Day 145/365 (December 9, 2014)

They finally finished doing work in our apartment!

the skies had opened up and was raining like crazy... not sure how we didn't flood. I got to go to Gypsy of the Year which was super fun thanks to Ellyn. Hugh Jackman in person is quite lovely. Pippin was great and Michael C. Hall and Lena Hall were hilarious trying to do acrobat stuff a la Pippin. Kinky Boots were wonderful and everyone was all about Hugh at the end and he was a terrific sport!

Then it was off to my night at 54 Below. First I saw Laura Osnes who is basically perfect and did an amazing show, including singing There's a fine, fine line form Avenue Q complete with the Kate Monster puppet! Then it was time for The Spidey Boys show that I was filming. It was a really great show and I got an awesome spot to film from! Then we all went to Alfie's after and I made some new friends that I ended up going to Flaming Saddles with after and they don't allow woo-hooing haha. I even ran into someone I knew from NWS there

It was also weird to see Kate Monster just cholling on a box when I went up to the dressing rooms.

Day 349/365 (August 2, 2009)

today it rained a lot and since i didnt have anything major i needed done i opted to stay inside. even though i went to bed about 3 i woke up on my own around 11 which meant i slept for 8 hours which is pretty fab so i thought i was fine... nope i ended up falling asleep for about 3 hours. this will not be good later on.

anywho today i watched a lot of tv and saw legally blondes on abc family, legally blonde 2: red white and blonde, and confessions of a teenage drama queen amongst other things. um i forgot about the song at the end of drama queen that i love and lost when my first ipod died and couldnt replace the music since it is part of the thousands of songs that went missing when my mother lost my CD case :(

pip is super duper cuddly and i keep finding him curled up in different places next/on me when i wake up... this morning he was nestled there, and later in the day he was sleeping with his paws crossed and well i couldnt help but think god put the rhythm in him (a la altar boyz)

and emma also came by recently for a petting session and poor pip was crazy beside himself because i dare to give her attention and not him, but he handled it well and kept eating a bone when he realized i was not going to pet him, but 'tis ok because he gets a good amount of petting from me during the day.

also it has been pretty awesome the last two nights because tucker has been sleeping at josh's. in fact krysta came back earlier and packed up his crate because tucker is spending the whole week there. i should feel bad but i dont since i am sort of done dealing with him for a little while. i just cant understand why he is so mean to me even though all i have ever done is be nice to him. i am confused at how he can be so sweet and then so vicious. i mean the other day he was jealous of pip and came over and plopped himself on top of me to show pip that i belonged to him essentially and i was like oh he really does like me, but then he turns around and tries his best to hurt me, so i am going to look forward to a few days without fear and without having to pick up his poo or worrying about stepping in his pee if i dont see it first.

Day 342/365 (July 26, 2009)

didnt do much today. i made pancakes and then krysta and i headed to the dog run with tucker on 72nd. right before we got there this random old lady was screaming "bitch bitch bitch" at this little kid... hilarious! anywho we got there and it was much nicer than the one on 137th... and of all the dogs there was this tiny little yorkie who was my favorite and he spent some good time with me while i was petting him. then there was this cute little fluffy poofball of a dog that kept hopping up on my lap for me to pet her. eventually i got bored and tired and headed home.

i was so very tired and after a little lunch i ended up passing out for an almost 3 hour nap.. though it was of the keep waking up and falling asleep... while napping i had a really funny dream. Xanadu had opened again but it wasnt the same production we all know and love... oh no it was redone and the songs were different at times... anyway me and a few friends were watching from the back row, and stupid suze and not stupid jesse, were sitting with us. i kept changing my seat to sit next to her and annoy her and then at one point (because of audience participation) they handed suze a microphone and as a song played she got up and made her way to the stage singing a bunch of heys and ohs... and jesse leaned over and was all "this is weird huh?" and that was the basic extent of my dream... i just was baffled. i eventually woke up completely and felt wicked groggy and was very aware of the fact that sleep tonight will be hard and tomorrow will be a not good day.

i began watching harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban when i turned on the tv and am now watching harry potter and the goblet of fire. i also did a bunch of dishes and had left over shepard's pie for dinner and well lunch too, yum!

at one point there was a fierce terrential downpour of rain... i had to shut krysta's window and put a towel in our living room window because it was coming in all the way past where the heater is and onto the floor but i wasnt going to shut the window of the room i was in. luckily my room was fine in the rain coming in department because of the angle it was coming from.

watching those movies inspired me to start re-reading deathly hallows again... i began after i finished rereading book 6 but hadnt progressed past chapter 1... now i am hooked once again, it just takes the right mood!

Day 310/365 (June 24, 2009)

it was a very long, but very much fun day! i woke up early to get ready to meet my cousins and walk Tucker. I left earlier than planned because paula had texted to say they were looking to get there earlier. i ended up getting there way earlier than i meant to and sat on a bench to read my book.  ya know i lived over there for a year and never did that!

anywho i et up with my cousins Paula, and her clan... and also my cousin Mo and her kids. 3 adults, 5 children... phew!

we hopped the boat to liberty island and then we waited in line forever to get in... by the time we got to the observation decks of the pedastool it was raining! not hard but enough that my pants got soaked and i was slipping in my flip flops! that gave me quite the bit of stress. but we had lots of fun and then i left to go home.

i got home and went straight to the tub to clean my now extremely dirty feet from all the yuck of the streets on NY and then i washed my jean bottoms in the sink since they soaked up all that yucky water! then i took a much needed respite to re-gather myself and get pack my overnight bag to head to sasha's so i could get some more sleep before heading to rush for next to normal.

i got there about 11 and met with marty and fred. i laid down to try and get some sleep and then i got a text saying there were already people in the next to normal rush line... i thought about it and then away i went... not so much sleep, but at least i was close by and got a quick hello in.

Day 304/365 (June 18, 2009)

RAIN RAIN RAIN! all today was was RAIN! so gloomy and miserable. my cousin dennis and i went to trader joe's and got some stuff, then we went to a yummy bagel place and had some breakfast.

eventually came back to the house and did lots of hanging out with the cousins and also getting some personal space. i also did the catch up on this blog for the last 11 days of my slacking (oops)... rain makes for frustrated children man, but it was still a good day... i decided to hold off and go back home tomorrow since tomorrow is the only day in the forsee-able future that doesnt have rain predicted... so hopefully i can get home without a downpour!

ps i didnt do laundry today but did A TON while i was here!

Day 299/365 (June 13, 2009)

got in late from mostly sondheim... and didnt sleep until 6! then i got up at like 11 or 12 and got ready... i begun my journey to new rochelle and it was raining!

this is a picture of dance your a** off with marissa jaret winokur... i took it because her fb status had asked if someone could snap a picture of one if they saw it... so i did :D

it was nice to get to new rochelle and see my cousins.

i also baked brownies with them.

Day 295/365 (June 9, 2009)

tuesday was an incredibly amazing, fun, and LONG day! i ended up sleeping for 30 minutes outside the booth theatre and then only 45 minutes at home. Mark and i rushed from 10:30 pm monday night until 10 am tuesday morning. it had tremendous rain, thunder that set off car alarms, frigid winds (that turned me into a superhero, and awesome new friends. i met this new person Joe and well he was so freaking awesome, and jake and tracey were also in the line, sasha swung by with pip at one point and i dont think i actually ever left the rush line except after they handed out the bracelets i took a tiny bathroom break! (jordan even stopped by for a bit) it really was lots of fun and we played a game of UNO and i kicked butt!

it was all for me to see Kyle Dean's first night in next to normal and it was worth it! after we left i went home and baked cookies for him and stuff, had my little nap, showered after the crazy long night, then met mark at build-a-bear to help him make a bear for kyle dean. i also scouted out the finishing stuff for the abe bear from last year's AA Day scavenger hunt. then we headed to the amrriot and put the bear's clothes on and stuff, got some food, then met with michelle at the theatre. it turns out Alice Ripley was sick so her understudy was going on and a bazillion people got refunds for their tickets including some of the people who had camped out overnight with us and i was like wow that is crazy! and sasha got one of our extra tickets but got hers refunded so joe ended up sitting next to me for the show and that was fun.

Kyle Dean did such an incredible job and i know it sounds weird but i was so terribly proud of him. i have seen him grow as a performer over the last three years and this really was amazing, he finally is able to show the rest of the theatre community how freaking amazing he is on a nightly basis. best part? i actually like this show so it wont be painful to sit through and watch it many times! (though i did love xanadu by the end) he played Gabe so well and well i just cant say enough ... yea and all the people who freaked and got their tickets refunded? you missed an incredible show i thought Jessica was leaps better than Alice Ripley (yea i said it) her voice was so pure and her acting choices made me appreciate the character more... jessica phillips is amazing!

special thanks to tracey for helping unwrap all my reese's for the cookies and jake who was in line with us

Day 289/365 (June 3, 2009)

this was how i found emma when i woke up for reals this morning. Before i fell asleep emma did the cutest thing, she came up along side my body, flung herself onto me, curled her head on my arm, and then wound her body down the rest of my arm, then purred like crazy while i pet her. i kept waking up in the middle of the night and i guess this morning i finally had my share of joni mitchell... i am sorry but i dont think her voice is all that great and dont understand the attraction people seem to have for her music.

an idea forms, plotting and planning: a while back emily sent me a link for hunter bell's tony award cake recipe. i read it and laughed but felt as if it were a challenge. i am not saying i am going to attempt to make it, but i will say that i just spent the better part of an hour figuring out a way to modify his directions so that if i do it wont fall over. and mine would be more like it, since his recipe seems to lack the middle part the plaque actually goes on... it just means if i do make this it would be bigger than life size and i need and impressive dowel that will be big enough to go through the cookie and the cake and down below what the cake will be on so it wont fall over. i figure if i do it it will either be a photo op for hunter bell or a photo op for cake wrecks! (http://www.titleofshow.com/blog/index.php?itemid=1736)

i left the apartment and met up with krysta to drop off tucker, then i headed for some cake related errands. i found some great things and bought supplies at home depot... how hardcore is that? anywho i also brainstormed another idea i might do instead of using the black and white cookie. i also got glitter gel and it looks so cool but since i got special sugar i am afraid it might not show up, or it might drip... oh well, i look forward to this challenge!

it began to rain and i was getting soaked so i was glad to get home and change into dry clothes and am now wasting the night away!

Day 262/365 (May 7. 2009)

This photo was "stolen" from TONY Lounge's FB Page

So began my massive lack of sleep, but fun doom! As became usual we went to bed around 3/4ish in the morning and right beforehand Dawn was like let's try getting standby tickets for Jimmy Fallon. SO she left earlier than me, and then i got up at 7 and joined her in the standby line. After they handed out the tickets we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. I wanted to go to the softball games which i am beginning to think i am not supposed to, so instead of sleeping i took a tiny 20 minute nap and got up and got tucker together and headed to central park. (keep in mind i checked the website before i left and in hindsight have realized that page was loaded offline) so i get there to the field i wanted and nothing! as i make my way to the other fields with lots of walking and frustration over confusing central park i get there and see nothing! i walked for almost two hours with a 6 pound puppy that only walked the equivalent of about 10/15 street blocks the whole time. then i check my phone and on my phone it said the games were cancelled due to rain... awesome, not!

then i get home and no time for napping, i change into my clothes for the night and see it has started to rain slightly so i put on my rain boots.  we walk outside with umbrellas and it was a slight rain... we get about a block away and MASSIVE downpour the rest of the way. it was also windy so basically our umbrellas did nothing and we got soaked from head to toe! we checked in on the standby list then went to a bathroom and used the driers to try and dry off a little.. didnt work so much with me! then we took our place in line when we were allowed to.

they ended up pulling us from the regular line and putting us in the band line and finally still wet we took our seats in the extremely air conditioned studio... just the thing in soaking wet clothes! the filming was pretty fun and we saw martha stewert, some stupid comedian, and got to be on stage when a band played. after it was over we ran out to get to the birthday party and when i did i saw a girl get hit by a cab (nothing serious, a little roll and she was totally fine as exhibited by how quickly she whipped out her cell phone and rolled her head around in anger) so i was like "let's not be good samaritans and just go!" so we did... (and ended up meeting martha's dogs)

eventually we got to chevy's to celebrate matthew and mackenzie's 21st birthday and of course dawn's 22 nd birthday, since today was her birthday. we had a nice meal and chatted with everyone (sasha, marty, amelia, zuri, todd, and brian at one point). then i rushed over to new world stages so i wouldnt be late for check in for karaoke idol.

i was already in a state of panic experiencing slight stage fright before i got there since they wanted a headshot (like i had one of those), but then i got there and the place was bursting at the seems with people, so many of them, the check in line was long, and i saw the performances would be happening down stairs and was being projected on the TOL tvs for anyone who wanted to stay upstairs. then i found out who the judges were... yea i have never been nervous like that before. i mean my pulse was racing, i was on the verge of tears, and at times had a hard time breathing. people tried to make me feel better like dawn, lympus, mkc, and mitch... yea it didnt help! finally i was able to calm myself down enough to pretend like i was ready... and i ended up having a great time and felt so good about facing my fear!

i hung around the whole time standing mostly in my painful rain boots (mistake) and dawn had left to do some shopping then go home. it ended at 2... i still havent slept at this point but the rest makes sense on next entry for the date of it all.

Day 258/365 (May 3, 2009)

i woke up feeling alot happier which was nice, and after some good puppy time i made my way out. It was raining, and he the streets were so water filled. i ended up getting soaked on my 25 minute walk tot he life cafe. sneakers were a pool, and my pants got hit so bad, it went all the way up to my knees!

Anywho Emilie wanted to celebrate her birthday at Life Cafe, so that is where i went. Emilie, Jennifer, Carina, Steph, Vicki, Jerri, Some other girl, and myself stayed there for like 2 hours (maybe a little more.) They very nicely didn't kick us out even after we payed. I really don't like the food at Life Cafe, yeek! my turkey burger was plain and burnt! Then we walked to Crumbs by union square and i was proud of myself for no breaking down and buying a cupcake! then we all headed uptown. i went to the NWS Box Office to buy tickets to ABz for dawn and myself. Ended up with great seats for tomorrow night! while there i ran into Ravi very quickly, and MKC and group of his friends holding up the line buying tickets. (not really holding up the line) then i got my tickets and headed back to kim's. i was able to finally make the pizza and do the dishes that i have made since i was here. Soon i am going to make sure i have all my stuff and head home, since Kim gets back tonight. I am watching a cheesy movie on ABC Family called Taking 5 and enjoying it quite a bit!

I also got bit by the organization/cleaning bug! i decided my closet needed sme work so i switched out the winter stuff and put in the spring stuff and i also reorganized it back into sections... it took a long time but felt wicked good!

Day 245/365 (April 20, 2009)

Today i paid lots of bills, and finally finished cleaning my room. i also had to puppy proof it since tucker can now get over all my well crafted blockades and that meant moving the cat food once again to on top of my heater. he also had more accidents on the floor, so there was alot of cleaning but he seems to be doing it right again which is nice!

I then cleaned all the dishes and stuff and just worked on organizing my life!

eventually i finished my cheese soup which was still as yum as ever and if you cant tell one of my favorite things to eat! there was lots of tv watching, and cleaning up after tucker, but we are making progress!

eventually i headed, in the pouring rain, to see the broadway beauty pageant. it was really quite a fun awesome thing! The host was Tovah Feldshuh and let me tell you she is absolutely hylerical! the judges were charles busch, beth leavel, seth rudetsky, and ana gasteyer. each one added such an amusing unique touch to the night!

the contestants were just um wow! i'll talk about each of them... but it in general the pageant went like this Opening number (which was cute and done by all the contestants), talent competition, interview, swim wear competition, then past winners performed, then marty thomas performed. in between there was voting and speeches.

Tony James (Mr. Lion King) did a stunning modern dance with a partner and he moved so beautifully and gracefully (and his partner) and made perfect lines and movements, what i rememeber from his interview was that he has been in TLK for about 9 years on and off. His swim wear (which he made himself) was done to i just cant wait to be king and he had a lion king towel to start off with.

James Brown III (Mr. Little Mermaid) also did an incredible modern dance with a partner. Once again i just cant get over the agility and gracefulness and control had over his (well their) bodies. his partner looked like he could be his twin. Sadly right now i dont remember anything from his interview, herumph! His swim wear was done to kiss the girl and he totally played to the audience and judges!

David Larsen (Mr. Billy Elliot, the first ever straight contestant in 3 years) oh his talent! he gave a brief synopsis of BE and a little story from the rehearsal process. He said this inspired the song and he wrote it and gave it to his cast on opening night (thankfully not the young ones) it was an original song about margaret Thatcher that had quite the catchy scandalous chorus! His interview caused him to recite the pledge of allegiance in the accent used in BE and he said his happiest moment ever was marrying his wife... awwweeee! His was the best swim wear! he came out in coal minor garb, complete with head light. then he cued the lights off took the stuff off and when the lights came on he had "super short shorts" that had a sparkly union jack on the front and a star on the back. (I dont know BE music so i dont know what song it was)

Adam Fleming (Mr. Wicked) he sang a song and danced with 4 girls that they choreographed. It was super fun and really got the energy of the crowd up! he was dr. feel good or something like that. yay for him dancing so well! What i remember from the interview was that he got his equity card when he got hairspray and wicked is his 2nd broadway show. His swim wear involved green and he came out with "green elixir" and pretended to be drunk while stumbling... his song started with have yourself a little drink my.... then turned into popular for a hot second.

Anthony Hollock (Mr. Hair) wow! is talent he came out dressed as a girl playing the trumpet (fame) then started singing... pushed away the band, took over playing/singing a song at the piano, freaked out... had band play again while he sang some more, had some crazy flips, and was just over the top amazing! his interview he spoke about how freeing it was to do the nudity in hair and it was his first broadway show and how he wasnt equity or anything when he waited for hours at an EPA and was able to be seen that got called back, and got the part and said it can happen. For the swim wear he started out with an american flag wrapped around and i was so afraid he was going to be nude... but thankfully he was not and i think his song was hair.

Then after they left there was some a performance by the previous two winners Frankie James Grande and Marty Thomas (with some help, one of which was Jacob Ben Widmar... spelling?) It was a cowboy themed number that included some tap dancing and a very glittery chest. It was funny and had lovely singing too. Then there was some filler time that got us a 42nd street tap dance from Beth Leavel because she still remembered it and did it in crazy high heels! Then Marty came back out in a super snazzy sparkly coat and sand a beautiful rendition of i will always love you that i regret not taking a video of! (seth was nodding in what i can assume excitement at him sounding so great.) then he had to do some filler while all the votes were being tallied. (which by the way you could have your vote counted as double or triple if you attached a ten or twenty to your ballot... you could buy this election!) this resulted in him sharing his i beat britney story and he sang the song he sang on star search with some very dramatic stage direction and narration... loved it!

then they announced the winner who was Mr. Hair! (well irst the runner up mr. little mermaid (i think) who raised the most money online) and marty sang a song while he was crowned... it was just a really awesome way to raise money for a really great organization! i am so going next year!

i also noticed my last post had a bolded paragraph and i was having technical difficulties trying to fix it... i failed! i also ate a TON of celery left over from when i made the soup... i love crunching celery so much!

Links:

http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/upstaged/2009/04/photo-gallery-broadway-beauty-pageant/

http://www.popnography.com/2009/04/a-trip-down-memory-lane-at-the-mr-broadway-pageant.html

Day 228/365 (April 3, 2009)

i woke up wicked early because i was in new rochelle and well they wake up early so that means i do too... it was nice being able to say bye to them before they went to school, and they were happy i finally spent more than a few hours with them and stayed the night. It was raining so very badly that day! but i made my way home and dropped off my laundry, did some quic roadtrip planning with megan for saturday, showered and headed out to meet zina. We went comic book shopping for her and it just made me happy to spend time with her, but we did lots of walking and i was wearing my uncomfortable rain boots and my feet were starting to hurt lots! i ended up at Sasha's with matthew and pip, and eventually Marty (and a little time with Nick) for a while before getting some food and heading off to the theatre where Nick's show was at.

The theatre was in a part of a church and we were really upset because we were one of the first people there and were waiting so we could get the front row, but they opened up the back door and we ended up being in the second to last row, but there were a ton of us!

The show was made awkward because when the subject matter and language of the show was taken into account and you looked up and saw the ginormous murals of jesus and god watching you it was a little creepy! but i was so proud of him and he did such a great job! The majority of the audience was comprised of people there for him (and the other guy) and even Luther came to see him which i thought was really sweet. then all of us and his parents went for a walk finding them a place to celebrate, and we sent them on their way then sasha, marty, and myself did a little errand before going to sasha's for a tiny bit where we put the at this performance sign i stole on nick's door, ad some popsicles, then went to mostly sondheim.

Mostly sondheim was so much fun and i had missed not being there for a whole month! kate was doing something else so it was just brian and todd and todd had people try out to be his co-host and i got to at one point which was super fun and even marty and sasha sang much to my delight! and when i was recounting the awkwardness of god looking down during the show brian started to play god is watching us (from a distance) which sasha and i were like thats what we were singing the whole time! then finally i needed to go home and get some sleep since i was doing some driving for a roadtrip!

when i got home i had an incredibly hard time getting my rain boots off... i mean we are talking my feet ended up swelling so they didnt want to come out and my poor heels were so tender from the boots.... so much pain... but by morning the feet werent swllen anymore which was nice, but they still hurt a bit.

at one point during the day i made heather's birthday card

Day 163/365 (January 28, 2009)

It was so incredibly snowy/rainy. When i was getting dressed i contemplated using my boots or using my rain galoshes. In the end i decided warmth over dry. I was very wrong. As i made my way to Ars Nova to be in the audience for a taping of a Pasek and Paul thing my feet became soaked beyond belief and they ended up colder than they would have been if i had just worn my rain galoshes.

The taping was lots of fun, music, random comedy moments, howdy doody. Running into random people i know. Then i came home and turned the boots upside down so they could dry.