Cheap and Free

Since I'm trying to be better with the little bit of money that I have, I'm looking for things to do in the city that are either relatively cheap or just altogether free. It's really not that hard to do if you just look around and do a little leg work. Or check your e-mail, which is what I did for my first activity today, a movie at Film Forum.

Film Forum is where I saw The Godfather. So I pretty much love this place. Right now they're having a Breadlines and Champagne repertory to go along with the recession and hard times. Films from the 30's and 40's are playing, and today, opening day, tickets went for 35 cents--the price of a ticket in the 30's! Today's Opening film was I'm No Angel, starring the sexy Mae West and the never-more-charming Cary Grant. It's amazing how saucy and sexy she's allowed to be in this film! It was made before the Hays Production Code, the predecessor to our current-day MPAA ratings system that instead of rating films actually censored them and said what could and could not be in a motion picture, and so got away with a lot of things that even now seem very on the edge. As Tira, the circus performer who moves her way up, she has great dialogue and even great confidence to back it up with. The movie was preceded by ads, a newsreel and cartoon from the same time period. It was a great time travel to the past, and the only thing that brought me into the present was that I paid $4 for my bag of popcorn.

Then, after running into Marky Mark on the subway, I headed to the New York Historical Society on 77th and Central Park West. I walked by this place on my trip around Central Park and noticed that on Friday nights they have free admission. I had just enough time to check out their Grant and Lee: In War and Peace before they closed. It was a great exhibit, complete with swords, guns, uniforms and maps. I truly love history, and especially the Civil War, and will always lament the fact that I didn't study it in college. And when I stepped out of the museum, the moon was shining in the night sky over Central Park. Yep, I live in New York. Wow. I still have moments where I can't believe it (and can't believe I'm leaving again for such a long period of time...)

And, since I was close, and even though as previously mentioned I'm leaving in four days, I stopped by Fairway to buy a few food essentials, and finally found cheap milk! I bought a half gallon for $1.79! I don't know where this milk has been hiding all this time, and I can't believe I uncovered it on the eve of me leaving. I bought one. Not only because it was cheap, but because my dad had sent me some cereal, and it would be a shame to pass it up.

Hard Core for Conan

The late-night tv landscape is going to be changing pretty soon, so to make sure we didn't miss Late Night with Conan O'Brien's last remaining weeks in New York, Stefanie, Elin and I made the trek to Rockefeller Center to get standby tickets this morning. They're handed out at 9am, but you can't just role out of bed at 8:30 and get there and hope to get in. We didn't want to take any chances, and taking into account stories we had heard about only two stand-by ticket holders getting in and that Conan only has twelve shows left in New York, we arrived at 6am. We were first in line....for a whole hour! Taxis would drive by and look at us, businessmen walked by and asked what we were standing in line for today. It was brutally cold, and after three hours I couldn't feel my fingers and my toes were headed that way, too. But we were stand-by ticket holders numbers 1, 2 and 3!

So you get to leave after getting your ticket and don't have to return until 4:00. We all went home and took naps, showers. Then back to Rockefeller Center, where we still felt pretty cool being the first people in line. We get to go in after VIPs and people who have advance tickets; they let in 28 stand-by ticket holders. We still felt cool being first.

When you watch Conan on tv you'd never know how small his set actually is. The same is true for Jay Leno's set; both have an illusion of being large with their bands so far away when they're actually just across the room. Conan is hilarious, but seemed even more so as I got to watch him live, which is always the case when I see something live. The guests were great: the handsome and funny Jon Hamm, the cute and makes-me-miss-Ed Ginnifer Goodwin, and the uber-ly talented and musically diverse Theresa Andersson. A great way to spend a day in New York.

A Walk Around Central Park

Yesterday was such a nice, warm day that I decided to do something I've always wanted to do: I walked the entire perimeter of Central Park. The park runs from 59th to 110th Street north to south and from Central Park West to 5th Ave (a total of three avenue lengths) west to east, for a grand total of 6 miles! And I did it in three hours; of course I stopped along the way to take pictures and eat a sandwich.








I started at the northwest corner entrance at 110th and Central Park West and walked along 11oth (Central Park North), just enjoying the beautiful day and scenery. The top of the park is a hidden gem, I think. I wasn't even aware of the "lake" up there and the Harlem Meer and the spot where a battle in the Revolutionary War was fought. I can only imagine how beautiful it looks in Spring, Summer and Fall when there's leaves on the trees. This is where Harlem officially starts--above the park.







Then I got tot the corner of Central Park North (110th St) and 5th Avenue, which I guess could be called Central Park East, but it's not. It is sometimes called Museum Mile, though, because there are museums all along 5th avenue, ranging from the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art, to smaller museums housing specific works. It's a pretty street, and has a very distinct feel about it. This is the Upper East Side, with Madison and Park Avenues just one and two streets over. It's very posh and rich feeling, much different than the vibe on Central Park North. See that building behind the 5th Ave sign? I have a friend who lives there. They have a great view.







And then it was to Central Park South, which is where Midtown begins, or ends, I guess, depending on how you look at it. Central Park South is mainly hotels on one side and horse carriages on the other. The Plaza Hotel sits at the corner of CPS and 5th Ave, and is stunning in its beauty and grandeur. The Plaza has been a location for movies ranging from Crocodile Dundee to Home Alone 2 and tv shows like Sex and the City. By now the sun was starting to set and the temperature was going down with it. I had to put on my gloves before reaching the next corner!







The last leg of my journey was finally reached--the intersection of Central Park South and Central Park West. This is Columbus Circle, and it's also the intersection of Columbus Ave and 8th Avenue, creating a large roundabout. All I have left now is the walk up Central Park West from 59th to 110 Street. I was feeling pretty tired at this point, and getting colder by the minute. I really wanted to just stop and sit on a bench, but knew that if I sat down it would take a lot to get me back up. So I kept right on, taking less pictures because of the cold. I did stop, however, to take a picture of some squirrels running
around in the trees and leaves.




















When I finally made it back to 110th and Central Park West, the sunny and warm day had was now dark and cold. I hopped right on the M4 bus and tried to get warm as I rode it home.

End of an Era

In case you all didn't get enough of me when I was in Salt Lake, I'm returning....next week. I know what you're thinking--You just left! Or in my case--I just got back. But upon returning, sitting in my inbox was a message from an old acquaintance who I had ran into while working Sundance who asked if I wanted a job on a film shooting in Park City. After fretting about it all weekend, I decided to take the job. I don't know why I was even fretting--it's not like I can make the kind of money I'll make on this film working at J. Crew. The only thing J. Crew has going for it is that it's in New York. But I can now officially say that I no longer work there.

I should also mention that there have been lots of changes here in New York since leaving, and it's partly because of those changes that I'm able to leave the city again. Rosemary moved out on Saturday, to a place that's cheaper and has better sun for her plants. Maria and Mark got married in December before I left for Sundance (it was totally special and I got to be their witness and the only person who knew about it! I love them!). And that of course changes things, as they are on a different course now. I was going to live with them, but now with me leaving for almost two months, and rents going down, they will just get a place for the two of them. And all of this makes it the perfect time for me to leave. My stuff will go into storage for the time that I'm gone and then I'll have to decide what to do when I'm done filming. But this apartment is done. It really does feel like the end of an era.

Also, while I'm Salt Lake I will need a car to get up to Park City for the shoot. If anyone has an extra car at their place, or a family member has one, that's not being used and just taking up space, I would be extremely grateful if I could borrow it for the time that I'm in Salt Lake. Let me know!

Differences

I went to a friend's apartment tonight for games. It was nice to know that I could step out my building and get there without having to rely on anyone else.

I went grocery shopping, and miss being able to pay two bucks for an entire gallon of milk, avocados for fifty cents, 18 eggs for a dollar fifty. I paid $2.39 for a half gallon of milk, $1.50 for one avocado, and $2.19 for a dozen eggs.

I miss the large grocery stores in Salt Lake; walking into Wal-mart felt like walking into an airplane hangar. Space is much more limited here, and therefore grocery shopping is ten times worse.

I washed my hair and didn't notice any dry flakes afterward. The cold in Utah is so dry that I couldn't keep anything moisturized, especially my scalp.

I rode the bus at 10:00 at night and felt normal.

I got off the plane at JFK and there was no one with a "Welcome Home Aunt Julie" sign. No one to give me a hug and put my suitcases in their car and take me home. Instead there was a cab driver who took me home.

I got to where I needed to go without having to scrape snow and ice off a car.

I walked out of my apartment and walked to Baskin Robbins, then ate an ice cream cone as I walked down Broadway back home.

I walked down Fifth Avenue and was never the only person on the street.

I rode the subway and walked to church.

I was alone, and yet didn't feel lonely.

Back in the City

I made it back to the city today. It feels good to be back. While I'm getting readjusted to the Eastern Time Zone and into blogging again, check out two of my friends' really cool blogs about umbrellas and dating. They're definitely more interesting than what I could be writing about right now.

Eleven Movies in Ten Days

For ten days my life has been nothing but movies. It's been all I've talked about, all I've thought about, and been how I spent all my free time. I saw eleven movies in ten days, culminating with the two Best of Fest screenings tonight in Salt Lake. The list of the movies I saw:
--Helen
--Art and Copy
--500 Days of Summer
--I Love You Phillip Morris
--The Messenger
--Cliente (A French Gigolo)
--Five Minutes of Heaven
--Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
--Paper Heart
--Afghan Star
--Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire

And now it's all over. Sunday we closed the doors and dismantled all the computers and printers. I said goodbye to awesome people that I met and shared this great experience with. Today was my last time with Jodi, Alya and Sommer. I'm so glad that I got to work with such great people and that I truly loved spending my time with them (which is good since I spent more time with them than with my family and friends during the festival). Here's a few pictures of Jodi, Sommer and me having fun with the camera before leaving.


Farewell, Sundance, and thanks for a great time!