A very sad and unnecessary ending...

I remember what John Mayer said after Michael Jackson died...that we were not only mourning Michael, but ourselves as children listening to "Thriller".

I think I felt just about the same way when I heard about Whitney Houston. I connect her voice to school concerts (I remember when I was in the 3rd grade...the 7th graders sang...and did sign language along with..."The Greatest Love at All."), a time when we were all young and innocent and didn't have too many problems.

It's sad. Somebody who was blessed with incredible talent and beauty and was beloved my millions couldn't overcome all the pain inside which ended-up destroying her.

Her daughter's a little older than I was when my dad died. I know how that can devastate you and throw your life off in the most "normal" circumstances, so I can't even imagine how that poor kid feels right now.

I hope Whitney's found peace that she never was able to find on Earth.

-Diana

My horoscope said I was going to run into somebody who broke my heart this month.

There aren't too many people that could be.

For such a sensitive, romantic person, I haven't had too many broken hearts. I've had guys I cried over, but then realized later on I was too young to be serious about anything or that the guy was a complete jerk and I didn't really like him anyway and was just crying due to hurt pride and my ever-bruised confidence, which I constantly struggle to keep afloat.

But when I think about that scene from Sex and the City when Aidan screams, "You BROKE my HEART!" to Carrie in the street, there is only one person I could ever imagine shouting those words at...only one person I ever moped about and listened to Sinatra's saloon songs over.

And, apparently, I'm due to run into that guy any day now!

I've played that scene over in my head...a few times.

When I've run into him (in my head), I am in the best place of my life!

I am on my way to the premiere of my new off-Broadway play. (It is already being made into a movie and is moving to Broadway in the spring.) I also look fantastic. I might even be about five inches taller than I usually am. (Whatever, I'm 100% okay with my height, but as long as we're going all-out, I'll see what being 5'5 is like.) It's a great hair day and my complexion is particularly flawless. I'm also walking hand-in-hand with...let's say Jake Gyllenhaal (unless he's starring in the play...in that case, he's already at the theatre) or Josh Groban.

We see this guy in the street, and I'm not awkward or thrown-off at all! Because I'm just so over everything that happened I don't care! I'm so happy with my life right now that I wave heartily, tell him how great it is to see him, give him a friendly hug and introduce him to Jake (or Josh.)

In fact, HE is the awkward one! He knows of the big places my writing has been going lately (we ARE still Facebook friends, after all) and has seen me in People magazine with my new boyfriend. ("Who's That Girl?") We invite him to come to the premiere that night, and he says he will. I'm not sure if he comes to the show or not...that part's not important...the important part is that I couldn't care LESS if he shows-up...because I'm just so over it all. I'm just so happy and fulfilled at the moment that he doesn't matter to me anymore...in fact, I hope he's JUST as happy and fulfilled as I am.

And that is exactly how I have played that scene over in my mind...when I run into that person who broke my heart.

A lot apparently has to happen in the next three weeks in order to make the Horoscope align with my daydreams...because if I ran into this young man tomorrow, all I'd be able to say is, "I'm in between jobs. I'm writing a lot, but I don't have any productions coming-up any time soon. And I'm kinda single (meaning "I can't remember the last straight guy I had a conversation with.")."

I would feel like I have nothing to FEEL fabulous about, nothing that would make him regret things...not that he broke my heart, but because of the way he went about it...the way he treated me like I didn't count...because such a successful and happy and accomplished person (as I am in those inner-scenarios!) didn't deserve to be treated like that...and he'll realize that.

But I was thinking none of that can happen (the guy thinking, "Gosh, I'm an idiot for kicking that girl to the curb! Look at how amazing everything is going for her!") until any of the other stuff happen (the Broadway play, Josh Groban You know. Little things.)

However...

I'm going to do everything I can to switch my thinking and say, "So WHAT?"

Maybe being fabulous and happy and confidant doesn't come from potentially winning a Tony or being engaged to Josh Groban (not for nothing...the kids would have curly dark hair and would be very funny...have you ever read that guy's Twitter? He's hysterical!)

Maybe if you convince yourself you're fabulous first, fabulous things and people will come...and if I DO run into this guy tomorrow, I can be just as confidant as I would have been had I had all those other things going for me...because I DESERVE all of those other things. I know what I'm potentially capable of, I know I'm a good person.

And Josh Groban would be DARNED lucky to have me.

If the Horoscope is correct...I will be just fine when this run-in happens.

(My regular readers know my writing style by now and realize I'm not completely serious with this post, right?) 

Diana Rissetto

What will Taylor Swift's song about Jake Gyllenhaal sound like?

Jake Gyllenhaal is my adult equivalent to the crush I had on Chris O'Donnell when I was 12, for the same exact reason...he's adorable and seems like a really nice guy.

I just heard (on usmagazine.com) that Taylor Swift WILL be penning a song about the heartache brought on her by Jake Gyllenhaal.

I would like to start making guesses right now as to what kind of veiled references will be in this song!

Here are some I came-up with:

We were picking apples that day in autumn
And you looked at me and said, "I'd never quit you."

Why did you brokebroke my heart?

And then you rode away
Like you were the Prince of Persia
(Or something)

Remember that night we were camping by my grandpa's farmhouse
And you kissed me under the October Sky

On a (kinda) related note, I've been listening to Josh Groban a lot lately. I usually only listened to Josh during the holidays, but I've found that his original stuff is in-CRED-ible. (I only listen to his songs in which he sings in English. Does that make me uncultured?) I'm a lyrics fan. That guy has some good lyrics. And a magical voice. And curly hair!

Some say his song "February" is about his break-up with January Jones. (Because, you know. February comes after January!) If that's true, I find it brilliantly clever.

I would like somebody to write a veiled song about me.

Somebody? Please?

(I sat near Gavin deGraw at a diner a couple of years ago. As of yet, I don't think he's written anything about a girl with curly dark hair that he once locked eyes with in a NYC diner on an October night. Once there IS such a song...I'll know. And that's all that matters.) 

Diana Rissetto

For everybody going-through something right now...

And I feel like there's a lot of you!

Words of inspiration from Lady Antebellum...

You feel like you're falling backwards
Like you're slippin' through the cracks
Like no one would even notice
If you left this town and never came back
You walk outside and all you see is rain
You look inside and all you feel is pain
And you can't see it now

[Chorus]
But down the road the sun is shining
In every cloud there's a silver lining
Just keep holding on (just keep holding on)
And every heartache makes you stronger
But it won't be much longer
You'll find love, you'll find peace
And the you you're meant to be
I know right now that's not the way you feel
(From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/lady-antebellum-lyrics/one-day-you-will-lyrics.html)
But one day you will

You wake up every morning and ask yourself
What am I doing here anyway
With the weight of all those disappointments
Whispering in your ear
You're just barely hanging by a thread
You wanna scream but you're down to your last breath
And you don't know it yet

[Repeat Chorus]

Find the strength to rise above
You will
Find just what you're made of, you're made of

[Repeat Chorus]

One day you will
Oh one day you will

I became a big fan of a certain AM NY newspaper lady once.

One day, she disappeared and I never saw her again.

I sent this to the "tells us about your favorite promoter!" email address on the AMNY website...this was way back in August 2009. I never DID see her again...
 
Hello,

I was happy to see that there was an email address just for this purpose!

Every morning, right outside of Penn Station, I would be greeted by a delightful, energetic AM NY newspaper lady. She would ALWAYS be singing...usually a mix of "Autumn in New York" and "I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone." I loved seeing her every day, and I know that others felt the same way.

However, I haven't seen her in a few weeks and I was wondering if I could just make sure that she's okay...was she transferred to another location? I'm sure many people miss seeing her. She is a black lady on the corner of 8th and 33rd who is always singing...

Thanks so much for your help!


I never received a response...and it made me worry even more. What if something happened to her and they felt bad telling me?

I STILL wonder about that lady!

I even based a character on her in a play once.

But I never saw her again.

Last week, I was coming home from a show (Harry Connick, Jr. in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) and a train conductor started talking to me. I caught-up with him a few months ago...he was aware I was out-of-work and noticed I wasn't on the train regularly anymore. He had told me that he thought I had retired or ran-off to Paris with a guy.

But, oh no.

I wish!

He told me he didn't want to be nosy, but asked what field I was in...and that he'd keep his ears open for me and would be thinking the best thoughts for me, because, his exact words...he had been working on this train for over ten years and I have ALWAYS been one of his most pleasant passengers.

That made me cry the second I walked away.

He made my day...and on a day where I had gotten Harry Connick, Jr.'s autograph...that is saying a lot.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to this very nice man who is a train conductor.

I realized...I was kinda like the singing AM NY lady to this train conductor! (And I didn't even have to sing!) I didn't realize that any train conductor could possibly notice me enough to be concerned about what happened to me...and maybe the singing AM NY lady would never think that I still think about her today. (I did take this as a sign that I would one day run into her and I'll see she's doing great and I can tell her this personally.)

Somebody told me that out of the hundreds of people he has seen every day for the past ten-plus years, I was one of the most pleasant. You know what? That's enough for me right now! It has to be. This goes hand-in-hand with my previous entry. You just have to hold onto the hope that good things WILL happen for good people. Right now, I'm not winning Tonys (or Emmys. Or Oscars. Or...) I don't have a fancy schmancy job. Or even an actual job. I'm not paired-off with a man (which I find many people consider the pinnacle of success!) But...I'm one of the nicest person out of the thousands that this guy has dealt with over the years! That says something. That says a lot. And I can't forget that right now.



Diana Rissetto

Focusing on nice things happening to nice people.

It's a brutal world out there. 

This past year, I have let it get to me that sometimes not-so-good people do amazingly well in this world. They become powerful and successful. They have devoted followers, despite the fact that these people KNOW how "bad' the person they are supporting is.(If you want to get technical...I mean...hey...look at what happened with Hitler.) It makes being a good person and working hard seem really, really pointless to watch those who have no regard for other human beings flourish.

However...the other day...it hit me.

Why am I wasting my time on these people?

Why can't I do just the opposite?

Two months ago, I watched Cheyenne Jackson, somebody I love very much as a person and think the world of,  stand on stage at Carnegie Hall to a sold-out crowd. I know from personal experience that Cheyenne is a wonderful, kind person who treats everybody he meets with respect. Watching him get standing ovations and seeing his face everywhere and knowing how much he deserves it cancels things-out a bit.

Last night, I saw Harry Connick, Jr. on Broadway. I have been a huge fan since I was in the fourth grade. I think he's the BEST live act I have ever seen. When I was 13, I learned that Harry is also an incredibly nice guy who called me to thank me for making a pillow for his newborn baby. After that, I knew I'd always be a fan and constantly will tell people that story as proof that Harry is a stand-up guy...as sweet and thoughtful as he is talented and handsome. As I watched people screaming his name last night (and they were actually screaming his name)

There are dozens of others I can name off the top of my head, and those are just people that I have dealt with personally. Of course, there are countless others. (I mean...Taylor Swift seems like a really good kid!) 

All of this good cancels-out the bad. 

No, no. It all doesn't just "cancel-out" the bad guys. It OUTWEIGHS them. By FAR.

Diana Rissetto 

I have no idea what is going on in this video, but it's pretty funny

One of my favorite entertainers (he takes passenger seat to Harry Connick, Jr...and only because he's younger), Peter Cincotti, sings with Tony Danza.

(I once said I would write a book filled with heartwarming stories about growing-up Italian-American and call it Hey! Get Your Elbow out of my Prosciutto. My cousin once said that to me...because I, you know, had my elbow in his prosciutto...and I thought it was the funniest thing ever said. Not long after that, I heard Tony Danza had released a cookbook with a title along the lines of Don't Fill-up on the Anti-Pasta, which sounds like it could be the sequel to Hey! Get Your Elbow out of my Prosciutto. Everybody knows one of my goals is to collaborate with Peter Cinoctti, and now I feel like Tony Danza will just also have to be in the mix in there somewhere when we do.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gbEsN8Z_iU