Them's The Breaks, Kids

Well, I hope that everyone who reads this here blog (all 12 5 of you- heh heh) had a wonderful holiday weekend. Mine was relatively packed with things to do.

It started off Thursday with Lisa & me going to see Augusten Burroughs give a reading/Q&A and book signing at the Smithsonian. Like I’ve said before, he’s one of the funniest of the current crop of “gay memoirists” on the scene (David Sedaris, et al.) and also probably the one who’s led the hardest life (soon to be a major motion picture). I videotaped a short segment where he sets up the story he was going to read to the crowd that I’ll post onto YouTube later tonight.

That night I met up with Munsen and SGS and other cast members from “Assassins” over at The Office for a couple of drinks, where I stayed later than I anticipated (as always).
Friday Munsen & I went to see “Frozen” at Studio Theatre because our other plans got canceled. “Frozen” was a play that I had wanted to see when it played in New York, but it closed before I had a chance to see it but I’m glad I had waited. The production at Studio was very intense and the 3 actors were spellbinding, especially Andrew Long as the Murderer. Each nervous twitch that he utilized seemed organic and evoked so much of what that person had gone through, no matter how twisted and evil he was. Grade: A.


Saturday, I started doing laundry, as I had approximately 6 loads of clothes that were lingering since winter (alot of sweaters and stuff) that I kept putting off from washing and, while starting that up, I took my two nephews and sister-in-law to go see “Over The Hedge.” What a fun movie! I’m glad I didn’t wait to see this one. This was being hyped as the best movie that DreamWorks had developed, coming close to the mastery and heart of the Pixar movies (“Finding Nemo,” et al.) and it truly lived up to that, IMO. While I really enjoyed “Shrek” and the other films they put out, this one had just the right combination of humour and sensitivity and a nigh-perfect voice cast and some really beautiful animation. The other surprise was the soundtrack was composed by Ben Folds (!) and was pretty darn good. Any movie that ends with The Clash’s “Lost in a Supermarket” has gotta be good. Grade: A.


After that, I returned to my laundry and finally received the exercise wheel I had ordered for Leela & Fry (long story, but it ended up being overnighted after having the one I previously ordered getting lost, thanks to UPS), so when it was time to let them out for playtime in the pen, I had the cage in there and attached it. Before I left to go to another movie, I dropped them back in the cage and Fry thought the wheel was a ledge and promptly fell on his furry little ass and scurried away. The image is niether Leela nor Fry, but the wheel in motion taken from the manufacturer's site...

I went back to the movies to see “X-Men: The Last Stand” simply because I just couldn’t wait anymore, as the previous 2 are classic cinema and definitely among the best comic book adaptations ever made. I’m sure you can tell that I was pretty hyped up to see it and, even though it wasn’t directed by Bryan Singer, I was excited by what had been set up in the previous films for this to provide a good conclusion.

And I was disappointed. While it wasn’t the disaster that I thought it was going to be with a director (Brett Ratner) who didn’t have a passion for this world as Singer did, it also wasn’t quite the emotional coaster ride the other films were. Sure, there were plenty of “Big Action Set Pieces” but at its core there was no compassion for the trails these mutants and what they go through (throw in any holocaust/gay/civil rights allegories here) battling those in the government and amongst themselves. There are a few stellar performances: Ian McKellan, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen all provide great character arcs but then Anna Paquin is sorely underutilized as is Ben Foster (who was heavily promoted as Angel and he’s in it no more than 4 minutes) and don’t get me started on That Frasier Guy- not only is his character useless, he looks like a big blue furball.

Now the good points: I liked the beginning flashbacks, the stuff with the mutants in the church, the situation with Phoenix at the end and the scene after the credits. I think part of this dissatisfaction is that I was heavily into the X-Men comics when I was 9-10 years old and the Dark Phoenix storyline was the first ongoing plot that I had encountered and, granted it was legendary and kick-ass good, so I am partial to those events. I’m not so married to the comics that I couldn’t respect a good adaptation of them (like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) with whatever changes are necessary as long the sentiment rings true to the world as created. And I didn’t get all of that with “The Last Stand.” Here’s hoping Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” rocks. Grade: C

Sunday night, we had our Invited Dress Rehearsal for “Assassins” and then Munsen’s hamster, Bognar, had escaped, so she called me all frantic and I went over to help her find him. After that we ended up with the rest of the cast and other Theatre folk at the Office for some beers and just good conversation until about 1:30.


Monday, I woke up super-early (well for a weekend anyway, 8 A.M.) to meet up with my friends Lucky Charms, K8E and Les to go strawberry picking, another activity I had never done before. It was fun watching Jamie go through the petting zoo area and then looking for ripe berries on the ground. Les was able to fill 2 plastic cartons and I think I got a total of 12 berries in mine (I guess I picked the wrong row to go down). As it was sweltering hot, we left after an hour there and then got stopped for speeding before having some lunch and then downtime in the evening with Leela and Fry and my two nephews before passing out around 10:00. Wheew!

Groove On!

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

And I Am Telling You...

I'm So Excited!

Click Here for a new featurette on the making of the "Dreamgirls" film. There's some great footage of scenes and glimpses of a few musical numbers. It's looking like it's going to be pretty fabulous!

The Naming of Chins

So I went home last night and, with the knowledge I acquired from the internet, picked up each chin to determine their gender. One was definitely a boy, so he will further be known as Fry Whitebutt and the other one was, as described to me, a girl, who's full name is Leela Yellowbutt.

I'll be damned if that's the only way I can figure out which is which!

My Two Chins

Chinchilla Update:


I think that Leela & Fry are finally warming up to me. After the first few days of just playing with them in their cage and coaxing them out so I can carry them (which Fry was never cool about), I decided to let them run around a room. I chin-proofed a room and my nephew and myself let them go in there. It was a good choice. They started exploring and then really running around & hopping all over the place, but when it was time to get them back into the cage I felt like I had undone any progress I made as I had to chase them down to catch them. Well, that night they both actually let me rub their tummies through the cage bars and I felt like progress was acheived.


All that made me decide to go ahead and get the exercise pen slightly earlier than I had anticipated, so I had a little more control over where the chins could run. I found a PetSmart that carried the recommended brand, went on my lunch break and when I got home from work, I set it up in front of the tv, got them in there and sat myself in there as well, reading my Entertainment Weekly. They learned to crawl over me and jump and Leela actually squeezed her way through a corner space (about 2” wide, tops), so I jumped out and caught her, although it wasn't as hard as the day before since I just scooped her up.


Yesterday at work, I figured I should wrap the outside of the pen with chicken wire to make sure they can't sneak out again, so I bought some on the way home from work. I then cut it up into 2’x2’ squares and tied them up on the rails and then laid out an 8’x8’ corner in the basement for them to run around in and they had a fabulous time, again with me in the pen. After dinner, I changed the size of the pen to a 6’x4’ area and put them back in, while I cleaned their cage, so they had about 90 minutes of run around time and Leela found a way to climb up the pen and balance herself on the top like a tightrope before I grabbed her. After that, every time she started climbing, I would whistle loudly and she learned that when I whistled, she’d get off the sides.


The funniest thing last night was this Coke carton. It was flattened out and I didn't fix it back up to see what they would do. They still ran through it in its squashed state. Too Funny!


Here you can see my straight handyman work and they peer through the wire.




This is one of them crawling over my leg. It's really amazing how fast these little guys can go when they get up the energy. Leela, it seems bounces off the sides to get more leverage and almost reaches the top of the 36" rails of the pen.




This one is, I think, Leela. After a while, I just don't recognise them too well just yet. I even lifted them up and looked to see if I could tell which gender was which and they both looked alike to me. I then figured that I might have two boys, but after doing a little research, I'll need to look again tonight. I might have 2 Frys, so I call them "Yellow Butt" and "White Butt" (based on the colorations underneath their tails).

I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you.

Today is the 29th anniversary of the release of “Star Wars,” probably the most influential movie to hit the mainstream cinema over the past 50 years. Sure, “Jaws” was the first summer blockbuster, but Star Wars took that whole experience to another level and created (influenced?) a following that is as passionate as the original Trekkies (Trekkers?).

The day the movie opened, I was six years old. I remember it being a normal day like any other- getting up for school, etc. I also remember getting home early, since it was a half-day. My mother had told me that my oldest brother (then 20 years old and also my Godfather) was going to take me somewhere as a surprise. I ate my afternoon snack (cream cheese and saltines) as my brother got ready to go and seemed like he was rushing us out the door. We drove into D.C., which was always a treat for me and I recall, getting into a long line at this huge movie theatre, which turned out to be the Uptown Theatre. They let us in, we got seated and then we waited until the curtains parted. And I was transported and transfixed by the adventures of a boy, a princess and a scoundrel.

It’s funny that I don’t remember much of the day after leaving the movie theater, but I vividly remember everything leading up to it. I do recall going to school the next day and talking about it with my friends, and they didn’t know what I was talking about, since the movie hadn’t opened wide yet, but the following school year, they were all asking me to draw Star Wars spaceships and stuff.

I ended up seeing Star Wars (a remarkable) seven times that year and each time getting that familiar rush. The last time I saw the original Star Wars in the cinema was in 1979, before “Empire Strikes Back” opened and there was a teaser for it, just to get people excited.

This is why I treasure the Uptown so much and also why I made the dedication of seeing each Star Wars film up there. I even started the tradition of taking my eldest nephew to see the Star Wars movies there.

Good times.

Goin' Up To New York- Conclusion

So, after “Of Thee I Sing!” Patrick & I headed over to our hotel to meet up with My Gay Dads and then met up with Sean McTool over at Colony Over-priced Record shop and we sauntered over to Angus McIndoe’s for dinner. After a nice, leisurely conversation-filled dinner, Sean went off to his show, Patrick went off to see “Hot Feet” (sorry, buddy) and me and my Dads went off to “Three Days of Rain.”

Ever since I saw “Take Me Out” Off-Broadway, I was mesmerized by Richard Greenberg’s flair for dialogue. It was just as surprising that I hadn’t seen anything written by him before, but I knew I would be on the lookout for future plays by him. “Three Days” was the play that put Greenberg on the map, from what I heard, so the fact that it was being revived and directed by Joe Mantello (who I really enjoy) made me perk up. The added bonus was the casting of uber-hotties Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper as well as the Broadway debut of Julia Roberts. I had read the reviews, so I was expecting the worst, and I have to disclose that I am a, somewhat-late, big fan of her work (since “Erin Brockovich”).

While the two men acquitted themselves nicely on stage, especially Mr. Cooper with a much understated performance, Ms. Roberts didn’t have the presence to fill a Broadway house. When she spoke, she was barely intelligible (and we were in Orchestra Row H). I also think that much of the fault of her acting is based on the material and the direction. Of the two characters she plays, the woman in Act Two is supposed to be vivacious and seductive and perhaps a little crazy and I felt none of that.

Now, I’ve enjoyed everything that Mr. Mantello’s directed in the past- even “Wicked” and especially “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”- but the motivations that drive these six people and the conflicts and passion were not there. I think that part of it also lies with the playwright as well. You can see the inkling of the genius that Mr. Greenberg employs in the concept of the play, but it just wasn’t as compelling as “Take Me Out” was. I just felt that, with a more capable director and leading lady, this could have been much more involving. As it stands, it was an okay production of an okay play.

Now, the mob scene afterwards was insane. As we left, my Dads & I came upon one man at the theatre entrance who was willing to pay $100 for a ticket stub. After a collective “Wha?” we realised that there was a barricade by the stage door and, if you had a stub for the performance that just let out, you can go in and wait for an autograph. Since it was Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, I figured it was worth. My Dads, though, were in there in a millisecond.

Julia was the first one to come out and she was just beautiful and gracious in person, and stuck around until a majority of people (if front) got her autograph. Bradley Cooper was the next one to exit and, I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful man in the world. On “Alias” or any of the films he’s been in, you think, “hey, what a handsome guy,” but WHOA! All of his features just fit together so well and his smile… he just made my knees weak. Paul Rudd was the last one to exit, and then I felt bad for Julia’s driver, who had to maneuver his SUV through the throng of people who had gathered in the street just to catch a glimpse. Granted, she is one of the last glamorous “Superstars,” but some people just don’t care to give space to a celebrity (am I being ironic? I don’t think so).

After that mess, as we were walking to Havan Central for some Cuban dessert (Churros- yummy!), I told the Dads that I was never going to go through a mess like that again. It was claustrophobic and just plain crazy. Play Grade: C
Seeing Bradley Cooper GradeA+

Goin' Up To New York- Part 2

Allright let me continue with my report of my New York trip of last week.

Saturday, I was finally able to get a hold of Sean McLaughlin and we made plans for dinner between shows, which was good, as I hadn’t seen him since my last trip up there.

My good friend Patrick got us tickets for the matinee of George and Ira Gershwin’s “Of Thee I Sing!” at Encores at City Center, with Victor Garber (AKA Spy Daddy), Jennifer Laura Thompson (of “Urinetown” fame) and Jefferson Mays (“I Am My Own Wife”). Since the bulk of our weekend was seeing 2 plays, I was really dying to see a musical and, boy did this fit the bill! OTIS is one of those typical 30’s musicals where nothing much really happens and people burst into song quite frequently, and oftentimes it reminded me of Gilbert & Sullivan.

Victor Garber plays the eligible presidential candidate who’s running on a platform of “Love” and, through a beauty contest, finds his wife. Well, the winner of said contest isn’t the one he falls in love with, it’s the secretary who makes wonderful corn muffins. Said contest winner then brings in the French Ambassador and tries to sue the president for her right to marry him. Jefferson Mays plays the Vice Presidential candidate who is so meek that he just fades into the background.

Besides the classic standards, the Gershwin catalog was all new to me and I’m so glad to have heard it in such a fashion. The book by G.S. Kauffman was pared down to a serviceable 2 hours but retained the biting satire of US government, quite a few good jokes and a couple of great running gags and had me smiling throughout.

I had never been to an Encores staging and I’m actually glad I waited until this opportunity, as it was fairly flawless and there was even a discussion afterwards (Thank You, SteveMR, for the heads up!), with many anecdotes and stories from the topmost Gershwin scholar and Kauffman’s daughter (who looked to be about 80).


The leads were fantastic and the direction, by Urinetown’s own John Rando was tight and Randy Skinner’s choreography classic MGM-style. Mr. Garber was a hoot and I was glad to see a non-dramatic side to him after all these ALIAS seasons and Ms. Thompson was hysterical and called to mind a young Madeline Kahn with her comedic timing. Mr. Mays looked and played the part of the VP in such period-perfect tones that I was tickled.

And, actually, the best part of the afternoon was watching a couple of old ladies in front of us swaying to the music and even mouthing the words to the songs. Corn Muffins for everyone! Grade: A+

Right on, Terrance McNally!

This from a recent interview with one of the greatest living American playwrights (emphasis mine):

"It was something as a gay man of my generation I never thought would be a possibility. I am 66. I was always out. But things have changed so much. Certainly Stonewall [the riots in 1969, the first major protest for gay civil rights] and AIDS changed everything. And now the move toward marriage is the final right gay men and women deserve and for which we will fight and get. I still don't get why it is a threat to traditional marriage and how it erodes the marriage of Dick and Jane in the next apartment. When I asked people in Vermont if [civil unions] were a big issue up there, and they said it was big for about a month while they were told it would be the end of life as they knew it for the institution of marriage. But it stopped being an issue very quickly because it doesn't change anything for heterosexuals."

Read the entire interview here.

And Now, A Word...

I promise I'll get back to my NYC recap, but I have to digress and post up these images of my two new additions- Leela & Fry! They arrived yesterday, and I will post more updates as I get more used to their personalities and they get more used to their new 'daddy.'

Leela leaning on top of Fry in their favorite spot in the cage, snuggling:


Leela (the more inquisitive one, natch), peeking up out of the cage when I opened it up:


Fry debating on whether he should jump or just get back into the red hammock:


Isn't this the cutest picture ever? Fry & Leela sharing the hammock:

Stay Tuned

For more of my New York Trip...

Goin’ Up To New York- Part 1

Thursday night, I picked Munsen up and we went to the local Pro-Feed store in Fairlington to pick up some necessary items for the arrival of Leela and Fry (Yup, as soon as the cage arrives, they will be mine) and we hit Joe’s Pizza Place for some dinner and Old Navy so I could get a couple of fun summer-y shirts for my trip to Manhattan with My Gay Dads the next morning.

My dads picked me up and we left around 9-ish and made some good time on the drive up there, arriving before 2 PM. We settled into our room at the Sheraton on 51st and then figured out what we want to do before dinner and our first show of the weekend- “Faith Healer.” I went on my usual jaunt down to Union Square to hit the Virgin Megastore and Forbidden Planet stores and then walked down to Astor Place and looked at the rare videos and punk-attired people over at Kim’s Video before heading back to the hotel. It got so warm, that I was a sopping mess, so before dinner, I took a quick shower and then we headed down the few blocks to find a place to eat. Angus was crazy crowded, so we ended up at Pigalle, which is usually our post-show dessert spot. I was craving a burger with Brie Cheese, so that’s what I got and then we headed down to the Booth Theatre.

To be honest, “Faith Healer” was not something I was really looking forward to, simply because I didn’t really want to pay crazy-Broadway-prices for a 3 person play (I know I did for “Three Days of Rain” but that had Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd and a little-known performer named Julia Roberts) from a playwright I hadn’t seen anything from and then when I heard it was basically 4 monologues, I clearly did not want to go. Once the reviews came out and I read more descriptions, I started looking forward to it (little by little) to where I didn’t mind seeing it at all, after all, Emperor Palpatine himself- Ian McDiarmid- was also in the play.

I’m glad I went. “Faith Healer” turned out to be one of the high points of the weekend. Basically, a Rashoman-like story told from three points of view concerning the travels of the Faith Healer (Ralph Fiennes), his wife (or is it mistress?) (Cherry Jones), and his Manager (Ian McDiarmid) and an event that happened when they returned to Ireland after two decades. The fact that there is a level of suspicion over who’s telling the “truth” and what that truth may actually be is up to what you make of it. I found that aspect to be similar to “Doubt” and it’s just as effective in this as well Mr. Fiennes and Ms. Jones acquit themselves nicely, although I think that she becomes a little unintelligible when she’s emotional and Mr. Fiennes had the daunting task of opening and closing the play with exposition and providing the coda (and dealing with all the atmospheric noise of crowds shouting for Julia Roberts as she exited her nearby theatre), making me leave the theatre in a very introspective mood. Mr. McDiarmid injects some great humour into his role and provides the highlight of the evening with his reflections of traveling the Faith Healer circuit and being enamored /enraptured with his two other companions. My Grade: A

An Apology

I want to take this time to give a brief apology. A little while ago, Munsen told me that she made a comment on this here blog and I never received the notification, so we just chalked it up to wonky internet.

Well, it turned out I had the stupid comment authorisation thing on, so to those who have commented, I'm sorry it's taken this long to post them on here. OTOH, you can now comment freely as long as you have a profile.

Now, it's time for me to get some rest for my weekend trip to the Big Apple with my dads. I'm seeing two plays- "Faith Healer" and "Three Days Of Rain"- and one musical- Encore's "Of Thee I Sing!" (I had to fit in a musical, as a weekend in NYC with no-one singing about their feelings would've been traumatic to me).

Goin' Down To South Park

So, this is what I would look like as a South Park Character, according to this site here. I do like the fangs I added as well as the little teddy bear- it kinda dilutes the zombie-like look on the face.

Thanks to The Sean Show for the inspiration.

A Long Time Ago, We Used To Be Friends...

A fair warning: I will probably turn into such a fanboy and start gushing about this show as I put to web my thoughts.


"Veronica Mars" had its second season finale last night and, since I was home, I made a dedicated effort and watched it "live" on a TiVo-delay (started watching the recording 15 minutes in, allows one to finish the show at the scheduled time the show ends).

W O W. I was blown away that, in 45 minutes of screen-time, we got answers for some lingering questions from last season’s major storyline and almost (this is television, folks) everything tied up with this year’s mysteries – SPOILERS AHEAD- who planted the bomb on the bus and Woody’s backstory- and some really good suspense and resolution among Veronica and her dad as well as the hwole romance with Logan.

And I do concede with my dear friends who turned me onto this show (I blame them for this diatribe), SmurfMJS & Les, that I now agree that Veronica and Logan are meant to be togerther.

What gets me to hot and bothered (in a good way) about this show is its writing. Rob Thomas, VMs creator, and his writing staff have created such a lived-in world with very real people who are so easy to become emotionally invested with and the tangles that they get embroiled in, while possibly a little too stretched out, are consistent with the rules of that world. Veronica isn’t so virtuous that you would put her on a pedestal- she’s a very real teenager who’s had some tough experiences in her past and sometimes she does make the wrong choices, but you still want her to emerge victorious.

Antoher thing I love is that each story-arc is so detailed, that even the one-off episodes contain things that are related to the macro-story. Granted, this doesn’t help people who start watching the series in the middle of the season and, honestly, I feel that this show really plays much better when watched in a more consistent fashion (God bless DVD). From what I’ve read, next season should prove easier to start watching during the middle, as there will be “3 long-arc mysteries, delivered in batches.”

I know many of my friends will call me a blasphemer, but I really think that "Veronica Mars" is better written and more compelling than "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (which I totally loved). And, while we can credit BtVS for the bourgeoning of literate, kick-ass female role models, VM has surpassed it in its first two seasons.

If you haven’t watched the show, rent the Season One DVDs and make some time to watch it. It really is worth your time.

Cue John Williams Theme Music...

In reaction to the recent announcement that George Lucas is releasing the original unaltered versions of the Original Trilogy this fall, I came across this comic that, IMO, surmises what Mr. Lucas likes to do best:



I know this sounds bitter, but I'm not really. I'm actually very excited that the original films will be available (and I can put my Laserdisc-derived DVDs to rest) but I do have the distinct feeling that there will be more re-issues as the years drag on. I'm just looking forward to seeing the original Ewok celebration again (I love me that "Yub Yub" song).

Play That Funky Music

StephenGregory had this up on his blog and I felt motivated enough to start up my iTunes and do it myself. I think this might actually make a most interesting playlist or CD. What kind of things would you come up with?

Directions: Open your choice of music player and put it on shuffle. Press play. For every question, type the song that’s on. When you go to a new question press the next button.

Opening credits – “This Is The Right Time”- Lisa Stansfield
Waking up – “Queer As Folk” Theme(U.K. Version)- Murray Gold
Average day – “Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland”- The B-52s
First date – “Come What May (reprise)”- Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor (This is the final time that they sing the song in Moulin Rouge. I had ripped the audio from the DVD for a complete Moulin Rouge CD Compilation I made.). This is kinda fitting- so far the songs are eerily working with their subject.

Falling in love – “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” (Thunderpuss Club Mix)- Leann Rimes
Fight scene - “I Could Never Rescue You” (From “The Last Five Years”)- Mark Bush & Tracy Lynn Olivera
Breaking up - “Love Is”- Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight
Getting back together - “Glory” (From “The Gospel According To Fishman”)- Eleasha Gamble
Secret love - “Could It Be Magic? (Remix)”- Barry Manilow
Mental breakdown - “Suddenly Everything Has Changed”- The Postal Service
Driving - “The Sun Always Shines On TV” (Extended Mix)- a-Ha
Learning a lesson - “American Pie”- Don MacLean
Deep thought - “Don’t Let Me Get Me”- Pink
Flashback - “White Wedding”- Billy Idol
Partying - “DJ”- H & Claire
Happy dance - “Use It Up & Wear It Out”- Indigo
Regretting - “Danglin’”- Johnny Rodgers
Long night alone - “See I’m Smiling” (from “The Last Five Years”)- Tracy Lynn Olivera
Death scene - “Millimillenary”- Cocteau Twins
Closing credits - “Solid Silver Platform Shoes” (From “The Magic Show”)- Alice Ripley & Emily Skinner

* * * * ** * *
Song For Your Mom - “Where Do I Begin”- Shirley Bassey
Time For A Montage - “Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me” (Album Edit)- TISM
For Your Friends - “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here”- Deborah Cox
Drunk (Beginning of Night) - “Buffalo Stance”- Neneh Cherry
Drunk (End of Night) - “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters”- Sherie Rene Scott
Wedding song - “Annie’s Song”- John Denver
Mantra - “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”- Mama Cass

Goin' Up To Frederick

So, Sunday rolls around and I’m getting ready. I give Munsen a wake-up call and she didn’t pick up and then I figured I might as well finish my morning routine before calling again. We did have a short window since the Rescue people were only going to be at Frederick Towne Mall (the “e” in Town makes it ritzier- not!) from 1 to 3, so the plan was to leave around noon to get there in time. I called Munsen one more time as I left the house and she still didn’t answer, so I figured I’d drop by her place before I hit the road. As soon as I leave the driveway, she calls me up all frantic-like. “Are you gone yet?”

“No, I was just on my way to your place.”

“Cool. Let me jump in the shower real quick and I’ll be right out.”

We finally hit the road at 12:45 and made some pretty good time getting there around 1:45. We listened to the “Assassins” OCR and talked about a lot of Theatre-related stuff and just kinda joked around. Once we found the mall, we had to find the entrance that the adoption people were. My notes said “near Ollie’s Outlet,” but that wasn’t attached to the mall, so we parked on that side and sure enough, there was the set-up for the small animal adoption.

We tentatively walked up, as I didn’t know what the rescue lady looked like. I completely felt like I was on a blind date. I kept looking for the Chins and didn’t find them but then I heard someone talk about a guy coming out to meet them and I found her. She was very nice and happy to see me and opened up the carrier that was housing the li’l guys. She let me hold one immediately and I just fell in love. They were so soft and not too skittish at all, considering that they were in a strange place and stuff.
The female started crawling up my shoulder to my back, so I had Munsen get ahold of her, lest she run around in the mall and Munsen was totally won over as well. I took that opportunity to hold the male as well and he was just as adorable- a little more wiggly then the girl but still very inquisitive.


We went over my adoption application and Munsen volunteered to take care of them, should I ever need to travel and I got many more pointers about food, bedding, and other types of things I’d need to know. I played with them for a little while longer and we talked about the conditions I need to meet before she comes over to bring them down. I needed to order a suitable cage and enough supplies to make them comfortable, which I agreed to and then, after all that, we said our goodbyes. She was so taken with us that she gave me (and even Munsen!) a hug.

On the drive back, we stopped at a pet outlet, so Munsen could get some supplies for her hamster, Beaker and then we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a late lunch. I decided to treat since she volunteered her time to accompany me and, we killed time waiting for out food playing that peg game that they have. It was fairly odd that if you have 2 pegs left you’re “Dumb” and if there’s 3 you’re labeled “Loser” and if there’s 4 you’re rated an “Ig-Nor-Ra-Moose.” We never got less than 2 pegs left on the board. I think the game’s rigged.

On the way back, Munsen decided that she wanted to stop at PetCo near my house to get a companion for Beaker, so when we got there, we saw a very cute little guy who was entirely brown (more like a latte) and under the plastic igloo there was a multi-colored hamster asleep. She totally flipped for both and decided to get the two. Once we got back to her place, we started cleaning out the hamster cages and placed them in and then, while we cleaned Beaker’s home, we put him in his new exercise ball, which he totally loved. I even made a Quicktime video of him creating energy here. We had fun watching the new guys explore their cage and even more fun watching Beaker roll along the living room. SGS & Matt came over and we still were just captivated by the little rodent’s activity until it was time to go to the closing night party for our current production. It was an okay shin-dig- since it was a small cast, it was fairly quiet but there was plenty of free pizza and beer. We stayed until approximately 10:30 and then I dropped Munsen home before getting home and watching a couple episodes of Futurama.

Did I tell you that the Chin’s names are going to be Leela and Fry?