The Delicate Dance of a VIP visit

I have a few minutes before someone else runs screaming into my office looking for something, so I thought I'd write a quick blog on what's been going on.

We've got a very high level person coming this week.  Can't talk too much about it, but you read the papers. (Or would if their business model wasn't flawed.)  Anyways, here's what you need to keep in mind if you have a big VIP visit coming.

1) Keep calm.  There are three main reasons why you need to keep calm. a) Even if it's an emergency, getting excited isn't going to help. b) If you're calm, it can bring the temperature down to a reasonable level and make everyone else calm.  If that doesn't work, then c) your being calm will piss everyone else off, which can be fun in the short run, and get you a good reputation in the long run as someone that is unflappable.

2) Remember to ask before spending any money.  If you don't get permission from either Management, or the people running the show, you've just made a nice donation to the trip.  Always ask before buying something.  Even if it is someone that looks like they are in charge, check with the money men before doing anything.

3) Just because you're working the visit doesn't mean you'll actually get to meet the VIP.  Get over it quickly.

4) Don't get into a shouting match.  No one will remember anything about the trip except for when that one guy started screaming.

5) Remember to thank your employees before, during and after the event.  This is very important, as many of them are working long hours and staying away from their families.  They need to know that their work is valued.  Threats of, "If you don't, you're fired" will have one of two consequences: they'll either quit, or do just enough not to get fired.  If you tell them you appreciate them, they'll work harder for you.

Finally:

6) Leave your ego at the door.  This ain't about you.  It's about the job.  Everyone is trying to do this, so pull together.  It'll be a lot easier if you do.

Anyways, I'm back doing meetings and negotiations, so I'll try and update next week.  Hope everyone is doing well!

MILB: "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead

Thom Yorke is one of the most underrated frontmen in recent history.  He doesn't really get credit for his emotional performances because Radiohead are constantly evolving.  (Try listening to Pablo Honey, then compare it to Ok Computer and then listen to Kid A.  Hard to believe these are the same guys really, and those albums were released within a 10 year period.

Anyways, "Pyramid Song" is one of the most haunting songs you'll ever hear in pop music.  The lyrics are a thing unto themselves, but the music really puts the mood.  It's a very sombre song, and very evocative of an intense dream.

"I jumped into the river and what did I see?/Black-eyed angels swam with me./ A room full of stars and astral cars/ All the things I used to see./  All my lovers were there with me/ all my past and futures/ And we all went to heaven in a little row boat/ there was nothing to fear nothing to doubt."

How trippy is that?  That's the entire song right there, repeated once.  It really blows you away when hearing it, especially with the music moving behind it, with crescendos and decrescendos accentuating the power of the words.

Don't take my word for it.  Thom Yorke said it's one of the best things they've ever recorded.  I've heard the acoustic version rocks, but haven't been able to find it.  Hope I will one day.

Give it a listen, on a rainy day, and it'll make you think you're in a C.S. Lewis book.

How dry I am

Well, we're in the depths of winter here in South Africa.  Many of you may be thinking, "So what?  It can't be that bad.  You're in Africa!  No one ever says, "Man, it's Africa cold out there!"  Well, you'd be wrong.  It's cold.

Cold I can handle.  Dry on the other hand can be a real problem.  Respiratory illnesses are rampant right now in Johannesburg, and we've finally gotten them fixed in our family.  The combination of cold, altitude, and dryness creates havoc with everything.

One of the main problems we have, besides chronic bronchitis, is ants.  Ants?!?  What's that got to do with cold and dry?  Well, I'll tell you.

The average rainfall in Johannesburg for the month of June is 1/2 inch of rain.  The average for May is 1 inch.    July gets less than 1/4 of an inch.  I can tell you, we've fallen below those marks.  In the search for water, ants move themselves inside so they can try to find water to keep themselves alive.

At first we thought it was because the kids were being messy eaters.  Lovely Little Girl has to be reminded not to eat apples while walking through the house, and Crazy Little Man needs reminding that he must be cleaned off before leaving the table.  (He's still working on his eating skills.  he's getting better, though.)  So we cleaned and we cleaned.  We made sure that there wasn't a crumb on the floor, and the honey was tucked into an airtight plastic ziplock bag.

We still got ants.  It is so dry that they just keep finding ways in looking for water.  Every morning we have to check to make sure they haven't tried to get into the water kettle because they're looking for water.  Can't leave a glass out, as they'll be on it.

We have made quite an amazing discovery, though.  Ants HATE the smell of baby powder.  Apparently they can't handle it.  So we've been sprinkling it in areas where we think they're coming in.  It seems to work for a few days, and then they try another route.  We then follow them back to their entrance and baby powder it too.  It's a never ending stuggle.  However, I suppose it'll work itself out.  It is only the beginning of June, and we've still got two more months of Winter left.  Hopefully it does rain soon, and we can stop fighting the ants.

It could be worse, I suppose.  A friend of mine told me a story of someone in an African Country near the equator.  His friend's wife heard a scratching noise on the front door and opened it thinking her dog had gotten out.  Nope.  It was a cobra.  I think I'll take ants any day over that.

MILB: "Send Me an Angel" by Real Life (1989 Remix)

This is a lost classic of the late 1980s.  Real Life never really got the credit they deserved from this song.  I was listening to it this morning and decided it'd be my song for the day.

Real Life were a band from Australia that really only released three albums with the original line-up.  Their biggest hit, "Send me an Angel" came from their first album, Heartland.  Since then, the lead singer has basically recorded by himself under the name.  To make matters worse, most people in the US think this song is from the Pet Shop Boys due to it being mislabeled by downloads when Napster was big.  How much does that suck?

Anyways, onto the song.  It was pretty big in the States.  It featured in two movies, RAD (which is where I first heard the song) and The Wizard starring a young Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis, lead singer for Rilo Kiley.  Pretty random hookups, don't you think?

Real Life decided to release a Greatest Hits album in 1989, and featured "Send Me An Angel (1989 Remix)" which went to No. 26 on the charts in the US.  Not too bad really.  So what is it about this song that brings me back to it?

Well, in 1989, I was 13.  Right about the time when I realized that heartbreak was an actual thing, and something that I would have to get used to for a bit.  (Again, Nick Hornby was right: Did I listen to Pop Music because I was sad?  Or was I sad because I listened to Pop Music.  Seriously, the man is an awesome writer.)  Listening to the song with lyrics like, "Empty drinks will only disappoint/ in a room behind your smile./  But don't give up/ don't give up/ you can be lucky in love" how can you NOT love this as a pubescent adolescent.  It's both sad and hopeful at the same time!  If you've been unlucky in love, while all of your friends are in relationships (even if it is only junior high school relationships) then you kind of feel left out.  Listening to music, I've always said, can be a cheap form of therapy.  Plus, it reminds me that even though I was down for a bit, I've picked myself up.  (I was no Lothario, however.  And yes, I did say that just to use Lothario.  11 pts in Scrabble my friends!)

The music is strictly 1980s synth pop, with a dash of unnecessary electric guitar.  However, it's a great song, and one that definitely takes me back to that time.  There are so many songs that have been forgotten in the US from that time period.  (I hear them here, due to, as I've said previously, South Africa being about 10 years behind in their music.)  I might start picking some of them out so people can remember them.  Give Real Life a listen, and most especially "Send Me an Angel."  Great song from a great time in life.  Now if they'd only release "RAD" on DVD, it'd be perfect.

Frustration

My wife always says she'd like her job more if she didn't have to deal with people.  Everyone thinks she's kidding.  She isn't.

That's how I've been feeling lately.  We've got a large event happening here, and it is just so frustrating having all these moving parts but not really being in control of anything.

However, I've decided that I'm going to turn this into a positive.  I've found that to calm myself I need to either, a) workout or, b) listen to angry music.  Of course there is c) do both a and b, but we'll focus on b) right now.

Here's what I like to listen to so I can get anger out of my system.

1) "Chop Suey" by System of a Down
2) "Head Like a Hole" by NIN
3) "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
4) "Anthem Part 2" by Blink-182
5) "Cochise" by Audioslave
6) "Lithium" by Nirvana
7) "Killing in the Name of" by Rage Against the Machine
8) "I'm Afraid of Americans" by David Bowie (featuring NIN)
9) "Lose Yourself" by Eminem
10) "Sorry You're not a Winner" by Enter Shikari

So there's my list.  I'm sure I'll be fine, and I'm sure this event will go well.  Sometimes you just need to let it out.