I Can Feel it, COVID's in the Air Tonight... Oh Lord!
So, what did I do?
I went to Iceland,
Ya'll know about that.
That was a month ago!
It was awesome!
Got home... got covid tested....
failed (ie: happily negative)
kept waking up with a scratchy throat...
blamed our dirty house...
lost my voice...
got covid tested, failed again...
but was sick with a nasty cold from about December 21st
until about December 30th.
Having ultra-flexbility at work
to work from home **most** any time I want to....?
Awesome.
I did not have covid,
but two of my friends DID get covid over the holidays,
as did 13 local musicians
I had booked for an upcoming filming session.
So... about HALF of the individuals booked.
That only sounds half-bad
until you realize
this is 13 people,
out of 27 people booked,
who, together
make up 6 bands.
That means 49% covid positives,
and practically 49% covid-positive-exposed
= 98% cancellations of booked talent.
Ok. Awesome.
Most of the covid exposures happened during the holidays,
then wait 3-5 days for the infection to show symptoms,
tests occur, and the bad news to filter in.
Cancel.
Cancel.
Cancel.
Cancel-cancel-cancel.
Rad.
And there was a snowstorm, that closed the mountain passes.
Cancel.
Some people are in the hospital,
its bad.
We specifically booked talent from the local black and indigenous populations,
to talk about:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
+ Voting Rights Legislation
And here we are, talking about something else:
High infection/death rate of black/brown populations from COVID.
Fucking.
Perfect.
Thanks anti-vaxxers.
Thanks anti-maskers.
Thanks anti-quarantine-ers.
Thanks anti-mandate-ers.
Thanks you people who marched and waved "Don't Tread on Me" flags on street corners
to keep bars, hair salons, and schools open...
because 'Merica is about FREEDOM TO DIE ON OUR OWN TERMS!
Which is not at all ironic or out of character,
since 'Merica definitely does believe in that,
hence our national refusal of Universal Healthcare.
Well, ya'll have been been keeping shit... problematic.
Your total lack of support for medicine or science
during this global pandemic is both
noticeable and not appreciated.
So.... been wishing all my cancelled artists good health
and good news, and fast recoveries
and scrambling to find replacements.
I had lined up some alternates,
but I did not line up alternates
for 100% of my bookings!
That would be CRAZY
(if it weren't a pandemic).
My boss wasn't crazy about my idea to begin with.
A whole show dedicated to MLK?
Yes.
A whole show.
A SHOWCASE, actually.
Spend the extra money,
get in more artists
get a myriad of viewpoints,
and voices and faces,
and experiences,
and art.
Yes, specifically black voices/viewpoints.
Yes, specifically brown voices/viewpoints.
Lots of them.
Bring in the NAACP.
Bring in the MLK Community Center.
We are FAMOUS as a very *white* city.
We are SO FAMOUS as a very *white* city,
not only are people still bringing up Rachel Dolezal,
but Mark Furhman decided to move here.
Our MLK March was nearly bombed by a white-separatist a few years ago.
Our region was the national center for the Aryan Nation for decades.
David Duke summers here.
The next town over STILL HAS ANNUAL HOODED KKK MARCHES THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
Yes.
An MLK Show.
Are you KIDDING?!
He got behind it, though.
Full on.
But now?
All the pushing,
8 weeks of planning,
6 weeks of vetting and booking,
and our catalog of performers
evaporated in a mist of covid-positive tests
over less than a week,
the *days* before filming.
So.... that's work.
But, on the plus side....
my backup plans have been working out,
and it's still happening,
in a smaller, more condensed way,
and my boss is happy my PR work got a few articles written,
at least until my boss was disappointed my PR work already went into print
and is now almost totally inaccurate.
Awesome.
Really making sure they don't think I'm TOO good at this job.
Also,
I was sick they day of the office holiday party
(segue)
and sick on Christmas Eve
and sick on Christmas Day
but...
I was not sick on New Years!
So, I went to a small New Years with my closest (and nearest) friendlies
and we did our best to party like it was 2022, and it was a global pandemic on!
We tried to keep our distances,
made fun of each other in the kinds of ways
only people who have known each other for 20 years can do,
and ate lots of food,
and drank some drinks,
and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
Sailor and I brought two mylar balloons for my bestly friend's kiddies,
since she was hostin' with the mostin'
a large terrifying t-rex,
and a large, less-terrifying piratey-shark.
They ran from room to room... flying their balloons behind them.
Zoom!
Zoom!
*cackle-squawk-scream-cackle*
The t-rex was dead within 2 hours,
smooshed by little love-filled hands of death.
We stayed up!
We drank prosecco at midnight,
and played board games till 2am.
At least, some of us did.
It was a JOY.
Flip forward to now?
Today was using my high class telephone voice
to secure a house walk-through for my friend who wants to buy one.
It is literally the cheapest house,
in town,
that isn't a mobile home
or recently ON FIRE,
with the burn marks and water-damaged drywall
to prove it.
So far, the highest offer is $50k over asking price.
It went on the market 3 days ago.
That is 30% over the initial asking price.
Crazy.
House prices doubled in our market, in just 3 years.
Quadrupled over the last 5.
I also called on a property *I* want.
15 years doing VIP customer service,
and 13 years on the radio...
I have a GOOD "telephone voice".
Both agents stopped the call,
"What company are you calling with?
What agency do you work for?"
No, no... I just have excellent phone manners,
and a voice like butter, my friend.
I have spent years practicing modulation,
tone, meter, enunciation, and volume
to be easily heard and understood
by most people over a telephone.
THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Ha!
So, I may be helping a friend buy a house?
And also... slowly convincing Sailor
on the idea of selling everything
and running away to [Spain/Italy/Switzerland] with our sold-property winnings.
WHO NEEDS REALITY
when you've got ITALY!?
Anyways.... up to date?
TL;DR version -
COVID. EVERYWHERE.
Job going great, except covid.
Sick through the holidays.
Well for a swell New Years.
Property prices are crazy.
/end
I went to Iceland,
Ya'll know about that.
That was a month ago!
It was awesome!
Got home... got covid tested....
failed (ie: happily negative)
kept waking up with a scratchy throat...
blamed our dirty house...
lost my voice...
got covid tested, failed again...
but was sick with a nasty cold from about December 21st
until about December 30th.
Having ultra-flexbility at work
to work from home **most** any time I want to....?
Awesome.
I did not have covid,
but two of my friends DID get covid over the holidays,
as did 13 local musicians
I had booked for an upcoming filming session.
So... about HALF of the individuals booked.
That only sounds half-bad
until you realize
this is 13 people,
out of 27 people booked,
who, together
make up 6 bands.
That means 49% covid positives,
and practically 49% covid-positive-exposed
= 98% cancellations of booked talent.
Ok. Awesome.
Most of the covid exposures happened during the holidays,
then wait 3-5 days for the infection to show symptoms,
tests occur, and the bad news to filter in.
Cancel.
Cancel.
Cancel.
Cancel-cancel-cancel.
Rad.
And there was a snowstorm, that closed the mountain passes.
Cancel.
Some people are in the hospital,
its bad.
We specifically booked talent from the local black and indigenous populations,
to talk about:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
+ Voting Rights Legislation
And here we are, talking about something else:
High infection/death rate of black/brown populations from COVID.
Fucking.
Perfect.
Thanks anti-vaxxers.
Thanks anti-maskers.
Thanks anti-quarantine-ers.
Thanks anti-mandate-ers.
Thanks you people who marched and waved "Don't Tread on Me" flags on street corners
to keep bars, hair salons, and schools open...
because 'Merica is about FREEDOM TO DIE ON OUR OWN TERMS!
Which is not at all ironic or out of character,
since 'Merica definitely does believe in that,
hence our national refusal of Universal Healthcare.
Well, ya'll have been been keeping shit... problematic.
Your total lack of support for medicine or science
during this global pandemic is both
noticeable and not appreciated.
So.... been wishing all my cancelled artists good health
and good news, and fast recoveries
and scrambling to find replacements.
I had lined up some alternates,
but I did not line up alternates
for 100% of my bookings!
That would be CRAZY
(if it weren't a pandemic).
My boss wasn't crazy about my idea to begin with.
A whole show dedicated to MLK?
Yes.
A whole show.
A SHOWCASE, actually.
Spend the extra money,
get in more artists
get a myriad of viewpoints,
and voices and faces,
and experiences,
and art.
Yes, specifically black voices/viewpoints.
Yes, specifically brown voices/viewpoints.
Lots of them.
Bring in the NAACP.
Bring in the MLK Community Center.
We are FAMOUS as a very *white* city.
We are SO FAMOUS as a very *white* city,
not only are people still bringing up Rachel Dolezal,
but Mark Furhman decided to move here.
Our MLK March was nearly bombed by a white-separatist a few years ago.
Our region was the national center for the Aryan Nation for decades.
David Duke summers here.
The next town over STILL HAS ANNUAL HOODED KKK MARCHES THROUGH DOWNTOWN.
Yes.
An MLK Show.
Are you KIDDING?!
He got behind it, though.
Full on.
But now?
All the pushing,
8 weeks of planning,
6 weeks of vetting and booking,
and our catalog of performers
evaporated in a mist of covid-positive tests
over less than a week,
the *days* before filming.
So.... that's work.
But, on the plus side....
my backup plans have been working out,
and it's still happening,
in a smaller, more condensed way,
and my boss is happy my PR work got a few articles written,
at least until my boss was disappointed my PR work already went into print
and is now almost totally inaccurate.
Awesome.
Really making sure they don't think I'm TOO good at this job.
Also,
I was sick they day of the office holiday party
(segue)
and sick on Christmas Eve
and sick on Christmas Day
but...
I was not sick on New Years!
So, I went to a small New Years with my closest (and nearest) friendlies
and we did our best to party like it was 2022, and it was a global pandemic on!
We tried to keep our distances,
made fun of each other in the kinds of ways
only people who have known each other for 20 years can do,
and ate lots of food,
and drank some drinks,
and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
Sailor and I brought two mylar balloons for my bestly friend's kiddies,
since she was hostin' with the mostin'
a large terrifying t-rex,
and a large, less-terrifying piratey-shark.
They ran from room to room... flying their balloons behind them.
Zoom!
Zoom!
*cackle-squawk-scream-cackle*
The t-rex was dead within 2 hours,
smooshed by little love-filled hands of death.
We stayed up!
We drank prosecco at midnight,
and played board games till 2am.
At least, some of us did.
It was a JOY.
Flip forward to now?
Today was using my high class telephone voice
to secure a house walk-through for my friend who wants to buy one.
It is literally the cheapest house,
in town,
that isn't a mobile home
or recently ON FIRE,
with the burn marks and water-damaged drywall
to prove it.
So far, the highest offer is $50k over asking price.
It went on the market 3 days ago.
That is 30% over the initial asking price.
Crazy.
House prices doubled in our market, in just 3 years.
Quadrupled over the last 5.
I also called on a property *I* want.
15 years doing VIP customer service,
and 13 years on the radio...
I have a GOOD "telephone voice".
Both agents stopped the call,
"What company are you calling with?
What agency do you work for?"
No, no... I just have excellent phone manners,
and a voice like butter, my friend.
I have spent years practicing modulation,
tone, meter, enunciation, and volume
to be easily heard and understood
by most people over a telephone.
THANKYOUVERYMUCH.
Ha!
So, I may be helping a friend buy a house?
And also... slowly convincing Sailor
on the idea of selling everything
and running away to [Spain/Italy/Switzerland] with our sold-property winnings.
WHO NEEDS REALITY
when you've got ITALY!?
Anyways.... up to date?
TL;DR version -
COVID. EVERYWHERE.
Job going great, except covid.
Sick through the holidays.
Well for a swell New Years.
Property prices are crazy.
/end