Category: Life

  • Selfish with My Time

    This past Friday, I mentioned that I had seen a listing for a theatre job that I was interested in, but wasn’t sure if I should apply for. I was going to take the weekend and think about it, but most likely, I was going to submit a resume no matter what, because what do I have to lose.

    Well… I totally forgot about the job. I mean, we did have a busy weekend with Friday movie night, and a birthday party on Saturday afternoon, and then there was the Super Bowl, and by the time Monday came around, we were back in the swing of the week.

    Then this morning, as the wife and I were walking back from the gym (you read that right) she asked me if I sent in my resume for that job. Thus, why I can say I forgot about the job as that was the first time I had thought about it in three days. First, I might not be real “into” the job if I forgot about it. Second, and I told my wife this, I really don’t want to give up my time with our daughter. I don’t like being in debt and feeling stuck, but I’m only going to get one chance have this time with her, and I don’t want to give it away to people who don’t deserve it.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Job Hunting, St. Ann’s Puppet Lab, and Super Bowl Halftime Show

    (Stuff and other stuff.)

    This morning as I was doing the Alt Side Parking Dance, waiting for the sweeper to go by, on a whim, I decided to see if there are any theatre job openings in the City. For the past year, anytime I looked for a theatre admin job, it just ended up turning my stomach. But, I also know that we are just getting by financially, and getting ahead would be a better situation to be in. Hence why, on a whim, I decided to see what was out here. And I saw something that didn’t turn my stomach, and was also kind’a right up my alley. I’m now thinking about submitting my resume. If I did get the job, it would mean a huge change to the life we have been leading for the past two years. But, getting out of debt would be nice. I don’t know yet. I’ll take the weekend to think it over.

    One thing that I do need to get on top of is figuring out if I can make it to St. Ann’s Warehouse for Puppet Lab next weekend, 2/17 to 2/20. I got friends who run it, and I also got friends who are in it. That right there makes it totally worth going. Then, there is the fact that I haven’t seen a live show in three years, which I would like to remedy. A long, long time ago, I took part in a piece in the Puppet Lab – I think it was the first theatre gig I got when I moved to NYC – so I have a soft spot for this series. The Puppet Lab is a two-year program where puppet artists create and develop work with support from the people in the program, as well as St. Ann’s Warehouse. The performances are the culmination of this long process, and showcases inventively creative and experimental puppet works. Shows like this I find exceptionally inspiring.

    And this year, we will introduce our daughter to the world of nachos and hot wings, commercials and halftime shows. But most importantly, she will learn that Prince’s halftime show was the greatest halftime show of all time. It’s a fact.

  • I Did the Minimum, Now Reward Me!

    I went to the gym this morning. Now, someone tell me how great I am! That’s right, I went to the gym. This is a big moment in my life as I; One, have never gone to a gym before, and Two, I have been paying for a gym membership since December and just now used it. I think the people who run the gym were happy, but also, disappointed that I showed up this morning.

    That’s right, in my forty-five years, I never set foot into a gym. In fact, the last time I was in a locker room, was seventh grade when I was thirteen. (Not much has changed, as I kept my eyes down and tried not to look at anyone.) But grown up me had to admit that I have put on twenty-five pounds in the last year and a half. I know that I will never get back down to my fighting weight when I was thirty, but I need to take better care of myself.

    That’s the world I occupy now; I don’t need to look good and trim; I just need to not die earlier than usual.

    And for that, bask in the warm glow of my bare-minimum effort with zero results!

    This reminds me of a story. I had a friend that, if he had a particularly good workout, he would reward himself with a donut on his walk home, but ONLY if the donuts were fresh and hot. I asked him if there was ever a time that he found the donuts were not fresh and hot? He told me, no, that he never encountered that situation. I did suggest that he eat the donut on the way to the gym, this was he would gain a net zero, and not undo the workout, so to speak. He didn’t like that idea.

    Anyway, I’m looking to go back on Thursday, and see if I can keep two days a week going.

    But, we’ll see.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Farewell Dele Alli, Spring Time, and The Gym

    (Just some sketches of ideas.)

    This past week, during the transfer window in the Premier League, Tottenham made some moves – trading, loaning and acquiring players. In all the action, Dele Alli went to Everton. I know that Dele hasn’t been playing his best since he came back from injury, which meant his days were numbered, but still, I did feel bad to see him go. When I first started following Tottenham, it Fall 2015, it was Dele’s first season with the Spurs, so I felt like we came into the league together. (Yes, I know that makes no logical sense.) I hope he gets back to form, and does well at Everton.

    Well, it happened to me this morning when I was taking the kid to school. It was raining and 37 degrees, and soon the City is going to be iced over, and I said the words, “I can’t wait for Spring.” Sure, it’s freezing out, and I bet we’ll get a blizzard before the seasons is done, but I am now ready for it to warm up. If you aren’t sure, around July 4th is when I will start saying how excited I will be for Fall. And you know, I like this cycle. I like to know that at the moment I get feed up with a season, the change isn’t far away. I like the rhythm of it all. Even the rhythm of the complaining.

    I still haven’t gone to the gym yet. I have been paying on a membership for two months, still haven’t used it. Go Me!

  • My Little Apartment

    I just might spend my whole life in this little Harlem apartment. As funny as that sounds, this is a new thought for me. I have lived in this apartment for fourteen years, and I have always thought that one day, we would leave this place for another apartment, or miracle of miracles, a house. This apartment was always seen as a stepping stone to something else.

    But you know what… after fourteen years, I think I am coming around to see that this apartment is my home, and I will always have this place as my home.

    Sure, it’s tiny. In fact, it is very tiny. Two little bedrooms, a small kitchen, an even smaller bathroom. Two adults, a kid and a dog live in its confines, and if you add one more adult in the space, the apartment feels over-crowed, like it will explode, but what you are actually feeling is the anxiety of people being on top of each other.

    Yet, we are next to two subway lines. And a park. And a library. The kid’s school is walking distance and it’s a pretty good school. We like our neighbors in the building, and a police and fire station aren’t too far away either. We have made the apartment cozy, and each person has their own space to relax.

    Just wish we got more sunlight in the place.

    Maybe we might get a place upstate. Maybe a small farm house with a root cellar, and a place we can put all of our books. Maybe have enough land for the dog to run, and an old fieldstone wall cutting through the property. Maybe, one day.

    But in my little apartment, we have marked the kid’s height on the wall. The apartment is near a grocery store, and a place where me and the wife can get a dozen oysters on the half shell, and a pretty decent dirty martini.

    Maybe I will stay her forever after all.