Yesterday I continued on my tour of old friend Christmas parties by heading to Worcester to embrace my college days. Tim has been teaching at HC and living across the street from the campus, and he held an egg nog party for his friends. It was really fun getting together and laughing about crazy old stories. When we were getting into our cars, though, Jess and I both agreed that we wished that this was 7 years ago and we lived across the street from an off-campus party and didn't have to drive over an hour home. Alas.
I asked Ricky what Christmas song he wanted, and that was Robert Smigel's Christmastime for the Jews, which was featured on SNL a few years ago. It made him laugh so hard he cried. Not a traditional Christmas carol, but definitely a good one for this. And it's clay animation... who doesn't love that?!
Christmastime for the Jews from Bix Pix Entertainment, Inc. on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label Holy Cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Cross. Show all posts
Monday, December 24, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Holiday Cheer, HC-Style
If you look outside, it doesn't look like December. It doesn't even really feel like December inside from my apartment. We have one pine tree candle, and we've purchased stockings to decorate, and we've even made a decent dent in the large canon of Christmas movies out there, but I'm just not in the Christmas spirit yet. Today, though, I think that may change, as I'm returning to Holy Cross for the afternoon.
Ricky and even my coworkers sometimes tease me about my love for HC. There's just something about that little academic paradise on a hill that sets my heart pitter patter, and it comes out even stronger in the wintertime. Much like how Hogwarts always looked prettier at Christmas, Holy Cross feels and looks even prettier under a blanket of snow with greenery and advent wreaths. Last night, HC hosted its annual tradition of Lessons and Carols. I didn't steam it, but I'm sure it was merry with the choir singing and candles and greens everywhere. I went a few times when I was in college, and it's a really nice experience.
This is a stressful time in the life of a Crusader, since classes are wrapping up and finals are going to be underway next week. It was a lot of not sleeping for me and a lot of cramming to write all my papers and study literary themes or important plays. We even had all of the student performances during the reading days, so those three days that I could have used as a jump start on papers were spent in the Pit, rehearsing one thing or another. But it was still very nice, since it signified the end of a semester and visual proof of learning outcomes.
There was definitely a social aspect to the end of the semester and finals. Because no one had classes, big lunches used for discussing books and studying happened regularly. Jess, Karin, Tim, sometimes Erin, and I would also spend hours in Hogan, buying cup after cup of coffee and writing papers on the couches. At night, we'd all trek to Midnight Breakfast and stay for hours, soaking up all the free coffee they provided while eating egg sandwiches and hash browns. This was the break we'd need, though often someone would have a book or a paper in hand to edit and hopefully not get coffee or maple syrup on. It didn't matter what we were doing, we'd make sure we were there every night. There was also a memorable time when our classmate Ed (now a monk!) was panicking about something and gave himself a bloody nose.
I know I discussed all of this last year, but the feelings of nostalgia came flooding back again. Why? My friend Tim has been teaching at HC all semester, and today is the last day of his fall semester. He's celebrating with pizza (as only one can when you're finishing Milton) and then I am joining him for a later lunch somewhere in the city. It's been exciting hearing him talk about being back in Worcester and starting on his career path, so spending time with Tim on the last day of classes seems appropriate. It makes me remember all the winters in Worcester (or while I was in Worcester and he was studying in England) we've spent together. The midnight breakfast, the coffees in Hogan, the Christmas party where he dressed up like Santa. All of it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think this trip to Worcester will be the beginning of holiday cheer that I need. A walk around to look at the greens, see the manger, drink too much coffee with Tim... that'll all bring me to that frame of mind that's ready for Christmas and the holidays in general. I'm glad that I'm doing it a little older, a lot wiser, a few more grays and a ring on my left hand, and that I don't have to stretch my margins out to get a paragraph onto the 10th page all while trying not to spill in my books so I can try to sell them back to the bookstore.
Ricky and even my coworkers sometimes tease me about my love for HC. There's just something about that little academic paradise on a hill that sets my heart pitter patter, and it comes out even stronger in the wintertime. Much like how Hogwarts always looked prettier at Christmas, Holy Cross feels and looks even prettier under a blanket of snow with greenery and advent wreaths. Last night, HC hosted its annual tradition of Lessons and Carols. I didn't steam it, but I'm sure it was merry with the choir singing and candles and greens everywhere. I went a few times when I was in college, and it's a really nice experience.
This is a stressful time in the life of a Crusader, since classes are wrapping up and finals are going to be underway next week. It was a lot of not sleeping for me and a lot of cramming to write all my papers and study literary themes or important plays. We even had all of the student performances during the reading days, so those three days that I could have used as a jump start on papers were spent in the Pit, rehearsing one thing or another. But it was still very nice, since it signified the end of a semester and visual proof of learning outcomes.
There was definitely a social aspect to the end of the semester and finals. Because no one had classes, big lunches used for discussing books and studying happened regularly. Jess, Karin, Tim, sometimes Erin, and I would also spend hours in Hogan, buying cup after cup of coffee and writing papers on the couches. At night, we'd all trek to Midnight Breakfast and stay for hours, soaking up all the free coffee they provided while eating egg sandwiches and hash browns. This was the break we'd need, though often someone would have a book or a paper in hand to edit and hopefully not get coffee or maple syrup on. It didn't matter what we were doing, we'd make sure we were there every night. There was also a memorable time when our classmate Ed (now a monk!) was panicking about something and gave himself a bloody nose.
I know I discussed all of this last year, but the feelings of nostalgia came flooding back again. Why? My friend Tim has been teaching at HC all semester, and today is the last day of his fall semester. He's celebrating with pizza (as only one can when you're finishing Milton) and then I am joining him for a later lunch somewhere in the city. It's been exciting hearing him talk about being back in Worcester and starting on his career path, so spending time with Tim on the last day of classes seems appropriate. It makes me remember all the winters in Worcester (or while I was in Worcester and he was studying in England) we've spent together. The midnight breakfast, the coffees in Hogan, the Christmas party where he dressed up like Santa. All of it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think this trip to Worcester will be the beginning of holiday cheer that I need. A walk around to look at the greens, see the manger, drink too much coffee with Tim... that'll all bring me to that frame of mind that's ready for Christmas and the holidays in general. I'm glad that I'm doing it a little older, a lot wiser, a few more grays and a ring on my left hand, and that I don't have to stretch my margins out to get a paragraph onto the 10th page all while trying not to spill in my books so I can try to sell them back to the bookstore.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
MFT Day 16: Orange juice + marshmallow vodka
Uggggh forgot to post yesterday. My bad.
I'll write a short one to catch up, then later on tonight I'll write something a bit longer. Also, for the children, a warning that this post will discuss booze.
So in the last few years I've noticed more and more new and whacky flavors of vodka on the market. Back when I was a college kid/early 20's kid, I loved me some flavored vodkas. At parties, I pretty much wanted to drink things that tasted like candy and/or watered down beer. My main jam was fruit-flavored vodka with Sprite or vanilla-flavored vodka with Coke. After graduating, I also graduated to wine, non-watery beer*, and gin. For the most part, I haven't looked back once.
Until recently, that is. I was in a packie looking for wine when I found myself in the vodka aisle. I was wandering around while Ricky was getting a bottle of wine for a party, and I spotted all the new flavors they have. Gone are the days when "I'm being whacky" meant vanilla or (gasp!) sour apple. No, they had root beer vodka, cupcake vodka, acai berry vodka**, whipped cream vodka, and marshmallow vodka. I decided to regress for a moment and pick up some flavored vodka instead of my wine and try it out.
I went with the marshmallow, and since it was cold that night had it with my Tim Horton's hot chocolate. It was definitely tasty, and nice to have that subtle flavor of marshmallow to cut through the chocolate. About a week later, I had the idea to try marshmallow vodka with orange juice. After all, marshmallows are vanilla-flavored, so it had to be good. And ohhhhh was I right! It tastes just like an orange creamsicle popsicle. It's quite tasty and a nice weekend cocktail. Strongly recommend it.
*It's life-changing when you realize there are better beers out there than Pabst. And that you can taste quality.
**Seriously, why are acai berries so hip right now?
I'll write a short one to catch up, then later on tonight I'll write something a bit longer. Also, for the children, a warning that this post will discuss booze.
So in the last few years I've noticed more and more new and whacky flavors of vodka on the market. Back when I was a college kid/early 20's kid, I loved me some flavored vodkas. At parties, I pretty much wanted to drink things that tasted like candy and/or watered down beer. My main jam was fruit-flavored vodka with Sprite or vanilla-flavored vodka with Coke. After graduating, I also graduated to wine, non-watery beer*, and gin. For the most part, I haven't looked back once.
Until recently, that is. I was in a packie looking for wine when I found myself in the vodka aisle. I was wandering around while Ricky was getting a bottle of wine for a party, and I spotted all the new flavors they have. Gone are the days when "I'm being whacky" meant vanilla or (gasp!) sour apple. No, they had root beer vodka, cupcake vodka, acai berry vodka**, whipped cream vodka, and marshmallow vodka. I decided to regress for a moment and pick up some flavored vodka instead of my wine and try it out.
I went with the marshmallow, and since it was cold that night had it with my Tim Horton's hot chocolate. It was definitely tasty, and nice to have that subtle flavor of marshmallow to cut through the chocolate. About a week later, I had the idea to try marshmallow vodka with orange juice. After all, marshmallows are vanilla-flavored, so it had to be good. And ohhhhh was I right! It tastes just like an orange creamsicle popsicle. It's quite tasty and a nice weekend cocktail. Strongly recommend it.
*It's life-changing when you realize there are better beers out there than Pabst. And that you can taste quality.
**Seriously, why are acai berries so hip right now?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Golda Meir
 |
| The birthday girl with Gertrude and Alice, 2006. |
I had this paperdoll set when I was little. Dover Books produces hand-drawn paperdoll sets on a range of subjects, from presidents to movie stars to fashion from a decade to Notable Women in history. Because my mum is wise and I am neurotic, I was never allowed to cut up these paperdoll books, but could use them to draw my own paperdolls. This was quite smart, since I could keep the books as reference forever. In fact, I still have them all in my closet at my parents' house.
One day in college, I was telling Erin about these paperdolls and she remarked that it was the strangest set of paperdolls imaginable. This is mainly because while they did have more "glamorous" women like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edith Wharton, they included significantly less paperdoll-ish women like...
...a bare-breasted Pocahontas
...Gertrude Stein, with Alice B. Toklas as her accessory plate
...Golda Meir
Erin couldn't imagine what this book would look like, so I decided to buy her her very own copy of this book. She thought the plates were hilarious. I think it was published as a historical toy for young girls who like paper dolls. I tried to find it on the Dover website, but I think they've discontinued it for other paper doll sets. Like notable TV moms. And Vampires. It's a shame, because every little girl out there should be able to play paperdolls with Gertrude, Alice, and Golda.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Midnight Breakfast
I learned earlier in the year that my college President would be retiring. He put in 12 good years, and was all-around liked by the community, even naming a building after him in celebration of a job well done. HC's website has been marking the "lasts" of Fr. McFarland's tenure, which is bittersweet for sure. But today, I read about a "last" that for some reason hit really close to home.
Fr. McFarland is serving his last Midnight Breakfast with the senior staff at HC. I don't know why, but this struck a chord with me, as Midnight Breakfast was one of my favorite memories of college. Every night of Finals Week, staff and faculty members would stay out late and serve breakfast to the overtired, overworked Crusaders. It was a nice way to break up days of stressful studying and paper writing (and for me, play directing) by meeting friends in Crossroads to read, edit papers, and drink way too much coffee while eating egg sandwiches. I remember in those broke college student days making sure I budgeted enough in that last week to get orange juice, an egg sandwich, and that side of bacon to stuff into said egg sandwich.
I know that others went regularly, but I mainly remember meeting up with my friends Tim, Jess, and Karin at Midnight Breakfast. We were also the crew who spent way too much time in the campus center on couches, reading and drinking coffee and being slightly bitchy. I also remember making plans to see people or study with certain classmates at Midnight Breakfast. It was the place to go when being in your room or one of the libraries was a bit too much.
Fr. McFarland would always be there night one, happy to scoop out homefries to the busy students, always trading in his priestly attire for jeans and a plaid shirt. I don't know why, but this always charmed me.
So I'm sad to see Fr. McFarland leave the community, and it makes me think fondly of my four years at college all over again. I only hope the next president enjoys his time at midnight breakfast, and has a trusty plaid shirt to don while scooping out eggs.
Fr. McFarland is serving his last Midnight Breakfast with the senior staff at HC. I don't know why, but this struck a chord with me, as Midnight Breakfast was one of my favorite memories of college. Every night of Finals Week, staff and faculty members would stay out late and serve breakfast to the overtired, overworked Crusaders. It was a nice way to break up days of stressful studying and paper writing (and for me, play directing) by meeting friends in Crossroads to read, edit papers, and drink way too much coffee while eating egg sandwiches. I remember in those broke college student days making sure I budgeted enough in that last week to get orange juice, an egg sandwich, and that side of bacon to stuff into said egg sandwich.
I know that others went regularly, but I mainly remember meeting up with my friends Tim, Jess, and Karin at Midnight Breakfast. We were also the crew who spent way too much time in the campus center on couches, reading and drinking coffee and being slightly bitchy. I also remember making plans to see people or study with certain classmates at Midnight Breakfast. It was the place to go when being in your room or one of the libraries was a bit too much.
Fr. McFarland would always be there night one, happy to scoop out homefries to the busy students, always trading in his priestly attire for jeans and a plaid shirt. I don't know why, but this always charmed me.
So I'm sad to see Fr. McFarland leave the community, and it makes me think fondly of my four years at college all over again. I only hope the next president enjoys his time at midnight breakfast, and has a trusty plaid shirt to don while scooping out eggs.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
What I did on my summer vacation
I realize that other than telling people about songs I like sporadically over the summer, I haven't really blogged much in the past few months. It's not that I've been sitting around quietly twiddling my thumbs. I've been busy. BUSY. I think the summer of 2011 will go down as one of my busier times. I don't know why, but the stars aligned and things got quite busy and full and important. And so I thought I'd sum up my summer, elementary school report-style:
Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!
2011 is the year of people falling in love and getting married. Or rather, being in love, but deciding that 2011 was the year they felt financially comfortable enough to have a wedding. By the end of 2011, I will have attended seven weddings this year. Yes. SEVEN. I've been forcing myself to not think about the finances of it, or else I'll get too stressed. In July, we had a wedding every weekend for three weeks in a row. I'm very happy for all my friends, but I'll also be happy when I have many months off in a row to rest up for being in two weddings in 2012.
Reunions
This year marked my 5 year reunion from college. Ricky and I trekked to Worcester for a weekend back on the hill. It was nice, but also had bits of melancholy. I feel like sometimes reunions try to re-capture a moment in time from your life, but that it ultimately fails. We're not all college kids anymore on the same level. We all have jobs or in grad school, and our personal lives are also at different levels. It was a fun weekend, but parts of it rang sad and hallow.
Vermont!
Ricky and I took one of the few free weekends to escape to Vermont. (I did actually post photos from that! I blogged something this summer!) It was the best few days I've had in awhile, and a rewarding and relaxing vacation for sure. Driving the 4 hours with Ricky was nice to have some time just the two of us to talk and hang out, and then when we got there, we did a wide array of our favorite activities. My cousin lives up there, so it was nice to see her. We've since fantasized about a world where we could move full time to Vermont, but I don't think that'd happen for a few years. I highly recommend an escape to northern Vermont for everyone.
The Beach
Ricky and I have the luxury of growing up by the ocean. So in the summertime, since it's easier for us to get to a beach, we try to go as much as we can on weekends or days off. This year, I felt we were able to get several trips in, despite all the other business. We're definitely not beach bums, just people who enjoy the water and sitting outdoors.
Two key friends moved far away
This summer two of my friends up and moved. Both were for the best, but it was still bittersweet to see them go. The first was my friend Dave, who got a job in Vermont. He had been trying to find something he liked in his field that was full time for a long time, so I was very happy for him. And, as I mentioned, I (not so) secretly want to someday live in Vermont and eat only from farmer's markets all day long. Secondly was my friend Crystal. She and her husband moved back to England, where he is from. I know that this is something she's wanted for a long time, so I am beyond excited for them. AND they're expecting a baby, so it's great that she'll be closer to family. Crystal gave me her living room set (well, more like sold it to me for dirt cheap) so I always have a little bit of Crystal in my life. I wish them both.
One important concert
This summer, my mom, brothers, Ashley, Ricky and I went to see Big Audio Dynamite. This was huge in my book, since I grew up listening to them and loving them. And we got very close spots at the House of Blues. It was amazing being that close to Mick Jones. He's aged decently well, and he still had the energy to put on a great show. They played all the songs of my childhood, which was equally key.
So yeah! That's how I pretty much spent my summer. There were other things in there that kept me busy, but those were the big events or trends.
Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!
2011 is the year of people falling in love and getting married. Or rather, being in love, but deciding that 2011 was the year they felt financially comfortable enough to have a wedding. By the end of 2011, I will have attended seven weddings this year. Yes. SEVEN. I've been forcing myself to not think about the finances of it, or else I'll get too stressed. In July, we had a wedding every weekend for three weeks in a row. I'm very happy for all my friends, but I'll also be happy when I have many months off in a row to rest up for being in two weddings in 2012.
Reunions
This year marked my 5 year reunion from college. Ricky and I trekked to Worcester for a weekend back on the hill. It was nice, but also had bits of melancholy. I feel like sometimes reunions try to re-capture a moment in time from your life, but that it ultimately fails. We're not all college kids anymore on the same level. We all have jobs or in grad school, and our personal lives are also at different levels. It was a fun weekend, but parts of it rang sad and hallow.
Vermont!
Ricky and I took one of the few free weekends to escape to Vermont. (I did actually post photos from that! I blogged something this summer!) It was the best few days I've had in awhile, and a rewarding and relaxing vacation for sure. Driving the 4 hours with Ricky was nice to have some time just the two of us to talk and hang out, and then when we got there, we did a wide array of our favorite activities. My cousin lives up there, so it was nice to see her. We've since fantasized about a world where we could move full time to Vermont, but I don't think that'd happen for a few years. I highly recommend an escape to northern Vermont for everyone.
The Beach
Ricky and I have the luxury of growing up by the ocean. So in the summertime, since it's easier for us to get to a beach, we try to go as much as we can on weekends or days off. This year, I felt we were able to get several trips in, despite all the other business. We're definitely not beach bums, just people who enjoy the water and sitting outdoors.
Two key friends moved far away
This summer two of my friends up and moved. Both were for the best, but it was still bittersweet to see them go. The first was my friend Dave, who got a job in Vermont. He had been trying to find something he liked in his field that was full time for a long time, so I was very happy for him. And, as I mentioned, I (not so) secretly want to someday live in Vermont and eat only from farmer's markets all day long. Secondly was my friend Crystal. She and her husband moved back to England, where he is from. I know that this is something she's wanted for a long time, so I am beyond excited for them. AND they're expecting a baby, so it's great that she'll be closer to family. Crystal gave me her living room set (well, more like sold it to me for dirt cheap) so I always have a little bit of Crystal in my life. I wish them both.
One important concert
This summer, my mom, brothers, Ashley, Ricky and I went to see Big Audio Dynamite. This was huge in my book, since I grew up listening to them and loving them. And we got very close spots at the House of Blues. It was amazing being that close to Mick Jones. He's aged decently well, and he still had the energy to put on a great show. They played all the songs of my childhood, which was equally key.
So yeah! That's how I pretty much spent my summer. There were other things in there that kept me busy, but those were the big events or trends.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Day 11 from the 30 Day Song Challenge
Yesterday I went to my college's 5 Year Reunion. It was both wonderful and bizarre and bittersweet and hilarious all at once. I will probably post soon about how you can never go back to a moment in time -- even if all your friends are there and you are at the place of that moment -- but how it's also nice to try and revisit every now and again. The campus is as beautiful as always, and walking around it telling stories with someone who didn't go there was a nice experience. Ricky was impressed I walked up and down that hill for four years, that I could traverse from one end of campus to the other in 10 minutes if need be, and how fun my friends can be when together. This year, I'm going to three HC weddings, so I think 2011 will have a lot of college nostalgia in it.
But anyways, that's for another post. Today we're cover this:
Day 11: A Song From Your Favorite Band
That's the Beatles, but because I feel like it's easy to do a Beatles song, I'll do one from my favorite Beatle, George Harrison. I recently dug out All Things Must Pass to give it a good listen, and it was great. I like returning to a record after years, gives it new perspective and new ears, like I'm listening to it all over again.
I chose If Not For You, which I've always thought was a very sweet and pretty love song. I also put this on a mix for Ricky when we first started dating, so it has special meaning for that way as well.
But anyways, that's for another post. Today we're cover this:
Day 11: A Song From Your Favorite Band
That's the Beatles, but because I feel like it's easy to do a Beatles song, I'll do one from my favorite Beatle, George Harrison. I recently dug out All Things Must Pass to give it a good listen, and it was great. I like returning to a record after years, gives it new perspective and new ears, like I'm listening to it all over again.
I chose If Not For You, which I've always thought was a very sweet and pretty love song. I also put this on a mix for Ricky when we first started dating, so it has special meaning for that way as well.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Day 7 of the 30 Day Song Challenge
Dance, postcards, dance!It's Sunday morning. Ricky's watching The Killing On Demand and Lewis is running around everywhere, trying to get into things. Little does he know he's going to the groomer in a few hours to get his nails clipped and to visit the shelter where we adopted him from. They haven't seen him since he was a wee bit of a thing, and now he's almost 6 months. Little guy's getting so big!
Day 7: A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event
I think maybe because of my upcoming college reunion, and even a little bit of yesterday's post, but I've been thinking a bit more about college this weekend. I think for my Event, I will choose a song from my first full-length directing piece, The Wedding On The Eiffel Tower. To this day, it's my proudest accomplishment when it comes to theatre.
I made a really unique piece, while a lot of it was my work and ideas, another big part of it was a huge collaboration. Pete had inspired a lot of the music choices, and Erin and Danielle (both castmembers) had suggested pieces that made the cut. This great girl named Jen choreographed the whole thing. And while a lot of it was structured, I gave a lot of room for my actors to improv and create on their own. It was a lot of building up for me, but also a lot of letting go to make the performances what they could be. A huge lesson for myself.
I've been thinking about Eiffel Tower a lot more recently, too, when Erin got engaged in Paris. Originally it was supposed to be by the Eiffel Tower, but apparently it's too many people there to safely propose.
Of all the songs, I think I'll do the big dance number, which was Frank Zappa's Peaches En Regalia. All the postcards danced during this, and it was very funky and cool. I think Erin even still remembers parts of the dance.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 6 of the 30 Day Song Challenge
I seem to have lost some steam with this, and I apologize. Classes started this week at school, so it was a lot of busy time with the kids. Also, the Bruins were playing a lot of playoff hockey, which took up my evening free time. They're in the Stanley Cup Finals now, but I'll still make sure I have time for this.
Day 6: A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere
This one has been difficult, I think. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my undergrad experience at HC. My five-year reunion is coming up next weekend (eek!) and I realized that I graduated from college five years ago on Thursday, May 26. I've done a lot in five years, and yet at the same time it seems like yesterday that I was sitting in Kimball Dining Hall with Erin and Tim. I've gone back a few times since then, mainly for plays and one Commencement, but it's not the same. College on a campus is such a special time, and you really can't recapture that. This is not to say it was the best four years of my life -- because I think it's sad to have peaked at 22 -- but it was a memorable and special four years.
But the remembering part hasn't been the difficult part... it's the decision of what song! Do I pick my college song, O Holy Cross? Do I pick songs I used for theatre pieces I directed? Do I pick a song that friends turned me onto?
So I think for this post, knowing that a lot of music played a big part of my college life, I will pick Float On by Modest Mouse. That album came out in the middle of college, and I feel like Float On played pretty much every weekend, at whatever party or hang out I was on, and we'd all sing the lyrics. And whenever I hear those opening notes and guitar strums, I can think of various groups of friends in a dorm or a party singing it. This is one of those songs that no matter who I was with, too, they'd love that album. So don't you worry, we'll all float on.
Day 6: A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere
This one has been difficult, I think. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my undergrad experience at HC. My five-year reunion is coming up next weekend (eek!) and I realized that I graduated from college five years ago on Thursday, May 26. I've done a lot in five years, and yet at the same time it seems like yesterday that I was sitting in Kimball Dining Hall with Erin and Tim. I've gone back a few times since then, mainly for plays and one Commencement, but it's not the same. College on a campus is such a special time, and you really can't recapture that. This is not to say it was the best four years of my life -- because I think it's sad to have peaked at 22 -- but it was a memorable and special four years.
But the remembering part hasn't been the difficult part... it's the decision of what song! Do I pick my college song, O Holy Cross? Do I pick songs I used for theatre pieces I directed? Do I pick a song that friends turned me onto?
So I think for this post, knowing that a lot of music played a big part of my college life, I will pick Float On by Modest Mouse. That album came out in the middle of college, and I feel like Float On played pretty much every weekend, at whatever party or hang out I was on, and we'd all sing the lyrics. And whenever I hear those opening notes and guitar strums, I can think of various groups of friends in a dorm or a party singing it. This is one of those songs that no matter who I was with, too, they'd love that album. So don't you worry, we'll all float on.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
JFL, Five Years Later
Just like last year, I'll be having a shot at 9pm with various friends all around the country for my friend Jack, who died five years ago today. I think because it's the 5th anniversary, I'm feeling more nostalgic than past years. So on this day, think fondly of friends, cherish them, and if you find yourself with a shot of whiskey at 9pm Natick, MA time, lift it in memory of Jack and in celebration of old friends in general.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Pickled
Excellent work, Poppy Ott.Yesterday I received my first birthday card of the season. It was pickle-inspired and from Michnya, one of my oldest and dearest friends.
I don't know when this started, but we've been getting each other pickle cards for our birthdays for a few years now. It's both enjoyable and a challenge to find a card with a pickle on it, let alone birthday-themed.
Michnya's birthday is in a month, but I'm already ruminating on pickled papers...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
From the phone of Michnya
I worked with Al Pacino once.I got this text yesterday from Michnya. It mad my day:
So, just discovered that Baron Kelly interviewed for a job here last year, and was regarded as a blowhard ass by the grads on the selection committee.
Sooooo true.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A year of wedded bliss
One of the three times I was in HC magazine was in this picture. The other two were for being employed and a Balinese crane...Today is the one-year wedding anniversary of one of my best friends, Tim, and his lovely wife, Ann. I can't believe it! Tim is one of my first friends from college -- we had CRAW together and I remember thinking he was far too smart to want to be my friend, and oh was I wrong -- and we've been good friends for the last 7 years. It's crazy to think that I've known them both seven years, too, when typing that.
Tim and Ann went to college with me at HC, and he proposed the fall after we graduated. About two years later, we all convened in Cleveland, OH to watch them get married at 10am in a nice little church, then had an amazing Italian dinner afterwards.
In the year since this day, many things have happened. Tim's continued his graduate studies and Ann her work at GE. They sadly lost both their cat Ali to illness and Tim's grandfather. They gained a copy of The Faerie Queen and a fancy pants typewriter. They also are PREGNANT! I've known for a few months now, but couldn't talk about it, since it was hush hush. But all things seem to be promising and it's almost the end of the first trimester, so I am pleased to say I'll be an honorary auntie in February. I can't wait to spoil my first honorary niece or nephew. :)
Tim's wedding is also where my other best friend from college -- Erin my bizarro twin -- met her boyfriend, Matt. So it's a good time of year all around.
Here's some looking back and looking forward:
August 9, 2008: Tim and Ann get hitched at 10am in a church in Cleveland.
August 8, 2009: Tim and Ann celebrate one year of marriage at their parents' house at a BBQ. They also celebrate their pregnancy and other adorableness.
Me and my two best friends the morning of Tim's wedding.
Me, Jess, and Erin in one of the best/artsy shots of the three of us. All fantastic natural lighting and prettiness here.
And finally, Tim and Ann share a drink. The drink is a Long Island Iced Tea. Hardcore.
Hooray Tim and Ann!
Monday, July 20, 2009
JFL
Today is a very mixed emotion day for me. Four years ago, I lost my friend Jack to a freak accident. It was very unexpected and sad. I think about Jack often and miss him every day. Definitely something that shaped me and my friends and we still grapple with.
We'll be doing the shot heart round the world tonight at 9pm. A shot of Jack for Jack. I think I'll be doing it with Jennie, which will be nice to spend it with a really good friend who also has many fond memories of Jack.
Miss you and love you, Jack. <3
UPDATE: It warms my heart every year to see my friends post Facebook status updates about Jack. There'll be a lot of whiskey consumed tonight in honor of the Master Electrizzle.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Mimpi finally goes on the road
Here's one of my many stories from my most recent trip to HC:
Mimpi is finally going on the road to Bali
What is Mimpi, you may ask? My junior year of college, Fall 2004, I was in a Balinese dance drama called Mimpi. It was a combination of two Balinese folk tales. I played a Crane in the Greek Chorus, and Putu's grandmother. It was a challenging experience, but also rewarding in the end. What made it a little difficult is that we wrote it ourselves and created the piece as we went along. A very organic experience, but when you're used to getting a script and having more structure, it was something I don't know if the whole cast was fully prepared for.
This is also the play I was in when I fell in a gutter completely sober the night the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, and I badly sprained my ankle and was on crutches up to the show and spent the whole show with tons of ace bandages making sure I could still do it. But that's a story for another day.
So after Mimpi went up and it got rave reviews in the States (apparently people from PBS wish they knew of this show so they could tape it and air it on PBS) the seed was planted that we could bring Mimpi on the road. And not just any road, like perhaps to Boston or NYC or DC, but a further and longer road that would require passports. Yes, Lynn the director decided to take Mimpi straight to the source... Bali.
Fall of 2004 we were all very excited at the idea of moving to Bali for a few weeks, living with Balinese artists, and putting up our show. This is something we never thought could and would happen, and it was very exciting. Daunting, yes, but exciting.
Then came some road blocks. First off, it is incredibly expensive to fly a troupe of actors and all their costumes and set pieces to Bali. Each flight would have been thousands of dollars alone. It would take some serious fundraising or grants.
Another significantly bigger issue came up when we found out that we would not be insured by the college because Bali was on a list of countries academic institutions were not allowed to visit because it was considered a terrorist threat. So in 2004, it was considered risky for us to go there. These two things made our Balinese Mimpi dreams get put on a shelf.
Fast forward five years, and I heard from my friend Jen that Mimpi is FINALLY going on the road. The ban has been lifted, the funds are there, and Lynn is working with a combination of HC artists and Balinese artists. Only a few people from my production will be going (Jen and Tom) and they'll rehearse for a week and put the show on for two or three. This will be happening in June. Lynn's been traveling to Bali a lot, I hear, to work out the kinks.
This news was bittersweet for me. First off, I am so incredibly happy for Lynn to be able to fulfill this and put her show up in Bali. And I'm really happy for the HC actors who are able to go to Bali and have this amazing experience. This will be incredible on their resumes and an experience they will never forget.
It does, however, make me sad that my Bali dreams will not come to fruition. I am not at a place in my life where I can up and leave for Bali for a month, because I have bills and a job and can't up and leave. And I fear my skills and talents are not up to muster for a trip of this kind. While I support the arts, my talents are not "perform in Bali"-able. I also don't think I share the passion and excitement for Mimpi and this lifestyle that my friends who are going do. While I loved Mimpi, I could not up and move. So it was about 80% excitement that Mimpi is going on the road, 20% sadness that I am not.
If I hear more about Mimpi on the road, I will pass this information along. And again, congrats to everyone that Mimpi is finally on the road. Five yeras in the making!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Rage-chel Against the Machine at Holy Cross for the 2009 Fenwick Scholar Presentation
For one show only, Emily loves herself some Hot Topic.I could write many posts about my most recent trip to Worcester, but for now I'll stick to the main reason why I headed out to Central Mass this past Saturday night. Maybe if I am in need of a reason to blog, I'll discuss my other Worcester things.
My very dear friend Emily Rast, a very talented young actor who is clearly going places in this world, presented her Fenwick Friday and Saturday night at HC. She wrote a one-woman show that explored the ideas of the female ingenue in musical theatre and some characters who break out of that mold, as well as why it's important to have this archetype.
I guess now I should explain what the Fenwick is. So at HC, they select 1-3 students every year to write a 200-page thesis their senior year. They don't take classes, but instead focus their entire academic year writing this paper. Then in the spring, they present their paper in Smith Library. Their paper is also published and kept in the library, and their names are engraved on a plaque in the library. My friend Tim was one of the three my senior year. It's rare they select one that focuses on the arts, so I'm thrilled they picked Emily.
The show was free, and lasted a little under an hour. I was joking with Joan, my college boss and "college mom" that it was nice to just show up on campus and not have to worry about reservations. A nice little mini-reunion, since several people who were theatre majors during my tenure there also came on campus to see the show.
The show focuses on Rachel, an 18-year-old aspiring performance artist back for her first Thanksgiving break from college. Her mother is a famous musical theatre actor, and she tries very hard to rebel against her job and everything her art stands for: the female ingenue. They are unrelatable, out of touch with reality, boring, and just not something she wants. Rachel, with the help of some of musical theatre's most iconic characters and songs, explore this concept as well as some characters who break out of this mold.
Emily wrote this piece, and I was very impressed by it. Smart, witty, and something many can relate to, even if not in the theatre world. Wanting to make a place for oneself in the world, heartbreak, family, rebellion, and lonliness were all addressed. I know near the end Emily was feeling some significant stress regarding this piece, but I think a year of stress and hard work paid off tenfold.
Rage-chel Against the Machine was directed by another classmate of mine, Eric Butler '06. He's directed Emily in Pal Joey, Sweet Charity, and The Women, if not more pieces. This duo works very well together, and I think this was a nice swan song for them, as Emily is moving to Maine and then Upstate New York after graduating.
So a big congrats to Emily for a great project. You always amaze me.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A trip down memory lane... to Spring 2003
Today at work, I was doing research on how other sites get user feedback in real time, when I decided to get information from amazon.com. After getting the necessary screenshots, I took a moment to visit my favorite page on that site... for my old professor Steve Vineberg's book No Surprises, Please!: Movies in the Regan Decade. Now, I've never read this book, so that's not why I love this page. No, it's for the user comments.
Back in 2003, my friends Dave Wanczyk, Michnya, and I found this page and the following review, which gave Steve's book one star:
The dorkiest title of all time
Imagine writing a book and titling it NO Surprises, Please! That gives you an idea of how hip this author is. The book is dull, the insights are slight and the prose style is irritating. I stumbled upon this book in a library jumble sale... The concept for the book is so lame that it really should have been contained within an article in a university publication or some staid periodical for an audience of dullards. It's out of print now, mercifully, and is already so dated feeling that it's doubtful it will ever see the light of day again, but just in case you find another copy lying around in a pile or see this author's name on another book (please, no) you have been warned!
Our first line of attack against this was to say it was not helpful a bunch of times. Then, Dave decided to fire back with his own review of the book. (keep in mind, he's also never read it)
Don't judge a book by its title
This book is perhaps the best thing to happen to the cinema since Godard, and the best thing to happen to American cinema since God saw fit to mix amino acid with soul. When Emerson wrote about a new American poet carrying on his legend, he was not prophesying Whitman, he was shouting loud to the reverberate hills the name of Vineberg. The structure of this book is flawless, its insights sublime, its witticisms sharp, and its footnotes helpful. I've heard in various circles challenges to the authors hipness. Hemingway was not hip my friends. Hemingway may have been hardcore, but he did not know the words to this Mitch Miller hit, or that bee bop and skat tune. Steven Vineberg is both hardcore and hip, having memorized the lyrics to Eminem's smooth rap anthem, "Lose Yourself." In fact, Steve Vineberg is Marshall Mathers. His hatred of such 80s classics as The Breakfast Club and Ghostbusters II brought him to a level of rage unseen in white rap since Ed Isser screamed to Jon Tobin, "No one can be as intense as me." You can see the influence of filth like Mannequin in his lyric, "You don't wanna mess with Vineberg, cuz Vineberg will tear you paper up." Seriously, though, Vineberg is a meticulous writer and the most discerning critic of our day. A coincidental acronym for this professorial entity is "never, beg invest," and I implore my Amazon brothers and Sisters to never beg, but invest your hard earned 2.94$ in this book and help unseat J.K. Rowling. By the way, Vineberg likes Cuaron, the director of HP3, and he is my choice to direct HP7, "Harry Potter and the search for Macdougal's last paper."
Michnya and I then gave it a bunch of high marks and also emailed it to all of our friends, who also got a kick out of it. Then Michnya and Dave graduated, Dave fell off the face of the earth, but Michnya and I kept the buffoonery alive.
When I reread this page, I discovered that two years after Dave's review, someone else decided to take it into their own hands and also review this book. I'm also guessing that they've never read it, either.
How does one sum up a man and his work? (by Marshall Mathers III)
The Iroquois believe that before man walked the earth there was a great tribe of sky people who lived without worry or pain on a floating island. One day Sky Woman became pregnant with twins and was pushed by her murderous husband from their happy island home. Instead of plummeting to her death she was caught by birds and carried to safety. There was no land for her so they sprinkled earth on the back of a turtle and placed Sky Woman there.
Sky Woman gave birth to two healthy boys. She named her first son Sapling and he made all that is good and right in the world. He made the trees green and heavy with fruit. He made the waters cool and potable and he filled them up with a bounty of fish. Sky Woman's other son represented all that was dark in the world. He made the rivers flow away and turned the fruit to rot. He salted the earth where he walked and burned the forests to ash. He was the unmaker, the despoiler, the scourge and bane. He was VINEBERG and VINEBERG he remains. He'd like two of the Lucky Millions scratch-offs, please.
VINEBERG is going to climb Everest just to steal George Mallory's corpse. VINEBERG watches NASCAR for the crashes. VINEBERG forgot to leave off the pickles and he has hidden the complaint box. VINEBERG is a first responder. He's going to press his ear to your face and listen to your eyes glaze over. VINEBERG is going to taste your tears.
When the tempest crashes against the lighthouse and the beacon leads the ships aground, VINEBERG will be there riding on his trusty octopus Mephisto. VINEBERG is preoccupied with knitting. VINEBERG can fly but he prefers to travel as an airborne pathogen from host to host. VINEBERG is mutating the avian flu because he likes chickens better than you. VINEBERG loves kudzu, enough to marry it.
There are only two certain things in life: death and VINEBERG, taxes can take a hike. VINEBERG invented hide and seek to lure unattended children into abandoned refrigerators. VINEBERG wore a yarmulke when he traveled through time and beat up teenage Hitler. VINEBERG is digging up a pet cemetery and calling UPS with your address. The Chinese keep crickets as pets and VINEBERG keeps the Chinese as pets. VINEBERG has forbidden dancing on the weekend. VINEBERG is anaerobic.
VINEBERG is running a fraudulent cancer wig program to make sweaters for rich German eccentrics. VINEBERG is using Comic Sans. VINEBERG is opening the attachment. VINEBERG is entrusting a Nigerian with your banking information. VINEBERG just said "LOL" out loud just because he knows you hate it. VINEBERG is framing an expired gift certificate from Burger King. VINEBERG just blamed it on the dog.
VINBERG is sewing dolphin fins to amputees at Walter Reed. Don't blame VINEBERG, he voted for LaRouche. VINEBERG'S car is made entirely out of magnetic ribbons. VINEBERG supports the troops but not the war. VINEBERG is issuing a fatwah.
We would all die alone if it weren't for VINEBERG. VINEBERG is rowing you across the River of Death on your journey to the Kingdom of the West. VINEBERG is weighing your heart in the Hall of Osiris. VINEBERG knows a shortcut across the Lake of Fire. VINEBERG isn't telling. VINEBERG will be confronting his baby mama on Jerry Springer. VINEBERG just threw a baseball game because a terminally ill kid's final wish was that he win. VINEBERG is turning state's evidence.
VINEBERG is not permitted to live within 500 meters of a uranium centrifugal isotope sluice. VINEBERG is selling loose nukes to Syria. VINEBERG just bought up the world's stockpile of tungsten. He's building something, but no one is sure what.
VINEBERG is the sole financier of the hemp lobby. VINEBERG knows his rope. VINEBERG is handing out the brown acid. VINEBERG is having an old-fashioned freak out.
Behind the black door he toils and works. Flashes of welding and mechanical jerks. Ozone stink fills the hall and pounding hammers shake the wall. The loops of cable spill out like hair but no one knows what he's building in there. One day the door is open, the serpents come and the seals are broken. He has fused himself to his creation. The rising tide of blood drowns the coast and the skies are filled with fire. VINEBERG rises up on three mechanical legs and howls at the coruscating light that burns down the stars. He is god and betrayer, the unmaker, the despoiler, the scourge and bane. He is the end and the beginning and he is looking for a great deal on rust proofing.
I had to stop reading this review halfway, since I was crying I was laughing so hard. I also feel I should explain all the references to Eminem. So Spring 2003, Steve had the cast of Cyrano de Bergerac over to his house for a party after a show, and someone put on Lose Yourself. Steve then went on to sing every lyric of this song to the CD, and the cast circled around him while he did it like it was a high school dance. One of the most memorable moments from college, to be sure.
This may only be funny to a small handful of people, but I find all this absolutely hilarious.
Back in 2003, my friends Dave Wanczyk, Michnya, and I found this page and the following review, which gave Steve's book one star:
The dorkiest title of all time
Imagine writing a book and titling it NO Surprises, Please! That gives you an idea of how hip this author is. The book is dull, the insights are slight and the prose style is irritating. I stumbled upon this book in a library jumble sale... The concept for the book is so lame that it really should have been contained within an article in a university publication or some staid periodical for an audience of dullards. It's out of print now, mercifully, and is already so dated feeling that it's doubtful it will ever see the light of day again, but just in case you find another copy lying around in a pile or see this author's name on another book (please, no) you have been warned!
Our first line of attack against this was to say it was not helpful a bunch of times. Then, Dave decided to fire back with his own review of the book. (keep in mind, he's also never read it)
Don't judge a book by its title
This book is perhaps the best thing to happen to the cinema since Godard, and the best thing to happen to American cinema since God saw fit to mix amino acid with soul. When Emerson wrote about a new American poet carrying on his legend, he was not prophesying Whitman, he was shouting loud to the reverberate hills the name of Vineberg. The structure of this book is flawless, its insights sublime, its witticisms sharp, and its footnotes helpful. I've heard in various circles challenges to the authors hipness. Hemingway was not hip my friends. Hemingway may have been hardcore, but he did not know the words to this Mitch Miller hit, or that bee bop and skat tune. Steven Vineberg is both hardcore and hip, having memorized the lyrics to Eminem's smooth rap anthem, "Lose Yourself." In fact, Steve Vineberg is Marshall Mathers. His hatred of such 80s classics as The Breakfast Club and Ghostbusters II brought him to a level of rage unseen in white rap since Ed Isser screamed to Jon Tobin, "No one can be as intense as me." You can see the influence of filth like Mannequin in his lyric, "You don't wanna mess with Vineberg, cuz Vineberg will tear you paper up." Seriously, though, Vineberg is a meticulous writer and the most discerning critic of our day. A coincidental acronym for this professorial entity is "never, beg invest," and I implore my Amazon brothers and Sisters to never beg, but invest your hard earned 2.94$ in this book and help unseat J.K. Rowling. By the way, Vineberg likes Cuaron, the director of HP3, and he is my choice to direct HP7, "Harry Potter and the search for Macdougal's last paper."
Michnya and I then gave it a bunch of high marks and also emailed it to all of our friends, who also got a kick out of it. Then Michnya and Dave graduated, Dave fell off the face of the earth, but Michnya and I kept the buffoonery alive.
When I reread this page, I discovered that two years after Dave's review, someone else decided to take it into their own hands and also review this book. I'm also guessing that they've never read it, either.
How does one sum up a man and his work? (by Marshall Mathers III)
The Iroquois believe that before man walked the earth there was a great tribe of sky people who lived without worry or pain on a floating island. One day Sky Woman became pregnant with twins and was pushed by her murderous husband from their happy island home. Instead of plummeting to her death she was caught by birds and carried to safety. There was no land for her so they sprinkled earth on the back of a turtle and placed Sky Woman there.
Sky Woman gave birth to two healthy boys. She named her first son Sapling and he made all that is good and right in the world. He made the trees green and heavy with fruit. He made the waters cool and potable and he filled them up with a bounty of fish. Sky Woman's other son represented all that was dark in the world. He made the rivers flow away and turned the fruit to rot. He salted the earth where he walked and burned the forests to ash. He was the unmaker, the despoiler, the scourge and bane. He was VINEBERG and VINEBERG he remains. He'd like two of the Lucky Millions scratch-offs, please.
VINEBERG is going to climb Everest just to steal George Mallory's corpse. VINEBERG watches NASCAR for the crashes. VINEBERG forgot to leave off the pickles and he has hidden the complaint box. VINEBERG is a first responder. He's going to press his ear to your face and listen to your eyes glaze over. VINEBERG is going to taste your tears.
When the tempest crashes against the lighthouse and the beacon leads the ships aground, VINEBERG will be there riding on his trusty octopus Mephisto. VINEBERG is preoccupied with knitting. VINEBERG can fly but he prefers to travel as an airborne pathogen from host to host. VINEBERG is mutating the avian flu because he likes chickens better than you. VINEBERG loves kudzu, enough to marry it.
There are only two certain things in life: death and VINEBERG, taxes can take a hike. VINEBERG invented hide and seek to lure unattended children into abandoned refrigerators. VINEBERG wore a yarmulke when he traveled through time and beat up teenage Hitler. VINEBERG is digging up a pet cemetery and calling UPS with your address. The Chinese keep crickets as pets and VINEBERG keeps the Chinese as pets. VINEBERG has forbidden dancing on the weekend. VINEBERG is anaerobic.
VINEBERG is running a fraudulent cancer wig program to make sweaters for rich German eccentrics. VINEBERG is using Comic Sans. VINEBERG is opening the attachment. VINEBERG is entrusting a Nigerian with your banking information. VINEBERG just said "LOL" out loud just because he knows you hate it. VINEBERG is framing an expired gift certificate from Burger King. VINEBERG just blamed it on the dog.
VINBERG is sewing dolphin fins to amputees at Walter Reed. Don't blame VINEBERG, he voted for LaRouche. VINEBERG'S car is made entirely out of magnetic ribbons. VINEBERG supports the troops but not the war. VINEBERG is issuing a fatwah.
We would all die alone if it weren't for VINEBERG. VINEBERG is rowing you across the River of Death on your journey to the Kingdom of the West. VINEBERG is weighing your heart in the Hall of Osiris. VINEBERG knows a shortcut across the Lake of Fire. VINEBERG isn't telling. VINEBERG will be confronting his baby mama on Jerry Springer. VINEBERG just threw a baseball game because a terminally ill kid's final wish was that he win. VINEBERG is turning state's evidence.
VINEBERG is not permitted to live within 500 meters of a uranium centrifugal isotope sluice. VINEBERG is selling loose nukes to Syria. VINEBERG just bought up the world's stockpile of tungsten. He's building something, but no one is sure what.
VINEBERG is the sole financier of the hemp lobby. VINEBERG knows his rope. VINEBERG is handing out the brown acid. VINEBERG is having an old-fashioned freak out.
Behind the black door he toils and works. Flashes of welding and mechanical jerks. Ozone stink fills the hall and pounding hammers shake the wall. The loops of cable spill out like hair but no one knows what he's building in there. One day the door is open, the serpents come and the seals are broken. He has fused himself to his creation. The rising tide of blood drowns the coast and the skies are filled with fire. VINEBERG rises up on three mechanical legs and howls at the coruscating light that burns down the stars. He is god and betrayer, the unmaker, the despoiler, the scourge and bane. He is the end and the beginning and he is looking for a great deal on rust proofing.
I had to stop reading this review halfway, since I was crying I was laughing so hard. I also feel I should explain all the references to Eminem. So Spring 2003, Steve had the cast of Cyrano de Bergerac over to his house for a party after a show, and someone put on Lose Yourself. Steve then went on to sing every lyric of this song to the CD, and the cast circled around him while he did it like it was a high school dance. One of the most memorable moments from college, to be sure.
This may only be funny to a small handful of people, but I find all this absolutely hilarious.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Cherry Orchard at Fenwick Theatre
Saturday night I got culture of a whole different kind by going to see live college theatre. And not just any college theatre, but MY college theatre. I studied theatre at Holy Cross, and while I don't see every show now, I do try to check out the ones directed by Steve Vineberg, who was my college advisor and one of the few Canadians I like. Boston area readers, Steve sometimes writes film articles for the Boston Pheonix, so the name might be familiar.
My group of theatre college friends and I first went out to eat at a restaurant I had never been to on Shrewsbury St, as it opened after I had graduated, called Via. AMAZING Italian food. I got gnocchi with lobster meat, and I could have had five more bowls of it. I also had a damn tasty raspberry mojito. We're clearly warming up if I'm ordering mojitos again.
I also want to mention to my HC readers that construction seems to be at an all-time low on 290. Ever since I went to visit this college as a pre-freshman they have been revamping highway 290. So every time to drive on it it's either a mess of construction vehicles or lanes have been shifted or what have you. The last two times I was in Worcester (February and March) have been surprisingly pleasant driving-wise, because 290 seems mostly done with being worked on. It only took... what, 9 year? I'm heading back in April for Emily's Fenwick production, so I'm hoping to go for the driving hat trick.
Steve knows his Russians well, having directed me in The Seagull in 2005 and various other Chekhovs in his time at Holy Cross, and this proved to be no different. A very good, but very sad, production, as all Chekhov plays are. They're called "comedies" and there are light parts to each production, but at the end of the show you feel like someone has ripped out your heart and stepped on it a few times. Then again, Russia wasn't the happiest of times during this period, either.
The Cherry Orchard chronicles an aging family, one of the last clinging to aristocracy, losing their family home/estate for generations, and their spreading through Europe as a result. These characters are being pushed out my modernity and the newly forming middle class. Rank means nothing in this new world, something they cannot grasp, as former paupers who have built themselves up now have the power and control.
Good set, good acting, and always good to see the faculty. One odd moment was when I walked into the theatre, and the usher asked if I needed help getting to my seat. Oh please, usher, I've spent more time in this room than you'll ever know. Pshaw. Also odd to see the changes happening on campus, like renaming buildings and new streets and buildings. I sometimes freeze HC in time to when I was there, so in my world, these changes are odd.
But all in all, a very pleasant evening, and great to get some culture and see old friends.
My group of theatre college friends and I first went out to eat at a restaurant I had never been to on Shrewsbury St, as it opened after I had graduated, called Via. AMAZING Italian food. I got gnocchi with lobster meat, and I could have had five more bowls of it. I also had a damn tasty raspberry mojito. We're clearly warming up if I'm ordering mojitos again.
I also want to mention to my HC readers that construction seems to be at an all-time low on 290. Ever since I went to visit this college as a pre-freshman they have been revamping highway 290. So every time to drive on it it's either a mess of construction vehicles or lanes have been shifted or what have you. The last two times I was in Worcester (February and March) have been surprisingly pleasant driving-wise, because 290 seems mostly done with being worked on. It only took... what, 9 year? I'm heading back in April for Emily's Fenwick production, so I'm hoping to go for the driving hat trick.
Steve knows his Russians well, having directed me in The Seagull in 2005 and various other Chekhovs in his time at Holy Cross, and this proved to be no different. A very good, but very sad, production, as all Chekhov plays are. They're called "comedies" and there are light parts to each production, but at the end of the show you feel like someone has ripped out your heart and stepped on it a few times. Then again, Russia wasn't the happiest of times during this period, either.
The Cherry Orchard chronicles an aging family, one of the last clinging to aristocracy, losing their family home/estate for generations, and their spreading through Europe as a result. These characters are being pushed out my modernity and the newly forming middle class. Rank means nothing in this new world, something they cannot grasp, as former paupers who have built themselves up now have the power and control.
Good set, good acting, and always good to see the faculty. One odd moment was when I walked into the theatre, and the usher asked if I needed help getting to my seat. Oh please, usher, I've spent more time in this room than you'll ever know. Pshaw. Also odd to see the changes happening on campus, like renaming buildings and new streets and buildings. I sometimes freeze HC in time to when I was there, so in my world, these changes are odd.
But all in all, a very pleasant evening, and great to get some culture and see old friends.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Bleeding Purple
Shameless plug time. Well, not really for something I'm quite involved in, but for my alma mater.
As some readers already know, I am a proud Holy Cross alum. (Class of 2006, biddies!) While I was never athletically graced, I do like catching a college sports game from time to time.
Today, The Crusaders play American on ESPN2 at 4:45 for a chance at the Patriot League title. If they win, they'll be on their way to the NCAA Tournament. Exciting times in Woo Town and in Washington DC, where they'll be playing this game. This is the first time they could win this title since 2007.
If you have ESPN, change it from the Ocho tonight to the Two so you can watch this, and cheer on the boys in purple. I know I will be.
I will probably blog next week about other HC news, mainly that they are getting rid of the trays in Kimball Dining Hall, and how as a former Kimball employee/HC sledding enthusiast, that is a terrible idea. So look forward to that trek down memory lane!
And speaking of a trek down memory lane, here's Bob Cousy!!
Update: Last night at dinner, Erin texted our friend Meg to get a score update, only to get a response something along the lines of "we got killed". I checked the score, and sure enough... American spanked Holy Cross 73-57. Boo hiss! Oh well, there's always next year...
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