Moving Lights!

Today I got to clean moving lights. It was pretty cool getting to see the inside of the lights before I had to figure out how to track them during tech. Having never actually worked them before, I'm pretty clueless as to what the various instruments can do. My favorite part was the itty bitty gobos that they put in there. I don't know a lot about how computer chips work, so I found it overly fascinating to look at the inside of the instruments. I even got to help replace one of the computer boards that we thought wasn't working, but as it turned out, it was actually the little 'dmx'er that wasn't working properly. Either way, it was cool to get to open it all the way up like that and get to play in it. Unfortunately, it took a while so we didn't finish cleaning up all of the T-beams. I'm sure we're going to finish them tomorrow though.

I felt pretty proud today though because they told me that I'm not as needy as an intern that they've had in the past. They credited me with being the reason that they are ahead of schedule for maintenance. It's not so much that I'm just that helpful, but that I don't take away someone from other work in order to help me. I think they appreciate that I like to try things on my own and just ask questions when I'm not certain I understand instead of trying to make everyone constantly watch or just needing supervision because I suck. I'm glad I'm not sucking, lol. I do feel that I'm learning a lot and I'm definitely appreciative. I try to make sure everyone who is helping me is aware of the fact that I am in fact learning and that I am very glad that they are helpful. I make sure to thank each person after they give me little hints and tips so that they know that I am not mad that they are criticizing me, which I know some people would do if you tried to give them advice. I really do appreciate it, so just saying "thanks" each time they give me advice is how I'm trying to show it. I'm also planning on sending thank you cards to each person because they are definitely all very helpful. I have worked with almost everyone one-on-one which has given me the chance to ask them about their experiences and their advice. People like to give advice and expertise, but they don't always like to do it in front of others, so I try to ask personal opinions when we're working one-on-one. I've heard a lot about the union, jobs to take and what to watch out for, how the interns have been helpful (or not), and just got to hear a lot of their stories. It's really been very exciting for me and I'm of course learning a lot of technical skills, some of which I didn't even know I needed. It really hasn't gotten too boring, though the days occasionally feel long, but I think the fact that I'm not getting paid and that I should really work on my honors project are weighing on me and making me wish I had more time in the day, or at lease more energy when I get home at night. I do get quite tired. Tonight, I'm quite exhausted. This is probably because I did a lot of lifting today when we shuffled lights around, but I certainly don't mind the muscle definition I've been getting.

Sorry this is just a long stream of conscious blog. I guess this is just what has been on my mind today. I'm not even going to pretend that work is going to get done for my project tonight because I'm going to bed in about 20 minutes. The words aren't really even coming anymore at this point, so just try not to suck in the ways with the words that I do. Good night!