Summer-Winter....Where's Fall?

Friday the 9th I had a day off and it was spent setting up my room with all my new furniture. I had my bed delivered at 10am and got it arranged in my room. Then I proceeded to assemble my desk and chair that goes with it. My room actually looks like a room now and I’m real excited.
In the afternoon I watched a few episodes of The Office season 3. I hadn’t seen it yet so I rented it on Netflix. I haven’t been able to watch season 4 yet so I couldn’t wait to get caught up.
Friday night I hung out with my roommates again. We made dinner together and had fun goofin’ around that night.
Saturday I went and saw “American Gangster” with my friend Annie at our new favorite theater in the Upper West Side. That’s the movie with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. It’s based on the true story of Frank Lucas the big time NYC drug lord from the 1960s-70s. It was a pretty gruesome movie but I thought it was a great film. It was crazy to think about how horrible this city was back then. Drug abuse was a bigger, more prominent problem then and it made the city ugly. I’m so glad it’s cleaned up so much. I know drug trafficking is still an issue but this movie made it look a million times worse during the Vietnam War.
After the movie I auditioned for the show “The Man who came to Dinner.” It was pretty sad. I got there, did my monologue and they told me I was too young. Without another word they dismissed me. Damn. They did see my headshot and resume before they granted me an audition time. I felt a little annoyed. You can tell from my headshot that I’m not 40!!! Don’t waste my time! Oh well, it was an experience.
Right after the audition I ran up Fifth Avenue to catch the train to go to my show. Fifth Avenue was packed. There were wall to wall people out doing some Saturday afternoon shopping. It was ridiculous. You’d think there wasn’t another street in the world.
The most appalling sight to me was the line outside Abercrombie and Fitch. People were standing in line waiting to go in just to shop at the A&F. The security there was only letting a certain number of shoppers in at a time. There was nothing particular going on, no big sale or celeb sighting, just another day at the shop. I wanted to tell them all: “There are other Abercrombie stores, ya know!” Psycho people.
I had a performance of “The Soapranos” out in Long Island. We performed for a firefighters fundraising event. It was a blast. There were lots of firemen(wink wink)and they were all off duty. I didn’t get to flirt as I was busy playing a 90 year old woman. But I did use that as an excuse to tell them their muscles were big and to dance with them. At our show we improv with the audience, as you may remember. I was rather shy to be playing an old old old lady but it turned out all right for me.
The event planners fed as really good gourmet food and we had fun with the audience as its drunken state grew exponentially throughout the evening.
After the show the cast went out for an after show party at the local diner. Our producer bought us all drinks (and food if we wanted). We really click as a cast and I was happily entertained by my hilarious cast mates.
On the ride home 5 of us smashed into one guy’s car and we rocked out to “The sounds of the 70s” all the way back to Queens. Don’t worry Ma, I was wearing a seat belt.
I finally got home REALLY late and cursed myself for that because I knew I’d be paying for that in the morning.
I had to be up Sunday morning at 6am for a mandatory “Holiday Kick-off Meeting” at Sephora. They held the meeting to get us all geared up for the insane holiday season. (Which is already underway but whatever.)
Well, I accidentally slept through my alarm and got to the meeting late. Not too late but late enough so that no one was at the front door to let me in when I arrived. Everyone was at the meeting, even the security guy who was supposed to let me in. I waited and waited and finally gave up. I couldn’t get in to the damn meeting. So, I missed it. Oops.
I took the train uptown and arrived early to church instead. I was too early so I grabbed breakfast at the Barking Dog Restaurant across the street. They had a great breakfast deal that’s really inexpensive. I enjoyed that and a quick reading of the newspaper. I got all caught up on the news so the morning wasn’t a complete bust. I read up on the strike that’s taking place on Broadway with all the stagehands. It’s a pretty huge deal and it’s costing the city millions in tourist revenue. Who would have thought it’d actually be a good thing NOT to be in a Broadway show? (At the moment, of course). Not all the shows on Broadway are closed down but most of them are so this is just plain weird. I understand where the stagehands are coming from but I think both sides are taking the lazy route on coming up with a compromise or agreement. Make up your stinkin' minds; the show must go on!
After my scrumptious breakfast I went to church. Our church is meeting at a different venue for the next several weeks because our old one has to undergo emergency construction. Which is a little scary.
Church was great as usual. I got to catch up with a good friend who was out of town in a show for the last month. I got to hear all about her adventures in New Jersey. Hehe.
After church I went back to my place in Astoria and crashed for a couple hours.
When I woke up my roommates and I started our outreach project. We decided a while back that we wanted to do some volunteer work and to give back as the Bible tells us to. So we decided to clean Astoria up. We got all bundled up, put on plastic gloves, took out huge black garbage bags, and set to the streets to fill them up with litter.
The main streets in Astoria have an inordinate amount of litter on them. Frankly, they’re rather disgusting. We spent about an hour and a half picking up trash. We had a lot of people ask us what we were doing, thank us, and stare at us. It turned out to be very rewarding. There was an unbelievable difference in the sections of sidewalk that we cleaned up. Hopefully the people that saw us will be inspired to have more pride in their city and to think twice before littering.
Later that night I went to the Queens Mall to pick up my new winter coat. It was on back order at JcPenney. I got my pretty coat and ventured down the mall to Target. The mall was packed with people of course but Target was just silly.
I was really looking forward to going to Target. I had a bunch of stuff I needed and I’ve always liked Target so I was excited to go for the first time in months. When I got there I was sorely disappointed. There were hundreds of people there and there was very little left on their shelves. It seriously looked like a scene from an apocalyptic movie. Everything on the shelves was gone and a lot of crap was strewn about on the floor. It was kind of disgusting really.
I found one or two things to buy then I got the heck out of there. Shopping is freakin’ exhausting.
After that whole ordeal I had to transfer all over on the Subway to get home as most of lines in Queens are under construction. I got home, packed my bag for Monday, and went to bed.

Up 2 Date

Continued...
Sunday morning (11/4) I read the invocation at church. It was a lovely puritan prayer. I had fun taking part in the service.
After church my friend Courtney and I went out to lunch on the Upper East Side. There were people everywhere participating or cheering for the NY Marathon. The route included Central Park and we walked right passed it. Coverage of the marathon was on TV in the restaurant we ate lunch at so it was fun to walk right passed the spot we just saw on TV.
For a couple hours we hung out, scoured around Barnes & Noble then I had to go to work.
I worked the night away at Sephora. After work I got on the N train to Astoria and studied my monologs for my audition Monday. As I sat on the relatively empty train I was pretty self-involved but at the 49th street stop I noticed a guy get on and plop down across from me. When I looked up at him I recognized him. It was John Gallagher, Jr. he won the Tony Award for “Spring Awakening” and, at least to me, he’s a celebrity. He had just finished his show and was riding the train home. I’m such a fan and I really wanted to talk to him but he wasn’t exactly approachable as he was asleep on the train. (Tired from two performances of “Spring Awakening.”)
You can imagine my surprise when he got off at the same stop as me. I tried to come with something to say to him but I was dorkin’ out. I had ample time to come up with something to say as he walked in the exact same direction I was headed in toward my apartment. I never said anything but I have a feeling I’ll get to in the future as he went into an apartment one block away from my apartment. WHOA. John Gallagher, Jr. lives a block away from me in Astoria! I’m gonna resist the urge to become a stalker. Ahaha.
Monday morning I went to work. I had my lunch break at 4:30pm (I was starving) and I went to an audition during my break. I was cutting it real close. I took the train up to 34th and auditioned at Ripley-Grier Studios for the Texas Shakespeare Festival. I had applied for an audition time about a week earlier and they decided to schedule me an appointment. I realized that was pretty cool because over 1000 people applied for an audition time and only 300 actors actually got times. I’m excited that I made the cut.
I did two Shakespearean monologs for the directors (“Othello” and “Mid Summer”) and then I sang part of a song. I thought it went pretty well. I had a nice chat with the directors. I found out that they won’t be making casting decisions until MARCH 2008. Geez. I’m not gonna hold my breath.
After my audition I rushed back to Sephora and made it back and on the floor without missing a beat. What a trip.
That night after work I spent hours on my new internet connection out of my apartment. Most of that time was spent applying for audition times by writing to producers, directors and casting agents.
When I went to bed my room was cold again, I was pissed. I wore socks, pants, a shirt, my robe, and a hat to bed. And I slept under three blankets. I don’t have time to deal with a shoddy heat source. All I know is I feel like I’m sleeping outside.
Tuesday I awoke within my ice cube and went to work. Damn I’m working a lot. I could’ve sworn they told me I’d be working part-time.
Tuesday we had a big event at our store. We hosted an editor’s event for the Philosophy brand. The CEO of Sephora came into the store. That was enough to make me a little nervous. There were also editors from all the major beauty magazines and a bunch of Philosophy representatives. On top of that the store was packed with people who got time off “to vote.”
The day was high pressure. But we were rewarded with free stuff from Philosophy. I got two free products of theirs. We also got leftover desserts from Dean & Deluca who catered the event. I’m gonna say that made up for it.
Tuesday after work I met up with my friend Murph at Pinkberry. I lived with Murph for the first 5 weeks I was in town and we had some major catching up to do.
Later that night I got online and bought some much needed long awaited furniture. I finally bought a bed.
Wednesday I went to the Queens Mall and got my hair done. My hair’s a really pretty brown color now. I like it a lot. I also bought a new winter coat at JcPenney. They had to order it for me and I got a really good price on a fancy coat that’ll keep me warm in the frigid NYC winter.
Wednesday night I met up with my friend Jana for dinner and a show. We saw “Grease” on Broadway. We got to see the two kids who won the TV show “You’re the One That I Want,” perform. It was a reality show where America got to pick the actors who’d play “Danny” & “Sandy” in “Grease” on Broadway.
I have had far too much experience with that show. I was in it for two summers in Kentucky and I performed parts of it in middle school. I found myself almost singing the chorus parts on all the songs. It sure brought back a lot of memories.
This particular production of the show was, well it was your typical production of “Everybody’s favorite 50s musical.” It was a little too stylized for my taste. The contest winning Danny and Sandy were cute. Danny was in desperate need of a lower register and Sandy put the “drama” in melo-drama-tic. Also, it was painfully obvious that the show was only produced so the parties involved could make a lot of money on tickets and cheesy souvenirs. I will always like the play if only for the memories I’ve attached to it but I’ve yet to see a staged production that does anything new and innovative with it. It needs a serious, kick-ass revival. Maybe one day.
I still had a lot of fun and that’s all that matters. I learn something new with every show I see. In those show I learned…I’ll get back to you on that.
I always love me some quality time with my friend Jana. She’s planning a wedding for her and her boyfriend/fiancée Alex, so we have plenty to talk about.
When I got home I saw that I had an email from the director of a show in town that wanted to schedule me an audition time. I’m especially excited for this audition because, if I get cast, I’ll be eligible for membership in the Actor’s Equity Association. (There’s a bit more riding on this audition.) Joining Equity would be a big step in the right direction toward a career in professional theatre. Wish me luck!
Thursday I worked out and at Sephora. Surprised? I got more free stuff at training, though. Man, I love free stuff!

up, down, and all around

It’s been so long. Time flies when you’re having fun. Or if you’re insanely busy. Sorry…
Sunday the 28th I went to church. I went early and helped setup as I was on the “setup crew.” I had to go to work right after church. Boo.
When I got home I did a practice run hair-do for my roommate Kelly whose hair I was going to do for a wedding. It ended up looking really nice if I do say so myself.
Monday I slept a fair amount but considering that I nearly froze to death in my zzzzs, I hardly got a good night’s sleep. We’ve been trying to get our landlord to turn the freakin’ heat on but there’s a bit of a language barrier. Plus I get the distinct feeling that, like many landlords, she is being cheap and would rather see our apartment turn into an igloo than bless us with the basic human necessity of heat.
When I finally thawed out, Monday morning, I got ready and went to an audition for a midtown theatre company’s “Shakespeare Unplugged” project. There were approximately 2 million people squeezed into a 5x5 foot room so I didn’t have a chance at being seen by the directors. However, I left my headshot combo and a big smile for the monitor in charge. I tried.
I went to the gym after the audish and then finally did the unthinkable: I finished painting my room. I cleaned up my painting mess, swept, and now my room looks beautiful. The walls are all white and instead of looking boring, I’d say it really looks clean and classy. Yep, I’d use alliteration to describe it: it’s clean and classy. It’s so pretty! It’s really starting to look like a bedroom. Now all I need is a bed. Ahaha.
Tuesday I worked at Sephora and went to the gym after work.
Wednesday, aka Halloween, I had a really fun day. First of all we finally got internet access in our apartment. Yay! Now I just have to find time to use it.
Earlier in the day I went to the Queens Mall and I’m proud to say that it was one of the smartest ideas I’ve had in a while because the mall on Halloween is nothing short of the cutest place on earth. There were pint sized Pooh bears, angels, Spidermen, Disney Princesses and others…everywhere. The kids where trick or treating in full force.
I don’t know if I’m getting old or what but when did kid’s Halloween costumes get so cute? One of my favorites where 3 year old twin girls running around giggling and screaming while dressed as an angel and a devil. I almost had to sit down it was so adorable. So, note to self…future Halloween plans? Queens Mall.
While I dodged strollers and mini goblins I shopped around for some home making supplies. JcPenney and Macy’s were having sales (of course) and if it weren’t for a snotty halitosis ridden sales lady I may have bought some curtains for my room. I saved my dough and just browsed instead.
I got some great decorating ideas that I’ll put into action at some point, I hope. I had to hurry back to Astoria and get my script before my rehearsal that night. When I got back to my neighborhood I discovered yet another fleet of trick or treaters combing the streets of Astoria. Again, too much cuteness. Do you ever have the urge to stop parents on the street and ask them if they realize just how adorable their kids are? Sometimes I think parents get so pissed and impatient with their tiny dinosaurs that they forget just how precious they are. I’m one to talk though; I ain’t got no little monsters. Who knows?
I gotta say though, if you have little ones bring ‘em to Astoria on Halloween. All the local businesses hand out candy to hundreds of kids each year. It’s a fun, safe way for them to celebrate.
There’s something in it for everyone, too. I, for example, haven’t laughed that hard in a while. I can’t think of a better time to see a mini Dumbo get top heavy and fall forward into a bucket of candy. FUNny.
Well, I went to my rehearsal on Halloween evening, reluctantly. I had to meet a new stand in director for the NY Dinner Theater to work on “The Soapranos,” (the spoof dinner comedy show).
I really don’t know why this guy decided on Halloween night. My real director is in Denver working on another project so we have a different guy. The rehearsal wasn’t productive in the slightest way so I was happy to get out of there and get on with my Halloween plans.
My roommates and I threw our very own Halloween bash. I rented a Halloween-ish movie for us to watch: “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” The other gals made very tasty baked goods that I would describe in detail but I don’t want to make you jealous. We even bobbed for apples a la “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” ehehe.
After our party I slipped into a sugar coma and somehow ended up in Thursday morning.
The first day of November…what?!
The highlight of Thursday was our weekly Community Group meeting. Again we met to discuss "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. Yes, we are still reading it. It’s dense. I love meeting with my friends I’ve made in that group. I see them at church and at our meetings and I’m so glad I’ve met them. They’re great people that help me feel more at home here.
When I arrived home Thursday night my roommates proudly informed me that they had convinced our landlord to turn the heat on in our apartment. Praise God. I can wake up without frostbite on my nose.
Friday morning I got up and instantly noticed that I had gotten a better night’s sleep. I was a little more chipper in the morning and getting out of the shower was a lot less painful. There aren’t too may things worse than getting out of a hot shower and stepping into a cold room.
I spent the day working at Sephora. Putting makeup on people doesn’t get any less absurd to me with each day that I work. For as long as I’ve been wearing makeup it’s been for fun. That’s it. It is baffling to me how so many women (and some men) feel like they can’t survive without makeup. The vanity is suffocating but all the same laughable. I get a kick out of bs-ing with clients about the differences between, say, two eye shadows that are practically the same with a $30 price difference. What a way to earn a living.
After work I spent some quality time on the phone with friends from Oregon. I needed that.
Then I met up with a new friend I made while sitting and waiting around at an audition a while ago. We met up and had a drink at a really cozy, reasonably priced pub in midtown. I liked discovering that. There’s nothing better than finding a cheap place to grab a drink with friends. We sat and talked for hours and then I finally made my way back to Queens.
Saturday morning I barely rolled out of bed (too little sleep) and went to work. Saturday's are by far our busiest days. Amongst the giant crowd of shoppers I did manage to spot a one, Rachael Ray. Yep, THE Rachael Ray, in our store all by herself no friends, body guards, husband, just her.
I didn't chat with her, as I was busy and truthfully didn't have anything to say but she certainly didn't look like she wanted to be approached. No one really noticed her so it was kinda fun to spot her as she was clearly trying not to be noticed in the crowd. She didn't make eye contact with anyone and looked very determined as she tossed nearly everything she laid eyes on into her basket. I'm pretty sure she bought enough to cover my next two paychecks. What a life. There's nothing like a good celebrity sighting to liven up your Saturday at work.
After work I rushed to the train station and headed to my first showing of “The Soapranos” with the New York Dinner Theater. It’s the second of two different casts I’m a part of with the company.
The cast is another great one. They are hilarious. I had trouble getting ready for the show on time because I was so busy laughing at the other actors. I got dressed, and got my age makeup just right. I had a little problem though: I had to wear a wig in the show and the wig cap I had fashioned cut off the circulation to my noggin. start to notice the problem until I was onstage and it was too late. Half way through the show I practically passed out I was in such pain.
I sort of used the pain for my character which didn’t let anyone in on the fact that I felt like death was approaching. Since I play a really old lady I just played up the choice that she had a contorted face and hardly looked anyone in the eye. The blood flow to my head was cut in half and it was the worst show to be doing for that to happen in. “The Soapranos” is about ¼ scripted and the rest is just improv with fellow actors and audience members. I was onstage the entire show. I somehow managed to sneak offstage with some line about burning things in the oven and I fixed my circulation problem. The show went a lot smoother for me after that. The audience really enjoyed themselves, or so they decided to tell me as I was improv-ing with them. Haha.
I got through the show without any noticeable issues, and I say that loosely. It was a great show, exhausting, but great. In spite of the pain I had a blast. Improv work with audience members is all kinds of crazy.
After the show I traveled back to Queens and luckily found my way home in spite of my brain damage.
Alright, I’ll have to finish my update later, I gotta sleep and most likely start a fight with my neighbors. They’re playing LOUD music at 2am. Not cool. And it’s not even good music for crying out loud.
To be continued…