Where has July gone?

Since being out of school, the time has just rushed by...My mind thinks it's still April...

Work:

"She's so sweet, you don't meet many Americans like that."--two elderly British ladies in my line at the museum. Made me chuckle on the inside. 

"Do you have in any way shape or form any sort of book or toy of owls?"--a 12 year old Brazilian girl visiting the AMNH. I wonder where she got the first part of the sentence from?

The other day there was a man who looked like my dad would have in 6 years. He even acted towards me just like Dad would to a sales associate. It's kind of hard to explain.... but it was a sad yet comforting moment.

Discovery:

Before the trip to D.C., I was so shocked at what my inward attitude had become. At times, it had leaked into my relationship with my sister. Sweet and caring occasionally turned into guarded and selfish. I had touched a bit on this before on how the city is hard on every aspect, including your spirit. We talked about it and concluded that it must be the constant guard we've put on in order to not run into any potential trouble and stay safe. We figured out that a balance has to be found, so that the guarded "don't mess with me" attitude doesn't sink deep into your heart. 

Readings:

A book that I've begun to read is Oswald Sander's The Incomparable Christ. I bought this book just before I graduated in December, because I wanted to study Christ's character closely. I'm sure the whole book will be a wonderful read, but I am amazed just at the first chapter. I hadn't ever thought of the symmetry of His character before. He had no strong points or weaknesses. Everything was perfectly balanced. 

I'm also reading Captivating by John and Stasi Eldrege which has been a delight to read. It's a book for women on releasing your femininity which has been hidden away from years of hurt--beginning as a child. It talks of tearing down the inward walls and letting God protect you. I'm just getting to the good part which talks about viewing God as our Heavenly Father and how He delights in us. I can't really comprehend Zephaniah 3:17--"The Lord God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing." 

Fun:

Today was my day off, and as everyone knows, days off are glorious. This morning I took a look at a potential room to move into once our sublet ends. It was in Windsor Terrace which is just by Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It was a gorgeous area! Tree-lined street with brownstones. I couldn't believe how peaceful it was compared to our current location. We're still looking into other options as well, but our preference is Brooklyn. 

Afterwards, I journeyed over to the Brooklyn Bridge to check out the line for my favorite pizza restaurant (after only once visit) for some lunch. It's called Grimaldi's and it's under the Brooklyn Bridge. People line up and wait for close to an hour or more at times just to get a table. This is an every day occurrence for restaurant. The line was a bit long, so I opted to walk over to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory Store just across the street to enjoy a lovely view of Manhattan while savoring a Chocolate Chocolate Chunk scoop in a waffle cone. 

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Sighs of the beauty of the city and a sunburn later, I managed to find about a foot of shade under a tiny tree on a bench. Then I saw this street vendor by the park....

                                          

and I just had to take a look at their menu. I soon ordered their black bean taco.....

DELICIOUS!

After a bit of relaxation to this view....but with more sun and blue skies than the image capture....

I heading back to Manhattan and stopped at 250 W. 40th St. This store is like the Brodt Music for theatre people. It's called the Drama Book Shop, and as I walked in...the hallelujah chorus started playing inside of my head. This shop is definitely a dangerous place to bring credit cards... ;) While I was there, I picked up vocal selections of a musical by Stephen Schwartz for an upcoming audition for Oceania Cruiseline, and I picked up the print version of the Backstage Newspaper. I mentioned that I had access to the website through our roommate, but I decided to pick up the newspaper just because. I actually like the newspaper as opposed to the online version...but it can get costly. 

The Drama Book Shop

1 month.

It's somewhat odd to think that I'm not counting down and saying something like "One month down, 2 to go..." as places in the past haven't been indefinite such as this NY life. 

  

Guess what? Another language of NY discovery has occurred. Instead of saying, "What?", "Do What?", or "I'm sorry?" to have someone repeat themselves, they say "What happened?" I was caught off guard the first time I heard someone say it. I thought, "Nothing happened...", but soon I figured it out! My coworker Victor explained that it's mostly people from the Bronx that say it. He laughed when I pointed that fact out. 

Becca and I successfully conquered our fear of going to the Taco truck that normally sits just outside of our subway station stop. One night a few weeks ago, we had walked past craving tacos, but Rebecca suddenly turned away and said she changed her mind. Turns out she got scared away by the sign not being in English. haha. I was a bit nervous myself about ordering, since the only thing I understood on the menu was "pollo" under that Taco section. This week we decided to brave it since we don't have that much longer on this side of town, and so I ordered 3 tacos of the only choice that I understood. Chicken Tacos. The little Mexican man was absolutely adorable. He was all smiles and very kind to us. When we got home and took a bite into the tacos, I was in awe of our delicious they were. I was ready to run back to the truck to get some more!

The largest blessing from the week was to take the trip on bus (Megabus.com---incredible deal!) to Washington D.C. with Rebecca to meet Mom, then drive over to Wintergreen, VA to hear Matthew's world premier of his work, "Arch nemesis". My little brothers were away at camp, so it was just Mom and the "original kids" getting to spend time together. When Mom, Bec, and I made it to Charlottesville, VA to check into our hotel we were ABSOLUTELY ecstatic to see the Mexican restaurant across the street and the Flowers Bakery Discount Store next door. We haven't been able to find any Mexican restaurants in the city so far that equal the prices/deliciousness of our beloved El Valle in North Carolina. We were determined to try this restaurant. We parked, walked inside, and laughed in delight that the interior was even better than the great design of the exterior. It was like we were in Epcot in Disney World. It was amazing how decorated it was. We were definitely pleased by the food as well!

After the restaurant, I ran over to the Flowers Discount Bakery Store with Becca while Mom checked into the hotel. I've had such fond memories of going to the ones in Matthews and Indian Trail, NC with Dad growing up. We'd pick out our treats (usually the cupcakes or a moonpie), and Dad would pick out a Moonpie. At this store in VA, I ran over to the table where there was a box of 12 moonpies. I bought it, gave some to the family, even more to Matthew, and I've been enjoying them since. Sadly I only have one left, but I've confirmed my original thoughts on the best way to eat a Moonpie. Place it on a microwaveable plate, put it in the microwave for 15 seconds, be sure to watch it blow up (even though mom has always said to not watch inside the microwave....), take it out and enjoy. I've tried a frozen moonpie as well, and trust me, a microwaved one is the best. 

Soon after we got beautiful in the hotel from the night of sleeping in the car (no hotels were available), the three of us headed over to Wintergreen, VA to see our darling brother. We arrived, and the air was significantly cooler and the mountains were breathtaking. It was wonderful to be together again. We enjoyed dinner with Matthew at "The edge" which was on the campus of the Wintergreen Resort. Our favorite part was the Fudge Brownie Sundae :).

MATTHEW!

Matthew introduced us to his composer friends, and we soon took a seat to anxiously await Matthew's piece.  His quartet walked out on stage just after him, he explained the work, and the beautiful sounds of the "Arch nemesis" filled the air. The piece sings. It's gorgeous. I did record a video, but I'd have to get approval from the composer before posting ;). We didn't get to spend much time with Matthew afterwards, but in 2 weeks we'll all be together again for a vacation.

The next day, Mom, Rebecca, and I headed back to D.C. to spend some time there before our bus ride back to NY. We didn't have time to fully enjoy a Smithsonian museum, so we took the tour of the Ford's Theatre and the House where Lincoln died. I took a look around the gift shop just for fun, because Event Network (who I am employed by) owns that shop as well. The tour was very neat to experience. I had no idea the John Wilkes Booth was a star actor and that he knew the Ford's Theatre very well.  Here is the Presidential box where Lincoln was shot....

            

Soon after the tour, we had to leave momma and hop on the bus. It was sad leaving her, but we'll see her soon! We were so happy to see that our ideal seats in the megabus (the top of the double decker/front of the bus) were free. It was like a roller coaster up there!! We probably freaked out the other passengers by our excitement.

When we arrived home, Rebecca's friend Jared had just made it into town from Tampa, FL to visit for the rest of the week. One of the places we enjoyed was "Ellen's Stardust Diner". Every time we visited NY in the past, I saw the restaurant and had wanted to go. It's the famous diner where all of the servers are singer/actors working their way to Broadway. They sing constantly throughout their shifts. It was a great experience!! 

Ellen's Stardust Diner--51st and Broadway

This crazy work story will provide a good laugh if you need it....

The other day a man in his late 60s walks up to the counter with a box in his hand asking if we had any "untouched" statues. He claimed his chinese stature he was holding had fingerprints ALL over it. We tried to explain that what we have is out on the table, and he proceeded to not believe us. He said asked again for an untouched chinese statue. He said, "Look at this! there's fingerprints all over this. I could catch pneumonia or AIDS!!" 

This past Friday evening, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my friend Victor from work. It's one of his favorite places, so when he found out that I had never been and that I desired to go, he offered to show me around. It's not only an absolute gorgeous building, but the vast collection is incredible. We were able to enjoy the special exhibit  "The American Woman" which shows how fashion in women changed along with the roles from the early 1900s-1930s then a summary from then until the present. We also got to see the Egyptian exhibits, the contemporary art hall, and a bit more. I can't wait to go back.

As we were leaving, a rough thunderstorm rolled in. We ran for cover under scaffolding a few blocks away to wait for it to lighten up so that we could find the bus stop. We were getting completely drenched! I loved it. Running through the city in the pouring down rain..with the thrill of the thunder...so much fun. The air conditioner in the bus caused us to freeze a bit when we actually made it on to the bus, though :)

More to come...

Feelin out da heights.

That and "yeeeuuh, dats wussup!" have been added to my street vocabulary after hearing it on the train the other day. Oh yes, and we absolutely cannot forget my ultimate favorite--"I'm rite like fireworks on da fourth of July." The last one is from the phenomenal play "Fences" by August Wilson.

A recent blessing has been the access to Backstage.com with the help of our new roommate Ann Marie who is a  singer actress that has lived in NY for a good while. Backstage.com (or the printed version from newsstands) or Actorsaccess.com are the NYC version of TheatreinChicago.com/Auditions except they require money. It's been so much fun browsing through auditions to see which ones I can fit into my schedule. There have been broadway ones (Phantom of the Opera, Elf, Mary Poppins..etc) that I would absolutely LOVE to audition for, but a problem is presented. As I was informed from my singer/actor friend, Ryan Roets,  who recently moved to the city as well, a non-equity actor can attend equity auditions, but they have to sign up at the beginning of the day unsure of whether the casting people will want to see them or not. They have to wait until all of the equity actors have been seen, and the casting directors may not even desire to see them audition, so they could have waited all day without getting to audition. This requires a lot of time, so I'd only be able to audition on my days off. Attempting to audition would be more about them seeing you as a new face to the talent pool than getting the role, although that would be incredible. 

Other than her kindness of informing me/helping me out with the websites, she has a bookshelf full of happiness. A whole collection of musical theatre, theatre, and NY books is sitting in our living room, and she offered to let us borrow them as we need it. She is away in England and Italy for the summer on an adventure :). 

There are potential auditions this week, but the one that I am set on attending if I get out of work in time is tomorrow night. It's for an independent film titled "Tompkins Square Park", and I would be going for either the role of Sara or Mercy Matthews. I'm excited yet nervous for this opportunity, because I've never attended a film audition before! 

On the subject of acting, I've talked on this topic with my sister and a little with my friend Adam. Why is it that  it's so much harder now to "make it big" in the theatre world now compared to 20+ years ago? Listening to our new friend Kevyn Morrow on his career takeoff at 19, reading other seasoned actors' stories, and more brought on this question. I thought perhaps drama/music education requirements in schools now could have developed the interest in more young people so much that it's somewhat of a trend. Rebecca threw in the thought that possibly since people aren't getting married until later on in life, there isn't as much obligation to get a steady paying job that can support you and a family. Thoughts are greatly appreciated!

You hear New Yorkers tell you of the hardness of living in the city, but you don't really know what they're talking about until you experience it. We've had just a taste. It's hard on your spirit, even your clothing/shoes, it's tough relationship wise (finding good friends and such), financially....and more...but there are so many nice things about the city that balance it out. We've started to make friends here (unfortunately more than half of them are only in the city for the summer), we've come to find amazing restaurants that will be visited by us in the future (Shake Shack is absolutely amazing and it's horrible that one location is right by my museum...Yougurt land...and more...), all of the events to attend, museums, and other activities make it a fun place. A favorite spot of ours will be the South street seaport at Pier 17. We've visited before, but last Thursday night we went down there for the evening, bought a really good burrito from the food court, and just sat and gazed at the Hudson. Soaking in the music around, the calmness of the water, the sights of the dinner/tour cruises around the city was so very relaxing. 

I learned that if the locals are waiting in line for a street vendor, then the food must be tasty. Rebecca and I ventured to the MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) a couple of Fridays ago, and passed by a vendor that was making chicken and rice and gyros. We made up our mind to stop by after we went in the museum. We didn't have much time there, but we admired Van gogh, Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeoise, Louise Nevelson, Picasso, and many more. We also came to the conclusion that in order to keep our availability even more open for possible meetings of new friends, we needed to admire the the future museums we attend a lone. Two is more intimidating than one. ;)

I've been somewhat obsessed with ice cream upon moving here. I've always loved it, but it's either the sweltering heat inside the apartment and outside or seeing and hearing an ice cream truck on every corner. Don't worry, though, I've learned to resist most of the time...it's only when we're in McDonald's that the $1.00 cones really scream my name. 

4th of July fun? I'd hoped to magically find a super cheap flight to Orlando to join my friend and his family at Disney for the holiday like we had dreamed of doing a year ago, but unfortunately I couldn't justify putting a $300 flight on my credit card. SO, Disney fun has been put off, but NY Independence day plans were memorable.  After we attended this gorgeous church.....

I grilled hamburgers on a george foreman while Rebecca made her Red, White, and Blue cake (which is a tradition...and SHE must make it every year).

Later in the evening we enjoyed these....

It was the Macy's annual 4th of July fireworks. There were as many people smushed together as those that view the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, except throw in the hot muggy weather..and you've got the 4th of July fireworks! It was a beautiful display, though. I kept on longingly looking at the Norwegian Cruise Line ship not too far from us..wishing to join the people who were celebrating on the ship. We almost purchased tickets to go on the circle cruise line mini tour boat to float in the Hudson and have a magnificent view,but we decided against it. Really wished the family could have been there with us. It was the first 4th we haven't been together I believe. 

If you look carefully in the picture below..you'll see me...taking part in the most outrageous thing we've done in the city.

Friday morning, Rebecca and I got up at 5:00am to stand in line for Standing Room only tickets to see August Wilson's "Fences" on Broadway which starred Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. The show was closing on the 11th, and every ticket was sold out, except for the SRO tickets that become available on the day of the show. When we arrived at the theatre, our hearts sank as we saw a massive line of people already. They began their line at 3:30am. We stood for a while wondering what to do, and we talked with the people around us. We met Kevyn Morrow who is a very established actor, and he happened to give us theatre tips for the city. We all decided that we were too far back in the line to even have a chance at getting tickets so we put our minds to it to camp out the next evening. Rebecca texted our friend Adam Robitaille who only lives an 1 1/2 train ride from CT away to see if he wanted to join us. To our surprise, he was up for it! Since we couldn't get into Fences that morning, we didn't want to go home empty handed, so at about 8:10am, she and I walked over to the Promises, Promises (starring Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes) theatre and were 3rd in line to get rush tickets when the box office opened at 10am. Soon after we arrived, a large line formed behind us, but we felt great in knowing that we'd get tickets. 10am rolls around and we got tickets for that evening!! So..we went home and slept, got ready for the show, attended the very well done show (can't believe we actually got to see Kristen Chenoweth), and heard from Adam about his arrival time to join us to camp outside of the Cort Theatre for Fences. He wasn't going to arrive until about 1:30am at Grand Central Station, so Rebecca and I decided to take a walk over to "Fences" to see if there happened to be a line. We were kidding at the moment, but when we got there to check it out, there were already 5 people in line. We had no other choice but to park ourselves there. Soon after, adam joined us for the camp out. We met many fun people, including Sam and Danny who shared their salsa/chips and played yahtzee with us. The most memorable person was the lady we nicknamed "Miss Houston" because she would not shut her mouth about HAVING to see the show, because she flew in from Houston and has been saying Rose's monologue since she was 13. Lady, like we were going to say, "Oh, ok, you can have my place!" Nope. She didn't get in line in time. Channel 7 ABC news even came to shoot a bit about us all. I had to leave the party at 5:30am when it was light enough for me to go home by myself to get a couple of hours of sleep for work (ugh..yes..I worked 11-5 then went home to change to see the show). The rest of our friends stuck it out and we got tickets to see the show!! It was a phenomenal show. I really want to read the other 2 plays that August Wilson wrote as a part of the series. It was absolutely worth every minute of the 11 hours people camped out for tickets.

With our friend Kevyn Morrow...

For more photos documenting our adventures... Click Here for Rebecca's Photo Album

More stories to come!!

New York beginnings.

We made it. We hugged the family good bye early AM of June 18 and left for 14+ hours of driving--2 of those hours sitting in traffic just to cross the George Washington bridge. "So Close" from Enchanted was our theme song of those dreadfully long hours.

Once we finally arrived at the location of our apartment, we sat for a while in the car soaking in the atmosphere while waiting for our future roommate to come home and let us in. It didn't quite feel like Manhattan, and I couldn't believe we were actually there. It was as if we were in a complete different country---a blend of Spanish speaking countries. 

So, as you can imagine, we stuck out incredibly and were constantly watched and a bit called out to as we unloaded and carried our things into our apartment. Quite intimidating. I wasn't sure if we'd last the night. Ok, maybe not THAT drastic... but I kept on reminding myself that after they became familiar with us "new kids on the block", it'd get better. After most of our things were brought into our little room, we went to a little pizza joint nearby, came home, and slept.

The next day was tackle the room to make it our own day. We didn't make much progress, but later that evening we enjoyed dinner with our friend Lydia at the Ukrainian restaurant "Veselka" in the East Village. It was an incredible welcome to NYC meal :). The vibe of the Lower East Side is one of my favorites. After the delicious meal, we headed home, but Rebecca and I got off of the train at Times Square, just because. We walked around, hoping for a surge of excitement that we were ACTUALLY in the city, but we still hadn't hit reality yet. We stopped beside a store so that Rebecca could twitter my comment upon just seeing a giant elmo--which was "I don't care how poor I am, I would not stand in an Elmo costume in times square." Two college kids stopped to chat with us...very odd...and after a bit of conversation we walked over to Mcdonalds for icecream and a snack to chat some more. A bit later Bec and I headed home for rest and to plan what we'd do to remember Dad on Father's day.

We had grand plans of picnicking in the park and journaling about him, but we ended up sleeping in, stopping into a little shop, groceries, and dinner. There has been much pain recently in relation to the loss of Dad--and even more so since we moved here. There has been SO MUCH that we've been wanting to tell him that he would have been excited about. That will continue, though as more life experiences happen. 

Monday was the start of working at the American Museum of Natural History. It's actually the museum where they filmed part of "Night at the Museum." It's a gorgeous building, and I've been thrilled at the thought of having free access to all of the exhibits when I choose to visit/bring friends. I love going out and sitting in Central Park which is just across the street on my lunch breaks. It's a peaceful escape. Also, thankfully, the only adjusting that I've had to do in regards to transferring there is to the product and the people. I miss my Skydeck coworkers dearly, but it has been interesting getting to know my new coworkers. I've had a great laugh at the fact that they think I'm a spy from Event Network (my company that just recently took over them). Most of them have been working there for many many years, so they are a tight knit family. I'm winning their approval day by day. :) I've gotten many city-tips from them, and one of the ladies that I work with works at the Metropolitan Opera as an usher/tickets/etc. She  is such a kind lady, and she even spread the word among her opera singer friends/musicians at the Met of my looking for a voice teacher. She has given me one phone number so far, and will continue to give more :)

Rebecca and I have been just like an old married couple, with the roles a bit mixed. I work all day, come home and cook, while she cleans and explores the city/job hunts. We've argued about which side of the bed to sleep on, grocery shopping, what time to leave, where to eat/what to make for dinner, and hanging up clothes. It's been great, though :)

Throughout these past two weeks, we've learned many lessons of life in the city such as street parking rules, do not wear a dress/skirt in our neighborhood after dark, when to and to not say hi to people in the streets, and do not stop for a promoter no matter how much he catches your interest with his words, because you don't want to give them false hope. Also, we know where to find very cheap produce--right by our subway stop!! It's marvelous. We've discovered that living in New York is basically like living in one huge dorm room. No privacy. I do have to admit that I miss the peacefulness of laying on the deck in my backyard in NC, soaking in the music and the smells of the air around, without anyone around. Also, we've succumbed to tourist temptations--buying a graphite portrait of the two of us from a cute little Asian lady in Times Square. Guess where our new favorite hangout is? The corner on the second level of the McDonalds in Times Square---even better with a $1.00 cone. Strange, I know, but it's inexpensive, safe, and a bit peaceful at times. 

I had hoped to find my way around having to pay for a subscription to find out about NY auditions, but I'm going to soon subscribe to get the complete information for the auditions. I've been re-reading a book that was a gift to me a few years back which is, "How to Audition for the Musical Theatre" by Donald Oliver. I've forgotten the great knowledge in the book. It's been full of great reminders! 

I've been inspired by having the chance to see shows on broadway for averaging $26.00 per show for standing room only tickets. It's cheaper than student rush, you get to see more shows that you normally would, you don't have to worry about tall people in front of you, and you feel more alert. Fantastic opportunities. Can't wait for opera season at the Met to begin! :)

This past Sunday, Rebecca and I attended Bay Ridge Baptist Church which has been dear to me for about 6 years. We were amazed once again at the genuine kindness of Pastor Jason and the members. It's quite a trek for us to get down there (close to 2 hours by train from our side of town), but it's definitely worth it. We're going to attend a couple of other churches, just because, but Bay Ridge will always have a special place in my heart. Hopefully after our sublet ends we'll be able to live closer. 

Something very happy that I found out today--I can get into most museums here (and some around the world) with my museum ID! So, Rebecca and I have our work cut out for us..of MANY places to see. We're excited :) We got the chance to stop in the AMNH on my day off and realize how beautiful the museum and the exhibits are. What made me smile the most was getting a picture with the Easter Island statue which many people know as "Dum Dum" from "A Night at the Museum". I gave him a HUGE hug in the picture, but after I took a look at the photo, Bec and I realized that lighting wasn't good, and as I turned around to take another, I saw a tall European guy doing the exact same thing--giving him a huge hug. Yep. I turned right back around. Decided to take the picture another time.

Pictures and more will come :)