Laundry Time

On November 4th, 2017, I went to visit Marina and her son up in Jackson Heights. We went to the basement of the building to throw in some laundry and I snapped this picture of the facilities. I love it because it's actually a colour photo. Wouldn't know it to look at it! 

New York with Amy

Late last year (I think...) Amy and I got tickets to see yet another Hugh Jackman show on Broadway. He's kind of fallen out of favour with us since he left his wife of twenty-five plus years for a some young chippie. I get that marriages end, but to know he left her for someone else is pretty irritating. So we decided this will be our last time seeing him. The best was having zero anxiety for the entire day. No "oh-my-god, what if we're late" because honestly, I didn't care if we missed it at all. All the stars aligned and we got into the city with time to spare. The streets were lousy with humans and the heat of the day was taking it's toll on me. At a light, about ten blocks from Radio City, one of those Pedicabs pulled up. Amy later said he spotted me and knew I would not refuse a lift, with my face red as hell, a scowl on my puss,  and a fan in my hand. "Do you take credit cards?", I shouted to him. A nod yes. "Can you get us to Radio City?" Another nod. "Amy, get in." The doll that my bestie is said, "I got this. The ride is on me." I would later be so grateful for this because to go on an eight minute and thirty-five second ride it cost seventy-five bucks, plus Amy threw in a twenty-five dollar tip. Truth be told, as good as the concert was, (even though, if we are being honest, Jackman does not have a great voice, although he is a hell of an entertainer), that ride was the best part of the whole day. When we arrived, just barely!, to Radio City, our driver, Isroil, took our photo, then I convinced him to get a selfie with us, and he offered to pick us up after the show and take us to Times Square for free. Amy took down his number and damn if he didn't answer the call and come get us and take us to Times Square (so I could see the statue of George M. Cohan) for free! 

Selfie with Amy and Isroil!

View from our seats

The stage for I Go To Rio

I finally see the statue of George M. Cohan!!

Off to Coney Island...

...by way of a new puzzle!

(artwork by Michael Storrings)

Ask Someone (Natalia)

In what part of the world do you imagine me being the happiest?

Ireland

What would you use to lure me into a trap?

Put a pile of books!

In a perfect world, who would I end up marrying?

A bearded man

What is your favourite moment we've shared?

Walked the streets of Dublin

What name do you think suits me better than my own?

Elisa

What things remind you of me?

Books, audiobooks, postcards, Trader Joe's, vegan food, vegan cookies and cake

What do you hope I will always remember about you?

Hopefully, how easy it was to become your friend on the plane and how much fun we had that day in Ireland. And I really hope that we can do it, not once, but many more times!

My answers for Natalia:

In what part of the world do you imagine me being the happiest?

South Jersey so I can see you!! But honestly, I feel like Northern California. You could be close to the sea but still be able to experience cooler weather and the mountains. 

What would you use to lure me into a trap?

I'd tell you that I got us front row seats to Dr. Edith Eger's speaking tour that includes a meet and greet book-signing. Or I'd tell you that I scored you a free class.

In a perfect world, who would I end up marrying?

You already found him! But for a celebrity? I feel like Jason Momoa would be fun and adventurous and kind. A good match for you. 

What is your favourite moment we've shared?

Discovering Marsh Library together and our big day in Dublin.

What name do you think suits me better than my own?

Natalia is a pretty fabulous name...um, Caralena. I kinda made it up for a character a bunch of years ago and I think it would suit you well.

What things remind you of me?

books, book shops, sea turtles, whales, the beach, volcanoes, Whale Rider, earrings, Louisa May Alcott, Diego Maradona, fixer-uppers, bed bugs, & Aerosmith.

What do you hope I will always remember about you?

I would hope you'd remember me as someone interesting and interested. Someone who was instantly easy to be with and who soon became your Gemini twin.

Back to The Big Apple

Eight months after ordering our tickets in addition to waiting two years since we heard about Hugh Jackman returning to Broadway, Amy and I finally saw The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theater. I hadn't seen the Robert Preston film version until earlier this week and it was okay, not fantastic, but okay. I warned Amy to keep her expectations very low for the play and maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. The sets and costumes were spectacular and the diverse cast was refreshing. Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo reminded me of a cross between Michelle Williams and Marsha Mason. She was funny and real in her portrayal. Hugh was, of course, excellent as Harold Hill and the supporting cast tied it all together. Was the show worth two hundred-plus dollars? Not a chance. But it was worth every penny to hang out with my bestest bestie for the entire day and we both thoroughly enjoyed the show.

On the way home at Penn Station we stopped to pose for a pic at our favourite place - Krispy Kreme!

Sittin' in Hell's Kitchen, NY

Came across these pix that KSP took of me back in May of 2018 when we went to The Big Apple for the day. My face is red as shit (big surprise) but my nails and shoes are on point and I was still stylin' and profilin' with those jet-black spikes.

The Music Man

Ya know what's wonderful about having a BFF with no kids and extra cash? She's totes onboard to spend over two hundred bucks on a ticket to see Hugh Jackman on Broadway in 2022. Am I lucky or what?!

(photo kidnapped from musicmaonbroadway)

Werewolfie NYC Street Art Sticker 2018

Okay, okay, they're not a werewolf but that's the first thing I thought when I saw this and now I can't unsee it.

Nineteen

(photo of the best skyline ever by me back in 1995)

Stonewall 50

On June 10th (which would have been Judy Garland's 97th birthday!) Ashlee and I visited The Stonewall Inn. We sat in the bar, out of the torrential rain, and did not feel unwelcome or awkward, as we had at the last bar we were at back in 2014. Not being much of a drinker, I explained this to the cute lil' Asian twink bartender and added, "can we just get somethin' fruity and yummy? Oh, and go easy on the booze, cuz I'm old and I don't wanna leave here, fall in the downpour and break a hip." He served us up a couple glasses of Sex on the Beach, which I have wanted to try since back in high school when it seemed like the funniest thing in the world to order that drink (clearly I was super immature). We toasted to "Donna, our favourite lesbian" and took a sip. Delish! We chatted, bought t-shirts, and relaxed for a bit before heading back out into the gloom. The bar is small but charming, and every single person working there was super nice and friendly. I was seriously disappointed that they had the ability to play an old film (silently, with subtitles, which meant people could hold conversations) but put on Neptune's Daughter. What the hell?! Clearly this place was being run by some young whippersnappers. If we had some old queens runnin' the joint that day, you can bet your sweet bippy that they'd have been playing all Judy, all day. Some In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate with hot young Gene Kelly, and of course some Wizard of Oz. What a missed opportunity. But regardless it was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I got to visit the place where the LGBTQ+ movement found it's beginnings. As an ally to the community since I was a teenager, it felt good to celebrate Donna's memory in such a historical place.

(Sex on the Beach photo by Ashlee)

(This is my pin that I bought about 18 years ago in a little shop near South Street in Philly. Sadly, they didn't make a Stonewall 50 pin...)

A Message from the Hereafter?

When Ash and I went to Fishs Eddy on the 10th to celebrate Pride and her mom, Donna, we filled out post-it notes that would be displayed in their windows. I wrote the first one for Ashlee and put it in the box. Yesterday I was on Instagram and saw part of that post-it on Fishs Eddy's page. It felt like Donna was sending it back to us to let us know she got our note. Reminded me of the time a few months after she died when I dreamt that she called me on my old Spongebob-faceplated Nokia 5120 cell to say that she "just got through", which I took to mean that she finally made it past the security gates in the after-world. "Are you okay?" I asked, getting teary-eyed. "Yeah," came her usual blah voice, "I'm gonna go shopping."

I miss you, Donna. 

New York Pupper Art

Washington Square in the Rain

World Pride 2019 with Ashlee

Today Ash and I walked the rainy streets of New York to celebrate (in our own small way) World Pride being in New York City during Pride Month. We went in memory of Ashlee's mom and my cousin, Donna, and even though the weather sucked out loud, we had a good time.