Hey People! The party has moved to www.Reason512.com!

Just realizing that no one has commented on my new blog – makes me think that maybe, just maybe, people have forgotten I’ve moved everything over to www.reason512.com. Come join the fun!!!

Yea, the site is still uglier than hell…just deal with it until I can get my head around the concept of the web design!  I promise, the posts are still funny.  At least they are to me ; )

Reason512.com now available for your viewing pleasure

That’s right folks, www.reason512.com is now up and running!  It’s not as pretty right now, I know, but it has cool new features, such as Oscar Party Pages and…well, that’s about all it has now besides all my new posts…

Hopefully, my friends Jen and Lisa will help me with the design aspect soon…maybe when they take a look at how ugly the damn thing is, they’ll rush to my rescue and help me with the design!  I am helpless….

See you at the new and improved Reason #512 v2.0!

I’m sorry…the person you’re trying to reach is no longer in Seattle…

I feel like I am on a distant planet, far, far away….mainly because I’ve been on the road for an eternity. I’m in San Jose, saving a CHICAGO date that was almost cancelled when the original promoters went bankrupt. Sigh. I keep telling myself, it’s FUN to transfer incomplete ticketing data to a new ticketing system and to train people to learn the new-to-them aforementioned system.   Nope, no matter how much I kid myself, this has not been fun, but hard work.  Editor’s note – after three days of being in San Jose, the author can attest that she did, indeed, have a little fun.  the people in San Jose were super nice so the work seemed to go by faster than expected.

There’s an atmostphere of camaraderie, though – like a Babes In Arms type production when Judy Garland says “I know, let’s put on a show!” But in this case, there no summer stock barn to put on a revue with the local kids – it’s a 2,600 seat Performing Arts Center, filled with patrons who have tickets to events later this season on shows that won’t exactly ever happen and for whom no refund will be made. Sigh.  At least the patrons are nice.  No one is screaming or yelling, everyone seems grateful that at least one show went on. All in all, it’s a learning experience. but boy, do my feet hurt and my face aches from smiling all the time.  My stint as a greeter at The Gap is coming in handy.  Everyone patron who came through the door last night was greeted with my manic smile and a “Thanks for coming to the show! Do you have your tickets in hand? What’s that? You lost your tickets? Well, it sucks to be you – we have no idea where you were seated because AMT didn’t give us your customer data information.  How about some balcony seats?“

So, sorry I’ve not posted in a while…on top of this, I’m planning my big move to Reason512.com which should be a blast!  As in a blast for you, dear readers, when I start posting all the crazy wacky shit that it’s in my head.  I’m working on an Oscars page, complete with Bingo cards and drink recipes for the big day.  In the meantime, have a nice day and enjoy the show!

See what I mean?  I can’t escape “show mode.”  I’ve got to go find me a bar in San Jose to start drinking.  At least the hotel bar has Tito’s Vodka!  Yea!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

It’s that time of year again!  AWARDS SEASON!  And if the excitement doesn’t get you in a tizzy, well, then obviously, you don’t know me well.

I’ve been hosting an Oscar Party since the 1992 Oscars, the year Unforgiven won.  Come hell or high water, the party has gone on.  When I got married the week after the Oscars in 2001?  No worries, I just begged one of my bridesmaids to let me host at her house in Austin, while we all assembled wedding programs in front of the TV.  In 2003, my grandmother died a week before the Oscars.  In her honor, we held the party the day after her funeral in my parents condo, just family and close friends.  It was sweet, actually, as Grandma kind of nurtured my love of movies  (for years, she always bought me a subscription to Premiere Magazine as a Christmas gift).

In 1996, I was living at home while looking for an apartment in Houston and I hosted the budding tradition of a party at my parents house (note to self, when hosting a party in Spring, Texas, only 2 of your friends will make the schlep all the way from Houston – thanks, Meg and Jen!).  It was during this year that my brilliant dad had the idea to make Themed Drinks for one of the nominees – The Tang Martini, thanks to Apollo 13. 

The tradition for Themed drinks grew the next year, as I served Guinness for Good Will Hunting, shipwreck blue Margaritas for Titanic and the like.  Soon, the tradition became bigger than the party itself – people wanted to know what was I going to make for the themed drinks rather than who I thought would win.  Some highlights over the years include the Roberto Begnini Bellini (for Life is Beautiful), a Warsaw Rose for The Pianist, Pink California Sunshine  for Little Miss Sunshine and the Juno Sunny D Screwdriver.  Lowlights include a Flaming Dr. Pepper for The Insider (seriously, you gotta better idea for a drink symbolizing that movie?  If so, do tell), a Car Crash for Crash (it had Southern Comfort in it – ’nuff said)  and mead for each and every year The Lord of the Rings trilogy was nominated.

Now that the ‘best movies of 2008′ lists are making the rounds and the 2008 Golden Globe nominees have been announced, I start thinking about the possible candidates for Best Picture Oscar nominations.  So far, I’ve narrowed down the list to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Gran Torino and Changeling.  I’ll start kicking around some ideas for each movie as the weeks progress, feel free to comment on ideas or thoughts.  Drinks can be based on specific scenes in the movie (last year’s No Country for Old Men, I made  White Russians in a classic glass milk bottle and called them White Chigurhs) or they can be a play on words of a character, actor or movie title.  Really, anything goes so long as it’s slightly clever.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will probably be the hardest….I’d better start my research now in time for the nominations to be announced on January 22!

Not just the usual holiday rush…

Some people I know really get into the holiday spirit.  My friend, Amy, posts on the Facebook page how she’s done with shopping, bought her tree, baked cookies, wrapped all her presents and such.  My friend, Lisa, has a blog where she’s not only committed to blog every freakin’ day, but the blogposts are about her family’s daily quest for holiday fun and how she’s scrapbooking each and every day’s holiday moment. 

God, I wish I could be these ladies. 

But I’m not.  I have the best of intentions.  Really, I love the holidays!  But I’ve never had the energy to get a real Christmas tree, only to have to remove it a few weeks later.  And shopping?  While I always seem to get it done on time, I never seem to get things in the mail on time.  Thank god this year, the family is getting together in January instead of December, so I have some extra time.  Plus, we’re going to Austin, so no post office trip this year!  Yea!

I wish I could have the excuse of actually doing the holiday spirit thing as an excuse for not posting this past week.  But I do have an excuse – our office is getting another city for our stable of Broadway series.  I hate to committo the blogosphere what the market is, but suffice to say, it’s in Northern California.  Last week was spent prepping numbers for a massive pitch to the city and building.  We’ll know Monday if it is a go or not.  It’s kind of exciting!  And yet, totally scary, as we still are short-staffed and quite frazzled.  But as my friend Mike says “you’ve been short-staffed as long as I’ve known you” I guess I should recognize reality and accept the fact that my industry doesn’t do anything whole hog.

So, to get me more in the holiday spirit (and to not hink about the shitload of work that is about to come my way), I’ll think about the ways I do get into the holiday spirit.  while I’m not making gingerbread houses and caroling, this is what gets me into the mood to celebrate Christams:

Putting out bowls of round glass Christmas ornaments – my way of decorating for the holidays; low effort, yet festive at the same time.  Unpacking Parachute Santa and finding a place for him in the house.  This year, he’s on our new guest chair in the living room.  He’s this stuffed Santa my Mom gave me years ago – she has one,  too.  He’s made out of parachute pant material.  He’s awesome, but Craig HATES him.  And for some reason, the dogs have never ripped him to shreds like their normal stuffed toys….I wonder why?

I love walking the streets of Downtown Seattle, with all the twinkly lights, Christmas decorations, the crisp, clear air that smells slightly of saltwater and the sounds of everyone shopping and going about their business. 

Going to Amy’s house over Christmas and enjoying the fruits of labor of someone who does Christmas RIGHT, complete with pigs in blankets and late night Wii fests. 

Baking about 5 dozen cookies to give out to friends and family (I make the same ones every year…I’m a creature of habit). 

Going to Pike Place Market the day before Christmas to buy ingredients for Christmas Eve dinner. 

Working from home Dec. 25 – January 2nd, cause the one thing my company does do right is it give us that entire week off!

That’s what gets me in the Christmas spirit!  And I’ll try to remember that spirit as the daunting tasks of a new market start to weigh down on me in the new year….

Thank you

The turkey is done and the leftovers are finished.  The friends have left, the wine is drunk and the house is in a little bit of a shambles.  Now is the time when I normally reflect for what I am thankful this year – it’s a nice coda to sharing fun times with friends and family over the Thanksgiving and a nice preamble before Christmas and the New Year.

I’m thankful for friends, both near and far, who put up with my crazy ways.  Friends who still like to hang out with me, even though I’ve not spoken to them in weeks.  Friends who still accept my phone calls and/or emails even though I’ve not seen them in years.  Friends who come over and have no problem with my house being a mess, my chaotic hosting style and my crazy dogs who like to jump on people.  Friends who make me laugh, make me cry (a good cry) and who make me think….sometimes while laughing and crying at the same time. 

I’m thankful for a husband who thinks I look better without makeup than with makeup.  I’m thankful he still makes my heart jump when he walks into a room. 

I’m thankful for dogs who like to sleep on my stomach….even if they weigh 60+ pounds. 

I’m thankful for a mom and dad who call often and for whom I never tire of hearing about their exploits.  I’m thankful for a brother who always challenges me to be more creative and to appreciate the finer things in life (and who makes me laugh harder than anyone in the whole world).

I’m thankful for the friends who are procreating and making the world a better place by raising smart, liberal, free-thinking children.  

I’m thankful for spell-check, Pamela’s Pumpkin Spice cookies and episodes of The Office and Nigella Feasts.  And the internets, for my lovely blog. 

OK.  That’s it for now….maybe by Saturday, I’ll be  thankful for Missouri beating Oklahoma.  But something tells me I won’t be so lucky.  Happy Holidays, everyone!!