There was really loud music playing outside my apartment last night. Like really loud. On a Sunday. What were they doing? Celebrating the fact that they have to go to work tomorrow? Were they like, “Yes! We have jobs! Now crank that shit up!!” I was in Greensboro, North Carolina over the weekend for a family reunion. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn. La Quinta - Spanish for “you can bring the dogs.” I love seeing family I haven’t seen in a long time because people tell me how g

There are some things I don’t want to do this year. Call them birthday resolutions: I don’t want to say I’m older than I am. Like around October I don’t want to start saying, “I’m 40 years old” for dramatic effect. No. You’re 39. Deal with it and enjoy it. I want to stop doing that thing where a customer service rep asks me if I want the confirmation number to something, I say yes, and then don’t write it down. I’m only saying yes so this person I don’t know won’t think I’m i

My birthday is this week. I think it’s weird that we are the ones who get celebrated on our birthdays, when our mothers did all the work. Not only that, but on the anniversary of the day she risked her life to bring us into the world we’re like- “Hey you- make me a cake!” I got to spend the day with my mom yesterday. This woman does not get enough credit. Not that any mother’s do. It’s impossible to compete with the whole “you brought us into this world” thing. We try as chil

I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it in the air. I grew up in Greenville, SC. For those who don’t know, Greenville is a beautiful town in the upstate of South Carolina, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I loved growing up there. It was big enough to feel like I grew up somewhere substantial but small enough to make people feel like they have to be nice to each other. I left home 21 years ago to go to college in Charleston, SC, and the moment I stepp

My favorite part of any story is the end. Movies, books- I always look forward to being done with them. Hell, even plays. I doubt there are many people who like plays more than I do and still, with any theatrical experience, the thing I look forward to the most is dinner after. I know I’m not alone in this feeling, and I think that’s one of my strengths as a performer. I put immense pressure on myself to make the evening as enjoyable as possible knowing full well that I can’t

“It’s not raining hard enough to stop the game, but it is raining too hard to start it.” That was my brilliant observation at about minute 90 of the 2 1/2 hour rain delay at last night’s Cubs/Braves game. To which Jaimie and Mat replied with that nod of the head you do when you want to recognize that someone has said something but what they said doesn’t really deserve a response. The Jaimie I am referring to is my girlfriend, and the Mat in this scenario is playwright and all

Chemo brain was crazy this weekend. My mind felt like Usain Bolt. Everything was too much for me to handle. Information was coming at me too fast, I couldn’t sleep, I closed my eyes and it was like the horse from the opening credits of Westworld. Just running and running and running. And then I got scared I was going to choke. That was a new feeling. I was eating a sandwich like, “If I choke, could my brain handle it?” Then it got me thinking about how messed up would that be

Friday is fanny pack off day! It happens every other week and it’s two of the greatest days of the month. When I’m done I feel like Kevin Bacon in Footloose when he gets into that warehouse and just starts dancing. Or like in The Who’s Tommy when he finally can see and sings “I’m Free!” Then, of course, I get in the car, turn on NPR and hear about Republicans trying to pass health care legislation and it’s like I’m in A Charlie Brown Christmas. "Bah nah nah, nah nah." (Sigh)

Is it bad that my first thought when I got diagnosed was, “Does this mean I can smoke pot again?” Not how long is this going to take, or what will my life look like, it was when can I visit Colorado. I took that as a sign that probably I shouldn’t. So now I just do what I always do: stuff my face with brownies and gummy worms and hope that one of them is laced. #freelapse I listened to Fresh Air yesterday, and they were interviewing Kumail Nanjiani about his new movie, The B

Things got lit in the chemo room today. There was a 70 year old woman across from me who is telling her nurse that she recently picked up surfing. SURFING! She said, “I need to to move to Costa Rica so I can surf all the time.” I just nodded to myself and really think we all need to move with her. There was another woman across from me rocking a huge afro wig. I guess she had lost her hair and was like, 1-800-Fuck It. I loved picturing her at the wig store saying to herself,