High School Graduation

I meant to post this Friday but totally forgot.

Friday, it was 22 years since I graduated high school.  My dad was in construction and we moved all the time.  In December of my 10th grade year, we left Cove (Mena schools) and moved to Strong, Arkansas where my dad was building the First Baptist Church.  I was in the 10th grade when we moved there.  Even after my dad finished building the church, the family stayed there until November 1988.

I only stayed until August 1987, when I went to college.  I graduated from Strong High School on May 15, 1987.  The graduation was originally scheduled to take place on the football field.  Everyone was in the stands, the band was ready to go, and we lined up and the skies opened up.  Everyone took off running into the gym which was the contingency plan in case of rain.  It was extremely hot and a horrible thunderstorm went on the entire time the ceremony was going on.

I was valedictorian and my friend Patrick Russell was salutatorian.  There were only 28 of us that graduated which was small even for Strong.  The class of 1986 had 48 people!!

Congratulations Jamie

Today, my cousin Jamie graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Despite many major changes, she hung in there and finished school while working full time and planning a wedding! I am extremely impressed with her and very proud to call her my cousin.

Way to go, Jamie!!!

Concerts

I've been taking those stupid quizzes on Facebook and the one about which bands I've seen in concert prompted this post. The one on Facebook only allowed 5 and that's not nearly enough to cover my 25 years of concert going.

My first concert was in 1984 when I was 14. Ronnie Milsap came to Mena and it was a BIG deal! He played at the Mena High School football field which was still at the middle school at that time.

While in high school, I also saw Club Noveau (they sang an updated Lean on Me and a song called Rumors) at the El Dorado Civic Center, and The Beach Boys at NLU (I think it's UL - Monroe now) in Monroe, LA.

Barton Collesium:
I saw Huey Lewis and the News and I remember the bass player leaned back with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth the whole time.

I also saw Whitesnake and Heart and I came so-o close to touching Ann Wilson's boot but it didn't happen!

I only camped out for concert tickets once and that was Garth Brooks in 1990. Julie Dockins, Tanya Lewis, and I got in line with our sleeping bags and snacks. Tanya's brother Kevin showed up later in the night. We partied and played Uno until the morning where we scrambled to get in line. We almost didn't get tickets even after all that but we did and it was awesome!

I was on the floor for Nelson and Cinderella. I got so-o squished at Nelson and started feeling sick. All I could see was their hair as they danced around on stage. Julie and I went and sat in the stands for Cinderella because there were just too many people there.

My other memorable floor experience was AC/DC. I was at this concert with Julie, Tanya, and our friend Shannon Weaver. Shannon made it to the front row but I was still stuck a couple rows back. She grabbed my head and shoulders and tried to pull me forward but no one would budge so my legs were in the 3rd row and my head in the 1st row. I finally told her just to give up!

I saw Hank Williams Jr twice. I had tickets for another time but we had a car wreck on the way to the concert on I-30 and never made it! That really stunk!

Keith Luebke and I went to see Alabama. Keith was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the year we saw them, Randy Owens had a Pi Kapp sweatshirt on the cover of their current album. After the concert, we went to the Holiday Inn by the airport where they were staying. They walked through the lobby and Randy pointed at Keith's t-shirt and said 'Pi Kapp, cool!' It made our night!!

Other concerts I saw there were: Van Halen (Van Hagar actually), Tracy Lawrence with Tracy Byrd and Neal McCoy, The Judds (twice), Winona, Bad Company, Reba McEntire with Don Williams and Garth Brooks (before he was popular), and Alan Jackson.

War Memorial Stadium:
For a few years, some really cool concerts were scheduled at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. I managed to make most of them.

My favorite was The Eagles when they did their Hell Freezes Over tour in 1995 (I think that was the year). They sang all their group songs as well as their individual songs like Don Henley's Dirty Laundry and Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way.

I also saw Billy Joel and Elton John together which was really cool, The Rolling Stones and Bryan Adams (although I only heard Bryan from the parking lot as we were late), and Alan Jackson and George Strait together.

Alltel Arena:

I was one of the people that was extremely excited when they built this as Little Rock was finally going to get big concerts. I had some really great times here.

I saw The Dixie Chicks twice here, once with Ricky Skaggs and once with Michelle Branch. I also saw Prince (from the 10th row no less), Janet Jackson, George Strait with Miranda Lambert and Tracy Lawrence, and Toby Keith with Ted Nugent.

I also took Luke to see his first big concert here, Aerosmith. We were 3 rows from the top and he cried (he was 9 years old) at the end because they didn't play 'Dude Looks Like a Lady.'

Other concerts I've seen over the years that didn't take place in the main venues in Little Rock were:

Jimmy Buffett at The Pyramid in Memphis. We were in the nosebleed section and Jimmy Buffett looked like an ant but it was so cool!!

The American Idol tour at The Pyramid in Memphis the year that Ruben Studdard won and Clay Aiken came in 2nd.

T. Graham Brown, The Little River Band, and The Charlie Daniels Band at different times at Toad Suck Daze in Conway.

The Little River Band and Clay Walker at different times at Riverside Park in Little Rock.

LeeRoy Parnell at Family Fest in Maumelle.

.38 Special at the Heber Springs Fun Park.

The Black Crowes at Riverfest in Little Rock. I actually never saw them but heard them. I volunteered to work in the beer tent nearest the stage with my fellow Alltel employees. I had a frozen arm by the end of the night from reaching in to ice filled vats of beer but it was worth it to hear the guitar solo in 'Jealous Again.'

Rick Springfield at Lady Luck Casino in Mississippi. I left a HOT craps table for the start of the concert but I was NOT going to miss it. LOL!

Mickey Gilley in Tunica, MS. Amy and I were just about the youngest there but we had awesome seats and it was a great concert!

Kelly Clarkson at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire at Harbor Arena in Bridgeport, CT.

I think that is all of the major concerts I've seen. I currently have tickets for July 1st for REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special so I'm pretty excited about that! There may be more concerts but my memory alludes me at the moment. Hopefully, I can remember them over the next few days.

Thoughts and Prayers Out to Mena

I am still in disbelief that Mena got hit so hard by that tornado last night. My friend Shelly Caito, who I went to Mena High School with and lives in Louisiana, called me about 10:15 EST to tell me about it and have me call Aunt Ruth. I tried to call her house but since she had no electricity, she didn't answer. So, I called Jamie and she reassured me that everyone was fine.

I got all curious and spent the next few hours on the internet, scouring all the Arkansas television websites looking for updates. I also stayed on Facebook and got updates from Kori and Krystin. I IMed Susan and my friend Synthia from Tulsa and texted my friend Shannon (from Cove but currently lives in Benton). She was in the bathroom waiting for the storm to pass her house and even went outside and took a picture of the hail and sent it to me!

I am saying extra prayers for everyone that lost their home and for those who lost a family member. I am also thanking God that all of my family made it through okay!!

I miss Arkansas at times but I can't say that I will ever miss tornado season!!

Comedy Show

I went to a semi-funny comedy show on Friday night in Wallingford. My cousin Doreen invited me and it was mostly people that we all camp with and hockey parents - there were 30 of us!

The funniest part of the evening ended up being the various stages of inebriation that some of my cousins ended up in and not the comedians! A couple people at our table were so-o loud that our fellow companions as well as people we didn't know were shushing them!! It was pretty funny!

There was an emcee who had a few funny moments but mostly people just groaned at him. The next lady was Robin Fox who we had just seen at Girl's Weekend in Vermont last month. She has some funny stuff but can drag on a bit. The third guy was named Melvin and he was quite funny. By the time the last guy came on, my table was quite loud and other than knowing he had a Boston accent, I can't tell you anything about him!

Afterward, a few of us went to a tiny bar called Michaels. Amy didn't feel good so she just dropped me and my cousin Krissy off. We stayed there about 2 hours and it was pretty fun. There was an older man (I'd say in his 60s) sitting on a stool playing rock songs on his guitar and singing. I remember 'Livin' on a Prayer' and 'Eight Days a Week' so he had quite a repertoire.

I am way too old to do this kind of evening every weekend but every now and then, it is so fun to have one!!

Weekly DVR schedule

I work from home so I usually have the tv on while I work which gives me time to watch (or listen to) a lot more tv than the average person. Unless I'm in a meeting or really studying some code, the tv doesn't bother me. With that in mind, here is my weekly DVR recording schedule by night(all times are EST):

Monday:
8:00: The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Chuck (NBC), Dancing with the Stars (ABC), House (FOX)
8:30: How I Met Your Mother(CBS)
9:00: Two and a Half Men (CBS)
9:30: Worst Week (CBS) (fall), Rules of Engagement (CBS) (spring)
10:00: CSI Miami (CBS)

Tuesday:
8:00: NCIS (CBS), American Idol (FOX)
9:00: The Mentalist (CBS), Dancing with the Stars Results (ABC)
10:00: Without A Trace (CBS)

Wednesday:
8:00: The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
8:30: Gary UnMarried (CBS)
9:00: Criminal Minds (CBS), American Idol Results (FOX), Lost (ABC)
10:00: CSI:NY (CBS), Life on Mars (ABC) (I can't believe they cancelled this - tonight was the series finale)

Thursday:
8:00: Survivor (CBS), Bones (FOX), Ugly Betty or In the Motherhood(now) (ABC), My Name is Earl (NBC)
8:30: Samantha Who (ABC)
9:00: Grey's Anatomy (ABC), CSI (CBS)
9:30: 30 Rock (ABC)
10:00: Private Practice (ABC), Eleventh Hour (CBS)

Friday:
8:00: Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
9:00: Dollhouse (FOX)
10:00: Numbers (CBS)

Sunday:
8:00: Desperate Housewives (ABC)
9:00: Brothers and Sisters (ABC), Cold Case (CBS)

Most of these shows I watch the next day while working. I do try to watch American Idol, Survivor and Dancing with the Stars before going to bed the night they are on if I don't get to watch them live. I also can't sleep until I've watched The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ghost Whisperer, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters the night they are on.

Big Layoff Today

Alltel (Verizon) had quite a few layoffs today. This is to be expected as it's what always happens after a merge but one of the ones today left me a little unnerved! My supervisor, Wayne Sluder, got let go. No one told us who we report to now - I'm assuming it's his boss which is fine but it's really weird that he's gone.

Another of my friends, David Sanders, also got let go but he actually volunteered. He wants to travel for a little while before buckeling down to a new career. I'm actually a little envious of him, as I love to travel as well.

My day is coming, sometimes I hope sooner rather than later so I can get it over with!

Oh well, I'll just be thankful I still have my job and try not to mourn those who do not. Today's joke was: What's the difference between a recession and a depression? A recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose yours.

Have a great evening!

Welcome to my blog!

Okay, I'm going to now follow in the footsteps of my cousins and try blogging.

I used to journal but writing is painful as I've gotten older so I quit. I hope that blogging will get me back in the swing of things!

Until later...