Sunday - the day of sweet unrest

Sunday is a day of rest for most people. For At the Table, our Equity day off every week is on Mondays, and back at Xavier we usually have rehearsal on the weekends, so I am used to going into work. What I was not expecting today was to see absolutely no difference in foot traffic or commuters in Manhattan this weekend. The subway was PACKED this morning and it was PACKED this evening and it was the same deal on Saturday. The sheer number of people you walk down the street with every day is astonishing. Of course I knew there were 8 million people in New York when I moved here, but I guess knowing that fact and actually seeing what it looks like are two very different things.

So anyway. Weekends don't slow down a New York morning even in the slightest. We had rehearsal at 11 today, so I didn't have to rush out like normal, and I thought I was taking my time this morning, but apparently it wasn't enough. First thing that happened involved me slicing my thumb open - yeah, I know. I was cutting some lemons and oranges for my water bottle this morning (like I do almost every morning) and I missed a lemon. Big beautiful gush of blood immedately, a good quarter of an inch-long, half-moon laceration on space at the top of your thumb between the top of the thumb and the finger-print. Super inconvenient. After making sure that I didn't need stitches and trying not to panic (yeah, I called my mom), I ran out the door to grab the train downtown.

For a first time New Yorker, I think I have done amazingly well with the Subway all things considered. But of course, today had to be the day that I get off at the wrong stop. Of course this would happen the day I decided I was ready to give myself just the exact right of time to get there rather than getting downtown a half hour earlier than I needed to be (as I have been doing to be safe). I got off the subway at 42nd & 7th instead of 34th & 7th. While on paper it's not that far - it requires a good 10 minutes more to walk from 42nd & 7th (where I got off this morning) to 36th & 8th (where I work). It takes even longer when you consider that 42nd & 7th is in the MIDDLE OF TIMES SQUARE AND IT WAS A SUNDAY MORNING. *Monkey covering his face emoji* times a thousand. So that happened.

A brighter part of my morning was getting to talk to Jacob and Annie! For those of you who may not know this, Jacob and Annie are two of my best friends' beautiful children. They are also the light of my life. Jacob is a HUGE fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so the fact that Auntie Nicole was moving to New York for the summer, where the Ninja Turtles live, has been a big deal. This morning I sent Jacob (well really his mom, since he's four) a photo of the subway track, showing him that I was close to the Ninja Turtles' house and he thought this was just the greatest thing. He immediately called me to ask me about it. It made my day! I then got to talk to Annie (who is 2) and she wanted to remind me that Jesus died on the cross...thanks for the reminder, princess. Hahaha even Gabe (Jacob and Annie's 9 month old brother) "talked to me" on the phone, except really I just think he wanted to eat. At least this conversation kept a smile on my face while I was running through Times Square to get to work!

Gabe, Jacob, & Annie

Casa De Ninja Turtles

Rehearsal was great today! We read through a new version of Act II and discussed some more changes going forward. I especially enjoyed today's rehearsal as I'm finally starting to fit in a little better with everyone. I feel better about speaking up and talking more, which is good. We had a lot of very, very funny moments in rehearsal today. I laughed A LOT. This cast is just so fun and so talented and so welcoming. I just love being in rehearsal with them every day.

After work today, Ben, Aaron, Craig, Rachel, Elizabeth and I went to Houndstooth for some beers and food. It was SO much fun! It's kind of incredible to me how smart these people are and it's so fascinating to be able to talk to them and learn from them every day. - I realize I keep saying things like this but I'm still floored that I get to hang out with and learn from all these people - We had a great time! On my way to the subway on the way home I stopped for a minute and looked to my right - Madison Square Garden all lit up in Rangers red, white and blue -, then looked to my left - The Empire State Building with its lights just starting to come on - and just listened to the cabs honking behind me and all of the 8 million people milling around me. It felt like a TV show! I just feel so lucky and I don't want to lose sight of that.

Tomorrow marks my first day off since I've been here, which I plan on celebrating by sleeping in and possibly doing some shoe shopping (hehehe)! I'm sure some exploring will be thrown in there so if I get a post up tomorrow it'll probably be a short one. Good news is someone is back on their toes today and we have a quote of the day again! Hooray! It's also very fitting to my life right now and made me smile. So enjoy that and this photo of the Empire State Building that I took on my walk to the subway today. Happy Monday!

Quote of the day: "When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of the two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." - NOT Khalil Gibran - Edward Teller

The empire State Building