The MAnderson Report

four-thousand words

2012-01-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

my year of pictures continues...

january 15, 2012
the fleet

january 16, 2012
i live in a rough neighborhood.

january 17, 2012
the window is speaking to me.

january 18, 2012
something for everyone in the various shops in georgetown.

the unexpected hero

2012-01-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

yesterday, i was walking in georgetown and i stopped into a small candy store that had posted that they were closing and having a clearance sale. don't mind if i do.

as i stepped in, i found myself the only customer in the store, and got a quick hello from the woman in charge who was trying to keep track of her very active grandson, who seemed to be about 4 years old. he would run from the back of the store to the front of the store to the back again, on a never-ending loop, while grandma shouted warnings the entire time, "don't trip!" "watch out for that gentleman!" "not too fast!"

after what seemed like 100 trips back and forth while i scanned the gummis and clusters, the little boy stopped RIGHT beside me and i could feel him starting at me. i turned and said, "well hello there." and he said "you. look. like. BATMAN!" and took off running again.

now i think we can all agree that i look like a LOT of things, but BATMAN would be no where on that list. (and knowing how honest kids can be, i can only be thankful that something else didn't come out of his mouth.) i can't for the life of me think what would possess him to see Batman in me and my layers of black and brown winter clothes, but it was a delightful surprise, nonetheless.

as i left the store, with a new-found desire to fight injustice and protect the unprotected and this little man continuing his laps, i said "see ya, buddy!" and he replied without even missing a beat, "bye BATMAN!"

i'm happy being a superhero for a day...even if it is to just one kid, hopped up on sugar at his grandma's failing candy store.

now, to the bat bus! were did i put my farecard?

picture post

2012-01-14T21:43:00.001-08:00

January 13, 2012
Eddie from Ohio is even good from behind a post.

January 14, 2012
Computer screen....meet floor....

i took an unexpected walk...

2012-01-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

on a unexpected beautiful january day, and found an unexpected gem in a completely unexpected location....and i thought to myself, "i need to take more unexpected walks."

i just might.

seriously, how cool is this thing? at some random office building on 20th street?
start walking...see what you find!

january 12, 2012

2012-01-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

the side of a building tucked away on sunderland place NW between 19th and 20th in washington dc. a nice surprise on a thursday afternoon.

happiness and the law

2012-01-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

part of my reason for re-starting my blog is because when i think back to things over the past 10 years or so that have made me happy, i realize that the time i spent blogging, both on my tour and after, was filled with a lot of joy. this year, i decided to focus on being happier in my life (which i think you will see is a common theme going forward.) that's not to say i'm unhappy now - i've had my ups and downs (and 2011 was rife was both), but all things considered, i'm happy and always have been. but i want to take the chance this year to harvest even more happiness in my day to day life.

this idea of happiness has been on my mind a lot this week because i was explaining this 'new outlook on being happy in 2012' to a friend last week and they asked, very honestly, "why is this so important for YOU personally? right now?" and at the time i didn't have the exact answer, but i found the answer earlier this week in the strangest of places.

i was on jury duty monday and tuesday at dc superior courts. now, if you live in washington dc, you know that it's not uncommon to get called to jury duty every 2 years or so. since moving into the city 8 years ago, this was my 4th time being called...but the previous three times, during jury selection, i was released and didn't have to serve. but my luck changed this time...and i was selected to sit on what turned out to be, as far as serving on a jury goes, a pretty light and easy case.

the issue at hand was one count of possession of an illegal substance (for those of you wondering....it was PCP....which does not stand for 'primary care physician' in this case.) the judge in the case was very specific when it came time for us to deliberate and laid out guidelines we were to follow when deciding the defendant's fate. the biggest thing he gave us was the definition of what 'possession' is, according to our legal system. breaking it down, there were 2 possible types of possession: either 'physical possession' which means the drugs are on your actual, physical person (in a pocket, in your hands, on your lap, etc.) at the time of arrest, OR 'constructive possession' which means the drugs are in your immediate area and you have demonstrated the power and intent to USE them at some point.

as we engaged in a rather spirited discussion about this case, i started to realize that in this legal definition of 'possession', i just might have found my answer for my friend. you see, i think that happiness is out there for all of us. we are all going to find it different ways, and it is going to mean different things to each of us, but i have a firm belief that it is one of the most basic, simple reasons we are here. to be happy. we have a father in heaven who loves us unconditionally, and has given us a life full of happiness all around us. the only thing we have to do to cash in on that happiness is to (excuse me for the borrow, nike) just do it. find that happiness in our day to day life and share it with others. it's a pretty basic tenet of living. and it's not a matter of 'physical possession' of happiness - you're not going to leave it in your pocket at night or have to water it to grow it so you can actually pick it - but it's more a case of 'constructive possession.'

to my friend who was wondering: it's important to me right here, right now in my life because i'm finally realizing in my mid-thirties that i can decide each day if i want to be happy, no matter what is going on in the world around me. it is my choice...i have the power and intent and i just have to decide to utilize what is there. and by doing that, by choosing constructive possession, i feel like i am strengthening my relationship with my father in heaven, in a very simple way that i was missing for 37 years. like the days in idaho falls, idaho when i was little, and my dad sat around our living room playing his guitar and singing and sharing his music with me, bringing me closer to him and making me want to be like him (and now having a career for the past 7 years where i have used that gift of music he gave me). music wasn't anything that i could physically possess, but it was around me, and the power of it has always made me think of my dad, and has made me want to be the kind of man he is. so it is with the power of happiness - i want to be happier because i want to be better. i want to be more like my father in heaven. when the time comes for me to return to live with him, i want to be found guilty of unfathomable counts of constructive possession of happiness.

so i am going to turn my mind more to the good. i want to explore more of what makes me happy and focus on sharing my happiness more with those around me. i want to love more, laugh longer, take more pictures, see more cities, catch up with more old friends, make new friends, write more things down, sing louder, dance more often, eat delicious things, and the list goes on and on and on.

in 2012, i want each of us have the power and intent to possess as much happiness as possible.

January 11, 2012
a pin...up close and personal.

ps - we found the dude in the PCP case not guilty. he got lucky the prosecution's case was so weak. he had the power and intent to possess that PCP, but the silly prosecutor couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

another reminder to look UP....the top of the temperance fountain structure in DC where pennsylvania ave, indiana ave and 7th st NW all meet.

a new year...a new outlook

2012-01-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

well hello there, 2012. looks like my old blog is still here...who knows if anyone still checks in here. but that's not what is important. what IS important is that we survived 2011...and i am back to kick my blog back into gear. low? middle? high? i guess only time will tell.

one of my new projects for 2012 is a picture a day. why? because i'm learning that it's making me look at the world around me more often and with new eyes. and after 9 days, i'm loving how the world is looking.

right now, i want to share MY first 9 days of 2012 with you through the pictures i've snapped on my iPhone. 357 photos left! if you're doing the math...remember...it's leap year!

and i'll be back soon to expand on my new year and new endeavors and new thoughts...and probably some old ones, too!

January 9, 2012

a day of jury duty at DC superior courts

January 8, 2012

wacky january weather made for a beautiful sunday in DC.

January 7, 2012
a lunch with emily levey is a perfect saturday.

January 6, 2012
sometimes, to find beauty, you just need to look up.

January 5, 2012

sometimes, i just can't believe people on the metro.

January 4, 2012

lights are OUT in glover park for part of the night.

January 3, 2012
a perfect day with josephine block.

January 2, 2012

celebrating new years with dale rainville...as he models some of my handiwork.

January 1, 2012
a new year...a new hobby....

happy new year...and new adventures!

A Video

2011-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick video of our director, Matt August, talking about the show on the first day of rehearsal.

Livin' The Dream....2011 Edition

2011-02-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

friends! family! random followers!

so it's kind of been a long time! last we met, i was traipsing around the vancouver 2010 winter games in canada, and you were all off on your various adventures. since then, a lot has happened - to all of us, i'm sure - but what has brought me back to the blogosphere is a new show i started working on a week ago. i thought it was something big enough and exciting enough to get the blog out of the closet and dust it off - and give you all a front row seat to this latest adventure.

so - remember THIS? in the summer of 2008, i worked on a workshop of a new musical that ford's theatre was developing and thinking about doing. fast forward to 2011, and that workshop has turned into a full-blown production, and that production is now in full-blown rehearsals, and we are slowly but soundly marching towards our first preview of this world premiere on march 23rd! opening night is march 30th! the show is called LIBERTY SMITH - and the quick explanation is that it's basically a character like forrest gump - who meets the american revolution. and hilarity ensues. naturally. and since you're dying to know, i play the role of that ol' statesman, sam adams - as well as a slew of other characters throughout the show!

it's been an exciting first week! on our first day, last friday the 11th, we did a read/sing through, and it was fun to see everyone - meet all the folks who are new to me and see the group of good ol' friends who are in the show - and hear the script with everyone reading it. a lot of the music is the same from when we did the workshop - and one of my favorite songs is still in place. i found myself especially touched by it that day, for i'm sure of a variety of reasons. the song is called 'i was here' - and is sung by the title character. part of that song says:

people will say i'm an innocent fool,
living my life for a dream.
i'll never listen to those who will doubt,
living a dream is what life's all about.

all i'm saying is that it struck a chord with me that day. that's all. it just reminded me of this crazy journey of being LTD - of living the dream!

anyway, since we started, there have been costume fittings, music rehearsals, marching with guns, sword fight staging, staircase rollings, homemade pop tarts, baby tossings, a really long country ball, and we are still just in the first week! the cast is fantastic, the creative team has an incredible vision of the show, and the ford's staff has been amazingly professional and so easy to work with! after a few....shall i say 'challenging' show experiences, this is a delightful and welcome change.

so come follow the process of watching this world premiere musical go up at ford's theatre - as seen from my perspective. i'm excited to be on this journey - and hope to bring you all a glimpse into the magic and excitement of it all....this Little Bit of History!!!!!

first day - cast around the table listens to the director and other designers explain the look of the production.

Top: our enthusiastic director, matt, explains the set. Bottom: my dear friend, donna, looks at the costume designs.

L: lauren gets her rehearsal skirt on with the coaching help of michael. R: gia shows off her marie antoinette skirt.

a couple of scenes from staging the opening number of the show. liberty (geoff) on his knee in the top picture.

celebrate ireland

2010-02-26T00:55:00.000-08:00

yesterday, the 24th, was the birthday of one of the sellers in my box office, joanna. joanna is from dublin, ireland - and is here in canada working and traveling for a year...and has ended up working for the games...and has been such a fun addition to our cypress mountain staff! our box office had a surprise little birthday party for her...and we made it a red-n-white celebration, in honor of her celebrating her birthday in canada!!!!

colleen shows off our mad decorations.

more decorations.

the incredible cake.

joanna walks in and is totally surprised.

joanna inspects her canada cake!

the party of the century.

joanna attempting to cut her cake.

lessons from norway

2010-02-26T00:15:00.000-08:00

the other night, after we were done with another fun day up at cypress, i went with 2 co-workers to a chain here in vancouver called 'boston pizza.' we went to watch the canada/germany men's hockey game...and it was a lively, spirited crowd that had assembled in the bar to watch the game.

the two guys in the picture above were two of the most vocal people in the room (and clearly the most active, as you see them standing on their chairs, drinking and watching the game.) they were both from norway - and were in the bar celebrating their country picking up a medal in women's ski cross. but as the game started, these guys started chanting and cheering, "WE LOVE CANADA!" over and over and over again - walking around and getting others to cheer and clap and celebrate, as well. then they came to the table behind us that was full of russians...and when they found this out, they changed their tune to, "WE LOVE RUSSIA!" over and over and over again...getting that table into the cheering. they even found the lone german, sitting at the bar, in his german-flag-colored suspenders and his german flag draped over his chair (dejected, because his team was getting clobbered), and starting chanting with him, "WE LOVE GERMANY!" over and over and over again.

i sat back and watched these norwegians working the room, professing their love of every country they came in contact with - and really believing that they did, INDEED, love all these countries - and it struck me that these guys are what the olympic experience is all about. they aren't athletes....they aren't coaches...they aren't here competing for a gold medal and endorsement deals. they are part of the spectating masses that have come to connect to the world they live in, in whatever way they know how. (this night, it just happened to be over hockey and pizza and beer and standing on chairs...but it varies from location to location.)

i came to vancouver thinking i couldn't love the olympics anymore...but thanks to experiences like the ones with the fans from norway, or with the awesome dutch fans who have let me get pictures with them and laugh with them, or with the aussies standing in line while it sleets as we sing and clap and cheer, i have found an increased capacity to love the olympics in my life.

and knowing it makes me want to stand on the table and shout, "WE LOVE OLYMPICS!" for everyone in the bar to hear.

olympic sights

2010-02-22T23:53:00.001-08:00

enjoy some images from the past 11 days....

me and the swiss curling team. i helped get them into the men's aerials, and they were overjoyed. i got a picture and a swiss curling team pin!

we see so many crazy fans outside our box office...and this was a particular favorite today!

a shot of the "controversial" australia flag on the side of the olympic village.

me, on cambie bridge, post-US hockey win (over canada)...science world all lit up in the back.

the view of the crowd watching the hockey game with me. total count? 3 americans and 4 billion canadians.

a team USA fan - walking the streets along granville...loving the fans...

me at pacific colliseum....after the first night of ice dancing.

a look down from our suite to the ice and the rest of the colliseum.

ben bennet, quatchi and i...kickin' it in vancouver...

a look at the full half-pipe.

loving some team USA fans in the stands!!!

me and halfpipe...old friends...

the ticketing staff from CYPRESS - on our venue walk-through....

me, out front of BC place. getting ready to go into the opening ceremonies. amazing.

me with my drum of goodies AND white poncho at the opening ceremonies...

some fans from ghana stop for a quick picture!!!

i mean....i love the dutch fans. how could you not?

a practice day in the fog.

2 more dutch fans. they rock.

amazing....eh?

olympic-size lessons

2010-02-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

wow. so....i dropped the ball on THIS! hahaha. february 11th was really my last post? i could've sworn it was later than that. but the MAnderson Report doesn't lie...so it looks like i haven't reported in here since....well, before the games began. if blogging about the olympics were an olympic event, i would've been DQ'd long ago.

so i have tons of stories and pictures to share...but today, to catch you up, i just wanted to share some quick lessons that i have learned over the past week+ of being part of the games...and look forward to the next week and what lessons lay in store.

lesson 1: no matter how many times you've seen one on tv, there is nothing like sitting in the crowd for an opening ceremonies...especially that MOMENT when the host nation walks in. i just got goose-pimples again thinking about it. as cheesy as it sounds, i will cherish that night forever.

lesson 2: i always thought i loved american patriotism...and i do...but i have learned here that i just love 'patriotism' - american or canadian or ghanian or whatever nationality. i have been choked up more than once at these games seeing someone express their love of their country in the myriad of ways people choose. i love learning this lesson....again and again....

lesson 3: i have learned that the energy and excitement of the olympic games will compensate for the extreme tiredness and sleepless mornings and nights that come with a job like this. even if i went to bed at 1am and have to wake up at 3:30am to catch a 4:30am bus up the mountain, there is an energy that fills me and makes living this schedule for 2 weeks possible. i would like to bottle and sell it.

lesson 4: i love both the idea and the execution of the idea behind the $2 coin. i love it. more than once i have thought, not feeling any paper cash in my pocket, "UGH! I am out of money again except for some stupid change!" only to pull the 'stupid change' out and realize there is like $18 in there...thanks to the genius of the $2 coin. i will love it forever.

lesson 5: there is nothing wrong with french fries and gravy. nothing. i've tried to think of something...and there is nothing.

lesson 6: i never had a real thought on scalpers before this event...except that i think they were always a bit shady in my mind. i come away from this HATING them. H to the A to the T to the E. Scalpers are pure evil in the form of disgusting humans and should be banished from the earth.

lesson 7: this is all moving too fast. imagine how you feel when you say, "it's already february 21st? this month is moving too fast." now speed that feeling of fast up like.....times 10...and you will begin to understand how fast this is moving. it suuuuuucks!!!!

lesson 8: i have loved learning that there are other people - many other friends and family out there - who are fans of the olympics like me! it has been amazing sharing this with you all!!!!

there is a handful of my lessons for today. i am going to make a real effort to finish up strong this next week with posts and pictures and stories and fun - because i don't want to forget ANY part of this amazing experience!

the agony of defeat

2010-02-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

tonight i went to yaletown to see the last official 'community celebration' of the 106 day torch relay. tomorrow night the torch will enter the olympic stadium and kick off the games. so awesome. the big draw tonight was to see canada's own, the velvety-voiced michael buble, as he carried the torch.

well...michael buble really runs fast. it threw me for a loop. and my pretty normal ability to get an important picture in the clutch was thrown out the window. here is the best shot i got:

see the blue triangle under the blob/flame on the left? yeah - that's his arm. holding his torch. pretty amazing skill. i know. (and if you squint, and imagine, you can see his red glove wrapped around the torch.) here is the OTHER good shot i got of him....from roughly one million miles away:

and then after realizing my failure, i felt christy and anais giving me the dirtiest looks EVER because i had MISSED the perfect shot. (we were literally 2 feet from him as he ran by.) but at least i had my camera in hand here...and snapped a picture of them in front of the crowd.

i'll get you next time, michael buble!

unbelievable 24 hours!

2010-02-11T00:55:00.001-08:00

so friends....the past 24+ hours has been such an incredible span of time. everywhere you look around this city, the level of excitement and pride and anticipation is on full display! yesterday (tuesday) i spent the morning at the olympic family hotel, helping the new ticket sellers for that venue get settled in and ready to start work. the olympic family hotel is basically the hotel that all the IOC members and many of the national olympic committees from around the world stay. there was such an exciting energy to be there and see them all greeting each others and watching as the different countries were sighted throughout the lobby!

me and the hall of flags at the olympic family hotel.

after that, i headed out to the VANOC headquarters for some managers training - and while we were there, it was mentioned that the OLYMPIC FLAME would be coming to make a special appearance for the vancouver olympic committee's families and friends. SO OF COURSE i had to stay to see the torch arrive! and while we waited, i got to meet 2 of the mascots and get pictures, and laugh with some new friends and FEEL the excitement build in a crowd comprised of many people who have been working on this dream for 8 years or more!

VANOC CEO carries the torch. so. awesome.

after the torch evening, which was just incredible....and i'm not even going to try to explain because words would fail me....they were offering the chance to get a picture with the flame (in a lantern) so i waited a bit but the lines were ridiculous so i ended up heading out to catch the bus. at the bus stop, i started chatting with a really nice couple, close to my age, and we were talking about the games and the event we had just been at (after we realized we were both at the same torch event) and different things about vancouver and washington dc. we continued our conversation on the bus, and were having a great time, and i mentioned a friend of mine here who is dealing with all the US athletes each day - getting them checked in and dealing with some big names....and the gal said, 'yeah....but did she get to hold a silver medal today?' and then in a strange twist of thought that went something like this: "what? a silver medal? what are you.....WAIT A MINUTE DID YOU JUST PULL A SILVER MEDAL OUT OF YOUR POCKET!?!?!?!?!?" come to find out, sister was at the torch ceremony as a 'past olympian' and is pretty much a big deal. she was a rower - won silver in the women's eights race in 1996 in atlanta. I. WAS. DYING. torch. mascots. medal! amazing.

i mean come on! perfect ending to an incredible day!!!

and to top it all off - tonight i ended up watching a good portion of the final dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies. i mean - THE OPENING CEREMONIES!? of the OLYMPICS!? WHAT!? it's true. i pinched myself - and i pinched again - and it kept coming back to me. indeed - this is all real. and has been such a fantastic experience so far!

now we are down to one day left until vancouver 2010 is under way...and i won't give anything away...but i will say this....congrats, canada! you should be pretty darn proud!!!!! and thank you for being an INCREDIBLE host!

the ads for the gloves.

fun friend sherry was a torch bearer last week! here we are showing off her special-grip gloves for the torch relay!

new pals danielle, miga and i celebrate. me and quatchi having a blast together!

2 of my favorite VANOC'ers: danielle and paul!

the countdown clock when i walked by this evening....

wordless wednesday - olympic-style

2010-02-10T00:31:00.001-08:00

the heart of it all

2010-02-09T06:24:00.001-08:00

so yesterday, i was asked to open the new box office at Canada Hockey Place (CHP) - that one is pretty self-explanatory as to what is going on there during the games - and so i got a chance to be right down in the middle of the heart of the games here in vancouver! CHP is right next door to the BC Place and directly across the water from the olympic village - so it's a vibrant, busy, exciting, electric area of the games! (especially with the mass arrival of so many athletes just 2 days ago...) it really feels like the main central place to be!!!!

the mcdonald's right outside the athlete village.

looking across a little lake to the athlete's village. (if you turned to the RIGHT from where i took this, you would see BC Place, aka the Olympic Stadium, and Canada Hockey Place. so it's all right down there together.)

the big magic globe of sochi. (you'll see it in future pictures.) sochi is the host of the 2014 winter olympics - and they have set up a 'sochi expo' at the science world here.

looking across the water to BC Place (Olympic Stadium) and Canada Hockey Place (on the far right....)

to the right of Canada Hockey Place is the Quebec Cube. (each of the provinces and territories of canada will have an expo-y type place....)

looking back across the lake to 'sochi expo' (at science world) and the olympic village...with a slight color-accented (blue) subtle approach.

the 'Q' of the quebec cube...up close and personal.

an inflatable welcome globe.

some innuit rock art along the banks of the water.

just art.

looking at BC Place and Canada Hockey Place from the box office.

the only photo from "inside" the stadium...for now. this made me laugh at first sight..but then i learned that is how the french write money...and since english and french are the official languages of the games, everything is written in both formats. but MAN - at first i thought, THAT is some expensive vitamin water.

fun new friend, sherry!!! who carried the torch last week!!! LUCKY!

sherry and i add in fun new friend, danny!!! and 3 port-a-potties!!!!

looking back down the water towards the Q-cube, and 'sochi expo', with a few residential buildings in the middle, as the sun sets and the lights come on.

'sochi expo' turns on the lights and charm.

getting a little darker from the same place.

ME! celebrating being in the heart of it all...

the Q-cube, all lit up!

looking back towards BC Place and Canada Hockey Place and the Q-cube, as i finish my day and head to the skytrain station.

a fine mess

2010-02-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

so i'm always a little emotional at different times during the olympics...for varying reasons...almost always because i'm touched or inspired or thrilled or every other emotion that comes with the stories that make up the games. but i have a feeling that this year, it's probably going to be a little bit more intense, for obvious reasons.

which is why, on a rainy sunday afternoon in vancouver, i'm in tears sitting here watching this music video of the official theme song of the 2010 games - put with images from the torch relay across canada. i love patriotism in whatever color flag it comes in! and specifically, i love the passion that canada has for these games!!!

i believe, too, canada! your games are going to be amazing...and i'm going to be a mess for large portions of the 17 days! it's an honor to be the smallest of parts of vancouver 2010!

various vancouver shots

2010-02-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

just a splattering of shots i've taken in and around vancouver the past few days....

the reflection of that big canadian flag in the building across the street from it.

approaching downtown vancouver on the seabus.

seabus.

seabus.

seabus.

a beautiful morning looking towards downtown vancouver.

a close-up of the picture above.

looking down the street to canada place...which will serve as the main media center for the games.

looking up the stairs at robson square towards the art museum.

the banners and box office, with bc place (the olympic stadium) in the background.

more vancouver 2010 banners.

still more banners.

bc place. let the games begin, i say.

three magic words

2010-02-05T00:23:00.000-08:00

fries. gravy. cheese.

those 3 things combined create the quebec specialty known as 'poutine'. and there is just no way to adequately describe the experience of having it. new friend, josee (a quebec native), and i went to a local joint here in vancouver to check out their take on poutine...me for the first time, and josee as a seasoned expert. and we both left with 2 enthusiastic thumbs UP!

canadian bacon AND poutine? i could get used to this country.

i found this place after doing some online research for poutine in the vancouver area. it was said to be the 2nd best place in the greater vancouver area to get poutine - but the first was way too far out for 2 adventurers with no car.

i present to you: POUTINE. ooooooohhhhhhh. aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

josee gets a taste of home. poutine. a montreal smoked meat sandwich. and a canada dry ginger ale.

photographic art i like to call: ode to canada.

me...out front...post-poutine and happy with life.

wordless wednesday - olympic-style

2010-02-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

i'm official!

2010-02-02T19:14:00.001-08:00

so monday...i got my accreditation for the games. so that means....i am officially living an olympic dream...and the vancouver olympic committee has said it is now OK for me to be living it. thank goodness! (it also means i can take buses and trains for free just by flashing it...so that's officially awesome, too.)

enjoy some shots from my trip to accreditation....

fellow box office supervisor friend, josee, and i...showing our cards.

this is what we call my 'convict look'. so hot. BUT - in my defense - they were not allowing smiles and NOT allowing teeth to show. whatev. i'm a bad ass, as the picture depicts. so deal.

me. moments after....showing how pleased i am to be done!

more of me....happy to be accredited.

me and the mascots celebrate. let my games officially begin!

a day in whistler

2010-02-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

good fortune shone on me sunday, and allowed me some free time to make a day trip up to whistler with my friends, darren and ty. someone forgot to tell the sun that we were coming, so 90% of our trip was fogged in. lots and lots of fog. so instead of taking the tram and seeing the mountains, we really just saw the village and the people. but it was awesome! and luckily, because i am learning on this trip that 'the secret' works, we were blessed with an appearance by the sun for the last 10% of our trip - and the pictures tell the story!

i am here to testify that the excitement and electricity that is building in vancouver extends all the way up to whistler - where a majority of the mountain events will happen - 2 hours north of the city!

enjoy the pictures from the day!!!!

me. vancouver 2010. nothing new here.

me outside the box office at whistler village. i am the one in the black coat.

L-R: ty. miga. quatchi. darren.

a couple of looks up to the faintest hint of the fog clearing over the village.

me and the mascots in the vancouver 2010 superstore! and i LOVE this picture of me. i'm not quite sure why - except i just look really happy.

i love how companies in canada work the maple leaf in. cute idea, canada.

this is called a "sign" in canada.

me. posing in front of....some building and no line. weird.

darren and i at the bottom of one of the ski hills.

looking up the ski hill.

matt. mama bear. cub. friends.

ty tames the bear.

um....scenery.

ty, darren and i posing. in some covered bridge.

me taking a break....catchin' some rays.

me...unhappy that i'm being bothered.

ty throwing snowballs.

clearly, i decided to punch darren in the head. and darren thought it sounded like a funny idea.

friends again! post-head-punch.

CELEBRATE WHISTLER!!!

another peak of the fog lifting...and a hint of the mountains that lie underneath.

i know that's what they call it, but i giggle everytime i see 'sliding sports.' hahaha. i just did it again.

i love the distinct fog line that cuts this picture (and mountain) in half.

more lifting fog....

looking up to the bottom of the run where they will be doing alpine skiing in creekside.

the official creekside signage.

the official creekside creek.

more mountains and snow and fog.

more signage.

christy and anais enjoy some of the scenery...and fog...

and then the 3 of us decided to set the timer and take a shot...although christy kept insisting she would take this one. i insisted NOT!

more of the clearing sky.

the arrival of the sun - on our way down from whistler.

full sun-mode at this point.

I. LOVE. BRITISH. COLUMBIA.

i mean....really? beautiful. beyond beautiful.

me...happy to see the sun.

artsy-fartsy attempt. just call me ansel.

hooray for whistler trip!

ty celebrated, too!

more pretty stuff.

hooray for the perfect day!!!

more olympic shots around town

2010-01-31T19:55:00.001-08:00

so on saturday, after my first day of working will call at a box office downtown vancouver, i walked around the city and snapped some more shots of canadian pride on display for the arrival of the world!!!! enjoy!!!

some eye glass store. no words, really.

the outside of the hudson bay company department store downtown.

window display at HBC.

another HBC window.

and another.

some cool art downtown.

more art.

art in the streets.

ouch.

artsy play with the rings.

um...sign.

another sign.

the official countdown clock and that huge flag again.

the outside of the art museum.

another building gets all dolled up.

field trip!

2010-01-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

friday, i took a FIELD TRIP!!! i went with 3 VANOC employees up to check out how things are coming along at my venue: cypress mountain!!! for those of you who haven't heard, vancouver is dealing with unseasonably warm temperatures...and that is extending up the mountain in west vancouver to cypress mountain...where olympians will be snowboarding, moguling and aerialing. it was fun to get up to my actual venue to see the work that is going on just 2 weeks before the games open!

this is looking at 2 of the runs up at cypress that aren't being used...and you can see there is a lot of brown in spaces i'm sure the games organizers were hoping for lots of white.

this is looking up at the back of the grandstand at the snowboarding venue. and this grandstand is the BIGGEST GRANDSTAND ever...it is ridiculously big. and awesome.

this is one of the many 'snow movers' that are working around the clock to get what snow there is (and what snow they can truck in) to the proper runs at both stadiums up at cypress.

our trek through the gritty, gray snow up to the grandstand....

we're getting closer...and then are faced with miles and miles (or so it seemed) of stairs. so. many. blasted. stairs.

looking from the grandstand up to the snowboard half-pipe (on the left) and the snowboard cross & parallel giant slalom course (on the right.)

and then...the helicopters started flying in bales of straw.

and they just kept coming. notice the straw at the base of the grandstand seating. they are filling the area with straw, and then they will start dumping the snow they are trucking in OVER the straw. and that, folks, is called the "NO SNOW" contingency plan.

the top of the run...with the rings on the right...and the snow machine cutting out the half-pipe on the left. making of the olympics...in action. so cool.

look back up over the grandstand.

me posing with the straw. OH! and you can see the snow-making machine back up to the left. it's the gray box with the pipe out the top. sadly, it's not cold enough to USE that machine - but it sits there...hoping....

LOOK! another helicopter.

everyone surveying the runs. complete with cool safety hats and vests.

THEY JUST KEPT COMING!

heading back down the stairs of the grandstand.

looking through the middle of the grandstand. artsy. kind of.

looking over to the other runs....again...

so i haven't told you all, but i figured it was time to introduce to you my friends, christy and anais, who came to the games with me. they will be seeing everything that you will be seeing...and we will be documenting it with them posing for pictures around the games! welcome, christy and anais!!!

me, christy and anais with the grandstand in the back.

the freestyle stadium runs. L: the aerials run. R: the moguls run.

looking at the side of the freestyle stadium. i liked the rings.

why i love canada #1

2010-01-29T00:10:00.000-08:00

welcome to the first installment of my newest 'regular feature': why i love canada. through pictures, i'm going to show you little reasons i find to love this place. today's installment is generally for you all, but specifically for heather g & shannon w.

find the magic in this, ladies:

seriously? ALL YEAR!? GOLD MEDAL, canada.
gold medal indeed.....

it begins....

2010-01-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

some sights from my first night in vancouver....
thanks to darren for the brief driving tour and airport pick-up!

biggest. flag. ever.

biggest. flag. ever. again.

the hudson bay company building is decked OUT!

lots of green rings. everywhere.

i love this ad. it is directly outside the exit after you go through customs.

large banners like this all over the airport. but i'll be honest - i expected the airport to be a LOT more decked out than it was. oh well.

my excitement at reagan national airport....before i went through security. the first time. story for another day.

olympic memories

2010-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

so the closer i get to leaving, the more i think back over past winter olypmics and memories i have of watching those events on various televisions throughout my life. a lot of different things come to mind...but the one thing that i think of more than anything else is the post-medal exhibition skate in salt lake city...when michelle kwan, who was hoping to finally grasp the gold in SLC but ended up with the bronze, skated a beautiful exhibition program to eva cassidy's 'fields of gold' - and left her heart on the ice. (figuratively, of course.)

here it is, in all it's youtube glory -

what is YOUR favorite winter olympic memory? COME ON....think......

just how much....

2010-01-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

so i have claimed for a long time that i love the olympics. like.....L to the O to the V to the E them. so that makes this opportunity to actually GO to the city they are being hosted in and working at the Games such an exciting thing for me. i can't believe it's happening - and that i get to be even a small part of the whole experience.

with the start of my Olympic experience just around the corner, i started thinking recently how to adequately explain to people just how MUCH i love them...so they understand what a huge thing this is for me. and that led me to the following list - many items of which i probably should be embarrassed about...and yet...i'm still listing them here. judge if you must....

*i have an album of 90+ national anthems from around the world;

*i have an album titled "NBC presents SUMMON THE HEROES by John Williams" featuring such songs as olympic hymn, bugler's dream and olympic fanfare, the olympic spirit...just to name a few;

*i have an album called "American Journey - Winter Olympics 2002 by John Williams" featuring more olympic-themed music;

*all of these albums are frequently played on my ipod with many of the songs residing in my 'top 50 most played' list;

*i ran a student government campaign in high school around the theme 'go for the gold';

*i have organized and executed (with great participation and success) 3 different 'corporate olympic games' at 2 different companies i have worked for in the past...complete with medals, events, flames, torches, scandals (food poisoning anyone?) and opening and closing ceremonies;

*i had a complete 'atlanta 1996' track suit made for me while i lived in seoul, korea;

*i consider one of the highlights of my tour of 'willy wonka' our stop in colorado springs and my visit to the US olympic training facility;

*i have articles of clothing in my possession to this day from the following olympics: SLC, athens, beijing, atlanta, torino, sydney and vancouver;

*i sill get riled up when i talk about or even think about zola budd vs. mary decker slaney or nancy kerrigan vs. tonya harding;

*i own more than one piece of 'candidate city' clothing from chicago's 2016 bid;

*i had sleepless nights during torino 2006 watching and cheering for curling and cross-country skiing and during beijing 2010 watching and cheering for sailing;

*i stood on the of the track and the infield of the 1988 olympic stadium in seoul, korea and got a little misty-eyed.

* * *
this list could go on and on and on. i do not provide it as a 'my love is greater than your love' argument. i only provide it to show you that finally, after almost 36 years of living and loving the olympics, i am getting a chance to see it all up-close and personal. and my excitement level is getting to a fevered-pitch.

i expect to make the ABSOLUTE most of it all!!!!!

another day closer...

2010-01-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

a dream come true!!!

2010-01-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

the time has come to kick-start this blog!!! and why? because through the randomness of my life, i am leaving in 9 days to head to beautiful vancouver british columbia canada to work at the 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES!!!!!!

this is vancouver. i love it.
and those who really know me KNOW that there are few things i love more than the olympics. (diet coke and.....cheesecake are right up there....)

i'm going to be a box office supervisor at this venue: cypress mountain. this is where they are going to be doing snowboarding, aerials and moguls. so pretty much...the cool, sexy events. which is pretty much why they wanted me to be there.

this is the view from cypress mountain looking down to my home for the next 5 week: vancouver!

* * * * *
i can't wait to start this adventure...and, much like my experience of blogging my months on the road with 'willy wonka', i am going to use this blog as an outlet to tell the stories of what i experience, show the pictures of what i see, and bring the olypmic experience to all of you...since i can't take you all with me.
(how cheesy was that?)
(so cheesy.)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY (takes on a whole new meaning)

2009-08-05T21:27:00.001-07:00

hola lulu!

2009-08-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

what better way to unwind from a ridiculously crazy week than head up to visit my good friends, the blocks? and get to spend sometime rocking out with my favorite 3 year old east of the mississippi...louise block! miss lulu and i have a favorite song from a silly little off-broadway musical (which is called 'dear edwina'). that song is called 'hola lola.'

click HERE - it will take you to the media/press page for the show...and the second song down under 'check out some of our songs' is 'hola lola.' you can play it right now and hear it - and see why 1. we love it some much; and 2. why it's easy to put on repeat, grab a ukelele (or guitar), put on a tutu if you have one in your size and sing at the top of your lungs and dance around. (tutu not required for a really great time, though.....)

you want perspective on a week? i always find it in these jam sessions with a 3 year old...who isn't afraid to put on a tutu over her pajamas, close her eyes, ball up her first, throw her head back and sing to the heavens, "and they all sang, HOLA LOLA, LOLA HELLO!"

distraction

2009-07-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

look....so here's the deal. the past week has been kind of wacky for me...because a ton of things in my life have changed. and today, i was all ready to come home and lay it all out here in my blog forum, for you faithful 4 readers to read. i was finally in a great place to look at it all and explain it in a cohesive manner.

so i got on the metro...composing my entry in my head...and i looked down...and lost all focus.

that's right. a grown up. an adult human being. was OUT IN PUBLIC, on the metro, wearing these....these.....abominations....like they were everyday footwear. like EVERYONE had them on. like they were the norm. and then, i lost all focus. so you have this "gentleman" to thank for no full report.

ugh. i am still appalled...

thoughts on a thursday

2009-07-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

"why do we never lead the life we have it in us to lead?"

-spoken by platonov in chekhov's unfinished play 'wild honey'

4:21am

2009-07-22T01:16:00.001-07:00

{ring}

{ring}

matt: good morning, front desk. this is matt...how can i help you, mr. x?

mr. x: hey matt. is there like a joseph a banks or something around here i can buy a suit?

(internal unspoken conversation: matt: um.....it's 4:21am. no. no there isn't.)

matt: um...well, there are a few options in the area. there is a j.a.b. down at dupont circle and another at metro center. there is also a macy's down there. or if you wanted to head up to friendship heights metro, there is a filene's basement and a few other choices of places...just depending on what you're looking for.

mr. x: i'm looking for a suit.

matt: right i just mean....

mr. x: for an awards ceremony tomorrow night.

(i.u.c. matt: hey moron, didn't you think about that before you left home?)

matt: right. i just meant depending on if you cared about the brand or where you bought it.

mr. x: what time do they open?

matt: let me look that up for you. [internet research begins] it looks like filene's basement opens at 10am.

mr. x: whoa. 10? no...that's too late. anything earlier?

matt: let me keep looking. [internet research continues] well, the j.a.b. down at 11th and F st opens at 9am.

mr. x: hmmmm...man....i don't know....

(i.u.c. matt: sir...where are you from that suit stores open before 9am?)

matt: oh....it looks like there is a joseph a banks at reagan national airport that opens at 7am.

mr. x: hmmmm...do they have the normal inventory of a regular store?

(i.u.c. matt: well they did last time i was there suit shopping at 7am...but i guess that's a good question....you really never can tell.......)

matt: that is a great question...i'm not sure. but, i can give you their phone number and you could give them a call.

mr. x: it's pretty early. they probably aren't there yet.

matt: well, i mean when they open at 7am.

mr. x: yeah...i guess i could do that. what's the number?

matt: 703. 418. 8180.

mr. x: great. and nothing else you know of in the immediate area, huh?

(i.u.c. matt: well, except for the 2 early-morning men's suit stores across the street from us here which open at 4:30am that i wasn't going to tell you about...nope...nothing else....)

matt: nope...nothing i can think of.

mr. x: alright matt. well, i'll give them a call and hopefully i can figure something out. gnite.

matt: gnite, mr. x.

suddenly i find myself with free time

2009-07-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

so it's been awhile. since april, to be exact. and before that, it was even longer. the whirl of life caught up with me back in the fall, and i found that the last thing i wanted to do was to be blogging. between rehearsals for shows and performing shows and worrying about work between and after and through various productions, i found that my daily desire to express myself on a blog had dried up.

fast forward to this morning...where the clock reads 541am, eastern time, and i'm standing at my newest job...the overnight front desk clerk at a beautiful 4 diamond hotel here in washington dc. that's right - for the past 3 weeks, i've been pulling the 11pm to 730am shift - completely by choice - and this morning i suddenly realized that i've got nothing BUT time...so i might as well reconnect to the blogosphere....to see if anyone is still out there...and to pass the time here at the desk.

i'm sure through it all, if the past three weeks are any indicator, there will be stories to delight.

take for instance one of my more recent late-night crazies...whom i will refer to here as 'silly sally'...who came to the desk, would't make eye contact, played with her fingernails the whole time, and asked if there was anywhere close she could get take out.

after explaining to her that everything in this neighborhood was closed, but there was pizza delivery until 4am that i could refer her to, she looked at me and said, "so...like...they would just deliver it here?" upon explaining yes, that was the idea, she rolled her eyes, and said, "never mind....that won't do. is there room service?"

smiling, i explained yes, indeed, room service in the hotel is available 24 hours day, 'silly sally' wrinkled her noses, finally looked me dead in the eye and asked, "are they going to bring it on a big tray? because i don't really want them to. i mean, i don't need a big ol' tray just hanging out in my room. i'm trying to pack. do they have to bring the tray?"

surprised, and secretly delighted, i said, "i'm sure you can request to not have it brought on a tray when you call...or you can take it directly off the tray when it arrives." a moment of thought-processing silence and a quick nod of the head brought 'silly sally' to say, "i guess that will do", and she turned to walk away.

Ten steps away from the desk, she stopped, turned around, looked frustrated, and said, "actually...can i have them deliver it somewhere else in the hotel? i don't think i want it coming to my room at all. like i can i have them deliver it down here? somewhere?" i smiled, told her to ask when she called room service, and directed her to the house phone across the lobby. 'silly sally' thanked me, turned around, and walked out of my life.

but the rest of the morning, and all day today, i've wondered if she asked them not to deliver it on a big tray. that's a converastion i'm sorry to have missed.....

(semi) Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-08T16:39:00.001-07:00

the dawn of hope is like the breath of spring...
it ends the winters chill.

he'll zap you anyway he can

2008-11-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

i mean....i know i haven't blogged much recently...and JUST when i was getting ready to, someone (my good friend, david kopp) sent me THIS...and i knew i had to get it out there. it's way more important and cool than anything i could ever write tonight.

enjoy!

wordless wednesday

2008-10-29T05:05:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday

2008-10-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

my fan base

2008-10-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

this past weekend, i took part in the imagination stage gala - which is an annual event they do as a fundraiser and as an evening where they honor someone with the 'imagination award.' this years honoree was debbie phelps, mother of michael phelps, for instilling in her son the ability to believe that anything was possible...even when others told him it wasn't. it was a great night - and debbie phelps gave a great speech.

but leading up to the gala, there were a series of rehearsals we had to attend, because there were a number of different performances that everyone was a part of - so pretty much all last week, we were busy rehearsing and staging numbers for the gala. and then on friday, we had our final dress rehearsal. at that final dress, they brought together all of the elements of the event - one of which was a collection of 3 little ballet girls from the classes at i.s. the girls part of the show was to present some gifts, and then at the end of the show, re-create the logo (seen above) from the evening on stage. they were adorable.

during our rehearsal friday, i was standing in the theater, waiting to hear what was going to happen next, and a door to my left, from the backstage area opened and someone from the i.s. staff came through the door with the 3 little ballerinas. they were probably 15 feet from me - and they came through the door - stopped - all looked at each other - then back at me - and all said, "HUCKLE! HUCKLE! IT'S HUCKLE!" their teacher tried to quiet them, but they were going crazy...and all i could do was laugh. finally we got them quieted down - and i grabbed my camera and took a picture with them. and then we went on with rehearsal.

throughout the night, whenever i passed through the backstage area, i could hear them explode into "HUCKLE! hi huckle!" whenever i walked in. and this 'royal treatment' lasted all friday night and through our entire rehearsal and performance on saturday night. at the end of rehearsal on friday, their teacher found me and said the girls all had something for me - and they each ran up to me and handed me pictures they had colored.

for those of you familiar with the richard scarry books, you'll know that huckle is a cat - so the girls dug through the pile of pictures to find the cat pictures. only finding 2, kit, one of the little ballerinas, opted for a dog but still labeled it a cat - just incase i was wondering. i've thought long and hard about this and i think this is the first actual collection of 'fan mail' that i have ever received. and it's perfect - because it comes directly from the demographic that 'busytown' is directed towards.

i was also delighted to find out from a mom of one of the little girls that her daughter, meg, was going to be a flamingo for halloween - based ENTIRELY on my cameo in 'busytown' as a flamingo lab tech. (if you've seen the show - you'll understand.) i was humbled, honored AND happy to find out that my work was influencing meg's life outside of imagination stage!

here is dame helen hedman, saying good bye to the ballerinas, from L-R: helen (the ballerina), meg and kit.

'busytown' runs until november 2 - so make your plans to see it now! you can check out ticket information by click here. and as always, if you do end up getting tickets, please let me know - i'd love to say hi afterwards!

why i love fall

2008-10-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

the weather is great....pulling out the sweaters and jackets is awesome...but the real draw of this time of year is COLLEGE FOOTBALL! and tonight, it's a nationally televised rematch of last seasons WAC championship. (which, sadly, i will admit here that boise state lost.) the game is on the blue turf at boise state, and i am heading out on the streets of our nation's capital with my boise state gear on! the air is crisp...the leaves are changing...and the broncos are on tv.

fall is here and all is well!
GO ORANGE! GO BIG BLUE! FIGHT! FIGHT! BSU!!!!

man...look at it. makes me a little bit homesick....

wordless wednesday: who will win!?

2008-10-15T06:55:00.001-07:00

(almost wordless....leave your choice in comments....)

friends, food, fun...and a creepy dude

2008-10-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

so it's been a busy couple of weeks, as i've been weaving real life and life in busytown together! today we're going to look at a few highlights of the past 10 days or so...and maybe one or two lowlights, as well.

1. BUSYTOWN GUESTS!

so busytown is still going strong...and by strong, i mean sometimes we have shows and sometimes we don't. just depends on the day and who booked and whatnot. it is a fun show to do because of the reaction and response of the kids. but i'll tell you WHAT...it wears me out! the past 10 days, i've had a handful of fun visitors come to see the show...and although i didn't get pictures with all of them, there are a few that i got to spend a little more time with and snap some photos! thanks to EVERYONE who is making the trek to bethesda and imagination stage to see the show. and never fear...we're there until nov 2, so holler at me about coming or just make your plans NOW!

one of my favorite visitors has been miss louise block! she came dressed for october...and afterwards, i got to have lunch with her and her mom, allison! and then, betsy bear (emily) showed up - and louise was in heaven! betsy, huckle and louise pose for quick picture!

and then it was time for just betsy and louise!

luckily, she also had time for a picture with huckle.

another fun visit after the show was with my friend, sina and her daughter ruby - who have recently returned from 2 years of living in paris...and will very soon leave for 2 years to live in sri lanka. sina brought our good friend, anias, as well. and since sina and family were out of town for much of the 'motorboat craze', we spent our time post-show catching up! (sorry you missed this, nate!)

2. MR. YOGATO CONTINUES TO CHANGE MY LIFE

so those of you who facebook with me know that i have been talking much of this mr. yogato the past few weeks. that's because, basically, it's one of the best places to get a delicious treat in the entire district of columbia...and you really don't even have to feel that bad about it. delicious and pretty healthy. just check it OUT, yo. plus, it's always a good time when you go there. (and i DID go there...a few times in the past 10 days! emily levey made me go twice...and i didn't argue.) last time we went, i got 5% off for the 'challenge of the day': being able to touch my nose with my tongue! get out! but seriously...if you are in washington dc and haven't tried it yet...get thyself to mr. yogato almost immediately. (try the original tangy with mango and granola. life-altering.) also, if you're going...call me. chances are high i will be willing to meet you there. emily will, too.

emily happily shows off her medium mr. yogato with chocolate and raspberries.

a closer look.

a look at my favorite....mentioned above.

3. SING-A-LONG 'MAMMA MIA"

that's right...this week at the arlington cinema and drafthouse, they are showing the sing-a-long version of the movie musical of the summer: MAMMA MIA. hello? tonight was $2 night to get in...so we went. i mean...order a diet coke and some key lime pie, kick back in your plush seat and sing ABBA hit after ABBA hit! it was a good end to the day...and for those of you interested...check the website. i think it is around for 4 more showings this week. i mean, seriously....'how can i resist ya'?

sierra and her sister, merry, enjoy the show.

just a couple of shots of the screen. good times.

4. DEFINITE LOWLIGHTS

just 2 things that come to mind:
-i've been having the lamest computer issues. evidently, i got some spyware or something on my computer and it's been affecting everything. and it's a big ol' pain in the arse. it has definitely made me cranky. but, thanks to some friends and some spouses of friends, i think i got most of it worked out. but seriously...all that virus crap and spyware and adware and wormware and CRAPware stuff...it's not good. so you know...stay away from it if you can.

-aaaaaand last night, roommate tyler had to call the cops because he saw someone UNDER our front porch, watching him through the window. no joke. totally creepy. it was all very surreal - especially because it was like 1am and tyler knocked on my door to see if everything was cool up here...and when he opened the door he had a shotgun and was all wild-eyed. wacky. so then we spent the next hour talking to the cops and taping up brown paper over the windows in the basement. and then i spent the next HOUR after that trying to fall asleep but being all wound up and creeped out. but luckily, i live on the top floor....so if someone were looking in my windows, they would be pretty easy to spot...dangling from the powerlines outside the back of my house. but bottom line - it was definitely an exciting night at the t street house. and not good 'exciting.'

oh hell no!

2008-10-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

so there is a local theater doing a musical later this season based on a classic novel - and recently, i've been hearing about a number of different people (friends and co-workers) who have been called in to audition for the show. now, as an actor who is always trying to find that 'next gig', i started getting a little bummed out that i wasn't part of this seemingly endless group that was getting called in. granted, it isn't a theater i have worked with at all in the past, but i thought maybe because i had recently met the artistic director and had sent him my headshot and resume (upon his asking), i might be part of the mix.

well, today, all sadness of not being invited to this audition was washed away - when a friend who WAS called to come in sent me an email he got regarding the audition and the show, in general. here is the direct paragraph from the letter...with only the named of the show XXX'd out:

“Not your typical musical, XXXX XX XXX XXXX has a physicality that is intense and theatrical. Although there are elements of conventional "numbers" that resemble other musicals, the nature of the way the music is interwoven with the action creates a very physical, visceral style where stamina and physical fitness on the part of the actor will be key. Also, because people play dogs in this piece, or rather, people play people PLAYING dogs, there will be, as part of our rehearsal process, movement exercises and structured physical exploration to find the "style" of how this effect is achieved. Before rehearsal begins everyday, there will be warm ups designed to build stamina and increased agility. There is stylized violence, physicalized representations of motion and speed, and highly theatricalized styles of movement that will be utilized to tell a story in a style all its own. Although there is dance (or choreographic elements) in the show, the primary focus of our rehearsals will be an ensemble-based approach to creating this style.”

----

ew.....seriously? i believe i did this earlier this year....and wanted to die.

i have 2 words for this "approach": oh buoy!

wordless wednesday

2008-10-07T22:11:00.001-07:00

a new memorial

2008-10-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

on september 11 of this year, a new memorial opened at the pentagon - honoring those who lost their lives on september 11, 2001. i have been wanting to check it out since it opened - and this past saturday, at the end of a long day, i found a little extra time and energy to head over and finally get a look at it. my good friend, rachel oliphant, accompanied me. i was happy to have her along and it was nice to be able to share the visit with someone that was easy to talk to about any thoughts or feelings that might arise.

the only thing i really have to say in regards to my experience of visiting the memorial is how blown away i was by the sight of the 184 benches. each bench represents someone who lost their life at the pentagon - and i was moved and deeply affected that night by what the number '184' actually looks like. it is staggering. the memorial is well worth a visit. words don't do it justice - and pictures really don't either. but i figured the best way to share it with you is by taking a few shots and posting them here. as the quote near the entrance of the memorial says, 'we will never forget.'

i hope you all have a chance to visit this beautiful and thought-provoking new addition to the washington dc sights. it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

approaching the memorial near the entrance.

an inscription near the beginning.

wordless wednesday

2008-10-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

opening night

2008-09-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

so we officially opened BUSYTOWN at imagination stage on saturday...and it was exciting and fun to get the show up and running! a huge thanks to everyone who was part of opening night - from the staff all the way down to my opening night guests...thank you all for your love and support! hope to see many of you in the streets of Busytown very soon!!!

the girls of busytown...busy getting ready....

and a quick pose before the curtain goes up.

2 of my opening night guests (and overall favorite people ever) steve and allison block!

the rest of the opening night friends. back row: (l-r) bryan banker, huckle cat matt, darci nelson (hiding), jim nelson. front row: (l-r) merry casillas, lowly worm, sierra casillas, rachel oliphant.

a quick shot with a couple of my favorite cast friends! (l-r): me, the adorable emily levey, and the hysterical mj casey! (sadly, i missed tiernan, sara and don for an all-group shot....but i dig them all......)

'busytown' preview

2008-09-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

in memorial....

2008-09-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Paul Newman

January 26, 1925 - September 27, 2008

thanks for the memories....

Wonka played the Westport Country Playhouse in January 2006. Meeting Mr. Newman and Ms. Woodward and their grandchildren was a highlight of our first year of tour....

get ready

2008-09-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

tomorrow, saturday september 27th, BUSYTOWN the musical opens its colorful doors at imagination stage in bethesda. the show runs through november 2nd, and if full of lots of color, fun and music for kids of all ages. please let me know if you're attending one of the shows, i'd love to say hi afterwards.

and for all of you wondering but too afraid to ask: NO...that is not a giant pez dispenser. it's lowly worm. duh.

the incredibly patient cast of BUSYTOWN: (l-r) tiernan madorno, don casey, me, lowly worm, emily levey (driving the pickle car), sara brunow, mj casey (driving the banana car.)

huckle and lowly. aaaaaaand...sorry huckle looks freaky. it just happened.

photo update

2008-09-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

evidently, our 20,000th visitor is now also making demands...and, it would even seem, threats. newly crowned, amy emailed me last night with a new picture - because EVIDENTLY she was unhappy with the one that i had to post. and her picture was accompanied with the following email-veiled-in-threat:

"...I would suggest you change it out. I think I have proven how much time I am willing to waste on pretty much anything. You wouldn't want it to be wasted on the "wrong thing" would you?"

your wish is our command, #20k. anything else, just let us know.

but seriously...this is a great shot of BOTH of us....

congrats, again, amy!!

congrats to visitor no. 20,000!!!

2008-09-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

and the winner is....

AMY THURSTON!!!

congrats, amy! this magical picture is the only one i could find...from way back in high school!!! i'm glad you spent your day in pursuit of this honor...even leaving your kids sitting at school, on the curb waiting for you, as the number clicked closer and closer to that number 20,000! the victory and the gift package are both yours.

#19,999 & #20,001 are still being worked out...more details to come on those 2! but for now, and rightfully so, the focus is on today's big winner! it's your day to shine, amy thurston! thanks for choosing to shine on The MAnderson Report!

wordless wednesday

2008-09-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: the final countdown

2008-09-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

it's getting exciting now, folks! we're down to our last 80 or so visitors before we welcome visitor #20,000 to the manderson report! keep checking back to see how wins!

it could be YOU!!!

the fun begins....

2008-09-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

so today was our first public preview for 'busytown: the musical'. there was a very cute audience of 3, 4 and 5 year olds (and their chaperones) who wiggled and danced and waved and giggled and smiled. the show today was saddled with a lot of headache and struggle throughout (and don't even get me started on the week of tech rehearsals)...but luckily, when it comes to the little ones in the audience, they didn't know the different - they just came to laugh and clap and sing along. and as stressed as we get, as long as we come back to remember just WHO our little show is for, we'll be fine - and we'll be able to find what we love about this show and share it with the little hobbits that come to see it everyday....until november 2!

tomorrow is preview #2...and previews continue the rest of the week until saturday night. saturday night is our official 'opening night' when the press comes and writes what they will and 'busytown' is officially declared open for business. we have a lot to learn and re-learn and adjust over the next few days. believe me when i say it will probably continue to try my, and everyone else's, patience. but we'll pull it out. somehow. and come saturday, i'm sure that we'll be ready and proud to get 'busytown' open.

and if we're not ready....then by saturday, we WILL be ready to burn the whole town down and storm out in an angry pack....scattering the carnage of various props along the way as we go. so yeah...you could say we're at a pivotal point in the process. i hope it works out.

a few random shots from our week of tech rehearsals.....enjoy. and come to the show to see what everything is!

another sneak peek

2008-09-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

here's another look at another costume piece from busytown: the musical! these are the glasses i wear for about 2 minutes when i play a bug airport worker...who is dropping off a bag of mail at an airplane. riveting, right? enjoy this look as you head into your weekend.....and like with the yellow Chucks, try not to be jealous....

for chris and gillian

2008-09-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

"THESE old things?"

so here is a look at my shoes for huckle the cat in busytown! canary yellow chuck taylor's? yes. please. who is jealous now!?

more to come....more to come...

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-17T04:54:00.001-07:00

more japan love

2008-09-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

a big thanks to dainon...for posting this on his blog so i could steal it.....

milestones

2008-09-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

so first off, i wanted to find an image to go with this blog entry. so i went to google images and googled "milestones" - and this picture was on the first page. now i have no idea what it actually has to DO with milestones, but i love it...so i am using it.

now - on to the matter at hand. if you scroll to the bottom of this blog page, you will see a counter that, depending on when you visit, is increasing somewhere OVER 19,500 - ticking ever so closer to marking my 20,000 visitor. originally, for those who were helping me, i had set a somewhat lofty goal of attaining that number by the one year anniversary of the manderson report...back on august 17, 2008. we all know now that i didn't make it...and i'm ok with that, as i knew it was going to be a stretch going into it. but it was EFFORT that counts...and everyone around me were real champs in helping me try!

but now - that 20,000 visit is in sight...and that is cause to celebrate. and to make the climb to that milestone even MORE interesting...i'm putting out an offer that you can't refuse. the 20,000 visitor to the manderson report will get a super-special care-package put together with my own 2 hands! there are some surprises i started collecting back in august when i set the 20,000 goal...and some others that have come along since then. there will also be additional little trinkets once i know who the winner is. and for those of you who really want to win, there will ALSO be a fresh batch of "matt's super secret trail mix of amazingness" - or, what some of you have come to know as "matt's crack." (MINDS out of the gutter, people.) for those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about, trust me...the magic is worth the visits.

and finally, to make the fight to the top THAT much more fun, there will be BOOBY PRIZES for #19,999 and #20,001.

once the winners and "winners" are known, i will post pictures of the care packages before they are sent out! so start visiting....and getting your friends and family to visit. the more you visit, the greater your chance of being our lucky winner!

here's wishing EVERYONE a happy climb!

a bipartisan message worth watching

2008-09-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - late edition

2008-09-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

some things for your conisderation...

2008-09-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

so once in awhile, i come to one of those blog entries that, for one reason or another, i have been putting off writing and so i need to catch up. this is going to be one of those times. there isn't a lot to catch up on....just some random thoughts, a variety of pictures, and a little bit of information some of you might find helpful. (some of you also may find the information lame and ridiculous. if you feel that way...the information was clearly not intended for you. just move on.)

let's start our list:

1. "BUSYTOWN" the musical opens in 2 weeks with previews!

that's right...in 2 short weeks, you can see your favorite characters from the world of Richard Scarry come to LIFE at imagination stage in bethesda. and evidently, the deal is that if you want to see the show cheap before our "official" opening night (the 7pm show on september 27th), you can snag $10 tickets! you can't beat a deal like THAT with a stick! SO - if you want to check out the washington dc premiere of this show in previews and save money, click HERE. (the $10 shows are sept 23 @ 11:00am, sept 24 @ 10:30am, sept 25 @ 10:30am and sept 27th @ 12:30pm or 3:30pm.) let me know if you end up coming to one of the $10 shows! i'd love to say HI afterwards!

2. i had a VISITOR!

ok. honestly. she didn't really come to just see me. and after she arrived, i learned she really came to see the backstreet boys at wolf trap in vienna. but nevertheless...in august, one of my favorite people ever came to visit the greater DC area. shannon west! shannon and i met here in northern virginia, and then she decided that she was going to head back home to utah to close to her family or whatever. but every so often, she shows up out east here, and we have a crazy good time whenever she does! i think i've said it before, but shannon is one of those people who reminds me how life is SUPPOSED to be lived: enthusiastically, passionately, and always for 'the dream'. although i was pretty busy with life and jobs while she was in town, we did have a chance to go on one of the technologically advanced people movers that i used to give tours on...and, like any good shannon west visit, we had a chance to go eat dinner at rio grande cafe in ballston. (which, truthfully shannon, i don't really dig all that much...but i'm always happy to go for YOU!) when shannon is around, there is never a dull moment...and you'll soon notice that life takes on a sparkly, glittery glow when she is near. all i can say is stand as close as you can and hope some of it rubs off...because she knows what this thing called life is all about!

a shot from rio grande.

another shot. both shots are shannon REFUSING to motorboat. and although i wanted her to, i appreciate her sticking to her guns and not giving in. sadly, i think she'd be really good at it. but that's an arguement for another day...

3. i took a quick trip to GEORGIA!

labor day weekend, i hopped in a car with the nelson siblings, drove 11 hours south, and hopped out on the front step of carlos and heather gonzalez in newnan, georgia! heather knew i was coming...but it was a surprise to los. and his reaction was priceless. (confusion...sheer and utter confusion for about 5 minutes.) there were no plans...and it had been a year since i had been down to visit, so the kids were bigger, the house was new, and the relaxing was in full swing! the gonzalez family is right up there on my list of 'favorite people' - and i'm glad we got the chance to hang out in 2008. it means our streak is alive and well...and i'm looking forward to 2009! plus - i got the chance to introduce them to cajun trail mix from sam's club...which can, will and did change their lives...like it has changed mine! enjoy some pics from the trip!

katherine and jim nelson getting ready for the big drive.

somewhere....in the....carolinas, maybe...we had a slight hiccup in our plan. but a kind citizen stopped, gave us a jump and we were on our way again. here, darci and jim check out the situation....at like....2am.

cubbie considers hitching the rest of the way.

as soon as i arrived in newnan, the play-do came out and abby and i were busy making ART.

charlie, as it turned out, only wanted to eat popcorn.

here is heather, in one of the pictures i let abby take with my camera.

another 'abby original' - titled: charlie with candy necklace.

i don't know what is really going on, but i really love this b&w of the 2 of them. these kids rule.

abby is clearly happy about something.

i catch a picture of charlie up on his favorite perch in the house.

4. BUSYTOWN rehearsals continue to roll forth!

i gotta put the pictures i keep snapping somewhere...so please enjoy this latest collection of photos from our rehearsals. with a show that includes a pickle car, a banana car, a crayon car, a carrot car...and a whole slew of other crazy props, the pictures promise to keep getting more and more interesting and entertaining.

rehearsal well under way. please notice the rehearsal 'lowly worm' character/puppet (with the blue head) in emily's hand, center stage.

an 'art shot' of lowly and the girls.

mj gives the banana car a try.

tiernan hands don the cheese.

then she goes to help emily out of the pickle car.

the rest of these are amazing on so many different levels....for so many different reasons. enjoy!

unclear about jeremiah

2008-09-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

today, after rehearsal, tiernan and i were riding the metro back into DC, and i saw an ad that i have been seeing on the metro the past month or so. i don't get it. it baffles me. i'm not sure what it means. and they have it all OVER the trains. finally today, i pulled out my camera, turned off the flash (so as not to wake the nice business man asleep next to tiernan, across the car), and snapped a quick picture, so i could share it with all of you here tonight.

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say....THIS ad is probably not pulling in a high number of customers.....

but you be the judge.

cheers.

early rehearsal report

2008-09-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

so i'm happy to report that rehearsals are in full swing for BUSYTOWN in bethesda. we're learning the music and discussing the script...and today we even started getting the show up on it's feet. and i'm going to tell you this much...i really don't think i've laughed as much during a rehearsal process as i have, so far, during this process. (my early apologies to our esteemed director, krissie.) i don't know what it is...but we have a VERY funny collection of people...and it seems like every little thing in the script sets us off. what that tells me is that we are in for a LOT of fun as we continue to build and explore this city of BUSYTOWN. and it also means that you, the audience, are in for a rich experience...as we channel our energy into this show. there is a lot to enjoy and celebrate and embrace in this little town...and we're having a great time learning that!

for now, enjoy some pictures from our first couple of days...

tiernan (L) and emily are caught by surprise...singing about pickle cars.

sara takes a 'giggle break' from the material.

the 'talent' hard at work.

don (L) discusses sargeant murphy with our director, krissie.

music director, keith, plays while krissie formulates a plan.

table work fun with don, mj and emily.

the girls listening to....something...very intently.

a look at the set model.

once about 3pm hits, things start to go downhill FAST.....

some pictures have no explanations.

emily starts in on her 'special skills' routine.

and THEN the color accenting started. mj all green and contemplative.

unclear.

even more unclear.

pretty sure it's the end of a long day in busytown!

thoughts on a first day...

2008-09-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

i should be asleep...but something is keeping me from it. it's that feeling of excitement and nervousness and anticipation and wonder that used to embrace me the night before the first day of school. and that only stands to reason because in less than 10 hours (from time or writing at 12:22am), i will embark on the rehearsal process for my next show here in the washington dc area...BUSY TOWN the musical. with imagination stage. just like the night before school starts, i find myself excited, unable to sleep, looking at my supplies sitting on my desk (script, pencil, highlighter, etc), just waiting for me to slip them into my backpack tomorrow morning and head out the door for the bus (#32 or 36, heading up wisconsin ave to the tenleytown metro stop on the red line...riding up to bethesda.)

since embarking on this quest of 'LTD' a little over 3 years ago, i have had this 'feeling' a handful of times - and it's an experience that i sit here thinking about and finding myself very thankful for tonight. it's a welcome reminder to me that i am so blessed to have this chance to do what i love. i may complain about the money, or lack thereof, and i may get bogged down in having 2 or 3 part-time jobs that keep me afloat, and being too busy to think at times...but in the end, i do it all because i want to be able to come to a point in my life and say 'you know what....i took a chance and did what i loved. and boy was it scary and a little bit draining...but it was exhilarating and exciting, too.'

tomorrow, i'll meet a new cast and a creative team, and we'll read through the show and we'll look at sketches of the set and costumes - and we'll talk about schedules and rehearsals and staging and choreography and everything that comes with a new show and then, before you know it...we'll be putting the show on it's feet for it's first preview on sept 23rd.

but for now...i lay here with a temporary pit in my stomach (that goes away the first day), a fullness in my heart and a smile on my face, as i look at the pile of supplies sitting on my desk, being lit by the computer glow, and remind myself that i'm here because i chose to be...and i'm one of the luckiest kids in the class.

first day of school pics/stories to come soon....

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

where oh where....

2008-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

so i've been missing in action. i blame it entirely on the people of beijing. because first of all, they had to set up their country in a time zone 12 hours ahead of mine...then they had to go and throw a kick-ass 2008 olympics! so when i should've been tending to my blog, instead i was up until 2 or 3 or 4 or 6am watching the olympics live from beijing! (i mean...because nbc is lame, we all know that i watched the prime-time "good stuff" recorded....but then the late-night thrillers like archery, badminton, shooting, sailing, equestrian and the likes, i watched into the wee hours of the morning.)

anyway - i've regained some semblance of order in my life again...and i'm back and ready to catch you up on what's going on. but luckily, the past 2 weeks that i've been missing can be summed up in the above paragraph.

and as a welcome back....let me show you MY favorite competitor and events from the games this year. it was a little known romanian gymnast who really brought her A-game - but sadly, we heard nothing about.

enjoy! and thanks, KLAIR, for sharing the magic of this video.....you = super!

GYMNASTIQUE PEKIN 2008 (REMI GAILLARD)
Uploaded by nqtv

wordless wednesday

2008-08-13T12:16:00.001-07:00

the rest of the wedding trip

2008-08-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

so after 18 hours of driving, alternating between michelle and i every few hours, we made it home and i feel somewhat revived. what you will find below is just a collection of photos from the 2-5th days of the great wedding trip of 2008. we had a great time with tammy...and it was fun to share her big day with her and her family and friends. even with a couple of setbacks along the way (please see 'dented bumper' below....), we survived and had a riotous time doing it! we ate some amazing food...we met some incredible people (thanks for the fun, pat & ann!) and we spent a lot of times laughing and catching up! best of luck, tammy and mitch! and thanks, michelle, for being the best road trip partner EVER! you rule.

our stop on thursday night in saint louis took us to amy and chad larson's house. amy and i are friends from way back in the days of high school speech and debate. this is their son, jack. he is awesome.

jack loves to smile.

i'm trying to imitate jack's smile skill. he's not impressed. it was awesome to catch up with amy!

michelle and jack hit it off well.

our drive from saint louis to kansas city took us through columbia, mo - where we stopped for lunch at buckingham's bbq. how was it?

does THAT answer your quetsion?

OR that? seriously....so gooooooooood.

for jill: i saw this and thought you needed to know and see that they have new wrappers. but same great taste.

i took the picture because of the sign that says MATT! luckily, or unluckily, i also got a picture of michelle's foot.

we made it to kansas city and met tammy and her good friend, tina, at the hotel to head over to the church for rehearsal.

here is michelle, at the dinner, reacting to the gift that tammy gave her.

the joke is revealed...and michelle and tammy share a moment. (evidently, when tammy and michelle lived together, a guy showed up to take michelle on a date once...said he had something for her...and pulled that little stuffed bunny out of his pocket. and since then, the bunny has been traded back and forth between the two.)

tammy and michelle pose with ann, the wife of the best man, pat. and one of the coolest people we met all weekend. this lady is incredible...and we got to spend friday night at the rehearsal and saturday night at the wedding with them.

pat, matt and ann...saying good bye at the rehearsal dinner.

patti showed up saturday morning...and evidently, she brought her own candy.

patti enjoys a krabby patty.

THE WEDDING! michelle, patti and rachel morrissey strike a pose.

i'm not sure what is going on here...but i love this picture. their expressions are hysterical.

michelle, tina and myself, at the end of the ceremony.

rachel, patti and michelle group hug with the new bride...tammy!

and then i decide to get in on the lovin'.

hahaha. another unclear shot...but i love patti's expression.

so what do you do at a wedding reception while you're waiting for the bride and groom to show up? MOTORBOAT, of course!

michelle gives it a shot.

rachel brings home the MOTORBOAT gold medal! genius!

still waiting? move on to the loose-jaw head-shake. patti did.

a couple of times, actually.

rachel has a mean entry here, too.

not the way you want to start 'the morning after'. the morning after the wedding, before we were to head home, we came out to get in michelle's car to head to a brunch, and THIS is what we saw. evidently, our friend, tina, had a bit of trouble with her car, a pole and michelle's bumper. not a fun morning.

we got everything taken care of and then headed to meet tammy's family for a nice brunch. post-brunch, tammy's sister peggy and her family and i do a motorboat attempt.

then her nephew and 2 nieces try their hand at loose-jaw head-shake. pretty impressive.

mitch and tammy...the happy bride and groom...get in on the action.

tammy's newphew, andrew, and his girlfriend, jaqueline and i say good-bye at tammy's apartment.

mitch and the girls share one final good-bye before everyone heads off.....

a note

2008-08-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

sorry for the delay. i'm sure you're wondering...so i'm reporting that we did, indeed, make it to and from the wedding weekend in kansas city. the 18 hour drive home - straight through - was an event of marathon-proportion. so i guess it's perfect we did it during the run of the olympic games. and although i haven't finished reporting on the trip, i have every intention of doing so. along with a fun report on a night out with the tour guides of CST last night!

tonight - after a tour - i'm hopefully going to put up a report to dazzle your senses. or atleast to keep you from being bored when you visit during your work day!

in the meantime, click HERE to read the latest scandal associated with the beijing games. shame on you, china!

day 1 - road trip 2008

2008-08-08T05:44:00.001-07:00

so friends....it was a long driving day...but it was full of so much fun, that we didn't even care. we rolled into st. louis last night - a full 15 hours after leaving washington dc! the day was beautiful - the drive was good - and the adventures were plentiful. i snapped pictures all day and am happy to share them with you here. my apologies to maryland - for missing your 'welcome to maryland' sign. it was early - traffic was bad on the beltway - and honeslty...i've seen it a thousand times, so it wasn't even on my mind. and also to missouri....for the blurry mess that is your sign. end of the day, and all.

anyway....my day went a little something like this:

what a treat to drive almost completely through the beautiful state of west virginia. for those of you unaware, this is where i spent 2 years as a mormon missionary - from 1993-1995. so basically, forever ago.

a trip through west virginia meant a trip through huntington...which meant a chance to see mom & dad sizemore! (my good friend, chris sizemore is from huntington...and we did the willy wonka tour together. and his parents, ricki and roger, were huge folllowers of the show!) and where BETTER to meet up with them than at hillbilly hot dogs in downtown huntington.

looking good, sizemore's! thanks for taking time out of your day to come visit!

michelle shows off the magical place.

a major draw to stopping in huntington was marshall university...which is where the true story movie of 'we are marshall' is based. and since michelle had just seen the movie, she was extra-excited about the stop.

the memorial fountain placard...and some various shots (dare i say 'art shots') of the fountain:

michelle found her dream training program in huntington!

then it was on to kentucky.

michelle found red velvet twinkies! of course i had to try them.

in theory....excellent idea. in execution...not so well done.

the fun continued on into indiana.

we stopped for gas in griffin, indiana....and found the most antique gas pumps i have ever seen in use.

art shot 1 from griffin, indiana.

art shot 2 from griffin, indiana.

not much was happening in southern illinois.

my pathetic attempt at the missouri sign.

but we reached our final destination safe and sound!

road trip 2008

2008-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

today....in just a few short hours...my friend, michelle and i are hopping in her car and starting the great road trip of 2008! we are driving from washington dc to overland park, kansas (basically kansas city) for the wedding of our dear friend, tammy mccandless!! we are both a little more free than other times in the year, so we decided to make it an experience! who knows what the next 5 days are going to hold! we're driving 18 hours each direction - so you can expect to hear some stories and see some pictures.

for now...take a look at what we're facing. and we are up for the challenge! any suggestions for our trip along the way....leave them here and let us know! or hell....you can call or text me suggestions, too. 202/674-6986. i'm in a car for 18 hours...what else do i have to do!?

until we meet again thursday night, in st. louis...our day 1 goal...have a great night! or day!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T10:12:00.001-07:00

wonkerers - year 1 - reunite!

2008-07-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

so last week, in a strange twist of fate, we realized that a high percentage of us who were on the first year of the 'willy wonka' national tour were IN washington dc for various reasons. some reasons were more random than others. like jill, chris and i all live in the immediate area. andrew is here in town with 'the lion king' national tour. and tara was in town doing a fringe festival show. (jackie also lives locally but sent word through her people that she is far too important for a sunday night at clyde's with the riff-raff from tour. )

so due to jill's hard work and determination (thanks, ka-kaw!) we got together to catch up and hang out and laugh and laugh and laugh. it was great to catch up with everyone...and it just reminded me how blessed that first year of our tour was. it was 'right place, right time' for the group of us that came together and spent 9 months in a white van together. i have so much love and respect for these incredible friends of mine...and it was so great to get to see them and spend some time with them....over a bowl of crazy corn at clyde's in gallery place.

enjoy the pics!

ok. first off. i don't remember what the three of us were talking about...but this picture is hysterical. sorry jill! she did want me to point out that she wasn't even drinking at this point.

an incredible entry into the world of motorboat!

andrew shows up, with wristbands, after his show. chris is possibly mocking him in the background. one can never be too sure.

jill and tara snuggle up with one of 2 wonka outsiders who crashed the party that night. this is jered - a friend of andrew's from 'the lion king' cast.

chris brought the second 'outsider' - but she's an insider in all of our hearts. the incomparable, jamie eacker.

tara and frace are happy to be re-united.

another entry into the matt anderson B&W collection.

andrew motorboats.....

AND loose-jaw face-shakes. what a champ!!

the girls show us all how to do a squinty- eye smile.

i love how INTENSE jill is in this picture.

i evidently was trying to make the lamest face in the group. i obviously won. chris was a close second.

this was only moments after i tried to poke chris' eye out with my camera. jamie was confused.

just a random shot...because i love seing tara and andrew smile for the camera!

wonka friends UNITE!

one last shot of the group at the end of our reunion...complete with jered celebrating in the back.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-30T07:35:00.001-07:00

(courtesy of Josh Campbell)

what i did this summer

2008-07-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

the past 2 weeks, i had the awesome opportunity to be part of a workshop of a new musical for ford's theater. for those of you new to the phrase 'workshop of a musical' (which is in large part my family...which is why i have been explaining the whole thing to them over the past 2 weeks), it's basically a concert-version, trial run of a show that is in development...so writers and directors and composers and artistic directors and whoever else can see and hear the piece before giving the big "OK" to have a full production staged.

the show we were workshopping is called 'liberty smith' - and the best description i have found for it came from an online description:

Liberty Smith, a musical comedy about the American Revolution.

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Betsy Ross, The Boston Tea Party, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, and the Revolutionary War... These names and events are the foundation on which our country was built. Now Liberty Smith, a new musical by Michael Weiner (composer), Adam Abraham (lyrics), Marc Madnick (co-librettist) and Eric R. Cohen (co-librettist), presents these characters and events leading to the founding of America through an exciting mixture of song, dance, humor, and heart.

This spirited new musical is American history... but with a Forrest Gump-type twist. Liberty Smith is an everyman hero and the "forgotten" Founding Father who crosses paths with historical giants and influences great events in funny and unexpected ways.

* * * * *

we spent 2 weeks rehearsing with the writers of the show, our music director, jay crowder, and our director, matt august. every day we had changes and writes and re-writes as we tried to get the material to that perfect "place" that would prove that it needs a full production.

it was an incredible 2 weeks for me! first off, the piece was just fun. it's silly - the music made me happy - and it is a great "fit" for ford's and the tourists that they have come through. secondly, it was amazing to get to see the 'creative' side of a new musical work. although the show was written when we started, it was fun to see the creative team shape and mold and fix things we we moved along. creativity in action is fun to watch. and finally, one of the biggest rewards was working with the cast. it truly was an all-star cast of dc actors. there were several times, as i sat there watching everyone, where i had to pinch myself to see if i was really in the room! (i may have gotten a little verklempt a couple of times....don't judge me! i mean, in the finale we sang, 'dare but to dream....for there's nothing a dreamer can't do.' are you kidding me? that is the ESSENCE of being LTD!) i was always happy to realize i was, indeed, among 'giants', and loving every minute of it!

last thursday afternoon, we did a final performance of it for the ford's staff and an invited audience, and everything went off very well. i was very happy/proud to be a part of it. the next step? wait and see if ford's decides to pick up the show for a future season, to produce a full production of it! i'll be sure and keep you posted. until then, enjoy some pictures i snapped the day of our performance...while we waited in the green room to start the show!

and until we hear something, dare but to dream, friends.

the cast relaxes in the green room before heading on stage.

the beautiful brianne cobuzzi, who played my wife, shapotatweet adams. (she chose the name.)

more maxin' and relaxin', pre-show-style.

i'm not even sure what is going on in this picture, but it's my favorite one i took this day. back: nick blaemire (liberty smith) & brianne cobuzzi (shapotatweet adams). front: erin driscoll (emily) and kevin clay (child actor). hysterical picture.

gia mora (marie antoinette)...um...doing the dishes, it looks like. hmmmm....

some of the guys. l-r: michael bunce (lead player/town crier), steve cupo (paul revere), michael sazonov (benedict arnold), tom simpson (king louis).

the incomparable (and my good friend) donna migliaccio (betsy ross) poses for the camera!

another shot that i'm uncertain about what was actually happening, but there is so much entertaining going on in the picture, that it's worth sharing.

erin, nick and kevin get a group shot. HAHAHA. seriously kevin and nick...nice faces.

me (sam adams, pirate sailor and drunken friend) and the beutiful and hysterical, rachel zampelli (martha washington).

you didn't think i'd do this whole photo shoot without a motorboat, did you? never!

kevin and brianne...part of my 'stage right posse'.

me and the ladies, brianne and gia.

our fearless stage managers: taryn friend and kate kilbane.

kurt boehm (george washington) expresses his wish for peace in the world.

steve decides...um....to eat erin's hair....i guess.....

erin and josh sticklin (narrator) smile....

and then motorboat. HA!

nick loses to kevin.

jay crowder (music director ) and my good buddy, bobby smith (james otis/thomas jefferson).

the ensemble men....bobby, me and muchael bunce. bobby looks MOST excited to be here.

here you go, reed

2008-07-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

this is reed. he is a tour guide with me this summer. he is from texas.

i needed someone to take a shift of mine for tonight, and reed stepped up to the plate like a real pal and took the shift for me.

he said he would only do it if i put him on the internet...on my blog.

so here we are...back where we started:

this is reed.

reed got a sunburn. if you ask him about it, he'll show you his forehead.

closely.

just so you understand it was a serious burn.

this is reed and megan. they are 2 of my favorite people to work with. we laugh a lot when we are out rolling the streets together.

reed leaves in a few days. that will be sad. he will miss megan, me and matchbox. the 3 m's of life. but we will keep in touch. that's what friends do.

thanks for taking my shift tonight, reed. i'll see you there. um....i ended up taking megan's shift for her. bye!

the leprechaun brothers

2008-07-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

'oh danny boy' as you have never heard it before. in honor of the new jim henson exhibit that opened 2 weeks ago at the smithsonian institute here in washington dc. i can't even begin to choose my favorite moment in this....it's all just golden.

enjoy.

good 'new' and bad 'new'

2008-07-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

last week, in the self-same day, i experience 2 things that would fall in the category of NEW in my life. and it turns out that they are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. one i would love to experience again. one, i don't really need to ever experience again. (unless, of course, it was like delivery or take-out.)

so today, i wanted to share with you my good 'new' and my bad 'new' from last week. please plan your weeks accordingly. hahaha. or not.

GOOD 'NEW':

ELIZABETH WALSH

so my friends, brendan and kelly walsh, welcomed their first child into the world on july 3rd. it is a little girl, and her name is elizabeth. and last week, i got out of reheasal a little early and i got the chance to sneak over to the walsh residence and meet miss elizabeth myself! and she was a delight...plus, i'm pretty sure she liked me. i mean, she kept passing gas as i held her. that has to be a good sign! so, in celebration of this good (even GREAT) 'new', i wanted to introduce everyone to baby elizabeth!

honestly. look at her. 12 days old and already smiling for pictures.

Elizabeth looks at dad...making lame faces at her....

"can you believe this guy?" she says, through her expression, to me.

elizabeth looks up to uncle matt to see if he is paying attention to her.

i mean honestly....she is so dang cute.

and this picture makes me laugh....her expression is hysterical!

a little 'color accent' magic touch.

i mean....THAT beautiful little baby came from THIS?

BAD 'NEW': Ross' choice for food

so i came home after seeing baby elizabeth, and ross AND tyler were both home. anyone who knows the 3 of us knows that we're never around and rarely see each other. ross had been talking about us going to cafe romeo around the corner from our house. tyler and i are staunch fans of georgetown cafe - also near our house. but ross isn't convinced by its magic, and swears by the magic that cafe romeo has to offer. well, it offered something. good food? sure. better than georgetown cafe? never. desireable restaurant to actually, physically go to? NOT in the least.

you'll see.

Ross starts rounding up the troops for the march up to cafe romeo.

Ross proudly leads the way.

we arrive....

at the final destinaton!

Ross proudly shows off the interior. (and my 'sketch radar' started to go off.....)

Ross swears by the lavash rolls. And I've tried one he brought me home once. They were a delight. I have been known to crave them.

Ross discusses the menu choices with Amy...his girlfriend.

Tyler considers HIS options...and how he could make this night shift down the street to the Georgetown Cafe.

And then with our orders placed, we found ways to pass the time.

Ross is excited for his lavash roll.

Tyler. Um. No clue. I've got nothin'.

My lavash roll. They really ARE quite delicious.

And then the trouble starts. Yes - it was on the ground and not on our table...BUT STILL...it was on the ground RIGHT BY our table! And it was HUGE. I'm pretty sure it could've picked UP our table and moved it.

Here Ross shows where he karated chopped at the wall, while the above offender tried to get away. As you can see in the close-up on the right, he did NOT get away.

THIS was one of 2 cockroaches we saw crawling around the Cafe's patio that night.

Post-dinner B&W photo shoot. On everyone's mind is the thought: atleast we didn't see a rat.

Um. Never mind. Yes we did.*

*the rat wasn't actually seen ON the Cafe Romeo grounds....but right off the grounds - basically on the next door property. It was a fast sucker so I didn't get the clearest shot. But it's there. Running away.

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

(so last night...roommates tyler - shown here - ross and i walked up to a little neighborhood dive restaurant called cafe romeo's. more to come on that. we were walking up 35th street with ross leading the way - i was a few steps behind him - and tyler was in the back. all of the sudden, from behind, i heard tyler belting out 'part of your world' from the little mermaid. i quickly snapped an over-my-shoulder picture. this is what i got. complete with him using the ibc root beer bottle as a microphone. it was....well...you can see for yourself. i mean, he brought his skills. he was committed to this performance. all i can really say is: you go, ariel.)

a weekend of tours

2008-07-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

so....i spent the majority of my weekend doing tours. 5 to be exact. (one of them was last night in complete torrential rains. and tons of fun. my group and i laughed the entire time as we woooshed through the puddles and sheets of rain.) as a side to spending the weekend doing tours, it also narrows the scope of who you spend your weekend with. i basically spent my weekend with the people on my tours (including 84 year old pancho from mexico city - who called me 'mateo' and kept yelling "mateo! this is the best thing i have ever done!") and my fellow tour guides!

saturday night after we were done, voci, megan, scott and i went to austin grille for dinner and then megan, scott and i all ended up riding the same train in the same direction....so in our 'free time' together, i decided to introduce the concept of motorboat pictures to them. although they were good sports, it turns out that neither one of them are too good at this form of photography. oh they tried....bless their hearts. and scott showed some promise....but overall, it was a bust in the pantheons of motor boat pictures.

thanks for trying, kids! better luck next time.

here are scott and megan. scott recently had his appendix out. you can't even tell.

here they are in more natural lighting...loosening up for the camera. complete with matching shirts.

attempt #1. scott is on to something. megan...not so much.

attempt #2. both stay about the same.

attempt #3. perhaps glasses might help, scott thinks. they don't. and....megan looks basically the same in all 3 shots. so...not the most fruitful night. but a fun metro trip, nonetheless.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-09T06:11:00.001-07:00

japan. enough said.

2008-07-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

so....we know japan tv fascinates me. most of the time, delights me to no end. this time...i don't even know how to describe it. i mean...these kids are creepy. and what the crap? orlando bloom!? seriously...what is running through his head during this thing? i wish i wish i wish i spoke japanese!

a huge shout out goes to blog reader jen - who was referred to the manderson report by joshy c - for passing this link along. seriously jen...i am forever in your debt! without your help, i'd never have these creepy, piano-playing kiddie pirates in my life!

as josh pointed out in his email to me...this video is a lesson in committing to your art. from the get go, these gals show us how it's done!

ENJOY!

life can be so cruel

2008-07-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

yesterday, between my 10am tour (which ended at 1pm) and my 2pm tour, I went to subway with some of my tour guide co-worker friends. we were talking about one of the newer guides, and how in the past week or so, he had lost someone on a tour. that's right....just drove off and left them somewhere. (luckily another guide came along after them and found them and brought them back to the office.) sitting there, as we were talking about it, my mind couldn't even fathom how you could just leave someone. i stress at every stop we make, because i'm trying to count heads as we leave...making sure everyone is accounted for. i slow down as we round corners, so i can tabulate every helmeted-head that rolls around behind me. i mean - we're not talking about letting someone fall behind....i'm talking about losing a person. i became very vocal in the conversation and said, 'what kind of an idiot just drives off and leaves someone!? you have to always count and re-count and make sure you have everyone!'

well, sign me 'embarassed after my 2pm'. we were 4 blocks from our office....i had a family of 7 with me, and after we talked about the u.s. naval memorial and they all rode around a bit, i said, 'are we all ready to go?' they all said 'yes!' so we started rolling up towards the portrait gallery and over to our office, figuring everyone in the group had accounted for everyone else. when we got to the gallery, i turned as everyone crossed the street, and counted. but i stopped counting at 6. i quickly re-counted...and said, 'we only have 6.' the family looked around, and everyone started to say, 'oh yeah. where is regan?' i quickly rode back down 2 blocks to the memorial, but she was nowhere to be found.

when i got back, johnny (the dad) was on the phone with regan (who, at this point, it should be noted, is a married adult with 2 children), and she had riden off at the naval memorial and when she looked up, we were gone. but luckily, karen (another guide) and her group came rolling up behind regan and took her under their wing - bringing her back to the office.

luckily karen came along. un-luckily, karen was at lunch...when i vocally recounted my feelings of it taking an idiot to lose someone on a tour. luckily, we both laughed about it a lot. un-luckily, i found out the hard way how it really isn't too hard to lose someone in a quick moment. luckily, it all worked out in the end. un-luckily, i'm going to be the newest story around the tour office of 'the idiot guide who lost someone.'

thanks, life. lesson learned.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-02T06:01:00.001-07:00

To Our Northern Neighbors

2008-07-01T07:22:00.001-07:00