Tag Archives: the great gatsby

Hello, 2015

Last year was a pretty fun year. I was pulled on stage during a clown show, went stand-up paddleboarding, and went wakeboarding. I attended Katie and Matt’s wedding. I started doing yoga this summer and have stuck with it consistently. I switched to a bodyweight workout routine and have been doing that regularly. San Diego Comic-Con was a lot of fun, and for the first time, the roles were reversed; people asked me for pictures. (I was in my Aquabats costume.)

I attended a ton of concerts, including but not limited to Reel Big Fish, The Maxies, The Originalites, The Aquabats, Koo Koo Kangaroo, GOGO13, Half Past Two, Sugar Stems, The Interrupters, The Holophonics, The Skatalites, Suburban Legends, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Los SuperSpies, and so many more. I watched a bunch of improv, mostly at ImprovCity and Spectacles. I attended some Risk! Live. I went to a Teenage Mutant Pizza Party and the Scott Pilgrim Picture Show with CinemAttack! There was Dapper Day, Walking with Dinosaurs, a Civil War reenactment, The Great Gatsby party, the OC Fair, and LA Kiss. There was some Yadi Presents burlesque, a performance of Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Big River – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Man of La Mancha, and other performances. Lots of fun stuff.

Edit: Oh, man, how can I forget the Tall Ships Festival or being a guest on the Twisted Nether Blogcast?!

Work continues to go well. I cleaned out my closet. And yes, that’s worth mentioning. I attended Henley’s first birthday party and gave him a big smile with his present. I finished off Mists of Pandaria and started Warlords of Draenor. Sorry, but a little video games had to leak into this too. I got my backlog (my list of games, books, movies, etc.) that were purchased but never finished down to 340, which is pretty good. When I started counting in April, I had 471 items that needed to be beat/watched/read. I got rear-ended while driving for the first time. That’s not really much of an accomplishment, but I handled it at least. It was my 10-year high school reunion a few months back, and that was a lot of fun. I also cooked a bunch – stuffed bell peppers, pizzas, calzones, salads, salami wraps, pork chops, steaks, a cake, lemon bars, brownies, and more delicious things. I, a straight man, went out for a drink with a man I met on a dating site. I got stung by way too many bees.

It was a cool year.

2015 started with a party with close friends. Just a minute or two into the year I got to witness a friend propose to his girlfriend.

We’re off to a good start.

The Great Gatsby Party

Black Scarlett Shows' The Great Gatsby Party at Original Mike's Restaurant Bar and Grill

Last night was Black Scarlett Shows’ The Great Gatsby party at Original Mike’s, which was a ton of fun. I guess I started this blog post with a picture from the end, but it seemed appropriate because it had all the performers in it.

Getting ready

Dressing in costume wasn’t mandatory, but I still wanted to do so. I bought the suspenders and bow tie but borrowed the hat. It was fun to dress up!

Anela dancing with a fan

Anela told me about the event. Her friend coordinated the event. In this photo she’s doing a dance with a large fan. I had a couple pictures that featured the fan, but then you couldn’t really see her.

I got there about a half hour or so before the show actually started, so I ordered a martini and found a seat with two others. By the time the show started, a fourth joined us. They all knew someone in the show, and one was actually there because he knew Anela too! It was a lot of fun chatting with them.

Belly dance

There was singing, cabaret, burlesque, and a lot more. Belly dancing was happening too of course as is evident by the photo.

great gatsby party with anela

We also got a photo together. Look at her hair!

After the performances were all done, I hung out for a while chatting with people, getting to know the people who sat near me and some of Anela’s friends. I met a lot of really interesting people and had a great time. Hopefully the events become a regular thing!