Behind the scenes

[punkoffgirl]

The story of Sunday night

So, after the mad rush of the last few attendees, who go into a buying frenzy when it finally hits them that the show really IS over, there was still so much left to do! Everything before your eyes had to be packed up, picked up, and stored away. Down came the pipe and drape; out came the gigantic rolls of plastic wrap, in which piles of boxes were secured together. The museum items that weren't taken home by their owners were carefully packed away (Nick is much better with bubble-wrap than I am, btw) under Larry's watchful eye. The prototype carts, the prototype systems, the awesome t-shirts and posters.
And then some of the waiting began.
There was one truck rented to share, and our turn was last. We waited while they took out all the arcade games and assorted other boxes in two trips, one of which was delayed by a flat tire. Those couches came in pretty handy at this point I wish I'd gotten some pictures of everyone sitting around. Sean realized at the last minute that his flight was an hour earlier than he'd thought, so he leaves in a hurry. Ian and Dave G snuck out somehow without a goodbye! And Mr Lawrence Lamb gets a call about a little old lady driving through the storefront window...
So our turn with the truck finally comes, and the loading begins. Everything out to the loading dock, and then into the truck.



Sadly, my camera didn't work too well in the dark, and this is the only outside photo that came out. Otherwise, I'd have a great one to show you of the cops busting two guys as they climbed down from the side of the train that had just pulled in
So, everything is on the truck. We make one last sweep of the floor, and head out to the parking garage, piling into the van, and following the truck out to the storage facility, which was out past the airport. And then we run into a "snag".
The door to the storage space is padlocked.
Apparently the management has a policy that all the doors have to have padlocks on them at all times. Unaware of this, when the space had been emptied to bring everything to the show, the door had been left unlocked. The management apparently found it, and stuck a lock of their own on there. And it doesn't look like we can get in touch with them before morning. And the truck has to be unpacked tonight.
So, Don heads out to Walmart in search of a hacksaw, or bolt cutters, SOMEthing that might cut the lock off the door, while the possibility of cramming everything into Joe's DP space is pondered. The couches fit, anyway. And while everyone else is pondering or heading to Walmart, Glenn is busy making himself the hero of the night Glenn has this pocket-knife dealy. One of those that has the other nifty things on it besides a knife. And his has this file on it. Yep, Glenn is inside FILING THROUGH THE LOCK. Lo and behold, he does it:



So, Don is called and told to return the hacksaw he'd purchased for some cold drinks, and the truck is FINALLY unloaded. Damn, even at 2 in the morning, it's freakin' HOT outside in Nevada. And then we lived happily every after:



The end.

[digitalpress]

It's probably difficult to imagine just how HEROIC it seemed as Glenn emerged from the storage facility with the vanquished padlock in his hands! We were already tired from a long weekend of work and it was after 1am with most everyone leaving early the next day. The last thing we needed was a snafu like not being able to get into the facility.

The picture of Glenn holding that lock is PRICELESS to those of us who were there. That's the kind of determination that you rarely see in people "on vacation", let alone at that hour, after that weekend!

Thanks again, Glenn! And thanks to Jaime and Tony for capturing that "behind the scenes" moment.

[Mayhem]

Which then explains why you crashed into our room at about 2:30am :P

[Drexel923]

Nick is much better with bubble-wrap than I am, btw

Damn straight

It would have been nice to actually see hime cut through the lock...but I did have fun time going to Walmart with Don looking all suspicious at 2AM.

Do you have any bolt cutters? NO, then how about a hacksaw? Oh I'm sorry we don't need it after all, our friends broke into the place just fine without us. We'll just get some drinks.

Thanks for the pics Jaime...good way to remember the night.

[rolenta]

Dave G snuck out somehow without a goodbye!

I don't know about Ian, but I took Dave to the airport. Him and Al Backiel were waiting for me in the lobby of the Plaza at 8 so we could get back to my hotel, get my car, drop the car off at the rental place, and prepare for the nightmare of airport security. For the last 5 years I've been travelling America West and it was always a long line waiting to check bags and go through security. This year I took American (me and Al were on the same flight home) and surprisingly there was no wait at all! I don't know how Dave fared after the rental car bus dropped me and Al off.

[punkoffgirl]

It would have been nice to actually see hime cut through the lock...but I did have fun time going to Walmart with Don looking all suspicious at 2AM.

Do you have any bolt cutters? NO, then how about a hacksaw? Oh I'm sorry we don't need it after all, our friends broke into the place just fine without us. We'll just get some drinks.

HA! I never even thought about that *lmao*