goofball on a train

Monday, I was up just a little before Jameson for breakfast and to feel nervous about the Steamboat Lillie rehearsal.

After Jameson went to the gym I practiced bass and packed my meals for Epic tomorrow.
Ate lunch in the car on the way to the musician's union building near downtown, which is where rehearsal would be held.

I haven't been to the union building for ages. Bad memories. When I first moved to Orlando Jameson lived in an apartment so I couldn't practice there without disturbing the neighbors. I'd practice at the union building whenever I could get a reservation for it...but 9 out of 10 times my rehearsal was halved by assholes (men) who insisted on rehearsing past their assigned time, or who would bust in in the middle of my time slot to banter and guffaw and use the space as a hang, and would glare at me for being there (even though I had more right to be there than any of them considering it was MY time slot.)

This was one of the reasons I left the union soon after. And then we moved to a house in Kissimmee anyway.

It all looked pretty much the same, maybe slightly cleaner but not much.


Three ladies were already there practicing. I introduced myself and got set up. Others were running late (people have kids and real jobs) so we used that time to try on our flapper dresses from Amazon. Our bandleader had wisely ordered multiple sizes, knowing that sometimes clothing online is not what it seems. My dress fit perfectly, and it is pale purple, almost the same color I wear as Phillipa in 1920s Paris at Epic Universe. Go figure!

When everyone else arrived we buckled down and plowed through the music piece by piece.
None of it is particularly hard, but some arrangements were pilfered online and are kind of "not the best" as far as making sense. Overall, though, people will have an easy time recognizing familiar Disney classics played in an old-timey jazz style. My favorite arrangements were the ones our bandleader did herself, you could tell she knows what she's doing as an arranger.

Overall this rehearsal went much better than I'd anticipated. Jazz is my biggest weakness as a musician, and improv jazz is worst of all. Playing it makes me feel inadequate and self-conscious. But this was a good group of patient people. And fortunately a lot of what was marked "solo" improv in my part turned out to be optional or for anyone to solo, not just trombone. Phew. It was a big relief not to have to improv much!

Back home I thanked my Morning Self for packing the Epic stuff so I wouldn't have to do it after a long day :p

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Tuesday. Halfway through April, wow.

They've moved our Epic sets by about an hour so I was able to get up an hour later, still 6:45am.

I argued with myself about bringing the bass trombone to Epic because with the schedule change I may actually have time to practice. Decided to bring it and at least have a try.

It was a normal day, quite hot and sunny. I did indeed find time to practice, only 30 minutes but way better than nothing. I was incredibly tired today, but so were a lot of other people, so maybe it's the heat or the alignments of the planets or something. Nothing else to report except that leaving work an hour later (5:30pm instead of 4:30pm) really, really sucks.

This was the "best route" according to the Googs:


What kind of squiggly-snake BS nonsense is this?!
Just horrific. And Epic isn't even open yet. Ugh.

By the time I got home I was truly exhausted, and thanked my Morning Self for insisting that I bring the bass to Epic because Evening Self had absolutely no energy for it. The morning version of me sure is stepping up this week! LOL

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Wednesday. Jameson had to get up at 8 for a doctor's appointment, so I just got up when he did.

Had breakfast and went out to get myself bagels and coffee but otherwise stayed at home and felt nervous about tonight's gig.
Practiced parts of the Steamboat music that I'm uncomfortable with, and tried to relax the rest of the time because I feel stressed and tired. Our third party has been getting our pay wrong, multiple weeks in a row, and it's stressing me out on top of misc other things.

When it got to be time to go I packed some snacks, trombone and music stand, trombone stand, mutes, in-ears, music, and dress shoes, then put on my Phillipa makeup and stockings (I had smuggled my makeup bag and stockings home from Epic for this haha.)

The venue was easy to find. Dragged all of my stuff inside and got set up.
From here, everything kind of went off the rails.

Problem 1: A child--I'm talking Gen Alpha--came running out from somewhere to do our sound setup, already on the phone with someone for help and with a panicked look on his face. Oh, lord. Sound check was supposed to be at 4pm and we did not play one note until 5pm. We found out later that the actual sound guy's grandfather had died and that's why he wasn't there...and we are all sympathetic to that. But the venue also could have told our bandleader that, so she could have had us come earlier, or made arrangements for us to warm up elsewhere while sound got their sh*t together instead of wasting an hour sitting on stage.

Problem 2: The bassist's bass started BREAKING. I don't exactly know how, but suspect that since it was hot outside and she'd had a long drive, she'd brought the car-warmed bass into the absolutely freezing theatre and it had started to crack (this is a VERY common problem with wooden instruments including clarinets, and is why unionized musicians insist on specific temperatures in performance spaces.) We all jumped on our phones and frantically started asking around for any bassists in the area to help...within the next hour.

Problem 3: Our trumpet player's audio pack died immediately meaning she'd have to do the entire show without the click track.

Problem 4: There were four songs that we didn't get to at rehearsal, that we were planning to cover at this sound check. Which we now couldn't do because due to the theater's audio crew (a child) not knowing what they were doing, we were now an hour behind schedule.

We did end up getting an emergency upright bass from a local bassist, god bless her.
And we did get our mixes together. But had absolutely no time to warm up or run any tunes.

And hey, the dresses were nice. Here's mine.


Problem 5: I have to apologize if this sounds snooty or rude, and I have loads of respect for our bandleader, who worked very hard to make this band happen. But truth is truth, and every musician on that stage with me would agree: most of these arrangements were simply NOT GOOD. Even during intermission our reed player was frantically making changes to her part to try and make it sound reasonable. There were so many times that I, a low brass instrument, was written to play ABOVE the trumpet and saxophone. That just doesn't sound good, which is why people don't WRITE that way :/

Problem 6: The click track was difficult to hear, and one of us (trumpet player) didn't have the click at all and so couldn't hear any count-offs. I tried to give her the count offs when I could, but *I* barely knew them either as we'd only had that one rehearsal and one run-through of each song (well, most songs.) The result was that we'd start with the click and quickly migrate away from it. So imagine trying to sing a song while another completely different song is playing loudly in the background. That's what it was like, and it was horrible. I stuck with it for a while but when we hit the Monsters, Inc. medley it's very syncopated AND I have a solo. I locked eyes with the drummer and we simultaneously reached out and yanked out our ear buds, lol. At least that was comedic, because the rest of the situation really wasn't.

Problem 7: Our poor bandleader had paid a professional photographer/videographer to come and take footage of this set, to use for media promotion to hopefully get the group hired for corporate events or weddings or whatever. Yikes. He probably got some decent visual footage...but I doubt much of our audio was usable the way things were going. Between the bad arrangements and not following the click track and the bassist being on an unfamiliar instrument and all of us having to play in a very cold space...it just didn't go very well.

Was it terrible? No. Every woman on that stage is an excellent musician. But circumstantially, we were screwed.
Even without the sound check issues, having a gig based on less-than-ideal arrangements, with only one run-through rehearsal, and using a click track when we had a perfectly excellent drummer, is what did us in. It's a shame. I was grateful that Jameson had NOT come out to support me for this one.

I do think that the idea of an all-female 1920s Disney jazz band is awesome!
But tonight it was too rushed, too unorganized, to come together.
Maybe in the future the parts can be refined, we can talk the bandleader out of using a click past the count-off, and we can have more rehearsals. I think all of that would make this a great band.


(but the odds of me playing with this group again, after that experience, are slim.)

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Thursday: I was supposed to have a bass lesson but Will is still recovering from surgery so it's a day off. Practice, some chores, the usual.

Friday: Another day off, I'll cook dinner and probably find other things that need to be done. Still have a lot of crap to list for sale online.

Saturday: Day at Epic.

Sunday: Easter, Easter church gig, eating candy all day with Jameson hopefully, making us a nice-but-basic Easter dinner. Thinking of my mom (Easter was her favorite holiday.)

Addendum: Someone made a video of our full set at Epic a few days ago! I didn't play my best (this was the last set of Tuesday and I was ungodly tired and unfocused) but now you can hear ALL of the lines and see Plume's big reveal, the percussion number, etc!
(and yes, we know we need to be miked, we've been asking for mics from day one and will continue to push for them!!)

Watch on YouTube

Oh, Monday. A day off.

Jameson had jury duty. He was up at 6, so I figured why not also get up at 6 and do transcription.

I plugged away until noon with a few breaks. Jameson was back before lunch, and the jury ended up dismissed because the case wasn't ready to go forward, so now he's fulfilled his "civic duty" or whatever for at least a year. Yay! Also see, he was nervous for nothing :p

We had lunch together, then I practiced bass while he went out to find new pillows and get groceries. Then he worked and I went back to transcription, with breaks to pester him and eat little snacks.

In the evening Jameson had made plans with a friend, so while he did that I had a half-naughty-half-responsible dinner of vegetables, lean chicken...and the whopping big apple muffin I'd gotten from Universal last week (I'd frozen it.) Then since it was so nice out, I took myself for a walk. It was very windy and the clouds were fluffy and pink, and this made me think of my mom.

She has been gone for over 20 years now. And now that my dad is gone too, I'm realizing that there are some things that I remember about her that no one else does. Not even my younger siblings or my aunt. Of course, they have memories that I don't share either because we were all with her at different points in her timeline.

A sampling of things that I remember, that no one else does:

     - The little "lunch parties" she used to hold for the neighborhood kids. We'd have peanut butter pinwheels, ham and cheese "sailboats," and play games like musical chairs or pin-the-tail. No computers then, so we had story time or sang along with Sesame Street cassettes.

     - For some reason she really had a thing for steamed artichoke leaves and Hollandaise sauce while I was still a toddler. I remember how stinky the kitchen was after the bulbs(?) flowers(?) were steamed. I remember how fun it was to scrape the leaves with your teeth, and the tang of the Hollandaise with the richness of the artichoke meat.

     - The "Play-Doh" cookies that she and I used to make together, and the chocolate teddy bear cookies. My siblings don't remember these at all, and I have trouble finding recipes that replicate them.

     - A huge variety of children's books, many of which I can't remember the titles because I was too young and many of which didn't survive to be read to my younger siblings (probably discarded after my parents got divorced.) A few that I remember include Snow Lion, The Magic Friend Maker, and Donkey Donkey.

These clouds, when they are this color and shape, remind me of her because when she lived near downtown Bloomsburg she rented a house and my sister Kate and I shared a room in it. One day mom offered to paint the room however we'd like. We excitedly argued about how we'd like it, and agreed that we wanted clouds, but Kate wanted a pink sky and I wanted blue. My mom's solution was to paint two walls pink and two walls blue, with the clouds on the blue portions. She wasn't an artist but did have some small skill; my dad had gone to school for art so she likely learned things from him + she had taken 101 arts and had some concept of shading and scale. So it actually turned out really well. She shaded the clouds just like this, and that tied the pink walls in with everything nicely. And when the sun was setting it did shine into the room, making it seem like we really were looking at the sky at sunset. And then as the sky faded to black, the blue walls appeared darker too, and we put up those little pinpoint glow-in-the-dark stars which you could only see on the walls at night, and larger star-shaped ones on the ceiling.

It's a memory with strong nostalgia for me...settling into bed at sunset and watching the walls blush pinkish-purple with the fading sun...then waking up later to little pinpoints of light, hearing my sister snoring quietly in the bunk bed below.

The feelings these memories evoke are complex and hard to describe. But I guess it doesn't matter.
Today's sky, and the gusty cool breeze, gave me thoughts and feelings, and a good walk.


Back home, lavender tea and anime.

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Tuesday, my body wanted to sleep later but I had to make it get up.

More transcription. Upping my workload by an additional audio-hour means 4 actual-hours of work. Plus not being able to transcribe at Epic anymore, and suddenly my time seems limited.

A break for lunch, trombone practice, and grocery for dinner ingredients. I'd planned to make an Asian-inspired meatloaf from a cookbook my sis got me, but Publix didn't have all of what I needed, so chose a NYTCooking recipe instead.

One cool thing that happened today, while I was frantically transcribing, was the Disneyland Band paying a visit to the Main Street Philharmonic! How cool it must have been to hear both bands performing, and see them together! Many of my friends went, and I felt left out and jealous. If this had happened next week I definitely could've gone Ah well.

What a great group photo!

(photo courtesy WDW Cast & Community on fb)

It made me think of the time in the circus when the Red Unit and Blue Unit shared a train yard...a super rare occurrence. Everybody was mingling, swapping hard drives, exploring each others' trains...it was so much fun! I hope today was just as fun for these guys (and the two ladies in the Blue band.)

Oh also, before anyone asks and makes me say it again: I am a substitute musician with the Main Street Philharmonic. This is the same thing as being a substitute teacher for a school; you're only called to work when a regular person is out sick or on vacation or whatever. So I would not have been asked to be part of this day. I could have gone as a guest, but declined so I could finish my work.

Dinner was a lean turkey meatloaf from NYTCooking, with mashed potatoes and green beans. I used my leftover garlic bread butter in the mashed potatoes and that was awesome. The meatloaf was actually extremely good, it includes shredded apple to keep the lean turkey moist. Considering how healthy it is compared to beef meatloaf and how much Jameson enjoyed it, I'll definitely be making it again.

As I was packing for Epic tomorrow, my aunt messaged to ask if she could come visit us in April! I am so excited!! She'll only stay for a few days but I want to take her to Disney of course, and she can relax in our pool, and I'm gonna cook at least one meal for her. What to make...

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...aaaand first thing in the morning I realized that my schedule for Epic, for the week that my aunt wants to visit hasn't been written. Crap!!

I reached out to the scheduler and of course the other two ladies will be out of town or on other gigs, one for the first half of the week and the other for the second half, such that the ONLY days that I'd HAVE to work would be the two days my aunt wanted to come. CRAP!!!

I was so embarrassed because she'd already booked her flights and I had to ask her to cancel them. Hoping that she can come down another week, but who knows because my schedule is so damn chaotic. It's a big reason why I don't see most of my family :(

Well, after that I drove to the park and got through security and did my makeup and got into costume.
We had a normal day of sets but our prop is broken so we had to do our "no prop" alternative script.
It is not hard, but feels awkward without the prop. We had small crowds today so maybe let's just count it as a rehearsal.

Back home I found out that one of Jameson's friends has gotten him into an Epic preview day!!! And on a day that I'm performing!!! I am excited for him (and a bit jealous, I doubt I'll get to actually experience the park at this point.) And can't wait for him to see our show AND the other amazing shows! And eat the food!! And, and...!!

It's next week, so I'll look forward to seeing him in the park!! Eeeeeeeeee!!

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Thursday: Mostly a free day + bass trombone lesson with Will.

Friday: Day at Epic.

Saturday and Sunday: Days off. The usual day off stuff.

Thursday at Epic Universe again.

Today we had Warner Bros. "audits," which only meant that a lot of execs were at our first show specifically to review it and give feedback. Some of us were likely quivering in our boots, but ultimately only three of us would perform, and they of course chose Mariah (trombone), Adam (trumpet), and Adrian (clarinet). They're the preferred group, so we call them "the PR trio."

This was our first time seeing Mariah in costume and she ROCKED it. Especially the hat, now that I've worked at a hat shop I can see that the shape of it suits her face shape very well. Mariah is black, and the color of the suit is flattering against her skin tone. I was a bit jealous but costumes can't suit everyone who wears them, and this one is totally meant for her!

The PR Trio did all of the shows, all day. Which makes sense...why make costumes drag ALL of our costumes out, or put us ALL in makeup? But the rest of us sadly ended up doing nearly nothing all day. Yes we were paid, but it felt awkward that three of us were doing all the work and six of us were just sort of sitting around reviewing lines and blocking. I should appreciate the down time; we will get our turn.
(Fun fact: this happens in orchestra/theater pits as well, usually during rehearsals when actors and lighting/techs get bogged down in rehearsing stuff and forget that there are ten people below the stage who have done nothing for four hours. So it isn't uncommon or exclusive to Universal, performance arts just be that way sometimes.)


(The Epic Universe ad that aired during the Super Bowl)

After lunch we had a really exciting event: we got to see the stage show, Le Cirque Arcanus!!

(photo courtesy allears.net)

It was INCREDIBLE. I mean...here is where Disney is going to be strapped to come up with something that can compete. As usual I daren't share details, but the technology and staging and animatronics and puppetry and visuals and live performers, all coming together in this show, are STUNNING. I've never seen anything like it. You could actually believe you were watching wizarding magic being performed right in front of you. Really REALLY grateful that they let us see it today. Once the park is open we probably won't get another chance.

After that there was one more show, and we were pretty much done for the day.
I hadn't gotten to play my frankenbone other than to warm up, but Andrea is willing to use it as well since she also doesn't want her personal trombone to be used with our prop. Therefore I left Frankenbone in the green room tucked in a corner, and it will live there for any of us to use as needed, with our own mouthpieces of course and cleaning it regularly.

Before leaving today Mariah and I made a point to have a little photoshoot at the Epic Universe countdown clock.
We were denied a full-cast photo here last week, but Universal has since backtracked on that decision and started allowing pics here. It looks like it's too late for a full-cast photo now since too many people will be missing, so we figured at least we could get individual shots.

Just me, with the timeclock and wearing my Epic badge.


Mariah and I cheesing together:



Back home I packed meals as usual, practiced bass trombone, did a load of laundry, then got a bug up my butt to do more since Jameson was out watching our friend Lea perform in a show. After laundry I washed and changed our bedsheets, memorized some Disney music, and scrubbed the shower with a horrifically smelly bleach-based cleaner that Reddit says is the absolute best but warned me to ventilate to the extreme. Even with the vent fan on in the bathroom my eyes and throat were burning, so I had to open the door out to the pool deck and hold my breath while scrubbing away. Florida is very humid and mold and mildew reappear so quickly no matter how hard I scrub. When I was finished it really did look better, but I can only handle suffocating like that maybe 2-3 times a year. So it had better keep the mold away for a long time.

When Jameson got home I told him of my doings and we went right to bed.

Almost forgot, Andrea, the third female trombonist at Epic, got me an Easter gig! Usually I do the cathedral downtown in Orlando but they haven't asked yet. I'm grateful that she asked me :)

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Friday and another day at Epic. This time I was the one in costume and performing sets, which is good because I want the practice and also PR trio needs a break after they did all of the shows yesterday!

Our first set was canceled partly because @bioreconstruct was back, circling in his chartered helicopter. Now that previews are happening the park and everyone in it are behaving as though it's open for business, so there are people in costume and interactives and performances happening all over. There are still a lot of things that Universal wants to keep secret until the big reveal, and we are one of those things. So we ducked under an archway and waited, and waited. Additionally, there was a malfunction with our entrance door that probably ultimately led to the cancellation.

The rest of our sets went very well. We are getting used to working with our prop, interacting, and even the new changes that we've just learned in the past few days. I am getting used to how the costume feels, and learning how long it takes to get in and out of costume/makeup each day. And my "frankenbone," although it's not as fun to play as my own horn, will work for this show.

You know, I think we might be ready to do real shows! It feels like just yesterday we were panicking about memorizing our music. Time flies.

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

Before our last set of the day, we were given something really special.
Our 3rd party boss had us get out of costume, then took us into the park.
He took us to our performance spot.
I wasn't sure what was happening, but he looked SO EXCITED.

Cosme Acajor's wand shop is right next to our performance space...

(Image from Harry Potter Fandom Wiki)

With a huge smile, he opened the door to the wand shop and said, "Go on in....pick out your wands!"

That's right: they bought us our very own wands today!!!!

(The nine never-before-released wand options at Cosme Acajor.)

It was overwhelming, suddenly faced with the very personal choice of which wand is "meant" for you! And there were so many to choose from. Cosme's new-release wands are displayed beautifully in the shop, each one on an ornate stand and bearing a description of materials and personal characteristics that may be a good match for the wand. In addition to these, there are character wands "imported" from Ollivander's (Harry's wand, Newt Scamander's, Snape's, Dumbledore's, Death Eater wands, etc) available for purchase. The Ollivander's wands are sold in rectangular boxes, and the Cosme wands in triangles ("prisms.")

After gawking like a tourist I just started popping open boxes to see what the wands looked like, because there were at least 20 different Ollivander's wands to choose from. I was tempted by Skender's wand as it's circus-related, but he was a bad guy known for chaining up animals so decided against. Tempted also by the Cosme black-and-silver Deco wand (the one that I'd thought suited my show character) but it had ultimately been designated to the clarinets' character, so I passed on that too. My character's wand, incidentally, was nowhere to be seen in the shop, but if I want to go get it I've got a gift receipt and could do an exchange.

In the moment and a little overwhelmed by choice, I decided to a) look for a wand that suited me as opposed to my park character, and b) strongly consider the Cosme wands as they are the ones that are actually from the "world" where I'm working. I did in fact end up with a Cosme wand, and although I felt a little dubious about it at the time, the more I look at it the more appropriate it seems.

Can you guess which of the nine Cosme wands I chose?

When we had all checked out we thanked our boss profusely. These wands are not cheap, and they are beautiful, and the fact that he was able to arrange for us to own one even though we are 3rd party is incredibly generous and kind. I am not a Wizarding World fan, but very much appreciate the gesture and having a memento of my time here at Epic Universe, however long that turns out to be.

With that, we performed our final set, got out of costume, and headed home.
On the way out we took a group photo in front of the time clock. Not everyone was present but it was still really nice.
Congrats on making it to Preview Week, everyone!


Some folks went to Top Golf for a fun night out, but I have so much to do that I had to pass.
Instead, Whole Paycheck for salmon dinner ingredients, then home to unpack and tell Jameson about my exciting day.
Practicing trombone, receiving a new transcription job, and making plans for my days off before going to bed.

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Up early but spent a lot of time responding to social media messages, as I've just shared that I'm working at Epic publicly for the first time. Everyone has a zillion questions about the new park, which isn't surprising but is a bit annoying when anyone could google the basic info....well anyway.

After that I had my tax meeting, and found out that I'll be breaking even this year, which is just fine by me.

Then made the dill sauce for salmon tonight, and decided to make some carrot cake muffins using leftover matchstick carrots. I used Half-Baked Harvest's recipe, which is semi-healthy and she has you drop a cube of cream cheese into the center of each muffin which should be lovely. I made them today because Jameson is going to a Savannah Bananas baseball game tomorrow with his friend Hannah, and they have to leave early, and I figure they could take some muffins with them to enjoy on the drive :)


Then lunch, and cleaning up from that took a little while so by the time I sat down to do more transcription it was already 2pm. For dinner I made sous vide salmon with dill sauce, creamy lemon orzo, and roasted asparagus. It turned out quite good.

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Sunday, up early after a crummy sleep to do transcription.

Jameson got up shortly after, and his friend Hannah came to the house so they could leave for the Savannah Bananas game in Miami together. It's 8 hours round-trip driving, so I packed them some muffins to go with their other snacks and they left around 10am.

After they were gone I had quite the productive Alone Day:

     - About 2 hours of transcription
     - 1 hour trombone practice
     - Packing meals, clothes, and equipment for Epic tomorrow
     - Vacuumed, dusted, and mopped, which took quite a long time as I haven't done it in a while and was very thorough about it
     - Shopped for misc things like Tupperware to replace ones that broke recently, new underwear, and random household supplies
     - Shopped for crummy trombones on Goodwill so we'd have more than one at Epic (why I'm the one who has to do this is beyond me, but whatever)

By the time all of that was done it was 5pm, so made myself leftovers and a cup of tea and enjoyed typing this post and a little down time.

Tomorrow will be a very early Epic day, but Dwight is gone again so I think it'll just be our sets and hopefully ending at 4pm instead of 6pm. Also, I'm going to start bass trombone lessons this week! Excited and nervous, but looking forward to getting better at the bass trombone.

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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: An Epic-Disney sandwich, with two Epic days flanking a Disney day. I'll be bringing my transcription work with me too.

Thursday: The first of FOUR WHOLE DAYS OFF IN A ROW. I'll finish transcription, do more household stuff, take my first bass trombone lessons, and cook us some nice meals.

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

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

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

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

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

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Up at 5:30am for Epic.

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

...it was the butterbeer crepes!

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

(photo courtesy orlandoparkstop.com)

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



(media courtesy Disney Theatrical)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(artist rendering from WDWmagic)

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

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


(borrowed from YouTube)

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

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

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



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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, another straightforward rehearsal day.

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

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

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

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

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

After lunch we took a field trip to Dark Universe!



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

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

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



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



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

(photo directly from Epic Universe site)

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

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

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

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

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

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Saturday, My One Blessed Day Off.

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


( Introspection )

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

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

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Sunday, off to Disney.

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

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

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


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


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

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Monday through Wednesday: More Universal rehearsal and bass practice.

Thursday: Working the Magic Kingdom.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

METHOD ACTING
It was HARD.


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

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

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

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

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

(mooncalves being fed, Fantastic Beasts movies)

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

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

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

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

Yep.



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

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

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

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

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Sunday, Main Street Philharmonic rehearsal!

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

(IMPORTANT: I was asked by my third-party employer to remove an IG story last night, simply because I added a picture of the Epic Universe logo.

Since the IG story in no way violated my NDA, I'm going to choose to continue sharing already-public information in this blog, such as press media or articles that any of you could easily look up yourselves.

THAT SAID: if my posts start becoming more scanty or if you see them edited after being shared publicly, understand that there's a lot of pressure to keep pretty much everything confidential until the park opens. It's annoying, I'm annoyed too, but that's how it is. Thanks.)

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Thursday was a difficult commute. I got cut off by a pickup on an exit ramp causing me to brake hard and spill coffee all over (luckily just in my cupholders but it was a big puddle in there) so had to then stop at Wawa to clean it up, which made me late to Universal, which was slammed with another orientation so it took me nearly 20 minutes to find VERY far away parking, practically run to security only to find a line out the door, and finally get through to rehearsal.

This is the second day in a row I've been late-by-my-standards (I was not even five minutes late but I do not like to be late AT ALL) so I'll be getting up extra early tomorrow to ensure that I'm there at a reasonable time.

The day continued to be crummy for me, I had bad headache and we spent the day mostly running the music which was deafening in the small rehearsal room. I can't wait for this weather to clear up so we can rehearse outside. I wore earplugs and took Motrin and made it through.

Partway through the day we got to do some run-throughs. Three of us were chosen to do both run-throughs, and tbh I felt sore about it. But I can understand that our show director probably wanted to put forth those of us with the highest energy and stage chemistry, which is definitely not me. Had to chide myself a bit and remember that a year ago, or five years ago, I never would have even attempted perform as an actor much less actually WANT to be on stage acting in front of an audience! For god's sake, I've never even been brave enough to try karaoke, and here I am whinging that I didn't get asked to act today. It's a miracle that I've been asked to act at all. Besides, we'll all have a chance to perform before our five weeks are up.

Well I did get over it pretty quickly, and was glad to work on other things for the rest of the day.
Traffic getting home was terrible, it took me over an hour to drive the 18 miles. Luckily I'd already promised myself a day off from trombone practice. Caught up with Jameson, packed lunch for tomorrow, and enjoyed typing this blog and watching One Punch Man.

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Friday! So glad to be at the weekend!

Aerial photo of the park. Ministry of Magic is the big white building(s) squatting to the right of the hotel (the hotel is the one top-center with all the gold domes on top.)

(photo publicly available on orlandoparkstop.com)

Close-up of the Ministry of Magic/Place Cachée. Place cachée is French for "hidden place" and it's the wizarding portion of Paris in the 1920s. Similar in concept to Diagon Alley.

(photo publicly available on orlandoparkstop.com)

Today made up for how crummy Thursday had been.

I got to do two full run-throughs!
Our show director pulled me aside before the first one to ask if I was ready...and maybe to fret a little himself about whether I was ready. I said, "Look, I've never acted before, but I've performed on stage before, at other theme parks. I'm not gonna embarrass you." He laughed at that and let me go on. I had my book off to the side, and did reach for it several times when the nerves got to me, but never managed to get it on the right pages so it didn't really help! But I had been so close to being "off-book" at that point anyway that it didn't matter. There were a few spots where I forgot my music but I just laid out in those small moments. Speaking from musical experience, it's better to lay out than try and make something up and sound bad.

For the second run, it started off as just another rehearsal behind closed doors to help us feel more comfortable. I'd left my book all the way across the room because since it was just us rehearsing, I figured it'd be a good time to ACTUALLY try going off-book.

And so OF COURSE that's when a line of important-looking Universal execs walked in to watch.
Thanks a lot, Murphy's Law!

But you know what, I went on like they weren't there and just did my very best, like I had already planned to do whether they'd been in the room or not. And afterward they smiled and said, "Great job," and left.

You guys,
today was the first time
in my life
that I have ever acted.
At all.

I got up in front of 30-some people and did a xx-minute show as an imaginary person.
Younger Me would NEVER.
I guess we really do change as we get older.
I was nervous, but I didn't CARE that I was nervous. I just felt nervous and DID IT.

And after the first run, lots of people made a point to tell us that we did a great job including our show director.
Honestly it is so crazy to think about, now that I've done it.
Whatever happens from here, I'm grateful to have had this experience.

Also, I am now the first person in our cast to go completely off-book!
Some folks have memorized the music but not the lines, or vice versa. I'm the first to do a whole show with no book at all.
That did make me feel good today :)

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Saturday, I was thrilled to have a day ooooooofffff!!!
I do look forward to rehearsals but it's been a very intense two weeks, and breaks are very much needed and appreciated.

Woke up at 7:30 and breakfast and anime, and when Jameson got up to go to the gym I went out for bagels and groceries, came home and cleaned the bathrooms, and started to practice bass trombone but my lips are rather chapped and I've played for six days straight so decided it was OK to not touch the trombone today at all.

Instead I was a burrito in the sun.


Jameson's car appointment took longer than expected (don't they always) so I was very lazy. Stayed wrapped in my burrito blanket, dozed a bit, had some tea and snacks, watched YouTube videos, and enjoyed the quiet of the house. Jameson eventually came back with dinner and we watched Traitors and more splatting in front of the TV. An email went out asking all of us to have our music fully memorized by Monday, which gives some people only a day and a half to get it in their brains, and that's not even counting the script. I feel relieved to not have to worry about it but bad for the people who do. People can't be expected to memorize at the same pace, and we all have other jobs and lives outside of this new theme park that take time away from that, too. We'll see who's able to get it done by Monday, but stragglers should not be made to feel bad if they don't meet this sudden deadline.

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Sunday, it's finally getting back above 60°F (15.5°C) and sunny. Hooray!

Slept in "late" to 8am, breakfast and packing my lunch for Monday.
Jameson got up and went to the gym and while he was gone I practiced bass and did a run-through of my Epic Universe stuff just to make sure it's solid for Monday. When Jameson got back we had lunch, then it was so nice out that I just had to go for a walk. The neighborhood is quiet because there are fewer tourists this time of year, plus the animals are still in hiding from the cold. So it was just me and the sun and the breeze.

For dinner we went to a K-Pot that's popped up in Margaritaville nearby. We haven't been out to eat together in too long. I forgot my phone which is a shame because no pictures, but it's just as well because this is the type of thing where you're cooking your own food and we had stuff spread all over the table, not to mention sputtering oils on the grill and sauces dripping and yada yada.

Here are some stock photos from the KPot site so you can get an idea, if you've never done this. You have a pot of boiling broth, in which you place meats and veg and noodles and dumplings, simmering them together until they're tender. Then there's a little round grill which you baste in oil before adding your thinly-sliced meats or veggies. There's a sauce bar where you can use premade sauces or make your own, to season your food before grilling.


Jameson got a spicy seafood broth and I went with a fragrant herb broth. He did shrimp, octopus, different cuts of beef, mushrooms, and dumplings. I did spicy white fish, brisket, bok choy, pumpkin, and dumplings. I made us a sweet-hot peanut sauce that was BOMB, we ended up dipping almost all of the brisket in it. We each had a drink too.

It was lots of fun, and I ate WAY more than usual but it's so rare for me to overeat that once in a while will do me no harm. Plus, I think this is relatively healthy considering you're not adding butter or dairy and everything is boiled or grilled.

Went home to digest and rest up, because here comes the last week of January.

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This week we'll be outside for most Epic Universe rehearsals, weather and construction permitting. I have nothing special planned, just rehearsing all day, practicing Disney stuff after rehearsals, and trying not to worry about the political turmoil...looming like a distant tsunami which will inevitably, unequivocally roll ashore and impact us all.

If I'm not interacting with your posts as much, please don't be surprised RE: suddenly working from 8am-7pm every day.
I'll try to catch up on weekends.

Also sorry for the lack of photos. For the very obvious reasons that I cannot even think about taking my phone out while at the new theme park, and having signed the NDA.

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Had a horrible night's sleep on Wednesday into Thursday. Something fell over in Jameson's studio and made a loud crash at 1am, scared the absolute daylights out of me (my Apple Watch informs me that my heart rate jumped up to 111 bpm when it happened.) I walked two circuits of the house looking for whatever-it-had-been before I realized it was a piece of his wall lighting that had fallen off and gone crashing into a shelf. F*cking hell.

This was followed by absolutely horrific stress dreams about an imaginary blonde-haired, blue-eyed nephew who got ahold of BOTH of my rare, one-of-a-kind Williams trombones....both of them!....and smashed them to dented useless messes while I was at work(?) In the dream I was screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, and very sincerely trying to murder this child with every ounce of dream-strength in me (I was trying to choke him to death.) I never can seem to kill people in dreams, which I suppose is part of what makes it a stress dream; the tormentor always survives and justice is not served.

At least it was good to wake up and realize it had only been a dream.

Breakfast, and off to Epic Universe rehearsal again.


The cranky mood from Wednesday persisted, and at first I was annoyed with myself because this is the second day in a row that I'm acting like it's a chore to be there when it should be thrilling and exciting and a dream come true. But at these times I take care to consider the WHYS behind the feelings:

     1) I'm an introvert, and have now spent four straight days and 28 hours in a brightly-lit room with a group of loud, excited, boisterous actor-musicians and one endlessly energetic and attentive Show Director. I've had almost no time to decompress and "recharge" my introvert batteries.

     2) The way that I memorize music is to spend time with the music. Alone. In a quiet place where I can hear myself think and focus fully on memorization. All rehearsals so far have been group activities, we have not been given any "alone time" for personal memorization, and yet it's expected that we should have started memorizing by now. This has been incredibly frustrating for me.

     3) Standing in front of a group of people and acting out a character, in a loud voice, is something that I have NEVER done in all my 40 years on earth and I would have collapsed in utter terror if I had even tried it at a younger age. I am doing something THAT intense and scary, for the very first time in my life, for the past four days straight, and although I'm happy to be doing it it is incredibly stressful.

     4) In the back of my mind all week have been my Disney music and upcoming fill-in dates, the bass trombone music I'm supposed to be practicing for a potential tour, the possibility of losing my transcription job for this theme park, and the housework piling up while I'm away all week.

     5) On average I've only gotten about 5 hours of sleep per night, on top of all that's happening while I'm awake. Which may be enough for some people but definitely not for me.

So when I really think about it, there are plenty of reasons to be moody even though this is such a wonderful and exciting situation!
I am doing my absolute best to simply be quiet and keep to myself when in such moods, rather than snapping at people around me or detracting from rehearsal. There's nothing I can do about it this week except take deep breaths and plow ahead.

The most exciting thing that happened today was that we got to actually see where we'll be performing in the park!! There was still so much construction going on, but our section of the park is the only area where PPE is not required. This means we were the FIRST performers in the park!!! Incredible.
(CLICK HERE to see flyover of Ministry of Magic world)

And it WAS incredible. God, I wish I could describe it to you. I've said this like eight times but if you're a Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts fan you will lose your mind. The only spoiler I can give at this point is that big parts of this "world" are to-scale, brick-for-brick renderings of parts of the Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald movie..........

(photo from discoveruniversal.com)

Aaaanyway. After visiting the spot we watched a bit of the movie to see the parts where our set appears. We also did run-throughs again, this time in a slightly different format as we were missing some musicians with prior commitments. I also got a more definite schedule finally, so ended up emailing and texting misc bosses to let them know that for the next several weeks my time is limited.

After rehearsal I picked up dinner and got home to Jameson, packed lunch for tomorrow, told him about my day, etc etc. His surgery wounds are healing nicely, and he's been told he can use his arm as normal to build up strength.

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Friday I was excited to get the day over with!
Again not that I don't enjoy what we're doing, but it's been a very intense week and I'd really like to get a full night's sleep.

Rehearsal today was rhythm exercises, as well as running through the music and practicing the script as we had in previous days. We also recorded ourselves and watched it back, something that I hate doing but is very informative. For example I learned that although I had planted my feet while acting, as we were told to do, I still sway back and forth which is distracting for the audience. Was able to stop doing it on the next take, and will make a conscious effort about it going forward.

Back home it was nice to drop my things and relax without having to pack a lunch or set clothes out or do transcription.
I also got a few more Main Street Philharmonic dates in February, which means that for about a week during that month I'll be bouncing back and forth between the two parks. It feels like working for Coke and Pepsi at the same time, lol. Definitely one of the top unexpected things to happen in my musical career!

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Saturday, I slept poorly and was up at 7:30. That's normal after a week of getting up early, so I was not upset.

It was so nice to have a slow breakfast and enjoy the quiet house. Aaaaah. :)

Once Jameson was up I vacuumed, went out to get bagels and groceries, practiced bass trombone, had lunch, and went for a walk. Called my stepmom on the walk, she recently had a fall and bashed her face up pretty badly but she's recovering well.

Back home we had taco salads for dinner. After the intensity of the week I felt too tired to memorize so left it for tomorrow.

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I must have been exhausted because I didn't wake up until 9, which is late for me.
It felt good. I needed the rest, but I also felt guilty for losing potentially productive hours.

Breakfast and when Jameson got up I practiced the bass for 30 minutes, then buckled down to memorize for an hour.
There are five pieces total, plus the script, to memorize. My goal today was to get the first piece and ALL of my lines, and I think I've got it (you always think you've got it until you're doing it in front of other people.) We went to the grocery in the afternoon, he did laundry, and I packed lunch and breakfast for tomorrow. It rained for about two hours which was nice and soothing. For dinner I made sloppy joes with coleslaw and smiley fries. We watched The Traitors and I ordered myself a new lavender-and-rice pad/pillow. My sister made them for us one year for Christmas and I've become quite attached to it, but it's several years old and is getting worn. Lord knows I could use some nice aromatherapy right now.

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Monday through Thursday: more rehearsals. We're supposed to be rehearsing in our actual performance spot this week, but it's supposed to rain so we'll see what happens. I'll be very tired because I'll also have to practice bass and memorization once I get home each night :/

Also:
     RE: TikTok getting banned: Where is my health care?
     RE: Trump's inauguration: Health care?
     RE: People crying, screaming, and ranting about either TikTok or Trump: But when do we get health care?

All of this daytime soap drama about TikTok and Trump is a distraction from Real Actual Issues.
HEALTH CARE. INFRASTRUCTURE. LIVING WAGES.
I don't care which party you're from, if those aren't your priorities then you do not represent me or my needs.

I was of course very nervous on Sunday morning, up too early before my audition. Had a normal breakfast, sort of looked over the music (I can't practice while Jameson is sleeping), and killed time until it was time to head out.

(stock image)

The audition site was easy to find, at the Universal HR building. My instrument and phone were put through a scanner, and I was given some paperwork (a nondisclosure and a basic info form for the audition panel) which I filled out and returned, then was released into the HR lobby to wait. Several other trombonists were there ahead of me warming up and whatnot. Andrea (the only other professional female trombonist in Orlando apparently) was there too. We chatted nervously while we warmed up our instruments and giggled over our lousy faux French accents. Damn nice to have another woman in the warm-up room!

I'd only waited about 10 minutes before I was called to the audition space, a separate building but a short walk away. I was taken to the "backstage" area where one trombonist was getting measured for potential costumes, another was waiting for his turn at measuring, and a third was in the middle of his audition behind closed doors (we could still hear him.) It's inappropriate to ask what takes place during the audition, so instead I asked Waiting Trombone Guy how it went for him and he gave me "meh." The trombonist ahead of me came out and queued up for measurements, and then it was my turn.

I walked into the bright white room. There were 5-6 people sitting at the table across from me (was too nervous to count 'em.) I smiled and said, "Bonjour, mon amis!" which was one of the phrases the dialect coach had suggested. I recognized three people on the audition panel.

The next several minutes went like this:

- Played a short "can-can" piece, which went pretty well until I messed up counting my rests (but was told rest-counting hadn't been required anyway.)
- Played "When The Saints Go Marching In," which was our improv piece. I played the melody once, then had to improvise over two choruses. I did mediocre at this.
- Played a "ritz"-style excerpt. It wasn't perfect, but I think it was the best part of my audition. There were a lot of tricky rhythms, plus it was fast. Waiting Trombone Guy had said they'd cut him off partway through his ritz, we heard the guy who went before me get cut off as well, and later while I was getting measured I heard Andrea get cut off before the end. But they let me finish the whole thing, which was vaguely encouraging...no idea if it means anything.
- Was asked to hit a nearby snare drum with a stick in time to taped audio, to show that I could keep a steady tempo.
- Was asked to read a chunk of script. It was one we'd practiced with the dialect coach the night before. I made sure to move away from the music stand and try to evoke some stage presence. Though I didn't look away from the script for fear of losing my place, I did keep my right hand free to do dramatic gestures, and kept a smile on my face.
- Did some simple movements with a member of the audition panel, who stood next to me to demonstrate each movement. One was a simple can-can kick, another was that little side-to-side foot shuffle that people do at weddings when they want to dance but aren't dancing (lol), and the third one was a basic Charleston.

And that was it!

I went backstage and was measured all over...I mean all over, hips and torso and wrists and head and everything. Then I was led back to the HR lobby where I collected my things and peaced out. Phew.

Overall this went better than a lot of auditions I've had in the past. I was terrified, shaking and sweating, but the cruel and demeaning voice in my head that usually tears me apart any time I make a mistake was blessedly quiet this time. Usually my nerves get worse and worse over the course of an audition, until I'm openly trembling and barely able to play. This time I'd make a mistake and get nervous, but would be able to move ahead without the past mistake affecting the next part of the audition. A small improvement/victory.

They want to start onboarding whoever they pick within the week, so I should know results in the next three days.

I got home in time to help Jameson remove his cast!
Underneath were three incisions, all stitched up. One is on the back of his elbow, one on top of it, and another at the heel of his hand.


Wish I'd thought to take pictures of all the wrappings, because there were a lot. After he was uwrapped he enjoyed his first shower since Tuesday (eew poor guy), and I washed the bedsheets so he could feel fresh and clean tonight too :) We covered his incisions in large band-aids as instructed, and will change them out each day. We had lunch, I'd intended to practice but didn't feel like it, and then my first transcription job of the new year showed up anyway so I got started on that instead!

Jameson is feeling down about the scars that he'll have from his surgery. I suppose he didn't know how big they'd be, and right now they are of course very visible. Having survived a dog attack when I was middle school-aged, I have large scars on my left shoulder, punctures and slashes that could never fade even with scar reduction cream. So I understand how he feels. Tried to reassure him that after a while, he'll forget they're even there. Or when someone asks about them, you can make up a fun story about being chomped by sharks (this was always my go-to) or pulling a puppy from a burning building or something. Just trying to cheer him up. He smiled a bit but I know it will take time to mentally adjust to and accept the "new look."

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Monday I was up early to run errands so that I could THEN work on transcription.

Breakfast and then to the bagel shop (cinnamon raisin for Jameson, egg, wheat, and French toast for me.) To the grocery for more large band-aids for Jameson and more yogurts for me. Back home to help Jameson change his bandages, then transcription for about two hours. Lunch and practicing my Disney stuff. I'd wanted to practice my bass stuff too, but was worried about transcription because if I actually do get one of the trombone jobs at Universal, whether full time or sub, it will really fill up my schedule in coming week.

For dinner we ordered from our favorite Greek place, and for no reason at all they gave us a complementary baklava!
Their baklava are house-made and absolutely fantastic.


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Tuesday, up at 6:30 to get in an hour of transcription, then breakfast and packing up for a rehearsal day at the Magic Kingdom.

I felt a bit nervous...do I remember everything?...but that's why it's a REHEARSAL day. There's no expectation, you just do your best and see where you're at.

We played through this and that for the group rehearsal part, nothing crazy, the full band wasn’t there. There were some cute holiday decorations in the warm up room: a full gingerbread band!

(please do not share or repost this photo)

Close-up of trombones:

(please do not share or repost this photo)

I was told that they had made a whole gingerbread castle at one point, complete with flying Tinkerbell.

The band’s hats still have the little festive sprig of holly.

(please do not share or repost this photo)

It was “cold” out, so the band wore their winter jackets today. I have never worn mine, nor been fitted for one...so it was a little big! Lol

(please do not share or repost this photo)

I got to play the parade but that’s about it, just practiced on my own for the rest of the time or watched sets. It was nice to see the big Christmas tree in the Main Street plaza, and the holiday decorations still up. It is still, always, a privilege to be here.


I had been nervous for no reason. It was a very chill day, and it was nice catching up with the guys :)

After they went out for the flag retreat, I waited until 5 and then clocked out. Picked up sushi at Publix for Jameson and I.
We ate together and I told him about my day. Then he gave me this present, that had been meant for Christmas but just showed up today.
You know what? Jameson's really the best.


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Had terrible sleep because of indigestion + some vacationers nearby chose between 2am-6am to drag race their Mustangs around our residential neighborhood (like wtf, if it happens again I'm calling the cops.)

Up early for transcription, but to my surprise the audio completely stopped a full hour before the end of the hearing! It was some sort of bizarre audio error; like, I could SEE the audio track continued, but it would not play no matter what I did. When this happens I have to submit the hearing as incomplete. This case has been rife with other audio and content issues, so it's still going to take me another day to complete at least.

Jameson left for a doctor's appointment so I took the opportunity to scrub the shower, my least favorite chore. When that was done I tackled transcription again, ate lunch, and practiced THE BASS for the first time. I didn't do a fantastic job, but it wasn't horrible either, it will simply take some getting used to. The thing is incredibly heavy and even these ergonomic triggers are uncomfortable in some ways (literally all bass trombones are like this to my knowledge) so it's partially strength-building and partially making further modifications so I can play without pain.

Later on Jameson had a second appointment, this one about his stitches. They have to stay in for another week, not surprisingly.

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At the time of this post no one has heard anything about the Universal audition results. Andrea and I suspect that they won't take any of us, but will instead hire actors who can hold instruments and then play an audio track to whatever they're doing on stage. It would make sense for them to prioritize the acting aspect of the new show...and it would be cheaper. Bottom line: they told us that orientation would be on the 9th. Today was when offers would have gone out, it's now after 7pm and no one's heard a word. Oh well.

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Thursday: Transcription, practicing, dentist appointment, cooking dinner.

Friday: Honestly not sure. Cleaning? Going for a walk? Throwing out my dead plants I suppose.

Saturday and Sunday: Possibly a new transcription job, and either asking for more transcription hours or reaching out to the hat shop to let them know I'm ready to come back since Universal is apparently not happening.