Empty Glass

Let’s see my weekend went something like this.
Friday morning I woke up with a splitting migraine. It was so bad that the small bit of light that streamed through my window caused actual physical pain. The waves of nausea kept me home bound. I called in sick and went back to bed where I hovered under my duvet praying to God to strike me dead once and for all and just get it over and done with. Yes, it was one of my finer self-pitying moments. Around 3 in the afternoon the worst parts of my symptoms finally subsided and I was able to get down a strong cup of tea and some toast without causing upheaval. After a cool shower, I decided to check my e-mail and spend some time writing. As I was pulling up my documents, it struck me that I hadn’t backed up my laptop in about a month and was just taking out my backup drive when my laptop froze. I didn’t think much of it, I just shut it down and started it back up again. Then tragedy struck, it opened up to a folder with a question mark on it, for those without a Mac, it meant that my hard drive was corrupted. That’s right folks, I lost yet another hard drive. It’s been almost two years to the day that I replaced my last hard drive. I tried starting it up with my OS X disks only to discover that it wouldn’t even load up. Double damn!! I had a good talking to myself...it went something like this-- “self, you are not going to break down. Pull it together, you are not allowed to fall apart over this.” I took a deep breath and sat at my dining room table and worked on a puzzle to get my mind focused elsewhere.

When my sister came home, she rallied me to write up a quick note on facebook to friends and family asking for a donation to help me buy a new computer for my birthday. I know I should do this kind of thing more often but a part of me “ego/pride” always gets in my way. Anyway, I did it and received a few donations.

I took my laptop to the genius bar to get an estimate on how much it would cost to get it fixed. I was expecting worst case scenario. Instead, I got a cute techie grrl giving me a feasible estimate which included cost of parts and labor....then she knocked off labor. Seriously! I was grateful for the break ‘cause this is rent week which means I’m pretty much skint. So the donations allowed me to cover some of the cost for a new hard drive. So thank you to my supporters and for cute techie grrl at the Apple store.

So let’s see I a lost a month’s work of writing. Grrr.

Another hard drive...double grrr.

And then ten minutes ago, my mother called me to tell me that my 9-year old cousin Brandon had passed away. He had been fighting brain cancer for the past year and a half. It stopped me in my tracks, the same way a ton of bricks always do. Then my grumblings about migraines and crashed hard drives felt small by comparison. In some ways, I know one thing has nothing to do with the other but I guess this is how things unfold, in these messy heaps of happenings. My condolences go out to my cousin Alphonso and his family.
Peace,

L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Evita - Part Deux

I was able to score some cheepie-cheepie tickets in the nosebleed section to see Evita again, this time with the alternate Eva played by Christina DeCicco. Before I made it to the theater, I was having second thoughts about going to see this show for the second time so soon. My interior monologue was going on and on about what a waste of money this was because there were no guarantees that this show would be any better.  After all, my first show left me wanting a different experience. However, DeCicco was amazing!!

The big number of “Buenas Aires” was thrilling. DeCicco’s voice was vibrant and her dance moves were smooth and seductive. I get that Elena Roger is a major Broadway star but DeCicco just did a better job. Her voice hit those high notes without it sounding screechy. DeCicco had better phrasing with the songs which made it far more enjoyable. Her rendition of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” was the moment that my interior monologue finally shut the heck up.

My absolute favorite song of the night was her closing number “Lament” it was heartbreaking. I had big soppy tears streaming down my face and I couldn’t make it stop. It was as if with this one song she cracked open my chest and ripped out my heart. Okay, a bit overstated but with that performance....that performance is what I NEEDED the show to be after waiting 30+ years to finally see this musical. *big cheesy smile* All is NOT right with the world but just for a moment I was transported into this glittery world of theater. Everything else just went away.

So my recommendation is go see Christina DeCicco in Evita on Wednesday nights or Saturday matinee, I promise you she is SO worth it. 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

I went to see the play Harvey written by Mary Chase on Friday, in previews until June 14th. Jim Parson plays Elwood P. Dowd and Jessica Hecht plays his sister Veta Louise Simmons. This play was written and first premiered on Broadway in 1944. This comedy is stylized and reminiscent of an older time but the comedy still plays well today. Veta is trying to institutionalize her brother because Elwood believes he sees and talks to a 6-foot rabbit. However, a misunderstanding ensues and Veta somehow manages to get herself institutionalized. Underlying this premise is the notion about how one treats those individuals that are odd or who don’t conform to the social norm. Elwood chooses to live his life in this “pleasant” surreal fashion to the dismay of his family but he does it without apology. Jim Parson as Elwood works so well for me. He manages to reinvent his persona so that he’s leagues away from his television alter ego, Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory. He was both compelling and curious to watch as Elwood. So very glad I caught him in this play. And I love, love, love Jessica Hecht playing opposite Parson. Her comedic timing was brilliant and there were a few moments that left me unable to breathe, I laughed so hard. The secondary characters played by legendary actors Carol Kane and Charles Kimbrough were delightful to watch but really this play revolved around Hecht and Parson for me. I understand that there was a movie made back in the 50s and I may check it out to see how the film handled the material.

I also went to see Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience by Dan and Jeff. My sister scored some free tickets so we checked it out on Monday night with my 16-year old niece. It was so silly that I couldn’t help but laugh. Some of the material fell flat on this NYC audience but Dan and Jeff recovered beautifully. The funny bits for me had to do when they accidently cracked each other up, i.e. the kiss from the dragon or the very melted chocolate cake that Dan Clarkson spread on his face or even the 11-year old skinny kid who took down Jeff Turner when he played the part of the snitch. They had a hard time recovering from those moments which cracked me up. It reminded me of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman from the Carol Burnett show. I know that not every one loved it, in fact a couple from our row left in a huff after 25 minutes. And if we had paid full price for the show, I might have gotten my panties in a twist about it. But free tickets allowed me to let go and enjoy it for what it was. I have to say that out of the two I thought Daniel Clarkson held up a lot of the show. I get that Jeff was more the straight man in this comedy bit but I really wish he had taken on more of the roles to off-set how one-sided the show seemed to sway. This is a funny show, just leave your up-tight ego at the door and enjoy it for the silly fun it’s meant to be.

Let’s see what else have I been up to? Oh yes, I started my very own twitter account and after several weeks of not knowing how to either read tweets or post them, I opted back out of it again. Yes, even I have my limitations with technology. Not to mention that I happen to read a very interesting article on the internet and privacy. It alarmed me enough to pull back from both Facebook and Twitter. Although, I have enjoyed social media for the time-suck that it is, my tolerance for it has been diminishing by leaps and bounds. I will keep to my blog but I’m going to make a concerted effort to keep the personal bits down to a minimum.

Peace,

L~


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.