"Getting Better all the time....."

Perhaps I was a bit hasty in my complaints of this, my city of dwelling.
New York has gotten much better in the last week!
While, for the most part, it has still been unpleasantly hot, the events of the last week have improved my opinion of both the city and my decision to move here.

I got a job.

Oh, and it ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am working as both a sound tech (John, stop laughing) and a repair guy at UltraSound Rehearsal. Today was my first shift and it was a long one. I got to work at about 12:30pm (the funny thing is I wasn't supposed to be there until 1pm.....me? early?) and I didn't leave until 12:15am.
I started my day burning vaccuum tubes.

For those of you aren't snobby guitar players, you probably have no clue what I'm talking about. The nicest guitar amplifiers and the very nicest bass amps still use vaccuum tubes for pre- and power-amp functions. Vaccuum tubes are an antiquated technology that first came to use in things like stereos and televisions back in the 1930s-60s. Since UltraSound only equips their studios with mega-nice gear, all of the amps have tubes. None of that solid-state, transistor bullshit. To get the nicest quality sound out of your amp, it helps to have a "matched pair" (and in some cases, pairs) of power tubes. In order to get that you have spend a ton of time on this machine called a "tube-tester" which is really just an old amp that is re-wired for such a function. For example, it took me five hours to test fifty EL-34 Power Tubes.

I then got a brief break and hurried to get some food. I returned to work to fulfill my duties as a tech. Basically they pay me to go into one of the 28 studios while a band is setting up and ask how many microphones they need and what amps they would like to play through. Then I turn up levels and get the roughest possible mix and then go wait around until someone messes something up. E-A-S-Y!

Now I sit here writing this drinking a "celebratory" Foster's Oil Can Lager which I proudly purchased at the 24 hour Deli just below my building.

When i get some more time, I'll detail how much fun riding the late night subway can be.

Oh, and you punks need to come visit me soon!!! I'm bored and have no friends. I hope someone can come.

~cpk