Laughing it up

Once again, I must say it's been too long since I've made a post.  As usual, so much has happened!  Such is life!  My classes are still challenging and fun.  They end the first week of June.

I just performed last night in a NYC comedy club.  It was the real deal and felt terrific.  I haven't performed too much in NYC because of my schedule, but my goal is to perform at least every 3rd day in May.  East Coast comedy and West Coast comedy differs and I admit I've been nervous that my style wouldn't fit in here.  It's gone okay when I've performed at open mics out here.  I couldn't have been happier that my set went so well last night.  I performed a clean set of comedy.  For some of you that have seen me, I used to perform some dirty jokes.  Not anymore!  It was a NY club like you see in the movies.  A club in the basement with tables for 2 and candlelight.  It was a show where people had to pay admission and had a 2 drink minimum.  That's always a true test for comedy.  If they pay to go, they want to laugh and enjoy themselves.  Free shows are great too, but sometimes there's a lot of drunks, distractions, etc.  I've been invited to perform in this show for the rest of the month if I want.  Yay!

I have a performance at the end of the month with my Voice and Speech class.  We've each been assigned a portion of an Edgar Allen Poe story to recite / perform from memory in Classical American speech.  It's so cool to hear my Classical voice.  My instruction is fantastic and is often called to movies sets and has a lot of private lessons for actors. 

We have a 'drunk project' to perform in my movement class.  We've been working on relaxing techniques that loosen us up and create a drunk feeling with out even drinking.  It's ridiculous, because I feel drunk every class and haven't had anything to drink!!  We each have a character and work in a law firm and will be at a cocktail party.

I had an allergic reaction Hitch style last week!  I was in my apartment and started sneezing and my eyes got itchy.  It started to feel like seasonal allergies, but then my face started to get swollen and my right eye started to close up.  I called the Dr down the street and asked if I could come in.  They stayed open for me.  The Dr gave me prednisone and called an ambulance and I ended up in ER. It was rough not being able to call one of my family members or friends with a car to help me out.  I ended up having a reaction to shellfish an I didn't even eat any.  I've known for years that I'm allergic to shellfish, so I stay away from it.  I didn't know I was this allergic!  The restaurant I live above cooks shellfish.  Before my reaction, I felt like I was being gassed from the scent of food from the restaurant.  I also had washed the dishes and later found out that my roommate's daughter had eaten shrimp the night before.  I washed a plate that the shrimp had touched and didn't even realize it because there wasn't any shrimp to be seen.  By the way, Botox has nothing on the puff you get from allergic reactions!

 

I ran into one of the neighbors in my hallway a few days ago.  He was a really cute guy in his boxers and was trying to talk to me.  I kept thinking this is a cute guy, why is he in his boxers, somethings not right.  The last time I had a thought like that was when a cute guy was dressed in all black and looked 'scrubby' to me.  I thought he was so cute and could clean up and dress better.   A few minutes later he robbed me.  Ha, ha.  Anyway, it was awkward with the cute boxer short guy because I realized he was the same guy that was drugged up last month that my roommate and I had to call the cops on.  He kept massaging and scratching our door and was being weird to the apartment below us.  He also stole our fire extinguisher.  Neighbors!

 

A few weeks ago I was stuck on a broken subway train without lights or air for an hour! Excellent place to people watch and see their true colors come out. The guy next to me was on something and his girl decided to take their PDA to the next level, he eventually spazzed out and ran to the next train. The jock standing next to me kept banging on the door while flexing his biceps, a beautiful girl kept posing a...nd complaining, gorgeous lesbian couple started making out, the guy flirting with me seemed like a good catch until he picked a fight with a young kid over his loud video game, got to dance a little bit with a really fun girls basketball team, an older lady was desperately trying to find light to read her bible, a hippie was on the floor meditating and I was just enjoying another day in NYC!

 

I went to the Museum of Modern Art recently thanks to a ticket my friend Darci gave me.  She visited with my other friends Janel, Kelly and their friend.  We had a nice time hanging out. 

 

Well great to catch up a bit with you!  I promise I will write soon! xoxo

                                                                                              The stairway at the library near me.  I've 

                                                                                               only seen these in movies.

I used to love these Bronco II cars and thought the 

                 guys driving them were hot!

                                                      NYC has a Beauty Bar too!

                                           My favorite Van Gogh painting "Starry Night"  I saw
                                           this in person at the Museum of Mondern Art.  All
                                           the replicas I've seen of it do it no justice!

                                                    A postman painting, made me think of Mom!

                                                                  At the MoMA 

                                               In front of a Monet painting.

                                               Couldn't resist taking a picture in front of the
                                                largest bed in the world!  Just waking up!

                                           I wonder if positive thought will stop this bullet.

                                          Or maybe my hand?  Superman watch out, I have
                                          moves too!

                                                               Outside area at MoMA

                                                    At MoMA with the Virgin Mary, Jesus
                                                    and friends.

                                            Kelly, Jamie, Janel, Darci and me during their visit.

 

It's March?!?!?

Whoa, I've been here for 5 1/2 months!  So much has happened and so much is on it's way.  I'm looking forward to my spring break next week.  I'm going home to Vegas!  I can't wait to see my family and friends.  I'm like a druggie and they are my drugs.  I need my Vegas fix.  I can hardly sit still thinking about it!

I started at the new store and I'm actually enjoying it.  For those of you that know, my job is really stressful.  It's still stressful, but I'm enjoying the people that I'm working with.  My boss is fantastic.  She's like a drill sargeant and I'm getting such a kick out of her.  She tried yelling at me too and it just didn't work so well, because I responded very rationally with a smile.  She says that I calm her down.  I think she's great because she genuinely wants her employees to advance and I've already seen it happen.

My classes have been fantastic.  I'm still making progress and still have a long ways to go.  We listen to a lot of mucic in my incredible movement class.  I'll have to figure out a way to link some of the beautiful music.  Some of the artists I've been listening to are Sigur Ros, Robert Glasper, Goldie and Gretchen Parlato.  I've been writing a lot for a parady project with some students from my acting class.  The exercises in class require a lot of creative prep work.  I love the creativity.  I'm still working on being more open.  I'm a very open person, but I don't lose my shit a lot.  I want to work on losing my shit.  So, watch out!  There will be a Rosanne Shit Storm!:)

I moved to Jersey City last month!!  It's only a 5 minute train ride on the Path to the World Trade Center.  I'm actually saving time when I'm going to work and class.  It's just a little tougher getting home when I'm out really late.  The train stop is only a few minutes away.  The area is really cute and reminds me of a beach town.  It has a lot of similarities to Portland and was really quiet when I moved in.  However, it's a little louder and much busier now because my new neighbor down the block is Snooki!  She moved in a few weeks ago and is one block away.  There is a much larger police presence here now, so that's a plus.

My roommate is a stand up comedian and that's great for me!  She's always tyring to get me to go to shows, perform and network.  I can't wait to have more time to be consisent with that.  The building I live in is really old and it's a walkup.  So, carrying heavy things up the stairs is rough.  Oh, and we have mice!!  I haven't seen any lately.  My Mom is so sweet and sent me a device that sends out annoying sounds that only pests can hear.  My fingers are crossed that it works.  I was in bed and heard something in the floor heater one night and looked down.  I saw a mouse arm reaching for a piece of wrapped dark chocolate from Valentines Day that I accidently dropped on the ground.  I only saw it's arm and it freaked me out.  I only had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it and that the mouse was just tyring to be healthy and get it's antioxidants.  I should have drank some wine with my guest.

It's late and I'm being silly.  I need to get ready for tomorrow.  I work early and then have a rehearsal.  Here are some pics:

 Near my new place.

 My apartment is above the black canopy.  The laundromat is next door.

 NYC traffic signals can't make up their minds.

 Near the World Trade Center and 5 minutes from my apartment.

 The escalators exiting the Path Train Station near the World Train Center.

 Down the street from my apartment.  This cafe has unlimited Mimosas and Bloody Mary Sundays!

 The Path Train is in the dome on the right side.  This is a few minutes from my apartment.

 My roommate's dog Yoshi.

 On 7th Avenue.  NYC:  You're not Vegas, stop trying!

 This Target made me feel so at home!!  It's a 5 minute walk and one train stop away from my place.

 First real grocery store I've been to since moving!  It's near the Target.

 Cafe Lalo from the movie "You Got Mail."  I had delicious pumpkin soup and coffee there.  It's near my PO Box.

 Cafe Lalo

What a cute way to promote happy hour!!  I might apply there! 

Christmas in a Christmas City

Hello 2012!  I worked Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but it kept me busy and it was so beautiful to be in the city on those days!  I've been off from classes since for 2 weeks and it's been so nice to have real days off where I don't have to do anything!

New York City was absolutely stunning for the holidays!  It seemed like every street was decorated for Christmas.  We had a really warm December for NYC standards.  It only started to get uncomfortable yesterday.  It was 13 degrees when I walked to work!  That sounds like the beginning of a story I will tell my kids someday.  When I was younger, I had to walk to work in 13 degree weather and I only had my super cute long coat and a thermos of hot chocolate spiked with whiskey to keep me warm....:)  My gloves haven't kept my hands to warm, so I bought heavy duty mittens.  I think they're skiing mittens and I probably look ridiculous, but my hands are the right amount of toasty.

Thank you to all of my friends and family for the gifts and Christmas cards.  I put all of my cards up on my dresser and they really made me feel special.  I was homesick for the holidays, but it was good for me to be around my co-workers, roommates and it this gorgeous city.  I always have a Christmas party with my friends.  I can't believe you guys didn't have a Christmas party this year!!  You broke the tradition!  We will have to fix that and have a Christmas in March party when I visit.

I probably mentioned that I'm progressing in my classes and feeling really great about it.  I've also gotten out in the comedy scene a little bit more and I'm starting to make contacts.  I feel like I'm going in the right direction. 

I recently found out that the location of the store I work at is closing because our lease wasn't renewed.  I'm lucky that I'm not getting laid off.  I'm getting transferred to our store in Union Square off of 14th street.  For 2 weeks before I found out, I had looked for another place to live to save some rent $$.  I found a place and had put a deposit down, but this new place would have been too difficult to travel to and from my new work location.  I'm lucky that the landlord agreed to not cash my deposit!  I've since found another place and I'm so excited about it!  It's close to transportation, about 15 minutes from work, 20 minutes from school and right above the cutest gay bar!  The area is adorable and my roommate will be another stand up comedian.  I feel safe in the area and I will be saving a lot on rent!  This will put me in a good place to consider working less hours where I'm and give me the time to get out there and start making more $$ from comedy and acting.  I'll be moving at the end of this month.  Not the first of the month like Bone Thugs and Harmony.  I love that song, "Wake up, wake up, it's the first of the month!" 

There were so many tourists here for the holidays.  Las Vegas is better set up for tourists because there are lots of places right next to each other for them to go inside to and check out.  There are lots of places to check out here, but the streets are so full and congested with people while they're on their way to attractions.  I worked until 10:15 PM on New Year's Eve and met some friends at a bar called Cognac after I got off.  It was only 4 blocks from work and should have taken 10 minutes or less to get to.  However, it took me an hour and a half because there were so many people outside and so many street were blocked off.  I made it and had a great time.  It was a pretty cool experience to be in the middle of it all for NYE!  Some people had waited since 6 AM to have a good spot in Times Square for NYE!  I was about 10 blocks from all of the action, but it extended to where we were.

I forgot to mention that the new location for my work is right next to a Whole Foods and down the street from a Trader Joe's that sells wine!  Yes, I can start getting my 2 Buck Chuck again!  Score!  I went there last week and there was a line outside to get into the wine shop at Trader Joe's!  It was set up like a club!  New Yorkers love their Whole Food and Trader Joe's.  I'm posting more pics because the lines are ridiculous.

I miss all of you and wish you the best in 2012 and always.

xoxo

These pics aren't the clearest, but I still want to share kindergarten style.:)

In line outside at the Trader Joe's Wine Shop.  (Like it's a club!)

I made it inside Trader Joe's Wine Shop, picked my wine and got in a line to pay!

No, there wasn't any water for me to sample.

It took me an hour and a half to get through crowds and blocked streets to get to my friends on New Year's Eve.

With a crowd on a blocked street New Year's Eve.  Trying to get to my friends at a bar called Cognac.

10 blocks from Times Square on New Year's Eve.  A little after midnight.

 The building where I'm moving. The 1st floor is bar that seems like a lot of fun.


 A street near my new place.

 The cute area where I'm moving.

In line at Whole Foods to pay.  There were 8 crazy lines for people.  Each line has a color and when your at the front of the line, a number flashes on a tv screen with your color so you know it's your turn to go the register.

December

Another month has flown by!  I'm at home on a Saturday night on my computer and writing Christmas Cards. *Gasp*  I've been fighting off a cold for a few weeks and it finally caught up with my yesterday.  I went to Duane Reade which is like a Walgreen's / Rite Aid to buy over the counter medicine.  I've wanted to go to a Quick Care, but wasn't able to find any in my area.  I was lucky to discover that Duane Reade had a walk in clinic and I was seen within 5 minutes!!  The Dr prescribed antibiotics and ordered me to stay home yesterday and today.  I've been in my own sleep marathon and I'm winning.  I've slept more these past 2 days than I average in a week!  I'm feeling so much better!!  It was hard to fight off getting sick because a lot of people have been sick at school and the weather changes so much.  Rains one day, warm the next, cold the next, etc.  I'm getting used to it though.:)

This has been a much better month for me!  My classes have been terrific and I've improved so much.  I'm enjoying them and it feels incredible to see myself progress.  I really needed that!  Some of our acting exercises require improv and impulse.  It's interesting, because my quirkiness and silliness usually comes out and gets a lot of laughs.:)

I did have a bit of a desperate moment last week.  I've been rocking my boxed wine since I got here because I'm not ashamed to say I like it and the price is right.  My favorite bottled wine is any Coppola wine.  I bought a bottle on sale and was so excited to have a glass when I got home.  The wine opener was dull and damaged the cork beyond repair.  I made the executive decision to scrape out the cork with the dull wine opener.  This caused more cork to land in the wine bottle and I know this had elements of danger.  After I removed the large pieces of cork, I filtered the wine with a tea filter into a bowl.  Then, I poured the wine back into the wine bottle and had my delicious glass of wine.  This took 45 minutes and screams wino!  However, I choose to think I showed determination and wine enthusiasm!

My cousin Michael works for an airline and is based in Newark, NJ.  That's not too far from NYC.  I met him and his friend last week.  We had such a great time and it was so nice to be around family.:)

I'm off from classes for about 2 weeks.  I'm going to get out perform some stand up comedy.  I'm so looking forward to this!!  I'm also going to continue looking for a new place to live.  There are so many rooms to rent, but lots of weird people and low standards.  Guess I'm a snob.  I actually found a perfect rental situation regarding price, location, room size, laundry, etc.  However, one of the roommates came home when I was there and had a fight with the roommate that showed me the room.  Glad I saw that before deciding to rent the room!  I have enough drama with the 180 employees at my work and the scenes I have to perform.:)

I'm going to get back to my Christmas cards, but I will post more soon. xoxo

November 2011

This month has come and gone so fast!  The weather has been all over the place.  Some days it's extremely cold, windy or raining.  Other days, it's beautiful and I could wear shorts and a light sweater.  My Mom bought me a warm and long coat that I'll get a lot of use out of.  Thanks Mom!

My B.F.F. Jennifer and some of her friends came to NYC for her birthday.  It was so wonderful to see them.  Jennifer made NYC feel more like home.  Jennifer's hilarious friend Rhonda is like a NYC tour guide and helped us get $25 tickets to see some plays.  We saw Sister Act in the front row and it was amazing!  I've always enjoyed musicals, but this gave me a new appreciation.  The actors worked so hard and it was a riot.  We also got incredible seats for The Mountain starring Samuel Jackson and Angela Bassett.  Their performances were inspiring and I hope to be able to deliver like they did someday. 

A comedian friend from Vegas was in town and it was fun to hang out.  He performed in some shows and I made some contacts.  I'm going to get out and perform more stand up comedy during my Christmas break from my classes.  There is so much opportunity here and I need to take it.

Work has been so busy and I've decided that this past Black Friday was my last in retail!  No more retail craziness.  I'm continuing to learn a lot in my classes.  I have a bit of 'emotional blockage,' but I'm working on it.  I joined Costco because groceries are so expensive here.  I googled the location and was so excited to find that it was right next to a Target!  It's a trip, but worth it!

I've also decided to move by February 1st.  I want to find a studio by myself with cheaper rent.  I hope I find a clean place without any bugs.  I also want laundry in the building and for it to be close to the subways.  I know, I'm picky!!  I just saw a place today with lots of roach traps and dead bugs in the hallway.  Gross!  It was right across from Central Park, a block from the subway and a bus picks up right in front of the building.  It was in the basement and the trash was close by.  My Mom gave me a 'reality check' and told me to call her for more because that would have had more cons than pros!

I missed my family and friends on Thanksgiving, but I worked and had a nice time with my co workers.  We were really busy on Thanksgiving!  The city is so beautiful already with decorations for Christmas.  I will be posting lots of pictures.

If you like Supernatural movies and shows, check out Grimm and Once Upon a Time.  They're new TV shows and that's my style.  2 Broke Girls is also a hilarious TV show.  That's exactly the type of show I want to write for and act in.  It's my type of humor.  Only watch these shows if you want to get addicted and if you have good taste.

Have a great week!  xoxo


Lot's of rain!

 Saw this sticker on a wall.  This was our softball team's name.

 Daffy's store trying to channel Vegas.

 This made me laugh.  It was right outside my building when I left for work.  Looks like it belongs on the strip in Vegas.  First picture I've seen like this since I've been here.

A picture of my script that I accidently took.

One of the beautiful stores on 5th Avenue.  Just a few shops down from mine.

I took the subway to Costco and Target.  I was caught of guard that part of the trip was above ground.  This is a pic from the subway.

 Hollister has a live picture feed of CA beaches.

Radio City Music Hall Christmas Tree.

Not a great pic, but a lot of the walking signals display a hand and walking person at the same time!  It's a 50/50 shot to make the right choice.  It's a glitch in the system.

 My new coat.  Thanks Mom!

I dropped one of my vitamins on the ground in the subway.  No vitamin for me that day.

Part of the crowd I had to make my way through to get to work on Thanksgiving.  The crowd was watching the parade.  I saw part of the parade and was escorted with a small group of people to cross the street so I could get to work.  We crossed in the middle of the parade between a new car and a bunch of cheerleaders.

 Swarovski window across the street from work.  Corporate denied my request in Vegas to get mannequins for our window.  I had a dress shop willing to lend us gowns to display with our jewelry.  This looks great.