Wmcmanus

At least this year I finally gave in to the temptation that I've had now for several years to premium price my Saturdays. You really only have 3 Saturdays per season because it's hard to get companies to shift their parties back to the last Saturday in November. So this year I've been able to book multiple hour Saturday events with the two biggest law firms on Island and a really big event hosted by the Ritz Carlton, all for USD 400 per hour. Up until last year, I was still treating Saturdays like any other day and booking my time at KYD 150 (which is about USD 195), plus they were smaller events that didn't give me any particular exposure either. It's not so much about the money (although more is always good), but about "stepping up the game" and changing up the mix of events that I do such that it will be more to my liking. My favorite events are still the big grade school assemblies (think 300-500 screaming kids) and also the home visits, especially the big happy extended family gatherings. That's where my heart is at, not so much for the public events where long lines form for pictures, or the corporate events where there is a commercial aspect to it. But if I'm going to do the corporate events (less interesting to me), I might as well charge them a premium price on weekends (my billing rate for Friday nights and all day on Sundays is also up this year, but not as high as Saturdays). This then allows me to do more charitable events and deeply discounted family events (for people who don't have good jobs, but still love their kids), but I'm no longer willing to schedule any such events during the weekends. Just tonight, I told a friend, "On a Tuesday night, it will cost you either $50 or a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black. On a Saturday afternoon, it will cost you $400. Professional Santas aren't cheap, and cheap Santas aren't professional."

Ok, so after that awful conversation, she sends me an email: "What about the 14th from 3-6pm?" meaning the next day, which is a Sunday, since she now seems to understand that she can't have the 13th from 3-6pm or any other time on that day. But mind you, I talked her through my entire schedule for the month of December on the phone, including the 14th. Perhaps she wasn't listening since she was too busy yelling at me... so I reply: "I'm booked from 3-5pm on the 14th, and tentatively booked from 11am-2pm as well although that hasn't been confirmed yet. The evening hours are open on the 14th, although I know that probably won't work in Digicel's case." Her response: "Hi Wayne, I don’t understand what you mean. Are you saying you are good to go on Dec 14th from 3pm to 6pm?" I kid you not. This is an event planner... who gets paid for... planning... events.

I just got yelled at for about 15 minutes by a woman from Digicel (Jamaican-based phone company) for not being able to accommodate her 11th hour request for a 3-6pm Santa event on a freaking Saturday (December 13th). This, after she cancelled a booking that they had previously made for the prior Saturday from 12-2pm with nothing more than a "Sorry, but we're not doing a Santa event this year" email. (As in, fuck you, we're not really sorry, we're just canceling.) So now it's my fucking job to be able to read her mind 10 months in advance and reserve one of the most prime spots on my entire calendar, which was actually booked on February 12th for $400 per hour. She actually wants me to call that company and cancel their event and rebook it for her company for $175 per hour because that's what is in her budget and what she considers to be "a fair price." I was patient with her and offered every conceivable solution that I could in terms of my availability (mostly evening hours during the week at this point). But no, she wants me for her event at her rate, and expects me to fuck myself with my other clients. I'd actually have to cancel that event and shift around another event to do as she's demanded (not requested). All of this because, apparently (in her view), I should allow them to pick their date and time (and rate) because they rudely cancelled on me about 2 weeks ago with no indication whatsoever that they might be considering hosting another event at a different location, date, and time. She kept saying, "But we already made a reservation!" as if it represents a coupon of some sort that then allows them to order me around any which way they choose to. What an idiot. Plus, they made me give away those shitty little miniature candy canes last year because they were too cheap to do anything better. In the meantime, I've rebooked my time for their cancelled event on the 6th, so she's not getting that time either!

Happy birthday, Dinny!

Frisbee day?

If you drink like you did in San Jose, your excitement will shine right on through any reservations or holdbacks you now may be contemplating.

I didn't know you were a cigar aficionado, Brent.

Not sure, but MadBum looked pretty rattled out there! I think the Royals would have gotten to him by about the 23rd inning or so.

You're probably right, Doug. He was weak sauce up there, that's for sure. Looked overmatched, as he seldom does.

Then there's this:

Here's some intellectual masturbation about the odds of Gordon scoring in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/100150646/statcast-dissecting-alex-gordons-odds-of-scoring-tying-run-in-ninth-inning-of-game-7 Just eyeballing it, it sure seemed like he made the right decision holding him up at 3rd. I'm not surprised that the data supports that as well. The only real question is whether the throw would have been accurate...

I was thinking the same thing, Gene, wondering if they should have sent Gordon, but I think he was gassed and the Giants would have had him dead to rights, out by 10-15 feet. But we'll never know. Then that dude on the mound was too smart to throw a wild pitch. Go figure.

Second game on the West Coast! Amazing. We'll give him credit for being a SF Giants fan since the "beginning" and forgive him for missing their first game. Good that he gave up on the Dodgers when they moved to LA. Nothing better than being a home town fan, being surrounded by the same, and actually being able to get to games.

Al, the victory pic is priceless! You all look so high on life that you could fly! How long has your dad been a Giants fan? Does his loyalty trace back to the New York Giants days?

Congrats, Giants fans! So well deserved. Really was hoping the Royals could pull it off, but I think the right team won. Would have be a tragedy, actually, if they had scored off of MadBum, but he wasn't letting that happen no matter what.

It's getting interesting now! Love it when the World Series goes 7 games! Tomorrow night should be intense.

Whoa! Not sure about having him start Game 7, but I guess that's a possibility. Then just let him go for as long as he's effective and feeling alright. That would be really, really short rest and it's hard to say how his arm might respond to that, just in terms of mechanics and his effectiveness, even forgetting the risk of injury. But if it worked, then maybe you get 4-6 innings out of him as opposed to thinking more like 1-3 innings in relief, so it's an interesting thought.

Opps! Shows how much I know about the Giants! Thought I heard the announcers saying that Cain would probably start Game 6, but maybe they were saying he would be the guy for sure if he was available? Dunno. Heard something like that somewhere? Never mind. I obviously shouldn't have acted like I knew what I was talking about! Oh, and yes, I would think Bumgarner could go for an inning or two if needed in Game 7. It would be about the same time that he would ordinarily do a bullpen session between starts, although that's usually more like throwing at 80% or so. But as far as timing, it's what he would be used to anyway. I would think that most starters would find pitching for a couple of innings after 2 days rest to be more natural and easier than starting a game and expecting to go 7+ on 3 days rest.

Game 6 will be Matt Cain, almost for sure. Game 7 is another matter, but I'd imagine whoever the starter might be, he'll be on a short leash and we might see an army of pitchers by either or both teams, if need be.

Big win for the Giants, tonight. Puts them in the driver's seat, but don't count those pesky Royals out just yet!

I've already ordered the album, so it doesn't feel so creepy listening to it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDQbJP0PxUM#t=49 In general, I like the solo versions better, although the orchestral version of "Say Hello to Chicago" is quite nice... and of course no Neil Young album is complete without an interjection of his lib politics and "Who's Gonna Stand Up" delivers on that score.

Ya, exactly. Big win for the Giants tonight. They looked pretty serious, yet are still playing loose and relaxed baseball which is important too. It's been a great series so far, can't wait to see what happens next.

RIP, Jack. Not so unexpected, but still very sad.

I'm guessing this wasn't done in a conceal carry state! It's not hard to imagine someone drawing quickly and blowing his head off for pulling a stunt like this.