May 4 – May 16 (2016) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

My old pal Ian Boothby, aka Jimmy Falcon, created this neat picture based on my Dell TV ad. Thanks Ian aka Jimmy!

While I was in Palm Springs I heard the song “Rock and Roll Heaven” by the Righteous Brothers on 1270AM. It sure brought back memories. Firstly, my mom used to play this record over and over when I was a kid. Secondly, I had worked with the late great Alan O’Day in the late 90’s, and he was co-writer of this song. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago. As I listened to the song, I was reminded of all of the great musicians we’ve lost since this song was released in 1974. Perhaps this song is due for an update. Hmmm…

Because of a crazy two weeks, I figured I’d put two weeks together for you to enjoy.

Wednesday the 4th – MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU! – It felt good to be back at it again and back in town. After my whirlwind trip to South Dakota and the amazing Paul McCartney concert, I was ready for some normalcy. But this was a brief lull in what I call “MAYMAYHEM.” There was more craziness yet to come. I got up early for a cartoon session at Studiopolis and all went well until about halfway through. I got zapped and lost all my energy. All the hubbub had finally caught up to me. Though I was scheduled for an American Airlines session later that day, I called Andrew at Voice Trax West and asked if it could be postponed. Luckily, for the American Airlines phone system, they let us work at our own pace, so we have the freedom to do stuff like that. So I walked home to relax and grab a much-needed nap. I got up later and wrote Wally’s Week and organize my McCartney pix. I watched a couple “Munsters” episodes and made some food before bed.

Thursday the 5th – LOTS OF VISITORS! – At 11am I started a session at Pure Imagination Studios in Van Nuys. It was for a cool animated short which I’ll tell you more about later (when I’m able to talk about it). I grabbed lunch at Jack in the Box and then headed home to walk Roxy. I was feeling much better and clearly just needed a day to recuperate. I did a little work around the house, and then sped off to Voice Trax to do Day #1 o f a 3-day recording project for American Airlines. We worked for two hours and then I headed home to download some Beatles music into my iPad. Since the McCartney concert, I realized my iPad was missing several great Beatles songs. I have them all on CD, but getting to them is always a chore. But it was worth it. My friend Val came over for a costume fitting, for an upcoming bit on “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys.” Then my pal Patti and her cousin Jocelyn came over to tour Planet Wallywood. Patti is married to my best pal Scott from Sioux Falls, and she was in town for business. Luckily she had time to drop by with her cousin for a tour, and then go to Jerry’s Famous Deli for some of their amazing soup. On the way to Jerry’s I picked up my “adopted grandma” Shirley so she could go with us. We all had a blast. I came home and grabbed a short nap, and then got up to do my auditions.

Friday the 6th – DOUBLE NICKELS! – I turned 55 today, and I didn’t really feel any different than I usually do. If May the 4th is “May The Fourth Be With You,” then wouldn’t the sixth be “Revenge Of the Sixth?” Hmmm… My pal Alex works for Suicide Girls; doing some of their PR. On Fridays they do Field Trip Fridays, which involves several of their girls visiting strange, new places. The strange, new place they visited on my birthday was Planet Wallywood. Lucky me! What a great birthday gift! They do a livestream on their Facebook page just after noon, so while my maids cleaned away upstairs, I took the girls on a quickie tour of my house. It was a great time and the girls seemed genuinely interested in many of the displays in my place. The girls left around 1, and my maids finished up around 2. But I was due at Voice Trax West at 2 for my #2 American Airlines session, so obviously I was running a bit late. But it all worked out well and we got done what we needed to do. I went to my mailbox to retrieve the box I Fed-Ex’d to myself from Sioux Falls. It mostly contained used clothes, but it also included the stuff I bought at the McCartney concert, as well as several other things. It sure is a lot easier just sending a box home, than packing everything up into a suitcase and flying home. I headed to the cleaners to drop off some jackets, hit McDonald’s for lunch, and then went to my pharmacy to get the stuff I needed for my upcoming “cleanse.” I’d be having another colonoscopy on Monday the 9th, and I needed to pick up the Prepo-pik my doctor prescribed. Unlike the gross, salty stuff people used to have to drink, this is a two-dose, 5 ounce liquid that tastes like orange Kool-Aid. It does make the process a little less inconvenient. I got home and unpacked my box of goodies from Sioux Falls, and got ready to take my friend Shirley to dinner at Barone’s for my birthday. As we drove over it started to rain very hard. It was pouring when we got out of the car to head into the restaurant. Rain on my birthday always makes me happy. I have a scant memory of the interior of my Grandpa Joe’s Model A Ford; the car in which I first learned to drive. For some reason, my grandpa had written a note on the interior of his car, and the visual stuck with me; most likely because the date in the inscription was my birthday. In his strange little way of writing (he only had a third grade education) he wrote “Rain 6 May.” I’m not sure why he wrote that, but when it rains on my birthday I always think of that little hand-written inscription in my grandpa’s old car. My pal Yulia Argo was singing that night so we were there to see her perform and have some food. My Saturday night birthday party with friends would be going very late, and I knew that Shirley wouldn’t be able to join us for that. So she and I had our dinner the night before. And Yulia sounded great. As we were at Barone’s, I talked to the counter girl and told her I needed a reservation for 20 people for my birthday dinner the next night at 8pm. She said they were full up and couldn’t take any more reservations. OH NO! I didn’t call far enough ahead and now it looked like we wouldn’t be doing our traditional Barone’s Birthday dinner this year! But Tommy the manager came over and said, “You’re such a good customer, I’ll set you up in the parking lot if I have to. Let me see what I can do.” He’s a great guy. Sure enough, he worked it out that, if I could delay my dinner by a half hour, he would be able to fit us in. He had another huge party scheduled at 6:30 and he was worried they wouldn’t be gone by then. We all had tickets to “Captain America; Civil War” at 10:30, but we should be good. I was just happy we were able to get in. I took Shirley home and then came back to my house. I was really tired. I laid down on the couch and slept for about 2 hours. Roxy woke me up to feed and walk her. After I did that I came back inside and laid back down on the couch and slept from 3am to 7am. It had all finally caught up to me. I was exhausted. I got off the couch at 7am, showered and went to bed to sleep from 8am to noon. Whew!

Saturday the 7th – A “DRY” RUN! – When I woke up at noon I had both pets on the bed wanting to cuddle. It was a good way to wake up, and I recommend it for everyone. It was time to get up and run some errands. My first stop was to get an 8 X 10 printed of my favorite McCartney pic from those I took at the concert. Then I took the picture over to my framer’s, along with the other swag I received as part of the VIP package at the show, and started laying out my Magical Musical McCartney Collage. Then I came home and got ready for the big birthday celebration that evening. I hadn’t eaten anything solid t since I dined with Shirley the night before at 10pm. I was testing myself to see how a liquid diet would go on Sunday. I ended up not eating anything solid until I dined with my friends later at 9pm. Though I didn’t have to start my official liquid diet until Sunday morning (for my colonoscopy on Monday) I wanted to do a “dry run” to see how it would go. It was fine, and I knew I’d be alright. I stayed busy and just drank iced tea and water all day. Plus I was so tired I wasn’t really interested in eating anyway. My pal Brittney Powell came over and we drove to Barone’s to meet up with everyone. My last meal before my official cleanse consisted of pizza and spaghetti at my birthday party, and popcorn and Red Vines at the movie. It was fun dining with 20 friends, including my friend Scott’s wife from Sioux Falls and her cousin. We all had a great time, and the food never fails to please everyone. We went to see “Captain America; Civil War” and it was amazing. I came home to walk and feed Roxy, and get a final snack before having to start my liquid diet Sunday morning.

Sunday the 8th – FAST A LITTLE FASTER! – Around 12:30 I woke up and did some things around the house. I wanted to lay low all day for my cleansing. I didn’t go to church because I had to take my first dose of Prepo-pik at 6pm, right smack dab in the middle of the service. And the church always has lots of great food and snacks set out, so I figured I’d resist the temptation and stay home. But I had been drinking nothing but iced tea and water all day. I napped all afternoon and got up at 5:50, just minutes before my first dose. I fed the animals and occupied myself with plenty of work on the computer. In fact, I spent all evening working on the computer, downloading more songs into my iPad, this time from Paul McCartney’s solo catalog, and organized some computer files. I did my auditions and continued to drink at least one 8 ounce glass of water, on the hour every hour for the next five hours. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi, and fed and walked Roxy at 2am. Then I realized I had a break in my schedule and could grab a quick nap from 3a to 4a. My second and final dose of Prepo-pik was due at 4am; 4 hours before the procedure. But I had just gotten to sleep on the couch when my cat Spook started walking all over me and purring. ARRRGH!

Monday the 9th – FOOD! GLORIOUS FOOD! – I woke up at 4am after a short nap and took my final dose. Then I drank some more water, made some broth and tried to sleep a little longer. Then I continued working some more on my computer, took a shower and got ready for my assistant Sara to pick me up at 7:30am to go to the surgical center. I checked in at 8am, and by 8:15 I was taken in and prepped. The staff at the Alameda Surgical Center was top notch and super professional. Things were going much better than the other colonoscopy I had back in 2013. They got me right in with hardly any waiting. The one back in 2013 kept me waiting for hours. Very uncool. By 8:45 I was wheeled into the O.R. and put under. By 9:30 I was waking up in the recovery room babbling something about the McCartney concert to my nurse. Going under for a procedure was described best by a friend of mine; it’s like you’re put on “pause” for a bit. And when you wake up you resume talking about what you were talking about when you went under. I had four small polyps removed, and the doctor didn’t see any reason to be concerned. Everything looked good. But because colon cancer runs in my family I need to be back in 3 years. The poor gentleman next to me had to come back in a month. I overheard them talking to him, and they had found a very large one. Not only does he have to return in a month, but they want him to go on a liquid diet for TWO days, instead of just one. Ugh. Poor guy. Sara walked me to her car as I continued to shake off the anesthesia. I have no recollection of getting dressed, nor do I have any recollection of walking to Sara’s car. It’s a good thing I never was a drinker. I really hate “holes in my history.” We took a drive over to Lancers for lunch, but walked around Toys ‘R’ Us first so I could get my bearings again and continue to come out of the anesthesia. My friend Officer Mark pointed out the irony of having four polyps removed and then going to a place called “Lancers.” That made me laugh! My first solid food in over 24 hours was a hot beef sandwich, with Baskin-Robbins ice cream for dessert! YUM! I got home and felt pretty good. I did some work and relaxed a bit. I laid down for a quick nap at 4 with the intent of having dinner with my pal Bruce Kulick at 5. But I zonked out! I woke up at 8 with a message from my agent about a gig Tuesday afternoon for a Disney channel show. I called her to confirm that I’d be there. I picked up Sara and took her to dinner at Ernie’s Taco House, and then came home to do my auditions. The colonoscopy was part of MAYMAYHEM, and there was more fun to come! But for a few days I could settle back into my old routine. I hit the hay to be up early for a session on Tuesday morning. Colonoscopies are important, and I’m glad I got it done. But I’m also glad it’s over and that the news was good. I did some more auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and then went to bed.

Tuesday the 10th – TRAVELIN’ TUESDAY! – By 9am I was at Voicecasters in Burbank doing a 2 hour session for a set of four radio commercials promoting a Midwestern sandwich chain. When I finished up at 11 I called Sara to meet me at Paty’s for lunch. I stopped by my mailbox to get my mail, and then I headed into downtown to a facility called L.A. Center Studios. It was an amazing facility that I wasn’t aware of; a HUGE movie studio right in downtown! I went into the editorial office of a new Disney Channel show and did my one line. It was short and sweet, and it took longer to do the paperwork than the actual session. While I was there I saw my old pal Audrey Wasilewski, who was also doing a V.O gig. Then I drove home to take care of a few things, feed the pets and get ready for dinner with Bruce. He totally understood my absence on Monday night, having just had surgery that morning. I showed him my McCartney pics and gave him the gift I bought for him at the concert. I also took Sara and Shirley along for dinner as well. I got home and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Wednesday the 11th – EXODUS! – When I got up at noon there were several auditions waiting for me to do. After I did them I walked Roxy to Rusty’s for a bath, then I drove to Voice Trax West to do the third and final day for American Airlines. It was a tough session, as we had to buckle down to get everything done in time, but it was all good. And I’d be heading to Palm Springs later that night for 5 nights of blissful relaxation on my hotel room’s balcony, counting stars. When the session was over I hit my local comic book store and bought “Batman ’66 Meets the Man From U.N.C.L.E. #2.” I had all the other issues but was missing that one and wanted to catch up on some reading while I was in Palm Springs. I picked up Roxy from the groomer’s, and then met up with my friend Jasmine who took me over to Enterprise so I could get my SUV for the weekend. I got home and grabbed a 2 hour nap before I hit the road, but when I got up my producer for “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys” asked me to send him some voice tracks for something he was editing. So I actually didn’t get out of the house until about 10pm. I hit the road and put in a CD I had been wanting to listen to for a long time, but had only recently run across. “Band On The Run” is one of my all-time favorite albums. It has a lot of great memories for me. A long time ago I somehow acquired a CD called “The Making of The Band On The Run.” I had just recently dug it out while ripping some McCartney songs from my CD collection in to my iPad. I figured listening to it on a road trip to Palm Springs would be a great way to hear it. Plus, when I first got an 8 track tape of “BOTR” back in 1974, I remember listening to it over and over on the car stereo as I rode to Willmar, Minnesota to visit an old friend. Something about the music on that album just lends itself to road trips. The CD was amazing. Utterly amazing. When that finished the CD I tuned into my two favorite desert radio stations…KTNN 660 AM; the Navajo station out of Window Rock, Arizona that plays classic country, and KVGH 1270 AM; who plays 60’s and 70’s hits. There’s just something magical about listening to classic country and oldies on the AM band. It really takes me back. I made it to Palm Springs by 11:40 and I stopped by Denny’s for my traditional meal-to-go. Then Roxy and I got to the Hyatt, checked in and got unpacked. It was nice there but a little warm. Roxy was having a little trouble with the warmth, so I made sure to keep her nice and cool in the room. After eating and unpacking, I spent a few hours on the balcony stargazing. But the skies were a little too cloudy and hazy to be of much good.

Thursday the 12th – I LOVE PALM SPRINGS! – Roxy woke me up at 9am to go out. I had just gotten to sleep around 6am after staying up all night relaxing on the balcony watching stars. We went back to sleep until noon. I got up and met up with my sister Bonnie and her husband Roger who had been in the desert all week. They came in for some business function hosted by his company, but they decided to stay a few extra days and hang out with me and Roxy. We went to lunch at Ruby’s (too hot for Roxy to join us) and we were joined by my pal Mike the Photographer. He also happened to be in town doing some business. After lunch we did some shopping and I introduced Bonnie and Roger to a Dole Whip! I went back to the room and rested a bit, and then got up around 5 for the Thursday night street fair right outside our hotel. Bonnie, Roger, Roxy and I ate dinner at the Tri-Tip barbecue place who sets up right outside our hotel. It’s delicious! We walked all around and did some shopping…and more eating. My pal Brittney finally showed up just before the street fair closed. She encountered horrible traffic coming out of L.A. that afternoon. We sat and had drinks while listening to Chris and Julius entertain at the Hoo Doo Lounge. They were great and everybody had a terrific time. Then we all decided to go to the upper deck by the pool and look at the stars. Roxy was there with me and she loves to spot the occasional appearance of the wild cats that live in Palm Springs. All I have to say is, “Where is the kitty?” and she snaps to attention. She gets alert and starts scanning the horizon for any sign of a cat walking around freely. She doesn’t bark or get agitated, but I really do think she wants to meet them and become friends. The cats however, have no interest in her. Well, as we were sitting by the pool watching the stars, Roxy tore off. Sure enough, two of the wild cats had come up to the upper deck to look for mice. It was all I could do to get her back, because I didn’t know what the cats would do if they felt trapped by a big, hairy dog…no matter how loveable she is. But she loved having a “kitty sighting” in Palm Springs, nonetheless. We all went to my room to watch the gorgeous half-moon set behind the mountain. I went across the street to pick up a pizza at NYPD for a late dinner, and then I settled in to watch stars all night.

Friday the 13th – OUR WAITER FLIPPED FOR US! – Friday the 13th is a perfect day for having lunch with a descendant of the great Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr. My pal Ron Chaney joined Brittney, Bonnie, Roger and I for lunch at Ruby’s (again, no Roxy…too hot). We had a great time chatting and catching up. Then I took everyone over to Lappert’s to get another Dole Whip. The manager and his wife are starting to finally “get me.” Apparently I’m the only one who orders a Dole Whip with pineapple chunks AND shredded coconut. So the manager has figured out a way to make a little compartment in the bottom layer of my Dole Whip, where he fills it with pineapple chunks. Then he covers it with another layer of Dole Whip, and then sprinkles the coconut on top. Delicious! I went back to my room and Bonnie and Roger went over to Joshua Tree to explore for the afternoon. I napped until later in the evening, when we all headed to Palm Desert to meet up with our friends Edi and Elliot. Roxy loves to hang out with Edi’s dog Bunny, so Roxy went along with us. We dropped Roxy at the house so she could play with Bunny, while we all went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. My pal Elliot Lurie is working on a video for a song he wrote about how he met Edi (through me, of course) and he wanted to take a few more stills of me for the video. We took them at the bar at the Spaghetti Factory. Sensing an opportunity, our waiter Kevin told us he could do a backflip. Sure enough, right behind the bar, Kevin did an amazing backflip for us. We were the last customers in there so he figured it was alright. We got him on video just in case Elliot wanted to put it in his presentation. On the way back home we listened to 1270AM and heard some great oldies on AM. “Whatcha Gonna Do?” by Pablo Cruise really brought back some memories! We got back to the hotel and Bonnie, Roger and I smoked some cigars we had gotten a day earlier at Fame Cigars and Wine in downtown Palm Springs. (If you stop in, tell Mel Wally says HI!) Though Bonnie and Roger thought the experience was novel, they really didn’t care for the cigars at all. We all walked over to the far side of the upper deck by the pool so we could watch the moon set behind Mount Abe (the part of the mountain outside the hotel that looks like a profile of Abraham Lincoln’s face). The way it backlit the “face” in the mountain was stunning. But Bonnie and Roger would be leaving the next morning so I walked them to their room to say goodbye. By the time I got back to the room and got ready to watch stars all night, it was pretty late. But the skies were still kind of hazy anyway. I decided to stay another night and leave Monday, instead of leaving Sunday as originally planned.

Saturday the 14th – NO “FAN” OF MOSQUITOES! – Brittney drove over to hang out with Edi at her job all day, so I just took advantage of the day and slept in. When I finally got up I went to Rite Aid to look for a mosquito repellant that suited my specific needs. While sitting on the balcony all night with my feet up on the railing watching stars, the mosquitoes like to bite. So I burn two Citronella candles to keep them away. But the light from the candles adds too much light to my visual landscape. So I found a little battery operated mosquito repellant fan that I figured I’d try out. It doesn’t make any light, so I can keep things nice and dark for my stargazing. Then I went to Burger King to get lunch. The weather had cooled quite a bit, and had actually become quite breezy. So I decided to put Roxy in the SUV around 5pm and speed off to the local dog park for a while. But sadly, there were hardly any dogs there. Maybe because of the wind, the locals decided to stay home. So we went back to the hotel to grab a nap. Brittney came back and we got ready to head over to Edi and Elliot’s for a “star party.” Like me, Elliot is keenly interested in heavenly bodies. He has a telescope but hasn’t gotten it to work very well yet. He told me of a “star party” near his house, in a local park at the top of the mountain. Brittney stayed with Edi at their house, and Elliot jumped in my SUV and we drove the short distance to the “star party.” While we were driving I was listening to 1270AM oldies. “One of a Kind Love Affair” came on, and Elliot started singing along with it. And then I started singing along with it. Here I was jamming out in my car with the singer of the 70’s band Looking Glass to an old Spinners hit! What fun! The only way it could have been better, is if “Brandy” came on the radio! That would have blown my mind! The “star party” was very interesting. There was a guy there with a nice telescope showing people different stars and constellations. As it got darker, more and more stars came out. I saw a star named Castor. Actually, it’s TWO stars…Castor A and Castor B. One star is closer to us, and the other is further away. But from our perspective here on Earth they look “stacked” on top of each other. It’s something you can’t see with the naked eye, but when you look through the telescope you can definitely see that it looks like a “2 snowball snowman” in the sky. Fascinating. We also looked at Jupiter and 2 of its 4 moons, Mars, and my favorite…the moon! Speaking of the moon, thought it was only half full; it was bright enough to illuminate our surroundings pretty well. Living in a big city, you forget just how bright the moon is until you get out into a dark area. The telescope guy said that they rate the skies on a scale from 1-5…5 being the best environment for seeing stars clearly. Tonight was only a 2. There was too much haze. But it was still great seeing what we saw, and the weather was absolutely perfect! He called it Goldilocks weather…it’s juuuuuust right! I picked up Brittney and we headed back to get another NYPD pizza for dinner. We watched the half-moon set behind the mountain again. While stargazing on the balcony all night, I got some great ideas. So I spent a small amount of time writing them down on the notepad the hotel leaves in the room for you. I feel very creative during my stargazing time, and I think I need to start bringing pens and paper with me in the future.

Sunday the 15th – COMICS, CUTENESS AND A COOL DOWN! – Brittney and I had lunch at Las Casuela with Roxy in tow. It was a much cooler day then when I arrived on Wednesday. It was fun for Roxy to get out and get some exercise. I stopped by a few stores to do some shopping, and then got another Dole Whip. Brittney took off for home, and I went back to the room to grab a short nap. When I got up Roxy and I walked down to Ruby’s to have dinner on the patio. As I was putting ketchup and mustard on my hamburger, the bottom bun fell on the ground. Roxy snapped it up and ate the entire bun in only a few gulps. It’s like I never feed this dog! WOW! But it was funny. Roxy and I sat there eating watching all the cute doggies go back, and the even cuter GIRLS! Wow! Palm Springs has some beautiful ladies! I got back to my room and set up a little reading light on my balcony chair so I could go over a script for a session I’d be doing on Tuesday. I finished it and then I napped again for a bit. When I got up I went back out on the balcony and read the first five issues of “Batman ’66 Meets The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” It was nice relaxing on the balcony in perfect weather, reading comics in the quiet. When I finished the comics, I napped again for a short period. But when I got up it was time to spend the night watching stars on the balcony. I’m glad I stayed the extra day. Not only was Palm Springs super quiet, but a #2 night turned into a #5 night…SUPER clear and crisp in the skies! As I sit on the balcony relaxing, watching stars and eating popcorn, I’ll put Roxy’s bed next to my chair on an ottoman. That way she’s right up there next to me. As I’m eating the popcorn I’ll give her a kernel every once in a while. But she does the oddest thing after she eats a piece of popcorn. After she eats the piece I give her, she starts licking her paws like crazy. I did an experiment after observing her doing this the other night. Sure enough, as soon as she eats a piece of popcorn, she starts cleaning her paws. I’m not sure why she does that, but it’s hilarious! I watched the moon set behind the mountain again, (I never get tired of seeing that!) and I remembered the time when I filmed the moonset from my balcony during a full moon. It just so happened that the song “Paradise” by Coldplay came on my iPad at the same time, and underscored the stunning visual quite nicely. On the video, the total run time of the song is the exact time it took the moon to completely set…from the time it touched the top of the mountain, to the time it completely disappeared behind it. It’s a remarkable video. I was thinking how funny it would be if the song came on again. Sure enough, “Paradise” came on my iPad again just as the half-moon was setting behind the mountain. I could NOT believe it! But the half-moon set behind the mountain a lot faster than the full moon did on the video…if that’s even possible. Because the song still had another minute to go by the time the moon was completely gone behind the mountain. What’s up with that? Is the world turning faster? I’m really glad I stayed the extra night. In addition to the night being clear and quiet, I got lots of good thinking, pondering and creating done. But it all ends tomorrow.

Monday the 16th – MAYMAYHEM IS OVER! – After toddling off to South Dakota to see family, enjoying a fourth row center seat at the Paul McCartney concert in Sioux Falls, enjoying a great meal and movie with good friends for my birthday, fasting on a liquid diet for 24 hours and having a colonoscopy, and then jetting off to Palm Springs for five days…what I was calling MAYMAYHEM was coming to an end. It was quite a whirlwind two weeks, but it was amazing. I got up at 11:30, packed up my stuff, checked out of my room and hit the road around 1pm. It was a great drive home and it only took me 2 hours to get there. Pretty good on a weekday afternoon in L.A. traffic! I dropped off the SUV and walked home. Sara came over while I got settled back into my routine and I paid her for housesitting while I was away. I grabbed a nap and then got up for dinner. I picked up Sara and we went to Coral Café. But I was feeling a bit pensive and quiet. I guess the previous two weeks finally caught up with me. My head was full of thoughts and I wasn’t a very good conversationalist. I got back home and did my auditions and unpacked. Then I studied some reference video for my Tuesday afternoon cartoon session. As fun as MAYMAYHEM was, it’s always good to get back home again.

And how were YOUR two weeks??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

With a plate of spent vegetarian spaghetti in front of her, my friend Alex and I converse after dinner.

Sara and James love the food at Barones!

Though they just met, Patti and Brittney feel like old friends.

What would a Barones Birthday Bash be without Scott and Vickie?

Our special “secret” guest Lady pops her head out to say hi.

In the interest of getting everyone interested in getting their colon cancer screenings on time, here I am with a box of delicious Prepo-pik for my procedure…