So I’ve been falling in love with the city more and more every day. There is a certain rhythm to the city, and it’s reflected in all the street/subway performers. Music is everywhere, and it’s all good. I’ve yet to hear one bad street performer.

In fact, several days ago, when heading up to the ABC building with a bunch of people from the program, we were waiting for the sub when we encountered one particular subway performer. He was a little old hispanic guy (probably Puerto Rican) named Frankie, just sitting there with his guitar. He announced to everyone that it was his 73 birthday that day, so he wanted to sing Happy Birthday to himself. And then he did. With his little guitar in hand, he proceeded to perform a very sassy version of Happy Birthday, and whenever there was a break in the lyrics, he would shout, almost mariachi-like, “SEVENTY-THREE!”

Frankie was the definition of a cute old guy. Rachel would have absolutely fell in love with Frankie. No doubt in my mind.

Anyway, since then I’ve just been working and wandering around the city having fun.

On Wednesday, I was helping out on a shoot for a pilot when one of the producers assistants asked me if I had a pair of jeans (I was wearing khakis). Of course I do, so they sent me home to change, saying they wanted to use me as a “model” in one of the segments. I thought I would just stand there as the technology guy demonstrated digital cameras, since that was the topic of this particular show. Little did I know…

I returned to the assistant who asked me to put on a T-shirt they’d bought for me. I wear XXL. They bought me a medium. So I put it on. Then they told me to go to make-up. So I did. And they made me up to look Euro-Fab. I was everything an alpha-male shouldn’t be. The irony was completed when I found out that I was supposed to be the centerpiece to a mock fashion shoot, sandwiched between two gorgeous girls, both of whom actually do some modelling on the side.

I felt absolutely ridiculous, and they say I look high in a lot of the pictures, but it was such a goofy fun time. I opted to keep the make-up on for the rest of the day, just for the hell of it. Hopefully I’ll get a copy of these pictures because they’re so ridiculous. And I do mean ridiculous.

Then that night, Efren requested that I watch a movie called “Grave of the Fireflies.” Traditionally, I have been very vocal about how much I hate the anime style of animation. Efren suggested this movie would change my mind, so I approached it as openly as I could, despite my bias…

...and I found it to be one of the most moving films I think I have ever seen in my life. It’s the story of a teenager brother and his very young sister trying to survive in Japan during World War 2 after both of their parents die. It is quite possibly one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen, and a tear did fall. It’s a beautiful movie, and I now strongly recommend it as well.

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MEALS OF NOTE:

“Haru” - Japanese / Sushi - Sushi Variety Entree, Sake
Thoughts - OK, I was worried about this place. I’m not huge on fish, and I especially don’t like Tuna, which seems to be a large part of almost every dish here. However, I figure I might as well try everything once, and if I don’t like it, then at least I’ll know why. Well, the sushi was absolutely fantastic. It took some experimentation to figure out just how much wasabi was appropriate, but I loved nearly every bite. The only part I didn’t care for was the caviar. So bland. The sake was quite possibly the strongest drink I’ve ever had. I couldn’t handle more than a drop at a time. Overall, a great meal.
Total Cost - $40 for everything, including tip.

OK, so I’ve gotten through two days of my internship. It’s been alright, I suppose. I showed up yesterday at 2 p.m. just expecting to sign some paperwork and talk about a work schedule. Instead, I signed my name and contact information to a sheet, and they started me off with the bitch work. Within five minutes of entering the building, I was outside, making the long haul to a video production equipment store to pick up some kino flourescent bulbs.

Then, when I got back, I was given a VHS tape with hours upon hours of down-converted footage for a TV show I’ve never heard of outside of this company, but that bears an eerie resemblance to The Biggest Loser. My task? Transcribe every word spoken with a rough time-code outline. Not necessarily bad, except there are physical challenges and the main person talking speaks like a drill instructor, making my process tedious and painful.

Luckily, the day ended with the production manager saying he wants to start taking me out on their shoots pretty soon, which will be a VERY welcome development. Meanwhile, today, I again set out to transcribe more footage. After about six hours I couldn’t make out individual words. I was going loopy. So I took breaks by delivering paperwork to the Mayor’s office and reviewing/doing coverage on a script the company had solicited. Not a bad story, but it needed work.

Anyway, around the time I started going loopy, a representative from another place I had applied to called me. A place that I would have preferred to work at, to be honest… but they got back to me too late and I can’t quit. That kind of killed my motivation for the rest of the day, but I think it’ll all work out alright. I just need to start taking on bigger and better projects than the crap they’ve been giving me. Which I think they will. Eventually. Hopefully.

But overall, I’m having fun and enjoying myself. And the food is freakin’ excellent. So with all that previous stuff aside, we move on to my favorite part of this blog:

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MEALS OF NOTE:

“Europa Cafe” - Sandwich / Salad Shop - Chicken Fajita Panini, Double Fudge Brownie, Sun Chips, Mug Root Beer
Thoughts - The sandwich was pretty good. Not really spicy, but good enough that the sauce to the side was unnecessary and unused. The brownie was REALLY dry, but the Sun Chips great as always
Total Cost - $11

“Bread” - Sandwich Shop - Prosciutto and Mozzerella sandwich, Tomato Basil Soup, Coca-cola
Thoughts - Excellent sandwich, so-so side salad, and quite possibly the BEST Tomato Basil soup I have ever had in my life. It was AMAZING. The 8 oz. coke bottle was a bit of a disapointment, but it didn’t end up being a huge deal.
Total Cost - $13 with tip.

“Fat Sal’s Pizza” - Pizza Delivery - Supreme Pizza, Pepsi
Thoughts - It was good, but nothing special. Average as far as New York pizza seems to go. I can’t say it was anything below good, but I can’t really praise it either. At least it was big. I couldn’t eat more than 3 slices. I sold a slice and gave the rest away after it sat in the fridge a couple days.
Total Cost - $25, including drink and delivery tip.

“The Times Deli” - Delicatessan - Philly Cheese Steak, Health Chips, Giant Cookie
Thoughts - The cheese steak was decent. It seemed strange that they used yellow cheese, but it ended up tasting pretty good. I wish I could say the same for the chips. I don’t even remember what they were anymore. I just saw some kind of vegetable variety chips and figured I should try everything. But they were gross. The chips were flat out awful. Thank God I got the cookie, too. It was so big and so thick it almost had the consistency of a cake. It was good.
Total Cost - $12

“Szechuan Gourmet” - Szechuan - Chicken with Orange Flavor, Brown Rice
Thoughts - The chicken was REALLY good. The rice was REALLY dry. I love rice, so that bothers me a little bit, but the chicken was good enough that I think I’ll forgive them.
Total Cost - $10

Once again, I have walked myself to exhaustion, but it has been good. I walked with a bunch of people up to the area just to the west of Central Park. One of the girls wanted to check out where she was working, and I wanted to see Central Park. As far as I could tell, everyone else was just along for the ride.

We stopped at Aegean Greek Cuisine on 70th St. & Columbus. The atmosphere was cozy and the food was EXCELLENT. I had a combination plate that included souvlaki, lamb chops and some kind of hamburger-like patty. It was an expensive lunch, and I need to stop letting myself do that, but it just seems wrong to order something simple that I could get in Texas. Hopefully once I get into a routine of working, I’ll start cooking for myself again.

After lunch, Brian and Travis followed along as I checked out The Dakota and Strawberry Fields. I wanted to get my picture taken by the Imagine mural thing, but apparently every other tourist in the city has the same idea. I didn’t feel like fighting them, so we moved on and just roamed around Central Park a bit. It’s obviously a very beautiful place… in the springtime. Right now it’s very grey and sad. But peaceful. The random saxophonists improv-ing provided an excellent backdrop to the experience.

On the way back to the Lamb’s, I stopped and got a Sabrett’s hot dog with everything, as per my father’s suggestion. I was scared when they put sauerkraut on it. I hate sauerkraut. But this concoction was actually damn good. So thanks, Dad.

After returning to the Lamb’s and resting for a couple hours, Brian, Travis, Sapora and I went and visited Ground Zero and the Financial District. I wasn’t ready to see Ground Zero, but our initial plan of going to the Empire State Building was dashed by the existence of heavy fog / cloud cover and I was outnumbered. It was a somber experience and hard to imagine the two behemoths that used to jut out of those massive holes in the ground. I wish I could have seen them in person.

And that’s about it. But it reflects block after block after block of feet killing activity. And I don’t regret a single step.

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MEALS OF NOTE:

Lunch - “Aegean” - Greek Cuisine - Lamb combo plate, Coca-cola
Thoughts - I liked this place. A lot. I just wish my meal wasn’t $18.50 before drinks, tax and tip…
Total Cost - I paid about $28, including tip.

I’ve done my time. For three and a half years, I’ve labored through purgatory. But now… NOW I am finally in New York City. It’s been a good first day, too.

Brian and I had to wake up early to catch our 5:30 flight out of D/FW this morning, so it was a rough start. However, I finally arrived in NYC around 11:30 am Eastern time. Brian and I went to get a cab, and some guys offering a shuttle service tried to divert us from the officially sanctioned taxi lines. I’d seen a sign in LaGuardia that warned against taking rides from these, but Brian didn’t see it and initially suggested we try it out.

Then we found out it was just a guy with a Suburban. He was probably just trying to make money, but he was definitely not anything official. Luckily, he overbooked his Suburban and we took the opportunity to duck out and return back to the official taxis. It ended up being cheaper than the dude with the Suburban, too, so it all worked out fine.

We checked into the Lamb’s and began going through all our move-in paperwork and unpacking. My room is most-definitely, without-a-doubt, nothing more than a closet. 8x8 supposedly. There’s enough room for a bunk bed, a tall storage cabinet and standing space to change clothes. I don’t imagine I’ll be spending too much time in my room. (Yes Mom, this means you were right.)

After a little power-nap, I managed to cajole five other people to come with me to Little Italy. We tried Buona Notte. Excellent dinner. Made me happy. My first dinner in NYC, and it was a great Italian meal. I couldn’t ask for more. Afterwards, we hit the K-Mart in Penn Station. That sucker is three stories tall!!! K-MART! I got myself a nice little blanket, comforter thing. Not sure what it is, but it’s soft and it’ll keep me warm.

And now I type this blog. I’m tired and sore all over. I’ll probably go to bed shortly. I think I might try checking out Central Park tomorrow. Or something. There’s so much to do!

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MEALS OF NOTE:

Lunch - “The Red Flame” - Diner - Pastrami Sandwich, Fries, Coca-cola
Thoughts - The Pastrami was a little tough, but it tasted amazing. The fries were nothing special. Service was quick, but left a little to be desired. Overall decent.
Total Cost - About $12 (including tip)

Dinner - “Buona Notte” - Italian Restaurant - Lobster Ravioli, Chardonnay
Thoughts - At first I didn’t think much of the ravioli. The plate only included six and the taste didn’t seem to be particularly great, but the more I ate, the more I began to really enjoy it and it ended up being decently filling. The chardonnay wasn’t half bad either. The waiter was a little bit slow in taking our orders and bringing the check, but the wait staff overall kept our drinks full. Overall great experience.
Total Cost - About $25 (including gratuity and extra tip), and WELL WORTH IT!