After the wonder and beauty of Adam and Kara's wedding, I departed Chicago on Monday, but not before grabbing a handful of cinnamon rolls from Anne Sather's--best cinnamon rolls EVER. I had had brunch with my friend Katie here on Sunday and had been told I would fall madly in love with the cinnamon rolls; oh, how well the wedding party knew me in such a short time... It saddened me slightly to leave Chicago because I've come to really appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the midwest's best and only true "big city". Chicago is what NYC could be if people cared a little bit. Honestly, I look around Chicago and I can see how much care its residents take care of the city. New Yorkers seem to not give two shits because all you see is trash everywhere, not to mention the constant chip on their shoulders (and not the good "chip on your shoulder" in LEGALLY BLONDE the MUSICAL). If New York didn't have such an unbelievable theatre scene and the family I've surrounded myself with, I could very easily see myself moving to Chicago. But that is neither here nor there, at this point.
From Chicago, I drove the lovely route into southwest Michigan to visit some of my favorite people: Barnies! If you're not up to snuff on the lingo, Barnies are members of the company of actors at The Barn Theatre in Augusuta, MI. This is the summer stock I've spent two summers at performing and NOT serving tourists;) There's a certain pride I feel in the Barn; almost an innate and very acute connection. The two summers I spent there saw some of the best and worst memories of my life unfold. I won't delve into all that now because, well, I'm sure you're all aware.
So, my first stop was in Marshall, which I called home for a couple days. This is a beautiful little town where my friend Shawn is now residing while he's performing at Cornwell's Turkeyville Dinner Theatre through December (CONGRATS ON THE EXTENDED CONTRACT). Currently he's performing a musical revue titled "Boogy Woogie Swing Time" in which he plays injured soldier Pt. Ryan Davies in World War II that awakes in a hospital under the care of three sisters that sing--a lot. A couple dozen classic jazz/swing tunes later (SPOILER ALERT), Pt. Davies seems to be off to live happily ever after with the shy sister. It's a really cute show and Shawn is having a blast, so I couldn't be happier for him.
That night Shawn and I drove into Augusta to see The Great Big Bar Show at the Barn and got to see some of our best friends Bethany, Kevin, Eric, Jillian, Sam, Patrick, Melissa, Parker, and the ever lovely Meg, just to name a few. This year's GBBS is themed "Rock on Broadway" and the new apprentice company can definitely ROCK! What an incredibly talented group. If you're in the area, be sure to check out a show or two or three or the whole season at the Barn. The GBBS runs through this Sunday, June 8. Check out their season and tickets here: www.barntheatre.com
Next up: family's in different states...
Friday, June 6, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Wedding #1: Adam and Kara, or My Love Letter to the Best People I Know
Good Sunday, all!
I hope you're all well and enjoying a relaxing weekend. I'm on cloud 9 here in Chicago as I look out my window over Lake Shore Drive and the harbor with the lake stretched out behind the tree line. Yesterday was the wedding of two of my favorite people in the world. It's been an honor to know them and call them my friends. Their day was nothing short of glorious, from the weather to the huge gathering of friends and family to celebrate, from the flowers to the trolleys, from the music to the OUTSTANDING second reading (that may or may not have been me...); the entire day was perfect.
I met Adam in high school. He and I were both in Mrs. Williams' Honors English 10 class. We weren't the guys that always sat in the back, nor did we become so close that we if made a point of sitting in close proximity through the year. We simply relished making each other laugh by oh-so-subtley poking fun at our often kooky teacher. Smart she was, but the British would probably call her daft. The two of us never really took on to being friends until the following summer when I joined marching band. Adam and I were always similar in how we treated those around us and interacted with younger students. We were both pretty well-liked and somehow, I couldn't tell you exactly how it came about for the life of me, we just became good friends. Maybe it was rides on the bus to/from games or competitions, perhaps a shared love of inside jokes that may have bordered on mean if they got too far outside the "inner circle". Regardless, somehow we just clicked and the rest is history.
After high school, we both spent out undergraduate years at Miami University. Our first year, we lived pretty far from each other, which was intensified by the fact that I had TWO knee surgeries throughout that year--one in late June, just seven weeks before first semester started, and the other over Christmas break with just two weeks to heal before returning to the frozen tundra of southwest Ohio. However, we had lunch together most days with Adam's roommates Jon and Josh, also friends from high school. We all had Friday afternoons free somehow and had Friday Nap Time after lunch. The part that makes this tradition a little out of the ordinary for a group of guys is that we would always pop in a movie. And not just ANY movie, it was nine times out of ten a movie MUSICAL. The Music Man is one of Adam's all-time favorites, so we had that on quite a few times throughout that first semester.
During band camp the summer between our freshman and sophomore years, Adam met Kara, who was also in the saxophone section in the marching band. He had corrected her style in playing one of the bands staple bandstand songs and Kara must have thought he was sweet or something because word had kind of gotten around in the fall that she had a crush on him, or something to that effect. Now, throughout this weekend of the wedding, I've heard many different stories as to how Adam and Kara got together. Some say it was because of that one time Adam corrected her, but he was really sweet about it. Someone else said it was all because Adam was left-handed. (If being left-handed is all it takes, I should have been married by now...) The way I see it, Adam and Kara are a product of my meddling--and I AM DAMN PROUD OF THAT!
Here's the story: for the first time in Adam's life, he had a girl-predicament on his hands. This is not to say Adam didn't have girls fawning over him before, I mean, dear Lord he was the SAXOPHONE SECTION LEADER IN MARCHING BAND--he had a following, kids. But now he had two girls that he saw great attributes in both, which was very true. They were both beautiful girls that are very smart, funny, talented, etc.; all the things you label as good qualities before you start really getting to know someone to the point where those qualities don't even scratch the surface of what makes this person amazing. I had met both girls and thought highly of both. But what it came down to for me was Kara was funny, fun-loving, gentle, and good-hearted. More importantly, she thought Adam was almost as funny as he thought he was. So when he approached me with this girl-predicament one beautiful fall day in Oxford, OH, as we walked to Uptown, the choice was clear. Now, nine and a half years later, they are married and, as I told Adam last night, I couldn't be happier for anyone else.
Now I get to love on Kara for a bit. It's hard for me to pinpoint specific moments with Kara where I just thought, "This girls rocks!", simply because that's how every moment with her is. I think it was a marching band cook out or something like that where I first met Kara. Immediately, I gravitated towards her warmth and welcoming personality. There was never an awkward moment with her because, at least for my part, I felt I had known Kara already. It's not like we were soul mates or anything like that, but she has always been the kind of person who can make you feel like you've known each other for years. From then on, I was excited to hang out with Kara because I never felt like I had to be anything other than just me--that's a very uncommon trait to come by in college-age people because everyone's trying to impress everyone. Even now, after all these years, and all this time spent making something of myself in New York, I still get excited to see Kara because I know that I can just be me and I'm going to be loved by the best woman I could ever want for my buddy Adam.
It amazes me how fast time can just fly. It's been nearly 14 years since Adam and I first met in that English class and almost 10 years since I first met Kara. My only wish is that somewhere in that time, they've come to know just how much I love them and could not be more blessed and honored to be their friend and have the privilege of spending this weekend celebrating them as we sent them off into their "Happily Ever After"...
Until next time...
I hope you're all well and enjoying a relaxing weekend. I'm on cloud 9 here in Chicago as I look out my window over Lake Shore Drive and the harbor with the lake stretched out behind the tree line. Yesterday was the wedding of two of my favorite people in the world. It's been an honor to know them and call them my friends. Their day was nothing short of glorious, from the weather to the huge gathering of friends and family to celebrate, from the flowers to the trolleys, from the music to the OUTSTANDING second reading (that may or may not have been me...); the entire day was perfect.
I met Adam in high school. He and I were both in Mrs. Williams' Honors English 10 class. We weren't the guys that always sat in the back, nor did we become so close that we if made a point of sitting in close proximity through the year. We simply relished making each other laugh by oh-so-subtley poking fun at our often kooky teacher. Smart she was, but the British would probably call her daft. The two of us never really took on to being friends until the following summer when I joined marching band. Adam and I were always similar in how we treated those around us and interacted with younger students. We were both pretty well-liked and somehow, I couldn't tell you exactly how it came about for the life of me, we just became good friends. Maybe it was rides on the bus to/from games or competitions, perhaps a shared love of inside jokes that may have bordered on mean if they got too far outside the "inner circle". Regardless, somehow we just clicked and the rest is history.
After high school, we both spent out undergraduate years at Miami University. Our first year, we lived pretty far from each other, which was intensified by the fact that I had TWO knee surgeries throughout that year--one in late June, just seven weeks before first semester started, and the other over Christmas break with just two weeks to heal before returning to the frozen tundra of southwest Ohio. However, we had lunch together most days with Adam's roommates Jon and Josh, also friends from high school. We all had Friday afternoons free somehow and had Friday Nap Time after lunch. The part that makes this tradition a little out of the ordinary for a group of guys is that we would always pop in a movie. And not just ANY movie, it was nine times out of ten a movie MUSICAL. The Music Man is one of Adam's all-time favorites, so we had that on quite a few times throughout that first semester.
During band camp the summer between our freshman and sophomore years, Adam met Kara, who was also in the saxophone section in the marching band. He had corrected her style in playing one of the bands staple bandstand songs and Kara must have thought he was sweet or something because word had kind of gotten around in the fall that she had a crush on him, or something to that effect. Now, throughout this weekend of the wedding, I've heard many different stories as to how Adam and Kara got together. Some say it was because of that one time Adam corrected her, but he was really sweet about it. Someone else said it was all because Adam was left-handed. (If being left-handed is all it takes, I should have been married by now...) The way I see it, Adam and Kara are a product of my meddling--and I AM DAMN PROUD OF THAT!
Here's the story: for the first time in Adam's life, he had a girl-predicament on his hands. This is not to say Adam didn't have girls fawning over him before, I mean, dear Lord he was the SAXOPHONE SECTION LEADER IN MARCHING BAND--he had a following, kids. But now he had two girls that he saw great attributes in both, which was very true. They were both beautiful girls that are very smart, funny, talented, etc.; all the things you label as good qualities before you start really getting to know someone to the point where those qualities don't even scratch the surface of what makes this person amazing. I had met both girls and thought highly of both. But what it came down to for me was Kara was funny, fun-loving, gentle, and good-hearted. More importantly, she thought Adam was almost as funny as he thought he was. So when he approached me with this girl-predicament one beautiful fall day in Oxford, OH, as we walked to Uptown, the choice was clear. Now, nine and a half years later, they are married and, as I told Adam last night, I couldn't be happier for anyone else.
Now I get to love on Kara for a bit. It's hard for me to pinpoint specific moments with Kara where I just thought, "This girls rocks!", simply because that's how every moment with her is. I think it was a marching band cook out or something like that where I first met Kara. Immediately, I gravitated towards her warmth and welcoming personality. There was never an awkward moment with her because, at least for my part, I felt I had known Kara already. It's not like we were soul mates or anything like that, but she has always been the kind of person who can make you feel like you've known each other for years. From then on, I was excited to hang out with Kara because I never felt like I had to be anything other than just me--that's a very uncommon trait to come by in college-age people because everyone's trying to impress everyone. Even now, after all these years, and all this time spent making something of myself in New York, I still get excited to see Kara because I know that I can just be me and I'm going to be loved by the best woman I could ever want for my buddy Adam.
It amazes me how fast time can just fly. It's been nearly 14 years since Adam and I first met in that English class and almost 10 years since I first met Kara. My only wish is that somewhere in that time, they've come to know just how much I love them and could not be more blessed and honored to be their friend and have the privilege of spending this weekend celebrating them as we sent them off into their "Happily Ever After"...
Until next time...
Friday, May 30, 2014
My first vacation in I-can't-tell-you-how-long...
Hello again, everyone!
As the title reads, YES, I am on vacation. Don't get the wrong idea here, I'm not sipping tropical drinks being served by scantily clad, poolside servants. It's not to some exotic locale, or even a quiet, remote cabin in the woods. I'm taking three weeks away from NYC for two very special occasions: the weddings of my friends Adam & Kara in Chicago and Cody & Brittany in Cincinnati.
Over the last years since I moved to New York, I've found myself beginning to miss out on some milestones in the lives' of the people I love most: the birth of Charlie and Stacey's children, Charles and Rachel's first baby girl, David & Ali's wedding (now expecting their first child!), Mark & Elyse's wedding, Kristina & Luke's wedding, etc. These are events I never thought I wouldn't be able to pull to mind any number of fond--perhaps, slightly disjunct--memories for the rest of my life. Yet, I was not there for any of them. Now, of course, I know everyone misses out on things throughout their life, but the amount that I've missed out on has been weighing on me the last year or so. As the old saying goes, "Nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes," but I'd like to think there's more to life than that. At least, I'd like to make more of life than that. So when Adam called me last fall to ask me to do a reading at their wedding, there was no way I was going to miss it. Furthermore, when Cody and Brittany asked me to officiate their wedding, I'm pretty sure I was saying "YES!" before they could finish the question. I wanted to make it a point to not miss out on special moments. Otherwise, I'd just be waiting on pissy tourists in Times Square that aren't going to tip me because "they don't know how" or some other bullshit reason any and all will come up with (more on this at a later date).
This is all to say, I'm ready to actually LIVE my life. Am I getting fed up with waiting tables? That happened long ago. Does it still pay the bills? Thankfully, yes. Am I ready to give up on NYC and start another chapter somewhere else? Definitely not. What I'm saying is that I'm not compromising.
Of course, as I actually type out this mission statement of sorts, I am realizing how tall an order this is. Suffice to say, I completely understand this and respond like Barney Stinson with a resounding "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"
I'm gonna try to post more throughout my vacation. I've been thinking a lot over the last several months and just want to get it all out of my head. Hopefully, it'll be some at the very least slightly entertaining.
Hope you're all well and enjoying some beautiful weather.
Until next time...
As the title reads, YES, I am on vacation. Don't get the wrong idea here, I'm not sipping tropical drinks being served by scantily clad, poolside servants. It's not to some exotic locale, or even a quiet, remote cabin in the woods. I'm taking three weeks away from NYC for two very special occasions: the weddings of my friends Adam & Kara in Chicago and Cody & Brittany in Cincinnati.
Over the last years since I moved to New York, I've found myself beginning to miss out on some milestones in the lives' of the people I love most: the birth of Charlie and Stacey's children, Charles and Rachel's first baby girl, David & Ali's wedding (now expecting their first child!), Mark & Elyse's wedding, Kristina & Luke's wedding, etc. These are events I never thought I wouldn't be able to pull to mind any number of fond--perhaps, slightly disjunct--memories for the rest of my life. Yet, I was not there for any of them. Now, of course, I know everyone misses out on things throughout their life, but the amount that I've missed out on has been weighing on me the last year or so. As the old saying goes, "Nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes," but I'd like to think there's more to life than that. At least, I'd like to make more of life than that. So when Adam called me last fall to ask me to do a reading at their wedding, there was no way I was going to miss it. Furthermore, when Cody and Brittany asked me to officiate their wedding, I'm pretty sure I was saying "YES!" before they could finish the question. I wanted to make it a point to not miss out on special moments. Otherwise, I'd just be waiting on pissy tourists in Times Square that aren't going to tip me because "they don't know how" or some other bullshit reason any and all will come up with (more on this at a later date).
This is all to say, I'm ready to actually LIVE my life. Am I getting fed up with waiting tables? That happened long ago. Does it still pay the bills? Thankfully, yes. Am I ready to give up on NYC and start another chapter somewhere else? Definitely not. What I'm saying is that I'm not compromising.
Of course, as I actually type out this mission statement of sorts, I am realizing how tall an order this is. Suffice to say, I completely understand this and respond like Barney Stinson with a resounding "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"
I'm gonna try to post more throughout my vacation. I've been thinking a lot over the last several months and just want to get it all out of my head. Hopefully, it'll be some at the very least slightly entertaining.
Hope you're all well and enjoying some beautiful weather.
Until next time...
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
How I Met Your Mother and Divided the Audience
So, umm, yeah...
It's been a while since I've last written here, well over two years actually, so there would have to be a HUGE event to bring me back again. And last night, March 31, 2014, such an event has occurred: the series finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.
I thought I'd do a whole recap, but I figure if you're reading this, you've already seen it. So let's consider this your SPOILER ALERT!
So, here's the deal: I respect the fact that Carter Thomas and Craig bays stuck to their story and didn't compromise. Their plan all along was for Robin and Ted to end up together. However, my issue with this is these two characters have changed so much over the years that they don't make sense together anymore. Ted is still the romantic and Robin is still the cynical, non-commitment oriented, run-when-it-gets-tough girl she's always been. At least with Barney, Robin found a match that struggles the same way she does. When Robin would struggle with Ted, he'd say everything perfect, but not challenge her to be better than she thinks she can be. Barney and Robin bring out the best in each other. In order for Ted and Robin to end up together, I would have preferred to see a change in Robin.
Here's how I would have ended it:
First, I would have had flash forwards throughout the season with Robin over a tombstone in 2030 saying things like, "I hope you know how much your friendship meant to me" and "I don't want to do something that would upset you", etc. But in the end of the finale...
--WHAT ABOUT THE FREAKING PINEAPPLE?!?!
Best park of the show: Barney holding his daughter for the first time. Precious.
Final remarks: How I Met Your Mother has always stood to show how life can change, sometimes unexpectedly. The finale stayed true to that statement. However, the rest of the series had the benefit of having a continued storyline to show how these changes became part of who the characters are over time. These new changes and developments simply must be accepted by the audience. This whole season showed how Barney and Robin loved each other and would work, then the audience was shown how this whole season was for naught, because Robin and Barney didn't end up together and, ultimately, Ted would go back to Robin. If this were always the end game, fine. The execution was a bit misleading...
As Lily once said, "Life is full of changes--one day you have an apartment, the next it's a house of dumplings--but the important stuff never changes." Unfortunately, I feel as if this is true, but not for a lack of trying.
If you're angry or hungry for a different ending, perhaps you should take a page out of the HIMYM gang's notebook and go have a "sandwich".
It's been a while since I've last written here, well over two years actually, so there would have to be a HUGE event to bring me back again. And last night, March 31, 2014, such an event has occurred: the series finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.
I thought I'd do a whole recap, but I figure if you're reading this, you've already seen it. So let's consider this your SPOILER ALERT!
So, here's the deal: I respect the fact that Carter Thomas and Craig bays stuck to their story and didn't compromise. Their plan all along was for Robin and Ted to end up together. However, my issue with this is these two characters have changed so much over the years that they don't make sense together anymore. Ted is still the romantic and Robin is still the cynical, non-commitment oriented, run-when-it-gets-tough girl she's always been. At least with Barney, Robin found a match that struggles the same way she does. When Robin would struggle with Ted, he'd say everything perfect, but not challenge her to be better than she thinks she can be. Barney and Robin bring out the best in each other. In order for Ted and Robin to end up together, I would have preferred to see a change in Robin.
Here's how I would have ended it:
First, I would have had flash forwards throughout the season with Robin over a tombstone in 2030 saying things like, "I hope you know how much your friendship meant to me" and "I don't want to do something that would upset you", etc. But in the end of the finale...
TED
And that, kids, is how I met your mother.
PENNY
Wow, Dad. Sounds like you and Aunt Robin meant a lot to each other...
TED
You're right, Penny, but we were always a bit wrong for each other from the beginning.
LUKE
Dad...you know Mom would want you to be happy, right?
TED
Kids, your Mom was the greatest love of my life, she can't be replaced with someone like your Aunt Robin that doesn't get me the way your Mom did...
CUT TO:
Some time later. ROBIN home with her dogs, feeling lonely, realizing it's time for her to make a change and make the grand romantic gesture.
MONTAGE
ROBIN, at the cemetery.
ROBIN
I hope you understand how much Ted means to me and I plan on making him as happy as possible.
We see the tombstone is Tracy's.
Then, ROBIN runs into the restaurant she and Ted had their first date in and steals the blue french horn, then catches a train out to the suburbs, arriving in front of Ted's house.
ROBIN
MOSBY! TED. MOSBY!
TED opens up his window and looks down at ROBIN.
TED
What are you doing?
ROBIN
Making a grand romantic gesture.
(Reveals the blue french horn from behind her back)
Title card runs "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER".
THE END
Now, it's not perfect, I know. But what I'm trying to say is Ted and Robin became different people and the only way they could end up together is by showing that there has been some kind of drastic adjustment to show their compatibility or at very least an unexpected gesture to show such an adjustment, thus Robin making the romantic gesture. Ted making the gesture in light of just finishing telling his kids the story of how he met their mother, paints him as kind of a douche. Robin's gesture seems more final and not douchey.
Other things that kind of bugged me:
--Barney's "let me be me" monologue. This works against all the character development he made throughout the course of this story. It seems the only thing that kept him from being "me" was Robin. But they gave up on their relationship when it got difficult... I'm surprised Lily and Marshall didn't beat them senseless. Think of all the issues they went through over the years...
--Why spend a whole season on introducing your audience to a title character only to kill her off without even giving her a proper goodbye scene? The least they could have done was present her death more clearly (there were signs throughout the season) earlier in the season to give your audience the chance to not gain so much hope in the happily ever after she is expected to have. This just made all the build up to meeting her (which was the point of the show) seem superfluous, especially if you just meant to have your leading man end up with the girl that started the story off in the first place.
--Barney never knowing the name of his daughter's mother. Disrespectful, even for Barney.--WHAT ABOUT THE FREAKING PINEAPPLE?!?!
Best park of the show: Barney holding his daughter for the first time. Precious.
Final remarks: How I Met Your Mother has always stood to show how life can change, sometimes unexpectedly. The finale stayed true to that statement. However, the rest of the series had the benefit of having a continued storyline to show how these changes became part of who the characters are over time. These new changes and developments simply must be accepted by the audience. This whole season showed how Barney and Robin loved each other and would work, then the audience was shown how this whole season was for naught, because Robin and Barney didn't end up together and, ultimately, Ted would go back to Robin. If this were always the end game, fine. The execution was a bit misleading...
As Lily once said, "Life is full of changes--one day you have an apartment, the next it's a house of dumplings--but the important stuff never changes." Unfortunately, I feel as if this is true, but not for a lack of trying.
If you're angry or hungry for a different ending, perhaps you should take a page out of the HIMYM gang's notebook and go have a "sandwich".
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