Another departure from this mortal coil.

It is a grievous occasion that forces me to post the following email:

My Dearest Ryan,

It is with a heavy heart that i report to you that your little darling, Shaqapulco, has passed. She entered the world of eternal bliss early Friday morning.

I woke up around 8am and saw her in the halfway in the tube leading up to her little nest. I thought it an odd place to rest, but she did like her sleep and I thought maybe her tired little body couldn't make it up to the nest. Never the less, it didn't seem quite right. At about 12pm, I asked Noah to take a look at her with me. I examined her fur to see if she was breathing. Noah said, "Don't worry, she's just sleeping", but my women's intuition was telling me different.

At about 6pm, I went over to her cage again. Still halfway her tube, halfway in her nest, and having not moving once during the day to get her food, I feared the worst. I pulled apart the nest and tube, carefully taking her limp body out and promptly went to the internet to see if maybe hamsters hibernate.

The internet said that, in fact they do.

I quickly ran to my hairdryer to try to snap her out of it. I thought the heat, noise, and wind, might bring her back to the world of the awake. After about 2 minutes, i remembered I had a heating pad. i quickly ran for it. I placed Shaq inside, keeping her warm and massaging her for about a half hour. Still nothing.

I placed a call to the emergency vet line.

The vet said she was fairly certain that Shaq had passed, as domesticated hamsters do not hibernate.

It was finally starting to sink in.

I put Shaq back in her cage and covered her with some of the blue bits that I had bought at the pet stop for her to snuggle in.

Yesterday, I went to my sister's house and buried Shaq next to a tree in her backyard. It was a gorgeous day; about 60 degrees. I buried her right before dusk, so the sky was a deep blue and the yellow leaves rustled every so often, from the slight wind blowing in from the south. I said, "good bye girl" as I placed her in and then, buried her underneath the brown earth.

I think she was happy with me for a slight time. I did earn her trust, to a point, where she did let me rub my finger up and down her back, but in the end, she may have always had a broken heart.

But now, eternally happy, she must be sitting in Amsterdam, floating above your bed, watching you rest, as she runs around in that big old wheel in the sky.

Linda

Shaqapulco 2004 - 2005

halloween

halloween
Originally uploaded by talfulano

People have been talking about what an amazing party Boom has for Halloween. So I was pretty excited. The theme was "Sin CIty" and Dan made a great costume for Elijah Wood's character that was dead-on.

Dan, Tarik, and I were talked into staging occasional "gun fights", in the Sin City vein with squibs and fake blood (I am to play Bruce Willis' character) which we were game to do as it meant we could come to the party for free, because despite being Boom actors, we have to buy a ticket. The only thing we didn't want to do was figure out those fights for the Boom's promotional staff. We left the logistics up to them, and we never rehearsed.

The night of the party, we were affixed with our squirting flower squibs (the flower part removed, and the tube pinned to the inside of our shirts) and eventually, and the guys and I figured out something to do for a gunfight. The party got off to a slow start, which shocked the party planner's, so we kept waiting for our big moment to arrive once a real crowd had formed.

Eventually, closer to midnight instead of the 10:30 show time that was originally planned, we went on to do our first of 3 performances. Dan took the stage, creeping around the stage, and then Tarik comes one, I enter, and we shoot each other, squeezing the plastic pump at the end of the tube and watching a small amount of fake blood finally squirt onto our shirts. Once Tarik and I slowly died, every one went back to whatever they were doing. We didn't perform again.

I put on my real costume, that of Kobe Bryant, with Erica as the woman he was accused of raping, and went down to enjoy the party for real. But there were few people we actually knew, girls doing pole dances, it was a weird vibe.

Matt was pretty wasted but had still managed to find a pretty girl from the crowd and decided to sit with her on top of the huge speakers on stage. They both sat on the edge of the speakers, tempting fate, which eventually took hold of Matt as he fell off the speaker and onto the floor, a good couple feet down. He turned out fine, his ego bruised more than himself.

The rest of us (Tarik, Lauren, Dan, Laurel, Erica and I) went up to the shiny and hung out there, eating noodles and hanging out. With the sound of the party below us, we had a great time trading bits, laughing and being together. This is a great cast.

Te Koop

Suzi has left Boom and moved back to America, so Erica and I have moved into the same apartment as Laurel. Below is a photo of Dan and I saying goodbye to her after her roast, delighting in my poor sweater choice.



But it is time to meet a Dutch apartment! Welcome! Here's our kitchen, sponsored by Spin!

From the Kitchen window, we get to see many wondrous things, like our neighbors watching television at night, or during the day, searching through their over-flowing garages for paint cans or ladders.

That's our landlord in the garage!

Next is the toilet. It's small! You can't see into the bowl, but thats fine, because the trick is, there is no bowl! Hahahaha! Tricked you! Yes, instead of a welcoming pool of water, we get to place our shits onto a porcelain shelf, almost like we're placing them on a platter to serve at a fancy ball! Then a forceful flow of water creates a delightful slip-n-slide effect, brushing the shit off the shelf and into the tiny hole that is probably directly connected to the nearest canal.

If you're looking for the shower, it's located conveniently down the hall in a tiny corner of an otherwise large bathroom area. The hot water works well, when you get the water heater to work, but once you turn on the cold water, it dominates the hot water and you get blasted with watery ice. It takes finesse, but you can do it.

Here's the living room, as Suzi left it.

Suzi and Justine obviously loved camping, I don't. Anyone not sure of that can check my sweet camping equipment I used at Lowlands.

Also, mice are everywhere, but that's every place in Holland. When I asked people what to do if we get mice, I always get the same answer: "get a cat."

I am allergic to cats.

Tip up to Tim

PICT0021[1]
Originally uploaded by talfulano

One of my favorite traditions we do at Boom is singing the Tip Up song before Late Nites. We gather before the show and sign up for games, and when we're done, we put money together for the server handling our tables. We get to drink during the show for free, so we just tip whatever we feel is good.

Somehow, before a Late Nite we started singing the Tip Up song, to the tune of The Price is Right and it's always to Tim. It has no lyrics other than "Tip up to Tim." It goes: "Tip up to Tim, Tip up to Tim, Tip up, Tip up, Tip up, Tip up to Tim..."

I love it.

Tim hates it.

31

I was lucky to have my family out here for my birthday. We went to the Heineken brewery and I polished a few beers and then we went out to eat at Las Palonas, a Mexican restaurant that is not too bad actually. It's not great, but then again it's Amsterdam, which is not known for its Mexican cuisine.

Side story: When my family came to see the Boom show, I put them in the VIP booth where they sat next to David Faustino, Bud from Married With Children. He and his wife were travelling through Europe and they recommeded Las Palonas as they had been there based on the Boom guide's recommendation. Thanks Bud! Thanks Boom! Thanks Mexico!

After dinner, Marc, Tresa, and I headed over to the Paradiso and saw Broadcast play. They were fine, but the acoustics of the upstairs room stunk. The Paradiso is a former church turned into a music venue, and the large room is amazing, and the upstairs room is much more intimate but can have lousy acoustics depending on the act.

It was a mellow birthday. We tried to head up to the bar underneath a windmill, but of course, it's closed mondays and tuesdays. Most things are closed on Sundays, and some places are closed on Mondays. Who could have expected Tuesdays as well? I didn't! Holland, you win again!