BIRTHDAY ?? 2010

I HAD SUCH A GREAT BIRTHDAY!!!

The week-end started with Charlene's arrival and a trip to the Sam's Club Community Block party where there were all kind of food vendors handing out FREE food!!  Then a decorating party at the Red Cross to get the Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) ready to be in the Ft. Lauderdale Irishfest parade.  That was SO much fun!!! People cheered and clapped on the sidelines and yelled "Thank you Red Cross".  We gave out green carnations to the spectators and had entirely TOO much fun. THAT IS NOT A CARDBOARD CUTOUT.  THE GOVERNOR HEARD IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY AND INSISTED THAT HE GOT A PICTURE OF ME AND HIM (YEAH - RIGHT) Then, it was on to Wilton Manors (a gay part of Ft. Lauderdale) to "Out of the Closet", a gay thrift shop.  I got another tuxedo shirt (for my usher gig) and a khaki pair of shorts for my Sony Ericsson Tennis tournament gig.  They put them in a pink bag, of course. A gay thrift shop is the perfect place to find a tuxedo shirt. Next, to my beach hangout, Ocean Alley, where I introduced Charlene to my favorite bartenders, my roommate and a few friends.  We had a beer and headed over to Giorgio's for a quick appetizer pizza. Mmmm fresh mozzarella, basil and homemade tomato sauce. Yummy! HOME TO REFRESH We did our makeup, hair, and donned fancy duds and set out to downtown Hollywood.  Charlene wore 3" heels and I wore boots with 3" heels.  Downtown was a bust, with very few people on the streets - everyone was in the restaurants, so I said "let's hit a casino".  I had a couple of free drink tokens so we trudged all the way through the Seminole casino to the bar.  After getting our drinks, we sat at a slot machine and promptly lost $10.  Time to hit the road... On to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino that's only a few blocks from me.  No parking.  There was an overflow lot that was full, so we parked at a little strip center across from the parking garage and walked across 441.  We thought we could circumvent the garage by walking in the landscaping on the side.  NOT.  Then we got lost in the parking garage and couldn't find the entrance to the casino.  FINALLY, with hurting feet, we followed some people and followed them in.  We were in the outside area where all the clubs are but there weren't many people there.  It was 10:00 pm but the clubs weren't even OPEN yet.  So...we hit a bar, took a few pictures and it looked like the clubs were starting to open.  We asked one of the hosts/bouncers/attendants how much it cost to get in.  TWENTY BUCKS EACH.  They charge you $20 to go in and spend more money.  It's not like there was live entertainment - it was only a DJ who never talked.  He just played music.  Anyway, we sweet talked the guy at the rope to let us in for free because it was my birthday. We sat down on a sofa (there were no chairs) with our drink and were promptly told that if the table was "sold" that we'd have to move.  When we asked how you "buy" a table and she said that you buy a bottle.  We look at each other and say (intuitively) "we can do that" so we ask how much a bottle is....$300.00.  OK, so we can't do that. I don't know how it happened but we spent four hours in that club - on our feet.  We drank, danced, drank and danced.  I switched to water but was definately NOT in control of my faculties.  We must have left the club around 3 am and found a jewelry store where everything was $10.  Charlene bought me cufflinks to wear with my newest tuxedo shirt ( that I have to wear as an usher ) for my birthday.  Then it was time for more pictures... We managed to somehow get to a shuttle bus to drop us near where the car was parked and, sore feet in all, managed to get home in one piece.  I'm not sure we even took our clothes off but fell into bed sometime around 4 am. When we woke up, sometime around noon, we decided that a HUGE breakfast was in order, so we showered and dressed and headed to the Flashback Diner for a breakfast of country fried steak and eggs, fruit and biscuits with country gravy.  Lots of milk and coffee later, we felt relatively normal. It was a GREAT birthday and I am so happy that I was able to spend it with Charlene.  We always have so much fun - it's a shame we can't get together more often. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

SuperBowl 2010

I'm not going to post much about this event, as most of my friends have heard about it straight from the horse!  Here are some things about Superbowl 2010 and my involvement that you may not know.  First of all, it was the most incredible experience of my life!  Rehearsals were grueling, with as much time spent waiting around as pushing the one ton + steel carts into position and parking them again.  We usually assembled the stage three times each rehearsal.

THIS IS THE SCHEMATIC AND THE ACTUAL SCALE MODEL OF THE STAGE. WE DIDN'T SEE THIS UNTIL DRESS REHEARSAL

The very first rehearsal focused on teamwork and maneuvering the carts around the field that was set up outside the stadium.  Then, we put the stage together and took it down three times each rehearsal.  The first time we put it together, it took 20 minutes.  By the 4th rehearsal, we had narrowed the time down to 9 minutes.  We had also become experts in WAITING.
 
Then...catastrophe.  During the first rehearsal of the night, we heard a crash and one of the carts that was actually carrying the band's instruments overturned, pinning two people underneath. It was a horrible night.  Emergency services, cops, helicoptors...no one knew the condition of the people who had been airlifted.  Needless to say, rehearsal was called off.

When we got to the next rehearsal, we learned that the people were fine - they had only suffered soft tissue injuries.  That night, we set up the stage in slow motion the first time, as a confidence builder.  The third time we set it up that night, we had narrowed our time down to the 5 minutes that was required by the NFL.  We had exactly five minutes to roll all 42 carts into the stadium, get the electrical, firework and pyrotechic cables attached and all workers to the sidelines.  This was our LAST practice before dress rehearsal.


DRESS REHEARSAL

The stage had already been assembled when we got to the stadium.  This was the first time we had actually been IN the stadium.  We sat in the stands and watched people mimic the band, then took the stage apart and moved it into the parking area at our designated spots.  Then.."showtime".  Everyone was so adrenalin filled, excited, scared and just pumped up.  We rolled the carts into the stadium, set up the stage and stood on the sidelines while The Who went through their numbers.  The lasers were on, the stage was lit up and fireworks filled the sky.  It was INCREDIBLE to watch - right there in SunLife Stadium.  WOW!!!

MY NEW FRIEND, JENNIFER

CARTS LINED UP READY TO GO







We had two days between dress rehearsal and the Superbowl.  Wouldn't you know, my knee decided to swell up?  I iced it and stayed off my feet as much as I could.  I was determined that nothing was going to keep me from SuperBowl Sunday.  I even used the "ride on" carts at the grocery store.  When I woke up Sunday morning, the swelling was GONE!!! YAY

GAME DAY - FEBRUARY 7, 2010

We gathered at the college to catch our buses.  There was so much excitement in the air, hardly anyone could sit still.  Finally, it was time to board the buses.  We had a police escort for our caravan of 18 buses.  They even stopped traffic for us! Everyone was hanging out the windows, hootin' and hollerin' and having a GREAT time.  We all gathered outside the stadium waitING to take our carts to the staging area.  We heard Queen Latifah and Carrie Underwood perform. While we were waiting, the jets flew overhead, signaling the end of the pre-game show.  That was our cue to  move and park the carts in the staging area and wait.

 The wait seemed interminable! Then it was time to roll.  Going through the tunnel, around the goalpost and entering the stadium of 70,000 people was unbelievable.  I was supposed to break away from the cart at the 20 yardline, which I did.  Would you believe that my knee gave out??? Before I knew it, I was looking up at the horrified expressions on my teammate's faces and seeing the huge wheels coming at me.  Instinct took over and I rolled away from the cart.  Everything happened in slow motion.  Next thing I knew, someone was helping me to the sidelines asking if I needed a medic. NONONONONO This can't be happening.  I told them I was fine and watched the halftime show with my teammates.  It was AWESOME! The music was so loud, it went right through you, and the pyro show was ten times better than at rehearsal.  I couldn't believe I was on the sidelines IN THE STADIUM for the SuperBowl HALFTIME SHOW!!!

THE WHO

What is important to note here is that the stage crew saw the show at eye level.  It wasn't until we got back to the college auditorium that we saw the stage from above and were able to watch halftime from the perspective of the fans - both in the stadium and on TV.  The director told us that we had put the stage together in THREE AND A HALF MINUTES!  We were so pumped.  There were several after parties but I was so emotionally drained that I passed.

Although...there was a party two weeks later that I attended.  The organizer asked me if I had any boas or beads because the Saints won.  So...I brought boas.  We had a great time and plan to have reunion parties throughout the year.

Pro Bowl Super Bowl 2010

For the past week, rehearsals have been going on for the Superbowl 2010 halftime.  There are about 500 volunteers. We were asked if we wanted to be on the Pro Bowl audio crew and had additional rehearsals for that.  I can't really address the Superbowl yet, as we signed confidentiality agreements. 

The audio crew is responsible for placing the speakers around the football field for the pre-game show.  Sounds simple, yes?  There is a cart that's about 5 feet wide by 8 feet long and on it is a tower of speakers that has to be precisely placed in a designated spot.  It's on wheels and very heavy but fairly maneuverable. Once they are maneuvered into place, the top speaker must be lifted on top of the other three and it's VERY heavy. Once the top speaker is in place, the cable is run from the sideline to the cart.  Pretty simple, yes?  There were 40 people accepted for the audio crew.  There is a total of 4 carts per quadrant and each team has a quadrant.  Theoretically, that means 10 people per quadrant.  We rehearsed twice and by the end of the second rehearsal, felt pretty confident that we had it down pat.

We started with 10 team members and ended up with 6 as of game day.   That meant that we didn't have two teams of five each, we had one team of 6. Thus, we had to make some changes at the last minute.  No problem. We had four people to roll the cart out and position it, two of the four to lift the top speaker and two people to run the cable out to the cart.  I was in charge of the cable, along with my partner, Pam. 

We had congregated at a high school and had been given a box lunch, a rain poncho and earplugs. We arrived at the stadium tonight via school bus, laughing and having fun the whole way.

We had a short briefing telling us that if it rained, we would NOT be setting the speakers out. As we walked into the stadium (single file with an escort) you could just FEEL the excitement in the air.  We walked into the tunnel and out onto the stadium - right by the player locker rooms. And it was drizzling.  And the speakers had nylon covers on them, which we removed.  When the signal was given via radio to our team leader, we worked exceptionally well as a team.  By the time the first cart was in position, my partner and I had the cable pulled and it was plugged in.

One thing I haven't yet mentioned is the SIZE of the cable.  It is about the size of my wrist.  The first three carts are no more than 30 to 40 feet from where the cable is coiled on the ground.  However, the fourth cart is in the end zone, right by the goal post.  I am going to guess that the last cable is approximately 150 feet long.  The longer it gets, the harder it is to pull it, so my partner and I had told the other team members that we needed help pulling the last cable and everyone agreed that it would take more than four people to pull the cable from cart #4.

The other thing I haven't mentioned is how many people are on the sidelines.  Between cameramen and other media people, NFL guys, security personnel, cheerleaders, mascots, emergency personnel, etc. the sidelines are PACKED.  And nobody cares that you have a job to do.  PLUS - the grass is wet and silky smooth.  It takes quite a bit of coordination to just stay on your feet. (Which I, of course, do NOT have.)

So, setting up the speaker carts was a piece of cake.  We stood on the sidelines and watched as the band (Honor Society) played, the "flag people" came out and the players were introduced - to fireworks.  We were told that we would be retrieving the carts immediately after the national anthem.  The team leader told my partner and I that he was going to be unplugging the cable from the third cart, as it was tangled with the fourth cart - the one in the end zone.

We were trained that getting the carts and cable OFF the field had to happen as quickly as possible so that the coin toss could happen next.  Well,  here I go - running through the end zone to pull the cable from cart #4.  In horror, I watch my partner pick up the cable from cart #3 by mistake.  It was instinctive for her to see cable being unplugged and assume that it needed to be removed.  The problem is that here I am stuck with a cable that's 150 feet long ALL BY MYSELF.  What you have to understand is that the longer the cable, the heavier the cable.  I heaved it over my shoulder and proceeded to try and get this massively heavy cable to the sideline by myself.  I got about 30 feet and the cable became so heavy that I could barely move.  Here I am, all alone in the end zone with a cable that I am incapable of moving by myself.  Fortunately, the team leader saw my predicament and ran out to help me.  Rather than coiling the cable as we had rehearsed, we just drug it out of the way and hoped that nobody tripped in it before we could pull it all the way in. 

Well, I guess it wouldn't be memorable if there wasn't a glitch, right?


By the time we were finished putting the carts and all the cable away, the game was in progress.  (Not that I cared about the game)  The noise was unbelievable.  Thank goodness for earplugs - I didn't need to be any more deaf than I already am.

The bus that was to take us back to the school was parked exactly one mile away.  How do I know that?  Because, when I'm on the treadmill, walking at 3 miles per hour, it takes me 20 minutes to do one mile.  It was a mile. 

We were all tuckered out, so the ride home was much calmer than the ride to the stadium.  It might have been sad to leave all the great new people that I had met but I'll be seeing them again on Tuesday night at rehearsal for the Superbowl. 

Speaking of Superbowl, it is going to be incredible.  I'm not going to break the rules by saying anything about it.  All I can say is that there is a LOT of pressure because it is an operation that takes an amazing amount of precision and teamwork.

Here are pictures from the ProBowl.  I call the cheerleaders "Breck Girls" because they swing their hair around like it's a commercial for Breck shampoo.

  

 

Stadium Day

I was thrilled to receive an invitation to a "media event" at Landshark Stadium for "a big announcement".  I read my emails as Lou and I were leaving the beach on Saturday and rushed home to email an acceptance.  I didn't know whether I made it or not, as they said that only 150 people could attend and that the invitation was non-transferable.  Finally, I got an email on Tuesday, confirming my invitation for Wednesday morning at the stadium.  I guess it's going to be my "home away from home" for the next two weeks, so I memorized the route - which lanes to use, what exit to take, where to park, etc.  Thank goodness for Sunpass!!!

It took me exactly 30 minutes from the house to a parking space at the stadium, which was surprising.  It's only the next exit down on the turnpike, but it took me 15 minutes to get to the turnpike entrance, which is only about 4 miles away. Ahh...traffic.

The parking area was WAY too far from the stadium, so I thanked my lucky stars that I had comfy shoes.  The guard at the gate said to go to entrance "G" when I told him I was a Superbowl Ambassador.  I signed in at the registration desk and went inside.  Now, previously, I had only been to a meeting room on the second floor, so had NO idea how to get into the stadium.  Being the strong, independent woman that I am, I decided to follow the best dressed crowd.  Right down to the VIP section - two rows from the stage.

There were TONS of video and still cameras - so many that you couldn't see the stage.  If I had been a few rows back, I would have been able to see over the heads of the photographers.  Pretty soon, this human sized stuffed dolphin arrives on the scene.  It didn't take me long to figure out it was the mascot for the Miami Dolphins.  Get it?  Duh!!! He had a stupid helmet on his "head" that was ten sizes too small and acted as I guess a mascot should act. The first thing he did was to try and get a "wave" going.  Now, this was only the second time I had ever been on or near a football field.  The first and last time was at the stadium in Tampa at a Tampa Bucaneers game - probably in 1991.  I had never seen "the wave", other than on TV and had no idea what to do.  So, I just acted like a snobby VIP and ignored the whole thing.

I figured out later that many of the VIP's were employees of Sun Life Financial from the Boston headquarters.  The women were all dressed in black, with Coach, Dooney & Burke, Dolce & Gabanna, and Louis Vuitton accessories - purses, sunglasses, Blackberry covers, etc.  Each of them looked like they had no makeup on (other than eye make-up), no lipstick (neutral gloss only), and french manicured SQUARE nails.  Not one of them could have been over 35.  I thought they were babies.  (Then I remembered that I was at my career peak when I was in my mid-thirties.) I was SO glad it was 80 degrees.  I could watch them sweat.

The meeting came to order...it started with the CEO from Sun Life Financial announcing that the stadium was going to be changing its name to the "Sun Life" stadium.  He then introduced the international marketing director (and VP) - a black chick with buck teeth.  Damn - wish one of us white gals could get a job like that.  Anyway - the "announcements" and "thank you's".  The invitation stated that it was a "mini concert" and I was waiting for the entertainment.  I figured that Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony would be performing, since they own part of the Dolphins, as do Gloria and Emilio Estefan.  Nope ,,, it was...

KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND! One of my favorite groups! "Shake Your Booty" - and I did just that.  Everyone was clapping, waving, singing and generally having a great time. It would have been more fun if I knew someone.  But..."oh well". I'll make my own fun.

What a great way to kick off two weeks of ProBowl/Superbowl festivities???  I took some video but don't think I can post it, but I'll try.  At least here are some pictures...

Pictures From Last Week

I forgot to post a couple of pictures from my visit to Martin County.  The first one is from one of the many beautiful waterfront parks in and around Stuart.  The second is my starfish, posed on one of Frank's kayaks.