Duncan

Duncan the Puppy has been here for about a month. Puppies, in case you were wondering, completely turn your life upside down. Also, they pee about 459 times a day. They also somehow make you love them more fiercely than you can imagine almost immediately. But he's great. He's smart, fairly chill for a 15 week old puppy, and the cutest freaking thing you're ever going to meet. Please see the car ride photo shoot that I'm posting as evidence.

But a month is long enough to really start to get to know someone, especially when you spend every free moment you have with that someone, mostly cuddling or being attacked. It's definitely long enough to find out most of that someone's likes and dislikes.

Duncan Loves:

1. Kisses. He is great at kisses, especially when you pick him up. Which leads to...

2. Being held. He thinks it's the best.

3. Dancing. Amazing dancer.

4. Playing. Duncan is awesome at playing, and also at pulling out toys. He can play with or without you, with other dogs, or by himself. He should get some kind of award for playing.

5. Peeing. Seriously, this dog pees more than I have EVER seen a dog pee. It's basically constant. Luckily it happens outside about 80% of the time, which isn't terrible.

6. Going for walks.

7. Coming home from walks. For as much as he loves walking, as soon as we turn to head home, he gets super excited and runs straight to the door.

8. Treats. Obviously. Treats are the best.

9. Everyone. Are you a person? Duncan loves you and wants to play with you.

10. Chasing butterflies at the park. This is actually so cute that it's a little bit ridiculous.

11. Jumping. Jumping off of couches, jumping onto couches, jumping after toys, jumping down stairs...if it's jumping, it's awesome.

12. Naps. Naps rule, and should be taken often.

13. Apples and carrots. He sometimes appreciates a healthy snack.

14. Socks. He doesn't know what to do with them, he just holds them in his mouth. But you'd better believe that he thinks they're fantastic.

15. Cuddles. This includes, but is not limited to, belly rubs, nose nuzzles, ear scratches, etc.

16. Sitting. He's really proud that he knows how to sit. He also loves to lie down and roll over.

17. Tumbling. Falling down in general.

18. The vet's office. It's very exciting and clean. They also seem to love cuddles, so it's a win/win.

19. Car rides. Duncan has recently gotten big enough to jump into the car on his own, so car rides are especially exciting.

20. Going to bed at night.

21. Waking up. So much fun.

22. Water...it's hilarious, evidently.

23. Other dogs. Even the ones who don't particularly appreciate a puppy pouncing on them.

24. Doing laps around the living room after coming inside the house. It's very, very important that he runs at least 2 laps around the living room after coming inside.

25. Biting your face. Your face needs to be bitten, and he's the man to do it.

Duncan Hates:

...

I'll let you know when I stumble across ANYTHING that this dog hates. Mostly he thinks every single thing he encounters is the absolute best. Have you seen Parks and Recreation? He is the dog version of Rob Lowe's character.

I love him.

xoxo

DuoFest

I haven't blogged at all, really, about the improv troupe that I'm in. I think it's because if you really wanted to hear more about The Oxymorons, you'd either ask or you'd already know all there is to know because you would be following us on facebook or you'd be a regular visitor to our web site and I don't want to bore/overwhelm/annoy you with all that. Plus, I really don't like the idea of improv taking over my life. I love it and all, don't get me wrong. But there just have to be spaces in my life that have nothing to do with it, and so far, this has been one of them.

So now that I've said all that, I'm going to go ahead and ruin it. Sounds pretty typical, right?

I LOVE DUOFEST! Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

So a few months ago, The Oxymorons and our improv besties Don't Break the Streak did a workshop in Philly. Kim and I happened to do a scene together (although I think we kind of planned to do a scene together) and after it, Greg (my improv hero and the director of the workshop) pulled us aside and said we should try out for DuoFest, a national festival in Philly that featured improv duos. Regardless of the fact that we were not, as it were, a duo, we wholeheartedly agreed.

Cut to the day of the submission deadline, in a basement...Hot and Modest formed. We submitted, we were accepted, we performed at some shows, and last weekend, we rocked DuoFest. We met amazing people, we saw ridiculously talented improv, and we got free drinks. Also SWAG. And here are my most favorite parts of the weekend:

1. Shopping. I'm not even going to try to ignore that, because I'd feel like a dirty liar. But there was an Anthropologie, a Tiffany's, a Lush, and a MAC within two blocks of our hotel.
2. After parties. Improv people like to party. More importantly, they like to give us free drink tickets and then stumble around the upstairs portion of an Irish bar and talk about smart things. I like smart things, smart people, Irish bars, and alcohol. It was an implosion of awesomeness.
3. Meeting "fans." That probably makes it sound cooler than it was, but it was pretty cool that when we got there, a bunch of people had already seen our video clips and wanted to tell us how funny we are. And that's kind of a big deal, considering I met some of the funniest people I've ever encountered this weekend.
4. Maoz. This is my new favorite restaurant. It's vegan, it's fast, it's healthy, and it's open until 3am. I'm in love. Please go there, and please try the eggplant and hummus salad, especially if you'd like to have your life changed forever.
5. Spending 3 straight days being no more than 100 feet away from Kim and us not hating each other. I miss her now, because she is certainly at least several hundred feet away from me, and I don't have anyone to counter my blind optimism and sunny disposition with a sardonic quip or heavy eye roll.
6. Candy. Turns out I enjoy Mike and Ikes, and there was a quaint candy shop right on the corner of the street the theatre was on. I like candy.
7. Learning the intimate details of a stranger's first sexual encounter and then extrapolating upon them in front of a large group of other strangers. Thanks, Megan.
8. The Cascade, Rachel and Dave, Jessica Tandy, Michael Loves Greg, The Amie and Kristen Show...I could really just keep going on here naming duos that I am currently blown away by. I mean, just to name a few things, there was a fire set in a school (three times), a suicide plan on a wedding anniversary, awkward kitchen sex...who WOULDN'T love those things?
9. Improvisers. They're great. They are different from theatre people, because they do not seem to want to claw your eyes out in order to get a part. In fact, they appear to be supportive, happy for you, and welcoming, and I like all of that.
10. Actually PERFORMING in DuoFest! I'll be honest, we were nervous. Nervousness, though, turns out to be an excellent diet. But people laughed heartily, we had people we love in the audience supporting us, and we had lots of nice things said about the performance itself (see above: supportive improvisers.)

So, thanks, DuoFest, for rocking my world. And for anyone who has missed Hot and Modest, you have a few options.
a. Become our fan on facebook at www.facebook.com/hotandmodest
b. Check out our video clips on youtube.
c. Come out to the Comedy Zone and/or a fun show in Shippensburg on June 18 to see us live.
d. All of the above.

xoxo