Worlds Collide.
After roughly two weeks off the road, it was time to rejoin the action. The rest of the guys had already started the tour, and were heading down to pick me up on the way from Allentown to Chattanooga. As chance would have it, Ari had decided to meet me at my former place of employment, Guitar Center in Fredericksburg. They were going to take the van to a nearby Sears Auto to get an oil change and tire rotation, and we'd hang out in Guitar Center until it was ready.
I worked at Guitar Center for the summer of 2004, but in my four months there I met some really cool people. I don't visit GC all that often, but when I do, I'm always greeted with a hearty welcome. It's good to be appreciated. As I entered the store with my parents (who were dropping me off), I heard a flurry of voices shouting my last name. Thus ensued the delicate balancing act in which I would introduce my parents to my former coworkers, introduce my former coworkers to the band, introduce the band to my parents, play catchup with my old GC buddies, and try to stay sane in the process. It was a busy hour, both mentally and physically. Sort of like that first block party when college starts in the fall. You know, where you haven't seen anyone in a few months and you're trying to talk to everyone at once, so you have these instant-messenger-style conversations. You'll open a window by talking to one person, asking how their summer went, etc... then someone behind you opens a window by talking to you... then you see someone else behind that person so you say hi to them, then you run back to the first person and say something to them... then more people show up and it becomes almost unmanageable. Pretty soon you have people saying, "Hello? Are you still there?"
I handled it okay. After hanging out in Guitar Center, we decided to head to Sears (which was in the same mall) to check on the van, and so I could put my stuff in the trailer and cut my parents loose. The Auto Center people were clearly stalling for some reason, but told us it would be ready in less than an hour. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to walk around the mall. It was a real trip walking around my old workplace with the guys. I kept thinking these people and places didn't belong together, but here they were as if it was the most ordinary thing. As we walked, we couldn't help but notice that Santa was in town, and had set up a photography studio in the middle of the holiday hubbub. Scott had been wanting a band photo to send out for the holidays, and this was too good an opportunity to pass up. So the three of them climbed on Santa's lap, and this was the result:
After this, we headed back to Sears, where after at least two hours they had yet to even start working on the van. Everyone was making excuses, saying someone else was supposed to do it, and some of the workers weren't doing anything at all. It was ridiculous. They ended up screwing something up on the tire rotation, and coupled with the long wait, they ended up giving us a free oil change and new tires with a free extended warranty. Not bad, but not enough to make us want to go back to Sears in the future.
From there we hit the road, where we should have been hours ago. It may have taken longer than we expected, and the night may have ended later than we'd hoped, but it was official. The tour was back on.
I worked at Guitar Center for the summer of 2004, but in my four months there I met some really cool people. I don't visit GC all that often, but when I do, I'm always greeted with a hearty welcome. It's good to be appreciated. As I entered the store with my parents (who were dropping me off), I heard a flurry of voices shouting my last name. Thus ensued the delicate balancing act in which I would introduce my parents to my former coworkers, introduce my former coworkers to the band, introduce the band to my parents, play catchup with my old GC buddies, and try to stay sane in the process. It was a busy hour, both mentally and physically. Sort of like that first block party when college starts in the fall. You know, where you haven't seen anyone in a few months and you're trying to talk to everyone at once, so you have these instant-messenger-style conversations. You'll open a window by talking to one person, asking how their summer went, etc... then someone behind you opens a window by talking to you... then you see someone else behind that person so you say hi to them, then you run back to the first person and say something to them... then more people show up and it becomes almost unmanageable. Pretty soon you have people saying, "Hello? Are you still there?"
I handled it okay. After hanging out in Guitar Center, we decided to head to Sears (which was in the same mall) to check on the van, and so I could put my stuff in the trailer and cut my parents loose. The Auto Center people were clearly stalling for some reason, but told us it would be ready in less than an hour. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to walk around the mall. It was a real trip walking around my old workplace with the guys. I kept thinking these people and places didn't belong together, but here they were as if it was the most ordinary thing. As we walked, we couldn't help but notice that Santa was in town, and had set up a photography studio in the middle of the holiday hubbub. Scott had been wanting a band photo to send out for the holidays, and this was too good an opportunity to pass up. So the three of them climbed on Santa's lap, and this was the result:
After this, we headed back to Sears, where after at least two hours they had yet to even start working on the van. Everyone was making excuses, saying someone else was supposed to do it, and some of the workers weren't doing anything at all. It was ridiculous. They ended up screwing something up on the tire rotation, and coupled with the long wait, they ended up giving us a free oil change and new tires with a free extended warranty. Not bad, but not enough to make us want to go back to Sears in the future.
From there we hit the road, where we should have been hours ago. It may have taken longer than we expected, and the night may have ended later than we'd hoped, but it was official. The tour was back on.
posted by James | 11:14 PM
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