Togetherness
Over the last week, the BPO has experienced a boat-load of “togetherness”. For the most part this has been great. Many of my best friends in the world are in the orchestra. Almost everyone in the BPO moved to Buffalo specifically to become a member of the orchestra, so, when we arrived, we were all in the same situation. Strangers to the area, looking to settle down and create a life in WNY. This dynamic, along with the nature of our job, creates a closeness within the group. The first Buffalonians to welcome me to the area were my colleagues.
So, traveling with my colleagues has been mostly great. I love hanging out with these guys.
But…
It can also be a tad intense. Heh.
We eat together, play music together, and in some cases, sleep together. (TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR, by “sleep together”, I mean share a hotel room. This is a family orchestra!) This is quite a bit more togetherness than we are accustomed to, but for the most part, we are holding up well. I am happy to report that there have been NO instances of BPO-on-BPO violence. In all seriousness, we are having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.
Probably the most intense period of togetherness, and everyone’s least favorite aspect of the tour, has been the bus.
Goooood morning, everyone.
Most of the orchestra travels by bus between the stops on our tour. Most mornings we wake up, re-pack our suitcases, and drive a few hours to the next city. (Incidentally, I’m finding the suitcase management to be increasingly difficult as the trip goes on. It’s a real mess in there.) I cannot lie to you, the driving is getting a little tiresome, and I doubt anyone will be sad to bid the daily road-trip, adieu.
Some of us opted to rent a car (at our own expense) so that we could travel independently and have a mode of transportation on our days off. I get carsick pretty easily so I was happy to go in on a car with Dinesh, Ed and Rob.
Meet the mini-van, our home away from home away from home:
The van’s not fancy, but she gets us where we need to go.
The daily drive may be getting tiresome, but the company is good. The sheer number of hours spent together in the car has made for some funny conversation. Yesterday Dinesh and I had a whole conversation about what wild animal would make the best pet in “pygmy” form. He says dolphin, I say elephant. I think a pygmy-dolphin would be too much hassle (you’d need a big water tank) for too little reward (isn’t a small dolphin just a big fish?), but a pygmy elephant could just tromp around in the backyard with the family dog. We’ve also spent a great deal of time imitating and mocking the electronic voice of our GPS. “In one qu-oorr-ter mile turn right.”
Do not fear for our mental health. We were actually like this before we even left on the tour. The extreme BPO-togetherness is not to blame.
Alright, I’ve got to get back in the van for the daily drive. See you in Gainesville!
-Kate Holzemer 3/18/10
I think I would like a pygmy horse…teeny tiny, like the size of a cat! It could gallop through the house and eat baby carrots.
Glad you guys are having fun! Have you discovered a Florida equivalent of Left Bank?
If you miss a turn my GPS will say, “Whenever possible, make a LEGAL u-turn.” I feel that they put the legal part in just so that they can’t be sued if I make an illegal u-turn and smash my car up.
Our GPS speaks in German because the kids get very edgy if we veer off the commands and they don’t understand what she says if we have her speak German. You should hear the hilarity when she tries to pronounce certain street names! We took her to Canada last summer and I was extremely thankful that we were not driving with my mother because QEW pronounced by a German GPS is absolutely something you never want to have said around your mother.