I Am "smol", As The Kids These Days Say. I Think. Short, Scrawny, Underweight, Harmless Looking. But

I am "smol", as the kids these days say. I think. Short, scrawny, underweight, harmless looking. But also really flexible and agile and pretty darn good balance. So being height challenged I too often find myself straining to reach just another inch or two to secure some clamp or loosen some bolt or clip in a safety - and No, Anrita, I can't "just make the lift go higher" because there's gods damned structural steel in the way.

Net result is I'm constantly just jumping up on the kickplate of the bucket, or standing on the apex of an A-Frame, or any number of things that are giving other people heart attacks, and I'm like; "If I feel unsafe, I don't do it. But safety laws are also for the lowest common denominator. 50 year old, overweight white men with bad backs and knees." Just because Gary can't even imagine balancing on one foot with another hooked over a pipe and an elbow braced to the wall, doesn't mean I can't zip up like a squirrel and get it done.

And yah, there're been a few "I've wildly misjudged this" moments.

I may have been in a Genie lift working by myself once, and when asked "why is this taking so long" I pointed out I needed to come in, climb out, move the lift, go back up, repeat. Every five feet. They jokingly teased about an old worker there who would just grab the (wall anchored) pipes, brace his gut on the railing, and pull the lift around, while elevated. And then left.

About ten minutes later, already frustrated at the tediousness of it all, I thought to myself; "Hell. If Ronnie could do it..." So I gripped the pipe, braced, and tugged. The bucket shifted forward smoothly. I'm about 18 feet up, and expected more wobble or resistance, but it was really quiet easy. Surprised, and pleased, I pulled forward a couple more feet then went to let go of the pipe.

And that's when I felt the bucket sway.

Disclaimer: The outriggers may have not been in because FFS it was already taking too long. Always operate elevation devices with all required safety features in place.

So my hands, instead of relaxing, death gripped the pipe as I realized what was happening below me. I wasn't pulling the base of the lift along as I'd believed. I was pulling the bucket, and tipping the lift over. I ccaaareeefully retraced my path until I heard the "thunk" of the rear wheels hitting the floor again, descended, got out of the bucket, and spent about five minutes in a chair contemplating poor life choices.

TL:DR = Use your outriggers. But also acknowledge some people are just comfortable in possibly risky situations.

some of you never watched your life flash before your eyes while standing one rung higher than recommended on a ladder to hang lights and it shows

This is perfect. Next time I doze off at the console while the designers are bickering during a 14 hour levels session I can just point to this.

From the second link: " ‘I’ which means ‘to be present’ in a situation that is not sleep and ‘nemuri’ which means ‘sleep’. Erving Goffman’s concept of “involvement within social situations” is useful I think in helping us grasp the social significance of inemuri and the rules surrounding it."

"In this context, inemuri can be seen as a subordinate involvement which can be indulged in as long as it does not disturb the social situation at hand – similar to daydreaming. Even though the sleeper might be mentally ‘away’, they have to be able to return to the social situation at hand when active contribution is required. They also have to maintain the impression of fitting in with the dominant involvement by means of body posture, body language, dress code and the like."

I am at the board, dressed in black, ready to type. Just wake me up when you figure out what you want. Golden.

In Japan, public napping is a sign of hard work. It’s called ‘inemuri,’ which means ‘sleeping on duty’ or ‘sleeping while present.’ Because falling asleep in public is thought to be a symptom of working yourself to exhaustion, it’s socially acceptable in restaurants, stores, commuter trains, and on park benches- as long as you don’t sprawl out and take up too much space. Source Source 2

I loves me some rats, and these ones are super heroes. Spreading awareness of their good work.

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Jack Whitehall Fans

Jack goes hunting for the land mines, with the help of some furry friends!

First saw these kinds of rats in this comedy travelogue on Netflix, humor is a bit unique but good way to spread knowledge.

Hero Rats

To watch, or not.

I'm trying to figure out how to come to terms with wanting to watch a movie because it has several talented, not hugely lucrative actors in it that I very much like; but one very big name actor in it who is a bland overhyped hack who basically plays himself playing a part and can't even learn his damn lines like a professional.

Boycotting it WAS a no brainer but now I keep finding minor characters are talent I enjoy, so I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils - Ignoring the film and missing out on their performances; or watching it and giving Mr DrunkDumbass another tick on his 'number of views'. In the long run my viewership means nothing, but it's the principal of the thing.

The most important sign of any concert load-in or movie/tv location shoot.

Simple studio show, he said.

Hardly any tech, he said.

Then why I am at hour five of a solo focus/design session.

Needless to say the lighting area for the last show in here (one woman on an 8'x12' stage at a 1' height) was not sufficient for a three person production, on the floor, with a shipping trunk, 3'x2' slat box, coat rack, and canvas ship sail/projection screen.

So let's turn an 8x12 foot coverage wash into 24x20 playing space.

Hell yes I love this job.

But sometimes, seriously.

San Fransokyo is gonna get overrun with Heartless while I'm stuck here focusing tips.

Theatre Life Tip: Your Business Agent/Technical Director/Designer will always say "it should be easy" to coax you to take the call, because once you walk into the building, your soul is theirs. It's never "that easy".