Earl the Pearl

Yesterday...

• it was beautifully warm after a night of rain
• we hosted our final two shows in Melbourne, each of which was 100% sold out
• I worked from 9:30AM until midnight
• I said good-bye to our last guests at 6:30PM with a smile and a tip o' the hat
• I donned my steel-toed boots, hard hat, and fluro safety vest (upon which I inked the tradie name "Earl the Pearl")
• I saw my tent descended upon by a horde of other hard-hatted, fluro-vested men who seemed to appear out of nowhere, totally reminding me of that scene in ET where the white-suited men suddenly pour into the house where the family is harbouring ET
• I moved the following items with a forklift: a pallette of wine and beer, a honkin' big storage crate that was about 5 metres by 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres, another pallette of odds and sods, and something else that I honestly can't remember...
• I hoisted upon my girly-man shoulders and hauled about a billion rolls of really heavy carpet
• I discovered a brand new workout regime in the process: The Tear Down Fitness Plan
• I worked with my colleagues to load everything from my tent into a few huge freight containers
• and watched in awe as an entire tent city -- Big Top, 2500 seats, artistic tent, technical tent, my tent, concession tents, sponsor tent, all the toilets (which meant I had to hold it until midnight), and everything else -- came down around me

When I left just after midnight, there were remnants of our Melbourne site still standing. But, boy oh boy, not for long. It was an amazing logistical operation that showed me just how organized this whole process is.

From even before I started this job, I had heard "Tear Down" referred to with reverance and a sense of pride. Now I finally understand.

Next stop: Adelaide.