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Deep thoughts

Put out the cat!

March 21, 2020 by Tyler

We live in interesting times my friends. Yesterday I, along with the vast majority of my company was terminated due to the impact of the Coronavirus on the entertainment industry. When I tell people that things are bad, they don’t quite understand how bad. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) estimates that 2.1 million people work in live entertainment. Of all my friends from a decade of touring, I was the last one to have a job.

I want you to spend a few moments looking at this photo. I didn’t take it, but it was taken by someone on one of our shows. This crew, was told that their tour was getting cancelled. They then spent hours loading everything onto trucks. Every task was done with care, despite the fact that they would cease to have jobs when the truck door closed. Despite the fact that their entire industry died in the blink of an eye and there literally were no jobs to even apply for, they took the opportunity to make art on their way out the door. These boots show the scars of the hard life their owners led. The rips, the exposed steel where the toe is worn, the splashes of mud from loading trucks in 30 degree rain, the stains from the paint and chemicals we use on a daily basis… these boots and their owners have had a hard life. But when all hope is lost, there they sit, on an empty stage, in an empty house, lined up with care, and waiting for the next tour.

Fast forward a week, and you get to yesterday. I, along with every person in this photo spent the week after everyone else in the industry got canned still working, trying to hold on to hope that our shows would not get canceled, that in a few weeks we’d be able to tour again. Yesterday, we, along with the majority of our company got fired. Some of us effective immediately, some people are getting one last week of work first, but we are all dead men walking in this photo. So we had a cookout in the hotel parking lot last night. There was food, there was booze, there was cursing, there was crying, there was laughing, and there were some philosophical conversations.

One of the topics was weird theatre phrases and traditions. I mean everyone knows about “break a leg”, but very few know about “Toi Toi Toi”. Lots of people know about ghost lights, but very few people have heard the phrase “put out the cat”.

Put out the cat, means we’re done, nothing is moving, you’re the last one on the stage, so let the cat out of its cage and get the hell out of there. So you’d release the cat and do your best to not trip over it as you stumble out of the dark theatre. Well ladies and gentlemen, we were among the last ones in the industry to still be working, but don’t worry, we put out the cat, so hopefully the mice won’t ruin our shit.

So, I am still A Man, I still have A Jeep, and as of right now, I have No Real Plan. So expect to see a facelift around here and for this project to officially be revived!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Deep thoughts, homeward bound, Laid off, Party like a rock star!, Theatre Geeking

Day 16: El Capitain

June 27, 2018 by Tyler

This guy has been my constant companion in this empty campground. He’s a bit skittish, but I did manage to have a complete conversation about how empty the campground is this morning.

We also discussed the mosquito issue… it’s bad…

Of course I had my breakfast of champions before heading out for my day of adventures in Yosemite.

My first destination was Taft Point. The hike there was a very leisurely stroll through the woods.

That is El Capitain. It is the holy grail in the rock climbing world and a few years back a guy by the name of Alex Honnold became the biggest badass of any athlete, in any sport, when he solo free climbed it. To date he is the only person to attempt to climb what was considered impossible to climbs even with gear 25 years ago… without any gear. I, like most climbers have an obsession with El Capitain, so expect to see a lot more photos of this bad boy.

Oh also that selfie is on the scavenger hunt… points were scored on the day. Haha

My next destination was to summit Sentinel Dome. I may have accidentally taken the scenic route up there… but look at this pictures I got while on an “unofficial” trail.

The summit was beautiful! 360 degree panoramic view of Yosemite. There also was a very cooperative raven who was willing to work with me for a photo shoot.

That’s the view of Sentinel Dome as I stumbled down the mountain where I hitchhiked back to the jeep… oh wait hitchhiking is on the list. Score for more points!

I spent my evening alone in camp with a bottle of local wine contemplating a lot of things that I haven’t announce on here… till now.

After Yosemite I am going to start my journey home. This trip has and will continue to be amazing. However I have been offered and accepted a full time position (like with real health insurance and a 401k) with Feld Entertainment as a Production Stage Manager. It is their equivalent to a non-working Head Carp. I’ll be flying to Florida in mid July to begin that adventure.

That timeline forces me to move up my other big news. I have bought a new home and I was going to slowly remodel and move, but it looks like I need to go home and get moved so I can have my condo ready to be a rental before I leave.

There also may or may not be a girl back home who I need to spend some time with before I leave again. I’ll bet each and everyone of you 20 bucks she just read that, “squeed”, and then turned 3 shades of red at work.

At any rate, this adventure isn’t over yet, and I am sure to have a ton more in the future, but I won’t be getting my 100 points, or spending a full 30 days on this trip. But life is the adventure and I plan on enjoying it.

Daily Score: 5

– 3 points for selfie with El Capitain

– 2 points for hitchhiking back to jeep

Total score to date: 28

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Deep thoughts, No Plan, Road trip 2018, Scavenger Hunt

Day 15: Road Closed

June 26, 2018 by Tyler

My morning was a bit rushed, I needed to be out before Rachel had to leave for work. Luckily, I didn’t really need to do anything other than put on my kilt and grab my bags.

My first stop was at a drug testing lab on my way out of town. Apparently my new employer wants to make sure I don’t smoke pot. I have to say, I have been drug tested before when working in the construction world, but never before have I had to pee in a cup for a theatre gig… I mean generally speaking in the live entertainment world what you do on your time is no concern for anyone else. But hey, I am moving up the food chain and heading to a company that is known for being different than the others. So I suppose if peeing in a cup is the biggest surprise then I am doing OK!

Up next was my escape from civilization. I drove into San Francisco through wine country, well I drove out through Almond country. Nothing but Almond groves as far as the eye could see. I wish I had stopped to take a picture.

The only stop I did make was at a Jiffy Lube. I realized that Jeff was about 2000 miles over due for an oil change. Well after talking to them I realized that he was over due for pretty much everything… I ended up getting the motor oil, all of the gear boxes, and the transmission fluid changed. It was a 3 hour delay that I had not planned on, but Jeff was driving so much better when I got out of there. The manager also gave me a 10% discount when he heard about this adventure. Finally Jeff is getting some of the respect his position warrants. Haha

The drive from there was all back roads and about 50 miles away from civilization I saw the dreaded “Road Closed in 1 Mile” no detour signs just a sign that might as well of read “screw you”. Well I don’t take kindly to being told no without an explanation, and with no detour sign it’s not like I had an obvious other choice. So I drove down the road to see what I could see. Nothing for 5 miles other than other “road closed signs”. Then I came across a bridge. A partial bridge actually. It was basically just a concrete box with gravel over it, no guard rail, and construction equipment all over the place. I stopped and started searching for an alternate route. That’s when I saw a California Highway Patrol SUV come speeding around the corner (no sirens or anything like that) and just blow right over the bridge like it was nothing.

Well monkey see, monkey do… I didn’t hit that bridge with the same speed, but I did cross it. I also crossed the next 4 bridges I can across in the same condition.

Finally I made it to my campsite. I got everything set up and had my dinner, Mountain House Chicken Noodle. This campground is a ghost town, just me and the host, so I went to bed early. Tomorrow I’ll head into Yosemite and do some hiking, I can’t wait to see this place in person!

Daily Scavenger Hunt score: 0

Total score to date: 23

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Deep thoughts, Jeff is a Dick, No Plan, Road trip 2018

Day 14: Alcatraz and Pride

June 25, 2018 by Tyler

Toots is this majestic creature. What she lacks in grace she makes up for in excitement and her short term memory makes a burn out from the 70’s look good. She is what I woke up to this morning, or rather she was the first one to greet me when I emerged from my room at Rachel’s.

Once all of the proper morning shenanigans had been completed with Toots. Rachel and I set out on our day long adventure.

The first stop was the Sea Lions down by pier 39. All but one of them were just sitting in the sun enjoying themselves. The one trouble maker was 3 times the size of the rest and he was making his presence known as he howled and tried to pick fights with the rest of the group. Well the rest of the group minus the one sea lion that was his size and asleep, he left that one alone.

The ride from shore to Alcatraz was a short but beautiful one.

The Island it’s self is overflowing with history. Everyone knows it as the escape proof prison, but a lot of people don’t realize that it went through several distinct phases.

First it was actually a fortress. It was the first permanent fort west of the Mississippi. It was built to maintain control of the Bay, because who ever controlled San Francisco Bay controlled the West.

It then was used as a military prison in the late 19th century and in the 30s became the infamous civilian prison we all know.

They like to boast that no one every successfully escaped from it, but several individuals were assumed dead when no signs of them were discovered. The assumption is that they drowned in the Bay due to the cold water and serious currents. That being said every year there is a triathlon where the first leg is swimming from the island to shore… so it is very possible that these men did in fact escape and the prison system just decided to claim they were dead rather than admit individuals has successfully escaped The Rock.

The next phase for the rock is known as the occupation. In the late 60’s Native Americans moved onto the abandoned island and demanded that it be declared Indian land. They occupied it for 18 months as a form of protest and their graffiti is all over the place. They eventually were removed by US Marshals, but their occupation drew attention to their plight and native lands began being returned else where in the country.

The final and current chapter is the US Park Service. The island is now a national park and the land, buildings, and abundant bird populations the all federally protected.

The next thing on our agenda was riding an iconic street car. It is a rough ride, but totally worth it. Just the way the whole thing is operated by 2 levers and how going up and down the hills seems like a roller coaster. It’s a ton of fun!

The trolly just happened to dump us right in the middle of the San Francisco Pride Parade. These are my people. I am not a member of the community, but I tend to always find myself most at home in their bars and at their festivities. I think it’s because I too strive to not hide myself and to celebrate the fact that I am just a little different. I also am like catnip for drag queens and am comfortable enough with my own sexuality that I’ll flirt right back.

After we had made our appearance at the parade we hopped on a train to our next destination. I want you guys to seriously look at those two photos I got on the train. Look at the faces. Imagine the energy in the room. Some people were celebrating with their friends, some were celebrating with their children, others were horrified to be on this train. It was a beautiful representation of american society in my opinion. I also am in love with these photos.

Our final stop for the day was a place called Dandelion. They make gourmet chocolates right there were you can see them. Rachel and I spent some time sitting and drinking hot chocolate while watching the chocolatiers do there thing.

I spent my evening enjoying having reliable secure internet for the first time in 2 weeks. Toots kept forgetting I was in the house and getting excited every time she came around a corner and found me.

On that not I am off to bed folks, tomorrow I have to deal with some stuff for the new job before leaving the city, but I will be off to Yosemite for a few days.

I also want to take this chance to thank all of you for reading. Keeping this blog has been a blast, unfortunately this adventure may be coming to an end sooner than expected, damn adult responsibilities, so if you are enjoying it, please share it with your friends. I am for sure not going home this week, but possibly next week, and I would love to have as large of a following as possible. You see this trip is mostly self funded. However if I have a decent sized following then it will be possible to get some funding for the next adventure. Cause let’s be honest, we all know I am going to keep periodically refusing to adult.

Daily Scavenger Hunt score: 1

– 1 point for getting a photo in Alcatraz

Total score to date: 23

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Deep thoughts, No Plan, Random adventure, Road trip 2018, Scavenger Hunt

Day 10: I got the bear

June 21, 2018 by Tyler

“Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you.” This saying is one of my father’s favorites. Well today started by my getting a phone call from the company I have been interviewing with and they officially made me an offer. I’ll announce who it is once all the paperwork is signed, but any day that starts off like that is going to be a good day in my book.

I started my day of doing touristy things off with Ride The Duck Tours. If you’re in Seattle, definitely check them out first. The guides are hilarious and doing a tour in an amphibious vehicle is just cool. Unfortunately I had already checked out most of the place they drove by/ recommended, so seriously do them first.

Next up I checked out the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit… this thing is seriously cool. I spent hours playing in there and I would gladly go again. How the hell did I not know about this place long ago? I mean this is not my first time in Seattle…

My next adventure for the day was actually a bucket list item that isn’t part of the scavenger hunt. I have never had a hot shave before, and there was an old school barber shop next to the tattoo shop… and I had time to kill… so we got a shave!

As I was walking out of the barber shop I got a phone call from the guys at Tru Line Frame and Wheel. They finished up with Jeff 2 days early! That’s right, I was fearing it’d be Friday, but here we are on Wednesday and they are complete! I told them my situation and not only did they go above and beyond on the scope of the project, but they got me back to my adventures two days earlier than anticipated. Granted they did find some other issues that I am going to have to get addressed before I head home, but I will be back to the adventure in the morning!

Before I could go pick Jeff up though I had a Tattoo appointment. I Got Fernweh done in white ink on my left collarbone. Fernweh has no direct English translation. It describes a wanderlust so intense that you feel physically ill. I don’t do well sitting in one place for more than a few weeks. I get bored, I get into trouble, and then I usually get a little depressed if I don’t keep moving. Fernweh describes the longing I have to travel very very accurately. The tattoo is a white ink so it’ll look like a scar against my pale skin, but will pop when I have a tan from my travels. That way when I am home, it’ll always be there, I’ll know it’s there and those who know me will know it’s there. However when I am traveling, the sun will darken my skin and the tattoo will pop out, the world will see it, and they will know why I am traveling.

After my tattoo appointment I took Alanna and Steven (my friends who are graciously hosting me for my prolonged stay in Seattle) Out for dinner to both thank them and celebrate.

I was celebrating that today, I got the bear. I got offered a full time position as management with a theatrical company. I checked something off my bucket list. I got a new tattoo that I feel very strongly about. I got Jeff back days early. And most importantly, I have friends who don’t even bat an eye when I show up on their door step looking for a place to crash. Today I definitely got the bear!

Daily Scavenger Hunt score: 0

Total score to date: 14

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Broke Down, Deep thoughts, Random adventure, Road trip 2018, Scavenger Hunt

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