RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Roxy just adores “cuddle time,” and even knows the word “cuddle.” She’ll get up on the bed next to me and wait for me to say, “Do you want to cuddle?” Then she’ll lazily roll over on her side with a moan and wait for the pets to begin!
I heard this song as bumper music on a radio talk show and loved it. But as bumper music you only hear about 20 seconds of it as it goes to commercial. I contacted the show’s producer and asked what it was, and I found out that it’s called “Feel It All Around” by a group called Washed Out. I ended up buying about 6 of their songs on i-Tunes! Good group! Great sound!
Tuesday the 22nd – NOTHIN’ BUT BAD NEWS! – I got up earlier than expected so I worked on Wally’s Week, finished it up and sent it over to my webmaster Scott. Then my contractor Terry started working on a clog I had in my kitchen sink. I recorded a couple of comedy bits for “The Tonight Show” and e-mailed them in, then went to Voice Trax West to do some more voice work for US Airways. But bad news #1. Cafe Altente, the italian cafe downstairs from VTW, is out of business. I used to like to get spaghetti and chew on it while doing the session. Apparently it’s going to be a health food place. EEK! So I did the session with a grumbly tumbly. After the session was over, I called the pharmacy to see if my prescription for my acid reflux, the cause of much discomfort over the past month or so, was ready. But they had to special order it so they said they’d have it there in a few hours. Bad news #2. I’d have to run all the way back over there after “TTS” wrapped. So I headed off to the vitamin store to pick up some supplements. I got a sandwich at Subway and then headed home to check on Terry. He took my hose from outside and put it in the wall to blow the clog out. Seems like a logical idea, but it backfired horribly. The pressure shot back at him and got the kitchen floor soaked. Additionally, water started shooting out an overhead light fixture in my hallway, as well as in my garage. It was like something out of a Laurel and Hardy movie. But I wasn’t laughing. Bad news #3. I immediately called a plumber and arranged for him to come out in 90 minutes. I’d be gone at work, so my assistant Sara came over to make sure he got paid. My Gran Torino’s satellite radio had been fixed and the car was being delivered back to my house! That was some GOOD news! I went to NBC, taped “TTS,” and headed home. By the time I got home the clog was fixed, my car was in its parking place, and everything was cool. I went to dinner with Edi, her daughter Ems, Terry and Sara. It was a nice, relaxing dinner…but after the day I had I was beat! I came home and napped on the couch to some relaxing Zen music on the satellite. I got up to do some auditions, and then I decided to reserve my hotel room for an upcoming Palm Springs getaway weekend (I NEEDED it!). Bad news #4. My manager buddy at the hotel was no longer working there. Too bad. I thought he ran a very tight ship over there! But I made my reservations and started counting the days. I finished up my work and made some dinner, then headed to bed to watch another episode of “Van Dyke and Company” on DVD. Whew! What a day!
Wednesday the 23rd – MY FAVORITE – RAIN! – I got a hotline call to get up and do a pick-up line for a previously recorded bit for “TTS.” There was a script change. When I finished it and e-mailed it in, I did a few auditions as well. Then I walked Roxy, and by the time we came back inside there was another “TS” script in my inbox waiting for me to record. I did it, sent it in and hopped in the Gran Torino and drove to Paty’s to have lunch with Edi and her daughter Ems. Then I zoomed over to NBC to record yet another bit for “TTS.” Heidi Klum was on the show and WOW! She’s amazing! I had a bunch of guests in the audience from my church, and they had a great time! I gave them a quick backstage tour afterwards, then I hopped in the Torino and went home. I cleaned up the garage a bit, then went inside to meet my effects guy Jim Ojala. He was bringing over a new casting of a Frankenstein monster head. It’s a head cast of Glenn Strange, my favorite Frankenstein monster. The paint job on it was great, and all it needed now was some hair work by Sergio Lopez! I fed my cat Spooky, walked Roxy and then took a dip in the jacuzzi to relax. I’ve become a true master in the art of relaxation of late. It started sprinkling out and it was fabulous. The hot water inside, and the cold sprinkles on my face outside was great. I went inside to grab a nap on the couch, and when I woke up it was raining hard. I did a few auditions, made some phone calls to some friends (late night calls are the best because there are fewer interruptions), and put Roxy’s raincoat on her for a quick walk. We had to walk all the way to my other garage, because I had left my umbrella in my Mustang. We came inside, I gave her dinner and we watched “Van Dyke and Company” on DVD before bed.
Thursday the 24th – MORE “TS” GUESTS! – I got a hotline call to be into the studio at 2 for some comedy bits. So I got up to get ready and the rain had stopped. But it was a nice, cloudy, cool day. I did some work around the house before hopping in the Torino and dashing over to NBC. I did 3 bits, then went to the world-famous NBC Commissary to grab lunch. As I was heading to lunch I ran into a great bass player named George Hawkins Jr. George had played for my kids show “Wally’s Wacky World” back in the late 90’s. I introduced myself and once he recognized me he gave me a big hug. It was great seeing him again. He was there playing for Kenny Loggins and the Blue Sky Riders. What a small world. I had more guests from my church at the show, including my pastor Bob Bock. Our church was hosting a Pastor’s Class for pastors from all over the country, so 14 of them came to the show. I gave them the tour afterwards and everybody had a great time. Then it was back in my Torino and back home. I worked on my Sassie book on-line. I love My Publisher.com, and have made about 20 books with them. When I first made my Sassie book several years ago I wasn’t that familiar with the program. And it turned out OK, but not great. Since I just finished my Roxy book, and it turned out wonderfully, I figured I would re-do my Sassie book so the quality would be consistent. I took Roxy out and then we had a quick snack. I turned on the Zen music channel again on the satellite and napped on the couch in front of the fire. I got up to do auditions, then Sara picked up food at Denny’s and brought it to my house so we could start watching “Six Million Dollar Man” Season 5 on DVD. The season opener was a 2 parter called “Sharks.”
Friday the 25th – FRIDAY, SWEET FRIDAY! – I got up and made some phone calls, answered some e-mails, then went downstairs to fire up the Torino and head out. But it wouldn’t start. The starter wouldn’t even turn. No power whatsoever! It was like the battery was dead, but I still had a little juice to the dome light. I checked and I hadn’t left anything on, so I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t getting power. Strange. I called BS Industries and talked to Mitchell the mechanic. He said he’d come over after “TTS” and check it out. So I walked over to the other garage and got my Mustang. I stopped at Taco Bell and got some lunch to go, then went to NBC for an early taping of “TTS.” I had a pal from Minneapolis in the audience, so we met up after the taping and chatted for a bit. Then I drove to Milt & Edi’s to drop off my comforter to get cleaned, then I went to Rusty’s Discount Pets to pick up some supplies. Terry the owner, saw my Roxy book and is now working on a book like it to memorialize his collie Rusty, who died last October at the age of 9. I got home and met up with Mitchell who tried to start my car. Nothing. He opened up the hood and started to take my battery out. But when he did my dome light got brighter. Then it went off altogether. Could it have just been a bad connection? He put my spare battery in and it fired right up. He took the battery back to the shop and then called to say it was fully charged. I started to think that when my satellite radio was being replaced, the battery may have gotten disconnected, and then not reconnected completely. That’s the only way I could explain it. I had driven it for days before and it was fine, but for some reason not today. I took another dip in the jacuzzi in the rain and I loved it. But the sprinkles started to turn to full-on rain, so I went inside. My pal Brittney Powell came over and we headed to Jerry’s Famous Deli for dinner. Fully stuffed, I came home and slept for a few hours on the couch. When I got up I fed Roxy, and we did our late-night walk. Then I came inside and watched another episode of “Six Million Dollar Man.”
Saturday the 26th – OBI JOHN KENOBI! – I got up at noon, walked Roxy and then Edi and I went to Santa Clarita to meet a guy named John who had an AR-15 he was selling. My pal Jorge at Smokin’ Barrel in Simi Valley told me about him, and I wanted to meet him. I was interested in seeing the gun and possibly buying it. We got lunch at McDonald’s, bought some gas, and then hit the road. John ended up being a really great guy, with a lot of knowledge and experience. He was an Army vet, and had a great gun collection. It was fun having him explain all of the different models and their characteristics. He also is a collector of model trains. He had lots of medals from his years in the service. I really learned a lot from him. He pointed out the attributes of the AR-15 that was for sale, and since I don’t have a lot of experience with them, he was very good at explaining how it worked. I decided to buy it, so I gave him the money and arranged to meet with him at a licensed gun dealer during the coming week to do the transfer. The dealer will keep the gun for 10 days while my background check is being done, then I’ll go back and pick it up when the 10 days is up. John and I have a lot in common. Our philosophies of life, the way we store our guns, even a love of Palm Springs. In fact, when I left his house I told Edi it was like meeting Obi Wan Kenobi! We started referring to him as Obi John Kenobi. On the way back to my house we stopped at Lassieland and saw my old pals Carol and Pat, the people who blessed me with Roxy. I had a Roxy book for them as a Christmas present, and I wanted to deliver it in person. It was fun chatting for awhile, seeing all the collies and catching up. When I came back home I started straightening up the house for movie night. We watched Laurel and Hardy in “Block-Heads,” and the first Pierce Brosnan James Bond film “Goldeneye.” I’m sorry, he’s a great actor and was very good in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” but I just don’t buy him as 007. Never have. And watching this movie was tough. After the movie it was fun chatting with my guests for awhile, and then everyone took off for home. I did some work around the house, continued to chat with Edi for awhile, then I fed and walked Roxy. I made myself a salad and settled in to watch another episode of “Six Million Dollar Man” on DVD. I didn’t get to bed until 7am though. I had been up 19 hours straight and I was looking forward to sleeping all day Sunday!
Sunday the 27th – HIJACKED! – I woke up mid-afternoon and found that my computer had been hijacked. It’s a page that says it’s from the Federal Government and there was some sort of copyright violation on my computer. If I wanted to unlock my computer I had to pay them $300. It’s an absolute scam and I didn’t fall for it for a second. I read a news story that said other people have had these problems too, and even though they got suckered into paying it, the creeps took their money and ran, and never did unlock their computers! Luckily, I have a super computer guy named Sean. I called him and he didn’t even have to come over to look at the problem. We put the computed in safe mode, and he could look at it remotely through something called Team Viewer, that he had installed on my computer awhile back. He ran security scans to find the virus. It took awhile to run the scans, because the security programs were scanning my entire computer. At first we thought he found it, but it was still infected. So he ran another scan with another program and it immediately found 6 issues. It continued to scan while I walked Roxy over to church, and when I returned the problem was gone. Thank you SEAN! I took Sara and my friend Amanda to dinner at the Coral Cafe, and with all the craziness that went on all day, I was exhausted. I grabbed a short nap, then got up to do some work and prepare for a brand new week!
And how was YOUR week??!!!
