Party, party!

I've been out of the house so much lately, and it's been really awesome.  I've worked every day for the past week +, sometimes at two different jobs in the same day, and haven't had much time to sit around and get upset about how I don't do anything. Additionally, I've been HAVING FUN! GOING PLACES!  

Thursday night turned into an unexpected ladies' night when Emma called me after work and whisked me off (soggily, in the driving rain) to a lovely wine bar called Terroir.  Her roommate joined us a little later and we stayed warm drinking wine until two in the morning.  Much of the conversation revolved around Felicity. Am I complaining? Never, never, no not ever.  This bar was really cute, though ordinarily I'd never go because it's out of my price range and because it doesn't generally occur to me that I can go places other than dives

Friday, the train I was on after work got stuck mid-tunnel due to a "smoke problem" further up the track.  The train totally shut down for just over ten minutes...which isn't that long, but was ample time for a quiet sort of pandemonium to break out in my car.  One guy was trying to incite panic-- yelling "Get set, folks. We're gonna be in here all night. I'm not kidding. Hope you got a good book. Oh, boy. We're here for a long time."  The girl sitting across from me went in between two cars to pee, then stayed out there smoking with some old hippie types.  Someone called the conductor on the emergency intercom.  A pre-recorded message played, saying "Due to problems on the track, this train is no longer in service.  Please listen for evacuation instructions from the train crew." At that, everyone made a lot of noise.  The guy next to me ws sweating buckets and nervously laughing, trying to engage everyone around him in conversation, saying "Heh-heh, we're not really gonna be stuck here all night, right? Right?!" Of course we didn't have to evacuate, and eventually we got to the station, which did, indeed, smell like smoke.  

Saturday, I ventured to Bushwick to Asterisk for their farewell party.  I was there to see Infidels, but caught most of the sets of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra (chaos in the form of horns and dancers requesting us to sing along to a song that went "Here's the the man and his bombs, his bombs, his bombs, here's to the man and his motherfucking war games!") and Project Jenny, Project Jan (fun, sweaty multimedia insanity).  I drank a bunch of beer, thrashed around with some sweaty, hyper hipsters (I was leaning against a wall, minding my own business, and before I knew it, 'Jake the performance artist' was spinning me into the fray), got some air in the rainy Bushwick night, danced my face off during Infidels' sweet set, and at the end of the night, couldn't have been happier to be away from home at 4 AM.  I also found out that I am not the only one who, upon receiving a haircut that I'm less-than-thrilled with, fears that I look "Polish."  I can't explain that.

I've had several nightmares recently about my upcoming reading. They're like the classic actor's nightmare, except that they feature me getting to the reading, passing out the scripts to the actors, and then realizing that I never did the rewrites I wanted to.  Genuinely terrifying. I wake up all sick-feeling. 

Thanksgiving's coming up.  I'm looking forward to going home for a few days. I can't believe that 2008 is almost over. Good lord.

HANG

OVAH!



........why do I ever DRINK?



Ugh.



I'm going home today for the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll find time to write here a little bit--in between petting Slinky and reclining on the couch. It will be difficult.

Shall I not be on a pedestal?

At work today, coworker Michael furiously yelled: "All we do is love the theatre. We didn't do anything wrong!" The implied ending: "Why are we being punished?!" Why, indeed?!

I have a few videos posted on YouTube, and one of them is a tiny clip from the BRTC's production of the Crucible, from my sophomore year. I consider this to be one of the highlights of my high school theatre career, as I love the play, I loved my role (and I'll probably never get to play her again), and we had a fabulous cast of thousands. Not to mention the ongoing rivalry with Amdam HS, hey, Knudsen?! (Sidenote-- Drinking game for this clip: take a swig every time I fall on the floor. What? You're wasted? But this is only a minute thirty! EXACTLY.)

Anyway, from time to time, I get hilarious, negative comments on this video and the latest one, from yesterday, tickled me immensely:
"This blocking is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooo bad its unreal...the only good actor i see is mary warren!"

And I'll take that all the way to the bank.

I actually worked today, which seems unbelievable, since I've been making a career out of sleeping in, staying out too late, and doing nothing lately. Even more than usual. But, hey! It's the lusty month of May, that lovely month where everyone goes blissfully astray! Tra la!

Forgive me. C-lot on le brain.

But I've been doing good stuff. "Wrangling" aforementioned, anonymous (sike) move star, who is funny, very funny and nice, very nice. And confused....very confused. Yesterday was a 3rd of May party at Julie, Michael and Nitzan's apartment that had dwindled down to Julie, Nick, and Craig by the time I finally got there. I ate many tacos and drank a fair amount of tequila, thanks to Julie's mad drinking-making skills. Even when wasted, she's a better host than I'll ever be. :P And in a wild, uncharacteristic stroke of profligacy, I took a cab home from there last night (Fort Greene) because the thought of waiting for the single-tracked G at Fulton, switching at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, and walking from Nassau was just plain demoralizing. A cab. Who am I?!

The night before, I stayed at Erin's....eating pizza, drinking beer, watching Wet Hot American Summer....having pillow fights, doing each other's nails, and teaching each other how to kiss came later. Siiiiiike.

And today, Erin and I, accompanied by a game Jimmy, ventured to Union Hall in the early evening for a ridiculous Yelp Elite event where we schmoozed with the co-founders and tried to get them to patronize our Etsy store. We'll see what happens. All I know is, I had free beers and "savory pastries," as Jimmy so eloquently put it, galore, and then it took me an hour to get home. I like being Yelp Elite. I get something for absolutely nothing. Always a good exchange.

This week, I am up to my gills with he-who-must-not-be-named (like how I'm making a thing out of this now? Yeah, I didn't think I could be any more affected EITHER)-- the show opens on Wednesday, runs through Saturday, and I work, stupidly, stupidly, I'm going to be so hungover, on Sunday morning at...my workplace, where I work, which I also recently decided must not be named in this blog...because it's sheer stupidity to tempt fate, the intarweb, the Patriot Act, and my coworkers like that.

And hey! Watch the new AFN before anyone else on your block! (Don't you want to be cool?!)

Tra la!

The same old way...

Indulge me in a minute of brain-picking ranting:

I'm getting so if I don't have to work, and I don't have anything planned, I get a little panicky. THIS is how much I've let myself neglect myself. While it's unrealistic to assume I would spend every waking minute that I'm not at work pursuing my career/art/whatever (ok, it's really not that unrealistic), I should hope I'd spend SOME of my time doing that. I mean, for me. Jesus! Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing? Isn't that what I WANT to be doing? But all I do is watch tv, cross-stitch, mope around at the computer, have solo dance parties, or let the dirty dishes pile up around me.

The point is, I think, that I need to maybe adjust my attitude about solo time and try, just try, to be a little more motivated or productive. Or, at the very least, be easier on myself when I'm not either of those things. Because if I"m not doing anything, I may as well try to feel okay about it.

Right?

Man, I don't know.

This being said, I've been lucky to see friends lately. After work on Friday, I took a walk with Ben and ate some Pomme Frites. He was dropping a play off in the LES somewhere so he stopped by. Or maybe it was: he was dropping a play off, and walked by. I don't know. Either way, it was an interaction far more pleasant and civil than any of our previous ones, which was good. Yes, good. After that, I went to the Strand and blew $20-something on books and some squared Moleskines for x-stitch charts. Then I went to Forbidden Planet and bought the newest American Splendor. Some part of me really loves going in that place and looking at the bizarre mix of people in there. Fanboys and girls, Japanese cutie pies, fat old dudes, hipsters, all kinds. I love it. Then I read A.S. in Union Square while a man in a suit stared at me. For half an hour. Stared. At. Me. I tried to ignore it but eventually it became too much.

Craig got out of work and we met up but he had a searing headache and I was tired of carrying my books and we couldn't agree on anything to do so it looked like a classic Anna/Craig passive-aggressive encounter was about to occur, but he finally gave in to the temptation of Red Stripe in my fridge and came back to Wburg with me. Gossiping and drinking ensued.

Yesterday, I had a brief but fun visit with Joanna and Justin, singing friends from Boston. We walked around Thomson Square Park and they expressed shock and horror at every hipster/weirdo we passed. They don't coime to NY much. He doesn't leave the plantation much. :)

Today, I met up with Emily (one night only, folks!), Julie, and Molly for breakfast at the hip and delicious Egg on North 6th. We had to wait about 45 minutes, but it was no big thing and we were obviously happy to catch up while waiting. I had eggs and grits and they were....mmmmm. Uh-huh. It was wonnnnnnderful to see them. After, Julie and I went to Brooklyn Industries where I bought a bag, thinking "I'll return it in a few days, when common sense kicks in." Too bad she stamped FINAL SALE on my receipt. Looks like I'll have to keep it. Rats.

Tonight was work, watching tv on the computer, reading boring boring boring verbose thick unexciting (but I am halfway through so have to slog through) "Atonement," and eventually drinking beer with Chriz and Elliot, listening to Lily Allen, in the box office. I get paid for this? Give me a break.

Now? Twin Peaks.