...cricket...cricket...

Falling for the first time... literally.

Cricket — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:51:23 GMT

Yeahhhh I had an accident at work the other night. I fell from 20ft. in the air. I'm still here and I'm fine. Haven't gotten a chance to take sexy shots of the bruises yet, unfortunately. For those of you still interested, here's the Story: So Wednesday night I was painting some Good Ol' Scenery at the Good Ol' Lesher Center for the Performing Arts in Walnut Creek. I could have been there for about four hours and have painted all that needed to be touched up, ON THE GROUND (and safely)- but the carpenters were being a bit... self-important about the rigging aspect of the huge cornice piece that was suspended above the stage, so in the end I gave in to the Technical Director's "superior wisdom" (and he is a good friend of mine whom I respect, we just don't agree sometimes and ultimately he trumps me. It's an ongoing painter vs. carpenter rivalry thing), kept my mouth shut, and waited patiently for them to get done with the Genie (for about a half hour at a time) and waited patiently for them to get done with rigging and suspending said cornice piece, and then consented when they suggested I use the Cherry Picker (Read Old Rickety Metal Thing That Should Have Been Retired At Least Five if Not Ten Years Ago) to drop two wheels down into the House, and two wheels on the stage so I could reach the ridiculously high awkward corner of a cornice piece (THAT I COULD HAVE PAINTED ON THE GROUND IN MUCH LESS TIME). Keep in mind that all of us had already been there for about 10 hours. Everyone's tired, the carpenters are frustrated, the cherry picker has been set up hastily and the "levelling" bubble on it has probably long since been knocked out of accuracy. AND in my wannabe helpful way I've been bowing to their needs and staying out of their way all day because hell, I'm just the Painter and I'm basically doing what I'm told. So I'm up in the Cherry Picker, which ALWAYS feels dangerously wobbly. I was trained in a Cherry Picker when I first learned how to hang and focus lighting instruments, it's always janky and makes you feel like you have to get your sea legs back before you can start feeling like you're not gonna die. So my buddy Henry, a carpenter, is footing the thing for me, and he attempts to move me over about ten inches. TEN. INCHES. It's technically illegal to move while there is someone up in the basket, but it's been done so many times and it really does save a lot of time to just hold on tight and let someone move you instead of negotiating your way out of the basket, down the ladder, only to go back up in two minutes and go dab dab dab with a paintbrush. ANYWAY.. apparently this was not my lucky night, well actually it WAS my lucky night... because Henry's trying to move me and the wheels bound up (in the dropcloth, I'm thinking, that was laid down sloppily to protect the theater's precious seats from any paint drips) and failed to move the way they were supposed to, so the top-heavy machine proceeded to tip over. The thing about this wonderful invention is that it's already so wobbly and janky that I didn't even realize I was wobbling in a dangerous fashion until I actually started falling. It ALWAYS feels like you're gonna die while you're up there. It's not actually supposed to be that way, but so many theaters have a ladder they affectionately call "Old Rickety" or something like that, and they almost never retire equipment unless they've got OSHA breathing down their necks. So I say "Jesus Christ" a couple of times, which I would have said anyway for dramatic effect, because it was starting to feel a bit too wobbly for comfort, then I hear Henry say "uhh" and I hear Matt (who is up in a Genie onstage and can't get down in any useful amount of time) say "Woah!" and I see the red seats of the theater getting closer to me. So I turn my body and cringe and I feel the metal basket hit the seats, along with my right back and butt, and then my face and neck ricochet into another metal bar on the basket. I climbed out, in shock, feeling burning but numb, said something about how I had spilled paint on the seat and how I wanted to get up and clean them, then I sit down on the steps and try to feel my neck. The fact that I got up and walked out of this accident, and eventually went home, just a little shaken, is a miracle. I have said it once and I'll say it again, I'm the Luckiest Motherfucker Alive. I always joke about how the universe takes really good care of me, and I think I've just proved this to myself again. I'm not religious-y faithful enough to say that it was any greater power's intervention, but I would not hesitate to say that I have a lot of truly AMAZING people in my life who all look out for me and surround me with love, and THAT, if anything aside from my attempt at "falling correctly", played a part in keeping me from losing the use of any of my body parts in this accident. My boss at Berkeley Rep, Lisa's partner, Robb fell from a ladder two years ago and damaged his spine in a devastating way. He's been recovering in leaps and bounds and it's amazing, but still and all those accidents don't usually end as happily as mine. If I had fallen in any slightly different way I could easily have broken a few bones or become paralyzed in part of my body, certainly at the very least, never to paint again. The crappy part is that I've run up about $500 in doctor's bills, and because that theater was paying me as an Independant Contractor (which is almost always what happens because then the company can get out of giving you benefits or, generally, workman's comp and they don't have to deal with as much taxing crap when they pay you) I am not entitled to workman's comp automatically, I have to file a claim against the city and hope for a "settlement". Yay fun. I'm sure it will end well, at least I'm hoping. The AMAZING thing is that I was able to go to the doctor at all, because my wonderful boss at Berkeley Rep, and friend Lisa, allowed me to track down the necessary information, referred me to the clinic they use for their own workman's comp claims, and then DROVE me and PICKED ME UP from the clinic. Not only that but she sat down and had a long talk with me as well as sending me to Ryan, our Assistant Technical Director who knows his stuff from past jobs, and made sure that I knew my rights as an independent contractor and what I could expect from the State of California, all the while keeping me on the clock. The doctor and the X-rays say that all I have is a little bit of muscle tension, but no chips or fractures. Whew! Of course the doctor who saw me made sure to remind me of how lucky I am. I survived a fall from 20 feet in the air, in a metal basket on a janky piece of machinery, with little more to show for it than the equivalent of a nasty fall off of my bicycle or off of a bunk bed. This is partially a cautionary tale to all you fellow artisans and party-planners out there, I've always been a bit of a squeaky wheel in theater for safety's sake, but then I won't blink twice before thinking about jumping in and helping with a project at NIMBY (just as an example of a place where you're not exactly working for a company and are most definitely not covered by anyone's workman's comp if you incur an injury), or I'll eventually grow weary of questioning things when something unsafe is "just the way it is done" at one particular place. Technically speaking, I was supposed to have been formally trained on that piece of equipment before using it, as was Henry before helping me with it. If I was above something like 16' I was supposed to be wearing a harness, which I don't think they even had any of for the Electricians who normally work there. Of course now they're finally throwing out the cherry picker. Anyway, I am an incredibly lucky girl, surrounded by loving friends who are there for me even as I drop off the face of the earth regularly to pursue this crazy and sometimes dangerous profession of mine with its potentially deadly "The Show Must Go On" Mentality. I just wanted to say again, to those who have been asking about how I'm doing, those of you who are there for me whether or not we've fallen out of touch for a while, those of you who would offer to beat someone up if someone in particular were to blame for my pain and suffereing, those of you who were available to drive me to the hospital if I needed it, and those of you who are just in my life and make it that much more awesome by being around to enrich it; THANK YOU. I am surrounded and protected by your love and I feel so so so fortunate to be able to remain healthy and able-bodied so that I may continue to enjoy it :-)

D'oh.

Cricket — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:00:39 GMT

Laptop Stolen= Full of Fail. Please to be calling me on the phoneses until further notice, and feel free to update me on icanhascheezburger that I'm missing out on :-) 516-343-6396

Moving is my new Hobby!

Cricket — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:36:12 GMT

Hokay, so, hurr's de deal: I had a lead on an A-mazing house with Miss Stephanie and company, but Em decided not to go to Boston for School come January. So now I'm STILL looking for a place to live in January, even though I sort of told those of you who were trying to help that I was probably taken care of. Anywho, just wanted to reiterate my need now that I've heard the recent change of plans :-) Thanks in advance, everyone, for being tolerant of my fickle life stuff and helpful whenever possible!

BrrrrrrrINNNNG dinnng da da dinnnggg dinggg ding....

Cricket — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:52:54 GMT

So right before I entered the last two weeks of Massively Intense Painting for the Mousetrap, over in Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill, I got my California Learner's Permit. Woo hoo! Now, the difference, apparently, is that I only have a year to get my license before this thing expires, as opposed to New York where it can sit for like 5 years without anything bad happening (yes, it's embarassing that I know this from experience) so I'm going to reopen my questions of "Where should I take my road test?" and "Hey, does anyone feel like being the person I borrow the car and company from to refresh my driving skills?" "Anyone with any experience in this world whatsoever have any advice for me?" I'm actually an excellent driver besides the lack of confidence and rustiness, it's a long explanation as to why I still don't have my license, but it's a combination of not having parents who gave a shit, and doing everything at once in high school and college that gave me a severe lack of free time to practice enough. I ended up practicing with a dear friend back home right before I decided to get the hell OUT of Long Island, and I took one road test and failed. Sucks, but yeah. That's where I was when I moved here. So... *does a little dance* questions? comments? concerns? Any helpful tips would be appreciated, and better yet, if someone has a car lying around that they don't use very often and feels comfortable with me practicing in it, I have a couple of friends who do NOT have cars but are cool with taking me driving a bit.

insert Dukes of Hazzard car song here Me. Driving.

Cricket — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:44:55 GMT

So it hasnt' happened yet. Most of you know this, but just in case you didn't. I do not have my driver's license. Not to say that back in New York I didn't have a ton of driving practice in (the quieter parts of) Long Island. But as for a license, I think it's about time I worked on getting one. Additionally, many of you probably heard me talking about this wonderful apprenticeship program that I was going to try to get into for the Scenic Artists' Union. If I had a shot, (as in 5 people every three years out of hundreds of applicants kind of shot) it was going to mean me returning to New York this winter for no less than three years. Well, as it turns out, when their website says "Check back in the Fall" apparently it means July, so I returned happily from the Playa on September 4th, immediately upon waking from my first off-playa night's sleep and not fully recovered from a fever, I found out that their application process opened up on July 1st and was closed on September 1st. Even if I decided to try applying late, they only considered the first 100 applications they received. SO. Bad news, sort of, yes, BUT, that means I get to stay here with all of you for longer! Since I no longer have that silly goal to worry about for another three years (ugh.) I figured my goal for this year would be to Get My Goddamn Driver's License. I mean seriously now. I have a permit from New York, so I'm pretty sure that means I'm going to have to take the written test all over again for a California permit. My first order of business, since I'm also strangely Without Job right now and not really sure when that's going to end, is to go to the DMV and pick up the drivers' handbook and maybe ask someone if I should make an appointment, or when I should expect to be able to come in and take the test. I hear it's harder than it was in New York. After that, though, as soon as I successfully get my permit I'm going to want to start practicing driving. So basically, if anyone who has known anyone else our age who has had to undertake this sort of thing and has any words of wisdom, or really anyone who has any words of wisdom on this subject at all, be it about places to take driving lessons, friendlier places to take road tests, what have you, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated. :-)

Scaffolding?

Cricket — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 08:14:30 GMT

Any of you lovely, crafty, burly and creative people out there know what it might take/ have some connections to help me procure some (as in perhaps one 20' high platform of whatever standard stand-on-able size is for about a month or less? I've been hoping to do a super special mural job but I've never tried my hand as an independant contractor before, and I certainly don't have the muscle nor the storage space to carry around my own scaffolding. I'm thinking that I know enough good people who might just sort of have some lying around, that they might not need immediately after Burnin Man winding down and all. Maybe there's even someone out there who knows a few tricks to setting it up and breaking it down again. I guess I'll just throw it out there, and in closing say that if some generous soul does end up helping me with the setting up and striking part, I would certainly pay them for their time. This is all purely tentative, but I'd like to know what kind of resources and challenged I'm up against if I'm to undertake a project like this entirely on my own devices. :-)

Goodbye/ gratitude...

Cricket — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:36:21 GMT

So I wanted to take this chance of patchy internet in my empty (ish) house to say thanks to everyone who has helped me through this ridiculous month. First, a word of advice to anyone having housing/ landlord trouble, I would HIGHLY recommend the Housing Commission on 15th and S. Van Ness, they were amazing, they're not so easy to reach on the phone but that's probably because they have a steady stream of people dropping in and when you sit at a desk with one of them, they take really good care of you. Next on my list would be the SF Tenants' Union, and even if you never go to their drop in clinic (or just become a member because the low-income membership pays for itself in two visits), their website has an amazing amount of information that you can research. If the timing had not been so shitty on this whole fiasco, I would have probably been more inclined to go into a whole long legal battle, and at the very least, not have to move out just yet hehe.. but being that I'd be in the desert for a month, that wouldn't be so cool with whatever judge was having my hearing when I didn't show up. It is reassuring to know that this city in particular has a RIDICULOUS amount of tenants' rights if we only look and make a little bit of effort to know what's in our arsenal. Ah well. Bottom line is that this house is beginning to have bad juju hehe, I mean the negativity floating around the house has been built up from generations of passive aggressive people and of course I'm the one left holding the buck. Meh. It's not worth it. ANYWAY, I am so indescribably grateful to all the people who came forward with well wishing and offers up whatever help they could provide. I'm hoping that I won't too much more often need to be bothering my loved ones with so much neediness. But it's still nice to know that when I am in need, the help is there. From the beginning of this month to the very end it has been a bunch of surprises and stress. I'm still not sure if all the pieces will fall together properly, but so far the Universe and all my wonderful, wonderful friends have been taking really good care of me. I apologize to the rest of you who I still consider great friends that I've not spoken to in a while, but I've spent so much time on the phone in the past month arranging details and pick-ups and drop-offs I've been sort of allergic to phone calls in general, even more so than usual due to happier distractions. I do miss you all, and life has been a bit hectic but I truly hope none of you think I love you any less. Again, though, so many good things have come to me because of other peoples' generosity. I moved into this beautiful house that I've loved so much, thanks to the generosity of Katie and Heather who saw me as deserving to share this amazing house with even for a limited time- I pick up and leave this Tuesday (July 31st) with the help of my beloved Enrique and his car, and move in with the fabulous, gracious Shawn (whom some of you met at the Bastille Day Absinthe party) and play house in his fabulous apartment on 17th and Dolores, with the help of Robinhood who has graciously offered to store my CRAPOLA in her space, as well as Tracy who has told me it's cool to store my poor, sturdy and tried and true but sorely unwanted in San Francisco bicycle in her garage, as well as having the option of leaving it with Themassivebri or Reagan. I leave on August 7th, or the buttcrack of dawn on the 8th, whichever the wonderful Olivia decides, as she is my ride into the Playa where I become an official crew member of DPW as well as officially homeless, and the DPW is thanks to Olivia for getting me there for a work weekend, and Coyote who helped make 120% sure I was on the crew I had dreamt about since I moved here. When I return from the event in the beginning of September, thanks to some kind soul who is yet to be determined who will be willing to give me a ride back from the event..., I will have a new address right in the middle of the Lower Haight thanks to my true-blue and steadfast loyal friend Hatter who offered me his sublet, so my address will be 608-B Haight Street, and the zip code is 94117. I've already done a change of address so if you need to send me mail don't worry too much about it getting lost, I think it'll get to me okay either way. In the midst of the crazy of course I've got plenty to be thankful for, particularly the amazing birthday weekend spent at Priceless, brought to me mainly by Callibug and Judit, which I'd say tops EVERY other birthday in my memory, and if I only had all of my closest friends there to share in the experiences, it would have been completely perfect. Next would be the great amount of scenic work I've been getting thanks to Lisa's trust in my skill despite my unusually high level of distraction. I could go on and on.. the support and comfort offered by Zak, the nonstop laughter brought to me by Erika, the new friendships formed with so many good people I've just met... yeah, I mean, moving is depressing, but life is still pretty awesome. So thank you all. I don't show it too well these days, but I really really do appreciate it.

yeah, so basically I'm fucked.

Cricket — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:12:16 GMT

I already knew that, though... I was prepared. I just don't like not having enough time to REALLY prepare for things like this, but I guess it'll just make me stronger. For those of you who may ever experience a problem like mine I'd be happy to share what I've learned, for I've definitely learned a lot and I've been to the SF Tenants Union, the Rent Board, and the Housing Commission, and they've all been super helpful, especially the housing commission. They are right in my neighborhood on S. Van Ness and I spoke to a wonderful, warm woman named Stephanie who took a genuine interest in our case. At the end of the day, though, I knew better. So basically as much as there are tons and tons of Tenants' Rights floating around the city and I could argue a shitload of technicalities, at the end of the day the only thing I have on my side without a huge fight is Due Process. Which would buy Mike and I a few more days, maybe a week more before we got evicted, but I'd rather not get into that whole can of worms. I don't want an eviction following me around for the rest of my life on my permanent record. Mike is essentially tag-teaming me and taking up making the phone calls, etc., when he has off on Friday. I'm pretty sure, though, that his experience will be pretty similar to mine and he'll give up as well, once he's seen the deal for himself. Now I have two options, and I need you guys' advice: I can continue to be a gypsy, and only take with me my worldly possessions, which is a couple of boxes worth of stuff and the suitcase I'd be bringing to Burning Man. I'd leave my violin with the Bread Ninja, and maybe sell my bike or leave it somewhere safe before I left and try to sell it anyway, and then take advantage of RobinHood's generous offer and put the remaining boxes with her roommate while we both go to DPW. If all goes well, as it hopefully would, I'd move into Hatter's sublet in the Haight when I returned, and stay there until he got back from Fire Season. That room already has a mattress, and I'm not even sure how they'd get it back out now that it's there :-) My other option is to take advantage of this gorgeous bed I've been sleeping in and the dresser and metal shelf that I've been using while I've lived here, and put these all into storage while I'm gone. Being that I don't have a driver's license nor a vehicle, this is a bit of a project. I could use some storage service that also picks up and delivers for you, but I'm not sure it'd be worth it. The bedframe alone is gorgeous, wrought iron scroll design, and it's great for all sorts of fun escapades, *wink wink*, but I mean... my nature usually tends to be to avoid accumulating stuff. I find I have a sentimental attachment to all these things since I've moved in, not to mention if I had storage I'd keep a lot more kitchen supplies that'd probably come in handy and would surely just get thrown out/ hopefully donated once the money grubbing landlord and his team of renovators come in. I'd also ultimately be trying to cart a bed, beautiful bedframe or not, across the country. And my stepdad is cool about doing crazy things like helping me drive a truck across the country, cuz he enjoys that sort of thing. But I'm thinking it wouldn't actually be worth it. I'd be happy I think knowing that this beautiful bed went to someone I knew who could get *ahem* good use out of it :-) I dunno. Can anyone use a bed, a dresser, a computer desk, another dresser, a metal shelf? Kitchen supplies? Tupperware? OH one more thing, too. I'm extending an OPEN invitation to all people I know, to come and stop by my house in the remaining month I'm allowed to walk through the door. I don't care when or what we do I just want everyone to be able to come and enjoy the sexy view from the balcony and the spacious kitchen and just keep me company while I say goodbye to the house so that it can be turned over to gentrification. 516-343-6396 is the phoe number, 1359 Guerrero is the address, right near 24th and Mission bart station. Welcome, EVERYONE, seriously. I'm also thinking in the remaining days of the last of the month, I'd like to have a birthday party/ goodbye House party. I don't care what kind of party it is or how crazy it is I just want people I care about to be there. I have no preference, really, of dates or times. Just putting it out there :-)

Hhokay, so...

Cricket — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:39:22 GMT

I apparently am getting in touch with my landlord's daughter sometime next week to see what I can see. Donya went through with it and gave them her notice of intention to vacate. So Mike and I can kiss our Rent Control goodbye. Donya said I was her cousin's daughter in the hopes that it would somehow make the lease-transferring more merciful, but I'm not holding my breath really for a nice cushy amount. Maria (the Slumlord's, or so I'm told he is, daughter) told her that they'd have to draw up a new lease for me, so it's certainly worth a shot. The house is stil fairly run down, but I mean... on Guerrero between 25th and 26th... yeah, it'll get jacked up to like 3k a month at least. The thing that sucks is that while I don't worry TOO Much about finding another place to live, I am leaving around August 5th to do DPW, so it almost seems to make more sense to be officially Homeless for a month if the new lease ends up being unaffordable for us. But that would mean somehow magically having a fairly cheap place lined up for September. I still have the option of Hatter's pantry room on Haight and Steiner, super cheap but literally, a pantry, but also he's coming back in October most likely. Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Any suggestions for cheap storage? I don't actually have THAT much stuff, I like to keep my Stuff Accumulation to a minimum, but I do have a violin and a bike I'd have to somehow do something with, and a few boxes/ crates worth of clothing that I wouldnt' want to get ruined on the playa. It's probably less than a Small Car load of stuff. But no matter how small an amount it is, I'm still gonna need somewhere to PUT it. Oy oy oy. Stupid flaky people. She came by today and gave us a portion of the rent we were expecting her to cover had she moved in with us, but at the same time, we also thought we were staying for six months instead of only one more. So we'd all just breathed a sigh of relief at thinking we were gonna be okay and not have to worry about this crap anymore. I'm totally being a crybaby. I just wish it had been handled a bit better on the prospective tenant's part. She could have expressed concerns two WEEKS ago and this would have been handled. Okay. I'm done. Now I'm just looking for constructive suggestions and advice and... yeah.

Hey, whatcha doin on the 4th of July?

Cricket — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:01:26 GMT

I'm sort of back to being a nervous mess because I just found out a 9:45 last night that who we thought was going to be our new housemate backed out at the very last minute, and that caused Donya (the woman who holds the cards on our living situation in this beautiful house) to rethink things since she has been less and less inclined to want to keep her name on the lease, since (even though she's getting an ENTIRE house in an amazing part of town for $1300 a month, rent controlled) she lives in Hawaii now and is considering moving on even though she'd save lots of money. At any rate, one of two things is going to happen: 1) I will post again soon, saying HEY I need a third housemate and the rent's only $500 a month, everything included, steps away from the Mission, Noe Valley, and Bernal Heights or I will be posting again saying 2) AHHHHH I only have until the end of July and I have to find another place to live, and I'm leaving for DPW on August 5th or so, so I really need suggestions for storage spaces and then a place I can move into in the beginning of SEPTEMBER. Argh. MY POINT WAS, though, that I'll be damned if I let this ruin the remainder of my time in this gorgeous, gorgeous house. I am about a 10 minute walk away from the bottom of Bernal Hill, and though it's a slight hike to get to the top, it is one of the BEST, less-known-about places to see the Fireworks from on the 4th of July, if there's no fog. Anyone interested in having some drinks, maybe some great Mission cuisine, over at my place and then walking up there as the sun goes down? Yes, it's a bit of a hike, I'll say it again, BUT the way I see it is it's better than having anyone driving after having a drink. So...? Anyone? If not, what are you guys doing? I'd also prefer to spend the day/ evening with my wonderful friends, so if I'm the only one at my Hillside Party I'll just trundle on down to where the fun's at :-) I love you all. Cricket

Ee Gawds!

Cricket — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:13:05 GMT

So I (read my dad's stupid cats) dropped my digital camera onto a hardwood floor while I was in Albuquerque, and the LCD is now useless. The rest of the camera works fine, but the LCD was of course, the nicest luxury about the camera. Any of you good people out there have any advice for me? Is it repairable? It would certainly be worth it, as it was a graduation present from my step dad. Ack.

Hmm okay so the majority of the glitches with the new computer have been worked out...

Cricket — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:42:21 GMT

I have the sneaky suspicion it will only be a matter of time before I have succumbed to the massive participation in LiveJournal, not a social event goes by during which I don't get asked or reminded of why I should be on it, or the wonderment at why I'm not on it. We'll see how long it takes me to keep telling myself I truly don't want just one more excuse to sit on the computer and let life and real-life interactions pass me by. Uh huh. As I sit here and blog on a different forum. Anyways... the weather is getting warmer, HOW FUCKING GLORIOUS has it been here?! holy shit... I talk to my family on the phone in New York and up until very recently they say they had snow on the ground. God I love it here. I wake up to the sun shining on the glistening green plants everywhere and then (though sometimes this is annoying-) the laughter and screaming of little children playing in the park just five feet away (that also at night attracts hood ratz with nowhere else to party, but they honestly have not kept me up yet... and the kids totally have but I can forgive them). I spend some quality time with my beautifully nurturing housemate, Katie, I occasionally take the karaoke stage with her and the other roomie/ her girlfriend, Heather and serenade her with Angel, or Eminem haha... Oh and I just finished a week at the Lorraine Hansberry Theater painting Bricktop.. fairly simple show, still waiting for them to pay me my "flat fee" which I hope translates into "not getting taxed on it" instead of "not actually getting it for a while". The TD, also known to many of you as Diamond Dave has been pretty fun to work with, though we're mostly just passing each other on our way in and out of the space. Uhm so yeah. No lack of theater goings-on, and that's always a good thing. Last week was the only week I was sorta worried about not having work and then it popped up in perfect timely fashion. My body-clock is all sorts of messed upright now, starting with the night paint calls I haven't done in a while and ending with the two all-nighters I pulled this past weekend. Meh, it was worth it :-) But that's part of the reason I'm still sitting here in the wee hours type-a-typing. Man do I NEED a haircut. Calli is supposed to give me one but the girl is quite busy, as are we all. So I'm beginning to realize that with the wonderful weather approaching more and more critters are finding their way into my room. Now, the entire house, except the bathroom window, has not a screen to be found. I get the feeling that not only would they be so old at this point they're be damaged beyon repair and useless, but that replacements are sort of out of the question without a hefty investment in replacing the windows altogether, since these windows are MASSIVE (like probably 6'tall at least). This, however, brings me to an interesting conundrum. I like nothing better than to sleep/ wake up to/ enjoy during the day the outdoor air moving about in my room. But I've always found that mosquitoes fucking LOVE my blood. Now this will certainly start to suck if the mosquitoes get worse. I've already made acquaintance with one renegade Skeeter who enjoys buzzing in my ear and around my computer screen but has not invited his friends yet. However, I'm pretty unfamiliar with what the skeeter situation becomes in the Mission as the weather gets warmer. I've never lived here before. Thoughts and warnings as well as constructive suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :-) As for the present moment, maybe if I finally get OFF the fucking computer the light will no longer attract this one guy and he'll NOT suck my blood in my sleep. One can hope, yeah?

*...cricket...cricket...*