No Handlebars

2010-06-21T13:42:00.001-07:00

just so you know

2010-06-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

sorry that it's been so long since i've posted. i think i'm moving on from the blogging thing, at least for now. i have two more weeks left here in nyc. i've accomplished most of what i wanted to do here...i had a great internship - learned a lot and made some good connections. i finished my cd, 918 Heart Inn/Anthem, and it will be available on CDBaby.com and iTunes on June 22! I spent the whole semester recording and re-recording my first batch of original songs ever. I'm pretty happy with the result, and I hope that if you're reading this you will buy it! This is the track listing:

1. I Can Be There (feat. theGreatScott)
2. Two-Faced
3. This Is Not A Song For You
4. I Miss You
5. Do You Ever Wonder (feat. theGreatScott)
6. Escape
7. 918 Heart Inn/Anthem
8. Cocoon

I'm taking the moment to be thankful for how fortunate I am - I need to make myself do it every now and then because I bog myself down in my own thoughts and worries so much. I really, REALLY have very little to worry about, and unfortunately I don't realize this until I DO have something to worry about. Part of it is also my longing to be more successful...my ambitions consume me too much sometimes. But, I am enjoying my life and am grateful that I am doing a good job with all the things I've "signed myself up for."

Next month, I'll be at Young Life's Lake Champion in upstate NY, volunteering on Summer Staff. I'm excited for it because I know that it will force me to grow, and hopefully make me more aware of the world that I'm living in. I need something to spike up my senses a bit.

This fall, I'll be directing my 3rd musical revue for Northeastern...we are doing our version of Rock 'n Roll Revival, the show I did in high school. I'm already doing my best to make it the best production I've ever had a hand in...we'll see how it turns out in December.

see ya!

hi

my latest desk at jive...and some allison iraheta wristbands

chili!

chili from our balcony

office again

latest CD collection...still growing

dog

from the top of the rockefeller center

central park

sony from the top of the rock! its the one that looks like a dresser

Empire State Building

just some buildings

the MetLife building on Park Avenue

"I Can Be There" feat. theGreatScott

2010-05-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

This is a song off the CD I've been working on this semester...check it out!

wearing a brown polyester shirt

2010-05-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

From Northeastern University's Battle of the Sexes

It's been a while! Besides being busy, I also spent last week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, with my entire immediate family - mom, dad, erica, as well as jason, diane & their two girls lily & elle. it was a very relaxing week. pool, dinner, sleep, repeat. it was great to be together, since erica & i are both live hours away from maryland.

new york is starting to wear a little thin on me...i think i have realized that i'm not a city kid, especially when i am poor & have very few friends in the area. six months is a long time to be like that! it doesn't mean i won't want to work here when i graduate, or even that i won't want to come back to intern again...just that it's not the most beautiful place in the world to me.

my last trip to boston was at the end of april...in addition to the production of "Seussical," the musical theatre group had its own "Mini Tony Award's" event.
I won awards for Best Showstopping Number (direction of "It's Raining Men") & Best Actor (for my performance as Burrs in Wild Party last spring.) The latter turned out to be one of my favorite roles ever - a dangerously bipolar part-time clown, part-time party guru.

Broadway Through the Years, the show I directed at NU in the fall, was honored during the months of April & May by the school. They blew up 5 pictures from our production & hung them next to the auditorium it was performed in.

sign next to the display

My Body. the "diva number" from last semester.

rhythm nation

2010-04-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

puppy

hi there.

the weekend before last was our 3rd trip to boston - this time to help put on NU's musical revue. i put a lot of energy into developing the musical revues during 2009, and i've continued to be involved. here are some videos from the show i directed last semester. this year, in addition to consulting for the show, i directed one of the songs (the "diva" number - it's raining men). it turned out to be my favorite of the 60+ numbers we've done so far.

the song was 5 minutes, 30 seconds - it needed a lot of visual & audio dynamic in order to keep it from getting boring. they started out in these ponchos...

then literally tore them off about half way through to reveal these dresses.

the "diva" number we do every semester is based off a concept created at severna park's "rock n roll revival" over the years. they don't really do it anymore, but the point of it was to put the best talent of the girls together & help them exude as much attitude and audience control as they can...the result is a really exciting live performance. i will post the video here as soon as it's available.

this is the esplanade in boston - dock on the charles river. i used to run around it in the fall, before my knee ruined normal mobility & the whole being a 19-year old with a healthy body thing.

me & lindsay

this weekend, we went to see an off-off-broadway show on friday evening...it was very interesting. unsurprisingly, it appears that NYC has a great abundance of talent, but a major lack of resources when it comes to the arts. on saturday, gretchen came to visit (3rd time!), which was fun as always. it was good to be in NY for the weekend. on sunday, my parents & homer (animal) came to visit (1st time...). they brought me my spring clothes & took away the winter. they also stocked up my fridge & pantry :). we went to see sondheim on sondheim, a musical revue that featured stephen sondheim speaking about his life & works. although i am not the biggest fan of sondheim's music, and although listening to the same types of songs gets tiring, it was very well put together & featured some great singing. for dinner, we went to maz mezcal, a delicious & unique mexican restaurant just around the block from my apartment.

reunited with my animal

random picture of the met...also pretty close to my apartment, right on the eastern edge of central park

but they still turn me inside out

2010-04-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

easter basket from my friend katie's mom. i probably should have taken the picture before i tore it apart.

salutations!

it is wednesday april 7 & i am in the middle of my typical work week. typical for me means like 75% usual stuff, plus 25% new stuff that usually either leads to be "moving up" a little when it comes to my co-worker's perception of me, and/or me learning something new. a lot of the time, the "learning something new" is really just me getting better at handling situations, getting stuff done, and solving problems. jared (supervisor) told me this within the first 5 minutes of meeting me in november, and he continues to expect it: he wants to be able to send stuff my way, often stuff that he hasn't himself figured out how to do yet, and have it taken care of, preferably without my asking him a billion questions along the way. i like doing this, and it earns me respect roun' these parts.

in other news, i'm upgrading my microphone soon. possibly to a blue bluebird. guitar center has an awesome program that allows me to put the full amount of my original purchase (mxl .007) towards the new microphone, plus i get to keep the old one. not that i want it though.

this past weekend, i celebrated easter in new jersey with my friend katie. this was my fourth time visiting her house in three months, and i really enjoy hanging out with her family & friends...they all take good care of me. sorry...i only have a few pictures

we dyed easter eggs

we made a BUNNY

i cut the bunny with SCISSORS

original bunny design, wasn't approved

first beach trip of the year

my favorite flowers...forsythias. we had a bush of em on the side of our house & there is a picture of me hugging them on easter (when i was 7ish).

right so this weekend it is back to boston for TGWW's spring revue. even though i've been in ny, i'm still serving as the secretary of the group this semester & i've put a lot of work into the thing. i still feel a little off about leaving nyc so much, but it's always something to look forward to...i love going away to see other people on the weekends.

peace out

smooth criminal

2010-03-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

good day.

i wrote this on monday but had to wait til now to get the pictures up...so just pretend it's monday & i JUST got back from atlanta.

********

i'm back at Jive after a perfect weekend with my sister in Atlanta.

well, as perfect as you can get when you travel with delta.

i maneuvered on over to Newark Liberty International Airport on thursday evening, which in itself was a pain for me. i'm used to paying my $1.70 to go on a 2-transfer, 40 minute ride to Logan International (in boston). but not in ny! getting to newark, which is probably as easy as (if not easier than) getting to JFK or Laguardia, costs $17 one way, requires 4 transfers, and takes about an hour and a half. annoying!!!!

anyway, once i got to the airport and onto the plane, there was no room for my carry on in the overhead compartments, so this lady stuck a tag on it (this constitutes "checking my bag") and took it off the plane somewhere. that was the last time i saw it until i came BACK to Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, 3 days later. the bag appeared to be properly labeled and all, so i don't what the big problem was. they legitimately had absolutely no idea where the bag was - it was never put into the system. erica & i had to find it ourSELVES. it was chillin in the backroom at alanta.

so that wouldn't have been so horrible, since they reimburse you for basic expenses when your bags get delayed, but unfortunately my medicine was in the bag, and i had to go most of the weekend without it :( a few hours before we finally got our doctor to prescribe me some emergency medication (on sunday), i was feeling very dizzy and just generally weighted down. curses delta!!!! also my plane back was delayed 54,670 hours

..there were so many bags on this carousel that it jammed and everybody just stood there looking at these bags that weren't theirs...i thought this was hilarious when i took the picture...wasn't so funny an hour later when i realized my bag was probably in south dakota somewhere.

but my actual time in atlanta was really great...i hadn't been down to see er in a year, and it was high time for me to check the situation out again! she lives in a sweet little house in virginia highlands (in the city, east of midtown). the house has a den, living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms & two bathrooms - all nicely furnished - along with front and back porches & lawns. and yet somehow her half of the rent is 25% less than mine. (see: mansion pics)

it was just nice to be with my sis - she always takes such good care of me & i always feel at home with her. some of the stuff we did:

- while erica was at work on friday, i checked her neighborhood out...and got some free rita's!

random house on the corner

some chill flowers

shops on the street

this book i saw at a store that has a bunch of themed lists for you to write down appropriate songs. i love lists so i thought this was cool.

a skyline of sorts

- friday night, we went to get clothes at h&m because delta takes compensation in the form of passenger's attire.

- we ate at one midtown kitchen. a really awesome restaurant...the best way i can describe the food is fresh - the salads tasted like they just dug em out of the ground. we got chioggia beets & boston lettuce salads, & split roasted duck & chocolate pasta. real good stuff...it was right up there with the elephant walk, which is my favorite restaurant in boston. see the menu.

a little gross but you know

- we saw a movie that i've recently decided not to even name in this blog because...just because. :-X

- went to the world of coca-cola. even though i was feeling kind of lousy, it was really interesting to see the history of the company & such. we were in there for just about the right amount of time - any longer and my museum syndrome would have kicked in. museum syndrome develops in children who live within a 100-mile radius of washington, dc. (see: national postal museum). we got to try allll the different coca-cola products from around the world. there were probably somewhere in the vicinity of 30 flavors. i would reccomend going to the museum if you are in atlanta...if nothing else for the taste testing!

the aquarium was right next door

these coke bottles were painted for the summer olympics in atlanta, 1996.

this painting is apparently the most valuable artifact in the entire museum

this was the coca-cola couch used in season 4 of american idol...carrie underwood.

there were soda machines for asia, africa, europe, north america & south america. my favorite flavors were the two "smart" sodas you see here - one is watermelon & the other sour apple.

meet beverly. the nastiest soda of all time. if you ever go to the world of coke, make sure you try it so that you can believe that it's nastier than tonic.

getting my souvenir coke bottle.

anyways...after all that,

- we went to a dance class at this place erica goes to, dance 101. basically, we learned a hip-hop routine to a black eyed peas song over the course of an hour. it was cool...we have both been involved with dance at every point in our lives, & the dude that taught it really knew his stuff.

- i napped and had crazy dreams because delta withholds medication from passengers.

- we ate at vortex bar & grill, which i'm assuming is the most popular burger joint in atlanta. i was telling erica that i couldn't decide if the guac burger i got there was my favorite ever, but it's definitely my favorite burger place. they have some crazy stuff there...i won't even get into it.

- we went to see ryan stout at the laughing skull comedy club with erica's friend, alison. the club is tucked away in the back of vortex. this was probably the highlight of the trip! it was the first comedy club either of us had been to, and it was great. it's really fun just sitting down and being entertained without having to do anything. you laugh so much that you kind of get tired of moving your mouth, which puts even more pressure on the comic to keep it coming...an interesting dynamic, i thought! he is awesome at what he does. there were also four other comics who did brief routines before he came on.

- went to erica's church, buckhead church. a super large, multi-branch, very technologically aware community. i had trouble focusing (delta), but i had been to the place before and i enjoy it. it's very similar in approach to the church we attend in MD.

- made clam & corn chowder courtesy of the deen brothers! (wadup di)

- ate cupcakes from the atlanta cupcake factory. although i had had them before, i was unfortunately unable to determine whether the cupcakes were as good as those from crumbs bakery here in ny. if i were to prepare myself a little cupcake basket, it would probably include select items from both places. FORGET MAGNOLIA'S! (i still haven't been)

erica is going to come up to visit at the end of may, but i will see her in a month when we all go on family vacation.

sweet deal.

alright that's about it for me! this weekend i will be going to nj to spend easter with my friend katie's family...my dad is right...i should probably be spending a little more time in this city than i have been lately!

don't let me stop you

2010-03-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

"it's raining men" - northeastern university's spring revue"battle of the sexes"

hey all.

right now i am sitting in my living room with my cousin tiffani, watching the breakfast club. tiffani is in town to audition for a few days to audition for shows. she is finishing up a stint on the the wedding singer national tour, and is staying with us while she looks for her next gig. i've had a busy week and a half as usual, and am going to be heading back out tomorrow - i'm flying from newark to atlanta to see my sister & am so excited. being the ultimate planners that we are, we have already plotted the weekend out with all the stuff we love to do. it will include my first ever comedy show - i'm excited for that! i just got home from a weekend in boston...visiting friends & directing a number for NU's upcoming musical revue. I directed the show the last two semesters & i am trying to do my part this semester.

i am trying to start up a new blog based on pop music. my sister pointed out that since i like writing & i love to stay up to date with all things pop music, it might be something worth trying. here is the link: www.butletsbereal.blogspot.com. we'll see where it goes.

things at work are going well - jared's replacement has started working, so i am doing work for both of them now. i've been getting a little frustrated at the way they just move me around to make room for changes without much concern for me, but i am glad that jared made it a point to keep me with him & to have me teach the new guy some stuff. i've realized that as long as i'm an intern, i'm not really going to get much respect from the staff (other than that people like me and appreciate the work i do.) they just aren't going to go out of their way for anything. this, unfortunately, is the reason jared & his co-workers are often disappointed in the interns they get. when people don't get treated like they are legitimately part of the office & how it functions, AND they aren't getting paid for it, they're not going to have much reason to work hard. i am still working hard and building my relationships with the staff, and i'm not going to slow up or show that i am lazy (because this experience will ultimately be what gets me a job when i graduate), but it is definitely starting to bug me.

i'm working on my music - i've recorded about 12 songs or so this year. i like 4 of them enough to put on a cd - i am looking to record 3 or 4 more that i am happy with. this will be the 2nd "CD i have made," but the 1st with completely original music. you can listen to some of the stuff from my first cd (all cover material) here: reverb nation

so long.

the blessed nu dining hall. free food everytime i go to boston - using up extra meals from last fall!

christian science center in boston - right next to the nu campus. this is a very clear picture.

the roof terrace @ nu

international village @ nu

white hall - where i lived freshman year!

the "diva number" is my thing - this will be the 3rd one i've directed

hidee-hi-dee-hi-dee-hi

2010-03-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

i have no pictures

i don't know how this happened...i guess the world is just getting dull. anyway i've substituted with this video because i think the kid in the green shirt looks like i did when i was 6 and had the mumps.

this weekend we went to Stamford, CT to hang out at my friend bryan's house. we happened to be there during an insane storm that knocked out half the trees in the town...and the power. it was a good weekend and we got to meet his family & friends. we also saw shutter island yesterday...i thought it was a great movie. not surprisingly, the twist wasn't quite as shocking as they made it out to be, but it was well done. i have definitely identified myself as a scorsese/dicaprio fan at this point

i also realized this weekend that i've stayed in 7 cities over the past two months

New York, NY

Jamestown, NY

Boston, MA

Tom's River, NJ

Millersville, MD

White Plains, NY

Stamford, CT

i will add atlanta to the list in two weeks...i'm going down to visit my sister for a weekend. it'll be my third trip down there...not enough for me, considering that she's been there for almost two years.

next weekend it is back to boston to help out with the musical revue the group is performing.

one minute goes fast

2010-03-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

billie jean - 3 years ago this weekend

i am now an experienced phone answerer...probably about 13 years later than any of you who were born before 1990 were. AOL Instant Messenger debuted in 1997, & promptly bypassed my need to talk on the phone from middle school on. i've always had phone anxiety (ask my family), so when i was told i would be taking the place of EVP/General Manager Tom Carrabba's assistant, I was more than a little nervous. The woman who was going on vacation holds the title of Executive Coordinator, but the only task of hers I had to handle was more than enough. Phones. Tom gets a lot of calls in a day & I had to act as his operator. There are plenty of nice people that call him in a day - people from around the country who have business with the label. There are also some very...busy...people that aren't all that interested in Tom's "middle-man." All in all it was a good experience, and a really good person to get to know.

my temporary office over the past few days. the typewriter-looking thing next to the phone is an Amtel machine - essentially a 1980's version of AOL Instant Messenger.

view from the EVP corner

in other news, gretchen came to visit again this weekend. it is always great to spend time with her. we took the metro to White Plains (about 20 miles outside of the city) for my NU friend Pam's birthday. great stuff great stuff. we still have not had a free weekend & it looks like we won't have one for the next two months either!

on the metro

in other news, i am continuing to progress through my "identity crisis" & think i need to remember that i am only 19 a bit more! i seem to always have this feeling that i am running out of time, and that it's time for me to be something important. kind of like i'm not moving fast enough. (I think this is the effect "Co-Op" has on most Northeastern sophomores...joining the corporate world at 19 has its side-effects)

let it be

2010-03-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

me & elle

hey yall

click on the ads on this page...i've made $16 so far from it & evidently making $26,000 in Atlanta is equivalent to making $60,000 in Manhattan (ahem Erica...)

well, i guess saying i've had another exciting week is getting old at this point, so i will just jump right into my latest escapades. last week went fairly smoothly until friday, when we got (what i truly believe to be our last) snowstorm. we had already decided to ditch work for the first time ever late thursday night, because the flights to baltimore for the whole evening had been canceled, & i knew i was going to have issues the following evening. fortunately, my supervisor jared didn't go into work either, so i wasn't needed. unfortunately, my 7:30pm flight was canceled at 9am on friday morning. i managed to get a refund for that flight & got on a bus at 1:30pm. it ended up saving us money, and i got home early too!

i was heading home to see my family and to celebrate my younger niece Elle's Baby Dedication. it was relaxing & great to spend time with everyone.

i was wondering when our family got so big...puppies and babies everywhere

jason & lily, di & elle with the other familes at the baby dedication

i love my mommy & puppy

flying back was surprisingly easy...granted, in large part due to my dad paying for me to take a taxi from Laguardia (in queens) back to manhattan. my friend jen came down from boston to visit, and was there when i got back to my apartment...she stayed with us through wednesday morning. i was off work on monday, & the fact that she was still there on tuesday made it like a 5-day weekend. i was very very tired by wednesday.

one of the places we went to was STRAND, a famous bookstore near union square that boasts of shelving 18 miles of books, and for cheap. I bought insomnia, a 704-page stephen king novel - for $3.99. i had started the novel on vacation this summer, but didn't finish before it was due back at the library.

we also went to an awesome cheesesteak joint, EXACTLY at the right time in my life. it might be the favorite food i've had so far in nyc.
in other news, i've had another exciting development at sony. the "senior coordinator for the executive vice president/general manager" went on a three-day vacation, and i am currently in the midst of covering for her. i'm basically only responsible for keeping track of where he is and taking care of all the people that call him. today (my first day of it) was very stressful, but i'm making a good impression on him. jared made it really clear to me that my impression on him could go a long way in either direction...i'm glad to have the opportunity & hope i don't mess it up!

my latest cd collection

my new office setup

brief interjection

2010-02-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

it's 2:08 on a sunday morning but i finally need to share this

right so i'm probably like kelly clarkson's #8 or #9 Fan, so unlike all the haters in the media, i'm only saying this because i want to see her be successful in a way she used to be, that she is not now.

she is overweight.

i think it's one thing for somebody to be overweight for their age and height, but the issue with kelly clarkson is that her occupation is "being a popstar." the simple truth is that part of being a popstar heavily involves maintaining your image. and if not that, at bare minimum making yourself healthy.

after she won american idol, she lost some weight and made an image for herself...that combined with her incredible voice and the perfect songs made her the #1 artist of 2005:

HOT.

i'm not at all saying that everybody needs to go diet and be super skinny...but when you're trying to sell the music she sells, in her genre, with her fans, it's kind of part of the job.

this would be her now:

POPSTAR WITH 5 #1 HITS?

why does this bother me? because beyonce & lady gaga & pink & all the rest of them will continue to steal her old spot in the industry as long as she continues to ignore her appearance.

she is still my 2nd favorite artist...i love her music and i revere her talent. and i will keep going to her shows. i simply wish she would realize that being in shape is an OK thing to put effort into...especially in the pop music industry.

is this valid, or am i so vain like david geffen?

i can't believe i actually miss the screaming 13 year old girls who all wanted to be her.

what you don't have, you don't need it now

2010-02-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

crumbs bakery

hi errrybody

i'm having time issues! everytime i sit down to post something, it seems like hardly a week has gone by. yet, in other aspects (such as my work week) it seems like 7 days are an eternity.

we had another boring week/exciting weekend.

my long-time neighbor and close friend, jenna, came up to visit us this weekend. it gave us yet another excuse to go out and have fun. in fact, we realized on sunday that we have not yet had a weekend alone in nyc. i think i like it that way!

we set friday night aside to relax...we went back to the diner we visited 9,743 times last weekend (Midnight Express), for my favorite $5.15 cheeseburger. we also continued with the 80's theme we started last weekend (watched The Breakfast Club) by watching St. Elmo's Fire.

we went to luigi's pizza on 1st ave & 88th for lunch on saturday.

after saturday lunch, we went to east midtown to explore. we checked out Central Park & stopped in to a few places we hadn't seen before. we also stopped by sony, thinking that we would just show jenna the building...i had seen signs for the Sony Wonder Technology Lab before, but never really had a clue what it was. it turns out that it's a very fun, exciting & interactive museum. using a personalized key card, each person spends 1 - 2 hours going through the museum and messing with the different "tech" applications...the museum is actually listed as one of the top FREE attractions in NYC. i wonder who exactly pays for it...it didn't look like a cheap place!

my picture is the bottom right

just playing some drums at sony

after sony, we went to CRUMBS, my favorite cupcake place of alllll time. i previously had red velvet, grasshopper, half-baked & peanut butter cupcakes.

saturday night, jenna & i made some noodles with parmesan breaded chicken & summer red crushed tomato sauce. it was easy. (Actually jenna made the chicken so it just appeared to be easy)

I had never seen any of the 80's "brat pack" movies before this year...on saturday night we watched "Pretty in Pink," bringing my total to 3. so culturally aware.

on sunday, i saw my 4th broadway show this semester, in the brand new musical Memphis.

it was a great show, with some definitely talented people, but it didn't really do much for me personally. there wasn't anything that i hadn't seen before. (unlike each of the last three shows i've seen). nonetheless...it will at least be nominated for the Tony for Best Musical.

44th st & broadway

a family portrait of the candles we have acquired so far...i know...it's a problem:

island guava, gingerbread, lakeside birch, birthday cake, peppermint, homemade cake, tangerine, sun & sand, homemade cookies, vanilla creme, birthday surprise, christmas cookie, cookie crunch, apple turnover, lavender, spice pumpkin, vanilla lime, mango blossom, vanilla buttercream (not pictured but very large)

i'm going home to see my mom, dad, brother, sister, sister-in-law, two nieces, two puppies & high school best friend this weekend! i am in desperate need of a good puppy snuggle

ordinary people

2010-02-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

museum of modern art

helloo

well, it's been a real eventful week again. but i guess we're becoming like the rest of the world...relatively boring workweeks and exciting weekends.

work has been getting both a little more boring & a little more frustrating...i've developed my first "sour relationship" with a girl in her late 20s who believes is ALSO my supervisor. although i always do the work she demands that i do, she is very rude about it & doesn't seem to understand that i have to complete the tasks my supervisor gives me. last monday, she gave me an all-day assignment, and got visibly angry when i didn't finish it by 6:30...i had to stay until 8:00, and she has since been nothing short of nasty towards me. the thing about this is, i am working 34 UNPAID hours for Sony every week...it wouldn't be ok for her to treat me the way she does even if i were her intern. which i'm not.

anyway, i'm getting through it & by continuing to do the work she asks me to do (although i'm definitely not making an effort to be nice to her), i hope there won't be any harm done. as for the boring part, sometimes i don't have any work to do, & at times i feel a bit worthless just sitting at my desk, trying to get excited by small things (like lunch or a coffee break). we'll have to see how it develops, but one of my lessons from this experience might be that a desk job isn't where i should be heading...

this weekend our friends from Northeastern University came down to spend some time with us. NU & NY friends combined, there were 11 of us in the apartment at different times. we did a lot of stuff and ate out for every meal (which my roommate & i avoid at all costs when we don't have guests).

a few of us at a new find...a diner on 2nd avenue...one block north of our apartment

One of the highlights was visiting the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown...here are some pictures of what we saw.

holographic lightbulb

starry night by vincent van gogh

the small one is not art.

we also saw In the Heights on Friday evening...we got standing room in the back for $21.50 a ticket...it wasn't a bad deal at all, although me & my IT Band Syndrome didn't appreciate the standing part too much. i enjoyed the show, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2008. however, i didn't like it as much as liked the other two i've seen in nyc so far (hair, jersey boys).

on sunday, we went down to the village for the first time...it's an interesting place, & the atmosphere is distinctly different from the upper east side (where we live). my friend bryan attends grad school at nyu, so he was able to show all of us around. check another area off my list...

washington square park

while millersville & severna park, maryland accumulated almost 4 feet of snow over the past couple weeks, the big apple got a measly 10 inches last wednesday (enought to get me out of work at 12:30). i was shocked to find that most of the snow had somehow or another disappeared by the next morning...and the temperatures had not yet climbed above freezing. oh well...it's not like there's any grass for it to rest on anyway.

on another note, i'm starting to really into touch with the nostalgia i've been feeling since september...it's not something i would usually think to write about, but i thought it might help to understand & process by writing it out. over the fall i was really missing my siblings, specifically when i was much younger and was truly playing the role of "little brother." there is something very secure in not knowing too much about the world...not having real responsibility (and being treated like it). it goes with the territory, but i feel like i'm moving into it slower than you'd expect. i also miss the friendships i had in high school...even middle school. it's funny to me, because i have become a better person with every year that i have grown. i was unhappy much more often, and didn't have a whole lot show for myself, but there are some things that i miss...i don't like the thought that certain periods of my life are over, and won't ever come back. my latest hypothesis is that i don't spend enough time relishing the fact that i'm in college and still don't really have the responsibilities and pressure i like to put on myself.

that's all for now...maybe i will continue to share my thoughts on that

send me on my way

2010-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

jarrod spector as frankie valli in jersey boys

hi friends

it's been a pretty eventful few days since i last posted!
on thursday, i went to my second broadway audition...no luck here either :) the audition was for south pacific, and although i got into the building about an hour and a half before the audition was set to begin, the woman in charge of casting let everybody in the room know that they would not be seeing non-equity performers for the audition. there were about 80 non-equity performers in the room...they were there because sometimes the producers will see both equity and non-equity. but, it was nice to at least be in the environment and see how it works.

THE GREAT PART about this situation however, was that I got out of the audition at around 9:00a, and was able to get to the Jersey Boys box office at 10:00 to get Student Rush tickets. I still don't understand how, but I got two front row center tickets to the show for $27 each...their regularly priced value is $127. I went with my friend Bryan & it was an absolutely amazing show...so very cool to be right up there inches away from them!

our feet were touching the front of the stage, which was about 4 feet high

my friend & i with sebastien arcelus (played bob gaudio)

i noted how incredibly specific the part of Frankie is...not only does the performer have to look Italian, speak Italian, be short, have a legit tenor to soprano range, but he also has to be able to healthily produce that duck-like vocal quality that Frankie had. How do they find guys who can do this so effortlessly??

friday evening, one of my closest friends, gretchen, came to spend the night with my roommate & i. she is currently attending the US Merchant Marines Academy, and so far has only been allowed off campus a handful of times. it was nice for both of us to see each other! gretchen is the USMMA's top runner, and i will hopefully get to watch her run this semester since she is so close to the city.

gretchen & i have been friends since 2004

right so also i hit my head up on the edge of our bathroom cabinet mirror yesterday morning...and got to experience blood dripping from my hair and down my face for the first time...a little scary and somewhat disgusting, but for some reason i didn't get a headache the whole day.

today, we had our first "house party" to watch the superbowl. it was, you know...good.

have you seen the well-to-do, up and down park avenue?

yesterday is a kid in the corner

2010-02-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

i have no idea what this building is but i walk by it every day and it looks really important

what's up yall

finished my first three weeks here in NY - everything is still going great. i'm working about 34 hours every week and developing relationships with my co-workers/supervisors. i'm doing good work, but i need to focus on going to help other departments when i have down time (instead of doing things like updating this blog).

i went to NJ this weekend to my roommate's house. it was very relaxing and nice to be in a home, but i got a total of 8 hours of sleep...they dropped me off in front of the sony building yesterday at 9:45 a.m. - unshaven, unshowered, and completely exhausted in my dirty jeans.

but it was a great weekend!

auditions this thursday for south pacific on broadway. if i gained anything from standing in a line to nowhere for the HAIR open call, it was a friend...the guy that we were standing with for 4 hours is going to audition with me for south pacific.

speaking of the hair open call, my hat made an appearance on www.broadwayworld.com - third picture down - hat is to the left of the kid with the bleached hair (the friend)

I AM BECOMING A COOK. i made a kicked-up version of a lemon pasta recipe from "down home with the neelys" on the food network. sorry mom, i know they're annoying.

a little less olive oil & lemon and it would have been perfect

this is the sony ground lobby...there is nothing but the TVs on the wall and a structure in the center...you have to take an elevator to the sky lobby to actually enter the building. it reminds me of MIB Headquarters from Men in Black

some of the cd's i've collected at Jive so far.

went to New Jersey and somehow these were the only two photos i took.

very large eggs.

a few other inconsequential photos:

sony subway stop

new york & company in new york, thought that was special

just annoyin the drivers on park avenue

the sun is always in my eyes

2010-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

hi everyone

i've had a great first two weeks here in nyc...it's been a good start and i'm now trying to focus on getting down to business...getting more done in a week.

thursday morning was supposed to be my first audition for a broadway show (hair). unfortunately, my roommate & i were 2 of 1200 people to show up to the open call. we got there at 8:45 for a 10-6 audition, and were at least 200 people away from the door when they ran out of time slots. it was a disappointment because we had spent a lot of time preparing, but i guess it was a good learning experience. and we met some new friends.

we waited in a line to nowhere for 4 hours

this is the headshot i used (taken at my apartment):

in february, i am off work on audition days for

south pacific (broadway)

wizard of oz (national tour)

& peter pan (off-broadway)

we went back to boston this weekend to see all our long lost northeastern friends!

it was fun but very tiring (late buses)

napping in the dining hall

in other news, my supervisor jared (who is a big reason why i wanted to work at jive after interviewing) is being promoted from Marketing Coordinator to some sort of position that involves urban music, digital marketing, and a nicer office. As a result, it will leave my internship open to change. by staying an intern for jared's position (involves rock/pop music, which is my thing), he believes i will be able to take a much more active role in the actual work he does, because i would learn what he does at the same time his replacement does, and might even be able to share responsibilities with that employee. BUT, by moving to the new position with jared, i could get involved in a new field while sticking with jared. i decided that if i had it my way i would want to do both, and he thought that was a good idea. i see this as a really great opportunity for me to fulfill one of my goals: set myself up for a potential paid position at sony in 2011 (if i want it). it's good news!

manhattan buildings as seen from spacious central park

where do i go?

2010-01-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

had a nice weekend in jamestown, ny (my mom & dad's birthplace), for my grandma's memorial service. as grandma & grandpa had 7 kids, which led to 19 grandkids, and so far 6 great-grandkids, we had a lot of people there...it was a good farewell! my bro & i sang a song during the service. (your grace still amazes me)

my first week at jive was a great one. i've settled in, already met a lot of people, and am now ready to start branching out...my goal for this week is to help out in other departments when i have down time.

letterhead

cafeteria

elevators on my floor. thought this was necessary

one of jive's best selling records...this is the award they received from the RIAA for sales of 11,000,000 back in 2000. it's hanging in the conference room.

sony building facing madison avenue

we saw hair on broadway last thursday - it was fantastic! i got the tickets during my lunch break for 37 a piece...we ended up sitting close to the edge of the balcony...i'd call it a pretty good deal. i got some shots of the city after work and before the show. here are a few of them

probably like broadway & 50th

times square...bet you didn't recognize it

one of the best shows of 2009, though i haven't seen it...i need to soon!

2009 tony winner for best musical

2009 tony winner for best revival

2010-01-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

this would be the cleaning agent my roommate selected to clean a stain off the couch last night.

now we have two stains.

hump day

2010-01-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

getting through my first week! as i get into the routine i'm starting to think about the stuff outside of Sony i want to dive into while i'm here. i'm thinking specifically about chasing after audition opportunities, maybe even part time jobs that have some sort of performing aspect to them. any ideas? what i don't want to do is get stuck into a routine where i just go to work and come home.

in other news, my grandmother passed away yesterday. she had struggled with cancer for a while and it was her time to move on. the forty or so members of the family she created will all get together this weekend in Jamestown, NY to celebrate her life!

i will post new pictures of sony and nyc later

peace from the 14th floor of the sony building

first day at sony!

2010-01-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

first day with jive records today! work started at 10a in the sky lobby of the Sony Building. I don't have any good pictures of the actual building yet, but I'll have to take some. It's a gigantic building. Jive Records exists mostly on the 13th and 14th floors. My boss & I work on the 14th...marketing and promotion department, among others. In general, I'm going to be working with a lot of different stuff over the 6 months, but a lot of it will be with social media (blogs, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc), and with artist promotion. I will work 10a - 6:30p on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.

Tonight my roommate set our fire alarm off by leaving a pan with about 1/12 inch of olive oil on the stove...on high. But dinner was still good :) We are well on our way to goal #20 - learn some sweet dishes.

more later!

we love our candles. and we're very sophisticated.

simple chili on night #1. tasted better than it looks!

my office! stereo in the corner...a bunch of jive cd's are in the drawer for me to listen to.

chillin

a ny intersection. sony is the building on the right.

mansion pics

2010-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

here are some pics of our railroad-style mansion in the upper east side. instead of being connected by a common room or something normal like that, each room leads into the next. as it turns out, we really like it this way...but if we weren't two people who knew each other well, it might not be the case.

first is the kitchen. entrance is to the right

fridge...our goals are on top

next is roomie's room. this apt. was originally for a couple and a child, so this room is tiny. but it's right in the middle of everything and it's cozy. we are splitting the two rooms 3-months each (because nobody wanted to pay more rent for the master bedroom)

sInK. bathroom is in the middle of the apartment off of a hallway

then the living room. TV is to the right. that hallway has the bathroom on the left, and leads to the small bedroom and kitchen.

master bedroom...can you spot mister bunny

desk

the sleep-number bed...i can already tell i'm going to miss it when we switch rooms

wall to wall shot...kitchen, small bedroom, hallway/bathroom, living room, master. that's the big bed creepin' at the very end.

homer checked the apartment out for us!

Moved in and got some goals

2010-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

Moved in to my NYC apartment! I am living in the Upper East Side with a friend from Northeastern. I'll be here until June 30 working with marketing at Jive Records in the Sony Building. I start work on Monday and am definitely nervous.

I will post pictures of the apartment soon! We love it so far...it's very "thin" but really long! Oh also I'm sleeping in a sleep number bed for the first three months ;-)

Tonight we made some goals for the semester. Categories were health/physical, career/job, music, social & other. I have twenty on my list (some of them are really small). Some important ones:

- Completely heal knee (have had IT band syndrome since October)
- Run 30 miles/week by June 30
- Set myself up for a potential paid position at Sony in 2011 (just to have the option open...)
- Write and record at least 9 songs
- Make friends with non-Northeastern or Sony people
- Update this blog at least once a week!
- See important sites in NY...all of them
- Learn how to cook some sweet dishes (first time without a meal plan or a mom meal plan. no magic fridges in this apartment :-x)

After this period of my life ends, I will spend July volunteering at Young Life's Lake Champion, which I cannot wait for. I wanted to do it last summer after spending 4 and a half months doing nothing but working and running, but didn't get the chance. I will need an excuse to turn my phone off for an extended period of time!

alright peace out

you are always in my heart

2009-06-25T18:11:00.001-07:00

like a loss of sunlight
on a cloudy afternoon
gone too soon

r.i.p. mj

A Month Into Christmas Season

2008-10-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

I usually pick out my Christmas songs for the year in September and make my mix CD at the beginning of October. I've been listening to it daily for a month now (also right now I'm eating Halloween Oreo's to add effect) (?)

I have to admit the whole Christmas for a third of the year thing is the result of my best friend Mikey's obsession with the music...except HE's listening to it and quoting it the whole freaking year.

Also, I'm being a mummy for halloween because I refuse to invest any money.

Benj’s Christmas CD 2008

1. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Johnny Mathis

2. Little Drummer Boy Audio Adrenaline

3. Last Christmas Cascada

4. Santa Baby Rev Run, Mase, Puff Daddy, Snoop

5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Coldplay

6. Sleigh Ride Relient K

7. Yule Shoot Your Eye Out Fall Out Boy

8. Green Christmas Barenaked Ladies

9. River Joni Mitchell

10. Believe Josh Groban

11. Joy to the World Whitney Houston

12. Sing We Now of Christmas/Emmanuel Michael W. Smith

13. I Don’t Wanna Spend One More Christmas *NSYNC

14. I Hate Christmas Parties Relient K

15. Emmanuel, God With Us Point of Grace

16. All I Want For Christmas Is You Mariah Carey

17. My Grown Up Christmas List Kelly Clarkson

18. Don’t Save it All For Christmas Day Clay Aiken

19. This Christmas Chris Brown

20. Happy Xmas (War is Over) Maroon 5