Wired!

I was supposed to play a gig in Galvetston today. I thougt it was just me playing but I found out the other day that it was going to be a double bill with me opening for a band called Fast Food Junkies. I had never heard of them before but they sounded like a band that I would like. They play Metal/Bluegrass or something like that. They have a web page that explains it which you can find if you Google the band name.

The problem with me doing show with another band is that it takes me too long to set up and break down my equipment. I have to load and set up a whole bands worth of equipment. So when I get done playing, The other band would have to wait to get set up. In reality, they usually don't wait so all my equipment gets intermingled with thier stuff. Not that I would worry about anybody stealing something or anything like that. Musicians are usually pretty cool about sharing equipment & being respectful. I am just used to loading everything in a certain order & know what to watch for with the different pieces (Drums/amps, etc.) & can avoid damage. The knobs on my bass amp stick out too far & get smashed easy. My smaller guitar amp is very tempramental & If I load it facing backwards, My bass drum's tuning keys will be hitting the knobs and also the guitar input which is very easy to damage because it is plastic & not metal like it should be. I always appreciate when people offer to help but I really have to do it myself. The truth is that it is probably just some sort of personality disorder.

One of the things I don't like about being a one man show is that you don't get the band comradery. The cool thing about doing a double bill gig is that you get to meet and hear the band & talk about music like junior high school, stuff like that. Who knows? I never know but it is the adveture that keeps things rolling anyway.

My point is this:

Since I had the day off, I decied to tackle a project I had been dreading for some months now. Our little house on what was the Katy Prarie has a central a/c unit but I decided to add a window unit in the den living area room or what ever it is. A few years ago I bought a 14500 BTU model at Home Depot but I evenutally realized that the wiring in our walls was not heavy enough to safely run it. I only bought the more powerful model becuase it was the most efficient and was Energy Star Compliant or something like that.

Today I added a circuit breaker and ran a wire to the unit. The guy at home depot who helped me was a department manager who had stopped by to take care of something on his day off. I had several questions and needed several items so I told the guy several times that I would figure it out and wait for someone else to come along. I just didn't feel right about keeping him at work but he kept telling me he was happy to help.

I had taken digital photos of my breaker box & also brought a picture we took when the house was being built 14 years ago. It was really helpful when I was explaining what I was trying to do.

I got 70 feet of wire, a 15 amp circuit breaker, a plug for the wall, & a thing made to fish the wires through the walls. I also bought some PVC and fitings so I could shoot the wire out of the top of the breaker box straight into the attic without having to try jamming it through the back of the box with all the other wires.

I took the little plate off of the weather proof box and looked for a replacement that had a hole in it but couldn't find one. I decided to drill a hole in the plate but it need to be almost an inch wide & the drill bits that big are about 20 bucks. Using a tip from the guy in the drill bit section, I taped sandpaper around the drill bit and spent about hour rasping out the hole.

It was a job fishing the wires and hanging out in my attic with sweat dripping off my face but I got it all done and now I am basking in the coolness as my muscles ache.

I is so proud of myelf.