TV, signs and "twitter-pated"?

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all well in your parts of the woods. Life in NYC is now reminding me of life in Ohio: the weather has been changing every five minutes! Seriously, in the last week I've worn shorts one day, then jeans and jackets the next day, and back to shorts the day after that. I mean, WTF, yo?! And on top of that, it's not just that the temperature has changed, the humidity is so extreme it's almost completely useless to shower--don't worry, I still shower, Mom... But, it's all good, my friends, I'm still living the dream!

Last week, I was paid a visit by some members of The Cheezies. They came into the city last Wednesday night and I met them at their hotel on the Upper West Side and grabbed some pizza and some out-of-date beer. Good times were had and it was nice to just hang out with a few friends and have a few laughs. The next day, I had to work, but I met them for cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery and took a little stroll around midtown before having dinner at HB. The main event of the evening, though, was catching Next to Normal (my 3rd time). Jason was wanting to check out In the Heights, but someone how the rest of the group talked him into seeing N2N, which I was all for, but was totally up for seeing In the Heights again. Flash-forward to 10:20 PM and the feeling among the group was sort of in different. Naturally, I loved it and was overjoyed to see it again. It was one of Bobby Spencer's last performances with the show before he ended his run and ushered Brian d'Arcy James back into the role he originated at Second Stage two years ago. I will definitely be seeing N2N for a fourth time sometime soon to check out my boy BDJ in another role he plays that I want to play at some point in my life (Dan, a father/husband trying to keep his family together while dealing with his wife's mental illness). It was nice to see the guys for a little bit, but naturally, it just wasn't enough. I can't wait to get back to Oxford next month for Alumni Weekend and see everyone again.

Saturday came around and it was time for another Friend Day! This time it was with Shannon. We met for brunch at Nook on 9th Ave. Let me tell you, if you have the opportunity and are in the city, definitely check it out. Regardless, a good brunch and good conversation later, we made our way up 9th to the west 60's and cut east to Central Park. Immediately the search was on: for swings! We both knew there were swings that weren't located in a "Children Only" playground. Unfortunately, the park is quite expansive and it's difficult to find the ONE playground with swings to fit our butts. Oh, well. We explored some of my favorite spots in the park: Belvedere Castle, the Great Lawn, the Mall. From there in the 80's in the park, we made our way back down the city to midtown, picked up smoothies at Jamba Juice and sat in the plaza at Columbus Circle. For dinner, we went over to another restaurant in our chain and visited with one of our former managers and had another good meal with good converstaion. However, the main event that evening was: Shannon's FIRST BROADWAY SHOW! Now, a few things you need to know about Shannon before we proceed: she's a dancer, a ballerina to be exact, however, she's very modern and Rock 'n Roll-ish. Her ideal job would be to be part of an edgy ballet company that constantly pushes the envelope. Another thing: she doesn't like musical theatre... She thinks it's too "cheesy". So, what show do you take this person to? Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT!!! We got to the theatre around 6 and put our names in a bucket for seats in the first and second row. And, ya know what? WE WON! So we sat second row for that evening's show which was AWESOME! Seriously, from the minute the curtain rose, you could feel the energy of this cast. They were all unbelievably talented and did NOT disappoint. Seriously, check it out.

So, it's spring and for lots of people, especially those that are into Disney movies, this typically means "love is in the air." The Disney classic Bambi patented the term "twitter-pated", which takes on a whole new meaning in the new millenium with the emergence of Twitter, but I digress... This term basically means people are falling in love with love, etc. However, oddly enough, I feel the opposite has been happening lately. So many couple I know have either broken up or had dormant issues arise in their relationship. What happened to "twitter-pating"? Spring is supposed to be a happy time, but I've seen more tears recently than I know how to deal with. Moreover, they're not my tears, and you all KNOW how I like me a good cry (i.e. owning all six seasons of Dawson's Creek on DVD...). Hey, Spring! Get your shit together and get to it; make people happy, not sad!

As we are now in spring, quickly approaching summer, it's the magical, mystical, totally exuberant time of year we all look forward to: SEASON FINALE TIME! The only show left on my plate to air a season finale is Glee--which doesn't air until June 8th. In the meantime, I have caught up on all my favorites: How I Met Your Mother (restoring my hope in "love in spring"), Brothers & Sisters (Dear writers at ABC, STOP KILLING OFF MY PEOPLE!), Modern Family (God bless you, kids), Grey's Anatomy (Shonda Rhimes, please have my babies), The Office (Andy Bernard, you're the poo), 30 Rock (future set of employment (fingers crossed)), and the series finale of LOST (beautiful).

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE ABOVE FINALES, DO NOT READ!!!

First, let's talk about 30 Rock. As if this show could get any better or more perfect for me, the writers found this season finale to introduce Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) soulmate in the form of a 39-year-old pilot played by none other than my boy (and man-crush) Matt Damon! Fo rizzle, y'all, how awesome is that!?!? If my 3 year plan works out correctly, I may be on set with Matt Damon!!! Hellz YEAH! (OK, that was a lot of exclamation points) If that's not a sign that the universe is aligning for me, I don't know what is.

The only other finale I really think I need to talk about is LOST. But first, can we just have a moment of silence in honor of the brilliance of this show? [Moment of Silence...] OK, thanks. Six years ago, Oceanic Flight 815 crash landed on an island somewhere in the Pacific stranding its passengers without any resources of working communication for rescue. This island turned out to be more than anyone had bargained for and the story of their journey took six years and 114 episodes to unfold. The result: the most emotional and spiritual resolve to a show EVER! In this final season, the writers introduced a "Sideways" world in which Oceanic 815 did not crash and the passengers lives' went on, but were somehow intertwined. For the entire run of this season, every viewer has wondered what this parallel universe was all about. Well, in short, it's kind of like purgatory: the castaways died and this is where they all communed in order to be together because the time they spent on the island in which they mended their wounded souls and became better people was the most significant times of their lives. To me, this was simply beautiful. I'm not a very openly spiritual person, but this ending put so much in place for me. Yes, there are mountains of questions to be answered, but I don't care about that anymore. Throughout my years of watching and being engrossed in this show, I became more attached to the characters than anything. I can come up with my own answers to those lingering questions. But for me, I think a multitude of Losties out there, this was a very satisfactory ending that reveals the true meaning of the show. If you are one of those people that never watched LOST or stopped watching at some point, do yourself a favor and get back to it. You WON'T regret it!

BIG (CAREER) NEWS!!! If you don't also follow me on facebook, this may all be news to you. For two days this week I was on set as a background artist for the HBO series Bored to Death. To be honest, it was pretty boring just sitting around waiting to be called down for a couple takes and then head back up to holding to wait for the next call. But it was also so incredibly cool to FINALLY feel like I am an actor! Furthermore, it didn't hurt that I spent the majority of the time standing within an arm's reach of Ted Danson, Jason Schwartzman, and only a few feet further away from Zach Galifianakis. The scene was a Comic-Con in Brooklyn where Zach's character is signing copies of his comic book based on his love for a girl named Leah. I don't really know much more about the show, because I don't have HBO and the first season hasn't been released on DVD yet, but I will be sure to check it out when it does. If any of you have seen the show, let me know what you think about it.

Anywho, this has gotten to be pretty long, but I hope you enjoyed reading. There really isn't any sense of normality in my schedule anymore, so I'll just continue to write when I can. Hopefully, I'll have more BIG NEWS coming soon. You never know!

Happy Adventures!

Revisiting a former life...

Hey everyone!

Welcome back after another month-long hiatus. I promise I'll do my best to stop this from becoming routine...

In my past posts I told you all about Ethan's resignation from Miami and the memories that had been triggered being back in Oxford again after a fairly long absence. Well, I just got back from spending more than a week in a place where "I lived such a life." Let me tell you: nothing could have prepared me for the thrill/strangely unfamiliar feeling of returning for an extended period of time. I don't regret it in the least, but I know that Oxford has a certain gravitational pull...

[Sorry, I was distracted by the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook...]

Where was I? Oh, YES! Oxford's gravitational pull. I'm not saying that the planets align and and stars drop to Oxford at any given moment, but there is a certain truth to this quote from Dr. Shriver, former President of Miami University: "Not all roads lead to Oxford, but once you're here, you never want to leave." To me, Oxford represents the best of me. It is the place where I learned about self-actualization and, to some point, executed it.

For five years I was a student at the most gorgeous college campus EVER. Nothing beats the beauty of Oxford. Nothing beats the feeling you get when you realize you were blessed with good decision-making skills that allowed you choose Miami over all the other schools you could have gone to. My first year was pretty unremarkable, so we'll skip over that. But my second year was marked by starting my four year tenure with the Glee Club. For the remaining years I spent in Oxford, I proved to myself and those around me that I could do and be better than most people ever thought I could do.

Beginning last Saturday, I began my one-week return to Oxford. I lived in a frat house and Ethan's house. I ate at dining halls. I walked across the campus at odd times and reminisced with myself over all the walks I'd taken over the years, all the conversations I had whilst talking (with myself or with others). I saw people I hadn't seen in a few years. I got back to a level of comfort in myself. I was busy. I was frantic. I was ready to tackle whatever I needed to do. All the while, I was concentrating on making a few events worthwhile for Ethan: his last Banquet with Glee Club and his final concerts as Conductor. Thankfully, and in short form, both went very well.

For me, the real treat was getting to feel like I was back in Club. I went to rehearsals and observed a candidate to replace Ethan next year and gave out advice for Officer election speeches. I was being me. It felt great.

My week in Oxford started out with attending the Cheezies concert in Kumler Chapel. This marked my friend Jason's last concert with the group, as well as my buddy Nicky's. For some reason I never fail to shed a tear or two watching/listening to concerts that I use to be a part of. I could picture myself up there with the guys, singing, dancing, making a fool of myself, and loving every single second of it. Kudos to you, Cheezies! Damn good concert! I've listening to "Falling Slowly" from ONCE more times than I care to admit over the last week. (I'm currently listening to it as I write this very sentence.)

Banquet was Monday and everything was awesome with that. I spent most of my day helping Miles prepare the meal and I lost count of how many scallops I wrapped in bacon. To make matters worse, I didn't even get to have one. By the time I got out of there, showered, shaved, changed, and got back to the church, the meal was already underway and the hor d'oeuvres were all gone. It's all good. The meal was unbelievable and I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying dinner conversation with a "young man" in the group named Dennis. This gentlemen joined the group in the fall of 2008 and has taken on quite the role of respected elder. Dennis, thank you for simply being the person you are and taking such good care of my guys!

The main event of Banquet is the presentation of the Scott Alexander Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. This year's presentation was particularly special because our resident historian Kevin took the time to "find Scott Alexander". What he found is at the end of this post in video form. It's a powerful story that reminded me of how remarkable an honor it is to receive this award. Like so many in the room when this video premiered at banquet last Monday, I was moved to tears. Thereafter, my good friend Andrew took the podium to present this year's award. Unlike everyone else in the room, I already knew who was going to be hearing his name called. In the most unlikely twist of fate, the votes for this year's award ended in a tie with two very worthy individuals being recognized: Jason and Nicky. These two truly represent what it means to be a Clubber and have done such since the minute they entered the group four years ago. It's fitting that they jointly share this honor as it has become extremely evident that they are virtually the same person; or at least the yin to the other's yang. Congratulations, Jason and Nicky! This is an honor you both truly deserve.

The rest of the week was spent getting tasks in order for the concerts. Alumni had been contacted. Plans had been made. More plans were put into motion. Songs needed to be memorized. And since I was involved, cookies were baked. Aside from the fact that I wouldn't have missed Ethan's last concert if I were dying, I was looking forward to seeing some very familiar faces from my past in Oxford. There are too many names and faces going through my head right now, but if any of you are reading this, I could not have been more happy to see any of you there. I know it meant a lot to Ethan and, for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The concerts were a great success and I felt so at home sitting there in Hall Auditorium in the middle of beautiful Oxford, OH, with some of my closest friends sitting within an ear shot. Of particular note is the young man sitting right next to me, Chris. Such a great friend and someone that made my day better by just walking in the room. More fun at Alumni Weekend!

Anyway, the whole week made me nostalgic and, of course, brought back those feelings of how I imagine my life if I had taken a teaching job instead of moving out here. Then, without fail, my best friend Ethan stepped in and offered his advice: "No, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Teaching will always be there for you. Take the time to do this and do it right." (I'm paraphrasing, of course. I couldn't remember exactly what he said from our conversation over a bottle of wine...) I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that's the kind of guy you give up a week and a half of work to see.

Ethan, I don't even know if you read this, but you changed my life and I know I'm not the only one. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I most definitely wouldn't be where I am, if it weren't for you.

Happy Adventures!