Starting; Not Beginning
My morning began with a sitting that was interrupted by a gastrointestinal purge. After the interruption, I resumed the sitting but the sitting never quite jelled. The consequences of this failure was a day if unrelaxed inattention, punctuated by tension and startle reactions. I did occassionally remember to relax, but the pressures of the day proved to be a nerve wracking distraction. So how can a Sunday be a nerve wracking distraction you ask ?
I have been commissioned to run sound at a childrens’ musical at the Methodist church. I spent the Sunday school hour moving wireless mics from the sanctuary to the fellowship hall, hooking them up to a borrowed sound board that I am rather unfamiliar with. You would think that all sound boards are just alike, but sometimes, when dealing with a new piece of equipment, you plug microphones into the inputs and no sound comes out. You then press all of the buttons on the channel that the microphone is plugged into and still no sound comes out. When you are getting paid to do the job and there is no one who can help you, the pressure and stress can paralyze one’s ability to troubleshoot a situation. I needed some of Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards… I became so consumed with this problem that I was late getting behind the soundboard at the 11 o’clock service in the sanctuary. After eating lunch and napping, I went back to the fellowship hall and discovered that the lavalier mics need to be turned up to almost the maximum gain through the board in order to be heard. At least I was able to improve the situation from the state of no sound to the state of crappy sound. I rehearsed with the children and the director from 4:30 until 6pm. The performance is Wednesday night.
To those of you who do not come from a Guitar Craft background, what I have just described is a good way to NOT live your life !
Be very careful about the beginning,
I.C.