Last in Line at the Rialto in Tucson Arizona

Busy April: Last in Line Concert and Tucson Travel

April 28, 2023 /

I’m still trying to figure out where March went, and now April is almost gone. I think the months pass so quickly for me because I’m a) old and b) busy. This post will be a quick slice-of-life view of the past month here at Camp WTF. It’s also part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, and What’s Been on Your Calendar, hosted by Sue, Debbie, Donna, and Jo.

The Day Job

I don’t talk a lot about my day job on here, because I’m trying to keep my writing life separate from my professional life (hence the pseudonym). But it’s been a big month for me on the work front.

  • I’m in the interview process for a position at my institution that would be a significant promotion. The first-round interview happened at the beginning of the month, and the second-round interview is scheduled for mid-May. For those of you who haven’t experienced a campus interview in academia, they are all-day affairs (sometimes longer) that require a lot of preparation. I’ve set my fiction writing aside and am using my morning writing time for interview prep.
  • The book I co-edited is out! I received my author copies on Wednesday. I’m so, so excited to hold the results of 2 years of hard work in my hands.

Fun times!

I mentioned last week that my friend Laurel visited for a few days earlier this month. I still haven’t processed the photos from all our explorations (sorry, Laurel!), but here are a few:

Last in Line, live at the Rialto

The primary reason for Laurel’s visit was to see Last in Line at the Rialto. Last in Line was formed about 10 years ago by former members of Ronnie James Dio’s band. Membership has changed a bit since then and currently consists of drummer Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), guitarist Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, a bunch of other people), and vocalist Andrew Freeman (the Offspring, Lynch Mob).

The Rialto is a former vaudeville theater with a lot of character and great acoustics. The show was small and general admission, so we were able to get in the front row easily. My trusty concert camera started malfunctioning, so my photos aren’t great, but they’ll do. Here are a few:

Frontman Andrew Freeman
Vivian Campbell and Andrew Freeman
Vivian Campbell and Phil Soussan
Vivian Campbell and Vinny Appice

Saguaro National Park

In last week’s post I shared a batch of flowers from our visits to both the East and West units of Saguaro National Park. Here are a few more pics from those trips:

Young saguaro with its dead ancestor
Buds on prickly pear
Saguaro skeleton, East Unit
Running saguaro, East unit
Entangled saguaros, West unit
Crested saguaro with alien face

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission on the Tohono O’odham Nation south of Tucson. The mission was founded in 1692, and the current complex was built between 1783 and 1797.

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

Occasionally you’ll see cars in Tucson with bumper stickers reading, “Keep Tucson Weird.” The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures is an example of Tucson weirdness. I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but I was drawn to one of their temporary exhibits, Dioramas of a Darker Nature: Nicolas Levasseur’s Abandoned Miniatures. Yeah, I know, is anyone surprised I liked the creepy stuff?

Here’s just one example of Levasseur’s work:

Looking forward to May

May is shaping up to be an even busier month than April:

  • Staycation next week. Long-Suffering Husband will make his annual trek to Uranium Springs for their Detonation event (learn more in this post), and I will be left to my own nefarious device. Of course I’m taking time off work to fully enjoy this opportunity (and to prep for my upcoming interview).
  • Campus interview on May 15
  • Attend a conference in Detroit and take some additional time to explore Michigan (most of the rest of the month)

The Memery

No theme this week and only a small collection, because I really have been spending large chunks of my non-work time on interview prep. Here we go:

Since this post has me thinking about concerts:

That’s the damn truth. The fees for our Last in Line tickets weren’t too bad, but the last time I bought a ticket to a really big show, the fees were over $75. I *hate* Ticketmaster.

As long as we’re talking about music:

If you’re of a certain age, now you have that song stuck in your head. You’re welcome.

I’ll apologize in advance for this next one:

And since we’re talking about Star Wars:

I currently have an exceptionally well-behaved printer, which I find… confusing. I don’t think I’ve had to swear at it even once.

For as long as I’ve known him (37 years and counting), Long-Suffering Husband has insisted that buildings should be called, “builts,” for exactly this reason.

Did I mention I’m prepping for a campus interview? I ate half a box of Wheat Thins at bedtime a couple of nights ago.

And finally:

How was your month? Whatcha looking forward to next month?

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