Tootsie Yr2: Fort Worth, TX part 2
Thursday morning, kidnapped to the Zoo!
My friend Jessi came to fetch me around 9:45, and we went straight to her office at the Outreach building.
Jessi started out as an Outreach employee of some sort, before moving up to oversee two other Outreach departments besides her own (so now I think her title is Outreach Coordinator).
There were hundreds of kids in brightly colored shirts, carrying bagged lunches, unloading from rows and rows of buses.
I was glad I'd brought my mask. Germy little things :P
Jessi showed me the Zoo's daycare area (they are a certified daycare location) and some of the outreach animals that hang out in the hallway and lobby area, mostly reptiles.
Outreach animals are selected based on their temperament (have to be calm, good with being handled/held, etc), and often animals that cannot be returned to the wild or kept in a feral state are used for outreach and education.
Next she brought me back to the work area, which looked and smelled familiar from my days volunteering at misc wildife rehab centers.
Rock-shaped food dishes in the sink, containers of crickets, feathers here and there, rags and towels and food prep equipment.
Among all of these things was a box containing five-or-so millipedes, who had great names like Milleficent, Millie Vanilli, etc.
Jessi let me hold one!
Next was ferrets and an armadillo. The ferrets were very cuddly but also very squirmy and active, and I didn't keep the greatest grip on mine but at least he didn't escape (no pictures allowed sadly). The armadillo had just woken up and wasn't in the mood for being handled, so that was a quick pet and then back under the blankets for him :)
Then I got to visit some of the outreach raptors, a pygmy falcon and a frogmouth bird of some kind, and a barn owl!
The frogmouth:
Jessi handling the beautiful barn owl:
He is pretty old and can't see or hear very well, but he is patient and gentle with a good temperament, so he is a good outreach animal.
After this video Jessi let me stroke his back. His feathers were so soft, and such gorgeous camouflage.
Jessi showed me the juvenile alligator enclosure, which is a lot nicer than others I've seen.
There were heat lamps, a grassy area and a rocky area, and a pool for the alligators to use throughout the day.
The two small alligators inside were basking under the heat lamps as Jessi described how they've been target-trained to go to specific areas of the enclosure for veterinary treatment or to receive food, and how they can identify their target colors and follow basic commands. I had no idea that alligators were so intelligent!
Next were a few small aquarium enclosures that housed misc insects and reptiles like tarantulas, snakes, and beetles. Some of the enclosures were empty because outreach classes had already started this morning and the animals were being presented, or they were being fed/cared for in other parts of the building.
Jessi dug around in an aquarium that seemed full of dirt, and came up with a big fat white grub!
It's a rhinoceros beetle grub, and the Zoo hopes to breed them, but first they have to make sure they can raise the grubs to adulthood.
I've never seen a grub this big! It was not slimy at all, and had a harder skin/shell than I was expecting, covered in tiny little bristle-hairs.
Still shot:
After this Jessi had to get back to work, so she walked me out to the guest area and we hugged and parted ways.
I am so, so blessed to have friends who work directly with animals, who are willing to share their amazing work with me!
I took Jessi's advice and went to the elephant enclosure first, because she said the new baby elephant would probably be out and about.
Sure enough:
His name is Travis, which is controversial because up until now all of the elephants born at the Zoo have had B-names (Belle, Bluebonnet, Brazos, etc). Honestly who cares, call him CUTE!
I wandered the entire zoo and saw many wonderful animals.
This rhino (Asha) enjoying her cool pool:
Giraffes and an ostrich in the Safari area:
A baboon looking imposing:
A massive Aldabra giant tortoise:
Big Komodo dragon, longer than I am tall (I'm 65 inches/5 foot 5 and these can get up to 108 inches/9 feet long!):
The reptile house was packed with screaming children--I have left all of the audio in the videos, to give you some free birth control--but I tolerated it and waited my turn to see all the beautiful snakes and herps. Many of them were hiding (kids were POUNDING on the glass and generally being really poorly behaved) but I did get pics of some (did not document what types they were unfortunately)
*Blep blep*
After the reptile house I ate my packed lunch in a "picnic outpost", which was nice and quiet because it was above street level and you had to exert a few seconds of EFFORT to reach it, oh NOES, so of course it was empty. It had it's own bathroom AND wall outlets! I let my phone recover from all the animal photos and ate tuna, an apple, sourdough bread, baru nuts, Olyra biscuits, and passionfruit agua fresca (really tasty!).
As I was finishing up Jessi texted to ask where I was, so I went down to street level to meet her.
She stared into my eyes and said, "BABY SWANS!" before tugging me into the aviary.
Baby swans! They were just born two days ago.
One of them was riding on mom's back, it was ADORABLE!
We walked through the rest of the aviary, chit-chatting while Jessi showed me her favorite birds.
I'm always impressed by the massive harpy eagles, but this time he was far in the back of his aviary taking a nap.
The huge vultures are impressive too. This guy was right near the mesh and was the size of a medium dog sitting up.
Jessi says that if a stray cat, racoon, or squirrel accidentally enters any of the raptor enclosures, that's pretty much "it" for them!
On the way out I passed this Australian ground turkey staring unabashedly:
We hugged again, this time for good, and Jessi said, "See you down the road!" in traditional circus fashion because "goodbye" is too permanent :) It was so great to see her and spend time with her! And to be spoiled with visiting all of her amazing animals!
----------------------------------------------------------
Just a few minutes later Adria, my friend who works with elephants, texted to ask where I was.
I walked over to the elephant area to meet her, and she took me "backstage" to the elephant barn where I met several of her coworkers.
They were all women, and all of them work directly with the zoo's male and female elephants and rhinos.
I was not allowed to share any "behind-the-scenes" footage at this zoo; all media must be posted from guest-perspective here.
HOWEVER, if you are in my Friends List here on LJ, I've made a Friends Only post where you can see a few short videos of my interactions with these animals today. Please DO NOT download or reshare these videos, or I will have to take them down (the videos are access-restricted as it is, but you never know.)
I was not allowed to take pictures of the barn itself...typical protocol, because anything with "cages" or "restraints" or "bars" is bad PR despite the fact that all of it is in place entirely for animal protection and care. It's unfortunate, because elephant barns are really amazing! They are huge and look like airplane hangars or something out of Jurassic Park. There were spacious rooms filled with soft sand and straw, for when the weather is bad, so the elephants can bed down comfortably. There were more narrow pens for when these 4-ton animals need to be still for blood draws or basic veterinary check-ups. And there were pens that led directly to the big outdoor spaces, where the elephants have their own pool (Adria showed me the massive filtration system which cycles through 400,000 gallons of water a day!!) and a big yard with sand, trees, mud pits, and lots of enrichment items.
From the barn we went to one of these corridors to the outside, and one of the keepers called for Asha, the female rhino that I had seen chilling in her pool earlier. As she passed Asha some treats, she described Asha's sassy personality, and pointed out some of her physical features like her surprisingly long teeth and her prehensile nose-tip which can act like a finger for picking objects off the ground. Asha snorted and snuffled a few times to prove her sassy demeanor, then we moved on to visit the male rhino, Parvesh.
Parvesh was a derpy dude, and came running over covered in mud and looking like he'd been having a fine old time!
Fort Worth Zoo does not allow guests to touch their large mammals, so I watched as Adria and her coworker gave Parvesh pets and treats.
How cool to be up close to these amazing rhinos!
Finally it was time for my favorite animals: the elephants!
First we visited Romeo, a former circus elephant who has his own enclosure.
His tusks were huge!
One of them had started to split a few years ago, and Adria said they'd cut it off before it could cause him pain.
The tusk-piece was kept in the elephant keepers' office area, where I was able to hold it.
It was about the size of a log for firewood, and weighed about 20 pounds!
Next was little Travis, the newest addition to the Fort Worth Zoo's elephant herd.
The little guy is only a few months old, and still has his baby fuzz. Daww!
He's also still uncoordinated as he gets used to all of his limbs and explores the limits of his body.
An elephant's trunk has more muscles than the entire human body! It can take a while to learn to coordinate all of that!
His mother, Angel, was posing and waggling her head and tongue for treats, but I could barely take my eyes off the adorable fuzzball baby!
Last I got to visit Brazos with his mother, Bluebonnet.
Brazos is about 18 months old, so he is a big boy with an adorable chubby baby face!
He is about as tall as me, and has a good handle on how to use his trunk.
They were enjoying some bamboo treats in front of us, just a few feet away.
At one point in the process of trying to steal bamboo from mom, he wrapped his widdle trunk around mommy's trunk, and the two seemed to embrace for a hug. All three of us couldn't help but coo and gush over them. SO adorable!!
Again, if you are an LJ Friend, you can see some of these moments in THIS POST.
And again, these are access-restricted videos, so please DO NOT try to reshare them.
If you are not an LJ Friend but want to see the videos, message me on Facebook, Instagram, or via text.
---------------------------------------------------------
After that, I had pretty much seen the whole zoo and was feeling pretty tired from a full day of stomping around, so Adria drove me to see her house and meet her kitties :) One of the cats was very social and friendly so we shared cuddles and kisses; the other I was able to pet once before she hid somewhere (same, kiddo. Same.)
Adria showed me her wall of circus memorabilia and artwork (she is a painter herself), and we chatted about how things have been going for her. She's had a rough time lately, with some extra work coming up at both Dallas and Fort Worth zoos, and some unfortunate deaths of people and animals close to her heart lately. When it rains it pours, but I can see that she's trying to stay positive and strong. I hope things will get better for her from here on out!!
We went to a bubble tea place where she had chai and I got coconut black tea with boba, which was tasty and fun to eat/drink :)
We talked for probably about an hour, catching up and speculating on the new Ringling show.
Then it was time for me to go back and get ready for the show. We hugged goodbye, and again I felt deeply grateful to have such a wonderful friend, who I get to see so rarely but who still made time to share this piece of her life with me. It really is a privilege, and an experience that I will never forget.
The show that evening went well, although we are still struggling with pit temperatures and the draft coming from a large vent directly behind the woodwinds. The problem is that it's part of the main AC, so they can't just shut off that specific vent without also impacting the entire theatre. So they are looking into options for blocking it off somehow.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Friday was a blessed day of rest for me.
Laundry, a slow breakfast, meal planning, applying for jobs, working on Foodie Finds.
Absolutely nothing to report...except that I got a verbal offer for a sub spot with Disney's Candlelight Processional.
This is a Big Deal for me on a personal level, but pretty sure most people would say, "So what?", so I'll just leave it at that.
The show went well :)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, a normal morning with partial packing and a trip back to 3rd Street Market as they're closed on Sundays and I wanted a half-loaf of bread for next week's travel.
Look at all those lovely loaves!
My friend Roger was working, so we chatted a bit while he cut up my bread.
I picked a loaf of pistachio apricot. Marvelous!
He threw in several slices of Calabrian chili provolone too. You can see the big hunks of cheese in there.
I also got a sandwich: shaved rosemary pork loin with caramelized onion jam, orange aioli, and arugula on plain sourdough.
The citrusy aioli and the smoky, tangy onions went so nicely with the herbed pork and chewy bread.
From there it was shows one and two, which went just fine.
I cut the chili cheese bread into sample-sized cubes and brought them to share with the band.
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, more packing and working on Foodie Finds for the last several weeks of the tour.
Damn! We're already in the last five weeks!
I wonder where I will work next...if it'll enjoy it, or if it'll be a slog.
I wonder how my java bananas are doing. I worry about how Jameson is doing.
Well, I will find out in about a week.
The first show was fine, I felt half-asleep but it was a good audience so I bucked up and played enthusiastically.
Between shows I met up with my friend Rod and his wife at the Cheesecake Factory across the street.
He had invited me to dinner, neither of us realizing that it was Mother's Day. Whoops!
But somehow we were seated after just about 45 minutes, and had a really nice meal.
We talked about all sorts of things, mostly me answering questions about life post-circus (Rod is a fan of circuses and circus band music in particular, that's how we met), but they also told me about life in Fort Worth and some recent surgeries that Rod has undergone.
Rod and I both got the "Skinnylicious" steak medallions.
This was my first time eating at Cheesecake Factory. I knew that they're known for their large portions, so didn't even look at the main menu. The Skinnylicious menu only has dishes that are 590 calories or less, which is absolutely enough for me.
The steak was cooked perfectly, and I loved the roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini.
We got the check right when I needed to get back for call time, hugged goodbye and wished each other well.
It's nice to see friends in these cities, I'm grateful that they reached out.
The evening show was just as good as the first, a lot of folks in the front row were in hysterics over some of the jokes, I love when that happens. The whole point is for people to enjoy themselves :)
---------------------------------------------------------
This morning I finished packing and had breakfast (there was no coffee in the lobby, wtf).
Today we bus to Lubbock, TX and will be there for three days.
I don't have anything deeply special planned, just a trip to Goodwill and possibly lunch at an Australian cafe.
After that, three days in Kansas City, and we're playing an OUTDOOR theatre! How odd and cool!
I've been looking forward to this one!
Since I had my Truvani banana cinnamon protein shake this morning, figured I could review my Central Market haul:
- Egg lentil crisps: 8/10 Texture is just like Crunchy Cheetos, with 12g protein and 2g fiber. These were sea salt and vinegar and I was licking my fingers. Yum!
- Earl Grey chocolate: 5/10 Interesting, fruity and floral earl grey flavor was very strong with the bitter dark chocolate.
- Olyra hazelnut carob biscuits: 7/10 Like BelVita biscuits but with a smoother, richer texture. Crunchy and filling, would eat again!
- Mia vegan salami: 3/10 Peppery and salty with a chewy meat-like texture. But there’s only one serving per container and frankly there are many better options at a much lower price point.
- Guava Greek yogurt: 7/10 very good! Strong guava flavor, wonderful creamy texture.
- Candied fruit slices: 7/10 chewy, sweet, tart, awesome.
- Pumpkin leek soup: 5/10 good but nothing special. I enjoyed mine with chicken chunks and avocado.
- BAWI passionfruit agua fresca: 10/10 One of my favorites of this haul. Strong tart passionfruit flavor, lightly carbonated, and only 50 calories. The next time I see this I’m buying a whole case.
- Deep Woods woodruff lemonade: 10/10 SO good! Woodruff tastes like vanilla spice. More woodruff-flavored things please!
- Terlingua coffee: 7/10 just fine black coffee!
- Truvani banana cinnamon protein powder: 6/10 more cinnamon than banana, there was lots of hype on the bag about how “smooth” it is but it’s just as grainy as any protein powder. It was fine, would buy again.
- Canned red wine: 6/10 basic red wine, enjoyable
- Other stuff (Goldfish crackers, Cup Noodle, wild rice): The Goldfish are for Jameson, I'll try one with him. Cup Noodle will probably try over the layoff as well. Rice, I'll get to it eventually but it's just regular wild rice cut smaller for a faster cook time so unlikely to be "special".
My friend Jessi came to fetch me around 9:45, and we went straight to her office at the Outreach building.
Jessi started out as an Outreach employee of some sort, before moving up to oversee two other Outreach departments besides her own (so now I think her title is Outreach Coordinator).
There were hundreds of kids in brightly colored shirts, carrying bagged lunches, unloading from rows and rows of buses.
I was glad I'd brought my mask. Germy little things :P
Jessi showed me the Zoo's daycare area (they are a certified daycare location) and some of the outreach animals that hang out in the hallway and lobby area, mostly reptiles.
Outreach animals are selected based on their temperament (have to be calm, good with being handled/held, etc), and often animals that cannot be returned to the wild or kept in a feral state are used for outreach and education.
Next she brought me back to the work area, which looked and smelled familiar from my days volunteering at misc wildife rehab centers.
Rock-shaped food dishes in the sink, containers of crickets, feathers here and there, rags and towels and food prep equipment.
Among all of these things was a box containing five-or-so millipedes, who had great names like Milleficent, Millie Vanilli, etc.
Jessi let me hold one!
Next was ferrets and an armadillo. The ferrets were very cuddly but also very squirmy and active, and I didn't keep the greatest grip on mine but at least he didn't escape (no pictures allowed sadly). The armadillo had just woken up and wasn't in the mood for being handled, so that was a quick pet and then back under the blankets for him :)
Then I got to visit some of the outreach raptors, a pygmy falcon and a frogmouth bird of some kind, and a barn owl!
The frogmouth:
Jessi handling the beautiful barn owl:
He is pretty old and can't see or hear very well, but he is patient and gentle with a good temperament, so he is a good outreach animal.
After this video Jessi let me stroke his back. His feathers were so soft, and such gorgeous camouflage.
Jessi showed me the juvenile alligator enclosure, which is a lot nicer than others I've seen.
There were heat lamps, a grassy area and a rocky area, and a pool for the alligators to use throughout the day.
The two small alligators inside were basking under the heat lamps as Jessi described how they've been target-trained to go to specific areas of the enclosure for veterinary treatment or to receive food, and how they can identify their target colors and follow basic commands. I had no idea that alligators were so intelligent!
Next were a few small aquarium enclosures that housed misc insects and reptiles like tarantulas, snakes, and beetles. Some of the enclosures were empty because outreach classes had already started this morning and the animals were being presented, or they were being fed/cared for in other parts of the building.
Jessi dug around in an aquarium that seemed full of dirt, and came up with a big fat white grub!
It's a rhinoceros beetle grub, and the Zoo hopes to breed them, but first they have to make sure they can raise the grubs to adulthood.
I've never seen a grub this big! It was not slimy at all, and had a harder skin/shell than I was expecting, covered in tiny little bristle-hairs.
Still shot:
After this Jessi had to get back to work, so she walked me out to the guest area and we hugged and parted ways.
I am so, so blessed to have friends who work directly with animals, who are willing to share their amazing work with me!
I took Jessi's advice and went to the elephant enclosure first, because she said the new baby elephant would probably be out and about.
Sure enough:
His name is Travis, which is controversial because up until now all of the elephants born at the Zoo have had B-names (Belle, Bluebonnet, Brazos, etc). Honestly who cares, call him CUTE!
I wandered the entire zoo and saw many wonderful animals.
This rhino (Asha) enjoying her cool pool:
Giraffes and an ostrich in the Safari area:
A baboon looking imposing:
A massive Aldabra giant tortoise:
Big Komodo dragon, longer than I am tall (I'm 65 inches/5 foot 5 and these can get up to 108 inches/9 feet long!):
The reptile house was packed with screaming children--I have left all of the audio in the videos, to give you some free birth control--but I tolerated it and waited my turn to see all the beautiful snakes and herps. Many of them were hiding (kids were POUNDING on the glass and generally being really poorly behaved) but I did get pics of some (did not document what types they were unfortunately)
*Blep blep*
After the reptile house I ate my packed lunch in a "picnic outpost", which was nice and quiet because it was above street level and you had to exert a few seconds of EFFORT to reach it, oh NOES, so of course it was empty. It had it's own bathroom AND wall outlets! I let my phone recover from all the animal photos and ate tuna, an apple, sourdough bread, baru nuts, Olyra biscuits, and passionfruit agua fresca (really tasty!).
As I was finishing up Jessi texted to ask where I was, so I went down to street level to meet her.
She stared into my eyes and said, "BABY SWANS!" before tugging me into the aviary.
Baby swans! They were just born two days ago.
One of them was riding on mom's back, it was ADORABLE!
We walked through the rest of the aviary, chit-chatting while Jessi showed me her favorite birds.
I'm always impressed by the massive harpy eagles, but this time he was far in the back of his aviary taking a nap.
The huge vultures are impressive too. This guy was right near the mesh and was the size of a medium dog sitting up.
Jessi says that if a stray cat, racoon, or squirrel accidentally enters any of the raptor enclosures, that's pretty much "it" for them!
On the way out I passed this Australian ground turkey staring unabashedly:
We hugged again, this time for good, and Jessi said, "See you down the road!" in traditional circus fashion because "goodbye" is too permanent :) It was so great to see her and spend time with her! And to be spoiled with visiting all of her amazing animals!
----------------------------------------------------------
Just a few minutes later Adria, my friend who works with elephants, texted to ask where I was.
I walked over to the elephant area to meet her, and she took me "backstage" to the elephant barn where I met several of her coworkers.
They were all women, and all of them work directly with the zoo's male and female elephants and rhinos.
I was not allowed to share any "behind-the-scenes" footage at this zoo; all media must be posted from guest-perspective here.
HOWEVER, if you are in my Friends List here on LJ, I've made a Friends Only post where you can see a few short videos of my interactions with these animals today. Please DO NOT download or reshare these videos, or I will have to take them down (the videos are access-restricted as it is, but you never know.)
I was not allowed to take pictures of the barn itself...typical protocol, because anything with "cages" or "restraints" or "bars" is bad PR despite the fact that all of it is in place entirely for animal protection and care. It's unfortunate, because elephant barns are really amazing! They are huge and look like airplane hangars or something out of Jurassic Park. There were spacious rooms filled with soft sand and straw, for when the weather is bad, so the elephants can bed down comfortably. There were more narrow pens for when these 4-ton animals need to be still for blood draws or basic veterinary check-ups. And there were pens that led directly to the big outdoor spaces, where the elephants have their own pool (Adria showed me the massive filtration system which cycles through 400,000 gallons of water a day!!) and a big yard with sand, trees, mud pits, and lots of enrichment items.
From the barn we went to one of these corridors to the outside, and one of the keepers called for Asha, the female rhino that I had seen chilling in her pool earlier. As she passed Asha some treats, she described Asha's sassy personality, and pointed out some of her physical features like her surprisingly long teeth and her prehensile nose-tip which can act like a finger for picking objects off the ground. Asha snorted and snuffled a few times to prove her sassy demeanor, then we moved on to visit the male rhino, Parvesh.
Parvesh was a derpy dude, and came running over covered in mud and looking like he'd been having a fine old time!
Fort Worth Zoo does not allow guests to touch their large mammals, so I watched as Adria and her coworker gave Parvesh pets and treats.
How cool to be up close to these amazing rhinos!
Finally it was time for my favorite animals: the elephants!
First we visited Romeo, a former circus elephant who has his own enclosure.
His tusks were huge!
One of them had started to split a few years ago, and Adria said they'd cut it off before it could cause him pain.
The tusk-piece was kept in the elephant keepers' office area, where I was able to hold it.
It was about the size of a log for firewood, and weighed about 20 pounds!
Next was little Travis, the newest addition to the Fort Worth Zoo's elephant herd.
The little guy is only a few months old, and still has his baby fuzz. Daww!
He's also still uncoordinated as he gets used to all of his limbs and explores the limits of his body.
An elephant's trunk has more muscles than the entire human body! It can take a while to learn to coordinate all of that!
His mother, Angel, was posing and waggling her head and tongue for treats, but I could barely take my eyes off the adorable fuzzball baby!
Last I got to visit Brazos with his mother, Bluebonnet.
Brazos is about 18 months old, so he is a big boy with an adorable chubby baby face!
He is about as tall as me, and has a good handle on how to use his trunk.
They were enjoying some bamboo treats in front of us, just a few feet away.
At one point in the process of trying to steal bamboo from mom, he wrapped his widdle trunk around mommy's trunk, and the two seemed to embrace for a hug. All three of us couldn't help but coo and gush over them. SO adorable!!
Again, if you are an LJ Friend, you can see some of these moments in THIS POST.
And again, these are access-restricted videos, so please DO NOT try to reshare them.
If you are not an LJ Friend but want to see the videos, message me on Facebook, Instagram, or via text.
---------------------------------------------------------
After that, I had pretty much seen the whole zoo and was feeling pretty tired from a full day of stomping around, so Adria drove me to see her house and meet her kitties :) One of the cats was very social and friendly so we shared cuddles and kisses; the other I was able to pet once before she hid somewhere (same, kiddo. Same.)
Adria showed me her wall of circus memorabilia and artwork (she is a painter herself), and we chatted about how things have been going for her. She's had a rough time lately, with some extra work coming up at both Dallas and Fort Worth zoos, and some unfortunate deaths of people and animals close to her heart lately. When it rains it pours, but I can see that she's trying to stay positive and strong. I hope things will get better for her from here on out!!
We went to a bubble tea place where she had chai and I got coconut black tea with boba, which was tasty and fun to eat/drink :)
We talked for probably about an hour, catching up and speculating on the new Ringling show.
Then it was time for me to go back and get ready for the show. We hugged goodbye, and again I felt deeply grateful to have such a wonderful friend, who I get to see so rarely but who still made time to share this piece of her life with me. It really is a privilege, and an experience that I will never forget.
The show that evening went well, although we are still struggling with pit temperatures and the draft coming from a large vent directly behind the woodwinds. The problem is that it's part of the main AC, so they can't just shut off that specific vent without also impacting the entire theatre. So they are looking into options for blocking it off somehow.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Friday was a blessed day of rest for me.
Laundry, a slow breakfast, meal planning, applying for jobs, working on Foodie Finds.
Absolutely nothing to report...except that I got a verbal offer for a sub spot with Disney's Candlelight Processional.
This is a Big Deal for me on a personal level, but pretty sure most people would say, "So what?", so I'll just leave it at that.
The show went well :)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, a normal morning with partial packing and a trip back to 3rd Street Market as they're closed on Sundays and I wanted a half-loaf of bread for next week's travel.
Look at all those lovely loaves!
My friend Roger was working, so we chatted a bit while he cut up my bread.
I picked a loaf of pistachio apricot. Marvelous!
He threw in several slices of Calabrian chili provolone too. You can see the big hunks of cheese in there.
I also got a sandwich: shaved rosemary pork loin with caramelized onion jam, orange aioli, and arugula on plain sourdough.
The citrusy aioli and the smoky, tangy onions went so nicely with the herbed pork and chewy bread.
From there it was shows one and two, which went just fine.
I cut the chili cheese bread into sample-sized cubes and brought them to share with the band.
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, more packing and working on Foodie Finds for the last several weeks of the tour.
Damn! We're already in the last five weeks!
I wonder where I will work next...if it'll enjoy it, or if it'll be a slog.
I wonder how my java bananas are doing. I worry about how Jameson is doing.
Well, I will find out in about a week.
The first show was fine, I felt half-asleep but it was a good audience so I bucked up and played enthusiastically.
Between shows I met up with my friend Rod and his wife at the Cheesecake Factory across the street.
He had invited me to dinner, neither of us realizing that it was Mother's Day. Whoops!
But somehow we were seated after just about 45 minutes, and had a really nice meal.
We talked about all sorts of things, mostly me answering questions about life post-circus (Rod is a fan of circuses and circus band music in particular, that's how we met), but they also told me about life in Fort Worth and some recent surgeries that Rod has undergone.
Rod and I both got the "Skinnylicious" steak medallions.
This was my first time eating at Cheesecake Factory. I knew that they're known for their large portions, so didn't even look at the main menu. The Skinnylicious menu only has dishes that are 590 calories or less, which is absolutely enough for me.
The steak was cooked perfectly, and I loved the roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini.
We got the check right when I needed to get back for call time, hugged goodbye and wished each other well.
It's nice to see friends in these cities, I'm grateful that they reached out.
The evening show was just as good as the first, a lot of folks in the front row were in hysterics over some of the jokes, I love when that happens. The whole point is for people to enjoy themselves :)
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This morning I finished packing and had breakfast (there was no coffee in the lobby, wtf).
Today we bus to Lubbock, TX and will be there for three days.
I don't have anything deeply special planned, just a trip to Goodwill and possibly lunch at an Australian cafe.
After that, three days in Kansas City, and we're playing an OUTDOOR theatre! How odd and cool!
I've been looking forward to this one!
Since I had my Truvani banana cinnamon protein shake this morning, figured I could review my Central Market haul:
- Egg lentil crisps: 8/10 Texture is just like Crunchy Cheetos, with 12g protein and 2g fiber. These were sea salt and vinegar and I was licking my fingers. Yum!
- Earl Grey chocolate: 5/10 Interesting, fruity and floral earl grey flavor was very strong with the bitter dark chocolate.
- Olyra hazelnut carob biscuits: 7/10 Like BelVita biscuits but with a smoother, richer texture. Crunchy and filling, would eat again!
- Mia vegan salami: 3/10 Peppery and salty with a chewy meat-like texture. But there’s only one serving per container and frankly there are many better options at a much lower price point.
- Guava Greek yogurt: 7/10 very good! Strong guava flavor, wonderful creamy texture.
- Candied fruit slices: 7/10 chewy, sweet, tart, awesome.
- Pumpkin leek soup: 5/10 good but nothing special. I enjoyed mine with chicken chunks and avocado.
- BAWI passionfruit agua fresca: 10/10 One of my favorites of this haul. Strong tart passionfruit flavor, lightly carbonated, and only 50 calories. The next time I see this I’m buying a whole case.
- Deep Woods woodruff lemonade: 10/10 SO good! Woodruff tastes like vanilla spice. More woodruff-flavored things please!
- Terlingua coffee: 7/10 just fine black coffee!
- Truvani banana cinnamon protein powder: 6/10 more cinnamon than banana, there was lots of hype on the bag about how “smooth” it is but it’s just as grainy as any protein powder. It was fine, would buy again.
- Canned red wine: 6/10 basic red wine, enjoyable
- Other stuff (Goldfish crackers, Cup Noodle, wild rice): The Goldfish are for Jameson, I'll try one with him. Cup Noodle will probably try over the layoff as well. Rice, I'll get to it eventually but it's just regular wild rice cut smaller for a faster cook time so unlikely to be "special".