Category: rigging

Writing Goals Thwarted

I had planned to write something everyday here.  I missed one. That’s what I get for not stating my goals in writing.  But, also, I’ve been working a lot at the job I may not have much longer.

I made it known to my boss that I would much prefer to be back in the rigging department instead of a technician under a new guy as the director. Is that a bit of pride? I’m not really sure.  I just figured that it would really be best for all involved.  I can be helpful in the rigging department and the technician here now won’t have to go anywhere else.

While I’m busy rigging I can more prepare to be a director of event technology elsewhere should the need arise.  Which means more time in training spent up in Schaumburg, IL.  I have always felt unprepared in this position.  I can do all the operational/logistical/technical aspects of this job.  I don’t know a whole lot about profit and loss statments or business plan reports, blah, blah, blah.

The Tale of Employment Woes Continues . . .

Which has nothing to do with ‘The Man’ keeping me down.

But it seems that the hotel and PSAV higher-ups have interviewed a candidate for the position of which I am in right now. Thankfully, I knew about this ahead of time and was fully prepped by my boss that it was happening. Well, the hotel, apparently, liked this guy but I was told that they like me too. What is that saying about cake and stuff?

If they hire this guy and I stay he would be the director of a/v and I would go back to being a technician. I’m not quite sure what would happen to the current technician, maybe they would put him at the Gaylord Opryland. Which, if you are a floor technician, is not that cool of a job.

At the same time, though, I am hearing the Opryland PSAV rigging department is struggling and has been since I left to take the job I now have. I’ve been seriously considering going back to rigging to take care of that mess and wait for another director job to open up. My problem is that I feel that I need to be paid around what the other two guys are getting paid. Especially the rigging supervisor, who got a significant raise since I left. Which now doesn’t make sense if this guy doesn’t have the skills to keep the ship running. If I go back and straighten things out I should get a significant raise, too. Right?

It’s just that I’m a big wuss when it comes to confrontation and money. Deep down inside I know that I deserve it. The department ran well when I was there doing inventory, scheduling labor, along with some actual rigging. When I’m gone it falls apart. I need to do my own math I guess and point that out to my boss. But, also, on the surface we (the extrovert/introvert family) need an increase in my pay. There’s a parasite just waiting to stop feasting on it’s host (the Elder Extroverted Holy One), enter the world and eat my money (and that will cut into my beer money and as the Young Extroverted One knows, daddy doesn’t share beer)(I do, really, share beer. I can prove it 🙂 )! Which, as soon as EEHO graduates and gets a job won’t be that big of a problem. For now, though, we need me to get a more significant raise.

Travelling Tales of the Introverted One: Part One

To start things off I was invited to participate in the SERVE to Sell training workshop up at the PSAV corporate headquarters in Schaumburg, IL. This workshop is a sales skill-building program which is good because I have no sales skills whatsoever.

    I got my e-ticket (wasn’t there a ride at Disney that was an e-ticket ride back in the day?) and was dropped off at the Nashville airport at the appropriate time to go through security and all. Boarded the plane at approximately 6:30PM and started to taxi on the runway. And then stopped. The captain came on the intercom and said there was a “ground stop” at O’Hare because of a big thunderstorm and that he was going to stay on the runway and wait because it could be minutes or hours before he was okay-ed to go. This guy did not want to lose his place in line.

    TWO HOURS later we return to the gate. I kept hoping for a cancellation because I could just go home. Unfortunately for me (fortunate for the Chicago residents on the flight) there was no cancellation and TWO HOURS later got back on the plane. Needless, to say I arrived at O’Hare very late and the hotel in Schaumburg even later. I think I got into my room around 2:00AM. Good for me the hotel bar wasn’t open because I could have used a brew to unwind but I had to be at the training at 7:30AM.

    The training was good and meeting other directors of Event Technology was pretty cool. These guys (and gal) were go-getters. I was wondering if I made the right decision to leave the exciting life of a rigger to move up (not as literally as a rigger ‘up’) to be a director. I’m enjoying being here and learning the ropes and all of the business related aspects of the job but I don’t seem as focused as these young turks were on being a director. But I also haven’t gone through the official DET training. Maybe I’m just lacking some of the DET jargon that I heard. So, I guess I feel somewhat unprepared for some parts of this job.

    We had such a small group at this training that we were released into the wild that is Schaumburg. At least what surrounded PSAV HQ. Which was The Ram Restaurant and Brewery that was behind the hotel. They had a 6 ounce sampler tray but I was going for the 16 ounce (do the math) sampler. I only made it through 4 before we planned to walk over to the Woodfield Mall. I’m not sure why we ended up there but I thought I could at least get some Chicago related paraphenalia there but we quickly regrouped and walked to another bar called Houlihan’s located in the parking lot of this wonderful mall. Houlihan’s is just like a Bennigan’s. A cookie-cutter bar and grill sort of place. Ho-hum.

    I then returned to the hotel for a final beer before turning in. My planned escape from Schaumburg on the next day will be for another post. I really need to look like I am working!

    Summer Fun

    I’ve been meaning to write about this earlier but life and work get in the way sometimes. But, first, I must give a shout-out to God for the rain! We’ve been needing a new roof since we moved into this house and right when we hire someone to do it it rains like crazy the day they were going to come down. Now that the roof is done (and the impending bill is possibly on the way) I was afraid that is wasn’t ever going to rain again. If anything to at least prove to us that our choice in roofer was a good one. The work done was proof number one and now the lack of leaking is proof number two. We’ll be passing around a plate to collect donations for the roof fund after this post. =)

    Okay, now onto the summer fun portion of the show. I have always enjoyed catching lightning bugs on summer evenings. I got to share this enjoyment with the Young Extroverted One the other day and we had a blast! There’s just something about spotting that green flash and running towards it to only lose the thing because it turned it’s light off and kept flying. Once the YEO got the knack she was catching them like a pro. As we took a breather from all the running to and fro I pointed out the bats flitting back and forth catching bugs (hopefully mostly mosquitoes). YEO thought that was the coolest thing ever!

    I have this bat house (not my house but actually a bat house) that I’ve been needing to hang somewhere but like every project on deck it gets put aside. I still haven’t finished the laundry nook (what’s smaller than a nook? cranny?) with the sanding and the hole filling and the painting. At least we can actually do the laundry! I’ve also been meaning to put up a swing on the front porch for the YEO. Because, according to her, the porch swing is booooriiiiing. Whew, I got some work to do. ugh.

    Now listen to some money collecting tunes as we start the plate around . . .

    Summer’s Here-Dad Loves His Work

    The Joys of Cooking, Baking and Shaving Dogs

    I made the realization the other day, as I was preparing a grilled shrimp over black bean and corn salad for the farm adventure, that I really miss cooking and baking.  The Elder Extroverted Holy One and I used to cook a lot before the Young Extroverted One made herself known.  When we were doing the vegetarian thing (up until the polish sausage incident during pregnancy) we made some extravagant meals.  Heck, I used to bake bread every week!

    I’m not blaming the YEO for our lack of homecooked meals.  It’s just that now the dynamics are a little different.  In order for a more reasonable bedtime we need to have dinner at a certain time.  And I am usually wiped out from work. That leaves the EEHO, who is usually wiped out from schoolin’, picking up the YEO and keeping her entertained with snacks and whatever else fits her fancy at the time.  So, lately it’s been boxed prepared meals and Schwan’s(which is surpisingly good, by the way).

    You see, I’m just a little more domestic than the EEHO.  If I were a stay-at-home dad like I was for YEO’s first year of life I’d be all domesticated.  The dishes would be done, laundry washed, dried and folded and our house would be clean (either that or I’d be wearing pearls, drinking wine, watching soaps and eating bon-bons.  Hmmm . . . that sounds kind of cool too).  Of course, in order for our house to be clean I would have to shave our two dogs and two cats but I’m up for that!

    I guess I find some sort of meditative properties in the acts of domesticity.  Kind of Zen and the Art of Archery but I wouldn’t be shooting stuff.  It’s the process of prepping ingredients that go in to a meal or washing dishes by hand or even folding laundry.  All of these activities seem to center me.  It just seems I can find more meaning (?) in these things that I can do for my family and friends than I can in hanging chain motors, wrapping truss and raising said truss to show height for a Wal-Mart corporate gig.

    I guess the EEHO needs to find some wealthy church to pay her so she can support my homely habits of housekeeping.

    Work Woes

    It’s turning out to be a woeful day isn’t it?

    Someone explain to me that with a team of three riggers and one of them on vacation for a week gets to do all of the time sensitive related work. The lone, just-off-of-vacation worker is now more stressed than before he left.

    You have two guys who saw the beginning of this project and me, who was leaving and thus not involved with the planning, CAD drawing, bidding and buying of supplies needed. I’m going to be here to help with the rigging of this monstrosity but wasn’t here for the planning.

    Today I was going to come in later because of a 10:30PM load out. However, I went in much earlier than anticipated and had to put together an order of stuff that I had no clue of quantities for a project that I had barely even seen the first draft drawing of that HAD to be ordered today! Ugh. The co-workers are going to get an earful when I see them because this kind of behavior is not right. Now our boss, whom I consider to be a decent friend, has to deal with this issue as well when he didn’t have to because it should have been done.

    He’s stressed, I’m stressed. Someone’s gettin’ punched square in the neck for this one (figuratively speaking that is).

    Christmas has been Ruined

    Well, not really. It’s just that Pam Tillis (or her people) and the Gaylord Opryland people have just been added to the top of my Fecal Roster.

    The Pam Tillis dinner show started in one smaller ballroom (that was the first all-nighter) right around Thanksgiving. Yesterday they packed up everything and reset it in the biggest ballroom. So, from 2PM on Wednesday to about 8:30AM on Thursday I was doing some form or wrapping GAC-flex around truss, powering up chainmotors, running cable in the catwalk and ceiling and hanging Christmas ornaments from the ballroom ceiling.

    In small doses? Like a regular 8 or 9 hour day? Not so bad. But 18 and half hours?!?!? Ugh. At the moment I’m a little brain dead. So, it makes sense that I should be trying to write something that makes sense to others here.

    I’m happy for the new experiences of the rigging world but the hours can suck sometimes. At least I get paid a little more.