you can tell I want to get out when
I make up a list of things to pack in the proverbial perfect carry-on bag when I’m trying to sleep. Better than counting sheep, I guess.
So here it is, in all its glory. I figured I might at least help someone with it, so:
Because I’m bored and have cabin fever, I’m going to make a list for: the carryon for an orchestra tour! With a bunch of superfluous stuff because it’s fun and you won’t be holding it, it’ll be on the ground or overhead anyway,
-toothbrush/ ittybitty toothpaste
you will want to have that when they lose your luggage.
-money
More if you plan to turn it there instead of here- the dollar’s weak. Avoid conversions near the airport or touristy districts- get it done elsewhere for minimum ripoffage.
-ALL the sheet music for the tour
Once again, you want to have that. half the cellists will have left theirs at the airport or in the lost luggage or it got eaten by a grue or they burned it for fuel or something
-clean socks, panties, bra (in a clear plastic gallon bag so the tsa won’t have to rifle through it)
You will realize the gravity of this when you can’t do your laundry. thank me later.
-books
fight ennui! (recommended: a mixed poetry anthology and some really good prose, both with a few blank pages in the back to write/ draw on, or just bring a drawing pad too, as long as it’s small and doesn’t weigh too much, the way this is going it’s going to be a backbreaker)
-pencil and eraser
because pens are technically a controlled liquid/gel, right? besides, pencils don’t leak with pressure changes. watercolors never hurt anyone either… yeah, backbreaker, and only if you’re bringing paper to write/draw on.
-box of tampons
when this is useful, it’s useful. If it’s not you, it’s your stand partner. whee, estrogen. o.b. are small and discreet and a good idea. When the bags get left in Tulsa and you’re in Moscow, you’ll be happy you brought this with you.
-mp3 player of some kind, with full battery and good headphones
a godsend
-meclizine, not to be confused with mescaline, not to be confused with mesclun.
airsickness is for the proverbial birds, and dramamine makes me feel gross
-chewable adult-strength tylenol
I can’t swallow pills, and getting sick overseas where you don’t speak Czech or Hungarian or Viennese German (good god) is a complete bitch when you have no meds.
-multivitamins, even if it’s a week’s worth in a film canister, in fact that’s a good idea
thank me later, vegetarians of the world- you’ll find nothing to eat that’ll balance you out; they don’t take the same approach to big salads as you do. I know- it sucks. Eat fruit.
-for that matter, any daily medication you’re on, no one wants to not have that
put all of this in a bag; no one wants tablets/ blister packs flying around their bag
-nalgene (empty)
You can probably fill this up on the plane or behind your last security screen, and dehydration is no one’s friend.
-hairbrush
always a good idea- make sure it’s a cheap one with no metal bits, the security folks might think it’s a bomb
-pressed powder and a powder brush
I am so female right now. really, though, you’ll look six times better if you do your face as you chill on the tarmac and wait to disembark. It takes like four seconds to do a quick powder, and you won’t look like such a haggard traveller when you have to do things that night.
-pack of chewing gum
so your ears don’t explode on the way back down―no one wants that
-one-quart ziploc baggie
because the tsa shows no mercy (or competence), and they’re going to want you to put your chapstick in it lest you use the dangerous white petrolatum to blow up the aircraft, because of course that’s probable
-your PASSPORT, you idiot
come on, you’re going to need that, way to go, keep it somewhere very very safe; take the non-american one if you have dual citizenship.
-a list of important thing to be able to say in the language of wherever you’re going
-hello
-goodbye
-excuse me
-help
-thank you
-please
-you’re welcome
-where is
-I don’t speak (language)
-Oh my god, there’s an axe in my head
I think that’s it. That’s a ton, after all. Cheers.
blah blah vacation blah
So the title gave it away, eh? It’s raining, it’s 6ºC, and it’s the middle of March. So I’ve decided to do a little food-critic-y crap, do a little recap, sleep a lot more, get back to drawing and painting architecture (more on that later). First, a brief whatever:
I hate vacation because I always end up gaining weight. A pound over 6 days isn’t the apocalypse, but it’s a slippery and annoying slope. That’s what you get for sleeping in, I guess. Even though I’ve been biking an hour every day (except today- I’m waiting for the rain to let up- maybe I’ll just bike in the rain if it stays light), my mother had people over for dinner for three nights in a row, which means I end up eating too much. Time for an overhaul. And a food-critic-y sidebar:
Blanched string beans with carmelized shallots are god. Do it. Google “blanch vegetables” if you don’t know what I mean (essentially, boil them veryveryveryfast and dunk them in cold water to make them stop cooking), and carmelize some shallots in a little bit of olive oil. Mix/chill/salt and pepper/ serve. Good call. Your family will be pleased.
So, drawing and painting architecture, eh? I know, right, my performance art roots are pissed at me. A cellist, a singer, a (fat) dancer getting back to visual art? Never fear, folks, I’m still a performer at the end of the day (once again, more on that later). However, I’ve decided that I need to stop sucking so much at drawing. I’ve never felt decent at faces or plants or nudes or whathaveyou, but architecture and engineering runs in the family. I’ve started sketching buildings (the Syndey Opera House, recently) and urban landscapes (the train station and surrounding area) again. I don’t suck too much (that is to say, I’m a talented three-year-old in drawing level), and it makes me happy.
Cello and choir (see I said I’d get to it later) are good too- orchestra is playing this Leroy Anderson light-orchestral fluff, a concerto (oboe and bassoon) that our conductor wrote (um) and (the kicker!) part of Copland’s Rodeo. I think you can see the diamond-in-the-really-really-rough thing going on. Enough said.
I really love Copland. THIS much.
And the Grieg sonata is coming along nicely. No complaints there. I love the girl I’m doing this with. It’s insane.
So… cheers. It’s a good day. Drink tea and enjoy the rain.
Be well, do good work, and stay in touch.
