I've been shot!

And I don't know what I'm good at
but I'm better at wrong than at right
but come my turn, baby like bourbon I'll burn
under the stage's bright lights...

My heart is a little heavy lately.  I'm not entirely happy and some days, I'm not at all happy.  I'm not particularly fond of this side of me, so I'm working to fix this.  There will be some major changes taken place soon.  (Most of you can probably guess precisely what that means.  It's true.  It's time.)

But you know what makes me obnoxiously happy?  Having had the opportunity to work with a photographer whose work I've admired for YEARS (and who I'm lucky enough to call a friend).  The shoot was incredible and I am blown away by Valerie's talent, abilities, and artistic eye.  So to commemorate 4 years in the City That Never Sleeps, and to freshen up my headshots in the event I step back onto the stage anytime soon...

 

File this under "One of the coolest things I have ever done."  And check out Valerie's work - she'd be happy to "shoot" you too!  Valerie's Website / Valerie's Blog

New York, quit callin'. New York, leave me be.

I’m leaving New York.

Not (necessarily) anytime soon.  No immediate plans have been made.  Plenty of notice will be given and tears shed when it’s time.  But it’s inevitable.  One day, I’m leaving New York.

Recent life events do make me think it might be sooner rather than later though, so I think it’s high time to make a NYC Bucket List.  Because there is a LOT I have done in my time here, but a few very important things I have not.

In no particular order…

1)   Camp out, secure tickets, and get into a taping for SNL.  (Or at least the dress rehearsal.)  This was attempted once, about a year and a half ago.  It was the season finale, with Justin Timberlake.  It poured rain all night and I absolutely cannot remember ever being so miserable.  To top it all off, only the first person in line got in that night.  I’ll camp out again in a heartbeat but NEVER if rain is predicted.

2)   Go to Ellis Island / Statue of Liberty.  Correct.  I tell tourists how to make this happen every single day and yet, I’ve never been.  What?  I’m a local.  Locals know to ride the (free) Staten Island Ferry instead.

3)   Attend a show in every single Broadway house.  I just checked.  I’m only missing two.  Which means I’m going to be seeing Addams Family (Lunt-Fontanne) and A Free Man of Color (Vivian Beaumont) sometime in the future.

4)   Go to the Opera.  Because I am very classy and sophisticated. 

5)   Go to a Yankees, a Knicks, and a Rangers game.  Because I’ve already got the Giants and the Mets under my belt, and since the Giants and Jets share a stadium, I only have to go to one.  (Roll Tide.  Sorry.  That really is the only team that’s important to me.)

6)   Take a trip to the Adirondacks.  They’re close(ish).  I should get on that.  I like nature. 

7)   Buy something at Tiffany.  Even if it’s “only” a keychain. 

8)   Frequent at least a few more top notch restaurants and order off the Chef’s Tasting Menus.  Partially because Le Bernadin proved it’s OH SO WORTH IT and also because the more $200 meals I partake in now, the more I’ll squeal with delight over prices when I’m safely back down in the dirty. 

9)   Spend a night at The Plaza.  Attend high tea at the Palm Court AND order room service for breakfast.  (And look for Eloise. I love her.)

10)  Take at least one more acting class.  Or at the very least, a workshop or intensive.  Remember acting and how it was why I moved here and then found a hundred other reasons to stay, instead? 

New Yorkers and New York lovers…is there anything I missed?

It’s kind of fun and terribly exciting to think that this time next year, I could very well be living somewhere entirely different…