The longest night... (not a movie)

Friday night?? (it gets confusing when you work overnights) started at 5pm at the Inspirador for a wedding with me at the front door as a greeter...(and yes, after meeting me they still wanted to go in), and alcohol control...(no one was allowed to bring a drink other than water outside the venue). I was dressed in black pants, shirt and shoes and it was an intimate gathering (around 75-100 guests). It was a mixed marriage--man and woman (you thought I was going to say something else didn't you?). The groom was from Arizona and the bride from North Dakota. So talking to the guests... (I usually entertain the smoking crowd because they need to be outside) it was like being on the set of a remake of the movie Fargo. But they were cool and we swapped stories... (they knew I was not from Arizona--it was my Jersey accent I guess). Lots of hunting and fishing and stories of 1800 people in a town compared to stories of Manhattan and millions of people and mind-numbing traffic. I was regaled by one story of a bull moose charging after one guy in his own backyard... (its shoulders were taller than he was). It chased him into the house 3 separate times (I couldn't figure out why he kept going back out there!). But what a great story for "Why are you late for work?" (I know I couldn't top that one). These people were partying hard but they followed my rules, but instead of 11pm, I didn't get out of there til 11:45... (I changed into my khakis and purple at the venue, called Bob the night guy and hightailed it over to Tumbleweed Park to start my midnight to 8am shift.

I met a vendor around 1am who was firing up his meat smoker to get it ready for the days activities (that particular grill was a frequent stop to warm my extremities that night). Around 3 am (he was actually living on the grounds in his RV) he put the meat in there and around 4am I wished I had a knife and fork to raid the grill... There was a new addition to the animal menagerie also... Four horses and 3 huge camels were penned up together across from the other animals... (they had pony and camel rides for anyone interested). I talked with the cops who stopped by and made sure everything was good. I even had a golf cart to tool around, but I preferred walking... (no windshield on the cart made it even colder and walking kept me awake). Around 6 am the camera crews returned for another round of interviews and ostrich gawking. I'm glad they did because I needed something to keep me going (seriously running out of gas). The coolest thing was that when I approached the petting zoo most of the animals got up and followed me in their pens looking for a handout (there were bales of hay so I obliged with some irregular feedings). A goat that was born on Thursday night (so cute) was bouncing around trying to get his legs under him to work... (amazing how they come out ready to go). At 8am on the dot I was in the car and luckily for me the ride was quick, I made it home when the phone rang... (it was the day boss. They didn't start til 9:30 and they wanted me to stay there until they showed up to guard the parking lot and keep vendors out). I told him I was home already and going since 5 last night and had to sleep...(I was supposed to do the same shift-5pm to 11 then midnight to 8am on Saturday night, which was today already). I told you it gets confusing.

It may seem that I am working the kind of hours I did in New Jersey (the kind of hours that made the decision to come out here so easy) but you must remember that I don't HAVE to work this many hours, I CHOOSE to work this many hours. When they call me for a gig, I decide whether or not to work it... (if I have something else going on I just refuse and they get someone else). Its just that work is available right now and dries up in the summer months so why not pile on some hours. And working the overnights is a cool (literally) change from crowd control and drunks and such... (but I do love the interaction with the crowd). It's a whole new group to test my material and mess with as "Security Man". And being in demand as a security guard is a good thing...(not only do I get called but I usually get a good spot to work an event).