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  1. Tardy to the Party

    Wednesday, July 18, 2012


    Tardy to the Party and Things That Make Me Snigger

     Oh god. I am so late with this blentry. Please forgive my tardiness. It’s been my m.o. lately. And by lately, I mean the past year or so.  Maybe two.

    I am late for everything now. It’s really pissing me off.  I was so good for so many years, after having been a “late” person for most of my young life and adulthood.  Grad school beat most of it out of me, as my instructors did not tolerate being late AT ALL.  So I learned to be good for a long run. I was early to the airport, to movies, to dates.  I had to train myself to not look too eager on dates by arriving too early --- so I’d arrive early and hide somewhere until the dude showed up and then I’d stroll in all nonchalant-like.

    But something has snapped in me and I am trying to figure out what my deal is. Am I acting out some hostility? Am I mismanaging my time? Am I just so damn tired that I plain oversleep until there is no time left to be on time? Do I just not care?

    I do know that I am overwhelmed by the amount of work I feel needs to be done, almost constantly. A constant sense of impending doom tends to make one worn down and give up, after trying for a long while to catch up.  It’s like “what the hell difference does it make anyway??” and then I am 15, 20, 25 minutes late again.

    It makes a difference to my increasingly frustrated and pissed-off friends. They are certainly sick of my excuses and hurried apologies and are starting to call me out on my shit. I’ll tell you, THAT sucks.  I feel terrible when I let people down. I am in utter awe of people who truly don’t give a damn about what people think. I care about what EVERYONE thinks.  (or is it everybody?  I don’t know.)

    So again, I apologize, and am going to try, try again to be a good little soldier. So far, my self-chastisement has not worked (obviously), but it certainly makes me look as if I feel bad about being such a late dick.

    Okay, change of subject. In lieu of further late-flagellation, I thought I’d give y’all a wee list of:

    Things that make me snigger.  I said SNIGGER.

    1. the word “shaft.”
    2. my dad’s unexpected fart  and his “oh!” afterwards.
    3. seeing a guy in a suit trip on the sidewalk and act like “it’s cool.”
    4. guys who wear sunglasses indoors, at night, to a club.
    5. women who wear stretchy minidresses and are trying to secretly tug them down every five seconds.
    6. people who secretly admire themselves in subway window reflections.
    7. men who wear their pants sagging below their underwear and are secretly trying to keep them from falling down to their ankles every five seconds.
    8. fancy folk who mispronounce “Hermes,” “paradigm,” “supposedly,” and “drawer.”
    9. my mom trying to pronounce “croissant.”
    10. me trying to pronounce “Phuket.”
    11. me trying to pronounce “pho.”   (the Vietnamese soup)
    12. any foreign person trying to pronounce my name. It’s nearly impossible for them.
    13. men adjusting their sticky manparts.
    14. 26 year old men who ask “are you going to take me home tonight?” five minutes after they introduce themselves because they figure I’ll be such a grateful cougar-lady.
    15. toupees
    16. men who stare at breasts unabashedly as they talk to women.
    17. the Chinese lady who farted loudly while sitting as I looked at purses in her store on Canal Street. She was completely unfazed.
    18. Lower East Side folks who refuse to believe that their dress code of Bettie Page/Goth/punk is as ubiquitous as the Banana Republic-wearers.
    19. mean girls pretending to be “nice.”
    20. Upper East Side hair helmets
    21. any song by the band Bread.

  2. Obviously Not

    Tuesday, July 17, 2012




    So I’m gay and I know it. And if you know me, you know it too. Even if you’ve just seen me you know it. Hell, even if you’ve just glanced at my picture before reading this, you know it. And if you haven’t met me, seen me, or seen my picture, I’ll explain it all to you while I change the oil in your car. Trust me, you’ll know it.

    I’m pretty sure I’ve been gay my whole life, but I didn’t seem to know it. I grew up playing with dolls, yes, though mine were Planet of the Apes, not Barbie. Between the ages of 8-11, I used to ride my bike passed the house of a little girl named Robyn. Day or night, rain or shine- I was like a tiny lesbian mailman. I even incorporated the act into the times I was playing with my other friends. “What do you feel like doing today? I’m not sure, let’s ride passed Robyn’s house and think about it for a bit.” It just seemed to me like something all little girls did.

    Needless to say I can’t really figure out why it wouldn’t occur to me that I was gay, even with my love of Olivia Newton -John, Kristy McNichol, and the Charlie’s Angels episode when they went undercover in a women’s prison. Oh that Sabrina, she was more than just a pretty face.




    I think I was almost scarred for life when my whole family went to the drive-in to see the movie Grease and I had to watch a sexy, leather-clad Olivia Newton-John, all the while sitting on my Mom’s lap. What a box-blocker, let me tell you. (Editor’s note: As I’m writing this, I just opened up a new window to look up Olivia’s website. Don’t tell my mother.)

    A lot of my obliviousness probably came from not having an example or role model growing up. I remember having a crush on one of my mother’s friends, whom I awkwardly had to call “Aunt” Terry, despite not being actually related. Ironically, Aunt Terry lived most of her life with another woman. Even more odd was the fact that all I know or can remember about this other woman was that she spent most of her time watching women’s basketball and working on small engines in the back yard. In hindsight, it really wasn't that inappropriate when we referred to her as “Uncle” Gracie. Now that I think of it, she was probably more competition than role model.

    The first person I told (when it finally occurred to me) was John, my best friend from high school. We spent all our time together back then and even went to both the junior and senior prom with each other. Most people even thought we were dating. We did go out once as a couple, although it was for Halloween and honestly, he looked much prettier in my 8th grade graduation dress than I ever did. I felt it was only fair to tell him first, as we were so close. Not to mention he had come out to me a few years before. If we had only known earlier- because apparently having him wear my 8th grade dress didn’t drive the point home at all. To this day he is affectionately known as “my little hint of girlyness”. I love you, John. And I’m not referring to the Olivia Newton one this time.

    So as I sit here now, I feel like myself. I don’t question anything. I don’t wonder or worry about what people might think. I’m more comfortable with my life and I don’t even mind if I look “obvious”. I do things because I want to, whether or not they may be “stereotypical”. I’m a vegetarian, I love cats- I even ride a motorcycle. Of course that last one is mainly because Robyn lives a lot farther away now.

  3. Empty Nest

    Monday, July 16, 2012

    My house is empty for the week and as they (they sure do seem to know a lot, don't they?) say, the silence is deafening (Do the hearing impaired take offense to this statement?  I always feel as if I'm being offensive with this statement...damned political correctness brainwashing).

    My boys are on vacation with their donor.  No, they were not conceived via IVF.  They are with my husband-once-removed.  The other half of their DNA.  I would be their DoNA.  He is their Don'tNA. That's not funny.

    But I miss them and they've only been gone for 10 minutes.

    I have this persona that I'm the bitchy, crass, sarcastic, negligent, sometimes intoxicated mom.  I talk (mostly on stage) about my boys as if they are a burden.  Truth is, they are not.  Sometimes making homemade pancakes or homemade pizza with homemade sauce (yeah... thanks Grandpa DeRose) is a burden when chicken nuggets and cake is clearly the simpler option.  Sometimes asking them a quatchalillion (the term I used as a child for "a lot"... wordsmith even back then) times to clean their rooms, brush their teeth, empty the garbage, stop farting, stop bitching at one another, say thank you, do their homework, clean the cat box, stop scratching yourself there in public, brush the dog, stop bitching at one another, practice the cello, stop burping, practice the guitar, stop bitching at one another is a burden.  My sons are not burdens.

    Please don't tell anyone this, but I really like my boys.  I'm not just saying that because I have to.  My sons are these mature, funny, intelligent creatures who are actually enjoyable to be around; inspiring, entertaining, and material for me.  And they crack me the hell up. (They, my sons, not the they experts of the world)

    Ryan has this uncanny ability to do accents.  ANY ACCENT.  He absolutely loved his science teacher this year.   She was warm, funny, intelligent, and Polish.  He'd come home from school and talk about what he had learned, perfecting her accent so much so that I could hear her saying, "Now children,  focus on the periodic table."  Only "focus" didn't sound like focus.  It sounded like a two words that would make any adolescent (and some immature adults) giggle.

    He's extremely well-read...this kid read Beowulf when he was in 4th grade.  Not Beowulf for Dummies.  The Seamus Heaney Beowulf that I was teaching to my AP seniors (who bitched and moaned throughout).  What a friggin' geek, right?  Nope.

    Biff
    One of the most amazing experiences was seeing Ryan play the guitar in his middle school talent show.  The kid taught himself how to play guitar only 8 months prior to the show.  Now, I'm a teacher and I've taught middle school.  Suffice it to say, I was panic-stricken.  I know what middle school children do to one another.  I was the middle school kid who they did it to.  I thought, for sure, that Ryan, this quiet, unobtrusive kid would get on stage and become an instant target for every middle school Biff this side of the Rockies.  I was petrified for weeks.  If you peruse my facebook wall and find the video, you can see how badly my hand was shaking as I videotaped his performance.

    And what happened?  He was good.  He wasn't just good.  He was phenomenal.  There is no describing what I felt when the audience of his peers erupted into applause.  I cried.  My sister cried.  My dad cried (fearlessly sensitive, cool guy...sorry ladies, he's taken).

    Jean
    Ryan is my inspiration. Where did that confidence come from?  I'm not that kid.  I never was.  I want to bottle that self-esteem up and splash it on myself like it's Jean Nate (Nah-tay) After Bath Splash.

    Don't get me wrong.  There are moments where I would like to punch him in the throat when he gives me that teenager stare, that turn-to-sh!t look (my mother's term) when I try to "reason" with him.  But damn.  The kid's got something that I have always dreamed of having.  Confidence, brains, and wit.

    And Ethan.  This kid gave us a helluva time in the beginning.  I'm not going to go into details about what he did to me during childbirth for fear that any future moms will certainly reconsider (though it may help with population control).  The terrible twos began at birth and lasted through about 5th grade.  Strong-willed is a term that we parent-folk like to use as a substitute for very unparentlike expletives.

    Cee lo
    The bright side is that he's evolved into this insanely funny, talented, amiable kid.  Admittedly, I was pissed when he decided, in 3rd grade, to take up the cello "because it's big and no one else in school plays it."  (Wise way to make decisions, Ethan.  Frighteningly similar to the way some of my friends choose boyfriends.)  Only 4 years later, he's a very talented cellist for a non-Asian.  I can say in all honesty, it's not painful listening to him practice.

    Mornings usually begin with Ethan suggesting, via his cockeyed grin, "Hey toots, do me a solid and fix me some pancakes for breakfast," and as he moves toward the bathroom adding, "oh, and sweets, and not the frozen ones."

    Any other quasi-feminist mom might take offense to the seemingly sexist tone, but the kid gets it.  He's making fun of the way men talk to women.  He knows better.  Or at least I think he does.  (Come to think of it, that tone might be the reason that one of his teachers hated his guts, but then again, maybe the gods neglected to endow bridge trolls with a sense of humor).

    But Ethan and Ryan, in fact, have the utmost respect for women which is so fekking cool.

    So, dear reader, when you hear me on stage, know this. A large part of me (some parts are, unfortunately, larger than others) is that bitchy, crass, sarcastic, negligent, sometimes intoxicated mom.  But the larger part of me knows that my sons are phenomenal human beings who are a constant source of joy in my life.  And I miss them when they are not around.

    (I'll probably wait until Wednesday to break out the Barry White, the booze, and the trashy books)









  4. Amy Loves Divorce Court

    Saturday, July 14, 2012

    I LOVE daytime television.  Especially judge shows.  I can name the bailiff on each of the court shows.  Is that a marketable skill?  I think so.  This is the summary of a recent case on Divorce Court:

    Tracey Jones vs. Lachester Jones - Judge Lynn Toler presided.

    Tracey sued her estranged husband, Lachester for 6 months rent ($2460). Lachester asked Tracey for a divorce because Tracey "don't got it no mo". Hence, the couple ended up in Divorce Court. By the way, the couple have one child together.

    When Judge Lynn asked Tracey if she agreed with Lachester about her "having it", Tracey replied "of course I still got it", and paraded in front of the Judge's bench with a shopping bag (a prop that Tracey brought into court to help prove her point). Tracey said, "see Judge? I still got it. This is how I look when I shop". Point Tracey.

    Lachester said that he had to divorce Tracey because "she nag and ain't cute no mo".

    Tracey said that she doesn't nag. She taught him a lot. Like how to wear his pants. She bought him a belt. He was wearing shoe strings in his pants to keep them up. Point Tracey.

    Lachester then stated that Tracey tricked him into marrying her by telling him that she had just won $50K in a sweepstakes and the check was coming. Point Lachester.

    Tracey said that Lachester would leave for 6 months at a time and shack up with other women. So, Tracey cut up all of his clothes and threw them in their front yard. Lachester said the reason why he left was he didn't have a key to his house. Point Tracey and Lachester.

    Lachester's sister, Doris Kimmons, testified on Lachester's defense. She said that Tracey was always on the chat lines looking for "thug boys". Point Lachester.

    By this time, Judge Lynn was tired of all of the foolishness. She awarded Tracey $2050 (5 months rent) and told her to "handle (her) business like (she) can handle her business". Sound advice, if I have ever heard any.

    She then told Lachester, "don't have no babies until you are stable. The last thing that we need is baby mama drama". Well put, Judge Lynn, well put.


    My scoreboard

    Tracey - 3 points
    Lachester - 3 points

    Results: Even though the scored was tied, Tracey presented her case with more finesse.

    Judgment

    I agreed with the judgment.


  5. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. 
    And I should know since I’m a freakin’ Goddess, gosh darnit!

    Crap, where did the week go?  Seriously- this summer is flying by!  A sign of age according to the saying (I hate that term, “the saying”, yet I use it all the time).  I just think it’s that I’m so overbooked and overwhelmed. 

    Now my blog entry is due.  Arrggh!  (Yes, deadlines turn me into a pirate).
    What the &^%$ to write about? 
    I perform stand up a great deal these days and I feel like anything worth saying I’ve already said on stage, albeit full of profanity and not appropriate for conservative folks or small children.

    Writing.
    I did a stint for a few months as ghostwriter.  It damn near killed me.  I hadn’t written a serious composition in YEARS.  And by years, I mean Ever.  The experience drove me close to a mental and physical breakdown due to my obsessesion with the grade, the subject matter and of course the deadline.
    I was on a mission and the resultant adrenaline made me feel great.  And afterwards I felt absolutely euphoric. 
    Now I feel kinda crummy.  Ghost writing isn’t honest. 
    I place a lot of value in having integrity, honoring my word and “doing the right thing”. 
    I’m a lot of things, but a lying, cheating scumbag I’m not.

    What to do? 
    It’s behind me.  Move forward and take it as a lesson learned. 
    I hate to admit it, but I do miss the assignments. 
    Yet this blog entry is an assignment of sorts and here I sit typing nonsensically on my MacBook. 
    Write something meaningful!  Witty!  Silly! 

    But it’s late and I’m fried. As I said, I’ve been performing a lot.  Big time paid gigs too (sounds cooler than it is to be honest).
    No, I don’t have vids on YouTube.  I don’t like videos of my stand up.  I’m better live.  And I’m not just talking about comedy.  Me in person is fantastic. 
    Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying I’m fantastic.  I just do “in person” really well.  I think it has something to do with my big eyes, my animated body language and propensity for hugging. (That’s what I will have on my rider: “propensity for hugging” to stave off any sexual harassment suits and or unwanted advances).

    Truth be told, I’m a tad stressed. 
    I have a packed weekend ahead of me.  I need to come up with a clean set for a charity show I’m hosting and prep for a round of media interviews.  When I first started stand up I was so sweet and clean.  Now I talk about “adult” subjects.  But the big gigs want you to be “family friendly”.  (Insert more pirate sounds).

    Hey, I’m clean in this blog post as evidenced by my use of colloquialisms in lieu of expletives. (Yay clever me)! But that’s just because I’m paranoid my Father, niece/ nephews or the kid I tutored will read this.  Also, I haven’t exactly written an exhaustive analysis of Madame Bovary. 

    I do plan to write more introspective and incisive entries.  (Now I’m apologizing for my entry.  Niiice.  Way to keep the readers engaged Mooney).
    It’s just that I have to clean up my act, keep it clean and I’m kinda freaking out about it at this very moment.
    Integrity and honor are one thing, but not being able to do my signature porn bit is asking too much mister! That joke is art I tell ya!

  6. GIRRRLLLLZZZZ!!!

    Friday, July 13, 2012


    Can I just say, the HBO show GIRLS has restored my faith in humanity and television. This topic might be dated to some, but to me, I think about the relevance of the show all the time especially during its hiatus. My life is so much better when I have the weekly half hour of sanity.

    Lena Dunam serves as creator, writer , and lead actress. I know it's not the biggest deal, but my favorite part about her is that she's got a little chub going on and is naked on camera all the fucking time. And is unapologetic about it. She doesn't give a FUCK.

    As a young lass living in a city of models, I am not afraid to admit that every time a skinny stick figure chick with a hot face walks by I get a little sad inside. Not sad because she needs to eat a bagel, sad because if I looked like that, I could make eight times as much money giggling on a beach in a designer bathing suite for a photographer. Fuck that shit.

    I digress...

    I wanted to share this video that my comedy partner, Corinne Fisher, and I made. It's the first of many weekly episode recaps. Together we perform under the name"Sorry About Last Night..." and you can find out more at www.facebook.com/sorryaboutlastnight as well as on twitter @SryAboutLastNyt

    Below is a link to the video. I don't have the file so I can't imbed it. I also don't make any efforts to conceal techincal difficulties. Comedy is TRUTH you guys.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN9fEGV1B7s

    Til next Friday....
    xoKrystyna

  7. Bad Boys

    Thursday, July 12, 2012


    I’m a sucker for a “bad boy”.  A lack of daddy love and my ensuing abandonment issues have given me a lifetime pass on taking any responsibility for my poor attachment choices, time after disappointing time.  If he has a quirky charm AND is prone to unpredictable violent outbursts – I’m fascinated!  So for years now, I’ve been enthralled by an entertainer, whose majestic capacity to perform, is only heightened by his lightning speed ability to strike fear and abject terror. Yes Tilikum the Bull Orca Whale, star of SeaWorld and known murderer is my badass “bad boy”!

    So you can understand my shock and dismay when I learned Tilikum was sent to a medical pool. Through the cooperation of an unnamed source* I am not at liberty to reveal, I have come to possess a short portion of Tilikum’s recent medical file.  For Your Eyes Only my friend, I present the following excerpt from a confidential transcript.

    Dr. Jennifer Melfi                                                  Thursday, March 22, 2012
     
    New patient intake session

    For the fifth time in fifteen minutes the gruff park attendant, Colleen, quizzed me on my safety instructions.  I recited by rote as I arranged myself in the blue nylon hammock suspended over the orca medical pool, “(1) Maintain the required distance from the patient as specified in Judge Welsch’s court order. (2) In the event the patient becomes agitated, volatile or violent; as loud as possible - yell ‘Help’!” 

    Satisfied with my response Colleen hefted a bucket of fish onto the nearby platform and, with a practiced underhand toss, lobbed a bullhorn at me.  It landed on my files and set the unwieldy net hammock to rocking.  Colleen swaggered off to a remote corner of the stadium’s backstage area.  She stationed herself under a sun-bleached Dine With Shamu sign, giving me privacy with my patient and giving Colleen the opportunity to smoke her cigar. I picked up the bullhorn, steadied the hammock and began.

    Dr. Melfi: Good morning, Tilikum.

    Tilikum: (No response)

    Dr. Melfi: (Turning on the bullhorn) Good morning, Tilikum. I’m Dr. Melfi.

    Tilikum:  How you doing?  My friends call me Tili.

    Dr. Melfi: Friends like Anthony Soprano?

    Tilikum:  Yeah, it was Tony got word to me about you. Said you don’t judge and you might be able to help… (Turns away)

    Dr. Melfi: Do you need help, Tili?

    Tilikum:  (Shrugging) Who knows?

    Dr. Melfi: What’s bothering you, Tili?

    Tilikum:  Nothing…

    Dr. Melfi:  Nothing… Then why am I in this hammock?  I’ve got issues with heights, this life vest is itchy and -

    Tilikum:  I miss my work…the cheering crowds, star billing… (Sob) I miss My Chum.

    Dr. Melfi:  (Reaching for the bucket on the nearby platform) You miss these chopped bits of fish?

    Tilikum:  No, Dawn! (Quietly) I miss Dawn…

    Dr. Melfi:  Your trainer?

    Tilikum:  I called her… affectionately, (Sob) My Chum.

    Dr. Melfi:  Tili, you killed her.

    Tilikum:  That’s no reason to punish me. Jeez! First they censor my performance then snatch me from the stage all together.  I need my work. I’m an artiste!  

    Dr. Melfi:  You’re a serial killer!

    Tilikum:  So I’ve done a little killing on the side…

    Dr. Melfi:  Three dead human beings is “a little killing on the side?”

    Tilikum:  Hey, I got nothing close to Tony Soprano’s numbers! And the official report said that naked guy found dead on my back died from hypothermia.  (Shuddering) Aggh!  Frankly, I felt violated…

    Dr. Melfi: How do think the audience felt seeing you kill Dawn, your affectionate “Chum?”

    Tilikum:  Doc, they got what they came for.  I’ll admit my act is pretty exciting, all that kissing and hugging with a beautiful blonde.  And boy, oh boy, the synchronized swimming is a real crowd pleaser. Don’t even mention our ballet duet.

    Dr. Melfi:  Your ballet duet?

    Tilikum:  (Sternly) I told you not to mention that!

    Dr. Melfi:  (At this point I discreetly cast my glance toward the Dine With Shamu marquee in the distance.  Colleen is nowhere in sight.  A faint wisp of cigar smoke hovers in the dank empty air like a mocking smile.  Tili shifts his 22-foot mass in the 8 foot deep pool beneath me and commands my attention) Yes, Tili!

    Tilikum:  As I was saying, Doc, the crowd loves all the rehearsed tricks, bells and whistles.  But what’s that ticket really buying?  It buys the unlikely but ever-present  thrill that I might drop the Shamu mask and be my authentic, animal self: Tillikum, Bull Orca KILLER Whale! All it takes is a moment to leave the crowd, the training, the friendship all behind.  Even less than a moment to grab the fragile mammal beside me and sink to the watery calm below, below dragging the pale hairy hunter, who captured me at the age of two, clamped firmly…

    Dr. Melfi:  Tili, you are in pain.

    Tilikum:  Whoa, stop the presses!

    Dr. Melfi:  These months of isolation have been hard on you. You’ve lost a ton of weight.

    Tilikum: You think?  I’m down to 10,000 pounds, Doc, just skin and bones! I think Colleen’s been hiding meds in my herring.  (Withering disdain) Herring?  I should be eating sea lions. I’ve got no energy, no appetite. I haven’t had a live dolphin in decades. Do you know what it’s like for me here in eight feet of water!?? Take a bath in your kitchen sink!

    Dr. Melfi: Tili…

    Tilikum:  And I’ve been having these dreams Dr. Melfi…

    Dr. Melfi:  Tili, our time is up.

    Tilikum:  Since when is thirty-five minutes an hour?

    Dr. Melfi:  Since 2009! (Quietly) And this bullhorn is killing my eardrums…

    Tilikum:  What’s that, Doc?

    Dr. Melfi:  I said this might take some time.

    Tilikum:  I gotta get back on stage now, Doc!

    Dr. Melfi:  Do you have insurance?

    Tilikum:  (Menacing lunge) After more than twenty years of jumping through hoops and kissing ass, I’d better have insurance.  (Gentle nod) Colleen will handle the paperwork.

    Dr. Melfi:  Same time next Thursday?

    Tilikum: (Turning away) If I’m in the mood…

    Unfortunately my friend, this is the extent of the excerpt I am at liberty to share. I dare say I’ve already done the electric slide across the line of doctor/patient confidentiality.  Divulging any more would put my anonymous source* at risk.

    But you certainly see my attraction to Tili’s looming strength yet seductive vulnerability.  I know “bad boy” Tili and I will never have a real relationship or even work together.  Who’s ever heard of a stand-up comic opening for a Bull Orca Whale?  “It was a great show ladies and gentlemen. We both killed!”  I kid, dear friend, because… it’s my job.

    In any event, my plan is to complete my online course in whale training and then sit by the phone.  He just might call…

    See you next Thursday!

    *Colleen Ebbets


    Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with Shamu, The Killer Whale in Orlando, Fla.
    Another whale, Tilikum, killed her in 2012
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_(whale)