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| View from my room @ the Ritz |
Today was a great day. I got to spend some time with my girls (and boys) @ Staples Center. We were out there as visitors of the Pac 12 on a site visit. The MGM was in the running for the 2013-15 bid. We were supposed to be flying under the radar but given my friendships with the gang there, there was no use hiding it.
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| Credential check in |
Immediately when I hit the credential check in, all the memories came floating back. I spent many a day & night up there doing boxing credentials. I felt a sense of longing - for my old job, my old lifestyle, traveling, meeting people, airports, hotels, different cities, different countries. Now I spend all my time in the same building doing basically the same thing over and over. I'm the equivalent of an insurance agent in a cubicle. I just have better entertainment.
We take a tour of the arena and backstage with the Pac 12 ops team. I loved that I knew the building as well if not better than they did. I didn't mention it until we bumped into one of my pals, Armen. Then it was hard to hide. He saw me walking with them and was like, "What the… hi! What are you doing here?"
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| Grabbing a bite in catering |
After our once-around with the Pac 12 I broke off from our group and went to hang with my girls Kat and Jen. We went up to the patio and sat in the sunlight. We dished the dirt about our jobs, love lives, the Pac 12, our industries. We talked about how they staffed their building versus how we staffed ours. God, I was embarrassed to tell them how few people we had. Good stuff. Later we headed down to catering and they insisted I have a bite to eat with them. It's funny. No matter what venue you're in, we all kind of act the same. We all head to catering together in packs.
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| Staples is a great venue |
After a taco salad the girls left and Tim took me around for the inside scoop. Ops are ops no matter if it's basketball or a Gaga concert. The dish you want is about the people. Are they cool, assholes, fun, high maintenance? Who do you need on your side? Who should you watch your back around? Who's clueless? That kind of stuff. This is why I love my relationship with them. They give me the truth and I give it right back at them. I've always said, if I stay in the venue business there are only 3 other places I'd go: Staples, MSG or O2. Staples is at the top of that list.
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| USC hits the floor |
I didn't want to take up too much of their time so I left shortly after hanging with Tim. We were flying out in a couple hours and I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I left my 2nd favorite building, headed across the street to Wolfgang Puck to meet up with my gang.
Today was a great day.
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