Another New York Day

I'm at work with nothing much to do. It's 9:30am. I've been here since 7:30. I don't think I've seen more than five people walk in here today. Ugh.....I could still be sleeping.

But, since I gotta make those big bucks, I have to sit here and figure out ways to pass the time. What better way to pass the time than to write a new blog entry! Lemme just warn you that this particular entry may go absolutely nowhere so read at your own risk.

I'm gonna walk you through a pretty regular day for me here in NYC. I wake up at 6am and immediately press the snooze button. I attempt to sleep in till about 6:15 or 6:30 and then somehow make it into the shower, into some clothes, and out of my apartment.

I catch the subway at 157th street in Washington Heights and head down to 28th street in Chelsea where I work. The subway ride can either be wonderfully relaxing or really aggravating. Mere minutes make a difference when it comes to having a good subway ride. If I get to the station at a good time, then I can usually get myself a seat. I can then open up a book and get my mind working a little since it's soooooooo damn early or I can listen to a little music. If I miss a train or arrive just a little later than I usually do, the train is all of a sudden packed and I have to squeeze in to claim a spot of my own. No sitting, of course. This time difference is probably no more than 5 minutes, maybe less. This late arrival usually irks me, unfortunately. The more people, the more aggravated everyone gets. It's hotter, sweatier, tighter, you're all up in everyone's business.....it's just not fun. And some people just have no respect for anyone else but themselves. Some guys apparently have to make space for themselves and for whatever enormity they may have stashed away in their pants. No joke, these guys just spread themselves across seats like they own the place. On more than one occasion I've wanted to tap one of these guys on the shoulder and say, "Excuse me, but do you think you could remove the basketball, or midget, or CAR, or whatever MONSTROSITY you may have in your pants, place it on your lap, close your legs, and make some space for someone else to sit? Thank you! Have a lovely day." But usually I don't have to say anything. Most of the time a feisty woman will firmly place herself in front of one of these douchebags and huff and puff or throw some evil eye in his face till he gets the damn point. And make no mistake, it's usually NEVER the ladies who take up too much space.

Wow. I guess I needed to get that off my chest.

Let's move on! So I get off the train at 28th street and get to work by 7:30. Once at work I take care of my morning duties and stuff and basically wait for people to start arriving for auditions and such. Sometimes work can be painfully dull because there are just no auditions happening. Thank goodness for crossword puzzles, books, and the Internet!

Work is over at 3:30pm. At that point I either head to whatever auditions I can squeeze into or to a yoga class. Yesterday was especially eventful. After work I decided to head to two different auditions. The first was for the new Spiderman musical (with music by U2!). The audition was happening at The Knitting Factory (random) which is way downtown. I headed down absolutely not expecting to be able to audition since it was already 4pm. Also, this musical is a pretty big deal so I would have thought that it would be packed all damn day and that all slots would be filled. I got there and was really surprised to find out that I was gonna get seen! Not only that, I was gonna be in and out in probably 15 minutes. Fabulous. It was all so whirlwind commotion craziness. There was a news crew filming the event, there were assistants buzzing around making what appeared to be important calls on their fancy iPhones, and in the middle of it all stood casting director extraordinaire, Mr. Bernard Telsey himself. He seemed so down to earth wearing his little name tag that said something like, "Hi, my name is BERNIE" that I almost wanted to go up to him and say, "Hi Bernie, I'm Jonny, and I am your Peter Parker." Sadly, though, I didn't. Probably wouldn't have been such a good idea anyway.

I filled out the proper paperwork, attempted to quickly warm up my voice, and then headed into the audition and sang Oh! Darlin' by The Beatles. I thought it went pretty well but yet again got the usual, "Thank you, Jonathan. That was great."

After that I headed over to the Atlantic Theater Company on 16th street to audition for their production of Farragut North. I was able to get a time slot to audition but, unfortunately, I became one of those people I used to hate as a non-Equity actor. When I was non-Equity I used to see Equity actors walking into auditions after I had already been there for hours on end waiting for an audition slot. They would then easily be able to sign up for a time and I would lose yet another chance to audition for something. Understandably, it really pissed me off. And yesterday, I became one of those assholes!!! Well, it had to be done. And, thankfully, it went pretty well.

After the auditions I headed to my regular yoga class. I try to attend a class every day. I go to a donation based studio so if I'm horribly broke I can pay $2 for a yoga mat and that's it! Thank God for Yoga To The People. The class is a sweaty hour long mess and I usually love every moment of it. Even when I'm sweating my balls off and my muscles are screaming at me for mercy.....that's when it's best!

After yoga I head back home which can take up to an hour since I'm way down in St. Mark's Place. Yesterday's trip home was particularly interesting. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince right now. It's the sixth book in the series which means I have one book left till the whole adventure is over. So far no one has spoiled the ending of the series for me (except for one pretty important fact, thanks Paul!) so I get kinda nutsy when people start talking about it. I cover my ears and start humming or singing so I don't hear anything they might happen to let slip out. Anyway, yesterday when I got on the train I sat down and pulled out Harry 6. A few stops later, I was deeply immersed in some sort of shenanigans happening at Hogwarts when a girl came exploding onto the train with a whole slew of Excuse me!'s and Pardon me!'s. She barreled her way through the packs of people to the single seat beside me and proceeded to open her copy of HARRY POTTER 7 RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Now, there are several things about this scenario that just made me say, "Really?"

a. She sat right next to me.

b. She was ready Harry 7. The LAST book.

c. She was right at the end of the book and the fact that her face was close to the page made it clear to me that something very juicy was going on.

d. We must have looked like complete dorks. Just two dorks on the train reading Harry 6 and 7 next to each other. D-O-R-K-S.

I can't even begin to say how much of a struggle it was for me not to take a peek at what she was reading. Oh my God.....it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. For real. Just one simple glance was all I wanted. But no. No! I restrained myself. I didn't even take one little minuscule sneak peek. I'm very proud pf myself. Thankfully, my Harry Potter partner in crime left after a few stops and I was left to read in peace. That is, until Whistling Willy began blowing away next to me. Now, there are a lot of annoying things that people do on the subway. Some people listen to their music too loud (I am occasionally guilty of this), some people talk as if they want to whole train to know their business, some people SPIT (no lie), some people are perfectly well behaved. But never before have I had someone start whistling. I don't think there could be anything more ridiculous. Could anyone really think that everyone on the train would be pleased to hear him whistling? I mean, is there anyone out there who would honestly be happy that a man had decided to grace the train with his whistling magnificence??? Well, I'm not one of them. I gave that guy a look that said "Are you for real, Whistling Willy? Shut it!" He did.

Hmmm. Seems like I have a lot to get off my chest.

Once the train ride was over I headed home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

So, here's a brief summary of my regular day.

-Wake up-
-Work-
-Auditions-
-Yoga-
-Home-
-Bed-

Hopefully something will come from all these auditions soon. I'm itching to get back up in the spotlight!!!

Bye all. Thanks for listening to my rants and raves.