so...this is probably a mistake...

...but, here we are anyway.  it's 5:30am on new year's morning.  i'll say no more.

our last few shows in baltimore were great.  i had friends/family present on multiple occasions - ranging from harvard friends to an ex-girlfriend's parents (whom i still love dearly and think of as family...and not only because they bake me cookies for the road =)).  but nothing could eclipse last sunday afternoon, when my mom, grandma, an aunt and one of her friends came.  they really enjoyed the show and were happy to see me on stage, bopping around in my wig.  my mom is the bestest ever, and i love her to life.  i was really touched by how much she loved the show, regardless of the fact that i was in it.  despite not knowing the next time she was going to see me, she was genuinely happy for me and the life that lay ahead of me over the next several months.  could anyone have a more loving and supportive parent?  not at all.

i love you, mom...and always will.

pittsburgh has been pretty frickin' awesome so far.  we're at the renaissance hotel at 107 sixth avenue, which overlooks the clemente bridge.  it just so happens that this bridge leads directly to pnc park and looks onto heinz field.  some of you know that i made my first trip to pittsburgh a few short months ago.  evan hepler-smith's parents were so generous to house several drunken twenty-somethings for an august weekend, as we explored local pittsburgh landmarks.  and by landmarks, i obviously mean kennywood and tiki lounge.  it's been a great return to the 'burgh, and i'm really looking forward to our last few days here.

well, being the budding meteorologist that i am, i have to say that i'm loving pittsburgh's weather.  snow and single-digit wind chills upon our arrival on monday, only to find temperatures well above freezing today.  and oh right, there is a very high probability of several inches of snow this weekend.  i love it.  the audiences here have been even drier, on average, than in b'more...but hey, what more can one expect than a standing ovation at show's end?  i was pleasantly surprised by the effort the city puts into new year's.  the street right in front of the theatre was closed to vendors all day and overall, the masses really came out to bring on the new decade.  we had a pretty slammin' party in our own right at the hotel.  tons of pizza and wings, swarmed by even more of the good schtuff.  if you have found yourself in the fortunate situation that you have seen the members of the cast...well, suffice it to say that they're all smokin' and even more so on new year's.  if you want to see their headshots, along with our tour schedule, go to dreamgirlsonstage.com.  whatever you do, don't accidentally go to dreamgirls.com.  and naturally, since i only found out last night where dreamgirls.com leads you, i thought a few of you would get a kick out of the end result...

so yeah, i love the show.  i love the cast.  i even think that the pittsburgh band is pretty good.  if you're reading this, i care quite deeply (to those in the dorm room, TWSS) about you.  even after several shots of grey goose, i wish all of you the happiest year possible in 2010.  personally, i'm going to watch the back of my eyelids until deep into the afternoon (we only have a show at 8pm).  but as for your endeavors in the new year and decade, i hope you accomplish all of them and transcend your goals at an unimaginable level.

this is my first blog, so i hope i update it more frequently in 2010 than i did in 2009.  i guess i can't get any worse at it...right, ajl?  much love, and i'll talk to you quite soon into the new year!