taz_39: (Default)
Thursday. Very very tired after 16 hours at Epic yesterday. I wanted to sleep in, but had to get up and go take care of my stupid mute situation.

Got to Ilan's house around 10 and he tried a smaller version of his mute, which looks like it'll be a better fit. We also tried each other's bass trombones, and I was annoyed because his felt much easier to play than mine. But five months ago I couldn't play bass trombone AT ALL, and would not have been able to tell which horns were a good fit even if I'd been able to try a bunch. Now I can tell, but can't do anything about it until there's an opportunity to try more horns.

Nerd stuff.

I got home around lunchtime, packed meals for Epic and practiced very minimally, then tried to rest.
I have friends out tromping around in this ungodly Florida heat right now, logging 10+ miles in the sun and then doing it again the next day or going to the gym same-day, and I wonder if there's something wrong with me that I'm exhausted after a fraction of that effort.

Around 8pm the "emergency" bass trombone mute I'd ordered showed up. It's a traditional aluminum mute, so it required modifications. While we watched TV I filed down the corks, cut away some of the felt around the base to allow the cup portion to move the way I'd like, and used a hammer and nail to slam a small hole through the bottom of the mute. All of these mods help the mute to sound better...and are also why Ilan's 3D-printed mutes are important. We shouldn't have to damage equipment to make it work properly!

Before bed someone shared this post with me, from the Harry Potter official Instagram account.
It's part of a post that you can see HERE titled, "How to Spend a Day in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic."
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This is important because the more Universal and "Harry Potter Official" acknowledge and promote the band's existence, the more job stability we have in the park. So far we have a small snippet in Universal's official Epic Universe trailer, and now this. Very good signs that Place Cachee Jazz might be sticking around!

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Friday morning, I felt exhausted but gotta suck it up. Time for a day at Epic.

I left earlier than usual because our set times are an hour earlier this week, and also with it being Memorial Day weekend and Epic fully open I wasn't sure how bad traffic would be. Luckily it was normal and I got there in time to get good parking and practice bass for 30 minutes. I had to practice in a stairwell again because the warm-up room was in use. As I was playing some of the wizarding students found me and perched themselves on the stairs to listen, lined up like little birds. They tried to guess which Beauty and the Beast song I was playing, and I had fun switching pieces for that game :)

Because park attendance is capped, it was not as crazy as we'd expected out there and our sets had "normal" attendance. It was extremely hot with heat indexes close to 100°F (37.7°C), and I felt awfully drained by lunchtime. Luckily there were many sweet treats floating around in celebration of opening weekend, so a small slice of cake and some butterbeer-flavored popcorn bucked me up!

We also received a few small mementos, including this touching card that was made using a pictures of our shows and rehearsals.
(Remember that you can click each image to enlarge)
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And this picture, which was taken after a set on Grand Opening night.
This is our management and I think also the production team.
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Before I knew it the day was done and I was packing up as usual.

Today I realized, I've only got FOUR more work days at Epic Universe before tour begins. Crazy!

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Saturday, managed to sleep until 8 and felt somewhat-recovered. But we were spending the whole day at Fringe Festival, which is outdoors. I made sure to hydrate extra before we left.

Boiling hot again, but we made the best of it. We ordered brick oven-fired pizzas from a food truck, they were delicious! Jameson ate all of his, I shared mine with two of his friends who joined us for the festivities.
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We went to see four shows throughout the day. The first was Everfolk. It was a show about a failed attempt to start a fantasy-based amusement park in Utah, involving Taylor Swift!
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This play was based on a real event, and now we are both interested to learn more about Evermore Park and how it almost came to be.

General sidenote: all Fringe productions are generally low-budget artistic statements when it comes to props, costuming, audio, and sound, but the artistry and vocal/acting/dance skills of the people involved ALWAYS shines through. I am always blown away at how much raw talent resides in the Orlando area, and always find myself wishing that there were more opportunity for all of us struggling to make it down here.

Before the next show we had time to kill, so went to the lawn/food truck area to grab a snack and drink. Canned alcohol was BOGO, so we got two nutrl seltzers, and Jameson got cheesy fries. I found a Vietnamese stand with a tiny old woman shaping dumplings, LEGITIMATE. I got her tofu summer rolls and they were excellent. We had a good time chatting and many of Jameson's theater and theme park friends stopped by to hug him and catch up :)

Next show was Ghost Stories by Paul Strickland. This was my favorite show purely because the timing of the light and audio effects was PERFECT. We found out later that this was because he brought his own sound/light crew, one of whom was his wife. Rarely at Fringe do you see GOOD audio/lighting; this might have been the first time I've seen it happen lol. It made his storytelling that much more immersive, and I sat perfectly still for the whole hour, entranced. Good stuff!

We only had time for a quick pee before the next show, which was outdoors. It was a stage combat version of CLUE! The "stage" was a dusty patch of earth under a big drooping tree, where we sat on benches and enjoyed watching CLUE characters pummel each other with everything from their fists, to knives and cudgels, to a garden gnome! But in the end it was POISON that "done them in," and the butler who finished the job with the candlestick (of course!).

We had a little time before our final show, so got ice cream sundaes. I asked for half the ice cream and double the toppings and got it! Lots of chewy brownies :D And yes, I took two Lactaid!

The last show was a condensed version of The Great Gatsby.
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I think the music was all-original for this production. The choreo was especially impressive. The storyline got a bit lost--if you hadn't read the book or seen the movie you might be a little confused--and there were LGBTQ+ and BIPOC elements added that are definitely not in the original story. But Fringe is all about artistic expression and interpretation, and these additions were in good taste for this production imo. I wasn't too impressed by the music, but the other elements were very well done and it was a good show. Our friend Lea played an important role and did an excellent job.

We met up with Lea afterward to share a drink with her and other members of the cast. At this point my social battery was 100% drained, so I'm sorry to say that I just stood quietly and tried to survive the crush of people and loud guffawing and screeching of actors around me :p I am completely understanding of the extrovert need to be loud, central, and "on," especially after the adrenaline rush of a performance well done. But I'm not that person, and it was better for me to hang back and not be a killjoy.

Eventually Jameson was ready to leave, so we said our goodbyes. Got home around 11, asleep by midnight.
It was a fun night, we go to Fringe almost every year and enjoy it every time :)

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Sunday, breakfast, laundry, dusting our big bookshelf which is a tedious chore that I only do about twice a year.

After lunch Jameson went for a haircut and I practiced trombone, then relaxed for a bit. It was Sunday and a holiday weekend after all.

Dinner was Olive Garden. A nice thunderstorm rolled through.

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Monday:
Memorial Day, I doubt I'll get much done other than cleaning, practice, and cooking dinner.

Tuesday:
Day off, probably running errands in addition to the usual stuff.

Wednesday and Thursday:
Working at Epic.
taz_39: (Default)
Posting early because Friday was very exciting and made for a long post.

My journal is ultimately for me and my memories, so don't feel obligated to like, READ.
There are some pretty pictures for you to scroll past. Enjoy.

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Friday May 16, 2025.
A day that will live in our hearts.
It was a "karma wave"...and boy did we ride it. You'll see what I mean.

We got up early, excited for our celebratory day at Hollywood Studios!
We got to the park around 9:10am, thinking that it had opened at 8, but it was actually 9, so we got better-than-usual parking! Didn't even have to ride the tram.

Walked right through the gates because we are fancy-schmancy Cast Members.
The first thing we did was to go to Guest Services to ask for Celebration Buttons.
Jameson has worked for Disney for YEARS and has never worn one, and of course I haven't either. But today was special. He got one that said, "Music Producer DEG!" and mine said "BNB National Tour!"
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(BNB is the acronym for Beauty and the Beast used in the theme parks. On tour it's BATB. I went with theme park version today.)

We paused to take photos of the pins, and Jameson used the photo to finally announce to friends and colleagues that he's accepted the Producer role.
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I am so proud of him!!!
And we were both just in awe, all day today, that we were getting to celebrate these life-wins TOGETHER.
We know how rare and special that is.

Next, we walked to Galaxy's Edge to try and queue for Rise of the Resistance. It was down, so we rode Mickey's Runaway Railway instead. I've ridden it before but Jameson hadn't, and I really wanted him to experience it. The tech used in the ride is very cool, and the 2-D aesthetic is fun and cute. We enjoyed it very much!

We used our Cast Member snack coupons to each get a free Mickey pretzel and bottled drink, then decided to see what wait times for Smuggler's Run were like. On the way there we had to pass the queue for Rise of the Resistance again, and we saw some people start to run toward it ahead of us and wondered why. They entered the queue...the ride had JUST opened back up! We rushed over and were able to walk the whole queue and board the ride with only a 10 minute wait!! On a Friday in May! A miracle!! (The average wait time for this ride is 1 hour!)

Neither of us had ridden it before, and once again we were blown away by the tech and visuals and overall ride experience. In fact we would have been willing to ride it again if the queue hadn't filled up!

From there we wandered a bit and window shopped. As we passed Oga's Cantina, Jameson noticed that the queue was lower than usual (it's a very popular bar and can be difficult to get in without a reservation.) We asked the hostess about the wait and were told 15 minutes, so we decided to go for it.

We had waited a grand total of just 60 seconds before our names were called and we were ushered inside!
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I can see why this bar is so popular. It's incredibly, intensively themed, the bartenders are extremely in-character, and drinking there is really an experience. Each drink that we saw looked unique and exotic; there were some that bubbled with dry ice, others with black ooze dripping down the lip or strange foams frothing over the top.

Jameson got the Fuzzy TaunTaun: Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps Liqueur, Orange Juice with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, and ‘Buzz Button Tingling Foam.
I got the Nysillin and Bubbles with Brub Berry Essence: Empress 1908 Gin, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Blueberry-Lime Juice topped with Tonic Water and garnished with an Edible Hibiscus Flower.
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Both drinks were amazing, with Jameson's having some very strange foam that caused one's lips to tingle and then go a bit numb! He let me try it and it was a very fun sensation. We wrapped the experience up with a Rodian Ration jell-O shot: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Dekuyper Pucker Sour Apple, Green Apple, Sprite, and Boba Balls with a Pop! This was really cool and a lot bigger than we expected, it was supposed to be a petri dish and had pop rocks and red chocolate "gravel" sprinkled on top. The boba balls inside were juicy and refreshing. Texturally this was fun to eat.
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A bit more wandering, then we went to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show.
Jameson has a good friend who plays Belle, and she got us VIP seats!! We were front and center!

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It was a lovely show, and of course made me think of the tour adventure awaiting me in June :)

We also had to go see Muppet Vision 3D, which is going to be closing permanently in early June. This was essentially the last time we'd ever see this show in person. It's a great show, funny and cute, but it's dated and I can see why it's being closed/replaced. It was a privilege to get to see it one last time.

For an afternoon snack we went to a random bar where Jameson got a beer and we shared a charcuterie.

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Next we rode Toy Story Mania, which is a shooting game. Jameson won, of course, as usual, and I sulked good-naturedly :p

We decided to try queuing for Smuggler's Run again as the wait time was only 45 minutes. But 45 soon turned into an hour, and longer, and by the time we were nearing the end of queue we both badly needed a restroom! Daunted by the thought of working our way aaaaaall the way back through the line (it is QUITE long), I volunteered to find a Cast Member to ask for help finding a restroom. The woman I found, Elaney, was so gracious; she immediately led us backstage to an employee restroom, without even knowing that we were Cast Members ourselves! When I saw that she was nervous to be taking us "backstage" I quickly told her that we work here too, and she was VERY relieved. Still, the fact that she would go out of her way like this for non-employees is exceptional, and we both took note of it.

Elaney let us rejoin the queue about where we'd left off, which we were very grateful for. Smuggler's Run was fun as usual (we've been on it three times) and this time we had two kids piloting our ship so we crashed A LOT haha. Jameson was laughing his head off, and I have to admit doing a bad job smuggling was a lot more fun than successfully delivering our cargo!

By the time that was finished we only had a little time before our dinner reservations. We just window shopped and enjoyed the vibes, then went to the most exclusive restaurant in Hollywood Studios: The Brown Derby.

You may remember that a few days ago when Jameson called me at the car dealership to tell me he'd gotten the Producer job, after hanging up with him I "got him something special." It was this reservation for this very fancy restaurant! Jameson has only eaten there once before, when he was too young to remember or appreciate the experience. And I've never been inside at all. I figured there was no better way to celebrate our achievements...and I was right :)

The first thing that went amazingly right was we met Dana.
Dana is a longtime Disney employee, possibly a manager at The Brown Derby. He noticed our Celebration Buttons and asked what we were celebrating. We told him, and he congratulated us and then engaged Jameson in a discussion about the "good old days" of Hollywood Studios since they'd both worked there around the same time period. He was just lovely, and when it was time for us to be seated our server started to take us to a standard table but Dana said, "No, let's celebrate properly!" and ushered us to a comfortable booth.

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From there we were treated to an incredible meal!
Jameson had a refreshing gin-and-lemon drink, I had a French rose wine.

We shared these escargot with
Roasted Garlic Béchamel, Crispy Prosciutto, and Puff Pastry.
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Jameson's entree was the Pan-Roasted Halibut: Braised Bok Choy, Roasted Cashew-Jasmine Rice, Olive Oil-macerated Heirloom Tomato, Thai Coconut Sauce.
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I had the Root Beer Brined Pork: Creamy Polenta, Pickled Corn, Herb Chimichurri, Barq's Root Beer Lacquer.
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It was absolutely incredible. I don't think I've ever had pork like that. Sweet but also a slight bit of heat, and the veggies there on the side are pickled which gave a great hit of acidity against the sweet pork and rich polenta. I was very surprised when those mini corn ears turned out to have been smoked by themselves, they had amazing flavor!

For dessert Jameson got a poached pear with vanilla panna cotta, and I did the Derby's famous grapefruit cake.
Both were incredible, but I have to admit that the poached pears were better than the cake. The flavor was so complex, fall spices and smooth clean panna cotta...it was just WOW.

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With dessert, Dana brought us each a celebratory mini-flute of champagne!
We made a very grateful toast to our career successes.
Throughout the day we had been talkng on and off about how we felt, what these recent life-events mean for us, what our hopes and dreams are for the future. This whole day was absolutely perfect, and this exquisite dinner was the perfect way to wrap up a celebration of each other. We have both worked extremely hard. Life is unpredictable and things may still not go as we hope or plan. But we had today. We had this moment where both of us had something amazing to celebrate, and the means to make this memory, which will live with us for many years to come.

Probably the most memorable of all was getting the check for this extravagant dinner!
Here was the crest of the "karma wave" we'd been riding all day :)
We were Cast Members, so we knew we'd get a discount.
But I had also brought our Cast Member Dining Discount coupons, which range from 20% off up to 50% off of a meal in the parks. I asked our server if The Brown Derby accepted Dining Discount coupons, fully expecting that they wouldn't (they usually can't be used in the upscale restaurants.) She asked me to give her a coupon and she'd see if she could apply it. I handed her the 50% off coupon, because why not? If there was a time to use that one, it was now. Again, fully expecting her to come back and regretfully inform us that she couldn't apply it, and perfectly happy to pay with our regular discount.

To both of our amazement, she came back with the check and no coupon.
WE GOT 50% off our meal!!!
I couldn't stop smiling like an idiot. We quickly paid (I gave her a MASSIVE tip) and got out of there, joking that they'd probably chase us down for the rest of the bill!

We considered sticking around for the Fantasmic show, but it had been a scorching day and we'd been outside in 90-degree heat nearly the entire time. We were wiped. We drove home, happy and full and exclaiming over how exceptionally WELL this day had gone. I seriously felt that the universe was celebrating with us.


Tally of Awesome Things:


     - Excellent parking
     - A mere 10-minute wait for Rise of the Resistance
     - Getting to see Muppet Vision 3D one last time before it closed
     - Getting into the most exclusive bar in Galaxy's Edge with essentially no wait time
     - Getting "rescued" by an amazing Cast Member in the Smuggler's Run queue
     - VIP seating at the Beauty and the Beast stage show
     - Special seating, complementary champagne, exceptional service, and 50% off our meal at The Brown Derby!!!
     - Getting to spend an entire uninterrupted day with each other, and both of us in a good place in our lives.


To try and pay back some of the "karma wave," or "pay it forward," as soon as we got home I went to the Guest Services website and filled out a Cast Compliments form for both Elaney (the woman who helped us in the Smuggler's Run queue) and Dana (who went out of his way to make our evening exceptional.) When Cast Members receive kudos, they don't necessarily "get" anything other than a pat on the back and a certificate. But I used all of my skills with words and did everything in my power to show that these two really deserved recognition. So who knows...at minimum I hope they are touched by these words and proud to be who they are :)

Here is what I wrote:


"I have TWO cast Members to recognize!

"First was Elaney working on May 16 around 4pm at Smugglers Run. My partner and I had been waiting in queue, and he suddenly needed a restroom. But we were almost to the ride, and weren’t sure if we’d make it all the way back through the queue in time for him. I went looking for assistance and found Elaney, who guided us to a nearby restroom and waited with us to ensure our safety and comfort. We were then able to rejoin the queue and still ride the attraction. Elaney was empathetic, kind, and most of all she put our safety and health first. We appreciated her so much today, and really wanted her to know that and to recognize her for that.

"And next we have Dana at the Brown Derby. We made dinner reservations at this special restaurant to celebrate both of us recently getting amazing career advancements. We were wearing celebration pins, and Dana noticed and took time to inquire what we were celebrating. We told him, and he not only congratulated us and engaged us in a lovely conversation, he also seated us at a comfortable booth and arranged for us to each receive a flute of celebratory champagne to toast our success! The evening was already so special, but Dana went out of his way to make it EXCEPTIONAL. We will remember our fantastic meal at the Brown Derby for years to come.

"Both of these Cast Members showed us what it means to actively apply The Disney Way, and how that seemingly small extra effort can turn a guest’s experience into not just a day at Disney, but a treasured lifetime memory. As Cast Members ourselves, my partner and I were touched and inspired by the service we received from these two individuals today. We would appreciate if you could pass on our gratitude and thanks."

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If you've made it this far, congrats, you've probably met your reading quota for the entire day.

What can I say, today was incredible. We are both grateful beyond anything in words.
taz_39: (Default)
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.
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A dragon topiary outside Japan.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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(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!

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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.

taz_39: (Default)
Up very early again for Epic.

30 minutes to do the hair. I am pretty annoyed because I just got it cut on Monday, and they did not cut it short enough to avoid a potential bun, so now I have to pay to get it cut AGAIN. I've written in this blog many times about never being able to get a good haircut, and once again here I am with the simplest ask in the world--"Please cut it 2 inches shorter"--no special layering or styling or anything--literally just remove two inches of hair--and it's like I've asked for the stylist to bring me the sun, moon, and stars on a platter. I got home and tied up my hair and had to ask what the hell I'd just paid for. Maybe I should invest in a self-haircut 101 course, if there is such a thing, because I am tired to death of the scam that is hair salons.

Anyway. Breakfast and off to Epic.

We had our prop for most of the day...it broke once but in a fixable way, so we only had to do one show without it.
There were good crowds, and we saw Mariah (trombone) with her boyfriend, and I was surprised to see some Main Street Philharmonic people and other musicians that I know around town, who texted later to tell me how much they'd enjoyed our show and to explain that they have spouses or other family working at Universal (hence how they were able to get in for previews.) It was fun to see familiar faces out there :)

Curious to see what people think of the new park after their previews? Reddit thread HERE (Mild spoilers, nothing to ruin a visit.)

The strangest part of the day, for me, was being contacted by almost every single employer/gig on my roster!

Transcription job wrote to say there's a hold on government court cases, and would I like some civil cases instead? Sure, I said.
Easter gig sent more music, and the coordinator asked me to pick up some music from her and bring it to the gig.
My Main Street Philharmonic boss texted to try and get me to fill in as an emergency (literally within the hour), and I had to say no.
An all-female Chicago tribute band that I'd signed on with and completely forgotten about messaged to send music and coordinate a rehearsal.
My third party boss for Epic wrote to offer reimbursement on the junk trombone I bought, if I'd create him an invoice.

And the coordinator for the Steamboat Lillies (usually known as the all-female band Hourglass) sent more music, and put up an ad for our gig which I promptly shared.
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In fact the only job/gig that I didn't hear from today was the tour, but I heard from them just yesterday!

Did the stars align in such a way that compelled people to communicate today, for once?
I love it! If only people were this informative and on top of communication ALL the time! :D

Partly because of this bombardment of music and scheduling, and partly because I felt it was the right thing to do, I cancelled my bass trombone lesson this evening. I couldn't picture Will and I doing anything except the same handful of exercises I've been half-neglecting while all this tenor trombone work rolls in, and also felt I'd be distracted thinking about how I need to practice all the new music I'd just received. Didn't want to waste Will's time nor mine. We can resume again on the 17th, after the busiest week in April is out of my face.

Back home Jameson was out to dinner with friends. I washed myself up, changed our sheets, downloaded the new music, made the invoice for my boss, and practiced bass for about an hour, then crashed. Dancing around in 90F / 32.2C weather drains you quickly, no matter how much water you drink.

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Slept poorly and was up too early, but enjoyed the quiet time to myself anyway.

Once Jameson was up and off to the gym I practiced bass trombone for an hour and ran a few small errands before lunch, then after lunch got my stupid hair cut a stupid second time. This time walked in with it up in the ponytail already and showed exactly where I wanted it cut, and she just angrily lopped it off. So now it looks ridiculous, like a little squared tassel, and no shaping at all was done so it looks terrible when it's down as well.

Whatever. I clearly have bad hair karma, and there have been so many bad cuts at this point that I can't afford to expect a good outcome anymore. I can still tie it back and it's certainly not long enough for a bun, so mission accomplished.

I was supposed to practice tenor trombone in the afternoon but felt tired and unmotivated. It's probably because I'm not looking forward to the Steamboat Lillies gig any more...seeing that EVIL JAZZ IMPROV in my part was a big turn-off. I can't tell you guys how much I hate improv, I find nothing enjoyable about it at all and feel like a fool every time I attempt it. Well...at least the other 80% of the gig should go just fine!

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Saturday was my preview day at Epic Universe, and it was absolutely wonderful!
So much happened that I decided to make that it's own post, which you can read HERE.

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Sunday, I was up early to type up that massive Epic Universe blog post. Uploading photos, resizing them, embedding videos, adding links, and remembering how the day went sure does take a lot of time and effort! In the process I found many lovely clips and footage of Place Cachee Jazz featuring Mariah (trombone), Adam (trumpet), and Adrian (clarinet).

Here is a 6-minute clip of our show:



After Jameson got up and around we went to Publix together.
Back home putting groceries away, doing laundry and running the dishwasher, eating lunch, packing for Epic tomorrow, and darning my Chain Chomp shirt because last night I'd found a hole in it!! It was such a clean cut that I think it must have happened when an employee was cutting the merch box open. Jameson suggested that I take it back, but I can't go to the other worlds while working so I'd have to ask a Universal employee to go all that way and switch it out for me. I decided it'd be easier to sew it up myself. I watched a YouTube video and it seemed easy enough...and it was! Except...I wasn't paying attention, and did it backwards, so the bulge-y part was on the OUTSIDE. Lol! I don't mind, you can barely see it anyway and it'll be a cute reminder of this moment :)

Practiced bass for an hour but once again couldn't drum up the motivation to practice tenor.
My plan now is to practice things during the breaks between Place Cachee sets at Epic. We'll see if this actually happens.

The rest of the night was quiet. Jameson made us hot dogs on the grill and we watched anime or gamed respectively.

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Monday and Tuesday:
Working at Epic Universe. I wonder if anyone will record our shows? I hope so!

Wednesday: Subbing in at the Magic Kingdom.

Thursday:
A "day off" that would have been a lesson with Will, but he's got surgery so we've cancelled.

I'm also supposed to be learning how to do civil court cases for my transcription job, but add that to the list of things I'm unmotivated to do right now.
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The preview day that Jameson and I selected for Epic Universe was Saturday April 5th.

We got up a bit early and fought traffic to the guest parking lot.
(This is one thing that still badly needs work...it took us 20 minutes to get into the lot from less than a mile away, and the park isn't even open yet! I really hope they add more access points soon.)

As we were parking, my WhatsApp started pinging. It was my Epic Universe group chat.
The photo/media ban had been lifted! We were allowed to take pictures and video!!
And here I was pulling up to the park, ready for a full day of seeing it!!


I've never had much luck with money...but BOY do I have good luck with life experiences!!

As we were walking to the Chronos portal, parking employees and security guards and EVERYONE was shouting to guests, "The photo ban is lifted! Take pictures! Take video!" One even screamed, "Someone, take a photo of meeeee!!!"

Everyone has had to keep quiet for SO LONG. It's hard! I think we are all relieved and excited to share what we've been working on all this time!

The Chronos portal, the entrance to Epic Universe, and my first photo of the park!
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We walked in and were in Celestial Park, which is the hub where all the "world" portals meet.
Here there are gardens, lots of food options, rides, and kiosks for future shops (most of which are still closed.)
It is a very beautiful park, and has been well-documented already, so I didn't take many photos here.
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(stock image)

The primary ride offerings are the Stardust Racers coasters, and the carousel.
We watched the coasters for a while...they are beautiful to see, and I've heard that they're one of the best coasters Universal has ever done. I can believe it. The carousel was running, so we rode that. The animals are not attached at the ceiling, which makes for a really cool effect and you also go up higher than expected! The animals are all based on constellations. It doesn't move in a plain circle like a traditional carousel, either, and that was surprising and fun.

CLICK HERE to see my footage of riding the carousel


We continued to the Wizarding World / Ministry of Magic portal, because we wanted to grab a drink and catch my show's set before seeing the Circus Arcanus show.
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It was such a cool thing, to walk into this park as a guest for the first time.
Looking around...there was where we rehearsed for 3 hours one day because there were paint fumes where we normally rehearsed. Here's the wall I watched someone "age" for a week. There's the shop where we got to watch a magical creature animatronic being installed. It is truly such a special thing to have seen a theme park being built from the ground up!

Anyway, we first stopped at Bar Moonshine for a fancy cocktail featuring absinthe and limoncello (no idea what else was in it but it was delicious!)
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I could hear my group performing outside, so as soon as we had our drinks we rushed out.

For the first time: meet Phillipa, Chandler, Jules, and our puffskein named Plume!!!

CLICK HERE for footage of the band performing!


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(video and first 2 photos from Attractions Magazine, last photo from me)

I am SO GLAD that we don't have to hide our show any more!!!

These three (Mariah as "Phillipa," Adrian as "Chandler," Adam as "Jules") are "the PR Trio" that I've been talking about.
They're the three who are chosen to perform any time there's a PR event or Warner Bros. execs in the park. So of course they did an amazing job today!!

After they finished I was gratified to see one of our stage managers take a group photo of them and immediately share it on LinkedIn. The media ban is INDEED lifted. Hooray!
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(photo courtesy Brendan)

Soon, I'll have media of my own performances to share! How exciting!

We finished our drinks quickly and queued up for Cirque Arcanus.

Jameson in the queue. The theming of the queue gave us both a bit of nostalgia for our time with Ringling Bros.
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The show was, once again, mind-blowingly incredible.
I'll say it again: if you get a chance to visit Epic Universe, this show is a MUST. Make time for it in your itinerary.
The level of performance, and staging technology, happening in this show, is going to change the entertainment industry.

We explored some of the Place Cachee shops and mentally bookmarked some things that we might want.
We visited Cosme's wand shop so I could show Jameson the circus Ringmaster's wand, and introduce him to Cosme herself (all of the Place Cachee / Ministry of Magic performers share break rooms and dressing rooms, so I see all of the Cosme performers, Aurors, Exchange Students, Living Portraits, and Circus performers, EVERY day!) Cosme has a custom wand, and showed it to Jameson, that was super cool :)

We then used my wand to cast a few spells around the park, getting a niffler to drop it's horde of coins and making some musical instruments move around in a shop window!

From there we entered the portal to Super Nintendo World.
The last time I was able to go, the park was still heavily under construction. This was my first time seeing it complete!

CLICK HERE to see the portal to Super Nintendo Land courtesy Attractions Magazine

We saw that Mario and Luigi were out for a meet-and-greet, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for that!
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We explored the gift shops and saw LOTS of things that we wanted, but managed to narrow it down to a few things haha.
Since it was about lunch time we decided to eat at Toadstool Cafe.
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(stock image)

The theming in there is absolutely adorable. Every once in a while Bowser's flying battleship floats through and the lights dim, things become ominous, ADORABLE, then it moves on and the Mushroom Kingdom continues going about it's business :D

All of the restaurants in the park, by the way, are self-serve, which is SO MUCH FASTER.
There are QR codes at every table. You scan them for the menu, pick what you want, order it, and pay.
Done. No waiting for the check. No hoping your server heard you say "No mayo" above the racket. You just eat and leave when you're ready. We absolutely loved the convenience of this throughout the day!

Anyway, We got a bunch of foods to try!

Jameson had spaghetti and meatballs. I tried his meatball and it was delicious, tender and with a little bit of spicy heat (not too much, just barely noticeable and very tasty!)
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(LA Times photo)

I had the chicken Caesar salad, which I realize is "boring" but A) look at the adorable Super Star plating! B) I knew we'd be eating A LOT today so tried to at least be slightly healthy here lol.
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Mushroom-shaped "garlic knots." Very tasty!
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Our dessert, a Question Box tiramisu. The question box was shortbread cookies, and inside was an absolutely decadent and delicious tiramisu. We enjoyed it very much, and it looked so cute!
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We decided to walk our lunch off at Berk.
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(stock image)

This is the only park I'd never visited during construction, so I was very excited to see it. It did not disappoint! The theming is immersive and adorable. It's a land definitely geared toward a younger audience, but it is also beautiful and there's lots of people of all ages to enjoy. We tried to ride a Viking water boat ride/shooting game, but it broke down while we were in queue so we ended up bailing. Then we queued up for a Toothless meet-and-greet, which was going smoothly until a huge crowd of INFLUENCERS showed up with media passes and bogarted the line (-_-#) What started as a 15-minute wait became an hour.

But we consoled ourselves with the knowledge that once the park was open, the wait would be at least 2 hours long, daily. Not only that, during previews meal and merch prices are HALF OFF. There were only about 11,000 people in the entire park, across all the worlds. Every queue that we were in, every experience that we enjoyed today, was EXCEPTIONAL compared to what paying guests will have to endure. We made very sure not to EVER forget that, and be appreciative even while waiting!!

Finally, our patience was rewarded :)

CLICK HERE to see our meet and greet with Toothless!

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As you can see from the video, the level of expressiveness and interaction from Toothless is astounding. I know that he is controlled by a puppeteer, and also some of his sounds and expressions are controlled by someone with an iPad somewhere. Seeing al this artistry and tech come together in this experience was absolutely wonderful. We got to see several small children interacting with Toothless, and you could tell...they completely thought he was REAL. It's going to be a very memorable experience for kids and their parents, that's for sure.

We saw lots of other cool interactive tidbits throughout this world, including an Astrid and Stormfly meet and greet, and several fun statues that would move or make noise if you turned a big wheel at their base. I'm sure loads of footage will be forthcoming...we didn't take as much footage here because of all the media/press swarming around while we were in this world. I felt silly with my little phone while surrounded by people wearing stabilizers and high-fidelity mics and thousands of dollars-worth of media gear. Let them document this for you :)

We entered the Untrainable Dragon stage show. You can already see this show in its entirety on YouTube because it's in Universal Beijing. Jameson had seen it before, but I hadn't. Again, the technology and puppetry, animatronics and acting and staging, all made for an incredible show! In my opinion the Circus show is still "the groundbreaking one," but this show is also extremely impressive and well worth seeing if you can stand the wait.
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(stock image)

We wandered Berk a bit looking for the Mead Hall, yet somehow couldn't find it? Not sure what our problem was haha.
From there we went to Dark Universe for a cooldown and a drink. The Toothless queue had been in the sun for nearly an hour, and the show queue hadn't been much cooler. Stepping into Das Stakehaus, we were greeted by blessed darkness and cool air :D The whole ambiance is to make you feel like you're underground, among twisted tree roots and coffins shifting in the soil of the walls. The lighting is reddish and dim, and it flickers every once in a while whenever Frankenstein's daughter harnesses the town's electricity for one of her experiments.

In other words, it's a VERY cool restaurant!
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(stock image. I'm sorry for all the stock images but I was far more intent on enjoying my experience than being an influencer!)

Jameson had a spiced beer, and I enjoyed a Darkthorne Mead which was a very tangy, sweet cider featuring blackberries, vanilla, and spices. Jameson took a lot of footage here for his mom, who enjoys all things spooky.

Outside the restaurant it is quite themed too. Some vampires on display:
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As we were rounding a corner we saw Bride of Frankenstein doing a meet-and-greet! Couldn't resist!
We had a big ol' philosophical discussion. She knew right away that I was a musician....I wonder how.... ;)

CLICK HERE
 to see our interaction with Bride of Frankenstein


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I'm kind of going out of order here, but actually the first thing we did when we got to Darkmoor / Dark Universe was try to ride Monsters Unchained. I was very apprehensive about it, but Jameson really wanted to try it so I screwed up my courage.

Nothing to do with monsters....EVERYTHING to do with MOTION SICKNESS.

The queue was incredibly themed and amazing to walk through, I'm sure there will be MANY spoilers soon (HERE is one of the ride.) The preshow is apparently amazing too...but we didn't get that far. Right before the preshow is a holding area where they show you what the ride will be like...yikes. I could feel the blood draining from my face as I watched the seats jerk around, sideways and around and nearly upside-down. Nope. Even just 5 minutes of that was going to be too much. Universal is known for using high-res screens and simulated motion to create an immersive experience. This is not something that my brand of motion sickness can handle, at all. Jameson and I looked at each other, then backed out, following the single-rider lane out to the gift shop.

I'm sorry that we missed out, but also, crisis averted. This was a definite case of "know thyself." Many other people will greatly enjoy this ride. For us, it would have ended the day!

We returned to Super Nintendo World to ride some rides we KNEW we could handle lol.
The Mario Kart ride was awesome! First the queue, which was themed to look like Bowser's castle study. The second part was a factory for the Bomber Bills and Bob-ombs, I didn't record that part. Bowser's study was great, I loved the titles of the books, the Bowser-sized furniture, and the little Boos floating around!

CLICK HERE to see my footage of Mario Kart queue


The ride itself uses Augmented Reality, which is just so incredibly cool and immersive. It felt like you were really in the game at times! There probably won't be many POVs of this ride because cameras won't be able to focus through the AR goggles. If you've played Mario Kart, it's very similar. Jameson got 117 coins, I won with 132! TAKE THAT MUAHAHAHAHAAAA :p
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(stock image)

We rode Yoshi's Adventure as well. It's meant for little kids BUT is worth riding for the incredible view of Nintendo World. HERE'S a good clip of the ride in Japan, the one in Orlando is exactly the same.

We went back to the gift shops for the items we'd picked out earlier, then returned to Ministry of Magic for dinner.
Neither of us were deeply hungry, so we treated ourselves to butterbeer and butterbeer crepes.
I got to try the crepes during restaurant testing/rehearsal, but Jameson had never had them and he loved them.
Definitely one of the best dessert offerings in the parks!
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We cast a few more spells, including a kite shop spell that blasted air on us and a mysterious shop where a Demiguise apparated and then faded away. So cool.
We then walked the Ministry of Magic queue. The ride was not open (it's had troubles since day one), but the queue is so immersive, incredible, themed, and MASSIVE, you have GOT to check it out!

THIS Attractions Magazine footage is better than what I got, so check it out! Simply astounding.

We hit one more gift shop, then it was after 7pm and time for us to leave.

Wow.

Such an incredible experience, that we were grateful to have.
Being able to see and do as much as we did, without massive crowds and essentially for free/at significantly reduced cost, and with a fraction of the wait times, is something that will NEVER happen again in our lifetimes. This was an experience I'll never forget!!

Back home, I lined up our modest merch haul for a photo.
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Jameson got the Mario Kart magnets for himself.
He also bought me that Place Cachee picture frame shaped like the Phoenix Arch. He got it so I can put my first decent show photo in it. This was so thoughtful and sweet! I can't wait to find a good photo for it!

For myself, I got a Chain Chomp shirt and a matching Chain Chomp enamel pin (Jameson saw it at the register so I HAD to get it lol)
The Japanese text says "Wanwan," that's what Chain Chomp was originally called. "Wan wan" is the sound of a dog barking.

My wand is pictured just because I've shared it here in Friends Only posts, but not in public ones (I think.)
We also kept our Bar Moonshine cups as a sort of souvenir.

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I know I've said it like 80 times but this was such an incredible experience.

I know that the park will be packed and crazy and expensive the minute it opens. But in a year or two, if you have a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. There is no other theme park like it out there. Even with previews (not all rides working, not all restaurants and shops open) we had an incredible time, and this is going to be well worth a visit for anyone coming to Orlando.

Thanks for following my journey of working for Epic Universe, and getting to experience it!

Starting today, there will be LOADS of footage of the entire park.
The jig is up, the secret is revealed!

I cannot wait to work in coming days and see footage of our show popping up!!

Nerd Stuff

Mar. 30th, 2025 07:53 pm
taz_39: (Default)
Thursday I was up at 8 which is late for me anymore.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...and went for a neighborhood walk.
The weather today was warm, breezy and 75F (23.8C) and there won't be many more days like this.
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One of our neighbors has planted these gorgeous roses.
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Back home lunch and a shower, Jameson had an afternoon meeting so I did quiet things like dumping transcription files to an external drive, looking for wallpapers for my new iPad, and researching getting a will. I'm not all that old and I don't have loads of assets, but there are things like my trombones that are rare and valuable and I'd like for those to be handled properly, and would like to leave as little work for my younger siblings as possible whenever I cack it.

While doing that I was surprised to see an email from Epic Universe land in my inbox...an invitation to queue up for PREVIEW TICKETS!!!
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(This girl from the Epic commercials is essentially my inner child right now)

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

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

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

Aaaaah!

Ok, ok, back to the present.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grocery store sushi on the way home, hot tea when I got home.
Jameson has begun putting together a LEGO Piano set that he got at a discount. It's huge and I've no idea where it will live, but maybe we'll figure that out by the time he's finished it!
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Monday & Tuesday:
Days "off." Lots of transcription, probably gonna make us Chicago dogs.

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

In closing: Did you know that ChatGPT can make any picture you give it into an anime version? I fed it two photos and they are adorable!
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taz_39: (Default)
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!
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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!
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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!
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(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.
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(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 :)
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(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!!
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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.
taz_39: (Default)
Enjoyed Monday very much, because it was a weekend for me :)

Woke up early to do transcription, but it was raining heavily outside, and with a lovely cup of coffee and an easy case it was very relaxing. Jameson was up early as well for physical therapy for his arm. It's going well but is of course painful.

Other events-of-the-day:

- It ended up raining all day. It was wonderful.
- In addition to transcription, I practiced bass and went to the grocery for lasagna ingredients.
- Enjoyed writing and chatting with misc friends throughout the day.
- Cooked us teriyaki chicken kabobs, Mila chicken soup dumplings, and steamed edamame for dinner. It was "ok" but the teriyaki sauce needed something, it was kinda boring.

- I got a gig! It's not until April and it's just a one-nighter. BUT I get to wear a costume and play 1920s stuffs!
Not confirmed but I'm pretty sure it's this band:



Now I've got another fun thing to look forward to!

Hmm. Somehow I thought I did more than this today, but I guess not. Oh well! :p

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Tuesday was another glorious day off but wasn't very relaxing. A lot to do!

First was transcription early in the morning. I submitted one job and will hold the other hostage until the day before it's due so they don't send me new work during the back-to-back Epic rehearsal days.

Then I drove the caramels out to my friend Bill, which is two hours round trip. It's a nice drive, but I spent half of it using dictation to respond to a flurry of text messages and group chats as our Epic rehearsal was rescheduled twice and then put back to the original time, and then the musicians in the gig I just got were messaging about reserving a rehearsal space. Anyway got the caramels dropped, chatted with Bill a bit. He tried a caramel and said they were excellent. Good!

Back home lunch, then prepping the salad and parts of the lasagna for dinner tonight.
Practicing bass and memorizing another Disney tune.
Packing lunch and dinner for Epic tomorrow, and prepping breakfast too.
Made the lasagna while Jameson was in a meeting. It's a recipe I've used before, halved, and it turns out great every time. Now he can eat out a little less while I'm at Epic for the next three days.

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Wednesday, up early to shove my soul into my body for Epic rehearsals.

Showed up early enough to get a decent parking spot, even!
I brought the remaining caramels from the batch I'd made for Bill, and everyone who tried them enjoyed them (we didn't get much indoor time today.)

It was a very weird day. Mock service is in full swing, so lots of employees walking around in civilian clothes riding rides, eating at restaurants, shopping, and taking in entertainment as though they were guests. There were also some Warner Bros. honchos on site later in the day.

Both of the other trombone ladies had gigs that night and left at 2pm. Up to that point Dwight (show director) had us practicing things with our prop "backstage" since we couldn't do it in the actual park during mock service. Then we were told we'd do shows at 1:30 and 3:30, so I got into costume and makeup, but the schedules were running behind (shows are on a schedule so as not to overlap/compete. If one is late, subsequent shows can be late or even canceled.) We didn't do the 1:30 but did do the 3:30.

It was the first time any of us have done a show, in full costume, with our special prop. With EVERYTHING! We even had our hats and wands!! Fun fact (which I'll hope is not an NDA violation): My wand is from Ollivander's, but the boys' wands are from Cosme Acajor. I am a bit jealous because Cosme's wands are new and shiny, but having a wand at all is very exciting!

The new wands from Cosme Acajor's shop in the Ministry of Magic.
Remember that you can click on images to enlarge them.
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(photo courtesy wdwnt.com)

And they WORK on the interactives in the park!! Between activities Adrian the clarinetist and I snuck away to wave our wands at as many interactive things in the park as we could. Mine did not work, possibly because it's from the "other" wizarding world. But Adrian's set everything off and it was very fun to see!

Ahem. The 3:30 went as well as it could considering all of the new factors that we were dealing with. Some things went pear-shaped, but for the most part it went pretty well. It's really exciting to be SO CLOSE to a truly complete show :)

All day long the WESH2 helicopter was circling. All. Day.
Here's what they got:



To close out the day we did a show run in the park out of costume (mock service ended at 4pm.) So OF COURSE that’s when the Warner Bros honchos came through! Lol. That run went fine. Personally I don't care who's in the audience; it doesn't change how I play. Unless it's my parents. But that's a moot point now.

It was a more relaxed day than expected, and I was thankful for that.

Back home Jameson was helping some friends with a keyboard issue...he knows so much about all types of keyboards!...and instead of practicing I took it upon myself to dig out the old, ugly, stinky "frankenbone" that my friend Brett sent me a while ago when I was looking for a spare trombone to use at Disney. I hadn't ended up needing it because I found a guy with a spare Earl Williams that he was willing to trade for my Minick. But when I'd tried to return it to Brett he'd asked me to just keep it or donate it. A throwaway horn.

Part of using our new prop at Epic Universe involves setting my trombone down and, uh...."doing lots of stuff involving movement" around it. Not just me, but my colleagues in the show. As my trombone is one-of-a-kind and not replaceable if something happens to it, I am VERY uncomfortable with this. Myself and the other trombone ladies have voiced this discomfort many times, but ultimately the problem is that I'm bringing a rare trombone into a situation where it could be damaged. So, fine. I cleaned up this "frankenbone," which is not very fun to play, but the guests don't know that. I'll have no problem if it's hit, knocked over, or damaged during our show.

Cleaning the trombone took me until 9pm, so no practice today, but that's all right.

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Thursday and Friday:
Two more Epic rehearsal days.

Saturday & Sunday:
Days "off." Starting a new transcription job, meeting with a tax preparer, cooking dinner, practicing, cleaning...the usual.
taz_39: (Default)
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.


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(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!!
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(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!!!
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(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!
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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!
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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.
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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:
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"Chickens" refers to the fluffy white plumes on the band's hats!
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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.
taz_39: (Default)
Monday, good lord I was tired.
I'm a 90% sedentary person, so all this dancing around and tromboning in the sun for 8 hours a day + 12,000-17,000 steps feels like a lot. But it's gonna be eight days of it so I'd better adjust.

A little extra coffee was helpful.

Today was special because we got to rehearse in our actual performance spot!
Which of course I can't describe, womp womp NDA.
Also, it is in direct sun for the entire day from about 10am to 4pm, and that is going to be...tough. Because we have to be period-appropriate, and there weren't sunglasses in the 1920s in Paris (well they existed, but only as a treatment for syphilis.)
But we did fine, we just had to take breaks from the sun. When we are doing shows and not rehearsals, we will be outside for shorter periods of time......though it'll be hotter then too. Can't win haha.

I had a special thing happen: I might have made a change to the show!
While watching some of our actions/acting, I decided to have my character do something that *I* would do. It was just a small thing, but due to the timing it made everyone laugh uproariously. And to our surprise the show director didn't tell us to leave it out, so the next two casts copied it, and THEY weren't told to remove it either. So maybe it's in now? I'd love it if we could keep it. If so, it would be my own little contribution to this creation. And if not, it'll be a lovely memory.

We were released a little early, partly because it had been a hot day and partly because a lot of us have other gigs going on this week and the show director didn't want us "blowing our brains out" by which he means overplaying and injuring ourselves. I got home before 7pm (so rare!) and packed breakfast-lunch-dinner. practiced bass, all the usual.

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Tuesday, we had a slow start to the day because there was a lot of activity in our part of the "world."

We did rehearse in Our Actual Spot, but only briefly; there was a lot of painting going on and this time instead of fumes we could actually taste the paint in our mouths each time we finished playing. Like, there were particles in the air. It was totally gross and after a while between that and the dust we couldn't stand it and ended up moving. But then in the other spot we kept having to move for the cherry pickers, then a helicopter came and essentially sat on top of us making a big racket (and also probably getting footage that they shouldn't have of us rehearsing!) so our show director got exasperated and were dismissed to lunch early.

I used my lunch break to hit Whole Paycheck for my usual treats, since there is no day off for me this week.

When lunch was over we were able to do a few show run throughs, and we also enjoyed our first wand/spell tutorial!
Another show director (Pishta? Pasha?) came over from the Fantastic Beasts stage show to teach us (our director doesn't know Harry Potter lore.) We learned that there is a specific way to handle your wand involving three steps, which can be learned by reading the Cast-a-Spell Handbook.

Step 1: "Holster." The wand is in its holster and you grasp it.
Step 2: "???" I forget what this one was called but it was something obvious like "prepare to cast a spell" haha. Removing the wand from the holster and holding it in an upright position, not pointing it at anything/anyone.
Step 3: " Prime." Choosing your target and pointing your wand at it. You also have to consider the size of the thing you're casting the spell on, and whether you want the spell to effect the whole target or just part of it, because this determines how large or small your wand gestures are.

Then, you cast your spell. Make the gesture as described or illustrated, making sure to say the words in time with your gestures. It's also kind of a "swish, swish, flick" motion involving much wrist, and you only get your whole arm involved if you're trying to cover something big.

We broke into pairs and practiced casting offensive and defensive spells, making sure to follow the holster--???--prime pattern both before and after each spell. I can't share which spells we cast in our show, but rest assured that they're REAL Wizarding World spells that do exist in the lore of Harry Potter, so it's important that we get it right. We have to at least look like we're aware of the basics.

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Then we took another field trip to Dark Universe!

This time we were inside the burning windmill, which is a restaurant called the Burning Blade Tavern.
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(image directly from Universal website)

It's a small, dark, cool restaurant with low ceilings and low lighting. Again, going to be very popular in the Florida heat solely based on those things. There are additional artistic/immersive details about the building itself that are REALLY cool, that again I don't dare share as it could violate my NDA. We all looked around and exclaimed over the thoughtfulness of these little details, and I think guests observant enough to catch these things will appreciate them too!

It was pretty crowded, as other entertainment departments were there to be an audience, too.
Cannot share what the performer experience was like, and we don't even know if they'll actually take place in The Burning Blade or if we were just doing it there for convenience/construction purposes today. I can share that it was the same type of performance that we got to see last week, same performers, only now they've had more practice and everyone seemed more comfortable with the materials. It was quite fun :)

Back at the employee hub, we thought it would be nice to get a group photo at the Epic Universe countdown clock.
This is pretty much the only "backstage" area where we had been told we're allowed to take photos.
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(other Entertainment Department group photos currently up on UOTMLife IG account)

Unfortunately, there was a security guard there preventing anyone from taking photos at the clock.
We showed him the existing, public, Universal-sanctioned images above, and he did not care.
So I guess we're not doing that. A shame, but at least the groups pictured above got their feet in the door before it closed.

In the evening there was some sort of special event for which music was wanted, so "the PR Trio"--that is, the three of us that have been most consistent with performances--were asked to stay late to give a performance. The rest of us bopped back home.

Jameson has been in a low mood lately and may be coming down with something.
I packed breakfast-lunch-dinner and practiced bass and we had a quiet night as usual.

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Wednesday, I felt pleased because this is the last day that all of us will be together at rehearsal. From today on, we've all got other gigs and commitments, and Friday will signal an end to full-time rehearsals. Yay! Don't get me wrong, I've appreciated the work and the money, and I have learned SO MUCH. It has been well worth the experience, and I'm looking forward to actually opening our show in the park!
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BUT I am so incredibly behind on other parts of my life. I've barely spent any time with Jameson. I haven't cooked a single meal for almost a month. I've had to eat dinner WHILE driving every night for OVER a month. Not to mention the house chores being all backed up, and ACTUAL practice for my other gigs including Disney and the upcoming tour getting neglected. There is so much else that I need to do, and I am very much looking forward to not having every moment of my time defaulting to Epic Universe.

Anyway, today was a weird one because there were Warner Brothers executives in the park. We rehearsed indoors for a little while, then took it outside to dodge some cherry pickers and do some full runs.

After lunch the executives had made it to our part of the park, so the "PR trio" of musicians was asked to put on a show for them. They did an amazing job especially with the sun beating down on them. After that show was over the execs kind of took over the area where we play...it's an excellent photo op. We waited for a while to see if they would leave, but they didn’t seem to want to go anywhere else and we couldn’t really rehearse without disturbing them. So we went back up to the break room, had a little powwow, and at that time we presented our show director with a small gift: a tobacco pipe imported from France! I have no idea if the guy smokes or not, but it was one of our clarinetist’s ideas and we all went with it. Regardless, the show director seemed happy with the gift. We said our goodbyes and parted ways, leaving about 30 minutes early.

There are still several days of full-time rehearsal left, but this is the last time that all of us will be together. I wish that we’d been able to take a group photo, have a cast party, or memorialize the occasion in some way. But it’s OK, I’m sure that we will all see each other again in passing!

Even though they let us go 30 minutes early, all it meant for me was sitting in traffic for an additional 30 minutes. Driving in Orlando is absolutely horrific. I was looking forward to having extra time to pack my lunch and relax, but got home at the same time as I would have on any other day. Figures.

Got caught up with Jameson, packed breakfast-lunch-dinner for Disney, and did not practice bass because Jameson was talking to me while I was packing meals so it took me way too long to finish. No big deal, I usually take one night a week off from it anyway.

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Thursday: Magic Kingdom with the Main Street Phil

Friday: Last day of full time rehearsal with Epic Universe + starting transcription again

Saturday: God bless that day off + going to see Alton Brown's show at Dr. Phillips!

Sunday & Monday: Back to back Main Street Philharmonic days.


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PS: 
A Beauty and the Beast casting announcement teaser post from Disney Theatrical...IYKYK


(CLICK HERE to see)

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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.
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(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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Up on Thursday with the knowledge that things are moving ahead with the Universal job opportunity.

All it means at time of this writing is that I've got orientation on Friday, it's 9 hours long and no idea what it will entail. So I'll dress nice-casual and pack a lunch and have my trombone in the trunk? Idk. Maybe by the end of that day we'll have actual job offers.

Meanwhile I've got transcription to do. Ate breakfast and worked on it, chatted with Jameson, planned to make enchiladas for dinner. Finished this messed-up transcription project and sent it in hoping I'd done everything right (it's a new scenario for me, getting broken audio.) Went to the dentist, got ingredients for dinner, made the enchiladas.

Nice, normal night.

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Up early to enjoy "me time" before Universal orientation. Did I mention that this orientation is optional? Yeah, so weird. I suppose because it was so last-minute, and because they haven't actually given anyone an offer yet? I hadn't made plans for today anyway.

It was a long day.
(IMPORTANT: I've signed an NDA with Universal. I will not be sharing any unreleased or confidential details about the new park, sorry :/ But there are still exciting details here if you're a theme park fan!)

Universal Orientation! )

I drove home and told Jameson everything. He’s very excited and happy for me, as you may imagine! I feel guilty to have such good windfalls while he is struggling. But also, I'm not an idiot. I know that we are all dealt different hands in life at different times. And when you have a good hand, you play it.

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Saturday, I got a new transcription job and was up early to work on it knowing that my time will be limited next week.

In the afternoon I took a break to sweep the pool deck and move our furniture to the garage in preparation for pressure washing on Sunday. Then lunch and practicing bass trombone for a bit before returning to transcription (I won't get this project done before rehearsals start but need to do as much as I can.)

Jameson had a day off plus he can't do much with his arm yet, so he watched the classic Batman movies and relaxed.

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Sunday, up early and worked at transcription until the pressure washer showed up. He's done our pool deck before so I knew what to expect. While he worked I ate breakfast and continued transcription. He finished up around 11am, and did a great job.

Before and after of the whole pool deck. Notice the dark rust spots are gone in the second photo.
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Before and after of the area around the pool.
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When he'd left I moved all of the furniture back to the pool deck, had lunch, and went out to get ingredients for dinner. A few more hours of transcription and I didn't quite finish where I'd wanted to, but it's better than nothing. Since I'll be in full time rehearsals all week now, that means anything I didn't finish today will have to be done either VERY early in the morning, or at night after the workday.

Dinner was a pork tenderloin I found in the freezer, cooked with apples and onions and thyme and a mustard rub, with roasted potatoes and brussels on the side. It feels nice to cook again.

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Monday:
First day of Epic Universe rehearsals! And, you know...transcription.

Tuesday through Thursday:
Rehearsals every day, transcription, and whatever else I have energy for.
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Posting a day early again, but after this I should be able to get back on the regular Monday/Thursday schedule.

Very early in the morning, I was up to drive the 40 minutes to the car dealership. There was already a queue of cars waiting at 6:55. Checked in and waited for about two hours, and then the Toyota associate came back with BAD news.

It was definitely rodents. They had definitely chewed through my AC wiring, as well as the air filter and the straps holding....the AC unit?....in place. The worst part of all was that the mechanics couldn't find the dead mouse either. They suspected it was actually INSIDE the AC mechanism. Which meant they were going to have to pull the entire AC unit out. $$$$

In addition to all of that, my back rotors were basically metal rubbing metal (I had known that they were low but I literally JUST had the car at Firestone and they didn't say anything.)

The total estimate:     a whopping $5300.


Car and Mouse )
Continuing my walk, I came across this sweet little water snake on the sidewalk, absorbing the warmth of the sun.
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I thought she might be dead at first, but then saw her little tongue going blep-blep. Adorable!
(CLICK HERE to see)

She was very small, only a little longer than my hand. She moved away nervously when I put my finger close.
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As I continued on my way it occurred to me: 2025 is the Year of the Snake!
How lucky am I, to have seen this year's token animal!

How lucky am I. It is not lost on me.

Back home Jameson and I had Panda Express and relaxed together until bedtime.

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Friday. Up somewhat-early for the 90-minute drive to Warburton.
Breakfast and clearing the table so that Jameson could work on a puzzle if he liked (he's getting very bored, poor guy.) Loaded up the bass trombone and off we went.
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Warburton is always in a state of chaos. Boxes everywhere, random pianos, a shelf full of random method books, pieces of heavy machinery, brass shavings, and of course the big black mouthpiece display boxes for trumpet, cornet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, etc etc. Warburton is known for their mouthpieces and their ability to fabricate custom mouthpieces. I'm lucky that they're Florida-based and close enough to visit. At this point all of my mouthpieces are Warburton except my large tenor, for which I use a Hammond (also very good.)

Today I needed a mouthpiece for my new bass. Kimberly, who runs the shop most of the time and plays the trumpet and has a pet squirrel, was there to greet me and we chatted it up, catching up on each others' lives. I think we'd be good friends if only we lived closer. While chatting I tried several mouthpieces, starting with a 1-1/2 standard and then a few custom versions of the same, and also a 2-cup (I know that all of this means nothing to you.)

Note that today was my VERY first time playing this bass trombone, and I am WELL pleased with it. The slide is unlubricated currently so started off a little jerky, but as I played and the brass warmed it got nice and smooth indeed. The Minick-worked rotors also were a pleasure. I had a hard time filling up the horn and got dizzy/lightheaded a few times, but that is something that will go away with time and persistent practice. As mentioned in other posts, I am not a "monster" musician or a power-focused player...but I will have to become one for this gig. Or at least as close as I can get.

I pretty quickly decided on the standard 1-1/2, and Kim threw in some awesome merch! A Warburton 50th anniversary shirt (don't ask why it has sharks and fish, I've no clue) and a Quality Control sticker featuring Meeny, her pet squirrel!
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We hugged goodbye and as I was about to leave, a family of raccoons showed up to snack on some kibble that had been laid out for them! A mama and two babies. Kim says there are usually two other babies and wondered where they were.
(CLICK HERE for raccoons!)

I tiptoed around the family and took off with my goodies.
Back home I got an update on my car. Still torn apart. It won't be done today, but I'm hoping for tomorrow.
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I practiced my Main Street Philharmonic music because there's a rehearsal on Tuesday. This was the first time I've played my Williams since going on tour with Elf. It went rough but that's ok. Patience and practice :)

We got Pub Subs for dinner, and that seems to have been a poor choice because Jameson threw his up a few hours later :/
I felt fine, so not sure what happened or if maybe it's because his stomach is hurting from all the meds lately.

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Saturday, I was up later than usual and feeling unmotivated.
This is probably my last "chill day" for quite a while.

Breakfast and finished watching Wolf's Rain, and the dealership called to say that my car was finished! YAY!
They'd found even MORE damage to the drive belt and other parts, so my insurance is now covering something ungodly like $8000 worth of work. I would never have recovered from that financial hit. So on the way to the dealership I stopped at Dunkin' and got a gift card for my associate, who had been kind and helpful and waived all of my rental car costs. When I got there we settled up...my bill for the rotors and non-rodent work came to $1080, still not cheap but manageable. Then he showed me my car, all reassembled and smelling fresh and clean, all the feces and acorn shells removed from under the hood. He showed me where I should put blocks of Tomcat bait (I don't want to do it but he says they may come back, as he never found a dead animal + their scent is still in the car.) We shook hands, I gave him the Dunkin' card, and that was that. Hopefully my insurance deals with the rest.

For anyone who's interested, my insurance is GEICO and they have been wonderful, now and in the past when I was in an accident and my car was totaled. Highly recommend them.

On the way home, picked up my coat from the dry cleaners and got a bag of Tomcat bait. Did laundry, chatted with Jameson, ate lunch, installed the bait in my car, and practiced my Universal audition music which had FINALLY come in the day before the audition. Argh, whatever.

At 5pm there was a free acting/dialect clinic for auditionees in Winter Park, so I drove up there to attend. There were 17 people there, 7 of whom were trombonists. Of the 17 only 4 were women, one on each instrument...but TWO of us ladies on trombone! The other female trombonist is Andrea, who I knew was local but didn't think she'd be interested in theme park stuff. It was a pleasure to finally meet her in person!

The dialect coach running the clinic was very cool, and she gave us partial scripts to work with which gave us a glimpse at what we might be expected to do for this role (hush-hush of course.) And from talking with each other we were able to figure out that auditions were roughly 12 minutes apart/going to be 12 minutes long, and that the trombones would be heard first (we all had morning audition times.) And that's pretty much it...the French was fun to practice, but honestly, there's no way most of us will remember this in front of an audition panel. If I retain any of it it'll be a miracle! But it was nice to meet people and get a little more info on what to expect tomorrow.

I drove home and told Jameson of my doings, made sure my horn and music and clothes were all laid out for the audition, then we chilled.

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Sunday: Auditioning for Universal. Jameson gets to remove his cast! I should also get a transcription job.

Monday: Transcription and practicing, possibly making dinner for us.

Tuesday: A day at Disney for Main Street Philharmonic rehearsal.

Wednesday: Taking Jameson to two doctors appointments, more transcription and practicing. I should find out by Weds whether or not I'll be involved in the Universal gig.
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So much happened. SO MUCH.

JANUARY:

Started the year with a layoff from
My Fair Lady (I can't believe that tour happened this year?! It feels like ages ago!) During the layoff I got sick with a flu, and so was feeling crappy and on misc medications when I experienced The Worst Travel Day of My Life.

TL;DR: tornado weather in NOLA, and our plane tried to land in it twice before finally giving up and rerouting to Tallahassee. From there the touring company expected us to fly out the next day...by which point the tornado weather would be over Tallahassee. Being sick, on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to flight anxiety, and not interested in an incredibly turbulent flight again, I dug into my own wallet and paid for a rental car (which turned out to be an excellent choice.)

Here is Jim (Production Management) holding my trombone at the NOLA airport where it magically appeared on the same night that we were rerouted.
 
Jim (Production Management) holding my trombone, which somehow landed in NOLA on the same night that we were diverted to Tallahassee.
 
Also in January, I gave my first-ever masterclass in Columbia, SC! Talking to a group of students about what it's like to be a touring musician, tips for how to get into that line of work, and Q&A ranging from health on the road to favorite anime to watch. It was a very rewarding experience, and I hope to do that again someday.

FEBRUARY:

Getting to spend my birthday week with my stepmom and sister in Pittsburgh!
 
Stepmom, me, and sister Kate :)
Later in February, my siblings arranged a 40th birthday trip to Mexico for us! An amazing treat, and finally an opportunity for Jameson to meet my wonderful siblings. All of us together :)
 
My siblings, Jameson, Jonah's girlfriend (now fiancee), and I.
Another magical experience on the Mexico trip was a visit to Rio Secreto, an underground river and cave system. We weren't allowed to take photos, but here is a stock image. If you're ever in Mexico this is a must-see.
 
Rio Secreto stock image
MARCH:

It was women's month (or something like that) so the
ladies of the pit orchestra got together for a photo. In touring shows, having six women in the pit is exceedingly rare.
 
Left to right we have Eileen (French horn), Victoria (Flute/reeds), Amanda (Violin), Me, Ellen (Cello), and Laura (drums).
We had an incredible sit in Chicago during St. Patrick's week. I was able to visit Eataly, experience "omakase" sushi for the first time, eat "omurice" for the first time, shop at an Amazon GO, visit a massive 3-story Asian grocery, and try a fantastic flight of Russian vodkas! And much more :)
 
The river dyed green for St. Patrick's Day in Chicago.
Almost forgot to mention that in Albuquerque New Mexico, I got to visit with my dear childhood friend Lauren, and spend time with my stepsister Kayle and her beautiful children!
 
Lauren and I. Lauren is a violinist and has taught hundreds of students in the Southwestern US.
 
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APRIL:


Visiting the Pacific Northwest for the first time.
Seeing the incredible Spokane Falls. (CLICK HERE to see the video, LJ won't let me embed.)

Other April events: finding out that I'd be
sublisted with the Main Street Philharmonic! Getting and then losing a digital court reporting job (they required certification and couldn't be bothered to tell me that before offering the job.) Meeting an LJ friend, geminiwenchgeminiwench . And the end of the My Fair Lady tour. The show had been expected to continue on to China, but Annie the Musical took that slot instead.

A goofy photo on stage:
 
Goofy faces
Photo op at the closing party :)
 
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And back home, my beautiful
vanilla orchid bloomed for the first time :)
 
'nilla orchid blooming!
Finally, Jameson took me to Disney's Animal Kingdom for the first time this month! There were many wonderful things about this visit, but what I remember most is getting to meet the cast of the Finding Nemo live stage show. Amazing!
 
Fishy faces :3
MAY:

Filling in on a
Florida Orchestra pops concert! It's been a long time since I did a symphony gig, so this was a very big deal for me.
 
Low brass section
Also during May 2024, my first performances as a substitute musician with the Main Street Philharmonic at the Magic Kingdom. This was...I hardly have words for how I felt. I have dreamed of performing for Disney since I was in high school, and here at the age of 40 it finally happened. It felt like a miracle.
 
Keith (the full time 1st trombonist) and me (his sub.)
A short reel of highlights from my first full day as a trombone sub in the park. Jameson got sunburnt, following us around all day and making sure to take footage. What a hero!
 
JUNE:

A happy month for me, with
Main Street Philharmonic rehearsals or sets around once a week. Later on we'd find out that the budget had been cut and I'd get far fewer calls. But I was grateful for the time that I got with the band.
 
Marchy march
JULY:

I was
sublisted with the Orlando Philharmonic, an orchestra I've been trying to get into since moving to Orlando six years ago.
I also lost my data entry job to AI, tried my hand at being an Uber Eats driver, and a few weeks later was hired part time at a Disney Springs hat shop. Got a firefly petunia (genetically engineered to glow in the dark.)
 
It looks ratty now but JUST WAIT.
Ate at Skyline Chili for the first time too!
 
Chili dog, red birch beer, cheesy fries!
AUGUST:

Hurricane Debbie, which blew through with minimal damage to us here in Central Florida.

In addition to the hat shop job, also started doing Papa Pal, which is a service to help the elderly with housekeeping, errands, and companionship. It was often difficult or emotional work, but fulfilling and paid pretty decently too.

SEPTEMBER:

Getting used to work at the hat shop, and taking
Hat-A-Day pictures in the back stockroom.
 
One of the better Hat-A-Day photos
Finding out that I'd be going on tour with Elf the Broadway Musical!
Going to
Universal's Halloween Horror Nights with Jameson!
Disney's Food & Wine Festival
at EPCOT for the first time, to see Jameson perform:
 
Hot stuff!!
Started my federal transcription job. I was so nervous! Still kinda am haha.
Got ready to harvest my bananas!
 
Banans.
Just two months later, and the firefly petunia was in full bloom and glowing SO BRIGHTLY. I was using it as a nightlight.
 
My preciousssss
Hurricane Helene, which again did not impact Central Florida too badly but was devastating to coastal areas :( All we had was a few tree limbs, debris, and this adorable baby turtle who got blown up onto our screens.
 
OMG so cute
OCTOBER:

Hurricane Milton
. It's been a stormy season. This storm was the scariest of those we've endured, howling winds and damage to trees and some house fixtures, but overall we weathered it very well.
 
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I was able to harvest my bananas right before the storm, and they were excellent.
 
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Continued work at the hat shop and Hat-A-Day:
 
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Voting. Not that it did any good, apparently.
 
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Kicking off Elf the Musical in Richmond, KY.
 
Swag.
NOVEMBER:

Getting some cool new
Delta trading cards:
 
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Jameson started rehearsals and performances of Jollywood. He also decided that he's going to have surgery to address the nerve issues and atrophy in his right arm.
 
Jealous that he spends time with these ICONS.
Pretty much my only Foodie Find during the Elf tour was this Japanese grocery in Stamford, CT. I could have happily eaten there every day.
 
Eel bento. So good.
An insane 48-hour journey in which I flew from Red Bank NJ to Orlando for Candlelight rehearsal, then flew out at 5am to Milwaukee for an Elf performance same-night. And all I got was this (pretty cool) enamel pin!
 
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And then, Thanksgiving and going to see Wicked with Jameson and his parents in Milwaukee!

DECEMBER:

Elf went down to NOLA, where I didn't see much due to loads of transcription work, but got beaned by this
cute Etch-A-Sketch prop in the pit!
 
Wanted to keep it but they took it back. Killjoys.
Completed 10+ transcription jobs. Jameson and I both got rejected from misc jobs and auditions that we were really looking forward to :/ Many times on this tour I was given my own dressing room, which is very rare and thus worth mentioning. Held a cacao pod for the first time.
 
If I even knew where to start with one of these I'd get one
Got to visit with my incredible, beautiful Aunt, my mom's sister. I love her so much.
 
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On December 19th I got some incredible, incredible news which I can't share yet, but hopefully soon. Unexpectedly bought a bass trombone. Met a facebook trombonist in person by complete happenstance. Flew home to spend Christmas with Jameson, then drove up to Charlotte to finish the final shows of Elf the Musical.
 
It's been QUITE the year. Mainly lots of musical opportunities resulting from onboarding with Disney via Candlelight in October 2023. Going on tour with My Fair Lady was a great experience, and getting to tour with Elf was also an unexpected pleasure.
But music is not very lucrative, and financially I was a bit in the doldrums this year. Really hoping to pick myself back up in 2025.

Plant-wise, watching the vanilla orchid bloom and eating bananas that I've grown myself were the definite highlights!

Where Jameson is concerned, his year was not nearly as fun as mine. I'm hoping that 2025 will be kinder to him, and will reveal opportunities and new paths for him.
Thanks for joining me for 2024. Here's to a great 2025 for all of us, wherever we may be, whatever our circumstances. <3

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I was able to ride the company charter bus to the airport on Monday. Flights were normal, in Charlotte the tour stopped and stayed because that’s our last city, but many people traveled home for Christmas from there. I had a flight to Orlando which went just fine, and Jameson picked me up from the airport.

I can tell he’s not feeling great mentally, from his body language and such. I asked how his arm is, and he says it doesn’t hurt but he can’t feel his thumb or pinky finger normally, they’re constantly tingling or numb. His surgery will be on New Year’s Eve Day. He is very nervous about it, naturally. This will either help him, or end his career as a pianist. I am terrified for him, but also determined to support him in any way that I can.

Anyway. We talked about that, and how his work is going, and games he’s into and shows he’s watching. I avoided the subject of my new and exciting gig, because I know he’s got feelings to work through about it and I know (from personal experience) how difficult it is to talk about something, that someone else got, that you maybe wanted for yourself. I get that.

Back home, Jameson has decorated the house for Christmas! We have new lights and they are awesome!
You can do all different colors and patterns. CLICK HERE to see!

I cringed a bit at how dusty the house is, and the state of the bathrooms, but I’ll do my best to get things clean before Jameson’s surgery. I won’t be cleaning for Christmas, though. No time.

We ordered taco salads for dinner, then I did a load of laundry, washed our bedsheets, and went out to brave the last-minute shopping crowds for Christmas dinner ingredients and stocking stuffers for Jameson. It took WAY longer than usual…traffic was horrific. But I got everything more or less.

Back home, our neighbors came over to drop off cookies (woot!) so we each had one and then relaxed for the rest of the night. Well, he relaxed and I wrapped presents and assembled stockings. Also, while out driving I’d noticed that my climate control panel in my car was not working.

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Tuesday, Christmas Eve Day, turned out to be unfortunately anything but relaxing.

I was up at 6:30am to take my car to Firestone…and of course they opened an hour later than usual for the holiday. So I dozed in my car with a Wawa coffee until they opened. An additional 30 minutes of sitting in this waiting room, only to be told that the problem is with my car's BRAIN, meaning I'd need to take it to a dealership. Called the two closest to me (30-40 minute drives) and both unsurprisingly had no openings on a holiday.
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Initially I thought maybe I could still drive up to Charlotte with my car--everything else seems to be working, right?--but both the mechanic and Jameson seemed to think that was a Bad Idea. Apparently if your car's computer (PCM) goes bad, your car could just...stop? Lose power? The problem is, it's unclear whether it's the brain (PCM) or the AC control module malfunctioning. But Jameson was adamant that I not drive my own car, to the point of offering to pay for the rental car for me. So...f*ck. Now I needed to find a rental car on Christmas Eve Day. Sigh.

But one thing at a time. I got home and made us Christmas breakfast. We had basic shake-n-bake pancakes, with a blueberry compote that my sister made and egg nog whipped cream. I also added Greek yogurt so I could pretend I'm healthy. It was simple but very good.
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We then opened Christmas presents and stockings together.
Jameson's parents got me the latest Half-Baked Harvest cookbook, and Jameson got me a Japanese Classics cookbook! I've already dog-eared a bunch of new recipes to try (when I'm home...I might make some things and freeze them for Jameson.) Conveniently, one of Jameson's presents was salicornia "salt." Jameson has Meniere's, which means too much sodium causes him to have vertigo and nausea. Salicornia tastes just like salt but actually contains only half the sodium of regular salt. So theoretically he should be able to eat more of it with less ill effect. And THAT means that I could probably try making the ramen in the cookbook he got me!

Anyway, another lovely present was from my sister Kate. She made all of her own gifts this year. Pistachio butter, peanut butter, brown sugar syrup, homemade granola, garlic salt, a clove-scented candle, and a lovely decoration. Homemade gifts really are the best. I used to do this too, but haven't had time any more.
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Jameson's presents to me were very thoughtful, as usual!
Look at these hilarious bread-themed computer cushions! Baguette for wrists, croissant for mouse hand/wrist.
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And these adorable alligator socks! There will probably be more pictures of these, for now I want to protect them so will only wear them once tour is over.
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His big gift to me this year was an Apple Watch!!! He REALLY shouldn't have done that, argh.
I spent a lot of time this afternoon getting used to it. It's shockingly comfortable...twice today I almost submerged my hand with the watch on! (It's waterproof but still.) Probably the most useful part of it is going to be accurate fitness tracking. With an accurate BPM and other vital signs, I'll be able to see how many calories I really burn instead of having to guess. Convenient!

In the afternoon he drove me to the nearest Avis for a rental car. I felt very stressed about this...that's hundreds more dollars that I didn't plan on spending, all because I stupidly thought I could just grab my car out of storage and shoot up the coast with it. The cost of this added to Jameson's tension and I think made him feel guilty for insisting, but I also do see his point about my car's computer being a risk, especially for a long-distance drive on a holiday when I may not be able to get help if something goes wrong. And money aside, I am abashed and very touched that he is worried for me.

Back home was another shock.
My bass trombone arrived!! FOUR DAYS early!!
How that's even possible, coming from California, I have no idea. But I was amazed and excited.
That was the good news.

The bad news: I opened the case and the bell was CRUSHED.
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This 100% happened because the guy who packed it didn't do it properly. And that made me REALLY mad.
I LITERALLY texted him a week ago describing how I wanted him to pack it...and describing exactly what ended up happening to this horn because he didn't do ask I asked.
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Like...are you kidding me??? Why???
Probably because it's a busy time of year and he just threw it in the case with some loose bubble wrap and thought it would be fine. But dude, that is so not enough. I didn't want to be a Karen on Christmas, but couldn't help but send him pictures and express how disappointed I was that it had showed up in this condition entirely because he didn't do what I asked. He apologized profusely, I huffed a bit more but accepted that what's done is done, and he found a buddy in Florida who says it can be repaired (it probably can be, crushed bells are shockingly common.) In fact, this person's house is on my route to Charlotte, so he agreed that I could drop the horn off on Christmas day and pick it up on the way back down. Considering that I didn't even expect to get the horn until the new year anyway, this is perfect and the best I could hope for.

And yes of course the guy who sent the horn will pay for the repairs. Butthead!

Otherwise, the slide and rotors are quite good. So as long as the bell can be repaired I'll be satisfied. It was just very stressful and disappointing to receive it damaged like this after I SPECIFICALLY SAID...argh. Well, you know.

The trombone arriving damaged compounded the stress of unexpectedly renting a car, and the stress-guilt that Jameson was feeling for insisting on that cost. If you've kept up, I've bought a bass trombone that's damaged and now needs repairs, my car needs repairs as soon as tour is over, and I have to rent a car unexpectedly for this last leg of tour. FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Also, here is what the first week of 2025 looks like for me:

     - Dec. 30: Drive 10 hours to Orlando, picking up repaired bass trombone on the way
     - Dec. 31: Jameson has hand surgery
     - Jan. 1: I expect to spend the day cleaning and taking care of Jameson post-surgery but also need to practice for an audition
     - Jan. 2: Appointment to have car repaired (will probably take between 4-6 hours + the commute)
     - Jan. 3: Driving 4 hours round trip to Warburton for a bass trombone mouthpiece (this one didn't come with one)
     - Jan. 3: Supposed to start receiving transcription jobs again, including urgent/express jobs
     - Jan. 4: Acting coaching class for my audition for Universal
     - Jan. 5: Audition for Universal
     - Jan. 6 thru 8: Oh my god, could I possibly finally unpack from tour?


I really doubt that all of this will actually happen...like, I'll probably have to delay getting a mouthpiece for the bass, which means delaying practicing it. And I might need to delay transcription too. And I don't know what Jameson's needs will be during this time either. It feels like a lot. It'll probably be ok, but it feels like 2025 has grabbed me by the collar and is THROTTLING me.

Anyway, we relaxed for the afternoon, I packed a bit and made all of the arrangements for the bass repair and car service, then for dinner we tried out the new grill that Jameson's parents got us! Jameson fired it up while I did prep on the veggies and sides. The burgers turned out great! Jameson said he'd have wanted maybe 3 minutes more as they turned out medium-rare, but they were still restaurant-quality. I also tried grilling some zucchini slices that turned out delicious. Can't wait to grill more!
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More relaxation after that, eating Christmas cookies and trying to lower our stress levels.

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This post was heckin' longer than intended. I thought it would be a nice quiet Christmas Eve Day, but it turned into quite the stress-fest. Oh well, the world doesn't stop turning just because it's a holiday. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Wednesday: 10 hour drive to Charlotte

Thursday: two shows and an afterparty hosted by the theatre

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: last six shows of Elf the Musical on tour.

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A travel day to Indy. The usual, a morning bus and some flights.

I have run out of masks a bit early due to giving some to others over the course of tour.
But I am not upset, because now they've got FESTIVE masks at the airport! Look how cute!
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Do masks actually help one avoid getting sick? I am not sure. But wearing one among massive crowds of people coming from all over the world, at a time of year when viruses love to rear their heads, seems like a sane idea. Of course, I can just as easily get sick from going out with my aunt and uncle for dinner a few days ago, unmasked. Shrug.

I was stressed/anxious again on the second flight because the pilot was very worried about turbulence. It was great that he was communicative--I would rather know what he knows than get scared witless halfway through a flight--but because I'm a worrywart, I spent the first half of the very calm and just fine flight bracing as though we might flip upside down at any moment. Ridiculous. Even in the moment I know it's ridiculous, but once that fight-or-flight switch is flipped it's really hard to shut it back off.

Anyway, I was fine but extra-exhausted from being in High Stress Mode for the entire flight like an idiot.

We are staying at a TownePlace, which is a GREAT hotel because it's set up for extended stays.
That means larger rooms and full kitchens!!!
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Wow, a real fridge! I still will only have a small amount of food in there, but now I can get FRESH VEGETABLES without them being ruined by a cheap box fridge (there is something about the way mini fridges work, that causes fresh veggies to freeze and be ruined more often than not.) AND there was a Whole Paycheck in walking distance, so off I went and got many nice things for the week including lemon rosemary chicken, my favorite Koia protein shakes, a local canned coffee, and many nice veggies like salad mix and a cranberry butternut squash salad.

Back at the hotel I unpacked and was able to drag myself through another chunk of transcription before going to sleep.

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Tuesday, up a bit later than planned but that's not surprising after a travel day.

Breakfast and transcription. The hotel breakfast leaves something to be desired (the bagels are VERY stale) so in the afternoon I walked to Shapiro's, a Polish deli just a block from the hotel. Not only do they have fresh bagels, but also a cafeteria-style setup serving classics like heaping corned beef sandwiches, matzo ball soup, pastrami, and more. They make their own black-and-white cookies as well. So, I'll be back, probably on the weekend. Bagels obtained: blueberry, rye, and cranberry pecan.

Back home I finished transcription and started on transcription review, but we have a long commute to the theatre this week and soon it was time to go. We're playing a theatre on the Butler University campus, and it's "ok" but rather dated (60s I think?). The pit is in front of the stage, which is wonderful because finally I'll get to see most of the show!!!
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It was hard to play through the show without getting distracted, trying to watch what's going on on stage while not losing my place in the music. But actually, we all did really well, it was one of the band's better shows. I sort of wonder if it's because we can feel connected to the actors AND the audience this week, as we can see and be seen here.

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Wednesday I had breakfast and finished my transcription review.

I'd meant to go thrifting, but was feeling rather mopey.
Took a nap and had a weird dream, woke up and still had too much time in the day and nowhere to go.
All I can think about is how I'm gonna be rushing around on the 23rd to make some semblance of Christmas with Jameson, and all the cleaning that needs to be done at the house, and his surgery right on New Year's Eve...everything will be fine but on a day with nothing to do, I wished that I could've been doing something productive, to prepare for the next few weeks.

Anyway, went with my carpool to the theatre, had the evening show.
It was really well attended, and we also found out we've gotten some nice overages from Milwaukee.
Surprise money is always exciting!

The show went well, not as good as last night's but still certainly decent.

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Thursday:
Thrifting, trip to my bank for bass trombone moneys, practicing Disney music

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: all two-show days. Might get to eat at Shapiro's or another local restaurant, and hoping to walk around Butler University a bit.
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Starting this one off with a bit of TMI (it's not that bad but if reading about birth control pills makes you uncomfortable, scroll past the dotted lines:

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I woke with a start this morning, realizing that I haven't taken ANY birth control pills since coming to Greensboro!!!
This is unheard of for me, in fact it's never happened in the 10+ years that I've been on the pill. I've forgotten single days before, a few times, but never multiple days in a row. Am I really THAT distracted lately? Surprised at myself, I took two this morning and will take two tomorrow and that will have me caught up. But it was a disconcerting thing to realize, and it's going to cause some distracting symptoms (usually spotting, bloating, weird emotions for a while)

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Thursday was breakfast, giving my trombone a bath, and enjoying one gloriously transcription-free day. I like transcription, but having jobs sent back-to-back means not a single day without it, and right now I could use a small break. Watched a little Business Insider (they have really cool educational videos on YouTube) and halfheartedly poked at some job applications.

I shared this in a Friends Only post recently: Jameson and I both experienced pretty crushing job application rejections this week. His was for a job where he had internal references and was well qualified...and he got a rejection letter within days of applying. Not even an offer of an interview.
Mine was an audition, and the rejection came very publicly in the form of a new audition notice...for the same gig...posted after I sent my materials...specifically asking for female trombonists to apply. Meaning I'm now being tagged by fellow trombonists in the comments of the listing, because I'm essentially The Only Professional Female Trombonist In Orlando, so to a lot of people I'm the obvious choice.

This has left me with the humiliating task of having to publicly respond to the tags with, "Sorry...I've already applied, so I think they must be looking for someone else..."

Anyway, I had a calm and quiet morning regardless, and was grateful for it.
For lunch I joined Todd (trumpet) and Kenny (Reed 1) for the Chinese Buffet next to our hotel. Americanized Chinese is one of my favorites! We had a nice convo and decent meal. Afterward I walked to the thrift store a little over a mile away, didn't really find anything, but there was an Asian grocery just a block over!

Asian Grocery )

When I'd had my fun I got back to the hotel and started to rest, but then received a transcription review from my supervisors/a proofreader. It was quite long, with lots of corrections, which made me feel inadequate (i.e. BUTTHURT.) But I am glad that I've held that last transcription job back, because now I can apply these corrections to that job before submitting it. I read as many corrections as I could before it was showtime, but will have to spend part of Friday really diving in and giving it my full attention.

The show went "okay," I could have done better.

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Friday, after breakfast I really buckled down on the transcription review. No matter how butthurt I feel that my work wasn't "perfect," the only way it's going to get better is if I set that aside and apply the corrections.

To my surprise, shortly after sending an email thanking my boss and the proofer for their corrections, I got another email from them praising me for having great verbatim/formatting skills and offering me the chance to complete "urgent jobs," which pay twice as much as normal jobs but must be turned around very quickly. I said yes to the urgent jobs, but also that I could only accept them starting in the new year after I'm done touring.

Yay! This definitely helped my mood.

After that I practiced my Disney stuff (brought trombone back to the hotel again) and ate lunch, then went for a walk through the residential behind the hotel. About that time Jameson messaged to say his surgery will be on New Year's Eve. Good lord. That means I'm going to come back from tour and immediately the next day he's got surgery. Ugh, well...I understand that he wants to get it over with, and I of course want to be there when it happens. But I would've liked to unpack first!!!

The evening show was fine except the MIDI crashed (all of our sound effects.) The drummer got to cover a few doorbell/elevator sounds, and there were some voiceovers, but it was fixed 30 minutes into the show.

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Friday, I did laundry again and started transcription. We had two shows at 2pm and 8pm.

When I got to the theater I was surprised to see the kids (actor kids) waiting for me. They handed me this nerf gun with instructions to “Shoot C (drummer) on sight!” Well okay!
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And who came up the stairs just then but C! Who also had a “gun!” We had a raging nerf battle and before I knew it actors with nerf guns had joined in, foam bullets flying everywhere and theater employees running akimbo through the crossfire. It was great fun :)

My aunt came to this show so I had to call a truce in the firefight so I could go hug her. She looks good! After the show we went for chicken and waffles at a local place. It had really good reviews and the flavors were good, but unfortunately our food came out cold. Still, we caught up a little bit on each others’ lives. I would’ve liked several days with her, but we take what we can get.
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Afterward they dropped me off at the theater with a box of cookies from my sister Raven, and a card hand-painted by my aunt!
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I am so grateful for my small but mighty family. My aunt is my favorite person in the world, and I was so happy to see her today :)

The 8pm show was all right...we have a trumpet player who is struggling right now so musically it wasn't great. But maybe tomorrow will be better.

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Sunday I was up at 6:30am, for an hour of "me time" and breakfast before starting transcription. The deadline isn't until next Saturday but if I get it done quickly I can enjoy a bit of Indianapolis.

I took a Lyft to Deep Roots Market, which is just down the block from the theater, and picked up some prepackaged tuna and a salad for lunch and dinner (only $9 for both meals + bringing snacks from the hotel.) Our 2pm show went just fine.

Between shows I stayed at the theater since I have my own dressing room, and plugged away at transcription some more with a hot cup of ginger tea. By dinnertime I was pleased to have completed two of my three audio hours, which is very good progress. The evening show was fine...unfortunately not better than previous shows, so I guess we musicians are going to be crawling across the figurative finish line for these last two weeks of tour. Whatever, I can only do MY best on MY music; I can't control what others do or do not invest in putting on a good show.

After the show and while waiting for my carpool, I signed our wall tag (yes, we FINALLY got one!)
It is a very beautiful wall tag, too!

Photo:
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Video showing more details is HERE.

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Monday: Travel day to Indianapolis, groceries, transcription.

Tuesday & Wednesday: More transcription and probably laundry.

Thursday & Friday: Maybe I'll have time to explore!
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Thursday, transcription transcription and two shows.
It was rainy and dreary all day so at least I didn't feel like I was missing a nice time outside.

Jameson got some good news today: a job he's primed for has finally been listed, and he was one of the first to apply. It's for Universal so I'm sure he'll be interviewed, but I hope they'll show him the respect of actually either making an offer or not, as opposed to Disney which put him through four interviews for nothing and then didn't even send a rejection letter. We shall see.

Both shows were fine, I can't think of anything stand-out about either of them except that the audiences were rather lukewarm. I felt unfocused. I'm feeling that a lot lately, and I think it's because this tour ends after Christmas and I'm back to wondering how I'm going to make ends meet via a part-time hat shop job and filler transcription work.

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Friday, that's right, 7am again for transcription. Fortunately there was only a little bit left, so I was able to finish around 10am. This left me with most of the rest of Friday free!

NOLA Walk )

As lame as it is, I went back to my room, ate lunch, and took a nap. I've been getting up early every day to finish my transcription jobs before the five-show weekend, and felt that it would be good to try and catch some of that sleep back. And glad I did because not 30 minutes after turning in my job, they sent me three more! The transcription company must be trying to push as many through as they can before the holidays.

The evening show was fine.
The Elf the Broadway Musical Instagram posted a "meet the band" video, here we all are! I'm at around the 00:28 mark.
(CLICK HERE to meet the band)

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Saturday. Three shows! That's one more show than usual.

I motivated myself by looking at a picture of the Ringling show schedule from Brooklyn circa 2015.
Back then, I played all of these 2 1/2-hour shows, most of them with a flu, in the dead of winter, with no running water on the train (metal pipes), and walking 1.5 miles to and from the arena every night.
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Three shows is NOTHING. Suck it up, buttercup! I say to myself this morning :p

When I got to the pit, I felt eyes...tiny eyes...watching me...and heard the distant sound of a stand mixer...
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One of the castmembers put this mini Elf On the Shelf in the pit! He is making cupcakes, apparently. Very cute.

The first show went well, and in between I went back to the hotel to do transcription and eat lunch.
Before the second show we had lots of kids ringing the pit and pelting us with questions. I got called a "big trumpet" twice...boooooo! Learn your instruments, kids! :p

After the second show we were given a nice dinner of salad, rice pilaf, cauliflower, tilapia, chicken, and cookies. I made myself a plate and took it back to the hotel (the fish was awesome!) and worked on updating my resumes, and before I knew it we were on the last show of the day. Hooray! It went well, although you could hear that some of us were tired. It was a long day but we made it!

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Sunday, I slept poorly because of stress dreams and drunks in the hallway.

Got up slightly later than usual, breakfast and yes of course transcription. Then lunch and the first show of the day.
It was going normally until an elves dance number on stage. Suddenly something red whizzed past my head and landed squarely on my water bottle, knocking it over. It was a prop Etch-a-Sketch! Someone must have dropped theirs on stage and it bounced into the pit.
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It's just a piece of foam with red and silver duct tape/paint(?), and white bottle caps cleverly glued to look like the dials.
I love props! We rarely get to see or hold them. Got to enjoy my new toy for the first half, but someone came and pilfered it back to it's proper place backstage during intermission. Waah. The rest of the show went normally. Back to hotel for dinner and more packing and a little transcription. Final show was good, but we all made more mistakes than usual from sheer tiredness. Two extra shows really does make a difference.

And that's it for NOLA. Next up is Greensboro.
I love the Carolinas, and went to school near Greensboro so am very familiar with that city.
Plus my aunt lives there, so I'll get to see her and my uncle!

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Monday: Travel to Greensboro.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday:
Transcription and trombone practice and evening shows. Maybe I'll have time to explore?
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After Wednesday's show I was kidnapped by the Boyces!

Here is Jameson waiting for me by the pit, and being a goober :p
(CLICK HERE to see)

Yes, he flew up to join us for the holiday. His family enjoyed the show and had nothing but good things to say about it. We all drove back to their house which is an hour outside the city, so we didn't get there until midnight and then just went right to bed.

The next morning we were treated to a pumpkin "kringle" for breakfast, which is like a giant Danish pastry filled with pumpkin pie filling and is apparently a Wisconsin specialty. It was very good! The rest of the day was very chill, Mr. Boyce took Addison (their Bernese mountain dog) for a walk, I helped Ms. Boyce with small tasks like peeling potatoes and gathering ingredients, and we watched the Thanksgiving Day parade and munched on charcuterie until it was time for dinner.
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Addison being a goof. She is 11 years old which is quite old for a Berner, and is slowing down. But she's still very sweet and playful.
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Dinner was a lovely turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, slaw, cheesy sweet potatoes, from-scratch dinner rolls, and Ms. Boyce's cranberry sauce which is my favorite thing ever, she serves it every year. Everything was delicious, and I was grateful to enjoy a real home-cooked meal and a family setting while on tour. It's amazing that things lined up where we could all be there together :)

Unfortunately as the day went on I started feeling under the weather, and by evening it was clear that I'd caught something. It seems to be just a cold, and it is not at all surprising considering how challenging the last 48 hours have been for me, and that half the tour is ALSO sick with colds, flu, or covid. I'd MUCH rather have a cold than the other two!!

Mr. Boyce had gotten us tickets to go see Wicked, so we piled into the car and got there for the 7:30 showing. It's been a long time since I've been to the movies, so long that it felt nostalgic.
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I know that Wicked has been over-hyped...but it really IS a good movie. A lot of time and attention was put into sticking to the original story line, and the costuming and dance numbers were absolutely incredible. The visual effects were of course stunning as well. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a 2.5 hour movie so I was sure I'd have to get up to pee at some point, but was so enthralled with the story that I didn't want to miss a single thing!

Back home we each had a slice of Ms. Boyce's from-scratch pumpkin pie, then went to bed :)

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Friday I woke up at 8 to pack up to go back to the hotel.
Ms. Boyce had made scrambled eggs and locally-produced sausage, both very good with a nice strong cup of coffee.

I was feeling slightly better, but playing six shows with a cold this weekend is not going to be fun. Hoping to get it out of my body before we fly to NOLA.

Mr. Boyce drove me back and we chatted along the way. He's a musician and amateur actor as well, so we had a lot of entertainment stuffs to share opinions about. The hour drive seemed to go by very quickly, and before I knew it I was back at the hotel and unpacking.

Typed this blog up and then got showered and dressed for our two shows. Both went just fine, nothing to report. It is bitter cold here right now, low 20s with a windchill so awful that the "real feel" is 6°F (-14.44°C) so I hustled back to the hotel as quickly as possible. It's so cold that it HURTS. Tomorrow I may pack a dinner and just stay at the theatre tbh.

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Saturday I was up early because I badly need to do laundry. Addison's fur is long and thick and black and gets on everything I own and smells like dog. I love Addison very much but absolutely can't STAND smelling bad at work or having pet dander on my clothing.

So, breakfast and an Uber to a laundromat as it was only 15 degrees out and I was not up for lugging my laundry a mile, uphill, with a cold, in those temps. There was a grocery next to the laundromat so I popped in there for end-of-week groceries too. Back at the hotel I rested and ate lunch, then it was showtime. Both shows went well, although we had to stop the second show only ten minutes in because of a "technical problem." This usually means the automated curtain got stuck.

Between shows I came back to the hotel to eat dinner and goof off. Monday starts another round of transcription plus we have TEN shows in New Orleans (normally eight) so I gotta enjoy my down time while it's here.

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Sunday, breakfast and packing for our travel day tomorrow, and also making myself some overnight oats and cold coffee to eat on the bus on the way to the airport (we are flying out of Chicago and it's a 1.5 hour bus ride to get there.)

Managed to apply for a few jobs, set up my two new transcription jobs, and enjoy relaxing a bit before the shows of the day, both of which were uneventful.

On the way back to the theatre for the last show, I took a detour into the lovely little riverfront park all decorated for the holidays. It was only 15°F with a "realfeel" of 5° (-15°C) but there were children running around and playing, couples strolling through, and people walking their dogs. All of this, plus the lights reflecting off of the shining frozen river, made for a beautiful holiday ambiance.
(CLICK HERE to see)

Tomorrow is a long travel day starting with a 1.5 hour bus ride to Chicago, a 2.5 hour flight, and another ride to our hotel in New Orleans. Between transcription and the extra shows in NOLA I don't expect to get a lot of time for fun, but will try to squeeze in whatever I can.

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Monday: Travel, groceries, transcription

Tuesday: Transcription and opening night in NOLA

Wednesday: Transcription, hoping to at least go for a walk.

Thursday: Two shows.
taz_39: (Default)
Up early for breakfast and transcription, then we had a mandatory HR meeting which no one wanted to attend.

But it was what it was, and we had to have our cameras on, so I made no concessions and showed up with bedhead and pajamas and a snack. It was a good, standard "Harassment in the Workplace" presentation, but again, as we have all been out here for half the tour and only have the other half left, I'm not sure how effective this was. But I guess that's not the point...it was probably just mandatory for someone, somewhere, to do.

Anyway, It cut significantly into my transcription time so I wasn't able to finish my second job though I did make good progress. It was cold and rainy all day so I did not go outside.

We had a show at 7pm, and it was stopped about 15 minutes in for a "technical difficulty" which I believe was the curtain stuck shut. So the show finished 15-20 minutes late, and we hustled to our rental cars several blocks away in the icy rain. A miserable night, but New Jersey needs any rain it can get.

Back at the hotel I did laundry at night just so I won't have to mess with it in the morning.

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Friday, Up at 7 for breakfast and blog time, then sitting at this damned desk for five hours straight to finish transcribing. Lunch and then the final review and submission of that court hearing. Phew! Since my round-trip Disney rehearsal is coming up followed by shows in Milwaukee and Thanksgiving with Jameson and his family, I've opted not to accept any more jobs until December. There's no way I'd be able to squeeze transcription in between all of that.

After being sedentary all week I needed a walk, so went to a Target which was 2 miles round trip. Only got a token beverage since I didn't actually need anything except to get some fresh air.

The evening show was fine, the audience was rather rowdy and packed with kids.
Here's a gaggle at the edge of the pit, pelting us with questions!
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I was a bit hidden in the shadows so was spared a lot of the interrogation :p
Another funny moment happened when Santa's sleigh makes it's first attempt at flight (it doesn't fly because "not enough Christmas spirit.") Seeing the sleigh almost-fly drove the kids in the audience into a desperate frenzy, and they all started screaming, "I BELIEVE!!! I BELIEEEEEEVE!!! SANTA YOU CAN DO IT!!!" etc etc. It was adorable! The actors did a great job of redirecting so the show could move on. I bet we'll have more moments like this the closer we get to the actual holiday!

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Saturday, it was nice to wake up slightly later without a transcription deadline hanging over my head.
I still felt rushed and restless, though. Tried to force myself to chill for a while by watching old movies on YouTube. Did you know that lots of movies are FREE on YouTube? Very cool.

The shows were fine. We didn't have an explosion of kids screaming "I BELIEVE" today for either show haha.

Between shows I didn't want to spend 40 minutes round trip in the car to get to/from the hotel, so stayed at the theatre. This theatre is attached to a music school(?) or lesson studio area, and I was able to sneak over to that side via a connecting door. The school is MUCH nicer than the theatre, very new and spacious, so I figured it wouldn't hurt if I quietly rested in a practice room. Others had the same idea; I accidentally walked in on a member of crew napping in one room, and heard our assistant MD playing the piano in another room later on.

For dinner I walked to Elsie's Sub Shop, which has been open since 1959 here in Red Bank so you KNOW they must be good. I was not disappointed; they had a "Thanksgiving sub" with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mayo, and lettuce and tomato. Yum!
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After the final show I carpooled back to the hotel and did a partial packing, because I realized a few days ago that my flight leaves at 6am, meaning either I have to get up at 3am for a 45-minute Uber to the airport on Monday, or I could swallow the cost of an airport hotel on Sunday night so I can get up a little later and ensure I'll be on time (it's about to be Thanksgiving travel week, remember.) I opted to value time over money and got the airport hotel, which means bringing all of my luggage to the theatre tomorrow and going to the airport hotel after the shows.

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Sunday, we had an 11am show so I was up very early to finish packing, eat breakfast, and check in for my 6am flight tomorrow. Urgh. Dragged my luggage out to the rental car, when we got to the theatre I picked up another sub from that nice little shop to have for dinner.

At the stage door, one of our truck drivers was getting festive with his truck!
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And here it the theatre ceiling, since they're always so pretty. Count Basie Center.
I had to take this before crawling into my little dark hole under the stage.
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Between shows we were provided catering from an Italian restaurant next door, I ate a little to tide me over but mostly leftovers I'd brought with me. Sneaking over to the school-side of the building again, I was dismayed that some sort of rehearsal or classes were going on and the rooms were full of kids. But I found a quiet corner with a lot of cushions where I could just sort of chill, with a nice view too.
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Evening show went fine, all of us were rather low-energy despite the shows being earlier. I suspect it's because the shows were at 11 and 4:30, which is sort of right during meal times. But anyway we made it through and everything went smoothly.

Right after the show I packed quickly, throwing my mutes in the band box, grabbing my luggage, and bringing my trombone with me. Out to the street to catch a Lyft, and I was thrilled to see the decorated tour truck all lit up!! I wonder if he'll be able to drive with it lit like that? Looks COOL AF.
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The Lyft was 45 minutes to an airport hotel (which is shockingly nice for a Holiday Inn Express) and will be able to get about five hours of sleep before getting up ungodly early for this flight to Orlando.

Thus ends our week in New Jersey. Thus begins my all-nighter for Disney :p

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Monday:
Travel to Orlando, a few hours with Jameson, then he's got Jollywood and I've got Candlelight rehearsal until 2:30am!!!

Tuesday:
WAY-TOO-EARLY flight to Milwaukee, hopefully unpacking and a nap, then sound check and an Elf show.

Wednesday:
Resting. Packing an overnight bag for Jameson's parents' house over Thanksgiving. Show in the evening.

Thursday:
Thanksgiving at Jameson's parents' house, and seeing Wicked!!

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