A list...

1. I started blogging after reading my wife’s blogs. She had published some “areas of improvement” I could work on and I took them to heart.
2. Her blog is not directed at my faults. She just comments on her views on life and I come up once in a while.
3. I enjoy her writings.
4. I teach theatre in a high school.
5. I don’t like behind the scenes “drama” in a theatre program for kids. They’ll likely deal with a lot of that crap in the professional world. I’d prefer that the students treat each other with more respect.
6. I worked part-time as an actor while living in Florida.
7. I did one semi-professional play and several non-professional gigs.
8. I was also an extra in some film and television productions.
9. I had a fear of auditioning for plays, so I didn’t pursue that work aggressively.
10. I believe that some prominent regional theatres in South Florida have a bias against local professional actors.
11. I don’t think coming from New York City makes you a better stage actor than someone else.
12. I’ve been a “Saturday Night Live” fan for over 25 years.
13. The season featuring Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest was my favorite.
14. I do not enjoy watching Mad TV.
15. I don’t enjoy reality tv shows where the participant’s focus is to scheme and treat other people like crap.
16. My favorite reality shows are “Queer Eye”, “Manor House” and “Mythbusters”.
17. I have issues with Sean Combs’ public persona.
18. I’ve recently started watching “The Sopranos”.
19. I don’t buy into the “tough guy” image that some of the actors in that show try to project in public.
20. Though I am a large and sometimes imposing person, I’ve had little experience in fighting. I’ve usually broken fights up.
21. My father and two uncles worked as bouncers in Long Island, New York bars.
22. Two of my uncles and a grandfather worked on tug boats in New York harbors.
23. I am predominantly Irish-American with some Italian roots.
24. My mother’s side of the family is more Irish than my father’s.
25. As a family, we’ve embraced our Irish heritage more in the last 15 years.
26. I traveled to Ireland with my brother, mother and stepdad 6 years ago.
27. I could envision my family living and working in Ireland.
28. My wife’s family is predominately Irish and Swedish.
29. I used to explain certain behaviors and attitudes of mine as the result of Irish roots, but shy away from that now.
30. I often get frustrated with tasks which are out of my control or mechanical in nature.
31. My kids both exhibit reactionary behavior similar to my own.
32. I believe I need to change my behaviors in order to help my children.
33. I don’t interact with my kids as much as my wife does.
34. I’m changing jobs this summer in order to focus more on my family.
35. My wife is a fantastic spouse and a dedicated mother.
36. Our children have a lot of “potential”.
37. I can live simply and be happy.
38. However, I have a media addiction which costs money.
39. I’m hooked on Satellite radio and television, as well as the internet.
40. Talk radio is, by far, my favorite radio genre.
41. Public radio and ESPN radio are tops with me.
42. I love “Morning Edition”, “Bob and Tom”, “ATC”, “Car Talk”, “Wait, Wait”, “Le Show”, “This American Life”, “Dan Patrick”, “Air America Radio” and “Mike and Mike”.
43. I’m listening to WOXY.com’s vintage stream right now.
44. I do not enjoy “Jim Rome” or listener commentaries on WBFO in Buffalo.
45. I do not enjoy “news readers” on morning comedy shows who try to turn the show towards themselves.
46. I’ve begun listening to Howard Stern. I think he’s entertaining and even poignant half of the time. The other half is shit. Kind of like “Family Guy”.
47. I would love a job where I could listen to streaming audio as I work. Driving delivery trucks might be my thing.
48. My all-time favorite job was working at a Border’s Books and Music ten years ago.
49. I have a fondness for the years spanning 1990 until 1998. These were my college, post-grad and bastard periods of my life.
50. In 1990, my musical tastes change drastically as I graduated from hair metal to college music.
51. The band – Uncle Tupelo was introduced to me by a college friend, Barry Marquart.
52. I’ve introduced Uncle Tupelo to several friends and family members.
53. They were one of those groups I felt a connection to because I saw a lot of their shows before they signed to a major label and broke up.
54. I was at their 4th and 3rd last shows before they disbanded. They commemorated their last 4 shows in an old-fashioned silk-screened poster which now hangs framed in my living room.
55. Uncle Tupelo spawned Son Volt and Wilco, both of which I listen to.
56. My friend Duder and myself blew out Tom McNamara’s speakers while listening to Tupelo’s “Postcard”.
57. Duder is one of 5 guys I hung out with during summer breaks from college from 1991-1993. We all lived near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the time. The group included Duder, Tom, Mike Elliott, Ted Herman and Lurch. A few other guys were on the periphery of this group – Sugie Procter and Mike Brady were among them.
58. I’ve kept in touch with Duder the most.
59. In ’93 we attended the Lollapalooza concert in Philly. During this show, Rage Against The Machine protested by duct taping their mouths shut, painting PMRC on their chests and standing naked before the crowd. The only sounds were feedback from the amps and the crowd. This went on for 12 minutes, before they left the stage.
60. College was fun for me. Grad school was even better.
61. I lost the big “V” at the end of senior year in college. I only dated 3 girls in four years. In grad school I cut loose.
62. My “crew” in grad school included Jimmy McDermott (Chicago theatre director and performer), Charlie Berfield (New York actor), Richard Thorne (Wilkinson when I knew him and L.A. actor) and Brian Ridolfo (Technical Director in Florida). All 4 guys were in my wedding.
63. Jimmy is the funniest guy I know. My wife is the funniest gal I know.
64. While trying to break into the biz after grad school, I worked as a carpenter, puppeteer, teacher and book and music seller.
65. I met my wife while working as a production assistant at a performing arts center in Florida.
66. We were set up by mutual friend and comedienne, Suzanne Dunn because of height and personality.
67. I’d been looking for a tall girl for a long time. Preppy Girl fit the bill.
68. We fell fast and hard for each other.
69. I moved in with her a few months after we began dating. My parents liked her and knew she was the one. I knew she was the one too!
70. My wife balances me out with patience, understanding and wisdom. I’m learning how to be a better parent by her example.
71. I’m not sure how I balance her, but I think my humor, cooking, garbage disposal and lawn-mowing might be part of it.
72. Our wedding was the coolest day of my life. Others have come close. We were married in the city where we now live.
73. Many of our out of town guests became enamored of our city and two of its bars.
74. Preppy Girl’s dad, The Silver Fox, has a lot of pull in some social circles here.
75. My groomsmen nicknamed him “The Mayor” because of some of his influence.
76. Our daughter, Kate, was born while we lived in Florida. Her birthday along with Pete’s (my son) are collectively the best days of my life beyond the wedding. When kids are born, the whole world around you seems to stop. Nothing else matters on that first day.
77. Kate looks like Preppy Girl and Pete looks like me. They both have the blond hair I had as a child.
78. We moved to our small city to start new lives.
79. I’ve worked mainly in and around schools since arriving here.
80. I’ve also done free work as an actor at The Bunbury Theatre Company.
81. We did some good shows there.
82. My improve group had its roots at that theatre.
83. The group was started by my brother-in-law Gary, Ian Thorsell, Jane Fischer, myself and Eric Hand-Smith.
84. We are The Unexpected Guests (TUG).
85. Eric taught, a ComedySportz alumnus, taught us from the beginning.
86. For over a year and a half the troupe has been “self taught”.
87. Eric still performs with us on occasion, but has another group in Buffalo he founded.
88. The rest of us are still performing together.
89. I enjoy doing the improv games, but I’d like to explore long form as well.
90. I will not wear a bowling shirt or t-shirt with our troupe name as a performance uniform.
91. I’ve got a full head of dark, brown hair.
92. I cannot grow full, luscious side burns.
93. My beard and mustache come out reddish.
94. My wife hates it when I have facial hair.
95. I am very tall.
96. I played basketball in high school and for one season in college.
97. I am the product of a Catholic education.
98. My shoe size is 15.
99. My favorite sneakers are Vans.
100. There are two old pairs of my Vans are on the roof of my garage. I just can’t let them go.