little to note

well, other than getting out to see SAW II, and carving some pumpkins, there’s little about this past week to mention. . . but since i feel the need to write. . . i’ll bore anyone that feels like checking in, with my latest bout of insomnia.

since i work such late hours during the summer, i rarely have trouble with sleep, other than not getting enough. yesterday i was sleepy around 9pm, but forced myself to stay awake till around 11pm. i picked up my book, did a little reading, then turned off my light and commenced to not sleep. usually if i have trouble drifting off, it’s because i’m mulling over some problem from work, but last night, my mind was wandering through my early teen summers spent at different summer camps. not as far back as any girl scout camps but mostly the basketball camps, and a little of the one music camp i attended.

i don’t know what i was looking for. . . or what my mind was looking for. but i had a feeling like i was trying to figure something out about my current life in accordance to my past. i had no revelations. i saw nothing new, or even gained new perspective on anything i already knew.

there was one evening at a basketball camp when i stayed for some after dinner events. we were in the field house at potsdam state maxi hall. i remember that there weren’t many people participating in the drills, but coach welch (sp?) was there.

coach welch was the potsdam bears basketball coach. throughout my preteen and early teen years i attended the bears basketball games. they were amazing for a number of years. the pep band was phenomenal. . . how could they not be with students from the crane school of music heading them up? the games were riotous. after winning the tip off, or sometimes the first points of the game, (which was almost inevitable) the crowd would break out into a chant of, ‘WARM UP THE BUS, WARM UP THE BUS.’ and a shower of toilet paper would stream across the court. (ps. . for those of you who are unaware of living in colder regions, sometimes vehicles need to be plugged in and ‘warmed up’ preemptively to someone driving or riding in it. this is sometimes a lengthy process because it can get DAMN cold in northern ny) perhaps now everyone gets the joke? it would become an especially low dig to a team if they got the, ‘warm up the bus’ chant after announcing their team roster. ahh, then there were the chants of, ‘hey opposing team member, we just got a call from your mom. she says, YOU SUCK!’ ahhhh, those were the days. there were kids in my high school who would argue about the st. lawrence saints vs. the clarkson knights (nearby college hockey teams) but i couldn’t be bothered with such drivel, the bears were winning.

but i digress.

there we were, just a few of us, and i may have been the only girl. . . something i’d gotten used to even by that point. i remember that there was another kid from my school there too. the challenge was to get as many points in a thirty second period as possible. lay ups were worth one point, outside the three second mark was two points, and so on. . . as i said, we were given 30 seconds to rack up as many points as possible. i don’t even remember if there were ribbons, certificates or anything on the line for winning. the other guy from my school went before me and kept shooting for the higher point range, but when he missed the ball would ricochet and he’d lose time retrieving it. before it was my turn i had made up my mind. . . what were all those lay up drills in practice for anyway? i stepped up to the basket and coach welch called to start. i don’t think i missed a single one. . . though that may be me romanticizing my own past. . . anyway, i made something like 20 lay ups. i ended up winning in my division. . . which ended up not mattering too much since they not only broke it up into age groups but also into boys and girls. so i was the only one in my division. i had won over the boys too, but that didn’t seem to matter.

so, the award wasn’t big, but coach welch walked back to the lounge area of the dorms with the group of us and wouldn’t shut up about it. he was telling all the other coaches and anyone else that i had fired off 20 lay ups during the drill. of course i enjoyed the praise a bit. . . but it got a little unnerving. then as he said it again, some kid came up to say that he had made something like 23 or 25 lay ups in the same time. even though coach welch had seemed all proud of me, he turned and said, ‘yeah, but you’re a guy and she’s a gal.’ nothing about the fact that he was several years older than me, or a good foot taller than me. . . nope, just that he was a guy. even then it got under my skin. so it’s not like i was able to look back on it now and say, ‘hey. . . that’s not cool.’ i just relive it, and then wonder a bit about how i decided to wear purple zinc oxide just below my eyes, like football players that entire summer. . . something that other people liked to poke fun at. . . i felt completely justified in it. it kept me from getting sunburned where i was most sensitive (my face) and it kept a bit of the glare out of my eyes while out in the outdoor courts. . . and how my favorite shirt was a hot pink number with cut off sleeves and ‘Toronto’ written across it. . . yeah. . i was the height of eighties fashion, even if no one around me agreed. kind of like that girl in your class who dressed a little too much like madonna or cyndi lauper. . . but not exactly. i forget who i was idolizing. . . surfers? the cast from breakin’? whatever. . .

so yeah, shit like this. . . constantly running through my mind. flashes of my roommates from camp. different concerts and contests. . . the terrible clothes i used to wear. . . . is it any surprise i couldn’t get to sleep?

oh, and that terrible girl from potsdam central who informed me that basketball was a ‘gay’ sport to play in the hallway of our dorm. . . to which i replied, ‘um, YOU play, and we’re at a basketball camp!’ she then retorted that it was a gay sport for boys to play. oh, right, that makes TOTAL sense! what a freak. it does help slightly that i ran into her at a grocery store, years later, when we were both in college, and for all seen purposes. . . i’d say she had a point so many years ago. . . . and perhaps it was her back-ass-wards way of coming out of the closet to us.

ohohoh, and how i ended up in both the concert band, and the jazz band at music camp. . . i played french horn, but had picked up the bass guitar for my high school’s jazz band. i decided to walk by the try outs for the jazz band with my bass in hand. . . just in case i got up the courage. . . and there was no one trying out for bass. i remember it gave me more of a chance to hang out with the cute trumpet player from the concert band, and i remember how i refused to play a solo even though everyone gave me grief for not doing it. . . i HATE solos. . . .and i’m no good at improv music. . . . and how there was a different kid that kind of liked me, but how i was too interested in the aforementioned trumpet player to even flirt with the other guy. . and the terrible girls in the french horn group who tried to oust me from everything, mostly because i was a commuter. . . ahh the politics of band camp. . . and more bad clothes. . . but not as bad. . .

. . . is it any surprise i couldn’t get to sleep?

i read some more. . . then put in a tape of muppets tonight. . . remember that show? the newer one from the 90’s about the muppets hosting a tv show? it was really good. . . and i fell asleep to it last night.

and yep. . . that’s all i’ve got. i could go on and on about details and humiliations and how much fun i had. . . .but, i gotta get to bed. . . and hopefully, i’ll get to sleep.

the REAL slippery slope. . .

as i’m getting ready for bed last night, i sat across from one roommate at the dining room table (which is now completely painted and sealed) and set up a flight to visit my aunt. we each had our laptops out in the ‘you sunk my battleship’ configuration. jared noted that in our new roomier place, with the current laptop situation (all three of us mosey around laptops at the ready), the colorful interior santa fe paint job, and the wireless internet, how much our new apartment feels like an internet cafe at times.

well we did pick a fun name for the wireless connection. . . the old ‘drafty door’ from the other apartment, wasn’t applicable. we live on a street with the name ‘lost’ in it. . . .’lost’ is a pretty decent show that we all tune into, and well. . . the new place is in a convoluted area of town, which i did get ‘lost’ trying to get to the first few times. . . and if i were to wax philosophical. . . who among us doesn’t feel, ‘lost?’ so yeah, we named our wireless server, lost. . . . but if you santa fe freaks who actually check this blog out searching for other santa fe-ans to get to know, try to find our server. . .. its WEP protected sucka!

but i digress. katy, the new roommate, walked over to the table having just found an interesting new cell phone online. the rest of it went something like this. . .

katy. . . “guys, you know that new ‘rockr’ phone that plays itunes, well there’s another one that is internet enabled, plays itunes, has an fm broadcast capabilities, gps, texting, palm pilot type abilities. . . everything.”

jared. . . “unreal. i don’t want just one thing that can all that.”

me. . . “but the real question is . . .can it get me off?” (yeah, i was tired, and the airline websites were driving me nuts!)

jared. . “no erika, i think you’ll still have to have a different device for that.”

katy. . . “it’s something like $450 right now.”

me. . . “and it still can’t get me off?. . . . then forget it.”

jared. . . “you know, i’m just gonna wait a couple more years and get the chip implanted when that comes out.”

me. . . “oh, and then it can be like in the movie strange days where you have a memory implanted in the chip of getting off and you don’t need a device, a person, or even that much time, you can speed it up to all the good parts.”

jared. . “yeah, no mess to clean up or anything.”

i then as having trouble getting a podcast to show up on my ipod. i baby talked to it, and gave it endearing strokes in the hope that my admiration of it would whisk the podcasts into view magically. . . to which jared having looked up and over from his laptop screen interjected. . .

“you know, that won’t get you off either.”

me. . . “yeah, the model is too slim a design. that’s really what the right wing should be worried about. they stupidly argue that gay marriage will lead to people marrying animals. it’s not true. people will marry their ipods and laptops first.”

then i turn to my ipod, which just revealed the ever so wanted podcast on its screen, and i cooed, ‘i love you,’ to it. i then left it to charge with my computer, on the dining room table, under the burglar diversion of my sweatshirt and went to bed.

unpacking. . .

well. . . i’ve spent some time unpacking and came across old paperwork. among the things were some fortune cookie fortunes.


“Speak only well of people and you need never whisper.”

“The joyfulness of a man prolongs his day.”

“Executive ability is prominent in your make up.”

“Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought.”

yep. . . . there you have it.

i got a bed, and spent my first night on it friday night.. . . really nice. also finished the latest harry potter book. one of my roommates and i have spent most of the weekend painting a set of tables for the dining room. the weather is making them dry slowly, so we’ve wasted their drying time watching movies.

yep. . . guess i got nothing.

hope, 50cents

hope, 50cents
Originally uploaded by ekissam.

how's this for a garage sale item?

sunday. . . balloon fiesta

as mentioned earlier. . . i think. i didn’t end up visiting my mom in denver, instead i rested through the weekend, unpacked a bit more, bought a bed. . . you know, all VERY productive things. my roommates and i decided to go to balloon fiesta on sunday, since we could all go that day-- all day. jared would’ve needed to leave to get to work in the afternoon had we gone on saturday, and we thought it would be nice to stay for the morning mass ascension. . . then do some fun things in albuquerque, and come back to watch the fireworks in the evening.

well, late saturday evening we reread the balloon fiesta schedule and realized there were no fireworks on sunday. . . bummer. . . but we’ll make fun out of the day anyway. . .

katy and i planned to drive since it will be a VERY early morning, and jared had to work till late the night before. we’re supposed to be up around 3:30am. . . but we’re actually up around 4am. ready to leave by 5, and on our way. i had a couple comedy routines on my ipod to listen to, since i figured they would help keep me awake. we took a back road into albuquerque, (jared and i remembered how hellish I-25 was last year). . . pulled into parking, and were on the grounds in no time. it was looking dreary as we drove. . . but weather can change so easily.

with plenty of time on our hands we hit up a couple of the festival food stands for breakfast. . . . who ever invented the chile relleno burrito is a GENIUS. . . good even for breakfast. there was a small drizzle, so we ducked under a tent.

well, that tent and all the other tents around us became very crowded due to the downpour that ensued. i kept thinking, ‘well, surely they will announce that no balloons will be going up.’ nope. . no announcement, but we watched them all drive away. i would’ve been more upset by it had i not been so tired. what makes it difficult is that the ascension kind of wakes you up. there we were at 6am. . . drowsy, with not a whole lot to do to keep us awake. we headed to a breakfast place we were told about, frontier. . . had coffee, and orange juices. . . wasting time till other things would be open. the plan was to look around for furniture and see a movie after the ascension and before the fireworks. . . which all would’ve started around noon. . . except for the no ascension part. we drove around for a bit, sat around for a bit, listened to some more dane cook. . . and finally, the big break was the first showing of ‘serenity’ at 11:30. . . of course we were there by about 10:45. . . played some arcade games. . . stocked up on snacks. and the movie was really good. i’m a big a fan of whedon due to buffy. . . . but i’m gonna have to netflix some firefly now.

we did look around for furniture. . . and i got to walk around the good asian market. . . . and then we went home. so. . . not so fabulous a balloon fiesta this year. . . no faboo pictures or anything. . . .

maybe next year.

blah!

oh man. . . i totally forgot about cincinnati

(a short continuation of the previous blog)

i left kent around 2pm. . . and headed straight to cincinnati. i had promised my friend chris i would meet him there. . . at the time i said i’d meet him for lunch, but since i had lunch in kent, my original plan was not going to happen. i got into cincinnati around 6pm. . . .and he had to work around 7. he greeted me with a lovingly chilled and refreshing fruit punch capri sun. . . what a dear!

i got a quick tour of his frat house,and a short look around cincinnati university? is that what it’s called? and then. . . onto the theatre spaces and the CCM school that he attends. i must’ve asked the names over and over, and yet, i still can’t remember them now. but they were all gorgeous spaces. really top notch and well thought out. . . not exactly like the ‘found and refurbished’ spaces i was used to in college. we even stopped in and i got to say a quick hi to kevin, a former SFO supervisor and one of chris’s teachers.

and. . . i guess that’s it. can’t BELIEVE i forgot that i stopped in cincinnati. . . . ooopsi. . . stay tuned for my dismay over balloon fiesta!

no decompression for me; the blur that is my life

may i preempt anyone’s viewing of this blog with a brief apology. . . it’s lengthy, very. . . very lengthy. sorry.



all i wanted at the end of the summer opera season was a couple of lengthy lazy weekends. i thought, yeah, two weddings, but for the most part. . . relaxing. . . right?

oh no. . . .oh nononononononononono.

leading up to the second weekend of september was festival week with zozobra. there was actually a substantial group of us. i didn’t bring my camera, but one of the group did and let me have her shots. it was an incredible zozobra. he went up in flames really well. . . and the fireworks were spectacular! they kept going on and on. . . all different types, over and over. it was really fantastic. i’ll have to post the pictures in a little while.

the second weekend of september was the first wedding, my job. . maid of honor. granted, a much watered down version of what most people do, but there was still the family’s ladies luncheon- where i met most of the bride’s female relatives. mother, step mother, mother in law, step mother in law, grandmothers, aunts, sisters in law, step sisters in law. oddly enough, i was seated between mother in law and step mother in law. . . whom had NEVER MET EACH OTHER. the groom’s father is somewhat estranged- like 25 years estranged or something like that, getting him there was a huge feat, and really wonderful for the groom. . . in fact, even though i saw little cliques among family members. . . . everyone was extremely polite and worked toward making the wedding and reception very festive and loving.

ladies luncheon at casa sena. . . . absolutely gorgeous outdoor afternoon for it. then rehearsal dinner at vanessie’s, where there was a 45 minute round of toasts. it was really nice. everyone wanted to say how happy and proud they were to be there and be a part of katy and aaron’s wedding. one of the groom’s grandmother’s was able to make it, having come directly from losing her house to hurricane katrina. and instead of setting out favor’s at the reception tables, katy and aaron donated money in the wedding party’s name to the hurricane relief.

honestly, it wasn’t too hectic or anything. i was lost for nearly an hour trying to find the inn where the wedding was. katy and i had a very early morning hair appointment. but i finally made it. we had our hair done, listened to some music, chatted with the hairdresser all in our pj’s, till the dresses came out. -and yes, i spent the entire weekend in a skirt or a dress. i’m sure there are pictures, but you’ll have to wait.

there was no real rehearsal, and i had never seen the place, neither had the best man. we were both pretty unsure of where to walk to, but we found it alright. i held the bouquet, and the ring for katy. . . with a white knuckle grip. the wedding was on a small patio over the water, and there were gaps between the wood planks. . . just ring size. one of my friends said that she saw the greatest look of relief on my face after i got to hand off the ring. but other than that. . .i held a smile the whole time. the woman marrying them was really fantastic. slightly long winded, but nothing compared to the catholic weddings i grew up with. she had a great tenor to her speech.

a pretty reception followed. . . cake from chocolate maven YUM!. . . a little dancing, and an after party at the bride’s father’s house catered by cowgirl. . . man, wish i’d gotten a doggie bag from that one. . . a weekend of nice dressing and great food. . . i’m stuffed just thinking about it.

all in all, a fantastic weekend. pretty, simple, elegant, loving. . . . really wonderful.

the next week preluded the al green concert at the opera. . . that’s a whole blog in and of itself. but i’ll leave it at. . . it all turned out ok. . . and the concert was a lot of fun. . . i went out and bought the opening act’s cd. . . raul midon. great stuff.

oh, and my roommate decided that we needed to move. we picked up a third roommate, got a house, and moved. . . all in the same week that i had to get ready for the concert. i wasn’t ready to move. . . and i’m still not unpacked, i don’t even have a bed. i thought i’d be able to work on that this week. . . but, that’s not turning out to be true. the house is really cute, and i think there will be a house warming, sometime. . . but not just yet. . . too busy.

directly after the al green conert/ moving weekend fiasco i put one day of work in and was planning to leave for wedding number 2 on tuesday.

OH. . . almost forgot. i got my car back. yeah. . . that will also be it’s own blog entry. but, as a teaser, 6 days short of a complete 4 months i got my car back and turned in the rental. since my car had been sitting for so long, i treated it to an alignment and an oil change on tuesday. . . the day i was supposed to start driving to boston.

that didn’t happen.

i slept in tuesday, did some laundry, some really comprehensive packing, cleaning of the old apartment, car treatment. . . and then realized i wasn’t ready to start driving. so i sat down. . . and relaxed for a half day thinking boston was only a 2 and a half day trip.

and i was really looking forward to the drive. . . listening to books on tape, music that i hadn’t heard in a while, feeling the road and scenery blur past me. i just didn’t realize it would take quite as long as it did.

i left santa fe late morning and had a late lunch in santa rosa. . . and didn’t stop again (except for bathroom and gas) till somewhere in east oklahoma. . . where i slept for about 3 hours. then back on till late night thursday outside cleveland. i only wanted a few hours left on friday, so i could spend the night in a hotel, clean up and pull into boston all refreshed. . . i was getting tired late thursday night outside cleveland when a super-cell storm of some kind bared down on me.

erika driving tip. . . when leaving a desert, never underestimate the effect humidity will have on you upon exiting a well air conditioned car. i stopped to get gas in missouri and was hit with a wall of hot wet air. . . . ugh. i immediately assumed a position with all my extremities pointing away from my body and exclaimed, “oh my god!. . . why is it so hot. this is completely unnecessary.” no one around seemed to agree.

erika driving tip. . . have a good supply of listening material. books are good if you are really awake, and if the reader or the story is really engaging. comedy sketches are good if you are feeling kind of bored and drowsy. music is good to keep up the pace and revitalize yourself. you can listen to specific artists, or playlists (ps. . .i LIVE by my ipod) made for certain events or previous road trips. or take your chances listening to existing 80’s mixes and relive painful highschool memories where you can daydream and change the ending of the true stories and add saline to your asinine soccer coach’s water bottle, giving him a bad bout of the runs . . . or not. . . . . either way you will surely get bored with whatever you bring. . .when all else fails--- i never thought i’d say this. . . try musicals.

i listened to the ‘master butcher’s singing club’ (or something like that). . . great book. . . and ‘oracle night’. . . eh, it passed the time. got some news in from npr. i should’ve tried to catch some of npr’s afternoon programming. . . but either i was stuck on music or in a book. i also relistened to anything comical i have on my ipod. . . dane cook, ellen degeneres, lewis black, david sedaris. i thought i’d go through and listen to all the stuff i almost never listen to. . . yet, the favorites just kept popping back up. . . . ani- as always, some ska mixes, some whiny coldplay, 80’s mixes, gorillaz, linkin park, playlists made for other occasions. . . and oddly enough. . .a LOT of musicals. if you were to ask me if i like musicals, i normally shake my head no. i worked in musical theatre for a number of years. that 1940’s and 50’s fluff doesn’t appeal to me. but i discovered that there is a segment of the musical world that i really like. (mostly the darker and twisted or completely comical segment) the soundtracks provide both music and rhythm to drive to. . . (or sing your lungs out- i was slightly hoarse somewhere in tennessee), as well as a storyline that is fun to revisit. . . . is it any surprise that ‘buffy, the musical’ got some heavy play. . . then ‘avenue q’. . . some ‘falsettos’. . . some deeply buried disney favorites, . . . south park. . . . and that wonderful 80’s flop, ‘the pirate movie.’

erika driving tip. . . text people to let them know where you are.
late in oklahoma. . . “GAWD! why is oklahoma so long!? why isn’t it over yet?”
crossing into ohio. . . “why-o why-o why-o, why did i ever leave o-hi- . . . uh. oh right, because it sucks big donkey balls.”
crossing into pennsylvania. . . “pennsylvania 6-5-oh oh oh.”
into ny. . . . “i’m in a new york state of mind”

oh, aren’t i so clever.

erika driving tip. . . did you realize that southern illinois considered themselves ‘the south?’ i wouldn’t have guessed it, but judging by the amount of fried food offered in a menu in a greasy spoon. . . they are ‘southern.’

erika driving tip. . . oklahoma. . . . the WORST road EVER. I-40 SUCKS! a credit to my state of birth, NY. . . when the road is rough, they actually put up a sign, “rough road ahead” with an estimation in mileage of how long you’ll have to put up with the nasty road conditions. oklahoma. . . no signs, no apologies. LAME, oklahoma. . . go sit in the corner. eh eh eh. . . face the wall.


ooooooh. . . how about i interject with some favored musical lyrics. . . and yes, you can envision me singing enthusiastically in my car at the top of my lungs if it makes it more entertaining. . . other people driving seemed to enjoy it.

“i’ll be your candle on the water. . . my love for you will always burn. i know you’re lost and drifting, but the clouds are lifting. . . ” yep folks. .. that’s from pete’s dragon!

i can tell you off the bat, i hate driving near and in cleveland. while at kent i dreaded going to see shows in cleveland. if it wasn’t right off the highway and the directions weren’t impeccable. . . i was lost. construction, bad road signs. . . and no way of taking an exit and just turning around. . . once you realize you were lost, you look for an exit to turn around. . . but there isn’t one for another 13 miles. . . . seriously. i really wanted to get out of ohio that night. just out of ohio. . .but ‘the mistake by the lake’ (which is what my grandpa calls cleveland) wouldn’t have it. i’m so close to getting on I-90, and into pennsylvania. then i can’t see. . . the rain was coming down so hard. i couldn’t see more than 5 feet in front of my car. everyone was slowing down, there were people parked along the side of the highway. all i wanted to do was exit and sit in a parking lot till it passed. . . but i couldn’t see enough to make the turn, and i couldn’t stop because there was traffic still moving behind me. the lightning was rather fantastic. . . bolts were reaching from nearly one horizon to the next, and one touched down pretty close to the highway. i really started to panic and then i was able to see an exit to pull off. i sat for about twenty minutes waiting for the rain to calm down just a bit more. once ready for the highway. . . i got lost. completely turned around and it took about an hour to get back in the right direction. . .oddly enough, the right direction was where the storm was stronger. i ended up pulling off and getting a hotel room somewhere near ashtabula. . . farther from boston then i wished.

“four jews in a room bitching, four jews in a room plot a crime. . .i’m bitching he’s bitching they’re bitching we’re bitching bitch bitch bitch bitch, funny funny funny funny bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch all the time . . . ”- falsettos.

wow, when you type ‘bitch’ that often, it just starts to look weird. . . . but i digress.

taking I-90 cost me close to $20 to travel across NY. . . . NY, i take away the aforementioned credit i gave you for telling me when your roads are in poor condition. what the hell! my last toll was seriously something like $15. unbelievable.

then there was massachusetts. only, i was much later then i wanted to be. lucky for me there was no rehearsal dinner the night before for me to attend. i got in around 9pm. . . crashed at my brother’s new place in allston. he’s moving up in the world. he has a three bedroom that he’s sharing with one friend. . . that means i got the ‘spare room’ . . . brilliant.

i set my stuff down and immediately went out with my brother for sushi. . . mmmmmm. . . . non landlocked sushi. . . .

“times have changed, our kids are getting worse, they won’t obey their parents they just want to fart and curse! ” south park

i gave dan, the groom and my closest friend from high school, a call to let him know i was in and to make plans for the next day. we decided i would get to their place in the morning and all get ready together, then all drive over together. . . brilliant! the less i have to drive in boston, the better. when i lived there it was a walking town for me. . . . which apparently spoils you forever.

erika driving tip. . . when driving through boston, don’t rely on maps from the internet. call mike. . dan’s new husband. he’s like a london cabby. not only can he give you exact directions while you’re driving, but he’ll give you neat little informational tid bits while your passing through. . . ‘that building that you are making a right at, it used to be a firehouse. now get in the left lane as soon as possible, and watch out for the squirrel calmly eating in the park on your left.’ ---ok, i exaggerate a bit, but he’s GOOD. . .

the morning of dan and mike’s wedding, i get packed up and take my poor excuse for directions and head out for medford. within five minutes i know i’m lost. i’m searching for the cross street i need to turn at, and while i check my surroundings quickly i notice the red light that i’m running through. . . slightly cutting off a cop to the left of me. yep. . . gonna be a good morning!

“i’ll be true to the song i sing and live and die a pirate king! . . . the ladies shield and the ships go down, or is it the other way around?” the pirate movie.

the cop doesn’t immediately chase me down with lights blaring. . . i’m confused, but i let it go. i’m lost and need directions. so i pull over at the first convenient place and get my phone out. that’s when the cop pulls behind me with the lights. -remember, i haven’t had my car for about 4 months. i’m hoping that my registration is readily available. so i pull out something that looks like it from the glove box, pretty quickly to my surprise. . and my license. i’m ready. the cop comes up with full attitude on.

‘didn’t you see the red light?’

-’yes, i’m sorry, i’m very lost and i noticed it just as i was passing through it.’

‘you could’ve killed someone, like ME!’

-’i’m so sorry.’

‘license and registration.’

i hand them over and he comes back a little while later.

‘it says these plates belong to another car.’

ok. so can you now imagine what is happening in my head. here i am. running a little late, to my friend’s wedding. . . lost in boston. . . what is the worst that can happen. . . oh my god. . . i’m going to jail. can you imagine that phone call? hey, yeah dan. i won’t make it to the wedding. i’m in jail. but instead i turn around with. . .

-’that’s ridiculous.’

then i kind of remember that when i got my new registration sticker here in new mexico, they were printing them rapidly and not paying much attention. i walked out and was about to apply the sticker when i noticed it wasn’t mine. i went back, they reprinted it and gave me the correct one. is it possible that the mix up was caused by this? anyway i assured him that this was my car and my plates. he looked closer at the VIN number, the model and make as they were written on the registration, and they all matched up. . . .so, he let me go. . . wasn’t that nice of him?

oh, he also asked me if i was going to school in boston. i told him no, and said i was only there for a wedding. . . just then looking down to see that i had chosen to wear my emerson shirt that day. . .IDIOT! (finger pointing at self)

“my father’s a homo, my mother’s not thrilled at all. father homo, what about chromosomes, do they carry, will they carry. . who’s the homo now?” falsettos.

at dan and mike’s there is a flurry of people getting ready. i go through two outfits. i had the second dress katy and i had ordered (in case the other didn’t show up in time) from wedding number one. . . . put it on, then found out that the other ‘best girl’ was wearing a skirt and shirt set. . . . so i pulled out outfit #2. . . a skirt and shirt set. . .. and wore that instead. (ps, i got the second dress the day before i left. for some reason, the fall back dress wasn’t ready in time for the first wedding, which it was intended for.) ahhhh. . . new mexico. . . .

“i’ve huffed and puffed, just to keep love going. i’m done, i’ve had enough. . . of pumping and blowing.” the pirate movie

dan and mike’s wedding was in a park close to where mike grew up. entirely unconventional, but a beautiful day outside. the friend that married them was ‘ordained for the day’ or something by massachusetts. she had just that one day, once in a year to marry someone. she was a lot of fun. each of the ‘best girls’. . . i was dan’s. . . had to speak about why they were there that day. both of us had been the close friend of each groom since grade school. she was extremely eloquent. i had come up with a really eloquent speech, but dan turned around as i started, and he was all red eyes, at which point i lost it. . . and blurbled through the rest of my shortened speech since i was crying so much. i was blamed for the crying of everyone from that point on. . . apparently i started it all. then mike cried through his vows. . . his mom crying loudly to the side of us. and dan was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t recite his vows at all. afterward everyone hugged and cried and took pictures. i met up with some of dan’s college friends who i recognized a little. .. then it was off to the reception. ahh. . . more good food and fancy dressing.

“but i get so lonely down here. tell me, why does it have to be that way. up there there’s so much room, where babies burp and flowers bloom. everyone dreams, i can dream too.” south park.

the cake was really pretty. it looked like wrapped gifts and was from some famous bakery. . . i guess the today show marked it as one of the top places to get a wedding cake. . . kadinter meister. . . or something like that. it was gorgeous. . . but, i think i’ve made better duncan hines cakes . . . as far as taste goes. dan’s nephew liked playing with the white chocolate bows, again. . . pictures to come. i also got to spend some time with dan’s family. . .whom i hadn’t seen in years.

they were somewhat behind the reason i made it to emerson college. . . . it was his mom who handed me the brochure. i remember thinking, ‘she just wants be to go to school close to her son so i can keep and eye on him, and hang out with him on weekends or something. . . .’ then i saw the school. . . and, well it’s all history now.


“i’ve got a theory, that it’s a demon, a dancing demon. . . no, something isn’t right there. i’ve got a theory, some kid is dreaming and we’re all stuck inside his wacky broadway nightmare. i’ve got a theory we should work this out. it’s getting eerie, what’s this cheery singing all about? ” buffy, the musical

we spent the rest of the day at the reception, and later ended up at some sketchy gaming place for drinks with friends. . . and even later back at their place for more silliness and drinks. there was a ‘next day’ brunch as well with family and friends. it was still slightly awkward since i didn’t know most of the people, just like the first wedding. the people i knew the best were a little busy getting married and being admired. so while at the gaming place i texted my brother to let him know we’d be going to that sketchy place for several rounds of ping pong the next day. actually, there was a lot of texting going on during the reception, since people were sort of secluded to their tables. . . dan would text different tables to see how they were all doing. a little while later they were off to disney world.

what do you do with a BA in english. what is my life going to be. four years of college and plenty of knowledge have earned me this useless degree. ” avenue q

the next day. . that would be sunday. . . after brunch it was time for ping pong. i didn’t realize that my brother had a table at one of his apartments, and he had gotten skilled and all. i felt humbled. . . and his roommate was even better. i held my own on a game or two. . but his roommate had this wicked serve! totally fun. back to apartment and allston for some korean food then back home for missed episodes of daily show. i think i even got a nap in there somewhere.

“come on, won’t you put that pad away? i’m asking you please no, it isn’t right, it isn’t fair. there was no parking anywhere, i think that hydrant wasn’t there. ” buffy, the musical

i also made plans for monday. . . and here is where the apologies begin. i am sorry if i didn’t call you during this trek. i only ran into a couple of friends, and though i would’ve loved to see more people. . . i just didn’t have the time/ energy/ stamina to hold up enough conversation or anything. so for all the people in boston/ massachusetts, kent/ ohio, and johnson city, chicago and abingdon. . . and anywhere between there and santa fe. . . . sorry if i didn’t get to see you this time around. . . . but i saw a lot of you just last year! you could always make the trip out MY way. . . :) i did see neill while in boston. i really wanted to take a walk through the new buildings at emerson. . . . especially the majestic since they completed the renovation.

“sorry nicky, human nature. nothing i can do. it’s schadenfreude. making me feel glad that i’m not you. ” avenue q


neill and i walked around the new performing arts building a bit. such a sleek and modern design. it was really gorgeous. . . but it lacked all that funkiness that the old buildings had. i guess i’m over it. we started at the alumni office. . . who knew i would ever use these things! it turned out that one of my former crew members was running the office. i hadn’t seen her in years so we spent a lovely time catching up while she tried to set us up with a tour of the majestic. we needed to wait for a call and decided to wander around while waiting.

we met a couple of freshmen several times in passing, also touring the new buildings. i made a comment about how nice the new building elevators are, and what a difference it is from the elevators in our dorm building. . . the girls started to giggle. our old dorm was their current dorm. so we joked about the building and i told them about the secret panel in the lounge area. then we began what sounded like an emerson commercial there in the elevator . . . talking about our experiences at school and such. on with our tour. . . we checked out the new design studio, and my advisor was there. i had a short chat with him and we mused over the new building. neither of us were decided on whether we liked it or not. we then talked about my wishes to get into the majestic for a tour, and he agreed that it couldn’t be missed. i told him that we were being given a run around over the phone. then my wonderful advisor told me that there was a freight elevator that linked the two buildings. the door to it was right around the corner and it would drop me off at the TD’s door backstage. . . . but that was supposed to be ‘classified’ information. gotta love my advisor. . .

so we took the freight elevator down and met the td and explained that we were alumni and wanted to see the renovation. it wasn’t at all a let down. everyone had told me how beautiful it was. . . and they were all right. they had put in new seats my junior year. . . they were terrible. . . they even replaced those with really gorgeous seats. and all the ceiling had been cleaned up and painted and. . . everything was just amazing.

the TD was nice. .. but kind of impersonal. there are a couple of people there that i knew from school, but none were working that day. it would’ve been so nice for them to walk me around. . . knowing how much time i spent there and all. . but, it was nice to just see it. neill and i joked about the ghosts in the second balcony, and the td kind of dismissed it all, then covered by saying that they probably left during the renovation.

funny. . . . you know how when you visit somewhere that you knew when you were young and everything seems smaller than you remembered. . . i thought that by college i wouldn’t have that feeling anymore. . . but even the majestic seemed somewhat smaller than i remembered it. i guess maybe it was better that the tour was impersonal. kept me from getting too nostalgic.

“i can bring whole cities to ruin and still have time to get a soft shoe in. . . . . . something’s cooking, i’m at the griddle, i bought nero his very first fiddle.” buffy, the musical

there were other places we could’ve visited and checked out. . . more new buildings. . . but i’d seen what mattered most to me, and just wanted to walk around. neill and i headed to bella vita. . . a favored coffee shop. . . but it was CLOSED ON MONDAY?! arg. . . no massive cup of hot cocoa for me. we had a nice dinner anyway, and then met up with my brother to catch ‘corpse bride.’

the next day i drove home to ny. as i woke up and packed to leave my brother’s. .. i had my first pang of needing an extra day. everywhere i went. . . i was late in arriving. . and i wanted an extra day while leaving.


“ life’s a song you don’t get to rehearse, and every single verse can make it that much worse” buffy, the musical

on my way, i really wanted to make a stop in lake placid. there’s a book store there. it’s a great store. i haven’t been there in years, but one of the crew members from this summer reminded me of it. . . and we both reminisced over our childhood time there and the awe of the 2 dollar bills that they give out in change. i spent my last one years ago, in desperation, i’m sure. but i had hoped to stop and get a couple of the two dollar bills and send one to this crew member. . . yet again. . . i was running too late, and took the wrong exit. i would’ve needed to back track in order to get to lake placid. guess i’ll have to get more on top of it some other time.

“the battle’s done, and we kind of won so we sound our victory cheer. where do we go from here?” buffy, the musical

my two and a half days at home were nearly restful. i got in around 7:30 and immediately settled into my pj’s and on the couch. with the cats flocking around. well, all except scout who is sooooo huge she can barely hop onto the bed she likes to stay the entire day resting on.

oh dear. . . now i’m actually drawing a blank on what i did while i was home. i remember we watched ‘kung fu hustle’. . . oh. . and we got the BEST PIZZA EVER!

from mama lucia’s. . . we’d never gotten a pizza from there before. while skimming the choices one really peaked my interest. . . a pizza with spaghetti on it. hmmmm. . . interesting. it also came with sauce, meatballs, and sausage. . . i opted for no sausage. . . . but WOW. . . what a pizza. who would’ve known that spaghetti would make such a good topping? even dad was marveled by it.

“i need an academic advisor to point the way. we could be sitting in the computer lab, 4am before the final paper is due. cursing the world because i didn’t start sooner, and seeing the rest of the class there too. ” avenue q

i spent part of thursday with my grandpa. . . at his favorite soup and sandwich shop. he’s hard of hearing and doesn’t like to wear his hearing aids. as it turns out, he lost the upper ranges, but he can hear my dad’s voice no problem. so it tried to lower my tone the entire time. it seemed to work. and he joked that the first voice you get to lose hearing is your wife’s. something to the effect that that’s why old men look happy, because they can’t hear their wives nagging. cute grandpa. . .

“she clings, she’s needy, she’s also really greedy, she never----his eyes are beady!---this is my verse, hello?” buffy, the musical

sadly, my mom wasn’t at home. she was at a conference in orlando. but we made plans to meet up in denver when she’d be at a conference there. friday morning i packed to leave ny. . . and again really felt it would’ve been nice to tack another week onto my vacation. i headed straight out towards ohio. . . and my first pit stop.

i called my friend sarah (again, apologies to anyone else i may have passed over on my trip, not that ANY of you read it) from somewhere between buffalo and syracuse. deciding that although i wanted to surprise her. . . i thought it might be best to reserve time with her. . . and possibly dinner.

“what do you do with a BA in english. what is my life going to be. four years of college and plenty of knowledge have earned me this useless degree. ” avenue q

i got in sometime around 8pm and got a room. . . met up with sarah within 15 minutes of arriving and headed toward a favorite thai place. . . . mmmmm. . . thai food. we spent time catching up. . . i did A LOT of talking---sorry about that sarah. . . . hope i let you get enough of your story out. . . though, probably not.

we ruminated about a movie. . . but thought there wasn’t enough that we both found interesting. . . so instead, we headed to borders. we were able to continue chatting, and recommend different books and music to each other. i also picked up the raul midon cd. (the opening act from the al green concert)- which got plenty of play time on my way back to new mexico.

we basically closed borders and then headed to a 24 hour walmart. i got a text from a friend in virginia who wanted to know about a classmate who just started working at my old theatre. this particular classmate wasn’t much liked by me and sarah, so it was so much fun getting the dirty gossip from virginia.

shortly later it was back to my place, with left overs, for more chatting. . . and lame tv. i practically fell asleep while we chatted. the next morning sarah called in ‘sick’ to work so we could also grab breakfast before i left. i got myself in for an oil change and we headed to mike’s place for food. then i was off again. . .. still thinking i had taken another week off. i left around 2pm saturday from ohio. . . and it was going to be a LONG drive to get to work on monday.

“i wish i could go back to college. in college you know who you are. you sit in the quad and think, oh my god, i am totally gonna go far.” avenue q

erika driving tip. . . did you know that only old people populate rest stop of the mid west. it’s true. from new mexico to massachusetts. . . i didn’t see young people till new york. what’s that about?

the rest of the story is kinda lame. it was a really hard drive back. I-40 across oklahoma sucked even more the second time around. and i really kind of wished i had flown. maybe next time is all about a drive in a rental one way, and a flight back the other way. but i did get to bring a spare book shelf and my bike back from my parent’s house.

i made it into santa fe by 2am. just enough time for a shower, a quick unloading of the car, a short nap. . . and off to work by 7am. then there was this week. and here i am on my long weekend. my mom is up in denver this weekend. . . and i was supposed to visit, but thankfully, mom let me off. another 12 hour drive (6 hours there and back) just a little to much for me. sorry mom. . . would’ve loved to see you. . . but it’s been really nice being able to relax a little. there’s still the prospect of me trying to unpack the apartment a little more. . oh. . . and buying a bed. . as well as a planned day outing to the balloon fiesta tomorrow. again. . .thanks for the out, mom.

well. . . so that’s been my past month or so. . . again, i warned you all that it was a long entry. till later!