Hi Monday...uh..I mean Tuesday

I love how I keep thinking it's Monday then I realize it Tuesday. It's one day closer to Friday. There ain't much to talk about today. Had a fun weekend. Not much else to report. I'll think of more for tomorrow. See yall later

Under the deep blue sea

So these are pictures of me scuba diving in Maui. Just thought I'd share. The ones with the sun shining through were formed by underwater volcano action a gazillion years ago. Of course me being silly and a really cool octopus. I think this is the one that seconds later, shot out a gush of ink. I marvel an the amount of living creatures underwater. It's such a great experience to stay under for a bit and visit with all the critters. Have a great weekend everyone. It's a 3 dayer for me:)

Bodhran - pronunced BOW-ron

Here's a pic of what my Bodhran looks like. I grabbed it from the maker's web site. His name is Albert Alfonso and he lives in Texas. He makes these great drums. Basically it's raw goat skin stretched on a wooden frame. Mine is tunable. Weather effects the skin so tightening and loosening is important. I have a second Bodhran made by a guy named Robert Davidson. I called him about a year later to ask a question about the drum and learned he had passed away. I don't know if I should play the drum or not. Part of me thinks I should keep it as original as it came. Another part thinks he would want me to play the hell out of it. That's why he made it right? Anywho, I'm talking drums cause I've been emailing a guy back and forth about jamming some Irish tunes. He plays the fiddle and wants to start a band of sorts. He's just picking up his fiddle after a 20 year hiatus so he's a bit rusty he claims. We will hopefully meet up in the next few weeks and figure out whats what. Furthermore, I am going to learn the pennywhistle. I have one and they are relatively easy to learn (I hear). Should be fun. Stay tuned.....get it? tuned? ha ha

Well....It's snowing...

Ok so it snowed. It's really more like ice the size of salt hitting you in the face. Very refreshing. I love every bit of it. If it's gonna be cold, let it snow. Me and my hon Kim are heading for a lovely sushi dinner after I get off work. We're going to the same place we went last Saturday. I put a picture of 48th street right outside my building. It's Erin's Theatre, the Walter Kerr. I thought I'd use the ole camera phone to take a nice snowy picture for you. Happy Valentine's Day!

Let it Snow..but you know it won't

These are pictures I took last February 2006. The city got 24 inches of the white stuff. That was the most snow I've ever seen. It was on a weekend so things were not as crazy as they could have been. Kim and I won the Wicked lottery for the first time that day. We enjoyed the show and the snow a bunch. I remember as a kid growing up in Nashville, snow meant 100% school outage. This was almost as thrilling as Christmas to me and I think my family. I hated school and any legit out was a Godsend. When I heard it would snow here in the city tonight, I kinda got that good feeling inside. Even though I still have to go to work, I get that same happyish type feeling. I always get pissed when they predict a bunch of snow then change their mind and say, "Well it looks like we dodged a bullet." I want the bullet. Now they're saying we'll get an inch or so and then it'll turn to rain. Oh joy. I'm waiting for a gut buster....I guess I'll keep waiting. Oh yea, welcome Colleen to blogspot! Here she is. cobbo.blogspot.com

Good ole Monday

I don't hate Monday but I don't love it either. Next Monday I'm off for President's day. What a joke but I'll take it. Having a three day weekend is so cool. Saturday and Sunday are one big Saturday. I had a great weekend. We found a great sushi place at 73rd and Columbus, right near Alice's Tea Cup. Get the Sake roll...yum yum. Dorinda, you would have loved it. We'll go next time you're in town! When are you coming back up for a visit? Erin tried the Sake roll and liked it! Colleen got this awsome tempura dish and Thadd couldn't finish his dinner. They were way too late it serving him though. On Sunday, I read all evening. The tv never came on. I think my brain thanked me for the tvless night. Kim got to go backstage and see Erin's world at the Walter Kerr Theatre. I've been back there before but it's really cool. Kim had a wonderful time. It's a very rare glimpse of the inner workings of a Broadway show. Good times....Good times.

Someone always has it worse

These pictures are from Versoix Switzerland. Never heard of the place. I think it's safe to say they have it worse then we do right now. Thanks to Racy Rusty for being my first comment leaver. Whoever you are, you get the prize.

Brrrrrr

When I first moved to New York, I noticed how many lifelong residents complained of the winters up here. I am going on my 9th winter up here and all I can say is, "I get it." It stays colder longer and it sometimes even hurts. I know winter got a late start but jeez. I want to go to a warm place if only for a week. My trip to Cozumel is still over 3 months away....a lifetime....I have posted a picture of me in Maui to remind me there are places on the planet that enjoy prepetual warmth. Lucky bastards.

Feel free to leave comments my friends.

Eternal Embrace

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other. Thanks to my sister Dorinda for this. Cool huh? I thought this was the saddest, and loveliest thing ever. I guess if your gonna go, you should go with the one you love.

I had a really great audition today. It was for Verizon Wireless. This was the first audition where I had fun. The best part was there was no script. I was able to talk about anything so I talked about my pending trip to Cozumel. They wanted me to start out slow then build to a more animated discussion. It was easy. By the end my arms were flying around and I was talking really fast and excited. I realize these auditions don't yield much unless you're exactly what they're looking for but at least it was fun. I even saw Michael Potts coming in as I was leaving. He had a commercial audition at the same place. He's in Grey Gardens with my sister Erin. He's a very nice guy. He plays two parts. Brooks Sr. the Butler in act I and Brooks Jr. the grounds keeper in act II. He does not get enough recognition for his great work. He changes very distinctly between acts and is a pleasure to watch. I know he has a great voice, it's too bad he doesn't get more singing time.

My brother Mike and his wife Becca are talking about coming up in March. I hope they make it. I haven't seen them in a while and it would be really nice if they come.

Later Gators

I forgot to tell you..

Yesterday as I was walking to work in the sub zero wind chill, this dude was at a pay phone acting very shady. He had a screwdriver in his right hand and the hand piece in his left hand trying to act like he was on the phone while he was breaking into the housing. What a freaking idiot. This is a bright sunny day at a very busy intersection of 43rd and 9th at 10:45am. I decide not to confront him since he has a screwdriver and all I have is a scarf. I walk about 20 steps and see 2 cops walking down 9th Ave. I let them know what my pal is up to and they saunter on over and watch him for about 15 seconds. It was hilarious. He didn't even know they were standing there. They went ahead and cuffed him. On this day, justice was a dish best served cold, literally.

Super Monday--Yea Colts!!!

I had a fun Superbowl Sunday. I wish the Monday after was a national holiday. I don't drink or anything but it would be cool to have the day off:) I was happy the Colts won. I'm so impressed with Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the whole team. It was a fun, wet, and crazy game to watch. Sister Colleen and her husband Rob, Dad, and other sister Erin came over twice. What a treat. We ate crappy food and Colleen brought yummy brownies (Thanks Cob). When I say we ate crappy food I mean bad for you but great tasting. Chili dogs, hot wings, and chips & salsa. I love hanging out with my family, they're always so much fun.

Wow man!

Earlier today I'm at Hale and Hearty at 49th and 7th Ave. It's a soup place. We are leaving and there's a guy sitting by himself eating soup. It's Lars Ulrich of Metallica. It was surreal. I have been such a huge fan of his since I started listening to them back in the early 80s. Imagine seeing a person you've idolized for over 20 years sitting right there in front of you. All I can say is "Big fan, big fan." He says, "Hey, thanks man." Very sincere and polite. I know he gets this all the time but I appreciate his simple response. I never acknowledge famous people I see in New York. I see them all the time. I guess I felt compelled this one time. Weird huh?

Hello Friday

Man I really like Friday's. They're so filled with promise. I guess if I worked on weekends, it would not be the same. Last night I went to a reading with my good buddy Thadd. It was called "My First Time" It was a bunch of stories that have been submitted to this web site and it's all about people's first time having sex. It was pretty funny and interesting. Peoples experiences range from horrible, awkward and downright degrading to heavenly. Thadd's comment after was "It was good but about 20 minutes too long" I agreed. Before the show I ate dinner at a Thai place while my sister Erin and Thadd watched me eat. They ate before that thus the watching. Erin had to go do her show http://www.greygardensthemusical.com. Those two had lunch with my sister Colleen earlier but Cob (that's what we call Colleen sometimes) had stuff to do I guess. My dad is coming into town for the weekend so that's cool. Superbowl Sunday has become a pretty fun day for me. I usually like to hang out at home and eat wings and nachos. I have to take a pepcid on these gorge fests but it sure is fun. Erin is going with her boyfriend Nehal to a SB party at a friends place. I will call Cob and find out if she wants to watch the game at my place with her husband Rob and my dad. We'll see. Hey, this is day two of blogging. Good for me.

I talked with a couple of guys I used to work with at WWE. Sounds like things are still the same over there. They are growing technically but that's it. The managers still treat those below them like dirt. If you work there, your time and soul are expected to be sacrificed for "the company" What a joke. Life is way too short to give yourself away like that. First is the commute. Most of the people that work there, live at least an hour away. That's not the end of the world but when you work a ten hour day or longer, that 1 hour drive home is a long one. 1 and 1/2 hours was my average commute. 3 hours a day. 15 hours a week. That comes out to around 720 hours a year. Gas, tolls, traffic, wear and tear. Then you arrive at a job with way too much stress and way too little pay. Don't get me wrong, I had a great deal of fun when I started and even some fun when I left but people changed and I guess I did too. I was not the same guy I was when I started. I lost a lot of joy and I lost a lot of sleep. No job is worth my happiness. I thank God my stress level is at such a great level. Very low....

Thanks Thadd!

So I got the idea to finally start jotting down thoughts and junk from my self adopted brother Thadd. Check out his stuff here.....Thadd's news I like it when people I know get their ideas and thoughts down. It makes for fun reading. I can't say how much I'll do it but I plan on at least a daily post. I'm sure there will be days I can't or just don't want to but hey, my heart is in the right place.