A Good Visit

Tuesday after work I drove up the coast to North Carolina.

Because I left work two hours early, I was able to get past Jacksonville before rush hour and this saved me a great deal of time, probably at least 20 minutes. Then I had brought dinner so only needed to stop for gas once, and to pee. I got to a hotel in South Carolina around 9:30pm. I could have continued driving for another two hours and gotten into Raleigh that same night, but the hotels are more expensive around Raleigh and I didn't see any reason to kill myself over the remaining drive.

You know what was interesting?
Staying in a hotel and looking around and thinking, "Hotel rooms like this are about to become my new home for the next nine months".

I definitely felt a strong shift in perspective with that in mind. Like, my mini skillet is all fine and good...but where exactly do I plug it in and cook? Most outlets are either by the bed, by the tv, in the bathroom, and wherever the lamp is in the room. Some hotels have desks, some do not. I'm guessing my best chance is going to be the bathroom...easy cleanup, the sink, and those outlets usually have a surge protector too.

Nine months living in hotel rooms is WILD. But lots of people across lots of industries do it, so it can't be that bad.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning after a nice hotel breakfast (oatmeal, egg whites, a peach, coffee) I completed my trek, ending at Sweeney Brass Repair.
The owner, Scott, went to the same school as me (NC School of the Arts) and then continued his education in NYC for Bass Trombone performance. I don't know his background in instrument repair, but he has a good reputation and I think I'm leaving my "baby" in good hands. All it really needs is a cleaning and slide alignment, and even that shouldn't be so bad, I keep my horns pretty well cleaned. But it's nice to make sure everything is in order before launching into the tour.

It also might be a massive waste of time, because if I have to check my trombone and the luggage folks toss it around, any slide alignment work will certainly be undone before I even get to Buffalo :( Let's cross our fingers that that doesn't happen.

Anyway, Scott seems like a cool dude. He showed me around the shop a bit...I felt a little shy, so didn't pry too much, but did appreciate seeing the awesome vintage lathes and shaping and metalworking equipment and chemicals and, well, everything. It's always fascinating to me to see different repair shops and the types of equipment they use, each shop is different.

Scott assured me that he'd have my horn done by the 27th, and we parted ways.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At my aunt's, I hugged everyone (yay hugs!) and we spent a great deal of time just talking and catching up all day. After pizza for lunch my uncle had to go back to work, so my aunt and I went to the community pool, blessedly devoid of children thanks to back-to-school. We continued our conversation as we swam back and forth.

( Collapse )

Prep and Trip

Starting to make a plan for rehearsal week/month in Buffalo.

Now that we have our flight and hotel info, I did a little mapping and found that the airport is about a 15 minute drive from downtown Buffalo. As with most major cities, the big box stores tend to be outside immediate city limits. So what I'd like to do once I've landed is get either an Uber or a rental car, stop at a Target outside of town for any necessities and groceries, then proceed to check in and unpack.

This would potentially happen with my new buddy Yael, our female trumpet player.
This chica has never been on a tour before, plus she's only 21 years old!

Obviously she's gonna be an adult and capable of handling herself on this adventure. However at 21, she can't just off and rent a car when she needs one. She might not have a lot of savings to afford Uber rides before we've even gotten a paycheck. And practicalities aside, I selfishly want to be a helping hand and a reassuring presence for her on her first experience with touring. She may know a lot already, but if she has questions or needs help with something, I want to be there for her.

Not surprisingly, this is because when I was young and vibrating with excitement for my first gigs there were wonderful people who helped me along the way. And I remember that, I know what a treasure it was to have such people in my life, who took it upon themselves to protect my starry-eyed enthusiasm from the ugly attitudes of many jaded, road-weary touring musicians. These were the people who showed me where to find the best food in each town; or how to get in with the roadies; or how to get all around town and back in time for the preshow with only a few bucks in your pocket.

I owe so much to those people, many of whom are still in my life, still incredible mentors and friends.
It makes me excited and happy that I might be able to be that person for someone else.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Friday, work was work.
( Collapse )

A Normal-Day Post

This week I got some more information from Troika Entertainment, the production company running the tour.

They sent us a date and time for a personnel Zoom meeting.
They informed us that we'll get a lot of info from an internal website, which will contain contact info, travel info, updates, etc.
Very much looking forward to that, so I don't have to pester people with questions.
And we've started booking our flights into Buffalo, and have been given the hotel info.
It looks like our hotel will be easy walking distance to the theatre, which is excellent.

In general, I think that most parts of this type of touring will be straightforward.
The things that concern me the most are laundry, transportation details/transporting our luggage details, and what taxes will be like at the end of the tour. But at some point I'll find the answers to all of those things.

I'm still kind of suprised that this is happening. What with covid, and my own withdrawal from the arts during covid, it hasn't seemed real. Ever since receiving the email inviting me to be a part of this tour, a part of me has been laughing with disbelief. Like, this is a dream, right? This is some cruel trick my mind is playing on me.

But my flight is booked. And we're having a meeting next week. And I've resigned from my job.

So this is actually happening. Hopefully that sinks all the way in before I actually get there!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( Collapse )

Tour TikTok







I'm thinking that I should start a TikTok account for while I'm on tour.

I already have TikTok, being an older Millennial.
But so far I've only used the account for lurking, browsing other people's awesome content.

I think it would be cool to share little moments, in addition to the big content dump I always do in my blog posts.

What's it going to be like trying to cook in a hotel room?
What will the venues look like, inside and out?
What kinds of backstage content will I be allowed to share?

...and so much other neat stuff that might come up, that I might be able to share in the moment rather than in a post later on.

Please submit your ideas for a good username :)

Right now I'm going with "tromboneontour", because simple, easy to remember, describes what the account is for.

Other suggestions received so far include

  • TootsieTrombone

  • MeganOnThe move

  • Isthatatromboneinyourpocketorareyoujusthappytoseeme

  • MeggoMyEggo (this was actually my best friend's nickname for me in high school)

  • LetMeSeeYourTootsieRoll (why is everyone so dirty lol)

  • TrackingTaz ("Taz" was my circus nickname)

  • MeganTootsieMusic or MeganTootsieTrombone

I'm kind of opposed to using the word "tootsie" in the username, but meh, it's not a deal-breaker, you can always change your TikTok name later on.
In general I'd prefer to avoid sexual innuendos because reasons.
(I'm a hypocrite for saying this, though, because right now "isthatatromboneinyourpocketorareyoujusthappytoseeme" is my favorite lol)

Anyway. Thoughts?

TOOTSIE The Musical, National Tour

Finally I can make a formal announcement.

This Fall, I will be going on tour as a trombonist with TOOTSIE The Musical.






FAQ:

When does the tour start? How long does it run?

The tour starts with rehearsals at the beginning of October and runs through June 2022 (9 months).
There is also an opportunity for an extension, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

What is the show about?

It's a musical comedy based on a 1982 movie of the same name. From StageAgent.com:

"Michael Dorsey is a skilled actor with a talent for not keeping a job. His volatile, stubborn nature gives him a reputation for being a difficult actor and a director’s worst nightmare. After a string of failed auditions, Michael is turning forty and desperate. He is further riled when his best friend and roommate, Jeff, reminds him of the ambitious ‘To-Do List’ he made to accomplish before he turned forty. Michael has a bright idea and decides to make one last-ditch effort at achieving theatrical success."




What cities will the tour visit, and how can I get tickets?

You can find show locations and ticketing information on the show's official website, HERE.
We haven't received any details on complementary friends/family tickets yet, but when I get this info I'll share it here.

The website says this is the Broadway show. Is this a tour, or are you playing on Broadway in NYC?

TOOTSIE on Broadway closed in 2020. The show has been licensed to Troika Entertainment and is now going on national tour. So unfortunately no, I will NOT be playing on Broadway!

The production team is using the original Broadway website and social media pages for the tour. There aren't many updates just yet, but once we start rehearsals in October you can expect to see more content. 

What are some of the covid safety precautions for seeing a live theatre show right now?

   - You will likely be asked to wear a mask during the show.
    - Seating will be socially distanced, and you will be asked to socially distance in public spaces.
    - Depending on regulations in your state, you might be asked to provide proof of vaccination in order to attend.

What will your schedule look like?

Shows will mostly take place every evening, Tuesday through Sunday, with some afternoon matinees on the weekends.
Monday is consistently either a travel day or a day off.
I don't know what the day-to-day will be like just yet, but am looking forward to finding out!

How did you get the gig?

It was very unexpected.
Two years ago I wrote a letter of inquiry and submitted it to several production companies, along with portfolio materials (headshot, resume, audio/video media, etc).
This June, Troika Entertainment reached out to ask if I would be interested in joining the TOOTSIE national tour.
They had kept my information on file this entire time.
So put your name out there kids, because you never know when someone will need you!

Can we hang out before/after the show? Can I come say "Hi" at intermission?

Unfortunately due to covid precautions, you will not be able to approach the orchestra pit or stage during intermission, or before and after the show.
I am also not allowed to bring you backstage for a tour, or find you to say hi during intermission or immediately before/after the show.
We can hang out, but it will have to be WELL before showtime or WELL after the show, somewhere besides the theater.

Are you going to share updates from the road, like you did when you were with the circus?

Yes! I will be posting weekly updates as we travel from city to city.

You will get to see:
    -  The venues where we will perform,
    -  the sights and points of interest that I get to see in each city,
    -  behind-the-scenes and glimpses of what goes on backstage (as permitted),
    -  and see what it's like for us to travel from place to place by bus, truck, train, and plane.

My plan (subject to change) is to post every week on Sunday or Monday evenings.

In the days and weeks leading up to the tour start in October, I will be sharing some of my packing and other preparations for going out on tour.

Stay tuned!

Would you consider starting a tour TikTok?

TBD. It's been suggested, and I'm considering it. I have an account but have not used it to post.
We will see how things work out once the tour gets going.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that's what's up, folks.

As stated earlier, this was completely unexpected. I'm very excited, and also very nervous.
Practicing has been going well. Like a lot of musicians post-covid, I was getting rusty and needed to work some things back up. But I am confident that we are going to provide some AWESOME music for this show!

Probably the hardest thing about going on tour is leaving loved ones behind, even if it's only temporary.
I'm going to miss Jameson very much! But we are both musicians and we support each other's professional endeavors, recognizing that there will come opportunities that may take us away from each other for periods of time. Jameson has been 100% behind me, supportive and caring through the whole pandemic and now as I head out on this new adventure. I just hope I get the opportunity to return that amazing supportiveness in the near future!

Today I gave notice at work. I have done a lot of general prep already such as renewing my passport, signing up for TSA PreCheck, buying all sorts of supplies that I hope will be useful, and tying up loose ends.

Look forward to weekly updates. I'm excited to bring you along on this adventure!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Short PS:

As you are probably aware, the arts and entertainment industry has been devastated by the covid-19 pandemic.
Things are just now starting to open back up, but it's very gradual, cautious, and uncertain.
There are still many musicians, artists, actors, performers, and entertainers waiting to be able to do what they love again post-covid.

Knowing this, I am especially humbled and grateful for this incredible opportunity to perform once again.
While I am performing with this tour, every single night as I warm up in the orchestra pit I will be thinking of all the people who want to be sitting where I'm sitting, but cannot due to the current situation.
With those folks in mind, I will perform to the best of my ability every single night.
That doesn't mean I won't make mistakes :) It just means that I understand the value of what I'm doing, and will be putting forth my best effort for every show.

As your personal safety allows, please consider supporting the arts with your presence, your purchases, and your applause.
So many people want to go back to bringing joy and music and FUN back into our lives.
We can do it gradually, and we can do it safely, by supporting each other and being responsible and aware in public places.

Thanks for reading...I hope to see you in the audience soon!

Random Nature

Some random nature from the past few days.

I saw something moving in the grass near my workplace, and when I went to investigate, found this adorable gopher tortoise chomping on some grass!


Of course as soon as I got close he scurried away. I followed and got to see his cute scaly butt blocking the entrance to his burrow.


Finally getting some visitors to my pollinator garden! I think everything is just blooming and growing at different rates this year, so the butterflies have not been around as often. But it's still the same two species frequenting my garden, the pipevine and the spicebush.

This pipevine was stunning. His wings were shining in the morning light. It amazes me how metallic they look, and the beautiful shades of blue and purple that are subtle and prominent in his wings.



Then there was this very old, tattered, faded spicebush. In many ways, this butterfly is even more beautiful. You can see that she has been through a lot, yet she was still energetic, dive-bombing the pipevine to compete for the best nectar. I was so happy to get such good footage of both butterflies, but this particular butterfly seemed very special indeed.



This next one is not nature, but I had wanted to share it and forgot.

Here is a picture of one of the first whole wheat loaves I made.
You can see how it's more dense near the bottom, with larger air bubbles near the top.
It was also kind of dry and crumbly (though perfectly edible).


Now here is the whole wheat that I made last week.
Very similar recipe, the main difference being using the tangzhong method.
You can see how much tighter the crumb is, how much more uniform.


I'm just very happy to have evidence that my loaves are improving! Very cool.

Closer and Closer

Friday was just a day to get through.

Nothing of interest whatsoever at work.
I read another LJ friend's post about the jobs she's in consideration for, and I felt embarrassed and ashamed, because she has skills for jobs that would pay $50 per hour, or $70k per year, and I will never in my life be worth that no matter what I learn to do.

Well anyway, after wrapping up my $14 per hour day, I drove home and ate a hurried dinner with Jameson before he took off for a performance at Epcot. I allowed myself a little time to relax, then did an hour of steno and a load of laundry and some dishes. Then I made the mistake of googling my rarest trombones (an Earl Williams 6 and a Minick .500, if any nerds are wondering) and found a pretty pristine Williams 6 for sale by a very reputable seller. Argh.

You see, my trombones are, like, VERY rare. They were handmade by some very skilled dudes back in the 50s and 60s.
To have one at all is really a privilege. I found mine while on the road with the circus, at the top of my performance game, so at that time I was able to detect misc subtleties about how each horn played, blah blah blah. The bottom line is, they are truly one of a kind. I think it's fair to say that the Williams at least is like the Stradivarius of the trombone world. No one has been able to replicate his work, and if you've got one, you've got gold.

So you can probably guess my concern. If something happens to my Williams or my Minick, it's OVER.
I can't have another one made. Any sort of major repair means they will likely never sound the same again.

To find another one for sale is kind of a big deal. My boss spent almost a decade looking for a Minick trombone before finding one. Minick .500 trombones are even rarer than a Williams of the same size, it's estimated that between 10-20 exist in the whole world. But tbh, Minick was more of a custom mod guy, so his horns have been found to be less consistent than Williams. Either way, when these trombones do go up for sale it's a rare event.

Argh.

I can't afford it, but wrote the seller all the same to ask if he'd take a payment plan. So lame.
All I can think about is having to check my trombone for a flight at some point in the next nine months, and the luggage guys flinging it around...

Anyway, anyway. Let's think about something else.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday is a day off since my schedule got all messed up this week.
I'm happy for the day of rest, but annoyed that I then have to go back to work for two random days before my weekend hits. I should be glad, but I'm annoyed. Maybe I'll get glad later.

So, Saturday I woke up and saw that one of the keyboardists for the tour has "made it public". Yay!
I am giving notice on Monday (I wanted it to be tomorrow but HR is not in on Sundays).
I can't wait, but also, time seems to be moving so quickly. My excitement and nervousness levels are definitely creeping up.

For breakfast, I decided I should test some of the equipment I'm bringing on the road with me!

First, the immersion coil. Following the directions, I stuck it fully in the water BEFORE plugging it in.
After a few minutes it was clearly doing its job.


While that was happening I set up the cute mini-skillet. Rubbed it with some olive oil.


This got hot WAY faster than I was expecting! I kinda messed up because I didn't leave enough oil in the pan, and then what was there started smoking before I'd realized how hot the pan had gotten. The eggs were still fine to eat, but I had to scrape some overcooked egg-flakes off the bottom of the pan.


The second attempt went much better. More oil, same temp but eggs went in almost immediately.
Eggs turned out perfectly.


This pan does not cook evenly whatsoever. For some reason the heating element is hottest farthest from the handle.
Not really surprising, this isn't exactly Michelin-star cookware over here.

All it means is that I will need to utilize the lid to help distribute heat when I turn the thing on, and also stir whatever I'm cooking a lot so that everything passes over the actual hot part of the pan. Yeah, it would be nice if it cooked evenly, but I have a feeling sending this back and getting a replacement would not make a difference...it's probably just how this cheap little skillet IS. Rather than trying to cook a whole chicken breast and have it cook unevenly, it will be better to chop my chicken up and stir it, that's all. This should work very well for most ground or chopped meats, eggs, and vegetables. I was hoping to be able to make rice in it too, but with the uneven heating that's probably not a good idea.

Meanwhile the immersion coil seemed like it was not going to get the water actually boiling (I've read that a lot of travel versions in the US will not *actually* boil water), so I unplugged it and poured the hot water into my French press. It certainly worked to make decent coffee, and it will be perfect for tea. Yay!

After breakfast I enjoyed some "Saturday morning cartoons" in the form of Boku no Hero Season 5, then wrote some emails to family, just to see how everyone is doing.

Now I'm typing this up, then will weed around the house, practice trombone and steno, and hopefully spend the rest of my day reading or relaxing, maybe even taking a dip in the pool for once.

The end of September creeps closer and closer.
Still can't believe this is happening.

No Pictures Needed

Monday I felt sad. Because MONDAY. And a full actual work week ahead.
I mean, I work a full week normally anyway. But somehow having my days off separated makes it feel like a longer week.

Nothing special happened on Monday except that the fleece "jacket" that I ordered is too big and I'll have to send it back.
I had steno class and it was ok, but at this point I just want to pass the tests. I wish I could do a better job of focusing.

During lunch break I made an appointment to take my trombone to a shop in Cary, NC while visiting my Aunt.
For whatever reason, there are ZERO professional brass repair shops in Orlando. My trombone hasn't been played for two years, and while it's behaving "ok" it's also hanging up somewhat in second position, and I'd like to get that looked at before launching into a year of daily playing. It's convenient that this shop is only 20 minutes from my Aunt's house. Hopefully she won't mind; it shouldn't cut into our visit more than an hour.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday. My aunt says it's fine to do the trombone cleaning while I'm visiting with her. Yay!
At work I discovered that the training department doesn't actually need me at all this week. I'm a little miffed because I've lost my consecutive weekend for the week AND my work-from-home day AND I had to use two hours of PTO to cover the doctor appointment that would normally have been on my day off. But, I can't really blame them. If you're not sure if you'll have enough coverage, you make a contingency and cover your butt, and that's exactly what they did.

So, I'll have a normal work week, just no days off until Saturday. Sad trombone noises.

After work I got home where Jameson was getting ready to go out for a game night with friends from Head Over Heels.
I was invited too, but on Monday I did not get to practice trombone and I'm starting to stress about passing my steno tests and also being "ready enough" for the tour, so I opted out. We talked as I ate dinner, then after he left I packed my lunch for tomorrow (chicken salad, homemade wheat bread, kiwis, egg whites, edamame, a piece of chocolate) and then got to work.

I did trombone first because a lot of times that gets me focused and attentive, and I was hoping that would carry over to steno afterward.
Trombone practice went well, but I discovered ONE SINGLE NOTE that requires ONE SPECIFIC MUTE that is never used again for the entire two hour show. I can't find a recording of said note to understand why the specific mute is needed, either. Is it a solo? It's not marked as one, and it's marked "piano" (that means "play this quietly" in Italian). I'm already bringing four mutes: straight/cup combo, bucket, plunger, and a practice mute. Do I really need to bring a fifth just for this one note?

I mean, I totally will if I need to. But DO I need to?

It finally ended up bothering me enough that I emailed our conductor about it.
I feel like it could be perceived as an amateur or unprofessional question. But y'all didn't hire me for my mute collection, right? We're living out of suitcases here. I think it is legitimate to ask about the whys of bringing an extra mute for a single note.

I worded my question as delicately and politely and professionally as possible, cringed as I hit send, and will just hope that it's not taken the "wrong way", whatever that is. The obvious answer is, "It's in the book so clearly it's required." But, sometimes what's in the book is a misprint. Meh.

Speaking of "meh", I took a steno test and did "meh", got an 89. It's probably a 90 after some of the formatting is fixed, but that's still not passing. Sigh.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday. It was extremely slow at work.

Last week I had written to our music coordinator to confirm that everything was going ahead as planned, no changes due to Delta variant? She responded that as far as she knows it's full steam ahead. Awesome. I just needed a little reassurance. It's been a year (or two).

Then the conductor wrote back to tell me that, in fact, I do NOT need to drag the harmon mute across the country for a single note in a two hour show. He wrote to the music supervisors to ask about it, and their response was "That bar is getting reorchestrated anyway. We'll have her use a different mute." Thanks guys! One less mute to worry about. I'm glad that I asked rather than chickening out and bringing the mute anyway.

Nothing else to report all day except a good friend dropped off a harmon mute for me to borrow, and now I'll have to get it back to him. Whoooops.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday. Work felt very slow because I knew I was gonna get to leave early for my doctor appointment.
It was also a very annoying day because call volume was high, so we kept having to get on phones and it was hard to get some tasks done even though there was sort-of enough time to do them all. Also, people kept asking me to take on tasks that needed to be done AFTER I would have left for the day (and yes I had reminded everyone first thing in the morning that I was leaving early). Even my boss, who was the one who approved my leaving early, asked me to take phone coverage at 3pm.

It felt like one of those frustrating dreams where you are trying to get somewhere, and the clock is ticking and you know you need to leave now, but every time you try someone stops you and insists that you do this one other thing first, until you start to hyperventilate in your sleep (at least I do). Of course no one was trying to stop me, but just the fact that I kept having to explain,

"I have a doctor appointment today."
"No, I cannot reschedule it."
"I got approval a week ago to leave early today."
"No, I cannot do that task because I NEED to go to this appointment."
"Yes, I DO need to eat something right now because I am leaving soon and this is my only chance to eat."
"I would love to help you but as I reminded everyone this morning, I'm leaving early because--"

etc etc. It was very frustrating and stressful.
I go to the doctor VERY rarely, and I am NEVER absent or late to work, and I gave plenty of notice, and the only reason I even had to give notice in the first place is because THEY changed my schedule all around! And then people have the gall to question it all day! ARGH!!

My job is not that hard, and I do enjoy it, but today it felt very RETAIL.
I should not have to feel guilty for taking ONE day out of the 365 to look after my health. Very unpleasant.

And then, THEN...

I went to the appointment. And waited in the 98 degree parking lot for almost 30 minutes.
And then someone called and said, "Were you a follow-up appointment?"
And I said, "Um, NO. This was a PCP."
And they said, "Oh! There's been a mistake. We had you booked for a 10-minute follow-up appointment."

Oh my god.

She added, "I can book you for November, how does that sound?"

Oh my god.

I said, you know what, never mind. I'll call you again.
In nine months. When I'm back from tour.

Welp...at least I had some extra time after work today, and I took full advantage.
I went to Target for some small things, got dinner, got to the house and cleaned up and packed my lunch. Cleaned both bathrooms, and dusted the furniture. Ate dinner with Jameson, watched Cobra Kai, practiced trombone for an hour. Jameson left for rehearsal and I practiced steno, took a test and AGAIN got an 89. So f*cking frustrating. I only have like five 100wpm tests left in my bank, I'm terrified to fail all of them, and then what??

So now I'm typing this up, then I'm having a half-shot of vodka just because I'm ANGRY.
Then I'll shower and get to enjoy, let's see, it's 9:20pm now, I should get about one hour of time to "relax" before I should try to sleep because tomorrow it's back to work again.

Then I will have Saturday off, and you know what? I am doing NOTHING.
I will still practice steno and trombone, and will probably weed around the house. But NO chores. NO cooking. NO bread.
Lots of sleep and sitting on my ass.

BECAUSE I'M A LAZY-ASS MILLENNIAL WHO IS RUINING EVERYTHING. You're welcome.

Frantic Rest

Well it seems the cat is dangling halfway out of the bag.

Friday at work the call floor manager---not my boss, my boss's boss---came over "just to say hi". Uh huh.

After a while of small talk he finally said, "So I heard something from A---- at the Tampa location..."

Of course with that said I knew right away what this was about.
Several months ago I was asked to interview for an HR Assistant position in Tampa. This was well before I had been asked to go on tour, so I said sure, I'll apply if you think it's a good fit. I applied, and a few weeks later got the tour offer. Then a few days after that they set up an interview date.

At the time of the interview I had a temporary, incomplete tour contract, and that was it. So I went ahead with the interview because I didn't know how things would turn out. Probably a week after the interview I had the final tour contract, and the week after that came the I-9 and other paperwork. At that point I knew I would not be taking the job in Tampa.

I forget the exact date, but a few weeks ago the Tampa interviewer called to offer me the job. And of course I declined it. But they weren't expecting that at all. Up until this point they had assumed that if it was offered, I would take it. So they had called the Orlando offices to let them know they'd be poaching me down to Tampa.

So when I declined, it was (I assume) surprising, although the interviewer hid it well. They did ask if there were any reason, and I felt that they deserved an explanation after I had applied and interviewed quite seriously. So I told them. I'm not a good liar, and this employer has treated me well, I do not want to lie to them. She understood, we thanked each other, and hung up. And I knew that this would get around, one way or another. It was only a matter of when.

I guess the two locations don't talk to each other all that much...there's really no need, they have separate payroll systems and HR processing. If I wanted to work in Tampa I'd have to fill out all-new employment paperwork, that's how separate the locations are. So it's not really surprising that they're finally talking about this just now. Maybe they have a conference call once a month, and it finally came up: "Hey, whatever happened with you guys taking Megan down to Tampa for that HR position?"

However it went down I'll never know, but today my boss's boss said, "So I heard something from A---- at the Tampa location. She says you're thinking of leaving us?"

I sighed and said, "Well, yes. It's not quite finalized yet." (white lie, but I AM kind of waiting for a travel itinerary)

He said, "Ok. Sorry, I know you probably didn't want me to know that yet."

"Oh, I don't mind," I said. "I was going to let you know in the next two weeks."

"Oh!" He seemed surprised at that. "Well, yeah, it doesn't change anything. Please know that this won't change how you're treated, or anything like that. We just really want to know--"

"You'll get a month's notice," I said. "Nothing is happening until October."

This seemed to be a huge relief for him. People ghost out of that place all the time, so maybe he thought I was planning to just not show up one day or something. But I'm not that kind of person. And hey, now they've technically got an extra two weeks of notice! Lucky them.

So yeah, there it is.

I'll still wait the two weeks for an official anouncement on my social and stuff.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After work I went to the Toyota dealership because my car was screaming "MAINTENANCE REQUIRED", but it turned out it needed nothing at all. Next time I'm just going to call and ask them to check their system to see if it needs something. But it was a good thing because now rather than sitting at the dealership all day I could get some stuff done.

Jameson was at a gig so I had dinner on my own, and visited Sprouts because they sell flour in bulk and I only needed a small amount of wheat. Then fought traffic home where I vacuumed, and practiced both steno and trombone. I wanted to take a steno test, but felt my focus was not good enough.

( Collapse )

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday, I woke up earlier than usual because Jameson had to be up early for a rehearsal.
That's ok, I also went to bed earlier than usual so still got decent sleep.

I put a load of laundry in, then went out to look at the garden.

The basil is back to being insane. There will definitely be one more round of caprese sandwiches and pesto pasta before I leave.


I keep wanting to pull these cowpeas up, but they just keep producing beans, so...ok! I'll pull them up once I have enough beans for a meal.


A branch of the finger lime tree. There's a big painful thorn at the base of each leaf.


My passion vine is officially dead. You can see how the grass is brown next to the fence...we think that the HOA's lawn people sprayed something, because all of the grass is dead for the entire length of the fence.


Well you know what, f*ckers, I planted a BACKUP passion vine on the OTHER side of the fence. So SUCK IT :p


( Collapse )