Sorry for my infrequent posts as of late. You see, it's summer in the city and I've had the great fortune of wonderful friends visiting the past few weekends. Although we tromped around, melty puddles of sweat (this 90 degree/90% humidity thing has really got to go), fun was had by all. Both guests were ridiculously easy to please. Awesomely chill chicks with no huge expectations, they just wanted to hang out and absorb the city. However, we did manage to take in some sights: Times Square, the former World Trade Center, the Brooklyn Heights promenade, Central Park, the absurd shops of 5th Avenue, a comedy show at the United Citizens Brigade Theatre and of course, we managed to gorge ourselves along the way. (Pizza? Hot pretzels? Hot dogs? Check, check, and check).
And in typical New York City fashion, my lack of planning worked to our advantage. Last Saturday, while strolling down 5th Avenue, a mere hour after her arrival, my friend and I were accosted by a dude on the street. "Are you American citizens?" he asked. Oh Jesus...here we go, I thought. I was waiting for him to make some dumb, borderline offensive comment about Americans which would have been followed by "Ha! But seriously, how about coming to see me at the Comedy Cafe tonight?"
Fortunately for us, this was not the case. He was actually in a tizzy, needing extras for a Nokia commercial pronto. He said that if we didn't mind riding around on a bus for an hour of two, we could make a quick 50 dollars. Sold! (Did I mention we were in the midst of window shopping on 5th Avenue?) I'm not sure when it will be aired but if you ever see a Nokia commercial with two girls bopping their heads from side to side (I seriously don't know what that was all about but it took them two hours to appropriately synchronize head bops), look two rows beyond them and you'll spot two sweaty chicks, chatting away while playing it oh-so-cool.
Throughout both of these visits though, I found myself screaming at myself, Why don't you get out and do this stuff more often? At the very least, get your ass to Central Park on a regular basis! Even though I live in this amazing city, I continually get caught up in the day to day/trying to make a living thing while missing out on all kinds of cool stuff. I am reminded of this when friends visit and I see that glint of excitement in their eyes as we stroll down the avenues of Manhattan. I'm not proud to admit that in my two years living here, I have only been to one museum, which I hated anyway. (Let's just say that I am not a fan of the modern art). I mean, really? The laundry can't wait?
If there is one tenet of healthy living that I've been trying to incorporate into my daily life, it's been the necessity of balance. Work is mandatory, of course. Laundry, too, but so is playtime and it's high time for me to break out of my ingrained Midwestern practicality and take advantage of what the city has to offer on a more regular basis.
Having said that, "Edward Scissorhands" is playing under the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow night. The weather is supposed to (finally) be lovely, too. Who's in with me? Maybe we can even do it up all NYC style and enjoy a slice with a fat slab of cheesecake on the side. Yes?
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