A Quick Update

Today is the first day of the show. It is 8:00 am currently, and the show starts at 9:00 am. 

I will be running a break out this morning for an hour, and then playing the role of stage hand in the GS most likely during the afternoon. 

It isn't glamorous, but someone has to do it.

Last night we all worked till about 7:00 - 7:30. Then went to the bar for a drink, and I ended up staying there with Evan and having dinner. There is something about an international club sandwich that is pretty satisfying! I try to have one in every country that I am in. 

The client came down and joined us for a drink. He is really one of the nicest guys that you will ever meet, and he really shows us how much he appreciates the work we do.

I got to bed around 11:00 pm and slept really well. The phone rang at 6:00 am and I woke up with a start feeling like I had overslept and missed my call. I hate that.

The city of Prague really has been wonderful! the photo opportunities have been amazing, and the food is great! We have been taking the Tram, Subway and Cabs to get around the city. Cabs are pretty expensive, but the Subway and Tram is cheap.

It takes about 15 minutes to get downtown, and when you get there, you wander around and see so much cool architecture as well as tons of people enjoying the city.

A bunch of us went to dinner downtown, and when we got off the subway, Rob and I started clicking away. We walked by a church that had just finished the service, and Rob and I jumped in to try and get some photos.

As soon as we started, we were told that the church was closing. So, I begged for just 2 minutes to rocket off a few shots.

The guy wasn't happy about it, but he let me shoot a few, and then Rob and I told the rest of the group that we were going to bail on dinner and just keep shooting. 

The sun was setting and the sky was gorgeous! We shot photos of the St Charles bridge for the next hour or so, and then realized we were completely starving. So, we dived into a Chinese restaurant, and had a great, cheap meal sitting outside.  Took the train back to the hotel, and realized that we had hopped on the wrong train. We jumped off at the next stop, and then finally found a cab which took us all over the city trying to find the hotel. We finally got back around midnight, and crashed.

Blogging in Prague

I have been remiss in keeping the Blog updated as much as I would like to have. However, I have a good excuse. We have been out shooting photos of the most amazing city I have ever seen!

I landed in Prague at 9:40 in the morning, after an awful connection in Frankfurt. 

I arrived in Frankfurt and had about 1 hour to make my connecting flight. So, I followed the signs to the gate that I was supposed to leave from and it took me through passport control. That is not a good thing. Now, I am outside the secure area, and have to go back through security which is just going to take more time. 

I also had not been given my boarding pass for the next flight, and had to check in at the Lufthansa counter. So, after finally getting some paperwork to get through the check point, I rushed over to security because the lady at the ticket counter told me I was going to have to run. They were already boarding the plane. 

At Security, I got stopped and they made me empty my camera bag. Completely! Then they took me around a corner and checked every lens for explosives. 

I had 4 minutes left....

Finally they let me go, and I started running. 26 gates through a crowded airport and I was huffing and puffing, sweating, and just about to collapse. 

I made the flight however, and landed in Prague at 9:40 am.  Then I had a pleasant surprise. There was a driver waiting for me with my name on a sign. 

He took my bags, and put me in a new mercedes and about 20 minutes later I was at the hotel.

Checked in and took a quick nap. 

Then I decided to go out and explore the city by myself for a while because I was hungry. 

So, I will post a few photos of my first experience in Prague. 

I am having trouble uploading to the blog, so Here is the link to the photos so far.

www.yellowshirtproductions.com/photogallery

Heading to Czech Republic.

So, I am sitting on a 747-400 and using my AT&T Aircard. We are still at the gate and the door is open, but I feel like they are going to shut me down any minute. 

I video called Rick and that was fun to do while on the airplane. It isn't often that you get to play around with technology like that.

The meal is Prawns appetizer, Tomato/pepper salad and then Filet Mignon for dinner, followed up by ice cream for desert with sundae toppings.

There is the announcement that they are closing the doors. So, I am done for the next 7 hours.

More once I get to the hotel in Prague!

later

Steve

When it Rains... It Pours

I was just finishing up packing when I started to hear thunder... lots o thunder!

Then lightning...like flash after flash about every 10 seconds there were about 15 flashes. 

The wind started to pick up, so I flipped on the TV and saw a tornado watch for the county I live in and the surrounding areas.

Over the course of about 30 minutes the wind and rain picked up to about 50 miles an hour! The hanging ferns were horizontal, and the Rockers on the front porch flipped over and blew onto the steps.

It turns out that the heart of the tornado was about 1 mile away. Then came more rain, and finally when I thought it might be dying down... Huge chunks of hail.

The storm is moving north east.

Great.. just what I need! I am flying out of Greensboro tomorrow morning, which is East of here. 

Landing in Washington DC, which is North East of here. 

I am sure I am going to get delayed.

International Travel

I am headed out on Friday to Prague, Czech Republic, and then directly to Saint Petersburg Russia. I am still waiting for my Russian visa which should be here on Wednesday with my passport. My friend Rob and I are arriving a day early in Prague to see some sights and shoot some photos of this amazing city. 

Prague should be the normal part of this trip. Russia however, is going to be something entirely different. The hotel is in the middle of a huge renovation, and when our lighting director went there last week for a site survey, he found that the ballroom that we are going to be setting up in is completely torn apart, wiring hanging out of the ceiling, and construction materials everywhere. It should be a trip! Rob and I are staying for an extra day in Russia as well.  

After the Europe trip is over, in June, I head to Philadelphia for a few days, then straight to Boston for a week, and back to back... right to Chicago. There is some potential that I may fly to Chile South America, and then right from there to Brussels. Either way, Brussels is for sure. 

So, the next two months are going to be amazing, and full of tremendous opportunity and experiences.

Back from Florida

I went to the front of the hotel and asked a Valet for a taxi to the airport, and he just looked at me and said, " I can't help you" you need to go talk to the transportation desk. So, I went inside... had to wait till this guy finished his personal phone call. He didn't actually hang up the call... just put the caller on hold. Then after I asked for a taxi, he picked the call back up and told them he had to call them back.

Already bad service. The valet could have just gone in and told the guy to call a taxi for a guest... but that was not his job, and he made sure to let us know that we were asking the wrong person. Then, the guy behind the transportation desk on the phone with a personal call. How do I know he was on a personal call? Well... "Later Dude" is probably not the Boca Raton Resort and Club's policy on how to finish a business call.

So,  I ask for a taxi to the airport, and the guy asks what time my flight is. I tell him, but just wishing I could get someone to say no problem, right away. I am only asking for a taxi....

So, he picks up his nextel, and direct connects someone... I am hoping it is the taxi dispatcher, but overhearing an entirely too loud cell conversation, I hear it is a driver.

He tells me that the "Driver" will be here in 10 minutes.

I say "Driver?" he says yes. I say "Is that a Taxi?" he says.. "No, a Driver" I ask how much it is going to cost, and he tells me without blinking an eye. $96.60 

My cab from the airport was $66.00 

Now, I am livid. I looked him right in the eye, and said, "I don't want a "Driver" I asked you for a taxi, a metered taxi" He just looks at me with blank eyes, and then makes one last attempt to rip me off. He says "Well, sir, that may take between 5 and 20 minutes" 

I say "Thats fine.. just get me a taxi" 

I just can't believe how many people that they overcharge by pulling this racket, and they just think it is ok. 

The taxi showed up in about 5 minutes, and the driver was a great guy, nice to chat with and he informed us that the transportation desk guy would get fired if he accepted kick backs from limo companies. Not worth my time.. but tempting.

I guess I have to apologize to the slime bag valets at Disney who do the same racket, They aren't the only ones who are ripping people off, and if I somehow in my first blog implied that they were the only ones, I sincerely apologize to them. I would feel bad if I hurt there feelings.

Heading to Florida

I am once again sitting in the airport in Greensboro at 5:00 am. The alarm went off at 3:30 am and I thought I was in a dream, so I just ignored it, unfortunately, it did not go away.

So, up and out the door by 4:00 am and at the airport by 4:30 parked, checked in. All seems well.

I am headed down to Boca Raton, Florida. The hotel we are working at this time is called the Boca Raton Resort and Club. A real high end place. Except.... I have worked there a number of times, and so have most of the guys, and none of us, not one of us, actually like the place. They have this way about them that makes you feel like you are in their way. I haven't been there in many years, and that is my impression. We shall see if they have changed, but I am pretty sure that it is still the same. One of the techs on the show flew in last night and his report was par for the course, he already had some challenges just getting a non smoking room.

The good news is, that I am only there for one night, and back on a plane tomorrow evening after the show. 

Last time we did this show, it was in NY, at the hotel with the longest room key in the world. I am serious, the card key for the room had to be 6" long. 

In NY, I was audio for the main room, and Matt was audio for the second room. Evan was TD. Evan couldn't make this show, so I am TD this time, and Eric will take my place as A1. Matt is still A1 for the second room. It will be nice to see Matt again. We have only worked together about 5 or 6 times, but I feel like I have known the guy forever. 

Eric is always good for a bunch of laughs, so this should be a pleasant gig.