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This one time… In Middle School School…

Alex — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:57:13 +0000

Today’s post is brought to you with inspiration from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Every week she posts a couple prompts and you choose one or more to write about. It is a fun way to find something to write about and maybe get a few more hits on your blog. I obviously don’t participate every week, but when there are prompts that spark my interest I have been know to write about them.

That being said, the prompt that I chose for this week is: “5.) That one time you met your online friend in real life (was it everything you thought it would be?)” The story that I have is not a glamorous, romantic online dating story nor is it a horror show of meeting someone who it totally different than how they seemed online. It is more of a story of school kids doing what they do.

I was in middle school when the internet was new (yeah, I know I am not THAT old). I remember the first computer that we had, a black and white Macintosh SE/30. I also remember the day that my dad took me to CompUSA to look at new computers and I never thought we would actually come home with one, but we did. It was a Macintosh Quadra 605. We set it up in the den and my dad proceeded to string telephone cable through the halls of the house to the modem that he got with the computer.

I wasn’t really sure what we were going to do with a computer that could make phone calls, but my mother told me about thins thing that you could dial in to, NEBBS, The Newton Educational Bulletin Board System. You dialed in and then were greeted by a text-based interface that was very similar to say IRC today. In fact, NEBBS was basically an early chat and messaging system. So, you could go on and have real-time chats with people or just send messages back and forth like email. I would imagine that it was also used for more pertinent information for people like parents and teachers, but us kids just used it for fun.

So, while cruising the NEBBS I “met” a girl who went by the name Zoopy. This was her handle at the time. We chatted all the time. She lived in a different part of town so she was at a different school than me, so I had never met her. I think that my mother was friends with her mother as my mother was (and still is) very active in the Newton Schools System. I can’t really remember what we chatted about, probably trivial pre-teen things and school and homework and such. I sure it would all seem very interesting now!

So, this internet communication went on for a while until the D.A.R.E. program scheduled a city-wide roller-skating party at the former Wal-Lex roller rink and arcade. So, Zoopy and I decided that this would be an ideal time to finally meet eachother in person. It was, I can say this now looking back, very cute. We told eachother what we would be wearing to the event and when we got there we sought eachother out. Thankfully, we actually got along in person like we did online. I don’t really remember much about the night, I went to so many events at Wal-Lex, they all kind of bled together now. I do remember that I wore a Peace Frogs t-shirt.

I believe this might actually be the same shirt that I wore that night.

It turned out that Zoopy and I would be going to the same high school, so we remained friends through our high school careers. One of the funniest memories I have of that was in our senior year. We both had switched down to different math class, but since we had been in a higher level before, we knew a lot of the material. So for much of the class we would sit in the back row and crochet as she was working on a blanket. The teacher didn’t mind because we still paid attention and did very well on homework and tests.

We were two kids who, in all likely hood would have crossed paths in school at some point. Would we have been as good friends had we not “met” online? I have no idea. It was interesting though, because no one thought about the risks and such of meeting people online at that point n time. I am sure that it had something to do with the new-ness of the technology and the fact that there were probably fewer people out there trying to take advantage of others.

Meeting people online today can be very interesting, depending on your motivation for meeting people. Sure, there are online communities where you might go to interact with like minded people or people who work in the same profession, or other bloggers your age. However now there is also an entire industry in online dating that is just so mind boggling. Can you ever really “meet” someone online and know what to expect if you ever actually meet them?

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Returning – Reunions

Alex — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:47:16 +0000

It has been quite the busy couple weeks. Last week started as tech for Dracula at the theatre and then ended with my flying out to Ithaca for the first ever All Theatre Alumni Reunion. The impetus for the event was the completion of the renovations on Dillingham Center, the home of the Department of Theatre Arts at Ithaca College. Ithaca College (not to be confused with Ithaca University from the movie Road Trip), or IC, is my alma mater for those who don’t know. Since graduation I have done my best to give to the college as my time there really made an impact on my life. My family and I were part of the 430-some-odd donors who raised over $80,000 for the renovation project. As such, I felt that it was important for me to go because of that and because it would be a fun opportunity to reconnect with friends from school and network with other alums.

The road to my getting to the reunion started well before waking up at 5AM to get to the airport last Friday. There are not enough words to express my love for my girlfriend who also got up at 5AM to get me there. However, before that I had to make sure that it would be OK with the powers that be in the theatre since I would be leaving town on opening night of one of the more technically challenging shows of the season which happened to be directed by our artistic director. I got the OK to go and was able to make the appropriate travel arrangements and fit into some semblance of a budget, so I was pretty happy. I sacrificed a ski pass to make it happen though, which I think was a decent trade off.

I flew into Syracuse, NY where I picked up a rental car and drove the rest of the way down to Ithaca. It was kind of fun getting on the highways there and remembering driving them so many times over the four years that I spent in school. Driving past the landmarks that I remembered and getting closer to Ithaca was very fun and very exciting. Driving down the last hill alongside Cayuga Lake and then through town, it almost felt like I had never really left. Realizing that the hotel that I had booked a room at was way on the opposite outskirts of town was a little disconcerting, but it wasn’t like I was going to be spending tons of time there!

The weekend kicked off with a welcome reception for all the alumni which was a little funky, but a good time. People drifted in slowly as they arrived in town so there were waves of excitement as people recognized old friends. It was a lot of fun to see all the people from my year and around my year and hear about what everyone is up to now. Then there were the people who “know” me on account of my father (who is also and IC alum). the most interesting of those people was my father’s college girlfriend Betsy. She was quite excited to meet me, and I have nothing against this on account of her buying my friends and I drinks!

Saturday brought the real festivities. The morning started with a tour of the newly renovated building. It was almost a private tour as there were only three other people who showed up at 9AM and they still sent out multiple tour groups. The new spaces look amazing, and the theatre department now has the use of the entire building, all the other departments that used to have offices there have been moved to other buildings on campus. It looks fabulous even though they say that for a program of that size they are still a few thousand square feet short of what they really could use.

After the tours there were dedications of named spaces around facility. I went to a few of these, but was not actually able to attend that one for named lockers, which I donated on of. Could be worse. I was at one of the student interaction panels where alumni got to talk to students pursuing similar fields of study. This really was a great thing, and I wish that it had been a little more organized and structured. I think it was probably a little overwhelming for both the alumni and the students. For me, this was one of the big reasons that I wanted to go to this event, to get to talk to the students, so I hope that in the future this is something that gets a little more planning.

Following a barbecue lunch a group of us headed off on a Finger Lakes wine tour headed by one of the faculty. This was a real hoot. We tasted some good wines, a bunch of bad wines, but in the end, it probably didn’t matter as everyone was having a blast. After two wineries we were definitely on the party bus as soon as Norm decided to put on some Lady GaGa. Yeah, the whole bus was dancing and singing and drinking.

Upon arriving back at IC, there was a little time to change before heading to the cocktail reception and gala dinner. I was smart enough to have put my nice clothes in my car when I left the hotel in the morning so I just found a bathroom and changed. There was a little more schmoozing and boozing with the alums and I had a chance to meet the new President of the college who seems to be a good guy.

The dinner and festivities were nice. Sitting with old friends was great. Here are most of us. The only thing that bugged me was the the photographer who was walking around would not take our picture with my camera. I thought that it was a rather stuck-up move as he kind of scoffed at my little point-and-shoot. I didn’t feel like lugging the nice camera around all evening. But really, I am a professional photographer and I would never hesitate to take someone’s photo picture with their own camera, it is just a nice, polite thing to do. Whatever.

Friends from my class and the years around it at the Reunion Gala

After dinner the Musical Theatre Majors sang for us, a song that I don’t actually remember. I do remember thinking that it would have been much more meaningful and memorable if they had chosen something different. The song that I would have picked would have been “What I did for Love” from A Chorus Line. I think that would have been very appropriate for the occasion, and would have made everyone cry.

After the singing, the party moved down the quad to Dillingham for the special Alumni-only performance of Chicago. It was an excellent show. The designs for the show were done by some notable alums including Paul Gallo (lighting) and Tony Meola (sound). The students were excellent and the show was so much fun. It was really cool to see Chicago at IC because it was the first show that I worked on after I graduated and moved out here to Utah. I enjoyed the show so much, I went back to see it again the next day!

After the performance we shifted venues one last time for the “Sherry Party” redux. Just one last occasion to schmooze with everyone before people started to go their separate ways. AS I was staying through until monday morning, I said goodbye to a bunch of people. Overall, it was a great time.

The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun. I had time to talk to a couple students, the chair of the department and my old professors. I saw the show again, and just generally enjoyed being back in Ithaca. It was a great weekend, and hopefully the first of many such events.

The Evening After

Alex — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:28:13 +0000

Have you ever noticed that the sunset is usually significantly more exciting and colorful on an evening after a storm? I suppose I could just be making that up or dreaming it, but I think that it is true. When the clouds break up and the sun gets low in the sky the golden color really shows through. Summer evenings here in Maine are almost always pretty spectacular, but on a night like tonight, after two days of bad weather, it seems like there is nothing better.

Here at camp the light streams through over the mountains in the distance and the river, then through the tall pine trees that line the high bank, and across the field. I don’t think you could ask for a better backdrop and lighting when we walk out of dinner and then as it gets later in the evening and taps get played. The silence and stillness during those moments when everyone in camp stops to listen to the bugle is quite magical. If you have never had the opportunity to stop each evening, reflect on the day and listen to the floating melody of taps on the bugle (especially when played by a great camper) then you should. I suppose it is kind of an American thing, but I would imagine that anyone from anywhere would appreciate it.

The evening after a day or more of rain is also special because kinds want to be out and enjoy the remnants of the day. We take advantage of every moment of daylight that we can get, but the games and activities that get played are much more interesting than those during the course of a regular day. Little pickup games of anything as long as the equipment is out and available. It is a tim when everyone is actually in camp together and there are enough people around to get a decent game going.

Evenings are always a peaceful time. Sure, sometimes we get a little hyper, or we have a dance night, but for the most part, it is one of the best times of day. The world cools off (most of the time), people relax, and this is when the bonds of great friendships show. Everyone has a friend and everyone hangs out together. It is a beautiful time that hopefully everyone stops to appreciate sometimes. You don’t have to be in a special place like camp to stop and appreciate the summer evenings. It might have a slightly different effect if you live in a city, but I would imaging that if you stop and reflect, it is pretty similar.

Life is like that sometimes

Alex — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:37:20 +0000

“Freedom! Heading home for a much needed day off.” ~Christine Macken (1985-2010)

I often have written about how life is short and we need to make the best of what we have. Sometimes the stark reality in that sentiment comes out and slaps you in the face. I have often looked around me at my friends, finding it so strange that they were getting married and some even having children, but when it comes to my contemporaries passing away, that is a completely different story. Death is an unfortunate phase of life when it snuffs out an amazing light so early. It is immutable though and as such all we can do is keep the memories alive in ourselves.

As I walked across the field to my cabin this evening I just watched the lights through the mist. In a way it was very surreal, walking and thinking about my friend who passed away last Monday, July 5. I knew what I was doing, I was trying to compose some kind of post in my head and while I thought all of these ideas that came to me were good, probably none of them will actually make it here. All of the thinking really just made me remember her and started to make me feel sad.

I remember the last time we were together. It wasn’t really that long ago. We met you at Squatters along with some of your other friends from the area. Your mother was there too. We had some food and a couple beers and caught up on old times. I am sure that neither of us thought that would be the last time that we would see eachother. At least it was a happy and fun time.

I met Macken at the University of Utah. She was a theatre student who did some work and internships with us at PTC. I don’t think that I ever actually realized that she was an EMT, but all things considered, it doesn’t surprise me. Macken was an amazing person and a great friend. She was a person who really did live life to the fullest all the time and I would imagine that it wasn’t easy given her medical history. I can’t remember a time that I didn’t see her happy. She was dedicated, hard-working, friendly, and kind. While we may not have been best friends, she was a great friend to have! I (and anyone else who did) was lucky to know her.

Life is like that sometimes. Sometimes the best of people get dealt the lousy hands. Sometimes you just have to look for the silver lining, the golden ticket. Hopefully the place beyond this harsh world we inhabit for our brief moment of life is actually a better place. Hopefully it is place where the things that plagued us in our Earthly life are set aside so that we can exist in some state of peace with the rest of the universe. I would certainly hope that if we move on to a non-corporeal existence that the physical “defects” of our bodies will cease to haunt us.

For Christine, a short poem that this sad time inspired:

Freedom comes in many forms
In days off,
nights off,
and passing storms

Those left behind can’t understand
you lie
in peace
on beach’s sand

A laugh, a smile, a memory
of time spent
living
frolicking, free

We are but travelers here on earth
we seek refuge
in passage
to death from birth

Life cannot be lived when you hide in fear
so dream
make friends
and keep them near

Life’s release to death will freedom give
yet in our hearts
and minds
you live

This post is of course dedicated to Christine Macken and the Macken family. I am so glad that I had the chance to get to know and work with Chrstine. She was a wonderful person and a great friend. May you find greener pastures wherever you are and I hope you know that you will be missed. If you want to read more about this amazing person, you can follow this link. Rest in peace Mack.

Dollars and Sense

Alex — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:35:12 +0000

This month 20SB is hosting a Blog Carnival in conjunction with Charles Schwab. In my mind it is kind of an unlikely pairing, but hey, we twenty-somethings should learn what to do with our lack of money! Actually, I took advantage of the recent economic struggles in the country as I saw it as an opportunity to start making some investments. The market was low and I had some liquid assets and I have the time to wait for the markets to rebound. So actually, I opened my investment account through Schwab on the recommendation of my family and so far, I have been pretty happy.

One of the stipulations of the blog carnival event was to test drive Schwab’s new financial fitness check-up tool. Basically, it is a short questionnaire that tries to determine where you stand in terms of financial habits. I tried it out and did my best to answer the questions truthfully and I got a score of 84, which puts me in the “Good” category. I certainly try to be good about my money but i know that there are things that I could be better about. I am probably a little more frivolous sometimes than I should be, but I have never really felt like I was hurting for money and I have never really been living from paycheck-to-paycheck.

Schwab wanted some feedback on the check-up tool, which seems reasonable. It was pretty straight-forward and easy to use. In general I felt like the questions were very general questions. I don’t really know what the point is because I am not sure what your score is supposed to tell you. What is the next step and what is the goal? For that matter, aren’t everyone’s goals slightly different? Is the answer that Schwab gives the right answer for everyone? I don’t know. I suppose, if nothing else, it is not a bad place to start though.

The real topic for the Carnival though is to write about something that you were happy you splurged on or a time that you should have not tapped into the coffers. For me, there are two things that come to mind. First, I have an annual splurge that I am still trying to figure out how I afford. Each year since I moved out to Utah I have bought a season pass for skiing. Unfortunately, Utah is probably one of the most expensive states to ski in. You can’t really pass it up though when you live there! Normally I do take some time to contemplate big purchases, but I have never thought twice about skiing. It is not a cheap sport to be involved in, that is for sure.

I live about 30 minutes from seven of the 13 ski areas in Utah, so picking where to get a pass was an interesting decision. The first two years I was out there I qualified for a deeply discounted pass at the Park City Mountain Resort. After that there was one heck of a price hike. The average pass in Utah for an adult is over $1K for the season with most around $1.2K-$1.5K. I like to get the most bang for my buck so I discovered that you can get an Alta/Snowbird Pass for $1.5K which is the same price as Deer Valley alone, so this seemed like a great idea. I certainly have never regretted that decision. I get great enjoyment out of the skiing and I don’t usually end up hurting too much in the wallet. Besides, Alta is probably my favorite ski area.

My really big splurge though, was significantly bigger than a ski pass. All things considered, I am probably really still recovering from the purchase. As many of my readers should know, I am a photographer. While I don’t rely on my photography to make a living at the moment, I am a professional. When I was hired on as the staff photographer for PTC I decided that I really needed to step up to a professional level camera, needless to say, they cost some big bucks.

Now, I didn’t need to go top-of-the-line flagship model camera, that would have been a little too much, but I did want something that could keep up with the times. I did as much scrimping and saving as I could, but this purchase really made quite the dent in my financial situation. When all was said and done I probably ended up paying more for the camera than for my computer. Totally worth it though, I love my camera and I have been making a decent little income off the theatre photography business. It isn’t huge, but every little bit counts for something. Besides, you do need to have the right tools for the job!

Of course I am now looking towards the next big purchase that I have on the horizon, a new computer. I am a creative professional and I could really use a desktop computer at home with a nice big screen. Those 27″ iMacs are looking super sweet. I am not entirely sure how and when I will come up with the money for that AND continue to keep up my skiing habits, but somehow it all seems to work out in the end. I know that I can’t sacrifice my living budgets (food, rent, gas, etc.), but I will figure it out.

Legal Stuff:

It should be noted that while I am a Schwab client, I am not employed by them nor am I in any way affiliated with the company. I only keep an investment portfolio thought them. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not represent the opinions of any other people or organizations.

Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here.

Grab a Coffee

Alex — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:00:07 +0000

When is it that we get to the point where this is the thing to do when you want to meet with friends or have a meeting of sorts? It just seems that relatively recently I have been running into friends to catch up with and the thought seems to go right to “why don’t we meet for coffee?” When does that become the thing to do. I mean, I don’t really remember what we did in high school, but I know that we didn’t go sit around the coffee shop to hang out.

The other day I went to meet a friend for coffee (and lunch) and we ended up sitting around the coffee shop all afternoon. This is probably not even something that I would have done when I was in college and yet it is something that I would do now. Then, last night I was chatting with another friend who I haven’t seen in quite a while and the first suggestion of something to do, a place to meet to catch up was over coffee.

I suppose there are people who do things like go to lunch as opposed to coffee, but on the other hand I guess there aren’t that many things to do that put you in an environment where you can just chat with someone. It is interesting that meeting people usually involves food of sorts and for most people it is over coffee. What is it about the atmosphere in a good coffee shop that makes it ideal, or is it the coffee itself? Maybe Jen from Daily Demitasse can or has answered this question. Is the coffee shop the original social networking site?

The Joys of an “A” Name

Alex — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:00:13 +0000

Have you ever been the recipient of a “drunk-dialed” phone call? I can’t say that I ever had been drunk-dialed before last night, well I suppose it really was yesterday morning. I was just sitting watching Star Wars when my ass started to vibrate. I had totally forgotten that I was kinda sitting on my phone.

In my past experience, when I have been called after midnight by people that I know t is usually because something is wrong. In some ways I kind of dread answering late night phone calls from people I know because it sucks to get bad news when you are half asleep. At least tonight I wasn’t asleep, but when I saw the name come up on the screen, the first thing I thought was “Oh crap, she must be in trouble.” Is the fact that this is my gut reaction a bad thing? let me put it this way, if she had been in trouble I would have been happy to help if I could, even I had been asleep.

Thankfully, there was no crisis, though this particular friend always kinda sounds like something is wrong, mostly due to her quiet and seemingly unsure inflections. I don’t think that being drunk really helped her. It was a good thing that I was actually away when I took the call though because she started talking to me in Spanish, which I know enough of to understand her basic Spanish (she is not a Spanish speaker). I was a little confused at first, but since I recognized her voice, it clicked pretty fast.

Considering that my friend was drunk enough to know that she wouldn’t remember our conversation tomorrow, we actually had a coherent conversation. She even apologised for calling so late, and wanted to know if she woke me up. Of course she had to tell me that I was first person in her address book on her phone on account of my name. It happens to me a lot, I am either first or last (or close to last). We also talked about what we were doing for the summer. I didn’t know that she was working up at Yellowstone, that is cool. I would love to get up there at some point to visit the park.

The conversation really made me wonder what it is about being drunk that motivates people to whip out their phones and start calling people. I mean, what did we do before everyone had a cell phone? I bet there were a lot fewer instances of drunk dialing then. Now, today, we know that for the most part, we won’t wake up the whole house if we call someone’s cell phone. Although, if we really know that when we are drunk is a whole different story. Why do people think it is fun?

Personally, if you are going to hold an intelligent conversation like I had, then it isn’t a big deal, it was nice to catch up, even if I will be the only one who remembers. On the other hand though, if you are just going call for the sake of calling, what is the point? I mean, it isn’t quite the same as prank calling people. Maybe the drunk party thinks it is, who knows? I bet most people who drunk-dial don’t remember why they thought it was a good idea the next day, so it is probably a moot point in asking. Whatever.

Morals of story: If you call me late at night I am going to assume something is wrong and be mentally preparing to help you however I can if you ask. Secondly, to my friend who called, you helped make my night, it was pretty boring before the phone rang. I am glad we talked even if you won’t remember.

I am Blogger Ninja…

Alex — Sat, 08 May 2010 14:00:23 +0000

…You see nothing!

So, not only has my blog passed the 200 post landmark this week, I was also given this amazing blog award. This is the “Master of Karate and Friendship” Award. Given to me by a great friend whom I met through 20SB, Kris, who blogs at Because or Why Not. One day I hope to convince her to come out here to Utah to do some snowboarding! It is certainly an honor to receive this award from her, and if you want to see what she wrote about me and why she chose me, just click the link above to her blog!

Naturally, I wanted to find out the history of this award, and thankfully, the creator left a watermark on the image so it was easy to find the origins of this award. It is actually a relatively recent award as it was launched January 25, 2010. According to the creator, recipients of the award are supposed to list six things that they are the master of and pass the award on to six people. The passing it on thing might be a little bit hard will require some thinking.

So, six things that I am the master of (this sounds really egotistical, but it is kinda fun):

1) I am a Master Electrician for theatre. I suppose some might think of this as a little bit of a cop-out because it is my job and my title, but it is true. I may not know all of the cool tricks in the book yet, but I am darn good at what I do.

2) I am a grill master. Want something BBQ-ed? I can do that. In the spring and fall I run barbeques at the theatre and I get lots of compliments. I am one of the few people that my mother will let grill steaks for her because i get them done the way she likes!

3) I am a web master. I suppose it kinda goes without saying, but I run multiple websites, know a fair bit of code and give out lots of help to others in this department.

4) I am a master muti-taskter. Yup, I can run lights, chat and write blog posts at the same time. It may not be a good thing all the time, but I can do it.

5) I am a Macintosh and Hackintosh master. It’s true folks, have mac issues, I can probably help you. I do software and hardware. I have been knee deep in iBooks and I can turn your Windoze machine into a Mac and make your life better.

6) I am the master of my own fate! Life is what we make of it, best to make sure that you are behind the wheel of your own life!

Now for the really tough part, people that I would pass this award along to. Most of my blogger friends have already received this award, so hopefully I won’t hit any of them again (they all deserve it!). I know that in all reality I am not obligated to pass this award on at all, let alone on to six people. I will try. Maybe I will just pass it along as I find people to pass it along to.

First off, I want to pass this award on to the person who is really the best friend that I could possibly have. She is the person who I come home to every night, knows how to cheer me up when I need it, and she also has a blog! So, the first recipient of this award from me is my girlfriend, Ruth over at Ruthie’s Ramblings.

Next I would like to give this award to Amanda over at Steeling Spoons. She was one of my first interactive followers. I haven’t seen any new posts from her in a while, but I have always enjoyed reading her blog. She has some wonderful stories to tell. So, stop by and check her out.

I’ll have to keep thinking about who else. I will add them when Come up with them.

Work Ethic

Alex — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:32:45 +0000

There are nights that we finish up work at the theatre early and we head out to some local place to hang out with the crew. Sometimes we head over to The Pie, which is a great pizza place right around the corner where they serve heart-attack-on-a-plate (basically more cheese than you have ever seen even on an extra cheese pizza). Sometimes The Bayou, which is a great bar with the longest beer list in the state: Beervana! And when we have the young-uns but still want a drink we often hit up Squatters, a local brewery and restaurant.

So, why do I tell you this? It all has to do with a keeping up morale. My personal philosophy has always been that you should be happy doing whatever it is that you do. It has always seemed so strange to me that people go off into the world and take jobs or positions that they don’t really enjoy. It seems even stranger the people who go through all of their schooling studying things that don’t really make them happy or excited. I know that not everyone does this, but it seems to me that a lot of people do.

In my line of work, theatre, there are very few of us that are doing this for the money. Most of us are in this business because we love doing it. I think the same goes for most people who work in fields like education as well. We find the jobs exciting and rewarding, and even on the long and hard days that we don’t feel motivated to do anything, we still do it. There are definitely days that I would rather be at work than sitting at home, even if there isn’t much to do.

There are a few things that I tell all the people who I hire to work for me. Most of these people are college age and recent post college age. First of all, I tell them what I just stated: “If you are not having fun doing what you are doing (whatever that may be) then you are doing the wrong thing.” I want to see people here who want to be here and enjoy the work that we do. it makes people much more productive when they are excited about coming to work. So, I try to make sure that I always provide an atmosphere that encourages that kind of excitement.

Second, I tell them that if they are not having fun while we are working, let me know. I realize that we can’t be chipper and happy all the time, 24/7/365. It is just impossible. Everyone has off days, people get tired and start to burn out and get snappy. However, I do my best to make sure that we don’t get too far down that road, and I hope that my crewtons will let me know when we do. Whenever we drift that way I can feel our efficiency slip and many times we will get to a point where we are better off calling it a day and coming back later to finish things up (unless we need to meet a deadline).

So, how do I keep my people happy. Well, I try to really establish a family atmosphere. We get to the point over a season where we know how everyone works and we work very well together. If people get edgy we figure out how to work with it. Sometimes people just need a break. However one of the most effective things to keep people happy is good and drink. So, we go out and enjoy when we can. I try to go out with my crews and have some fun at least once every show. It is usually pretty effective. I am also hoping to be able to organize a group paintball game after we open the last show. All things that help us bond and gel and keep everyone happy.

Be happy about what you do, enjoy work or school. If you are not enjoying what you are doing, do something different. Try a new sport or a different class or even a whole different job!

What do you do to keep your job or school exciting?

The Gift of Theatre

Alex — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:00:04 +0000

As a theatre professional I probably often take theatre for granted. I live and breathe theatre all the time and I really enjoy what I do, but sometimes that fact does take a lot of the magic out of it for me. I enjoy going to the theatre to see shows that I am not working on, but I sometimes feel like I have to go twice to really see the show because I am always thinking about “how/why did they do that” and you really can’t pay attention to everything at the same time! I suppose I just get a different enjoyment out of going to a show than many people.

One of the benefits of working for Pioneer Theatre is that I get comp tickets to all of our shows. Usually I don’t have people to give the tickets to and I don’t use them myself on account of I run a lot of the shows. I often look for people to give tickets to because sharing theatre is the whole point! Our ticket prices are nowhere near the cost of a ticket to a Broadway show, but sometimes the cost of a theatre ticket can be prohibitive. The other reason that I like to use my comps is that it is nice to have people at the shows, especially the lesser known ones that don’t sell as well. That being said, if you are ever in Salt Lake City and want to see one of our shows, just let me know and I will set you up.

So, this year I made good friends with my SCUBA instructor who works up at Dive Utah in Ogden. When I was telling him what I do for a living he told me that his wife and daughter love to go to the theatre. I brought up a stack of our season fliers and a pair of tickets to our production of Is He Dead? which made them very happy. Upon hearing that I sent up more tickets for our production of A Christmas Story, and then I didn’t hear anything from them for a while.

The other day I received the following letter:

Dear Alex,

You don’t know who I am, but I am the lucky recipient of the tickets to see not only “Is He Dead”, but also “A Christmas Story”. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your generosity. It was the first time I had ever been to that particular theatre, and I was so impressed with everything. The scenery on both of them were amazing, and they were done so professionally, that it was a pleasure to watch. I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house, and the sound was wonderful, you could not ask for more.

I had never heard of “Is He Dead” but thoroughly loved it. ”A Christmas Story” happens to be one of my favorite Christmas shows…..and the play was a million times better….THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

My daughter and I are the live theatre lovers in our family, and try to get to just about any and all plays around, and that is why I am so surprised that we have never been to the Pioneer theatre before, but it won’t be the last time….we loved it!!!

Thanks again for your kindness, I really do appreciate it!!!

It is really cool to hear that what we are doing has had such an impact on these people. Frankly, I think that is what doing this job is all about. I love sharing what I do and I am happy that I am able to offer this kind of opportunity to the family of my friend. Getting a letter like this really reminds me why I do what I do, why I work in this industry. It makes me feel like I am doing the right thing and that I made the right choices to get here.

I am sure that there are plenty of people out there who get some kind of positive feedback and response to what they are doing, and it probably makes them feel similar. I just love the fact that theatre is such a community activity every person in the audience has an impact on the show that is presented and everyone takes something different away with them. To be able to share that magic and have it make people happy and excited to come to the theatre is what it is all about. I don’t look for or need to see my name in the program, I don’t care if my contribution is recognized. Just knowing that at least one person was moved or inspired by coming to the theatre makes my job worthwhile!