DevinRitchie.com

Hey guys! I have been super busy lately so I havent had too much bloggy time. Lets catch up.

My mom came and visited for a week which was great. I got to do all the touristy shit in New York. Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Ground Zero, Broadway shows, Top of the Rock, etc etc etc. It was super fun, and it was kinda my last week before I dive into working and a new class. Not to mention we got to see WAR HORSE. Which was epic. I cried. It was so fuckin good, I cant even. Generally it made every other play I have ever seen a piece of shit. Not to over hype it. The puppetry, the acting, the lighting. damn. And it is such a simple script. Boy misses his horse and tries to find it. Thats the plot. But its so good. Then we saw Cirque Du Soleil’s opening night of Zarkana at the Radio City Music Hall. Which was also awesome. Cool stunts, beautiful staging, and great music. But its still like a glorified circus ya know? Basically a series of stunts and tricks that somehow tried to be tied together by a storyline. Which was not needed really. Still super cool.

I also had a figure modeling job for an art class. Sitting still naked for four hours a day. Not a terribleway to make money. And there was some sweet paintings done of me. Not the most flattering

This is one of the less revealing paintings...

position, and its not quite done, but you get the gist. Pretty cool experience. I probably wont have another class until the fall semester.

I finished the improv 101 class at Upright Citizens Brigade, I got to perform on the UCB stage for the graduation show which was RAD. Sure it was at noon and pretty much no one was there, but we still rocked it. I felt like I had a pretty good fucking show too. I started the 201 intensive 2 week class 2 days later. This class definitely  has an overall higher skill level and requires trying harder. I dont feel like the best. At least not right now. The current format is also frustrating and hard for anyone to really shine at. I have one more week of classes and then another show at UCB. and then hopefully I can find a 301 class pretty soon. I also applied for a diversity scholarship through UCB. I’m not all that diverse… but why not apply? I am trying to bang these classes out this year, up my skill level, find some people and get performing. It’s a lot happening pretty fast.

Me and Yecenia about to rock UCB!

I have been working a fuck ton at Grape & Grain. I am making more money than I had anticipated to this early on in my New York life which is so amazing I cant even say. I love the job. This is exactly what I wanted to do in a sweet area, awesome customers, good wine, good food. shit yeah. I have been there about 3 weeks and I am still getting used to the wines, beers, food, prices, procedure, and dont even get me started on the artisanal cheeses. I am not quite the rockstar I wanna be yet. Once I get a little more familiar with everything and a bit more confidence it will be good. I hear a lot of people saying how slow it is because New York is so dead in the summer. I’m like wtf? it gets better than this? sweet. I’m working 5 days next week, but today starts my three day weekend. woot.

I am saving my pennies right now. Trying to recover debt to my mom and maybe put some money away. I need some stuff though. Like a bed. I am comfortable though and can afford food and rent and then some so it is time for celebration yo.

I’m gonna go get a beer with cousin brian and enjoy my weekend.

Peace.

Hey Yall! My Mom is visiting all this week which is so awesome to have a taste of home life. She got here on Sunday, I took her out to coffee, saw a little bit of the pride parade, brunch, and then some city touring.

We have tickets for War Horse on Thursday(!) and we just got tickets for Cirque Du Soliel’s (or circus ole’ as my mom and sister call it) Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall tomorrow!(turrrrible seats though but who cares?) It has been a fun couple of touristy days, which is rad because I haven’t done any of that shit either yet.

Today we got free tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman, they don’t tell you who the guest is until right before the show. My research lead me to believe it was either Tom Hanks or Patrick Dempsey (tough call…) But it turns out it was Julia Roberts! AND Sacramento’s own CAKE. Double win. AND THEN Tom Hanks popped in anyways. It was an awesome show except for one part, Dave does not try anymore. I rarely find him all that funny, but I found is lack of enthusiasm totally off putting, and then he was a terrible interviewer. But those mid-westerners in the audience ate that shit up. this literally happened “did you guys know this? The very first television commercial aired 70 years ago?…..” no response from the audience… “did the audience leave? hello? wake up guys?” Me- “oh I’m sorry, I was waiting for a punchline or even an interesting fact I can clap for.” He also referenced several times that he cant believe people pay him to do this crap, and frankly I don’t believe it either, and found his knowledge of this pretty off putting too. ANYWAYS. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts were funny and awesome and cake rocked with a new song. And the CBS Orchestra aint nothin to fuck with either. After the show we went to the Top of the Rock, the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center. It was pretty breathtaking to have that kind of view of all of Manhattan, Jersey, Brooklyn, and Queens. We timed it so we would be getting there right before sunset when all the city lights start turning on, it was beautiful.

I cant wait to see my first Broadway shows this week! And with my Mom! I have been having a great time hanging out with her and just catching up. Also I have stayed at her hotel a couple nights which is a welcome change to my air mattress and M-train adjacent window. Tomorrow were gonna hit up go see Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty and then see Zarkana. Pretty cool day.

I am trying to enjoy myself and get some rest because I start real work on Friday. I am so excited. My mom, Maggie and I went to Grape and Grain for dinner last night and I can finally say yes the food is awesome. I have been studying the menu haha.

More good news is that I am registered for the improv 201 2 week intensive program at UCB. Its basically 3 hours 4 days a week for 2 weeks. Sweet. I wanna bang this shit out and be more… well… intense about it. This is great because I wanna keep with the momentum and do as much as I can while the fire in my belly is burning bright. Once I finish 401 I can get placed on a harold team. That is pretty much the year goal. (aside from being independent, keeping a job, and paying my rent).

I will keep you guys updated with how my mom’s visit is going and look for a ridiculous happy Birthday Jenny and kyle post on Friday. oh yeah.

peace

NEW YORK! First of all, gay marriage passed! I just moved here not even 6 weeks ago and marriage equality was just signed into law. On the eve of PRIDE weekend. Like WTF? What an amazing time to live here. Though, I am realistic. I have celebrated this before in California and had it taken away with Prop 8. Which was about the time I actually started dating men. I was there protesting on the capital steps in Sacramento while a dj blared electronica/pop and the whole thing turned into a gay dance party. It was amazing. I’m not counting my chickens, also I’m not getting married to anyone (but I COULD!), but this bodes well for the future

2nd amazing thing is that I just got HIRED at a cute little restaurant and wine/beer bar in the East Village called Grape and Grain. It is so perfect I cant even tell you, I just had my first day of training today. Its mostly being a waiter and bartender (only wine and beer). Small plates. Some sandwiches, salads, cheese plates etc… that sorta thing. My shift started with tasting through the wine list (…careful devin) and some beer. Some pretty high-end stuff, and I didn’t taste any of the food but it smelled awesome! A little rustic, a little exposed brick, T-shirts and jeans people, good music, great location only like 5 stops away on the subway on Avenue B. They are gonna schedule me for like 4-5 shifts a week. I will totally be able to make rent and then some. BIG SIGH OF RELIEF. It is such a huge weight off my shoulders to know I have a paycheck coming. AND I like it. Win.

The icing on the gay marrriage passing- job getting weekend is my Mom is coming in the morning! (shit more like 4 hours away…). She is visiting for a week, were gonna do New York touristy stuff (which is great cause I totally havent yet), Statue of Liberty, 30 rock, Ground Zero, AND see our first Broadway show! Oh no a big deal, just the Tony award winner for Best Play 2011 War Horse! So excited just to catch up with my mom and hang out and show her around and introduce her to my friends.

This weekend will be tough to beat, we had Maggie’s birthday party on Friday at the house and we all surprised her with our own portraits of her and tales of her infamy, I hosted it around the campfire in the backyard. As partys go, I drank wine and we danced until 5am. Great times.

If feel extremely lucky to have landed so great in New York. I haven’t even been here 6 weeks guys! and I was a beer can last week! I really could not have imagined or asked for better first few weeks here. I’m blessed.

Maybe I’m just having a good week, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Fuck yeah New York, fuck yeah Devin Ritchie.

peace.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I have so little computer time. Which is good I guess, if I was always just facebookin and blogging I wouldn’t be out there experiencing shit.

One month down. So far the New York experiment is a going well. My house is rad. I love my room mates, the location, and I love having my own room now(!). I have been busy applying for so many jobs, trolling through craigslist, sending resumes, and walking around finding places. While I am applying for regular jobs, I am also apply for one time event gigs. The first response I got from anything was to be A can of coors light at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. $150. Literrally. I was a fucking CAN OF BEER GUYS. It is actually pretty embarrassing, but nothing embarrassing about $150 for 4 hours of work. Just not the something to write home about. And no, I didn’t get free beer. (wtf right?) I just had to walk around with 5 other guys just to be a presence there. No tasks/coupons/free shit involved. And of course it was Coors Light, that is like ALL I drink lol. Since then I have gotten a few more leads on real jobs. I went on an interview for a new swanky bar and lounge on the lower east side that seemed promising. Last night I auditioned to be a karaoke host at some bar in midtown. Kinda rocked it, but it was hard to say because it was such a dead night. I did two of my classic karaoke jams I Just Died in You Arms Tonight and Red Neck Woman. Hopefully they will call? I also just got a call from the Studio School of Painting and Drawing to be a figure model, I go tomorrow for orientation and shit. I’m pulling a lot of threads right now hoping something will lead to something substantial. I’m hustling doing whatever work comes my way be it modeling, serving, karaoke host, or literally being beer.

I cant believe I have been here over a month now. Things have been falling into place pretty beautifully and I really am acclimating to the neighborhood and weather. As long as one of these jobs comes in I will be fuckin golden. I have been trying to be good about spending money and have been doing pretty well. I still allow myself to go out and get a couple of drinks. Usually just at beauty bar just around the block. Sunday night karaoke is becoming a weekly staple in my routine.

I survived the ComedySportz audition, made it to callbacks, rocked it, and legitimately did not get cast. That really sucked. I have been with comedysportz for over 3 years and I like to think that I am pretty fucking good at it, but not good enough for here I guess. It is also the first time I havent been cast when auditioning for something improv related. I got a good taste of humility with this, and the fact that I am still in my basic improv 101 class. I feel like all previous experience doesn’t count at all. Its just the shock of moving from a small pond to the fucking ocean.

I didn’t get cast. I havent found a job. The only thing I found was being a fucking can of beer. There are times I get pretty depressed that this is all I have accomplished for the amount of time and effort being here. But this is just how it goes I have to remind myself. I hung out with Ryan Nicolls a few times, its good to have people like him and Maggie and Cousin here. It has really helped me to have a little taste of home and family here. I have some guilt about leaving. No one in my family has ever really moved far away. at all. So I feel a little bad for just up and leaving. Not being able to see my family or friends or support them with whatever they are doing. This feeling will probably get worse before its gets better.

I have been thoroughly swept up in this New York whirlwind, and suddenly somehow a month has gone by and I am renting a room and go on job interviews and parties and bars with new friends. I am suddenly so busy and on the move all the time. I have to pause and step back and be like “what the fuck…? I am LIVING in New York?! How did this happen? where has this month gone?” I have been having a lot of dreams that I am riding a raging river (my dreams don’t rely on subtly.) I have just been having the feeling that I already took the jump of moving here and the river is fucking moving regardless of how I feel. Just keep swimming haha. I’m cheezy.

Another reason I wanted to move so far away was for rehabbing. Gain some independence, drink less, stop taking pills. I went off my meds a couple months ago, I just wanted to be free of vices and have all the feelings back again. They helped for a time, but it wasn’t a permanent solution for me. It’s been good for me to have some space. The only problem is I am not getting clarity. I am inundated with so much new stuff to fill my head with and lose sleep over(I am getting used to the train sound though). It can be so overwhelming so I allow myself to occasionally sit back and just marathon watch TV and get chinese food by myself. Though I feel guilt about that too like “this is what I moved to New York for?” Ugh.

Really I am absolutely enjoying myself and I cant wait to have some sort of regular pay check. I cant wait to have visitors too. Yall got a couch to crash on now.

OH! crazy story. The other day I decided to go out and explore some midtown gay bars. by myself, and at like 1am lol. As I get off the N train to transfer and I heard someone say “Devin?” and its Mary Grace Estacio. I’ve known her since 1st grade, she went to a different highschool and we lost touch a little. Apparently she has lived here for a few years and went to culinary school. Moments like that just crazy and fateful. I have had a few of those amazing moments where I really feel like I belong on the path that I am on. Oh yeah, but I went to the bar alone and still managed to make friends, get drinks bought for me, and made out with a cute boy. #stillgotit

This weekend is pride and I absolutely intend on celebrating that. But just not getting too crazy. I dont yet have the safety net of all my friends in Sac to get my drunk ass home. Today I am just catching up on life and taking a day to myself after a long weekend. Feel free to call me and catch up guys.

Peace

UPDATE: I got a week long figure modeling job at the Studio School. Its not even naked and it pays super good!

2 week down in New York City, while I’m still not Carrie Bradshaw I am making a lot of progress. First and foremost… I moved into my awesome new room! (pictures below). I dont have any stuff besides my 2 bags of clothes, and no I dont get to keep the bed. SO it will be the floor for a little while. The M train goes right past my window and is pretty damn loud and has woke me up a few times, but I am told I will get used to that in time though. Having a room makes all the difference in the world, I have somewhere to call my own and somewhere that I can decompress and not be in anyones way. So good.

Rooftop sunset ft. Mitch and Madeleine

2nd awesome news… I have an interview on Tuesday! It’s at a temp agency that Ryan Nicolls hooked me up with. I am super excited about that. I have been passing out resumes and applying at a lot of craigslist jobs for the past week. I might actually take a job being a figure model for art classes, why not? Its good money. For art. Right? But hopefully this temp agency will be able to get me some consistant work soon.

3rd awesome thing… I got a call back to ComedySportz NYC! Even though I have been doing it for like 3 years in Sac, my recommendation from Sac CSZ only got me as far as the invite only auditions, then I thought I did pretty poorly, and asked to stay late, but this wasn’t a good thing exactly, it was the people they needed to see more from, some bad and some good. But I made the callbacks anyways! They had 34 invited to audition and then cut it down to 12 for the callbacks and I was one of them! The competition is pretty fierce so I gotta bring my fucking A-game this Wednesday. I heard about both the interview and the callback today #winning

Other than all that, things have been going generally great. My classes at Upright Citizens Brigade are getting better and I believe I am beginning to prove myself. I also realized I have a lot to fucking learn. It’s humbling to go from a little pond to the fucking ocean.

Earlier this week when I came home from my audition I was in a bad mood(mostly because staying late at the audition caused me to miss the play The House of Blue Leaves which I had a free ticket to and features Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben Stiller and Edie fucking Falco CARMELLA FUCKIN SOPRANO. So pissed). But Maggie and some friends Naomi Solomon, and Cousin (Maggie’s

Brenden, Cousin, and Madeleine

cousin Brian who everyone just calls “Cousin”) were making dinner and a few other friends including my roommate Naomi came over with beer and cheese and we had a cute ass dinner in our backyard that totally turned my night around. Thats what I love about the place I live. Not to mention there is always something to do, whether its just going to Beauty Bar, or little skips(the coffee shop my roommates/friends work at/run), or some party somewhere. I definitely couldn’t have landed any better in New York.

That being said, I really do miss my California family. I still want to be at those parties making people take shots, getting in trouble at the club, or just sitting around smoking cigarettes and eating pizza at Danny’s. I wonder about Pam casting The Full Monty and what Mayhem is up to. It really just hit me the other day that I will not be at my brother and sisters birthday, this kills me. This is the first time this has happened and birthdays are kind of a big deal to us. I have to do something like super extra special for them. AND THEY ARE HAVING A CANADA THEME PARTY. I COULD HAVE DRESSED LIKE A MOOSE. But these things are gonna happen I guess, its just settling in that I actually moved to New York(still doesn’t feel totally real) But it’s for the best in the long run. I need to be doing this shit right now.

Danny BBQing

It still feels a little like summer camp and I am trying to switch out of vacation mode into I live here mode. Which is difficult. Especially when meeting people and trying not to spend money or buy drinks. But I have been pretty good lately, (have hardly gotten all that drunk here at all!) I have been tagging along with Maggie to social things, BBQs, art shows, parties, or just walking dogs. Rooftop barbecues watching the sunset with friends that I hardly know yet. It feels pretty amazing. I want to soak up this feeling of newness and vigor while it lasts before I get used to it and jaded.

Regardless of how the jobs, auditions, money, or anything serious are … this will be an amazing summer. and maybe, this might actually work and I can survive here.

My Room! (bed not included)

Me and Cousin Brian urging Tim Muldoon to move here.

Oh, you know. Just being epic.

Heres the new coldplay, totally a Brian Eno track. pretty sweet.

Peace