Dear Antsy*,

*A slightly modified letter to a friend.  Names have been changed to protect the players' privates. 

I'm writing to you about Rocky Horror today because I haven't yet.

I've been fairly busy lately and when the week of Rocky Horror rolled around I realized I hadn't thought of what I would wear or who I would be.  I glanced through my clothes, found a white skirt, and decided I would be Janet.  In the past, I never considered Janet because of our many differences but when I think about how being Frank-N-Furter, Brad, and Columbia made more sense to me, I realized that Janet's not any further of a stretch.

The Friday of Rocky Horror, I brought part of my costume to work and bought the other parts during my break.  After work, I went to my friend's house to bunnys-sit her three rabbits while she was away.  This means giving them fresh veggies, hay, water, pellets, and tell them they are cute.

After that, I went to South Street where I had a ukulele gig.  I played for Dumpster Divers, a collective group of artists who have a gallery on South Street and an event on the third Friday of every month.  The first time I played for them in September.  It's a pretty sweet deal.  Playing inside for a change is always nice.

After this, I used their bathroom to get dressed.  I wore my coat over my new bra and was soon picked up by Jamal* and Harley*.  The ride up was uneventful.  When we got to East Falls, 40 minutes later, I had to use the bathroom and although the theater wasn't letting Rocky Horror people in yet, on account of a movie wrapping up, they let me use their bathroom.  The theater was very old and very beautiful.  One screen, neat carpets and wallpaper, and all decked out for Halloween.

When I went outside, I was going to take my coat off to show off my costume (i.e. boobs) but there was a gentleman doing the same thing, trying to take off his pants to model his Rocky Horror shorts and the cops were in the process of arresting him.

The cops objected to Rocky's attire based on "There are families living across the street, sir!"  Truthfully, it's a bunch of crap to show Rocky Horror and then arrest people for indecent exposure.  Really, I think that because East Falls is such a small town and Occupy is all other the news, I think the cops are bored and jealous out of their minds and wanted to make the best of what they had.

So, I didn't take my coat off.  Not yet.  But I did entertain the line with Rocky Horror music ukulele style.  I can play Science Fiction/Double Feature, There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place), Time Warp, and Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch-me.  Everyone liked it but I only got one tip from another Janet (who was way sexy!).  Oh well.

When I was done playing my four songs, I waited in line with Jamal and Harley.  They were behind a pair of girls, maybe 14 or 15-years-old, and they were sheltered to say the least.

These girls were impressed that we had come from the city to be here.  Talking to them was weird and awkward.  The girls were amazed that I was only wearing a bra under my coat and I was amazed they were amazed given this was Rocky Horror.  They had never seen the movie before and I'm curious about how they decided to come to a showing.

Once we were let in, I took off my coat and while the pair of young East Fallians looked uncomfortable, Harley said, "Nice boobs."  Which only made the girls more uncomfortable which pleased Harley.

It took a long time for the show to get started.  There were rules.  No throwing anything on account of the theater taking millions to restore (it was a historic landmark according the owner).  There were games, intros, an old Looney  Tunes cartoon, a few other odds and ends.  Then, the movie finally fucking started!

For this version of the show, the movie was playing on the screen while actors mimed up front.  It was interesting.  My favorite is still a live show but I was still satisfied.  I didn't care for the excessive shout-outs in terms of audience participation.  I prefer when people pick and choose the funniest lines as opposed to shouting out every 3-seconds.  But whatever.  I love seeing Tim Curry on the big screen!  He is a beautiful, beautiful man.

Also, I forgot to tell you that we met Jerry* there.  So it was good to see him.  He bought a car!  We got to see it from a distance but we were too lazy/tired to walk all the way to where Jerry was parked.

On the way back home, I played the ukulele despite Jamal's* protests.  All around, it was a good night.

Love,
Amy

P.S. A got a few letters from you

Fare-Thee-Well, Bucks County Playhouse!

This October, for my annual Google search for The Bucks County Playhouse I was confused when the familiar website did not present itself.  Minutes later, I was saddened to learned that the playhouse permanently closed its doors last December with A Christmas Carol being its last performance.

I first saw the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was 13-years-old and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the movie and show is part of who I am.  Soon after falling in lust with the movie, I learned that there was an annual live show close to my house.

When I was 14, I started going to New Hope's Bucks County Playhouse once a year with my friends to embrace a nuttier side of ourselves that we don't often get to unleash.  This is the first place I learned that it's okay to be "this way".  Not only is it okay, it's really fun and awesome!  Over the years (11 of them now!), I have piled more and more favorites to my gay-culture-obsessed-mountain.

This isn't to say that the atmosphere "encouraged" me to be gay or it "rubbed off" on me, but I do think that there are large parts of myself I would have ignored and denied if I hadn't learned at a young age, being yourself isn't a sin, it's a stage, and it's a stone many people never step on.  Statistics tell us that homosexuality is a one-in-ten occurrence.  I think as time passes, and more and more people give others the courage to come out, we will find that the percentage is higher than people first predicted.  When it comes to this time, hopefully, we will all be able to embrace all the colors of life.

I think what appeals to me most about the LGBT community is, being lesbian/gay/bi/transgender is one of the quickest ways for other people to judge others harshly (in some cases, very harshly) and they don't care.  Well, saying they don't care isn't entirely true and it downplays their bravery.  It's not necessarily that they don't care, but they do it anyway.  And that takes serious courage.   

Me as a drag queen.

I've lacked this kind of courage for years.  Being as I'm bisexual and I've had a boyfriend since admitting the fact to myself and very few others, I haven't really felt the same need to come out as others may have.  I've been afraid of being judged.  I've been afraid that the few girl friends I've had/have would mistake any friendliness for something more and run away in horror or gossip to others with a falsely inflated ego.  Writing down these fears makes them seem all the more stupid.  Who cares?  The people I really enjoy the company know I don't like like them.  And the people whose judgement I'm fearing will get over it and still love me.

When I started writing this, this was just going to be about going to see Rocky Horror with my friends throughout the years!  Well, now this entry is about me being bisexual.  Happy LGBT History Month, everybody!

Easy Does It

About a month ago, the movie I Don't Know How She Does It was released.  It stars Sarah Jessica Parker as a mother juggling work, family, and life.  The movie was met with mixed reviews and no one was particularly excited to see it.  I include myself in this category.

Still, the topics of juggling, balance, and proprieties all deserve consideration as with each mounting responsibility of adult life I find myself wondering more and more, how do any of us do it? 

I have so much I have to do and so much I want to do.  So much to get done, so much I get done, and lots of stuff never gets checked off my list.  I know I'm not alone.

I have to work, pay bills, take care of my cat and foster rabbit, spend time with them, place five kittens in loving homes, go home to visit my family from time-to-time, write these blogs, clean my house and room, do my wash, hang out with my roommates, find whatever it is I lost this week, tidy something that is a mess whether it's messy drawer or the mess under my bed, call AT&T, go to the bank, look more grants for PAN, send that Thank You card, sleep, eat, shower, go food shopping, volunteer, practice the ukulele, check my email, hem those pants, wash the dishes, catch up with friends, finish watching that show, take out the trash, read, study for Quizzo, write my friend a letter, buy stamps, the list goes on and on and on!


And everyone's life is like that!  How do we make it work?

I wish I had more time for this

and this.

Road Trip -- Part II

Continued from Part I

In the morning, I ate the couscous.  The night before, there had been so much to eat that I didn't try any couscous.  As I said in my previous post, it was amazing.  Then Jason, Mike, and I went to a diner for breakfast.  Good thing I was already full from couscous because there was nothing vegan there.  Diners generally aren't vegan-friendly.

Mike showed us a few more places, including a gift shop.  We heard our first Boston accent of the trip from one of the storekeepers.  Jason bought something for his mom.

Then, we went back to the house, said our goodbyes, and punched Boston into the GPS.  Jason noted, "It says that Salem is only 40 minutes away.  Wanna go?"
"Yeah!  That sounds fun!"
So to Salem we went.

Our first stop in Salem was at The Salem Witch Museum.  We didn't have much time (Jake wanted to be picked up in about an hour) and it cost money, which we had little of, so we just poked around the gift shop.  I thought having a gift shop in a museum such as this was tasteless.  Like, "A bunch of innocent people got killed here years ago.  Here, buy a $9 plastic spider pin."  At first glance, all of the gift shop items were tacky as the spider pin I first laid eyes on and I was fine with leaving after a few minutes.

Jason and I crossed the street to look at the park.  I tried to do cartwheels in the grass.  I remember doing cartwheels when I was little.  Apparently, I can't do them anymore.  I can't get/stay vertical enough.  I end up just going halfway up and then more or less, sitting down.  I think I may have put my hand in very old animal poo during one attempt.  I tried to wipe it on Jason but he ran away.  No, he didn't actually ran away.  I think he threatened to punch me in the face though.  

After the park, we went into a free museum that was just about the general history of Salem.  About how the town started, what kind of trading happened there, and there was a little information about the witch trials.

The last thing we did before leaving Salem was walk through a mall that had a Psychic Festival going on.  We walked through and observed people getting the fortunes read with cards and palms.  It was interesting.  Next, we walked through a small movie theater in the mall.  I think it's neat to see movie theaters in other places because we get so use to going to the same ones here.  It's cool to see what theaters other people visit.

 

Once back in the car, we punched Boston into the GPS again, and went to pick up our friend.  We picked up Jake and soon parked the car on a bridge.  We walked around a harbor, read informative plagues about Boston's history, and parroted lines from Boston-centric movies.




By 3 o'clock, we were hungry.  We ate at TGI-Fridays-type place and went home.

The drive back was uneventful until we got serious about the jams.  Jake and Jason surprised and impressed me with the knowledge of heavy, gangster rap.  It was something to hear some of the whitest people I know, know every word of a serious rap album.  After feeling their fill of rap, they gave me the iPod and I put on Weezer.  We rocked out.  And soon, we were home.   

Road Trip -- Part I

This past weekend, my roommates and my unofficial (he's been crashing with us for awhile) roommate, went on a road trip to Boston.  I've never been to Boston as an adult so I was excited for the adventure.

This road trip was inspired by my unofficial roommate's need to go home.  He's been living in Philly for about 5 years while going to school at University of the Arts and after graduating, he got a job at a local supermarket where we met as co-workers.  Soon Mike decided it was time to go home to recharge and save for coming traveling adventures.

Boo!

We left around 11am the trip started slow, but it really picked up when we found a new way to annoy my roommate, Jason.  Every year, my roommates Jake and Jason, among other friends, go to the 24-Hour Horror Movie Marathon in the city.  But Jason had told me a few nights before that he couldn't go because his mom had made other plans for him.

In the car, I asked Jake, "Did Jason tell you he can't go to the Horror-Thon this year?"
"What?! No! Why not?" he asked Jason who was sitting next to him driving.
Sitting behind him I answered, "Because his mom made other plans for him!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Do you wanna know what plans she made?" I laughed.
"What?"
"Filming her High School Reunion!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Hahaha!" I said, "Let's all laugh at Jason!"
Jason just sat there driving stoically and what started as joking, forced laughter turned into real, tear-wiping laughter, and the trip felt worthwhile.  Poor Jason.  We never give him a break.

If you ask Map Quest or Google how long it takes you to get from Philly to Boston it will tell you about 6 hours.  In reality, it's more like 8 hours.  And the drive is pretty monotonous.  Still, we did our best to make things interesting.  As the trip progressed, there were tunes.  There was sleeping.  Not that much talking.  We all brought snacks so there was eating.  There were gas stops and bathroom stops.   

At one gas stop, Jason went into the store front to use the bathroom and we drove away and parked across the street.  That was hilarious!  Unless you ask Jason.  He'd probably say it was predictable.

Hours later, we dropped Jake off at a small town close to Boston and then we drove to a smaller town farther from Boston where Mike lived.  On the way, Jason asked if Mike would want to go out to eat with us when we got there and Mike said, "No, my mom's making dinner for you guys."
"Awesome." Jason said.

Quietly, I dreaded the awkwardness of eating at a kind hostess' house and having to ask questions and turn things down.  I'm vegan and that can make social gatherings uncomfortable at times (though I know the animals have it much worse than occasionally uncomfortable).  Before I could worry anymore Mike said, "Don't worry, Amy.  I told her you are vegan."
"Oh, that's nice!" I replied but I don't think any words could have conveyed how much I really appreciated the thoughtfulness.

As we got closer the our final destination, Mike started saying how familiar everything looked and it was profound thinking about the life-stage that was taking place.  Over the past five years, Mike hadn't spent much time at all where he grew up for 18-years, and now he was moving back.  Scituate, Massachusetts is much different from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We finally pulled into a long, bending driveway and the word I would use to describe it is ominous.  It was dark.  The driveway was heavily wooded and there was no sight of a house.  Moments later, the house was there and it was like something out of a Better Homes Magazine rather than something out of a horror movie.  From the house, there was lots of barking.

Something like this only nicer.

We followed Mike into his house and there were four or five dogs, all different sizes and breeds and all different barks.  We met Mike's mom and were let into the kitchen where there were lots of snacks and the beginnings of a dinner.  Mike's mom soon started showing me the food she had gotten especially for me.  Carrots from her local farmers' market that had purple skins.  She got hummus that was a brand and flavor I had never gotten to try before.  She made me couscous salad (which in my years and years of couscous-eating, this was the best I ever had!  And I've never eating a bowl of couscous that I didn't think was delicious!) She also prepared falafels for me.  AND the family had a pizza oven on their porch and the bread consisted of pita bread (vegan!) so I had all this stuff to eat!  The family even got me vegan ice cream.  How nice is that?

As finishing touches were being put on dinner, we were introduced to Mike dad, brother, and other friends and one of the dogs got very friendly with Jason.  That is to say, the smallest dog would not stop humping Jason's arm.  During the act, the dog wore the silliest, most blissful expression on his face.  Everyone laughed of course, and Jason was a sport about it.

Dinner was amazing!  Dessert was a welcome surprise too.  Afterwards, Mike showed us his cat he had talked a lot about.  A beautiful stray cat he had taken in while he was living in the city but had to send home about three months ago when his lease was up in Philly.  The cat was a bit put off at his long-lost buddy suddenly reappearing but hopefully, he's gotten over it by now.

Originally, Jason and I had planned on driving to Boston and then driving back to Mike's to sleep.  Since Boston was an hour away, we decided to hang out with Mike for the night and go to the big city tomorrow.  So Mike drove us around.  We saw the country's oldest lighthouse.  We saw the beach.  I threw some sand at Jason.  Mike drove around on the really cool looking roads and we blasted and belted to music.  I searched the radio for some QUEEN tunes to go along with the QUEEN shirt I was wearing until my wish was granted with "Under Pressure".  I do love that song.  I never would have guessed that my meeting Mike last November would have gotten us to the friendship level of singing-our-heads-off-to-the-radio.  Life is full of surprises.

Lighthouse erected in 1811.  Haha...Erected. 

About an hour later, we headed back to the house.  We went to bed with the plan to get up early enough to look around the town more in daylight before making our way to Boston.

Art by Lawrence Yang

Read on to Part II. Or not.  Whatever you wanna do...