Officially a New Yorker

Well. Last week I thought I was a New Yorker, this week I realized that wasn't true, since I am definitely a New Yorker now. How do I know this? Ha, funny story...

For the long weekend I actually flew home to visit my parents for Memorial Day. It was their 23rd anniversary on Saturday and my cousin is about to leave for one of his ROTC training months, so it was a good weekend to go home. I also got to see my brother and his girlfriend Maddie off to prom, so that was fun too! My grandparents had no idea I was visiting for the weekend, and they were really really excited. I am their only grandaughter of three grandkids, and I am also the one who is home the least because of my work and school schedule. It was really great to spend sometime with them.

Momma, Grandpa, and Me preppring for the Cookout!

I flew out on Thursday night after rehearsal, and lemme tell ya - JFK International Airport is unlike ANYTHING I have ever seen. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but nothing could have prepared me for what I got. I've never seen a bigger place ever, ever, ever, never, ever, in my life (get the picture?). Just to put it into perspective for some of you, I flew JetBlue, which flies out of Terminal 5. Terminal 5 is larger than the ENTIRE Buffalo Niagara International Airport. It's just unbelievable. On my way to the airport I got my first view of the NY skyline lit up at night. It was absolutely breathtaking. I took a cab, since there is a flat rate to the airport no matter where in the city you are coming from. It was pretty convenient, though I did get nervous on the way there because you actually pass the LaGuardia Airport exits on the way to JFK and I was terrified I had told the cab driver the wrong airport for about ten minutes!

On my way back to Manhattan from the airport this morning, I decided to take the train since I had to go right to work and I didn't know what traffic would be like. Sigh - turns out my efforts to be on time were futile anyway. To get from Terminal 5 to Midtown Manhattan, it's pretty simple in theory: you take the AirTrain to the Jamaica, NY station, and then hop on the E train an get off at Penn Station, which is only one block further from our offices than my usual stop, not a big deal, right? Wrong. Very, very, very wrong. First off, JFK is doing some work on one of the train tracks, so only one track was opperational for trains that come to each stop every 5 minutes. While I landed in NYC around 8:05 this morning (25 minutes early), I didn't get to Jamaica until 9:10. Once I tried to move from the AirTrain to the subway, I discovered my unlimited monthly pass for the train didn't cover AirTrain fees - so I had to put more money on my card. Needless to say I was not pleased. I finally made my way to the train (I swear I must've walked a mile already at this point), where I had to wait for about 15 minutes since there were so many delays. Then, once I got on the train, we moved forward what couldn't have been more than a few blocks when the train stopped and everyone's favorite recording blasted through the train: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are delayed because of train traffic ahead of us. We thank you for your patience and apologize for the inconvenience". I swear I am not being dramatic, we stopped at each stop between Jamaica and Penn Station for at least five minutes. The 45 minute commute to Midtown turned into almost an hour. I didn't get to rehearsal until 10:05 AM. But that's okay, because I learned a lot and I was rewarded with an amazing rehearsal!

A packed Jamaica Station (Poor quality, sorry about that, but you get the idea)

Today's rehearsal began with a reading of the new Act II! Big shocker, everyone - Mikey Perlman has done it again. This latest draft is better than each one I've heard before. I was in stitches laughing in my seat. It was so great to be back in the room with everyone. I love being reminded of how talented this group of people is every day. It's such a gift to be able to work with them each day.

I got to go on another errand, today! It's kind of ridiculous how much I love this stuff, I get a huge kick out of it when someone feels guilty about asking me to go out and grab something for them. I had to run to the Apple Store on 5th Ave. today. Just to give you an idea, it's right across the street from Central Park, Louis Vuitton, Bergdorf's, and the Plaza (SWOON). The easiest way to get there from where I work is to walk over to Times Square, jump on the Q train, and take it to 5th & 59th (the second to last stop). It being just before mid-day, the trains weren't particularly crowded, so I figured this wouldn't be too complicated. WRONG. Very, very, very, very wrong. So I get on the Q train, and take it the two stops forward like I'm supposed to, and it's pretty obvious that around 75% of the people in my train car are getting off at my stop as well, but when the train doors open, our favorite announcer (ugh) says: "This is this train's last stop". Uh- WHAT? After a few moments of confusion, a man near me grabbed an MTA officer and asked if he got on the wrong train, to which the officer replied: "Oh, no you didn't. Sometimes this train just doesn't stop at that stop during the day and sometimes they forget to announce it" - GEE, THANKS. The train has spit me out at 7th & 57th, so now I had to do a lot of backtracking and I was very confused for a few minutes. Not to mention - it was 86 degrees out today. K, this is great, thanks Universe. I finally made it to the Apple Store, which was pretty freaking awesome if I may say. This particular Apple Store is a glass cube sitting in the middle of the street, and then you go down a plexi glass stair case into an underground store. I was in the store for all of two minutes before I popped back out the store, and grabbed the N train back to Times Square. WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY ENOUGH. But oh no, this train was ALSO DELAYED. We literally sat in the station for a good 7 minutes with the doors open before we left, then stopped again for train traffic, then went again, then stopped, and so on. It was a nightmare. By the time I got back I was drenched in sweat and exhausted. This whole trip took me about an hour and a half, and it should have taken only 45 minutes. This, this whole day right here was my first official day as a New Yorker. I loved every glorious, hot, frustrating minute of it.

*I Did not take this photo* But this is a photo of the entrance to the 5th avenue Apple Store at Night. It's quite beautiful.

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all those who serve in our military and their families who continue to make impossible sacrifices so that we may be free. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend with their families! Enjoy the extremely relevant quote of the day and have a great Wednesday!

Quote of the Day: "Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment." - Eckhart Tolle

"Eckhart Tolle is a German-born resident of Vancouver, Canada, best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world." - Wikipedia