RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Why? Because squirrels always make me laugh.
Randomly, the Bob Welch song “Ebony Eyes” came into my head the other day. It got me searching my CD collection for more of his music, and I had completely spaced on this great song from 1979 called “Precious Love.” It has all the feels of a happier time in the 70’s, when music smiled!
Tuesday the 3rd – STRIKE TWO! – Anxious to get my dental work completed, I strolled into my dentist’s office very confidently. I had been off of the Albuterol Inhaler for over a week now (which I believed to be elevating my blood pressure – see the past few weeks of Wally’s Week) and I had been having very good readings with my own machine at home. However, once I got seated and they tested my blood pressure, it was at 160! And it continued to climb with each subsequent attempt! WHAT?! When I left the house for the appointment my reading was 138! I just didn’t understand why it was so high and getting higher in this environment. The procedure wasn’t going to be painful, as I’m always numbed up pretty well, so I wasn’t stressed about that. I hadn’t had anything to eat and had only had a bottle of water. It was bizarre! What is it about that dental office that has my blood pressure elevated? Was it the fact that I was 6 stories up in the building? The elevation? I just didn’t get why my readings were so great at home, but not here! Clearly the doctor wasn’t able to do the procedure again, so I’m stuck with this temporary filling for a few more weeks. I’ve got to figure this mystery out! Back in the old days of in-person doctor visits, in the year 2019 B.S. (before scamdemic) I used to have my blood pressure checked routinely. If it was a few points high, the nurse would give me a few minutes to settle, to breathe and meditate, and I could bring the reading down naturally. But since I haven’t had my blood pressure checked officially since my colonoscopy in October, it’s very possible that a problem has been brewing over the past few years and has gone unnoticed. Not anymore! It’s highly common for people to go to a medical professional to have one health issue addressed, and the doctor finds a much GREATER health issue. I hear it all the time. Nobody said anything about elevated blood pressure at my colonoscopy, so this was very weird. Also, when I went in for the first dental procedure to remove the cracked filling my blood pressure was 127. Why the incredible jump in just a few weeks? When the weather clears up I’m going to start my 2 mile brisk walks again, and get serious about getting back into my meditation routine! I’ve been under a fair amount of stress lately with the new car deal, the old car breaking down, end-of-year stuff, and of course dealing with 14.5 year old Roxy and her specialized needs. It adds up I guess. While I believe medication can help for a short period, I’d like to do this as naturally as possible. I’ve never been a fan of being on regular medication. After all, I’ve made it 61 years without having to be on any kind of regular medication (with the occasional exception of allergy meds or anti-reflux meds) and I’d like it to continue as long as possible. Totally disappointed, I drove to the Burbank Auto Doctor and paid the bill for the Mustang, and drove it to my auxiliary parking space (right next to my Torino) and put her to bed for its semi-retirement. To be honest, it was a bit sad. I’m gonna miss that car, but having a brand new 2023 SUV will be sweet on so many levels. But trust me, the first sunny, hot day in L.A., I’m grabbing the Mustang and popping the top! I went through the McDonald’s drive-thru to grab a quick lunch, but after the dentist debacle I really only ate about half of it. My eating habits are going to have to change, and that will be the toughest fight for me of all. Exercise is easy; I love it. Meditation is easy; I love it. But being a bachelor, my menu options are limited. I won’t be going back to the dentist until I’m convinced that my readings will be much better and I can finally get this partial crown put on. I lounged around the house all night and relaxed. And best of all, auditions are back!
Wednesday the 4th – SECOND QUICKEST SESSION EVER! – Since I had slept so much on Tuesday, I ended up getting a fairly early start on my Wednesday. I made some phone calls and spoke with my old pal Mark Evanier. I also talked to a fellow puppet-guy and Voice Over Artists Drew Massey about some exciting puppet projects in the future! I drove to my box to pick up my packages, had lunch on the patio at Paty’s and enjoyed my traditional “Rainy Day Meal.” When a restaurant called DuPar’s existed, I loved to go sit at a table by the window, watch the rain pour down on Ventura Boulevard, and enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, chicken noodle soup, and a side of ham; GREAT rainy day food! Paty’s didn’t have chicken noodle soup, so I had chili instead. But it was great sitting on the patio watching the sky open up and pour down. Luckily it let up a little bit so I could go buy some groceries. And since I had time before my “Bleach” session, I drove over to Round Table to pick up a pizza to go. I hit Studiopolis in Burbank to do a very short Renji session, and the whole thing consisted of only 3 reaction sounds. I gave them several options for each effect, and off I went! Easy squeezy! The rain came back and I drove home. I’m absolutely LOVING the Grey Ghost; my new Rav4! I got home to take care of the pets, did an audition, and napped. I got up later and did some work with my music library. It rained REALLY hard all night, and it was nice to spend a cozy night inside doing something I loved.
Thursday the 5th – WALK HARD! – The rain had moved on and it was a gorgeous day! I put on my workout clothes and walked a mile to buy a new garage door opener for the Grey Ghost. I walked to CVS to get a prescription and a few supplies, and I picked up a few items at the grocery store. I went over to GNC to stock up on more supplements, and then I headed home. The brisk walk felt great! This is just the start. It’s my goal to get out and walk at least 5 days a week! I did some things around the house and noticed that Roxy was having a fairly good day! I grabbed a nap in the Puppet Room, and got up later to do some auditions. I worked on reconciling my bank statements, logged my recent receipts, and scanned checks for my first bank deposit of the year.
Friday the 6th – EXERCISING IS EXPENSIVE! – While doing my 2 mile walks is good for my health, it can prove to be very bad for my bank account. Once my maids finished up and left, I walked to the bank to make a deposit. On the way back home I noticed that my old pal Mike VanEaton had opened up his new gallery in my neighborhood. I stopped in and said hi to him. It’s a great gallery with art pieces for sale, lots of Disney and Disneyland memorabilia, and a complete section set up just for auctions! But uh-oh! As I perused the gallery something caught my eye! Shortly after my dog Sassie passed away back in 2011 I saw an art print in Palm Springs called “Brightest Star.” It was a silhouette of the back of a dog, looking up at a sky full of stars. Since I am a big fan of star watching, and had always dreamed of being in Palm Springs watching stars with my dog, this piece really spoke to me. It touched me in particular because my dog Sassie had just passed away. Sassie didn’t travel well and was fairly neurotic. She was scared of her own shadow. She liked being home, and didn’t like traveling at all. So bringing her to Palm Springs with me to watch stars wasn’t possible. I bought the “Brightest Star” poster print and t-shirt immediately, with a lump in my throat. I’ve always loved that art piece. Now, here at VanEaton Gallery, I see another print that was giving me the same vibe. It was the backs of Charlie Brown sitting next to Snoopy looking up at a beautiful sky filled with astrological majesty. But I couldn’t think of a place I could put it in my house, so I decided to sleep on it. But it was a gorgeous piece! I walked to Panera to have some lunch, and then walked home, enjoying the beautiful day! Later I met my pal Joe Garner at the Smoke House for a catch-up session. It’s funny that some restaurants still haven’t gotten their “mojo” back after the shutdown, and they’re having troubles with retaining good employees, and occasionally some supply issues. It was an off night for the Smoke House, but after chatting with Christian (the maitre’d) he put several servers on our case and it was a great evening. The original server we had was assigned an entire side of the restaurant and he was spread a little thin. It was nice to see some of the other servers jump in to assist. I got home to grab a nap, and later I noticed that Roxy wasn’t interested in eating. She had eaten some food earlier in the day, but I think her tummy was upset for some reason. The problem is, if she doesn’t eat, she doesn’t get her medication (which is hidden in the food). And if she doesn’t get her anti-inflammatory medication she has bad problems with mobility. After trying to coax her into eating (she wouldn’t even eat some leftover steak I brought home!) I went to the cabinet and pulled out the heavy hardware. She has a prescription appetite stimulant that I use from time to time. BOY does it work great! Within a half hour she’s up looking into her food bowl to see what’s available to munch on! I did some auditions and then hit the hay.
Saturday the 7th – WELL, I SLEPT ON IT…! – After pondering the Charlie Brown art piece I saw at VanEaton Gallery, I decided to walk back to the gallery and buy it. It would look very nice in Planet Wallywood, and would be a nice companion piece to “Brightest Star.” I got the piece, walked to Subway to get a tuna sandwich, and headed home. To get serious about my meditation again, I decided to set up a meditation station in the Puppet Room. It has an iPod dock that I can use to play my special Medit8 playlist, a nice, moody blue light, and I brought in a scented candle. I dug out a back pillow so I could sit up in bed against the wall and spend some much-needed quiet time. I showered up and meditated for a bit. It had been quite a while since I delved deep into it, and my techniques were a little rusty. Just as I would get to a nice place in meditation, my mind would spark up with some random thought and take me out of it. It’s going to take some retraining, but I think it’s like riding a bike. It should all come back to me soon with more work and focus. Then I grabbed a nap, and when I got up later I decided to adjust my Medit8 playlist a bit to streamline the music selections to be more appropriate to my sessions. I did some other work around the house, took Roxy out, and put the Charlie Brown and Snoopy star piece at the top of my stairs. I’ll get to see it every time I go upstairs, and that makes me happy. A signed Freddy Krueger piece had been there for a long time, so I moved it to one of the side walls upstairs. It will replace a cast and crew-signed “Family Guy” poster that I’ve had since the 90’s. While it was nice and highly collectible, it no longer reached me as an art piece. So I decided to retire it to storage downstairs. I had gotten the poster signed at one of Seth Macfarlane’s house parties back in the late 90’s. It’s filled with signatures from the crew I worked with on “Family Guy” in the early days, including Seth’s and Alex Borstein’s. I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Saint Salad and watched another episode of “The Saint.” It was a FANTASTIC episode!
Sunday the 8th – MAHNA MAH-NO! – Another rainstorm was on its way to L.A., but before it arrived I met my “puppet pal” Steve Troop for lunch at Paty’s. I had initially commissioned him to help build my new Mahna Mahna replica, but he decided over the holidays that he wasn’t going to be able to tackle it. So we met so I could get all my materials back. It was a great 2 hour lunch talking puppets! But when we finished I realized that I had lost the day, and wouldn’t be able to get my brisk 2 mile walk in. But that’s OK. Since I’ve just gotten back into it, I don’t want to overdo it right away. So a few days off for a rainstorm won’t be bad, and I’ll hit it again next week when the weather clears. I got back and showered and meditated. I found that a nice, hot shower before meditation really places me “in the zone” for some productive destressing. Then I grabbed a nap, and got up later to do some work. The puppet head that Steve covered is very nice, but it’s not Mahna. I’m rethinking the overall design of his head anyway. I’m going to make it lower profile than my original design, in order for the eye cones to fit at the proper angle, and I’m going to use a different, more purple-ish fabric. But what Steve put together is a very nice little puppet! I’m definitely going to build him into something else someday.
And how was YOUR first week of 2023?!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Here’s the “Brightest Star” print I got in Palm Springs back in 2011…
…and here’s the new “Snoopy Stars” print I just got. Love this so much!
He’s going to turn into a nice little puppet. As soon as I figure out what to do with him!
It took a while, but I finally got my custom Tony Clifton Vans! They’re gorgeous!
Based on how much I liked the Clifton Vans, I ordered these custom shoes using a scan of the fabric of Andy Kaufman’s original performance sport jacket I own. The black represents the black turtleneck he used to wear, the blue represents the blue oxford shirt he wore over the turtleneck, and the white base represents the white slacks he would wear with that ensemble. Should be nice!
