"July, July", or "On the Corner of Memory and Recollection"

For ever-so-long in college, James and I...
I don't know...
did Comic Frenzy.

What exactly we did is harder to define.

What: Comic Frenzy Show
Where: BYU-I, M.C. Ballroom
When: A While Ago

(l-r) Trevor Hill, Christian Busath, Brady Moss, and Darren Zufelt.

I forgot how spiky James's hair used to be.
It's a lot softer looking now.

There's no way of knowing now,
but it does seem to you that, in the picture above,
Andy is gearing up to say something real smartass-y.

(l-r) Andy Donkin, Trevor Hill,
Jeff Blake (who I think was singing as this picture was taken),
Darren Zufelt, Brady Moss

(l-r) An audience.

Comic Frenzy was a total anomaly.
It probably shouldn't have worked.
It was completely student run, it got into trouble
(BYU-Idaho, Mormon-y kind of trouble)
all the time,
and it was the bane of many people's existence (I'm sure).
But it did work.
It worked really well.

Do you guys remember this?
Having this many people pay to see you "be funny"?
Amazing, really.
(and I think you know what I mean with the quotation marks)

"July, July", or, "God Bless the Lawnmower"

Who was the fool who made January first New Years Day?

Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury

"July, July" or "How the Dessert Truck Stole my Independence"

4th of July in the city:
Unique, communal, chaotic.

Susanna and I went running the park at 9:30 am,
and it was already packed with people setting up for
a party for the duration.
Tables, chafing dishes, tents...the whole operation.

We got there a little later, around 2.
But we sent James on his bike as the advance guard,
and he found us a shady spot.
The picture below is a pretty good summation of the picnic vibe-
-complete with Reggie.

Van played the watermelon drum for most of the afternoon.

Then, having grown bored when James insisted on taking his turn,
he got up to get his cigs out of the backpack
(luckily, Susanna found them that morning just after he packed them,
and wisely threw them out.
He's just a baby, he shouldn't be smoking).

The picture below is just before the fireworks started.
At this point I was being elbowed by half a dozen children who,
though they were standing quite close to each other,
insisted on yelling as though across a great chasm.

Trust me, there was no chasm.

Once the fireworks started, everyone, myself included, relaxed.
They were extra special this year,
in commemoration of Henry Hudson's epic
journey up the Hudson River.

As we, all 800,000,000,000 of us
(a loose estimation)
spilled out onto the streets of Chelsea,
I couldn't help but think what a singular experience
it is to be in this city.

Then we headed up to 47th and 9th for the Dessert Truck.

This is important as I think the Dessert Truck has stolen
my independence from the Dessert Truck.

Behold, a chocolate mousse with creamy peanut butter filling
and carmel popcorn.

(below) Alex's warm chocolate bread pudding (a perennial favorite)
with bacon custard-because,
Alex, how often do you get the chance?

A banner day:
a fireworks and insane crowds and barbecue kind of day.

"July, July", or, "Upper West Side Story"

We had a night out on the town with G.K., Susanna, and Alex.

We stopped at Flor de Mayo,
which is a combo Peruvian/Chinese restaurant.
As amusing as that premise is for a restaurant,
it was totally mediocre.

The company more than made up for the
less than awesome food (thankfully).

We did some walking on the Upper West Side.

Then, instead of the dessert truck*,
we headed to Shake Shack for dessert.
I've cast my aspersions at the Shake Shack in the past,
but, I take them all back.
It was awesome.

James, GK, and Alex thought so too.

We ended the night, romantically enough, buying flowers.

*don't worry, we found the dessert truck later in the week.

"July, July" or "This is for my mom"

So, I've branched out. Planting out, beyond my fire escape.

It rained all through June,
and the zucchini plants became monsters.
I've grown a little scared of them.

They've flowered, and I can see little zucchinis on them.

Though, because they've grown so massive,
they're choking out these little flowers.
This one (above) is doing okay, but another has meet it's end.

I can't take credit for this rose.
The bush was planted by the original owners of our building,
eighty years ago.
They have the most amazing scent ever; almost citrusy.
It's...indescribable.

The strawberries keep getting eaten by birds.
I've since devised a way to keep the birds (and cats) away
(it basically involves James sitting outside and
yelling and waving his arms to shoo them away).

These little babies were grown from seeds.
They are something grown from almost nothing at all.
Call me a simple girl, but I'm amazed every time I look at them.

This is it.
It's actually gotten a little bigger since I took this picture.

And seriously, those zucchinis have gotten surly.

The Dessert Truck Strikes Again

Good pal Mal was in town,
and on her last day we went to
The Grey Dog for sandwiches,
and then to the dessert truck.

The thing is, this bastardized taco truck has
some kind of tractor beam.
If you're in a ten block vicinity, you can't help but seek it out.
You're thinking to yourself,
I just ate a giant chicken salad sandwich on sourdough,
along with all the chips it came with and both pickles,
and I do not need a goat cheese cake
with rosemary honey and berries.

Then again...maybe I do.

And such is the pull of the dessert truck.

We are powerless to resist.

Noises Off

This movie is amazing. I've been told by a reliable source that the play is better, which I fully believe. But, the movie is awesome, so, if you have a chance to see both, see the movie first. It may be a little inside, but just excellent, excellent.

I just finished my own little play, and it looked not unlike this. It was a short one act in a black box festival.

It was an interesting experience. I say it was short, and I mean it. 9 pages. A little like a sprint. You start, and almost faster than you can get your bearings, it's over.

A completely educational experience.

This (below) is the cast, the writer (in the middle) and the director (the other woman).

Some friends were able to make it out, and thanks thanks for that, guys.


p.s. After seeing this picture (above), I declared it looked retarded and demanded another one be taken. But I don't know, it kind of just makes sense.