3 Days of Rain

It only took me
an hour
on hold
but I got them
6 tickets to see Julia Roberts
in 3 Days of Rain
on Broadway

as soon as the call ended, my phone died.

sheesh, close one

they went on sale at 11:59pm

by the time I got through,
I got tickets for 10 weeks
into the run, 10th row
in the mezzanine!

take THAT Odd Couple!

In other news
I saw Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life
tonight

she is incomparable
I can't say enough
a phenomenal evening

I was in the same room
as she sang "A Boy Like That"
please, someone tell me
what beats that?

"All That Jazz" maybe?
well, I was there for that too

It was legendary, historical
and I'm glad to have seen it

and god, for being in her 70s
legs like Bette Davis!

Also went to the Met today
saw the Santiago Calatrava exhibit
life-changing
architecture and design at it's finest hour
he is our greatest living architect
If you ask me
and he can sculpt like Brancusi!
the man is an all around winner
he can do anything
paint, sculpt, draw, and design Olympic Stadiums
for Athens.
I'm in awe of the man.

wow

please
no need to tell me
what we are and are not

not sure I deserved that

if you're going to get so defensive
over my concern
then maybe you should think about
not reading this anymore
thats not an order
it's up to you

saw The New World today
breathtaking
if this doesn't win an Oscar
then I give up
clearly people have no taste

It took me a while to decide
but I now think the director
of The New World
deserves an Oscar
and not Ang Lee
for Brokeback Mountain
which was also brilliant

I need to go skiing
I wish the conditions were better

I was so engrossed
in David Sedaris book
on the trolley today
that I missed my stop
and had to walk 12 blocks
b/c I was out of tokens
and did not have 2 dollar bills

it was cold out

ok, I need sleep
NYC tomorrow

tire and auto

New scheme
I call it: Citron.
I was going to do Indigo
b/c it's my power color
but I thought we all could use
some brightness

new brakes and new tires
and inspected for another year
makes driving fun!

I doused myself in Creed
at $180 a bottle
an hour later
I came out of the garage
smelling of cheap cigarettes
and exhaust
and that was just from the waiting room!

an old friend wants to meet for coffee
what to wear?

I said I was going to forget it all
and move on
but I lied
and now I don't see your name
on my buddy list anymore
and you haven't blogged in over a week

and I'm worried.

Ok, driving to Philly now
have to hit Wal-Mart
and Lord and Taylor
to exchange some things

South WB, tea, and Mumbai

Kelly cut my hair today
she gave me some layers
we're keeping it long for now
I say "we're"
b/c my hair decisions
are always a collective agreement
between Kelly and me
My hair is a team effort

Kelly and Me had a great convo!
we talked about Project Runway
her friends million dollar house
and the drug bust across the street

and then the topic segued to
how the neighborhood has changed
and it's true
it has
a very good friend of mine
was mugged
by a white, college aged, preppy dressed 20 something
in broad daylight
on N. Main Street
it's ridiculous

all for drugs

worthless

I met this friend
for tea today
we exchanged christmas presents

I signed on
to design another set
probably against my better judgment
but it's for Les Liasons Dangereuse
and the director wants
a particularly interesting
and intricate floor
so he asked me to design the show
so design it I will
but I have no time to devote
to painting or constructing

but at least I get design credit

Mikhail's mother
BEGS me to come to Bombay
everytime I speak to her
a very kind, gracious woman
I love her dearly

"Mark, whenever you are in Mumbai
you MUST come stay with us,
you are always welcome,
my family is your family"

I love the way she always puts it
"whenever you are in Mumbai"
I love that
like it's Chicago or something

Mumbai is Indian for Bombay
I think we've discussed this before

well, she's getting her wish
I'm calling USAir tomorrow
cashing in mom's air miles

Mikhail has promised to take me:
- to Agrah to see the Taj Mahal
- to Goa, which is the Indian equivalent
of Miami, so I'm told;
basically, a lot of beach parties with alcohol
- skiing in the Himalayas, oh you bet your ass
- to Jaipur so I can stock up
on Indian Textiles

which is all fine and good
but all I really want to see
are cobras.

a long time ago
I wanted to be a Herpetologist
I love reptiles

I spent 3 hours
last week at the Frog exhibit
at the Academy of Natural Sciences

I watched a chinese monkey frog
for 35 minutes
waiting for him to eat the cricket

no, cobras are not the only thing I want to see

India has recently begun to fascinate me
and of course it is because of Mikhail

Mikhail does not realize
just how exotic India really is
to an American

well, it's just about as exotic
as you can get

now, how do I politely ask Mikhail
if it's safe to drink their water?

catchin' up

I've always depended
on the kindness of strangers

ok, not so much strangers
as my old roomates
2 floors below me
with high speed internet

I still haven't hooked mine up

there were so many things
that happened this week
that I thought
"Must blog about this"

but I have forgotten them all.

Except Brokeback Mountain
which I saw
and it was, true to form,
perfection.

I can't say anymore than that
it was too too good.
and heartbreaking

oh, Tuesday was Ben Franklin's Birthday
he turned 300 years old
Philadelphia was turned upside down
for the big 3 0 0

I went to the Ben Franklin underground museum
to sort of pay my respects - I'm weird like that
I thought "I have to do something
Ben related today"

so I was already in Old City
so I drug Alyson underground with me

and no one was there.

How rude!

didn't anyone know it was his BIRTHDAY?

Well Ben, I still love you
at any rate

Ryan says he visits
once every 2 weeks

surprises me a little
since he doesn't COMMENT

which he just admitted to me
is "Prolly cause I'm drunk when I read it"

as one can tell
the bond between old roomates
is still so powerful
that it compels one to visit when drunk

Bin Laden
what a cunt.

this apartment
has ripped underwear
hanging from the ceiling
sort of a trophy collection

a wegie collection, so I'm told

my boys haven't changed a bit.

That power color thing
surprisingly true
I was shocked

even the part about relationships
surprisingly true
I was not shocked

for me now, it's fine
but if I ever wanted to change that
could I?
well, now I don't care to
I really don't
I'm very content

I just got freedom -
I just got a home

really, that will hold me
for a long time

I also need to stop caring so damn much
the level of caring
that I ever intend to give is a lot lower
than what I end up giving
and it's exhausting me

And excuses are intolerable to me anymore
I don't want excuses
I just want the electricity in my bedroom fixed

on that note -
it was fixed today
a week and a day
after I complained
and 5 hours after I told them
they had 24 hours to fix it
or else I was deducting 100 dollars
for every day they waited

amazing, this society of ours
threaten with money
and everything seems to go your way
awfully fast.

My Power Color

My Power Color Is Indigo

At My Highest: I am on a fast track to success - and others believe in me. At My Lowest: I require a lot of attention and praise. In Love: I see people as how I want them to be, not as how they are. How I'm Attractive: My dramatic flair makes others see me as mysterious and romantic. My Eternal Question: "Does This Work Into My Future Plans?"

What's Your Power Color?

baby it's cold outside

Voi Che Sapete
Is the most perfect aria
I just love it
Le Nozze de Fiagro

Philadelphia Opera company
is performing it
in April

I'll be there.
Mozart
perfection

my my
how the winter changes
in my day
we never had 55 degree weather
drop to 12 degrees overnight

El Nino.
fucking El Nino
Global Warming

just wait
we'll all be dead in 5 years
The Day After Tomorrow

Gross Pointe Blank
is a horrible movie

The Dog Show was on tonight
also the Golden Globes
basically - they're the same thing

I didn't watch either
I'll see the dresses
next week in People Magazine
and in 2 months in Vogue
and I'll be fine

got a call
from a blast from the past
WAY WAY Past

4 years past
and he lives in Philly now
we talked
wierdness

another late night
Back to Philly tomorrow
lots to do
gotta make myself a home

And I need potted palms!

Scent of the Day: Cartier Declaration Bois Bleu

move in day

me and the fam
moved my furniture to my apartment
it was actually fun
Mom likes the place
how could she not?
it's charming!

then we went to Neiman Marcus
and I emerged smelling
like a french whore
with a bag full of more samples
and a 3.4 oz. bottle
of Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir.
beauty in a bottle

upstairs at Hermes
where the salesman
kept giving me the eye
I walked out with another bag
filled with every sample of fragrance
that Hermes makes
men and womens
and all I asked for
was another sample of sur le Nil.

the guy thought I was cute
I hit paydirt
what can I tell ya?

My fragrance obsession is just getting worse
I am HARDCORE now
I am on a mission, it seems
to keep adding

now I want to get a piece of furniture
just for my collection
how sick is that?
tall cabinet with glass doors
and glass shelves
oh, I've thought about this

King of Prussia
what fun!

shelley winters died
poseidon adventure
85 years old
sad

another sad thing
I had to bribe my mother
with King of Prussia
and a Lancome eyeshadow
to get her to come today
to help me move in
clearly she loves me not

tomorrow
I have designs to finalize
construction plans to finalize
a supplies list and cost to finalize
painting elevations to finalize
and a production schedule to construct

Annie Get Your Gun
is turning into
Annie, Hand me your gun

no, I'm not going to complain
I'm so sick of complaints
all I hear anymore
is complaints

I enjoy what I do
be it amateur or professional
it's important to me
but sometimes I procras..well not sometimes
I procrastinate and I can be lazy
there I've said it,
happy?

tomorrows goal: Be Productive

Scents of the Day:
started out wearing L'Anarchiste by Caron Paris
ended the day wearing:
Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone
Grapefruit Cologne by Jo Malone
Black Vetyver Cafe by Jo Malone
Orange Blossom by Henri Bendel
Dior Homme by Dior
Epicea by Creed
Royal Scottish Lavender by Creed
Fleurs de The Rose Bulgare by Creed

and yes,
I had room for every SINGLE one of them!

dream until today

Dreamgirls
at Prince Music Theatre
was the definition
of incredible.

simple
dramatic
perfect

It really is
musical theatre royalty

I made Alyson go with me
she hesitated
she loved it.

she's also reading this

hi Alyson

My Apartment needs
SOO Much shit

Mikhail
is a funny funny person
a lot of this is new to him
god love him

he's not the handiest of men
I fixed the medicine cabinet
because you know I'm so butch
all I did was bend the little metal thingie
so the dor would stay shut
it didn't even require
a tool of any sort.

today he asked me if he could use a plate
because I bought them.

I'm not used to manners of this nature
these are foreign manners
far better than American manners

we're going to have a good time
I just know it.

Scent of the Day: Cuir de Russie from the Rue Cambon Collection by Chanel

bill this!

I just got a bill
for tests
at a hospital I've never been to

from a year and a half ago

so I called them and told them

A) I've never had this done,
so I'm not paying

and B) If you waited
a year and half to send me a bill
obviously you don't need the 119 dollars.
And I'm not paying!

what cunts.

Life As We Know It

is out on DVD
this show
changed my life last year

I actually scheduled my life
around this show

and then they cancelled it

it was remarkable

so real and so well written

now it's changing my sleeping patterns

I was up till 4.

fast food

is an addiction of mine

my favorite is Arbys
it's frankly, all I think about
it consumes my thoughts
I wake up
first thing I think about
is Arbys.

But it does not stop there
Wendys is convenient, open late

Burger King is fun
but they changed their chicken tenders

Long Johns is right under Arbys
and the service I got there yesterday
was the best ever.
And they usually have the longest wait

Arthur Treachers was better than Long Johns
but Arthur Treachers no longer exists.
But I managed to find one
in a small food court
on 8th Ave in Manhattan
but they only have fish
and I love the chicken

McDonalds, however
while open 24 hours
is the worst
their food is always stale
not fresh
and today
the lady fucked up my order

now because I'm lazy
I do drive-through
because thats what it's for -
lazy people
like me

so today I order a number -
well I forget what number it was
it was chicken nuggets, that I remember

so I pay, get my food, start eating my fries

about 10 miles later my fries are gone
I reach for my nuggets
and pull out a McFish sandwich

I was so furious
I threw it out the window

I know I know
The environment and all
well the environment can wait
I littered out of anger
officer.

They fucked up my order
and it was too late to drive back
and complain

and for what?
for stale old luke warm
chicken mcnuggets?

I think not.

so I chucked the fish
onto Route 11

I think I'm about through
with McDonalds

----------

Scent of the Day: Jo Malone London, Grapefruit Cologne
and Royal Water by CREED

morning

did I miss something?
why does Marth Stewart
have red hair?

sad morning
miners

my grandfather
was in a mining accident
terrible
burned very badly
still alive today
suffering
with black lung

can't walk 3 feet
without oxygen

I respect miners
In a way it's my heritage

I'm off to the movies now
Munich
and The Family Stone

Scent of the Day: Bond No. 9 Eau de New York and Little Italy

Kelly

My darling Kelly
tomorrow
a day at Cinemark

just like old times

I think
of all the times in High School
I have some of the fondest memories
with Kelly

we used to skip school and do this
start early in the morning
then spend the whole day at Cinemark

and then sometimes
illegal as it was
make it back in time for Play Practice

we were sneaky bitches

kindred spirits, we
though how she did better in calc
I'll never know
thank god she let me cheat

even though she was in Mrs. Hall's
Kindergarten class
we've been friends just about forever

my sister

my Eliza


--------
Scent of the Day: Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil and Creed Original Vetiver

amen

There were protesters on the train platform handing out pamphlets on the
evils of America. I politely declined to take one. An elderly woman was
behind me getting off the escalator and a young (20ish) female protester
offered her a pamphlet, which she politely declined.

The young protester put her hand on the old woman's shoulder as a gesture
of friendship and in a very soft voice said, "Lady, don't you care about the
children of Iraq?"

The old woman looked up at her and said, "Honey, my father died in France
during World War II, I lost my husband in Korea, and a son in Vietnam.

All three died so you could have the right to stand here and bad mouth
our country. If you touch me again, I'll stick this umbrella up your ass and
open it!"

~God Bless America~