Time to move out!!!

As my previous post mentioned, I was starting to count down towards something happening, and it officially happened on Friday AM... with the loan funded, property officially transferred over, and keys given to me, I can officially say...

I'm a homeowner! Scary.

It was about a 5 month process, starting right after I auditioned for "Bye Bye Birdie". I knew that our director, Frank, was a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker, so after the audition process was over, I emailed him to say "heeeeeey... I could use your help". And we started right away, looking at places and discussing details on the side while at rehearsal (which I guess looked kinda funny when he'd pull me aside and we'd start talking secretively, haha). Some units that I really liked did not go through due to all-cash investors swooping in and buying the property, and some units I just couldn't see myself living there.

But we looked at this one, and immediately I loved it. Nice 2 bedroom / 2 baths, move-in ready and in a newer community with amenities that I can use - fitness center and tennis courts - heck yes! So we started the process, submitted an offer, and without going through all the boring details, 35 days later I got keys!

The above picture was taken courtesy of Jordan. She and Chris wanted to go celebrate on the first day, and so I brought them to the place, we had some peach champagne (in red Solo cups), and then had dinner afterwards.

Now comes the fun part of choosing furniture and decorating/painting to my liking, and the not-so-fun part of moving in. But I have no immediate rush (though I'd like to be fully settled by June 1). I've already brought in my two signed Broadway musical posters (Spring Awakening and American Idiot) to get custom framed so that I can proudly display in my living room. :)

Pics to commence as the process continues!

7 Days...

Throughout the last month, I've always had the expression "don't count your chickens before they've hatched" in my mind... but now it's just starting to hit that in potentially 7 days, those chickens may finally be hatched. 

Fingers crossed!

TOW I talk about "American Idiot"

"American Idiot"... I said it in a status post, but if I could be in any cast of any musical, I think I'd most want to be part of this one. Definitely one of my favorites, and I got to see it twice in the past month! 

It was actually back in the fall of 2009 that Chris, Jordan and I drove up to Berkeley because we'd heard about this new musical based off Green Day's 2004 album. And that it was being directed by Michael Mayer, who also helmed "Spring Awakening" (which Jordan and I love and saw multiple times). And not only that, but it was starring one of the original Broadway leads of SA -- Tony Award winner John Gallagher Jr (who played Moritz). I think those two facets alone were enough for us to wanna see it, but it also happened that the tour cast of SA was in San Jose around the same time. So we planned the NorCal theatre road trip (along with a few other friends).

I think it's safe to say that AI blew our minds. It's a definite rock musical that's an assault to your senses, with the rock band on stage, and the intense choreography and staging. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. It probably helps that I was already a fan of that Green Day album, but I wouldn't have thought to turn it into a full-on production. But Michael Mayer did, seeing the theatricality inherent in the album and worked with Billie Joe Armstrong to flesh out the story... which, to be honest, is really bare. There's no dialogue in the show, other than Johnny's brief letters to his mom that he reads aloud, but it all works. 

Anyways - the show went to Broadway, lasted for a little over a year, then the tour production started up and came to LA. And since it was back in our neck of the woods (approximately), we went up to see it. 

And then I went up to see it again a week later for the final performance in LA, because this time my friend Michelle who lived up there was able to secure us 2nd row seats via the theatre's lottery. And there's nothing like seeing a show up close and personal, and being able to take in the expressions in the actors faces. 

And now I'm contemplating seeing the show again in Costa Mesa at the end of May, and then one last time for the final performance by this tour cast when the show closes on July 8 in San Francisco. Back when SA was touring, I thought of going out to the East Coast to see its final curtain call, but I missed it... I think I'm gonna try to make it happen for this one though. And it would even be full circle, since I did see it open in the Bay Area initially.... so, fingers crossed! 

Concerts of 2012 - #4: Gotye and Missy Higgins (4/19/12)

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" has been everywhere lately, I feel.. But I loved the song the first time I happened to switch on the radio (a rarity), and then downloaded the rest of the CD and found it refreshing to my ears. I tend to get wrapped up in CDs or songs to the point where I'll listen to the same thing over and over, and Gotye's CD as well as Fun.'s (I hate the weird period at the end of their name, but I'm a stickler for appropriate usage of punctuation and spelling, so I'm writing their name as intended) happened to be my two CDs for the month of March. 

Anyways, I bought myself some tickets and met up with my friends Kristen and Sarah, and her friend Joann. I have a habit of buying more tickets for an event than just the one definite ticket I need for myself, figuring I'll work out the details of who else wants to come with me later... since usually, finding friends to go to concerts/shows with is pretty easy. But since this one was in LA and on a school-night (errr, work-night), I had some scrambling to do. But it all worked out, and the show was great. It was my second time at the Nokia Theatre (part of the huge Staples Center complex called LA Live) and Gotye really rocked out towards the end of their set, going crazy with the drums and percussion. 

But here's a great live rendition of the ubiquitous hit. We didn't have Kimbra at this show, but Missy Higgins (who was his opener) came back out and did a phenomenal job. 

1 - Young the Giant - SOMA - 2/10

2 - The Fray / Scars on 45 - HOB - 2/16

3 - Ari Hest / Saba - Lestat's - 2/24

4 - Gotye / Missy Higgins - Nokia Theatre - 4/19

The Seattle Recap

Last month, I took a long weekend vacation to have a little reunion with my former UCSD / work friends up in Seattle. It just so happened that Seattle was one of the next cities in my list of US destinations to visit (Boston being the other prime candidate), and one friend already lived there and another (who lived in Boston) happened to be taking her spring break too. So we worked it all out and planned to reunite!

While it did not steal my heart like Chicago did, Seattle was a cool city to visit. Here's the view of downtown from atop the Space Needle... which really isn't that tall. It's not even the tallest building in the city - that honor goes to the Columbia Center, which you can see below - it's the tallest one, obvs. But it's got a great run/bike friendly vibe that I could see myself being part of... minus the bike part. 

I stayed in a hotel pretty close to the Space Needle, as you can see... that particular weekend, they had an Angry Bird in a sling attached to it, in honor of the recent release of Angry Birds Space. And the skies were really beautiful on the first day! No rain clouds in sight, and not a drop the entire weekend. I feel like  a bit of SD sunshine came with me.

Me, Marina and Katie at Pike Place Market, which has a lot of little touristy shops...

...but home to the very first Starbucks, which opened in 1971!

We walked by the Seattle Aquarium, of course, because the three of us used to work at an aquarium in college.

And we explored the Seattle Public Library, with its 10 levels inside this uniquely designed building. I could definitely enjoy getting lost in there.

We took an underground tour, through the tunnels that lay beneath the current streets above where the original streets were. From the current street, all you would see is purple stones, but looking up from below, those stones let the sunlight in.

We also went to the Experience Music Project museum, which had a Jimi Hendrix exhibit - look how cheap Woodstock passes were!

The museum also had some Michael Jackson memorabilia...

...and a full Nirvana exhibit. It was really rad to read all about their history, and while I knew that Dave Grohl formed the Foo Fighters after Cobain's suicide, I didn't think it happened that quickly (less than two years).

The three of us had a fun time, being a little goofy (taking "special" pics like we used to), reminiscing about the old times, discussing where we'll all be in 10 years, and hoping that our next reunion won't take that long.

The Case For Babies

Not that I'm in a place in my life where babies are even remotely imminent (I'm faaaaar from there)...

But.

If I were?

I don't see how I could ever have a bad day when I see his/her eyes beaming up at me and giving me such an adorable smile.

Love my little niece!

Theatre People

So... I miss my "Bye Bye Birdie" cast.

After nearly three months of rehearsing and performances, it's back to "normal" around these parts (which means going to work and then wherever else I can think of to get me out of the house). And I'm definitely much more sad about this return to normal than I was after my first and previous musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

I definitely had more of a theatre bonding experience this time around. I think this cast gelled better and everyone was very friendly and open and welcoming - no divas or cliquishness existed. The cast got in the habit of hanging out, telling stories ("So this one time at Burning Man..."), seeing other shows that friends were in ("The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"), having drinks and accidentally finding what seems like a gay speakeasy bar, and it was awesome to take part in all this. I remember watching backstage videos by the original "Spring Awakening" touring cast, and you can just tell how well those kids got along and sense the camaraderie that comes with this whole theatre process and in their case going city to city for well over a year.

I felt like I got a small taste of that, especially once we got into the theatre space and they had us all squeezed into that dressing room. Cramped as it was, it was a great place to be, and I hope that the next show I do brings about more of this overall feeling. And hopefully the Birdie cast reunites for more fun and frivolity soon. :)

Opening Night!

Just a quick little blog to say that opening night of Bye Bye Birdie last night was great! For all the tired-ness and grumpiness that's come along, there's been so much more fun and good times getting to perform, even if it is just bit parts - even though there's no such thing as a small part, right? :)

But it's been awesome hanging with this cast, going out after rehearsals a few nights and hearing crazy-ass stories from people... definitely confirms how I live a pretty tame conservative life, because man have some people done crazy shtuff! But it's all great bonding, and especially being there for each other backstage. 

Last night, my old roomie Ben came out to support and I love that he always always always shows up for things and is a man of his word, unlike some people who always just disappoint. I know tickets cost money and people have time-constraints and what-not, so I never wanna ask people to be there and understand when people are honest and say that they can't make it. But I'm super thankful for supportive family, friends and co-workers, and I hope that everyone who does make it out has a great time watching.

Besides, how can you not like us looking all like Mad Men? 

Concerts of 2012 - #3: Saba and Ari Hest (2/24/12)

I think I'm definitely going to try and keep recapping the concerts I've been to this year, even the small ones at the intimate coffeehouses like Lestat's (since it was paid and technically in a room separate from the coffeehouse)... meaning I now need to go back and recap the last one I attended.

So on 2/24, I returned to my old stomping grounds, "The Gregory Page Stage" at Lestat's, to see my old friend Saba opening for national touring artist Ari Hest. For as long as he's been around (which has basically been since I started seeing Saba back in 2004/5), I'd never seen him or really heard his music, save for a sweet cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" that I had... 

But he took command of the stage when he come on, in both posture and voice, and I was really impressed overall. A few other local singer/songwriters I know (J Turtle and Josh Damigo) were also in attendance and were just as entranced, along with Saba (who I'm sure has a little bit of a crush on him). I liked his voice/tone, and though he often tours with a band, he had embarked on a solo acoustic tour this time, and he was totally fine. He told a fun story too, about how he took a little break to become an elementary school math teacher in NY. He was a substitute, and they ended up offering him a regular position, but he realized he wasn't ready yet to let go of his love of touring and singing his songs to both longtime fans and new attendees such as myself.

Anyways - I definitely need to get some more of his tunes online, but check out a video to one of his songs here:

1 - Young the Giant - SOMA - 2/10

2 - The Fray / Scars on 45 - HOB - 2/16

3 - Ari Hest / Saba - Lestat's - 2/24

It's Peanut Butter Bacon Burger Jelly Time!!!

On Saturday after rehearsal, I met up with my good friend and old roomie, Ben. We'd been trying to get together for awhile, and it all came together when I had the idea to have lunch at Slater's 50/50.

SD has had a proliferation of burger joints popping up in the past year, and I even saw signs for a few more opening downtown. But apparently Slaters, which originated in Orange County, opened a restaurant in Point Loma (Liberty Station). My aunt told me about this place, saying she'd heard that their patties were half ground beef and half ground bacon.

And if you know me... you know I have a thang for bacon. (Yes. "Thang.")

So upon confirming with the Yelpers that this was worth checking out, I knew I had to make it down there at some point. Their claim to fame is the 50/50 burger, but you can design your own - they give you a list where you can check off the boxes of buns, cheeses, sauces/spreads, and types of patties (50/50, standard ground beef, turkey, veggie, spiced up)... or you can go with a pre-designed one.

And then I saw it: "Peanut Butter Jellousy".

Peanut Butter.
Jelly.
Bacon.
Burger.
Honey Wheat Bun.

Per the menu (and Yelp), it was a popular item... and I asked the waitress and she admitted she liked it too. So I decided to go against my usual habit of a regular BBQ bacon cheese burger and take a chance on something new.

And it. was. fantastic.

It was hella messy, but to quote my friend Sarah, it tastes like joy. The nice thick cut crispy bacon, the gooey oozing peanut butter and jelly, it all worked together for good.

So if you're in that neck of the woods and you want a good burger (and again, they have lots of good options there), check that place out. I can't wait to go back and try something new! (Also, they have a LOT of beer on tap, and I want to get my drink on next time, since my buddy Ben doesn't really drink, so I abstained.)

Oh, and rad little note - it's cool to hang with a buddy I haven't seen in awhile and be rocking the same charity:water bracelet, since Ben noticed mine and pointed out his own wrist, and then talking about all that cool stuff. Always good to catch up.

Concerts of 2012 - #2: The Fray (2/16/12)

My love for The Fray is well known amongst my friends, I think. I've loved them since their first CD hooked me with "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and have seen them three times already, with each venue getting progressively larger (House of Blues, Open Air Theater, Coors Ampitheater).

So when my friend and I discussed seeing them on their latest tour to promote their newest CD "Scars and Stories", I was game. And I found out that they'd be returning to the small venue where I first saw them (House of Blues), so I knew it would be a great concert.

Then my friend had to bail a few days before the concert, and I had options: (1) find another friend, (2) sell both tickets, or even (3) just go alone.

I heavily debated the second option, especially once I learned the show was sold out and tickets were selling for quite a bit over what I paid for them... so I kinda got dollar signs in my head. But then I remembered how much fun concerts are, how much I love the band and how well they sound live, so I threw it up on Facebook (having recently decided to return to some social media) and someone from the first musical I did last spring ("Joseph...") jumped in fast and said she'd be down to go.

And I'm super glad we did! It was nice to catch up with someone I hadn't seen in a year, and both enjoy a rocking great concert.

Standout moments:

1) After opening with a few new songs, the band finally played something that everyone knew from before, "You Found Me", and I swear, as soon as the familiar notes on the piano started to play, everyone whipped out their cell phones and started recording. Cell phone recording is common these days, but I'd never seen that many phones in the air in such a tight space - it seriously was like 98% of the floor, both guys and girls recording and singing along to the chorus.

2) During "Happiness", the lead (Isaac) stepped off stage and into the middle of the crowd on the floor -- literally the middle of the floor - and finished half the song from the crowd. Of course, more cell phones went in the air again, as those lucky folks to be within arms length were just taking it all in.

3) Everyone singing along to "Over My Head". I love rocking out in one voice with everyone else at concerts!

4) "Look After You"... siiiiiiigh. Such a beautiful song. Saved for the encore, and both Shaela and I were going to be sad if they didn't play it, so as soon as we heard the notes, huge smiles came across our faces. I really hope they keep playing it every time I see them, and I've decided that they are one of those bands that I will always go see. After four times, they still got me.

Lesson learned: I should never second guess myself when trying to decide to go to a concert or not... I should just go.

"What breaks your bones is not the load you're carrying
What breaks you down is all in how you carry..." - from their new song, "The Fighter"

Concerts of the Year Summary:
Concert #1: Young the Giant - SOMA, 2/10/12
Concert #2: The Fray - House of Blues, 2/16/12

Music Musings

A few music-related musings on the eve of the Grammy Awards...

Whitney Houston

I won't be a poser and say that I loved her, at least not in the sense that I would've wanted to see her perform live at any point... but she has always been part of my music library. Her "Whitney" CD from 1990 was one of the first two CDs I have recollection of listening to. This was when CD media was still new and my aunt had a Sony Discman (which was amazing to a 6 year old), and the only two CDs I had access to from her was Whitney's and Wilson Philips... and to this day, I can still song songs from both discs. So it was saddening to hear the news yesterday. I don't think it's a stretch to say that in the 20+ years that have passed since her initial breakthrough, no other female vocalist has come out that can light a candle to her talent. 

Concerts of 2012!

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and I'm actually surprised it took 5 weeks into the year for me to go to one... but it was a great one - Young the Giant performed a great set to a sold-out audience at SOMA last Friday night, and who better to attend my first concert of the year with than Chris - he who holds the record amongst all my friends. We'll see what the rest of the year brings!!!

Strings Rock

Sometimes, a teensy tiny part of me wishes my parents had gotten me to learn a stringed instrument like the violin when I was a kid. Because strings totally class up a song, and I would love to have a face-off like this:

Thoughts at Intermission

So I'm sitting here at The Old Globe's main stage during intermission for "Dividing the Estate" (which has been pretty good so far) and I've been struck by the following observance:

Young adults and professionals do not come out to theatre nearly enough, and it actually makes me kinda sad, in a way.

I've kinda noticed this before, that I'm often surrounded by senior citizens and a sea of gray hair whenever I come out to see a play or musical at the Old Globe or La Jolla Playhouse. And as I wrote yesterday, these companies offer a great deal to young adults and twentysomethings to come out and enjoy the arts. But no one comes... The houses see good sized audiences regardless, but I can't help but feel that my generation, whatever you wanna call us, should start taking some time away from the bars and the clubs and movie theatres with its lame blockbusters and seemingly endless remakes and 3D re-releases and start supporting live theatre. Expand your horizons and experiences a bit, people.

Anyways. Slight vent over. Show is about to resume!

A reason I love SD...

...is because it's a city with renowned theatre in both The Old Globe and the La Jolla Playhouse -- theatre companies that both offer up the opportunity for young adults (under age 30) to see top notch theatre at discount prices ($20).

Tonight I took myself out (as I do from time to time) to see "The Recommendation". This was the world premiere of a play from an up-and-coming playwright from Juilliard (and with a small cast of three that also came from the school). And it was just a really fantastic play that I'd highly recommend - amazingly acted and executed with a simple captivating storyline. I won't go into a full review about it or discuss the themes -- I hated doing all that back in high school...

But I'm so glad that I went to see this. On the drive home, all I could keep thinking about was how lucky I am to be able to take these opportunities that the San Diego theatre scene has to offer, and being able to enjoy these types of premieres for top notch plays or musicals. If I ever end up anywhere else, it's gotta be in a city with theatre! I need my culture fix in the form of live theatre.

So, props to you, San Diego and your plethora of theatre options.

And I get to do it all again tomorrow night, seeing another play! (Oh, and I'm also glad to have two straight nights where I'm not called into rehearsal - that helps too.)

Doppelgangers.

So I'm catching up with an old friend via email and he tells me about this John Legend video where he sings a parody to "Ordinary People" but changes the lyrics to make it about Tim Tebow... but my friend tells me that I kinda look like John Legend!

I never would've made that celebrity look-a-like connection. But this isn't the first time I've been told I look like a black guy... I've been told twice now that I looked like Tiger Woods (and both times were years apart). 

Anyways - I'll let you weigh in on the John Legend resemblance...

Come see me crawl across a table.

"Come see me crawl across a table!" My choreographer told me that should be my hook to get friends and family see me in "Bye Bye Birdie", heh...

Oh right - I never really continued to blog about the whole audition and casting process, huh? And given that my word of the year is "finish", I should get to that. 

As noted in a previous post, I dressed up like a Mormon missionary for my audition, deciding to use a song from my current favorite musical, "The Book of Mormon." I figured, "why not have fun with it and dress up?" So I bought that short-sleeved white button down just for this one purpose. Being the first one up, nerves got the best of me, but it was still a fun upbeat song to sing ("You and Me, But Mostly Me") as compared to the darker toned song from my previous audition. 

Immediately after I sang, the producer asked me to do something for her, as if something caught her eye. She asked me to walk across the room as I owned it... which actually, a few weeks later, I'm totally just reminded of that scene from "Friends" where Joey is working with Susan Sarandon's character and she tells him to walk into the room like he owns it, but then as he walks in, he acts excited at the thought of owning the room, haha... anyways, that then prompted the director to ask me to give them a big cheesy grin... which I tried - I don't know how I looked, really... but I left the room wondering, "what the heck was that all about?"

I got the callback two nights later, asking me to return again to read for Conrad Birdie, one of the leads of the show... and apparently those things they'd asked me to do related to how they saw him (since the character is a rockstar with swagger)... But now I was even more nervous, and in some ways now really wanted the part. Whereas before, not knowing anything about the show, I didn't care who I was. 

So during night two, we had to read a few lines and sing a few measures of one of Conrad's songs... it was a pretty simple process. But I was definitely conflicted between wanting a "big" part and not wanting to deal with the pressure of having to pull that part off either.

In the end, I got placed in the Adult Ensemble. When I got the call, I was really just relieved, between finally knowing that I get to be in another musical and that there's nothing on my shoulders. Not that there's less work though - I still have to be at lots of rehearsals and learn lots of music and harmonies. 

As part of the ensemble, I do have lines to read as "Reporter #1" -- I shall call myself "Kevin" -- and a male quartet member for this one song where we're backing up "Alfred" (the real male lead) but our harmonies are crazy and I'm singing the 2nd Tenor line. I haven't been singing a tenor line since junior high! I tend to just go for the baritone... but this one's going well.

As for the whole "crawling across a table" thing, there's this one number that we started to block last Saturday that had us guys trying our best not to laugh or break character, as we were being introduced to the scene and we're supposed to start off pretty stoic as "Rosie" starts to dance with her hips and stuff (yeahhhhh)... but then we get to let loose... and so far, I've had my ear played with by "Rosie" and get pulled out from my seat by my tie. We didn't do the table crawling yet, but apparently that's forthcoming... anyways, the number seems like it'll be a fun one, so if you want to see the show, let me know!

You gotta know when to fold 'em...

...know when to hold 'em
...know when to walk away
...know when to run.

That song's about gambling, right? I really don't know. I feel like I remember hearing it during commercials for Barona Casino or maybe Sycuan. Anyways, so I was talking to a coworker on Friday, and usually whenever we cross paths we talk about the latest episode of "How I Met Your Mother".

And then I admitted it out loud.

"HIMYM makes me sad now."

It really does. After 6 years... the comedy just falls flat. It's been going on waaaay too long - at least Lost set a definitive end point and could plot its denouement. HIMYM still hasn't definitively set its own yet - though allegedly it's 2013 - so we're still waiting to meet the titular mother. I tried to deny these feelings in seasons 5 and 6, like I was clinging on to a relationship that used to be great... but now I can't help but think "get on with it, Ted."

I came to admit this to myself after watching last Monday's episode, when I shut it down after the first half. The episode just felt way.too.long and that was after only 10 minutes.

This struck me especially when compared to my new show of the moment, which I started watching it last spring when it came on as a mid-season replacement... and that show is "Happy Endings". I have that show on when I'm falling asleep, as I'm getting ready for work the next morning, and it never gets old! It gives me the same warm feelings and laughs that HIMYM used to give me.

So yeah... if you haven't watched "Happy Endings" (ABC, Weds, 9:30pm), give it a shot. It's easy to call it "Friends" set in Chicago (i.e. where I want my future home to be, except for the winter)... but I really feel this show stands on its own. And the cast is just as fun+tight. And it has Elisha Cuthbert from "24".

I just love this clip in particular because it just shows the fun the cast has doing scenes like this... and plus I think Eliza Coupe (who plays Jane) looks ridiculously hot at the :33-:34 second mark, with that smirk and the slightest of shimmys............ ohhh yeah.

The Week In Instagrams

With the whole Picture/Instagram of the Day goal for 2012, I don't really intend on doing a recap of the week's pictures, but I feel like doing it at least for the past week...

SUNDAY - Me and my old friend from UCSD, Michelle, at the end of our coffee+Flood reunion. We hadn't seen each other in a few years, since the days when I was working the graveyard shift back in 2006-2007. Those days are hazy... we hadn't been in touch since then, except for a Facebook status comment every now and then, until around Thanksgiving or so when she messaged me about church recommendations and I invited her to come out with me. It was so great to catch up and make plans to keep hanging out this time around so that the years don't pass us by again.

MONDAY - Worked until... I think 10pm or so? Gotta love working on databases...

TUESDAY - I'm in a supplement fix lately, taking upwards of 16 pills a day between multivitamins, thermogenic pills, fish oil, fat burners, and one pill that my personal trainer recommended to take pre-workout for energy that is also... well, I later found out that some find it useful as an herbal bedroom enhancer... yeahhhh, I didn't know... but that would explain why the guy at Vitamin Shoppe gave me the whole "yeahhhhh buddy!" look of approval + headnod.

WEDNESDAY - My songbook for the next 8 weeks!

THURSDAY - The view from my desk, where I worked until 11pm... not a fun night.

FRIDAY - After a long week that did not end as planned, I still got to de-stress a bit and go out on Friday night when Ashley invited to come out to a hookah place with her roomie and another friend of theirs. Turns out I know very little about hookah, but I still enjoy it from time to time. Oh, and we got to go Trujillo's after, where I got to have one of my favorite things - which was basically a Cali burrito w/ onions and bacon. The best!

SATURDAY - Rested. As in took a nice long nap after rehearsal and caught up on the sleep I did not really get during the week. But on the weekends, I do like to watch my TV DVD sets, in particular "Boy Meets World" that I got for Christmas (and you can see the Adele and Foo Fighters DVDs on top).

SUNDAY - Today's message at Flood talked about taking a rest (Sabbath day)... I think it was a timely message. Oftentimes we keep going and going, and this week for example between work and rehearsals, I was always in a "working" mode... and the weeks ahead are bound to bring more of the same. So on the days off I get (such as Saturday), there's nothing wrong with just wanting to stay in and relax, to say "screw that" to the pressure of finding more ways to keep busy/active in an attempt to have an "exciting" weekend. It's okay to just be still, to find that space to reflect.

TOW The Margaronas

So during this first week of 2012, I've discovered that... it's kinda hard to keep up an Instagram of the Day when...

• you work a deskjob and you're in the office 40+ hours a week
• you do not have cute teenage kittens
• you do not have one of the cutest little toddlers in the whole wide world or are not currently experiencing the miracle of life growing inside of you

So the Monday thru Friday pictures might be a little challenging at times... but I did get through this week. If you're on Instagram, you'll have seen them.

Luckily today had more interesting things to take pictures of, and today's picture will commemorate tonight's outing with some friends to Trivia Night at On the Border, where I had my very first margarona.

Margarita+Corona = margarona. That's my mango one on the right, Suzy's strawberry one on the left. 

And our dynamic team of 5 - The Margaronas - totally pulled off a comeback to win 2nd place, which we were very stoked about! We were dead last at the half, and I think 5th place before the final question...

Wanna hear it, hear it goes...

List the following events in the order that they occurred -

"South Park" premiered

"Family Feud" returned to TV with Louie Anderson as host

"Cheers" aired it's last episode

Drew Barrymore flashes David Letterman on his late night show

Can you do it? Well, we were the only team that did and ended up finishing with 54 points, and the first place team got 55... if only I'd given my hunch earlier in the game that Martin Luther King Jr. was the one who was assassinated at a hotel in Tennessee... but we were very excited with our 2nd place finish (including $10 off our next trip to OTB)... But we do plan to win the trophy next time... 

Care to challenge? ;) 

Photo of the Day - 1/3/12

Hands down.

Hello. My name is Elder Price...

More on the audition at another time... as the journey still continues... 

And the year's word is...

I wasn't a super big video gamer as a kid, but I played and know enough that when I thought of a theme word for 2012, I was reminded of the following phrase from Mortal Kombat:

"FINISH HIM!"

The 10 year old me cringed at the cartoonish violence (and because I sucked at the game). 

The 27.5 year old me laughs in enjoyment upon finding the various "Finish Him" clips on YouTube.


(And still sucks at the game, btw.)

At any rate, I'm copying another idea and blog theme from the wonderful TGO Jordan, that of a "word for the year". 

And I landed on the word "finish". 

It was an easy one that came to mind. Take reading, for example. I'm really good at starting books... but horrible at completing them. Or even CDs - where a lot of times I'll get a CD and then get asked "so what do you think" and then have to respond "wellllll it's good so far, but I've only listened to the first 4 songs... but those first 4 songs are pretty good!" Or the whole bike riding thing I blogged about before... yeah, I still don't know how to ride one. 

Perhaps the word also easily came to mind because I'd recently read a blog on Jon Acuff's site about the very topic. You can read that here, if you want... http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/the-hardest-part-of-a-project-is-also-the-most-important/#more-923

So that's my word for the year, I've decided. Those ideas and goals that have come to mind in the past and will come to mind in the coming days/weeks/months? This year, the goal is to get them done and see it through to the finish.

Listening to: "The New Year", by Death Cab For Cutie