Sunday, September 7, 2008

10 points for the guess!

Sorry about the lackadaisical posting. Baby boy has the sniffles and has spent the past few days whining his face off about it. That, combined with a heaping helping of separation anxiety and some hard and fast teething (the toppers are halfway in and I think I see three more on the side) leads to one seriously cranky family. I've also had a flurry of auditions (and by flurry I mean three) which is great - but no sitter, which means dragging the little guy to (insert notoriously unfriendly casting office here). I won't go into details about the awfulness but suffice it to say that I am no longer waffling about baby modeling. N to the O. Period.

On the plus side, my beloved Moxie had a meetup in Central Park which was a good excuse to enjoy the last few days of summer. It was fun and a little awkward, mostly because I tend to get really shy around people I don't know which I cover by being hammy and loud, which is super appealing. I also arrived sans baby (Will fell asleep right before we were supposed to leave) so I didn't have a nice, chubby ice breaker to help me out. Luckily Electriclady was there and offered to share her bamboo mat which saved me from feeling like a total dork. I also started talking to a girl (I always feel weird calling someone a "woman" unless they're significantly older than me) whom I immediately clicked with. As we were talking, she mentioned that her husband was also an actor. I turned and looked into the eyes of one of my biggest mid-90's celebrity crushes.

Oof.

Back when great unwashed indie flicks reigned supreme (let's hear it for '95!) I had a total thing for this guy. He wasn't hot like Ethan or super-sensitive like Robert Sean (I LOVED me some RSL) but he definitely ran with that crowd. When his wife pointed him out I just thought he was another hot hipster dad, but then he looked at me and smiled.

Bam.

The man has aged well. Totally warm... totally easy-going... (I can gush because I crowed about him when I got home. Matt just rolled his eyes and groaned. What can I say - he knows me.) I really wanted to say something to him but I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to launch into a big thing about how great his work is and what a shame it is that he doesn't do more movies but that I really respect his stage work and my god what a gorgeous family he has and did I mention I totally loved you in '95? So instead I just pretended not to know who he was. An actor, you say? Really? How interesting! How about this weather, huh? TOTALLY INSULTING! I mean, it's not like he's Ralph Fiennes (who I totally saw in SoHo once. Really tall and sweaty, and balder than you'd think). The guy does mostly theater now and would probably have loved a little fanfare. But by the time I recovered from his big brown eyes and his fantastic smile and his interesting teeth it felt too late to say anything. Plus I wanted to keep talking to his wife without her thinking I was just using her to inch closer to him. (For the record, I did not inch closer to him.) Eventually, once he left, I got the nerve up to tell his wife how much I admired his work. Hopefully she passed it on. I talked with her awhile longer until I remembered that I'd stuck Matt with Whinypants McGee and decided to take off.

I'm never sure what to do when I meet somebody new that I want to be friends with. It's happened a couple of times, where I'll meet another mommy that I dig. It's one thing if you go to the same playground or class, but when it's a one-time thing it feels creepy to be all, Will you be my friend? ESPECIALLY SINCE I NEVER SEE THE FRIENDS I HAVE! And I can only do playdates in the 'nabe because Will still takes three naps. (By the time I'd get to the Village the kid'd be ready to retire.) What do you guys do when you meet someone cool? Do you feel as sixth grade as I do? And have you guessed who my indie crush is yet?

16 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Um, no, I have NO IDEA, but I am dying to know.
Also, I am the WORST at making friends, which is why I always end up with only people who are better at it than I am for friends.
But here is something very interesting I read about it the other day and I have been trying to take this more to heart...
http://mandajuice.typepad.com/mandajuice/2008/07/fool-proof-frie.html

ktbuffy said...

Oh my god, I'm having the hardest time with this myself! I have a Nia class that I go to several times a week, but I feel like going up to one of the other women (I have no problem with "women") I work out with and seeing if they want to catch a movie or go grab coffee or something feels too desperate. "I have no friends! Please be my friend!"

I don't have the cuddly icebreaker, either.

Victoria said...

As soon as you said "interesting teeth," I started daydreaming about Sam Shepard and forgot the question.

Ali said...

I'm going to hold off on the answer for another day because this is way more fun than I expected!

pursuedbyabear said...

I kissed RSL. I'm just saying. I actually kissed him. Yup, we dated.... once.... then I made the mistake of sharing more info than necessary about a very dark youth... and well then there were some ... things... about him, but I won't web that - that's mean. We both moved on, he to a lead role on a major TV show and a broadway career, I to to the Burbs. But still.

Dan G said...

Dude, it's totally Frank Whaley. Or Josh Hamilton. But I'm pretty sure it's Frank Whaley. I was your roommate for a while there in '95.

Ali said...

It's not Frank Whaley (although I liked him too. Damn, there were a lot of interesting men around in '95)

Ali said...

The 10 points goes to Jennifer who guessed correctly last night: Josh Hamilton! (I'm giving 5 points to Gunderman for being so close.)

Anonymous said...

you certainly write a lot about crushes on other men... how must the poor mister feel?

Ali said...

HA! Hubby's fine with it. He's known me for 15 years and is used to my ridiculousness. (Which is why I mentioned his patented groan and eyeball roll.) He also knows I'm totally goofing. I think you only run into trouble when you REALLY like someone and get all secretive and weird about it. Thinking someone's cute and teasing each other about it is works fine for us.

Anybody else tease their partner about their crushes?

Dan G said...

Anonymous, if that is indeed your name, your cowardice in posting anonymously is totally hot.

pursuedbyabear said...

I tease my hubby about how much I want the new James Bond guy. Hey, I aim high.

Anonymous said...

I cannot reveal my identity because I was a pretty big star in the 90s, and its embarrassing when married women stare at me in the park.

Unknown said...

The 'mister' here and he's just fine with his wife's little crazies. Just so the record is straight.

"Anonymous", let it go.

pursuedbyabear said...

Boy howdy does chicken, I mean "anonymous" need a life.

Missy said...

And some therapy. Annonymous seems to have some serious anger issues. Passive aggressiveness is not a healthy means of managing one's angry feelings.