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Arizona Lou

Blog Archive 2018 Jan

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Mon Jan 1 = HAPPY NEW YEAR! I spent most of the morning organizing the rest of the day and fixing a lunch to pack. By then it was a little after noon and I decided to lay in the cloudy sun here at the apartments' pool.
- I took a taxi directly to Sandy Point Beach Club to meet with Elvira Grant, the activities director, and found that something happened during the weekend and that she will be out for six weeks on sick leave.
- Out, then to Pigeon Point where there was not enough wind for kiteboarding, so hung around the beach, Radical Sports and the Kenmars Beach Restaurant, visiting and inviting people to come see my 5:30pm comedy show at Radical this evening. Working on my website and a salad at Kenmars rounded out the afternoon until time for the comedy show.
- I did my longest comedy show yet here on Tobago tonight at Radical Sports The audience of 12 included fun, responsive, people from 5 countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Greese, Germany, UK and Sweden) and one dog. They sat on grass and I did the 29-minute show also on the grass. Life is good!

Tue Jan 2 = This morning I read Scott Adams' list of skills for adults. He says
I made a list of skills in which I think every adult should gain a working knowledge. I wouldn't expect you to become a master of any, but mastery isn't necessary. Luck has a good chance of finding you if you become merely good in most of these areas. I'll make a case for each one, but here's the preview list. - Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
- I got out to Radical Sports by about 3pm to little wind. I put my 12m kite up in the air for a while on the beach, but there wasn't enough wind for much else. The people who were out in the morning said that there was a little more wind earlier, but nothing to write home about.
- On the way home I stopped by Bago's Beach Bar about doing comedy, where I waited for Shirley, the owner, who told me I needed to wait for Jasane who just started handling the evening programs. I spent about two hours total waiting and finally left my business card with Shirley.
- Optionally, I could have gone to Scarborough and tried my hand at some sidewalk comedy as the passengers returned to the Viking Sea cruise ship. Maybe tomorrow afternoon with the Albatross.
- I got to bed early, at 11:04pm, only had to pee 1.5 times and had the best night's sleep yet here on Tobago. Probably because I drank almost no water after 12:00 noon.

Wed Jan 3 - A few minutes before noon, I got out to Pigeon Point and Radical Sports. I put up my kite (12m) and went out. After that I figured that the wind would have delivered by board to the beach around the point by the lime green boat. A friend said he'd help me find it and in a few minutes, came back with my board. The world is surely full of nice people.
- Around 3pm I took a taxi home to Douglas Apartments for a late lunch and short nap before heading out to the deep-sea port in Scarborough to do some sidewalk comedy as passengers arrived to the Albatross from their day's excursion. That didn't work out because it was relatively small boat (800-1800 passengers) and they were all... German. So I did a couple of sidewalk shows for two different groups of locals.
- On the way home I stopped by a little rusty gym at Milford and Golden Groove. No walls and is open 24 hours a day except from 6:30pm Fridays to 6:30pm Saturdays. I did a light full-body workout there and paid Zachariah, son of the owner, for two weeks of working out. I still owe them tt$20 since Zachariah did not have change.
- After a late supper, I walked down to Bago's Beach Bar and arranged with Jasane Phillip to do a half hour introduction to their Karaoke show on Sunday and, if it works out, a full-length show on January 13th or 14th, just before I leave for home in Phoenix. Jasane is excited about the whole thing, as I am also.
- I hung around The Jade Monkey for a couple hours. Sean, the owner never showed up while I was there and they said that he would have to OK my doing stand up comedy at their karaoke tonight.

Thu Jan 4 = I stayed in most of the day working on an hour's worth of comedy. Toward supper time I did pretty much all my material out loud... an hour and a half. I also thought of a few tweaks to improve a few things.
Scott Adams' persuasive words and phrases: - Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

Fri Jan 5 = You are reading the blog of a newly certified IKO (International Kiteboarding Organization) level 3 kiteboarder. This afternoon, in barely sufficient wind, Bret, the owner of Radical Sports took me through the paces of a self-launch, dragging upwind with and without the board, riding upwind, jumping and punching out for a self-rescue. The latter always tangles up your kite lines. It took me less than an hour to get everything untangled, wrapped up and on my way for...
- ... my preproduction meeting with Jasane, the evening manager/producer at the Bago's Beach Bar. We worked out the details for Sunday, when I will introduce their new Karaoke show with five minutes of comedy. The comedy is a tease for the following Sunday when I will do a whole show there as the headliner.
- Boy did I look stupid this evening. The sidewalks here in Trinidad are irregular and VERY ROUGH, which I have observed. I WAS stupid by not watching my step as I was walking up Milford. It goes to show what happens when, instead, you are watching the girls. Actually, it's worse than that. I wasn't even watching the girls. There were a couple people sitting by a store and I was thinking of how I might be able to impress them with me, as a comedian. That whole idea went out the window at 6:07pm when I tripped. Evidently after I caught one foot on a bump, my recovery foot got caught on the same bump. I spread myself out on the sidewalk in front of my audience, landing and scooting on my right shoulder, both hands, right toes, but mostly, on my right knee. The people asked if I was OK, so naturally I lied and said I was, which was true at the time because my knee was sporting a white area where the skin was scraped off, but no blood... yet. Fortunately my knee was not bruised. It is a good thing I didn't hit my head. On second thought, that might not have made much difference.
- I considered leaving my wounds open, thinking of the advantages of collecting all that sympathy. For better or for worse, I made a 180 and headed back down the street to Bhagan's Drug where they put together my tt$41 human patch kit.
- You may wonder why the photos of my knee (bottom) are so small. My daughter almost disowned me 2.5 years ago when she saw some PHOTOS of my right hand after my
SUP
Stand-Up Paddleboarding
accident in the Dominican Republic. Well, she didn't HAVE to scroll down for the graphic photos!
Shoulder Left hand
Right hand Foot
To enlarge a small image below, right click your computer mouse or touch & hold it on your phone.
Knee After 2 hours & before clean-up (Photo taken 1/5/18)
Knee After 18 hours; not healing yet (1/6/18)
Knee After 40 hours; 15 hours after unbandaging & dabbing with with mercurochrome; Healing! (1/7/18)
Knee After 7.5 days; 14 hours after swimming 45 minutes in the lagoon for the Bio Tour (1/13/18)
Knee After 3 weeks. The lower scab just fell off (1/26/18)
Knee After 4 weeks. The upper scab fell off last night (2/2/18)

- After cleaning and disinfecting my knee, for the night, I spent the night with it exposed (no A/C, sheet or enything) hoping that the air would cause it to start healing. I was slightly cool all night with a minimum oral temperature of 96.9° F.

Sat Jan 6 = At noon I spent 24 minutes laying in the hazy sun, hoping 12 minutes of sun for my knee would start it healing. It didn't. By 7:30pm when I bandaged the knee for tonight's comedy outing, most of it was still an open wound with a little oozing blood. Sorry for the details, but I am sharing mostly for my own tracing of the healing process. Since the knee was bandaged I spent a comfortable night under a sheet with no A/C. My minimum oral temperature was 96.9° F.
- I found out about international calling through Google Fi: $.20/minute from Tobago to US and $14 to $19/minute within Tobago. My total bill to Jan 5 was $95! From this point on I am going to use only wifi for phone calls. It should be free. We'll see.
- Magdalena Grand had a small crowd of 16. Of course I had to explain the elephant in the room, my knee. I also did my fitness and gym stuff. My taxi driver, Heston Lopez, stayed with me for most of the show and then took me back home. He also did some karaoke, himself. Heston
- About 11:30pm when I returned to my appartment, my neighbors from Colombia invited me for a visit at their table out on our shared front porch so we had fun hanging out and testing our linguistic abilities.

Sun Jan 7 = I woke up with three comedy appearances prepared and scheduled for today and ended up only doing only one. When I phoned Jassane about stage lighting for tonight, he informed me that he had called tonight's show off because he and his staff were suffering from a huge party last night that ended about 6am this morning, as well as some possible food poisoning. I wish them all luck. Revising my Announcment Slips and getting things lined up for shopping and comedy took enough time that I didn't have time to go to Scarborough's deep water port for sidewalk comedy. In port was The Costa Magica, a French boat and no one probably speaks English anyway.
- I did have time to squeeze grocery shopping at the Viewport Supermarket since Penny Savers was closed.
- Out at Radical Sports on Pigeon Point I followed my comedy plan pretty closely for a 30 minute show, talking about where audience members were from, my knee, getting around in taxis, hand in DR, and some of my gym routine.
- Back home I unwrapped my knee and blotted it with a mercurochrome 1% solution. The wonds haven't started healing yet.
- Tonight I contacted American Airlines through their website to see if I can file my delayed baggage claim by EMAIL. I went to bed without anything on, hoping my knee starts to heal. During the night it started to scab over :)

Mon Jan 8 = Around 1900, Frederick Matthias Alexander developed a technique to overcome his voice loss and help reduce the pain he was experiencing on stage while he was performing Shakespere. His methods are now known, believe it or not, as The Alexander Technique. Here are some things I came accross to help me:

Sitting properly while using a computer:


Posture is a big and ugly thing for me. Here is a video of an easy daily lying exersize to improve posture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iehtr8X3qMc. Also here is a website with Five exercises using the Alexander technique.
- Because of my scraped knee, this morning I decided I ought to take a tour of Tobago tomorrow instead of kiteboarding, so I researched tours. Hans, himself, of Hans Tours stopped by and I scheduled an Island Tour on Wednesday with him. He mentioned that there was an unscheduled cruise ship of English speakers at port in Scarborough.
- So this afternoon I added Sidewalk Comedy to my day's activities. On the way to Scarborough, I stopped by two relatively big drug stores (Crown Point and Carnbee) looking for large water-proof bandages for my knee. The consensus and conclusion was that they did not have anything that large and, if I went kiteboarding with my knee uncovered, the seawater would help the wounds heal.
- At the Deep Water Port; Scarborough there were few people around because everyone was on board the ship, as it was departing earlier than I expected. The closest I came to Sidewalk Comedy was visiting with a couple of gentlemen. About all one wanted to talk about was the existence and power of his concept of God. Yes, HE brought up the subject. He, the man, not God.
- On the way home I stopped by Jade Monkey and talked with Sean, the manager, a little about Stand Up Comedy there. He is going to check with the owners and get back with me tomorrow evening.
- Back home here, this evening I, again, sharpened the pop-up side trimmer on my Remington F-5790 shaver. About a month ago I sharpened it using toothpaste as an abrasive and ended up with a hair puller, not a trimmer. On the way home this evening I finally found some valve lapping compound, probably 128 grit on the fine side of the container, at an auto parts store in Scarborough. That is what worked for me a year ago. I'll let the shaver dry on the top of the refrigerator condensr tonight and give you a report tomorrow morning. Next morning the trimmer was a little better, but not great.

Tue Jan 9 = It was a mistake when I put petroleum jelly on my knee before I went to bed last night. Today the wounds were considerably worse, with some oozing open areas. Around noon I washed all the petroleum jelly off with soap, let the knee dry, applied Mercurochrome, canceled possible kiteboarding due to the, now, open wounds and lay in the sun to kick start the healing of my knee.
- I just heard a caller to the Clark and Lou  Clark Howard Show who says he NEVER pays full price for anything, but shops prices on his smart phone and negotiates for a price match. His specific example was buying tires, where he saved hundreds of dollars. I'll have to remember that next time I buy at Discount Tire.
- Today's trip, a combination of jogging for exercise and txi was to the little rusty gym at Milford and Golden Groove where I spent almost an hour doing a light full-body workout followed by a heavy one. When I did my inverted shrugs the crowd cheered, as they had never seen them before. Of course I used the opportunity to tell some of them about my comedy appearances for the rest of the week before my departure.
- The other stop was the Bone Accord Food Basket. Not sure what it is really called. Approaching from the east their sign says Bonne Accord Food Basket. Approaching from the west it says the Canaan Foot Basket. Their receipts say, Bone Accord. They confuse me, but do have good produce.
- In the evenings I have been going over most of my material in preparation for Sunday night at Bago's Beach Bar.

Wed Jan 10 = This was tour day - mostly in the rain. Award-winning tour guide, Hans, picked me up at 9am in his tour van, then five others for a happy group from Chicago, New York, Phoenix and Sweden.
Charlotsville Tree House
We drove twisty roads through a rainforest, to an old fort and by spectacular beach views, like Charlotteville (Lou's photo, above) to have lunch at Jemma's Tree House Restaurant (above) in Hermitage where I had fresh grilled Tuna. Finally we had ice cream in Scarborough.
- I hiked up a gnarlly trail to Argyle Falls, Tobago's highest waterfall... in my sandles... in the rain... with two Swedish girls on our tour. Yes, the hike was worth it.
Water Fall Water Fall
- This evening I contacted some of the bars for comedy and then updated my website accordingly: I will not be at Jade Monkey tonight, and my Sunday evening appearance at Bago's Beach Bar will be a five minute introduction to their new Karaoke shows.

Thu Jan 11 = This morning I fine-sharpened the side trimmer of my Remington F-5790 shaver with toothpaste, and it made it work a little better. I also looked at my meals and compared them to the foods that are the foundation of Scott Adams' diet. He takes willpower out of the equasion by keeping around the following:
Scott Adams' foods: (* = On his list but not on mine; + = Not on his list but on mine
- This afternoon I took three taxis for my trip today. One to Scarborough where I had fun interacting with the British passengers returning to the Britannia.
Cruise Ship
A second taxi to the intersection of Millbrook and Golden Grove in Canaan for a light full-body workout at the little rusty gym. The third back home to Douglas Apartments, with a stop by the Food Basket for a lot of Broccoli.
- This evening I tweaked some of my comedy routines and downloaded statements for my credit union checking accounts.

Fri Jan 12 = There was barely enough wind to kite a couple runs and then walk back upwind ane pack up my stuff.
- The Radical staff told me about tonight's Bio Tour. Since it was the last before I leave, I changed my plans and hung around for it. The briefing was at 5:30 and the tour ended about 8:30. It was not a disappointment. Claus, from Germany, my kyak buddy paddled along with a motley crew on
SUP
Stand-Up Paddleboarding
boards and in kyaks through some rain to the lagoon behind No Man's Beach. There, the luminescent wake of our kayak was cool, as it was the splash from our paddling. In the water, when we kicked our legs they were illuminated, as were our hands. When standing on the bottom in a shallower area, my chest had sparkles of light. This was one of those things you just enjoyed because photography was out of the question due to the low light levels and motion required to disturb the water. This picture is not what we saw. It was probably Photoshopped.
Bioluminescence
When traveler, Sarah Baxter saw it, in this article she wrote:
Three years ago, Duane and Brett discovered that the mangrove-fringed lagoon behind their house was a hotbed of bioluminescence. This is caused by dinoflagellates, a type of marine plankton that emits a blueish light when agitated. The light is their defence mechanism; it's supposed to keep predators away. On humans, it has the opposite effect.
- In the process of swimming in the lagoon for about 45 minutes, I set the healing of my knee back... again. Yes the bioluminescence was worth it.

Sat Jan 13 = Since I was out later last night with the Bio Tour I opted to not go out to Pigeon Point early. I went out later in the afternoon to pack up all my equipment and vacate their storage shed.

Sun Jan 14 = This morning I learned that I will have to be out of my apartment by noon tomorrow, so I spent time packing. It looks like my golf bag will weigh 50 lb, a little more than I would like, but should weigh in at under the 23kg limit at the airport.
- While I had my kite harness, bar and giant towel drying in the sun, I lay out for 20 minutes - my last time in the tropical sun this trip.
- This afternoon I prepared some meals for tomorrow and Tuesday, as I will be heading home to Phoenix. Also I prepared for tonight's comedy appearances.
- I did two shows this evening, without a microphone, and my voice held out. The 5:30 show at Radical Sports; out at Pigeon Point was fun. Everyone there wanted to see stand up comedy - some of them for the first time. My Viagra, Anemometer and various other topics were well received, considering there were no children in the audience. A time or two one of the younger guys couldn't stop laughing. What fun!
- I arrived at the Bago's Beach Bar (on the way home on Pigeon Point Rd) in time to chill out for about a coupe of hours. The plan was for me to introduce their new Karaoke show with five minutes of stand-up comedy. They had lots of technical difficulties, including no working microphone, so I did 16 minutes of comedy. It was a good crowd of 35 which cooperated and gathered close for my weak voice.

Mon Jan 15 = My goal was to have nothing left when I departed. I came out even in tt$, Pineapple & Guava Jam, bread and insect repellant. I had small amounts of other things left, which I gave to my neighbors.
- After I vacated my room at noon, Joanne Douglas found me the porch of an unrented apartment with an outlet, where I set up shop. I spent 1.5 hours (because I am slow) writing three thank you notes to Tobagonians who helped me have a pleasant stay. Then I checked in online for my flights back to Phoenix and put my boarding passes on my cell phone. My first time for that. Next, I listened and analyzed some past comedy appearances.
- Andre took me to the airport about 3:30 where the agent offered, and I accepted an earlier flight, at 4:30 rather than 6:30. After the 20-minute flight to Trinidad I hung out at the airport at a table by an electrical outlet at Royal Castle Chicken after leisurely eating one of their salads.
- I hit the hay a little after 9pm. That's a stretch, considering I was on the floor in the terminal. However, I did have my giant towel and inflatable pillow.
- Sleeping was sketchy, as I expected. As I lay on the hard floor under my towel in a corner under a stairs, I asked myself it this was really better than a hotel for a few hours. At least the price was right. After three of these floor sessions I switched to under the dome in the extremely noisy area among four large video displays, totaling 19 screens to a seat which was softer. The noise was punctuated by an a** hole also trying to sleep while yelling in Spanish and laughing near my ear to his friend sitting behind me, who was also yelling and laughing back. I got a little sleep after they disappeared.

Tue Jan 16 = One of the security ladies at the Trinidad Airport was gruff, refused to smile for any reason and accused me of not emptying everything out of my pockets because of a bulge in my shorts. I came up with some choice remarks that she did not think funny.
- During the 8:45am flight to Miami I got some rest and I had fun visiting with flight attendant, Susan, and her flight attendant friend in the back of the plane. Our plane arrived early, but had to wait in a holding area on the tarmac for bout 20 minutes because another plane was still at our gate. By the time we deplaned, it was too late for most of us to get our checked bags, go through immigration and customs and make our connecting flights. My wheel chair plan (Liliana was my escort) worked, except for getting my checked bag. I would have made the flight, but not my bag. American Airlines does not put you on a plane without your bag.
- So they put me on a flight leaving at 9:40 pm, about seven hours later. I hung around the airport, did some web stuff and visited with people like Jean Claude, a big Black guy from Chicago who travels a lot with his public transportation business.
- The red-eye to Phoenix was the first time I had a row of three seats to myself. I got about four hours sleep :) Getting off the plane, I was in no rush, so I put a bug in one of the stewardess' ears about doing a little comedy for them after everyone was off the plane.
- My 600th appearance was for the group of five flight attendants. Doing, what else but some of my airline bathroom set. They laughed a lot and we all had fun. My reward was a Ziploc bag with a pound of mixed nuts and this email from Suzanne Riley:
Greetings Lou!
It was nice having you on our flight! We enjoyed meeting you and witnessing the 600th rendition of your comedy act. Wishing you all the best and hope to see you again on another flight!
Keep on laughing,
Your Flight Crew
- I got home via SuperShuttle and got to bed at 3:24 in the morning. Good to be in my own bed with my CPAP.

Wed Jan 17 = Big list of things to do today: I had to hunt for the latest backups for my
XPS
Dell XPS-13 computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
so I could install the Dymo software on my
Alcatel
The little 10" computer I bought to get me by in Tobago after my Dell XPS died. It's tight with only 2gb RAM and a 32gb SSD hard drive
in order to print labels and make tickets for my New Faces appearance in Feb at The Tempe Improv. I also got paper work done for sending in my XPS for repair and got it boxed up and ready for FedEx.

Thu Jan 18 = I took the sun screens off my windows today to make my house brighter here in the winter and to let in more heat from the sun and save a little on heating the house.
- I found a new development: metal organic frameworks, or MOFs that can grab and then release various gasses like methane and water vapor. The latter, powered by sunlight, can produce 3 L of water per day from... desert air.

Fri Jan 19 = Dealing with my dead
XPS
Dell XPS-13 computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
has been taking quite a bit of time. Last time I did a backup, the first half of December, I kept getting an out-of-memory error so did not get individual files backed up the way I like to. I did do a C: drive image, though. The best backup of most of my files is on my old
Vaio
Old Sony Vaio Duo 11 computer with 11.6" touch screen, Windows 10, 8gb memory and 256gb SSD
so I have been emailing files to my
Alcatel
The little 10" computer I bought to get me by in Tobago after my Dell XPS died. It's tight, with only 2gb RAM and a 32gb SSD hard drive
.

Sat Jan 20 = I have been bouncing around ideas about my Tobago trip for my Herberger appearance tomorrow. Now to put my nose to the grindstone and solidify them.
- I researched how to speed the healing of my skinned knee - specifically whether to cover it or not. My conclusion: covering it with a bandage or petroleum jelly will help to rebuild the skin, as opposed to having a scab, although giving the wound air is also good. So I put petroleum jelly on it this afternoon.
- Friday I got this email:
Hi Lou!
Somehow I stumbled on your standup video. Funny stuff! I like your timing.
I really was taken with the shirt though. I want one! Is there any way to buy one through the mail?
Please let me know,
Steve Wampus Reynolds
I don't run a mail-order business, but as a favor to Steve, I got the shirt packaged up and in the mail this evening. I also went to an LA Fitness gym and did an arms workout: a light-set round, then finished off with three rounds of heavy.

Box
- This evening I made the cutest 1.5 x 6 x 7" white box with rounded corners and a slot for Arizona Lou Reminder Request email slips. First use will be at Herberger's Kax Stage tomorrow.

Sun Jan 21 = I did my new Tobago Taxi/Wounded Knee routine at the Kax Stage at the Herberber Theater and then headed out to Mesa for the same routine at Comedy Off Main St.

Mon Jan 22 = I lay in the sun and then headed to north Scottsdale to see my urologist. Although I have been going to that practice several years, it is the first time I actually met my doctor, thanks to previous appointments with PAs etc.
- After that I drove down to
Dahlia
my Phoenix rental house located on Dahlia Drive
where I met Sherri, my property manager about updating the place after the tenant moves out. Sherri said that replacing the medicine cabinets with plain flat mirrors is mandatory to be in style. That, seems to me, is a step backwards. The whole thing is apt to cost a little over $6k. We covered lots of ground so our meeting ran late.
- it was too late to go to The Writer's Table in Mesa, so I stopped by LA Fitness at 32 St & Bell for a shower and a slow, heavy torso workout. I also scheduled some local comedy appearances and evaluated the results of my new Tobago Taxi/Wounded Knee appearances.
- Last Night I was introduced as Arizona's Favorite Old Man instead of America's Favorite Old Man, so I thought I'd check it out. I came up #1 when I searched for either version on Google, Bing, Yahoo and Duck Duck Go. I don't know what that means, but it made me feel good.

Tue Jan 23 = Down in South Tempe at Dos Gringos, and again in west Phoenix at Grand Avenue Pizza, I did a tweaked version of my Tobago Taxi/Wounded Knee routine. It surely was good to see so many of my comedian friends again. It may not have been smart in this cold weather, but I have been wearing shorts to show off my, now scabbed over knee as part of my routine and, maybe, to get a little sympathy.

Wed Jan 24 = Tom Sims runs a good show, Laughter @ The Lounge on N 7th St. I went up with what I think is some of my best fun stuff for about five minutes. I can't believe that I completely forgot my T-shirts and its hilarious call back. I should have stuck it in, while Tom was up shaking my hand. I won't forget that mistake for a long time. Live and learn!
- This evening on a Leo LaPorte podcast I heard about Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate). If you start taking it within two days of your first flu symptoms it does wonders for relief and shortening the duration of the disease.

Thu Jan 25 = On Bob Roth's local radio show, Health Futures, they covered some ideas about dementia and Alzheimer's. Comfort Matters is a new concept for dementia sufferers: You have to live in their world. Don't try to get them to live in the real world.
- I finally pulled everything together and submitted my claim to American Airlines for their 11-day baggage delay to Trinidad and Tobago. I spent so much time collecting all the stuff and putting it together, I had to ask myself if it was worth the trouble for only $176.72.

Fri Jan 26 = I never thought I'd buy white bread, but I bought six loves of this bread at the 99 the Cents Only store.
Bread Ingredients
They call it White Bread, but it is not. It contains no bleached flower. They can't call it 100% whole wheat, because it also contains lots of other WHOLE grains - some of which I have never heard. *
  1. wheat flower
  2. bulgur wheat *
  3. oats
  4. sunflower seeds
  5. rye
  6. triticale *
  7. barley
  8. corn meal
  9. flax seeds
  10. sesame seeds
  11. millet
  12. brown rice
  13. sorghum
  14. amaranthe *
  15. buckwheat flour
  16. quinoa *

Sat Jan 27 = The Remington F5-5800 shaver I ordered yesterday evening arrived this morning at 11:26. I gave up on trying to get the side trimmer sharpened on my old Remington F-5790. The new Remington has what they call, Intercept Saving Technology, which sits between the foils to pre-trim longer hairs.
- This evening I drove all the way down to Tempe to publicize my Feb 25 appearance at the Tempe Improv; there. Visiting and working out at an LA Fitness (light legs) and an Anytime Fitness (light arms), I passed out a total of 8 tickets and collected 8 requests for email followups.

Sun Jan 28 = This morning I started a new spreadsheet as a database for the email addresses people have given me, requesting followup reminders for my show(s), and entered the first five email addresses.
- I finally got off in time to make my stops (barely, because I took time to update the FUTURE APPEARANCES on my website, worked on my PAST APPEARANCES and made a spreadsheet for the show's sign-up sheet). I stopped by two gyms in Scottsdale: Anytime Fitness on E Doubletree Ranch Rd (no one was there and I did two quick, light back sets), and LA Fitness on N Vía Paseo Del Sur, where I gave out two or so tickets and did two quick, light torso rotation sets.
- I arrived at Comedy off Main St; 38 S MacDonald 20 minutes before Chris the owner.
Art
He let me host the show. Fun! Due to other stuff going on, only eight, all guys, performed. I opened the mic up at the end of the show and two guys went up for their first try at doing stand up comedy. Chris also gave me a briefing about the place and a key, as I will be running the show for him each Sunday for the next month to give him some time off. Come out Sunday evening at 7 and take in the show.

Mon Jan 29 = My repaired
XPS
Dell XPS-13 computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
arrived today. They replaced some of the power components on the main board. Fortunately all my files were in tact. I only had to adjust a few settings. Now the hard part begins. Sifting through files to update from my Tobago trip.
- At The Writer's Table tonight, Dave Thurston is the new instructor. He emphasizes oral presentation more than the written word, which suits stand up comedy and suits me just fine.
- I am going to try a new approach for comedy for a while. I started tonight. Come up with a new idea to pursue at The Writer's Table each Monday, then practice and tweak it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at four open mics, then present the result as the opener for Insane Off Mail, which I am hosting on Sunday nights.
- On the way home I stopped by four gyms four gyms to publicize my comedy and for light, fast workouts.

Tue Jan 30 = I phoned Caroline at the Arizona Federal Credit Union about the 3% cross-border ATM fee they charged me while I was in Trinidad and Tobago. The bottom line is, I'll have to live with it, in spite of their literature which said they have no foreign ATM fee.
- Dos Gringos and the Grand Avenue Pizza were my two comedy stops tonight. On the way I stopped by the South Tempe LA Fitness, passed out a couple of tickets, collected a couple email addresses and took a pee.

Wed Jan 31 = At 6:10pm I added a quart of oil to my van, then embarked on my trip to Fitness 1, Sprouts, LA Fitness, Toso's (for comedy) and Fitness 1 (again), arriving back home about 11pm. I discovered that Fitness 1 has a Jacob's Ladder, on which I did two minutes to substitute for 2 minutes on my exercycle. During the excursion I passed out comedy tickets and collected 11 emails to follow up with what I call my Fan Emails.
- Here are three files for my T-Shirt art that I added to my website, so they will be available whever in the world I am, regardless if I have a working computer or not:
jpg Art                png Art                PDF
- It was good to be doing comedy at Toso's tonight after about three months.
- Tonight I barely got in a short but heavy, slow legs workout in order to earn my Wednesday Protein Frosty.

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