Nice People and Extra Fanciness

     I don't have a clever opening. Deal with it.
     Last night, we stayed with the principal of the first school we did a show for. He was a very nice and gregarious older man with a thing for orchids. We had to sort of hunker down and be inconspicuous for most of the night as they were hosting a weekly prayer group (and everyone knows that actors are all godless heathens), but I was more than happy to settle in with all the comic books that I purchased using the (entire) per diem that we had saved by staying for free. (For the record, the books I bought were the first trade of Fables, the second of Locke and Key and a copy of Green River Killer: A True Detective Story. I finished the first two of the three that evening.
     As it turns out, I have to say the principal and his wife were a couple of the freaking nicest people I have probably ever met. They have this amazing backyard that they built for their kids and grandkids including two story-high towers with a rope swing between them and THREE TREEHOUSES. Yes, that's right. Three of them. They apparently also invite kids over from a local "kid ranch" (orphanage? correctional facility? Your guess is as good as mine.) on a regular basis just to come and hang out and play on their insane backyard obstacle course. Heck, when I left this morning and forgot to grab the small bag of food I had purchased (I'm getting kind of sick of always eating in random restaurants.) they called me after my shows and DROVE TO MY HOTEL TO DROP IT OFF. Seriously, these people are ridiculous. In the best possible way ever.
     Granted, it is a little hard to have my whitebread, children's performer persona turned to eleven all night (me trying to explain my pole dancing classes to them without actually using the phrase "pole dancing" was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself), but I can do it for a few nights out of the week if it means my own room and decent wifi. Also, lasagna. And carrot cake. And coffee and yogurt in the morning.
     So! On to the shows! Today was our first two-school day. Meaning, we did a show in the morning at one school, loaded up, and drove to a second school to do it all over again. Doing two shows in a row is pretty exhausting, but it's the loading and unloading of the set, lights and sound system over and over again that tends to mess you up the most. My neck is currently reminding me that I should really be doing more yoga...
     The shows themselves went... alright. Honestly, neither of them were particularly good. Nothing was bad, mind you, but they weren't the best we've done by a long shot and that pissed me off. Maybe I'm doing this wrong, but I sincerely want to give every single school we visit an experience that will stick with the kids for years after we've left. I remember seeing the same company when I was in school and thinking it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I've never felt quite this much pressure to be epically awesome on a show before, but it's not stressing me out so much as pushing me to do my absolute best every single time. So I'm keeping it. The pressure, that is. I just wish I could get my tour partner on the same page... Oh, well. He's not bad at all, I just don't get the feeling that he really cares as much as I do. But perhaps my level of care is slightly unrealistic, so I can't really blame him. I'll just be wistful instead.
     For our last night of this run, we've ended up in a Quality Inn. Much, much nicer than our norm, but it was the only thing even vaguely within our price range anywhere near the school. I'm secretly kind of pleased, though. It's still technically within the limits of our per diem and it has fancy things like an indoor pool and hot tub and a free breakfast that I plan on pillaging enough out of to feed me for the rest of the day and beyond. I'm currently fantasizing about all the amazing things that hot tub is going to do to my neck and it's one of the hottest fantasies I've had all day. Sad, but true.
     And on that note, I'm going to finish eating my fine dinner of WinCo nectarines and cheese and hit said hot tub until it cries "Uncle." Or I do. You know, whichever comes first.