Sioux City Summary

The days in Sioux City were spent being miserable but trying to make the most of my time there. Load-in went mostly well, but we had to move our truck out of the dock to get the hampers off the top deck...as the loading dock wasn't tall enough...so the tow motor went outside and forked the hampers out of the truck and on to the loading dock. Having to do this in the windy pre-morning sure didn't help with my illness...but what are ya gonna do? I went back to the hotel after the load in and rested a bit, then took a shower and had a bite to eat a Famous Dave's before getting back for the first show. The first show went well enough, though there wasn't much of an audience...that was a little depressing...I guess everyone was going to Les Mis. After the show I had dinner with Mike and Christa at Chili's...everything was good but I just didn't have much of an appetite...though it was fun flirting with our waitress Ashley.
On Wednesday between shows I ate my leftovers from Chili's and then went over to the Sioux City Art Center...they had some good local art...but it was definately lacking when compared to the Cleveland Museum of Art...I didn't care much for the photography on the second floor , but the inflatable sculptures were interesting.

After the second show we loaded out and our truck was moved over to the side door which we had to open up and ramp everything up to the truck...if it wasn't for the Halls Max, I never would have survived the load-out...it really got cold and the wind was just whipping through that dock door...I was miserable by the time I got back to the hotel.

Down to Sioux City

It was a nice day for a drive to Sioux City this past Monday...I slept most of the way out of Minneapolis. I woke up when we stopped for lunch...I joined Chris, Casey, Mikki and Seth at KFC and then on the way back to the bus gave Roman and Susan a call to say Hi and see how things were going...it was great being able to talk with them for a little bit. We were driving more rural roads after lunch as it was more direct than the free-way and went through some interesting little towns...with some interesting little smells.

We arrived in Sioux City around 3:30 and got settled into our rooms...the weather was actually pretty pleasant, so I grabbed my camera and walked around for a little bit. I wasn't aware that Sioux City was located on the beatuiful banks of the Missouri River. I took a walk down to the river and took a few pictures and then walked around downtown...where Les Miserables was loading in down at the Orpheum...some of the cast and crew stayed at our hotel. I gave Uncle Bill and Aunt Rita a call and touched base with them as well...by that time it was time to head back to the river for some sunset shots. Afterwards I returned back to the hotel for...FREE COCKTAILS!!!!! Yea!!! After a few Bourbon and Cokes...it was off to IHoP for a bite to eat and then I went to the Casino by the river with Seth...we had a good walk, some good conversation, lost a few bucks...for the supposed winning percentage that the casino boasted...we didn't get more than a couple bucks, which of course just extended the money that we were playing on for a little bit longer.

I'm really NOT a fan of waking up at 6am, but...

...after all that sleep yesterday, I was able to wake up at 6am and be ready to go at 7:15 when the car left for the venue (not in walking distance this time)...which is not in downtown Wichita.
All in all load-in went well...and is getting better...after spending the morning getting set up, David and I took a brake and went to Wal-Mart for some show supplies and then stopped at Chipolte for lunch. We then got back and set up for the first show. While the attendance for the first show wasn't excellent...we probably had more people there tonight than we did for all of our shows in Sioux City. After then show a group of us went to Cici's Pizza...all you can eat buffet for $3.95! Dinner was great and stopped at Walgreen's for some Vick's salve on the way back...yes, Mom...I'll be using it tonight. Well, I'm sure that I've missed a thing or two...but I am now "Caught-Up" again. Now I'm going to sleep. G'nite.

I'm really NOT a fan of waking up at 6am, but...

...after all that sleep I got yesterday, I was able to get up and be ready to go at 7:15...we drove to the venue and had a pretty good load-in. We took a break to go to Wal-Mart for some show supplies and then stopped for lunch at Chipolte. Our first show went well and the audience...while small...was probably bigger than all of our Sioux City audiences combined. After the show a group of us went to Cici's Pizza...all you can eat buffet for $3.95...you've got to be kidding! Dinner was great. Afterwards, I got back to the hotel and started catching up on the blog. I know that there are many things that I've forgotten to say...but unfortunately, being sick...I'm not caring too much, though I'm glad to have been able to "catch up". I hope to feel better and stop coughing...and I did stop at Walgreen's for some Vick's Salve...so, yes Mom...I'll be putting it on tonight when I go to sleep. I hope to get better soon. G'nite.

You're getting Sleepy...

Yesterday...I slept.
We had an 8 hour bus ride from Sioux City to Wichita and...I slept.
We did stop in Topeka (where we're gonna be on Monday)...for lunch...I walked over to Wal-Mart for some Grapefruit juice, halls and Vioxx...and then got some Chicken Select Strips at McDonalds, got back on the bus and ate them and then...I slept.
When we got to the hotel in Wichita, I checked in and...I slept.
Notice a theme here?

Minneapolis Madness

Well...since I've been hit up with the flu bug, I'll try and give an overview of the past few days...okay, 10 days...but who's counting?

The load-in went fairly well at the Target Center...which is a good thing, because the home office was doing a time lapse recording of the load-in and load-out process. Before the first show Vince...oh, I'm sorry...Mr. Eagen visited and welcomed us and thanked us for all our hard work...we also received watches celebrating the 25th anniversary season of Sesame Street Live. On the second day between shows...we had lunch and bowling at GameWorks (kind of like Dave & Busters) with some of the people from corporate which was cool. I didn't go out too much as I had come down with this flu bug.

Although the weather got worse while we were there...it really didn't matter too much as we never had to go outside since our hotel was only two blocks away from the venue and Minneapolis has thier fabulous SkyWalk system.

Let's see...after my last post in Minneapolis, I did end up going to Olive Garden and having Bread Sticks and Alfredo and the Artichoke dip (YUM!), I ended up seeing "Meet The Fockers", with Jen and David. It was a very good movie...though the abbey ale made me a wee bit sleepy during the movie. I also made it to Gleuk's for dinner with Richard and Rebecca on our second last night in Minneapolis. On the last night most of the cast went to a club called Gay 90's and had a good time hanging out together.

It really sucked that in a city with sooo much to do, I was sick and didn't feel like doing too much.

Eddie From Ohio

I almost forgot...have to jump back to the Friday Evening in St. Louis (1/14)...after the show our sound guy Andy asked if I wanted to join him at a near-by club called Off-Broadway to see a band called Eddie From Ohio...he had an extra ticket, as my roomie Richard started to get sick with what I...and at least half of our cast...now is ailing with. We got to the club (a short cab ride from the hotel) a little after 11PM...and the opening act was just finishing up...after a short break, Eddie From Ohio (EFO) took the stage. I had previously seen EFO open up for Moxy Fruvous in Columbus back in 1999...unfortunately I didn't pay much attention to them then.

However, I am very glad that I did go to the concert...EFO is awesome (granted they're no Fruvous...or JFK for that matter). But someone that I will look to go see whenever I have the chance...I highly reccomend them. And now, back to updating the blog with more recent entries...

Under the Weather...

I've been meaning to update the blog for a little bit, but I caught the flu bug in Minneapolis and am still trying to find my way back to the Land of Good Health. That coupled with the elusive free internet at the hotel in Sioux City has kept me a bit behind on the blog. My humblest apologies. I'll see how far I can get tonight...

Holy Bat Crap!

I have finally caught up to today with my blog! I've just finished my Terrible beer (which really wasn't...and is 10.5% alcohol!). I'm going to Olive Garden to celebrate! Maybe I can go find someone to go see a movie with our go to the GameZone (like D&B)...hey...load-in isn't until 8 am...I can sleep in!!!!! (did I just say that?)

In the words of David Glowe....buhh byeeeeee!

Costumes & Creatures

I woke up at 7:20 and showered and got ready to be picked up at the lobby of the hotel at 8:45.
I was going to C&C to find out how things are put together and done...and to learn more about my job and how things are put together and maintained for the show. I met a lot of incredible people and found out how things are built for the shows...even though I was "working" and might have enjoyed spending my day with most everybody else at The Mall of America...I had a really enjoyable time learning all about how the costumes are put together and maintained. Normally, they would like to have at least 3 days to have me do and learn things...but like most other things I was "thrown into the fire"...lucikly I was able to absorb most everything that has been thrown at me thus far. I was able to make a detour to my ride back to the hotel and am currently enjoying an Abbey Ale named Terrible from a brewery named Unibroue (they didn't have Ommegang) while I am typing this.

I really like...

...to fly in the winter. Before getting to that...let me just say that even with getting to bed later than I had anticipated...I was able to get up, shower and pack in time for the luggage call. On the way to the airport, we passed Washington University...I thought of my brother John (a Wash U...alum) and gave him a call...expecting to leave a message and was able to talk with him for a little bit. Anyhow...back to my opening statement. I REALLY like to fly in the winter...on our flight from St. Louis to Minneapolis I had the window seat (with nobody in the seat next to me...BONUS) but was amazed how beautiful things looked from the air when flying close to noon across snow covered ground. The ground was white with groups of trees and their shadows cross-hatching the landscape like burlap...everything had a monochrome look to it...it was AMAZING!It was also cool how you could see every trail through the woods that deer and other animals had made...you can see things that you would never see normally...and it was a clear day all the way through to Minneapolis...beautiful. We got to the hotel (actually across the street from the Radisson that I was in the last time I was in Minneapolis) and for the next three hours I was on the phone with Mom, Uncle Elmer and my brother John. Whew! I bumped into Christa and her fiancee in the hotel bar and joined them for a drink and then went out exploring the SkyWay and stopped for some Cold-Stone ice cream...I went outsideafter that for a little bit (brrrrrrrrrrr!) and then stopped at Jimmy Johns for a sandwich which I took back to the hotel to eat. Shortly after arriving back at the hotel my roomie arrived from driving the trucks up to Minneapolis and we fixed up the Internet...and I went to sleep early(ish)...I had to go to C&C (Costumes & Creatures) in the morning.

Leaving Los Veg...um...St. Louis

As is what seems to be normal, we had two shows on Sunday before we had to load-out and make our way to Minneapolis. I was able to keep up with the laundry and get everything ready by the second show to be packed up on the truck...we had a bit of trouble packing things where we took one of the two large props crates...thinking that they were the same size...and finding out that the one we took (which we normally wouldn't) was actually 3 inches taller than the other one...and threw off our packing order (the hampers with the drops wouldn't fit the way they're supposed to). We were able to switch things around to make things in our truck fit and then packed away the characters that were to be involved in a big publicity event at the Mall of America on Tuesday. After getting done with the load-out I was too late to join people at the hot-tub (which closed at 10PM...I got back at 9:47)...so I joined them in Les and Carrie's room to watchthe new taped episodes of The O.C and North Shore...I went back to my room around 2:30am.

Triple Show Saturday

Today we had three shows (10:30am, 2pm and 5:30)...there was pretty much only a half hour between shows so we really couldn't go anywhere between shows. We were bought lunch between the first and second shows and then since there was a wireless internet connection available at the venue...I took advantage of it during the break between the second and third shows. Since the show is only an hour and a half long...I was out by 7:30 (after getting the laundry started). Unfortunately, one of the girls broke up with her boyfried back home the night before...so we ended up drinking and playing cards into the wee hours of the morning. BTW...ever since the one day in the 70's and the night of the storm...the weather's been pretty cold and crappy. It was interesting listening to Glenn Beck on my iPod while doing the show(s) today. I also forgot my cue sheet at the hotel and ended up finding out that after only 14 or shows, I actually knew what I was doing...it's kind of like the first day in rehearsals when you're supposed to be off book...the script can be such a crutch. I realized today during the second show that even though I'm not a big fan of the load-in and load-out and am learning how to mend and repair costumes...that I am really very content with what I am doing...and in many ways am much happier than I ever was at the office.

Friday in St. Louis

Today we only have one show (at 7PM)...kind of like another day off...I kind of wish that I didn't sleep in untill noon...but, oh well. I was looking to go out to Best Buy with Richard and Steph and we ended up getting ready to go around 2PM...we went downstairs and were planning on taking the train and then transferring to a bus to get out to the Promenade, but when we got downstairs...Jen and David were waiting for Antoine to go shoe shopping near where Best Buy was...since it was a $25 cab ride...we decided to wait and join them to split the cab fare. It was after 3PM when we got out there...I ended up getting a 40 GIG iPod to use with iTunes (whichI downloaded most of my CD's from home to before coming out on tour)...iTunes was a free download...but it will only export music to an iPod. So after much deliberation, I decided to get an iPod to listen to my musin on long bus trips without using my my laptop's limited battery. I got one that was returned from Christmas and saved $50...WAHOO! I also picked up a laptop backpack so that it would be easier to bring to the venue with me along with anything else that I would want or need at load-in and load-out. We got back to the Promenade around 4:30...and met up at the Cheesecake Factory while David, Jen and Antoine were still waiting for the cab back to the hotel. We got back in just enough time to get to the venue for the evening's show.

OUCH!!!!!

Micron is NOT thread!


I was rusing a bit and went to the workroom to get some micron to stitch up something during intermission...I measured out how much micron I needed and since I was in a rush wound it around my finger to snap it (like thread). It ended up cutting into my finger a good inch in length...thank goodness it wasn't too deep! micronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissorsmicronscissors


I think I can remember that...

St. Louis Stuff

Load-in wasn't ask good here...I found out that I need to be very specific with the local help and tell them that when they take something where I tell them to take it that I have to make sure that I tell them to come back to me for more stuff to push out to the stage. We ended up with a backlog of things that were loaded off the truck with only one or two people to push things around. We started at 7am this morning and our wardrobe locals arrived around 10am and we got started with getting things set up. Kim and Jane helped get things set up and then helped with a few repairs we got everything ready to go. We went to Union Station for lunch (btw...if David ever wants to go to Panda Express to eat...don't let him) I helped point David in the direction of the Walgreen's as he needed to pick up some make-up brushes for the show and I ended up walking there with him and Jen as well (instead of going back to the hotel and working out before the show). We got back just in time to stop at the hotel and then to go and get ready for the first show. The first show went well and after two days off...we were back in to the swing of things. The evening was pretty nice...it was in the 70s...didn't really need a coat! I took a journey out to a BP that was only a few blocks away, looking to buy some beer...it's better than paying $7.00 for a beer at the bar at the hotel...to find that they didn't have any...I asked the attendant where the closest place was to buy beer...and although it was a bit of a hike...it was about the same distance from the hotel in the opposite direction of where I had already gone...it wasn't too far. In fact, it ended up being only a couple of blocks away from the venue...the 7-11 not only had beer...but some liqour as well! I ended up picking up some beer for Les and Carrie as well as a 6 of Amber Bock and a bag of Cheetos and a small bottle of JD for myself. The walk over to the 7-11 was pretty neat, as a thunderstorm was starting to roll in with lightning flashing...it was lighting up the whole sky but it was still miles away...it rained a little bit, but I took my umbrella with me...so all was well. The walk back to the hotel with all the stuff hurt my fingers a bit but there was no rain. I got back shortly after the Chineese that was ordered earlier was delivered...and I watched the rest of "The Grudge" while eating my pork fried rice in Les and Carrie's room.

A Day Off!

I've been told that normally, our day off is our travelling day...however, we didn't have to load in until Wednesday so we had a day all to ourselves! The day was just as foggy as Monday had been, so I tokk a walk down to the arch with my roomie...and got some pretty neat pictures of the arch disappearing into the fog. We then walked down by the river...over to Ledee's Landing (Old St. Louis), over to a mall that had seen better days (that I had found during a Delta Queen trip when I needed to buy and extension cord and shower gel for the trip), though the Walgreen's was still there (about the only thing that was there). On the way back we had noticed through the doors of a church a beautiful backing to their altar (I can't remember what they called it at the moment...but I'll notate it right when I put up pictures) it was made of plaster and was about 30 to 40 feet tall. We stopped in and I took some pictures and then continued back to the hotel...along the way we found a military memorial that we stopped at as well. It was about 4pm by this time and Richard had to get back to do the rigging for the next day's load-in. I walked over to Union Station and joined up with Les, Carrie and Keith for dinner at Houlihans. At Union Station I found a place called the Parfumaria and found the cologne that Uncle Elmer and Aunt Joann bought me for Christmas a few years back...so I bought some more! When I got back to the hotel I went and worked out and then went for a bit of a swim (although I wanted to do this each day, I only worked out once in St. Louis). When I got back to the room Andy came by to help hook up an Internet connection for my computer (to piggy-back on Richard's connection and share the Internet charge)...we ordered pizza and went to sleep at a more normal time considering the we had load-in the next morning.

Do You Know the Way to...um...St. Louis

I did manage to get up in plenty of time to shower, pack and get my bags to the bus during luggage call. I climbed on board the bus for the 8 hour ride to St. Louis. I am glad that I had thought to bring along my favorite Brown's fleece blanket with me...I was not so glad however, that I had left it in my bag that was locked in the bus luggage compartment...the outside chill really made it's way through the bus window that I was leaning against. I did manage to catch a nap or two along the way. I woke up from my first nap as we were coming into Kansas City...what was wild was that it was foggy and I woke up just as we were passing by the Stadium for the Kansas City Royals, it looked really cool (unfortunately my camera was all packed away as well). 'm not really being the photo-bug that I was looking to be...but I'm still settling into the routine of everything. We had stopped at a Super Route 70 Truck Stop...I gave Mom a call as I walked over to get a sandwich at Blimpie to let her know how things were going so far. After a half hour, it was back on the bus to get to St. Louis. The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. I was able to get my GPS working on the bus to see our progress...however since the trip was 8 hours and my laptop only has a couple hours of battery time, I didn't have it on the whole way. We got in to St. Louis around 4:30 (rush hour...joy!) and after a little bit of traffic delay finally made it to the Sheraton City Center right by the Savvis Center (where we would be performing). It was so foggy that you couldn't even see the arch from the Adam's Mark hotel (as we passed by). We got checked into the hotel and then met up with some people in the sports bar downstairs. After that I went back to the room to get ready to work out and go for a swim, when my roommate Richard had arrived and said that the crew was being bought a drink for a successful first week back (split week and all)...so I went back to the bar for a beer, which then turned into shots and then me proving my lack of athletic abilities on the basketball and football throwing machines in the bar. Steph and I ended up closing the bar playing a game of Cricket...Unfortunately, I wasn't throwing the soft tipped darts too well and couldn't hit the bullseye...so Steph completed my humiliation in all matters athletic and won the dart game as well. By the time I got back to the room, the fitness center and pool were closed...so I went to the room and called it night.

Lincoln Life

The last two shows in Lincoln went well and since the area was a bit more cramped, the load-out was a bit more involved and by 10:30 the trucks were all closed and ready to roll. Since we weren't leaving for St. Louis until Monday morning I had a chance to relax a bit and enjoy the evening. My roommate Richard is one of the truck drivers and had left that evening for the trip to St. Louis, so I had the room all to myself for that last evening. I had gotten some Friday's Quesadilla Roll-ups (tm) earlier in the week, so I threw them in the microwave and gave Val a call...we had a good time talking, eating the roll-ups and voting for songs on XM's 20 on 20...we thn went down to Les and Carrie's room for a little while. I left to aroud 3am to get back to my room to get some sleep before having to get on the bus at 8am.

5:30 comes Awful Quick...

...when you have a hard time falling asleep after two large shots and two beers the night before...my first official tour hangover...and with an early load-in to boot. Lucikly I've been told that we won't have too many real early morning load-ins. Where the Qwest Center in Omaha was spacious and grand, the Pershing Center in Lincoln, NE was a bit cramped and homey. The load was real cold and difficult due to only having one loading dock that was at street level (instead of having a raised dock) and it was on the windy side of the building. The load-in was a bit easier due to having seen and used some equipment and crates, but I was still looking at the floorplan to call out where things were supposed to go once they were unloaded from the truck. Half of the fun of load-in is trying to set up the backstage, dressing and work rooms. In an ideal situation everything fits in an orderly way in the space provided...however in situations like this you may have to split up dressing rooms on different sides of the stage and try and make cramped but accessable spaces for the characters backstage. Our locals Jerry and Shelia were nice and accomodating. The two shows went well. During the break I made a stop for lunch and at Walgreen's and made a call home. After the shows I joined some of the cast out again at the same bar, however I didn't have as much to drink...even though I could sleep until 7 or 8.

First Travel Day

On Friday we left Omaha for the hour (not so bad) bus ride to Lincoln, NE. We stayed at a little efficiency suite about two blocks away from the venue. The rooms were on the smaller side but came with a kitchenette and microwave and refrigerator. Kind of a fun little place...AND they had free wireless Internet. Actors, as a subgrouping of humanity will flock to free drinks and food...touring companies as it own subset includes flocking to anywhere there is free internet access! Later on in the evening I met up with some of the characters at a nearby(?) bar and only had two shots and two beers...I got back in at around 12:30 in the morning.

Omaha Overview

After getting out of the second show on Tuesday the snow had made it's appearance and made it a little tricky getting back to hotel. The snow continued all night long. On Wednesday morning I had thought that perhaps the show might have been cancelled due to the weather conditions...but we did do the show that morning. Later on in the evening Omaha was in a Snow Emergency and even though the Mayor was urging businesses and restaurants to close up he did not officially close the city...so, we did the show...I was a bit surprised...but, the show must go on!

On Thursday the weather had "cleared" and it was a bright sunny day...but still cold! In between shows, I went to lunch at Famous Daves with David, Jen and Christa. It was a bitter cold walk to the restaurant and back and we almost fell/slid down some stairs on the way there (it was a fun climb on the way back as well!), we then did the last show (with out largest crowd...due to the weather...and people using their unused tickets at the last show) it was a great last show in Omaha.

After the show was finished (actually during as well) we started packing things up and got them loaded on the trucks. Three and a half hours after the show was done the door were closed on the trucks and we were ready to make our way to Lincoln.

Into the Fire

After my nap our locals had arrived back from their break to set up for the first show. I couldn't have asked for 2 better locals to start with...Betty and Scott we're very accomodating and helpful. We started getting ready for the first show.

David had taken the time to show me how the costumes are assembled and how they work and even got into a few so that I could get the feel for getting someone in and out of a costume. Even so, when it came time for the show, since our locals were so good David was able to help me out with many of my costume changes for the first show. Even though the costumes are similar...there are enough differences between them to confuse you at first. But I came through my first show with flying colors. I am in charge of costumes on Stage Right and all of the performers were very helpful with letting me know what needed to be done with their costumes as well.

After the show we set the costumes with fans to air dry gave our locals their break between shows and then collected show laundry and started that to washing. Since it was a double show load-in day, lunch was provided for us. So we relaxed a bit...I had a sandwich and some chips and then it was time to get ready for the second show.

The second show went better than the first (as well it should)...but it's still a lot to remember, especially for the first day on the job.

We finshed up and got things set up for the night and I made it back to the hotel around 10PM.
After relaxing in the hotel room for a couple of minutes I went to look for a soda machine...since I didn't notice it on my floor, I went down to the lobby...of course there were vending machines on every floor but their doors were closed and I didn't notice...especially in my tired state.

While I was down in the lobby I gave Mom a call to let her know that everything was OK and how my first day was...and on my way back upstairs, I noticed some of the cast and crew at the hotel bar. So, instead of getting a soda, I socialized and had a beer...only one though, because after I was finished with it I really was tired. I went upstairs and fell asleep. Ah, blessed sleep.

Ohmigod....it's 4:30 AM

And I'm waking up for my first day "On The Job". Our Load-in starts at 5AM and we should be at the venue 15 minutes earlier to kind of "scope things out" - so that we know how to get around and where things like dressing rooms and work rooms are going to be. We started the load-in and my job is to call the trucks...or let all the locals knows where to put everything that's being loaded off of each truck...um, OK. I've got my handy dandy set up map, and truck packing diagrams...still a little confusing as I don't know what anything looks like. But with David and Chris' help we get everything out and set up into the right places.

After everything's off the trucks we then go about getting our crates into position and marking out where things like the changings rooms, body shop and work shop are going to be. At about 7AM we meet the wardrobe locals who are going to be working with us and we start pulling out costumes and setting things up. By the time we got finished with all of this it's around 1PM and I'm dead on my feet from yesterday's travel along with the couple hours of sleep. I took an hour's nap on the floor of the Wardrobe Work Room.

Omaha

The hotel was nice and was right across the street from the venue (Qwest Center) with an inter-connecting skyway! The room was really nice with big beds and lots of fluffy pillows.

While I was going through my check-in "process" some of the tour members were in the lobby and were wondering if I was the "new guy"...some brief intros were made and I met our company manager Dawn. I was told to meet up later to discuss the Load-In process for tomorrow morning.

After a little while my roomie (Richard) for the next three weeks arrived...he's going to be doing a stint on one of Holland America's ships. He's a real good guy and has helped me get used to things on the road. (hope that my next roomie will be as good...)

I met up with David and Jen and we walked to the Market area (about 7 blocks away) through some very biting wind and ended up having a delightful dinner at the Spaghetti Works.

After coming back I went down to the Crew Chief's (John) room to discuss the Load-In - they tried to walk me through some things...but after the long day of traveling it was a little hard to stay focused...besides, it's always easier for me to actually do something rather than being told how to do it.

I went back up to my room and hit the sack...it was going to be an early morning...

Traveling (again)

Well...let's try this again (how many times am I gonna start an entry like this?)

I got everything packed and ready to go and was even able to fit in a few hours of sleep before waking up and getting ready to go. Chris, Nick and Alex got to the house at 9:15 (right on time!) and after a bit of a tearful goodbye started on my grand adventure!

After a brief stop at UPS to pick up my package (yeah!) we got to the airport a bit before 10:00AM. It didn't take very long to check my bags, print my ticket and go through security and by about 10:10 I was sitting at my gate waiting for my flight. Since I had some time to kill...I decided to start my trip off right by having breakfast at a mexican themed eatery near my gate...I even had a cranberry margarita! The plane was a little bit late getting in...but we were able to load up rather quickly and left the gate only 10 to 15 minutes later than scheduled.

The flight was pretty easy going...although not the optimum day to fly...clouds, rain, ice and snow. I sat next to a younger woman (early 20's) who through her tousseled hair, slight build and quirky humor reminded me of my nephew Alex. I can't remember her name right now...
She was going home to Minneapolis (actually about 2 hours North of Minneapolis) after coming in to spend the holiday with her boyfriend at his parents house in Akron. He had left on Saturday to go back to Iraq...he had reinlisted to be with his battle buddies. She had flown in on Christmas Day...although she was 3 minutes late for the check-in time and missed her initial flight, she was set to fly in on the later flight and then got a seat on another flight on Standby...however, her luggage came in on the later flight. So even though she got in to Cleveland around 7PM...her luggage didn't arrive until about 11PM...Merry Christmas, huh?
She had mentioned that she wanted to have kids...BUT, she really wanted to screw them up and teach them to talk backwards...I guess that sometimes you really should have to take a test or get a license to breed!

At Minneapolis I had to switch planes (I heard that they needed the plane that we were on to go to Montreal due to mechanical problems with the other plane) and by the time I got to the other gate (at the other end of the concourse...of course) they were just starting to load the plane. It was an uneventful and rather short flight to Omaha...I tried to catch a bit of a nap along the way.

After we landed and deplaned...it took me a little while to find the proper luggage carousel since things weren't labeled too well...but I found it right before the bags started coming out and mine were out pretty quick. I made a call to the Hotel for the shuttle and was told that it was currently out at the airport and would wait for me...so I went outside and after a short walk found the shuttle and made my way to the Hotel.

After getting to the Hilton it took a little while to get set up with a room...the lists of people had been updated a time or two since they were sent before Christmas Break and some people had left the tour since...a duplicate confirmation number added to the confusion, but after a little while I was given keys to the room. I schlepped my luggage to the elevator and up to room 6010 - I put my card in the keyslot and opened the door to find someone in the room already (I was told that my roommate had not yet checked in). I found that it was someone from the tour who had already checked in with his roommate so I left my luggage in that room and went to the front desk to sort things out. After a few minutes more spent at the registration desk I was finally given keys to my room. I went and picked up my luggage from where I had left it and went to my room...put the card in the keyslot and opened the door....and...the room was empty (whew!). The second keycard that they gave me didn't work...but I didn't care. I settled into my room and relaxed.

I'm stopping this one now so that I can save it before something *else* happens (this is where I left off last time).

Ooops (#3)

Just got mostly done spending a good half hour catching up on Monday...was almost done...shifted on the bed and my hand touched the side of my laptop creating a static electricity spark and my computer froze up on me...things always seem to happen to the computer when I'm working on stuff for the blog...I'll try again.

Ooops (#2)

I am learning more and more about laptop computers...
During my trip to Omaha on Monday I was trying to be good and keep a log of things that were happening (at that point about my trip) since I didn't have an Internet connection available while traveling. I was typing things into the "Notebook" and figured that I would then transfer them into the blog when I had the chance. However...I didn't save what I was writing to to a file...and just closed the laptop (this puts the computer into a Hibernating status...while although not consuming as much power as when the computer is "on" and "active"...still is using the battery. Well...it was hibernating too long and the battery ran out of power and the computer shut off...without saving the document that I was working on. So I will now attempt to recreate the past 4 (only 4?) days from memory...

Waiting on UPS

Well...I'm all packed and ready to go...just waiting to hear from UPS to see if I can pick up my package on the way to the airport. I'm not happy at all with the way that they have handled this whole situation and that I couldn't flag that package earlier on in the shipping process so that I could pick it up. Hopefully I'll be getting some good news soon...

Packing Up and Going Away

Well...as anyone who really knows me would know...I have just started packing for the tour...granted I plan on keeping things simple and the packing should go easy.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came over the house to see me off yesterday...it was great to spend the time with family and friends and to feel that mixture of the sadness of my departure and the envy and excitement of my new adventure. I appreciate your prayers, good thoughts and support more than you will ever know.

For the past 30 years or so, the question "Where is Tim?" could most often be nailed down to a specific area...somewhere in Greater Cleveland. In twelve hours the answer won't be as predictable as it has been...for this moment Cleveland is still correct...shortly the answer will be Omaha...afterwards the answers will be Lincoln, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Sioux City, Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, Austin...after that, who knows?

OK...gotta quit doing things to delay this inevitable packing and just "Git 'er done!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2005!

I hope that everyone had a safe night of partying to welcome in the New Year.

I ended up spending a quiet night at home for the new year, since I've always been out for new year's for the past few New Year's Eves I know that my Mom appreciated it.

I was also still recovering from being taken to Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, NY for a day of skiing on Thursday. I had to wake up around 5AM for the 3.5 hour trip out to Holiday Valley (and this was after spending the previous evening out with my brother John, his wife Margret and Father Terry out at Dave and Busters and not getting home until 1AM). The trip was fun and the skiing was excellent...and other than losing my balance and falling on my butt while standing around by the ski lift...I didn't fall once while actually "skiing". It was great spending time with my brother Joe and my nephews Nick and Alex (I'll miss you guys greatly)...I just wish that my boots weren't crippling me so that I could have joined them on the last few runs (I have some black and blue marks on my calves!). The drive back was through some nasty wind gusts that would play with Joe's Explorer and what's a wind gust without some annoying rain to accompany it? I took over in Erie, PA and drove the rest of the way home. We pulled in at 3:30AM and I was glad to finally be ableto close my eyes and go to sleep. Thank you very much Nicholas for the wonderful and unforgettable Christmas/Going Away Present...I'll have to leave more often!

Anyhow...spent yesterday recovering and trying to get my package from UPS before I have to leave on Monday...looks like I'll have to pick it up on my way to the airport! ARRRGH!!! I only worked at UPS for 7 years...not like I know how the system works. There is an arrival scan on the package...so it's in the Middleburgh Hts. hub...if it hadn't been unloaded...it wouldn't have been scanned...but it's not "Out for Delivery" so they can't contact the facility to let them know that I want to pick it up (The delivery Center is in the building with the Hub). So now I have to wake up early Monday verify that it's scanned and on the delivery truck so that I can call them to let them know to take it off the truck so that I can come and pick it up in person since my flight leaves at 12:30PM...and to be told this by the 800 number operator who has most likely never even set foot into one of the package sorting facilities! And there were trucks out and delivering yesterday...but the Customer Service Center was closed yesterday...so I couldn't come and pick up the package and plead my case there. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm sure it will all work...but it's frustrating nonetheless (is that really only one word?).

I'm heading out to do a bit more shopping and then visit a few people today.

Wow at this time in two more days I'll be on a plane headed for Omaha and my new life!