iHeight

I shot this for a commercial for a Studio TV Production class, and thought it stood on its own as a fun little short.

Starring:
Deirdre McAllister
Dan Weidknecht
and Me!

Directed By: Me
Camera: Alicia Farrington

The Epic Wedding

This past weekend, I attended the wedding of 2 complete strangers. That's right, I sort of crashed a wedding. By sort of, I mean I was invited to attend by one of the bride's maids, and by bride's maid, I mean she was the bride's servant/slave/bonded follower. That bride's slave was none other than???... you probably guessed it... Patty. Patty invited me to be her Plus One many weeks ago, and I gladly accepted because hey, free weekend getaway, BBQ, booze, brunch...alliteration! Then of course other things were thrown at me like, Red Sox vs Yankees tickets and North End Italian festivals, BUT, I am an adult, and I had prior commitments. So I made it down to Rhode Island Friday afternoon by way of commuter rail, and I have this common theme of having to take cabs to South Station, because I tend to never leave my apartment on time.

Anyway, Friday was the BBQ consisting of gross cheese burgers, charred weiners, fly swarming fruit, and field day games. There was however, pie and badminton, and those 2 things make all sorrows dissipate. I stuffed my face with weiners and pie, and then schooled Patty in the great game of badminton. Patty was a hot mess at this point. I think she was more stressed by getting lost in the tragedy that is the Rhode Island freeway system, so adding the intensity of my badminton skills didn't help in calming her down.

We checked into the lovely Marriot-Downtown Providence, and then went to dinner in the hotel restaurant. We were then served by the saddest waitress EVER. She greeted our table like she was sedated, and then the Maitre D gave her a little talking to, and then she started to cry. It was very awkward when we had to remind her that we had ordered wine. Anyway, we enjoyed our dinner, and at this point Patty was so exhausted I was basically making conversation with the booth. We retired to our shared king sized bed, and I couldn't sleep so I listened to my new favorite podcast, Savage Love.

Dee dum dee dum Dee dum dee dum. Wedding Day! Saturday found me on my own again as Patty had to meet the other bride slaves at 6:45 AM for nails and hair and other last minute polishings. So I went for a swim, ordered room service, watched The Office on Patty's computer, and then headed out to find the quaint little 18th century home where the ceremony would take place. Here it is:
It's called Linden Place, and I believe it was built in like 1777. Anyway, it was old, and beautiful, and had a nice garden, and I love 18th century New England homes, and according to Patty, the film version of The Great Gatsby was filmed there. SO...yeah

The ceremony was short and sweet, both literally and figuratively as they performed this blending of honey ritual that was really cool, and I was impressed by it until I found out that they just searched wedding traditions, and that popped up. Still though, how original?! And then there was the reception and they served filet mignon and delish champagne and Patty and I danced until we fell on top of each other! Oh, and Norm cut in while Patty and I were slow dancing, and danced with me. It was funny. To quote him, "I've never had the opportunity to dance with a young man." Oh improv. It was fun to just hang out, and have a few drinks with new IA people... well not NEW IA people, I mean IA people that I've never really been around OUTSIDE of the theatre.

I started to think about my own wedding, if I am to ever marry. I just like the idea of a whole day... or in this case weekend... dedicated to me, and my husband to be. When I watched Nael (groom) dance with his elegant French mother, I got a little emotional, knowing that my mom has already chosen the song she wants us to dance to, Fly Me To The Mooon by Frank Sinatra. I want an open bar, because people are more inclined to have fun once they've had a couple drinks, plus I don't want people to think that I'm cheap. And I want a happy medium between formal and casual. I don't want people to be uncomfortable, or feel like they need to act differently because they're at a wedding. I also don't want idiots ruining my wedding... so I just won't invite Mitch. KIDDING MITCH! I think I'll have Mitch get ordained to perform the ceremony, and it will be all be in a rap. Wouldn't he make a great minister at a gay wedding:

I have a very fun weekend coming up! More on that once my shoulder stops cracking as I type.

The Apartment Blues

Take a good look people, because that may very well be me next year. It's July, and I still do not have roommates, or an apartment to live in next year. Well, technically, I have a quaint home in Everett with Patty as my backup, but I just don't understand how I'm in this general situation. Although Patty's place is great and cheap, it is in Everett, and no one will come to visit us because you have to take a train and a bus. SO, I'm trying very hard to somehow find a place in the Davis, Porter, or Central Square area. That way I can remain close to everyone, and I'll only need to use one mode of public transportation. I actually responded to some ADs on Craigslist in the hope that I can find my dream room/apartment/roommates.

I've never felt such panic about my living situation. I mean, this process has literally consumed my entire being. For the last 3 years, I have ALWAYS had a place all set to go by no later than June. This year, all of the people that I had plans to live with, bailed on me. Bailed is a harsh word to use, but, I'm stuck, and they're all set, so, I have a little right to be harsh.

Thankfully, I do have Patty as my backup. So, I won't really be sleeping in a bag on Tremont Street. What would you do if you walked out of Park Street and saw me on the street in a bag... sleeping? WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!

Boston, Reign O'er Me

It is raining SO HARD! I'm sitting in my kitchen observing the sky that falls over Old North Church, and then in the distance, downtown Boston. I adore thunderstorms. Lately we've had a lot of little squalls and they've just been wimpy. Today we're getting a good one though. I just counted 6 big streaks of lightning, and the thunder sounds as if someone is bombing the city. I particularly enjoy Sunday thunderstorms, because I generally don't have anything to do on Sunday, so I love to just sit in my apartment during the storm, and read, or blog, or talk to people who are also experiencing the storm, and I like to go, "OH man, did you hear that?! or did you SEE that ?! IT'S REALLY COMING DOWN"

Thunderstorms remind me of my childhood summers. Before my mom built the sun room on the deck, we used to have this unstable screen house, and my favorite thing about it was sitting in it during a big thunderstorm with my parents and brother. You basically were outside in the middle of the storm, but had a canvas roof above your head. The roof used to collect water, so we would take a broom and push the water off, that was my favorite job. Anyway, we would sit out there, eat blueberry buckle, drink tea, play Parchesi. and count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. I miss home, and my childhood.

I think severe weather in cities is an odd concept, for some reason. I just always associate thunderstorms, and snow storms with my little town. The suburbs. Cities are just supposed to have the same weather... right?... Am I nuts?!

The storm's over, for now. And so is this post.

On the dry and dusty road
The nights we spent apart alone
I need to get back home
To cool cool rain

I can't sleep and I lay and I think
The night is hot and black as ink
Woo Oh God I need a drink
Of cool cool rain

What Happened To My Filter?

This is Stefanie. Stefanie USED to be my "boss". She left her managerial position, and is now back, but only as a lowly part-timer. Last night I worked a late night shift with her and Derrick, and we were having a very pleasant evening. The 2 shows we had to ticket for were both in the small plaza theatre, so walk-up was rather light. Oooo, we did a wait-list, but only the first pair on the list got in, and both Stefanie and Derrick were scared to announce that everyone else couldn't get squat, so I did it, it was fun! I mean, I felt bad that the people waiting didn't get tickets, but I enjoyed that brief amount of authority and power, because generally, the patrons get to treat us like we're not human.

ANYGAY, the evening was coming to a close when Stefanie mentioned the spacers that had recently been placed in between her teeth, hurt when she ate. That's when everything turned sour. I, with all of my infinite wisdom and intuition, respond by saying, "I think one of the funniest looking things EVER, is an adult wearing braces." Stefanie then laughed, and started to cry. I asked if she was crying from laughter, or was for realzies crying. She was for realzies crying. I made her cry. I took a wildly sensitive topic and just ripped it wide open. I felt like a douche. For some reason, I was unable to put 2 and 2 together to realize that she was going to have braces put on. SO, way to go me, I made a 23 year old woman cry. My former boss, and good friend, actually. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

SORRY STEF !

Irish Times

Monday night I went to The Burren in Davis Square for my manager's birthday. The female on my right is not my manager. That's Vawnya and we used to be box office arch nemesises... It was very random, and I felt just a TAD awkward considering I was going out drinking with... all of my managers. That's right, I have like 14 managers. They're all great though!... for the most part. Anyway, what excited me about this event was the location. The Burren is an Irish Pub named after an ancient geological site in... the Galway region of Ireland, which is where my mother's family is from, and it's a place that I have been. Here, I'll show you!

That's the Portal Tomb, located in The Burren. I took that. Don't believe me???... has anyone reading this been to Ireland, no.

Anyway, my cousin Geraldine (Irish cousin), played a gig at The Burren (Somerville) like 10 years ago. My grandparents always ask me if I've been, and I always tell them yes, because I want them to like me!... haha, they're my grandparents, what the hell am I talking about? So when we got there, I told the gang that my cousin came over from Ireland and played a gig there. They weren't impressed. THEN, I saw posters on the walls from Inishbofin, which is the tiny little island that my great-grandmother came from! NUTS... again, they weren't impressed, they had their drinkin' pants on. At about 9 some live Irish music started playing, and I loved it. The Black Rose in Faneuil Hall is also a great Irish Pub with live Irish music every night. No one ever wants to go with me. They're all D-bags... ugh, let's go to Goody's... FUCK GOODY'S!. I'm sorry, but I'm so frigon sick of going to the same bar, where I see the same people spending literally all of their time and money there. It's sad. Not me or my friends, we have outside lives. But there are clients of this bar, that basically do nothing but go to Goody's every frigon night. And they start early. I know I just started 4 sentences with and or but, it's my blog, I do what I want!

Anyway, I love Irish pubs with live Irish music, because I love the sounds, and it reminds me of going to Ireland. And I love drinking with my employers.

Who wants to go to an Irish pub with me?!

VH1 Rock Honors: THE WHO

Ok this is the LAST post about The Who... for a little while. Here are a couple of performances from the concert:

PEARL JAM: "Love Reign O'er Me"

• VH1 TV Shows
• Music Videos
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THE WHO: "Who Are You"

• VH1 TV Shows
• Music Videos
• Celebrity Photos
• News & Gossip

THE WHO: "My Generation"

• VH1 TV Shows
• Music Videos
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Nothing But Endless Wire

Well I had a pleasant weekend. Ok, so that's a bit of an understatement... I had an absolutely, unbelievable, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, weekend! ! ! I attended VH1 Rock Honors: The Who! How on Earth did that happen Nick? I will tell you:

Wednesday night i met up with my high school English teacher for dinner and a pint at The Black Rose, which is now the one and only bar I will go to in Faneuil Hall. He played the first song by The Who I had ever heard, The Kids Are Alright, and from then on I was hooked on the band. Anyway, during dinner he mentioned that he was going to L.A. to attend the concert. I of course, went nuts, because not only was he seeing the show, but he was also attending a pre-show reception where it was rumored that members of the band would be in attendance. So after seeing my excitement he goes, "well what are you doing this weekend. There's a woman on the website selling a ticket, and she's legit,". My reaction was something like, what? shut up, stop it, no, I can't, I'm broke, and so on and so on. After he headed back home, I went to IA and met up with Nick, Dan, and Trev, and we went to our usual place of business, Goody's. After a couple of rounds, I began consulting them on what I should do. They of course all agreed that I would hate myself if I turned down this opportunity. The next day, I texted Pete and said that I would take the ticket if it was still available.

I then spent the rest of the day on cloud 29 until, he called and said he couldn't get in touch with the seller. He said she wasn't responding to his emails, or his calls, and that it appeared as if she had sold the ticket, and that I was out of luck. BLURG!... so I went to Talia's and she had refreshments that helped take my mind off of the suspense. Then at about 11:45 P.M. he calls and says, "Nick, if you still want the ticket, it's yours. Book a flight,". OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG I immediately booked my flight to L.A.

This was the first performance of The Who I saw, on television, that hooked me:


This is also a performance with one member gone, Keith Moon, who died in 1978 from an overdose.

Anyway, I was off to L.A. I met Pete at the airport and his cousin picked us up. Tim is tall, wide, loud, Irish, and very funny. He took us to a bar and we had a few rounds, played a couple games of pool, and then stumbled out. I collapsed on an air mattress, and when I woke, Tim's wife was playing The Who on a cassette player! I was surrounded by Who-heads (as Jeremy once called me) and I could not have been happier. That day we spent picking up other members from the website, one of which, nicknamed CrazyHorse, was literally bat-shit crazy. His first topic of conversation, to a group of people he's really never met, was about the hooker he "almost broke" the night before. Very inappropes. We pick up one more Whooligan, and then went to Santa Monica Beach for about 30 seconds.

Next was the pre-show reception. Remember the rumor I told you about? Well, at 5 a guy comes to my table and explains to my group that a special guest was coming at 5:30, and that we were to not take pictures, ask for autographs, or bother this person at all in general. So I start to lose my mind. The admins from the website start giving speeches, and then suddenly they stop, I turn to look at the entrance, and there stands Pete Townshend. Song writer, and lead guitarist of The Who. A.K.A GOD ! This is the man behind blue eyes, creator of Tommy at age 21! AND HE WAS 7 INCHES AWAY FROM ME! Talk about a great way to get someone pumped for a Who concert. Ugh... it was so surreal.

After that enormous bonus, we headed to the Pauley Pavilion where I had a fantastic seat, 10 rows from the stage, on the floor. The concert included performances by Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Incubus, Tenacious D, and Pearl Jam. Foo Fighters covered Young Man Blues and Bargain. Flaming Lips did a great medley from Tommy. Incubus performed I Can See For Miles and I Can't Explain. Tenacious D, a last minute addition to the roster, performed Squeeze Box acoustically. It was Pearl Jam that really blew me away though. They performed Love, Reign O'er Me and The Real Me, from the album Quadrophenia. They had a small string section, and their performance contained so much passion, it was clear that they were the proudest to be at this event honoring the greatest rock band to ever live.

Finally The Who were introduced by Adam Sandler performing a parody of Magic Bus. Pete and Roger were on their game aside from some sound issues with their monitors. They performed Baba O'Riley, The Seeker, Who Are You, Behind Blue Eyes, 2000 Years, You Better You Bet, My Generation, Won't Get Fooled Again, and finally, Tea and Theatre. The Seeker will probably end up cut from the broadcast since Roger missed some lyrics. I could not believe how close I was to the band, and I was a happy little 21 year old Who fan sporting a green Who T-shirt worn under the classic black blazer.

After the euphoria of the concert and sort of meeting Pete Townshend, we went to an after party at The W hotel bar. We got to cut the long line, walk in with our VIP badges, AND drinks were free. So I had a couple $13 cocktails, and just soaked in this amazing, bizarre, spontaneous weekend.

Everyone that I met at the concert had either seen the band perform with Keith Moon, or at least with the late John Entwistle (bass). John died in 2002, and I saw The Who for the first time, live, in 2003. So my appreciation for Keith and John comes only from videos in documentaries. Although The Who only have Pete and Roger left, and they're both in their early 60's, they still rock like teenagers. The power of their music will never be quiet, no matter how old they get. If anything, it will get louder, since they can barely hear it to begin with.

Townshend brought rock and roll to such a higher intellectual level, and the way The Who interpreted his writing was nothing short of an explosive sound. The music has meant so much to me, particularly in my formidable years where I was really figuring out who I was, what I wanted, and what might make me happy. If you ever want some of their music, just ask, because I am always overly excited to recruit. Last night I gave Jeremy a few CDs, and then tried to hand him the documentary, The Kids Are Alright, and he pulled his hand away, and said, alright alright alright, that's enough. HA... anyway

I'll end this blog with a video of Tea and Theatre. A song from their new album Endless Wire. Pete and Roger now perform this song, acoustically, as the finale to their shows. It's their own tribute to 40 years of brilliance. Enjoy!

Come Ova, I'm Makin' Dinnuh

As a partial Italian, I grew up with a grand amount of importance placed on something called, "Sunday Dinner." The picture above, is an old photograph of my family engaging in this loving tradition. We were Asian at one time...

Anyway, for a while I used to get annoyed by this Sunday ritual, particularly when I was a teenager, and hated everything having to do with family. Hey, it's just what every teen goes through. I wanted to go to the mall to hang out!... because that's literally all you do as a high schooler. At least that's all you CAN do as a high schooler, at least in my little town.

Well, once I flew the coop, I began to long for those dinners. I missed being surrounded by people that loved me, and each other-(ish). I missed the comforting home cooked meals, that were always enormous, no matter how few people actually attended. So, I started to make Sunday dinners for my friends. Granted, they weren't ALWAYS on Sundays, but still. Last night I had an impromptu Sunday dinner. I just shot out a text, and people arrived. Kelly came with her "wife" Deirdre, and it was Deirdre's first time! She's a vegetarian, so that would be why I rarely get to invite her, but since I had black bean rice and salad caprese, she had PLENTY to mangia. After dinner we watched an episode of... Anorexia Intervention... or something, on A&E. It was nice and depressing. Thank you Nick Wilson. PAY YOUR RENT!

I love doing that for my friends, because since I've moved, my friends have become my family, I think I've said that before. They are the people that I love and trust, and I love surrounding myself with them, showing them my love, with food and drink. My only hope is that this little tradition can continue after I move out to Everett. I'm sure that since I cook so damn well, they just won't stay away! Oh, and I like to think I keep 'em comin' with my charmin' personality.

I think I'm going away for a little while...

Mega Weekend

I went to New York City this past weekend, and it was, once again, PHENOMENAL! First off, instead of risking my life and taking a China Town bus, I embarked on my adventure on the new Mega Bus (seen below). The Mega Bus is a... fairly? new bus that takes to you to Penn Station, AND it's cheaper than the Fung, AND it's clean and big, AND it's mostly young people. Not middle schoolers on field trips, but like, young professionals. So the bus was great. Here it is! :

MEGA BUS!...Once I got to Penn Station I called Glenn, because he goes the New School, and loves the city, so I thought I'd let him know I was there. This was sort of how the conversation went:

ME:
Glenn
GLENN:
Nick
ME:
Guess where I am right now.
GLENN:
Kelly's Roast Beef
ME:
No you ass clown, I'm in Manhattan, standing next to Madison Square Garden
GLENN:
Ooooooohhhhh no fuckin' way! Man, I love New York City. I'm in Long Island right now.

Then I asked him how to get to the L train so I could meet my friend Evan's roommates in Brooklyn. So, I got on the subway and begin the next leg of my journey into Brooklyn. I had never been to Brooklyn, so I didn't know what to expect. When I got there, I was pretty surprised, then frightened, then observant. I stood outside of the Myrtle-Wykoff station for 45 minutes, and I was literally the only white person I saw in that time span. I won't lie, I was uncomfortable. I stood out like a nun in a brothel. Like a CEO at Building 19. Like a clown in a porn film. I stood out. I walked back into the station to wait, one because it was really hot out, and 2 I was afraid that if I stood out there any longer I'd be beaten with sticks...or a liquor bottle in a brown paper bag. I saw 4 people with those. So, I went back inside to wait for Paul, and I had no idea what Paul looked like, but in this neighborhood, I had a good feeling I'd be able to pick him out. So, I wait, and wait... and wait a bit more, when finally this dynamic duo walks right past me:

Yes, they're white, gay, and proud of it. Chris, on the left, had a very short bathing suit on, so I immediately saw that and said in my mind, "You're missing half of your bathing suit, this must be them!" They walk back into the station and Paul introduced himself and Chris. From there we walked to their apartment through possibly the most frightening neighborhood I have ever been in. I'm sorry if I've sounded racist, but listen, I live in a predominantly white neighborhood, in a predominantly white part of Boston, I go to a predominantly white college, and I grew up in a predominantly white town. How many times did I just use the word predominantly?...4. So-yeah. They're street was cute, and their apartment was HUGE, it was literally a house. They had 2 floors, 2 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, and big bedrooms; great apartment, but shady ass neighborhood.

I dropped my bag off in Paul's room and then he made me eggs with salsa and avocado corn chips. It was odd, but food, so I ate it. Then we proceeded to "pre-game", as the kids call it, which consisted of drinking Pepsi and rum, and then when the Pepsi ran out, rum and Arizona Iced Tea. THEN, we headed out for a big gay night of big gay bars with big gay drinks and big gayness. Keep in mind that the eggs were all I ate that day, so after my first out-of-apartment-drink, I was pretty much in a pretty happy space. Paul of course was not 21, even though he looks like he's 30, NOT, um so he managed to get into the first bar with a Florida fake which he had this whole background story created in case he was interrogated. He was SO giddy and excited to have gotten in. It was adorable. He's adorable. We got along really well, and he was easy to talk to. I didn't have to pull teeth to get conversation out of him, which I find to be the usual case.

Anyway, the night went on, and we had a great time. Although towards the end of the night I began to feel a bit uncomfortable as the group got a little larger. I was new to these guys, and couldn't get a read on what I could say that was funny, and I started to feel like they were gettin' judgey and annoyed by me. I don't know, I was drunk! Finally, Paul and I headed back to Brooklyn, and I plopped onto the mattress on his floor, and fell into a nice drunken coma.

DAY 2: Pill popping moms and former transvestites

Sunday I made pancakes for myself and Evan, of which I could only handle 3 bites of thanks to the night before. Then I headed out to my solo day in the city. My plan was to see Steppenwolf's Tony Award Winning play, August: Osage County.


I had heard of it prior to the acclaim by Jeremy, and then my manager Tyler, and then my wife Patty. SO, I saw it. I loved it. I want to see it again. It's hilarious and gut-wrenching at the same time, and new cast is wonderful. I didn't get to see the former cast, but I loved this one. So that was great.

THEN, following August, came the big finale of the weekend. The actual purpose of my trip. Seeing my all time favorite comedian. Eddie Izzard at Radio City Music Hall!

He was an absolute rock star. I just think it's fascinating for a comedian to get to a place in their career where they can sell out a 6,000 seat venue three nights in a row. This is his first tour NOT in transvestite mode, although the picture featured above is from his tranni days. In this show he wears a blazer with coat tails, and jeans, and red pin stripe button down shirt. He was incredibly silly and fun with the audience. This was also my first time seeing a show at Radio City Music Hall, and our seats were wonderful, and I was ever so happy.

Can this post get any longer?!

YOU BET!

... alright, I'll stop. I really did have a great time, and I can't wait to go back!

PHEW...I'm winded

so-yeah...