The Comfy Corner

So I suppose it is not unusual for an actor to have a set pre-show ritual that they go through before every performance. Perhaps it helps to be grounded or maybe it's just superstition of some sort (DON'T DRINK MILK BEFORE YOU SING!). I do not have any sort of pre-show ritual. I don't wear special underwear on opening night, I drink lots of milk all the time, and I'm pretty sure I've said "Macbeth" backstage before and nothing dramatic happened. There is a kid in the show I'm in now, though, Ethan, who has a pretty awesome pre-show ritual. He's 11, and he is going to be a star. This is what he told me:

"Well, as soon as I get home from school I do all of my homework really fast and, it must be fate or something, but I never get a lot of homework on opening nights. Then, I sit down and watch mindless stick figure violence videos on my computer for an hour." Ethan is really into making these awesomely violent stick figure videos "Then, I listen to my playlist and take a nap."

"Do you have a special playlist just for opening nights?"

"Duh, of course."

Ethan, you're great. And I'm pretty sure if I implemented this pre-show ritual into my daily life, I would be a more successful human being.

It seems to me that all the frowns get turned upside down in more than ways than one once the cold weather hits Boston. In the summer time in Boston it is not uncommon to see lots of beautiful people (including beautiful shirtless men running around the park with their little puppies, yes please) and families milling about enjoying the sunny weather and laughing whilst eating candy apples and sipping cranberry spritzers. But once that cold breeze descends upon the city and the sun hides it's bright face behind dark rain clouds, everything takes a turn for the worst. Especially - fashion.

In the summertime, people seem to make a point to shop for nice clothes and find things that are bright and interesting looking to wear. I saw a lot of cute skirts, nice shorts, brightly colored tanks, fancy sunglasses, fashionable flip flops, sporty running shoes etc. But the microsecond winter breathes its icy breath upon the city, everyone goes "fuck it" and they pull out whatever it takes to keep them warm no matter how ugly it is or how many fasion faux pas they are committing.

Luckily, there seems to me a mutual understanding among the citizens of Boston that no one needs to look good in the winter time. So I fully commit to this fashion philosophy and I throw on my most bland clothing every day of the week so that I can just keep the wind from touching my sensitive, Asian skin. I even have this crazy hood that covers my entire face except for my eyes. And I don't hesitate a minute putting it on. So, in the end, I think it's a good thing that fashion takes a turn for the worst, but it makes people-watching a lot less interesting. And that, I believe, is why I am ready to graduate.

Napping is one of the most frustrating things for me. I have 8am classes four days out of the week so I take regular naps during the day, but very rarely are they actually refreshingly perfect. i.e. On a scale of Khloe to Kim they're usually a Khloe. Here are some of my criteria for the perfect nap.

1) Must be under an hour - in my experience, if I sleep half an hour, I wake up refreshed and feeling like a million bucks. If I sleep an hour or more, I feel like Meryl Streep after she fell down the stairs in "Death Becomes Her."

2) Must be dark and quiet - too often have I tried to nap in the living room and just pass out while the television is on with my face buried in a pillow, but the television always infiltrates my dreams and some loud commercial always wakes me up and I get frustrated.

3) I MUST pee beforehand - this is hands down the most important criterion for a good nap. I have a bladder the size a needle head and if I don't pee before I nap, then I always, without fail, wake up like 10 minutes in, having to pee. And then I pee and can't get back to sleep.

4) Must be comfy - I go all out comfy corner at nap time. Sweatpants, sweatshirt (with the hood on) plethora of big pillows, blankets. I basically make a cocoon. (if you read "cocoon" backwards it kinda reads "nooooo" ... lolz)

5) I can't be hungry- basically for the same reason I have to pee beforehand. My stomach growling always wakes me up from my nap.

At work today, I look down at the floor and see these two silly bandz (I feel weird spelling bands with a "z") conveniently paired together. As far as Halloween goes, this is the scariest thing that happened to me all day. I had to take a picture, but I hope I didn't catch anything...

So after throwing a number of college parties and attending more than I probably remember I have reached some conclusions about how they usually flow at my apartment.

1) The Calm Before the Storm - this is the awkward time before anyone arrives when I'm sitting in my apartment with Vanessa and whoever helped decorate or clean up and we're usually already kinda wasted watching Food Network or "Reba."

2) The Excitement of the First Guest - We rush around, change the music, turn off the TV and cheer for them as they walk in. These are the lucky guests that actually get to enjoy the little bit of food that we are willing to contribute to the party.

3) The First Vomit - This usually happens pretty early in the night. It's the one person who gets a little overzealous with the shots and ends up hugging the toilet before the party really starts.

4) The Mysterious Disappearance - This is when everyone randomly disappears from the dance floor and ends up smoking in the back or just crowding into Vanessa's room.

5) The YouTube DJ / Raucous Dance Party- This is when people decide to abandon the evening's playlist and start playing the songs that they wanna listen to on YouTube. This typically ends with me saving the party, playing DJ, and everyone dancing up a storm.

6) The Beggars - the ones who forgot to bring snacks start begging us for our food. We turn them down and they walk away dejected. Some people go so far as to steal the food (these people are not invited back).

7) The Stragglers - After most people have left to catch the T, we sit on the couch (stoned out of our minds) and wait for the stragglers to leave so we can go to bed. We typically turn off the music and turn on the lights to get this process rollin'.

Alright, it has finally happened! I have made my first YouTube video ya'll! It's gonna be viral over night, I just know it. I feel it (and it was in my horoscope this morning). I decided to sing a song that I really connected with emotionally and sing it in a way that really brought out the lyrics. So I hope ya'll enjoy. NO HATERS! Here it is!

Things I love about fall that are just oh so comfy...

1) pumpkins and everything pumpkin flavored/scented...see pumpkin flavor craze
2) listening to Sam Tsui covers (that's year round actually)
3) soft blankets on the couch
4) sweatshirts again
5) cider and other warm (alcoholic) beverages
6) no more iced coffee cravings
7) cool breezes (not icy death breezes that make tears come out of your eyes)
8) piles of leaves with kids rolling around in them
9) cute families and their puppies (year round)
10) pies
11) the movies "Hocus Pocus" and "Halloweentown"
12) apple picking
13) sweatpants around the house
14) using my comforter again
15) cuddling
16) feel good fall flicks (like "Something's Gotta Give" or "Ten Things I Hate About You")

and finally...

17) COMFY CORNERS! (year round)