Welcome back my friends to the blog that never ends... (just has some serious gaps from time to time)... I no longer pledge to try to keep up because you all know that's not going to happen, but here I am again, so let's get to it...
When we last spoke, I was in the midst of a whirlwind two week "what the heck is going on that I'm working so much" cycle... I spent Sunday having brunch with a friend at a place called "Chompie's" that claimed it was a New York style deli... (I did have a pastrami sandwich here the last time and the bread was the best I've had in a while...nice Jewish rye). Breakfast was good and I spent the rest of the day doing domestic chores and preparing for a busy week... I was called to work at the Cardinals training facility here in Tempe on Monday night from 6pm to 6am watching the parking lot and keeping fans and others away from the players vehicles... (they were away in Tennessee playing a preseason game and wouldn't return until next week). So I packed a large cooler with snacks and liquids and a chair and sat outside in the parking lot. The weather was not cooperating as it was over 100 with lots of humidity and the threat of thunderstorms during the night... I was sweating the entire night as the temperatures barely went under 100 overnight, but activity was minimal and the only excitement was that something bit me behind the knee... (I had long pants on, which felt great in the heat, but that's what the client wants) so I figured it was a mosquito and didn't think about until I woke up Tuesday and my leg was killing me and itching like a bastard... When I inspected further I saw two separate bites and they were not of the mosquito variety. I put some ice on it to reduce the swelling and then got ready for my gig for Company #2 at the Phoenix Convention Center... I was working John McCain's "victory" party (if he won). It was only a 4 hour gig but I had never been at a political event like this and I had voted for Johnny Mac (my nickname for him) earlier in the day. I was in full "Secret Service" look (blazer, tie, and radio with ear plug radio) and walking around looking imposing (or trying to) while the pundits and lackeys and every media outlet in the state munched on hors d'oeurves and drank $8 glasses of wine and $6 bottles of beer... Mr. McCain won in a landslide with almost 60% of the vote (primary win) and didn't show up to speak until almost 9pm, so I got to stay another half hour until the place cleared out...(thanks, Johnny Mac). After he left I poked my head into the room to make sure the general public was gone and watched the media doing live after up-dates and there I was on TV on one of the channels feeds in the background behind the reporter... (I don't watch the news so I couldn't tell you what channel or who the reporter was)... Went home after and re-iced my leg and went to sleep.
Wednesday I was up early and drove downtown to work in Company #2's office doing new employee interviews (congratulations on your promotion)... There were only two scheduled so I did some office stuff (filing and such) for a couple hours and my first interview showed up... it was a guy from Company #1 that used to be my boss on overnights (they eliminated his job) and I was going to interview HIM... (crazy huh?). So we sat outside and talked for awhile and laughed about how things had turned around and I gave him a good recommend. My other interview called to reschedule so I left around 1:30 and went home to prepare for vball... (I also wanted a second opinion on what was growing behind my knee and I figured my friends at vball would know). The consensus was that I was the victim of a scorpion bite(s)... (pause for shudder here, myself included). I don't think it crawled up my leg because I would have felt it...(and would have done the crazy "get it off me" dance that we all have done). I figured it crawled up the outside of my pant leg and attacked me when I sat down...(EWWWWWWW!). Either way the thought still creeps me out...(by the way, at this writing my leg has returned to normal and there are no after effects, thanks for asking)... But the best part was Company #1 called and asked me to return to the scene of the crime on Thursday night (6pm-6am). I agreed and kept clear of all bushes and desert plants and checked my pants every 10-15 minutes for critters... At least it was cooler on Thursday and the 12 hours went by uneventfully. Friday was another overnight gig, but this was in the West Valley over by Phoenix Stadium (home of the Cardinals). It was at Westgate...(an open air restaurant shopping complex surrounding Jobing.com Arena, home of the Coyotes hockey team). The shift was 11pm til 9am and when I arrived there I found out that I would be babysitting the world's largest skateboard... (yes, not a typo). It was a prop promoting the Street League Skateboarding event on Saturday inside the Arena... (check out this website for a picture of this behemoth.... http://worldslargestskateboard.com/?p=320). I just took pictures of people posing by the skateboard and kept them from climbing on it (it weighs 3300 lbs and was on its side--useless piece of trivia for the day). Around 3am no one was left and my partner and I just sat and watched the sun come up around 6am... At 7am my phone rang and scheduling asked me if I wanted to return later that day and work the same gig from 5pm-9am (16 hours!! No freaking way!) I politely declined and drove home and got some much needed sleep.
Spoke to my sister and some friends by phone and made some plans for my visit back East... (yes, I am returning). It will be in October (want to do some leaf peeping and play some fall golf I hope) and I will contact those on the list who I missed on my last visit... So be prepared East Coast...the Arizona Kid will be headed your way in less than 2 months!!
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