Beer + Good Friends + Good Times = The Bing

This past weekend I went back to my Alma Mater, UW-Madison, to see the last football game of the season. We finished off the season in truly epic fashion, beating the somewhat arbitrary team of Buffalo 35-3 to finish off the year 11-1. Exciting as the win was, this weekend represented something else to me and a special group of people. It was bigger than the game, it was the end of an era.
There is a house located just off of Park street on Dayton that needs no address. It is simply called The Bing. For those that are not a part of this landmark, it is just a house. Just a small house compared to the large apartments and dorms that have sprung up around it over the years. It is rickety, two stories, green and white, and for me and my friends it is the best home we could ask for. Some years ago four gentlemen lived in this house. They had an idea of creating a place for good music, Badger love, sports fanatics, and celebration like no other. The upstairs contained a room too small to be a bedroom, built in a high traffic area between the hallway and the second floor bathroom. This was the birthplace of what was to be The Bing. A makeshift bar was built, complete with a bell rung each time a shot was taken. It was a loud cheers to those that graced The Bing's doorstep.
Over the next three or so years this house was the sight of weekly Badger football parties in the fall, Halloween, St. Patties Day green beer and exuberant Celtic music, and countless theme parties and events. It was a house of friends, dancing in the streets, loud music, movies, drinks, good food, and some of the best times of my life.
At the center of all of this was a love for our school. This weekend marked the last game of the season and the last Bing Game Day for all of us. At the end of this year no one in the Bing family will reside at Dayton and Park. For one last time we raised our voices to Sweet Caroline and Ring of Fire. We danced our hearts out to Jump On It and the Chicken Dance. Those of us who were lucky enough to have tickets to the game Jump(ed) Around one last time with 35,000 of our fellow Badgers. We raised our Bucky Shots in triumph to all of the good times. We toasted The Godfather, Ry, Gino, Joey, Buns, Rory. And I was honored with a picture framed and hung on the wall of fame. My picture includes the following words:
"Live the Bing. Love the Bing. - The Dizz"
Although I was never a resident of the house, I spent much of my time in its rooms. I will never forget all of the great times I had in that house. The friends I made will last a lifetime. I am so honored and grateful to be a part of the Bing family.
I have often reflected on my choice to come to UW-Madison and now, more than ever, I am convinced that I couldn't have made a better decision. I will always be a Badger and The Bing will always be a home for me.

The DIZZ

I Might Start Temp-ing

I'm trying to figure out why the Cake sucks so much. I mean, just bitching about stupid things can only go so far in explaining bad days at work. Yes, I bartend in a restaurant where, due to my days-only availabilty, I might not make consistently good money. That is my fault, not the Cake's.
But there is daily shit that is not right with it that I can't explain. They hire people with awful attitudes. I hear rumors that other locations have staffs that are like a family. I don't need a family but I would take some mutual respect. They hire managers, spend months and months training them, and they can't smoothly run a restaurant day to day. This should include handling problems with the building, caring for their staff (slightly) more than anyone else, and overall keeping the peace and cool under pressure.
Bottom line, a place of business should not make their staff dread coming to work. Corporate or not, the staff makes the money for the business and should not be treated like shit.
Friends, help me find a new job.

bye bye,

nate

Three Things As Of Late

So here's the scoop mah babies..... (kinda short and sweet cause I noticed I haven't updated in over a month)

I still hate my job but I am making more money as solely a bartender. A bartender at the cheesecake is code for blender whore but I am making rent for the time being.
Moby Dick: Rehearsed opens tomorrow and runs Saturday and Sunday throughout July. It should be a good show with many a shakespearean turn of phrase, and a revel or two. Come on out to Lisle, IL to the Morton Arboreteum which might just be the middle of nowhere, but there are trees.
My birthday is Monday. I think I'll rent a car and have a quarter life crisis.

More to come,

nate

Grrrrr...Just Grrrrr

I haven't blogged for a while which could be a result of everything pretty much sucking right now.
Well not everything, the new pad is pretty decent. Nikki and I painted and we can see the lake from our living room. That gets the positive stuff out of the way, on to the sucking (that sounds vaguely porn-like), the good stuff, the rant.
It's pretty humbling when you realize that you can't find anything good in where you work. I think as a result of the past two weeks I officially hate the Cake.
The managers sorta suck and then they turn around a do a nice little thing which makes you feel bad for thinking they suck, which sucks.
I am getting quite disillusioned with the human race when they are in customer form. It appears as if everyone is becoming whinny, demanding, crabby, and cheap. Maybe when people go out to dinner as a group they should all make it a point to listen (to me and each other) so I don't have to repeat the answer to the same question four times, know where they are going to eat so they bring enough money (maybe then I won't get the question "How much is the soup?" or "I'll get the lemonade but, are there free refills?, cause otherwise I'll just get water."), and/or choose their dining establishment according to their lifestyle... i.e. if you are a vegetarian, have fussy kids, have crazy food allergies, or aren't that hungry don't even think about the cake.
The money is not worth the time. Putting in forty hours a week in a corporation that nets a billion dollars in a fiscal year should not result in a server (me) coming home on any given day with 15 dollars in his or her pocket.
If the yearly weather report for the city of Chicago indicates that the month of May has a frequent pattern of rain, wind, and cool (sometimes cold) temperature, do not set up an outdoor area for people to eat. It is not cost effective when it is shut down 20 out of 31 days of the month with the labor costs and its just mean to taunt customers in winter coats with the possibility of enjoying their tamale cakes under the Chicago skies.
The end of May and a small film by some former UT kids allowed me to spend some time in Madison. I have heard the "grass is always greener" expression and found it to be true a lot of the time but I think it can happen multiple times with the same thing. I was excited to leave Milwaukee for college in Madison but desired to get back to Milwaukee around Christmas time only to yearn to be back to Madison shortly there after. I felt that I had gotten everything out of the city between the lakes and headed to the exciting new city of Chicago but every chance I get I want to be back to Madtown.
I think I am crazy, restless, and confused at the moment.
I have no thoughts.

nate

Choice Of Two

I chose Moby Dick. It's a play within a play, a la Six Characters In Search of an Author, but not as f-ed up.
We don't start until the end of May.
More to come when I get my hands on the play.

Bye bye

nate

Outdoor Theatre Likes Me

This week was the week of impromptu auditions. Bambi is still rolling but I was thinking ahead to the summer. So Monday...
While the cast of Bambi was rehearsing downstairs, the musical Heidi was having callbacks. I thought, what the hell, let's audition for something just to practice auditioning. I popped in and read a small scene for the character of Eric. We read the same scene 3 or 4 times so the director could see different actors for the leads. As I was about to leave, the director (who could be described as kooky) asked me to read with one of the potential Heidis. I said....sure, why not. The end of the scene called for a solo song by Eric. I thought, we don't have a piano, I don't know the song, we'll stop the scene right before the song. But she said, try the song, speak sing, see what I can do with it. I said....sure, why not. I played with it, through some notes into the words. I have no idea what the song should sound like. Then I was about to leave but she asked if I would stay in the room while the little girl had her vocal audition. I said no problem. By the way, the little girl (who was about 9) was awesome, ridiculous pipes. Then the director said, Nate, do you have a song to sing? I said....uh....sure, why not. I sang a couple lines of a ballad I used in the past. She asked me for something up-tempo. I said....uh....um....sure, why not. My mind raced in unpreparedness for something up-tempo, without bad language (because of the nine year old in the room), and that I could remember. And my mind was a blank. The director asked what I'd been in and we picked a couple numbers from Charlie Brown. I haven't sang those songs in a couple years. Yeah, two more songs, only a couple lines. Not a big deal. I thought I was done but the director told me to go outside and learn the dance audition. I said....sure, why not. So after 2 hours of what was supposed to be a Bambi rehearsal, I was done auditioning for Heidi.
I was cast as Eric.
2 songs, fun character, 12 shows. She described me as "most fun".
So Tuesday...
While the cast of Bambi was rehearsing downstairs, Moby Dick: Rehearsed was having callbacks upstairs. This time I thought, lets get in this show. So I popped upstairs and asked if I could read for the director. He said word. Actually he just said, ok. I read for three characters: Ishmael, Stubb, and Elijah. I had fun. Played with accents, joked around with the other actors. I did two scenes and one monologue. Much less demanding than the previous night. I walked away feeling great about it and I made it to rehearsal on time.
I was cast as The Cynical Actor/Flask/Daggoo/Sailor.
Accents, swash-buckling, 10 shows. No notes about my audition but my roles were called an "assignment".
Theatre-Hikes is lovin' Nate this summer. Unfortunately, I can't do both shows. I've gotta make the call, deal-or-.... actually more like Switzerland or a big ass whale.

More to come mah babies...

nate

Slowly Finding My Inner Deer

As I approach this next week, we are at the half-way point of my stint as a deer. So I thought, why not an update.
To transform my human body into something that would resemble a four legged quadruped, I first had to get used to sore knees, calves, and feet. My version of a deer walks on his toes with my ass out, my chest out, and my arms rigidly at my sides. Can you see it? It seems easy enough to pull off but to keep that pose up for a two and half hour show while moving and acting, requires more strength that I had when I started.
So far I am really enjoying my cast. We are fun, unapologetic, and goofy as hell.
I am once again a child in this show and once again a "whipping boy" of sorts. I play a weak, sickly, and somewhat sad deer but the audience is in for a treat because Nate is in a role with an arc. Watch out.
I don't want to give too much away because I want people to see it.

Stay tunes mah babies.

Nate