Tootsie Yr2: Fort Myers, FL part 1
Plant update!
Jameson sent some more pictures on Sunday night.
The vanilla orchid has decided to go ahead and bloom without me T_T
That bud on the left there has bloomed already, which means the others are right behind it.
I told Jameson that if he remembers, he should try to stick his head out there to catch it blooming on Monday morning.
Vanilla flowers only bloom for one day, for a few hours, and then they wilt and die.
And this morning to my surprise, he sent another picture.
Turns out I was right, it DID bloom. And he got to see it!
He said he couldn't smell it (allergies) but I think the smell would have been faint anyway.
Vanilla orchids cannot pollinate themselves, although each flower does have pollen and a stamen.
And there is only one specific bee species on the planet capable of pollinating vanilla.
That, and the years-long process of curing the beans, is why vanilla is so dang expensive.
Here's a diagram of manual vanilla pollination, if you're interested. You literally have to rip the flower open.
I wasn't going to ask Jameson to do this.
Orchid bees do live in Florida, so there is a small possibility that one could have bumbled by and pollinated the flower.
But I won't hang my hat on it.
It's enough that we got flowers at all, after two years of waiting! That's incredible!
The bananas are looking good, they are noticeably larger anyway.
I badly wish that it would rain.
I sent Jameson some money for the water bill, along with another request to dump a bucket of water at the base of the tree.
Not to count my bananas before they're grown, but so far I want to make banana chips and banana ice cream for sure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I got two hours of sleep last night I'd be surprised.
It's been difficult sleeping in this hotel anyway, but knowing I had to be up around 5am made falling asleep much harder!
Thankfully it was a direct flight to Fort Myers, but it was a pretty bumpy one so not fun for motion sick, panic-prone me.
But everything was ultimately fine, except my stupid nerves.
We got to the hotel WAY before 3pm so a lot of our rooms weren't clean yet, and many of us ended up waiting around.
After a while I walked to Jing Du Buffet because I love me a good China Buffet!
I "only" got these two plates, but the fun of a buffet for me is not in "getting my money's worth" by cramming quantities of food down my gullet, but rather in getting to eat like twenty different things at one time. This was a really good buffet within easy walking distance and it's going to be hard not to go back before the end of our week here.
When I got back rooms still weren't ready so I air-tromboned my audition music in the lobby and chatted with other cast and crew.
We eventually got keys around 3pm, and let me tell you guys something: the snooty, aesthetic-obsessed, 4-star Angad Arts hotel in St. Louis could learn something about cleanliness and functionality from humble old Crowne Plaza.
For the first time in a month--a MONTH!--I won't have to use an ironing board as a table.
There isn't dust pouring out of filthy air vents, or layers of human hair in the carpet, because someone here is ACTUALLY doing cleaning and maintenance. Bonus, the fridge works AND it's big. Gosh I'm so happy!
If there's one thing I've learned to loathe on tour, it's pretentious overpriced hotels that put aesthetics before basic human needs.
The Angad Arts offered color-themed rooms and modern art sculptures on the nightstands so that guests could "manifest an emotion" during their stay.
OMG you f*ckers, how about manifesting A TABLE.
TL;DR I appreciated this plain, functional hotel room very much!
I did my usual grocery shopping and found a few fun items, like sweet potato burgers and a blueberry lavender yogurt.
I'm taking a break from foodie explorations this week, so made sure to stock up on tasty healthy things :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I felt simultaneously exhausted but well-rested if that makes any sense. Time changes and stress will do that.
I got a lovely confirmation email from the person who is letting me use a practice room in their building on Wednesday.
It'll be nice to get the recording over with and submit the audition! Excited and nervous about that :)
After breakfast I walked to Target because my deodorant broke and I'm at the end of my face wash too.
Partway there I got one of my "feelings" that I get...if you're an LJ Friend you might know what I'm referring to, it's embarrassing to explain but essentially it's something that occasionally "helps" me to find wildlife. Anyway I followed it off the sidewalk and into some bushes behind a shopping plaza, and found a mother Muscovy duck sitting on a crapload of eggs.
Click to viewIf you can't see the video, here are photos.
The duck:
The eggs:
I had any ability to candle these eggs, I probably would have done so and taken some to eat. Ah well.
It was cool to find her, although I felt bad that she got up and walked away from her eggs because of my interference (that said I was there for less than 30 seconds + Muscovy ducks are invasive anyway).
The theatre is about two miles away, which sounds close enough to walk but not in 92F hot humid rainy Florida weather in concert clothing. So we have rental cars, and the ride is only about 5 minutes. This theatre is a performing arts building on a college campus. It's rather small, but that's good because our show does better in smaller theatres.
Opening night went well, nothing to report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I had breakfast and did laundry, then nervously killed time before my audition recording at 1pm.
Kelly (the person running the studio) was awesome, cheerful and friendly and accommodating for what I was trying to do today.
She gave me this dance studio, which was perfect. Just a mid-sized room where I wouldn't be disturbed for an hour or two.
Of course setting up and recording took way longer than I expected, so I did use the whole allotted time.
Afterward I felt tense and flustered, so decided to volunteer for an errand for Molly (Stage Manager) who wanted local honey.
I know exactly where to find it: Florida citrus stalls. They ALWAYS have some, and in travel sizes too.
I got it at Sun Harvest Citrus. Normally I would have taken lots of photos, but me being flustered and it being very crowded in there, I wasn't focused enough to do it. Suffice to say they had piles and piles of citrus fruit, a fruit sample bar, a juice squeezing station where they were literally pressing orange, grapefruit, lemon, and other juices fresh for sale, and shelves full of touristy stuff like honey, jams, nick-knacks, and baked goods. They also sold ice cream made with the pressed juices and fruits.
I got her three sample-sized types of local honey (it was for allergies) and a tiny jar of coconut spread for myself (non-dairy, YES)
I started editing my videos but before I knew it it was showtime.
I felt impatient as we played the show, wanting to edit my clips and get it over with!
The pros of a recorded audition are that you can send your best takes; the cons are that making and editing those takes can take hours.
The pros of an in-person audition are that you get to meet people in-person, and the audition is over in minutes.
The cons are that you only get one shot in that short time, and it may not be your best shot.
No matter which type of audition I take, unless I did exceptionally well I tend to feel down on myself afterward, and this time was no exception.
But as I am always saying to Jameson, we can only do our best, and try, on any given day. So I have to accept that and be satisfied with that.
Jameson's audition was in-person, and he says it went well. I'm very happy for him! Like me, he struggles with self-worth, so the fact that he completed the audition AND it was a positive experience is a big win.
------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Thursday morning and I've uploaded my audition videos, and have already gotten confirmation that they were received.
Phew! Glad that's over with! Now to await results. I do not have my hopes up for a variety of reasons, but regardless I'm still grateful to have had the opportunity.
Today we will have two shows, then on Friday I'm looking forward to a mostly free day.
I have no plans here in Fort Myers other than to decompress a little; the past several cities have been activity-packed, and I could use a little bit of time to just be present.