It all started on a Monday … This reseller told me that there was a customer of his that was getting mail server errors … So I tried sending from/to accounts I have on that server … It worked. I also sent messages to the guy that was reporting the problem … They all worked. But, he tried sending, and he couldn’t do it, so then I thought that maybe I had some sort of privileges since I was on the same network … Regardless, then the phone rang … Someone trying through webmail wasn’t receiving messages … Another IM popped upped … Damn! Something was a amiss … I immediately contacted the mail server guy and he found that the virus scanner was crapping out on a corrupted database … He then thought it best to upgrade the virus software to fix the problem … All was fine and good … until the next day … Now the thing was core dumping … Various other errors, and the machine would quit under load and boot … The thought was that Perl should be upgraded due to the new virus software … While that was compiling, it was crapping out, so then things got real fun … So he figured that we should just upgrade the whole box and bring everything current … but the machine seemed to behave respectably if we left it alone … We did get a new kernel built, but trying to right everything else was resulting in Bus errors and more and more core dumps … At this point, the problem seemed to point to memory although the memory in this machine has been working for the last year … We decided to leave the machine running and stop the IMs and phone calls until I could test the memory in the wee hours … I did that yesterday morning and there were multiple errors so lo and behold, yes! It was the memory … So having that tested, I had to go another day running the bad memory until I could purchase new memory and install it. So, on my way to work I stopped at CompUSA and picked up 1G of memory … When I got home, I first tested the new memory in another machine … I checked it for over an hour and it passed all tests … Then I installed it into the mail server and have been up ever since … Then I tested the RAM again in the test machine … The stick that went bad wasn’t even the one I thought would have went bad … The 256 stick was bad, and the 512 is good … So, now we need to fix up the rest of the mail server and all will be well … I can’t tell you how I have felt the last week with all 3 of these scenarios hitting at once … At one point I almost gave up … but, that’s not like me …
Day: July 25, 2004
Pick me! Pick me!
As I have said before, I have no idea who reads this stuff, or who happens on these pages in their Internet travels … There are many ways that someone could happen on this stuff being the wonderful way that the Internet searches and documents itself through search engines and web crawlers … So, at times I am vagues about things that I want to post up here for whatever reasons … I post this entry as a sort of vent as probably most of the other posts are up here as well …
I have been working house sound for approximately 9 months now. While it is something to easily fall into and something that someone like myself who has been “on the road” for the prior 7 or 8 years, it’s just not the same in many ways. The biggest is the money. In my current situation, it’s not my PA that is the house PA that I work on, so my PA has been sitting in a truck for the last 9 months. I don’t take any outside jobs as I am at the install 6 nights a week. Yes, 6 nights a week. The money is less than I made working with a band in the same situation. What we would refer to as “walk-ins” … I would show up just with the band’s equipment and run sound on the establishment’s PA system. In most cases, that PA was owned by a 3rd party and they were making money from the bar by them having that system in there … But that’s besides the point … So right off the bat, I am making less money in my current situation by not using my PA … Not that I don’t have a nice install to work on, it’s just not mine and therefor I don’t put as much “love” into that system as I would my own …
While I could have realistically sold off my PA either whole or piece by piece, I didn’t actively pursue that … Not for any particular reason, and not with any plans in mind … I just haven’t done it … and with the current job, my time has been severely limited … I may only work a certain amount of hours each night, but it is 6 nights … 2nd shift basically … I have also done extra things at my job … I have run a self serving network connection to the booth so that I can be on the Internet and do other things while I am at work. For example, if a band brings in a guy like my above example of the band’s gear and mixing, well, I just sit there and wait for 2 o’clock to roll around. So, I put in the network connection so I could work on Internet things while there doing nothing … So, I get paid to work on other projects while I am there “babysitting” as I call it …
When I started there was a DJ that worked Sunday and Wednesday nights … He moved to Chicago and they never replaced him … I purchased the appropriate cables and started to bring in my laptop to play music from the computer … I purchased a program to “rip” my CD collection (I was a DJ way way back too) and I provide the music between sets on these Sunday and Wednesday nights now … In fact, I did that before I put in the Internet connection, and I did that cause I started bringing my laptop to work more and more and I currently bring it every night now … When they needed things to use while others were repaired, I opened up my truck and grabbed those things … The short list is a drum monitor (that eventually got blown), a monitor board and some mic stands (or mounts) … I didn’t ask for money for any of these things … I have also done benefits where I essentially worked a “double” shift and I received quite less money than a normal shift … The thing about these benefits was that you were dealing with bands that were right out of the garage or who had never played such a club, so in my opinion it’s more work …
Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT complaining … It is a fine place to work and very easy to sit back and just do it because there is little pressure what-so-ever … The stress factor is very close to zero … There are perks that I don’t even take much advantage of, and that’s free food and drinks … In fact, I buy $1.00 sodas out of their take out … When I get food, I believe I tip very well … All I am leading up to is that this job would be great for someone who hasn’t had a taste of “the road” … Where there is much more money to be had … While I may not think it’s that much money, someone else may think it’s the best job in the world … They could look at it as getting fed 6 nights a week with the opportunity to tie one on every night … While I don’t choose to do this, someone if well behaved could manage it … I seriously don’t think there are any plans of doubling my pay anytime soon, and I don’t think the bar would consider investing anymore money into a sound guy simply because in actuality, I don’t really do much … I may be realiable and a great worker and a pretty go0d sound guy even, but there just isn’t enough to justify paying more I think …
So, on to the title of this post … I decided that if I “came out of retirement” as I like to think of it, that I wouldn’t do that for a mediocre situation … In other words, when the band I worked for broke up, I could have easily did sound for various bands that needed sound for various venues and did it that way … I would have had to be responsible for booking myself and finding work … That wasn’t a scenario I wanted … I also didn’t think that if I ever got the itch to take my PA back out that I would do it with a band that wasn’t a true “A” band … I would need to do a band that would bring me the recognition that I think I deserve … I have done many things for many people in the entertainment industry and I seriously don’t think that it’s something that I shouldn’t take advantage of, or expect to be respected for … it’s about that time …
So, there is currently 2 bands that I would want to work for, and I am waiting around to see what pans out with them … One is very near and was a recent surprise availability … In the case of “Pick me!” it has to do with a semi-local sound company that does a lot of bands on the circuit … While the owner seems to be doing very well for himself, while it was said he would be declining this recent availabilty … that changed … He isn’t in business to say “no” to money … Me neither …
Going, going, gone!
Seems all the waiting and the sending in of resumés etcetera didn’t pay off … Being patient did nothing but allow a “beloved” employee who has applied for the job … So, my “buddy” has informed me, and this just makes everything look bleak as far as the pending job goes … But he has hopes that they will still interview me as his job may be available soon … He is applying for another job within the company … I don’t know about you, but a job that sits dormant for almost 3 months that there was interest in isn’t filled, makes you wonder about their priorities and then someone (who has obviously quit or moved on before) just jumps right in. It makes you think that there was no desires to get outside inquiries at all … I have heard that there are companies that actually run ads for job openings that the job opening has already been filled by someone within the company or a friend of a friend (which is what I thought I was doing) … but there is some sort of reason that they have to run the ad … I don’t know what, but it’s something that I’ve heard that I am probably not explaining properly … Oh well … I shall keep on keeping on …