The Many Adventures of a Thede

Good Thing I'm Not a Stalker

2009-08-27T14:12:00.006-04:00

This story would fall under the "Only in New York" category. Yesterday I was in Times Square flyering for the Gazillion Bubble Show, which I can do to make a little extra money. I had my bike locked to a sign about half a block away from where I was standing. Usually when I lock my bike in Times Square, people use the basket as a trash receptacle (how rude!) Yesterday someone left some very interesting items in my basket. There was a half eaten sandwich, a couple empty water bottles...but there was also an unopened bottle of Dr. Brown's Black Cherry Soda, which I took home. Also, a folded piece of paper which I was curious about, so I read it...

Um...random! Why was this left in my bike basket? Seems like the kind of information you wouldn't want to leave laying around. Also, did I just drink Serena Williams' black cherry soda?

Yum-O

2009-08-23T20:09:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been getting pretty domestic. I've been cooking at home for my boyfriend. At the beginning of our courtship, Eduardo and I ate all our meals out. I think that's how most people start out. You know, we had to go on dates! So we went out. Later on, we were more settled into our relationship, but our schedules were such that we didn't spend a lot of "evenings at home" together. But a few months ago, Eduardo's schedule changed, and I got a job with a consistent schedule, so now we have several evenings a week together. And most of those evenings are spent in my apartment. When this routine first began, Eduardo requested eggs for dinner pretty much all the time. But after a while, I got bored with this and started venturing out to make other things. Usually, even now, our conversations about what to eat go something like this:

"I'm hungry. Can you make me some eggs?"
"Well, I have the stuff to make tortilla soup. How about that?"
"No! I want eggs! Huevos!"
"You don't want something different?"
"Um...ok, fine."

And then he always ends up loving whatever I make. He's like a little kid...afraid of change. He just doesn't know what's good for him.

The thing is, since living in New York, I haven't really cooked much. Well, nothing too complicated with too many ingredients. Cooking for one is hard and I didn't often venture beyond spaghetti or grilled cheese. But lately I've been putting three years of constantly watching the food network (one of only a few cable channels I get) to use. Turns out, I'm not too bad at this! Here's a few of my successes from the past few weeks:

Coconut crusted chicken with pina colada rice:

This recipe was inspired by a show I was watching on the food network with a girl saying she was going to make pina colada rice. I thought this sounded delicious. I never actually got to see how she made it, so I came up with my own version. And I figured I needed something to go with the rice. The recipe for the chicken can be found here. For the rice: just follow the instructions for whatever white rice you have, but replace some of the water with a can of coconut milk. Then I added fresh chopped up pineapple to the rice. It's delicious!

Tortilla soup and chicken fajitas:

This is actually two separate meals, but they come from the same source. I was watching The View a few weeks ago and saw Tyler Florence (of the Food Network) cooking a Mexican meal for Elisabeth Hasselbeck. After being with Eduardo for over a year, I have a good idea of what is authentic Mexican and what is "Tex-Mex." (FYI: Most everything you think is Mexican food, Eduardo would call "Tex-Mex" meaning "nothing I ever even heard of during my childhood in Mexico." These meals from Tyler Florence are the real deal...a very authentic way of cooking for Mexicans from the CORN tortillas to the radishes on top. Check out the recipes here.

Graham Cracker French Toast:

I love a big breakfast and french toast is always a winner. I basically impulse bought graham crackers one day and then was craving french toast and thought, "I bet I could find a way to combine these things." I was totally right. Thanks, internet. The recipe can be found here. I didn't use raisin bread because, uh, I didn't have any. But it was delicious anyway. And I also didn't have any syrup, but instead I drizzled Nutella on top.

I love food, and I don't let the fact that I don't actually have a kitchen keep me down! A two burner hot plate, microwave, and a toaster oven is all I really need!

Beating the System

2009-08-08T23:19:00.004-04:00

After about 4 months of biking around Manhattan, I can say that my bike is probably one of the best purchases I've ever made. I can't believe the years I lived here and DIDN'T have a bike. I had thought about getting one a few times over the years, but never had that push to make it happen until the MTA threatened fare hikes, potentially raising the price of a monthly Metro Card from $81 to $103! That was just too much for me to handle. The online petitions began and the politicians began negotiating in Albany, but I decided to be proactive and not let politicians decide things for me for once. If the MTA was going to raise fares and cut service, I wasn't going to be needing their services anymore.

Riding my bike has changed several things about my existence here in New York. First of all, the every day rite of passage of the New York resident, taking the subway, is no longer part of my life. This is both good and bad (but mostly good). I miss the (good) subway performers, the time to read or listen to my iPod, the people watching, stopping at the subterrainian news stands to grab a soda or snack. I do NOT miss the bad smells, the late trains, the construction, the over-crowded cars, the people not respecting my personal space, or the rats running down the tracks. I especially do not miss having to wait a half hour or more to get a train if I'm travelling in the wee hours of the morning.

When I started riding my bike, I thought maybe I would be reluctant to do it at times and make excuses to not do it ("It looks like it's going to rain" or "I'm tired"). This is SO not the case. I have been known to ride when it is sprinkling and then been caught in a downpour. One day I arrived at work literally wringing out my pants, looking like I'd been thrown in the river. But it was a small price to pay for me. I take my chances with the weather gladly. The other potential problem of being tired hasn't really been an issue either. I remember saying that I thought maybe I wouldn't want to ride my bike to work on Saturdays because I work such a long day, I might dread having to ride my bike home. On the contrary, I get new energy when I ride. Where as I used to drag myself to the train station and sit like a zombie on the ride home, now when I hop on my bike to leave, the exercise wakes me up again, and I feel refreshed.

The other night, I ventured out of Manhattan on my bike for the first time, and rode to Queens to spend a long night hanging out with Eduardo and some other friends. When I was finally ready to leave, it was after 5am. Eduardo told me I could leave my bike and take the train, but I wanted to ride home. When I started out, it was still dark, but the sun slowly began to rise as I rode towards Manhattan, following the people going to start the early shift at work and the trucks hauling the breakfast carts to set up on the busy corners of the city. Instead of feeling tired and miserable, just longing for my bed (as I know I would have been if I'd been on the train), I enjoyed seeing the city wake up, the lack of cars on the road, and when I got home around 6:30am, I didn't even fall immediately into bed. Once again, the exercise gave me a second wind, and I stayed up a while eating breakfast and watching the morning news.

So, I can't really see a downside to bike riding around the city. It saves time, money, and it's great exercise! I've lost a few pounds and my pants fit a little looser since I started riding. And now when I hear friends complaining about the MTA, I just think to myself, "I beat the system!"

Can I Please Go Back to California?

2009-07-20T20:38:00.005-04:00

I'm back from vacation in California! Getting back from vacation just makes me want to go on vacation, you know? It's never enough. I had a great time on our first family vacation in I don't know how long. Laguna Beach is paradise. Seriously. I don't know how anyone could actually live there. If you did, your expectations on life would be unrealistically high. It's just too perfect. But I love it. We spent every day on the beach, in the water, taking walks through town. Adam and I took a couple trips into LA to see Harry Potter and go to Universal Studios. But other than that, it was enough to just sit on the beach.

Vacation highlights:

Our beach hotel

Trip to Universal with Adam

Eating gelato to celebrate my birthday

Now that I'm back in New York, my skin has begun to peel off and I'm back to reality. I worked 12 hours the day after I got back! But that evening was nice because Eduardo took the day off work and we went out for our anniversary! One year! I'm excited we've made it this far, but not surprised. We have a great time together. The next day was my birthday! This year it was pretty low key. I mean, I just had a big vacation and then my anniversary, and also worked 20 hours in 2 days. So, by the time my birthday rolled around, I was just tired. But I did hang out with my co-workers for a couple drinks after work. And then I spent a low-key evening with Eduardo. It was a nice day. Maybe I'll have a party when I turn 30.

Nothing I Can't Handle

2009-06-19T16:11:00.009-04:00

It has been one heck of a week and it's only Thursday. I'm trying not to get too stressed from all that has come my way already this week. But there have been a few bright spots as well. Here's the run down:

Bad thing: I got hit by another cyclist on the bike path on my way home from work on Sunday. What made matters worse was the fact that the guy just kept going, knowing full well that he had hurt me and knocked me off my bike.

Good thing: I wasn't too hurt. Just a little banged up with a cut on my foot and a sore knee. And my bike is just fine.

Bad thing: My landlord began harassing me regarding many things including, but not limited to, my boyfriend visiting, a leak in my bathroom floor (which I do not cause and was here before I moved in), increasing my rent, going on the roof, and calling me a horrible disrespectful person.

Good thing: I was able to prove to him that I have tenant rights and he was violating them. And I've gotten all the materials together and mailed to make a formal harassment complaint. If all goes well, he will get a minimum $1,000 fine and, more importantly, learn a lesson.

Bad thing: A guy at work treats me like a complete idiot, and I blew up at him yesterday because I had had enough of it!

Good thing: The people who matter are on my side in the situation, and the guy has been spoken to, so maybe he'll finally start treating me with a little more respect. And when I told Eduardo about the incident he wanted to give the guy a talking to. I, of course, discouraged this, but it still makes me feel good.

Bad thing: I was working on making a new window frame so I can install an AC, and I sliced my finger on some plexiglass and had to go to the emergency room where it took 4 and a half hours to be treated. No stitches, but I had a couple small pieces of glass removed from my finger.

My badge of honor

Good thing: I finished installing my AC tonight and it's working beautifully!

It's a little ghetto, but it works! And I didn't pay $750 for it! (That was the first quote I got)

Hopefully I won't get any more to bear this week. Enough, God! I'm at my breaking point! Prayers for protection from any more incidents, and for my stress and short fuse, would be appreciated. But, hey, at least I found the silver lining.

A Gay Storm Is Coming

2009-06-07T23:53:00.007-04:00

This is not cool:

This is hilarious:

It has always been my philosophy that everyone is entitled to their opinions. But you are not entitled to tell other people how to live their lives. Don't support gay marriage? That is okay with me. Trying to force others into living by your beliefs? That is not okay with me.

It's The End of Blogs As We Know It (Maybe)

2009-06-05T11:59:00.004-04:00

Over the last year or so I've noticed a down-swing in the number of my friends who keep up their blogs. Now, I do still have some friends who are great bloggers and update about once a week or more (such as Kate, Amanda, Cheryl, and Stacie), but others have completely stopped writing! What happened? I think I know. Facebook happened. Twitter happened. The updates about life that used to exist in paragraph form on blogs now exist in quick updates throughout the day on Twitter and Facebook. Quizzes? Surveys? Photos? Videos you think are funny? Websites you want to share? This can all be posted and shared with your friends instantly on Facebook. Is this the death of blogs as we know it?

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Facebook. I love being connected with long lost friends. If it weren't for Facebook, I never would have met up with my old youth pastor and his wife from Las Vegas when they visited New York in December. I could never have weekly chats with my cousin in Decatur, IL about Lost. I wouldn't know how many of my old friends are now married or having babies.

However, I think there is still value in writing in a longer form. Telling stories. I understand that writing isn't for everyone, but I've always enjoyed it and I hope people still enjoy reading what I have to say. Facebook is great, but this is just a different way to connect with people. To my friends who are thinking of abandoning their blogs in favor of Twitter or Facebook, I hope you'll reconsider! Keep blogs alive!

My Life This Monday

2009-06-01T00:05:00.005-04:00

Adam helped me perform some minor maintenance on the new blog yesterday, and now it looks just lovely. It's nice to have 2 web designers in the family. He told me he'd just charge me $20 for our consultation. I told him he'd get it...never. Ah, family.

In case you were wondering, still no AC installed. I contacted one guy who never showed up when he was supposed to, but that's ok because I was beginning to think he couldn't really do it anyway. I've since contacted a second person who responded quickly and enthusiastically initially, but I haven't heard much from him since. I don't really think I should be chasing HIM down if he really wants the job, you know? So I might be moving on to contestant #3 soon. Why do people have to be so flaky? At least it's not really hot yet.

Eduardo and I are momentarily heading to the Boat Basin for the first time this season. I LOVE that place. If you ever come visit me, I will probably take you there.

New Look

2009-05-29T15:41:00.003-04:00

I thought after several years of the same look on my blog, it was time for a redesign. It's a bit of a work in progress, so forgive things for being a little messy at the moment. I'm going to keep working on it, and hopefully everything will be looking pretty soon!

Cool It

2009-05-28T12:51:00.004-04:00

I'm on a quest to get an AC unit installed in my window. I have lived in this tiny apartment for three years now. Each summer this room reaches unbearable temperatures. I turn on the fans, take multiple cold showers every day, and walk around with little to no clothing on. The reason I have put up with this and not installed an AC, is because this is my window:

As you can see, there is no easy way to do this. The window doesn't slide up. I need to hire someone to build a new frame for the window that will fit around the AC unit. I got an estimate a while back from an AC installation company and they said it would be $750! No way. I've hired someone through craigslist that I think will do just fine. The other night I got a Zipcar and Eduardo and I drove to his place to pick up his old AC unit that is a bit too small to cool his room, but will be perfect for mine.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have a nice "after" photo of the AC in my window. And it will be a more pleasant summer for me...and Tangent.

Taking It To The Streets

2009-05-18T18:28:00.005-04:00

Some of my blog readers may be interested to know that Ana Yang, star of Gazillion Bubble Show (where I work!) will be on the Today Show tomorrow morning during the 10am hour hosted by Kathie Lee and Hoda. If you've been curious about the show, this would be a good opportunity to see what it's all about!

I stepped out of the theatre on Saturday to get some air and make a phone call, when I noticed crowds of people sauntering down 9th Ave. That could only mean one thing: Street Fair!

Ah, this warm weather New York tradition is one of my favorites. And it was perfect weather for it on Saturday. The fair featured the usual impossible carnival games, raffles, and large inflatable slides, but as with most fairs, it's mostly about the food. Local restaurants extended their seating out to the street with umbrella covered tables and drink specials. Food stands popped up everywhere offering everything from fresh fruit to fried oreos. One of my favorite New York street fair foods are MozzArepas.

These are like grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist; mozzarella cheese between two sweet corn cakes. Mmmmm. Delicious. Now I want one again! Well, it's only a matter of time before the next street fair!

NY NY Sports Sports

2009-05-13T00:37:00.003-04:00

I love New York, and I love sports...particularly baseball. And I love this commercial:

Holding a Mirror Up to Reality

2009-05-07T23:37:00.009-04:00

It has been raining for DAYS here in New York. I mean, I think it's been over a week. Seriously. It's a sad time to have a new bike. I just want to ride it, but I don't want to ride in the rain! Oh well.

I've gotten into the habit lately of watching documentary films instantly on Netflix. There's a big selection, and I've found hearing the real stories interesting. When I was younger, I usually heard "documentary" and thought "boring". But lately, I've enjoyed these stories more than fictional ones. Here are my top 5 that I've watched recently, and highly recommend.

#5: My Kid Could Paint That

I really enjoyed this one because it made me question what I was seeing and come to a conclusion for myself.

#4: Who The #$&% is Jackson Pollock

Unfortunately I can't find the trailer for this one. But it's about a retired truck driver who lives in a trailer park and buys an ugly painting in a thrift store to cheer up her friend. It is then speculated that the painting is actually a Jackson Pollock, and if that's true, it would be worth about $50 million. The film is about her journey to authenticate the paining. I think it's a great story about a spunky woman who won't give up on what she knows is right.

#3: Dear Zachary

This might be the most poignant, beautiful, gut wrenching, heart breaking movie I've ever seen. Watch it with a box of kleenex.

#2: The Education of Shelby Knox

The trailer really just scratches the surface of a much bigger storyline which is that of a young high school girl from a conservative town in the Bible belt trying to figure out what she believes. I personally related with Shelby, although I have to say she was a lot smarter and more well spoken in high school than I ever was. She's planning to run for president someday, and I think she would have my vote.

#1: King of Kong/A Fistful of Quarters

This is not only a great documentary, but a great MOVIE. The characters are so great, no one could have made them up. The drama is over a video game, yet it seems somehow greater than that. It's an underdog story. A hero's tale. If you see one movie on this list, this should be it.

A Shiny New Bike

2009-04-29T23:38:00.005-04:00

I have discovered a definite perk of working at Gazillion Bubble Show. It is common practice in New York to rent out theatres on dark days for events and so forth. At New World Stages (the theatre complex where the Bubble Show resides), when they rent out the theatre, they hire the crew from the resident show to work whatever event takes over the space. So, on Monday I was hired to come work on my day off for a benefit event for Rosie's Broadway Kids, a charity and outreach program run by Rosie O'Donnell. Not only was it fun to hang around backstage with Rosie and a bunch of Broadway stars, but I got paid $30 an hour! I can tell you right now that is WAY more than I get paid for Gazillion Bubble Show. And the job was WAY easier. I'll come in on my day off for that kind of easy money anytime!

Today I made an exciting purchase. I bought a bicycle on craigslist. Last night I surfed on the site and started looking at the bikes for sale. I've been thinking for a while about getting a bike, and now that the weather is good, it seemed like a good time to buy one. The very first listing was for a cheap women's bike, not too fancy, but it did have a basket. I sent an email to the seller and he called me right away, so I arranged to go look at it today after work. I took it for a test drive, and it seemed ok to me, so I took it home!

My plan is to stop buying monthly Metrocards, which are currently $81 but may soon jump in price to $103. Instead, I want to ride my bike to and from work every day. Not only will I save money on train fare, but I'll get a workout too!

Here is my planned bike route:

There is a bike path running through Riverside Park that continues all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan. I figure I'll stick with that path for now since I'm not a kamikaze delivery driver (those guys are crazy) and am afraid of getting hit by a taxi or something. But at least it should be a pretty ride along the water.

Un-bubble-lievable!

2009-04-25T00:38:00.005-04:00

As promised, I'm going to fill everyone in on my new job at Gazillion Bubble Show. I've been at the show for about a week and a half now and I'm enjoying it. It's hard work, but it's also fun. My position right now is backstage crew, which I like. I have a lot of cleaning to do after the show, but it's fun to run around in the dark on stage setting up for the various bubble tricks. I also have fun things to do like bringing out prizes to the on-stage volunteers and hitting around giant "snow balls" AKA inflatable white balls.

Here's a video of the show, to give you an idea:

I think this is one of the best ideas ever, by the way. I watch so many people toil away trying to produce a show that gets critical acclaim, gets audiences in the door, and is long running. But why write a script when you can just make bubbles? I mean, what child doesn't LOVE bubbles? And this little bubble show that was created by one man and his family (his wife Ana currently performs the New York show) is now a global company, toy line, and all around money making machine. Frequently members of the "Bubble Crew", as we're called, are flown off to places like California, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea to work on productions in those locations. The lobby of the theatre has been transformed into a bubble-toy shop that exclusively sells the Gazillion Bubble brand. And probably the most lucrative operation outside the show itself is the "Me in a Bubble" photo op in the lobby, where you can get your photo taken inside a giant bubble for a mere $20. And they always line up for it!

So, although this job is not quite as cushy as Westside Theatre was, it is fun. I like the job security...and the possibility that I might get to travel to fun places at some point in the future on the company dime.

That Darn Cat

2009-04-18T00:30:00.010-04:00

I have had a VERY eventful week. I'm not even sure where to start. I guess I'll just go in chronological order.

I have been job hunting for the past few months since I got laid off from Westside Theatre Box Office due to one of the shows there closing. I'm supposed to be offered my job back when they get a new show in, but that hasn't happened yet and I can't wait any more! The money has run out! So anyway, I applied for a job at Gazillion Bubble Show, an Off-Broadway show here in New York, and got an email that they wanted to interview me on Thursday morning at 10am. I had a trip to Ohio planned that weekend and had to catch a 1:30pm flight, but I was really happy I could get to the interview in the morning! So, I made it there and everything went well and then I went straight to Newark Airport.

The next morning I woke up in Ohio to my cell phone ringing. They let me know I got the job and I would start on Wednesday, the day after I returned from Ohio! Couldn't have planned the timing better. Of course, I was thrilled to have a job, and even more thrilled that my job has the word "bubbles" in it. I spent the morning in high spirits.

Later that day I got a call from Eduardo, my boyfriend who was looking after my cat at his apartment while I was away. I told him about the job and we chatted a bit. I asked him how Tangent was and he said he hadn't seen him that morning, but was sure he was around. Then at around 3pm Eduardo called me again to say he actually never found Tangent and had been out looking for him for a few hours. He thought he must have jumped out a window where the screen was broken on the corner. I think that, short of someone dying, that was about the worst news I could have gotten. My good mood came crashing down around my ears. I dreaded going to sleep that night thinking that my cat was out there in New York City alone...or worse.

For the next several days I went through varying moods and mind sets over the whole thing. At times I would put the worry aside to have fun with my friends and family. Other times I would be determined to find him and spend hours on the phone and in front of the computer alerting as many people and places I could that my cat was missing. Other times I felt completely hopeless and miserable, and thought maybe there was nothing to do about it but give up and start the grieving process. With every day that passed I felt like the chances of ever finding my cat were getting more and more slim.

On Tuesday morning, five days after Tangent went missing and the last day of my trip, I called a couple animal shelters in New York. I felt a little like I could never call every animal shelter and rescue operation in that giant city, but I had to try and I started with what came up first on google. I gave lost reports to shelters over the phone and was told each time that no one had turned in my cat, but they would keep the report on file and let me know if someone did. Later that day I passed through airport security with the knowledge that the benchmark I had unconsciously set was about to pass. I was going back to New York and my cat would not be there when I got home.

I sat down at the gate, took out my phone, and saw that I had missed a call from an unknown number while getting through security. Over the past several days while I'd been looking for Tangent, I had been answering every call from unknown numbers with a tiny hope that it would be good news about my cat. But although a few people called about some of the adds and flyers that were up, no one actually had found him. I wasn't expecting anything different when the voice on my voicemail identified herself as being from the Animal Center of Queens, one of the shelters I had called that morning. I saved the message because, well, it's just one of those phone calls you want to remember getting.

powered by ODEO

It was the most promising thing I'd heard by a mile. I called back right away, but was still thinking it was too good to be true. It must be another white cat. But as I quizzed her about some finer details, it seemed that everything checked out. The cat was found on Friday, the day Tangent had gone missing. He was declawed in the front. He was found on Roosevelt Avenue, a busy street that Eduardo lives off of. Lori at the shelter filled me in that the woman who found him on Friday took him home, but couldn't keep him because he was crying so much her land lord complained. That's when she decided to take him to the shelter. And it was very lucky that I had called that morning to make the report. Lori said the shelter was full and they wouldn't have taken him, but then she had noticed the lost report I had made, so they decided to take him in. There are so many chance occurrences and near misses that lead to me getting him back that I can only conclude that God heard my prayers! I count this experience as a miracle. As I had sat in church that Easter weekend and heard about Jesus being raised out of the grave, I told God that I knew if he could raise the dead he could bring home my cat!

I wasn't able to pick him up until the next evening, since my flight got in late and then I had to start my new job the next morning. I picked him up around 6 and was told he'd just stopped crying about an hour earlier. Poor cat! I've never seen him more happy to be home than the last few days. I think we have a new found appreciation for each other.

This entry is super long, so I'll tell more about my new job some other time. For now, if you'd like, please check out the Animal Center of Queens website and, if you're so inclined, make a donation. I've already made one on behalf of Tangent, but I'm sure they could use more help, as they are a no-kill rescue shelter. Hopefully they can help many more pets and owners have happy endings!

You Found Me

2009-04-08T22:57:00.005-04:00

I discovered a new song recently that I find really intriguing. It's the song "You Found Me" by The Fray. I've been a fan of the band since their last album (How to Save a Life), and this is the first single off their new self-titled album, I believe. I actually had heard it a few times in the background, but never really took notice until a contestant sang it on American Idol last week. Since I realized it was a Fray song, I downloaded the album and started listening on my iPod. I don't know about you guys, but I listen to songs really carefully when I listen on my iPod, much more than when I listen to music out loud. I think it has something to do with the ear buds.

Anyway, as I've been listening to this song, I've been really, really disecting the lyrics. It would be easy to listen at first and just think it is the story of one human being helping and encouraging another, but then when I listened to the verses, I discovered that the song is actually a conversation with God. Now, this is when I got really interested. Because The Fray is not a Christian band and this is not a typical, feel-good Christian song. Actually, one of the reasons I've kind of gotten away from listening to much Christian music the last few years is because all the music started sounding sort of the same to me. But this song is about a very real part of not only the Christian experience, but the human experience. Here's a few lines from the song:

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad

I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."

How many of us have been at a difficult time in our lives, been crying out prayers that we feel like aren't being heard, and wished to find God just hanging out on a street corner? And would you run into his arms and cry? Or would you yell at him for seemingly ignoring your problems? Or both? Well, here's the song-writer's answer to that "ask anything" from God:

Where were you, when everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad

I know the "Christian" answer is that God has a plan and we just have to be patient, and the most over quoted verse ever, all things work together for good. But sometimes don't you just want to yell at God and say, "You could have done something! This could have gone differently! Where have you been?"

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

And this is the line that gets me the most. I think everyone has prayed, "Where are you, God?" at some point:

Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

Yeah, definitely not your typical Christian rock, but I can relate, and I'm pretty sure most other people can too. It's a powerful song and it makes me think. If you haven't heard it yet, take a listen below. It's a good song for the music as well as the lyrics.

Ohio This Weekend!

2009-04-05T02:16:00.004-04:00

I'll be in Ohio in just a few days! I'm pretty excited about seeing my family and friends. I really missed being able to go home for Christmas...more than I even realized at the time I think. So, since I found a cheap fare and have copious time on my hands, Easter weekend seemed like a good time to go. As always, I'll be splitting time between family and friends. On Friday I'm going to go to Dayton to see my friends and have dinner. If you'd like to come, leave a comment and I'll give you the full details, but I think I invited most people on Facebook.

Since I was bored today and I've discovered that my new digital camera takes decent video, I decided to make a little video invite to put on the Facebook evite page. I'll share it here to, for your amusement:

Well, I'm off to bed because I have to serve at church tomorrow. I'm excited because it's the first Sunday at our new location, which is right down the street from my apartment! Now I just have to walk a couple blocks! Observe on this map:

A is my house and B is the church! I can so walk there in, like, less than 5 minutes! I'm stoked.

Long Night's Journey Into Day

2009-03-26T02:18:00.004-04:00

You may or may not be aware that I am a night owl. This is pretty much the norm in the theatre community, as we tend to work at night and have nothing much to do during the day. I have always liked staying up late, but now I stay up even later than before because of Eduardo's schedule. He works at a bar and gets off work anywhere between 1am and 4am. When I don't have anything to do before noon, which is often, we like to hang out after he gets off work...playing pool, watching movies, playing video games, etc. Because of this late schedule, I now seldom find myself getting to sleep before 4am.

But don't think these overnight hours are not put to good use. Last night I rearranged my room which included getting rid of a piece of furniture and then doing extensive cleaning where said piece of furniture used to be. Tonight I defrosted my freezer and now my shower is full of giant chunks of ice. And now I'm blogging! An excellent use of time!

I also know what is on TV overnight. I remember when I used to go to sleepovers as a kid and stay up until the wee hours watching TV in my friends' basements. We did this mostly just because we could, because there was hardly ever anything on that anyone was actually interested in watching. This is no longer the case as I now find the selection of television from midnight to 5am much more enjoyable than what can be found from noon to 5pm. Mostly because there are no soaps or judge shows overnight (Those judge shows are multiplying at an alarming rate! I guess as long as there are women who loan their jobless boyfriends money to pay their cell phone bills...) I usually start out with watching the late night talk shows. I'm a fan of Letterman and Conan. But now they are on opposite each other rather than back to back, which, I'm not going to lie, has really shaken up my whole life. But I now sometimes watch Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel (the fact that there are two Jimmys on late night television is also a bit on an inconvenience for me). After that I usually watch Oprah, which gets re-aired around 1am. After Oprah are syndicated episodes of MTV's Cribs. I enjoy this because I don't get cable, but when this show comes on I can PRETEND like I do. After Cribs is the re-airing of the local ABC 11 o'clock news. Then I usually switch it over to the CW where they show South Park until 4am. Again, I can pretend I have cable, since I don't actually get Comedy Central. If I'm still up at 4am, the VERY early news comes on ABC. I often find myself wondering who watches the news at 4am. Well, I do...but surely not that many other people. Then I start to feel sorry for the people who have to wake up and get ready for work at 4am. And I also usually feel sorry for the poor news anchors who must have no lives since they have to be on TV at 4am every day.

And then I go to sleep! Probably just as you're waking up!

Disney WHAT?

2009-03-23T16:21:00.003-04:00

What kind of chicken lays these eggs??

Let Me Tell You How I REALLY Feel

2009-03-06T17:05:00.006-05:00

Can I just have a minute to talk about American Idol this year? I have to say I'm pretty happy with the people who made it to the top 13. But so far, this is not the most amazing crop of talent I've ever seen. However, there are a few people of note (click their names to see them perform): I'm really excited to see what Allison Irheta will do in the finals. She's only 16, the youngest in the finals, but I think she's the most talented of the group. I'm also a fan of Lil Rounds. I've been impressed with her since her first audition, so I'm happy she made it. Then there's Adam Lambert, who's voice can't be described as anything other than insane. His range is ridiculous. I think he's going to go far. An interesting addition to this year's finalists is Scott MacIntyre. He's legally blind and plays the piano. I think he's a sweet guy and very humble, but I'm not crazy about his musical style and his voice isn't the most amazing. But he's charasmatic, and that counts for something. I just hope he doesn't get voted through week after week BECAUSE he's blind, you know?

And let's just talk for a minute about Tatiana Del Toro. I mean, I am so repulsed by that girl that I actually have a physical reaction when I see her. She didn't make it to the finals, thank heaven, but she made the semi-fianls, and when she wasn't voted through after her first performance, she was given a second shot in the wildcard round. Why?? Your guess is as good as mine. There were about four or five other people who truly deserved that shot and did not get it because Tatiana got the spot. Don't know who I'm talking about? Here's a sample:

This girl is grade A crazy. I mean, last night she started speaking with a latin accent! She has never had one before in her history on this show! And the night she was told she made the wildcard round she said in her classic melo-dramatic fashion, "I want to sing for you more than anyone has ever wanted to do anything ever, ever, ever!" Really? I can think of a few things people have probably wanted more. For starters, your blind friend Scott probably wants to be able to see pretty bad. Let's just say good ridance. She was like a roach that wouldn't die, but now we've finally squashed her for good. Now that we've gotten rid of the excess, let's enjoy the REAL show starting next week!

Walk This Way

2009-02-26T21:22:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I finally fulfilled my video game dream. I purchased Guitar Hero for Wii! I wasn't planning on buying it...or any other game for a while. I have no job and am low on funds. I'm happy with the two games I got for Christmas (Mario Party 8 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and the classic games I've downloaded (Mario 1, Mario 3, and Zelda).

Then I walked into Circuit City.

If you're not aware, every Circuit City in the country is closing very soon. Therefore, they are selling all their merchandise at Black Friday-like prices. I wandered in the other day to check out the discounts. I didn't intend to buy much, but thought it was worth a look around. I did have my eyes peeled for Guitar Hero and other things I wanted for my Wii. But all I could find were stacks and stacks of the guitar controllers, not the actual game. I made several laps around the store and was about to leave when I made one last trip through the video game section, and peeked around a corner I hadn't noticed before. And there it was. An entire wall of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Edition on sale for only $40! That's about 50% off! I snagged it.

I've been playing pretty frequently since I bought it. I've beat the easy and medium level and am beginning to tackle hard...which is true to its name. And I still have to get through expert. Perhaps some day I'll be a real fake Guitar Hero.

Lego New York

2009-02-21T13:34:00.009-05:00

I completely stole this off a New York Times blog. I found myself laughing at the simple creativity. It may or may not resonate as strongly with a non-New Yorker. See how many of these you get:

During the cold and dark Berlin winter days, I spend a lot of time with my boys in their room. And as I look at the toys scattered on the floor, my mind inevitably wanders back to New York.

Easy Money

2009-02-12T12:55:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago a friend from Studio 42 sent me an email letting me know about a one-time gig helping out with a JC Penney fashion show. I promptly sent along my resume to the company, and eventually heard back a kind of iffy response...something like, "Your resume looks great and if we don't use you for this job, we'll probably use you in the future." So, I kind of thought that meant "no" because I didn't hear anything else for a while. But then just a few days ago, I did hear from the company again saying they would like me to work the event...but it would be on the strike crew from 10pm to 4am! Sounds like a rough shift, but I'm always awake then anyway, so I figured I could do it, especially since I'm pretty desperate for cash! And the pay was a flat fee of $175. Not bad for 6 hours of work.

So, I showed up Tuesday night ready for a long and tedious night. It was kind of tedious, but it turned out not to be too long. I packed up votive candles, removed butterfly stickers from the floors and windows, and helped move stuff out into trucks. But at about 1am, we were done! And I still got paid $175! I hope they'll call me again because I could use the easy money.

The wind here is CRAZY today. I was woken up several times in the early morning hours because of the howling winds. I heard the weather was bad in Ohio yesterday...storms, wind, power out. It seems to have moved east over night. I watched the news this morning and saw that it is pretty dangerous out there. I haven't left home yet and I'm kind of afraid to.

The Most Exciting Thing in My Life is a Microwave

2009-02-03T13:08:00.002-05:00

Still no job. Boo. And not nearly as many blog-worthy things have happened to me as they did last week when I posted. I've been job searching, but it is very difficult to do when you're looking for something temporary, but you have no idea how temporary.

The most exciting thing that happened was that last night, when walking home from the bar with Eduardo, we found a microwave! As you know if you follow my blog, Eduardo recently moved to a new home, and he's still aquiring some of those home essentials. We've been scouring Craigslist for free microwaves, but haven't had much luck so far. So we were pretty excited to see one going out with the trash on 84th last night. We carried it the short few blocks home and plugged it in. Success! It works! The only issue is that it is missing the glass turntable inside. But whatever. It will heat food and that's what's important. So, it's living in the middle of my floor at the moment, but will soon make the trek to Eduardo's place in Queens.

The snow has been coming down in blankets all day today. Yesterday it felt like spring was just around the corner! I guess the groundhog was right after all.

Forced Vacation

2009-01-26T15:16:00.003-05:00

I'm officially "temporarily" unemployed, so even though I have no job and that's a little depressing, I've been trying to take advantage of my free time. My first two days off I trekked out to New Jersey to babysit for my cousins Julia and Theo. They're fun kids and it was great to spend so much time with them, since usually our visits are just a few hours and lots of other people are around. This was just two days of uninterrupted cousin time.

The rest of the week I spent a lot of time with Eduardo and helped him continue to get his apartment set up. I was able to get a "collapsible" love seat from my boss at work who didn't need it anymore, and it's pretty much the perfect piece of furniture for Eduardo's new small living room. Last night we went to the grocery store and bought some staples (milk, bread, peanut butter, tortillas, etc) and also some food to make dinner. We cooked in his new kitchen for the first time. Eduardo made steak with onions, potatoes, and chipotle chilies topped with cotija cheese and tortillas on the side. I was put in charge of the more simple task of making the agua de guava. The meal was completely delicious!

And being off work with nothing to do does have its benefits as I was able to make a last minute trip to Atlantic City this past weekend. My friend Nicki, who goes all the time, called on Friday morning to see if I'd like to go with her and my other friend Marylin for the weekend. At first I didn't think I'd go because that Sunday was going to be the first day Eduado and I would have the whole day together in a long time. But then I found out that we would be coming back late Saturday night, so after a discussion with the other half, I decided to go! Oh, and the reason I'm able to afford a mini-vacation while unemployed is because the entire trip was free. Nicki happens to be a high rolling blackjack player and gets everything free whenever she goes. So, we got a nice room to the Taj Mahal, drank free pina coladas and margaritas as we watched Nicki play, ordered room service three times, watched three "still in theatres" movies from our room, bought dirt cheap souvineers on the boardwalk, and took a limo home to New York City. It was a great trip and something I could never afford if I were to pay for it all myself!

Shopping on the boardwalk

In the limo home to NYC

Things Are Looking Up...A Little

2009-01-14T20:43:00.003-05:00

So, my friends, things have improved slightly since we last spoke. Well, some things resolved themselves anyway. On Sunday Eduardo called me at work to say he had found an apartment he thought would be perfect for he and I and his brother. I rushed to Queens after work to see it, but was unimpressed. Ultimately, I think I'm just not willing to leave my rent controlled Upper West Side studio for anything less than an amazingly perfect place. And the place I saw Sunday night wasn't it. This (with good reason) frustrated Eduardo. We mutually decided later that night that it would be better for just he and his brother to find a place for themselves. I didn't want to delay them anymore by being picky. Luckily, he was able to find (according to him...I haven't seen it yet) a perfect place in Queens. It certainly sounds like a better place than where he lives now. He and his brother currently rent a tiny room from a large family in their apartment. The family is very nice (I'm actually a godmother to their two younger daughters), but the room is too small for the two boys and all their stuff. So now they are moving to a one-bedroom apartment of their own including a livingroom, kitchen, and bathroom. This will make my visits to his place much more enjoyable since we'll have room to spread out and have a little space from his brother and the various guests that he sometimes has over. So, the apartment thing is over and a huge weight off my mind.

I'm still unemployed as of this Sunday, but I'm hoping to get some kind of job in the interim until I get my job back. I'm just hoping for a very brief lay-off period. If I hope, maybe it will come true.

So, the state of my nerves is improving. I'm not totally my usual, optomisitic self, but I feel a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm getting there.

Or Should I Just Keep Chasing Pavements?

2009-01-08T22:47:00.006-05:00

I am feeling a very high level of stress lately and have been ever since Christmas. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I think there were things leading up to Christmas that could have been stressful, but I was just too excited about everything to really be stressed. But the excitement melted away the weekend after Christmas when my family was packing up to leave NYC and I was trying to move a holiday's worth of food, gifts, clothes, and animals back to my tiny apartment and try to leave the home we had stayed in in tip top shape. I just couldn't deal. Yes, everything got done and I made it home and there were no disasters. But that weekend was the beginning of a spiral of stressful events in my life.

The week following Christmas, I found out that one of the shows at the theatre where I work is closing. Found out today that the precise date is January 18. This is the show that opened in November that I was hired on because of. So, guess what its closing means? Yep, I'm out of the job. Just temporarily. Eventually another show will come along and I'll be hired back, but right now I have no idea how long I'm looking at unemployment. Could be a couple weeks, could be a couple months. Let's pray for the first one. But because of the lay-off, I'm back to job hunting. I just want to find something temporary, but that's just as hard as finding something permanent, I think.

In addition to this lay-off news, I am also apartment hunting. Isn't being layed off the perfect time to look for a new home? Well, nothing is definite, but I am growing tired of my shoebox and I'm ready to expand to a larger home. But I've been pushed into pursuing this desire NOW of all times by Eduardo who is hoping he, his brother, and I can share a large place together. He will be out of his current apartment February 1st. Day and night, all I think about is apartments and how I can get a cheap one in a nice neighborhood. I dream about it. Literally. At work I hope for tasks to come across my desk just to keep me from scouring craigslist 24/7. But then doing work makes me think about how soon I won't have work to come to anymore! Aaah! It never ends.

The worst part of this stress is the physical toll it is taking. As soon as a minor hitch is thrown into my day, I get a knot in my stomach that feels more like a bowling ball that never seems to completely go away. I feel my chest tighten up, and I have to take slow breaths to try to settle myself down. I know we all have stress, but I have a history of handeling mine better than this. I don't usually allow things to get to my core. But they have. Too many things happened at once and my defense system is down. If either the apartment or the job could be taken care of, I think I would be able to resume life as normal.

Sorry this post is such a downer, but this stuff is consuming my life so that I don't really have much else to share. Please keep me in your prayers. I need to settle down and lighten up! Please send those thoughts my way.

This is my current favorite song to listen to as a walk the streets of New York. It is pretty appropriate at the moment...and a beautiful song.

Warmed Up Like Biscuits

2009-01-06T00:05:00.005-05:00

I didn't see this SNL episode the first time around, so I'm a little behind the times, but this is so funny that I believe it is worth sharing. Better late than never. I had to scour the internet to find this sketch because the people at NBC are jerks and they don't want people to know when they do something really really funny on their network, so they take it off YouTube. How's that working for you, NBC? The weather still nice there in 4th place?

Anyway, here it is:

single ladies...!?- SNL w/ Beyonce (feat. Justin Timberlake)

P.S. Justin Timberlake is one of the funniest people ever who does not make being funny his primary career. He may be a singer, but whenever he is on Saturday Night Live, he kills. And you can tell from the number of times he's been asked back and by the fact that he has his own featured characters and sketches that he has made a short list in the hosts hall of fame that Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Christopher Walkin, and Tom Hanks. Yeah. He's pretty funny.

Christmas in the Big Apple (Does Anyone Really Call it That?)

2008-12-29T17:54:00.006-05:00

My annual Christmas post is a little late, but better late than never, right? Anyway, it is late with good reason because I had a very fun but very hectic week with my family in New York! I moved into the Harlem House where I got to house/cat sit for the week last Sunday night. I spent the next several days moving presents, laundry, food, my cat, etc over to the house in small trips. Oh, I should mention I worked a 40 hour week last week too, so it wasn't like I had vacation time to get things done! Anyway, I got the house in good shape and fully stocked with gifts and Christmas food by Wednesday (Christmas Eve) when my parents and brother arrived. They were supposed to get into Newark Airport at around 12:30pm and meet me at work. Then I had arranged tickets for them to see The Marvelous Wonderettes (one of the shows playing where I work) at 3pm. Well, that didn't go according to plan as their flight was delayed a couple hours and they ended up getting into Newark at 2:40pm. So, they didn't make the show. But it was no big deal because I just pushed the tickets to another day.

I ended up getting off work early (Merry Christmas to me!) and met up with my family at Penn Station around 4:30pm. We made our way up to the house, dropped off the luggage, and then headed back to midtown for our dinner reservation. We had a nice meal and then walked over to Rockefeller Plaza to see the Christmas tree. Then we headed up 5th Ave to look at the shop windows and decorations. Then we went to Soldier McGee where Eduardo was working and he met my family for the first time. We had a drink and relaxed while Eduardo popped over every now and then to chat. We stayed a while, then went back to Harlem and wrapped gifts until about 2am! Eduardo came over when he got off work and we all stayed the night there.

Christmas morning was great. We started with a nice breakfast and then opened stockings and presents. Here's my annual list of what I got!

From Mom and Dad:

Matching scarf, hat and gloves
A fun T-shirt
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for Wii
A new colorful watch
Lost: Season 1 on DVD
Other clothes including a shirt, tank top, some sweats, and a sports bra

From Adam:

Mario Party 8 for Wii

From Marylin:

Assorted Victoria's Secret lotions
Prince Caspian on DVD

From Eduardo:

A new digital camera (my old one is broken)
A nice sweater

In the stocking:

Underwear
Candy
Carmex
Hairbands
iTunes gift card
Vanilla Bean Noel shower gel from Bath and Body Works

From myself:

A Wii and accesories!

Ok, so all this stuff is great. But what made me the happiest on Christmas morning was seeing my boyfriend and my family opening gifts together like they'd known each other years instead of less than 24 hours. One of my favorite moments from the morning was when Eduardo opened his stocking a pull out pair after pair of athletic socks. He thought it was hilarious, but he was so happy to get socks! He did get other nice gifts though. Not just socks :-) That night Adam and I went to Eduardo's place for his family Christmas party. We had fun eating and watching baby Victor, Eduardo's nephew. Adam enjoyed the very cultural experience.

The rest of the week went by fast. Dad left for Cincinnati Friday afternoon, but Mom and Adam stayed through the weekend, and we did some more fun stuff including going to the South Street Seaport, ice skating in Central Park, and finally seeing the Marvelous Wonderettes after they had missed it Christmas Eve. I had such a great time this year. I think the combination of being able to see my friends, family and boyfriend for Christmas in the most Christmas-y place ever made it an unforgetable year. I'm sad that it's over, but I'm looking for nothing but good things in 2009.

Here's a few photos from the week:

Dad and Adam Christmas morning (just after I'd gotten my new camera!)

Eduardo holding his nephew Victor

Mom and Adam at the South Street Seaport

Marylin and I skating in Central Park

The Belle/Gaston Complex

2008-12-18T20:23:00.004-05:00

Here's a little tip for you single ladies. The best way to attract attention at a bar is not to dance on tables. It is not doing body shots. It is not talking and laughing loudly with your friends. It is sitting by yourself reading. I have discovered this because I do this frequently at the bar where my boyfriend works. Often times when I am coming home from a day out, I stop by the bar where my boyfriend works for a while just to hang out. I don't usually drink on these occasions...sometimes I might have a little something to eat. But often I am just killing time and talking to Eduardo when he has a chance. So, I bring a book. I don't know if it's that guys like brainy chicks or just that a girl reading at the bar is clearly there by herself (little do they know that I know all the staff, so I'm never really ALONE), but I have had more guys start up conversations with me, some innocent and friendly...some clearly looking for some action...some downright creepy...just because I have my nose in a book. The irony is that I would think someone sitting by themselves reading is clearly enjoying some quality time alone and does not want to be bothered. I guess this is not as clear as I might have hoped. But, I'm letting you all know because even though I do not benefit from the attention, I'm sure there are some people who would love it. The next time you want to meet a guy, just bring a book!

My Job is Awesome

2008-12-08T22:45:00.005-05:00

I really like my new job! Maybe it's just because the first flush of HAVING a job hasn't worn off yet, but I think I do actually like this job. The hours are good for me. I work at 11am at the earliest, but many days I come in as late as 3pm. I leave by 9pm at the latest, but I'm usually out by 8:30pm. Not only is this schedule great because I'm a night person. It's also great because I can actually spend time with my boyfriend who works in a bar from about 4pm-1am every day. If I had to get up early, we would see much less of each other.

The actual work part of my job is not bad either. A year of box office experience has helped me catch on pretty quickly. That being said, there are a LOT of little details to learn and keep track of. I'm getting there with those. Sometimes the office is busy, but when it isn't we are free to watch movies, surf the internet (there is a firewall, however), or leave to run errands. Tonight I reached a mile stone as I was left on my own to run a curtain for the first time. Everything went well, and I didn't screw anything up (I hope), so I'd call that successful.

Another great thing about my job is that I get free lunch any day I'm there before 2pm. This is usually the part that makes people jealous. I would be too. There's a restaurant around the corner from the theatre called West Bank Cafe that delivers us whatever we want from the lunch menu each day (and on weekends the BRUNCH menu...even better) in exchange for us recommending the restaurant to people. Box offices do get asked about places to eat fairly often, so it works out well for all.

Last week we had an opening night for the newest show at the theatre (there are two). This new show is called Dust. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure I will soon. On the evening of the opening, many of the company members who are not actually IN the show had to come to the box office to pick up their tickets. Early in the evening a young, pretty girl approached my window. I had seen her before, but hadn't really looked at her very closely. As she walked up, I thought she looked very much like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. I actually had to look at her closely to make sure it wasn't one of them (you never know in New York). She asked for her ticket by last name. "Olsen?" she requested. At this, I had a "get out of my head!" moment, but reached to get her ticket. I saw as I handed it to her that her first name was Elizabeth. "Could you let me though the stage door?" she asked. I let her through, but then quickly returned to my chair to do some serious googling. It could not be a coincidence that I thought she looked like the Olsens and then her last name WAS Olsen. I found that she actually is their younger sister, that she is an understudy for the show and a student at NYU. I spent the rest of the evening wondering what percentage she gets of her sisters' clothing line that is named after her. I later found out that I was the first person on the production to figure out who she was. She hadn't told anyone. Just call me Sherlock.

A Different Kind of Holiday

2008-11-26T19:07:00.003-05:00

It's the day before Thanksgiving, which means the holiday season is fully upon us. Come Friday, we can no longer deny the signs of Christmas popping up all around us. I'm very excited to enter this holiday season, but it is definitely going to be different from any other year.

First of all, I'm going to be spending Thanksgiving with friends this year, not family. Ever since I moved to New York, I've spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my aunt and cousins there. But this year, most of my cousins have made alternative plans (in-laws, etc), so I had to make other plans too! I'm going to be traveling over the OTHER river to my friends Anu and Abel's home in Astoria, Queens. I'm bringing along my favorite sweet potato recipe. Eduardo is going to make it too, which is great because until yesterday we thought he had to work. This will also be my first ever paid holiday. I'm getting paid to eat Turkey! Rock on.

The major change in my holiday plans, though, is that I will NOT be leaving New York for Christmas. In case you missed the giant font on my blog a few weeks ago, I got a job I just started last week at the Westside Theatre (hence, the paid holiday). Shortly after I was hired, I received my schedule though the end of January. Thus, I found out I have to work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. I had a moment of disappointment about this, but I was prepared for this kind of news. I was very desperate for a job by the time I interviewed for this position, and I told them I didn't have any upcoming conflicts or plans for the holidays. And I'm so happy to actually have a job, I won't complain about having to work so close to Christmas. Everyone at my job has to work holidays sometimes, so it's not that I'm being subjected to anything overly cruel as the new employee.

Anyway, since I found this out so early on, I was able to convince my family to come visit ME this year. I'm really looking forward to it. I will miss seeing my home decorated for Christmas, my friends, and my extended family in Illinois. However, I mentioned to my mom last year that I hoped she could come to New York around the holidays sometime. I think it is the most amazing place in the world at this time of year. I gushed about it last year, and I'll do it again. New York is at its most fabulous for Christmas!

This is the time of year I usually provide a link to my wish list. Peruse at will :-)

Crazy Guys and Nice Guys

2008-11-19T00:11:00.007-05:00

This past Sunday I finally made it to see Equus, a play currently running on Broadway about a teenage boy who is sent to a mental institution because of a very disturbing act of violence he committed. No, not a cheery subject, but it was beautifully acted and designed and very much worth the trip to the theatre. It's a little bit funny that I have seen most of the stars of this play in person before. I saw Richard Griffiths (of Harry Potter fame) in History Boys on Broadway a couple years ago. Kate Mulgre w (of Star Trek: Voyager) came to my college and spoke about her favorite actress, Kate Mulgrew. And another supporting actor, T. Ryder Smith, was in the play Lebensraum that I worked on two years ago (and which won a Drama Desk Award).

But I wasn't really there to see them. I was there to see Harry Potter himself, Dan Radcliffe. He was excellent. There was, of course, quite a bit of expectation on him as there is on any big "movie star" who tries to transition to the stage. Not all have been successful. Claire Danes got luke-warm reviews for her stint in Pygmalion. Julia Roberts got pretty much panned for her stage debut two years ago in Three Days of Rain. But Dan was a natural on stage. He's gotten great reviews both in London, where the play originated, and here on Broadway. I'm pretty sure he's very strategically planning to become the Harrison Ford of the Harry Potter franchise, not the Mark Hamill. What I mean by that is he's working hard to be able to leave Harry Potter behind when it's finished and transition into diverse roles that will continue to carry him as a super star. He's doing a great job so far.

After the show, I got to the stage door as quickly as I could to wait for an autograph. Dan came out very quickly after the show and graciously signed for as many people as he could, including me!

I was happy to find out that what I've heard about him is true. He was extremely nice to everyone, didn't act like he was bothered by having to stand outside signing until his hand cramped, and actually made friendly conversation with people in a way that seemed like he was totally unaware that he was famous or intimidating in any way. He even turned to one girl and said incredulously, "Have you been here before? I know I've seen you here!" He seemed very puzzled that anyone would wait for his autograph twice. The girl only giggled. Dan looked at her as if he wasn't sure why she couldn't give him a straight answer. All I can say is, his parents have done a good job.

Feel the Burn

2008-11-12T23:47:00.004-05:00

I went to the gym today for the first time in my life! Well, pretty much. I've been in a couple workout rooms in my life, and I definitely ran on a treadmill at least once during college, but I have never really been excited about working out. But within the last year or so I have started considering that it might be a good idea to get on a regular workout program. I've done pilates in my apartment pretty regularly, and while that's better than nothing, I'd like to add a little more variety to my workout.

So, I had this lovely wish to join a gym in New York. The problem with that is most gyms in New York are freakin' expensive. Most monthly rates are between $100-200 not including the start-up fee which can be close to $1,000 in some cases if you don't catch a special. I did some research on cheap gyms in the city a while back and found that there are some parks and recs buildings that have workout rooms and you can pay just $50 a year! It sounded quite promising. But Eduardo and I went to check out the closest location and it was pretty much a dump with only a few machines. I guess you get what you pay for. We couldn't motivate ourselves to join.

At some point during my job search I filled out an application at Equinox, a popular gym chain here. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but I figured the free membership perk would be nice. But I never heard anything and eventually got a different job (at Westside Theatre! I start Monday!) But a couple weeks ago I got a call from a woman named Lillian at Equinox wondering if I was still interested in a job. At first I told her no because I had found a job already (inside I was still thinking about that nice free membership, but figured health insurance is also important, so I'd stick with what I got). But Lillian pressed on saying this job would only be four hours a week. All I'd have to do is pass out flyers promoting the gym. And if I did it, I could get a FREE MEMBERSHIP! Yeah, I was in. And I got Eduardo in too.

So, today, we tried out that free membership for the first time, and let me tell you, it is a NICE gym. I think I might actually look forward to working out if I can go there all the time! There's two entire floors of cardio and weight equipment, personal TVs mounted on the equipment, locker rooms so clean you can eat off the floor, free stuff like shampoo, razors, hair dryers, etc, a huge class schedule, a healthy food and juice bar, an in house spa...yeah, I actually said to Eduardo, "We could live at the gym!" I'd be happy to just go there to drink juice and shower, but I guess I really should work out too. Yeah, I'm gonna do it.

I Must Have a Deathwish

2008-11-10T18:50:00.004-05:00

Recently, Eduardo and I made it to Six Flags one last time this season, and in the flurry that was the last several weeks, I haven't mentioned it on the blog yet. It was a great day, the highlight being when I was able to drag him onto Kingda Ka, the scariest roller coaster I've ever experienced. Even though I went on it last summer, I was still scared out of my mind as I sat strapped into my seat, starring at the 456 foot coaster (the tallest in the world) looming before me. The wait was made even more scary by the fact that I was anticipating the "launch" in which I would be rocketed to a speed of 128 mph in 3.5 seconds (the fastest in the world).

I can't adequately describe the experience, but perhaps this video will help:

And if you still don't understand how incredible this ride is, I think this picture says it all:
In case you can't tell by looking, those are 100% genuine reactions on our faces!

Fall Events

2008-11-06T22:48:00.011-05:00

As promised, here's a couple pictures from the Starving Artists Halloween Ball that took place on October 30:

View of the party from the VIP area

Ariel acrobatics performance by New York Circus Arts

Eduardo in his Zorro costume along with my friend Anu

Sorry I don't have any pictures of myself, but I didn't take any! I was a bit too busy to pose for many photos, but I may be getting a couple from friends. Anyway, the night was a huge success! But it was SO much work. Oh, well. Everyone had fun and the party was off the hook.

Something major has happened that I MUST comment on. Barack Obama is the next president of the United States! I had to take a picture of the TV to mark the historic moment:

This election night was completely different than the one I experienced four years ago. Four years ago I was watching the results alone in my Beavercreek, OH apartment and feeling very tense and nervous...and not in a good way. This year I watched with friends in an East Village apartment full of hopeful anticipation. Every blue state was a touchdown. The Ohio and Pennsylvania announcements brought some close to tears. And by the end of the night, nearly everyone was crying from joy, relief, pride in our country, and hope for the future. I haven't been this happy about politics...ever. And as we left the gathering that night, we found ourselves on a street full of roudy supporters. Chants of "OBAMA!" and "Yes we can!" filled the streets of New York. I later found out that 88% of Manhattan voted for Obama. That would explain the island-wide celebration.

I've Been Banging On A Drum All Day Long Enough

2008-11-01T21:58:00.004-04:00

I have not had time to eat, sleep, or think for the past week because of the Starving Artists Halloween Ball that I've been planning since June and took place on Thursday. But I'll get back to the Ball. Right now I want to tell you my very exciting and relieving news:

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!

Let me back up a moment and give you a little background so you can fully appreciate this news. I worked at Ticket Central box office for all of 2007. It was good job. Really easy. Decent pay. Excellent perks (I could see hundreds of shows for free!) I made my own schedule. The only down side was that I sometimes couldn't get enough hours in the week. But the flexibility was worth it for me. Anyway, in December '07, if you'll remember, I left New York on a children's theatre tour, and thus, had to leave Ticket Central in hopes that I could return when the tour concluded in June. Well, the tour ended and, try as I might, I was not able to return to Ticket Central. I delayed looking for a job for the summer because I took 2 theatre jobs: one as stage manager for a summer show and one as company manager for Studio 42 (the Halloween Ball throwers). Neither of these jobs paid anything, but I was holding out hope that I would get to return to Ticket Central at some point, and in the meantime I was busy. Well, fall rolled around, and I still had no job and the door to Ticket Central was pretty much closed.

I started looking for jobs more seriously, but it was harder than I thought. Dr. Phil always says that if you don't have a job, looking for a job is your job. You should spend every day trying your best to get one. And I took that to heart. But every day I didn't get an email or a call back...every interview I went on and heard nothing...I felt more and more discouraged. At this point I've been unemployed for 5 months, and I've been starting to wonder if I would ever find a job! I thought I might have to give up my New York dream and move back to Ohio if nothing came up soon. BUT here's the good news. My perseverence has paid off. I finally have a job that I think will be perfect.

I'm going to be working at Westside Theatre in the box office. Westside is a commercial Off-Broadway Theatre that currently has two shows running. The position is full time with benefits, which is what I wanted, but I was starting to think I would have to settle for less. I'm very excited because this position means I will have freedom to be involved with Studio 42 without the worry for money and health insurance. I start on November 17! Can't wait to get that paycheck!

Night Time Shenanigans

2008-10-22T23:50:00.003-04:00

I have always prided myself on being a person who does not do weird things in my sleep. I don't talk. I don't make weird noises. I don't walk around. Sometimes I might kick, steal the covers, or snore lightly if I have a cold. But that's about it. But the other night I did something totally weird. I was over at Eduardo's place in Queens and it was late and we were watching TV. He suddenly announced that he was hungry and wanted to go get something to eat. I wasn't hungry and it was cold outside, so I told him to just go and I'd stay at the apartment. So, he left for the taco stand across the street and I, of course, fell asleep. I'm sure I was only out for 15 min tops, but I definitely was totally asleep. So, Eduardo returned with his food, which woke me up, but I was so groggy that I said, "Did you buy the place?" What the hell was I talking about!? I have no idea! So, when Eduardo replied, "What?" I said what I meant to say the first time which was, "What did you get to eat?" Seriously! That's what I wanted to say! That was the sentence that was somewhat formed, but apparently not formed enough, in my head when I said, "Did you buy the place?" It's like my mouth just spit something out before my brain had a chance to catch up. It was really weird. For those of you who have all kinds of night time shenanigans, this is probably nothing. But, like I said, that was a first for me and it was a totally weird feeling!

Things That Make Me Smile

2008-10-16T11:53:00.005-04:00

I've recently gotten a glimpse of several happening around me that make me appreciate where I live. This is mostly because lately I've been running all over Manhattan doing the bidding of Studio 42 (see previous post for what Studio 42 is), but rather than begrudge them for it (and I really can't because I love my non-paying job), I take these opportunities to enjoy the living city around me.

So, the other day I was walking near Times Square and saw some big trailers parked on the street, which means some movie or TV show is probably shooting near by. It isn't an odd sight in New York. I started to walk more slowly to see if I could figure out what was filming, and I saw this on the trailer...

...and that made me smile.

Yesterday I was riding the bus, sitting towards the back, reading the Total Money Makeover, and I heard someone's cell phone ring. I looked up and realized the ring tone was the theme to the original Superman movies. And here's where the story gets good. The man with the cell phone raised both of his hands over his head, fists clenched, in his best Superman pose. I looked at him in amazement, but I didn't feel bad about staring since I would guess that's what he was going for. He held his pose until I can only guess that he knew the phone was about to go to voice mail, and then lowered his arms and answered the phone casually. And that made me smile.

A few days ago I was running some errands in the theatre district and walked by the big bad Scientology building located on 46th Street here in Manhattan. Usually I see a few dianetics pamphlets scattered on the street near the building. But this time I noticed a group of people across the street from the building, with signs and pamphlets yelling "Scientology is a lie!"

And that made me smile.

And just one more thing that makes me smile. I'm not sure if the IO cable commercials play in other states, but in New York, they are super popular. Here's the latest and I laugh pretty much every time it comes on!

I like it even better in Spanish, but unfortunately couldn't find that on YouTube.

The Starving Artists Halloween Ball

2008-10-15T11:44:00.001-04:00

For those who don't know, I work for a company called Studio 42. It is a great little start-up theatre/arts company that I have been the company manager for since June. I don't currently get paid for my work with them (no one does), but I hope that will change soon! Anyway, I'm currently VERY occupied with the planning of the greatest Halloween party on earth, The Starving Artists Halloween Ball. Here's the intivation, to give you an idea:

I am SO impressed with this company! This party is going to be ridiculous and you would never know that this company actually just consists of 12 people, most of whom have other full time jobs. If you are in New York, or want to make the trip for Halloween because it's worth it, please come to the ball! I'd love to see you there! For my blog readers, use the code SAAD for $30 tickets (the full price is $50 and up). Purchase tickets here!

Ok, that's enough plugging my events for now. I'm experiencing writers' block at the moment and don't really have anything else interesting to say, so I'll hopefully update more just as soon as I think of something worth writing!

Things On My Mind This Fall

2008-10-02T14:19:00.010-04:00

I woke up today and it was fall. It just blew in over night. Even though I believe I am a hot weather person because I was born in the south in July, I really love the fall/winter holidays and the cold is a sign of them coming. However, once Christmas is over I am really over the cold weather. As far as I'm concerned we can skip January, February, and March. Anyway, I realize I need to update my blog, and since I can't decide on a topic, I'll just give a you a little of everything that is going through my head today.

First of all, watch this video. The voter registration deadline is just days away in some states, so it you're not registered yet, do it now!

Yesterday I got a check with my name on it from E! Television, and I have to admit, it was a little exciting.

If you don't know (and if you read this blog, I don't know how you couldn't) I worked an event called Fashion Rocks for E! about a month ago, and it was super fun. Getting the check was great because it was, like, official. I didn't just volunteer...I was employed by E! for a day. Maybe I'll get to be employed by them for another day...or two...sometime.

Yesterday my neighbor and best friend in New York, Marylin, knocked on my door and said, "Guess what. Dorian broke up with me." Dorian is a guy Marylin has been dating for a little over a month. She was set up with him by a mutual friend. I only met him one time and he seemed like a nice guy. And certainly he is entitled to break up with her if he doesn't think the relationship is going anywhere. But here's the problem. Why do guys say things like, "I want to be with you," and, "I can see myself with you for a long time," and "I think I'm falling for you," and even, "I love you," so early in relationships? Don't they know what that does to a girl? If they say those kinds of things, and then break up with someone within a few weeks, obviously their words don't mean much. So here is my plea to the men who might be reading this blog: do not say this crap within the first couple weeks or months of a relationship! Just don't do it! Even if you think that's how you feel, just don't say it. That's not love you're feeling. That's first flush. That's the honeymoon phase. There is no rush to say these kinds of things to girls! If it's not true, we don't want to hear it! Take your time and figure out what you want and if that includes the girl you are currently dating. It will mean more if you wait until you really know each other and know that you'd like stay together for a long time. Ok, that's my PSA for the day (well, it's my second one, actually).

Trips to Childhood and Foreign Countries...Without Leaving New York

2008-09-15T16:13:00.007-04:00

I would like to give the best idea ever award to the inventor of the Treats Truck. The other day my day was brightened when I saw the big silver truck parked in my neighborhood. The treats truck is a relatively new staple in New York. There is only one truck (named Sugar) and it travels to different locations around New York City every day...sometimes it moves several times a day. It brings back the idea of the ice cream truck from childhood. In the summer, when I was little, the ice cream truck drove by my house occasionally, but I never knew when it was coming and there was a good chance of missing it. That's what made catching it such a rare and wonderful treat, even if we had ice cream right in the freezer at home. Such is the Treats Truck. You never know when or where you might see it, but when you happen to catch it, it's quite satisfying. The Treats Truck doesn't sell ice cream though. It sells home baked treats like peanut butter sandwich cookies, home made oreos, giant gooey rice krispy treats, and raspberry chocolate brownies. No wonder sometimes the line runs all the way down the block!

I've been spending some time with my boyfriend in his neighborhood in Queens lately. Just to give you some background on him, since I haven't really said much about him on this blog, here's the quick facts:

Name: Luis Eduardo Gutierrez Jimenez (he goes by Eduardo)
Age: 21
Country of Origin: Mexico
Years in U.S.: 2.5
Favorite Food: Chilies Rellenos
Occupation: Bar Back/Cook at Soldier McGee

So, given the facts about Eduardo, it might make sense to you that he lives in an area of Queens that is basically Mexico. When I go there to visit him, I feel like I'm in another country. No one speaks English. No one. Or if they do speak some English, they certainly don't lead with it. The juke boxes play Mexican music. The TVs all play Telemundo. The restaurants serve traditional Mexican food. We're not talking about Don Pablos here. Even the products they sell in stores come from Mexico from drinks to snacks to household cleaners. Here are a few visuals for you:

Finding out that there is a neighborhood in New York that is just like Mexico makes me wonder how many other hidden countries there are in this vast city. Perhaps I might find India in the far reaches of Brooklyn or Romania in the heights of The Bronx. Sometimes I forget, or maybe I take for granted, that I live in the most diverse city in the world.

Sarah Palin and Her Tina Fey Glasses

2008-09-14T16:14:00.006-04:00

In the past couple weeks, I have learned a lot about Sarah Palin. She's a mom, her son is going off to war, her teen daughter is about to give birth, she has a baby with down syndrome, she's attractive, only 2 years ago she was a small town mayor in Alaska. She seems like a pretty good mom, a nice woman, someone most women in this country would probably like to be friends with. They might think, "She's just like me!" But I personally don't anyone "just like me," or just like anyone else I am acquainted with for than matter, to run this country. The Vice President should be smarter than me, more informed than me, tougher than me, more compassionate than me. Is Sarah Palin really these things?

This weekend I saw the hilarious season opener to Saturday Night Live. Tina Fey, back just for this sketch, was spot on as always:

While this sketch was really funny, the reality it was based on really isn't:

From the Red Carpet

2008-09-06T18:13:00.004-04:00

Fashion Rocks...well...rocked! I had so much fun! All day was pretty easy. I just helped supervise crews setting up a small platform for interviews. The platform was right at the end of the red carpet. So, when the event began, the celebrities ended their walks by hopping up onto this platform to be interviewed for the Style Network by Jay Manuel of America's Next Top Model, who by the way was very nice and pretty fun to work with. They were also asked to sign a guitar for charity. While all this was going on I had a prime spot for photos: right on the red carpet and right next to the interview platform. I'd like to remind you while looking at these photos that my iPhone does not have a zoom lens. I was really this close!

Jay Manuel with another host for E! named Debbie. I'm not really familiar with her, but she was nice.

People across the street hoping to see some celebs.

Paula Abdoul signs an autograph.

Brandy (AKA Moesha) turns to sign the charity guitar

Tyra Banks strikes a pose

Mylie Cyrus stops for an autograph

Vera Wang goes rocker

Those are just a few of my best shots! I also got to see many, many more stars including Ciera, Chris Brown, John Legend, Dennis Leary, Rihanna, Vanessa Carlton, Hayden Panetierre, Leona Lewis, Hillary Swank, Vivica A. Fox, LL Cool J, Charlize Theron, Fergie, Hillary Swank, and Natasha Beddingfield. Sadly, no Nicole Kidman. Oh, well. I'm not complaining! If you want to see more photos, head over to my Facebook. I've also uploaded the photos on Flickr, but they are totally disorganized and not captioned, so I wouldn't recommend looking there at the moment.

Fashion Rocks!

2008-09-04T18:26:00.007-04:00

I'm so excited! I just got my first ever job in television! It's just a one-day thing, but, hey, it's a start! Tomorrow I'm going to be working on the red carpet for the kick-off concert for New York Fashion Week, Fashion Rocks at Radio City Music Hall. E! Television is covering the event on the red carpet and I'm going to be supervising crews as they set up stages and so forth. Hopefully after a day of work, I'll get to see some stars up close! The list of performers includes Beyoncé, The Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Duffy, Fergie, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban (with Nicole Kidman?? I love her!), Mariah Carey, Rihanna, One Republic, and Timbaland with special guest Lynyrd Skynyrd.

So, if you'd like to watch what I'm working on, you can tune into The Style Newtwork at around 8:00pm Monday night to see the stars arriving. Then, you can watch the concert on CBS at 9pm. Yay!

The other exciting thing that happened today is that I think I created the perfect combination at Pinkberry. Vanilla frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and fruity pebbles. Yum! It was fruity goodness. But if you live in Ohio and are jelous of my ability to create such fruity deliciousness, you should check out Pinkberry knock-off Yagoot. It is almost as good as the original.

The Most Exciting and Exhausting Diary of a Tired Traveler

2008-08-24T20:44:00.004-04:00

Man, this summer is totally flying by, probably because the high activity level I mentioned in the previous entry has continued the past couple weeks. I took my semi-annual trip to Ohio to see family and friends. While home I didn't get to see everyone I would have liked to, but I did get to see Carolyn and Justin's new house and help them put together an Ikea sleeper sofa. I also got to give Sarah Cooney a tour of my old home town since she just moved to my neighborhood in Cincinnati for a job in my school district! I got to meet some of Adam's friends while singing karaoke, and I also got to see his office and new apartment for the first time. I went to Indiana for a reunion with the extended Thede family, which hasn't happened for I don't know how many years...a lot. And I caped off the trip with a visit to "best friend" Emily Cikra in Cleveland. I love visiting everyone in the summer and I wish I could have a month to spend quality time with all my old friends and family. But I was also happy to return to New York. People here miss me too!

I returned very late to the Newark Airport and as soon as daylight broke I was up again and on my way to spend 16 hours in tech for my first major event with Studio 42, the "Unproducible" one-night-only fund raiser event. The year's selection for this event was a ridiculous play called The Most Lamentable and Tragical Historie of the Barber-Surgeons. I wasn't the stage manager for this one. Leading up to the show, I filled my role as company manager by doing some administrative, behind-the-scenes work. On the weekend of the show, I was just present to do anything that anyone needed from building the set to folding programs. And during the show I ran the light board. Here are a few backstage photos:

The show was a huge success. We sold out both the 8:30 and 11:00pm shows and turned away huge waiting lists. We also got a good amount of donations. And everyone who came really loved the show! I'm really proud to be working with this company.

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

2008-08-06T16:56:00.006-04:00

Well, it's been a little while. I've been getting caught up on life the past couple days because my brain has been on vacation the last couple weeks. It's summer. I don't have a job (to speak of), and sometimes when you don't have anything to do...you don't do anything! Well, the truth is, I've been going on a lot of "day-cations" with my friend Eduardo, who is a boy...(boyfriend? not sure yet). We went on the row boats in Central Park, the pool, the Bronx Zoo, I spent a couple days at the beach last weekend. I'm just enjoying my city that I was away from for so long on tour! Ah, it's so nice to be back.

The other day I got to hold a tiny baby! Who doesn't love that? Eduardo's first nephew was born and we went to see him. Oh, he is so cute and tiny!

Continuing with the theme of vacations, I got to house sit recently at my friends' AMAZING house in Harlem. It was SO nice. I just had to feed the kitties and water the plants, and all weekend I just lounged around, watched TV, did my laundry, and pondered things like "Shall I go to the second floor or the third floor?" "Shall I peruse the library or sit in the gardens?" "Shall I watch premium cable or take a long nap in the air conditioning?" Oh, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it...

Feliz Cumplianos a Mi!

2008-07-22T15:58:00.004-04:00

I had a very busy birthday weekend. On Friday afternoon I went to see The Dark Knight and thought it was very good but also quite disturbing. But, please, go see it because Heath Ledger is amazing.

Friday night I had a couple hours of rehearsal for Happy Hour, and then it was time to celebrate my birthday! I spent the evening with a few friends at Soldier McGee and at midnight, we rang in my birthday with a few too many shots of Jack Daniels.

Saturday, the actual day of my birthday, was a very long day of tech for Happy Hour. But we were done at about 6pm and then I met up with Marylin. We watched the first episode of the new Project Runway season! I loved the first challenge: make a garment out of items at the grocery store. This was my favorite:

Materials: Table cloth, kale, cherry tomatoes

But this was the winner, which I also liked:

Materials: Vacuum bags, coffee filters, bleach, paint

Anyway, after Project Runway, we went to Gabriela's Mexican Restaurant for my birthday dinner where I got the best enchiladas con queso I've had in my life. And the watermelon margarita wasn't bad either. That evening I opened my gifts from Marylin, which included a book about the making of Prince Caspian, A book of card games, a philosophy gift set, and a Family Guy bookmark. I also got flowers from my friend Nikki, a nice camosol from Mom, the iPhone Missing Manual from Dad, a movie gift card from my friend Erik, another gift card from my grandparents, and a stuffed puppy dog from Eduardo (who works at Soldier McGee and is a little in love me...but who wouldn't be?). I got a lot more gifts this year than I normally do, but I have a lot more close friends in New York! And that's really the gift that means to most to me :-)

Sunday was another long day of rehearsal followed by opening night of Happy Hour! The show went great. Afterwards we all went out to the bar at the New Yorker hotel, right around the corner from the theatre, for the opening night party.

So, needless to say, I'm still recuperating. Not only was it a busy weekend for work, it was a weekend to party hard, and it was the biggest heat wave we've had this summer. So, I think I'm just going to lay in front of my fan for a while, relax, and try to keep cool!

An Amusing Summer

2008-07-10T15:41:00.006-04:00

Wow, I have had a very busy couple weeks. Not only are things picking up with Happy Hour and Studio42, but then there's also all those crazy summer activities. Yes, it's been busy, but fun.

This July 4th was one of the best in recent years. Marylin and I decided to go out to Coney Island and spend the day like the real New Yorkers do (well, Marylin IS a real New Yorker...so...). We just missed the Hot Dog Eating Contest (oh, darn), but we did go to Astroland (see above photo), the beach, and the New York Aquarium. And we made it back to Manhattan in time for the Macy's Fireworks! Yes, a very full, very exhausting day.

AND! Yesterday I finally made it to Six Flags. I've been wanting to go all season, but the tour and things have been preventing it. But yesterday I had the whole day off, and I finally found someone who's not afraid of roller coasters to go with me, my friend Tucker. We had a really good time in spite of the fact that it rained toward the end of the day, and Tucker lost his phone on that roller coaster we're standing in front of. But we did get frozen lemonade, and that's really all it takes to keep me happy.

Photos of my latest adventures can be found on my flickr page.

Room Improvement: A Work In Progress

2008-07-01T14:50:00.005-04:00

Lately I've been trying to improve my living space. This is difficult when you have no money, but I'm trying to make it work. The other day I mentioned to my neighbor Marylin that I wanted to rearrange my room, but I didn't know how because I just don't have enough space to work with. But Marylin was determined to make it work, so we spent the entire afternoon moving things around and cleaning. We made the following improvements:

We moved my fridge out of this corner. It used to be where that little stove is. This freed up a lot of floor space. I also put down those lovely mats. I have a wood floor, but it is pretty ugly, splintery, and paint spattered. So, I found these mats at Duane Reade a couple weeks ago for $3. I think you're supposed to take them to the beach. But I use them to cover my ugly floor.

Please excuse my dirty dishes. I'm gonna take care of those right after I write this post! Anyway, this is the new home of my fridge and microwave. It's kinda nice having it there. It makes a little counter space next to the sink. Also, the fan is new. I found it on the street and it's in perfect condition! (I also snagged a paper shreder and a beach chair. People throw away great stuff!) Anyway, it is currently cooling my room as I have no air conditioner.

I actually hung the memo board a few weeks ago. The shelf has been there since I moved in, but it used to have some of my lesser used food products on it. Now it has become a decorative shelf and looks much nicer! (I bet some my blog readers can find themselves in this picture).

This is my "pantry" if you will. I have kept food on this shelf for quite a while, but Marylin gave me the spice rack. The stuff in there is mostly stuff that used to be on that now-decorative shelf in the previous picture. It makes way more sense to have it in this little spice rack!

Ok, so there you have it. My affordable little room improvements. I'm still hoping to find some kind of little love seat or futon to squeeze in here somewhere. But I'll settle for this for now.

On an unrelated note, my birthday is coming up on July 19! I'm excited because I'm actually going to try to have a party this year. We're getting together at Soldier McGee's on Friday, July 18. I can't have the party on the night of my birthday because of rehearsal, but I'm just as happy to have it on the 18th. We'll be able to ring in the later half of my 20's at midnight! If you happen to be in New York, please come by!

My Sanity Is Effectively Washed Away

2008-06-23T22:41:00.009-04:00

I'm back from California! What a great trip! What's weird is I still can't believe I actually went. It's like a dream. My decision to go was so last minute, I didn't even have time to anticipate and plan. I just...went. But it couldn't have gone better even if I did have more time before the trip.

My trip started with a six hour direct flight from JFK to LAX. I've never flown coast to coast directly before. I felt just like P Diddy. Anyway, after my very long flight (in flight movie: Horton Hears a Who. Review: 2 complimentary pretzel bags up), I took my first shared ride airport shuttle to my friends' house is Placentia, California (near Disneyland). It wasn't quite as bad as this:

A guy did give me his number on the shuttle. He was a pretty nice guy, but I didn't call him. Oh, well. I guess I'll never know how that would have worked out.

So, I arrived to my friends' house where I met up with my friend Jona from Albania! I hadn't seen her in about 4 years, so it was a happy reunion. We spent that first evening talking and catching up. The next day we ran some errands with our host, and then we were able to go for coffee just the two of us, so that was nice. That evening we went with Stephanie (a girl Jona knew but I had never met) to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping, which was pretty fun. Then the next day, Thursday, we actually went to Disneyland! Going to Disneyland with someone from Albania is like going with a 3-year-old child in that to her, everything was amazing and magical. She had never seen anything like it. So, for someone who has been to Disneyland more times than I can count, it was like a whole new experience. Friday was my last day with Jona. We got breakfast and pedicures in the morning, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting her ready to go. Adam and his girlfriend Katie arrived late afternoon to pick me up. It was a tearful good-bye, and of course, now I want to go visit Albania as soon as I can! Maybe next summer...

So Friday evening Adam, Katie, and I went to Laguna Beach. It wasn't exactly like this:

I mean, the beach is gorgeous, but we just weren't surrounded by beautiful angsty teenagers. Anyway, Adam and I have vacationed on Laguna Beach before...back when we lived in Vegas, long before MTV made a TV show about it! We were really excited to go back. It was a lot of fun and just as great as we remembered it. We did some boogie boarding, had dinner at Pomodoro and then called it a night. On Saturday, we went to Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier, where we did a little shopping, eating, and walking along the beach. Then, Adam and Katie drove me to LAX and I was on the long flight back to New York.

What a great trip it was! You can look at photos on my flickr page! Click the badge on the right.

Albania by Way of California

2008-06-16T22:00:00.003-04:00

I'm being spontaneous...just a few days ago I decided to take a trip to California! I was on Facebook and one of my friends from Albania, Rudina, who I met on my trip to Kosovo a few years ago instant messaged me using the fabulous new chat feature (I love Facebook...just FYI). Anyway, we were catching up a little bit, and Rudina asked me if I knew that my BEST friend from Albania, Jona, was in the United States! I did NOT know that. Apparently she hasn't had internet access for a while and couldn't get in touch with me. But I was thrilled to find out. I immediately got in touch with Jona and found out that she was in Chicago, but would be traveling to California for the last part of her trip. After some very quick planning, I booked a flight with my frequent flyer miles and I'm leaving tomorrow! It's perfect timing since today was officially was last day of work for Junie B. Jones. It's a great time to take a little vacation to decompress before my summer gets too hectic. Oh! And coincidentally, Adam will be in California at the same time! So, I'll get to see him too. Hopefully I'll be able to update during the week to let you know what a great time I'm having on the west coast.

And now, an update about my activities for the rest of my summer. When I get back from California, I'll be starting rehearsals for a play called Happy Hour. It's just a showcase production (meaning low pay and no benefits), but I usually don't get good work in the summer, so I figured I'd rather do this than nothing. It sounds like it will be a fun project.

Also, I just took a job as the company manager for Studio 42. It's not going to be too glamorous to start, but I have a lot of faith in this company and I think it will be worth getting in with them at the ground level. I really think they're going places, so this could open up a lot of opportunities for me.

I'm rushing through this update so I can get to bed...I have to leave for the airport early tomorrow!

Life on the Home Stretch of a LONG Six Months

2008-06-03T16:40:00.008-04:00

I'm behind with my updates! Not for lack of things to say, but lack of brain power to put my thoughts into coherent sentences. The tour is ALMOST over. Just nine performances left. I'm really, really happy to be done and moving on. I'll get the part of my life back that has been replaced by early morning call times and long hours in a van and nights in sub-par hotel rooms. Yes, I'll be happy when I get my life back.

One of the best things I was able to do the in the last couple weeks was attend the Posh Sale. My downstairs neighbor told me about it and now I'm going to go every year! It's a charity sale that raises money for a charity that helps the blind. Celebrities, socialites, and designers donate new or gently used DESIGNER clothes and then they sell everything for ridiculously low prices. There were several areas of the sale, but the best part was a room full of racks and boxes of clothes, and you could fill a large shopping bag with as much as you could stuff in it for $30! You heard me right. $30. I got dresses, skirts, bathing suits, pants, shorts, t-shirts...too much to even itemize here! It was awesome.

Another highlight of the last few weeks was Memorial Day weekend. One of the reasons it was so great was because I had four days off from the tour. But it was also great because I got to see a lot of friends I hadn't seen since before the tour started. The day started at Central Park when my neighbor Marylin and I met up with some friends including Bo (the ex). We laid on the grass in Sheep's Meadow for a few hours watching more athletic people throw balls and frisbees. At around 5pm we headed over to the Boat Basin, a seasonal outdoor restaurant right on the Hudson River. There we met up with even more friends, and even though we had to wait over an hour for a table, we passed the time drinking a lot of electric lemonade.

Here's a pretty pointless video of my friends and I at the Boat Basin:

After we finally got to sit down and eat, we decided to head to a less crowded location to finish the night, so we went to Soldier McGee! My new favorite bar! It was a merging of my old and new lives. The old life being the months I was together with Bo and hung out with his group of friends all the time...the new life being the time I've spent in the last couple months hanging out with my neighbor Marylin a lot, going to Soldier McGee, and the guy I'm sort of dating now, who happens to be a bar tender there and was working that night (and in case you were wondering, the evening was not awkward with both Bo and the new guy there. I didn't tell either of them about the other, so they were blissfully ignorant).

Now, I'm just looking forward to June 14! My first day of freedom! Bye, bye, Junie B. It's time to graduate.

No Jim or Pam, But There is an Abandoned Warehouse!

2008-05-21T21:47:00.011-04:00

This week we got to visit one of the most famous cities in the world. Yes, we've been to St. Louis, Chicago, and Boston, but these cities have nothing on SCRANTON, PA! Yes, that's right. Home of Jim, Pam, Michael, and Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. The setting of The Office. We had the privilege of performing right down the street from the famous Penn Paper tower (which is actually an abandoned warehouse) featured on the opening credits. Scranton is exactly the kind of town you would expect from the show. It's small, there isn't very much to do, it's very industrial, and in the entire downtown area I did not see a single restaurant or deli...or even convenience store.

The town is proud of its most famous business...even though it doesn't actually exist.

Look familiar? If you watch The Office, you see this shot of the street in the opening credits of every episode. Only there's snow. It wasn't a perfect day weather-wise in Scranton, but at least there was no snow.

Take a look at the video below to see the opening credits. And also the very funny opening of the season finale that was on last week.

Project Runway on Amsterdam Avenue

2008-05-11T10:24:00.002-04:00

I had an eventful evening the other night. I was home in New York Friday night and my friend Marylin and I decided to go out for the evening. We went to dinner at French Roast and then decided to go bar hopping on Amsterdam Ave. As we were walking from The Gin Mill to Soldier McGee, Marylin said to me, "Hey! Isn't that guy from Project Runway?" And she was right! It was Kevin, from the most recent season of Project Runway, standing on the street, having a cigarette. We went over to say hi. He was really cool and talked to us a while about the show. We asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood, and he told us he was bar tending at this bar Fred's. He told us he was there every Friday. So, we headed on to Soldier McGee's, but a little later went over to Fred's and had a great time. Kevin was a really cool guy and chatted with us a bit more from behind the bar. I was also sitting next to a fellow LOST fan, so we geeked out a little bit, talking about theories, etc. When we told Kevin we were ready to go, he said we should do a shot together before we left, so he poured three shots of Jack Daniels, and we drank to Project Runway!

Oh...only in New York.

Park the Car on Harvard Yard

2008-05-06T18:07:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we arrived in Boston, and we only had one night to take in the city. I wish we could have stayed longer. It was my first time in Boston. But we had a pretty good time. And by we I mean Genny and me. Everyone else decided to be lame and stay in. We drove down to Newbury St (pictured above), which is a really great area for shopping and eating. We also took a walk around the Boston Common s, which was really beautiful. It used to be the site of public hangings, but it was still really pretty. Today we performed at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, which was just a block away from Newbury St. So, I guess our little time in Boston was nice, but I'd love to go back and spend more time there. Luckily it's pretty easy to get to from New York. There are direct buses for only $15. Maybe this summer...

The tour is almost over! I'm pretty excited to leave Junie behind for a while. We have three days off in a row coming up and I feel like taking a vacation...but that would mean spending all the money I make for the week, so I guess I'll just stay in New York. Maybe I'll take a walk over to Central Park and pretend like I'm in the country. I hardly ever go to Central Park since Riverside park in right outside my front door. So, I guess Central Park would be a vacation of sorts.

P.S. Today I bought the most delicious snack mix ever. Nuts About Raspberries and Chocolate Trek Mix from Trader Joe's. Peanuts, almonds, dried raspberries and chocolate chips. What could be better?

Riding in Taxis Makes Me Introspective

2008-04-26T17:36:00.003-04:00

I feel like I lived in taxis this past Saturday. I had to drop off the dry cleaning for the show in the morning, so I took a cab. Then I took a cab back home. Then I had to go pick up the dry cleaning, then I had to take it up to our vans in Harlem, then I had to get some props that we need for a rehearsal tomorrow out of the vans and take them to my apartment. I could have taken them all the way down to Chelsea where our rehearsal is tomorrow, but that just would have been too much cab riding for one day. So, I took a total of 5 rides in one day. I'm sure other people take that many cabs every day, but it was a record for me. Anyway, it's on the company dollar, otherwise I would have spent about $50 on transportation.

I'm in a state of dissatisfaction lately. Not in a terrible way. Just in a slightly unsettled way. I'm working on getting over my last relationship, and feeling closer and closer to being completely over it. But I don't think I'm quite there yet. I'm dating again, which has been good. But I always thought it would take a new relationship to get over Bo. It turns out, a new relationship is almost causing me to backslide. Maybe because I miss being totally secure in a relationship, rather than all the guesswork and games that are involved in the beginning stages. I'm also feeling dissatisfied with my job. I'm so happy to be employed in theatre and actually getting money and health benefits. But I'm also under a lot of stress because of this job. Sometimes it just seems too hard to be worth it. I know everyone feels like this sometimes. Everyone wonders if they picked the right path in life. And right now, I'm wondering. But that's just today. Maybe tomorrow the sun will come out and I'll feel differently.

Evolution and Chocolate

2008-04-17T20:31:00.006-04:00

Could I BE more excited about this movie?

I am of the opinion that God and science can coexist, and I am so happy that someone as sardonic and intelligent as Ben Stein has taken on this issue. I'm looking forward to hearing about this age-old debate from a very different perspective.

Moving on to a less controversial topic, I just got back from Hershey, PA, chocolate capitol of the world! It's the first cool place we've been on tour for a while, and we tried to make the most of our 24 hours there. Last night the girls and I went outlet shopping, America's past time. We hit up Bath and Body Works, PacSun, and Aeropostale, where I got some great summer tops:

After the shopping extravaganza, we went to a restaurant I hadn't heard of before called Houlihans, and I think I'm in love. They had liter pitchers of flavored Long Island ice teas for $5.50. Now that's getting your money's worth.

Today after our show we went to Hershey's Chocolate World for lunch, which was pretty fun. We didn't have time to take any tours or anything, but I did get a really big chocolate cupcake for dessert.

We Are Wizards

2008-04-10T18:58:00.005-04:00

Spring is here for real! Finally! I love spring!

Ok, enough exuberance over the weather.

I had a fun event this past week. I went to the east coast premiere screening of the film We Are Wizards at the New York Underground Film Festival. It's a documentary that I was filmed and interviewed for on a couple occasions about the subculture surrounding the Harry Potter phenomenon. It was a really interesting subject for a documentary because it had nothing to do with J.K. Rowling, the books, the movies, the actors...anything mainstream. It had to do with the things that have sprung off as a result of all that stuff. That was a vague sentence. Perhaps you should just watch the trailer (parental warning, there is strong language in this trailer):

I am just off screen in a couple of these trailer shots. But in the actual film I have a whole second of real screen time! Yes!

At the screening I actually got to meet a girl I've had an exclusively online relationship with up until now, Cheryl Klein. She is an editor for Scholastic and a member of the "Harry Potter Brain Trust," meaning that she is one of only a few people on the planet who got to read and work on the book before it came out. She actually got to fly to London just to pick up a rough manuscript of one book and then carry it on a plane back to New York. Um...coolest job ever. Anyway, it was fun to meet her in person after emailing and reading each others' blogs for a few years.

On a totally unrelated note, last night was the annual Idol Gives Back charity concert. I downloaded this song the moment I heard it. So good! Please give it a listen below.

Annie Lennox - Many Rivers To Cross

The Tent Is Up!

2008-04-01T16:20:00.007-04:00

Sarah Cool has requested some details about something I mentioned in my previous post as an answer to a blog survey question. Yes, my mom was in the circus when she was in college.She did a form of acrobatics called Adagio. And because Sarah was so very curious about it, she sent me a few pictures:

Mom and her adagio partner at a performance.

A clown skit

My favorite picture of Mom doing some tricks on spring break.

So, there's the details, Sarah!

OMG TMI

2008-03-27T19:01:00.004-04:00

I got this survey from Alli's blog. Her excuse for filling it out is to try to bring on sleep. My excuse is that I am FIGHTING sleep. Although I had a 6:45am call this morning, and a 7:15am call tomorrow, I still think 7:05pm is a bit early to call it a day. It's still light out, for goodness sakes! Anyway, I hadn't actually seen a survey like this before, so I thought it was worth subjecting all of you to my answers.

10 bands/singers I love:

1. The Beatles
2. Sufjan Stevens
3. Ben Folds
4. Green Day
5. Oliver Boyd
6. Kanye West
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers
8. Rufus Wainwright
9. Sarah McLachlan
10. Linkin Park

9 things I love to eat/drink:

1. Captain Morgan
2. Guacamole
3. Boneless Buffalo Wings
4. Ice Cream
5. Fruity Pebbles
6. Real Mac and Cheese (not kraft!)
7. Chili's chips and salsa
8. Pineapple
9. Spinach

8 things I like to wear:

1. Perfectly fitting jeans
2. Flip flops
3. Band t-shirts
4. PJ pants
5. Flowy skirts
6. Empire waisted tops/dresses
7. Earrings
8. Shorts

7 things I like to do for fun:

1. Go out to fun bars
2. Watch TV/Movies
3. Go to waterparks
4. Go to the beach
5. See good friends
6. Take my cat to Riverside Park
7. Read

6 things I don't understand:

1. War
2. Calvinism
3. The Book of Revelation
4. Why any woman would fight for the affection of Flavor Flav
5. Dark matter
6. The appeal of drug use

5 of the best feelings in the world:

1. Knowing someone loves you
2. Pleasant anticipation
3. Laughing until you cry
4. Absolute contentment
5. Waking up completely refreshed

4 things I want to do before I die:

1. Own a little corner of the world
2. Travel to every continent (3 down, 4 to go)
3. Find a life partner
4. Give my parents some grandchildren

3 random things about me:

1. I'm double jointed
2. My mom was in the circus
3. I have many medical problems that can't keep me down

2 of my favorite stores:

1. Target
2. Nintendo World

1 thing worth waiting for:

1. A lifetime of wisdom and experience

Have a Peepy Easter

2008-03-23T09:12:00.003-04:00

Happy Easter! Although I have to spend my Easter in a van for 6 hours, I hope you enjoy yours. Here's a little diversion for you. This is a perfect use for marshmallow peeps in my opinion, since I don't really like to eat them. CLICK HERE

"I Wish the Mall Could Be My Ringtone"

2008-03-20T09:50:00.004-04:00

I finally got to go out in Raleigh and I went on a slight spending spree. Well, it was one for me. It was St. Patrick's Day, and Alli, Genny, and I decided it would be appropriate to go to P.F. Chang. So, I spent some money on our family style dishes of orange peel chicken, Chang's chicken, and a really weird shrimp dish with melon and walnuts. Mmmm, nothing like Chinese food on an Irish holiday. Then we decided to walk around the mall, and I ended up buying a screen protector for my iPhone at the Apple store, where I also checked out the new MacBook Air. It really is the thinnest computer I've ever seen. It might be a nice accessory for my iPhone...maybe someday. I also got a Beatles t-shirt at Forever XXI. I really can't get enough Beatles wardrobe. Then I was convinced by the sales women at Victoria's Secret to buy a new bra. And those bras are not cheap. But I really did need a new one, so, there you have it. And the night was topped off with drinks and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a good night in Raleigh.

Now I'm back in New York again for THREE days off. I'm pretty excited. Today I'm doing nothing, which should be nice. Tomorrow I'm going to my friend Natalie's birthday party and also seeing Bo for the first time since we broke up. Yes, we did break up about a month ago. It didn't end badly. Bo just didn't really want a relationship. So, that was that. But I'm looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. We're going to go to dinner before the party. I'm thinking we're going to remain friends, which would be a first for me. I've never been friends with an ex. But I think we're going to have to stay friends otherwise things could get really awkward. I mean, I'm friends with his friends, we go to the same church, we live in the same neighborhood. We're still going see each other, so it may as well be pleasant when we do.

No Going Out, No Staying In

2008-03-15T19:40:00.004-04:00

I don't want to speak to soon, but it's starting to feel a little like spring! It's a bit warmer outside, I wore flip flops today, and I have a cold...yes, all sure signs of spring. We arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina today. It's the furthest south we're going on this tour, and since four people on tour are from the south, they all have family coming into town. So, with all this family togetherness, I might not have anyone to go out and actually see Raleigh with. Hopefully it will still work out to go out one night though.

I can't wait until real TV is back. The strike is over, and now I'm just waiting for the new episodes to start back up. Yes, there are new episodes of Lost, but there's only one of those left and then it will be off the air for a month! I mean, there's a competition show on right now called Your Mama Don't Dance. Really? Am I supposed to think this is an acceptable substitute for Grey's Anatomy?

Big news broke in the Harry Potter world this week. It had been rumored for a while, but now it's official. The final installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be split into two movies! Each installment will probably be about two and a half hours long (according to producer David Haymen). That means that almost everything in the book will make it into the movies. I'm so excited!

My Sisters and I Remember That Winter...

2008-03-04T15:30:00.006-05:00

I'm pretty excited about being on the east coast for the rest of this tour. The mid-west is nice, and we did find a few cool towns, but it's mostly all the same. And I had already been to every state we performed in. I haven't experienced as much of the east coast since I have never lived on it until I moved to New York. We just returned from Concord, Massachusetts where I was looking forward to finding something...colonial to do. I checked out wikipedia on my iPhone (it's so awesome!) and found out that we could take a tour of Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott's family home where she wrote Little Women.

It looks exactly like the Orchard House in the movie Little Women. See it in the background on the poster? The film makers must have visited the home and designed all the sets based on the real thing! Even though I love the book and the movie, I didn't know just how closely everything was based on Alcott's real life and family. I really enjoyed May's room, the youngest sister who Amy is based on. May was very artistic and loved to paint, just like Amy in the book. So, May painted all over her room and in several other places in the house. She painted an owl above the fire place in Louisa's room that I wished I could take home! I love owls! We couldn't take pictures inside the house, but the pictures I took outside are on flickr, so check them out!

I'm also excited today because I just found out there's a pretty good chance we'll be taking Junie B Jones to Alaska! Now that's a place I have definitely never been before. We would do shows in Fairbanks and Anchorage. The reason it's not a totally sure thing yet is because they have to extend our contracts by a couple weeks so we can go in mid-June. So, most of the actors would have to say yes to committing a little more time to Junie B Jones. Theatreworks can replace a couple actors, but not all of them. So, keep your fingers crossed that most of them will say yes!

iAddicted

2008-02-29T22:46:00.007-05:00

When I got this job with Theatreworks, I decided that I would buy myself a little something that I had been wanting as a gift to myself for getting some steady employment...and working my butt off. I was thinking about finally buying a Wii, but instead I settled on a iPhone! It was a good choice. Especially for my job right now. It is already making my life SO much easier. I can pull up maps when we get confused with directions. I can make notes to myself without needing a paper and pencil. I can check and reply to email all day long. And, most importantly, I can watch YouTube on all those long car rides. Yeah, it is as amazing as it looks in the commercials.

Of course, today when I left the phone in the dressing room for a minute and went out to the theatre lobby, Alli promptly took several pictures of herself and set this little gem as my phone's desktop:

So, when I checked my phone part way through the show, I was greeted with that beautiful face. I think it's a keeper.

Life's Little Unpleasantries

2008-02-21T22:11:00.008-05:00

We drove back to New York from Delaware this evening and it took us about two hours to get from point A to point B on this map:

According to Google Maps, this last leg of our trip home should take about 15 min. Not so at 5:30pm on a Friday night. I was just reminded why I don't own a car. Who wants that kind of commute!? New Jersey Transit, I have new found appreciation for you.

In other not-so-pleasant news, my arms are totally covered in bug bites. I think I slept with some kind of biting insects at the Red Roof Inn last night. I just hope I didn't bring any home with me.

Home...For a Few Hours

2008-02-18T08:57:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to say I'm finally HOME!!! I'm pretty excited to be back in New York, even though it's only for a day. It's crazy how much of your identity gets taken away when you're living out of a suitcase.

V-Day

2008-02-14T17:24:00.004-05:00

What is it about Valentine's Day? It's such a weird holiday. Some people like it, some people REALLY don't. Well, first of all, let's squelch the myth that it is a "Hallmark" holiday. Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who refused to follow the Roman law ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men and women. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine executed. So, Valentine was a martyr for love.

Ok, now that we all know the history, let's look at why people hate this holiday so much now. I guess it reminds single people that they are single. But I've always thought of the day the same way I did when I was in elementary school. It's a day to show people you love them. When I was younger I usually got a card from my mom on Valentine's Day. And of course, we had the parties at school where everyone made a mailbox out of a shoe box and then you walked around the room giving everyone in your class a Valentine with some kind of cartoon or joke on it. And what's wrong with that? It's nice to get cards and candy. I don't need to have a special someone in my life to enjoy Valentine's Day. I have actually never in my adult life had a date on Valentine's Day. But I don't dread it.

Now, here's the flip side of this chocolate coin. Sometimes even if you have a special someone to share Valentine's with, you are still very disappointed. Either the guy forgets or he doesn't meet your standards in some way. Girls can be very high maintenance on these kinds of occasions. And what if he doesn't bring you flowers? What if he doesn't buy you a gift? What if he doesn't dress nice enough or take you to a nice enough place? I have to say that none of these fears have ever really entered my mind. Because whether you have a date or you don't, Valentine's Day is simply a day to tell people you love that you love them. That's all. Make a big deal if you want, but I think it's more fun to get Laffy Taffy Valentines.

The Mogul Monster

2008-02-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

So, this a little late, but a little while ago (I'm not sure how long ago...all the days run together) my friend Genny and I went skiing at Cascade Mountain here in Wisconsin. We had a couple days off, and my dad, who does their website, hooked it all up for us. It was really fun, but I came home a little sore. The black diamonds there were harder than I thought they would be!

Genny has uploaded a lovely little video of our skiing adventures. Warning to you kiddos, there is some PG-13 language in this video. We'll blame that on the fact the Genny is from the Bronx. And it came out a little dark when we uploaded for some reason. But you get the idea.

Snow Day!

2008-02-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

So, we got our van back in one piece. Hopefully it won't break down on us again. We are now in the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin. I haven't seen the ground in weeks because of all the snow. Alli and I actually had to go get some winter boots at the mall in Green Bay. Neither of us brought them on tour. I actually only have rain boots anyway. The up side to all this snow is that today, both our shows were canceled! It's like being in school again. Don't you miss snow days?

Last night Genny, Alli and I went out exploring the town (we're currently in Madison) and found a cool bar called The Plaza near the capitol building with some crazy drink specials ($2.50 for all rum!). I think we might hit up that place again tonight. We also went to a movie. We saw I'm Not There, the movie that is supposedly based on Bob Dylan's many personalities. I have to honestly admit that I did NOT get it. Maybe I needed to know more about Bob Dylan. But it was just really confusing. But the actors' performances were good. Cate Blanchett was amazing. And a young boy named Marcus Carl Franklin was also a stand-out. But I don't know that I can recommend the movie. Maybe if you REALLY love Bob Dylan.

I'm constantly adding photos to flickr, so check it out if you haven't for a while. This whole trip is going to be photo-documented!

UPDATE! Here's some pictures of Alli, Genny and me searching for food in the frozen wasteland that is Madison, Wisconsin.

Our Van is Sick

2008-01-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

I thought we got our van problems out of the way. We had the passenger van checked out in St. Louis, but they didn't really find anything wrong with it. But, less than a week later, on the road to Chicago, it broke down. On the coldest day of the year. It was a really bad day. Now the van is in a shop in Matteson, IL while we've rented a minivan and are now in Elgin, IL, outside Chicago. I think we're getting our van back on Feb 7th. Man, that's going to be an expensive rental car.

Well, in better news, we've been having a lot of fun exploring the towns we're staying in along the way. We had a fun day of sight seeing in St. Louis. We went to the arch and the accompanying museum. And now that we're in the Chicago area, we've been taking advantage of that as well. Yesterday we drove into the city and then went our separate ways...a couple people went to see My Fair Lady, one girl hung out with an old friend for the afternoon, and Alli and I went to Shedd Aquarium. We spent the whole afternoon there and got to see everything. And there are great views from the spot where the aqurium is, as a bonus, so I got some great pictures. In the evening, we all met up at a Spanish tappas bar and drank Sangria. It was a well deserved nice day.

Here's a few pictures from the road:

Me at the arch

Outside Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

I love this picture! It's the view from outside the Aquarium
overlooking Grant Park and the skyline. And it's now my
desktop.

Buying blankets and pillows for the vans at Target. Oh, how
we love Target.

The cast of Junie B. Jones

Our sick van...off to the van doctor.

I would say Alli and I are the most talented people
on the tour.

For more photos, click my Flickr badge on the right.
I'm adding photos as often as I can!

There is Very Too Much To Talk About

2008-01-20T17:58:00.000-05:00

It's been a few weeks and boy has a lot happened. I was VERY busy my final weeks in New York going to rehearsal every day and then preparing myself for five months on the road every evening...and trying to see my boyfriend now and then. I was pretty stressed out as I prepared for this tour. There's just so much to try to remember and keep track of, and I'm in change of it all. But I won't bore you with the details of all that. So far, I'm surviving.

We left New York in the wee hours of last Sunday morning. After missing the GW bridge and taking a scenic drive through upper Manhattan, we finally made it over the Hudson river and were on our way. But about two hours into the drive, our passenger van started having issues getting above 40 mph, so we had to pull off and take about two hours figuring out what was wrong and how to fix it. We took some truckers' advice and got on our way again. The end of the first day's drive landed us in Zanesville, OH (Yes, Sarah Cool we went to that Italian place and got meatballs!). The next day we drove the rest of the way to St. Louis and we've been here ever since.

The show is going well. We're getting used to the daily routine so I think we're about ready to pack it up and start all over again in a new venue. We've all been pretty tired, but have gotten out a few times to take in some local culture. Last night we tried a St. Louis specialty, toasted ravioli. It was pretty yummy. Tomorrow is our day off and I think we're planning on going to see the arch and then going to the City Museum, which I think is similar to CoSi, for all you Ohioans.

Oh, by the way, one of the reasons I haven't updated my blog before now is because the day we got here, my computer started acting up. I took it to a local fix-it shop and found out that is was basically beyond repair. But the shop offered to sell me another computer, an HP notebook. And they said they would transfer all my data, and throw in Office and McAffee. The price? $375. SOLD! And I didn't have to pay for any diagnostic work on my old computer. So, I now have a new computer that I hope will last more than six months. I really wanted my next computer to brand new from the manufacturer, but this was a deal I couldn't refuse.

So, there it is. I think it's a nice change from the Thinkpad. It looks prettier anyway.

A New Year's Routine

2008-01-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

I'm a week into Junie B. Jones rehearsals, and I'm having a pretty good time. All the actors are nice, and seem like people I might want to be stuck in a van with for the next five months. It's fun to be doing a show with a bunch of people who are so close in age to me. The youngest person in the cast is 22 and the oldest is 27. It seems like usually most people involved in productions are older than me. Not that hanging around people 10 to 20 years older than me is bad. But it just makes for a different dynamic when everyone is the same age. It's like being back in college.

We had a fun New Year's. Bo got back into town early in the morning on New Year's Eve. I was in rehearsal, so he had a chance to unpack and take a nap during the day. We met up in the evening and headed downtown where we met James and Natalie at Chelsea Grill for dinner. Bo and I were planning on getting off the subway at 50th St, but the train we were on ended up running express from 72nd St to 42nd St. So, basically we got off the train IN Times Square. Fortunately, cops were everywhere with barricades set up, so things were organized. But even so, it was pretty difficult walking down 42nd St to 9th Ave where the restaurant is. But, I guess I can say I was in Times Square on New Year's Eve. Anyway, we had a nice dinner with James and Nat. Some more of our friends came into the restaurant bar as we were finishing up and then we all went to a penthouse party on 53rd. This guy's place was AMAZING! He had a huge place, and it was totally tricked out. Flat screens in every room (including the bathroom), speaker system in the ceiling, grand piano, beer on tap, a private roof with a hot tub. Yeah, I was like...what am I doing here? Anyway, we all watched the ball drop on TV and then took lots of pictures. I'll post some to flickr soon. It was probably one of the best New Year's Eves I've had!

On New Year's Day Bo and I watched a bit of the Capitol One Bowl (Bo's team, the Gators, lost). Then we headed out to New Jersey for dinner with the family. Aunt Janice made her famous lasagna, not black eyed peas and collard greens, which is what Bo was afraid she would make. Apparently that's a New Year's Day tradition down south, but I'd never heard of it. I assured him that my family would never make anything like that! My cousin Anne's little boy Theo has made leaps and bounds since we saw him at Thanksgiving. He's walking a bit and he makes animal noises and says a few words (Mama, Daddy, bottle...when the phone rang he held his hand up to his ear and said "'lo?")

So, Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a great 2007, and that your 2008 will be even better! Take the time to think about all the great things God gave you this past year. And try to think of a way to bless others in the new year.

The Tour!

2007-12-26T13:18:00.002-05:00

You asked for it, so here it is, my entire tour schedule. I've bolded the dates when I'll be near people I know. I've also bolded "local dates" which are shows in and around New York City, so I'll stay at my apartment at night. Anyway, here it is:

January 13 Travel Day-Spending the night in Zanesville, OH
January 15-22 Florissant, MO-Florissant Civic Center
January 23 Evansville, IN-Victory Theatre
January 25 Aurora, IL-Paramount Arts Center
January 27-29 Elgin, IL-Hemmens Cultural Center
January 30 Bloomington, IL-Bloomington Cultural District
January 31 Cedar Rapids, IA-Paramount Theater

February 1 Galesburg, IL-Orpheum Theatre
February 3-4 Green Bay, WI-Weidner Center
February 5-7 Madison, WI-Capitol Theater
February 8 Joliet, IL-Rialto Square Theatre
February 9-12 Whitewater, WI-University of Wisconsin, Young Auditorium
February 13 Hartford, WI-Shauer Arts Center
February 14 Plano, IL-Centennial School
February 16 Ann Arbor, MI-Michigan Theatre
February 20-21 Wilminton, DE-DuPont Theatre
February 23 New York, NY-The Calhoun School
February 26-27 Staten Island, NY-Snug Harbor
February 28-29 Manasquan, NJ-Algonquin Arts Theatre

March 1 Albany, NY-Lewis A. Swyer Theatre
March 3 Concord, MA-The Willard School
March 6-7 Hanover, NH-Dartmouth College
March 9 Storrs, CT-University of Connecticut at Storrs
March 10 Westfield, NJ-McKinley Elementary
March 12-13 Frostburg, MD-Performing Arts Center
March 14 Walkersville, MD-Walkersville Elementary
March 16-17 Raleigh, NC-North Carolina State University
March 19 Charlottesville, VA-Martin Luther King Jr. School
March 24 Burlington, VT-Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
March 26 Morristown, NJ-Community Theatre
March 27 Mamarneck, NY-Emelin Theatre
March 28 Syosset, NY-Berry Hill Elementary
March 29 Harrisburg, PA-Harrisburg Area Community Theatre
March 31 Greendell, NJ-Green Hills School

April 1 Paterson, NJ-Passaic County Community Theatre
April 2 Trenton, NJ-Patriots Theatre
April 3 Paterson, NJ-Passaic County Community Theatre
April 4 Brooklyn, NY-Klitgord Audiorium
April 6-7 University Park, PA-Pennsylvania State
April 8 Harrisburg, PA-The Forum
April 9 Milford, DE-Milford High School
April 10-11 Hempstead, NY-Adams Playhouse
April 14 Somers, NY-Somers Intermediate School
April 15 Red Bank, NJ-Count Basie Theatre
April 16 Newark, NJ-Symphony Hall
April 17 Hershey, PA-Hershey Elementary
April 18 Tarrytown, NY-Tarrytown Music Hall
April 19 Mamarneck, NY-Emelin Theatre
April 22 Monmouth Beach, NJ-Monmouth Beach Elementary School
April 23 Ellenville, NY-Shadowland Theatre
April 25 Brookville, PA-Pine Creek School
April 28 Corona, NY-PS 143
April 29 Flushing, NY-Kupferberg Center for Performing Arts
April 30 New York, NY-Town Hall Theatre

May 1 Englewood, NJ-Bergen Performing Arts Center
May 2 Valhalla, NY-Virginia Road Elementary
May 5 Turner Falls, MA-Shea Theatre
May 6 Boston, MA-Berklee Performance Center
May 7 New Haven, CT-Lyman Center
May 8 West Hartford, CT-Lincoln Theater
May 9 Montclair, NJ-Memorial Auditorium
May 12 Washington, DC-Lisner Auditorium
May 13 Fairfax, VA-Center for the Arts
May 14 Towson, MD-Kraushaar Auditorium
May 16 Frederick, MD-Weinberg Center for the Arts
May 19 Scranton, PA-Scranton Cultural Center
May 20 Bronx, NY-Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
May 21 Poughkeepsie, NY-Mid-Hudson Civic Center
May 22 Pittsfield, MA-Colonial Theatre Association
May 27 Monroe, NY-Pine Tree Elementary
May 28 Randolph, NJ-Ironia Elementary School
May 29 Camp Hill, PA-West Creek Hill Elementary
May 30 Scarsdale, NY-Heathcote School

June 2 Chappaqua, NY-West Orchard School
June 3 Chappaqua, NY-Roaring Brook School
June 4 Wrightstown, NJ-North Hanover Upper Elementary
June 5 Otisville, NY-Otisville Elementary School
June 6 Locust Valley, NY-Locust Valley School
June 9 Suffern, NY-Viola Elementary
June 11 Brooklyn, NY-PS 109K
June 16 Fairbanks, AK-Carlson Center
June 19-20 Archorage, AK-Atwood Concert Hall

Christmas All Over Again

2007-12-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas! Which means it's time for my annual Christmas post. It was a good year, as always. I really enjoyed spending more time with my family this year. Last year I had to make a really quick trip due to rehearsal schedules. Anyway, now it's time to break down the list of what I got this year!

From Mom and Dad:
Little Miss Sunshine
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Socks
Two pairs of comfy shoes
An electric blanket
Sensual Amber body wash, shower gel, and lotion from Bath and Body Works
Nouveaux CD

From Adam:
Chop Wizard
Little Women on DVD

From Bo:
Swarovski crystal earrings
A little jewelry box
His Dark Materials trilogy all in one volume!

From Carolyn and Justin:
A big bottle of Framboise! (because they read my blog :-)
Globe ornament
Williams Sonoma hot chocolate

From Sara (in the family gift exchange):
Waterpik Shower head
Choxie chocolates

From Grandma and Grandpa:
Money (which will most likely go towards the purchase of a Wii)

In the stocking:
A T-shirt
Hand lotion
Candy including a chocolate ballerina

I think that's it. Good stuff! Tomorrow I'm jumping on a plane back to New York. Along with the cat (Lord, help us). Rehearsals for Junie B. Jones start right away. It's gonna be a very Junie New Year. I promise I'll post the tour schedule soon!

P.S. I'm posting Christmas pics to Flickr, so have a look!

The Hap Happiest Season

2007-12-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

So, in case you were in suspense, I took the Junie B. Jones job. At first I still felt a little unsettled about my decision because of all those cons I mentioned in the previous post. But I've been settling in to the idea the last few days and am actually starting to feel pretty excited about it. Many of you have asked when I might be coming to a city near you. I don't have a full schedule yet, but hopefully will have one after Monday, so I'll post something here as soon as I know.

I'm excited about coming home for Christmas. Even though my trip is going to be cut a little short because of Junie B. Jones rehearsals. This year Tangent will be accompanying me. This will be his first flight and I'm not sure how he'll do. He loves the car, but in the car he's allowed to climb all over the place and look out the window and everything. He's going with me in the cabin, but he still has to stay in his carrier the whole time. I just bought a nice new airline-ready carrier for him and I'm trying to get him used to it. He likes it when it's open.

I haven't tried actually carrying him anywhere in it yet. I'm not sure how he'll like that. I guess we'll find out.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Bo and I are going to have an all-day Christmas date. We're going to church in the morning, then to the American Museum of Natural History because Bo got free passes through his job. I'm really excited about the Mythic Creatures and Water exhibits. Then we're going to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree because I've never seen it all lit up...although several weeks ago I was there the day before the lighting, so I saw the tree, just not lit up at night. Anyway, then we're going to one of our new favorite places, Roberto Passon. And to cap it off, we're going to Cafe Lalo. Ah, doesn't it sound fun!?

Has anyone heard of Framboise? I discovered it about a year ago at a bar called HK. My friend Brandon introduced it to me to it. It's a Belgian beer that's fermented with raspberries. I don't even like beer, but I love this stuff. Anyway, it's rare to find at a bar, but last night we were at House of Brews and I saw the bartender opening the distinctive bottle. I was so excited to find it at another bar! Mmmmmm. And it's so festive looking too.

Maybe Far Away

2007-12-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

It looks like I may finally have gotten another stage management job. It's a national tour of Junie B. Jones Live. Yesterday I was almost positive I wasn't going to take this job. Today I'm almost positive that I will. It's a tough decision. Here's the run down of pros and cons:

Cons:
-I would be leaving my comfortable apartment here in New York to live out of a suitcase.
-I have to figure out something to do with Tangent, my cat.
-This is not the kind of job I will be able to coast through. I'll basically be in charge of EVERYTHING on the road from planning travel to booking hotels to loading up trucks in addition to my normal SM duties.
-The first day of rehearsal in New York is December 26th. Not only does that cut into my Christmas plans, but it means I have to change my plane ticket, which will cost me.
-I won't get to see my boyfriend for months at a time. (Sad but true.)

Ok, now let's move on to the PROS!
-The contract runs from December to June. That is a lot of weeks of employment and a steady paycheck.
-I will work enough to be eligible for a whole year of very cheap health insurance.
-It's tour experience, which I don't have on my resume yet.
-There are several blocks of time that we will be doing "local" tour dates in and around New York City, so I'll get to sleep in my own bed and see my friends and my cat.
-The tour may take a break the week of April 20th. Perfect timing because that is the day Bo's and my friends James and Natalie are getting married in Seattle. I might still get to go!

So, yeah, I didn't have all the information yesterday, but I met with the production manager today when he offered me the job and I got a lot more details and it just seems like taking the job would be the smart thing to do. And who knows, it might be fun!

If I do end up taking this job, it will certainly help ease the strain on my wallet this holiday shopping season. And help me enjoy it a little more. It is so true that New York is at it's best between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It's immaculately decorated everywhere you go, all the street musicians switch to playing Christmas carols (the other day there was a full mariachi band playing Feliz Navidad in the subway car I was riding), and people are more friendly and cheerful in general. Or maybe it's just me who's more cheerful. Oh well. The effect is the same. I love Christmastime!

Thanksgiving...And A Compass Askew

2007-11-26T00:50:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I did. I really like having family just a train-ride-over-the-river away. Because while most people spend their late adolescence to young adulthood trying to get as far away from their families as possible (including me), there are days when the only place you want to be is with your family. Thanksgiving is one of those days. This is the second year I've spent the holiday in New Jersey, but the gathering was slightly larger this year. The usual suspects were there: my Aunt Janice, cousins Anne Kelly, Katie, and Tom, Anne's husband Brian, and her kids Julia and Theo. But in addition to the family, we also had Brian's dad and step-mom, Katie's boyfriend, and my boyfriend in attendance. The more, the merrier, I say. I'm used to fairly large gatherings when it comes to family get-togethers. We had a GREAT dinner, good wine, and took in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with Julia.

After dinner with the family, Bo and I headed back into the city in time for dessert at our friends James and Natalie's Thanksgiving at their place. We were both pretty much in a food coma already by the time we got there, but we hung out with everyone and had fun. Now, where as we had watched the family classic Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving with the family, we watched the just-as-much-of-a-classic Thanksgiving episode of South Park with the friends. A good time was had by all.

Yesterday I finished reading The Golden Compass, the first book in the series His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I really enjoyed it. With the film version of this book hitting theaters in a few weeks, the campaign of people who have never read the book speaking out against the book is mounting. Now, I have only read the first in the series, so I've yet to reach the conclusion and therefore I've yet to find out what the author is ultimately trying to say with these books. However, I have completed the first book, and I just don't think any parallel between the religion of this world and the world that resides in this book can be drawn. To do so would be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Unlike C.S. Lewis' Narnia books in which the parallels to Bible stories and Christian ideals are blatantly obvious, the so-called atheist propaganda in these books is not so easy to decipher, if it exists at all.

But if we are forced to draw parallels here is the only one I can find so far: The church in these books is corrupt. But the church in this world or any other was created by man and is not necessarily indicative of the nature of the God it is supposed to be representing. I would liken the actions of the church in The Golden Compass to the witch trials and witch executions that were conducted by the church of this world up until the 1600s, perhaps longer. Would anyone deny that these happenings were barbaric at best? Even Christians, who align themselves with those same churches today? But, of course, Christians would say, "We live in a different time. It's not the same church." To which I would reply, "Precisely!" The church in Pullman's books might as well be the church of the 1600s. It has nothing to do with present-day Christianity.

But the best argument I have for anyone allowing their children to read the book or see the film is that there is no possible way any child would come close to peeling back the layers of this story to find any kind of propaganda, atheist or otherwise. I had a difficult time understanding the book myself. I actually read a passage aloud to Bo to which his only reply was, "This is a children's book?" And this is a Shakespeare actor, friends. Unless your ten-year-old has a literature degree from Harvard, he's probably just going to see a movie about boats and polar bears and a little girl and a hot air balloon. And if he can actually make it through the book, he'd find the same.

As Seen On TV

2007-11-19T22:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I was watching one of my new favorite shows, Samantha Who, and there was a pretty funny flashback to Samantha's childhood when she played Annie in the school play. The girl playing young Samantha looked awfully familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place her with the big curly wig. I was trying to think...what show have I seen that girl in? Was it on TV? Was it a movie? Then it hit me. I KNOW that girl. We shared the stage at La Jolla Playhouse in the show Zhivago.

That's her on the right...Kelsey Smith. Or...young Christina Applegate. You decide.

It's weird seeing people you know randomly on TV, and I'm not quite used to it. It also happened a few weeks ago while I was watching 30 Rock, I saw this guy I also happened to work with on Zhivago, Chris Hoch, who was also hard to recognize at first because he was wearing glasses. He played a guy that worked in the accounting department at NBC. And all accountants wear glasses.

Oh! Here, I found a picture I had of Chris and Kelsey together. And I've modified it to be an artistic representation of what they looked like on TV.

Yeah. They looked just like that.

There'll Be Parties for Hosting, Marshmallows for Toasting, blah, blah, blah

2007-11-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

Christmas is coming sooner than you think. There's a chill in the air, the commercials for jewelry and plasma TVs have increased, and they've switched over to the festive red cups at Starbucks. And there's one more indication that Christmas is coming...my wishlist has been updated! Take a look, to see what to buy me this year! Or, if you're just curious about what I want.

I know that it's this time of year when people's social calendars fill up, but I am usually not affected too much. Not so this year. I've already seen one play this month and I'm scheduled to see two more (free through my work). This past week I went to see my boyfriend in Middletown, NY while he was there all week on an acting job. Also, my friend Sarah came to New York on business this week, so I got to hang out with her quite a bit, since she only had to actually work for 20 minutes while she was here. This past Sunday Bo and I went out to New Jersey for my cousin Theo's first birthday party (photos are on flickr). In the coming weeks I have a fund raiser, a house party, my six month-iversary with Bo, another trip to New Jersey for Thanksgiving, those two plays I mentioned (one is C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters and the other is called Trumpery at the Atlantic Theatre Company), two holiday parties, then flying to Ohio for Christmas which will most likely include a ski trip, seeing college friends, and a road trip to Illinois to see the family. Of course, this list doesn't include the every-day things I have to do like work, my church small group, and a doctor's appointment. Whew! I know what it feels like to have a crazy social calendar! But I think if you know me, you know that I get stir crazy if I'm not out of the house having fun a fair amount, so I'm more excited than overwhelmed by the coming months.

Live and Active!

2007-11-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

This week I discovered a blog dedicated entirely to cookies! It's probably a good thing that I don't have an oven or I would be wanting to make cookies all the time! Maybe I'll have to make just a batch or two at Bo's apartment. But this woman actually DOES make cookies all the time. But she's still skinny. Don't you hate people like that? (Note: I don't believe there's actually a picture of her on the blog, but I saw her on the Food Network when she won the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Ironically, her winning dish was chicken and stuffing.)

Is it lame that I just blogged about another blog? Well, too bad if it is!

Has anyone else seen the commercial letting us know that there are "live and active cultures" in Yoplait yogurt? I think that's one of those facts I've always known, but choose to try and forget, like what's in a hotdog. But seriously, isn't it not appetizing at all to hear that you're eating something live and active?

And when they dance around with little faces, it's even worse:

And now I'd like to make an update to my previous post about the TV shows I'm watching this fall. Yeah, Cavemen is not funny. Not at all. So, that one is off the schedule. But I have started watching Samantha Who, which is hilarious. It stars a few people who I'm already a fan of. Christina Applegate (who I've thought was funny for a while), Melissa McCarthy (who's character name I haven't learned yet, so I just call her Sookie, which was her name on Gilmore Girls), Jennifer Esposito (who was on the short lived, but pretty good show, Related...but she's much funnier on this), and Tim Russ (who was on one of my favorite shows in my youth, Star Trek Voyager.) I'm fairly certain this will be cleaning up at the Emmy's next year, so you may want to start watching now.

It Was A Graveyard Smash

2007-10-29T17:13:00.000-04:00

It's almost Halloween! Surprisingly, I'm pretty excited about Halloween. I mean, Halloween was always REALLY fun until I was about 12. But once you're too old to trick-or-treat, it just becomes stress over what I'm going to do and what costume I'm going to wear. I think the best costume I've had as an adult was my sophomore year of college I dressed up with a group and we were the four kids from Scooby-Doo. I was Daphne, and I think it's probably the best looking home made costume I've ever done. I'd post a picture, but that was before the days of my digital camera...anyway. This year I'm going to be a fairy princess, which is what I was in 1st grade. But it's alright to repeat costumes after 18 years, I think. But I'm sure my costume won't be as elaborate as the one I wore when I was 7. I was looking for something that wouldn't be too cumbersome on the subway. I'll be sure to get some pictures. I think we're going to a bar that we went to the other night...it's new and I forget the name of it. But anyway, we saw a flyer that they're having a Halloween party, and what's better than a party that you don't have to plan yourself?

Oh, so baseball season is officially over, which is a bummer. I'm happy that the Red Sox won though, because for a Yankees fan (which I'm not), the only thing worse than the Mets winning the World Series is the Red Sox winning the World Series. And in my head, that's still a small victory for me.

UPDATE: Here's a picture of me in costume! I seem to have someone (someone being my friend Bruce) hanging on my wings. See more photos by clicking my flikr badge to the right.

Fall Into Fall...Let's Hope It's a Soft Landing

2007-10-22T15:43:00.000-04:00

A Good Farmer has come to an end. I really had a lot of fun doing this show. I would really love to hang out with everyone again, but, unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. I could count on one hand the number of people I've done a show with that I still hang out with once the show is over. But Bo and I have vowed to at least hang out with Sharon, a cast member, and her husband Stu. We got along with them really well, so hopefully we will keep up a friendship with them. I also hope I can hang out with my ASM Jimmy again...or perhaps even work together again. We just got along really well, and found ourselves particularly hilarious whenever we were around each other.

Stu and Sharon

Jimmy

It's seeming more like fall these days, and I'm enjoying the weather. If it doesn't get any colder, I'll be happy. But more than just the weather, I love seeing the pumpkins piled up outside the produce stores, the fund-raiser apple sales, pumpkin spice lattes and caramel apple cider at Starbucks. I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving. It's definitely one of my favorite holidays. As of last year, I have a new part of my family to spend Thanksgiving with. I used to spend the day with my Dad's side of the family in Illinois. Now I go to New Jersey to see my aunt and cousins there. I just really look forward to turkey and potatoes and pumpkin pie. As long as all those things are present, I'm happy wherever I end up.

I put in a few hours of work for the Public Theatre today, the same theatre that puts on the wildly popular Shakespeare In the Park productions every summer. I just helped load supplies into the rehearsal room and various other pre-rehearsal tasks for their up coming show, Yellow Face. It was only one day of work, but I'm hoping it's enough to get my foot in the door with this theatre. I'd love to work with them again...for more than one day.

Backstreet's Back

2007-10-16T16:23:00.000-04:00

There's really not much going on in my life right now that I feel is blog worthy, so to keep you occupied while I try to think of something to write, please enjoy this dancing cockatoo. He has amazing rhythm.

My Man...It Sounds Possessive...and I LIKE it!

2007-10-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is just a little fluff and filler...because I saw this on my friend Kate's blog and thought it would be fun.

1. Who is your man? Bo Hallowes

2. How long have you been together? 4 months and 3 weeks.

3. How long dated? Um…how long we’ve dated is the same as how long we’ve been together.

4. How old is your man? 40. 15 years older than me.

5. Who eats more? He does. Often he eats too much and makes himself sick. But I'm trying to break him of that.

6. Who said "I love you" first? Me.

7. Who is taller? Him.

8. Who sings better? We’re probably about equal. We can both sing pretty well, although neither one of us are totally amazing vocalists.

9. Who is smarter? He would say I am. But I think it depends on the topic. I’m definitely smarter with computers and technology. And I probably have a little more common sense, although I think that’s kind of a girl thing. But he's well read and knows more Shakespeare than I do...and he probably knows more about what happened between 1967 and 1982.

10. Whose temper is worse? Temper makes me think of getting out of control, so I don’t think either of us has a really bad temper. But we’re pretty equally matched when we get angry in terms of how much we yell.

11. Who does the laundry? We do our own laundry. Well, actually, he does his own. I have mine done at the wash and fold down the street.

12. Who is better with the computer? Me. Totally me. Poor Bo still has dial-up internet, and if it weren’t for me, still wouldn’t know how to work his iPod.

13. Who mows the lawn? There are no lawns in New York!

14. Who cooks dinner? Neither one of us. We eat out more than we eat at home. I sometimes cook for myself at home. But we have never eaten a home cooked meal together.

15. Who drives when you are together? Neither of us own a car. If we were in a situation where we were driving somewhere, I’d probably let him drive. I like to be in charge of the map while someone else drives.

16. Who pays when you go out? He does most of the time. Every now and then I pay for myself. I have occasionally paid for both of us, but he’s pretty traditional in that he likes to pay when he can.

17. Who is most stubborn? He is. I chalk it up to him being older and stuck in his ways. But actually, it’s not really a problem. He’s not that stubborn.

18. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me. I always like to resolve arguments immediately, so I’ll say sorry pretty quickly. He usually needs more time to process what has happened before he says he’s sorry. But he’s still good at apologizing when he gets around to it.

19. Whose parents do you see the most? We've seen my aunt and cousins in New Jersey more than anyone's parents. Well, I’ve never met his parents. They both live in Florida (although, they’re not together). He met my dad briefly when we were first dating, but he’s never met my mom. I’m sure we would have met each other’s parents by now if they lived in the same place we do. Hopefully the introductions will happen within the next year.

20. Who kissed who first? I don’t remember. I think it was a mutual decision.

21. Who asked who out? Bo asked me out, if you can call it that. It was after the show we were both working on one night, and he invited me to go hang out with him and his friends at a bar in midtown. But he said he couldn’t get ahold of them, so he wasn’t sure if they were still there. His story to get me to come was that if they weren’t at the bar anymore, he still needed someone to have a drink with. I pretty much knew that he was interested in me, but I was a little nervous about going. If his friends were there, I would be hanging out with all these people I didn’t know. If they weren’t there, it would just be the two of us. Would we have anything to talk about? As it turned out, his friends were just leaving as we got there, and that turned out for the best. We really got a chance to talk and get to know each other.

22. Who is more sensitive? It depends on what you mean by sensitive. I’m more sensitive in the girly, cry at movies, get overly emotional kind of way. He’s more sensitive in the easily offended and self conscious kind of way.

23. Who has more friends? We probably have the same amount of friends, but we hang out with his friends more. My friends are pretty much scattered across the world and it’s difficult to get together with my New York friends because we all have pretty separate lives here. Most of his friends are from his catering job, so he sees them all the time and it’s easy for them to all get together. But I really like his friends and basically consider them my friends too now.

24. Who has more siblings? We each have one sibling. He has a sister, Susie. I have a younger brother, Adam.

25. Who wears the pants? I don't think either one of us can really be told what to do by the other. Consequently, neither of us try to tell the other what to do very much. When we make decisions, we're both flexible and we're good at compromising. So, I guess what I'm saying neither of us wears the pants. Or both of us do.

Ok, now I'm supposed to tag other people to do this...I suppose I tag Sarah Cooney, Tiffany Knapp...that's all.

See If You Can Follow My Train of Thought...Because I Can't

2007-10-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

Isn't it weird when you find out about your old friends having babies? It's just crazy. I can't imagine having a baby right now. I can barely take care of myself. I'm not even a good mom to my cat. Maybe if I was married, I'd feel differently, but I don't know. I'm enjoying being a little carefree in my 20s. I don't really want a kid and a mortgage. Not yet.

The other day I was standing on the subway platform waiting for the 1 train to take me downtown. I was leaning against a support beam, looking down the dark tunnel waiting to see that headlight that tells me the train is on it's way. And I noticed some of the other people standing on the platform had a very strange little dance going on. There were three people staggered down the platform, who would lean to look down the tunnel, and then pace back to the wall, and then immediately turn around and walk back to the edge of the platform again, looking down the tunnel. I don't know that any of them realized how silly it looked that all three of them were doing this in unison. And I was thinking to myself, "Do they think this pacing will make the train come any quicker?" It's like those people who push the elevator button over and over again. Can't we all just learn to be patient? I try to be. But I have to admit, I get a little annoyed if there's even one person in front of me at the grocery store check-out. Why are we always in such a hurry?

I'm considering learning how to play golf. Bo has recently picked it up as a hobby. He had played in years past, but he just started playing fairly regularly again. He and his friend usually go up to Van Cortland Park in The Bronx to play. So, I thought it might be fun to learn so I could go along sometime. I think we'll go to Chelsea Piers driving range sometime soon so I can learn. But, I do already know all the lingo and theory from years of playing Mario Golf.

Christy's Fall Line-Up

2007-09-24T14:38:00.001-04:00

It's time for the 2007 edition of Christy's TV Lineup. The old favorites....the new potentials. It's all so exciting. So, here it is...what I'll be watching this fall.

Desperate Housewives. Sundays at 9 on ABC. This show has gone downhill, but I'm not quite ready to give up on it. It was SO good in its first season, but it's never really been as good since. But I do still enjoy it most of the time. And maybe this year will be the one that's as great as the first.

Heroes. Mondays at 9 on NBC. The first season was way beyond addictive. I can't wait to see what kind of complicated plots we get into in season two.

Cavemen. Tuesdays at 8 on ABC. This is the series spawned by the hilarious Geico commercials. It could be great. It could be that cavemen are only funny in 30 second increments. But I'm way to curious about this show not to watch.

Pushing Daisies. Wednesdays at 8 on ABC. This series wins for the most print advertising in NYC. There's an ad on every billboard, subway, bus shelter, and mailbox in the City. So I've decided to give it a shot. It looks really inventive. It's quite simply about a man who can resurrect the dead with his touch. The show is presented as a modern-day fairy tale, complete with British narrator.

Private Practice. Wednesdays at 9 on ABC. It's Grey's Anatomy South. Dr. McDreamy's ex-wife, Addison, has relocated to Los Angeles to join a brand new cast of gorgeous doctors with complicated love lives. When I first heard about this show, I was a little upset about this relocation of my favorite character. But I've learned to embrace this idea. It means a lot more Addison, and I can live with that.

30 Rock. Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC. The newly crowned "best comedy" is back. I'm so happy it's been moved to 8:30 because last year it was on opposite Grey's Anatomy, so I couldn't watch it regularly. But I LOVE Tina Fey and I think this show is hilarious. I'm looking forward to being a loyal viewer this season.

Grey's Anatomy. Thursdays at 9 on ABC. Best show on television. Period. That's really all I can say.

There you have it. My fall TV line-up. Feel free to leave me a comment with YOUR picks for this season!

A Tour of New York, and How Not to Look Like an Idiot While Touring It

2007-09-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

I've been having a lot of fun with the cast of A Good Farmer. It's a really fun group of people, and they like to go out and be social. Comradery is one of my favorite parts of theatre, so it's always disappointing when casts aren't very fun or social. This is not one of those casts. And it's also been really fun to go to some new places and explore unfamiliar neighborhoods. Most shows rehearse in midtown Manhattan, which is where I spend about 75 percent of my life, so I get a little tired of the area and going to the same places all the time. But this show rehearsed in Chelsea, and we ended up trying out a great little wine bar in the area called Metro Cafe. They have these things called "Flights" of four little glasses of wine, so you can try different kinds. And it's a less expensive way to try some pretty expensive wines. So, I chose the "Down Under" flight which consisted of four white wines from New Zealand. Very tasty. Now we are in tech, so we've moved into the theatre, which is in the Meat Packing District. It's the cutest neighborhood ever, and there are so many crazy places to hang out. Last night we went to this really kitschy place called Tortilla Flats that's decorated with a light-up Santa Claus and an excess of mylar streamers, and has regular bingo night and hula hoop competitions. I think we're going to become regulars.

And I just have quick piece of advice this week. If you ever come to New York for a visit, I'm just letting you know now, it is not cool to not hold onto something in the subway. It seems like tourists think that all cool New Yorkers must have cat-like balance, and so the tourists think they'll try to be cool too by free standing on a train moving 55 mph. Friends, this is not only very un-cool, it is very stupid. Basically, you'll end up taking a spectacular fall, probably onto a fellow passenger. And it's not cool to spend your New York vacation with a concussion.

E-I-E-I-O

2007-09-08T18:25:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I met Bo and a few other friends at one of our favorite bar/restaurants, Joshua Tree. I came to meet him straight from rehearsal, so he asked me how it went. I told him it was fine except for the fact that one of our actors, PJ, just booked a film shooting in Egypt, so naturally, he would be leaving our little show. Bo's immediate response to this news was, "What's the part? Am I right for it?" After a moment of consideration, I figured he probably could be right for the part, so I said I'd check and see if he could audition. Bo sent in his headshot and resume to our casting director...and he was asked to come in to audition. This is when I started to get nervous. I really wanted him to get the part...but what if he didn't? Would he be upset? Would he not want to hear about rehearsal anymore? Would it be awkward for him to come see the show? Probably not. But I was still nervous. Well, as it turned out, I didn't need to worry, because he got the part! So, now this is the second show Bo and I get to work on together (the first was Memory of Water...where we met). It's great to be on the same schedule. Especially after the US Open. Bo had to work out there with his catering job every day of the tournament for about 12 hours a day.

Lately I've been thinking about taking a trip to Napa, California. Of course, this is a total fantasy because I have neither the time, nor the funds to take any vacations any time soon. But I've never been to the north west, and it just sounds like fun...road trips up the coast line, wine tastings, vineyard tours. Sounds like a good time to me!

Speaking of taking trips, I did take a little day trip this past Sunday...to a farm! About 13 of us from the cast and crew of A Good Farmer (minus Bo...he was still working the Open) drove WAY out on Long Island to the Garden of Eve organic vegetable farm, where we got a first hand experience of what it's like to be a farmer. We picked green beans, weeded lettuce, collected eggs, pet the goats, and hoed sweet potatoes. It was a lot of fun. I got to know everyone really well and it's always fun to take a trip out of the city.

The Magical Underground Train

2007-09-01T19:19:00.000-04:00

It's really just the first part of this clip that's relevant:

I really like the subway. Yes, sometimes you have to wait for a long time for a train to come. Yes, in the summer it's hotter than hell on the platform. Yes, sometimes you switch from a local to an express train, but the express train runs so slow that the local beats you anyway. But the benefits far outweigh these minor inconveniences. I love being able to do something else on my commute...read a book...play my gameboy...stare into nothingness. I love that I don't really have to go figure out how to get someplace. I just have to know which train will take me there. I love that I'm being nice to the environment without really trying. I REALLY love that I don't have to worry about the price of gas. But, really, the reason I love the subway is because of the direct contact with my fellow New Yorkers. People from all areas of the city, and from all walks of life ride the subway. Businessmen on their way to work, teenagers going to a movie, mothers with babies, young couples back from a day of Ikea shopping. The other day I was sitting across from an elderly Chinese man who must have had about 100 rubber bands around is wrist, a few laced around his fingers. He wore a bright, multi-colored polo shirt and socks emblazoned with "USA" in patriotic colors. And I was totally entertained on my way to work, just by looking at this man, and wondering what he was going to do with all those rubber bands.

My apartment building seems to be emptying. I guess summer is usually the time of change for people who are moving. A woman who lived on the third floor moved out recently, although I never really saw her much. A girl from Germany who lived on the 4th floor returned to her home country. And just yesterday, my neighbor, Marylin moved out, and she's headed to Spain to live with her fiance there. She met him on a bus when he was here visiting New York. At the end of his week-long stay, they were engaged. He's been back to visit her once since then, but they have basically only spent about 2 weeks total in the same country. I've already told her all the practical things...he might just want a green card...he might want her money...he might be...anything! She barely knows him! But she's promised she's not going there to marry him right away. Oh, well. It's her life. Anyway, now there are three empty apartments in my building not counting the one that has been empty since I moved in almost a year and a half ago. So, if anyone needs a place in New York, let me know! I'm pretty sure I live in the cheapest building in Manhattan.

"The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth"

2007-08-24T11:14:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday I took part in a New York tradition. I got up early and stood in line for three and a half hours to get free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. Every summer The Public Theatre puts on classic plays at the outdoor Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, and the generous corporate sponsorship allows these plays (which have in the past has featured the likes of Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Liev Schreiber, Natalie Portman, etc) to be absolutely free. They give out tickets at 1pm on the day of the show. But of course, people begin queuing up at the crack of dawn...sometimes they even spend the night. I got there at about 9:30am, and had no problem getting tickets. Of course, it was a Wednesday, and the weather was a bit damp, so that may have deterred some people from coming out. Bo came to join me about an hour later. Usually line jumping is strictly prohibited by the other angry New Yorkers in line, but you are allowed two tickets per person, and we were only getting one ticket each anyway, so it didn't really matter.

The show we saw was A Midsummer Night's Dream. I haven't seen this play since my high school production, so it was fun to see again. I thought it was really well done. Most of the actors were great, and I thought it was cool that they cast children as the fairies instead of adults. It gave it a more magical feel. Bo has actually played almost every male character in that play, so he's a pretty tough critic, and he loved it too.

Speaking of Bo, we had a healthy debate the other night about modern movies versus classics. He said there was so much crap put out these days, and he thinks movies from the 50s and 60s were much better quality. I argued that there are still great movies put out these days, and that there were crap movies in the 50s and 60s too, but you just don't know about them...because they were crap. So, my question for you, dear readers, is what do you think of movies these days? Are they all crap? Or are there still innovative, good quality movies being made?

A Midwestern Tour

2007-08-14T13:21:00.000-04:00

I'm back from Ohio/Illinois...and what a trip it was. It was really nice to get home for a while and see my family. Especially right now while I have no show to work on, and my boyfriend is also out of town. I got to spend a lot of time with my brother, which was cool. We got to do our annual The Beach Waterpark trip. And I also got to see his new apartment, right by Eden Park in downtown Cinci. And I got to meet his girlfriend, Katie. I think she's probably my favorite of his girlfriends to date.

The trip to Illinois was crazy as always. We went to my annual family reunion for my mom's side where I always meet new relatives. It gets sorta insane because not only do I have about 30 cousins including my first cousins' spouses and children, but my mom also has a gazillion cousins, many of whom have grandkids by this point. So the family just grows exponentially every year. But big families are a lot of fun, and I'm thankful for mine.

We also got to visit the Thede side while in Illinois, and it worked out great this year because I got to see all my cousins (although there are far fewer on the Thede side). In recent years it's been harder to get us all together with sports, college, jobs, etc. We played a crazy game of Polish Uno. I think I got the hang of it, but I could not for the life of me explain it to you.

So now I'm back in New York, where I should have started rehearsal for a new show last night. But it turns out, we're not starting until next week now. Oh well. That gives me a chance to get unpacked and run some errands this week. Oh, the new show is called A Good Farmer, and I'm sure you'll hear more about it from me in the coming weeks.

And finally, friends, it is a monumental week. This week, by boyfriend leaves his 30s behind and marches onward to those wonderfully "mature" years. This Wednesday, he turns 40. Scary...I think more for me than for him. But oh, well. It's one of those things that if I think about it for too long, it starts to seem a little weird. But in reality, it's no big deal. In fact, I like being with a guy who actually acts like a grown-up. So, I think that I'm of the opinion, now more than ever, that age is just a number. A relationship should be based on things far more important than the year we were born.

Back to Ohio, and A Few More Harry Thoughts

2007-08-09T00:37:00.000-04:00

I'm in Ohio! Yes, I worked so hard trying to get out of here...but I'm only back for a visit. This is actually the first decent sized visit I've had since moving away. I've always just come home for a few days due to my crazy schedule. This time it's been nice to relax and hang out with friends and not feel like I always have to be someplace. And I have to admit, it's nice to have air conditioning in this kind of heat!

Yesterday I got to hang out in Dayton for the evening with all my coolest college friends. My brother Adam, Christine, Sarah, and I all went to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the second time. Sarah and Christine had not yet had the IMAX 3D experience. Everyone should have the experience of seeing Dan Radcliffe's face eight stories tall and popping out of the screen. After the movie we met up with some more friends for dinner and hanging out. Just like old times.

(The following paragraph is spoiler-free...but feel free to skip it if you're being extra cautious before you finish the final Harry Potter book.)

So, after seeing the movie for a second time, I've decided that it contains my favorite line out of all five five films to date. Not to give the films the same credence as the books, but I don't think I've ever heard a better summation of the series than when Sirius Black said, "We have all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the power we chose to act on. That’s who we really are." It's not a direct quote from the book, but I believe it encompasses the theme of the series (and it was so beautifully written by the wonderful new screen writer who I wish was staying to do the rest of the films). I think that one of the most defining things about this series that sets it apart from other children's literature is the complexity of its characters. The 'good' characters make bad choices. They have tragic flaws like pride, anger, selfishness, and greed. And these flaws sometimes even win out. The 'bad' characters become sympathetic, like when Snape was flipped on his head by James Potter or when we learn about Voldemort's tormented childhood. But that's how life is. I know I've felt the "light and dark" inside myself. I hope it is the light that I more often act upon.

Deathly Hallows...My Reactions

2007-07-29T13:29:00.001-04:00

Well, I've finished the book. The last book. I feel both excitement and regret. Excitement that I finally know all there is to know. That Jo Rowling can now freely answer any question asked of her. That a new era of Harry discussion has begun. That I have finally reached, along with Harry, the end of this incredible journey. But regret...regret that I have to, literally and figuratively, close the book on this nearly ten year chapter of my life. Regret that there will be no more wild but often very interesting theories about how it will all end. Regret that I will never again have to pre-order a book, and then wait in a long line at midnight to experience that amazing moment when a store worker hands over the coveted volume, full of all the answers to secrets I've been longing to find out!

And now, if you haven't finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, STOP READING NOW! The rest of this post is about my reactions to the book. Don't spoil it for yourself! Come back and read the rest of this post once you've finished the book...and now...

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

MERLIN'S PANTS

Ok, I hope if you're reading now, you've finished Deathly Hallows...or you never plan on reading it anyway, so you don't care about finding out how it ends!

It's still sinking in...but I really believe this is the best book of the series. Here's a few reasons why:

The Deathly Hallows. I loved the idea of this children's story, The Tale of the Three Brothers, being so important for Harry. I really like legends and especially when a legend is so old, no one even knows how the story started or by who. And it's especially cool when the legend turns out to be true. And I was strongly reminded of CS Lewis when Harry had to decide: should he continue on the task set before him by Dumbledore, to destroy the Horcruxes, or should he pursue the Deathly Hallows, which were such a strong temptation to him. It was so like the Silver Chair, when the children are tempted to stray from their task, set for them by Aslan. But Harry showed his strength of character when he chose the Horcruxes. A decision which turned out to be exactly right.

Dobby's death. If you had told me before I read this book that Dobby would die, I probably would have felt a little sad for the poor elf, but I wouldn't have been too torn up. After all, I didn't cry when Sirius died. I teared up only slightly for Dumbledore. I wouldn't have thought the death of a house elf would affect me too strongly. I would have been wrong. Dobby died a hero's death. He was frightened at the prospect of saving Harry and his friends from Malfoy Manor, where he was once a slave. But he did it. And the following chapter, when Harry picks up a shovel and digs Dobby's grave without using magic is, in my opinion, the most beautifully written passage in the entire series. And I cried throughout the entire thing. As Oprah says, it was an 'ugly cry'. The kind when your eyes get red and puffy and your nose starts to run and you can't catch your breath. But what can I say? It got to me!

Harry's Sacrifice. After all these years of hearing "Harry Potter is evil" "It's witchcraft" "It teaches our children to be ill-behaved and turns them into little warlocks" it turns out, Harry Potter is a Christian allegory. Back in 2000, JK Rowling said, "Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books." And now that I've read the end of the book, this quote makes perfect sense. Harry finds out that he must die to kill Voldemort. He must die so that others can live. And he walks to his death fearful and sad. But although he does not want to die, he knows that there is no other way. Sound familiar? But what Harry doesn't know is that he will be resurrected. He willingly sacrificed himself. Just like Aslan. Just like Christ.

And there were just a few other aspects of this book that made me smile:

Luna Lovegood. Always the optomist, even when she's being held captive in a dark chamber by Voldemort's followers. And I just loved when she took Harry to the Ravenclaw common room:

[Luna] knocked once, and in the silence it sounded to Harry like a cannon blast. At once the beak of the eagle opened, but instead of a bird’s call, a soft, musical voice said, “Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?”
“Hmm … What do you think, Harry?” said Luna, looking thoughtful.
“What? Isn’t there a password?”
“Oh no, you’ve got to answer a question,” said Luna.
“What if you get it wrong?”
“Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right,” said Luna. “That way you learn, you see?”
“Yeah … Trouble is, we can’t really afford to wait for anyone else, Luna.”
“No, I see what you mean,” said Luna seriously. “Well then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning.”
“Well reasoned,” said the voice, and the door swung open.

Professor McGonagall rising to the occasion. She's always been a favorite of mine and in this book, she didn't disappoint. In particular, I loved her confrontation with Slughorn.

Ron and his new attitude towards women. He was cracking me up with all his good manners and his compliments. He finally got a clue! It's about time, Ron!

The battle at Hogwarts. Yes, there were some scary and sad moments, but I loved it. Neville and Sprout running down the hall with mandrakes, the suits of armour springing to life, the D.A. back together again, the old Quidditch team including Oliver Wood! It was great.

Yes, I think I'll be reading this book again very soon. Right now, I'm just letting in sink in, but I'm excited to go back and work out some of the more confusing points. So, yes, the book is closed. I know everything there is to know. But I'm sure I'll be reading it again and again for many years to come.

Harry Potter Induced Cardiac Arrest

2007-07-20T12:48:00.001-04:00

It's here...after nearly ten years of reading, discussing, guessing, and waiting, the day has finally arrived. Tonight at midnight, I will have in my hand, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I don't even think I can verbalize how I feel today! Euphoric, devastated, excited, nervous. But one thing is for sure. Tonight is going to be the most Harry Potter related fun I've ever had! Christine and I are going to be swinging by the Scholastic street fair before going to Barnes and Noble in Union Square where I'll get my book!

We had to go to the store this morning at 10:00 to get a numbered wristband, which will tell me where my place in line is tonight. The line was allllllllllllll the way around the block, and people were dressed in full wizard attire. Here's a little video I shot of the line:

And here I am getting my wristband!

Yesterday I turned the big 25. Christine and I had a fun day starting with an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet for only $6! Yum. And then we hung around the Rockefeller Plaza area and visited the Nintendo Store where I got to play the Harry Potter Wii game! We met up with Bo at the fondue restaurant Kashkaval where I was surprised with a cake and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Finally, we went to a bar and met up with some more friends, and got to watch the Mets beat the Dodgers. All in all, a great day.

I've added lots of new photos over the past couple days, so click on my flickr badge to the right to see them!

Hot Town, Summer in the City

2007-07-09T16:14:00.000-04:00

Having lived in New York for quite a while now, there are many things about the city and its quirks that I've come to enjoy. Some of them are obvious, and others are things you would probably never notice if you didn't live here...

Free straws! Whenever you get a can or bottle of soda from some deli or convenience store, you are always given a straw.

Three words. Wash and Fold. These laundry stores are located all over the city, where lovely women will wash, dry, and neatly fold all your laundry just like mom used to. They'll even pick it up and deliver it to your door. It always comes back smelling downy-fresh.

Swimming in the fountains. Back in Ohio, it is a popular summer pastime among high school and college students to visit fountains in the wee morning hours, so that they will hopefully not get caught splashing through them. In New York, it is common on a hot day (like today...97!) to see kids and adults alike swimming in the many public fountains...and it's totally legal.

People who say "on line" instead of "in line." Repeten. (A) I stood on line for 36 hours to get the new iPhone, and was very disappointed when it did not work properly. (B) You need to get on line very early in the morning to get tickets to the Spice Girls Reunion Tour. Muy Bien.

Crocs. The rest of the US may think these shoes are strange looking at best, and extremely dorky at worst. Nay! say New Yorkers. They are the most comfortable shoes on the planet and every man, woman, and child here owns a pair.

No need for a designated driver. Have you been out with your friends? Have you had a few too many? Not to worry! You can catch a ride home with your friendly Metropolitan Transit Authority. Or if you have money growing out your ears, take a cab!

Italian Ice. It's yummy. It's cheap. It's cold. It comes in hundreds of fruity flavors. And you can only get it on the east coast.

Speaking of cold and yummy things, has anyone else tried a Frosty Float at Wendy's? They are SO good. Good thing I have to go out of my way to go to Wendy's, or I'd get one every day.

A Very Harry July

2007-07-02T11:25:00.000-04:00

It's officially July and that means it's the best month ever! Only 18 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!!!! I can't believe it's so close. I can't believe it's going to be the last time I ever get to read a Harry Potter book not knowing how it will end. I can't believe I'm finally going to turn to that last page and read the word that JK Rowling has always said would be the last, "scar."

And before the book comes out, I want to go on record with just a couple of my theories. They may be wrong, but at least I'll have them in print.

There are theories abounding over this image, the cover of the US edition. Where are they? What are they doing? Well I have one idea. You may remember from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that Sirius Black dies when he is pushed through a mysterious veiled archway. Harry can hear whispers beyond this veil, which seem to be the voices of the dead. Well, I believe that in this picture, Harry and Voldemort are on the other side of the veil. All the archways behind them represent veiled archways that are in many locations all over the world that all lead to this one place. The shadowy figures in the background are people who have crossed through the veil, never to return, including Sirius. But I believe Harry and Voldemort have figured out some way to cross through the veil, but are able to return to the land of the living.

I also have an idea as to why neither of them have wands. At the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry and Voldemort attempt to duel, but they can't because they have brother wands...their wands each have a Phoenix feather core, given from the the same Phoenix. JK Rowling has said that wandless magic will play an important role in the final book, and believe that's why, and that's why we see Harry and Voldemort without wands on the cover.

Ok, so now I have my theories in print and later I'll either look back and be impressed with my prediction skills, or laugh at how very wrong I was.

I'm excited about my plans for the eve of the big July 21st release. Scholastic, which has it's headquarters in SoHo, is holding a Harry Potter street fair starting at 5pm. I plan on stopping by there for a little while. Then, I'm going to be heading to the Union Square Barnes and Noble where Jim Dale, the reader of the audio books, will be reading excepts from the first six books starting at 10:30pm and counting down to midnight, when I will FINALLY have the book in hand.

There are other reasons to be happy it's July besides the final Harry Potter book. Bo gets home from Montana on July 5th. The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie comes out July 11th, which I already have my tickets to see in IMAX! My friend Christine is coming to visit in the midst of all the Harry Potter hype. And my friend Sarah might be coming too. My birthday is July 19th! Whoa, too much excitement. My system might go into shock after a very boring June.

A DE-luxe Apartment in the Sky

2007-06-25T20:31:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to stop thinking of my life as boring and start thinking of it as relaxing. I mean, it's not like I never do anything. I go to work a few days a week. I go out with my friends a few days a week. But that does still leave a lot of unoccupied hours. Oh well. I like my apartment. I like my cat. So, I guess it's ok to be home a lot. I'm just really looking forward to Bo coming back to New York. Right now he's in Montana directing a play called Greater Tuna there, and he gets back to the city on July 5th. I guess I would be more glad of this free time if he was around. Right now it just feels like a waste, because I don't have much else to be doing.

I did have a little fun recently when I went to my friend Victoria's PENTHOUSE! Yes, she lives in a penthouse in Battery Park (the southern most part of Manhattan). You may wonder why my friend Victoria, the New York actress, is so well off. Well, her husband, Jeff Rovin, is a ghost writer for Tom Clancy. Anyway, we had some homemade pizza and watched Dreamgirls (in high definition Blu-ray, of course). I think one of my favorite things to do in New York is go to other people's apartments. It's so interesting to see how people live in this city. People often do a lot with a little, even in the very expensive apartments, like the one I was just in. The apartment itself wasn't huge. Nice, but not huge. But the VIEW is amazing:

There's so much more to apartments in this city than their size. There's location (Battery Park is not too shabby), view (river? park? skyline? all three??), terrace, roof access, the building as a whole. And the fact that many apartments are over 100 years old (like mine) and some extremely modern makes for a lot of different styles. Nope, no cookie cutter living spaces in New York.