Still alive

Sorry I haven't been posting . . . busy, busy, busy.

So here is the last couple of weeks in a nutshell: dim sum, Palochi, two theater reviews published, Gay Expo, two awards ceremonies, trip to mom's, surprise birthday party that was actually a surprise (there's still time to buy me a gift, by the way), Homer exhibit at the Dahesh Museum, Harry Potter (I cried), doing work for my not-for-profits, work, job hunting and TV.

The fun never ends at Crashland.

We deliver f.u.

Why I'm learning to hate the Post Office

1) For the second time, a Netflix DVD hasn't arrived.

2) My postal carrier routinely mutilates my mail putting it in the mailbox.

3) My local post office (which incidentally isn't the nearest post office to where I live . . . go figure) changed its hours to 9-5. Amazingly inconvenient since I work the same hours. That leaves me four hours on Saturday when I can go pick up my packages and oversized mail. Assuming I'm in town.

4) The district manager of my post office says the hours were changed by the local postmaster. The postmaster says they were changed by the district manager.

5) A package that I sent to Zeitzeuge Mark in late October never arrived. And I didn't insure it.

6) A couple of weeks ago, while I was out of town, my mailbox got so full that even my trash-compacter of a postal carrier couldn't crush any more of my mail into it. So he ordered my mail delivery stopped. He didn't leave a note or inform me in any way. Then after a week, he brought all my mail to my place and gave it to my super.

7) They're raising the price of stamps again, instead of raising the price of sending bulk mail.

Why I'm learning to hate UPS

1) They deliver during business hours. Which is when I work.

2) They don't deliver on weekends.

3) If they can't get the package to you they ask you to come pick it up. In Queens, the location is smack dab in the middle of the dead zone with no subways, which means a cab ride on top of the shipping fee. It is also in the middle of the Queens graveyard district, and when the zombies attack, I don't want to be carrying scrapbooking supplies or porn. Um . . . not that I ever order either of those things.

All of these issues would be moot if I still had a doorman. Crap.

An open letter

To the white-trash, goomba, Gotti-wannabe in the huge, silver, tricked-out pickup truck who nearly ran me down in Times Square last night while stuffing a burger in his fat, ugly face.

Fuck you.

Sincerely,
Crash

And I've been cooking

I made chicken breasts with a sherry and shallot sauce the other day. And I made chicken thighs with a sauce of sherry and sauteed artichoke hearts. Yum.

In a Nutshell

I've seen a few plays in the last week.

Cowboy vs. Samurai - Good. A retelling of the Cyrano story by the National Asian American Theater Company.

The Snow Maiden - Children's theater that I reviewed for the online site.

Screwups - Another one I reviewed. Very funny.

Let's see . . . dinner at Jess and Marc's where I got to meet the charming Knottyboy.

Dim sum on Sunday. Hanging out with Jase on Saturday. Laundry. Work.

Patrick is still a great houseguest.

What else? Oh, Lost. How freaking amazing was last week's episode?

Okay. I'm done.

Update

I haven't really felt like blogging lately, so I think I may continue to post less frequently. We'll see.

Last Thursday I saw The Color Purple, the new musical. I really enjoyed it. Good songs, wonderful acting, beautiful sets. All in all, I think it will do well.

Friday I went to see The Great American Trailer Park Musical again. Cast album comes out soon, woo hoo! It's a wonderfully funny show and I highly recommend it.

Saturday I went out with Stuff and Patrick to Pegasus on the east side. Fun time, though one of us had a little too much to drink. I won't name names, but it rhymes with hat trick. And yet, he was up and about the next day for work. Good man.

Sunday was brunch day for Stuff and me. We went to Heidelberg, a German place (naturally) on the UES. Fantastic. Fresh potato salad, sauerkraut and bratwurst. Plus a marvellous Schwarzwaelder Kirsch torte and one of the best cups of coffee I'd had in a while. Yum.

Other than all that, I just caught up on Netflix (I watched the second disk of the first season of Six Feet Under and the first disc of a show called Desperate Housewives, which you've probably never heard of). I also saw an episode of a British sitcom starring Alan Cumming as a gay flight attendant on Here OnDemand. It was horrible; now I understand why Rob Byrnes has such a passionate dislike of the man.

And did I mention that Patrick makes a mean chicken enchilada? Well he does.

My other accomplishment for the weekend was finally unpacking and putting up some of my art and knick-knacks. Starting to look like a real home, my place is. I suppose I'll have to move soon.

Last thing, I'll be reviewing my first show for the online review site this Saturday. Woo hoo!

The student loans were worth it

Well, I just got a gig writing theater reviews for an online site (I wrote about submitting an article a while ago). I refuse to let myself get too excited about this since I'm always expecting the other shoe to drop, but I am a little happy. Nice to know these theater degrees will get to be put to use.

By the way, I am totally open to hot, young directors and actors who want to sleep with me in order to get a good review.