keep it to yourself

i was working a private party last night, and this guy concluded his previous statement with "that's why i got my vasectomy."

there's a time and a place for everything. i have a feeling that a table of mixed company, including 14 year old girls, ain't it.

fuckin' guy.

like silk

i got mentioned in the ithaca times review of "buddy: the buddy holly story". read on:

RIP Kyle Parker

i met kathy in 6th grade. we had a few classes together, but our main bond was band. she was an insane french horn player, and i was (by 6th grade standards) a ridiculous tenor sax player. throughout middle school angst, boys, girls, homework, science fairs, parties, band concerts, older siblings, annoying parents, and late night phone calls, we made it to high school in one piece. new characters entered our lives, but we maintained our bond and late night phone calls. "who's cute/fun/ugly in your classes?" again, we still had band in common. again, new characters entered our lives. one character who entered my life was kyle. kyle and i were introduced at some point during my sophomore year. kyle was a senior at another high school. he wasn't in band or choir, but his friends were, and that was enough for him. he was tall, lanky, and hilarious. he smoked marlboro lights, which i abhored/admired. he drove a black nissan stylus, the only one in evansville. he used to listen to master p which was awesome because my mom wouldn't let me. we became great friends. we hung out almost everyday, but i don't remember what we did. he was definitely the first person i watched south park with. i introduced my friend kyle to my best friend kathy in 1998, and the next thing i knew, i was in their wedding in summer 2003. our lives took different paths, but we always stayed in touch. i talked to kyle earlier this summer when i called kathy. i talked to kathy last week on facebook about some bullshit.

i checked my facebook email tuesday night, and i got an email from kathy's aunt that said that kyle had been in a car wreck and was killed by the driver of the other car who was running from the police while under the influence of alcohol and pot. he killed my friend and showed no remorse. he left my friend widowed at 27. he left two young boys fatherless, and one of them will probably have no memory of his father. he'll never remember how funny his father is or how much his father loved them and their mother.

this week has been difficult. i've been internalizing my pain. i'm not looking for a sympathy party, but it's hard to be away from your friends and family when tragedy strikes. it's not my intention to be dramatic, but i can't ignore my pain. i can't avoid my hurt feelings. i just need to vent. that's why jermainia exists.

passive-aggressive mormon notes

a mormon girl i sang with in college recently left this gem for a facebook status:

ctr ring on the hand...and orders a jack and coke...hey im not judging...

awkward boners

the name says it all. i'll work on something more clever/culturally enriching, but for the meantime,

www.awkwardboners.com

get into it.

glee.

this show is so amazing. it's going to be a huge hit for fox. (not like they need it.)

not to get off track, but do we really need two seasons of so you think you can dance? i love dance more than almost anyone i know, but i'm not sure if my dvr can handle two back to back seasons of sytycd. 

anyhow, glee is amazing. it's giving you a great story line, talent out the ass, and SICK MUSICAL CLIPS.

teaser: download the glee sneak peak of "golddigger" on itunes. it's free and amazing. 

so is this gem:

summer hiatus

to my beloved jermainia readers:

please forgive me. i havent abandoned you. i will return with fresh posts VERY soon. think of this as your favorite tv show going on summer hiatus (minus the fat residual check.) 

stuff white people like

stuff white people like  is a hilarious blog that talks about stuff white people like. it's just as funny as it sounds. 

i was at dinner with some of my nearest and dearest a few weeks ago, and just like out of a scene from a bravo tv show, the book appears on the table. we laughed about it for the rest of the night (and will probably continue to do so for the rest of our lives.)

some of my personal favorites include:

#9: making you feel bad about not going outside

#14: having black friends

#20: being an expert on YOUR culture

#33: marijuana

 #78: multi-lingual children

musical theatre dictionary.

the musical theatre dictionary  is one of the more amazing things i've read in awhile. if you know anything about musical theatre performers, you'll appreciate this blog. if you are a musical theatre performer, you'll LOVE this blog. get into it!!

hair.

hair on broadway is amazing. get there now. i've seen it twice. i have the soundtrack. these kids are on stage living. don't sleep on the white girls in this cast. they're singing their faces off. the leads are all fantastic, and yes, you can see weiners and boobies. 

get to the hirschfeld, kids. 

flight attendant realness.

i've been doing alot of travelling lately, and the only thing worse than departure delays is an ugly flight attendant.

i'm still here.

i haven't abandoned jermainia!! between working and working, i've been busy. stay tuned...

back in the saddle

i can breathe a huge sigh of relief.  i'm back. back to work, back to auditioning, back to being poor (eeek), but i'm happy. matt and i finally found an apartment. after sifting through shitty uws apartments and watching a sick place in harlem fall through our fingers, we ended up moving to an apartment in matt's current building on east third and avenue c.  it's a fantastic apartment with spacious bedrooms, hardwood floors, and tons of exposed brick. we don't have a living room, though. i have a nice terrace off of my bedroom, and we have rooftop access. summer bettah watch out, okaaaay?!

black in action

it's been hectic, but i'm back. i landed in nyc march 29th, and it's been go go go every second, just the way i like it.  i stayed at simone's on the uws for a week while i bopped around seeing people, getting headshots, recovering from jetleg, etc. i flew out of nyc april 8th for a midwest tour that almost went up in smoke. i was supposed to go home to evansville for two days, then go to chicago, then end the week in indianapolis. well, chicago didn't happen, so i spent an extra day in evansville, went to bloomington for a night, then spent easter weekend in indianapolis with pat, joe, josh, and some other amazing hits. i got back to the city april 13th, and it's been apartment hunt 2009. i feel good about it, but i'm just ready to get situated. that's all for now. oh yeah, i start back at becco tomorrow night. work!

wow.

i've been slacking. i've been all over the place. literally. i'll pull it all in within the next few days to deliver a full report. 

twittah.

i joined twitter. (thanks, gl.)

www.twitter.com/jermainermiles

leaving on a jet plane, part two

i'm flying out of hong kong tomorrow. sunday. i can't even believe it.

march 29th

1145 HKG

850 SFO

12hrs 5 minutes

1240 SFO

2126 JFK

5hrs 46 minutes

i have no other words. 

vacay

i just returned from three wonderful days on boracay beach in the philippines. blame working on a cruise ship, but i am a sucker for a warm climate, white sand beach, and gorgeous blue water. boracay is a 45 minute flight from manila. i had a very relaxing vacation. i didn't go nuts partying, but i had a few weng weng's, which is a tame version of bamboo 52's volcano punch. all in all, it was good trip. except for that buffet i went to on the first night. NEVER. AGAIN.

wrapping it up

these next few weeks will be jam-packed. i just had a huge birthday weekend (great success). there's not much to tell, except that it involved lots of fun.  i got asked to go back to merry-go-round playhouse to do "buddy: the buddy holly story" in september. i worked there in 2006 and loved every second. my last performance of "festival of the lion king" is tomorrow, my last scheduled day of work is thursday, and i leave for the philippines sunday night. i ended up with a three days weekend somewhere in there, so i'll have plenty of time to do some preliminary packing and cleaning. that's about it. i fly back to nyc march 29th, and i'm hoping i can ease back into the time change. more to come...

wah wah

i was experiencing sciatic back pain last week, and i figured a quick trip to the accupuncturist would sort me out. i asked around the cast about who was the best accupuncturist, and everyone told me that i needed to get a recommendation from a general practicioner for our insurance to cover the cost of the visit. so i do some investigation, and of course i find the clinic that is closest to me in BFE is coincidentally closed from 2-3:30pm (siesta?), and i'm standing in front of their door at 2:24pm. lucky for me, there's a dentist's office across the way who takes walk-ins, is super affordable/clean, and has no one waiting. i go in to get my teeth cleaned, and as he's working on the back left side of my mouth he says "oh." i knew something was going up, and he tells me that i need a double root canal and a filling. i couldn't hide my excitement. nevermind the fact that disney will be paying for 80% of it. A DOUBLE ROOT CANAL?! ME?! my back immediately started feeling better. . .

i was born too soon and started too late.

i just had a very exciting and exhausting weekend.

thursday night was my buddy, manton's, bday. (anton is called "manton" because he's about 6'4" of russian muscle. i love him to death.) he and his wife, jade, hosted a birthday get together in their room which included cake, music, and russian vodka. i feel like i spent more time taking shots of vodka with the manton than doing anything else. details start getting spotty, but i can tell you that anton insisted i jump on his back (okay), i fell on my ass twice (further aggrevating my sciatica), and the next thing i know, i'm waking up to go my dentist appointment.

friday morning. 10am. i was still drunk but headed out into a cold, rainy hong kong for an 11am dentist appointment. i had to start my double root canal procedure. i had fully prepared myself for the worst, which is a good thing because it wasn't nearly as dramatic as i had pictured. there were no tears, but after my two injections of the local anesthesia, i needed an additional injection in my bottom tooth because i wasn't completely numbed, and that shit was NOT comfortable. at all. (i have at least two more visits to fully complete the procedure.) i was back out the door (with painkillers in hand) in 35 minutes to go home for a quick lunch, then i headed back out to pay my taxes. let's discuss the hong kong and their taxes: they don't take taxes out of your check, so you're expected to have 15-16 percent of each paycheck saved. according to disney lore, no one has ever paid that much, but i wasn't taking any chances. (you don't pay your taxes? you don't get that last paycheck.) i'm no fool nor did i come all the way to hong kong to get punked. i paid my monies (i don't like that word), and i actually came out of the whole thing with a little leftover money.

friday evening: eddie (next door neighbor) and i decided to open our adjoining door a la thanksgiving for a little party. i made a siiiiick playlist days before, did some final cleaning, and bought about 4 cases of beer. i was ready. the party started off a little slow, but it peaked around 1030. it was about that time a super fan showed up at my party. i had stepped out for a moment, but when i got back to my door, there she was. it was scary and weird. i guess because i put the initial invite on facebook and made it a public invite. still, she was a long way from home just to be standing outside of my door. aside from that, the party went strong til about 1230-1. after a few more cocktails and much discussion, it was decided that eddie and i were taking his best friend, darren, for a quick night on the town. i loaded the north face with a few beers, and we hit the town. we all made choices that night.

saturday morning: eddie, darren, and i all reconvened (in sunglasses and appropriate outwear) at mcdonald's, then we met up with amber and otha to head into mainland china for a day of pampering and treatments at our favorite spa, the victorian queen spa. we laughed and relaxed all day long as the helpful staff scrubbed, scraped, and rubbed our sins away. we headed back to h-ong k-ong, and i stopped by a friend's bday fish fry (work!!) before heading to bed for sleepytime.

i know this post is a little more long-winded than normal, but there's so much to do in a very short amount of time. there are 4 birthdays this week (mine included) so there's a lot of celebrating to do. until next time. . .

sucka for love

aubrey o'day tap dances on my last good nerve when she does shit like this. the graphic on her t-shirt is a picture of herself. asshole.

a friend of mine texted me once saying "i just saw her at ripley-grier. she's a hot mess in a dirty dress." 

i'll let you be the judge of that.

macau...

just a taste of my little macau adventure. enjoy.

leaving on a jet plane. . .

things around here have been pretty tame. i'm still recovering from a crazy night in macau with mark, meki, and her two friends from california. i have to give myself credit on my rallying tactics. i left work at 630, was on the macau ferry by 730, and at the bar of the mgm grand having a cocktail with mark by 9. the night ended at 6am, and i was back on the ferry heading to hong kong by 830 and back in the lion king break room at 1130. macau makes me itchy for a vegas trip. photos to come...

in related news, i'm getting REALLY excited about heading home. i got my flight itinerary today, and i'm flying out of hong kong march 29th at 1145, putting me at jfk at 926pm sunday night (after a lay-over in san fran). it will be a LONG day of travelling, but i'll be good for it. i'm feeling slightly unsettled because i have nyc contact info to give the disney admin. no cell phone number or address. it's strange, but it's also exciting to be starting fresh. 

alright, back to my domestic tasks. instead of going to free vodka with tha kids, i'm cleaning my room, cooking, doing laundry, and drinking a bottle of chardonnay. i'm such an adult. :)

i smell what the rock is cooking

the rock came to hong kong disneyland thursday to promote his new movie. i've never been more excited to watch the main street parade. he didn't come see lion king, but he did take the time to point in my general direction.

peace out, boy scout.

i had my contract meeting yesterday where i was politely informed that there wasn't a contract for me. i didn't get extended. it was a slight slap in the face, but it's life. i'm already on the ball trying to line up some work for the summer. i'm getting excited about heading back home to nyc (as long as i can bypass that winter bullshit. i need a low of 50 degrees fahrenheit, a la hong kong.) i've made some fantastic friends here, and i'm very sad about having to leave them. but spring/summer in nyc is calling my name...

kung hei fat choi.

life is good here in far cathay. we're in the throes of chinese new year, and i've done my fair share of celebrating. monday night was the beginning of cny. while most of the locals stay home to do traditional traditions with their families, the ex-pat contingency of hong kong was out and about. i went with my friends, mark and meki (bottom photo), for a few cocktails then to a "white party" at our favorite watering hole. volume wasn't a raging scene, but we got more than sufficiently wasted (thanks to my favorite bartender, colin, who has no problem filling the largest glass in the bar with as much vodka possible before topping it off with a splash of tonic. bless him.) and watched a friend perform in drag.  after that, we headed to drop for fantastic music and more drinking. it was a great night until a friend projectile vomited at a house party. the morning party was no longer an option, so we had to head home. no worries there.

tuesday, i woke up feeling crazed. i ordered some pizza, watched a few episodes of grey's, and took a nap. i woke up, rallied, and we headed out to watch the fireworks...after stopping at the grocery store for liquor and chasers. good times. i love hong kong. i also love that you can drink in public (top photo).  

mid-contract blahs.

i've got a raging case of the mid-contract blahs. it happens to everyone, and it actually happened to me a little later than mid-contract. i think there was just so much excitement in the air. thanksgiving, holiday bullroar, pat's visit, new year, blah blah. now 2009 is in full-swing. there's not too much on the immediate horizon, but there are some exciting bits ahead. contract meetings are at the forefront. who is/not being renewed. my name is certainly in the hat to stay. keep your fingers crossed. our shows uses tons of automation/sensors, and with climate changes/wear and tear, maintenance must be performed. the theatre is dark for 5-7 days, and on these "dark days" you will be able to find lion king cast members on the beaches of boracay in the phillipines. the evening of march 22nd, i'll be heading to manilla and boracay for some fun in the sun. i'm a sucker for a nice beach, cold drink, and cheap trip. work!!

this past tuesday, i made use of my newly acquired mainland china visa. i went with otha, amber, and micah to shenzhen. shenzhen is far less westernized than hong kong, but the main attraction is the queen spa. queen spa is a sprawling, multi-level heaven where you can get complete spa treatment for super cheap. (the free fresh fruit and ice cream ain't too bad, either.) for example, i got a body scrub, foot scrub, foot massage, full body massage, and a plate of thai fried rice all for less than $100 US. it was amazing. you wanna come with me next time?

writer's block...

my writer's block can only be cured by this video clip.