shermarama

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday and Tuesday.

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MONDAY

We were up around 8am for some "Jameson's Final Day In Boston Adventures!"

First stop was Tatte, AGAIN. If you have been keeping track (doubt it) we've been there three times now and have gotten:

Muesli Greek yogurt cup
Sourdough toast
Salmon egg sandwich
Ricotta berry French toast
Greek pancakes with pear chutney
Orange juice, mint lemonade, and pear juices

...and all have been absolutely delicious, with excellent presentation and service to boot.

Today's treats were a morning bun for me, a raspberry lemon pavlova for Jameson...

...and we split a traditional shakshuka. Can you believe Jameson has never had it before!

CLICK HERE for a video of delicious shakshuka poached egg yolk!

Again, everything was exceptional. As you guys know, I like to collect enamel pins and have several from some of my top Foodie Finds on tour (Sandwich Hag, Willy Street Co-op, Allie Boy's, etc.) Tatte also had enamel pins for sale so I got one for my collection. I would absolutely recommend this cafe as a must-eat in Boston.

After that we returned to the hotel briefly so Jameson could do some work, then off we went again to Faneuil Hall.

We walked up and down the rows of shops, most of which are very touristy. There was a Newbury Comics so we popped in there, then walked across the street to the harbor to look at the beautiful water and ships.

Back to the Quincy Market portion of the hall to get "chowda" from Boston Chowda Co. They serve it piping hot in bread bowls.
Jameson got the classic New England white chowder, and I got Manhattan red (because dairy.)

Both were delicious (I had a taste of Jameson's.) The flavors were complex, lots of spices, strong seafood stock undercurrents, and clearly not from a can. Mine had loads of veggies including big chunks of potato, pepper, tomato, onion, and carrot, plus lots of herbs and spices, and very large clam pieces. I love the chewy tender clams!

After that we were very full and walked off our meal by visiting historic cemeteries along the Freedom Trail. I think they were King's Chapel Burying Ground, and Granary Burying Ground. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and other American historic figures are buried here. The tombstones are beautiful and well preserved. Here are two of my favorites for the detail of the stonework.

This one features death snuffing out the "Light of Life" while Father Time watches, or something like that.

Most other skulls/crossbone carvings were 2D and simplistic in style, but this artist was able to get a 3D look and realistic details in the skull.

Back to the hotel to grab Jameson's vinyl records, then to the post office nearby to ship them to him. We rested for an hour...and then it was time for Jameson to go :( I walked him to the T station and we hugged goodbye. Thus ends a wonderful long weekend with him in Boston. I'm so glad that he came out, that we got so much time together, that he got to meet the band and see our show. We had great weather the whole time and got to see and do so much! We've made some wonderful new memories in this great city :)

From the station, it was still so nice out that I decided to walk to Whole Paycheck and restock more groceries for the coming week. Back at the hotel a rest and a light dinner, then reclaiming the room for myself by putting my clothes on the bed and redelegating the table as the "kitchen." I loved having Jameson here but also appreciate the joy of selfishly taking up space :p

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TUESDAY

I had fallen asleep early, around 11 I think, but was awake sporadically between midnight and 2:30am following Jameson's travels (I kept my ringer on so I'd wake up every time he gave an update.) He got delayed twice, and the final flight had only eight people on it! I didn't think "empty" flights were a thing any more! Pretty cool. But anyway he got home safely albeit at 2:30am. He went right to bed because it's a Disney workday for him and the most sleep he could hope for was 5 hours.

But I was awake at 7am also, for no reason. The room feels lonely and quiet without Jameson making little snoozy noises in the bed next to me. But selfishly I'm also glad for quiet times, and for being able to spread my stuff all around the room again :p

Kind of reflecting on a comment that

lookfar made on a previous entry: "Now I am interested to hear if it went smoothly, what surprised you about having J visit you on tour, and so on. Tho I suspect it will be more like 'what was I worried about, everything was perfectly unremarkable:'"

( CLICK HERE for thoughts )

In any case, I felt a bit lonely this morning without him. I was a bit tired from the on-and-off sleep last night, and mostly used today to be a slug. Stayed in pajamas, packed things to put in my trunk, ate snacks, walked to a HomeGoods to look for snack-sized tupperware (no luck.)

I went to the theater early both to put stuff in my trunk and to practice the pedal E that I'm having such trouble with. My local friend Walt sent a very helpful video of himself playing it (he's a WAY more experienced bass trombonist than me) giving different examples for how he approaches that note and pedal notes in general so that I could try several things. It's always tough to try and describe to someone else what you're doing with your embouchure and air, you know? It's not like anyone can see inside your mouth. Plus everyone has a different mouth size and structure to consider (for example I've got a pretty big overbite.) But anyway, the video was actually very helpful and I got some things out of it. I'm going to watch and play along with it every day for a while.

The evening show went well, although we had a hold during the fight scene. I heard later on that some piece of the set wouldn't move. As long as no one was hurt, it's all good. And DAR is back and conducted the show :) It sounds like his vacation wasn't very restful, but hopefully getting a break from the repetition of the show was nice for him.

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Wednesday: No plans during the day, we will see what I'm in the mood for. One evening show.

Thursday: Two-show day with our first sensory-friendly show. I'm excited to see how that will go! No plans.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3238/

Imagine you could ride alongside a sound wave. It would probably be pretty cool, right? We're putting in a departmental budget request to buy a really fast plane so we can check it out.

https://xkcd.com/3238/

taz_39

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

Well, let's start with Thursday night. I got back to the hotel just as Jameson was boarding the T, so had just enough time for a rushed shower before he showed up. I met him in the lobby, hair dripping lol. We caught up a bit but by the time he was unpacked it was past midnight, so we went pretty much straight to bed.

Oh, and I rescheduled another Poplin laundry service because I realized that two of my three black work outfits are dirty so I'm on my last one for the weekend. Argh. Well, maybe they will get it right this time, and it's fair to give them another chance. I mention this because I scheduled it on Thursday night before we fell asleep, then on Friday morning some subconscious part of me woke me up at 7am and said, "Psst. Check your laundry app." And the Poplin guy wanted to pick up between 8am-9am. Thanks, Subconscious Me! So I got up and dragged the bag to the concierge before Jameson was up.

When Jameson was awake I had coffee while he got ready, then we decided to try Tatte, a popular cafe chain here. It was VERY good. I had whipped Greek yogurt and muesli with fresh fruit and honey, and a side of toast. Jameson had a salmon egg sandwich on brioche that looked fantastic.

From there we walked through the Commons. It was cold but sunny, a very lovely day. Jameson was having lots of nostalgia and memories...he went to Berklee School of Music and lived and worked here for a long time.

We walked through the Public Gardens area of the Commons, then down the Mall which is kind of a strip of walkable greenway.

Jameson had lived in several dorms or apartments here, and showed me each one that he'd lived in, described what it had been like for him, roommates, etc., and took pics to show friends. It was very interesting for me to hear him talk about his school days and try to picture what it must have been like. As a VERY rurally raised child, a big city would have been terrifying to me even at college age. Putting myself in Jameson's shoes, I think I wouldn't have been able to handle it!

After swinging by Fenway briefly to take some pics of the ballpark...

...he took me to Berklee, which has changed a lot since he's been here last. They've had a merger with Boston Conservatory, and there are huge new buildings all over campus reflecting that change, built to accommodate a larger student body and also today's music technology, so different than how it used to be. We sort of, erm, caught a door behind a student at one of his old classroom buildings, and he showed me some things in the lobby, but so much had changed--even the location of the stairwells!--that he barely recognized the place. He was pretty flabbergasted! I don't blame him, that's kind of how I felt at MY alma mater too.

After that we were ready for lunch, and walked down Newbury Street to see all of the upscale trendy shops and try and find a good place to eat. We found an Italian place, but before stopping in Jameson remembered that the hotel where he used to work was around the corner so we popped in there. It is a VERY fancy hotel (the Lenox) and it too has changed drastically since Jameson worked there 20+ years ago. The front desk was in a totally different location, he said, and the whole interior had been remodeled.

Anyway, we went back to the Italian place and had a very wonderful lunch of frutti de mare in a white wine sauce for Jameson, and "Clelia's Penne" for me: sauteed chicken with penne pasta, cubed butternut squash, and an apple cider gorgonzola sauce. The sauce especially was unlike anything I've had before, I suppose sort of like piccata sauce but with apple cider instead of the lemon? Very delicious!

After that we were quite tired so started heading back to the hotel, but swung by the Christian Science Plaza to see the reflecting pool.

A quick stop at CVS so Jameson could get some deodorant, then we crashed at the hotel. My laundry wasn't done yet but the room had been serviced, hooray. I was just starting to feel sleepy when we realized it was time for dinner. We decided to try a sit-down grill place next to the theater (I'm forgetting the name right now.) The food was nothing special but was fresh and served hot and quick, what more can you ask? Jameson had lamb lollipops and I had chicken kabobs with rice and salad because we're eating out basically the whole time he's here, so I gotta be KINDA healthy :p

After dinner, back to the hotel where Jameson was done for the day and settled in to eat some candy and watch the Cubs game while I got ready for the evening show. My Poplin laundry hadn't even been packed yet and was due to be delivered in an hour so I was wringing my hands over it, but after I'd walked to the theater I got an alert that it had been delivered.

I'm typing this a day later and I *think* the show went well? Nothing to report?
And when I got back to the hotel and checked the laundry, it was NOT wrinkled. Woot!

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SATURDAY

We started the day off with another walk to Tatte because their menu is so enticing, we had to try it again! This time Jameson got the French toast with whipped ricotta and berries while I had the “Greek-style pancakes.” Apparently that meant they came with Greek yogurt on the side because otherwise they seemed quite like normal fluffy delicious pancakes. And they also came with a house-made pear chutney that was fantastic. Once again, stellar breakfast in Boston :)

After that we relaxed in the hotel for a bit, lost track of time, and had to kinda rush around to find lunch before the matinee. Jameson got to chill at the hotel while I played the show (which went fine.)

For dinner we met Jameson’s musician friend Bleu at a dim sum place. It was hopping and crowded, and we ended up sharing a table with others but that was no problem. We ordered rice rolls and shrimp dumplings, steamed and seasoned greens, egg custard balls…all sorts of delights, and everything was delicious. I was stuffed! Jameson and Bleu talked about teaching and exchanged stories about their students or various gigs, and I answered Bleu’s questions about our tour and the circus and things. Tbh, he’s a bit of a celebrity and I DO like his music a lot, so I was shy to ask him anything for fear of sounding stupid, and just let Jameson handle most of the talking (which he was quite happy to do.)

After dinner we had a little extra time so walked to a nearby bar. The guys had a pint and I just listened until it was time to walk to the theater. Jameson followed me shortly thereafter.

Jameson got to see our show!!! Eeeeee!!!
Obviously his opinion on it means a lot to me. I played my best. He came to the pit before the show and got to meet a few people that way, and also at intermission. The show went really well, it was all lead cast too except for Belle but she/the understudy did a fantastic job and Jameson said as much.

After the show it happened that there was a fun company event backstage: we've been doing a "baby photo matching" game where some of us submitted baby photos and had several days to try and figure out who's who. Our company management made a big display and everything. For days we've been wringing our hands over it between shows and during intermission. My photo is up there...can you guess which one is me?
(Reminder that you can click the image to open in a new tab, then click it again to enlarge.)

So after this show was the "big reveal" where they'd reveal who's who and then give out small money prizes to the people who'd guessed the most correctly. It turned into a whole hang with snacks and drinks and everything, but I'd already planned to go to the hotel bar with Jameson so I couldn't stick around. We got to the bar and I listened to Jameon's thoughts on our show while we waited for band members to come over once the "baby reveal" was over. Overall he loved the show, praised the whole thing and the spectacle of it, with some small critiques of "Personally I wish they'd do X" which all of us have. For example he wished our audio was louder in some portions (not totally sure that I agree) and wished that the Beast's character had been kept more frightening, a la the animated version or the 90s Broadway version (I DO agree with this and wish Beast were a little meaner especially at the start.)

Eventually more people showed up and I got to introduce Jameson to them. He hit it off right away with Tim (trumpet) because they're both Cubs fans, and not surprisingly he spent 95% of the evening with Gary (drums) because they're both ROCK musicians, are into the same music, and have quite a few industry mutual friends.

Eventually we had a pretty large group, everyone except French horn, clarinet, and DAR who is on vacation.
Group photo!!

I was so proud to share Jameson with my colleagues, and grateful to them for taking time on a late night and a heavy show schedule to meet him and make him feel welcome. It was really wonderful. We didn't get back to the room until 1am so I will be exhausted for Sunday, but imo it was well worth it for this lovely experience :) :)

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SUNDAY

I hadn't gone to bed until nearly 2am, Jameson and I were up talking about the show and Boston and all sorts of things. And then I was awake at 7am, sigh. It's gonna be a long day. Made coffee and breakfast in the dark, fumbling around and trying not to make noise. We had talked about it before bed and decided that since my Sunday schedule is 1pm and 6:30pm which doesn't really allow me to eat meals at normal times, we'd do things separately today. Hence, me eating breakfast in the pitch dark. Otherwise I wouldn't get to eat until 10-11.

Jameson eventually got up, and by the time we were both ready to go out it was 11am (see?)
On my suggestion we went to Cafe Nero because it was close and had both breakfast and lunch sandwiches, European-style i.e. reasonable portions not gigantic American ones. He had caprese on a crunchy baguette and I did turkey and Swiss with fig jam on a multigrain croissant (who ever heard of a multigrain croissant! But it was very good.) The cafe was right next to the grocery so after our meal I bought a few things for the coming week (yogurt, blackberries,) dropped those off at the hotel, and Jameson walked me to the stage door.

While I was doing the show Jameson was going on a nostalgic solo walk, listening to music and visiting places that he remembered such as the bandshell on the Charles River and a record store he'd frequented while in college. He swung by a Japanese culture festival happening in the Commons and said it was very crowded with long lines for the food. There was a Greek fest nearby too but he said it was kind of sad-looking compared to the Japanese one, with only a gyro stand and not many people. When the show was done I walked back to the hotel where he told me all this and showed me the record he'd gotten (David Gilmour's daughter doing a single-take album.) Either he'll ship it to himself tomorrow or I'll put it in my trunk and ship it for him later on.

For dinner we did things separately, since he'd eaten snacks while walking and I needed to eat kinda early. He got to watch me make my mish-mash of random foods: tuna, beets, rice cake, PBFit, apple. I mean, I do the same thing at home :p When I was finished eating he walked me to the stage door and as a result got to meet Holly (Madame/Wardrobe character) and chat with her a bit, then he went off on his own to get Taco Bell.

The evening show went well, though I airballed my pedal E for the umpteenth time, lost my temper with myself, and decided that in Indianapolis I will try to get lessons from a bass trombonist. I know two who live in the city and hope one of them will be available to help me out. I just...we are at the end of April, soon I will have been on this tour for a year, and STILL sometimes when I try to play that note nothing comes out. It's happened LESS often, but I am sick of it happening AT ALL, and clearly I am doing something wrong. A little guidance from REAL bass trombonists is in order.

Otherwise it was a great show. it's also the end of Broadway Cares fundraising...and as of today we have raised $262,000!!! Wooooo!!

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Monday: Jameson's last day with me in Boston :( We want to eat at Tatte AGAIN (it really is THAT good you guys) and get clam chowder and sightsee at Faneuil Hall not sure what else we will do, he's got to leave at 4pm so we'll see.

Tuesday: I'll probably use this day to get groceries and decompress from a rather busy week of fun and NINE shows. One evening show.

hamsterwoman

I ended up going to see Hadestown with L while it was touring SF. I heard from her last year that she wanted to see it, so as soon as dates in SF popped up – I apparently get all these live performances ads now on Insta, after getting Ed Gamble tickets – I texted her, and she got two tickets, intending it to be for RH and herself. But I told her that if it did not work out for him to go (because at the time he lived in Napa, and it would’ve been a long drive on a weeknight), I was happy to be her plan B, and that’s what happened. ( The show and the experience, with marked spoilers )

So, I’m glad I ended up going to see it with L. I would not have bestirred myself on my own, but listening to / watching my favorite songs from the show on YouTube, I can tell I got stuff out of the live experience that I would not have gotten otherwise, and also, I’m glad I got to see this particular Hades. And L is the perfect musical theater buddy – she likes discussing stuff and knows more than me, and in this case there was also the shared interest in Greek myth (which is what we had with the Harry Potter play, too). B would’ve absolutely hated every aspect of it, from the crowd to the jazz to the singing, which all three of us agreed on, heh.

Oh, right, and when we came home, since we were talking about how much I like bass voices, I showed L some Tim Foust videos (which

aletheiafelinea introduced me to back in the day), like Champagne Taste (On a Beer Budget) and Long Black Train , and the Home Free sea shanties.

*

Taskmaster s21e03 – I like Kumail’s shirt, with the white o white design. And Amy’s polka dot pinafore thing is very cute, too. ( Spoilers )

Joanna is the podcast guest, and she talks at the same density and speed as on the show, with Ed just sort of occasionally putting in a sentence or two XD ( Slight spoilers? ) Anyway, that was a ton of fun, and that was one I made a point of watching on YouTube rather than listening to, because I wanted to watch Joanna light up with laughter, and Ed’s expression as she just kept talking over him. What an absolute delight she is XD

*

Hugo nominations are out! ( Category by category thoughts )

*

And I should take this opportunity to finally write down my Cinder House thoughts. I read it, what, during my trip to Arizona, I think, and that’s been 6 weeks.

4. Freya Marske, Cinder House – I liked it a lot! I was not super swayed when I heard the premise – I have no particular devotion to Cinderella retellings, and ghost stories aren’t really my genre, and I wasn’t sure how this premise would play to what I’ve heretofore seen of Freya’s strengths as a writer in both pro and fanfic, but it’s just a really good book. ( More, with spoilers )

*

At some point I should also catch up on another 6 months of Elis & John Radio X shows, and a ~2 months worth of current E&J and adjacent things like How Do You Cope (newly returned) and John making appearances on other podcasts to promote Thirst, but that'll need to wait. (I have preordered a signed copy of Thirst, but how I'm going to get to read it before I see

cafemassolit whose house it's being shipped to is still unclear...

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3237/

Borat came out twenty years ago this year--closer to the breakup of the Soviet Union than to today--but it honestly feels like it's been even longer, somehow.

https://xkcd.com/3237/

taz_39

Please Note: With Jameson visiting + lots of shows this week, I may not be able to stick to my normal posting schedule. Just a heads up. Thanks!

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**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

I slept until 9 which is pretty rare for me. Breakfast and sort of slowly moving things to make more space for Jameson. Shuffling all of my toiletries to the left, making sure there are towels set aside for him, putting my huge suitcase in the closet instead of the floor where I normally leave it. This room is really small, and there's a bit of a challenge because during the four days he's here I'll still need to cook a few meals for myself (on the two-show weekend he'll likely eat on his own for lunch) so I need to leave my dishes and containers out and have a "kitchen" of sorts, but I don't want to compromise surface space for him either.

My solution for this is to have the table cleared off by Thursday afternoon (I still gotta make all of my meals on Thursday) and that can be Jameson's surface space, and all of my food and dishes will llve on top of the cabinet containing the fridge. This will be a tight "kitchen" for me, but it's only for a few days. I imagine we'll eat out most of the time anyway.

Today was a Scheduled Chill Day since the rest of my week is

Thursday: Two shows + Jameson gets into town;
Friday: Sightseeing w/Jameson + evening show;
Saturday: The busiest day with two shows, probable meals out w/Jameson including dinner with his friend Bleu, then Jameson's coming to our evening show, followed by a meet and greet/drinks with the band;
Sunday: Two shows + probably one meal with Jameson and one on my own; and
Monday: Golden Day for me and final sightseeing w/Jameson, then seeing him off at the subway station.

Somewhere in there I'll have to figure out laundry again. It's either going to be Poplin again because I'm not going to waste time at a laundromat while Jameson is here, OR I'll wait until Tuesday morning when I'm supposed to take my trombone to the shop, bring my laundry too, and do it while I wait for the trombone (there are several laundromats near the shop.) Speaking of clothes, the only thing I "did" today was walk to Old Navy after lunch to find cheap travel flip flops and two tees. When looking for tees I ALWAYS check the men's and boy's sections too, because the Pink Tax is very real. At Old Navy, women's tees are $10-$12 while men's and boy's are $8-$10. I did find one awesome graphic tee in the boy's section: breakfast foods strolling together a la "Let's All Go To The Lobby" and the words "Wake Up on the Sunny Side!" underneath:

Who DOESN'T want this shirt! Why isn't this in the girl's section too? Why do little girl's shirts at Old Navy feature candies and sweets and flowers and words like "Sweet Thing" or "Sugar and Spice," the occasional overused "Girl Power" or "Girls Rule," while boys get the dinosaurs and Mario Bros. and cool designs like the above, and phrases like "Watch Me Change the World" and "Adventure Awaits"? Online these shirts are often labeled "unisex" but you still have to click on the "Boys" tab to see them at all, so are they really? And in the physical store they are ONLY in the boy's section. Why does a little girl have to go to the boy's section to get a Minecraft shirt? Freaking terrible, it honestly makes me feel sick to see it :( :(

Ok anyway sexism rant aside, the boy's XL shirts fit me perfectly so this tee was a great find. Never mind that I'm a grown-a$$ 42-year-old-woman who has to hang out in the little boy's clothes section to find a decent graphic tee. Geez.

The evening show was good. Connor conducted again, and Leslie (Key sub, usually he plays on Aladdin I think) was on Key 1 and did a great job. It was actually warmer in the pit too. That was a relief, to not have to spend half the show holding my trombones tightly to keep them warm or pocketing the mouthpieces between numbers.

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THURSDAY

I slept until 8, then breakfast and texting a bit with Jameson to give him hotel info and such. Finished clearing off the table for him to use while he's here, packed my snacks for the two-show day, and started working on Madison Foodie Finds (luckily I've been there recently so it's mostly done.)

The matinee show was good, nice crowd and it sounded well attended out there. And it was still temperate in the pit, even better! Afterward I swung by the grocery for blackberries...I JUST bought raspberries and they molded overnight, I HATE when that happens, they aren't cheap!! Then relaxed at the hotel and felt annoyed with myself because I just now realized that the TV is centered in front of MY bed, not Jameson's, and I should have taken that into account. Argh. Whatever, we'll figure it out.

In case you can't tell from words on a page: I am a bit nervous about having Jameson here. We've lived together for a long time, and lived on the circus train with separate rooms. It's just that this is the first time Jameson's EVER come out to visit me on a touring show. He's never stayed with me while I've been touring, which means he's never seen my lifestyle on tour, how I keep my room, my routine out here. It's not very different than what I did on the circus...but still. It's been a separate life, you know? I'm just a little shy about it, I suppose.

Well, after tonight's show I should have time to shower and do one last room check before Jameson arrives via subway, then I'll either go get him or wait in the lobby for him. Not sure if I'll have time to write about the evening show so I'll end it here (hopefully everything goes fine and you'll have missed nothing.) Excited, nervous, and looking forward to having Jameson here with me!!

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Friday: Sightseeing with Jameson, then an evening show.

Saturday: Two shows. Probably meals out with Jameson, dinner with his friend Bleu, and Jameson's going to our evening show, then a "band hang" at the hotel bar so he can meet everyone.

Sunday: Two shows, Jameson and I will hang out between where possible.

Monday: Another day of sightseeing, then seeing Jameson off.

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were written by

nondenomifan.

1. What decade did you attend/are you attending high school or college?

2. What clothing fashion from that time are you glad/do you wish went out of style?

3. Do you still listen to the music from your high school/college years on a regular basis?

4. What hairstyle/hair color did/do you wear during high school/college?

5. What was/is "the cool thing to do" while in high school/college?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3236/

Thanks to differences in logging regulations, the messages actually turned out to be visible from the air.

https://xkcd.com/3236/

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Happy Wednesday!

I'm taking search offline sometime today to upgrade the server to a new instance type. It should be down for a day or so -- sorry for the inconvenience. If you're curious, the existing search machine is over 10 years old and was starting to accumulate a decade of cruft...!

Also, apparently these older machines cost more than twice what the newer ones cost, on top of being slower. Trying to save a bit of maintenance and cost, and hopefully a Wednesday is okay!

Edited: The other cool thing is that this also means that the search index will be effectively realtime afterwards... no more waiting a few minutes for the indexer to catch new content.

taz_39

HEADS UP, I made a post yesterday/Tuesday!! You can read it HERE if you missed it.

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**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Tuesday only.

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I was up early so I could have breakfast and get to the New England Aquarium right when it opened.

The plan was to spend 2-3 hours at the aquarium, then walk to James Hook & Co. for a lobster roll as I've been told that's a "quintessential Boston experience." It would have been a good plan except the aquarium is much smaller than I'd anticipated, and only took maybe an hour to completely walk through! That said, they had so many animals and reptiles and fish and whatnot on display that it was worth sticking around for an additional hour and working to get good pictures. Here are some, enjoy.

These penguins look like they're forming a band.

An aquarium worker kidnapping some penguins during a feeding and training demonstration.

Nozzlefish. No that's not what it's actually called.

Some anemones.

I forget what fish this was but he was posing.

Harbor seal.

Right whale skeleton.

This pacific giant octopus was difficult to photograph, even after spending two hours here and coming back to his tank multiple times. People were always jostling and crowding around his tank, and he additionally did not move an inch for the whole time I was there. Ah well, can't blame him. I finally just snapped this picture from the side of a group of pushing children, and gave up on getting a good shot :p

On the other hand, I was able to get REALLY good pics of the aquariums 95-year-old(!) sea turtle, Myrtle. She is huge and beautiful and lives in the big central tank along with stingrays and tuna and blowfish and such.

Here is the top of the central tank, which is four floors deep. You can see Myrtle there by the stairs.

Circling the tank for quite a while, I finally was able to catch Myrtle as she passed close to me.
The second part of this video has a short bioluminescent jelly clip.

Watch on YouTube

Poison dart frog. The kids loved this tank so it was VERY dirty with fingerprints and smudges, plus bad glare on the glass, so it took me several tries and coming back several times to get this picture. Beautiful blue frog :)

Kid looking at fish looking at kid.

By 10:30 or so it was SO PACKED in there, like major airport levels of packed. You couldn't even walk, everyone had to sort of shuffle forward. I was very very glad I'd A) worn a mask and B) come early and been able to see the animals up close before the crowds got there. Like I said, it's a small aquarium but there's a lot to see and it's definitely worth a visit, but if you want good views I'd say come close to opening or closing hours and cover as much ground as you can.

Getting back outside was a relief from the press of people, and it was sunny and nice :) I walked along the pier to James Hook & Co., which is sort of a legendary spot for fresh lobster. The Hook family is from Maine and sometime around 1925, James Hook and his sons began trucking their fresh-caught lobster down to Boston to sell on the waterfront. Soon they were selling to top Boston restaurants, and eventually the family became a distributor and opened a waterfront shack serving lobster rolls and other seafood delights. TL;DR it's a Boston institution and one of those must-eat, historic, specialty places.

The service was lousy but the lobster roll was pretty great. Big chunks of claw meat, sweet and tender, coated in mayo and served on a toasted potato bun. Simple, but that's what highlights the fresh flavor of the meat.

If you want other decorations like lemon juice or pepper they're at a condiments counter nearby. This was the cold roll but there's also a hot one that comes with melted butter instead of mayo. They also sell freshly cooked lobster, live lobsters to take home and cook yourself, misc shellfish, crab cakes, and lots more. But the lobster rolls are the main thing. I enjoyed it very much. Expensive, but what a treat and a taste of Boston history.

Had a lovely walk back in the sun and spent much of the afternoon creating this blog post. No plans for the rest of the day...I'd honestly thought the aquarium + lunch would take longer than it did. No worries, I got to binge some anime, read, eat snacks, and finally finish Indianapolis Foodie Finds.

The evening show was good and we had a really awesome crowd :) Though I gotta say, the pit was too cold even for me (I'm the last to complain about pit temps because I don't use my fingers to play.) It was 61°F (16.1°C). That may be a lovely temperature when you're outdoors and the sun is shining. But do you set your thermostat to 61 degrees in your house before you go to bed at night? No? Whyever not? Because when it comes to air-conditioned rooms, 61 degrees is COLD, that's why. And so we played wearing sweaters and coats tonight (black, of course) and we may source out some hand warmers tomorrow. I really hope tomorrow will be, like, seven or eight degrees warmer, but won't get my hopes up.

But seriously that aside, great show and I'm looking forward to a good week while Jameson is here!!

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Wednesday: Nothing planned, probably a chill day with a walk or something. Prepping the room for Jameson's arrival. One evening show.

Thursday: A rare two-show weekday, so nothing planned. Jameson arrives!

squirmelia

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A listing of the number of carriages on each form of public transport I took for two weeks. One dash is one carriage. I also included buses and used one dash for a single decker, two dashes for a double decker. Most days are quite symmetrical, but not all.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3235/

I can't believe Candles of Vienna caved to commercial pressure and added the Goku expansion.

https://xkcd.com/3235/

taz_39

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Monday only because both Monday and Tuesday will be long posts with lots of pics.

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Up fairly early. A normal breakfast and livestreaming the Boston Marathon! I had thought it started at 7 or 7:30 but it's actually 9am, which meant I got to watch the kickoff as it happened on TV. For those who don't know (I didn't), the marathon starts in a suburb of Boston called Hopkinton and ENDS in Boston. It is a 26.2 mile route (42.195 km) and the average time to run it is about 4 hours. Top athletes can do it in around 2 hours, but the course is open for about 8 hours so that people of varying abilities can still receive an official time and certificate/medal. A lot of celebrities like to participate, and many of those run for charities. This year Chelsea Clinton ran, as well as an astronaut and a local news personality.

Anyway, after breakfast I texted with Jameson who was nervous about his epidural for his neck/arm pain. I don't blame him. The shot wasn't until 4pm so I set an alarm and made sure my phone would be on all day. Then off I went to the subway with my little tote bag and KN95, ready to face the marathon throngs!

Yeah, so...there was no getting on any train from the westbound Green Line station. Every train showed up completely packed, slowed for a moment for like two people to get on or off, then moved on again. The problem was that the runners were coming in from the west, so that's where everyone was trying to get. After waiting probably about 10 minutes and four trains, I decided that things were not likely to improve and got a Lyft instead. It didn't cost any more than it would have in Orlando so it was fine. The marathon route happened to be near where I was going, so I got to see the crowds a bit from the back of the car.

First I wanted to go thrifting, there were several good thrift stores in this area. I had fun looking but ultimately there was nothing that jumped out at me plus prices were vintage store-high, iykyk. I am more of a Goodwill-level thrifter :p

There was also a record store so I popped in to see what Queen they had in case Jameson wanted some. I did end up getting him a record to add to his collection. By then it was almost noon and I was hungry! This Maruichi is fancy, it has a tea shop and cafe across from the actual grocery. I decided to go there first and see what they had available for lunch. (REMINDER you can click on ALL pictures to open them in a new tab and enlarge them.)

In the sushi case, some beautiful rolls, nigiri, and chirashi. I have had the chirashi before and it is amazing.

At the actual cafe counter they had Japanese-style curry, karaage, katsudon, udon, ramen, and much more! But those are all pretty big meals and I kind of wanted something lighter. I saw a woman making fresh onigiri right there behind the counter. Must-have! I got the braised pork belly and egg onigiri, and the mustard leaf onigiri.

In the background are three cool snacks that I found to try: spring water from ACTUAL Mt. Fuji, a peach nectar, and mini-croissants.

Both onigiri were wonderful. I don't typically care for pork belly but it was cubed very small so it only added rich flavor, and the egg was soft and perfect. The mustard greens were pickled, very flavorful and just a little spicy. And the rice was so chewy and delicious! Onigiri are SO GOOD, and it is so rare to find them freshly made. Yum!

I also want to mention that there was a small room off to the side offering floor seating, and several families were using it. I don't know if this was a tea room or if it was meant for families with kids, or what, but I saw that people were taking their shoes off to enter the room and that there were mostly parents with young kids in there.

Next it was across the street for the actual grocery store. As usual there was an endless list of things that I wanted and only a short list of things that I could realistically get!

Some desserts, including little chestnut mont blanc cakes, roll cakes, mochi donuts, ice cream bars, tayaki, etc.

The most expensive A5 Japanese wagyu that I could find. That's $35 for 1/2lb!!

Some fatty tuna, also very expensive!! Both the beef and tuna are NOT things you find normally even in most Asian grocery stores.

Ryu (violin) had asked for some senbei. I went all out and got her this ridiculous gift assortment! LOL

They had a housewares section with umbrellas, dishes, bottles, face and hair products, utensils, etc. I saw soooo many things that I wanted but just couldn't justify buying. These beautiful tea towels for example. So many wonderful patterns! But I have no realistic use for one out on the road.

A friend had told me to look for this foaming hand soap which dispenses in the shape of a paw print. I found it! Did not buy it though.

I looked at the sake and beer and such, but they didn't have ChuHi (and I'm probably never finding it in the US except at EPCOT once in a while, I'll have to accept it.) Around then I was starting to get overstimulated and I could hear the roar of the marathon crowd and realized that the main body of runners must be nearing the final miles (I was at mile 24 and it was close to 1pm so that tracks.) I didn't even attempt the subway again, just called a Lyft but he got trapped on the other side of the marathon route and asked me to walk to him so I got out there to give it a try.

Stepping outside, people were running to the sidelines, fire trucks were parked there honking and with firemen waving, people twirling noisemakers and blowing vuvuzelas and waving signs, everyone screaming some iteration of "Yeah!" or "Woooo!" or "GO GO GO!!!" Helicopters and drones were circling overhead, adding to the cacophony. It was an amazing, fun, and inspiring thing to see!

Well look at that: I got to watch the Boston Marathon after all! :)

The Lyft got me most of the way back to the hotel but near the Commons it started getting crazy with crowds of pedestrians again, so I jumped out a few blocks early. Runners were walking slowly and stiff-legged through the streets wearing silver thermal foil blankets, clutching bananas or bottles of water, and many of them wearing medals. When I got back to the hotel it was more chaos; hotel staff had put up a huge balloon archway and were in the entryway cheering and waving noisemakers for the exhausted participants. Bottles of water and bowls of fruit were off to the side for the runners. In the lobby there was a DJ playing music full blast, the bar was packed, there was a photo op and activity station and a caricature artist...good lord, just all kinds of stuff, like a miniature indoor festival. I don't like crowds, true, but seeing people happy makes me happy! I smiled and congratulated every runner that I saw on the way to the elevator.

Finally made it to my room. Phew! Now to show you my Japanese grocery haul! In the window because lighting in hotels = abysmal :p

As usual I will rate and review everything here. The banana Hi-Chew and grape candy are for Jameson, and the mini croissants are for both of us. The rest is for meeeeeeee!

I rested and rehydrated for an hour or so, then braved the lobby again to get to the grocery for literally two things. I'd wanted to walk to Whole Paycheck and get some top-rated local pizza on the way, but was too drained. And I didn't even run AT ALL today haha! And it was still early! Jameson messaged to tell me his shot had gone well and his friend Jody had driven him home. They stopped for Taco Bell on the way so he must be feeling all right. I'm sorry he's having to go through this, but glad he's doing it if he can have a chance at going back to being pain-free.

And that was pretty much it you guys, I called it a night at 5pm. Why not? Having adventures is a treat, and so is curling up in a quiet hotel room with some snacks and a good book :)

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Tuesday: The plan is to visit New England Aquarium and have lunch somewhere. Expect lots of pictures of fishes. One evening show.

squirmelia

I watch the ripples in the river from Blackfriars Station, and the sun is shining, but looking at the foreshore - the heaps of pebbles and bits of wood sticking out and the rocky patches, I feel incredibly sad.

I had a good year, finding treasure, all of it treasure, on the Thames foreshore. In reality I found pottery sherds and bits of glass and all kinds of discarded things, but it seemed like they were the most amazing things I'd ever seen, as they were from the river.

I learnt so much, about everything from Bovril jars to uranium glass to vulcanite bottle stoppers to milk trains to hat polish to aerated bread to bearded men to bullets to knucklebones to eels to fossils to ink. I also learnt a lot more about Londoners of the past, about what people drank (ginger beer and R White’s) and ate (marmalade) and smoked (clay pipes). But also about cafes and pubs that once existed and shops and societies, and also who made the items I found, the factories and the kilns and the bottle makers, and the streets that are no longer there. I saw a different side of London, a side of London directly entwined with the past.

I walked along the foreshore in many different parts of London, from Kew to Putney to Chelsea to Battersea to Vauxhall to the Southbank to Wapping to Rotherhithe to Limehouse to Greenwich to Surrey Quays to the Isle of Dogs, and at different times of day, at sunrise and sunset, early in the morning, sometimes even at night when it was dark and I'd take a torch. I saw London from a different angle, watching commuters walk by above me, oblivious. I hadn't explored the foreshore much before and walking along there, across the pebbles, the sand, the mud, with the river beside me was a delight.

Mudlarking became such an important part of my life. I consulted tide times and organised things around them, I carried wellies around with me and rubber gloves.

Mudlarking gave me a reason to want to get back to London when I'd been away and made London feel like it was my home and the place I really wanted to be.

I am sad that now my permit has expired I can’t go mudlarking anymore. The river and the foreshore will still be there for me though, and London, of course, will still be there, and I learnt to love it even more through mudlarking. In a few years, perhaps I'll get another chance.

squirmelia

Low tide was conveniently just after work so for my last mudlark, I headed to Ernie’s Beach and walked along to the spot outside the National Theatre and to Waterloo Bridge. I've found so much here.

There was one other mudlark there and they said hello to me as I walked past, feeling grumpy. The tide was quite high for a low tide again and I just picked up anything really, sad and desperate, as it was my last time.

A last piece of Willow and a last piece of ABC and a last piece of Express Dairies Aster pattern.

There is a sherd that looks like it could have said Rutland. But what else did it say? Rutland Arms Hotel, J&B G.., London?

The sherd with Burslem on it is from Newport Potteries who were in operation from 1920.

The brown piece is likely to be from a stoneware R White’s bottle.

There's a mysterious number on one piece.

I also found a broken button.

My favourite find on this day was the glass bottle stopper.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

taz_39

**DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers the weekend.

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FRIDAY

I was surprised to wake up at 8:30am. Nice, because I didn't give myself anything to do today :)

It was raining and cold out as well. Perfect!

I'd scheduled a Poplin pickup the night before at 10am. Waited around for the pickup and had breakfast. I don't like to use Poplin because of the cost and because I get leery about people handling my limited set of clothing, but it IS nice to have your laundry washed and folded while you do other things.

Once that was picked up I had an extremely lazy day of reading, finishing up TADC (what a weird show), starting Witch Hat Atlier anime, and getting close to finishing Indianapolis Foodie Finds. Went for a brief walk just to get fresh air and window shop. Meals and a nap.

Right before the evening show my laundry was returned, which shouldn't have been a big deal except some clothing was damp and my pit blacks were VERY wrinkled, which is an accomplishment because they are polyester and almost never wrinkle. Whoever did the laundry either put them into the PLASTIC bag hot out of the dryer causing deep wrinkles, or they overloaded their dryer (possibly putting mine and someone else's clothes together) resulting in compressed and damp clothes, resulting in the wrinkles. Needless to say I had to leave a poor review :/

See, this kind of thing is why I get neurotic about How I Do Things On Tour. Things that are minor when you work a 9-to-5 and live in an actual HOUSE, can be a big headache when you are living out of a suitcase. Literally ALL of my work clothes were in this load of laundry except for one back-up black shirt and pants, and thank god I had those because due to this incident it was all I had available to wear for work tonight. That in itself is not the end of the world...but can you see how trusting someone to handle my laundry could potentially ruin ALL of my work clothes in one swoop? And what that MEANS when I'm hundreds of miles away from my closet in Florida?

And that's why I am so picky about things like what I eat before performing, or how far I'm willing to let people drive me from the theater. It's because I have been screwed before. Having to play a show with food poisoning because someone undercooked my food…or race to the theater at the last minute because someone didn’t account for traffic…or having to re-buy all of my work clothes…all very literally because of someone else's negligence…SUCKS. All of these scenarios have happened before and have contributed to my trust issues. Ultimately if being neurotic helps lower the odds of getting screwed, then guess what, I'm going to be neurotic!

Anyway, off to the theater for the evening show. The hotel lobby is all decked out for the marathon on Monday, and loads of people were checking in.

The evening show was great, well attended and a really enthusiastic crowd that cheered for everything :) I love when our show makes people happy! Not much else to say about it...after the show I had a late night "ironing party," staying up until close to midnight to carefully iron all of my work shirts and pants.

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SATURDAY

I had trouble sleeping last night and woke up tired and cranky. But it's ok. Slow morning of signing up for some company housing and flight bookings for upcoming cities, packing snacks, meal planning, and getting ready for the two-show day. I left early just in case the hotel was busy (it was, there were lines for the elevators both up and down!!)

The first show was nice, a pretty good crowd and I thought it went well. Between shows I hustled back to the hotel for a simple dinner (tofu, sweet potato, bagel, PBFit) and some anime. I had taken the Do Not Disturb hanger down before the first show and housekeeping had spruced up my room which was nice.

The evening show was good too, can't think of anything to report except that it went smoothly and we had a nice big audience. Afterward a bunch of us had planned to go to a local bar to hang out and meet Gary's (drummer's) wife who was in town for a visit, but with the marathon happening and it being a college town the bar we'd planned on was impossibly packed and loud. Instead we did the hotel bar. Ryu's (violinist's) husband was there as well, and everyone swapped stories about how they'd met their SO and such. I ended up talking a whole lot about the circus because everyone was interested :) It was a lovely time and I appreciated getting to know everyone better!

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SUNDAY

Another crummy sleep, or I should say I thought I slept well but for some reason woke up very anxious (probably hormones, it's about that time.) It took a long time to get un-anxious, so it's a good thing I'm an early riser I guess?

The first show was fine, Connor (Key 1) conducted. Nothing to report except that some folks came down to the pit afterward to tell us they'd loved the music. Right now after each performance there's a Broadway Cares speech that sometimes goes on for quite a while, so the fact that people will sit and listen to that and then take time to visit us at the pit is really touching. I will ALWAYS appreciate it!

Between shows it was so dreary, cold and rainy! That's April in Boston for you I suppose. I went back to the hotel for some quiet, a relaxing scented candle, and a book, and all of that helped me to be calm inside. Basic boring dinner (rice, tofu, veg, walnuts) and the evening show. It went all right for me...unsure how others felt haha. I also managed to pick up a little special souvenir for Jameson that I hope he'll like!

After the show I was reminded that we have NINE shows next week, and also a "kiddie show" added for the third week! It's going to be busy around here but hopefully also a lot of fun.

Tomorrow it's the Boston Marathon. All weekend the streets have been packed with tourists, participants, loads and loads of people excited to see this historic event or run in it. There are police EVERYWHERE and all kinds of barricades going up, media centers and press stages and mobile wifi towers and drone launchpads for capturing footage. It's all very cool....HOWEVER I am not a big fan of crowds, especially while alone, and have never really cared about sports that much either. While I am excited and grateful to be here right now, and will be happy to see parts of the marathon on my way to other places tomorrow, overall I don't plan to actually stand along the route or anything like that. PLEASE do not come after me in the comments for that choice. When you are in Boston, you can do what you like; while I am in Boston, I will do what *I* like. :)

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Monday: Braving the marathon crowds to ride the T to get to Maruichi for a Japanese lunch, maybe some goodies to take home, and thrifting at a nearby Buffalo Exchange. Later on, maybe getting takeout from a popular pizza place if it's not too insane. Due to the crowds and cold rainy weather it probably won't be a very eventful day for me. Jameson has his first-ever epidural tomorrow so I'll be worried for him and checking in on him.

Tuesday: With any luck, New England Aquarium and lobster rolls on the wharf! One evening show.

wildeabandon

This semester has been a bit of a challenge in terms of workload. I keep almost getting to the point of being "on track" according to my plan, and then falling behind again. I'm currently just under four hours behind, so I'm cautiously hopeful that I will actually get caught up this week.

I always plan not to do any work on Sundays, though I don't always stick to that plan, and was sort of tempted to get that four hours done today. In the end I decided that would actually be unwise, and instead I went for a walk through the Forêt de Soignes, which was really lovely. I did, admittedly, listen to an audiobook about biblical studies whilst I was walking, but it wasn't a book related to any of my courses, so that still counts as time off :)

I've shaved my head! I've been getting increasingly self-conscious about my receding hairline, especially when I'm overdue a haircut, and I'm really bad at getting round to getting it cut, so that's a fair chunk of the time. I'm definitely still getting used to it, and may end up changing my mind and growing it back, but I think I like it. It does make me feel like I need more piercings though.

squirmelia

Beaumont Stairs in Chelsea have been my go to place when I want somewhere quiet, where I'm definitely not going to be bothered by tourists, and there probably won't be any other mudlarks.

I saw the remains of trees that once grew here and it amazes me that they are still here. The bus stop was also still on the foreshore. I thought once it was gone, but no.

After the tide had turned, I walked along, wondering if I could find the Saxon fish trap. I had seen a picture of it near some boats. I couldn't see any way down to the foreshore near the boats though. I think the tide was just too high on this day to see it. I walked on and found myself in Cremorne Gardens which used to be pleasure gardens from 1845 to 1877. They have saved the grand gate and it's in the little park there still. There used to be all kinds of entertainment there - from tight-rope walkers across the Thames, to hot air balloon rides, fireworks, dances, a marionette theatre, and so on.

Further on and I could see a mudlark on the foreshore but I couldn't work out where steps were to get there. There looked like there was a range of stuff down there.

Finds:
A piece of an Express Dairies milk bottle
A piece of a bottle that says Wells on it

Two patterned pipe stems - one looks to say “d market” on it and “nny” on the other side.

An original vulcanite bottle stopper from Barrett & Elers.

Part of a Hartley’s jam jar

A few pieces of mocha ware

A nice piece of Staffordshire style combed slipware

A chunky glass stem. I have another of these and liked to imagine it might once have been part of a penny lick.

A Bourne & Son stoneware base
A Doulton Lambeth stoneware base

A saucer shaped like a teapot, which I think is modern

A plate with a diamond mark - this shows the plate was made on 6th April 1868.

A toothbrush, missing the handle, made of bone.

Keys, attached to a Lego keyring.

(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3234/

Before resurfacing, they promise to inspect the ice for any evidence of hockey-playing life.

https://xkcd.com/3234/

taz_39

**DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Managed to sleep until 8 despite my neighbor having a very loud phone conversation at 6am that could be heard through the walls. Yay earplugs.

A slow morning and sort of using today to figure out what I want to do and see, and when. There are things I'll do on my own, things that I'll save to do with Jameson during the time he's here, and things I'll need to plan around our show schedule and time-consuming chores like doing laundry and walking to grocery stores.

I have THREE golden days in Boston, so there's a good chance I'll get to do all of this and more. But we will see!
("golden day" = a true day off. No travel and no shows.)

But as for today, I wanted to keep it chill. Worked on Indianapolis Foodie Finds and walked to Target to get a retinol cream. Stopped in at UNIQLO to see if they had any cool graphic tees (none that appealed to me) and past the Commons to get to Bakey for more of those scrumptious challah dough bagels! They also sell babkas, croissants, actual challah loaves, and coffee/tea.

Back to the hotel for snack and rest and binging TADC until showtime. The evening show went well, though I made a few weird mistakes. This happens once in a while especially with the bass; I get a little of what I call "slide dyslexia" in which I either accidentally reverse a slide position, or hold down the triggers on the bass in the wrong order. It is no different than a pianist hitting the wrong note once in a while I suppose. Anyway as soon as it happens I drop the note so it won't be heard, I doubt anyone noticed.

After the show we had a party sponsored by this theater's promoters/presenters, at a nearby Maggiano's. There was pasta and salad of course, but also tiramisu and cake and other desserts! I had a glass of red wine and chocolate cake :) As usual we talked a lot, and as actors arrived the volume in the room reached impossible decibels, so I left when we had to scream at each other to be heard :p Still, I am glad for the social time and interaction with the actors!

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THURSDAY

Was up at 8, breakfast and excited because today's plan was pan-fried dumplings and a walk to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts!

The dumplings were for a slightly early lunch. I'd seen them on TikTok and figured I'd better show up before actual lunchtime to avoid any rush of young people hitting this now-viral tiny takeout place. It really is just a little hole in the wall called Potluck. They have a hot bar of Chinese prepared dishes, but the dumplings come out separately on a big black wok. The bottoms are toasted and caramelized, and the tops are soft and drizzled with oil, sesame seeds, and chives. The inside is pork with scallions. They were juicy and delicious! The bottoms were so crispy and lovely. You get eight dumplings for $10.

As soon as I sat down to eat an actual CROWD of students piled in. The restaurant owner/cashier had to organize them into a line going out the door! I was right to show up early. I ate pretty quickly and got out of there, but MAN were those dumplings good! Glad I got to try them.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I couldn't help but oogle like a tourist on my way to the museum.

Preparations are underway for the Boston Marathon on Monday.

I stopped at an H&M to look for my Perfect Black Pants but they did not have them, sigh. That delayed me a solid 20 minutes but I still got to the museum around 1pm.

There was so much to see, they've got a gigantic collection spanning two floors and organized by geographic location (American art, European, Asian, African, etc.) I just allowed myself to wander and soak it all in. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to be in the moment.

But I did photograph some of my favorites of the day, and here they are.

( See Some Art Here )

I walked through exhibits for a solid two hours, then decided I was tired and needed to head home. Got an Uber (Yes I know the T would have been cheaper, but not faster, and I wanted time to rest and was willing to pay for the privilege.) Got to the hotel and rested, had a snack, and got ready for the evening show. It went well, and we had an interesting "guest actor" who was an ABC anchor and who appeared during "Belle" as a villager. She even had some lines! From what I heard her lines went well, I am not sure how the acting part went but it should be shown on TV at some point so we'll find out!

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Friday: I have not found a laundromat within a mile and don't want to walk extensively/Uber tomorrow, so I will shell out extra dough for a wash & fold service this once. No other plans as Friday is normally my day of rest. One evening show.

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each and no plans.

Profile

Sherm

February 2015

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Page Summary

taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 1: Final Sightseeing w/Jameson & Thoughts
xkcd_feed - Soniferous Aether
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 3: Jameson, Berklee, Band Hang, and More
hamsterwoman - Watching and reading roundup: Hadestown, Taskmaster, Cinder House, Hugos
xkcd_feed - Husband and Wife
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 2: Shows and Shirts and Jameson Prep
anais_pf in thefridayfive - The Friday Five for 24 April 2026
xkcd_feed - Border Message
mark in dw_maintenance - Search maintenance
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.5: New England Aquarium and A Show
squirmelia - Public transport dashes
xkcd_feed - Types of Board Game
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.0: Boston Marathon 2026, Maruichi Adventures
squirmelia - Mudlarking
squirmelia - Mudlarking 106 - The last mudlark
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 3: Trust Issues, Band Hang, Marathon Prep
wildeabandon - Snippets
squirmelia - Mudlarking 104 - Farewell to Beaumont Stairs
xkcd_feed - Europa Missions
taz_39 - Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 2: Nourishing Tummy and Eyes

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Page generated Apr. 29th, 2026 06:09 am

drums please

Reading

Boston, MA 2026 Week 3 part 1: Final Sightseeing w/Jameson & Thoughts

Soniferous Aether

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 3: Jameson, Berklee, Band Hang, and More

Watching and reading roundup: Hadestown, Taskmaster, Cinder House, Hugos

Husband and Wife

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 2: Shows and Shirts and Jameson Prep

The Friday Five for 24 April 2026

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Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.5: New England Aquarium and A Show

Public transport dashes

Types of Board Game

Boston, MA 2026 Week 2 part 1.0: Boston Marathon 2026, Maruichi Adventures

Mudlarking

Mudlarking 106 - The last mudlark

Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 3: Trust Issues, Band Hang, Marathon Prep

Snippets

Mudlarking 104 - Farewell to Beaumont Stairs

Europa Missions

Boston, MA 2026 Week 1 part 2: Nourishing Tummy and Eyes

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February 2015

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