If there is one lesson to be learned from this project, it is this: Never plan to give something without knowing when and how you can actually do it.

Attempt 0: December 2019

My very first idea for delivering 3G was to mail it – preferably to Sweden. But in October 2019, I was still convinced that I was working against time and would not reach the 10-year anniversary. So I had toyed with the idea of handing it over on a concert meet & greet with Cardinal Copia. But I was working too slowly. I postponed my deadline from March (!!!) to July…. to August… to December with last tour date in Munich. Although I did not like the idea of personally bragging about a gift to my idol.

Of course, I didn’t know how I was going to get a 60+ cm flight case with the globe in it through security. I thought I would deal with it before the actual appointment or maybe ask management. It didn’t get that far as I was unable to make my December 2019 deadline and the Munich appointment was not offered with a meet & greet option either. But I found out that the 10 years I associated with the release of Ghost’s Opus Eponymous album and the first ritual date back to October 2010, not 2009.  I had won time to plan the shipment!

That Treasure Trove

I had built my Ghost Gig Globe its own flight case – made of wood with movable sides (that open up when opened). 3G sat on a small pot that was wired to the bottom of the flight case. Three wires running through its skin and through the pot held the globe inseparably on the pot. I twisted wires through the loop at the top of 3G, leading to the tops of the posts in all four corners. I tightened them very well. It looked secure, I could even turn the whole box to one side and the Ghost Gig Globe stayed in place. Four IKEA screws through the top corners of the lid into the posts and a fun unboxing guide – ready to go. I’m still convinced 3G was securely fastened to be transported upright without bumps or knocks.

Attempt 1: February 2020

After a personal delivery failed even before I tried, I went back to my original plan. I had the naive idea to simply contact the Ghost management, show them a photo, and hope that they would understand that it might make more sense to send it than to bring it to a concert. I even thought the management would like the idea of surprising their artist with a unique anniversary gift and would support me. I know I am not the only fan asking for such favor and it might not be a part of their job description to support fans with such requests. But I thought the gift was unique enough to make a difference. So I emailed them and asked kindly for an address – one other than the private, which you can easily google. I wanted to respect the man’s privacy – at least that much I realized that this is just business for Mr. Forge. I asked for an address in Stockholm where he could have picked it up himself – avoiding any contact with a weird fan.

Management suggested that 3G be delivered to Hollywood. I did my best to explain, in more than one email and at great length, that and why a fragile Ghost Gig Globe could not be secured enough to be handled by a ground crew of any airline. Finally, I was promised the manager would ask Tobias himself for a suitable address…. and never contacted me again. After a few weeks, I gave up waiting and didn’t want to ask again either – I already felt like a pain in the ass. The pandemic had made any thought of taking the risk and sending a UPS to the private address moot. There was no way to send 3G to its supposed owner. The Ghost Gig Globe moved out of its flight case and into my bed room.

Attempt 2: March ‘22

3G got a spot on my ceiling until in February 2022, when a new Ghost tour and album were announced. Yeah, of course I caught fire again. Loved the new stuff, bought a ticket to a concert – and tried to pull myself together and muster enough courage to bring my wooden flight case. Tried not to think about the agonizing feeling of meeting Papa IV and failing at any social behavior. Just one more blush, sweat, shiver and mumble inanely…. And then the Leipzig concert was cancelled and I didn’t have another day off to go to any other Ghost ritual in Germany. The only thought that remained: Just sending the damn thing by mail was the only good idea since the beginning of this odyssey. I cursed everyone and myself for being so stupid to change my original plans.

3G had to come out of the box again… and remained silent. The batteries had died in the past two years. What now? Write another email to management requesting an address? Well, I already knew that answer. Ignore the privacy and risk a mailing to the private address? What if it gets rejected and returned? Wait for another tour date? I decided to change batteries as soon as I found a solution. If ever.

Attempt 3: August ‘22

Just a few weeks later Ghost announced a US tour for late summer. Not the concerts I had been waiting for…. But I was itching for the whole „ship or bring“ thing to be solved so much that I wanted 3G delivered – no matter what. I decided to secure the Ghost Gig Globe as best I could in its flight case, put a million fragile and upright stickers on it, send it to management in Hollywood, and hope for the best. I cut the globe open and put in new batteries – all shortly before departure so they would last as long as possible. With a thick layer of cardboard around it, the package was too big for the Deutsche Post, because they don’t transport anything larger than 60 x 60 x 120, exact. The flight case had to be shrunk about two centimeter on each side. No, I had no other plans for the summer.

I didn’t want to bother management with another email. I took the address I was given in March 2020, asked Dr. Google and found results that confirmed the address. I bought the label, checked the box for a one way trip – „treat as abandoned“ (So if it can’t be delivered, it gets disposed of) A risky decision, I know. On a Monday morning, the mailman rang only once, accepted the package, and before I could even say or think „goodbye,“ my little mirror ball was off on its greatest adventure. I emailed the tracking code to the manager, along with a picture of the package with the address in big colorful letters. No reply – I wasn’t surprised, but hoped the package would arrive just before the tour started, so maybe the band/Tobias would be in town and at least know about it. So far the plan.

Two weeks later the U.S. Postal Service sent an email: „Recipient vacant. Returned to sender.“ My heart broke – I had grown so fond of my Ghost Gig Globe that I couldn’t imagine it being destroyed in a Hollywood post office. I wanted it back. And I didn’t trust the „return to sender“, because the lable clearly said „treat as abandoned.“ I called the Deutsche Post, the US Postal Service, wrote panicked e-mails to the management to pick up the package … Of course Ghost and manager were already on tour – I had missed my goal by one day. After 5 days of feeling sick and barely sleeping, I finally got a response from management, who happily told me that they had moved last year, couldn’t pick up the package at the post office, that my package was on its way back, and I could just drop it off at a concert date. As if that wasn’t a problem at all. That was the day I declared 3G dead. I gave up fandom for the band. End of the Ghost story.

The 2nd Making of

I didn’t expect 3G to really return. But in October 2022, my package was delivered by a mailman who seemed like his own hero of the day because he had managed to carry the big box upside down over his head and stomped it in a big whirl in front of me. Several pieces rattled inside. After opening it, I knew he wasn’t the only one who had treated it that way…the Ghost Gig Globe was in 100 pieces. I didn’t even have the strength to cry anymore. I was speechless at the sight of the damage. I slept (more or less) a night over it and started functioning next morning. I went through the inventory list and noted which miniature had repairable damage, which was broken, and which needed to be remade. 104 of 246. How could I leave them broken? I’m a born fixer. I even fix things that don’t belong to me!

Good thing I had made those Excel sheets when I made 3G, so I could easily calculate the estimated time to repair and remake. Only 120 hours! I had planned a vacation for October – 2 weeks to finally spend somewhere in the sun after 4 years at home. But who needs sun, if you can spend time with your favorite, never to be delivered globe project?! And I was faster than planned! In 10 days all the figures were done, most of them could be repaired easily or just glued back in place. Some dents in the globe could be filled and covered again with mirrors. The white Cardinal was a bit of a problem with its included button and torn out cables. A friend came over to fix it, but the solder joint looked pretty ugly. While I was trying to cover it up, the new cable part broke off again. I decided that one function would be gone forever. The batteries would soon run out of power anyway. For something just hanging from my ceiling, that was fair enough.

I do admitt, I keep thinking of a new and better way to safely package 3G and make another delivery attempt… Ordered materials already. Try to stop me!