One and Done
I guess I'll start by talking about the Packers/ViQueens playoff game. Um... I didn't see it. I really don't plan to see that game, even though I taped it. And, no, I don't really want to talk about it either. The Lambeau mystique is gone... no one worries about playing at Lambeau anymore, because the Packers have, recently, played like shit at home. "How recently?", you ask. Oh... about ever since my family has had tickets. Coincidence? I think not. As much as I coveted those tickets before we got them... why do I want to drive up to Wisconsin to see my Packers lose three times like I did this year? They lost every game I saw... it's a pile of shit, as far as I'm concerned. All that time and money and then they lose. And, what's worse, they NEVER looked GOOD when I saw them play... they always played like crap and got blown out. *shakes head* It's almost not even worth the price of the tickets. *gasp* Yeah... I know. I can't believe I'm saying it either.

Tonight was Writing Five rehearsal number two. It actually went better than the first one, in that the first one was... well... I didn't really go into it like I should have, so allow me to go backwards a week. At the first rehearsal, during our read-through... okay... I'm going to have to go backwards a little farther. Hold on. Okay. Now we're back in the Summer of 2004. Ooo! Everything's so pretty and shiny! Anyway... let's go back to the first read-through of Maybe This Isn't The Right Forum For This.... In that rehearsal, I felt as though there were some very VERY talented performers in the cast, and that it was going to take everything I had to keep up on stage. Fast forward to last week... and I honestly felt like the most talented person on stage as we read through the scripts. I don't know what it is--maybe I'm becoming a better judge of talent, or maybe I'm becoming cockier--but I had a feeling as we read through that I was the 'best' one there. So now, going back to the beginning of this paragraph, I can say that the cast is better than I thought they were going to be at the read-through. Oh... and Chris gives me mouth-to-mouth in the show. No, Rhea, I'm not kidding this time. We've already rehearsed it.
As part of getting to know everyone better, I started talking to the Kim girl a bit. We were having a pleasant conversation and I asked her where she went to school. Guess what? Kim went to Yale. *nods* Mmhmm... she's the first person my age that I know that went to an Ivy League school. So I was very impressed. What I was not impressed with, however, was the fact that she was an American History major with a film concentration... or something like that. "I went to Yale to study American movies"... um... what? That makes no sense. But, needless to say I was impressed, because I'm shallow like that, and I'm an intellectual elitist (just ask Ken, he'll tell you). She's also blonde and attractive and she has a great laugh... so I, obviously, like her. I actually found myself thinking about it... and "pushing" like I was saying yesterday I noticed that I do. Well, I'm going to have to make sure to not have feelings for her... because I will no doubt be hurt. Moron that in a second.
After rehearsal, a group of us walked to the Roadhouse bar. It's just down Wells... or maybe I should say UP Wells... because it's north of Second City, and I'd never even seen the place before. It's got an interesting atmosphere... with a pool table and car backseats for booths. Regardless, I only went because Kim was going. And, it turns out, she was the only female to go... so it was Kim, and six guys all eyeing Kim. It was at that point (or perhaps when she was playing pool with Robert, who is a very tall and attractive man), that I told myself to stop thinking that Kim was a possibility. She is, without a doubt, out of my league. Yale/Intelligent + Tall/Thin/Blonde/Attractive = Not My League. I then decided I should start talking to the other guys who were there. Brian (from my Conservatory class too) and I talked for the first time ever, really. He seems like a cool guy who just wants to be involved in as much acting as he can. He's even taking an acting class somewhere in the city. I'm hoping that he's good so that we can work together and maybe both find places to do some actual acting work in the city. I hope. We'll see.

#8 Best of 2004 - A Weekend Spent At Albion, Among Other Things, Teaching Improv God! Why isn't this higher on my list?! Well... for one, there were a lot of really good things that happened to me last year. And, two, that weekend at Albion was bitter-sweet. Once again, Albion tried to make me feel as welcome as possible without truly acknowledging the discomfort I felt at being an outsider. I'm not sure if that sentence made sense. Anyway... if there had been a dozen students taking my little improv workshop, this would probably be further up my list. Not that the students who took it weren't absolutely fabulous (because they were), it's just that I had lost a lot of my momentum in the hour and a half it took for us to get enough people there to do anything. Once I got started, it was incredible to watch the students pick things up so quickly... and some really good improvisation happened. So I'm pleased about that. And then I went to the Coffeehouse's open mic night. There I was treated with two fantastic things!: 1) Nick's improved poetry which led to my feeling of pride [way to go, son!]; and 2) Kerri surprising Nick for his birthday which may be the greatest birthday surprise I have ever seen. The rest of the weekend was mixed... the choir practice was crap; going to the homecoming game and feeling like just another of Kopec's roommates was awesome; being at a college party made me feel old, and having people leave without saying good-bye hurt... a lot--maybe more than it should have; then seeing Amber, Sarah, and Randi for breakfast was awesome, but my part in the actual choir performance was not worth my time. I suppose, answering my own question earlier in this post, the reason this isn't higher on my list is that it was a weekend of highs and lows emotionally... where some really great stuff happened, but some pretty crap stuff happened, too. I guess, overall, I'm glad I went... but I probably could have left sooner than I did.