–Wednesday, March 1st
Since I’m regrettably late in updating my tour journal/web blog I can’t really remember as much as I’d usually like to include. So… yeah.
We left on wednesday, and unlike almost every other time we leave on tour, we finally didn’t have to be at the airport at 4am. This time it was 10am, and we were flying on an actual airline… unlike last time when we showed up to TransAir (which turned out to be fine, but still.) We flew through Denver (turbulence city) to Omaha Nebraska. Losing two hours flying east and about an hour and a half to flight delays meant that we got to our hotel in Omaha just in time for dinner. We all walked about four blocks away from our hotel to the market square area of “downtown” Omaha and got dinner at a local eatery called Old Chicago’s. I got a huge (HUGE) order of nachos to go, and Becca and I rushed back to our room so we wouldn’t miss our perfect night of TV.
You see, Becca and I are cool enough that the ultimate on-tour activity (sometimes) is a good night of TV. Wednesdays, currently, consist of 8pm: American Idol, 9pm: Lost, 10pm: Project Runway. Missing any one of these is a sad and traumatizing event. So, when we got home at about 8:15, we thought we had only missed part of American Idol, but no! We forgot to compensate for central time’s ludicrous practice of putting TV on an hour earlier than either of the coast time zones… so we had actually missed the beginning of Lost — which, of course, you can’t come into late. We were so sad.
Right now, I am embarassed to admit that this event made me so sad, but whatever. It’s all relative, I guess. We skipped the rest of Lost so we wouldn’t come in late and decided to instead download it the next morning off the iTunes store (best thing ever…) Thankfully, the hotel room’s TV channel guide was erroneous in reporting that it did not carry Bravo, and Leo saved (our) day by knocking on the door that adjoins our rooms to tell us he found the channel we would need – lest the night be a total bust.
Have I ever mentioned that Project Runway is my favorite thing right now? Well it is, and I also adore Daniel V and want him to win. Also — anyone: what I want for my birthday (April 24th) is the white military/Japanese wool winter coat Daniel designed as part of his collection with the big double folded collar. I would CRY.
Went to bed.
–Thursday, March 2nd:
I had to be up early (booooo) because Chad and I were supposed to teach a class this morning. We met up in the breakfast area at about 8:30, along with a number of other Diavolites, and had the free breakfast at the hotel. Instead of a continental breakfast, our hotel (which, by the way, is directly across the street from the theater we were performing in — soooo nice for us…) serves a free plated, waitered breakfast… which was pretty cool, even though it was pretty unremarkable/mostly awful food. Chad and I were picked up by the local liaison and she drove us to where we were going to teach class…
On the schedule we get before we leave on tour we get all kinds of information on what we’re going to be doing and where, etc. and on that day’s itinerary it said the class was at a mental health facility. This in itself set off no alarm bells, because, we often use unusual spaces to teach classes to the community – gyms, ballrooms, YMCAs, courtyards… so we just thought that the facility was just where the class was (unrelated).
However! When we got in the car, the lady started telling us what to expect from the students, and Chad and I were mostly confused, until we started to realize we were about to teach a group of adult mental health patients — something we had never been told up until that moment.
Personally, I am very naive to mental health issues and that community in general, so I was assuming stereotypes and Law and Order episodes and crazy things (for about three seconds, and then I calmed down…) but then once I got over my initial fluster, and started concentrating on what we were about to be doing, I realized it was going to be a very different kind of class.
Basically, the group we were going to teach was the drama club at this facility, as it was composed of the more outgoing and stable attendees. We met up with the group’s advisor before the class and he was wonderful and explained to us a lot about the facility and the people. We discussed things we should be aware of: balance (due to heavy medication,) and touch issues… but even then he said it should be just fine.
And it was. In fact, I think Chad and I had the best class I’ve ever taught through Diavolo. It was so much fun, and the people cared so much about each other and being there… it was so much fun. Also – extremely quick learners and adept movers… better than most.
One guy who observed the class drew Chad and I a picture (of a downtown scene complete with extremely detailed buses and fire engines and a guy in a hole…) that I took back and put in the women’s dressing room later. Everyone was really thankful for the class and really excited about moving in general.
After the class, we went back to the hotel, and Becca and I promptly downloaded the Lost we missed and watched it (holy crap!) After, we walked a few blocks to a subway for lunch (and ice cream) and then headed back to the hotel for a brief nap (as always) before we had to tech Act 1 that night. On the way back to the hotel we found a random Buddhist center and were treated to an unusual experience: we got to see some Tibetan monks making a sand painting… look it up, it’s tedious and arduous and fascinating…
Tech was pretty normal. The theater was absolutely gorgeous… it looked on the inside the way I’ve seen pictures of the theater where Lincoln was shot. Was it Ford theater (I really might be making that up – if we had internet in Chicago, I would look it up and therefore appear smart, but I don’t so now I have to admit I have no idea.)
After tech, a group of us walked to micro brew restaurant called Upstream Brewery and got dinner… it was pretty amazing good, and it didn’t hurt that it was martini night and all specialty martinis were $2 off – so I treated myself to not one, but two, blue bayous (see cell phone blog for picture.) I also got a pretty decent veggie burger that came with some ‘smashed’ potatoes and gravy…. mmmm… gravy…
Then, bed.
–Friday, March 3rd:
The next morning we had to be at the theater early to tech act 2 and rehearse some random points (this was our first time doing the dances in about 3 weeks, so we had some stuff to clean up.) After, some dancers had to stay for a kid’s show rehearsal, but I didn’t, so John and Renee and I headed out to explore Omaha. We ended up at a pub called M’s, at which we had been explicitly instructed to order a carrot dog – like a hot dog, but instead it’s grilled carrot – which was actually really good. I tried a couple more fancy martinis, while Renee and John had about 8 glasses of beer each over the seven hours (not exagerating) we spent sitting there, having fun and talking. Benji showed up later on, too, and joined in. The drinks I got were courtesy of John and Renee, which I thought was really sweet. (Again, see cell phone blog for pix of the dog and the drinks… cause I’m weird like that.)
After the marathon bar time, we headed back to the hotel and to David’s room, where he was cooking dinner for all of us. He hasn’t had time to do this since our first leg of tour, and it was really nice having everyone in one room and to get an inexpensive and good home (hotel room) cooked meal.
After dinner and a couple episodes of Little Britain (soooo funny, look it up!) we watched “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” an eighties, (painfully eighties,) silly teen movie that I’m sure would have had me mezmorized for the majority of my youth had I known about it then.
After the movie we replayed the dance scenes and (probably against commonsense) tried out some of the partner lifts in the hotel room.
Then, bed.
–Saturday, March 4th:
This day was show day (and my mom’s birthday.)
Becca and I both slept in until about 1pm. Then we got up and walked to a creepily authentic diner called ‘The Diner’ and had lunch… I got three mini cheeseburgers, which were surprisingly good… somehow, I am always dually enchanted and weirded out by places and things that are so exactly what they are that it’s borderline surreal … because it’s so real… now I’m on crack and talking in circles. I’m basically saying this was was the epitome of midwestern diner complete with crazy wait staff and blue plate specials…
After lunch, Becca and I walked to get some ice cream and on the way stopped by a local store where I bought copper rings for Jerry and I, and some silly penguin earrings that I both adore and probably won’t wear cause it’s not really like me… but I just loved them, so who knows… they were pretty inexpensive anyway, so whatever.
Then nap before show. Then show. It went really well considering it had been so long. Also, I had an easy show because I wasn’t doing any of my solo or duo things – which was good because for some reason I totally felt like hucking the entire show. I downed a fistful of tums right before going on for Traj.
After the show during Q and A it was cool because a bunch of the people from Chad’s and my mental health place class were able to come because the lady who organized it all set aside tickets for them. It was really fun to see them and to have them of seen our show (I’m unable to properly verbify that sentence right now… I’m tired.)
After the show we walked around to the front of the theater to take a picture of the marquis which was the old school kind you change with a stick… it had “diavolo” in big red letters. I still get so excited by that kind of stuff like a big, big nerd. Then we walked back and randomly watched about five episodes of nip/tuck — again: addictive and amazing. I have like three new Tv obsessions… or more: 24 (not new, but RE-newed,) Grey’s Anatomy, nip/tuck, desperate housewives… to accompany Lost, America’s next top Model, Project Runway, Arrested Development, the Office… oh man. I’m such an escapist. I LOVE TV!!!!!! (drool… drool…)
Came back to the room and called mom and listened to her open her b-day present, and then went to bed. (Happy Birthday, Mommy!) 
–Sunday, March 5th:
Travel day. Up early to walk back to the diner for another authentic experience… only to be disappointed by them not being open on Sundays… that sucked. So we rushed back to the hotel and made it just in time for the hotel breakfast… yum-ish… but not really.
After breakfast we had more than enough time to go upstairs and finish packing before we had to be back downstairs to catch the vans to the Omaha airport… especially since the vans ended up being a half an hour late. Becca and I saw on the news that Chicago was in the middle of facing the brunt of a snow storm and that all flights into and out of O’hare were delayed… so we assumed this was okay. When we got to the airport, our flight was indeed delayed by about an hour, and so a group of us huddled together and watched more nip/tuck. This show is only *slightly* less embarrassing to listen to in public in an airport than Sex and the City.
The flight was fine, and we arrived in Chicago greeted by snow… which was wonderful. I love, love, love snow… and I think I realized for the first time it’s in part because it minimizes the world to just what you can see, so horizons are smaller and spaces less intense. Everything gets smaller, quieter and easier to handle.
Also, at the Chicago airport, there are signs that you can order a “friendly local” to show you around the city. Sounds like a really, really weird escort service to me. Randomly, I also was reminded of the bathrooms in Korea, which had “courtesy bells” in each stall… basically a doorbell that you would ring if your visit to the bathroom was going to be rather audible… the bell, supposedly would mask the inappropriate noises escaping from your butt. This, I called to mind as I visited the ladies’ room post flight and was assaulted by a woman giving birth to a trumpeting walrus-sized poo-demon. I have no idea why I felt the need to share this, but there it is.
We drove about 45 min to downtown Chicago — like, heart of downtown — and to our amazing freaking hotel. Our room has two beds AND two bathrooms, and is as ornate as anything you could imagine. I don’t know how we lucked out with another five-star Hilton, but here I sit in my enormous room. Only drawbacks to huge, extravagant hotels: no free internet and no free breakfast. Wah, wah, wah…
So! First we made a beeline to H&M, a store I wish, wish, wish was in LA and/or Seattle… but! it was closing, so it was not to be that night. On the way back, we stopped at a local Chicago must-do: Garret’s Popcorn and I got a bag of half cheese and half caramel corn… it was really, really, really good.
After that excursion, we settled in to our hotel rooms before eventually making our way to a local pub where I got a burger and others got chicago style deep dishes (cause you have to…) and we watched the pre-show and the first part of the Oscars on the pub TVs. Then, during one of the lulls we walked back to the hotel (in the snow, and in the shadow of the L train’s rails above our heads,) and we settled in to watch the oscars in our room.
Once the oscars were over, Becca and I randomly decided we wanted to watch a movie (starting at 11:30pm by the way – cause we’re retarded…) We had been flipping through the hotel’s movie selections (a plethora by the way) and saw they had “Walk the Line” and we were set on getting it… so we called everyone up and had a Walk the Line party in our room.
It was such an amazing movie – but the downside was all I could think about during it was how (now) I was totally pissed Joaquin Phoenix didn’t win the oscar for his part in it!!!! GRRRRRRRR. Because, rarely do I ever watch a movie and while I’m in the middle of experiencing it do I stop and marvel at the acting I’m seeing in it… and this movie was doing that to me… and it made me mad/sad. I’ve also apparently lost my ability to eloquently express emotion… me mad. joaquin good. oscars eat poo poo.
Then, bed.
–Monday, March 6th 2006:
I got up this morning to my alarm telling me to get up to meet Renee for breakfast. I didn’t get up, my body was just too happy in my really nice hotel room bed. So instead, I sacrificed my arm and pulled it from it’s sleep spot and called her and said we weren’t coming after all. Over the next hour or so both Becca and I half-slept until we finally got up and got ready (in our dual bathrooms! woooo Hilton!)
We had very serious shopping plans for the morning: back to H&M when we had enough time and weren’t rushed by it closing, and then to Urban and then Forever 21. I allowed myself only the liberty to shop at H&M – justified because we don’t have them anywhere near us and also they sell in sizes that run small so it fits both Jerry and I very well. In the end I spent $30 less than I allotted myself and got some perfect stuff for Jerry. I only got a canvas coat and a satchel bag, and even those were really inexpensive considering how freaking rad they are (again, eloquent…)
I did, however, cave to some staples from urban that were on sale for half off (my favorite broken-in heathered tees they make) and a tank top…
We took a break in shopping to go to lunch at a local (ish) restaurant called Potbelly’s. It’s an “ish” because apparently there are more franchises of them, but we definitely don’t have them anywhere near anywhere I’ve ever lived/been.
After, we came back and chilled in the hotel room until Becca had to leave to teach at about 3:30. I randomly got engrossed in an even more random movie called “Hostage” which I stumbled across on Starz as it was starting and nothing else was on TV. Becca was going to be gone for about 6 hours, and I chose to be entirely antisocial and have some much-needed hermit time… which I spent on the phone with Jerry, my mom, going to McDonald’s (shamrocks shakes are great, by the way,) and renting “Memoirs of a Geisha” from the hotel TV (sooooooo good… both enhanced and detrimented by the fact I’ve read the book… ask me why sometime.)
When the crew from the class got back, we all walked about 10 minutes through downtown to a restaurant called Giordano’s which we had been recommended to for more (supposedly the best) Chicago-style pizza. It was pretty good, but SO MUCH cheese made me feel kind of sick, so I cut my night short (skipping out on plans to go to a blue’s club to come back to the hotel and chill a bit. David and Crystal stayed in my room and talked a bit before we all called it a night.
Downtown Chicago reminds me of a mix of downtown Seattle and downtown Philly… with maybe a touch of Manhattan. Also on the way home from dinner, we took a small detour to go by the Sears tower. It’s tall.
And now, bed.
–Tuesday, March 7th 2006:
I woke up early when the Passages team called our room to invite us to go to the aquarium with them. Sadly, I had to teach at 1:30, so I couldn’t go, or else I would have of had to leave 45 min after having paid admission and then pay for a $20 cab ride back all by myself.
So, instead, I took my time getting ready and walked around downtown exploring for a bit before heading to Quizno’s to get lunch to go and eat back in my hotel room.
The class I taught was at a high school that was about 40 min away from downtown. It was nice because the high school had a performing arts track and so the kids were engaged and talented. John and I were teaching, and everything went smoothly — something I’m extra grateful for because we randomly were being viewed by Jacques, the board of the Chicago performing arts group who brought us here, and is bringing us back year for a week to two week residency and performances.
One thing, though, was that I apparently hurt my back really badly. I was carrying John (he’s 200 lbs, but we do this all the time just fine,) and went he jumped into my arms he jumped funny and I tried to compensate… which, while I can catch and carry him, I can’t do a rescue-hero catch… and I totally killed my back. I felt fine all day that day, but the next day (today) I woke up with a terrible back spasm and unable to bend, lift, curl or brace myself. It’s pretty much awful… I’m not concerned long-term, but I’m worried about the show and tech tomorrow and the next day.
Anyhow, after the class (we got back about 4:30pm,) I went back up to my room and got ready for a company dinner. The Chicago presenters (who had been at the class and who are sponsoring us for a stay next season,) took us out to a crazy-nice Italian restaurant called Trattoria no. 10. They had a special menu with appetizer, salad, entree, dessert and wine options for us and on the top was printed “The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Welcomes Diavolo” it was pretty trippy.
The dinner was (amazingly) good and the presenters are so much fun and so attentive and nice. It’s crazy because the season that they’re putting us as a part of for their subscribers is: Us, the Bolshoi (Russia), the Kierov (Russia), Alvin Ailey, and a couple other modern dance heavyweights I can’t recall right now. Talk about pressure. I can’t believe (I mean, I can, but it’s so surreal) that we are starting to be included along side the companies I studied and was in awe of in college. Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
After dinner they took up to go see the theater we will be performing in… it’s gorgeous. It’s called the Roosevelt, and it was built in 1889 and in acoustically perfect. They said anyone who is anyone has performed on that stage (Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix,) and it’s where Pres. Roosevelt accepted the nomination for President. It’s a 2500 seat house — bigger than the venue we were at in Korea. I’m soooo excited.
After we saw the theater, Becca and David and Crystal and I all walked (in the rain) to what the presenters assured us was the best local Blues club called Buddy Guy’s Legends. We stayed there through a long, lovely set and a half by a rather endearing blues band.
Then, back to hotel to sleep.
–Wednesday, March 8th, 2006:
We had to be up early so I could check out before I had to go teach another class. I spent the morning packing, and had just enough time before I had to meet the van driver to go to Corner Bakery for a breakfast Panini. This time it was Renee, Leo and I, and I was mostly the voice of the class due to my back. The class was fun, and after we came back to the hotel, got our stuff from the bell desk and headed out on the bus (but not before I stopped at Chipotle’s for a burrito bowl to-go.)
We had a 6.5 hour bus ride ahead of us to Cedar Falls, Iowa, which was elongated by about three hours of traffic leaving the metropolitan area of Chicago. On the bus was more nip/tuck, Little Britain and Desperate Housewives (I’ve only just watched one episode so far, and it seems pretty good…) We made a pit stop at a McDonald’s/Gas Station mid-way, and finally got to our hotel at about 8:30pm. This meant (since we were in central,) we had almost no time before the finale of project runway came on. We pretty much all simultaneously checked our TV’s only to discover we didn’t get Bravo.
However, the ever resourceful Crystal somehow found out for us that the hotel across the parking lot (a holiday inn – we’re at a day’s inn, a far cry from our Chicago hotel…) had premium cable in it’s lobby bar. So we all (literally about ten of us) trekked over and sat in the hotel bar and watched the finale.
Two things: 1) Chole won, and I shocked and OH SO PISSED. SO TERRIBLY PISSED. I can’t even discuss it further. I am just angry. 2) In the middle of one of the commercial breaks on Bravo we randomly saw a full 30-second commercial for our upcoming show here!! It was pretty weird to see…
After, we came back to our rooms and Becca and I hung out and lamented that the internet here isn’t working (we called tech twice, they gave us the run-around.) After Conan and some infomercials, I randomly came across a movie called “taxi” which came out a couple of years ago and at one point had mildly interested me because Jimmy Fallon is in it… but them I saw the preview and lost all interest. Either way, I ended up watching the whole thing before I went to bed. It was pretty shitty, with some funny stuff every so often.
–Thursday, March 9th, 2006:
Finally back to a place that provides us with breakfast, Becca and I got up to go get the continental by 10am. Then we came back and napped until Garrett came a knocking to discuss possible alterations to the show because of my injury. I’m down for not changing much at all, but they’re being very protective of me, which is nice, but frustrating. We’ll see how it all pans out.
We’re about to go walk and get food. We’re on the main strip of a small town, so surrounding our hotel are a bunch of awesome, awesome fast food places. (I’m gross.) The air smells like snow here, but it’s not snowing even though it’s cold enough. I always marvel how places like this where it looks like such a small, crappy little town compared to where I live (both places) always somehow come up with sold-out crowds. I want to ask them where they all come from, but I bet that would probably come off sounding condescending. Ah well.
Applebees for lunch with John. I am going to miss him next year.
Nap.
Tech – which was frustrating for me because we had to alter all the dances to accommodate the fact I can’t move my back much.
Then Taco Bell, now: TV and bed.