I Am An Utter Moron

[bjarvis]

kent4str and I were supposed to be calling for Chesapeake Squares tonight. Kent, however, was suffering from a low grade migraine and intestinal issues, so I packed up to head to Baltimore for a solo performance.

This was our first calling gig since the pride day events in mid-June, and the first since the IAGSDC convention. When we were calling for Baltimore Pride, we had scavenged all of our equipment for a variety of plugs & cables so that we'd have spares in case anyone else on site had odd equipment to connect together. I was therefore very conscientious tonight about selecting precisely which cables I would require for tonight's work, and ensuring I had the right numbers of each. I was concentrating so hard on the cables, however, that I entirely neglected one key component.

When I arrived in Baltimore 15 minutes before show time, I set up the speakers on the speaker stand, unpacked the computer and my microphone, laid out the extension cord and-- oh, crap. I suddenly realized I had left the Hilton turntable/mixer/amp in the computer room at home. Damn!

I immediately called Kent and he graciously agreed to hop in the minivan to deliver the Hilton to Baltimore. In any case, the show must go on: when 8 PM rolled around, I simply turned up the sound on the computer, aimed it at the square of dancers and shouted the calls. It wasn't elegant, but it worked.

Kent arrived after the first tip: I grabbed the Hilton from the car and he drove for home. The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful, but then again, what wouldn't after a panic like that?

We didn't have enough advanced dancers for an A2 tip so we alternated MS & Plus all night. It was extremely warm & muggy tonight and the air conditioning was having difficulty keeping up so the officers decided to knock off a little early. I closed with two back-to-back singers and was on the road by 9:45 PM.

My bout of Alzheimer's was profoundly embarrassing, but I'm taking some consolation from knowing that's one mistake I will never make again.

Comments

[tdjohnsn.livejournal.com]

That does not make you a moron sweetie. It just means you are juggling to many things and are stressed and need a vacation.

Oh. Wait a minute....

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

Believe you me, I think we all have done that, be it for square dance calling or what have you, something at times is bound to be forgotten.

Glad it all seemed to have worked out though

[apparentparadox]

A similar thing happened when stormecho called SoCal PACE - although it's kind of a bigger deal since this was a big "we're flying in a caller" kind of dance. The people who bring the sound setup forgot to put the speakers in the trunk, so someone had to drive from the dance hall to their house & back, and there was no way to make loud enough sound for the 4 squares of people until the speakers arrived.

It all worked out well for me, since I arrived late and didn't miss anything!

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Dear...

NEVER say never!

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a very rare event that I make the same mistake a second time. I do however have a talent for generating new & utterly original mistakes when it matters most. :-^

[beldamon.livejournal.com]

And there's always variations on the same mistake. You could forget cables, mic, speakers...or to bring your backup music the *one* time your laptop fails...

Just trying to be helpful! *hug*

Seriously I think I've already done all of the above, so I'm set for a flawless calling career now! ;-)

[deege.livejournal.com]

When we arrived for our Annual Meeting & Dance (one of our biggest dances of the year) in January, we were locked out of our regular venue because the custodian never showed up! After much scrambling, we managed within 30 minutes to get space somewhere else nearby but couldn't access the equipment stored in the closet at our regular venue. While a crew drove all the way out to Brooklyn to pick up Nick Martellacci's set, the lovely Betsy Gotta called a capella for an hour, both hash and singing. Saved the day, she did.

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

LOL - the good thing about this is it gave me a laugh to start the day! (I'm laughing with you not at you of course!

Since forty I've been prone to such lapses - turning up to teach a class with the wrong material for example. Then there's the time I put a nice steaming hot cup of coffee in the fridge; found my missing car keys ... in the fridge! And realized where my mislaid glasses were when I stepped in the shower and suddenly everything went misty...

As far as your lapse - well, I think an audience enjoys these moments, because it makes you human. I'm sure they still enjoyed the calling, and had a fun time. Kudos to kent4str for driving all that way with intestinal problems... a brave and loving man!!

[kent4str.livejournal.com]

Aw, shucks, t'weren't nothun.

Well, it would have been if there'd been cops with radar on I-95 as I was doing 80+ in a 65 zone to get there...