goofball on a train

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

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

I was up kinda earlier than I needed to be but that's life. Itaki oats, Greek yogurt, Koia chocolate shake, and raspberries for breakfast. Some messing around online and eventual work on DC Foodie Finds, then a run-through of my masterclass.

I was supposed to meet up with an online friend, sparkythegeek (whom I will call STG) for coffee, but it was dependent on when his car would be out of the shop. Around 10:45 he texted to say it'd be done in an hour, and could we meet at the coffee shop a little after noon? Yes! With that knowledge of time frame, I made a rather rash decision to Uber to a mall with an H&M to continue my ongoing quest for The Perfect Black Dress Pants. They are a very specific cut of black polyester pants, high waist and wide leg, with eight gold sailor-style buttons on the front. They are the most comfortable and awesome pit blacks I've ever found, and they've been discontinued, so any time there's an H&M I desperately scour the clearance rack hoping to find some.

Sadly, no luck, and I should not have wasted the $$ Uber on this!!! From now on I must have more restraint; if there's an H&M nearby it's fine to look, but expensive Uber rides just for this fruitless search are ridiculous.

But anyway, I got back in time to scarf a fast lunch and walk to the coffee shop. It's cute and modern with all the classic espresso drinks. As I get older I find that coffee in the afternoon messes me up, but for some reason the caffeine from green tea is still safeish, so I went with an oat milk matcha latte with vanilla syrup. It was both beautiful and delicious :)


STG got a bagel sandwich and an iced maple coffee, both of which looked tasty. We sat down together and basically talked the entire time, about all kinds of things. We've been following each others' online journaling for a while. Topics ranged from things we've written about, to other subjects that we perhaps don't always share online such as other jobs, boss/friend/family doings, hopes and dreams for the future, etc. He's a great listener and also had many questions about my wild and crazy life, and you guys know how I can go ON about things like the circus or what tour is like :P But I wanted to know more about him as well, and asked lots of my own questions. And I got to see some of his really cool recent tattoos in person!! Seeing STG's tattoos reminded me that I'm the only one of my siblings without one...

We were at it for a solid hour and then hugged and parted ways. I'll see him again at tomorrow's show, and we're gonna try to get a picture-selfie-thing :)

From there, my goodness it was SUCH a lovely day outside. 70 degrees (21C) and sunny. Many MANY people were out enjoying the sun. I walked up and down Broad Street and stopped in at every thrift or vintage store I could find (I think there were four.) Did not find anything but being able to be outside, in the sun, without a coat, was fantastic after what has felt like months of frigid temperatures. Even in Florida it is rarely comfortable to be outside in the heat and humidity, so I was extra-appreciative to be able to just exist outside, neither too cold nor too hot. Mmmmm so nice.

After a while I got snackish so returned to the hotel to type this post up, have that snack, and watch Owl House a bit. While that was happening other friends popped out of the woodwork to say they're coming to shows or would like to meet. Goodness! Didn't know I was so popular.

Eventually it was dinnertime, then walking over to the theater for the show. It looked like a full house again! For some reason the pit was exceptionally cold...perhaps because it had been warm out finally and they'd cranked up the AC? Whatever the reason, we were all wearing black sweaters or coats by the end of the second act! Ironic that it's finally warm outside, but not inside! Otherwise it was a good show and a nice crowd.

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THURSDAY

I woke up a bit apprehensive. Today I was supposed to meet with a friend...well, someone whom I dated way back in college. We have barely kept in contact over the years, literally one interaction every 5-10 years. But he lives in this area and wanted to meet and catch up. I said yes, but insisted on meeting near the theater and in a very public space. Because one knows the motives of bears, but not those of men.

But before all that, the usual coffee and breakfast, working on DC Foodie Finds and running through my masterclass. In the afternoon I watched Owl House, did research for things I might like to do in Louisville, ate lunch, and walked to the theater. It was kind of freakishly warm out, 80 degrees (26.6C) which is unseasonably warm even for the south at this time of year. But hey...lovely day.


Tim (the friend) was wearing a bright red polo so was easy to spot. Since I had insisted on staying downtown and we'd both eaten lunch, we decided to just kinda wander and talk. I did run out of bread and picked a bagel place 20 minutes away just to have some sort of goal. Tim caught me up on a lot of his doings: work he's had recently, work he's applying for and hoping to get, projects he's got in the works for both his jobs and interests.

One of his primary passions is disc golf; he is an amateur competitor, has won several competitions, and also now owns his own disc golf supply shop! After retrieving my bagels we walked back to his car, and he showed me his discs. These are not just frisbees. They are much smaller than frisbees, and have specialized edges, thicknesses, taper, and materials that allow them to behave in specific ways when thrown.

(image from sydneydiscgolf.com)

Tim explained to me the different types, and showed me some numbers printed on the top of each disc which tell you at what speed the disc needs to be thrown to achieve specific results, such as distance, curve/spin, and point at which momentum ceases and the disc falls toward the ground or curves back toward you. These are called Speed, Glide, Turn, and Fade. He showed me several discs with artworks on them, just like you might see on some snowboards or skateboards. One of his projects is trying to get some of his artist friends commissioned to design artworks specifically for printing onto the discs. Pretty freakin cool!

Pro footage of people playing disc golf:


Of course I talked a bit about myself too, but this time I mostly wanted to hear about Tim because he can read up on my doings online, whereas his online presence is practically zero so I had no clue what he's been up to since the pandemic. It was great to hear about his passion for disc golf, and he expects to hear back about some exciting job opportunities in a week or so. Now I'm invested and want to know how it turns out for him! We parted ways with promises to try and do a better job of keeping in touch.

I'm grateful to Tim for spending time with me today, and most of all for being patient with me and my "man vs bear" attitude going into this meet. One of the (several) catch-22s of hanging out with men is that whether you've known them for one day or one decade, it does not change the fact that you may not know them at all. Familiarity is not a synonym for safety. I think that Tim understood this, but I still felt guilty for having been apprehensive. But also not. Because.

I put my bagels away and was considering going back out in the sun when my Aunt called! We caught up a bit, and by the time we were finished I was all relaxed on the bed. Had a short doze, got ready for the show, ate dinner, and off to the theater!

Sparkythegeek was there already, so I offered to meet up so we could do our selfie! We were near the logo truck and the lighting was all right so we took it there. Here's our smiling faces (and me looking in the wrong direction, typical!)


I followed him into the lobby because I've got more friends coming on Saturday and wanted to scope A) good places for photo ops and B) a place to get to the lobby from backstage. Then of course I went to the pit to set up. The show went mostly-ok but we had a surprising show hold in the middle of Be Our Guest...it looked like a prop got stuck and they couldn't move it! But it was fixed within 15 minutes or so and we moved on. The audience still cheered just as loud for everything as though there had never been a hold :)

After the show STG came to the pit to say hi...and he'd taken footage of Exit Music! I will check that it's ok to share, and then share it :p We chatted a bit, and then a local music teacher got my attention to say hello and express how much she'd loved the music, and to ask some questions. While talking with her I noticed that it was rather noisy in the theater and realized that there must be a talkback happening. And right as I became aware of this, we were suddenly engulfed in a MOB of small children who had run down to see the pit! Most of us musicians had left but I was there and therefore swept up in a bunch of questions:

"How does Chip get in that teacup?!"
(Answer: "It's magic!" and the little girl really believed it too!)
"How long have you been doing this?"
(Answer: I've been playing the trombone for 27 years, and this show for a little less than a year.)
"How do you get down there?"
(Answer: I pointed out where the stairs were.)
"How old are you?"
(Answer: I asked if they wanted to guess and they said yes. The first guesser said 27. Intelligent child! Wonderful child :P But at that moment the cast started coming out, so I leaned into the group and confided, "I'm 42!" before waving goodbye and escaping. Lol!)

Between that and the 15-minute show hold, I got back to the hotel much later than usual. But it's ok! I am always happy when people are interested to see what we do, to answer questions, and to get people excited for music or theater or just the whole experience of coming to our show. It really is special, and I want to make the people who see it feel special too! :) :)

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Friday: One evening show. Laundry in the morning, a tasty Foodie Find adventure in the afternoon. Possibly a hair trim if I feel up for it.

Saturday: Zoom masterclass with Full Blown Trombone Studio in the morning, followed by two shows. I'm supposed to meet a circus friend before the matinee for pictures, we'll see if that works out.

Sunday: Two shows, packing for the flight to Louisville.

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

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

I was awake early. Coffee and breakfast. Finished Richmond Foodie Finds and made big progress on Louisville Foodie Finds. I realized that I haven't done either DC or Boston, which are both 3-week sits and HUGE foodie cities, so I REALLY need to catch up!!

That took a significant portion of the morning. Jameson texted, angry because apparently the contractors who tore the house apart yesterday just-now-this-morning opened the faux wood flooring to find that it was all damaged (I don't know what type of damage we're talking about.) So, now they have to delay until tomorrow. Why is it ALWAYS like this with contractors, I wanna know. It happened with our toilets, the sinks, the AC unit, sealing our pool deck....everything! It's very frustrating! I understand that people are human but when it's EVERY contractor that you work with...well, the work needs to be done so they've just got you in a chokehold I guess, but UGH.

In fairness, we don't know yet whether this will result in more charges, but it does mean that Jameson has to live in a construction zone with no furniture and lots of dust everywhere for another full day.

After Foodie Finds I tried to do a casual run-through of my middle school/high school-aged "Fun Jobs In Music" PowerPoint. The camera kept crashing, and some of the slides didn't look right, so that turned into more editing. By the time I'd gotten it mostly-fixed it was lunchtime. Foodie Find time!

On the recommendation of ratphooey, I walked to Alihan's Coffee and Breakfast (they have a dinner restaurant too right across the street.) It was a cozy little Turkish cafe. I was quickly seated and order taken, and while I waited all I heard around me was people exclaiming about how good the food was!

I got the menemen: a Turkish dish very similar to shakshuka except the eggs are scrambled into the sauce to create a different texture.


The sauce is a lovely savory tomato with green peppers, onion, herbs, and spices. It comes with a loaf of hot steaming Turkish bread for scooping and dipping. You can also add cheese or meat but I chose to try it OG. Close-up to show texture:


My goodness it was delicious! Hearty and warm, the perfect thing for a cold winter day. Thank you for this rec, ratphooey! I couldn't stand the thought of leftovers so ate the whole dish (I did leave half the bread.) Yum! Typically after a meal like that I'd go for a walk, but it was a bit cold and I wanted to time out my "kiddie" masterclass so went back to the hotel room for that first. I still didn't really get a good sense of timing but am working out what I will say, so it was a good use of time anyway.

Then I did go for a walk, nowhere in particular, just wandered around to be in the sun. I found two small parks, one of which seemed to have no name and had a cool spiraly path pattern:


...and the other was I think called Melon Square but it was locked and gated. It didn't matter. I just wanted some fresh air. Originally I'd planned to go thrifting, but the idea of spending an hour in a dingy store on such a nice sunny day was off-putting :p No pictures because I was just BEING, here, now.

Back at the hotel I typed up this post and watched some Owl House and part of Mulan (was just in the mood for it). Dinner and walking to the theater.

It was a bit of a chaotic show...there was some issue with one of the keyboard's sampling software that seemed to cause it to be always slightly ahead of what we were playing? It made me feel dizzy trying to play along with it! They swapped out the entire keyboard during intermission so the second half was fine. And Connor (Key 1) was conducting because his GIGANTIC family was here!! They basically bum-rushed him before, between, and after the show lol. Showering him with hugs and praise, someone even brought him a bouquet. It was both heartwarming to see, and also pity-inducing because he kept having to say, "I've got to go now!" and "Guys, I've got to do my job now!", and I TOTALLY know how that feels, to have to explain that you are at work right now and kind of have to do your job, but your family just doesn't quite get it. Regardless, it was a decent show amid the chaos and his family seemed lovely :)

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SATURDAY

I was up early to do a second load of laundry. Not something I'd normally do but it's cheap here so why not.
Then coordinating a bit with Jameson. The floor guys are back at work, hopefully with actual non-damaged floor pieces now, and expect to be done or mostly done by tonight. The problem is that with the new flooring, the toilets will have to be readjusted. So it will be my job to call the plumber and arrange/pay for that. I don't mind at all, I want to help and am annoyed that I can't be there right now to provide support.

The rest of my morning was breakfast, Foodie Finds, and another attempt at timing out the kiddie masterclass.
The matinee went well, I thought we played really well and the audience was great. No notes!

As we finished up, Jameson sent me a video and pictures of the new flooring, which is now complete! They did the entryway, living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathrooms. The bedrooms and studio are still carpeted for now.

Before and After of the living room:



Before and after of the master bath:


He took pics of the kitchen too but they weren't side-by-sides like this. Just imagine that pinkish tile replaced by the faux wood and you get the idea :p I think it looks fantastic, and he loves it too! It's going to be SO much easier to clean, and looks loads nicer than the stained old off-white carpet and cracked pink tile. I don't yet know what it's cost us but am VERY grateful that Jameson did this for us!

One thing that Jameson has asked me to handle is calling a plumber, because now the toilet flanges are too high for the new flooring and the toilets are wobbly. I called right away and they should hopefully show up on Monday. I cannot WAIT to see the new floor in person! And acoustically it will be a lot louder in the house because the carpet is gone, that will take some getting used to!

Anyway, between shows I marched back to the hotel for dinner. The Red Bucket fundraising event is about to start again, so the cast stayed at the theater to sign programs and posters to sell. They were given pizza and it was offered to us too, but I thought they should have first crack at it since they're doing the work. Made myself a simple dinner, then walked back over early to scavenge the leftover pizza. There was plenty left :)

Josh (Key 2) conducted the evening show and did a great job. I played well myself by my own standards, with THREE mistakes that I didn't like (yes sometimes I keep score against myself. As awful as that sounds it can be helpful, because musicians have a muscle memory for mistakes too which can cause you to repeat the same mistakes the next night!! Sometimes it's good to just make a note so your body doesn't unconsciously do it again!)

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SUNDAY

The temp dropped about 15 degrees overnight. I am sad about it, but when we get to Richmond it's supposed to be in the 60s! (15.5's!) I am REALLY hoping to get out and about. Cold has been a big deterrent for exploring.

Typical morning of coffee + breakfast, working on DC Foodie Finds now, and the starting stages of packing my suitcase. I did a better run-through of Kiddie Masterclass...this one is shorter, usually between 40-45 minutes, but it is interactive and I expect that the kids will pelt me with questions and this will add at least 15 minutes to the session.

Lunch and walking to the theater. The matinee was good, Josh was conducting again but it turns out he's got a week off and won't be with us at all in Richmond! We'll have Leslie (Keyboard sub who has played with us several times now) for that whole sit.

Between shows I scooted back to the hotel and enjoyed some salmon jerky for a snack and some hot tea, and watched some Owl House. Dinner on Sundays is always scraping together whatever is left in the fridge: Today that's half a bagel, some tofu, pistachios, and 1/4 of a Sumo orange.

The evening show featured a wonderful audience, and we all played really well too :) 
One of Jameson's cousins was there but she was way up in the nosebleeds. Still, she managed to make it to the pit for a quick hello at intermission. When the show was over I did the usual thing of packing up quickly and hightailing it out of there. Tomorrow we have something like a 6.5 hour bus ride to Richmond, VA. There's no crazy weather this time so I am looking forward to a hopefully relaxing ride. Thus ends our time in Pennsylvania. 

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Monday: A long bus ride to Richmond, VA. There is one stop planned I believe. Settling in and then a Zoom sound check with Full Blown Trombone Studio for the masterclass on Saturday.

Tuesday: Opening day in Richmond. I don't think I've played this theater before so I am looking forward to a new venue!

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

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

I had fallen asleep early because I was tired and stressed, and woke up slightly later than usual too.

The masterclass at Temple University is not going to go through. The trombone prof called and apologized for stringing me along, and offered to help me find contacts in Pittsburgh to set up a masterclass there (which is nice of him but he's very busy and I doubt he'll actually remember to do it.) Basically what happened is, the trombone prof offered the chance to give the masterclass, I said yes, he floated it to his Department Head who was enthusiastic and supportive...and who then went on a vacation without having approved it. So, it can't happen without approval. To be honest, I am disappointed with this outcome. But I also understand that people are busy, it didn't line up this time, and it might line up at some other point in the future.

All that said, the GOOD thing about this outcome is now I've got one less thing to worry about during this insanely busy two weeks. In fact, this means I might get to go see my friends perform at the circus on Monday! We'll see!

Anyway: breakfast, coffee, packing myself a dinner and snacks for the theater, working on Foodie Finds, and a masterclass run-through (I'm going to reduce run-throughs now that I'm NOT doing multiple presentations.) Forty-seven minutes, but it's because I've been told that a bunch of music tech/engineering majors will be attending the Delaware masterclass, so I was trying to include their field in my talking points.

After lunch I walked to the theater. It was cold but clear and nice outside.


For perhaps the first time on this tour(?) here is a theater I've never played before! The Academy of Music! It has such a beautiful auditorium!


It's how I imagine playing in a theater in Italy or Spain might feel. The elaborate gold-gilded sculptures and carvings, and the ceiling murals of muses and composers surrounded by cherubs and roses, are definitely Beauty and the Beast-coded. Intrigued, I did some research and found that the Academy was built in 1857!! WOW that's old. Not only that, it was built to be an opera house and has been a theater/opera house for it's entire continuous operation. That is very impressive!! It's a privilege to perform here, that's for sure. 

We had sound check and a break for dinner, then the show. It was packed to the rafters out there, and the crowd was great and enthusiastic. I have to say, though, that tomorrow The Creatives--the head honchos whose ideas made this show happen--will be here to watch the show and make adjustments. Of course this is a good thing, and I think we're all excited to do our best...but I can also FEEL the nervous anticipation about it. We all just want to do a good job. I'm sure that we will, but I am not alone in saying that we tend to put extra pressure on ourselves when we KNOW we're being evaluated. Tale as old as time.

Back at the hotel I unpacked my trunk stuff, had a nice hot shower, and took forever to fall asleep because I was anxious! Lol.

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THURSDAY

Up too early, of course. We had two shows today, and as previously mentioned all the creatives will be there. I was extra-anxious, but one can only do their best and hope that that continues to be acceptable for this show.

Anyway, breakfast and coffee and all the usual stuff, no masterclass run-through because today is tense enough without that. Instead I took myself to Target for a little retail therapy. Some cheap tees and some cheap slippers (this is such an old lady thing to say but I got chillblains while in Tulsa and want to protect my dumb cold feet) and some cheap Valentine's candy. 

Back to the hotel to watch Mighty Nein, eat lunch, and walk to the theater. I went early to rearrange my chair and the plexi surrounding Tim and I, because last night he'd mentioned that I'm sounding loud again. We've discovered that sometimes this has to do with our positions in relation to each other, so adjusting that can help. It actually DID end up helping noticeably, according to Tim, which is great!

The matinee was a lot of fun because we had a packed house and they were rowdy! Lots of cheering and gasping and screaming and whatnot. I love an audience that gets into it! And also I was wrong: The Creatives were not there until the evening show. Suspense! 

Walked back to the hotel in the cold, ate dinner and listened to an audio message from Jameson about his day. Bundled back up and walked back. Nervous nervous nervous. But sometimes nerves can be helpful. We were ALL nervous, but we looked at each other and smiled and said, "We'll do just fine." And we did! I thought the show went wonderfully. On a personal note, at no point did I make any mistake that I felt bad about or that I felt was noticeable. The last time we played for Koz was in Greensboro (September-ish.) I can say with certainty that my playing has significantly improved since then, and I was (relieved and) proud of how I played today. Not only that, I never forget that I am here because DAR advocated for me, and I ALWAYS want to do my very best to prove to anyone and everyone that he made the right choice in putting my name forward. That is the very LEAST I can do to repay him for the privilege of being here. 

This will not be a very Disney thing to say, but here goes: after that show, and after being so tense with anticipation for the past couple of days, I felt like I needed to do a shot!! I didn't :p because tomorrow we still have rehearsal and a show and I want to be at my best-possible. Instead I typed up this post, had a nice hot shower, and cuddled up in bed with TikTok. Aaaah, now we're talking.

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Friday: One evening show, but we have rehearsal with Koz before that.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each day so no plans. 

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

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

My phone making little pinging sounds woke me up.
It was a friend from Ringling. The circus will be in Philly at the same time as us! They wanted to know if I could come see a show. Unfortunately most of our show times overlap too much, but there's ONE day where it might be possible, so I'm going to look into that (it's a masterclass day so I'll have to get more info.) Then ANOTHER Ringling friend texted, but he's not with Ringling any more, just lives locally. Looks like I'll get to have dinner with him and more circus people! Wooot!! Unexpected reunion!!

After that I spent a lot of time reading updates over on DW (I won't tag anyone here in case you don't want to be seen on LJ, but you know who you are) because a lot of people had an eventful week and wrote extensively about their doings. I like to sit with my morning coffee and be immersed in the interesting lives of people all over the world :)

Did a load of laundry...what a LUXURY to have in-unit washing! Didn't have to set timers or climb up and down stairs or fuss with quarters! I could consider booking airbnbs JUST for that!!! (I won't :P )

Breakfast, and ran through my masterclass early because I've actually got a lot to do today. A solid 45 minutes this time! I did stumble over a few talking points but that's ok, bound to happen. Folded the laundry, and then took myself thrifting.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and close to 60°F (15.5°C)! I soaked it in, because in Philly it's about to be a LOT colder and drearier than that. Walked to Walgreens first for earplugs. It was down a big steep hill so I had to brace myself for the climb back UP the big steep hill (panting and gasping, lol.) Went from there to what I thought was a thrift store and turned out to be a vintage clothing store. Which is fine, but I wouldn't risk bringing nice clothes like that along on tour. Womp womp. There were lots of touristy little shops in this area (I have been here before) so I wandered aimlessly, window shopping and not buying anything and just enjoying being outside in the sun :)

On the way back to the apartment I got some bagels at a local bakery.

Oh! I almost forgot to review the foods from the local co-op!

• "Sweeties" Almonds: 8/10 They're a basic candied nut, sweet and delicious, but not overly sugary like the ones you get at Buc-ee's or at fairs and such. The chai spices came through nicely. I'd like to try their other flavors too :)
• Blueberry Sourdough Bagels: 10/10 These are awesome!! Real whole fresh blueberries were used and that makes a difference. I bought them fresh so they were soft and chewy. You can taste the sourdough tang, too. Totally awesome.
• Sweet Potato Soup: 7/10 This is REALLY thick, more like a hearty stew! Big pieces of vegetables, and made with very basic ingredients, no preservatives or excess salt. It's just slightly spicy. Tbh it was a bit gritty at times, points off mostly for that and because I found the texture kinda offputting. But over rice it was VERY good. If I saw it again I would buy it, and hope that the texture issue was a one-off.
• Olyra Cinnamon Tahini: 4/10 Not impressed. I mean, they were "good," like acceptable, but very dry and crumbly and imo less flavorful than a Biscoff. I didn't get tahini flavor at all. Overall I am sorry to say these reminded me of a teething biscuit! Would not buy again. In fact I'm bringing them to the theater to see if someone will take them off my hands.

After lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon working hard on the French horn part. It looks very much like circus music at this point.


Red "Xs" across both parts indicate when to switch back to the OTHER part, and yellow dots (which I later changed to purple to avoid confusion) indicate where to pick up after a switch. Ideally I would be turning the pages of both books simultaneously, and therefore when I see a red "X" in whichever I'm reading I could instantly look to the other book and find the purple dot. There are some parts where this system won't work, mostly in trombone-heavy parts where I'll be too entrenched in my own part to switch back and forth. For those cases I will likely write the horn solo into the trombone book as subtext. There are also parts where we both have prominent lines and I obviously can't play both at the same time, so I'd ask DAR which line he'd rather sacrifice in the event of an emergency. Again, very much hoping that I NEVER have to use this and that all of this effort is for nothing.

After probably 3 hours of that I HAD to take a break, transposing was turning my brain to mush! I probably got 1/3 of the way through. Watched some Mighty Nein, had dinner, got dressed for work, and walked to the theater. We had a nice evening show, I can't remember anything special happening and that's a good thing.

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SATURDAY

Managed to sleep until 8am, then coffee and descaling my mini Keurig (first time I've done this) and drying it for storage in my trunk. Packed a bunch of trunk things. Got confirmation that I WILL be doing the additional grade-school-level masterclass with my friend whose name is BethAnn. I sent her an invoice and W9 because she made arrangements for me to be paid (unasked for, and how generous!) I still don't have confirmation from Temple but am assuming it'll go through only because better safe than sorry.

With all of that, in Philly I will have

• Three groups of family attending shows on three separate days
• Time presumably spent visiting with all three family groups across those days
• Three masterclasses on three additional separate days, two of which are 90-minute round trips
• Meeting with our Musician's Union rep on Valentine's Day between shows
• Possible meeting with our creative director/supervisor
• Dinner with circus friends one night
• Misc other small meet-ups, coffee grabs, meals, etc with friends who have reached out
• ...and of course eight shows each week with completely sold out crowds nearly every night!

Heavens.

Anyway. A normal morning, masterclass run-through (46 minutes, not bad not bad) lunch, and walking to the theater a bit early to pack my trunk. Many others were doing the same. Tour ritual, I suppose!

The matinee was good, though DAR has pulled his back and was hurting :( He is going to PT between shows and I hope they can help him. If not Connor (Key 1) will conduct.

Between shows we had a special treat! For Black History Month, some of our cast members arranged for a local black-owned restaurant to cater dinner for us! It's from Wes BBQ in Fayetteville and the food was FANTASTIC. Cornbread, brisket, pork, sausage, green beans, potato salad, baked beans, big slices of Texas toast, and sweet potato pie for dessert.


I made myself a plate and scooted away back to the apartment to enjoy it. Good, much appreciated home cooking.

Back at the theater just a short while later, I saw this Mrs. Potts crochet plushie stuck to the bulletin board!



It was made by a local crew member. My favorite part is the sparkly Mickey on the spout (which intentionally or unintentionally references a Hidden Mickey.) It is being auctioned off and the current high bid is $40, but I expect that to jump up by the end of our last show. And tbh, I think that this should just be GIVEN to Kathy (the actress who plays Mrs. Potts) but also understand that a lot of work went into this and the creator should profit!

The evening show was...interesting. DAR decided to sit this one out due to his back (as he very much should!) so Connor conducted. Most things went fine but there were a few weirdnesses...I missed a note that I'd been working on all day, probably psyched myself out?? Missing it made me so annoyed, I wanted to throw my horn!! Then Tim (trumpet)'s valves got stuck during a number, which he says hasn't happened in YEARS. And something odd happened with the vocals too at one point, it was only a split-second and we recovered so smoothly that I doubt the audience noticed. But good grief, it must have been a full moon or something. I joked with Tim that I should buy the Mrs. Potts plush so I'll have something to throw every time I miss a note and get mad :p

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SUNDAY

Coffee, breakfast, prepping and packing for the trip to Philly. I made overnight oats to save time tomorrow, and even brewed my coffee ahead of time so all I have to do is heat it up (or drink it cold.) Made a few changes to Pittsburgh Foodie Finds, and wished my brother Jonah a happy birthday! His b-day falls on Super Bowl Sunday this year so he's not doing anything special. As someone with a February birthday this has happened to me too and I totally get it.

Masterclass run-through (47 minutes) and lunch and off to the theater. Mrs Potts bidding had not changed so I put in a bid of $50. 

It felt odd to only have one show on a Sunday! My friend Kizzi, a former circus person, came with her friend to see our show and managed to get down to the pit to say hello just before the show started. The show went "ok." We had NINE understudies in, including a new Gaston who did an excellent job! I just got a feeling--a vibe--that people were distracted and/or thinking about Philadelphia. It is a BUSY two weeks, for all of us. 

After the show I packed up super-quick, made sure to thank our French horn sub for filling in and express that it was a pleasure to work with her, and headed out. The last bid I saw on Mrs. Potts was $60. 

Our wall tag had just been finished. It is interestingly situated on a corner, and looks like a beautiful book :) 
Can you find my initials? (Recall that you can click on the image to enlarge in a new tab.)


Back at the apartment I showered, packed some more, ate dinner, and did a final load of laundry with the Super Bowl on in the background. And now that I'm leaving, you can see what my airbnb looked like. It was very nice and I had a wonderful stay! 


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Monday: All-day travel to Philadelphia. Hoping to get there with enough time to get groceries. 

Tuesday: A Golden Day for some of us because it takes the trucks a long time to get from Arkansas to Philly and then load in. I plan to do a little shopping/get groceries if needed, and meet up with some circus friends for dinner. 

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

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Up early, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds, then off to Teszeract Salon for a haircut! I have been here once before with Tootsie in 2022 and they did an excellent job on my hair.

Today was no different :) Picture in the salon right after she finished, and in the car with nicer lighting.


Can't they move their business to Florida so I can look this good year-round?? Lol.

The big talk at the salon (and everywhere in OKC right now) is a huge winter storm moving in and predicted to hit between Friday and Saturday. Current snowfall predictions are around 8-12" (20-30 cm) and temps are supposed to drop to 10°F or less (-12°C) plus windchill. Being from Pennsylvania, I have been through weather like this before, but that was a very long time ago. Still, I am trying to think ahead about all that I might need to have ready in the hotel room in case we get snowed in. This level of snowfall is unusual in Oklahoma and a lot of businesses may shut down.

Anyway, today was the last nice day before the storm hits. Tomorrow will be cloudy and colder, and Friday will start to look miserable. I wonder if any of our shows will be cancelled?

Back at the hotel my new carbon fiber Butler mutes had come in.


Each one is a cup mute, but the cup can be removed to make each one a straight mute. I need that "convertible" function while on tour both to save space and make transitions between numbers easier. Just as I had unpacked them, Ryu and Sarah texted to say they needed the rental car. I gave them the key, then decided that since I won't have the car I'll pack a dinner and walk to the theater early to try out the new mutes. If I'm comfortable with them I'll use them in the show tonight.

Meanwhile I worked on finishing my masterclass PowerPoint, and even tried timing some of the sections. Glad I did, because it made me aware of how I tend to go into sub-stories instead of sticking to the bullet points on each slide. Meanwhile Jameson had been doing some auditions for Disney and messaged to tell me about them. It sounded like fun (for him...probably nerve wracking for the auditionees!)

An hour or two before the show I got bundled up and walked to the theater to try my new mutes. They were good-in-practice so I did decide to use them in the show...and that turned out to be a mistake. The tenor trombone mute literally cracked in half when I put it in the first time, I had to grab some tape and put it back together. For what I paid for these mutes that is inexcusable. And the bass mute was mostly-fine, but for whatever reason I could not get low D to come out at all during the show while it was in :( I think in the practice session I hadn't played it as quietly as I do for the show, and at low volume it seems it doesn't want to come out. Welp. Hopefully they'll let me return them because these are definitely not worth what I paid.

Other than that the show went just fine, and it was National Swing Day so we had a special little speech after the bows, and Michael (our Key 3 and therefore our "swing" keyboardist) got to go up on stage and take a bow! That was awesome :D

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THURSDAY

Woke up early, had breakfast, and finished Fayetteville Foodie Finds. Got a notification to renew my PreCheck so did that ($70.) Received a bunch of tax forms from a student loan, a 1099 employer, and my Epic Universe employer, and downloaded those. Filled out a Return Request form for the mutes and received apologies and a promise of a shipping label.

While the tour was in Dallas there had been an internal BATB merch sale, and I'd taken that opportunity to buy my sister's kids a bunch of souvenirs for when I see them again. I've since found out that they won't be coming to a show until October, and I don't want their gifts to get damaged riding around in my tour trunk for nearly a full year. I brought them all back to the hotel last night and packed them in the box from the mutes (it'll probably be a while before the return is authorized and I can find another box then.) Bundled up and walked to the nearest UPS store, sending it all to Florida, and from there I'll ship it directly to my sister on the April layoff.

On the walk back I remembered that the musician's union Zoom meeting was today. Shoot! I barely made it back to the hotel in time. Nothing important happened, but you never know so I like to attend every meeting that I can. The meeting went for an hour. Afterward I ate lunch, chatted with Jameson a bit, and checked on an unimportant amazon order that is running late. Practiced talking through my PowerPoint again, trying to hit my time stamps for each section, and wore out my voice doing that. Chilled with some anime.

Carpooled to the theater with Ryu. It is cloudy and quickly getting colder. The storm is coming, and so far the snowfall estimates have only been going UP.

The evening show was good; Be Our Guest got a partial standing-O, which we haven't had in a bit! There are some things that I consistently play "not to my liking," and tomorrow I hope to come in early to workshop those a bit, and to give the trombones a bath.

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Friday: One evening show. The temp is supposed to drop drastically and the snow/sleet will begin, so I'm probably not going anywhere unless there's something I need to weather the storm. If any of our shows will be cancelled for Saturday, we will find out today.

Saturday: Big ol' snowstorm. The forecast calls for bitter cold and between 10-13" of snow as of now. It's supposed to be a 2-show day but we'll see what happens.

Sunday: Two-show day, and packing for Tulsa which should be a short bus ride on Monday.

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

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

I was awake early, tired but excited because I am Treating Myself today! YAY Golden Day!!
(A "golden day" is slang for a true day off on tour. No shows + remaining in the same city.)

The plan: Houston's Galleria mall (possibly, no pressure), a noon showing of Zootopia at a fancy theater, and Central Market!

Breakfast and admiring my "clown lips" in the mirror. My lips are swollen, chapped, and kinda burn-y. This is because A) it's the first week back on tour after a layoff where I played less than half as much as usual; B) we had a temperature drop of 30 degrees a few days ago; and C) the streets between Houston's skyscrapers create wind tunnels, i.e. skin gets windburnt and dried out faster. It may not LOOK that chapped, but it FEELS chap-tastic.


But don't worry fam. This is nothing new.
Ringling Bros Circus, circa 2014.
"Clown lips" at the end of a 6-show weekend (12 hours of playing.)
I was sitting on the ringmaster float backstage, waiting for the bus.


I slather on chapstick or Vaseline, wear a mask or scarf, and take every possible precaution, but this happens at least once each winter no matter what I do. It makes playing a bit harder for a while, but ultimately resolves itself. Just thought I'd share one of the joys of brass musicianship!

Right as I was finishing breakfast, housekeeping came by to do my room. Yay! I ran away and goofed off in the lobby for 15-20 minutes and that was enough for them. How nice to start a new week with clean sheets and towels :) Then an Uber to The Galleria to look around!

The Galleria is a big fancy mall with lots of high-end stores selling stuff I can't afford like Hermes watches and designer clothing and "real" jewelry. But they also have some shops for Us Poors, like Macys and Hot Topic. I went to the former to rifle through their clearance rack, and the latter to see if there was any new Hazbin Hotel merch. Nothing found for me, but I did get Jameson a Hellfire Club shirt.

From there I walked to the movie theater which was in an even snootier, even MORE posh shopping plaza, with people in rare $,$$$,$$$ sports cars cruising up and down and security posted at the entrances to most shops. I didn't even recognize the names of most stores...it was true designer stuff, premium leather goods, platinum jewelry, and even an upscale tobacco shop. The movie theater had a fine dining restaurant and bar in the lobby, no cheapo popcorn or candy to be seen (though it's on their menu.) The theaters are small and intimate with maybe 30-40 seats, all of which are plush recliners complete with fluffy blankets and little tables for your food. I had the entire theater to myself today!


I had arrived early on purpose so that wait staff could serve me before the movie started and not have to grope around in the dark. I got a sauvignon blanc and a bison burger with white cheddar, blueberry aioli, sunflower seed pesto, arugula, and fire-roasted tomatoes on brioche. It came with sweet potato fries. Oh and there's bacon on there (I took some of it off tbh)


Now THIS is luxury! Having that whole theater to myself, it was essentially a private showing. The burger was delicious and the wine hit the spot. Zootopia 2 is almost as good as the first movie! I only wished they'd fleshed out the primary reptile character a bit more so that the emotional connection to them might have been stronger at the end (it was still a very touching ending.)

A chill movie and some comfort food were just what I needed today. Afterward I walked to a nearby Central Market for my groceries for next week. Central Market is H-E-B's upscale answer to Whole Paycheck, and it is AWESOME! They have normal groceries, but also so much interesting food that I'll spend an hour or more just staring at everything.

They grow many of their own herbs and mushrooms in house.


There are always delicious-looking fresh fish in the seafood area, and the cuts of meat look amazing too. There were a lot of people at the butcher counter today so I didn't get a picture there.


The bakery section is massive and mostly features their own house-made loaves. There are so many flavors that I want to try!!


In addition to the huge bulk section with grains and dried fruits and nuts and candies, they've got a whole bulk chocolate section with every kind of chocolate you can think of including rare ones like ruby chocolate or couverture chocolate.


Some other interesting things that I saw, not pictured, included floral-infused salts, black cherry brie potato chips, ube potato spread, herbal sparkling water from France, basil hawthorn berry tea, camel milk yogurt, and so much more! I only needed a few things and am trying hard not to overbuy, so just looked for the most part. But I can never resist picking up at least a few intriguing things to try!

Here's my Small Haul.


As in the past, I will do a review once I've tried one of everything. The two little orange fruits are "mandarinquats." I expect them to be like a larger and slightly sweeter kumquat. I was SUPER intrigued by the two shelf-stable milks in banana cream and cookie flavors...they are whole milk so I'm gonna have to take Lactaid with them, but could not pass them up. Those little tuna tins are relatively low in fat and sodium, I wonder if they can still manage to taste good? As usual, can't wait to try everything!

Back at the hotel, put everything away and had a nice hot shower and tried a new face wash (it seems fine?) A very light dinner and lots of hydrating, starting on the 3rd season of Vox Machina, chatting with Jameson and my sisters via text. This was a very nice Golden Day :)

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TUESDAY

Woke up "late" for me, 8:30. Breakfast and kind of wondering what to do with myself...the whole day was free until the evening show. As it turned out, it was rainy wet and cold for the entire day so my motivation to do anything at all went directly down the toilet.

Ate lunch, read my book, watched anime, had a nap, and the only productive thing I did all day was to work on building a powerpoint presentation for future masterclasses that I might do. This is one instance where I will allow AI to interfere, because formatting the slides myself is both tedious and doesn't look good. I only got through the introductory slides and the first portion of the "gig info" slides, but did learn how to effectively insert pictures and video. From here on most of the slides should be fairly copy-paste as far as layout.

Dinner, and I tried eating a saffron gummy for mood/anxiety about 2 hours before showtime. The dosage is 2 gummies but I'm paranoid about medications that could impact my work, so I'm doing half for a week and then adding the other half next week. The reason for this, by the way, is that I am a tense and anxious person. Up until now I've handled it with square breathing and Saint John's Wort, but was recently informed by my birth control provider that I need to stop taking that as it interferes with the birth control. I'm trying to find a substitute, so it's saffron first and if that doesn't work I'll try L-theanine.

Anyway, I walked to the theater a bit early to put my horns together and warm up. As band buddies filtered in we asked each other about our days off; some people had gone to see local bands perform, or had gone out of town with loved ones in the area, or eaten at nice places. I had a new sticker to add to my case as well: it's 1930s Mickey Mouse (who is public domain) riding an alligator, holding a six-shooter and smoking.


I didn't share this on my socials because while Mickey HAS had guns (Minnie too for that matter), he's never smoked. Maybe we can pretend he picked up the habit from Walt? There's a corresponding Minnie Mouse sticker where she's riding a flamingo, has a python around her neck like a scarf, and is equally six-shooting and smoking. As a Florida Person I thought it was funny and cute. 

The show was nice, there seemed to be some high school-aged school groups here and they were energetic, cheering for just about everything and REALLY cheering during bows :) And at intermission lots of young little kids and their parents came to the pit edge. I answered lots of the usual questions ("How many people are down there?" "How do you GET down there?" "What's this net for?" "Why are the drums in a box?") and when the questions ran out I made slidey noises and race car noises for the kids. There was lots of giggling over it! Gotta teach 'em young why the trombone is THE COOLEST :p 

On the walk back to the hotel I saw two interesting things.
The first was a Waymo sitting at the light across from me. Apparently they are edging into Houston now too. But they've got drivers here. 


The other was a juvenile raccoon (at least I assume because it didn't look full grown) sitting directly in the middle of the sidewalk. It got up as I approached but didn't run away, just moved to the side. I spoke gentle words as I passed, and weirdly, it moved as though it wanted to follow me then. But I kept walking and saw it hesitate, then turn and trot into the bushes. Perhaps someone has fed it or been kind to it...which is nice in the moment but ultimately puts these animals in danger. 

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Wednesday: One evening show and a trip to the fine art museum!

Thursday: One evening show. Possibly a Foodie Find? Haven't decided yet. 

Jameson had to be up at 7:30 for a morning rehearsal, so I was up too. I worked on OKC Foodie Finds, had breakfast, and packed a dinner for Candlelight tonight. Someone had crammed a bunch of their trash into our trash can (which blows my mind as ours was already overflowing-full and there were plenty of empty cans around) so I had to be an equal a$$hole and take their trash out, moving it to one of the empty ones. I hate to do that but don't want to be stuck with trash due to someone else's Christmas selfishness (the trash collectors sometimes won't take bins that are overflowing.)

I saw via website that the DMV now has my title, so I called two dealerships to express interest in selling my car and got a digital offer from CARMAX which I want to bring to their location along with the car and see if they'll honor it. The digital offer is $8000, but I have a feeling that will drop immediately upon seeing the car.

Next was scrubbing the shower, my least favorite chore, followed by some practice on bass trombone, then lunch. After lunch a quick jaunt to the car wash to have the car look as nice as possible and to get all of my belongings out. By the time I got home Jameson was back and eating lunch. We would ride the Brightline train to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. It's 3 hours down and 3 back for a total of 6 hours, and we'd just discovered that our seats are facing backwards both ways. I was dismayed enough that Jameson kindly called their hotline to try and have our seats changed, but since we got cheap-o ones we can't change them. I'm trying to be optimistic and cheerful, but tbh six hours facing backwards in motion sounds like it's not going to go well for me (or him, he gets motion sick easily too. I'm actually a little surprised that he didn't check this detail.) With this in mind I packed us ginger candies, motion sickness bracelets, snacks, and dramamine for tomorrow.

A few hours later Jameson went for his massage and I got ready for Candlelight. Went over and warmed up, and the usual three shows without a hitch. My Main Street Phil friends Chris (bass trombone) and Will (tuba) were there, so we got to catch up and that was really nice :) The narrator was Luke Smallbone of the contemporary Christian band For King & Country. This is his first year doing Candlelight, and I thought he did a good job. It might have been his last night as well, because afterward he stood by the stage door and shook all of our hands as we left. Seems like a nice guy!

When I got back home Jameson and I packed a little bag of snacks for our Brightline trip tomorrow. We are going to see our friend Lea perform the lead in Frozen. It's gonna be a long and fun day!

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SATURDAY

Up way too early, but I like to try and have coffee in my body and through me well before travel :) We drove to the airport...but for the train!

The BrightLine station is located in Terminal C, which is where international flights come in. The station is soooo new, they opened it a few years ago but only so the thing could be earning money for them, meaning lots of stuff is still under construction. Thing Number One, the parking garage, which was CLOSED :( We had to park way out in the overflow lot and take a shuttle back to the terminal.

At the terminal there was a very long line at security. Jameson has ridden the train before and said he hasn't seen it like this, and others in line were commenting the same. Must be the holidays. Most people had small carry-ons and looked like they might be catching cruise ships.


We were only minutes from boarding and the train leaves RIGHT on time, so we were worried we might miss it, but luckily the line moved fast. Still, we and everyone around us had to jog quick-like-a-bunny to make it!


As mentioned earlier, Jameson had booked us economy seats that were facing backward. It was similar to plane seating but with more leg room, nicer windows, and nicer tray tables!


I was immediately taken up in the novelty of the experience and was looking all around, but as soon as the first little jolt told us we were moving I knew I'd have to be cautious to avoid motion sickness for this long ride. So I tried looking around for a while, but within 15 minutes Jameson cursed quietly under his breath and said he felt motion sick already. He got up to walk around (which it's lovely that you can do on the train) and I tried turning sideways but it was uncomfortable, so instead I put the tray table down, closed my eyes and put my head down for a while (I saw some other passengers doing this as well.)

This turned out to be the right choice as it allowed my body to get used to the motion of the train without the interference of my eyes. When Jameson got back I got up to explore. Immediately, the vestibule gave me a wave of nostalgia for my time spent living on the circus train. Such a bittersweet feeling, of a home and a lifestyle that no longer exists. (CLICK HERE for a short Brightline vestibule video.)

(also, isn't it ironic that both Jameson and I lived on a moving train for 5-6 years, and yet we still get motion sick!! But you can't help your genetics I suppose. I had to be careful about reading and such on the circus train, too.)

Next I checked out the bathrooms, which Jameson had told me were nice. They are! They're big and clean and touch-free! For context, our toilets on the circus train were capsule-sized (I am an average-petite woman and MY elbows could touch both walls), stinky, gross, and had a janky foot pedal to flush the toilets that you had to mash multiple times to get results.

Brightline toilets:


Circus toilet circa 2013. Photo taken from the hallway as there's absolutely no room to take one IN the stall. And yes that is a random bystander taking a picture of our train as I'm in the bathroom. Don't worry there's a shade you can pull down.


Walking around made me feel MUCH better, and afterward I was able to continue facing backward and look out the window without issue (still had to avoid looking at my phone though.)


Poor Jameson did feel better, but had to sit on the aisle so he could turn sideways. We ate the Biscoff I'd packed and a ginger candy each, and some other small snacks, and we made it just fine with no further issue. At the Fort Laud terminal we bought premade sandwiches and scarfed 'em down, then quick-walked to the theater. As we walked up to the front I realized that I recognized this one: The Broward Center, where I'd performed with Tootsie in 2022!

Lea's show was in a smaller adjacent theater, but still respectably large. We enjoyed finding her photo in the program and admiring the staging :)


The show was wonderful! Very well done, especially Olaf's puppetry and Lea's quick change during "Let It Go." Believe it or not, Disney Producer Jameson has never seen Frozen!!! I kinda wish he'd known the source material, but this also meant that I got to watch him be surprised by the two biggest plot twists (highlight white text for spoiler: A character who spends the whole movie being a good guy very suddenly becomes the villain; the "act of true love," which everyone expects to be a kiss from Anna's "prince," turns out to be an act of love between sisters/sisterly love.) Lea's singing and acting were fantastic, we were very proud for her! And the rest of the cast was exceptional too, the ensemble singing was very impressive and Anna was vocally incredible.

Afterward we met Lea in the lobby where she was taking photos with misc little girls wearing Elsa or Anna dresses :) We walked to a nearby taco place and ate while catching up and talking about nerdy musician, theater kid, and Disney stuff.


My chicken al pastor tacos were not exceptional, but they LOOKED pretty.


We got to spend a good hour with Lea, which is great because she's got a lot going on. She's recently started her own band and she and Jameson talked back and forth about promotional tactics and industry connections and rehearsal spots. I mostly listened but chimed in occasionally, and got Lea to myself for a bit while Jameson went to the bathroom so we got to catch up just-us as well. Too soon it was time for us to head back to the station. We hugged goodbye and congratulated Lea on her starring role and awesome performance.

While walking off his motion sickness, Jameson had apparently been annoyed enough about it to book us the PREMIUM tickets for the ride back! Therefore we got to wait in a bougie lounge with snacks and flavored water while we waited for the boarding call (we were too full from tacos to take advantage.) Our seating was QUITE different, with loads of legroom, a table...and of course, facing forward this time :P


Premium Brightline tickets come with snacks, complementary beverages, and a full meal! I enjoyed a hummus cup while Jameson had salami and cheese and a ginger-and-Jack. This time *I* was the one to feel motion sick because I kept looking at my phone, but I am very used to this happening--story of my whole travel-based life really!--and knew how to handle it. I can enjoy my phone/the view for about 45 minutes at a time, then have to take a break where I stare into space or put my head down for 15 minutes, then my body calms down and I get another 30-40 minutes of freedom from nausea. Wash rinse repeat. It's annoying, but at least I can still interact and have fun this way.

Dinner was holiday-themed with thick-cut turkey, butternut squash, a "holiday slaw," and a mini pecan pie for dessert. I wasn't hungry enough for this but Jameson enjoyed it. Instead I had an apple and ate his squash for him.


We reminisced about the circus on this ride, the motion of the train and how it reminded us of home. Chatted about our busy week ahead...all the stuff we normally talk about. I love how, even when we run out of things to say, we can sit in silence and be totally comfortable with each other. Jameson's the best :)

Soon enough we were back at the airport, riding a shuttle to the distant overflow lot and driving home. I was very happy to have ridden the Brightline and for experiencing both the economy and premium seating...I think both were excellent, and would be happy to ride either way again. Front-facing seats, of course!

We got home around 10 I think, and were too tired for anything but to clean up and get to bed. I was surprised with a package at the door from my brother Jonah. It was my Christmas present: A 1996 signed poster from the first national tour of Beauty and the Beast!!! Amazing!!! I will have to get it framed!

(now I feel like an even sh*ttier sister for sending him a gift card. boooooo)

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SUNDAY

Jameson was able to sleep in, but I was up at 7 because I wanted to hit Whole Paycheck and be home before lunch (It's an 80-minute drive round trip.) I needed a few very specific ingredients for the special The Office chili I was making, plus Whole Paycheck's cornbread mix is THE BEST so I wanted that too. The trip was successful and judging by the stop-and-go traffic that I saw on my way back, I'd beaten the Sunday morning theme park rush.

Back home Jameson had just finished breakfast and was leaving to do a Publix run. Meanwhile I broke down our cardboard boxes from Christmas, swept out the garage, and was going to practice trombone but our neighbor appeared with a huge plate of lemon bars for us! I accepted them with thanks but also unconcealed exasperation. This is the THIRD plate of sweet treats this neighbor has brought over, and it is too much. Half of these will end up in the trash along with all of the stale cookies that we couldn't eat. I hate wasting food. 

I practiced bass a little right before lunch, and after lunch helped Jameson fold his laundry before doing my own. Packed a few things in my suitcase but didn't go too crazy just yet. Got the chili going around 4pm so it could simmer on the stove for a full hour, and made the cornbread. It was a lovely recipe and very flavorful, even though it was 78°F (25.5°C) outside which is NOT chili weather! The rest of our evening was quiet.

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Monday: I'm visiting a car dealership and CARMAX to get an in-person estimate and to find out if I'll be able to sell my car before this layoff ends. Nothing else planned for the day so I hope to practice and make an ingredients list for New Years Day eats.

Tuesday: My final Candlelight performance in the evening. During the day I'll probably do some cleaning and practicing. A walk would be nice too. 

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

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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

MONDAY

Well first let me start by saying that last night's show went well. We have so far raised close to $165k for Broadway Cares, which I think is great! (No context yet for how that compares to other tours but we sure did try!)

After the show I carpooled back to the hotel where my Aunt had gotten inside safely! Yay! I had been so worried, what with all the key codes and fobs needed just to access the room. But she was chilling on the couch with some dinner and a movie when I arrived :)

We got caught up a bit, then she presented me with an amazing gift: this bracelet!!

It is a Disney x Pandora bracelet, and the rose is the clasp.
On the back of the rose are the words, "Until the last petal falls."
(remember that you can click the image to enlarge in a new tab) 


Now listen. I don't wear much jewelry at all. That's because I'm a minimalist, and because it opens up opportunities for things to clink against my trombone while I'm playing (necklaces especially as the trombone rests on my neck, and rings when I grab my metal mutes.) But a bracelet is less obtrusive. But that aside...I actually like it. The few pieces of jewelry that I do wear, I wear because they have emotional value or meaning/significance to me. The key to my train room, for example, I wear around my neck sometimes. Or my mother's ring (until it broke.)

This bracelet, and those words, and the person who gave it to me, mean SO MUCH to me.
I'm gonna wear it probably every day.

Anyway, it was late so we went to bed. Monday morning I was up early, excited to spend a whole day with my Aunt!

We started with breakfast at Paperboy. A beautiful little cafe downtown, and DANG the food was delicious!

We shared a ham and gruyere empanada:

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

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

A travel day to Austin, but BOY did it feel slow! Because San Antonio is so close to Austin and because hotels can't accommodate large group check-ins before 3pm, we stayed at the San Antonio hotel until 1pm. I didn't do much, just Houston Foodie Finds and a short walk outside to get fresh air.

Eventually we loaded up and got going. I ended up on the bus with Holly (Wardrobe/Madam), who loves to do...I don't know what she calls them but they're like little "travel day choreo" videos that she posts to social media. Basically if you're on the same bus as Holly, be prepared to do a little dance, lol! (Don't worry we can opt out if we don't feel like it!)

She waits until we're on the highway, then gets our attention and walks us through the choreo moves she's come up with. They're pretty simple, but sometimes there are a lot of them in rapid succession, so we do rehearse them several times and do 2-3 practice runs before she starts recording. Today it was a remix of the DuckTales theme song, paired with quite a lot of hand gestures. This is the second "travel day dance" I've been in...I never say no because it passes the time and helps me to be social for once :p

You'll barely see me but I'm in the very back on the right for most of the video, then closest on the left when she turns around at the back of the bus.


It was a very short bus ride and before we knew it we were there. Our company management had to switch our hotel at the last minute due to Sonder's sudden bankruptcy, so we weren't sure what to expect...but this other hotel is really nice! It's a lot like little apartments actually, which is perfect because my Aunt is coming to visit and she can enter the room without a key card, and also gets her own room! I will share more about the hotel at the end of week 2 when we've already left, for safety reasons.

There were grocery stores in easy walking distance so off I went, got everything that I needed and more. Dinner and spent a lot of time trying to find ABC on the TV but couldn't :( Jameson had performed in the recording of The Wonderful World of Disney Holiday Spectacular with the band Good Charlotte!! I wanted to watch it air "with" him, but it didn't happen. I'll have to stream it tomorrow...but at least with streaming I can pause and get some good screenshots.

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TUESDAY

I got up at 9am which is late for me. Must have needed the sleep.

Breakfast and watching Jameson perform with Good Charlotte! I took some screenshots when I could see him. He was typically only visible in sweeping/moving camera shots, so it was hard to get a clear still image, but I did my best.




I'm not sure how long the special will be available to watch for free, but here it is on YouTube for as long as it lasts.
If you want to see Jameson's part, it starts at 18:47 timestamp.


It was 90 minutes long and I didn't watch the whole thing, but did enjoy most of it. By the time that was done it was time for lunch, then I walked to Target again because this hotel is more apartment than hotel and I'm gonna need some extra little things to get through the week. Especially with my Aunt visiting! Mostly just more distilled water for my hot water kettle, and cleaning supplies because they don't do room servicing here. It was sunny out, and it was nice to get out and stretch my legs anyway.

I've been to Austin before...but I haven't BEEN to Austin before. With the circus we stayed on the train and bused straight to the arena with little time to explore; with Tootsie our hotel was far outside of town so kind of the same situation, I walked all around the campus and surrounding shops but never saw the suburbs or the actual downtown. This time we are staying pretty much in the suburbs, and I gotta say, it is hard to believe we're still in Texas!!

Coffee bars, bubble tea, industrial apartments, food trucks on every single block. Loads and loads of street art...art or stickers on every flat surface!


Weed vending machines!! Colorful houses!



Most interesting to me personally are the Waymo cars (self-driving cars.) I saw one on the night we arrived and thought maybe I'd just gotten lucky, but on this walk to Target I saw at least three more plus a competitor brand called Zoox. Not a single one had a driver.

Here's a compilation video of the self-driving cars I've seen so far. The night clip is my first time seeing one of these cars in person. The others are from watching one drive through an intersection. There was a third that stopped for me at a stop sign and let me cross. Sorry if oogling over this is lame but this tech is still novel and interesting to me.


Back at the hotel I didn't do much, just made sure that I was packed and ready to get to the theater. I AM sucking it up and doing a carpool this week but ONLY because my Aunt is coming to visit. It happened that there are no extended-stay-type hotels or affordable Airbnbs available within walking distance of the theater, so company housing was the best option. Carpool this week is with Michael (Key 3) and Dane (Flute) who are both excellent drivers, anyway.

I remembered the theater right away, it's really an auditorium on the UT college campus. Kind of bunker-esque backstage, but a lot more space than we had in San Antonio, for which we're all really grateful. Setting up in the pit was a breeze because of all the space, and the drum booth is back with us down there, yay! Sound check was a little rough because some of the speakers were VERY loud, the sound possibly rebounding off the concrete walls of the pit. Sound crew did their best to help us out, and I think we just need to adjust...it's hard to tell anything on the first day in a new pit! One of the trials of performing in different venues is having to adjust to vast differences in sound in each and every space. It just takes time.

Anyway, we got it figured out. I ate my packed dinner and got into my trunk for this-and-that, then it was showtime. A really nice audience, and afterward a woman came down to the pit nearly in tears to tell us how touched she'd been by the music especially. How wonderful! :)

Since neither Michael or Dan need the car tomorrow, I'm stealing it to visit the Asian grocery stores!! MUHAHAHAHAAA

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Wednesday: Visiting 99 Ranch (which I've been to before here) followed by Asahi Imports. One show in the evening.

Thursday: No plans as yet, but will probably try to figure out shipping for the records I bought for Jameson several cities ago, to get them home in time for Christmas. One evening show.

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

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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Additional note: I'm going to be making some changes to past entries to remove some content for safety purposes. This is because of an issue that was noticed over on LJ, but since this blog parallels all of those posts I will make the edits here as well just to fully ensure that this particular issue won't come up again. Thanks!

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WEDNESDAY

Because we got back so late from Tuesday's 8pm show, and because it was a blog-posting night, I didn't get to sleep until around 1am. But I was still awake at 7:30am, to my annoyance.

Breakfast, making overnight oats for tomorrow, grinding up a bag of lovely coffee I'd gotten in Kansas City (the coffee grinder lives in my trunk and it was my first time using it!) There were spoilers for the next two episodes of Hazbin Hotel all over the socials as soon as I woke up, and this made me ACHE to watch them right away to avoid spoilers online...but I also know that my favorite character is going to get brought low by a rival in these episodes, and part of me was dreading watching that play out. Ugh, I hope the writers don't kill him off....

Anyway, I resisted temptation to watch and finished the Austin Foodie Finds instead, then had a phone consultation with a local business that does tailored suits and suit pieces. Having an entire suit/tux jacket made just for me is QUITE out of my price range, and this consultation was to get advice. Either where they'd suggest I buy a ready-made jacket that I could then bring to them for tailoring, or to see whether they might have something already-made hanging out in their own stock that they'd be willing to tailor for me.

As expected, this shop doesn't have anything ready-made, they make everything from scratch. But she very kindly suggested an upscale shopping mall nearby, which in addition to Macy's and Nordstrom has many high-end stores that you don't often see, and who might actually have some pieces in stock that could be tailored. I did my research and believe that this will be my best shot to find a tux jacket before December, so I am planning to Uber out there on Monday, our "golden day"/day off.

(Watch me go through all of this trouble and then not get a single call for Candlelight this year. LOL)

That settled, I got dressed and walked downtown. It was a GORGEOUS weather day.


Like Orlando, Nashville is a hospitality city, and it shows.


For a random Wednesday I was surprised at how packed the streets were. Huge tour groups, student groups, couples sightseeing together, etc. Tour buses and carriages cruising up and down the streets, loud live or canned music pumping out of every single storefront creating a wash of noise over all the bustle. The last time I was here it was not so busy (pre-pandemic, even.) I strongly dislike loud crowded places, but still felt cheered to see the city apparently doing economically well.

I was here for one thing only: Hattie B's hot chicken!
I got there right at noon and was dismayed (though not surprised) to see a line out the door and wrapping around the building.


I queued up and scrolled my phone while we inched forward. 30 minutes later I got to place my order.


And 15 minutes after that my food showed up :) Medium-heat classic chicken sandwich with slaw.



Ooooh it was as good as I remember. Super-crunchy, hurts-so-good spicy batter around a juicy, perfectly cooked chicken breast. Cold crunchy creamy slaw. And a toasty bun. I tried to take my time but was REALLY hungry and that sandwich was gone in a flash! It's worth the wait, I tell you.

I'd hoped the sandwich would give me energy to stroll around a bit more, but having blown an hour in the queue surrounded by loud tourists and blaring music had drained my Stimulating Environment Battery. I'd walked over two miles to get to the restaurant, and felt it was OK to call a cheap Lyft to get back. There was still the walk to/from the theater tonight to get back some calories.

Mostly I was dying to watch Hazbin Hotel.
It was GREAT. I love a plot where you truly do not know what will happen next no matter how many scenarios you run in your mind. I guess that's what's hooked me with this series. Similar to what was appealing about Game of Thrones: no one is safe, not even main characters, and the plot is so twisty and so satisfying on all those twists and turns!

Anyway, dinner and time for the evening show. I felt distracted in my playing, which happens sometimes. Last week I had to be lazer-focused and pay attention to my dynamics pretty much at all times. This week I can go back to playing normally, but can't let my brain drift all around just because of that.

We once again had to do a show hold at the Transformation. I feel bad for everyone struggling with this part of the show! Hopefully the issue gets resolved soon.

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THURSDAY

I intentionally planned nothing today. Morning was spent with breakfast, diving into Dallas Foodie Finds work, and planning how to enjoy Nashville for the remainder of our time here.

Current plan, no guarantees I'll actually do any of this:

• Monday: Trip to a snooty swanky mall in a last-ditch effort at finding a tux jacket. Bea's dinner celebration..she's one of our Chip kids and will be leaving the tour.
• Tuesday: Lunch at Verna Cafe, seeing the mini-Parthenon, thrifting on Music Row. Haircut courtesy Haley (Head of Hair) at the theater.
• Wednesday: ???
• Thursday: Probably lunch at Verna again because there are multiple things I wanna try on their menu. Seeing anything I missed in the Music Row area.
• Friday: Jameson's birthday!!! No plans as yet but possibly more sightseeing downtown. One pastry from D'Andrews.

That's about it!

Anyway, nothing of note today except that during intermission at our evening show there was a 9-year-old girl by the pit with her family. She pelted me with lots of questions about what I was playing, what did it sound like (I played her some goofy trombone stuff :p )

She also had compliments!

Her: "You're pretty!"
Me: "Well thank you!" :D

Her: "How long have you played that thing?"
Me: "About 27 years."
Her: *thinking* ".......are you 27?"
Me: ".........yyyyyyyyyes. YES."

LOL!
Seriously adorable! Love it when people are interested in what we do down here, love answering questions about the instruments and the lifestyle and the show!!

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Friday: I've got to make some edits to this blog, which will be done by the time you see this post. Lunch at Radish Kitchen (healthy bowls) and maybe some sightseeing. One evening show.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows, no plans.