. . .for maker faire.

It all started Tuesday. Tuesday was the day ahead of the day we were officially to start loading in, but the Expo Center was nice enough to offer it to us a day early. So, spirits high, we called Larry, our Esteemed Trailer Hauler, and said “Make Mine a Combat Arena, Jeeves!”. Larry shows up that evening, raring to go, keys to the gate provided by Mr. Snook of Nimby LLC, where our trailer, Snuggy*, is parked.

Larry calls at 11pm and says we have a flat tire. Right. Okay.

Thus beginneth the Maker Fair Combots Cup Saga.

WEDNESDAY, MissySB sets off and calls a guy, calls another guy, and gets well on her way to ruining yet another pair of heavy duty work gloves getting the trailer road-worthy. The big tough semi-tire changing guy from the big tough semi-tire changing service is deadly afraid of spiders and has to go home to shower. The pole that goes in the ratchet of the curtain on the driver’s side rear sprocket is bent horribly, thanks to a incident with Mr. Robotics, a bomb loading forklift, and some recalcitrant 24-foot bleachers. One industrial strength tie down later, that problem is solved. We are very tired.

We realize that one may put a six-pack on the back of the truck and hit the upper highway semi weight limit. Snuggy’s a heavy girl. That evening Larry shows up and we haul our collective asses down to San Mateo, where there second installment of Maker Faire is setting up and getting ready to roll.

We unload 40,000 pounds of machinery off a 45 foot foot trailer in ONE HOUR. That’s never happened, it was almost like we knew what we were doing. We disappointed our driver, who was expecting a nice couple hours’ nap. We count on our fingers and realize this is the eleventh time we have unloaded this arena. We are very tired.

The next morning, Thursday, we set the floor up in record time. The walls go up and the roof follows. Well, the roof tries to follow, right up until the central joining weld in the first aluminum strut cracks in half. We screech and run around in circles, then call for the welder and the aluminum spool gun to make reinforcements to all the center joining welds, because we are paranoid like that. After a few ugly hours and lots of swearing and sleep deprivation psychosis, we reach a solution. We are very tired.

Missy SB says “If we hear one more crack about needing a robot to build the arena for us I am going to smile until my teeth shatter.”

Mr. Robotics says “I hate everyone and everything.”

The Head Rotor says “…” as he lifts the fourteenth heavy thing today.

We are in our native habitat: filthy and exhausted.

This brings us to Friday afternoon at 4:30pm, with the roof on the struts fixed, the polycarb windows are going in, and the melodious ring of impact drivers reverberating through the skulls of everyone in a 100-foot radius.

We will update as events warrant. Watch this space for details! Pictures as soon as we stop running around enough to take some.

*So named because she’s THE CUTEST LEETLE TRAILER EVAR! Also, because Mr. Robotics packs her real, real tight.