The Affair (as in the show)

So last night I watched the first episode of The Affair.  You know the show on SHOtime. I had some thoughts following my viewing which I thought I would share. Now, let me preface this by stating that I am not, nor have I ever purported to be a critic of film or TV. I am not even necessarily and avid movie-goer or TV watcher. But after watching the show, I had these thoughts buzzing around my head regarding what I saw and I felt compelled to share them with the 2 possibly 3 people who will ever read this post....

I'll start with some positives.  I loved the acting.  I recognized some of my old friends like Julia Goldani Telles from Bunheads and Jadon Sand from the Lego Movie.  As well as some of my newer friends like Joshua Jackson from Fringe and Dawson's Creek (New for me since I just watched Fringe this year and I am currently in the middle of watching Dawson's Creek for the first time).  Apparently, the main dude is from The Wire or so my husband says, however, I've never seen that show and would just be taking his word for it.  Anyway, while these are all familiar friends, I definitely felt engaged by their new characters. On a whole, I felt that the acting was great.  While some of the faces were the same, the characters were new, and I was able to form opinions on them based on their actions in this show without any reference to their prior work. Honestly, I think that is a huge achievement. I mean to watch Joshua Jackson as this new dude Cole after literally just watching an episode of Dawson's Creek immediately prior and to not immediately having the thought that this is Pacey grown up and view him through that perspective, I think is a testament to his skill as an actor.  Not to say that growing the beard didn't help... But, I digress... (I also write run-on sentences)

So the acting was great, subtle, nuanced, effective.  I also liked the opportunity to view the story from the two opposing perspectives.  It was fun to see what changed and what stayed the same.  It was almost like a challenge.  After viewing the events from Noah's viewpoint, you could try to guess where their perceptions would diverge.  It was stimulating and intriguing.  The mysteriousness of the detective interrogating them was fun too.  Like I said, I watched one episode, so it peaked my curiosity.  What happened? Why are they being questioned? How did they get from point A to the point interrogation room?  All things that make you want to keep watching.

So here's the thing.  I don't understand the family stopping at this diner.  I have only 1 child, and he's 2.  And I can tell you this: while on long trips, I am a great proponent of stopping for a meal to break up the ride, I would never in a million, billion years do so, so close to the end of my journey.  I don't care how long I want to avoid reaching my destination.  The effort involved in getting 4 kids out of a packed car after a long drive, to sit and eat, only to have to pile them all back in just to drive a few more minutes seems exhausting.  I have 1 toddler and I second guess having to get him in and out of the car even after short trips.  I purposely plan trips to make the fewest ins and outs.  I mean their destination is the rich father in law's house.  I would assume that he keeps a well stocked fridge.

My husband would say that this is not the point.  That it's a minor detail.  That some people do not share my dread of loading and unloading a family into and out of a car. (I cannot believe that last one.)  I do agree, it's not the point.  So, they stopped at a diner 10 minutes from their destination as a last ditch effort to prolong the inevitable, their summer with the in-laws.  I get it, but I just don't get it... It didn't ruin the show for me or anything, but it became the thought foremost in my mind when the episode ended which is to say, at minimum, it distracted me from the story.

My only other issue really, is the sex stuff.  I get it. Apparently there are people out there that really need you to spell things out. I am not one of those people.  I also understand you want realism and all that, but I don't need to see everyone's bottom and tits.  If I want to see an A cup breast, I will go home and look in the mirror.  I am aware that unlike on network TV, people who really are married or have sex, do not make such a concerted effort to hide their naughty bits every time they are in bed.  I know I don't.  But I also don't need to see the whole business in order to understand the difference between loving consensual sex, rough, bored, controlling, violent, or any other version.  I think its another distraction.  Like look how far we can go cause were a cable show and not so much adding to the story.  I would like to reference something like Hitchcock and say he was able to tell a story without having to be so obvious, but like I said I am not a big movie/TV person, so I have only seen like 1 Hitchcock movie and don't feel qualified to make that reference.  Maybe I'm a bit prudish, and if the title fits, I'll accept it.  I know many people don't have a problem with it.  My husband has no issue with a program containing more graphic sex scenes.  Maybe I am too easily distracted, but either way, for me personally, it was a turnoff.

All in all, I loved the concept.  I loved the acting.  I loved seeing the varying perspectives.  I am curious to see how the story unfolds.  It's one of those things where you kinda know the end, I mean its called the affair, so one might assume they eventually have one.  But you still want to know how they get there.  Like I said in the beginning, I am currently in the middle of Dawson's Creek and I really only turned this on because the next episode of the creek wouldn't play correctly.  So, there may be some time before I continue this program (I am deeply invested in the Creek), but I do recommend The Affair.  Really. Just ignore that in and out of the car thing.

New Direction.... This has nothing to do with the band...

So I have decided to take my blog in a new direction; to go a little bit deeper into my life. And since I doubt that anyone has ever actually read this, I don't think anyone will complain. So let's start at the beginning. I was born on April 11, several years prior to now. I was born 1 day prior to my due date. This is probably what causes me to be so obsessed with being on time, that I usually end up early. Anyways, the week the I was born, my brother, who was a year and 9 months at the time was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Later in life, my brother would blame me for his diabetes when ever he was mad at me, being that it arrived around the same time I did. At the time however, my bro was the center of attention. Everyone in my family was taking turns seeing him in the hospital. When I was released from the hospital, I was sent to live with my godparents for a while, because everyone was going to the hospital my brother was in and they were afraid of bringing germs home to me. Abandonment issues?!? Yeah, probably. And yes, we had been in two different hospitals. While I understand that people want to give birth at the hospital with the doctor they had been seeing throughout the pregnancy, the logic of leaving one hospital to give birth in another hospital across town and having everyone travel back and forth between them escapes me. Anyway, that is how I entered the world in the midst of confusion and drama. On to my parents. My dad was born in PR and came to the US when he was 2. He later majored in accounting. I have no idea where he did undergrad, but I know that he and my mom got together while they were in Yale for grad school. My mom was born in the US to two immigrant parents. She graduated from Baruch college and had majored in economics. My mom is and was super religious, and really conscientious about money. She was brought up in a strict household and was proud of her strict Hispanic upbringing. My dad was brought up in a more liberal household. Not too liberal, as my grandfather was a military man, but not so strict as my mom. My dad, also has a certain view of how the man of the house should be treated. More on that another day. So as I said, my parents met in grad school and within a year decided to get married. They both dropped out of grad school thinking they would go to work and that the other would finish. Yes, already there was a lack of communication.... Foreshadowing!!!! But they were together for a while and did a lot of traveling and fun things before they settled down to have kids. That's all for now, tune in next time for more fun facts about me!!

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

So the 6 performances of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress were completed this weekend, and let me tell you, it was soo much fun!! My character got so many laughs and I had many people coming up to me after each performance telling me I stole the show!!  Even people I didn't know. I think people were pleasantly surprised to see me in a strictly acting role instead of dancing! Bonding with the cast and crew was also a lot of fun so Steve and I are definitely planning a get together up at the house for everyone sometime soon.  Also, I'll have pics from the show soon.

Audition season has come back around for both dance teams and dance companies.  There are several teams I am interested in auditioning for including the Unofficials and the Brooklyn Cyclones Beach Bums.  Other teams I was interested in auditioning for have not yet posted their audition info even though it is past the date that it was posted last season, including the Long Island Lizards and the New York Liberty.  I am keeping my eyes open for their auditions anyway. 

Right now, on my plate are the Hawkettes, the Empire City Dancers, and the DMPA Adult Company.  Hopefully, we can add more to that list as the season progresses!!

It's been a while

So, I haven't posted in a while, but as you all know, real life is super busy.  For a while I was dancing with the Staten Island Vipers Dance team, however, the Director of the dance team decided to withdraw, which ended the dance team.  I then auditioned for a play called "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" for the City Island Theater Group.  I got the part and will be playing Frances, a young, religious, prudish lady who is a bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding.  The show goes up the first two weekends in March.  My husband is in the show as well, and is the only male in the entire play.  He plays an usher, Tripp,  who falls in love with one of the other bridesmaids.  I am super nervous as this will be the first time that I will have a significant speaking role in any performance I have ever been in; but its exciting too!

The Hawkettes are slowly getting back in business and we will be performing in a charity event at the end of March to raise money to finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.  The event is a runway show that includes designers, celebs, food, cocktails, and entertainment.  More details to come on this.

This Sunday I will be filming some promo videos for KT Tape, an athletic tape that can be applied to the body to help support sore or injured muscles and to prevent soreness.  This project is a part of my work with Empire City Dance Company.  I will also be performing with Empire City Dance in May for the 2012 Dance Parade!

Finally, I am looking forward to the new audition season and hope to be a part of 1 or 2 new teams this year!!

Sooo...

I made the team!! I am now officially a Staten Island Vipers Diamond Girls Cheerleader! I now dance and cheer for a professional ABA basketball team.  Our first game will probably be Saturday January 7, 2011, but I will let you know as the date approaches. 

On a different note, last Friday I worked a charity event in Wall, NJ called The Crazy Christmas Lights Show (http://www.djdanonline.com/christmaslights/).  This event was sponsored by DJ Dan and raised money to support Tem Leo and Challenged Youth Sports.  This charity works to create sports programs for children with disabilities.  I was there representing Limitless Productions (http://limitlessproductionsco.com/?page_id=313) as a promo model.  We walked around the crowd dressed as santa's helpers and collected donations for the charity.  We also assisted people with signing up to obtain more information about both the charity and the event.  It was a lot of fun and was also for a great cause!

New Team, New Audition

The Staten Island Vipers is a new team which has joined the American Basketball Association (ABA) this season.  The ABA is a professional basketball league just under the NBA.  Tomorrow night I will be auditioning to be on the dance/cheer team for the Staten Island Vipers!! I spoke with the dance team manager today and she seems very nice.  This is a paid performance gig and an opportunity to perform in the winter as well as the summer with the Hawkettes.  I am super excited, and can't wait for tomorrow!!

A Married Woman

I am back in action and have a new ring on my finger.  I married my best friend on Saturday October 29, 2011 during that unexpected snowstorm that hit the New York area.  My outdoor ceremony had to be moved indoors and some close friends were unable to make it, but all in all it was the best wedding ever!! No exaggeration!

The Halloween themed reception included masks, carved pumpkins, a cardboard cutout of Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein, a trick or treat bar and a corpse bride cake topper.  Our toasting flutes and cake cutters were also corpse bride.  Even the card box and guest book were halloween themed.  Memorable moments included two of the bridesmaids getting out of the limo to help the limo driver move a fallen tree limb that blocked the road, the groom whipping out his iphone during the ceremony to read his vows, and one of the groomsmen wearing the detachable bottom portion of one of the bridesmaids dresses as a skirt.  All in all it was a fantastic day!!

My husband and I honeymooned in Cancun and we had an amazing time! We stayed at the Gran Caribe Real which is a fancy shmancy all inclusive 5 star resort.  They had rose petals and champagne in our room when we arrived and a liquor dispenser with 4 bottles of liquor.  The eac and pool were awesome.  We also visited an ancient Mayan city called Tulum and visited Xel-Ha where we did ziplining, snorkling, crossed a rope bridge, dove off a cliff, and relaxed on a lazy river.  We also visited Senor Frogs and Coco Bongo.

Now it's back to real life, which is fun too.  Even old boring stuff is now exciting cause its the first time were doing it as a married couple! Last Saturday my husband (saying that is still weird for me...) came to teh Hawkettes promo and fundraiser at the Wicked Wolf Bar in Hoboken, NJ.  We performed 2 dances, sold wristbands and auctioned off dates with two of our members.  Plus, the hubs finally got to meet our team!  This weekend I will be supporting the hubby as he performs in a show which he helped write at Lehman High School in the Bronx.  Sadly, I missed the NY Unofficials audition while I was on my Honeymoon.  They are the unofficial dance team of the New York Giants; but there are plenty more teams to audition for!!