A letter to you

Dear Reader(s)?,

Thanks for putting up with my rather, errr, glum, self-indulgent blurbs of late. I realized I promised that you would follow the story of a struggling actress, and well, maybe I should stay more on that path here. Or maybe that would be boring, since many of you are in the same boat? Feel free to leave your comments. But I'm thinking if I did write more about this, that it would challenge me to have more to say, and hopefully I'd end up doing more. Make sense? And if I have to throw in other little things, well, it'll break up any monotony. After all, and like one acting teacher used to say, if you don't get it out, well, it'll just fester into the most unexpected parts of your being. And angst in an actor doesn't always lead to the best performances, sometimes it just leads to more desperation. And we all know that ain't pretty! So, there it is!

Your Friend,
The Chorus Girl

P.S. I think I will leave in some NYC stories. Like they say, kids, Only in New York!

I don't want to grow up
Or fit in
I just want my piece of the pie
The pizza pie

Have You Confessed?

The Madonna Confessions Tour.
Be in the presence of greatness!

*Recommended by a fan club member and former resident of the Material Girl's home state. This plug should reflect the opinion of the masses.

Hot Days

You step out into the heat
You laugh off your pot-smoking neighbor's advances
You wait on the platform as your makeup runs down your dripping face
(How will said neighbor think you look now?)
Ha!
You arrive at your destination
You step over a big dead cockroach on the sidewalk
You think, if this guy can't survive the heat, how do you stand a chance?
You spend the day Googling cool lakeside resorts
(with minimum 2-night stays you cannot afford)
Boo!
You go home and do a rain dance
And think of snow
Or
Alaska

I guess I went to that silly flea market
Looking for an old book I used to have
And this blue plastic figurine
I regretted giving away

You caught me hunting
I guess it wasn't very cool
And I don't have room anyway

Memories are heavy
When you never let them go

Moving On

I see you made plans for your future
Me - I bide my time
And send out my picture
every now and then
For good measure

I fought the good fight
We all did
It wasn't anybody's fault

The ocean is frightening
And the people are mean

Your hidden heart

You moved on
And I understand
What dimension was it?
The operator couldn't find your number
Under any of the names you used to let me call you

The devil curse the elusive
Who will never again be found

I don't want

To do the dishes
Or open the mail
But I'll take another glass of champagne
And that walk you promised we'd go on
Just to get the stink off us
Like pop used to say

You can't be mad at the world, sweetheart
What good would that do?

It won't bring anyone back
Or give us those careers
Or pay the rent

Yeah
Turn the radio on
I'd like to hear a song now

Hello Mr. Souvlaki, Goodbye Mr. Souvlaki

Sniff. Sniff. I went by the only Greek restaurant in my neighborhood the other night after my lovely trip to Greece to find it ... gone. Store for sale. It's so final. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I guess the Turkish place will have to do. Except I didn't like Turkey as much. And it just won't have the salads. Cue violins. Cue the hearse. Cue the cursing as I venture to the borough of Queens.

Practicality was never my strong suit.

If there's ever a Light in the Piazza near you...

My all-time favorite musical, The Light in the Piazza, closed recently. It was a romantic tale of a girl who falls in love while visiting Italy with her mother. I hoped it would stay running, and even tried to help by going to see it 3 times! (I had to take everyone I knew!) It looks like the show will be doing a national tour though, so...if there's ever a Light in the Piazza near you...!

The Corner Spot

Needing some air, I thought today would be the perfect day to wait in line for Shakespeare in the Park. The shows are free, but you have to wait around 5 hours in Central Park for tickets. My girlfriend and I did it last year together. Today, I wanted to do it alone, with just a nice summer book. I set the alarm for 6am and made it to the Park by 8, whereby the Line Nazi declared that anyone just getting in line should not waste their time, it was too long at this point, and anyone getting in line now would not receive tickets. Ah! Well...then I will have a little walk, find a spot and read anyway. Having realized I'd left my wallet at home, there wasn't much else I could do to salvage the situation (aka, brunch). I found one spot after a walk. But somehow these little bees kept disturbing me. Was it my yellow shirt? I got up and walked some more, found a new spot. Still, bees. And the people! And their dogs and children! So loud and so many! I could not read even if I tried!!!

Discouraged, I headed back home. Mr. H had the tv on and was recording a show on the philosophy of Nietzsche. He believed everyone needed to suffer in order to achieve happiness. Hmm....

Later in the day, I still felt like reading outdoors. A vision came to me. I quickly opened my door and looked out at the balcony. The corner spot! It was empty! For the past 7 years of living in this apartment, the balcony was always overtaken by the neighbors' 8 zillion kids running about playing games. As the kids grew older, it was taken over by their junk - old dressers would sit there for weeks, blocking the corner area near the inner door. Of late, this was making me angrier and angrier. I live here too! Why should they get this spot! Other floors have chairs here for sitting out to enjoy the balcony. Why must mine be unusable?? Well, today, it was mine!

First, I read my book. Then, my girlfriend stopped by to chat. Then I went back inside for a glass of vino. It was perfect. Earlier in the day, I had suffered, but right then, I just looked up at the sky in utter happiness.

Quote from a tour guide

"I moved to Greece to meet a Greek god...
But all I found were goddamn Greeks!"

A Fourth to Remember

Picking raspberries
The old farmhouse
Your hand in mine
The family near us
And sparkles in the sky