Life of an LD

ahhh, hobbies.

2010-06-09T20:23:00.002-04:00

So, now that I have a little down time in my life I have begun doing hobbies again. Last weekend I pimped my car a little by adding 3 usb charging ports to the dash and installing blue LEDs in the cupholders and center console. That is just phase one of my car project (I don't know how many phases there are). My next phase includes a microchip and an LCD display that will interface with a temperature sensor, a photocell, my ipod, and an NES controller. The development platform I am using is called Arduino. I just got the controller successfully sending play, pause, and skip commands to the ipod. The next challenging part is getting the track information from the ipod to the LCD. I hope I can figure it out.

At Ailey getting ready for tech

2010-01-11T09:22:00.001-05:00

Mark and Alex and Al by tech table

Accident

2009-12-14T22:14:00.001-05:00

Ari & Maya

2009-11-19T17:05:00.003-05:00

Maya is my lighting understudy in case I can't make it through tech.

At Texas Roadhouse

2009-11-14T21:03:00.002-05:00

UCONN

2009-11-13T18:20:00.002-05:00

My tech table for galileo

2009-11-13T12:46:00.002-05:00

The pumpkin Mark carved for me.

2009-11-13T11:38:00.002-05:00

One of my projects.

2009-11-12T00:42:00.004-05:00

I have been getting more and more interested in LED projects. I think they will be incredibly important and valuable to my career. Greg Purnell took a picture of one of my projects that I have stolen. I will try to take some video so you can all enjoy the effects it does. It is a 3d cube that goes through several effects. I didn't invent it, I made it from instructions I found at my favorite hobby site Instructables.com. I made some very minor modifications, nothing too significant.

Behind it is my phone headset that I have installed a bluetooth into, so i have a hand held hands free headset.

No, Andrea: "Unhappy is the land that needs a hero."

2009-10-28T20:44:00.004-04:00

I am sitting in rehearsal for Galileo. It is amazing how much easier it is to get my own creative juices flowing when I see other people using theirs. I have spent all of today trying to spiritually and emotionally find myself in this show. Up to this point I have been too intellectually involved. I have been causing my own problems. Finding emotion in a piece is sometimes difficult. I do, however, feel incredibly blessed to have found a profession where making emotional and instinctual decisions is often the preferred method. This is what makes art so meaningful. It is not about reaching out to touch others, but reaching in and using what touches me. I can only make it of any value if I do it this way. If I reach to affect others I will miss. It seems to me that most people have experiences that relate to each other. Hopefully what affects me will touch others. I have had a lot of insight into myself over the last 2 weeks, much of it has been a trial by fire.

I am finding time to meet some new people. I have been participating in activities in the Providence, RI Stake. I live literally 2 miles from the boundary of the Hartford and Providence stakes (a big deal with stakes this big.) I have been meeting more lds members at UCONN.

It has been incredibly sad about the recent murder on campus here. It is the first instance of this on this campus ever. It is such a beautiful campus, surrounded by trees, and full of talented and powerful people. I am glad they have made charges in the crime, it puts the mind at rest.

ummm, maybe I shouldn't admit this

2009-10-01T11:17:00.001-04:00

I started watching Glee the other night. A couple of episodes in the students try to hire an evil choreographer. He is a short unattractive guy. I immediately recognized him as Whit Hertford, an acting graduate from the University of Utah. I worked on a show or two that he was in while I was at the U. It is crazy how small the world is getting.

Okay

2009-10-01T01:27:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time. There is a lot I need to catch up on, but now it is late. I wanted to get started short with a couple of fun things. One is a video I made for a promo, not bad for my first video. It is for our school's next show.

www.youtube.com/CTRepertoryTheatre

The other is an awesome website. I think many of you will enjoy this one.

People of Walmart

Enjoy!

Hopefully more will come soon.

I broke a wing...but the show went on.

2009-07-08T12:55:00.003-04:00

Today was possibly to toughest opening night I have ever been through. I was up the night before until 3 fixing focus notes and rewriting some cues. I woke up yesterday morning with a cold. I felt horrible. My head was so heavy I thought I would tip over. I couldn't sleep in, however, because my primary console stopped booting up the day before, so I needed to get on the phone early with tech support to work it out. I didn't want to run opening night without a backup console running. I did get the console fixed in the morning, the memory needed to be reseated. The rest of the day went hot and humid, and I got some last minute things done, but was for the most part ready to go. About an hour and a half before showtime a massive thunderstorm blows in out of nowhere. We were having a hard time tracking it because the internet we were on was proving to be very unreliable. Our best guess was that we would be able to do the show, if we started late. We had to drop part of the tarp covering front of house because the rain was blowing at an angle. When the worst of the storm had blown over we decided to get the show rolling. It was about 9pm. The pageant president, President Renouf, got up on the stage to start the introduction. I couldn't put the followspot operators in the towers because there was still lightning in the area. I had prerecorded some submasters with stage areas to cover for such a problem. I looked down at the fader wing to orient myself to the subs, but it was dead. I restarted the console, but nothing. Now I was a little stressed, the show was starting, and I couldn't cover for the spots. After trying a little percussive maintenance I decided to run to the truck and see if I could find a backup wing. I believed I had heard we had one. I found it and ran clumsily with an awkward box back to front of house. I didn't dare plug the new wing in while the console was on, I don't know how that would work, and I couldn't afford another dead wing. I shut the console off again, plugged in the wing, turned it on and crossed my fingers. I was pleased to find that the wing booted up and worked. I was just trying to buy time until I could get the spots up into their towers. The lightning persisted until about half way through the show. A while after the last strike the sky suddenly went calm, and it seemed clear that the storm was done for now. I sent the spots up and made it through the rest of the show successfully. By the time the show was over I was exhausted. I came home and stumbled to bed. Thank goodness I got to sleep in this morning.

Well, here's an interesting update...The reason we couldn't get the weather was because North Korea conveniently decided to attack government web sites this week. Thanks for adding to the fun...

Hitler

2009-07-03T11:15:00.002-04:00

I know it is a little late for this, but I just stumbled across this video of Hitler's anger at last year's football championship.

A sad day for theatre.

2009-06-20T20:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to the retirement party for Peter Willardson who was my lighting advisor at the U. His training is the reason I got into UCONN, and any success I have in the future will be traced back to the interest he took in my career. It is a sad day that no future lighting designers will have Pete to train them. I am happy for him, he has been ready to retire for a long time. There is a hole in the entertainment industry that will never be filled.

Where did it go?

2008-11-21T16:34:00.002-05:00

So, I have been thinking about where I am, and have been awe struck at how fast time has gone. I am nearly done with my first semester. I have my classes one more time, a 10-page paper to write, a light lab project, a final, and one last mood board and concept. I can't believe it is so close. Thanksgiving break is very welcome. It has been a furious few months. I am also excited to come home for Christmas break. I really want to go skiing. I haven't gone in forever. If anyone wants to go please let me know.

Yesterday we had Al Crawford come to adjudicate the lighting for Jen's thesis show. He is the lighting director for the Alvin Ailey company. It is incredible to be out here meeting people that are doing what I want to do and have been very successful at it. It fills me with hope and fear all at the same time.

Tomorrow is the much anticipated "Holy War" I am going to paint my hair red in support of my alma mater. It has been a fun season and I am excited to watch the Utes win it this year.

I may be the projection designer for "Hair" next semester. That will be an exciting new challenge. Probably a large learning curve as well. I am registered to take a photoshop class, intro to grad studies, lighting systems, and projections next semester.

The only other thing worth note is that this week we went from T-shirt weather to freezing to death in one day. I am seeing ice form on some of the ponds. I guess winter decided to hit all at once. At least there isn't any snow yet.

Losing to the pictures

2008-10-22T13:23:00.006-04:00

I keep intending to take lots of pictures. I have taken some, but I don't feel that they are all worthwhile.
The fall leaves are nearly done. I got a few pictures, but I think I was about 4 days too early for the really good stuff. I am amazed at the reds, yellows, and oranges that the trees can reproduce. It is so vibrant I think my driving has gotten a little...distracted. Good thing it is almost over.

This is the house I live in, there is a lake right across the street.It is a really nice house. I got really lucky.

This is the bridge I drive over and the waterfall I see everyday on the way to school. I love the drive, it is fairly short, very scenic, and very little traffic. It is just a refreshing drive, a really nice way to start the day.

I am dating a beautiful girl named Sarah. We met several weeks ago at a singles FHE. She is way fun. I took her down to NYC for the first time. We went through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walked around Central Park, saw the temple, watched the sun set over the statue of liberty from Battery Park, visited Times Square, and saw Grand Central Station. It was a fun time. My second time there. It was a lot better this time having someone to see the sights with.

BFFFURTAs

2008-09-01T20:28:00.002-04:00

I want to start by saying what I intended to say in the last post but think I forgot. I am absolutely amazed at how beautiful Connecticut is. Hartford is an amazing city scape, and all the country roads I have been on have filled me with awe and exhilaration. I just can't believe I am here (though that may change come winter). Campus is gorgeous, they are really interested in making this a great school.

I went and got sushi (sorry Aimee) with a few new found friends at school. The fortune in my cookie read, "Keep on keeping on." It struck me as odd at first as it seems like such an unoriental phrase. Though over the past few days it has come to be quite profound. Grad school is hard. I know that the challenges I am experiencing are exactly what I need. The reason it is so hard is because it is attacking all my weaknesses in the theatrical realm. It is demanding me to put a lot of effort into things I don't well understand. I am simultaneously anxious and scared beyond all reason. I am incredibly blessed with classmates who inspire me to work harder then my own motivation would expect. I am more productive in their presence and already feel a deep kinship here.

I love theatre. One of the most incredible parts is the people. I fit in here much better than I expected. It is an environment where one is expected to strive to be themselves. My beliefs have often been inquired into, but never attacked. I will spend the next few years with some of the greatest people in the world.

My time here has also been incredibly bitter-sweet. I am not around the people I am used. You are not there to buoy me up. I have open myself up to risk to get through my trials. I have been incredibly lonely for home at times. I have, over the last week, often felt a sense of insecurity that I have not experienced in years.

I appreciate knowing that this post will be read. I am grateful to be able to let my struggles out. Thank you.

Someone Paved the Cow Path

2008-08-25T21:50:00.003-04:00

Alright, here is my update, I thought I would keep you all in suspense. It has been a grueling little while, driving like a bajillion miles twice in one week. The few days I had at home were really fun and furious. Then the four day trip out to Connecticut was about as boring as driving across our country of corn fields can get. I arrived last Tuesday and was happy to discover that the room I had found on the internet was in a gorgeous house and has a giant walk in closet. I unpacked my full car worth of stuff and it still looks like I don't own very much. The landlord is great, he lives on the main floor and has a lot of plans for the house. I will have to take some pictures and post them so you can all be jealous.

On Wednesday I had to go to a TA orientation. I am not teaching so it was extremely boring. I slipped out less than half way through and made a clean break for it. I had a department orientation on Thursday. That one was way more relevant. I actually learned what was going on with my new life. It will be some decent work. I think I will survive. During that orientation I met the 3 other grad lighting designers and found out that one of them lives right across the street from me. They had a party that night and I made a late appearance. Friday was my bum around day. I took mom to the airport then just kind of bummed around. It was nice having her out here while I tried to get settled I would have been bored out of my mind, having not met anyone yet. On Saturday I got some little podiddly things done then went to a department party in one of the Staff member's homes. It was great to meet most of the department and just be crazy like theatre people usually are.

Sunday was exciting because it was my first day in my new ward. It is about a 25 minute drive to church. I am now in the Manchester Branch. It is funny because if I lived on campus or on the other side of it I would be in a different stake. I think I got the better deal because the Hartford Stake seems to do more activities. I counted about 75 people in sacrament meeting. I don't know why I expected it to be bigger. It is mostly families. Maybe a couple other people near my age. I got invited to dinner by a member of the bishopric. It was really nice because I had neglected to plan what I was going to eat that night, it probably would have ended up being cold cereal. I still haven't gone grocery shopping. My landlord is getting a new fridge tomorrow so I decided to hold off until that was all figured out. Yay for ramen.

Today was the first day of classes. They didn't start until one in the afternoon, but I had little things like laundry to keep me busy all morning. My class today was Theatre History. It is going to be great because we are studying the history from the context of the text of plays. I am going to have to read a lot of plays, but it will be a lot better than a history book. Then we had a tech planning meeting. They happen every monday and everyone just gets together to make sure the production process is going well.

I realized this evening that since arriving here I have had no idea which direction is which. I am constantly surprised at the direction I need to drive to go home. It always feels like i should be going off another way. Stupid cow paths. I can't keep my bearing because no road goes straight for more than a few hundred feet.

I live right by a lake, it is fun to look out at the fog hanging over it in the mornings.

I have my other two classes tomorrow (Tuesdays). I am pretty much in class from 9:30am until 5pm. It will be a long day. Not to mention parking is a pain, just like any other college campus. Maybe I will be there early enough tomorrow to get a decent spot.

Sorry no pictures this time, I will get some cool ones soon though.

Wow, where did it go?

2008-08-09T19:41:00.003-04:00

Here I am, my last day in Nauvoo, trying to recover from spending all night up striking the show. I am so stinking sore. It has been an incredible time. The spot ops I worked with were amazing. I now have 7 new friends, all great guys.
One of the funniest moments was when Taylor dropped a radio from the 50 foot tower and clocked Jason on the head. Jason was half way up the tower, so it wasn't the complete distance. Jason immediately booked it down the ladder and went straight to the First Aid station. I followed him over there to discover the blood pouring down his face. The cut was pretty small, but those head wounds are bleeders. He got a few stitches and was back for the second half of the show.
It really doesn't feel like it has been 6 and a half weeks already. I can't believe that I will be to school in a few days. My life is all kinds of tipsy turvy. I am going to miss so much about Utah.

New Gospel Forum

2008-07-23T10:44:00.004-04:00

So I have been thinking about my scripture study habits. I really enjoy when I get the opportunity to share things I have discovered with other people, or learning their views on scriptures. In searching I have failed to come up with a decent gospel forum where sincere, active members are trying to strengthen their testimonies. In fact, the only one I have found is full of people who seem to be rationalizing their lifestyles. In thinking I have decided to create my own forum. It's purpose will be for posting and researching information and viewpoints on the scriptures. I will be using it along with my scripture study to post items of interest to me. If some of you want to participate I would love to have the wealth of knowledge and opinion added to what I have to contribute. Right now I just have the Book of Mormon posted, and am intending to divide it by Sunday School lessons. Let me know if you would like to be involved. It is at www.davidosmith.com/forum. I would also be grateful for input into the whole idea.

Umm, what am I getting into

2008-07-15T01:05:00.001-04:00

Okay this little post has been going around and I love the concept so here it goes...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

To Hell with the Pamph

2008-07-08T10:39:00.003-04:00

So I had heard the rumors, but last night the rumors were removed as I witnessed Kirby Heyborne's part in a Miller Lite commercial. My opinion is that he has sold out his values. He has built himself as a representative of LDS values. Being in a public spotlight position he is accountable for the way he represents himself. By acting in that commercial he has destroyed himself as a representative of those values.

watch the commercial here

The Likely End of Singles Wards

2008-06-22T21:52:00.002-04:00

Well, I got released from my calling as Sunday School first counselor today. It made the whole leaving thing a little more real. I will be going to the Ashford, CT ward. It all just feels so bizarre. I have those mixed emotions. It is time to get on with my life, but at the same time I am sad to be leaving so much family and so many friends. I will also be sad to be leaving the desert. The summer hikes and trips I have gone on are certainly going to be missed. I will miss going out water skiing with family. Hiking Mount Timpanogos. Really I will miss mountains in general as well as wide open spaces. There are things about the Utah culture I won't miss.

Certainly my least favorite day will be fast sunday because I will be missing the family parties. Thursdays will also be awful because I will be missing family lunch and ultimate frisbee. I know there will be frisbee in CT, but it's not the group I have been playing with for 3 years.

The nicest part about going is the advancement of my life. It definitely feels like my life is getting stale and it is time to go. I know I got into the right school for the right degree. I often wonder what I will become in 3 years. Where will I go? That is an answer I will have to discover with time.

I am grateful that Aimee always reminds me to write in the blog. No pictures this time, but just some scattered thoughts.

so enjoy and I will let the world know how Nauvoo goes. It will be a couple weeks before I have time, but I will.

A Whole Life in a Few Months

2008-06-04T04:04:00.005-04:00

Wow, where to start. As Aimee rightly pointed out: a lot has happened since my last post. I returned from my New York trip to interview with schools. I did accept an offer from the University of Connecticut. I can not express how excited I am to go. They were only accepting two students and I got one. Lots to do, definitely need to spend more time getting ready. School starts August 25th, so I should get going. The position comes with an assistantship which includes a full tuition waiver (which accounts to about $13,000 per semester) and a stipend of about $9,500 a year. I am especially happy not to accrue a lot of debt while finishing school. A couple of weeks ago I did get a call from NYU asking me to attend school there. It felt really good to get accepted, but it didn't feel quite right. Probably because I can still get a good education without being forever in debt.

In a couple of months I will be heading to Nauvoo for 7 weeks to assist the lighting designer with the pageant there. I am really glad they asked me as I have wanted to do this for the past three years and this may be my last chance. It feels good that they want me and the disappointments they have expressed about me going off to school. It will certainly be a job to be missed.

Austin got home from his mission. Much to my mom's dismay we kidnapped him and forced him to carry a 45 pound pack through the desert. We had a great hike in Slickhorn Canyon. The ruins were spectacular. They were harder to find than the ones in Grand Gulch that Darren and I experienced last year. I think Aimee was also sad to lose Corbin for the weekend. My poor sister, too. We took Chad along and it was the first time since before they were married that they have been separated, and the first time in even longer that they haven't been able to talk or text for more than a few hours. Fortunately I didn't have anyone at home to be sick with loss over me. It was such a good time, we got hail and rain and waterfalls and just an amazing trip.

Austin, Chad, and I also messed around one night with painting with light. It turned out really better than I expected considering the conditions we were working with.

I am really at an odd spot in my life right now. I can feel that it is time to move on, but I just have to burn the time until that happens. I know I am going to the right school and that it will put me somewhere great, but what all that means I really don't know.

The Legend of Chin Lee (Bruce Lee's Cousin)

2008-03-29T23:08:00.009-04:00

Recently I enjoyed an excellent backpacking trip in the Needles Overlook area of South Eastern Utah. It was great to get away and live in the desert again. We hiked in a canyon along Indian Creek. The joy of being in a class was spending a week with strangers and getting tight and having the learning atmosphere to really appreciate the wonders around me.

Near the beginning of the trip I stated how cool it would be to wake up with snow one morning. It wouldn't be cool when it happened, but in like two weeks when we talked about it. Well, I became cursed and got my wish. I guess I never knew my power.

The next day we went on a day hike to a bend in the Colorado River. Even though the trip was cold (my water bottle froze two of the nights), I decided that an adventurous swim was well worth it. To avoid chickening out I decided to just run in as fast as I can and dive in when it got deep enough. After I took off my shirt and shoes I started my sprint. I got about twenty feet into the water, got stuck in the mud and promptly face planted. I tried to wade out to a swim able distance, but at about 30 feet the water was still only 3 inches deep, however I was nearly up to my waist in mud. I posed for a couple of pictures in the freezing water then struggled back to shore. After a very entertaining struggle to clean the mud off my feet so I could get my socks back on we began the hike back to camp (and my pants weighed like 20 extra pounds because of the mud and water coating my pants).

Next we stopped at a waterfall, it was a little warmer, but quite exhilarating. It was nice to clean off all the camping grime and feel at least a little fresh again. Nearly everyone took the chance to wash off.

We had a fun foreign exchange student from China named Lin. He is from Shanghai and had never been camping before. He was fun to hang with on the trip because of how foreign the whole experience was for him. He fell asleep just as we left Salt Lake. He woke up somewhere near Green River and his eyes were wide with the amazement of how the environment had change. It may have crossed his mind that we had taken him to another planet. I don't think he quite knew what to expect. He survived the trip off of a loaf of bread and several packages of oreos. He said he would camp again. I sure hope so.

Overall the trip was just amazing. Here are some more pictures to wrap it up.

Our last Camp

Some Mining Remains

Petrified Wood

Hieroglyphics

So here is the Legend of Chin Lee, it was a way we could remember all the formations (layers) of rock in the area. We came up with it as a class.

It was a Paradox because one Hanukkah (Hannaker) an elephant (Elephant Canyon)was hit by a cedar (Cedar Mesa) and his Organs gushed out. All that was left was White Rim tusks and he could no longer moan copiously (Moenkopi). Then Bruce Lee's Cousin, Chin Lee (Chinli) came along and made a samurai sword from the tusks, went through the Wingate, ate the magical Cayenne Pepper (Kayenta) and defeated the mighty Navajo. He then celebrated by eating Carmel.

I love NYC

2008-02-23T12:23:00.001-05:00

My room in NYC.

2008-02-22T07:32:00.001-05:00

Gift for interfaith roundtable

2008-02-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

Me, the Poet

2008-02-15T13:06:00.002-05:00

So I stumbled across this poem that I wrote who knows how long ago. Let me know what you think. (I know it is weird that I am posting 2 days in a row.)

I was in a storm
strong enough to destroy
the greatest men...
It was about to take me.

It was not a storm
of water and wind,
but of purpose, friendship, and faith.

I was near to be ripped
from all anchors
when you appeared...
with a warm smile.

You started the great force
that brought me back
to faith, to hope, and to life.

Grad School Interviews = Self Esteem

2008-02-14T21:36:00.003-05:00

Wow, I always wait a while between posts. I guess that's why I don't have a consistent following. Well, those of you who read can be satisfied, everyone else will miss out.

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely amazing (no, I am still single). I went to a thing called U/RTA. There are a few dozen grad schools that are members of this program. I got to go set up a portfolio and display in Chicago a couple of weekends ago. When I and the other nearly 60 candidates for lighting, costume, and set design were done we all had to leave and the grad school representatives had a few hours to look at all the displays and information we had each left on our tables and decide if they wanted an interview. Before this I really didn't know how I would compare to other undergrad students. Most of the candidates ended up with 6 to 12 call backs from schools. I had 21. Of those I was scheduled for 18 interviews. It was a crazy interview process, very similar to speed dating. We were given schedules at 3pm, then went back to our stations where the interviews began at 3:30. They were each 15 minutes long, one right after the other. It all blurred together, good thing I took a lot of notes. I had one long break near the end, but then at 9:15pm the last 2 of us that were interviewing left the room. It was amazing to have so many schools trying to talk up their programs. Most of the interview time was the school representative trying to convince me to go to their school. Every school gives a full tuition waiver and an assistantship stipend of between $5,000 and $17,000 a year. Schools can start making official offers to me on the 18th. Most of the schools only accept one or two new students a year. It is very competitive. One of the most amazing things was when I realized during the interviews that some of the reps knew they weren't going to get me and they were just giving their speech in a vain hope that they could get me. I was probably in the top 4 lighting designers at the conference. I owe Aimee big time for all the help putting my portfolio together.

Today I met with the Lighting Designer from Tennessee. He is currently designing A Mid Summer Night's Dream at Pioneer Theatre. I talked with him over lunch today and am really interested in his program. He only accepts two students every other year, but often takes his students to jobs oversees. I imagine that would be an incredible opportunity. I am meeting with him tomorrow to show my portfolio. He is very selective, but a great guy.

I talked with Peter tonight, as my lighting design professor he is one of my references for grad school. One of the schools I interviewed with was Southern Methodist University. They only accept one student a year and are one of the most prestigious theatre schools in the nation. He called Peter to ask about me. He said that they had narrowed it down to two candidates and I am one of them. That really improves my self image and hope of a future.

I leave next Wednesday for my first ever visit to NYC. I will interview with NYU, Yale, and the University of Connecticut while I am there. I will probably get to see Rent, as one of my friends is the house electrician at the theatre where it is playing.

I may be going to Connecticut for an interview with CCM. We will see.

Other than that stuff I have a blind date coming up this weekend due to a very diligent friend that thinks I am too good to be single. I am going to give it my all, even though I am really bad at dates. We are hoping there is enough snow so we can make a big snowman. I have another date on the 8th due to a diligent cousin's wife.

I am in Queen Creek, AZ

2008-01-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

So I am in a little place called Queen Creek, Arizona, a little south and east of Mesa. I am hanging with my good friends Alan and Tiffany Haynie. They are having a baby in 2 days and they are so excited and crazy that I don't think they know what to do. It is really fun to be involved in all of this. They are treating me like family. They are in a new home and trying to get it ready. We have hung ceiling fans, pictures, wired the surround sound (most important in my book), painting has been done, and just tried to have a good time. It is crazy how warm it is here. I spent all day yesterday in shorts. It is so nice (sorry Aimee, I am sure that gives you some longing).

One of the first days we went shooting. In this picture you see, from left to right, me, Alan Haynie, Scott, Ryan Haynie, and Tiffany Haynie (and in her belly McKenna Haynie). We had a lot of guns. My Springfield XD .40 pistol and Mossberg .22 rifle, Alan's Sig 226 pistol, Sig p229 pistol, Sig p239 pistol, Sig 232 pistol, Sig Mosquito .22 Pistol, JC Higgins 12 gauge 22 inch shotgun, and 9mm High Point Carbine Assault Rifle, Scott's Sig p229r dak pistol, and Mike's High Standard Sportking 22 long rifle competition pistol. We had a great time. We took all kinds of targets. One of the favorites was a couple bags of grapefruits that we pulled off of some trees in Gilbert. But the most amazing was some old textbooks I brought down just for this purpose. I figured it would be rewarding to expend some school stress through shooting books, but I had no idea how rewarding it would be. After putting a few dozen rounds through a couple of the books we threw one of them in the air and I nailed it with a shotgun. It turned into the most amazing display of confetti I had ever seen. The pieces hung in the air forever. We missed taking a picture of that one, but I have a picture of the next attempt, not as good though.

Alan is a Deputy Sheriff with Maricopa County. He let me try on his uniform, body armor and all. Don't you think it looks good on me. If the whole lighting design thing doesn't work out at least I know how I look in police garb. I even got to wear his utility belt with tazer, pepper spray, gun, extra clips, baton, handcuffs, flashlight, and the key to the traffic lights. Aren't I sexy.

My crazy dream last night

2007-12-13T11:09:00.001-05:00

So here it goes, this is really weird, but with me I guess that is no surprise:

I am on a long road trip by bus. There are 3 other people, though I don't remember who they are. We are on our way back from somewhere and are passing near Phoenix. I want to stop at my friend Alan's house, but don't know how to do it without missing the bus. I decide to get off anyway, but nobody is home. I go to a neighboring store, and start shopping, but they are on their last day of a going out of business sale. I remember looking at some hats, but I can't remember what else. Somehow I end up with the building and start planning a major remodel to make it into some kind of other store.

Next thing I know I am in rural Korea living in a polygamist community. We are setting up props and things for some kind of religious film we are going to make. Mostly we are placing electric candles in a circle on the ground and wiring them together. I spent a chuck of this time trying to discover why some of them aren't working. I also placed a candle on a stand by a Book of Mormon and try to adjust a nearby Bible. There is another man who is a leader of the sect. I am the only other man, there are a lot of women.In the middle of testing the candles in the large circle, myself and a few women decide to leave the group. We run off into the countryside. The man leading the group gets furious. They burn a couple of the women for betrayal. In the dream it felt normal, like they knew it was coming. We begin having doubts and decide to return and face a similar fate. We are standing outside the rickety old house waiting for one of the other women to inform the leader that we have returned. I am hoping for an immediate sacrifice so that it will just be over quickly. It is Monday. The leader comes out and informs me that my sacrifice will take place on Friday or Saturday. I am anxious and don't want to wait that long.

The next thing I know I am in a different part of Korea, I am no longer the man at the polygamist community, I am just observing things somewhere else. There are 3 Americans flying a military helicopter. They are shooting at some Korean soldiers who are returning fire from some trenches. A Korean man with a large gun gets the gunner in the back of the helicopter, then nails the pilot. The helicopter comes down for a rough landing, but in tact. I watch as the Korean rushes toward the helicopter and shoots the last American as he escapes from the helicopter and runs for it. The Korean jumps into the helicopter and begins trying to take off. He shoves his sock down his pants for energy. He gets the helicopter airborne and is attempting to return to base. It is incredibly difficult to fly. Without noticing anything weird, the helicopter just kind of changes into a suite. I experience a lot of this flying in the first person. We end up in a large city. I can't get the helicopter very high, in fact I keep having to jump off the ground and narrowly missing walls and poles.

Now I am the polygamist again. I meet the Korean, who I don't yet know, in an ally. We get acquainted. He asks for a sock so he can get more energy. I give him mine, but it is kind of wet. Turns out to be a good thing, because the grosser the sock the more energy. He flies off over the wall and I return to the polygamist house where I am still awaiting my punishment. I am pretty much on house arrest now. The Korean, who is now identified as Lee, his wife, and four daughters come to the house to visit me. I think they know they aren't supposed to be there, but they try anyway. One of the women answers the door. Lee and his family are sitting on a couple of couches in a lobby like room outside the house. The woman tells the leader that they are here to see me. They decide that I am not to have any visitors. They don't tell me that Lee has come, and they tell Lee and his family that I am busy and can't be seen right now. They just stay there on the couches waiting. Night comes, and they all just lay down and sleep. The next day we go to a large indoor competition event. There is something similar to a crazy river on steroids going around this room that is roughly the size of a stadium. Lee and his family have snuck in. For some reason the polygamist leader can't kick them out. I hear one of the women try to whisper something about them to the leader, and realize they are there to see me, so I begin looking around. Lee is in the river just cruising along. He has a head on collision with someone coming down a slide, you can tell it hurt. Then there is this sporting event with 2 men on inter tubes suspended 10-20 feet off the floor with these paddles in their hands that score points every time they hit each other. Suddenly I am one of the men on the inter tubes. We are swing around hitting each other when suddenly Lee comes swinging in and dominating the game, he swings high and fast and just comes in for a quick hit. He jumps on my inter tube with me and we team up to defeat the opponent.

Just about this time I wake up. I never did get to be sacrificed. I guess I will have to wait until another dream about crazy polygamists. So, if you made it all of the way through this give me your opinion on if I should make a separate blog about my dreams, I do get a lot of them.

Timmy Made Me Do It!

2007-12-13T01:39:00.001-05:00

So, I thought that blogging once a month would suffice, but apparently Tim has different ideas for me. The lucky bugger (I shouldn't really use that word) has a kid due in a month. Imagine a little Timmy running around. That thought makes me smile.

I took my last final this morning. It may be the last final of my undergrad. YEAH! So, for the rest of you whom I have not bragged too, I have one easy semester left of my bachelor's degree. And by easy I mean that I have already earned 5 of the credits, I will get 3 for assisting Peter, 3 for a 6 day backpacking trip, and 2 for a weekend cooking camping trip. I am excited to be done, but I am sadistic enough to be trying for grad school. I think I have already talked about that stress. If anyone has any good ideas on how to start a personal mission statement please let me know.

Cassie and I went out on the 7th and took some sweet pictures of the new snow. We started around midnight. Because of all the city light reflecting off of the overcast skies, and because of the long exposure time, some of the pictures look like they were taken in the middle of the day. It was a peaceful night. Cassie and I hadn't been able to spend much time together since she moved out. It was a relaxing way to spend the night, even though I had to be up early the next day.

My sister gets married in a few days, how crazy. The only single ones left in the family will be me and Austin, who is currently serving a mission. Wow, as I was typing that the realization hit me, how sad I am. One of my coworkers is trying her hardest to set me up, but I just don't know about dating. I am a little more confident lately. I really need to get to know someone first, I haven't done that yet. With all the time I won't be spending in school maybe the next few months will be great for me.

Well, it is late. I hope I have partially satisfied your needs, Timmy. Good night.

Where Has It All Gone?

2007-11-25T15:49:00.000-05:00

So, where has my life been? Good question. Since my last post I have teched and designed The Diary of Anne Frank, The Winter's Tale, turned in my U/RTA application, and tried not to let school drive me crazy.

Anne Frank went incredibly well. The move to Kingsbury Hall for the 3 extra performances was quite well. It was incredibly stressful as I had to nearly redesign the show in 2 days. It was certainly a learning experience. I got along really well with the director. I feel like I adequately contributed to the look of the show. It was incredibly stressful in another way, however, as I was trying to prepare for The Winter's Tale at the same time, and I was trying to complete homework for my History of Theatre class. I ended up turning in a paper proposal late. That class is going to be the death of me.

After Anne Frank I got a very short break, then it was off to tech for The Winter's Tale. This show had a very unique set of challenges for me. The set design was almost curtains. This wouldn't be as bad except that part of the way through the show they were swagged up to the ceiling and cut off most of my grid positions from any effectiveness. I basically ended up lighting the show from booms on the sides. It certainly created a lot of looks I wasn't used to. Another challenge was that the floor was painted very pale and had a tendency to really reflect light and fight my design. I ended up satisfied with this show, but it was quite a process trying to get there. During the tech process we started having more and more problems with the director. He seems to have an uncontrolled temper. He never used it against me, but I would get incredibly irritated when he would irrationally yell at the stage manager and sound designer, both of which are good friends to me. I wish I had stood up to him more. He was an incredibly irrational man to argue with when he was mad. It got to a point where we were counting down the days until he was back in New York. Every year the department does a show with a guest director hired by the Pioneer Theatre Company. This year's director was certainly not our favorite.

So now my big stress is getting into grad school. I am incredibly scared and overwhelmed by the prospects. I have turned in my U/RTA application. It is a grad school interview thing where I go and set up a portfolio and dozens of schools look at it. If any are interested I later get an interview with them. I have a lot of work to do to get my portfolio ready. I have done so little. My 3 top choice schools don't go to U/RTA. They are NYU, Yale, and UCSD. I need to complete my applications for these schools, then I will be traveling to NYC and SD sometime in February to go interview with them. Such a scary prospect.

I guess one of the reasons my stress is so high is because I have done so little outside of school and shows. I haven't played ultimate frisbee in weeks. It is getting too cold now, so the games have all stopped. It hasn't snowed enough to go skiing either. I am determined to make it out this winter. Katrina and I have decided we are going to go as soon as there is enough snow.

In the meanwhile the little relief I have had is from going shooting. I have been able to take a couple of people for their first time, and I am quite impressed at how well they shoot. I have, however been disappointed in my own progress. My aim is quite poor. I currently own a Springfield XD.40, I also bought a Mossberg .22 rifle at Cabela's yesterday, they were having a sale. I went with Ryan, Chad, and my dad out to a field in Cove Fort yesterday where we put some good use to my guns, along with a 30-30 rifle, 2 more .22 rifles, a sweet .45 rifle owned by Chad, 2 12-gauge shotguns, and a .22 pistol. We had several leftover pumpkins as targets, it was a great time, though I did worse at the trap shooting then usual. It was cold, especially when the wind kicked up, but it was well worth it.

So much has happened, apparently I need to update my blog more often. Keep reminding me.

School, Anne Frank, & Dating

2007-09-14T01:08:00.000-04:00

Here I am, a few days from Tech for Anne Frank, and I am feeling a little burnt out. Not necessarily from working on the show, but just from the combination of things I am trying to do at once. I only have one challenging class, History of Theatre, but I am already stressed about my first paper proposal. It is only a page but I can’t seem to think about anything from ancient Greece or Roman theatre that I want to write about.

I did just finish my Canyoneering class. That was a nice break for a weekend. We went down near Hanksville. I enjoy rappelling, though I found the dynamic rope quite challenging. After the class ended my brother, Corbin, our friend Mat, and I went and rappelled into Fry Canyon. It had water in it and we had a good time shortening the rope so we would hit the end of it several feet above the water. We would let go and fall in. It was great times. The whole class was fun, including being lost on the plateau above the canyons in the dark the first night. I hope to get pictures of the trip from my brother soon. There is one that makes me look like I am a bodybuilder.
I was really stressed about “The Diary of Anne Frank” (I am the lighting designer) but once the lights started being hung and focused I started getting excited. There is still a little stress, though, and that isn’t helping. I believe it will look really good, though, I have not disappointed myself yet. Heck, I lit “Topdog/Underdog” with 5 lights, and it looked great. I am really excited about Anne Frank because it is already such a powerful story, everyone know what it is about. That really gives me the opportunity to help the audience feel mood. I have built my plot to do that. There is so much potential in this show, I have a lot of work to do.

My next show is Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale.” The director is Michael Barakiva. He has been great to work with so far. That is a rare occasion for a guest director. There have been big problems with the guest directors for the last few years. It is different working in an educational setting, maybe they don’t realize that. I am however a little overwhelmed by the set, it is all curtains and at times drapes up across the grid. It will make my lighting a little challenging, I will have to put in a lot of preparation. That is challenging because I have to submit my plot before I am done with Anne Frank.

The biggest stresser I have had is trying to date. I am starting to discover why it is so hard for me. A couple of Sundays ago we had a large family party, but I was having a hard time getting into it. I had drunk a couple of Cokes, and my heart sped up as a result. I started to realize that the irritability and overwhelming out of control feeling I was having was anxiety. In an attempt to get through it I went to my room and started looking up information on anxiety. I believe I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. So why is that important? I often feel incredible stress when I try to talk to girls, or just groups in general. I am not a huge partygoer, for that reason. At least I now know what my problem is. I hope to improve.

I have been on a lot of dates. I always seem to talk myself out of being interested in them, or dating girls I wasn’t interested in in the first place. Such a great self destructive behavior. I guess too that I didn’t really want to be in a relationship. Don’t know why, though sometimes I am afraid of messing it up. I am ready to try whatever I need to now, I just wish I had a better idea of what that is.

Hopefully I will get a chance to post next week during Anne Frank.

Summer Break

2007-06-04T20:44:00.000-04:00

Having summer finally here is the biggest breath of fresh air I have experienced in a while. I haven't had much opportunity to design in the kind of environment I would like to. I did just get through 3 decent shows, but not the kind of designs that I live for.

The first one was Topdog/Underdog, by Susan Lori-Parks. Great show, but was performed at the Ladies' Literary Club in Salt Lake City. The stage was like a stake center, not much to work with. I ended up lighting the whole show with 3 1k fresnels and 2 source fours. I ran the show off of regular wall mount dimmer switches that had been mounted in individual boxes. For what I had to work with I feel really good about the result.

The second show was the Orem Dance Company Spring Concert Weekend. It was my favorite of the 3. I had the Orem High School auditorium and 88 dimmers to work with. I had some incredible looks. The most rewarding part for me was a gasp from the audience when the lighting came up on one of the numbers. Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture that number well with my camera, but I still got a lot of excellent pictures for my portfolio. This was my 3rd year with ODC. The director, Hollie Bulkley, is amazing to work with and really gives me a lot of freedom.

The last show was the hardest. It was the American Fork High School Ballroom Dance Company Winter Concert In His Arms. Because of scheduling conflicts with the auditorium I got almost no time in the space. I had a very limited inventory, and almost no tech time to write cues. It was just one of those where things don't go your way. I love this team though, I have been able to work with them on and off for the last couple of years.

Now I am in my summer season. No shows scheduled until The Diary of Anne Frank at the University of Utah's Babcock Theatre in the fall, followed by Shakespeare's Winter's Tale. I am looking forward to these two shows. I haven't had a regular stage production since Prelude to a Kiss last fall. The adaptation of Anne Frank that we are doing is great too.

Summer plans include a backpacking trip with my uncle through Grand Gulch this weekend. I am excited for this 28 mile trail. I haven't been on a real backpacking trip in quite a while. We also hope to go watch Little Wild Horse Canyon flood out during a rainstorm sometime in August. Hopefully we will get to videotape it.