February 13 – February 20 (2017)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

My pal Jeff at Nickelodeon sent me this pic from the Nickelodeon offices. It’s Zim and Tallest Red done entirely in chalk. Gorgeous! Thanks Jeff!

This is a really nice song from the Bombay Dub Orchestra called “To The Shore,” and it’s been on my mind all week. Enjoy it, and relax!

Monday the 13th – FUNDAY MONDAY! – At 10am sharp I was up and at ‘em and headed to Santa Monica for a session for Toyota radio commercials. But first, since I was in the westside area, I stopped at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Campos. The session at Lime Studios went from 12:30 to 3:50. It was a long one, but it was fun. Sara texted me while I was in the session to let me know that I had accidentally shut Spook in my room when I left the house. And since the door was locked, he was just going to have to stay in there for a while. There’s water and a litter box there, so she should be fine. And he was. On the long drive home I talked to my folks to see how life in South Dakota was. I got home and freed Spook and he was happy to be out. I fed the pets and rested up for a bit. I got up later to do a ton of fun auditions and type out Wally’s Week. I fed Roxy her dinner and we went on our late nigh stroll through the neighborhood, and then we hit the hay. We had to be at the vet’s office first thing in the morning to get Roxy checked out.

Tuesday the 14th – HAPPY V.D.! – The local vet wanted to see Roxy first thing this morning so she could get “scoped.” He was going to perform an exploratory procedure similar to a colonoscopy to try and determine why she was having bleeding from her birth canal. I dropped her off and then went to get a smog check on my Mustang. I finished that up and switched cars. I parked my Mustang in the auxiliary parking spot, and got the Gran Torino out for a drive. After all, the red and white color scheme fit the Valentine’s Day motif much better than a black Mustang! I drove to McDonald’s to get some breakfast at the drive-thru, and then drove to my mailbox to get my packages. Outside the mailbox place there were two firemen going in to check their mail. They were snapping pictures of the Torino and asking all sorts of questions about it. I got back home by about 9:30 and I set about getting some mail ready, and scanning checks for a deposit. Around noon I headed to Voice Trax West to do a promo session for “Archer.” The second I got out of the session Roxy’s vet called. The procedure showed that she has a vaginal tumor, something quite common in dogs. He took a small biopsy and sent it to the lab for analysis. I went to the bank to drop off my deposit, hit the post office to mail some signed postcards, and then went next door to a locksmith who helped me program my dual garage door remote for my Gran Torino. When I was in a few weeks ago he mentioned that he was a huge “Family Guy” fan. So I took him in a signed photo. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and it was a perfect day to drive the Torino around. I stopped by Carl’s Jr. to get some lunch and just enjoyed driving around. I drove home to work on some stuff around the house until it was time to go get Roxy at 3. As I was on my way to go pick her up, I decided to stop by my local hardware store to show off the Torino. Every time I’m in the guys there always ask about it, so I wanted to show them how it turned out. I picked up Roxy and the vet showed me the pics he took of the procedure. We’ll know more about our options when the analysis comes back from the lab in a few days. I found out later by doing some reading on the internet, that vaginal tumors are the second most common “reproductive” issue in dogs (right after mammary issues). And in 86% of the cases the tumors are benign. So cancer in these instances are rare. Whew! I got Roxy home and fed her. She seemed a bit sore after the procedure so I encouraged her to relax all evening. We napped from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, and then I got up to do my nightly auditions. It had been a very long day! I worked around the house, did some more tweaks to my animation demo for 2017, made a pizza and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones” before bed.

Wednesday the 15th – DINING WITH DAN! – Roxy was in a cuddly mood so we spent a while on the bed cuddling before I had to get up to start the day. I checked my e-mails, did a few auditions, and then got cleaned up for my lunch meeting. I hadn’t seen my pal Daniel Roebuck in quite a while, so it was fun meeting at Paty’s and spending two hours catching up. Then at 3 I headed over to Bang! Zoom! Studios to finish this round of voice tracks for the “super-secret” project we’ve been working on. We thought we may need one more session, but we were moving at such a brisk pace, we got everything done that we needed to do. I was in a groove! When we finished at 6 I stopped by Ralph’s grocery store to get some Gentle Giants food for Roxy. Then I went to Rusty’s to pick up some Nutro food for Roxy, which she also eats. I was running low on both foods! I came home to make some phone calls and then my pal Brittney Powell came over to hang out for a while and do some work. My friends Edi and Elliot came over to drop off their dog Bunny so I could watch her for the weekend while they went off to do some concerts that Elliot had scheduled. The pets and I grabbed a nap, and then I got up to do my auditions later. I walked Bunny first, and then Roxy, and then did my auditions. I did some work around the house and made some soup and a sandwich to watch “Barnaby Jones” before bed. But I wasn’t very tired. So I spent the morning doing random things, phone calls and a few last minute auditions. I ended up getting to bed around noon!

Thursday the 16th – TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS! – I woke up around 4pm and hopped on the phone to get some clarification on my insurance info. Then I called an imaging center to get an appointment to get my sinuses scanned. My doctor said if my sinuses hadn’t improved by a certain date, I needed to get a CT scan done. I also called a specialty vet to get a consultation with a surgeon about Roxy’s health issue. I fed Roxy, Bunny and Spook, and then I hopped in the Torino to go get my packages. My goal was to get the Torino safely parked in the auxiliary garage before it started raining again. I figured I still had some time. I stopped at Jersey Mike’s to get a sandwich, but the line was too long so I left. I drove to Jack In The Box and got a Teriyaki Bowl. And just as I pulled in the drive-thru, it started raining! Rats! I got to my auxiliary garage and switched out the cars. I did some work at home and then grabbed a nap. I got up later and had a TON of auditions to do. I walked Roxy before it really started to pour. The weather folks were saying that the rain on Friday was going to be the heaviest so far this season. I sent out my movie night invites, made some spaghetti and watched “Barnaby Jones” before bed.

Friday the 17th – RAINING CATS & DOGS & HAMSTERS & HORSES! – The weather people weren’t lying when they said this would be the biggest storm of the season. It was pouring down rain in sheets; something we just aren’t used to seeing here in Los Angeles. I drove over to the imaging center to get my sinuses scanned, and while I waited in the lobby I marveled at the torrential downpour going on outside. They showed me into the scan room and told me to lie down on the platform. I said, “Do I get to get naked?” They laughed and said, “Not this time.” It took all of 3 minutes, and I was up and out of there. They said they’d send the results to my doctor and he’d be in touch with me. After the scan was over I grabbed my umbrella and walked across the street to the Honeybaked Ham store to get a sandwich to go. But the lake that was forming in the gutter was a lot bigger than I thought. I tried to leap across it, but didn’t quite make it. My pant legs got soaked up to the knee. I got my sandwich and headed back to my car. It was still coming down like a monsoon. I attempted to make another leap across another quickly-forming lake, and got soaked again. I got to my car and headed home to eat. On the way to my house I had to gingerly drive through other standing lakes of water. I’m surprised that, when the forecast calls for rain of this magnitude, the city of Los Angeles doesn’t have crews out clearing the debris from the drain grates. There’s so much garbage in the gutters (both manmade and natural) that when the water starts pouring down the gutter, it washes all that debris to the grates and they get clogged. Then the water has nowhere to go. But that’s L.A. for ya. I got to the comfort of my house and enjoyed my lunch. My pal Brandon from Visions A/V was supposed to come over to do some work in Planet Wallywood, but I called him and told him we’d make it another day. It was just too nasty for him to be out driving around, and my A/V needs weren’t urgent at all. When I finished my sandwich I hit the hay, and Bunny, Roxy, Spook and I took a very long nap while it poured outside. Branches on some of the trees in our complex were breaking off under the weight of all the rain. I could hear crew with power saws cutting the branches into smaller pieces to be hauled away later. It was a real mess, but I was glad to be safely inside, cozy and warm. I got up later to feed the pets, do some work on-line, and get ready to enjoy the beginning of a 3 day holiday weekend. I made a Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza-in-a-box and watched “Barnaby Jones.” The rain had let up considerably.

Saturday the 18th – SINK-HOLE DE MY-OH! – The big news in the area was that a giant sink hole opened up just blocks from my house and swallowed a few cars. Luckily the people got out alright. But the rain was definitely doing some damage. I spent the afternoon doing some work on the computer, making phone calls, and getting some groceries for movie night. Since the grocery store was on the same street as the sink hole, it was tricky getting around all the road closures. But it worked out alright. I stopped by the hardware store to pick up some supplies, and then headed home to clean up for movie night. We watched the newly released Blu Ray of “Salem’s Lot.” And even though this TV movie is almost 40 years old, it really holds up and is VERY enjoyable. And in Blu Ray I noticed details I had never seen before. It was so much fun watching this again. The acting is superb and David Soul is amazing in it. When the movie hit TV back in 1979 I was watching it with my little sisters. When Geoffrey Lewis (in his vampiric form) hissed, “Looook at meeee, teeeacher,” I knew I had found a new way to torment my little sister Bonnie. She used to run screaming when I would do that. She’s not afraid of it any more though, but it still makes us laugh. When everyone left I grabbed a short nap on the couch, and when I got up I prepped a song that I’d be singing at church Sunday evening. Then I made my traditional Saturday night Super Salad and settled in to watch the second to the last episode of the old BBC show “The New Avengers.” It was really, REALLY awful. I have one episode left in the series, and I’ll kind of be glad to move on to something else.

Sunday the 19th – LOOK, A CANUCK! – When I woke up at 2 I started prepping my song for evening church. When I was satisfied with it, I got ready and walked Roxy over so I could rehearse with the band before the service started. We had a lot of Canadians in that night from one of our sister churches up north of the border. We had a great time, and everyone was jamming when the band and I did Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky.” It’s always fun. After the service I took my “adopted grandma” Shirley and my assistant Sara over to DuPar’s so I could enjoy a rainy day tradition. When it rains out, I like to sit in a certain section of DuPar’s and watch the rainy activity on the street while I eat chicken noodle soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and fries, and a side of ham. But my sinus pain started again so I went home to lay down on the couch for a bit. I got up to feed Roxy later, but then laid right back down on the couch again.

Monday the 20th – PRESIDENT’S DAZE! – My couch is so comfortable I ended up sleeping through the night until 6am! I still maintain that being on so much nose spray, painkillers and Sudafed over the past two months, I’m sleeping a lot more than usual. Even though Sudafed says “non drowsy” on the package, I’m not entirely sure that’s true. I got up and did some work. The phaser had fallen off the pants of my Mr. Spock figure in the Chaney Room. The Velcro had come unattached, so I glued it back on meticulously and let it dry for a while. I fed Bunny her breakfast, and then grabbed a shower. I made some lasagna and watched an episode of “Barnaby Jones.” Then I slept for a few hours. But I needed to be up by 1 to meet Edi and Elliot who were coming over to get Bunny for their trip back home to Palm Springs. They had their own crazy story about traveling in Friday’s monsoon. I was glad they made it back safely. I did a little work and since there wasn’t anything going on, I laid back down again and slept all evening. In fact, I didn’t get up until midnight! When I got up I checked e-mails and found a note from my doctor. He said that he got my CT scan which confirmed the presence of chronic left sided maxillary sinusitis. DUH! I certainly didn’t need a scan to tell me that. So the next step is to head back into his office to discuss treatment options. I’m thinking at this point some sort of surgery may be necessary. I just hope it doesn’t take me out of the work force for too long. But I’ve just gotta get off all these painkillers, Sudafed and nose sprays. It CAN’T be good for me! I remember being on nose sprays throughout most of my childhood. I made a Tombstone Roadhouse pizza (YUM!) and watched Barnaby Jones. Tuesday would be the consultation with a surgeon about Roxy’s issue. Fingers crossed!

And how was YOUR week!!??

PIX FROM THE WEEK