Musings of a Swag Chick

Catching up

2011-05-03T19:43:00.002-05:00

So I suck at this blog thing but need to be better. I have 2 blogs. This one and one for Bad Monkey Merchandise. Both need some TLC. I'm not as good as Bobzilla.

Anyway, it is spring on the farm and tons of things are growing. They picked up 9500 strawberry plants last week and they are going into the ground for 2012 season. Last year new berries went in so they should be excellent this season.

Dorothy our rooster was adopted this past weekend by Denise one of the veterinary lab techs. He will be getting 15 women all to himself. Spencer had a toe amputated 2 weeks ago. Stitches came out a few days ago and he will be back in the ladies coop on Saturday. Today I played a recording of his crow for the girls and 5 out of 6 of them laid eggs. They were so excited they started making all sorts of clucking noises.

Jimmy is off at photography school and doing really well. He seems to be liking it and coming into his own.

Jeter is Jeter. Hanging out, following me around and doing cat things. The kittens Snap and Dragon are about a year old and doing great. Snap is a killing machine and Dragon is a Princess, I don't think she has had one kill. Petunia is still king of the farm. And now we have a court jester and he name is Clover. Clover is a sweet little terrier mix. This puppy has so much energy. Sometimes I look out the window and she is just flying by on a mission. And we get lots of other dog visitors like Midnight, Brew and Hoss.

Speaking of other visitors, Lori is now moved into the house and getting used to farm life. She is still so city but that is to be expected. We will have her rolling in dirt by the fall.

Having someone else living in my house will take some getting used to but I think it will be okay.

I will be Wiggling again this summer for all of July and part of August. Let me know if I will be in your town.

Hello Cleveland

2009-06-30T15:22:00.002-05:00

So just about to wrap up the first leg of The Fray tour. Today is a day off and I was going to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but I would rather see it when Jimmy can go and besides the whirlpool bath is calling my name. Just catching up on work in the hotel room at the Renaissance. I think some people are going to go see The Roots tonight but we have a 4 in a row ahead plus I have a 6:20am flight on Sunday and I need my rest. Can't believe I am going to miss Def Leppard this week at SPAC.

Yesterday at Riverbend a fence fell on me. That was alot of fun.

It was raining and hailing a bit when we arrived this morning. Totally got soaked.

Let's see what tomorrow brings. I'm off to the hot tub.

The Catalogue

2008-09-08T20:20:00.002-05:00

Finally, the catalogue is finished. We will have it in hand this Friday and will be mailing it out over the weekend. You can view the catalogue here.

More tomorrow...

Ask me how I got screwed by Ford Service

2008-08-27T20:06:00.003-05:00

Let me start by saying four dirty words Latham Ford & Orange Ford. We have always heard horror stories about car dealerships but these 2 take the cake.

Let's start with Orange Ford. I take my precious F350 in for an oil change and tire rotation. Well, those genius left a 4x4x20" wooden block jammed up in my axle. I drove all day with it like that, I'm sure stressing out my truck. While driving it felt like I was driving through cement. Had I not stopped to wash my truck I could have likely been killed driving back up the mountain. Or the wood could have come loose and shot through someones windshield. Neither option good. Anyway, call Ford and they have me bring it back. Jimmy brings it in because I am out of town. (Mind you that as I talk about all these trips to Ford dealerships it is an hour drive from our house.) The Ford Truck Service Manager, Bo and his gang laugh it off. Guess they think it is funny that I could have crashed. They supposedly check it out and say that nothing is messed up of course. I take it back again for the pre-100,000 mile check up and because the steering just feels tight and they say everything is fine just a bulb out next to the license plate. They "change" the bulb. They fail to notice that my inspection has run out. I thought they checked the car out from bumper to bumper? Yeah right. So now I have to take it to my local garage in Middleburgh, NY called Ryan's. Nate tells me the bulb is out. Nice job on the bulb change. The guys at Ryan's are awesome. Super nice staff and very aware of what they are doing with your truck. They actually take the time to check your vehicle out instead of parking it out back and saying they worked on it. Never going to go to Orange Ford unless it is to take a dump on their service desk.

Now about 6 months later the truck starts this weird loss of power thing that has happened before when we were in Texas. I think it is the EGR (or ERG) valve. Since this is a problem we have had before I had to take it to a Ford dealership in case warranty was an issue. So I go to Latham Ford. I stress to Josh in the service department how unhappy I was at Orange and I really expected more of Latham Ford. Stupid me. I told him about the valve, not sure if they looked at it. They come back and say that my turbo diesel needs to be cleaned to the tune of $900.00. They keep it for a week, I ask them to do the oil change while it is there and to look her over again. They come back and say the ball joints have some "play" and they need to be replaced here soon.. I don't have another $900 to blow on ball joints so I decide to wait on that.

I finally get my truck back and everything seems fine. The power loss thing was intermittent so it is hard to gauge. Within a week I feel the truck stutter some and act up. I know it needs a new fuel filter so I think maybe that is the problem. Change the fuel filter and still the problems continue. I notice that they didn't change the oil. I call Josh to complain about the oil not being changed and to tell him the car is still acting up. Says sorry about the oil change, come drop it off. Like I said, hour drive and no way to get home. It should have been done the week they had it. As far as the power issue, he tells me that well the book told us to clean the engine. If you really don't know how to work on a diesel, let me know so I can take it somewhere else. He gives me no help on this issue. Just "I'm sorry you feel that way".

I mull over my options and decide to call the service manager David Sullivan. Let's see, he says bring the truck in, it will probably take a week or two for them to work on it, that my truck is a piece of garbage when it was built (bad year for Ford trucks), I'm lucky I haven't had to replace the engine and the EGR, I should buy a new truck (it's an 04) and we did what the book said and cleaned the engine.

No way am I taking it to those bozos again. So I take it to another garage that is not Ford. It is called S&G Truck Repair in Latham, NY. The owner Sarkis is a doll and his crew is excellent. They had that truck fixed in no time. They saw the problem when they got under the hood. Apparently my turbo clamp was really loose and exhaust was going everywhere in the engine and making the computer not run correctly. They got that sorted and changed my oil as well. Truck was done in less than 2 days. Oh and by the way, ball joints are fine.

So here is the scenario, one of two things happened when the truck went to Ford...
The clamp was loose when I brought it in and they missed an obvious solution to my trucks problems. Instead they cleaned the engine which wasn't necessary and charged me out the *ss for it. Or there was a problem with the truck and when they cleaned the engine and put it back together, they forgot to hook up a major component. Either scenario is not good and Latham Ford is responsible for shoddy work.

I have since talked to 2 diesel shops and one said you don't need to clean the turbo diesel and the other said in terms of diesel age, my truck is still a baby and really didn't need something like that done. It is a service that is rarely performed. Kind of when an all else fails (loose turbo clamp), clean the engine.

Now the way I figure it, besides the money Ford owes me for service not done or unnecessary service, they owe me for my time. I charge $100.00/hour for my services. They owe me around $1,700-2,000.00 for the time (plus gas) I have had to waste taking my truck to them and to other garages to fix what Ford did.

Now tomorrow I am going to call the GM at Latham Ford and see what they have to say. Next step will be Ford Motor Company Corporate. Small claims court after that.

Now, something nice about Ford. We bought our truck at Mac Haik Ford in Georgetown, TX. It is one of the only few good things about Georgetown (that is a separate book). From the purchase to the last service they have been stellar. Even after we moved I would try and structure our business travel around the trucks major service so that they could perform it. They are 1,900 miles from me and their service is that good. My service manager was Jason Norman who took care of us like family. His crew was top notch. I could call him from the middle of Wyoming with a question about the truck and he would answer it, no problem. I never felt taken advantage of and my truck ran like a top. Since I haven't been there I still call for advice on my truck and I talk to Micah who has been awesome. He always has time to answer questions or look up something in my service records. Every service tech that I have dealt with has been perfection. The girls that work in service with the billing to the car rental have been excellent as well. I seriously miss this dealership and I hope that the two Ford dealerships that I have had to deal with are not the norm for NY dealerships, but I feel they may be. I went to the Cobleskill Ford dealership and I did not like the service man I talked to there. He couldn't give me an accurate price for an oil change, and he was rude to one of the staff members while I was standing there.

All Ford dealerships should use Mac Haik Ford as the model to live up to.

I will let you know how my phone call goes with the Latham GM.

Going to go watch Joe Biden give his speech at the convention.

The Catalog

2008-08-27T19:58:00.002-05:00

Ah yes, it is finally done. Our new catalog is at the printers and will be hitting the streets in the next week and a half. It is twice the size of last years and includes a whole eco section. As soon as I have the pdf link I will post it on the blog. We will be sending out more newsletters as we head into the fall showcasing some new items, great services and special pricing. Stay tuned.

What's happening, what's going on?

2008-08-11T19:33:00.002-05:00

We have been crazy busy around here. Usually after the Christmas rush we have a minute to breathe but we hit the ground running right at New Years and now all of a sudden it is August and we are getting ready for another holiday season.

We have been working on several things. Updating our current site and finding new products for all of you. The new catalogue is coming out in the next 2 weeks and also we are launching a new eco-website.

I have a few newsletters going out over the next week to keep everyone up to date on some of the specials we are running (chocolate, holiday cards etc.)

So lots of things to come in the next 2 weeks to help all of you promote yourselves and your business.

In uncertain economic times, some companies play it safe and hold back on their marketing. Mistake. This is the time where you should run full force ahead with your marketing plan and keep your name out there. Believe me, your competitors are. We are going into an all or nothing phase. Wouldn't you like to have it all when we see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Enough business and onto the important stuff....chickens. The chickens are doing good. We did have one death earlier this year. You all know Billie the sneezing chicken. She passed away earlier this summer. During the late winter the chickens were getting stir crazy and they did what chickens do and that was pick on each other. Billie being the smallest and weakest got beat on, so we had her in Chicken Hospital and two of the girls (Butterfly and Titleist) went to prison on the front porch. In the spring we tried to reintroduce Billie but, no luck. So we set her up with her own coop and she got free run of the garden. In the afternoon she would go into the yard with the rest of the chicks, because there was plenty of run room. She got lots of snacks and extra attention so she was happy at the end. She loved to go in the garden everyday and have it all to herself. One day I went out and had lunch with her because it was so nice out and when I went out a couple hours later, she had passed. It looks like she just fell asleep in the sunshine. We miss her everyday.

The chickens finally have a big pen to run in. They used to have the whole yard but I got tired of chasing them thru the swamp to keep them safe.

I need to post some new pictures of the gang. As soon as it stops raining I will take some.

Jeter the cat is great. He is on a raw diet now, he gets acupuncture and chiropractic care. He is so much healthier and happier now with all the healthy changes.

Talk to you soon.

My Birthday

2007-12-07T20:22:00.000-05:00

Sooooooo, I knew it! The evil Christine has been spending her time studying the answers on the Trivial Pursuit Game. Of course her team gets questions like "What is your name?" and our team was getting "What color underwear was George Washington wearing on the first Tuesday of the 3rd year of the Revolutionary War?" It was ridiculous. But the food was good and the cake was even better. We had a good time. Here are pictures of me, Chris and her mom Simone (my second mother). A picture of me and my brother Joe and then one of me and my sweetie.

Happy Halloween and Welcome Back!

2007-10-31T11:12:00.000-05:00

After many complaints that I don't update my blog I decided to just buckle down and get it done. It will make it easier to post if I just stay up on it.
So back in May we signed up with a new shopping cart and have been working on the new website non-stop. It will finally launch tomorrow. Also we created a new catalogue and finally have mailed that off to everyone.

I returned from a 6 week tour with Genesis back on October 15th. When I stopped touring I said I would never go back. Never say never. Howard Hopkins called and asked me to come out and I can't say no to Howard. I had a great time. I am looking forward to going back if they do another leg.

I've usually done tours where it is mostly Americans so this was a little different. I started the tour wearing my anti-Bush tshirt which helped. I got a lot of "I like your shirt" from foreigners and US people. It is unfortunate that one man can influence a whole worlds opinion of a country. The next president has alot of damage control to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone on the tour and learning about their life and families. And it goes to show that most people are the same. They just want to make a good living, provide for their families and spend time with loved ones and friends. Not too much to ask.

When I left my chicks were still babies and when I came home they were big girls that are starting to lay eggs. Here is a before and after with Butterfly.

When Butterfly sees me coming up to pet her, she does a little dance.

Jeter's birthday was October 16th and we bought him a little kitty bed for the window and my birthday is this weekend and I am going to my best friend, Christine's house for dinner and Trivial Pursuit.

While I was gone Jimmy and Eddie installed our wood burning stove. We have been using it on and off since I got home. It is so nice. Takes the chill off the house. And it is a lot cheaper too. What we would spend in one month for electric and propane we were able to cover the entire winter season with wood.

I will be better about posting. Promise.

Oh it’s getting warm around here (May 24th)

2007-05-24T16:33:00.000-05:00

The weather is getting more and more beautiful by the day. The sun is shining the birds are chirping, buds are coming out and it is getting warmer. The garden is coming along. We got the fence up and some of the beds tilled.

The lilacs are almost in full bloom. You can smell them everywhere mixed in with the scent of apple blossoms. Last night Jeter was sitting in the window near the lilac bush and when he came in to sit with us on the couch he smelled like lilacs.

And of course every May, Sugar decides she wants to have babies (or bo bos as we call them around here). So we let her sit on some golf balls for about 3 weeks and we bought 4 Rhode Island Red chicks at Agway. We got them yesterday morning and they spent the day in the office with me, much to the chagrin of Jeter who was not allowed in.

We went out around 8 last night when the big chicks went to bed and tossed the babies under Sugar. Just like last year, she thought she hatched them. She took to them right away. One of the babies kept poking her in the eye and pulling her comb. These chicks are about a day or 2 older than her first batch so they were a little more rambunctious and didn’t want to go to bed so Jimmy had to reach in and lift Sugar a little and shove them under so they would go to sleep. We checked on them a couple of times before bed and they seemed just fine. This morning I went to check and I had 5 faces staring at me from the nest box. I had to get them all moved to the brooding area so I had to fast-grab Sugar before she could attack me and get her moved. Of course I knocked one of the chicks out and to the floor. I scooped up all the babies and moved them to Sugar’s new brooding area. She will stay with them there until they are a bit older so the big chicks don’t kill and eat them. Which they will do. Chickens are mean little animals. So the babies names are Titleist, Hogan, Butterfly and Noodle. Everyone asks me about the big kids too so here are their pictures. They posed the other day for the first time. If you think it is hard to take pictures of children, try taking pictures of chickens.

Spencer, the King Daddy Rooster at 3 feet tall. He's my biggest baby.

Billie, the Head Chicken

Nana G, the Enforcer

Blondie and Velvet, the Flunkies

Goober, the Lackey

And poor Rita, the lowman on the totem pole. She was adopted when we moved to NY.

Sugar and Velvet kvetching about babies in the Puddiecomb Coop

Red Alert, Crisis Ahead

2007-05-08T18:33:00.000-05:00

Ugh! What a week. We are working on a project with I Love All Access. This company sells VIP packages to concerts like Christina Aguilera, Def Leppard, Sammy Hagar and Godsmack. It’s a great idea for fans. You get a goodie bag, sound check party, great tickets, sometimes a backstage tour, depending on the band. Anyway, the goodie bags are where we come in. Scott from Lil Gary’s office calls and we source out some different bags and get them samples. They choose a bag and place the order. I’ve been dealing with the factory (US Box) for a couple weeks on this. Pricing had been confirmed a multitude of times. I talk to my contact (Dominic) at US Box on a Friday and he reconfirms the pricing and inventory. Ok, all good, call and place the order on Monday. They are supposed to open at 8AM on Monday. I call for the first 45 minutes and no answer. Finally they arrive. I tell Dominic that I need to order the bags. He gives me a price $.06 more than quoted. There is nothing I can do, I need the bags. I argue back and forth with Dominic, the supervisor, the owner and they won’t work with me on the price. The philosophy here at our company is that if I mis-quote, too bad for me, I have to eat the difference. That is how we pay for our mistakes. I’m glad I don’t make that many. ;-) So then they invoice me another penny higher than the $.06. Now I want to rip their heads off. I vow never to work with them again and to place a comment in the back end system of our online search tool (as other people have). I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this. But it gets even better. They wait until 4:55PM EST to tell me “oh by the way, we don’t have any of those bags”. These are the same bags I ordered before 9AM and it takes them all day to figure this out. The bags are supposed to be in Kentucky on Thursday. After I recover from my stroke I call Jimmy upstairs and we start another search to find the bags. We find the manufacturer, but they are closed because it is after 5 now. Jimmy finds another source in California. Similar bag, just a little bigger. The company is AB Packaging. I talk to Richard who happens to be a life saver. He assures me that if I have an order in by Tuesday morning he can ship same day for arrival on Thursday. I have to pay just a little more and I have to buy more bags than I intended but the final result is a happy client (I Love All Access). As long as my clients are happy that is all that really matters. I hear from Scott today and he said the bags arrived on schedule and they worked out just fine. Thank you everyone that helped on this project.

Winters not over yet

2007-04-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

We thought the winter was over and then a nor’easter came thru and dumped about 8-10 inches of snow and then 2-4 inches of ice on us. About 4am during the storm the power went out for a few minutes, which woke us up. On the way back from the bathroom Jimmy looked out the window expecting to see white snow but it was just black out there. Once he was able to focus in we realized that 2 trees had fallen on our truck. Too dark to do anything we went back to bed. When the sun comes up we go outside to asses the damage. It looks worse than it is.

We call Tony to bring up the chainsaw so we can get the tree off. He makes it up late morning as he has trees down too. We cut up and move all the trees. Since there was so much snow on the truck, it took the hit of the trees instead of the truck. Crisis averted…until we wake up on Tuesday. Tony comes up early to get something out of the basement only to discover about 3 feet of water. We get the sump pump going but it can only do so much. Tony has to run into Albany and get a mud sucker. We spend the rest of the day pumping out the basement. Jimmy and Tony about die from the fumes from the mud sucker engine. They stayed in the basement too long.

Tuesday evening we head down into Albany for the Billy Joel concert. It was the first time in almost 20 years where I was in the audience. Saw the weirdest thing. During the slow songs where you expect to see lighters, people open the face of their cell phones so that they light up. Only the old people had lighters. The show was awesome. Billy was just as good as I remembered. The last time I saw him was on the River of Dreams tour. After the ROD concert we all went back to the hotel where Billy played the piano in the bar. You don't get to do that everyday.

March marches into April

2007-04-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

The rest of March and into April is a blur. A lot of quotes going out and business coming in. We are planning for the Christmas season already. I should be getting our holiday card catalogues in soon and we are working on the layout for our everyday catalogue. We have been planning on a new website and we finally have a shopping cart picked out. Jimmy is taking over the brunt of putting together the site this time. We worked on another big NAMM project (Happy Easter!) and had a great time putting it together. There were some really clever gifts. I worked with Jennifer from the office on this project. Enjoy your maternity leave. It is just about time for Vanessa and I to start talking about Summer Session NAMM in Austin, TX. We worked on a project for the LeParc Suite Hotel. They offer an American Girl package at the hotel and we are sourcing out the goodies that they give the girls on check in. We got the cutest little pink backpack for them and the logo looks great on the bag. As soon as we get a photo taken I will post it on the blog.

Rise and Shine in Toronto

2007-04-29T18:12:00.000-05:00

Breakfast with Katherine at 8:30am in the hotel restaurant. They make a mean Eggs Benedict. We rehash stories from TourLink and have a great time. We can’t wait to come back and visit for a weekend. After breakfast we head out to Christie Lites to see our friend Martin Kelley. Off to the board room with Martin, Stephanie and Denis to talk about swag before we take a tour of their facility.

Holy cow! I have never seen such utter organization. Everything had its place. It was incredible how much equipment they had and anyone in the shop could tell you exactly where every cable or gel was. I knew I was in trouble. As soon as we walked out Jimmy says “That’s how I want our office and house”. Good Luck buddy, I’m not that organized. We are supposed to go out to lunch with Martin but we spent the whole time in the office and shop chewing the fat. We have to be at Pyrotek Special Effects by 2PM. We dash off to Wendy’s for a quick lunch and then back on the road to Pyrotek. We meet with Christina and Doug and talk about their swag and go over some new ideas. I was hoping they would let me blow something up but no such luck. After our meeting we head home before the next snow storm decides to blow through. What a whirlwind, we headed out to Toronto on a Tuesday morning and we were back in Albany on Wednesday evening. Jeter is at grandmas again and I get to pick him back up on Thursday. I think my mother wants me to leave town more often so she can play with her boy.

Work at Home

2007-04-29T17:32:00.000-05:00

We spend the first couple of weeks of March battling the snow and cold and staying on top of our clients needs. We plan a trip to one of our favorite cities for mid-March, Toronto. On the road again. We take off out of Albany early on a Tuesday morning. We make a stop at Niagara Falls. I have never been there before. It is a beautiful place if you can get past the Vegas-esque quality of the downtown. It looks like every theme park threw up on Main Street.

Our next stop is the Metropolitan Hotel. We are having breakfast with our friend, Katherine Ross who is the Regional Sales Manager. We are staying at the hotel instead of our usual camping and Katherine has booked us into a beautiful suite. Lovely sitting room, comfy bed with a tv, vcr, dvd player and stereo system with surround sound. And 2 bathrooms, one with a spa tub. Just what I needed.
We settle in and relax for the night and we get a wonderful delivery of chocolate dipped strawberries and sparkling water compliments of Katherine. Nighty night.

Homeward Bound

2007-04-29T17:24:00.000-05:00

We are supposed to be going from Pensacola to Austin to pick up our stuff in storage but we just want to get home. With all the people we have seen in the last 2 months we have tons of business to get done and I need to be at my desk in my office. I drop the kids off at school and go back to the house to pack up and we get a call from the school. Daniela is upset that I am leaving. I assure her that we will be back.

We start heading north. We get through Alabama just hours ahead of a tornado that ends up going through a high school and killing a bunch of kids. Crazy. We drive until about midnight when Jimmy gets tired. We crash out in a truck rest area for the night. Up early the next morning and straight to New York. We head up the mountain and pull into the driveway and wouldn’t you know it but my little Texas boy ends up getting the truck and trailer stuck in the snow. Not really his fault, the driveway is just shale and it was really wet so basically a mud pit. We called my cousin to bring up the tractor. We pulled the truck out first and then the trailer. The house was a total mess when we got home. Tony did a bunch of work while we were gone. We got a new bathroom, the house was insulated (there was zero insulation before we left), new ceiling upstairs, electrical, plumbing and more. It ends up taking Jimmy over a week to clean to some sort of normalcy. I wanted to get home to see my sweet little Jeter. He’s been having a good time with his grandma. The day I go down to pick him up he has disappeared. My brother left the dryer door open and Jeter decided to take a little nap inside. My mother shut the dryer door and locked the little man in. Now Jeter wants to get into our dryer at home.

Nashville to Pensacola at last!

2007-04-29T17:05:00.000-05:00

We depart Nashville on Saturday at around 11am and head off to Pensacola. I am so excited. I haven’t seen my niece (Daniela) and nephew (Zach) since we got married in 2003. Between touring and starting our business we were constantly working and I couldn’t make it to visit them. We pull in around 7 in the evening and I sneak into the house to surprise them. Of course 10 year old Zach tries to play it cool and say that he knew I was coming. Daniela squeals like the little girl she is. We hang out for the weekend playing games like Uno, checkers, Connect Four etc. I learn about Webkinz and get to go over to the kids school and meet their teachers. Zach is taking the FCAT’s. The test goes on all week and the grades determine how much money the schools get. Something about Every Child Left Behind. It is a short visit but it was great to see my family again. We will be back again in July when we take the road trip to Texas for NAMM.

Holy Recap, Batman!

2007-04-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

Well wouldn’t you know it my computer got hit with a virus. Totally trashed my system. Took over a week to fix so I haven’t been able to post any blog entries or get work done. My system has been reloaded and updated and I actually got rid of a bunch of junk so my computer is running better. Can’t wait to get a Mac. Anyway back to our story…..

After a busy Valentine’s Day we met with Rich Booth from Vari-Lite. Had a great meeting there. Got to see part of the video from the 25^th Anniversary party and got a really cool Genesis concert poster from 25 years ago. After our meeting we head back towards the campsite and stop for a lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Good food and I have enough left over for dinner. As we are heading out from lunch we see a sign for Acupuncture and Herbs. We stop in to see if I can get my herbs that I have run out of. Turns out to be a front for a whore house. So no herbs there. We spend the night in Dallas and get up in the morning to head towards our next stop…..Nashville. During this ride is when I discover that the computer has issues (virus). We stay just outside of Nashville at the KOA in Buffalo. We are out of “rabbit ear” range so we rent some movies from the nice lady that runs the place. We were one of the few people camping there so it was nice and quiet. We watch Road to Perdition and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In the morning we head to the Millenium Maxwell House Hotel to stay for the week. I am training with Larry Smith at Tour Guide Magazine on advertising sales and getting my computer fixed. We are also meeting with a bunch of current and future clients and friends. Tour Guide is in the Soundcheck Studios complex. I love this place. We run into all sorts of people that I didn’t even know were there. As we were walking over Bruce Heard jumps out of a truck and comes running over. Haven’t seen Bruce since we did Motley together back in 99. We caught up and found out he is working for MooTV. And oddly enough as we are talking Bruce says I need to talk to Barry Otto at MooTV about swag. Well wouldn’t you know it, Barry and I did Power Rangers together back in 95. It was like old home week. The best thing about this business is you may not see people for years but when you see each other again it is like no time has passed. At the Studio we visit with Jan, Kyle from StageCall, Lance from Tour Supply. I head out to visit some bus companies. I stop in at Hemphill Brothers and then run across to harass Chip at Nitetrain and visit with Lisa and Kimberly. Kim introduces me to Lesley at Nashville Coach and she needs tshirts for her crew. Jimmy and I go to visit with Gary at Roberts Brothers Coach. Gary’s brother David joins us. We get a tour of the facility and buses and talk about the expansion of this rapidly growing company. They are currently expanding into another massive building . We saw some buses being built out for upcoming tours. We really enjoyed our visit with this family owned business and look forward to working with them.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

2007-02-14T01:14:00.000-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Finally got it together and posted lots of blog. New posts are January 23rd and forward. Scroll down and get reading. If you would like, please feel free to post comments.
Michelle

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

2007-02-13T23:51:00.000-05:00

Day before Valentine’s Day and still getting the last minute calls for gifts. Packed up and on the road by 9am. As we head into Texas I look up Ford dealerships. My girl needs an oil change and my inspection sticker ran out in December. You know how redneck Texas can be. They will stop me every 10 feet because of the sticker. I find 2 dealerships in El Paso. I call the first one. They want $200 for an oil change and $60.00 for an inspection. Yeah, right. I call the other one. Shamalay Ford. $79.95 for oil and $12.50 for the inspection. That’s more like it. Plus they said it would take an hour and it did. They gave us a spot to park our trailer and took the big girl in right away. While we were sitting there this other guy was whining that it was taking 2 hours. The whole time I was there he kept going in and annoying the techs. No wonder it took so long. I would make him wait too. He was just a complainer. He had this nice “I’m fat and having a mid life crisis” Mustang. People like that don’t deserve nice cars. We head out and I get to stop at McDonalds. Yes that’s right. I made Jimmy stop there for lunch. Now I wish I didn’t. I got the McNuggets that have been sitting for an hour. I feel like I’m gonna puke, especially being in the back of the truck and bouncing around. We are trying to get to Abilene tonight. Probably will get in around 8ish. We will sleep in (hopefully) and head into Dallas tomorrow. We have a meeting at Vari-Lite on Thursday. We went through the border patrol without incident. The dog sniffed the trailer for Mexicans or drugs and waved us on. We finally get into the campground. What a looong day. I am finally able to post 2 weeks of the blog that I have been writing. I got email from our cousins in Poland. They sent pictures of Hanna who is just under a year and a half. She is so cute! Time for bed for us.

Monday, February 12, 2007

2007-02-13T23:49:00.000-05:00

Out of bed and getting ready to go. Jimmy runs into Jack in the men’s room and asks about Holbrook. Holbrook usually takes his stroll around 10am but Jack lets him out early so I can say goodbye. He’s such a sweet dog. Told Jack that Connie and him are welcome to visit us up in Albany on one of their trips. I’ll miss the Mesa KOA. We have stayed there 3 times and met some really nice people there. Off to Stage Call to pick up our trailer. Thank you Stage Call for keeping her safe. We pull in and hook up and we are on the road again. Pull into Las Cruces, NM about 6PM and get settled in. The campers across from us are walking their 2 cats on leashes. I used to put Minnie on a leash and she was great. I put Jeter on and he looked like a kite. He was pissed off and flying around in the air. Maybe we will try it inside for a little while until he gets used to it. Tonight is 2 hours of 24 and then of course more General Hospital. I should be finished with this stack of tapes soon. My mom will be sending more to Nashville, where we will be all next week.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

2007-02-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

Up and at ‘em on Sunday morning. It rained during the night so the alley way is flooded. Have to carry our heavy suitcases to the truck. We get packed up and are ready to hit the road. We stop at Whole Foods and stock up on blueberry granola. Trying to get on the road so we get to Mesa before dark so I can see Holbrook. No such luck. We get in just after dark and set up at the campground. We don’t have our trailer yet so we just have snacks and sandwiches for dinner. Settled in for the night with Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and more General Hospital on tape.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

2007-02-13T23:47:00.001-05:00

Pretty uneventful day, worn out from the past couple of weeks. I spend some time on the computer. Jimmy and I make pancakes for breakfast and him and John head over to Pops place to say hi. We pack up most of our stuff today so we will be ready to head out on Sunday.

Friday, February 9, 2007

2007-02-13T23:42:00.000-05:00

The day I have been waiting for; the real reason I am on this trip, Production Meeting 4. I get a little bit of a late start. Jimmy was going to come with me and drive the beer cart and take photos but with Valentine’s next week someone had to stay and work. I elect Jimmy to do that. I get to the course and Dave is calling me. We play enough golf together that he knows I’m usually early and on the range. I tell him I’m in the lot and will be right there. I get in and Dave is paying for the carts, they only take cash…glad he didn’t spend it all this week. I run down to the range with my clubs and see everyone. I start snapping some photos and then whack a few balls. This is not a good sign, I hit really good shots; this does not bode well for my course game but I actually play really well the whole game. I always get tired around 17 and that hole I usually suck at. But I try and finish in a better place on 18. Dave is my partner and we play with Frank Stedtler from EFM and Gary Chrosniak, PM for Godsmack. We have a great time. Frank sunk a 50 footer on 3 and I sunk a 36 foot putt but I don’t remember where. I don’t know what was in the wind that day but balls from the other foursomes came awfully close to hitting us. One flew through Frank and I on one tee and the other slammed down between me and Gary on another tee. I think Gary may have crapped himself…hehe. When we finish 18 I turn around and take photos of the others playing. Everyone seems to be having a great time. Barry Podob from LeParc Hotel and Kevin Miller from Venice Blueprint Company win.

They tied with Mike Amato and Jay Sendyk but they won on the handicap hole. Mike Llewellyn from EFM and Phil Duncan from ATS got the coveted Jackass Award for last place. Michelle Freedman from LeMontrose Hotel rode around delivering beer and water and Nicki Goldstein met us at the 19th hole. We all head out to La Luna y El Sol for munchies and drinks. The golf tales get wilder as the alcohol flows. Everyone is just happy to be hanging out together. I love this family. I hate to leave but I am whooped and John and Jimmy are cooking dinner. Back at the house they have rustled up one of John’s famous pork chop dishes, delicious as always. I fill my belly and head to bed. I haven’t had any decent sleep in I don’t know how long. I’m waking up every night between 2 and 3 AM and not really going back to sleep. Maybe I’ll sleep when I get home in March and see Jeter. He helps his mama sleep.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

2007-02-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

We get up early and head out to Starbucks to meet with Mike Amato. We have a great time telling war stories about the road and some of the bands that we have in common. Mike is just one of those people you meet that makes you say “I’m glad I know him”. He heads off for some Linkin Park business and we head to the Hyatt for lunch and one of the panels. While at lunch with guess who? Could it be? That’s right Dave Paiva. I should just adopt him. At lunch my mom calls to inform us about Anna Nicole Smith. After lunch is “Making a Production Of It” panel. It was a great discussion. Went over some of the age old problems like you know when you get to production rehearsals and you see the schedule, the set and other things and you say “How the f*ck are we gonna make this work and who the hell was in on the planning?”. The money people are in the bar whooping it up, they don’t come to the production panels because they don’t want to be held accountable. Thank goodness there are people out there like Jake Berry who know how to get it done. After the panel we visit with some people that are attending and head up to the bar, that’s right a very loud bar. We were planning on going to the awards but after getting back to John’s in rush hour traffic we really didn’t have it in us. How do people drive like this every day? We are in for the night. I’d rather get some work done on the computer and rest up for the Production Meeting 4 Tournament in the morning. YEE HAAA!!!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

2007-02-13T23:37:00.000-05:00

Day 2 of Pollstar, the morning starts with work before we roll down to Venice Beach to visit with Francis DellaVecchia from Cultural Connections, SGA has worked with him on things like the Marijuana Policy Project. The MPP is actively working on passing legislation for medicinal marijuana. Excellent organization, you need to check them out and get on their newsletter list, http://www.mpp.org/ . We are going to be doing more for them in the future since it is a cause we believe in. The best thing about my business is we work with our friends and get to work on causes we believe in. How many people get to say that?
After a wonderful meeting with Francis we head to the Hyatt, who by the way wants $31.00 to park my truck for a few hours. They said they have the best price, yeah right, $16.00 right around the corner. Making our way to the Cyber Café we get some work done and run into Kendall and then Paiva (is Dave stalking me?). We accomplish a little bit and then head up to the noise fest. We see Stuart Ross and Chuck Randall and then I run into Pearl Aday and Scott Ian from Anthrax. Haven’t seen them since 2000. I love traveling and running into friends. Paiva gets stood up for dinner so he wants us to go out. We head out and either we went to the wrong place or I don’t know what but it was horrible Mexican food. Sat in my gut like lead and I have one of those strong Polish stomachs that can eat anything. Now, I don’t know if this is true or not but he got some suggestions on restaurants from Stuart Ross, gee thanks man. After dinner, Dave drops us off at our $16.00 parking lot and we head back to John’s house.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

2007-02-13T23:24:00.000-05:00

Heading into LA for lunch at the LeParc with Barry Podob, I love his hotel. His Tour Link “Top Dog” award is front and center at the front desk….Congratulations! As we head into lunch so does Peter Fonda. He has a new movie coming out called Ghost Rider. We meet with Barry and have a great lunch as usual. Last time I was in LA I was having lunch at the LeParc. I had a Chicken Caesar, Jimmy had a burger and Barry had the Oriental salad. And of course Barry “forced” me to have the Crème Brulee trio. I didn’t share. Pretty rude…not. We talked a little golf, upstate NY and cars, Barry’s 1982 (?) Porsche recently caught fire and died. He is still in mourning. We checked out some of Barry’s current swag and are working on some new items for him. If you have a daughter about the age that would like the American Girl stuff ask Barry about the hotel package. Barry took us on the tour of the hotel. They just finished remodeling the whole thing. I guess it took about 3 years, one year per floor. The rooms were always awesome, now they are fabulous, all new fabrics, counter tops and the best part…flat screens in the bed room. I tried to get left behind but it didn’t work. After lunch we head to the Hyatt to listen to the keynote address. I run into Bob Belber from the Times Union (The Knick Arena) in Albany, NY. Also Jimmy Koplik and Wayne Goldberg from Live Nation and a variety of other folks. Of course our ever faithful sidekick Dave Paiva finds us and sits with us. He has to run out and find some one to translate, he has a call from Mexico. Stephanie from Pollstar grabs the head of catering and saves Dave’s butt. Ticketmaster announced a partnership with iTunes at the opening of the conference and we all get $25 iTunes and $25 to spend with Ticketmaster. My friend Christine just lucked out since Jimmy and I don’t have iPods and we don’t buy concert tickets. After the keynote we head into the opening reception and chow down. We check out some of the trade booths and as I pass by one I here a voice call my name. I turn around and at the Rhino Staging booth is Kendall Carter. Its been a dog’s year since I’ve seen him. He tells me after Katrina his sister Yvonne moved to Pflugerville which was just down the street by 10 minutes when we lived in Texas. I hate being out of touch. It was so good to see Kendall again. He was a great PM when I was out with him. Heading upstairs to the bar, Holy Cow! I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere so loud, it amazes me how loud money talks. I won’t post my full commentary here but I stayed a very short while and headed back out to West Hills for the night.

January 30-February 5, 2007

2007-02-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

We spend the next few days working and setting up appointments with I Love All Access, Rat Sound, Branam, LeParc Hotel, Marijuana Policy Project and others. Have to get the newsletters ready to go to remind people about Valentine’s Day. Also working on a lot of quotes for clients. New tours coming, everyone wants new swag plus all the new business contacts we made at TourLink. It is insanely busy and I feel like I live on my laptop. I need to get Jimmy a new one. We are looking at a Mac for him. Apparently Bill Gates and the PC Posse have something against him and are out to get him. I say operator error. Over the weekend we visit with Dave “Pops” Clements, his wife Linda and Mr. Cat. Mr. Cat had a tangle with the garage door opener but he is okay. Pop's mixes up some margaritas, and we all munch on chips, dip and guac. Delicious! I totally forgot Pops had a 65 T-Bird AND a 65 Mustang. How lucky can you get? Their house is beautiful as is the backyard where everyone sips their margaritas. More war stories are told and we make it an early night. Check out Pop’s website. We are also getting ready to attend Pollstar CIC for the first time.

Monday, January 29, 2007

2007-02-13T23:11:00.000-05:00

We get up on Monday and head out of the KOA towards Stage Call. We meet with Loren and Kyle to talk about t-shirts and Loren is kind enough to let us leave the trailer there while we go to LA. What is it with California where you can only drive 55 with a trailer….lame. We head towards LA after our meeting and get to Papa’s Place (John Gabrielli’s) around 8:30. I want to watch 24 but Jimmy doesn’t want to drag out my TV. We hang with John and off to bed.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

2007-02-13T23:09:00.000-05:00

Sunday is golf day. Boy am I ready, I’m just not sure my body is. It has been well over six months since I last played. I meet Paiva and his wife, Rose at 8:30 and we head to McDonald’s (yes, I am sneaking in some McD’s) and then to the course. I’m sure Rose is happy to have Dave out from under foot for the day. We head into the pro shop to get some range balls and I get a call from cousin Tony telling me the propane ran out. I tell him to turn on the electric baseboards. I’m not paying Suburban Propane any more money. I don’t trust them and I don’t like them. Don’t tell me I can’t have a gauge on my tanks so I can see how much propane I use. Chicks are doing good, don’t like the snow too much though. Amy and Tony have been selling eggs. Back to golf – head to the range to whack a few and get loosened up. Trying out the rescue clubs – they don’t seem to rescue my game. We pair up with Keith Mitchell from Shockwave Cargo and Chris “Pigeon Killer” Barnes from Cami Systems. We are the first to tee off. We are scrambling, the guys behind us are playing Lone Wolf and we all suck. The course is pretty nice – not used to the brown grass though. The grass is always green at the Roost. No one can seem to keep it on their own fairway and Paiva loses balls left and right. Now the “Pigeon Killer”. I will spare you the details but it is exactly how it sounds. The tee, the ball, pigeons on the tee box and a not so great shot. Stupid birds. I told Chris, had it been a Coot he would be up the creek with me. Nice round of golf, back to hotel and more goodbyes and off to the Mesa KOA to see Holbrook.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

2007-02-13T23:08:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning is here and that’s more than I can say for a few people that have to be awoken by their offices wondering why they are still in bed….Paiva…..beauty rest, I guess it hasn’t worked for you. Panel discussions, lunch and more discussions. Jimmy only makes it to breakfast and lunch. He is busy uploading Valentine products and other work and doesn’t attend the discussions. I assume he is at work but I catch him goofing off with the guys outside. I show him who’s boss. You can take a PA off the road but not out of the girl. I quickly straighten them out only to disappear before they know what hit them. Paiva does a good imitation of me now. The boys razz Jimmy, I go back to business and Jimmy is off to work.
Well, the last night is here with dinner and the “Top Dog” awards ceremonies. By bus we are shuttled to the venue. By nature we are all still in grade school as some of the boys grab the bus mic and decide to entertain us. The stage is set for the awards as we all pile in to fill the place. Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” accompanies a video of touring personnel that we all hoot and holler at as our friends come across the screen. But its end is humbling as we remember those we have lost too soon in life. The ceremony rolls on with all the hi jinx and rib jabbing that is expected but the visions and thoughts of lost friends and touring partners these past few years just won’t let go. Yes their friendships now turn to memories that I will carry with me always. God Bless.
What I need is what the Hyatt girls are throwing. A bustling party of spirits and sounds to get you moving around the room. The night trucks on and the goodbyes begin and we all wish and toast to a great year that’s already on its way. Good night and thank you all for a wonderful long weekend. Until next year, safe travels!

Friday, January 26, 2007

2007-02-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

Friday is full of industry specific panels with a wide range of speakers, some thought provoking discussions and an inside view of other industry businesses that only goes to show that we all have the same small business issues. Lunch is served and we mingle amongst the roar of conversations. What a great atmosphere. Lunch comes to an end as the next round of panels start. YEAH! There’s ice cream. It’s funny we are just a room full of kids. Yes this day wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t an open bar and dinner at the bus BBQ. The food is delicious and the company is fun as usual. I see a few new faces and run into Mark Spring and Ian Kinnersly who live in the area. Saw Opie in the lobby earlier in the day but didn’t get a chance to say hello. We hang out with the girls from Travel Wellness and the couple that has that really cool receipt scanner. The only thing not fun is that a band is playing way too loud so it is hard to carry on a conversation. Seth with Access Pass and Design stops by and is nice enough to give Jimmy a jacket. We go upstairs before we head to Sluggo’s again. Jimmy is working on the computer. I am flat out exhausted. I haven’t been able to sleep for almost a week and it is catching up. I lay down and sleep for 10 minutes. Apparently Jimmy has been talking to me but I am out cold. He finally whistles like he does to Jeter and I wake up and spring into action. I practically land in my shoes and I am out the door. Little trick I learned as a production assistant on the road…I just need 10 minutes to charge my battery. We head to Sluggo’s for just a half hour or so (yeah right). Jimmy is talking with Carl from Professional Wireless Systems and he is keeping Jimmy mesmerized from his tales when he used to work in communications at the White House. He worked under Reagan, Bush 1 and Clinton. I am talking with Martin Kelley and Kari Obernesser from Loews Denver about the issues of hotel check in, one of the pet peeves at the panel. It is so cool to see people from different parts of the industry trying to help each other in their businesses. Several hours later Jimmy is pointing at his wrist and pleading with his eyes, sorry bub I had my 10 minute power nap. I am enjoying a conversation with Jim Digby, Martin, Lance from Tour Supply and watching Allison from the Grand Hyatt Seattle beat up on Keith Mitchell from Shockwave in a merciless game of tic tac toe. Keith is trying to get me and Paiva to get up and play golf in the morning. I told them to call me. I am safe in the knowledge that they won’t make it so I can try and get some sleep. Tonight we are not last in the bar but it is still late. See you in the morning.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

2007-02-12T23:34:00.000-05:00

Pack up and roll, it is time for load out from the campground! Today it’s laser tag, mini golf and go cart racing. 11:30AM arrival for an 11:45 departure for an afternoon of fun for all. Yeah right, it’s rock and roll and never on time. We take off just a little off schedule. It is really great to see new faces and all the TourLink veterans from years past. Mini-golf starts and we are in the 1st group to play. Martin Kelley, Jamie Peck from BSL in Baltimore and us. The game is loads of fun. Who’s in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place doesn’t matter when you realize who you are playing with because I see across the course Dave Paiva putting backwards between his legs, imagine that…it’s by evolution that this industry is a species of its own. Next is lunch and then on to laser tag. I am in first place, maybe sharp shooting could be another career path for me? Now the always eventful go-cart racing starts. In the second group race, just leave it to Jimmy to bump and spin Teresa Tracy with the Hilton Indy around 360 in a hairpin turn. Well I guess whatever it takes to make new friends. The race stops temporarily as Jimmy is reprimanded by the track officials. I do come in second but may have taken the lead if it wasn’t for Jimmy’s mishaps. Back to the hotel in a beautiful Roberts Brothers Coach by Prevost. Sometimes I really do miss Prevost. It takes everything I have not to crawl into a bunk and fall asleep. Check-in and load in to our hotel room for a few hours of work and get ready for the opening night party. Downstairs at 7PM for food, drinks and laughs. By 10PM we all roll over to Sluggo’s for even more food, drinks and great conversations with even more new faces. For us it ends at midnight but for many others it goes on until 3 or 4AM. I promised myself that this year I would pace myself so I would be awake for golf on Sunday.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

2007-02-12T23:19:00.000-05:00

Today is a beautiful day with the morning sun warming our faces and the awesome view of the Superstition Mountains rising up before us as we prepare breakfast. Work, work, work, it never ends, thankfully our attention to work is distracted by a wonderful greyhound named Holbrook, a tiger striped beauty with the grace of a bygone champion. He is now retired at a tender age of six but you can see the hardships of years as a racer (96 total) in his body and eyes. With the love and attention of his new owners, Connie and Jack, he has bounced back from the rigors of racing to the youthful bliss of the puppy inside. Back to work as the sun rises and fades into the west. We ready ourselves for the unofficial opening night TourLink Party at Sluggo’s Bar and Grill. I love this industry, we walk into Sluggo’s to see a half dozen friends and clients. We try to manage, but its hard to stay focused in one conversation as more and more people pour in. We see Jim Digby, Martin Kelley from Christie Lites-Toronto, Dave Paiva from Cube Services and more. As always we seem to be the last ones leaving but it is always worth it. Our day starts early tomorrow, or should I say today as it’s almost 2AM. Goodnight to all.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

2007-02-12T23:15:00.000-05:00

Midmorning we’re on the road again, out of LA to Mesa, AZ. Nothing new today and with 400 miles to go, the more things change the more they seem to stay the same. Years and years of touring the world and now, touring again, promoting our business and seeing old friends. It is so wonderful to see that time and distance doesn’t change the bonds that are made on the road.

Tour Guide Magazine puts on TourLink every year in Mesa, AZ to unite old friends and set the stage for new friendships, build partnerships and the health of the music touring business. We near our destination at the foot of the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction, AZ. The sun is setting as we settle in for the night, the fading light upon the mountain only reminds us of how much this area has changed over the decades. No longer is this mountain out of the way with the encroaching Home Depots, Walmarts and miles of subdivisions, mother nature teaches us that the beauty of her work goes on forever.

NAMM Week- 1/13 thru 1/21, 2007

2007-01-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

What a week! After a wonderful lunch with Juan we return to the campground for a much needed relaxing afternoon. Saturday is uneventful except for the artic cold that takes hold of California. We wake up Sunday ready for hot showers only to find out that pipes have burst and no hot showers. We are told that the plumber is coming (and the check is in the mail) but no plumber shows because a lot of pipes have burst in sunny southern California and they are working overtime on repairs. No plumber on Monday either (holiday). We decide to check out the next morning (Tuesday) before we head to NAMM and check into a different camp site. We planned on staying in this new site in February, so it’s a good chance to check it out. We head out on Tuesday for the Anaheim Convention Center. Meeting up with Robin Muller from NAMM and she helps secure our parking and the transport of our gear to the executive offices so we can finish up the NAMM amenity project.

So far it’s more than we imagined, a huge conference table, plenty of space to work and everyone is willing to help out. We work until about 8pm assembling gifts and packing for delivery. Our stagehands come back and pick up our gear for load out. We head out to the East Shore RV Park (remember the name, don’t go there) to grab a few hours sleep as we begin our deliveries at 4AM. We arrive at the RV park, head to space F-155 but can’t pull in because of the way others are parked so we pull into another slot for some shut eye. 3AM comes real quick and really cold, we scuffle into our clothes and head to Anaheim. Off the highway at exactly 4AM as planned and start our deliveries. It goes really well, the only way to deliver big projects to hotels is in the middle of the night. We finish 24 hotels by 6:33AM, now off to Denny’s for some hot breakfast and then to the campground. We go to a new space F-156 which has a nice grassy area by the lake and has tons of ducks, geese and coots. This is the only good thing about the site. I feed the fowl for awhile, then ready ourselves for a nap and then lawn mowers start as we lay down, at least it doesn’t last long. Now the one thing I was looking forward to was a hot shower (remember burst pipes since Saturday and this is now Wednesday). We get our stuff and head for the bathrooms, only to find prison type bathrooms in 20 degree weather. Needless to say, no hot water, no shower, my only salvation is getting to John Gabrielli’s on Thursday. That evening back to the truck, tucked in for the night and then bang, Bang, BANG!! on the window. Security guard with an attitude says we need to check in at the office. Long story short and if you know me well, arrangements are made to deal with the situation in the morning. I am not missing my shows or the warmth of our bed for this crap. On Thursday we feed the birds and check out of the hell hole called East Shore RV Park. Of course, the front desk doesn’t care that our stay sucked but I knew they didn’t care by the under maintained facilities that show the lack of pride at this camp ground. They just wanted our money; we just wanted to be gone from there. We head to Starbucks and hang out for awhile on the internet and enjoy a clean place of business. We get a hold of John and he says “c’mon over”. I love you John. We get to John and Robbie’s home, in an undisclosed location. We chat and John heads for the grocery store as I head for a hot shower. It is amazing what hot water will do for you. We spend the weekend eating, watching DVD’s, hanging out and working of course. We go to the NAMM show on Saturday, I am amazed at all the people in one place, the music industry is a wonderful mix of colorful people, all driven by the beauty of music its self. We saw Todd Trent from Ludwig and Garrison from DW Drums and the girls from NAMM. It was a good show – lots of cool new stuff to look at. See you at Summer Session in July. Back to John’s for dinner – a delicious stir-fry and unparalleled hospitality. We make it an early night since we are all tired. At 4:14AM the guy who had been staying in the guest house knocks. He got in a fight with his girlfriend and needed somewhere to sleep. He wants me to open the door. 4:15AM in LA, someone I don’t know – yeah right. Up on Sunday and we have eggs and bacon with John and catch up on more work.

Friday, January 12, 2007

2007-01-13T23:25:00.000-05:00

L.A. - now this is a place for restlessness and anxiety for me, early morning gunshots and lots of traffic noise, I miss our mountain top home of peace and quiet. But this trip is all about business not a pleasure cruise. This morning starts off with going to a car wash to clean 3400 miles of road grime, boy she shines now. The one amazing part is that we are meeting great people in our favorite industry and one of them is Juan Lepe, Sales Mgr., Entertainer Bus Division with Prevost Car Inc. Lunch with Juan at his favorite restaurant, Rosa’s, is now one of our favorites too. From the decor to service and you cannot forget the food, posh Italian (the stuffed mushrooms were to die for, it took everything to keep from licking the plate clean of all the sauce). It is always nice to make business acquaintances into friendships. This day ends with a lot of work and some T.V.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

2007-01-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

Now driving thru all this desert is getting to me but I should only complain about the bumpy road for I get to ride in the back in complete comfort. Thru the desert, over the mountains into the smog we go. Traffic builds to a boil, wow this is such a change. We find our way to the Pomona, Ca. KOA, its packed to the gills with RVs and we are the youngest by 30 years. We are greeted by the ugliest and most unprofessional group of KOA employees and owners I have ever seen except for one nice lady and I get to stay here for ten days……dread. Goodnight!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

2007-01-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

Up and At’em as the sun starts to rise, we hurry to pack up and head out. The Grand Canyon is only 60 miles away. Jimmy has been there before and tries to describe it to me but all I cam imagine is a big hole in the ground. He promises me that it will change me some how? On the drive up we listen to Angels and Demons on CD and I wonder what to expect at the Grand Canyon. We arrive at the park and head in, we drive around for a while trying to find parking for our truck and trailer, they should hand out maps at the entrance. We finally park and ready ourselves for a lot of walking, Jimmy’s excited and for me I just hope this isn’t a waste of time. Holy Shit….. It’s amazing, 10 miles across, 1 mile deep and 277 miles long, WOW! There is NO WAY a picture can capture this masterpiece of Mother Nature, the awesome power of time, wind and rain. It has the power to make you feel insignificant in the big scheme of life and as humans we fight over who’s God is better, when we should be loving each other because every God is the same in a nut shell….. Mother Nature. I will return more than once and hope to one day hike to the bottom, to experience the complete magnitude to this blessed place! He’s right I believe I am changed. We now head for Needles, Ca. for the night, this place is barren and ugly but here is a sunset to remember, what vivid colors over the mountains!

Tuseday, January 9, 2007

2007-01-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

In the morning, we head in for a continental breakfast, compliments of the camp. Had some rice krispies and tea and donuts and visit with Buddy some more. We will definitely stay here again and enjoy more of the local history. We decide to go to El Morro which is a place where travelers would stop as far back as 400 years ago because there was always a pool of water….200,000 gallons to be exact. The pool consists of rain run off and melted snow. Sometimes this was the only water for several days travel. The walls are made of a softer stone so travelers would carve their names in the stone, a lot of them were very intricate, pure talent. Some date back to the 1600’s. It was a nice hike, beautiful weather and the sun was shining. Again knowledgeable park rangers and they gave me a book so I could play tour guide at each stop along the walk. We purchase a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass so that we can get into all the national parks and other cool places. We head towards Williams, AZ near the Grand Canyon. This KOA has a pool and more importantly a hot tub. Boy do our weary bodies need this treat. We hop in the tub and then head for the showers. My conditioner and protein spray are frozen and my hair is in knots. Finally my spray thaws and Jimmy combs my hair for about an hour. I need to cut most of my hair off anyway. We have some dinner, watch House and while Jimmy reads about the Grand Canyon I fall asleep.

Monday, January 8, 2007

2007-01-13T22:25:00.000-05:00

We get up and head out again. We are going to stop a little earlier tonight and stay in Grants, NM. We pull in and we happen to be the only ones staying there, YEHA! They have cable, YEEHAA!!! The owner, Suzanne lets me borrow a coax to hook up to my TV. It is a beautiful thing to have cable again. We get all sorts of info when we check in about where to go, where to hike and we meet the camp mascot/office manager Buddy the dog. What a sweetie, he just wanted some love. We decide to hike around the camp in the lava rock areas and we check out all the tracks, pee and poo in the snow from the wildlife. Apparently in this area they are used to about 2 inches of snow a year and so far they have gotten 20. We make pancakes and ham for dinner on our camp stove. The first 2 pancakes were horrible but then we get the hang of it. We clean up and head into the truck for the evening, remember we have cable. I try to stay awake just to enjoy the TV.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

2007-01-13T22:11:00.000-05:00

On the road again... We get to the section of I-25 that we heard about on the news. It is open but slippery. We are driving slow but we still slide a little. Thank you Ford for the 4 wheel drive truck from Hell! This truck ROCKS!! We go even slower and we get along just fine. Love to watch those morons fly by us and pass those suckers in the ditch. I didn’t get a bunch of photos because I was the resident ice watcher. We hit dry roads and stop at Fort Union to have lunch. We decide to go in and find it interesting enough to take a tour, WOW its amazing what the government will make people do for the name of God and Country. It’s very cool to walk around a place filled with so much history, built on blood and sweat. Beats Disney anytime. There were adobe ruins of the fort and the park rangers were knowledgeable about the history of the area and wonderful to talk to. Ran into a man from Round Rock, Texas that was also touring the area. We get back on the road with the intention of heading to Santa Fe but we find out the KOA book is wrong and they aren’t open this time of year. So we head to the Las Vegas, NM KOA where the nice lady lets us check in even though they were closed, had a bunch of snow and they were doing some remodeling. She didn’t want to turn us away. It was just us and a lady with a trailer next door. When she came in for the evening she tried to back in and ran over our campsite sign. I am able to pick up one station on the TV, but watched Masterpiece Theater, The Virgin Queen, It was great but missed the beginning. Kind of having a crappy night, computers Suck, I miss Jeter.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

2007-01-13T21:56:00.000-05:00

We get up to head out of Cheyenne. After a quick trip to the Sierra Trading Post we continue on I-80 West through Wyoming. State Police fly by us and shut the highway down due to high wind conditions. Aw crap! Spoke too soon. Back to Cheyenne and look for an alternate route. We decide to go into Colorado via I-25 to the I-70 but alas there is an avalanche at the Berthoud Pass on the other side of Denver. We stop at a visitor’s center to weigh our options and I buy Jeter a stuffed chipmunk, I bet he eats it. He loves to eat chipmunks. We decide to play it safe and head down the 25 into New Mexico and then through Arizona. On our way through Colorado we stop in Pueblo to camp. The lady that owns the place is from Clifton Park, NY. Very nice KOA and they have tons of quail running all over the place. Way COOL.
We watch the news and hear that they had closed down a part of 25 south due to icy conditions and a bunch of idiots going off the road. By the way, Colorado: worst drivers in the world, next to L.A.. We were so looking forward to going to Cube. Can’t believe we are going to miss seeing their shop. See you guys in Mesa in a couple of weeks.

Friday, January 5, 2007

2007-01-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom! You will get your gift in March. Or your gift is getting to spend these 2 months with your grandson. We head out of Omaha, NE on our way to Cheyenne, WY. We were going to go through Denver and visit with Robert from ShowCo but the weather in that area is too unpredictable. Don’t want to get stuck on I-70. Jimmy is driving as usual and rocking out to all sorts of music. I am in the back of the truck, my office/bedroom. I got the Treo all set to work as a modem, so as we fly down the highway I am on the internet. Now I just need to get my Blue Tooth set up. I received my headset from my pals at Cube Passes for Christmas. Thanks guys! As we were driving along Jimmy saw a bunch of Swainson hawks, a Prairie Falcon and a million ducks. Rode through a little bit of snow showers and we stopped at the World Headquarters of Cabela’s in Sidney, NE. Very cool store. They have this huge display of mounted animals, which just sounds funny…ha-ha, right down to a chipmunk. Jeter would love to run wild in this display. Today I finally got to eat my favorite fast food, Subway. It was great. Forgot to tell you all, right before we left we watched “Supersize Me”. So now McDonalds (and all that fast food crap except Subway) has been banned from the food list. I sure will miss my Egg McMuffins. The plan is to not eat any Mickey D’s on this trip. We get to Cheyenne just after dark and it is about 12 degrees outside with heavy wind. Jimmy is in the trailer boiling water so we can eat some oatmeal. We are still heading west tomorrow, not sure where we are stopping though. Can’t wait to get to Reno and check out the home of Cube Passes.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

2007-01-13T21:32:00.000-05:00

Awake by 7am and on the road. We are heading to Nebraska via Iowa. We crossed the Mississippi River. We stop at the visitor’s center to see if they might have ice and actually talk to the information lady. She tells us about a place called Amana which is an old German settlement. Lots of history etc. but she sent us to the Ox Yoke Inn for lunch. Delicious! Jimmy had wiener schnitzel and spaetzle noodles and I had the hot roast beef sandwich. We had a great lunch and walked around the town to work off our lunch. With full tummies we head to Omaha, NE for the night. Need to get in so I can watch CSI. Just to be sure, there is no global warming. So why is it 50 in Omaha in January at sundown. Another nice campground. Lit by the full moon, for a great evening. We feast on grilled cheese and chicken and rice soup. We snuggle up and watch TV for the evening before dozing off for the night.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

2007-01-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

We get up early to get packed to head off to DeKalb, IL to the home of Nocturne Productions. What a facility, 35,000 square feet of video gear heaven! Had lunch with Todd at a great place, called Fatty’s Bar & Grill. They had amazing Cajun potato salad and Jimmy says the Durango burger was excellent. Back to Nocturne after lunch; toured the facility of state of the art video systems, WOW. Bob Brigham was in the office as well on Wednesday. It was great seeing him again. I remember back in ‘98 at the Meadows in Hartford when the video system was driving us crazy. Bob fixed everything of course, from his closet space. After our visit to Nocturne we head off for the night to Rock Island, IL which is near the Quad Cities. We get settled in and watch some shows on tape for the evening and then off to bed. By the way, if you plan on driving though Illinois bring a small fortune, the tolls will kill you.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

2007-01-13T00:31:00.000-05:00

6:30am, rise and shine for Jimmy. I am sleeping in a little. Jimmy goes out and walks around and does a little stretching. We are right near the bathrooms – SCORE! I finally stumble out and make my way to the head. It is so nice and warm in there. If I was homeless, this KOA bathroom would be a great place to live. Jimmy has everything set up for breakfast. We fry up some Canadian bacon and eggs and have some bread.

The eggs come from my girls. They laid 3 dozen before we left. Cousins Tony, Amy and Zeb are babysitting the hens now and collecting the eggs. Lucky dogs. I’m still searching for my hot chocolate. It is packed who knows where right now. Jimmy knows where most of the stuff is but the hot chocolate eludes us for now. We are learning as we go along. Note to self: turn on Tony’s heater in the trailer BEFORE we sit down to eat. We clean up from breakfast and head out for Auburn, IN. Driving cross country has been beautiful. Diesel is getting cheaper as we head farther west. I got myself a Treo Palm 700 for Christmas. I’m still figuring it out. I can use it as a modem except I need to download the software. The Auburn KOA only has dial up so no luck there on downloading the software, maybe the next campground, they have free wireless. We get to the Auburn KOA, check in (another score by the bathroom), and we head to Walmart to get a few items (salad, tea, dvd etc.). Back to the KOA to get camp set up. We have a nice salad with chicken for dinner and I eat a Snickers bar for dessert, I was thinking about it all day. After dinner we head to the back of the truck where Jimmy reads his book on hiking in the Adirondacks and I get settled in for my favorite show, Law & Order. Thank God the repeats are over for the season. I checked in on Jeter (a bunch). He is entertaining his Grandma with his antics. Wait until she sees him read time on the stove clock, won’t she be impressed.

Monday, January 1, 2007

2007-01-08T22:28:00.000-05:00

Alarm goes off at 8AM. During the night my phone flooded with messages of New Years wishes. Hey, some of us aren’t awake after midnight. This is our first attempt to pee in the portable potty. We met with success. No one peed in the bed. We are now off to Canton, OH to camp at the KOA. Jimmy drives and I decide to lay in the back and chill. Now I love my baby F350 but she’s no Prevost as far as the ride goes in the back of the truck. Or maybe NY should actually do something with our toll money, like fix the roads or maybe pick up some trash. As we drive I miss the photo op of Loudonville, OH, (my home town is Loudonville, NY.) maybe next time.
We pull in to the campground as the sun is going down. Scrambling to get our power plugged in, set up the propane stove to make some soup so we can settle in for the night. My little DeLonghi heater, heats up the back of the truck in no time and with 1200 lbs of blankets we are in for another warm night. I figure I will cut Jimmy a break and read for the first night. There will be plenty of TV to watch later, yes I have my TV in the truck (I am a junky). Between all the primetime shows and General Hospital tapes coming my way he will be a raving lunatic by March. I’m reading the 4th of July by James Patterson, great book. Already halfway through, better slow down or I won’t have anything to read. Time for bed.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

2007-01-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Departure from Berne, NY
Heading down our mountain at 11:15pm to beat the ice storm. With rain and sleet as the temp was playing around the freezing point …success! We traversed the winding country roads to I-88 in Cobleskill, NY and proceeded to pick up I-90. What a New Years Eve, we pass thru a toll booth at midnight…Happy New Year! I phoned my baby, Jeter, to wish him a Happy New Year.

I hate to start off the New Year without him but we have a lot work and a long road to travel before we will return. His grandma is taking good care of him and his uncle plays with him (even though he professes to hate him). I hope Jeter doesn’t lose any IQ points from watching too much Dr. Phil with Gram. We pulled over at about 12:30-1AM at a rest area to sleep. Now the fun begins. We got a piece of 5” upholstery foam from Albany Foam and Supply, covered it with sheets, our duvet, electric blanket (not on yet), 3 Woolrich blankets and a quilt that I made. It was very warm in the back of the truck. I thought we would freeze but no way. We actually had a great nights sleep.