The final Tear Down

Pictures from top to bottom

(1) Hong Kong Tear Down: before my tent was taken down (Dec/2005);
(2) Hong Kong Tear Down: just an hour later, with no trace of it left (Dec/2005);
(3) Hong Kong Tear Down: me and Ladybug in our only other daylight Tear Down (well, a nighttime Tear Down and a daytime load) (Dec/2005);
(4) San Diego Tear Down: Lucky, our fave temp staffer, me, and Tower Girl (Feb/2005)

As you've deduced, Tear Down weekend is upon us. And seeing as how it's my last Tear Down (high-fives all around!), I thought I'd take this opportunity to highlight some of the main differences between this Tear Down and a standard Tear Down.

• Normally, today would be luggage day -- trucking your three two suitcases to the site and dropping them off at the luggage truck for transport to the next city. Not this time. I'm headin' home with all of my crap treasures, and they ain't goin' to our next stop.
• I'm supposed to find some time to fit in my year-end review -- a review that really shouldn't be taking place on the final weekend of the final city of the tour. Oh ya, and that's after not having been given a mid-year review. In fact, nobody in our department was given a mid-year review, so the surprises that turned up in some people's year-enders were a bit, well, surprising. Isn't it a fact that, if you're being managed properly and effectively on an ongoing basis, nothing should be a real surprise at review time? Apparently not here. So, ya, I have to carve out time today, on Tear Down weekend, to have a review? Well, that's just questionable planning. And questionable management. And not at all surprising.
• It's cold. Well, today looks like it'll be sunny and fresh. But the other day, it was seriously cold. Tocque and mitts cold. Layers upon layers of sweaters cold. After 10 cities of seasonably warm Tear Downs, I'm not sure I'm ready to be freezing my ass off if it gets as cold as the other day.
• We have Leona Lowenstein on our team. Yup, unfortunately it's the first and last Tear Down on which she's guest starring for us. But it was priceless when Leona, Ladybug and I discovered some fairly unforgiving, and potentially monumental, errors made by her predecessor yesterday. Nothing like having someone's ineptitude reinforced yet again for you to bond with your new friend Leona Lowenstein.
• I realize that this time, it will be my last Tear Down. Now, don't get me wrong. Tear Down isn't all that bad. In fact, I've kind of made it into a process that's manageable and workable and easy to get through. But it's not my favourite thing by any means. People are stressed, time is tight, problems run rampant, wrenches are thrown in the works, issues cause us to revise, temp staff are sometimes clueless. Nope, it's not all that bad, but you really do have to be on your game. But it goes by quickly and ends before you know it, and you wonder what all the brou-ha-ha is about. And to be honest, my Tear Down is a freakin' breeze compared to what people like Ladybug and Leona have to go through. Still, you plan for days. You scramble to get all your computer work done before they turn off the servers. You try to isolate the things you'll need to keep with you between cities in the event that someone calls you -- while you're not supposed to be working -- to "just ask you a quick question." You end up forgetting something all then can't retrieve it. You search the entire site for a computer that's up and running and able to let you enter your last Sales Order. You work for hours. You struggle with your packing. You direct temp staff who look like deer in headlights. You warn them to go to the bathroom early, before they start taking them away. You give them an unexpected bathroom break because they didn't follow your advice. You pack. You load. You drive a fork. You scratch your head as your jigsaw puzzle doesn't seem to fit in the sea container. You finish late. You shuffle/drive/catch a shuttle home. You're exhausted. Your body hurts like hell. Your hands have cuts on them. You find unusual bruising in weird places like your ass the strangest places. Your shoulders --oy, your shoulders -- hurt so much that shampooing your hair the next day is extremely unenjoyable. Your planned post-Tear Down sleep in never really happens. You pack your remaining stuff. You get in your car. You drive to the next city.
• Of course, this Tear Down will be somewhat different from the above scenario. My final two openings got cancelled, meaning that I will start and finish my Tear Down early. Coincidentally, I had said just a couple of short weeks ago that I'd bet the mortgage that Montreal would never cancel my openings on the final Sunday of a city run. But we pressured them and pressured them, and they finally relented. (Good think I don't have a mortgage to bet!) And it's a good thing, too, because attendance sucks so much that it would pretty much be me and a few bored people in my tent. But with a cancelled last couple of shows, I have a different Tear Down schedule. Instead of getting everything done on Sunday night, I'll be done by Sunday noon. It means staying late tonight to do some stuff, and coming in way too early tomorrow to finish everything else off, but it will be a daytime Tear Down! I can't imagine what it's going to be like being able to actually see what I'm doing while I take everything apart! Should be interesting. And after I'm done, I've volunteered my services to Leona Lowenstein to make my special guest appearance on her team's Tear Down. That way I won't be all guilty about finishing early while they're working late into the night. I'll be their forklift driver, and will finish off the last day of the last city of the tour side by side with some of my friends. Cool.
• And while all of that is great and stuff, what's the biggest difference between this Tear Down and a normal Tear Down? In a few short days, I'll be back in Vancouver.

Peace out, y'all. Have a great Tear Down weekend!