goofball on a train

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Wednesday was the Grand Opening at Epic Universe.

If you missed the livestream, here it is:



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


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


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

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

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

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



Entertainment is so weird :p

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

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

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

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

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

(photo courtesy disneyfoodblog)

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

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

Here is the opening ceremony from the ground:



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



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

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

(youtube screenshot)

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

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

Saturday: Orlando Fringe with Jameson and friends!!

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

Thursday I was up at 8 which is late for me anymore.

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

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

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

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

Meet Will, who like Jameson is a raging Cubs fan:


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

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

Here is a traditional aluminum trombone mute on the left, and a 3D-printed Morningstar mute on the right.


To show the bottom of the Morningstar mute, which comes in several metal options (copper, aluminum, brass):


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

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

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

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

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

...and went for a neighborhood walk.
The weather today was warm, breezy and 75F (23.8C) and there won't be many more days like this.


One of our neighbors has planted these gorgeous roses.


Back home lunch and a shower, Jameson had an afternoon meeting so I did quiet things like dumping transcription files to an external drive, looking for wallpapers for my new iPad, and researching getting a will. I'm not all that old and I don't have loads of assets, but there are things like my trombones that are rare and valuable and I'd like for those to be handled properly, and would like to leave as little work for my younger siblings as possible whenever I cack it.

While doing that I was surprised to see an email from Epic Universe land in my inbox...an invitation to queue up for PREVIEW TICKETS!!!

(This girl from the Epic commercials is essentially my inner child right now)

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

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

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

Aaaaah!

Ok, ok, back to the present.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grocery store sushi on the way home, hot tea when I got home.
Jameson has begun putting together a LEGO Piano set that he got at a discount. It's huge and I've no idea where it will live, but maybe we'll figure that out by the time he's finished it!


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Monday & Tuesday: Days "off." Lots of transcription, probably gonna make us Chicago dogs.

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

In closing: Did you know that ChatGPT can make any picture you give it into an anime version? I fed it two photos and they are adorable!

I woke to find that it has finally happened.
Our cover has been blown. In THIS article.

Aah, whoops. I forget that people don't read any more and I'm supposed to spoon-feed information.
TL;DR:


This is the first-ever official Universal mention of our band.

Next week are family and friends previews, and from what I've heard they're planning to drop the photo restrictions (NOT video, though if they allow the one I feel they can't prevent the other.) So, I will STILL not share any more details than this, because of the NDA and because spoilers are likely to start coming in a week or two.

(Artistic rendering of a strolling violinist, who also tells scary stories, in Dark Universe. This was one of the events that we were taken to see during our rehearsal period...all of the musicians did a fantastic job, and I'm excited that they'll have real audiences soon too!)

Well, back to Thursday.
It was a day off and I hadn't really scheduled myself anything to do, just the lesson with Will and packing for Epic tomorrow. And I was feeling extra-tired. So, a nice slow breakfast and when Jameson went to the gym I watched anime, meal-planned, made a quick trip to Wawa to see if they had seasonal Irish potato candy (they didn't,) got bagels for the week (egg, rye, French toast, cinnamon raisin), and was practicing bass when Jameson got home. I also turned in my transcription work, worked on Foodie Finds, packed my food and clothes for Epic, and received a crappy trombone I'd gotten from Goodwill Auctions for us to use at Epic. With shipping and tax, it was only $186.


I bought it based on photos, obviously couldn't try it in advance when buying from an online auction. But I was lucky. It's not great, but has minimal damage and will be usable for our purposes. I gave it a bath and will bring it with me to Epic tomorrow. Talking with the other two trombone ladies, we'll probably have both junk trombones serviced in coming weeks. A bad, scrape-y slide makes them much harder to play, and dropping a little cash to help us sound slightly better seems reasonable.

After dinner I had my lesson with Will. Got to meet his wife this time, she's also a musician and happened to be on a gig during my last lesson. She seems awesome, I'm hoping that she and Will and Jameson and I can have a couples night of some sort, but with ALL of us musicians it's very unlikely!

The lesson went well again, I was once again flabbergasted at all that I do not know, but think I learned some more things about how I should be shaping my embouchure and moving air through the horn. Will gave me breathing and buzzing exercises to do, so I will try them tomorrow. Once again we went over by 30 minutes, neither of us complaining. There's a lot to learn and an hour honestly doesn't seem to cut it!

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Friday, up very early for Epic.

TMI warning:
my intestines have been a mess since yesterday, I don't know why but perhaps too much dairy lately, or something else indigestible. It happens from time to time but is very uncomfortable and stressful when you're trying to perform in front of people but are mildly nauseous and crampy and gassy.

Anyway, our prop is still broken meaning I could bring my own, good trombone to play as I wouldn't have to set it down on the prop. I also brought the Goodwill trombone, and ALSO kidnapped the frankenbone so that I can take it to be serviced and cleaned (as I mentioned wanting to do a few paragraphs above.) Also, to thank me for A) bringing trombones for us to use and B) volunteering to drive all the way out to Pat's to get one serviced (he lives an hour away), Andrea called Pat up and paid for the cleaning in advance! This is why I love working with these ladies! I get the sense that the men would NEVER be proactive like this for each other. Mariah has been at a wedding this week or I'm sure she'd have pitched in as well (she's also very young so I had zero expectations, let her save her money.)

The day went just fine, nothing to report except that my character's hairstyle was thrown into question because my hair has grown out a bit since I was given hair/makeup criteria. I am still amazed at how much scrutiny we are all under from day to day--is the length of my hair really going to contribute in any way to the success of the park?--but considering that all of us represent the Intellectual Property (IP) of high-value brands like Nintendo, JK Rowling, How to Train Your Dragon, etc., I suppose it's understandable.

After work, Whole Paycheck for shrimp to make po'boys and a few other ingredients.
It took over an hour to drive the 16 miles home. The tourist traffic around here is only going to get crazier.
Jameson and I caught up, I practiced bass, and received a new transcription job and set up the formatting so I can begin it easily tomorrow. We watched Traitors, went to bed. The usual.

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Saturday I slept poorly and was very anxious for some reason. Assuming it's because my guts are bothering me. Such things make me think of how my mom died, and I am her age, and sometimes my subconscious latches onto that and freaks out.

Coffee and transcription for an hour.
Jameson woke up to find he'd been offered an interview with DEG (Disney Event Group) on Tuesday, so we will begin crossing our fingers and toes for him right now.

When Jameson went to his massage I took a break from trancsription to make tartar sauce, go get po'boy hoagie rolls (for some reason Whole Paycheck has stopped selling demi baguettes), and practice bass until lunch. Then more transcription and a small break before whipping up dinner. I make grilled shrimp po'boys about twice a year, they're easy and tasty and failsafe.

We watched Traitors and Severance, and I binged Beastars for a while (should I be embarrassed about that? Unsure.)

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Sunday I was able to sleep a little better. It was very gusty, the tornado-filled storm system that's been moving across the Southeast US has reached us. It's passing north of Florida but will clip us a bit.

Transcription. A little about that for those interested below the cut.

( Transcribing immigration cases )

Well, so, I did transcription for most of the morning until I was nearly done. The sooner I finish the more free time I can have for other things. After lunch I practiced trombone until Jameson left for Universal, he's seeing a concert there tonight with a friend. After practice I washed and changed our bedsheets, took myself to a new pho place for summer rolls for dinner, stopped at a hardware store for a pipe joint for trombone breathing exercises (someone is ABSOLUTELY going to think it's a bong), then hit a liquor store for no reason other than it's a new one and I've never been in it before. They didn't have much that I was interested in, but did have Underberg which I've thought about often since trying it in Salt Lake City. So I got some of that to enjoy, and some mini bottles of peanut butter whiskey for Jameson.


Back home, much chilling. I felt very lazy, but maybe that's what's needed.
Summer rolls and leftover tofu and veg, peanut butter whiskey and a carrot cake muffin for dessert.

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Monday thru Wednesday: more days off! (From Epic lol.) I don't really know what to do with myself. Goals include practice, sweeping the pool deck, walks, cooking meals, depositing savings bonds, transcribing, and catching up on sleep. Oh, and taking the frankenbone to be cleaned.

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.

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.

Posting a day early again, but after this I should be able to get back on the regular Monday/Thursday schedule.

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

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

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

The total estimate:     a whopping $5300.


( Car and Mouse )
Continuing my walk, I came across this sweet little water snake on the sidewalk, absorbing the warmth of the sun.


I thought she might be dead at first, but then saw her little tongue going blep-blep. Adorable!
(CLICK HERE to see)

She was very small, only a little longer than my hand. She moved away nervously when I put my finger close.


As I continued on my way it occurred to me: 2025 is the Year of the Snake!
How lucky am I, to have seen this year's token animal!

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

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

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Friday. Up somewhat-early for the 90-minute drive to Warburton.
Breakfast and clearing the table so that Jameson could work on a puzzle if he liked (he's getting very bored, poor guy.) Loaded up the bass trombone and off we went.


Warburton is always in a state of chaos. Boxes everywhere, random pianos, a shelf full of random method books, pieces of heavy machinery, brass shavings, and of course the big black mouthpiece display boxes for trumpet, cornet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, etc etc. Warburton is known for their mouthpieces and their ability to fabricate custom mouthpieces. I'm lucky that they're Florida-based and close enough to visit. At this point all of my mouthpieces are Warburton except my large tenor, for which I use a Hammond (also very good.)

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

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

I pretty quickly decided on the standard 1-1/2, and Kim threw in some awesome merch! A Warburton 50th anniversary shirt (don't ask why it has sharks and fish, I've no clue) and a Quality Control sticker featuring Meeny, her pet squirrel!


We hugged goodbye and as I was about to leave, a family of raccoons showed up to snack on some kibble that had been laid out for them! A mama and two babies. Kim says there are usually two other babies and wondered where they were.
(CLICK HERE for raccoons!)

I tiptoed around the family and took off with my goodies.
Back home I got an update on my car. Still torn apart. It won't be done today, but I'm hoping for tomorrow.


I practiced my Main Street Philharmonic music because there's a rehearsal on Tuesday. This was the first time I've played my Williams since going on tour with Elf. It went rough but that's ok. Patience and practice :)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday morning. My watch sleep app said I'd only gotten about 5 hours of sleep, sounds about right. Always have trouble sleeping after alcohol.

It bears mentioning that the unexpected inconveniences that struck over Christmas Eve Day--having to get a rental car, and my bass trombone arriving damaged--have been resolved only a few days later. The touring company is reimbursing me for about 75% of the rental car cost, and the bass trombone is repaired and working at no cost to me.

I'm taking this as a reminder to be patient and calm when things go "wrong," and not fly off the handle, because sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem and/or solutions are available that just need to be sought out.

Anyway, I walked to a CVS for some water but otherwise it was a nice slow morning.

Show 1 seemed to be kind of an understudy/swing show, which is good because swings and understudies deserve to make at least one appearance in the roles they've worked so hard to cover. It was also a packed house, yay about that. Between shows I spent a little time running through Disney music, and worked on Foodie Finds for my next venture, and had a nice cup of tea as it was cold and rainy out. Show 2 was equally normal. I thought the band played really well, not that my opinion matters.

Upon leaving the building I was startled to see that the sky was PURPLE.
After crossing a few intersections and craning my neck like a tourist for a bit, I discovered that the effect was from the Truist Center, which must have been lit purple, but it was also foggy so you couldn't see the top of the tower. The purple light was being dispersed in the fog, making the sky appear to glow in almost an ultraviolet way.


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Saturday, and because we've been doing two-show days since Thursday it feels like this is Sunday.

I felt restless, but it was rainy and crummy out. The usual breakfast and computer time, then checked on the rental car and took it out to fill with gas so that I can just peel out on Monday morning. Parking is expensive.

Guess I'll take this opportunity to apologize for being pretty lame on this tour. Essentially no Foodie Finds or exploring. This was primarily because
     A) The tour was only two months long
     B) I had to spend 15 hours per week on transcription in addition to the tour schedule, and
     C) I had my Main Street Phil music to maintain and two unexpected auditions during this time.

Losing my job this summer lost me a lot of income, and then unexpectedly having to buy a bass trombone REALLY took a chunk out of the bank account (suddenly needed gear is just a reality of being in music.) I'm extremely grateful that I DID spend time working on this tour, even if it meant missing out on sightseeing and great eats. I badly needed to save money. As it is I'll probably break even, so I must have worked just enough.

Anyway.

The first show was...not our greatest. The audience seemed to enjoy it, but I was embarrassed to make a pretty noticeable mute mistake, and even the actors were struggling a bit. This is sort of the halfway point, with 4 more shows remaining, so perhaps we're all mentally struggling to stay focused and present.

Between shows I practiced some Disney stuff, had some hot tea, and watched part of The Emperor's New Groove to kind of decompress my brain with something silly. Returning for show 2, I found this adorable handmade magnet at my spot!


Lacey (ensemble) made them for us! How nice!
The second show went better for me, I felt unfocused but made a stronger effort to be in the moment and not make dumb mistakes just because my brain is jumping ahead to 2025.

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Sunday. The last day of tour.

I AM SO GLAD.

I've never been so happy to be done with a tour, and that's a shame. A lot of factors made this one particularly difficult for me, and rather than gripe about them here I'll just say that there are things that I need to keep in mind in the future before accepting a short holiday tour again. On the positive side, there were many wonderful things about this tour including great hotels, often getting my own dressing rooms, having our travel booked well in advance, and excellent reimbursement options for flights and travel. This is my first NETworks tour since about 2008, and I'm happy to see that they're a good production company to work for overall.

I spent the morning with breakfast, some packing, and making overnight oats to bring on the drive home tomorrow morning. Walked to Whole Paycheck one more time to treat myself to grocery sushi.

There are some familiar sights occurring backstage when a tour closes.
Usually there is a table where people pile "free stuff," which is anything from food to clothing to notebooks to cookware, etc, that people don't want to bring home or can't fit in their luggage. Along with the Free Stuff Table you can usually also find either programs or posters or both that people would like you to sign as a piece of memorabilia. In this case we had a lot of snacks at Free Stuff Table, and some programs, with the posters being lined up outside the production office where there was more room.


The road cases are lined up neatly in the hallways as usual, but shipping boxes and packing materials are all over the place as crew prepares to load out for the final time. A lot of costumes and props will go into storage, and will need to be packaged carefully to protect them in the event that the tour goes out again in the future.


A random picture of the Actual Backstage. A view that the band doesn't see often, but the actors and crew are very familiar with.


My final Trombone Princess dressing room, which is right next to the band boys' dressing room so it feels kind of silly. But I used it to practice this week, and appreciated the privacy of it.


And finally, my spot in the pit here in Charlotte. My mike and Aviom and stand where I like them. Looks pretty much the same on every show with the exception that typically I use my iPad for the music.


Before the final show the band was allowed a photo op on stage with one of the props, a sort of "elf car."
Here we are!


As we were leaving the stage I poked around and quickly found my very favorite prop, the GINGERBREAD FISH.
I politely begged a member of crew for a photo with it. Aaah, gingerbread fish, you brought me joy. I will miss you.


The final show went quite well. We knew that it was being recorded so that may have had something to do with it.
Afterward we packed up quickly, shook hands or hugged, and made our way to the black box for a champagne toast.
Some flowery words about how great this tour has been and what a privlege to work with each other...then, cheers!
(CLICK HERE to see the toast)

It really has been a great group of people to work with, for the most part.
I am grateful for this experience, and for being able to play a really fun show for a lovely short run.
But I am also really, REALLY ready to hit the ground running in 2025.
So I chugged my champagne, said my goodbyes, grabbed my things, and scooted to the hotel to finish packing.

Thus ends Elf the Musical 2024.

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Monday: 8-9 hour drive to Orlando, stopping to pick up bass trombone, get groceries, and return rental car. Unpacking and cleaning before Jameson's surgery.

Tuesday: Jameson's surgery. Getting him there and home safely. Probably more cleaning while he rests. Happy New Year.

Wednesday: New Year's Day, so I haven't been able to make any appointments due to the holiday. Cleaning and probably sending lots of emails to jump-start non-tour life. Maybe even some practice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I was up at 6:30am to take my car to Firestone…and of course they opened an hour later than usual for the holiday. So I dozed in my car with a Wawa coffee until they opened. An additional 30 minutes of sitting in this waiting room, only to be told that the problem is with my car's BRAIN, meaning I'd need to take it to a dealership. Called the two closest to me (30-40 minute drives) and both unsurprisingly had no openings on a holiday.


Initially I thought maybe I could still drive up to Charlotte with my car--everything else seems to be working, right?--but both the mechanic and Jameson seemed to think that was a Bad Idea. Apparently if your car's computer (PCM) goes bad, your car could just...stop? Lose power? The problem is, it's unclear whether it's the brain (PCM) or the AC control module malfunctioning. But Jameson was adamant that I not drive my own car, to the point of offering to pay for the rental car for me. So...f*ck. Now I needed to find a rental car on Christmas Eve Day. Sigh.

But one thing at a time. I got home and made us Christmas breakfast. We had basic shake-n-bake pancakes, with a blueberry compote that my sister made and egg nog whipped cream. I also added Greek yogurt so I could pretend I'm healthy. It was simple but very good.


We then opened Christmas presents and stockings together.
Jameson's parents got me the latest Half-Baked Harvest cookbook, and Jameson got me a Japanese Classics cookbook! I've already dog-eared a bunch of new recipes to try (when I'm home...I might make some things and freeze them for Jameson.) Conveniently, one of Jameson's presents was salicornia "salt." Jameson has Meniere's, which means too much sodium causes him to have vertigo and nausea. Salicornia tastes just like salt but actually contains only half the sodium of regular salt. So theoretically he should be able to eat more of it with less ill effect. And THAT means that I could probably try making the ramen in the cookbook he got me!

Anyway, another lovely present was from my sister Kate. She made all of her own gifts this year. Pistachio butter, peanut butter, brown sugar syrup, homemade granola, garlic salt, a clove-scented candle, and a lovely decoration. Homemade gifts really are the best. I used to do this too, but haven't had time any more.


Jameson's presents to me were very thoughtful, as usual!
Look at these hilarious bread-themed computer cushions! Baguette for wrists, croissant for mouse hand/wrist.


And these adorable alligator socks! There will probably be more pictures of these, for now I want to protect them so will only wear them once tour is over.


His big gift to me this year was an Apple Watch!!! He REALLY shouldn't have done that, argh.
I spent a lot of time this afternoon getting used to it. It's shockingly comfortable...twice today I almost submerged my hand with the watch on! (It's waterproof but still.) Probably the most useful part of it is going to be accurate fitness tracking. With an accurate BPM and other vital signs, I'll be able to see how many calories I really burn instead of having to guess. Convenient!

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

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

The bad news: I opened the case and the bell was CRUSHED.


This 100% happened because the guy who packed it didn't do it properly. And that made me REALLY mad.
I LITERALLY texted him a week ago describing how I wanted him to pack it...and describing exactly what ended up happening to this horn because he didn't do ask I asked.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


More relaxation after that, eating Christmas cookies and trying to lower our stress levels.

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

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Wednesday: 10 hour drive to Charlotte

Thursday: two shows and an afterparty hosted by the theatre

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

Felt a little contemplative about this and thought I'd write some things out.

This isn't a judgement, just an observation: I think that often people see "me" and what I do without thinking much about how I got here. Like, how a woman ended up performing the trombone at the level where I'm performing it (theme parks and touring shows mostly.)

I expect that if someone thinks about my past at all, they picture any standard music class or lesson process. I.e., "Child Begrudgingly Practices And Then Goes To Band Rehearsal" or "Child Is Bullied Into Private Lessons But Then Plot Twist: Ends Up Loving Music!"

Both of these are of course accurate; I was an average kid who liked music well enough but didn't want to practice and found it to be an annoying chore at best :p
I took piano lessons because my parents made me, and I played the clarinet because "all of my friends were doing it."

But when it comes to the trombone...first of all, when people ask me what instrument I play and I respond, "I play the trombone," the reaction is 95% of the time some form of surprise. That is because it's UNUSUAL for a woman to play the trombone. AT ALL, much less at a professional level. It's always been considered a MALE instrument (along with pretty much any low-pitched instrument like the tuba or string bass.) For whatever reason, it is culturally and socially expected that bass instruments are played by males.

There are of course exceptions, but very few. There are approximately 16 well-known female trombonists...like, throughout all of human history. And as of today, only roughly the same number of pro or semi-pro female trombonists exist. At 40 years old, I can count on one hand the number of times I've met another female trombonist in person. And I've only actually performed with another woman on trombone twice in 40 years on this earth. That's how rare we are in general, and in the music industry.

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This is all to say that, although it's possible for a woman to play the trombone, there are REASONS why few do it.

One reason is of course social pressures, expectations, and constructs. Many women would have been discouraged from playing the trombone because it would seem freakish, unladylike, or bring embarrassment to one's family in some shape or form to do it. Overcoming these social pressures would be extremely difficult, and I imagine many women would not be willing to risk losing the support of their loved ones, or their social standing, over the trombone.

Another reason--and probably the bigger reason--is blatant rejection from this male-dominated instrument as well as the male-dominated music industry. An all-male ensemble does not want a change, an outlier, or someone whom they must accommodate. Having a female around means having to consider the needs of her sex. Inconvenient! When it's just men everyone can share a dressing room, and can make dirty jokes or openly scratch their balls or whatever else that men do in social groups when women aren't around.

This is, IMO, understandable. As women, don't we also want our "ladies time" sometimes? To be able to talk openly about period cramps, to rant about men, to be able to get undressed without worry or embarrassment? Both sexes want that. Totally understandable.

But the thing is: those are SOCIAL concerns, and SOCIAL needs.
A paid music ensemble is not a SOCIAL club. A tour, or Broadway show, or orchestra, involving signed contracts and people of both sexes across departments, should not be excluding people of either sex because it's socially inconvenient.

But as with any form of discrimination, that is what happens.

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And this is what I think people don't see, when they look at me/the end result that is me.

I have basically "made it" as a commercial trombonist. I've played for theme parks, tours, cruise ships, orchestras, Top 40 bands, the circus, local theaters, etc.

But when women are socially discouraged from playing the trombone....
and when my fellow trombonists are all men....
can you imagine what it has been like, pursuing the trombone and working my way up to the point where I'd be considered for work?

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Sometimes I look back on my journey, and am ALSO amazed.

Honestly, how the f*ck didn't I give up after that one dude in the brass band offered to drive me home and then took me to his house instead and tried to corner me? Why didn't I drop it when the all-male trombone studio in college was posting porno pictures in our rehearsal space? Why didn't I give up when my dad screamed at me for two hours because I was going to use my own money to buy a trombone instead of putting it toward something he felt was more worthwhile?

And that's just a sampling. The times I've heard nasty remarks about myself, or endured hazing, or rejection, or belittling, for no reason other than I'm a woman and the men don't want me moving in on their work, are pretty much endless. Or the emotional pain of my parents (my dad) discouraging me because either he didn't want to face the social embarrassment of a daughter who plays a "man instrument," didn't want to invest in something he assumed was just a weird phase, or both.

When I look back on it...this is not to toot my figurative horn, but overcoming those things seems RIDICULOUSLY monumental.

In the moment(s), I remember having heated internal arguments with myself/my impostor syndrome demon each time I was rejected or belittled or assaulted. Feeling crushed when I had a teacher who touched me inappropriately instead of giving me the trombone instruction that I was paying for; or when the entire male trombone studio tittered and spread rumors about how I was placing well in auditions because I was sleeping with professors (I was a virgin until my mid-30s and never did any such.)

And the truth is, I don't totally understand how or why I didn't let myself get fully crushed. I don't know how I kept going after my mother died (she was the only person who fully supported me) or how time after time I stood up to men who went out of their way to keep me out of ensembles; to take advantage of me; to bully and belittle me and try to intimidate me away. All the times that I came back to my things to find that someone had filled my trombone with water, or put numbing gel on my mouthpiece, or written something nasty on my music. The times that my own teachers put me down or discouraged me, told me to switch to music education or therapy because according to them I would never hack it as a performer. The times my own parent looked at me in disgust or told me that my playing sounded awful, which hurt more than all of the others combined.

I became a trombonist by practicing, networking, and working hard, for sure, just like anyone else.
But there was so much more that I had to do...that I had to BE. That I had to face.

Someone asks what instrument I play. I answer, "I play the trombone."
"Oh, how cool!" or "Wow, that's unusual!" are typical responses.
And how cool indeed! I think it's cool, too :)

People look at me and see a chick who happens to play the trombone.

What they don't see are the absolute mountains of rejection, discrimination, and self-doubt that I've had to climb in order to be standing in front of them smiling and with a trombone in my hand.

Well, they don't need to see it or consider it. In fact, I don't consider it much myself!

But today I really thought about it, and was kind of amazed at where I've ended up.

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On Thursday, the Minick finally reached James!

( More Nerdy Trombone Stuff )

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The stress of knowing I'll be out of work soon makes working feels like wading through mud. I guess this is like "task paralysis"...a hopelessness that the work I'm doing is no longer relevant, and I'm going to be fired...and shouldn't I be looking for more jobs instead of working, or catching up on chores...I end up feeling overwhelmed, and fail to do anything at all. Well I'm still doing things but a lot slower than usual.

Case in point: I paid Jameson for the toilets, vacuumed, took some salmon out to thaw, weeded the backyard, practiced, got ingredients for dinner, applied to jobs, did more work for as long as I could stand it, and made us sous vide salmon with lemon asparagus orzo for dinner.

And somewhere in there, I got a termination email.

Welp! I should be used to getting thrown out like a used rag by now, it happens often enough. The good news is that I have an interview with a kennel on Disney property tomorrow morning (I've worked there before between jobs) and that pays the same as the data entry job, it'll just be a lot more physically demanding. In a last-ditch effort to find higher pay, I'll ask to delay my start at the kennel by about a week. But after that it's time to face the music and get sweaty and dirty with some dogs. The dogs I don't mind, actually, it's their human owners who are the worst.

Anyway that's that.
My dad's soul is smiling, wherever it is, to see me in this situation. It always seemed to please him when I fell short.

Jameson has been in an awful mood all day and I don't really know how to alleviate it. He's out with friends as I type this, which is probably good to give him a distraction and get him away from his leech of a girlfriend. I spent the time waiting for someone supposedly from a local company to call for a phone interview; it's been at least 30 minutes since he said "I can call you right now," so I imagine this is another letdown. Isn't job hunting fun!

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ETA: I was woken at midnight to a text from my Main Street Phil boss: could I come in tomorrow?

I had a moment of panic because my job interview is at 10am, but it should be easy to reschedule. But also...do you see, these last-minute calls are why I'm in a catch-22 with jobs. I need something very flexible so that I can continue to accept jobs with Disney. But I also can't afford to be so picky right now.

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I didn't get to sleep until 2am because that's when Jameson got home and I was frankly worried sick. He was with friends and all that but he rarely comes home that late, and he was in just such a dark mood yesterday :( He seemed to have perked up a bit when he came home last night so that was a relief. But still, I only got about four hours of sleep last night ahead of a full Disney day.

The hiring manager for the kennel agreed to let me change my interview date/time, which was a relief.
I threw a bag lunch together, had breakfast, typed up more of this blog, and was off.
At 8am it was 80°F with a "real feel" of 91°F, and the heat index today got up to 106. I hate Florida.

But I enjoy playing in the park, and REALLY enjoyed playing my new trombone! It is wonderful, sounds great and is perfect for me. By the end of the day I felt much more comfortable with it and am looking forward to playing it more.

This footage is not from yesterday but I just found it: one of the only two times I've done the Frozen Medley in the park! Glad someone caught it so I can see what parts of the choreo I need to fix haha.


One fun thing that happened today was a "shortened" parade, which the guys called a "dog bone."
I think they call it this because of the shape of the shortened parade route, which is a "C" in front of the castle, a straight shot down Main Street, then another "C" in the square/train station area, which when you think about it is like a dog bone shape!

Anyway "shortened" is in quotes because we walked 1/2 mile in the 106-degree heat to the head of the parade...and then found out our equipment cart was broken down (it hauls all of the percussion and the sousas.) We then had to walk 1/2 mile BACK to the gate where we usually enter the park for sets, and that's where we started the parade. So it wasn't "shorter" by any means, the parade route may have been shorter but it was definitely more walking!

Anyway it was a good, if exceedingly hot, day, and right now I am extremely grateful for any time in the park at all. I don't know what will happen with my professional life this year and going forward, but to have just ONE place where I can musically be myself is a great gift.

Back home I caught up with Jameson, who was in a much better mood having put up some really awesome new lighting in his studio. We had a quiet night, both of us were tired from not getting any sleep the evening before.

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Sunday I was up at 8:30am which made me feel guilty and wrong. I should be out scouring for jobs, shouldn't I?
But even in this secular day and age, a lot of companies simply don't post job openings on Sundays.

I typed this post up, applied for what I could, and had a good long practice session in which I switched the slides and bells of the two Williams trombones (a fun thing to do when you have horns made by the same manufacturer!) I'd go into detail about the differences in sound and blah blah but suspect y'all won't care.

Completed my Uber Eats profile and activated it, so now food delivery is an option for me too.
I think I'd actually LOVE working on Instacart, but there's a waiting list.
And I booked myself a Papa Pal service. Just one but I'm trying to take things slow to start, and give myself that one week for some perfect opportunity to present itself.

What I am thinking now is that I could really just dive into gig work. The hours/pay may not be consistent, but I'd have a lot more schedule flexibility. The problem with a traditional job is, if I want to keep doing on-call for the Main Street Philharmonic, I have to be able to call out on short notice and most employers very understandably will not be cool with that. Anyway, as I've said, giving myself a week to figure out the best options.

Some foodie things from today:

I made deviled eggs with some of the eggs Pat gave me from his chickens. Half of them have a "bullseye" of hot sauce :)


For dinner we ordered from our favorite local Greek restaurant. Every time I go pick up the food there are new evil temptations hanging out on the counter. Today it was these baklava absolutely SLATHERED in dulce de leche (there were chocolate-slathered ones too.)


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I'm not feeling so hot tonight and hope I'm not coming down with something. It's likely just being stressed as my job came to an end, and then not getting much sleep lately. Tomorrow's plan is to hit Whole Paycheck for dinner ingredients (air fryer coconut shrimp), apply for more jobs, practice, and cook. Tuesday I have the kennel interview, Thursday is my Papa Pal service, Friday is a job fair, and Saturday is my last scheduled Disney day.