long weekend

Friday was my last day at NAPA, oh yeah, it was also payday. So, I get off work at 2, race over to the bank, then head north. Had a nice ride into the N.Georgia mountains and actually found the fairgrounds. Then the fun started... I was set to be a Production Assistant (PA-1 wass my callname) at the show called the Banker's Hour. So, I put on my gloves and start pulling cable for the cameras. Every camera...5 in all... had audio/video lines and a stinger(power supply). After all that was done, we had to set up the air cannons. Both had to be assembled, charged to 125psi, filled with confetti, and capped for safety and such. Then I moved on to help prep for pyrotechnics, I was cutting the material that was used to hold the powder. Of course, where there's pyro, the fire marshall has to inspect everything and have a display before it can be approved. After rehearsals were finished, me and a couple other crew members were hungry and went in search of food...nothing is open in the mountains at 12am. About 45 minutes and a mountain later, we found ourselfs in Canton at a Huddle House. Made it back to the hotel at 2:15.

Up, dressed and onset by 10:00 Saturday...All the cameras had to be put back in place, and we added camera 5 over the band. Not anything real interesting until right before the first show started. Keep in mind, since I was a PA, I had a headset on and was being told orders at times. Usual chaos before any show starts, but, because of the rules for pyro, 2 firefighters had to be in full gear and advance a charged 1 3/4 line into the building whenever the pyro was about to go off. ***there was pyro in the opening sequence and at the end of the last song*** Of course, my cousin is a firefighter for that county so I was messing with the guys. I'm suprised one didn't blast me with the hose, he kept threatening to......*** Halfway through the show, my radio crapped out and I could hear everything, but couldn't reply. Luckily, the other PA replied for me. Other than that, the show seemed to go off with no problems.

During the break between shows, I had my radio looked at, sure enough, it won't transmit. Went ahead and re-set the air cannons, had to talk with a couple people from the show about being more aware of the cameras, then was able to relax. Had lunch and was looking at the firefighter's Harley, turns out, he used to work for our pyro guy...Next thing I know, he's cleared it with my boss and says "get the helmet, let's gofor a ride." We get back, hang out for a while (next show was at 8), and have a production meeting. Now it gets really fun. The first show only recorded on 1 of the 3 ways we needed it to...that means this was our only shot at getting the show. Every camera now gets 2 tapes, one for each half of the show. Unfortunatly, camera 5 can't be remotely started, and it goes into sleep mode after a minute, so I'm shown how to work it. "5 minutes out everyone" Then I hear, "if you can hear me, wave your hand in front of the camera...OK, when we say roll it, start the camera recording."  Show starts, I get camera 5 going and hear the boss say, good job go 10-8... So I go back around to sit down and watch the show. I don't even make it to my seat when I'm told to go to the crow's nest and find out what's wrong with the audio feed. One of the mic's was somehow messing with the RF and so it sounded like someone had a candy wrapper over the mic. The rest of the show had no big problems. I had to start camera 5 again after the intermission. The show ends, crowd starts to leave, and we start to break-down. Every cable, wire, and roll of tape had to be accounted for and packed up. We finished about 1:15am, went to the hotel, and crashed.

Got up the next morning, showered, and met downstairs for breakfast at 8:30. Everyone was being goofy and having a good time, we left about 9:45. I split off and went through Helen, GA on the way home so I could buy a couple more shirts. A lot of the shops up there have really funny firefighter shirts. Got home about 1 and went to sleep. Mom woke me up so I could be in Buford at 5. Took care of stuff there, rode home, jumped into my car and took off again. Had to rush to the Hooter's to meet with my boyfriend and some friends. Got there about 8:10, only missed the first few minutes of the show(WWE Wrestling pay-per-view). Went home afterwards and slept until 9 this morning. Like I said, it was a long weekend.