Re-posted, from my Tumblr:
My uncle who lives out in Los Angeles sent me this email at 1:45am. I’m pretty sure he’s drunk. He’s been running around doing different jobs for most of his adult life and has pretty much been a drifter ever since he came back from Vietnam. He and my dad used to be so similar—he was so smart, went to Brown, on the right path, then he got drafted and when he came back, was never the same. Moved out to California and never quite found his way back. For a while, he was dating this woman named Joyce who was really wealthy and so he was pretty much living off her for a while, but he broke up with her in the fall. They bought a house in Palm Beach together and I guess they’re fighting over it now. Everyone in my family is kind of glad they broke up, because she was…pretty high maintenence. She was originally from New York, and twice a year would take trips back here. But not just a trip. She would bring an entourage of twenty friends, every night would be a huge black tie affair. One time she reserved the crystal room at Tavern On The Green…yeah. A little too nouveau-riche for my family. But she LOVED me for some reason. Maybe because I was the first one of the family she met, maybe just because I live in New York. Who knows? But I couldn’t not like her when she was always so excited to see me.
I love, love, love my uncle to death. He was always my favorite uncle as a kid because he was so funny and told great stories. I thought he was so cool because he lived in California and at one point was working in television (short lived, as they all were). But now, knowing that times are tough for him, I worry. I know my dad does too, but what can he do? He would never accept money. He’s always managed to land on his feet before, but for some reason I’m more anxious this time. Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older. I think part of the reason I feel the need to move to LA is because I could be close to him and keep an eye on him. Help him, if I have to.
I know it’s not my responsibility. But last year my mom told me that she sees so much of Charles in my brother, and as soon as she said it, I couldn’t believe I never noticed it before. They’re so alike. The broseph is already such a drifter. He’s older than me and I’ve been cleaning up his messes since I was fourteen. I fear, but I know, I may still be doing that when we’re older. I’ll be like my dad, he’ll be like Charles, if we even still manage to speak to each other when we’re older. I think maybe I feel the need to take care of my uncle because its the same way I’ve had to “take care” of my older brother.
Anyway, Broseph’s story is one for another time. Come to think of it, so is my uncle’s, because it’s long and complicated. But the email wouldn’t make any sense without some info. We’ve always been so close, and had such a bond, even though I only see him a few times a year. I’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to not be aware of all the hope and expectations everyone in my family has on me, especially since the Broseph has…had some trouble finding his way, to put it lightly. There’s a lot of pressure to succeed, in addition to all the pressure I put on myself. But Charles has never had any expectations, because he always knew I would do well. I never felt any pressure from him, I just always knew he believed in me. I think he wants me to have the success he never had. And he, more than anyone else, is the one I could never let down.
I forgot he spoke French, he used to speak it to me when I was little. I should send an email back in French, he’d be thrilled.
Casey,
Voulez vous Be mon Valentine?
Qui est vous ankle…?
C’est manifique to think pour vous; quel your frustration level? As a doer & a goer, these weeks of rehab must be grande frrustro to the max, no pun intended. I have ‘slipped on ice’ many times in my career; I know the cost of foolishness. Welcome to the club; however, as you must have deduced by now, these times also allow you to step outside your calculated footprints, and engage a different lens-craft in your rueness. These new revelations may or may not have lasting power, but you can never argue with thyself they didn’t exist.
I’m sure you’re anxious to return to the tomorrow of your life & it will return as full as you imagined. Remember this parathenicies as a gift – in our self induced helter-skelter we don’t get many. I have total faith in your decisions & in your ability to see; be bold and boundless in your curiosity.
Me, I’m in a decent spot; life is a gift, $$ are becoming sparse – but attitude is forward & positive. Still vying with the Dutchess over the house – remain thinking 90-10 against any recovery, hoping guilt still has a chance. Just rec’d a V-day card quoting “Do you think we can make a fresh start… (con’t) I want us to hold on to our memories… She remains in total denial & has long become accustomed to disbelieve reality. To accord age with wisdom is a dangerous leap; people who don’t get real life early, never get it. To see is the power, not to have or hold; your vision is your greatest strength, it will always be your strongest ally - your feel is right, let it flow & grow.
Bon soir, mon amie.
Love you,
Ses Charles
Wow. The more I read it, the more I see the double meanings and second-level dialogue in so many things he says. This breaks my heart.
[Ding, ding, ding...the "this blog is getting too serious" alarm is going off...insert joke here.]
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Nothing Can Truly Be Said
I already feel as though there has been an overload in the news on the loss of Heath Ledger, and I don’t want to go on repeating what’s already been said. So I refuse to say anything about the circumstances of his death or any of the speculation. The fact of the matter is, a very talented young man died long before his time, and the world is less of a place for it. Yes, it’s tragic that he leaves behind a young daughter who may grow up with no memory of her father, especially when her father was such a remarkable man who was loved by so many. But that’s not what’s worst to me. What is the most tragic and devastating to me is that in the future, most people won’t know him. My children will probably have no idea who Heath Ledger was, unless they study film and see Brokeback Mountain. That has always been my problem with death, and why I fear it: that someday, we’ll be gone and it will be as though we were never even here.
Those who know me know I’ve seen more of my fair share of death, and before the age of 20 I had been to more funerals than both my parents. For example: five years ago, I lost three friends in three months. One in November, one in December, one in January. It got to a point where going to funerals and going through the mourning process became just that: a process. Not that it ever made it any easier, but after a while it got to feeling like, “Oh, another funeral. Okay, here we go again.”
My friend Todd died in November of 2002 after battling cancer, and I was never the same person again after that. I can remember that night like it was yesterday, and can hardly believe it’s been five years since he’s been gone and how much has happened in that time. And it kills me that he hasn’t been able to be here for all of it, and that he won’t be here for everything that is to come in the future. Todd’s sister, who is one of my good friends, has been dating the same person for three years and is probably going to marry him. He’s a great guy and I couldn’t think of anyone better for her, but it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that he never knew Todd, and I think her parents have a huge problem with it as well. I hate that the people who come into our lives from now on will never know him or what he meant to me. I have his initials tattooed on my hip, and when someone asks me what it is, it’s so hard to explain in the right way. The simple explanation “my friend died of cancer” doesn’t do him justice. A post in this blog doesn’t do him justice. Talking about him for an hour doesn’t do him justice. In the same way, I feel as though seeing the performances Heath Ledger left on film can’t possibly do justice to the talent that never got a chance to be expressed. Not that his performances weren’t great, because they were. But it’s so obvious that there was so much more there, so much untapped talent that he never got a chance to show to the rest of the world. Apparently he was starting to get interested in directing. Who knows what kind of greatness in film could have come of that?
One time during my sophomore year, my roommate got really drunk and started crying because her grandmother, who she was very close to, was sick in the hospital. In her drunken stupor, she admitted to feeling guilty about being so upset when I had been through so much more and managed to hold myself together. “How do you do it?” she asked. “How do just go on and be so strong after everything that’s happened to you?” At first, I was too surprised to respond because I was in shock. It never occurred to me, not once, that other people would actually feel ashamed of their own grief because it somehow seemed “less” than my own, which is preposterous. Luckily, not many people outside of my close friends are aware of everything. I don’t like being pitied, I do all my grieving alone, I don’t like to talk about it. But what I told her, and anyone who’s asked since then, is that it never goes away. It never gets completely better, and you can never really go back to the person you were before it happened. You face your grief, and deal with it head-on in whatever way you have to. For me, I withdraw into myself, shut everyone out, and just tackle the pain and let it, for lack of a better term, beat the shit out of me. After the worst is over, you carry it around with you always, until it fades into a dull ache. It still hurts, more so when you go back and relive what’s happened, and there’s still a void where someone you loved used to be, but you get used to it. Trying to forget anything, or get over it as quickly as possible, doesn’t work. What saddens me about Heath Ledger’s death is that I don’t want his daughter to grow up with that. I can hardly remember how it felt not to have this weight to carry around, but I know I was a very happy child and she deserves that too. Everyone has to face death sooner or later, but it’s not fair to have to face it right away. Let her be happy for a while.
It’s very weird for me to mourn for someone I never met. I’ve never felt that upset over the death of a celebrity, never cried, even when Diana died. But I bawled like a baby when I found out, and kept bursting into tears every time it came up for hours afterwards. It’s almost embarrassing how much it upset me, and it’s not something I would admit to most people. It seems ridiculous, even. But the fact that he was, no joke, someone I worshipped (no exaggeration) for a while, not to mention he looks scarily similar to a friend of mine who I also had on a pedestal for quite some time, and sort of still do. (I emailed my friend yesterday just to say hello because the whole thing is too eerie. They could be brothers.) Every girl has a major celebrity obsession at least once. Heath Ledger was mine during my adolescence and teenage years, which was a pretty tumultuous time. My cousin Adam used to work for Vanity Fair, and when they had Heath on the cover, not only did he mail me the issue while I was at summer camp, but when Heath came into the office once after the initial interview, Adam cornered him to tell him about his cousin who “loved him more than anything.” And I believe his response was “Tell her thanks.”
Although it almost feels wrong to compare his death to any of the deaths of my friends or loved ones, in some ways it feels similar. If he lived on, I’m sure somewhere down the road we would have crossed paths. But the fact is, I never knew him. On a general level, his death doesn’t affect my life at all and overall, nothing in my life will change.
But there is most certainly a void.
Those who know me know I’ve seen more of my fair share of death, and before the age of 20 I had been to more funerals than both my parents. For example: five years ago, I lost three friends in three months. One in November, one in December, one in January. It got to a point where going to funerals and going through the mourning process became just that: a process. Not that it ever made it any easier, but after a while it got to feeling like, “Oh, another funeral. Okay, here we go again.”
My friend Todd died in November of 2002 after battling cancer, and I was never the same person again after that. I can remember that night like it was yesterday, and can hardly believe it’s been five years since he’s been gone and how much has happened in that time. And it kills me that he hasn’t been able to be here for all of it, and that he won’t be here for everything that is to come in the future. Todd’s sister, who is one of my good friends, has been dating the same person for three years and is probably going to marry him. He’s a great guy and I couldn’t think of anyone better for her, but it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that he never knew Todd, and I think her parents have a huge problem with it as well. I hate that the people who come into our lives from now on will never know him or what he meant to me. I have his initials tattooed on my hip, and when someone asks me what it is, it’s so hard to explain in the right way. The simple explanation “my friend died of cancer” doesn’t do him justice. A post in this blog doesn’t do him justice. Talking about him for an hour doesn’t do him justice. In the same way, I feel as though seeing the performances Heath Ledger left on film can’t possibly do justice to the talent that never got a chance to be expressed. Not that his performances weren’t great, because they were. But it’s so obvious that there was so much more there, so much untapped talent that he never got a chance to show to the rest of the world. Apparently he was starting to get interested in directing. Who knows what kind of greatness in film could have come of that?
One time during my sophomore year, my roommate got really drunk and started crying because her grandmother, who she was very close to, was sick in the hospital. In her drunken stupor, she admitted to feeling guilty about being so upset when I had been through so much more and managed to hold myself together. “How do you do it?” she asked. “How do just go on and be so strong after everything that’s happened to you?” At first, I was too surprised to respond because I was in shock. It never occurred to me, not once, that other people would actually feel ashamed of their own grief because it somehow seemed “less” than my own, which is preposterous. Luckily, not many people outside of my close friends are aware of everything. I don’t like being pitied, I do all my grieving alone, I don’t like to talk about it. But what I told her, and anyone who’s asked since then, is that it never goes away. It never gets completely better, and you can never really go back to the person you were before it happened. You face your grief, and deal with it head-on in whatever way you have to. For me, I withdraw into myself, shut everyone out, and just tackle the pain and let it, for lack of a better term, beat the shit out of me. After the worst is over, you carry it around with you always, until it fades into a dull ache. It still hurts, more so when you go back and relive what’s happened, and there’s still a void where someone you loved used to be, but you get used to it. Trying to forget anything, or get over it as quickly as possible, doesn’t work. What saddens me about Heath Ledger’s death is that I don’t want his daughter to grow up with that. I can hardly remember how it felt not to have this weight to carry around, but I know I was a very happy child and she deserves that too. Everyone has to face death sooner or later, but it’s not fair to have to face it right away. Let her be happy for a while.
It’s very weird for me to mourn for someone I never met. I’ve never felt that upset over the death of a celebrity, never cried, even when Diana died. But I bawled like a baby when I found out, and kept bursting into tears every time it came up for hours afterwards. It’s almost embarrassing how much it upset me, and it’s not something I would admit to most people. It seems ridiculous, even. But the fact that he was, no joke, someone I worshipped (no exaggeration) for a while, not to mention he looks scarily similar to a friend of mine who I also had on a pedestal for quite some time, and sort of still do. (I emailed my friend yesterday just to say hello because the whole thing is too eerie. They could be brothers.) Every girl has a major celebrity obsession at least once. Heath Ledger was mine during my adolescence and teenage years, which was a pretty tumultuous time. My cousin Adam used to work for Vanity Fair, and when they had Heath on the cover, not only did he mail me the issue while I was at summer camp, but when Heath came into the office once after the initial interview, Adam cornered him to tell him about his cousin who “loved him more than anything.” And I believe his response was “Tell her thanks.”
Although it almost feels wrong to compare his death to any of the deaths of my friends or loved ones, in some ways it feels similar. If he lived on, I’m sure somewhere down the road we would have crossed paths. But the fact is, I never knew him. On a general level, his death doesn’t affect my life at all and overall, nothing in my life will change.
But there is most certainly a void.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
In Which I Put My Trivial Problems In Perspective
All jokes aside, there is something in the news that I need to comment on. Not the election. Not the dead pregnant marine, or the tiger attacks in San Francisco, or the downward plunge of the stock market, or the writer's strike, or...God, this country is in bad shape.
Okay kids, put your serious hats on.
In case you live under a rock, or just don't care about news that takes place outside of America (I'm not sure which is worse), there is major conflict in Kenya right now, as a result of a recent election in which President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected, and many people think the voting was rigged. To make a very complicated story short, now various tribes are killing each other in a manner of "ethnic cleansing", which is, you know, kind of the same theory that Hitler was going for. It's a lot like what happened in Rwanda, except not on the same scale. Yet. The terms "political dissent" and "conflict" have been generously applied to the situation, but they won't be applicable for much longer if this continues. "Ethnic cleansing" is only a slightly less graphic-sounding and a very short hop, skip, and jump from a little problem called "genocide".
Obviously, this is an awful situation. And maybe, if you're an asshole, you're thinking, "Who cares? Everyone in Africa is killing each other." In which case would you not only be an asshole, you'd also be wrong. There are several countries in Africa that are peaceful. AIDS may be a problem everywhere, war is not. Kenya, up until recently, happened to be one of those countries that was perfectly safe and brought in some of the largest tourism revenue in the continent. And now, it's falling apart, just like Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia. Of Africa's 53 countries, most of them are actually at peace. Yet Africa gets such a bad reputation because of the extent of the horrific war crimes and disasters that have erupted in recent years. The last thing it needs is for another one of its countries to fall.
This situation breaks my heart. Living in Tanzania last summer, which borders Kenya to the south and is also a very peaceful country, I had a lot of friends that came from there and traveled there. I regret that I never made it there in my travels. If something like that can happen in Kenya, it can happen in Tanzania, and that would devastate me completely. TZ is more of a home country to me than England is, and I spent more time in the UK. I desperately hope and pray Kenya can resolve its issues and get back on its feet before it's destroyed entirely.
And now, shameless nostalgia.
Some of my students!
God damn, what I would give to be back there.
Watu wangu wa Kenya, nakupenda wote. Hatakuwi imani. Naona matengemano.
Okay kids, put your serious hats on.
In case you live under a rock, or just don't care about news that takes place outside of America (I'm not sure which is worse), there is major conflict in Kenya right now, as a result of a recent election in which President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected, and many people think the voting was rigged. To make a very complicated story short, now various tribes are killing each other in a manner of "ethnic cleansing", which is, you know, kind of the same theory that Hitler was going for. It's a lot like what happened in Rwanda, except not on the same scale. Yet. The terms "political dissent" and "conflict" have been generously applied to the situation, but they won't be applicable for much longer if this continues. "Ethnic cleansing" is only a slightly less graphic-sounding and a very short hop, skip, and jump from a little problem called "genocide".
Obviously, this is an awful situation. And maybe, if you're an asshole, you're thinking, "Who cares? Everyone in Africa is killing each other." In which case would you not only be an asshole, you'd also be wrong. There are several countries in Africa that are peaceful. AIDS may be a problem everywhere, war is not. Kenya, up until recently, happened to be one of those countries that was perfectly safe and brought in some of the largest tourism revenue in the continent. And now, it's falling apart, just like Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia. Of Africa's 53 countries, most of them are actually at peace. Yet Africa gets such a bad reputation because of the extent of the horrific war crimes and disasters that have erupted in recent years. The last thing it needs is for another one of its countries to fall.
This situation breaks my heart. Living in Tanzania last summer, which borders Kenya to the south and is also a very peaceful country, I had a lot of friends that came from there and traveled there. I regret that I never made it there in my travels. If something like that can happen in Kenya, it can happen in Tanzania, and that would devastate me completely. TZ is more of a home country to me than England is, and I spent more time in the UK. I desperately hope and pray Kenya can resolve its issues and get back on its feet before it's destroyed entirely.
And now, shameless nostalgia.
God damn, what I would give to be back there.
Watu wangu wa Kenya, nakupenda wote. Hatakuwi imani. Naona matengemano.
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007: The Year In Semi-Review
Courtesy of Oob.
1) Where did you begin 2007?
Some of the guys had a party at their house in Boston. I don’t actually remember what I was doing at midnight because I was already blackout by that point. But at some point I texted my boss, and my then-boyfriend, (I’ll call him Runner) who I was (not surprisingly) fighting with at the time, and asked him if we were allowed to hook up with other people. Bitch.
2) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Living in London.
3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Mhm.
4) How did you earn your money?
No comment.
5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Good question. I think this was the first year in a while that I didn’t. But I did go for other people, once to visit, twice to the ER. And we shot most of the film in a hospital, but I don’t think that counts.
6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Oh, sure. Nothing too serious though.
7) Where did you travel this year?
London, all around Europe, I don’t think going back and forth between Boston and New York really counts, and I guess neither does going to Westchester or Connecticut. But I did finally go visit Ashley in her hometown.
8) What did you purchase that was over $1,000?
Mac laptop! I think that’s it. Though also my rent every month.
9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Jesus, yes. Too many, for that matter. It’s freaking me out.
10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Unfortunately. Jill’s mom, my uncle Tom, my cousin Aaron’s dad.
11) Biggest surprise?
I’m starting to realize that after always being the one to worry about my friends growing apart, I’m actually the first one to begin to distance myself. Sometimes I feel like I’ve outgrown them…and yet I could never, ever live without them. Also, finding out that my great-uncle was a spy for the CIA.
12) Did you move anywhere?
Moved to London, moved home from London, moved back to New York into one apartment over the summer, into a new apartment in August.
13) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Not enough concerts…Dispatch @ MSG, Cat Power, Mika, Dirty Pretty Things, Shoot the Messenger (Dan’s band). As for shows, I saw one in London every week, but the only one I saw in New York was opening night of Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp’s return to RENT, which was pretty sweet. The last time I saw them in those roles was 10 years ago.
14) Are you registered to vote?
Fuck yes!
15) Who did you want to win Dancing with the Stars?
Never watched it. My parents enjoy it though.
16) Where do you live now?
Manhattan.
17) Describe your birthday?
In one word—awesome.
18) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
-Travel around Europe by myself on a few occasions and actually put my Spanish and Italian to good (and extremely necessary) use.
-Break it off—for good this time—with Runner and actually make it out alive. Which I did, but barely.
-Try to get my health in order. It’s a long, ongoing process.
19) What has been your favorite moment?
Far too many. Probably one of the best ones was when Andi, one of my best friends in London, purposely missed his flight home to come back and surprise me. Taking my parents to a pub on St. Patrick’s day. Wrapping the film. Watching the sunset on the beach in Sardinia. Finding out that Aaron was home from Iraq. Hanging out with Clive Owen. Any of the nights in London when we would stay out all night before going to the airport to travel and still be drunk on the plane and wake up not knowing what country we were in. Hearing Ethan dedicate a song to me on his radio show. Getting hired by my current employer. Hearing my screenplay being performed and getting praised for it. Playing soccer in the park. Any morning getting breakfast at the Curved Angel. End of the year party at Vie. Crossing the Waterloo bridge at dawn. Breaking into the private gardens. Meeting Sam Rockwell. Seeing Carl before he moved to Hawaii. Sox winning the Series again. Beth’s wedding in general. Hamptons over Labor Day weekend in general. My birthday in general. Damn, looking back, I’m pretty lucky.
20) What's something you learned about yourself?
A lot. London was one big learning experience. Also: semi-figuring out what I want to do for the rest of my life, discovering that I can produce a film, realizing I’m not going to end up with Runner and being okay with it.
21) Any new additions to your family?
Do weddings count?
22) What was your best month?
Too hard to decide. Any of the months I was in London, probably.
23) What music will you remember 2007 by?
I am the wrong person to ask this question. I could go on for hours. Let’s just say that I literally have a playlist for every month.
24) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
All my friends from home, hands down.
25) Favorite night out?
Tooooooo many.
I’m realizing that most of my answers to these questions center around London, but I was there for almost half of the year, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had, other than living in Africa last summer. And despite some of the tragedies, and my health problems, it’s been a pretty damn good year. I really can’t complain.
I’ve been trying to figure out in the past few days if 2007 was better than 2006. It’s hard to say. In ’06, I spent time in Mexico and the summer in Africa; in ’07 I lived in London and traveled all around Europe. In ’06, I moved into an unbelievable apartment; in ’07 I moved into another fabulous apartment. (I still can’t get over how lucky I’ve been in terms of housing) We had a wedding in both years. On paper, both years seem kind of similar, but I feel like I’ve changed so, so, much in the last year.
It’s been a good year. But I think the next year is going to be even better, if not even more eventful. Bring on 2008!
1) Where did you begin 2007?
Some of the guys had a party at their house in Boston. I don’t actually remember what I was doing at midnight because I was already blackout by that point. But at some point I texted my boss, and my then-boyfriend, (I’ll call him Runner) who I was (not surprisingly) fighting with at the time, and asked him if we were allowed to hook up with other people. Bitch.
2) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Living in London.
3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Mhm.
4) How did you earn your money?
No comment.
5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Good question. I think this was the first year in a while that I didn’t. But I did go for other people, once to visit, twice to the ER. And we shot most of the film in a hospital, but I don’t think that counts.
6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Oh, sure. Nothing too serious though.
7) Where did you travel this year?
London, all around Europe, I don’t think going back and forth between Boston and New York really counts, and I guess neither does going to Westchester or Connecticut. But I did finally go visit Ashley in her hometown.
8) What did you purchase that was over $1,000?
Mac laptop! I think that’s it. Though also my rent every month.
9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Jesus, yes. Too many, for that matter. It’s freaking me out.
10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Unfortunately. Jill’s mom, my uncle Tom, my cousin Aaron’s dad.
11) Biggest surprise?
I’m starting to realize that after always being the one to worry about my friends growing apart, I’m actually the first one to begin to distance myself. Sometimes I feel like I’ve outgrown them…and yet I could never, ever live without them. Also, finding out that my great-uncle was a spy for the CIA.
12) Did you move anywhere?
Moved to London, moved home from London, moved back to New York into one apartment over the summer, into a new apartment in August.
13) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Not enough concerts…Dispatch @ MSG, Cat Power, Mika, Dirty Pretty Things, Shoot the Messenger (Dan’s band). As for shows, I saw one in London every week, but the only one I saw in New York was opening night of Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp’s return to RENT, which was pretty sweet. The last time I saw them in those roles was 10 years ago.
14) Are you registered to vote?
Fuck yes!
15) Who did you want to win Dancing with the Stars?
Never watched it. My parents enjoy it though.
16) Where do you live now?
Manhattan.
17) Describe your birthday?
In one word—awesome.
18) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
-Travel around Europe by myself on a few occasions and actually put my Spanish and Italian to good (and extremely necessary) use.
-Break it off—for good this time—with Runner and actually make it out alive. Which I did, but barely.
-Try to get my health in order. It’s a long, ongoing process.
19) What has been your favorite moment?
Far too many. Probably one of the best ones was when Andi, one of my best friends in London, purposely missed his flight home to come back and surprise me. Taking my parents to a pub on St. Patrick’s day. Wrapping the film. Watching the sunset on the beach in Sardinia. Finding out that Aaron was home from Iraq. Hanging out with Clive Owen. Any of the nights in London when we would stay out all night before going to the airport to travel and still be drunk on the plane and wake up not knowing what country we were in. Hearing Ethan dedicate a song to me on his radio show. Getting hired by my current employer. Hearing my screenplay being performed and getting praised for it. Playing soccer in the park. Any morning getting breakfast at the Curved Angel. End of the year party at Vie. Crossing the Waterloo bridge at dawn. Breaking into the private gardens. Meeting Sam Rockwell. Seeing Carl before he moved to Hawaii. Sox winning the Series again. Beth’s wedding in general. Hamptons over Labor Day weekend in general. My birthday in general. Damn, looking back, I’m pretty lucky.
20) What's something you learned about yourself?
A lot. London was one big learning experience. Also: semi-figuring out what I want to do for the rest of my life, discovering that I can produce a film, realizing I’m not going to end up with Runner and being okay with it.
21) Any new additions to your family?
Do weddings count?
22) What was your best month?
Too hard to decide. Any of the months I was in London, probably.
23) What music will you remember 2007 by?
I am the wrong person to ask this question. I could go on for hours. Let’s just say that I literally have a playlist for every month.
24) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
All my friends from home, hands down.
25) Favorite night out?
Tooooooo many.
I’m realizing that most of my answers to these questions center around London, but I was there for almost half of the year, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had, other than living in Africa last summer. And despite some of the tragedies, and my health problems, it’s been a pretty damn good year. I really can’t complain.
I’ve been trying to figure out in the past few days if 2007 was better than 2006. It’s hard to say. In ’06, I spent time in Mexico and the summer in Africa; in ’07 I lived in London and traveled all around Europe. In ’06, I moved into an unbelievable apartment; in ’07 I moved into another fabulous apartment. (I still can’t get over how lucky I’ve been in terms of housing) We had a wedding in both years. On paper, both years seem kind of similar, but I feel like I’ve changed so, so, much in the last year.
It’s been a good year. But I think the next year is going to be even better, if not even more eventful. Bring on 2008!
Friday, December 14, 2007
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