A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Mark, announcing that The Musicman, the biggest road show the Norton Center has ever had, was coming. 6 trucks (as opposed to the standard 2) and instead of starting load-in at 8, it started at 6…and ran until 5 that evening. It sounded grueling, but I thought it would be a good experience, and signed up to work both load in, load out, and the show.

Then I remembered this show would happen two days after we got back from SETC x_x

I’m on the props crew this time, and though I love electrics, props has been fun so far. I’ve never worked the show before, but it was lots of fun. It wasn’t full of crazy stressful cues, but there was enough going on that I wasn’t sitting backstage bored out of my mind. Last night went really smoothly, and tonight should go even moreso I think. Plus, in spite of working aaaall day yesterday, I still finished my take-home test in discrete math with no problems.

However, Mark came up to me again and asked if I wanted to work Aeros this Saturday. I promptly agreed to, but now I’m thinking that wasn’t such a good idea. I’m exhausted, I should’ve saved that day to rest. But, the load in and load out won’t be that long or complicated, and I could use the money. I’m really glad that spring break is so close, I’m going to need that whole week to recover.

Anyway, as promised…

Between the play festival and job contact, there was still a lot going on. I’m kinda sad I missed the wide array of workshops going on at the con, but I did get to go to one mask-making workshop that was really neat. I figured I’d go and take notes and get handouts for Katherine, in case anything they discussed there would help our mask-making endeavors for Chalk Circle. The guy focused mainly on mask making with Wonderflex, it was very informative and interesting, and I even picked up a small sample that I may play with later.

The rest of the convention wavered between eating at Chile’s EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, communal napping, and pleasant late-night viewings of Nick at Night. There was also a lot of socializing and partying in the lobby of the hotel, but it was so smokey down there that I preferred quiet company of smaller groups in the rooms.

In regards to bonding with the friends I went with, it was a very pleasant experience. There was a lot of instinctive comfort of one another’s stresses and exhaustion going on, and it was just a really great group of people to be with. In conclusion, things I learned…

1) There are other people in the world besides me that listen to They Might be Giants, a band which inspires wonderful car-ride sing-alongs

2) That, on 3 different occasions, with 3 entirely different groups of people, someone will suggest that they moon the president out of the hotel window, and 2 others will agree that it’s a fabulous idea.

3) Science is so cool, that we replaced the word “cool” with “science.”

4) Even though your hotel does not have an indoor pool, and you really really want to go swimming, it is apparently inherently wrong to want to go to the hotel next door and swim in their indoor pool.

5) Every person’s bed is communal property, as I found out when I would wake up to mysterious second or third parties sleeping next to me, or would come back to my room after having fallen asleep for the night in a 4th, 5th, and 6th party’s bed to find yet an 8th and 9th party in my own.

6) It’s nice that #5 can occur and everyone be completely cool about it.

7) Excuse me, it’s nice that #5 can occur and everyone be completely science about it.

8) I am eternally grateful that I got to spend time and grow closer to such a diverse, talented, creative, and science group of wonderful human beings.

9) “Okay, drunk Eric.”