Another week down, another move down

Hello everyone!

Time is seriously flying by. It's getting difficult to wrap my head around the fact that this place that I've only known as a getaway and land of greatness is where I live now. Even more difficult is knowing I won't be back in Ohio for at least a few months. But things are becoming increasingly more comfortable, I must say. The subway system has always been a place I have understood how to navigate, but now I know how it all works without really thinking about it. If someone stops me on the street and asks how to get from point A to point B, I'm actually pretty good as articulating the best routes to take and maybe even give them a few landmarks to ensure they're on the right path. I guess I'm really becoming a New Yorker.

Oddly enough, New Yorkers are actually not mean. This terrible misconception is consistently proven wrong. Yes, they are a gruff people with heavy accents and big chips on their shoulder. But if a tourist asks a New Yorker directions, you bet your ass that New Yorker is going to give the tourist the best directions in order to get the tourists OUT OF THE WAY! Thankfully, the NYC government got really keen on this tidbit about tourists and have shut down car traffic on certain areas in Times Square. These strips of Broadway are now pedestrian walk areas with lots of seating for tourists to stop and enjoy the view while staying out of the way of New Yorkers on their hurried way to wherever they're going. BRILLIANT! It's also just a nice place to sit between shifts, grab a drink, and enjoy the fact that this is where you live.

Nothing all that interesting has happened over the last week other than my move to the new apartment that I will call home through next August. I have lots of thanks to send out to Katie's parents and two brothers for making this quite possibly the easiest move of my life. Seriously, all I did was bag up my bed, box up my crap, then Mark and Thomas just came in and got it all into the van or walked it over to my new place. No joke, it's that close. (Side note: I've been meaning to take some pictures around here, but I need new batteries and I keep on forgetting. My plan is to take said pictures over the next week and make next weeks post a "Picture Post".) As a "thank you" I took everyone out for pizza after the move...or at least tried to. Katie's dad snuck up to the counter and paid without my knowing. I still owe you all a dinner, at least as an apology for being in the way during the move.

Anway, the new place is great! Very spacious overall, even though my room is quite little, but manageable. In order to fit all my stuff in the room, I have once again taken the doors off my closet and put my dresser in there just to free up some other space. Lord knows I don't have enough clothes to take up an entire closet, so why not make use of that space, right? So now I have my bed, piano, and a folding table (serving as my desk) in my room.

The weather is actually been pretty nice over the last few days. As you may recall from earlier posts, it was nothing but hot and sticky when my brother moved me in at the beginning of August. This past Saturday it rained a little bit which cooled everything off and made the move surprisingly comfortable. The temperature dropped a little bit last night and I slept fairly well and didn't wake up drenched in sweat. (All together now: "Ewww...")

Yes, I did just write a paragraph about the weather. Sorry.

You'll notice on the right hand side of my blog there is a new feature: the Poll. I haven't officially decided how often this will occur, but right now you can vote on what my first Adventure will be. I've taken some suggestions from those of you that commented on last week's post and narrowed it down to a few I think are completely manageable. Sorry, Kristina, I haven't seen the Naked Cowboy out yet, so I figured that wouldn't be a smart option to put up. Fear not, I'll save that idea a later date. This adventure will take place on Friday, most likely. Don't worry about whether or not the one you want me to do doesn't get the most votes; I will eventually do all of these. Keep in mind also, this will probably be an adventure spent alone as everyone else will be working on Friday... But please check out the Bar Hop suggested by the lovely ksneyer in the comment section of last weeks post. That is something that will definitely happen at some point in time. Additionally, feel free to send me more suggestions. You can e-mail at NickOlas1225@gmail.com, send me a message on facebook (if we're friends), or call me (if we're REALLY good friends).

Whatever I end up doing on Friday will happen during the day and will be topped off with dinner and the theatre with the lovely KTD. Our show for the night: Dolly Parton's 9 to 5! The show is closing after only 24 previews and 148 performances. This is one of those very strange situations where I just do not understand how this show did not do better. You can dissect this by starting with the composer: Dolly Parton. Who doesn't like Dolly Parton? She's pretty much the closest thing we have to a real life Barbie doll. She's an American institute of music and has a heart of gold, well, probably cheap, fake gold, but gold nonetheless. Then there's the cast: Allison Janney (three-time Emmy winner for The West Wing), Stephanie J. Block (Elphaba in numerous productions of Wicked), Megan Hilty (the world's best Glinda in Wicked), and Marc Kudisch (three-time Tony Award nominee). Sorry, that's pretty damn impressive. It started out in Los Angeles and made the transfer to Broadway in the fall. Here's where it gets a little less fantastic a dream: it opened to mixed reviews. Once award nominations came out, it nabbed 15 Drama Desk Award nominations (the record for the DDA), but only 4 Tony Award noms. Everyone I know that has seen the show thinks it's awesome. But it's attendance hasn't been all that stellar. I don't think it has ever played to capacity. Maybe it should have opened in a smaller theatre? It's playing at the Marquis Theater which seats more than 1,600. Whereas Next to Normal, a show about a family dealing with a mother diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, plays at the Booth Theatre which seats half that. N2N has been playing to anywhere from 85-95% capacity since it opened and doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

This whole situation begs the question: how can you properly plan out the course for a show based on so many factors? I'll explore that at a later date. I feel like I'm getting a little too long-winded for one post.

I hope you're all doing well. Don't forget to do your part as a NAiNY reader and VOTE! Check in next week to find out what Adventure I go on...

YOU Decide Nick's Adventures!

Alright. So here's the deal: my life isn't really all that interesting, but I'm so stoked that so many of you are actually reading and can't wait to see what I'll do next. So, I figured that this blog really isn't just for myself and there are many of you that say you are living vicariously through me. (Side note: "vicarious living" is one of the best terms ever--I don't know why I think this...) Anywho, this is my idea: there are so many things to do in NYC, I just don't know what I should do. This is where you all come in. If you there is something you've always wanted to do in NYC but have never gotten the chance, tell me what it is, I'll go do it, take pictures, then make that experience my next blog post!

This has all kind of spawn because I saw Julie & Julia a few weeks ago and loved the fact that this woman in Queens was writing a blog that people were reading and loving. After the first few weeks of moving here, I don't really foresee a whole lot of incredibly fun things happening as all I'm going to be doing is working and hoping to have a really good audition that ends with me getting cast in the show. In the meantime, there's so many other things I could be doing. And this way I know what I'm going to be doing on my days off and I don't just lay in bed all day thinking about all the things I could be doing.

Obviously, there has to be some kind of ground rules, such as no stalking celebrities (I do that all the time, why else would I work in Times Square? Ooo, P.S. I saw John Stamos the other day as he was doing promo stuff for the revival of Bye, Bye Birdie he's starring in at the new Henry Miller's Theatre), no working the corner (selling rats on a stick, or otherwise...), and nothing that'll cost too much money. However, if you'd like me to go see a Broadway show and tell you all about it here, I'm sure we could work something out, but Nicky ain't gots no monies fo dat rot now... Sorry about that.

So let me know what YOU want me to do in NYC!

In other news: I had the most random night out last night. The last few days I've been working pretty much non-stop and racked up a long list of hours this past week. Suffice to say I was pretty tired after I got off work last night and decided to partake in the glories of working at a Brewery restaurant. So I had my shift drink at the bar, enjoying myself while making a few phone calls that I had put off too long.

During my shift, I met this trio of delightful Canadians that were visiting NYC for the first time ever! Naturally, I was all pumped to be the non-tourist in the city and was letting them know the ins-and-outs of what's cool to do in NYC. It was during this time that I realized I don't really know what's all that great to do here other than going to see shows. But that was cool with them, they were actually interested in maybe seeing something while they're here. So I ended up showing them where the tkts booth is, where a few theatres were with shows I suggested to them and how to find cheap tickets for great shows. They were overjoyed with how kind I was and insisted that we stop somewhere for another beer. "F*CK YEAH!" I exclaimed.

We decided Times Square was too busy, so we just walked to 8th Avenue and started exploring around there. Since they were staying at a hotel around Madison Square Garden, we proceeded south on 8th and came across Emmett's, a pretty neat place in the theatre district. There weren't more than four other people there, so we decided this was a good spot to stop. First off, our bartender was from Scotland (immediately, I wanted to call him William Wallace, instead of his name Ryan). Second, the guy a few seats down from us was from Dublin, Ireland. So I'm surrounded by accents right about now with Scottish behind the bar, Irish on my left, and a trifecta of Canadian "ehs" on my right. THIS IS NEW YORK. The Canadians proceeded to buy me a Blue Moon, which was just delectable. A little later on, one of the Canadians got lost on his way back from the bathroom. He made a wrong turn and just sat in a corner in the basement waiting to be discovered (isn't everyone). Luckily, I started exploring the caverns of this bar and found him far off the beaten path. Extra luckily, he was very thankful that I took the time to find him and he bought me another beer. YEAH! There were also two rounds of Petron somewhere in there, not sure when... By the way, these Canadians were all in their 30's but looked like they just graduated high school--what the hell is in their water up there? After they left, the Irishman had the bartender pour me a Guinness. Ahh, Guinness. After a little conversation, I decided it was time to make my way home--at 2:30 in the morning. (Did I mention that I had gotten off work around 9 PM?) To say the least, my travels home were fairly easy, but a bit wobbly.

Not exactly how I figured my Sunday night would go.

The next post will probably come next Monday. I like Mondays as my Blog Days, so plan on checking back then for more. I'm hopefully going to take some pictures of the Manhattan skyline from the roof of my current apartment and post them here before it's too late and I don't have roof access anymore. This coming weekend, I'll be moving to the other side of the block to a four-bedroom townhouse. So, that means this is probably my last post from my first apartment in NYC. Oh, the memories...

I'll "see" you all next time. Start thinking of where/what you want me to go/do!

Has it really been two and a half weeks?

Seriously, I can't believe it's already August 20th--17 days since I moved here!

In the last week, I've:

1) Started working. It's a great job and I'm doing very well. So far, it hasn't been too terribly busy, which is probably good for me since I'm just learning and getting the feel for hosting. However, there's a popular Broadway show opening up across the street from our restaurant in a few weeks, so we're DEFINITELY going to be getting busier. I've also become "friends" with members of the cast that have come over for lunch a few days--they're pretty cool. The people I work with are awesome and I feel very fortunate to have found a place that feels very much like home already. Honestly, after leaving Max & Erma's, I wasn't sure if I would found a group of people I would enjoy working with so much. It's not exactly the same, but they are a great group of people. Naturally, being New York, I work with a lot of people trying to break into the biz. As such, they are very much "my people". We haven't broken out in song yet, but it's only a matter of time. Fear not. More on this later...

2) Looked into other jobs. While I love my job at the restaurant, it doesn't really pay enough to support my living out here. As such, I am still on the search for other gainful employment, at least until I start serving and can pull in more than $250/week... I've talked to other restaurants and have applied for a number of jobs within the theatre community simply because that's the industry I want to be a part of. Nothing has really materialized yet, but I just need to be more patient.

3) Found more auditions. I've found audition calls for the City Center Encores! series, Wicked, On the Town (at Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ), La Cage aux Folles, and Billy Elliot. At the same time, I think I'm gonna have to give the auditions a rest until I have enough money to take the time off to go to auditions. In this scenario, I won't be auditioning for anything until mid-September, which leaves on the Billy Elliot auditions from the above list. However, I think that's the only show I actually have a shot at getting in as there are a number of burly miners in the show. We'll see where this all goes...

4) Have found myself thinking less of moving back to Ohio. I don't think I covered that last part in my last post. It's true. But I've also found it's very common to feel this way. My situation isn't all that extraordinary compared to everyone else that has made this move to NYC. However, I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that this was my decision and I have to deal with all the difficult things like an adult and make my own way. It feels incredibly liberating to say that, but incredibly terrifying at the same time.

In other news, I've lost a noticeable amount of weight! I suspect the numbers around 10-12 lbs. since I moved, which is pretty awesome. Just wait till you all see me at Christmas.

Speaking of "you all", is anybody really reading this? Am I maybe I only doing this for myself? Holler back if you're out there.

One week down...the rest of my life to go.

It's 2:00 PM on Monday, August 10, 2009, in Astoria, NY. I've been here for one whole week now and I can't even begin to describe all the things I've felt since I arrived.

Let's start with last weekend:

Whether or not they are reading this, I need to thank Drew, Brandon, Dave, Jason, Sean, Nicky, and Mark for the best way to spend my last weekend in Ohio: with some of my best friends, having a great time drinking, singing, and relaxing on Indian Lake. I can't wait till next year.

Then, there was the move:

Packing began as soon as I got back from the lake on Sunday. Luckily, my brother is pretty awesome as packing a truck and the whole process went pretty easily. Charles and Charlie came over to help and hang out a bit since we hadn't really had a chance to hang out after I moved back to Columbus. My final dinner in Columbus was pizza at Massey's--and it was divine!

Monday morning came arrived before I knew it. At 5:15 AM, Andy and I drove out of Columbus and made out way to NYC! Things weren't perfect immediately: the adapter in the truck didn't work, so we couldn't plug in an iPod or his GPS which made the drive more difficult, especially once we got closer to the city. It turned out to be a long drive, but a good one since Andy and I just got the time to talk and catch up on stuff. Side note: I hope to never have to drive to New York again, especially not on US-1 and 9 which was bumper-to-bumper for about 8 miles...with a window down...in 90 degree weather...

However, once we got to Astoria, it was only about 40 minutes before the truck was empty and we were setting up my room in the apartment. It's not big, but it's mine for the next few weeks until I move to another place on the same block!!! Which reminds me: I'm not moving to BROOKLYN, I'm staying in Astoria! Small world, let me tell ya. Anywho, as Andy and I drove the truck to the drop-off place, we found a box in the truck. Inside this box was an external hard drive. I have been meaning to buy one for months so I don't lose everything I've put on my computer since it crashed last fall, but never got around to it. Now I don't have to! Thankfully, my computer is equipped with a program that automatically backs-up my hard drive anytime anything changes. SCORE ONE FOR NICK!

Let me tell you how awesome my little apartment is: we have roof access and a beautiful view of Manhattan! Not to mention I have a pretty kick-ass roommate! Her name is Kathryn and she is a fan of How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Scrubs, and Justing Timberlake. I can't lie, it's pretty awesome living here. My room is really small, but it does the job and it allows me to live in NYC.

On the job front, I spent Tuesday afternoon walking around Midtown Manhattan searching out my next job. The first application I filled out got my a job as a host at a busy midtown restaurant. However, it's not going to pay enough to support living here, so I'm searching for a second job, hopefully within the realm of the theatre world. I've also made it to a few auditions. This really is the business of "Hurry Up and Wait." However, small world experiences have ensued and at my first audition, I sat down right next to a friend of mine's roommate whom I had never met before--cue "It's a Small World After All...". We'll see how the rest of the job search turns out.

Another bit of AWESOMENESS: there is a Penny Arcade at a local bank. I took $7.80 to said bank's penny arcade and proceeded to put those coins in the machine. There was some kind of malfunction and I ended up with $25+ when it was all said and done. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?!

Other things I've experienced: the Adult Kickball League. Holy Crap do these people know how to party. They go to a bar that eventually clears out leaving only kickballers there. I can't really say anymore, because I think they may have to kill me.

Well, this has been sufficiently rambled and far too long. If you've made this far, congratulations! Hopefully, I'll see you soon so you can experience this all with me.

Hoping you are all well wherever you are,

Nick