The Big Apple

*Disclaimer* THis entry is not the way I wanted it to go -- I have other pics to add and some other stuff happened (including my mother and I getting left behind on the track as my dad made it into the train-- I am still, literally, peeing in my pants from laughing when I think about it). However, I MUST leave VERY soon (like, in 30 minutes) for the airport, and I wanted to get this out.*****

Arrived in NYC on Saturday afternoon and my luggage and I headed straight to cousin Becca's apartment on the Very Upper West Side. She is headed for the coveted title of "Best Cousin" because she is letting me crash on her couch for an ungodly amount of nights Thanks, Becca!

Headed downtown with my newly purchased Metro Pass -- unlimited rides on the subway or bus for only $24. With both of those costing $2/ride, it's a NYC bargain. Found my new favorite place in NYC -- Randee Elaine Salon in Greenwich Village. Not to go into details, but the waxing is good, fast, and cheap. It might even be worth a trip into the city just to get it all done, if you know what I mean. The Russian women there know what they're doing. One of the ladies told me that the business they do is 80% men, 20% women. Being in the heart of the Village, that's no big surprise, but it was kind of strange to be the only woman in the pedicure chairs, surrounded by 3 men. Only in NYC. (And probably San Francisco.)

After I was all cleaned up, I met ex-Austin roommate, Alison, and her husband, Jeff, at Bar Pitti, an tres-delicioso restaurant around the corner from the salon. It was great to catch up and to fill my stomach with some strange veal on lettuce. Too bad I don't have a picture of THAT. :)

Sunday was Meredith & David's wedding -- friends from Austin. I've known Meredith for about 5 years --basically since I moved back to Texas. She's like family to me and it was great to see her so happy and with such a great guy. Meredith's (and my) friend, Jaime, is a cantor, and she did the wedding. An amazing touch that made the event very personal. Meredith asked me to sign her ketubah, or Jewish wedding contract, so I felt very included in the whole day...there was great food, great music...and a terrific view of the Manahattan skyline, too. Danielle and Emmet, good friends from Austin, were also on hand for the festivities, and cracked me up most of the afternoon. Since it was an afternoon wedding, things wrapped up around 5 and we headed (albeit in more comfortable shoes) to L.I.C Bar to round out some of the night.

Heading back into town, I realized I still had a few good hours left in me, so I headed to the movies to sit down a while (my feet were killing me!) and hang in the a/c. I saw Mad Hot Ballroom. It was recommended by Merrily when I was in Detroit, and the coming attractions had looked amazing. It was interesting to see this NYC documentary IN New York City, because the audience was really into it. While it was entertaining and cute and I smiled a lot, it still doesn't beat Spellbound for best "kids in a strange competition" documentary. But, if it's playing by you, definitely worth a go. (By the way, a movie ticket in NYC costs $10.75 no matter what time you go!)

***Fashion Alert*** The peasant skirt is back. Not that you couldn't know that from walking into any Old Navy store in the U.S. But, seriously, it's way out of control.

Monday morning I went to a taping of The View. It was set up for me by my friend and colleague, Bunny, who teaches 5th grade at Purple Sage with me. Her niece works on the show, so I was totally set up with sweet, 2nd row tickets. It was pretty cool to see how all of it works. Meredith Viera came down and shook my hand (along with other folks, too). Barbara Walters is a bit strange in person, I think. She's in a daze half the time -- she's not getting any younger! Tom Bergeron (the host of Dancing With The Stars) and Amici Forever were on, along with "Felicia" from Desperate Housewives...the one who just got beaten to a pulp by Dana in the season finale. (I don't watch the show, but that I know.)

Monday night, my cousin Becca took me to see Swimming in the Shallows. Becca works for Roundabout Theater Company, so she gets many opportunities to see theater in the city. Lucky her! It was a "dark" night on Bway, so (thanks to Becca pointing them out) I saw many Bway stars from shows like The Pillowman, The Constant Wife, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was a very entertaining show, and although I am still not quite sure what it was about, I really enjoyed it.

Tuesday I met my old friend, Cindy, in the city. I know Cindy from University of Texas where were (gasp!) sorority sisters. We reconnected in Israel years later, and have remained friends ever since. She is the Hillel Director at NYU, which is a pretty big deal job and it impresses me. She and her husand, Dan, their daughter, Tamar, and their dog, Delancey, live in Park Slope (Brooklyn), so we headed over there to hang out for a few hours. It was good to catch up, meet Tamar for the first time, and take a walk around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Dan which is a shame b/c he is always very entertaining and he makes me laugh. Cindy and Dan just put a bid on a house in Brooklyn, so keep your fingers crossed.

I headed back into the city to the theater district where I went to see Hairspray. Yes, I know I have seen it twice already (once in NY, once in Chicago), but I couldn't resist seeing it again -- this time with Marissa Jaret Winokur in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. She won the Tony award for her performance, and I wanted to see it with her in the lead. I only paid $20 for a standing-room-only ticket, so it was well worth it -- especially since there were a few empty seats and I sat for the second half! Bruce Vilanch, who took over for Harvey Fierstein in the role of Edna, was actually very good, surprisingly. He has improved a lot since his national tour days, and he was just as good as Harvey was, in my opinion. Still, though, nothing beats the cast I saw it with in NYC a year and a half ago -- they were amazing.

Wednesday morning I woke up early to go stand on line on for a standing-room-only ticket to Spamalot. To make a long story short, I waited in vain, because the guy in front of me (who was FROM NEW YORK, by the way) got the last ticket available. It kinda sucked. Had I been there 10 minutes earlier, I would have gotten a ticket to see the show. :(

That being a total wash, I got a ticket to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz. Despite the funny name, Norbert was the reason I wanted to see the show -- I saw him on the Tony Awards, and he was fabulous. He is extremely talented and funny, and he has an amazing voice. The show was very cute, and even though some of the potty-humor was a little much for me (cheap jokes don't impress me!), it was worth going...the plot lent itself VERY well to a Broadway show, and the adaptation was actually pretty good. The audience was made up of a lot of old people for some reason...and they seemed to really like it, too.

I had lunch on Wednesday with another old friend of mine, Jen Z. I met Jen in 1991 when we were both first-time counselors at Greene Family Camp. We don't see each other very often, but it's always like no time has passed. Maybe because we have both aged so gracefully (we both look exactly the same as we always have - well, at least she does!). Her brother, Dan, also worked at camp and now he is married and living in NYC. He's a musician, so check him out. Jen, by the way, is loving her job as a producer at Access Hollywood. And, no, she was not involved in the Pat O'Brien scandal.

Wednesday night I took the train into Westchester to see another old friend of mine, Larry, and his wife, Mara, and their beautiful son, Isaac. Larry and I also met at Greene Family Camp in 1991, and we've been friends ever since. Even though he's a Galveston-raised A&M graduate, he's living in Mamaroneck, NY in a great old house and it suits him. He and Mara fed me VERY well, let me do laundry in their basement, and provided all the creature comforts of home (like nail polish remover and using this computer to work on my NYC blog!).

Tomorrow I am heading back into the city to do some last minute preparation for the trip, and to meet me parents, who are on a vacation of their own...I will even see my brother on Friday, right before I leave the country. So, to everyone...thanks for reading this far...I hope it gets more interesting from here on out --what with me going to Estonia and all that. Wish me luck!

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