Improv of Chicago Round 2: A Mildly Sappy Post

A year ago today at 12:00pm I called my friend up asking if he wanted to come up north with me to see some comedy show that another friend had invited us to. I didn’t really want to go up there by myself and since we both had nothing better to do, he agreed.
 

A year ago today at 5:15pm I picked him up and we got a ride from my mom to the end of the red line. It was dark already and he asked me more than once why we were going so early, that it wasn’t going to take that long to get up north. I responded with something akin to “shut up, I do what I want…..plus I don’t want to be late.” We put money on his CTA card (boy do I miss you CTA) and got on the train.
 

 A year ago today at 7:15 when we got off the train at Belmont (after a long exaggerated “I told you so” from the idiot standing next to me), we decided to kill some time by stopping at the Walgreens to fulfill our end of the BYOB.

 You know the story of our first show with, what we now call, the Boys but what you don’t know is that it was the breath of fresh air (or as my father likes to say, the new 'one thing that you have to do every week'.) that the #trainwrecks seriously needed. We were in a rut. To be honest, we were in lots of ruts. A social rut for sure, where we were almost exclusively socializing with each other and in #Trainwreck HQ. We were both also, although individually, in a work rut. I was in a job that I had fallen into a few years before but lately with my hours being cut in half (and all of the crazy), the bads were starting to outweigh the goods. And Katie will be the first to admit that while she liked her day job, it wasn't what she had gone to school for and she was severely lacking a creative outlet. 
 

After we met the Boys, everything started to sort of fall into place. She got to talk up being a stage manager to people who actually needed one (and ended up being James Franco) and I fell down a flight of stairs and quit my job (and although the Boys had nothing to do with it, it was wonderful to quit in January knowing I was going to go laugh (and, yes, drink) about my mildly insane former employer the next day).
 

 I've now got a lovely day job that I truly enjoy almost every day. And again, while the Boys had nothing to do with that either it's just really great to have a place to celebrate in (and people to bake for, who actually eat anything I make.) Katie ended up stage managing for them and leaving me to drink by myself throughout the show, where are you #trainwrecks? Come keep me company. She also ended up at Second City, The Public House Theatre and some other places all because these guys gave her a shot.

We've also got, what I'm pretty sure every 23 year old wants in life, a bar where everyone knows our names. Seriously. And it's a silly tiki-bar at that. But you know what world? It's our silly tiki-bar. And I wouldn't trade it for the world.
 

So at this point, we would just like to thank these Boys, even though they will deny it all, they deserve it because they got us out of our rut and to this point in our lives. We owe them more than they know and that they'll admit, and the least anyone can do is stop by, give them $7 and become a potential friend.
 

I don't really have anything else to say other than, if you have no idea what i'm talking about come by Studio Be (3110 N Sheffield) on a Tuesday night around 8pm (doors open at 7:45), bring your $7 and your B (as in BYOB) and stay for the funny jokes, and a free beer at the bar down the street.

 

 

You can find them on Facebook, and on Twitter

 

And make sure to follow your favorite #trainwrecks (that's still us, right?) on all versions of social media.

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)
Tumblr: Aaanndimatrainweck (official),  kahildreth (Katie), stillnuttypony (Nora)

 

 And yes we did just re-read that and said, "Who let's us talk to people!"   

Just a letter to a show...

This is something that I wanted to write on Twitter, but it got too long. I also thought about writing this and posting it on Facebook or Tumblr, but in my heart, I know it is perfectly at home here. You see, I just finished the Leverage Series finale. A finale that came as a shock to me because I was expecting (hoping) for another year or so before it was cancelled. I'm glad that John Rogers and his team of writers were thinking ahead because this finale was worth everything.

It almost surprises me how much this show ending means to me. For those of you don't know, this is a Robin  Hood type of show on TNT that has a crew of thieves stealing from the rich and powerful to give to those who truly need it. It's cast includes Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge, Beth Riesgraf and Gina Bellman.

Man, that backspace button has become my best friend during this post. Nothing that I type will ever be able to really get across just how I feel about this show. I may not know all of the episode titles but I do know that things like "Age of the Geek" and "DAMMIT *insert any name here*" will be things that I continue to say...probably forever. And I'm sure that "20 lbs of crazy in a 5 lb bag" has been said about me more than once.

I suppose that I'm just writing this to thank the cast, crew and writers for a fantastic ride these last five years. I'd write more but everything that I say sounds corny and ridiculous/cliched. I'm so glad I have you #trainwrecks because I know that you understand my ramblings.  I could sit here and lament of all my wishes that I have for this show: that we had seen where Eliot visiting his Dad had gone, and that we had found out what Sophie's real name was (although you did have me with Laura for a second there). I still want to know if the Parker/Eliot/Hardison relationship is just in my head or if it's a real, legitimate thing like I so want it to be (seriously, they die holding hands? Stop torturing me).

But I won't, much.

This is truly meant to be a thank you. To the writers for creating these characters and to the actors for really giving them life. I don't know what the show would have been without these dynamics that I like to think is brought by these specific actors. I love how much I could relate to these characters even though they had been through impossible situations in their lives. That, I know is a collective effort of the writers, creators, cast and even the crew.

One of my favorite comedians/podcasters/tv personalities (yes, yes I know, I can't go one post without the Nerdist being involved in some way.),Chris Hardwick, loves to say that it takes a miracle to get a show even read, and then another to have it cast with good actors who want to be there and with writers who want to make it happen and another still to be given a pilot, and then again for that pilot to be picked up. For Leverage to have all of these things and five seasons is a tribute to just how good of a show it truly is/was. I'm not even going to start in on how some of my favorite actors ever were guest stars (but since you twisted my arm, Alona Tal, Sean Faris, Wil Wheaton and Adam Baldwin to name a few).

I guess what I've really just been trying to say is Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Thank you for five years of a great television show, thank you for introducing/reintroducing me to some actors, whose careers I am sure I will be following for a long time.  Thank you big time for reminding me that Christian makes fantastic country music. I am so sad to see this show leave my TV screen but I am comforted with the knowledge that I can still watch episodes on Netflix (and ask for the DVD sets for the foreseeable future). Leverage may no longer be a running show, but it will forever run in our hearts (okay, ew corny I know, but still true).

I'm boring myself with the sap/have to go comfort myself by watching terrible terrible things happen to John Rogers in Fiasco on TableTop (Go google it, it's fantastic, if you don't already know what it is).

Make sure to follow us too on:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

Tumblr: Aaannddimatrainwreck (official), kahildreth (Katie), stillnuttypony (Nora)