A brief note.

So the agent at Gersh who Bill Butler's assistant called at told me Bill was handing me over to finally got in touch with me. Well, I shouldn't say "finally" because I'd really pretty much given up hope and "finally" implies kind of like I was waiting impatiently, but man was I ECSTATIC yesterday. For a bit at least, till I had to ride on like 7 million different trains and they all fucked up somehow or another. Public transportation is not my friend, but I can't badmouth it too much because I'm just about to go out and use it again so, hey, it's my best friend! So I'm meeting with Randi Goldstein not this Thursday, but the next. I don't know what will come of it, but I know I'm so lucky to even have this meeting, I'm just peeing in my pants. I should prepare something to do for her. Hmmm.

Anyway, I have to go because I have to leave at about 2 to get to Penn Station to get on a 3.01/7 train to Princeton for a 5.30 line-thru/6 pm call. I will be so glad when this commuting is over with. I'm staying the night down there tonight and hopefully will be enjoying the atmosphere of Triumph after the show and getting a bit tipsy with my boyfriend who, though I've seen him every day this week, I haven't seen in a week.

AAAH Penny is being so cute. Must dash though. God I hope the 6 is running again.

Future Blog Entries

1. I am extremely disappointed with this season's Top Chef. Also, I used to love Casey from season 3 and now I HATE HER.
2. Princeton Play Craziness. Part of which is keeping me from writing full blog entries right now because, you know, lines. Play opening in a week. Lines. Etc.
3. Really? I only have two? I was sure I had more than that. Well, this was worthwhile.

Today I thought Penny had gotten out into the hallway because I was shaking the treats and calling her name and the place isn't that big, so where could she be? And I got so scared and panicky and I started to heat up, but then she was hiding under the futon. PENELOPE!!! Then I gave her a treat and told her to never leave me again.

I am stealing this from Mary Frances.

But before I begin, a quick question: how does one pronounce "meme?" Mitch has said "meem," but I've always thought of it as "meh-meh." Which I think is cuter and therefore superior. My pronunciation also reminds me of Professoressa Meme Irwin from Hopkins, which is always a good thing.

I will post a real blog soon, but with all these lines in my head - my spite was only hurting myself, you were right Emily - there's not much room for anything else. OK, on to the meh-meh! (It's about one's current relationship, so if you don't want to vom, you can stop reading now).

What are your middle names? Mine is Melton (my mom's maiden name) and Mitch's is Scott (his dad's first name; also, funnily enough, my dad's middle name; ALSO ALSO, my mom is Jane and his is Jean - crazy, no?)

How long have you been together? It's going to be three years soon. Feb/Mar is as close to an anniversary as we come.

How long did you know each other before you started dating? About a year a half. We met close to the very first day of college - well, maybe the actual first but I don't remember - in our Italian class (taught by Professoressa Irwin, btdubs). And we were both in the same Italian class all of freshman year and we saw each other doing theatre things too.

Who asked out whom? I told Mitch I liked him first. Right before Christmas break of sophomore year. He didn't reciprocate - was actually with someone at the time - but did ask if we could remain friends. Then, after Christmas, we were both in the Witness Intersession full-length. I'd gotten over it over the break. I knew I had to since we were going to be in this play together, and the break was pretty stressful with dad getting sick with diverticulitis and all. But anyway, we spent quite a lot of time together that January and the night of the cast party of the show, he said that, crazily enough, he liked me now. He was very concerned that I didn't think he was messing with me/really apologetic that he was asking for what he'd turned down before. But of course I was like OH THAT'S OK HUG PLEASE and then we went from there.

How old are each of you? I'm 22 and he's 23. June and January of '86, respectively.

Whose siblings do you see the most? Since I do not have any siblings, let's say all four of Mitch's.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Being apart is hard for us. Like this fall, when I was in Jersey doing the two plays and he was in Cleveland staying with his parents. We're good at talking on the phone, butwe definitely don't like it and it can be hard sometimes. Also, sometimes we don't "get things out" very well so issues linger below the surface and become a bigger deal than they ever were to begin with. We're too considerate of each other; also, I don't like talking much.

Did you go to the same school? Hopkins, yes. High school, me at St. Cat's and him at Shaker Heights High in Cleveland.

Are you from the same hometown? Nuh-uh.

Who is smarter? This is a tough one. Mitch knows a lot of trivia, but I really hold my own against him in Jeopardy. And I think I can safely say I'm better at Wheel of Fortune. He's definitely a better creative writer than I am, but I might have him in analytical writing - or at least I enjoyed it more, so that means I'm better? I'm a faster reader. He's a better cook. He's also much better at waking up than I am. However, I'm going to have to say it's a tie.

Who is the most sensitive? Another tough one. Mitch is, as he says, "a man with feelings." And as I said above, I'm not much for talking. But I am a sensitive person more apt to be the crier. Gosh, but it might be him though. Yeah, maybe Mitch.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Oh my goodness anywhere and everywhere. I love eating out. It's like my preferred method of food-getting. In Baltimore we regularly frequented all the Charles Village eateries - One World, Tamber's, Donna's. Here in New York we're enjoying the diners of our neighborhood especially - Gracie's and Midnight Express. But yeah, I'll go anywhere and since I'm usually buying, Mitch more than gladly tags along. We both love food. But I'm really trying to not go out so much. We've got a full fridge and that food must be eaten! Also, money.

Where is the furthest you two have ever traveled together as a couple? That'd be London, England - Intersession of our junior year with Peter.

Who has the craziest exes? Mitch has more and yes, I call them all crazy/flawed/insufficient/worthy-of-hate in one way or another.

Who has the worse temper? Probably Mitch, but it doesn't come out very often.

Who does the cooking? Mitch, and I love it. Though I have been doing a bit more lately. I can make food for myself, but even if I come up with the idea for dinner, Mitch is going to be the main executor.

Who is the neat freak? Me moreso than he. I get into little fits of cleanliness every once in a while. We're kind of borderline slobs though. Well, no, we're better than we used to be.

Who is more stubborn? OK, I'm getting a bit tired of this (haven't eaten yet) so I asked Mitch who was more stubborn and he says, and I quote: "You. Because you're so bad at realizing when I'm right. Which is always." Then, more seriously, "Both of us are pretty stubborn, more stubborn than people would realize."

Who hogs the bed? Mitch is bigger, but I spread out more. And when he gets up I move to his pillow, so, yeah, me.

Who wakes up earlier? Haha, that's a good one. Mitch, of course.

Where was your first date? I really don't remember. But I just asked Mitch and he said "Cafe Q" - where I first told him I liked him, which is SWEET - but I guess maybe that cast party.

Who is more jealous? Me. Though he doesn't like it when I kiss boys in plays.

How long did it take to get serious? It happened quicker than either of us were anticipating. All of a sudden we were just kind of spending all our free time together. We pretty much lived together the summer between sophomore and junior years, which was about four months-ish from when we first started dating. Maybe it's kind of always been serious.

Who does the laundry? Me. But he'll help fold.

Who's better with the computer? Mitch I'd say. He's definitely more into it, at least - making it work well and discovering new things and stuff like that. I just need my facebook.

Who drives when you are together? More often me, I'd say. But it's kind of circumstantial, like I had the Zipcar account in Baltimore, so I had to drive; in Jersey when he would come to visit, I'd just keep driving my mom's car. If we're in Cleveland, he'll drive. On long trips, we split it up fifty-fifty.

www.thegrampusandfriends.com

You really have to go check it out now because the most recent post is about our KITTIES! They will soon be internet-famous. You can say you knew them when.

Back to cleaning the apartment.

Oscars tonight. Pretty dresses! Lights! Shininess! Gorgeous rich people! I will sit and eat my left-over chicken and rice and then fall asleep.

Lines

Watch me not learn them! Just watch me!

Top Chef tonight. Woo!

I've been comparing myself to others too much lately.

And you know that never turns out well. Things just haven't been going as smoothly as I hoped. I've been in New York what, a month? And I still haven't been discovered. LE SIGH.

This city is hard on me. It's loud and dirty and there are people everywhere. I'm not pushing myself as hard as I should be, and that's a hard thing to realize. Why aren't I? I just get so scared, I think. Of everything. And I'm lazy too - I'd rather sleep late than do anything else. I've been having more "down" days since I've been here than I have in a while. And maybe they've been harder than usual to pull myself out of.

I don't like all the uncertainty. Bill Butler's assistant called me last Thursday I think it was, apologized for not getting back to me sooner (busy with the Golden Globes and all that), and told me Bill had given my name to another agent at Gersh who was going to give me a call. And she hasn't yet. And I didn't quite catch her name so I can't call a leave a message with her, even if I should do that. And if she does call, then what should I do? What should I be doing to prepare? I mean, I do want this, all of this, don't I?

'Unveiling' at Princeton started rehearsing yesterday. This is going to be a lot of individual work on my part - we're only doing two more rehearsals before tech week (probably largely due to me, since it's so far for me travel).

But back to the subject. I've just been feeling a little less than everyone else. Less intelligent, less funny, less fashionable, less driven, less talented, weighing more, less interesting. I know this is not a road I want to go do, but I just don't know quite yet what will help me snap out of it.

Since Mitch is writing a blog entry, I guess I will too.

To fill the time while I wait for him to finish so we can go out for a walk. It's lovely here today - sunny and warmer (52 degrees) and, the best of all, windy. When my weather.com widget just says "windy" for the day.. oh my heart it goes all pitter-patter. Remember when you were a little kid, and if you could be an "element"/superpower/whatever, I would always choose wind. Or air, depending on the game. Well, sometimes water if it was summer and I was in love with swimming pools. Incomprehensible tangent completed, I think we're going to go into Central Park, so we'll go east and then south. We're due east from the big Jackie O. reservoir; and a whole lotta east, don't forget that. Maybe I'll get a hot dog.

So yes, Mitch has a blog now: www.thegrampusandfriends.com. It's to promote the showcase of his plays two NYU students are putting up - they all know each other from the Princeton Summer Theatre last season. Mitch is kind of the producer for it, and he had this idea to make a website to solicit donations for it. You should check it out. I'll even give you a preview of the next post - Hawaiian music!

This is my new favorite celebrity couple. Hm, what was my last favorite celebrity couple? Posh and Becks? We'll go with them. So of course I would very much like to see Uncle Vanya, even though it is not a favorite play of mine. But maybe that's because I read it in, what, Acting/Directing I? And saw snippets of it acted then and so, of course that won't leave good memories of it for anyone. I very much liked Mr. Sarsgaard (I'm going to start writing in the style of the New York Times - no first names EVER) as Trigorin in The Seagull; a favorite part and a very good production and he was very, very nice in it all.

Other things I need to see: The Cherry Orchard and A Winter's Tale, both at BAM. English and American actors in this crazy repertory-like company doing classics - very good. So that's two. Will Ferrell's one-man Bush-impersonation extravaganza? Eh, maybe not. My friend Danielle's show, Amadeus, at the Heights players in Brooklyn. Hedda Gabler? Though that's not received stellar reviews.

Speaking of all these things that require money, hopefully I'll have a job soon. I'm going to do a trial day with Jo and little Arthur tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Also, Lauren, whom I met with a while ago about afterschool pick-up for her daughter (but who went with a friend of someone, so how can I compete with that), got back to me and asked if I could meet again. So two possibilities.

We went out to Cafe D'Alsace last night to enjoy some Restaurant Week (read: month) cheap eats. Lunches for $24.07 and dinners for $35 all over the city. This place is very close to us, so we went the easy route our first time out. It was very lovely. He had the potato salad topped with oozy goat cheese, the fettucine with duck, and profiteroles and ice cream. She had the warm leeks, the filet mignon and frites, and the cheesecake with delicious fruity sauce. They shared a half-bottle of red wine. They believe their waiter was a struggling actor. They tipped him well. She slept till 1 today.

Ugh, Mitch isn't done yet. He's also breathing kind of heavy so I'm worried he's stressed out. Oh well, no help. IT'S JUST A BLOG ENTRY, SWEETIE. (We're sitting next to each other on the futon; maybe he'll see that; ooh, or maybe I hope he won't.) Well, I guess I will do some breaking of the fast in preparation for the walk. And some more reading of Les Mis, of which I am on like page 1340 of 1440. It's very exciting. Except for ALL the historical digressions, it's a wonderful story and I've very much enjoyed reading it. Except for the digressions. Nearly a 100 (or something, I don't know, felt like 100) pages on Waterloo? Really, Victor? No thanks.