Haines His Way

Good Morning!

-And a very early morning at that...  -Yes, I'm still up...



BK -  As I've discovered with Restoration Hardware and other stores/catalogs, it is usually worth the travel time and effort to go to the store in person, catalog in hand, and ask them if they have the item in stock.  Of course, they will say, "Sir, that item is available only through the catalog only."  Then you feign ignorance, and say, "Oh, I didn't realize that."  But then continue by asking, "Would it be possible to place the order here at the store?"  And, hopefully - and usually - they will say, "Yes, you may do so if you'd like."  And, then hopefullly - and usually - they will say, "It should be here with our next shipment from the main warehouse."  -Instead of eight weeks, the wait time is usually 2 weeks.  And, best of all, since it's being shipped to the store, most of the time the S&H fees are waived.  -Of course, this assumes that you will pick up the item yourself once it comes in to the store...

Eddie Bauer's various divisions, clothing and home, offer this "service", and I've even been able to order some specialty stuff from Williams-Sonoma this way too.  It's worth a try if there's a Restoration Hardware store near your abode.  -Or near your adobe if you happen to live in such a structure.

Now, if you happen to have a Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel or the very newish Williams-Sonoma Home near you, you can probably find very similar items at those stores.   Of course, there's also Macy's and the like too.

*As I've also found out, a bunch of those "catalog only" items are not "store exclusives", and can usually be found elsewhere, so...  They're just made by some third party company, and they happen to fit the product profile of the particular store(s).  The company/store puts them in their catalog, but doesn't necessarily keep them on stock, in hand.  When a customer orders said item(s), they contact the third party company.. and eight weeks later you have your area rug.

So sad to be all alone in the world...

OH!  And I had no keyboard trauma tonight.  AND I also found the source of said keyboard trauma - which happened to be a sometimes sticking, sometime non-functioning low-A (the A3 to be exact on this particular Kurzweil model).  -And if any of you know the opening section of the Opening of A Chorus Line, you know that low-A's are prominently featured therein.

As for the source of the problem... While we were setting up before the show, one of the stage hands was talking with the percussionist about something that happened during the previous production of Hair.  On the last night of the show, the stage crew decided to dump the rest of the "show snow" onto to the bandstand area - and, consequently, onto the band members and their instruments.  It was a blizzard from all accounts.  Well...

I had been finding bits of stuff every now and then in between the keys.  I just figured it was debris from the set being built, stage dust, etc.  But after hearing this story, I realized it was "stage snow".  This type of stage snow is made up of shredded plastic - not paper, not cornflakes, etc. - but plastic, little bits of plastic.  So, I started digging in and around the keys and found some more "snow".  Ding-Ding!  Problem found.  Problem solved - well... not really.  At least we know what the cause was/is.  I pulled out a few good shreds here and there before the show.  I'm guessing that if they get the keyboards in the shop for a cleaning, they should be in perfect working order again.  *And after my discovery, I went key by key, and I could tell that there is definitely something stuck under some of the keys.

But, again, I had no keyboard trauma tonight, and had a pretty decent show.  Still a workout, but a good show.

Oohh.... And an extra hour this weekend!!! YIPPEEE!!!

-Of course, whether it will turn out to be an extra hour to sleep, or an extra hour to stay awake remains to be seen.

-Oh, and to catch up from yesterday...

Halloween comes and goes with me.  It all depends what I'm doing at the time, and who I am surrounded by.  A few years ago, I was on the road, and the company had a very nice Halloween party at the hotel we happened to be staying at at the time.  They even made sure to secure a large suite so that everyone could fit into one place.  I had a blast.  The bar downstairs had karaoke, and almost everyone dressed up in costume.  -I went as "Imelda in Exile".  -Hmm.. maybe I'll finally make one or two of those pics public this weekend.

And during the weeks proceeding Halloween, we had a "Secret Satan" gift exchange.  That was a lot of fun!  And the ways that people - including myself - found to plant and hide gifts on a tour bus full of people were astounding and cunningly clever!  Sometimes I - or someone else - would turn around to talk to someone, and then once we turned back around again, there would be a surprise for us on our seat.  

Other times, Halloween is just another day, but I do get a kick out of handing out candy to the kiddies.  Also, my brother Mike was born on October 31st, so it's also a family day for me (and my family).  Needless to say, he always had great birthday parties when we were growing up.  Who wouldn't with the sugar quotient practically doubled from all the Halloween candy in addition to the cake and ice cream?  (usually a Carvel Ice Cream Cake!)

Welcome to the Jose site.
Now that is more than a frenzy.
Thanks for the reading material DR Jose.

You may get an extra hour but remember you are gaining if from us. Now I need to calculate all that time difference stuff again.

Good to know you are OK DR Panni. CD watching has begun here.  Your praises are being sung.

A belated thank you to DRs Danise and Laura. Thank you for the appreciative comments.

Hello DR Michael S.  Hope your health is improving.

Thanks. It is slowly. Good days and bad.

Good morning, al!  Today's a busy day:  down to the recording project office to finish up TAN MANHATTAN and see where BABES IN TOYLAND is standing, then I've got the conductor for the PSClassics JUBILEE coming by to look at the orchestrations.  At some point during all of this, I need to do laundry.

DRSWW, I have seen Kurt Weill's LOVE LIFE; it was done by the University of Michigan's musical theatre program around 10 years ago; there was also an aborted recording attempt, of which I can say no more.

DRTomovoz, beautiful photos!  Are you going to post one of you, Colin, or Francois?

Nurse Jane, I went right to bed after my last Oscar Wilde post!  I slept great, and I'm sure it was all that good food.

TOD:
DVD:  I've got 3 Netflix movies here as well as some Edna Mae Olivers from DRMBarnum, so I've a plethora of riches here.
CD:  I've had IL TROVATORE wth Price and Milnes staring at me for days
       HAINES HIS WAY is always in my player
       BABES IN TOYLAND and Kern's HAVE A HEART
       a couple of compilation discs
VCR: I have to tape the first three Bravo MANHUNT tomorrow to send to a friend; I've never seen so many moronic and vain young men in one program before.  It's like a casting session for the WB!

All you lucky enough to travel is making me less wanting to go to work today.  I could travel; I could stay in my cozy library and read.  I finally have some bookcases (after having my boods in storage for 7 years), so it has been like Christmas rediscovering everything.
I have all the Kritzer books together in one shelf-- handy at eye0level and have saved room for many more books from the same author.
AND Bruce, if you  really like the rug better than all the others you've seen, then it's worth the wait.


Jose---I'm trying to figure out your personal quote-- the source and the meaning--- most intiriguing.
I'd be afraid of a cheesecake milkshake too.   I like either one of them alone-- but not together.

CD's:  I'm listening to some I made for a friend.  I forgot what I had put on them, but apparently I liked the Davis/Shawn/Patrick Cassidy version of "You Could Drive A person Crazy," Liz Callaway doing "Where Do I Go From Here?," and Lindsay Hamilton doing "In the Still of the Night" since they seem to be included on three of the CD's.  I need to think about this.   Some meaning, perhaps?  Or is a cigar sometimes just  a cigar?

DVD - The Tom and Jerry collection - 40 cartoons plus extras; they are fun and hold up, but are starting to be a little similar.  They really weren't meant to be watched in a marathon,

CD - Selections from LA TRAVIATA which I see Saturday night at City Opera; the OBC of SHE LOVES me which I see Sunday at Papermill (with the perfectly ast Nancy Anderson as Amelia)

I don't use this word often, but it is so cool to sign on to HHW and see DR Panni's name up in lights. The next time I fly, btw, I'm going to ask the Dear Partner (or anyone else) to drop a knapsack on my head and insult me. I want to go first class, too!

Here's DD on her balcony...