Concert ramblin's and other stuff

Air Supply back in Lincoln City!!

2009-03-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it took 5 1/2 years, but this past Friday and Saturday "my boys" finally made it back to where I started with them. The shows were wonderful, and Russell made comments both on his web site and on the official site about how beautiful it was even though it rained like crazy Saturday. (well, and most of Friday...LOL) Graham mentioned in both shows about how much he liked it here. (i knew that...he loves the beach and I was really hoping for some decent weather while they were here.) He said it was very romantic watching the waves crash on the shore even though it was pouring rain. He spent the afternoon sitting at his window...feeding seagulls....LOL..he said they were probably waiting for him to get back. He said he called room service and ordered 4 loaves of bread. ROTFL.....

Russ was pretty darn good! I had a couple friends there who were drooling over him the whole time. LOL...They had me paying a bit more attention to the man and his muscles. LOL... I was really wanting to meet him. Perhaps next time around. I did get "Jed Hugs" both nights. Ran into him before the shows. Tracey spotted Mike (who I did talk to after the Friday show for just long enough to welcome him back...he said he was very glad to be back!) before Friday's show.

The guys were "dismissed" for Fridays M&G which I HATE when they do that! (did the same thing at Spirit MT last year) They had the stupid thing outside the showroom, which i have never seen at this casino before. They always have it inside. Security was hustling people right along. (sheesh) Saturday they didn't do one at all. Some of the guys in the band were jamming with the house band at the lounge in the hotel.

Amazing Anglesey pictures!

2009-03-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had the wonderful fortune to connect with an incredible photographer who lives in Anglesey. (Wales, for the uninitiated) His name is Glyn Davies, and he has actually published a book of Anglesey pics. I'm looking into the possibility of actually purchasing it, but haven't gotten that far yet. http://www.glyndavies.com/shop.php?l=0&fp=49286&gid=280

Wanted to get it down on here first. Go check out his work. You won't be disappointed!

Technology gets it right!

2009-03-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, thank you to the people at VSO Image Resizer for Windows Vista! I actually like it better than the one from XP as you can do a bunch at one time! Pretty cool! It's about time someone developed one that worked well on Vista. I was begining to think I'd have to spring big bucks for a photo editing program that had one in there. (the 2 that i use don't have that feature )

Song of the Day: "It Won't Be Long" by the Beatles

Quote of the Day: "Sign in the box and touch OK" (anyone who cashiers at Wallys will understand that perfectly since we have to say it 800 times a day)

Photo of the Day: Shark at Sea World

Not enough time for posting

2009-03-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I realize that I have been neglecting this page due to my recent emergency trip to Idaho, as well as my new obsession with FaceBook. I have been connecting with a lot of people from my past (think RHS and "Good Company" days) and crazy as it seems, I'm really enjoying it. It's quite fun to see where people have ended up, and what they look like now. There are other I would like to find; perhaps with time and patience (and the internet) I soon will.

No word on our class reunion for this summer, and now it's too late for me to do anything about it anyway. I've made vacation plans for Utah and Vegas, so unless it happens to be the same time, I won't be going. Nobody seems to know anything about it anyway. (you'd thing some of the people who are still in the Rigby area would know something..."do ya hear me Craig???")

Concerts are in less than 3 weeks now, and I must admit I'm ready for one. (ok...2) I'm looking forward to picking up a good friend at PDX, as well as spending time with other long lost friends who will be attending. Some people from Wallys are going also; that will be fun to share my "midlife crisis" with them. If nothing else, they will enjoy watching me watch the guys. LOL....

I'm also on a kick to get some old pics scanned into Mr. Computer. I didn't realize I had so many of them until I started going through albums. (dang, I was a cute kid! LOL.....)

The 2 Russells

2009-02-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I hear from reliable sources that the newest addition to Air Supply, guitarist Russ Letizia, sounds great with the band and is a nice guy too. (once again I'm guilty of swiping the pics, this time from Russ's MySpace page.) I'll get the chance to see/hear for myself in 4 weeks. (Assuming he will still be around by then.) :d)

Frankie

2009-02-17T19:31:00.000-08:00

OK...I had to go get nosy about just who shot that UTUBE video I stuck in the previous post. You'd think I'd learn not to ask questions like that, but NOOOO.... Anyway, regardless it was fun to watch him. I've decided that he looks like a cross between Jonni and Jed though. LOL.... He is a cutie, no matter how ya look at him. (I swiped the pic from his Facebook page...sorry Frankie, but hey...good publicity, right? heehehee)

Air supply video

2009-02-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

A nifty clip of Air Supply last weekend in California . Thanks to my dear friend Khan (who was at this show, but did not film this clip) for providing the link. Some good views of Frankie Moreno who is filling in for Jed this month, (and looks remarkably like Jed) also new guitar player Russ Letizia. I've never seen Graham in short sleeves in any of the shows I've been too; different look for him. The guys look and sound great as always, and whets the appetite for next months shows here in Oregon. (The person who filmed this was apparently obsessed with Mr. Moreno...LOL)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUuc7sosZLY

Snow on the coast

2009-02-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, today it snowed in Newport. Lots of snow. (well, not a lot stuck on the ground, but lots fell) It was just beautiful for several hours. Big, honkin', huge snow flakes...used to call that "Christmas Eve snow" back in Idaho. It was really fun to watch, and because it was snowing, it was very slow at work. We had plenty of time to stand around and watch. Tomorrow is inventory day, so we were glad we had today to sing some Christmas songs. heehee

Lazy/not hazy day

2009-02-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

Well, Mom had her first eye (cataract surgery) done this morning, so we are just hanging out at her house. When my friend had hers done, she was really sleepy all day long, but Mom is very awake and alert and doing fine. I was able to stay with her while they were prepping her and it was quite interesting. There were about 12 people there filtering in a few at a time starting with us at 6:30am. We were glad she was 2nd on the list! We were out of there by 9:15 and she refuses to stay quiet!! (typical) I keep insisting she stay down like her instructions said to do, but she keeps hopping up. (guess she doesn't think i can make toast by myself, eh?)(no comments there from anyone...) We get to go to the dr's office at 1:15 this afternoon to have the patch removed and eye checked, and she can't drive for 24 hours. 2 weeks from now the other eye will be done, so that will be nice to have it over. She was pleased there really wasn't anything to it. The actual procedure only takes 10-20 minutes. By the time I was called back in there, she was in a chair drinking juice and doing fine.

Well, hopefully I will be going to SLC this summer, then on to Jackson and Yellowstone. I'll know if my time is approved in the next week or so.

Speedy album arrival!!

2009-01-31T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I wasn't even going to go to check my PO Box today, cause I didn't think it would be worth my time. Then I was checking www.airsupplynowandforever.com and several people had gotten their "Take Time" album today, so of course I had to journey off to the post office and mine was in the box! Woohoo! It sounds amazing! So much better than the original recording did. It was charming to hear Sydney and Russell sing together on "Only Time Will Heal A Broken Heart", and a wonderful surprise to find a recording of "I Can't Stay Away", which was an Air Supply demo from 1984. Wonderful album photos by Lady Jodi Russell. In the liner notes Russell states that Sydney was only 6 when it was originally recorded, which puts it around 1995. (give or take....LOL) Of course Windows Media player couldn't find any album info, so I had to enter in all, but I certainly could live with that.
Well done, Russell!

"Take Time" on the way!

2009-01-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Well, after all these years (now that sounds familiar to Airheads, eh?) Russell's "old" new album is ordered and hopefully will be here soon. Limited addition signed by Russell and daughter Sydney Rose, who appears in a special duet of the song "Only Time Will Heal A Broken Heart". I had planned on having Russell sign it at the March shows, and probably still will, but it will be fun to have Sydney's too. Check out http://www.russellhitchcock.net/ for a sneak preview and to order the album. (just click on his album on the right side of this page, and order away! heehee

(above pic from Tacoma, Feb 2007)

It's not just me

2009-01-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today most of the customers in our store had the common sense of sand. For instance, someone with a lot of stuff in their cart gets through the check-out, looks down and says..."Gee, you got all that in 1 bag!" (yea, not counting the 5 other bags you have here!) Funny thing though, when one of us is having a day like that, we are not alone. Most of the rest of us are having the exact same kind of day. For those of you who don't believe in the "full moon syndrome", let me assure you it is very real. Now I honestly don't know where we are in the current moon cycle due to all the clouds we have had the last few nights, but today felt like a full moon to me. When it gets really bad, we wander through the back hall of the store with dazed looks and lots of muttering to ourselves and anyone who will listen. (or pretend to listen, anyway)

A guy came up to me and said..."where are your batteries?" I pointed to the big stand of batteries right in front of him. He looked at them, looked back at me, and said "oh". It's hard not to roll your eyes at things like that.
Another time a man bought a mailbox. Mailboxes are big...it stood about 2 feet high as I placed it on the top of the bag carousel. That was the only thing he had. He paid me and started to spin the thing around looking in all the bags. "Where is my mailbox?" (he said indignantly) I patted it on it's top and said "right here". He didn't say a word, just picked up his mailbox and left. (deep breath here)

The first of the year Oregon implemented a $.05 bottle deposit for water bottles. A lady today paid for her case of water, then held out the receipt I had just given her. I asked her if something was wrong. She said "here's the receipt now give me my bottle deposits back." (really big sigh and biting the inside of my mouth) I explained that she had to drink the water first then bring the empty bottles back to the store for the refund. She scrunched up her brow...thought for a minute, then said "I guess that's OK", and left with her water.
You can't make this stuff up.

Airhead humor (?)

2009-01-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

Taking a cue from an Air Supply fan web site where someone came up with the idea of "You Might Just Be An Airhead if........" (aka Jeff Foxworthy humor) I have made my own little list of things. The first one I "borrowed" from that other list because it's too true to be funny. Ready??

You Might Be An Airhead if....you have pictures of the band in a photo album next to pictures of your family.
...you can't remember what you are wearing without looking, but you can describe Russell's last 4 stage outfits.
...you can name that Air Supply tune in 2 notes.
...you sing along with the elevator music when it's an Air Supply song.
...you live for your next "Jed Hug".
...you already know all the words to Russell's "Take Time" album, and it's not even out yet.
...you're the only audience member who can sing along with "A Little Bit Of Everything".
...you understand the term "Jedilicious".
...you don't screw up the words to "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All".
...you're already at the stage before Russell has finished the invitation to come forward.
...you still miss the "red pants".

Yea, I know...but hey, I can think of worse things I could be doing for my mid-life crisis!!! LOL........

Vacations (or lack there of)

2009-01-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

Well, another day in the neighborhood. Might be snow tonight, but I'll believe it when i see it. Heard from someone who went to see Bette Midler at Caesars, and about all they could say was WOW. It would be great to see her show! I don't know if i can make it to Vegas this year. Will all depend if I do Utah/Idaho/Yellowstone/Jackson in August.

Graham Russell announced he will be part of a show in Park City at "Zoom" in August also. Sounds exclusive. (read..EXPENSIVE) I'd love to go to the Wendover Air Supply show the end of February, but airline tix to SLC are outrageous again, so probably not. I doubt I'd recognize Wendover now. It was just a bump in the road when I was last there is 1990. (Now it's a BIGGER bump, eh?) There are still concert tix available for that show, but sounds like Jed will be absent for all of Feb. I've been looking around to see if i can find some symphony stuff for him, but haven't found anything concrete yet for that week. Would be interesting to see his replacement though...Frankie Marino from Vegas filling in. Janet Robin on guitar is out...Russell "somebody" is in. (From Marino's show) (Sorry...don't feel like looking that name up at the moment.heehe) Lots of changes in the band, but hopefully we will get to hear some new songs at our March shows.

Well, I have pics to edit, so that's all folks.

Song of the day: The Osmonds "Through The Years"
Quote of the day: friend from work said we "Work the Red Line District" (ya had to be there for that one...LOL)

Nothing to say today

2009-01-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

A few random Air Supply pics from over the years..Jonni, Jed, Mike.

So..because of the title, I'll likely ramble on here for pages and pages....

Song of the day: Neil Sedaka-"Me and My Friend"

Gripe of the day: Our nearest Home Depot and Borders are over an hour away, and I didn't feel like driving that far.

Wants: Go to Yellowstone Park again before they ban cars like Yosemite.

Good thing from today: I did not get hit by a truck.

Blast from the past

2009-01-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

As unlikely as it seems to my mind, this summer I will have been out of high school for 30 years. EEEK! I have been reconnecting with some old friends these past few months and it's funny how little (and how much) things have changed. We've all had life altering experiences, yet we are basically the same people we were in 1979. It's also funny how the mind tends to weed out the bad memories keeping only the good ones in the forefront. I read an interesting term the other day..."friendemies", which is what you have become with those people from high school that you didn't really like then, but now they want to be your best friend. Then there are the ones who really were good friends back then, but somehow you drifted apart and are genuinely glad to reconnect with them now.
I'm tempted to go to the reunion, (if only to see how old and fat the basketball players have gotten) but perhaps the only ones there would be the cheerleaders who have NOT gotten old and fat like everyone else, and they would spend the entire evening telling me how much they have missed me.
Ironically, in grade school, i was good friends with one of those cheerleaders, but by the time high school came along, we didn't speak 2 words to each other those 3 years. I was "middle class" in high school, mostly due to my involvement with music/and or/drama, and I was content with that. I had wonderful friends and retain some great memories of those days. I'm not sure if I want to subject myself to those "friendemies". I'll consider...

Russell's "Take Time"

2009-01-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

OK...go check out Russell's web site. There is a nifty video of him putting to rest all the rumors that it "really isn't his site". LOL... He says the Unreleased album is titled "Take Time" (which is a great song, by the way) and is on the way soon, claiming it will make a great Valentines gift. No word on where to get it though. I checked http://www.cdbaby/ where Graham has his solo album, but nothing yet. (i would imagine that is where it will be sold, but we'll just have to wait and see)

(Picture is from a show in North Bend, Oregon a few years back. Gee, I miss those red pants....LOL..)

Small town error

2009-01-12T21:38:00.001-08:00

Well, I have a new printer courtesy of Staples.com. Did all kinds of research before deciding on the thing. So far I'm happy with it, even though it's much heavier than the old one was. I thought technology was supposed to make things smaller...not bigger. It prints good pics, but ya need an electronics degree to run the thing. I imagine I'll get used to it eventually.

Now...that's not why I am writing here. I'm writing to gripe about my local Staples store. I went in to pick up my printer and the girl behind the counter had apparently worked there for about 18 seconds or so. She kept running over to another girl for help...then would peck away at her keyboard for awhile...then run back to the other girl...you get the picture. After 3 or 4 runs like this, she asked me what I had ordered. I told her an Epson printer. She went to the other end of the counter where my Epson was in a big box, dragged the thing over and said "here it is". Never once did she ask for my name, order #, identification, blood type, or any other thing that might have proven that this was indeed my printer. I picked up my big box and left the store.
So...my point is anyone could've wandered into the store, saw my big box behind the counter, said "that's mine", and left with it. Perhaps this store doesn't get a lot of dotcom orders or something, and yes, this is a small town, but I strongly believe that they should have at least asked for my name!! Sheesh.

Happy New Year and all that stuff

2009-01-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ok...another year come and gone, and with the big winds and horizontal rain we had here today, we are off to a wild start. Last Saturday presented me with the opportunity to get my tickets for our March Air Supply concerts in Lincoln City. It was a very frustrating experience; one that I have never had in buying tickets and hope to never repeat. I begged with my supervisor so I could go to lunch a few minutes early to be home in time to get my tix. I was all ready....then put on hold (normal for this experience)...they hung up on me. I called back...was put on hold...they hung up on me again...I called a third time...said "NO... you CAN'T PUT ME ON HOLD AGAIN cause you hung up on me twice already. She apologized and said she would take my phone number to give the operaters and they would call me. (sheesh) I decided to go online and try my luck there, though I don't really like that option, as with this casino you are at the mercy of the computer for seat assignments.
I got some seats, which I was really not that happy with, then failed to complete my account set-up within the 5 minute time limit, so my seats were released. AAARRRRGH!!!!!
The people still had not called me back, so i tried online again, searching numerous times for better seat assignments. Finally decided I'd better cut my losses and take what I could get as I was rapidly running out of time to return to work. Got the darn things completed...still not too happy with the positioning of said seats, and was 5 minutes late getting back to work. I've gone to several concerts at this venue and never had such problems before. I guess I can attribute them to the wild popularity of Air Supply fans wanting seats and clogging all their systems, eh?

Russell Hitchcock album

2009-01-01T19:17:00.001-08:00

Well, this has been an interesting week. Air Supply's Russell Hitchcock officially announced the upcoming release of his "Unreleased Solo Album"!! (I'm embarrassed to say I don't know exactly when that was originally recorded...best guess is early 1990's following the release of his first self-titled solo album in 1988) Anyway, he says specifics are forthcoming, so we do not yet know if those 2nd album songs have been re-recorded or are the originals. Stay tuned to http://www.russellhitchcock.net/ for details as he releases them. (and yes...I have heard these songs and they are quite enjoyable, though as none of us SHOULD have heard them....forget I said that.)

So...all the "Airheads" are quite happy about this bit of news, and this "Airhead" is smiling and saying to herself...."Never Say Never".

Missing in Action (or Oregon)

2008-12-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well, been ages since I've posted here. Way to many rotten things have gone on, so I won't dwell on those. I still have a ways to go medically, but I'm doing OK for now. We have had snow and very cold stuff this past 3 days, with more to come this weekend. The valley is lots colder and has more snow than we do. (ours all melted today with the rain) Might get some more Friday. I must admit it's fun to watch it snow. (as long as I don't have to shovel the stuff....)
My winter photo has failed to load....hmmm....

Oregon Coast Aquarium

2008-10-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

OK...I've added another link to the side of the page for the aquarium. Love that place, even though they just raised their membership rates by $5. I guess I should be greatful it wasn't $10, eh?

Game show on the coast!

2008-10-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here we have the Jeopardy bus which was at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City Saturday. The line of people was unbelievable, reaching around the side of the building and back again. No...I didn't try out...like I could do that...I have enough trouble with the "5th grader questions". LOL....

You might notice that I've changed the name of this blog, taking the Air Supply name off. This one makes a bit more sense cause there is a lot more about other things than there is about AS written on here.

I'm off today, resting my foot which tends to hurt when I'm on it all day. (like at work...) Mr toe is looking lots better though. Still discolored in places, but the swelling has gone down a lot.

Song of the day: A Gift Of Love (Barry Manilow)

My ocean

2008-10-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Just a couple pictures of the Pacific. No...these have NOT been edited. Morning light on Yaquina Head Lighthouse, and getting close to sunset on the 2nd pic. (some really strange light on that one, as there really weren't clouds except for on the horizon.)

"Hug me!"

2008-10-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ms kitty getting a rubdown from the trainer, while her sister "noses" around the rocks. It's quite a nifty exhibit and there is a glass tunnel under part of it. (which leads to the gift shop...of course...I was not immune to that and came home with a very cute stuffed lion. I'll have to take a picture of him and post it. heehee)

Big kitties/Vegas style

2008-10-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

These girls were at the MGM lion exhibit. The lions do 6 hour stints there (usually just once a week) and spend the rest of their time at a ranch just ouside Las Vegas. I stopped back there again a couple days later, and they had a big male "on duty" that day. The trainer was going around the glass walls of the enclosure hucking handfuls of raw meat so it would stick to the glass, then this huge lion would follow along and lick it off! I didn't get any pics of him, though. I was amazed at how big he was. His head/including mane, was easily over 3 feet across, then that giant tongue the size of a small dinner plate....wow!

Plan change

2008-10-11T19:56:00.001-07:00

Circumstances beyond (apparently) anyone's control led to the cancellation of my Air Supply concert experience last night. Bummer. So...here are some totally unrelated pics. My cat Solo, and the Hawaiian Airlines jet that I did not fly on in August.

Big birds everywhere!

2008-10-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

This is about the best pic I could get of the pelicans. These guys were on the cliff face just below a walkway around the lighthouse. They are brown pelicans and have a wingspan of up to 7 feet! There were fewer today, but still quite a bunch of big birds! I hope they stick around for awhile, but who knows...could be all gone tomorrow. It's been an amazing ride this last couple days watching them.

Off to Air Supply tomorrow, regardless of the fact that I believe I have broken the 2nd toe of my right foot. The glass turntable from the microwave jumped out of my hands and landed right on my foot last night. It might only be a bad bruise, but it hurts like the dickens and I walk funny. I can wear my "ugly shoes" (crocs, for the uninitiated) cause they have a lot of toe room, but I don't think I can wear socks. I seem to be able to drive OK, so that's good. I'm just afraid I will bump it. Sheesh.

Song of the day: "I'd Do Anything" from Oliver

Amazing coastal residents!

2008-10-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today Mom and I saw something I've never seen before and it was just incredible! We went to the lighthouse this morning, and there were hundreds of brown pelicans flying around. Numbers could actually be closer to 1000...It was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, there were so many! They were crowded on the rocks, (usually there are some there...more like 20-30) flying all around us, even coming close to the car as we parked on the headland road overlooking the lighthouse. I didn't have my camera, but as quite a few of them were still there tonight, I hope to get some pics tomorrow. I doubt there would be a repeat performance, but the memory of all those giant birds (wingspan 7 feet!) is one I won't soon forget. Also saw a whale, fairly close to shore, but I must admit, the pelicans beat him out for our attention. What a show!!!

Song of the day: "Fame" by Irene Cara (I could've made it "Jonathon Livingston Seagull", but that would be rediculous, eh?)

Work complaint of the day: HANG UP THAT STUPID CELL PHONE WHEN YOU GET TO THE COUNTER!!!!

The great drummer switch

2008-10-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, just posted on the Air Supply site...Mark T. Williams has now replaced CJ Burton on drums. Mark was with them before Mike Zerbe and left the band just before I "rediscovered" them in Oct. 2004. (yes...5 years this month since I started going to their concerts! I'm trying to make up for 23 years of NOT seeing them. This week's show will make 27 for me, so I'm getting there. heehee) I'm looking forward to seeing him LIVE this week and hopefully meeting him after the show. Tacoma has done M&G's the past 3 times I've seen the guys there, so I'm "assuming" that this time will have one also. I'm curious as to what happened to CJ Burton, who was wonderful, and a nice guy to boot. Perhaps the travelin' life they lead just wasn't for him. I'll have a pic of the "new guy" soon.

Stupid, stupid germs

2008-10-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting another cold! A lot of people at work have been sick, and tonight I'm really stuffy/runny nose kind of thing. Better now than next week though, so perhaps I can be all over this round of germs before my concert on the 10th. Sheesh

Song of the day: "Revolution" by the Beatles

Picture is inside Caesars Palace where the sky changes from day to dusk and back again. Very cool effect. I was sitting here waiting for the silly animatronic show to begin and figured I'd take a few pics.

..and the children shall lead

2008-09-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

...........................Graham Russell doing what he does so well......................

Well, 3 different times today I had Hispanic families come through my line and the parents did NOT speak English, so the children were translating for them. Nothing wrong with that, but what IS wrong is that all 3 groups were using food stamp cards to pay for their stuff. I'm a strong believer that anyone who is receiving government benefits in this country should have a working knowledge of the English language. It gripes me to no end that we are paying for these benefits with our hard earned tax money, and Oregon doesn't have a problem with giving these perks to folks who are not US citizens. (I certainly have a problem with that)

More bank confusion

2008-09-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

Good stuff first. Picture is of the giant Japanese crabs that we have at the aquarium here. You can see by the hand in the pic just how big these guys are. (I'd hate to run across one in a dark alley....)

Song of the day: "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (American Idol folks from a couple years back)

Cute moment of the day: A little kid ask me how come I had spots on my arms. (Freckles) LOL....

Strange world of airline ticketing: Now and then I check to see what tickets are for visiting Europe. I hadn't done it for awhile and was astounded to find that the fare from Seattle to London was $268!!! WOW!!!! Then I read the fine print. (always something bursting my bubble) I continued on to have all the taxes and fees added in. New grand total....$748!!! That is why I'm not visiting old castles at this moment.

Now...I was about ready to make plans for Vegas in the spring when I realized that with my bank having "issues", that could be a problem with reservations/tickets/etc. If the new owners keep our bank name and all that; no problem. If they were to change our cards and stuff, that might result in new numbers which would be frowned upon by people who want me to present the card I used to make the reservation or buy the concert tix. Sheesh. Guess I'd better sit tight until things settle. (The LV Hilton was especially vigilant in checking my ID and card for a concert ticket that had been purchased a couple months before)

Barry's still got it!

2008-09-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't get to take pics at Barry's show, I swiped this one.

Bit of old music

2008-09-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jonni Lightfoot and the "animals"

Beautiful day on the Oregon coast. Sun is shining...birds are singing...banks are failing...

Yea, my bank says nothing to worry about with the "takeover". My concern is that they will close the branch here in this little bitty town. You'd think the little ones will be the first to go with their "streamlining". Sheesh.

So...listening to a little Partridge Family music as I write. (yea, that dates me, huh?!) Heck, I'd go see David Cassidy again if he comes back to the casino in Lincoln City. I enjoyed the one I went to a while back. (except for the part when he put his sweaty forehead on mine...bleech. That's what I get for sitting in the front, huh.)(funny thing though...if it had been Russell sweating on me, that would've been OK. LOL.......)

By the way...when I was sick someone gave me the electronic version of "Smarter Than A 5th Grader" and it's very cool. I'd highly recommend it! Also I ran across Air Supply's old song "Empty Pages". It's a rather obscure song, but I really like it a lot. If I ever get a high speed internet connection, I'm going to put some of these oldies on my pages so everyone can listen with me. heeeheee....

Drummer spotlight

2008-09-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

CJ making the audience go wild

Concert moments

2008-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Russell apparently strangling Janet; she survived to rock on.

Listen up, shoppers!

2008-09-25T20:59:00.001-07:00

OK...just to be clear about this; there are days when I really do like my job. Then there are other days....Next time ya'll (practicing my Texas speak)go shopping please keep in mind a few simple rules.
1. If you're buying 12 jugs of water/drain cleaner/fruit punch, it's only necessary to put 1 of them on the conveyer belt at the register.
2. Above rule also kind of applies if you have 48 cans of doggy/kitty/hampster food. However, you must let us know how many of each flavor you are purchasing. Yes, I know that each can is the same price, but the computer does the ordering so if I ring up 48 cans of the same flavor, the next time you are shopping with us Fido/Snookims/Mr. Squeeky will only have the "beefy bone surprise" flavor on shelf and will no doubt be disappointed at the lack of variety.
3. Please don't act surprised that you actually have to pay when we tell you the total and request money from you. (well...due to the crummy economy, you CAN act surprised at the amount,I guess) Oh...and lets dig those coupons out of the bottomless purse BEFORE I finish ringing up your order.
4. Guess what? When you come up to me, look at my name badge and say..."do you work here"? You will be labeled an idiot, and we will talk about you after you leave.
5. Above rule also applies if you are next in line watching me ring up another customer, and when I finish with them you ask..."are you still open?"
I'm not kidding here. Numbers 4 and 5 happen several times a week.
Thanks for listening.

Quickie vacation summary

2008-09-24T23:28:00.000-07:00

Upgraded to first class on the plane, saw Barry Manilow, Air Supply, lions (MGM), white tiger cubs and dolphins (Mirage), a hooker by McDonalds, Red Rock Canyon (including 2 little rodent things, a lizard, and some dragon flies, but NO BURROS!), the backside (don't ask)of Hoover Dam, DID NOT get lost in Caesars Palace, DID get lost in NY/NY, huge Donny & Marie sign, and the usual pyramid, castle, gondolas, Eiffel Tower, big gold lions, big shiny buildings skyline changed once again with the addition of the new "City Center Project" and a circular rainbow with the shadow of our plane in it just before decending into the clouds to land in Portland!

Vegas germs

2008-09-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Well, didn't exactly make it back to this site the "next day" as I had intended. Too much to think about with the vacation and stuff, then when I got home from said vacation, I was quite sick which took all the fun out of reporting what I'd seen and done. I brought the germ back to Oregon with me and promptly gave it to everyone at work. (sheesh)

I'll go into detail later, but for now the Air Supply concerts were great as always. The first night was a bit uncomfortable for all...Graham even commented on how they weren't quite "with it" yet that night. I think everyone was just holding their breath to see how the new band members would be received. By the 4th show, everyone was loving them! It was strange not to see Mike at drums, but CJ Burton is wonderful! He has quite a stage presence and he is a truly nice guy "off stage" as well. It took me a bit more time to adjust with the addition of a guitar...namely Janet Robin. I felt a couple of the songs were just "too much" with the extra guitar in there, but over all she is very good. Several of the other songs were much richer in sound having her there. She also is very nice, even when I admitted to her that at first I was a bit skeptical about her being there. (I told them both that they had won me over in the end, though.)

1st time around for blogs

2008-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ok...not knowing exactly what I'm doing here, this will be a kind of...well..sample, I guess. I'll get back to this tomorrow.