"We want to be as irresponsible as possible, without being illegal."

Hooray for 3 day weekends. After the weekly trip to Shiro’s with Uncle Lou last Friday (holler hibachi), I went back to Ridge. On Saturday, I picked up Ian-face & Claudio and off we went to Hartford to visit Brian for his 23rd birthday. After enduring 3 hours of “Colleen’s a bad driver, we’re going to die” taunts from the boys, we finally got there. Because Brian’s the greatest friend ever, he had 2lbs of wings, fries & onion rings waiting for us. Ian-face, also the greatest friend ever, had purchased 2 cases (yes, cases) of Sam Adams Boston Lager for the celebration.

We hung around Brian’s kick ass apartment for a while & dicked around. I managed to get the boys to reprise their rendition of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” which was hysterical. At our senior prom back in high school days, Bri, C-dawg, & Ian had gone up to a teacher that Brian had a crush on and sung it to her in the middle of the party hall. It was so funny; I felt that after 5 years, it needed to be busted out again. I took a video of part of it. Despite their severe “this is NOT going to appear on the Internet or your blog” warnings, I’m putting it up anyway. I miss the good old days when this was the shit we did every single day.



(Here's the 2nd part)

After a rousing game of darts (no poker for once), we kicked around the idea of driving to either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun (casinos in Connecticut), as Ian-face really wanted to go. We decided to hit up Brian’s favorite bar first since the rest of us were ambivalent about going. Because I’d drank the least, I wasn’t going to drink at the bar in case we decided to go, as I’d (of course) end up having to be the driver. We met up with one of Bri’s friends from work. This is the bar (Vegas) that's famous for having liters (yes, liters) of beer. At one point, I walked with Brian to a gas station so he could buy cigarettes. We were still debating going to a casino, despite it being midnight at this point, but the big issue was whether or not they could go the hour it would take to get to either one without drinking. So Brian decides to call the Hartford police station & ask the desk sergeant if there’s an open container law in Connecticut (you can’t have open containers of alcohol in a car in NY at all). He was on hold for roughly 23 minutes, but we got our answer: Nope. As long as the driver wasn’t drinking, the passengers could be.

In typical Brian fashion, he thanks the officer (O’Brien) and goes, “Thanks, man. We want to be as irresponsible as possible, without being illegal.”

Yes, that is a direct quote. He even repeated it when the cop went, “Um, WHAT?!”

I love my friends.

We didn’t end up going to the casino because at this point, it was 1am and I was tired of not being able to drink. We walked back to Brian’s apartment & chilled there. And by “chilled” I mean, “Claudio passed out almost immediately while Bri, Ian & Brian’s friend Mike D. did shots of cheap orange vodka that Colleen knew better not to touch because cheap orange vodka means trouble.” Naturally, we had to fuck with C-dawg while he was sleeping, hehe. The night got better when we put on Arrested Development & I totally dorked out. I’ve been stressed out because of work stuff and moving preparations & couldn’t sleep at all, so I ended up doing the 3 weeks’ worth of dishes that had built up in Brian’s sink. It took me over an hour, til almost 5am. Claudio had passed out in the most inconvenient way possible on the couch & Ian-face had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor (cheap orange vodka always means trouble) soooo I ended up sleeping for an hour & a half on the most uncomfortable chair ever. But it was all good.

We were celebrating Uncle Lou’s birthday on Sunday, so I got the boys up early, dropped them off at the ferry so they could get to Port Jefferson & headed to Syosset for bday weekend, round 2. On the way back, I was starting to think about work/moving shit & making lists of everything I have to do this week in my head. I totally wasn’t paying attention and ended up getting pulled over for speeding (74 in a 50, go me) right before I crossed the Throg’s Neck bridge. Now, honestly, I’ve been pulled over like 6 times before. Thank heavens for Uncle Lou’s PBA card, which has gotten me out of all of them. I figured that this time, my luck was out, it would just be fitting with everything lately that I’d get a ticket and have to worry about going to court and getting points off my license and paying a zillion dollars and giving up a day to taking a defensive driving class to make up the points, etc. I was so distracted, so exhausted that when the cop came to the window, I was literally shaking. Then fate stepped in (again).

Cop: Why are you shaking?
Me: I’m nervous.
Cop: Why are you nervous? Because you’re a Yankees fan (I was wearing my Mariano Rivera shirt) and they’re losing?
Me: (nervous laugh) Yeah, I was at the game on Tues. It was awful.
Cop: Tuesday? So was I!
Me: Didn’t you just want to cry after that first inning Manny home run?
Cop: Tell me about it. Tell you what. You stay put. Whose card is this?
Me: My uncle’s.
(Goes to his car & gets on the phone, as I wait.)
Cop: I called the number and the guy said he didn’t know you!
Me: (Look of horror) WHAT?! I live with him! His badge number is [###]!
Cop: (Laughing) I’m just kidding. You can stop shaking, it’s okay. It was just speeding, that’s all! Unless you have any weapons of mass destruction in here that I should know about.
(At this point, I’m PRAYING that the boys didn’t leave any beer in my car.)
Me: Umm, I just have a lighter…
Cop: You were just speeding. Go home, relax, stop shaking. It’s fine. Have a good weekend. Let’s go Yankees!

Yeah. So…that happened. Thank you, universe. Thank you, thank you.

ANYWAY, Monday, I hit up Smith’s Point Beach with Ian-face, Claudio & Frankie, which was awesome. Okay this never-ending post is finally over. It really wasn't that bad of a way to spend the last 15 minutes... :)

Of "Lost", Haircuts, Apartments & Graduation

For all my Lost fan friends, this may be the funniest thing I heard all week:

JNorton15: So you want to see possibly the best Lost message board quote ever?

JNorton15: "When Rose said to Bernard "If you are going to be hiding in the bushes, lets get you into something dark" .. was she refering to herself ???"

Anyway, I didn't want to leave a sad post like I did yesterday as the last one I did, especially since May 17 is over & I feel much better now AND there's all sorts of awesome things going on right now.

1. I cut my hair, about 7 inches. I don't think I look like me at all, but sometimes you just need a change, so I'm glad I did it :)

2. Amanda Giordano & I are moving into an apartment in Astoria, Queens on June 1. Visitors welcome. Yay, NYC livin'. It's sort of scary to officially be an "adult" now, but we all know that I'm definitely not going to start acting like one any time soon. Hooray for being broke, but it'll be worth it...

3. I helped Paul from Barenaked Hurley (the Lost parody band) write his last 2 songs & it was really fun. I stayed up literally all night on Tues so help him finish it, but it was such a blast to be a part of something that awesome. If you're a Lost fan, go to iTunes & download the Barenaked Hurley podcast feed, because all of his songs are hysterical.

Finally, to all my Marist friends who are graduating - GOOD LUCK! I'm so proud of you guys & I miss you all a lot. I'll (hopefully) see most of you tomorrow, whenever I get up there (I'm going to Rachel & Will's grad party). <3

And in my heart you will remain forever young

After 9 years, it really shouldn't be this hard. It really shouldn't...

Happy Anniversary.

Why Not Another Survey?

JANUARY
1. Who kissed you on new years? Does Cassidy count? I licked Ian's cheek - what about that?
2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? I'm pretty sure I have the same one each year. It hasn't worked yet though haha :P
3. Does it snow where you live? Yes
4. Do you like hot chocolate? Yes
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? I've been to NYC on New Years Eve, but if you're a New Yorker, you KNOW to stay away from Times Square on Dec 31!

FEBRUARY
1. Who was your Valentine? What's a Valentine?
2. When you were little did you buy Valentines for the whole class? I did indeed. Anyone surprised?
3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Not really, but I always do hope for spring.

MARCH
1. Are you Irish? There's some Irish in there, somewhere.
2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? I'm a festive gal, so yes.
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2007? Got drunk at dinner with my uncle, went to the movies to see "Premonition" wasted, sobered up & drove Cassidy and Tricia out down Port then went to Danny's house with them at like 2am til 4am.
4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? Ummm, yes.

APRIL
1. Do you like the rain? I don't mind the rain, honestly.
2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? MetroBuzz sorta did an April Fools joke! :)
3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter? Sadly, no. Ask me why.
4. Do you celebrate 4/20? Umm, ask someone in my cast from "Something Completely Different" (2004) why I do not celebrate 4/20. Your clue: "Hardcore anal". Fuck YOU, Randy.
5. Do you love the month of April? I don't hate the month of April. Cassidy's birthday is in it, sooo...cool.

MAY
1. What is your favorite flower? Yellow or orange roses :)
2. Do you like the spring? I do.
3. Finish the phrase "April showers": Better only last for the first week of April?
4. Do you celebrate May 16th: I celebrate March 16 as the day after Ceasar got stabbed. May 16, not so much. Am I supposed to?
5. Is there anything special about May to you? Tricia's birthday is May 4, so Spider-Man is always released on her birthday, wooooo. It's Annie's birthday too! Cinco de Mayo, anyone?! First time I ever had a shot? Tequila with Cassidy. We went to Mason Ole right after the SAT's. Nice.

JUNE
1. What year did/will you graduate from high school? June 29, 2002. Claudio's birthday, the one year anniversary of getting my license.
2. Are you doing anything fun during this month? Christie & Matt graduate high school & are having a joint graduation party at my house.
3. Have a favorite baseball team? Yankees, duh. Duh.

JULY
1. What will you do on the 4th of July? I always go to Bing's party in Mt. Sinai & then fireworks on Cedar Beach. I love Bing with all my heart, he changed/saved my life as a teacher, but maybe this year I can finally do something different. I probably won't, but that's okay because Bing's party is always great, great time :)
2. Are you going on any vacations during this month? Comic Con, because I rock.
3. Do you blast the A/C all day? Depends.

AUGUST
1. Are you doing anything special at the end of your summer? Comic Con in July! Woo-hoo! SO excited.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '06? Let's not talk about summer '06. Seriously. I spent 3 days a week at the beach & the other 4 days working in retail, hating life. I drank my recently graduated life away 3-5 nights a week. Ugh. Ugh. However, I did see Counting Crows & it was awesome.
3. Did you have a sunburn? Now? No, it's fucking May. As noted in question #3, I was at the beach literally half the week, not wearing sun screen & never got burned once. Yay, skin cancer in 10 years!
4. Did you go to the beach a lot? Yeah, um, maybe someone else can answer this.

SEPTEMBER
1. Will you be attending college/school? I'm so not justifying this with an answer.
2. Who was your favorite teacher? Bing & Throgy. Bing taught me how much I loved journalism & Thorgy taught me what it was to not give up & to trust myself, no matter what. I owe them everything.
3. Do you like fall better than summer? Ehhhh, not for the last 2 years. Maybe it'll change.

OCTOBER
1. What was your last Halloween costume? I got shitfaced & threw up all over everything this past Halloween, so it doesn't count. Therefore, Eddie & I dressed up as Britney Spears & Kevin Federline Oct. 2005 and it was the best costume ever. Accents, tattoos, vodka, babies & all!
2. What is your favorite candy? Reeses or Swedish Fish.
3. Who's birthday is during this month? Chris & Lizzie Poo have the same bday (10/8). Steph H is 10/30 & Steph N is 10/27. That's about it, unless the Facebook tells me otherwise.

NOVEMBER
1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? My aunt Anne's.
2. Did you know GoofyAuctions.com was started this month? WTF?
3. What are you thankful for? Being okay
4. Do you love stuffing? Tom's answer is best: "i love your mom's stuffing"

DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? I do, indeed.
2. What is December 1st, 2007? 7 days before Jenna's bday? A Saturday? Probably absolutely nothing cause I have no life?
3. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? No.
4. Get anything special last year? No.
5. What do you want this year? Ask me again Dec. 1.

Sane is a relative term.

Okay, so made my return to Marist April 21 for Festival, the student written/acted/directed one act plays. Damn, I freaking miss MCCTA, which is somewhat disgusting. I have my soul back, this should NOT be happening. Haha, Phil has a tendency to reuse his favorite line from his play the year before in whatever play he's written for Festival current year. For Speed Demons (the show I was in Sr. year), it was my infamous Marisa-Tomei-influenced-Jewish-LI-accented-"32 hours!" monologue from Gods, In General (his show from Jr. year). <3 I love that Phil writes parts just for me & Steph, hehe. So spoiled. Anyway, this year, he gave Steph the same line from Speed Demons, which I love: "Sane is a relative term. We're all completely nuts. Some of us are just more forward about it."

Last year, hell/tech week for Festival just kicked off the greatest month ever. After rehearsal, we'd all go to Eddie's house & chill out, drink, etc. til the wee hours. And let's not even begin with the crazy ass, never-ending game of Catch Phrase...(Natalie's the default winner, haha). Then everything continued to be awesome for the next month, til graduation. I remember constantly quoting one of my favorite movies of all time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in my away message - the "This is it, Joel. It's going to be gone soon" part. ("I know." "What do we do?" "Enjoy it.") And we all know how rough last summer was for me, trying to grasp that it really was all gone. Admittedly, I was not in a very good place for months after graduation. But I've talked that to death in previous posts, I'm so over talking about it right now.

My point is that going back & walking around campus, it was almost like I never left, which was weird. I keep in touch with all my friends who are seniors - and I remember talking to everyone who graduated a year ahead of me at this time last year. Everyone goes through the same thing. They're all excited, but panicking about graduation & the real world. It's freaking scary. You start to really reminisce about the last 4 years. How intimidating it was to be a freshman & how graduation seemed to be so far away. Then, bam! Suddenly, YOU'RE the senior. You're the one that the freshman look up to, are scared to talk to (as Joey put it: underclassmen had this concept that he was 'all that' & were amazed if he said hello to them at a party or something & he didn't get why, until he remembered that he was the exact same way; we all were). Plus, you grow up a lot in those 4 years. Being away from home does wonders because you start to come into your own as a person. I certainly did. Definitely did. It's strange to watch them all experience the same emotions that I saw the seniors have when I was a junior & felt myself. Now seeing it from all 3 sides, I have a clearer perception that everything is okay in the end. Just as Phil points out about sanity, it really is all relative.

Anyway, it was also Phil's 22nd birthday, soooo at least I got to see everyone. I was up there for most of the day, met John for a little while, hung with Joey for a couple hours (drove him on a beer run, for old times sake), got to go to the Palace with Phil & Beth for dinner - hooray for sweet potato pancakes! :) Chilled with Crissy, Steph & Steph. "Slept" on Steph (Speranza's) couch. Here's pictures for anyone who actually cares. Note how exhausted I look in all of them, because I haven't slept in ages it seems. Yay, insomnia.

Phil & his muses; Speranza & I stay sane inside insanity :)

The lovely Miss Garrison
Memory of the Day: Matt dressing up as a mental patient & wandering into people's houses until someone called security on him. Typical.

The beautiful Amy Kate, who took over for me in my MCCTA board position :)