Anniversary

Dan and I have been a couple for six years today.

Consider this:
May 30, 2000: Dan and I met for the first time in Washington, DC

May 29, 2003: Dan and I start dating in Los Angeles, CA

May 29, 2010: Dan and I are getting married in New Orleans, LA (exactly one year away!)

We didn't plan this. Dan and I picked our wedding date before we realized it was our anniversary. (To be honest, we don't really celebrate our anniversary although this year we happen to be vacationing in San Francisco.)

I think it's so cool. The end of May is a good time of year for us. Is it coincidence or fate?

Sandwich: A Play in 1 Act

YVONNE: Do you want me to make dinner now?

DAN: I am not really hungry.

YVONNE: Well, I am hungry, so I'll just make myself a sandwich. Do you want one?

DAN: No.

YVONNE prepares herself a roast beef and cheese sandwich with mayo on a roll. YVONNE sits down on the couch and takes a bite of the sandwich. DAN sits next to YVONNE and grabs sandwich and takes a bite. YVONNE takes her sandwich back.

YVONNE: Are you sure you don't want a sandwich?

DAN: I don't want one.

DAN takes YVONNE'S sandwich and takes a huge bite. YVONNE gives Dan a dirty look and takes back her sandwich and eats it. DAN takes the sandwich again and eats more of it.

YVONNE: That's the last bite for you.

DAN: You are not good at sharing.

YVONNE: I don't want to share. I want the whole thing. I offered you your own. And I am the one who's hungry.

YVONNE finishes what's left of her sandwich. YVONNE puts away the rest of the cold cuts and mayo in the refrigerator. YVONNE settles down in front of her computer.

15 minutes later.

DAN: Can you make me a sandwich?

The End.

Nuts: A Play in 1 Act

YVONNE: I made brownies.

DAN: Yum, brownies! Give me some!

YVONNE hands Ziploc container filled with brownies to DAN. DAN opens the container and wrinkles his nose.

DAN: "Ewwwwww, they have nuts in them."

YVONNE: They are called rocky road brownies so they have chocolate chips, nuts and marshmallows on top. Sometimes I like to bake with nuts. Besides, I like nuts.

DAN: But I don't like nuts.

YVONNE: Well I made them for me, not for you.

DAN looks confused. He takes a bite and then proceeds to eat all the brownies in the container in one sitting. (Don't worry, YVONNE had some earlier.)

Everyone wins.

The End.

Wedding day fantasies

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

My wedding is a year away, but I would be super excited if it resembled something like this video. Only in New Orleans, of course.

Seriously, my mom lip-synching to a Queen song?!!? Now, that's a good party! What good fun!

Some days are better than others.

[Via Rifle Designs]

I know, I know. I have been MIA for a while.

Last week, I spent a few days in New Jersey celebrating Mother's Day and wedding dress shopping. And then I came home and got a bout of the unemployment blues. As much as I dislike working, I also dislike not working. A year ago, I was hearing about jobs--permanent and freelance--all the time. Now, all I hear is silence. I know it's not me because many people I know are experiencing the same thing.

I have done my best to remain optimistic and to take advantage of my free time as I said I would, but I admit that I have had bouts of inactivity and feeling sorry for myself, which I don't like to write about--in particular, last week, hence the lack of writing.

Like it or not, I am a person who has always defined myself by my work. And when I am not working, I feel like a huge loser. (Though if I had a trust fund or won the lottery, I could get over being a loser). I daydream that I could be using this time to travel to a cheap, far-off destination but in this recession, I don't want to take my chances with the savings I have got.

So I am going to try to get a summer job. Something semi-permanent that will keep me occupied and put some cash in my pocket, like working in a bakery or temping or something. I have applied to some places already but so far nothing. It's only been a few days so we'll see.

Pounding the pavement renewed my spirits a little bit and gave me the momentum and enthusiasm to keep moving on. I am still diligently networking and job hunting for my real job, almost every day. I have been telling myself (and I know this sounds totally dumb) but maybe there is a reason why I am not finding work right now and that's because I am finally given the time to write like I have always wanted to. I have been writing on and off the last few weeks. On Sunday, I couldn't sleep until 4 in the morning because the ideas kept popping in my head and I had to get up to write them down. I decoded my scribbles during the day and then Monday night I was exhausted yet I felt the same thing happening to me again. (Luckily I fell asleep much earlier). I am excited about this influx of inspiration and yet I am afraid of jinxing it and so I don't to talk about it anymore.

Dan's been in a bit of a funk lately, too, (we're just a happy pair, aren't we?) but that all went away this week when he found out that his favorite band Cracker is playing a show in New York soon. He said that everything is better now that Cracker is coming to town. I wish I had a Cracker. Or a job. Or a book deal. Or a trust fund.

Trekkies

Adam got us tickets to see the new Star Trek movie on an IMAX screen. Ginormous screen. Pretty exciting stuff. The only catch was the only tickets he could get were for the Saturday 10 am show. All the other shows were already sold out (a week in advance!) Only in New York. I didn't even know that you could see a movie at 10 am.


This is what it looked like when we walked up to the theater at 9:20 am. Yeah, there was like a hundred people waiting in line. The theater wasn't even open yet. Have to say, GREAT place to pick up men since the audience was like 80% male. That is, if you are into that kind of Sci Fi lovin' man.


Here's our posse. Adam and Dan are Star Trek nerds (our Sci Fi lovin' men). Nell and I have never seen any of the Star Trek movies or any episodes of the tv show.

It was a GREAT movie. It was the perfect action movie. I would put it up there with Star Wars. Good-looking actors, interesting plot line, intense and satisfying action sequences, funny jokes, good character development, light on its feet, didn't take itself too seriously--just a good, good movie. I was surprised. I don't usually like action or Sci Fi or never had any interest in Star Trek. But I am a Trekkie now.

Afterwards, the four of us went out for lunch and then walked about the Central Park Zoo.

On the walk home, Dan noticed this street sign. It made us very happy. This picture is not doctored.


Live long and prosper.

Burger Club

I am not much of a burger eater, but I like this idea for a Burger of the Month club that I read about in The New York Times today. Wouldn't it be fun to meet up with your friends once a month to eat and rate burgers and then host a nifty web site about your experience?

Does there need to be a Cupcake of the Month club?

Giant Cheetos

I am sure that you know by now that I would take sweet over salty any day. Don't get me wrong, put a bowl of Doritos in front of me and I can eat the whole thing. But usually, I go months without putting a single chip in my mouth or even thinking about doing so.

Yet for some reason, I have been captivated by the brilliant new snack-food invention: Giant Cheetos. Ever since I saw the commercial, I have been dying to have one (or two or three).

The problem was that I couldn't find them anywhere. In a week's time, I tried two grocery stores, Target, the Devil's Den, and nothing! Suddenly, the urge for a massive cheese puff was getting unbearable. After reviewing an online message board, I discovered that someone found them at Walgreens, which is where I finally got them. Phew!

What did it taste like? Well, like a Giant Cheeto. What did you expect? Sure, you have to open your mouth extra wide to eat it, but really, you just get more of the artificial cheesy taste, the Styrofoam texture, the gunk stuck in your teeth and the orange dust on your fingers. If you want a more detailed analysis, I suggest you go here.

I feel like I could go on living now that I had one, and I could live on never having one ever again. But if they were in a bowl in front of me, I would definitely go for it. Though I prefer the skinny, crunchy Cheetos over the puff (giant or regular) any day.


The moment I have been waiting for!


Going, going....


Gone!


Dan gets his Cheetos fix.

Ode to Brian

On a rainy and bad-hair inducing evening, Dan and I ventured to Brooklyn to Brian's going away party. Brian lives ten blocks away from me, but his party was taking place an hour away at Zombie Hut in Brooklyn. Luckily, Brian is the type of guy who you'd travel an hour in the rain all the way to Brooklyn for his going away party without complaint.

Brian and I met in high school. He was three grades below me, but we became friends by doing plays and musicals together. Those two years I did high school drama were some of the best times in my life, and the people involved--people like Brian--was really what made it so great. I usually was delegated a few lines here and there, but Brian had a beautiful singing voice and always had the leading roles. He was a star (still is).

I didn't do the best job staying in touch with most of my high school friends, but for some reason, Brian was the rare exception. I am unsure why except that our lives kept bumping into each other. I remember emailing him sometimes when I was in college. After I graduated, I went to visit him at UPenn for a weekend of beer drinking at one of those parties where someone played the guitar. One day, when I was working in New York and still living in New Jersey, I discovered Brian standing at the train platform at Convent Station. He was commuting into the city, too. And that's when we became commuting buddies. During the hour long trip, we would spend the first ten minutes talking and catching up and the next 50 minutes bobbing our heads in sleep.

Eventually, we both moved to New York City, and sometimes lots of time would pass where we didn't see each other, but I knew I could always count on Brian for good times and his yearly Christmas card. He has the best taste in cards. We would get together to do fun things like rock out at Brandy's Piano Bar or watch All About Eve or go to JG Melon's to eat hamburgers. Brian likes to talk about musical theater and France (He looooves the French), and I could spend hours talking about musical theater and France.

Brian has the best laugh. He laughs at things that you wouldn't expect someone to laugh at, which makes ordinary things much funnier. I always laugh when I am with Brian. Movies are the best with Brian. All About Eve was freakin' HILARIOUS.

So, Brian is leaving New York City. He met a great guy who he's been dating for a while and is moving to Colorado to be with him. I am happy for him but sad for me. Then again, since our friendship has lasted despite the odds, I have no doubt it will continue to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if our lives will bump into each other once again.

I feel these pictures are a good representation of what it's like to hang out with Brian:








I was not drunk in these pictures even though it looks it. As we were taking these pictures, Brian said, "I feel like my head is so big and yours is so small." That's why I was laughing so hard. Looks like he was wrong.


Brian had invited some other high school drama people to the party, including my friend Bob. Haven't seen that guy in like five years, maybe more. I love how every time I see Bob, he fondly talks about the time when I was a senior and he was a freshman and I would drive him home from play practice. I love my drama peeps.

I also met a sweet girl named Raina. Hi Raina!