the second post for tuesday, which is actually from monday!

The thing that sticks out in my mind the most from this past weekend has to be the talk that my mom had with me yesterday. I was at my parents house yesterday for a few hours and before I left, my mom pulled me to the side and talked to me the way that a mom only can. She wants me to spend more time with my family. And I guess as I think about it, just the Sunday afternoon visit isn’t enough. I mean I may get by there from time to time during the week if there is a special need but usually I do my Sunday visit and that about it. I try to call everyday but I have to admit, I sometimes miss here and there. And with my parents getting older, I should spend more time with them. And it’s a shame that they have to remind me of this. I guess I get so caught up with my routine which to be honest, is filled with stuff that isn’t important at all when you think about it. they real important stuff is my family. Period! And im gonna do better. I promised my mom that I would and now im promising myself. (sometimes this blog is simply me talking to myself… and anyone that reads it just happens to get to read what im saying to myself!)

Also, without going into detail, my sister is having a MAJOR surgery today so if anyone has a spare moment to send up a prayer, I would appreciate it. her recovery time is like 6-8 weeks…if that’s not Major, then what is???

I THINK My apartment search is about over. Jenn, the apartment manager over at CIRQUE, invited me over to their pool to hang out and steve and I did just that Saturday afternoon. In fact, to go back to Friday, I took kellie by there so that she could give me her opinion. She loved it as well. She said that it fit me very well. We went up to the 24th floor and took a look at the view from there. It made kellie a little nervous to walk out on the balcony so she went back inside. Anyway, steve and I sat by the pool and people watched. Everyone who lived there, (as well as the people that work there), seemed to be pretty nice and approachable. I think im really gonna like this place. But theres this small matter of me either selling or renting out my house. my real estate agent came by my house last week and informed me of a few repairs that I need to my house before she will put a sign in the yard. Geez!!! I never knew that selling a house could be so hard!

oops, forgot to post yesterday so, here’s two!

Whats going on with me???

 

Well, on the surface, I don’t feel like all that much is going on, but actually I have a lot on the plate. Heres a sample of whats going on with me (in no particular order):

 

First) the apartment search is still alive. By that, I mean I think I have found a good place but nothing is signed yet. I think I am doing what is best for me but there is still that little bit of doubt.

 

Second) theres some family illness going on that I wont get into but nothing seems important when you’re family isn’t well, ya know?

 

Third) I am going thru sellers remorse. J this is back to the first item. If I move downtown, then I have to do something with my house. I can either sell it or rent it out. Renting it out would be the ideal answer but I just don’t know. I have one house that is vacant at the present time and paying a mortgage when there is no renter in the house is not fun at all. Having two of them being vacant could be financial suicide.

 

Fourth) I feel like my show performance has been slack for the longest time. If I had to put a starting point on it, I would say it started when bartendica and I broke up but im not blaming it on that at all. It just seems like that messed with me more than I knew was possible and its taken a while to bounce back!

 

Fifth) ive been trying to sell my truck for like over 6 months now but apparently, the SUV is not in too high of demand right now. Haha.

 

Sixth) my mom told me yesterday that I don’t spend enough time with my family. And I need to show them more that I love them. WOW!!!! I love my family but, she’s right.

 

Seventh) big al and redneck steves beer bucket is treading water. Its not making a dime as of yet.  in fact, ive pretty much sank every dime I have into it trying to get it going. (and so has steve) Not a real surprise… good thing I have a partner on this deal! I haven’t been this broke in a while! Support the bucket you guys!!!

 

Eighth) speaking of money, guess who wants more child support??? Again, not a real surprise!

 

Ninth) relationship??? What relationship??? I haven’t been on a date in months!

 

Tenth) last night, I may have slept about 3 hours… I woke up at 2:30am and could not go back to sleep.  I wonder why!

 

 

Whew!!! Ok, im done bitchin. Ive got my health! Thank you God for waking me up this morning, thank you God for my family!              

 

yesterday was truly one of the coolest days ever! honestly because i got to meet a HUGE movie star.
BILLY BOB THORNTON came into our studio and he was way nicer that i ever thought he would have been. he even remembered stuff from the last time we talked on the phone that i didnt even remember.
that was impressive!

also, the apartment search is narrowing. i went to look at the place i was talking about, CIRQUE, and the downtown, night time view is unbelievable. im thinking they are in first place at this point. i will have one heck of a house warming party at this place.

i hadnt mentioned the bar in a while so i guess i will. everything is going well there. in fact if you go to bigalandredneckstevesbeerbucket.com, you could win a trip to playa del carmen, mexico. and those damn limited edition t-shirts are on sale… the ones that say “two gay guys in a bucket” with a picture of steve and i in swim trunks standing in a bucket! i cant believe i just wrote that. eekk!

in response to the person that emailed me asking why i never talk about relationships any more…
there is a simple reason for that. I DONT HAVE ONE! haha… not dating anyone… no prospects…nada! but at least steve and i have a bar in mexico!

ok, im gonna get out of here. have a great weekend everybody!

big al

i guess its time!

Wow, I just got off the phone with my realtor and I guess im doing this. Im actually going to move. After talking about this for weeks, maybe even a couple months… I guess tomorrow,  im gonna put the sign in my yard and put my house on the market. WOW!

The sign in the yard pretty much makes it real! Im moving downtown! Or to uptown or somewhere! Not 100% sure where exactly where im moving to but im moving!

Even though this is what I want to do and it was totally my idea, I just now got that feeling in my stomach that pretty much is that feeling I get when im doing something BIG! You know the feeling don’t you? the feeling that indicates uncertainty and a little bit of fear. I mean, honestly, I do want to do this. Why am I moving? Im moving to be in a part of town that fits me better. Im moving to be in a cool, contemporary building in the area that I spend a lot of my time anyway. And the bottom line, im moving to do something different!

But even with those things in mind, the house im in does have a lot of memories. I bought it 4 years ago, maybe 5. I bought it originally as a rental property but after I did some of the work to it and it started taking shape, I really started to like it and I decided to make it my home! I added the hardwood floors, big huge windows in the front, slate kitchen floor, totally redid the kitchen, te-tiled and remodeled the master bath. And some of you may remember me building the deck in the back all by myself! Not to mention all of the memories. Bartendica, payton, and a whole lot more. My next door neighbor leslie, the hottie, and well, shes really the only one I see and have conversations with on a regular basis. Oh well…. J my point is, I will miss this place. Its been really good to me! Ive learned a lot while being here. Ive grown a bit as well. So even though I mentioned earlier all of the improvements I made to the house, the house made improvements to me. It represents a really cool time of my life and I think that’s what will make this little house hard to leave. Getting the room ready for payton when he moved here with me! And transitioning from my home to “our home”. My dog stretch knows her way around real well. But she is the smartest dog ive ever had so im sure she will adapt quickly. But I guess what I will miss most is just that “home” feeling. You know? And I know people move all the time and hopefully I will have that feeling about the next place. Afterall, its not the physical house or even the furniture. It’s the feeling that comes from experiencing life and spending time in the home! That’s what I think gives you that feeling.  Im kinda tearing up already and the sign isn’t even in the yard yet!

Funny!

 

 

 

the English girls!

I went to primos last night as I do most other nights and had a great time. Theres something about having that place that is “your place.” Im talking the place that is your normal hang out and like in the CHEERS song, “where everybody knows your name!”
Anyway, I met several girls and even some guys which is pretty standard on a given night but last night, there were two girls that stuck out. Not in a “I wanna get with one of them” kind of way. It was just amazing to hear their story. They have a blog and I took their first entry and copied and pasted it for you:

Hey hey!! Welcome to our Blog, so after many years of talk and mutual appreciation for travelling, we have only gone and done it!! We’ve booked up and ready to go!! we have not yet left sunny old England (Rainham and Catford) But its less than a month to go so thought we’d rock and roll with this page!! We hope its going to be a good un, telling all about our fantastic world trip, seeing lots of beautiful sights and sharing amazing experiences. Now we dont want to sound like the only thing we do is PARTAY but those who know us, will know we’re gonna rock all over the place!! tee heee WATCH OUT WORLD.. and watch this space everyone!!!
So here is our itinery for you, lets see what shade of green you can go from the jealousy!!!
New York New York!! Oh yes the big apple baby, this is our first port of call!!
Miami, then travel around some of the keys and head north again making our way to…………
VEGAS, we’ll be watching those poker games, mad shaped hotels, the scariest rides you’ve ever seen and jumping out over the grand canyon!!
Monument Valley and Yosemite Valley.. thought we’d get the fantastic sights in!!
Then on to California.. oh yes we spend over a month seeing the glamourous LA, Hollywood, San Diego, Malibu, San Fran, The OC…
Then on to the land of LOST Hawaii, we’ll don the straw skirts and shell covered bikinis for some tropical adventure!!
Then get shipwrecked (not literally) in Fiji..
New Zealand… Start in Auckland and head down south Beth to Bungee jump (wish me luck) and then fly out from ChristChurch to….
Sydney.. Here we work for a few months, take in the culture and way of living, which will be nice to have our own bed and lay our backpacks down to rest!!
We then travel Oz for 2 months, doing Ayers Rock, Cairns, Great Barrier, Byron, Fraser Island, Whitsundays
Then up to China… We take in the sights of Bejing, seeing the great wall, then to Shanghai, then to Xian to see the last emperor’s terracotta army for real!! then to Hong Kong to meet with friends…. WOOP!!
Then down to Vietnam, and to rest and relax (and slipping in the full moon party OH YEAH!!!) in Thailand.. and back home from Singapore….
Have a good day people.. we know we are!! Lots of Love Beth and Char xoxo
So anyway, I thought it was interesting what these girls are doing and I thought I would share it with you guys! How cool would it be to just pack up and go for a few months!!!!

Have a great day.
As always, if you want to email me about anything, anytime, el free:
Bigalmack19@gmail.com

decisions, decisions!!!!

Ok, I looked at a couple more apartments yesterday and now im even more confused. This time last week I was all about the Mosaic. A beautiful high rise located downtown. I had a unit all picked out on the 19th floor and all was right with the world. Then I had the bright idea to let kellie look at this apartment as well as another one that I was considering, Villa Rosa. Well, kellie found everything wrong with Mosaic and everything right with Villa Rosa. And I have to admit, she was probably right about a lot of it. villa rosa was a lot more “homey” and at the end of the day, (or night), I would probably feel a lot happier there. So it seemed like it was all set until Sunday when I met “Jennifer”… she is a real estate agent that lives about a mile from villa rosa in a place called the terrace. It is like a block away from the house of blues and a block from AAC. (American Airline Center), so I looked at her place and it was cool but didn’t blow my socks off by any means. She also told me about a place another block from her place called “CIRQUE.”
Oh My Gawd! This place was off the chain! It was like 25 stories of bad-assness! They have a concierge, a bellman, valet parkers, infinity pool on the 7th floors, even a dog run on that level as well. Did you hear me? A 7th floor roof top dog run! Hard woods, big windows, And a whole bunch of other stuff like lounges and a gym. And yes… it was the most expensive of any of them. How do I always get myself into these spots where I like the most expensive thing I see? Stay tuned…

Also yesterday, I met this girl that was brand new to the area. She just moved here from Little rock, Arkansas. No job, only 2 friends and just up and moved to dallas for no real good reason. And I thought moving to downtown was a big move… she moved like 600 miles and is basically starting her life over. At the age of 32, she wanted to change things up. She had worked for AT&T for 8 years and got laid off. Oh, and by the way, she needs a job. She wants to be a waitress for a while. She appeared to be a responsible enough person. Fairly attractive. I introduced her to the manager at primos and then I left so im not real sure how that went but if anybody needs a waitress, let me know, I’ll hook ya’ll up.

Speaking of primos, a lot of times, people ask me, “where and when are you gonna be doing Drunk News?” and honestly, its usually a spontaneous type thing where I spot someone that is having a real “good time” and I try to convince them that reading the news is a good idea!!! Haha…anyway the point is, im gonna go ahead and let you know, im doing drunk news tonite at primos! So, get you a designated driver, come to primos tonite and get your party on! See ya there… but if you cant make it, listen up Friday to hear what happened!

also, i am looking for a girl that we had on the air yesterday her name is allie. (not sure about the spelling) she’s 27 and she said she’s a dentist. if anyone knows allie, the dentist, we would like to maybe have her do another bit to play on the air. have her email me please.

Yesterday, a guy told me that he has been trying to email me on the planet email. I haven’t had that email in months. But just in case you missed the memo, my new email is bigalmack19@gmail.com. Email me anytime about anything!

I was only stood up once this weekend so that’s good! We we’re all, (morning show), supposed to eet at gay bingo and the morning of, this friend that I had just mentioned this event to, 4 days before, said she wanted to go. I said sure since everyone was gonna be all paired up. That morning, she texted me her address and I told her that we needed to get there by 5:30 or so since the event was starting at 6 and it was sold out! She had a pool party to go to during the day and I was going to the lake with steve. Perfect right??? WRONG!
It was anything but!!! This sorry ass chick texted me an hour before I was to pick her up to tell me she “wasn’t feeling real well.” Do people just think that breaking plans on the day of, an hour before, is acceptable? I don’t care if its just a friend, (as in this case), or if its someone you’ve know for years! Consideration for a persons time and feelings are things that seem to be lacking around here.

Today, im supposed to be looking at a couple additional places to live. I actually had thought I had made up my mind but there’s so many options that guess im gonna take a little bit more time and look at a couple more. Since this is somewhere that im gonna call home, It is gonna have to be the perfect place. I was thinking as I was leaving a pool party Sunday afternoon, wow, it would be great if I lived in this area! So the move is defiantly gonna happen. Its just a matter of when and where am I gonna move to!

So at “Big Al and Redneck Steves Beer Bucket”, the next 24-48 hours could be dicey. Apparently, there is a tropical storm moving thru and its supposed to hit the cancun, cozumel, playa del Carmen area with winds between 50 and 80 mph in the next day. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

by the way, we did a new feature on the show today called “chick-chat”. the “chick” we used was a 27 year old dentist named Ally, (or allie), not real sure (from the dallas area). i think i want to use her again but i have no idea how to get in touch with her. if you know her, please email me her contact info or have her get in touch with me…she was pretty good and we want to use her again!

email me any time… about anything! bigalmack19@gmail.com

kellie, my personal bouncer!

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with kellie and emma kellie. As I said yesterday, I almost think that kellie knows me better than I know myself. For this reason, I will from now on refer to kellie raspberry as my “bouncer.” In this sense, “bouncer” is the person, much like the bouncer at a club that keeps people in line, but more specifically, the person that you can “bounce” stuff off of. And I think just the fact that I realize that fact is a credit to how I have changed a little. I wish I had consulted my bouncer before I made some of the decisions in my past. We should all have a bouncer in our lives!
And not only that, your bouncer should be a lot different than you. If you are the same type of people, with the same sensibilities, your bouncer is pointless. The two of you will always agree! Not that you ALWAYS have to disagree, but the point is to have a different point of view.

Anyway, my bouncer and I went to look at apartments yesterday. I had to get her opinion on a big move that im about to make. And while my bouncer and I live TOTALLY opposite lives, she can still help in this decision.

So the first place was the one that I had been pretty much thinking was my front runner. A high rise downtown. A 19th floor unit over looking the 8th floor infinity pool. A spot that just reeks “cool.” cool people, cool gym, cool vibe, cool common area for parties, cool concrete floors, cool loft apartments, cool views, cool art in the hallways, just cool everything! I LOVE IT!!! And my bouncer hated it! she hated the hallways, she hated the fact it was downtown, she hated the one way streets, she hated it all! The manager , Dorothy, was soo nice taking so much time to show us around. Introducing us to current tenants. We met a 32 year old club owner with spikey hair and a lamborgini. We met a “dancer” that gave me a shot of (something) at 5pm and told me that her stage name is Miami… and she told me that her roomy often has 3 or 4 girls over for parties! What more could a guy ask for in an apartment??? Everyone likes friendly hot neighbors, right??? I wonder if I could pay them (in one dollar bills) to walk my dogs??? Haha!

So then my bouncer, emma kellie, and myself all hopped about 2 miles up the road. From downtown, to uptown. And before we even went in, kellie loved it! it’s a 6 story complex that is waaaaaaay quiet but still has the cool vibe and its also very nice. Way more conservative with people that appear to work “during the day!” ha! I have to admit, I like it as well. The pool is beautiful. Its right next to a park for dog walking and/or jogging and the best part of this place is, IT’S AN EIGHT MINUTE WALK TO PRIMOS!!!!
Woohoo! (did I just write woohoo?)

Despite the fact that kellie and I had VERY different opinions about where I should move, it was good getting another persons opinion. I mean, that’s what I wanted so I cant hate on her for pointing out the “not so positive” parts about downtown living.

If you have a important decision coming up in your life, don’t make it alone. Find yourself a bouncer. Someone that’s not exactly like you and someone that you feel is going to keep your best interest in mind. Your “BOUNCER!”

what to do???

Payton seems to be doing ok. he totaled his ride yesterday after this telephone pole jumped in front of his car. But he is home and doing well. Thanks to everyone that sent well wishes.

I think today im going to have kellie come with me to visit the apartments that are in my final consideration of a place to move. My targeted move date is September 15. I don’t think ive ever had this type of mixed emotion about a new venture. Moving is stressful enough but when you add in going from a house to an apartment, going from the ground floor ranch style house to (possibly) the 20th story of a high rise, going from a neighborhood with all married people pushing strollers and older people walking around, to a place that everyone is single and cool, hanging out in the cool pool…
Will I be happy? Will i be miserable? Will I gel with the neighbors? Will I get tired of taking my dogs in and out, up and down the elevators? Will be living in the cool part of town make me go out more or will it become a beating because I can no longer “get away” from it? I have sooo many questions and I have none of the answers.
Heeeeeelllp!

Finally I have received the pics of the birthday party gone wrong. The girl that said it was her birthday while in mexico, so I went and got a cake and stuff for her and her group and it ended up that she was lying about the whole thing and I ended up feeling like a jackass!!!

The pics will be here after the show today!

Later!

long night!!! & the moving sale!

Late last night I found out why auto insurance for 16 year old boys is more expensive.
Yup, payton had an accident. His mom called me at 1am and as soon as I saw her name on the caller ID at that time of morning, I knew something was wrong. It was a single car accident. His mom told me from the emergency room that he maybe had a concussion and a bad bruise on his leg but considering he went up against a telephone pole at 50mph, he is very lucky. He did have his seat belt on and he was alone in the car. He said that he got distracted (maybe on his cell), and he looked up and there was the pole. Normally, in these situations, the pole wins. But I did get a chance to talk to him and other than being groggy, he seemed like he was doing ok. His mom said his car just looked like scrap metal. It ended up on its side and is surely a total loss. As I said, it could have been worse.

Sooooooo yesterday, I continued my quest for a downtown or uptown apartment. The more I think about it, the more I like the IDEA of moving to where the single people are. But the whole thing has me a little bit nervous. No, real nervous! I think the whole nervousness comes from the change itself. I have lived in a house for so long, I wonder what this will be like. But as I walked around my house yesterday, I took an inventory on what was needed and what wasn’t… and I have a lot of stuff in my house that I just don’t need. Two bedrooms with furniture is a start. Days go by that I don’t even go into those rooms. Not to mention two closets full of clothes. Maybe someone can leave a comment with the title of that book about getting rid of all the clutter in your life. I think the author was actually on oprah a while back. It’s a good book with a good message. Sorry, I cant think of the title… im an idiot! ANYWAY, that brings me to my next great idea. BIG AL’S BIG ASS GARAGE SALE. I should probably get this organized a little bit before I announce it but im thinking that the morning show will find a parking lot somewhere and somehow get our stuff that we want to sell down there and sell it all. At least, that’s the plan… I’ll get back with you with the details.

All of this is in an effort to get rid of stuff to move into a smaller but cooler place! Im trying to get out of the “burbs” and enjoy a year or so of in town living and just experience a lifestyle that I never have. Sure, ive lived in an apartment before but never right smack dab in the middle of town where I can walk to cool places, or in a high rise where someone parks your car for you and stuff like that. This will be interesting!!!

also, below you will see a few pics from playa, the wedding, and one of the bday parties!

CLICK HERE FOR BEER BUCKET WEDDING PHOTOS!