Ummmm...hello.

Greetings, Gentle Readers,

Well, you may have noticed that not much is happening here at The Corner. That's because your friendly, neighborhood Marius is going through something of a reverse culture shock. The denizens of this sprawling metropolis consider Tampa to be a medium sized city, but after three years in Pineville I feel like a goldfish suddenly released into the ocean. (yes, I know that fresh water fish wouldn't survive in the ocean. don't take the simile too far) Anyway, amongst the sensory overload not much has happened. I'm settling in to my new job, and trying to sort out everyone's feelings about me being there. Some folks are obviously thrilled to have a professional technical director on board, but others definitely harbor some resentment that the guy who was doing the job has been replaced. To their credit the ones who disapprove haven't shown it directly to me, and some have even admitted that the man I am replacing wasn't the best at interpersonal relations, so hopefully I'll be able to win them over eventually. I had a long talk with him on my second day, and for someone who took care of the theatres as a side job, he did so remarkably well. We disagree on some basic points, such as the benefits of having a 30+ year-old lighting system and the use of students to run the rentals(he wouldn't), but those are relatively minor issues. There are some equipment and facility problems, and some potentially serious safety issues, but all in all the spaces, while antiquated, are all quite functional.

As for the apartment, well it's coming along slowly. My wife has been ill this week, so she hasn't been up to doing much unpacking. But, as we are effectively broke until payday, guess what we'll be doing this weekend. ;-)

All right. This has been a pretty dull post so far, so I'm going to have another cup of coffee and go watch some cartoons.

Love and kisses,
Marius