The simple joys.

Tomorrow the madness begins. The 1st Annual St. Lucia Music Awards concept starts becoming a tangible reality tomorrow at 9am.
Joy?
Suppliers who are hard to give a commitment, volunteers who think they are union workers, artistes who think they are divas, too many who do not even think, the set-up, the last minute additions and cancellations, the moment when everyone and their uncle wants to be in charge...... we all finally will be working towards Friday in the same location.
Joy.
At least it is starting. That means it is happening. Years of talking and months of planning are finally going to come to actuality. Regardless of how it turns out, we will prove the critics wrong while simultaneously giving them a whole new batch of toys to criticise, the small minded folks that they are. But at least we will have done it. And in that much, they cannot find fault.
Joy!

I must be blessed

I went to KFC for lunch. Perhaps that was the mistake I made. I parked the bike right in front of the door, bought a sandwich and fries and sat down to eat. When I came out my bike was gone. Did I mention this was lunchtime? 12 noon on a busy street.
A call to an officer friend (biker cop of course) and patience was all I had. We (two armed officers and myself) went into a notorious neighbourhood in search of my bike. Around every corner, in every alley, on almost every stoop, was a bike. And while everyone knew me and my bike (it is a unique machine to the island) no one saw it recently.
Luck changed when an older man who was clearly unhappy with the way his community was being negatively (albeit accurately) typecast dropped a clue that pointed us in the right direction, only to be set upon by an idiot who, in front of the officers, offered to give me information for a reward.
Within 15 minutes I had my bike back with minor damages where they unsuccessfully tried to hot wire a machine that shuts down it's electrical system at multiple points, and scrapes from passing it along too many narrow alleyways, and one arrest was made.
I bought a round of Guinness for all the old men hanging around and they had a smile and another chapter to add to an all too familiar yet never ending book.
It all goes to show that who you know is so important. There were other police officers who happened to be on the scene and when I told them the situation they said, "Go file a report with CID" and left. My friend said if we hadn't gone in there within an hour, my bike was history. Hail the force.

Click click boom.

I am now Creative Director (started Jan. 2008). I assumed the role at the height of agency activity: producing the nation's first (and intended annual) Music Awards, an aggressive move to maintain or reorganise our existing client relationships in light of constantly changing factors both past and present, a revolving door in areas of staff, restructuring the creative and production departments, the impending but ever postponing move to the new building... what a way to start the year.
It ain't all happy meals and fries, but I'm lovin' it!