My lifelong dream was to be a professional musician.
I guess that is like a lot of kids, growing up worshiping the rock icons and pop stars of the time. I tried my hand at playing guitar, but just wasn’t very good at it. I tried to be a singer, but I wasn’t very good at that either. I never tried playing the drums, because my dad threatened to kick me out if I brought a drum set home. These days I am a roadie and stage tech for a major rock band, so I never got my dream, but at least it’s close. Oddly enough I got this rock and roll lifestyle not through music, but through being HVAC certified. It turns out that there are hundreds of guys willing to be roadies and work for next to nothing, but someone with a skill like sound engineering or HVAC work was much more valuable. When they are on stage the band needs not only lights and sound, but some form of climate control to keep them from overheating. The combined body heat of the crowd, coupled with the stage lights, makes it brutally hot during a performance, so my job as air conditioning tech is very important. I maintain a series of air ducts and vents under the stage, that are all flexible and movable, and I connect them to a small but powerful HVAC machine. It is hidden from the audience, but blasts icy cold air conditioning up through hidden vents to keep the boys nice and cool.