back to school

This post is long overdue, but I must defend myself by saying that damn, it's been a crazy two weeks.

I'll spare myself the trouble of recording the mundane details by saying there was a little bit of this and a little bit of that, all related to getting started at AMDA. And that right there is the big news - I am now a full-fledged conservatory student! Orientation was Thursday through Sunday of this past week. It was chock full of information, much of which was not age appropriate for my orientation group, composed of the older students (e.g. not fresh out of high school and aged anywhere from 19-35). I mean, really, why must I be told how to hold my backpack on the subway, how to set up a bank account, or that if I'm late multiple times to school, the administration will call my parents? Come on.

The highlights, in short form: meeting a whole bunch of people from all over the United States and some other more distant parts of the world (though, surprisingly, I was the only student in this incoming class who is from a state west of Texas); seeing In the Heights for "free" (surely it was paid for by the large check I submitted to cover my tuition) and meeting Lin-Manual Miranda, star and creative genius behind the musical, and Christopher Jackson, co-star and AMDA Alumni; and finally doing the thing in New York I came to New York to do. Classes were as I expected - fast-paced and informative - and I already have a handful of homework assignments underway. It's all very exciting.

Aside from school, I've managed to visit the new Ikea with Miguel in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It's just the same as any other Ikea, except it's in Brooklyn. Very convenient. I actually saw In the Heights prior to the AMDA Orientation outing this past Tuesday with Lexie. Her friend Philip, who is attending AMDA beginning this fall, won the lottery tickets but he couldn't make the show. So we got to see it front row. Amazing! Work is going well; I'm quickly learning the ropes and making friends, as well as a nice chunk of money. Thankfully, my class schedule still allows me to work a few nights a week without taking away too much from my studies and rehearsals. So I'll continue to financially stable, something I have been worrying about since day one. After dating what, by my standards, seemed to be too many boys, I'm now dating none. Things just didn't click with one guy, and when I started to think that things were going really well with the other, they didn't end up that way. It's complicated, but let me just say I've learned that some things don't ever change. Ah well, such is life. And in the vast expanse that is New York City, there are sure to be plenty of other fish in the sea.

I've got more visitors scheduled for the next few weeks. Sarah Bacon's coming by mid-July, Nathan Rossi will (hopefully) be here at the end of July or in early August, April and John Francis are visiting in early August, and Chris Lee will be around shortly after that. My immediate family is planning a tentative trip for late September, and if that all works out, I won't be missing home as much as I thought I would. Not that I'm missing home much right now. Actually, I'm falling in love with New York.

So that's the current state of my life in a nutshell. Or a blog post, rather. I'm sure that after a few days at AMDA, I'll have more insight to share. But for now, I'm riding the wave and enjoying the ride. Woo!

P.S. Happy Pride to all! I joined some of my new AMDA friends at NYC Pride this past Sunday - in the pouring rain - and thought of all my loves back home. It was fun, but I still think SF Pride is better.

Firefighters, always a parade staple

Google bus

Wouldn't be Pride without a rainbow or two... or three... or a bajillion