A thank you note for Brassgoggles

J. Wilhelm

Zeppelin Overlord

United States

Tu sentire felix, punk? Perge, facere meum die

A thank you note for Brassgoggles

« on: January 05, 2012, 07:58:23 am »

Dear Ladies and Esteemed Gentlemen:

I write this letter today as a thank you note for all of you who walk these hallowed Brassgoggles halls. For I believe I have a great deal to be thankful for, and some of it is due indirectly to this forum… I did not want to disclose some of what you’re about to read, partly due to the “Bieberalypse” fallout I got to read about late last year. But I’ve been meaning to tell you something, and I don’t wish to put it off any longer.

I will share that being a 2002 MsC graduate in Aerospace and Mech. Engineering I made the near fatal mistake of entering my grandfather’s architectural construction company, right out of college, on the promise of making money beyond what my degrees merited. As my grandfather became ill in the mid 2000’s, I took him under my wing, and took his place at the lead over his business which already was on its way to collapse, mostly due to the beginnings or precursors of the present global crisis. By 2009 I had to close the business, hoping that my education would rescue me.

Working on and off in part time jobs, that was the time when I joined this community, mostly as a way to keep my sanity. To make a long story short, and to spare you much detail, let’s just say that by Spring of last year, my grandfather was placed under care of the state, as my family could no longer afford to help us, not even with my part time efforts, and I was just a load in my family’s eyes. By then, I had already started to sell my Steampunk art in Etsy, but I could not make enough money to pay my rent. I could not reduce my rent on account that not having a income will not get you into a rental unit anywhere. Please remember ladies and gentlemen, in this land, you’re on your own. I knew I was trapped. Somehow, I held on to dear life month to month paying the rent late, until the middle of October, when the inevitable came to pass.

There I was on the 15th of October, literally sitting on the walkway of the street with my furniture stringed along the hallways of Building 40 of my apartment complex. “What a horrible Halloween I’m going to have,” I thought to myself. Some of my Steampunk computers were right there on the floor, baking in the sun (thank God, no rain in Texas). My mother, the only family member who cared (she lives in San Diego), was frantically calling over the phone, to see if by any chance any old Transcendental Meditation acquaintances (please don’t ask), had any room here in Austin.

And then right there on the pavement, I checked my iPod, and there it was: my Etsy sales tripled overnight. Nine iPhone cases sold for the week. I could breathe –and eat, but still was no solace. “Great!” -I thought “How am I going to build these? Well, maybe I can use the money to hire storage and take the bus to San Diego and if I can’t build these, I’ll return the money later.” What else could I do?

Then the second bolt of lightning hit me just minutes later. Someone representing Sony America left an Etsy message in my mailbox. “We’re interested in a Steampunk laptop to take to trade shows” - Ms. Leone wrote. “We were turned down by (*name censored*) and we saw you on Etsy. If we supply the laptop, can you make it before Christmas? We just want it to show around. We want to fly you to San Francisco after you make it. We want to film a 6 minute episode of SGNL showing what you did.”

Can I make it? Can I make it? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I will perform sacrifice, summon the gods themselves, and materialize one for you!!! In the next few days my mother found a private house willing to rent a room. Quaint little two storey town house, and the owner agreed to let me work in the garage. I began building my cases in the garage of said house (I have so many orders I have been late in all of my deliveries ever since late October). Over the next two weeks I negotiated with an Internet TV station in San Francisco (Revision3), who was contracted by Sony to film the episode. They were technically the patron and the buyer of the laptop. I named the laptop “Project Mercury” (yeah I know, how corny can you get?).

On the morrow of December 19, at 8:00 AM after working all night (yes it was that close -blame it on my holiday sales), I finished the wooden keyboard bezel for the laptop, checked each of the brass keyboard buttons and hoped the latex glue used for the red felt on top of the wood would dry fast enough. By 11:00 I was picked up by the airport shuttle. Filming was to take place at 10 sharp the next day. The laptop was so heavy I left my own laptop and suitcase, and took only a backpack with one change of clothes, fearing that airline regulations would force me to send one of my laptops through with the rest of the luggage. I hadn’t flown for so long that I did not wear my Steampunk attire to the airport–and left my steamed watch, hoping I wouldn’t get too much hassle from security personnel.

Looking from inside the cabin, and hearing the whine of the turbojets I could see over the wing of the plane; its flaps, ailerons, spoilers and Krueger flaps. Knowing exactly what each one of those things do, I wondered why life had not taken me down that path. By 6 o’clock, local time, I was at the Pickwick Hotel – an old historic hotel on 5th Street, and very close to Market Street, bustling with tourists. I walked for a few hours, already dark outside, I entered a nice Thai restaurant and had a great dinner – a great luxury that I haven’t had for years now. San Francisco is a bit like New York –but with great weather and uneven ground all over. You see people from all over the world.

Later that night I scrambled across to a mall trying to find batteries for the camera. You see, I only had a few development photos of the laptop, but I didn’t have any photos of the finished laptop. And I was delivering at 10 the next day! I bought the batteries and went to bed “early” at 11 pm, since I had been awake for so long.

In the morning, just before I took my own photos, I discovered there was a slight wedge of unstained wood on the cover of the laptop, just below the copper plates and dials that make what I call my “Boilerplate Art” style. “Rats!” -What to do? One hour before leaving by taxi, and I didn’t know what to do. “No time to run around 5th st.”

Then I remembered I had a coffee pot in my room. The coffee came in closed packets that double as a filter. “Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Coffee.” “Well, it’ll have to do” - I said to myself, and I brewed a cup of coffee. Taking some of the grounds out of the packets I poured a little hot coffee and stirred the mix on a plate, making a concentrated pigment slurry. “Please God” - hoping it would colour the wood somehow. And it did! I happily took my own photo set, having placed the laptop on a Victorianesque bedsheet cover.

The studio is in a warehouse district on Third Street. Waiting for me were the producer of the program, Pam Torno and Ms. Leone from Sony in San Diego. I'll just say the station staff were pleasantly surprised during the unveiling. I can’t believe that it took over an hour to film 6 minutes for the video blog.

By 1 pm the next day “, the deed was done.” I was back on an airplane on my way back to Austin. The airport shuttle driver got lost on his way to pick a rider. You know, right in the hilly area of San Francisco? I got to see the “stepped” streets of San Francisco, and then I really didn’t want to leave.

I loved the trip, short as it was. I loved the build. I loved San Francisco. I got to feel like a decent human being again. I owe it to Steampunk, and indirectly to the people who support it, which means all of you people.

Thank you.

Now having got that off my chest, do you have any inspirational stories related to Steampunk? It doesn’t have to be this dramatic, I just want to hear from any of you if Steampunk can have a deeper personal meaning, maybe with a little of miracle dashed into the pot.

Your humble servant,
J. “Wilhelm”


« Last Edit: January 05, 2012, 07:03:32 pm by J. Wilhelm »	Logged

D.Oakes

Zeppelin Admiral

United States