Vacation...continued
Now Playing: I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick Live in Budokan
Well I've gotten a lot of stuff done in the last couple of days. Caught up on several DVDs: Quantum Leap (now playing Season 5), a GREAT DVD set on Edward R Murrow, Team America and MacGyver.

I read more of Thud!, the latest Discworld book. I've promised myself (and my nephew) that I'd finish it before I went back to work.

I balanced my checkbook, mailed out some bills, I did a lot of cleaning around here. I got a haircut and get this...I actually washed my car. I have a strict rule for washing my car that I've followed for several years: I wash it once a year whether it needs it or not.

I have a couple of shows in the next couple of weeks. Should be fun.

More later.

Vacation!!
Now Playing: Bob Dylan -- Forever Young
Well, vacation finally started.
Two weeks of bliss.
First on the agendzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Yea right.
No rest for the weary.
After a healthy 3.5 hours sleep, it was time for FanimeCon and it was great!!
More on that later.
The rest of my time off shall consist of:
-sleep
-a few graduations
-a few DJ shows
-reading
-catching up on DVDs
-watching SciFi Channel
-beach
-washing my car
and much more.
Hmmm…maybe I won’t have much time to sleep.

Four days and counting
Now Playing: Howard Jones -- IGY Live in Philly
until vacation that is.

I'm recovered now.
Just finished watching the 24 finale.
It was great!!
But now I can't wait until January.

I'm ready for vacation.
We have Fanimecon this weekend.
And Xmen 3.

I can't wait.
I got a lot done today so getting through this
week shouldn't be a problem.

I'll have Friday as an office day
so it should be okay.

Winter's finally over
Now Playing: Paul Simon's new album Surprise
I'll be taking vacation in the next week or so and one of the things I'll catch up on, aside from sleep, is DVD watching. A partial listing:

Macgyver
Odyssey 5
3rd Rock
Black Lagoon - Anime
Ergo Proxy - Anime
Jeeves and wooster
Roar
Doctor who
Team America FUCK YEAH!!
Quantum leap

Oh, and FanimeCon is coming up!
can't wait for that.
I have 2 shows coming up so that should be fun.
Much needed income supplement and I get to play at the Three Flames in San Jose, which is always great.
Some 40 year class reunion so the music will be great.
Lessee, 4th of July fireworks at home (hopefully) and San Jose Giants.

No more cold rainy days.
Spring and Summer are here.

Still recovering
Now Playing: Paul Simon's new album Surprise
things are returning to normal, slowly.
got my mail
unpacked
did laundry
sent out bills
actually shopped for groceries for more than 1 day at a time!
It really is the little things in life that make it so great.

I also got a jump drive full of pics from Fourth of July's past. And a whole mess of Porcupine Tree music (thanks Bill.)

What a month!
Now Playing: Paul Simon's new album Surprise
Wow. It's all been going to fast. I just got back from a 2 week trip. Well, two 1-week trips. One to L.A. and one to Fresno. I did manage to pick up Paul Simon's new album two weeks ago but I didn't have any way to play it until last week. It sounds great. I still prefer his prior album but it is a great album. He's always been a master of lyrics. The thing is this album has a modern sound. It definitely sounds as if it could be played on the modern rock stations. It wasn't until perhaps the fourth or fifth song before I heard his signature acoustic guitar. And he did a follow up to his song Father and Son called Father and Daughter. I have "Sure Don't Feel Like Love" stuck in my head. More later.

Saturday
Now Playing: Not Fade Away -- Buddy Holly
On the plus side, I made a killing over the weekend. I attended a local toy show and scored a Boss Frog plush from Naruto. He’s an omnipotent ninja frog who, when summoned, can grant most any wish. I also obtained a Season 1 DVD set of the newest Doctor Who. BTW, Ed, it’s not Sienna Miller from Keen Eddie but Billie Piper. Lessee, I also purchased a DVD of Black Sabbath fronted by ROB HALFORD (originally Judas Priest) of all people. Apparently, he joined them for a handful of shows in mid 2004. I also got the Bionic Woman – the complete series on DVD to match my Six Million Dollar Man set. Streetlight and Rasputin Records also got some of my paycheck as I found killer deals on Back done on Harpsichord and a Buddy Holly Greatest Hits. I just can’t get that song “Not Fade Away” out of my head. It’s amazing how his music has lasted all this time and how his influence continues to be felt. I’ll have to dig out the quote of his about sounds he heard in his head. I could only imagine what he would do if he were alive today.

Aftermath II: The Inevitable Sequel
As I’m writing this, it’s a good week after getting home. My luggage is still not completely unpacked. Behind on my mail, my finances. Had a rough week at work. Whereas I usually have 2 workbooks staring at me awaiting final disposition, I found myself with five, six if you count the one hiding in the credenza. I stayed in my office for 2 days instead of the usual 1. Somehow I got it all organized. You’ll notice I said organized, not completed. I still have plenty more to go, not to mention catching up on things like expense reports and other weekly, monthly and quarterly obligations. Overall, not that great of a week. Our planned trip to Sacramento next week was abruptly cancelled. I’m still pissed off because of that. I was really looking forward to that.

Aftermath
Well I’m here. Barely. I must’ve had bad orange juice on the flight back. Long story short, I’m all cleaned out now. That juice moved through faster than a steroid-laden track star. So I was couch-ridden most of the weekend, with frequent express trips to the porcelain chair. I was a little too aggressive with my diet on Sunday evening so I had a bit of a relapse. But I managed through it. I stayed away from fire-from-the-pit-of-Hell spicy food the whole week actually.

Leaving on a Jet Plane
Now Playing: Flying To My Home -- Paul McCartney
Well, the flights were interesting. After I made it through security, I saw Jason Alexander. He was in town for CineQuest, San Jose’s annual film festival and awaiting his flight back to Burbank airport. I patted him on the shoulder as I went by. He was in mid-conversation. Afterwards, I went back and introduced myself, told him I liked his work, etc. He was very cordial.

On the way out, just as we were boarding, I realized that I clicked on the wrong flight when I booked it through our company travel website. It was going from San Jose to Las Vegas alright. The only thing is that it was via Glendale. No big deal. I was wondering why a 1 hour and 10 minute flight took 2 hours. I got there eventually.

On the way back, the flight was uneventful. Except, of course, for the orange juice I had. Man, it went through my like lightning. As soon as I got home, the floodgates opened up. I was sick all day Saturday. I even woke up early due to a gag reflex. I puked a bit. But it wanted to come out the other end for the most part.