Quote of the Day

"I haven't eaten pizza in 2 years."

     - B. in reference to his diet habits. 

(B. is a model that I catered with last night. He's really dreamy, and surprisingly pretty intelligent. I was able to hold a conversation with him and not think that all his life he's gotten away with things because of his looks. There's actually a brain up there.)

 I hope I get to cater with B. again!

Thursday's Food for Thought #6

If you could hurt someone (physically or mentally) without having any consequences what so ever, would you do it?

I know there is one person in my life right now that if I had that option I would take it in an instant. But lucky for me that option doesn't exist and this person will be out of my life in three weeks! I am counting the days for the bad energy to leave my life...!

I Heart NY...! (Happy 1st Year Anniversary)

June 1st. One year in New York. I survived. (Well barely). But I survived. 

There's been some incredible times. Some moments of triumph. Some moments of doubts. Some moments of sheer happiness. Other moments of disbelief, while walking down 5th Avenue, that I live here...I know I've said it in the past, but I feel like I'm living one of my dreams. A dream that took eight years to achieve, but it came true, through hard work, dedication, and not losing sight in living here.   

I compiled a list of some of my favorite things and places about New York and why I heart it so much...

1. I'm constantly surrounded by people of all types. You never know when you might make a connection with someone, including a cute guy.

2. The Subway. I can eat my lunch while heading to work. I can finish reading a play while going to and from Astoria to the Upper West Side. I can write and rewrite. I can get as drunk as I want and I don't have to worry about driving. 

3. Empanada Mama. (located on 9th Ave, closer to 51st St) They have the best empanadas in Manhattan, the Sangria is to die for, and the staff is extremely friendly.

4. Hell's Kitchen. For three reasons; the gay bars, the boys, & the restaurants.

5. Times Square. Although it's overly crowded with tourists, there's a sense of tranquility and serenity when I walk on 42nd St and I know that I'm standing in the heart of the world. It's truly an amazing experience.  

  

6. The Four Seasons. The fact that I get to experience four seasons is something that I always longed for; fall and spring are my favorite. Winter is beautiful, but snow is cute in theory but living in it, not so great.

7. My friends. They are the people who have helped me in the past year through thick and thin. To the old ones, I had before I came to N.Y., I am truly grateful to you all. To the new ones, I can't wait to see where our new friendships go. 

I am truly grateful to be living in this ecliptic, wonderful, vibrant, face paced city known as New York. 

This is my home. This is where my career is. This is where my love is. Everything is in New York. So Happy Anniversary to me and to New York; we survived our first year! Onward...to many more...!

My Birthday...!

My birthday was this past Monday the 25th. It was an amazing day. I can only hope that 27 will be a great year for my career and hopefully I'll meet someone special along the way. Here are some photos of my birthday at Barrage in Hell's Kitchen.

Only in New York

I was sitting in Greenwhich Park waiting for my friends to arrive when I notice this homeless man gawking at me. 

"Can I help you?" I rudely said.

"Got a quarter?" He replies without flinching. 

(I say, what my usual response is to any homeless person asking for money.)

"I don't have any change." 

"Well then can I have some head?" And when I don't respond he banishes. The reason that I don't respond is because I was in shock that this nasty homeless man just preposition me for sex.

Only in New York...!

Lucky!

Three days ago, one of my former students from UNLV sent me a message on Facebook with the subject line that read "Lucky", this is what he had to say...

Hey Oscar, 
This is J.. I took your Gay Plays class Fall of '07 (pretty much still one of my favorite classes). You popped up on the side under Suggestions and I saw that you put New York as the place you live. Lucky! When did you move there? That is pretty much my favorite place on Earth and somewhere that I'm planning on moving to. Which is also why I sent this message.

 
I've always loved theater, ever since I was a kid. Even so, I never went to New York or saw a Broadway show because the thought just never really crossed my mind, as it seemed so unrealistic. And then you had to go talk in class about "Legally Blonde: The Musical". You went on and on about it to the point where my interest was ridiculously peaked. That led to me buying the album, seeing the MTV recording, and going to New York last May to see it while Laura Bell Bundy was still in the cast. Luckily I also saw "Gypsy", "In The Heights", and a couple others. Since then I have taken two other trips to New York, with this past trip in February putting an additional 25 shows onto my roster. I just love Broadway so very much. 

So I basically wanted to thank you. People always talk about the teacher who changed their life or made this huge impact. And while I'm hardly trying to evoke some " Oh Captain, My Captain" moment, I really want you to know that you made a profound difference. Your class and what you did reignited my love for theater and made it now expand to where true theater actually is. So for that I am eternally indebted and just want to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

Sincerely, 
J.

After reading his message several times, I decided that I was lucky, lucky not because I was living in New York and following my dreams to be a playwright, but lucky because I got the chance to evoke his love for theatre again. I know what I need to do with my life, I need to teach and be a playwright. Those are the two things I know how to to do best in this world.

And thank you J. for reminding me how lucky I am to be able to teach all of you...! I thank you from the bottom of my heart...! 

Thursday's Food for Thought #5

Age...does it matter? Or as I've often heard people say, it's just a state of mind. In a culture that's obsessed with age can we really be all right with growing older? Or are we constantly going to lie about our age?

This upcoming Monday the 25th, I'll be turning 27 years old, three years shy of 30. (My scary age when I was 22 was always 30). I believe that people freak out about growing older because they're not in a place in their lives where they thought they'd be when they turned that age. I'm not so much freaking out about turning 27 because at my young age (and yes I'm still young) I have accomplished plenty of wonderful things. Although as a playwright/writer, I still need to accomplish much much more, but that will come with the years. I'm exactly at the place where I should be when I turn 27 this Memorial Day Weekend, and I'm completely comfortable with that. 

In the end, age is just a number that really shouldn't mean anything, but yet at times it holds so much weight when said out loud. 

Quote of the Day

"IN CHARACTER,

IN MANNER,

IN STYLE,

IN ALL THINGS,

THE SUPREME EXCELLENCE

IS SIMPLICITY."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This quote is written in one of the walls next to the cash register at Club Monaco. I barely noticed it today and thought it's very clever. It's all about "simplicity".