grapesky

The captain of the “Liberty.” The first sailboat ride I have been on since I was 5. It was even better than I remembered.

The two pictures below really show the great disparity that exists in Jakarta. It is common to find a skyscraper (like the one below) right next to a neighborhood of red-tiled huts made of brick and corrugated tin. I am pretty sure that there are a few zoning laws that we use in the States to seperate the rich and the poor. The term “the wrong side of the tracks” would make no sense in Jakarta because there are the same buildings on both sides of the tracks.

Though I did not really get to see much of Jakarta because I was in the hotel most of the time working, I am so glad for the little exposure I did get. It really opens up my world view to see the vast differences between my American culture and a culture that is found in the 4th largest urban area in the world with not enough of the basics like running water, sewers and garbage service and a country that is 88% muslim.

Can you imagine being required to put your religion on your driver’s license? What would it be like to go out to dinner and be surrounded by prostitutes? What if our president began his speech with a blessing from Allah at a business conference? What if every time you went into a hotel or a skyscraper, your car and person were checked for explosives? What would it be like to have to wear a hankerchief over your mouth everytime you went out in the city to get your shopping done because of the sewage smell and the extreme smog?

We are so clueless here in the good ol’ USA. Absolutely clueless.

Last night, my coworkers convinced me to leave the hotel here in Jakarta, Indonesia to go on a little adventure. We went to a place about 10 minutes away to play some pool. As we arrived, it became quite obvious that we were the only people in this English sports “football” bar and club. The 20 staff on duty became extremely attentive even to the point of joining our game to give us a fourth person to play teams. The performing group began to sing expressly for us. We had a little audience that would clap when we made a ball in the pocket.

After playing pool for about an hour and tiring of all the attention, we decided to catch a cab home. On the way out, McDonalds caught our eye. We decide to pop in quickly and grab some American chow and I asked my coworkers to stand on the steps so I can take their picture by the McDonalds sign.

Since I am somewhat of an wanna be amatuer photographer I decide to try to get a more artsy shot with my coworkers camera, so I duck down while standing in the parking lot.

WHAM!

And then I realized that a car had just hit me! Sideswiped my leg and knocked me over. A very concerned face poked out the window, asking me if I am ok. In a bit of shock, I wave the lady off, saying “Yes, I’m OK! I’m OK!”

My coworkers help me to my feet and I hobble into McDonalds to sit while they get me some ice and a cheesburger.

Needless to say, I am doing much better after icing my leg, getting the “strawberry” on my knee cleaned up by the hotel and after taking some pain meds with a name I have never heard of. However, I think I will be getting some really nasty bruises in the next few days. And I made it to the keynote on time.

The show must go on.

And no, I didn’t even get the shot.

things like:

• people sleeping under tables, and inside of anvil lids, on any available floor space
• rice at every meal
• a crew that triples everytime we eat
• an abundance of paid companions in all the hotel restaurants after 9pm each night
• a definate sense of non-urgency

these things made me comment at dinner tonight,

“I think we are in a different culture”

Since I travel a lot, I am always in this process of packing and unpacking. Some of my co-workers can pack the morning of a flight, but for me, it always takes me a few more hours than that. If I don’t take the time to pack, then I forget things.

Unpacking is my least favorite part of the whole travel thing. I get home and have a suitcase full of dirty clothes. This most recent return, I just took my whole suitcase into the laundry room where it still sits until I get around to actually doing my laundry.

My room is usually a mess for about a week after I get back from a show. Not only do I procrastinate my laundry, but I just end up strewing all the other contents of my suitcase all over my room sifting through its contents to get what I need, rather than putting everything in its place.  I think having a separate “Packing Room” would help.

The rest of my house is really clean, but my room… I just can’t get it in order because it feels like I really am just living out of my suitcase.

I have been on the road for three weeks now. 3 shows, back to back. Between the first show, which was in LA and the second, in Las Vegas, some of my coworkers and I decided to take a road trip instead of flying. Now, LA is four hours from Vegas. However, we thought it might be fun to do a little sightseeing. We settled in on Death Valley.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Death Valley is an amazingly beautiful place, but perhaps taking a nine hour road trip between shows was not such a good idea. By the time we made it to Death Valley, after stopping every hour for various different reasons, the sun was going down behind the hills and everyone was just ready to get to Vegas and to the hotel. I had to make them stop for about 10 minutes, so i could at least get some shots of the valley.

Part of the problem was that between the three SUVs, we had 5 GPS systems, each one telling us to go a different way. So most of the ride consisted of the drivers arguing over the radio about what road to turn on and the fastest way to get to Vegas.

At least I got some pictures, including this one.

Waking up in the middle of the night to utilities laying power in your room may not seem like a nightmare to you, but to someone like me who has been spending most of her days working in a dark backstage, it’s a horrible dream. Lately, I have been waking up at 2am or 3, jolting out of bed thinking that I am in the middle of a keynote and I am needed to set up the stage, help a demoer or that something is going wrong. It really puts a damper on the good night’s sleep.

I’ve come up with a new strategy that I am going to try out tonight. Since backstage is always dark, and since my hotel room is dark at night, I am going to try leaving a light on when I head to bed. I can’t change the lighting backstage, but I can in my room. Perhaps then, when I wake up, I will see the light and know that I am not, in fact, at a keynote, but rather, in a hotel room.

 Then, hopefully, I will get some decent REM.

I have been spending a lot of time in a dark backstage area. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world. When we go to a Show, a Concert or a Conference, we walk in expecting to be entertained, WOW-ed or some other similar reaction, having NO CLUE all the work that goes into the whole show. The production crew takes an empty hall or ballroom and turns it into a stage with curtains, lights and powerful sound with breathtaking speed, sometimes overnight.

 On the show circuit, everyone knows everyone, and in a way, its like a little family. It’s just a family whose house keeps getting put up then t down a few days later with a million hours of manpower  . It’s kind of like Extreme Home Makeover, but with a GroundHog Day twist.

Backstage has a certain protocol, language and culture. Those who operate within the culture are accepted, but if someone has no clue as to what goes on and is invited backstage they are usually called things like “Talent” or “The Executive” or “The Entertainment.” If someone like me is new and says things the wrong way, I found out quickly that I just get a blank stare like I am talking to them in Swahili or Japanese. It pays to find someone to help you navigate the lingo and etiquette.

I still have a lot to learn, but I think I am finally getting the hang of it. Honestly, it’s really been my favorite part of my job, even with all the stress and issues that come up with Show Business. It’s a crazy but cozy little world and I hope I get to stick around for a while…

I travel a lot for work. A LOT. Therefore, I spend more time in a hotel room than in my own house. There are definite problems with this, such as never being home, never seeing family and friends, etc. etc. However, one upside is all the hotels that I stay at is that I have a moonlighting career as a hotel connoisseur.

I have a very large supply of free hotel toiletries that I have accumulated. I thought it might be useful for my readers if I reviewed the various hotel products and rated them. Now, though a certain hotel might get a lower score on this little review, it does not mean that it is a bad hotel. For instance, perhaps their shampoo stinks, but their bathroom overall is amazing. But that will be explored in another blog posting.

 I decided to review 5 hotels and list them from worst to absolute best:

5. The Venetian, Las Vegas:  While The Venetian in Las Vegas is opulent in many ways, their shampoo, conditioner and hand lotions are atrocious. They smell very heavily of musk and remind me of an old man in a white suit smoking a cigar. Perhaps some of the older richer crowd appreciates this, but for me I bring my own supply when visiting this hotel.

4. Westin, Palo Alto:  The Westin is always a wonderful hotel. There are so many great things about their hotel, but their shampoo is not one of them. The packinging is very attractive, clean and modern. But open the bottle, take a whiff, and PHEW! Also a heavily perfumed product reminding me of a men’s aftershave.

3. Marriott, Berlin:  The Marriott’s products are a middle of the line product. Not heavily perfumed, actually usuable if needed, but nothing sticks out to make me want to hoard them.

2. Grand Hyatt, Seattle:  The Grand Hyatt in Seattle is one of my favorite hotels to stay in, which is good because I end up there at least twice a year for 10 days each time. I love their scents. The lemon/ginger theme is amazing. I even save the bar soap. I stock up when I am at this hotel, for those short trips when you don’t want to pack a lot of toiletries. One negative thing is that their conditioner isnt that great and doesnt really help my long hair untangle.

1. W Hotel, New York:  I personally have never gotten to stay at a W hotel, but many of my coworkers do. Whenever I hear of someone going to stay at a W, I request that they grab some of the Bliss products that they leave in the bathrooms. This stuff is absolutely amazing, so much so that I go out and purchase it for my personal use at Sephora.