More Duties

It's a good thing.

Over the past couple weeks, my duties during the show have been slowly piling up, to the point where I no longer sit for fifteen minutes after I take the sign out. Now I wait for the blackout after Live Like We're Dying and I clear the fogger and light used to get an outline effect in Closer. Then I pick up some clothes and take them to the dressing room. Then I go back to the loft. Also, later in the show, I go into the girls' dressing room (or stage left, depending which dancers are there) and help with the quick change before Circus. I pretty much just zip zippers, but it's a good start. I've never done quick changes before from the tech standpoint (had my fair share as an actor in We Won't Pay, though).

The other night a bunch of techies went to a coworker's place by a golf course. We ended up staying up by a bonfire until it started getting light again. The great thing is we don't work until 2:30 PM, so we still get somewhat respectable amounts of sleep.

Mark came and visited me and we jumped in the lake at two separate places. Cold. We also ate at Emily's Pancake House, and it was delicious. Zeb came the day before and we went to the park and rode the coasters (rolled the coasters?). It's great to have people come visit me but it just makes me miss Iowa when they leave.

We've been running the show and the parade back-to-back for a couple weeks now. At least it feels like it. So here's an update for my faithful reader(s?).

We still have sporadic problems like the traveler getting caught on the railings and cybers staying on during blackouts. Did I mention that I have access to the breakers for the cybers and I often have to turn them off in the middle of a show? It's weird, I don't understand how a light can just not function the way it's supposed to. I'm not sure why we use them, because it seems like a MAC could do almost everything a cyber can, and more dependably, apparently.

The confetti still creates challenges. We're getting good at sweeping it all up between shows - yesterday we had four minutes left before the house was to open and we'd already cleaned the stage. But Bessie, the confetti drop (named because Carrie once lamented that shaking the drop whilst empty was like milking a barren cow), likes to catch on the first electric and tear her holes open, which we can only really fix with gaff tape. The holes were originally seamed, I think with a sewing machine. It would have been really nice to have a serger instead.

And the other morning I had to restring Bessie. The main tie line strings that we were pulling on were rubbing against something up above (I suspect a poorly aligned pulley) and one of them had broken already. So we brought her down, adjusted her pulleys and restrung her, then filled her and barely got her out before the house opened for our first show. Hmm, I guess when I say "morning," I mean 2:30 in the afternoon.

It's about the Fourth of July, which means we're doing some minor decorating. Namely, I am helping to gel the lights that light up the American Eagle rollercoaster at night. Red, white and blue, believe it or not. The fun thing is that these lights (which I haven't actually seen) have giant homemade gel frames. Also, they run really hot, so we have high-heat gels and put heat shield in the frame as well. Story goes that those gels are still trash after Fourth of July season is over. Hopefully they last until next Wednesday - we're having Retro Ride Night with the American Eagle, The Iron Wolf and The Demon. And also karaoke.

As for parade, last night was a typical sort of night - Ursie popped off the tracks in Mardi Gras, and I steered her back on, no problem. By the way, when you visit the park, stay behind the white line during the parade. It's real important. Fortunately, we have a ton of employees from security and such also guarding the parade route, and they believe in the importance of keeping people back. It's not unsafe, it just, like many things, has the potential to be dangerous. That's why we're professionals.

Have a Six Flags Day!