Overheard

I know many of you have already heard of, or been to, this site, but I love it: http://www.overheardinnewyork.com.

There's also Overheard sites for the Cubicle, Pittsburgh, Athens and the list goes on and on.

Some of these quotes literally make me laugh out loud. My coworkers must think I'm crazy.
One of my favorite ones is from New York . It's not necessarily the funniest one ever, I love it because the reponse of the New Yorker sounds just like something Corey would say. It's perfectly sarcastic.

Satan Island, Starring Vincent Price?

Tourist: I want to go home. New York is so unchristian. Look at this, they even have a place called "Satan Island"!

New Yorker: Oh yeah, we New Yorkers are the worst. We even sold our souls to the devil so we could all read.

-Mo

What is my problem?

There are two things that are bound to happen when it rains.

1. It'll be the only day the entire week that I decide to wear my hair down. Of course it looks like crap by the time I get to my destination point.

2. I will fall up steps. That's right ladies and gentleman. I fell up the stairs AGAIN today. (refer to last post to see a pattern here). This time it was right in front of my office building and not because I was in a hurry, but simply because the ground was slippery. I fell right on my ass. I'm okay though, the only thing bruised is my ego. Sigh.


- Mo

A Black Cat Proably Crossed My Path Underneath A Ladder...

They say it's bad luck to open an umbrella in the house. Well, it's worse luck to not bring one to work with you at all.

It's only 10:00am and today is already turning into one of those days.
- I woke up with the top of my foot hurting. I don't know if it's from the shoes I was wearing yesterday, if I injured it working out yesterday, slept on it wrong or if it's just another unexplained weird ailment that's attached to my ongoing back issues.
- Then I stepped outside to see that it was dark and slightly drizzley. I didn't have my umbrella with me, but I couldn't remember where I put it and didn't have time to run back in the house and look for it. Besides, it wasn't raining too hard. I just hoped it would wait until I got to work where I have an umbrella for when I come home.
- Though the bottom of my pants were wet and my hair was a bit of a mess, I wasn't too wet as I got into the El station. I was just happy the rain held off for my 3 1/2 block walk. I was heading up the escalator when I heard the train coming, so I start sprinting up the stairs. SPLAT! I fell right up the stairs, in front of the whole morning rush hour. Luckily I made it on the train and most of those behind me didn't, so I didn't have to sit in the same car with them as they judge me while I become more and more embarrassed.
- I was fortunate that I didn't get rained on too badly walking to the train from home, but once I got off the train to walk the 3 blocks to my office, it was a different story. It was POURING! My little Red Eye newspaper wasn't doing a bit of good. By the time I got into work, I was soaked and freezing. Luckily I wasn't wearing a white shirt. (Well, lucky for me - unlucky for my coworkers -- badabing!)
The rest of my day hasn't been as crazy (YET), but the bad vibes from before 8am are still following me. I'm just doing stupid stuff here and there. I called the wrong VP about a presentation that he knew nothing about and looked like an idiot, I'm messing up meeting requests that I'm supposed to send out (well, I should say, my boss is messing it up and blaming me).
It's 10:00am, I'm still soaked, my foot still hurts, my knee now hurts from the fall and I'm leery of every corner I turn, because of the kind of luck I'm having.

-Mo

Back to boring Monday

Back to the grind, boo. It especially sucks after having a great weekend. Corey and I rode our bikes almost every evening this past week. I also worked out a couple of times in the workout room at my office. I know this isn't amazing blog-worthy news, but it's the most active I've been able to be in months. Apparently my body likes working out, because my back hurts less... it's not perfect, but less.

FABaret! opened on Friday. The show was GREAT! Granted, only 7 people were in the audience, but those 7 loved it. That would be in part due to the opening act, "The Rainbow Puppy Smiletime Hour" of which Corey is a part. They were really funny and helped get the night started off right. I particularly enjoyed Corey and Paul turning Patrick into the most pitiful, allergy-ridden, pathetic kid ever.
Those of you in Chicago that couldn't make it, should come by this Friday for week 2 of the show. I promise you'll enjoy it.

Corey and I also saw "Little Miss Sunshine." Was the movie perfect? No, but it was hilarious. It's one of the funniest movies I've seen all year. Though there were some definite wacky moments, it also has some very deep and emotional parts, too. As you can imagine, Steve Carell was excellent. Different than you've ever seen him, too. Also, the little girl that plays Olive, Abigail Breslin, played the part very real and besides being adorable, she was really great. Alan Arkin was brilliant, as well. It's truly a great ensemble piece. Go see it, you won't regret it. Unless you're planning on seeing it Friday instead of coming to my show. Then you will regret it... because I'll make you regret it!

-Mo

Weekend Recap

Despite the sad news about Ted, we also had a great time with the family this past weekend. Corey's parents and his Aunt and Uncle came to visit. Here are some highlights from the weekend:

On Thursday we went to see the taping of NPR's game/news/comedy show "Wait wait...don't tell me!" If you've never listened to it, I highly recommend it. It was hilarious. A panel of semi- celebrity/journalists answer hot topic news questions. Callers dial in to play some of the quiz games as well, in hopes of winning the prize of NPR's news anchor Carl Kasell recording an outgoing message on their answering machine. Each week they have a celebrity guest that calls in for an interview and also to play a quiz game themselves. This week's celebrity guest was Tommy Chong. As you can imagine, he was a great guest. For some hilarious listening, click on the link above and on the show's homepage you can hear some past Carl Kasell answering machine messages. They're awesome.

We also spent a lot of time shopping, and of course eating. Uncle Lloyd was particularly funny. I've never seen a 75 year old man eat so much ice cream. At every turn he was ready to eat. He particularly got a kick out of the guys on the street pushing the carts full of ice cream. "Can you believe this! An ice cream bar for only $1. In Kansas City, this would cost me $1.50 and they wouldn't bring it to you right on the street!"

The Old Town School of Folk Music right up the street from us had their annual garage sale. While Corey's mom and Aunt and Uncle shopped around Lincoln Square, Corey, his dad and I waited in line for an hour and a half to get in. It was worth it, though. In their garage sale, they sell used instruments, accessories, books and other accompaniment they've collected over the year. Corey bought a used, but in great condition bass guitar, amp and strap all for under $200. He's going to start taking lessons next month. I found a great steal too. My dad is a musician. He plays all sorts of fun percussion instruments like the Jimbay, Bongos, other African drums and even some that he's made himself. I called and asked if he was looking for anything so I could keep an eye out. All he was really interested in was a steel drum. I figured there'd be no way we'd find one at a Folk music store. But tucked away, kind of in a corner, was one! It's pretty big too, over 1 1/2 feet in diameter. It's from Trinidad and brand new would normally cost $600. He got it for $175! Now the problem is figuring how to ship it back to him.

We also went to the beach. Sometimes I forget how awesome this city is until we have people in town to take out. It was a gorgeous day and we sat back from the water on the cliff between the grass and the sand and ate, of course, ice cream.
I think realizing how great being outside can be (at least with the kind of weather we had) finally convinced Corey to get a bike. He got a great deal on a refurbished bike and we've been like kids riding around our neighborhood every night. It's the perfect blend of fun and exercise.

- Mo

the end of an era...

I lost a good friend this weekend.

The very difficult decision to have the veterenarian put Ted to sleep was made on Friday. He was 12 years old. He was having some recurring renal failure, and while I won't chronicle the specific symptoms, suffice it to say he was suffering. It was with a heavy heart that the decision was made to end that suffering. I know in my heart it was the right thing to do. It doesn't make it any easier, though.

I adopted Ted when he was just 10 weeks old. On a visit to Wayside Waifs I walked by a cage with these two adorable little puppies. It was Ted and his sister. The staff at Wayside allow you to take the dogs out of the cages to a little fenced in area to play with them for a while when making your decisions. Ted and his sister were brought out to the play area and while his sister cowered in the corner and was hesitant to interact, Ted came bounding over and instantly started playing with me. The decision was a no-brainer. I was done looking, and immediately dubbed him Ted, mostly because I thought it was funny.

When I first brought him home, he was tiny. He could almost sit in one of my hands. He couldn't quite jump high enough to get on the couch. He was just this little fur-ball of energy. The folks at Wayside Waifs had labeled his kennel "chow mix" because they didn't know his origin, but could tell there was some chow due to his partially purple tongue. Ted grew, but never got very big. A vet later concluded he was part chow, part golden retriever and part pomeranian. He never grew much bigger than a pomeranian, but looked so much like a retriever that most people assumed he was still a puppy even when he was surpassing 10 years old.

We had some really great times, going for walks on the Plaza, running in the leashes-off section of SM Park, and teaching him tricks. He could sit, lay, roll over, shake (with either paw), and "high five" upon command. He was even the inspiration for a sketch performed by Der Monkenpickle and portrayed on stage by my friend Ed Goodman. Ted and I moved from the apartment near Westport, to a house in Brookside, before moving to Denver. We lived in three different apartments in Colorado and played a lot with Emma, the Schwartz' dog in their backyard. We later moved back to KC and lived in Lawrence for a year, too.

When I decided to move to Chicago, the hardest decision was to leave Ted behind with my parents in Overland Park. I knew it was better for him. He would have a backyard to run in and kids to play with him, while I would be living in a small apartment in the city, and keeping a crazy schedule. Plus, my parents loved him tremendously and took wonderful care of him. Even though I missed him, it was alright since I knew he was having a better life in Kansas than I could provide here in Chicago. Whenver I came home to visit, though, it was obvious that he still remembered me and clearly didn't hold it against me. He was just always glad to see me.

We went through a lot together. He was there for me in good times and in hard times alike. He never judged me. He never doubted me. He never took me for granted. He just loved me unconditionally. I miss you, buddy. I'm glad you're feeling better now. Goodbye Ted.

- Corey

FABaret

Mark your calendars for...




FABaret - A Cavalcade of Song! Fridays 8/18, 8/25, 9/8 and 9/15 @ 8pm at The Spot (formerly Frankie J's) 4437 N. Broadway.

Kevin Sciretta and Monique Madrid star as Tom and Tina.
Their on-again, off-again relationship, partnership, and showmanship is back ON AGAIN!

It's a fun-filled cabaret of improvised scenes and songs, accompanied by the amazing Mike Descoteaux on the piano.
Tickets are $8, and just $5 for improvisers.
The Spot features nightly drink specials and fantastic food.

Opening for FABaret will be "The Rainbow Puppy Smiletime Hour" - improv with Corey Rittmaster, Paul Guilianelli and Patrick Mene.

Coolest Video Ever

With MTV celebrating it's 25th anniversary this week, I've been a little nostalgic for those "good ol' days" back when the Music Television actually played music videos. Since they don't do that anymore, the connection to a band through it's videos has eroded greatly. There was a time when you couldn't think about a popular music artist without instantly having an image from one of their music videos in your mind. Consequently, music videos have sort of slipped off my radar over the years.

Every once in a while, however, you stumble across something that puts your faith back in those old truths you used to hold so dearly. The following is the video by the band OK Go for their song "Here It Goes Again". The thing that I have to keep reminding myself is that it's all one take. There's no edit in there.

Prepare to have your mind blown.

Love,
Corey

The most exciting post ever!

Today is not a shoe day. Ever have those days? I don't feel like wearing shoes, so you know what, I'm not going to. I'm just walking around the office in socks hoping nobody notices.

Clearly you can tell this is going to be an exciting post...

Not much new going on. We bought a futon over the weekend for the spare bedroom, so now there's no excuse not to visit. We've got plenty of room and a really cool guest room since we painted it, too.
I biked to and from Second City on Sunday. That's 6.5 miles each way. The worst part going there was riding against the wind. Coming back it was the ridiculous heat. My back felt fine through the whole thing, but I was exhausted afterwards. Since it's not as stressful on my back as running, it's usually a good exercise that I can handle. My hip was killing me the next day though. Man, I sound like a 70 year old woman. Still, I'm really proud that I did it. My ultimate goal is to ride to and from work a couple days a week. That's about 7.5 miles each way. Definitely a reachable goal, but I have to be able to do that at 6:30 in the morning. That's the hard part.

The floors are getting refinished tomorrow. What? We actually know about this ahead of time? There's actual planning involved? I know, shocking. Let's see if they can do it with out screwing up too badly.

Last night we had dinner with DWalsh. He was in town on a layover for a business trip to China . Corey and I, Walsh, his business associate Matt, and his cousins all met at Lou Malnati's for some Chicago-style pizza. You know, you really can tell what kind a person someone is by the people they hang out with. We had a great time. Everyone was friendly, told great stories and we laughed alot. This was a nice change compared to some recent parties we've attended where we again didn't know people there, the difference being that not a soul made any attempt to get to know us. How hard is it to introduce yourself and strike up a conversation? Maybe I've just been spoiled by hanging out with outgoing improvisers. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, until I woke up feeling sick at 2am . I don't know if it was the pizza or dehydration or what, but I spent the rest of the night sleeping on the couch with an empty trash can next to my head just in case. I ended up not throwing up, but I'm pretty tired this morning. I'm sure you wanted to know that.
I'll post more later if I think of anything. This is enough to thrill you all for now!

-Mo