Life After Connecticut College

What up, blogistos y blogistas (not sure if those made up Spanish words mean "people who read blogs" or "people who write blogs),

Dios mio, it has been another crazy week here on the Camel Campus in the Whaling City (too many animal references?), so I thought I'd unwind for a few minutes and update everyone on what's been going on.

This past weekend was a treat for me because I didn't have to travel anywhere like I usually do, meaning that I got to sleep in my own bed on both Friday and Saturday nights (that's doubly exciting since I just recently upgraded my bedroom to include a mattress, box spring, frame, headboard, footboard, sideboard, pillows, sheets, comforter, floor and curtains all made entirely out of memory foam). Fortunately, that doesn't mean that my weekend was devoid of musical performances. On Saturday night, my local band Above/Below played its first full-band concert at The Oasis here in New London. The place was packed, and everyone had a great time! I'm sure much of the attendance can be attributed to the fact that there are 10 people in the band (one of whom is Conn Coll dance demigod David Dorfman), so really each of us only needed to bring a few folks to get to capacity. That having been said, thanks to everyone who came!

Much of my effort this week has been spent preparing for an event on campus this weekend called Insights, where alumni who are interested in planning Reunion 2010 come back to campus to get some ideas going and meet the staff members with whom they'll be working. As much as I would prefer to not have to wake up at 6:00am on a Saturday (is there even a 6:00am on Saturdays?), the program was a big success last year, so I'm looking forward to being there once again this year. Any 2006ers reading this should plan on coming next February!

It actually just occurred to me that because of Insights, I'll get to sleep in my own bed twice in a row again this weekend. Boo ya! I am going to be refreshed come Monday morning (okay that's never true).

Also happening this weekend is Welcome to Florida's first show ever at the Bank Street Cafe here in New London tomorrow night. Sharing the bill with us is local power trio Superbald, which is fronted by my good buddy and colleague Ben Parent (a.k.a. the nicer, more reasonably-sized Vin Diesel). I believe it will be Ben's first time ever seeing WTF perform (don't hate, he has kids), so we'll be sure to make it memorable for him (think copious Whitesnake covers).

Phew, after all that excitement this weekend, I'm going to need another weekend!

Until next time, I wish you many hugs and no bed bugs.

C-Rei

Posted by Chris Reilly at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As of today, Obama has been president for a month. It has been a very difficult month for his administration and the Republicans being absolutely impossible to work with and appease. Unsurprisingly, the Republican Party is "disappointed" stating, "Obama's first month has been marked by wasteful spending, failed bipartisanship, and questionable ethics." Funny how quickly they forget what a failure the last eight years have proven to be. Nevertheless, the stimulus package has passed and hopefully things will start to improve slowly, but surely. That being said, I'm truly shocked of how hard the economy is tanking. It is affecting everyone everywhere. Even the little bubble I live in. Let's discuss.

First, and most important to me, is the MBTA, the loathsome public transportation of Boston, which has been in debt since, about, forever. Now, they are thinking of reducing service and raising fares, which is ridiculous. If they have services cuts, less people will ride; if they raise prices, less people will ride. These are inconveniences that can be prevented. As I have no experience in this sector or business all together, I really can't offer any advice other than look at the past. The MTA, New York City's public transportation, was in debt and full of old, useless subway cars, about 30-20 years ago, but have managed to improve substantially. MBTA, pay attention! Next on my importance scale are jobs. No, I haven't been laid off (yet). Thank goodness. However, the president of our hospital held a Town Meeting to discuss how the economy is affecting us. Due to the current financial conditions, there will be a hiring and income freeze, among other things. Moreover, a friend lost his job and has been unable to find a new one. Additionally, as of today, the country's unemployment rate is nearly 5 million. Ugh. Also, I was recently looking at flights home (to Fort Myers, FL) and was surprised to find a shortage of non-stop flights from Boston. Not only are the flights more expensive but now they're longer, too! Looks like I won't be making a trip home for a while. Finally, I am saddened to have noticed many small shops and restaurants closing in the Boston area.

I'm sorry to be such a downer. There is a silver lining in these dark, stormy clouds known as The Recession. For example, whenever I go shopping I can reason my purchases since I am only really doing it to help our economy out. Or at least that what's I tell my mother. Yet another pro are the deals to be had in restaurants. All over Boston, restaurants are so desperate for customers that they have discounts and specials, such as an Italian restaurant that has $6 take-out dinners on weekdays. Being someone who dislikes cooking greatly, I have taken full advantage of this. Furthermore, Restaurant Week is coming to Boston and it's cheaper than ever. I'm pumped.

Speaking of silver... and gold... and diamonds... it's time for The Academy Awards. As such, I am going to predict the winners/ who I think should win.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Actress in a Leading: Kate Winslet - The Reader
Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Best Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Original Screenplay: Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Director: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

In other news, I'm reading "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" by a CC alum, Sloane Crosley. The book is a collection of essays, a bit like David Sedaris's books. It has had many good reviews and I've enjoyed it so far. The only thing I'm disappointed in is that nowhere in book does she mention Connecticut College (although I haven't finished I have confirmed this with someone who has). She does mention a "small liberal arts college in New England" but that's it. Come on, represent!

Peace out.

Posted by Marissa Velarde at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Friday, everybody!

Another week almost on the record books, and I am definitely looking forward to a few days of R&R (which I guess stands for "Roses & Romance" since tomorrow is Valentine's Day). Despite my singlehood, I'm actually pretty excited about the weekend because Welcome to Florida has shows both tonight (at the Oasis here in New London) and tomorrow night (at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA), so I should be able to keep my mind off of my crippling, horrible loneliness (was that a joke? I'll let you decide)....

....As you can imagine, we get very few opportunities to have two holiday-themed shows on consecutive nights (well, except during Hanukkah), so we're all pretty excited. Tonight is, of course, Friday the 13th, so everyone in the band will be dressing up as their favorite serial killer (Wes is going as Count Chocula). For our Valentine's Day show tomorrow, me, Wes, and Duncan will each be singing our favorite love song (my choice: "Words Get in the Way" by Gloria Estefan). All in all, it should be a pretty emotional weekend.

My emotions have already been on a rollercoaster lately due to the greatest show ever on television (besides Babar). I'm speaking, of course, about Lost, which for those of you who don't know has finally been answering many of the questions that have been plaguing its viewers' minds for several seasons (one question they have yet to answer: Got milk?).

Speaking of exciting developments, I've recently been told by the powers that be in the Connecticut College blog hierarchy that I should be including more commentary on current events in my posts, as opposed to just plugging WTF shows and making rather obvious jokes (I have no idea what they're talking about). With that in mind, here are my views on whatever news headlines I could find on CNN.com:

"Commissioner: A-Rod 'shamed the game'": I don't understand this double standard about steroids. Mario and Luigi have been using power-ups for years, and people love them now more than ever.

"Phelps admits 'bad judgment' after marijuana-pipe photo": I say let him off the hook. How do we know that he wasn't just trying to smoke all the weed in the bong so that none of it could end up in the tender, impressionable lungs of all the youngsters at that party? Think next time before you make accusations, America (side note: if you look closely at the infamous photograph, you can actually see on Mike's watch that it was exactly 4:20 at the time that the picture (and the hit) were taken).

"Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall": Okay, most people would just read this and make a joke along the lines of "Well I guess we know how they make Extra Chunky," but your boy C-Rei is going to take the high road. Ahem. See, now I thought that lovely medium brown color was just the natural hue of the peanuts. Thank you.

"Octuplets' births surprise California doctors": Call me old fashioned, but I think that the number of babies a woman births at one time should not exceed the number of nipples she possesses.

Well, hopefully that should quell the restless yearning that my vast readership (hi Mom!) had for my opinions on the happenings of the world around us. Until next time, don't forget to buy flowers!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

Looks like we're in for another six weeks of winter, but at least we have my heart-warming anecdotes to keep us toasty (well, that and this new Snuggie that I just bought off a TV infomercial). It's been another typically busy couple of weeks for ol' C-Rei, but fortunately this coming week looks like it will be just a little more relaxed (to avoid jinxing myself, I just knocked on my 100% formica desktop). Since I last blogged, I finally got Connecticut plates for my car (yes, it took me two years to get around to it), my good friend and fellow Class of 2007ist Trent Hardman came for a visit (yes, she does have the most badass name ever), and Welcome to Florida started recording on our new album (yes, it going to be a bloated, self-indulgent two-disc free jazz and spoken word commentary about wind farms).

Speaking of the band, on Thursday WTF went up to the studios of 92.9 WBOS in Boston, where we recorded a few acoustic songs and chatted on air with their very nice hostess Lauren. If you live in the Boston area, tune in this Sunday morning, when they'll be replaying the appearance (be sure to cover the ears of any small children that may be seated near the radio). It was a lot of fun, and if any other radio stations out there want to have us on, by all means let me know (FYI we have no problem changing the lyrics of our songs to be about farts or traffic or how the Yankees suck or whatever listeners like to hear during wacky morning drive programs).

On Saturday, I joined pretty much the rest of the state of Connecticut in attending the 30th annual Hygienic Art Festival here in New London (too many easy puns to make, so I won't even bother). There was quite a turnout, including an appearance by the newly-crowned Miss Rhode Island (I asked her why anyone would miss Rhode Island. She didn't laugh.) and plenty of local artists and musicians. I didn't actually purchase any art (because that would require having money to exchange for the art), but there were a few pieces that I liked a lot. All in all it was a great show!

Yesterday I accomplished an extreme amount of relaxation with the assistance of Disc 9 of the Ken Burns documentary on jazz (when they finally stop talking about Benny Goodman), unseasonably warm weather, the Superbowl, Coors Light, fellow Class of 2007 New Londoner Laura Brown, an hour-long episode of The Office, and sweatpants (that's my own version of 7-layer dip). My downstairs neighbor Frank also moved out of his apartment yesterday, though he'll still live in town, which is good. That means that all of YOU out there have the unique opportunity to live underneath ME in historic New London! It's a very cool house that was built back in 1801 and meticulously renovated about five years ago. If you're interested in the apartment, check out these photos online and get in touch with me (note: Mitch and I love to grill, so any future neighbors will be subjected to an entire summer of delicious food on our deck).

Have a great week, y'all!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)