sowing the seeds of love

highsch friend claudia is getting married this weekend, about 15 minutes away from my college, OU (1.5 hours from columbus). my high school friends are awesome, and vastly different (but at heart, the same). there's a group of about 20 of us who have stayed really close, after more than 10 years of being outta there, running the gamut on careers and lifestyles.

the invitation was designed by another friend, jenny. it's on a natural brown paper, with imprints of leaves. the outside says this:
"the minute i heard my first love story
i started looking for you
not knowing how blind that was
lovers don't finally meet somewhere
they're in each other all along"
-rumi

claudia is a super kind woman. she's pretty, nice, giggly and giving, and i love her to bits. her transformation into womanhood has been a neat one - she studied abroad in india for a long while, looked into being a du lac, and now works and lives off a farm in southeastern ohio. whoa!

her fiance andy, also a graduate of bishop watterson a few years after us, was raised irish-catholic but now is a follower of the Hopi faith. you heard me. because of this, they are having a very non-traditional day - we are camping on a piece of land with a pig roast after a very hippie wedding. (i mean, let's call it as we sees it, yes?) i'm looking forward to it, to hang with friends and camp in XTREME weather. and, what is a wedding if not the couple's day? let's do this! Hopi! Faith!

it certainly isn't a weekend of shows.

indubitably

while killing time on a break before late tech last night at iO, joey, robyn and i spent about 2 hours on youtube watching some old classics (wine stomper, gay everest, cockroach weatherman, and several leg breaks during sports matches).

robyn randomly typed in "crispy critters". this is something that was tucked away in my mind that i had completely forgotten about.

so, while we're at it...

when doves cry

i have mixed emotions. i have a feeling all my women's studies teachers would too... but...

tonight.

tonight, suckers!

preview - the real opening is next week, but still... help us find the timing and come tonight if you're bored!

it's fun.
warning: i do a lot of bj jokes. this isn't a bit.

acting!

caeti and romanski

friends frank and rachel are making a move to LA. frank has already technically lived there for a bit because of his work, but they had been doing long distance for a bit during tv season. we were lucky to get frank back in the summer while he was on hiatus, but romanski got a job out in cali running the SC training center admin side, so it was finally time to go. their homebase is now (sadly) in LA.

on monday night, we had a great chance to hang out with both of them and say farewell (for now, i hope). both seemed anxious to get to restart coupling up again soon, but were lamenting leaving chicago. frank also mentioned missing everything here. the more friends we all have that go into tv, the more that tell us to appreciate our time on stages instead. i'm noting it.

one or two times, i've had people call me "the female frank caeti". this is amongst my favorite compliments. frank was a person i immediately looked to when i started comedysportz. when he began the stages at second city, the way he touted csz and treated it with the respect it deserves has always inspired me.

good luck, great people.

listen, kid... here's the deal

i can't believe it's almost time - listen, kid is just around the corner. peter gwinn wrote all the dialogue, steph mccullough wrote all the music, rich prouts directs. this is a real chicago-y project. lots of close pals involved with this show & some talented new folk. our official opening isn't until next week, but this thursday is the preview. it's fun to be in a play again, though most of what i do is talk about bjs and boning. hey, kids need to learn, i guess.

here's the synopsis:
"Listen, Kid..." the new musical by Peter Gwinn (Emmy-nominated writer for "The Colbert Report') and Stephanie McCullough opens Thursday Oct 26th, with a special preview performance on Thursday October 19th.

In a world where lessons on sharing seem trite and being nice to your neighbor can get you shot, there is "Listen, Kid…", the musical that explores what kids really need to know about growing up. But, make no mistake, this show is for mature audiences.

This collection of hilarious scenes and unforgettable songs teaches brutally honest lessons about 21st century topics from childhood obesity to the dangers of being “friends with benefits”. You’ll wish you saw this show when you were nine!
Featuring:Joey Bland Tara DeFrancisco Kimberley Hellem Dave Ries Sarah Reule Brandon Sornberger Sam Super Directed by Rich Prouty Thursdays 8:00pm Oct 26-Dec 21 i.O. Theater 3541 N. Clark StChicago IL 60657 Tickets: $12 / $5 for i.O students with ID Reservations: 773-880-0199 Visit http://www.listenkid.net

grin and bear it

today, i was casually shopping at strange cargo here on clark st. i went on a few dates with one of the owners of the store, and since, he gives me discounts on tube-socks and ringer tees for the ho-jo i accidentally gave him*. all in all, not a bad trade. i stood next to a couple that was looking at Bears t-shirts. the girlfriend went to try on a fun jersey tee with the bear growl logo on it. this girl was lincoln-parky... blonde, cute, prob a size 6?, maybe my height. she came out of the dressing room.

girl: whattya think?
guy: it's pretty small. (lie)
girl: really? i just thought it fit.
guy: well, i mean, it does. but you know, it's tight.
girl: oh. (looks sheepish) i guess i don't have to get it.
guy: yeah. well...
girl: do you think i look fat?
guy: no.
(silence)
girl: um, ok.
guy: it's just tighter than you wear things, but yeah. yeah. get it.
girl: ok, i mean, if you think it's okay.
guy: no, you know what? you're gonna wash and dry that thing. go a size up.

first off, i don't know what to say here. as an on-listener, i wanted to clock the guy for even making this cute girl feel like a knob. i also wanted to clock the girl for going all everybody-loves-raymond on us and asking the dreaded fat-bomb question. america, have you learned noth? don't ask this question! also, don't date this guy!

i've also concocted an elaborate story to go with their couplehood - they were going to a Monday Night Football party tonight at a friend's, and she had no gear (fair-weath). she went to buy a shirt, and the guy, knowing his buddies thought she was hot, wanted her to buy something baggier so he could keep the goods to himself.** grow a pair. don't make a girl feel stupes for your ego! she ain't yo' prop!

here we go, bears***.

*i bet you thought i was going to retract this. sucker.
**probably none of this is accurate, but it sure does add up nice.
***property of zach thompson - and this year, it means the most.

it didn't mean the same thing then.

this sure is something.
i remember looking at this on the playground in like, 4th grade, and being disappointed that i was a lamp.

boy, i'm not disappointed now. THIS RULES!

look for you, here.

baby wants cando

speaking of shows, i'm doing my first Baby Wants Candy show tonight! it's an improvised hour long musical based on one suggestion. if you have no plans yet, come - 10:30, iO theatre (3541 n. clark, del close theatre).

it'll be a blast.

to catch a cold

every friday it seems i'm feeling a little under the weather. maybe it's some of the junk i have to deal with, maybe it's immune system stuff, maybe it's change in weather, or maybe it's an excuse to watch to catch a predator.

for the record - i am halfway ashamed that i watch this show. i can't believe i've been home every friday at 8 for the past four weeks or so, but all my shows have fallen at 10:30... just enough time to cram it in. please- someone else has to have seen this. why do i feel guilty when the guys get caught? conversely, why is it fun to see them squirm? i mean, it is GROSS what they are doing... and illegal... but why is it hard to watch?

hot tips for the idiot pedophiles - if you see a young girl and she asks you to "get in a hot tub", says she's "going to go change", orrrrr says she "made frozen lemonade", RUN FOR YOUR LIVES. chris hansen is coming!

busy bee

long full week of corporate comedy (writing and acting), many csz/io/sc bizco shows, and lots of rehearsals from a musical i'm in called Listen, Kid. this show was written by the Colbert Report/Baby Wants Candy's Peter Gwinn, and opens at iO on oct 26th. it's exciting - we even have sponsors and stuff (dour's and the onion!).

it's crunch time, and we've been pushing ourselves now on music and lines and choreography. it's fun. i know i haven't mentioned yet, but if you're in chicago, see it when it comes around. super talented directors (prouty and mccullough), and a great cast it's funny and playful. i'll write more about it as it comes.