My son's visit this week has been delayed by a day due to his mother's health. She is having some major thyroid issues and John helps out watching his younger brother and sister. What a good boy!

This extra day has given me the opportunity to stage a fantastic practical joke on a friend of mine at work. Theresa is on vacation somewhere in South America. In the days and weeks leading up to her vacation we were treated to an almost daily countdown to her departure. I decided to make sure her return to work was just a memorable and wrapped her desk in newspaper.



EVERYTHING on her desk; telephone, radio, keyboard and wrist support...



Even all the little knick-knacks.



As I sat there , after I clocked out mind you, and was just about to finish having only some manuals and her chair to cover; corporate stupidity hit. I was approached by a supervisor from my department who brought a message from the manager of my friends department; I was being asked to stop where I was. I had anticipated some reaction from management which is why I did not completely wrap her computer; I did not want to be accused to creating a fire hazard or damaging company equipment. I have no idea exactly what the manager's complaint was and decided to play nice and go along with the request. This was going to have its desired affect anyway.

This is, of course, another example of the corporate head being so far up its own ass. I did this not only to bust chops on a friend but as a morale boost for other workers; to bring a little smile and laughter into Shawshank. We are so hammered into walking in, clocking in, logging in and not having interaction with co-workers that everyone needs to be reminded that there are other people around them.

The Eaton Car Mojo continues!

Last night I had dinner at my friend Jason's. After dinner we piled into his car to take me home. We stopped for a moment to get something at a convenience store; a quick stop and back on the road. We weren't on the road more than a few hundered feet when he starts tugging at the wheel.

The car had died!

It lost all power and the dash was lit with all kinds of warning lights.

"I didn't do anything!" I said putting my hands up.

We rolled to a stop in a driveway to get out of traffic. Jason tried over and over again to start the car but there simply was no power there at all. In the summer warmth, even at 8PM, the car began to turn into a sauna and his 3 year old little girl in the back seat began getting antsy. He called his wife and eventually we switched off cars, AAA was called and the car went off to the garage.

When the mechanic called the next day even he was amazed at the cause of the problem. There is a switch on the fuel pump which feeds fuel into the fuel line. This little switch was broken and was, as the mechanic described it, ready to fall off. It very rarely happens and the entire garage staff had no explination as to what caused it to break.

Of course, the mechanic had never met ME!

Today my son turned 16. That was the last year that I had with my father. As John passes this year I will be in virgin territory. There are experiences I never had with my father that I will have with my son. And I am looking forward to each and every one of them.

I try to think back 29 years ago to what my father and I were to each other when I was 16. While I spent every day with my father and there was little he didn't do or let me have because of his health we were distant. In one of my journals back then I had written of how I would spend hours away from home just to avoid being around him. His stroke had affected his personality. While I can't recall specifics at the time I can clearly remember the hours I would spend sitting at school between the last bell of the day and chorus rehearsal. I would sit by my locker either reading or doing my homework all in an effort to avoid being at home alone with my father.

From about 10 years of age on my father and I always shook hands good night. I don't remember who's idea it was but I can clearly remember the first time it happened. I suddenly felt grown up. Kissing was for babies; I was a "young man" now and as I took my fathers hand for the first time I felt as grown up as he was. But that was the extend of a physical display of affection I ever got from my father. I can't remember him ever hugging or kissing me.

Don't get me wrong; I love my father and miss him every day. He still affects my life almost three decades later. Someone once said that the thing they remember most about my father was how his big, loud laugh would fill a room. Almost immediaetly I made a conscious effort to alter the way I would laugh and to this day take a moment to make sure I'm putting the right amount of effort into a laugh and drop my voice down an octave before even a snicker leaves my lips.

I use these experiences as a guide to my relationship with my son. I end every phone conversation with him with the words, "I love you". When he is here, or when I drop him off, I always hug and kiss him. I can't do alot for him financially right now, but I try to make up for that emotionally. I guess, after all, that's the more important anyway.

I never drove my father anywhere. I never cooked for my father. I never bought my father a bourbon. I never watched my father dance at my wedding. I never introduced my father to his grandson. I look forward to my son wiping out each one of those statements.

13

That is the number of Drunken Dialing Calls I received last night from my friends at Shore Leave. I even got one conversation in from the one member of the crowd who seemed to have been the most pissed off at me; I am sure it was because of the rum that she even got on the phone with me!

The Friday the 13th Effect that has plagued this year's trip to Shore Leave seems to be waning. Through a last minuet email from a friend in that area I was able to hook my friends up with a room in the Hunt Valley Inn for Saturday and Sunday night. This being most important, since Saturday night is PARTY NIGHT at Shore Leave.

I can already tell that the guys in the group have gotten over it for the most part as they we have talked over the phone and they are joking already with me about the whole situation. I am sure they still want to use their tazers on me, but they have moved on. My other friend....we shall see.

Meanwhile, I sit here trying to plan a financial strategy to be there next year no matter what. Of course, if that series gets picked up I could possibly be there as a guest next year!!!!! Yes, some people have career goals in the entertainment industry of fame and awards; I want to be a convention guest!!!!!

There has been a curse on this years trip to Shore Leave and today was the worst.

Each year, in anticipation of the convention I call the hotel early in the fall to reserve at least three rooms. I do this in case there are other friends who want to go or if some in our party end up with enough money to want to have a room to themselves.

Two weeks ago I had called the hotel to release the two unneeded rooms. Since I was not going this year I decided to make things a little easier on the ones who were attending to have as many little details taken care of as possible. One of these details being a mini-refrigerator for out diabetic's insulin. I started to get into an argument with the person at reservations as he kept insisting that the hotel did not have mini-fridges. I was at work and could not get into the full shouting match I usually do with hotel staff so I let it go. Until today.....

I called the Hunt Valley Inn to change the name on the reservation over to one of my friends attending. I gave them the reservation number. After a few moments of silence, "Sir, what is the name on the reservation?" I gave her my name. More silence, then, "When and where is that reservation?" I answered her to which she stated, "Sir, that reservation is for a hotel in California in November!"

I think I could actually hear my blood pressure drop.

Did I mention the convention is THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!

I went back to me desk and did some research and here is what appears happened. I had looked up the phone number for the Hunt Valley Inn using whitepages.com. The search did pull up the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn but it also called up the Hampton Valley Inn. I copied down the wrong phoine number and called and made my reservation. While I would swear that I specifically asked about Shore Leave and the room rates were what I expected. So, I happily went along my merry way the past 10 months secure in the knowledge I had reservations for this weekend.

AT THE WRONG HOTEL!!!!!

I immediaetly called my friend JIm and broke the news to him. If he had not been surrounded by a dozen or so PAL kids I am sure he would have let fly with a number of colorful metaphors. OK, iot would have been enough to make a sailor blush!

I feel like absolute shit about this. I feel as if I have let my friends down. Friends who have each, at one time or another, helped me when I needed it. I know it was accidental but it does not take away from the nasty feelings I have over this.

I try to point out the positive side of this in that the mistake was found before they arrived or else they would have had to search around blindly for another room. This way, they have a room....although a mile from the convention.

With my cancelling, my son not attending, and the airline changing reservations twice; this has been one for the books. I have not talked to any of the others who are going since I dropped the bomb on Jim. I have also put pout a call to anyone with a last minuet cancellation so, with any remaining luck, something might happen to change things.

Meanwhile.....I'm crawling under a rock.

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George Takei has told me there's an actors' superstition that you never talk about the details of a pending job until you actually have the job. If you are auditioning for a part, if there is a deal in development or they are simply considering you for a part that an actor will only talk in vague generalities until he/she is technically hired and the job is a reality. I am about to test the mojo on this particular quirk.

Last night I went to the latest graduation at the DAVE school and the premiere of my work on "Aurora"; the class thesis. The show came out great and was a thrill to see it on the big screen. My own personal little thrill came as my name scrolled across the screen.

There was a reception later at which I got to talk with Ron about the next step for me. During he course of the evening I also got to talk with one of the other instructors and he dropped some BIG NEWS on me.

He has a series he is pitching to a major cable network and wants me to play a role in it!

The words came out of his mouth and I heard each of them slowly; as if my mind raced to put the clearest definition to each of them and confirm what I was hearing. The meaning and weight of each word piled on top of each other and I could feel each neuron in my brain first register what was being said and then send an extra jolt of adrenalin into my blood stream as it confirmed what I was hearing.

I fought my best not to start swinging from the exposed roof beams and pipes in the ceiling; that wouldn't be professional, I thought. As he kept talking I kept waiting for the other shoe of my typical luck to fall; but as he kept talking my involvement in it was being solidified more and more.

"We thought of you for this one character immediately and want you to do it!"

OK, I thought to myself, I won't swing from the rafters but I could dance on the high tops over there!

How concept fits the demographics of this network, he has a most natural of merchandising tie in right from the start and is something that when I have introduced people to the characters have been an immediate hit.

True to an actors' instinct I lied to try to get the job. As he was describing the character I am to play he compared him to Dr. Claw from "Inspector Gadget" I chimed right in with, "Oh, yeah; sure. I can do something like that! Yes, definitely!" While inside my head all I could picture was the image of Dr. Claw's mechanical arm which was ll you ever saw of him. I was never a big fan of the show so I had absolutely no recollection of the voice. I was hoping the panic didn't show in my face as I kept nodding yes to my ability to bring voice the the main protagonist of the show.

So, until I have signed my name to my first professional contract the details of show name, character and network will remain a mystery to but two or three of my closest friends. I want to test George's superstition and see if it will work for me. I am this close to actually be working on a series I want to have as much positive vibe working on my side.

Next month we start working on the pilot.

My PC sits in the one spot in my trailer that has the worst air flow. There are no windows and the only way to get any air is to open the back door which sits directly to my right. To do this during the middle of that day almost washes out the monitor with the sunlight pouring in.

Why do I mention this?

I was all ready to sit at my PC on Sunday and do a bunch of work I had been putting off for a while. Some time in the middle of the night before the air conditioner failed. I woke up to a stuffy trailer and it just kept getting worse. Somewhere n the past few months the yard crew had continually been trimming the grass around the central A/C unit in the back of the trailer. As the weed whacker whizzed around it had worn away the insulation on the wiring leading from the thermostat inside to the controls outside. Then as the dew of the morning formed the moisture caused the wire to arc and shorted out the transformer killing the entire unit.

Of course it decided to do this on the one day of the week when my landlord could not either run out to a supply store to get one of reach his A/C guy. SO I sat and sweat the day away.

Actually, the day wasn't all that bad. I had opened the windows and there was a gentle breeze. I did take between 6 and 8 showers during the course of the day including one at 3AM this morning. This was no where near as bad a the three weeks without electricity after the hurricanes of a two years ago.

Like everyone around me, the park manager had some fun at me expense. I called him from work today to check on the progress of the repairs. He said, "Well, it's going to take at least three weeks to get your A/C replaced!"

I told him I was going to go get a new car just so I could run him down!

How do I post this without sounding like poor, poor me?

Father's Day came and went without a phone call from my son.

OK, I take into consideration that he is away on vacation with his part of his family. Do I feel a little jealousy that his step-father got his due yesterday? I'd be lying if I didn't admit it, but it's not eating me apart. However, a phone call or even a card would have been enough.

I do take into consideration that he is about to turn 16 and can remember these things on his own. It does not mean I am angry with him, am ready to disown him, or will hold it against him.

It does however, if Eaton tradition, mean that I will bust his chops about it for quite some time.. He is coming here for the month of July and I already have his first morning planned.

"Dad? What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? You know, I had breakfast by myself on Father's Day!"

You can feel the love!

My friend Jason was headed home today from his vacation in Tennessee which meant I would be giving his truck back to him. So, I decided to check in with him on his way back today.

"Hi, Jason, how was your trip?"

"It was great! I'll tell you all about it when we get home."

"Where abouts are you now?"

"Just outside Macon, Georgia."

"Oh, when are you due to get home?"

"Around 7PM."

"OK, good. Oh, and Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering....do you have roadside assistance on the turck?"

"Ohhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooo! What happened?"

"You were a sucker; that's what happened!"

Now the real question here is;

Is the funniest part of the joke that Jason fell for it so easily, or that he would simply assume because I was involved that roadside assistance would be necessary?!

Here's the poster and trailer for "Aurora", the DAVE School project I worked on.



Aurora Trailer

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Another great session of recording in Orlando and another great feeling of doing what I feel the most natural doing. I arrived promptly at 3PM and we dove right into it. We recorded some new dialog and fixed only one line from the original session. We also did one extra line for a blooper scene for me character. It's an in joke for the staff and students at the DAVE School; so, if and when you see it...while it may be funny not everyone will get it. We also recorded the voiceover for a trailer. This is not actually going to be produced, but as part of his mentoring of me, Ron is going to lay in some music and sound effects for me to add this to my demo reel. I got to stop in a the school and see the film in its almost finished state. I will get to see it completed at the graduation ceremony at the end of the month.

To add to the whole day was a typical moment at work just as I was about to leave for the day. They have started a "Quality Assurance" monitoring which assures that phone reps are polite and cover all the major points they are supposed to during a call. While I applaud the company's efforts on this they are also doing it wit their usual myopic sensibility.

I have consistently scored extremely well on this monitoring. After almost ten years of doing this job...yes, I know what I'm doing. Some at my job don't. I am surprised that some of the people I work with can even operate a telephone let alone carry on a pleasant conversation with a customer. However, even the slightest deviation is beaten over our heads. Even when that deviation leads to a more efficient way of doing my job. The company mind set is that you have t be focused 100% on the call at hand and absolutely nothing else. These rules and criteria were developed by people who have style over substance as the most important thing. The criteria for this monitoring is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator to insure that the worst of our phone people can follow simple instructions in order to do their jobs. On the other hand, I am able to walk and chew gum at the same time. While consistently providing my customers with the best service I can during the call I can also multi task and handle other parts of my job at the same time.

I could rant on and on over this and anyone outside of the company would be lost and are probably tired of my company rants. Suffice to say, I am damned good at my job and have customers commenting on how pleasant compared to many others in my office. I get defensive when the quality of my work is called into question and will be very vocal if pressed by management.



On the other hand.....

On my way back from Orlando I took a back road along the Indian River to get home. I rolled down the window and turned off the car's air conditioner. It had just rained and the humidity was gone from the usually scorching June Florida air. The scent of sea air filled the car and as the stereo blared Jr. Walkers and the All Stars I forgot less and less about how my day had started and reveled in how it was ending.

My friends Jason has going out of town for a few days and he has let me borrow his car while he is gone. Another great sign on what a good friend he is.

I picked it up lat night before he and his family hit the road. I got a call this morning at 7:45AM from Jill, from whom I've been getting regular rides to work since my last car died.

"So, did you get Jason's car?"

"Yes."

"Don't break it!"

My friends.....gotta love 'em!

This is me!

Well, this is the character I am playing in "Aurora", the project I am doing at the DAVE School. Meet Hunter! I am headed back there on Thursday to do some more recording. Included in this will be a trailer for the film, a commercial for the DAVE School and...the part I am dying to do.....bloopers for the film.

If you have seen any of the Pixar films you will be familiar with these animated bloopers. They are done to appear as if they were done as part of the "filming" of the movie in which the animated characters break out and do real person like flubs, gaffes and practical jokes.

When I did "Runners" we recorded bloopers but they were never used, which disappointed me a little. We did one really funny one with my character, a big, hulking rock creature, being caught at the craft service table sneaking off doughnuts and responding in a very effeminate voice. It would have been very funny. This director promises me they will get done this time.

Watch for more on this after the session later this week.

Time is running out for me to make my decision abut this year's trip to Shore Leave. I just got John's refund check in the mail and I may soon have to get my own money back. This really sucks. I had paid for these so early in the year and, at that point, I could afford the trip. Now, as time grow closer and I still don't have my airline ticket, it is looking more and more as if I won't make it this year.

Yes, I'm bummed.

I have only missed one other year in the recent past and that was because of my gastric bypass surgery. Add to that, it was going to be my first year of attending without Johnny.

Wallow....wallow..wallow.

I'll get better.

Yeah...yeah....yeah. I'm finally posting. Are ya' happy now?

Today is the start of year 45 for yours truly and it certainly finds me in a familiar position.

I am without a car. The cost of repair finally got too much to consider and I junked her instead of throwing good money after bad. The Eaton Bad Car Mojo continues.

There is a possibility for a replacement on the horizon but the price is a painful one. A good friend of mine has offered to give me a car of his. The only down side of this is that when he does this it will mean that he and his family will be moving away. His generosity is Elvis level but I'd much rather have him and his family in the same zip code. If you've been reading this blog long enough you know how I just love those kinds of changes.

In a ying and yang kind of thing, another good friend is moving back into the area after an almost two year absence. Gary and his family moved away to Tennessee to get away from hurricane central. Now, a divorce brings him back. While I feel for him and what he's going through I am glad to have him back.

You have missed little moments over the past three weeks and I always meant to sit down but at this point even doing post dated entries would be a pain in the butt. So, we'll just move on from here.

The best present I got today was inadvertent, but one that I treasure. Over the past few months "The Other Person" and I have been talking and joking like it was old times. (Look back over entries from August to October of 2006) She was even nice enough to give me some gag gifts for my birthday. A fart noise making toy and an "Old Fart" ribbon to wear for the day. I had to laugh at the irony of her giving me that ribbon. I decided to take a chance and joke with her about it. Up until now I had decided just to be happy we had apparently salvaged our friendship that I didn't even want to look for any "closure" but could not resist making a joke about it.

I went to her and said, "You know, I could just enjoy the humor of this gift or look at it as a quiet form of retaliation for last October."

She look at me blankly, "What do you mean?" She had no idea what I was talking about.

I finally said, "Think of my blog from back then." The fog lifted and she started laughing. Seeing that she had taken it so well I said, "You mean all this time I was so happy you had forgiven me when all along you had only forgotten."

Then she looked at me and with a smile in her eyes said, "Well, maybe I had done BOTH!"

I couldn't have asked for a better present on my birthday.

It has been proved to me that no matter how much something change they always stay the same. I found out today that I had been turned down for the transfer I had requested at work. To say words like disappointed and pissed off would be an understatement.

I had four members of management putting in recommendations for me in this position. The department to which I was hoping to move was putting emphasis on people with pharmacy division experience. Silly me; I had thought that being one of the very first sales people in the pharmacy division when it was only a test project might count as experience.

I talked with Human Resources and found out that when the department head reviewed my personnel file she found my history of "incidents" with management. She felt that these would not make me a good fit for her department. And she did this without even the courtesy of an interview. If she had interviewed me she would have found out that one incident was somewhat politically motivated and the other was ridiculous.

I do not want to blow my own horn or make it would as if I felt entitled to the job but how much more perfect could I have been for the position? Add to that the FOUR recommendations. What the FRAK does this woman need?!

I am taking the night to cool off but will be talking to her privately to find out the real basis for her decision. I don't know if there's a chance of changing her mind but I feel that I deserve an explanation.

The Jack Car Curse continues.

Today my friend Jason offered to let me borrow his car for the weekend. The one hitch was that I had to get to his house to do it which is in the opposite direction my usual ride home heads. My co-worker pal, Clark, drives right by Jason's so he offered to drop me off on his way home. I would get the car and return to work to make up the time I missed being out of the office.

That was....until I got near his car.

Actually, this was his wife's car, which he is not all too familiar with all the bells and whistles on her BWM. We got out to the car and noticed a flat tire. Keep in mind that it was a bright, sunny and humid Florida afternoon in the low 90's. The idea of changing a tire in this lovely weather seems sooooo appealing.

Since Clark knew little about his wife's can and I knew even less we spent five minuets stumbling around in the trunk locating the tire and jack. I had grabbed the car's manual to help us clueless mechanics.

The jack was held on with a wing nut which was apparently tightened in the BMW factory with a pneumatic drill. Clark tried. I tried. Both of us grunted, groaned and slammed our knuckles into the immovable jack trying to get it loosened.We both realized that a tool of some kind would have made this much easier. Finally, Clark was able to get it loosened and was lifting the car off the ground.

"OK," Said Clark kneeling at the tire "Where the lug wrench?"

I searched the trunk. No sign of it. Clark got up and looked through the trunk. No luck. As CLark began cursing the Dutch auto designers I read the manual. It was something of a "V-8 Moment".

"Clark, look up." I pointed to an innocuous plastic lid embedded in the underside of the turnk lid. I unsnapped the catches and opened the TOOL BOX. Inside, we not only found the lug wrench but a shiny, unused wrench which might have come in useful 15 minuets earlier.

I began cursing the Dutch auto designers.

The tire was mounted and secured quickly and Clark began lowering the car. As it put its weight on the spare tire it continued lower and lower. Not completely flat but close enough to make a ride to the other side of town impossible. We threw everything in the trunk and limped across the street to the nearest gas station. However, as Clark held the air hose to the tire for two....three....four minuets there was no perceptible increase in its size. It was not holding the air; apparently, the flat was also bad.

30 minuets later, now almost 90 minuets since we first walked out the door of our office, a AAA tow truck arrived to bring the car to a tire shop and Clark's wife to bring me to Jason's.

During Clark's tirade against BMW he talked about how he had his eye on trading up from the BMW to a Range Rover. He stopped for a moment. Looked at the flat tire....looked at me and said,

"YOU get NOWHERE near the Range Rover!"

I have officially been moved down the list of my son's "Important Priorities".I've been blown off because of a girl.

He missed the last weekend here because of my being sick. So, I was emailing him trying to make plans for this weekend. In particular, I pointed out to him that "Spiderman 3" was opening. I was hoping to use a major shared event like that as enticement.

To my offer, I got this response:

"Saturday is our 2 month anniversary and I kinda wanted to be here."

I immediately flashed back to being 15 and how important each of those month "anniversaries" were. At that age, you are Romeo and Juliet and there is no stronger love that what you are feeling. No one else on the planet has ever felt what you are feeling and no one else could possibly understand.

I also flashed back to June 1, 1983. This was the day that the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released for the first time on CD. This was when CD's were first starting to break thorough into the market. they weren't as common place and you were still considered an audio buff if you were getting CD's. The record stores only had a CD section and they came in these over-sized cardboard boxes which tried to reproduce as much of the original LP cover art as possible. (This is all for my readers under 30 who don't know of the great time of vinyl and record needles.)

The release of "Sgt. Pepper" was big news; this was lending credence to the format. The greatest rock album ever was being released so that we could hear every nuance to every note and sound. Finally, the world could hear the intricate genius of the album without any snap and crackle. The CD format was being given the royal nod of approval from the Beatles. If they thought it was worthwhile then CD's would have to be the way to go. There were TV news stories, pictures of them piled up in the stores and every DJ was talking about it on the radio. This was a major event.

I rushed to my local Ann & Hope store (a local department store retailer in the days before Wal Mart) to got my copy. I felt like Indiana Jones as he beheld the Ark of the Covenant for the first time. This was right before I had to pick up my girlfriend after school. I was so excited to show her what I had, that I was able to secure my piece of rock and roll history.

Did I mention that June 1, 1983 was also our first year anniversary of when we started dating?

As I ready my son's plea to spend their two month anniversary together I could see the look in my girlfriend's eyes as she looked around for something other than the CD I held in my hand like a biblical relic. Flowers.....a card......something. I also heard, clearly and loudly through time the yelling and screaming that followed for the next half hour and the two days worth of cold shoulder I received.

So....we're making alternative plans to see "Spiderman 3".