Attitude Check

(...if you know the correct response to the title of this blog, please post in the comment section.)

Today was an awesome day. A little background:


This is my friend Mike, on the right:

(That's my friend Sean on the left)

Mike and Sean are standing in the living room of their college apartment. Oh, yes, that's a bar. They built that themselves. Needless to say they didn't get their deposit back. They even had a name for their bar: The Silver Parcan. (Yep, you are correct. They are lighting nerds.) I don't think I need to tell you that I spent many of my college hours in this bar/living room. I don't remember most of those hours, but I'm sure they were fun. Plus I got to to teach a bunch of freshmen how to shotgun a beer. You see? I like to give back to our youth.


This is what a typical Friday night at SUNY Purchase looked like for me and my fellow D/T's:




Thirsty? Why not grab a beer? What's that? I think I hear "Roxanne". Better make it two beers for me, thanks. And what's with the soy milk, Mike? If you got rid of all of that stuff on the top shelf, I bet you could fit AT LEAST another case of MGD . Let's be practical, now.




Okay, enough history. Point is, Mike is an awesome friend of mine, a great drinking buddy and an all around swell guy. He grew up in Philly, and visits often. Today he texted messaged me at 10am to let me know that he was in town and drinking beer-- would I care to join them for a little pre-noon imbibing?

Does a bear shit in the woods? I was THERE. Since I'm too poor to buy beer right now, I brought over a peace offering of pasta salad (my pasta salad is ALMOST as good as beer) and we commenced to drink the morning away. It was great to catch up and to reminisce about old times. (The ones we could remember, anyway...) Mike's lovely wife Kelly was in town getting her hair cut, and joined us looking mighty swanky. I attended their wedding a year ago, and blogged about it here. Anyway, we had a wonderful morning and I stumbled out into the afternoon a little buzzed and very happy. Good to see you again, Mike and Kelly!


I went home to sober up and to listen to this week's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, which featured my good friend Gina! She sounded great on the air and even won Carl Kasell's voice on her answering machine!! (I admit it, I'm jealous... and a giant nerd.)


Gina and I then attended a Fringe show: Ombelico Mask Ensemble's production of 50 Ways To Kill Your Lover, which was staged in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House in Olde City Philadelphia. The production was loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, done in the Commedia dell'arte style. Very Fringe Festival, no? I really enjoyed the performance-- it was lit solely by torches placed around the stage, and as the sun set, the torches created some amazing atmospheric effects. The cast was great and very funny, and while there was just a taaaaad too much improv for my taste, I really enjoyed the production as a whole. A big standout in the cast was the lovely (and hysterical) Jess Conda, playing the role of Tybaltiniweeniefettuccine. And the best part of the show? It was FREE! (Unemployment has made me very grateful for free stuff)

All together, it was a fantastic, spontaneous day. My favorite kind. I'm loving the fact that I'm actually getting to see a bunch of cool Fringe shows. And I do love seeing old friends.


**my thanks to Mike, for the free beer and for the pictures.