Mike McClure Band

I learned about a decade ago that if Jo calls and says, hey whatcha doin this weekend someone I really want to see is in town... that I'm in for a treat.

Last night was no exception. I have never seen Mike McClure live. In fact I only really knew one of the songs he sang last night. Never-the-less the show was beyond incredible.

He was playing this small hole-in-the-wall place downtown. We arrived around 9ish. Fortunately for us, there were only 5 other people there at the time. They didn't start charging a cover until we were on our second round of refreshments.

The band took the stage about 10:30. They played an awesome set for the next hour. About halfway thru Mike stopped playing and demanded that the crowd boo him. In his thinking people get applause even if they're bad. But to get boo'ed you have to be a special sort of something. He didn't continue playing until we had sufficiently boo'ed.

It was a very intimate setting. The place was packed and yet there were no more than 75 or so people. An interesting man to watch was a guy we will call "Irish." Not because we think he was Irish, but because he was wearing a sweatshirt with the word Irish emblazened on the front. Anywho, he had a bucket of some nasty 6.0 stuff and turns out he wasn't sharing with anyone. He stood at the stage and danced like a white man. He also kept sneaking up and sharing his thoughts over an open mic.

When Mike McClure began asking for requests (after the first song) the audience was yelling a song name - Irish looked at one man and said "Is that a song he plays?" Jo and I about fell over laughing.

We were especially treated because the band knew most of the people there and it felt like we were at a private party. Not to mention that after the 5 minute pee break that felt like 12 minutes... Mike announced that he was going to play until they kicked him out - and he did.

Mike McClure Band is high on my list of "You Gotta See These Guys" so don't turn down the next opportunity you get.

Long days and pleasant nights...

RedBird 2009 Schedule

Awesome news from Cardinal Nation!

The 2009 season schedule is out and they begin and end the season at home. And even better almost 50% of the games will be at home in the last half of the season, 37 out of 79.

The last two weeks will be primarily on the road - @ Houston; @ Colorado; @ Cincinatti. If those teams continue to play like they did last season, this is not bad news.

The season ends in Milwaukee. They were a tough team last year. But not too bad for my boys!

My boys will be in Arizona April 13 - 15. The email to my favorite cousin has already gone out to see if he would like to have a family reunion that week. This is the week after Easter. I hate to see his boys lose to my boys around a holiday, but that's life.

Also, the All-Star game that was supposed to be in St Louis last season, will be played there this season. Diana and Kara - I need to which one of you has the most comfortable couch and you need to get me a ticket!

Long days and pleasant nights...

Geico Continued...

So, I found the UPS station that my package was delivered to. It is on the opposite side of Tulsa from me. I am thankful that it did not go to Bangkok.

When I arrived the UPS lady was very nice. She retrieved my package quickly and efficiently. I also gave her the advice that she should NEVER use Geico. I made sure the other sales lady and the the other customer heard that advice as well.

I opened the package to go ahead and prepare my deposit sheet so the time at the bank would be shorter. I was expecting around $93.00. The check was for $34.41. At this point I turned bright red.

Another 25 or so minutes on the phone to Geico, I found out that the "supervisor" I had spoken to before was too busy to speak to me. So this CSR actually understood his job. He researched (new concept for Geico) my account. What he found out was Accounting had managed to re-deposit my money that was wrongfully taken on the day I had requested it. I was told this was impossible. And that the check I had received was the pro-rated amount owed because I canceled in the middle of the month.

I thanked the gentleman for his intelligence and asked him to note to someone that the other 4 CSR's have lost Geico a lifetime customer. I will never use them again because of this ordeal. In addition let someone know that I am telling everyone I see not to use Geico and that will make a larger impact than their silly commercials.

Long days and pleasant nights...

Geico Sucks

Here I am on my high-horse again. If you are in my inner-circle, you know that I no longer have an automobile in my name. So, on Nov. 12, 2008 I called Geico to cancel my car insurance.

The lady was pleasant, changed my mailing address and said that they were experiencing a computer problem, but the cancellation would happen within 5 minutes.

Now, shame on me for not following up the next day. Tuesday of this week I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Geico. They deducted $101 from my checking account Monday. When I finally made it to a supervisor (supposedly) I was assured that the account had been canceled and my money would be returned - in 5 to 8 business days! That wasn't going to help me, so I debated the issue with Tony from Customer Service.

He finally placed me on hold and said that they could overnight a check but I would have to pay them $7. After I stopped laughing, I agreed. He said it would go out FedEx overnight and implied it would go straight to my bank.

So, when I listened to my messages last night at 9pm, imagine my surprise when I had a message from UPS asking for address verification.

I called them back and was told that Geico sent the check to 75 W Tulsa, OK 74501.

Now I have to drive to Bixby to get the check. This isn't over. I'm now going to try to get them to give me the $7 back plus pro-rate the half of the month that I didn't own the car.

In short - DO NOT USE GEICO FOR ANY INSURANCE PURPOSES. It is my experience that they are greatly inefficient in handling easy stuff. I can't imagine the nightmare had I had to file a claim.

Long days and pleasant nights...

Just a short update.

Since the lay-off, I haven't had much time or energy to devote to TammieLand. Please forgive this, but I'm not going to make promises to be more diligent... I'm blue and yet hate to make promises I can't keep.

Oprah had her 3 week checkup yesterday. She was no longer that shy little kitten that sat on my lap. She was all over the exam room. The nurse discovered that she liked dripping water. So for about 15 minutes she played in the sink, only checking to make sure I was still around once. She was a very wet kitten by the time the doctor came in. She has gained a little over a pound, that's because she eats like Strait. (for those of you that don't know, Strait is "my" horse) She has her final "kitten" appointment on the 22nd. At that time she will get the last of her shots, declawed and spayed.

Millie and Oprah finally have learned how kittens and puppies play. They are fun to watch. What a sad sad life I have. lol

Work is good. Carlton has finally discovered that he truly can't live without me. My plan is working very well. hee hee hee

Nothing much else going on.

Long days and pleasant nights...

Thanksgiving

Better late than never...

It was another Thanksgiving, second in a row, of reflecting on the loss of a family member.

This year we buried my Uncle Louis the day before giving thanks. Nicole went to Topeka with me. I realized just how much I have to be thankful for.

I have lost two important people to me in the last year. I am thankful that neither of them had long, horrible ailments. They were both graciously taken rather quickly and didn't suffer for years.

I also have one of the most incredible children ever. She is very much her own person, however, when she knows I truly need her, wild horses couldn't keep her away. She went with me Wednesday just as she had been there for me a year ago. Then Thursday we really didn't do anything.

I found myself turning into my mother. Up and around by 7:30am. Made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then baked a pie that turned out to be a 3-step all day process. Washed about 8 loads of Nicole's laundry. (Yes Grannie, her washer and dryer work fine, Ryan just refuses to do her laundry) Embroideried quite a bit. Cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us. Washed dishes what seemed to be all day.

When I commented to her before she left that we hadn't done anything. She just smiled and assured me that this day was exactly what she needed after the toughest semester of her life.

I have a wonderful, if rather large, family. There aren't words to express my thankfulness for the family and friends...

Long days and pleasant nights.