DevinRitchie.com

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.

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

It has been a pretty great week. I went to the California State fair with the Golden Girls (Mom, Grandma, and Myself). Got drunk and bet on horse racing. My new favorite thing. Then off to San Francisco to celebrate my Mum’s birthday. My family was all going to see Peter Pan at the 360 theatre, but a rule of growing up is that we all need to pay our own way. And I could afford going out to the fancy dinner at Sinbads (the view of the bay bridge is awesome frome there!) But I thought it selfish of myself to buy an expensive theatre ticket for me. So I let the rest of them go to the show and I would meet them after. Turns out drinking too much at a gay bar in the Castro while the rest of your family enjoys Peter Pan with each other makes you feel like a huge fucking douche bag. Oh well, nothing we can do about that. We met up afterward and went for more drinks at Danny Coyle’s. Next day the Golden Girls went out to breakfast at Buena Vista, my fav place for Irish coffee and eggs benedict. Then back to warm and wonderful Sacramento. huzzah :/

Bettin on the ponys with Jenny!

Casey Worthington had his “Not 4th of July Party”, it’s exactly what you think it is. It was real fun, but one of those times when being drunk during the day gets away from you… On a similar note; I have had anger and patience issues recently. It is well documented that Ritchies can have a bit of a temper problem, and they may be catching up with me. I just need to chill more. I’m sure the hotel concierge and the “deck supervisor” at the pool at my gym aren’t really as stupid as they seem, and even if they are, no sense in being mean to them. Oh yeah! I joined a gym! Sexy DURING summer. hell yeah, I have been working out like everyday ^_^

John Farnsworth’s parents were out of town this week so I hung out there a lot this week. It’s good to just have a place where friends can gather like that with no agenda. We go to the river. We drink. We swim at someones pool. We smoke. We hang out. We go out. I live a very relaxed life. I should not have the stress to lash out at fat gingers who are apparently just paid to sit by a pool and tell people not to run and not help people if they are in need. also he has blonde eyebrows. wierd. people who don’t deserve it.

I have been doing a lot of odd jobs making money, and it keeps me afloat more than usual. but its not enough to save or contribute quite enough. Still job hunting.

Yesterday was another friends going away party, the 3rd in the last week. Times are changing and people are moving. and still a few more are moving including Ruth. But I have known that people were going to leave me. What hurt, was hearing that Michael Sunshine and his girlfriend Ella up and moved from Davis to Seattle. I found this out when I texted him about partying. Michael is one of my core friends from Livermore and we don’t see each other too often, but I have always liked having him so close just in case. I have always had the feeling that everyone else is growing up and I’m not. Most my friends from high school have real good jobs and are in serious relationships. It’s that moment in life when you realize there are a bunch of grown ups at your party. And that’s what they have become. I have always felt belittled by living my type of life. I don’t judge them, and really I’m not even mad. The reality is I feel like I lost a cornerstone of my building. In other words, shit just got real.

To add to this dejected feeling, I went and hung out with Tim and Maggie Muldoon who’s older brother got married in Davis last weekend. The epitome of growing up. Naturally we try to see each other as much as we can. So they invite me to all the pre-wedding shenanigans and parties and such. Problem is, I’m not invited to the wedding and just end up being kinda embarrassed being there at all. “That’s just Maggie and Tim’s friend who is here to party”. That’s reall not who I want to be. I left. Again I understand it, and am not mad. This is just the situation I am living. People are growing up and they need to, but they still like me to be their party vacation from life. Honestly it’s shit like this that motivates me more than anything.

moral of the story: Not seeing Peter Pan makes you want to grow up.

Oh yeah, and I’m BLONDE now

peace