Posted by Colleen on Sep 2, 2010 in
Family,
Marist,
Memories In honor of today being “90210 Day,” I have two things thing confess:
1. Is more of an interesting tidbit. It was 3 years ago today that Jay first met my family. We went to visit them as they were helping my sister Christie move into her freshman dorm room at Marist College, then went to the Palace Diner (represent) for some “get to know you time.” It’s also my mom’s birthday today, which is why I remember the date. Christie is now starting her senior year at Marist. Time really does move motherf*cking fast.
2. I have never actually seen 90210. I was too young to care when it first came out and then when I wanted to watch it, my parents thought it was inappropriate. I have only ever seen part of one episode and it involved Tori Spelling and Halloween. It was at a cross country team dinner when I was in 8th or 9th grade. [Side confession: I often incredibly disliked running cross country but I think I've spoken about that on MetroBuzz, maybe?] Should I invest in watching some of the seasons of 90210? People seem very excited about today’s date.
Happy birthday to my wonderful mother! I really, really, really want to go to the Palace now and get either sweet potato pancakes OR an egg white omlet with turkey and turkey sausage. #omfgIMissCollegeDaysSometimes!
Tags: 90210, Marist College, Palace Diner
Posted by Colleen on Dec 10, 2007 in
Eddie G.,
Friends,
Marist,
Weekend Saturday night was a little Marist reunion of sorts, organized by Eddie (who’s birthday is today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOME FRY!!!) and the rest of the boys from the Deceitful Whore (the name for Eddie’s apartment our junior/senior years). It didn’t end up being on the Upper West Side, but rather in the East Village. Yay L Train! (Sarcasm.) I forget the name of the bar we went to, but it was this little Irish pub type place that was really fun. Caught up a little with Julia and Anthony, who I haven’t seen in way too long, so that was fun. Nothing really of note happened except the girl who was in the one-stall ladies room for way long, then some dude came out and after like 25-minutes and went, “Oh, she’s really sick in there.” Suuuurrreeeee. “Sick.” If by “sick” you mean —- ah, I’m trying to keep this PG-13, so use your imagination. But it’s exactly what you’re thinking.
So anyways, pictures below, yadda yadda. Nothing too exciting.
To note: Check out the
new Billy Joel song, which is from the perspective of a soldier and sung by this dude from LI. I want Billy Joel to write a song for ME to sing. Granted, I don’t really sing or do anything musical anymore except work in the music industry, BUT I’d totally sing a song in public if Billy Joel told me to. That’s all, the end.
Home Fries Reunited!
Julia likes to stare at my chest.
What’s up, asshole?
Roommates!
Group photos are fun.
Amanda’s new Facebook photo?
Apparently I bite.
Random pic that looked like a cross between Ronald Reagan and Satan.
For all my Lost fan friends, this may be the funniest thing I heard all week:
JNorton15: So you want to see possibly the best Lost message board quote ever?
JNorton15: “When Rose said to Bernard “If you are going to be hiding in the bushes, lets get you into something dark” .. was she refering to herself ???”
Anyway, I didn’t want to leave a sad post like I did yesterday as the last one I did, especially since May 17 is over & I feel much better now AND there’s all sorts of awesome things going on right now.
1. I cut my hair, about 7 inches. I don’t think I look like me at all, but sometimes you just need a change, so I’m glad I did it 
2. Amanda Giordano & I are moving into an apartment in Astoria, Queens on June 1. Visitors welcome. Yay, NYC livin’. It’s sort of scary to officially be an “adult” now, but we all know that I’m definitely not going to start acting like one any time soon. Hooray for being broke, but it’ll be worth it…
3. I helped Paul from Barenaked Hurley (the Lost parody band) write his last 2 songs & it was really fun. I stayed up literally all night on Tues so help him finish it, but it was such a blast to be a part of something that awesome. If you’re a Lost fan, go to iTunes & download the Barenaked Hurley podcast feed, because all of his songs are hysterical.
Finally, to all my Marist friends who are graduating - GOOD LUCK! I’m so proud of you guys & I miss you all a lot. I’ll (hopefully) see most of you tomorrow, whenever I get up there (I’m going to Rachel & Will’s grad party). <3
Posted by Colleen on Apr 30, 2007 in
Friends,
Good times,
John Norton,
MCCTA,
Marist,
Matt Angrisani,
Memories,
Phil DiVuolo,
Reflecting/emo,
Steph Speranza
Okay, so made my return to Marist April 21 for Festival, the student written/acted/directed one act plays. Damn, I freaking miss MCCTA, which is somewhat disgusting. I have my soul back, this should NOT be happening. Haha, Phil has a tendency to reuse his favorite line from his play the year before in whatever play he’s written for Festival current year. For Speed Demons (the show I was in Sr. year), it was my infamous Marisa-Tomei-influenced-Jewish-LI-accented-”32 hours!” monologue from Gods, In General (his show from Jr. year). <3 I love that Phil writes parts just for me & Steph, hehe. So spoiled. Anyway, this year, he gave Steph the same line from Speed Demons, which I love: “Sane is a relative term. We’re all completely nuts. Some of us are just more forward about it.”
Last year, hell/tech week for Festival just kicked off the greatest month ever. After rehearsal, we’d all go to Eddie’s house & chill out, drink, etc. til the wee hours. And let’s not even begin with the crazy ass, never-ending game of Catch Phrase…(Natalie’s the default winner, haha). Then everything continued to be awesome for the next month, til graduation. I remember constantly quoting one of my favorite movies of all time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in my away message - the “This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon” part. (”I know.” “What do we do?” “Enjoy it.”) And we all know how rough last summer was for me, trying to grasp that it really was all gone. Admittedly, I was not in a very good place for months after graduation. But I’ve talked that to death in previous posts, I’m so over talking about it right now.
My point is that going back & walking around campus, it was almost like I never left, which was weird. I keep in touch with all my friends who are seniors - and I remember talking to everyone who graduated a year ahead of me at this time last year. Everyone goes through the same thing. They’re all excited, but panicking about graduation & the real world. It’s freaking scary. You start to really reminisce about the last 4 years. How intimidating it was to be a freshman & how graduation seemed to be so far away. Then, bam! Suddenly, YOU’RE the senior. You’re the one that the freshman look up to, are scared to talk to (as Joey put it: underclassmen had this concept that he was ‘all that’ & were amazed if he said hello to them at a party or something & he didn’t get why, until he remembered that he was the exact same way; we all were). Plus, you grow up a lot in those 4 years. Being away from home does wonders because you start to come into your own as a person. I certainly did. Definitely did. It’s strange to watch them all experience the same emotions that I saw the seniors have when I was a junior & felt myself. Now seeing it from all 3 sides, I have a clearer perception that everything is okay in the end. Just as Phil points out about sanity, it really is all relative.
Anyway, it was also Phil’s 22nd birthday, soooo at least I got to see everyone. I was up there for most of the day, met John for a little while, hung with Joey for a couple hours (drove him on a beer run, for old times sake), got to go to the Palace with Phil & Beth for dinner - hooray for sweet potato pancakes!
Chilled with Crissy, Steph & Steph. “Slept” on Steph (Speranza’s) couch. Here’s pictures for anyone who actually cares. Note how exhausted I look in all of them, because I haven’t slept in ages it seems. Yay, insomnia.
Phil & his muses; Speranza & I stay sane inside insanity
The lovely Miss Garrison
Memory of the Day: Matt dressing up as a mental patient & wandering into people’s houses until someone called security on him. Typical.
The beautiful Amy Kate, who took over for me in my MCCTA board position
Posted by Colleen on Mar 3, 2007 in
Marist,
Meagan Donoghue I just found out that Broadway (yes, THE Broadway) is actually the same as Route 9. So technically Marist College is on Broadway. So by default, I went to college on Broadway. Holler.
Oh & speaking of Marist: I totally forgot I started a post back on my birthday after Meagan called to wish me a happy. It’s part of the conversation we had that made me crack up hysterically (which is good, since I spent the entire day sulking over being old & therefore refusing to acknowledge it/go out to celebrate).
Meg: I threw up behind up Darbys last weekend! It was like, ‘Freshman year called. It wants its Saturday nights back.’ Then I was at the PALACE at 3am! No undergraduate under the shame of that!
Coll: I would’ve been there for you.
Meg: You would’ve been holding my hair back.
Coll: Yeah, but I would’ve been making snarky comments while I was holding your hair back. ‘Come on, Meg, let it out. Let it out like you’re 17 again!’
Meg: HAHAHAHA. Yes, which is why I love you!
Posted by Colleen on Feb 14, 2007 in
MCCTA,
Marist,
Memories,
Reflecting/emo,
Wisdom “Vagina is a dirty word culturally. Penis you can say as many times as you want but vagina’s a bad word.”
-Grey’s Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff on the podcast 1/19/07
So, it’s Valentine’s Day & I’m feeling down. Why? Not because I don’t have a valentine (I could care less, honestly) but because it’s more of all those not-at-Marist emo feelings that keep plaguing me. Today marks the first Feb. 14 in 5 years that I haven’t been gotten to talk about vaginas.
When I first auditioned for The Vagina Monologues back in Feb. ‘03 (freshman year), I did it because I had taken a long-needed break from doing theatre & was looking to get back on stage. When I got in, I accepted the part & did the show mainly because it pissed my mother off royally. And when I say she was angry that I would dare do something against the conservative Catholic mold she & my father had so carefully brought me & my sisters up in, I mean she was a-n-g-r-y. She came to see the show but was so mortified and embarrassed over the subject matter that she completely & totally missed the REAL point of The Vagina Monologues.
The point isn’t to bash men. It isn’t some giant lesbian-fest, nor is it a bunch of obnoxious hairy-arm-pitted chicks burning their bras, screaming “I am woman!” Just look at me. I’m definitely not any of those things at all. No, the message of The Vagina Monologues is both loud AND subtle. To quote one of the monologues, it’s about “loving [your] woman self.” Brief history/synopsis: Eve Ensler conducted hundreds of interviews with women of all ages, races, nationalities, occupations, social status, etc. about their experiences & thoughts on all sorts of subjects that women deal with like sex, childbirth, dating, marriage, menstruation, masturbation, grooming down there, the generation gap, fears, peeves, domestic abuse, being a casualty of war, favorite nicknames for their lady part, etc. And as the prologue tells us, “Women secretly loved talking about their vaginas, mainly because no one’s ever asked them before.” She then took the interviews and made them into a series of monologues addressing subject. Some are very funny, some are very shocking, some are extremely poignant and some are very depressing. All are very powerful.
The word ‘vagina’ is an interesting word. As Ms. Vernoff said, it’s considered to culturally be a dirty word. Perhaps it’s because it’s not considered ladylike for women to discuss such things and men just get embarrassed to even acknowledge that the female sex organ even has a name (vagina=sensitivity=intimacy=freaks people out). Yet we have no problem calling people cowardly/weak people “pussies” or bitchy people “cunts”. In show context, ‘vagina’ is used as a metaphor in many cases because it’s a taboo word that gets people’s attention. After all, the vagina is the ultimate sign of femininity, so why shouldn’t it be used?
I participated in the show in 2003 & 2004 as a cast member. In 2004, when I was elected to the e-board for Marist College Council on Theatre Arts (MCCTA) as the Managing Director of Experimental Theatre (ETG), I inherited the task of being the liasion between MCCTA & the V-day organization. In 2005, I directed it and in 2006, I was lucky enough to do one of my favorite monologues as my swan song (”The Flood”).
Back to what the spirit of Vag really is. The true spirit of The Vagina Monologues is camaraderie. It’s for insecure women to know that they’re not alone and for secure women to know that it’s okay to feel secure & okay to have moments of insecurity. It’s for all to know that they can make a difference, feel good about themselves, fight oppression, rise to challenges, speak out against things that bother them. They can define themselves in whatever way they choose. It’s about girl power, but it is NOT about girl power at the expense of a man. The show doesn’t bash men. Some of the subject matter may be uncomfortable for men to sit through, but it’s nothing scary at all. Men: no one’s going to lynch you for having a penis if you’re in or around the vicinity of a performance.
To say that The Vagina Monologues changed my life is cheesy. The Vagina Monologues hasn’t changed me in that life-altering, total wake-up call way. It’s changed my sense of awareness and made me want other chicks to be aware. Aware, not obnoxiously bold about being a woman, running around screaming “CUUUNT!” every chance they get. My mom was wrong to be so worried; I haven’t turned into a crazy liberal; I still have the same values she raised me with and many of the same views.
If my vagina could talk, what would it say? “Good luck to all my little Vag-es at Marist. Make me proud.” Purple feathers, twigs and shells forever. Happy V-day.
1. WHAT DOES YOUR MYSPACE NAME MEAN? Uh, what do you WANT my MySpace name to mean?
2. WHERE WAS YOUR DEFAULT PICTURE TAKEN? Party in Eddie’s kitchen April of senior year. Ah, to live 12 feet away & only show up to drink & pose for pictures.
3. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Irony of ironies: Helen. Angrisani thinks it’s great, though. (Angri: Helen Keller filling out this survey…)
4. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT RELATIONSHIP STATUS? Ha, ha, ha. I’ve been divorced 3 times & my 4th husband died of a drug overdose.
5. HONESTLY, IF SOMEONE WERE TO TELL YOU HOW THEY FELT, WOULD YOU LISTEN? Yes, but as Golio says, I’d probably “malfunction,” as I tend to do whenever someone says something nice to me.
6. WHATS YOUR CURRENT MOOD? Sad. I just watched Eddie’s stupid MySpace montage from all 4 years at Marist & now I wish more than anything in the entire world that I was back in P5 or the Nelly again.
7. WHO DO YOU LOVE MOST? “I loved you the most.” (Dedicated to Phil).
8. WHO MAKES YOU HAPPY? Not who - what. And that would be mint chocolate chip ice cream with peanut butter syrup, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles & a cherry. Either that or a time machine to take me back to Marist. I’m a simple creature, really.
9. ARE YOU MUSICALLY INCLINED? I most certainly think that I am.
10. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME & CHANGE SOMETHING WOULD YOU? I don’t think it’d make a difference anyway, so I plead the 5th.
11. IF YOU MUST BE AN ANIMAL FOR ONE DAY - WHAT WOULD YOU BE? My dog because all the fucker does is play outside, sleep & get attention. I like playing outside. And sleeping. And attention.
12. EVER HAD A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE? I got caught giving my mom the finger in 5th grade, before I even really knew what that meant. That’s basically about as near-death as one can come.
13. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Procrastinating on the Internet at 3am when I should be sleeping because I’m getting up at 8:30am.
14. WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE SONG THAT’S STUCK IN YOUR HEAD? “Someone to Watch Over Me” bc I was listening to the Crazy for You soundtrack in the car before. Yay.
15. WHO DID YOU COPY & PASTE THIS FROM? Eddie, my Home Fry.
16. NAME SOMEONE WITH THE SAME B-DAY AS YOU? That would be Ian-face, bday buddy & prom date extraordinaire Same day, same hospital.
17. HAVE YOU EVER SANG IN FRONT OF A LARGE AUDIENCE? I’m going to copy Eddie’s answer: “I’m a musical theatre whore.”
18. WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Los ojos.
19. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY ORDER FROM STARBUCKS? Peppermint Mocha, but I’m really more of an Iced Caramel Latte from DD kinda gal.
20. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DRUNKEN NIGHT? Me? Nooooooo, never. I’m against alcohol, premarital sex AND violence against women. Duh.
21. DO YOU STILL WATCH KIDDY MOVIES OR TV SHOWS? Only if they’re really young & really naked. A couple of bruises make a nice accessory too.
22. DO YOU HAVE BRACES? Yes, from 3rd grade til 6th grade.
23. NAME SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU TODAY? I got a peanut butter cup cookie from Dunkin Donuts and it was glorious.
24. DO YOU SPEAK ANY OTHER LANGUAGE? I can rap “Ice Ice Baby” AND sing “Come On Over” in Spanish.
25. IS THERE SOMEONE ON YOUR MIND NOW? Does Justin Timberlake count?
26. WHAT HURTS YOU THE MOST? I’d rather not say. You’ve gotta buy me dinner first.
27. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? See #8.
Alright! So last Thurs. (Jan. 18), I made my way up to Potown for the big Angrisani-Storey 21st birthday gala. I got up there around 6:30ish & made a beeline for the Palace. I miss that glorious diner goodness. Being that I cannot cook for shit, I used to get takeout from there a couple times a week, especially since I lived right down the road last year. Mmmm sweet potato pancakes & turkey egg-white omlets with sweet potato fries. Sigh.
Moving on. I killed some time by going to the Galleria. Did that weird thing I do when I want to kill time (try on prom/formal dresses). Heard some 14-yr-old girl in the dressing room talking about how she was going to meet up with some 24-yr-old guy she met on MySpace. I wanted to go up to her & shake her til she understood just how much that was a really stupid idea. I set off to Rachel’s to chill with her & Will (their wedding is only 9 months away - craaaaazy). We watched quality NBC Thurs. night comedy. Speranza joined us with tales of her new wild & crazy life as a single gal. She’s too hot for her own good, haha. xoxo. I left for campus around 11:15.
I had fun, but as I walked in, I saw Joey, who said something along the lines of, “What? Are you still trying to relive your college days?” It was innocent, but it still made me feel a little weirded out. I’m really not trying to do that; I’m just still good friends with both Matt & Eddie and they drove all the way to my house for my grad party last June, so why shouldn’t I celebrate their bdays? I wish Eddie (G) had come with me, like he would have if he hadn’t had final dress rehearsal. I ended up talking to Phil, Mark Heftler, Lorenzo-I-mean-Zeus-to-my-Hera, & some of Matt’s friends from home outside for a long time. I may be sworn to secrecy, but Phil’s writing another play (this time a full length) & there’s totally a part in it for me (I’ve decided, of course). Yesssss Gods, In General/Speed Demons take 3, ahem.
I stayed at Crissy’s that night (as I do
every time I go up to visit; I really need to do something to show my appreciation since half the time, I don’t even see her til I show up between 1:30-3:30am begging for a couch). I barely drank at the party (I really
was just there for the guys & not to get trashed at a college house party), so I had no problems getting up early the next morning to go for a little run on my old route & then sneak into the gym & use the pool to do some laps. I haven’t done a swimming workout since I was trying to get into shape for all the skimpy
Rocky Horror Show costumes & I kinda miss it. So yay Marist, yay Matt & Eddie, yay Phil, Lorenzo & Mark, yay Crissy, yay Rach, Will & Steph, & any other really gay things I can ‘yay’ (yay Palace!).
It’s hard to believe that it’s Dec. 20 already. It does NOT feel like Christmas is 5 days away AT ALL. I realized this last week & figured out why:
For the last 17 years of my life, Christmas time basically was characterized with everything winding down. School projects, tests, classes ending, teachers/professors/bus drivers/etc. giving out candy canes, holiday parties, all that stuff. But now, everything’s just going on the same as it’s been. Seriously, not being in school & still living at home while working at damn Ann Taylor really feels like I’m on perpetual summer vacation. It’s just strange. It really doesn’t feel like Christmas. I miss Marist.
P.S. Since Bobby’s not having his annual New Years Eve party for the first time since forever, I have no clue what I’m doing for the first time since forever. So if anyone has any ideas they want to shoot my way, let me know. I think I have to house/dog sit for my aunt in Mt. Sinai again cause she’s going to visit people in Buffalo for a few days, but I’m open for suggestions. I wish I could do that open bar Julia & Allison are doing in the Village, but it’s waaaaay expensive & I know I’m going to have to end up working on New Years Day.
12.20.83-5.17-98
*Nothing ever so common*)
Posted by Colleen on Nov 5, 2006 in
Adventure,
Amanda Giordano,
Announcement,
Brian Sabella,
Ian Topping,
Joe Matero,
Julia Graham,
MCCTA,
Marist,
Phil DiVuolo,
Picture Post,
Rachel Cronin,
Rachel Van Carpels,
Steph Speranza,
Tricia Sanders California in a few hours! I don’t think I officially explained this:
Tricia’s moving back to Coram while Clayton’s finishing his last 6 months stationed in Japan. Sooooo I’m flying out there & then we’re driving back across country with her stuff. I think we’re leaving Tues afternoon, going to Vegas (yippee!) on Tues night since it’s only 2 hours from her soon-to-be-ex-apartment. Then we’re driving through the southern states Wednesday til whenever we’re finished, making stops for her to visit family in Tennesee/Louisiana & going to Lookout Mountain(?) in Tenn. We’re gonna drive up the east coast, (maybe visiting harassing Cassidy at UNC?) then I believe spending the last night at her dad’s apartment in Baltimore. Sooooo in case anyone other than my dog Strider is going to really miss me, we’re going to aim to do it in about 5 days, so fear not. I may or may not post from the road, since I need to check my email as I still foolishly hold out hope that perhaps I’ll hear from some place I’ve applied & magically have a real job waiting for me when I get back. Oh, sweet daydream.
Went to Potown last night to see my MCCTA bitches do one of my all-time favorite shows, Crazy For You (Colleen trivia: the 1st show I ever saw on B’way, was in it years ago; one of the resaons I love the the-at-re). The house was nearly sold out & they did a fantastic job. Mark gets the rockstar award for producing it completely on his own, without a co- or asst prod. Mole Mole got new, clean menus, which sort of ruined the Mexican atmosphere of the joint. Amanda, Sabella, Julie, Julia, Donoghue & I represented the alumn. Speranza got the hottest new haircut & as usual, Rachel was her kickass self. Phil got skinny, so he probably tastes pretty good right now. Yeah, I think I covered it all.
Finally, for your viewing pleasure, I have a picture of one Ian “Ian-face” Topping dressed as a himself in the real world! & one Joseph Matero dressed up as the Crow for Halloween. My mom offering to help him paint his nails black was slightly disturbing, but probably not as disturbing as it was for Joe to walk into my house as I’m straigthening my hair with the Rocky Horror soundtrack BLASTING, obnoxiously singing along, slightly oblivious to the fact that I’ve got company. Why do I ramble so incessantly all the time? Here’s the picture:
Um, just to add: I just turned the TV on & that show where they fix up people’s homes - I totally can’t remember the name right now but it’s on ABC Sundays at 8pm - is on. I put it on right as the chick was asking this little like 7-yr-old boy: “If you could have a special room, what would be it be?”
Ohhh, it’s just too easy. Too easy. Is this show always this Michael-Jackson-esque?
