Happy New York!!

Oh, the holidaze are upon us!!

I'm back in New York, and life is good. As always, a visit home proves to be a mad rush to see and do and taste and be a part of EVERYTHING!! I got into town Wednesday evening, dropped my stuff at my girlfriend Anna's place, then we headed downtown to see "The Uncanny Appearance of Sherlock Holmes," starring the fantabulously cool Liz Eckert, one of our Columbia classmates. We were joined by 5 other friends, so Liz got to see our silly smiling mugs right in the front row as she made her entrance. The show was good, Liz was GREAT, and we celebrated her by going to a pub for some food. It was like a mini-reunion, and there was a lot of laughing (and bad picture-taking on my part, trying to capture the evening). After eating, 5 of us ladies headed over to the McLynn-family pub, Angels & Kings, www.angelsandkings.com, to meet a couple of our favorite boys. I got to visit with my brother, Dennis, who manages the bar and lives above it, and his 2 15-year-old cats, Cat 1 and Cat 2 (or Thelma & Louise, as my mom has named them). Dennis and I are like night and day in many regards. His very small apartment is made smaller by the huge fishtank with one fish, which gets a daily dose of crickets (always fun for the guests) and a goldfish to play with, and the huge deer-head above the tank, which Dennis shot while bow-hunting. Me, I cry every time I watch the scene in Bambi where he's looking for his mother, whimpering out, "Mo--ther, mo--ther," and then his daddy comes along, the "king of the forest," to tell Bambi, "You're mother can't be with you...any longer." I like my cute & fuzzy things alive and un-mounted. But I enjoy visiting Dennis, and being reminded of the odd family dynamics of the McLynn household. Anyway, back in the bar, we had many free drinks (a plus of being the baby sister of both the manager and owner, my other brother Bob). I get all the club soda I can drink, and my friends get drunk. We hung out with Jesse the barkeep until about 3, then the 5 of us who remained headed back to Anna's to eat soup and continue laughing. Oh, I love my friends!! At 5, the boys left, and us 3 ladies slept a few hours, until alarms went off and the other 2 chicas had to head out to auditions (I admire their youthful ability to hold off a hangover until after the audition). We then headed out to brunch, where lots more laughing happened and hangovers were tapered off with some Good food. There were 4 of us, 3 ladies and a gay man, and it felt very "Sex in the City." I love New York.
Later that evening, I went to see a screening of my friend Vanita's short film at NYU, starring her husband and my classmate, Maury. It was a sweet, sad tale of a boy who forgets his beloved guitar in the back of a cab. And it was rather true to life, as Vanita's original film (starring Me!) was forgotten in the back of a cab just weeks earlier. Poor girl was devastated, but her class rallied round her and helped her do a rush-job on a second film. She ended up with a lovely little look at what she had been experiencing as a result of her loss, and I felt very proud of her. And I felt very tired. My lack of sleep was catching up on me. But I wanted to see my cousin, so I headed to her place after she got out of work at Barney's at 10 (damned holiday hours!) and we ordered Thai and chatted and I got to play with her Boston Terrier, Raja, who seems to really like hand lotion, as she licked my hand raw for about 5 minutes. Weird dog, but kind of awesome. I made it back to Anna's before 1, and she and I chatted for a couple of hours before crashing. I was reminded of how noisy New York City can be, when the hammering started up at 8am and the outside voices carried right in through the bedroom window. I love New York.
I'm not feeling terribly inspired this morning, hence the retelling of my visit to NYC...
Friday came the snow. Oh, so lovely to watch falling from the window. Such a bitch to have to maneuver in on the streets. I was meeting Liz for brunch, and first wanted to run some errands. Since I got to town, I'd been going to bookstores looking for American Theatre magazine, which I'd been told had a picture of me (2 actually: 1 in this year's Columbia ad, and 1 in an interview with playwrights who write about religion). This is the closest thing I've had to being an actor in months, so obviously I wanted to find a copy to remind myself of the good ol' days when I got to perform. But bookstore after bookstore, no luck. So I finally got to the Union Square Barnes & Nobles, which carries everything, and sure enough, there I was. I ran a few more errands, my toes getting damper block-by-block, my umbrella shielding my face from the ice pellets being shot at me, then made it to French Roast on West 11th. Liz and I were meeting, not only to share the love, but to discuss my one-woman show, which Liz wants to help me produce. I'd sent her a rough draft a few weeks ago and we were going to discuss it and see what needs to happen next. And we decided that what needs to happen next is we need to get Liz out to Vegas to help me get on my feet and DO something, as I am not getting very far on my own. We're gonna take a look at airfare in January, and if there's a reasonable flight, she's gonna come and work with me for a few days. And I am so HAPPY!! For one thing, I'm desperately in need of some outside creative inspiration, some time to be an artist with someone other than myself. But also, I get to have a girlfriend visit! And I've been lacking female companionship in a big way. Crossing fingers to make this a reality...We sat and chatted for 2 hours, then Liz had to leave for her show and I had to head back to Anna's to shower and get gussied up for the holiday soiree at my brother's penthouse! I showed up early, to spend a little time with my parents and Bob & Sarah, his super-cool fiancee. Plus, there was no way I was putting on a little black dress and heels before walking through the freezing rain. I got dressed and made up, then had a lovely evening with my family and friends of Bob & Sarah's and the whole of my brother's office at Crush Management http://www.crushmm.com/. I knew very few people there, but it was a good time and I felt so very happy for Bob. I mean, he's got a job he loves, and the people who work for and with him think he's a rockstar, and Sarah is seriously one of the coolest women I know, with her ability to bake awesome cookies and decorate with flair on a budget and her wicked sense of humor and did I mention that she's gorgeous? My brother is so very happy with her, and that's a beautiful thing. I had a warm & fuzzy feeling in my belly when I left at 12:30, heading back to get some more love from Anna, who is also one of the coolest women I know. I love New York.
And today, after my 5-hour nap, I'm heading off into my last day of NYC for 2008. I begin with brunch in Astoria with my friend Nick, who's visiting from the Catskills and may have to head back there tonite, as the wife called and they ran out of heating oil due to the snowstorm yesterday and the delivery truck's inability to get to them before Monday. Yikes. Post-brunch is a matinee of "Dust" starring the uber-talented Laura E Campbell, another of the coolest women I know. http://www.playbill.com/events/event_detail/16700.html
Then dinner with Laura and Anna, then back to Astoria to see my boys, Petey and Arya (and Nick, if the wife and baby aren't freezing to death). I don't plan on sleeping tonite, as I'm taking a 7am train (perhaps) back to Jersey for my mom's choir concert. And then...well, the journey continues. But in the meantime, I love New York.
I don't know that I'll be writing again before the holidays. And after the holidays, Alex & I will be on a cruise to the western Caribbean, courtesy of Harrah's casinos. So if you don't hear from me, happy holidays to all of you. May your new year be your best year yet, and may it bring an opportunity for us to be together. With a lot of money. And perfect health. And bikini-ready bodies. And all that other crap my heart desires for us all. Like world peace. And a really awesome President. And the ability to teleport. And fuzzy puppies for one and all. If you're into that kind of thing...