it's been one busy month

Well, I made it to the end of September. And I made a lot of posts. Hope you've liked reading them.

I've gotten feedback from a couple of you that I need to be posting more often, that you like the daily updates, so I'll try to oblige as much as possible. I've still got five weeks left in Valley City, and I'm not really going to be doing a whole lot; therefore, chances are good that frequent entries will continue.

Today was a pretty lazy day - I laid around and watched football and followed baseball games on the computer. Then I went and did a hideous run of the show - you win some, you lose some. I think one of the reasons I was so tired is that I partied with Trouble last night. We had an interesting exchange last night:

TROUBLE: God, my hair just looks terrible. My highlights haven't grown out yet - it looks horrible.

ME: Well, I have a confession to make. I lie awake at night, thinking about your highlights.

TROUBLE: Great. Well, actually, I have a confession to make, too. A real one.

ME: Okay...

TROUBLE: So, I've kind of started dating (her old RA).

ME: Okay. So, does that mean that nothing's happening with us?

TROUBLE: Probably not.

ME: All right.

TROUBLE: You know, I just think he's a better option for me, since he's not leaving in a month.

ME: True.

TROUBLE: Of course, I'm moving in six months...so I don't know.


Then she proceeded to flirt with me all night. Don't you just love the kids? It's ok. She's really hot, but I'm kind of enjoying my absolute freedom now. I like not really having any prospects. Besides, I still feel really bad about the Snapple thing.

Enough from me. I'm going to check up on some blogs (I'm currently obsessed with the archives of One D At A Time, which you should definitely NOT read at work) and then hit the sack.

thisclose

Damn, missed the Friday deadline by half an hour! That totally sucks. I meant to blog earlier in the day, but I was feeling kind of strange. My description was: "Either I've got a buzz, or someone just punched me in the head." Still not sure why I felt weird, but I'm better now.

Had our first paying audience tonight, and things went pretty well. I think this role is totally in my wheelhouse, and I'm excited to slip into it for a few weeks. I'm curious as to how people will receive it.

That's all I've got for now. More tomorrow (well, technically, today).

breaking up is hard to do

Damn.

I was just on the phone with Snapple for an hour and thirty-eight minutes (I checked when I finally hung up). That comes after spending an hour on this phone with her during my dinner break. But, the split is official.

She was supposed to come out here next week, and I told her that I didn't think it was a good idea. That was kind of the basis for this move - I didn't want to have her out here for five days if I was feeling lukewarm about the whole thing.

It just comes down to the fact that she's not the girl for me, even though she treats me well, is nice to me, etc. But she just doesn't understand. She kept saying that it wasn't exclusive, and she wasn't putting pressure on me, and that we have a good time together, so why would it stop? And then I would ask, "So, even though I don't see any future with us, you still want to date?" And then she usually would respond with, "I just want you to give us a chance!"

This is why it was so frustrating.

And so now I feel like shit. She's really great, and I feel really bad about this. I guess I need to know that I did the right thing...because, right now, I'm just not sure.

wow

I tried breaking things off with Snapple.

It's not going so well.

She's not taking no for an answer.

I'll update this later tonight.

silliness

I just got home, so I'm just making my blogging deadline. I did have time to change into pajama pants and a clean t-shirt, so now I'm all comfortable. My other outfit smelled like the turkey burgers I made for dinner - don't you hate when you reek of your dinner all night?

I just realized that I've been goofier than normal lately. Not in an obnoxious way, but I seem to be cracking more jokes. It's probably because I'm playing a character who is totally reserved, repressed, and "by the book", and spending so much time in that skin makes you want to do the opposite when you get out.

Anyway, I like my silly streak. It runs in the family. And it's a prerequisite for any potential Mrs. Rover that she possess such a trait.

Off to bed. I've been sleeping like crap lately - maybe tonight I can actually get to bed at a decent hour and sleep for a while...

good times/bad times

Nothing too exciting to report tonight. I had one of the worst runthroughs of my life this afternoon - I literally thought I was going to fall asleep on stage. (I think I didn't get enough sleep because the cleaning woman tried to come into my room at 8:50 in the morning.) But tonight's run was a million times better.

The only dicey thing was that I hurt my throat a little bit in one of my big scenes. So I'm not doing a lot of talking tonight. I'll probably just stay up a bit longer to see what happens in the wild card race (baseball) and then hit the sack. No rehearsal 'til 2 t'm'row...I'm excited...

new phone!

I've been fighting Sprint for most of the weekend - it's been horrible. Basically, they replaced my phone last Monday...with a refurbished phone...with the same problem. Needless to say, I was not happy.

This was my old phone:



After a weekend of wheedling and cajoling and stomping my feet, Spring finally did right by me and gave me a sizable credit to put towards a new phone. So...I got THIS:




Much better. Now I can actually have conversation without fear of my phone cutting off. Huzzah!

Sometimes it's the little things, people.

Now to sit down and go through the instruction book so I can figure this thing out...

TV recommendations

I'm kind of a closet TV fan. There's a lot of crap on nowadays, but occasionally I'll watch something that catches my fancy. Here are a handful of things on my radar:

THE WAR: This is on my television as I type this. Everyone below the age of 35 probably watched part of Ken Burns' The Civil War. If you didn't like that, well...I really don't know what to say to you. But, if you did...this is better.

CHUCK: NBC is pumping out a lot of shows that are similiar to Heroes (why is it so hard to come up with an original idea in Hollywood?). This really isn't one of them; it's kind of an action-comedy. And it's pretty good. The lead guy, Zachary Levi, is probably going to become a star.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES: No one does trashy reality TV like Fox. This time they've taken their general sleazy methods and applied it to something not-so-dicey - fixing up failing and floundering restaurants. And it's utterly delicious. You've got to see the first episode - priceless.

NFL FOOTBALL: Seriously, are you surprised this is on here? If you are, you obviously don't know me very well.

Rover loses his cool

I got off the phone with Snapple about 20 minutes ago.

It took me that long to calm down.

See, here's the thing about that "relationship": when I'm with her, I have a great time - she's fun, and she's cute, and the sex is great, and she likes football and video games, and I can't gross her out. But when I'm not with her, I basically don't think about her. And, on top of that, I want to make out with other girls.

I've been really honest with her about that (and let me be clear: I realize this isn't the best thing to hear, and everybody reacts differently), but every time we try to have a discussion about this, one of two things happens:

1. She tries really hard to convince me that we should give this a shot. "Well, if we like each other, and we have fun together, why wouldn't we try?"

2. She goes negative. "Was anything you said to me ever true?" "So, am I just a piece of meat to you?" "I thought you were different from the other guys, but I guess I was wrong."

It was the last comment tonight that sent me off the deep end. My response went something like this:

"JESUS CHRIST, Snapple, you always do this. You always bounce to the extreme! Not everything is black and white! I don't hate you, I'm not trying to disrespect you, I'm not trying just to fuck you. But I'm not in love with you, and I don't want you to be my girlfriend, either. It's in between. Sometimes things are in the middle!"

You know I'm upset when I take the Lord's name in vain. (And I'm sorry for it.)

Yes, I know, not the smoothest thing I've ever said. But I had had it. The line was quiet for a minute, and then she said, "I have to go. Good night."

So...I guess we'll see what happens next. Thoughts?

party details

Ummmmm...I got drunk.

Trouble...well, she lived up to her nickname. I'll explain later.

The bar was cool. I saw a lot of friends from the summer in Rockport, which was cool. I didn't end up paying anything, which was cool.

And...I got drunk.

My hangover is surprising mild, considering what I drank. (I had at least two shots, and I don't know how many beers.) It was postponed somewhat when I got a call from DirecTV (long story) and my cell phone started acting up, but it's coming up now - just as I have to go to work. Of course.

dirty thirty

I'm 30.

Wow.

I went on my MySpace page today, and looked at the number, and I couldn't believe it.

It's not that I have a problem being thirty, because I've kind of been looking forward to it for a while. (One of my friends, two or three years ago, told me that I would be looking forward to it, and I was like, "Yeah, right." I'd like to officially apologize to him here. You were right.)

I just don't know where the time went. It just seems like yesterday I was in high school, and now I'm here. It's kind of amazing. Does time ever slow down?

Anyway, I'm having a fantastic birthday celebration tonight - I have several friends in Valley City; one shares my birthday, one was born on the 22nd, and the other two have birthdays right around this time. So we're all having a huge joint b-day party tonight. And...no rehearsal! I'll try to give you a full report tomorrow...

the streak ends

I didn't get a post up yesterday, which totally sucks.

I do have an excuse, though.

I was working in the morning before rehearsal. I planned on coming back and writing at night. I got home at nine thirty and, because one of my friends had called me on my drive home, decided to return her call before doing anything else.

It turns out that she and her husband had gotten into an accident, and their car was totaled. She sounded pretty shook up, so I hustled down there. The car had gotten hit in a parking garage, so in addition to trying to find a tow truck and talk to their insurance carrier, they also had to direct traffic so that no one else would hit their car (which was kind of in the middle of the aisle, and not drivable).

It took two hours for everything to get squared away. Then I drove them home. They live in Rockport, which is about 30 minutes away. I dropped them off, got a bottle of water, and headed back to the car.

The clock said 11:55. I knew I was screwed. So I called Trouble (who lives on the outskirts of Rockport) and went over to her house and had a beer, 'cause I needed one at that point - it had been a long day. And then came home.

I'm disappointed that I didn't keep my streak alive, but I'm going to keep plugging away, and post every day for the rest of the month. I suppose that the accomplishment of writing every day is more important than actually punching the time clock, every single day.

But, damn, it would have been nice.

weirdness weirdness everywhere

I was thinking the other day, "Wow, there's nobody to write about here." The cast of my show is rather small, and I've known the director for years, and everyone is really nice. Not a dash of weirdness among them.

Then...I had a costume fitting today.

One of the women was one of those types who just can't stop talking, you know? This woman must have given me 15 different exit lines, only to turn around and start talking about something else. I just wanted her to leave the room so I could change my pants!

The other one was a piece of work. She's really hot (she kind of resembles a blogger friend of mine), but she kept talking over the blabbermouth, throwing out random comments about how good I looked in my costume, and how she had decided previously that she had a crush on my character. Part of me was saying, "Yes!", but the louder part was saying, "Run!"

At least my clothes fit.

I'm exhausted - time for bed. More tomorrow, my last day of being in my twenties...

such a tight schedule

So I'm rehearsing these days from 1-9:30pm. I generally assume that, because I'm on stage virtually the entire show, I'm going to be exhausted and worthless when I come home. So I've got to get everything done before I go. Working backward...

- I have to leave the "house" by 12:30

- I need to be in the shower by 12 (so I have time to make food - I'm really trying to save money anywhere I can and, therefore, I'm trying not to eat out)

- I've got to be in the hotel's little workout room by 11

- This morning (and most mornings before we open), I've got to do some research for the show, which means I have to start that around 10

So...if I want any quality internet time - which is a must, especially when you're trying to blog every day - I've got to get up around 8:45 in the morning. And, in case I haven't mentioned this before, The Rover is not a morning person.

The good part is that I only have two weeks of rehearsal left. Once October hits, I'll have a lot more free time.

Almost time to research...

hotel livin'

So, I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but I'm living in a hotel. Again.

This one is WAY classier than the last one. Full kitchen, huge living space, plenty of closets. It's actually bigger than the studio apartment I lived in back in Sleepy Hamlet. And they've got a little weight room, and complementary breakfast every morning (not just donuts and coffee, but eggs and cereal and sausage and waffles...awesome), and a happy hour four nights a week. Plus I'm living about ninety seconds away from downtown Valley City. So...it's a sweet set-up.

The only complaint I have is TV. Why won't hotels give you (a) TVs with AV ports (those red-yellow-and-white plugs/holes) or (b) VCRs or DVRs? I mean, how hard would it be? VCRs cost, like, ten dollars nowadays. Ridiculous. I'm rehearsing 1-10 on Sundays, meaning that I miss lots of football. It would be so great if I could just record something and watch it later - like I was able to do at the mansion in Cowtown.

I shouldn't complain. I'm very lucky to be able to do what I do, and get paid large sums of money to do it. And the digs are great. You know how it is...

Think I'm going to head to one of those happy hours and see if I can steal some food.

scattered notes from a scattered guy

Sorry about the crappy posts the last couple of days. It's been a whirlwind of activity. And it's going to get worse - we have an insanely short rehearsal process, so I'm going to be working my ass off for the next week.

But...it's all good 'cause I'm doing what I love.

Some random thoughts:

- Went to Rockport last night to hang out with some old friends, including a girl I'll call Trouble. Why? Because...she's trouble. Anyway, this dude was all over her (she usually has guys all over her) and she was trying to explain to him why he wasn't going to sleep in her bed, and he kept trying to convince her. Why do guys do that?

- In a similiar story, The Hot Wing was telling me about this guy who sent her a text message basically saying, "I think you're hot. I think your roommate's hot. I'd like to go out with either one of you that's more into me." How pathetic is that? What is wrong with guys?

- I stayed out WAY too late last night. I'm going to be running on fumes. I've promised myself that I was going out only twice before we get this show up. And I'm totally regretting that decision right now.

- I don't have a VCR in my room. So I'm going to miss a lot of football today. :-(

All right. Shower or sleep. Then work.

another cheap post...

...because I just got done with rehearsal, and now I have to make the half-hour long drive to Rockport to see some friends.

But I'm here!

A real post tomorrow, I promise...

arrived!

Safe and sound in Valley City. More later.

(I know this is cheating; I just want to make sure I get something up before midnight.

checklist

Wow, dudes, so much crap to get done. Here's the remainder of my to-do list:

- checks for (my roommate)
- pack toiletries
- call hotel
- pack computer bag
- call SF hotels (for weddings in Nov and Dec)
- car service
- balance checkbook

You know what? I don't want to do any of those things.

I want to sit on my couch and do absolutely nothing.

(sigh)

All right, I'll get to it. See you kids on the flip side, from somewhere in middle America...

leaving AGAIN

Just put up yesterday's post. I was crazy busy all day, and had zero computer time. But I did write something (see below). So...that counts, right?

The reality of heading out soon is finally staring me in the face. I just packed up a big plastic bin of my shit, which UPS will pick up at some point tomorrow afternoon - hopefully it shows up at my hotel in the middle of next week.

(I actually found out that instead of staying in The Burbs, where the theater is, I'm actually staying in Valley City, which is the big brother of Rockport - where I spent my summer. So I am a very happy camper right now.)

Part of me is really sad to leave the BK - it's been nice being home, if only for a minute. But I've really felt adrift here - rarely sleeping in the same place two nights in a row - so it will be nice having my own place for a few weeks.

Off to see Maxine do some street theater. More t'm'row - for reals this time.

audition woes

I was really annoyed by myself before; now I've calmed down.

Somewhat.

I totally blew an audition today.

I ran through my pieces in my apartment, and they were good. Really good. But I only left myself 5 minutes to play with, and I lost a whole lot more than that, due to a sick passenger on my subway line. So I showed up ten minutes late, sweating buckets and completely frazzled. And, like an idiot, I didn't take the extra time offered me by the monitor. Instead, I said, "Sure, I'm ready!" and marched in.

It wasn't that my audition was so bad (it probably rated a B) as much as it could really have been great I guess you just chalk this up as a learning experience - and vow not to make the same mistake again.

One other thing I must admit. While this entry is being written on Tuesday evening, I'm writing it longhand in my notebook, because I don't think I'm going to get any computer time today (long story). Does it still count as an entry, or have I failed my task? I leave it up to you to decide...

time is running out!

I leave on Friday morning for The Burbs (the location of my next show), and I'm no where near ready.

I still need to pack, and learn lines, and see people, and get my apartment in order...aaarrrrrgggghhhh.

There just aren't enough hours in the day. Of course, it didn't help matters that I spent four hours with Maxine today. I mean, it was quality time, and we really hadn't hung out all that much. But, still...

Half hour 'til the Monday Night Football doubleheader. The perfect ending to the first weekend of football...

quote of the day

I'm walking to get some food with my friend (who doesn't have a F&G name yet, but will). We're walking next to each other. From the other direction comes an older black lady, probably in her 60s. She looked at me - I was wearing shorts - and said to my friend:

"I don't want to disrespect you, ma'am, but your husband has got some beautiful legs!"

Obviously, my mojo is unstoppable.

party! (and my partyin' past)

I'm throwing myself a birthday party tonight.

I always kind of wish I had someone to throw the party for me, or someone to have the party with. For some reason, I always feel a little pathetic, throwing it for myself. But I had to soldier on, because I have a long and illustrious history of birthday parties:

In grad school, I had huge blowouts my last two years, which also doubled as "welcome back to school" jams.

The three years I spent in Sleepy Hamlet I always had joint parties with a couple of my friends, who have birthdays within ten days of mine.

Last year, I threw together a last-minute thing...with disasterous results.

This year, things are going much more smoothly. I did an e-vite, for one thing, which was brilliant. I reserved some space at a trendy SoHo bar, and one of my dear friends is buying me a cake, or cupcakes (whatever the bakery has). I had to promise the bar that I would buy $100 worth of drinks (and give them my credit card number), but I think we should be able to handle that one.

So it should be good times. I'll give you a full report tomorrow...

my "ideal" BK 'hood is...

My roommate and I are thinking about moving. I'm pretty loyal to the BK, so I know I want to stay here. She took a little quiz on her website about where she should like, and I decided to do the same. I find these things kind of fascinating.

(By the way - can anybody help me fix this? I'm tired of my picture/quiz posts looking all retarded.)

You scored as Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, You should live in Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, or Carroll Gardens! Don't go to the broker who bills it as BoCoCa -- he is trying to rip you off! These neighborhoods are lovely places for 30 somethings who are a little more settled, and have a little more income to pay the rent and eat out at great restaurants. There are plenty of places for you to drink your beloved microbrews, but when you want to indulge your hipster side, you can still grab a PBR at Brooklyn's only landlocked yacht club. Get it? It's ironic. Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens 73% Prospect Heights 73% Coney Island 70% Fort Greene 67% Redhook 60% Sunset Park 57% Greenpoint 53% Williamsburg 53% Brooklyn Heights 43% DUMBO 40% Navy Yard/Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy north 37% Park Slope 36% East Williamsburg/ 33% Manhattan 13% What Brooklyn Neighborhood Should You Live In? created with QuizFarm.com

More later.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

The NFL kicks off another season in less than an hour.

I'm so excited!

Football is something that I love so much. It's been a part of my life since I was a little kid. I remember watching games with my dad, playing in the yard, practing goal-line stands with my brother and our living room couch. Oddly enough, I never played (my mother was strongly opposed), although I did practice with a club team in college (I played FB and CB) and played lots of flag football.

I always think that, if I were forced to quit acting tomorrow, I would have to do something that involved football.

Anyway, I fully expect the Colts to win tonight. But I wouldn't be shocked if the Saints end up being the better team.

Oh yeah - this is just an appetizer. I fully intend to spend all day Sunday in front of my television - much to the chagrin of my roommates, I'm sure.

spiders!

There were lots of them, in my room.

My sublettor (StefStar) has many, many bites on her legs.

So, I threw away the mattress pad. I vacuumed the entire room. I washed the sheets in hot water. I dropped off the blankets to be cleaned. I shut the window, which, I suspect, is how the spiders got in the room in the first place.

The super is supposed to be calling the exterminator.

Hopefully, that's enough. I'm exhausted.

who? what? where?

Drinks last night with The Hot Wing last night - she's my Brooklyn drinking buddy, and a semi-regular reader of this blog. It's always nice to have someone who will enable your drinking habits living just a few blocks away from you. Good times.

One of the things that she - and others - have mentioned is that I may need to make some kind of key so that you can keep all of "my ladies" straight. So that may be a project for me at some point in the near future. Thoughts on that?

I'm really scattered these days. I can't seem to find enough time to do all of the things that I want to do. It's kind of annoying. Maybe I just need to take a couple more days and not leave my house. (Actually, that will happen on Sunday, because it's the first full day of football.)

Got to run some errands, so this will be a short post. Cross your fingers and hope that my agent isn't in a pissy mood.

Labor Day sans labor pour moi

Had a very nice evening with Snapple last night. I hadn't seen her in two weeks, and I was surprised to discover that I missed her, a bit. My favorite part of the evening (aside from the fact that she was genuinely interested in my fantasy football draft) was that we didn't talk about "relationships" at all. No updates on where we stand, no talking about feelings...it was good.

Right now I'm procrastinating. I need to secure a bar for my birthday party on Saturday night, but I'm kind of split between two places, and I don't know which one to call first. I keep telling myself that none of the reservation people would be around on Labor Day, or that I should charge my cell phone before calling anyone, but I think that these are excuses.

I'm also putting off:

- balancing my checkbook
- exercising
- grocery shopping
- learning lines
- returning phone calls

If procrastination was a sport, I would win a gold medal.

Until t'm'row...

failure

That's me, because I didn't get a blog post up yesterday. In my defense, I spent seven hours in a car, then had to unpack, then ate dinner with my folks and roommate, and then went to a party at Maxine's house (more on that in a bit). And I was running on five hours sleep.

So I still want to do this "30 in 30 for my 30" - let's consider this my first official post. To make up for yesterday, I'll either (a) blog twice in one day, or (b) make an entry on October 1. Deal? Sweet.

Now - thoughts from last night's party:

- I'm fascinated by girls who make out with other girls. That could be a whole post in itself. And I don't mean in a juvenile, gross, "Oooh, they're making out!" kind of way (although I'm sure some of that exists), but in a more intellectual-type way. Know what I mean?

- Ever start dancing with someone, and you guys are being respectful, "leaving room for Jesus" and all that, and then you get closer, and then start grinding a bit - and then all of a sudden it's more than grinding? Not that you're kissing or anything, but if you were by yourselves, and you were naked, you'd totally be having sex? It's always quite an astonishing moment when it happens. Then, just as quickly, the moment's gone, or the song ends, and it's back to normal.

I had one of those last night.

- The highlight (actually, the lowlight) of the evening was seeing Maxine disappear into her bedroom at 4:30am with another guy. We've been officially broken up for almost two years, and realistically apart for almost a full year, and we talk with each other all of the time about who we're dating and how we feel about them and what's happening, etc., etc. But this is the first time I've actually seen her with someone else.

It wasn't fun.

I didn't sleep all that great. Of course, I slept on a couch, and I slept for less than four hours, so that might have something to do with it. Or...maybe not.

Off to have breakfast with my fam.