#columbia plumbing

[plumbtimesc]

Affordable Plumbing Solutions in Columbia – Reliable and Skilled

Get exceptional plumbing services at budget-friendly prices in Columbia. Our knowledgeable team handles all your plumbing needs with precision and efficiency. Contact us for a free estimate and superior, cost-effective solutions. Visit our website:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/yKmU11zx9jVKX9QS9

Phone.No:  +1 803-988-9202

Address:  3513 Delree St West Columbia, SC 29170  United States

[bestchoiceplumbers]

Best Choice Plumbers is offering a depreciated water heater in Columbia. We provide appropriate ventilation, pressure/temperature relief valves, fire hazards, carbon monoxide detection, etc. For more information visit our website- https://bestchoiceplumbers.com or contact us- 301-774-4800 or 866-382-5878 (Toll-Free)

[flowtechplumbing]

Staying Comfortable Year-Round: Insights into AC Repair and HVAC Maintenance

Maintaining a comfortable home environment is crucial, especially during the peak of summer heat or the chill of winter. Air conditioning systems work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that your living space remains at a pleasant temperature. However, like any machine, they're prone to wear and tear over time, necessitating professional AC repair services. In this article, we'll explore the importance of timely AC repair and how it fits within the broader spectrum of Plumbing and HVAC services.

Recognizing the Signs for AC Repair

The key to extending the life of your air conditioning system lies in recognizing when it requires attention. Some common indicators that you may need AC repair include unusual noises coming from the unit, weak airflow, inconsistent temperatures throughout your home, or even a sudden spike in your energy bills. Addressing these signs promptly can prevent more extensive damage, ensuring that your AC continues to function efficiently when you need it most.

The Importance of Regular HVAC Maintenance

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – this adage holds particularly true for HVAC systems. Regular maintenance is essential not only for keeping your system running optimally but also for identifying potential issues before they escalate into costly repairs. Seasonal check-ups by a qualified technician can include cleaning filters, inspecting coils and connections, checking refrigerant levels, and ensuring all components are in good working order.

Plumbing and HVAC Synergy

While often discussed separately, plumbing and HVAC systems share a symbiotic relationship within any residential or commercial property. A comprehensive service offering includes both realms because these systems often interact with one another. For example, an issue with your plumbing could affect indoor humidity levels, which in turn could impact your AC repair needs. Thus, having a skilled service provider who understands both plumbing and HVAC intricacies can lead to more effective problem-solving and system efficiency.

Choosing Qualified Professionals for Your AC Repair Needs

When it comes time to address issues with your air conditioning system or schedule routine maintenance checks, selecting knowledgeable professionals is key. Look for service providers who are well-versed in various aspects of AC repair as well as Plumbing and HVAC services overall. Skilled technicians will be able to troubleshoot problems accurately and perform necessary repairs without compromising other components within your system.

Energy Efficiency through Timely Repairs

One often overlooked benefit of regular AC repair and maintenance is improved energy efficiency. A well-maintained system consumes less power while delivering optimal performance – reducing environmental impact as well as lowering monthly bills. By ensuring that all parts are functioning correctly through routine checks or addressing any repairs as soon as issues arise, homeowners can enjoy greater peace of mind about their carbon footprint.

In conclusion, understanding when to seek out AC repair, and appreciating the value of routine maintenance checks for HVAC systems including synergistic Plumbing services can significantly enhance home comfort levels while preventing unforeseen disruptions due to system failures. Moreover, opting for qualified professionals ensures that all aspects are taken care of meticulously ultimately contributing to long-term savings thanks to improved energy efficiency achieved through well

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Company Name: Flow-Tech Plumbing & Heating, Inc. Address: 208 E Chicago St, Columbia City, IN, 46725, US Phone: 260-782-1061 | 260-782-1813

[malosojos]

Portland Roofing Large craftsman gray two-story mixed siding and clapboard house exterior idea with a hip roof, a shingle roof and a black roof

[stabbyfoxandrew]

OH it's so late I thought I missed it! happy wipwednesday <3

I hope you're well I am humbly requesting my gay disaster of a firefighter and his arsonist

<3<3<3<3<3<3

WIP Wednesday (3/20) | Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 117)

Neil spends the better part of his evening looking through his meager wardrobe. He assumes it’s commonplace to not look like a hobo when you meet up with a friend. But unfortunately, homeless-chic is his style. He pushes a hand through his hair. Well, at least his clothes are clean. That’s the main thing.

He’s got access to a laundry room and a hot shower, thankfully. He can remember several instances when he would’ve killed for one or the other. Montreal, for one. And that summer they spent squatting in Texas. Neil wouldn’t recommend living in a rundown house with no plumbing or air conditioning, in the middle of July in Austin. He can feel a sweat-soaked shirt sticking to his back and tugs at his clothes before he realizes it’s just a shitty memory.

Still though, he can’t shake the feeling of being grimy. So Neil goes to take a shower before bed, then climbs into bed with the air conditioning on just in case. Even though it’s November in Columbia, SC. He pulls the blanket up to his chin, because with the A/C blasting, it’s almost freezing. But it’s quite nice here in his little cocoon.

Neil goes through his clothes mentally and decides his nicest outfit is jeans and a t-shirt that isn’t faded. So he’ll wear that tomorrow. And he can’t forget his wallet, because the whole premise of this bet was that Neil would buy Andrew coffee. Besides that, it would be rude to have a new friend pay his way. Especially when Neil has bookoos of blood money to spend.

-

The next morning, Neil wakes up at a decent time and grabs some complimentary breakfast from the hotel’s buffet. It’s so convenient. A nice, hot meal waiting for him as soon as he wakes up. Perhaps he should stay in hotels like this more often.

A tiny voice in his head tells him to take more than he needs and stash it in the room, but once again, he doesn’t need to do that. Neil eats his fill and grabs a couple of individually wrapped muffins to stuff into his pocket before going back to his room.

There aren’t any games today, which is a bummer. Neil supposes he could try and watch something besides exy, but it would most likely be a waste of time. He’s never cared for any other sport. He flips channels and watches the clock until one o’clock starts creeping up on him. Then he changes clothes and gets in his car and goes.

[justforbooks]

Bob Newhart

US standup and sitcom star who exuded calm assurance in a career that spanned more than 50 years

Bob Newhart, who has died aged 94, employed a deadpan delivery, marked with a sometimes stammering hesitation, that made him an unlikely candidate to become one of America’s most successful comedians. It was in keeping with his character that his successes often went overlooked.

Newhart burst on to the scene with the 1960 release of The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, a recording of his first-ever standup performance just months earlier. It shot to No 1 on record charts, followed six months later by The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!, which rose to No 2, behind its predecessor. His debut won the 1961 Grammy as album of the year, the sequel won best spoken comedy album, and Newhart was named best new recording artist.

Newhart’s preferred format was the one-sided telephone conversation, where the audience’s understanding of what the speaker cannot see makes Newhart his own straight-man. Abraham Lincoln’s PR man in Washington tries to stop him from changing the Gettysburg Address (“You changed four score and seven to 87? Abe, that’s a grabber!”). An official of the West India Company listens to Walter Raleigh singing the praises of the 80 tonnes of leaves he’s shipping to London (“Then what do you do, Walt? You set fire to it! You inhale the smoke, huh! You know, Walt … it seems you can stand in front of your fireplace and have the same thing going for you!”).

In 1961, Newhart made his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, appeared in Don Siegel’s war film Hell Is for Heroes (doing a variation of his routine on a walkie-talkie) and starred in his first TV series, The Bob Newhart Show, a variety and comedy sketch show following Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall on NBC. Though it lasted only one season, it won an Emmy and a Peabody award.

The key to Newhart’s immediate success was suggested by his “button-down” persona. This was the beginning of President John Kennedy’s “new frontier”, where what the British fashion critic John Taylor demeaned as the “simulated negligence” of the unpadded grey flannel suit signified a certain comfort and style, as well as sober conformity. Newhart’s probing of the accepted everyday was entertaining but sharp; a form of subtle satire.

It was a casual approach that he had refined carefully. Born George Robert in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Newhart grew up called “Bob” to distinguish him from his father, George David, who was part-owner of a plumbing and heating business. His mother, Pauline (nee Burns), was a housewife. He attended Catholic schools, and graduated from Loyola University in Chicago with a degree in business management in 1952. After two years in the army working as a clerk, he entered the law school at Loyola, but soon left and began working as an accountant.

In one job, he and a colleague, Ed Gallagher, began recording dialogues in the style of Bob and Ray, an innovative comedy duo. Gallagher left for New York, and Newhart moved to writing ad copy for a Chicago production company, while circulating his own tapes.

Local radio personality Dan Sorkin played some, and Newhart began appearing on local morning TV. Tapes reached the record producer George Avakian, who in 1958 had left Columbia Records to form an equivalent company for Warner Brothers. Avakian wanted to catch Newhart’s standup act immediately; the February 1960 show at the Tidelands Club in Houston – which became his first record – was at the first venue that Newhart’s quickly acquired agent could find to book.

After the success of The Bob Newhart Show, he was immediately busy on the standup circuit. His intelligence and easy-going demeanour made him a popular guest on other talkshows, and eventually he was a regular replacement for Johnny Carson on Tonight. Although he was accused by the comic Shelley Berman of plagiarising the telephone gimmick from him, it had already been a longstanding format used by performers including George Jessel and Arlene Harris. It was his demeanour, knowing but hesitant (which he sometimes said was influenced by George Gobel), that made him such a versatile performer.

The comic Buddy Hackett introduced Newhart to Ginnie (Virginia) Quinn, the daughter of the character actor Bill Quinn. They married in 1963, and the enduring alliance became a running joke when he appeared with the thrice-wed Carson.

Newhart’s film roles were infrequent but often telling: as Major Major in Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 (1970); as Gene Wilder’s pal in the Odd Couple-like TV movie Thursday’s Game (1974); and as Papa Elf alongside Will Ferrell in Elf (2003). He also did voices, notably the rescue mouse Bernard in The Rescuers (1977) and its sequel, The Rescuers Down Under (1990).

Unusually, he starred in two long-running TV series. In The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78) he played a psychologist: the perfect manifestation of his standup routine’s listening and commenting. It grew from an appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and was produced by Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker’s MTM Productions. With Suzanne Pleshette as his schoolteacher wife and Peter Bonerz as the dentist with whom he shares an office, the show was an immediate hit. As ratings dropped and Newhart tired of it, he at one point refused a script that introduced children. “It’s very funny,” he told the producers. “Who’s going to play Bob?”

He returned in 1982 with Newhart, playing Dick Loudon, a writer who moves with his wife (Mary Frann) to a rural Vermont inn. With a cast including Tom Poston, who would win three Emmy nominations as the eccentric handyman George, Newhart became the centre of a world whose chaos stretched the kind of calm understanding for which he was known.

In 1985, Newhart was diagnosed with a blood disease, polycythemia, caused by smoking. Having made comedy from tobacco and appeared, with Poston, in Norman Lear’s comedy Cold Turkey (1971), where a town tries to win $25m from a tobacco company by quitting smoking for a month, he now quit himself.

As Newhart drew to a close after eight seasons, a classic final episode, which played off the famous “who shot JR?” finale of Dallas. It was kept top secret by the cast and crew. Struck by a golf ball, Newhart wakes up in the Bob Newhart Show bedroom, next to Pleshette, complaining of a crazy dream he’s had about Vermont.

Two more series were less successful. Bob (1992-93) saw him as a cartoonist trying to adjust to a corporate world when a character he created is revived. George and Leo (1997-98) was another Odd Couple-type scenario, in which his bookstore owner shares a flat with his son’s father-in-law (Judd Hirsch), who’s running from the mob. Newhart joked about the title: “We had used every variation of my name; all that was left was ‘The’.”

Newhart’s three-part guest appearance on ER in 2003, where Sherry Stringfield’s Dr Lewis helps Newhart’s suicidal Ben Hollander adjust to his oncoming blindness, earned him his fifth Emmy nomination. He was nominated again in 2009 for a supporting role in The Librarian, but finally won in 2013, playing Arthur Jeffries in the comedy The Big Bang Theory. Jeffries was Professor Proton, host of the science TV series (based on Watch Mr Wizard) watched by the genius Sheldon. He was nominated twice more, and reprised the role three times in Young Sheldon.

Newhart’s lifelong comedic chalk-and-cheese friendship with Don Rickles was the subject of Bob and Don: A Love Story, a short documentary made in 2022 by Judd Apatow.

Ginny died in 2023, and Newhart is survived by his sons, Robert and Timothy, and daughters, Courtney and Jennifer.

🔔 Bob (George Robert) Newhart, comedian and actor, born 5 September 1929; died 18 July 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Dudley Dickerson

Dudley Henry Dickerson Jr. (November 27, 1906 – September 23, 1968) was an American film actor. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952, and is best remembered for his roles in several Three Stooges films.

Given the era in which Dickerson performed, he was usually cast in stereotypical roles that were common in films of the time. His boundless energy can be seen in what are rather restrictive roles, and was a master at what has become known as "scared reaction" comedy. One of his early screen credits was the Our Gang comedy Spooky Hooky (1936), as a bemused caretaker. Dickerson also appeared in Soundies musical films with Dorothy Dandridge and Meade Lux Lewis; Big Joe Turner had recorded three numbers for Soundies but was not present for the filming, so Dickerson stood in for him and lip-synced his vocals.

Modern viewers will remember Dudley Dickerson for his portrayals of startled cooks, quizzical orderlies, frightened porters, and apprehensive watchmen in such Three Stooges films as They Stooge to Conga, A Gem of a Jam, and Hold That Lion! In Hold that Lion, he played a lovable train conductor who memorably bugged out his eyes and shrieked, "He'p, he'p, ah'm losin' mah mahnd!" when a lion attacked him and ripped the seat of his pants while he was shining a pair of shoes. This gag had been used by Moe in a previous short, but Dickerson's portrayal of the scene was so funny that the crew (and Dickerson himself) could hardly contain their laughter, as one can hear in the final release.

Probably Dickerson's most memorable role was that of the hapless chef in the Stooges' A Plumbing We Will Go, in which he uttered in bewilderment, "This house has sho' gone crazy!" He was also able to show the range of his acting talent in this role, able to raise a laugh from the audience by just giving a suspicious, sideways look to a kitchen appliance that had previously acted up. The footage would be recycled twice more in future Stooge comedies: 1949's Vagabond Loafers and 1956's Scheming Schemers. Both films included a newly filmed scene of a raincoat-clad Dickerson informing guests that "dinner's postponed on account of rain" (a turn of phrase usually used to describe the cancellation of a baseball game due to inclement weather).

Dickerson received featured billing in several Hugh Herbert comedies produced by Columbia Pictures, in which, as Herbert's valet, he is always in scary situations and reacts with comic terror.

In the early 1950s, Dickerson appeared in several episodes of TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show, usually as a lodge member or Joe the Barber.

Dickerson had also appeared opposite Columbia comic Andy Clyde. When Columbia concluded its long-running Clyde series, producer Jules White called Dickerson back to appear opposite Clyde in a remake of the 1948 short Go Chase Yourself. To White's surprise, Dickerson had lost considerable weight and would no longer match the scenes filmed in 1948. White regarded Dickerson so highly that he filmed the new scenes anyway. Columbia released the film in 1956 as Pardon My Nightshirt.

Dickerson retired from acting in 1959. He died of a brain tumor in 1968 at age 61, and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

[runonthewater]

Today felt like a hugely long day, even though it ended up only being about five hours of driving. I started out from Teslin, where I overnighted at a pullout by Teslin Lake. In the morning I took my coffee down to the lakeside, walking past piles of driftwood. Even just a few yards from the highway, with a screen of trees between it and me, it was suddenly so quiet I didn't want to talk. How did the driftwood get there, up on the shore behind me? Imagining waves on this lake was incomprehensible.

Towns with services are fewer and farther between, in this part of the Yukon. Though I've still never been more than a couple hours' drive from gas, communities where I can hop onto an open wifi network or fill up on potable water get farther apart. I drove from Teslin to Whitehorse in no small part so I could go into a Tim Hortons and get wifi fast enough to update my offline maps.

I then proceeded to spend a long time at the Integra station trying to deal with a plumbing problem. Let us be discreet about this. If that hadn't taken so long, I might have made it to Beaver Creek tonight, which would have put me back on schedule after taking an extra day in Watson Lake -- or maybe not. With the border crossing looming tomorrow, and Anchorage the day after that, and the drive taking me further and further into territory where there's nothing but spruce forest for hundreds of miles, I find myself clinging to the wilderness.

The amount of nothing out here is breathtaking. Leaving Haines Junction, the highway winds along lakes and rivers, but the topography is fairly flat, especially compared to the switchbacks along the mountains of British Columbia, or the Kenai Peninsula. Mountains jut up in the near distance, but they're aloof, untouched.

Breathtaking, and in some ways boring, I won't lie. It's not entirely unlike driving through parts of the American midwest, except instead of corn and soy and canola making the rolling hills look same-y, it's evergreens. I've barely seen any non-bird animals since a couple days ago when I crossed into the Yukon Territory (I spotted some kind of furry scampering thing today that I only managed to identify as "not a squirrel or a rabbit"). Plenty of ravens, their mouths open in unheard yelling, and one falcon of some sort.

Interestingly, though, this part of the trip has made up for the lack of animal wildlife with another kind: other tourists. I chatted with a guy from Florida in a huge rig while I was filling up water jugs in Whitehorse. I stopped off at a small hike called Soldier Summit outside Burwash Landing, and took the pictures of a German couple who'd taken the ferry from Bellingham to Haines and were now driving around the Yukon. And tonight I'm boondocking beside a couple from South Carolina, Bill and Joyce. (Joyce is the more voluble, showing me pictures of a black bear she saw while fishing near Valdez, pictures of fireweed, a weather map of Anchorage; Bill smoked a couple of cigarettes over by their trailer, occasionally throwing in commentary to her stories, before finally announcing "I'm gonna go hide." I liked them both.) The farther from civilization I am, the more people I meet.

I would like to say, though, that if I had one note for this whole trip, it would be: I have not met hardly ANY traveling dogs. I see them around! I just haven't met them! This is a real disappointment and I'll be complaining to the Milepost editors about it.

[ccohanlon]

from my bookshelf

Pytheas of Massalia was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the ancient Greek colony of Massalia — modern-day Marseille, France. In the late 4th century BC, he voyaged from there to northwestern Europe, but his detailed account of it, On The Ocean, survives only in fragments, quoted — and disputed — by later authors such as Strabo, Pliny and Diodorus of Sicily. The Extraordinary Voyage Of Pytheas the Greek by the noted British historian of ancient maritime Europe, Barry Cunliffe, attempts to draw out the reality of what was an extraordinary sea journey, from the Western Mediterranean north along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the British Isles, then even further north, to the near-mythic land of Thule. Cunliffe makes a strong case for Pytheas being “the first European explorer”, while identifying the most likely locations of Thule, sought so avidly by 19th and early 20th century adventurers and artists.

James Hamilton-Paterson’s Seven-Tenths: The Sea And Its Thresholds, published in 1992, more than two thousand years after Pytheas’s On The Ocean, is an ambitious, expressive exploration of the vast aqueous wilderness that covers three-quarters of our planet by a writer of remarkable literary accomplishment (he was one of Martin Amis’s professors at Oxford). Plumbing humanity’s complex, multi-faceted relationship with the sea, Hamilton-Paterson writes vivid, meditative passages about, well, everything — fishing, piracy, oceanography, cartography, exploration, ecology, the ritual of a burial at sea, poetry, and even his own experiences living for extended periods on a small island in the Philippines.

Tom Neale’s autobiography, An Island To Oneself: Six Years On A Desert Island, describes an altogether smaller, more solitary world: the island of Anchorage, part of the Suwarrow Atoll in the South Pacific. Born in New Zealand in 1902, Neale spent most of his life in Oceania: after leaving the Royal New Zealand Navy, he worked for decades aboard inter-island trading vessels and in various temporary jobs ashore before his first glimpse of his desert island home. He moved to Anchorage in 1952 and over three different periods, lived in hermitic solitude for 16 years, with rare visits from yachtsmen, island traders, and journalists. Among the last was Noel Barber, a close friend of my late father: he gave my father a copy of Neale’s book, in Rome, shortly after it was published in 1966 (I still have it). Neale was taken off his beloved island in 1977 and died not long after of stomach cancer.

The Starship And The Canoe by Kenneth Brower, published in 1978, is an unlikely dual biography of a father and son that draws intriguing parallels between the ambitious ideas of renowned British theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson — who, in the early 1970s explored concepts for interstellar travel, settlements on comets, and nuclear rockets that might propel mankind to the outer reaches of the universe — and his wayward son, George, who lived in a self-built tree house 30 metres up a Douglas fir overlooking the Strait Of Georgia, in British Columbia and devised large canoes based on Aleut baidarkas in which to paddle north to the wild, uninhabited littoral of southern Alaska. Brower’s descriptions of long passages with the younger Dyson in the cold, sometimes fierce tidal waters between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland are gripping and I have read them again and again. It is, unarguably, my favourite book.

The late, New Zealand-born doctor and sailor, David Lewis, is not as widely known as he was half a century ago, even by avid readers of sea stories, but from his earliest memoirs in the 1960s — of his participation in the first-ever singlehanded trans-Atlantic race (The Ship That would Not Sail Due West), and of incident-prone voyages to far-flung coasts with his young family (Dreamers of the Day, Daughters of the Wind, and Children Of Three Oceans) — to his practical, first-hand studies of instrument-less ocean navigation among South Pacific islanders, (We, The Navigators and The Voyaging Stars) in the 1970s, Dr. Lewis was not only the late 20th century’s most remarkable and intelligent writer on the sea and small-boat voyaging but also one of its most adventurous. My favourite of his several books: Ice Bird, published in 1972, an account of a gruelling, almost fatal voyage from Sydney, Australia, in an ill-prepared, steel, 32-foot yacht to achieve the first singlehanded circumnavigation of Antarctica.

It’s said that spending time anywhere with Lorenzo Ricciardi, late ex-husband of Italian photographer Mirella Ricciardi, was an adventure. A film-maker and former senior advertising executive, once described by a British writer as “a penniless Neapolitan count”, he gambled at roulette to raise enough money to buy an Arab dhow, which, in the 1970s, with little seafaring experience and plenty of mishaps, he sailed from Dubai to the Arabian Gulf, and from there down the Arabian to coast of Africa, where the dhow was shipwrecked among the Comoros Islands. The Voyage Of The Mir El Ah is Lorenzo’s picaresque account (illustrated by Mirella’s photographs). Astoundingly, several years later, Lorenzo and Mirella Ricciardi completed an even more dangerous, 6,000-kilometre voyage across Equatorial Africa in an open boat — and another book, African Rainbow: Across Africa By Boat.

Italian madmen aside, it used to be that you could rely on surfers for poor impulse control and reckless adventures, on the water and off. Back in the late 1990s, Allan Weisbecker sold his home, loaded his dog and a quiver of surfboards onto a truck, and drove south from the Mexican border into Central America to figure out what had happened to an old surfing buddy — in between checking out a few breaks along the way. In Search Of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond The End Of The Road is a memoir of a two-year road-trip that reads like a dope-fuelled fiction but feels more real than William Finnegan’s somewhat high-brow (and more successful) Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life.

Which brings me to Dana and Ginger Lamb. In 1933, these newly-weds would certainly have been looked at askance by most of their middle-American peers when they announced that they weren’t ready yet to settle down and instead built a 16-foot hybrid canoe-sailboat and set of on what would turn out to be a 16,000-mile, three year journey down the Pacific coasts of Mexico, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to the Panama Canal. Dana’s 415-page book, Enchanted Vagabonds, published in 1938, was an unexpected New York Times best-seller and today is more exciting to read than the ungainly, yawn-inducing books produced by so many, more commercially-minded, 21st century adventurers.

First published in Sirene, No. 17, Italy, 2023.

[omeganixtra]

Hunger for more - chapter 2

Wordcount: 2.7K

Warnings: mature content, medical inaccuracies

Note: originally posted on april 16th, 2023 on AO3

Chapter 1 — Chapter 3

---------------

The safehouse Laswell has given them is, as Soap has been repeating constantly since they arrived here, utter shite.

Ghost isn’t disagreeing. Columbia is nowhere near his favourite when it comes to locations for ops to take place, but their circumstances could definitely be worse. In his own, rather humble, opinion, four men and one woman stuck together in a miniscule safehouse that’s barely bigger than a student’s dorm room is just a disaster waiting to happen. If the forced proximity to each other won’t have them all trying to kill each other by the end of the week, the humidity will. At least the plumbing works in this over-glorified shack.

Now, if only the weather could stop having a go at rivalling England at its worst.

He can only spend so much time in miserable weather before it starts getting to him, no matter how stoic Ghost might see himself as. He’s only human, after all. Unfortunately. Outside, the rain continues to pour down, dripping off the small overhang that juts out over the miniscule porch in front of the door.

“This isn’t how I imagined my first trip to South America would be,” you sigh while sifting through your med kit.

Ghost glances at you, one eyebrow raised beneath the mask. “You’ve never been?”

“Nope,” you shrug. “But I wanted to. Thought I’d have the chance when I’d shored up enough leave to not just spend a week running all over the bloody place.”

“Welcome to Columbia, then,” Ghost droles out, his tone unapologetically dry.

In response you blink at him for a few moments before laughing. “Thanks, lieutenant.”

Just two words. Simple. Unassuming. Yet, Ghost finds a pleasant comfort in something as small as this. He’s in your company, able to see you even with the rest of the men around the two of you. No one is going to bat an eye if he wants to take stock of this new place they’re holed up in until they can safely RV with the contact Laswell sent them here to talk to in the first place. That you’re also sitting inside where it’s dry is just an enjoyable side benefit.

Ghost abandons looking the safehouse—shack—over in favour of just looking at you instead as you continue rearranging everything in your kit. “Got what you need?”

“Should have, yeah,” you nod absentmindedly, bouncing your leg against the floor. “God knows I don’t want to have to use it, but everything’s there.”

He scoffs. “Don’t think God has much of a say in this.”

You shake your head, still smiling. The twinkle in your eyes makes his chest feel tight. “You know what I mean, Ghost.”

Rather than answering outright he grunts an affirming noise at you and goes back to watching out through the dingy window on the far side of the shithole safehouse. He can see Price, Gaz and Soap outside, all three of them crouched beneath the relative safety of the overhang. Even through the glass Ghost can smell the pungent scent of Price’s cigar.

They’re so close. At the same time, they’re a thousand miles away and Ghost chances a quick glance back at you. He sees it all, how your frame is shaking slightly, how your leg has yet to stop bouncing. The kit has long since been finished, at this point you’re just stalling for one reason or another.

Ghost chances it.

His footsteps are purposefully loud, making it easy for you to hear him as he comes to a stop right behind you. This close he sees so much clearer how your shoulders are trembling.

“When are we meeting with the contact?” Your voice is trembling ever so slightly near the end of your question.

Ghost watches you quietly for a handful of seconds, seeing how your hands are wringing the fabric of your jacket, how white your knuckles are turning. “Nervous?”

He slowly puts his hand on your shoulder, letting his fingers follow the shape of it. You’re shuddering beneath his touch.

“Just don’t want things to go wrong.”

Ghost smirks, letting out an affirming hum. His hand settles against your waist, squeezing lightly. “Don’t think any of us wants shit to turn south.”

Immediately you’re turning in his loose hold, looking up at him with worry in your eyes. “The others—”

“Are outside. They won’t hear a thing,” he interrupts you gruffly as his other hand curls possessively around your cheek and tilts your face a bit further up. “It’s just you and I in here, pet.”

You swallow. Ghost watches shamelessly as your throat works and the urge to tug his mask aside—just for a moment, pet, give us a taste, yeah?—burns across his mind. He won’t, of course. They’re in the middle of nowhere in fucking Columbia and the rest of the group are outside. They could see. It’s too easy for something in here to be a bit too loud, for Price to have Soap or Gaz check it out—or worse, himself.

Ghost won’t risk it. Least of all when he’s got you in his hands.

“Haven’t touched you in a while,” Ghost rasps. His eyes are fastened on your pulse point. If he concentrates hard enough, he can almost delude himself into thinking that he can see your skin jump with each beat of your heart. “Missed it.”

“That so?” you whisper back to him, sounding just a bit winded. Arousal curls along the edges of your scent, spicy and warm, as a blush coats your cheeks in shades of pink.

Ghost smirks. He wants this to continue, is getting high off of the rush of the inherent secrecy of all this.

“The plane ride over was Hell.”

“I’ll take your word for it, sir.” Your eyes are twinkling. Even here in the rain-dimmed lighting Ghost sees it clearly. It makes your face look so fucking tempting. Your lips like sin as he—

A shout outside jerks Ghost out of the trance he’s slowly allowed himself to be pulled into, every last bit of warmth in him leaving in favour of the cold, familiar persona of the soldier. In a handful of seconds, he smoothly shoves you behind him with one hand while the one previously touching you so intimately curls around the sidearm strapped to his outer thigh. The metal is cold to the touch, so unlike the warmth he had just felt moments ago.

“HOSTILES!”

Gaz’s voice is like throwing petrol on a fire just barely under control. You’re reaching for your own firearm when Ghost pins you with a heated glare.

“Keep your head down out there.”

“Solid copy, lieutenant. Same to you.”

Just a handful of words that he hopes are enough to convey what he doesn’t feel comfortable enough saying out loud.

Be safe

-------

Ghost fucking hates Columbia.

Give him urban warfare any day. Civilians being in the way aside, at least there are opportunities for some decent fucking cover when you’re in a city.

He is sweating buckets beneath his mask and gear in the disgustingly humid jungle they’re currently parked in. The rain has yet to abate, still pouring down in torrents. If he ignores the bright flora around him and the temperature around ten degrees cooler it’s almost like being back home in England. But him trying to will home into being through sheer determination isn’t going to change the fact that this entire country and its climate can fuck right off.

If he ever goes back, it’ll be too soon.

“Where the Hell is Soap?” Price growls from where he’s leaning against the rackety excuse of a dinner table the safehouse came with. It’s one out of two pieces of furniture still standing.  

There’s a new hole in his hat and the right side of his face is looking a bit burnt from a too-close encounter with the Molotov that one of those cunts that attacked earlier threw at him. You had just about had a heart attack when it happened, Ghost being the only thing keeping you back from running straight to Price in the middle of the hellscape they’ve only just managed to get out of alive.

Gaz reaches for his radio. “I’ll check with him. Be back in a sec.”

“I’ll come with you. No one's going out alone until these pricks have been dealt with." Price lets out a world-weary sigh before pushing off from the table. He turns to look at Ghost and points a finger at him. “Keep an eye on her.”

Ghost nods and that seems to be enough for Price. The captain tugs down the front of his boonie hat before disappearing out through the bullet hole-riddled front door, cursing up a streak the entire way. He’s as pissed as the rest of them are, and rightly so. What the fuck is the use of a safehouse if the daft cunts already knows where they are?

A miserable noise alerts him to you and his eyes briefly dart across the room to look at where you’re curled up on the singular sofa that came with the place. You’re pale as you blink slowly, probably trying to get a hold of where you are. Your eyes fall on him and Ghost owlishly blinks back, feeling the slightest bit of tension leave him now that you’re awake.

What he doesn’t like one bit, though, are the pained noises coming out of you. The gash on the side of your head has been cleaned and wrapped but the scratches scattered all over your face are glaring back at him in bright red. It’s a glaring reminder of his failure.

At least you’re not actively bleeding anymore.

“Whu—where…?”

“Safehouse,” Ghost answers without much else. He stays where he is as he turns his attention to the rifle lying across his lap, starting to pull it apart. Better stay like this with the others so close about. “We’re all here, safe and sound. You can quit whinging.”

“’M not even sayin’ anything,” you grumble before one of your hands feebly tries adjusting the rolled-up blanket beneath your head, wincing the entire time.

“And while you’re at it, quit moving.” He looks up from his almost-disassembled rifle to pin you with a glare. “You’re concussed. Thought sick people weren’t supposed to move ‘round so much.”

The look you give him in return would probably have been fierce if it wasn’t ruined by you immediately bending over the side of the cushions to retch into the bin they’ve placed by your head. Gaz winces when he enters the room from outside, bringing with him the wet smell of rainforest and mud.

“What’s the verdict?” Ghost asks, toning down his volume. Won’t do to needle you any more than he already has.

“Soap just came back with a functional truck. Cap’s making sure it’s ready as soon as we’re all packed up,” Gaz says before pointing at you. “And that one can keep her arse right where it’s been parked until further notice.”

“Thought I was the one givin’ out medical advice,” you say morosely and wipes at your mouth with the back of your hand. If it’s even possible, somehow you’ve turned paler than before.

Ghost remains where he is, still cleaning his rifle.

“Sorry, love,” Gaz says unapologetically. “Captain’s orders.”

“Quiet down over there,” Ghost growls.

“I’m stitching you up without painkillers next time. Mark my fucking words, Ghost,” you growl, sounding way too talkative for someone who’s had their bell rung.

“Sure you are,” Gaz snorts as he walks over to you and crouches down. He hands you something before pulling out a canteen and unscrewing it. “As soon as you’ve gotten this down.”

“Mouth tastes like puke,” you complain.

Ghost can’t see Gaz’s face but the grin in his voice is audible. “Your mouth and stomach are both going to thank me after you swallow those pills, love.”

You take a sip from the canteen before swirling the water around and spitting into the waste bin. It’s only then that you take the pills from Gaz and swallows them, chasing it all down with another drink. Ghost watches carefully every single move the other alpha makes, teeth bared beneath the mask when he puts a hand on your shoulder and squeezes. Logically, he knows that Gaz is only doing it to comfort you, but the fact remains that not too long ago that had been Ghost’s hand on your fucking shoulder. His. Not fucking Kyle Garrick’s.

Ghost needs to get himself under control.

“I’ll head out back to the others, Ghost. Cap says we’ve got wheels up in twenty, max,” Gaz says before straightening back up. He pushes his canteen back towards you when you try giving it back. “Don’t want your puke in my mouth, doctor. No disrespect meant, but I’ll just steal yours instead.”

“Mhmm,” you grunt out, eyes starting to grow heavy-lidded but Ghost can’t figure out if it’s exhaustion or pain.

Gaz shakes his head as he walks back out, giving Ghost a quick nod when he passes by, and shuts the door as quietly as he can behind him. Even so it’s still too loud and you’re wincing when it closes. Ghost is up immediately, crossing the room and crouching down in front of you to run his hand over the top of your head. A tame comfort in comparison to what he wants to do to you right now, but with you being so fragile right now he needs to re-evaluate and adjust.

“Shouldn’t be movin’ so soon after a concussion, y’know,” you mumble sleepily as Ghost grabs a blanket thrown over the back of the sofa and adjusts it over you. “Y’should rest.”

“That’s what you’re doing. Resting,” Ghost says, stressing the last word. “Fucking Hell, Birdie. Never known a medic before to be this bloody difficult in the field.”

The smile on your face is slowly turning slack as the meds slowly start to take effect. “You gettin’ grey hairs over me, lieutenant?”

Ghost chuckles dryly. “By the dozen. I’ll be retiring age before we make it back to base at this rate.”

You shuffle a bit on the sofa to try and get a better angle at looking at him but the movement irritates the spot where the bandage is wrapped around your head and Ghost hears the hiss of pain. Immediately the humour between the two of you evaporates like dew in the sun and he’s left back with the feeling of shame from earlier. Annoyance—frustration.

Why couldn’t you have just stayed put?

“The fuck were you thinkin’ out there, Birdie?” he asks gruffly.

“Stupid shit, according to you,” is the exhausted answer you give him. It makes him curl his hands up tight until he can practically feel his nails digging through the reinforced fabric of his gloves.

“That’s one way of puttin’ it,” Ghost says tersely. He’s angry and he knows that you can see it, even if you’re dizzy and on the verge of vomiting again. “Don’t want you doin’ that shit again.”

“They were going to get Kyle,” you whisper, eyes shutting closed. “Wasn’t ‘bout to pull bullets out of him.”

“Yeah, well, next time you feel like playing hero, give the rest of us a warning, would you?”

You mumble something out that’s probably meant to make sense but with your arm pressed up against one side of your face the words are slurred and unintelligible. Rolling his eyes Ghost begins the slow process of getting you sitting up rather than laying down. Immediately you’re back to wincing and moaning, eyes firmly squeezed shut when he gets you on your feet and starts leading you outside to the waiting vehicle, the blanket from earlier wrapped snugly around you to keep you from getting too soaked by the rain outside. It’s like leading a newly born foal around a paddock with how shaky your legs are, but Ghost keeps a firm grip on your arm as he leads you out, pointedly looking directly at the truck waiting for them rather than at the rest of the men.

He gets you into the back and only then dares to let go of you, eyes weary in case you start tilting sideways. “Get some sleep if you can, we’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”

“Copy tha’, lieutenant,” you smile at him, dazed and no doubt just this side of loopy now that the meds Gaz gave you are really kicking in. There’s an unfocused haze settling over your eyes, but it’s better than seeing you in pain.

“Now,” Ghost says, keeping it short before he shuts the car door.

Fucking medics. Worst patients if he’s ever seen them.

[sanctamater]

the van nostrand family home sits firmly at 51 east 80th street, at the intersection of madison ave and a block away from 5th avenue; firmly at the seat of both the metropolitan museum of art and central park. it is an impressive, classic brownstone with italian influence in the wrought iron doors and the carvings of the stone; boasting four floors in addition to a lower basement level which serves as a work and living quarters for any staff. the brownstone, which was commissioned in 1879 by amelia's father, james van nostrand, boasts six bedrooms (with two dressing rooms), seven bathrooms (not counting staff quarters), a ballroom, two dining rooms (informal and formal), a library, two offices, a music room, parlour, sitting room, and a drawing room. the interior boasts italian marble floors and imported walnut and oak panelling/floors; and is furnished with family heirlooms and portraits. the decoration was left to the matriarch of the family, anna van nostrand, who had it decorated in the same popular italian style that the brownstone is based off of - what the family did not possess, they imported directly from italy, sparing no expense. in addition, it boasts indoor plumbing, gaslamps, and a fireplace in almost every room.

while the home was built to accommodate the growing family after amelia's aunt and james' widowed sister-in-law, marianne, came to live with her in-laws with her two young daughters after her husband passed suddenly; it was also strategically planned - their former, smaller family home (a plain, three floor brownstone - much too small for eight people to occupy as a family) was 201 east 18th st; an area that had been slipping out of fashion over the past decade as more and more of the 400 left to build newer mansions in the trendier areas along 5th avenue - to stay in favour, one had to keep up with the jones family. literally.

51 east 80th st was completed in 1883; only a few months before amelia's mother, anna, died in childbirth - casting a permanent shadow on the family home that lasted well after her passing. its fate is always up in the air - the mrs comstock signs the deed over to zachary upon marrying him; and he, in turn, sells it to the van nostrands when they leave for columbia. in other universes, booker sells it to the van nostrands after inheriting it from amelia after her passing - and sells it to them for an astronomically low some. in others, it becomes the family home of the dewitts after booker and amelia marry - and passes down through the dewitt family well into the present. once the circle is broken, amelia simply signs the deed over to her cousin upon leaving for england, and does not return to her childhood home - or new york - ever again.

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108 Mifflin St in Sims 4 - A Long Post With Lots of Pictures

As you may or may not know, the Sims 4 base game is now free (as of October 18, 2022)! Which means now is the perfect time to share my Sims 4 builds of Storybrooke locations, namely: 108 Mifflin Street.

Regina Mills’ iconic mansion, 108 Mifflin St, Storybrooke, ME, USA is based off of the John H. McDonald House in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Because of this, there’s an actual building to use for reference. And, through six seasons of a tv show, there are a lot of shots of the mansion itself, inside and outside. But there’s one big catch: the ~magic~ of tv editing and film sets. Because of film sets built separate to real-life filming locations, it’s difficult to tell what was filmed in the McDonald House itself and what was filmed in a set that can ignore house-plan logic.

So this post is basically a collection of my research notes on the McDonald House, shots of the mansion from the show, and a lot of guesswork. Massive kudos to @henryhas2moms​ for providing episodes with good tracking and establishing shots of the mansion’s interior. Also kudos to @red-musings​, who posted the real estate video of the McDonald House that was critical in figuring out basic layouts. Shoutout to my best friend, who went through the real estate video frame-by-frame with me and helped with the layouts, even though he has never seen and has no investment in OUAT. Final shoutout to the OUAT wiki (where most of the OUAT screenshots come from), which has a lot of stills from the show organized under the mansion gallery for easy viewing and labeled with the episode so I could look up motion shots. [Edit: Turns out there’s a section under Trivia in the Wiki called “Set Notes”. I only found this after publishing the build.]

Disclaimer: I am not an architect! The floor plans in this post are not to scale or at all measured beyond having somewhat straight lines. Also, if anyone has any shots/info from the show that contradicts or clarifies any of the following information, please do share!

The rest is under the cut:

-The House-

The McDonald House is a Colonial-Revival house built in 1936. It used to be a historic building with public tours (I believe it is now privately owned). It’s coordinates are searchable on Google Earth, so a very rough guess on the basic dimensions can be measured.

Main house rectangle: 18m x 13.5m

Dining/utility room offset: 3.5m x 11m

Garage rectangle: 10m x 8.5m

These are not accurate, as Google Earth is not a great tool for it. However, it’s enough to start on, and I believe I ended up adding just a tile or two in Sims to comfortably fit rooms in. Sims tiles are generally considered 3ft x 3ft (roughly a meter square). Also Sims can’t build half-tile-width walls, so I had to round on 0.5m lengths.

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed foot print of the house and garage with measurements labeled /id]

The McDonald House was built by Frederick Townley and Robert Matheson, who did a number of architectural projects in Vancouver. One was the “model electric house” built in 1922, which was to showcase to prospective buyers how a house could be built decked out for electricity. Inferring from this, the McDonald House was probably built with electricity wired in from the start. Two chimneys on either side of the house connected to fireplaces on potentially all stories of the house. The real estate video shows radiators for heating, which means probably a boiler somewhere in the basement. These radiators, or at least the plumbing/location of them, are likely original to the 1936 house. They are most visible on the second floor (US) under the bedroom windows, although there are radiators set into the walls on the ground floor. There are just a couple ventilation grills throughout the house, most likely original, and simply used for air movement.

Regina Mills’s mansion is theoretically also a Colonial-Revival house, although located in Maine, USA. Fanon usually places it on the Atlantic coastline, usually in relation to Bangor, ME or Portland, ME. Additionally, Storybrooke was created in 1983, and then “frozen in time”, so a lot of the aesthetics and technology, including that of the mansion, should be consistent with the early 1980s US culture.

New Westminster, where the McDonald House is, is just about on the coastline. It’s in Vancouver, next to the Straight of Georgia, which dumps into the Pacific Ocean next door. New Westminster is further north in latitude than Maine. (For people smarter in local climate/latitude/geography versus architecture, this information might be useful.)

Air conditioning. Air conditioning is fairly common in the US, although not everywhere. It’s usually not found in older houses or in higher latitudes. Since the McDonald House is in Vancouver, Canada, and built in 1936, there most likely isn’t central air. It’s a similar situation with Regina’s mansion. “Created” in 1983 in Maine? It’s very possible not to have air conditioning. Additionally, the house is boiler-heated through radiators, and there’s no evidence of vents for central air. There is a very 2000s/2010s control panel next to the kitchen entry door, either a thermostat or security alarm system. If it is a thermostat, it is possible to wire it to control the boiler and radiators, so it does not necessarily mean other central heat/air is present. But final verdict: no air conditioning in the house. Not central air, anyway. (And there’s no evidence of window AC units.) Fanfic likes Regina to have air conditioning, though, so take all the creative liberty you want.

[image ids: four still images from the real estate video, showing the four sides of the McDonald House, and garage, from the outside /id]

-Ground Floor-

The ground floor (first floor for US people) is the most documented part of both the mansion and the McDonald House. Most of the show, when it’s in the mansion, is in one or more of the ground floor rooms. The only other room so well documented in the show is Henry’s room. The real estate video of the McDonald House also extensively covers the ground floor, with some nice panning shots to help establish where things are located in relation to each other. There are only a few unknowns: five doors and the location of the stairs to the basement.

-Ground Floor Plan-

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed ground floor’s floor plan /id]

From the show and the real estate video, the following rooms are confirmed on the ground floor:

Entry

Foyer

Living Room

Dining Room

Utility Room

Kitchen

Study

Staircase Upstairs

The following can be inferred, although are not directly seen:

Closet(s)

Pantry

Bathroom

Basement Staircase

-Entry and Foyer-

The entry is lower than the rest of the ground floor, and there are four steps from the entry into the main foyer. Upon entering the front door, directly to the left, there appears to be a door tucked away. Presumably, this is a closet for coats and such. The staircase to the upstairs level starts on that left side of the entry and circles up and above the front door.

Directly across from the front door are two sliding doors leading into the formal dining room. To the left of the front door are double doors into the living room (or drawing room, if we want to be 1936 about it). To the right of the front door, immediately around the corner, is the door to the study. Further along the right wall, closer to the dining room, is the door to the kitchen.

There is a radiator inset into the wall next to the study door.

-Living Room-

The living room takes up the entire left side of the ground floor. There is a fireplace set in the center of the left wall and windows on three of four walls. There is a grand piano in the real estate video, which appears to be the same piano in the show. There are radiators inset into the front and back walls.

In the show, there is typically a horse painting above the fireplace. The curtains, walls, and furniture. The furniture is that kind of delicate, fancy-looking style that always looks so uncomfortable to sit in. An internet search suggests it might be a mix of Victorian, Traditional, and French Styles. The Comfultimate Sofa--and similar chair and two-seater--in the Sims base game works well to fit the style.

-Dining Room-

The dining room takes up the center back of the ground floor. The doors from the foyer to the dining room are sliding doors, the kind where two pane doors pull away from each other on straight rails and tuck inside the walls. Most of the back wall of the dining room is taken up with a bay window. There are two radiators inset into the walls, one on each side of the sliding doors.

In the show, the dining room has dark wood furniture, white panel walls, and green patterned curtains over the windows. There is a chandelier hanging over the dining table.

A door at the back right leads into the utility room.

-Study-

The entry to the study is the first door on the right, coming in from the entry way. Most of the back wall of the study is bookshelves. The three windows are covered with dark red patterned curtains. The walls are a dark, paneled wood. The study has one angled wall where the fireplace sits.

S01E01 has two couches facing each other--that white, Victorian/Traditional/French Style. For my Sims build, I also put in a desk with a desktop computer. Fanon usually gives Regina’s home office (the study) a desk and computer so she can work from home when she likes.

-Kitchen-

The kitchen itself has a lot of screen-time in the tv show. The entry into the kitchen is the second door to the right in the foyer. There is a small congested area that leads into three other doors before going into the kitchen proper.

The stove at the back wall is gas-powered. There is a metal fixture above the stove--most likely an arm that swings out to hold a pot above the stove for gentler heating up. There is no visible refrigerator, but it is most likely the largest two cabinet doors on the left panel of cabinets. The right wall of kitchen has three windows and a sink. The countertop runs along the left and back walls in an L-shape. In the center of the kitchen is a half-table-half-island (possibly marble-topped?). A microwave is tucked under it, and there is a chandelier above it.

There is a congestion of four doors at the entry to the kitchen. One door is to get into the foyer. One door is at the end of the kitchen cabinets. More on that below. One is in the wall where the stove tucks into. I suspect this is a closet or pantry. The last door goes into a room with tile and dark wallpaper, and is perhaps a bathroom or access to the basement stairs.

The kitchen cabinets on the back wall are a bit of a mystery. There is a door at either end, evidencing that either there are some closets or pantry behind the cabinets, or access to the basement stairs.

There is possibly a laundry chute in the kitchen entry, with the congestion of four doors. The possible chute can be seen S01E21, behind Emma as she follows Regina into the kitchen.

[image id: still from the tv show, S01E21, looking out from the kitchen toward a set of two doors. One door is closed, and one door is open showing, perhaps, bathroom tile /id]

-Utility Room-

I’m calling it a utility room, but it’s more like a mudroom/breakfast nook. A place to eat meals without having to go to the formal dining room. I don’t recall any part of the show using this room, except for Regina carrying food/drinks from the kitchen, though this room, into the formal dining room.

There is another chandelier in this room, above the small dining table. A door on the right side leads out into the covered walkway to the garage. A door on the left side leads into the formal dining room.

There is a little cabinet next to the dining room door. The location (near the kitchen and back door) and size suggest it might be a home phone cupboard.

[image id: still from the real estate video, showing the utility room where a small cupboard door is inset into the left wall /id]

-Right-Side Chimney-

The chimney on the right side of the house has a window through it on the ground floor (and second floor (US)).

-Second Floor (US) / First Floor (UK)-

The second floor (US) is not well-documented in the show, and only partially shown in the real estate video. Most shots of the second floor (US) in the real estate video are stills that slowly zoom in or out. Not particularly useful. However, window positions help place some rooms and provide some good guesses on what the second floor (US) layout is.

-Second Floor (US) First Floor (UK) Plan-

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed second floor’s floor plan /id]

From the show and real estate video, the following rooms are confirmed on the second floor (US):

Master Bedroom

Master Walk-In Closet(?)

Second Bedroom

Third Bedroom

Staircase Downstairs

The following can be inferred, although not directly seen:

Closet(s)

Bathroom(s)

Attic Staircase

-Regina’s Room (Master Bedroom)-

Regina’s room is not shown often in the show. S01E07 has some night-time shots. There’s one decent tracking shot in S01E21. Based on season one alone, Regina’s bedroom is the master bedroom in the McDonald House.

The master bedroom has four doors. The door on the lower right is most likely to a small closet. The door (possibly a doorway) in the upper left looks like it goes into a walk-in closet with a tall wall mirror. The other door on that back wall goes into a hallway, and most likely toward a bathroom shared with the second bedroom. The last door goes into the main staircase landing.

From what little of the bedroom is seen, the decoration is muted and and bland and continues with the beige-and-white theme of the ground floor, and, honestly, I took a lot of license with my Sims build. Basically I just threw more black and grey in there, as a nod to the Mayoral Office’s decoration style.

[image id: still from the tv show, S01E07, showing Graham standing in front of Regina’s bedroom fireplace /id]

-Henry’s Room (Second Bedroom)-

Henry’s room is a bit of a mess (both literally and figuratively). I suspect, in season one, Henry’s room was filmed in the McDonald House. And then in season two, they switched to film in a set made off-site.

In most of season one, shots of Henry’s main door looks out over the central staircase, where the windows, chandler, and banister can frequently be seen in the background. However, by season two, this view is replaced with a hallway wall.

[image id: still from the tv show, S01E04, looking out of Henry’s room toward the central staircase banister /id]

[image id: still from the tv show, S02E012, looking out of Henry’s room toward a hallway wall /id]

The second door in Henry’s room does go into a hallway, which is at least consistent with the McDonald House. The hallway most likely leads toward a bathroom shared with the master bedroom.

[image id: still from the tv show, S02E18, looking out of Henry’s second door toward a wall /id]

The third door in Henry’s room, beside his bed and the window, most likely leads into a closet.

With the layout of Henry’s room, the number of windows, and the view over the staircase banister in season one, this puts the room in the same location as the second bedroom, at the back of the house. However, sometimes it feels like the show would like the viewer to believe that Henry’s room is actually where the third bedroom is, at the front of the house. The shots of him climbing a sheet rope are from the front-rightmost window, out the third bedroom.

[image id: still from the tv show, S02E02, showing a large maple(?) tree with magically dexterous branches grabbing Henry from an upstairs window /id]

Personally, as a new-mother, I think Regina would have put Henry in the bedroom closest to her own, which would be the second bedroom, consistent to season one’s filming location. The better to hear Henry if something goes wrong in the middle of the night.

[Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki confirms my theory on the independent set: “While Henry's bedroom is part of the John H. McDonald House, some scenes in his room are shot on a television set at The Bridge Studios in Burnaby, where Once Upon a Time was filmed.”]

Besides the layout, Henry’s room is liberally decorated with pictures, posters, toys, and all manner of bric-a-brac.

[Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki lists many of Henry’s bedroom decorations, including fairy tale prints, 1980s toys, and a clock collection.]

In my Sims build, I ignored the most-likely-shared-bathroom situation and gave both Henry and Regina en suites.

-Third Bedroom-

The third bedroom is at the front right of the house. There is only one known door (the entrance), although a second door can be inferred. This second door is most likely at the front left of the bedroom, and leads to a closet that mirrors the master bedroom’s front right closet. There may be a third door, on the back wall on the right. This hypothetical third door could potentially lead to an en suite bathroom.

-Unknown Areas-

The second floor (US) has a lot of unknown areas. The only certainty is that they are not, in modern times, outfitted to be bedrooms. Somewhere in this unknown area are the stairs to the attic.

-Guest Bedroom(s)-

The McDonald house only has three known bedrooms. However, there are fanfic that includes a number of guest bedrooms for the mansion. Typically, one guest bedroom for Emma/Robin/Roland (depending on the fic/pairing), and a second one for Zelena in the fics where she lives with Regina for a while. Every once in a while there will be fics that have an alluded-to third or forth guest bedrooms. Sometimes these fanon guest bedrooms come with en-suite bathrooms, and sometimes not.

The McDonald House’s third bedroom is certainly at least one guest bedroom. There is also a large unknown gap in the house taking up most of the right of the second floor (US). Part of it could be converted into another guest bedroom.

-Right-Side Chimney-

The chimney on the right side of the house has a window through it on the second floor (US) (and ground floor).

-Attic-

The attic, as far as I know, is never shown or referenced to in the show. However, the McDonald House does have an attic, and there is exactly one panning shot of it in the real estate video.

-Attic Floor Plan-

The attic floor plan is largely unknown. With only one panning shot, it is difficult to fabricate the rest of the attic, much less place it accurately in the floor plan.

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed attic floor plan /id]

From the real estate video, the following rooms are known to exist (or directly seen):

Kitchenette

Hobby Room

Staircase downstairs

The only clue for the attic’s layout is the window seen in the real estate video’s attic panning shot. This window appears to be the center back window, and so I used it to place the attic stairs, kitchenette, and walls.

For my Sims build, I added a bedroom, a bathroom, a storage room, and a living room to the attic.

-Basement-

The basement, similar to the attic, is not shown or referenced to in the show, that I know of. The McDonald House does have a basement, and there are a handful of shots of it in the real estate video. However, there are a lot of unknowns, still, and the floor plan is just as much of a mystery as the attic.

-Basement Floor Plan-

The basement floor plan is largely an unknown. Only two rooms are shown in the real estate video, and there’s not much to go on. I can’t figure out how the two rooms are related to each other, and how the staircase relates to the ground floor, although I’m fairly confident on the location of the theater room. The basement does have windows, as seen in the real estate video. The y can be seen in the outside shots of the house, as well: regular dips in the ground underneath the upper story windows.

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed basement floor plan /id]

From the real estate video, the following rooms are known to exist (or directly seen):

Media Room (Home Theater)

Games Room (Pool Table Room)

Study Room

-Theater Room-

The theater room has a fireplace and window locations that are consistent with the left side of the house, essentially underneath the living room. From outside shots of the house, basement windows are seen in line with most of the ground floor windows. This is the only part of the basement I am confident on.

The theater room has an open door that looks out into what is possibly the pool table room. However, the orientation-relationship between the pool room and the theater room are unknown.

-Pool Table Room-

The pool table room is where the basement stairs let out into. There is one known door next to the stairs, an open doorway at the back, a possible set of sliding (or folding?) doors on the left, and another possible doorway at the front (behind the camera in the real estate video).

The doorway at the back of the pool room shows a room with a sink, possibly a bathroom, and the possible beginnings of a hallway running to the right.

As the theater room appears to be connected to the pool table room, it is either connected though the possible sliding (or folding?) doors or the possible doorway at the front of the pool room. Or through another door not shown in the real estate video.

-Unknown Areas-

Most of the basement is unknown, but some areas can be guessed at. There is probably a boiler room to power the radiators. (Boilers can also power the hot water taps, so there may or may not be a discreet water heater.)

If there is a laundry chute in the kitchen, the exit of it (if it was a straight chute) is marked as a point of interest in the floor plan above. With the laundry chute would be a laundry room. I think this could wither be under the kitchen or under the study (close enough for the laundry chute to drop into, either in a straight line or with a slight curve). Although the outlet of the laundry chute does not necessarily need to be in the laundry room.

The real estate video makes mention of a “Study Room”, which may or may not be the “second study” found in the Unknown section near the bottom of this post.

There is most likely a bathroom, as a sink is partially shown in the panning shot of the pool table room.

For my Sims build, I did not give Regina a home theater. Personal preference. And with Henry as a child, and seeing the pristine state of the main living room, it seems logical that the basement main room might be a second living room, one more comfortable and open for Henry to dominate with toys and play. It’s common fanon that Henry plays video games, and so having a tv with a console would be necessary for that. The upstairs living room does not appear to have a television.

Sims 4 does not have a pool table, so a pool room was impossible to replicate. (Although there is the Hot Shot Foosball Table in the Get Together pack.) Instead, I turned it into a workout room and fudged the location based on where I put the stairway.

The rest of the basement I also fudged. The Sims 4 Laundry Day pack includes laundry room equipment, so I gave Regina a laundry room. In the laundry room is a boiler made various pipe-like items from a few separate packs (and debug items). There’s another bathroom in the basement as well.

It’s popular fanon that Regina has cider distilling equipment in the basement, so I essentially put another kitchen down there with as much alcohol-making-looking stuff as I could find. The Eco Lifestyle pack has a Afizzionissimi Fizzing Station. This machine can be used to craft the fizzy juices from the Eco Lifestyle pack. My build does not include this machine, but feel free to substitute my nonfunctional “alcoholic cider distilling” setup to an actually-functional “fizzy juice maker”.

I also put in another study, based on the study from S03E18 (see the Unknown section near the bottom). In this study, there is a secret door to room that extends under the garage. Fanfiction sometimes includes a room in Regina’s house where she stores magic items--separate from her cemetery vault. In my build, this room includes items from the Realm of Magic, Vampires, and Werewolves packs to make a sort of home-vault for Regina. (if you want to get nsfw with the build, I suggest splitting this home-vault room in half to add in a “dungeon” 😉 )

-Garage-

The McDonald House has a semi-connected garage. Since the house was built in 1938, it was possibly a carriage house before being converted into a garage.

-Garage Floor Plan-

Through the real estate video and Google Earth, the exterior of the garage is pretty simple to establish. It’s a three-door garage, with two windows on the back, and a door on the side that leads to the house’s side door. There are possibly other windows on the sides, but it’s difficult to tell from Google Earth.

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the proposed garage floor plan /id]

Sims 4 sort of has garage doors, although they are decoration items. Due to their size, I could only fit two in comfortably. Sims 4 does have cars. They’re in the debug items, and are purely decoration. In the base game, there is a car that looks enough like Regina’s Mercedes to pass muster. The Get Together pack includes the only yellow car close enough to Emma’s Beetle. The Discover University pack includes bicycles, so one of those is included for Henry in the garage as well.

[image id: screenshot of the Sims 4 game, showing two of the debug cars, one black two-door and one yellow four-door /id]

-Outside-

The real estate video shows a little bit of the outside of the McDonald House.  Google Earth also gives a little bit of detail on the yard status, mostly that a lot of trees exist.

The following are features found in the yard:

Hedgerows with Gate

Pergola

Outside Seating Area

Maple(?) Tree

Doghouse

-Hedgerows-

There are hedgerows along the street border of the front yard that possibly extend to border the yard as a whole. Parallel rows lead from a wrought iron gate to the front door. There is a gap in the hedgerows to allow for the driveway.

In my Sims build, I only built the hedgerows leading up to the front door. This is to keep the lot size small enough it can be placed in more locations. Since the hedges used to make the hedge rows are in the base game, it is a simple matter to keep on with the hedgerows if you desire and make a whole border of it.

-Pergola-

At the left side of the house, just about centered with the chimney, there is a pergola that separates the front and back yards. The pergola is covered in climbing plants and flowers. There are some hedgerows around it as well.

I did not include a pergola in my Sims build. This is to keep the lot size small. However, the Florinda Pergola in the base game can be added if the lot size is big enough.

-Outdoor Seating-

The real estate video shows an outdoor seating area, presumably at the very back of the back yard and facing the dining room’s bay windows. This is not included in my Sims build, for those same lot size reasons.

-Doghouse-

A doghouse is visible in one of the real estate video’s panning shots of the backyard. It’s located behind the garage. This is also not included in my Sims build, because in canon Regina does not have a dog.

-Maple(?) Tree-

The maple(?) tree is in the front yard, on the right corner of the house. I’m calling it a maple(?) tree in this post. I do not think it is a maple tree. From what I can make out of the leaves, it’s not maple. But I’m going to keep calling it the maple(?) tree until I figure out what it actually is. Hopefully, it’s a tree that can grow nicely in both Vancouver, Canada and Maine, USA. Anyway, in my Sims build I use a maple tree from the Cats & Dogs pack for it.

(There’s also a younger tree in the middle of the backyard in the real estate video. I am not going to try and identify this tree, and, in fact, I’m going to say it’s The Apple Tree (see below).)

-Apple Tree-

Now, fanon sometimes disagrees where Regina’s apple tree should be: at Town Hall/mayor office, or in the mansion’s backyard. The Chainsaw Scene(TM) in S01E02 takes place outside the mayoral office. In S01E21, Regina looks out a window at her mayoral office at her apple tree. I, personally, Do Not Like This. The mayoral office is Regina’s public face, and her apple tree is very personal. I’d much sooner believe that Regina would have put her apple tree in her own backyard, sheltered and private and protected. So my Sims build has her apple tree in her backyard, where it belongs.

-Gardens-

According to the real estate video, the McDonald House has well-maintained back gardens. Fanon also likes to give Regina a meticulously-cared-for garden. The McDonald House is also partially covered in climbing plants, especially along the back of the garage and up the left chimney. I did not include too extensive of gardens in my Sims build, so I could keep the lot size smaller.

-Unknowns-

Here lies the unknowns, the confusing parts. These are shots and stills from the tv show that are supposed to be of the mansion, but I’ve no idea where they are in the house. Most likely, they are sets, and because of human error or to make camera work easier, they don’t quite fit with the McDonald House floor plan.

-Unknown Hallway (and Room)-

The unknown hallway shows up in S03E18. It is in a z-shape, if a “z” was composed of right angles. There are doors lining it, and one leads to a room where Cora’s ghost hangs out. The room has a window and another door, however the door looks very CGI, so I question it’s supposed existence.

[image id: still from the tv show, S03E18, of a z-shaped hallway lined with doors and light fixtures /id]

[image id: still from the tv show, S03E18, of a room drenched in special effects. Ghost Cora is moving away from the window toward the open door /id]

I have two theories for this hallway and the room:

This was purely a set piece created for the episode. Although all that work for one episode appearance seems a bit much work.

This hallway is somewhere in the attic or the second floor (US). The room’s window suggests it might be the three-pane attic window at the back-left of the attic. But then that doesn’t explain the window in the hallway, which doesn’t match the other attic windows.

-Second Study-

There is a second study. It it styled similar to Regina’s study on the ground floor (as seen in S01E01), and the layout is similar, but there is a second door that leads to a hallway. The wood paneling and bookcases are slightly different between the two studies, and the tile on the fireplaces is different. This second study is heavily featured in S03E18, and makes at least one more appearance in S04E07.

Additionally, the couches in this second study are leather. While the couches in the ground floor study are Victorian/Traditional/French Style.

[image id: still from the tv show, S03E18, of a room that looks similar to Regina’s study, but the layout is different. The second door to the room is in the center of the wall and looks out into a hallway. /id]

[image id: a simple black and white drawing, not to scale, of the second study’s proposed floor plan /id]

I have two theories for this second study:

They stopped filming Regina’s study scenes at the McDonald House, and instead built a set for it. But they got the layout and decorating details wrong.

This is, indeed, a second study in the house. My best guess is it’s on the second floor (US), or perhaps the basement. If it is in the basement, it may be located under the ground floor study.

-Spare Bedroom-

The spare bedroom shows up in S02E14 and again in S02E17. In Episode 17, it is in the flashback where Regina wakes up in Storybrooke for the first time, and so is presented as Regina’s room. However, the layout and design are inconsistent with both Regina’s bedroom from season one and the three known bedrooms in the McDonald House.

[image id: still from the tv show, S03E14, of a bedroom, structurally dissimilar to other rooms in the McDonald House /id]

I mostly think this bedroom is a set built for season two, or some odd secondary filming location. It just doesn’t look like it belongs anywhere in the McDonald House. Look at those doors. No where in the McDonald House are there doors like that. (I have also seen that framed shell art in at least three other locations in the house.)

[Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki confirms my theory on the independent set: “Regina's bedroom in "Manhattan" was a television set built in a studio.“]

-Decorations-

Decorations! This section is based mostly on the tv show, fanon, and fanfiction, with just a spice of flavoring from the real estate video.

Horses. The Sims 4 does not include a lot of options for horse decor. Our resident horse girl is a bit bereft of equine decorations. The three I found were:

“Would You Believe” Stallion (base game)

Battling Chess Knight Figurine (High School Years Pack)

Zaky the Concrete Donkey (City Living Pack)

Mirrors. In the show, Regina’s mansion does have a lot of mirrors, usually hanging on the walls. The base game of Sims 4 doesn’t have a lot of mirror options, but with moveobjects, decorating with them can get a little more creative. With all the expansion packs/kits/etc, there a healthy handful of mirrors to choose from. (There’s an aptly named Mirror, Mirror in the Get Together pack that is Sublime.) In my fanon, I think Regina would have at least one mirror in every room (this is partially supported by the show, which does have a lot of mirrors). During the first curse, she couldn’t use them as she could in the Enchanted Forest, but it would probably still bring a sense of security. I imagine she had mirrors in every room of her castle and then some, as a sort of magic security system. The sentiment would carry over to her Storybrooke mansion. [Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki has a list of mirror locations in the mansion.]

Paintings. In the show, there are a lot of, what I would call, showroom paintings in the mansion. If there’s a stretch of wall, there’s most likely a painting or other framed art on it. Nothing that really speaks to me about any sort of personality. Except the horse painting(s) above the living room fireplace (there are two different ones that I noticed, see S03E18 and S06E01). For the Sims build, I focused on the calmer, monochrome paintings. There are actually some Sims paintings that look real close to the show’s hanging artwork, even in the base game. The expansion packs bring more options, but there is just enough in the base game to get by if you don’t mind repetition. (Honestly, the show repeats paintings a lot. I assume they had a stack of them, and they reused the same paintings for one-off sets.) [Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki has a list of many of the paintings and wall art that appear throughout the mansion.]

Flower vases. Just like the paintings, if there is an empty surface in the tv show, there is a vase of flowers on it. Or an urn, sometimes. Maybe a tea set or drink platter (what do you call those plates with a decanter of alcohol and a couple of glasses?). Every once in a while a candlestick or candelabra, depending on the mood lighting. For the Sims, the base game has a decent selection of flowers, but as always, the expansion packs bring more options. Also the only non-holiday table candlestick to date, Smoreworthy Candles, is in the Get Together Expansion. There are a set of standalone candles in the base game, though.

Radiators. The Sims 4 only has one style of radiator, Modern Iron Radiator from the Vampires pack. In my build, I used this for the visible radiators. In the debug items, there is a section of decorated wall that can be shrunken and looks a little like the in-the-walls radiators, but the color doesn’t match my wallpaper, so I didn’t end up using it.

(Star Wars. The Sims 4 has an entire Star Wars pack. There are not an insignificant number of fanfictions where Henry and Regina are Star Wars fans. Because of this, there’s a smattering of Star Wars decorations, mostly in Henry’s room.)

As a final note, some show episodes use background decorations to emphasize a plot point or theme. For example, in S01E21 (An Apple Red as Blood), baskets of apples and round, red decorations are frequently placed in the background. See the image below:

[image id: still from the tv show, S01E21, showing a large, red, circular decoration hanging on the wall in the background, behind Regina /id]

Whatever that large red thing is (a decorative plate?), I’d make a guess that it’s never seen again in the show. Either way, my Sims build has a bowl of apples (Fine Bowl of Fruit, found in the base game) everywhere I can reasonably put one, as well as any other apple-themed items I could find (there are a handful between all the expansion packs).

-Lighting-

The McDonald House has a fair number of wall lights and ceiling lights pre-installed. Most of the ceiling lights are hanging lights, typically chandeliers. The wall fixtures typically look like “electricity, but make it look like candles/oil lamps”. The Long John Buttercups Wall Sconce (base game) and Dollop O' Light (base game) are just about perfect for the wall fixtures.

-Wallpaper-

Most of the wallpaper in the show is either plain with no pattern, usually in a color similar to beige, or, what I will call, Fancy Pattern. (See the wallpaper in the spare bedroom in the Unknown section for an example of Fancy Pattern.) For the plain walls I used Fair & Square (from the base game). Most of these walls were the ground floor and attic walls. For the Fancy Pattern, typically seen on the second floor (US), I used mostly Eldan Secrets, but Modern Brocade, Grand Damask Paper, Petite Fleur Brocade, and Floral Fancy all work just as well. All of these are from the base game.

Henry’s wallpaper is closest to Striped Splendor (base game).

On the ground floor, the dining room and study have wood panelings. For the dining room I used Pleasing Profiles (base game) and for the study, Neoclassic Wall Paneling (Vampires Pack). The basement study is also wood panel, a dark wood variant of Dashing Deco (base game).

[Edit: The “Set Notes” in the Wiki lists a handful of the wallpapers in the mansion.]

-Flooring-

Most of the mansion is hardwood floor, with some carpeted areas. There’s also a smattering of rugs and runners. Most of the hardwood I used Basketball Flooring, from City Living. Most of the second floor (US), including Henry’s room, should also be hardwood, but I carpeted the bedrooms because I prefer that. The base game doesn’t have a lot of rug and runner options, but you can get by with repetition and resizing. The expansion packs bring more options to help diversify the decorations.

-Furniture-

As previously discussed in the living room section, most of the furniture in the show is a mix of Victorian, Traditional, and French Styles. I tried to keep this style to the rooms of the house where guests might frequent: ground floor living room, study, formal dining room, and guest bedroom. The rest of the house, like the basement, attic, Regina’s bedroom, and Henry’s room, I styled more comfortably. The basement is downright cozy, in my opinion. Henry’s room is very similar to the set in the show--the Sims has a selection of furniture that looks nicely similar to his.

-Appliances-

The appliances I used in the Sims build is a mix of 1980s, 2010s, and, if I could get away with it, original-1936. The stove in the ground floor kitchen is the Throwback Stove, from the Parenthood pack. The Freezer Burn-B-Gone Fridge (Cool Kitchen pack) fits neatly in the kitchen’s cabinet wall. The distillery in the basement gets the Food Forge Iron Stove from the Cottage Living pack.

In the Sims 4, microwaves must be placed on a counter. I could not figure out a way to tuck it under the kitchen island, so my build has no kitchen microwave.

-Final Notes-

As a final note, I did use the moveobjects function a lot. I also resized a fair few decorations. Because of this, there’s a few pathing troubles (how the Sims characters walk in the house), although nothing that prevents access anywhere. There are also some deliberate decorations placed to deter using certain objects. The refrigerator in the attic is inside a cabinet that prevents Sims from using it, so Sims don’t wander up two flights just to make breakfast. The wall of cabinets in the ground floor kitchen has some apples hidden inside them, so Sims don’t try to use the cabinets as cooking surfaces. There are a couple more hidden tricks to get the build to behave. I recommend playing the build with all the walls up--it’ll look the best.

Turn on moveobjects if you want to successfully redecorate the place.

-The End-

My Sims 4 build of Regina’s mansion can be located in the Sims 4 Gallery! There are two versions available, one build with ONLY base game items (so everyone can enjoy a furnished house) and one build with items from all the expansion packs (to get the most accurate decorations possible). You can find both by searching for “108 Mifflin St” in the Gallery. Minimum lot size: 40x30 (although I recommend putting the house on a larger lot and crafting a better backyard! get that pergola in there!). Sims Gallery Tags: #OUAT #OnceUponATime #ReginaMills #HenryMills #108MifflinStreet #Storybrooke

[img id: screenshot of the Sims 4 Gallery, showing two lots, named “108 Mifflin St (AllPks)” and “108 Mifflin St (BaseGame)” respectively /id]

[creativemorningsvancouver]

We are honoured to be able to present playwright, performer, and CBC radio host, Tetsuro Shigematsu who will share his story of creativity through the lens of this month’s global theme ‘acceptance’.

REGISTER

A former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Tetsuro’s theatrical solo-work Empire of the Son was named the best show of 2015 by the Vancouver Sun, and was described by theatre critic Colin Thomas describes it as, “one of the best shows ever to come out of Vancouver. Ever.” His other solo-work, 1 Hour Photo was named as a finalist for the 2019Governor General’s Award for Drama, and was the co-winner of the Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award, 2021. The Vancouver’s Georgia Straight declared him to be, “one of the city’s best artists.” In 2018, he earned his PhD in Arts-Based Research from the University of British Columbia, and now serves as Creative Director of the Research-based Theatre Lab.

As usual, we asked Tetsuro a handful of probing questions to give us a deeper glimpse into her life and relationship with creativity:

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career? What iridescent feathers are to peacocks, creativity is to humans, a reliable indicator of genetic fitness. It’s a costly signal to fake. In other words, I think talent is sexy. For me, something that I’ve begun to realize is that autobiographical solo theatre works can function as metaphysical pageant shows. Creativity is the ability to create work that is smarter than yourself. There’s two ways of doing this. Plumb the depths of your subconscious and work intuitively. Secondly, work with people who are smarter and more talented than you, and listen closely to what they have to say. The best work is often the result of collaboration. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy? In the bathroom, either while getting clean or getting dirty.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person? If I had a chance to meet my younger self, I wouldn’t say anything, because it’s been a pretty meaningful journey so far. I’d like to listen though. I’d ask, “So? What do you think? Are you excited to become me? Or are you disappointed?”

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings? I once read that Shakira and Gabriel Garcia Marquez used to hang out while he was still alive. Even if they spoke of banal minutiae of everyday life, I’m sure it would have been fascinating.

What did you learn from your most memorable creative failure? When my marriage of 25 years came to an abrupt end, I realized that the health of my relationships is directly correlated to my willingness to have uncomfortable conversations.

What’s your one guilty creative indulgence? Scrolling endlessly through the FaceBook group Midjourney, a forum for AI-generated art work.

What fact about you would surprise people? I was a child preacher. Also, I fly a great deal. Whenever I experience severe turbulence on a flight, I never get nervous because I often think, “I’ve lived a good life. Things have never been better. So maybe it’s not a bad time to die.”

How does your life and career compare to what you envisioned for your future when you were a sixth grader? When I was in grade school, I saw myself wearing a top hat and tails, dancing like Fred Astaire. Picture an Asian boy with a bowl cut doing that. You would never know it to look at me today, but what I do is not far off.

How would you describe what you do in a single sentence to a stranger? I travel the world telling stories about my life.

If you could open a door and go anywhere, where would that be? I believe humankind will be around far longer than most people think. I would like to visit the final epoch of human existence, say the final 10 years.

What keeps you awake at night? Nothing keeps me awake at night. I am preternaturally worry-free. I asked my therapist friend if my condition could be pathologized. She said no. No state of mind that enables equanimity and independence could be considered a condition.

What myths about creativity would you like to set straight? To be a “real” artist, you need to be doing it full time. You can’t have a day job. My favourite example is the poet Wallace Stevens who sold insurance.

If you could do anything now, what would you do? Become an astronaut.

Where is your favourite place to escape? Going fast on my e-bike.

What was the best advice you were ever given? “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

What books made a difference in your life and why? Something Like an Autobiography by Akira Kurosawa. He recommends to study all the art forms that make up a medium, rather than just the medium itself.

What practises, rituals, or habits contribute to your creative work? I have a walking treadmill beneath my standing desk. Nietzsche said there are no great thoughts that happen outside of walks. On a good day, I’ll walk over half a marathon.

If you had fifteen extra minutes each day, what would you do with them? Have sex, meditate, and workout all at once, but I’m not sure if that form of yoga exists?

What object would you put in a time capsule that best represents who you are today? My standing desk with my walking treadmill, multiple monitors, and multiple keyboards, and multiple computers is such an ugly monstrosity, it’s beautiful.

What is the one movie or book every creative must see/read? Impro by Keith Jonstone.

REGISTER

[crones-trash]

I am currently experiencing what the locals call a Gale. Back in NC, these events are called Tropical Storms. There, the storms come from the southeast & usually curl counter-clockwise. Here, they come from the southwest & rotate clockwise. There, weather watchers are warned of gusts in mph. Here, the wind flow is described in knots, maybe because it's impacting the Columbia River. Boy-howdy, after translating knots into mph, we're getting gusts up to 55mph w/ sideways rain.

An arriving workman told me a huge tree was blown across the road adjacent to our community.

Overall, I feel snug & secure, no window rattling or roaring rain on the roof. The lights haven't even flickered...yet. I'm glad I didn't have to go anywhere today. Tomorrow, there will be an afternoon lull in the storm to allow me to get more food.

It's been a productive day: Locksmith came & installed key-locked dead-bolts. The restoration service sent their quality control guy to check their progress & he declared everything is still too wet to finish the job.

The best news came from the other plumber. He turned on the water & had me run water full blast in the kitchen & bathroom sinks & flush the toilet. He took videos to show me what the crawlspace looks like & didn't see or hear any leaks. I asked him for an estimate on replacing the entire plumbing system & he gave me an estimate of $6500. When I told him, the original plumbers were asking $15K, he spontaneously reacted, "Holy shit! That's ridiculous!" He's going to send me an itemized quote by the end of the day & then I'll decide if his team gets the job.

The middle of the kitchen is now clear of boxes & I've almost found a place for everything while making notes about the type of cheap wire cabinet organizers I now require. Progress!