday, rehearsal day at the Magic Kingdom!


For a rehearsal day, I'm not filling in for anyone, so the day is based around any music that needs to be worked on or any practice that I want to get in on any aspect of the gig. We start with a 10am play-through of lesser-used pieces. Today we had two new ones which our boss wants to incorporate into the parades, "Heigh-Ho" and "You Can Fly." They were quite easy and after the play-through I decided to focus on memorizing them by the end of the day. I more or less did that (will have to solidify it in my head over the next few days), then went up to watch one of the band's sets, then filled in on the second parade for Keith.

I used the lunch break to practice bass as well, and that was very nice! Will was working today, so he kindly gave me pointers...I essentially got a free lesson!

After that, I decided to have a Small Adventure.
I've never walked the whole of the Utilidors below the Castle before. Why not give it a try!


(photo from pinsacrosstheworld.com)

The Utilidors are one big loop around the castle, probably about a mile long, with a central corridor cutting directly under the Castle. Also, did you know that guests can tour the Utilidors? It's called the Keys to the Kingdom Tour.

Anyway, I walked for what seemed like a long time but was only about 10 minutes. Did not see much except the utility tunnels, storage areas, a lot of engineering rooms, lockers for custodians and other types of essential staff, and lots of signage telling you where you were and where you were headed. There were some boards with general announcements, about castmember events or health screenings or what-have-you that you might see in any workspace. I reached the midpoint/corridor that slices below the Castle, but passed it and kept going.

This next part of the circle was much the same as the first, but part of it broke off into a sort of attached rectangle with some interesting offices, like Retail Merchandise Design or the fire alarm control systems for the Hall of Presidents. Here is where I found a huge chunk of hallway devoted to rare enamel pins! Specifically, hidden mickey pins.

(sample photo)



Hidden Mickey pins are NOT sold in the parks.
They are given to employees to give to guests during pin trades.
Since they are harder to get than the regular pins and a limited number are released each year, they are rare and highly collectible. And apparently, under Cinderella's Castle in the Utilidors, they keep the last several years' worth of hidden mickey pins on display!

I'm sorry I couldn't take photos, but rules is rules.

Additionally, there were many old black and white high-def photos of Walt Disney. Walking around the park, meeting with developers, waving to guests, hanging out with costumed characters, stuff like that. One of the funniest things about these photos is that Walt smoked, and was often holding a cigarette or cigar when these photos were taken...but in most of the photos they've been edited out!! I did find one, however, where he was holding a cigar :)

(photo courtesy Snopes. I couldn't take a pic of the one I saw, sorry.)

There was other stuff too, little memorials to Disney's Fire and Police/Security staff, and some blueprints and robotic parts for Tiki Room birds, stuff like that. I'm really glad I went exploring...there were some MAGICAL things to be found in the secret tunnels under the Magic Kingdom!

I left before Flag Retreat, ate dinner in the car on the way home, and caught up with Jameson before buckling down to set up my new iPad. Look how much bigger it is than my old one! I can't wait to be able to SEE my music!!


I transferred all of my music PDFs and ForScore files over...and just as I was doing that, the Australian trombonist who is currently playing the new version of the show I'm gonna be on, sent me a PDF of his book! Awesome! I can't wait to get started on it!

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Wednesday, finished my transcription job and sent it, then continued working on marking my music (highlighting mute changes, writing in cuts and edits given in emails, bookmarking pages for quick access during practice.) After lunch, grocery for dinner ingredients. I didn't practice because the next thing I had to do was watch a bootleg of my touring show and add timestamps. Without an official recording to practice with, a bootleg is the next best thing, and with timestamps I don't have to navigate a 2-hour video to find the one song I want to work on. It takes a lot of time now but is worth it.

Dinner was butter chicken meatballs, which I've made before, served with brown rice and peas.
After dinner, blowing more money on a decent saute pan. I recently bought us a cheap one and got what I paid for, the bottom is warped already. And then a case for the iPad too. As though to make up for my money flying away, our scheduler for Epic wrote to say that he needed me to cover an extra day in April. Yay!

All that aside, a quiet night. Jameson has been in a mood lately because he's covering for his boss at work, plus doing a special project, and he pulled something in his arm and it's hurting him. And he hasn't heard back from the Disney job he interviewed for last week either. Again. As usual. I'm upset for him. I don't know how to help him.

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Thursday: Lesson with Will. Misc chores and practice.

Friday & Saturday: Days “off.” Should receive more transcription work, will practice and cook.

Sunday: Disney day.

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 I was still up too early...I've been conditioned!

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

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

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

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

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Up at 5:30am for Epic.

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

...it was the butterbeer crepes!

They were SO GOOD. Essentially butterscotch crepes...but even the whipped cream was butterscotch-flavored, and the crepes were so perfect and light and thin. This one's a must-eat at Epic Universe.

(photo courtesy orlandoparkstop.com)

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, Transcription for an hour, breakfast for a half, caramels took about 90 minutes and turned out great.
Best batch I've made in a while, entirely because I was patient and didn't keep cranking the temp up.


Lunch, then packing meals for Epic and practicing bass trombone, plus Disney memorization. I only memorized one piece but that's ok, one is better than none and it's ok to start gradually. After that a snack and the other half of my Dragon's Milk beer while transcribing. Meanwhile Jameson did his own taxes, gamed, and watched the Cubs game. We were both very appreciative to have a slowish day.

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

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

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

In Epic Universe right now, this means that the restaurants and some stores are open to serve a limited menu or sell limited goods, and only to Universal employees who are working or rehearsing that day. And some of the rides are open for employees to ride, too! And of course, performers like us are being asked to put on full sets in the park to not only practice ourselves, but to test audio systems in the park and gauge audience interest and reactions.

(Stardust Racers, a dueling coasters ride in Celestial Park and probably the most visible ride in the park. Employees were able to test-ride it today! Image publicly available at universalorlando.com)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Was up and out the door for Disney at 9am.

Before that, per the teaser posted by Disney Theatrical last week, here’s who they’ve chosen to be their Belle and Beast on the national tour: Kyra Belle Johnson, and Fergie L. Philippe.



(media courtesy Disney Theatrical)

I don’t know either of them, but damn, beautiful humans and great singing voices.

At the Magic Kingdom it was business as usual starting with the morning parade, followed by a set. Both went just fine. A lot of people in the band are currently out sick or just now getting over misc illnesses, so I tried to put out good vibes and wash my hands frequently. I think it was a normal day, nothing to report except that I'm a bit rusty on this-and-that song, not surprising when one is asked to keep 20 pieces of music in one's head and pull them out only once a month or so. And I got in my 7 miles/17,000 steps.

Back home I packed food and a bag for tomorrow at Epic, and was going to practice bass, but Jameson said he felt dizzy and then spent the next hour or two throwing up :( He thinks it is food poisoning because he was feeling all right all day until dinner, but I'm keeping in mind that he's been feeling under the weather in general lately too and this could be one of the viruses floating around. When he seemed to have nothing left to "divest," I brought him ice water and a Dramamine and a bowl to puke into, and he got into bed. I dug out every anti-nausea thing that I could think of in the house, disinfected all the touch points that I could think of (doorknobs, light switches, remotes, fridge and microwave handles, countertops, etc), then spent two hours silently fighting anxiety as Jameson rested.

I am not a caretaker-type...and also, both my parents died of horrible illnesses.
Additionally, the trumpet player that I worked with on the circus had cancer and the final year before he passed, he stood next to me on the bandstand in terrible pain, and I cannot tell you what that put me through mentally and emotionally as there was nothing I could do but silently witness his suffering.

So when my loved one gets sick, my mind immediately jumps to the Worst Possible Scenario, and I am in terror that something awful is going to happen and I will be useless at the critical moment.

Therefore I was awake well into the night, and slept very fitfully in the guest bedroom, getting up every few hours to check on Jameson.
Oh, forgot to mention that today was Jameson's first day of physical therapy for his hand/arm. He said that it went well, and he's been given some exercises to do at home. He was supposed to have another session tomorrow but per the incident under the cut, he will be staying home and resting instead.

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Friday, I guess it's Valentine's Day. Not a very romantic one for us...poor Jameson.

I was up extra early so that in addition to getting ready for work, I could run to Publix for ginger ale, crackers, bread for toast, rice, low sodium broth, and applesauce with electrolytes added. (I'd have gotten Pedialyte too but Jameson can't have lots of salt so instead opted for the broth.) Before leaving for rehearsal I checked to make sure that he was all right, and left a note that if he needs me he should call right away.

Later on he was awake and well enough to do some work from home, and later still he was hungry and ate much of what I'd gotten for him. He said he wasn't nauseous at all any more, just shaky and exhausted. So it was food poisoning after all. Phew.

Meanwhile, my last day of full-time rehearsal at Epic Universe!!

(image from discoveruniversal.com, artistic rendering of Ministry of Magic at night)

As I've said many times now, this has been an incredible experience.
I have memorized new music, and learned how to act (wouldn't call myself an actress but have done more acting now than at any other point in life haha.) I've met a lot of great musicians and great people. And I have been a part of the opening of a whole new theme park. Not many people can say that!

And now that that's said....I NEED A BREAK!

Our schedule was 9am-6pm every single day for the past five weeks, and for me it was 8am-7pm if you include the hour of commute time at each end. This left me with "Me Time" of 6am-7:30am each morning, and 8pm-10pm each night, with Saturdays off. That's it. Every other waking moment has been Epic Epic Epic Epic.

I need to catch up on chores.
I need to make us healthy meals (it's been over a month since I got to cook)
I need to prepare to go on tour, including learning bass trombone and scheduling bass trombone lessons.
I need to learn another trombone part/20 more songs for Disney.
I need to start transcription work again.
I need repairs on my car and around the house.

And loads and loads more things that I can't even think of right now because I'm exhausted.

I've gotten off track with griping there, sorry.
It was our last day of full-time rehearsals. I saw people in other departments getting weepy, but we were all very decidedly dry-eyed. Our whole troupe very much needs a break from this.

We slammed through rapid-fire show runs until lunch while a helicopter circled overhead. It was @bioreconstruct, a local guy who charters a helicopter to fly over the new park and get footage of the construction. I won't link to his accounts because he's peeking into the park without permission I assume, and with the NDA I can't share his footage. But it's easy to google him and find his videos yourself if you want spoilers.

After lunch we took a field trip....to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD!!!

(artist rendering from WDWmagic)

I was so excited to come here! And it was better than expected!
While the park was still heavily under construction (especially the Donkey Kong portion) there were a lot of fun interactive elements that we got to try out. I can share more about this "world" because technically it already exists in Japan AND Universal Studios Hollywood, and there's loads of existing footage of what's in store.

We split into groups of 3 or 4, and each group was given a "power up band" which helps you to interact with objects in the park.


(borrowed from YouTube)

Even if you don't have the band there's still a lot to do...like punching the iconic question blocks, bricks, and POW blocks. I ran around punching as many blocks as I could until my hand was sore! They've constructed the bottom of the bricks to be very satisfying to punch, and the sound effects, as you can see from the video, are true to the game.

Additionally there were mini-games hidden throughout the park. A lot of these involved insanely hi-def interactive screens and effects, or required you to put in a good physical effort to get results. It felt like you were really IN a Mario game!

This video does a good job of summing up the mini games available. I played 2-3 of these with my group and it was awesome.



There weren't any character meet-and-greets yet, or live entertainment offerings (I mean the games ARE the entertainment) so once we'd done a round of games we returned to our own world breathless and happy. To be honest, this world was a bit overstimulating with all the music and noise and activity, but the fun factor made up for it!

We then slammed through a few more show run throughs, and before we were released for the day our show director gave a little speech thanking all of us for our hard work and reflecting on our rehearsal time together. He'll be back in a few weeks for brush-up rehearsals (because our important prop piece is not ready yet, I suspect, and he needs to train us on it) so this wasn't a goodbye, just a "Good job and see you again soon."

And finally, we were given permission to take a photo against the blankest of blank white walls that we could find!
So here we all are, everyone who was involved in this five-week rehearsal marathon for our show (name of our group is top secret and TBA)
Congrats on making it through, and here's to opening Epic Universe Ministry of Magic together!


Back home, Jameson was recovering well and had done quite a bit of working from home! He has also booked a trip to Hawaii for a friend's wedding in September, which I'm VERY pleased about because he never takes vacations and he is so incredibly overdue for one. I told him excitedly about our visit to Super Nintendo World and as a gamer he was very jealous (sorry dear!) then I unpacked, practiced bass trombone, and we had a nice quiet night.

(Taking this opportunity to add that there's a Friends Only post going up alongside this one, with more "sneak peak"-ish things...)

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Saturday my blessed day off, but full of catch-up work.

I woke up too early but used the time to type this up and enjoy Me Time with coffee and breakfast.
Then laundry, and starting my newly-received transcription job, and when Jameson got up and went out for errands I vacuumed and cleaned our bathrooms and practiced bass trombone and packed for Disney tomorrow. More transcription after lunch, then we drove downtown to see Alton Brown at the Dr. Phillips Center!


Jameson and I both enjoy competition cooking shows, so when he asked if I wanted to see Alton this weekend I was thrilled!

Finding dinner downtown on a weekend has become more and more nutty, even with more restaurants popping up. We tried a new Mexican place that looked nice, but after we were seated we were completely ignored for a solid 20 minutes. No water, no "sorry about the wait," no nothing. So....we left :p and probably won't be back. Instead we went to The Bao Spot, which is a weird little hole in the wall that is for some reason space-themed and where the food is served completely at random. We'd been here once before when going to see Peter Pan, and knew that even if service was lacking at least the food is awesome.

Jameson got his UFO burger 20 minutes before I got my bao, and was therefore completely finished with his food by the time I started eating. Also, since we'd sat around at the Mexican place for 20 and my food took 20 to arrive at the bao place, I then had to rush to eat so we could get over to the Phillips on time. Whatever, I had the soft shell crab bao again and it was fantastic, and tried a "cosmic fish" bao that was good but not as good as the crab.

Our seats were up in the balcony, but I'd never been up there at this venue and am always excited to see new stuffs. Plus, we could see the stage clearly and got to see the spikes on the stage for misc props.


The show was basically Alton talking about parts of his life and career, and tying those parts in to food science such as thermodynamics and steam as vector for power. He demonstrated his favorite type of cooktop (carbon steel) by making an omelette right there on stage, and the grand finale was bringing four volunteers up on stage to do a steamed hot dog assembly line complete with condiments! That was hilarious and fun to watch, and fit the whole Alton Brown brand of food-humor. We learned a lot and really enjoyed the show, and I hope he's been having fun traveling the US and putting his knowledge and incredible life story on display!

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Sunday I woke a bit confused...Epic or Disney? Ah, it's Sunday, so it's a Disney day.

The normal morning routine, and I packed up my transcription stuff and brought it to the Magic Kingdom with me. I was surprised to see this sign on the door of the warm-up room:


"Chickens" refers to the fluffy white plumes on the band's hats!


The sign is telling us to take the plumes off our hats today because of the wind.
The plumes can go flying off, and sometimes bring the whole hat with it!

The parade was fine, our first set was fine. Between events I did transcription.
Our second parade was canceled because there was a guest band participating.
And then it was raining, so the second set was canceled as well.
And finally, we walked out to do flag retreat...and it started raining!

So, it was a very easy day. I was grateful...the guys were in a cheery mood because they got a break, and I got time to rest and transcribe.

When I got home Jameson was out with friends, so I did my usual thing of packing lunch/dinner, practicing bass, and I was gonna transcribe a bit more but ended up writing and posting this instead.

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Monday: Another day at the Magic Kingdom. It's not supposed to rain, but IS supposed to be in the mid-60s!

Tuesday: My first Epic Universe rehearsal as ONE trio, instead of all of us there at the same time. I wonder what we'll do?

Wednesday: A day off!! I have so much to catch up on but it's gonna be a lot of transcription.

Thursday, another straightforward rehearsal day.

Nothing special happened that I can recall, we did multiple run throughs and stayed hydrated and all that.
We are all rather tired--this is our fourth week--but it is satisfying to see the show coming together.

Back home the wash-rinse-repeat of packing breakfast and lunch, practicing bass, and having some crash time with Jameson.

A Japanese cookbook arrived from my sister Kate, for my birthday. I hope to be able to make something from it, once I have more than an hour to myself each day.

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Friday and as usual I am SO GLAD for my singular day off tomorrow.

It was a bit slow for us because other groups are now rehearsing in the park, and sometimes they need to be able to do that without nine musicians making a huge racket. So we killed an hour just talking about show-related things in the breakroom, then slammed through one or two run throughs before lunch.

After lunch we took a field trip to Dark Universe!



Obviously and as usual, I can't share anything that isn't already public.

We rode a bus from Ministry of Magic to Dark Universe and slipped in through a standard employee gate.
This "world" is themed around Universal's classic horror monsters, such as Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, misc vampires, and more. It is a smaller world than ours and low-lying, so we could see the whole of it from the burning windmill all the way to the portal.

The most obvious features are the windmill and Frankenstein's castle.
The windmill has a fire effect (and a restaurant underneath called The Burning Blades):



The castle has a lightning effect, because you know, the doctor harnessed lightning to bring Frankenstein to life.
(yes the windmill is in this clip too but ignore it lol)



The windmill was not running while we were there but we did get to see the castle go off at one point which was very cool. We also explored some of the ride offerings though none of them are available for testing yet. And we walked through the STAKEhouse (get it?) which had great theming and I suspect will be very popular if for no other reason than it's dark and cool, and people will flock there to escape the Florida heat.

(photo directly from Epic Universe site)

Anyway, the main reason we were there was to act as an audience for performers in that world, just as they have already done for us several times. I can't go into detail about these entertainer experiences, but will say that they're intended to make the park more immersive, and that all of the performers that we interacted with were great and/or doing their absolute best, many of them having just started rehearsing this week.

I do want to mention how great it is that Universal has provided a "safe space" for performers to mess up without getting screamed at or glared at. There is a lot of pressure to learn quickly, and everyone is hustling to get the park completed, but it's overall a really supportive environment for us and that hasn't gone unnoticed.

We saw a few other sights, then bused back to the main hub where we could walk to our own "world." Ministry of Magic has lucked out, we are right next to the employee entrance whereas employees of other "worlds" have to take buses.

Upon returning, I felt renewed appreciation for the emotions that our "world" evokes due to the foundation of books, movies, characters, and soundtracks. Dark Universe doesn't really have that. People are going to CRY when they see the Ministry of Magic for the first time. There is a generation that grew up with the "wizarding world," and they will be awestruck when they enter. In that way, it truly is magical.

We'd intended to rehearse some more after our field trip, but the paint fumes in the park were so bad that our show director immediately cut us loose early. Sweet! Traffic was hideous perhaps because of the Super Bowl(?) so I still arrived home at the same time. I was so tired, from rehearsal and being out in the heat all day, that I decided not to practice and just relax for the evening. Jameson was out with friends so I had a quiet night.

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Saturday, My One Blessed Day Off.

My fitness tracker has informed me that over the past four weeks (i.e. once rehearsals started) I have averaged an extra mile per day at least, and between 8000-10,000 steps. I will be interested to see how this compares to my steps at the Magic Kingdom with the Philharmonic.


( Introspection )

I got about 7 hours of sleep, had breakfast, typed this up, and swept and mopped the tile floors before Jameson was up. Once he'd gone to the gym I scrubbed the shower, went out to get some bagels and groceries, packed my lunch and a bag for Disney tomorrow, then crashed through lunch and part of the afternoon. Shopped some samples from my favorite perfume shop on Etsy, and tried to make a hat band from a ribbon and failed so bookmarked some of those for possible later purchase as well.

Dinner was from our favorite Greek place, and I did laundry and Jameson gamed.

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Sunday, off to Disney.

The band’s schedule has changed, it’s now two parades and two sets instead of three sets and one parade. I prefer this as I enjoy the walking but some guys don’t care for it. Anyway, Parade One was just fine, and between that and the set I ate a packed lunch.

Got caught up with the guys throughout the day and it turns out one of the trombones is having surgery on his arm and will be out for at least a month starting in March. I think that I’ll challenge myself to learn his part so that I can help cover (and not to be callous, but to get more work as well.) Memorizing 20 more pieces of music will be a lot on top of Epic Universe performances, learning the bass trombone, and transcription work, but there are other (male) musicians here who do just as much, so I have to at least try. 

A photo that someone took of us today (a friend of the sousaphonist hamming for the camera.)
I put a pink arrow to help show which one's me.


After work, checking my fitness tracker shows that I got close to 17,000 steps and 7 miles. So, 5000-7000 more steps than I get at Universal. But I may end up at Universal more often, which will mean more steps there, just spread out over more time. An interesting comparison.


Back home I packed breakfast-lunch-dinner for tomorrow, re-packed my bag for Universal, caught up with Jameson, and we watched the Super Bowl together, neither of us caring who'd win.

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Monday through Wednesday: More Universal rehearsal and bass practice.

Thursday: Working the Magic Kingdom.

Thursday's rehearsal was more interesting and dramatic than expected. Lots of ups and downs.
(DISCLAIMER: The opinions in this post and my blog in general are my own personal opinions and views, and do not represent or reflect the opinions or views of either my third party employer or Universal. There, I said it.)

REHEARSAL
We started off indoors running the script in groups a few times, probably because our show director had something to handle and needed to keep us occupied in the meantime. Then we went out to the park and set up in the same area as on Wednesday, not our performance area but nearby. We ran through the music about three times, then did run throughs of the show, then had to relocate to get out of the way of misc cherry pickers that were roaming around.

I might have mentioned that construction workers and other entertainers/departments often stop to watch our show rehearsals. Up until this week, we have been the only entertainers actually rehearsing in the Ministry of Magic world. I can see the enjoyment of people who stop to watch us, even though our show is incomplete and a bit weird without costumes/props. And afterward we always get LOADS of compliments...strangers are constantly coming up in the break areas or while we're walking through construction, to tell us how they enjoyed our playing. This is very gratifying. For one thing, pulling a theme park together is stressful for everyone involved and being able to provide a release from that to others, if only for a moment, is a wonderful thing. And second, it cheers me to think about what the guest reaction might be once the park opens!

THE DRAMA
After lunch there was a bit of drama because some of the shops in our "world" were open for test sales, and Universal employees were allowed to come shop there. Understand that this means people were being offered first access to exclusive, never-before-seen, limited edition merch created specifically for this theme park. If you're a Harry Potter fan, that's a BIG deal. So imagine how it felt to excitedly rush over to the shop for this special event, only to be told that because you're a "vendor" (i.e. third party employee), you are not considered a Universal employee, and won't be allowed to buy anything.

Several members of our cast are major HP fans, and so naturally, they were ticked. And frankly, I think they were right to be upset. It is obvious and expected that Universal employees will get perks above and beyond what third party vendors would receive. All of us understand that. But to flaunt that entitlement right in front of our faces today, by restricting us from the merch while Universal employees shopped right in front of us....I think you can see how this is tactless. They should have told us that we weren't included in this special event.

That experience left a sour taste in our mouths.
We were somewhat mollified, though, when we were instead offered the chance to taste-test some guest foods!

THE EATS
Restaurants in each "world" have rehearsals, too. They need to practice making the dishes, and wait staff need to practice greeting guests and reciting menu items and whatnot. And today we'd been rehearsing right outside Cafe Lair de la Siren, so we were invited in for an exclusive dining experience!


(artistic concept of Cafe Lair De La Siren, where we got to eat today. Image from discoveruniversal.com via Universal)

Aaaaaand I CAN'T SHARE ANYTHING ELSE WITH YOU! Arrrrrgh. I am sorry!

Suffice to say the restaurant was beautiful (looks just like the above!), the food was very good especially DESSERT, and guests are really going to enjoy how immersive every aspect of this park is :)

MORE DRAMA
After that some of us were thrown right into a rehearsal "show" for a crowd of Universal entertainment employees and management. The group that performed did an awesome job. Then another group of us was asked to perform for some actors passing through. That group included myself, Rick (clarinet) and Brian (trumpet). It must not have been our lucky day, because one of the guys forgot his line and didn't realize it, which caused the next guy to mess up HIS line and say one for a later part of the script. I was able to clumsily "rescue" us by riffing for a bit until I could spit out a line for the correct scene, but it shook us pretty good and we went through the rest of the show very tense and not doing a very good job.

Afterward our show director had us talk it out: what had happened, why it had happened, ways that we might recover from such, plus encouragement and recommendations for how to move forward with future runs. I felt pretty disheartened and negative about it for about 15 minutes, then my brain whispered, "Hey! You're NOT an actor whatsoever! Remember?" and through that thought I was able to give myself some grace. I'd simply done my best. Brian was also very down on himself about it, so after the coaching session I turned to him and said, "Well, I think that no one can call themselves an actor until they've had an experience like that!" He laughed, and I hope that bucked him up a bit. Because it's true, every actor has bombed a performance, just like every musician has bombed an audition. It's going to happen, so imo just cringe when it happens and then pick yourself up and move on.

At home I told Jameson about the unusually eventful day. I packed lunch but didn't practice, as Thursday has been delegated No Practice Day, thankyaverymuch. Instead I gave my trombone a bath and chilled online while Jameson gamed.

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Friday, and I was so glad but dreading rehearsal because we'd been told to spend the entire day not as ourselves, but as our characters. This meant speaking with their accents, physically doing their mannerisms, and not saying or doing anything that they wouldn't say.

METHOD ACTING
It was HARD.


I know that "real" actors do this all the time, in fact I've seen other acting groups doing it here already, as a group activity. At first I felt annoyed at having to do this, self-conscious and stupid...but then I sort of decided, ya know what, my character is essentially ME already, but with a French accent and without the goofy streak. She's sardonic, and sarcastic and dry, because after all she is FRENCH and also a 1920s female trombonist who has to be witty to survive. But she is also warm toward her fellow musicians, delighted by new things, and interested to hear what others have to say. With a foundational character in mind that IS rather close to my own personality, it became easier to BE HER all day.

Maintaining the new way of speaking for eight hours straight was difficult, and made my mouth tired! But when the show director called me by name ("Hey Megan, you're up next") I simply ignored him, or asked in a French accent who he was looking for, or if he had mistaken me for someone else. And he and I have already been snarking back and forth in general (we have a lot in common so get along well), so now I just did it with a French accent and with sayings that my character might use. It was easy, as I've had a lot of practice snarking at men :p He tried to trip me up and catch me as Myself several times throughout the day, but never once caught me being Me.

By the end of the day I was one of just two cast members who hadn't broken character all day, which is not really an accomplishment but it pleased me anyway. When the director said, "Ok, go home and have a great weekend!" I immediately popped back into Myself, yelled "WOOT, see ya later b*tches!" did a goofy dance and ran away, which got a big guffaw out of my peers. The show director said, "There's Megan! Where have you been all day?" :p :p

OTHER THINGS
Aside from "being our characters" all day, we did several runs with or without audiences just depending on who was walking by. I was very lucky because during my show a group from Celestial Park was walking through, and there were my friends Lea and Meka! Both are dancers/entertainers for that "world" and are also in rehearsal. When I was done I made sure to hug them both and catch up a bit. We didn't get much time but Lea was seeing Jameson later for drinks so certainly I'd get The Tea later.

The Ministry of Magic is really starting to come together around us. So much more signage and decor than there was last week, and all of the animatronics and "fantastic beasts" seemed to be going at once today, they are probably testing those extensively. We are also finally starting to see other Ministry of Magic performers actually in the park (up until now most groups have been rehearsing indoors) so that was very exciting, for us and for them!

(mooncalves being fed, Fantastic Beasts movies)

During my lunch break I saw that the drive to Whole Paycheck was just 12 minutes (in the evening it's 25-30) so I decided to get over there and buy the wings to save myself from fighting traffic at night. It was a good choice, and nice to just be able to go straight home after work today.

During a lull between run throughs our show director took us to the cafe and bought us each an ice cream or cookie, and thanked us for doing a great job, naming each of us and saying something positive about how each person has grown or improved over the past three weeks. He says that at this point he's very happy with the show, and for the final two weeks it'll just be touch-up stuff and minor changes. We are still waiting on props that we'll be using in the show, and probably more costume fittings, but the foundation of what this show will be has been established. That's very exciting, and I hope that we'll have a lot to look forward to after rehearsals are done.

I forgot to mention yesterday that the Ministry of Magic merch, and the general vibe, is AWESOME.
Of course I can't give details, but will say just this:

Think of the Roaring 20s fashions in Paris and America.
Then add a Wizarding World twist (robes, wands, fantastical creature patterns, etc).

Yep.



Back home I put the groceries away, played bass trombone for 30 minutes, typed this up, and tried to stay awake past 10pm. Jameson was out with Lea and we caught up when he got back home.

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Saturday I was up relatively early to return the bass trombone case to my friend Bill, who had repaired my bass when it showed up damaged over Christmas. I was supposed to bring him homemade caramels, but there has just not been enough time to make them due to the setting, cutting and wrapping that's required. He'll get them eventually, just not today. We chatted for a bit, just general trombone nerd stuff. Then I left and hit Publix for a few things, then back home to wolf down lunch and practice trombone.

Packed a bag and a meal and an outfit for Main Street Philharmonic rehearsal. I feel like I've neglected the music for this gig, and feel guilty about it. But it can't be helped with all that's going on.

In the evening I made air fryer wings and Jameson ordered a pizza. I did laundry, we watched The Traitors, he gamed.
I watched several episodes of From the New World(Shinsekai Yori) which is a criminally underrated anime that feels appropriate in these times.

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Sunday, Main Street Philharmonic rehearsal!

I was up early to eat brekky and pack meals for Monday since I likely won’t want to do that tonight. Drove to Disney and walked the Utilidors under the castle for the first time in a while.

I watched the band’s first set since they were doing the Classics Medley, which is one I struggle with.


Ate lunch and then practiced for the second set and parade (I did the parade last week,) then did the third set with the band. Chatted with the guys throughout the day and got all caught up on their doings.

I went out to watch them do flag retreat, and as they were finishing Jameson met me and we headed toward the castle.


We had three hours to kill before our reservation, so went on several rides and had some snacks to tie us over.

I’ll share what we did and how the Be Our Guest Restaurant was in the next post :)

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Monday through Thursday: more Epic Universe rehearsals. Practicing my Disney stuff a bit extra to make sure I’m prepared to sub for Keith on Sunday. Not much else!