(no subject)
Aaah.
I woke up this morning with the train gently rocking. They were still attaching the cars, but seems like we got a good driver this time…wasn’t jerky at all.
I climbed down from my bunk and lifted the shade on the window, and there was a beautiful lake surrounded by trees. No houses to be seen. I put the coffee on, made an egg and some toast, and enjoyed breakfast watching the scenery roll by.
One of the very best things about this job.
I'm sorry to keep raving about the circus, but I love it and it's still sinking in that it's REAL.
I love this work so much, it's not work.
Someone has handed me the most heartbreakingly beautiful gift, and I can never deserve it.
The bottom line is, I wish I could bring EVERYBODY with me!!
Here are some links to my last few ‘public’ blog posts:
Dayton Run
Dayton, OH
Emergency Music
Fun Random Stuff
Albany, NY
I’ve been here about a month and it’s going great. Sometimes we are in a boring city with nothing to do, like Springfield, OH two weeks ago. The show took place in Dayton, but the train was parked in Springfield and though I walked for probably about 10 miles throughout the city, I found not a stinking thing to do. No internet, no phone service even. And they call it a city? Psh.
The point, though, is that I have the freedom to discover new places every week, and it’s wonderful :)
Albany was way more fun. There were several great bars and pizza places downtown, and a Starbucks nearby so I could check my email. I walked 2 miles to a health food store and had fun looking at all the fancy imported cheeses, candies, and dried goods that I couldn’t afford. I did end up getting apple butter, bread, chocolate chips, nuts, and soup…these are all things I would’ve picked up at a Trader Joe’s anyway.
I’m not ‘into’ organic/vegan/environmentally-friendly things per se. But my mom used to love health food stores, and so do I. I remember getting carob chips with her, and browsing the organic spice section while she shopped for things to use for baking (she was a professional baker near the end of her life). Even as a child I remember she wanted me to eat healthy and went out of her way to prepare fresh things whenever possible. So perhaps that’s why even today I can spend hours in health food stores :)
Now that I can actually afford to do it, I’ve decided to pick up one locally-made food in each new place. Specifically, I’m trying to get bread from local bakeries in the towns/cities we pass through. Bread is usually reasonably priced, and I go through a small loaf roughly every two weeks, and it can be frozen or shared. It’s just a fun project for me :)
Yes, one of the better parts of this job is the down time. We’re scheduled to arrive in Columbus, OH tomorrow evening, and we don’t have a show on Wednesday either, so that’s a whole day and a half to explore. I already know there’s a Whole Foods, and we’re within 3 miles of the venue again so I’ll probably walk there. At some point, probably next year, I’ll bring a bike to cut down on travel time. This job is fantastic, I love it…I know I’ve said it umpteen times already, but it’s still sinking in that this is REAL and I’m being paid for it! As a musician…it’s unreal.
There are of course downsides to the circus too. I hate it when people get hurt. So far it’s the hardest part of the job. I’ve heard stories of escaped animals that have to be put down, people who have lost limbs or been burned badly, horses that have broken their legs in the middle of the ring and had to be put down right there because they couldn’t be moved. It would be so hard to have to watch this, especially as a musician or a clown, and continue playing or performing. I know it’s bound to happen, and it makes me sad and apprehensive. But that’s the gig.
I’ve started making more friends lately, mostly from the sound and floor crews. Chris, the head of the sound dept. here, seems to have taken an interest in me. Last week I went to his stateroom for dinner (pork chops and rice) and we chilled on the vestibule after that. But since then he’s texted me almost every day, and I’ve recently found that he broke up with his girlfriend not a week ago. Today he wanted to eat breakfast and watch cartoons together. But I am NOBODY’S rebound. Maybe he just wants to be friends, but I declined his invite because I don’t want him getting any ideas. I just friggin’ got here. :P
A few days ago, a 50-something dude from Virginia, and a trombonist no less, asked about getting a job with the circus. He wanted to know how much I’m paid, benefits, etc. I gave a pretty harsh response, not only because he’s asking an inappropriate question AND he basically wants MY job, but also because the way he worded it made it sound like he wanted to depend on getting a job here. He said something like, “Ever since you joined the circus, I’ve been thinking more and more about doing it too! Do you think it’s financially feasible to take this job? I don’t want to drop everything and then find out it can’t support my family”.
Jesus Christ, dude, there isn’t even a job available right now.
I wrote back pretty harshly saying as much…something like, “We’re paid Union scale, that’s all I can say. Also, you realize you’re asking after MY job. Are you planning to kill me off?”
To which he said, “Well, YOU applied when there weren’t any openings!”
To which I replied, “Then what are you waiting for? Why do you need to know the pay rate to apply? Why are you worried about dropping everything for the circus when there’s nothing available anyway? If you’re seriously considering it, send an application regardless of the pay and then decide IF they ever offer you anything!!”
Argh. Dude is obviously having a mid-life crisis. I HATE that shit…from people my own age, too. WHY are you asking ME whether you should apply? That’s the one question I can’t answer! I can tell you all about the different types of jobs, what it’s like to be on the road, the pros and cons. But I can’t send in the application for you. People have no guts. Grrr.
ANYWAY, goodness, rant over. You’ll see a post in my public blog on this topic too, because it’s become a sore subject with me what with so many people asking me about work.
The train’s moving at a good clip now…time to go out on the vestibule and take pictures!
I woke up this morning with the train gently rocking. They were still attaching the cars, but seems like we got a good driver this time…wasn’t jerky at all.
I climbed down from my bunk and lifted the shade on the window, and there was a beautiful lake surrounded by trees. No houses to be seen. I put the coffee on, made an egg and some toast, and enjoyed breakfast watching the scenery roll by.
One of the very best things about this job.
I'm sorry to keep raving about the circus, but I love it and it's still sinking in that it's REAL.
I love this work so much, it's not work.
Someone has handed me the most heartbreakingly beautiful gift, and I can never deserve it.
The bottom line is, I wish I could bring EVERYBODY with me!!
Here are some links to my last few ‘public’ blog posts:
Dayton Run
Dayton, OH
Emergency Music
Fun Random Stuff
Albany, NY
I’ve been here about a month and it’s going great. Sometimes we are in a boring city with nothing to do, like Springfield, OH two weeks ago. The show took place in Dayton, but the train was parked in Springfield and though I walked for probably about 10 miles throughout the city, I found not a stinking thing to do. No internet, no phone service even. And they call it a city? Psh.
The point, though, is that I have the freedom to discover new places every week, and it’s wonderful :)
Albany was way more fun. There were several great bars and pizza places downtown, and a Starbucks nearby so I could check my email. I walked 2 miles to a health food store and had fun looking at all the fancy imported cheeses, candies, and dried goods that I couldn’t afford. I did end up getting apple butter, bread, chocolate chips, nuts, and soup…these are all things I would’ve picked up at a Trader Joe’s anyway.
I’m not ‘into’ organic/vegan/environmentally-friendly things per se. But my mom used to love health food stores, and so do I. I remember getting carob chips with her, and browsing the organic spice section while she shopped for things to use for baking (she was a professional baker near the end of her life). Even as a child I remember she wanted me to eat healthy and went out of her way to prepare fresh things whenever possible. So perhaps that’s why even today I can spend hours in health food stores :)
Now that I can actually afford to do it, I’ve decided to pick up one locally-made food in each new place. Specifically, I’m trying to get bread from local bakeries in the towns/cities we pass through. Bread is usually reasonably priced, and I go through a small loaf roughly every two weeks, and it can be frozen or shared. It’s just a fun project for me :)
Yes, one of the better parts of this job is the down time. We’re scheduled to arrive in Columbus, OH tomorrow evening, and we don’t have a show on Wednesday either, so that’s a whole day and a half to explore. I already know there’s a Whole Foods, and we’re within 3 miles of the venue again so I’ll probably walk there. At some point, probably next year, I’ll bring a bike to cut down on travel time. This job is fantastic, I love it…I know I’ve said it umpteen times already, but it’s still sinking in that this is REAL and I’m being paid for it! As a musician…it’s unreal.
There are of course downsides to the circus too. I hate it when people get hurt. So far it’s the hardest part of the job. I’ve heard stories of escaped animals that have to be put down, people who have lost limbs or been burned badly, horses that have broken their legs in the middle of the ring and had to be put down right there because they couldn’t be moved. It would be so hard to have to watch this, especially as a musician or a clown, and continue playing or performing. I know it’s bound to happen, and it makes me sad and apprehensive. But that’s the gig.
I’ve started making more friends lately, mostly from the sound and floor crews. Chris, the head of the sound dept. here, seems to have taken an interest in me. Last week I went to his stateroom for dinner (pork chops and rice) and we chilled on the vestibule after that. But since then he’s texted me almost every day, and I’ve recently found that he broke up with his girlfriend not a week ago. Today he wanted to eat breakfast and watch cartoons together. But I am NOBODY’S rebound. Maybe he just wants to be friends, but I declined his invite because I don’t want him getting any ideas. I just friggin’ got here. :P
A few days ago, a 50-something dude from Virginia, and a trombonist no less, asked about getting a job with the circus. He wanted to know how much I’m paid, benefits, etc. I gave a pretty harsh response, not only because he’s asking an inappropriate question AND he basically wants MY job, but also because the way he worded it made it sound like he wanted to depend on getting a job here. He said something like, “Ever since you joined the circus, I’ve been thinking more and more about doing it too! Do you think it’s financially feasible to take this job? I don’t want to drop everything and then find out it can’t support my family”.
Jesus Christ, dude, there isn’t even a job available right now.
I wrote back pretty harshly saying as much…something like, “We’re paid Union scale, that’s all I can say. Also, you realize you’re asking after MY job. Are you planning to kill me off?”
To which he said, “Well, YOU applied when there weren’t any openings!”
To which I replied, “Then what are you waiting for? Why do you need to know the pay rate to apply? Why are you worried about dropping everything for the circus when there’s nothing available anyway? If you’re seriously considering it, send an application regardless of the pay and then decide IF they ever offer you anything!!”
Argh. Dude is obviously having a mid-life crisis. I HATE that shit…from people my own age, too. WHY are you asking ME whether you should apply? That’s the one question I can’t answer! I can tell you all about the different types of jobs, what it’s like to be on the road, the pros and cons. But I can’t send in the application for you. People have no guts. Grrr.
ANYWAY, goodness, rant over. You’ll see a post in my public blog on this topic too, because it’s become a sore subject with me what with so many people asking me about work.
The train’s moving at a good clip now…time to go out on the vestibule and take pictures!