Taye Diggs is delicious

I just watched the season premiere of that new show Daybreak starring Taye Diggs. I have, of course, loved Mr. Diggs since I saw him in RENT in 1997. Anyway, it's a pretty good show. Every day, his character wakes up and it's the same morning, a la Groundhog Day. Except this isn't a lame Bill Murray comedy - it's full of action and mystery and shooting people and stuff like that. I'm already confused but apparently all of the mysteries will be solved in 11 weeks. I wonder if it's picked up again if they will have him wake up to an all-new mystery next year? I just hope it doesn't drag on, season to season, without any solution (are you listening to me, LOST????).

the daily show

Alan and I decided that we were going to try to write every day for the next couple of weeks. Let's see who keeps up with it, eh?

Last night I went to Simmer Grille in West Hartford. It was pretty good, but a tiny bit too expensive for the food, I think. I had onion soup with blistered cheeses (I heart cheese), and salt and herb-crusted French cut chicken with mashed potatoes. It was good - I think I will be going back at some point.

Over the past couple of days, Greg and I have been watching "The Comeback," which we Netflixed. It was an HBO show about a woman (played by Lisa Kudrow) who is a former big TV star, who is making her comeback via a reality show and a small part on a cheesy sitcom. It's super-uncomfortable to watch (kind of like "The Office") but I think she does a great job and I am enjoying it.

I now have to get ready so I can meet up with my friend Deb for dinner and The Pajama Game. Talk to you tomorrow! : )

zombie

Remember that Cranberries song, "Zombie"? Now it's going to be stuck in my head all day. I've been awake since 430 a.m., so I also think it's going to be the theme song of my day.

Anyway, not to sound too cliche, but thank God it's Friday. This has been a super-busy week, work-wise, and I still haven't kicked this cold, so I am ready for some good down time. Here's what's up:

Today: Work. Leave work early, maybe go shopping for bday present for Heather. Tonight we are going to dinner at Simmer with Matt and Cathy. Hope it's good - the menu sure looks tasty!

Saturday: Tomorrow is the first Saturday I haven't had plans during the day in over a month. I'm psyched. I'm sure Greg and I will just do our routine - get some lunch, read some magazines, go look at some puppies. Saturday night I am going to see some of my old Rumors peeps in The Pajama Game in Simsbury. Meeting up with my friend Deb before for dinner.

Sunday: We are going to a baptism for the baby of a couple of friends of ours. I wonder if there will be cake? : )

Have a good one!

boring Monday night

Self portraits with the pups

yet another sign I'm getting old

The most exciting thing that has happened this weekend is the fact that I cleaned the hell out of my house. It is now actually presentable - someone could come over, right now, and I wouldn't be humiliated or have to make excuses for the mess. Of course, a lot of the mess around here is due to the dogs, but when I'm involved with a show, the first thing that suffers is the general cleanliness of my life - my house, my car, my brain. So today, at least the house got the scrub-down it needed.

However, it seems that the most exciting thing that has happened to Greg this weekend is the fact that the Jets just won over the Patriots, because he's screaming all over the house.

Did I mention we're old?

weekend update

Haven't done one of these in a while...and this one will be fairly lame.

Friday: Yesterday I went to work, and went to lunch with the fabulous BBCS. After work, I went home and- you guessed it! - sat on the couch. Greg and I managed to go out and get dinner at Mayor Mike's (never have the chicken sandwich - it's dullsville). Then we went home, watched TV, and I went to sleep at 9:30. Have I mentioned I'm sick?

Saturday: So far today I've made cookies. We're going to a chili cook-off at a friend's house this afternoon, and while I have no skills in chili making, I can make dessert. Anyway, we'll soon be heading down there. Not sure if anything is brewing for tonight. Considering my lame-ass self, I doubt it.

Sunday: This is where things get really exciting, because I have nothing planned. I should clean the house and do some laundry. We'll see how that goes. I'll go see my mom. Yeah - that's about it.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your much more exciting weekend plans.

Votey McVoterson

Oh and PS, go and vote if you haven't already. Hurry! You only have 52 minutes left. I live by the rule that my mother beat into my brain (well, not literally) when I was young - if you don't vote, you can't complain (I'm sure she didn't mean that if you're Canadian and can't vote, Alan. So complain away). And since I complain a whole lot about how this country is run under the current administration, I got my sick arse down to the voting booth today. I almost couldn't shut the damn thing and thought I was going to need help, but I finally managed. Yup, it's people like me who help determine the course of this country. People who can't close a voting booth. USA! USA!

As a special bonus for election day, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are live tonight. I hope I can stay awake that late!

giving you what you want

Even though you've already seen this, Flannery and Alan, here is what my hair looked like last week. Specifically on Halloween, when I was dressed as Amanda of '89. This was at the end of the day, so my hair wasn't achieving as much height as the beginning of the day.

In other news, Britney is divorcing K-Fed! This is the first smart thing she's done since, well, since she met the guy. For some reason, I don't want her life to end up in the toilet. There is something about her that doesn't scream pure evil, which is unusual for Hollywood.

and......scene.

So that about wraps up that for Life with Father. I have to finish up some ad budget stuff and pass that over to the producer, but the show is DONE. Thank God. After Friday's drama with the almost passing out, I was kinda scared on Saturday, because the cold had only progressed. I did have a bit of a coughing fit at the beginning, but nothing too bad. We did the show, struck the set, had the cast party, and I was home by 2 a.m. Sunday I woke up feeling like total and utter hell, as the cold had taken up residence in my sinuses, which is where it remains today. I went into work this morning, but came home early because I think Beth and Flannery had just about had it with my coughing and sniffling. Not that I blame them, because, seriously....gross.

I am proud to report that after three days on the couch (minus show time) I have officially caught up on all of my TiVo. It makes me a little sad, because now I will have to watch TV like regular people. Weird.

Anywho, here's a pic from my show. This is one of my castmates Regina who very nicely helped me pin up my pre-wig hair for the show. The thing that I am holding is my wig cap, although it strongly resembles a knee-high stocking. And that's precisely what it felt like. I will be happy if I never have to put another wig on my head again.

Stage fright

Last night I had one of the most terrifying moments ever on stage. As y'all know, I have a cold/cough that's steadily gotten worse the past few days. Last night while doing the show, I felt a cough brewing in my throat while I was onstage. I didn't have any speaking parts at that moment - I was just serving breakfast to the family. I let out a couple of minor coughs, but I really could tell I have a huge coughing fit on deck. I held it back, and all of the sudden I felt like my chest was going to explode, my eyes filled up with tears, and the room started spinning. I thought there was about a 90% chance I was going to pass out, so I hightailed it outta there before I was done with all of my "business" (filling cups with coffee, clearing bowls, stuff like that). I went outside and coughed and coughed until I almost threw up (I know this is gross, but I'm trying to get across how horrible it was). Then I flew back onstage (about two seconds past my cue) and continued with the show, all the while my hands shaking and my head spinning. I felt better after a bit, but holy shit, scary! Can't wait to see what tonight brings, as I only feel worse today. My arse has been firmly planted on my couch for two days (minus the show stuff) so I'm doing what I can do to get better. I'm even drinking tea, for God's sakes! (that's a shout out to Miss Flannery).

I was very happy to have my pals and theater compadres Alan and Todd there last night to witness the whole thing - not just the show, but the shenanigans afterwards at the restaurant. : ) Thanks for coming, guys!

It's (cough) show (hack) time (wheeze)

Well, the show opened last night, after a very long hell week. The minor cold I've had for the past month blew up a couple of days ago, so by the time last night rolled around, I was a full-fledged cough drop addict, just hoping for the best. At one point on stage I got the much-dreaded throat tickle that threatened to turn into a major coughing fit, but it wasn't too bad - and the people I talked to yesterday after the show told me they thought the coughing was a character thing. okaaaay.....

I took today off of work because I needed some down time in a big way, but now it's just pretty much a sick day. Tonight ought to be interesting....

Sorry for this extremely boring post. I feel extremely boring. My life = work, show, work, show, work, show....I got nothin' else.

what fresh hell is this?

So, today begins Hell Week for my show. It actually began yesterday, when the set build started at the school where we are having the show. I couldn't be there because I was babysitting Heather's kids, so she could go to her grandmother's funeral. I always go to set build, so I didn't feel too bad about missing it this time. However, I will be there today, probably around noon, until 8 p.m. Our rehearsal begins around 4, and before that I imagine I will be painting a lot of stuff. We have rehearsal every night this week, and have lots of stuff to figure out before we open on Thursday (primarily, how to work on our actual set, costume changes, working with the props, stuff like that. My major concerns are my costume changes and working with all of the props, because even though I have a wee part, I still do a lot of both).

So I don't think you'll hear much from me this week, dear readers (all four of you). But just know that I'm in hell.

I'm too tired to come up with a title for this entry

Wow, this has been a long week.

For various reasons, but primarily show-related, this week has been..what has it been? Horrible? Disastrous? Dramatic? Long? Silly? Stupid? It has been many things. But now it is almost over, and for that, I rejoice.

I love show biz.

two years ago today, part deux

We were headed for Hawaii.

I needed a reminder of much nicer things during this horrendous week (nothing really bad, just show/work stuff).

two years ago today.

One of the best decisions I'll ever make.

it's Monday already

Well, no, not really. In real life, it's Thursday night. I just got home from rehearsal and it's been a incredibly long day. From the time I left work (4:30) until now (11:23) I have been doing show stuff. It's becoming more consuming than I ever anticipated.

I am heading into one of those weekends where it feels like it's already Monday morning. There is so much to do that in what seems like a moment I will be sitting at my desk again, at the start of the week. Saturday morning we have to get up very early, head down to the train station in New Haven, take a four hour train ride to Wilmington, go visit Greg's friends in PA for the day on Saturday, overnight into Sunday, get the train in Wilmington midday on Sunday, take a four hour train ride to New Haven, drive home, immediately drive to rehearsal, rehearse, come home, collapse, get up for work on Monday.

Happy Monday, everyone.

UConn Huskies spreading Rumors at the Lapin Agile

Well, it was a busy weekend.

Friday night I went to see the play Rumors in Goshen. My friend Donna directed it and my friend Tony was in it. For those of you who follow my theatrical happenings (and I know you all do, with baited breath, no less) you know I was in a production of Rumors this past spring. It was funny to watch the show knowing every single line, and seeing all the differences in their production from ours. It was really good though. But seriously, what's up with Goshen? It seems like there is absolutely nothing going on in that town. Deb and I got there early, so we stopped at an ice cream place down the road from the theater...it was basically the only thing open, and I had a strong feeling we were going to be murdered by a serial killer. The whole desolate small town thing was completely freaking me out. We went to a little cast party after the show in Litchfield. I was completely exhausted when I got home.

Saturday Greg and I went to the UConn Huskies football game. I wasn't too psyched about it, but it was a beautiful day out. In fact, it was so beautiful and sunny that I fell asleep during the game. What a dork! The real fun of Saturday was Saturday night, of course, because that's when I got to see my friend Alan in his final performance as Picasso in Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Hole in the Wall. The play was very sensual, and his accent was not at all Transylvanian. I could explain that last sentence, but he'll know what I mean. I would tell you all to go see it, but alas, it's over. In fact, I can guarantee that Alan is suffering some post-show letdown today. It's always super-depressing when a great theater experience is over. Great job, Alan!

And speaking of the thea-tah, I am supposed to be working on my lines for my show right now. I have such a small part that I've devoted no time whatsoever to getting off book, and I kinda really need to do it today and tomorrow, since we're supposed to be completely off book by Tuesday. Plus, I'm going to be running rehearsals this week because the director can't be there, so I won't be able to use my spare time at rehearsals to learn my lines. I don't know why I am being so lazy with this show. I think it's because I need a theater break. Hmmm...how many times have we heard that one? Anyway, I'm off to rehearsal soon.

Number one pup of all time

Here's Junior, after a busy day of terrorizing the neighbors.

the joys of dog ownership (or, why I am $600 less wealthy today)

So, it all started last Friday. I came home from work and was just trying to chill out in front of the TV for a little bit before I had to go to a very difficult funeral. I heard some shouting out in the front yard, and realized that my two elderly neighbors from down the road had pulled over in their car and were yelling at my dogs. I believe I heard the man say "Bad dog - I will punch you in the nose." So, I came out and said, "What's going on here?" The man tried to pretend nothing much was going on, but the wife then reamed me out. Apparently she was walking by our house a few days ago with her granddaughters and the dogs (Junior, primarily) freaked them out. We have an invisible fence, and she told me that her son also has an invisible fence, and his Great Dane jumped the fence (this makes no sense, but bear with me). So I say, look, they have never broken through before, these fences are legal, etc, and then she said, "We'll let the dog warden decide" and concluded with "You can take your dog and shove it." Nice.

Fast forward to this morning. Now, the story takes a different turn here, so just try to follow me. I swear, everything ties together in the end. So I get up this morning at 6:20. Greg had already gotten up - he gets up early on Wednesday mornings for a networking meeting - and since he was up, Jimmy was up too. I rolled over and went to grab for my glasses. This is where I will mention that I am legally blind without my glasses, seriously. I can't see my hand in front of my face. I remember that in the middle of the night, I got up to pee and I think I remember knocking my glasses off my nightstand. So I'm looking on the floor, and can't find them there either. I called Greg to help me find the glasses. Oh, he found them all right. He found them in the middle of the living room floor in a mangled mess. MANGLED in such a way it looked like they were run over by a car. A car with teeth. I immediately start crying because, people, I am BLIND without them. Greg had to leave and I realized that I would have to wait until at least 10 a.m. to see anything because that's when LensCrafters opens.

Now, a few weeks ago, I got fitted for contacts. I don't wear contacts well - I can wear them only for a few hours at best and they are uncomfortable to the point of wanting to scratch my eyes out at about the 6 hour mark, sometimes earlier. However, I bought a supply because they are good to have for shows, outdoor activities, stuff like that. They had called me on Monday to say they were in, so I would be able to pick them up today. But how would I be able to see after I inevitably had to take them out?

I finally remembered that I had an old pair of glasses, and found them, but yeesh. The prescription was bad, the glasses were bad, but at least I could see somewhat - I was a million times better off than I was when I woke up. I got ready for work, and at 10, I was heading out the door to LensCrafters to pick up my new contacts and order new glasses. I was checking my email for the last time before I left, and who do you think I see pulling up to the house? Animal Control.

Oh, oh, wait, I forgot about the part where, throughout the morning, Jimmy also destroyed one of my black shoes (of the only pair of nice black shoes that I have) and he brought in a dead bird. But I digress.

So, anyway, yup, my &*(!&^*^!&*^ neighbors called Animal Control. The lady was very nice to us - asked us some questions about the fence, asked us if we ever let the dogs outside when we aren't home (never), etc, etc, and then asked us to see their dog licenses. Ummm...yeah. As it turns out, they don't have dog licenses. It was one of those things we thought was taken care of, and, um, wasn't. So she gave a citation for that (and only for one dog, when she could have given us citations for both) and went on her merry way. Basically, we aren't doing anything wrong, and she was going to assure our neighbors that we don't let the dogs out when we're not home. (&&*!^&*! neighbors.

So, after that excitement, I went to LensCrafters, got my new contacts, got my new glasses (I got the exact same frames, different color, so they were able to pop in my somewhat-chewed-but-not-bad-lenses in while I wait for the new lenses to arrive in two weeks) and went to work.

New glasses: $439
Black shoes: $60
Dog warden citation: $60

Being Junior and Jimmy's mom: Priceless

Truthiness

Sorry I've been a little absent from blogland lately. I just had a really depressing week and I didn't want to write about it.

However, yesterday I did, in fact, do something fun. Greg and I went down to NYC to see a taping of "The Colbert Report." We are HUGE fans and proud members of Colbert Nation, and we watch it every single night (well, technically, we watch it usually in a huge chunk on the weekend, courtesy of TiVo). So I signed up online a few months ago to see if we could be part of the studio audience. Lo and behold, I received an email back in July saying that we could come on October 9. I thought it was a joke - seriously, I thought it was spam - but then I got a confirmation email in September and finally believed that it was real.

We took the train down in the early afternoon, got lunch, and headed to his studio on West 54th. We got there at 3:30 (they let you in at 6, and strongly suggest you get there at least an hour and a half earlier than that, so I thought two and a half hours was even better). Sure enough, we were the first ones in line, but not by much - within a half hour there were probably 50 people in line. The studio only holds 100. Around 6 they let us into a little holding room (which had a bathroom, thank God), and announced they would be seating people based on the number that was on the ticket they gave you when you came in - and, because we RULE, we were numbers 1 and 2. So we were right in the front row when we finally got into the studio (which is tiny, incidentally). We couldn't have been more than 10 feet away from his desk!

A stand-up comedian came out to warm the crowd up, then the stage manager went over all of the rules (clap loud, laugh hard, have fun) and then Stephen Colbert came out to say hi and answer some questions before taping started. He seemed really cool and it was just fun to see how everything worked from a behind-the-scenes perspective. Then it was on with the show!

The guest was musician Randy Newman (he has written music for lots of movies), and when they were filming him playing a song, they also got me and Greg (and others who were sitting around us) on tape, and you can totally see us on TV. We look like big goobers, but we sure do look like we're having fun too! Stephen's brother was sitting behind us, and when they were done with the show, Stephen came over and hugged his brother and said, "I have to leave immediately. It's my anniversary!" I thought that was funny.

The whole thing only took an hour - less than that, really - so I'm not sure if I will ever devote that much time to going to a taping of a TV show again, but we had a great time and it was definitely the best part of the last week.

And that's The Word.

sad

I'm not about to air another family's grief on my blog, but I just want to note how incredibly sad I am about the death of someone I know very well, and how much my heart is with her family right now. Sometimes, life plain sucks. This is one of those times.

bad, LOST fan...bad!

I'm a bad LOST fan. The show has its third season premiere this week, and I'm not very excited about it. This time last year, I was practically peeing in my pants, I was so giddy that this, my favorite show, was about to start again. But for some reason, I'm not losing any sleep over it this year. I'm wondering if this is the year where they completely lose me - where I have no idea what is going on to the point of not caring anymore.

I know - this is shocking, especially to anyone who knows what a rabid fan I've been in the past. And I still am, I promise - but I think this year they are going to have to really win me over in the first few episodes, because things got a little dull there during season two. I mean, I liked the season finale - but it was one of only a few episodes last season that really gripped me, unlike the first season, when every single episode was awesome.

And don't worry, Josh Holloway, you are still my television boyfriend, no matter how I feel about the show itself.

In other news, do you think Flannery will ever update her blog again? Rumor has it some big-time things have happened since she last updated on September 12.

everybody loves a parade

So, the parade that I was supposed to be in today - the world-famous Apple Harvest Festival Parade in Southington - was postponed until next week because of the rain. Southington Community Theatre has been in this parade for the past couple of years. We have a little float and everything. I know I'm a bad person and everything but I was kind of relieved, because I just wasn't in the mood to sit and wave to strangers all afternoon. As much as I love being on stage, I really feel awkward and strange being in a parade. Because, like, why should these people care about me? It's not like I'm the Apple Harvest Queen or anything fancy like that.

But today also brought some good Southington-based news. My mother was telling me about a new dog park they have in town, so I took a drive by on my way home from my mother's. It's just a smallish fenced-in area, but it's oh-so-popular amongst the dog owners in Southington! It was great to see all the dogs running around, unleashed and having a fun, carefree time. I cannot wait to bring Junior and Jimmy down there.

Little Miss Sunshine

I finally saw this movie. It was really cute. Kind of depressing in parts, but laugh out loud funny in others. The little girl in the movie reminds me of myself at that age - kinda odd with big, nerdy glasses. Steve Carrell was especially awesome. Very different from his "The Office" character. Anywho, go see it, or, at the very least, rent it (especially you Beth, now that you've got that fancy-dancy DVD player!).

work it, pups

Is it strange that every week when I'm watching "America's Next Top Model" I conduct an elaborate "America's Next Top Puppy" competition between Junior and Jimmy? And that I always make both of them win because I don't want one of them to feel bad?

Best not to answer that, I think.

the birds and me

So, as you know, I'm trying to be more mindful of my exercise lately. I've been getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to do my running/walking routine, which I hate with the power of a thousand suns, particularly because I've really incorporated a lot more running into it. I am not the kind of person who gets that endorphins rush that makes me all happy when I'm exercising. I'm more the kind of person who cannot wait until it is all over, so I can immediately begin dreading going the next day. But, well, it's good for me, etc. etc., so I'm making an effort.

My friend Alan thinks I should get some sort of spiritual joy out of starting my day off just as the birds start tweeting and the world is just waking up. He thinks I should be happy that I have the opportunity to commune with nature before the day's natural hustle and bustle takes over. As nice as that all sounds, the only thing that keeps me out there on my 51-minute jaunt is my iPod.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was this morning when the battery died about 25 minutes into the whole thing. So it was just me and the birds this morning.

Please don't fail me tomorrow, iPod.

check me out

I was really sick of the pink, so I changed my template. I have to update my links, but I'm falling asleep at the keyboard (it's just exhausting picking a new template).

weekend review

Well, the rest of my birthday weekend was fairly busy and rife with sickness. Saturday Greg felt like complete crap, so he did not go to my cousin's party. Luckily, he felt good enough earlier in the week to go shopping for my birthday, so I got to unwrap some lovely gifts from him, including some sweet new brown boots, new Nikes (needed them really badly), a nice gigantic new sweatshirt, and a gift certificate to the mall. Later, we went to dinner at Tinker's in Hartford (good seafood, no-frills restaurant/fish market).

Sunday started bright and early at about 12:30 a.m. when Greg woke me up to say he was going to the ER because he ear was killing him so badly. I was in complete REM 4 sleep when he woke me up, so he was out the door before I could go with him. I felt really badly. He came home an hour later to report that he had a ruptured eardrum. They gave him some eardrops and told him he'd feel better in about five days. He's still on the mend.

The rest of Sunday featured clean-up day at SCT Hall, which totally sucked but we got a lot done. Then Sunday night I had rehearsal and helped paint the marquee for our Apple Harvest Festival parade float for next weekend. Yup, kids, I'm in a parade next weekend.

It's not still officially the weekend anymore, but I'm happy to report I went and spent some of my gift certificate at the mall and bought a cool, rust-colored courderoy skirt from the Gap that I'd been eyeing for a few weeks. I had wanted to buy a new purse but I didn't find anything, so I'll still be lugging around that *&!&!^&* pink polka-dotted thing for a while longer.

Also, at one point during the weekend I watched the movie The Family Stone. It's worth seeing, even if it's a little sad.

you know, that's how old Jesus was when he died

Yup, that's what Greg said to me when I said I couldn't believe I was turning 33. I can't say that it made me feel any better.

So, today is my birthday. It started 12 minutes ago. I just got home from a Rumors reunion - the cast from that show that I did in Simsbury back in March got together tonight to watch the video. We had a great time, despite that fact that I had to watch myself on a huge-screen TV.

Anyway, back to the big day. I can almost guarantee that this will be one of my less-exciting birthdays. We are going to my cousin's kids' birthday party, which will be good in the sense that there will be cake and I'll get to see my family. Other than that, I'm really not quite sure what the day will bring. Greg is super sick, so I don't think he's going to be much up for partying hard. And to be honest, neither am I. It's been a long week and I'm thinking the nicest way I could spend the day would be catching up on my TiVo and magazines and of course opening up the little pile of presents that are waiting for me on the dining room table. (Oh, who am I fooling - that will be the first thing I do when I wake up.)

Turning 33 is kind of boring, in the sense that it's not a landmark birthday. At the same time, I can't believe I'm 33, because it feels like I was just 25, or 19, or 12. Where does all the time go? Any way you look at it, I'm an adult. I'm not even sure if I'm a young adult anymore. I think I'm just a regular adult. Yet I'm wearing a Gap sweatshirt and flip-flops with ice cream cones on them. I could have been wearing this same outfit on any of the aforementioned birthdays. Have I grown up at all? I have all the trappings of an adult - the marriage, the house, the 2.5 dogs - but inside, most of the time, I don't feel very grown up. Maybe it's because I still get giddy at the thought of cake. Of course, on my 21st birthday, I don't think I would have been satisfied with just catching up on TV shows I missed that week. Frankly, I don't even think I watched TV at that point in my life. There were too many bars to go to.

OK, OK, I get it. Getting older=watching more TV. Hmmmm....I think I like this getting older after all!

Time for bed.

Imagine if you had a friend whose show opened this weekend

And imagine if this friend updated his blog so we could find out how it went? Wouldn't that be really great and informative and everything? Rumor has it he has a pretty big part, and he's been pretty stressed out about it, and since he decided to slack off and take today off from work, I didn't receive an email ALL DAY telling me how it went, and, you know, I'm just wondering how it went, since, you know, he's a big star and all. Or maybe he doesn't want to talk to the little people anymore.

I'm just sayin'.

dudes, I'm tired!

Well, this was a busy weekend.

Saturday was a nice day. It was beautiful out, and I felt like I really had to take advantage of what was probably one of the last nice Saturdays this year (sigh). I did one of my favorite things - sat out on my back deck and read. Then I felt guilty so I cleaned up the house and did some chores. At night, we went to dinner with some friends at Burton's Grill at Evergreen Walk - this was the first time I'd been to both the shopping center and the restaurant. The food was really good, and I really wanted to check out the shops, but we were going to a movie so there was no time.

We went to see The Last Kiss -that's the movie starring Zach "I am so overrated" Braff. I really didn't like it. It was semi-depressing and was about several relationships that had major problems, and it left me feeling icky and mad at Greg (why is it when I see a movie where someone cheats on someone I get mad at Greg? It's kind of funny). Anyway, unless you want to feel all angsty, don't go see it.

Sunday we headed off to Portsmouth, RI, to young Flannery's wedding. She had a lovely day and we had a lot of fun. She looked beautiful (I must say her co-workers can really help pick out a dress!), but I don't have any good pictures so maybe the lovely Lisa will post some? However, because I am a lame loser who cannot handle my drink anymore, I felt sick on the way home and had to pull over. I only had two and a half glasses of wine!! Who does this? What self-respecting 32 (almost 33!) year old has to pull over on route 9 in Middletown so her stomach can settle? I am getting old, people. An old lady who can't handle her liquor. There was a time in my life when nine drinks wouldn't have that effect. LAME. Anywho, lucky Flannery and Nate are off to Mexico for a week at an all-inclusive resort! Congratulations once again to the newlyweds.

And now I need to go find some Tums.

for your consideration

I am completely obsessing over two CDs right now. They are battling each other for my affection while I'm driving, and so far, there is no clear winner. They are: the soundtrack to [title of show] and Barenaked Ladies are Me, the new BNL CD that came out this week. They are completely different from each other, yet I am desperately in love with both. Thank God I have to do a lot of driving these days, or I'd feel like I was neglecting one. Anyway, go buy these CDs!

but we were on a break!!

So, today I found out that I got a part in a play called Life with Father, that goes up in November. This is another SCT production. Should be fun/interesting - fun, because it's theater, and interesting, because I'm actually playing four different parts. In this show (which is very charming and old-school - it was written in the 1930s, I believe, and takes place in the 1890s), there are four different maids that come and go throughout the show. As a way to make these little parts more appealing to someone who is auditioning, the director decided that he was going to have one person play all four roles, develop four different personas, accents, movements, etc. So, what was four small parts becomes one medium-sized part that is actually quite challenging. I've never done anything like this, morphing from one character to the next in one show. So it should be quite the experience! Rehearsals start Thursday night, but I will only be able to make the tail end because I have to work Thursday night.

The reason I titled this entry the way I did is because I've already gotten flack from my friends who told me that I promised I would go on a theater hiatus for a while after Into the Woods. To those people I say - hey, what was the last month for? That was the break! Oh, you were expecting something longer? Do you know me at all?

In other news, I have a cold. Did I already complain about this? I can't remember.

aaaand....I'm back

So, I'm back from Cape Cod. We had the best trip. Ate a lot, sat in the sun a lot, and laughed a lot harder than I have in a really long time. You know - the kind of laughing where you think you're going to throw up. It was pretty awesome, and the weather was great. But, now back to reality and a very busy week. Bah humbug. Plus, it really feels like summer is over, now that our trip is done. Boo.

I'm outta here

So tomorrow we leave for what is, so far, my big vacation of the year. We're going to Cape Cod for four days with Greg's extended family (parents, aunt, uncle, various cousins and their children). It's sort of a resort place that we've gone to before, and it's a good time. I'm really looking forward to it, probably too much. This week has sucked the life out of me, today in particular, and I'm just psyched to flop myself down on the beach for a couple of days. Crap. I just realized I don't have enough reading material for the trip. Better make a stop at Border's before we leave tomorrow!

See y'all on the rebound.

crikey!

For some reason, I still can't get over the fact that Steve Irwin died. That's messed up. Why I'm surprised, I have no idea. This guy put himself in dangerous situations on a very regular basis. But why would he continue doing it when he had two kids? Not to talk badly about the dead, but that's lame and egotistical.

see this show (or, what I did this weekend)

This weekend, Greg and I thought it would be super-fun to drive straight into the hurricane-like weather, so we headed to New York to see our friend Dimitry and his new bride-to-be. Despite the fact that it was hella windy and rainy, we still had a good time. And how could we not? New York is the greatest city in the world, despite the two giganto rats I saw on the street last night. We went to see a show I had been reading a lot about called [title of show], and it was awesome. One of the best, most original shows I've seen in a long time. It's about two guys who have three weeks to write a musical to enter into a theater festival. It was written by two guys who had three weeks to write a musical to enter into a theater festival. It's just basically a really hilarious (and kinda inspiring) story about what it takes to put a musical together. If you're a theater nerd (Alan, I'm talking to you), then all the better, because there are a million little inside jokes going on throughout the show. But even if you're not so much into theater, you'll still love it. In fact, Greg was the one who started the standing ovation! It's playing Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. It just got extended to October 1, so go see it.

I know no one else watches this but

I don't think any of my loyal readers actually watch Project Runway, but I just have to say that Jeffrey is such a d**k. I can't put it any other way. First off, he was such a jerk to Angela's mother in last week's episode. Who is a jerk to someone's mother?! If I were Angela, I would've punched him in the head. Then this week, when Angela (deservedly) got kicked off, he was all smug and happy about it. The jackass wins, and believes that the reason he won is because God wasn't drunk this week like he was last week (God, not Jeffrey) when he didn't win. Yes, Jeffrey. God cares so much about how you fare on Project Runway. Stupid ass. Anyway, instead shutting his piehole and just be happy about winning, he has to talk trash about Angela, who had to fly all the way to Paris basically just to have to turn around and go home.

Anyway, like I said, I don't think anyone is really going to care about my thoughts on this. But seriously, you should watch this show. It's excellent, despite Jeffrey.

my 100th post!

Oh my good Lord, this is my 100th post on this blog. What the hell have I been talking about for so many posts!?! Have I seriously rambled on that much!?

random

Well, this weekend was a semi-busy one. Friday night I went out to happy hour(s) with work friends - three Cosmos and one Liquid Cocaine shot (actually, it was a half shot -I made Nate drink the rest) later and I was pretty fuzzy by the end of the night. Despite my haze, it was a lot of fun.

Saturday we went to TheaterWorks in Hartford to see a show called Make Me A Song. It was sort of a musical revue of the music of William Finn, who wrote The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Falsettos, among others. I really liked it, although I cried a lot during the second half. He's got some sad songs, that William Finn. Afterwards, we went to eat at Trumbull Kitchen. It was OK. We watched the movie The Constant Gardener when we got home. It was depressing, but good.

Sunday it rained all day, so we wanted A History of Violence. Same as the other movie - depressing, but good.

As you can see, it was a thrilling weekend. In other news, I'm completely irritated with "Survivor." It's one of my all-time favorite television shows. I have watched every single episode of every single season. And now they've decided to pull some sort of ratings stunt by dividing the tribes up by race. I'm pretty disgusted by this, because it's obviously some sort of ratings ploy to get people talking about the show (and of course it's worked - but not to the show's favor, in most cases) and it seems to me that this kind of programming belongs on Fox, not CBS. Lame, lame, lame, Mark Burnett. And I'm disgusted with you too, Probst.

a dog's life

So, today Jimmy and Junior went to their first ever day at doggy day care. But before you think I have officially crossed over the brink of insanity, let me explain:

Greg and I have had issues with finding/trusting/being satisfied with people watching our dogs. In our perfect world, a dog-lover who has nothing else to do with their day but sit in our house and watch our dogs would come over and stay at our house while we were away. We've tried having people stay at the house, or stop by several times throughout the day while we gone, with varying degrees of success.

We found someone to watch the pups here when we go to Cape Cod in two weeks for a few days, but then a semi-impromptu trip to New York came up. We're only going away for one night next weekend, but of course the first question is, "what are we going to do with the pups?"

If you know my pups, you know they are a handful. They are wonderful, and I love them, but they require a lot of attention. So we decided it was time to investigate boarding them. We did not want to take them to a typical kennel. Planet Bark (www.planetbark.com - do yourself a favor and check out this site!) had been recommended to us by several people, so Greg went by there a couple of days ago to check it out. Well, no dice - they were closed at lunchtime for two hours for "naptime and snacktime." We knew this was the place for us.

Planet Bark - which touts itself as being "West Hartford's luxury dog daycare and overnight resort" - has at least 50 dogs there every day for doggy day care. The schedule for the dogs includes morning playtime with friends, the aforementioned midday naptime and snacktime, and then afternoon playtime with friends. Their overnight accommodations might make you jealous -the evening concludes with dimming lights, soft music, and a belly rub.

Jimmy and Junior had their interview this morning, which was followed by their trial run - a day at doggy day care. Of course, because I'm a complete loser, I was worried all day. Worried they wouldn't have fun, worried they would miss us, worried that they would cause considerable damage to themselves, each other, other dogs, toys, people, whatever. Greg thought I was a total lunatic when I asked him if they looked sad when he dropped them off. "What would you rather do," he said, "sit in the kitchen all day or play all day with a bunch of dogs?" Touche.

We picked them up after work, and they got a good report card, except for the fact that Jimmy was a little nippy with dogs and people at first (shocker). They are completely exhausted - Junior fell asleep on the ride home, and they are both passed out on the couch now, which is a miracle, considering this is usually their most active time of night.

So next Saturday will be the true test - will the dogs survive their overnight stay, and will I be able to stop thinking about them long enough to have fun in New York?

walking

So I've started walking again. I know when I tell people that I walk for exercise, they think I take pleasant little strolls. I can tell you that it's a lot faster than that -I do about a 13 minute mile, which is pretty brisk for power walking, I think. It was almost seven years ago exactly that I started power walking before work every day, which (along with majorly restricting my diet) led me to lose approx. 70 lbs. I went almost every single day, no matter what the weather was. It took me about 10 months, and it was very gradual, but when it was all done, I felt awesome.

I kept up with the walking routine for probably a good year after that, but after I switched jobs and had to be in work two hours earlier, I didn't have the motivation to get up and do my routine. Slowly but surely, I stopped my walking, and soon after, started dating Greg.

Well, you know how it is when you start dating someone. You're eating a lot of meals out, you're totally focused on that other person, and all of my will power went straight out the window. Over the next year I gained back about 20 lbs. So I started it all up again, this time having to get up at 5:45 a.m., and guess what - I lost 30 lbs.

This year, I was doing pretty well with my routine up until I started working on the show this summer, and I found that I was so super busy I couldn't bear to get up at 5:45. So, I slacked off for the past couple of months. But last week, I was back. And once I really get into the schedule of it, I find that although I don't become addicted to it like some exercise enthusiasts (freaks!) will say, the guilt I feel if I so much as try to give myself an excuse not to go is enough to push me out of bed, into my sneakers, and out the door with my iPod.

All I want to do at this point is lose five lbs and tone up a bit. Wish me luck - and keep your fingers crossed that my 30-something metabolism doesn't kick me in the ass.

weekend review

OK, so I decided it would be a lot more interesting if I did weekend reviews instead of weekend updates on Fridays, because those are very vague and non-specific, and at least this way I can talk about things I've actually done, not things I plan on doing. So here we go.

Friday night: We went out to dinner with our friends Matt and Cathy to the Wood 'n Tap. I had myself a very delicious coconut mojito, which I decided is my favorite drink of summer '06. It was really nice, so we sat outside, and afterwards, Greg and I went home and caught up on some Daily Show and Colbert Report eps.

Saturday: Basically did some chores and things during the morning. Went to Borders to read the magazines as usual, and then went off to Lisa's at night. We brought the pups, and of course they were disruptive as all get-out, but they had a great time, especially Jimmy, who got to see his BFF Molly. It was a very fun night.

Sunday: Today we went sailing with a couple of Greg's business colleagues and their wives. It was the first time I was on a sailboat - pretty crazy, especially when you hit the bigger waves. We were soaked by the end, but it was fun. Hung out at the marina for a while, and then came home. Since then, I've been doing laundry and basically marveling at the fact that the weekend is already over. Bah humbug!

this is a test

This is only a test. Ignore, ignore, ignore.

boo

I'm sad right now, because I just finished reading Why Moms are Weird by Pamela Ribon - aka Pamie of pamie.com - and I have to say I didn't love it. I was so sure I would. I even waited to buy it until after the show was over so I could totally concentrate on it, because I was positive it would be one of the best reads of the summer for me. Not so much. I mean, I liked it, and it didn't suck or anything, but I love reading her blog so much more than I enjoyed reading the book. There were some touching moments in it, particularly when the character was talking about her father who had died, but other than that, I give it a resounding "eh."

I wanted to love it so much!

weekend update

Yeah, so compared to recent weekends, this one is going to be a little less jam-packed.

Friday: Work. After work, go to Heather's house to see how young Chase is doing. This is the first time I will see the baby since I saw him at the hospital. At night, we're going to dinner with some friends. Not sure where we are going. Any suggestions? I have some gift certificates I might dip into.

Saturday: I think it's supposed to be nice out, so maybe we will take the dogs to the reservoir. Oh, did I tell you? I'm exercising again, after a couple of months of being a lazy slacker. So maybe we'll hike around with the pups. At night, we have a fabulous get-together at Lisa's house. Yay!

Sunday: Really, not a whole hell of a lot. I think Greg said we'd go sailing with some of his colleagues. Yeah, sailing. I'm one of those people this weekend. Between you and me, I hope it rains like it's supposed to. I've got a lot of TiVo to catch up on.

consider the wall hit

I'm soooooooooo tired. I'm so tired I feel sick. Yet I'm not a person who naps, so I will have to wait it out til bedtime. God, I'm completely useless right now. I can't even write anything interesting. Oh well, here's another pic from the show. This is me and my friend Chris. We have worked on approximately one million shows together (or at least it feels that way.) He rocks.

happily ever after

Sigh. The show is over, and today I've got a touch of the post-show letdown, along with a very hearty dose of exhaustion, not to mention anxiety that I won't wake up when my alarm goes off at 330 in the morning (have to be at work at 430 tomorrow-eep!). The past two weeks have been absolutely insane, and this is the first evening I've been home in a very long time. So do you think I feel relief? No, of course not. I just feel a little blue that the whole journey is over. This was one of the most ambitious shows I've ever worked on, and the final product was fantastic. We got tons of great feedback, and had great audiences too. I absolutely adored this cast - they were extremely talented, bright and fun, and I hope to work with all of them again very soon. Plus, they gave me a huge bottle of pre-made margarita, so what's better than that?! However, stage managing and producing a show at the same time has made me think I should take a little bit of a theater break. Hmmm. Maybe 'til September....

The top pic is of some backstage shenanigans before the show with some of the cast. The pic below that is of some of my very favorite and talented theater people - Helen (director), Adrianne (cast), and Mike (music director).

the woods are just trees, the trees are just woods

It's that time again. The show opens tomorrow (oh wait - tonight! I'm up too late yet again.). We're ready as were ever gonna be. This week has been pure insanity. I don't even have the energy to write about it right now. All I'll say is this cast has put a s**tload of work into this show, and I'm proud of each and every one of them. And once again, it's been a crazy journey working with my theater peeps Helen, Mike, Chris, Lisa and Adi. I'm pretty psyched. We've got a really exciting weekend coming up.

I loved the latest entry on www.verbosecoma.com. Read what she has to say about the feelings you get when a show is over. She totally nailed it. I couldn't have said it better myself, so I won't try. Despite the manic summer, I know I'll have show letdown.

What can I say - I'm a nerd.

they don't call it hell week for nothin'

6:30 a.m.: Get up.
7:30 a.m.: Go to work.
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: Work.
4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.: Drive to Southington, find dinner, do any sort of chores/shopping/whatever needed for the show or my real life.
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.: Rehearsal. Drama, drama, drama.
10:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.: Rehash rehearsal. Go home. Do laundry, say hello to Greg and dogs, get things ready for next day.
11:30 p.m.(ish) - Go to bed.

Rinse, wash, repeat.

weekend update, August 4 (well, really 3) edition

OK, I'm doing this a little bit early, because I have some time right now and this is going to be a busy weekend.

Friday: Work. I know it's very thrilling for you to read that I'm going to work on Friday, as I do most every Friday, and really, most every Monday through Thursday too, but there you have it. While at work, I will be waiting to hear about Heather's baby. She has a c-section scheduled tomorrow and young Chase will make his entrance into the world at about 7:30 a.m. So I'm really excited about that! After work I will go shopping to pick up something fun for baby, and then later Greg and I will head off to visit at the hospital. After that, we'll probably get dinner.

Saturday: Chores and stuff, and then we have a cookout to go to in the afternoon. Will probably visit the hospital again; if not, we'll go on Sunday morning.

Sunday: Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, from noon to 10 p.m. That's a long ass time, but we need it, as it's the first day we're in the venue. We've got lots to do, and I guarantee the 10 hours will fly by.

Can't believe the show opens a week from tonight! Crazy. Anyway, have a good one.

I'm such a girl

I finally just finished watching Pride and Prejudice and I was very weepy at the end. I now have to go check imdb.com and see who the heck that dashing guy who played Mr. Darcy was. He's no Colin Firth, but still.

holy heat wave, batman

I was going to write an entry about how much I hate Mel Gibson right now, but my brain melted on the way home from work. So instead, I direct you to this very funny (and completely unrelated) segment of "The Colbert Report" where my favorite funnyman Stephen Colbert interviews CT's very own Ned Lamont. Go here and click on the three Ned Lamont interview segments.

It's hotter than Mark Ruffalo out there

So it's 11:52 p.m., and I just got back from rehearsal for my show. I will admit that I took a slight detour with some cast members to a Mexican place after rehearsal. But, seriously, it feels like it's still mid-afternoon out there. It's so hot and muggy and nasty-ass. Tomorrow it's supposed to get to 102. That's crazy hot. This evening we had our last rehearsal in the rehearsal hall (on Thursday we move to the school). The hall had been closed up for the past couple of days, and it was a good 20 degrees warmer in there than it was outside (which had to be around 90 when we started rehearsal). My point? Two dinky fans didn't quite do it in terms of relief. Mad props to the cast who sang and danced their way through the night despite the heat. That's show biz, I guess.

dog days of summer

I mean this literally, of course. Today was Jimmy and Junior's annual trip to my in-laws' boat. Actually, this was Jimmy's first trip down, and Junior's third.

We were a little apprehensive on how it would all go, especially since we had to stop the car three times on the hour drive down, twice to clean up Jimmy's puke and once to clean up some of Jimmy's poop (on my shorts!!! *^%!**@). By the time we got down to the marina, I was wondering if it might better for us just to take them for a walk around Essex instead. But we soldiered on.

To get to the boat, you have to walk on a series of docks, some of which are not very wide. Jimmy was fine with this, but as usual, Junior was not. Greg had to actually carry Junior across at one point. If you don't know, Junior is a hefty pup, weighing in at about 120. I thought we'd all end up in the ER for sure, or at least in the water.

Despite all of our issues actually getting on the boat, everyone had a great time on the ride. Jimmy got his sea legs right away, and I really don't think he's ever been so well behaved and so content. Even when the boat was speeding along pretty quickly, he was in his glory. Junior too. It's really fun to hear the reactions of other people on their boats when they see the pups, especially Junior. It's hilarious - like being with a celebrity.

After the boat ride, we all went for lunch and ice cream. Junior and Jimmy enjoyed their DQ very much (and half of mine too), and we managed to get home without any additional stomach upset. Now they are asleep on the floor and I have to head out to rehearsal. I wish I could take a nap with them too!

All in all, an excellent summer afternoon.

weekend update, July 28 edition

You guys, I'm so freaking tired. Just got back from rehearsal, so I'm too wired to sleep, but not wired enough to stay awake. It's a bad, bad place. So I decided to write my exciting weekend update. Here goes:

Friday: Work. After work, I have to go get some car wash supplies (see Saturday for details). Later, maybe Greg and I will use one of our many gift certificates for dinner. I am hoping to catch up on my TiVo, specifically, Project Runway.

Saturday: Workin' at the car wash....we are doing a car wash fundraiser for Southington Summer Stage at the Outback parking lot in Southington. Come on. You know you want to come down and have me clean your car in a way I never clean my own. And for only $5! What a bargain. After that madness, we've got Larry's birthday party in the evening. I suspect this will be one of the last, if not the last, time I see Heather before she has that baby.

Sunday: I am hoping that we are going down to Greg's parents' boat with the pups to take them on their annual boat ride. Well, for Junior it's the annual boat ride - for Jimmy, it will be his first ever boat ride. But it really depends on the weather and everyone's schedule. At night, I have a particularly long Woods rehearsal. With less than two weeks to go, every rehearsal is going to be particularly long. I can't believe the show is this close.

Have a good one!

make new friends, but keep the old

Oprah, you've done pissed me off. Here's why:

"I understand why people think we're gay," she said. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it — how can you be this close without it being sexual?"

This is the now-famed quote from Oprah, from an interview in her magazine, O, about her friendship with former Hartford-ite, Gayle King. Now, Oprah and Gayle have been bragging about their friendship - the bestity best best best friendship in the UNIVERSE - for a long time. And I think we can all recognize that having Oprah as a best friend puts Gayle in a pretty sweet position. And I'm not even doubting their friendship - they've been buddies for a really long time, long before one of them rocketed to global fame and became one of the richest people in the world.

But that quote drives me nuts! Because, yes, there is a definition in our culture for that kind of bond between women, Oprah - it's called "friendship." You don't own friendship. You didn't create it. Women have been close, in a non-sexual way, through the ages. It didn't start with you and Gayle.

And why do they have to make such a production out of it? I've had the same best friend for 25 years. We don't run around talking about it all the time. I think I'm lucky to still be friends with someone who I played Barbies with, struggled through our nerdy years with, went to college with, celebrated each other's weddings with, and who is now about to have her third child. We have supported each other through individual struggles, and have had many, many, many good times. She is the funniest person I know. But do we run around with our "best friends" necklaces and talk about how great we are because we are friends? No. I think I just consider myself lucky to have not only her, but a very great group of close friends, and that's that. No need to slap it on the cover of a magazine (not that anyone would care about my life).

I guess it just irks me that Oprah has become possessive about the whole concept of friendship now. Doesn't that woman have enough?

culture update

My reviews on what I've seen so far this weekend:

Clerks II - I liked it. I was so nervous that I wouldn't - it's kind of hard to live up to the hype that's been building for, what, 10 years? - but it was actually very amusing. The now-famed donkey part (the one that the USA critic was so upset about, so much so that he stomped out of the movie, muttering and sputtering, before it was over) was really gross, but I really liked a lot of the rest of it, and it really showed how far Kevin Smith has come, writing-wise. In the original Clerks, the writing was very stilted and non-conversational, but it was much more natural this time around. And some of the actors are now, well, acting. Some of it was also kind of smarmy and silly, but I wasn't disappointed overall.

Love, Valour, Compassion - Went to see this at Hole in the Wall last night (www.hitw.org), with Todd and Alan. I thought it was a really good show. As promised, it did feature a lot of nudity, and Alan purchased me an eye mask in case I couldn't handle it (I'm sure he will post a ridiculous picture of me with it on on his blog). But I'm happy to report that I was able to handle it. Anywho, the show, which clocks in at over three hours, moves along surprisingly quickly, and was very enjoyable and touching at points. Good job, Phil!

Prime - This is a supremely crappy movie starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. I Netflixed it and am regretting the two hours of my life I spent watching it. I'm not going to waste more time writing about it. I leave you with this - DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE.

I also Netflixed Pride and Prejudice, and am hoping to watch it today. I'll keep you posted.

weekend update, July 21 edition

How is it that it's almost the end of July? Where the hell has this year gone? Seriously. Anyway, it's only Thursday night, but I figure I'd do this now, since Lisa so looks forward to my weekend itineraries (I think because she realizes how lame I am and how much cooler she is than me).

Friday: Workity work work work during the day. Then I am hoping to get a pedicure because my feet need it. Tomorrow night we are supposed to go see an outdoors Hartford Symphony Orchestra concert. I am hoping that it rains. Can you believe I just said that? No, seriously, I'm sure it's going to be lovely, but if it rains, we are going to go see Clerks II instead. Later, I am hoping to stop by the Stonewell in Farmington, because a bunch of Into the Woods peeps will be doing karaoke, and I said I'd try to stop by.

Saturday: This is a very special day, because I get to see Todd and Alan at night. During the day, I'm sure we'll do chores, Borders run, Puppy Center visit, what have you. But at night - that's when the real fun starts, because I'm going out to dinner with Todd, Alan and Phil, and then Todd, Alan and I are working house at Hole in the Wall. We will also be seeing the show there that Phil directed, Love Valour, Compassion, which features NUDITY. It is sure to be a risque and delightful evening.

Sunday: Recovering from the NUDITY. Then a whole lotta I-don't-know-what, followed by a visit to my mother's and Woods rehearsal.

All weekend: Heather's baby watch. By which, I don't mean watch Heather's baby. I mean she's due any second now and I will be waiting for the call. Which probably won't come til next week, but you never know!

I don't care what they say anymore, this is my life

I just uttered the sentence: "Should I brush the dogs or wash Jimmy's ears first? I can't decide which direction I want my night to go."

My nights sure were more exciting a decade ago.

good book!

I just finished a really great book that I'd like to recommend to all of you blogsters out there. It's Faye Kellerman's Straight into Darkness. I love Faye Kellerman - she has a series of murder mysteries with the same detective character that I really enjoy - but this book was a little different, set in an entirely different timeframe with different characters. It takes place in Munich in 1929, as Hitler was coming to power. It's got a lot of German words to it, so (unless you speak German) it might be a little difficult to follow at first, but it gets a lot easier as it goes. The history of it is really horrifying - to see how a young Hitler begins to win over the Germans and create such hate against the Jews - but it is a very worthy read, both disturbingly educational (for myself, who does not know as much about 1920s-1930s Germany as I should) and also has an entertaining murdery mystery to it. And if you like it, check out her other books, as well as the books of her husband, Jonathan Kellerman, who I've been reading for years.

PS - See, I don't always read happy books.

cruel summer

Sons of bitches, it's hot out there today. And we are definitely supposed to exceed tomorrow's record of 97. Ouchie! Stay hydrated, kids.

uuuuuuggggghhhhhaaaaccccckkkkkkk

Yeah. That's about how you feel after a long day yesterday that included an ER trip for Greg (his ear is messed up, still no real idea what's wrong-he has to go to his regular doc tomorrow - but he'll live) and then the big show last night. It went really really well - there were times it was so packed in there you couldn't even breathe, and there were definitely a lot of, oh, how you say, characters there, include a bunch of very young chicks that were dancing in Greg's face - but we didn't get out of the bar until after 2. Navigating the streets (I drove with another girl) of Hartford as the bars are emptying out, with the streets literally teeming with drunken fools (the male half of which feel like they have every right in the world to taunt any girl walking by, even if she's an old lady like me), was not easy. Also, there was the obligatory trip to Denny's after all of the equipment was unloaded at Casa Guay. By the time my stuffed-with-fried-cheese-self came home, walked the dogs, and went to bed, the sun was rising. I didn't have one drink last night (I was desperately trying to avoid having to use the Federal bathroom) and yet I still feel like complete and utter hell. But it was a good show, and I'm happy for Greg. Rock on!

Weekend update, July 14 edition

And, without further ado, here is a fairly boring list of stuff I may or may not do this weekend! Try not to fall asleep.

Friday: Well, I just got home early from work, and read my friend Alan's blog. I convinced him to start a blog, and a handy-dandy link is on the side of this page, so check him out! Tonight Greg and I will surely eat, because that's pretty much all we do, and then maybe we will see a movie. I'm thinking possible that You, Me and Dupree movie, but, God, it doesn't even look that good. There are so few good movies out these days. It's pathetic.

Saturday: AKA KERMIT THE BAND day. Greg's band will be performing Saturday night, so I'm sure all day Saturday will revolve around stressing about/preparing for the big gig. PLEASE COME. I beg you. They are quite good, I swear! I need someone to hang out with. We'll be at the Federal Cafe. I'll buy you a drink. I'll buy you TWO drinks.

Sunday: Recovery from the gig. Even though I'm not in the band, the whole thing involves a certain amount of recovery for everyone involved. I have Woods rehearsal at night, and before that, I will probably go to my mom's.

All weekend: Sweating my arse off. It's supposed to be steamin' hot!

Guilty pleasures

After chatting with Beth today (who does not have a DVD player or full cable), I started thinking about how I would be miserable without my DVD player, and my cable, and lots of other little niceties that make my daily living pleasurable. So, without further ado, here are my top five guilty (or not - I don't feel guilty about them -maybe I mean superficial?) pleasures:

1) TiVo. This is in the number one spot for a reason. TiVo has changed my television watching forever. Now I can speed through a half hour show in 20 minutes, an hour-long show in 40 minutes, and never ever have to watch commercials. Sure, you could do this before with VCRs, but let's face it - those things never record right, you always have to buy new tapes, and I could never set it up to tape the whole season of Lost (first-run episodes only, and it doesn't matter if they change the day it airs to say a Tuesday instead of the regular Wednesday) with just a few quick clicks of a button. I feel like TiVo is part of my family. Maybe I will have it sign my Christmas cards this year. I could seriously go on and on about TiVo.

2) Netflix. You know when there are movies you want to see, but maybe you feel a little silly about it? Take The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel. Because my Netflix agreement is a monthly charge, three movies at a time, no limit per month deal, there is really no drawback to adding a movie like The Pacifier to my queue. And, when it arrives, having it sit near the DVD player for a couple of weeks, unplayed, only to be sent back, unwatched. Because, really - why would I ever want to see The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel? Hypothetically speaking, of course. Anyway, Netflix allows me to be super-finicky about my movie choices, and see all the movies I refuse to see in the theaters (because of the commercials - why do they show commercials at the movies!? This enrages me). I digress.

3) Gossip magazines, specifically US Weekly, In Touch, Life and Style, and People. Every weekend, Greg and I head to Borders, get some delicious mochas, and sit and read the magazines. The above mentioned magazines are the first in my pile. I am such a celebrity gossip whore. I can't get enough of what's going on with Jen and Vince, Brad and Angelina, Jen and Brad, Angelina and Jen - you get my drift. I don't think of myself as a complete idiot, and I do read a lot of books, but I heart these magazines so much. Maybe because they help me realize how much I don't want to be a celebrity.

4) Speaking of reading, the fourth item on my list is what they officially call "women's contemporary literature," but I like to call "chick lit." You know, those books of the Bridget Jones' Diary variety, not the romance novels with the big, chest-heaving Fabios on the cover (which I can proudly say I have never read, save for a couple of Judith Krantz books in college). Anway, I love authors like Jane Green, Lynda Curnyn, Lisa Jewell, Emily Giffin, Jennifer Weiner...I could go on and on. Don't worry -I read other stuff too. Right now I'm reading a book about Hitler-era Germany! Definitely not in the chick-lit category, unless the story takes a surprising turn.

5) Last, but not least, is my hobby of singing along to showtunes. I. Can. Not. Sing. You wouldn't believe how much I cannot sing, unless you've had the misfortune of actually hearing me. This is my great tragedy. For a person who loooooooves musicals (not as much as I love plays, but still) it seems completely unfair that I am so talent-free that I have no place even appearing in the chorus of one of these shows. But put me in my car with the stereo blasting, and I'm starring in Rent, Tick, Tick...Boom, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - the list goes on and on. Hey, if I turn the volume up high enough, I can't even hear the wretched noise I make.

All of this is not to say that I'm a superficial person. And if you know me, I'm hoping you can agree. But we all need the little things to get us through the day, and these are some of mine. Let the making fun commence.

I'm no fashionista.....

...but I love love love "Project Runway," which premieres tonight on Bravo! (Beth, this is a channel you get with cable.) For those of you who know me (and I assume pretty much anyone reading this knows me), I'm not exactly topping the fashion risk chart. I consider myself a commanding officer of the Gap/Old Navy/flip-flips army. Sometimes I slide even lower on the scale of high fashion, like right now, for instance: I'm wearing an old DQ t-shirt (from my ice cream-slinging days) and pink and white striped pj bottoms. HOT.

I think that's one of the reasons why I love this show. It takes a bunch of fairly-to-very talented designers, and puts them in a competition to show a line of clothing during Fall Fashion Week in New York. Heidi Klum is the host, and I gotta tell ya, I love her, not to mention the snarky Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and most especially, Tim Gunn. Plus, I love to watch people excel in an area where I am completely talent-free (which may explain why I also love "Hell's Kitchen" and "Top Chef" as well).

Check it out. Even if you hate reality television (Alan), you may love this. Give it a shot. It's worth it, I promise.

save a few hours of your life, and don't read this book

I read the book The Washingtonienne by Jessica Culter last week. It's, like, seriously bad. In real life, the author worked in Washington on Capitol Hill, slept around with a bunch of political-types, blogged about it, and then got fired because she was blogging on work time. It was a bit of a scandal a couple of years ago. Basically, the book is a fictionalized account of that part of her life. I thought the book sucked. I thought it was poorly written, and there is no way I'm going to buy another one of her books, if she actually gets published again. I hope she made the most of her extended 15 minutes, because she's a one-trick pony, if ever I saw one. For a better account of all that happened, go to Wonkette.com, and do a search on her name and also "The Washingtonienne" (which was the name of her blog). So much better than the book, and it's free!

Back to work (sigh)

Well, the hours are winding down on my big summer vacation. Can't complain too much - the weather was pretty good - great this weekend, in fact - and I got a lot of hang time with my pups. This afternoon I'm going to a birthday party for twin five-year-olds (one of which is my godson) and tonight I have Woods rehearsal, and then it's back to work tomorrow. And, God, do I have a lot to do when I get back.

One recommendation from my week off is the book The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank (Or is it Banks? I'm too lazy to go in the other room and check. Same chick who wrote The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing.). Anyway, it was a really good book. I flew through several books this week, and that was the best one, by far.

weekend update

Well, here we go!

Today (Friday): I'm off to the beach in a little bit. Finally the weather has cooperated. Sweet! I'm just going down with my towel and my book, and I'm sure after a few hours I will feel very guilty about spending so much time in the sun and I will leave. Tonight I'm hanging with Greg, but I'm not sure what we're doing.

Saturday: I'm going to a cookout at my friend Ethan's house. I'm pretty psyched because I get to see a bunch of my old newspaper friends who I haven't seen in a really long time.

Sunday: Not too much during then day, then we're off to Connor and Cole's birthday party, after which I have rehearsal. Oh, did I tell you the improv show I was doing was canceled? Yeah, we'll do it at some point in the future, but the first booking was canceled. In part, I'm relieved, because it was getting confusing doing two shows at once. But I feel badly for my friend who is producing it. Oh well, I think there's another one coming up in September.

That's all! Have a good one.

Greetings from...here.

So, even though I am taking the lamest of all lame vacations - a week at, well, home - I have to say it's still pretty sweet. And even though the weather isn't panning out as it promised - we were supposedly supposed to have a week's worth of sunshine, yeah right, but hey, at least it hasn't poured all week - I'm still having fun. Since the party on Tuesday, I've pretty much spent the bulk of my time on my back deck, enjoying the warm, albeit mostly cloudy, weather. I was going to go to the beach today, but because the forecast shifted, I'm just hangin' here with my dogs. I think I'll go tomorrow instead. Oh, so far this week I did get an oil change and I went to emissions, and....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....sorry, I just fell asleep writing my own boring blog entry. I guess, to make a long story short (too late!), I just wanted to say it's been relaxing. Wish you were here!

Bang!

So, yesterday's Fourth of July party was quite a success, if I do say so myself. Some highlights:

*The return of Flannery!
*Lisa's dee-licious Jell-o shots (which were polished off after she left)
*The massive fireworks display masterfully put on by Greg, Rob and Dimitry
*The kids' artwork on my driveway and front walkway
*The food, glorious food!
*Hanging out with friend and family
*The petting zoo downstairs - and the fact that Connor and Cole will probably repeat "poopy puppy" about a million times over the next week, since they were so entertained when I said it
*And last, but certainly not least - the fact that it didn't rain! Yeah! Especially considering it rained like a bitch elsewhere in the state.

I'm spoiled (or, my life without air conditioning)

I have always had central air conditioning. We had it in my house growing up, and I had air conditioning in most of my apartments (except for the Hartford apartment, or, what I like to call the ninth ring of hell). Anyway, our AC died last night. I am waiting at home for the guy to come and hopefully fix it. In the meantime, It's hotter than a monkey's butt out there, and I've got over 40 people coming to my house tomorrow - which is supposed to be a combo scorcher with thunderstorms. I'm trying to be Zen about the weather - really, what can I do if it rains? - but I have my fingers crossed and am praying to the weather gods that it stays dry, at least for most of the day!

But I am now happy, because I read that Lisa is making Jello shots for the party. YES.

ETA: The AC is fixed! Thank you, Jesus. And, more specifically, thank you Dale, the AC guy.

Also - now they are saying possible HAIL tomorrow? WTF?!?

The Devil Wears Prada

This was a good movie. I really enjoyed it. It stuck true to the book in many ways - although in other ways, it totally didn't -but overall, it was a really good chick flick. Meryl Streep was awesome, and Anne Hathaway really reminded me of Julia Roberts. She's so pretty! I want to look like Anne Hathaway. Sigh.

In other news, it's dang hot out today! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather on Tuesday.

weekend update, Fourth of July version

Wahoo! I'm off of work for a week. Yay! Here's what's up this weekend:

Friday: I am going to get my hair cut in an hour. I need it soooo bad. My bangs are driving me nuts. Then we're going to dinner at Pastis with Al and Lisa. We have gift certificates, and the place is closing tomorrow. Am I worried about what kind of food will be served in its final hours? You betcha. But it's free!

Saturday: Must get up very early and clean the house. Not only are we having a Fourth of July shindig on Tuesday, but we are now having a houseguest beginning Sunday, so the cleaning frenzy must begin. Those of you with dogs know that anything I clean will be undone it about five seconds, but a girl's gotta try. Then in the afternoon I am going to my friend Heather's family Fourth (actually First) of July party. They do this every year, and since I'm a pseudo member of their family, I go. It's usually a lot of fun - I'm quite looking forward to it. Tomorrow night I'd really love to go see The Devil Wears Prada, because I loved the book and I need to see a good chick flick right now.

Sunday: More cleaning. Perhaps doing the food shop for the party. Dimitry will arrive. I have to do some theater stuff in the a.m., and then we have Into the Woods rehearsal in the p.m. I am going to stop by my mom's at some point as well.

That's the weekend. Have a great one, folks!

It's an honor just being nominated

Although the number one and number two pups of all time, Junior and Jimmy, did not make the final six in Old Navy's search for a new mascot, it's still worth checking out the finalists over at www.oldnavy.com/magic. My money's on Cooper - something about that pup just makes me smile. So go over there and vote! You only have until July 7, I believe.

free time

I'm not a person who schedules a lot of free time in my life. For someone without kids, my life seems incredibly insane most of the time, mostly due to various theater projects, friend and family obligations, and of course, work. So having a free night is a somewhat rare thing. Usually, when I do have a free night, I have to catch up on the many hours of TV I Tivoed that week. But now that it's summer, my Tivo is on a bit of a break. Sure, I'm still recording "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," as well as Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List," among other things. But overall, my TV obligations have decreased dramatically over the past few weeks.

I'm discovering that that is a good thing. Now, I'm not knocking TV - and you will never hear me do that - but it's truly amazing how much free time I feel I have when I'm not watching it. Take tonight, for example. Now, tonight wasn't technically a free night - I had rehearsal for Into the Woods - but I was able to leave early, around 7:45. Since then, I went to Target to pick up some kids' toys for our Fourth of July fiesta, I played outside with the dogs for quite a while, chatted with the neighbors, did some laundry, caught up on my blog-reading, and now I'm writing this. And it's only 9:18! Amazing! Oooh...speaking of which, I really miss "The Amazing Race".....well, September is right around the corner.

What the dog did

For those of you who have to listen to me in real life, you probably think this entry is about Jimmy's latest back-to-back trips to the emergency vet. But I'm so exhausted by all of that drama I don't feel like writing about it. So instead, I'm here to 100% wholeheartedly recommend the book What The Dog Did by Emily Yoffe. It just came out in paperback, and it's the story of a self-proclaimed "reluctant dog owner." At the constant begging of her daughter, she adopted a rescue beagle named Sasha for her family. I was laughing my arse off for the first three quarters of the book. Seriously making a scene of myself in Borders, where I bought it and started to read it. Greg was embarrassed, I think. But it hit home so much, and explained a whole lot about my dog Jimmy (who is half beagle). There are a few sad bits (don't worry, Sasha is still alive at the end; Emily, just talks about some other people's sad experiences - but she gets through them quickly) but overall it was really informational, and most importantly, hi-freaking-larious. I don't think you have to have a dog to truly appreciate this book, but it probably helps. I read a whole lotta books, and this is by far the best one I've read this year. Go buy it now!

another opening, another show

Sorry I haven't been blogging too regularly. It's been quite busy, what with an eye infection (me) and an emergency trip to the vet resulting in a big 'ol pink bandage (Jimmy). But tonight I get to go to the first rehearsal for the show I will be stage managing this summer, Into the Woods. I am so psyched. This is the summer theater group that I helped out with last summer, for college and post-college-aged people. It's a really great group and casting went so well last week that I think we are going to have a phenomenal show. I love this part, the part before we even start, where we can hope that everything will go smoothly, and there will be no problems, and hundreds of people will come see all of our work. Here's hoping it all comes true.

weekend update

Lisa requested that I do a weekend update. So here it is. First of all, may I just say I am so happy it's Friday? This week has sucked the life out of me. So here is what I am doing:

Tonight: I have been peer-pressured into seeing X-Men 3 by Greg and Heather. So off we will go, with Larry too, to see this movie I already hate. I don't see comic book movies, but I don't want to be a party pooper. So instead I will complain about it the whole time! Oh, OK, I'll try not to. Anyway, before that we are going to dinner. This is big doings because with twin boys and another boy on the way in a matter of weeks, Heather and Larry don't go out too much.

Tomorrow: I will watch with glee as 6 inches of rain fall on our lovely state. If by glee I mean all-consuming anger, and if by lovely I mean God-forsaken. This wretched state is cursed, I say. I have to do some shopping and some chores and stuff. I really don't have anything much planned for tomorrow, can ya tell?

Sunday: I have a thing to go to in the afternoon, and then I have improv rehearsal at night. I'm sorry Lisa - I'm so boring this weekend!

this week sucks @ss

Which is why I haven't blogged in a while.

Steamy!

It's the three H's today - hazy, hot and humid. I LOVE IT!

Bring it, summer. I'm ready.

weekend

OK it's the weekend. Why do I feel the need to itemize what I do on the weekends? I have no idea. But here goes:

Friday: I went to work, and then hung out with Greg and watched our Netflixed "Entourage" season 2 DVDs. Well, not all of them, but a pretty good chunk. Went out to dinner w/some friends later.

Saturday: Today we are doing yardwork. I am not one of those people who gets any sense of joy out of yardwork. For me it's a necessity, only so that the neighbors don't talk about us for having a shitty yard. Greg is currently cutting down two small trees in our front yard, which will improve things markedly, I think. I should be out there helping, and I will be, just as soon as I finish this. Not sure what we are doing tonight, because we cannot agree on a movie (he wants to see Superman; I don't. I gave up comic book movies a long time ago, as a result of another relationship in which half of us was comic-book focused. Hint: it wasn't my half). We'll figure something out, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be glamorous.

Sunday: It's supposed to be hot as a mo-fo tomorrow. Like, 97 degrees or something like that. We are going down to the beach to celebrate Father's Day with Greg's parents. I will probably be somewhat blue about the holiday - but perhaps I will be fine. This is the seventh Father's Day I have not been able to celebrate. So strange how time flies sometimes. Anyway. Then tomorrow night I have to go audition someone for Into the Woods who cannot make it to auditions next week because he'll be away.

And with that, my friends, I'm off to the yard.

I'm not even supposed to BE here today

(Did anyone get my Clerks reference? Because, you know, BEST MOVIE EVER.)

Anywho, I kind of make it a policy not to talk about my job on this blog. But two really great things happened that I wanted to touch upon:

1) I got a promotion!

2) Drinking games.

That is all.

The pups (because I never post pictures of them!)

Jimmy, the one-nut wonder

Well, I have to drop Jimmy off at the vet tomorrow to get fixed. And of course, because I'm a tried-and-true sap, I'm emotional about it. I know you have to get your pets fixed; it's the right thing to do. Also, it's probably the most common procedure that vets do on dogs. But I'm nervous. Because Jimmy is a true original, only one of his, uh, beans has descended, so they are going to have to go in and find the other one. This, I hear, is also fairly common. But the poor pup is going to be down for the count for a little bit. I feel so bad! OK - tell me I'm a loser now.

ETA: The patient is home and as good as new! Well, except for the lack of desire to hump his brother.

Playin' hooky.

Aw yeah, party people, I'm skipping work tomorrow! OK, not really. I mean, I have already told work I won't be there tomorrow, and I'm using one of my vacation days, so it's not like I'm calling in "sick" or anything. But yay - the weather is supposed to be great, and so I'm just going to sit my arse down on the back deck and read and enjoy the sunshine and actually celebrate that summer is here (well, at least this week, anyway). Wahoo! I can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday.

Theater dork alert!

The Tony Awards start in 45 minutes. I have my fingers crossed for The Drowsy Chaperone and Awake and Sing (starring my boyfriend, Mark Ruffalo, who is also nominated for an award). It's a big night!

ETA: Nobody wants me to actually see the Tonys tonight. First a bird flew into the house and created much chaos, and then Jimmy somehow covered himself in poop outside and I had to give him an improptu bath in the sink. He used to fit in there fine when he was 5 pounds, but at 20 pounds, not so much. So now he smells like wet dog (because, well, he is a wet dog) and he's running around like a loon, as if the bird didn't excite the pups enough. Also, Mark Ruffalo didn't win best featured actor, but he still looks hot. And Awake and Sing won for best revival of a play. Drowsy is doing well too. Thank God I have Tivo or I would have completely missed all of this.

C'mon, book people!

This is fantastic. Those of you who love Pamie and Glark should love this too. They are raising money to provide books to libraries devastated by Katrina. Even though most of us here in the Northeast don't think about that hurricane anymore, there are many, many people who are still affected by its aftermath every single day. Come on peeps - crack open your wallets and supply some books to some fellow book lovers! (I'm partial to the libraries whose children's sections were completely destroyed. Because I think I was a child the last time I was in a library when I didn't owe a late fee.)

In other news - what in the hell? There's a glowing orb in the sky! What could that be? And I'm going to an outdoor wedding today - how did this manage to work out correctly? I don't need an umbrella or anything! Wahoo! I'm very happy for our blushing bride Christy, because I would have been shi**ing bricks all week watching it rain every single day.

That ain't right.

The restaurant where Greg and I had our first date has been completely demolished. It's just sitting there now in a big pile. What does that mean? Best not to read into it, methinks.

Breakin' up is hard to do

Just saw the movie The Break Up. It sucked monkey ass. Don't see it. There are about two funny parts in it, the ending is not satisfying, and I felt uncomfortable the whole time because the movie is basically Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn fighting. If I want to hear a couple fighting, I'll pick a fight with Greg and I won't have to pay $9 to listen to it.

It's the weekend.

Couldn't really sleep last night, so my weekend is starting earlier than normal (I'd rather be sleeping right now.)

So, as usual, this is a busy one. Today I'm off to work, of course, and then tonight I'll be going out with Heather, Shelly and Maryann - yay! We're going out to dinner and then going to see The Break Up, which I know is going to suck but I still want to see anyway. What can I say - I'm hopelessly addicted to chick flicks.

Tomorrow I'll be doing the usual chores and stuff, and then tomorrow night I'm going to dinner with my friends Todd and Alan, and then the three of us will head off to Hole in the Wall Theater to work house and watch the show, Loot, that my friend directed and Flannery's fiance is in.

Sunday I am going to my friend Christy's wedding, which I am very excited about, particularly because Sunday marks the first day the sun is supposed to come out in a week. Isn't it supposed to be summer now? And Sunday night I'll be planted in front of the TV watching my favorite awards show of the year - the Tonys. I mentioned I'm a big-time theater nerd, right?

Have a good one!

Truthiness

I have a big nerdy crush on Stephen Colbert. I love love love "The Colbert Report," and the fact that some right-wingers actually think he's serious makes me love it (and him) even more. Check out this transcript of a commencement speech he made at a college in Illinois last weekend:

http://www.knox.edu/x12547.xml

You talkin' to me?

Tonight I got to act like a spoiled, obnoxious, bratty New York mob princess. And it was awesome. This is why I love to do theater - it lets me act like a beeyotch on purpose!

Deal or No Deal

What the F is up with this show? I always see the tail end of it when I'm waiting for The Apprentice to start, and I just don't get it. Right now I'm watching people screaming at a girl who is being harrassed by Howie Mandel and Celine Dion to make a deal or no deal. Yes, that's right - Celine Dion. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

My rock star life.

Lest anyone who reads this actually think I'm cool, let me give a snapshot of my big Monday night:

I just changed into my after-work ensemble, which includes pink striped sleeping pants from Old Navy and a t-shirt that says (in a very klassy way, mind you) "I do it in Hartford." Sweet. I am also sporting a fake tattoo that I put on today at work (mostly because I have more team spirit than anyone else, Flannery and Beth) that I completely forgot about until I was changing. It's the logo for the Broadway show Bklyn (coming to a theater near you!) and lemme tell ya, it's hot. Hope I remember to wash it off before work tomorrow. Anyway, I'm playing online and avoiding learning my lines (yes, still) and the big exciting focus of my night is the Apprentice finale, because it will feature my very very favorite band, Barenaked Ladies.

Who's cooler than me? Oh yeah. Everyone.

Procrastinator

Must. Go. Learn. My. Lines.

Why do I keep putting this off? Why can I learn a million lines for one show, but then when I have to learn much less for another show, I keep coming up with other things to do?

That's it, I'm going to do this now. No excuses. Right this second.

I wonder what's on TV?

All wet.

So we did Relay for Life last night. I was there from about 4 p.m. to just before midnight, when we decided to collapse the canopy (collapse=destroy, in this case) and head home. I don't think I've ever been so wet in my life. Yes, because Connecticut's new slogan is "The Rainy State," it was pouring last night as we made lap after lap around the track. I soaked a t-shirt, two sweatshirts, my shorts, and most especially, my socks and sneakers. Oh yeah, and my Red Sox hat. I think the whole pile is still dripping. I'm sooo tired today too, but we had fun and many laughs, and it was all for a worthy cause.

And right now I'm rewarding myself with my four Tivoed episodes of The Office. God, I love this show!

Weekend!

And we survived another work week (barely, after last night's festivities!). Anyway, here's what's up for me:

Today: Heading out to Relay for Life (a 24-hour relay to benefit the American Cancer Society) in a little bit. Unfortunately, it's going to rain, but Relay stops for nothing! I plan on earning all of the generous donations people gave by walking miles and miles and miles and miles (remember that Proclaimers song? 500 Miles? Yeah, it'll be like that). I plan on staying until the wee hours.

Tomorrow: Recover from Relay! And do general chores. And go over my lines for the show. And pick up the Into the Woods dvd from Mike to see what show I've gotten myself into for the summer. And then go hang with my girls Heather and Cheryl.

Sunday: Oh this is gonna be a very glamorous day - dropping off a dvd to Rich (Supertroopers - I didn't watch it - I should've, huh?) and going to cleanup at our theater hall. It needs a major cleaning/purging of props, set stuff, costumes, etc.

Who's jealous? Anyone else doing anything fun?

Cosmos + me = tipsy

I had three Cosmos tonight at an event here that is modeled after American Idol. My sister is involved with it, so I went down to check it out. And now I'm waay tipsy after several Cosmos. So, if you're in the CT area, and you want a strong Cosmo, go to Zen Bar in Farmington. YIKES.

Ouchie!

I just drove home in the most frightening thunderstorm I've ever seen. Actually, it was the incessent lightning that was freaking me out. It was non-stop! When I drove up my street, I saw a tree that had been knocked down onto my neighbor's car. Our grill was pushed 3/4 of the way across our porch, almost right through the other side. Mother Nature's pissed about something!