Zoinks!

I get home from work today and see that there is a rather sizeable box waiting for me with "Frito Lay" on the outside and see that it was sent from Amazon. What could this be?!

I see instructions to tear off the invoice and read a note from my brother's gf - It is a b-day gift from her and the note tells me I don't have to search anymore.

I open the gift to find 104 snack bags of BAKED FLAMIN' HOT CHEETOS!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was amazing! What a great b-day gift!

(Okay, I must laugh at what I just typed...those that date me, take note - the key to my heart is not diamonds, it is Baked Flamin' Hot Cheetos! LOL! ;))

Wandering Times Square

I have happily discovered that no matter how yulky of a day you are having if you wander around NYC for just a bit (especially Times Square) you are bound to find something that makes you smile, reset and forget the yulkiness.

Today was one of those days!

I had already planned on checking out the Nascar cars parked around midtown over my lunch. It is Champions Week and our FedEx guy had told me about how they are circling midtown tomorrow - when I looked it up I discovered that they have little display areas for each car and more importantly, there was mention of freebies! :)

The closest stop was Bryant Park, but I couldn't get my eye on a car so I continued on to Military Island. There I found a car, but not too many freebies - just a map of where the other cars were. As I headed towards the M&M store I saw Naked Cowboy standing on another part of Military Island. I'd only seem him in vendor pics so wasn't even sure if he was around anymore but sure enough...there he was! (I suppose he thinks it is only a novelty when it's kinda cold out...) I continued on and decided to check out Virgin Records $10 sale where I finally caved and bought Kill Bill 1 & 2 - now that I have, be prepared to see ads about QT releasing a fantastical boxset. ;) I journeyed on and saw giant red & blue bears posing with people and a woman dressed as a toliet. (yes, you read that right.) Thanks to my former job and time to read Ad Age - I realized this was the Charmin rest stop that they started last year to promote their product! Of course I had to check it out!

Once inside you have to ride an escalator to get to the showcase floor which is equipped with several toilets that are free to use and have staff on hand to keep everything tidy (a lovely thing to see in Times Square as even the Starbucks restrooms can be dicey at times...) Then there is a coupon area where you can choose your favorite - soft or strength. Televisions hung here and there show a Charmin dance that a worker performs live at a station using pom poms. There are more photo ops with bears - although these are the stuffed variety not humans dressed as, a gift shop in case you want everyone to know how much you love Charmin and a postcard station where you can fill out a postcard w/ coupon and brag to your relatives about how great Charmin is! ;)

The guy stationed at the gift shop asked me if my Charmin experience was better than my Virgin Store experience. I told him it was hard to compare. Then he told me I need to come back in the evening because that's when the real party started as they have live entertainment.

On the way out, I was met by survey guys who once again wanted to know if I preferred soft or strength. Or in really basic terms - Blue Bear or Red Bear. I chose Red.

Had just enough time to make it to the M&M store and once again it didn't look like they had anything to give out but I lingered. I watched as two guys in very official looking M&Ms jackets posed for a pic near the car on display and then I saw the lady behind the table give a passerby an Aflac duck. The guy with the camera saw that I wanted one and put one on the table for the gal to give me. It turned out to be a photo op! So she hadn't it to me and we froze for the pic and then he needed some more of just me with the duck - I really wasn't sure if I was supposed to look @ the camera or not so I just looked at the duck. (No clue who he was taking pics for either, should have asked...) While looking - I discovered that there was a button on the back of the duck. When I pushed it he says Aflac twice and then screams it. Sweet! I think my mom will like this... ;)

Back to work.

A MUST See!

After sitting at the Irish Rogue, watching the end of Callahan's career unfold during the Colorado game and watching even ABC give up on the Huskers by cutting away with two minutes left to show the Texas v Texas A&M game, I decided it was time for a movie.

There are a handful I've been wanting to see but the timing left me with 1 option - No Country for Old Men.

I have not read the book this movie is based on so not sure how true the movie is to it but the movie by itself is amazing. Now, I don't want to give it too much hype by saying that, but it is truly worth watching.

Josh Brolin - After surviving a post-teendom slump, he is definitely on the rise again with this performance that actually shows hints of his days as Hickok on The Young Riders (and yes, I totally had a crush on him then...so it was nice to see that smirky smile appear again - insert giddy girl laugh). The character is also a nice contrast to the one he played in Planet Terror.

Javier Bardem - I've heard a lot about him, but hadn't actually seen him in a movie yet. The dialogue he has is fantastic and he presents it perfectly.

Tommy Lee Jones - Well, he's Tommy Lee. That's just the way it is. But he is still good, cause he's Tommy Lee. ;)

The only hiccup I had concerning the movie was the casting of the mother in law. The actress just didn't seem to fit - and quite frankly whenever I see her I always think of her reaching out from the bus on Speed and getting blown up. She'll forever be a whiner who dies to me.

The wife however is great. Understated, but just right. Her last scene is once again filled with great dialogue. Not sure how Oscar will look upon this movie but it deserves at least a nomination for best adapted screenplay.

There is a lot of blood in this movie but at the same time they don't show as much as they could have. Many times the Coen Brothers choose to cut away and leave it to the imagination - a decision that makes the movie even better. Haunting? Creepy? Not sure those are the words I'm looking for, but the movie certainly stays with you after you see it.

I'm definitely buying it when it comes out on DVD - which is saying a lot since I'm trying to be more conservative with such purchases. And speaking of...for those that have yet to watch The Waitress, it is now on video. So go rent it!

T-day

This T-day was the first one I spent away from my fam. Thankfully I had some friends who also stayed in the city so we had our own T-day dinner. Because I was used to having certain sides available for T-day I volunteered to make most of them - just to make sure we had them! :)

Here's what was on the list (the links will take you to the recipes) -

Cornbread Casserole, Low Fat Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Pretzel Salad, Greenbean Casserole, Marshmallow Topped Sweet Potatoes and Chex Mix.

Our dinner was @ 4pm so I started carting things over at 3:30ish (thankfully my friend who was hosting the event was only a block away). The only snag was that the turkey ended up have a couple hours to go before it was ready! Oops.

But when all was said and done it was a very tasty T-day dinner - complete with squishy buns! :)

Once our bellies were full we attempted to burn those calories by playing various games on my friend's Wii. Then, after packing up various leftovers I headed to the restaurant my roommate was working a double at - NYC is a lot more busslin' on T-day than I expected, Macy's Parade aside I was surprised how many businesses were open.

Macy's Balloons

Admittedly, going to the Macy's T-day Parade was not a priority to me when I moved here. I'd even lost interest in watching it on TV in recent years. So I was fully prepared to let the opportunity to be a part of that tradition pass me by when I read about the night BEFORE the parade. Apparently, every year people can go see the ginormous parade balloons blown up the night before. Now THIS I found interesting and a bit exciting as the balloons were really my fave part of the Macy's Parade anyway.

So, I trekked over there after work and when I got off the subway the masses were already congesting the area before we even got above ground! The amount of people did give me pause...is this worth it? Will I actually be able to see anything once I struggle thru these bodies? I was urged on by the occassional open pocket of true walking (not inching) and then the crowds converged and got even worse! I can't even imagine what the parade must be like and the lighting of the Rockefeller Tree? Forgettaboutit. JetBlue was on hand giving out free cups of cocoa. (One guy had a rocket blaster looking dispenser strapped to his back and a guy stood on either side of him with cups to fill.) I started to wait for a cup but then decided against it - I still had a street to cross and about a block to go in this crowd and hot cocoa with no lid probably wouldn't be mix well with that scenario. I trekked on...past garbage cans overflowing with the remnants of an apparent earlier promo - half eaten bags of chips.

Once the street was crossed, the block left seemed to turn into the Vegas strip where you can see your destination but it takes FOREVER to get there. I know this is a mostly family event but if I had a kid in a stroller I would NOT subject them to those crowds - they are just too vulnerable down there with people shoving by or having their parents use them as a plow to get thru people. Yikes!

Finally, balloons in clear sight! The crowds started to filter out but taking pics was a problem as constant announcements asked that you keep moving - needless to say many of my pics are blurred and have people's heads in the way but at least you get the idea.

Being around ALL those people I certainly heard a lot of interesting bits of convo. The best was hearing people trying to figure out who the balloons were. Can you guess them all?

I wish they would have had a flyer or something that would have told about how many people it takes to corral some of these balloons - many were netted down rather than just tied to keep them in place. (I'm sure it is on the internet somewhere.) It was nice to see them completely blown up, but I was curious to see how the whole process begins - perhaps I'll take a half day next year and find out! ;)

Note: The lit up creature was a dinosaur in front of the Museum. Also, I found this youtube clip from a year ago that gives a good moving visual of the experience...

When I watched the news (two sides of the block had balloons, the other two had news vans) they said the nice weather made the crowds bigger - so maybe on a not so nice day there are less people?! Once again - will maybe check and see next year!

Foiled

More and more windows are beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Paul Stuart windows are filled with an interesting concept - utilizing the sparkle of aluminum foil and creating clothes out of it.

See "Heart"!

Check out the latest on my website!
http://noravetter.com/videos/heart.asp

This film is the first acting gig I had in NYC - Here were the blogs about it - http://thenkv.blogspot.com/2007/06/heart-day-1-filming.html
http://thenkv.blogspot.com/2007/06/thats-wrap.html

Have a show opening this weekend and with the strike the foot traffic around Broadway is WAY down. Originally, the heads of the theatre thought our crowds would be larger because people would be milling around trying to find alternative theatre but now the crowds are just not even milling at all and finding entertainment elsewhere in the city. Will see how it goes...

Mr. Ks & the ride home

Several people in what is deemed the Admin/Real Estate section of the office had b-days in late October and November so the entire section was treated to lunch at Mr. Ks.

I knew Mr. Ks was kinda a big deal place as I had made reservations for my boss there before had no idea how different this dining experience would be compared to the standard fare my pocketbook can afford. (Prior to this my most impressive restaurant experience was Morton's in Orlando and now that pales in comparison...)

First of all we were ushered to a table where the seats against the wall was an extended plush pink couch and the chairs on the other side were a bit more regal looking but still pink and plush.
We were asked if we wanted appetizers and something to drink. One of the namesake's of the company asked if anyone was ordering wine or beer. Can we do that?! No one did - so I didn't try it. Those that were paying said yes to appetizers, though. I was expecting the standard plates of various items to pick from, but instead...everyone got their own individual plate - no pulling pieces off a community plate. I wasn't totally sure what I was eating but it tasted good! A corsage was brought out for each of the women @ the table. A gold stand was placed near each plate to hold spoons and chopsticks and lemon sorbet was brought out for us to cleanse our palette before the main course was served.

Those with the money asked for a variety of items that we could share and once again - the variety was brought out on individual plates.

As we ate our meal, the other namesake of the company spoke about how he knew the Stillers and how he played with Ben as a child but didn't remember any good stories from the experience.

Once the main course was finished it was time for desert. This time there was no variety platter but some ordered and shared. Fancy coffee was made right at our table - it looked like a science experiment with water and grounds mixing between tubes and glass beakers.

The meal of course took way over my standard hour but when you're with the higher ups - the delay is excusable. ;)

Cut to my subway ride home....

Standing on a crowded subway, I notice a guy reading something beside me that looks like it might be a script...I was trying to be curious without him noticing but apparently was noticed as he started talking to me.

He asked me if I would mind reading his story and giving him feedback - he'd be getting off the subway soon so I didn't have to read it all. He was writing from a woman's perspective and said he'd talked and listened to a lot of his female friends for inspiration but wanted to see if he was on the right track. I wasn't sure what I was about to read - was this a very convoluted pick up attempt?!

The script went on to talk about a girl that was observing men and what she wanted, etc. Thinking he was getting off soon I didn't read very far before I attempted feedback. I was told that a few pages beyond it turned into kind of a spy story. Ohkay. I asked him if he'd seen the "Chuck" he said he really didn't watch tv. I said that it read like a play/screenplay and shared that I was a playwright. As the convo kept going and as I was becoming more and more aware that his stop "coming up" seemed to not be, he asked where I was from originally and I said Nebraska. A guy sitting below us, made a face and I acknowledged him. He said he was originally from Omaha and was a writer, too! So in an attempt to shake this guy I tried to guide the convo into just being between the 2 guys but it wasn't happening. ALL of us get off @ the Ditmars stop. I tell the guy from Omaha that it was nice to meet him and am lectured by the other guy that he never says goodbye when getting off a subway because you are bound to run into them again as you are exiting and then it is just awkward. Noted. Needless to say I managed to finally separate from the guy and oops...didn't get a goodbye in.

Tommy LaSorda

It was off to Barnes & Noble again today to get an autographed copy of Tommy LaSorda's book - I Live for This! Baseball's Last True Believer.

Although I know of Tommy LaSorda thru sports and SlimFast commercials I wasn't a fanatic. My quest was on behalf of a friend who wanted it for a Xmas gift! :)

This time around no pics could be taken and the line seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. If no pics were being taken, what was the hold up?! Well, Tommy showed up a bit late and then Tommy talked. Which is generally fine, cause that's what Tommy does, but since I was on my lunch I was kinda hoping Tommy would be a tad less social...

As I waited, two autograph hounds behind me lamented that they had to get the books personalized and that they should have told the B&N worker (a person goes around with sticky notes to put the person's name on it and then put it on the title page of the book to be autographed) to something generic like, "Dad" - making it easier to sell. They didn't seem to have much good to say about LaSorda - just wanted his autograph so they could benefit.

I started to read bits and pieces of his book as I waited. I flipped thru and read a bit about him coaching the 2000 Olympic Team. I had forgotten how hell bent he was about beating the Cubans! I also found out that coaches of teams don't get medals.

I started to get a little nervous as the time continued to tick away and progress continued to be slow. As luck would have it a coworker was in the store trying to see what the line was for, I waved and he said he'd let others know I may run late because I was getting a LaSorda autograph. Thanks? (I wasn't totally sure how well that would go over...)

As I got within actual sight of the now 80 year old, Tommy LaSorda, I could actually enjoy his banter with people. He told a guy wearing a Yankees cap - "You know what they say...Only Dodger Fans got to Heaven." He told another guy who brought his preschool aged daughter - "She must look like her mother." And asked the daughter if she'd written Santa yet. In fact, he talked more to her than to the father! Lol!

When I got up there I really didn't have anything spectacular to say and I was already running late so I just smiled and said hi. He signed and that was that.

Once I got back to the office, I was surprised that a few coworkers who had heard about where I was asked to see the autograph. So...I guess it was okay I was late because of LaSorda! :)

Gaining More NY Acting Experience

So another show (Funeral! An Interactive Murder Mystery) begins and ends in a weekend - these short runs take a bit to get used to! Due to the strike we thought we'd benefit from the tourists looking for something to do, but instead the crowds just found other places to go and so Times Square was not as full of people as it normally is. Our crowds built thru the 3 day run and our last night was fuller than we had expected it to be - so that was nice!

Got called back for some one-act shows that will be performed in Long Island City. Was called in to read 4 different times and actually ended up being cast in it! I will be playing a character called "Maybe" who may or may not be an imaginary client of a down on his luck detective.

Have a friend who is one of the directors for the one-act show and he said that at the end of the first audition they held up everyone's headshots to get a "yes" or "no" on callbacks and when they held up mine I guess some directors asked if they'd seen me. Oh. Not good. Apparently I didn't look enough like my head shot that day. Thankfully my friend reminded them. But it did worry me. Am looking into a getting a different head shot that hopefully looks more "me".

An Evening with Mr. Lee

Once again, I took part in an event sponsored by the Museum of the Moving Image. This time it was an evening with Ang Lee and James Schamus w/ special intro from Joan Allen.

Even though Joan Allen was not thrown into the program at the last minute, her nervousness and scattered intro made it seem like it was. Perhaps she thought she was better @ wingin' it than she really is?!

At any rate, she pointed out that it had been 10 years since she worked with Ang Lee and "The Ice Storm". She repetitively used the word "perfect" in her experience and subsequent viewing of the film. She talked about how Ang had the "family" walk together across the set as to achieve a family "gait". A detail that many may not notice - in real life or the film - but the practice certainly bonded them. She also said that all the actors had about 2 weeks prior to filming to get to know their characters and were given a 70s "bible" that Ang put together that gave history, fads, fashion, etc for the decade in which the movie would take place. Joan said that not many directors allow time for the actors to do research on their characters like that - typically you are on your own, which generally means it doesn't happen.

As soon as Joan was done talking she waved her goodbyes to Ang and took off. Ang and James came on stage and it was pointed out that James' father and Wei Tang from "Lust, Caution" were watching from the audience.

As usual the moderator for these events was hit and miss but some enlightening tidbits did come out in between the various move clips that were shown...

- Ang won't do a film unless it gives him fear. He referred to some scripts he gets as "battleships" that no matter who directed or starred in them, they would survive. Those scripts he has no interest in. He wants a challenge.

- Besides fear, Ang is also big into Sight & Sound. A script that speaks to him that way is a keeper. He talked about reading the book, "The Ice Storm" and the minute he read the scene about the boy getting electrocuted he could see the scene playing out in a movie and knew he had to do it. (The first time I saw that movie that was the scene that stood out to me, sad but amazing.)

- Typically the humor in his scripts come from James.

- When James assisted with the script for "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" he had trouble getting the Chinese family dynamic right so he decided to write it from his Jewish family perspective and Ang was surprised to discover the similarities!

- When first starting in the industry he was heavy handed with playing the "foreigner" card. Even when he did understand actor's requests he would pretend not to - and got along much better with them because of it! ;)

- Emma Thompson approached Ang about directing "Sense & Sensibility" after she saw "The Wedding Banquet". James and Ang weren't sure about taking on such a project until they discovered a line that was used in "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" was also used by Emma in her script with no knowledge of that movie. They decided it was a sign and committed to the project.

- Ang Lee wore the motion suit that was the template for The Hulk's movements. A scene where he smashes up the chemist lab he said was fun because he was able to take out any aggressions he had concerning his wife's occupation as a microchemist and the time it kept her away from home.

- James & Ang knew "Hulk" was doomed from the start when they saw "Spiderman". It sent the precedent and promoters wanted to market "The Hulk" as the same kind of movie, even though it wasn't.

Oh Christmas Tree...

A coworker and I decided to head to the Rockefeller Godiva Chocolates location to get a free sample of chocolate over our lunch. After braving drizzle-y weather we made it there to get a small bite o chocolate and a gulp of hot chocolate. We lingered in the area and looked at what Xmas decorations were starting to be put up and then we walked outside just as they were unloading the Rockefeller Xmas tree! What timing!!! It is hard to see in the pic but every branch was heavily wrapped for the trip. (And to think we would have totally missed it if it wasn't for Godiva Chocolates! ;))

You can see how they've progressed with the tree since our siting on my friend's blog.

Free Beauty and More Celeb Sitings

Discovered a freebie event that beauty.com was hosting to promote their website. An all day makeover/freebie giveaway!

I had some time to kill between work and rehearsal so thought I'd buzz over there quick to check it out. Although there was a crowd there, there wasn't as many people as I expected. I got my bag of goodies (which included rather sizeable samples of Grace by Philosophy, Phtyo and Murad) and then checked out where the smallest lines were for makeovers. ;)

Got a "morning makeover" with just the basic makeup applied (no color - just fresh face look). A gal standing in line with me was very much into small talk as she asked me where I heard about the event, where I worked, talked about the weather, etc. When I got to the makeup artist he started complaining about how tired he was and muttering about Asians. I made a face as the gal I had been talking to was Asian and could hear him. He responded with a shrugged off attitude. I wasn't sure what to make of it until I realized my hearing sucks and he said AGENTS not ASIANS. Good Grief!

Unfortunately, I didn't have time for any other makeovers. They had an apparently famous hair stylist there giving free haircuts (he had an assistant to hold hair for him as he did his thang). Had I not had rehearsal I would have gladly stood in line to take advantage of that, but alas...

Heading over to rehearsal I ran into a people jam and muttered to myself as I tried to figure out what the holdup was. It was the opening night of Young Frankenstein: The Musical! In an attempt to not make myself part of the jamming problem I tried to keep a decent pace as I peeked thru to see who was being interviewed. I caught a glimpse of Lauren Graham and before I ran into someone I decided to focus forward and happened to catch Paul Simon and his son walking in the "normal people" part of the crowd! Not sure if it was just coincidence he was on the street during that time or if he was headed to the show too but just didn't want a media blitz. He's looking old - but at least he hasn't attempted surgery to make him not look that way. I'm all for looking old and REAL. Not fake young. Bleh.

I arrived at rehearsal to find out that one of the actors was switched out with just about a week til showtime! On the surface the switch seems to be for the better, hopefully it will be...

Dinner @ the Trailer Park

While doing some sort of random google search (I think it had to do with the best burgers in NYC) I found a restaurant in Chelsea called Trailer Park Lounge. More importantly, I found that the restaurant had cheaper burger & beer night (Mon & Tues) than the local go-to burger & beer spot in Astoria - McCann's (Tues night).

So my friend and I decided to check it out. Although as a whole we like the overall burger & beer choices at McCann's better, you can't beat the atmosphere @ Trailer Park Lounge! (Velvet Elvis is prominent.)

Instead of regular fries, they offer tots or sweet potato fries and even have canned champagne on the menu. The people next to us had some very yummy smelling nachos that are a must for a return visit. :)

On the way home (or rather to the subway stop) we passed the famous Hotel Chelsea. After seeing Syd & Nancy, this NYC site seemed rather surreal to see in real life. It DOES exist. And oh, the many stories it holds...

Proof

A friend had a spare ticket to see the Astoria Performing Arts presentation of "Proof" and asked if I wanted to go.

I had submitted to audition for the show and never got called in so was interested in seeing who was chosen and admittedly expecting to be blown away. I had seen Baby D's production of "Proof" a few years ago so I was also curious to compare/contrast the two.

My friend told me on the way there that the stage is actually in the corner of a gym. The space is curtained off so you don't immediately catch on to this fact but the thought did spark memories of high school productions that were performed in a gym. ;)

A quick glance at the program showed that all of the actors (except 1) had gone to the same college as the director - it pays to know people. The play began and I was disappointingly underwhelmed. My friend wrote a review for the show which I think perfectly captures the show.

When the show was over, it made me all the more frustrated that just because a production is in New York means it is automatically "better" on a resume than one in say...Omaha no matter what the actual quality is. Sigh. That being said, I know there is good, bad and ugly in every city when it comes to theatre productions but after seeing "Proof" here, it just impresses me all the more about the shows that were produced in Omaha as a whole. If only there was a way to teleport some of the nose-turner-uppers here to those shows and "wow" them.

Already?!

A DAY after Halloween, I walk off the subway to see Holiday decorations are already strung up in the streets of Astoria. What the &@%$?!

Hey folks! Remember Thanksgiving? You know...that holiday that MACY'S has a parade for? Oh yeah....I forgot, that parade is only held so Santa can be brought out at the end. I feel sorry for good ol' T-day. PC or not I deem it the Red-Headed Stepchild of Holidays. Always the bridesmaid never the bride that T-day. Oh sure, you can use the day to gorge yourself on tasty treats and then take a nap in front of the tv while watching football but you better not party late on T-day or else you might miss out on all the early morning sales the day after! T-day must feel so used.

And don't even get me started on the fact that they had HALLOWEEN candy in the stores as early as August! Really?! Kids have a hard enough time with the whole "time" concept and patience in the first place and you're really going to start in on Halloween before school even starts? "Mom is it time for me to dress up like Bob the Builder yet?!" No dear, that's still a few months away. "How about NOW?!" No, dear. "Now?!" No...but here's some Halloween candy anyway.

I digress on my holiday rant. I need some pumpkin pie.... ;)