oops

I just realized I never posted about my interview.
It went well. I thought I was way ahead of time as I was going down the interstate, but I lost a bunch on the two-lane highway going over to DeKalb (home of barbed wire and Cindy Crawford). I got there right on time (a change for me recently), and first met with the Search Committee, a mix of students and Profs, Theatre and Dance. 5 or 6 in all. Then I got to sit in on the Master Electrician class (one that I won't be 'officially' teaching, but will certainly be assisting in instructing for). Then lunch with the committee, then a meeting with the head of the department, then a tour of the building (a total of 3 performing spaces, the smallest being the "Performers corner", a kind of lecture hall space that's used for minimal theater pieces at least weekly). Then a group meeting with any interested faculty or student. There were about 6 or 8 grad and undergrad students, and two or three professors. That was the more grueling questioning session (though one question was if that was my usual wardrobe, or was I more of a jeans and T-shirt guy? I admitted that, no, the suit and tie were extraordinary.) The last event was a tour of a (semi-)local production company that the Theatre works closely with, UpStaging Inc. They're becoming one of the biggest two or three production companies in the US, and they're situated just up the road in Sycamore. They let the theatre use, free of charge, many state-of-the-art lighting toys, just so the kids get experience with them. The upside for them is that they then get a chance to hire the grad students for their company (what's happened to recent people in my position). They build and tour rock shows for international bands (one of the two shows that I saw them working on was Barbara Streisand's Europe Tour!). But they do not just rock, but also convention or expo displays. They had a bunch of Evinrude motors they were making display stands and tanks for. So they go to whatever city, set up the display, and then light it to be the most attention-grabbing. Big business. In the winter, they usually have 150 trucks out, in the summer, double that. So I'll have the chance to work with these guys, but for me, more in a co-operative way, I'm long past when I'll be touring with a show. But the chance to see, use, and train on, the latest in lighting technology is exciting.
They mentioned that there were three candidates that they were interviewing and that I was the first, so I have to wait the longest to hear news. (however, B, the lighting prof, let slip that one of the candidates, from Nebraska, by the way, had cancelled.) So I feel really good about this. I'll be supervising the grad students who are supervising the freshmen. And yes, there is potential for me to work for my MFA while I'm there. Alex (dept. chair) thought that a full load was a bit much with my regular duties, but if I was willing to take my time, it could be done slowly. I get to take two classes a year free of charge, one per semester. So the profs were really cool. The building is old and needing major renovations, but there's a $19.2 Million plan in the works, probably a few years down the road. So now I'm back to waiting, but I feel good about it. Wish me luck.

New me

Well, I went out yesterday and bought some new duds for my interview. I needed a new suit jacket since it's been 20 years or so since I'd worn one. I went to my favorite large mens store. I tried some on until I found my size, and then tried some more on until I found one that I didn't split seams when I flexed my biceps. I gotta say it looks pretty sharp, even though it doesn't look like me. I've recently bought pants and shirt, so those were set. I also then got caught up looking at ties. Now with a new suit, I needed a new tie... duh! Actually glad I did, when I got home my old ties, while fine, looked short. And geeky me actually looked up on the web how to tie a Windsor knot (Turns out that what I've been doing all my life is a 4-in-Hand.) Actually the one I prefer is actually a mistake I made when I tried the Half-Windsor. Call it a Modified Half-Windsor. Looks better, but doesn't come untied neatly.) I may have wife take pix of me tomorrow for me to post. I discovered one other thing: Clothes manufacturers don't make suits for large men. They make big suits, but they're just larger versions of puny guys suits. We wear clothes differently, and they haven't got a clue.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to go out and update my professional website, put on the Morrie pics, etc. I also need to get sleep tomorrow night. But my work list is: finish compiling my Morrie stuff to take to the committee, put a touchup on my shoes, finish taking all those damned tags and stitchings out of my new jacket. I should also take a few extra copies of my resume, shouldn't I. Does it show that I'm nervous? I'm too old for this shit.

p.s. For some reason Blogger is having issues with my Netscape browser (granted, I'm using a dinosaur version of it, 7.2, but it's worked fine until recently. Now, as I log in, Netscape shuts down. Entirely. I'm having to log in and compose in IE, and I hate IE.). Maybe while I'm out tomorrow, I'll upgrade it. grrr.

Fun day

Well, S and I went down to see a show at NIU, where I have the interview later this week. We left late in the afternoon, and after some trouble trying to get out of town by avoiding construction, and my desire to take the back roads, we finally got out of town by 3:30 or so. We stopped in Sycamore. I'd heard comercials on NPR about "The Confectionary" a candy store that makes their own candy, "at times, while you watch". I decided to stop and check 'em out. Good call. Lots of really tasty stuff. Then on to DeKalb, just down the road. Found a parking place and the theatre, but it was all closed up until showtime, so we went out to a bar for burger and beer until then, and then back to the theater, bought tickets, and found the SM that had a parking permit for me for this week's meetings. The show was 'Tracers'. A collection of Vietnam War experiences. The show was in their studio theater, fully in the round. The designer had nicely incorporated the whole space into the design, with jungle fronds, bamboo, and erosion cloth hanging behind each seating riser. The main playing space was a dirt area, surrounded by sandbags and crates, a la, a foxhole bunker. The story went from basic training, to jungle warfare and trench life. The show was paced nicely, and saved it's big punch for the end. Bold statement of the soldiers standing in silhouette, lit only by full 360* projection of names from the Vietnam Memorial Wall, across the actors and audience alike.

I was entranced by the nifty toys that I've wanted to play with for a while, moving heads with LED floodlights. Three color LEDs (and a ring of white) which blend to make any color combo, all on a moving yoke! as I said, Nifty. The rest of the lighting was adequate, warm when it was appropriate, and stark when it needed to be. There were a few odd light moments, that looked like a bad patch or missed cue or something; lights came up on one area when an actor made his entrance in another... that sort of thing.

After the show, we came back home, by interstate this time. Since it wasn't yet even 11, we decided to try the bar up by her house. Pretty redneck place. She'd been in there once before with a girlfriend, and had promptly been hit on by several guys with six teeth between them. Scary for them alone, but ok for the two of us. We had some very expensive (but very good) goosey ales and played a couple of games of shuffleboard. (I need to practice that one more, it's fun). Round about midnight, I realized my phone was still on silent from the show, and saw that I'd missed calls and a voicemail from Wife, wondering where the hell I was. I dropped S off and called her and told her I'd just dropped her off and was heading home. She wouldn't be happy knowing I was out drinking when I could have been home with her that much earlier. But I'm used to that, and I don't even feel guilty about it any more. If I had it her way, I'd never be out of the house, and I'd never see my friends, and I'd probably have killed her long ago.

Snow!

Ok, remember how last week, I said we usually get flurries in the first week in April?
We got 'em now. Regular blizzard conditions. Schools closed (pussies!). It's also like 35 degrees out so it's barely sticking on the ground. With high's in the 50's predicted for later in the week, so there's no chance of it sticking around. Wife just yelled in that they're predicting 3-5 inches. Yeah right. They're just trying to make me feel better.

I'm getting some work out at the college in the next couple of days. They need some wiring troubleshot (troubleshooted) in their sound lines, and some lighting instruments sockets replaced. They don't have a student that they trust with it, and the TD has no time (their upcoming show is Into The Woods, a big Sondheim musical). I'll pick up some spending money under the Unemployment radar this week.

The read-thru for Red Herring was last night. Saw some old friends. Lance I haven't seen in almost 6 years (September 11, 2001, they started rehearsals for the Marx Bros. farce, Room Service at NAT. Just try to be funny.) The script was hilarious. One actress expressed concern over being able to say the line "What can you tell me about the stiff with the dickey?" Another actor just said, "Be sure to say 'with the'!" Gonna be fun.

Ok, I gotta go play Nanook and go to college.

Post Binge

OMG we have so much ham in the freezer right now...

We got a 16 pounder for Easter Dinner. Afterwards, I filled three large bags with leftover ham, kept one out and froze two of them, along with the bone for soup. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I LOVE ham, ham sandwiches, however, but that is a LOT of freakin' ham. I also made dinner rolls, so they'll make a great medium for the sandwiches to come. I had another brainstorm which was a roaring success. We had the traditional green bean casserole, you know the one with the fried onion bits mixed in and then on top. But Wife ALSO wanted asparagus. So I suggested putting the asparagus in the cassarole. Wife originally said no, but then thought about it. I replaced half the green beans (Wife uses canned green beans, and I hate canned vegies.) with fresh asparagus, cut to inch or inch and a half lengths. Neither of us like mushrooms so we use Cream of Anything Else Soup (usually asparagus), and it was incredible. It, of course, cooked long enough for the asparagus to turn tender. I cut back on the milk, knowing that fresh asparagus has liquid in it, so it wasn't soupy (I'm sure the onion thingies help prevent that anyway). This is a keeper, though I doubt we'll be getting fresh asparagus for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.
So today I'm going out and doing those shopping errands. Lets see if I can find a chance to walk off some of that dinner. Maybe a side trip to the State park, or riverside walk. The glasses I think are first, that'll give me a week to get used to them. Then a jacket. Why do they call them sport coats? There isn't a sport in the world that wears them....

Easter is Cancelled

Did you hear that Easter is cancelled this year?

Yeah,
They found the body.


Thinking of you, Peter Gottleib.

Then there's this from the Onion a few years ago. There used to be another one, of Jesus, carrying a basket, hopping down a path scattering colored eggs on either side. Somehow I lost that one. Oh, well.
Not in the best of moods this weekend, and, NO, it has nothing to do with the holiday. (Well, maybe a sugar buzz has a bit to do with it. I was out doing morning errands and had a hankering for coffee and donuts. Haven't had donuts in a LONG time.) I think I'm just a bit down, missing my friends, and feeling cabin feverish. It may even be a full moon too. I heard on the radio that my favorite Holland was playing downtown tonight, but I spaced it off until too late. Damn.
ahh I shouldn't have done it anyway, what with the 10 dollar tickets.

On the good side (in a geeky, I-need-to-get-out kind of way), I got my first submission greenlighted at FARK (4/4/07)! I submitted a story from the local Daily rag that a jail guard was caught having sex with female inmates before or after their court appearances, in the courthouse. Go me and our redneck cops. Thanks guys.

I'd like to get out to a park or something tomorrow, but Wife likes to have big holiday dinners (even though she doesn't believe in any of these holidays...). And the fact that it's supposed to snow tomorrow (not really unusual, we always get flurries of some sort the first week of April, but everybody seems to forget that. Never fails.).

At our last game night, we were talking about fishing. S loves to fish, and I used to. I went with her once last year, but realized that all my tackle was about 20 years out of maintenance. So last week, I took apart about 6 reels and lubed them and figured out which ones work, and which ones don't, and which ones just need line. The oldest of the bunch was the one that worked best last year (only one with line), and that was not too well. Well, a good lube job did wonders (doesn't it always), and I even figured out how it works (really novel, in a low tech kind of way. instead of holding a button down to cast, you hold your thumb over a flywheel at the back of the reel to keep it from flying before you want it to on the swing! No fancy gadgets or gears, your thumb.). In the process, I found another reel with line (the funny grinding noise was the clip at the end of the line stuck in the flywheel. duh!) and another reel that works better. So now I have two complete rods and reels. Next is to pick up some new lures and tackle. oh, and I suppose I should get a license too. Wife has already stated that she's not eating anything out of the river. My response was, well, not RAW!

Next week could be eventful. Tuesday is the first rehearsal for Red Herring for AET at the college. Gonna be a big one. Only a cast of six, but 18 characters. In 24 scenes. Yoiks. But all of them are old friends. On Saturday I want to go down to DeKalb to see a show, and scout around. It'd be cool if somebody like S could come with me, but I don't know if she can yet.
I'm also thinking about getting a suit jacket this week. I haven't worn one in maybe 20 years, but a tie looks goofy without one. I also know I need to get new glasses. grrrr. Money going out and out and out.

Oh well, I should get this posted while Blogger lets me. It's been persnickety all week, and this is the first time I've actually been able to log on.

SummerTime

Weather is turning a bit warmer here recently. Just a bit. But the other day, I saw a cutie wearing shorts! Granted her legs had what we used to call a "Michigan tan", but they were mighty fine looking alabaster legs none the less. Very lickable (yeah, if only!).

I finally got a schedule for the interview on the 19th at NIU. ALL DAY! Meeting with search committee, sitting in on a class, lunch, meeting with AD, tours, meeting with students, meeting with LD, etc. wow. Now I need to decide what to wear, tie or no tie. They also want to see an example of an ME Bible. I'm guessing that it's just a document trail for a show's lighting. Most of that sort of thing is locked up in the NAT building, but I have my Morrie stuff. I'll have to make it a bit more complete. After a show closes, I usually throw that shit away. I only keep some design archives. Granted that includes a hookup schedule, and plot, but it's also cue list and other design stuff that an ME wouldn't necessarily need. Oh well, I'll gather my Morrie stuff and wing it. I'm usually pretty good at that.

Watched a couple of chick flicks in the past few days. Wife picked them up on our last shopping trip. The Holiday. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes for two weeks over the Christmas holiday, trying to escape bad relationships, only to find new ones. Funny how that happens so easily when you look like Cameron Diaz or Kate Winslet or Jude Law. Come Early Morning. This was a big waste of time. Even the chick didn't like this flick. I think she got it for Ashley Judd (who really is the hot one in that family), but she really let us down. The characters weren't very likable, the pacing was odd, and the story was just plain dull. Hmm. Speaking of beautiful actresses, I vaguely recall a time when I would post links from my bookmark archive to share. Here's one that I found long ago, and has gone thru several upgrades and changes, but the content is still basicly the same; pics of your favorite hollywood actresses (and quite a few that aren't your favorites, or even known in this country) in their famous (or infamous, or not-so-famous) nude scenes in their films or on the red carpet (or on the beach, club or wherever paparazzi lurk). Most of the photos themselves are pretty tame, but there are quite a few hardcore ads before you get to them, so treat it as NSFW.
I was gonna write more tonight, about my flickr addiction, but I think it'll wait for another time.