Friday April 30 2021

Waking up around 11:30 a.m. feeling 100% better! The fever side effects from the vaccine are gone after 24 hours basically. Now I can move on with normal life.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Catching up on business.

 

I decide to do some plant maintenance – repotting plants and taking propagated trimmings and planting. It feels good to finally take care of this.

 

Later on, Ana and I run some errands – grabbing a late lunch at Zeke’s in Shadowlawn.

Tuna Pita with Seaweed Salad and Cold Brew Coffee.

Hitting up the bookstore off Great Neck to donate a few boxes of Umit’s books. We end up meeting Bob, one of the owners and a really nice older gentlemen. Buying a few books of our own.

 

It’s a beautiful day out – shooting some basketball out on the Lynnhaven courts – playing some 21 with two other dudes. Getting some cardio in!

 

Back home. Ana and I warm up leftovers for dinner.

Eggs, Beet Soup, Cabbage, and Sourdough Bread.

Together we watch Aladdin (1992) for fun.

 

Later on, Umit brings Taha over to meet us and hang out for a bit. Soon Umit will be moving out and Taha will be moving in. He’s another Turkish foreign exchange student. We all recline in the living room chatting about Chanticleer drama and police stories.

 

Thursday April 29 2021

Waking up off and on throughout the morning – my body feels like it got run over by a truck. The second dose Moderna vaccine side effects are kicking in dramatically.

 

Blueberries, Raspberries, and Yogurt. Tea.

 

Taking the day off work so I can stay in and rest.

 

Catching up on business.

 

Lying down and resting in bed off and on.

 

Watching Stowaway (2021).

 

Later on, Ana cooks a hearty dinner: Lentil and Vegetable Soup along with Golden Beet Soup.

 

We lounge on the couch and watch an episode of Life in Color (2021), showing really vivid examples of animals using color for their survival and mating.

 

Chores.

 

Wednesday April 28 2021

Waking up around 11 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

At the convention center getting my 2^nd does of the Moderna vaccine! Another shot in the arm and I’m good to go. I’m anticipating not feeling great the next day but we’ll see.

 

At the gym running and working out while listening to a podcast about how we put unrealistic expectations on ourselves in regards to exercise.

 

Scrambled Eggs. Spinach. Toast with Butter and Jam. Coffee. Salt n Vinegar Chips.

 

At Music Makers teaching lessons.

 

Ana cooked us Vegan Burgers with Cabbage for dinner.

 

Coaching the band jam boys – Ana sits in on vocals.

 

 

Starting to feel feverish and achy from the side effects of the vaccine. I take off to bed early.

Tuesday April 27 2021

☼▬

I’m on stage with Josiah about to do a show to a packed venue. Apparently our drummer is Austin Clark. Josiah starts playing the guitar to songs we’ve never rehearsed. I can barely hear cause of my earplugs and I’m struggling to follow the chords he’s playing. I joke with Austin, “I don’t know any of these songs!” but somehow I’m following along. At some point Josiah pulls out a translucent electric violin in a moment of spontaneous inspiration. Later on, I’m talking to the crowd giving an improvised speech that starts out meaningless but ends up in a highly motivated story…

“Every day you get one step closer to your dreams!”

I talk about how certain moments you will have epiphanies that bring you back to humanity.

▬☼

 

Waking up around 11 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Working out at the gym.

 

Chic Pea Salad Sandwich with Avocado and Tomato. Kale and Carrots. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Back home. Making homemade Ramen for dinner with some Spring Rolls.

Watching The Little Things (2021).

 

Rebecca had a surprising discovery of a rat in her apartment. With it being off hours for Chanticleer maintenance she asks for my help in getting rid of it. I head over to help investigate. After searching in all the nooks and crannies we find a spot where he chewed through the carpet and scurried into a hole in the wall.

 

Catching up on business and chores.

 

 

Later on, Ana joins me in bed early. Before we drift off to sleep we make fire.

Monday April 26 2021

Waking up around 11:30 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Staying on the computer catching up on business and scheduling.

 

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Spinach. Coffee. Popped Chips.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Afterwards, at the gym running a few miles on the treadmill.

 

Back home. Being the leftover king I am and warming up a bunch of leftovers out of the fridge for Ana and I. She likes to call them freshovers.

 

Green Tea.

 

At the studio Ana and I rehearse the Aladdin song – orchestrating our positions and expressions mostly.

 

Mango and Yogurt.

 

Sunday April 25 2021

Waking up at 11 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Coaching 3 MMLIVE bands today with the help of Devon.

 

PB&J and Coffee break somewhere in there.

 

Then, straight over to Broadway rehearsal. Ana joins me to get an idea of Jasmine’s role in the One Jump Ahead number. I put on my Aladdin slacks and run around out of breath singing all the fast paced verses. There’s so much coordination between everyone on set it can get chaotic.

 

Afterwards, Ana and I grab some quick dinner at Shadowlawn Eats.

Salmon with Fries and Green Beans.

 

Then, I have to high tail it to ELO rehearsal. Leon, the drummer, is actually in town so we take advantage and we’re working in a new female singer. Bri is unfortunately stepping down from the band – her shoes will be hard to fill.

 

After 11 p.m. I’m back at the studio cleaning up from the afternoon band rehearsals – meanwhile also talking to Rebecca over the phone about Broadway related things.

 

Finally back home. I scoop out some Cookie Dough Gelato with a Sugar Cone on top and take a chill pill. I’ve seriously attended 5 different rehearsals all in one day! It was like a marathon.

 

Saturday April 24 2021

Waking up around 11:30 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Jamil stops by to figure out why the coolant is leaking in mom’s truck. We discover the water pump needs replacing.

 

Teaching a few afternoon lessons at Music Makers. While I’m here Rebecca has all sorts of Broadway students coming in here and there basically giving them free lessons to prepare for their parts.

 

Back home. Taking care of myself.

Scrambled Eggs. Biscuit with Butter and Jam. Spinach. Coffee.

 

The heating coil arrived in the mail so I spend a good hour installing it on the dryer. So far it’s totally solved the issue...at least until the next malfunction. It’s always something in this house. It’s a never ending cycle of solving problems.

 

Ana gets home from work and cooks a quick dinner: Japanese Style Fried Rice with Kale and Carrots. I add some Smoked Salmon.

 

Green Tea.

 

Later on, we rehearse the Aladdin song at the studio – working on both the dialogue and singing.

 

Friday April 23 2021

Waking up around noon.

 

Ana makes us Blueberry Waffles for breakfast.

 

Running errands together – hitting up Target, dropping off post, Whole Foods, and Three Ships.

 

Back home. Erica comes over and hangs with us.

 

Eating a Spinach Beet Salad. Banana.

 

Shooting the basketball around – Ana joins for a bit.

 

Ana and I meet up with Tristan at Nawab for delicious Indian food.

 

Later on, we set up the latest Mortal Kombat movie that just came out today. James and Allyson join us.

 

Ana drifts off to sleep in my bed while I troubleshoot the dryer. It suddenly stopped heating while running. After taking it apart I see there’s a break in the heating coil. So I order a new one on Amazon with an arrival time of tomorrow.

 

Thursday April 22 2021

☼▬

At Music Makers during a usually busy time of day. A 5-year-old boy wants to buy this vintage lamp of mine for $10. I had attached some weird water filter to it. He seems to think he can sell it online for thousands of dollars. While taking it apart and walking it outside to the car I discover he’s getting a ride with Andrea Williamson, a parent we had an issue with in waking life the day before. She’s dressed up nice in all black with some kind of black out contact lenses looking all goth or possessed. We never had the chance to talk yesterday about the problem and so I ask, “Can I talk to you for minute?”

She giggles evilly and offers a dab with her fist but kind of nudges me away. Heading back into the car she lies over her kid, Leland, to hide him from my sight I guess. I go on a tirade about patience and how it’s a virtue – and how her kid needs these piano lessons. They both start laughing in defiance. I don’t know what to do.

▬☼

 

Waking up at 11:30 a.m.

 

Cereal with Blueberries, Banana, and Almond Milk. Tea.

 

Workout with Vlad at the gym.

 

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Chips. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Ana made us Vegan Burgers with Roasted Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts for dinner.

 

With Josiah and Bobby at our first ever Ladada practice this year and in quite a while. It feels good to jam with Bobby on the drums and play familiar tunes. We actually have a few shows in the works.

 

Snacking on Rice Crackers and Grapefruit.

 

Wednesday April 21 2021

Waking up at 11:18 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

Business.

 

Working out at the gym.

 

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese and Jam. Chips. Green Beans. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Quick dinner at home: leftover Sloppy Jack’s (Jackfruit) with Cauliflower Cheese Bowl.

 

Coaching the band jam with the Modern Day Warrior boys.

 

Back home. Chores.

 

Tuesday April 20 2021

Waking up around 10:30 a.m.

 

Oat Breakfast Bar. Tea.

 

Discovering downstairs water spilt all over the dining room floor! Long story short: They put a cap on our washing machine drain that feeds into the empty unit next door and when Roland went to use it water just splashed directly out on our floor cause it had nowhere to go. The maintenance guys come over quickly and resolve the situation. One of them uses a shopvac to suck all the water up. You seriously don’t know what’s gonna happen from one day to the next in Chanticleer.

 

Working out at the gym.

 

Scrambled Eggs. Spinach. Toast with Butter and Jam. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Chic-fil-A for dinner (cause I had a gift card).

 

Catching up on business.

 

At the studio to meet Ana after she gets off work. She wanted to rehearse the Aladdin song – we also have a bit of dialogue in the beginning that’s kind of fun to do.