24 Oct - New York City

Been doing the hard graft here in Noo Yawk City. Adam's company has been contracted to install and operate lighting in Macy's Department Store for the release of a new perfume range for the popstar Mariah Carey. Mariah, being the special person that she is, has special requirements which include movie lights that follow her wherever she goes and make sure she looks glamorous at every moment she's in the public eye. That meant we had to go to a rental outfit that caters to the movie industry. The place we went to was the size of an aircraft hangar, covered in stands with hundreds of lights, from tiny handheld lights to enormous beasts that output 20,000 watts and have to be moved with forklifts. All we took was one trolley filled with just a couple of lights, not the biggest setup in the world.

The next stop was getting a mugshot at the Macy's Office for our security passes. The two places we set up were some 14th floor office rooms and also a vast and somewhat acrid smelling cosmetics section of the store. Sparing expense was not on the mind of the people organising this event. In the upstairs area they had put down brand new white carpet in the rooms (to be ripped up and thrown away after the event of course). Downstairs, in the cosmetics department, the new carpeting was somewhat more extensive. A corridor through the department store, about 6o metres long, was carpeted in vivid purple, as well a big area that was sectioned off as a stage for Mariah Carey. The purple carpet was destined for the trashbin as well. I knew I should've invested in the flooring markets, dammit.

Seeing Macy's, the biggest store in the world, from behind the scenes was very cool. The 'customer' side of Macy's is immaculately presented, shiny and cleaner than Kojak's head. And crawling with thousands of determined customers, awash with cash and eager to spend it on yet another piece of garbage they don't need. But these folk are reassured by the vast quantities of cash that has been poured into manufacturing the illusion of need and desire. However, once you go down the service corridors you see eighty years of accumulated grime and grunge, antique grafitti and worn down fittings. Let's just say I didn't buy anything. I wasn't fooled. But give me time...

We got the system almost set up. Trouble with belligerent union electricians kept us from completing our task. The next day was the 'Big Day' - Mariah was to appear at 5pm. We went back and, now that the electricians were willing to play ball, we finalised the setup. I had the job of holding a 'Sungun', a small portable light source, to light up Mariah as she stepped from her car. A couple of hundred people had gathered for her arrival and the security contingent assigned to her, about twenty or thirty big guys in suits, had their hands full dealing with the crowds. Mariah pulled up in a zillion dollar Rolls Royce convertible, gets outs and security hustles her into the store, where the purple carpet has been laid and fifty drum majors play a defeaning musical accompaniment to her entrance.

People are going nuts to get a glance at the star. The store has to have minimum disruption to its schedule - so despite all the security customers are still shopping in their throngs and most of them are not all that interested in any Celebrity. They have real business - shopping - to do.

I get a front row seat at a gaggle of photographers taking gazillions (yes, gazillions - even more than zillions) of photographs during a set up photo opportunity. There are so many strobes going off that Mariah seems to flicker.

The deal is that you have to buy $100 of perfume to get a chance to get Mariah's signature, and $300 to get a chance of a photo with her. There are a lot of desperate people in America so they have no problems getting the requisite number of applicants.

Well that was my first few days in New York.... The band is about to start practising again so we going to a bar.


Adious for now, Alex