Mono Y Mono

Today was interesting. I got relatively nothing done that I wanted to. Luckily I got a lot done yesterday. I woke up this morning and found Chelsea's car parked outside. I went upstairs only to find out that she was still in bed. So I texted around and got a doctors appointment set up. We then went to the Dr. and found out that she has mononucleosis. Which explains why she has been tired on and off lately. So we spent the Am at the doctor. I did pick up a new book from the Library in the process. Watchemn - the best selling graphic novel ever! Or so the cover tells me. I did get a drawing done this afternoon for the fair. It turned out pretty well. I just need to frame it.

Monday...

I just thought I would add a few more pictures from the tour.

This is Michael the intern. We were all wishing his name was Ryan (like from The Office). He has done so much to help us all out. We really could not imagine what it would have been like had he not been available or able to go.

Robert Randolph and Family Band jammin' to a tune...


...and Switchfoot, "frozen" on stage.

Home is where the heart is...

I got home today, and I am exhausted. I came home, unpacked, took a shower and then a nap. What a wonderful nap it was! Yesterday was...let's say..."interesting". Jenn and I decided to try and be proactive instead of reactive and see if we can stay on top of our game for the day. We were doing good at the beginning and I started a list on a sheet of paper. It was like a pros-cons list but it was a Jenn & Joe vs. The World list. We were beating the world by about 5 points when Mac walks into the trailer and was the first snowflake in our avalanche of reactive actions and not the proactive we were striving for. He was asking for some papers to be printed. Because they were not ready we had to give a point to the world. Which then prompted him to inquire about our game. We explained it and then his reply was along the lines of, "Well, I have about 3000 people on the other side of the stage I could get to help "the world" out. In which Jenn graciously declined his generous offer.
Also yesterday, Barclay (Robert Randolph's manager), was looking for a runner to use. At one point (after the other dozen runner issues we had) saw the runner that was supposed to drive for him. He came to me seconds later as I crossed the parking lot, "There she is! That was my runner, right?! I needed her to stop! I kept jumping up and down waving my arms and she just kept driving! Where did she go?..." A few minutes later, he found her vehicle and had me go with him to the vehicle to get her to drive his people to the hotel. I walked up to the vehicle and it was empty...I never did see her the rest of the night...
I got to watch a few minutes of RR and SF tonight so that was cool. I still need to get in on some Jars at some point. They go on first and the meet and greet overlaps it most of the time. i am hoping though - this years outfits rock!! I will have to HAVE TO get a picture to post of them.

Day Two-zay is a doo-zay

I got the hang of a lot of things. Being only day two and all Isn't too shabby (at least that's what I keep telling myself). I got a head start on things yesterday which helped out a lot. I had about 1/4 of my work prepared. The rest of the day was spent just trying to keep up. We are all trying to keep our sanity getting into the swing of things and the weird hours. Showers are a fleeting luxury. Lunch seems to be a fable only our grandmothers might remember. And touring still rocks! One thing that I thought was funny/interesting that happened today was during the meet and greet we ran out of posters to get signed. Because of that, one of the boys that was there (maybe 13-ish) waited to see if more posters were coming. Posters were nowhere to be found, so David had me fetch some souvenir drumstix earlier and I still had a spare pair that Jenn said to give to the kid. I did and when I was handing them over, he almost fell over. He literally looked like he was about to pass out. I asked if he was OK, and he couldn't answer. I just know I helped to make that kids day with such a simple gesture. THAT is what it is all about!

...and here is Jenn, Third Day's tour manager. Being the silly wacky sleep deprived hungry people we are...

It's the end of the day as we know it...and I feel fine...

Twas a busy busy day! I got everything I was supposed to get done on time! Downside: I only had to do half the work I would normally do because half was done yesterday. That was the perk of having two days in the same city. Tomorrow will be more challenging I think. I am still having lots of fun and missing Elizabeth so so much. I keep wishing she was here just to smile and say, "Good job sweetie!"

It's Showtime!!

Today is the first actual concert date of the tour in Detroit MI. Prep/practice day was fun and was over by 11:00pm. So I got a good nights sleep getting to stay in bed until 8:00am! Every 30 minutes counts! I am presently eating my free breakfast at the Holiday Inn (bagel with butter cuz they are out of cream cheese, a cinnamon roll, and a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. I guess it all comes down today! Good Luck Me!!
Oh yeah - and half of the band members remember me, so that was cool too...from both bands (TD & SF)

Rehearsals...

Today is prep day for everyone on the tour. The bands are practicing and the tour crew are setting up and I have been making copies for the last 4 hours. Copies of signs. Copies of directions. Copies of envelopes. Copies of copies of copies. I am still having so much fun! Mac remembered me, so that was pretty cool. Breakfast and Lunch were really good too - got to have white country gravy for both! Also did grocery shopping with Jenn (tour mgr) last night. We bought a lot of snacks and junk food for the buses. I am so happy I will not go hungry. Although lunch did have fried chicken on the bone - I passed that up for extra rolls, extra mac'n'cheese, and extra tater tots (gotta love carbs).

Off to see the Wizard...

I am 2 hours from when I am scheduling myself to leave Atlanta. I am in the process of cooking up dinners for the rest of the week for Elizabeth and Chelsea. I made Meatloaf Muffins, Scalloped Potatoes, and a bucket of cooked ground turkey for whatever they want to make it (tacos, pasta, sloppy Joes (all sloppy and No Joe!). I am packed up and just waiting out time watching Spin City. I also have prepared my glow-in-the-dark shoes that are killer and will be wearing my "Wicked Awesome!" t-shirt. Keaton is sleeping beside me as I type. I think he knows I am leaving since the suitcase is out. I will be missed...since I am the hand that feeds them a lot. I already miss everybody (including you, the reader) but I am also excited for this wicked awesome opportunity!

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

It is Monday. Yesterday, lights went very well in Extreme. I had Zaxby's with Chelsea, came home and read more of my book, and then worked at the Boston/Styx concert. I worked away from the show for the first half (Styx). They sounded pretty good. Then Boston came on. It took me a few minutes to recognize the voice which was not the original Boston voice, but that of Michael Sweet - lead singer of Stryper! Once I realized that every song sounded like a Stryper cover of a Boston tune. Still a good show, just a little different. I have worked all day on the house cleaning and organizing and the finishing touches on my packing. I think I am 90% ready. The other 10% I cannot pack until tomorrow, so i am pretty much done for the day other than some more TV watching and reading more of my book. I cannot wait until tomorrow! Work starts promptly at 7pm! Do not be late! :)

Three Days (Grace) to Third Day!

Charlie Daniels had his concert last night which I worked at. He did really well, but I wasn't much for the other acts. During the day yesterday though, I did absolutely nothing other than watch movies On-Demand and make lunch. Very productive on the "not being productive" front. Today was very similar. Except I went out with Elizabeth to the Waffle House and watched Tropic Thunder. We also went to The Counter (a new burger joint in town) which was unique and worth at least a one time visit. Also did a Wal-mart run. For me it was mostly for a bag of chips and dip, but E needed some other stuff too. I also got a few remaining questions answered about the tour so now I know everything there is to know about the tour! j/k I wish I knew everything. I am hoping to learn it all though from Jenn. She is a powerhouse of information and I hope to be a vacuum of learning. That sounded so cheesy. I think I will end on that note.

A Finger For Each Day Left (counting on one hand only - I do have all ten of my fingers still)

It is Thursday, and I was determined this morning to do nothing getting ready wise for the day (like getting dressed, putting in contacts, shower, etc...) So I awoke this morning to a big glass of lactose free chocolate milk. I am still loving my chocolate! I immediately got started on my cleaning for the day. I started in the main bedroom, got about half of that done, then went downstairs and worked on the foyer area and got half of that done. Then I gave up for the day. It was about noon and time for lunch. I had some left over chicken fried rice. I make some gooooood fried rice. Secret ingredient: egg. It's not so much the secret ingredient, but when to add the secret ingredient. It makes a world of difference when added at the right time. After lunch I read two more chapters of Twilight. Nothing new in the book worth blogging, but still a good book so far. Then it happened. :( Chelsea came home and needed to go shopping which meant my plan was ruined. I needed to put on pants and put my contacts in. But on the bright side I got to Heely today. I love my Heelys. And I bought a new lamp for my bedroom. $7.99!!! Most of the lamps were between $15.99-$60.00. Came home and had burgers for dinner, had a little ice cream, and took a nap. I woke up when Elizabeth got home from school around 8:00pm. I should be in bed by 11:00pm. What an old fogey I have become...

Under a week until the first roll!

Today is Wednesday and marks less than one week until I leave for the first leg of the tour. I got a lot accomplished today. All the laundry is caught up and I am packed for the most part (not including toiletries). I got the brakes and an oil change done on the Pilot (3 hrs!), I got some packages mailed off (40 minutes), and I got to try out the new Pollo Loco in Roswell (Timeless). The food was ok there and service a little slow. It was nothing to blog home about other than the fact that I am presently blogging about it. I only went because I had a coupon for $5 off of a big burrito which only cost me $2. What a deal! It was worth the two bucks. Not worth seven if I was forced to pay full price. I also started reading Twilight. A vampire book - that's all I know so far. It's late now, so I am off to bed. G'nite.

Down to 7 days!

I finally got a lot accomplished! I got Lil' Anna groomed, and some mail ready to be sent, I got my checklists laminated, and made a few T-shirts - some of which I have been wanting to make now for months. One says, "Wicked Awesome!" (that one is my favorite). Another says, "Everyone needs some Mo-Joe" and the third one says "Joes Taco Bano" with the tagline "For when you need "to-go". There is also another one that says "Un-Average Joe" that I didn't post a picture of.



No cleaning was accomplished, but I did make dinner! Bourbon chicken was tonight and the leftovers will be made into a chicken fried rice tomorrow. And I also got an oil change on my mother-in-laws Altima. $18.00! It was the cheapest I could find in Roswell/Alpharetta.

I leave 8 days from today

This weekend was a doozie! I did not get a lot done other than cleaning and printing my w-4, 1-9 and Direct Deposit Form. I am also still recovering from my weekend of "manstrating". I didn't watch anything Dakota Fanning, so that was an improvement, but I watched the Larry King interview with the Chapman family who recently lost their daughter in an accident. I cried through the whole thing. I then met with my wife and niece at the Golden Corral for a dinner of carbs compounded with comfort food after comfort food. The next day (saturday) was spent craving chocolate and had to make a Publix run for Snickers, chocolate covered raisons, frosted animal cookies and other sugar packed snacks. Sunday I spent sleeping and catching back up on my cleaning. Things were caught up as of this morning when I woke up, but now I am behind unless I get in gear and start working instead of going to the movies and watching The Dark Knight. Which was really good by the way. A little long, but really good.

2 Weeks Before

Things are finally coming together. I am no longer an employee at Blue Ridge Mountain Waters, or anywhere full-time for that matter. I still have the job with Encore Park though - and we have shows with Charlie Daniels and a Boston/Styx concert coming up next week. But what I am most excited about is that I received my paperwork and calendar for the Music Builds Tour. I will be with the Third Day camp, but also on tour will be Switchfoot, Robert Randolph and Jars of Clay. I intend to try to keep this blog up throughout the tour with updates no less frequently than once a week. I know the next upcoming week will be busy just getting ready for I am going to attempt getting everything I wanted to get done in the last 6 months done in 10 days (oil changes, yard work, house cleaning, packing, cat grooming...) while still squeezing in working two concerts and running the lights at church. Luckily, I can put some of the stuff off until after the first leg of the tour when there will be a two week vacation/break/cram-whatever-I-didn't-get-done-before-the-tour-started session. That will be nice.

Get your tickets now while they are still available!!