That's Blogtastic!

Please enjoy my handy “The Economy Sucks” tips on saving money throughout…

I woke up yesterday morning to a howling wind outside my window. My whole apartment was rattling. A serious wind storm has been whipping its way through. I almost fell over when I was crossing the street from the wind pushing me sideways. There are branches down and garbage EVERYWHERE. I’ve been hearing on the news about all sorts of accidents the wind has caused. It’s really weird, but thankfully today it has really died down.

Wednesday night I went to help my friend Ilyse with a project. We decided to meet up at her office which is on the 27th floor of a midtown high rise. I love going there because the view is awesome! I stopped and got us some good food from this place called “Energy Kitchen” which has really healthy food. I read about it in AM New York and wanted to check it out. Plus, I had a coupon (Tip #1). No shame in my game! You can’t order anything there that is “bad” for you. Why can’t every restaurant be like this?!

Ilyse works with the Dalit Freedom Network in addition to her regular day job. The DFN, “partners with the Dalits of India in their quest for religious freedom, social justice, and human rights by mobilizing human, informational, and financial resources.” (www.dalitnetwork.org) I have been helping Ilyse put together a presentation on the Dalits, the DFN and getting involved with their cause. She travels to India about once a year to do work with the DFN and her work has really inspired me. I am thankful to have the opportunity to help her with this project as I am learning so much about the Dalit people. She will be presenting the project to friends, fellow Christians, and anyone who may be interested in supporting the cause.

So I was coming home from the gym Wednesday morning (where I watch TV, the only place I watch TV (Tip #2)) and I saw this very flamboyant man in a bright blue suit coat flapping his arms around outside the front door of my neighbor down the street. I didn’t know what to make of it as my street is pretty uneventful most days (thank God). As I got closer I noticed the man was “singing” to a woman inside the house. It was a singing telegram! AHAHA! I’ve never seen one of those. It was hilarious. I stood and watched the guy at a safe distance (wary of the flailing arms) where he couldn’t see me. The singing was AWFUL but it was a riot. He sang three different renditions of Happy Birthday to this lady. It was a good laugh to start the day on... Please don’t get any ideas.

I’ll be helping to lead worship service again this weekend at church so we had rehearsal on Thursday night. It’s my favorite time of the week! The rehearsing went really well. Afterwards I was walking out of the studios and I saw a bunch of band gear in the hallway. It was labeled “Flogging Molly.” After a little investigating, I realized that the band “Flogging Molly” was rehearsing right around the corner from us! Flogging Molly is a well known Irish band whose music I’ve liked for years. (Good workout tunes) I didn’t get to meet any band members but I saw them setting up. How cool! I rehearsed next to Flogging Molly! Haha geek.

So I was sitting on a subway train coming home from rehearsal and this little elderly man gets on wheeling a 32” TV (boxed) with 2 giant boxes of Rice Krispy Treats taped to the top. How he maneuvered the goods on wheels, is baffling to me. Moving big stuff around in the subway is not easy. So, the car gets rockin’ and the TV with the treats start rolling to and fro down the center of the car. Just picture it. It was funny. TV and Treats. (Who needs to pay to see funny movies, stand up, TV, I got the subway! (Tip #3)).

The verdict is in: I got an audition before I booked an interview. Will wonders never cease? I have an audition next week with an acting company downtown looking for new faces. Specifically they’ll be looking at me for a children’s show this spring. It’s their own rendition of the children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.” Love that book so I’m excited to audition for them!

I got my nails “did” for Valentine’s Day. It was a present to myself. Aww thanks self! I tried not to pick a vampy color, but I’m not convinced I was successful. They rushed me! It was fun to get a manicure though, I don’t usually get them so I needed a little help from the lady on what to do. By the end of my rendezvous at the salon I had nearly every lady in there giving me advice. (With a Long Island accent): “Keep ya nails under the dryer thing for about 5 minutes” “Ya just leave ya stuff ova theya” “That’s a great color honey, wear it while you’re young!” I seriously need to work frequent trips to this place into my budget; these Long Island divas are a trip. Your first impression is that they couldn’t care less about you and then you get them talking and it’s like you have friends for life!

I bought some fruit at the produce stand the other day and I paid in cash. I didn’t realize it at the time but later found out I was given my change in the national currency of the Bahamas. Weird. Maybe I’ll travel to the Bahamas? I got time. I also have 5 Bahamian cents burning a hole in my pocket.

Alright, no more random stories...HEY I’m unemployed; random stories are life! Haha. Thanks for enduring.

I’m going to see my friend Leah’s show tonight. She’s an acting student at Juilliard and the play is called “The Greeks.” I guess it’s gonna be pretty epic. Can’t think of a better way to spend the night on Friday the 13th. Fun fun and free! (Tip #4)

Happy Singles’ Awareness Day!

Unemployedelicious woot woot..

Oh the perks of unemployment…free time. Time to enjoy NYC because you live in a great city, time to make up words that describe your life like "unemployedelicious" time to...well, you'll see. Thank goodness I don't have a job tying me down! ahaha

So I just got back from a taping of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” The man is a genius. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard. I heard that his last taping in the NY NBC studios was gonna be on February 20, 2009 (before he moves to California). Sad. I knew I had to see a taping before he left.

This morning I got up early (not THAT early) and stood in line for a “standby” ticket outside 30 Rockefeller Center (NBC Studios). They don’t guarantee seats but I figured I’d at least give it a shot. I was #11 in line so I thought my odds were pretty good?

I got my standby ticket and was told to come back at 3:45pm to see if I got a seat. So I went home, went to the gym, avoided going outside because of the frigid temperature and serious snowfall and bided my time until 3:45 rolled around.

Well, as you can gather, I got in! The guests were Seth Meyers (SNL), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass), and um a country band. They were good but I forget their name. Crap. Sorry. I got to hear the awesome Max Weinberg and the “Max Weinberg 7” play. They are extremely talented musicians. They kept the audience entertained between taping and played a lot of music. Their trumpeter played one note for like 3 minutes I guess trumpeters have a special long note holding technique (that’s the technical term). It was unbelievable.

Conan came out before the taping to say hey and get us laughing. We laughed. A lot. The interviews were great, and it was neat watching Conan between taping. He was dancing around, all energetic, listening to the band, talking to people. He really seems like a cool guy.

After the taping he sang a song with the band. He called it “The After Show Song that the TV Audience Never gets to Hear.” Did I mention he’s hilarious?

The show airs tonight (2/3/09) so don’t miss it…haha you probably already did. Oh well. Take my word for it: FUNNY. NYC is gonna miss the Conan.

This last weekend I went to a UET Alumni event that they throw for the alums every year in NYC and LA. (UET being the University of Evansville Theatre Department, where I went to college). I’m so glad I got to go this year! I met up with so many friends from school and met several alums that are busy in the theatre/TV/film world. UET Alums are a pretty successful group but everyone seemed so chill at the party. I feel like we picked up where we left off at graduation and were all one big family at a reunion.
It was pretty surreal talking to people who have been on Broadway, on TV, and involved in every aspect of filmmaking. It was encouraging as well. I didn’t feel out of place or like I was lame because I don’t have a sitcom. I was able to glean a few things from those who are “there.” The night was perfect.

Sunday morning I sang with the worship team at church. I thought it went really well. It is such an honor to get to be a part of leading the church in worship. I had a great time singing with the band. This week it was made up of a lot of very professional, talented guys.

After church I had coffee with my friend Kaylie and got ready for the Super Bowl festivities. I ended up going to two parties that night for the game. They were both in the same general area on the Upper East Side so I wanted to visit both. The first party was in Spanish Harlem on the 27th floor of a high rise apartment building. It was at my friend Paul’s place and thankfully they had a balcony because you can’t go up 27 floors and not get a view! There were a lot of people at the party and some serious football snacks to boot. I stayed the first half then trekked over to my friends Allen and Ryan’s place.

On the way I walked past the twin high rise of my friend Paul’s building and there were about 5 fire trucks outside, firemen, police, Red Cross, you name it. Apparently the foundation cracked on the building so they evacuated it and called the firemen to investigate. Sounds creepy. But it was a sight.

I watched the rest of the game at Allen and Ryan’s with some friends from church. I have to admit, I was a little annoyed at the unsportsmanlike conduct of the teams. I think the game would’ve felt a lot better to me had the “pros” remembered that “pros” is short for “professionals.” But I was still entertained and thought the game was quite good otherwise. Now, I will close with my favorite moment of the NFL evening:

(Overheard by yours truly)

Girl at Super Bowl Party: (upon reading the bottom of the TV screen reading, “Super Bowl XLIII”)

“What does Super Bowl Extra Large 3 mean?”