Finally It Rained
Monday was a surprise additional day of work at Disney (Keith forgot he'd scheduled an appointment and asked me to cover.)
There was also a sub on bass trombone, and it was an emergency sub so he did NOT actually know the bass trombone part and had to use a flip book. I felt so bad for him, flip books suck. This meant we had to keep it simple all day and do only basic sets with limited choreography. Because it's one thing to make someone read a part they're unfamiliar with, and another thing to ask them to do that while also doing choreography they've never done.
This allowed me a chance to finally relax and get comfortable performing the basic castle set. Ever since I've started with Disney it's been GO GO GO, new music today, new choreography the next day, more new music, now do this new thing, ok now it's your first day so don't f*ck up...it's been so much cramming that I haven't felt able to, like, settle in. Today I was able to get out of my head and just, be there in the moment. Look around at the guests. Interact more. Match how my peers were playing. And most importantly, CALM TF DOWN. I don't want to be having more panic attacks here.
The day went well though it was very, very hot. It got up to 108°F (42.2°C) heat index, and was humid and stifling. I hydrated and had brought extra snacks, so I felt fine albeit uncomfortable. No one gave me any notes/corrections so hopefully I did a good job.
Also, I was curious to know how much walking/marching the band does in a typical day and asked Keith about it:
Explains why I felt so knackered on Saturday. (yes I know that eight miles is not that much but have you tried it in 108-degrees, full sun and 100% humidity, for an entire day, while wearing a marching uniform and dancing around to entertain people? yeah didn't think so.)
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Tuesday I woke disappointed that it wasn't raining, but glad to see rain in the forecast. We need it badly.
Case in point, my vanilla beans:
Yeah, they're not gonna make it :( I did water them, but it has been SEARING hot and dry here, even with the humidity it probably hasn't been enough. Also, some random man generously took time to mansplain me in a gardening group on facebook that this "had nothing at all to do with the weather," but was rather the result of improper pollination. Boy, am I glad there's always someone in the universe to put me in my place!
TL;DR two beans have failed and the third is still hanging on and we will see if it makes it. Regardless, it was amazing to get this far with the blooms and pollination!
Also, my largest banana is trying to make a bloom, so that's exciting. Doubt I can get bananas the way this summer is going but we will see. A chance is better than no chance (at least to me.)
Was able to access my data entry work so did that pretty much all morning.
After lunch it DID rain on and off for several hours, and it was glorious. I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow too and I'm so glad!
In the evening my work site crashed AGAIN, but at least I got three hours in before it happened. So I cleaned our bathrooms and washed our bedsheets, and did a Target run with Jameson.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, up at 6am to see if there was work. There was, but there were still crashes happening so I only got about 1.5 hours in before it was time to eat breakfast and get groceries for dinner tonight.
By the time I got back Jameson was at the gym. I was able to do more work albeit with outages. After lunch more of the same + tromboning, then my employer's development team kicked us all out of the site so they could put up some defenses (turns out we've been under a ddos attack.) So I dusted and then got to relax for an hour in the middle of the day, which felt weird.
For dinner I made Dude Diet cheesesteaks, which are slightly better than typical cheesesteaks because A) leaner cut of beef, B) replacing some of the beef with portabellos, C) only provalone cheese, no "cheese product" sauce, and D) you're supposed to use a whole grain roll that's smaller than a hoagie roll but I couldn't find any. They turned out great, really good flavor and texture, but I do wish they'd been more cheesy. Next time I may try adding a vegan cheese to give it that creaminess that was missing.
It didn't rain again, sadly. Maybe another day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The weekend looks quiet and I'm grateful for it.
I'll do more house chores and cook some more dinners (might even take some pictures...I haven't really been in the mood to photograph my own cooking lately.)
In closing, Random Stuff:
I've been trying to start two new shows this week on the recommendations of LJ friends. The first one is My Happy Marriage. I don't usually do romance so went into this with the same mindset as one cringing themselves into a cold pool: "I already don't like this but maybe it'll feel good once I get in."
(stock image)
IMO Pros: The animation is very high quality, and the story seems to progress pretty quickly (I see that there are only 12 episodes.) It's also soothing/comforting to see two characters getting to know each other, building feelings for each other (character development,) and having any number of small pleasant interactions and adorable acts of thoughtfulness toward each other. There are many things to like here.
IMO Cons: I just started episode four and the hot male protagonist's hot brother just showed up, so I'm worried that this will now become a reverse harem anime. It was bordering on that already because of another male side character, who is currently being set up for a future "Boy Rescues His Childhood Crush And Professes His Love To Her" situation. But two love interests ain't a harem...and now we have a possible third in Hot Male Protagonist's Hot Brother. Coupled with the female protagonist's Cinderella-esque background of abuse and subsequent outrageously submissive/demure behavior, the show is reminding me strongly of Fruits Basket. Another show that I never finished because a) I found the servile, timid behavior of the female protagonist to be unbearably cringey, and b) I don't care for romance at a basic level, never mind escalating that to a mob of men competing over a single woman. I'll watch episode 4 to confirm where this is going because a lot of people are saying it's a great anime, the art is quite beautiful, and I would love to be wrong about where the show is headed.
The other show is Hazbin Hotel. I've tried to get into this series before after being impressed with music seen/heard via TikTok. But the first episode was so offputting that I kneejerk-rejected it. After reading a post by an LJ friend I've decided to give it another try, and have made it to episode four so far.
(stock image)
IMO Pros: Initially I gave up on this show after one episode, but at the end of Episode 4 I did feel curious to know what happens next. It's not a cookie-cutter plot and I do like that; one of things that made Game of Thrones so appealing was that any character could die at any time, no protagonist was safe. I get a similar sort of unpredictability here, but having more to do with character development. There are characters who are being presented as "villains" of sorts, who have the potential to reveal that they're not what they seem later on. That's intriguing and makes me want to watch more.
IMO Cons: Right now I HATE the main character, Charlie. Her Pollyanna-ish optimism and blind trust have my eyes rolled BACK lol. I also don't like a lot of the "filler" musical numbers; every goddamned villain and side character does not need a vocal diatribe about their plight ffs. The song about Sir Pentius learning how to apologize...it was actually a touching and emotionally intense scene, and I felt that turning it into a song-and-dance watered it down very disappointingly. It could have been a powerful moment; someone who has never seen any reason to be apologetic, feeling sincerely sorry for the first time! But no, let's cover that up with a shallow little ditty and romp around the room. Eh...it's just my opinion that if a moment is strong enough to stand on it's own, it doesn't need a song to explain itself. Now that I've said that, gotta admit that I really liked Angel Dust's song, it was awesome. I know this is supposed to be a musical animation but the shorter interludes just seem WEAK to me. And all of THAT said, definitely engaged enough now to continue watching.
There was also a sub on bass trombone, and it was an emergency sub so he did NOT actually know the bass trombone part and had to use a flip book. I felt so bad for him, flip books suck. This meant we had to keep it simple all day and do only basic sets with limited choreography. Because it's one thing to make someone read a part they're unfamiliar with, and another thing to ask them to do that while also doing choreography they've never done.
This allowed me a chance to finally relax and get comfortable performing the basic castle set. Ever since I've started with Disney it's been GO GO GO, new music today, new choreography the next day, more new music, now do this new thing, ok now it's your first day so don't f*ck up...it's been so much cramming that I haven't felt able to, like, settle in. Today I was able to get out of my head and just, be there in the moment. Look around at the guests. Interact more. Match how my peers were playing. And most importantly, CALM TF DOWN. I don't want to be having more panic attacks here.
The day went well though it was very, very hot. It got up to 108°F (42.2°C) heat index, and was humid and stifling. I hydrated and had brought extra snacks, so I felt fine albeit uncomfortable. No one gave me any notes/corrections so hopefully I did a good job.
Also, I was curious to know how much walking/marching the band does in a typical day and asked Keith about it:
Explains why I felt so knackered on Saturday. (yes I know that eight miles is not that much but have you tried it in 108-degrees, full sun and 100% humidity, for an entire day, while wearing a marching uniform and dancing around to entertain people? yeah didn't think so.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday I woke disappointed that it wasn't raining, but glad to see rain in the forecast. We need it badly.
Case in point, my vanilla beans:
Yeah, they're not gonna make it :( I did water them, but it has been SEARING hot and dry here, even with the humidity it probably hasn't been enough. Also, some random man generously took time to mansplain me in a gardening group on facebook that this "had nothing at all to do with the weather," but was rather the result of improper pollination. Boy, am I glad there's always someone in the universe to put me in my place!
TL;DR two beans have failed and the third is still hanging on and we will see if it makes it. Regardless, it was amazing to get this far with the blooms and pollination!
Also, my largest banana is trying to make a bloom, so that's exciting. Doubt I can get bananas the way this summer is going but we will see. A chance is better than no chance (at least to me.)
Was able to access my data entry work so did that pretty much all morning.
After lunch it DID rain on and off for several hours, and it was glorious. I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow too and I'm so glad!
In the evening my work site crashed AGAIN, but at least I got three hours in before it happened. So I cleaned our bathrooms and washed our bedsheets, and did a Target run with Jameson.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, up at 6am to see if there was work. There was, but there were still crashes happening so I only got about 1.5 hours in before it was time to eat breakfast and get groceries for dinner tonight.
By the time I got back Jameson was at the gym. I was able to do more work albeit with outages. After lunch more of the same + tromboning, then my employer's development team kicked us all out of the site so they could put up some defenses (turns out we've been under a ddos attack.) So I dusted and then got to relax for an hour in the middle of the day, which felt weird.
For dinner I made Dude Diet cheesesteaks, which are slightly better than typical cheesesteaks because A) leaner cut of beef, B) replacing some of the beef with portabellos, C) only provalone cheese, no "cheese product" sauce, and D) you're supposed to use a whole grain roll that's smaller than a hoagie roll but I couldn't find any. They turned out great, really good flavor and texture, but I do wish they'd been more cheesy. Next time I may try adding a vegan cheese to give it that creaminess that was missing.
It didn't rain again, sadly. Maybe another day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The weekend looks quiet and I'm grateful for it.
I'll do more house chores and cook some more dinners (might even take some pictures...I haven't really been in the mood to photograph my own cooking lately.)
In closing, Random Stuff:
I've been trying to start two new shows this week on the recommendations of LJ friends. The first one is My Happy Marriage. I don't usually do romance so went into this with the same mindset as one cringing themselves into a cold pool: "I already don't like this but maybe it'll feel good once I get in."
(stock image)
IMO Pros: The animation is very high quality, and the story seems to progress pretty quickly (I see that there are only 12 episodes.) It's also soothing/comforting to see two characters getting to know each other, building feelings for each other (character development,) and having any number of small pleasant interactions and adorable acts of thoughtfulness toward each other. There are many things to like here.
IMO Cons: I just started episode four and the hot male protagonist's hot brother just showed up, so I'm worried that this will now become a reverse harem anime. It was bordering on that already because of another male side character, who is currently being set up for a future "Boy Rescues His Childhood Crush And Professes His Love To Her" situation. But two love interests ain't a harem...and now we have a possible third in Hot Male Protagonist's Hot Brother. Coupled with the female protagonist's Cinderella-esque background of abuse and subsequent outrageously submissive/demure behavior, the show is reminding me strongly of Fruits Basket. Another show that I never finished because a) I found the servile, timid behavior of the female protagonist to be unbearably cringey, and b) I don't care for romance at a basic level, never mind escalating that to a mob of men competing over a single woman. I'll watch episode 4 to confirm where this is going because a lot of people are saying it's a great anime, the art is quite beautiful, and I would love to be wrong about where the show is headed.
The other show is Hazbin Hotel. I've tried to get into this series before after being impressed with music seen/heard via TikTok. But the first episode was so offputting that I kneejerk-rejected it. After reading a post by an LJ friend I've decided to give it another try, and have made it to episode four so far.
(stock image)
IMO Pros: Initially I gave up on this show after one episode, but at the end of Episode 4 I did feel curious to know what happens next. It's not a cookie-cutter plot and I do like that; one of things that made Game of Thrones so appealing was that any character could die at any time, no protagonist was safe. I get a similar sort of unpredictability here, but having more to do with character development. There are characters who are being presented as "villains" of sorts, who have the potential to reveal that they're not what they seem later on. That's intriguing and makes me want to watch more.
IMO Cons: Right now I HATE the main character, Charlie. Her Pollyanna-ish optimism and blind trust have my eyes rolled BACK lol. I also don't like a lot of the "filler" musical numbers; every goddamned villain and side character does not need a vocal diatribe about their plight ffs. The song about Sir Pentius learning how to apologize...it was actually a touching and emotionally intense scene, and I felt that turning it into a song-and-dance watered it down very disappointingly. It could have been a powerful moment; someone who has never seen any reason to be apologetic, feeling sincerely sorry for the first time! But no, let's cover that up with a shallow little ditty and romp around the room. Eh...it's just my opinion that if a moment is strong enough to stand on it's own, it doesn't need a song to explain itself. Now that I've said that, gotta admit that I really liked Angel Dust's song, it was awesome. I know this is supposed to be a musical animation but the shorter interludes just seem WEAK to me. And all of THAT said, definitely engaged enough now to continue watching.