Painting town on company time

I once covered a Newport Beach harbor commission meeting with yellow paint in my hair.

The day was Sept. 14, and there was a good reason for me to have paint in my hair. Irvine-based Birtcher Development and Investments opened the morning by announcing a list of furniture stores expected to set up shop at one of the South Coast Home Furnishings Centre, one of the company’s projects. That afternoon, Birtcher did what any real estate company would do after divulging project details -- they hosted a paintball tournament.

About 100 real estate professionals from around the county -- along with one Daily Pilot reporter -- were invited to the competition. The mock combat was held inside the former regional headquarters of State Farm Insurance, which was on tap to be torn down to make room for the planned retail center. Demolition has been going on since late October, and work to tear down the main building began Tuesday.

Being the sole representative of the Daily Pilot, I was attached to squad of about a dozen young members of Sperry Van Ness’ Irvine office. As it happened, the young employees of that office proved to be the fightingest real estate guys there. After a series of shootouts, we racked up the highest number of points and blasted our way to first place.

Before competition, we were each issued a big plastic mask and a paintball gun. The gas-powered guns were built so the paintball ammunition loads from a plastic container that attaches to the top of the device. The gas that makes it possible to fire barrages of paint at your opponents is contained in a metal canister that attaches to the rear of the gun. The canister also functions as the gun’s stock and allows you to hold the gun against your shoulder as you shoot. As far as appearance goes, the guns look like a cross between a World War II-era tommy gun and a Super Soaker.

Fake war started in a room that was set up to resemble a farm. Sure, real soldiers have fought each other at rural battlefields, but they didn’t fight under rules of engagement that gave them extra points if they managed to touch scarecrows and fake chickens as they dodged enemy fire.

After the farm skirmish, our team competed in a large room that was set up with several inflatable objects and proved a great arena to frantically dodge from one place of cover to another, firing as you run. A smaller room was set up with two walls of tires and almost no light. Instead of running around, team members mostly crouched behind the tires and fired into the dark. Keeping your head up for more than a second or so usually meant you were going to be pelted with paint, though as I remember, one of our team members managed to avoid our opponents’ fire and snag their flag, which meant big points for us.

I remember getting hit more clearly than hitting opponents. In truth, there was only one time when I was absolutely sure that I nailed a guy on the other team. My first hit would have taken out one of my eyes if not for the face mask, and while taking dozens of paintballs to the head, body and hands, I occasionally thought that a particular shot would have left me dead, paralyzed or fingerless if it was the real thing.

At the end, I was bruised, tired and energized at the same time, the kind of feeling you might have after playing tackle football for a few hours. I also had yellow paint in my hair, but going home for a shower would have meant missing the harbor commission talk about sea lions, and I didn’t want to miss the next chapter in Newport’s pinniped saga.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.

20051109i32qt6kf(LA)