A near disaster upon arriving at the Escondido Comfort Inn to find the reservation had not been sent down from the national reservation bank to the location. My fault, I think. I keep confusing Escondido and San Luis Obispo, the details and names blending, even as I read them off the page that has the location printed at the top. It's the shuffling back and forth; one moment arranging meals in Chico, the next answering tech questions in Farmington, next sending the rooming list to Wickenburg, then arranging shipping to Fairbanks and gathering sales figures for Mesa. I forget what city I'm actually in at moments, which is really not conducive to doing my job well. However, 99% of things go right, and I'm learning to shake off the 1% and let it go.
Donuts have become an important part of each 16 hour tech/performance day. Sarah is a veteran of TV and stage production, and knows how to work with the crew and stage managers. Donuts are our offering to them on the first morning, to ensure a happy working relationship for the hours, or even days that follow. Before we arrive (or on the night we arrive), we google the hotel and hall, and the use the "find businesses" function, searching on "donuts." We prefer shops that specialize in donuts, as opposed to grocery store ones. If a businesses has the chutzpah to focus entirely on donuts, you know the donuts will be good.
We've discovered among the staff a strong affinity for Dunkin' Donuts, but those aren't the kind you'd deliver to a tech crew break room. For these guys, the donut boxes should be the generic white or pink fold-them-youself kind, sometimes with a rubber stamp of the shop name. In Chico it was Helen's Donuts. In Esdondido, Savoy Donuts, only half a block from the hotel. I arrived at 5:30AM, which is prime donut time. They're coming off the conveyor, warm. We just ask for an assortment. It's kind of beautiful, when you lift the lid, to see the various, sometimes surprising, sometimes garish glazes and sprinkles in a variety of shapes, from your classic round-donut-with-hole shape, to twists and rosebuds, to elongated flat bar-shaped ones with their mysterious cream fillings.
Next tour, I'll get broadband, so I can use the internet on the bus. Then I can look up the donut shops, groceries, Wells Fargos and possible sights and activities as we're driving. These are quiet hours, most of Shidara sleeping, Martin playing music of the Andes or the Canyons quietly in the background. The landscape from Chico to San Diego is picturesque. Today, we'll drive along the ocean. I'm excited about this, the same water that laps both shores of our group's homelands.
As you scroll down now you'll see I've decided to add some photo captions at the bottom of the blogs.
PHOTOS
The Shidara 2008 US Tour bus
left to right, back: Megan, Kristy, Nobu, me, Fumiyo. front: Chabo, Mana at the Oceanside pier
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