well, it was that time of year again. . . BALLOON FIESTA. and jared and i decided to sleep an extra hour and got stuck in tons of traffic because of it. something to keep in mind next time. . . get there EARLY. . . . it's better. anyway, after some really annoyingly diverted traffic, we got there in time to see the last hundred or so launch, including some great special shapes.

here was our ascent onto the field. . .

you can kinda see the profile of the bees. . . my favorites. . . blowing up.

then there was a shaped supposedly based on findings that the incan civilization may have launched balloons. . .

one of the better ones. . and most clever ideas. . . a space shutter balloon. . actually larger than the real thing. . .

old mac donald's barn. . .

the brazillians apparently had a several new special shapes entries.. . and here was one. . . a squirrel. . .

here you can see one of the bees and the squirrel as they float out to catch up with all the rest. the two bees launch in perfect synch, turning and moving upwards like a set of olympic synchro swimmers. . . i got a movie, but don't know how to launch it here. . .

here's a little pirate boy with cat in a barrel. . .

a scarecrow. . .

chilli peppers. . . no new mexico event would be complete without some!. . .

a single manned swing balloon thing. . .

and this is one for my brother. . .i'm pretty sure it is his favorite beer. . .

and finally. . . someone who seems to have attended MANY of these. . .

so even though we were late. . . it was again. . TOTALLY worth it!

Monday, September 20th, 2004
Put Away Your Hankies...a message from Michael Moore

9/20/04

Dear Friends,

Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyaching and stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies. Geez, this is embarrassing! The Republicans are laughing at us. Do you ever see them cry, "Oh, it's all over! We are finished! Bush can't win! Waaaaaa!"

Hell no. It's never over for them until the last ballot is shredded. They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward like sharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking, lying.

They are relentless and that is why we secretly admire them -- they just simply never, ever give up. Only 30% of the country calls itself "Republican," yet the Republicans own it all -- the White House, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the majority of the governorships. How do you think they've been able to pull that off considering they are a minority? It's because they eat you and me and every other liberal for breakfast and then spend the rest of the day wreaking havoc on the planet.

Look at us -- what a bunch of crybabies. Bush gets a bounce after his convention and you would have thought the Germans had run through Poland again. The Bushies are coming, the Bushies are coming! Yes, they caught Kerry asleep on the Swift Boat thing. Yes, they found the frequency in Dan Rather and ran with it. Suddenly it's like, "THE END IS NEAR! THE SKY IS FALLING!"

No, it is not. If I hear one more person tell me how lousy a candidate Kerry is and how he can't win... Dammit, of COURSE he's a lousy candidate -- he's a Democrat, for heavens sake! That party is so pathetic, they even lose the elections they win! What were you expecting, Bruce Springsteen heading up the ticket? Bruce would make a helluva president, but guys like him don't run -- and neither do you or I. People like Kerry run.

Yes, OF COURSE any of us would have run a better, smarter, kick-ass campaign. Of course we would have smacked each and every one of those phony swifty boaty bastards down. But WE are not running for president -- Kerry is. So quit complaining and work with what we have. Oprah just gave 300 women a... Pontiac! Did you see any of them frowning and moaning and screaming, "Oh God, NOT a friggin' Pontiac!" Of course not, they were happy. The Pontiacs all had four wheels, an engine and a gas pedal. You want more than that, well, I can't help you. I had a Pontiac once and it lasted a good year. And it was a VERY good year.

My friends, it is time for a reality check.

1. The polls are wrong. They are all over the map like diarrhea. On Friday, one poll had Bush 13 points ahead -- and another poll had them both tied. There are three reasons why the polls are b.s.: One, they are polling "likely voters." "Likely" means those who have consistently voted in the past few elections. So that cuts out young people who are voting for the first time and a ton of non-voters who are definitely going to vote in THIS election. Second, they are not polling people who use their cell phone as their primary phone. Again, that means they are not talking to young people. Finally, most of the polls are weighted with too many Republicans, as pollster John Zogby revealed last week. You are being snookered if you believe any of these polls.

2. Kerry has brought in the Clinton A-team. Instead of shunning Clinton (as Gore did), Kerry has decided to not make that mistake.

3. Traveling around the country, as I've been doing, I gotta tell ya, there is a hell of a lot of unrest out there. Much of it is not being captured by the mainstream press. But it is simmering and it is real. Do not let those well-produced Bush rallies of angry white people scare you. Turn off the TV! (Except Jon Stewart and Bill Moyers -- everything else is just a sugar-coated lie).

4. Conventional wisdom says if the election is decided on "9/11" (the fear of terrorism), Bush wins. But if it is decided on the job we are doing in Iraq, then Bush loses. And folks, that "job," you might have noticed, has descended into the third level of a hell we used to call Vietnam. There is no way out. It is a full-blown mess of a quagmire and the body bags will sadly only mount higher. Regardless of what Kerry meant by his original war vote, he ain't the one who sent those kids to their deaths -- and Mr. and Mrs. Middle America knows it. Had Bush bothered to show up when he was in the "service" he might have somewhat of a clue as to how to recognize an immoral war that cannot be "won." All he has delivered to Iraq was that plasticized turkey last Thanksgiving. It is this failure of monumental proportions that is going to cook his goose come this November.

So, do not despair. All is not over. Far from it. The Bush people need you to believe that it is over. They need you to slump back into your easy chair and feel that sick pain in your gut as you contemplate another four years of George W. Bush. They need you to wish we had a candidate who didn't windsurf and who was just as smart as we were when WE knew Bush was lying about WMD and Saddam planning 9/11. It's like Karl Rove is hypnotizing you -- "Kerry voted for the war...Kerry voted for the war...Kerrrrrryyy vooootted fooooor theeee warrrrrrrrrr..."

Yes...Yes...Yesssss....He did! HE DID! No sense in fighting now...what I need is sleep...sleeep...sleeeeeeppppp...

WAKE UP! The majority are with us! More than half of all Americans are pro-choice, want stronger environmental laws, are appalled that assault weapons are back on the street -- and 54% now believe the war is wrong. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF ANY OF THIS -- YOU JUST HAVE TO GIVE THEM A RAY OF HOPE AND A RIDE TO THE POLLS. CAN YOU DO THAT? WILL YOU DO THAT?

Just for me, please? Buck up. The country is almost back in our hands. Not another negative word until Nov. 3rd! Then you can bitch all you want about how you wish Kerry was still that long-haired kid who once had the courage to stand up for something. Personally, I think that kid is still inside him. Instead of the wailing and gnashing of your teeth, why not hold out a hand to him and help the inner soldier/protester come out and defeat the forces of evil we now so desperately face. Do we have any other choice?

Yours,

Michael Moore

Debate Drinking Game


Drink One Sip If:
Anyone says "terrorism"
Anyone says "Halliburton"
Anyone says "flip flop"
Anyone says "Saddam Hussein"
Anyone blames "the media"
Anyone mentions their own military service
Anyone says "September 11"
One candidate interrupts another candidate


Drink Two Sips If:
Bush says "cut and run"
Kerry says "W stands for wrong"
If either candidate talks past their time limit
Kerry brings up Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment
Bush mentions Crawford, TX
Anyone looks at the wrong camera
Anyone whips out "evidence"
Anyone says "Osama bin Laden"
Anyone mentions blogs
Anyone invokes the hurricane sympathy vote
Anyone mentions "North Korea"
Kerry mentions Bush wants to reinstate the draft
Every time you see anyone wearing the yellow "LiveSTRONG" bracelet


Finish Your Glass If:
Anyone in the audience gets dragged out of the auditorium
Anyone in the audience gets off an unscripted question
Bush mispronounces any word or name
Anyone says "Osama bin Hidin'"
Anyone uses a sports metaphor
Anyone attempts to speak Spanish to pander to Latinos


Do a Shot If:
Bush mentions the deficit
Bush accuses Kerry of being "French on terrorism"
Kerry accuses Bush of being a pansy for avoiding Vietnam
Bush admits he made a mistake ("miscalculation" counts)
Ralph Nader shows up insisting on airtime


Finish the Bottle If:
Anyone challenges anyone to a dual
The moderator rips off his mask to reveal his true identity is Karl Rove

DAMN SCI FI CHANNEL!

yesterday it was buck rogers. . . today it's battlestar galatica! hours and hour of kinda lame but nostalgic tv. i hope i can break the trance soon so i can get showered and perhaps a little productive today.

I'm BOUND!

ok, not to a chair with scratchy ropes or anything. . . but in a hardcover!


yes, this is my mfa thesis. . . i went to look it up in the kent library, since i hadn't seen it yet. the library search engine said it was available, so i went to the right set of stacks and sound some of my friends' theses. . . . but not mine. now, i did have these fantasies that i wold find it with pages torn and large red marker drawn through it and all that, but since i couldn't find it, i started to believe that maybe it had been used as kindling. i searched the restocking shelves on several floors. . . nothing. finally i resorted to the special collections/ archives. since the thesis was a kent state thesis the school had to keep a special copy in their archives. . . this copy could never leave the library. i had to fill out paperwork, leave all writing utensils except a pencil behind, and i had to be very sneaky in taking the picture. .. .of my OWN damn thesis.

anyway, it all worked out, none of the pages were torn out or edited away. . .at least on this copy!

i did make it to kent, and spent some time with anyone i could get a hold of. . . though, my camera didn't come out as often then. but i spent time with j, chaela, emily, and sarah. what did i visit? well, there was mike's place. . . and the x-wing!


and i did stop by the school, but no one was really around. . . a good thing i think, but i did visit a special spot. . . a couple of bathrooms that i always found rather entertaining.

back on the road, and on my way to kent. i saw a number of these, but getting a snapshot off wasn't easy. . .
i call it gay truck love. . .


and then some political ranting spray painting on the back of a truck. . .

so, i had planned on stopping early on in tennessee and spending the night in a hotel before heading into abingdon and seeing the barter crew. . . . but then i remembered that i hadn't talked to a friend of mine from just inside tennessee in a LONG time. . . so i called her and left her an urgent message that she needed to get back to me TODAY TODAY TODAY!. . . and she did. . . so instead of resting i pressed on into johnson city tennessee to rachel's! it was great getting to catch up and hang out with her, though i think i maybe kept her up past her bedtime, since she had work as a 9 to 5-er. . . .

i then went out to the barter crew and got to visit a bunch of people i hadn't seen in a couple of years. here's rachel and stephan shortly after we finished a goodie basket for those poor souls stuck in tech all day. . .


then a couple evenings sitting over at stephan and teresa's with some old friends and some new people i just met. . .





they have a really cute place. . . decorated and painted, and even using different set pieces from different shows. . . and i spent the night there, teresa got me all set up and even had a 'chad blanket' for me. . . one of those wonderful afgans that chad made in his crocheting days.



it was so nice seeing some of the old crew. and there have been some big changes to some of the spaces i used to spend a lot of time in. it was so bizarre, i spent so much time there. . . and yet, i couldn't remember where one radio shack in that town was. . . i usually pride myself on knowing where all the radio shacks are. . . and at one time i did know, but not so much any more.

as i left santa fe, on the first leg of my trip, i had a nice sunset in my rear view mirror. .

and just as an absolute check that i was on my way and going the right direction. . .

did you know that the sci-fi channel was running a short marathon of buck rogers of the 25 century this morning? neither did i! good thing i scanned the channels before getting up to do anything productive this morning! whew. . . .travesty averted.

ok, so there's a lot to come and a lot for me to work on, pictures to crop and change size and such. but i should be able to work on it shortly, just maybe not tonight. i was able to remove my things from storage in ohio this weekend with the help of my gracious parents. . yipee! now i just gotta go through my belongings and sort and such. hope you all are well.

ever wonder what type of job you might have had during the medival period?

i was a 'white knight'. . .. whatever that means

medival jobs

ok, a quick pic from the david byrne concert. . .




jon, the lighting director actually had me and lesley taking these shots from the booth. i can't exactly say that i'm a big fan. . . but the audience seemed to LOVE him, and he did put on a really great show. . . on the side is the tosco strings performing with him.

and he blogged about the concert in his tour journal at. . .

byrne's journal

two more days and i leave for a cross country road trip! and a vacation of sorts. can't wait. i've got lists of things to bring and i'm kinda making headway on getting a moving van for myself. . . damn they are stupid expensive!

lesley, the last of the electricians (other than myself) left this morning. it was really great having her around for the past week. between the two of us, we know enough of the system hear to really make it run smoothly. which reminds me, i'll have some pictures in a little bit. and now, the electrics office is empty. . . . this was the oddest of years. . . so high was my expectation for the end of summer, and i got my wish. . . it seemed to come so quickly. . . then i wished it hadn't.

well. . . in the last week, a lot was accomplished. lesley and i put on the concerts for lyle lovett, david byrne, and margret cho. we did a strike of the light hang in the roof. . . .i had a 25 pound light fall on my hand which was already sitting on a steel pipe. .. granted it fell from about a foot and a half above my hand. . . but it's still pretty swollen and sore. . . but NO BRUISE! nothing for people to gawk at and tell immediately that i was hit. no. . . just a really fat knuckle.

we also went out and saw 'hero'.. . . EXCELLENT film. . . may have to see it again sometime :) dad? interested in a little kung fu while i'm home?

i took her to see zozobra for her first time. . . they really seemed to prolong the burning of old man gloom this year. i had a better view of the fire dance which was pretty good, but after a while, you just want to see the massive puppet fire up! and it was really loud. . . kinda lame. . . but the fireworks were fantastic. . . and the actual burning was good too. . . . just too loud and a little too long.

i tried to get a costumed pet parade in over the weekend (as in see it, not participate in), but who knew it would be one of the largest attended bits of the fiesta. . . NO PARKING ANYWHERE, so i abandonned it and went home to fall asleep while watching some family guy. . . i love that show.

yeah. . . i'm way tired. but really looking forward to some books on tape. . . and listening to whatever the hell i want from my collection thanks to my new ipod! HA! and looking forward to seeing some people, and lots of land fly by.

then. . . after vacation, there's a routine to slip into. . . books to read, perhaps a tv show or two to get caught up in, three day weekends to bask in, a workout to revisit. . . and the baking company on the weekends to check my email. . . . ahhh, sounds nice. can't wait. .. but not there just yet. first, virginia, ohio, and ny!

a quick look at margret cho from my followspot perch . . .

the difference between night and day. . .

this would be a good way to describe the past two evenings for me. the first started on monday. . . the day lyle lovett was playing at the santa fe opera. my boss had left all the pertenant information with me, and lesley and i being the only electricians really left had planned on coming in and doing all the necessary work like pulling and preping color, patching the correct channels and then getting to focus with the lighting guy. well. . . all did not go as smoothly. first of lesley was about an hour late. .. and the lighting guy, 'jack' came in pitching a fit to the technical director. i was pulling color in the shop when paul, the technical director asked if i was ready to deal with this guy, being that he was fuming at the ears. i said sure. . . i actually have dealt with these types of guys before, but i did feel slightly unprepared, only in that i didn't do all the prep work that my boss had taken care of. so i met jack. . . . this is close to how our first conversation went. . .

after a goodmorning or two. .

jack: so, i really don't see my lights

me: well, your lights are there, chris has made the translation between your needs and our plot

jack: where are they?

me: in the coves (i'm pointing up)

jack: i see lights up there, but they won't work, and where's my color?

me: we;re dropping color as part of focus, we can't leave it in all night due to the wind.

jack: i don't see how this is going to work.

me: well, when my board op gets here and patches the show, she'd very quick, you and i can take a look together.

jack; ok

so i went down and continued to pull color. . . then jack had another cow.

jack; i just don't see how these lights are gonna work, is it too late to look at a different venue or rent something?

me: our rig is rather surprising, i think you should wait until you see it.

jack: when's chris getting here?

me: he's left for the season

jack: oh so he left you to deal with all this. so he wouldn't have to deal with these problems.

me: no, i'm sure that he left things in such a way that i can handle them competantly.

jack: fine

i continue to prep different things and lesley finally arrives and shortly into her patching jack throws his third fit. .

jack: these won't do how am i supposed to hit the band down here. . .

me: well in the agreement you weren't supposed to cross plaster line, so it will be more difficult to hit anything downstage of that. . . but he can hit a little down there.

jack: is the board op here?

me: yes and she's working, so in a little while we can send turn on some lights and do a rough focus so you can see how it will work.

jack: well what is supposed to hit here. . . (now the frustrating point here is that i have a translation of numbers in front of me that lesley is making clear, but for the time being he just needs to have me turn things on so while she's working i start calling for random numbers)

jack: well how is this supposed to reach anything. . . .

me: we can move it down the pipe or yoke it out and focus it there. . .

more numbers and stuff. . and i'm getting really frustrated.

me: how about you give us another ten minutes for lesley to complete the patch and i will go up and focus things so you can see them. ( i did know that there were a few more notes to do before hand but getting him to stop blowing steam was more important)

jack: fine. . . you finish and i won't react just yet.

WON"T REACT! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING ALL FUCKING MORNING ASSHOLE! -ok, i didn't really get to say that, execpt downstairs with lesley when i relayed the story. ARGGGGGGGG

paul kept checking in with me. . . i assured him that jack would be just fine, he just didn't know it yet. i have a lot of faith in our rig, in the paperwork that chris created, and my and lesley's abilities.

however, jack was really frazzling me. and about that time, dave and charlie (two of my other bosses who were supposed to have left) walked in and caught wind of what was going on. finally i conceeded to let them get me through the rough part of focus. . . lesley on board and me talking down jack adn dave and charlie in the roof focusing. suddenly, lights were focused exactly where jack needed them and in the correct color. . . . and after getting through the rough patch me and another crew member took over for dave and charlie. . . and without a break or notification that we were actually going through a complete focus call. . . . that's exactly what we did. we then completed some notes on stage and we were done WAY before necessary. sadly jack rolled his eyes often at the focus since they were instruments he wasn't used to. . . to which i say, SUCK IT UP! this is a fucking opera house, not some shitty rock and roll rig!

anyway, the rest of the lovett crew couldn't stop thanking and complimenting me and lesley. . . how fast and efficient we were, and how we were able to make jack happy, though he himself never thanked. . . or APOLOGIZED to us. . . .

and all night and the next day it was praise from the lovett crew and our own technical director. ahhhhhhh. . . . *sigh*

now i don't know which is supposed to be bad and good. . . night or day, but the next morning was such a wonderous relief. lesley and i actually decided to come in early and put all the color in the lights and make sure the channel numbers were all right before the crew for david byrne's tour even got there. we were tired and sore, but we wanted to avoid another battle with a stupid lighting director. however, jon, the lighting guy for david byrne was a complete 180. after several morning pleasantries. . . we explained where we were in our process, and he seemed stunned at our 'overpreparedness.' he then said that we should take care of anything else on our agenda while he set up the stage stuff. we look bewildered. our purpose was to be there and help him set up. . . and he seemed glad for it, and for having true electricians on his call. maybe that was parrt of the problem. . . jack assumed that we would be stupid non electricians who couldn't handle the demands of a rig a third the size that we are normally used to working with. . . ASS!

lesley and i helped set up the deck and jon broke us till after lunch, when we would focus. . . . a real schedule. . . unbelievable! lesley stayed on the board and worked with jon while i and two other crew members focused. jon was quick, and pleasant, and knew exactly what he needed. . . and was impressed at our quickness. . . "wow, it's like having a crew of 35 up there.". . .. the other guy was a poor focuser. . . he could never tell when the light was on him and he was very bad at giving directions.

we finished the focus and jon and lesley programmed. . . and the show went fantastically. . . and again, lesley and i were surrounded with praise from both the tour crew and our technical director who was so pleased that we kept the tours happy.

i have to say. . . .even with the ASS encounter. . . i drove home each night, really tired, kinda sore. . . but with a huge smile on my face. both lesley and i worked really hard. . . . and we totally pulled it off and made it look easy. . . . made it look cool to be an electrician. . . . all ninja style or whatever. . .. our kung-fu rocked! so 'the difference between night and day' can also describe the difference in how i felt. . . these past two nights as opposed to the past summer. even when i, personally was doing good work and getting flattery on it from designers and co-workers. . . . i went home knowing that overall. . the electrics crew was nothing to be envious of. . . . . and just me and lesley working on these touring shows totally obliterated that. so sad that this past crew has no idea what it's like to feel how i and lesley felt the past couple of days. . .and how i've felt in the past when on a good crew. god it felt good.

:)

hope everyone is well.

so, i haven't known the exact date or even the day of the week for about the past week and a half. i just know the days according to what is happening onstage. . . . for instance, 'simone closing day', 'strike day', 'moscow ballet load in day'. . . . i knew it was closing in on september, but it kinda snuck past me. . . and i sort missed my mom's birthday---and usually i'm pretty good at getting a call out at the very least. . . as it so happened i was returning their call when dad reminded me, and i looked at my watch and realized all the important first of the month things that were staring me in the face. arg. . . ..

so yeah, moscow ballet, although it's a czech company and the two leads are from st. petersburg. . . the company is VERY poorly organized, and i don't think they have an understanding of what it means to produce a show in 4 days. . . .the little things that are needed to make things run smoothly, like scenery that is already chosen, and not picked out of stock on the 2nd night of 3 rehearsal nights. . . and that's is just the tip of the iceberg. . . . . but i won't bore you all.

the staff of the lighting/electrics department all took monday off together after the strike day- sunday. . . . we all went shopping together and bought enough food for 2 cookouts, though we thought we would get through it all on monday. . . turns out we have a limit! ribs, grilled asparagus, grilled veggies, grilled chicken on a beer can, brisket, grilled pineapple, mashed sweet potatoes, apple pie, cheesecake. . . . . and there's still salmon, grilled portabello mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, carnivore smores, and grilled potatoes left to make and consume. but it was a lovely day off. . . a partial celebration for the completion of the season, and a partial party to celebrate the departure of our crew. such an odd lot. . . a group of people whom, if i knew outside of work, i would probably get along with exceedingly well. . . but in this situation. . . well, i've rarely been driven this crazy ever.

i remember, several years ago, when going through a rough patch, i was on the phone with fehd. . . one of my prized mentors. he asked this question, 'are you a lifer?'. . .. meaning, would i stay in theatre my whole life. it never occured to me to do anything else. and since then, there have been times when i've thought that maybe something else would be easier, more lucrative, less stressful. . . . but i know, within myself. . . that this is one of the few things that makes sense in my life. even when i've gone without sleep, food, laundry, relaxation. . . . when i'm in the midst of all this, mid-process, and during performance. . . i feel so balanced in a way. my getting out of bed has real purpose. so many of my friends are no longer in theatre. . . and even in my worst days of grad school, i never thought i'd leave theatre, i just knew i didn't want the be at THAT theatre. and this summer, the slightest inkling crept into my mind. . . . . maybe NOT this. . . .maybe something, anything less frustrating. i blamed the crew for this. . . . for this second guessing, and misalignment in my balance. i think i try to work hard, and always take pride in what i do. . . . and i just don't know why this kids were here. thier lack of stamina, pride, awareness, tenacity, focus, drive,. . . and most of all CONSISTANCY. . . was completely infuriating. . . and i found it offensive. . . personally. really. . . why should i bother to work so hard when they are able to work at the same establishment and just coast through?

. . . anyway, yeah, it was a rough summer. and now i'm bothered by something else a great mentor (kevin gallagher) told me. . . after listening to another classmate complain about their crew, i raved about mine. . . and kevin told me that i had good crews in part because of my own work ethic. i lead by example. and i have had GREAT crews. . . . with an occasional dud. . . but nothing like this. does that then mean that i carry some of the blame for this season going so poorly? had i tried to block my feelings a little more, and sucked it up. . . would the crew have done better? i fixed anything physical that they broke or couldn't repair themselves. . . . i actually worked really hard, and long hours. . . . is their a way i could've adjusted my attitude? half way through i lowered my expectations. . . and that way i was less disappointed. . . but not less bitter. i don't know. . . . and i'm not sure where i'm going with this. . . .

season over. guess i'll move on. . .but not from theatre. . . there were little sparks during the summer. . . enough to keep me going i suppose. one of the designers personally thanked me during an 'end of the evening' meeting for completing a set of lanterns that were thrown into the show last minute. . . but ended up being really well liked by the entire production team. and a few choice moments backstage when, during this one particular aria. . . the voice of the counter tenor just brought me to tears. . . i had no idea what he was singing about. . . but the pure emotion in his voice shook me, and i remembered that this whole thing is so much bigger than my problems. it has the power to really move people.

yeah. . . . enough of that for now. still got work to do. and soon enough i'll be working in the scene shop again, on a fairly regular schedule. . . with weekends, movie nights, predetermined laundry nights, premade lunches, and a workout routine. ahhhh. . . . can't wait.

just a few days left here. . . i've started getting those, 'too much to do and not enough time to do it in' headaches. but since i don't have to pack and leave, i'll take that as a plus. . . yes, it seems that i'll be here for another year. . . . or a partial year? damn, i hate it when i don't know for sure, makes planning things more difficult. but i'll take what i can get. . . as always.

the shows seem to be wrapping up nicely. and we're spending time thinking of how to improve the shop, and looking at upcoming challenges in next year's shows. meanwhile, i'm ripping all my discs onto my computer. . . i'm up to almost 6 days of music. . . . whoop-dee-do!

so, yeah. . . . after all the shows come down, there's a week where the moscow ballet is visiting and performing, then after that we'll be doing a series of concerts. . . lyle lovett, david byrne, and margret cho. . . . then, i think i'm gonna try to take some time off. . . . idealy, i'd like to take two weeks, visit ny, and get my stuff out of storage. . . . but, as always, i don't hold my breath. you never know what may come up.

i'd like to think that i have more to discuss or talk about. . . but nothing comes to mind just yet.

i hope all is well with everyone. . . .

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity


1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.


2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.


3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask "You Want Fries with that?"


4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."


5 . Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.


6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"


7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."


8. Don't use any punctuation


9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.


10. Ask People What Sex They Are. Laugh Hysterically After They Answer.


11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."


12. Sing Along At The Opera.


13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme.


14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds All Day.


15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.


16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Hard.



17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"


18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"


19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."


And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......


20. Copy and send this to someone to make them smile.. Its CalledTherapy...

A study at the University of Missouri shows that
the type of facial features that a woman finds attractive can differ
depending upon where she is at in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If a woman is ovulating, she is attracted to men with
rugged and masculine features. If she is menstruating or menopausal,
she is more prone to be attracted to a man with scissors jammed in his
temple and a bat shoved up his ass while he is on fire.

my long trip home. . .

it all started with a drive from boston to the providence airport. neill and i had plenty of time. . . . gobs of time. . . until there was an accident. . . not me, but a large one about 5 miles or so ahead of us. all traffic stopped for close to 3 hours. so i missed the first flight. neill and i finally made it into providence and i switched my flight to the absolute next one, at 6:20am the next morning. so i decided to stay in town till the next morning so there would be no chance of me getting stuck in traffic.

next morning, i showed up about 45 minutes before the flight, which was apparently not early enough. the woman behind the counter said that if i wanted to make the flight i shouldn't check any luggage. so i dragged my bag and carry-on toward security, where i knew there would be trouble when my gerber multi-tool showed up on their x-ray machines. all the signs along the way said to put 'all electronic devices in you carry-on bag.' so i did. . . even though everywhere else i've seen people take their lap-tops out.

so i make it to the x-ray machine. my carry-on gets pulled, and i get told that i should've taken my lap-top out, and that i'd be ushered to security school part 2. . . . but then they found the gerber. my bag was taken apart. . . everything was inspected. . . . the look on their faces when they found my green tea in a baggie was pretty precious. meanwhile, time is ticking away. so after a tedious inspection and a difficult repacking. . . . we move to security school part 2.

there are cloths that are wiped across everything i own and placed in a device that reads them for any sort of explosive material. (keep in mind, most of my bags hae MANY pockets. . . and all of these have to be emptied and wiped) somewhere along the way, one of the cloths set off an alarm. it's 6:17, flight leaves at 6:20. . . i give up, and sit down. an expert is brought over to inspect my bag more throroughly. i'm asked my exact address and my phone number. several minutes later, i'm allowed to pass through. . . . except for the gerber that is confiscated. (thankfully i was able to keep my wonderful and rather pricey surefire flashlight)

i walk down to the gate, and wait for someone to show up, since everyone has left along with the plane. finally someone shows, i explain the situation, and get moved to the 9:30 flight.

i missed TWO FLIGHTS! and now i'm gerberless. . . . sure, it could be worse. . . .but all in all, it's pretty lame. me, the poster child for terrorism. . . what they didn't realize is that i was sick. . . .and it wasn't a bomb that i was carrying that would hurt passengers, but a nasty headcold. i was a bioterrorist. . . . and i'm sure i coughed enough germs into the air to at least make a few people uncomfortable for a few days. . . .muhahahahahaha. . .

anyway, there's my lame story. . . .

so you may wonder. . how is it, when erika should be in flight, she is blogging. . .. WHA! how can this be?

well, neill (who was driving me to the providence airport) and i got stuck behind a really big accident. we were there for three hours and i missed my flight. . . .dammit. . .

so i got my flight moved to the very next time it could possibly be. . . tomorrow morning at 6:20am. . . not exactly ideal, but not as bad as it could be. so, here i am, in a comfort inn with a wireless connection. . . . yipee!

wireless connection, cable, and some bertucci pizza. . . what more could i ask for. though i would've really liked some sushi-since i ran around so much and didn't get a chance to get some in boston. . . but no one delevered here in providence. . . no sushi for me!

but i did get to 7 kitchens (or the chinatown eatery, if you wanna be technical) my first night in boston- GREAT pad thai. . . mmmmm. . . pad thai. . . and an avacado milkshake. . .. yummmm. . . . ok

i should get some sleep. . . so, g'night all.

although i was very tempted to sit around and waitch digital cable for the rest of my stay in boston. . . i didn't get to. . . instead i got in touch with a couple of friends and we made our way to the museum of science. . . . yes, one of my favorite haunts. . . and checked out the, behind the scenes 'lord of the ring' exhibit. the exhibit was really fun, lots of costumes, drawing, props, and explanations. . . and of course, 'the ring'. . which was encased in this super solution of sorts. it was a simple gold ring, all the fiery writing was done digitally. . .. but we had fun provoking stupid people by saying, 'ooh, oooh, i see it, you have to get the light just right, ooh, there it is again'. . . then walking away and listening to people trying to see it, and sometimes convincing themselves it was there. . . . . HA, . . . fools.

i wasn't willing to take the chance of having my camera, or camera phone confiscated, so, no pictures. . . . except. . . there was this fun set up where we could shoot ourselves with some of the effects used by the movie, in order to appear like hobbits and wizards. . . not that i need to look any shorter . . . but. . . .


the rest of the day, we shuffled around some exhibits while talking and such. . . . yep, me, neill (my friend from emerson), dan (my brother), sara (his girlfriend), dan (my highschool friend) and his boyfriend- mike, kelli (my friend from kent) and her boyfriend- dave. not a bad crowd.

one of the better exhibits was about risktakers. . . this is a group of us making the 'skyscraper' walk. . . and this is a little blurry, but it's kelli and dave making the same walk. . . if you're wondering, while walking over the fake i-beam, this is what it looked like below your feet. . . .

there was another place that challenged us to place as many balancing nails as we could, on one nail head. . . . alone we were able to do 6. . . but as a group we got 11!


we finished the evening with a great dinner at the cheesecake factory. . . not a bad way to spend a day!

JEN'S BIG DAY

so i flew out to boston, or boston by way of providence, for jen't wedding. the wedding was saturday. . . and i missed the opening night of the final santa fe show. . . . but i have to say, i'm really glad to have come out this way. . . and i'm sure opening went lovely.

so. . . i stayed with my brother the first night, and met up with neill, one of my friends from emerson (an my former san francisco roommate) so we could travel together to the wedding. -----ooooh. . . sorry, iron chef is on. . . . i'm stuck in a hotel room, which i will explain later.

ok, wedding. . . neill and i got there a little early, and well, i hadn't seen her in a couple of years, so we were looking to see her before the ceremony. we, accidentally, ran into the groom- whom neither of us had met, so weintroduced ourselves and found out where jen and her posse were set up. we were allowed in, and jen was there, in a beautiful dress, with her three bridesmaids, also in great dresses, in this picturesque room within this estate house.



here is neill and jen. . . she was so excited, but didn't seem nervous or neurotic. . . . just really happy.

this is the setting in the back yard for the ceremony. . .


the wedding was presided over by a justice of the peace, they both added some personal words to their vows. . . jen's sounded broken up by tears, but i had a little trouble hearing her. . . . and scott whipped out a newspaper for a prop, on which he wrote his vows (they are both newspaper journalists) his speech was exceedingly touching, sweet, and funny. . . lucky girl!



the tented dinner set up was also part of the estate. . . the colors and place setting were really well chosen. . . . very classy. there was a coctail break before the dinner while pictures of the wedding party were going on. there was a small room off the bar where there was a scrap book of the 'story of jen and scott', pictures from the bridal shower, and a picture frame to sign by all the guests.

neill and i were seated at the 'emerson table'. . . there were plenty of people that i recognized, but wasn't exactly close with, except my other roommate, who i haven't heard from since we left emerson. MOE! she looked great, she did a reading during the wedding, and we were able to catch up a bit while seated during the dinner.here's a shnot of the wedding party table. . .

during the normal dinner bit, both jen and scott slipped by our table to surprise one of her emerson friends with a birthday cake. . . since it was all the same day. . .

there was no chicken dance, macarena, or electric slide. . . but there was the hokey pokey. . . and dancing in general. all in all. . . a really great wedding and party, and it was so nice to be there for her and to see her so completely happy. . .

i'll finish up with a shot of the roommates. . . 6 years after emerson! can you believe it? 6 YEARS!

moe, jen, and me. . .

so last sunday. . . . one of the few designated days off all summer, by chance. . . me not being broke or busy or too far away. . . ani difranco played right here in santa fe, and i got to go. . . .

reminder, this is the FIRST ani show i have EVER been to. . . . most people, who know me, and know ani. . . don't understand how i've missed out. . . but finally, i made it. it was a really great venue. . .not too big or too small. . . a gorgeous night out (we were out under the stars and all). . . and ani was. . . well. . . she lived up to all the great stories i had ever heard about her concerts. it was just her and a string bass player (except for a couple of songs where she invited the opening act- also a great performance- to play along with her on the viola)---did you catch that mom? a pop indie viola player! yeah, his name was andy (?) bird. . . hold on, i need to do some quick research. . . . yep. . . got it, andrew bird. his first piece didn't catch me right. . . but the rest were really entrancing. . . he does this thing where he records himself live and then plays it back while playing over it live. . . and he'll continue to do this till he has a melody, harmony, percussion. . . then he can sing and whistle or whatever on top of it all. . . really kinda cool.

ok, but back to ani. . . she played so many numbers from the 'little plastic castles' album (one of my favorites) then of course a bunch of new stuff. . . .and some older ones. . . . but i was really surprised to hear so many from that one album. . . mostly for sentimental reasons, that album is really solid in my heart, so it was so warming to hear it.

and she never plays it the way it is on the cd. . . she always makes it something new for a live audience, . . . different instrumentation, different rhythm, different phrasing. . . it's really wonderful. i usually don't like 'live' recordings- with all the audience noise and such- but i could really gain an appreciation for it from this type of performance.

i know i've heard stories about her yelling at audience members for singing along too loudly. . . but she was in a really fantastic mood. . . . she only gave a snide 'hey' to a group of people that finished a phrase she had intended on changing. . . . (of course it was the 'fuck you' from untouchable face that was yelled out. . . . )

it was so wonderful, bizzarre, and heart renching in a way. . . to finally see someone who has become such an icon in my mind and life. . . . i was surprised that there were no surprises . . . . but not disappointed. . . just somehow intensely comforted.

yeah. . . something like that. . . .

i was worried about trying to get a camera in, but i guess they were totally allowed, but since i didn't know before hand, i went out and bought a cheap disposable. . . . on which the flash never shut off! how annoying. . .. (this is partially the reason i was thinking of getting a camera/phone. . . since i can always have my phone on me, in places where i sometimes don't want to carry a camera) so i ended up not taking many pictures because i find the flash completely abhorrent. . . . so we'll see if anything comes of that one shot i took at the top of the concert.

that's not the ending i really wanted for this post. . . . i'd like to have an ani guitar riff fading out in the background now. . . but this will have to do.

so tomorrow morning, bright and early. . . i'll be flying towards boston for my college roommate's wedding. sadly, the gift certificate i ordered for her, didn't make it to me in time, so my appearance alone will have to grace her enough till i get back and send her the gift certificate. . . . bummer, but at least i'll be there. it's totally gonna be a short time, but i'm hoping to hang out with a group of people, eat some coastal sushi. . get the 7 kitchens in chinatown, maybe see a movie, and hit the museum of science for their behind the scenes 'lord of the rings' exhibit. . . oh yeah, and attend a wedding. sounds like fun huh?

i know i'm not looking forward to the heat/ humidity. . . .but i got a tube of my favorite hair curling stuff from aveda. . . . see, in the desert i can have straight hair because there's no humidity to make it all frizz up. . . but i don't think i can count on having straight hair on the east coast. oh well. . . .

other than that i would LOVE to stop by some places in emerson, but most of it will be shut down, since it's summer and a weekend and all. . . . and i'd also love to stop byt the plaza, where i used to work my summers away. . . . but the best time to catch anyone there would be directly during the wedding festivities, so i don't think that will be happening. . . gee. . . guess i'll just have to settle with a group of friends and a wedding. . . . . :)

all and all. . i'm totally looking forward to a little time away from work- something i rarely say. . . . but this will be a nice break, and i can't wait to see jen, the blushing bride. . . i have this vision that she will be the epitome of all things bridal that i have ever imagined. . . . can't wait to post some pictures!

ok. . . so i have a little extra money. if i had a lot, there would be no discussion of my purchases. . . i would get it all. . . but since i don't want to feel completely wasteful. . . i want input.

it seems i base most of my purchases off my friend/boss's purchases. . . everything he gets is just so cool. . . . and yeah. . . i wanna emulate that. .. . but i can't do it all at once. . . so here are the options. . .

his bluetooth phone. . . . (i now have a 12" powerbook with bluetooth which can make this really sweet) he syncs his phone and his powerbook. . . when he gets a call, his itunes pauses. . . problem. . . i usually use my phone to pick up email when i can't get online with my computer. . . and the bluetooth thing is metered since people use it to link their computers to the wireless internet. . and let's face it if you don't have to thumb it all in, then you'll spend more time on. . .

so, bluetooth possibly out. . . and maybe a picture phone in? something that i almost always have on me. . . and when i wanna snap off a shot, and don't wanna carry the digital. . then later post on my blog for instance. . i'm not talking about high quailty needed. . . simple fun shots. . .

or do i wanna look at a smaller digital camera. . . mine is nice, i love it. . . but the one from pentax that fits in the altoid can is so cool. . . again, yes dave has it. . .. the one main thing, other than size that is has over my current camera. . is sound along with the video function. i could have so much fun with sound!

then there's the mp3 player. . . . being that i'm now back in the mac world, one would think it would be an easy choice. . . ipod. . . . and eventually, i want one. . . . . but i'm thinking of when i finally get back to the gym, having a really small mp3 player would be ideal. . . one that isn't as expensive as an ipod. . . . but it doesn't seem like many are compatable with the aac format that my itunes keeps everything in. . . . i'd have to switch everything to mp3, and that's kinda lame. . . . if anyone knows otherwise. . . i wanna hear. . . .

ok, it's been completely free form. . . and hopefully if you were bored, you left a long time ago. . . but if you wanna input into my quandry. . . please do!

i'm posting these pictures purely so i can link to them and use them as avatars for a forum i'm on. . . . and i know no other way to do this. . . so enjoy my Lain avatars.

yet again i have changed the appearance of this blog. . . . mom, is this ok? of course it will still be a little longer for me to get everything back. . . need to do some editing in my template. so keep your knickers frrom getting in a bunch!

ok. . . we've now opened 4 of the 5 shows. . . and i'm pretty burnt out, really looking forward to a trip east to see my college roommate's wedding. . . though i've done little other than rsvp-ing in preparation. . . . need plane tickets, new shoes, and a wedding gift. . .. whooop-deee-doo!

i did take a few shots of the latest show in tech, but it's still really not done yet, though there's only ONE dress rehearsal left! it's been a bit of a bear. but maybe i'll post some of it later anyway.

so yeah, that's where i'm at. . in that, 'i have no idea what day it is' kinda way.

feeling bored?

try this test reich or wrong

the website that hosts it is pretty fun, as well as its sister sites.

i haven't had a chance yet to discuss the new addition into my life. . . but i guess now is a pretty good time. i'm back with mac-(ray, i figure you might be excited). in fact the last two posts were created on my new 12" powerbook. . . ahhhhhhh. the operating system is WAY different from my 1400cs, which was the last time i worked on a mac. . . .but i'm sure i'll get used to it. . . . i'm also looking forward to fewer crashes and viruses. . . . whooopdeeeedoooooo.

wow, i really thought there would be more to discuss within this subject matter. . . . guess not.

have a good one.

as some people know, opening night and day is a big deal, and here at the opera, it's REALLY big. there are usually pranks and parties all day and evening. this year, both the stage crew and the electrics crew got in trouble over some of their pranks the evening before, and were 'grounded' from participating in the prop tart queen coronation. very sad. . . but we still attended the coronation and celebrated on our own.

the prop tart coronation was a bit short without our appearances, but the country westerned themed party still went over well. . . . one of the prop carpenters created a grill in the likeness of the don giovanni cabinets. here are the prop tart queen contestants as they lined up on the saddle the pope of paints and the paint crew showed up dressed as the statues from don g. . . and the pope delivered a bible thumping sermon for the crowd. . . and the crew sang a parody, 'touched by stage crew' (to the tune of 'stand by your man') describing theirs woes of having to repaint and touch up after the scenery has been moved. sadly, i seemed to be behind them for all the shots. costumes, whom usually only send over the courtesan of costumes and two ladies in waiting, had a huge turn out this year. it involved singing, and dancing. . . well done!

on my way to get a few things from my car, i was called into the scene shop for their annual toast. ahhhh. . .nothing llike shots of whisky to take the edge off the day!

customary in the scene shop, the two apprentices had to create something to hold the shots of whisky before the toast began. i saw the two of them working on it late into the night. . . and the turn out was incredible. . . here are james and michael with their shot glass and whisky bottle toting wireman. . . complete with welding helmet!

i'll have to get some opening night shots in a little later. . . gotta run to a piano dress!

well, well, well. . . where to start. . .

hows about some pictures from don giovanni. . . i know you had a few a little while ago, but i feel that they didn't show the full scope of it, so here are some more.

here is the set during a focus call. . . and. . .

from the back of the scenery, it looks a little something like this. . .

yep, like i said before, this show is really packed. . .. now if you remember me showing you any of the goodies from earlier on. . . i now have some shots from a dress rehearsal so you can see how they play onstage.

these are the statues in play during an evening scene.

here is don g at his dinner shortly before he is visited by the ghost of the commendatore and goes to hell. . .

remember all those light in all those cabinets. . . that were supposed to create this bright hellish effect?

so yeah. . . kinda bright. anyway, thought i'd post a few, and of course there is more to come.

hope everyone is well.

so, a week and a half ago, or so, my boss and i decided to make a morning trip out to albuquerque for some specialty shopping, and no, it wasn't for dildos or whips- that's next week, when we get geared up for the gag gifting. this specialty shopping was for very particular flashlight lamps and other geeky stuff. however, between the two of us we had a combined 5 hours of sleep, so the hour ride back and forth was tough for both of us.

it was near the end of the drive back into santa fe where we were next to an old truck with a trailer attached. it wasn't moving very fast, or even keeping up to the speed limit, and i noticed that there were two donkeys in the trailer. . . the following is paraphrased from the conversation that took place for the next five minutes. . .

me: so, i guess this isn't the scenario they had in mind when they came up with the phrase, 'hauling ass.'

dave: nope.

me: . . . .ass in tow. . . . . . . . . . .

dave: . . .hmph. .. .

me: perhaps he could have a bumper sticker in front that said, 'ass in rear,' or 'ass in back.'

silence. . . . dave trying terribly hard to stay awake while driving.


me: . . . . . *laughing hysterically to myself* . . . he has an ass load!. . . . ..




ok. . . i was TIRED. . . . and it was really funny, to me. :p

bought myself a watch today. haven't worn one in FOREVER. . . . this one is not too bad, so far. one of the coolest features is that i can set a second time mode. . . .for instance, i have it set to seoul, korea. . .so if i ever get myself together enough and call my friend swon. . . i won't have to do any math to figure out what time of day i'm bugging her at. .. . just push a small button on my watch and. . . presto. . . for instance, right now it is 2:46pm on thursday for swon . . . where as it is 11:48pm on wednesday here for me. . . and this light test is going very slowly. oooooh. . . my favorite song just came on my boss's computer. do you wanna know how slowly things are going tonight? dave, my boss, has taught his computer to be voice activated. i keep hearing, 'close window', and 'get mail'. . . and when it doen't work, 'fuck you'. . . . yep things are a little slow, but not so slow that i am at home sleeping. . .oh no. . . .

other than that the only interesting thing going is frozen grapes. jenna, one of our apprentices has taught me the wonders of frozen grapes. they are DELIGHTFUL, especially if they aren't sour. . . not a fan of sour. i have taken this frozen technology and applied to to watermelon. . . and as long as the watermelon doesn't turn to ice cubes, but just slightly frozen, it too is wonderful. she tried cantelope, but i fear the texture is all wrong for the freezing thing. . . it turned into definite ice cubes, no chewing factor. . . anyway, if it's hot and you would like a tasty and refreshing treat, i suggest the grapes or watermelon. . . yeah, i'm a little bored.

anyway, should go, just in case something happens.

MY MIRACULOUS TOOTHPASTE

so about two months ago i bought a new tube of toothpaste since the tube sitting in my medicine cabinet was looking a little slight. keep in mind that was 2 months ago. . .

i'm still using the same waining tube. there is a completely new tube sitting the the bathroom cabinet, just waiting for the last of this tube to die. . . but it won't. it simply keeps spitting out a toothbrush head full each morning, and sometimes each night. this morning i got two brushes full, after the first squeezing slipped off the toothbrush.

i'm just kind of amazed by this one tube of toothpaste. i'm thinking of calling the 'enquirer' or someone if the tube is able to keep it up. kind of like the manna from heaven. as long as i don't question it, or try to push it too hard, this one tube may last me the rest of the summer.

anyway, hope all is well with you. . . and yeah, i'm trying to change the appearance around. it may take me a while to get everything up and functioning.

in addition. . .

i found this great site where you can build really official looking warning and safety signs. . .

http://www.stclaire.com/safety_sign_builder/ssb-panel.php


turns out it comes in handy around certain people who forget that there is a specific tool for each job. . .