Yippee Yah-oops
Each year the Calgary Stampede has a lot of people hooting, “yippee ki-yay mother”… we won’t go there today. And it also has a lot of people calling in sick to work.
There is the ongoing (important) debate concerning the proper Calgary Stampede hoot and holler. Is it “yahoo” or “yeehaw”? One co-worker informed me that “yeehaw” is American, but a different co-worker told me that a radio station declared “yeehaw” as THE Stampede celebration. At the end of the night everyone’s words are slurred anyways, so it all sounds the same.
Calgary Stampede is known around the globe. It has been mentioned on shows like The Simpsons, Parks and Rec and MASH. It was even mentioned in an Archie Comic. Jughead mocked people for wearing western wear for one week straight and to be honest, I can’t blame him (as I sit here in my western skirt that I only wear once a year).
Even though I am not a big country music fan, I love the spirit of the city during this time of year. It amazes me that people travel from all of the world to see men flop around for 8 seconds.
I enjoy the live music, outrageous food and differentiating the real cowboys from the fake ones.
Whether you’re attending the rodeo, exhibition or music festival, everyone and everything seems to come out of it a little bit wrecked…
In Das Not Auto, I chased after a resident. Today, I should have ran from a student.
What feels like a lifetime ago, I worked at a facility that was being commissioned during the Stampede. So we tried our best to get into the western spirit with what we had. We used a little creativity by putting our heads together – almost literally.
On each floor there were (and if I had to guess, still are) doorways leading to the elevators. We thought this would be a great place to hang “yahoo” rope banners.
During this time, my student practically doubled me in height and therefore, was promoted to the role of hanging things higher than 5″4.
I prepared the first hook for her and then she placed the second. While observing from below, I noticed she placed the pull tab sticking out of the top of the hook and explained for the next one it should be sticking out of the bottom instead. She advised me that she had copied what I had done. At least I know she excels at following direction.
When it comes to decorating at work, I am a ”just get it done” kind of gal. So with a few giggles, we continued on without fixing the error.
She then looped the rope onto both of the hooks and before she could say “yahoo we’re done”, the rope came down and swooped past us.
We cautiously glanced up at the blue wall where the hook had been and noticed a loonie sized paint chip. For you Americans, this is the size of a clown’s button – why my brain went there I do not know.
Reminder, this building was brand spanking new with daily tours of families and potential residents noticing every detail.
I couldn’t do anything but laugh because what should have taken us 5 minutes had now taken 15 with absolutely nothing to show for it except an eye sore.
I had laughed so hard that I was bent over to catch my breath when all of a sudden I was bulldozed over by my student who had also been laughing uncontrollably and hadn’t noticed where she was stepping. This resulted in a hip check to my head and a sudden thud to my rear.
Once we pulled ourselves together, we did figure out the best way to hang the banner with a complimentary large paint chip.
I hope someone eventually fixed up the blunder and someone else took the blame for it.
Each year, my head feels similar around Stampede time but for a different reason…
Cheers to another year of Stampeding – Yahoo!
TAGS
