My boss and I recently paid a HUGE amount of money to advertise with the Lake Havasu Tourism and Convention Bureau, and it is actually turning out to be money well spent. The Bureau, or, The CVB as it's known locally, has some new younger management and their strategy lately has been to actively locate big companies to come here to do business. Be it for events, conferences, conventions, video shoots, or whatever, they're trying to get them to come here. Not just tourists, because tourists are fickle and they back off the traveling with gasoline gets to be where it is today.
So. Long story short. We are currently negotiating to be the managing entity for a Hinder music video and concert out on the lake. Those out there who do not know who Hinder is, you need to turn on your radio for about 30 minutes. You'll hear Hinder played at least seven times. I myself am sick and tired of hearing "Lips of an Angel" by that band, it's been overplayed for waaay too long.
Right now, it's just in the negotiating stages but that will probably change quickly because the video shoot is scheduled for July 7th. I'll keep you posted.
Oh, and not trying to name drop or anything...but....The O.C. Housewives reality show called and booked us for 4th of July weekend. Dang! I've never seen the show, but that's certainly something to have for the old resume!!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Live, Dammit!!
We found this little guy in the swimming pool of the place where we had our last 2 events, at a Clubhouse facility. He was probably trying to get a drink and then fell in. I tried CPR. It didn't work. Poor little dude.
On a happier note:
I've been a member of my family's website for about 10 years, it's something my dad's sister put together to keep us all in touch. At first it was a struggle to get people to post pictures and such, because 10 years ago not everyone was on the internet. Not in Arkansas, anyway. My aunt did the bulk of the work, scanning and posting pictures from her childhood. She also created an online family tree, working from some genealogy research she'd done in her spare time. It would've been easier if she'd had some help, but I think it was how she filled in her lonesome hours. Her husband of 25 years had just died of a heart attack.
Right now, I'm the site administrator; we've decided to take turns doing it. All it means is I pay the $29.95 yearly charge whenever it's my turn to administer. And sometimes I send an email out to everyone, reminding them to visit the site and post their news and pictures.
If it weren't for that site, I wouldn't know my family that lives 2,000 miles away.
So as we were sitting at Steve's cousin/stepsister's house on Sunday, I mentioned the site. I was listening to all the questions that everyone had about each other, and I was astonished that they knew so little about each other, and their family.
After speaking to several people, it was agreed that we'd set up a family website.
By Tuesday morning, I'd set it up. I sent out invitations to everyone using an email list we'd gotten a year ago at a family gathering. As soon as the site got out in the emails, people starting logging on. Very cool.
There's very little content, of course, but people are coming to the site.
If anyone out there is interested in setting up their own family site, go to myfamily.com
You'll be glad you did! All you need is your family's email addresses to get started.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Travel and Tinker
We got an email from Steve's cousin/stepsister (I'll explain that relation) last Thursday, to let us know that her dad was gravely ill. So we immediately made plans to drive over to her place in San Diego on Sunday, since that's where he was on Hospice care. When we got there, we joined up with about 10 relatives who had also gotten the news. Steve's dad's side of the family is much like my dad's side; with 10 siblings and a very rural background. Uncle Buck was lying in a bed, with oxygen and lots of pillows to keep him comfortable. He wouldn't wake up for anyone, he had been that way for a couple of hours. Before that, he would periodically open his eyes and respond to whoever was in the room. I guess once he realized that everyone was coming to say goodbye he decided to begin his exit. Good for him. I'm glad he took control and did things his way. He had found out about his Cancer diagnosis on Wednesday, and obviously he had made up his mind about his ending very soon after that.
We visited there for a couple of hours, where I got to know Janise and Laura--two of Bucks' daughters. They have 4 siblings who live in different places, and they are all half Samoan. Their mom, who died a year ago from Cancer, was Samoan. She and Buck divorced many many years ago, and all but one of the kids stayed with him in Southern California.
He died about 5 minutes after we left that day.
Now, Steve is related to Uncle Buck in two different ways: Buck is Steve's dad's brother. He was also married to Steve's mom for about 10 years, after she'd divorced Steve's dad. Kind of convenient in some aspects because she didn't have to change her name and she didn't have to get to know a whole new family!!
It's not like there was some torrid affair or anything like that; she'd been divorced from Steve's dad for many years and while she was attending university classes not far from Buck's place she would periodically go there to visit.
They soon realized they had a lot in common and they had fallen in love.
So they married and traveled the world together. Buck had jobs in exotic places like some tiny island off Thailand, and also Hawaii if I remember correctly.
Steve said once that he was glad his mom got to see all the places she did, all because of her marriage to Buck. They were together until she died of cancer.
We like to tease poor Steve, about his uncle being his stepdad. But I have to admit, when I met Buck last year at a family gathering I understood immediately how a woman would fall victim to his charms. He was such a smoothe talking ladies man, and very funny. People were drawn to him because he was so entertaining. I was certainly one of them!
After we'd finished visiting with the family, we went to the coast to check into our room. Steve had researched the best possible deal on a room with an ocean view, and he did a great job. His daughters were with us, and they were ecstatic when they walked into our room and saw the Pacific, big and blue, right out our balcony:
It was a glorious 70 degrees outside, which was amazing since we had just driven from home where it was 116 degrees. Big difference. It almost felt cold to be on the beach.
While staring out our balcony we noticed a wine bar on the pool deck below. Steve asked them how long they were serving and they said, "Till 5 o'clock."
Then the phone rang. It was one of the wine servers asking if we were the ones just talking to her out of our balcony, and if so, if we wanted her to bring up some wine. Whaaaaa??? We were actually shocked. Free wine, delivered to our door.
Never turn down free booze.
We sat on the balcony and enjoyed some white wine:
We watched the waves come in and out of the beach for a while, then changed into some warm clothes and drove down to the harbor to get dinner.
We found a cute little place on the water, and promptly ordered up lots of seafood appetizers and fancy drinks. I had some sort of gin and tonic for the first time, and I discovered that gin and I could be very good friends. That reminds me, I need to go to the liquor store.
The sun went down and the full moon came out, reflecting on the ocean. I took some pics of the San Diego skyline, across the harbor from us:
Then Steve's daughter took a pic of us together.
We went to bed with full tummies and the sound of the ocean coming in our balcony door, which was open all night.
The next day we headed back East toward home, stopping at a Mexican border town for lunch. Aaah, carne asada.
We visited there for a couple of hours, where I got to know Janise and Laura--two of Bucks' daughters. They have 4 siblings who live in different places, and they are all half Samoan. Their mom, who died a year ago from Cancer, was Samoan. She and Buck divorced many many years ago, and all but one of the kids stayed with him in Southern California.
He died about 5 minutes after we left that day.
Now, Steve is related to Uncle Buck in two different ways: Buck is Steve's dad's brother. He was also married to Steve's mom for about 10 years, after she'd divorced Steve's dad. Kind of convenient in some aspects because she didn't have to change her name and she didn't have to get to know a whole new family!!
It's not like there was some torrid affair or anything like that; she'd been divorced from Steve's dad for many years and while she was attending university classes not far from Buck's place she would periodically go there to visit.
They soon realized they had a lot in common and they had fallen in love.
So they married and traveled the world together. Buck had jobs in exotic places like some tiny island off Thailand, and also Hawaii if I remember correctly.
Steve said once that he was glad his mom got to see all the places she did, all because of her marriage to Buck. They were together until she died of cancer.
We like to tease poor Steve, about his uncle being his stepdad. But I have to admit, when I met Buck last year at a family gathering I understood immediately how a woman would fall victim to his charms. He was such a smoothe talking ladies man, and very funny. People were drawn to him because he was so entertaining. I was certainly one of them!
After we'd finished visiting with the family, we went to the coast to check into our room. Steve had researched the best possible deal on a room with an ocean view, and he did a great job. His daughters were with us, and they were ecstatic when they walked into our room and saw the Pacific, big and blue, right out our balcony:
It was a glorious 70 degrees outside, which was amazing since we had just driven from home where it was 116 degrees. Big difference. It almost felt cold to be on the beach.
While staring out our balcony we noticed a wine bar on the pool deck below. Steve asked them how long they were serving and they said, "Till 5 o'clock."
Then the phone rang. It was one of the wine servers asking if we were the ones just talking to her out of our balcony, and if so, if we wanted her to bring up some wine. Whaaaaa??? We were actually shocked. Free wine, delivered to our door.
Never turn down free booze.
We sat on the balcony and enjoyed some white wine:
We watched the waves come in and out of the beach for a while, then changed into some warm clothes and drove down to the harbor to get dinner.
We found a cute little place on the water, and promptly ordered up lots of seafood appetizers and fancy drinks. I had some sort of gin and tonic for the first time, and I discovered that gin and I could be very good friends. That reminds me, I need to go to the liquor store.
The sun went down and the full moon came out, reflecting on the ocean. I took some pics of the San Diego skyline, across the harbor from us:
Then Steve's daughter took a pic of us together.
We went to bed with full tummies and the sound of the ocean coming in our balcony door, which was open all night.
The next day we headed back East toward home, stopping at a Mexican border town for lunch. Aaah, carne asada.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Those who CAN, do...
And the rest of us read their books and watch their movies.
I remember my dad signing me up for guitar lessons when I was four or five years old, only to be told that my hands were too small and that I needed to come back in a few years. Well of course that didn't happen. We moved and moved and moved and who knows how I would've been able to keep up with guitar lessons with all those different addresses.
But I've always been interested in the guitar. I love watching people play, listening to their different techniques--and whenever I have a fundraiser I like to include the local teens who want to get up on stage with their guitars and entertain. That shit's entertaining to me.
So Eric Clapton came out with his autobiography and I HAD to have it. Right away. Like, I couldn't wait for Amazon to mail it, I needed it RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
Steve found it at a book store and got it for me. I kept it in my bag for several months, carrying it around waiting for a quiet moment to read it. That moment didn't come until about 4 months after Steve bought it! I just finished it, and WOW what an awesome book. You don't have to be a guitar enthusiast to appreciate it, it's just a great story. He's had an amazing life. After reading it, you feel like you need to go out and find Eric Clapton, to tell him it was a great book.
I immediately began another book, it's supposed to be a political sattire. SUPPOSED to be really funny. We'll see.
Shay and I watched the new Rambo movie, on DVD, and we were quite disturbed by the amount of blood and carnage. It was definitely the best Rambo movie--but man is it bloody. On the flip side, it was a good opportunity to show Shay that things are good in the U.S. Things are quite bad most other places. It's better to just stay home.
I'm watching The Amityville Horror right now and I'm starting to get concerned about the wardrobe. Margot Kidder is the wife, and she's wearing rediculous outfits like a school girl uniform. And in one scene she had curly pigtails. I'm concerned because this is exactly how I dress. If Margot Kidder looks rediculous, then I must, too. See?
Crap.
Oh well.
I remember my dad signing me up for guitar lessons when I was four or five years old, only to be told that my hands were too small and that I needed to come back in a few years. Well of course that didn't happen. We moved and moved and moved and who knows how I would've been able to keep up with guitar lessons with all those different addresses.
But I've always been interested in the guitar. I love watching people play, listening to their different techniques--and whenever I have a fundraiser I like to include the local teens who want to get up on stage with their guitars and entertain. That shit's entertaining to me.
So Eric Clapton came out with his autobiography and I HAD to have it. Right away. Like, I couldn't wait for Amazon to mail it, I needed it RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
Steve found it at a book store and got it for me. I kept it in my bag for several months, carrying it around waiting for a quiet moment to read it. That moment didn't come until about 4 months after Steve bought it! I just finished it, and WOW what an awesome book. You don't have to be a guitar enthusiast to appreciate it, it's just a great story. He's had an amazing life. After reading it, you feel like you need to go out and find Eric Clapton, to tell him it was a great book.
I immediately began another book, it's supposed to be a political sattire. SUPPOSED to be really funny. We'll see.
Shay and I watched the new Rambo movie, on DVD, and we were quite disturbed by the amount of blood and carnage. It was definitely the best Rambo movie--but man is it bloody. On the flip side, it was a good opportunity to show Shay that things are good in the U.S. Things are quite bad most other places. It's better to just stay home.
I'm watching The Amityville Horror right now and I'm starting to get concerned about the wardrobe. Margot Kidder is the wife, and she's wearing rediculous outfits like a school girl uniform. And in one scene she had curly pigtails. I'm concerned because this is exactly how I dress. If Margot Kidder looks rediculous, then I must, too. See?
Crap.
Oh well.
Big Ugly
We had previously seen this Russian helicopter out at the airport, because it was being stored in a hangar and one of the airport employees gave us a peek.
It's owned by a gentleman who has a government contract, among other things, for assisting in training missions with a nearby Army base. When the Army Cobra helicopters are out doing maneuvers over the desert, this big bad Russian surprises them and they go thru the movements as they would be reacting to being surprised in a real life mission.
The pilot tells me the owner also has five more of these helicopters, and they're stored in Florida. He has to fly in the mechanics from the Ukraine, because it takes so much specialized training to be able to do all the inspections and maintenance.
Yesterday, they were finishing up the 100-hour inspection, and the pilot was hovering it around for a test flight. We sat in our vehicles along the flight line and watched, since it was about 105 degrees and the air conditioner provided a LOT of relief!
Today, I have trapped Kitty Meow Meow in the house and I will be taking him to the vet for his neuter. He howled all night, and we wore our ear plugs and just put up with it. He's sitting under a bed right now, pouting. He has no idea. I told him, but he wasn't listening.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Attention Wal Mart Shoppers
Our new Super Wal Mart opened this morning, and I waited until the hundreds of people waiting in line to get in there got themselves inside and dispersed before I dared to venture in.
And then I found out why they were waiting in line. They were all there to buy the same thing I wanted, which was the new Wii Fit game. The damn game was sold out, completely, by the time I got back to the electronics dept. This was within 20 minutes of the store opening!!! DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!!!
So I got a few other things I was needing, and left pissed off.
That will probably be the last time I go out there, without calling first to make sure they've got what I need. I have no patience.
Last night's meal, and tonight's meal were all courtesy of the Pioneerwoman.com page. Last night was Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches, with Olive Cheese Bread. Tonight will be an Asian salad. Yay, Pioneer Woman!!
This past weekend, besides working at the Regatta event from HELL, was kinda neat. Steve and I found out about a kid who was returning from Iraq alive. ALIVE!!
A local group had made arrangements to escort the kid from the city limits to his house in the middle of town, so we joined in with them. We were on the big red Budweiser motorcyle trike, with a HUGE American flag flying behind us. There were about 25 motorcyles and 10 cars in the procession. It really surprised the kid because his family said nothing to him about it. It was quite emotional to see him hop out of his vehicle to greet us, we were all so proud of him and glad he made it back. Really good looking, too. Why do Steve's daughters date such toads with this kid running around single?????
Kitty Meow Meow has an appointment to be neutered on Friday, so now I have to catch him. I've made appointments for him in the past and he very slyly decided to run away each time. I explained to the Vet's office that he was a very free-spirited and somewhat wild cat, and the chances of him actually being here on the day of his appointment were pretty narrow. They said they understood. We'll see how that all turns out. As long as the temperatures are over 100 degrees this week, we'll see him. He comes in the house once it gets really hot.
Steve has a collection of broken down old motorcycles, and they've been sitting in the back yard on the basketball court for several years. I've been bugging him to get rid of them, and he always quickly refused. Well, dammit, it turns out they're worth some money. Steve got a hold of a vintage motorcycle magazine and each one of those bikes are selling for CRAZY money right now. Here's the catch, the CRAZY money only comes when the motorcycle is fixed up and hasn't been sitting in the desert heat for several years. HAAA!!! Time to bring those suckers into the garage and get them fixed up. Those get added to the list of projects that aren't being worked on right now.
A news crew from a Los Angeles t.v. station is in town today, and I think we're supposed to be schmoozing them (my boss and I) I haven't gotten the call, so I think I'll just relax, do some ironing, and watch tv.
And then I found out why they were waiting in line. They were all there to buy the same thing I wanted, which was the new Wii Fit game. The damn game was sold out, completely, by the time I got back to the electronics dept. This was within 20 minutes of the store opening!!! DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!!!
So I got a few other things I was needing, and left pissed off.
That will probably be the last time I go out there, without calling first to make sure they've got what I need. I have no patience.
Last night's meal, and tonight's meal were all courtesy of the Pioneerwoman.com page. Last night was Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwiches, with Olive Cheese Bread. Tonight will be an Asian salad. Yay, Pioneer Woman!!
This past weekend, besides working at the Regatta event from HELL, was kinda neat. Steve and I found out about a kid who was returning from Iraq alive. ALIVE!!
A local group had made arrangements to escort the kid from the city limits to his house in the middle of town, so we joined in with them. We were on the big red Budweiser motorcyle trike, with a HUGE American flag flying behind us. There were about 25 motorcyles and 10 cars in the procession. It really surprised the kid because his family said nothing to him about it. It was quite emotional to see him hop out of his vehicle to greet us, we were all so proud of him and glad he made it back. Really good looking, too. Why do Steve's daughters date such toads with this kid running around single?????
Kitty Meow Meow has an appointment to be neutered on Friday, so now I have to catch him. I've made appointments for him in the past and he very slyly decided to run away each time. I explained to the Vet's office that he was a very free-spirited and somewhat wild cat, and the chances of him actually being here on the day of his appointment were pretty narrow. They said they understood. We'll see how that all turns out. As long as the temperatures are over 100 degrees this week, we'll see him. He comes in the house once it gets really hot.
Steve has a collection of broken down old motorcycles, and they've been sitting in the back yard on the basketball court for several years. I've been bugging him to get rid of them, and he always quickly refused. Well, dammit, it turns out they're worth some money. Steve got a hold of a vintage motorcycle magazine and each one of those bikes are selling for CRAZY money right now. Here's the catch, the CRAZY money only comes when the motorcycle is fixed up and hasn't been sitting in the desert heat for several years. HAAA!!! Time to bring those suckers into the garage and get them fixed up. Those get added to the list of projects that aren't being worked on right now.
A news crew from a Los Angeles t.v. station is in town today, and I think we're supposed to be schmoozing them (my boss and I) I haven't gotten the call, so I think I'll just relax, do some ironing, and watch tv.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Nuu Nuu For Brains
I can't afford much of anything right now because the paychecks are not very regular and gasoline, well, you know.
So OF COURSE I NEEDED $100 of QUARTERS!!!!!
Stupid, stupid, stupid. The ad in the newspaper said I only had 48 hours to order
my uncirculated Arizona quarters. They haven't been released for circulation yet, so I thought it would be pretty cool to get one roll. I dialed the number like a friggin sheep.
But I had twenty minutes on hold to rethink----"maybe I should get more than one roll, that way I'll have some Father's Day presents to hand out..."
So now I've got six rolls of quarters on their way. Great.
On a brighter note, I had the most awesome dream. My favorite show in the whole wide world, Ghosthunters, is on the Sci Fi Channel every Wednesday night.
I dreamed that they were in our area, doing some ghost hunting, and they got a hold of me and asked if I'd join their cast. Oh, it could happen.
Best dream ever. Here's a pic of my new boss, from the Ghost Hunters:
Went to see Indiana Jones last night, and, well, the first comment that we all had as the movie ended was.....
"That was out there."
Can't say much more than that because I'm sure it would ruin it all. Just know, that movie is "out there."
So OF COURSE I NEEDED $100 of QUARTERS!!!!!
Stupid, stupid, stupid. The ad in the newspaper said I only had 48 hours to order
my uncirculated Arizona quarters. They haven't been released for circulation yet, so I thought it would be pretty cool to get one roll. I dialed the number like a friggin sheep.
But I had twenty minutes on hold to rethink----"maybe I should get more than one roll, that way I'll have some Father's Day presents to hand out..."
So now I've got six rolls of quarters on their way. Great.
On a brighter note, I had the most awesome dream. My favorite show in the whole wide world, Ghosthunters, is on the Sci Fi Channel every Wednesday night.
I dreamed that they were in our area, doing some ghost hunting, and they got a hold of me and asked if I'd join their cast. Oh, it could happen.
Best dream ever. Here's a pic of my new boss, from the Ghost Hunters:
Went to see Indiana Jones last night, and, well, the first comment that we all had as the movie ended was.....
"That was out there."
Can't say much more than that because I'm sure it would ruin it all. Just know, that movie is "out there."
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