Many years ago when I was a D.J. at 94.7 The Wave here in L.A., there was a song on the playlist from Simply Red called “For Your Babies.” I always loved it but had forgotten about it until recently. When I was in line at one of the pharmacies waiting to get the pills for my sinusitis, it came on the store’s music system. Haring it brought back great memories. Check out the song here on You Tube. You’ll love it too!
Monday the 23rd – YUP! IT’S MONDAY, ALRIGHT! – I started the day bright and early at a hotel in Marina Del Rey. I had spent the night there so I wouldn’t have to spend two hours in early Monday morning L.A. traffic. This way I was about 15 minutes from a gig I had for a new videogame based on the Dreamworks characters. When Ben Stiller’s not available I provide his “stunt” voice for the character of Alex from “Madagascar.” It was a great session and I was out by 11am. But then I got a panicked call from my housesitter Sara who said the city towed her car. They were repaving the street outside my house and the posted signs warned against parking there 6:30am to 4pm. But since she came over in the evening and parked her car, she didn’t see the signs the night before. Come to find out my friend Amanda who was visiting from Moreno Valley also got her car towed, because she had forgotten she was going to be parked there through Monday. To top it all off, I got a call from “The Tonight Show” asking if I could come in shortly after 1pm to record a bit. When I got home we tried to figure out what we could do and fast. I could take Sara and Amanda as far as the tow yard but then I had to get over to NBC. But when we got there the cars weren’t there, though somebody from the city told them that’s where they’d be. That’s municipal bureaucracy for ya! So I drove them to the nearest intersection and dropped them off. I wouldn’t have time to bring them back to the house and still make it to NBC on time. So they set about on an adventure to figure out how to get their cars out of hock. To make matters worse, Sara had a commercial audition at 2pm, so she and Amanda had to take a cab there and find a ride to the tow yard afterwards from one of Sara’s friends. Sheesh! I certainly hope this street repaving project was all worth it! I did the bit at “TTS” and then came back home. But no sooner did I get home than they called me to come back to change a line in the bit. So I turned right back around and headed back in. After the show I was exhausted from all the drama, so I napped on the couch for awhile. I checked in with Sara and Amanda and they both had their cars back and Amanda was on her way back home. Later in the evening I did auditions to e-mail to my agent. I was ready for this Monday to be OVER!
Tuesday the 21st – JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE…! – Remember last week when I told you how relieved I was that the IVR (interactive voice response) project I was working on was going to be going from three days a week to one day a week? I was really looking forward to the break since we had been working so hard on it. Well, late last week I got the word that we’re going BACK to three days a week again. Luckily they accepted my idea of doing two hour days instead of three hour days. When doing that sort of work it’s awfully mind-numbing, and that third hour always killed me. But the two hour sessions we would do on Friday always seemed to be perfect. So from now on through the end of June the schedule will be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, two hours a day. THAT I can live with. I was back at Voice Trax West studios doing more IVR and the two hour day DID feel better! All the while some folks at Cox Cable back east had been calling one of my agents trying to get me to do a pick-up session to record one line from a previous spot. But the ad agency called my agent, and my agent called me, and the ad agency called Voice Trax West, I told Voice Trax West to have the ad agency call my agent, etc. But we finally worked it out. So as soon as we finished with the IVR project I connected with the Cox Cable folks and we got the line recorded. Whew! Oh! And the IVR session was made more chaotic because another bit for “TTS” came into my e-mail while we were recording, so I had to stop for a little bit and do that. I’m just glad it all worked out and everybody got what they needed! I headed to my mailbox to pick up some mail, then it was off to “TTS” for the taping. When it was finished I went home and crashed on the couch again. But when I got up I had about 3 hours of work doing auditions for a TON of new animated show pilots. I recorded them, edited them and e-mailed them into my agent. What a busy day!
Wednesday the 22nd – ALEX AND BRENDA’S WILD ADVENTURE! – I took my dog Sassie out to potty in the morning and though we stayed outside for a half hour, she wouldn’t go #2. Sure enough, as soon as we got inside…#2. But luckily I had the plastic and cheap rug down and it was an easy clean up. Poor Sass. I’m not sure why she does that but as she gets older she’ll probably get more and more quirky like that. I was a little late heading to Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City to meet up with a gal that Chuck McCann wanted me to meet. He was at the Playboy mansion one night watching “Thor” during movie night, and he struck up a conversation with a model named Alex. She was a big comic book fan and had always wanted to go to Comic Con in San Diego. Chuck put her in touch with me and we were going to meet, have lunch, and talk about geek stuff. Her friend Brenda was there too, because Alex is from Phoenix, Brenda was her ride. Brenda is an L.A.-based model and actress. It was fun chatting with the girls and getting to know them. They had an audition later in the afternoon, but I got them tickets to the taping of “TTS” for that day. I happened to know a guy over at the studio where they were auditioning and I asked him if they could see them first, so the gals could get over to NBC and still make the taping. He said he would make it happen. The show was loading the audience in and I got a text that they were on their way over to the NBC studios. I was getting nervous that they’d come all that way and not be able to make it. Luckily Brenda knew a few shortcuts and they made it there just under the wire! After the taping I gave them the tour of “TTS” facilities and then walked them to their cars. Alex asked if Jay ever posed for pictures and I said when he drives out of the studio he usually stops for the fans who are waiting there to see him. He’s just that kind of cool guy! On the way home I stopped at the holistic vet who had given Sassie her acupuncture and picked up some pills. This was a herb that was used for inflammation and pain. When I got home I got a photo e-mailed to me of Brenda and Alex standing with Jay! THEY DID IT! Pretty cool! I crashed out for a few hours, then did some auditions to send to my agent. Then my friend Edi came over to help me with a few projects around the house.
Thursday the 26th – DOWN DOGGIE! – I went to the IVR session at Voice Trax West again and these new two hour sessions are proving to be much better for my constitution. I stand when I record, and because of consistency in the final product, I can’t move even an inch away from the microphone. Otherwise the sound won’t match all of the other files we’ve recorded. So holding that posture in a standing position for two hours is difficult, let alone three hours! I was thinking about the following week when “TTS” would be on hiatus again. I was thinking about some things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go. I toyed with San Diego or Palm Springs again. But I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. After the session I went home and fired up my 1974 Gran Torino and took that to work at NBC. It’s always fun to drive that car around! After “TTS” I got home and Sassie wasn’t doing well at all. Though she had responded very well to the acupuncture she received last Sunday, four days later she was having bad problems again. Where her back legs were virtually useless and she couldn’t stand or walk. It was so bad it had me re-examining options for what to do. Sassie didn’t seem very happy and in fact seemed frustrated, and I was thinking that I would need to call a vet soon for the final time. Luckily my pal Brittney Powell came over to do an audition and it always cheers me up to see her. My sinus infection hadn’t improved much since my ENT Dr. put my on Zithromax a week earlier. He said if I hadn’t improved in a week to call him. I left a message on his service telling him that I still had a sinus headache. He called to let me know the Zithromax didn’t do his job and he would prescribe another anti-biotic for me that would work better. But when I got to the pharmacy I found out it was called into the wrong pharmacy. In the part of town I live in, there are TWO CVS pharmacies within two doors of each other. Don’t ask me why. It’s absolutely ridiculous and confusing. Apparently my Dr. called it into the OTHER CVS. But I didn’t have time to go there since I was running late for my dinner appointment with my friend Donna and her husband Vince at Jerry’s Famous Deli. So I figured I’d get the prescription the next day after the IVR session. Donna Grillo was an animation casting director and she was one of the CDs who gave me my first animation work. Strangely enough it was doing the voice of “Starsky” in a “Starsky & Hutch” bit in an “Angry Beavers” cartoon. Now her husband Vince wants to come up with a concept to do a photo shoot with me and my Starsky Torino. Vince is a very accomplished photog and it sounded like a fun idea to me. So we sat down at dinner and discussed the premise. When I got back home I took a little nap, and Sass was still bad. It’s sad because just four days earlier she had responded so well to the acupuncture. But it looks like we’ll need to have her do the program on a more consistent basis. But with the upcoming holiday weekend her vet would be out of town and unable to come Sunday. So I just need to keep her going for another week and a half so she can get on a consistent acupuncture program.
Friday the 27th – NIGHTMARE ON MY STREET! – I had intended to sleep a little later, but a bad dream about my family woke me up early. I laid there and stared at the ceiling and knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, so I just got out of bed and walked Sass. She was doing a little better but still not great. I checked my e-mail and there was a bit for “TTS” I needed to cut. So I cut it right away and e-mailed it in. Since I had some time before the IVR session, I took the opportunity to call the phone company and ditch my DSL service. I had been really happy with it for the 11 years I’ve lived here, but the past few months it grew unreliable. I had a technician come out but he said there was really nothing he could do. So I had a cable wi-fi modem installed. I gave it a few weeks to see how I liked it, and since I decided that I liked it fine, it was time to fire my DSL company. My new pal Alex had made it back home to Phoenix alright, and I told her about The Phoenix Comic Con that was going on that weekend. Since she was curious about conventions I made a call and hooked her up with one of the guys who runs that convention. They spoke to each other and he was going to set her and her mom up with passes for Friday. He told her to give him a call an hour before she got there and he would arrange to meet her and give her the passes. TOO COOL! However, After Alex and her mom drove all the way to the convention center, this guy wasn’t answering his phone! They hung out about 3 hours waiting for this guy to answer his phone, but no dice! UGH! So as they were on their way back home he calls them and offers them passes for the weekend. But Alex has a busy work schedule during the weekend and was unable to go. Boy, talk about poor organization. Though I had heard horror stories about the Phoenix Comic Con in the past from other voice actors, I was seeing first-hand what they were talking about. I won’t be trying that again! On the way home I got a quick sandwich and headed to NBC for the very last “TTS” before hiatus week! I still had to pick up my prescription but there was no time. “TTS” was taping early today so everybody who would be traveling could make their evening flights. Since we got out earlier than normal I stopped by the vet’s to get some more food for Sassie, then off to the pharmacy. But after standing in line for about 20 minutes I was told they couldn’t dispense the medicine because I had never taken it before. “A PHARMACIST WASN’T THERE.” What? Since when doesn’t a pharmacy have a pharmacist? Apparently he was at lunch and they asked if I could wait another half hour. I told them no, and furthermore I expected a pharmacy to have a pharmacist. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? It’s state law that says if a patient has never taken a certain medication before that a pharmacist must dispense it in case there are any questions. I had too much to do so I said I’d come back later. But I wrote a letter to the CVS corporate office to tell them of the snafu. Strangely enough, there’s another CVS right across the street (like I said earlier)! Couldn’t they have borrowed one of THEIR pharmacists to cover for the hungry pharmacist while he was at lunch? Poor organization! After the Phoenix Comic Con fiasco and now this, I was up to my eyeballs with incompetence. But to make matters worse, when I did return later that night to get the anti-biotic, a pharmacist’s apprentice waited on me. Not even a real pharmacist. Though the pharmacist was there behind the counter, all I got was the apprentice. I asked, “Can this be taken with food? Will antacids affect it? Will other medications affect it?” The apprentice looked down and started reading the literature that came with the bottle of pills. I COULD HAVE DONE THAT? I couldn’t believe that I had to come all the way back only to have the medicine dispensed to me by a guy who was reading the same literature that I could have. UGH and DOUBLE UGH! When I got home I was happy to be there and ready to crawl in a hole and stay there for awhile. Luckily my friends Amanda and Emily came by and they helped cheer me up. Sassie was really bad and wasn’t even walking well with her orthopedic boots on. I laid on the living room floor with her and talked to her and pet her, fearing that this kind of time with my best pal Sassie was soon going to be a thing of the past. And I was DREADING it!
Saturday the 28th – AHHHHHH! – I slept until noon, the maids arrived and started cleaning the house. I was invigorated so I set about cleaning off my filthy patio. Lots of dirt and leaves from the rainy season. So I swept, hosed, swept some more and hosed some more. Today Sassie was better and I was convinced that the desperate prayers were doing some good. I went to run some errands with Amanda and Emily. But first I wanted to go to Paty’s for lunch. I knew we were going to get lots of groceries later, so I left my little Mustang at home and took the Torino. This car has so much trunk space you could live in there for awhile if you had to! I sure love parking the Torino on the street, and sitting on the restaurant’s patio and watching all of the people ogle it as I eat my lunch. I hadn’t seen my pal Fred Westbrook in awhile so I called him to see if we could drop over. It was sunny, so I knew right where he’d be. Laying by his pool, smoking a cigar and getting a tan! It was fun to hang out at his house again, but we had to get on with the errands. It’s a Wrap was having a huge storewide sale, so we stopped by there and checked out the bargains. Then it was off to get groceries We packed them up in the Torino, headed home, unpacked the groceries, put them away and all in time for movie night to start! I’m sure glad I had Emily and Amanda to help me, otherwise I would have never gotten that stuff done in time! That night the gang watched “This Is Spinal Tap” on Blu Ray, followed by the ORIGINAL “Ocean’s 11” with Frank, Dean, Sammy and Peter. I had never seen it before and the Blu Ray print was amazing. Chuck McCann stopped by and since Amanda had never seen his work, we showed her the two “Starsky & Hutch” episodes he did back in the 70’s. It was fun getting live commentary from Chuck about how certain things were filmed. GREAT NIGHT!
Sunday the 29th – SUNDAY SINGIN’! – I woke up earlier than I wanted to, then I walked Sass (she was doing better again), and then went back to bed. I had to be up mid-afternoon to meet up with my buddy Bruce Kulick to rehearse a song we were doing that night at church. A few years ago I sang the Doobie Brothers’ ‘Jesus Is Just Alright With Me” and it was well received. But I hadn’t done it with Bruce yet, so that was on tap for tonight’s service. We did a few run throughs of the song and it sounded great. The musicians at my church are top notch and it’s always a pleasure to perform with them. The song was very well received, and after church I headed home to get ready for another movie night. Since it was a holiday weekend, I decided to do two movie nights. Tonight we watched “Airplane” and “Airplane 2: The Sequel.” It was fun, and I was really looking forward to just being lazy on Memorial Day!
And how was YOUR week??!!!
