Tag Archives: Worcester

My Dental Hygienist and I

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photo credit: Carnicula via photo pin cc

I went to the dentist the other day for a routine cleaning (no cavities). My hygienist’s name is Alison and that’s all I know about her. My dentist, though, the guy who only sees me for 60-seconds every 6-months? Well I know his full name. My regular doctor? The same. With my dental hygienist, all I know is Alison. A couple of things I’ve been able to infer: 1) I think she’s somewhere around my age. She could be a little older or younger than me but around the same age as me. 2) She lives in or around Worcester. (Side note: though I live in Boston now, I drive 45 minutes to my dentist because I’m afraid of change.)

I’m a relatively calm person at the dentist, I take pretty good care of my teeth and don’t mind all the metal tools prodding at my gums. This leaves me with a lot of time to lay there and think. Alison knows all about me; my full name, where I live, my date-of-birth, my face (she’s pretty much always wearing that mask that keeps us from getting each other sick). I just wonder how someone around my same age that lives in the area I grew up in couldn’t possibly have some mutual friends in common with me or maybe I’ve even met Alison at a party or a bar or something in the past. She might even recognize me from some place but I’d have no clue. My name is somewhat memorable and don’t get me started on the fact that I have dimples (my real calling card).

Now that I got all that out there, Alison, I just want you know it’s okay if when I see you in 6-months, you can tell me you like my blog.

St. Patrick vs. St. Valentine

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Today is St. Patrick’s Day. A week ago I went to Worcester County’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Last night I went out to celebrate. I’ll probably go out again tonight. I realized, just a few moments ago, that is a lot of celebrating for a holiday that doesn’t really mean a lot to me. Don’t get me wrong, great holiday, but I’m more in it for the sport of it. I don’t even know who St. Patrick was and I’m like 30% Irish at best. (I’m actually a good mix, I guess I associate mostly with the Italian part of me, but that’s just because my last name is Aromando.)

Valentine’s Day on the other hand, I hate that day. What a stupid day. It might as well be called “Buy-someone-some-candy Day” because that’s what it means to me. I don’t even do flowers or dinner or anything, just candy and then I wash my hands of the day. I suppose if it was a true boycott, I wouldn’t buy anything but I’m not an uncaring monster. (This year I went to a k.flay show.)

So in my recent realization about how much I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I thought about how ironic it is that I hate Valentine’s Day. They’re both holidays that people have long stopped caring about their meanings (I don’t know the meanings for either) and are very commercialized. It just so happens that St. Patrick’s Day’s version of commercialization is a lot more fun.

Now that I know this, will it change my opinion of anything? Well, no. I still like one and hate the other, but I’ll feel kind of hypocritical every time I berate Valentine’s Day for being stupid, knowing that in just over a month I’ll be having a few beers in honor of some guy I know nothing about.

Teaching a Phone to Talk (Part 3)

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I have a smartphone. The auto-correct feature for typing is pretty good and allows you to add words to the dictionary it might not otherwise have. As it would be, I have 217 words that I’ve added to my dictionary and most of them are pretty silly/unnecessary. Here is the third part (check out the first and second parts, if you missed them), letters P-Z, with commentary:

  • Palpatine – Senator/Chancellor/Emperor from Star Wars
  • peacing – How else would you leave someplace?
  • peeps – My people, my people made of marshmallows
  • penguins -Wait, plural for “penguin” isn’t “penguins?”
  • Phillies – Philadelphia, The
  • Philly – Philadelphia
  • podcasts – I agree with my phone on this one, I hate this word
  • probs – probably
  • punkass – I can’t remember using this word but I’m happy I did
  • Quaid – Was I talking about Dennis or Randy? Probs both.
  • Quincy – “City of Presidents“
  • rafting – Taking a flimsy boat down a river
  • rapper – PaRappa?
  • refreshes – Typical internet browser lingo
  • retweeted – Tell me you like what I have to say
  • rhinos – Careful when they charge
  • RI – Rhode Island
  • rizzle – real
  • Rodriques – Did I spell it wrong? I still don’t know
  • Roggie’s – A bar in Brighton, MA
  • RSVP – short for ReSerVPation
  • RT – see, retweeted
  • screwy – Not quite right, maybe a kind of OJ/vodka drink
  • scrobble – Last.fm does this with your music
  • Sealab – 2012
  • sext – Sexting, sex texting
  • sexting – see, sext
  • Shawn – a name
  • Shins – a band
  • shit – excrement
  • shittiest – the most excrement
  • sho – see, fo
  • sign-up – Get on the list!
  • slackers – People who don’t do much
  • smartphones – They can’t be too self-aware…yet
  • spinners – Do people still put these on their cars?
  • stank – Fill a place with a smell
  • steakhouse – a house, for steaks
  • Stoughton – The one place I’ve appeared on television as a comedian
  • sunblock – Safety first
  • t-shirts – opposed to v-necks
  • taco – a taco
  • TBS – Turner Broadcasting Station?
  • Thursdays – More than one day of thirst
  • tix – Tickets…for the show
  • tofu – Made up food, made up word
  • told – Wait, what? I taught my phone the word “told”
  • trending – …and another word I’m confident in
  • Triggs – Anthony
  • tripods – More than one midget…
  • trippy – “cool, freaky, groovy, amazing“
  • trolls – Villains of the internet
  • ttyl – Talk to you later!
  • Tuesdays – More than one Tuesday
  • Tweetdeck – The Twitter app I use
  • tweeted – The thing I did with Tweetdeck
  • tweeting – The thing I do with Tweetdeck
  • UCB – Upright Citizens Brigade
  • UCBeast – Upright Citizens Brigade Theater East
  • ur – your (for the simple minded)
  • v-neck – opposed to t-shirts
  • videogames – My all time favorite past time
  • w/e – whatever
  • WAAF – “The only station that really rocks!“
  • week’s – owned by the week
  • weirdo – Weirdo Al
  • WFST – A radio station I (thought) made up, where “Everything is Fast!”
  • whitener – For your teeth, certainly not mine
  • whooped – ‘cuz Stone Cold said so!
  • wildebeest – That herd of animals from The Lion King
  • Wolverine – Hugh Jackman’s secret identity
  • Worcester – My home town!
  • WTF – What the Fun?
  • WUT – WHAT?!?
  • wut – what?!?
  • xylophone – I had to check, but this is the correct spelling
  • za – and finally, my arch nemesis.

Worcester’s Art in the Park

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Through October 2nd, in my hometown of Worcester, MA, you can check out the 4th annual Art in the Park throughout Elm Park. I was there the other day with Laura Miner (who’s in the photo):

She is standing in the middle of one of my favorite pieces of the exhibit, Core, by SIPLA+NEWSAM Studio. The Art in the Park website describes it as showing, “emerging and experienced sculptors…in New England that create large-scale sculptures
suitable for long-term outdoor and human exposure.”

It was fun to walk around and check out all the art. Afterwards I suggest walking over to Worcester’s premiere (and one of the best I’ve tried) froyo place, Wooberry.

One Year In (Stand-up Comedy)

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Today marks my 1-year anniversary of being a stand-up comedian. Not that I needed it, but Facebook even helped remind me by posting an “On This Day In 2010” status for me. It was in Worcester at the now defunct Orlando’s Comedy Jam. I was there to record Ryan Staples‘ set so he could submit it to the Boston Comedy Festival. I had been working on some jokes, there weren’t that many comics and the night was running short, so I asked the host if I could try it out and he let me go up. The crowd was very supportive and obviously I was hooked.

To celebrate the anniversary, in keeping with a year long (involuntary) tradition, I have no Friday bookings so you won’t be able to catch my anniversary performance. I do, however, have this fun picture of the first time I performed stand-up:

Same mannerisms then as I have now, except I try not to wear graphic T’s anymore. Maybe someday I’ll throw something up on YouTube for everyone to enjoy.

Two Hour Mic Check – June 2011

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This Thursday, June 23rd, at 8pm is this month’s Two Hour Mic Check at Beatnik’s in Worcester. Come down for a free comedy show featuring some of the best up and coming stand-up comedians booked from all over New England!

This month’s performers:

  • Kevin DeCristofano – A recent competitor in the Catch A New Rising Star contest at Catch! Providence, performing for the first time at Two Hour Mic Check
  • Mark Chapulis – Making his return to Two Hour Mic Check, he’s June’s “Undiscovered Talent”
  • Mike Abramson (Twitter) – A regular to the Boston comedy scene including The Comedy Studio, Mike is making his second appearance at Two Hour Mic Check
  • Peter Rogier – The host of Citizen Komedy in Davis Square, making his Two Hour Mic Check debut
  • Jeff Flibbert – Another recent competitor in the Catch A New Rising Star contest at Catch! Providence. He’ll be performing at The Comedy Studio on August 10th.
  • Alingon Mitra – A performer at The Comedy Studio in Cambridge, coming to Two Hour Mic Check for the first time.
  • Ryan Staples (Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube) – Performs around Worcester for Wisecracks Comedy Club and this former host of the show is returning to host again! His headlining show at Beatnik’s is on July 16th.
  • Matt Aromando (Website | Twitter | Facebook) – Hey! It’s me! I will be performing as a regular old comedian this month with Ryan taking over hosting duties for the June show. You can also catch me at Mottley’s Comedy Club near Faneuil Hall in Boston on June 29th

P. S. There is now a Two Hour Mic Check page on Facebook, please “like” us!

Two Hour Mic Check – May 2011

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This Thursday, May 19th, at 8pm I’ll be hosting this month’s Two Hour Mic Check at Beatnik’s in Worcester. Come down for a free comedy show featuring some of the best stand-up comedians booked from all over New England!

This month’s performers are:

  • Steve Derosier (Twitter) – He is the co-owner of the Fuck Yeah Center, a skateboard shop in Worcester, and Wha Happen? Skateboards and clothing.
  • Doug Guertin – He’s been featured on Rooftop Comedy and performs regularly at clubs in Worcester, Boston and more.
  • Shawn Donovan – His album Few Mourn is available now and he can be seen in Boston at Grandma’s Basement closing out a night of comedy on July 30th.
  • Orlando Baxter (Website | Twitter | Facebook) – National Opener for Jo Koy
  • Ted Pettingell (Twitter) – Performs regularly at places around Boston, including The Comedy Studio.
  • Sean Wilkinson (Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube) – Recently the comedian-in-residence at The Comedy Studio and participant in the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, he performs regularly in Boston and has been featured on Rooftop Comedy.
  • Ryan Staples (Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube) – Performs around the Worcester area and for Wisecracks Comedy. He recently published his second book, hi, jim.

P. S. What better way to celebrate the 12 year anniversary of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace being released?

Two Hour Mic Check – April 2011

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Thursday, April 28th, at 8pm I’ll be hosting the April edition of Two Hour Mic Check at Beatnik’s in Worcester. Come down for a free comedy show featuring some of the best stand-up comedians booked from all over New England!

This month’s performers are:

  • Dan Martin (Twitter) – A featured performer at the Comedy Connection in East Providence with shows throughout the summer at The Comedy Studio in Cambridge. In the past he’s opened for both John Pinnette and Christopher Titus.
  • Rob Mulligan (Facebook | Twitter | YouTube) – He’s a regular at The Comedy Studio and recently performed at Mottley’s Comedy Club in the Great Boston Comedy Relay. Check out the video of his debut at The Comedy Studio.
  • Steve Hynes (Facebook) – Performs regularly in Boston and has shows coming up at The Comedy Studio April 24th and May 28th.
  • Kenny Nardozza – He’ll be performing at The Comedy Studio throughout the summer, just had a performance at the Naked Comedy Showcase at ImprovBoston and is competing in the finals of a the April Fool’s Contest at To Catch A Rising Star.
  • John Baglio (Facebook | Twitter) – A performer regularly at Wisecrack’s Comedy Club in Worcester, he competed in last year’s Boston Comedy Festival and next month will be competing in the RI Comic Throwdown.
  • Bob Fouracre (Facebook) – The voice of Holy Cross, Mr. Entertainment performs stand-up comedy around Worcester and as far as I know is the first Two Hour Mic Check performer to have his own Wikipedia page.
  • Ryan Staples (Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube) – Recently advancing to the semi-finals of the Catch a New Rising Star contest, he performs around the Worcester area and for Wisecracks Comedy. He recently published his second book, hi, jim.

Two Hour Mic Check – March 2011

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This Thursday at 8pm I’m hosting Two Hour Mic Check at Beatnik’s in Worcester, MA. It’s a free comedy show featuring stand-up comedians booked from all over New England. This is my first month of hosting after being a performer for the event’s first four months of existence and I can guarantee there will be some quality comedy. Come on down for some great food and drinks (including beer from Worcester’s own Wormtown Brewery).

This month’s performers are:

Two Hour Mic Check

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Since December, Ryan Staples has been putting together and hosting a monthly comedy show called Two Hour Mic Check and he has been kind enough to let me perform at each of them. Starting this month, however, due to a scheduling change at Ryan’s job, he is no longer able to host the event, but do not fret! Ryan has found a replacement host, and it’s me! Ryan will still be performing at the end of each show, but I’ll be in charge of inter-comic banter and keeping the show moving.

I plan to bring my own style (which I’ve yet to create) of hosting to the event and it’ll be a good time for all. My first hosting gig and the next Two Hour Mic Check will be at 8pm on March 24th. I hope to see lots of people there!

New to this blogging thing

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Ok, I’m going to get better at this blogging thing (the frequency that is, I can’t vouch for the quality).

So last week, I performed at Ryan Staples‘ Two Hour Mic Check in Worcester, MA. It was a great show and my first time going for 10 minutes. If you missed it or you just can’t get enough of me then you’ll be able to catch me with a whole new set of comics there again on March 24th. I posted a few photos by Laura Miner from my set on my Facebook page, so check those out and maybe “like” me if you haven’t already (I’d appreciate the support).

Like I said earlier, I’m going to try and do this regularly, so if you’re interested in reading more (and I’ll try to be more interesting) you can subscribe to this blog using my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter or Facebook to see when I’m posting new things.

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