Now for the actual Friday post!
Something I forgot from the survey: I fence right-handed. And I kick ass at fencing, too... just so everyone knows. And I'm modest. Obviously.

Today, my family came to Chicago to see my shows. They got here in the afternoon, and took me out to Glenview where they were staying. When we got out to Glenview, they took me to Chipotle for "lunch" at like 3. They then took me back into town and bought me groceries. This is one of the few things that my parents still always do for me... my mom always makes sure that I have enough food. It's her way of coping with me "growing up" I think: food and laundry... and cooking utensils. Oh, my mom!
That night we saw my writing five show, "Mankind..." and my family seemed to really enjoy it. It was the best the actors had done so far... which I think is because it was the largest audience they've had so far. The audience seemed into it from the beginning, and so were the actors. It was a good feeling... having everything seem to fit the way you wanted it to. I enjoyed the show, myself, for probably the first time since it opened. I was a little nervous that my family wouldn't like what I wrote, or the show in general, but they are so supportive that my fears quickly melted and I was able to enjoy my family enjoying my writing. It was, overall, a good feeling.

After the show, we had to drive to Glenview... and, let me tell you, it was as close to a blizzard as I've ever been it. It was interesting to see Chicago drivers (known for their quick lane-changes and seeming-obliviousness to all others) driving slowly and in only one of the four lanes. We were all single file for a few miles... everyone just making sure that they kept moving forward and didn't spin out or end up in a ditch. It was interesting to see. Unfortunately, my dad did not see the beauty in the vehicular-comradery and, instead, decided to be in a bad mood. I had been in the mood to eat dinner at Bennigans or Stake 'N Shake, both on the way to the hotel, but my father decided he'd rather get us there in "one piece" then waste an hour or so talking and eating.
When we got to the hotel, it was thankfully one of those hotels with a kitchen and microwave... so the hotel had a little "market" where they sold mircowavable dinners and little snacky-type items. We bought some dinners and went back to the room to eat and watch the first episode of the new season of Monk. While a certain Albion student doesn't like the show because it inaccurately depicts someone with OCD, I disagree that it is more harmful than helpful. One of the keys, one of the foundations of comedy is a strong comic perspective: Monk is a detective who fears everything... yet constantly faces those fears to help others. They have created a kind of self-powered perpetual comedy machine. As long as there is something in the world to fear, there could be another episode of Monk. They'll grow tired of writing episodes before we grow tired of watching them. Or the fears will become so trite and trivial that they won't hold the comic weight of the expectations we have for the show, and the show will collapse on itself. Regardless, the woman from Two Guys and a Girl (LOVE THAT SHOW!) is going to be the new nurse to help Monk. She's not as good as Sharona, but few can match the acting mastery of the woman who played Evelyn Gardner in A League of Their Own! (of "No crying in baseball!" fame) ("Oh! We remember her now") (Good... I thought that would do it)

#4 Worst of 2004 - Beginning Improv Level D Class/Show Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jen Bills. LOVE her! But that's probably why this is so high up on my list... the sheer disappointment connected with this class: because of the teacher being so awesome, and particularly because Level C (with Claudia) had been so incredible! And here it is, number 4 on my list. I don't think I can fully express how down this class made me... but I can say that, it was during this class that I started to wish I was doing something besides improv. I was, in all honesty, ready to quit improv all together and see if I couldn't do some real acting with professionals. I became so sick of having to put up with people who weren't serious about the work... even though the work is comedy, a lot of folks say that it's more difficult than dramatic theatre. While I don't necessarily agree, I feel like comedy is something that you can learn in the right environment, I still treat it very seriously... and the learning of proven comic approaches I take equally seriously. I was so frustrated by the maturity level of that whole class... by the way we had been smashed together with another class... by everything, that I was just ready to quit. I'm not exactly sure why I kept going... maybe just a blind obedience (to just do what I'm supposed to do; It's a Catholic thing), or maybe it was my miserly nature (spending $30 per night makes me not want to skip class), or maybe it was something else... I guess I'll never know. But I do know that this had a happy ending, eventually. So don't feel too bad about it, kids.