2014 Year in Review!!

Welcome everyone to the wonderful world of fun that is my life!! (Cue the circus music) Come along with me on my recap of my entire year of 2014 broken down month by month, highlighting all the good, bad, and potentially ugly happenings. I tripple dog dare you to read the entire thing, and if you have a story to add that I may have missed, please add it in the comments below! Can you read the whole thing?? Well can you??

January- Lauren and I skype with Jess to welcome in the New Year with a bottle of bubbly, Jess drank water and breast fed her 2 week old new baby Hazel! Lauren and I watch the Badgers in the Capitol One Bowl lose to the Gamecocks. (That's 0-4 in the past 4 years of bowl games, womp womp) I attend the 12th Night Shindiggery party at Mr. Jon Stancato's abode and enjoy good drinks and great friends, Dave, Kiran, Froliech, John & Jenny, good night all around! Rehearsals pick up for the new Stolen Chair show "Potion." I go to gymnastics class with Lauren and am able to do back handsprings on the tumble track un-assisted :) SCORE! I continue to run outdoors and hit the bag at the gym regularly. Get the fellas together for a fun "Dudes Night Out" in Bay Ridge. We played pool and drank and drank some more. Adam, Beau, Calvin, Martin and Jared were all in attendance. Thanks to Jared for getting me home. I officially start working at The Moonlight Mile, as Garry brings me in to help with clean up/chores as the bar finishes up construction. Lots of window, tile, floor and wall cleaning!! I get together with Brad and Jenna for a impromptu Luncheon, followed by helping come up with some fight sequences for the Web Series "Skye of the Damned." I ran a total of 58.4 miles this month!

February- I throw the annual Superbowl Party at my abode and the turn out is PHENOMENAL! Even my good friends Sean and Jeremy make it out, both of whom I haven't seen in years :) We all watch the slaughter of the Broncos and down 150 Jello Shots! Good thing there were more than 20 of us in attendance, including Aaron, Hannah, Jenna, Lauren, Calvin, Adam, Deeana, Jared, Cat, Tjasa, Kat, Kristy, David, Irish, Martin, Mimi, Dina, Nick, Joey and the list goes on and on. Of course the night ended with us slapping the shit out of each others stomachs just for fun. Jeremy and I meet up for a lunch and catch up, Hannah joins us and then Hannah and I go out to Williamsburg to celebrate the Birth of Basillio! Good times and good friends yet again! Bar hoping! At the last minute Jared and I decide to do a charity run called Cupid's Undie Run, in which we run outside in nothing but our Underwear! We had a blast!! Thanks to Heinz, I get the opportunity to learn how to bar tend as he lets me work a Saturday night shift with his crew to kind of learn the ropes! I had no idea this bar was pretty much a club when we are not performing in it, but I felt like I held my own. Even Kelli stopped by to say hi while I was slinging drinks for folks :) We have a small preview night for Stolen Chair's new Show "Potion"! Jenna, Hannah, Lauren and Calvin all come out to support the show and drink (with the rest of the amazing cast and crew of course) I officially drop down a size (or two) in my waist as I am now a 30" waist down from a 32"!! Hmm running works and its FREE :) I continue to work at the moonlight mile, getting it ready to open and rehearsing "Potion" and working at Crunch Gym. However I do work my final shift at Crunch in order to free up time to work full time at the moonlight mile as a bar tender :) After my shift at the gym I meet up for Jeremy's Birthday Bash with Sean, Joey, Nicole and Paulina to drink and do some Karaoke!! I ran a total of 42.7 miles this month!!

March- Day 1 of this month starts off with a Preview Friends and Family night at the Bar!! Mike and Cathy Crane were in attendance as well as Rob Domingo, James Diaz and Carolyn Ly having a blast and drinking the night away!! I was behind the bar serving up drinks for the crowd having a blast!! The next day was our first preview of "Potion" which Sean came out to see :) An article comes out in the NY Times about the new bar :) We do a preview night for the bar before the Grand Opening!! Lauren and I meet up to go see a flick (300 Rise of an Empire) with Adam and Calvin for his Birthday! We then drink at The Penny Farthing post movie, in the basement. I didn't know it had a basement (and the bar tender even requested a picture of my mustache) The Grand Opening of the moonlight mile is on the 8th and boy is the place rocking all night long! A bunch of friends came out to support it, Lauren, Calvin, Jeremy, Sean, Paulina, Carrie, Joey, Nicole and I'm sure there are more I'm leaving out! Hense begins my new full time life as an actual bar tender 5 nights a week and playing a bar tender in a show 1 night a week, that's 6 nights a week of bar tending. Pretty crazy considering I am a first time bar tender! We start to get press coming out all positive about the new bar, a few articles even featured a picture of me pouring a beer :) 2nd Preview of "Potion was attended by Jared and Kelli!! St. Paddies Day I was joined by Lauren for an epic day of drinking! Started at 1 at Pig N' Whistle for food/drink, then to the Joshua Tree for drinks where we are joined by Calvin and Aaron. Next stop a Burger, followed by a free OPEN BAR event that Lauren and I head to at the Tenement Museum, where we meet up with Jeremy, Paulina, Joey and Nicole for lots and lots of drinking! And then finally to Fontana's, so all in all about 11-12 hours worth of drinking, not bad, but I maintained a level head all day, impressive :) Most of the remainder of this month is spent working and performing! We officially open the show "Potion" (by the way every show has been sold out) and thanks to cancelled tickets Hannah and Alexa are able to be in the audience! It went off amazingly!! I re-connect with Jasmine for an Epic evening of Drink!! The month ends with a party at Fat Cats for Hannah's, Aaron's and Jim's B-day! Lots of fun and Ping Pong was had with so many wonderful people!! I ran a total of 25.2 miles this month.

April- This month starts with my turning of the ripe old age of 32!! I decided to just work on my Birthday and invite all of my friends to see the new bar and allow me to serve them drinks while also giving me a birthday hug!! When I arrived at work on this day though we had no power. So Garry and I stood outside on the corner for 4 hours waiting for Con Ed to fix it, thankfully they finally did and the Birthday Party was a rocking all night long! Thank you so much to the many many MANY people who stopped by, it meant so much to me!! Shortly there after I meet up with Deeana for some brunch in Brooklyn, followed by the new Captain America movie, where we were joining by Dan Klarer and Teddy just so happened to be in the same theater, same showing, same row, odds of that?? Game of Thrones Returns and Hannah, Alexa, Jenna and Lauren all head out to Bay Ridge to drink, watch Game of Thrones and Play some Epic Cards Against Humanity in our PJ's :) This Game of Thrones watching/Cards Against Humanity playing becomes a weekly event ! Unfortunately one of our cats (Peanut) back home passes away :( Leaving only 1 Kitty left. A cartoon is drawn by a reviewer at the bar, in which myself and my mustache are drawn, check it out here (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/37/15/24-bar-scrawl-2014-04-11-bp_37_15.html) The Amazingly Awesome Miss Margaret comes to visit NYC and I giv her a personalized tour around the city until the Sun comes up, followed the next day by a tour of Bay Ridge! LOVE THIS CHICK! (even if she is Ugly ;) Awesome Rave reviews pour in for "Potion", I think we have another hit on our hands :) My performance was even called "Excellent" and "Dependable" :) I go to see Jasmine in Broken Moments play a convincing drunk, trust me I would know. Go see some Live Karaoke with Matthew and Alexa at Arlene's Grocery!! Matthew ROCKS some Lenny Kravitz!! At the end of the Month my Mommy and My Aunt Kathy come to NYC for a weekend to see "Potion!" I get to serve them up some drinks at the moonlight mile, and go to brunch, take them to the 9/11 memorial and finally perform for them. It was so nice having them here if only for a brief moment! I love my family so much! I ran a total of 38.2 Miles this month!

May- Well lets see this month begins where the last ended with me working as a bar tender at moonlight mile and performing as a bar tender in Stolen Chair's "Potion." The show has been getting pretty good reviews and has been selling out regularly so that's pretty awesome! I get the news that a show that I did in 2011 will be a full length documentary that will be shown at the Brazilian Film Festival right here in NYC at the beginning of next month. I get a call asking if I would like to attend Day 2 of the NFL Draft at Radio City, FOR FREE which I gladly accepted!! I even ran into James Lawrence there sporting his Seahawks attire :) I get together with some old fight buddies for a get together at Dallas BBQ, Ray, Rivka, Chin, Dan, Lauren, Robert, etc. were all in attendance. Friends stop by the bar to say hi! Paulina even has her Bday Party at the mile, I join them after my shift for what turned into an epic night of debauchery including me pants-ing myself to earn beads, yeah there was drinking involved! Lauren leaves to go work a contract in VA, sad face for me :( Happy she is getting work though :) I headed into the far away lands of Astoria Queens to have a Memorial Day cookout with Jasmine and David! At the end of the month I go to Lunch with the awesome and amazingly talented Hayley, seriously what an awesome human!! I ran 23.7 miles this month

June- Hooray a film at the Brazilian Film Festival at the Tribeca Cinemas, in which I am an actor?? Oh its true! Man do i look weird without a mustache, a few pounds heavier and on a big screen, weird!! Was so great to see Michel again!! What a great dude!! The documentary "Seewatchlook" was pretty awesome and I loved seeing it all come together after 3 years haha. I head up to Yonkers with Alexa, Jenna and Matthew for a rappelling stunt workshop with THE Brian Smyj! Was great to see some familiar faces up there and make some new friends in the industry. Love meeting these crazy talented people! Oh and due to working the day before I did the entire day of training in the hot sun with Zero sleep as I left the bar, went home and showered, went to Alexa's and then up to Yonkers. I was so scared that all these pros would see me out of it so I made sure to keep on my feet and active. Jenna and I take a bus down to MD to visit Brad and see the New Gladiator themed Six Flags Stunt Show! Our bus was way late getting in but that didn't stop us from hitting up Moni's for some pizza, pool and beer with John, Stephon, Jenna, Brad and I! Had a fun day at the park, enjoyed the new show and getting to play on the old set doing some high falls in street clothes haha and teaching the newbies how its done. Right after I get back from MD its on a plane and off to Vegas to spend a weekend (sort of) with the fam for my little sisters 21st birthday! We stayed at the MGM Grand! I wound up breaking even in the gambling, even though at one point I was down over $100, but then took a new $100 and turned it into $250, so that was enough for me haha. Played some water volleyball with complete strangers, as you do while drinking with Tia and Evan. Took Tia to her first strip club, The Spearmint Rhino, which my brother had to buy a shirt, that's what you get for wearing a tank top! After 45 minutes Tia had seen all she needed and with the cost of drinks I had too haha! Unfortunately I could only stay for like a night and a half as I had to perform on Sunday back in NYC. "Potion" comes to a close :( I get cast as a kidnapper in my buddy Jared's short "Real New Yorkers" to do some fighting and a stunt. I get to learn how to use a balisong (butterfly knife) which becomes me new addiction. Stephon comes to town to audition for a stunt gig, that I am also auditioning for. He winds up booking the gig, jerk, I mean YEAH BUDDY! Haha, so I bring him to BK Zoo for some training with Basillio. I shoot "Real New Yorkers" with Jared overnight doing my fall out the back of a van stunt and the immediately I go to Spoons, Toons and Booze with Jasmine, David and crew at the Nitehawk Cinemas! (yet another not able to sleep day/night)

July- The first 4th of July at the Bar, in which we have a very low key night, until AFTER the Fireworks and the bar gets invaded by whomever is in the area, not only that but a firework set up on the street gets blown over and blows up into the bar through the open window!! Hmm and I thought this was my safe job. I found a Cell phone on the train on my way home from the Bar late one night and was able to find the owner via FB (Trisha) and get the phone back to her. I get really into watching the World Cup (as you do) Hannah and I go to the Salty Dog in Bay Ridge to watch USA get beaten by Belgium, womp womp. But rejoin to watch Germany win it all against Argentina in Astoria!! Fun!! Deanna has a going away party at Coney Island as she relocates to LA, fun was had by many!! I get together with Jasmine and Crew for her Bday and gallivant around BK which includes Nighthawk, Lucky Dog, Dumplings, and even Mini golf in Roosevelt Island. Eric has his last shift party at the mile. This guy taught me everything I know about bar tending and I miss him a lot as he has relocated to FL. Scott and Evelio come to visit the bar, was great to see both of these guys and have most of the old crew together!! (Just missing Kenny and Carl) The end of the month I meet the wonderful Kate Libby whom I set up on a date with a stranger, while meeting her for the first time, only to find out that she was far more interested in me :) The night unfolded in favor of the mustached bar tender ;)

August- Beginning of this month I'm spending most of my time with Kate and learning about how awesome she is. My cousin Dan and his wife Amanda come to town and Kate and I meet up with them. They get to see the bar. We all go to Nighthawk for Spoons and meet up with Jasmine and Crew and then off to Smorgasburg and have Ramen Burgers which to me was the highlight. We also head into the City to the Haufbrau Haus so we can eat, drink and have Dan draft his Fantasy Football team. I head up to The Alamo Draft house to see Guardians of the Galaxy with Jeremy, Sean and crew. What a great time and a great movie!! I get hired for a couple of Projects, one is for a product for an electronics company in which I get to film at a very large house in NJ. Get to check out the pool as well as the Movie Theater in the basement. Good times. I also get hired and film a Music Video doing stunts and acting. I played the typical "tie the pretty girl to the railroad tracks" villain as well as an odd looking Ninja. (I would link the video here for you but its still in post)

September- Kate and I go out for some Cajun food in Chinatown in Brooklyn, apparently they know how to do everything in Chinatown haha. Next up was a trip to the Salty Dog with Kate to watch the start of the 2014 NFL Season with the Packers and the Seahawks. Did not end in favor of the Green and Gold, oh well. Kate and I get on an early bus and its off to Boston for a day wandering the City and seeing a Red Sox game at Historical Fenway Park (ballpark #17). Tickets were pretty cheap for the defending World Series Champions. Good game, good seats, good fun! We also went to The Union Oyster House for some seafood in which I tackle my first whole lobster, yum yum. Then to an Ice Bar, love these places haha, Kate was cold, she's from Florida! Then since our bus was not until 2 in the am and we were bored we went an saw a movie before our bus ride back. Next Up Kate, Calvin, Jared and I tackle the ROC Race in Brooklyn (which stands for the Ridiculous Obstacle Course) Was a 5 k race with inflatable obstacles in between, we ran the whole way because we are ballers!! Great time even though it was cold and wet and raining! Had to stop at Target after the race just to get dry clothes and shoes. Later this month I hit up the On Location Event at Astoria Studios where the NY Stunt Family was putting on some live demonstrations for the public. Thanks to Tim Gallin I get invited to join in on the fun and do some high falls with the stunt fam into an air bag. Not everyday you get to practice this stuff. All kinds of friends were there playing like Matthew, Evan, Myles, Chazz, Kimmy, Basillio, the list goes on and on and I met some new stunt family and friends as well. Hooray for networking. Next up Lauren and I board a plane to fly to Detroit for a week in the Midwest to visit our mutual Friend Jess and her baby Hazel. Lots of baby time but we did also manage to see a Tigers Game at Commerica Park (Ball park #18), a Red Wings Pre Season game at Joe Louis Arena and Lauren and I even hit up Ann Arbor to wander around the Michigan Campus and to the Jolly Pumpkin for beer and food. All in all it was a fun trip even if our hotel was very shady.

October- Back in NYC for October back to a more regular schedule of working at the bar, running and training to begin this month. I meet up with the stunt family in Washington Square Park to go to a book signing by John Fusco. He is the writer behind movies such as Young Guns 1 and 2 and is the writer behind the new Marco Polo series on Netflix. He was nice enough to give books to many of the stunt family and sign them, and he even signed the first book in memory of Carlos Lopez who the stunt family lost a short time before that. I met Carlos only once but his passing was felt by all of us in the family. He was so young and CRAZY talented, and I remember watching him practice his kicks and my jaw was on the floor at how amazing he was. Later on this month I hit my 1 year anniversary of running (441 miles total for the year) and also hit my living in NY anniversary (14 years here). I spent a lot of time working on my homemade Halloween costume which I was able to show off at work. Worked at the mile for Halloween dressed as Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy. Hannah, Tony, Jenna, Alexa, and Kate all came for the party and some fun. Jenna even won 2nd place in the costume contest dressed as Marty McFly!! It was awesome!!

November- Starts off right after the Halloween Party as Kate and I are up early to get a ride with Joe ad Leanne (regulars at the bar)to Rutgers to watch the Wisconsin Badgers in action!! It was cold and rainy but we had an awesome time watching the Badgers DOMINATE Rutgers. Welcome to the Big 10!! Oh and the tailgating with the buffalo chicken dip and Beer Brats!!! YES!! I get a close call for a stunt gig for "Blue Bloods" but they need someone 30lbs lighter than me in 10 days, so I go on a crazy weight loss binge and wind up losing 10lbs in 4 days, but unfortunately didn't get the gig. Kate and I go to Mad River to watch a Badger game with all the Badger Alums. This place gets crazy and super packed. (but i couldn't drink or eat much as this was during my weight loss binge) Kate and I get invited to go see "Sleep No More" for free as one of the managers (Dom) drinks at my bar. I was impressed by the sheer size of the show, but the show itself really wasn't my cup of tea, nor was it Kate's. It was so long and so much to see and just smelled weird and was loud and yeah, hard to explain it all if you have no idea what I'm talking about so I will leave it at that. I had a crazy allergic reaction this month, which I still am not sure what it was from but think now that it was from pistachio nuts, but yeah my eyes swelled shut, and looked swollen for a couple days afterward. Never had that happen before haha. I get to go home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving for the first time in 12 years!! (no more retail!!) It was great to be home and see everybody and eat some yummy yummy food!! Nom nom nom. I eve go to the stable with my mom to work on my horse back riding, just another tool in the stunt toolbox. Been a while since I rode but we had some fun and even stood up in the saddle (stationary, not riding haha)

December- Back in NYC and back to work. When I get home I have my AEA (Actors Equity) card in the mail and become an official Union Actor!! Something that has been a lifetime in the making and now feel more comfortable calling myself an Actor. For those of you that don't know the business this Union is only for stage, there is a different union for film and television (SAG) which is still a goal for me. I get a job working as an actor on a historical re-enactment show called "Mysteries of the Castle" which will be on the Travel Channel. While I was on set I got a call from the same show to play a different historical character the very next week. Apparently having a handlebar mustache makes you look like every historical figure ever haha. While on set for the second episode of "Mysteries of the Castle" I get a phone call to do some stunt driving for a commercial for Samsung/BMW. They had me in a full green man suit and driving a BMW from the floor of the car. Basically they wanted the car to look like it was driving itself and needed someone small enough and skilled enough to drive a car from the floor, without being able to see where you are going and hit a mark for the camera. Done and Done! No Problem haha. Next up is the Holiday Party here at my apartment which my roommate Dina throws every year. Lots of fun and lots of people and lots of Whiskey haha. Kate and I decorated Christmas cookies for the party. Kate and I fly home for Christmas with my family. It was Kates first time ever in Wisconsin, but even though I prepared her mentally for how cold it was going to be, the planet made me look like a fool as the temp was in the 30's the whole time, IN DECEMBER!!! WHAT?? We had a blast running around doing all kinds of Christmas stuff with the fam, even though Kate had a cough the whole time womp womp. Back in NYC I go to Yonkers to train with Brian Smyj on guns and swat type stuff. Good to end the year with the stunt fam. Had a blast at the training and learned a lot. Well the last night of the year was rung in at the moonlight mile working the bar and celebrating!!Thank you all so much for being a part of my year! So many great memories and I'm sure I left some out, please add them in the comments below if I missed anything. Here's to 2015, the Year of Back to the Future!! Cheers!!