First, take a peek at this perfect Florida winter day. Smile. Now remember it because the rest of the day was the craps. Everything takes twice as long to get done in this town and it is mainly because of incompetent and inconsiderate people. I’m actually a good reference on that point because I’ve lived in so many Latin American places that I recognize the things that make it so.
In many ways, Florida is like Venezuela, but without the low prices and devastatingly sexy women. Remember however, that the major reason they have corruption in Venezuela and not here is because in Venezuela, corruption is illegal.My 10:30 canceled without calling. Meaning I lost my main income for the day and had no backup plan. I went over to the shop to find a week’s unanswered emails and people asking me for things for free. Is that what Christmas means in Florida, that it is okay to go around asking for things you wouldn’t dare at other times?
The title agency people (VIP Tag & Title) for this trailer turns out to be lazy and unreliable. I drove over there and specifically asked them to tell me the date that Tallahassee mailed the papers, not to just say they were mailed. Last time they said that, I wasted half a day driving around. Sure enough, they never called, and when I did, all they would say is the papers were mailed. Plus, they’ve figured out my cell cuts off on most calls from this area, so they keep putting me on hold or stalling. I’m afraid I have to report this to the Urban Group.
[Author's note: in the end, I didn't. I switched title agencies.]
Shaun, the guitarist, was a disappointment. He advertised for a bassist for his band, but it turns out he has no band and no gigs. He lied. We exchanged song lists and he said his priority was to play. He lied again. There is nothing like a practice to get to the truth. Turns out he really wants to form a Blues band, which he sort of failed to mention until just now. So he was lying about that, too. He said he was versatile, but now I wonder. The precise wrong motive for playing the Blues is thinking you are a great guitar player.
He treats every country song like it is his personal enemy and it is ruining his reputation as a blues soloist, but yeah, he’ll play it. Finally, there is no nice way to say this, he is not that great as an entertainer. Wishy-washy personality, which is not wrong—it just comes across poorly on stage. Ask the Runt. One more disturbing item common in Florida musicians, he seems unfamiliar with all except the most basic computer functions. Logging onto the Internet and writing an e-mail does not make you computer literate. Ask the Runt again.
The place I’ve been looking to write the reviews is also showing signs of an amateur operation. The guy has leads [saying he has] free laptops and electronic gear for evaluation, but has to return the goods afterward. It is run out of a spare room in his house. All of that is no big deal so far, but it proved impossible to get an answer out of him what the position pays. He wants three or four staff writers to do all the reviews. If the pay is a commission, I need to know the sales totals. He seemed shy to state how that would work. No, I’m not taking anybody’s word about how much money comes in. I need some kind of verification.
My spare computer is still up at the Thrift. I called before I went over and the new owner’s voice was on the machine, saying they were open at 10:00 a.m., an hour before I called. That voice meant I will not go over there without them present, even though I have the extra key. So that was another wasted chunk of time.
Cowboy Mike came by. He’s got some original tunes he wants transcripted and likes the way I do the work. I decided not to follow up with Paradise Blue. They play in the north Ft. Lauderdale area just a little too far away. Nor was there a reason given why the last bass player was leaving, one of the first questions I ask about any such position. Sadly, this all means I’ll be missing yet another Holiday season. That was understandable when I was working, for I liked to go out on those days. Now, I want to play them. It would have, I think, been easier to drag somebody off the street and show them what to do.
Nobody out there should laugh about these situations, although I once laughed myself. It is only after you live in a place like Florida that you realize that except for a few rare holdouts, usually from far away, everybody in this place is the same.
Wait, I think I can find one good thing about today. Pudding-Tat does not seem to be pregnant. How’s that for joyous news? Or how about some trivia? I thought penicillin, being an anti-biotic, was itself uncontaminated. Wrong, it has to be sterilized. It cannot be heated or boiled, so how does one sterilize penicillin and other similar drugs? They irradiate it, that is, blast it with radiation. Last, a completely unfamiliar bird was feeding on the palm tree, an orange bird. The nearest I can find is called a northern oriole, but my book says it is a summer visitor only.
Today I talked a lot of band talk, but it is clear forming a group in this town involves dealing with crappy people and mediocre musicians who think they are the best. I wish I could say it is interesting where this leads, but something tells me five years from now I'll be getting nothing but the same from these local losers.
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