Happy New Year!

I know it sounds cliche, but sometimes, the most amazing moments come from simple pleasures. David and I went to One if by Land, Two if by Sea last night (a terrific restaurant in New York City) and had one of the best meals of our lives. We've been several times before but we decided to have the tasting menu including the wine tasting with each course. It was an incredible dining experience. And while it was expensive, it was worth every penny because of the wonderful ambiance, remarkable service, exquisite cuisine and of course the company. I know that we all have different things that are important to us but for me, a great meal, some special wine and loving company is the best gift in the world.

Here's to special moments and a healthy and prosperous New Year!

To see the tasting menu we enjoyed http://www.oneifbyland.com/taste.html

The old blog...

Thought I would consolidate - so here are my posts from earlier this year. But do scroll down to see the Christmas poem and such. I hope that 2007 is bright and healthy and prosperous for all of us!

When I'm Sick
parplaywright Wednesday 01 of November, 2006
Anytime I get sick...I mean really sick, like the flu or bronchitis, I always say it is the sickest I have ever felt. Is that true for everyone I wonder? Why is my memory so short when it comes to how yuckie I feel when i am sick. Maybe it is better that way, and certainly when I am feeling better, it feels so great to stop blowing my nose or coughing or running a temp. That first day when you are back or at least close to 100% feels so good, like you are alive again, almost reborn. Well...I have bronchitis right now and I feel like hell. It's been a week so I am hopefull that the end is near and those moments of breathing easily without tissues is close at hand. Just a clean breath thru the nostrils can be such a joy. I really hate being sick...don't you?
Posted on Wednesday 01 of November, 2006 [02:44:21 UTC]

Letting go of the past
parplaywright Monday 09 of October, 2006
Sometimes, letting go, is the healthiest thing we can do. While the past can teach us so many things, and memories are always important to our lives, holding on to another time, letting it dominate our thoughts or undermine our current lives, can be incapacitating. I realized this weekend, as I went back to visit my college, that there were certain things that I had never let go of, never said goodbye to, and most of these things should be unimportant at this point in my life; not even cross my wave of consciousness. I realized that I cared too much about what someone from this "time-warp" might think of my progress, or, more detrimental, that they might think that I hadn't done what I set out to do - that I was a failure. Circumstances might be a bit more complicated with this particular visit but suffice it to say, part of the reason I went at all was because I think I felt I had been ignored, avoided, dismissed by this time and place. And that made me realize that the reason I cared so much was because I somehow equate that time of my life as the most successful. I was accomplished then and somehow I have felt "less than that" since graduating almost 20 years ago. Reality however should clearly show me that I have grown and succeeded well beyond that little pond, and indeed, with help from some of my friends, including two fellow alums, (not to mention some interesting circumstances that transpired) I was able to say goodbye. Sometimes, letting go, is the healthiest thing we can do. Let it go.
Posted on Monday 09 of October, 2006 [19:11:02 UTC]

Life really does turn on a dime...
parplaywright Tuesday 26 of September, 2006
I wasn't sure where I'd be, or what I would be doing in the next few months (yes, there is the ongoing saga of what is happening with ASTC and my writing projects) but as of today, I have been offered a position with The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and I am really excited about joining the research department and supporting this effort. Part of me is also excited about going to work in an environment that is established, has a history, a bedrock. I need that stability and my work in the arts has always been everything but... As I turned 40, and as I mention in my poem, Happy Birthday, my perspective has changed. The things that make me happy now are the simple things: time with David, enjoying the backyard, dinner parties and cookouts with friends and time away on The Cape or at the Jersey Shore. I do believe this new adventure will afford me some of those joys, just because that "frantic" nature of work that is uncertain or in its infancy will be replaced by something more durable and certain. Not that it won't be challenging and not that it won't take up a great deal of my life, but it just feels right. In any case, I am grateful for this opportunity and hopeful that it will be a long stretch of highway before any detours or exits.
Posted on Tuesday 26 of September, 2006 [18:41:09 UTC]

If life is a bowl of cherries...
parplaywright Friday 22 of September, 2006
Suffice it to say, my life this week has been rough. I know, I know, rough is relative and my life is glorious in the scheme of things, but this is about me. I've been in a funk...ok...a depression, and on top of that, or maybe because of that, I have not been physically well. I took the week off as I await word on a job offer and am not sure I will take the new job even tho my current position won't have the money to pay me after December. When I weigh the pros and cons it really may end up being a coin toss. So I have tried to rest, deal with some other things in my life and watch all the new fall shows. I do have to say, this seems to be the first season in a long time that is debuting so many "scripted" shows. That's promising for actors who have been struggling to deal with the wave of reality TV and talent competitions. Not that I'm planning on going back to the biz. I mean part of me really wants to go back, but another part of me needs stability. I think I'm having a true Gemini week - torn in two. I also did two things (last weekend) that I highly recommend. I went to the San Gennaro Festival and went to see INTO THE WEEDS at West Bank Cafe. My friend Bill Weeden wrote the songs and he's at the piano and has assembled a really talented cast. If you're in the tri-state area, try to see it...it's really a great show. I have no idea where the road is leading me...
Posted on Friday 22 of September, 2006 [05:00:24 UTC]

September 11th
parplaywright Monday 11 of September, 2006
It is the five year anniversary of September 11th and I am not sure quite how I feel. I know I feel sorrow for those who lost loved ones and colleagues and friends. I know I feel a sense of darkness as I remember vividly running out of our one-bedroom on Boulevard East in North Bergen, New Jersey and watching the second tower collapse from across the river. I began to cry, uncontrollably at the site and then realized that a dear friend of mine worked there - miraculously he was late for work that day and was stuck in the subway but unharmed...thank God. I know I am angered by the 9/11 mini-series (although not so much at the television move itself, but that "King George" will be speaking in the middle of it like it is some campaign advertisement). I am also struck by the fact that I have never written about 9/11. Maybe I feel it would be disingenuous, or maybe I feel that it is oversaturated with articulated thought. I'm not sure. But today is the five year anniversary of 9/11 and I guess...I have finally written about it.
Posted on Monday 11 of September, 2006 [22:29:20 UTC]

My first book...
parplaywright Sunday 10 of September, 2006
While I have been writing for years, this is my first book. It completes a project that I have been working on...well forever. As I have mentioned a million times, I am as excited about my Mom's paintings being in the book as the poems and musings that I have put into this collection. My partner has said that many of the poems are dark and I suppose they are, but there is also hope in them. Life, in my opinion, is challenging and difficult and stormy with moments of ecstasy and joy and sunshine that make it all worth it. I hope some people get the book and read it and discover something within the words - maybe startling, maybe familiar, maybe sad or silly, but something. If nothing else, I am having one of those "joyful" moments, just for the opportunity to share my work.
Posted on Sunday 10 of September, 2006 [05:58:37 UTC]

In just a few more days...

Christmas will be here. I'm still recovering from our bash last weekend and just finished my Christmas shopping tonight. Last year I did everything online. This year I shopped a little online but also hit the stores and must admit I had a good time. It put me in that spirit of giving. Online can cause less headaches but it also lacks the charm of picking things up and seeing other shoppers finding what they're looking for. And yes, the front yard of our house is too much but hey, we've got all the stuff, no use leaving it in the garage! I even put speakers outside this year and piped Christmas music - we have quite a few familes stop by to enjoy it all.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Poem

Party Before Christmas (from FLOWERS IN AUTUMN: endings and beginnings)

Bows and wreaths, the manger scene,
a tree to light the block.
The stairs are trimmed, the candles glow,
and yes, a Christmas sock.

The Snoopy room delights with awe,
there's ornaments galore.
And figurines and cards and clings,
enough to fill a store.

The food is out in several rooms,
the chili and the dips.
The festive bar is stocked to hilt -
a cheer from glass to lips.

The yard in front is covered full
with air-balloons and lights.
So even in the thickest storm
Saint Nick could see or sights.

For weeks and months preparing well
each nook and windowsill.
With sights and sounds of Christmas joy
and loads of true goodwill.

And favorite foods are always found:
the sausage and the fish,
the tassies and the porcupines,
that rich potato dish.

So all our friends and neighbors come
and celebrate with cheer.
And evening that we cherish
as we look toward next year.

Tis the Season

It's that time of year...
I find myself a bit overwhelmed between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year as we prepare for our annual holiday party - the house decked to the hilt and we cook all the food ourselves. Normally attended by at least 40 or 50 friends, family and colleagues it is a big bash to be sure. Our front lawn is bright enough to be seen from outer space (as one of my friend's said) and preparing all of the inside decorations and of course the menu, keeps me a bit stressed. Add to that my insane need for everything to be perfect, and well, you can imagine the energy. David thinks I am crazy and often fights with me about it, letting me know in no uncertain terms that I am "ruining the fun of it" and "acting like a scrooge." In truth, I have always loved this time of year, but must admit that maybe i have gotten a bit too wrapped up in the commercialism of it all and throwing the biggest ass party you can think of! My self analysis leaves me a bit stumped. Maybe it is because I always dreamed of throwing a big party like this when I was little. We had a friend who threw the party of the year and maybe I envied that she could it, I don't know. Maybe it is because we've been doing them for 10 years and I don't want the current one to be less than the one before - I don't want people to be disappointed or say, "Gee, where is this?" or "I missed the cookies this year." I know it is silly. If people are coming just for free food and booze then they are really not worth having over. I am really trying to let go of some of my need to control everything and be so rigid and such a perfectionist. It does ruin the fun and I should be enjoying it all a bit more. I have begun, over the past few years, to at least enjoy the party itself. And this year, I even let David decorate most of the tree - in the past if he got to put on 5 ornaments he was lucky. So maybe, as I get a older, I am indeed getting a wee bit wiser. In any case, I can honestly say that I am grateful for all that I have and all that has been given to me - and some of the best stuff has no price tag and you can't get it in any store.