Life Lessons!

"For Good" from the musical "Wicked"

"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return"

I have always believed that people come in and out of our lives for a reason; that they are there to teach us what it is we need to know at that moment in time.

As adults, it is our belief that it is up to us to do all of the teaching, and our children to do all of the learning. After all, we are older and wiser, and have far more to share. What could a child, new to this world, possibly teach us? I can honestly say I've never subscribed to that philosophy because I believe that everyone who walks through my life, young or old, is there for a purpose, whether they are there to teach me something concrete or abstract, they are still there to teach me something. I look at the experiences I have encountered throughout my life, in very much the same way; all opportunities for learning. This adventure proved to be no exception.  The lessons I learned from my child were invaluable and very much needed at this moment of my life.

Without a doubt, my son and I are both taking away from this trip far more than what we brought in to it. My greatest lesson learned was that I saw my son in a totally different light. I saw him focused and dedicated to learning all the he could about his craft, while displaying a level of independence, maturity and self-confidence that I had never seen before. His happiness at being able to do what he loved, was palpable. It reinforced my commitment to make sure that my son chooses to do in life what makes him happy, and not base his choices on what others might expect of him.

I hope my son is taking away from this trip, a lesson equally as important; that his mother actually knows how to "chill out". By seeing me in a laid back setting, blissfully ignorant of the daily stresses of a life 200 miles away and eager to live life in the moment, he saw a very different me. So often our days are filled with one "to do list" after another, that finding time to just sit with our children and smell the flowers is near impossible. Oftentimes the sounds of daily life can be deafening and don't allow us to actually hear what it is our children are trying to tell us. No wonder they don't like us! But on this trip I was able to see and hear everything. It was such a gift and one I will treasure forever.

On another note, we decided to forgo the Shakespeare in the Park tickets. It is Bo's last day of class, and he wanted to spend the evening in the company of his new found friends, before they all scatter back to their respective homes. I don't blame him. Tomorrow is the shoot for Celebrity Ghost Stories. It sounds like it is going to be a tremendous learning experience for him. :-)

Tuesday's Tweets and Twitters!

It's Tuesday and we are down to our last four days. I am getting very melancholy. I feel like I just started to settle into a routine, and now it's time to leave. I will miss my two room apartment, Tal the bagel guy, Jose the manager of the Food Emporium, the many doormen who line West End Ave that I would greet on my morning walk each day, and the Merry Mexicans that would jump on the subway, play a few bars, collect some money, exit the train, board another, and repeat. Only in New York, right? Yes, this was definitely a summer I will remember for a long while to come.

Some things learned:

I have mastered the art of using a manual can opener. :-)

My son and I are both allergic to down. I had to replace the comforters in the apartment with good old cheap cotton/polyester ones.

You really don't have to stand in line for hours at the TKTS ticket booth before it opens. You can still get there after it opens and get discounted tickets to the show you want. The major shows like Wicked, Jersey Boys and the Addams Family are never sold there.

Conways on 35th and 7th Avenue is way better than the Conways beside Macys. They both carry the same discounted clothes, but one is jam packed and difficult to maneuver, while the other is a bit more spacious and far less claustrophobic.

The upper west side of the city is desperately in need of some good take out Chinese restaurants.

Ordering take out in the city is so easy, any one can do it. All you need is a computer. Grubhub.com is the best thing since sliced bread! If they had one of these in my town, I would never have to cook again! (okay, if you've been reading to date, you know I don't cook but STILL!)

Celebrity spotting in NYC is difficult at best. There are just too many people and everyone starts looking the same after a while. :-)

Don't be afraid to go to Harlem. Only the name is scary. :-)

My son is a very talented actor and this trip was beneficial to him in many ways. He made some "like minded" friends and even more importantly, some great business contacts. Two strategies he needs to work on: how to hold on to his personal belongings and remember to ask for business cards and/or write down the name of every person he comes in contact with!

NYC bakeries are responsible for the obesity in this country.

One last observation. You can leave your apartment in the morning all spic and span, shiny and clean. By the time you walk through the door at the end of the day, you can literally feel the grime on your body. It's not just dirt, but DIRT, like little sand pebbles. It's very strange.

Okay, enough tweeting for today!

Monday's Musings and Mutterings!

Bo had to go to the drama bookstore before class today so I went with him.  I browsed around 7th Avenue and 35th Street.  I found this pretty cool discounted clothing store called Conways.  Everything is priced really cheap but yet the clothes are name brands and relatively good quality. They asked Bo to bring a pair of black slacks to the shoot on Friday so I needed to pick those up.  I was able to get them for $7.99.  Such a deal!  :-)

There are a lot of differences between New York City and Boston but the most obvious one is the ambiance of the two cities.  Boston has an old world feel while New York has a "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" kind of feeling.  At any time I expect nurses to appear on the street corners with medicine trays in hand. Note:  This only applies to the Times Square and south area. The upper west side is more like Boston.  It has a nice laid back attitude and if I could afford it, I'd live here permanently.

We are seeing Wicked on Wednesday night.  I cannot wait and neither can Bo.  He has been dying to see this as it is coming highly recommended.  :-)

Thursday is the day I'm going to try and score the Shakespeare in the Park Tickets. Getting up bright and early and staking out my spot at the park. By 1:00 p.m. Thursday I should be the proud owner of two tickets to see Al Pacino in the Merchant of Venice.

The upper west side has the cutest dogs I've ever seen in my entire life.  The most prevalent breed I've seen is the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. As an owner of this breed I can understand why they seem to be everywhere.  They are hypo-allergenic, a reasonable size, do not shed and have a wonderful personality. We owned one for 15 years and he was a great dog.  I can't same the say, however, for the one we own now.  If she was human, she'd be on anti-psychotic medication. But she is who she is and we love her just the same. But if any one wants her, we'd be happy to work something out.  :-)

Bo is still scheduled to shoot Celebrity Ghost Stories on Friday.  This will probably be a very interesting shoot to say the least. 

Saturday, my husband is driving to New York to take his family back home.  My son is absolutely dying to get back home.  He wants to spend the rest of the summer doing nothing excepting chilling out with his friends.I can't blame him. He has worked really hard the past four weeks. I, myself, am looking forward to doing a beach day or two.  My luck though, Fall will make an early appearance since it's been summer around these parts since April. Good luck trying to find any one to go with me if that happens!

If anyone's keeping count, we're now up to one phone, one wallet, and one metro card with $22.00 still remaining on it.  According to Bo, "everything just keeps falling out of my pockets".  Seriously, I have never seen someone lose so many things in my entire life. I bought him a new wallet today.  I hope it at least makes it back to Boston with him.  :-)

Live! From New York, It's Saturday Night!

One week left, and I sit here by myself on my son's 16th birthday staring at the four walls around me.  He, on the other hand, is out seeing a movie and having dinner with a young lady he met in acting class.  I'm happy for them. Better her than me is the way I see it.  It's 96 degrees here, and when I went out earlier in the day, I quickly realized that this heat was going to play havoc with my breathing so I hurried back in to the AC, which is also playing havoc with my breathing.  The AC, however, is the lesser of the two evils in my opinion.

This was a relatively quiet week for me, but very busy for Bo.  In addition to his classes, he had a few auditions for various projects.  He booked "Celebrity Ghost Stories" which was pretty exciting.  It will film late next week in Queens.  For those who don't know, CGS is on the Biography Channel and is in its second season.  Celebrities come on the show and discuss their encounters with ghosts.  The story is re-enacted through flashbacks.  Bo will be playing a young Maksim from Dancing with the Stars.  Funny, since Bo neither speaks Russian or knows how to ball room dance.  He apparently wowed them with his "faux" Russian accent at the audition and because of that, they were willing to overlook the fact that he can't dance.  :-)  This particular episode will air sometime in October.  I will post an update once filming has been completed. 

Oh oh. This just in.  Unfortunately, the date is about to be cut short, as I just received a text from my son telling me he lost his wallet with his remaining money inside. So far, we're up to a phone and a wallet.  Thankfully I never gave him the only set of apartment keys we have.  Hhhhm.....I wonder how many sets of car keys I should have made up for him when he starts to drive.  :-)

Thank you to all of his cousins for sending the video message to him.  He really loved seeing all of you singing Happy Birthday to him!  Hope you all are having an awesome time at the Bon Jovi concert....while your aunt ....is sitting here...alone...staring at four walls.    :-)

Hope everyone's Saturday night is proving to be more fun than mine!


Happy 16th Birthday Bug!

A Day At The Zoo!

The title of this blog post could quite aptly describe a day spent any where in New York City, however, the day I'm referring to, was spent at a real zoo; The Bronx Zoo.  First off let me preface this by saying this zoo literally sits in the middle of the Bronx.  The walk from the subway station to the zoo, is a sightseeing event on its own merits. 

On Sunday I finally got the chance to do something I have wanted to do for a very long time and that was go to the Bronx Zoo! We had a wonderful day there and it is most definitely a zoo worth visiting if you are in the area.  It has a theme very similar to that of the Animal Kingdom in Disney World but with far more animals.  In the Animal Kingdom, I have never seen more than one lion and one lioness at a time.  The lion in the AK can usually be seen perched on the air conditioned faux "rock" that sits up on the hill. If you're lucky, you can catch a glimpse of him as you are driven along in the "never good for anyone's back" safari ride.  Here, the lion was out in full view, as were the two lionesses and their cubs.  It was awesome.  The gorilla exhibit was phenomenal.  There are 19 gorillas in the exhibit and all were on display at one time or another. Giraffes grazed in open fields, while animals I had never seen before played along side them. Again, I have never seen more species of animals in any one location than at this zoo and I have been to quite a few zoos in varous parts of the country. This was by far the best one I have ever been to. I loved it! Bo, not usually a "zoo kind of guy", was equally impressed and would love to go back again before we leave. 

Click to See Pictures from the Zoo!!!

Dazed and Confused in New York City

There are things you can count on and things you can't. People fall into that category as well. One thing I can usually count on is my son getting hurt in one way or another. He is still like an overgrown puppy; all paws.  According to the texts I've been receiving, he hurt himself in improv class today.  Apparently, he slipped and fell head first into a brick wall, so hard in fact, that it temporarily dazed and confused him.  He was told he should get checked out, but waived off the suggestion. Of course, he never called me. Not feeling well enough to walk through Central Park, he got on a train.  Where to?  Queens!!!  Apparently, still dazed and confused since we are in Manhattan.  The last text I received from him, he said he had a really bad headache and was heading home. Let's just hope he meant to Manhattan and not to Boston. So here I sit.  Waiting, wondering, "what iffing" and of course....worrying.  :-(

UPDATE:  He finally made it home, but still has a "horrible" headache and isn't feelng so hot.  He seems wiped out. Hopefully he'll have a good nights rest and be back to normal in the morning. I think in addition to the bump on the head, his current mood might be more reflective of how homesick he has become.  I didn't expect this. 

Clicking My Heels!

It's funny what you think about when you actually have time to think.  For those on my Facebook who saw the thanks I gave my husband on Father's Day for always "standing by his son's side", it will give you some idea about why Bo has been missing his father of late.  They are many of the same reasons why I find myself missing him of late too. In addition to the obvious, the fact that he can cook like no one else I know, I miss his sense of humor, which is almost on par with his sons. He is also the calm in the middle of the storm; the one who usually redirects me when my thoughts turn more melancholy than they should. I miss his voice of reason when it comes to our son. His laidback attitude to parenting complements my more rigid parenting style. Bo benefits from both.  I miss his ability to "unworry" the worry in my mind.  I miss my gym partner.  The one who motivates me to get my butt to the gym when I want to do nothing but sit on the couch. It's probably the reason why I haven't stepped foot in a gym since I got here   I miss his ability to "go with the flow", which is what he did regarding this trip. Knowing how important this trip was to his son, he willingly sacrificed a few things along the way to make sure that it happened.  So at the half way point of this trip, I am reminded just how important my family continues to be to me. Yes, it's most definitely funny what you think about when you actually have time to think.

Sleepy in New York!

Well the lifestyle of the not even close to being rich or famous finally caught up with my son.  After a very late night, he finally fell asleep and didn't wake up again until 1:00 PM.  Sad part is, neither did I.

Rather than get out of his pajamas, Bo sat around all day playing on his laptop while humming and/or singing show tunes from the Promises, Promises sound track he downloaded to his ITouch while simultaneously texting a new friend from acting class. He has almost every song memorized word for word. How he does this, I do not know. It's a gift, that's all I can say.

We ordered take out, and aside from staying up to watch the rerun of his Law and Order episode on NBC at 10:00, we are calling it an early night in the city.  I love these kind of days.  Totally rejuvenating.  Hopefully tomorrow will finally bring the one day I've been waiting for this entire trip; a day at the Bronx Zoo!!!!

Late Night Ramblings!

Friday night in Times Square is absolutely crazy.  There are people everywhere and trying to walk down the sidewalk can get difficult at times.  I don't have an imposing presence so people don't part like the Red Sea when I'm coming through.  On the contrary, they actually act is if I'm not even there.  My son, on the other hand, is like Moses when he walks down the street.  People just seem to move out of his way when he's coming through.  Perhaps it's how he looks, how he carries himself, the fact that he's loudly singing "Promises, Promises" to any one who will listen, or maybe they see the Size 14 shoes coming at them, and they don't want to get their feet stepped on.  All I know is they move for him, but they don't for me.  So now, I find myself walking behind him, hand clutched to the corner of his shirt, tagging along as if I'm the child, and he's the parent. 

Speaking of parent and child, although loving this experience at living somewhere else for a little while, Bo is now beginning to talk of missing his father, as well as his two dogs and of course his friends.  On the one hand he is having the time of his life, and on the other, he can't wait to get home and spend the rest of the summer hanging with his friends and annoying his Dad.  Pretty much all of the normal things most teenagers do during summer break.  Here, he is up until all hours of the night, and then on just a few hours of sleep, springs out of bed early in the morning rearing to go. Perhaps he is yearning for his own bed.  Who knows?

My son, my hero. We went to another play tonight.  It is called "Near Normal" and in my eyes, it was "Near Good".  In Bo's, it was "Almost Good".  :-)  We both enjoyed it and gave it a rating of 7 out of 10.  In comparison, Promises, Promises got a 9.5 out of 10 from Bo.  For some reason, I am always cold now.  It doesn't matter what the temp is outside, I'm just always cold.  The theater was like an icebox and I couldn't stop shaking.  Suddenly, as we were sitting there watching the play, my son put his arm around me, pulled me close and with his other arm, started rubbing my arms to warm them up.  I thanked him afterward for doing that, and he responded "any time, Mom...I was happy to do it".  He's maturing into such a wonderful young adult and that moment will be one I will treasure for a long time to come.

My son, my older man.  After the play, we went to Ruby Tuesdays.  When the waitress came over, she started telling us about the specialty drinks.  She seemed to be directing this conversation toward my son, and after she left, Bo stated that he could have easily ordered a drink and got away with it.  I, of course, told him he was full of it, and that the waitress would never have thought he was old enough to drink.  At the end of the night, the waitress came with the check.  I decided I would ask her just how old she thought he was.  She looked him over, and then said "hhhm...I think you could definitely play a mature 17 or 18 year old.  On stage, you could definitely pull that off."  We never mentioned anything about him being an aspiring actor, so why she assumed he was one, I have no idea.  I then looked at Bo and said "See, I told you you wouldn't have got away with it.  She doesn't even think you're 18."  I then turned to her and laughingly told her "my son thinks he would have been able to get away with ordering a drink from you".  She looked at me like I had two heads and that's when I noticed a look of bewilderment on her face.  Suddenly it dawned on me.  She actually thought she was complimenting him by telling him he could play 17 or 18 because she believed he was in fact older than that.  Just how old did she think he was?  At least 25!!!  Slowly I turned to see my son sitting there with his arms folded, chest puffed out, and wearing the broadest grin on his face that I have ever seen.  Why do I do this to myself?  :-)

Cyrus

"With his social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcee finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son."

This is the movie that was rated "R" that Bo couldn't con his way into earlier in the week.  It was great.  I am still trying to figure out why it got an "R" rating though.  There really wasn't anything bad in it other than some swearing.  It starred Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei (who still looks 20), John C. Reilly and Catherine Keener.  It's not running in a lot of theaters, but if you can find it playing some where it really is a "must see".  What makes this film so special is the casting and the fact that the actors were allowed to ad-lib at will.  Some times I sit with a blank stare on my face at the movies my son takes me to, but this one was different.  I loved it!

Promises, Promises

Two tickets to Bo's first Broadway musical, $194.50
One shirley temple and one diet coke in theater souvenir cups, $20.00
Dinner at Angelo's Italian Restaurant, $39.70

Hearing my son say "I would love to do Broadway some day. I guess I better learn how to sing and dance first though.", PRICELESS.

I love being able to still find "firsts" to do with my son.  Seeing the sparkle in his eye as he sees or does something for the first time, still brings enormous joy to my heart.  Such was the case when we attended the Broadway musical, Promises, Promises.  The show was awesome. It stars Sean Hayes ("Jack", from Will and Grace), and Kristen Chenoweth.  Sean Hayes is such a talented actor, and who knew he could sing!   Kristen Chenoweth is spectacular.  She is positively tiny, but yet she has this enormous voice and she literally shines on stage.

Bo and I both loved it and Bo said it was the best show he has ever seen on Broadway.  I guess for a moment there he forgot it was the only show he has seen on Broadway. :-) In fact, he loved the show so much, that he downloaded the cast CD to his ITouch and now breaks out in song at any random moment in time. He can't seem to get the songs out of his head. I love it though as he had no real interest in live theater prior to this. We are going to be seeing Wicked soon, and then may do one more off Broadway show.  The tickets are obviously not cheap, and I'm trying to stay on budget. 

It's been a bit dreary here the past few days, and it seems to have impacted my spirit as well.  I haven't gone to the gym since arriving and that's probably doing a number on me as well.  I find myself trying to stretch out whenever I can, but it's not the same.

Bo had two auditions this week, in addition to his classes.  One was for a lead role in a short film, and the other was for a role in Celebrity Ghoststories on the Biography Channel.  I'm happy he is auditioning but the focus of this trip still remains learning as much as he can about acting.

Looking forward to the weekend.  Hoping to go to the Bronx Zoo!

Texts In The City!

As my son travels throughout the city alone for his classes and auditions, at some point during the day, I am on the receiving end of one of his "ah ha moment" texts.  Although my son can be incredibly distracted at times, i.e., the loss of his phone and various other things in the past few weeks, he  can also be very perceptive and aware of things that you and I may not otherwise pay attention to, such as:

"Mom! If I lost my freaking phone what makes you think I would have held onto my receipts from my cab driver who kinda resembles Paul Reubens in a strange sort of way". 
My response:  Fair enough!

"Is it rude to tell the cab guy to drop me off early lol, like if I was going to a place and I said "oh right here' is fine, and just walk extra blocks? "That would lessen the fare AND his tip so think that'd be a rude thing to do?"

"Cab driver has thick dark ear hair, most Ive ever seen on someone.  I bet he can't hear a thing.  Should I test that theory out?". 
My response:  OMG, NO!

"Took subway back, no money left cuz machine couldnt do change so it ate up my entire 20 bucks so now I have a metro card with a lot of money on it which I'll probably lose before I get back to the apartment. Just great!" 
My response:  How'd you figure out which train? 
"Cuz I'm a smart guy."

My personal favorite.  He longboarded down to a movie theater hoping to get into an independent movie that was rated R.  He does look older than his age, so he was hopeful he would be allowed access.

Bo:  "Wouldn't let me in"
Me:  "That stinks".
Bo:  "Yeah. I know. Im stuck here now and no other movies are playing until like 4. Crap!"
Me:  "Bummer.  Hey, while you're out can you look for a store that sells blankets?".
:::::::::the tension is rising:::::::::::::::
Bo:  "Did you not listen to my voicemail!!!!"
Me:  "No".
Bo:  "Well Im not looking for any damn blankets. Im coming back.  I peddled down here for nothing. Now this phone keeps restarting and a bird crapped on my shoulder and just about everything else is going wrong!". 
Me:  "Chill out Bo. Just go with the flow. You need to relax. Bird crap is all part of living in the city.  Sometimes we have days like this. If I told you it was good luck for a bird to poop on you, would you believe me? 
Bo:  "Are you serious???? No!"

I am truly having the time of my life.  :-)
    

Sunday in the Park!

Bo and I went to Riverside Park for a couple of hours today.  It is an absolutely gorgeous day here.  There is a slight breeze and the air is crisper than it has been in days.  We first stopped at Tal's Bagels.  It's a breakfast place run by a little chinese guy named, you guessed it, "Tal".  Bo loves the place so we've spent a good many mornings there this past week. 

We then headed to the park where Bo thought it would be a wonderful idea to teach his mother, wearing a sundress and sandals, how to longboard.  Yay for me!  OK No! My son is persistent and when he sets his mind to something, he will continue to run with it until I give him a reasonable explanation as to why it wasn't a good idea.  I finally got him to acquiesce by telling him that I knew for a fact that my bones were at that very moment forming small piles of bone dust around my feet, and that if by chance I fell, there was a good chance I would break something.  I then told him if that occurred, he would be waiting on me hand and foot for the duration of the trip.  That jolted him quickly back to reality. He still wanted me on the board though. Finally, I hopped on and hand in hand, he pulled me around the park.  Gotta love him!

My son has a God given talent for comedy.  He can make me laugh like nobody's business.  At one point, we spotted a well dressed elderly gentlemen taking a nap on one of the benches.  As I sat down myself on a bench to enjoy the view of the Hudson, I noticed that Bo had gone off.  For whatever reason, I turned to look behind me, and there pretending to be having an animated conversation with the sleeping guy on the bench, was my son.  (see pics) There were no words to be heard, just his mouth moving, and his arms and hands flailing around making an assortment of random gestures.  As people walked by, I saw them give him a look or two, but that was about it.  It was obvious they were used to seeing this kind of  random behavior. I, on the other hand wasn't, and sat there laughing until tears ran down my face. 

Our next stop was an ice cream vendor who could not speak English.  Bo wanted a Lemonade flavored popsicle that was pictured on the vendor's cart. He kept pointing it out to the vendor, but it was clear he had no idea what Bo was referring to.  At one point he offered Bo a strawberry flavored Snapple drink, followed by the offer of a red, white and blue Push Up and finally a lemon/lime Ice Shot.  It was obvious to Bo he wasn't getting the lemonade popsicle so he finally took the lemon/lime Ice Shot, grateful for the fact that he at least walked away with something. 

Overall, it was a wonderful day at the park!  Off to a matinee of Promises, Promises which will be the first Broadway show Bo has ever seen.  Can't wait to see what he thinks. Should be fun!

Isn't It Ironic, Dontcha Think?

I saw something today that just made my heart heavy.  It reiterated my belief that this country was quite literally going to the dogs...and cats as it turns out.

As I walked north up Broadway, I came across a large table that was set up outside a CVS pharmacy.  On the table were small kennels with an assortment of cute, adorable kittens in them.  Some people were surrounding the table, poking their fingers into the cages and talking sweetly to them, while others were shoving dollar bills into the large glass donation jug resting atop one of the cages.  I noticed that the jug was laden filled with monetary donations for our four legged creatures big and small.  A windfall for sure.

Suddenly I heard a voice call out to me.  "Hey lady, can you spare a dollar for me"?  I turned in the direction of the raspy, tired sounding voice. There, roughly 10 feet away from the overflowing donation jug for the animals, sat an elderly homeless gentleman on the ground. The heat had obviously taken its toll on him.  His exhaustion was clearly visible as was the years of hard times.  In front of him, alongside his sign asking for money for food, sat his very own large glass donation jug.  It was empty.  Surely it's possible that he had already spent today's donations which would explain the empty jug, but for some reason, I don't believe that was the case.  Now, it's not that I'm against giving to animals, because they are deserved of our help too, but if you can spare the buck for the cute kitty, why not for the elderly homeless guy too?  I just don't get it.

Crazy Cows and Even Crazier People!

Seeing that I was in New York city, I wasn't surprised to see a sightseeing bus go by filled to the brim with "cows" in honor of Cow Appreciation Day.  Only in New York, and only in Times Square.  This was actually one of the more subdued sights of the day.  This city is filled with people who obviously have no mirrors in their homes, and if they do, they probably have them covered with some of the other outrageous outfits they own.  But such is life and I not going to rain on anyone's fashion parade. 

We had to run some errands today, which took us on a 50 block walk south to Times Square. We stopped in at the Drama Bookstore on West 40th so Bo could buy a play he needed for one of his classes.  Interesting place to say the least.  Lots of theater types. Bo was in heaven and could have stayed there all day. I, on the other hand, was bored to tears and tried to engage one of the theater types in conversation while sitting in an overstuffed chair waiting for Bo to make his final choices.  It was obvious the play the theater type was reading was far more interesting than any conversation he could have with me. I was going to start singing "We're off to see the Wizard" in my munchkin voice, but thought better of it. Somehow I don't think he would have appreciated my attempt to lighten the mood.  This was New York afterall. Who knows what could have happened to me if I pushed the envelope.

Thankfully Bo had something else to do and it began at 1:55 p.m.  No time to stick around the bookstore.  But before we hit the movie theater, I had to find a place where I could print out a script he needed for an audition on Monday.  I had thought of many "what ifs" for this trip, but the one what if that never came to mind, was the "what if I needed to print something" what if. I was going to head to the New York Public Library, but strangely enough, the restaurant Bo wanted to eat at for lunch had an internet kiosk and a printer.  This worked out perfectly!  After lunch, we went to the movies and then took the subway back.  My son is a movieaholic.  He eats and breathes movies. He has probably seen more movies in his lifetime than I have seen in mine.  His favorite are "indies" and there are a plethora of independent movie theaters in New York city, so for him, he is quite literally in heaven. 

There is so much to see and do here, that it is quite exhausting at times.  I find that I am sleeping like a baby, while Bo is finding it more difficult to sleep than ever.  Could be the excitement of it all, as this adventure is still in the early stages.  He also hasn't learned the art of relaxation.  He is always moving and for that very reason, fits in quite nicely here.

I am looking forward to the weekend and exploring more of the neighborhood we are living in.  So far this trip is simply amazing and I am incredibly lucky to be sharing such a wonderful experience with my son.  I'm definitely not at the point where I'm clicking my heels, as in "there's no place like home", and quite frankly, I'm not sure I ever will be.  ;-)  By the way, who knew Capt'n Crunch tasted so good?  :-)

Bo, I've a feeling we're not in Massachusetts any more!

Nope, we're definitely not in Massachusetts anymore. New York as the saying goes, is the city that never sleeps.  I thought that was Vegas, but apparently it applies to New York as well.  The two pair of earplugs that the hotel we stayed at our first night so graciously provided us, were proof positive of that. The hotel is located on West 44th and that particular area of New York is quite crowded and busy at all times of the day. I wouldn't recommend staying in that area at all.  The hotel was nice though, however the interior was reminiscent of the hotel in The Shining.  At any moment, I expected to open my door, look down the hall, and see a child yelling "Redrum, Redum".  Not a great way to start a month long adventure for someone who is already way out of her comfort zone.

We are now settled in our apartment.  It's cozy to say the least; two rooms, tiny kitchen, and bathroom.  But it's actually perfect in all ways. Thankfully, it has AC, which has been truly a blessing.  The kitchen as I stated, is very small but it has the essentials, although I'm not exactly sure what the "essentials" really are since I haven't spent much time in a kitchen.  :-)  I'm trying to teach my son the benefits of living on Special K cereal, and pre-cut fruit.  He likes the idea of eating cereal, but prefers Capt'n Crunch over Special K.  Surely even I can cook up something more nutritional than Capt'n Crunch, but I'm still trying to think of what that something might be.  They do have a stove. Apparently it's gas.  I think.  (blank stare)

All in all, the first few days of our adventure have gone well.  Will post more about the area tomorrow.  It truly is a spectacular section of New York.  We are very close to Riverside Park on the West Side and Bo has spent his early mornings and early evenings longboarding there.   I haven't found out where the nearest hospital emergency room is, but knowing my son, I will probably find that out soon enough.  :-0

Shakespeare in the Park!

Al Pacino - "Merchant of Venice"

In doing research for this trip, I was surprised to find out how many "free" things there are to do in New York City. One of the best "free" finds was Shakespeare in the Park. There is, however, one small catch.  In order to obtain tickets to this event, you have to make your way to the Delacorte Theater box office at 8 a.m. on the morning of the performance you wish to attend.  There, with at least a thousand other people, you will wait in line for the box office distribution to occur at 1:00 p.m.  According to my son, my waiting in line for five hours to "score" these tickets is "all good Mom", since I have no where else to be while he is attending his classes. Nice to know he has taken charge of making sure I stay busy while I'm in New York. I made off it was going to be quite the chore for me, but in reality I LOVE this sort of thing.  I am actually excited by the prospect, as I truly enjoy meeting new people.  The way I look at it, what better place to do that, than by waiting in line in Central Park!  By 1:00 p.m, I bet I will be able to add least 999 new friends on my Facebook and another 100 readers to my blog.  So, if all goes as planned, some night in the next few weeks, I will be seeing The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with all of my "new" friends and my son, who will think I'm the greatest Mom ever for standing in line for 5 hours to "score" the tickets. Little does he know, I will probably be having the time of my life in that line.  :-)