Back in the day, when we were living in Ardmore, Kelly, Marion and I would write out long lists of all the crazy things we wanted to do that summer. They varied from the ridiculous — "model nude for an art class" — to the simple and fun — "visit Jenkins Arboretum."
Now that I have no longer have school to worry about (although the impending student loan payments are starting to make me nervoth!), I hereby declare this to be the SUMMER OF FUN 2009!
So far, the following fun has been had:
Seeing MC Chris with Justine and Matt at the First Unitarian.
This was just so rad. I had never seen MC Chris live before, nor had I ever been to a "nerd core" show, so imagine my delight when there were people dressed up as Stormtroopers and Chewbacca, to say nothing of the guy creating a ruckus wearing a Cobra Commander hood. Oh, nerds. MC Chris himself was, of course, hilarious, great and fun. We were all dancing and singing along. But my biggest love for MC Chris came when he kicked two guys behaving like assholes right out of the venue. He stopped the show, publicly humiliated them for their drunken smack-ass behavior, and then had security escort them out. And then when one of them snuck back in, MC Chris did it again, nearly reducing said asshole to tears. Awesome, if only because I have to put up with That Guy at all shows I go to, and it was so nice to have someone call them on their behavior.
We got to meet MC Chris after the show too, and he was nice enough to sign our stuff and pose for pictures. I love how MC Chris and Matt are SO TOUGH and I'm all la la la butterflies in that shot.
Start of 2009 Softball Season
I actually missed the first two games of the season because I was finishing school, but the weather has caused a number of postponements, so I was able to go to their third game where they trounced the other team 19-7, inciting the mercy rule and ending the game in the 5th inning. I can't wait for future games and the inevitable photo-taking that will ensue.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
Quiet Kate and I have a joke about how all Katies are similar in this certain intangible, yet awesome way. We called it "A Kate Thing." We even had the beginnings of a theme song Ain't Nothin' But a Kate Thing, set, obviously, to Snoop Dogg's and Dr. Dre's Ain't Nothin but a G Thang. Never in my life, however, did I feel like the "Kate Thing" was so true than when I went to Wales and met another girl named Katie from DC. Turns out she and I have been living parallel lives — right down to our dumb boy troubles. She and I clicked instantly, discovered freakish 6-degrees-of-separation-like links in our friends, and promised to keep in touch after the conference.
So you can imagine how pleased I was when Kate invited me to come up to New York with her for a day and see the new Coraline musical. Uh, YES PLEASE. So this past Saturday I took the Chinatown Bus up to NYC (ticking off something on my to-do list, as I've wanted to do the "Dragon Express" for ages), figured out the subway with moderate success*, walked around in circles in the East Village (seriously, Bleecker Street intersects with everything, somehow), window-shopped, took some photos with my new HOLGA, and of course saw Coraline. We also ate lunch at Jekyll and Hyde where we were charged $4.50 for the entertainment, and got lost trying to find the hidden bathroom.
As for Coraline, I liked it a lot, but I also had Issues with it, because I'm an picky theatre person. I blame my brother for this entirely. The acting, the music, the songs, the set: All fantastic. I had one issue with the set (which is static and doesn't change): two long florescent light bulbs that ran floor-to-ceiling stage right at different angles, and in my opinion, caused some needless viewing obstruction. Although, when they came on, the lighting effect was cool. I just think there was a better way to do it. I had issues with some of the writing, mostly, though. It's a bit uneven. The play narrates too much of itself, in my opinion. Lots of Coraline saying things like, "I'm outside now," or "Later, in a dream..." Things like that. I guess the play does this to help little kids make the leaps in the imagination needed to see things (the show asks you to stretch your imagination a lot, which I actually loved), but I would have rather they figured out a way to SHOW us these things via blocking, lighting effects, whatnot than TELL us. I guess the main problem I see with the show is that it doesn't quite know if it's for young kids or adults. It's a fair problem, given the source material, but the show needs to decide. I also feel like this show came together rather quickly and possibly could have benefited from another month or two in workshop to address these problems. As is, it's a good show — with many brilliant elements — that could have been an AMAZING show. So close.
Still, I loved many things about the show and it's a great story regardless, so I was glad I got to see it and doubly glad I got to see it with such cool people. If you're in New York, I recommend checking it out, because despite the problems I mentioned, it's still a good time.
*They're doing work on the F line and if you're headed downtown, it switches over to the A line. Which I didn't realize until we were nearly in Brooklyn. Whoops.
BBQ FUN
Christopher had a BBQ on Sunday and Deb and Brian had one on Monday night. I am all about these, people. Hand me a glass of white wine, some grilled corn on the cob and I am SET. Also, Christopher's BBQ had the fun of Fat Kid Badminton (we were all so full!) and successful and amazing grilled S'more pies. Oh! And Renee was there, visiting from Chicago. Good times!
--
Still to come in THE SUMMER OF FUN 2009:
Cinematic Titanic @ the Troc
Oh man. I cannot tell you how stoked I am for this. Those MSTie kids are doing a live show in Philly, and Stephanie, Henry and I are going. The squee will be infinite!
The New York Dolls, also @ the Troc
Oh, HELL YES. Also going to this with Stephanie, because we are just that cool.
Midsummer
Nothing overly exciting, I'm just looking forward to it.
Mermaid Parade at Coney Island
Kelly was the first one to come up with this, and every year we forget to go. It's the day after Midsummer, though. I am still hoping that we can figure out a way to do it, though it might be a bust.
Blobfest 09/Bastille Day 09
This one is tinged with a bit of saddness as this will be my first Blobfest without Renee. Still, Mikey Likes It is willing to take up her mantle, so off we go! As you can see by my pictures from years past, what a silly great time that is.
Same weekend is of course Bastille Day at ESP, which I'm game for some storming and beheading again.
Herbal Workshop
Finally! I can learn how to plant properly and all kinds cool uses for herbs and how to make teas and such. I think this is going to be fun.
NJ State Fair
Oh yes. I can feel the heartburn starting in anticipation, but I shall not let that thwart me.
Photography, Photography, Photography
I have no excuse for not doing it now. Also, Jim and Stephanie like to spoil me and gifted me with a HOLGA, and I am super excited. I'm thinking about taking a photography class of some sort, so I can better learn what the hell I'm doing. If you hear of any, let me know.
Zineography
So I made a zine as part of my thesis, and I'd like to do more stuff with it. Expand it, distribute it, do another issue, something. More on this in another entry, hopefully.
Summer Reading
You know something great? When you're done with grad school, you can read whatever you want! I've just begun Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is just as ridiculous and silly as you can imagine. I've also begun the Preacher series, which honestly, I'm having trouble getting hooked on. I'm surprised, given how much awesome I've heard about it. I'm going to stick with it though, and see where it goes.
Visiting Renee in Chicago
SO GEEKED FOR THIS. I can't wait. I've never been to Chicago. This will be fun. Not only will I get to see Renee, but also Joe! and Wildman. RAD.
--
I'm sure more will be added to this list. There are other random things happening: strawberry picking, tubing, roller skating, and street fairs. WELCOME SUMMER, WELCOME!
Now that I have no longer have school to worry about (although the impending student loan payments are starting to make me nervoth!), I hereby declare this to be the SUMMER OF FUN 2009!
So far, the following fun has been had:
Seeing MC Chris with Justine and Matt at the First Unitarian.
This was just so rad. I had never seen MC Chris live before, nor had I ever been to a "nerd core" show, so imagine my delight when there were people dressed up as Stormtroopers and Chewbacca, to say nothing of the guy creating a ruckus wearing a Cobra Commander hood. Oh, nerds. MC Chris himself was, of course, hilarious, great and fun. We were all dancing and singing along. But my biggest love for MC Chris came when he kicked two guys behaving like assholes right out of the venue. He stopped the show, publicly humiliated them for their drunken smack-ass behavior, and then had security escort them out. And then when one of them snuck back in, MC Chris did it again, nearly reducing said asshole to tears. Awesome, if only because I have to put up with That Guy at all shows I go to, and it was so nice to have someone call them on their behavior.
We got to meet MC Chris after the show too, and he was nice enough to sign our stuff and pose for pictures. I love how MC Chris and Matt are SO TOUGH and I'm all la la la butterflies in that shot.
Start of 2009 Softball Season
I actually missed the first two games of the season because I was finishing school, but the weather has caused a number of postponements, so I was able to go to their third game where they trounced the other team 19-7, inciting the mercy rule and ending the game in the 5th inning. I can't wait for future games and the inevitable photo-taking that will ensue.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
Quiet Kate and I have a joke about how all Katies are similar in this certain intangible, yet awesome way. We called it "A Kate Thing." We even had the beginnings of a theme song Ain't Nothin' But a Kate Thing, set, obviously, to Snoop Dogg's and Dr. Dre's Ain't Nothin but a G Thang. Never in my life, however, did I feel like the "Kate Thing" was so true than when I went to Wales and met another girl named Katie from DC. Turns out she and I have been living parallel lives — right down to our dumb boy troubles. She and I clicked instantly, discovered freakish 6-degrees-of-separation-like links in our friends, and promised to keep in touch after the conference.
So you can imagine how pleased I was when Kate invited me to come up to New York with her for a day and see the new Coraline musical. Uh, YES PLEASE. So this past Saturday I took the Chinatown Bus up to NYC (ticking off something on my to-do list, as I've wanted to do the "Dragon Express" for ages), figured out the subway with moderate success*, walked around in circles in the East Village (seriously, Bleecker Street intersects with everything, somehow), window-shopped, took some photos with my new HOLGA, and of course saw Coraline. We also ate lunch at Jekyll and Hyde where we were charged $4.50 for the entertainment, and got lost trying to find the hidden bathroom.
As for Coraline, I liked it a lot, but I also had Issues with it, because I'm an picky theatre person. I blame my brother for this entirely. The acting, the music, the songs, the set: All fantastic. I had one issue with the set (which is static and doesn't change): two long florescent light bulbs that ran floor-to-ceiling stage right at different angles, and in my opinion, caused some needless viewing obstruction. Although, when they came on, the lighting effect was cool. I just think there was a better way to do it. I had issues with some of the writing, mostly, though. It's a bit uneven. The play narrates too much of itself, in my opinion. Lots of Coraline saying things like, "I'm outside now," or "Later, in a dream..." Things like that. I guess the play does this to help little kids make the leaps in the imagination needed to see things (the show asks you to stretch your imagination a lot, which I actually loved), but I would have rather they figured out a way to SHOW us these things via blocking, lighting effects, whatnot than TELL us. I guess the main problem I see with the show is that it doesn't quite know if it's for young kids or adults. It's a fair problem, given the source material, but the show needs to decide. I also feel like this show came together rather quickly and possibly could have benefited from another month or two in workshop to address these problems. As is, it's a good show — with many brilliant elements — that could have been an AMAZING show. So close.
Still, I loved many things about the show and it's a great story regardless, so I was glad I got to see it and doubly glad I got to see it with such cool people. If you're in New York, I recommend checking it out, because despite the problems I mentioned, it's still a good time.
*They're doing work on the F line and if you're headed downtown, it switches over to the A line. Which I didn't realize until we were nearly in Brooklyn. Whoops.
BBQ FUN
Christopher had a BBQ on Sunday and Deb and Brian had one on Monday night. I am all about these, people. Hand me a glass of white wine, some grilled corn on the cob and I am SET. Also, Christopher's BBQ had the fun of Fat Kid Badminton (we were all so full!) and successful and amazing grilled S'more pies. Oh! And Renee was there, visiting from Chicago. Good times!
--
Still to come in THE SUMMER OF FUN 2009:
Cinematic Titanic @ the Troc
Oh man. I cannot tell you how stoked I am for this. Those MSTie kids are doing a live show in Philly, and Stephanie, Henry and I are going. The squee will be infinite!
The New York Dolls, also @ the Troc
Oh, HELL YES. Also going to this with Stephanie, because we are just that cool.
Midsummer
Nothing overly exciting, I'm just looking forward to it.
Mermaid Parade at Coney Island
Kelly was the first one to come up with this, and every year we forget to go. It's the day after Midsummer, though. I am still hoping that we can figure out a way to do it, though it might be a bust.
Blobfest 09/Bastille Day 09
This one is tinged with a bit of saddness as this will be my first Blobfest without Renee. Still, Mikey Likes It is willing to take up her mantle, so off we go! As you can see by my pictures from years past, what a silly great time that is.
Same weekend is of course Bastille Day at ESP, which I'm game for some storming and beheading again.
Herbal Workshop
Finally! I can learn how to plant properly and all kinds cool uses for herbs and how to make teas and such. I think this is going to be fun.
NJ State Fair
Oh yes. I can feel the heartburn starting in anticipation, but I shall not let that thwart me.
Photography, Photography, Photography
I have no excuse for not doing it now. Also, Jim and Stephanie like to spoil me and gifted me with a HOLGA, and I am super excited. I'm thinking about taking a photography class of some sort, so I can better learn what the hell I'm doing. If you hear of any, let me know.
Zineography
So I made a zine as part of my thesis, and I'd like to do more stuff with it. Expand it, distribute it, do another issue, something. More on this in another entry, hopefully.
Summer Reading
You know something great? When you're done with grad school, you can read whatever you want! I've just begun Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is just as ridiculous and silly as you can imagine. I've also begun the Preacher series, which honestly, I'm having trouble getting hooked on. I'm surprised, given how much awesome I've heard about it. I'm going to stick with it though, and see where it goes.
Visiting Renee in Chicago
SO GEEKED FOR THIS. I can't wait. I've never been to Chicago. This will be fun. Not only will I get to see Renee, but also Joe! and Wildman. RAD.
--
I'm sure more will be added to this list. There are other random things happening: strawberry picking, tubing, roller skating, and street fairs. WELCOME SUMMER, WELCOME!
Labels: Catch-up, Happy Things, Lists
5 Comments:
Just to warn you: Joe! has come up with the most obnoxious way to say your name. Why? Because he can.
That's fine. I'm going to say his name the way I write it: as if I'm shouting it, and with jazz hands.
Can I hop on your blobfest awesome adventure?? It isn't to far from where I currentl live and my teens have told me al about it. Of course none of them have gone to it since they were like 10, but I've never been so I want to run screaming from the theater.
Hopefully, Midsummer will go from not too special to super awesome for you with the appearance of a certain little fairy. See you then!
I am so glad you came! New York was awesome, and it was fabulous to see it and Coraline with you.
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