Teleconference

Mike catches up with friends and viewers while broadcasting from his vehicle.

Good morning, this is Mike George reporting from inside my Mazda in Portland, Oregon, right at the corner of 11th Avenue and Northrup. I see a few people joining—hi, George Al! You’re a beautiful friend, and I’m totally blanking on the name you go by now. I’m a bad friend, I’m sorry! You should join the chat, but I have to invite Matthew first.

Matt:
Can you hear me?

Mike:
I can hear you, but I have to listen carefully. Is it my car's audio or your headset? Wait, who is that talking... Shangela? Shangela’s a bitch, ain’t she? She’s always so needy and always has something to say! Anyway, I return to Salt Lake City tomorrow, and we are going to stir up more trouble with the Mormon boys. Or maybe we'll take a week off. We need to find out what's going on with Mario.

Matt:
We already had that conversation.

Mike:
We did. For the viewers at home, I’ve got Sorcerer Mickey from the old Disney MGM Studios back here, and my "abyss-seeing" goggles hanging off the rear-view mirror —the cheap ones that practically melt in the sun. Hold on, I need to talk to the "producers" off-camera for a second.

(Mike briefly steps away, then returns)

Okay, I'm back. My producers were showing up on camera. It’s a budget show, they don’t always know better. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good, right?

Oh, it looks like Matthew dropped out. He’s traveling in the mountains, so we’re having some transmission intermittency issues. He’s gone incommunicado.

Abby: (Joining the stream)
Hi, Mike!

Mike:
Hi,Abby! Don’t be mad if you look a mess — it’s a Friday morning! The audio quality is crazy bad. Hi Albert, how are you?

Albert:
I’m lovely! This is so cool; I’ve never done this before. Are you using a dash-mounted phone cam?

Mike:
No, just my hand! Albert, you’re driving, so focus on the road, okay? Where are you guys headed?

Abby:
I’m just parked for now because it’s rainy and crappy out. We are en route to Columbus tonight, then back to Steubenville tomorrow for the high school performance of Into the Woods.

Mike:
Into the Woods? It's only September! That’s like only 6 weeks of rehearsal. That is incredibly ambitious compared to what we did back in my day. Kudos to you, girl. Ghost Stallions!

Abby:
Get it, girl!

Mike:
That was Abby, she works for Steubenville City Schools. Also, shoutout to Raymond Sapolski. I was just watching Barnum, and Raymond played PT Barnum in our 2002 production.

Speaking of performances, I had a job interview yesterday with the Army Corps of Engineers. It was my first one in a while, and it felt like a first date. I felt like I impressed them, but we also just had a fun conversation. The office skewed younger than I expected—lots of Gen Y folks in their 30s and 40s. It’s an interesting generational shift in the utility sector. We’ll see what happens!

Mike:
Lastly, good morning to Alan in Vegas. I’d ask for details, but I guess "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is the mantra, right…?