[bobthecockroach]

Wow... that was close! ...the suspense builds.

[PKfanSteph]

Originally Posted by bobthecockroach

Wow... that was close! ...the suspense builds.

I wish I had a picture *of* the guy's face when he brought me my phone. I think he looked as relieved as I was!

I'll add more tonight . Maybe even some photos....

[bobthecockroach]

But not of the guy's face...

[PKfanSteph]

Ooops, type-oh....

Friday, April 23rd, 2004 - Part 1:

I slept late. Mark picked me up around 12:15 or so and we stopped at Wally World to get a new screw for my glasses (no "screw loose" jokes, please!). We met a few people Mark recognized and I'm beginning to wonder if he knows everyone in Marion! We drove through McD's before heading out to Greenville. We got into town around 2:15 and since neither of us knew where we were supposed to be, we drove around for a few minutes and then Mark stopped at a local Christian bookstore to ask for the venue and directions (see that, guys, you can be straight and ask for directions!!!). Of course, it wasn't hard to find and we went in.

Now, I never realized the words "guest list" could cause so much confusion among college students, but apparently they can! After debating with each other about what to do, and then trying to find their professor and finally asking the road manager, they handed us a ticket, but didn't really tell us what to do. In the meantime, we happened upon a fellow Iowan and chatted for a bit, until the crowd got too overwhelming. So I asked Mark to talk to someone in charge about going inside. We went in around 2:50 and there was Phil doing his soundcheck. We said a brief "hello" and then it was time for the clinic to start.

The whole idea of a guitar clinic (Phil's at least) is to ask the artist questions about playing the guitar. But nobody wanted to ask the first question. After a few moments of silence, Phil volunteered me to ask the first question. Funny, I don't recall raising my hand. Well, after my attempt at a question (and Phil's attempt at an answer), the group loosened up a bit and folks asked about his Jam Man, alternate tunings and the usual song requests. Songs included "My Auburn Lady", "Paka", "From the Beginning", "Brother Jack", something from Acoustic Sketches and another from Freehand. At 3:57, someone requested "Time", but Phil said "there isn't enough of it left to play the whole song. You probably just want the lick anyway" and played portions of it.

Like a short teaser, the hour ended too quickly. Phil hung around to sign autographs and Mark and I met with up with Mark Bacus and his family. What great folks!

More coming....

[PKfanSteph]

Well, I hadn't planned on keeping ya'll waiting so long for a response, but I've been debating how much of what follows to make available to the public.

As most of you probably have already guessed, Mark Fisher, the Bacus family and I spent some time with Phil after the clinic. But he was beat and barely able to stay awake, so around 4:45 we broke so he could go back to his hotel and get a short nap in before supper. MarkF and I went to McD's and had a shake to pass the time. About 5:30, the Bacus family showed up there as well. They had wanted to tire their two boys (11 and 5) out so they wouldn't be wound up for the concert (they've seen "uncle Phil" so many times, it's not really anything special to them). Of course, in a small town, there's not much to wear out kids! They'd hoped the play area would be open, but it wasn't. We had a nice chat anyway. I've known the Bacus family via email since 1998 and it was a real pleasure to meet them in person. At 6, MarkF and I went to the resturaunt to grab a table for 7 and the Bacus klan went to pick up Phil from the hotel.

It was a really nice resturaunt and I was a bit intimidated when we first walked in. But the food was really good and the waitress was very friendly. There was a group of ladies eating there called the "Red Hat Society" who went out to dinner wearing these little red hats. MarkF and I thought it would be funny to have a picture of Phil in one of those hats, but it didn't happen. At any rate, we had some good fellowship, and despite their age, Spencer and Oliver joined right in on the conversation. Everyone was very relaxed and joking and having fun. And we didn't have to worry about being late for the concert .

More to come!

[PKfanSteph]

Wow, it's been a long time. I still need to finish telling you how my last trip went, don't I? I'll do that later, I promise. But first, a quick update.

We had my grandmother's estate yard sale last Saturday (not yesterday). There was a lot of stuff!!! We were shocked just how much she crammed into that tiny little house!!! If we had realized soon enough how much stuff there was, we'd have had an auction instead. But by then, we'd already made plans and put out advertisements, so we were stuck. Unfortunately, the weather got bad very quickly in the afternoon. Torrential rains and wind rolled in on us within a matter of five or ten minutes. We didn't have time to get a lot of the stuff inside, so there were a fair amount of things that were lost. Looking at the aftermath Sunday, there was still a lot of stuff left and we're still trying to decide what to do with it. It needs to go somewhere soon!

Things are beginning to work out house-wise. We're moving into Gramma's in early July. My stepdad's brother wants to buy this house, but he wants to wait until our contract with the realtor, Randy, runs out in September. Mom and I don't really like that--Randy has been a longtime family friend and I certainly don't think it's fair to him! My stepdad's bro said he will be compensated, just not 100% of what he would otherwise get. Not much I can do about it, but I don't like it. Randy has helped us out a lot with advice and paperwork for nothing and he deserves better. Grrrr.....

I bid on a digital camera on ebay late last month and won. Sent in my money order as instructed but have yet to hear anything from the seller. I think I got screwed out of $470. I went to the post office Friday morning and filed a request for info on whether or not it had been cashed, so they're looking into it. The USPS website says there is no "stop payment" on a money order, but at least if I know it's cashed, I can take further legal action. Ebay's protection plan sometimes pays up to $175. Better than nothing, I guess. I see the guy has done this before and has already been already been suspended, so I have no problem taking this as far as I can with filing charges. If others had filed their feedback a few days sooner, I wouldn't have even considered bidding, but at the time, he had great feedback--99% positive--so I felt safe. Just goes to show, you can do all the right things and still get screwed! At any rate, I plan to persue this with ebay, the USPS (mail fraud), the FTC (they have an internet fraud dept.), local authorities and whoever else I can.

My stepdad had hernia surgery on Friday and we just got home from the hospital this evening, so I'm wiped out. More later.

[PKfanSteph]

Wow, I'm surprised somebody hasn't deleted this thing! I didn't mean to neglect it, really!!! Lots has happened since my last post!

We got moved. Smaller house, smaller town. Most of the main level is unpacked and in place, but the basement is still a mess. We've spent a lot of time and money on paint and electrical work and still need to put in a bathtub (my mom hates showers!). But it's got four walls and a roof, so it's better than some people have.

I got an email from ebay a few weeks ago saying they would send me a partial repayment of $175 for my loss. I haven't gotten it yet, but they said it could take up to a month to get deposited in my PayPal account. The whole situation just sucks, but it happens . I'm still getting a digital camera--some way, somehow, I'll get one!!!

The new Phil Keaggy DVD is out. I've been putting a lot of time into a good review and after some editing help from my friend Mark Bacus, I think it sounds really great. I'm going to try to post it wherever I'm allowed!!! Gotta get that word out!!!!!

I've been getting into an artist named Braddigan lately, the former drummer of Dispatch. He's got some great acoustic rock stuff and I've been hanging out at his website (braddigan.com) just for the audio soundtrack! I saw Brad play with Phil way back in Feb when I went to Fort Collins, CO. I just didn't know who he was at the time! It wasn't until I surfed his website that I realized it was the same dude. Pretty cool, huh?

I need to run, but I'll be back later today to write more!

[PKfanSteph]

I'm back, but just for a minute....

I finished my review of the new Philly Live Phil Keaggy DVD. I'm kinda proud of it.

I found out this morning that the two shows I was planning on attending in CO next month have been postponed. What a crappy way to start a day!



Not much else going on here.

Gotta run again...I'll be back.

[bobthecockroach]

Well, I hope your day gets better!

How've you been? It's been foreeeever since I talked to you last.

[PKfanSteph]

Originally Posted by bobthecockroach

Well, I hope your day gets better!

Only three more hours left to try!

How've you been? It's been foreeeever since I talked to you last.

Well, I could've really used the PK-break next month, if that tells you anything! My stepdad doesn't like living here, so he's been REALLY growly this past few months--lots of bickering. Life's been a lot worse than this before, so I shouldn't really complain.

I haven't been able to get Yahoo Messenger to work ever since I moved, so I've been missing my friends.

Things are starting to get "normal" again, nice and boring and that's just fine with me!

What's up with you?

[bobthecockroach]

Originally Posted by PKfanSteph

Only three more hours left to try!
Well, I could've really used the PK-break next month, if that tells you anything! My stepdad doesn't like living here, so he's been REALLY growly this past few months--lots of bickering. Life's been a lot worse than this before, so I shouldn't really complain.

Ehh, I'll be praying for you.

What's up with you?

College. Though actually I got most of the week off because of hurricane Ivan. I actually didn't want to. I enjoy my classes and I don't want have to make up a whole week worth of work this week. Oh well.

[PKfanSteph]

Originally Posted by bobthecockroach

College. Though actually I got most of the week off because of hurricane Ivan. I actually didn't want to. I enjoy my classes and I don't want have to make up a whole week worth of work this week. Oh well.

I know the feeling! I can think of at least two week long occasions in college that I wanted to go but couldn't. You'll get over it before graduation, tho . Everyone needs to skip class once, just for the h#!! of it--but be careful to pick your day wisely .

There was one day in January '96, the first Thursday after we got back from break, that was REALLY snowing. Our university president hadn't cancelled classes in DECADES so none of us were expecting this time to be any different. But, by 2pm you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face for all the biting, blowing snow, so they officially cancelled the rest of the day. Not expecting it to continue, I went back to my dorm and began studying for a Calculus III test I had the next morning (yes, a test already...). I studied until 3:30am before climbing back into my loft for a few hours of sleep. My alarm went off at 6, and I suddenly found myself on the floor unable to stand up! Apparently, when my alarm went off, I'd forgotten I was back at school in a bed 6ft off the ground instead a nice low waterbed! I ended up fracturing my heel and in a cast for 6 months! Of course, as I spent all morning in the ER, classes, test and all, were cancelled, so there really was no need for me to stay up so late or get up so early--it was all pointless! I think that hurt more than my foot....

[PKfanSteph]

I had some minor surgery on my shoulder today, just a local in the Drs office, but OUCH! Now that the local has worn off, I can't sleep. Advil and Tylenol haven't done a thing to help. I learned never to assume the doctor or nurse has read your chart, tho. When the surgeon was closing, he was getting ready to cauterize, the nurse said something about having to ground me. Ground me??? Alarm bells went off in my head! You only ground something when you're planning to pass electricity through it! Apparently they weren't aware I have a hardware store in my back. Not wanting to be a human lightning rod, I mentioned it to them. Good thing I was awake!

Other than that, there's not much going on. Maybe I'll write more when it doesn't hurt so much to type!

[guitarfan01]

sorry. I hope you feel better soon, Steph.

[PKfanSteph]

Thanks, Gabe.

I'm feeling a bit better. My shoulder stopped bothering me about a week ago. Then I was out of town for the weekand and Monday I started getting a really nasty cold/flu thing. Monday night I had a temp of 101.2. Tuesday I got my stitches out and the Doc said everything looked great, tho. I'm finally starting to feel almost normal again!

My mom's birthday is today (Saturday) and I just finished making her a birthday card from pics I found on the web. She loves Alan Jackson, so it has that theme. It's no Hallmark, but I think she'll like it. I might as well include it here.....

One of my dogs had an "accident" on my bed. Not exactly what I want to see before I hit the sack. I was gonna wash the sheets tomorrow anyway, but for now I'll take off the fitted sheets and sleep on the topsheet and cover up with the quilt. Not that ya'll needed to know any of this....

I heard one song off Neal Morse' upcoming CD, One, yesterday. Phil and Neal traded lead vocals; it was kind of a Beatles-meets-Yes kind of thing. Pretty cool.

Terminator 3 was on Cinemax tonight so I watched it. It was much better than I thought it would be. One question, though. Isn't it said that Kate's dad reactivates the Terminator after John's death to go back and protect them? But how does he do that if he dies? Or is that part of the deception to get John and Kate into the shelter? Oh the horrors of temporal mechanics....