Flyer, Monkey's Fist, and Pint Discussions

Work today was...interesting...to say the least.  Surprisingly uneventful, but interesting none the less (we bring the fun wherever we go!).  The morning was pretty quiet, although there were several groups in today.  The group in the General Office reported power issues backstage, so Greg and I went back there to take the lighting unit apart and check the wiring (which was all fine).  He thought that we had tripped a circuit somewhere else in the system, but the only way to check was through the Intake Room, which is down in the Crypt and requires a key...so we took a short break while Front of House was scouring the building trying to find the key, and when we returned backstage to check things out again, we discovered that it was just a double-switch issue: two switches control the same lighting system, and they can cancel each other out if they are not put in the right combination.  Easy fix.  :)  I also spent part of the morning transferring the photos from our adventure yesterday onto the computer, which Ed later used to produce a wonderful little flyer with instructions for taping down, removing, and coiling cable correctly.  (Hopefully, the video will be online at some point...it was taken with a different camera than mine, so I'm not really in control of that...)

The afternoon was just an assortment of random activities...Ed made the flyer and we took down some stuff from the Grand Hall after the Tea Dance was finished.  The mirror ball was especially fun to take down, because it involved a climb up to the roof.  The view is pretty amazing from up there, but the attic was ridiculously hot.  We also spent a good chunk of time trying to figure out how to tie a monkey's fist knot...I know how, and I've done it successfully in Stagecraft, but the rope I had was really crappy and I wasn't able to do it.  When Ed, Greg, and I were all simultaneously attempting it with an online guide and different pieces of rope, someone compared us to the monkeys with typewriters who after an infinite amount of time are supposed to create the works of Shakespeare.  :)

At the end of the day, we all had a pint out in the courtyard, which was lovely and shady after the hot day.  (The walk to the cafe for lunch was not very pleasant in this heat, and it's only a block away!)  I may have come closer to discovering why I enjoy my coworkers so much: subjects such as quantum physics and perception rates for humans versus pigeons were just some of the fun subjects that we discussed over our drinks...find me a crew in the US that is that nerdy and wonderful, and I will be a happy stage manager.  :)