Today was a momentous day in the history of the United States of America. I hate to sound like a cheeseball, but I can't help it. The day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we inaugurate our first black president. Rather appropriate, I think. Whether you voted for Obama or not, it was a great day for the US.
I happened to be in class this morning, but at the start of class our instructor asked us if we wanted to watch any of it. We all agreed that we would take our usual break, but push it back to noon so we could see the oath. As usual in any good acting studio, we were without a television, so we streamed it on the front office computer. Apparently other classes had decided to take a break for the same purpose, so it was a little crowded. In and around the small 10x12 room, 30 (approx--i'm bad with crown estimation) crammed to catch a peak at the screen. Some were crouched on the floor, others used their neighbors shoulder as a boost to look over heads.
I decided to go around to the front and watch through the glass, so I was facing most of the group. I didn't have a great view of the screen (which was delayed anyway) so I watched everyone else as I listened. It was a beautiful speech and the feeling of hope was tangible. Granted it was a room full of actor's with enduring hope about that next part, next audition, next challenge. A room full of artists propelled by passion watching what many thought improbable a year ago and impossible 60 years ago. Its a contageous ideal... hope. I know it got a little cliche during the campaign, but that is why people are constantly pushing to be better. When you lose hope, you lose ambition, become complacent and life loses its value.
So much of my life is out of my hands, but my hope sustains me no matter what my circumstance. My faith allows me the freedom to hope. Today I think the nation felt it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Baby, It's Cold Outside
I'm officially tired of winter. Today it snowed and I was not entranced by its beauty, I was thinking, "I hope it stops before I have to go to class." When living in British Columbia, I never grew tired of the snow. It was magical when it floated silently down creating amazing conditions for snowboarding, which is possibly the missing element here. Snow in the city is simply that... snow in the city. Makes things wet (namely me) and slushy because it only stays on the ground while its snowing. Once it stops it goes away again.
I'll stop complaining about the weather. I'm just a little bitter b/c I walked home from work tonight and it was 8 degrees outside and my face was frozen! The high tomorrow is 16... yikes. I think I want to be a bear!
I'll stop complaining about the weather. I'm just a little bitter b/c I walked home from work tonight and it was 8 degrees outside and my face was frozen! The high tomorrow is 16... yikes. I think I want to be a bear!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
How Not to Plan an After Party...
The restaurant I work in was lucky enough to be chosen for the after-party of a reunion benefit for a Broadway show. It was doomed from the start. The catch phrase for the staff became, "no plan is a bad plan!"
For starters, the party was scheduled on the night off for our most capable manager, so we were left with the one who is terrible at handling large numbers of people. How he became a general manager is beyond comprehension. Lovely fellow, terrible manager. The party was due to begin at 11 p.m. We still had "regular" people eating in the restaurant at 10:30 p.m. when the guests started showing up (yes, they were early). Now our hostess staff is dressed to impress b/c there are some big names at this party. We had security at the door with a list, however the guests arrived before the security guys, so who knows actually got in! Madness from the start. As we're trying to rush the normal patrons out, the VIP guests keep pouring in. It doesn't help that it is raining outside, making people pour in that much quicker! In less than 10 minutes, the entire lower floor of the restaurant is packed with people wondering where the coat check is (we don't have one), when are the appetizers being served and when they can order drinks (neither until 11 p.m. when they were supposed to arrive). One poor hostess runs downstairs to inform the manager (who is hiding in his office) that the guests are early and we need instruction. In dramatic fashion, he whips around in his swivel chair, pulls his head away from the phone and yells, "I don't give a ****!!!" Awesome! So we're kinda left on our own for the first bit.When he did finally surface he tried to put a limit of the people allowed in the place. By doing so he kept the cast of the show outside!! Are you kidding me?! That is kinda when the staff decided to take things into our own hands. No longer consult management, just work with the party coordinators and make the party run as smoothly as possible. Luckily, I was friends with one of the planners, so I offered to serve some of the guests on our upper level, where no one had ventured yet.
As I am serving these tables, someone must have shared the info that there was a whole other level to the place with a bar!! All of a sudden the entire floor is full of people and I am left by my lonesome at the service bar as orders are being thrown my way. Yeah! So fun and overwhelming! Especially fun when I started getting tipped. Woohoo! Now I have learned how to make drinks in my months of employment,so I could totally hold my own, as long as everyone ordered stuff like rum and coke. Ha! Luckily the only martini I had to make came at the end of the night! My Kiwi mate, Avi, came to my rescue and worked the bar with me. It was like a dance behind the tiny bar. Despite the chaos happening everywhere, I think we ran our little world pretty efficiently.
Due to the cage of the bar, I was not able to circulate the party and rub elbows with the celebs, but at the end of the night I made more and had a ball! I think the cast and everyone had a good time as well. Its amazing what a very small group of people can do to make something happen. Our owners will probably get the praise for the party, but at the end of the day, we lowly servers, hostesses and runners know how the party really went.
For starters, the party was scheduled on the night off for our most capable manager, so we were left with the one who is terrible at handling large numbers of people. How he became a general manager is beyond comprehension. Lovely fellow, terrible manager. The party was due to begin at 11 p.m. We still had "regular" people eating in the restaurant at 10:30 p.m. when the guests started showing up (yes, they were early). Now our hostess staff is dressed to impress b/c there are some big names at this party. We had security at the door with a list, however the guests arrived before the security guys, so who knows actually got in! Madness from the start. As we're trying to rush the normal patrons out, the VIP guests keep pouring in. It doesn't help that it is raining outside, making people pour in that much quicker! In less than 10 minutes, the entire lower floor of the restaurant is packed with people wondering where the coat check is (we don't have one), when are the appetizers being served and when they can order drinks (neither until 11 p.m. when they were supposed to arrive). One poor hostess runs downstairs to inform the manager (who is hiding in his office) that the guests are early and we need instruction. In dramatic fashion, he whips around in his swivel chair, pulls his head away from the phone and yells, "I don't give a ****!!!" Awesome! So we're kinda left on our own for the first bit.When he did finally surface he tried to put a limit of the people allowed in the place. By doing so he kept the cast of the show outside!! Are you kidding me?! That is kinda when the staff decided to take things into our own hands. No longer consult management, just work with the party coordinators and make the party run as smoothly as possible. Luckily, I was friends with one of the planners, so I offered to serve some of the guests on our upper level, where no one had ventured yet.
As I am serving these tables, someone must have shared the info that there was a whole other level to the place with a bar!! All of a sudden the entire floor is full of people and I am left by my lonesome at the service bar as orders are being thrown my way. Yeah! So fun and overwhelming! Especially fun when I started getting tipped. Woohoo! Now I have learned how to make drinks in my months of employment,so I could totally hold my own, as long as everyone ordered stuff like rum and coke. Ha! Luckily the only martini I had to make came at the end of the night! My Kiwi mate, Avi, came to my rescue and worked the bar with me. It was like a dance behind the tiny bar. Despite the chaos happening everywhere, I think we ran our little world pretty efficiently.
Due to the cage of the bar, I was not able to circulate the party and rub elbows with the celebs, but at the end of the night I made more and had a ball! I think the cast and everyone had a good time as well. Its amazing what a very small group of people can do to make something happen. Our owners will probably get the praise for the party, but at the end of the day, we lowly servers, hostesses and runners know how the party really went.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Finally I get to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My dear friend, Kristen, lives in an building at 34th & 6th, so we hung out her bathroom window to watch the parade pass us by. When it was cold or boring, we'd escape into the living room to our coffee and scones. Doesn't that just sound lovely? I'm just going to upload a bunch of pictures from the parade and other parts of NY. Enjoy!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Fun Times On Broadway
I love the person who decided to start pricing tickets at a lower rate for students. This affords those who cannot afford, a chance to watch some amazing theatre without going broke. I've been averaging roughly 1 show a week. (You are permitted to be jealous now). I've been within spitting distance (please take that literally) from Kristen Scott Thomas, Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth Moss, Harvey Fierstein, I could go on but that would just be boastful.
This past week I recruited a couple foreign friends from work to experience some Broadway goodness. We decided to see the matinee performance of David Mamet's 'Speed the Plow', starring Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth Moss and Raul Esparza. The student tickets we were given allowed us to have seats on the second row and one seat front row center. God bless the foreigners b/c they were not quite aware of theatre etiquette (i.e. arriving with plenty of time to find a toilet, find your seat, and read the entire Playbill before curtain). So, my classmate and I were waiting with tapping feet for my other friends to arrive. Finally my Kiwi friend comes running up 1 minute before 2 p.m. I leave a ticket at the box office for my friend Helen, who has not arrived. As we find our seats I realize the ticket I left for Helen was the one front row center! Had it not been moments before the curtain, I would have ran back to the box office to exchange hers for mine, but time did not allow. Dread was building as the curtain rose and the play began. Brilliant performances took me away for a while, but then I was nudged by my friend to let me know Helen had arrived. The poor girl had to cling to the stage as she stepped over half the row until she landed safely in her seat. The actors on stage were definitely aware of her (how could you not be when she is holding onto the stage?!).
Following the performance the cast remains on stage to talk about a charity donation thing they do every year. Jeremy Piven did the talking. He began by saying, "Thank you very much for coming out to the show, except that girl who was late. Where is she?" The other castmates come to the edge of the stage, fingers pointing at my friend who is sinking lower and lower into her seat! Mr. Piven continues, "I mean you come 45 mins. late to a show? Its only 70 minutes long for crying out loud." He was exaggerating, of course, but this continued for a couple minutes as the theatre filled with laughter. It was hilarious! I've never seen Helen's face so red, but she is a easy-going Irish gal, so if anyone could handle it, she could. SO FUNNY!
Last night, I witnessed one of my classmates perform the lead in Hairspray! She is the understudy for Tracy Turnblad. A small group of us were able to get front row seats and watched her twist and turn and sing her little heart out. It was pretty surreal seeing someone I know on a Broadway stage, like its nothing. She was fantastic. We got to go in the stage door after the performance and I actually got to stand on the stage while we were waiting for her. No bigs... just hanging out on a Broadway stage. When we left we hung out a minute to see her walk out of the stage door and see all the people waiting go nuts and ask for her autograph. What a trip!
This past week I recruited a couple foreign friends from work to experience some Broadway goodness. We decided to see the matinee performance of David Mamet's 'Speed the Plow', starring Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth Moss and Raul Esparza. The student tickets we were given allowed us to have seats on the second row and one seat front row center. God bless the foreigners b/c they were not quite aware of theatre etiquette (i.e. arriving with plenty of time to find a toilet, find your seat, and read the entire Playbill before curtain). So, my classmate and I were waiting with tapping feet for my other friends to arrive. Finally my Kiwi friend comes running up 1 minute before 2 p.m. I leave a ticket at the box office for my friend Helen, who has not arrived. As we find our seats I realize the ticket I left for Helen was the one front row center! Had it not been moments before the curtain, I would have ran back to the box office to exchange hers for mine, but time did not allow. Dread was building as the curtain rose and the play began. Brilliant performances took me away for a while, but then I was nudged by my friend to let me know Helen had arrived. The poor girl had to cling to the stage as she stepped over half the row until she landed safely in her seat. The actors on stage were definitely aware of her (how could you not be when she is holding onto the stage?!).
Following the performance the cast remains on stage to talk about a charity donation thing they do every year. Jeremy Piven did the talking. He began by saying, "Thank you very much for coming out to the show, except that girl who was late. Where is she?" The other castmates come to the edge of the stage, fingers pointing at my friend who is sinking lower and lower into her seat! Mr. Piven continues, "I mean you come 45 mins. late to a show? Its only 70 minutes long for crying out loud." He was exaggerating, of course, but this continued for a couple minutes as the theatre filled with laughter. It was hilarious! I've never seen Helen's face so red, but she is a easy-going Irish gal, so if anyone could handle it, she could. SO FUNNY!
Last night, I witnessed one of my classmates perform the lead in Hairspray! She is the understudy for Tracy Turnblad. A small group of us were able to get front row seats and watched her twist and turn and sing her little heart out. It was pretty surreal seeing someone I know on a Broadway stage, like its nothing. She was fantastic. We got to go in the stage door after the performance and I actually got to stand on the stage while we were waiting for her. No bigs... just hanging out on a Broadway stage.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"One Cheesesteak, American, With"
This is the appropriate way to order an authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteak with American cheese and onions. I failed to add the “with” and so I received no onions. However, my first Philly Cheesesteak was delicious! In case you haven’t grasped it by now, I went to PA for the weekend. Actually I stayed in Camden, NJ but it is 15 min. from downtown Philadelphia. My dearest friend, Blair, is with Urban Promise ministries working to start an afterschool program for kids in Copan, Honduras. He lived there last year and has seen a need for these kids to have a place to spend their free time. Such an amazingly wonderful thing and if anyone wants information about how to help get this wonderful program started, please let me know and I’ll forward you the details.
My trip to Camden was a very spontaneous decision made Thursday night. I went to Port Authority Bus Terminal Friday (10/31) after class, and bought a ticket on the Greyhound to Philadelphia. Apparently, there are several buses to take to nearby cities for as little as $1, but we’re talking buses that pick you up at some random corner in Chinatown where they barely stop, no one speaks English, live chickens are onboard… okay maybe not the chickens. I’ve heard funny stories about these buses, so I will try to take one the next time I leave town and tell you all about it, but I didn’t have time to deal with all that. Port Authority is madness! I’ve never experienced a bus terminal of this magnitude. Its just huge and there are so many different buses going to so many different places. I found the Philly (this is what the cool kids call it, so go with it) bus easy enough. The boarding reminded me of a Southwest flight cause there are no assigned seats, its just first come first serve. Once I got in line I didn’t want to leave, but as they started boarding I realized I really needed to use the restroom. What to do?! Leave the line and be left with the least appealing seat on the bus? I stayed in line and 10 minutes into the trip I had to crawl over the sleeping woman beside me (how does someone fall asleep so fast?) and try not to fall into people on my way to the restroom. I swear the driver was trying to knock me over with his swerving!
I arrived to Philly just as the World Series Championship Parade had ended. This simply means that I was the only person in Philadelphia not wearing red & white and I was the only person who was sober… at 4 in the afternoon! What a welcome! Shortly thereafter I hopped a subway to Camden and to the quite of a neighborhood. Blair and his friend Matt were house-sitting for a friend, which meant we had an entire house complete with dogs and a car, all to ourselves for the weekend! Such a blessing! I needed a break from the City. This was the most darling little house with a yard surrounded by a fence and a little swingset in the backyard. I never thought I’d miss yards. I was such a bum cause all I wanted to do that night was enjoy the comforts of a home: laying on the couch watching TV, playing with dogs, walking from one room to another simply b/c there were rooms to walk into. My life exists in one room, so that is why multiple rooms was so exciting. Sad, huh?
Anyway, Saturday we decided to utilize the car and took a road trip to Lancaster, PA (aka Amish Country). As we got closer and closer we started spotting a few Amish folks in their horse and buggy! We’d yell, “Amish! Amish! Amish! Amish!” It was fun. We stopped in a place called Intercourse, PA for some grub, but all we did was buy a Shoo-Fly Pie. Excuse me, a famous Shoo-Fly Pie. Has anyone ever heard of these? I felt like I was totally out of the loop, but no one else in our party had ever heard of Shoo-Fly Pies, so we decided they were only famous in this particular part of PA. We were in search of an authentic Amish experience, meal and buggy ride and all. We drove into Lancaster only to find it exactly like every other small town in PA. We discovered at the Visitor Center that most of the Amish community lives on the outskirts of Intercourse. Does anyone else find this ironic?! It wasn’t even the original name of the town… it was changed to Intercourse!
Anyway, we drove around to several other little stops and picked up various snacks. I couldn’t believe how cheap everything was! I bought an 8” pie for $5! In NYC that would cost $20 easily AND this was homemade. SO much better! We met some very nice Amish folks and I received little verse packets with my purchases. Lovely. We returned to Philly and got some cheesesteaks for dinner and watched Texas play Texas Tech. What a great day!
Sunday, I had to catch the noon bus back for work, but we got up early and went into to Philly to walk around the historical parts. It was beautiful, despite the chilling wind. Philly is a liveable city. I could never live in NY, but I think I could handle Philly. Anyway, we went on the most uninteresting tour of Independence Hall. The tours are free so sometimes the tour guides are less than good. Our guide was not engaging at all and the information she told us was stupid stuff like, “We don’t really know how this was exactly set-up but we think this is how it would be arranged. Of course, all the furniture in here is not from that time period, but is similar in style.” That is the first thing she told us and that is when I stopped listening. We left the tour early.
My weekend holiday from the City was so relaxing and normalizing. If I can schedule one of those every couple months, I think I can maintain my sanity! Next destination is Boston or maybe Upstate NY or maybe Vermont. “It should be lovely this time of year… all that snow.”
My trip to Camden was a very spontaneous decision made Thursday night. I went to Port Authority Bus Terminal Friday (10/31) after class, and bought a ticket on the Greyhound to Philadelphia. Apparently, there are several buses to take to nearby cities for as little as $1, but we’re talking buses that pick you up at some random corner in Chinatown where they barely stop, no one speaks English, live chickens are onboard… okay maybe not the chickens. I’ve heard funny stories about these buses, so I will try to take one the next time I leave town and tell you all about it, but I didn’t have time to deal with all that. Port Authority is madness! I’ve never experienced a bus terminal of this magnitude. Its just huge and there are so many different buses going to so many different places. I found the Philly (this is what the cool kids call it, so go with it) bus easy enough. The boarding reminded me of a Southwest flight cause there are no assigned seats, its just first come first serve. Once I got in line I didn’t want to leave, but as they started boarding I realized I really needed to use the restroom. What to do?! Leave the line and be left with the least appealing seat on the bus? I stayed in line and 10 minutes into the trip I had to crawl over the sleeping woman beside me (how does someone fall asleep so fast?) and try not to fall into people on my way to the restroom. I swear the driver was trying to knock me over with his swerving!
I arrived to Philly just as the World Series Championship Parade had ended. This simply means that I was the only person in Philadelphia not wearing red & white and I was the only person who was sober… at 4 in the afternoon! What a welcome! Shortly thereafter I hopped a subway to Camden and to the quite of a neighborhood. Blair and his friend Matt were house-sitting for a friend, which meant we had an entire house complete with dogs and a car, all to ourselves for the weekend! Such a blessing! I needed a break from the City. This was the most darling little house with a yard surrounded by a fence and a little swingset in the backyard. I never thought I’d miss yards. I was such a bum cause all I wanted to do that night was enjoy the comforts of a home: laying on the couch watching TV, playing with dogs, walking from one room to another simply b/c there were rooms to walk into. My life exists in one room, so that is why multiple rooms was so exciting. Sad, huh?
Anyway, Saturday we decided to utilize the car and took a road trip to Lancaster, PA (aka Amish Country). As we got closer and closer we started spotting a few Amish folks in their horse and buggy! We’d yell, “Amish! Amish! Amish! Amish!” It was fun. We stopped in a place called Intercourse, PA for some grub, but all we did was buy a Shoo-Fly Pie. Excuse me, a famous Shoo-Fly Pie. Has anyone ever heard of these? I felt like I was totally out of the loop, but no one else in our party had ever heard of Shoo-Fly Pies, so we decided they were only famous in this particular part of PA. We were in search of an authentic Amish experience, meal and buggy ride and all. We drove into Lancaster only to find it exactly like every other small town in PA. We discovered at the Visitor Center that most of the Amish community lives on the outskirts of Intercourse. Does anyone else find this ironic?! It wasn’t even the original name of the town… it was changed to Intercourse!
Anyway, we drove around to several other little stops and picked up various snacks. I couldn’t believe how cheap everything was! I bought an 8” pie for $5! In NYC that would cost $20 easily AND this was homemade. SO much better! We met some very nice Amish folks and I received little verse packets with my purchases. Lovely. We returned to Philly and got some cheesesteaks for dinner and watched Texas play Texas Tech. What a great day!
Sunday, I had to catch the noon bus back for work, but we got up early and went into to Philly to walk around the historical parts. It was beautiful, despite the chilling wind. Philly is a liveable city. I could never live in NY, but I think I could handle Philly. Anyway, we went on the most uninteresting tour of Independence Hall. The tours are free so sometimes the tour guides are less than good. Our guide was not engaging at all and the information she told us was stupid stuff like, “We don’t really know how this was exactly set-up but we think this is how it would be arranged. Of course, all the furniture in here is not from that time period, but is similar in style.” That is the first thing she told us and that is when I stopped listening. We left the tour early.
My weekend holiday from the City was so relaxing and normalizing. If I can schedule one of those every couple months, I think I can maintain my sanity! Next destination is Boston or maybe Upstate NY or maybe Vermont. “It should be lovely this time of year… all that snow.”
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