Play Me, I'm Yours... Day 7

Day 7 already? This is going by way too fast. Granted, my personal start was delayed, but I am making the most of it.

I didn't go to bed until about 2 am. Performing has been a thrill and a rush, so I was naturally wired. However, I woke up this morning a little past 9 and could have slept, but the sun was too bright. My body and mind were exhausted. I had a specific goal to visit two pianos today and made sure I was fully hydrated before going out into the heat and humidity of the early afternoon. Here's the piano recap:

Piano 12: St. Nicholas Park at 135th Street

I took the A train to 145th and transferred to the C for one stop further. At 135th Street, I exited the station and made a pedestrian U-turn into St. Nicholas Park. Did a quick scan of the park and spotted the piano, still covered in plastic, so I'm assuming I was the first player of the day.

Favorite piano bench thus far

I quickly took pictures and then sat down to play "Arithmetic" from memory. A couple women came up to take my picture, and one of them said, "Hello?" She wanted me to look up and pose! I got a big kick out of it, so I smiled while she took some pictures. She asked me if there were other pianos in the city, and I said yes and I would show her after I was done playing. Mind you, everything I just described took place while I was still playing "Arithmetic"! After I finished the song, another woman by the name of Michelle (she was wearing a nametag) asked me if I had been to other pianos, and I told her this was my 12th. She said that when they found out a piano was coming to the park, they asked if they should have soothing music playing in the background, but the parks department said no. I also told her that I was trying to visit as many pianos as possible, and she described that one man was attempting to document all 60 on video. I then said that I had noticed people taking pictures of me, but none had volunteered to e-mail their pictures, and then she said she would e-mail me hers, but she also offered to take my picture with my own camera, so I gladly took her up on the offer! Here I am playing "Nightminds."

And she surprised me further by letting me know she took a video! Thank you, Michelle! She told me to stop by her exhibit after I was done playing.



I played "Scarlet" (complete with a D key intact on this particular piano, yes!) and then expanded my performance repertoire with "Your Eyes" from RENT and "Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon, famously recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Now, I learned to play "Your Eyes" many years ago, but I hadn't played it in a very long time.  "Grow Old With Me" was a song I first learned strictly as an accompanist for my fellow choir peeps the summer between 8th and 9th grade. We played for my science teacher's wedding ceremony. This was the first time that I played and sang the song in public.

When I finished, I stopped by Michelle's art exhibit and said hello to the group of women who had just heard me play. They were all so wonderful to speak to.  I gave my printout of the piano locations to the first woman who had asked me about the pianos while I was playing "Arithmetic" and she was very happy that I gave it to her. Part of me didn't want to leave St. Nicholas Park because I had such a lovely time there, but it was time for me to head to the second and final piano of the day...

Piano 13: Cathedral of St. John the Divine
I got back on the C train and headed to 110th Street. Walked to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Luckily, I had seen pictures on the Play Me, I'm Yours website, so I knew where to look
for the piano. Come to think of it, I should do that for my future adventures to make the most of it all.

A teen boy was playing softly when I got there, so I sat down to wait. Then this teen girl asked if she could play. She played Ballade Pour Adeline (thanks to Janice for identifying the piece for me via a humming voicemail!), another piece, and then she asked her dad if she could playing something different, and he said sure. She played -- wait for it -- "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. Awesome!

When she got up, I took to the piano -- this time I didn't bolt, but I was ready to take my turn. Being that it was so close to the cathedral, I just knew that I wanted to play something appropriate, so I played "Hymn" by Brooke Fraser. Unfortunately, the pedal wasn't working on the piano, but I did what I could to honor the piece and honor the place.

I played "Arithmetic" from memory and realized just how much I need the pedal. "Nightminds" was next, and I ended my session with "Your Eyes." Without the pedal, I made sure to hold down the notes played by my left hand to create the effect of the pedal. Jonathan Larson's nod to La Bohème in that song still gets me every single time. What a pleasure to play.

Total Pianos Played By Borough:
Manhattan: 11 pianos
Queens: 2 pianos

Play Me, I'm Yours... Day 6

Today was hands down one of the best I've ever experienced in New York City. So many moments to blog about, so let's get to it:

Piano 3: Gantry Plaza State Park
I was hoping to get tickets to The Merchant of Venice from the distribution in Queens, but I was too late, and all the vouchers were gone by the time I arrived at the distribution location at the Chocolate Factory Theater. I took the opportunity to play the pianos at Gantry Plaza State Park -- I was excited when I found out there were two to play. The first piano was right in the sun, so I only played "Arithmetic" from memory and knew I needed to move on. Thank goodness for sunscreen. What a view of Manhattan!

Standing in the shade after playing the first piano

Piano 4: Gantry Plaza State Park
I found the second piano after walking around a bit. It was quite breezy by the water, and I ended up having to stand up while playing "Nightminds" and "Special Two" by Missy Higgins, so I could read the sheet music. While I was playing and singing, a man riding a bicycle stopped to listen and help hold down the music. He complimented my playing and singing. His name's Wesley, and he mentioned he wished the two pianos could be switched because this second piano had a key stuck. I agreed with him.

Piano 5: Bryant Park Library
I contemplated going to Woodside for some Filipino food, but I was more determined to play more pianos, so I headed back to Manhattan on the 7 train and stopped at Bryant Park. Walked over to 5th Avenue in front of the New York Public Library. A guy was playing the piano by one of the lions, and he seemed to be improvising. I needed to recover from walking around in the heat, so I didn't mind the wait.

Once he finished, I did my now-routine bolt to the piano. Right when I sat down, this woman sat down at the table closest to the piano. I had a feeling she wanted to hear me play. I started off with "Nightminds," and she clapped when I was done. She asked about the art project, so we discussed it a bit. She said that her name was Trish, and she's lived in New York for 25 years -- currently on the Upper East Side -- but had never visited this particular branch of the New York Public Library. She was fascinated by the building and also the public pianos. Trish asked if she could turn pages for me, so I decided to use sheet music for "Arithmetic" even though I've memorized it. So Trish stood at my right, and at some point, another woman stood on my left and listened to me play. I ended my "set" with "Special Two" by Missy Higgins. I told both women that I was taking off to play other pianos, and the woman who stood to my left said she just came from Central Park and saw a bunch of musicians playing together. Trish said she was going to tell her mother about the project, and then we parted ways.

Piano 6: Times Square 42nd Street

I decided to walk to Times Square from Bryant Park to hit up the second piano. When I arrived, this little boy was playing classical music very well, and his father was filming him. There was another stuck key that the boy needed in his first piece, but it still sounded great. After he finished, his father played a bit. Another man played another classical piece, and then another man did a Beatles medley. I seized my opportunity after the medley was over and played "Arithmetic" from memory. A woman sitting in a chair next to the piano asked if it was an original song, and I told her no and then showed her my Brooke Fraser piano book. She said she enjoyed the song.

Piano 7: Lincoln Center NW corner of 65th and Broadway
Had a late lunch and then made my way by bus to Lincoln Center. The first piano I saw was being occupied by opera singers and their teacher on piano. I listened for a bit but figured I wouldn't be able to get on the piano anytime soon, so I walked up to the piano I saw the other day but couldn't play due to time constraints. Two teens were playing -- one on guitar and one on piano.

Even the keys are painted on this piano!

Then, a woman in a yellow dress (pictured above) played a little bit. All of a sudden, I saw two women preparing a professional video camera and boom microphone. I thought the woman last night in Times Square was prepared -- these women in Lincoln Center were really prepared! They set out a portable chair, and all of a sudden, there was Albert Maysles sitting down. The Albert Maysles. Documentarian. Grey Gardens. Now filming a boy play classical music very well.

Albert Maysles with awesome yellow socks!

Unfortunately, a security guard asked Albert and his team to stop filming. They did not have a permit to film. So the boy finished up his last piece, and Albert left. While people were milling about, I decided to just go ahead and play before anyone else did. I played "Nightminds" first, and a woman held down my sheet music since it breezy again. I played "Arithmetic" second and then was asked to write about my experience on that piano in a notebook. Like a little guestbook, if you will.

Piano 8: Lincoln Center SW corner of 65th and Broadway
I asked one of the volunteers where the other three pianos in Lincoln Center were, and she told me their locations, including the one just across the street. The two boys on piano and guitar just finished up their final song when I got there. I should have taken one of their free CDs, but I didn't. When I sat down at the piano, two men were asking me what I was going to play, and how long I'd been playing the piano. I told them that I was covering my favorite singer-songwriters and that I'd been playing since elementary school but I wasn't very diligent about becoming classically trained. As I played, I could feel the crowd growing behind me, and I could see someone taking a picture (or filming?) in front of me. (Another security guard told her to stop filming, too, so it's not just picking on Albert Maysles.) One of the men stood by the piano to listen to "Arithmetic," "Nightminds," and "Special Two." His name's Leon, and he played after me. Having only been at it for 4 months, Leon was great! He has a wonderful, soulful voice too!

Piano 9: 14th and 9th Avenue
I walked by the piano near the David H. Koch Theater -- the one where the opera singers were performing. It didn't seem like they were going to be done anytime soon, so I made the decision to take the A train down to 14th Street, and I walked over to 9th Avenue to play the piano there. A couple was plunking away, improvising until a few raindrops came along. When they left, I quickly sat down and played "Arithmetic" from memory while the taxi cabs and other cars drove by me. There was no plastic in sight, and that concerned me. Why would someone want to steal the plastic covering for the piano? I could see the rain splash slightly on the keys and on my arms (which were slathered in sunscreen, so I was getting splotchy white spots). As I finished the song, I closed the piano but was sad I couldn't cover it in plastic. The piano's not in the best shape as it is.

Piano 10: Chelsea Market
I walked up a block to the 9th Avenue entrance to Chelsea Market and found the piano on the other end of the market. It's the only indoor piano I know of, but I suppose there could be more. It turns out there was a concert going on. They had microphones and speakers -- their equipment and their long string of songs should have tipped me off. But when they announced they were taking a break, I decided to ask the man if he would let me play during the break. He said no and that I had to wait until 8 o'clock because the Chelsea Market piano was one of the ones that could be reserved from 6 to 8 for concerts. I had nowhere to go anyway, especially since I wasn't sure if it was still raining, so I enjoyed some butterscotch and strawberry gelato. No picture, you'll just have to imagine it. Mmmmm, gelato. The concert ran a little past 8, but when it wrapped up, I was the first to play, and I drew in a little crowd of people who hadn't seen any of the other pianos, so they stopped to listen to "Nightminds" and "Arithmetic." Mind you, "Arithmetic" is actually soft, subdued, and perfectly done by Brooke Fraser, but in my version, I decided to belt out my favorite part, the bridge, so that people could hear me. So thrilling. And with those two quick numbers, I hopped off to the next piano!

Piano 11: Gansevoort Plaza

Final piano of the day, since the sun set while I was playing! Nobody was playing the piano when I got there, and nobody was waiting to play so I expanded my public repertoire. I started off with "Scarlet" by Brooke Fraser, and as luck would have it, the D key was stuck.  If you know the song, the D key is a must! Oh well. I also played "Nightminds" and "Arithmetic," and a couple stopped to listen to me play. The woman said she had played a piano on Bleecker and 6th, and we both agreed that this is such a wonderful public art installation because it gets strangers to strike up conversations with one another. She wished me luck in playing more pianos. Women dressed up to have a night out on the town were taking pictures of me playing the piano. I saw them in my peripheral vision and gave myself a good inner chuckle because here I was in a T-shirt, jeans and ponytail, just playing for myself -- yet they wanted to take a picture of me on their night out. I proceeded to play "Hymn" and "Shadowfeet" by Brooke Fraser. The latter is actually one of my favorite songs of the past two years, but it can be difficult to play. As my brother Jason commented in February, "That has a lot of sharps." It certainly does! I figured I could keep going, so I played "Special Two" and finished my personal "concert" with "Sun and Moon" from Miss Saigon. I didn't sing along because I wanted to concentrate on playing the notes correctly in the growing darkness.

Oh, D key.

Gansevoort Plaza

Nine pianos in eight hours.  What a day!

Total Pianos Played By Borough:
Manhattan: 9 pianos
Queens: 2 pianos
Note: There seems to be a discrepancy in the total number of pianos in all of New York... 60 is the publicized number, but on various maps/listings I have counted 57 or 54.  In any case, I will just do a running tally of unique pianos played.

We interrupt the piano adventures for food raves

Met up with Alexa for dinner Friday evening after my Columbus Circle piano adventure. I wanted to celebrate her new EP release over dinner and suggested that we have organic ramen at new restaurant called Totto Ramen. Time Out New York wrote about it recently, and when it comes to ramen, I know that Alexa is game! Even when it's hot, haha.

The restaurant is on the small side, but we were able to get a table. Our waiter said we could store our belongings on the shelf above us. Very convenient! Alexa and I both expressed concern though that our things would fall on us. Maybe it's my Pacific Northwest earthquake mentality that took over. Alas, we were fine. :)

I ordered the organic ramen as it's vegetarian, and here's a picture -- the presentation was so beautiful!  (Also, what you can't see is the pedestal on which this bowl rests.)

I mean, come on! Looking at it makes me want another bowl right now. The broth was so delicious. Now I understand the word "umami," which was used repeatedly on the Food Network last year, and I never quite got it until this bowl of ramen. The combination of veggies was perfection, and I especially liked the delicate texture of the avocado slices. You can't see the noodles from this shot, but they were also really good, especially with that broth. Mmmmm, mmmm!

Afterward, Alexa asked if I had room for dessert. Of course! She knew just the treat for us. There's a place called Xie Xie on Ninth Avenue between 45th and 46th that sells ice cream sandwiches for dessert, among other items. Specifically, it was called the "1000 year old ice cream sandwich," and Alexa explained it looks like the 1000 year egg. Ice cream plus black caramel plus a thin cookie on each side. Sooooo good. And well worth the wait for a table.  Thanks, Alexa!

Play Me, I'm Yours... Day 5

Part 1:
Success! Before meeting Alexa for dinner, I decided to take my chance on the piano at Columbus Circle -- the piano I couldn't play on Tuesday due to the light rain that caused the piano to be covered in plastic and locked up.

As I waited for the crosswalk, I saw someone sitting at the piano. He got up, but as I started to cross the street, a woman sat down to play a song. Luckily, it was short and sweet, and she got up. At last, it was my opportunity for the taking, so I bolted for the piano before anybody else could get to it.

First, I played Missy Higgins' "Nightminds," which you may have seen me play on my keyboard (if not, the video is on my Facebook page). After I finished, people sitting on the benches clapped for me! I nodded to some of them and was thrilled by their response.

Next up, "There's a Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q. I hadn't practiced this one much, and it showed. But... there was a couple that was walking by, and they stopped. The man knew it was from Avenue Q and told his companion that. He tried singing along, and I pointed to my sheet music where I was in the song. And I tried to help him out by singing as well, but that song can be a toughie playing just the piano part. I messed up a bit from overthinking and worrying, but by the end, some other people came up right by the piano and smiled and clapped. Oh, during the song, it was a little windy, so the man held my sheet music down for me. So nice of him to do that!

After that, this girl came up to me and asked if I was a music student. I told her no, but I also said I took piano lessons from elementary school through high school. She told me she wanted to hear me sing again, and then I pulled out my music book of Brooke Fraser songs. Now, I've been spending time memorizing two of her songs, but I didn't want to mess up after my Avenue Q hiccup, so I stuck to the sheet music.

I first played "Arithmetic," which my friend Katherine first introduced me to. Love that song. Now, the piano is a bit out of tune, but what can you do? It's been hot and humid in NYC. I played on and sang as best as I could. It was a thrill to finally play that song in public.

My final song was "Scarlet" by Brooke Fraser. I told the girl that it was a quieter song. I knew I could do well with it. The girl turned pages for me, which was really nice of her. After I finished, people clapped again. And then it was time for me to go and meet Alexa for dinner. I thanked the girl for turning pages and asked what her name was: Simone. I told her my name was Allison, and she said to keep playing. And I certainly will!

P.S. There were strangers taking pictures of me, so if they appear on the Internet somewhere, please tell me! :)

Part 2:
After dinner & dessert, Alexa and I walked over to the pedestrian area in Times Square between 45th and 46th Street. Forever 21 (where Virgin Records used to be) has a giant screen above its storefront that shows people on the street, so a bunch of tourists were standing around looking at themselves. Good for business? Um... Fun for tourists? For sure... Annoying for New Yorkers? Most definitely. But, we played tourists for a little bit, stood with everyone else, and waved at ourselves.

I saw that there was a crowd around the piano -- the biggest crowd I've seen so far. A young guy was playing the piano, and then this woman jumped in and played along with him! That was such a highlight! Two strangers making music, and it worked! Next up, another young guy said, "And now for something completely different..." and he played and sang operatically in German. His younger sister was his page turner.

When he finished his second piece, a mother strongly urged her young daughter to the piano, so she played, and a couple of other children came up to the piano to hear her play and decided to plunk some of the upper keys. The mom of those other kids told them not to touch the piano, but one of the girls responded, "I'm helping her!" It was all very cute. After the girl finished playing, I decided to go for it.

When I sat down at the piano, a guy to my left asked me if I was going to sing, and I said yes. I covered "Arithmetic" by Brooke Fraser, and at least one person was taking video, and another person was taking pictures with a nice digital camera. I couldn't tell if he was a tourist or affiliated with this public art project. In either case, it was pretty cool. Thanks to Alexa for turning pages and taking this picture!

When I finished the song, I got up to let others play. A woman came prepared with her own handheld video cam and body microphone, and she asked someone in the crowd to film for her. She played two songs. Then Alexa played her original song "Try" which is part of her Sunland EP, now available on iTunes! Visit Little Anchor's MySpace for details.

What a day! What a rush. As I said in my first tweet/Facebook status update: More to come.

Manhattan Piano Tally: 2/29

Play Me, I'm Yours... Days 1 - 4

As you may have seen on my Facebook page, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of NYC's public piano project, Play Me, I'm Yours. The same project happened last year in London and is going on this year, too. There are 29 pianos in Manhattan and several more in the outer boroughs. Well, I'll be posting my daily updates, but to catch you up...

Day 1: Monday, June 21
Watched Titanic the Musical's benefit concert at the New York Society for Ethical Culture and attended the pre-show discussion (let me say, composer Maury Yeston is a genius). Developed a new appreciation for some of the songs, and it was glorious to hear the entire score again with some original Broadway cast members and a sensational new singer named Ryan LaTour. After the concert, I walked around Lincoln Center, where there are supposedly 4 pianos, and also Columbus Circle, but could not find even one! Frustration galore. I logged onto the website the next day and found out the pianos are only available for playing from 9 AM to 10 PM, so I wouldn't have been able to play that night anyway.
Manhattan Piano Tally: 0/29

Day 2: Tuesday, June 22
Had to attend a marketing meeting in the Union Square area, where there are zero pianos (kind of disappointed about that), but after the meeting I needed to make a trip to the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center, so I looked again. No pianos in sight. They must not be in the Lincoln Center area that I know and love but in random places instead. I walked down to Columbus Circle and finally found a piano near the Central Park entrance and not in the actual circle. Well, it had lightly rained earlier that afternoon, so the piano was covered in plastic and locked up. Sigh.  I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture, I was so disappointed.
Manhattan Piano Tally: 0/29

Day 3: Wednesday, June 23
After having to travel around the city the previous 4 days, I decided to take a break and stay at home. It was hot and humid to boot. Accomplished a lot during the work day and practiced the piano. Tested out my new Flip camcorder, and it is AWESOME.
Manhattan Piano Tally: 0/29

Day 4: Thursday, June 24
It's the afternoon in NYC, and there's humidity and now a thunderstorm. I bet the pianos are covered and under lock & key. I do need to return a book to the library though and am also going to see the play Next Fall at 8 PM, so I will check out other parts of Lincoln Center and also Times Square area before the show.

Update: Saw one of the four pianos at Lincoln Center, but someone was playing it both times that I walked by. I didn't have enough time to wait to play it, so I headed down to 50th Street on the 1 train in a subway car that had NO AIR CONDITIONING. That's just cruel punishment, even for two subway stops. It was a relief to get back outdoors, let me tell you. I walked in the pedestrian area in Times Square and found a piano between 45th and 46th Streets, but again, someone was playing the piano. This is going to be harder than I thought with the free-for-all.
Manhattan Piano Tally: 0/29

It's About Time For a Blog Makeover, Allison

Part of my line of work is creating blogs for clients.  I strive to make sure they have the look and feel of the official website for which they are a companion feature. Well, I kept looking at the design of my own blog, and for years, it's just been a template offered by Blogger. Obviously, I couldn't stand it any longer, so bye-bye templates!

If I had Photoshop on my laptop, I'd make a lovely header, too, but this'll do for now.  Me likey.

Next up: I want to design and build my own website and share new music on it. Then, I'll probably come back here and redesign the blog again. :)

A Broadway legend... and me!

Today I went to Bernadette Peters' book signing for Stella Is A Star and took pictures for work purposes.  After all the children and fans got their book signed, I stood in line and got my copy signed too.

And since I was with my colleagues, I was able to get a picture with her!  Apparently the event photographer also took a picture of us, so I hope that one turned out okay, just in case it appears elsewhere on the Internet.  Haha.  Here's the one from my digital camera.

Cinnamon Snail at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

A few days ago, Alexa let me know that she was going to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market on Sunday, May 2nd, because the gourmet food trucks around the city (and it turns out, beyond the city) would all be in one place that day.  I've read about these trucks in Time Out New York, back when I had a free subscription to that magazine.  Sadly, that free subscription ended in February.

I checked out the flea market's website on Saturday night and got excited when I saw that Cinnamon Snail was offering "the most decadent vegan doughnuts" according to Time Out New York's website.  Plus, they serve only organic food.  Make that a double plus in my book.

Alexa texted me on Sunday morning to let me know that she would be there, so I made my way down to Hell's Kitchen on 39th and Ninth Avenue.  As luck would have it, Cinnamon Snail was the first truck!  I ordered the sandwich that was recommended by Time Out New York, a portobello carpaccio on semolina fennel bread.  There were also caramelized onions and green veggies inside the sandwich.  Instead of a doughnut, I ordered a mini raspberry cheesecake for dessert.  It looked so good, I couldn't resist.

After receiving my order, I met up with Alexa and her friends as they waited for Korean BBQ.  It was a long wait, so I ended up eating my sandwich & dessert and even finished before Alexa was able to order her food.  For the record, she said it was fine if I ate while we waited in line.  :)

Oh my gosh, the portobello carpaccio was SO! DELICIOUS!  My mouth is watering just typing this blog entry.

My mini cheesecake survived the wait in a brown paper bag (it was hot & sunny yesterday).  It was also very tasty, creamy and flavorful.  I could have eaten it in maybe two bites, but I took smaller bites to savor the taste and textures.  I wonder what the recipe is.  As Cinnamon Snail only serves vegan food, that means there wasn't actually any cream cheese in the cheesecake.  Maybe it was some sort of tofu substitution.  (On a tangent, I have tried tofutti in place of cream cheese on bagels, and it's quite good.)

I was tempted to purchase more treats before I left the flea market, but the line was much longer than when I arrived.  I wish the Cinnamon Snail truck was based in NYC instead of Hoboken.  I'd definitely track it on Twitter and then track it down to get some wonderful food if it were.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups!

I tried my first recipe from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet today: chocolate peanut butter cups!  I bought all the ingredients yesterday.  I needed to make a run (okay, walk) to Target to buy paper liners for the muffin tray, so I did that during my "lunch hour" today.

Before cooking dinner, I measured out all the ingredients, mixed 'em and melted 'em.  My hands were pretty shaky when I was spooning in the peanut butter mixture and the chocolate topping, so they didn't turn out as beautifully as I would have liked (the pictured one is the "best looking" one)... After two hours of cooling in the fridge, I tried my first homemade peanut butter cup.  They are really tasty!  The vegan chocolate chips are quite sweet, so I may try a different kind next time, and when I make them again, I'll use unsalted peanut butter (which is what the recipe called for, heh).   Oh, this was a vegan recipe, but my graham crackers had some organic honey in them.  Oh well.  I haven't quite given up honey yet.  And I'm not exactly a vegan.  Just flirting!  :)

I'll have that with brown rice, please.

I've had brown rice at Chinese restaurants, but I've never cooked brown rice myself... that is, until today!  I bought a small bag of brown rice at the grocery.  The other day, I searched for tips on how to make it on the stove, and the advice worked!

Here's what I did:

• Boil 4 cups of water.
• Prepare 1 cup of rice by giving it the good old pre-cooking swirl-and-clean in a bowl of water.
• Boil the rice for 30 minutes in the pot, uncovered.  Stir occasionally.
• Drain the water from the pot, and let the rice steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes.

Excellent!  My spinach/carrots/mushroom/garlic with soy sauce and red pepper flakes tastes delicious with my brown rice.

Leftovers with almond milk and cinnamon tomorrow.  

A Look Back and a Look Forward

In 2003, I created a spreadsheet list of 100 Life Goals that I wanted to achieve.  I even created a companion scrapbook to document my accomplishments.  Some LGs were easier to complete than others.  For example, on July 26, 2003, I bought Michelle Branch's independently released CD Broken Bracelet.  (How was that a Life Goal, dear 19-year-old self?  Oh well, I'll take it!)  Others took some patience and creativity: On January 25, 2004, I met Josh Groban.

Seven years later, I've accomplished 47 of the original 100 Life Goals, and it's time to give them an update.  Why?  I haven't looked at this list in a couple years, and I mean it.  Today, I finally logged that I visited Italy and Vatican City, and that took place in September 2008.  (Hmm... the Italian vacation theme in my blog continues!)

Now that I've had time off, I am going to create new Life Goals to bring the list back up to 100.  Should be fun and rewarding.  I'll have to check in with the list more often now.

First Time at Chelsea Market

While it may seem like this blog is turning into a food blog, I assure you that that's not completely the case.  :)  After filing my taxes and taking care of some nuts & bolts, I left my apartment this evening and made my way downtown.  Destination: Chelsea Market.  Well, I should say that I was thoroughly engrossed with reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone that I missed my stop at 14th Street and got off at the stop after it: West 4th.  I had walked here earlier this week, and the walk wasn't too bad to get to Ninth Avenue and 15th Street.

Chelsea Market is an indoor market comprised of several different shops -- bakeries, eateries, a gelato stand, and more.  Despite my reading material, I couldn't resist getting a baked good at Amy's Bread.  Seeing the bakery, I realized I had been here before, but not inside the market.  A few years ago, when Jason was visiting for Thanksgiving, actually, Camille, Yale, JR, other peeps, and I went to a bar (or two? I can't remember), and then we stopped by the baking area of Amy's Bread, not typically open to consumers.  We got to try some samples, including this bread with chocolate, which I loved but haven't had since.  Well, they didn't have it tonight, but I asked for something with chocolate, and among my three choices, I chose pain au chocolat -- a chocolate croissant.  It wasn't until after I chose it that I realized I unconsciously must have been still channeling my Italian vacation with Mom and Dad.  At the rest stop stations (forgot the name of them), Dad discovered pain au chocolat.  Mmmm.  The Amy's Bread version, I have to say, wasn't quite as good as it is in Italy, but I am biased.  :)  I did feel guilty about having butter and sugar.  Oh well... I am "flirting," as Alicia has called it in her book, with a kinder way of eating (no meat and no dairy, instead plant-based foods and grains), and am bound to have my slips.  I just started reading the book on Sunday.

I think I will be able to make up for it.  As I ate my treat at a table, I kept watching people enter the Manhattan Fruit Exchange.  No, it doesn't just have fruits in it!  Because of the foot traffic, I decided to check it out.  The store is chilled inside, to keep everything fresh, and there were fresh fruits, dried fruits, fresh vegatables of all kinds, lots of grains, spices, ingredients for antipasti, and more.  Lots of food that I bet can be found in The Kind Diet's recipes.  And it felt like a place I could definitely see myself buying produce from again.  I bought peaches, lemons, mushrooms, baby carrots, tamari (soy sauce), falafel mix (I love me some falafel, but I've never made it!), dried strawberries, and raw almonds.  I stopped myself from buying a few things that I was curious about but had no idea how to cook.  I want to read the recipe section first so I don't end up with buyer's remorse.  Tomorrow is an experimental cooking day with the veggies and falafel mix.  I have leftover brown rice from takeout, but I'll have to look into getting some and cooking it myself moving forward.  My current "spice rack" consists of garlic salt, Italian Mrs. Dash, pepper, sea salt, and red pepper flakes.  We'll see what happens!  Maybe this is a food blog now.  Haha.

Numero 28

Perhaps I should have placed my camera in my purse today... I returned to SoHo to find the Roman-style pizza I mentioned previously.  The A train runs express, so I got off at Canal Street and walked north to Spring Street, but not up Sixth Avenue like I did before.  So when I turned right on Spring Street and kept walking several blocks, I didn't see the pizzeria.  So I had to turn around and eventually found Numero 28 (that's "ventotto" in Italian).  The older gentleman behind the counter was very friendly.  As soon as I laid my eyes on the potato pizza, nothing else mattered.  There was no sign in front of it, so I asked the man behind the counter to make sure it was the potato and then I ordered a slice.  He whipped out a neat little measurement tool that evenly divided the rectangular pizza into a few rows and then began cutting.  He explained that he wanted to make sure everyone got equal slices.  I told him that I'd been to Italy and that they just began cutting randomly.  (But in Italy, they sold the slices by weight, so it didn't really matter how pieces were cut.)  He gave a little laugh and then put my slice in the oven briefly to warm it back up and give it a nice crispness.

It didn't take very long at all, and I sat by the window to watch people walk by and stop to look in -- like I did a few weeks ago.  And it even got a little busy.  Two women after me each ordered a slice, and another guy ordered something too.

The man behind the counter spoke in Italian to his friend.  I didn't understand anything, but it felt a little like Rome while I was eating.

Ah, yes, the pizza!  The slice was big!  It covered my paper plate.  The potatoes were thinly sliced and covered the entire rectangle.  The pizza dough is thicker than New York style for sure, but I don't know how it compares to Sicilian style pizza.  It was nice and crispy with just the right amount of chewiness.  I remember the potato pizza in Rome had chunks of flavorful potato.  Numero 28 had a subtler flavor for their potatoes, but I still found it as a whole to be delicious.  No red tomato sauce.  Just potato, mozzarella, herbs, and maybe a little olive oil.  And not at all greasy!  Mmmmm, mmmm.  When I finished and got up to leave, the man who helped me took my plate and asked me if I enjoyed it.  I said yes and that I would definitely be back!

I felt energized after eating that potato pizza and ended up walking all the way to Times Square in the lovely sunshine!  Well, okay, 40th Street, but then had to walk underground to get the A train, so it was practically Times Square.

I would have to agree with Yelp.com

This week, I tried two cheap eateries based on my cravings and reviews on Yelp.com.  I'm not actually a member and I can't remember how I first came across the website, but I visit Yelp.com from time to time to read reviews about businesses, mainly food establishments.

After having banh mi twice last month, I was craving the sandwich.  At first, I was going to try Baoguette on St. Marks Place*, but after reading reviews that referred to Banh Mi Saigon in Chinatown, I decided to try it out.  I've actually walked by this place several times, as it's on Mott Street.  Just as people said, the establishment is a jewelry store in the front, and the food service is in the back.  The Yelpers didn't lie when they said there's really no clear line.  After being unsure at first, I finally made eye contact with the man taking orders and requested #1, the pork sandwich.  He asked if I wanted it spicy.  I said, "Not spicy!"  He told me my order number, and I only had to wait a few minutes, and he just motioned me to come forward when it was ready instead of calling my number.  For $3.75, the sandwich was very satisfying -- I actually couldn't finish both halves.  The bread was tasty and just the right amount of chewy.  The fillings were delicious.  Would I get it again?  Most likely yes, but not all the time.  Essentially you buy the sandwiches there, but there are no tables and chairs -- just benches for waiting for your order.

Last month I had dinner with Alexa in Soho.  Before we met up, I wandered around the area because I arrived a little early.  I came across this pizza place selling Roman-style pizza.  I stopped to look inside the windows and made a promise to myself that I'd return.  When I was with Rome with Mom and Dad, we tried pizza in a couple different places.  I can still remember how much I loved the rectangular piece of pizza with delicious, delicious potatoes as the topping.  Yes, potatoes!  Well, I haven't made good on my promise yet, mainly because I forgot the name of the place and haven't been able to find it online.  I plan to just wander around Soho again one of these days and I'm sure I'll find it.

In my quest for cheap eats, today I decided to try 2 Bros Pizza on St. Marks Place.  Yelpers said the best thing about it was that it's a $1 per slice, but there's not much more to it.  I was really hungry by the time I walked to St. Marks Place from Seventh Avenue and 12th Street, where I got off the 1 train.  Once again, the Yelpers didn't lie.  It was okay but nothing special.  But yay for only spending $1.  Would I get 2 Bros Pizza again?  Eh, not the plain.  I would want to try the mushroom slice, which is $1.50.

*Is it "St. Marks Place" with or without an apostrophe?  I've seen it without in many places, but I'm always tempted to put an apostrophe there.  Sigh.

Al(l)i in the Jungle

Are you there, Blog?  It's me, Allison.  I have decided to resurrect this blog.  A chain of events has led to this decision.  I won't go into all the details, just today's chain...


On Facebook, I saw a posting from Lifehouse that I could listen to all tracks from their new album, Smoke & Mirrors, on their MySpace page.  What a great album!  I wish I could buy it, but I am on a strict financial budget right now.  So thankfully, I can listen to the new songs for free when I'm online.


Listening to new music made me think of my most recent song obsession, which is "Ali in the Jungle" by The Hours.  I actually didn't know the title of the song and the band's name until I looked it up today, but if you've been watching the Olympics, then you've probably seen/heard the Nike commercial with the song where the lyrics go "Everybody gets knocked down.  Everybody gets knocked down.  How quick are you gonna get up?  How quick are you gonna get up?"


Those lyrics resonate within me.  The driving beat of the drum and brightness of the piano are inspiring and energetic.  I can't stop listening to "Ali in the Jungle."  The best part of the song isn't even in the Nike commercial, so check out the clip on MySpace... or watch the concert footage of The Hours on YouTube.  Ain't the Internet grand?  

Huh.

I need to stop believing that my world order revolves around the status of the dryers in my building. Seriously, when they stopped working last month, life was pretty rough. And then at least one of them was repaired last weekend, and all was well. Now they're all broken again, and things seem pretty dour again! Hmmmm... I guess it would help if I went downtown, but construction on the C line is affecting the A, and I really don't want to have to experience what I did yesterday. Too much transferring and waiting around. Maybe I should clean my room and apply some feng shui to things. I've been meaning to do that. Cross your fingers for those dryers.

A few months ago, it was cornbread

Now I'm craving suman. Mmmmmmmm... suman.

BRRRRRRR

My gawd, it was brutally cold today! Ugh. And to add ice-cold insult to injury, our office was also freezing. I wore my gloves as I typed on my computer. I tried thinking about the Philippines (riding in the motorized tricycle thingies) in my T-shirt, shorts and flip flops. Yeah, it didn't help much. :)

Back to (Broadway) Basics

I hadn't seen a show since January 13th... way too long in my book. I'm here for Broadway, baby. Wanted to get this week off to the right start and saw Hairspray. Ashley Parker Angel wasn't in today's matinee, but the understudy was great! Sounded like a Link to me. Had a fun time laughing and wishing I could actually dance. Diana DeGarmo was fantastic as Penny. She's leaving the show next Sunday. Guess who her replacement is. Just guess! Alexa Vega from Spy Kids! Huh. (Janice is probably laughing while remembering my Spanish homework assignment about Carmen y Juni.) Well, it turns out that I may have to return to Hairspray later this year, for APA and AV.

Miranda moment

Yes, indeed, I think I may have had a "Sex and the City" moment earlier this week when I had an $18 hamburger at Joe's Pub. Meghan and I went to see Erin McKeown, a very versatile and talented musician, perform. I swear there's an episode of SatC where they talk about how expensive hamburgers are in Manhattan. Somebody tell me I'm not making it up?

I can't sleep!

I think it's because I had an extended nap on the subway train a couple hours ago! Might as well catch up on things online.

Saw Dreamgirls with Keith and some of his friends from volleyball. Such a good movie. I'm glad I watched it again!

It snowed this morning! At first, as I was walking along W. 40th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue, I got really mad because I thought somebody's disgusting cigarette ash things were getting all over me. Then more snow started to surround the air, and I got really happy. :) Snooooow!! Not enough to stick but just enough to put me in a good mood before work.

I needed to buy some cards anyway...

... now I'll just make sure to go to Hallmark to get this Josh Groban CD. Oh, those marketers are good...

From FOJG:
Hallmark CD
If you haven't heard Josh put out a Hallmark CD for Valentines Day. The album is only available at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and is titled 'With You'. This exclusive album has two never before heard tracks and is a must have for a Josh fan. Head over to your local Hallmark Gold Crown store or check Hallmark.com for more details.

Here's looking at you, 2006

Surprisingly, this didn't turn into a big rambling entry! Just a couple lists that capture a lot of things previously blogged.

Top 10 Highlights of the Year

1. Landing my job at TMG – The Marketing Group

2. Moving to New York City

3. Reconnecting with friends through MySpace and Facebook

4. Setting a new record for the number of musicals seen in one year (see below)

5. Visiting the Philippines for the first time

6. Seeing Anna Nalick in concert twice and meeting her twice

7. Working for Pacific Northwest Ballet as a media relations assistant and watching more ballet than I ever have before

8. Going to New York in May for informational interviews and meeting really cool people in what is now my industry

9. Writing original songs after being inspired by professional musicians, musicals and books

10. Seeing my name in a Broadway Playbill

The Year in Numbers

240: the number of times the song listened to the most on my iPod/iTunes, "Home," has played (acquired this track in early 2006 from Anna Nalick's special CD released in Australia)

20: books read (5 short of my goal for the year)

29: the number of musicals I saw this year (shatters the previous one-year record of 15)

Rockefeller Center

Got to take a picture of the Christmas tree last weekend before attending the Drowsy Chaperone holiday party. :)

I am so there (part 2... or the prequel I guess!)

Josh Groban
Awake Tour
February 24, 2007
United Center

:)

Some things you can't explain

I have developed a craving for cornbread and honey over the last five minutes. But this craving will go unsatisfied because I don't have ingredients to make cornbread nor would I know how to make it if I did. Oh, and my dinner will consist of tomato soup because I don't have anything else to eat and it's too cold to make a run to the grocery. Such is life.

Cornbread and honey... mmmmm. I can almost taste it now. Almost.

Ay ay ay, it's cold outside

High of 33 today. Last night, as my roommate and I were walking to the subway station from Studio 54 -- where The Apple Tree starring Kristin Chenoweth plays -- the cold winds were brutal. Today is the arctic blast the weather people kept talking about on TV earlier this week. Yikes!

Didn't have my performance review yesterday. But I had a nice lunch meeting!!

...

I think I'm sick. My stomach's been bothering me all day, and I get an itchy cough sometimes. I tried to take off as early as possible after Alexa finished her concert tonight. And now I'm home, and really I just want to rest and rest and not go to work tomorrow. But alas, I have to go to work tomorrow. Performance review rescheduled.

Anyway, Alexa was amazing. She even gave a shout out to the Cabellon girls who moved to New York. :)

OK, I'm going to bed.

14,782

That's how many steps I walked Saturday when I was wearing my new pedometer. :) Went to Target and downtown twice.

Yay, laundry, yay!

So doing laundry has become a weekly routine for me. I do my best to get as many quarters as I can in change over the week. Ha ha.

I'm blogging about laundry because my apartment building finally got new washers and dryers! We used to have two washers, but one was broken before I even moved in. So with one working washer, things were a little crazy. Now we have THREE washers! YAY! The price has increased by a quarter. However, on the dryers (up to three now as well!), you can put one quarter in at a time instead of giving up 5 in one fell swoop.

I'm pretty happy about it all. Ooh, gotta go put my clothes in the dryer now.

I am so there

Josh Groban
Awake Tour
March 12, 2007
Madison Square Garden

:)

My New Wallpaper!

The downside of DVR

I wasn't particularly busy Wednesday night, but for some reason I didn't watch "Lost" when it was on. I just let DVR do its thing.

Didn't watch it Thursday night because I was at the opening-night party of Grey Gardens.

Didn't watch it Friday night because I helped volunteer for Broadway Cares, collecting money at Mamma Mia.

Friday evening, though, everything was ruined when I started to flip through the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which unfortunately spoiled the episode. Surprise ruined.

Oh well. I'm sure I'll watch it eventually.

Another recap

Got home from watching the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra play at the Church of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity. They sounded good! My co-worker Meghan joined BSO last month.

It rained heavily this morning, so I slept in and watched TAR1 discs 1 and 2 from Netflix. Also finished reading Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony. I am way behind on my goal of reading 25 books this year. Hmmm... oh well. At least I'm trying.

Watched RENT live for the sixth time yesterday. :) It was a great performance. Not perfect by any means, but it sure doesn't need to be. I loved it, and it made me want to work even harder than I already do for the show. And it made me want to go back and see it again. I have my reasons. :) Hehehe.

Attended opening night of The Times They Are A-Changin'. It was fun. Meghan and I sat in the first row, thanks to Anne's extra tickets. I saw David Blaine, Kathleen Turner and Bebe Neuwirth. But the highlight of the day took place while I was running an errand during work. I got to meet Thom Sesma, my first Engineer in Miss Saigon. He plays the father, Captain Ahrab, in Times. Such a nice guy!

It's been a great week. What will the next one hold in store?

Sometimes the best things in life ARE free

Just a recap:

I saw the Actors' Fund benefit concert of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas on Monday night for free. Courtesy of Keith.

I saw the 5th anniversary performance of Mamma Mia! on Wednesday for free. Courtesy of Sara.

I will be seeing the opening night performance of The Times They Are A-Changin' next Thursday for free. Courtesy of Meghan.

I will be seeing RENT next Friday for free. Courtesy of me. (Just kidding.) Courtesy of Laura and Nick.

I got Mom and Dad in to see Company at The 5th Avenue Theatre yesterday for free. Courtesy of Jennifer.

Vacation

Oops! I took the wrong two days off work. But it would have been weird to request November 8th and November 10th off. I will be taking off November 9 and 10, mainly because of Josh Groban.

However, I just read on FOJG that he will be doing a CD signing at the Lincoln Center B&N at 7 p.m. on November 8th. D'oh! I work until 6 p.m. Won't make it in time -- I mean, I imagine that line will be super long hours in advance. But I'll still check it out anyway. After all, I won't be working on the 9th.

Heh heh.

The little things

I mended my pants today! Mom taught me right before I moved to New York. I got to practice on my pajama pants, and it was soooo frustrating. I wasn't sure when that first-time practice would come in handy.

Instead of throwing away my dress pants, I was able to fix it! No frustration whatsoever! Yay!

Thanks, Mom. You taught me well.

An update

I bought a bed! It's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, so this is the last night of the air mattress that deflates through the night! YAY! I need to buy bedsheets, so I'm going to Bed, Bath & Beyond later on.

I live less than a mile away from Target. YAY again!! This could be a good thing, but it also could be very bad. I love Target. Hehehe. I bought a few things there yesterday. After buying my bed today, I went to Target again and bought a pair of pants, a second laundry hamper, a small sewing kit, The Office season 2 on DVD and these mini Coke cans. They are cute and make for good serving sizes. Yup, you read correctly. A sewing kit. I am going to attempt to mend my pants. Mom, I hope I remember what you taught me!

It's official. The church to the south of my apartment is Catholic. So I have found my new church. Very convenient. It takes less than 5 minutes to walk there. It's big and majestic, but the speaker system could use improvements. Kinda like the church in Vinzons. They had good songs to sing, and I've missed that.

Saw Hairspray last night with Keith. He won the lottery! YAY for the third time in this blog! Diana DeGarmo was fantastic. She wasn't my favorite on American Idol, but she totally nailed her role in Hairspray, so major props to her.

Just a tad bit addicted to the small screen

I'm watching Lost right now. Could be devoting more attention it, that's for sure, but I thought I'd post here and pretend to multi-task. :)

I bought a TV on Sunday so I wouldn't miss any of my shows! However, Ugly Betty and The Office air at the same time. My solution is to get DVR! Ha ha. I know I should watch my spending habits, but this can be budgeted in. I've been dying to get DVR for a while now. Now that I'm living independently (OK, with a roommate), it's time!

I am here

Here = Manhattan. Work is great. Life is sweet. Yay!

Just adding DVDs to my newly created Netflix queue. Yay again!

Was never too fond of packing for a move

Perhaps it's because I never moved as a child. And I'm glad that I didn't. But now I'm just not used to it, and my goal in life is to move as little as possible. I like some sort of "permanence." Stability. Comfort.

Not much new to report

Just kidding! Well, if you are reading this blog, then you probably know all there is to know about this weekend already. Audra concert tomorrow and moving Sunday. Two biggies.

I'm going to sleep after I finish packing my clothes. See ya on the flip side!

Busy weekend

Saw [title of show] and The Times They Are A-Changin' on Saturday.

Volunteered for Broadway Cares at their annual Flea Market on Sunday (today). Got to sell cool stuff alongside Spelling Bee cast members, Circle in the Square students and fellow BC volunteers. All for a good cause. And it was fun working next to the Avenue Q table. I bought Princeton's Mixed Tape and an "Everything in life is only for now" button!!

Time to go to sleep now.

Oh, Seattle

Two hours till The Amazing Race 10 starts! YAY! And living on the East Coast can only be a good thing in matters of TV watching! Hehehe.

TAR10 starts in Seattle. That'll be fun to watch. I miss that city!

23

Being 22 was amazing. This time last year I was wrapping up my internship at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Then I finished my last quarter of college. Became a fan of Anna Nalick and her incredible music. Went to the Philippines for the first time. Wrote a few songs. Worked at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Moved to New York. Started working at TMG - The Marketing Group.

Lots of highlights. Most of the past 365 days have been great. Some not so great.

I hope my 23rd year of living on this planet will be just as great -- if not better.

Oh, and my actual birthday was fun. Went to the mall. Had dinner with Veron, Jay, Alexa and Keith. Then we went to Karaoke 17. Good times. :)

To all who've wished me happy birthday today and celebrated with me, thank you!

Why, thank you

I received this e-mail today:

Hi there,

Happy birthday from the gang at E! Online. Hope it's a great one!

You also share your birthday with the following celebrities:
Alexis Bledel 1981 Houston, Texas
Allen Funt 1914 Brooklyn, NY
Amy Poehler 1971 Burlington, Massachusetts
B.B. King 1925 Itta Bena, Mississippi
David Copperfield 1956 Metuchen, NJ
Ed Begley Jr. 1949 Los Angeles, California
Jennifer Tilly 1958 Harbor City, CA
Lauren Bacall 1924 New York, NY
Marc Anthony 1969 New York, New York
Molly Shannon 1965 Shaker Heights, Ohio
Peter Falk 1927 New York, New York
Richard Marx 1963 Chicago, Illinois

I like the island Manhattan

Smoke on your pipe, and put that in!

I was just thinking: If I hadn't gotten my job at TMG, I would have been moving to New York next week.

But I'm 100% glad that things worked out the way they did. And to top it all off, I know where I will be living as of October 1st, and it's going to be great!

Manhattan, I'm on my way!

Now you can visit me!

X-Press? I don't think so.

Oh my holy freakin' goodness. That's New York for you. Today was a half day at work, so I headed to the DMV office in Manhattan where you can exchange your out-of-state license for a New York one. Wow, you know it's bad when you see people milling about outside the doors. I walked into the tiny space, and the lines were snaking around the tiny place, and people were sitting in chairs with forms and numbers in hand. I didn't know where to find a number, and I certainly didn't want to wait in a very long line. The office was closing at 4. Without a guarantee of being seen, I left.

Will probably have to try one day before work next week. Wish me luck.

Not enough time in the day

Perhaps it will be a lifelong recurring theme, but there never seems to be enough time to do all the things I want to do. Work and commuting take up most of my weekdays. I don't mind so much. In fact, I love my job, so I'm glad it takes up as much time as it does.

But then again, I haven't written a song since I moved. I want to do that.

Mom has pointed out that I don't blog as much.

Oh! But I took out a trial subscription to Blockbuster (similar to Netflix), so I will MAKE time to watch the DVDs that arrived: She's the Man, Walk the Line and season one of "The Office." Yay!

Summer Friday!

Can I just say that I love summer Fridays?! This is my second and last one for 2006. It's so nice getting the day off and getting paid for it.

Well, I happen to enjoy doing "nothing." That is, I like to kick back, go online, relax and watch movies. Also did my laundry this afternoon.

A nice day. Could always use more like them.

Another day

No, it's not just any other day! I'm seeing an apartment tonight, and I hope to catch a Broadway matinee beforehand. Must run no longer than 2 hours and 15 minutes. That narrows it down to three musicals, I think. (RENT's not one of them.) I'll let you know if I see one.

Anna Nalick's performing in Seattle tonight. Boo that I'm not there, but oh well. I'm still waiting for a headlining concert in NYC.

Anyway, I just wanted to write something here because I noticed I needed to change my location on the sidebar.

No day but today!

The wonders of digital zoom

I love me my Canon Powershot SD450! It arrived yesterday, and I was able to use it today at Bryant Park!

Eeep, I am giddy!

Somebody pinch me. I only mean that figuratively speaking.

I'm really here in New York! Have been keeping in touch with my former supervisors at the Seattle arts orgs I used to intern/work for. I get nostalgic sometimes. I miss them, and they miss me. It's all good, but wow.

It makes me giddy that I'm actually here in New York.

I told Brittany in an e-mail that I have to remind myself I'm not on vacation. I'm here for the long haul.

And I get tomorrow off! And tomorrow's pay day! Woo to the hoo!

EDT

I imagine I'll be making adjustments to my move for quite some time.

Speaking of time, I need to stop thinking so often about what time it is on the West Coast. But I can't help it.

I have to think before I call anybody on the other side of the country. This goes for when I'm at work as well. For example, I needed to call up a company in San Francisco, but I waited a couple hours before doing so. Otherwise, nobody would have picked up the phone!

I have to wait until 1 p.m. on Saturdays to play HSX commission-free.

Yikes, I don't know where this blog entry is going. I'm not really complaining. I'm just talkin' about the things that have changed. But I look forward to when I get to see TV shows three hours before the West Coasters. Hehehe.

F-U-N!

I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Phew! That's the full title, but people just call it Spelling Bee. What a great show!

I was planning to try the lottery for this show, but when I arrived in Manhattan, I decided to check out The Booth (aka TKTS). It was there for 50% off. Since I wasn't in the mood for losing another lottery, I just took care of my purchase right away.

It was so hot and humid at that point that I went to Jamba Juice. Mmmmm. :) Collected some magazines from the Times Square Visitor Center to give me ideas for future weekend outings.
Headed over to Circle in the Square Theatre at one o'clock for the 2 p.m. matinee. When I went inside the theater, I saw actors going inside the same front entrance as everyone else. Yes, I saw Jose Llana walk into the theater! I was going to try to say hi, but someone else beat me to it, and then Jose went backstage. Oh well. Maybe another time. I do plan to go back to see the show sometime!

The participating audience members were fun to watch. I didn't sign up, but the recruiters were very good at getting people to volunteer. One guy impressed the cast when he spelled two words that I guess many people misspell. The cast would turn around to look at him, and he shrugged his shoulder and looked just as surprised that he got them right! Finally, they had to give him the ultra-hard back-up word before carrying on with the show.

Kudos to the entire cast for being such great performers and singers! All of them had shining moments. Understduy Lisa Yuen went on as Rona Lisa Peretti, and she was wonderful. Always good to see Miss Saigon alumni. :)

Like Avenue Q, Spelling Bee stays politically and pop culturally up-to-date! At the end, one of the spellers, Logainne, made a reference to working for President Lance Bass.

Had Gray's Papaya for dinner. Mmmmm. Cheap and filling. :)

Shopped a bit at Macy's. I swear, there's always something new to discover in that store. I have yet to memorize where everything is... Or is that even possible?

It's been a long day, but I'm happy. And I'm going to make a list of shows I want to see. Hehehe.

There are other events I want to go to, but the timing may be off... I'll wait it out and see.

Yay Broadway!

Just finished my first full week of work, and today was pay day!

I forgot my Metro Card this morning, so I ended up buying my 30-day unlimited card. Today at work, they distributed the discounted cards (we have a transportation benefit, so that you pay the card with pre-taxed earnings). I wanted one! Well, that will happen eventually.

I got to fulfill one of my life goals today! Went backstage in a Broadway theater. Actually, I don't know how much it counts because I didn't see the stage. No, it counts. YAY!

And, of course, I'm fulfilling some of my other life goals, including living in New York. :)

Yesterda, while riding the subway to Queens, I thought of all these things I wanted to blog about:

It's. So. Humid!

What's up with low-waist and ultra-low-waist pants and shorts? I'm not wasting money on them. Whatever happened to pants that actually fit you properly?

I finally played my guitar last night! It survived the cross-country trip. Many thanks to Janice for bringing it to me. A couple of bumper stickers fell off my case. Oh well. I can replace one of them the next time I go to Washington, but the other one was from the University of the Philippines. Not so easy to replace.

I'm soooo seeing a show tomorrow! Have been looking forward to this all week. :)

I'm here!

In New York, that is. Got to see Anna Nalick perform at Planet Hollywood today! Hehehe. It never hurts to ask for tickets. I asked her a question that aired on the radio. LOL. And the tie for the best parts were that I requested/suggested "More Than Melody" as the last song, and Anna recognized me during the meet & greet.

Man, it is HOT and HUMID here.

We did it!

Alexa and I wrote a song for Lolo Bill! I don't think either of us could have done it on our own. Alexa wrote the amazing music and will be playing the guitar. We co-wrote the lyrics today. I had originally offered to be her backup singer, but we'll be sharing the singing duties. I still get to do backup on the chorus with the harmony. Good stuff. :)

So get ready for a fun program at the party on the 15th. Can't wait to see everyone! It'll be my chance to say good-bye before my move, but make no mistake, this is totally Lolo's party!

Cloud 8 3/4

I've been floating on cloud 9 for quite some time. Lots of exciting news lately!

Well, I visited the Anna Nalick board a few minutes ago, and one of the posters, burnedoutchevrolets (whom I met at Anna's concert in April), told us that Anna's returning to Seattle next month. ACK! I'm going to be gone! So I made a small plea on the board for her to go to New York. Heh heh. What timing. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm still really excited about New York. Like that could change. Ha!

Heard back from the people I'm going to work with. This is going to be so great!!!

Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's new musical is scheduled to open on Broadway next season. I'll give you one guess as to who is going to help market that show. ;) Back on cloud 9 again.

Fer cryin' out loud, what is going on here?

I went shopping at Southcenter today. Was relatively successful finding three tops and a skirt. Yes, a skirt! These are all for work, mind you.

Well, I bought bubble tea afterward to celebrate and was worried that I'd spilled some of the drink in the bag. I didn't. Just on the outside.

I inspected all my clothes when I came home, and then I saw that the cashier didn't take off the ink tag on one of the shirts! Jeez. Now I have to go back. What a hassle.

Today simply isn't my day. I have a headache now.

By the way, I went into one store and saw the price of a formal business suit. Yikes. Mom? Dad? Help? Please?

The return of the iPod

Beloved iPod, you came back! Oh myPod, I hate when you die on me, but I'm glad you're back.

All is right with the world again.

For the record, my iPod froze on Anna Nalick's "Catalyst."

You'll be the vein, you'll be the pain, you'll be the scar
You'll be the road rolling below the wheels of a car
And all of your thoughts on God...
Don't know if I'm strong enough... No
You'll be the vein, you'll be the pain, you'll be the catalyst

In mourning

My iPod has frozen on me again. This happened to me last November when I visited my brother in Texas. I thought I would have to buy a new iPod. I was devastated for having to shell out so much money for a piece o' crap.

But then, I was able to revive my good ol' iPod. We got along fine. In fact, I fell in love with it all over again. It died on me again earlier this year but recovered rather quickly.

Is my iPod like a cat? Will it have nine lives? Only time can tell. Right now, it's stuck in the on position, paused, claiming to have full battery. I can't turn it off. I can't get it to play. I even tried iPod CPR, which is what revived it last November. No such luck. What happened???

My poor iPod. Don't make me take my portable CD player and CD collection to New York.

*sigh* I have got to get out of the house. I really don't want to listen to the radio. Boo.

Come back to me, my beloved...

Ewwww... Independence Day is tomorrow, people

My window is open 'cause it's hot. I think I'm still in denial that it's summer. Let's face it, it's going to be whole lot hotter with humidity in New York.

Still, I was hoping to enjoy the Pacific Northwest's fresh air for the remainder of my time here. Not so. People have been lighting firecrackers all weekend, and now I can smell the smoke in my room. Gross.

Hehehe. I'm venting, I know.

What can I rave about? Um, I'm going to live in New York!!! I doubt I'll get tired of saying that! YAY!!!

Every little cent counts

Hmmm... I wonder if I should buy that extra Wreck of the Day after all. If I don't, I hope my order from fye.com arrives before I head to New York!!!

Now I hafta think about things like changing my address and closing bank accounts. So much to do. There will ALways be something to do. This month's going to be crazy but fun!!

I've been waiting a LONG time to say this!!!

START SPREADING THE NEWS!

I'm going to live and work in New York, baby!

I'm fulfilling my dreams!

I'm working for Broadway!

Good-bye, e-mails from Monster.com!

In the trash, job listing bookmarks!

New York City, here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wondering "aloud"... don't mind me

I wonder how much of my stuff I will actually take to New York. I bet it's going to be a very small percentage. Very, very small. And that's OK. Though I never liked moving stuff in college, it made me realize how much stuff I don't need or really value. I guess that's one good thing about moving.

And then, of course, there's the whole getting to live and working New York bit. OH YEAH! :) If you're reading this, keep those positive thoughts flowing for me!

Can I go back to work?

Oh my holy-freakin' gosh! It's too HOT naman! I just got home from work 20 minutes ago. From the nice, air-conditioned office.

Whew, I can't stay in my room any longer! I'm burnin' up in here.

And that concludes my heat complaint for the day.

OMG

I'm cleaning out my room, and I literally just came across an assignment I completed in sixth grade. My initial reaction, "Oh my gawd."

I haven't read the entire piece, but it starts off with:

Allison Cabellon
1-16-96
Autobiography

I am twenty-two years old, and my name is Allison Cabellon. I can't believe it is already 2006, but it is, and right now I am currently attending the University of Washingon. When I graduate, I will start writing right away. I really want to try and find a job at a magazine or a local newspaper.

OMG, OMG. This is so bizarre! Ten years ago I dreamed of becoming a professional writer.

Funny how dreams change over time. I mean, I still love to write, and I incorporated that into my career goals, but it's not the same as being a journalist. Ha ha! My 12-year-old self couldn't have predicted the path I want to take now.

I think I'd fail if I took Professor Trelawney's class at Hogwarts. ;)

In the trash!

Yay! I got to apply Janice's cleaning mantra earlier! It was fun. I can't believe all the crappola (excuse me, the JUNK!) I kept in boxes in the garage. Yikes.

Give it away, give it away, give it away now! That includes a bunch of books, a couple stuffed animals and a flashlight thing that seemed much cooler when I was younger. Not so much now.

I also had a bunch of school papers that I tossed into the recycling bin. No need to track the progress of my penmanship. No need to keep simple math worksheets. No need to keep the valentines from elementary school. Sure, some of them are cute, but I don't need 'em!

Before discarding some of the contents, I had fun reading some items. For example, I read through the student council suggestion slips from 6th grade one last time. Sure, the usual request such as hat day showed up. Here's my favorite request (no, I am not about to make a typo, this is what was written): "We should have bending machines."

Woohoo!

It's been a weird day, so any good news is doubly exciting. Well, I just checked my YouTube stats, and I have seven fans for "Grow Old With You"!!! On top of that, my video rating went up to three and a half stars. YAY! :)

2461 views. That's crazy, y'all. Sure, it's nowhere near the amount of views that some viral videos get, but it's amazing in my book. :)

*sighing the good sigh*

I know they're just proofs, but...

... I look like a goober in my commencement photos! I got an e-mail from the company that took our photos. They took two of me when I shook President Emmert's hand. I had this weird, no-teeth smile on my face. I had no idea! LOL. Goober, indeed.

One last splurge

Seriously, that's it, people. Nobody could stop me from pre-ordering Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day (06)!!!

Fye.com is offering a free autographed photo and T-shirt with a purchase of the re-released CD. How could I resist? Soooo excited for the three new songs. They put up the new version of "Wreck" on MySpace. I'll also be happy to have that on a CD (and eventually on my iPod), so I don't have to keep one browser open just to listen to it. :)

I imagine that I'll have to buy the CD again if I want to listen to it exactly on July 11th. That's OK. That'll be the final splurge.

Save, save, save time! (Unless I win the lottery... but I don't even play, so...) Save, save, save time!

You could put it that way...

Well, in case I want to remember the name of my commencement speaker, it's right here in my blog. I visited my UW commencement bookmark one last time before deleting it, and this is what I saw. This, my friends, is called spin:

"A memorable commencement address was delivered by William D. Ruckelshaus, and was greeted with a standing ovation."

Gee, what about the boo-and-cheer portion of the speech? Hmmm... I guess that's what made it memorable. And he did not live up to the quote by George Bernard Shaw. The speech was lonnnng.

Again, I maintain it would have been cool to hear an address by Jodie Foster. She quoted Eminem, according to Time Magazine.

Caught in the Act

Took me a while, but I finally watched Josh Groban's special appearance on Michael Buble's DVD, Caught in the Act. That was good stuff! I don't exactly want to purchase the CD/DVD combo, but I wonder if it's posted on YouTube... or if it will be. Gotta love YouTube.

I think EW was right

Twenty minutes into NBC's "Treasure Hunters," and I am bo-o-o-o-ored. But I've also been surfing online, so my attention has been divided. Still, I agree with Entertainment Weekly's review of the show: This is a rip-off of "The Amazing Race." Nothing can beat TAR!

Although I do admit to entering the contest for $10,000. Couldn't hurt, right? Except for a bunch of junk mail from NBC. Oh well. :) If I win ten grand, then it'll be worth it.

Wouldn't it be nice...

... if banks and post offices were open for "regular" business hours on Saturdays? Is that asking too much? Perhaps. But still, I always feel like I can take care of mail and bank stuff on Saturdays, but then I forget they close at 1 p.m. and are closed on Sundays. D'oh! So much for feeling accomplished.

Somebody stop me

If I get the urge to splurge, stop me! I really, really do need to save my money now more than ever, so no more purchases.

But d'oh! I really should buy new clothes for work.

What I really mean is I shouldn't spend my money on things that I want but don't need. Unless you count needing your own digital camera. No, that can wait.

Well, the thing that will stop me from buying stuff I don't need is this: I don't have any more room for it and probably will have less room when I move to the Big Apple.

Booyah!

Check it out! Mark this day! Who's number one, baby? ;) Janice, now you'll need to delete all those bad StarBonds and purchase new MovieStocks to keep up with me. :)

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but I ain't that desperate!

Blech! Gimme a regular Coke -- stat!!!

Nestor and Janice got free Coca-Cola Blak samples in downtown Seattle on Thursday. We weren't able to try them together. Well, I'm very tired. I've been to Seattle eight days in a row now, and the record will be 12 before I get a break from all the driving/riding in cars to the Emerald City. I need a pick-me-up before heading out this evening.

So I decided to try the new drink, even though I had my doubts about it. Coke plus coffee extract? Eww. I can officially say that I don't like Coke Blak. I took a second sip just to be sure.

Gimme my Coke back! That's what I have to say.

Think I'll just make some nice Lipton tea with milk and honey. Need to get this taste outta my mouth.

Latest stats

Since I posted "Grow Old With You" online May 11, my video has been viewed 1206 times on YouTube and 122 times on MySpace. Holy cow. That's pretty amazing. Thanks, everyone.

I have two fans on YouTube. I'm flattered! Hehehe. (This means they added my video to their favorites list. Who are these guys and where do they live? LOL! I'm kidding. It's best that I don't know.) EDIT: I revisited the two profiles and only one identifies himself as a male. Ha ha. Yes, it's definitely best that I don't know these people.

If you're reading this blog, then I take it you know me somehow. If you have a YouTube account, could you please rate my video? I know, I know. I should develop much thicker skin, but I wish I had disbanded the ratings feature before anyone could be so cruel. I'm not a filmmaker here. I just wanted to share my vocals and thought pictures and quotes would be fun to see rather than just hearing me sing while a black screen filled the background.