Hello Planet Blog! As you can tell, I’m writing to you safe and sound from Helsinki, Finland secure in my production office for the day. But that was totally obvious, so I’m not sure why I insulted your intelligence by mentioning it.
I’ve been to this venue many times. It’s always a pleasure coming here, and a flood of memories always come back, although ironically, what happens after the show while in Helsinki is usually a blur. Likely because their country’s house wine is vodka.
Today’s Daily Prompt and Zero to Hero Challenge came at the perfect time. It asks:
Do you have a reputation? What is it, and where did it come from? Is it accurate? What do you think about it?
When I walked in and saw the venue folks, I was greeted with, “Oh, you’re here? Yay! At least we know it will be a super easy day with no bullshit.”
That is the reputation that precedes me. I am very thorough and work hard for the bands that I represent. I am nice as pie and firmly believe there are no problems, only solutions. You catch more flies with honey. If you want something done right, do it yourself, but don’t be afraid to ask for help and any other number of work ethic mottos slapped on attempted motivational posters.
But….
There is compromise, and then there are pushovers. I have no tolerance for pushovers, nor do I have tolerance for disrespect.
It’s tough being a female in this business. Usually, being the only female on a tour with no less than 12 guys, and sometimes over 40 is pretty fun, but there are always some newbies who assume I’m there for one reason only. They are promptly put in their place.
I can come across quite standoffish at first. I’ve been told “I thought you hated me for a while” more than once. Usually, I’m surprised to hear that, but other times, it’s warranted, because I likely did, and still do. First impressions are imperative.
At this point, even those who do not know me, usually know of me (this scene is the epitome of “Damn. Small world isn’t it?”. They know I am very helpful and very caring. Super professional, and will always go out of my way to make sure everyone is happy. Where do you think the name Tourmama came from? And 616? That’s my birthday and I like money.
What they also know, is if you push me, I will bite back. HARD.
I also have a reputation of loathing local bands. In fact, the band I am currently managing love to remind me of the time I came through their home town of Reykjavik with an international artist and they were local openers. I hadn’t seen them since then and they were not even in my peripheral sight during the gig, let alone after. Yet here we were..on a tour bus together and I was their tour manager.
After my whole “Welcome to the Tour” speech, the singer and drummer approached me and said, “You don’t remember us, do you?”
“Ummm, no, have we met before?”
“Ahh, yeah. Reykjavik, 2005. We supported a band you were there with.”
“Oh, sorry, I don’t remember.”
“Well we do. You were a total bitch to us because we took too long setting up and we played over our time. Then you pulled the plug on us.”
“Yeah, that sounds like something I’d do. You know why? Because I was hired by that band, to work in their best interest, and you know what? If we have a local band on this tour and they behave like you did, I’ll do the same thing for you.”
“We like you already.”
A year later, they asked me to manage them.
So yes, I have a reputation…it precedes me. It is accurate, and I’m completely content with it. For more on this, please visit a blog about one of my other jobs on the road: The Top 5 Most Ridiculous Questions Asked At the Merch Stand.
The Playground 
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You almost come off like a super cool bitch. There’s only 1 thing missing for me to call you a super cool bitch, and that’s to see your bitchy side. But I don’t want to wait 2.8 seconds; not when I can go from cool to asshole in .01 second. I proved it to my coworks and my boss today.
In the words of Scooby Doo, “Rut-Ro”. That’ doesn’t sound like a fun at the office for anyone. Care to blog about it, or lengthy post about it? I actually have a surprisingly high thresh hold for what I can take…and as you continue to follow the blog, you’ll hear more Sincere Stories (shameless plug link: https://theplayground.me/category/satire-stories/sincere/) about just how far I can bend before I snap… stories that will likely piss you off for the sheer stupidity of people, or gasp in disbelief as to how these things could consistently happen to one person. But they will also make you laugh because you were never in that situation. I suffer for your amusement. You’re welcome.
Ok, Challenge accepted. I will post why my week has been a shitty bloody fuck hole and you do the same for this last week; we let the readers decide who had the worse one?
Damnit.. my week wasn’t so bad, though. I blogged about my awful bar experience last weekend, but that wasn’t soooo bad because I had alcohol to hold me tight and keep me warm when I was shaking from the weird. I can blog about a previous event though. Then again, I shouldn’t be too quick to assume me week didn’t suck THAT bad yet. I have musicians on stage now… anything can happen during the gig, or at the after show… or at the airport tomorrow morning. Crap..now I’m depressed again.
Nonetheless, challenge accepted.
This post reminded me of my mother in law (no I do not hate my mother in law, in fact I get along better with her than my own mother). She has a saying: “LIfe’s a bitch, and I’m the biggest, even my daughters and my ex daughter in law give me a run for my money.” She can be unbelievably sweet but like you she can and goes from sweet to bitch in 2.5 seconds.
Ahhh, a woman after my own heart. I only go for full throttle bitch mode when it’s warranted. It’s a give and take. I have found, however, that one I mention that I’m a practicing rapier sword fighter, I tend to get less shit right from the start. Not sure why. Must be my smile 😀
Must be your smile! That’s definitely it. I need to work on the bitch part though. I can be too nice for my own damn good.
So can I… but only when it directly hurts me. When it comes to defending my boys, it’s full blown Mama Bear. Having my best interest in mind falls by the wayside, usually in nothing less than an extremely devastating manner. Remember your questions? Best and worst feature? Loyalty is the answer to both. So is honesty, actually.
I think my kids are the only time I turn into a Mama Bear. Especially when my mother is around and wants to step in. When it comes to standing up for myself it’s usually like this: ……. *insert sound of crickets*……*more crickets*…. *runs away and cries then stops Ley from trying to stand up for me*.. SO… are there any Bitch Classes starting soon?
You want me to find you a local fencing class? I’ll send you a link. You can get your bitch on there, or at least let out those frustrations with sharp pointy objects 🙂 Either way, wielding a sword (not a foil like olympic style fencing… full on steel swords) is incredibly empowering.
Do you get to take the sword home? If so, then I’m afraid that’s too risky… people might get stabbed.
No..until you buy your own..then you can do with it what you will. There’s a safety blade, so its not sharp and there’s a tip. Write me a mail if you want to at least join the Facebook group and learn more about it and see if there’s other gals in your area who know where to train. You can always go and watch for free. But seriously, THAT is a sure fire way to empower you and help you find your inner bitch 😀
Lol, AFAIK there are no such groups in my area, they do however have some martial arts training… I might consider that if financial situation improves a bit.
Totally just had to look up AFAIK. I feel old.
xD it comes with being a gamer….
I had to look that up, too 😛
And that’s what this post is all about. Being the best bitch you can be 😉
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Ok, here’s my submission gal. http://www.ourblendedmarriage.com/week-13-01-17-01-2014/
I await yours with baited breathe.
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I once sang in a group, The Grade Four Boy’s Trio. Should we ever decide on a 40th Year Nordic Reunion Tour, you are the representation we want!
Oh, I am IN, simply for the name. Most musicians’ mentality advances beyond a fourth grade level, so that’s a very appropriate name for a band. And why stop in Scandinavia? Let’s go global with this shit.
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Once again a fine story to kill some time on yet another sleepless night (-:
Happy to oblige, Ronnie! I’ll always be here to give you something to fall asleep to 😛
I feel like we are twins, separated in high school. Ha
I will go to the ends in the earth for people…but I speak my mind and I tolerate no shit. ..
Amen to that! We WERE twins separated in high school.
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Nice, you have an awesome reputation and very similar to mine. At first, people usually think I am quiet, and even meek, but then they realize that the reason I say nothing is because there is nothing to say. Unlike people who run their mouths all the time, with no thought to what they say, I think before I speak. I also take my work seriously and hate it when others mess it up.
You know what really grinds my gears? People who always need to spew. I swear, it’s because they love the sound of their own voice. Exactly like you said, there is nothing intelligent behind their words. Drives me crazy. It’s like last word tourettes syndrome.
I don’t mind if people mess up, or even if they mess up and cause my otherwise smooth sailing plan to have a hiccup. What I can’t stand, is if it’s done by one of the people mentioned above, or by someone who can’t admit to their mistake, learn from it, and strive to improve. Like I said, I love a good challenge and life is about solutions and problem solving. I actually work quite well under pressure (I have to in my line of work. It’s completely unpredictable) and mistakes are bound to happen when this is how you need to work 70% of the time. The important thing is to recover and own it, and learn from it.
Yup, seems we definitely are in the same category. I wish there were more of us. We should come up with a new term… like Sugar Coated Bitch or something. Sweet on the outside, but break through our sugary exterior, and you will find a tough as nails interior.
So sorry for the late reply! You are right, people who cannot stop talking (who seriously lack the skill of self moderation) are very annoying, especially when you are trying to get work done! At work, as a framer, I have had many customers who talk for hours. Sure, I understand that some people just need an outlet, someone to listen to them (and who best but a stranger who’s opinion means nothing), but seriously people, I got a job to do! And believe me, I also work well under pressure (unless math is involved, then all bets are off). I’m a grade A procrastinator haha.
I’d be screwed if I wasn’t able to do math under pressure as that’s 50% of my job. The other 50% is being a babysitter for adults.
You’re totally right….if people want to vent out their life story to a stranger, they should do so at the bar like everyone else. I mean…who goes to a frame store to purge?
Hahaha, I know! Luckily my job as a framer has helped me learn to read a tapr meaure and take precise calculations. If i didn’t know how to do this I’d be a crap framer.
I, too, am a lot like you. Nice, quiet, helpful….until you tick me off!
Right on, sister! I am a firm believer in treat others the way you want to be treated.
Great job on the challenge for today! I was looking around to see what other people came up with on the prompt on reputation since I really couldn’t come up with anything to say for my own attempt to post. I enjoyed reading your post. I loved the artwork!
I think its cool you’re into fencing. I used to really get into that. I was in the Latin Club in 9th grade and we did some of that too. It was a lot of fun.
And I think it’s cool that your name is Capt. Jill. I almost don’t want to go to your page for fear that you are not actually a pirate. With that said, pirates have a pretty standard reputation, however I completely understand the block with the challenge. I receive mails with the Daily Posts every day and there’s only a handful I feel I can tackle properly. I assume that’s why it’s called a challenge, but I might be wrong.
Either way, I’m glad that it brought you over to my little corner of Planet Blog and that you liked it :-D. What sort of fencing were you doing in Latin Class? I’m studying HEMA, which is Historical European Martial Arts. It focuses on older weapons like long sword, rapier and dagger, dussack, sickle, etc. Not your typical olympic style fencing.
Headed over to your blog house now and no matter what I read, you will still be a pirate in my mind.
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