A Time for Queens, Hawkes, and Poe

I have to start this edition by promoting the new issue of Time Out New York, because, well, it's promoting the best borough in NYC, which happens to be where I live (I'm not biased.......no, really).

Thanks Time Out New York!

It seems like Queens started this upward trajectory soon after I moved here...........I'm just saying.....

One more thing about this issue, then I'll move on.  They have a section called "Word on the Street," which contains quotes the writers overhear regular New Yorkers saying as they pass by.  I thought I would highlight a few, because they're just too funny not to share:

• "I can de-lint my own boobs, thank you."

• "This morning, I took my bra off and confetti poured out."  Now, this situation I'm familiar with.  No, I don't wear a bra, but I've been to enough raves to have confetti and glitter pour out of various garments I've been wearing.

• "Would you rather lose the Internet or your foot?"

• This has to be the best one, though.  "I thought Ariana Grande was a font until yesterday."

Okay, enough free advertising for Time Out New York.  But seriously, if you're planning a visit, it's a good resource for what's happening in music, events, shows, and restaurants.

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Next up is a play I saw a couple months ago with Von, called Lost Lake.  It starred Tracie Thoms and John Hawkes, both of whose work I have greatly appreciated and enjoyed over the last few years.  It was a play about two people who come together because he wants to rent his lakeside house for the Summer and she is the willing guest who agrees to take it for a couple weeks.  They aren't fast friends, by any means.  In fact, he's constantly dropping in and making her uncomfortable, while also not making repairs to the largely dilapidated house, much to her frustration.

What brings their connection, as the story unfolds, is that they're both harboring secrets that will ultimately alter the trajectory of their lives and they find they can each be a confidante to the other, which is highly unexpected for Tracie's character.

There was no huge revelation made during the show, it was more a character study of two people who are having a difficult time with no real happy ending to look forward to, much like real life can be.

The biggest takeaway I received was in understanding that with all the crap and challenges we experience, what we need are people we can talk to and commiserate with; they won't make our problems go away, but they can help us through our trials by not allowing us to go through it alone.  There's nothing worse than having bad things happen and be unable to reach out to someone for comfort or solace.  Even if it's through a phone call or an encouraging text, we all need someone we can unload on, who will understand us.  I know there are times when I've needed that for sure; I don't often seek advice, what I'm most interested in is just having someone hear me.  In many ways, this play reminded me that as much as I enjoy my "alone time," I shouldn't use my independence to hold people at arms' length.

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Finally, there was the play Faith and I saw just this week, called Nevermore.  It's described as "the imaginary life and mysterious death of Edgar Allen Poe."  Their website also calls it a theatrical experience and it definitely fits that bill.  Most of the dialogue is sung, but to call it a musical doesn't do justice to what the show is trying to achieve in its telling of Poe's life.

Poe's mother and father

The story is that Poe comes across a group of theatre performers on a steamer and they share with Poe stories from his life that he has forgotten.  It comes across, at first, as a kind of farce, but as the show goes on, it becomes darker and darker, with tragedy upon tragedy occurring in his life.  Throughout, we see tidbits from Poe's writing and the whole thing has a strong dreamlike quality.  By intermission, Faith and I were both exhilarated by the experience and we couldn't wait to see what happened next.  I won't give away too much of the ending, but suffice it to say, he dies, and we're left to wonder how much of this was real and how much was imagined, much like Poe's character in the play.

Poe and one of the loves of his life, Eliza

It's funny, before the show, Faith and I were talking about how there are so many revivals of plays and musicals, and we don't hear about truly original work as much (the same can be said of movies, too).  This was wholly original and the actors involved (a small cast of seven) took on their roles and performances with abandon, not holding back an ounce of emotion.

What we were left with was an intriguing story about a complex man, and we were drawn into his world of macabre imagery, where we couldn't trust what we were seeing, but nonetheless didn't want to look away for fear of missing something vital to help us understand Poe evermore (see what I did there?).

The dreamy feeling lingered on as we left the theatre and I don't know if it was that or the lateness of the hour, but we certainly had a challenge getting to the right subway to get us home afterward.  When we went underground, it seemed that everywhere we looked, every sign led to trains headed downtown, when all we wanted was the train going uptown.  It's a good thing Faith was around, because at one point I almost threw my arms up in desperation, thinking we would just have to live in the subway station from then on.  It would have been comical had we not wanted to get home to bed so badly.  Fortunately, we made it to the right train and finally got back to our apartment, where I had the weirdest Tim Burton-esque dreams of my life.  Poe's influence on Mr. Burton is quite clear when you experience it in dreams, let me tell you.

Until next time........

Phew! A New and Exciting Year Lies Ahead!

It's been a couple months since my last post, mainly because I was looking for what commentary I could make as 2014 ended and 2015 loomed ahead.  There are all kinds of posts out there about the past year and what we should focus on as the new year begins; why should I add to the din?  So, after much consideration and focusing on getting through the holiday season over the last few weeks, I feel like I can finally write down some thoughts, which may or may not matter to the population at large, but are still thoughts I'd like to share.

2014 was quite a year.  There were a lot of memories made, new experiences to be shared, and new friendships established.  This year, New York felt even more like home and as I continue to explore it (it seems never-ending at times), I look forward to putting down even stronger roots.

Tiki pub crawl

Roberta and I giving the tongue

Our neighborhood, in sight of the Empire State Building (it's closer than it appears)

A uniquely NYC event!

Cruising around the Hudson River with Faith

My first Comic Con!

Sunset over our little borough and the train that (sometimes) gets us where we want to go.

2015 looks to be an even more exciting journey!

Starting off the year celebrating my mom's birthday back in Denver!  I can't wait to see my Colorado family and friends; I only wish there was time to see everyone.  Thankfully, there's technology that can keep us together throughout the year and whenever anyone wants to come to the Big Apple, you have a free place to stay!

I'm looking forward to attending more plays, visiting more museums, and trying out some of the events I keep hearing about, like Governors Ball Music Festival and the Jazz Age Lawn Party.  I'm hoping, too, that I can put on my dancing shoes a little more often (before my bones/joints tell me to stop) and get around to going to the MoMA PS1: Warm Up and the Mister Saturday Night/Mister Sunday parties.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the frosty winter of the city, with the smell of scorched street food always reminding me I'm in New York (in case I forget).  That's far better, however, than the smell of urine we always get during the warmer months, so I'll take it.  The cold seems to have no effect on the people that need to push their way along the sidewalks or onto crowded trains to get to wherever they're going.  As challenging (and smelly) as it is, I still love it!

I guess my point is, wherever I am, there are challenges and happiness in equal measure.  There's really no way around it.  But, I'm learning to overcome the challenges more quickly and enjoy the happiness that comes along the way.  I've found ever more positive people to surround myself with and I'm beginning to understand why they're so freaking joyful all the time!  I'm still a little grumpier than some, but not as grumpy as I used to be (I think my cold black heart might be brightening up a bit) and much less grumpy than many New Yorkers.  Who would have thought living in a city this size, with so many obstacles, I could find such strength and joy?  (Ok, sappy emotional moment over)

Happy New Year everyone and here's to another year of life, learning, and letting go (now you'll have that Idina Menzel song in your head; will it ever go away?)!

Can't wait to see Mexico in the Fall!