Letters to Holly

Thursday, August 21

Water We Going To Do

Just in case, we called the plumber to confirm he could install the tankless heater. He can't. He can sell us ones he will install, of course, but not one we buy at Lowe's. The price he quoted us was twice what Lowe's charges, and it looks now like we'll scrap a tankless model and get the regular. The tank version is cheaper, and the plumber assured me that he can install it, including hooking up the gas line. Lowe's said they'll switch out the tankless model for the tank heater they already have in stock.

The floor restoration company came by to check the giant fan in the heater closet, and it's almost dried up the whole floor. Unfortunately, it's forced water through the return vent and out onto the floor in the storage room. Now we have two giant, noisy fans to dry out the vent on both sides of the wall. The air company checked the damaged ductwork and will give an estimate on replacement price and time. We're looking at 20 feet of duct to replace.

The cats are living in the bathroom as their food and litter can't stay in the from with the fan.

Did I mention I went through something similar before? The day I moved into my Greenville apartment, the toilet back up. The rug had to be replaced, and I lived with two loud fans blasting the floor for about three days.

Picture of the Day
We may charge the new resident rent. Notice also the washer and dryer are kaput until the fan is finished.

Wednesday, August 20

Not in Hot Water

Maybe two hours after I got to work on Tuesday, Your Sister called to say the water heater was leaking. There was floor damage. The local plumbers wouldn't touch the heater because it's powered by natural gas. The gas company sent a guy to fix it and offered options on replacing it. Your Sis suggested we try a tankless heater, and we looked at prices at Lowes.com. The gas company only offers commercial tankless heaters, and their tank model is expensive compared to Lowe's offerings. We'll go to the store.

The floor-restoration company won't remove the heater. That means we had to call someone else just to move it, then the floor will be fixed, then we install whatever new heater we buy. Lowe's will install, if we like. We used them to replace our oven just a month after we bought the house. The house came with an 80-gallon heater, and we only use hot water for showers. We can downsize easily.

By the time I got home, a plumber removed the heater, and Your Sis had made an appointment with the restoration company for Wednesday morning. We went to Lowe's and ordered a small tankless model that will arrive next Tuesday. That's a week of sink baths. Cold sink baths. We'll call the plumber to install the model next week.

The restoration company is running a fan to dry the floor, and they say the fiberboard air return duct has to be replaced. We'll hear from another company about that soon. I hope.

Picture of the Day
I think I mentioned this at the Szechuan Garden.

Tuesday, August 19

It Kinda Ended

The script meeting was something we all enjoyed as the final assembly. We were given two potential season syllabuses. One was what we voted for in the last meeting; the other began with a comedy. We briefly discussed the comedy suggestion, and it won out for a variety of reasons. I'm ultimately happy about it. I like the show as a close cousin of the Neil Simon shows that were killed in the scoring rounds.

The promotional brochure will include listings for three unnamed shows. We know what they are, of course, but we're holding off that information for now. If the season schedule has to change because of costs or location, we won't be locked into infeasible productions. We can change them out with other approved shows.

We've done what we can without definitively knowing where the plays will be held, how much money the theatre will have, and what directors will be tapped. Those concerns arose in our talks, but they're not part of our mandate. We just had to pick the best plays. The result is not a season each of us would have assembled, but it's one we all like.

The question of me directing came up, and again, it was noted that they need me onstage more. Also, I was asked to co-direct a play to get my feet wet. I officially became theatre publicity director. Seems like a fairly easy job. I'll write and send press releases to the local papers. I know how that gig works.

It was our shortest meeting. We're well aware that there will be unhappy, vocal theatre folk who wanted a certain show or type of show represented. I'm willing, and probably too eager, to defend our decisions to anyone. We read a total of 60 plays. I have another one in hand to read even though it has no chance to making this season; the director wanted my opinion on it. We worked. We came up with a marketable season. With limited venues and budget, we have a solid slate of productions.

6 Rms Riv Vu
Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge
Premature Corpse

Don't Dress for Dinner

Rainmaker

Winnie the Pooh

Bell, Book, and Candle

Christmas Bus


Picture of the Day
So there.

Monday, August 18

It Shall Never Ever Ever Ever End. Ever.

While we were still squatting in your apartment Saturday, I got a call from our script chair. He wanted to talk about the committee and new developments, and I told him my brain was on vacation. I was also re-reading Watchmen. Priorities.

I called him about an hour after we returned Sunday. He has second thoughts about the opening show (a thriller) after fellow board members pressed hard for a comedy. We had all talked about a comedy, but the best candidate was deemed too dated. It was a play I advocated and grudgingly voted against when it came time to make our final choices. Also, he has found yet another script to pass around. Even if we dismiss this new script, we'll still need to rearrange the proposed season if we change the first play. We can't have three comedies for the season's beginning. We meet tonight to hammer this out and get the new script. Rah.

I think I mentioned that I was offered the publicity manager position during the last meeting. The second half of yesterday's phone call was for the new offer to be the assistant artistic director. It's a big gig. This makes the fifth offer since the murder play: script committee member, director, board member, publicity manager, and now assistant artistic director.

I worry about being seen as the director's guy. A lackey. I need to talk with more members of this theatre and get more experience before I take another position. He was very complimentary though. My pickle was buttered like never before.

We did get back OK. We did the laundry and got groceries when we ran into two students who asked Your Sister about the Clone Wars movie. One had seen it ("I left in tears."), and the other hadn't. We warned him away. We watched some Olympics and crashed early.

Because of constant rain, my garden is much larger. We have real sunflowers now. The squash vines are looking sinister.

Picture of the Day
One of Jupiter's moons, Europa. Probably the next best spot for water after mars.