Well, It's Been a Long Day...

So things have been a little shaky in the last few days - no worries though, we will rise above. Without giving too much away, I'll just say that there is less work than anticipated at my internship. I have talked to Dana (my savvy New York Arts adviser) and we're figuring out some new internship possibilities. That's all I can say for now - I'll keep you posted.

But other than that, things have been glorious. After all, I'm still in New York City. I'm proud to announce that Wednesday nights have been dubbed "Ice Gleem Social" night at the New York Arts Program. Yup, every Wednesday we will go to Baskin-Robbins and get $1 scoops of ice cream and watch the new episode of "Glee" at 9 p.m. The first one was a rousing success, and I can only hope for more of the same.

Also, Kelly and I saw The Toxic Avenger (yes, the musical) last night. This was my first Off-Broadway show, and a very exciting one at that. We got tickets for $20 twenty minutes before the show (thanks to the aptly-titled "20@20" promotion) and they were located...third row center. It makes me sad that more people don't go to Off-Broadway shows, but in the end I won't complain. The show had a hilarious book and a rockin' score, and was also a bit scary. Not to mention phenomenal performances from Broadway's Nancy Opel as Mayor Belgoody & Ma Ferd (including a side-splitting scene in which she played both simultaneously) and Demond Green as the aptly-named "Black Dude" (what's with all the aptness, Off-Broadway?). Oh yeah, and American Idol's Diana DeGarmo was in it as well. Anyway, it was a good time, and was followed up by some even better Jamba Juice.

Tonight, the whole program is seeing Race Music - my second Off-Broadway show! And what's better, we got our tickets in advance, not the day of the performance - what a concept! The weekend should be - nay, will be fabulous. Catch ya on the flip side!

Don't Rain On Our Parade

Good news: it didn't. But it was very cloudy the whole day. And it was actually a cruise, not a parade, but still. Anywho, today the whole darn New York Arts Program went on a cruise around Manhattan. This was slightly nostalgic for me, as it was the same cruise ship I went on circa five years ago when I first visited New York City. I am happy to inform everyone that the tour hasn't changed much in that time. Although the tour guide was insistent on bringing up tidbits about September 11, which in turn brought down the morale of the whole group. I still enjoyed the cruise very much, and took even more useless pictures of cityscapes than last time.

Today afforded the group some bonding time, which was real nice. In addition to the cruise, we had an enlightening, if somewhat brief, orientation and a delicious dinner. I got to experience the wonders of a multitude of fabulous people literally all day. This semester should be a wondrous experience. On that note, my internship starts tomorrow - at 10 am sharp. I'm excited to meet all my new colleagues and start doing some arts managing! I can't wait till tomorrow, when I discover what I am actually doing and can finally elaborate on that statement...

Ooh, My Feet! My Poor, Poor Feet!

I think the painful reality of living in a pedestrian city hit me today. After four days in the city, I am still yet to take a subway. Kelly and I decided a trip to Central Park was in order for this day of Labor. We speculated that we might even visit the zoo (on the stipulation that it be free - a detail it would have been handy to research before taking to the streets). So we traveled north 30 blocks till we reached the park.

Upon entering the park, we promptly found the zoo only to discover that it costs $10...nay nay, that I will not pay. Lost for words at this point, we decided that an excursion another 20 blocks north to visit the exterior of the MET was completely rational. Along the way, we encountered a myriad of eccentric folks, including a juggler with an inspirational message for the children, and an impoverished family lipsynching for money. Upon arriving at the MET, the harsh reality set in: we now have to walk back. And we did just that, arriving back at 305 a mere hour and a half later. The total distance: 7 miles. Yeah, I think I might do some stretches before embarking on another walk.

Supermarket Sweep

After days of fruitless searches, Kelly and I have finally found the fabled grocery store down the street. The excitement of finding the darn place wore off, however, once we got inside and realized we actually had to shop for food...and had no idea where to start. We had a haphazard grocery list with us, so we went with that. Our main purchases were fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, tortillas, yogurt - you know, things we are sure we'll use. So basically this week's meals will consist of PB & J/grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas. And that is just fine by me...In fact, for lunch today I had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a raspberry yogurt, which brings the meal's total to roughly $0.90. Beat that, Sandra Lee.

Later in the day, we went to NYU to visit Kelly's friend Michael. He took us to dinner at his cafeteria, which was a lovely experience, as I always prefer for other people to make me my food (and this stuff was delicious). We also got to meet some wonderful and kind people. Just being around NYU students makes me feel important - they're so fashionable and seem to have everything together. At least this is what I like to think.

Alright, so nothing too exciting has really happened thus far. Things should pick up in the next few days though. Don't bail on me now - the future looks bright.