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 Wednesday and Thursday.

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WEDNESDAY

Up at 7:30. It was cold but sunny out, yay :)
Breakfast and a little Foodie Finds work, then I Ubered to UPS to ship my mutes. You may recall that I used the mute box to send my sister's BATB souvenirs last week, which is why I had to physically visit the store today: I had no packing materials, and the hotel's wifi was down all morning so I couldn't even print the return label (go figure.)

But it's all good. Got that done and did meal planning at the hotel, then walked to Lone Wolf Banh Mi for lunch. I've been here once or twice before, it's one of my absolute favorite Tulsa casual restaurants. They have banh mi of course, but recently they've added rice bowls that look amazing and that's what I went to try today.

This is "The Jam": crab paste fried rice, pickled carrots/daikon, bean sprouts, candied bacon, fried egg, cilantro, peanuts, and kimchi vinaigrette. CLICK HERE to see video of me breaking that gorgeous golden yolk.


It was heavenly. The rice was savory and just a hint of crab flavor, and rich, almost like a risotto. The bacon was the star, it was chewy and hot-sweet, thick cut, absolutely delicious. Of course a fried egg makes everything better! And the pickled veg and the kimchi dressing were acidic and complemented the richness of the bowl so nicely. This was a big portion so I will get to eat leftovers tomorrow, yay!

I did a loop around the block to work off my meal a bit, and a loop around the theater to take a picture of our logo truck.


On the way I found this cute, somewhat scuzzy little snowman sitting on top of a concrete thing.


Back at the hotel I put the leftovers away, took out the trash, chatted with Jameson, and tried to do a run-through of my presentation. The overall timing is under an hour, but the "gigs" section still runs longer than the "portfolio building" section and if possible I'd like them to be more even in length. I'll work on that. After doing the run-through I tried to go back and work on just "portfolio building" but lost steam and focus (public speaking is hard, y'all!). So instead I typed up this post, packed snacks for intermission, and read my book for 30 minutes or so.

The evening show was good, nothing of note except that DAR is leaving us for the next 3ish days to conduct a "Tango Caliente!" concert with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (how cool is that!) We all wished him safe travels after the show. The assistant MDs, Connor (Key 1) and Josh (Key 2) will take turns conducting, with Michael (Key 3) filling in their respective books (this is also why Michael's job as the "swing" key is so impressive...he knows ALL of the keyboard books and they are NOT easy!!!)

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THURSDAY

The morning routine of coffee, slow-cooked Koia-infused oats, and working on Foodie Finds for about an hour. Philadelphia is thankfully almost done. Before lunch I tried a run-through of my masterclass, and for the first time, I got the timing right! The goal was:

- 5 minute introduction
- 15-20 minutes "Gigs and Expectations"
- 15-20 minutes "Gigfishing Tactics"
- 15 minutes Q&A

I went through my whole spiel not looking at the timer, and when I got to Q&A I had the 15 minutes! The first time that's happened. Yay! I'll keep practicing to make sure it's consistent.

It was still cold and very slushy outside, and I had nothing that I wanted to see or do downtown (and there are no thrift stores), so...I kind of wasted a bit of money on an Uber to the nearest mall. Indoors I could walk as much as I liked, and there's the eternal hunt for good black dress pants, Hazbin Hotel merch, and travel-sized scented candles. None of which I found of course. But I got 3 miles of walking just from doing a circuit of each level and exploring some anchor stores. I did pick up a travel vial of By The Fireplace perfume, which has become my favorite (btw if anyone has any other unisex peppery/spicy and NOT sweet scents to recommend I'm all ears.) But other than that I was not a very good consumer.

Back at the hotel a little rest and snack and reading my book. I'd picked up a small box of conversation hearts at the DGX because I'd seen on TikTok that they'd changed the messages to be more..."Millennial." 

And it was true! From left to right/top to bottom: Split Bill, Joint Acc(oun)t, Share Log(i)n, and Buy N Bulk.


Crazy. 

A "fancy" dinner of smoked sturgeon, avocado, sourdough, and beets before walking to the theater. It's bitter cold again so even the short 2-block walk feels brutal. Connor (Key 1) was conducting tonight and did a great job. 

We have been getting more of the pink streamers from Be Our Guest falling onto the pit net in this city. When that happens we like to gather them into piles, or decorate our stands with them, or just throw them out. This week someone found a little rubber duck in the pit. Dane (flute) has built it a nest. 


Oh, and Mariah, my fellow female trombonist and "Phillipa" over at Epic Universe, got to walk through the Beauty and the Beast display at EPCOT's International Festival of the Arts! She sent me a very thorough video of her walkthrough. You can see some of our amazing costumes, and the Beast's makeup station, but so far the best part that everyone's been raving about is the immersive section where it feels like you're actually backstage and watching the show from the side. You can hear our Stage Manager making the lighting cue calls. It's VERY cool! 


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Friday: Laundry, sharing Fayetteville Foodie Finds with the group, posting an advert in some trombone forums for my masterclass for upcoming cities. Working on Philly Foodie Finds, masterclass practice, and one evening show. 

Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each day, no plans.

**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

Up at 7:30 but stayed in warm fluffy bed until 8.
Downstairs to hotel breakfast for coffee since I've packed up all of my coffeemaking gear (I often feel lazy about brewing coffee on travel days.)

The bus wasn't leaving until 11:30 so I packed, ate breakfast, worked on Philly Foodie Finds, and practiced my PowerPoint until it was time to go. The bus ride was graciously uneventful; the highways were mostly-clear and we had no trouble though we did drive more slowly (not a complaint!) When we pulled up to the Tulsa hotel I recognized it right away...I'd stayed here with My Fair Lady in 2024. And then from my hotel room, I was surprised to realize that I can look out the window and see the hotel across the train tracks where we stayed while on tour with Tootsie in 2022!

Tour deja vu is so weird. All of these different pieces of past lives, all of these memories, intersecting and overlapping. I have been to so many places that I have started to forget some of them, while others seem burned into my brain forever.

(A photo from my visit to Tulsa in 2024.)

Also My Dear Readers: if it seems like I'm not doing much/exploring much in a particular city, chances are I've been there before and have done a lot on previous visits. For example, here in Tulsa I've:

• done a tour of Black Wall Street
• seen Boston Avenue Methodist Church
• visited the downtown Deco architecture museum (Decopolis)
• explored parts of Route 66
• spent an afternoon at Gathering Place

...and have eaten at Sisserou's, Lone Wolf Banh Mi, Chimera, Antoinette Baking Co., Inheritance, Yokozuna, and Rose Rock Microcreamery.

I'm probably gonna start back-linking entries where I wrote about these previous visits, so that readers can have context (especially new readers.)

Having been to Tulsa many times, then, I knew that the best grocery option was a Reasor's next to a Whole Foods a few miles outside of town. Initiated my traditional luggage-drop-and-Uber to those stores and got everything I needed.

Two Foodie Side Notes from today's groceries:

1 - Whole Paycheck has started carrying Tsar Nicoulai smoked sturgeon, and it is FANTASTIC. Delicious, mild, meaty, and flavorful. It is not as fatty as salmon but still has lots of Omega-3s and B12, and is lower in sodium than smoked salmon. While it's a bit expensive, I'm going to keep an eye out for it because DANG it is good!

2 - Drizzilicious Mini Rice Cakes. They're SO GOOD! I was skeptical at first but the Birthday Cake ones were addictive. I got the S'mores ones this time and I don't like them as much but they're still awesome and quite low in calories. I want to try all of the flavors!

Anyway, I got back to the hotel and put things away and unpacked. For the last several cities we've been blessed with extended-stay-type hotels which have a big fridge, microwave, kitchen sink, stovetop, dishware, etc. But this time we are in a "normal" hotel. The mini fridge is bigger than most, but there's no microwave. Dishes will have to be done in the bathroom sink (Fun Fact: I always delegate one hotel hand towel and washcloth to be used exclusively for dish drying. Don't want to wipe your face and then use the same towel to dry clean dishes.)

There is a small table near the bathroom and that's where my food setup will be. Instead of the microwave I'll use my Itaki steamer (on the right.)


Nothing to report about the rest of the night, I ate dinner and relaxed.

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TUESDAY

Up a little late (8am.) Jameson had an overnight last night that STARTED at 2am, and he didn't get home until 5! So I did not text him!

Made myself coffee, yogurt, and Banana Creme Koia-infused oatmeal. Incidentally I accidentally bought steel-cut oats last week, but they cook up wonderfully when slow-cooked in the Itaki.


It has "warmed up" to 20°F (-6.66°C) and I felt twitchy from two days stuck inside for the snowstorm, so after breakfast I had a brisk walk to the DGX (that's a Dollar Store that also carries groceries.) I only needed disinfecting wipes and scotch tape. Worked on Foodie Finds, tried to work on my PowerPoint but felt kinda scatterbrained so set it aside for today. Read my book and ate lunch and finally walked to the theater (I am so impatient haha) 

I remember this theater well and knew where to go. But I don't remember these bizarre music stands that look like they're made out of a chunk of grocery cart!! LOL!! 


There was also this vaguely ominous sign in the pit. Um...ok, I won't? :p


Configured my little space to my liking, then found my trunk and dug things out and put things in. Popped by Company Management to steal a piece of candy and to sign a congratulations letter going to Great Gatsby for their opening night on January 31st. Yes, shows send nice cards and letters to each other! We've received our share and sent a bunch too :) 

Sound check was fine, and in fact for once all of us were HAPPY with the sound in the pit! A miracle! And a testament to the acoustics of the hall I'm sure. Our hotel is so close that I could walk back to eat dinner, then our show. I was pleased with how I played, especially after 3 whole days off due to that snowstorm. It wasn't a packed house, but it was an appreciative audience.

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Wednesday: Gonna have to Uber to a UPS to return those mutes, and eating at Lone Wolf Banh Mi. One evening show. 

Thursday: One evening show, no plans as yet. 

**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 up early to do laundry after having more dreams involving cats. What is WITH that this week?

The laundry room here is one of the best I've ever seen in a hotel, with modern washers/dryers that are regularly cleaned. Just noting that because it's incredibly rare. Breakfast, stealing a few bagels from hotel-provided goodies. Checking the weather. It's already below 30°F (-1.11°C) and dropping quickly. I still don't have gloves.

While laundry was in-process I shared Tulsa Foodie Finds with the group and packed things to go into my trunk. We have until end of day Saturday to pack our trunks each week, but with the storm coming I'd rather have everything in there tonight. Started working on Philadelphia Foodie Finds, and after laundry was done and folded I bundled up and walked across the parking lot to Bass Pro Shops. Lucky that there's one so close in this weather!

If you need an Emergency Giant Stuffed Fish, Bass Pro Shops has got you covered. Who DOESN'T want a trout to squeeze.


I found basic gloves, and had hoped to find a black fleece zip-up but no luck. Had fun looking at this and that (they have little toys and old-school candies) then back to the hotel to pack myself dinner. The plan was to go to the theater early to wash my trombones.

The rest of the day was "nothing." Practiced my PowerPoint again until my voice went hoarse. Had a short nap, read my book (I've started Priory of the Orange Tree.) Chatted with Jameson...his dad flew in last night and barely made it ahead of the storm. Hopefully they have a good visit. Jameson's also taking care of a lot of appointments, and found out that he needs to have a root canal, a new crown put in, and new glasses. Good grief. Maybe this is why I don't go to the doctor regularly...I don't even want to know what they'll find haha.

I bundled up and was just stepping outside when it occurred to me that the stage door might not be open this early, as there was no rehearsal today! Lo and behold crew call was not until 6pm, but I at least put my things in the car before going back upstairs to hang out some more and eat dinner. Eventually I got over there, got in, put stuff in my trunk, and just barely had time to wash both trombones. The show went well...the audience was depleted, perhaps because of the coming weather, but they were very enthusiastic and loud cheerers :D

When the show ended we came to the stage door to find this:


Snow was falling quickly, but it was the powdery type. Driving was not hard. I'm not sure what tomorrow will look like but we'll see.

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SATURDAY

Allowed myself to sleep until 8 and then lazed in bed to 8:30. Lovely snowy day :)


I think we got about 5 inches (12.7 cm) which isn't very much. Still, you can see that the roads are not particularly well cleared, and few cars were driving. But it was not snowing, and our matinee was not cancelled.

And so I went about my day as normal for a Saturday. Worked on Philly Foodie Finds, packed snacks for myself for intermission, did meal planning for tomorrow. I decided to check our internal website, and ticket requests for Philly had gone live! I quickly reached out to all of my family members to confirm their dates/times/head counts, and submitted their requests. We are sold out, out, OUT in Philadelphia because it's the closest we'll get to New York. Everyone and their mom's nephew's dog wants to come see the show while we're there, to the point where even reserve seats may not be available. I am glad to get my family's ticket requests in, to give them the best chance possible of being able to see the show.

Just as I was finishing that up, a message in the company chat:


Whoa! I was surprised. It never occurred to me that they might cancel all four weekend shows. But checking the forecast again, I saw that we were due for more ice and sleet, plus another 8-10 inches (20.3 - 25.4 cm) of snow by Sunday.


(photos courtesy misc local weather stations)

The concern here is not only quantity of snow, it's also the frigid temperatures and the wind "sweeping down the plain" (pun completely intended.) Even IF they had infrastructure for the snow (which they seem not to) the snow is light and icy. I've seen 2 "plows" out, one was a dump truck with a shovel attached and the other was a pickup with a shovel and salter being escorted by a cop. They plow, but the snow is so light that it just blows immediately back onto the roads where it is pressed down by cars. Then a layer of sleet on top of that...then another 8 inches of snow on top of that, all with the wind still blowing the snow around.

People are coming from far away to see our show, and I think we could not expect them to drive in unsafe conditions like this. Especially the evening show on Saturday and matinee on Sunday, which is when the storm will be full tilt.

Loading our own trucks is going to pose increased risk and difficulty due to the weather as well. If crew waits until, say, tonight to start loading out, they will have to be out in -5° for several hours, loading heavy equipment with snow falling and icy metal truck ramps. I can completely understand why the decision was made to cancel shows and allow load out to take place right now, before the rest of the storm hits.

Right after we were notified that the shows were cancelled, musicians were given a deadline of 2pm to get to the theater and load our gear out of the pit. I'd left my trombones out and assembled the night before, so I was anxious to get to the theater and didn't wait for my carpool (neither was ready to go yet anyway.) Driving wasn't bad at all, I just had to be careful and slow. I parked right at the theater and had everything put away in minutes, chatting with the keyboardists while we packed up. I helped DAR (our MD) carry some equipment to the freight elevator, and saw Dane (flute) and I think Michael (keys) arriving together about that time. Even in the 10 minutes it took for me to pack up, it started snowing heavily again, illustrating the urgency of loading out quickly.

Back at the hotel I took off my layers and gave the car key to Ryu (violin.) Then...well, honestly I didn't know what to do with myself! Two whole days free, but it's bitter cold outside and no hills in Oklahoma for sledding. Luckily just then my Aunt called and we had a good 40-minute conversation, then I ate lunch and chatted with siblings a bit.

I was making this video to show Jameson the Oklahoma City "snow plow" when a 4-wheeler spun into frame from stage right. Wheee!!


Ate lunch, trolled TikTok, and practiced my PowerPoint until I was hoarse again. I'm doing very well with staying under an hour, but am still overtalking on the "Gig Info" section so that I end up having to rush the "Gigfishing" section. The more I rehearse it the more I can establish what I will consistently say and have better control over that timing.

There was a "band hang" in the hotel lobby in the evening, but I decided to stay in the room because my cousin (who reaches out almost never) was talking at length with me, and I wanted to give him my full attention. He wants to reconnect with my siblings and I, and I am MORE than happy to chat with him more often!! He's super smart, musically talented, and has a lot of great ideas :)

In closing for the night, here are all of the touring show cancellations that I can remember (click on the title to read the blog post about what happened): 

• Ringling, Atlanta GA, 2014: Winter storm/ice storm resulting in two cancelled shows. When this happened, these were the first Ringling show cancellations to happen in the last 20 years!!
• Ringling, Houston TX, 2016: The air conditioning broke down at Reliant Stadium and we had to cancel the show to protect our animals (so they wouldn't overheat in performance.)
• Tootsie, Kansas City MO, 2021: One of our truckers went over his hours and HAD to pull over, our equipment didn't make it to the venue on time, and the show was cancelled.
• My Fair Lady, Jackson MS, 2024: Winter storm/ice storm, resulting in 2 shows cancelled and getting "iced in" at our hotel for two days.

Adding Beauty and the Beast to that list, that's 10 cancelled shows in the 10 years I've been touring. Average of one per year. It's a rare event! Even though we are losing some money this weekend and folks are disappointed, I am grateful that we are safe and warm rather than putting lives at risk over a show.

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SUNDAY

It was dead quiet at 3am, so I woke fully up and looked outside.


You can see that little shiny patch on the road under the street light. It's icy and largely unplowed.
I fell back asleep, and in the morning there was more powdery snow covering the roads.


I heard a plow go by once sometime between 3 and 5am--by "plow" I mean the little white pickup with a shovel attached--and I heard it scraping ineffectively against the icy road. Later on it was in the Bass Pro Shops parking lot, it's engine straining as it pushed snow into little piles. Here it seemed to be more effective.


Went down to hotel breakfast to steal an English muffin and some fruit, and poked my head out a side exit to see the fresh fallen snow.


Back in the room I turned on the weather-news: we'd gotten about 7 inches (17.8 cm.) The news van was riding around downtown showing that the roads were driveable, but covered in a layer of packed snow and therefore slippery and treacherous. There were no actual snow plows or salters to be seen. A singular Bobcat was diligently picking up little scoops of snow with it's adorable little shovel and depositing it in a pile. Doing it's little best.

In other words I'm probably going nowhere today either. BUT, there is a gas station visible from the hotel, so after breakfast I bundled up and took the rental car there to fill it up. Even in an SUV I had to muscle through piled-up snow, and did slide around a bit, but imo that's normal winter stuff. Got the car filled up and returned. Made sure to walk up the stairs for exercise as I had for breakfast. I'm on the 5th floor so that's up and down 10 flights, better than nothing. Worked on Foodie Finds, chatted with Jameson, ate lunch, and more PowerPoint rehearsal. 

Kind of wash, rinse, repeat, plus reading my book, watching Vox Machina, drinking tea, and eating dinner. After dinner I packed some more, but that was pretty much it. A boring day, but I'm grateful to enjoy this boredom. And grateful to be warm and safe while it's bitter cold outside, with nothing to worry about except making sure I'm on the company bus on time tomorrow morning. Often I look around at my circumstances and feel like a QUEEN, with how much I DON'T have to shoulder. 

Especially with the state of things, lately. 
I like to keep my journal positive, and a sort of "safe space," so I will only say this. 
If you have an ounce of empathy and self-preservation, know that we stand together. 
And if you don't, well...I hope that you've made peace with the fact that your arguments won't hold water in front of god OR the devil. 

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Monday: A short bus ride to Tulsa. It will be bitter cold so groceries and unpacking, that's all. 

Tuesday: Opening night in Tulsa. 

**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

Up early, breakfast and working on Foodie Finds, then off to Teszeract Salon for a haircut! I have been here once before with Tootsie in 2022 and they did an excellent job on my hair.

Today was no different :) Picture in the salon right after she finished, and in the car with nicer lighting.


Can't they move their business to Florida so I can look this good year-round?? Lol.

The big talk at the salon (and everywhere in OKC right now) is a huge winter storm moving in and predicted to hit between Friday and Saturday. Current snowfall predictions are around 8-12" (20-30 cm) and temps are supposed to drop to 10°F or less (-12°C) plus windchill. Being from Pennsylvania, I have been through weather like this before, but that was a very long time ago. Still, I am trying to think ahead about all that I might need to have ready in the hotel room in case we get snowed in. This level of snowfall is unusual in Oklahoma and a lot of businesses may shut down.

Anyway, today was the last nice day before the storm hits. Tomorrow will be cloudy and colder, and Friday will start to look miserable. I wonder if any of our shows will be cancelled?

Back at the hotel my new carbon fiber Butler mutes had come in.


Each one is a cup mute, but the cup can be removed to make each one a straight mute. I need that "convertible" function while on tour both to save space and make transitions between numbers easier. Just as I had unpacked them, Ryu and Sarah texted to say they needed the rental car. I gave them the key, then decided that since I won't have the car I'll pack a dinner and walk to the theater early to try out the new mutes. If I'm comfortable with them I'll use them in the show tonight.

Meanwhile I worked on finishing my masterclass PowerPoint, and even tried timing some of the sections. Glad I did, because it made me aware of how I tend to go into sub-stories instead of sticking to the bullet points on each slide. Meanwhile Jameson had been doing some auditions for Disney and messaged to tell me about them. It sounded like fun (for him...probably nerve wracking for the auditionees!)

An hour or two before the show I got bundled up and walked to the theater to try my new mutes. They were good-in-practice so I did decide to use them in the show...and that turned out to be a mistake. The tenor trombone mute literally cracked in half when I put it in the first time, I had to grab some tape and put it back together. For what I paid for these mutes that is inexcusable. And the bass mute was mostly-fine, but for whatever reason I could not get low D to come out at all during the show while it was in :( I think in the practice session I hadn't played it as quietly as I do for the show, and at low volume it seems it doesn't want to come out. Welp. Hopefully they'll let me return them because these are definitely not worth what I paid.

Other than that the show went just fine, and it was National Swing Day so we had a special little speech after the bows, and Michael (our Key 3 and therefore our "swing" keyboardist) got to go up on stage and take a bow! That was awesome :D

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THURSDAY

Woke up early, had breakfast, and finished Fayetteville Foodie Finds. Got a notification to renew my PreCheck so did that ($70.) Received a bunch of tax forms from a student loan, a 1099 employer, and my Epic Universe employer, and downloaded those. Filled out a Return Request form for the mutes and received apologies and a promise of a shipping label.

While the tour was in Dallas there had been an internal BATB merch sale, and I'd taken that opportunity to buy my sister's kids a bunch of souvenirs for when I see them again. I've since found out that they won't be coming to a show until October, and I don't want their gifts to get damaged riding around in my tour trunk for nearly a full year. I brought them all back to the hotel last night and packed them in the box from the mutes (it'll probably be a while before the return is authorized and I can find another box then.) Bundled up and walked to the nearest UPS store, sending it all to Florida, and from there I'll ship it directly to my sister on the April layoff.

On the walk back I remembered that the musician's union Zoom meeting was today. Shoot! I barely made it back to the hotel in time. Nothing important happened, but you never know so I like to attend every meeting that I can. The meeting went for an hour. Afterward I ate lunch, chatted with Jameson a bit, and checked on an unimportant amazon order that is running late. Practiced talking through my PowerPoint again, trying to hit my time stamps for each section, and wore out my voice doing that. Chilled with some anime.

Carpooled to the theater with Ryu. It is cloudy and quickly getting colder. The storm is coming, and so far the snowfall estimates have only been going UP.

The evening show was good; Be Our Guest got a partial standing-O, which we haven't had in a bit! There are some things that I consistently play "not to my liking," and tomorrow I hope to come in early to workshop those a bit, and to give the trombones a bath.

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Friday: One evening show. The temp is supposed to drop drastically and the snow/sleet will begin, so I'm probably not going anywhere unless there's something I need to weather the storm. If any of our shows will be cancelled for Saturday, we will find out today.

Saturday: Big ol' snowstorm. The forecast calls for bitter cold and between 10-13" of snow as of now. It's supposed to be a 2-show day but we'll see what happens.

Sunday: Two-show day, and packing for Tulsa which should be a short bus ride on Monday.

**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

I was awake earlier than needed and fretting a bit about getting to the airport. There was a Martin Luther King Day parade downtown starting at 10am, and they were expecting 300,000 people to show up!! In the early morning hours I could hear dump trucks being moved into position for road closures.

Fortunately the street by our hotel was not blocked off, but the parade was only a block away. I decided to get to the airport WAY too early, just to get out of the downtown area before the festivities started. After all, I could stare at my phone at the airport just as easily as in my hotel room. It was a very normal travel day, and a short flight to OKC. Did my usual drop-and-go for groceries, then unpacked as usual.

I thought you might like to see my "setup," though there's truly not much to it. Starting with my "coffee station." There is free coffee in most hotel lobbies, but it's not always that good + I'm not always in a mood to trek five flights down in my jammies and fight the breakfast crowd. I also really dislike most in-room hotel coffee pots, as they are RARELY clean. Therefore I have a collapsible hot water kettle and an AeroPress for tea and coffee.


Currently I am not in a cooking mood while on tour. At home I'm happy to cook for Jameson and I, but when it's just me it feels kinda like a wasted effort. Maybe that will change. But for now it means that I put most of my pantry food directly on the counter next to the fridge, so I can see what I have and assemble meals quickly. I put out a set of dishes, and my food scale. This time my tupperware containers are on the other side of the fridge where I can grab them easily for packing lunches.


Fridge. This is a typical one-week supply for me. It's mostly protein for now (Greek yogurt, chicken, tofu, fish, Koia.) There are berries and bananas in the freezer. With veggies, I have learned to get ONE fridge veggie such as lettuce or a cucumber, and wait overnight to see how the fridge will treat it. If the fridge doesn't freeze and ruin my fresh produce, I pick up more the next day. I've had too many good vegetables ruined by overzealous refrigerators.


And here's how I lay out my clothes: I don't :p Other than laying out my pit blacks for opening night, there's no reason to drag everything to drawers or closets. I'd just have to run around gathering it all again in a few days. In the same way that I leave my pantry items on the counter so I can gauge what I have, I leave the clothing out like this so I can gauge when I'm going to have to do laundry as the week goes on.


You don't need to see the bathroom, I lay out toiletries the same way as anyone would whether staying for a night or a week.
If there weren't a microwave, I would also make a spot for my Itaki cooker somewhere (there are some hotels coming up where it'll be needed again.)

Some people enjoy making their hotel room more like a home, and that means putting their clothes away and putting food in the pantry, cooking up meals on the stovetop, utilizing all of that great cabinet and storage space. But as for me, after years of living in hotels, I've learned that if I put things away I'll either forget what I have and overbuy, or leave things behind because I'd shoved them into a cabinet/closet somewhere and forgot about them. But that's just me, everyone is different.

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TUESDAY

Slept pretty poorly...I think because it's so quiet! Not only is my room not facing a road, it's also in an isolated corner of the hotel. I don't have ANY neighbors!

Breakfast, working on Foodie Finds, sending Philly ticket updates to family. I mostly finished my masterclass PowerPoint too, and emailed the coordinator to ask if he still wants me to attend the one at Delaware University in February. In the afternoon Ryu (violin) came to give me the car keys because both she and Sarah (French horn) wanted to walk to the venue, and I wanted to get there early. This works out for today, but I hope not to get stuck with the rental car all week so I can walk a few times too!

As I got ready for the show I kept hearing whistles and cheering and honking outside. Finally cracked my shades and saw an anti-ICE protest happening a few blocks away. Good on 'em.


I texted Jameson to tell him about it, and he asked, "ICE aren't staying at your hotel, are they?"
"I don't think so," I replied, "but if I find out they are imma grab my pots and pans and be over on that corner in a minute."

Do I believe that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay here with impunity? No.
Do I believe that it's inherently wrong and sickening to empower thugs to go around threatening People Of Color OR People In General, a LOT of whom are American citizens, on the chance that they might be illegal immigrants? YES. 

Anyway, a little before 3:30pm I found the rental car and drove to the venue, first to the stage door to grab a parking pass and then to the parking lot which is 2 blocks over. Easy peasy. I vaguely remember this venue, but the basement/pit area is like a maze and not the type of place to stick in your brain. 

Our pit setup before everyone had arrived. We are all in a sort of arch around DAR's podium. Which is great! But they decided not to give me Plexi. Which *I* don't mind, but I knew for sure that someone would find me too loud without it. 


And Lo, partway through sound check a request was made, and I was enclosed in Plexi to protect the woodwinds :) 


Having performed in a zillion different environments--outdoors, indoors, on stage, in pits, in arenas, in practice rooms, parking garages, etc.--as long as there is space for my slide to move, I could truly care less about the acoustics. I can adjust for just about anything. But if putting some shields up around me will help someone else, then by all means, box me up! Lol :p  

The evening show was good, the audience seemed enthusiastic. I made a few weirdo mistakes (mostly intonation due to the new space) but am optimistic that I will do a better job tomorrow.

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Wednesday: Haircut in the morning and maybe a little local exploration after that. One evening show. My new mutes are supposed to arrive so I hope to test them out either today or Thursday.

Thursday: Musician's Union virtual meeting in the afternoon and one show in the evening.