I had a party in my apartment on Sunday night. The place is still filthy. I hesitate to walk around downstairs barefoot. Still, it was an excellent party. I pulled the touring rig from the studio and installed it in the living and dining rooms. It's a nice little set-up, especially after I dropped a couple of minidisc decks into it. It normally has a cd player, but it's a two sided DJ deck that you can mix between. Hypothetically. The A side is busted, so you can't do any fly spinning on that deck now. I'm going to compile a list of suggested improvements for the person who performs my job the rest of the year. Like another amp. I wanted to string up four speakers, which seemed possible, as the tour cabinets are rated at 150w/300w max. Plenty of room in one channel of the amp for both---except that the cabinets were rated at 8 ohms (a measure of resistance), as were the channels in the amp. So, even though the wattage had loads of headroom, the resistance was too high to gang the cabinets into the same channel. As it was, the two cabinets performed quite well.
The party was pretty hot until the people from the Lear cast came over around 1230. Before their arrival, there had even been a dance-off in the middle of my living room to Peaches and Herb's Shake Your Groove Thing. It was an impressive show by all. None of the Lear people were in the mood to dance and instead totally packed our modest kitchen. There was a request for the Gipsy Kings. Around 230, I threw on The Princess and the Warrior and headed out to the porch.
There, I learned from my boss's boss's boss that they would be running some tech elements on Monday. Monday, which was to be my first full day off in six weeks. Monday! So, I hauled out my laptop and checked all the rehearsal reports, and sure enough, there was a tiny note about it buried deep in the report several days ago that I somehow managed to miss. So, I got up on Monday and called my board op to remind him of the call, then called the designer to see if he had any other needs. Fuck it, I thought, I'm having my day off. So I drove to Northampton to do a bit of shopping. A responsible voice in the back of my head told me to make it back to the theater by 630 (they wanted to start at 7). A very good instinct, as my board-op was a no-show. He just gave himself the day off, without discussing it with me. And ignoring the fact that I had called him in. So, he got his first full day off in three weeks, and I got screwed out of mine for the seventh week in a row.
I got three cds from an excellent used music store in Northampton, Turn It Up, for about what it would cost to get a 2-CD set new. Not too shabby. I picked up a Tori Amos cd that I didn't buy when it came out. I sort of fell out of love with her for a couple years after that shabby two cd set she put out while I was in college. Scarlet's Walk really reeled me back in. I also bought Bjork Debut, to replace a long worn-out tape from high school. Bjork is too brilliant to pass up a $7 cd of her work. I also purchased Beth Orton Daybreaker, which I had elected not to purchase when it first came out. I saw her live in Central Park and nodded off during the concert. What a bad place to fall asleep, no? Actually, it was fine, but it didn't inspire to shell out $15 for the cd. $8 is a different matter. I had a crazy hope of finding some new (to me) Brubeck, like Jazz Goes to College or Time In, but alas, no. All they had was albums I already have or don't care to own. I may have to send off to Europe to get a copy of Time In.
Now, I'm the studio burning my new acquisitions to minidisc. I'm getting spoiled having a studio at my disposal! I'm also burning through my cache of minidiscs much faster than I anticipated. My mother wants to get a minidisc player for herself, in order to make stable copies of cassettes in her collection, so maybe I should stock up again! I got a really good price on them from Full Compass the last time that I ordered there.

Highlights of the past week:
Setting off the fire alarm three times in two days. If they didn't know the way to the theater before, the fire department certainly does now! Unfortunately, they charge for every call, so we can't really afford any more visits from the fire truck.

Actually having the signal to make calls on my cell phone. It only works when I'm mobile, but through some freak alignment of the planets, it worked for ten minutes outside the stage door. I called my business partner.

Going out for ice cream with my roommate Claire. We went to a local non-chain place that makes marvellous sorbets. The pear sorbet tasted just like biting into a bartlett pear, but less messy. I'm going to miss Claire once she leaves. She doesn't plan to stay until her show opens, only through the first preview.

Being able to fix a problem after a good forty hours spent on another problem that I couldn't fix. I haven't pulled an all-nighter on theatre since I graduated college, but I did last weekend. And I didn't get the problem resolved that night. Or the next day. Or ever. I later learned that I'd been wiring a short into the connector, but even after that was corrected, the problem didn't go away. So, I was really relieved that I could fix--well, temporarily fix-- a problem with the speaker in our studio theater. One has been runing consistently weaker than its twin. That wouldn't be a problem if we didn't run stereo channels (that is, the left and right in one fader instead of two). So, I kicked up the level from the amp. Spinal Tap jokes were made. They're balanced for the meantime, but I think that a replacement will have to be put in before the end of the season.

Putting wiper fluid in my car. Yeah, it's mundane, but I felt like Rosie the Riveter as I stood there under my hood in the rain.

Picking up a gorgeous skein of Tibetan silk for a scarf. The yarn is made from recycled silk saris by economically disadvantaged women in Tibet. It has a wonderful hand and great variegation. I plan to make the scarf as a going-away gift for my stylish, witty roommate, Lisa. I suppose I'll have to knit it secretly in my room if I want it to be a surprise.

There was a lot of crap that went on this week, as some of the above entries suggest. I've got a large enough grey cloud over my head already to dwell on them any further. Let's just say that the week has been rough on everyone. More reason to look forward to my party! We work so hard, it's time to play hard.

Talked to vendor number two today. It turns out that the manufacturer didn't have the raw materials to make a cable of the length that I need. However, I can put two fifty foot cables together. They had those. Thank god.
We've been having problems with the phone line in the apartment. We seem to be splitting a line--which we shouldn't be-- with someone who goes online a lot. So, I passive-aggressively boot them off the line. Then, when I get a dial tone, I must punch in the number quickly, or the modem redials while I am in progress. Quel drag! I complained to the head of IT, who seemed only moderately interested, if that. It's bad enough that I can't get an outside line at the office, but if I can't get one at home, where I go to make those business calls, I'm going to be one cranky bitch!

I finally gave in and bought a new shower sponge. It didn’t exactly break the bank. Let’s hope that this one doesn’t go the way of its predecessor. I picked it up on a trip to the pharmacy. Somehow, it took them a good twenty minutes to transfer the pills from a large bottle into a smaller one and slap a label on it. I wondered idly, while standing at the counter impatiently, if they were on a slow-down strike. I hope not to need their services again.
Two emails from Green Eyes in one day! I needed news from the outside world, and he obliged. The theatre is its own floating world, especially with so many shows in, and going into, production. One cannot be on the job all the time, or only talk shop. It is my goal to cultivate other topics of conversation. I suppose there’s always the weather, the mosquitoes, the state of the downstairs bathroom, et al. That’s all so mundane.
Equipment procurement is causing much grief. Made a full round of phone calls Monday trying to get a 100’ MIDI cable, given much false or useless information. I ended up having to call the manufacturer. Discovered this evening that I’ve gotten the run around from a second trusted mail order company on this matter. Suspect that I will have to make another call to the manufacturer, again reiterating that I am desperate for the equipment. I am afraid to ask the designer what should happen if I cannot get it in time. Failure is a terrible thing to contemplate.
I am covered in mosquito bites, all of them in odd places. I’ve tired of the girly-drink smelling stuff that we keep in our apartment, so I bought a can off old-school, take no prisoners repellent to replace it. I suspect that I’ve been scratching at my bites in my sleep, which is no good. I work so hard not to scratch them while conscious.

I've finally replaced the missing letter in my name bracelet. It looks really hot. Unfortunately, I was wearing Dewberry perfume (the scent from the Body Shop that was so popular, it was banned in my friend's high school in Scotland) my first day back of wearing it, so now it smells fruity. In my defense, I wanted a light, summery fragrance and couldn't find one of my scores of tiny bottles of Clinique Happy. It's ironic, considering how seldom I remember to wear scent. It isn't obvious to me, like my glasses.
I got a response from my good friend Ricky and her son regarding the sounds of the Blitz. I'm so glad that I thought to ask her, and very grateful for her son's assistance in the interview. I can't imagine how frightening it must have been to live in Britain in that time period. I've come across some interesting things, tangentially related, while searching for a good air raid siren file online. There were air raid jumpers that people wore, so named for the ease with which they could be thrown on in the event of a raid. They sound sort of like a work jumpsuit, with a big, utilitarian zipper down the front. There's also an odd website entirely devoted to air raid sirens, airraidsirens.com. The proprietor obviously loves sirens and has a lot of free time.
That's not a problem that I have, though I did manage to have the morning to myself. I headed off to a funky little art supply store and picked up a new fountain pen (it's funny how I never lose the one with the scratchy, ultrafine nib, but my good ones grow legs and walk away), a moleskine, and some quirky, marked-down paper. Even luckier, the clerk gave me a discount! A very good morning.
I've finished the heel on the second sock for my grandmother. Woo-hoo! Maybe I can work on it during tech this week.
Which reminds me....tech....I didn't get the road box back down to the studio theatre and loathe the idea of doing it myself later. It's unlikely that I can convince Jason that he doesn't want it....

Yesterday, one of my board ops and I made a field trip to Williamstown, to visit my favorite record store. The trip was quite rewarding. I highly, highly recommend Tunerville Trolley. And I get to go back there tomorrow! I'm still pulling music for my show that techs on Monday. Since I'm the associate, I don't really get to make the big decisions, but I get to make the road trips!
I also have to go back to W'town to get another letter for my name bracelet. I spaced when I was there and bought an r instead of an s. Whoops. Guess I should have taken the bracelet with me.
I love knitting. I suppose that's evident from the themes of this site, but yesterday I had a wonderful evening with one of my roommates. She'd decided that she wanted to learn to knit socks, and procured the necessary supplies in Northhampton. She was well advised at the wool shop. So, we sat on the couch and knit on our respective projects. It was lovely. I'd also recently received a letter from a friend overseas advising on an overly large sweater. I've decided to just live with it large, as an object lesson, but her advice was very good.
I'm still working on the second sock in the pair for my grandmother. Her birthday was last sunday. That's a small problem. She was very kind about it when I called her, but I'd wanted to have them finished ahead of time for once. And shipped off. Instead, my grandmother will have an extended birthday when her presents arrive. I haven't reached the heel yet on the second sock.
Maybe I should befriend people with smaller feet.
I bought a carabiner with a watch in its shaft. That's hardcore. It got appreciative glances at the midnight production meeting last night. Yep, midnight. Mmmm, I love my job. The invited dress rehearsal is tonight.