goofball on a train

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!"

(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.


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!


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.


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.


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!


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.


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.


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.


Jameson's entree was the Pan-Roasted Halibut: Braised Bok Choy, Roasted Cashew-Jasmine Rice, Olive Oil-macerated Heirloom Tomato, Thai Coconut Sauce.


I had the Root Beer Brined Pork: Creamy Polenta, Pickled Corn, Herb Chimichurri, Barq's Root Beer Lacquer.


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.


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.

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!


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.

(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.


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!)


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!




(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!

(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.


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!


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.

(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!)

(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.


Mushroom-shaped "garlic knots." Very tasty!


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!


We decided to walk our lunch off at Berk.

(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!



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.

(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!

(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:


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



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

(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!


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.


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!!

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On Sunday night after Main Street Philharmonic rehearsal, Jameson took me to the Be Our Guest restaurant at Belle's castle as an early birthday present!

Well, before that, our reservation was at 8pm so we had several hours to kill.

Right now it is between "tourist seasons," no major holidays going on, so foot traffic at the Magic Kingdom was fairly light. As a result we got to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Under the Sea, and The Barnstormer in quick succession. Somewhere in there we used our castmember coupons to get a free pretzel and a bottle of water. I have been saying this since becoming a castmember, but what a thing it is to be able to just throw on my ID badge and walk around Disney at any time. What a massive privilege.

We arrived at Belle's Castle right as the evening fireworks were going off, which was quite magical!
( Be Our Guest Restaurant )

Full and happy, we walked to the backstage gate that I normally use with the Main Street Philharmonic, then Jameson had to go to guest parking for his car while I slipped backstage, gathered my things from the band break room, and rode the company bus to the employee lot.

This was a magical night, and I'm so grateful. Jameson is very thoughtful...the best :)

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Monday it was back to the rehearsal grind.
Weirdly, despite all the pressure to memorize and learn quickly and do a zillion repetitions per day, it now feels like we are AHEAD. We're getting more breaks, and the focus is on small nuances of acting and doing full runs of the show rather than lines or the music.

We are still waiting on an important prop, and of course there will be more costume fittings. But...you guys, I think the show is SET. I think that if we had to perform tomorrow live in the park, we could all do it.

We did get to at least SEE our important prop for the first time, and it's beautiful! But there are still some kinks to be worked out in the design so we weren't allowed to mess with it just yet. Throughout the day we had several other casts walk through our "world," so each set of us got to do a full run with a real audience. All of the runs went great (there were some technical difficulties but OUR performances were on point.)

On the way home I stopped at Target because Tuesday is my birthday and I wanted to bring treats for everyone. I got mini sodas and seltzers, some chocolates, an assorted mini cookie tray, a tub of savory snack mix, and some fruit gummies. Kinda overdid it probably but whatever, we need a pick-me-up and any leftovers will be quickly snatched by the rest of the entertainment department.

At home I put everything away, packed breakfast and lunch, ordered dinner for pickup tomorrow, washed our bedsheets and put fresh sheets on the bed, emptied the dishwasher, showered, and typed up this post. By then it was 9:30pm.

I cannot wait for these full time rehearsals to be over.
Do you guys realize I've been eating dinner in the car, while driving, almost every day for the past three weeks?
Tired of it.

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Tuesday I was up 15 minutes early to allow for loading up the car with birthday treats, picking up my dinner (a Panera breakfast sandwich) and getting to the rehearsal building early to set up the treats. Everyone appreciated them :)


We went out into the park as usual, but the vibe was kinda off today. It just seemed like a percentage of us were sort of...over it. Including myself. Our show director wanted new choreo for one section, and it was actually a really good change that had us moving more and being more dynamic. But we learned it almost all in one go, and personally I needed time to rehearse it in parts to be able to remember it all. Eventually we got it, though, and I'm looking forward to getting more comfortable with the new movements.

Nothing really to report...we're all just doing our best out here.

Back home it was bass practice, packing lunch, and a little chill time before bed.

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Wednesday, the only thing special was that someone left a bag of googly eyes out in our green room so I stuck one in the middle of my forehead. Because that's what you DO when there are free googly eyes.

(Fun Fact: the background is intensely blurred because I took this pic in Epic Universe)

A lot of the actors were delighted and copied me...and so throughout the day I saw misc people walking through the park, practicing their roles, with googly eyes on their foreheads. It was pretty damn funny.

Other than that it was just another rehearsal day. We did some run throughs, had some audiences made up of other entertainers and/or construction workers. It's hot outside now so I drank lots of water. During the lunch break I went to Whole Paycheck since my only day off is Saturday and I won't have time for groceries otherwise.

Back home I packed breakfast, lunch, and dinner, practiced bass, had my hour to relax before bed.

Oh also...I have put googly eyes on my trombone.

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Friday: More rehearsal, of course.

Saturday: A day off. I'll catch up on what I can but need to rest too.

Sunday: Subbing with the Main Street Philharmonic all day.

Well, let's see what (if anything!) I can share about Epic Universal rehearsals without violating my NDA!


I was up at 5am to work on transcription. I'll probably have to do that again for the next two days, so I'll be an awfully tired wreck by Thursday. Oh well, suck it up buttercup. Left at 7:45 and drove to the address I'd been given for rehearsals.

( Rehearsal Day 1 )

It was a very, very long day. Exciting, fun, stressful, informative...and long.
Afterward I drove to Whole Paycheck (it's right down the street from the new park) and ate at the hot bar, picked up a few things for packed lunches, and drove home. Told Jameson all about my day, unpacked, packed a new lunch for tomorrow, did a load of laundry, set me clothes out, showered, typed up this blog, and CRASHED.

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Up at 5am again, transcription. Submitted my first job and got through about half of the second job, so I may actually be able to finish it all tonight (though I won't submit it until Thursday, otherwise they'll send me another.)

Off to Universal. Another very full day of rehearsal, split with the first half of the day being music run-throughs and the second half working on the script and characters.

At the end of the day we had a sort of "situation meeting" in which availability and pay were discussed. Not going to lie, it wasn't the most reassuring meeting. But I'm gonna have to trust that our needs are being considered, and that things will work themselves out.

Ate at the on-site cafe and it was pretty good (got a personal pizza made fresh!) Will probably eat there again tomorrow for dinner.

Back home my bass trombone case arrived, and OF COURSE it doesn't fit my trombone :(
I will have to figure out what to do about that. The seller will let me return it but I certainly don't have time to deal with it this week.

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Wednesday, I didn't have to get up quite so early and that was nice. But I woke up on the wrong side of bed, mostly from the stress of managing multiple jobs plus these rehearsals and worrying about scheduling.

Rehearsal today involved run-throughs again, and a lot of time with the script and practicing timing and movement.
We also got to meet a VERY special person who will be a part of our show.....and I SO WISH I could tell you about it!! But I can't!! ARRRRGH

As the day went on my bad mood wore off. I was excused from transcription for next week, and we are expected to get full time rehearsals again, so that was a big relief.

Back home, my enamel pin had arrived, so here is my merch!
Thermal "Opening Team" mug, Epic Universe lanyard, and the enamel pin
(which was bigger than I expected but looks so cool on the lanyard)


The Opening Team/Team Member enamel pin, which is much smaller. It's on my purse next to my Main Street Philharmonic Mickey pin.
Maybe they will fight to the death :p


And, I realized that my bass trombone DOES fit in that case!! I have to take the longer tuning slide off, but it will definitely fit. I feel like an idiot for not realizing this but one generally doesn't have to dismantle their horn to that level, usually. Well, I'm willing to do it so I can keep this case. It'll still need some mods but this is manageable.

Bell in the case:


The case, screenshot of the ad because I forgot to take a picture because it's been an exhausting week.


And finally....Jameson got his stitches out!! Yay!! He can start physical therapy in a few more weeks.
Meanwhile he's very happy that he can sleep normally without being so cautious of the stitches.

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Thursday: You guessed it: more rehearsal! I am blessed :)

Friday: Rehearsal again!

Saturday and Sunday: Catching up on house chores, starting memorization of lines and music, and hopefully cooking us a meal.

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After breakfast I got bundled up for the cold and hoofed it over to the nearest Bank of America, about a mile away.

I went there for a "banker's check," because the person I'm buying a bass trombone from would like to be paid that way. He lives in California, so the trombone will have to make it intact all the way across the country to Florida. It's a $,$$$ check and it made me cringe to spend that kind of money. But if I get the gig I'm hoping for, I'll get that money back and then some.

After that, walked to a Salvation Army nearby and had to wait outside for 15 minutes because I got there too early. Stamping my feet in the cold and pacing like an idiot. Finally they opened, and I warmed up and enjoyed browsing for nothing-in-particular. I'm always on the lookout for new khakis (I only have one pair left and they're very old) and black dress shirts, but I never find these things. Instead, look at this FABULOUS shirt that I found!


It's hard to see in the pic, but it's a dark blue stretchy fabric with sparkling stars all over it. The stars sparkle silver or multicolored depending on light. It was only $4 so I bought it, and we'll see if I actually drum up the guts to wear it in public.

Walked back home, and on the way received some ASTOUNDING GOOD NEWS which I can't share yet but if you're an LJ Friend you know what it is! For now I can only say that it's a life-changing job opportunity, and I DO need that bass trombone after all! Overwhelmed with this, I unpacked my things and ate lunch in a daze, then started a load of laundry and spent much of the afternoon trying to gather my thoughts.

The evening show was fine, as far as I could tell. I am in the women's dressing room this week, and while I enjoy having my own space it's also nice to sit with a group of women, chat about this and that, hear everyone's plans and upcoming auditions post-tour, stuff like that.

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Friday, I could hardly sleep at all because every time I woke up my heart and brain were racing with this new job opportunity and what lies ahead. I'll tell you this much, it's another tour. And so I had an insomniac sort of night of randomly reading a book or googling this and that to try and lull myself back to sleep.

Breakfast and only a few free hours before we had to commute to the theatre for the first of two shows. I was extra-hungry so ate a Pop Tart. Show was ok but the audience was lame, very lukewarm.

During the break I stayed at the theatre and “air-tromboned” the music for my next tour. I’ve played through it before, but now that I know I’ve GOT the gig, it feels different. I’m making it “mine,” if that makes sense. A really nice feeling.

The evening show was all right, all of our shows are well-attended right now in the lead-up to Christmas.

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Saturday morning was more exciting than expected.

Upon checking my email, was shocked to see that I'd been offered a callback on a recent audition that I took...

...yeeees, the one that I'd assumed was a public rejection, after they posted a new audition listing and started specifically looking for "female trombonists" only AFTER I'd sent my materials in. Now I guess I have to open mouth insert foot on that. The callbacks are in early January. I won't be able to access my other trombones or audition materials until the week of the audition. Which isn't a problem per se, but it means I'll have less time to work on preparing than many others. But I will do my best.

After that exciting news I walked to Shapiro's for black-and-white cookies for the band. And more excitement happened!
The cashier's name was Greg, a really cool guy who was over the moon about the fact that I'm a trombonist visiting on tour. He hooked me up with a dozen fresh cookies, and also this fabulous Shapiro's Deli shirt with a pickle on it!!


As if that weren't amazing enough, as Greg was excitedly pelting me with questions about touring and tromboning, someone came up behind me and said, "Excuse me, but are you talking about trombones?" It was my facebook friend and fellow trombonist Josh! We've never met in person, but he knew me right away (I think it's the iconic raspberry pea coat that I wear everywhere) and we got to hug and take a quick selfie. What are the odds that we'd both be in the restaurant at the same time, on the same day? How cool!


We wished each other well on our respective gigs (He's doing a local production of "White Christmas") and chatted a bit about bass trombones since I'm buying one and he's primarily a bass trombonist. But we both had to be on our way after that. Great start to the morning!

We had two shows again, and I stayed at the theater again between shows to eat dinner and "air trombone" my new tour music. I would've liked to explore Butler University's campus, but it has been bitter cold here plus most of the buildings are closed for the weekend/holiday already.

Both shows went well and were well attended. We can probably expect some nice overage pay from Indianapolis!

Also, tonight marked the final performances of Jollywood at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
I wish I could have attended at least one show, but it wasn't meant to be this year.
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and Muppets involved. What a fantastic production to be a part of!
And of course, special congrats to my dear Jameson (pictured here with his friend and fellow performer, Lea)


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Sunday, I had gone to bed late because someone in the room above me was stomping around like an elephant until 1am :(
And also got up early because that's how I am :( :(

Made the best of it by packing lunch and dinner, eating breakfast, partially packing my luggage, and starting a new Megan's Foodie Finds for the next tour :) When the sun came out I bundled up and walked to CVS for a protein shake because I shorted myself one this week, plus I feel like I've been too sedentary because of the cold.

At the theatre, our two shows felt very long indeed. The vibe, from everyone, was wanting a break and wanting to go home and see family for Christmas. Still, both shows went well and nothing crazy happened. For the first show Mr. and Mrs. Boyce (Jameson's parents) showed up with Jameson's brother Kevin and his wife Debbie. We got to chat briefly afterward, and it was really great to see them and give hugs all around :)

After the second show I felt very impatient for my carpool to hurry up and pack (I'm always the first one out of the pit) but made myself relax. A few more minutes doesn't get me to Orlando and Jameson any sooner. Before I knew it we were back at the hotel.

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Tomorrow I'm flying with the tour to Charlotte, which for me is a layover and for them is the final city on tour.
From there I'm flying to Orlando to spend as much time with Jameson as possible over Christmas.
I'll be driving back up the east coast on Christmas Day to Charlotte, where Elf will have it's final shows.

Monday: Travel day, last-minute Christmas shopping

Tuesday: Christmas Eve Day, probably unwrapping presents with Jameson and having a nice dinner together

Wednesday: 10-hour drive to Charlotte

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!


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.


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!


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:


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!

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.


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.


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.


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.

Although the bus load wasn't until 11, I was up around 7 because I'd gotten a new transcription project.
Remembering how stressed I'd gotten over the previous one, I wanted to get this one started ASAP.

Breakfast and worked on it from 8am-11am. The problem this week is going to be audio distortion, apparently. Sigh. At least there's nothing I can do about that except notate it.

We loaded onto the bus and drove to a shopping mall in New Jersey, and because I'm not a herd animal I did not go inside but instead took "the road less traveled" to a Wegmans just a few blocks over.


I didn't want to get much here, not knowing the hotel fridge situation, but did find some of my favorite nonperishables and enjoyed the time there much more than I would have at a mall. Back on the bus and we were at the hotel very quickly. I'm on the first floor which is rare.

Took an Uber to a Green's Natural Market, which I think is a NJ/NY-only store. They did indeed have lots of interesting things for sale, plus they were next to a World Market so I got to pop in there too (could have done SO much Christmas shopping but will just have to wait.) I wanted many things, but in the end walked out with these:


Blackbird seitan: I've had this many times and it's delicious, I always keep an eye out for it.

Drybox Turkish figs: from World Market, they have a lot of travel-sized snack foods and this was one. Haven't tried it yet.

Surfsnax salmon jerky: The only salmon jerky I've had is the Epic brand strips, and some refrigerated "salmon candy" that I got in Wisconsin once. By comparison, this one was unfortunately very stinky and also too oily to handle with one's hands, unless one wanted to smell like stinky fish all day. So I used a fork to eat it, and it was tasty, but because of the smell and messiness, would not buy again.

Righteous Felon Basil-Infused turkey jerky: small package + interesting. Haven't tried it yet.

Gopel's cheesy sprouted pumpkin seeds: Vegan, using the flavor of nutritional yeast to simulate cheese. They're quite good though a bit stinky :p

Sail Away nitro Maple Vanilla coffee: A coffee shop out of NY, and this is their seasonal flavor. Haven't tried it yet.

Salysol "Gomitas": gummy candy in a can! From World Market, bought this solely because it's in a can lol. They also had peanuts, pickles, and other "airplane snacks" in cans like this.

Culina dairy-free Bourbon Vanilla yogurt: I've actually never had dairy-free yogurt. This flavor called to me. Haven't tried it yet.

Dijas Pumpkin Spice biscotti: Not real biscotti, this has a texture like Melba toast and is quite delicious for being a low-calorie food. They had a banana bread flavor as well that I'd love to try. Not very nutritious but good for killing a snack craving without ruining your dinner.

I don't expect to enjoy much exploration time here in New Jersey due to transcription, practicing for Disney rehearsal, and the 20-minute commute to and from the theatre (sigh.) So I figured to get myself nice groceries, at least.

My evening ended with unpacking, eating a tempeh BLT wrap for dinner, and doing a few hours of transcription with a cup of tea.

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I accidentally slept an hour later than planned (8 instead of 7) because I'd put earplugs in and hadn't heard my alarm.

Ah well, I had breakfast and got to work on transcription, pretty much doing that all day with only a few breaks for lunch, packing dinner, getting ready for work, and establishing a carpool time with the guys.

It took 30 minutes to fight rush hour traffic to the theatre, find the garage and park, and then find the stage door (there isn't one and I still don't know how we're supposed to enter the building.) This is the Count Basie Center for the Arts, and it's TINY and cramped so much that we cannot use half the set pieces and the actors are having to make lots of changes to how they enter and exit so they don't collide backstage.

The pit is no better unfortunately. Incredibly cramped and basically a hole in the ground complete with plaster dust, chipping paint, and dangling wires. The glamorous lifestyle of a tour musician, folks! Here is my spot. I'm like the Trombone Troll under the bridge...er, stage.


Notice the halogen bulb in a cage over my head. Crawling into that corner packed with equipment and mutes is easier said than done, and after the second time that I whacked the bulb cage it broke off and came down onto my head. Luckily some stagehands were able to remove both cage and bulb, so now it's a DARK corner but at least I won't accidentally cause a ruckus during a show.

My slide also extends a good 1/3rd of the way across the pit stairwell. I joked with the guys that my slide is the pit toll gate, and you gotta pay to get in or out :p


The show was supposed to start at 7, but "for reasons" including the cramped space and a slow/incomplete load in, we were rescheduled to 7:30, and then to 7:45. This was annoying, but imagine how the audience feels. The show did go pretty well with only some minor hitches due to the huge list of changes that the actors and crew have to remember. It seemed like the audience had fun, and that was the goal.

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Wednesday I was up early to review one transcription job and start another.

During a break I cracked open the can of gummy candies.
They are very cute! I love the itty bitty egg. The little teeth are a weird addition, though...


They mostly taste the same regardless of shape/color, but the banana one did taste like banana!

After lunch I practiced trombone, went for a short no-reason walk to a dollar store just to get out of the hotel room, then buckled down to more transcription. Later on the evening show went well, our Director was there and had nice things to say so that was rewarding.

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Thursday: It's supposed to rain all day (NJ has been in a drought so I'm happy for them!) We have a mandatory HR meeting via Zoom, and I'll be doing transcription, and the evening show.

Friday: Hopefully finishing transcription, doing laundry, and taking a walk somewhere.

Saturday and Sunday: Double shows both days. And on Sunday night I'll have to head over to the airport for my crazy Disney Candlelight rehearsal escapade!