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Mar. 25th, 2002
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Mar. 25th, 2002 02:30 pmOne day a month, I have to cover the front desk for an hour while the receptionist takes her lunch break. I hate it. I have to answer the main line for the press, and there's always someone calling up with some strange request that I have no idea how to field. "Um, you'd like to submit a manuscript for a coloring book? OK . . . let me transfer you to -- oh, I don't know, let's see -- accounting." I haven't had anyone call back yet, but I keep expecting to pick up the phone and get someone who's angry about having been directed to manuscript editorial for a simple catalogue request. It's fucked up -- you would think they would have one person trained to do it each day, but no -- every day from 1:30 to 2:30, we have someone down here who has absolutely no idea what he's doing.
Oh, well. At least it gets me away from the desk. I wasn't getting much done today anyway.
I had a fantastic weekend. Both Allman Bros. shows were incredible. I guess if you didn't know much about what the band is about, you'd probably think that an Allman show would be a pretty sad affair, like I would imagine that a Lynryd Skynyrd or even a Rolling Stones show would be. But this isn't some washed-up group of has-beens. Actually, I guess they've been washed up a few times, but they keep finding ways to reinvent themselves. (I hate that term -- I always hear it used in connection with Madonna -- but it does apply here.) They're writing new material, and they sound wonderful. "Tight" doesn't even begin to describe how well they're locked in together. They can stop and turn on a dime. Furthermore, they sound not only well-rehearsed and technically proficient, but also spontaneous and free. Both nights were so much fun. 20 songs the first night and 19 the second, and they only repeated five songs.
The Beacon is a nice place to see a show; it's one of those old theatres that's very intimate. I've never been a big fan of reserved-seating shows -- I prefer general admission -- but that place is still pretty great. I was in the front of the first balcony one night, and near the back of the orchestra section the next, and each was a good vantage point.
I was kind of late getting in both nights, so I didn't get to do much in the city. I'll be headed back in April, though, so it's cool. Saturday night, I did make the ABB listserv preshow party at the Gin Mill, and that was nice. Got to meet several people I've corresponded and traded with over the last couple of years. One lady I met (and had known via email) is from Alabama, and it was nice to hear an actual Southern accent besides my own -- I don't think I had heard one in person since I was down South in December. :)
Whoa, my time at the desk is just about up -- nice.
Oh, well. At least it gets me away from the desk. I wasn't getting much done today anyway.
I had a fantastic weekend. Both Allman Bros. shows were incredible. I guess if you didn't know much about what the band is about, you'd probably think that an Allman show would be a pretty sad affair, like I would imagine that a Lynryd Skynyrd or even a Rolling Stones show would be. But this isn't some washed-up group of has-beens. Actually, I guess they've been washed up a few times, but they keep finding ways to reinvent themselves. (I hate that term -- I always hear it used in connection with Madonna -- but it does apply here.) They're writing new material, and they sound wonderful. "Tight" doesn't even begin to describe how well they're locked in together. They can stop and turn on a dime. Furthermore, they sound not only well-rehearsed and technically proficient, but also spontaneous and free. Both nights were so much fun. 20 songs the first night and 19 the second, and they only repeated five songs.
The Beacon is a nice place to see a show; it's one of those old theatres that's very intimate. I've never been a big fan of reserved-seating shows -- I prefer general admission -- but that place is still pretty great. I was in the front of the first balcony one night, and near the back of the orchestra section the next, and each was a good vantage point.
I was kind of late getting in both nights, so I didn't get to do much in the city. I'll be headed back in April, though, so it's cool. Saturday night, I did make the ABB listserv preshow party at the Gin Mill, and that was nice. Got to meet several people I've corresponded and traded with over the last couple of years. One lady I met (and had known via email) is from Alabama, and it was nice to hear an actual Southern accent besides my own -- I don't think I had heard one in person since I was down South in December. :)
Whoa, my time at the desk is just about up -- nice.
(no subject)
Mar. 25th, 2002 02:40 pmOver a year here, and I have yet to figure out the LiveJournal time scheme. I know the servers are based in Seattle, but I still think LJ runs on Freak Time.
(no subject)
Mar. 25th, 2002 05:51 pmOK, I have a cell phone these days, but I'm still kind of a fuddy-duddy about them. I just hate to see people checking out at the grocery store and flapping their gums off like everyone around them is just so eager to hear what they have to say. I want to say, "Goddamnit, there's a living, breathing human being scanning your stuff right there in front of you, and you can't be bothered to say hello to him?"
Dude was on the bus today going on and on to some poor bastard on the other end of the line about how wonderful the new technology is, and he obviously thinks that the rest of us are lucky to be on the bus with him to hear him drop science. Big, old, fat-ass white guy with a perm, talking about "the reason computers use so much power is because of the way they work." No SHIT? That's deep, yo. Then he got to talking about the Oscars and how they don't just throw those around to anyone. (I refrained from saying anything about Melanie Griffith or Marisa Tomei.) Then he said -- and I have not the foggiest hint of a notion what this means -- "Halle Berry is the Alicia Keys of Hollywood."
What killed me was the kids sitting behind him. They were making fun of him, plenty loud enough for him to hear if only he had come out of his cell-phone trance for a moment (which, of course, he didn't). "Motherfucker got a cell phone, I wanna know why motherfucker ain't got no car!" I was dying.
Dude was on the bus today going on and on to some poor bastard on the other end of the line about how wonderful the new technology is, and he obviously thinks that the rest of us are lucky to be on the bus with him to hear him drop science. Big, old, fat-ass white guy with a perm, talking about "the reason computers use so much power is because of the way they work." No SHIT? That's deep, yo. Then he got to talking about the Oscars and how they don't just throw those around to anyone. (I refrained from saying anything about Melanie Griffith or Marisa Tomei.) Then he said -- and I have not the foggiest hint of a notion what this means -- "Halle Berry is the Alicia Keys of Hollywood."
What killed me was the kids sitting behind him. They were making fun of him, plenty loud enough for him to hear if only he had come out of his cell-phone trance for a moment (which, of course, he didn't). "Motherfucker got a cell phone, I wanna know why motherfucker ain't got no car!" I was dying.
more bitching about the phone
Mar. 25th, 2002 06:19 pmI'm such an asshole on the phone. I guess that's somewhat acceptable, because I don't think I'm an asshole in most other ways. I awakened this morning to the sound of the phone ringing off the hook. It must have rung about 12 times. When I finally answered, all I heard was some mumbling and a click. I hit *69 and asked the person who answered if she even looked at the dial when she was calling people before 7 in the morning. Can you believe she had the nerve to tell me not to bother her anymore?
Then somebody called just now and was mumbling so badly I couldn't even tell who he was asking for. After snapping "what?!" a couple of times, I finally told the guy to Speak English or Die.
I'm not always this hostile. I swear I'm not.
Yuk, I have to go to Wal-Mart. Now there's a pit of hostility if ever there was one.
Then somebody called just now and was mumbling so badly I couldn't even tell who he was asking for. After snapping "what?!" a couple of times, I finally told the guy to Speak English or Die.
I'm not always this hostile. I swear I'm not.
Yuk, I have to go to Wal-Mart. Now there's a pit of hostility if ever there was one.