Phil-ling You In
You like the corny wordplay jokes. Go on; admit it.
So it's been about three weeks since the last real update here. How on earth did you survive? Did you survive? Chances are pretty good that you did, and, if I had to guess, you probably didn't even notice. Such is life in the MySpace Age ... now everybody and his brother has a blog, so us originals are pushed to the periphery. Sooner or later my dog will have one, and at that point I think we should all call it a night.
I can hear you asking, "Rapptor, where the devil have you been?" If you get an audible answer, run! The closet door ain't gonna hold the Boogeyman much longer, and the monster under your bed is getting tired of eating only dust bunnies.
Sorry. The sad, unfortunate truth, grasshopper, is that I've joined many of you and have a real job now. One that keeps me busy. One that leaves me not disappointed to be staying in on a Friday night because I'm wo' out. Well, that and there's nobody to hang with because folks are working, away, or gone to see McFly (note that I'm withholding further comment on that - surely a first!).
It's been a pretty interesting ride at the Philharmonic so far. I'm picking things up fairly quickly and getting more used to working there. Everybody's been just great (sometimes too great, but I won't go into that) and understanding, which makes life a whole lot easier. I fit in pretty well, even though life is a lot different now.
Lunches are one big change. The working lunch is a concept I don't like. They sound cool and important, right? Wrong! Don't be swayed ... they're a jack. At this meeting or that, at this workshop or that, people just expect you to give up your hour break to bolt your food between taking notes on something you don't give a hoot about. And do you get to leave work early to compensate for the time? Noooo.
Going to lunch with people seems to be currency in this new world. I've benefitted heavily from this: Willy's, Longhorn, Motor Supply Co., M Cafe, Capital City Club, Greek Boys, and Rising High. I've paid for a whole one of those, which is a hidden perk of being new, and will get reimbursed for another. Capital City Club (thanks, Boss!) was an experience, mainly because it's ultra elite and is located at the top of the tallest building in the state. Windows on the World (may it rest in peace) it's not, but I felt like a hick. All these suits in there, all this great food, and all I really wanted to do was look out the windows. But we didn't get window seats.
Meetings are another thing ... I have to go to them now. The novelty factor is still there, so no complaints. At this Tuesday's special events committee meeting, I noticed that I was one of only two men in the room. It was tempting to ask, Davy-esque, "Where's all the testosterone?" and I really had to catch myself when our normal caterers, Dupre, brought in a fantastic-looking salad, soft drinks (but also some wine!), and cake - all gratis. The salad bowl was passed to me, but I'd eaten a bag lunch so I wasn't feelin' it. When asked if I wanted any, "No, but I'ma holla at some cake" very nearly left my mouth, but I caught it in time. And it was exceptional chocolate cake, for the record.
The next day, Wednesday, was my first crappy day and I was to be introduced at the Board of Directors meeting. Did not want to go to this meeting ... I had work to do piling up on my desk. And, yes, it was another good ol' working lunch. Note to you: if ever in one and they send a lunch order form around a few days prior, resist the urge to check the "potato chips" box. One bite while someone's talking teaches you an "I want to sink into the floor now" lesson. So I've learned to let them soften in my mouth before biting, which defeats the purpose of eating what the English call "crisps" and do so for a reason. But I digress. To further things, I didn't have enough money to get out of the parking garage. Fortunately, the lady let me go. Our e-mail system at work went down while we were out, and stayed down 'til yesterday afternoon. What a headache.
Before leaving for that meeting, Will very generously hooked me up with a free ticket to see Nickelback that night at the Colonial Center. Off we went to earn more white boy points by attending a hard rock concert (demerits to me for wearing a white shirt, but my black Pirates hat was backward...). It was a late night, but it was a very good night. The show ruckin' focked, boys and girls.
Opening acts Trapt and Chevelle were both great, and the headliners were incredible. While they've (rightfully) earned some criticsm (hi, Andrew!) for having songs that sound a lot alike, their repertoire is better than what you're used to hearing on various radio stations. They do a lot of harder stuff you can rock out to, and the whole arena did, as the crowd was really into it. Lots of cool pyro helps things along, and there was just enough pot smoke to feel the rock concert ambience. It was a great crowd, and Nickelback are excellent live. They made a fan out of me, even though I liked 'em beforehand. My hearing recovered about 12 hours later, haha.
The next day, The State ran a small piece on me but omitted my new headshot, got my title partially wrong and left out the good quotes I gave them. Sigh. The first call of the day was from the J-School at USC, congratulating me because they saw the piece and - get this! - inviting me to take part in a panel discussion and lead a small roundtable for current JOUR students during IComm week on April 7. Boy, did they ever ask the wrong shmuck! They want me to talk about getting a job and networking and all that good stuff. Folks, if I knew a damn thing about any of that, I wouldn't have been hating life at the Koger for two more years! But I'm going, and will employ my tactic for meetings: say one or two carefully chosen smart things, and make jokes here and there. It will be gold. And it makes the Phil look good, so...
Life has been so completely crazy and unreal lately. I share this stuff just because of how unlikely it all is. I feel like I woke up in a dream, life is so completely different than three weeks ago. The attention and everything makes me uncomfortable and I really just wanna keep being the dork who likes to talk ghetto every now and then when I'm not making random/corny comments/jokes. But it really has been wonderful, and the opportunity is such a blessing. Plus it's a chance to spread His light to another group of people, which is exciting. What could possibly be next?
So it's been about three weeks since the last real update here. How on earth did you survive? Did you survive? Chances are pretty good that you did, and, if I had to guess, you probably didn't even notice. Such is life in the MySpace Age ... now everybody and his brother has a blog, so us originals are pushed to the periphery. Sooner or later my dog will have one, and at that point I think we should all call it a night.
I can hear you asking, "Rapptor, where the devil have you been?" If you get an audible answer, run! The closet door ain't gonna hold the Boogeyman much longer, and the monster under your bed is getting tired of eating only dust bunnies.
Sorry. The sad, unfortunate truth, grasshopper, is that I've joined many of you and have a real job now. One that keeps me busy. One that leaves me not disappointed to be staying in on a Friday night because I'm wo' out. Well, that and there's nobody to hang with because folks are working, away, or gone to see McFly (note that I'm withholding further comment on that - surely a first!).
It's been a pretty interesting ride at the Philharmonic so far. I'm picking things up fairly quickly and getting more used to working there. Everybody's been just great (sometimes too great, but I won't go into that) and understanding, which makes life a whole lot easier. I fit in pretty well, even though life is a lot different now.
Lunches are one big change. The working lunch is a concept I don't like. They sound cool and important, right? Wrong! Don't be swayed ... they're a jack. At this meeting or that, at this workshop or that, people just expect you to give up your hour break to bolt your food between taking notes on something you don't give a hoot about. And do you get to leave work early to compensate for the time? Noooo.
Going to lunch with people seems to be currency in this new world. I've benefitted heavily from this: Willy's, Longhorn, Motor Supply Co., M Cafe, Capital City Club, Greek Boys, and Rising High. I've paid for a whole one of those, which is a hidden perk of being new, and will get reimbursed for another. Capital City Club (thanks, Boss!) was an experience, mainly because it's ultra elite and is located at the top of the tallest building in the state. Windows on the World (may it rest in peace) it's not, but I felt like a hick. All these suits in there, all this great food, and all I really wanted to do was look out the windows. But we didn't get window seats.
Meetings are another thing ... I have to go to them now. The novelty factor is still there, so no complaints. At this Tuesday's special events committee meeting, I noticed that I was one of only two men in the room. It was tempting to ask, Davy-esque, "Where's all the testosterone?" and I really had to catch myself when our normal caterers, Dupre, brought in a fantastic-looking salad, soft drinks (but also some wine!), and cake - all gratis. The salad bowl was passed to me, but I'd eaten a bag lunch so I wasn't feelin' it. When asked if I wanted any, "No, but I'ma holla at some cake" very nearly left my mouth, but I caught it in time. And it was exceptional chocolate cake, for the record.
The next day, Wednesday, was my first crappy day and I was to be introduced at the Board of Directors meeting. Did not want to go to this meeting ... I had work to do piling up on my desk. And, yes, it was another good ol' working lunch. Note to you: if ever in one and they send a lunch order form around a few days prior, resist the urge to check the "potato chips" box. One bite while someone's talking teaches you an "I want to sink into the floor now" lesson. So I've learned to let them soften in my mouth before biting, which defeats the purpose of eating what the English call "crisps" and do so for a reason. But I digress. To further things, I didn't have enough money to get out of the parking garage. Fortunately, the lady let me go. Our e-mail system at work went down while we were out, and stayed down 'til yesterday afternoon. What a headache.
Before leaving for that meeting, Will very generously hooked me up with a free ticket to see Nickelback that night at the Colonial Center. Off we went to earn more white boy points by attending a hard rock concert (demerits to me for wearing a white shirt, but my black Pirates hat was backward...). It was a late night, but it was a very good night. The show ruckin' focked, boys and girls.
Opening acts Trapt and Chevelle were both great, and the headliners were incredible. While they've (rightfully) earned some criticsm (hi, Andrew!) for having songs that sound a lot alike, their repertoire is better than what you're used to hearing on various radio stations. They do a lot of harder stuff you can rock out to, and the whole arena did, as the crowd was really into it. Lots of cool pyro helps things along, and there was just enough pot smoke to feel the rock concert ambience. It was a great crowd, and Nickelback are excellent live. They made a fan out of me, even though I liked 'em beforehand. My hearing recovered about 12 hours later, haha.
The next day, The State ran a small piece on me but omitted my new headshot, got my title partially wrong and left out the good quotes I gave them. Sigh. The first call of the day was from the J-School at USC, congratulating me because they saw the piece and - get this! - inviting me to take part in a panel discussion and lead a small roundtable for current JOUR students during IComm week on April 7. Boy, did they ever ask the wrong shmuck! They want me to talk about getting a job and networking and all that good stuff. Folks, if I knew a damn thing about any of that, I wouldn't have been hating life at the Koger for two more years! But I'm going, and will employ my tactic for meetings: say one or two carefully chosen smart things, and make jokes here and there. It will be gold. And it makes the Phil look good, so...
Life has been so completely crazy and unreal lately. I share this stuff just because of how unlikely it all is. I feel like I woke up in a dream, life is so completely different than three weeks ago. The attention and everything makes me uncomfortable and I really just wanna keep being the dork who likes to talk ghetto every now and then when I'm not making random/corny comments/jokes. But it really has been wonderful, and the opportunity is such a blessing. Plus it's a chance to spread His light to another group of people, which is exciting. What could possibly be next?