I'm a Bad, Bad Blog Neglector.

So…hello, Bite Me readers…

I’ve neglected to post in my blog not once, but twice.  I’m a bad, bad blogger.

To all of my invisible/imaginary blog readers, I’m sorry!  In my defense, however, a lot has been going on in the life of Dee. Let me list up the highlights of the past couple of weeks, in no particular order.

1.      Dio and St. Jimmy went on a family trip to Vermont for a whole week. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until they actually got back and I saw them.  My boys deserved a vacation from BG, especially Dio, who’s been working nonstop for the past few weeks. And while we’re on a Quad update, Venus has been running herself ragged due to rush week at her sorority. I’ve become pretty protective of her, and seeing her so exhausted drives me nuts. Having said that, I know she’s involved in something she cares a lot about, and I’m sure she takes her exhaustion in stride, so I should, too. She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself. I must quell the urge to nurture.

2.      School started up, and once again I am trapped in undergraduate limbo. Missing credits pop out of the woodwork like academic ninja assassins, and I wonder if I died without realizing it and this is purgatory. And yet a part of me of which I’m very ashamed is relieved that I’m still in college. All I ever hear from my friends who have graduated is how lonely they are, how much the “real world” sucks, and how they wish they were back at BGSU. I’ve known for a long time that the “real world” and I aren’t going to get along, so as sick as I am of sitting in class and writing papers on subjects I couldn’t care less about, I’m relieved. I’m pretty sure that when (or if, as I like to say now) I ever graduate, there’ll be some sort of quarter life crisis/existential Armageddon waiting for me with my commercially useless degree.

3.      I’m Antonia in The Tempest, a Shakespeare play put on by a local theatre company called Lionface Productions in the public park in September.  For those familiar with the show, I’m technically Antonio, but my director changed my character to female, as I have to seduce my constant companion, Sebastian, into trying to commit regicide. I’m the bad guy! I couldn’t be happier with my role. We’re putting The Tempest on in a style of theatre called Commedia dell’Arte, a Renaissance Italian style involving stock characters, masks, acrobatics, big sweeping gestures and stances, and all sorts of awesome things. Unfortunately there won’t be any acrobatics in our production, but I’m unbelievable stoked to be wearing a mask and acting in such an external fashion, as I tend to be more of an internal performer. It was an interesting choice to do The Tempest in this fashion, as Commedia is largely unscripted, but it’s been theorized by many Shakespeare scholars that Shakey used Commedia, which was popular in his time, as inspiration for the show. Right…I’m a Shakespeare geek.  Anyway, I’m twelve shades of excited and if you happen to be in BG September 8-11, you should definitely see the show.

At rehearsal for The Tempest! These are our practice masks. The real masks are going to be plaster. Mine will be Brighella!

4.      Friends who went home during the summer have returned, so this weekend was a little nuts, but absolutely wonderful. Two of my friends from out of town came to visit as well: *GG from Pittsburgh and *Fratello from Cleveland. They’re two of my dearest friends whom I miss every day, so it was fandamntastic to see them. We did, however get a little wild. There was a badass-themed party at Zion (where Dio and St. Jimmy live now) on Friday and a birthday party for a friend on Saturday. This led to the rare occasion of me drinking two nights in a row, and for everyone who had to deal with Drunk Dee this weekend, it was quite an adventure. This week I’ve been reliving my childhood by watching Batman the Animated Series. Unfortunately, when I drank this weekend, I slipped into an accent reminiscent of Harley Quinn, and I couldn’t stop talking like that, much to the delight/annoyance of my friends. I spent both nights being called Harley, though Dio and St. Jimmy called me Marissa (because I sounded like Marissa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny.) Luckily, my friends didn’t strangle me, because I couldn’t stop that damn accent. Oh, and Saturday I was forced to sing karaoke, but I got to slap Fratello in the face (he didn’t do anything, it was a slap bet!). Awesome. Weekend.

5.      I have a third tattoo as of…yesterday. After lounging at Zion all day, I tagged along when Jimmy and Dio’s roommate *Crow announced that she was going to On the Edge to get new cartilage piercings. On the Edge, a local tattoo parlor, is a place I’m familiar with for a lot of reasons, mostly the fact that my ex-fiancé was an ex-apprentice there and I was still with him when he went there to get a very large tattoo. I got to know a lot of the staff, a talented and rowdy group of ball breakers, which I love. I also love being around when people get new piercings and tattoos. Not really sure why. I love body art. Anyway, while we were waiting for Crow’s turn in the piercing chair, I struck up a conversation with Dennis and Toby, a senior artist and the owner of the parlor, whom I knew. They asked me what I was here for, assuming I was getting some work done. I told them I was just there with Crow and that I was too poor to get anything done. After talking about what I would get it I had the money to, Toby put out his cigarette and ordered me into the tat chair and…I ended up with free ink! It’s a tiny one, not even worth making an appointment for. It took a grand total of five seconds. But it’s a tat I’ve been wanting for a while: an EKG pulse blip on the pulse point of my wrist. Not only is it mildly humourous/ironic, but to me it’s a symbol of reassurance. I’ve struggled with depression for the majority of my life and I occasionally hit emotional lows where I feel like I’m completely hopeless. The EKG blip is a semi-snarky reminder that it could be worse; I could be dead. Anyway, it makes me happy. Toby and Dennis and all the guys at On the Edge rock, and I can’t believe how sweet they were to give an impoverished ink-obsessed student a free tat.

Oh, and Crow’s new cartilage piercings look fantastic. I’m terrified of piercing needles, but she may have inspired me to grow a pair and get a few if I ever have the cash. Hopefully she won’t mind that I’d be copying her look. I don’t think she is. Crow isn’t really capable of pettiness.

6.      I might have to move out of my apartment because I’m having a hell of a time finding an additional job. But that’s depressing and not something I really want to discuss at length because there are lots of happy things happening in my life that I’d rather focus on!

Sorry for the boring and thoroughly uninspired post, kids, but hey, it’s Monday, and I feel like a total douche for having not posted in two weeks.  There will be a post Thursday of me rambling on about any number of mundane topics, ideas, or random observations. I promise!

Suited up for the badass party this weekend with my heavily-pierced bear Schmee! Oh, and bonus points for those who get Schmee's name reference.

*GG is short for Gossip Girl. GG’s in many ways the polar opposite of me; a Glee-loving conservative Steelers fan with a passion for all things girly. Oddly enough, we complement each other ridiculously well.

*Fratello is Italian for brother. He and I are both Italian-Sicilian and even look alike. We have a sibling-type bond, even though our jokes often run racy. I’ve frequently called him my West Virginia brother…bad inbreeding joke…and, due to an epic adventure in Chicago, my Jackass Little Brother.

*Dio and Jimmy’s roommate’s name is Crow for a bunch of reasons. I don’t know her very well, but Crow is a beautiful person, physically and in personality. She’s bright, sweet, restless, intelligent, very artistic and crafty, and free-spirited. Crows are intelligent, beautiful, social creatures who tend not to stay put for very long. Crow loves to travel, so I’ve always associated her with something with wings, and her hair and eyes are very dark in colour but bright in shine and depth, which reminds me of a crow’s wings. Not to mention that crows are deeply ingrained in Celtic mythology, and maybe because we hung out at an Irish festival together, but something about Ireland and Celtic mythology reminds me of Crow, be it her penchant for overseas travel or the fact that she looks like a goddess.