RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Here’s mom and baby having a “howling” good time! LOVE this shot!

While I was on one of my long-distance walks this past week, this song came on my iPod and really had me quick-steppin’! It’s by a group called Sea Level, and though it was never a hit, it’s a darn good song! It’s called “That’s Your Secret.” I’ve been humming it all week!

Monday the 1st – APRIL FOOL’S! – Right at noon I got a call from Europe about an educational animation project. We talked a little bit about the character they wanted, and when we finished I laid some things down “on tape” and sent it over to them. I spent some time editing the video from my fantastic WonderCon weekend, and then my pal Sergio Lopez came over to do some hair work. But first we went to my doctor’s office to get a replacement prescription for cough medicine, and then we enjoyed lunch at Paty’s. My set of four “Wizard of Oz” busts will be on display at the upcoming Monsterpalooza in Pasadena, but before I took them over I wanted to give Dorothy a hair transplant. The wig we put on her initially was brown, which matched my collection of Dorothy figures and images in my “Oz” collection, but after seeing the movie again recently, I decided that I wanted her hair to be a bit more reddish. So Sergio brought over a different wig, and we swapped out her hair on the bust. While Sergio worked I did some auditions that came into my inbox, and continued editing my WonderCon video. He finished up around 5:30 and then took off for home. I took my neighbor’s dog Abby for a quick walk, and then I grabbed a nap in bed. I got up later to write Wally’s Week, I made a salad and watched an episode of “SNL” from the fourth season DVD set.

Tuesday the 2nd – A TICKLE IN MY TRACHEA! – It was a gorgeous day for a walk, so I got an early start for my American Airlines session at Voice Trax West. First I stopped off at CVS to drop off the prescription for my cough medicine. I was still suffering from a very dry and annoying tickle in my trachea, and I needed to get the prescription for cough medicine filled. I went to the bank to drop off some deposits, went to Chin Chin for a quick lunch of fried rice, and then went next door to Voice Trax West and worked for an hour on some American Airlines voice tracks. I enjoyed a nice walk back home, and then I cleaned my house a bit. My friend Michael from the Martial Arts Museum in Burbank was coming over for a tour of my collection. After the tour I took a quick nap, then got up to do my nightly auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and then went back to bed to be up early for another session at Voice Trax West on Wednesday first thing in the morning!

Wednesday the 3rd – FOX FUN! – Right at 9am I got up, got cleaned up, and walked over to Voice Trax West again to do another session. This time it was for a regular client; a power company in Texas. We finished up in good time, and then I walked back home. I hopped in the car and drove to the effects studio of my pal Jim Ojala to drop off something I wanted him to cast for me. I drove over to Michael’s Crafts to pick up a few supplies, then went home to do some work. A few weeks ago I did a promo for Fox, and it went very well. Today they wanted me to cut another promo for them. They gave me direction and a reference video, and they said I didn’t need any direction. I was happy that they trusted me enough to do it on my own. I finished it up, sent them the files, and while I had the recording program rockin’, I did a few auditions. I met my pal Sara for dinner at Little Toni’s, and then went home to nap. I got up to feed Roxy, and then laid back down on the couch. I was hoping that rest would repair my trachea tickle. When I had a cold six weeks ago, I was prescribed the wrong cough medicine for my needs by my doctor’s associate. Since the medicine was ineffective during the most crucial time of the illness, I coughed myself silly. In the process of coughing so violently, stomach acid shoots up and burned my trachea. And that’s the cause of the tickle which makes me cough even more. It’s a horrible catch 22. I slept on the couch until morning, and when I checked my e-mail the Fox folks had changed the script for the promo I did a little bit, so I recorded some pick-ups and sent them over. Then I hit the hay.

Thursday the 4th – OLYMPIC FUN: PART 1! – At noon I woke up, did some work, and then headed out to Jersey Mike’s to get some food to go. I stopped by the bank to get some cash, and then headed over to Studiopolis for the first of a two-day gig on a videogame. I got to voice an old time Olympic announcer in this videogame for kids. It was great fun, and it’s always a pleasure working with the great Jack Fletcher! We finished up around 5:30. I’ll go back on Friday to finish it up. On the way home I got some groceries, stopped by the cleaners to drop off a comforter, went to my mailbox to get some packages, and then headed home to unload the groceries and do some work. I recorded my nightly auditions, and then grabbed a nap. I got up later and did a little work, fed and walked Roxy, drove to Denny’s to get some food, came home and watched a few episodes of “I Dream of Jeannie,” and then hit the hay.

Friday the 5th – OLYMPIC FUN: PART 2! – When I got up at 1 I had a little time to do some work, and then I headed back to Studiopolis to finish up the videogame work as the old-timey Olympic announcer. We finished up by 4, and then I headed over to McDonalds to get some food. I got home and fed the pets. My pal Brittney Powell came over later to do some work, and I made us a Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box. She’s the only person I know besides me who likes sauerkraut on pizza. YUM! After she left I grabbed a nap, and then got up later to work around the house. I got the house ready for the maids, who would be stopping by on Saturday to clean, and then dug out my steamer to see if some hot steam would help my ticklish trachea. It sure is annoying!

Saturday the 6th – THE TICKLE TURNS! – The maids were due between 1 and 3, but they didn’t actually show up until 3:10. While they cleaned I did some writing, edited some music, and generally tried to stay out of their way. When they left I got ready for movie night. We had a good time, but every time I’d laugh I’d go into a coughing fit. After a while I took some of my cough medicine, but it didn’t help much. So as not to annoy my guests, I left the room so they could enjoy the movie in peace. The tickle had gotten much worse, and I didn’t know of any way to stop it. So I stayed in the kitchen talking to my friend Bob and catching up. After the guests left I realized why the cough had turned worse. The formerly dry, unproductive cough…had turned productive. It seems like this cough is NEVER going to go away. When I got a cold six weeks ago, the cough was very bad for a while, then got better, and then got worse again. And now it’s full circle. What the hell did I catch?! So I decided to completely sleep through Sunday in hopes that it would give my body a chance to repair itself.

Sunday the 7th – ZZZZZZZZZZ! – My pets were very puzzled as to why I was constantly sleeping. I got up long enough to feed them, and then took some more meds and went back to bed. I called my ‘adopted grandma’ Shirley and told her I wouldn’t be going to church that night. I slept all day and all night. Here’s hoping this goes away soon! I’m SO over it!

And how was YOUR week??!!