My toes hurt... the tips have blisters under the callouses. Okay, that's probably more information than you wanted...
The restart run went very well! We had some tense moments near the end when we weren't sure if our 11:00 (incorrectly sold) tickets would show at 10:00 like we asked 'em to or not! They did, and the last group started 15 minutes late at 10:15.
The crew was great, the show was apparently fun, and things are in swing for the last half of the run.
Now to run down to Target and pick up a second set of toes for tonight...
Hey, I should read back and see if I mentioned it already... it's been crazy lately! But anyway, I got my box of Robotics DeMystifed books the other day... I need to send samples to my family, etc.
So far, only one word on the cover is a lie! Better than usual.
Also, apparently Dean Kamen expressed an interest in it, and will be getting a comp copy from the publisher. That's scary. What if he hates it? It's not like I actually talk about robots in it (I talk about electronics, mechanics, and control... the pieces that make up robots).
I've started outlining the complete plot for the UnDead story. I'll start the re-write after Halloween, and the outline will help me stay focused.
I need to work on developing and writing characters. Time to dredge up my people skills and see if they apply in reverse.
And I need to get a tour of a morgue, firestation, and funeral home. Research. Details. I should visit New Orleans for the vodou research!
I would put in a journal entry here, if I had anything to say.
This is the limbo time -- the Trail construction is finished, the first run weekend has been run, wrinkles have been smoothed, problems adjusted.
And then we wait... and recover.
Work continues to be work, but it's not that interesting. TaiChi continues to move forward -- we are learning the long form now, which is neat.
But mostly it's waiting and resting.
The run begins again tomorrow. I hope I don't have to fix much before hand.
And I hope there is no significant Evil from the Sky during the runs.
It seems like a lifetime since we began Haunted Trails this year. And this weekend stretched out to heroic lengths. Of course, my weekend was four days long, three of which ran long into the night...
Thursday was pretty weak, but we were also just getting our feet into the new plot. Friday wasn't too bad. Both days, however, suffered from weak ticket sales... long gaps bore the guides and the actors, so the show loses its luster.
Friday night we had a MONSTER storm that failed to blow anything over. Yay us! But it did waterlog the crawl tunnel a bit. We made it dry for the guests, but there is deep moisture in the padding/carpeting that will likely mildew. If it does, I'm in for a job of resetting the tunnel Thursday before the run.
Saturday was great! Lots of guests, some of the usual bobbles, good recoveries... good show, the story worked, and we had a lot of happy victims. Not everyone, mind you, but many.
Saturday had a hard startup, though. Several of my KEY ACTORS failed to appear... so I had to recast several roles at the last second, using in some cases people I've never seen before in my life. Ouch!
In one case, I put a newcomer (who I liked the looks of, etc) into a critical timing spot. Sadly, he failed to excel there and was replaced. Fortunately, we only had about four groups go through at the wrong times. Unfortunately, the ripple effect of that timing bobble lasted rather a bit longer.
But we survived, and that timing bobble was FAR less severe than ones we have had in the past.
A friend of mine, Ron Brashear, came through with group 31, about 9:45 -- it was great to see him again (Hi Ron!). He got me into the Trails insanity in 2000, and I've been suffering with it ever since.
I'll be darned glad when it's over. Halloween, essentially, ends for me as soon as the Haunted Trails system is functioning. So, ummm, Saturday. The rest of it is just keeping the machine moving so we can clean up and then REST.
Blessed rest. November -- sleep and housework.
Tonight starts the first weekend of Haunted Trails -- the official run, with paying customers.
We've adjusted the story, fixed up one of the sets, and generally done what we could to make it better.
I have today and tomorrow off from work to prepare for the run and, to be honest, to recover from it as well.
In just two weeks, I get some more bits of my life back -- it's been interesting directing this thing, but I'll be thrilled when its done.
Friday was a flurry of mad activity... as was Saturday, as we finished the various props, sets, and installations needed for the show.
Technically, the dress & press (dress rehearsal and press night, D&P) went perfectly. Timing, systems, actors, guides -- very well done.
Many pieces of the show itself were also excellent, though (sadly) my attempt at a lofty plot fell flat.
Too lofty for the medium.
Yesterday and today I reworked the story line, to take the fine lines and fill them in with crayon, and it will work very well now if I do say so myself.
Of course, the mailing list server is taking the opportunity to puke its guts out all over the server room (I assume... not my server).
Which makes it damned hard to distribute the script changes to the group.
ARgh! ARrgh!
Had some rain yesterday... a little moisture got into the crawl tunnel.
I'm hoping that someone took this hint and protected the tunnel with plastic! We were careful to tarp the tunnel for a while there... and then folks slacked off.
We had an angry storm stomp through town last night, and if the tunnel was unprotected it's going to cost us hours of work. Pulling soaked carpet out, putting fresh in... and hoping the wood (OSB, not too water tight) wasn't very damaged.
Damn it.
I finished making five fingers last night, and I think they are pretty nice. I don't much like the plastic finger nail goo I've been using; it tends to make lumpy nails. The problem is that I'm applying it directly, according to the directions, but I SHOULD be using a brush and smoothing on thin layers at a time. Except the stuff is essentially superglue and it would destroy my brush.
Time to invent a good way to make clear fingernails (press-on nails tend to be colored).
I decorated the dissected leg -- it's not everything I hoped for it to be, but it will do.
Tomorrow I have off to finish doing stuff at the Trail... and to freak out in private.
Except for the rain/tunnel problem, everything seems to be going well.
Wednesday... the build is going well without me.
I'm trying to get some traction on some reverse engineering, but it's boring the crap out of me. I'm as likely to fall asleep on the desk as I am to get this thing all tidy. Bleh.
I have a final in the speech class tomorrow -- pretty much a bullshit class. I'm doing okay, but it seems to be following the rule of "form over function"... a trend I'm beginning to see in several school interactions.
I'm a big "function" kind of guy myself.
But with the tedium of work these days, I feel like a dimwit... I need some crunchy program creation work to get my interest levels back up.
Went directly from work yesterday (even left a bit early) to go to the Wild Basin and work on the haunt.
Coming in, I'm all worried and stressed. Coming out, I have new hope for the whole thing.
Most of the special effects tested so far are exceeding expectations, the sounds are good, the shakers in the crawl tunnel are unbelievable, 750 watts of strobe at night is amazing, and it goes on.
Most of the heavy construction is done, most of the big room is set up. Now we spend the week decorating and finalizing.
Only I don't get to go back until Friday (but on Friday I'm taking the day off... just got permission).
Tonight I give a speech in class. Whee.
Tomorrow I'm going to TaiChi (skipped TaiChi and Dance yesterday). Thursday I have a final. Bleh.
I still need to paint the leg (tonight, some) and make fingers (tonight? tomorrow?). I probably should prep for the speech sometime, too...
E-mail addiction. I need my e-mail. I check it all the time. I'm disappointed when I don't have fresh mail to me. Sad and pathetic.
Can I just crawl into a hole and hide until November? Too much stress, not enough volunteers.
Saturday and Sunday actually had decent volunteer turnout, though we didn't get enough useful hands in the main room to set up the walls. Only about half of 'em got up. I thought Matt had helpers, but apparently they kept wandering off.
Pretty much everything else is built, though. Except for TC, who decided he wanted to build a station for his character instead of using a tent.
TC rocks. And he's a scary dude. If he can't make the guests freak, nobody can.
The faces for the room are awesome -- I have pictures, and will take more once they are installed. I have a gory arm that is totally amazing, and the lifelike arm is good too.
I need to make fingers and paint up the dissection leg.
I have a speech to give tomorrow (which I still have to prepare for) and a final Thursday. I can barely concentrate, though, with trail hanging over my head.
I still have about five or six roles to fill (dress rehearsal and MEDIA NIGHT on the 16th... today is the 11th). More for the second weekend (some of my folks can only come the first weekend, because of a HUGE SCA anniversary event).
One of my actors (awesome guy) got cast for a movie and had to bow out. One experienced guide is being sent to Shanghai -- he'll be gone both weekends. Good timing, guys. It's not like his company didn't know about this, and he had the time set aside for guiding.
It's almost like the universe is conspiring against me.
The lighting and sound is starting to go in tonight, if we can find our tub-O'-extension cords. My sound guy has come up with some great background sounds, too. Ryan is awesome. All of my people are awesome, the ones that are coming. The best.
5 days, 9 hours, 47 minutes, and 7 seconds until First Run.
Yesterday's faces are lovely! Good translucency, a delicate nature.
Once I do the final "glazing" the details should stand out and the "greasiness" will be great. Then the scabrous edge and we are set!
I was going to make two more faces today at lunch, but I remembered that I have a massage... which is good.
Tonight before class I can make three, maybe four, more.
Friday at lunch I can make the final face or two, and then that evening I can glaze and detail them. And prep the leg. And cast the leg.
Saturday morning is more detail work and preparing for the build.
I think I just need to make another heart to test that mold, maybe a brain (I'm not happy with my brain mold), some fingers... but all that stuff can go next week.
Oooh, I need to track down some Plant Gel.
Made two faces yesterday... not entirely happy with them. Not quite translucent enough to be creepy.
I laid the base for two more faces at lunch. Gotta stop doing that, it takes a bit over an hour to do two layers on two faces. I'm hoping these are better.
The leg is scraped but needs to be completely cleaned still.
Hmmm... we are shorthanded on all aspects of the Haunt so far, and lots of tickets are being sold (it seems). Scary. Very scary.
It finally feels like fall... Halloween is nigh upon us.
Fall comes later in Texas than Oregon.
Do I get to panic yet?
I'm actually getting noises from all over the place from people who might be part of the Haunted Trails.
At the last second.
Argh! Argh! Argh!
I finished scraping the leg mold last night... had TaiChi off, school closed for the night. Now I have to clean the rest out with orange oil.
I didn't do much else, just some speech homework. I was really tired yesterday.
Today I hope to, ummm... hmmm, what do I want to do today?
I think I'll probably make some faces. I'm waiting for a Smooth-On order that has the material to cast the leg, as well as some new silicon colors. But I only want the "flesh" color for one face, the freshest.
I might also start cleaning the leg mold.
Only 11 days to dress rehearsal!
Yow, that was a long weekend.
Saturday I was running around directing stuff... "director", apparently, is slang for "errand boy", but lots of stuff got done.
Sunday was more of the same, though I built a station myself too. It went up quickly with the help of Dan, who mostly got to stand there holding stuff.
At one point on Sunday we got a gaggle of teenage girls, 15 and 16 years old. My first thought was "oh God, they'll be useless", but they were actually very useful. They worked together well as a group, were tidy with the paint, and got stuff done quickly. And then asked for more.
Once we ran out of real work, I then grabbed some stuff from the car and took molds off of two of them, so they can be faces in the Trophy Room. They thought that was pretty cool, snapping pictures of the process with their cell phones and threatening to put them in the yearbook.
On the molding front, I was also able to wrestle apart the leg mold and started cleaning the clay out of it. Since I forgot to release the clay, I need to scrape most of it out (mostly done) and then I'll use solvent (orange oil) to clean the residue. A pain, but just a few hours work total.
Still up -- make final faces (I have seven molds, and a process that creates a really nice, nasty face), make some more organs, and make the leg.
I've still got a little bit of time.
You know how I keep promising pictures soon? I lied. Or maybe I just meant "soon" on the geological timescale.
Hmmm, since Tuesday... hmmm...
I made two test faces Wednesday. Put down a thin white layer, a thicker gray layer, and a final dark green layer. Then I edged them with a scabrous detailing and pulled them from the molds.
The white was a bit too white -- there isn't the depth and translucency I wanted from the silicon. But you can see the details. The ragged scabby edge was nice, but not necessarily the surgical removal look I wanted.
I made another face yesterday. This time, I put a nearly translucent layer of white, and then a thicker layer of a slightly darker, more opaque gray. I then pulled it from the mold and trimmed it.
The color is a lot more translucent and "greasy" looking, just about right, but it's hard to see the texture and details since the surface layer is essentially transparent. I trimmed it to give it clean edges, so it has a different character from the other tests.
Today, before work, I edged this new face with the scabrous silicon. For detail work, I've been using silicon caulk that I color to suit. Less of a hassle than mixing up the good stuff.
Yesterday also saw me buying the remaining materials to cast the leg and some more organs. A large unit of Dragon Skin and, from the new catalog, a large unit of super-squishy silicon that should be fun for tactile stuff. Expensive as all get-out, this stuff...
Dress rehearsal is October 16... tonight I need to put the shell on the leg and, once that is hard, pull it all apart and prep it for casting. I should cast the leg over the weekend... sometime.
We have an acting class AND a build on Sunday... in addition to the build on Saturday. I need about three of me, I think.