2 posts in one week? Holy crap!

Today I went to the Martha Stewart Show with a friend from work. We schlepped to Chelsea (I got to walk past the famed Chelsea Hotel on my way there, I always think of Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin when I see that place) and stood outside in the freezing wind waiting to get inside the studio. Sometimes you forget that living in a giant city affords you new and interesting things to do, like visiting a live tv show taping if you so choose. So we did.

The studio was absolutely gorgeous inside. I have never, in all my acting and theatrical endeavors, seen a place so beautifully lit. Obviously, the Martha Stewart Empire is all about making things look good, and lemme tell you... there wasn't anything that looked bad in this lighting. Martha looked lovely as well and we got to watch segments about cooking rabbit ravioli (ew!), sewing a super-cute reversible purse, and acupuncture. It all went by pretty fast, but at one point I got a little prize (a lotion set) for being an enthusiastic audience member (even though all I did was sit there.) It was a fun thing to do. The tickets were free, and the show will air on April 29th. I think that's a Tuesday.

And in the "only in the New York" part of today's blog, I bring you this:

I was on the subway going to work the other day when an older man, reading a newspaper, leaned over and asked me in a thick accent if I spoke English. I nodded, and he pointed to the newspaper.

"What means this word: moonlighting?" he asked me.

I looked to where he was pointing, and it was an article about the recent horrible crane disaster here in the city. Several people were killed and lots of people are now homeless because of the accident. The article said that one of the crane operators was "moonlighting" in construction. I explained to the man that it meant that it meant it was his second job, the sort of thing you did part-time or for extra money.

This led to a brief but animated discussion of safety, sub-contracting, money and responsibility. I'm sure it would have gone on much longer had I not had to get off the train when I did. When I stood up and he saw my giant belly for the first time, he laughed out loud and told me congratulations. We said farewell and I left the train knowing that it's all too rare of a thing to have a real conversation with someone in a situation like that. So often, even in this giant city where we are all mashed up against one another, you forget that the person next you is, in some way, interesting and perhaps even brilliant.

dear lord, has it been THAT long?

This is about the time of year when the California Girl in me starts to get really, really sad that it's still winter here in New York. (It also happened when I lived in Chicago.) Whereas back home the daffodils are in full bloom, they are just *barely* peeking out of the earth here in cold New York.

It's the time of year when certain things start to grate on my nerves, like overly-perfumed, portly subway riders who seem to not mind of their hind quarters take up both their whole seat and most of mine. (I mention this only becaue for two days in a row on my way home from work, the SAME woman has done this to me. Ugh.) It's also the time of year when I think most New Yorkers are getting a little hint of a cabin fever of sorts... like we've all been in our homes with the windows shut for too long and it's starting to show.

In recent days, I have seen two clowns on the train. That in itself is enough to make one wonder if one is indeed going crazy.