Out w/ the Old, In w/ the New

So my old roommate (in pic) is moving out and my new one should be moving in soon. When I moved in I was never really sure what was truly my roommate's items and what was left by the roommate I moved in to replace.

I soon discovered that most of the kitchen supplies would not be staying and lamented about the debate to restock or hope the new roommate has somethings, etc to a couple of my co-workers. Since I have brought baked goods in, they took the fact that I didn't have a lot of cooking supplies to heart and actually got people to pitch in money at the office so they could go to Jack' s World and get me some pots,pans and the like. When they presented it to me they said that there was no pressure to continue bringing goodies to work, none @ all - wink. I couldn't believe it - it was very nice.

Then when I came back from lunch I had a box waiting for me. My mom had sent me a package and inside was 4 dozen Eileen's cookies!!! A card inside explained that it was for May Day and to share w/my co-workers. Even though it arrived a day ahead of May Day I went ahead and sent out an email explaining the source of the cookies that would be available in the kitchen and was totally shocked by how many people didn't know or hadn't heard of May Day! So the midwest girl further educates the easterners on things they should really have known already! ;)

And I FINALLY made it my first movie preview in NYC and actually managed to get in!
A big Iron Man preview event was happening @ the same theatre but I was there to see Son of Rambow. Much like Millions, it is a sweet family film and another take on "you can't judge a book by its cover".

Leaving the Midwest

Already it is time to head back.

We made time for breakfast @ the Lakefront Alterra again and drove a good length of Lake Michigan on the way to the airport.

When I got my driver's license checked @ the airport the guy kept tilting it and at first I thought something was wrong but they he said it was trippy. He hadn't seen an NY license before I guess.

I looked around at the giftshops inside the airport to see if there was a cute shirt or item to get but all I found was shirts w/ the sausages raising on it and and ones that said "Nothing Tips Like A Cow". No wonder those that don't grow up in the midwest have a skewed impression of us.

More to see in Milwaukee!

Rise and shine!

My friend's bf joined us for the first part of the day and we decided to eat breakfast at a local coffee house chain - Alterra. From what I understand the lake front location we stopped @ was the most impressive set up. The chain is very environmentally conscious (so was Lakefront Brewery) and I kind of wished I could put the store in my back pocket to take back to NYC - great breakfast selection and coffee. Midwest actually serves Alterra coffee on their flights. (pic 32 on this link.)

After breakfast we went to the Pabst Mansion for a tour. The gift shop/start of the tour takes place in what was formerly a Beer Garden that was first displayed at the Chicago World's Fair. (Where he won a Blue Ribbon-thus the moniker attached to the beer...) Pabst brought it back and attached it to his house after the Fair. It was later converted into a small chapel when priests took over the ownership of the house but eventually they are hoping to raise money to convert it back and actually make it a functioning beer garden again.

The house has had a lot of restoration done to it already - gold foil accents re-added/revealed under paint, parquet wood floors restored that had been carpeted over, original fabric designs for wall and furniture being recreated in China and sent over, etc but there is still LOTS left to do. And in addition to the restoration they are trying to track down the original furnishings and paintings. Quite a time and money consuming task.

Some interesting highlights from the tour include - fire places that were in nearly every room but not functional. They were just for looks. Secret compartments in the humidor of Pabst's smoking/business room, lots of reference to his German Heritage including 4 sayings on his smoking room displayed on the ceiling as well as work ethic related ones directed at the help in the kitchen. We were told the Pabsts were quite the philanthropists, too.

Over 40 mansions stood in the area in the height of booming industry now only 4 remain. Pabst Mansion is the only one still functioning as a home of sorts the shells still exist for the others but they have been converted into businesses and the like. Before people banded together and took out several loans to save the mansion, a business man who had bought up the area and already replaced Pabst's stable area w/ parking was going to do the same w/the building. Thankfully that didn't happen, but it is a shame to think about how many historic sites thruout our country have not been saved and replaced by lesser things. Radio City Music Hall was nearly one of them, too.

We couldn't take pics inside but you can see 2 pics from the outside on this link- 33 & 34.

My friend's bf had to go to work so as he was work bound we were Eisner Museum bound. The musuem is modest in size but displays many examples of the best work in advertising and design thru the decades. Big Boy greeted us as we entered and there were many interactive displays where you could listen to radio ads, watch tv ads and view interactive websites. (See pics 35-38)

It was time to eat again before my friend headed to the matinee show. We went to Miss Katie's Diner. They boast quite a celebrity/political list of people who have eaten their food. Their menu says that Hillary Clinton had scrambled eggs & cornbeef hash and an article Rachel Ray wrote about the place is posted on a wall - she tried the 3 cheese omelet. I thought the food was probably better than the night before but it was nothing I was overly wowed about.

The diner had a standee of Hillary and at first we wondered if it was life size - wondering if the height was accurate. After comparing to our own height we thought it was probably accurate and then my friend thought we might as well take pictures which you can see on 39 & 40.

While my friend was @ her matinee I wandered Milwaukee a bit more and checked out an indoor farmer's market. There were a few things I would have taken back w/ me but they would have been a form of liquid so I knew it wouldn't get past security on my carryon. :(

Time for the show! Since the "caberet" area my friend performs in serves food it is more like a dinner theatre. While I waited for the show to start, I tried another local rootbeer by Sprecher. (see pic here) It is better than Lakefront's rootbeer but not sure if it is better than Upstreams.

The show was fun and since it is a 50s revue the crowd gets into it and everyone seems to enjoy themselves. My friend has said that she's gotten lots of comments from audience members who share their memories of that time w/ her. (See pics of the set and publicity poster.)

After the show we met up w/my friend's bf again and headed to Safe House. It is a speakeasy, spybar type place that you have to know a password to get into. Well, you still get in if you don't know the password but not before having to do something silly like dance a weird dance or something - of course a camera is on you so the people inside can watch!

Anway...we got over there and there was a line. Then we found out there would be a $4 cover. Not bad by NYC standards but back in the midwest it did give a person pause especially since we didn't know how long we'd have to wait. My friend's bf convinced us to stay and we are glad he did.

We whispered what we were told the password was by locals that worked w/ my friend into the door person's ear and thankfully got in w/out any craziness. Once inside it is a maze of nooks, halls, doors, beaded curtains and lots of various spy and celeb stuff to look @ on the walls. (See pics 44-51) It made me wonder if there was anything close to that in NYC - you'd think there would be but...perhaps Milwaukee is unique w/the set up.

By the time we got in and toured around we were more hungry than thirsty and unfortunately Safe House doesn't serve food. So we sat for a bit to people watch and then left to find a place to eat.

After a bit of debate, pizza sounded like an okay idea. So we went to the Pizza Shuttle only to be frisked upon entry! Yikes - must not be the best place to go after dark. We managed to get our pizza to go and leave w/out incident but we agreed that was the first time any of us had been frisked before ordering pizza.

And now...bed.

Brewers & Breweries

Right before I took off for Milwaukee I discovered that "Major League" was actually filmed in Milwaukee, not Cleveland. Alas, the stadium they filmed at no longer exists but Bob Uecker is still in the community and still announcing @ the new Brewers Stadium/Miller Park.

My friend and I ended up being the only 2 on a tour of the stadium. Our seasoned tourguide (she has given tours ever since the new stadium opened in 2001) had a tourguide-in-training following her - I really hope she gets to go around more than once because there's a lot to remember!

Here were some bits I managed to remember long enough to write down afterwards....

-There is 8 miles of tubing that carries the beer thru out the stadium.
-There is no "off season" for the stadium as many of the club houses are built to host meetings or special events. The Gehl Club House has lighting that can be customized to whatever color you want it to be. Although the prices for tickets to these areas seemed like a lot, they sounded fairly reasonable compared to the prices I heard @ Fenway. And Fenway didn't even have customized lighting! ;)
-It started to pour after our tour started and the tourguide commented that they must have closed the dome, not because she actually saw the dome closed, but because she noticed the change in lighting on the field.
-Photos of all the Major League Fields past and present are hung thruout the stadium. The older pics have color added only to the grass areas to highlight the fields.
-This logo is more than just a baseball glove - do you see the "m" and the "b"?
-I saw they had Sausage t-shirts and toys in the giftshop and had forgotten that THIS was the stadium that the sausage races occurred in. I asked about the incident that occurred a while back and was told the gal that was hit still has knee problems from her fall. The tourguide said that you never know who may be racing in the Sausages because sometimes the relief pitchers from the other team will ask to run or she said if the Sausages have nice legs it is probably the player's wives! She added that they try to always put a male in The Chorizo though because he is top heavy and hard to balance.
-We got to sit in Bob Uecker's chair (see pics referred to further down). He is 75 years old and has been w/ the Brewers for over 50 years. When they honored him for his time he said he hoped to be there for 50 more. He used to put a sign saying "Bob Uecker's Chair" on his chair but after several times of it getting stolen he stopped.
- Mr. 3000 was filmed @ the new stadium, however they used a different stadium for the background on the movie poster.
-Typically the tour included a view of the Visitor's Locker room but since it was a gameday our tourguide said we couldn't since players may be roaming there already. :(

***Pics 1-10 on this link will give you more info on the stadium in the captions.***

Once the tour was over there was no time for lingering in the main gift shop (which was kind of a bummer as they had a display of autographed baseballs in there called "Autograph Alley") we had to get to Miller Brewery for our next tour!

The Land of Miller is not that far away from the stadium so we made it there w/ time to pose w/ giant cardboard cutouts of Miller bottles (see pics 11 & 12 on this link and the other tour pics/captions thru 22.)

Thanks to a short film we watched at the beginning of the tour we now know that couches are made for Miller Time! Who knew?! ;)

Since we took our time enjoying our 3 free samples of beer and filling out some postcards, we lost out on our window for lunch. Oops. So, thankfully the waitress offered us an extra pack of pretzels (we were the last of our group left in the Miller Inn) and she also gave us a map to the next brewery we were going to! (She also mapped out a place to stop for lunch but once again, no time.) How nice is that?!

Our next brewery stop was Lakefront - more of a "mom & pop" brewery as the beer waste Miller produces in a day is equal to their standard beer production in a day. Unlike the Miller Tour this tour was not free, but you did get samples and a pint glass to take home afterwards and you got to take the samples along for the tour and fill up again halfway thru! So this tour was a lot more laid back and oddly full of innuendo - bung hole talk(dealing w/ how they fill their kegs), yeast sex and semi-drunk people laughing @ every bit of it. Note - my friend and I decided to buffer by having Lakefront's Rootbeer (made w/ Maple Syrup) as our first sample before diving in again! ;) Pics/captions for the tour can be seen here - 23-34.

Our next stop was somewhere to eat! The Rock Bottom Brewery & Restaurant worked well - we were starving! Got an appetizer (Titan Toothpicks) so we could nosh on something before our meals and then of course we couldn't finish our meals. ;)

Time kept ticking and my friend had to report to the theatre to prep for her show. I would be seeing her show tomorrow night as she got me a ticket to another show @ the theatre (Armadale - a show making it's premiere @ the theatre) that was having it's opening night w/ a gala of appetizers and drinks afterwards. Nice!

The show was fantastic! Very well acted (the actors had several characters to switch in and out of) and cleverly staged. I hope Milwaukee Rep doesn't have exclusive rights to the show as I think it would do well at other venues - yes, Omaha Playhouse I'm talking to you! :)

To the land of Laverne & Shirley

After work I hurried home to grab my luggage and get a ride to LaGuardia so I could fly to Milwaukee!

I have a friend who is earning her Equity Card by doing a show @ the Milwaukee Rep and I decided to go visit her and see the show!

Since Milwaukee is the hub for Midwest I was able to take my first non-stop flight there and also enjoy some fresh baked cookies - yum! ;)

My friend and her bf picked me up @ the airport and as we headed to a diner to eat, it was interesting to see how certain parts of Milwaukee resembled downtown O. My friend agreed. There are so many interesting/cool looking buildings in this city. (And yes, I know that may be weird to point that out when I live in NYC but sometimes the buildings in NYC are hard to fully appreciate because they are so tall and scrunched together that you only see what is @ eye level. In Milwaukee the buildings had space and were okay w/ not competing to be the tallest in the world. ;) )

We got to the 24 hr diner - Ma Fischers - and ran into 2 things that we were generally not used to - the waitress asked us if we wanted smoking or non and we had to pre-pay our meal! I've heard of pre-paying gas after a certain hour, but meals?! The place must have been prone to dine & dashers - should have asked how long the policy had been in place. The portions were huge but good for diner food. Needless to say, I had breakfast covered for the next morning. :)

The Rep provided housing for my friend in a hotel/apartment building. So you get long term living in an environment where housekeeping tidies up for you and provides clean towels! Plus it is w/in reasonable walking distance from the theatre. Not a bad set up @ all!

Gotta get to bed - we've got breweries to visit tomorrow! ;)

As Seen on GMA

A week or so ago my boss mentioned something to me about a spa machine being set up in the office because he was doing a friend a favor and Good Morning America was going to film a segment.

Cut to the spa machine actually arriving. It was quite the process to deliver and set it up due to our cubicle set up and the fact that they had to load it up w/ gallons upon gallons of water (using buckets filled from our kitchen sink) - the machine massages using water pressure. Then the electrician had to come and hook everything up and after a few days of this, it was finally running! (Except for the aroma therapy as a partner didn't think that it was necessary to have it connected - I'm sure there's more to that story but that's the info I got.)

Since I'm the "actress" in the office my supervisor, boss and co-namesake of the firm all asked me separately if I'd like to be the "spokesperson" for the segment. They told me I didn't have to but knew I acted so thought it may be something I'd be interested in. Of course I was up for it but really didn't know what would be involved or what to wear, etc.

Tuesday afternoon the camera crew, rep & creator of the spa machine and a GMA reporter came to the offices and set up and chatted up a co-worker that is smaller, blonder and has an accent. I could tell they wanted to use her, but felt corned to use me as others in the office kept saying that I was "the actress". So once everything was set up, they used us both.

First, they had us line up w/ other men in the office as if we were waiting in line to use the spa. Then the reporter is supposed to brush by to cut in. We were supposed to be mad that she cut.

Then they wanted to do q&a w/ users of the spa and said they needed someone bubbly and positive. One co-worker pointed out the co-worker of GMA choice and another co-worker said, "Nora's an actress...she can be bubbly!" (Because I'm not normally I'd have to act it - har!)

Anyway, they took her in promising that they'd get to me. The reporter tells the co-worker of choice that she looks beautiful and later says how much she liked her soundbite. Then when it was my turn it was like - okay, get in here. And of course by this time I had totally psyched myself so I felt like my answers were less than stellar and when I was done the reporter said, "There's always an actress in every office. But you actually act, right? I mean, you've been in shows?!" Yes...I have.... Later another co-worker told me that she thought the reporter was pretty but then she heard her on the phone and changed her mind.

When they were all packed up and ready to leave the reporter told the co-worker of choice that she should watch for the segment on Thursday and then when she came by my desk she flatly said - thanks.

So, after all the hoopla the segment is shown in the last minutes of GMA this morning and NO INTERVIEWS were included in the segment! Sheesh. BUT you can see the back of my head in the spa and me standing in line. ;)

Will see how much longer we get to keep the spa now...it really is nice, but you MUST wear the headset as it is LOUD too. Could easily fall asleep in there so the visuals you see as you lie in it really don't do a lot for me.

Journey to the gym

It's Saturday mid-morn and I'm making the trek to the gym when what do I see?

A mass of people over a block long holding signs in the middle of the street w/ police cars parked near.

What are they protesting? I think to myself.

As I get closer I notice kids...in uniforms...and their signs aren't of protest, they are announcing their team names! LOL! It's a parade of all the area t-ball, softball and little league players - w/ their coffee toting parents!

I continue on and nearly run into Darth Maul!

Well, at least it was a guy dressed up as Darth Maul and a friend dressed up as a character I didn't immediately recognize - am assuming they're headed to the NYC Comic Con?

When I do make it to the gym I have a gentleman more than double my age approach me as I'm using a machine and start telling me how I need to push myself to my limit on the machine to get the most out of the workout. Simple exercises - he mimed tossing something from one hand to another - are therapy. He then said he wasn't a trainer. (In my defense - I was using the machine to warm up, which I told him but I think he was determined to get his message across because that didn't sway him.) And then he went back to his workout but kept his eye on me. I moved to a machine out of eyesight and put on my headphones.

What an odd morning.

Number Crunching

I have eaten @ McDonald's maybe a half dozen times since seeing Super Size Me a couple years ago. So I've lost track of what's on their Dollar Menu, what the meal deal #s are, etc.

Needless to say when I caved to satisfying a Hot Mustard craving - which naturally requires ordering nuggets & fries I was informed that ordering 2 4pc nuggets from the Dollar Menu is cheaper than ordering a 6pc. I thanked the McDonald's employee for sharing her knowledge w/ me and am now sharing it w/ the world! (Or whoever reads this and buys McNuggets from McDonalds.)

Go Figure!

Wandering B&N today and the May cover of "Every Day w/ Rachel Ray" caught my eye. I've never gotten it before and questioned the actual need to get it but enough headlines seemed interesting to me that I thought I'd make the investment.

Found some good recipes to dog ear for potential future use as I flipped thru and then on page 171 there was a Q&A where readers can ask Rachel a question. What made me pause in my flipping was a picture of The Foos on this page. Why are they pictured in a Rachel Ray Mag?! I read on....

Question - If you weren't in the food industry, what would you choose as a career?

Answer - I can't imagine my life in any other business - though I would love to be a Foo Fighters groupie!

What?! Really?! I never see her show and immediately wondered if they had ever been on there! How crazy is that?! I am no Rachel Ray expert but I would not look @ her and say she must be a Foos fan. Although...I probably don't visually scream Foos fan either. However, that does pose the question...what does a "typical" Foos fan look like? Hmmmm...

Anyway, now I have to say that instead of feeling indifference when it comes to Rachel Ray I do have a little more respect for her and want to be friends with her so we can get backstage tickets to the next show they play in NYC....kidding, sort of. ;)

Agent Workshop

Went to another workshop tonight to get some one on one w/ an agent.

The agent/owner of the talent agency introduced herself, told a little about her agency and then had a Q&A.

I found out that although they are looking for theater talent, it is easier to place non-union musical actors than straight play actors. Sadness.

She said that it is important to learn what your "type" is so when you are seeking representation you can communicate that to them so they know what kind of characters to look for w/ you in mind.

She stressed that agents are meant to do the negotiating and act as a liaison between the actor and the production heads. That's their job - the idea is that the agent looks like the "bad guy" then, not you.

After the Q&A we were all cleared out so we could go in separately to have one on one w/ the agent and perform a monologue.

I was the first one in! I performed my monologue and she seemed to like it. She asked questions about my experience and brought up voiceover work - asking if I had a demo. Ugh. I really need to get that taken care of. She liked my "attitude" headshot and asked if I'm looking to play quirky characters. (Honey, I'll play any character I can get cast for! lol.) Then she said that she can't base a lot on just seeing me do 1 monologue so suggested I keep her in the loop on future performances (and send her a demo) so she can see me flex my acting muscles more. Overall it seemed to be a positive meeting but when dealing w/ agents - ultimately it is better if you have your Equity Card. I'm still trying to figure out how to even get cast in something that will give me points towards Equity! All in good time....right?!

Since I finished early I happened to run into a couple co-stars from Office Hours waiting to go see a show that a former co-star from Spring Shorts was in. It was opening night! I was talked into joining (a free ticket can really talk! ;)) and well, the actor we knew did well but the script needed severe editing - it really didn't need to be as long as it was and the devastating thing is that it had been published! How does that happen?! The premise was promising but the storyline seemed to freeze in motion w/ excess dialogue @ times. Some of the direction choices were interesting, too - lots of talking straight out to the audience when I'm not sure it was always necessary or effective. There was also confusion w/ when the play took place as it was written in the 80s w/ 80s references but then some lines were updated to make it seem like the present but yet...not ALL timeframe related lines were changed so...???

Needless to say, I was glad I didn't pay for the show but I was glad I saw it - I've found that no matter the individual review on a show, you can always take/learn something from the experience. Or @ least that is what I try to do! :)

The Country Girl

A week or so ago I got an email from Starbucks about "Something Big" happening in Bryant Park and apparently at all Starbucks. What could it be?!

Yesterday I found a posting on slickdeals that said it was to reveal their new coffee blend and give out samples. Oh. Not as exciting as I had thought it would be, but was still curious about the event in Bryant Park.

Tried to take a break to coincide w/ the start of the "event" but that didn't happen. So I wandered over during my lunch to see if there were any remnants left and discovered several carts set up serving the coffee sample as well as a makeshift Starbucks store (Later I saw that CNBC actually did an interview w/ one of the Starbucks bigwigs in there.)

Even though I'm not a straight up coffee person I still decided to sample the free beverage w/ heavy aid from sugar and milk. Eh. I'm still not a coffee person. ;)

A co-worker from the branch in San Fran was in town for training so we went over to Vynl for dinner & drinks after work. I have to say, Vynl has a very good selection of food (even their breakfast menu) - and tasty! Considering it is kind of a novelty restaurant, that is saying a lot!

Then we split ways as I had a ticket to see a preview show of "The Country Girl" w/ Peter Gallagher, Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand and directed by Mike Nichols. The first Broadway show I saw was another play by Clifford Odets (Awake and Sing!) so beyond seeing the "name" actors I was eager to see another play of his performed.

2 downers right off the bat. One set piece slanted towards the corner that was out of sight from my view so I was unable to see the entrances and exits for those scenes and see that part of the seemingly simple, yet impressive set. The 2nd downer is that I was behind a person who's head (more specifically his fluffy follicles) always seemed to be directly in my eyeline. Sigh.

The scene changes were helped by a seemingly endless curtain that would move from left to right (and right to left) instead of up and down. I wondered if this was a new(er) idea? I liked it!

Moving beyond that to the acting - Peter Gallagher is fantastic! I really think he'd be a good actor to work w/ - someone that would be willing to help you be a better actor and you could learn a lot from. Morgan Freeman seemed miscast and fumbled w/ lines at times but in some ways I guess that worked for the character. Frances McDormand's portrayal of the country girl - reminded me of mix between the mother she played in Almost Famous and Miss Pettigrew in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I'm not sure that was totally right for the part as it lent to zero chemistry w/ Freeman and Gallagher. She tripped over some lines, too and had trouble w/ a set door that wouldn't close. I guess that's why they have previews!

It was humbling to see these big stars having the same trouble I do on stage sometimes - it just goes to show that in someways live theater puts everyone on a more level playing field so to speak - everyone has to get it right the first time. There are no edits or multiple takes.

The final moment of the show is either inspired by the Playbill cover or the cover was inspired by it - not sure. Cool how it tied together!

Overall, it was disappointing though. I'd suggest "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" over this show but if you can get a deal on tickets it IS worth it to see Gallagher's performance and to just follow the Odet's storyline and listen to his use of words.

Baby Shower, Boiling Water and a Callback

Our director for Phare Play is VERY pregnant and I got to go to her surprise baby shower on Sunday @ Yum Yum Bangkok. And she was indeed surprised!

My experience w/ Thai food is limited so anything I ordered would be a new discovery, but the thing I discovered that I'm HIGHLY recommending to anyone that has the opportunity to try it is Thai Tea! I really don't know what all is in it but it sure is tasty - even if the orange color may be a bit concerning. ;)

As I was headed to the subway, post-shower, I got a call from a director affiliated w/ a PA Playhouse I had previously auditioned for and been called back for. She wanted me to come in and read for another show. I went home, printed out the emailed sides and then headed back in for our final show of Office Hours.

Ever since we've been in this space we've noticed a bucket nearly overflowing w/ dripping water from a pipe in our cramped dressing/set storage area. Another leak had been discovered in a side stage nook that one of the actors sits in for a scene during the show and when the owner was asked about it he said there wasn't a leak. Oh-kay... Well...the "non-leak" which happened to be of the boiling water variety, reared it's ugly head again and the actor was so distracted by it that he missed his cue line which left me and another actor stranded onstage trying to figure out what to say to kill time in hopes that he would respond soon. Of course, we didn't know he was being pelted w/ boiling water drips until after the show. Oh, the life of the non-paid, non-equity actor!

So, today I went to the callback over my lunch and I felt like it went well. I was asked to re-read one scene based off instruction the director gave me. If anything, I feel like the casting director at least is keeping me in mind (he referred me to this director and was the one that determined the original callbacks) so if I still don't get cast this time around maybe an opportunity will arise in the future...

Screwed! - kinda

My work day was April Fool's free and then I went to rehearsal...

On my way there I was walking along at a steady pace when all of sudden my pant leg was stepped on! I tried to proceed w/ forward motion not wanting to give the stepper attention - if they were seeking it - but whoever was stepping on my pant leg was not moving. Okay, wiseguy...I whip around to give whoever it is a piece of my mind and NO ONE IS THERE! But my pant leg is still not moving. Another tug and I realize it is caught on something in the cement - Oh great!, I think, It's probably gum! But no...it is a random screw sticking up in the sidewalk. No rhyme or reason as to why it is there and it is firmly planted in the cement. I briefly wonder if this isn't some elaborate April Fool's joke as I unhook my pant leg and look around, but then chalk it up to another strange NYC story and sigh w/ a thanks that I didn't rip a hole in my pants or actually begin to yell at the non-existent person before I saw they weren't there. ;)

A former roommate and her co-worker came to the show and we got a bite to eat @ Cosmic Diner afterwards. The guy seating told us they weren't seating groups of 3. What?! That's weird. We started to look @ each other in confusion when the guy announced it was an April Fools! Good one.

When I got home I saw that the review was posted. Very favorable and hopefully it will put more butts in the seats! :)