The Elephant in the Room (it's me!)

Oh boy...so here it is...I gained a ton of weight on the ship. I don't like to talk about it, except for every time I bring it up before someone else has the chance to think about it. Ok...so I do talk about. Doesn't mean I like it. I feel like ever since I got back from the boat and I see people I haven't seen since I left, my standard greeting is, "Hey, how are you? Yeah, I gained SO much weight." (subtext: I know it happened, don't feel sorry for me) My last few weeks on the boat were just a train wreck...I had already gained weight so I just gave up completely, thinking I could easily fix it when I got back. Well, I forgot that I didn't lose it overnight the first time, so why would I just drop it all once I got home? And boy do I know that now. I've been back 11 weeks. In theory, I should have (or could have) lost 11 pounds by now. It's been more like 4. I know it's not nothing...but it's frustrating as hell. Today I am wearing a pair of pants that when I left were so loose that they had become useless to me. I tried to give them away, but thank G-d I didn't, or else I'd be pantsless right now. Yikes. I digress. When I finally pulled them back on for the first time this morning, the tight tug to fasten them was like a slap in my face...or on my huge, fat ass. Am I being harsh on myself? Well, yes. It's what I do. And I'm trying to work through it. I got up at 5:30 this morning so I could make the 6am Body Pump class at my gym. I came home feeling great and then threw it all out the window on account of some tight pants that are two sizes larger than I'd like. Ugh.

Wow. This may be the first downer entry of this blog. Hooray?

Regardless of my state of mind, I'm still in love with food. I made some really awesome turkey meatballs last night with raw oat bran instead of bread crumbs. Road to recovery...

Super Girly Fun Time

I got to be with a few of my favorite lady friends this weekend. Meredith was celebrating passover by doing law school work and avoiding leavening agents, so I only saw her in my heart. But Friday night I got to join Cowlick in sending off the delightful Jason Knauf by playing doppelganger to the lovely Sarah...



Sarah says her eyes aren't "alert" but I say she's just mellow. Color me jealous.

Saturday I ate with Megan TWICE! Fun town. Sarah, Megan and I enjoyed some thai food at Duck Walk between CSz shows. Saturday night was my first time playing with the Hot Karl. Oh boy! It was super fun. Although I admit it was slightly odd being so dirty on the ComedySportz stage, I got used to it quickly enough. Hang out time after the show was fun...and weird...let's just get to the pictures.


Mr. Erin Voice. Thanks for letting me into your booth, Jen T!



Pre-Karl. Zach T, ladies and gentlemen.


My boss and me! Hooray! (Heather told me I would hate this picture. Unflattering, yes. Fun, YES.)


And speaking of Heat...


All-Business Monty. That's what I'm calling him from now on.


New friend!! This is Molly and she is awesome. I hope to see her around more, even though towards the end of the night I think I made her uncomfortable. No further comment.


T-NO! You inevitably bike your way to CSz. Show shorts!

Good times. Almost too good. Moving this week. Updates on that to come...

In the Kitchen

me: Your tea smells good. What is it?
Sarah: It's called Lady Grey. I'm not sure what that means.
me: Maybe it's Earl Grey's wife.
Sarah: Or his girlfriend. You know people just aren't getting married these days.
me: Don't I know it.

QOTD

Technically, it was yesterday's quote, but it was overwhelmingly the best thing I heard all day....

Sarah: I just hate it. Well, I don't like it. I mean, it's not that I don't like it, don't read into that.
Frankie: We don't have to read into it, you just gave us the Cliff's Notes.

Keep it up, Frankie. You keep the common area fun.

Forgotten Joys

I have really underestimated the power of these things to make me happy on an otherwise crazy day...

BBW. I used to work there and I still have a great fondness for it. Feels like home to me. Not in a retail employment sense...in a high school country apple-pearberry way. Yesterday I made a life choice and bought all new products so I could throw away the mediocre crap that's been littering my shower. Japanese Cherry Blossom is once again the queen of the castle. Yes...I'm really that into it.

Oatmeal with cinnamon and bananas. Take that, brown sugar...who needs you.

Hot water. Really needed it when I woke up. A lot.

Bishop Allen. Soundtracking my database repair.

T.G.I.T.!!! Right?? (copywright Frankie)

Today I am a fan of....

Black Cat Espresso Blend...it's back!

Bananas: the pastries of the fruit world.

People who do bits all the way through their Facebook/MySpace profiles except for one part...they really want you to know that they're funny AND they love Dave Matthews.

Being sore after lifting weights...hello muscles, I have missed you.

The warmer weather...sure it's not here to stay yet, but what a delight!

Aimee McKay.

Blatant errors in the Red Eye...my commute is so snarky!

Pandora radio. Yes, Pandora, that band does have similar instrumentation to the band I entered. I love it.

Taxing

So I'm looking at the ol' blog and realizing that I haven't written in a week. Also, I see a pattern emerging...I take pictures at shows and when I'm drunk (don't worry, mom, this doesn't happen often) and then post them at the end of the weekend. What am I, an investment banker? Blowing off steam at the end of the week and then returning to the Monday through Friday grind? Oh boy. I think that's what I'm doing these days. Only the Monday - Friday "grind" is working as many hours at the office as possible while still attending rehearsals, learning scenes, writing scenes, and doing shows. Ok, I'll call it grinding...but I'm in no way complaining. Busy is how I work. When I'm not busy I get laaaazy.

As not to disappoint my loyal readers (hello, the six of you), I will recap my weekend. However, I will still be disappointing: I took no photos. What a douche. Nevertheless, here's how it went...Friday night I attended and enjoyed The Beatbox show at CSz. Saturday I was fortunate enough to perform with mighty mighty BlueCo for the Best of matinee on the mainstage at Second City. I really love these guys. They made me feel warm and welcome throughout rehearsals and the show. Tara D's shoes aren't easy to step into, but Aimee, Katie, Brian, Tim, Shad and Piero sure made it fun. Huge thanks to them. After that show I headed to CSz and played a really fun albeit kind of weird match with Nick H and Geoff C on my team. We won the game, remaining undefeated in our second outing as the Express. You don't often get to create a team identity at CSz, since you don't often play with the same two people. But the three of us have stumbled onto something. Crazy. Post show, I hung out with show friends in the CSpo bar, my new favorite place. I blame the space being so awesome for my weekly hang-out/photo taking habit. Today has been quiet but productive. Finally got my taxes in their envelopes and out the door. Ugh. I owed quite a bit from working on contract last year, so I'm saying good bye to a lot of my money today. Boooooo. The rest of the day (spoiler alert!) will be gym, church, groceries. Standard Sunday business.

So as not to be totally lame, I do have on picture to share. Erin treated himself to Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii about a month or so ago, and very occasionally I feel the urge to play a song or two on easy. It's hard for me to justify playing video game guitar instead of practicing real guitar. Ok, so I'm getting to the point...I have an extra guitar stand, so the GH implement ("guitar"? controller? instrument?) lives there. Erin thinks it's hysterical. It does look funny amidst my actual acoustic and bass.



Hooray of the day: having some time off.

Yay friends!

What's a weekend without 4 CSz shows? Boring, I can tell you. Shows were fun, people were funner. You heard me.


Sarah told me not to post this. Come on. It's adorable.



Someone saw CSz for this first time on Saturday. WTG, Joel. You're doing it!



If you wait long enough, Josh and Tamara coreograph dances together.



Officially the most fun 5 things I've ever played. Rock it out, Evanston Express.

Weekend high: having Meredith, Tracy and Joel at my show on Saturday.
Weekend low: turning down a ride on Rene's Vespa. What was I thinking??

Mixed Bag

I'm having a very random week, dear reader. This post is about nothing in particular. But hey, kittens, we sure have fun.

Congrats to the cast of the Vagina Monologues! I saw it last night and it was incredible. Kat, Aimee, Jess and everyone were so f-ing good! And I've never been really driven to see the show. Glad I did. Thanks, ladies. (Btdubs, when am I going to learn to carry my camera?? I could've had some gems last night)

Haven't mentioned it yet, but I am very excited to be going to ImprovAcadia this summer! I loved Bar Harbor the few days I got to see it from the ol' Spirit last fall, so this will be a good time. I'm not 100% on when I'm going yet, but I know it will be later on.

My hooray of the day: The Raconteurs!



Jack White, you have captured my heart again. Their new album, Consolers of the Lonely, is ridiculously awesome. I can't stop listening to it. Do yourself a favor.

Honorable mention hooray: I inadvertantly matched my shirt to my underwear today. How fun!