(no subject)
I've greatly enjoyed Fest this year. I love being able to set my schedule. I'm playing the same number of shows as last year, but I'm able to space them out and time them for more rest time, and most of them have been of shorter length. I still need to wear my elbow brace, but this is the first week I've had real stiffness, or thought I might need to ice it down.
The new Catskill boots have been orderd, and paid for in full. I got them fitted over the orthodics I wear for the plantar facitis, and I spurged for some custom cutwork decoration - I'm having a treble clef cut-out on one boot, and a bass clef on the other. I'm still wearing the current pair, even with the failed seam letting in all that dust. My feet hurt so much less in the Catskills than the Son and Sandals that I'm willing to deal with the plantar facitis flares. Hopefull, I got them on the production schedul in time to get them for the start of the show next year.
Tips have been running almost identical to last year. Which is good, as it has let me pay for the boots in full already, as well as some new jewelry. But still kind of odd. I am down roughly $10 this week to the same week last year. I think I am actually doing better than last year. Being off the street for fours on opening day probably "cost" me anywhere from $15 to $30. And, I've had significantly fewer large tips this year, so I'm getting more tips. Probably the biggest tip I got this year was from a couple who delighted in talking music history with me.
Of course, this year I have a show in the Children's Realm, playing for the line of patrons waiting to see the mermaids. My target audience, kids with parents, captive. Let me tell you, I'm getting really good at the quick "capture and release," as the line has to keep moving.
Toy violin, still the best prop ever.
The dust this year has been just awful. So far we've only had only really one hot weekend, one dampish day, but mostly it has been warm and dusty. Last weekend, there was gusty wind, which turned the air positively golden, and the participants positively grimy. This weekend wan't much better.
The archery tourney went extremenly well. I had Robin Hood and Little John help me pull arrows during the archery tourney. Seriously. Their show was not scheduled opposit the tourney, so they came to help, and we worked it. Afterwards, I had lots of people find me in the street to tell me how much they enjoyed the show.
I'm thinking I may need to schedule more time off from work next year. Or just get back into better shape. I'm still in pretty good shape, but the sheer number of workouts I missed last year due to work has taken their toll. But the more time I spend in the gym, the less time I have to deal with projects around the house, or to practice or do costuming. I'm finally having to put in less time at work, so I can get the gym earlier and home earlier, but still. I'm planning on taking some of my Fest money to hire one of the trainers at the gym, to get some assistance in creating better workouts. I've done the research, I "know" what to do, but setting parameters, goals, and measuring progress, that I'm not so good at. I am also a very poor judge of when I should push myself harder, or when I'm pushing too hard. One results in slow advancement, the other in injury. An outside expert is now needed, at least for a bit.
But, more time off. I've been exhausted this year, especially after Labor Day. I was quite the cranky pants that week, especially when another co-worker tried to hint that I should cancel my day off the next Monday (last week now), because she had something "really really important" come up. I can only assume it had to do with her upcoming wedding, but her planning problems are not mine, and I had scheduled the day off way back in January. I wasn't gracious about, either.
I need to get back to work on the forepanel, if I'm going to have it ready by Saturday. Hemming this thing is going to be a pain. Straightforward, but a pain.