Grad Bash
Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 9:49 pm
I must say Grad bash was much easier to handle this year. Spanning it out over three nights really helped to keep the crowds down and it was an extremely wise decision not to invite a few of the schools that caused problems last year.
That being said, high school seniors have got to be some of the most annoying SGTs on the planet. The good news is, our leads gave us a bit more leeway in handling them than we would otherwise have with "normal" guests. I usually frown on snarkiness in general but I've found that with a teenage audience you need to speak their language. Some highlights:
* The most common answer at pre-board when asked "How many in your party?" was, "Uh...I don't know. A lot." Eventually I just started skipping straight to the next group in line and told them that I would board them when they passed the math portion of the SATs. Similar story when they frequently lined up in the wrong row. "No sweetie, you're in row three. You remember three, right? It's the big shiny number that comes after two. You're standing on the big shiny four." I got a high five from a chaperone for that one.
* 7:30 pm on the very first night of Grad Bash a young gentleman shows up completely wasted. I could smell him from several feet away. He was escorted to security and was still protesting that he "hadn't had anything" even as the rolled him away in the ambulance to get his stomach pumped.
* Also on the first night, a rather large girl decided to "get low" at the dance party and blew her knee out. Ouch.
* Inside the boathouse, my first two rows were getting pretty into the show, which is fine, except that one gentleman was so frantic that we leave the boathouse "NOW" that he started smacking me with a hand towel. Pure reflex, I smacked him right back on the hand and yelled, "NO, BAD!" I don't even have a dog.
* At load, the boat is pretty much ready to go; but Skipper Ron is hamming it up for the guests a bit. A young lady in row 7 pipes up, "You can start the tour now." I held up my hand in the "hold" signal while Ron proceeded to publicly shame her for being rude. Eventually, he had the entire boat turned around staring at her, and the entire load crew (myself, preboard, the tower attendant and out lead) stood on the dock with crossed arms and glared. After a couple minutes she was clearly mortified and Ron gave himself permission to start the tour. She tried to chime in once morel but Ron just turned around and said, "No, You're done." From what I hear it was an epic boat tour.
This weekend is Grad Venture. Can't wait.
That being said, high school seniors have got to be some of the most annoying SGTs on the planet. The good news is, our leads gave us a bit more leeway in handling them than we would otherwise have with "normal" guests. I usually frown on snarkiness in general but I've found that with a teenage audience you need to speak their language. Some highlights:
* The most common answer at pre-board when asked "How many in your party?" was, "Uh...I don't know. A lot." Eventually I just started skipping straight to the next group in line and told them that I would board them when they passed the math portion of the SATs. Similar story when they frequently lined up in the wrong row. "No sweetie, you're in row three. You remember three, right? It's the big shiny number that comes after two. You're standing on the big shiny four." I got a high five from a chaperone for that one.
* 7:30 pm on the very first night of Grad Bash a young gentleman shows up completely wasted. I could smell him from several feet away. He was escorted to security and was still protesting that he "hadn't had anything" even as the rolled him away in the ambulance to get his stomach pumped.
* Also on the first night, a rather large girl decided to "get low" at the dance party and blew her knee out. Ouch.
* Inside the boathouse, my first two rows were getting pretty into the show, which is fine, except that one gentleman was so frantic that we leave the boathouse "NOW" that he started smacking me with a hand towel. Pure reflex, I smacked him right back on the hand and yelled, "NO, BAD!" I don't even have a dog.
* At load, the boat is pretty much ready to go; but Skipper Ron is hamming it up for the guests a bit. A young lady in row 7 pipes up, "You can start the tour now." I held up my hand in the "hold" signal while Ron proceeded to publicly shame her for being rude. Eventually, he had the entire boat turned around staring at her, and the entire load crew (myself, preboard, the tower attendant and out lead) stood on the dock with crossed arms and glared. After a couple minutes she was clearly mortified and Ron gave himself permission to start the tour. She tried to chime in once morel but Ron just turned around and said, "No, You're done." From what I hear it was an epic boat tour.
This weekend is Grad Venture. Can't wait.