Summer 2012

(Me walking the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time ever, after dinner at Grimaldi's with my cousin Ani - a photo of him + our pizza is further down.)

It's been a very busy summer this year, between big projects at work and lots of fun visitors coming through New York, I can't believe it's August already. I didn't post regularly, as promised, but life gets in the way sometimes.

Earlier in the summer, I decided that I needed to take my life back into my own hands, and I volunteered for an early morning shift at work. I started it about three weeks ago, and now that the jet lag period has faded, I'm feeling pretty grateful about my decision.

During the week, I'm getting up at 4am now, and arriving at work for a 5am start. I hit the ground running at work, but before I know it, half my shift is over. I am steadily busy, but I'd rather be working hard at the office than working constantly at home.

However, my confused Blackberry is starting to wonder if I'm still working at all? It's been a very tough habit to break, checking that vile thing every 2 minutes because something else is going to blow up if I don't put my two cents in. But my poor carpal-tunnel affected hands are thanking me profusely every day. In the evenings, I've had to answer one or two e-mails here and there, but it's nothing like the craziness and intensity of my previous shows.
This glorious shift has given me my personal time back, and I'm finding that even after I go to the gym, cook dinner, and straighten up my apartment, I've still got loads of free time in the evenings. Amazingly, I've been catching up on TV, reading BOOKS, and even taking care of those organizing tasks that I'd always said I'd do "when I have time."

So that leads me to ponder, what else can I do with all this extra free time now? Take classes? Volunteer? Go to a museum? See a movie? Date? Write a screenplay about bad dates? Well, I do live in New York City, and there is a lot of cool stuff to do here. I'm open to suggestions, folks. My only restriction is that I should try to be in bed by 10pm, which is really not entirely unreasonable for a grown-up, right?

Recap of this summer's highlights: 

• Saw the Space Shuttle Enterprise three times (1 - Flying around the city on the 747 that brought it to NY, 2 - In the hangar at JFK on my way to Chicago in May, 3 - On the Intrepid where it now lives, seen during a boating trip with co-workers.)


• Went to Chicago for a 50th anniversary party celebrating family friends.


• Worked on a show with Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein! (Production in progress pic below.)



• Visited my gorgeous family out in Houston and Austin (that's a pic above of me + them in Houston): ate, swam, relaxed, watched season 1 of Sherlock, hung out with Saira.


• Started running again!


• Watched an incredible thunderstorm roll into Manhattan from Battery Park City. (That photo is just below.)



• Hosted several cousins visiting NYC and got to do all kinds of fun touristy things I never thought I'd do (including: waiting in line at Grimaldi's, Top of the Rock, shopping at Macy's Herald Square, the Met AND the MoMA on two SATURDAYS in a row, picnic in Central Park, etc etc.)



• Saw Summerstage shows in Central Park from the VIP tent (And now I'll never be able to go back to waiting in line with commoners again!)


• Went SAILING with co-workers and saw the city from the Hudson.


• Saw Singing in the Rain on the big screen! It's just as fabulous every time.


• Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.


• Broadway: Harvey (starring Jim Parsons and a guy from Mad Men and another guy from Murphy Brown), Bring It On (yes, they made a show of the cheerleader movie - and it's actually GOOD), Once (also based on the movie and won a gazillion Tony awards this year), Jesus Christ Superstar (had to take the cousin from India to this one - it was a great production. Wish they had a cast recording, this updated version was way more rocking than the cheesy production from the '70s.)


• Won tickets to see a private show with Keane! I WON CONCERT TICKETS AND ACTUALLY LEFT WORK IN TIME TO ATTEND!



• Off-broadway: Lonely I'm Not (starring Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby - a stunning local actress), a play reading which was actually really good by a writer I met at a restaurant one night, and Title and Deed (I don't recommend, and it's closed now anyway)

(This is my niece Saira "relaxing" during a pedicure. She's ticklish. It made me laugh.)

I think that's it for now... August should be fun with more visitors coming, a wedding in Chicago, a trip to IKEA!, hopefully more running/biking/hiking, a jaunt out west to Denver and LA (never been to either place!), and hopefully an improv acting class.

Pics above are from various summer events described in my list taken by me or one of my fantastic cousins.