Tod Machover in Smithsonian

Laurie Anderson in Smithsonian

Back in the skies

I'm back in the skies after a few days at home. It seems like the only times I get to blog are when I'm flying. Huh.

The Gilgamesh project opened fine and is running well in Minneapolis. It was a hard week and a half, with designs that were over ambitious, load-in and tech periods that were too short, and a show that was perhaps too complex for the resources available. After much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, the show opened and we all went home. Reviews have been great all around, and my design has been called "mind-boggling" and "evocative."

I returned to LA last weekend and began the last sprint towards the end of summer. Sunday was a workday. Monday was a day of fixing notes for High and being on campus for errands. Tuesday was my first day of classes. I like both of my classes this quarter. I'm already in a good place with my undergrads, and the grad class is also in good shape. Wednesday was a day of meetings and a too-hot run, from which I'm still recovering. Today (Thursday) was another teaching day, and as soon as classes were done, I hopped in the car to drive to the airport. I was a bit famished when i got to the airport, so I grabbed a bite at a local ecuadorian place. Pupusas and empanadas! Yum!

Now I'm on the plane, back to Hawaii. It's Sarah's birthday, so I'll get to celebrate that with her tonight. Kayaking tomorrow!

Happy birthday, my baby!

Oahu photos, September 2010, HDR edition!

Got some HDR composites up for your viewing pleasure:

Oahu photos, September 2010

Okay, the Oahu photos (except for the HDR composites) are up. Check them out here:



(clicking the photo will take you to the Picasa site, where you can view them all)

Japanese temple

A short weekend in Hawaii

I'm typing this on a plane from LA to Minneapolis, after a lovely weekend visiting S in Hawaii. I got out on Friday morning, took a run up Diamond Head (a big volcanic tuff, or crater-shaped mountain), and met her after work that night. On Saturday, when S went to work, I rented a bike and rode around Honolulu. I hit the farmers market, rode around Diamond Head, went to the royal palace, rode up to the Punch Bowl (a military cemetary) where S was shooting, then to a waterfall hike, and then back home.

On Sunday, we rented a jeep and drove to the windward side of the island, taking small stopoffs as we desired. We ate sushi, saw temples, photographed islands, and had a lovely time. Unfortunately, the day had to end, and S dropped me off at the airport to catch a redeye back to LA. 

I landed at 4.30, was home by 6.30, went for a run, had a breakfast meeting, then a conference call, and then headed right back to LAX for another flight.

I'm headed back to Hawaii in a few weeks, for a longer visit, hopefully with S getting two days off. Wish us luck!

In blog-related news, I'm trying to travel for vacation witness only the iPad. It make blogging a little tough, particularly with regards to uploading photos. The easiest way I can find to upload them now is to do it one at a time, which is why the photos of Hawaii are each in their own blog posting. When I get a chance, I'll send them all to Picasa and share the link.

Waterfall trail

Epic mountain

Tiny flower

Windy day

An old photo

High in the Sky

The last few weeks of summer vacation are here for UCI folk, and I'm making the most of it with a bunch of work and some last minute travel. On Wednesday, I flew home after mounting the latest production of HIGH in Cincinnati, where I also got to see some old friends and eat a remarkable dessert (goat cheese mousse, basil sorbet). On Monday, I fly to Minneapolis, where I'll finish work on a Gilgamesh project that has been part of my life for three years now. By the time I'm done there, classes will have started at the U, and I'll jump right in.

S left LA four weeks ago to start working on a feature film called Battleship, based on the board game Battleship. She's shooting in Hawaii until mid-October, when the team will relocate to Baton Rouge. Right now, I'm on my first of two trips to see her in Honolulu. Photos to follow, naturally.

All in all, the summer seems to have been a bust. I spent a lot of it working, and the time that I did have 'off' did not, of course, match up at all with the little leisure time that S had. So, we slog through another year with mismatched work schedules. One of these days, we'll take a trip together, for fun.