Lakers Vs. Magic

The Cavs made a not so graceful exit out of the Eastern Conference Finals last night being beat by the Magic 103-90. The message is clear, make the one man band into an orchestra.

LeBron just has no help. Up until last night he was the only player in NBA history that averaged forty plus points and eight plus rebounds and eight plus assists! Not even his Airness did that.

LeBron needs help if Cleveland is ever going to be a contender. They are going to need a dominate point guard to distribute the ball and take that pressure off of LeBron. Mo Williams just isn't cutting it. He's good not great.

The Lakers and Magic should match up well and be a compelling series. I'm looking forward to it! Kobe vs. Dwight, the greatest closer in the game against Superman. I wouldn't be surprised to see a sweep or a seven game series.

If it is short the Magic will take it in a sweep. If it is a seven game series it'll be the Lakers as they might stumble out of the gate but solve the Magic over time. It will be interesting though!

"No Not Never!"

Ok in a moment of brilliance our own Johnny Friendly came up with a response for many proposals for the companies proposals in contract negotiations.

"No Not Never!"

Yeah, a triple negative is our response. Not only is it a grammatical disaster but it is just about as bad as you can possibly get as far as a motto. You want your motto to be a war cry of positivity. Something to rally behind.

Instead we get "No Not Never!"

Epic Fail....

Kobe Vs,?

I'm sticking with Dwight Howard. The Lakers dismantled the Nuggets for the second straight game last night. Every time Denver tried to close the gap L.A. poured it on.

Cleveland would not have a chance. Don't fool yourself. They are a one man band and the Lakers would sweep them. They solved the Denver problem in six games, they would solve the Cleveland problem in four, I don't know how many it would take to solve the Orlando problem, maybe seven very compelling games!

I've got a union meeting this morning to give us an update on the negotiations and to vote on opening up the strike fund. I'd say it is going as expected right now. Both sides are refusing to budge and giving up their smoke screen items but nothing of substance yet. Those things are done at the last apparently.

The strike fund supports the walking picketers. Buys them sandwiches and stuff like that I guess. Big help that is....

Again I'd like to say I'm not a big union guy. Unions have killed the golden goose more than nurtured it. Unions have killed off two of the Big Three and now own portions of those once great companies as well as the government. So will they be better off? HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!! Yeah...

Anyway back to my union. Not a big union guy, just want job security in this very insecure economy. The company has a seven year contract with the government that gives them a set amount they will earn plus adjustments for inflation and added expenses on a yearly basis...including our projected raises which usually average out to 3.5% per year.

Of course we ask for much more and negotiate it away, they take money away and negotiate it up. That's the way the game is played. Opening the strike fund is just part of that game.

The finished contract will be similar to what it has always been in my seventeen years of service.

Cavs Win

On the back of LeBron's triple double Cleveland rose to the occasion and staved off elimination last night. Their formula? Feed LeBron the ball.

His supporting cast has disappeared on him in this series. Now they have to go back to Orlando and try it again there. Good luck.

North Korea is still firing missiles that are suited for a nuclear weapon. They have been firing missiles since Monday now. The latest was a short range missile.

I'm betting they are breaking the seals on their nuclear reactor and firing it back up to produce more weapons grade material. The UN will be very displeased with them and might impose a sanction on them or even two! Yep...the UN....our current administrations best hope.........yep...

If I were President there would have been tomahawks in the air or a team on the ground to take out that pot bellied dictator who is ruining his country and starving his people. North Korea would come to understand prosperity and freedom instead of an iron handed communist rule and oppression.

Lakers Go Up 3-2

While watching last night I had the revelation that the NBA Finals will likely be Lakers/Magic.

Everyone on sports radio had the Finals as an either Lakers/Cavs (which is what the NBA could hype more) or Magic/Nuggets. That is the matchup I was hoping for. It seems no one allowed for Lakers/Magic as the Nuggets seem to be faltering a little now.

With last night's win Denver has to win two games back to back to make it to the finals while Cleveland has to win three straight against the much better Magic and superstar Dwight Howard.

Kobe vs. Dwight Howard will be a great Finals. Kobe who is arguably the best closer in the game today and a little past his peak years against a superstar who has got a couple of years to go before he gets to his peak years. Fresh legs vs. experience. Yeah LeBron against Kobe would be a great matchup to watch but really would it be that great if the series only went four games?

Cleveland is a matchup nightmare against the Lakers, they would dominate three out of five positions while the Nuggets really maybe have one out of five now and are down in the series. Billups owns whomever the Lakers throw at him. They have no answer for Billups at all.

Look for a Lakers/Magic Finals and for it to go to seven games. It might very well be one of the more interesting Finals in a few seasons. You will be witness (to borrow a marketing phrase) to the rise of one of the NBA's best superstars in waiting in Dwight Howard.

Wow Wednesday!

I like how quickly the week goes when you have Monday off. Well it is contract negotiation season at work. This is one of the most stressful times my job has to offer.

We have a contract negotiation team in place and yesterday was also the first full day of negotiations. As expected it isn't looking well right now. Both sides are putting what they want on the table. We want raises and job security, they want to cut pay and people. We will meet somewhere in the middle and then vote on it.

The union, though I despise a lot about them, is paid by me to represent my best interests at work. Its like a service I pay for, yes similar to extortion, but its like the cable bill or water bill.

More than likely this is what will happen this time around. The negotiations will make little progress, the working members will vote to reject the companies offer (which received a seven year extension so they know how profitable they will be over the long term) and vote to strike. The two sides will meet one more time in an emergency session and come to a temporary agreement and we will go to work the next day without a contract.

Our client needs to have their planes in the air, they frown upon work stoppages, and amazingly they take labor's side 95% of the time and pressure the company to fix it. There is a tiny percentage of chance that we will actually form a strike line (again something I despise, especially in these tough economic times) and be out even one day.

It could happen though.

Memorial Day 2009

Yesterday was a very good day.
First of all we went to see Star Trek. The reboot of the series was really really good. Yes they disregarded canon but they also explained how they could do that. It is really no more far fetched than any of the original series when they did the time travel episodes. It worked. It was good. I'm looking forward to more of the series!

Then we went to Beersnob's house for a Memorial Day cookout and movie. We had burgers and brats. A more traditional American cookout. Then next up was the movie Taking Chance.

This was the story of a USMC escort who escorted PFC Chance Phelps back home after he was killed in action in Iraq. This really detailed the loving care that the military puts into taking care of our war dead. Eight people watched this movie and I believe that every single one had tears most of the movie. Kevin Bacon was spot on in this very moving movie. I'd highly recommend every single American watch it. It is a Memorial Day must from now on.

Then the rest of the evening was spent outside talking over the world over cigars and scotch. Beersnob was kind enough to offer two Davidoff Millennium Blends. DAvidoff is a high end cigar. Very pricey and very good. The quality of the cigar is evident even when you get past the wrapping. It paired well with Dalmore Cigar Blend scotch. Smoking time was just over an hour for me. It was a real pleasure too.

It was a great weekend, I hope you reflected on why Memorial Day is important.

Great Cookout!

Happy Memorial Day. Be sure you take some time to think about those who gave everything in defense of our country and freedom today. This is their day.

Yesterday The Date, The Things, and I attended a great cookout! It was a Mediterranean themed cookout with grilled skewers of lamb, chicken, and pork with onions and red peppers. There was tabouli, an awesome avocado salad, and various side dishes like mini doners. It was an amazing feast! Generous in proportions and the sheer amount of preparation time invested in putting this on!

It was an awesome day with awesome friends! Everyone had a great time and there were over twenty attending! I brought along two cigars and had a couple of requests so I asked The Date to bring me about three more which she brought some good ones.

I had a Man O' War Torpedo, a full flavored and very robust cigar. Not really for the feint of heart at all. Great billows of creamy smoke kept the gnats at bay for a while.

Off! was a very popular condiment along with the spectacular food. About ten I had been there close to six hours and I was tired. The Date had left a couple of hours earlier to write a paper for one of her classes that was due. So I made my way home to catch the last five minutes of the Orlando/Cleveland game.

Orlando was up by eight when I started watching, Cleveland closed the gap to four but couldn't do anything with the momentum. Orlando goes up two to one in the series and is looking like they really want to be in the Finals while Cleveland is being knocked around some.

In more serious news, North Korea has issued a claim that they tested a nuclear weapon last night, a few weeks after test firing a long range nuclear capable missile. This is going to cause some serious meetings at the highest levels in the next day or two.

Obamacide

Obamacide - When the government oversteps its Constitutional bounds and takes over private industries.

In this case the auto industry are Obamacide victims. Soon the health care industry will have its sights turned onto it and be the next victims in the Obama mortuary.

Every business the government touches fails. They cannot run a business efficiently or effectively. Post office anyone? Which of you who are my age expect to get social security? Medicare? Come on people wake up here.

This past week the Obama industry mandated new CAFE standards which say fuel economy will be forced to increase by 5% until 2016 which would be Obama's last year of his eight year presidency which I'm sure he has penciled himself in for.

It isn't that fuel economy is a bad thing, its a good thing but shouldn't I have a choice in what I buy too? If I don't want a car that is so light as to be unsafe on a windy day then am I still forced to drive it?

Admittedly the last administration was not nearly as fiscally conservative as I and a lot of other red staters had hoped for. He also initiated the TARP bailout which started a lot of this mess. To me George Bush is equally culpable in that regard only. He also did a lot of good things which I won't get into now. I just wanted to point out even though he was a good president he also had his fiscal faults.

We have the government dictating to UAW/GM and they are taking government money so they are quiet on the issue with their collective hands out. Obama forgave the 15.4 billion dollar loan that you and I gave UAW/GM this week. Then he gave them a line of credit on top of that which again you and I are on the hook for.

The California voters told their legislature in a very loud voice that they were tired of the endless spending by their government and to reel it in. Guess who will be next in line for federal government bailout money to close their budget....you and I? NO! California, then New Jersey, Michigan....you name it! All of the states that have spent like there was no tomorrow on the backs of the taxpayers.

Fortunately citizens are starting to wake up to the fact that they are tired of reckless spending and want them to live within their means as you and I have to do.

So the next Obamacide victim will be the states themselves...just watch it happen.

Magic Cavs 1-1

So the first half was about the same as game one. The Cavs get up by double digits, the Magic chips away at them and makes it a close game late.

The Cavs had a last minute shot that banked off the rim and went out losing them the game. Last night the Cavs were down by two with one second to go! They inbound the ball, pass to LeBron....BANG! Three pointer with the buzzer going off to win by one point!

Exciting game! It is hard to say who is going to win this series. I really don't have a dog in the fight. Or even in the Lakers/Nuggets series either. I know who the NBA wants to see in the finals, their two high profile stars in LeBron and Kobe.

The best teams are likely Orlando and Denver though throwing a wet blanket on the NBA's plans. I really believe the Lakers are in trouble for sure. Denver is just out hustling them, they are a more physical team, and they can't guard Chauncy Billups.

It all spells trouble for the finesse laden Lakers. I'm actually interested in these playoffs. These storylines are gripping, intriguing, and compelling.

Payday And A Three Day Weekend!!!!

What could be better?!?!
Well a five day weekend of course but one thing at a time!

This don't show up often during the year but when it does you can bet that there are about 75% of the people I work with who won't be at work today. They have either taken off already or they are going to call in this morning.

There is a big cookout for the Into The Woods cast and crew on Sunday. I am hoping the weather holds and we have more beautiful days like we have had this week. Yeah it is getting hot but who cares, this week was nice!

I've been playing a lot of Football Tycoon on My Space and Facebook. Great game! You manage your own franchise and upgrade your players by winning games which allows you to upgrade more stats. It is kind of a vicious circle but its football so I don't care how much I chase my tail.

The move is probably 95% done now. There is still a lot of organizing to do and a few more boxes to unpack but overall the other house is empty except for some things The Date is going to sell and a final cleanup.

It's the start of Memorial Day Weekend, is you see a member of the military out and about or know a veteran, show them your appreciation. Buy them lunch, a cup of coffee, what ever it is just show them you are thinking about them and care.

NBA Playoffs

The playoffs have been really good this year. The Celtics/Bulls series was among the best of all time with the exception of the last game which was a let down. Last night the Cavs/Magic game was just outstanding. The Magic came from way behind to tie and take the lead in the fourth.

The last five minutes was some of the best basketball I've seen in a long time. The Magic pulled it out after lots of clutch shooting but the Cavs had a chance when Mo Williams caught a jump ball in mid air and shot with one second left, it banked off of the rim but wow if it would have gone in that would have been a very Jordanesqe shot.

The Lakers/Nuggets game was also down to a couple of points in the end. Denver had plenty of missed opportunity from the line, if they would have converted a bit better I don't know if the Lakers would have held onto homecourt advantage.

The NBA really wants a LeBron/Kobe match up in the Finals, I'd like to see that as well. Not sure if the Magic and the Nuggets aren't the best teams though.

Busy Evening

It was all moving, heat, more moving, and more heat last night. I hit the bed exhausted just a little after ten.

Got to see part of Deadliest Catch and watched some of game one of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets had a slight lead when I went to bed. I see now that the Lakers held off Denver for a game one win.

I'm pretty sure that Denver is going to win this series and face LeBron in the finals. Just think that the Nuggets are too tough for the finesse Lakers to handle over a seven game series.

Tonight the Eastern Conference Finals start with LeBron vs. Dwight Howard. While not as intriguing a match up as the Western Conference it might be entertaining anyway.

The Date has a kitty that has FIV. She was breaking down last night just like I was over Patch. He has been with her through all of the tough times. He looks to be roughly the same age too as Patch. Poor thing can't hold any food down anymore. She can't bring herself to take him into the vet, I don't blame her. It took a while for me to sit down and think about if I could put Patch down when she was already in the vet. I didn't have to make that decision.

Her kitty was enjoying the sunshine outside last night when she left the house so she just left him outside to enjoy it and be happy. Nothing wrong with increasing their quality of life, pets increase your quality of life for years. It is really worth a few days of pain for years of happiness with them.

I'd make that trade off every time.

Unpacking

The move has gone fairly smoothly thus far. A few more boxes were moved last night and a a handful of items remain, just a matter of a little more manpower to get them moved.

The dining room is full of boxes and are being unpacked and placed. Even though my house is over two thousand square feet I'm starting to realize it is a pretty small house.

The cabinets are getting full now of things I never had or really didn't know existed. They are actually organized even! Freaky! You should see the fridge....it hasn't been this clean and organized since I first bought it!

She has done an amazing job so far! Moving sucks but she has made the best of it and it really is going well.

Over Half Way

I'd say that The Date and Things 1 and 2 are now over half way moved in, maybe as close as seventy five percent!

Yesterday was amazingly busy. Started off with a few loads of moving stuff until about two o'clock then I was headed to the theatre to help strike the Broadway Bound set which was a big set and took nearly four hours to dismantle. Chianti was kind enough to help out in my absence and they tackled some essential things like beds.

Then it was back home where essentially all of the moving for the day was finished except for moving some beds around and stuff like that. Last night was the first night everyone stayed here. It felt good to have everyone at one place finally!

There are still things like washer and dryer, dining room table, a couple of chairs, a deep freeze, stuff like that left. The Date is off work today and is going back over to start the final clean up.

I'm headed back to work. Three days off is very nice! Wish we had that every week! Work ten hour days and get three days off in a row every week? I'd do that in a minute!

Show's Over

It was a good run. The show wore on me quite a bit after seeing it a few times. The actors got better and better but to me the writing and show premise was mediocre for a Neil Simon show.

This wasn't one of his best. I enjoyed doing the lights though and will be doing the same on the next show. That'll be a great Summer project. As I've blogged before it is the big Summer musical Into The Woods, search on You Tube for show clips from the Broadway production.

We took all of the props and put them back up last night after the show which is quite a chore since you have to take a prop from the stage, walk through the auditorium, through the forum and out the front and then upstairs to the storage facility which are some old apartments above the box office. It is quite a trek while you are holding heavy furniture.

We had the whole cast helping as well as a couple of others and it went really quickly! It was nice!

Rehearsals have started for the musical but I won't be needed for close to a month from now. Maybe a couple of evenings in between to set the lights but that's about it for me in the pre-show.

Good Show

Last night was a pretty good show. The actors were on, the audience was laughing, the storm brief, no tornadoes!

I was fully expecting to stop the show last night and tell people to run to the tornado safe part of the theatre. It was a good day off too. I enjoyed it and needed it:)

Today will involve lots of moving and then the last show of the run tonight. I'm kind of hungry this morning. I know The Date bought Lucky Charms.....that sounds pretty good.

It's a bit dreary outside right now. Not really rainy but wet looking. I feel pretty good though. A day off can really make you feel a lot better!

Off Today!

It was a busy week at work and I decided to take a day off. Eight hours of my pto, no big deal. I built my leave up to nearly eighty hours now. I am going for two hundred but I figured something out at work that might prevent me from doing that.

People who have under one hundred hours are generally happier than those who have tons of leave built up! That means that those people take the occasional day off and it puts people in a better mood. Those who have tons of leave built up are unhappier and tend to be a little more high strung at work!

Chianti invited The Date and I to the Blue Note last night after they got out of rehearsal. That was a lot of fun! I have a show tonight and the closing show tomorrow night. It'll be a good day off and needed:)

Rainy Night

Last night there were tornadoes North and East of here. Late last night a brief thunderstorm, noisy, lots of rain but didn't last long.

This is all part of living here. You get used to it. I imagine this is what it is like when you live on the Gulf and see a hurricane coming in. At least you get a few days warning with a hurricane. Tornadoes are really fast developing and if it weren't for the storm trackers around here we wouldn't have nearly the warning we do.

These guys do an amazing job. They really have a dangerous job and do it so people can have some warning. It was a good evening though overall. Today will probably be quieter.

Life Goes On

Is it worth a few days of pain to have years of loving devotion from a pet? The pain is pretty intense to be sure. The years of loving devotion are just as intense though.

Without a doubt yes it is worth it to me. From being a puppy or kitten, hatchling, or whatever kind of pet you decide on it is worth all of the happiness, joy, and trouble they give you. It is endearing in hindsight.

Pets are a bargain when you compare them with human friends. Not mine mind you, my friends are like family. I'd do anything for them and frequently tell them that. However I hear tales of friends from coworkers, in public, and when I read things. Some friends just have agendas when it comes to you.

A pet never will. You feed them, clean after them, and in return they will sleep on you, want you to pet them, pull over the trash, and generally make your life far more interesting than it previously was.

I have one cat now. Rocket. Anyone who knows me has probably seen a glimpse of him, he hides from company. Patch would have jumped right up in your lap though and laid down. Rocket is just as loving, just shy though.

When The Date moves in she is bringing a cat that is a lot more playful than either of my two cats. It should be interesting to see how Rocket takes it. I know how it is going to happen for a while. He is going to be very upset. I've been reading on how to introduce them with the least amount of stress for me....it will take some time but it can be done!

Patch Rest In Peace

You were a wonderful, friendly, loving, fun family member. I'll miss you Patch.


-- Post From My iPhone

Busted Up

My John Wayne exterior was generally broken up last night as I broke down crying over my kitty Patch to The Date. Things one and two were very sympathetic but stayed outside the house and did lawn work.

Meanwhile I contented myself with a Zaya and Coke. I wanted to go scotch but after seeing the limited supply I had of Jura Superstition I chose the Zaya. If you haven't tried Zaya rum go now to the liquor store and have them order it, I doubt if they have it in stock. It is hard to come by. It really needs no Coke to compliment it and really didn't have a lot of Coke in my two mixed drinks but I didn't want to think of my kitty. This was the first time in quite a while I've actually caught a buzz from drinking. Usually I go with a drink from the pub or Blue Note. They aren't usually full strength as I had last night.

I instead bundled up in a blanket on the couch, held Rocket (Patch's brother) to my chest and watched playoff hockey (something I usually don't watch unless I am gambling on it). The Date comforted me as she has grown to love Patch as well. Things one and two know what is going on but likely not the severity of the situation.

Patch is suffering from heart failure. I've done a lot of research on the situation. Many kitty cats live through it and can have normal lives. Patch is in bad shape though.

She has been in an oxygen cage since I took her back into the vet on Sunday morning. She is alive and somewhat responding to treatment. I'm prepared to have her put to sleep though as I would never let my pets suffer. If she can't live a healthy life and on the vet's recommendation I will have them put her down.

If on the other hand she can have a healthy life and I have to monitor her and give her medication I'm also prepared to do that, every single day.

Clark Gable was once asked when he was filming Gone With The Wind if he could actually cry when his onscreen daughter was injured after a horse accident, I believe he responded, "If you can't cry over a hurt little girl, what can you cry over?" I've badly butchered it and took great liberties with the paraphrasing but the sentiment is the same.

So I cried over a eight pound kitty cat who gave me nothing but love and devotion for eight years who might not be with me much longer.

Good Weekend!

Mother's day came and went, I had an hour long talk with my mom on the phone. My friends Bob and Wendy were at Braum's last night and asked if The Date and I wanted to hang out with them for a while.

So we went there and talked for about an hour. It was fun! I'm planning on getting a phone call from the vet today. Not sure how I'm going to pay the bill yet but I'm hoping they will bill me. The last bill nearly tapped me out and it was just payday too! My next payday I'll only have my utilities on it and stuff like that, over half of my paycheck will be free for things like this.

The moving is going slowly. The Date has most of her house packed up now and boxes will start finding their way over tonight. I don't have any rehearsals this week and she doesn't have to work evenings this week!

It'll be good for getting a lot done!

A Week Off

Last night was the half time point of the show's run. I have the entire week off now and will go back next Friday night for the third and fourth show.

Last night went well. I was hungry so I went with the cast to the pub and grab a bite to eat after the show.

My kitteh was having problems breathing again this morning. Nothing like Friday evening though. I called the vet and he said to bring her in immediately which I just did.

The vet said she was having some buildup in her air ways but she was ok. He gave her a cortisone shot and wanted to keep her and observe her today to make sure she was breathing freely. He is going to call me this afternoon or evening to either keep her over night or so I can pick her up.

Patch Is Ok!

I called the vet and they said she was fine this morning and I can pick her up at eleven!
She will be home soon!

Sick Kitty

So Thing 2 and I are at home last night before going to the theatre. Patch is playing on the floor with Thing 2, perfectly normal.

Then not long after that Patch is laying down, not breathing right, and just listless. I rush her to the vet and they take her in. I have to go in this morning and pay a four hundred dollar deposit.

Hopefully she just got into something and had a reaction. They are going to do blood work and catch her up on her shots. It is just weird that she had a reaction all of a sudden. We are all worried about her, everyone loves Patch. Patch will just jump up into your lap and just love you.

She gets into everything, I have my cabinets taped up so she won't be getting into them all night. They said if I didn't hear from them last night that she is fine. I didn't hear from them.

The show went pretty well last night. There were a couple of flubs and a mishap with one of the swinging doors that knocked a dish of nuts out of one of the actor's hand. She carried on though and got every line in there!

Happy Friday!!!!

These days of getting up at six and getting home at eleven are wearing me out. The show went pretty well last night. The audience enjoyed the show. It goes on for real tonight.

Everyone had their lines pretty well down. Nothing major was missed at all. It went well.

Payday now and two days off. I'm so close to calling in today and going back to bed but I'm already up, showered, and have half a sandwich with me. My head is still a little foggy but it'll go away. The weather radio woke me up around midnight which made me think the alarm was going off at six which made me cranky but then happy because it wasn't six.

I went back to sleep.

I'll have a good amount of time off until the musical now. The show is in July. It'll be settling in time, find that daily routine time. It'll be nice.

Post Office Blues

No wonder the post office loses tons of money! At lunch time for most Americans they had two clerks helping an entire line of people! They are jacking up their rates come Monday on top of bad service!

I will not be using the post office ever again unless there is no altervative. I pay all of my bills online anyway, send email and texts. If it is a package I'm going Federal Express or UPS from now on.

The post office needs to privitize or go away.


-- Post From My iPhone

Friendly Rehearsal

Tonight the show goes on with a friendly crowd. The friends of the directors, actors and crew (well both of us) go out and the actors get a chance to see how the show plays with a live audience for the first time.

It's a good chance to see what works live and what is close enough to work it so it does work live. The show is coming together better than I thought it would have after seeing it last Friday night. The actors are getting the lines down cold and didn't miss hardly anything last night! Its impressive to see especially when you see how wordy the script is.

I'm really in need of a weekend. Late nights at the theatre and long days at work have me a little worn out. If I wasn't trying to build my leave back up from our Vegas trip then I would have taken a day off or two. I want to have around two hundred hours but now I've got less than half that.

Time though, it'll get better with time.

The next show, "Into the Woods" cast list was released yesterday. Facebook was exploding with all of the who got what part and everything. Lots of excited people out there! It will be a big challenge to light this show like it should be. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of theatre at all, I particularly don't care for musicals but I enjoy a good challenge more than my distaste for a music laden show and this will probably be a harder show to do than Yes Virginia. I had over seventy cues in that show and it was barely over an hour long.

By contrast I have right at thirty one cues in this show and it is running over two hours. Into the Woods will likely have closer to seventy than thirty. It's a big show, hence my love for a good challenge comes in.

Another Late Night

I was able to get out of the theatre just a little before eleven last night. Tomorrow night is the full on public rehearsal with a friendly audience. The cast was a lot better last night. They had their lines down except for one big skip which threw off another actor they were good.

It's running time is going to be a problem if they can't speed up the pace though. It keeps running at over an hour per act. I believe the director wants it cut down a lot closer to just one hour per act.

It is getting there though. Two more rehearsals is all they have then it's showtime. The past two nights I've had Thing 2 with me and last night Things 1 and 2 and The Date were there to watch and help out with the rehearsal. She had some sheets that the stage manager wanted to use in the show.

All in all this is an ok show. It wasn't quite the Neil Simon comedy I was expecting, it is more of a dramedy I guess. My booth partner who is running the sound is really enjoying it though. We've got the cues ironed out now and it will be a smooth show for us from here until the closing show. It took us three rehearsals from no cues to having every cue down cold...that's pretty good!

Late Night

Rehearsal went to almost eleven last night. It's alright though, we have the cues down cold. Two rehearsals down and we have our cues. This is a fairly easy show to do. There are two parts of the stage. We light one part or the other part.

There are about thirty cues all together. In Yes Virginia there were at least twice that many and it was a shorter show. This one is running over two hours long.

The actors are doing a great job with dealing with a massive amount of lines. There are some hesitations now but with this being the final week of rehearsal they will be good when Friday rolls around.

I'm tired. Work was busy yesterday and will be just as busy today. We got some good news though, a guy who is over seventy is retiring. He has three retirement checks coming in already and showed no signs of wanting to retire even though he told a much younger man who has a family to take care of he was going to retire late last year, then January...then February....then July because he was going to get an extra amount of money in his retirement check.

I believe he never intended to retire at all and honestly I lost all respect for the man. He is pretty well off, the man who was laid off was struggling. We had three more older and past retirement age people who took a voluntary lay off last year so they could save the jobs of the younger with less seniority people. A very noble thing to do.

With this man it was just greed. He filled out his retirement papers yesterday because he was mad that the company had turned down his temporary lead pay of .40 cents per hour as the lead was off on medical leave. So out of pure anger of missing out of .40 cents he quits.

Goodbye and welcome back to the man who will get his job back. Well maybe, the old man might change his mind as he cools off, who knows. I hope he leaves.

Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses

Yesterday was one amazing day! Take a picture of this, friends, everyone bringing something to eat, a grill, a deck, nice weather, cigars, and scotch.

It all came together for a spectacular day of bonding and intense friendship. This is one incredible family, my circle is like no others. These are the people I plan on taking care of on lottery winning day! Well and a handful of others besides my blood relatives and my northern brothers!

To start off with it was raining in the morning. Beersnob texted me and said it would be better to wait until three because the weather would be as good as it will be at that point. He was right!

We spent the day out on his deck, I manned the grill and boiled and grilled bratwurst and ground chuck hamburger patties. There was homemade baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad, dessert, chips, and drinks!

Then I broke out the cigars! The highlight for me was the Padron 1926 40th anniversary that I bought a while back for Beersnob's homecoming from Qatar. Well since that was during a time it was really cold out I decided to hold off until the weather was better. These cigars were magnificent. Very well constructed and held the ash to over two inches. They had a peppery, leathery, sweetness that made this absolutely the best cigar I've ever had!

Beersnob went out of his way and purchased a bottle of Dalmore Cigar Malt scotch which really complimented our cigars! I had enjoyed Jura Superstition before while I was cooking but that might not have paired as well as the Dalmore.

Yesterday was a perfect day! We all ate, drank, and had cigars. Kings and queens of all we surveyed! Princes and Princesses of all they will learn and inherit from us as friends, loyal and true.

Saturday Was A Long Day

It started when I got up a little after seven. I woke up a little, wrote my blog, and fixed some hot tea to knock the chill off. At ten I went to the theatre to help with the set call. The turn out was a little thin. It took longer than expected so we finished with the list around two.

Then I was off to auditions for a short project that Chris is ready to shoot. That lasted close to three hours. By then I was starving as I hadn't had anything to eat since a couple of doughnut holes that were back stage at the theatre.

We headed to a local eating spot and I ordered The Date some food and got myself something to eat. A little after six I got a text from Skate asking where I was at. It was Skate's Date's graduation party! So I headed over there until about two A.M.

Now I'm up and ready to go get meat for a BBQ we are having today at Beersnob's house. We are also having cigars so I'm going to dub it Cigar-B-Que. This is going to be fun even though it is a little rainy outside. Nothing a garage can't fix!

Yeaaaaaaa! Saturday!!!!

As I've blogged about most of the week, this was one of the busiest weeks I've had at work in a long time. I'm glad it's over. I'm enjoying a rainy morning and a hot tea to wake up with.

I ordered The Date a microbatch of roasted gourmet coffee beans from here. I found this guy on Twitter and read his tweets so I decided to order from him. His is a veteran too so that's twice as good!

He makes small batches, blends and roasts them himself, then ships it all out (with a hand written thank you note and a postcard). This the American Dream! To make a living doing something you love! I'd encourage anyone out there to give his coffee a shot. He'll email you back and ask for a review and maybe some pictures so he can build his brand and get feedback.

The price is reasonable and likely cheaper than you'll find from Starbucks. The batch I received was roasted Tuesday! How's that for fresh?!

Had my first lighting rehearsal last night for Broadway Bound. I believe after one run the lighting plot is fairly simple. There appear to be two main areas, bring the lights up on one and fade it to the other and back again. I'll get the exact cues down this week.

Facebook

It seems appropriate that I spend my 1,500 post anniversary by giving you my impressions of Facebook. For somethings I'm a long time resister while others I'm an early adopter.

I resisted cell phones for years and years until last year. Now I wish I could get my iPhone implanted into my arm somehow. Well removable so I can upgrade to the next best one of course but implanted nonetheless.

Usually resist fads. I don't plan on getting sleeves of tattoos. Not jumping onto the swine flu epidemic train yet either. In fact I'm kind of wondering why it is this big of a story. There are a little over one hundred cases in the US...that doesn't seem all that bad. I bet there are more cases of tuberculosis out there than swine flu. Sheesh, its ridiculous.

Well I finally adopted the Facebook trend. My Space might be my first social site love but Facebook is more like a slow motion chat with friends (which I enjoy better)....which also has a great iPhone app. Now if something crosses your mind, you Facebook it and see what your friends think about it.

The interface uses the thread style of comments. One of the older bulletin board models on the web before VBulletin took over the message board world. No knock against VBulletin, that is my favorite design by far. The thread Facebook style is more updated than its yesteryear counterparts but still a classic design model that was eventually replaced.

It works though. It is fun, can be exciting, and without a doubt I'll find myself spending more time there in the future. So there it is my friends, fifteen hundred posts down. I've got no idea what the next fifteen hundred have in store but I'm sure it'll be a wild ride some of the time....the others will be pretty mundane as most of my posts are.