Time, Time, Time...

This blog is a bit of a time capsule at this point. It captured my first months in NYC and as my posts dwindled in frequency it probably illustrated how other forms of social media and life in general took up my time away from keeping said blog updated!

I'm not sure how many more posts I will have in this particular format BUT if you want a bit more current look at what's happening then you can check out my acting/writing pursuits on this tumblr and my "Random Discoveries" on this one.

Thanks for checking in! :)

Since last we met...

March is just marchin' along! Better get a blog entry written before I lapse in my goal just a month in!

Since last we met, I did in fact have some visitors from Nebraska stop by this fair city. It was nice to have them here and visitors always create a bit of a "staycation" as you always end up seeing or doing things that you might not have otherwise. Case in point, I finally got to explore MOMA properly. The last time I went, I took a speedy "drive-by" tour in the last minutes of a Free Friday a few years ago - it was nice to take the time to actually see and absorb things this time! I also got to spend time meandering thru scripts at The Drama Book Shop. Normally when I go, I have no time to dilly dally so it was nice just to take my time to discover scripts new to me.

In other news, I said goodbye to a good chunk of my hair this month. I kept it long for a long time - partly because I knew a hair change would require a headshot change - but finally decided it was time to let go of the long locks. I don't regret changing my hair and am enjoying wearing dangly earrings again without them getting knotted up in my hair. Now they just swing freely! Next up, getting those headshots updated so I can properly submit for some more auditions!

Thankfully, in the meantime, I have people that know my work and cast me without a headshot. :) Case in point, I was asked to be a part of a reading of "goodness" by Sean Christopher Lewis at Theatre for the New City last week. It was nice to flex those acting muscles again, I only wish the playwright had been there as I was curious about his inspiration for the play.

I'm continuing to bake, bake, bake. Nibbles by Nora treats made an appearance at 3 different theatre venues this month and continue to be for sale at Cafe Via Espresso in Astoria. I've got plans in the works to create webisodes that combine my baking creations with a bit of my acting skills - how's that for a tease? And my goal is to have at least the first episode posted by May. Stay tuned.

On a "waxing philosophical" note, I've recently pondered the notion of whether or not this whole social networking thing is screwing up the space time continuum at all. (Heavy, I know... BTTF represent!)

Before Myspace, Facebook, etc - there was a natural ebb and flow of people that came in and out of your life. If a relationship ended, you wouldn't have to fret about protocol with relationship status or deleting the "friend" on Facebook. If you weren't in touch anymore, you weren't in touch and moved on.

Now it seems more and more people are "moving on" thru life with a humpback as they drag along those people that "back in the day" they would have left in memory but thanks to Facebook, doing so is a bit more complicated. Before Social Networking, people you met in passing, were just that and you didn't feel pressure to "accept" them as seemingly long term friends or then feel bad if you did decide that you didn't really want to know everything single detail about what's going on in their life and delete them.

Mind you, these sites can be helpful for networking and to keep in touch with those you want to know about that are many miles away but then there's that weird spy factor that comes into play. Why be in touch with the person directly when you can just check their wall? Much less complicated than scheduling a call or meeting up but yet, do we really know what's going on with that person based on what they decided to share with the Social Network world? Not really. A face to face or phone call with someone can tell you way more than a status post. As with email or text, the person that sends/posts the message can intend for an entirely different tone than what is interpreted by the reader and then you are keeping tabs on someone you are just speculating on. What's the point?

It's a weird thing. Thanks to the internet we have a bit of info overload but how much do we really know? Thus is my pondering for the month of March...

Dusting off the Cobwebs

It has been over a year since I saved "notes" in a draft that in theory would become a posted blog. It's been much longer that I actually posted one! Eesh.

I suppose my lack of blogging could be directly connected to the time I decided to join "the social network" and began posting "status" updates rather than detailed blogs. To be sure, my lack of blogs didn't mean I had nothing to report, it just meant that updating a status was much easier than writing a detailed blog! ;)

So why revisit blogging now? Well...part of it was inspired by my website losing many of it's updates since I moved here nearly 4 years ago thanks to a "GoDaddy" hosting issue in which they insisted that I canceled my hosting through them (when I fact I didn't) and that they'd be happy to put all the info back on for $200. Although my web developer friend is updating it as best he can, (so I don't have to pay $200) it does take time and one of the items that got deleted was my "current events" calendar.

What's the problem with that you say? Well...when I submit my headshot/resume for auditions and mention my website for reference, people now go to my website and probably see tumbleweeds. A blog that hasn't been updated for awhile and with no dates on my resume, a stranger wouldn't know how old (or new) those credits are so there's one reason to blog....

Another reason? Because lately, I feel like I've slumped into a bad habit of thinking in "status updates". i.e. The instantaneous nature of many things in this "modern" life has caused me to lose patience for things that might take a bit longer that I used to do all the time! So it's a purposeful way to make me slow down and reflect - and hopefully still be readable to the outsider (otherwise I might as well put this into a journal! ;))

Anywho... So clearly a lot has happened since I last posted. And what is this "a lot" that's been happening? Well... My baking venture Nibbles by Nora Inc is continuing to grow as I figure out how best to grow it. I love creating new recipes and recently I've even tried my hand at entering a few contests...results pending. You can "follow" my progress in the baker biz here. (My website will soon feature a blog as well.)

Last year about this time, actors had just been cast in a show made up of one-acts all written by me called "Almost Olive Juice"! ArtEffects was kind enough to produce this show and I met a lot of talented actors/directors and got to see the work of some actors/directors that I knew already, too!

Thus began my "year of the writer" as I didn't act as much as write. I had one-acts appear at Gallery Players for their Black Box Festival and Just Ask Productions for their "One Night Stand" Competition. And I gave myself a goal to complete another full length (yet to be produced) that was an extension of an one-act that "had legs" - "Anniversary Special". Which notably got it's start and won best play at a Phare Play 21 Hour Play Festival. It is the 2nd full length I've written and although revisions are still forthcoming I would like to see it produced eventually and have ideas to write more...but currently it seems my writing brain has temporarily been taken over by my baking brain.

Acting! I'm itching, itching to get back into acting but am trying to be patient (there's that word again) as the role that fits my "type" has not come around lately. I keep auditioning though so I don't get rusty - and people remember that I do act in addition to writing! ;)

Last year was filled with lots of travel - another reason why writing became more prevalent than acting. (Trips can be easier to plan around writing than a rehearsal or show run schedule!) Although it altered my schedule, I did love getting the opportunity to see new places or revisit ones I had seen for a second look. The funny thing is that as the new year approached this year, I had NO trips on my calendar - something that hasn't happened since I moved here! A bit of a switch and certainly a sign that there's no telling what lies ahead! Maybe that just means I'll have more visitors this year! :)

I still love exploring NYC but admittedly am not as gung-ho on it as I was when I first moved here. A friend of mine recently brought up the idea of a "NYC Bucket List". A list of things you want to do but never get around to doing it because you figure since you live here you have time and then it never happens. I totally dig this idea and am trying to use it to revitalize my explorations. Needless to say, my list is getting long - there's just never a reason to say you are bored in this city!

In an attempt to keep this somewhat brief, I'll end with this - My goal (to add to the pile of them) is to write an update at least once a month on this blog. I can surely get that done, right?! Why sure!

In the meantime, I shall get a few other goals taken care of and I hope you do, too!

Cupcakes in Hoboken

"Cupcakes Take the Cake" had another Cupcake meetup and this time it was in Hoboken, NJ! I had never been to Hoboken before and was surprised at how quick the commute was.

The plan was to stop at 3 different bakeries to pick up cupcakes and then have a cupcake picnic of sorts in a park where we could bring homemade cupcakes as well.

I decided to use this as an excuse to experiment w/ another flavor combo for the cupake kebab. Banana Split. The cake part was banana - although the recipe was good it turned out more like a banana bread texture than cake so next time I may look for something a little lighter. Then I made 3 different frostings to top them - Pineapple Buttercream, Chocolate Fudge Buttercream and Strawberry Buttercream. I used Chocolate Covered Cherries and Marshmallows (rolled and cut to look like whipped cream mounds) for spacers and then put a Marachino Cherry on top. :) The Chocolate Covered Cherries proved to be troublesome when skewered as if you didn't line it up just right they would split open and ooze. That in addition to keeping them from getting too melty before we landed @ the park was a bit of a problem but they still got snatched up right away!

For those that don't know, I share a birthday w/ Frank Sinatra and although I knew he had roots in Jersey I forgot his birthplace was in Hoboken! So me thinks that since my b-day is on a Saturday this year part of it will be spent in Hoboken just 'cause. :)

Hoboken is also home to Carlo's Bake Shop - aka the Bakery featured on "Cake Boss". It was our first stop for cupcakes and the line was down the block! We heard from locals that prior to the show the place was popular but they've definitely seen business pick up since the show began to air.

As we got closer to the shop I saw that they had models of the cakes that were made in the first episode in the window. And Buddy was posing w/ people for pics and consulting w/ customers as we approached the inside of the bakery.

I decided to get a beach themed cupcake (see them on the top row of the display to the right.) W/ all those customers there certainly isn't time for dilly-dallying in decisions - you kinda need to know what you want asap. They've got plenty of staff on hand to assist people and keep the line moving!

Next stop, was Sweet. A cute little cupcake shop that was much calmer than Carlo's and had some tasty looking cupcakes! Cupcakes had been preordered @ "Sweet" for our Meetup and they labeled the box lid to coordinate w/ the cupcakes so you knew exactly which flavor was which. Very simple but clever.

The third stop was supposed to be Crumbs but since most of our time had been taken up in line @ Carlo's and there are Crumbs locations in NYC we decided to move on to the park. Since more than one more park was talked about - I can't remember the park we ended up @ but I can tell you that it wasn't that far from the water!

I tried a couple Sweet mini cupcakes but quickly became overdosed on "Sweet" so decided to save my Carlo's Bake Shop cupcake for later.

Now that I know Hoboken isn't as far away as I thought I definitely want to go back and explore more than cupcakes! :)

My Sister's Keeper Premiere

Read the fine print.

This is the lesson I learned when it came to passes I printed out for myself and a friend to see "My Sister's Keeper". Although they were from the same place that I had gotten passes from for the "Nights in Rodanthe" Premiere it just never clicked that these passes could be for a premiere too as it didn't blatantly say it on the pass - just to dress in appropriate business attire. It wasn't until I joined my friend in line and listened to her observations that it seemed clear it was in fact the movie premiere! Sheesh! I didn't even know they held premieres at the Lincoln Square Theatre. I guess now I do! :)

Thru intermittent rain we patiently stood in line to hopefully exchange our printouts for an actual pass for the premiere. Then we both recognized one of the security guys. He told us we should have no problem getting in and to let him know if we had any trouble. Cool. A few minutes later he came past again and asked if it was just the two of us. Yes, it was. Then a few minutes after that he came up and told us it was going to be a while still and asked whether we wanted to go to Starbucks and get a coffee with him...having a hunch something was up, we said sure and stepped out of line. As we walked closer to the entrance of the theater our friend slyly produced 2 passes -"Enjoy the Show", he said. How great is that?! :)

So we made our way upstairs and got our complimentary popcorn and bottled beverage and found our assigned seats. It was a bit harder to blatantly spot the celebs this time around. (We think we caught a glimpse of the young actresses and Jason Patric but weren't for sure.) After getting a late start the director, Nick Cassavetes, bounded to the front to introduce the movie giving kudos to everyone in the film with special note to the author of the book in which the movie was based - Jodi Picoult. He said he loved the book like many others and w/ his tongue planted firmly in his cheek he added that he did his best to ruin it. ;)

I haven't read the book, so I don't know how the movie measures up but I can tell you that it would be next to impossible not to shed a few tears or at least feel them coming on while watching this movie. The entire cast did a great job but I thought Jason Patric stood out because he did so much w/ so little. His character had the least to say but it was his face that said it all in so many scenes. Just right.

Afterwards, as we exited w/ the masses we saw Cameron Diaz riding the escalator down in her white dress. Just like at the Rodanthe Premiere, there were buses waiting outside to ship people to the after party but once again we weren't sure if anyone could go or what so we kept walking.

My friend commented that she thought it was funny how whenever she saw movie premiere coverage on TV it looked so glamorous and full of stars. Little did she know that much of the audience was filled with "us commoners". ;)