this. fucking. election.

This just about sums the whole thing up.

Brilliant.

ah, soul food

The rest of it had been fried chicken and collard greens. Mmmm...

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getting caught up, slowly

written in my notebook in the back of the rehearsal hall

Couple of posts I wrote a while back that I just got around to posting the other day. I think they're worth a look, so check 'em out.

September 27: debt

October 9: only in new york

Happy birthday, mom!

when will i be back home?

via text message

I'll be there all dec. Leave jan 1.

now i miss her

My girlfriend is currently sitting in an airport in Toronto, waiting to board a plane that will take her to Chile for three weeks. I will, most likely, not speak to her while she is gone, and will only have sporadic e-mail contact.

Is it strange that now I really miss her? I mean, there isn't that much difference between hundreds and thousands of miles practically, but psychologically it's a big difference.

this show

I find myself thinking about the past a lot these days. The show I'm working on now is a remount of the show I did in Steak City a couple of years ago. I also worked on a production of this during my Sleepy Hamlet days. I was also supposed to do a production of this show in another city, but I ended up backing out a couple of months before. I even drew up a set design for this play in a class back in undergrad.

Obviously, I have a long history with this play.

I don't have a very big role in the show, which means I spend most of my time at rehearsal watching and waiting. I always feel pressure from others in the room to watch the play, but, frankly, I can't do it. It isn't that the play is bad (it's great, and this group does an amazing job). It's just that I can't ride the emotional roller coaster six days a week, and I have no interest in hearing debates about character that I've heard before.

I spend a lot of time wishing I could play the lead (which I'm still too young to do, although the place I turned down wanted me to play that role) or direct the play myself when I'm in the room. It kind of drives me crazy. So, instead, I download music, or surf the internet, or read my magazines.

Or write blog entries.

movie monday

Another Monday, another movie. Yesterday I went to see Miracle at St. Anna. The movie definitely has its flaws (very slow at points, somewhat formulaic), but overall I enjoyed it. It tells a side of World War II that doesn't get enough play.

Next week I'm hoping my local theater has Zach and Miri Make a Porno. I love Rogen & Banks. Any other suggestions?

my hero

It's like someone read my mind and stole all of my tactics. Uncanny.

a depressing day

Steelers lose.

Mad Men has its' season finale.

Sad.

big game decisions

via text message, to a friend of mine who is from southeastern PA

So, which would you rather watch tonight: the phillies or penn state?

friday night

Sitting in my apartment, bored.

Just finished dinner (a meal from Whole Foods, good but way too expensive).

Bored.

I am soooooooooo cool.

a very short story through Facebook status

written on my Facebook page

12:55pm
THE ROVER is wondering when his absentee ballot will arrive.

6:43pm
THE ROVER got his absentee ballot today - no need to panic. Democracy wins again!

you know what drives me crazy?

When I'm taking a shower, and the water goes from "pleasantly warm" to "scalding" with no warning. I actually jump out of the way. I'm afraid that one of these days I'm going to slip and fall.

I think, however, that may be the only complaint I have about this place. Well, that and my five inch television. Otherwise, it's Kool and the Gang.

pity party

How long should I let someone (specifically, my girlfriend) wallow in self-pity before telling her to snap out of it? I mean, while annoying, these aren't huge things that are happening to her...

W

Just saw it. Um...I'm not sure what to say yet.

Josh Brolin is spot-on.

It was kind of like watching a history lesson.

I think...that...I liked it.

Anyone else seen it?

my favorite tree

This is in my backyard at home. There are a bunch of trees in my yard, but unlike the rest of them, who were shedding their fall foliage all over the yard (and giving my father a bit of work-out and forcing his to contemplate, for the umpteenth straight year, whether or not to buy a leaf blower), this one was clinging to what was left of the warm weather.

I remember when it was ten feet tall. Now, it's twice as high. It's almost like we've grown up together.

must see tv, sort of

via text message to Maxine

Palin is supposed to be on SNL tonight. Think I'm going to watch her segment. Can I call you after?

Mmmm...

Coming home is nice!

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housekeeping note

My beautiful laptop is looking not-so-beautiful these days, so she's going to the Apple spa for the weekend. So you probably won't get any posts from me for a few days. (I am spending the weekend at my parents', though, so I may be able to sneak online for a few minutes.)

Hopefully all of the back September posts will be up in the next week. I have to transfer everything from my cell phone, which can be a time consuming process. :-(

Hope that everyone has a great weekend!

reprieve

I was supposed to rehearse today from 1-7.

In these two scenes we are rehearsing, I am onstage for ten minutes.

Thus, I was preparing for a lot of downtime today. I was bringing food, magazines, my computer - if it would entertain me, I was bringing it. Because there's nothing worse than watching the same ten lines thirty times, no matter how good the play is.

So I was pleasantly surprised this morning when my stage manager called me and said that she goofed, and that I didn't have to come in until 5:30! Yay!

Um...

...now what am I supposed to do?

my new favorite things

Mini bell peppers from Trader Joe's. Cheap! Tasty! Cool!

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the new (temporary) digs

ok, we're back

written at a cute coffee shop around the corner from my apartment

I've been SUCH a slacker at getting my posts up lately, and that's probably because I was doing a thousand things. Between working two jobs, and hustling for more jobs, and packing for Bluff City, and packing to move in December, and trying to spend quality time with my friends, and trying to spend some type of quality time with Maxine...well, it's no wonder that I was ready to get out of New York.

But now I'm on the road.

I kind of love being on the road.

First of all, my apartment is AWESOME. It's kind of an old '50s style building, with wood floors and old appliances. It's the perfect sized place for me. The TV could be a little bigger, but otherwise I have no complaints.

Mostly, though, what's nice about coming on the road to do a show is that I can completely focus on what's important, on the task at hand. The only job I have to do is the show. Everything else is secondary. There are no distractions - friends wanting to hang out or make out or whatever. I LOVE that. My life becomes very simple - eat, work out, watch TV, surf the internet, rehearse/do the show, drink, sleep. Rinse, repeat.

Hopefully, for at least the next couple of months, you'll see daily posts actually appearing the day I wrote them. So it's ok to come back here on a daily basis again. ;-)

Happy Monday to all!

bluff city

I'm here. I'm exhausted, but I'm here.

Seems like a nice place so far. I did see a woman with a full out mustache in the grocery store - like, thicker than what I can grow in a couple of weeks. And, when I went to the deli counter to get a half dozen fried shrimp, the guy working there kept loading them in the container (I think I ended up with ten or so), saying, "I ain't even countin', 'cause that's just how we do things 'round here."

More stories to come, I am sure. Now I'm going watch some Sunday Night Football (it's been a CRAZY day in the NFL so far) and sleep. I totally busted my ass this weekend.

Super-Bam!

Saw this image while out on a scavenger hunt. Fitting.

the moon

Weird to see it in the city.

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only in new york

I'm walking by Madison Square Park, headed home, and I keep seeing these flashes. At first I think that maybe I'm catching the headlights from an oncoming truck - the flash would be after something passes between me and the light, right? But then I start to realize that they're still coming. Maybe I'm tired from work, from not sleeping enough, from too much stress from packing. Maybe I'm losing my mind.

Then there's one right in front of me. POP! It's dazzling. And I realize that I was right, it was a flash, there is a guy standing on the fucking street corner at 23rd and 5th with a camera and a huge flash thingy, shaped like an umbrella, facing uptown.

And what is he taking a picture of?

I look to my right, across the street, just in time to catch a glimpse of a woman in a trench coat and heels. She's wearing a bikini. Actually, to be more accurate, she's wearing what appears to be bikini bottoms, and a tube top, which she has just pulled up over her breasts.

Yup.

Naked pics. On a busy intersection, at eleven fifteen on a Thursday night, with traffic streaming by and a barrage of cops not even half a block away. Probably watching the whole thing.


It's times like this that I love my weird, wild, crazy city. Going to Bluff City on Sunday sure will be a letdown.

a bathroom sign at my temp job

In their defense, people at this company have REALLY bad aim.

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oh dear

I really am a bad blogger.

In my defense, though, I've got a lot going on.

In case you don't remember, I'm leaving on Sunday for what I'm going to call Bluff City. I'm doing a show there for seven weeks. So I have to pack for that. And, theoretically I'm moving into a new apartment when I get back in December. So I also have to pack for that.

That's a lot of packing.

Add to it temping (which I've been doing about 20 hours a week for the last couple of weeks) and working at my other job (10 hours) and trying to see my girlfriend...well, let's just say that a lot of my blog posts are sitting in my notebook. Or on my phone.

Fortunately for the two or three of you who have hung in there with me, I'm going to have LOTS of free time in Bluff City. So that means more posts! (I think.)

OK, I have to go do some laundry - so that I can continue to pack.

anyone wanna buy a couch?

Like new! $500!

how do i react to a steelers win?

via text message to my dad

YES!

another boring night at work...

Thank God I'm leaving town soon...

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it's hard to communicate with texts - no tone

via text message; my response to an unusual birthday gift

That's weird...um, is that some kind of inside joke?

debate frustrations

via text message to my father and girlfriend, about Palin's performance during the VP debate

she's not answering any questions!

receipts!

I'm drownin' in 'em.

For tax/record purposes, I try to catalog every dollar I spend. This is not easy. Usually I enter everything into my computer every week or two, so I don't have a whole mound of paper to deal with.

Unfortunately, I'm TWO MONTHS behind.

And I'm leaving in ten days.

I have NO idea when it will get done.

their anniversary

via text message, to my brother

By the way, it's mom and dad's anniversary today. 35 years!

steeler anxiety

written via text message to my brother before a Steelers MNF game

I'm nervous. I'm not gonna lie.

my fortune

from my after-dinner fortune cookie

"Don't waste time on what might have been."

debt

Reading about our economy going into the tank - something I've been doing a lot the past couple of weeks - has me thinking a lot about my own financial situation. You see, I have a lot of debt.

Like, a lot.

Like about six figures bad.

Most of my debt is "good" debt, from grad school. I have no idea when that will be paid off. My parents are helping me with some of it, but it's going to be a long time before I pay that off.

I do, however, have a sizable credit card debt. I've been trying to pay it off for almost ten years, but it keeps growing. I made a real dent in it 2 1/2 years ago, but it's swollen up again, to unprecedented levels.

Watching the government struggle with debt makes me realize that I have to get serious about paying mine off. I know that part of the problem is lack of steady work, which shouldn't be a problem for the next few months - but I also need to make some lifestyle changes, and make paying debt as much of a priority as paying my rent, or my phone bill.

I know I am capable of doing it. I just need to focus.

bathroom woes

written via text message

ME: any news on the bathroom?

MY ROOMMATE: kinda, waiting for a roofing guy to come by tomorrow.

ME: Awesome. And by awesome, i mean this sucks.

bite

I have a HUGE spider or mosquito bite on my right arm, just below the elbow. It's really like eight bites; either some insect decided to feast at Chez Rover, or I rolled over it in the night and it was trying to escape.

Either way, it (a) grosses me out, and (b) itches like a sonofabitch.

i forgot my cell phone at home today

...and I felt so lost.

Cut off from the world, even.

Now, I was at the gym for two hours - where I wouldn't be using my phone anyway - and then I worked for five hours - where I couldn't use my phone all that much - but still.

I kept hoping that I wouldn't come home and find out that I had missed a super important crucial message. Then I would figure that I wouldn't have any messages at all. (For the record, I missed four calls and one text; there are two voicemails that I have to listen to.)

Leaving my phone behind also meant that I haven't checked my e-mail in six hours (because I sneaked a peek at the gym).

Looking at these statements, it's amazing how plugged in I am. Maybe I should try to take a break occasionally...

a new voting tactic

This is...um...mildly disturbing, I suppose, but kinda funny. Enjoy.

i must be getting old

...because my gym workout this evening felt like the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. At the end, I had nothing left.

You know how they talk about athletes gutting something out, scoring a goal or a touchdown because they wanted it more?

That was me.

Off to see my girlfriend.

31

Another year older, another year wiser.

I had a good birthday - went to see my sister-in-law in her Broadway debut, following by dinner with her and my brother and Maxine and one of my best Sleepy Hamlet friends. The only fly in the ointment? The Steelers lost. But that's how it goes.

I'm hopeful that 31 will be as good as 30 was. We'll see...

crack heads

Due to overwhelming demand...

I don't live in a "bad" part of Brooklyn, by any means, but it could be said that I border some "questionable" areas. Generally, the biggest problem in my neighborhood is the sheer amount of trash that is everywhere. It drives me crazy.

Lately, though, we have had a number of crackheads patrolling our streets.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of dealing with someone who is on crack, it is quite an experience. Basically, they're like human zombies. They're totally operating in their own world. They're constantly in search of money for their next high. And a lot of them will do...um...let's say "inappropriate things". For example, one time I was on a subway somewhere in America, and a crackhead was violently scratching her crotch and/or masturbating on the train. For twenty minutes.

It's quite sad.

Anyway, I've had two encounters with crackheads lately. The first was at one of my local cafes. I was ordering something at the counter when a crackhead came in asking for something: money, food, I can't remember. The guy at the counter said no. The crackhead then flipped out, yelling and stomping her feet. She then defiantly walked over to the spot where all of the coffee accessories were laid out, pulled out a bunch of sugar packets, and ran out.

The counterman's response to all of this? "She comes in here every day. And every day it's the same thing."

The second experience was far more disturbing. There's a fast food restaurant on the corner of my block, and I generally cut through the parking lot on my way to the subway to save a minute or two. Occasionally there are people leaned up against the building, or sleeping somewhere next to the restaurant.

HOWEVER:

the other day, as I turned the corner into the parking lot, there was a man laying down, half on the sidewalk, half in the drive-thru lane, slowly rolling from his back to his right side. He was mid-roll when I saw him, and the first thing I noticed was that his pants and underwear were pulled down to about mid thigh. When he started over towards his side, however, I noticed the truly disgusting part - a sticky brown line extending from the pavement to his buttocks.

The man was taking a dump.

Next to the restaurant.

While lying down.

It may have been the grossest thing I've ever seen.

And that, folks, is my neighborhood. No wonder I'm psyched about moving.

par-tay!

(I can't put the pics up until I blur out some faces - you're gonna have to be patient)

does this belong to you?

Trying to find the owner...

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i feel like the worst blogger ever

Every day I think of these great ideas that I'm going to post. And then I forget to write them down. Then I try to send people clever texts so that I have something to put up. Cheap.

Sorry. I'm tired.

I'll have a better story to tell tomorrow, like the one about the guy taking a shit in the street in front of me the other day...

trying to get the hook up

a e-mail to a book agent friend

What's doing? How's your life? Hope everything is a-ok. I'm treading water until my next job, just hanging out and living the dream.

I wanted to ask a favor of you. My friend wrote a novel a few months ago, and he's just now starting to show it around a bit. I've read it, and I think it's pretty good. Would you take a look at it, or hand it off to someone who could? I can provide you with a plot summary, if you want.

I'm around until October 12 - let's get drinks before then...

one of the stranger moments i've had recently

...is watching your little brother ride off on a motorcycle. It's so cool...and a little terrifying, honestly.

He really is a grown-up.

another cheap post

an e-mail to my girlfriend - probably the only thing i actually wrote that day

spiegeltent - When are you going there? I can get discount tix for this on Goldstar...

Fried Fish (the missing link edition - pt 7)

Leftover from the writers' strike, but still worth checking out, I think.

speechlesswithoutwriters.com

Fried Fish (the missing link edition - pt 6)

This is something called The Ladder Theory. It is supposed to explain attraction in some way - but I don't get it. Check it out and let me know if you do.

www.laddertheory.com

based on a true story

written in a workshop - i had to tell a quick story about injustice

Once upon a time there was a handsome young black prince who wanted a romantic date for the prom.

He first asked a girl he was seeing. She said yes, but three days later her evil father said no, because the prince was black.

He then tried another girl, but her evil parents said no for the same reason.

So the prince ended up going to the ball with a boring girl that he didn't really like.

The end.

story of my life

an e-mail to my agent

subject: i'll deliver the headshots on Monday

Sorry - I got tied up with a lot of random crap today. Unless you guys have a mail slot or something I can leave them in this weekend...

seven years later

written in my journal, in my room

I don't write much in here anymore (much of that is due to the fact that I'm blogging every day) but there's something about today that makes me want to put the pen to paper, like I did seven years ago.

I can't believe it's been seven years.

It feels like so long ago, but when I start watching the news, seeing the parades and the speeches, the gathering of the families at Ground Zero, the Democratic and Republican candidates paying their respects together, the reading of the names and the pictures of the dead; and then, the footage.

It all comes rushing back, all of those complicated emotions, guilt and sadness and fear, and I don't know quite what to do with myself.

You know the thing that really drives it home for me? The lights, that emanate from from the footprints and go up forever, just like the Towers seemed to do. I look forward to their presence every year - but seeing them makes me ache for what we lost that day.

utility woes

My utility bill is normally in the neighborhood of $80.

So why, last month, was the bill $185.89?

That's one hundred and eighty-five dollars.

I was gone for most of that month. What were my roommates doing? And how badly am I allowed to hurt them?

trade talk

via e-mail - probably not interesting if your fantasy team wasn't involved

The problem is that your needs and my needs don't seem to match up.
Every scenario I look at ends up being some complicated 7 or 8 player
deal, and I'm just not sure that I'm going to get an even return.
I'll tell you that the 2 guys I'm looking closest at are Colston and
Graham. But I just don't see fair value on your roster for Anderson.

Would you trade Graham for Anderson, straight up?

it's ba-ack...

And they won, too. I love NFL Sundays...

monday morning must reads

an e-mail to my brother; I'm explaining to him where I go to get all of my NFL info on Monday AM

Peter King's Monday Morning QB is at www.si.com

Archives at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/peter_king/archive/

Michael Silver writes for Yahoo! Sports; he writes a couple of columns a week. The Monday one is called the Morning Rush. You can find it at http://sports.yahoo.com/

Archives at http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/expertsarchive;_ylt=AtWDbyJx2tn..Oe5JeaI15.r0op4?author=Michael+Silver

And, of course, there is the fantastic http://www.profootballtalk.com/ - use it, love it. There may be more - I'll send them to you if I think of them. But these guys are the two best.

hot streak

This is the second week in a row that I've gone to the gym six times. I've also been remarkably consistent in my healthy food consumption. Honestly, I look like a new man.

Still, they say it takes 21 days to form a habit...

bathroom woes (visual evidence)

enough politics

Thank GOD this is the last night of convention coverage. I can't take them anymore.

a day at the beach

Ah, Coney Island.

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my super sucks

My bathroom had a leak a couple of weeks ago. Now the leak has gotten worse. There is no water in my bathroom yet, but you can hear the constant patter of the water in the ceiling. And now the ceiling is starting to show signs of water damage, and plaster is actually falling.

I waited around ALL DAY today, because my super said that he was going to come by and check out our bathroom. I had several errands to run, but because he said he was coming by "first thing in the morning", I decided to wait.

It's now six thirty in the evening.

Have I seen him?

No.

He's an asshole.

I did call my landlord and complain, though. I feel a tiny bit better knowing that the landlord will chew the super out. But I'd feel a LOT better if someone would come fix my bathroom.

my other fantasy football team

QB J Cutler; D Anderson
RB M Jones-Drew; T Jones; J Stewart; S Slaton
WR L Fitzgerald; S Smith; D Driver; L Evans; J Porter
TE T Heap; J Carlson
K J Scobee
DEF Giants

(the teams look pretty similar, no?)

fantasy football rulez!!!!

Just had my second of four fantasy football drafts - the first one I was able to do live - and I'm totally excited. I feel good about my team - stuck to my draft board, didn't really reach for anyone, and got a lot of exciting young players. I think that DH is the only one that might care about this, but I ended up with:

QB D Garrard; M Schaub
RB R Grant; B Jacobs; J Stewart; M Forte
WR R Moss; B Marshall; L Evans; J Porter; S Rice
TE T Scheffler
K J Scobee
DEF Patriots

This is my big money league; I've won it twice, but taking the crown this year would mean a very nice Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for me this year!

(Yes, folks, I am a closet nerd.)

sage advice

via text message, to a friend driving on too little sleep and too much caffeine

Don't die. Being a martyr is overrated.

post DNC critique

Ginger and I exchanged text messages after hearing Obama speak at Mile High - she has important friends

ME: Did you see [our friend] on TV?

GINGER: Yep! Cool, huh? I got my aunt a ticket at the last minute. She now owes me for life!!

ME: Nice work. Did you go?

GINGER: No. It meant more to [my aunt]. But I watched. Great speech.

ME: Yes. Even pat buchanan was gushing.

GINGER: Nooo!

ME: Yeah. Shocking.

GINGER: It definitely showed that we would have a strong president with him.

ME: Exactly. Very presidential. And nice job going after mccain.

GINGER: I would have been able to get you a ticket, but it would have been last minute.

ME: I would have loved to be there, but I was just too exhausted to be on the road any longer.

GINGER: He made McCain look like a doddering nice old fool. S'okay. Maybe we can get u into the inauguration! :)

ME: That would be the best! [Our friend] should start pushing for a job...

GINGER: He doesn't want it. [His friend] will likely get it though.

ME: Meaning that he will move up. Why does he not want it?

GINGER: I think he lies. I think he'd take it in a heartbeat.

ME: I would. I'd run through a brick wall for that man.

GINGER: Maybe he should join Team [Rover].

ME: We are always looking for good people...

not official yet, but still exciting

I alluded to this in one of my infamous text-message posts last week. I was kind of hesitant in sharing before anything became official, but indications I have received this week have shown me that the letter I received last week is all the "official" notice I need.

I'm moving!

(Actually, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that the place I call home is shifting. Semantics.)

I'm getting a studio apartment in another neighborhood in Brooklyn. It's a brand new building with tons of amenities, blah blah blah. Because they're still finishing things up, I'm not really sure when I'm moving in, but it should happen before the end of the year.

I've really been wanting my own place for almost a year now. My roommates now are fantastic, but I find myself getting irritated over typical roommate things that usually just roll off my back. And I'm going to be thirty-one next month. I know that New York is expensive, but I think that at a certain age, a man is just too old to have roommates, you know? I'm very much looking forward to having room in the fridge, having my own space, watching the television when I want, and finding my things in the same place I left them.

The irony of this is that I'm working a ton over the next six months, and I won't be spending a whole lot of time in New York. Furthermore, when I'm on the road, I'm living by myself anyway. It's an opportunity that I couldn't pass up, and I'm very excited!

OK. Off to watch yesterday's PTI and then to the gym.

it's finally official

Barack Obama has won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. I'd feel much better about Obama's historic victory today if I hadn't seen this quote:

"A lot of white workers ... and quite frankly a lot of union members believe he's the wrong race," AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told a breakfast meeting of Michigan delegates.

Can't I enjoy this for even an hour before the naysayers chime in? Thanks a lot, Richard Trumka. You're off my Christmas list.

why i love pittsburgh sports

If you're not a sports fan, you have my permission to skip this post.

If you're a fan of any of the Pittsburgh sports teams (or a native of western Pennsylvania), this is required viewing.

back, for a while

Finally at home, after a whirlwind of activity the last few days. We had some rental car drama and some plane drama, but it's all in the past.

Now I'm home, and back into my looking-for-a-job-and-working-out routine. It's actually nice. I'd really like to make some money, but I would be ok for doing this for a month or two.

Now I'm off to pick up a chicken for dinner! Back posts coming in the next day or two.

(My life will be more exciting than this, I promise.

my family's ritual

via text message

DAD: We are home

ME: Good! Talk to you soon...

an homage to MIKE JONES

via text message

281-330-8004! Back then hoes didn't want me! Now I'm hot, hoes all on me!

the skies are friendly again

written on a plane

Out of the goodness of my heart I decided to give up my seat on the cross-country flight home, so that one of the stand-by passengers could get on the plane.

Of course, another way of putting it would be to say that I cashed in my miles and upgraded to business class. ;-)

They actually talk to you! And I was offered champagne! And there are real pillows! And blankets!

For the first time in a long time, I am actually excited to fly.

headed home

Finally.

Great times with the kids at camp. Great times with the peeps in Sleepy Hamlet.

Currently I'm sitting at the Sleepy Hamlet airport, waiting to board a plane to take me to a bigger city, where I can get on a plane to go home to New York. So close, yet so far away.

There's a TV in the waiting room. This isn't a big religious area, but it's some kind of Christian program. I love God, but these kind of programs get on my nerves.

I'm also really hungry. And there's no food here.

Sorry about the complaining. I'm exhausted, and I just want to go home.

Looking forward to regular online posting again...

drinking at the same place never gets old

via text message

company bar in 45 min

big news

via text message to The Hot Wing

Looks like i'm going to be your neighbor.

More on this later.

happy days are here again

written in the passenger seat of my friend's car

With the exception of four or five people, all of the important people from my Sleepy Hamlet days are back. It feels awesome, like I never left. Last night we were at our favorite watering hole, drinking and dancing and carrying on. As usual, we were loud. As usual, I ran into ex-girlfriends. As usual, we closed the place down.

I know that it is impossible to travel backwards in time. But, last night, my friends and I did just that.

what the hell?

via text message, in response to a message a day or two earlier

ME: Glad that you're enjoying the best city ever!

LIL' BIT: Hell yeah. Ps my mom is totally going to (the show)...she does consulting for (a company)...

ME: Well, I'll be there...along with (my friends)...

LIL' BIT: Well if you see her say hi...she will probably lose it if the cool kids recognize her. :-D

ME: I will!

LIL' BIT: Thanks! Ps are you back with Maxine?

ME: Yes. Officially, two months. Unofficially, five.

LIL' BIT: Okay. Cool. Just want to avoid the rumor mill.

ME: What rumor mill?

LIL' BIT: It is just always best to go directly to the source. I'm sure you had a reason for not telling me.

ME: I know that i mentioned this before.


She didn't write back.

sleep deprived

So tired, folks.

Camp ended today. I'm now staying at my friend's place, a huge one bedroom that any New Yorker would drool over.

I'm finally on vacation. I've got peeps coming into town tomorrow, and we will make merry until Friday morning, when I head back east.

I've got a bunch of text-posts to put up from last week. And I'm probably going to scratch in my notebook for the most part this upcoming week. So expect a series of new posts to go online in about a week.

(I will, however, be writing every day, as stated under the rules of 365. Don't worry about that.)

Now, let's see if I can stay awake through an episode of Mad Men. Either way, I am the winner.

getting excited for my peeps

via text message

It's going to be awesome...

how hot is it?

via text message

Hella hot. Like one o five. My balls are melting.

the reason for my angst

Two months ago I was offered a job, which I accepted. It's a mini-tour. It starts in mid-October and ends in mid-April 2009.

Good times.

Last week, I was offered a role in a play in the Northeast. It starts in early September. It ends in mid-October.

A week after the tour starts.

Whoops.

No worries. My job in the six-month long show is small, and I've already played that role...with that cast...with that director. And the role in the Northeast show (one that I've also done before) is the lead. Surely the tour crew would let me out for one measly week, right?

Uh, no.

And why was I not allowed to do both shows?

Because the director of the mini-tour wants to have the cast together for the first week...even though he's not even going to be there!

Bullshit.

But what can I do? It's 24 weeks of theater versus eight. Major theaters versus a minor one. It's a no-brainer.

That doesn't mean I have to like it, though. And I don't.

i need a break

written in my notebook

Did I say yet that I'm ready to go home?

Well, I am.

I'm working at a great camp, with an exceptional group of students and a talented and amazing staff in a charming town.

But I'm feeling like I need some alone time. Which is hard to get here.

There are more complications, but it's too much right now, especially since I'm in the middle of working things out. Plus I'm writing this in a notebook.

the secret of my success

written in my notebook

Coffee makes me creative.

news?

Hopefully I'll have a better idea of my September/October schedule at this time tomorrow. Because I am NOT a patient person, that annoys me. If you want to be an actor, however, you've got to accept that you don't have control over a lot of things. What are you gonna do?

I really haven't had too much time to worry about it, though, because camp is keeping me busy. The kids are great. It's kind of cool to see that "aha!" moment, when something clicks in for them. Sometimes I miss learning.

Off to another event.

sucky sleep again

Is it a rule that dorm rooms have to have sucky beds? I don't remember my undergrad having such pitiful mattresses. Or maybe I'm a princess, and there's just a pea under my hip somewhere.

I actually had to resort to the sleep mask last night. And guess what? It didn't help.

I guess I'll just have to go to my back-up plan: frequent napping. I've only got a few days left; I think I can make it.

i hate text message posts

...but, quite frankly, they're all I have time for nowadays.

Generally, things are good. Waiting to hear about a job (as usual). Trying to hold off giving too much more info until I hear about that - because I'll have a lot to say, either way it comes down.

Bed.

a compliment

via text message

MAXINE: (A friend) said you're a catch! And i had to agree.

ME: Oooh! I'm flattered...

i'm back (again)

via text message

MY FRIEND: I just saw someone that looked like you. What's loose?

ME: Hi sister! Did I forget to call you back? I'm in Sleepy Hamlet!

MY FRIEND: No. I have retardation. When are you coming back? Tell everyone I said howdy!

elation

via text message, to Maxine

I'm getting (the job)!

a near quote from my childhood

A quote from Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark (from this NY Times article) really hit home for me:

He said passages about Obama’s youth in Hawaii had reminded him of his own experience with subtle racism in the affluent, mostly white suburb of Harrington Park, N.J. “You know, what it’s like growing up every single day and having people ask to touch your hair because they’ve never seen hair like that,” Booker said. “To have the entire class laugh and giggle when somebody pronounces ‘Niger’ as ‘nigger.’ The constant bombardment of that kind of thing really affects your spirit, and it’s every single day. Like when people want to come back from a vacation and compare their tan to yours and joke about being black.”

It's like he's talking about MY public school experience.

If you've got twenty minutes, you really should read this article. It's fascinating.

giving notice

via text message

Seeing your shows tomorrow and thursday nights. I'll call you tomorrow. I'm exhausted...

my roommate misses me

via text message

MY ROOMMATE: Hanging out on the hammock with the tikki torches. Come back to BK.

ME: Oh, i wish! The kids arrived today...

back post update

OK, people. You all know that I'm doing Blog 365, which means that I create some type of post every day. The post can be a picture, or I can scribble something down on a notepad or whatever. And so far, I'm 216 for 216. Quite frankly, I find that amazing.

While I have been extremely good about posting (yes, I'm knocking on wood right now), I have not been so good about putting my posts up in a timely manner. I get busy, I travel, I meet hot girls, etc. And I always feel bad when I put effort into a post but it's too far down the line for people to really see what I've done.

That's why, after a particular egregious period of piling up posts, I'm linking my musings here. Some of them are stories; some are pictures; some are the dreaded text-message posts. All of them mean something to me.

One more thing, because I don't think I've said this recently: thanks so much for reading. I love writing, and while I struggle to progress to more traditional forms of it, I always know that I can throw something up out here and a few people will check it out.

OK, the posts.


Fourth of July pics are up
Sun July 20
an extra post from Mon July 21
Fri July 25 - the BBQ invite
Sun July 27 - a pic from said BBQ - I would have put up more but fuzzing out people's faces is such a pain...
Tues July 29 - the big reveal of where the heck i am right now
Wed July 30 - my travel musings

my dancing shoes

Going out at one of my old haunts...getting my freak on...

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going out

Seeing more old peeps. Good times.

One thing that sucks about being here now - I don't have a car anymore, and it's a twenty minute walk to the bar. Ick. And I don't think that I'm supposed to be drinking anymore. Double ick.

I think I'll still manage to have a good time.