Blog Archive 2017 May
Mon May 1 = I wasted a lot of time online, making phone calls and going from store to store to locate a 1oz travel-sized Mennen Speed Stick DEODORANT. I have a couple of empty ones at home and don't think they make them any more.
- Tonight I did my Yoga routine at the Coldtowne Theater in Austin. I had forgotten to email Amber, the producer, ahead of time so signed up on the stand-by list. I got up to an audience of 20.
- Someone mentioned an open mic that started at midnight at the Spiderhouse Ballroom, so I did it too. It was a good crowd of 21, standing room, only, because they have no seats or tables for the show.
- Spent the night at a south Austin Walmart, headed toward San Antonio
Tue May 2 = Before tonight's comedy at
Laugh Out Loud in San Antonio, I went next door to the Draft House for a chicken Caesar salad. They were so slow in getting it to me that I did not have time to eat much of it, so they gave it to me free. Thanks! I felt better about them and left my usual $2 tip.
- Comedy at
Laugh Out Loud went well. Kenny, the host who was scheduled to introduce me was high and not making a lot of sense, so Joe Blues, the first host introduced me. Did a good job. My Gym & Fitness routine went pretty well.
- Spent the night at a Walmart, headed toward Dallas.
Wed May 3 = I spent some time in the Skilman Library in Dallas, doing my website, email and checking to see if magnetic car signs damage the car's paint. They don't if kept clean, except for uneven fading, which should not be a problem with my WHITE van.
- I phoned my friend Dewey Par on
- OBX
- Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina
and found that he and Mary have sold the Old Gray House. They are doing well.
- My routine tonight at Hyena's Comedy Nightclub was ?75 FallOff 100 Oscar & Pull Out for the close. Really good people, including Raymond (Bm) the manager and Randy, the owner. Raymond said that videos submitted for openers for them had to be clean.
- Spent the night at a Dallas Walmart, headed toward Houston.
Thu May 4 = This morning I took my van to Discount Tire for a tire rotation, spin balance and pressure check, then across the street to Pep Boys for an oil change.
- At Saint Dane's in Houston, I was given seven minutes and did 7:42 of Fall off Boxes OldFolks and closed with Avalanche.
- Someone mentioned something about a comedy show on Friday in Spring, TX, a little town northeast of Houston, so I spent the night at a Walmart in northeast Houston.
Fri May 5 = Since I didn't have to do much driving, but wasn't in a library, I spent quite a bit of time with my phone in tethered Wi-Fi mode for my Internet work. I tried to get onto FaceBook with my phone, but no luck, between my two accounts. The account I would like to close and do not use any more kept showing up on my phone.
- The Blue Giraffe in Spring, TX was awesome and laid back - mostly musicians. There was no time limit on my comedy so I kept them going for 27 minutes. What fun!
- I spent the night at a Walmart, headed for Brentwood, TN.
Sat May 6 = I made lots of phone calls and drove by Dallas to two comedy clubs, trying to get some stage time tonight so I could say that I set a new record by doing comedy in Texas for a straight week, Sun through Sat. No dice, but I sat a record anyway, doing Texas comedy SIX straight nights.
- Spent the night in Rockwall TX.
Sun May 7 = I stopped by Winthrup, AR and for some tethered web stuff. Spent the night in Forest City, Arkansas after driving 390 miles for the day.
Mon May 8 = After some focused driving, I arrived in the Ramsey Solutions parking lot in time to check things out, take a nap in the van and then go in to see the first hour of the Dave Ramsey show, live, along with the delicious cookies freshly baked in Martha's Place in the lobby. Among other things, couple gave their debt-free scream. Although that is typically not my favorite part of Dave's shows, witnessing it in person was an emotional experience. I teared up a little. I just wish I had taken a picture of the couple. It was awesome. I also got my picture with Dave, which is now on my
Smart Stuff web page
Tue May 9 = I spent some time at the Jackson Madison County Library, did a 22-minute light full body workout at LA Fitness and no comedy at Chuckles, because there was no audience.
- Spent the night in Haven, MS on my way to Baton Rouge, LA.
Wed May 10 = Hard day of driving to Baton Rouge, LA, but it was worth it. Comedy at The Station Sports Bar was great and the people very supportive. I sold ten T-Shirts to most of the bar staff.
- I spent the night at a Baton Rouge Walmart.
Thu May 11 = I threw my old, regular, can opener in the trash this morning, after testing my new one for a few days. The new one lifts the lid, with the bead, off the top of the can so the top can be used as a lid with no sharp edge. Also the can does not have a sharp edge fits plastic pet-food lids. it even opens cans with less effort, which helps with my bad right biceps.
- Finally!
Yahoo, Bing and
Duck Duck Go search engines finally caught up with my website since Feb 16th and after about three months when I made the change. They now show my comedy Home Page at the top of their searches rather than my Kiteboarding Home Page.
- Today I paid off all four of my credit cards as I do every month. Doing it through
Mint was a breeze.
- Spent the night at a Walmart in Prarieville, LA.
Fri May 12 = Today I spent about four hours at the Walmart finding and telephoning the three TV stations that service the
- OBX
- Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina
area and writing a press release to possibly send them.
- For my treat night I finished off the carrot cake I bought on sale in Phoenix over three months ago. I had cut it p in appropriately-sized pieces, froze em and then threw some in my little refrigerator before leaving home.
- I went to The Dragon's Den to check out their comedy and open mic.
- Spent the night on Esplanade St near The Drago's Den, New Orleans, LA (NOLA).
Sat May 13 = This morning at the 1901 Tchoupitoulas St Walmart I bought a cute flat, compact visor clip-on light to use to light my T-Shirts at dark comedy venues. It will stow much better than the head lamp I am currently using. Besides that headlamp is my favorite to use in the van at night. The only down side is that the new one operates on two button batteries, which won't last as long and will cost more... but it sure is a cute light. Only cost $1. Of course, after I bought it I had to make a special cardboard easel to hold it at the right angle to light up my shirts.
- For my website, I added four new FUTURE APPEARANCES to arizonalou.com for New Orleans. They don't seem to have a regular comedy theater, but do have quite a few open mics... and lots of music... especially blues. What a place!
- This afternoon I spent several hours in the Downtown New Orleans Library, mostly adding four New Orleans shows to my FUTURE APPEARANCES.
- This evening I caught up on some blogging and also resolved my checking account... in just 37 minutes :).
- Tonight I parked near the library on South Liberty Street near Tulane University's Department of Neurosurgery. After all my computering, we'll see if I have enough energy left in my
- LiFeMnPO
- our van's Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen
house
battery
to keep the refrigerator going for the night.
Sun May 14 = Since there is no rain forecast for the next week and since I was parked in the shade of some big buildings, this morning, I cleaned all the bugs from my van - the first time this trip. It really needed it after the driving from Phoenix. Then I took my van to an automatic car wash. It looks great new.
- My comedy was up on the high stage at The Hi-Lo Lounge and then at Igor's Buddha Belly Bar and Laundromat. Yes, you can do your laundry in an area between the bar and the pool room. Their stage was not very high, but DID have a brass pole in the middle.
- Spent the night at the Walmart in southwest NOLO.
Mon May 15 = Twelve Mile Limit was the venue for my comedy tonight. It was an unusually responsive crowd and Julie Mitchell ran a good show.
- At night, I've started tracking the voltages of my
- LiFeMnPO
- our van's Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen
house
battery
,
as it tends to run down, resulting in a
- LVD
- Low-Voltage Disconnect. To avoid battery damage, it shuts off the load of my LiFeMnPO battery at 11.5 Volts.
in warm weather when I am staying in one place and not doing much driving.
- Spent the night at the Walmart in southwest NOLO.
Tue May 16 = I followed up with some of the TV stations.
- What an interesting show at Bar Redux in New Orleans. Since GG the host and DC the producer extended our sets because there were not very many comedians signed up, I did 7:34 minutes of Being Old, OBX, SUP, Yoga and T-Shirt.
- Spent the night at the Walmart in southwest NOLO.
Wed May 17 = One project at the Alvar library this afternoon was to write a note to Joe and Tami Thompson of Koru in Avon to see if they want to patch up our differences. Either way is OK with me, but I like to get along with people.
- The BIG project was to learn how to do audio fades with Audacity. I used the Studio Fade for my inter-comedian music, so between comedians, with my PA system I can start the music and it will automatically fade after about five seconds. This idea is courtesy of Tom Sims in Phoenix.
- Spent the night at the
By Water Anytime Fitness, NOLO.
Thu May 18 = I decided it was important to do two things before leaving NOLO this morning: a heavy full-body workout at the
By Water Anytime Fitness and email press releases to the newspapers of
- OBX
- Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina
.
- Then I headed for Tampa, FL to visit my daughter and family. I made it as far as the Chipley, FL Walmart, where I spent the night.
Fri May 19 = Long, focused driving to spend a few days with my daughter, Anne, and her girls in Riverview FL, which is close to Tampa. Robby was away on business with the Air Force.
Sat May 20 = Good day visiting. Did some shopping with Anne. Also I helped Katy study some science and stuff for the finals that she is taking the next few days.
Sun May 21 = I went to church with Anne's. It was interesting. It is a good church... and they are completely out of debt!
This afternoon I took my granddaughter, Brooke, to a park. It had the fanciest play area I've ever seen with ailing ship type climbing nets etc.
- This evening we watched the first part of
Holes, a Disney movie on Net Flicks.
Mon May 22 = I took my granddaughter, Katy to Barnes & Nobel where she found two new books. Couldn't wait to read them.
- This afternoon we went to the graduation ceremony for the school where Katy and Brook attend. Katy sang in the choir for their special number. It is a small Christian school. All four graduates had an opportunity to speak.
- After the choir number I took Brooke home for bed and got everything packed up. When Anne and Katy got home, I left, heading toward Atlanta, anticipating a long drive.
- Spent the night in Brandon, FL.
Tue May 23 = I drove all the way in some heavy rain, directly to The Urban Grind coffee shop in time for a sandwich and to sign up for the open mic. It was a fun group, but I bombed. I learned that you don't want to insult the host. That might have turned the audience off some. I tried parts of six routines and nothing seemed to work. The other comedians started with audience work. I'll have to try that tomorrow night. Since I learned from my experience, I won't take that baggage to my next appearance.
- Spent the night in a perfect, quiet and shady place, in a parking lot near The Urban Grind.
Wed May 24 = Good day with a visit to LA Fitness and a neat comedy show at The Java Monkey in Atlanta. Joel hosted with the utmost creativity. It was a good audience of 18.
- Spent the night at an underground Walmart parking lot in Decatur, GA. Pure shade, but music all night on their speaker system.
- In reply to the card I sent him a week ago, to see if he would "like to get along, I got an email from Joe Thompson of Koru in Avon. He says I am not welcomed on his properties. At least I extend an olive branch.
- Spent the night at the
By Water Anytime Fitness, NOLO.
Thu May 25 = This morning I phoned the three man newspapers for Hatteras Island. Linda put up a link to
this neat article on the website for the
Outer Banks Sentinel. Cool.
- I killed with my Viagra set at The Relapse Theater open mic. I plan to use my video of the set to update my
- EPK
- Electronic Press Kit for my stand-up comedy
,
in spite of failing to activate my camera #2 (cell phone set on wide angle from the rear). Also Trey Dunn agreed to let me put him on my new list of recommendations.
- Spent the night in Atlanta, GA.
Fri May 26 = Tonight was the first night under my new 4' x 9' giant towel. Yesterday morning I got four yards of terry cloth at Walmart. White was the only color they had, so I got some dark brown dye today at a Publix Market. Now I will own the beach!
- Spent the night in Gafner, NC on my way to Raleigh.
Sat May 27 = Tonight it cost me about $30 to see Dominique, a special event at Good Night's Comedy Club in Raleigh, to a packed house of about 260. Both Dominique and her feature comedian are Black. Actually I liked him better than her. Both had the crowd rockin' the whole time. It was refreshing to see two Black comedians talking about life without bringing putting race into the mix. Dominique even included some good politics, finance, life insurance and parenting. The audience, and I ate it up.
- Spent the night in Raleigh, NC.
Sun May 28 = Today was mostly driving east or in a library.
- Spent the night in Kinston, NC on my way to New Bern, NC for the TV station interview.
Mon May 29 = A break-down and other interesting things today. I had done a good job predicting the morning shade so, I finished processing the video from Thursday at Relapse Theater, the sound from Wednesday at Java Monkey and better organizing the AV files I need to process.
- Around noon I found that the TV interview was going to be in Greensboro instead of Bern. It was a little longer drive from Kinston, but no biggie, because Greensboro is pretty much on the way from Kinston to
- OBX
- Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina
.
Adam Gaub, who is from Arizona, is the main writer for WCTI-12'S website. We sat on adjacent sides of a table. He is an amazing note taker. Well, of course, that is his profession. He took a couple of photos of me with his cell phone and I went on my way.
- Heading for OBX, I got about 70 miles out of Greensboro, NC on Highway 16 when my van overheated. The serpentine belt had come off. That's the belt that drives everything, including the power steering, AC and alternator. While I sat for about two hours to let the van cool down, I researched nearby auto shops, using my cell phone. In the mean time Mike Cole stopped by to check on me, talked to me about God and insisted I take his $40. Good guy. I gave him a 5XL T-shirt (first one that size I ever sold) and donated the balance to Duet. Also a highway patrolman stopped by to check on me. Both recommended Brian Oakes in Columbia as a mechanic. With a cool engine, I made it about two miles to Mark's Supermarket in Creswell, where I got some bread and spent the night. The cashier recommended Brian Oakes.
Tue May 30 = My van made it about 5.5 miles before starting to get hot. I shut it down and waited about two hours, then drove the remaining four miles to Oakes Auto Service in Columbia, NC. Brian installed my spare serpentine belt for $35 and bought a T-shirt. Good guy!
- Due to the breakdown I had to skip going to my favorite
- OBX
- Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina
gym, but not the Manteo Library, where I spent a little over an hour updating my website and figuring my next T-shirt order. I'll plan on ordering 49, so I'll have plenty to sell here on Hatteras Island and since I will have a place to store them at the Sands of Time Campground.
- On the way south I stopped by some shops and spent the night at Kitty Hawk Kites in Rodanthe.
Wed May 31 = This afternoon my
kiteboarding excursion was about two hours for 20 minutes on the water - slow because it was my first time since last July. Everyone who knew better than me, or people who were not too lazy to walk to the road and get a smaller kite were on 8's and 9's. I was on my 12: fully depowered and still with lots of power. I did four little jumps. Once I was going out-of-control fast, got off the board and took a while to body drag my way back upwind to my board. Standing on the bottom of the 4' deep water and waiting for my board was out of the question because the too-big kite kept dragging me downwind.
- At the Sands of Time campground Gracie and I toured all the grassy areas and, with the help of her daughter, Michelle, determined the best one for the comedy shows. This evening we checked out the LED spot lights I bought at Home Depot and arranged them, on the top of two ladders, pointing toward the
stage.
- About 10pm I went to Turner's Hight Moon Bar to see some friends from previous years an check out Chad's Open Mic. There were three musicians... and me. I did about nine minutes of Yoga and stuff.
- Tonight was my first night as the resident comedian for the Sands of Time Campground. Almost a perfect spot; quiet and shady until around noon. Moving the van to the other side of a tree makes it shady the rest of the day. Since there is no electricity at my site I sometimes have to idle my van before bedtime and maybe once during the night to keep my refrigerator and little ceiling fan going here in the warm weather. The lows at night are in the lower 70's.
