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?
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 honorGood 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.
Labels: AC, Bike, Eduardo, Gazillion Bubble Show
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!
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.
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.
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.
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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!