So, one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me:

Pelks, Ross, Bekah, and whoever else was with them at the Journey Concert called me and switched phones every five minutes so I could sing along.  Twenty minutes later, they're still going strong.

I love my friends.

I did it. The thing is done. It's shipping to Pelks' place.

*gulp*

Time to play the music? Time to light the lights?

That wasn't the last post. But now, I am asking you, my dear (mostly silent) readers for some help.

Those of you who know me somewhat well know there's only one dream-profession for me. ("Wealthy gaming czar crime-fighting playboy" does not count.) The answer is Muppeteer. The major problem, of course, being that I haven't real Muppets to play around with. Sure, I've made do with some cheap Sesame Replicas, but ain't nothing like the real thing.


Where do I get something like that? The company that made the standard "Henson fleece" has gone out of business, and Muppet makers are pretty tightlipped. Well, last spring, I found the answer.


To make a long story short, I immediately contacted Vault of Puppets and found out more. Turns out this Kermie retails for $1050. Quoth the frog, "Sheesh." That seemed to be the end of that. But after I wrote to the appropriately-named Steve, he said he took a liking to me and would cut the price down to $650, his "college student" price.

I sat on this for a while, for a variety of reasons including an expensive summer in New York, a meagre bank account, and the terrifying realization that my dream career might not be as long-shot as I thought. It's come back to haunt me now, and I'm in the final stages of making a decision.

What I need from you is this. Tell me: how close is this Kermit to the ur-Kermit that lives in your head? Be honest. I (and some of my friends) are gonna plunk down mad wads of green for this, so there's no point in being easy.

Here are some comparison photos:

Let me know, either in comments, emails, AIMs, or phone messages.

"Parting is lame as HELL."

To paraphrase the swan of Avon.

My extra day in the city was spent with Margot, Dan and Sonia. This of course culminated in a tipsy night watching "Look Around You" and various and sundry Daily Show / Muppets videos.

I am home again, for an agonizing two weeks before my final year at Chicago. Thanks for reading, guys!

Gonna Rock You Like a, Well...This is Embarrassing...

My train was canceled tomorrow due to a bad case of hurricane. This would irk me less if I hadn't done all of my packing before my parents gave me the news.

Today, my boss made another big to do about how great I was and threw me a pizza party. Then, after I argued Obama's merits extensively for about an hour with her, she presented me with a book.

Margot and I went to see Gypsy with Patti LuPone, which was brilliant blah blah OMG the actress playing Gypsy Rose Lee is my new crush and is beautiful.

The real highlight of the evening was dinner at Sardi's, which would have been fun enough, except a portrait of Kermit reminded me that I was having lunch at the same restaurant Kermit tried to sneak into in "The Muppets Take Manhattan." This catapulted the day into legendary status.

I saw this portrait in person:



I ended the day with more drinks at Dan and Sonia's which was a perfect cap to the evening. I didn't even flinch on the six-block solitary walk back to the apartment.

"Hello, we are 21. Would you like more proof?"

Sometimes, I am a little overzealous with my ID, and this makes 20-year-old Sonia concerned.

Dan and Sonia (of "Rome Trip" fame) came to visit me yesterday as a sort of last hurrah. Since I'd just seen Dave and Marlena the day before, I felt like quite the social butterfly.

We found a pretty swank frenchie place to eat. I knew it was swank because the mood lighting was so bad you couldn't read the menu without holding it directly up to the candle. This might have ended in hilaritragedy if the menus weren't laminated. I can only assume they learned from experience. Another notable thing about the place is that the men's room was wallpapered with softcore porn, and the women's room was wallpapered with pin-up girls.

Haha, I typed "pun-up girls." This sounds like the best idea ever. Jeeves, take a letter!

After getting cupcakes, we nabbed a six-pack from Duane Reed and wandered through Washington Square park looking for somewhere to drink it. Hilaritragedy finally struck.

A man dressed (to use the word loosely) in grey with pretty much stereotypical 30s hobo trappings (bindle, tattered hat) who would have been delightful if he hadn't actually interacted with us approached and began discharging gibberish and spittle. We eventually determined that he wanted a sip of our "fuggin' beer." Dan politely explained that it was our beer. Then he became belligerent, so Dan gave him one to avoid a scene. He eyed it suspiciously, then asked "S'at poison?" I explained that it was sealed, and that we were drinking the same beer, so it was unlikely at best.

He tottered off, and once the initial shock wore off I was actually kind of glad to have had a true New York experience on my penultimate night. Which isn't to say that the hobo was all that different from some people I know after a night of drinking, but something about his gait led me to believe that he had more than just Blue Moon in his system.

Upon his return, he asked us if we had any daughters who would be willing to engage in impolite actions with fifty-year-olds. When we said no, he spat at us, then was never heard from again.

Mama Ross

I had breakfast with Ross' mother today, who is the classiest lady I have ever met in my entire life. She asked me what I'd learned this summer, what I thought of UChicago, and how I lived my life in general, and I hope I accounted myself appropriately.

The Condé Nast cafeteria, designed by Gehry, has runway-style ramps, curvy walls, and tiny perforations everywhere so that one can hear one's eating company no matter how large the crowd. It's the coolest place I've ever eaten.

"How was it?"

"It was okay. Too much toilet humor."
"Well, you've seen it before."
"That's true. It just seemed like more of a mess this time."

Noel and I now have a running joke where we refer to going to the bathroom at a movie theater as seeing "Men's." Since we saw both "Tropic Thunder" and "The Dark Knight" (in IMAX) this weekend, we had plenty of opportunities to beat the joke to death.

When we last left our hero, he had just come back from "The Dark Knight" and excitedly noted the 68th and Broadway location of the theater.

I have now seen the following movies this summer:
Wall*E (dammit, where's the interpunct key?)
The Dark Knight
Journey to the Center of the Earth (stupid, stupid cousins)
The Dark Knight
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
The Dark Knight (IMAX)

Well, at least I'm consistent.

Hanging out with Margot's 37-year-old boyfriend and his 36-year-old friend made me realize that I'm far more ready for the real world than I anticipated. If I'm capable of interacting with people who are twelve years younger than my parents (and charming the pants off them in the process), maybe the adult world isn't so scary. We did grown-up things like going to bars and complaining about the beer in a classy way. Trust me, it was totally in a classy way.

The taxi ride to the dessert place led to another revelation -- I can now visually recognize places in New York City, and navigate pretty flawlessly. As we passed by 64th and Park, I had a sudden flash of deja vu as I recalled blundering my way towards Marlena and the Central Park Zoo two weeks ago.

I guess what I'm saying is that to me, New York is no longer a Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach film; a collection of fuzzy "pop culture locations." New York is a place I've lived and (partially) understand. Grand Central isn't from "North by Northwest" or "Superman", it's the place I pass through on my way to work every day. The same goes for Times Square, the Village, Madison Square Garden, and a variety of other places. This was not a summer wasted.

68th and Broadway

step on it, sucker!

Today, our showing of The Dark Knight in IMAX was at the Lazy Sunday theater! Now my New York experience is truly complete.