Naked Trucker and a couple-a cars

Fun, fun show! We laughed the whole time. The Naked Trucker wasn't totally naked. He wore a loin cloth (an American flag loin cloth) and had his guitar positioned in the usual place, which would have kept him covered in the event of a loin cloth malfunction.

Saturday's show was a little different. Usually it's the Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show but T-Bones wasn't there this time. The Naked Trucker is Dave "Gruber" Allen. He's doing one of the voices for Moobeard. The drummer is Andy Paley, who is doing the music for Moobeard. Yes, there's a Kyle connection here. They also had some special guests performing. There was Andy Kindler who did some stand-up. He's a semi-regular on Everybody Loves Raymond. He had a kind of "insult the audience" act that was pretty funny. There was a guy (didn't get his name) who did a bit with a girl that was freakin' hilarious. He was dressed like Esteban with the hat and sunglasses. She came out holding a guiro and was striking poses and saying, "Meleeeeenda" into the microphone like she was the most fabulous woman on the planet. He kept saying, "She's not supposed to be out here" and she kept posing. It's hard to explain. I guess you had to be there. It was funny as hell. Later the two of them came back and recited some rude haiku. But the trucker's songs were the best. It was a great show.

Afterward Lindsay and Kyle introduced us to Andy Paley and Gruber. Andy is a chatty ball of energy. Gruber was very nice and mellow. I swear he must be 7 feet tall. We couldn't talk much. Too much after-show activity. I hope we can meet them again sometime.

The next morning Jim, Lindsay and I went to the OC auto auction. This time we got to preview the cars. Not a great selection. We ended up buying a '93 Taurus wagon. While Jim and Lindsay were inside waiting in line to handle the paperwork I went back out for the drawing they had at the end of the auction. They were giving away a tv and a car. We didn't win the tv.

We won the car. Don't get all excited. We won an auction car. It's a '90 Pontiac Grand Am. A total grandma car. After getting the paperwork handled, which took FOREVER, they brought out our cars. The Grand Am has one window that came loose from its frame and the other windows won't roll down more than a couple inches. There is no rear view mirror. Jim drove the Taurus home and Lindsay drove the Grand Prize. I followed her home. The Grand Prize was really smoking, especially when she accelerated. Jim said the Taurus clunks like the engine isn't properly mounted. Oh yeah, we brought home a couple of gems. Tomorrow they're both going in for service.

Lindsay really likes the Grand Am. Unless there's something terribly wrong with these cars we'll probably keep them and sell the truck. Paige will be 16 in July so we'll be needing another car anyway.

After we got home we went straight to Ken's to check out this new drummer. He seems like he's pretty good and I think he likes us. He can't practice on Fridays which is a bit of a problem. We can rearrange things to accomodate him. We do need a drummer. I hope he works out.

We got home around 7:30. It seemed so much later. What a freakin' long day. I was kind of stunned.

Man, I hope these cars won't be too expensive to fix.

Hey! Happy Birthday to Brother Atom Bomb Of Reflection! Happy Birthday Brian P! A late Happy Birthday to Brian K!

We get a break!

At this very moment Dad is winging his way to Galveston. The airport experience was uneventful though we did get there 2 hours early because Dad was feaked out about the possibility of being late. So, we had breakfast and did the people watching thing. Dad HAS to comment on everyone who walks by. I could feel my neck tensing up. At one point he got up to go to the bathroom. While he was gone I tried to meditate my tension away. I didn't do so well. An attendant parked a woman in a wheelchair next to me. She was making noises like she was in constant pain and she was way over-fragranced. I just couldn't tune that out.

It's nice to be home.

Tomorrow I'm taking a precious metal clay class with Virginia. I've seen it demonstrated on tv and it looks way cool fun. I'll post photos of our results.

Then Jim and I are going to a Naked Trucker show with Lindsay and Kyle. Yes, the trucker will be naked.

Sunday we're going to the OC car auction again. Early this time. After that it's to Ken's to try out a new drummer. Another full weekend.

Deviant Art

Every time I tell someone about this I have to explain it's not a porn site.

Got the links listed right there to the right. Give 'em a click. Once you're there you can click on a name and go to that person's page. Dean and I signed up recently so there's not much in our galleries yet. Lindsay and Kyle have tons of stuff. Paige even has a DA page but she says she hasn't been keeping it up. Maybe she'll get inspired to start posting again.

Just one more thing that keeps me sitting in this chair. Blog, blog, blog, blog, Deviant Art!

Here it is again! The weekend!

Band practice tonight. Still no drummer but we've been very productive. When we finally do get a drummer we'll be soooo ready. I'm going to walk to Ken's.

Tomorrow we're going to Paige's drumline show in Chino. We gonna ride the bus! Let's see, shall we embarrass Paige and try to start a sing-along? C'mon, everybody! A hundred bottles of beer on the wall, a hundred bottles of beer....

Sunday is the OC car auction. Oh pleeeeazzze let us find a car there!

I'm still working on my painting. I've changed my mind several times about certain areas and had to re-work them.

Jim set me up with a Deviant Art page. It takes a while to set up the gallery. Yuo can't just dump a bunch of pictures in there. So, go take a look. Not much there right now but I'll be adding stuff every day. You can also get to Lindsay's and Kyle's pages from there. Just click on their names. (Hey, Nancy, does Amelia have a Deviant Art page yet?)

Things are pretty good right now. The diet is going well, I'm getting lots of exercise and generally having more fun than I was a few months ago. Dad has been stable. He's going to Texas next week so we'll be getting a nice break. That'll be a good time to go over to his house and organize the stuff we have stored downstairs.

Tra-la-la...

2006 Milestone Birthdays

I just realized that Jim, Lindsay, Paige and I all will be celebrating milestone birthdays this year. Paige turns 16, Lindsay turns 21 and Jim and I will be 50. Ain't that a trip?

Dean, Nancy, Lorraine, Mary are turning 50, Stacey just turned 40. Rory will be 18. Amelia, too?

Ooh, who else?

Starting the weekend

I walked this morning with Stacey. She kicked my butt. Don't know why. She's only 10 years younger and 80 pounds lighter than moi. It was a good walk. I like my sis.

The painting is coming along nicely. It's a big 3x3 ft. canvas, the biggest painting I've ever done. Usually I'm working on paper. I started it last summer when I visited Dean in Texas. I love it. I want to do more big paintings.

It's a big, goofy Halloween explosion. The main figure is a black cat with its back arched impossibly high and an evil grin on his face. In the background on one side are some green, grinning demon faces. On the other side is an orange and purple squiggly harlequin pattern. There's a big yellow moon rising over the cat. At the bottom on the left is a lake of lava with hot rod flames rising up. On the right is a pile of multi colored Day Of The Dead skulls. Right in the middle under the cat's belly is the central figure from The Scream. Oh yeah, I'm having fun with this one. I'll post a photo when I'm done.

No band practice tonight. John Duke, our bass player, is coming over. I enjoy hanging out with John.

I went to meditation class last night. Another good one. Afterward we all went to Coffee Depot to socialize. Enjoyed that, too. It was nice getting to know some of the people in the class and it's always fun talking to Virginia and Bill.

I'm back to feeling good. I think I've dropped a little more weight.

AND!!!! Dad's gone for the weekend! A break!

Tomorrow morning we're going to the auto auction preview and look at cars. Sunday is the auction. Crossing all fingers and toes. Gotta get a car for Lindsay.

But right now I need to do a little house cleaning.

Stressed out

Dad just informed me that he's going on a church retreat this weekend. He also said he needs to have his car back because he's going to have one of the guys drive it up there. I told him I need the phone numbers of the people he's going with. He got very angry and started yelling stupid shit like, "You're in the habit of sticking your nose where it don't belong!" and "Nobody needs to know anything aobut this!" and "Don't you dare call unless someone has died!"

I said, "You've got a badly infected toe. If you forget to take your meds you'll be skipping a dose of antibiotics and you can't do that. (He said he doesn't forget. It's in the past. Why can't I just let it go?) You're going to be out of town with someone who isn't family. You need someone to help you do what you need to do. No, you are NOT normal and you DO need help. If that infection gets out of control you will lose that toe or even your whole foot. Give me the phone numbers of the people you're going with. GIVE ME THE PHONE NUMBERS!"

He's back in nasty old bastard mode. No problem, I can switch to bitch mode pretty quick.

When I came home Jim told me that Dad had called earlier and demanded that he take the car in by Thursday and have the oil changed. We've been using the car since Lindsay's accident. We're hoping to buy a car this weekend but that might not happen. There's no good reason for him to use it to drive a load of church guys up to the mountains. He's being sticky about us using his car. Thing is, he used our truck for several weeks while he was having car trouble and returned it with the electrical screwed up and we never said anything.

Anyway, I called one of the church guys and told him my concerns. He said he'd help Dad with his meds and he agreed to keep our conversation a secret. Also, he said they're all driving up there in his truck so the car issue isn't a problem, at least not for this weekend.

So, I'm stressed out. I'm going to try meditating. I'm supposed to meditate on wanting inner peace this week. Right now inner peace isn't the first thing on my mind. Right now it's "maim and kill".

Dang, I'm out of Petron.

A very nice weekend

It started on Friday with an enjoyable and productive band practice. Did a lot of vocal work.

Saturday Rory came over for for the day. He and Paige hung out and played video games. Pizza for dinner. Later we went to Lindsay's band concert. There was a very rude family sitting in front of us. Noisy, fidgety kids and the parents didn't do anything to stop them. At the end Jim had some words for them. Weird. Kyle and Jon and Jon's friend Alex were there. Afterward they went to a show in L.A. Lindsay said things were awkward with Jon there.

Yesterday Kyle came over to record some clarinet parts for one of his songs. We basically made a day of it. At first Jim and Kyle were doing the Polar Bear dink-around-with-the-equipment thing. He and Lindsay worked on the clarinet recording for a while. Then we had a big ol' dinner. Barbequed teriyaki steak, chicken, some salmon, a big salad and baked potatoes. I eschewed the potato. Good dinner, lots of laughter.

Then we went back out to the studio for some more recording. Paige added a bell part to the song and I composed a brilliant single-strike finger cymbal part. After that Paige went to bed and the rest of us settled in front of the tv to watch The Aristocrats. Ah yes, good family entertainment.

Kyle spent the night. This morning Lindsay fixed salmon omelettes. I took Dad to the VA for a toe check. It's getting better but the doctor gave him some more antibiotics just to keep the healing going. Later this week he goes in for a shoe fitting.

So, it was a nice weekend. Gonna have lunch and head up Mt. Rubidoux.

Meditation class

I went to my first meditation class last night. I've been wanting to explore meditation ever since I heard on the news that meditation can actually make your brain bigger. Dude, give me a bigger brain! Yeah, yeah, there's also all that stuff about it being good for mental clarity and inner peace. But hey, bigger brain.

I found out about the class from Virginia. She and Bill were there last night. I was glad to have some friends there since I'm a total novice.

The class is being taught by a Buddhist nun. I'd never met a Buddhist nun before and I know so little about the whole thing I didn't know what to expect. When I first walked into the building she was coming down the hall towards me. She wore red and yellow robes and had her hair in a buzz cut so I was pretty sure she was the one leading the class. Just a brilliant guess on my part. She noticed my guitar pin and raved about it. She told me she used to play bass. Now THERE'S a band! Her name is (spelling?) Rokma. Like Rock Ma World. Virginia, how is it spelled?

We did a simple breathing meditation first. Breathing in pure, white light and breathing out dark smoke. (Not literally, of course. That would be scary and would probably violate some kind of safety regulations.) It was relaxing and energizing. It also helped get me settled down and ready to listen. She talked about desire and desirous attachment. Some of it really hit home.

After the break we did another meditation, this time adding in stating the desire for inner peace. If we have inner peace we'll always be happy. So our "assignment" is to think about wanting inner peace and then meditate on it.

I really enjoyed this class. When I had a series of hypnosis sessions a few years ago I noticed that I felt very peaceful most of the time. I think this could do pretty much the same thing. I know it will be useful for getting me through the trying times ahead. Damn, I should have done this before Christmas!