i used to write poetry, way in the way back years of college. this is the professor i had. how cool is that?

Barb Hurd wins a prize

you know how sometimes conan o'brien has "george w bush" on as a guest - on the tv screen with someone else's mouth? tonight he had "zell miller" on, who challenged conan to a duel. when conan refused, miller said he was left with no choice but to challenge him to ... a duel of hungry, hungry hippos.

i haven't laughed that hard in a while. except maybe when i see the dq commercial for the new 'moolatte' where there's a woman 'taste tester' who runs, blindfolded, into a window wall. that one gets me every time.

today i was a responsible citizen. i was a pro-active american.

today i registered to vote.

of course, i plan to vote "the right way" as my mom says.

got vote?

you know what's on my radio?

"doin da butt"

who got a big ol butt?
sexy sexy!

today was semi-productive.

at work, i moved my office space around to accomodate my new drafting table. you see, i used to share the office in the scene shop with the td and lighting designer. since we've restructured and renovated upstairs, a good deal of space opened up on the third floor. now that i have my own table, and can draft on the computer and send it downstairs on the network, i am more portable than i once was. after four versions of spatial relations, i finally settled on the arrangement i have now, and i think i'm going to be very happy.

i also managed to finalize (i think) the design for show #2. i feel good about where we've gone with it, and it's definitely different than anything i've done. i'm excited about it.

i even wrote rough cues for show #1, which goes into tech this weekend. i still have a final pipe of lights to hang, and i have some left to cable - i also have make sure what's in the air agrees with my plot, otherwise i'm going to have some issues. i left my notes on saturday, that had some changes i'd made on the fly. i think i remembered them correctly; if not, i will cry since the show i wrote tonight is based on those revisions.

as a matter of interest, what could be better than neopolitan ice cream sandwiches? and sex doesn't count since that's already a given.

away! to slumber!

yesterday i bought a drafting table. it is sweet, and more table than i ever thought i could afford - i may be inclined to post pictures later. it cost me $80. it should've been illegal.

today the service engine light came on in my car, and i got a letter from the bank that says i never made august's car payment, which i am typically religious about.

what is that????

i think i don't like doing "storefront" theater.

today was "hang and focus" day for show #1. there were sposed to be "crew" to "help" "us" hang the plot (that's being used by his show also). instead, it was me. the guy that said "we" would have "people" spent the day fixing other stuff, running power to the booth so the board could be plugged in. i spent the day up and down on a wooden a-frame that was c-clamped to a table (with no wheels). the two other guys that showed up were building the set for the show that shares the light plot. they helped me move the table around when i had to go where i couldn't drag it myself. guy #1 left for a while, came back before he had to go to work, and waited while i plugged in all the dimmers at the racks. then we fired up all the instruments i'd managed to hang, circuit, and color myself from 10 to 5. i got through 3/4 of the plot. there is still a batten over the house that needs done, but i have to do it from an extension ladder that has no rubber on it's feet so someone needs to sit on it while i'm on top. one of the pipes that i hung yesterday can't be fired up until saturday because i ran out of adapters for the asinine combination of edison and twist lock plugs. also, all the battens are unistrut, which is a tool of the devil.

the bottom line is that i drove into chicago today hoping to be done with hang and focus by the time i left. i am not. i have to go back saturday, hopefully with help, and hang the last pipe and re-circuit the one i couldn't finish. i have to beg twofers and gel frames from eric, and hope that etc offline works the way i think it does, so i can do all the board work here instead of sitting at the board there.

fin.

yeah, i forgot that i do have tiny other news.

i have been presented with an opportunity to go up to some college in wisconsin and speak to a class, as a professional scene designer, about the design process which resulted in our first show this season, the guys. apparently, these kids are going to come see the show and the teacher had hoped one of us could go talk to the kids afterwards, at their school, about how the design process unfolds and develops into a realized production.

now, i don't know whether these are college kids in an arts class like my sister teaches, or if they're design/theater students. i don't even know if it's something i want to do. the thing is (and there's always a "thing"), i hope to go academic sometime in my career and if i hope to do well i have to get over my "i hate public speaking" thing. so i've decided that even if i don't want to, i should take this opportunity.

that's my other tiny news.

i am sitting at my computer, procrastinating yet again.

i should be writing a patch and possibly cues for show #1. i should also be picking color, and putting together a light plot for that same show.

instead, i am surfing the web, shopping ebay for stuff i can't afford, and drinking mountain dew first thing in the morning... which is not the way to start my day.

i'm also debating whether i have the $$ to buy a drafting table, with a drafting machine, i saw advertised in the paper. the guy wants $95 for it, and that is a steal of a price. before he'll sell it, though, his daughter wants to put it on ebay. so i'm sposed to call back on tuesday to find out whether he'll be doing that or will sell it to me for $80, which he said he'd be willing to take. cross your fingers.

in other news, i will be 30 in two months.

some quick observations from watching the republican national convention:

i think i may have seen 10 non-whites during the entire broadcast.

the republicans need a new chant - "four more years".

i have to say that zell miller is a very compelling speaker, even if you don't agree with what he's saying.. he's very fervent.

i've seen several seemingly disinterested people in the audience.

if democrats, generally speaking, were so unpatriotic would they really care who was running the country? wouldn't they just get high and burn flags? or move to belgium or peru?

i'm so glad the Military is the only issue up for debate in the election. clearly we have everything else under control. i mean, do we really even need health care? i feel fine.

dick cheney just said "george w. bush" and "wisdom" in the same sentence.

listening to all the republicans talk about w's 'warm/big/open/generous heart' and 'loyalty' make him sound like he'd make a great dog.

my ass hurts.

we went riding yesterday for the first time in two weeks or so. we did lots of running in the woods and i had a smashing good time. now my butt is sore. i have mostly sitting work to do today, so i suppose that is good, since my legs also hurt. it was totally worth it.

meetings in chicago this past weekend, will post more later.

you'll be relieved to know that my tetanus shot is up to date now.

i stepped on a rusty nail at work today and it went through my shoe and into my foot a good ways. not through my foot, but enough that it bled pretty profusely there for a minute. i cleaned up and went to the doctor's where i got a five day supply of cipro and a tetanus shot.

then jessie bought me dinner, and i spent the last $15 of my birthday money on austin powers I and II - for $8 apiece!

i am back in illinwah. not really by choice, more by obligation.
the cat is pleased to see me, and has not left my side since i got back last night.

i spent this morning sifting through emails about show #3 and deleted a bunch of stuff that was just group mailed and has nothing to do with me. i'm going into the city on sunday to present the design and meet the cast, etc. monday i have a meeting at 12 noon, so i will probably stay at gurl's (although she doesn't know it yet). wednesday or thursday i will be back in the city to watch a runthrough (hopefully) of show #1 so i can do a light plot to hang that weekend.

i've made headway on show #2 this morning also, and feel better about where i'm headed with that one.

i'm currently listening to the lost 80's lunch hour on the radio - with all the good songs that came out in the 80's, how come people keep requesting the same 10 songs? how many times can you hear "oh mickey" or "99 red ballons" before you just want to shoot someone?

i am home at my mom's. i love it here. i don't want to leave. i got here yesterday, and have spent the past tow days playing with jackie's two year old twins. they are awesome and love their Aunt Neen. one drinks "waka", the other drinks "oya". both stand for water. tomorrow we are going shopping, where i will use up birthday $$ on new clothes, which i need. saturday, i'm going to baltimore to see a movie with jackie, and possibly hit the town for the afternoon. she is fine after her appendectomy this weekend, and says that by monday she feels she'll be back to normal. tuesday my mom and i are going up to watch the babies while jackie gets her staples out. i got an email today about issues with drawings for show #3; the email attachments opened okay but are not showing up the way they need to. i don't have them with me, so they will have to wait for new ones until i get back. anyhow, that's life in the (temporarily) slow lane.

just as a psa:

woman does not equal moron.

i ate way too much today.

strike went well but we didn't get quite as much done as i'd hoped. we still have time tomorrow though, and i'm sure we'll get everything done in a reasonable amount of time.

my sister is in the hospital while i'm writing this - she had an emergency appendectomy early saturday morning. my mom said she's okay and would be home tonight hopefully, but since she hasn't called, i guess maybe it's tomorrow instead. i'd prefer that my sister stay out of hospitals from now on as i don't know what i'd do without her.

still counting the minutes 'til i get the hell out of here - motivator is still broken.

for those of you on the edge of your seat in anticipation, i was successful last night in my attempt to eat free snackysnacks and drink more than i should. we had a grand time, both during the show and after. there was pizza, and we pumped up the sound system and i turned on some artistic lighting so people could get their groove on. when we tired of that, a few of us moved down the street to the belwah to sober up. i had more water in that two hours than i've had all week. we dished, and gossiped. and then we dished some gossip. i had a grand time. this moring i felt a little queasy, but was over that in a matter of seconds.

today is strike day; we will take everything down and put it in neat piles to load up our truck on monday to take everything back to storage. i anticipate a smooth operation today, and monday too. tonight is the volunteer dinner for the pony park - it's at tumbleweeds and they'll give us whatever we want under $8.99. i am very excited.

tuesday i anticipate laundry and sloth. wednesday i fly home, and couldn't be happier about it. i'm lookin at a whole week of maxxin and relaxxin. with some baby playin and some dining out mixed in, it promises to be a little slice of heaven.

so far today i have managed to remain relatively unproductive. it's frustrating really, i think something in my motivator is broken. i have been to the bank, and downloaded etc offline so i can write cues at home for #1. i did all the dishes and took out the trash. i sent out some important emails and made some design choices. these are all positive things, but not things i had on my "i'm a professional working at home, i should do these things today" list.

tonight i go up to beloit for our last show of the season. there is an after-part, with free wine and cheese. this should be a good time and will hopefully extend on into the night, at the bar down the street. i plan to help myself to the free snackeysnacks. tomorrow and monday we strike and put the space/shop back in order and that's the end of my summer gig. which is fine.

i've put out an invitation to several friends from college that i haven't spoken to in a while - i hope they show up.

yesterday i sent out an email regarding show #3; i'd sent drawings but hadn't heard as to whether they'd been received or whatever. they got them, had one question, and are off and running. so show #3 officially goes on the back burner... i have to do a sketch, but the big deal is over for now. this leaves shows #1 and #2. i had meetings for show #2 this week, and am very excited.

over the past season, i felt like we'd sort of turned into an art factory - what does the show require - get it up, done is good. i feel, with this script, like i have a chance now to push the envelope again, and i feel like i'm finally working with someone who inspires me as an artist, rather than a facilitator. i'm pumped.

show #1 is slightly more complex, since i'm doing lights, i really need to get in to see a runthrough. this is in the city = lots of driving. i can't really do a plot to light stuff until i know where it's gonna happen. so right now i'm picking color, etc, and trying to get ahead of the game so when i go into hang and focus it goes lickety split. also, i'm hoping to get my hands on etc offline so i can write cues before i get there. then i hope to be able to just plug them into the board and tweak as we go. say a little prayer.

today i plan to do some laundry and work on #3's sketch and thumbnails for #2. i think i will take #1 and #2 home with me, to some degree, and that's prolly fine.

woot!

well, i've changed the template. are we happy now?