Jaci Velasquez Ain’t Got Nothin’ On This…
Posted on 11.21.06 in Family General and there are 2 comments.
In my previous life, I worked at a radio station that also put on a lot of concerts. When I started there, they’d just transitioned to a computerized ticketing system for the 17-18 ticket outlets they had around the city at area Christian bookstores.
This was in dialup days, folks. Slow modems, slow connections and lines of dozens of people waiting to buy tickets as fast as possible to see their favorite artist.
To add a bit of stress, I was the only one who went through training on how the system worked. On top of that, many of the people who worked at the stores on Saturdays, when shows went on sale, were older folks who tended to be rather terrified of the new ticketing system.
I dreaded Saturday mornings at 10:00am. I’d sit there and watch the clock, my pager and my cell phone. On a big on-sale day, the minute the clock struck 10, my pager would start flying off the desk. I’d get dozens of frantic calls from normally smart people who, under the pressure, sometimes lost common sense:
“Hello? This is Kat from XYZ radio. Did you page me?”
“Yes, I have 70 people in line and my system doesn’t work.”
“Could you be a bit more specific?”
“When I try to sell tickets, nothing happens.”
“Ok, let’s drill down on this issue. Are you able to select seats in the system?”
“Yes.”
“Are you able to print the tickets?”
“No”
“Are there tickets in the printer?”
“No, should I put some in?”
“Yes, that would fix your problem.”
Mix 14 calls like that with 3 calls about serious issues and throw in a couple impatient and upset customers and that makes for a very stressful Saturday morning. We often sold thousands of tickets in a matter of minutes so you can imagine the pace at which my brain had to move to monitor the sale on my computer and troubleshoot issues (and non issues) at the same time.
Why am I telling you this?
Because those on-sales “ain’t got nothing’” on what I experienced today.
Today, I was in charge of my 4 year old’s preschool Thanksgiving party. S-T-R-E-S-S with a capital S.
I had several near-sleepless nights racking my brain and trying to plan what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. I am not cute and crafty, but I am creative. When planning a preschool Thanksgiving party, that combination can send someone to the looney bin.
I had a phone meeting with Shaun today and he said that one of his children had a Thanksgiving party today too. Each parent just brought a simple snack and then they did a craft. 30 minutes, over and out.
Me? Our party was an hour long and my overly creative self decided that the kids needed to do a reenactment of the Original Thanksgiving Meal. That’s right folks, I was bound and determined that these kids were going to get some deep meaning out of this party and leave with thankful hearts that would astound their parents. So half the class made Pilgrim props (sailboat, looking glass, hat) and the other half made Native American props (hobby horse and feather hat). Then they each made snack crafts (decorated cookies and candy necklaces) that they were to share with their friends after they reenacted the landing of the Mayflower.
What happened?
The kids got upset about being separated into two groups, they licked the snacks they were making for each other (thereby totally grossing out the parents so we had to axe the food exchange idea), the Pilgrims refused to sail and the Native Americans didn’t seem to know how to ride their horses.
I never even got to my speech about the importance of having a thankful heart.
The party was easily remedied, though once we passed out the turkey cookies and played some turkey balloon volleyball.
Here’s the lesson in all of this:
Planning a party for 4 year olds can be the most stressful experience of one’s life IF one doesn’t know the golden rule of 4 year old party planning:
It’s all about the sugar.
There are 2 comments.
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The Comments:
your stories make me laugh...i’m glad you survived that stress, though. have a happy thanksgiving.
Nov 22, 06 at 07:28 pm
Well, duh. I guess if I had read this one first I would have figured out the answer to the previous post. (I guessed right, but it looks dumb to guess correctly after the answer has already been revealed, even if you didn’t know it was already revealed.) 
Via the Feed
john john
Nov 22, 06 at 08:20 am