Yesterday we accomplished an event that was actually very challenging. I can't say it was a pain in the ass, because really it all went according to plan and there were no fatalities....but it was challenging.
It was a boat regatta for a manufacturer that is very quirky to say the least. They are not a very outgoing bunch, and they are picky about certain things. Pair that up with a venue that is sometimes difficult to work with, and several changes to the schedule that people have come to get very acquainted with, and you have a big stress mountain.
Part of every event is the helicopter photos. Boats line up for their chance to get a professional photo taken of them racing down the lake in their boat. The photos are taken from the helicopter, and the starting point is a boat with me standing on it instructing them with a megaphone. (pictured below, I'm in the cowboy hat)
We usually do about 60 to 70 boats like that, then we rush to the next portion of the event. This is me, on the way to the next venue:
We had an article in a southern california newspaper last year, talking about how we conduct these regattas with a minimum of five different venues. Set up, tear down. Set up, tear down. A lot of times I'm jumping from boat to boat, then from boat to dock to get to where I'm needed. Run on the beach, pick up a few things, then dash off to the next thing on the schedule. Gee, I wonder how come my feet hurt....
One of the magazines that we do some work with is owned by a guy named Chris Davidson. He's a huge guy, big red-headed goof who gives the impression that he's not very saavy. I love and hate those kind of business people. They act like they don't know what they're doing and fool you into believing they're just a 'dude' that is lucky in life. But really, he has his money and his magazine because he knows just what the hell he's doing. He is not only a publisher. He's an Elvis Presley fanatic. He collected Elvis stuff for many many years, and eventually opened an Elvis museum in Vegas. When he tired of that, he sold a lot of the Elvis stuff to Graceland and made several million dollars from it. He didn't sell it all; he still has quite a collection, and it's stuff like jewelry, watches, pendants, clothing, etc. My boss has been to his office, and there are days where there'll be a big gawdy watch sitting on his desk--Chris says, "Try it on, that's an original Elvis piece."
Whoa. Touching something like that would be like touching an artifact from the pyramids in Egypt. But apparently Chris wears this stuff like it's nothing.
Yesterday Chris was on the boat with me, and I noticed a big "EP" pendant around his neck. I got to touch it and take a picture:
So that made my day, for the moment. As soon as I got off the boat I hit the ground running so I could get the banquet hall set up.
