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The following is rambling account of my first visit to NYC at the ripe old age of 24.

So, this past Friday I'm standing in line at the dmv and I get a text from Cole saying we had a spot on the band bench for Har Mar Superstar on the Monday taping of Jimmy Fallon. In two texts it was decided that our end of November NYC trip would be moved up a month. After pulling our resources, getting our shifts covered, booking the flight and trying to sleep- we were on a plane La Guardia bound. We landed in a storm and met up with Cole's sis her man and baby Jett who were putting us up in Brooklyn. Within the first two hours we'd taken a subway ride to Manhattan, took a rain soaked walk through the village and had a slice. Sunday brought a 15 hour wandering through Williamsburg and then a good chuck of Manhattan. Saw Morgan Freeman on the street with an almost statuesque demeanor...

We took a shot of Jameson at the White Horse Tavern and saw a 3 year old pirate walk up to the bar. At the end on the night I felt like a bonafide tourist. My feet had never hurt so badly but as a result of the pain I discovered tiger balm while there- amazing stuff. Monday comes and we head to Rockefeller center for the afternoon.

We get all registered for the show and wandered about a bit. Stepped outside to have a smoke and happened upon these guys:

The one and only Adam Green and Har Mar Superstar. Being all star struck and lame we asked for a picture for which they kindly obliged.

Next we were herded up to the studio for the taping. Pretty sure I saw Johnny Carson's ghost although the Halloween set may have influenced that vision. Got warmed up by The Roots, saw the nicest collection of velvet Elvis' and made brief eye contact with Willem Dafoe as I walked across the stage that chilled me to the bone. Felt Tim Gunn look at me from head to toe surely damning my ensemble- I couldn't even muster the strength to look him in the eye. Danced a dangerous shimmy in heels on the tiny spot of space I had on the metal risers behind Har Mar & his band on national TV. We took a long subway ride back to Brooklyn because I wasn’t paying attention and missed our stop from the after excitement from the show. I was given a 2004 centennial map of the city by a helpful & kind man in a Kippah.

Had dinner & headed out to the Har Mar show just up the street at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Drank enough to get the nerve to really let loose & dance. Gently groped Adam Green as he crowd surfed. Pretty sure I held a good 40% of his weight the whole time with my drunken superpowers. Har Mar was amazing- quite the showman. Missed My Jerusalem but caught Big Bang Eche- they were a cute and very energetic opening band from New Zealand. Headed to the after party and left my wallet in the cab. Muhammad the most amazing taxi driver found it and brought it back to the bar where he dropped us off. Unbelievable. Right off the bat Adam Green insisted on buying Cole & me a drink. Chatted with him and the gorgeous & multi talented Afua Richardson. Cole gifted my favorite belt buckle to Adam and he gave us his in return. He knew the story of the painting on the buckle and told us stories of his own that related and why it had meaning to him. The whole night was surreal. It ended with a drunken quartet of Me, Cole, Adam & Har Mar singing Broadcast Beach in the street before we headed home. Lost my camera right after that and became quite sad but it was a small price to pay for the night I hung out with one of my favorite musicians. Now that I've met him I adore him even more. Just hoping the impression I left wasn’t drunken idiot girl- I could hardly muster a meaningful sentence in his presence. Ridiculous.

Upon landing in Tulsa I noticed this mysterious bruise on my arm... makes me wonder if I was drugged and it was all a dream. I suppose the proof in the handful of pictures that were salvaged. Despite the amazing luck the trip left me feeling miniscule, lame and slightly dejected with life back in Tulsa. Oh NYC, how you’ve wooed me.

The seemingly sweet country house (with a landfill in the background)

To drink a singular martini

and take a self indulgent headshot

in a dark abandoned bar with boyfriend + his drunken entourage.

The man of the hour

Impromptu piano by Mr. Cole Jett

Me smuggling our beers to the van in my skirt pockets

Meet Erica:

Little sister to Steven:

Trusting the babe with my camera provided some interesting shots (including the one above and below).

Don't stare too long- you might have a seizure.

The list:
Starter repair
City bus ride
A windy downtown walk
My first live TV appearance
Lunch with Randy (Hot L director) + Claire (cast-mate "April")
A doctor's visit

And here are the shots of the day:

I'm no spelling queen bee- but I noticed this one right off:

makes me think of an apricot twisted with a tourniquet.

And I'm slacking here.

The play is at a crucial point and I've decided to leave a hole in the photo project. Sure I could come back later and fill in the empty days with photo's to catch up. But instead I've decided to post a Vlog from the play and call it a vacation. Enjoy these somewhat contrived somewhat entertaining and surely one day to be nostalgic YouTube videos of the rehearsal process thus far.

For the record... I was still a bit in character when we shot this. My excuse for being overly animated and ridiculous with the hand motions. I loath the camera.



For more Vlogs go here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=onstagemadness&view=videos. They are produced by fellow cast-mate Justin of http://bornagainblog.wordpress.com who is playing "Bill Lewis"

As the "girl" in Lanford Wilson's play The Hot l Baltimore I must memorize a string of 50 cities in a specific order. I'm essentially mapping out the route I took on my 7 month train adventure through the states. I have a god awful memory and am just as bad at geography... needless to say I was a little stressed about this particular section of the play. Until I decided to create this beauty:

Lots of mini post-its, push pins and thread later I'm well on my way to making sense of it all.