only on St Pats day...
Apparently my sisters friend JR, while looking up Shane MacGowan and the Popes' Donegal Express (a song & artist she would be completly oblivious to if not for me), discovered that a mix tape I posted years ago on Artofthemix.com was among the first hits. In fact, I think it may have been a mix my sister asked me to make for JR.
What better day could there be to discover that you are, in such a bizzare and random way, forever connected to Shane MacGowan through some queer twist of search engine fate?
***
This morning I was stuck (for the 4th day this week) working the opening shift at our first floor reception area. 8:00-10:00 is easily the worst time of day to do this... a fact made worse by the new policy about bags/luggage in the building.
all bags over 17" now have to be checked in because someone pulled a Meursault and brandished a scissors menacingly at their instructor a few weeks ago... this pisses off pretty much every client and creats a high level of stress at the main entrance. the problem is compounded by the fact that the security guards downstairs do not speak english very well, and come off as abrupt when asking the clients to go check their bags before being allowed upstairs.
annyhoo... this morning was especially fun. Not only did we have the normal bickering and 'you aint nuthin but a rent-a-cop' BS... but actuall fisticufs broke out in the main waiting area.
from what I've been able to gather... a tall (reportedly african or carribean) man got irate on the phone and slammed it down. When the security guard asked him to calm down, he gave him lip. So a nearby cop stepped in and asked this client to leave. He agreed to leave... but did so with an attitude. So the cop grabbed his arm... I assume to walk him out.
Well... thats when all hell broke lose. The client defied the cop, yelled something like 'get your fucking hands off me.' and broke the grip. Mind you, there are dozens, if not hundreds of clients sitting around this area, all of whom were rapt with interest. The cop couldnt be made to look bad, so he took a more authoritative angle on the situation. Yadda yadda yadda... the client was stronger than he looked, and they ended up on the ground.
At this point, one of the security guards (an asian guy), in possibly the worst example of high-pressure decision making ever, decided to go up and kick the client in the head. The cop was getting the situation under control and hadnt asked for any help... so this was just piling on. And with all the already agitated clients already looking on... he could easily have sparked a riot.
Soon every security guard in the building, including a woman who shares a striking physical resemblance to a young Gary Coleman (c. the first season or two of Dif'rent Strokes) was screaming "CALL 911!" This building and neighborhood is almost always swarming with cops. within seconds there were cars, vans, cops on bikes... they flooded the main waiting area, and moments later pulled the client through my reception area in cuffs. He was yelling, appropriately enough... 'I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET MY BAG!'
The client, who's shirt was ripped in half down the back, had HUGE dreadlocks. He was saying something about how he didnt do anything and the other guy started it and blah blah.
The cops took to the employee entrance (down a hallway).... where Gary Coleman had returned to her post. Things seemed to calm down until a few minutes later I heard the cops sternly ordering the guy to sit down on the floor. What happened next I had to write down on the spot because it was too perfect to potentially flub with a bad paraphrasing. The client screamed... and I mean SCREAMED, "LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE! LOOK AT THE HATE IN YOUR HEART. DONT YOU SEE WHAT THE FUCK YOUR DOING?! YOU NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH REALITY!" This really doesnt read as all that noteworthy... but I mean, he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
A bit later, the cops (at least 6 of them) lead him out to the van. The client, now screaming "GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME! STOP FUCKING TWISTING MY ARM MOTHERFUCKER!" was roughly thrown in the van. As this happened, at least a dozen clients who had been in the waiting area watching the whole scene came running up to declare how wrong the whole situation was. In the chaos, I heard"
'That Chinese guy shouldnt have done that.'
'He's going to get fired.'
'This shit is messed up!'
'This is a place of business and you have to conduct yourself in a businesslike way.'
'I saw the whole thing!'
And... the absolute kicker...
'God Bless you. Happy St. Patrick's Day!' (this, for the benefit of Mixing, unfortunately was not uttered by Black Irish, who has not been seen in these parts for many many moons)
One of the security guards who I'm friendly with told me they probably took the scenic route to 850 and 'thumped the guy up a little bit.'
What better day could there be to discover that you are, in such a bizzare and random way, forever connected to Shane MacGowan through some queer twist of search engine fate?
***
This morning I was stuck (for the 4th day this week) working the opening shift at our first floor reception area. 8:00-10:00 is easily the worst time of day to do this... a fact made worse by the new policy about bags/luggage in the building.
all bags over 17" now have to be checked in because someone pulled a Meursault and brandished a scissors menacingly at their instructor a few weeks ago... this pisses off pretty much every client and creats a high level of stress at the main entrance. the problem is compounded by the fact that the security guards downstairs do not speak english very well, and come off as abrupt when asking the clients to go check their bags before being allowed upstairs.
annyhoo... this morning was especially fun. Not only did we have the normal bickering and 'you aint nuthin but a rent-a-cop' BS... but actuall fisticufs broke out in the main waiting area.
from what I've been able to gather... a tall (reportedly african or carribean) man got irate on the phone and slammed it down. When the security guard asked him to calm down, he gave him lip. So a nearby cop stepped in and asked this client to leave. He agreed to leave... but did so with an attitude. So the cop grabbed his arm... I assume to walk him out.
Well... thats when all hell broke lose. The client defied the cop, yelled something like 'get your fucking hands off me.' and broke the grip. Mind you, there are dozens, if not hundreds of clients sitting around this area, all of whom were rapt with interest. The cop couldnt be made to look bad, so he took a more authoritative angle on the situation. Yadda yadda yadda... the client was stronger than he looked, and they ended up on the ground.
At this point, one of the security guards (an asian guy), in possibly the worst example of high-pressure decision making ever, decided to go up and kick the client in the head. The cop was getting the situation under control and hadnt asked for any help... so this was just piling on. And with all the already agitated clients already looking on... he could easily have sparked a riot.
Soon every security guard in the building, including a woman who shares a striking physical resemblance to a young Gary Coleman (c. the first season or two of Dif'rent Strokes) was screaming "CALL 911!" This building and neighborhood is almost always swarming with cops. within seconds there were cars, vans, cops on bikes... they flooded the main waiting area, and moments later pulled the client through my reception area in cuffs. He was yelling, appropriately enough... 'I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET MY BAG!'
The client, who's shirt was ripped in half down the back, had HUGE dreadlocks. He was saying something about how he didnt do anything and the other guy started it and blah blah.
The cops took to the employee entrance (down a hallway).... where Gary Coleman had returned to her post. Things seemed to calm down until a few minutes later I heard the cops sternly ordering the guy to sit down on the floor. What happened next I had to write down on the spot because it was too perfect to potentially flub with a bad paraphrasing. The client screamed... and I mean SCREAMED, "LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE! LOOK AT THE HATE IN YOUR HEART. DONT YOU SEE WHAT THE FUCK YOUR DOING?! YOU NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH REALITY!" This really doesnt read as all that noteworthy... but I mean, he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
A bit later, the cops (at least 6 of them) lead him out to the van. The client, now screaming "GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME! STOP FUCKING TWISTING MY ARM MOTHERFUCKER!" was roughly thrown in the van. As this happened, at least a dozen clients who had been in the waiting area watching the whole scene came running up to declare how wrong the whole situation was. In the chaos, I heard"
'That Chinese guy shouldnt have done that.'
'He's going to get fired.'
'This shit is messed up!'
'This is a place of business and you have to conduct yourself in a businesslike way.'
'I saw the whole thing!'
And... the absolute kicker...
'God Bless you. Happy St. Patrick's Day!' (this, for the benefit of Mixing, unfortunately was not uttered by Black Irish, who has not been seen in these parts for many many moons)
One of the security guards who I'm friendly with told me they probably took the scenic route to 850 and 'thumped the guy up a little bit.'