Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle doing its morning ablutions. I think I shall write these here notes with great haste and with speedy speed because it is late and my new neighbors are really annoying me and I’m deciding what to do about it. These lowlifes inherited this house to the north of me – that’s the only thing I can think of, since it’s never been up for sale, and it sat empty for at least a year. Now, we’ve got some boys over there who hammer after eleven o’clock at night, hang out outside on the side of their house that faces my bedroom, yak at the top of their lungs past midnight. I’ve had to twice ask them to stop hammering, which they did. Next, I suppose, I’m going to have to tell them to quiet down. If that should fail, I’m afraid I’ll just call the police and let them deal with it, because it’s really annoying. Apparently these lowlifes have no jobs and no life – they hang out all day and all night, doing nothing but nothing. Soon they will know the wrath of BK should they keep this up much longer. I haz spoken. In any case, I shall write these here notes with great haste and with speedy speed. Speaking of speedy speed, yesterday was one of those up and down days when everything was up and down. I got up, and immediately had to deal with an annoying e-mail from the publisher. I already posted about this so I won’t go into all the details, suffice it to say that the nice fellow who’s been my rep for the last four years got promoted, and I was assured his replacement knew what I expected in terms of his being the point man, the guy I go to when there are things to discuss. However, this new guy ignored all that, hasn’t answered an e-mail or phone call in two weeks, and is completely useless. I wrote him a very strong e-mail this morning – he responded. He didn’t apologize, he basically just said he was there to do the beginning of the journey and that now I was to deal with whoever happened to answer the phone. I wrote him back a rather terse and harsh e-mail. I then got some young gal on the phone to discuss the e-mail I’d received and she was a complete nincompoop and I flipped out. I demanded to be transferred to the lady I knew would take care of this – the gal who’d been my first rep way back on Benjamin Kritzer, and who is now quite high up in the company. We had a nice chat, I told her what was going on, she said that the e-mail I’d received from the rep was unacceptable and that she’d be dealing with that, and she also took care of the e-mail I’d received – she fixed the problem in five minutes, because there was no problem. She went to the design team, looked at what we’d sent and told them there was absolutely no reason I should have gotten the e-mail. Last week when we’d turned everything in, I was told that the design call would come in about four weeks. I called my former rep and asked him if we could move that along a little quicker as we had last year. He said he’d try, but nothing happened. My gal took the bull by the horns and the design call is happening tomorrow morning at eleven. Once that happens, and we go over all the instructions, they should be able to turn things around in just a few days, galley and cover-wise. Once I approve, then about a week later I get my test books, I approve those, and were good to go. So, we’ll start taking preorders sometime next week. As I’ve mentioned, for the first thirty preorders there will be a really nice gift that comes free with the book. If those thirty come in very quickly, I can up it to forty, but that’s it. In the midst of all the back and forth, my computer decided to have a moment – my Airport Extreme glitched somehow and caused my network to be locked, and even though I had my password to unlock it wouldn’t unlock. I called Apple Care, and the guy ascertained it wasn’t actually the computer but the Airport Extreme. He switched me over to an AE expert, and after a couple of trial and error fixes that didn’t work, he got me on a new security network with a new password and a new “location” – and things have been fine since, knock wood. Then Mr. Nick Redman came over and we went to Vivian’s Café and had a small lunch. It was a lot of fun. After that, I came home and began sending sheet music and mp3s to our cast members of the upcoming reading. That took a really long time, and then I did an errand, and then I did a two-mile jog on a new route, which was nice. Then I came back home, and we auditioned a couple of people for a role in our upcoming reading. Only one of them was a possibility – he read well, but he’s physically not exactly the right type, so I’m going to take another day and see if any of my theater pals can suggest anyone. After that, I went to Hugo’s for some Papa’s Eggs, a very light dish (with some fruit on the side) – that was a perfect light meal and satisfied my hunger pangs. After that, I came home and finally sat on my couch like so much fish. And then it was time to write these here notes, which I am doing with great haste and speedy speed. The New Neighbors seem to have quieted down a bit. I really was on the verge of being very strong with them.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because The New Neighbors have shut the HELL up and I will soon be hitting the road to dreamland.
Today, I shall be sending more mp3s and sheet music, plus I’ve got to do a little arranging work on one of the songs for the Kevin Spirtas/Sean McDermott show. I haven’t had any e-mails from anyone in the LA area about seeing the dress rehearsal on Friday night – if you’re interested you really must drop me a line soon.
Tomorrow, I have a few things to do in the morning hours, and then our intensive rehearsal with our musical director, Michael Lavine, begins at three. However, Mr. Lavine is coming to my place at one, to set some between songs noodling for the patter sections and to work on the arrangement for the one song. Directly after rehearsal, I’m supping with cousins Dee Dee and Alan at a good jernt called La La’s.
Friday, I’ll be attending the Hollywood Collector’s Show for just a short time in the morning, then I’ll be rehearsing from one to five-thirty, then we’ll take a break, and then we’ll do our dress rehearsal.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, send things, do arranging, do errands and whatnot, and eat something fun, but reasonable – and, of course, jog. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we hope The New Neighbors settle down.