In Europe, they use a 1-Euro coin, not paper. But more notably, they use a 2-Euro coin. At first, it seems nutty, right? What a weird, random denomination!!! Two months later, I’m all about the-2-euro-coin-is-genius-and-why-don’t-we-have-a-2-dollar-coin? About the coin demand on the street… The “homeless” population of France – and I use the quotes because I’m…
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The first 7 hours are pure bliss. I’m sitting on my 8 1/2 hour flight from Rome to New York, and imagine my surprise when they prepare for takeoff and I’ve got NO ONE SITTING NEXT TO ME!!! My OWN 2-person aisle. It feels like I won the lottery. I make plans. I write postcards…
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There is something that aches about a beautiful place with so much blood in its soil. I am in Normandy. Serene, bucolic, strewn with fields of yellow flowers…. …..yet not peaceful. Is the wail of war still in the wind? Because the moment it sweeps my face, my eyes begin to burn. They will burn…
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I detest crying. Really reject it as a personal weakness in myself. So I find myself wanting to spontaneously cry in Paris for joy and am unsettled-yet-happy-but-confused and swallowing giant wads of Big Emotions in uncomfortable gulps. So let me tell you about my day. It’s my first day off after six days of rehearsal…
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You audition for a part, you don’t hear back, you act all “Frozen” and “let it go”, then you have 14 minutes to pack for your shoot in Baltimore tomorrow…. And with that, I announced to the world – specifically Facebook World – that I’d booked another TV show – all while barreling towards Baltimore…
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I’ve written poetry ever since I’ve written. They always remain in my private papers. Publishing this little one here is me being… what’s the word that combines horrified and brave? That word. Plus the idea that no one is going to see this anyway.
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I decide to run. This is against the will of half my brain and most of my body. But I Have Decided. Because I need to do this. To step out of my mind and onto the ground. I walk outside and witness Indiana coming to life. Garage Doors are thrown open, music is playing…
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It’s the second worst winter on record for “the Hoosier state”. But don’t worry, there’s a chance we can still Be Number One! Because Winter ain’t over my friends. I write this as muscles I didn’t know existed ache from my first major shoveling experience. So 1st lesson learned upon arriving: Leave 15 minutes earlier.…
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A tinge of twisted thrill runs through my body as I read the results of my blood test. “A Vitamin D Deficiency!” it proclaims, in bold black ink. A Medically Alarming Lack of Sun Exposure. A New Yorker’s Wintertime Badge of Honor. And I, ladies and gentlemen, earned my badge. Not to put too fine…
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I forgot we had new coffee cups. I forgot how shiny the wood floors are in my apartment. I forgot the light switch to the bathroom is OUTSIDE the bathroom. I am back in New York, in my apartment, after 8 long weeks away. I was in San Diego doing a world premiere play that…
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The subway is your friend. Until it isn’t. And then the subway is your mortal enemy. The truth, my friends…is that the subway…is your frenemy. Please read this carefully, as this is A Really Important Lesson. Especially if you entertain any notions of living in New York City. The subway will ACT like it is…
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I promise you a happy ending Like the ones that you see on the screen So if you had a bad beginning You will come out winning in the closing scene ~ from Broadway’s Mack & Mabel (which, ironically, did NOT have a happy ending) For those of you following the Epic Saga of my…
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It was billed as “My Network Television Debut!” That’s how my publicist, who may or may not be me, described it. My mother told everyone she knew and barely knew. I broke with my private modus operandi to cheerily share the news with friends. My husband notified his circle of friends and colleagues on the…
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DATELINE: August 8th, 2011 but JUST Re-Discovered from the “Lost Blog Files”, written Somewhere In The Air on the Way To Someplace We’ve reached a cruising altitude and before the ding is done, I’m pulling out my laptop. My mind is racing, piling one thought atop the next, with what I recognize is a bit…
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Thursday, March 22nd 2012 was shaping up to be One Terrible Mofo of a Day. All my auditions and my hard-to-procure doctor appointment were managing to occur at the same time. This was not going to go well. I chose my priorities. I would attend the film audition first, medical needs be damned. It was…
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I remind myself that there are people in wheelchairs. That there are good people victimized by terrible maladies. That things can always, always, always, be worse. It knocks my restless misery level from a 10…to a 9. And I confirm, once again, that I am not patient. I am an impatient. My pinky toe is…
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First of all, I can’t believe you’re reading this. I must congratulate you on reading The Most Boring Title Ever given a blog and still giving it a shot. Thank you. I will make this worth your time, wink-wink. Why yes, that WAS a cheap stunt intended to lure you in with Faux Sexy… As…
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Meantime, I am ping-ponging from one side of the bus to the other, capturing too-blurry photos on my phone, unusually anxious to capture this place. Where we are is not actually Allentown. Not yet. The tour bus is rumbling through the Pennsylvania countryside. Eventually, we’ll reach the Airport de Allentown. Somehow, the combination of the…
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Just like the last blog…I begin this blog…looking out the window. This is getting to be a theme with me. It makes me wonder if “window-blogging” is a micro-niche. But instead of a bus window, today’s Window On The World is in my hotel room, and Ottawa’s Christmas Parade has come to me. Or rather,…
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I’m looking out the window again, intensely studying the passing streetscape of what Augusta, Georgia calls downtown. This is the first bus ride of my second season with Mamma Mia. At first, I am not charitable. I am struck by how shabby and downtrodden Augusta looks. My insta-thumbs down surprises me. I recalibrate and look…
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I have been so busy with my nightly singing & dancing career that I’ve neglected to update you on the latest advancements in my Oddeling Career. (For the unaware, Oddeling=Odd Modeling) It began with a surprise book cover. Then a surprise bus wraparound advertisement. Then I went big-time with a print ad for the Discovery…
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I am on my first and only train ride of the Mamma Mia tour. My first train ride ever that doesn’t simply travel in a circle (think Disney World). No! Wait…. I’ve taken a commuter train between New York and New Jersey. But everyone knows that doesn’t count. Vancouver is behind me, Portland is ahead,…
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Ballerina Paws. They fascinated me. Wispy, delicate paws that looked like they were fashioned by Dr. Seuss. She would cross them when she sat. Always a lady. She didn’t get that from me. But the Eyes were my inheritance. Big Brown Eyes that lit up when she heard the magic words: Quieres caminar? That’s right.…
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If you don’t know Barry Manilow, you have no idea that title up there is a play on his hit “I Write The Songs”. I fear my references are starting to show my 70’s roots…. Look at this. Not one paragraph in to this blog and already, I’m distracted by my …. my… myself. BACK…
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