Day Two: Coming to Terms with the Assignment

At the sound of my alarm clock I jump up from the couch in shock and look out

the window. It is morning already! I run to my bedroom to turn off the alarm and for a

second I consider calling in sick, but that’s just no option right now. There is still so

much to do at work, especially if I have to leave for three weeks. So I take a shower,

get dressed, have breakfast and after putting my plate in the sink, I leave for work

earlier than normal to make sure I have enough time today to get as much work done

as possible. Strangely enough today everything goes so smoothly that I arrive half an

hour earlier than expected. There are only a handful of people at their desks. Silently

I take my seat and turn on my computer. When I head over to the coffee machine for

a nice big cup of strong black coffee, I run into Don who is apparently ignoring me. I

couldn’t care less, since I didn’t like him in the first place and have way more

important things to worry about. In my mind I go through a to-do-list for the day. I will

have to finish the columns for this week and also try to work ahead as much as I can.

The rest will have to be picked up by my colleagues. To make sure of lessening the

burden on them as much as possible I hurry back to my desk and get started. Only

when my friend Beth taps my shoulder to ask me to lunch do I notice that it is already

1:00 p.m.

“Could you please bring me back a sandwich? I still have so much to do before I

have to go on this tour. I’m really sorry!” I plead. Disappointed but understanding

Beth heads for the door and I get straight back to what I was doing.

What feels like minutes later, Beth says: “Here’s your sandwich. I picked your

favorite!” She puts the ham and egg sandwich in front of me and sits down on the

edge of my desk.

“Thanks so much! How much do I owe you? Will $5.00 cover it?”

I grab the bill out of my wallet, give it to Beth and after a quick smile return to

my work. A moment later she probably realizes I don’t even have time for a quick talk

and leaves. I feel guilty for ignoring my friend like that, but I don’t have a choice right

now. There are only 3 days to finish up the work I would normally have a lot more

time to do. The next time I look up from my work most people have left to go home

and I am one of the last in the office. I’m about to call it quits as well when Ben walks

over to my desk. As I sit back down, he asks with a smile on his face, “So, have you

recovered from the shock yet?”

“Yes, sir! Now I’m just trying to finish up things before I have to leave.” I

answer.

“When are you going to stop with the formalities? I know I’m a few years older

than you, but really I’m not old enough to be called sir.” Ben says jokingly.

“Oh, right! Haha, sorry sir…ehm…Ben.” I say.

“So if you need any help preparing for the tour, I’m happy to give you some

pointers. When I was younger, I was in a band too. I could tell you a bit of what’s to

come.”

“Well, I don’t know anything about bands or touring, so I could really use the

help. Thank you!” I accept gratefully.

“You want to grab something to eat and talk things through now or do you have

plans for tonight already?”

“I was going to start packing, but that can wait till later. But don’t you need to

get home to your wife?”

“Err, no I’m not really expected anywhere anymore. Stella decided she had

enough of the long hours, so she left me two weeks ago.” he says lightly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Are you OK?” I ask concerned.

“It’s OK. No one here knows about this. I’m fine though. It was actually a relief,

because it got harder and harder to go home at some point. We just grew apart. God,

listen to me telling you my life story. I’m sorry for boring you with this! I’ll stop now!”

I smile and pat Ben on the shoulder.

I get up, grab my bag and coat and say: “Shall we?”

“We’ll go to this great little place I know. It’s only a ten minute drive from

here.” he says.

So we go down to the underground parking lot and leave in Ben’s car to the

restaurant. When we arrive we’re escorted to a table near the back. Ben orders food

and drinks for both of us and while we are waiting for everything we start talking

about Ben’s experiences with touring. He gives me a lot of useful tips; the absolute

dos and don’ts, the hierarchy on the bus and what to pack. “You know so much about

this stuff. Why don’t you go on this tour? It sounds like you really miss being in a band

and on the road.” I ask.

“Yeah, I do miss it, but it’s not for me anymore. When you get to my age…and

I’m not saying I’m old. Let’s just say there is a time for everything and my touring

days are over.” Ben explains.

“Besides I wouldn’t have the fresh look I envision for this feature story.”

We finish our food, end it with some coffee and Ben pays the bill. As we leave

Ben asks if I’d like to be dropped off at home since there aren’t any buses at this time

of night. I gratefully accept, since I was also wondering about how to get home. He

asks for directions, I lead him to my house and get out of the car. He rolls down the

window and I thank him for the pointers and dinner. He asks if I’ll be ok and I nod

while taking my keys out of my bag. I put my key in the lock, open it and turn around

to see Ben drive off. I go inside and close the door behind me. To make sure I don’t

forget any of the tips Ben gave me I take out my Blackberry and write down the dos

and don’ts. I throw my bag on the kitchen table and hang my jacket over one of the

chairs. After turning on a few lights I sit down on the couch and try to remember what

he said. Oh yeah, he said not to piss off the tour manager, because he can really make

your life on tour miserable.

I write that down and then go over what else Ben said: “...It is important to

make friends with at least one of the band members as soon as possible. It will make

things a lot easier if you have one person on your side… The best way to win over a

group of guys is by getting them a few bottles of their favorite drink… Pack enough

deodorant; you will not be able to shower every day... Get yourself a bunch of

earplugs; you don’t want to get hearing damage... Most importantly, never forget that

you are there to do a job.”

After writing all this important stuff down I make myself a shopping list of

things to get for the tour and also a list of things to pack. I sort out my laundry, put a

load in the washing machine and turn it on. Then I put on my pajamas, make myself a

hot chocolate and watch some TV to try and get my mind off things. Nothing on TV

catches my attention, so I turn it off and go to bed. After about an hour and a half I’m

still not asleep, so I get out of bed to hang my laundry out to dry and get back in when

I’m done. Several hours later I’m still wide awake, I just can’t stop worrying about

tomorrow. Will I be able to finish all my work before the tour? What if I can’t? Sylvia

will be all over me, though Ben might keep her away since he told me last night he

doesn’t expect me to do anything but prepare for the tour.