Is Obama the new Bob Marley?

Last night I went onto the iTunes Store because I had heard that Obama's Weekly Radio Address is available as podcast. Being the lazy/resourceful person I am, I typed "obama" into the iTunes search window. I expected to see a lot of Daily Show clips, official footage, news shows, and political podcasts. However, what I *didn't* expect to see, was all the songs about Barack Obama!

It seems a lot of rap artists have something to say about Obama, which is not surprising. But so do artists from from almost every other genre as well- country, pop, "world music" such as Calypso, Soca, and even Congolese! And it doesn't stop there- reggaeton, mariachi... Seriously- mariachi! But the most popular genre of Obama songs appears to be Reggae, which I find quite interesting. And I'm not talking about some piddley no-name indie artists either. That is, unless you consider Cocoa Tea and Steel Pulse "little". (For those not into Reggae, these two artists are about as A-List as it gets!) I then sauntered onto YouTube and BitTorrent to find even more artists singing about the 44th President of the United States.

I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I am not aware of any other U.S. president that has had even *one* song written about them (not counting the ones that mock them are string along sound bytes to a techno beat), not to mention a whole boat load. Everyone seems to love Obama (well, not everyone, but you know what I mean). Given the rock star treatment Barack already received from the media and everyday people, and I now as I've discovered, the music community as well, this all leads to my conclusion/question/speculation-- Is Obama the new Bob Marley?

My co-worker mentioned that this pro-Obama scene we're experiencing is very much like when John Kennedy was elected but of course, with the 21st century twist. But I'm not old enough to remember that, so if you are old enough to share your own insights, please feel free to do so!

Two Weeks?!?!

It took four days for UPS to ship my drum kit 80 miles. *shakes head* (I asked/begged if I could just drive it down there myself but they said no?!?) Given the hassles involved just to get it on a truck, I'm glad they managed to send me an email letting me know it actually made it to its destination. But, as it turns out, that was the easy part!

Now, I don't know much about repairin' electronical devices, but I do know where to get a part just like anything electrical in about 48 hours- you know, that Internet thing? So, after two days of not hearing a thing about the status, today I took it upon myself to contact the shop I sent my drums to. After telling them 12 different kinds of information, they verified they had received the shipment, and that it may take 2-3 weeks to get the thing fixed.

2-3 WEEKS?!?! I could have ordered the one broken part and had it shipped in 2-3 days! The price we pay to not spend money! Go figure!

And of course, I've put it into my calendar to bug them again in 14 days. :)

Away to Battle, a maiden awaits...

Remember the old movies, where they show the young maiden, stricken with grief after sending her loved one off to war, not knowing if she will ever see him return alive again? Well, that's kind of how I feel right now. Why? Well, I had to send my drum kit into the shop. :(

The hi-hat on my V-Drum kit has been acting funny lately and finally went into a coma about a week ago. All hail the Extended Warranty!

I called the number on the side and they said "no problem!". And as usual, that's when the problems began. I get a phone call two days later with the details on how/where to send it. Despite the issue being with only one (1) piece of the set, I am required to send in the entire kit?! Kinda weird, but hey it's an electronic device, so I kinda understand. I get the info needed to ship it off, disassemble and pack it up, and load it into the back of the MINI.

Calling ahead to verify they will know what I'm talking about (yes, that's the kinda guy I am), the shipping centre has not received the fax from the guarantor and has no clue what I'm talking about. (A fax? Really? What century is this again?) I call up Heir Guarantor and they send the fax again. I head off to the shipping centre. I get there and they have not received the fax. I take a deep breath. While still at the counter I call the guarantor again again and they read me the requisite information over the phone. It is at this time that I discover none of the on-duty clerks have access to generate the work order and I am told I must wait for the Manager who is scheduled to come in later. Four hours later. I breath and walk out without trashing the place.

I drive back down to the shop five hour later (because that's the kind of guy I am) and no Manager in sight. The low-paid, barely trained clerks understand my frustration and try to call the Manager on the phone- his phone is off?! Clearly perturbed, yet eerily polite and respectful, I give one of the clerks my card and say "please have your manager call me when he gets in". And of course, NO PHONE CALL!!

The next day (this morning) I come back and the same clerks are working. Clerk #1 looks me straight in the eye and says, "OMG I'm so sorry! The Manager is not here!" She mentions that she gave him my card and I mention that he never called me. She goes on to explain that "it's not that we can't submit the work order, its that we don't know how". I breathe deeply and pause before speaking. I calmly describe how lack of staff training is bad for business and customer satisfaction, and vaguely question the qualifications of the management staff who do not ensure that their staff is properly trained (worker bees eat that sh*t up!) I ask, "what do you suggest I do now?" [ed. note: Yes, I was a retail manager for six years and am now purposely playing head games with the help]. Another girl (who wasn't there the previous day) says, "what's going on?" The first clerk explains the situation. New Girl says, "let's see what I can do"...

New Girl seems to know a little bit more of the process and begins to get things rolling. I ask New Girl, "How can I be confident that my package will be sent safely, when every time I come in here, I lose confidence in this store's ability to do its job?" [yes, more head games. *grin*] New Girl says, "I will do my best to help you and all I can do is ask you to trust me". I say, "what's your name again?" She says "Sara(h)". I say, "okay Sara(h), let's do this".

I wish I could say everything went smoothly from there. First the shop stil didn't have all the info needed to fill out the work order so I had to call the guarantor a third time and have them send a (fourth) fax with the information. Then the office of the number she was supposed to call to get an authorization code was closed (Weekends, go figure). She calls another store and seeks advice on what to do next. FINALLY we get a shipping label printed up. I bring in all 10 pieces of my kit and place it in the back room. Sara(h) ensures me it will be packaged up and sent off on the morrow.

I graciously thank her for her patience and extra efforts and leave without trashing the place. Do I expect everything to run smoothly from this point? HELL NO!! My tracking number still does not show up on the UPS site and it's only been 12 hours since I dropped it off. At least I know my sh*t is insured and if anything goes wrong its on the shop and not me. And I know the name of the clerk, the store manager, *and* shop owner. Because I'm observant. :)

And yeah, Sara(h) is also quite attractive which makes it easier to remain calm. She also has no giant carbon-based item on either hand which is a good sign! Assuming my package will not suffer a fate similar to the Lusitania, I will have to figure out how to ask her out and perhaps invite her to Wicked® when I pick up my fixed kit. Whenever that is.

Fortunately I never expect anything to go smoothly... :)