Sunday, September 20, 2009

Well hey there..


It's sure been a while, hasn't it? Wanna know something sucky? I just spent a good bit of time typing up this blog, and then Firefox froze on me, so I wasn't able to actually publish it. Now I'm rewriting it, great. I've been meaning to update for a while now, but I've been too infatuated with the picture of Zooey Deschanel in the last post at the top of my page to want to post anything that would lower her out of my site line. Yup, that's it. Obviously. Or it could be that I just had so much to say and I knew that it would take me forever to write a post about everything that I've been doing. You know what, I'm going to say that it's probably more so the second option.

That being said, here I am. I'm back in New York City. The summer seemed to drag on forever, and yet it seemed to fly by. See, I had to get up at the crack of dawn every morning to work at the YMCA, and all of those little kids just shouting things at me and misbehaving.. it was greeeeat fun. Please not the sarcasm in that, as it is not always apparent through the internet. Thank you. That being said, it also seems like I was home in Maryland just yesterday. I was so excited to get back to school, but now I am also excited to come home to visit. That'll be some time soon, I should think.

Right now, it's about 12:30 AM. I'm sitting in my dorm room, overlooking the streets of Manhattan in the sleepy little Financial District of New York City. Everything around here closes around 8:00 PM, so there isn't much nightlife in this part of town. I didn't really have anything else to do, so I thought, why not make a blog? It sure has been a little while, and I really have been meaning to update.

So, I moved in about twoish weeks ago, I think. I say I think because I can't really remember. Time is sort of a blur to me, really. I keep track of what day it is for the most part, but I can't really be bothered with silly things like the month or date. Who needs to know those things? Anyway, I move into my little dorm room, and I now live with two other guys. I shouldn't say little though, because my dorm room is much bigger than last year. Last year, I lived in a space suitable for a terrorist in Guantanamo Bay, but this year, my room is much bigger. It's nice too, we have our own bathroom and little kitchen area. The only downside? Bunkbeds. I really don't like them. Children are severely misguided when they opt to have bunkbeds. As their brains develop, they will realize just how stupid they were for begging for them. Being on the top bunk, you are presented with the constant fear that you are going to fall off, hit the ground, and die. Death by post-matress shock. Living on the bottom bunk, you sleep in a constant state of fear, as you worry whether or not the person on the top (who just may be larger than you) is going to fall through and land on top of you, smothering you under their weight and their mattress. There really is no middle ground. Either way, bunkbeds will kill you. For your information though, I opted for the bottom bunk. For those of you interested in what my room looks like:















It's a little bare in these pictures, but I have put up a lot more stuff since taking them.

So yeah, that's the room. It's no Taj Mahal, but it's alright. I wouldn't want to live in the Taj Mahal anyway, all that gold is extremely tacky. Who designed that thing? Elton John? Probably not. So, school's been going well so far. I take Playwriting, Scene Study, Introduction to Foreign Relations, Math for Life, and Voice and Movement. Math for Life is online luckily, so I never have to show up for it. The only problem there being that if I am lost, there isn't anyone to ask for help. Except for google. Google is pretty helpful. He's a good guy. Playwriting is a really fun class. I'm enjoying it a lot. We've been doing these little exorcises that have been helping a lot. I've actually been meaning to post them, because I think that they are pretty fun. One of our assignments was that we had a minute to write dialogue between two characters, and I chose John Wilkes Booth and Abe Lincoln. It had to start with the line, "You can't do that!" So I did this:


A. JOHN

Hey, you can't do that!

B. LINCOLN

Why can't I?

A.

Because, I just shot you in the head.

B.

So what?

A.

So you can't just get back up after I shot you in the head.

B.

Why not?

A.

Because you have a big gaping hole.

B.

True.

A.

There's blood gushing everywhere.

B.

No kidding.

A.

You should be dead.

B.

Yeah, isn't that a bitch?

A.

How about I shoot you again?

B.

You could do that, but it wouldn't be very nice.

A.

Of course it's not very nice, I'm trying to kill you!


So yeah, those are the kinds of things that we do. It's a lot of fun, and it really forces you to think creatively, and fast. That's as much as I could write in one minute, but I am sure as time go forward, I'll be able to think even more spontaneously. I'm actually going to give you one more of the assignments that we had. At the end of class, she had us write dialogue between two characters. What we had to do, was write dialogue between two characters. They were driving in a warm car while it was raining outside. One turns to the other and begins to say something, but then stops. We had to pick it up from there. This is what I wrote.

A.

We talked it over, we both agreed that this is the best choice for us right now.

B.

I know, but don't you feel like we could be making a mistake? This one little thing is going to completely change our lives forever.

A.

We don't have the money to care for it.

B.

So you're talking about him like he's an object?

A.

Don't you dare say that. I can't believe you.

B.

Well I can't believe your choice of words just then.

A.

I'd prefer to not humanize it. I just don't want to think of it as a living creature.

B.

You really are a piece of work, you know that?

A.

Oh come on.

B.

No seriously. You know what? This is sick. This is something that's going to be with us our entire lives, and you just want to brush it off like it's nothing.

A.

I'm not brushing it off like it's nothing. WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY. This was the best plan.

B.

The best plan shouldn't involve having to ending a life.

A.

I'm not happy about it, so can you please just stop blaming me? Do you think I'm proud of this? I've woken myself up at nights just sweating thinking about it. I really wish that we could keep him. You have no idea what it's like for me. I've never had to deal with this situation before.

B.

Look, I'm sorry. Maybe it was the best idea. You're right, we couldn't afford him, he was taking up too much room, and can you imagine all the whining?

A.

Right.

B.

Anyway, this looks like a good spot. No one will ever find your father's body all the way out here.


So yeah, the joke of the scene is that it's not about abortion at all, but rather about murder. Witty, I know, thank you. So yeah, classes have been fun. No complaints so far. However, as soon as I have them, I know that I'll probably be griping to you all.

Moving on, I have some really good news. I auditioned for the mainstage shows here, and I got in! It's a really good thing, because like everyone auditions for them, and I therefore did not expect to get cast. I'm going to be playing Uncle Pino in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. I literally have ONE line. "I believe, because it is absurd! It is certain because it is impossible!" Hah, that's it! That's my line! I'll start memorizing right away! I'm certainly not complaining though. I consider myself very lucky to have gotten in at all. PLUS, I am the understudy for the roles of Pontius Pilate and Simon the Zealot. I've been told that there will be two understudy performances, so I guess that means I'll be getting a performance as each character, which is great because they are both fairly large roles. Also, I get to say amazing lines such as, "I mean, after all brotha', it aint like we lookin' to crucify the muthahfuckah!" Gooood stuff. I've never been an understudy before, so I know I'm gonna have to bust my butt doing that. I'm really looking forward to doing it, it's going to be a true learning experience. I'm extremely excited for the show, and it opens in November at Schaeberle Studio in 41 Park Row. Come see it!

Okay, well, I think I'm going to wrap it up now. Yeah, I have more to talk about, but I think that I'll leave it for a later time. How about I just leave you with a check list of things that I've done so far? Sound good? No? Screw you, I'ma do it anyway

  • Got into Last Days of Judas Iscariot.
  • Went to see Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova in concert, met them, got a picture and guitar pick.
  • Met Jesse L. Martin, the original Tom Collins in RENT and star of Law and Order, and got a picture with him.
  • Bought some apple cider and a meaaan (in a good way) baguette.
  • Saw Extract, it was so-so.
  • Ate White Castle at the joint for the first time. Made me sick for three days. Great coming it.. explosive coming out.
  • Sat around in my room in a stupor of self loathing.
  • Played guitar.
  • Went to see The Toxic Avenger Off-Broadway starring Diana DeGarmo from American Idol. Fantastic, and hilarious.
  • Started making up a Christmas list.
  • Made food like every night, and therefore have gained in the cooking of cheap food department.
  • I feel like there is a lot more that I've done, but it's slipping my mind right now, so I'll get back to you.
Okay ladies and gents, there you have it. This has been long, right? What did I tell you? I warned you. You didn't want to listen, and that's your own fault. Shmuck. Hey listen, could you leave a comment though? I'd appreciate that.

Oh, so for Halloween, I've decided on my costume. I am going to dress half of my body as Taylor Swift, and the other half as Kanye West. I am going to be Kanye interrupting my Taylor costume. I'll hold up a sign to the tune of, "Yo Taylor, you make a good costume, and I'ma let you finish, but KANYE is one of the best costumes OF ALL TIME!" It'll be great. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, where have you been? I'm also planning a trip to Sleepy Hollow with a few friends to go to the farmers market and haunted hay ride. I know, brilliant idea. It's perfect for Halloween to go to the original Sleepy Hollow of Headless Horseman fame.

Ah crap, you know what I forgot? I did forget something. I also have decided that I am going to study abroad next semester. As many of you know, I've always know that I was going to study abroad, but I was just a bit iffy on when I was going to do it. Well, I decided next semester. I'm going to meet with one of the study abroad advisors on Monday afternoon, fill out the application, and hopefully get things in order. If my application is accepted, I'll get to go. If not, I'll cry, write sad poetry, and try again next year. I don't see it being a problem though, and I think I have a pretty good chance, but we'll see. Cork, IE here I come! Hopefully...

Anyway, more on all of that later. Now since this post is super long and I said most of what I had to say, I can post more frequently, and make them a lot shorter. Alright, goodnight everyone. And by everyone, I mean mom, because you're probably the only person reading this. Maybe Daddy Greg too. Hello to you too then. Actually, Yai-yai, you made be reading this too. Hey to you, hey to Poppy. Hey to anyone that's reading this.

Ok, I'm done. Bye.

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