Although the music part of the festival South by South West, is not scheduled to start until the middle of the week, by Wednesday morning, last week, the clear plastic wrapping had adorned the columns of our Conference Center, ready for the onslaught of posters that would be pasted over more posters. The inhabitants of Austin were bracing themselves for the tornado that made our city its home.
Earlier in the week, we had received our 'passes' that enable us to drive along the roads that have been closed to through traffic, and our office landlord had suggested that we have both this, and the permit we have for our parking lot, in a very prominent place on our dashboard, as he was going to have the tow company on standby, to remove any vehicles that were not displaying the correct paperwork. Unidentified cars were already starting to invade our area, and tolerance was running at an all time low.
Our car park is not open to the public during the day, and during the festival, the gate is partially closed, should anyone not quite understand the very subtle sign, which reads; 'Private parking, no public parking, towing is enforced'. However, it appears that a partially closed gate is like the proverbial glass. Some see it has half open, and 'private' is such a capitalist word! Occasionally, during the year, the landlord has taken pity on someone in an emergency, and allowed them to leave their vehicle for a couple of hours, if there is a free place. The onus is placed on me, when the landlord is not around, to play 'attendant', and I am not as merciful during event weeks. 'But he let me put my car here before', worked once. However, as soon as I was told that it had been purely on a humanitarian level, I vowed not to be fooled again. I do not succumb to feminine wiles; perhaps it was because I could never wear shorts that short, even when I was her age, nor did I wear a hairband under my t-shirt, let alone wearing one instead of a top! I was simply being firm. Jealousy is such an ugly word!
We trekked across the river, via the bridge, and visited our next port of call; The games section. Having been chastised last year, for calling 'interactive' games, 'board' games, I was much more careful when I saw the stand. 'Have you ever played Catan', I was asked, by a very enthusiastic gamer. On reflection, the answer, 'no, but I have sprinkled it on my spaghetti', was not a good idea, but fortunately, my sarcasm was water off a duck's back, and I was invited to sit in on a game that had already been started. Enthusiasts do not always make the best teachers, despite their passion, as fervor overtakes simplicity. In the fifteen minutes that I waited to throw the dice, I learned nothing; my mentor attempted to explain the rules, but failed. I knew how the game progressed; I knew that one who was good at mathematics would have an advantage (although I did not know how) and I knew the final objective. However, once the cubes were rolled, I was completely lost. It didn't take long to pick up the basic rudiments, as it seemed to be a mixture of several games I had played before. Similar to Monopoly in some ways, it had elements of 'Fish' and 'Happy Families', as well as a few other card games that I had played in years gone by. Once I had grasped the concept, and was actually moving ahead quite swiftly, the lady next to me received a phone call, and left the table, never to return.
The Conference Center was now heaving, and we strolled along the corridors, stopping to retrieve more items to fill my backpack. A vending machine with notebooks caught my eye, and I meandered over to the stand. As I picked up the information booklet, I asked the young man on the stand; 'What does it do?, and how does it work'. As the booklet opened, the words at the top of page one were 'What does this do?', and page two explained, 'How does this work?' Unlike my conscientious gamer, and with a look that said, 'Why do I always get the wrinklies?', the promoter looked at me, hands in pockets, head to one side, and said, 'I guess we should have made it more plain!' Very smugly, he took a step back, waiting for me to go on my way. Memories of Kathy Bates, in Fried Green Tomatoes came flooding back, where she told the two girls who stole her parking space, 'I was waiting for that', and they replied, 'Face it lady; we are younger and faster'. Ms Bates went into her alter ego and rammed the car. As they came back screaming, she simply said, 'Face it girls, I'm older and have more insurance.' If I had been wearing glasses, I would have slid them down my nose, and peered over them. Instead, I raised my eyebrows, slightly pursed my lips, and in Ms Bates fashion, went into, 'Towanda!' I missed out the phrase, 'Young man', but continued, 'It has been a very long, wet day. Would you like to explain to me, in the simplest terms you can, what this does, and how it works?' He had just metaphorically been called into the principals office! His explanation of how the 'app' allows your phone to act as a credit card, was rather interesting, albeit somewhat concerning, as once again we are heading towards a cashless, and now cardless, society. Once he had explained, to my satisfaction, he stood back, as if waiting for a commendation. Instead, I said, 'and the books in the vending machine?' Through gritted teeth, he asked if I wanted a demonstration. Oh come on! What do you think? 'Yes', I said, bluntly. He had just handed in his homework, that he had spent all night preparing, and I had given him an 'F'! I got my demonstration, and my book, and even a 'have a nice day'.
Although thunder storms were forecast for three days, we thought that there may be some respite. Unfortunately, this was not to be, and as we left the Conference Center we chose to take advantage of the plastic ponchos that were being handed out. Edward and Samantha were very grateful, as apparently, I do not hold the umbrella properly. I wasn't getting wet, so I have no idea why they were complaining! However, I did complain, as the next stop was ten blocks down, and two blocks over. I was not so concerned about the walk down, but knew that we were going to have to walk back, in the rain, with the temperature dropping considerably.
The rain will not dampen the festival, I am sure, and the show will go on. I am having a very relaxing Sunday at home, as this week will be rather crazy. Next Sunday, I will no doubt be detoxing from all the fumes breathed in during the week, and life will get back to normal, or as normal as it can in our city. Keeping Austin Weird this coming week will be much easier than usual, and perhaps....
another story.
No comments:
Post a Comment