A bubbly blog about boys, bleeding, and the basics between.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

NHF11 - The Rest

So, Life grabbed me by the ba... I mean my bootstraps and spun me around for about a week so I apologize for the EXTREME lateness in this post. I am going to separate it into two posts, this one finalizing the actual meeting and than another explain my CRAZY trip home followed by this week of craziness consisting of a casino trip, meeting Tyler's Cousin, and a trip to see my sis in Conn to see my bestie Melissa in CABARET! (She's fierce y'all!)


DAY 2
Okay. So lets start with Day 2 of the meeting. I don't even know where to begin on this amazing day! I was originally planning on waking up extra early and attending the Pfizer Symposium on Champions in Hemophilia, but I over slept... Me?!?!? Oversleep?!?!? Never... So after a delicious breakfast of coffee and a bagel, I attended the seminar on The Legacy of Ryan White led by his mother Jeanne White-Ginder. For those of you who don't know who Ryan White is, I highly recommend reading about him online. Just search Ryan White on Wikipedia. You'll find a lot. Anywho, it has been a long time since Mrs. White-Ginder has been involved in the Hemophilia Community, and I know that I am happy she she is back... Plus she's besties with Elton John so that makes her awesome!


Sorry for the awful pic.
I was far back :-(

It was really inspirational to hear her talk about the trials that not only her son went through, but that she went through as well. It was a no holds barred look at not only the way her own community in Illinois looked at her, but also the way the Hemophilia community looked at her. Jeanne stated that when she spoke for the first time in public with Senator Kennedy that "for the first time (she) had a voice too." This dark time in hemophilia history is awful, and it was amazing to get some insight from the woman whose son became the unlikely face of a disease that has effected so many people worldwide.

Okay, so after I stood under one of those bathroom blowers to dry my eyes off from all the crying (What. Me? Cry?!?!), I headed over to an advocacy meeting. Now, here's the funny part. I thought it was going to be about advocating for ourselves. WRONG. It's about advocating on a national level. So heathcare reform and government things that flew so far over my head I think they made it back to NY before I did. I wish I had something to write, but I didn't understand any of it. Hopefully Washington Days will help me with that. HAHA

Then after lunch, there was a really interesting session called Lessons Learned From the Decades. We heard from an older hemophiliac, a middle aged hemophiliac, and then one around my age... It was interesting hearing from these three gentlemen (Robert Edrington, Ken Hitcher, and Matt Brei) and about how differently they all grew up. From Robert having an appendectomy at age 10 in 1951 to hearing the 5 rules that Ken set up for himself after a harsh battle with Hep C, and hearing Matt discussing his caution on disclosing Hemophilia and hitting his insurance cap. It makes me lucking that I grew up when I did, but at the same time, these little whipper-snappers younger than I am have it EASY with all their prophylactic treatments. ;-) 

I then walked around and saw a bunch of the exhibits.

Baxter had a cool exhibit.

Pfizer showed videos and I made a medic alert!


Biogen Idec has an AWESOME exhibit with virtual reality games and awesome water bottles ;-)
WOOT! Affinity Biotech!

Who is that sexy beast at the Pfizer booth?













I got a lot of cool trinkets and had a blast checking out all the new technologies. I'm even thinking of switching medications! (Thanks Pfizer...) I'll let you know how that goes in a later post...

But the COOOOOOLEST part of the whole exhibit was getting to meet....
ALEX BORSTEIN!

No. That's her on the RIGHT! Duh... Anywho, she's an awesome chick and I think she's uber talented. And I can now die happy because I have hugged Ms. Swan and she has assured me that I "look a like aman." I've been stressing about looking like a man for years so.... thank God for that. ( I SAID I'M ON THE LEFT! Ugh...)

So, that evening I was invited to another dinner with Biogen Idec, which although a lot of fun, is kinda boring to write about because it was just getting to know a bunch of cool peeps and talking about PSU. (Still not blogging about it... nope.)

But BEFORE dinner, we went to SPARK. This awesome event hosted by Michael Shultz and Affinity Biotech. It was kind of like sketch comedy at its finest and I wish I could have stayed longer so I had more to talk about. They were all just awesome.

We then went back to the hotel bar where I drank a beer that was, literally, larger than my head and passed out in a chair in the lobby and Lee had to bring me to bed... Another typical Friday night....

DAY 3
So I actually woke up relatively refreshed and embarked on another day of learning and loving. Yeah, the two most important L's. Except maybe Lindt. As in Lindt chocolate. That shit is GOOOOD. Anywho, day three consisted of an awesome event about Aging and Hemophilia. It was fascinating hearing about all of the new information that doctors have discovered about Hemophilia later in life now that life expectancy has gone up... Medical professionals are speculating that by 2050 over 20% of hemophiliacs will be over age 60, compared to 2% of today's hemophiliacs being over 65. A STAGGERING statistic. Dr. Anne Greist also discussed the misdiagnosis of things such as kidney and liver disease since hematuria (blood in the urine) can happen normally as a hemophiliac and we sometimes just push it under the carpet. This session made me realize that it is never to young to start working about your aging health.

After that I attended the advocacy meeting I WANTED to attend with Ryan and Sara. It was the last session I attended in the conference so I think we all were a little punchy and giggly. It was fun. So this meeting was awesome because we learned how to really speak to our doctors and what our rights are and aren't. Danna Merritt, MSW was probably my favorite speaking of the entire meeting.

After the conferences it was time for martinis with Matt, Sara, and Ryan and then off to get sexy for the final dance. It was a BLAST. There was a DJ, the Blues Brothers, and we could even get a flipbook made! 


A Still Shot from the FlipBook. I love my hat ;-)
The rest of the night was a big blur. I drank a lot, went to the BEAUTIFUL hotel where my boyfriend's best friend from high school is a mixologist and had an AMAZING Vesper (shaken.... not stirred). I then met up with my dear friend Wesley from High School (he was class president), and a bar called Epic? Maybe? And then back to the hotel where we raided a mini bar and passed out.

So that was NHF11! WOO-HOO! I made some amazing friends and some lasting connections. I also got to reconnect with some people that I haven't seen in a while. This meeting really gave me a new outlook on embracing my illness in a way I never thought was possible. I can't wait until next year! And keep your eyes peeled for my next post where I discuss how it took my almost 2 days to get home from Chicago. Yes... it's a doozy!

Till we meet again...

Friday, November 11, 2011

NHF11 - Day 1

Okay. So this is take two. I had a really hard time with my blog this morning so let's hope this works better. (It's a new iPad app).

Yesterday was such a fun day for NHF11! I woke up in the morning, after a beautiful nights sleep, to bluebirds pulling back my sheets and bunny rabbits bringing me my slippers. okay. So I didn't wake up like an animated princess, but it was still a great sleep.

After getting dressed, and I looked fabulous might I add, I headed down to the Biogen Idec Advisory Board and ate some delicious watermelon. Anywho, since it was a confidential meeting, there isn't too much that I can tell you, but I feel like I can discuss thongs that have been mentioned in the literature. Biogen Idec is working on a fantastic new factor product for both Hemophilia A and B that is longer lasting. Although data is still being collected, it really appears to be working. For information on the really smart important parts of the science, check out the Biogen Idec Website.

Since it was a super secret meeting and if I talk about it too much birds will come down and attack my jugular, I will now move on with my post...

Okay. So, after my fantastic meeting, I met up with some friends I haven't seen in a while, and I met some new friends as well as seeing Matt Stinger and meeting Ryan Rotenberry were huge highlights yesterday.

I then went to the Opening Meeting which was truly inspirational. Val D. Bias spoke with such eloquence and passion it was hard not to be moved by his words. He also brought up on stage Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White, and that brought tears to my eyes.

After Val left the stage, Alex Borstein, of Family Guy fame, spoke, or should I say performed. Not only does she have a history of Hemophilia in her family (who knew), but she also sang some selections from HEMOPHILIA! The Musical, which consisted of her changing lyrics to famous musical theatre pieces. Needless to say, I was rolling on the floor.

After the meeting I checked out the exhibits, but I will post pictures on next blog post so stay tuned.

After that came SOCIAL INFUSION! It was amazing to go to a random bar in Chicago (English) and finally meet face to face some of you that have been reading my blog and following me on twitter. We tossed back a couple beers and all talked and had a blast Search #SocialInfusion on Twitter for pics since I didn't take any. haha.

So much fun, I can't wait for Day 2!!!

Till we meet again...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

NHF11 Pre-Day 1

So here we are. I feel like I have been waiting for this week forever... MY FIRST NHF!

I remember being a little boy and wanting to go to a meeting and it just never happened. And now I'm here, reconnecting with old friends and meeting some new ones!

If you followed any of my Hemo Field Trip posts you know I write about the previous day, but please feel free to follow my twitter page @TheHemoHomo for live updates.

Yesterday was kind of boring. I got up early to take a flight here, and then got to the BEAUTIFUL hotel, the Hyatt Regency. Just look at this view!




After getting to the hotel I had a couple hours to nap and cry about everything happening at PSU. (I'm refusing to talk about it).

I called up my dear friend Vanessa Jones and we had cocktails at a bar that I never should have walked because the weather here in Chicago was FREEZING! (I dunno how Roxy did all those dances in so little clothes).

Anywho, after that I went to the welcome dinner for the Biogen Idec Advisory Board meeting which was really a lot of fun. Lee was there and I always love getting to chitchat with that boy.

I then went back to the hotel and went to bed.... Okay... So lots more tomorrow! Keep checking back in!


Till we meet again...

Location:E Wacker Dr,Chicago,United States

Monday, November 7, 2011

Why the hate on Kim?

Okay. So the Hemo comes out a lot on this blog and it's time for a little Homo.

Why the hate on Kim? I understand that as a 'mo I'm supposed to be angry that she's getting divorced and that her getting a divorce is a prime example of "the sanctity of marriage" being a ridiculous reason for the fight against marriage equality, but come on. KIM KARDASHIAN?!?! That's the best new argument you have?

I saw another article, now a couple of days old, on Advocate.com explaining about how Kim kind of apologized to the LGBT community, but my question is, why should she? Whether Kim Kardashian married for love, money, or publicity really doesn't matter. I have a hard time believing that the televised circus that was her wedding was just a slap in the face to the LGBT community; a "let's show them what they can't have" moment.

I think that by showing outrage in a negative manner to a marriage gone wrong is extremely catty and just paints the LGBT community in an extremely negative light. Instead of putting the straight community down for misusing the rights that we so desperately crave, we should just keep stating how it is our RIGHT to be able to get married and that we already have a working marital model so why not be able to get married?

I would like nothing more than to be able to marry my partner so that when I am having a bleeding episode in the hospital, I know that he can sit with me. Or so that we can join under the same insurance plan, or get a tax break on income when we finally move in together, but putting down a celebrity's private marital struggle doesn't help us get the rights that we deserve!

I guess I just don't understand how putting other people down is going to help us get what we want. Bullying has become a major issue for LGBT youth and what example are we, as a community, showing by putting down a person for a private situation, although it has been made public by her own accord.

I just think we should kill people with kindness, but that's just my opinion.

Till we meet again...


Friday, November 4, 2011

BOSTON... Well.. Almost.

So I never realized how dumb I really was until I landed in the world of the super smart. O. M. G. Staying at a hotel sandwiched between Harvard and MIT really made me realize how little I contribute to the world.... And then I spoke.

Okay. You're confused. Good. That was the point. I should probably start at the very beginning. (A very good place to start. The hiiiiiillllls..... Okay. I'm done).

So last night, after the show, I hopped in a Towncar and was driven to Cambridge, Massachusetts to speak at a corporate meeting for Biogen Idec, who is the oldest continuously running Biotech company in the world. Cool huh? Needless to say, my 2 am arrival at the hotel followed by a 6:15 am wakeup call was not at the top of my priority list, but I know people have to do it a lot more often than I do so I dealt with it.

But why me? Why would Biogen Idec go through this trouble to get me up to Cambridge to speak in front of them? Honestly, I have no idea. I would like to think it's my charming good looks and impeccable sense of style, but it was probably just because I'm loud.

Anyway, Biogen Idec is on the forefront of a new factor technology that I could NEVER understand, but their website does it really well. The things that they are working on are all extremely exciting.

So all I had to do was get up in front of, like, 100 executives at this company and talk about myself. Sounds easy because, let's be real, I like talking about myself (btw, I need a HemoHomo theme song to underscore moments like these).

And here I am, in front of some of the brightest minds in science today, and I'm talking about Naked Boys Singing and waiting tables. I felt so dumb, not in an overtly negative way, just in a "what they do is more important" way. And then came the feedback.

I had so much fun, and so did they. I met too many people today to even count, and I cannot wait to see some of them again on Chi-Town next week... I know... So many people... MY FIRST NHF!!!! Anywho. Everyone was so sweet to me and kept thanking me.

And then I got to see the lab. It was so cool. I wish I had taken pictures! (Bad Blogger! Bad!) But to watch where these scientists sit and do their work. It was mind-blowing.

And here I am. At my hotel, eating a lobster roll in Cambridge and not taking the 5 minute trip into Boston because I am exhausted.
Leaning on my corner window at the Marriott Cambridge

But I had a blast. And a bit of a confidence boost. It's easy to live our lives in our own world, not realizing the effect we have on other people, especially when we sing and dance naked and serve people food, but to hear the feedback from these people today was amazing.

And so I turn around and extend their thank you's to all of you. I am just one member of a community that is, well, small... but mighty (that's what she said).

I am probably going to be really busy and may not blog again until NHF '11, but I am so excited to meet so many of my readers and new friends, as well as check in with some old ones.

Here is to an amazing NHF '11, and, thanks to a bunch of people working very hard at Biogen Idec, I feel a huge change in the air? Breeze off the River? I See a River Flowing For Freedom? Okay. Enough musical theatre references. I'm out.


Till we meet again...

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Happy (Belated) Halloweeeeen

So here we are. Another All Hallow's Eve has passed us by. It has been a while since I have written a true Hemo Homo blog post, where it talks about BOTH h's in one post, but this one is defiantly a little bi-polar! (Where's my Lexipro...)

So last night I cater/waitered an even co-hosted by Mount Gay Rum and Swish. Now for those of you who haven't read my previous posts, Swish is a Gay-Straight Alliance that fights "for equal rights using talent, smarts, and a sense of style." One of the Co-Founders is my fabulous cousin Sue, and I always try to participate in events whenever I can.

Now even though I did a little eye makeup and wore fierce leather pants, we weren't allowed to dress in costume because I was working the event. Just black, so needless to say, at least the dress code was slimming. I had such a blast at this event. It was slammed with people and we debuted a new cocktail called the Boystown which was Mount Gay Rum, Elderflower Liquor (St. Germaine), Tonic, and Lime Juice. Muy delicioso. It was a fantastic beginning to a (hopefully) long lasting partnership between Mount Gay and Swish!



But not being about to wear a costume got me a little sad. I love dressing up for Halloween and it made me think about some of my favorite costumes from years past, and one jumps out.

I don't remember how old I was, I'm gonna say 5 or 6, and I had a knee bleed. I think I was going to be Donatello that Halloween, but how can you be a ninja turtle in a wheel chair?! So after much thinking between myself and my mother, I decided to be an Indian Chief(or should I say Native-American Leader? The 80's were SUCH a different time!) We decorated my helmet with feathers and I wore a sweat suit in which we attached fringe and drew designs in Sharpie. And, of course, the pièce de résistance were horse heads mounted on my wheelchair.

It's that silver lining thing that people talk about. It made me excited to be in a wheelchair for Halloween. And I got to be pushed around for Trick or Treating which was like a HUGE double bonus (that's what she said).

So here I am, 20 years older and still looking back on that one Halloween which could have easily been one of my worst Halloweens ever, but instead, turned into one of my favorites!

Moral of Story? Two Horse Heads are better than One ;-)


Till we meet again...

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Helmet: The Prince of Hemophilia



To wear or not to wear. That is the Question.

I've had a couple of conversations with other hemophiliacs my own age about wearing a helmet while growing up. Some said that they rarely ever did, and then there are people like me who wore one my entire childhood. So what do you think? Helmet? Or no?



According to a Hemaware article from February of 2011 entitled Head Bleeds and Hemophilia, Guy Young, MD, director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles stated,

"If a child is on prophylaxis three times a week and the risk of intracranial hemorrhage is very small, then there’s no need to wear a helmet,” says Young. “It stigmatizes him.” But Young makes exceptions. “For a toddler with an inhibitor engaging in an activity that may lead to trauma, like going to the playground, I would suggest a helmet.” (Entirely borrowed from the above mentioned article. No plagerism here.)

Okay. That's great. But to me, something is rotten in the state of California. I, personally, do NOT agree with wearing a helmet "stigmatizing" a child who has a bleeding disorder. I mean, being alive with a helmet or having major bleeding episodes or damage with not wearing a helmet, I know which one I would choose. I may have felt isolated at times because of my helmet, but guess what, I was different. This idea of treating hemophiliacs like they are normal is just a bunch of bull in my head. We are different, we are not normal. And if there are things such as molded plastic that can cause me to live a longer, healthier lifestyle, than why not?

Now granted, I don't think the bubble boy aspect is the way to go either, and when I was growing up, infusing with factor was a death sentence with the threat of AIDS, so wearing a helmet was also a different thing for me than for parents today. And maybe I didn't need it until I was 13, but when I was sitting in the lunch room at age 11 and got hit in the head with a lunch tray which caused me to be hospitalized for 3 days, I don't blame my mother for making me keep it on.




Now I know I can get a little harsh, but pretty much all the research I have found has stated that wearing a helmet isn't necessary for children, and I think it is. You would never tell a "normal" child not not wear a helmet while riding a bike, so why would you not put a helmet on your child while on a playground, or even if roughhousing with a sibling if head trauma could happen.

I think Laureen A. Kelley said it best in her book Raising a Child with Hemophilia1.
"Ultimately, your decision about gear and when to wear it will be personal: a function of your family beliefs, your concerns, and your child's activity level. Do what's best for your child so he can explore his environment safely and have fun!" (Page 114)
I just wanted to throw out a different idea about helmets. I wore one 24/7 and grew up fine. Parent's and peers all understood the situation and it bothers me that medical professionals don't give children the benefit of the doubt that they will not only accept the child wearing protective gear, but understand and help their peer as well.

Cause look at me! I grew up just fine!


Till we meet again...

1Kelley, Laureen, A. (2007). Raising a Child with Hemophilia. USA: CSL Behring.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

No, Thank YOU Hemophilia

So I have started writing about 6 blog posts and abandoned them all. I just feel like if I am going to say something it should mean something... I mean, I love my ridiculous stories about random things, but I feel like they always have some kind of meaning.

So why this post? Why write about not writing?

Well, for one thing I find irony funny... Come on, HemoHomo? And two, it sometimes takes something major happening in your life to make you realize that the random, pointless, useless things in life really make things seem better.

This has been a harsh week for me. Not only did I completely alienate myself from Tyler's roommates, but my Grandpa Romeo passed. I'm surprised I didn't end up with a bleed with how bad this week is going.

Don't feel too bad; my Pop was 97. He led a long, full life and it was his time. But the idea of death hitting you so close to home can really help you put things in perspective and make you realize what is important and special in your life.

My relationships and family are right at the top of that list. So is my hemophilia.

Wait a minute. My hemophilia is important and special? Absolutely. It's easy to sit here and complain about the burdens that make us different, and that means it's hard to thank those unique imperfections for forming who we are.

I know that I would not be who I am today without embracing my bleeding disorder (or my homosexuality for that matter). Growing up I usually saw it as this overwhelming burden that I would never be able to shake. And so you begin to base your life around it. Music camp instead of sports. Running instead of football. Movies instead of skating. And I don't think I would have ever become a truly fulfilled individual today, being happy with my career, love life, and family all at the same time, if I wasn't ablest truly embrace my disorder while still keeping it at bay.

So Thank You Hemophilia. Thank you for helping to shape me into this person, and hopefully this is a person my Pop will be proud of as he looks down on me.

I know. Weird post, but it'll make you think a little. My advice? Instead of complaining about the things we hate about ourselves, let's all try to embrace them and make that a positive trait. Just because we may not like something about ourselves, doesn't mean that others feel that way. So be you. All of you. All the time.

Till we meet again...

Location:New Jersey 10,,United States

Monday, October 3, 2011

A Lost Boy...

So these past 365 days have been rough on me, but it sparked a flame into starting this blog so I guess some good things have come out of it.

Before November, I can't remember the last time I had to be infused (except for a show injury, but that doesn't count. That's expected. Hahaha). Since then, I have had a head injury, an ankle injury, and a shoulder/neck injury that all had to be infused (or at least a Stimate regimen). And since all this has happened, I cannot help but feel the looming cloud of depression hovering over me as it did in my dark past. It has me wondering... What is the connection between Hemophilia and Depression.

From personal experience, I always get depressed when I am injured. It's hard having to rely on the ones you love for extra help, from big things like getting out of bed or trying to take a shower, to the little things like not being able to open a Tylenol bottle without someone doing it for you. I have always assumed that it is just conditional... While dealing with the cultural aspects of being injured, depression sets in. I get better; it goes away.

But with so many injuries lately I'm beginning to wonder if they feed off of each other. If being injured keeps me depressed, and the depression puts my body in a place to be injured.

Now, I don't want this to sound like a "oh, woe is me" type post. There are MANY people worse off than me and I thank my lucky stars on a daily basis to have been so blessed with the life that I have right now, but with everything that has been happening, I can't help but wonder...

So off starts the hunt for clinical studies. Seretonin and endorphin levels while bleeding internally. How are they effected, if at all? Let's find out...

There was a study done through the University of Arizona involving patients of the Arizona Hemophilia Treatment Center in Tucson comparing patients with Hemophilia to patients without bleeding disorders at the same hospital.

"About 37% of patients treated at the Arizona Hemophilia Treatment Center, in Tucson, were diagnosed with a history of depression, compared with 4% of the general population of adult males, said Alison Stopeck, MD, director of the center." (Susman)

The article continues to discuss that depression in Hemophiliacs with Hepatitis C and/or HIV don't have a higher ratio of depressed patients than those without these diseases. (Susman)

And that was pretty much the only article I could find. The link follows. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Depression/21167

So my question now becomes, why aren't there more studies in this? Doesn't anyone else find it interesting that there are these connections? For someone who has been battling with depression for years, I know I do.

So "What's Up, Docs?!" Let's get this show on the road! And now that I have passed a brief battle with lethargy, I will be back to blogging and tweeting in full swing!!!


Till we meet again...

Location:8th Ave,New York,United States

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Try to Remember

Wow. So does anyone remember this blog about an actor in NYC who was a hemophiliac and gay?! I feel like I do, but it was such a long time ago that I have now decided to take up the reigns and start a new blog in his honor...

Just kidding! So sorry guys. My life has been CRAZY and I want to let you all in on it, just gotta talk to some family members about some stuff before I post it all over the blogosphere.

What's the same? Well... I'm still living at my apartment, I'm still working at Belcourt, and I'm still in Naked Boys Singing. Oh, and Michelle Bachman hasn't gotten to me yet, so I'm still gay.

Pretty much I'm exactly the same, but I have even more stories to talk about so get ready for some fun ones including a trip from my best friend from Europe, a neck bleed, and crazy cat stories... OH and I got a fish.








Luna discovers Olivia for the first time!




Artistic Olivia!


AND!! Read this!

Digital Connections

I hope you read to the end! How cool, right? Anywho, get ready for some fun new blog posts! It's about time, right?!

Till we meet again...

Location:27th St,,United States

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

10 years of Harry Potter

I'm about to be super cliche right now. And I know a lot of my blog posts are... But get ready.

I cried so hard the other night. Why you may ask? Because I saw the final film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. I know I know. Stupid. But over the course of 10 years I can remember all the people and all the places where these movies became much more than a movie, but an EVENT. Here are some highlights.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
I had never really read the books. One of my friends actually used one of the books to discuss the innocence of children verses the corruption of adults in my AP English class... (I used The Turn of the Screw. Read it). I said, why not. So I decided to read the book. In the meantime, the first movie came out and I did NOT wanna see the movie until I read the book. So I waited until my birthday, which was in December. So on my 18th Birthday, December 2, 2001, my mother and I went to Honesdale, Pa to go see the first Harry Potter film, and I became hooked.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
While attending Penn State University, the third movie came out. I was dating a sweet boy at the time, but it came out during the summer. So I drove all the way from NEPA to Bellefonte, Pa to see the Midnight showing at the Garman Opera House, an old opera house built in 1857 which was converted into a movie theatre with stadium seating and digital sound.






I actually saw movies Two through Four at this beautiful theatre, and rumor has it, it has now closed... So many memories at this historic theatre...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:
Not every Harry experience can be a happy one. I saw this film when I was with my ex who wasn't my boyfriend at the time (and if you ask him he will probably say he never was). His sister was kind enough to get us tickets for the midnight showing in Times Square. I remember drinking, a lot, as I always did when I was with him. We even made "travelers" to bring with us into the theater. At some point, while waiting for the movie to begin, he has a random hissy fit for some reason or another, and for the first (and probably only time with him) it wasn't my fault. He started screaming at me and his sister about something and stormed out of the theatre. I waited like 15 minutes to go after him and then found him just inside the door of the theater waiting for someone to come after him. We finally got to see the movie, although he bitched about Emma Watson the whole time and I had to go see it again by myself to actually enjoy it... Ugh...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2:
So the other night, Tyler, Meghan, Dane, and myself all went to the IMAX 3D showing at Lincoln Square in NYC. I had such a blast. It was such a surreal experience to be sitting in this huge theatre in NYC with my boyfriend, best friend, and her boyfriend seeing a conclusion 10 years in the making.


Meghan and Dane showing off their 3D glasses.


We have all grown up. It's amazing to think that during my senior year of high school I started this journey and now I'm 27, a working actor in New York City, and in an amazing relationship that will probably last a lifetime.

So here is your assignment all those Potterheads out there: Compare who you were when you saw the first movie compared to who you are now seeing the last.

I was straight, and now I'm out.
I was in high school and now I'm living in New York.
I listened to Britney Spears, and now I listen to... Well.. Britney Spears. Okay. So some things don't change. Hahaha. But how much have you grown? Let me know. Tweet at @TheHemoHomo or message me here.. I'm interested to hear your responses.



Till we meet again...

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Fast Lane

I hopped on the train today to head into the show and when I got on, they said it was running express. I got super excited because I was running late to begin with. But that aside, I always get excited because I know I'm going to get where I wanna go faster, but why is that?

Be it an express train, a non-stop flight, or never taking a summer break in college so you can graduate in three years instead of four, (which we all know I never did) why is it that we always want to get everywhere so fast. What about the journey?

*Just a small town girl.... Livin' in a lonely world...* Come on, you knew I was going there...

Now don't get me wrong, I love a good express train, but I'm trying to use a metaphor here. (ME?!? Use a metaphor? Never...) I look back on growing up and how when I was little, I just couldn't wait to get to double digits. Then, at 10, all I wanted was to be 13, then 16, then 18, 21, 25 (to rent a car, duh), and now, in some weird way, I cannot wait to be 30. I just want it to get there already.

But as I look back, I wish I had spent more time really living the life I was in, rather than wishing it was over and on to something else. The relationships I had with friends, lovers, and the few that fell somewhere in between, were all over before they should have been, but I couldn't wait to get on to something new...

Even now, in the wake of a big decision I am facing at the moment (don't worry, you'll know soon enough), I just wanna fly through these next couple months so it can get here...

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I keep hoping that everything will be better at the next milestone. I keep waiting for fate to swoop in and make everything fabulous, but it doesn't. And so I keep trying to flag down that express train to get me to my next stop faster, and I lose out on all the other great stuff in between.

So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to try and enjoy life again. All of it, not just the good parts, but the not so good ones too. I need to laugh at myself when I overdraw my bank account because my Amazon Prime annual fee went through without me realizing. Or smile when I see an ex across the street who doesn't even acknowledge my existence anymore. Or just take a deep breath when I feel that green eyed monster trying to rear it's ugly head when amazing things are happening to people who I love more than life itself. But most importantly, I am going to stand tall when I have done something wrong, or bad, or forgetful, and make amends for the issues in front of me.

Just because I hop on the express train doesn't mean that the other stops aren't there, I've just gone by them, and yes, some may be bad, but most are good. And I wanna experience them all...


Till we meet again...

Call Me Irresponsible...

So wow. I mention it on here a lot about how I'm a bad hemophiliac. I am never prepared. Never ready for when an episode actually hits. And here we are. Sitting in a waiting room waiting to get infused because I dropped the ball... Or the soap... And got royally, well, you know what happens when you drop the soap...

So the other day I woke up and my right ankle felt so tight. Like... Super tight. And hurt. Meh! That happens. So I stretched it out and got on my way to work. It felt better.

I should explain where the pain is. If you could get a bleed in your tendon, I would assume my Achilles was bleeding, but I know that's silly, so I assume it is the muscle surrounding/controlling the tendon that is having the issue... Okay... Back to the story...

So I'm at Belcourt, setting up the bar, and it starts bothering me again... And it only gets worse. And worse. And worse. By the time 6pm rolls around I'm taking breaks just to go downstairs and cry a little because it hurt so bad. Everyone was really nice and let me go home as soon as I could, so I went home and started icing, and wrapping, and icing, and wrapping... Over and over.

I slept a total of 3 hours.

So then I wake up the next morning and try to stretch it out, and it's still bothering me... I have mobility back, but still bothering me. So this is the moment of truth where I decide to Stimate (a nasal spray used in mild Hemophiliacs to boost the existing factor level to a higher, but still semi-low, amount), or infuse with Factor VIII. Only one problem. I don't have either.

There are times in our lives when we need to be prepared, to not drop the ball (or whatever you drop) when it comes to the important factors of our lives. Be it making sure you have your EpiPen, inhaler, or, in my case, factor, you have to have the things that keep you healthy on hand. And I did not. My factor was not on me due to a mishap involving phone calls between my pharmacy and HTC (which, in theory, is still my fault because I should have been more on top of it), and because I never brought my prescription to the pharmacy because the excuse was... I'll have more money next week for the co-pay.

So here, on a random Thursday afternoon, I had 2 nurses scrambling during a normal work day with other patients just to try and find a way to get me my medication, and a clinical pharmacist at Affinity, scrambling to try and get medication together for an overnight delivery so I could have more if needed the following day. And it was all because I was irresponsible.

I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for Donna and Maria and NY-Pres and for Jean (and Matt and Michael) at Affinity Biotech.

I have to say it is feeling better, but I do have it wrapped and still don't have full flexing motion in my ankle, but I now know that from this point on I'll be ready...

So... As the evilicious Scar states so beautifully in The Lion King, Be Prepared! Because this time, I was lucky.... And all we as know, Luck is a Lady (Tonight), but I've never been too suave with the lady folk so I'm gonna try this responsibility angle. Ugh...

Till we meet again...

Location:New York - Presbyterian

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A difference of opinion...

I'm sorry I disappeared for a while. Things have been crazy since the road trip and I just haven't had a chance to write. So Oh my God, I'm back again. Party people everybody sing. Okay... Enough Backstreet Boys.

So I could sit here and tell you about another funny story from my past, which is always a good time, or tell you about all of the ridiculous things taking place in my present, which is also pretty entertaining, but I feel like this is a good time to comment on current events, because I dunno how I missed it, but a mouse was cured of Hemophilia... What?!?

I may have a different interpretation of hemophilia than some others out there, especially because I am mild-moderate, but I have a hard time believing that I am going to see a cure for Hemophilia become available to the public before I turn 50, even if then.

I know. I sound pessimistic, but I'm not a negative person... Normally. I just feel like I have a tendency to be real. Pharmaceutical companies make too much money off of hemophilia treatment to allow a cure to come out soon.

Now, I know I am talking in generalizations, not ALL pharmaceutical companies feel that way, I guarantee, just like not all 'mo's think Britney deserves her recent success (come on Brit, you can dance better live). But here in lies the rub, when for years these companies have been funding new and better treatments to REGULATE bleeding, why would they then just turn around and not lobby that gene therapy research is too dangerous for consumers, or the Darwin theory, or whatever reasons they think will relate to government officials to keep customers using their products that, thankfully, they have poured millions of dollars into just so that they could lose all of it.

The medical industry is a big business. Business. And to make money people need to stay, somewhat, sick. More comfortable, but sick. It's tough to think about, but I know that some of you feel that way out there as well.

And I hope I am wrong. This is why I love living in America. Because I can start a blog about my life and have my own opinion, and know that other people feel differently, and that's okay. Maybe one day I will be able to live my life without the fear of bleeding. But I think that day is a little far off. For now, I am thankful that there are treatments that can keep me healthy and have helped to make this illness livable.

So don't hate. I'm just speaking my mind. And I'm interested in knowing what you think. So tweet me (@TheHemoHomo) or comment here. I will respond. Hope everyone reading is having a good day, because I am on my way to work... Yuck...

Till we meet again...

Location:E 72nd St,New York,United States

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Be Proud

Look. As of late I've been writing about current things happening to me as an individual, but there is something bigger going on right now with the Equality Vote looming over our heads at the NYC Senate, and with the beginning of NYC Pride officially starting tonight, I find myself wanting to discuss "coming out."

Now for all my bleeder folk out there, don't turn away just yet. This isn't only about being a Homo, it's actually more about being a Hemo. I had a harder time coming out as a Hemophiliac than I did as a Homosexual. I'm sure your face is doing some weird scrunched up "huh?" thing right now, so read on my friends, and see what I mean...

Throughout past blog posts I have discussed growing up with Hemophilia. Wearing a helmet, covered in pads, and although most people were accepting, some were not. It's hard not to tease the kid who looks like he just stepped out of some weird science fiction movie where helmets are used to access parts of the brain so I can communicate telepathically! (or most people just thought I had a mental disability, but I'm trying to keep it light).

So going to Penn State was like a breath of fresh air! I didn't have a cell phone, there was no The Facebook, and I had never jumped into the myspace or livejournal craze, so there was nothing linking me to my old life. I mean, come on, my nickname in high school was Bleeder. I decided I wasn't going to tell anyone that I had hemophilia. It's my business and nobody else's. Of course, I told my dance professor, but other than that... No one.



Freshman Year of College!
With the fabulous Carol Angeli Dillard


At some point I let Melissa know, and a couple other of my classmates, but I wanted to keep it hush-hush. Not the smartest thing in the world going out at PSU with no Medic Alert, nobody knowing, just plain old me, but it was a liberating experience, to be in the closet about my disability.

And then Theatre 100 happened. So I can save my face professionally, I am not mentioning any names here, but I am going to tell this story. Theatre 100 was a general arts credit that ALL theatre majors at PSU are required to take, but is open to anyone at the university. So needless to say, that was one of the 200+ people lecture classes. The premise was that we learned the background of the time period a play was written in, read the play, grad students performed scenes, and then we took a test. One of those plays was Angels in America.

For those of you not familiar with Angels in America, aka the hemos, it is a story about the AIDS epidemic in the 80's, mostly following the homosexual life style, but makes references to hemophilia and drug use.

So it's the section of the class where we are learning about the time period and we start off discussing the GMHC and drug use, and then my professor begins to discuss Ryan White.

For those of you not familiar with Ryan White, aka the homos, Ryan White was a hemophiliac who received Factor VIII infusions and received AIDS from this. He was diagnosed in 1984, and when schools forbade him to come back, they started a campaign, and Ryan White became the new face of AIDS...

Well in class, the professor started talking about how horrible and crippling Hemophilia is. How Ryan White, as an active child, was the anomaly. How most Hemophiliacs sit at home and do nothing because their disease has crippled them so...

Now my blood is starting to boil, and I look around at the few people I have actually told, and they are just staring at me with this look of "seriously?" so I had a choice. To come out or not. To go back to being Bleeder, or Helmet Head, or any other fine choice of words, or I could just let everyone think these lies about a disease that I have lived with my entire life... It really wasn't a choice, I only had one true option... I raised my hand...

My professor stopped in mid-sentence and tried to chastise me by saying, "I'm sorry, is there something you have the say that is so important that you will interrupt me while I'm giving a lecture?" and then she sips ever-so-nastily on her Diet Coke...

I stood up. "Yes," I replied. "I do." And began to talk about what it was like growing up in the 80's with Hemophilia. I know I was right at the cusp of when all this happened, but my brother was in the thick of it. And NEITHER of us were inactive couch potatoes. My brother played Little League and was a cheerleader in HS. I was a dancer and ran X-C. This was not some illness that caused us to be invalids. As hemophiliacs, we live. We are active, and we do the same things other kids do, just with a little extra cushioning...

I looked around and saw everyone in this 200 seat lecture hall staring at me, my fellow MT's grinning from ear to ear. My professor, after a moment to collect her thoughts, went through her overhead transparencies and with nothing more than a "thank you for that," she moved on to discussing Rock Hudson.

I know that the argument of the LGBT community getting married is extremely politically charged and steeped in religious battles that don't really need to be there, but what I ask for is for everyone to just come out. Be proud of who you are!



NYC Pride March - 2009


Whether you have HIV, or diabetes. Whether you're gay or you had that one experience at Boy Scout Camp (come on... You know you did). Or even if you have been dying your hair blonde because you don't want the world to know you're a ginger (which I wouldn't understand cause gingers are hot), just come out of the closet! Be you! And be proud. Pride Week isn't just for gay people anymore... It's for all of us.


Till we meet again...

Location:E 73rd St,,United States

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day 8

I made it home! After 14 hours in a Sprinter van, we arrived in New York City at around 2am.

So the start of the day...

We wake up and like 9:30 and I go downstairs to get some free hotel breakfast when I find out it ended at 9. Great. So THIS is how my day is going to go.

FINALLY we get a call from the garage that the new seat belts have been installed. Jeff and I get our stuff packed and head to the Dodge dealership to get the van so we can drive home....





We see our van and get so excited... But not too excited. We don't want to jinx ourselves again. So after a lengthly test drive we drop off the rental car and get on the road.

I wish I could regale you with fabulous tales, but there aren't any. We drove straight to NYC in 14 hours and then went to sleep. Pretty boring, but I had to complete this monstrosity of a road trip. Pride is coming up. Expect a pretentious post soon... :-)


Till we meet again...

Location:E 73rd St,New York,United States

Monday, June 20, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day 7

When the skies are brighter canary yellow
I forget ev'ry cloud I've ever seen,
So they called me a cockeyed optimist
Immature and incurably green....


Yeah. I felt like quoting South Pacific was exactly what I needed after this day. This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, day... (Where is Alexander when you need him)... Although it started off AWESOME.

So after passing out at like 4am after chit-chatting with Mel, I woke up at like 7 and walked back to the hotel to get ready for breakfast with Michael Schultz (@michaelschultz). Not only is he the creator of Hemalog, but he is also just a straight up cool dude. He picked me up and we went to this awesome restaurant aptly titled The Cafe. I had this amazing Hash and Eggs and he had Twice Baked French Toast. The food was amazing, and the conversation was even better. We discussed everything from the new iPhone OS to the way we were raised involving protective head gear (that lucky duck didn't wear a helmet. I'm totes jeals).







He's heading to TX, so let's wish him a much better #HemoRoadTrip than I've been having... Segue to...

THE GARAGE.

OMG. So we were told that the van would be ready today by 10, 11 at the latest. By 12 we still have not heard from the garage, so... We decided to just drive to the garage and wait there. We hop in our adorable Chevy HHR rental, and drive into downtown Louisville.

When we get there, we discover that they have JUST started to run the diagnostic. AT 12:30!!!!!!! They have had this van for over 2 months. We are pissed. So we now know we probably aren't getting home now until Tuesday afternoon... At least there was a Purple Pegasus...







Turns out, we needed new seat belts. And guess what. None in stock. So Patrick decided to fly home while Jeff and I stayed behind, again, to hope that the van will actually be fixed Tuesday morning. So please... PLEASE keep me in your thoughts because I would really like to get back to NYC and some point before I turn 30... Fingers crossed...

Side note? Um... Louisville has Mello Yellow Zero. Yes, please...





Till we meet again...

Location:Alliant Ave,Jeffersontown,United States

Bleeding Across the Country - Night 5 & Day 6

Wow. I'm actually going to have a positive blog post for once! Who knew?!

So my friend Melissa was super tired when we arrived, and we were HUNGRY, so we left Melissa at Derby Dinner and went to the Smokin' on the River Festival. It was this AMAZING BBQ festival with Blues music. It was awesome.










I had some amazing BBQ, and a beer and some FUNNEL CAKE... I totally forgot how much I LOVE funnel cake.









After the festival (the festival? The KING'S festival?!?!) we went back to the hotel and I grabbed some clothes and then went to the actor's house where Melissa lives.

And then, I met Schmatthew. Amazingly fabulous in every sense of the word. And then i met Schmlexi, who was equally as fabulous... And then we went to bed.

*cue birds chirping*

As I awaken refreshed and renewed with baby birds tying ribbons in my hair, we head to Toast in downtown Louisville. It was an amazing brunch. Not as good as Belcourt (of course), but still DELICIOUS!








After brunch we all just shot the breeze and went for a Target run, before I returned to the hotel for a refreshing shower and got all dolled up to go see a play at Derby called "Life After Dad." We shared a couple bottles of wine and had some delicious food, and then we returned home for a bit. I caught up with another old friend, Schmelly (Not smelly. She actually smells quite nice), which was much needed. :-)

We then decided to go to The Connection so Melissa decides to be the DD and Schmatthew and I are going to be the passengers. After we park the car, we head into Tryangles, which is a cool, low key gay bar where a kinda creepy "straight" guy decided to latch onto us and follow us to The Connection, which is the top Drag Club in the country.



We paid our cover, grabbed some beers, (and by beer I mean Maker's) and grabbed a table. What followed was one of the greatest drag shows I have ever seen (Sorry Lauren Ordeir... Love you!). After the fierce show, we danced for a while and then headed home, after some White Castle, of course...

YouTube Video

It was amazing to get to see Melissa and meet her dear friends that I have heard so many amazing things about. Here is that silver lining. Keep posted for some amazing revelations, because it goes back down hill after this... Ugh.....


Till we meet again...

Location:Forest Dr,Louisville,United States

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day 5

So, I always try to keep a positive mindset when it comes to tragedy. So this entire trip I have been cracking jokes and trying to keep things light, and yesterday, I snapped. Well, got really upset...

So we get up at the crack of dawn and get some coffee. We then take the surprisingly clean shuttle to the LAS airport where we start our trip to Louisville, KY, where the second van has been repaired.

In case you haven't been reading the past posts, here is a very brief summary:

I was asked by my old theatre company to fly to LA to pick up a van that had broken down and was left because the tour needed to continue. On the way home we were to swing by Louisville, KY and pick up ANOTHER van that had broken down and drive them both back to their destination in NYC. The LA van broke down in Vegas and after three days of trying to get it fixed, we ultimately gave up and are now on our way to Louisville to pick up the second van.

Okay. So the flight went well. I took a bit of a nap anodyne enjoyed a delicious Quiznos breakfast sandwich that was amazing (Who knew?).



We land in Memphis during a layover, and head to Popeye's for some lunch. Yes, I dunno how I'm going to get naked this thursday, but I'm going to have to. Anywho, Jeff called the garage in Louisville where the van is being repaired to let them know when we are arriving because they are sending someone to pick us up.

The van isn't ready and won't be until Monday.

I lose it. I start laughing and crying all at the same time. So here we are about to board this ghetto little plane and head to Louisville, KY to pick up a van that has not yet been fixed, but has been sitting at this garage for 2 months, and we are going to be stuck in Louisville for 2 days. I lost it...


YouTube Video

So we get to Louisville in one piece and start looking for hotels and stuff. Jeff books one in Clarksville, IN which happens to be next door to the Derby Dinner Playhouse where my best friend of all time, We shall call her Schmelissa, is working on The Sound of Music... Hey... Every cloud has a silver lining.




Schmelissa and I in 2006.
See how close we are?!?! ;-)


So hold on tight... Tomorrow I will post about the rest of the evening and the fun day off in Louisville... At least I get to see a friend huh?

Till we meet again...

Location:Marriott Dr,Clarksville,United States

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day 4

So guess where I am... VEGAS... UGGGGHHHHH.

So Vegas is a lot of fun, but not when you spend most of your day chilling at a Freightliner hoping you're gonna get on the road... And then you don't.. I'm bleeding across Nevada at this point, not the county. Let me fill you in..




So we wake up early to go back to the Freightliner place and break out the Phase 10 cards again... 8am... 9am.... 10am... When 11am rolls around we realize something must be up, then one of the technicians comes in and asks, "Who is in charge of the Sprinter?" Jeff responds. And the technician then says, "Come with me and I'll show you what's wrong..." Uh-oh. That's never good.

After a little bit, Jeff comes back, with this look on his face that just breathes negative things. Yes. The van is broken. Its some turbo something or other that my little "gactor" (not to be confused with factor. Ha! The gactor needs factor. Might be my new tagline...) mind just cant understand, but it has something to do with a flap or valve that gets stuck... (That's what she said...) And we cannot get the part until Monday. It is Friday. You have got to be kidding me. We were supposed to be back in NY by Monday. Okay. Breathe deep. We will figure it out.

Jeff gets on the phone with Theatreworks and talks to them for a while. Here is the resolution. We will now be flying to Louisville where we are going to pick up the other van we were supposed to pick up, then drive to Dayton, OH. After staying overnight in Dayton, we are then driving straight back to NYC, and after the van gets fixed, someone is going to go back out and get it...

So we got a hotel near the airport and just kinda chilled out. I went to bed super early because our flight is at 8:25am. Keep checking back to see how the rest of these adventures play out!

Till we meet again...

*PS- My elbow is fine :-) In case you were worried...

Also, tell me your bad road trip/travel stories! Mention me on twitter and add the hashtag #hemoroadtrip

Location:Who knows...

Friday, June 17, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country -Day 3

Oh man. It has been a trip of all trips. So we wake up bright and early to head out on the road. Van fixed. Donuts in hand (Yummm. Krispy Kream). And we begin the trip across the Rocky Mountains to Denver, Co.



Krispy Kreams for Breakfast


We start out driving on I-15 towards Utah and cross through the Virgin River Gorge. It was STUNNING. I couldn't believe how breathtaking the scenery was. For a Pennsylvania boy like me, the barren mountains are beautiful.








So I'm playing games on my iPad when the van starts to slow down. I look up to see us going 40 mph up a hill and realize that the unthinkable has happened. The van was not fixed. So we coast into St. George, Utah and try to find someone who will service a Sprinter Van. We find a Dodge dealership and hope for the best.



Oh no... not again!!
St. George, Utah


After waiting around for about an hour, we find out that they can't help us. They don't service Sprinter Vans, so off we go to a Ghetto Diesel garage hoping that they can help us. Unfortunately, they can not. They are booked solid for two days, so we can either wait and see if they get a no-show, or head to a different city.

Now here is the thing. Three companies make Sprinter Vans... Mercedes, Dodge, and Freightliner. Trying to find someone who can actually service a Sprinter van is like trying to find an out homosexual Mormon in Utah... You know they are there, just not sure where...

So anywho, we have two options, drive 4 hours out of our way to go to Salt Lake City, or turn around and head to... You guessed it... Las Vegas.




So... Back down I-15 we head towards Vegas... By the time we make it to the Garage it is now 4:25 and they close at 4:30 so they tell us to come back in the morning.... Sooooo.... We call up Excalibur and book another room.

The rest of the night consisted of drinking and just living it up in Vegas. I went to Coyote Ugly, rode the New York, New York roller coaster, and had 2-4-1 beers at Rok Nightclub...


Um.. ROK OUT!!!!
(please remember to drink responsibly and only over the age of 21)


After Rok, I met up with Jeff and we went to Charlie's, which is a FABULOUS country bar with lots of Line Dancing... We had sooo much fun.

YouTube Video

CHARLIE'S
(I am not in this video)


After that I ended up at Krave, which is apparently THE rainbow bar to go to on The Strip. I had so much fun going out, meeting new people, and seeing Vegas.

You MUST come back and read tomorrow's post because you will not believe what happened today... All I have to say is, Leaving Las Vegas is a lot harder that it seems...





Till we meet again...

Location:N Green Valley Pkwy,Henderson,United States

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day 2

Craziest. Day. Ever. Okay, where to begin.

So we get up early in the morning and check out so that we can get the van to Freightliner so we can get it fixed and get on the road. Well, we assumed that we would be able to get some kind of breakfast nearby. Nope. Not at all. Thank God they had a coffee pot.

So after a rousing two hours of Phase 10 (I love Phase 10. Brilliant game.), we got the word we could leave. Yeah! So we hop in the van, stop at a 7-11 so we could grab some Slurpies because it was over 100 degrees by 11. And out on the road we went.

Well I started my blog post and was totally unobservant when the following happened...



The van just died. Straight up died. We were going 30 mph up a hill. So I was like, AHHHHHHHH! We had only been driving for an hour. So off to the side of the road we go. And wait. For an hour. And there was NOTHING around.



Omg. So we had two options. Try to make it to a Freightliner further down our route over 200 miles, or turn around and head back to Vegas. Since we were heading into the Rocky Mountains with no acceleration or pickup, we decided to turn back. In making this decision it meant that we would NOT make it to Denver until like 3am, so we decided to just spend another night in Vegas. Oh darn.

So we drive back to the Freightliner and wait to see why the van is still not working. I decided to take this opportunity to call up my Uncle Joey, who I haven't seen in years. Why not? He came and picked me up and we went to In-And-Out burger. YUMMMMM! Come on In-And-Out! Get to the east coast already!

Anywho, after catching up with my Uncle for a bit, I went back to the hotel to check in with the boys.

I'm still getting used to my iPad. And I wrote yesterday's blog post on the iPad. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I would email myself the pictures and then just post when I had wifi. All hotels have wifi... Right? WRONG. Our hotel didn't have wifi and I freaked out. I had to pay $10 for wireless that some outside company has up around Las Vegas, but it was so slow and kept coming in and out. After an hour I finally got the blog up and decided I write on my phone from now on. Hahaha.

After that we decided to go to the pool. So beautiful. It was a gorgeous day outside and Patrick and I had an amazing time in the pool! I was trying to be a little gentle because my elbow was still bothering me. A little ice when no one is looking never hurt anyone.

YouTube Video

After swimming for a bit in my FABULOUS new bathing suit, which makes it's first, and last, appearance in this video (I left it at the hotel), we all showered and decided to hit the casino for some food.




We went to New York, New York and decided to get Chineese food at Chin-Chin and it was fantastic. A Sapporo and Philly roll. Just what I needed.


After ALL that happened this day I was so exhausted I cancelled my plan to go to Krave (where they apparently have cute go-go boys), and decided to go to bed because I felt completely...



USED!


The beds were comfy and I drifted straight off into dreamland.

Check back tomorrow for my Rocky Mountain High. (Gotta love John Denver...)

Till we meet again...

Location:W Pioneer Blvd,Mesquite,United States

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Bleeding Across the Country - Day One

So I already posted about the fun flight yesterday, but I don't think I told everyone WHY I was flying. I am making a Cross Country road trip from Los Angeles to New York and I've brought my video camera with me! I don't know if any hemophilia stuff will happen*, and only God knows if I'll end up in some seedy gay bar singing Rebecca Black's Friday in Iowa somewhere... But I can guarantee this is going to be full of laughs, and maybe some tears.

So here's what's up. I have mentioned TheatreworksUSA in previous posts as a company I respect and love to work for. I toured with them in the 2007 Fall touring company of Seussical the Musical, and performed three more contracts with them up until 2010. The kind of productions that they put on are well produced and really help make a difference in arts education across the country. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2012 so if you saw a show in a field trip when you were in elementary school, there is a good chance it was produced by TheatreworksUSA.

Anywho, since I have maintained a great working (and personal) relationship with TWUSA, I was asked to help them out. A van of theirs was involved in an accident in Los Angeles and the cast had to leave the state before the van could be fixed, so my old Stage Manager, Jeff, the most recent assistant stage manager of Seussical, Patrick, and myself flew out to Los Angeles to drive the van back to NYC in one piece. And in a timely manner.




So yesterday, after landing safely at LAX, we took a cab to the Dodge Dealership that fixed the van, hopped in, and started the trek back. Our first stop on the tour... VEGAS!

We are driving down I-15 when all of a sudden, the van begins to slow down. Like, no pickup.


YouTube Video

So we pull over on the side of the road and wait a bit. Maybe it's over heating in the 105 degree sun? Maybe it's the Turbo Injector which is a constant problem in Sprinter vans. Who knows? But we waited a bit and hopped back in the van to try and complete our trip to Sin City. After about another 20 minutes, it happened again, so we waited for over an hour this time.

We found a little bar/restaurant/gas station/mini-mart/social club off the side of the road (Welcome to the desert). We went in, sat at a table, and played some chess. I dunno what the deal was, but the proprietor of the place HAD to take our picture playing chess and post it on the Facebook page. Then they gave us these delicious Blue Cream sodas to thank us. After getting my butt kicked in chess (and you would think that a no-impact sport like chess would be my thing, not so much. Right bleeders?), we climbed back into the van and shuffled off to Vegas.

After checking in to the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, we hit the room to shower and grab some food.


We ended up walking to the Luxor and eating at T & T, which stood for Tacos and Tequila. I had an AMAZING Acái-Pomegranate Margarita and an appetizer sampler which I couldn't finish.




Jeff went and hit the hay while Patrick and I hit the floor for just a little gambling. We had to get the van to the garage by 8am and with the time change and all, we had been up for almost 24 hours, so I didn't do very much.

I went to the slots first and lost $20 in like 2 min. So.... Of course I threw in another 20. After almost loosing it all, I ended up winning it back so I decided to leave the slots up $2. Yes. $2. I went looking for video Roulette, which was closed, but video BlackJack was open, so I took a seat. I started doing really well and was up $50 at one point before plummeting into a deficit. I had $.80 left of my original $40. I'm not a huge gambler so I took my voucher and went to head back to the room.

As I'm walking back to the room I realize, what the hell am I going to do with an $.80 voucher? So I threw it in a Houdini slot machine. Harry Houdini. Master Escapist. (THE PEOPLE CALLED IT RAGTIME!) I threw in the voucher and hit max bet, and won $1.50. Same thing. I won $3. So I sat down and decided to play out this voucher. 10 min later, I get two rotating wilds and the machine goes CRAZY! I won $127!!!!! That put me $80 over my initial $40! I was thrilled! Needless to say I decided to call it quits and went up to my room, where I passed out with visions of Houdini dancing in my head.

And guys, WAIT until tomorrow when I tell you what I'm going through at this exact moment, but that's Day 2. We were supposed to drive to Denver.... Uh-oh...


Till we meet again...

*Since starting this post, my left elbow has started to hurt, but no swelling or loss of mobility, so I shall keep you all posted!

Location:Las Vegas,United States