Blood

I decided that today I'd drive down to the clinic on the base that is near where I live in order to get the shots that I've mentioned previously. The trip is steadily getting closer and, I have to have the shots to be safe. Unfortunately, I had to have blood taken so they could see if I was still immune to chickenpox. Apparently, there is a danger of it in Egypt. I'd hoped the Air Force had a done a blood test on this earlier. I found out from the people in the immunization clinic that years ago (when I served), they would ask people if they had chickenpox as a kid. If they said yes, they took their word for it and let it go. If they said no, they got the shot. People learned to say yes so they could avoid the shot. Unfortunately, this didn't prevent them from getting the disease. After a number of cases of this happening, the Air Force instituted mandatory testing for chickenpox immunity. If you had it, you got to skip the shot and, if you didn't, they gave you the shot so you wouldn't get it as an adult which is supposedly worse than getting it as a kid.

One problem I have giving blood is I have small veins. I've had a number of times where I was stuck multiple times because of my small veins. This is the reason why I didn't want to give blood if I didn't need to. Sadly, I had to. Luck was not with me this time. The nurse did her best but, it took them 4 tries to find a vein. I took it in the best spirits possible. I had to have the blood taken because I had to find out if I'm immune or not. If I'm not, I wanted to get the shot to be safe. I won't like getting the shot but, I'll like a heck of a lot less getting the disease. So, I gritted my teeth and, they got their blood sample.

By the time I got done with the lab folks, the immunization clinic was closed. Work permitting, I'll go back tomorrow and get the tetanus and typhoid shots and the flu inhale immunization. The typhoid will make my arm sore which is annoying but, it's the flu immunization that will be really bad. I know I'm going to come down with flu like symptoms for at least 2 or 3 days afterwards. The doctor at the travel clinic assured me I won't really have the flu. That'll really make me feel loads better (not!) as I shiver and clog up from the fake flu symptoms. Stay tuned for more updates on this. Cheers all!

Shots

Last week, I found out the recommended immunizations (shots) for Egypt. I fervently hate shots BUT, if I have to get them, I figured I might as well get it over with. So, today I visited the base immunization clinic for the first time since I retired from the Air Force. I didn't know how things would work since I'm retired. One advantage I have being former military is that they military gave me every shot I might remotely need including anthrax. So, I didn't think I was going to need too many. I thought I heard some where that I'd have to pay for the shots. I could deal with that. I didn't think they would be exorbitant so off to the clinic I go. I found out that I to make an appointment to see someone at the travel clinic who will apparently check my shot record and determine which shots I need. Then, I'll be able to get them for free and be all set for my trip to Egypt. So come January, I'll drive down to the travel clinic and hopefully get my shots. I found out the only one I REALLY had to have was a new tetanus that includes Pertussis and Diptheria and is good for 10 years. Since I'll only be in Egypt for 12 days, Typhoid is optional BUT, I'm going to get it any way though the arm I get it in will be sore the next day. It always is from the Typhoid shot. Oh well.

Payraise

To my surprise, I found out I received my first payraise from Medieval Times this last paycheck. I saw my latest paycheck was larger than what I expected and I wanted to know why. I found out that my boss Mike Verelli put me in for my first yearly payraise and it was approved. I knew I was approaching my first complete year at the castle and that Medieval Times allegedly awarded yearly payraises. I started working at the Baltimore/Washington castle the end of February of 2006. It's hard to believe I've worked there for almost a year now. Working at the castle was a total break from my previous life in the U.S. Air Force. It was an enormous change. It's a lot more relaxed working there. At the castle, you can grow your hair as long as you want. In the Air Force, if my hair was 1 inch longer than regs specified, I was told to get a haircut. In the castle, I can call the General Manager by his first name. In my last unit, I always called my commander Sir!

I've found it really interesting working at the castle. You're part of a huge team (over 200 people) that works to put on a very complicated show and dinner at least 5 times a week. It takes a lot of teamwork to pull it off. The kitchen staff must have all the necessary plates, bowls and mugs ready for the food servers to use. They must also prepare enough food to serve a 4-course meal to between 150 and 1,000 people. The food servers must put on their costumers and set the proper number of place settings in their assigned areas. Group reservations must tell the people who work the seating assignments how many groups are going to come to the show and how many are in each group. Security must coordinate with the people who hand out seating assignments when they need their equipment set up. Ticketing personnel must be ready to print tickets for customers, confirm reservations and sell tickets to those who decide to see the show on the spur of the moment. Sound and lighting must coordinate with security as to when they'll need castle guards at the main entrances to the castle. Gift shop personnel must make sure that all the shelves are full stocked and they're ready to deal with customers. Bar staff must make sure the bar is full stocked and the beer and soda taps are working. Back in the stables, squires are busy grooming and preparing the horses. Knights are busy practicing various routines and getting their costumes together. The actors and actress who play the King, Princess, Ambassador and Lord Chancellor must put on their costumes and go out to the castle entrance to meet customers. The Lord or Lady Falconer must bring the falcon to the castle, put on their costume and show the falcon to customers as they arrive. Heralds put on their costumes, prepare their instruments, practice the notes they're going to play and go to the front of the castle to help direct customers to either the King or Princess so they can get their picture taken with them. When it's time, the heralds must know when to go into the arena to play their part in the show. Squires must have the right horses ready for the knights to ride. Food servers must be ready to direct people to their tables. Sound & lighting personnel must know which spotlight to go to and what acts they're going to spotlight. The people in the sound & lighting booth must know when to play certain music, activate certain lights and turn on various special effects machines. The King, Princess, Lord Chancellor and Lord Marshall must know where they need to go so they're in their proper place for the show. There is so much that must be done and incredibly, it does get done. When the show is over, food servers will quickly clean up their assigned tables. Squires will put the horses back in their stalls and make sure they have plenty of hay and water. Sound & lighting personnel will turn off the spotlights, amplifiers and put away the microphones. Gift shop personnel will close out their cash registers and turn them into cash control. Security personnel will lock the main gates and turn off all the main lights to the castle. Wardrobe personnel will collect all the costumes and start washing them so they'll be ready for the next show. In effect, the castle will go to sleep for a little while till it's time for it to start ramping up for another show. It's a fascinating process and it's neat to be a part of it.