A Permanent Night, Indeed

I'm taking a break from ranting and raving about how much I hate everything, and shedding a light on something actually positive. Last night, my older sister had her original play, The Permanent Night, premiere at the Fringe Fesitval in New York. This was her first time she had a play of hers submitted into the festival, after a couple attempts. It was marvelous. I always envied my sister's ability to conjure characters and create a story that's cohesive and meaningful. As a writer, I've always struggled with that. To be fair, I haven't really made a full scale effort to do that in a couple of years. Back in April I started writing some fragments, but they got erased because my computer crashed and I was an idiot for not having them backed up. But the play itself was really good, and I recommend anyone to shell out the $15 to go see it. There are still a few more performances, including one today at 1:45.

After the performance, we went to a local Mexican restaurant/bar (to remain unnamed, tell you why later) up the block. I had a beer. My girlfriend had her usual dry martini. I met the cast, the producer, my sister's friend Jess, a few other people. Everyone was really nice. It was kind of a life-affirming experience for me, pathetically enough. Ever since high school, I've always tended to dissociate myself from a lot of people that I might relate to. Most of the aspiring actors, writers, musicians I've ever come across were pretentious snobs who had egos the size of Alaska and who could care less about authentic friendships and relationships. I'm a writer, and I hate writers. I'm a musician, and most of them I want to throw out the window. I used to act in middle/high school, but I could've done without a lot of people I worked with. But there was something different about these people... in NEW YORK CITY of all places! It could be an age factor. Most of these people are in their mid/late 20s-early 30s I'm guessing, and perhaps I'm judging from an 18 year old's point of view, an age where reality hasn't slapped a lot of people in the ass yet. It made me want to full-on pursue writing at the level I did in high school, and just do it for myself, and not worry about it going anywhere.

So at this bar, it was a bit pricey ($14 for a margarita, people). A few people got food, everyone got at least one drink. Somehow, the bill came out to $515, and the dickheads there charged us for a few things either no one ordered or no one received. My sister's friend, Kelly, a restaurant manager herself, tried arguing her case to the restaurant owner, but he was such a jackass and didn't know a damn thing about "the customer is always right," and threatened to call the cops if we didn't pay the full amount, so my poor sister and brother-in-law were stuck putting in about $100 more than they had to (and everyone had put their share in). So that bar we're never going to again, but I don't think it matters to them. It's in a touristy area, and the place was packed, so I'm sure they don't care that they lost a few customers.

So we went to this dive bar called The Slaughtered Lamb. One of the cast members bought everyone a shot of Jameson (whiskey). He also bought a round of drinks for everyone, too (I hope he has a good job). I ordered a Guinness. I got drunk. I talked with Mike (my brother-in-law) about 80s rock, Tori Amos, becoming a teacher (which is my realistic career goal), a few other things. I just had a lot of fun. Overall, I've never felt prouder that my sister's a part of my family, and (after a schism that lasted a few years due to familial bullshit) a part of my life again. I woke this morning, and The Permanent Night got a pretty decent review at nytheatre.com, which was awesome.

As always, though, after a really good day, I have to go to fuckin' work today. It should be fine. I'm still in a good mood.