This post turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be… my first thought of a “yes”  I was not prepared for was my marriage, and subsequent divorce, but I have a feeling that is not what was intended for this assignment. From a more professional standpoint, I think the most recent example of saying “yes” to something I was ill prepared for would have to be when I accepted the job of Technical Manager at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). The technical manager heads up the AV department who primary manages the projectionist team, quality control, and print deliveries. 

I had been working as a projectionist for about 15 years at various organizations and venues around Seattle that included SIFF. I started working for SIFF full time when they reopened the Uptown theater and ingratiated myself with the organization. Eventually I was offered the role of Quality Control Technician, which worked directly under the then Technical Manager… Within a week of me taking the job, the Technical Manager quit and they rush-hired a new person to fill the job. One week after that, the rush-hire put in his notice… The Operations Director was upset at the situation and venting to me about how difficult it was to find another person on such short notice, so I just said, “I’ll do it, if you want.” The next day he gave me the job. The day after that was the rush-hire’s last day, so I met up with him to train. He gave me a quick tour of the office, gave me a rundown on some current projects he was in the middle of, then he said, “Anyway, I have to go now and catch my flight.” I was like, “WHAT?” I had received maybe 3 hours of training on how to manage an entire department, and we had not even discussed any administrative duties or workflow for our large annual festival, which was only a few months off at that point. The Operations Director told me not to worry and that he would help guide me through the admin parts and and most importantly our annual festival. A month before the festival, the Operations Director told me he was quitting… I went on to be the Technical Manager for the next 6 years. During this time I acquired some of my greatest career achievements and by far my most spectacular failures.