August 2001 Archives

The power of the Internet never ceases to amaze me. While doing a routine search for Charo, I stumbled across Dave Michaels' web site. Dave is a former news anchor and host who happened to work the pilot of the Charo show, which was to be a variety show vehicle for her. It didn't get picked up as a series, but apparently the pilot aired late in the '75-'76 season on ABC and did reasonably well. I sent Dave a nice e-mail and he was able to give me some facts on the show that are now on the filmography page in the Charo section.


Labor Day weekend is upon us. My friends and I have decided not to deal with traffic and are staging a massive non-labor day weekend. We'll see how long we can hole up in the apartment before we have to call in reinforcements.

Update from yesterday: My brother's friend only partially tore his Achilles tendon. No break. it puzzles me how a trained physician can mistake the two.


The Disneyland saga continues. Yesterday, I received a card in the mail that said that they were now hiring for attractions and guest relations. However, their job line indicated that they were not. Not wanting to miss a potential opportunity, I set out for the casting center for the third time. This time, I was rewarded. they were indeed hiring, and I turned in my application and have an interview next Wednesday. Woo Hoo! I went over to California Adventure to tell my friend the good news, and found out that they were soft opening the Who Wants to Be A Millionaire attraction (this is the one I tried out for last month). I sat through two shows. the first host was very good, and the second one was so-so (I thought I could have done a much better job). The first show I struggled to figure out the scoring system, but by the second show I was routinely scoring in the top 5. Now I just need to get into the hot seat before I am hired and thus become ineligible.


Rest assured I continue to apply for full time jobs. That way, I won't have to try and figure out how to live on $8 an hour.

I meant to be back yesterday, but we were out at the lake an extra day. A great time was had by all. I agree with Amanda that there was definitely a good vibe going for the trip. We only had one equipment malfunction - Billy's Sea-Doo, which through the power of cell phones, he was able to tell the people who worked on it exactly how he felt.


I enjoy riding jet-skis (or whatever the generic name for them is). the only drawback is that it feels like you are inhaling fumes at a gas station when you ride them. I can't wait for the four-stroke models, which hopefully will be cleaner burning and won't make you dizzy. I was feeling pretty good about having a blister for my efforts of attempting to water ski and jet skiing, until I found out that my brother's friend broke his foot in two places.


Last night after I got home, I received a message to go to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. It was culture shock filled experience due to the fact I just got back from a weekend in the desert, but it was pretty good. I told my mom that it was a cheesy concept that was well executed. Basically, people pose like sculptures and paintings, and due to the amazing makeup and costuming, it actually looks like the real thing. There was a orchestra to accompany the narration and I think a good time was had by all.


I just found out that Wil Wheaton has a weblog. Many people rag on him for his role as Wesley on TNG, but I always liked him. I met him once at a Trek convention in SF back in November 1989 (ok met is a strong word. I shook his hand as he signed the centerfold of the 1989 TNG calendar). From what I recall, he was a good convention personality. I sorta recall that he mentioned a story about commuting to Paramount from his home and it was more like a parking lot. Give his site a look-see. It's pretty cool.


Today is Mom's birthday (she'd rather I didn't put the age on the site).

It seems the Xterra needs some belts and another gizmo to stop the noises. Luckily, they are low cost items and should only require a 5 year loan for the labor costs. As I was waiting for my courtesy shuttle back to the house from the dealer, I realized I would never make a good car salesmen. I am just too darn honest and would probably tell people they really don't need a car.


Well I am off on a vacation again, this time to the beautiful Echo Bay Resort at Lake Mead on the Colorado River. On second thought, can someone actually have a vacation when they are not working? Maybe I should just refer to it as time away from home.


In my nap-induced haze, I received a call from the producer's of NBC's "Weakest Link". They wanted me to audition tomorrow night for the show. Sadly, I am due to be on the road tomorrow so I had to say no. They did tell me to call next week to see if they can schedule something for the first week of September. Hey, if it goes well, maybe I won't need a job.


Back Monday

The new Gorn pictures from Chicago and the La Brea Tar Pits are here.


For the past week or so my Xterra has been making some odd noises. I decided to take it into the dealer tomorrow before I go about towing some Jet Skis to Lake Mead on Thursday. Hopefully, it will be slightly less painfull then the brake job that I got last month.


While in Del Mar today, we lunched at Del Mar Pizza. Uncle Sal gave the pasta a thumbs-down, but those of us who ordered the pizza give it very enthusiastic thumbs-up!

For someone with no job, I certainly am finding myself going away a lot. For example, tomorrow I am off with my grandmother and aunt to La Jolla and Carlsbad, and then on Thursday, I am off to Lake Mead (or as we say in my family, the river).


Friday I successfully introduced more people to the game Cranium, which I think is one of the best board games out there today.


I am on a quest to find a copy of the cover of Charo's album Ole Ole. I know one exists out there. I've seen an item on Ebay that has a mini version of it. It features Charo holding a guitar over most of her body on a white background. If anyone has a copy of the record and can make a good photo or scan of it let me know.

I have found a new unemployment pastime. Leaving the vaunted halls of H.P. Core, I was following the father-unit and we played "Race the Train". Now don't get all sassy. It's not: "Let's run the crossing while its down" or anything dumb like that. It is more like "We were stuck behind a north-south train, then had to race the east-west train that was waiting with us until we could get across the tracks" or something like that. the big obstacle was the lights which were not conducive to making headway.


I have some Gorn in Chicago and La Brea Tar Pits photos that are on the laptop somewhere. I should have them up this weekend sometime. Really no excuse, but I've actually had things to do here and there.

Today is my grandparent's 53rd wedding anniversary.


I managed to once again venture out of the house, this time with Kevin to the La Brea Tar Pits and the World Famous George C. Page Museum. It's quite a good little museum. The museum highlights the various critters that they have dug up in the area of Hancock Park and the Tar Pits. Apparently they have been bugged about dinosaur questions. There are several signs pointing out the fact that there are no dino bones here since the tar pits formed long after the dinos were killed off by Haley's big bad cousin, Sigfried.


From there it was off to Farmer's Market, where I learned the monstrosity they are building on the back of it is actually part of an expansion of the area. I have seen the plans and they are amazing. Equally amazing is the progress on the new Kodak Theater complex at Hollywood and Highland where the Academy Awards are going to be. I swear, you don't go somewhere for awhile and they just go nuts. I guess the only slow construction in town is next door. Grrr.

Holy Smokes!! Since August 8th, traffic is up almost by a factor of 10. I noticed that my position has improved to #4 on google (when searching for Charo). The funny thing is that the cached version on google is still the old design.


Visited the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point today with my grandmother and aunt. it was a very nice place and well deserved the 5-star rating. I took some pictures of the grounds and I will post them on the site later this week. Rooms range from $400 to $4500 a night so start saving up those pennies.

Well the job listing on the Disneyland job line turned out to be a hoax. However all is not lost. I managed to get a direct number to the casting office so I can harass the lady who works there for jobs when they open up.


I am leaning ever so close to going for the tour guide school. I think the only thing holding me back is the cost of tuition. It is pretty steep, but in the long run, I think it is worth it. I am just concerned about making money in the short term - well there is always bussing tables or parking cars at Universal Studios.


At dinner at the La Brea Bakery at Downtown Disney, I was thwarted in my dessert attempt twice times. It was a sign from someone not to have dessert that night. First, I asked for some cookies. They came back and said that they were out of cookies. Then I said I'd like a brownie. Then they came back and said that Roger's dessert was no good and they didn't want to serve it. I again asked about the brownies and they said that it had nuts. Nuts. Better luck next time.

Photos are up for my trip to Chicago. You can peruse them to your delight here.


Another go-'round with my career counselor. I'm making progress, and it is interesting how some random test can peg you without you even trying to get pegged. I guess all I really want to do is have a job that will remain interesting and have some fun. I have some items to work on for next week's meeting and by then I will figure out what to do.

I was looking over some stats for the site and realized some links on the Charo index page were wrong. I fixed them up and tweaked the meta tags a tad in an effort to boost the site. Currently Charo is out pulling everything else on the site by a pretty good clip. I guess there really is an audience for good Charo data.


The job hunt continues. The application tally for this week so far is 10. Hopefully I can keep the pace up. Also - it looks like Disneyland is hiring in Guest Relations again. Time to make another trip to the casting office.

I just returned from Chicago and Phoenix. My grandmother is doing fine, although she's getting a Dick Cheney autographed defibrillator/pacemaker to keep her modified ticker working. While away, I played "dodge the severe weather". The day before I arrived in Chicago there was a huge storm that brought the city to its knees and flooded everyone's basement. My plane connected via Houston and I was fortunate that Tropical Storm Barry didn't decide to visit.


A great time was had by all in Chicago. I took some Gorn pics which I will try and have up tomorrow. I also got to indulge in a secret fantasy - shaving someone's head. Kris was thinking about doing it so I egged him on. I know, it's a bit selfish, but it was a whole lotta fun doing it. Kris and Laura are moving to London soon, so I am sure I will be going to Europe sometime soon.


I also noticed that wearing a Club Josh shirt to a party where you do not know a lot of people helps people remember your name. Especially if it is Josh.

Today, my grandmother had open heart surgery to replace an "aortic heart valve". The surgery went well, but I was unprepared for how she looked after surgery. She looked much better after a few hours, but that first cautious visit after the surgery is one that has been burned into my brain, and I will not be forgetting it for awhile. Trivia Note: a "tissue replacement" valve is from a pig. Rest assured many kosher and bacon jokes abounded in the waiting room.


She is doing fine and is well on the road to recovery. We expect her to be released sometime Sunday-Monday-ish. Word to the wise: If your doctor says you have a heart condition and need some work, be sure to do something about it and not procrastinate.