goofball on a train

**YE OLDE TOUR DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. (get used to seeing this at the top of any tour-related posts.)

Jameson did too, tossing and turning next to me.
But eventually I did get some sort of sleep and my alarm went off at 5am.
I got up that early so I could have quiet time alone to drink coffee, eat breakfast, and FREAK OUT.

This is happening. This is happening!!

WEDNESDAY - TRAVEL DAY

Jameson got up around 6:30 and drove me to the airport. He dragged my bass trombone and I dragged my janky suitcase (it has taken a lot of hits in life.) Fortunately the airport was very chill, which is rare in Orlando let me tell ya. Checked both bags and they kindly slapped some bright orange FRAGILE stickers onto the bass case.

Jameson walked me to my gate, and we hugged goodbye.
Always the hardest part. We squeeze really hard.
At least this time I know he won't be totally miserable at home! He's got his exciting new job, too!

No line at all at security either...what an auspicious day!...so I had about 45 minutes to kill.
Spent most of it reading my book and checking that I'm not dreaming.

(The hideous MCO carpet)

The flight was very smooth and uneventful.

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CHECKING IN

Took a company Uber to the hotel...
...and LO, my trombone and accessories arrived right as I was checking in!

I had worried for nothing this time. But next time, I will make sure that there is a BUFFER DAY. Geez.
Used a luggage trolley to get everything upstairs and checked on both trombones. Both were completely unharmed!

My two trombones pictured with their respective foam cones, which are put inside the bells to absorb impact. The cases are also some of the best currently available for transporting trombones. Because if I don't invest in my gear no one else will.


My accessories also got here safely though the box was barely a box any more and had clearly been handled badly. But I'd packaged everything carefully, so no damage.

I fell right back into my tour routine: checked that the fridge felt cold, dug an aquarium thermometer out of my suitcase and threw it in there, grabbed some tote bags, and hoofed it to a grocery store! Well, this time I had to Uber because there aren't any within reasonable walking distance. I first went to Niskayuna Co-op because I remembered it being really good with lots of local products, but was disappointed to see that their selection has dwindled. Maybe the local stuff hasn't been selling well. But I got a bar of raspberry and cracked pepper dark chocolate which I'm very intrigued to try, and some house-made pretzel rolls.

Next, Market 32 down the street which is really just a fancy version of Price Chopper. Got everything else I needed there. I actually got more than usual because we're gonna be here through July! But the hotel only has a little box fridge so I still have to be careful about how much refrigerated stuff I get. That means mostly canned or shelf stable veggies this week.

Got back to the hotel, put the food away, and unpacked.
It is so weird...it feels like I never left. Unpacking and putting stuff where I like it is like riding a bike.



There's thankfully a lot of counter space here, so all the food is gonna live under the TV. There's a microwave so I won't need the Itaki this time. The collapsible silicone kettle is at the far end because there's an outlet there. That'll be my morning coffee or evening tea. And no, I don't use hotel coffee makers generally because have you ever looked inside one? They never clean them. Nope nope nope.

In the little box fridge I've crammed as much Greek yogurt as will fit, some cooked chicken, boiled eggs, pickled beets, and berries. I've left some room so that I can pack and refrigerate a lunch.
Choice shelf-stable foods include oats, tuna pouches, single-serve canned green beans, roasted hazelnuts, canned pumpkin, PB Fit, Core Power shakes, rice, and misc fruit. And of course I have brought Snack Pod loaded with roasted edamame, dark chocolate chips, Cheerios, Mike & Ike's, and peanut butter M&M's!

After unpacking everything else I lubricated and otherwise prepared my trombones for work tomorrow, and put my accessories and everything I'll need into a pile ready to go. Then a shower, and then we FINALLY GOT ONBOARDING PAPERWORK. MY GOD. Turns out we were supposed to get it a long time ago. I think someone forgot about us. It'll definitely get worked out, but will be keeping an eye on the progress of it.

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THURSDAY - FIRST REHEARSAL

Reminder: PLEASE DO NOT SHARE OR REPOST ANYTHING. Thanks!

I was awake early, nervous. Made breakfast in the hotel room (oatmeal with Core Power for milk, Fage Greek yogurt, blackberries) and packed my lunch. Since I don't know about our fridge situation at the theater I'm mostly packing nonperishables today, and will adjust as needed if there's a fridge. And I'm not packing dinner because we're supposed to be done rehearsing by 5pm, and since this is a union gig we WILL be done by 5pm.

Around 8:30am I loaded myself up with the two trombones, two trombone stands, bag-o-mutes, and my backpack with lunch and iPad and pedal...and realized that I needed to call an Uber. It's a short walk to the theatre but the combined weight of the trombones in their cases is about 50 pounds, plus all the equipment and my backpack...I would have been a sweaty mess. So I used the company Uber and just hoped they'd be ok with it. 

I've played at Proctor's Theater before. It's small and old, but beautiful. 
There's a sort of promenade just inside the entrance. To the right I immediately saw the stage door, and next to it this big poster. 


We had been instructed to go up a marble staircase and make a few turns to get to our rehearsal space. 
I found the stairs.


As I was staring at them and hyping myself up for dragging all of my equipment up there, a theater associate saw me and kindly directed me to an elevator. Which was also covered in a huge Beauty and the Beast decal, and which I couldn't photograph because my hands were full of trombones. Good lord, Disney does go hard on the marketing! 

The rehearsal room was like every other tech rehearsal room I've ever been in. It's always either a hallway, or a conference room, or a black box. The MD, keys, drums, and something called keycomp have already been rehearsing here, so everything was set up and ready to go. 


I quickly found my spot right on the end, and got set up.


They made us that HUGE and beautiful book of music, all printed on exquisitely thick cardstock, all lovingly bound in that heavy black folder. I felt like a poo-head, but picked it up and plopped it right on the floor next to my chair. We received PDF parts about a week ago, and I know that they match the paper parts (it's ALWAYS important to check that before ditching the printed part.) Plus, the digital part has all of my notes and I don't want to have to rewrite them, especially not if it's gonna mar these beautiful paper parts.

Anyway, here's the setup I'm going with for now.


The bass is at my left elbow since I use it the most and since it's the heaviest. 
The tenor is at my right-front, so that I can grab it cross-body with my left hand once I've put the bass down. This is normally where my Aviom would go but I should be able to put that kinda behind my stand when we start using mixes (we don't need them for rehearsals.)
My mutes are lined up on the floor to the right of my chair because I prefer to grab them with my right hand. Water bottle goes over there too.
...that's pretty much it. Mute bag will eventually live under my chair and/or to the right of the mutes when I'm ready to pack up.

The other musicians filtered in gradually, and we introduced ourselves and chatted while rearranging our gear and tuning up. When the MD came in, he rushed right over to me and we hugged excitedly. I am so glad he's here! So glad that someone I KNOW is here! And he had a big big BIG hand in getting me this job. I feel that I owe him a lot. Michael, our rehearsal keyboardist, is also a good friend from My Fair Lady national tour, and we hugged and exclaimed excitedly about this tour for a bit. 

Then it was time to rehearse. 

We "ran it down," meaning we ran the show from top to bottom, only pausing afterward for the MD to give us notes or for us to ask questions about our parts. When we broke for lunch I went to the management office to rustle up a backstage pass. I met some of our management team, and received not only the pass but also this very cool nalgene bottle and the ubiquitous gel luggage tags! 


Here is a better picture of the bottle after I took the protective plastic off, front and back. 


On the way out of the office I saw this red arrow that said "TRUNKS" and decided to check it out. 


Musicians are supposed to get trunks too. Sure enough, I quickly found mine! Luggage tag for scale. 


You guys, this is a BIG DEAL. 
Normally on tour (or at least all the tours I've done to this point) you get two 50 pound suitcases for your personal stuff, your "band box" which is a shared road case for carrying work-related gear and instruments...and that's it. Personally I don't care to drag 100 pounds of suitcase with me everywhere, so I usually opt for one large suitcase or that plus a carry-on at most. But this trunk means that I can bring lots more stuff! I'm actually a bit overwhelmed thinking about what I could bring. A full-sized Instapot! A bigger selection of clothes! And...I honestly don't even know what else! I'll have to think about it. But this is so exciting for someone used to living out of a 29-inch suitcase! 

Our rehearsal ended 30 minutes early, so we must be doing something right :) 
I felt that it went well and hope that others felt the same way. Everyone was so professional, and SUCH excellent musicians. When everyone in the room has that kind of focus, we can sound GREAT and be very productive. 

Someone had sent a picture of the new tour truck, so I went outside to see it in person. 
I've done lots of tours but never one with it's own truck like this. A very big deal!!





Selfie in front of the truck. I am so grateful to be here.


I walked back to the hotel, and Jameson and I sent each other audio messages about how our days had gone. 
I ate dinner and typed up this post for y'all. 

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Welp. I'm exhausted. And still can't believe that I get to do this. 

To be honest, all day today I was freaking out inside. Absolute raging Imposter Syndrome. 
It felt like any minute someone was gonna say, "You know what...it's just not working out," and kick me out in favor of some better trombonist (there are plenty.) I was terrified of making mistakes; of disappointing or embarrassing the MD, who advocated for me to be here; of committing some shadowy faux pas that would offend someone in management.

Mainly, though, I am afraid that I haven't done a passable job on the bass trombone. It still does not feel very comfortable to me. 

Now, that said, NO ONE has given any indication that I'm doing a bad job. I got many compliments today from the other musicians and the MD. The MD even said to me, "This is your gig." But I have also been there on other gigs, when a musician was not a good fit for the group, and everyone was all smiles and compliments and then she was gone. 

Ultimately, all I can do is my best. And whatever the outcome may be...if they keep me for years, or if they approach me after a week and say, "Yeah, sorry but..."...either way there is very little that I can do about it, other than give them my best and hope it's enough. 

The problem is that the more you care about something--the more you value it--the more terrifying it is to think about losing that thing. And that is what I'm experiencing now. It was the same while i was on the circus. For the first 3 months or so I was a nervous wreck on the inside, constantly terrified that any day could be my last on the best gig I'd ever had. That day never came, and I eventually felt like I belonged. I will probably be a nervous wreck for at least a month or two on this gig...definitely until we get past the Chicago layoff. But it is my deepest hope that I'll get to stay, and that I'll get to belong here, too. 

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Friday and Saturday: Same schedule as today, rehearsing from 10am-5pm both days.

Sunday: Same schedule but after rehearsal we'll move to the pit!

Questions: If you have any questions about tour, tech rehearsals, music, etc, feel free to ask! Just please make sure your answer wasn't already given in the post, it'll save me having to repeat myself. Thanks and welcome along on this amazing adventure!!

Thursday,

EPIC STUFF

I was up early of course, and since our sets were an hour later this week I was able to visit Whole Paycheck to get my favorite Lemon Pepper Tofu Bites :)

At the park everything was normal except there were two trios there today! One set of us was there to work as usual, and the other was there to train our new subs! So of course the subs were there too and we got to meet them all. It was so cool and strange to have FOUR female trombonists sitting across from me in the breakroom! And I am very glad that our third party managed to find them. Hopefully they'll have fun at this job.

We had normal sets all day, with larger crowds than usual which was nice.
For one of the middle sets the subs came out to watch. The trombone ladies put themselves right in the center and cheered for basically everything I did, which was both flattering and terrifying haha. I didn't want to make any mistakes; I wanted to set them a good example! One tongue-in-cheek thing that I did for them was during the clarinet-heavy number. I have a lot of boring sustained notes in that piece, so I took one and popped it down an octave to make it sound big and fat. They REALLY cheered for that! Fun trombone nerd stuff :p

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JAMESON STUFF

Meanwhile Jameson was on his third day at Disney corporate. He updated me during his lunch break to say that things were going very well although he was insanely busy, basically doing introduction meetings all day long. But he is very excited about the projects he'll be on, and I am so happy to see him engaged and enthusiastic for the first time since covid. Thank god! He's needed this.

Here's the cruise ship he'll be "producing" on for a week at the end of this month! In the Bahamas! Lucky dog!

(photo courtesy disneyparksblog)

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EPIC TEA

Another interesting tidbit from today: apparently the queue for the Ministry of Magic ride has been so ridiculous (often a 5 hour wait!) that Universal decided to try opening the Wizarding portal an hour before all the others so that the queue could form early. We weren't on the schedule that early, but when we came in everyone was talking about how the queue had wrapped around the entire park TWICE...

...and the wait time was EIGHT HOURS.

(stock artistic rendering)

The ride went down shortly thereafter, causing people to give up on waiting and "reducing" the wait time to "only" 5 hours...but either way, who WANTS that? That's LITERALLY the whole day spent waiting for a 4-minute ride!
I mean, Monsters Unchained is also a dark ride with a similar design, it actually works most of the time, the visuals and tech are just as incredible, and the queue is average for a new ride (2 hours or less.) Eh, whatever. I was blown away by how nutty things have gotten surrounding MoM. I know it's great but...c'mon.

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POOL DECK STUFF

After work I got home and Jameson and I caught up with each other.

Sadly, the guy who sealed our pool deck did mess up after all (I had suspected something was wrong but he's the professional, so...) He fully admitted the mistake, and spent several hours this afternoon scraping and chipping the bubbled-up hardened sealant from between our pavers. I felt very bad for him, but also grateful that he is fixing the mistake instead of just screwing us over. He'll be back again next week to finish scraping.

Last few activities before going to bed included submitting my last transcription job,
taping up my trombone and equipment to ship to Schenectady tomorrow,
and drafting "thank you" emails to both Universal and our third party management for Epic Universe.

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Friday,

LAST DAY AT EPIC UNIVERSE STUFF

I was up extra early so I could load up the car and be at UPS right when they opened to ship my tenor trombone and equipment. Hopefully it all arrives on time and intact. From there I drove to Walmart and bought a bunch of treats for the other members of Place Cachee Jazz as a thank you/going away gift. I got full-sized candy bars, mini KIND bars, and assorted sweet and savory mini bags of crisps and cookies.

I was in for a surprise as well. When the boys arrived later on, Joe (clarinet) presented me with a small box.
Inside was this beautiful rose gold-colored Parker pen.


But even better than that, and very touching, was that most of the cast and management had signed the box!


On the other side of the box was this lovely quote that almost brought a tear to my eye. Goodness.


Working for Epic has not been easy. We essentially learned our show in a construction zone.
We were there before the buildings were painted.
We dodged cherry pickers while learning our choreography.
We yelled our lines to be heard over jackhammers.
Our very first audiences were the construction workers (and they were a great audience too!)

It was intense, stressful, and exhausting.
But the hardships were all worth it in many ways. I got to meet all of these wonderful, professional, hardworking musicians. I got to learn how to act for the very first time. I got to see the birth of a theme park...how many people can say they've been a part of that?!


I'm grateful for what I learned, and still amazed that I got to do this and be a part of something so rare and special.
And now, it is finally June. The time has come for me to close out my chapter in this story.
It has been fun, and I am grateful. But to be honest...I have QUITE the adventure ahead of me now, too!

The rest of the day was normal. We played sets for decent crowds, I made sure to say goodbye to as many people as possible, and wrote and sent "thank you" emails to both Universal and third party management. I received many wonderful compliments and well-wishes, which I don't totally feel I deserve as my heart was never here to begin with (Friends Only people, iykyk). But still...these are great people, and I'm very proud to have worked here. It was a perfect last day for me.

The best part of all was that as soon as we started our final set of the day...it began to rain!!!
We cannot stay out in even a light drizzle when Plume (our expensive animatronic creature) is with us, so the set was immediately ended and we got to pack up early! Wheee! What a great Last Day treat for meeeee! I hugged the boys goodbye, took one last look around...and walked out.

Thus ends my time with Epic Universe (for now at least.)

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Saturday was very chill. I got up too early, answered some emails, and didn't get much done at all until before lunch when I went to get ingredients for dinner. While Jameson was at a massage I practiced bass and finally started packing "for real," which at this point mostly means packing clothes and kitchen supplies. For dinner I made basic spaghetti with bolognese and a salad, and for dessert we had Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake bars because they're nostalgic and I'd wanted them.

That's pretty much it.

Oh, I wrote a big long blog post asking readers to do this-and-that when it comes to tour tickets/visits and avoid this-and-that when it comes to interacting with me. You might think I'm neurotic, but try putting yourself in my shoes for a minute. My lifestyle means that this is NOT a normal blog. Try to imagine what I see when I open my LiveJournal.

I learned some hard lessons when I joined the circus and my blog suddenly got HUNDREDS of readers. Every day, all day, I had messages and questions and ticket requests to respond to, usually from complete strangers or long-silent acquaintances who crawled out of the woodwork to beg for freebies. These interactions are the reason why I now have all these pet peeves around my writing. There are a lot of amazing and good people in this world, and I'd like to continue interacting with those. But there are also a lot of selfish, thoughtless, hateful, and creepy people, and I need to take steps to protect myself from those.

Ultimately the TL;DR is that I want to be treated like a human being on LiveJournal. I am not a TV program, a ticket dispenser, an AI chatbot programmed to answer endless questions, or a soapbox for others to stand on. I'm a real person, just like you, writing about her life. It's a weird and exciting life, but I'm still just a woman that eats and sleeps and cries and gets annoyed like everyone else.

Anyway there ya go.

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Sunday, up too early again. It is hard to sleep when every time I wake up in the night my brain whispers about Beauty and the Beast.

When Jameson got up we went for a walk together. Talking about this and that, but mostly about our hopes and dreams for our new jobs. Jameson's grandmother passed away a few nights ago (they weren't close) so he'll be flying home after I leave for the funeral. Mariah (trombonist at Epic) is looking for a new car and is interested in using mine in the meanwhile, so I'm gonna research how we can make that happen. Just things going on with our lives.

We got back and cleaned up and had snacks. I packed a little and practiced for a scant 30 minutes.
I'd thought to use today to go shopping or clean, but this is essentially the last day that Jameson and I will have fully together, so instead we just chilled quietly in each others' company, ate pizza and my much-loved air fryer wings, and watched the Tonys.

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Monday and Tuesday: Jameson has partial and full days at Disney respectively, so I will be using these two days to do my final tour prep. Cleaning around the house, doing some final shopping, packing, tying up lose ends.

Wednesday: Flying to Schenectady. Holy crap!

Thursday, work at Epic, the usual routine.

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

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

(photo courtesy touringplans.com)

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


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

They scattered like roaches!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Strawberry Gazpacho (vegan)


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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Wednesday was the Grand Opening at Epic Universe.

If you missed the livestream, here it is:



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


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


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

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

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

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



Entertainment is so weird :p

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

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

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

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

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

(photo courtesy disneyfoodblog)

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

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

Here is the opening ceremony from the ground:



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



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

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

(youtube screenshot)

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

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

Saturday: Orlando Fringe with Jameson and friends!!

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

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.

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

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

(photo courtesy Disney Theatrical)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!

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

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

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

Here is where Jameson will be working!!



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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday and Thursday: Work at Epic.

Up early again for Epic.

This time I went to Sprouts before work, because they have Spindthrift sodas and it turns out Jameson likes them :)

From there it was a normal morning, I was able to get a full hour of bass trombone practice before our sets which made me very happy.

The sets were all normal, but...there is already some pretty crummy behavior going on.
Universal is more of an "adult" park, which in some ways is a good and fun thing...and in some ways, opens the door to a lot of potential unpleasantness.

Today we had good crowds, but for the first two they were like TV audiences.
That is, we looked out onto a sea of phones. I felt like I was at a press conference or something.
And when we tried to interact we got no response or blank stares from most people.

Usually by the end of the set, if people stuck around that long, they'd start to warm up and clap and dance and whatnot. But not everyone stays that long; a lot of people take a quick video clip and leave. We're an ATMO band, which means we're supposed to add to the ambiance of Place Cachee, and make people feel like they're in 1920s wizarding Paris, and give guests an experience that they can't get anywhere else. But if you never once look up from your phone...what exactly did you pay for when you bought your ticket? You could have stayed home and watched videos of the park online, and saved some money. I guess that makes me old but, it was my thoughts today.

We had more questionable guest behavior in the form of a drunk guy who came running up to me during our performance and started yelling at me in Spanish. He didn't seem aggressive, just seemed to be acting stupid, but he was much bigger than me and got right up in my personal space. Our handlers were apparently too timid to do anything about it. The other two musicians immediately stomped over to "suggest" he step back...politely, and still in character. But they shouldn't have to do that in the middle of a show. We shouldn't have to stop a show to "handle" guests, that is what a HANDLER is for.

This stuff is only going to happen more and more, so we'd better get used to it and our handlers had better step up. I would hope that at some point we'll have training on how to handle negative interactions...but I won't hold my breath for it. I will simply have to watch out for myself. If I see that help is not forthcoming, I will act to protect myself...i.e., I will simply leave the set until the problem is removed. In the event that I can't leave because someone is trapping me or grabbing/touching me...let's just say I'm grateful to be holding a trombone. Which can be a VERY effective weapon. Which I hope no one will ever have to experience.

But you know. FAFO.


Aaaanyway, that was the excitement. Otherwise it was good sets and good crowds.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---

I ate dinner in the break room and then drove to Will's for what was likely my final bass trombone lesson.

Chatted with him and his wife a bit, asked questions about his recent heart surgery which he said went really well, he's just a little sore and is recovering nicely. This is our first lesson in I think 3 weeks, and I was very gratified when Will exclaimed over the noticeable difference in my playing. I don't always practice as much as I should or work on all the areas that I should, but I do practice regularly and have worked very hard to be more comfortable with the bass, and it showed. I could feel it myself in the lesson, remembering how I'd sounded with Will previously. I'm still not as good as Will and probably never will be, but that's ok. I'll get better with time, and will continue to do my very own best :)

Back home the routine of unpacking and cleaning myself up and splatting on the floor.
Jameson had his last gig at Epcot tonight, and is tired but overall positive about his first performances post-surgery.
We will see how his arm feels over the next 48 hours.

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Friday I was up too early. Coffee and typing this and breakfast, trying to figure out what to make for dinner and settling on a cheeseburger fusilli bake that we both like. Got the ingredients for that. Did not practice, didn't feel like it.

Had an exchange of information with the upcoming tour management, and that made me feel relieved although they still haven't given us much. Now I've got flight and hotel bookings for rehearsals in Schenectady. What I REALLY want is onboarding paperwork and the dang music. But, gotta be patient.

The rest of the day was slow, I just did research related to touring, worked on foodie finds, and read my book to relax a bit.

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Saturday, up early for no reason again. I guess this is my life now.
Slept poorly too because had eaten too many acidic things all day yesterday, and felt mildly heartburn-y and nauseous all night. It happens.

Jameson had a playdate with friends this AM, so after he left I drove out to the nearest Michaels to look at foam inserts for my bass trombone case. The case is heavy-duty, but the padding inside is not the greatest so I need materials to cushion the horn further for transport.

$80 later I had some chunks of foam, some dark grey felt (they were out of black), two sheets of black craft foam, two foam cones, a small cushioned black case that was maybe meant for glasses(?)...and these adorable post-its, because they're fun and life is short!


Back home I chopped up the foam and put a chunk in the bottom of the trombone case to cushion the trigger mechanism, which currently is touching the hard side of the case and could be easily damaged as-is. I think the foam is perfect to protect it but we'll see. Additional foam in the more narrow section that houses the tuning slides. There was a lot of leeway for motion there that is greatly reduced with the foam.


The black craft foam, I cut a piece to put in the bottom of my mute bag to help muffle sound. I like to start packing up mutes before the show is over where possible, and this will help me not to make noise while doing so.

The foam cones are to be inserted in the trombone bells, to protect them from being crushed during transport. They extend slightly beyond the edge of the bell, which allows them to take impacts instead of the bell itself. The bell may still receive damage sometimes but odds are greatly reduced by using a cone (this is why my bass trombone's bell got crushed during shipping to me, because the idiot who packaged it did NOT follow my directions and did NOT use a cone.)


The small black case is for one of my small tuning slides on the bass, which must be removed for the instrument to fit in the case. It will probably also hold my mouthpiece once I get an appropriate sheath to protect them from clinking together. For the time being I cut a bit of the dark grey felt to go in there and provide extra cushioning, and threw random things in there like a mouthpiece brush and tape and spare trigger gummies.


More of the grey felt will be put in front of the bell-and-cone, just to snug it in there more tightly. I was very satisfied with how my little plan worked out here.

I practiced a bit but wasn't feeling great, so mostly tried to rest.
Later on we drove down to Colonial Ave to see a Queen tribute concert.
We've seen this band before, our friend Allen (whose nickname is Shrek) was a sound guy on the circus and now exclusively tours with this tribute band. It's good money for him and he absolutely loves it, plus they come through Florida once or twice a year and we get to see him! We had dinner together and got caught up, then Allen got us our tickets and took us backstage to meet some band members. Everyone was pleasant as always, and since Jameson is both a keyboardist and Queen fan he always has lots of nerd-stuff to chat about with the lead singer and the keyboardist :)

The concert was lots of fun. The theatre is old so it was warm and stinky, but that also made it feel, I guess "classic!" Like, this was a common live venue setting back in the 80s and 90s. Few people were looking at their phones or even recording...most were really interacting, cheering, and having fun. I feel like that might be a rarity any more.


After the show we said goodbye to Allen and thanked him for the tickets, and left so he could get started on loading out.

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Sunday, my brain finally allowed me to sleep through the night AND stay asleep until 9am.

This was partly because it was raining! It was darker than usual so I think my brain didn't know what time it was.
We have been in a drought here in Florida and BADLY needed this rain.



It also gave an excuse to have a nice slow morning.
I still feel kind of like, on the verge of having a virus, though I feel better than yesterday so that's something. I had an electrolyte drink, and waited a while before practicing bass, and then Disney stuff on tenor. After practice I had lunch with Jameson and then took a coffee grinder I'd sold on Ebay over to UPS so I won't have to worry about it on Monday. Then Jameson and I rested. He gamed and I watched Aladdin for no reason other than I felt like it. Maybe it's just comforting while I'm feeling under the weather.

Before dinner I cleared out the areas under the guest bathroom and kitchen sinks, and after dinner I did the master bathroom. Tomorrow we are having new sinks put into the bathrooms and new faucets in all three. Opened each box to make sure all parts are there and nothing is broken. We've had terrible luck with contractors and getting ripped off and/or paying for services that do not get completed, so please cross your fingers for us that we will just be able to get these installed without drama or issue.

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Monday: Three faucets and two sinks getting installed early in the morning. The rest of the day should be free. I'll probably practice and pack for Disney. If I'm feeling better I'll make something for dinner.

Tuesday: Rehearsal day at Disney.

Wednesday & Thursday: Working at Epic.

Thursday at Epic.

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday and Thursday: Work at Epic.

Thursday was a blessed, much needed day off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We watched Top Chef and went to bed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Frankenstein's Castle, Darkmoor, Dark Universe


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


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Sunday, up at 4am, UUUUGH.

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

Wednesday: Work at Epic.

I was awake too early on Thursday. Not sure why. Generically anxious, I guess.

Breakfast and messing around online until Jameson got up.
His Disney interview was at 10, so I busied myself with quietly dusting and packing meals for tomorrow while we waited. During his interview I eavesdropped a bit...it sounded fairly "normal" but he had headphones on so I couldn't hear much. It about 30 minutes and he said all of the questions were exactly the same as ones he's been asked by Disney Corporate in the past. This makes me a bit annoyed and sad, but then again, what are they supposed to ask? What new information could they be looking for? This is probably Jameson's 7th or 8th interview with Disney, with the same questions asked, again. Will anything come of this one?

He's supposed to hear back in about two weeks. Fingers and toes crossed, but we are both past the point of keeping our hopes up about these. It's great that he's getting these interviews, but they seem to be just toying around, and it's very frustrating. He needs a new job.

I practiced bass trombone, ate lunch, went to the store for secret Easter treats (ssh!) and a few nice things to get me through these busy days. Specifically, Cracklin' Oat Bran. You'll probably laugh but I swear to God, this cereal is essentially miniature oatmeal cookies. They're one of my absolute favorites, especially soaked just slightly in some sort of non-dairy milk to make them soft. Ugh, so gawddamn good!

(wikipedia photo)

Back home I did nothing important, just made tea and downloaded my raw genetic data from 23andMe since they're going out of business.

I SHOULD be planning dinner. I SHOULD be practicing tenor stuff. I SHOULD be learning civil court transcription.
Instead I nearly fell asleep watching TikTok on the floor.

Well...as an adult, that's my prerogative I guess.

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Friday, a day at Epic but it was NIGHT rehearsals, ooooOOOOoooo.

Really, just the same as usual except that I didn’t have to get up at 5am! Which meant I actually had time to DO THINGS before work. After Jameson went to the gym I practiced bass and vacuumed and spent 30 minutes doing “Phillipa Hair.” Left a bit after Jameson got back.

The first three sets were hot, being in the middle of the day, but we had good crowds.

For the evening sets it was beautifully cool and we had GREAT crowds because it's so much easier for people to stand and watch a show without the sun beating down on them! I found out tonight that we're averaging around 90 people per set, and that's during normal daytime sets. I think that's pretty good considering we're just an "atmosphere" band without an actual stage or anywhere to sit.

And for us the performers, it was so nice to not be distracted by sweat soaking our clothes or the sun stabbing us in the eye while we try to play an instrument and smile at guests. Night shows are pretty great!

The other thing that I noticed during these lovely nighttime sets was some people out there with professional camera equipment. I guessed (rightly) that we had some actual freelance photographers with us, and made sure to stand still more often to aid in some decent shots. Not for ego, but because any media taken of me can be a part of my resume. My portfolio is entirely made up of live performance media.

Later I interrogated some of the ladies in our Ministry of Magic dressing room to discover local photographers who do theme park work. They graciously gave me some names, and lo and behold the very next day one of those accounts shared photos of us!

These are from @motley_joey on IG. Excellent, high-quality shots of our performance.



I am especially grateful for these two headshots.


Additionally, some photos from one of our show techs, Tiffany:



And finally, one of the wizarding students (her name is Ashley and she's an actress) went to the trouble of getting into plainclothes and taking photo and video of our set!

Here is the video snippet. Love it! I can't wait to someday have a whole set to share with you!



Here are some of her photos. I really like a lot of these and wish they were higher resolution. Thank you so much Ashley :)




Seeing Place Cachee at night was lovely, though we really just had dusk, not true night.
I do hope that we end up doing some night sets once the park opens, it's a very nice vibe.

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Saturday was when I dredged up all of these photos. Making social media posts, updating my LinkedIn and YouTube playlists/portfolios, and responding to people commenting on all the media took up pretty much the whole morning.

I had been supposed to meet up with Ilian of Morningstar Mutes for lunch and to check out some mutes, but for one thing he didn't have any of his new models ready, and for another I decided to back out because of my unexpected Disney day tomorrow. Performing outdoors is a lot of steps and a lot of energy, and I am not that young anymore, so this was mainly a self-care choice to have a buffer day.

Groceries, packing lunch and dinner for Disney tomorrow, practicing bass, and relaxing for a bit while Jameson was out day drinking with friends. He messaged me while he was on the way home so I could start cooking dinner. I'd had the good fortune to find a place just a few miles from us that sells Amoroso hoagie rolls direct from Philadelphia!! How unlikely! So I made us Philly cheesesteaks. Tried to keep them as authentic as possible but added mushrooms (that's not inauthentic, just less common) and used American cheese slices instead of cheese whiz. They turned out quite excellent and I'll keep that recipe on file, and gotta remember those hoagie rolls the next time I do po'boys too.

That was it. Pretty chill day and I was grateful for it.

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Sunday, up earlier than I wanted to be for breakfast and the commute to Disney.
I like to get there a bit early to try for better parking, and to have time to get changed before the guys arrive too.

Had a pretty basic day, although I got to learn firsthand why my boss was so reluctant to have me learn multiple trombone parts this year. Harry, another sub trombonist who has learned both the first and second trombone parts, accidentally started doing the first part's choreography halfway through our Encanto medley. I'M the sub for first trombone, so this left me in a really awkward position in the middle of a live performance! I basically had to guess where the second trombone would probably move or stand, and just do that for the rest of the set. We got through it but boy was that awkward. He apologized and I wasn’t mad, I might’ve done the same thing (ok I CERTAINLY would have, I’m a putz) but it made me realize that the risks of too many people knowing too many parts. If TWO people ever got confused at the same time, it could wreck a show.

Anyway, otherwise normal and a nice day with the guys.

Also, for the first time today Epic Universe has overlapped into my Disney workplace!
I saw an employee wearing a Nintendo World Bowser backpack in the Utilidors.
And I overheard more than one conversation about rides, attractions, and food that people want to check out.

There is a misconception that working for Disney AND Universal is a Coke-and-Pepsi situation.
I have even alluded to that, as a joke, in this blog.

It is not like that at all.
Many, MANY people work for (and love!) both parks.


If either park were to enforce a non-compete on it's employees, it would instantly lose AT LEAST half it's work force.
It's kind of interesting to consider how these competing theme parks are linked by their shared work force, imo.

There are some die-hards for either park, of course, and especially at Universal I've met a lot of people who are passionately anti-Disney either because they love Universal sooooo much, or because they had a bad experience working for Disney. Still, few of the employees who work for both parks would actually badmouth "the other park," whichever park that may be for them.

Eh, just something that I was thinking about today.

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Monday: Rehearsal for "Steamboat Lillie" 1920s-themed Disney band. I'm nervous!

Tuesday: Day at Epic.

Wednesday: "Steamboat Lillie" performance.