Whistle while you worky work...

Some of you have asked about my job out here in the cit-tay. So... here you go! A blog dedicated to my jobby job! 

It's really quite glamorous. I get to sell T-shirts, mugs, hats and anything else your little heart desires at 2 broadway shows! Evita and Peter and the Star Catcher. It's just a little part-time gig that I do at nights and during an occasional matinee, but it really has been such a blessing. An old BYU friend of mine works for this merchandise company and he reached out to me before I even got to the city and offered me the job! I am even more amazed by that now that I've been here and I see how coveted my job really is. The waiting list is a mile long... no joke. It's just the ideal dealio if you are looking for something consistent and easy. Oh... yeah... and if you like to make loads and loads of money... it's really good for that too... joke.

Another perk to the job is the people I get to work with! Top notch. I have made some really good friends and have reconnected with old ones. Such a blessin'.

Don't cry for me, Argentina. Here I am showin' a little leg at the Marquis theater. Did you know that Ricky Martin is starring in Evita?! You better believe it. And you better believe that the shirt I'm wearing says 'Livin' EVITA loca'. Get it? ... Get it? Oh - so clever. I love that I get to watch fans swoon over Ricky shakin' his bon bon every night. 

And here I am workin' it at Peter and the Star Catcher. Never heard of it? I'm SO sorry. This show is incredible. Whenever someone asks me what they should see on Broadway, I always tell them about this little ditty. It is brilliant and witty and oh, so charming.

Here's the small booth at Peter. Good lookin' merchandise, eh?

My big brotha, Darren, came into town a couple weeks ago for a work trip and he visited me at my work! He even got to see Evita for FREE. That's what happens when you know big deals like me.  It was so fun to have him in NYC for a couple days. We enjoyed some yummy Thai food, the Shake Shack, Crumbs bakery and a little visit to Uncle Paul and Aunt Jan's house. He is my favorite brother by far... and... also my only brother. :)

A few favorite work memories so far:

1) The handstand contest between Brendan and Max

2) Hunting for "the tranny" in the audience with Nicole

3) The time the 2 patrons asked me to tell them what "the milkshake" line was in the show because they somehow missed it. To which I recited: 'your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard'. Great moment.

4) Out-selling Brendan as often as I can. He doesn't stand a chance.

5) Playing skipbo.

6) Grabbin some grub all together in between the matinee and evening shows.

7) The time the 2 gay men were gawking at my hair and asking if it was a weave.

8) The times that people ask me if I'm in the show or if I'm an actress. Love it. Just means I still got it, folks. :)

I'm so grateful for the tiny little things that seem to fall into place as long as I move my feet forward. This little job has been an awesome starting place that has allowed me to audition during the day. We'll see what the future brings! One of the ushers at Evita told me that Jennifer Lopez got her start selling merchandise for Phantom of the Opera. So... I'm basically the next J-Lo. Look out, world!

I have also signed on with a temp agency and am currently interviewing for a potential nanny job starting in January, so other glamorous jobs are in the works! What up. 

Ya know... I was talkin' with Abby and Nicole today about our crazy lives and I told them about a mini discovery I had the other day: I was thinkin about the future and starting to get all anxious and worried, but then I just thought, "Calm down, honey child (cuz that's what I call myself). This experience is not going to last forever. Someday you will have stability in one way or another and you will wish you were back in Harlem taking risks and following your dreams." And it's true. I need to be better about living in the here and now and enjoying it every step of the way. 

Peace out, yo. I love you all!

October. It's already over? ...Whoopsie.

And soon November will be over as well. Whaaaaaat?! Where has the time gone? So, I've got about 50 million pictures to show you all. Most of these pictures are from October and are long overdue, but better late than never. Hold on to your hats, folks... here we go!

Nate came into town from Utah for a  visit and we got to do quite a few fun things while he was here. Here we are with Nikki, a friend from BYU, after she performed in Bring It On the Musical! It was a really fun show... If you are a teeny bopper at heart (like me), you would totes love it. The lead in the show, also Nikki's roomie, is in the picture as well and Liliya, another friend from Utah, is on the far right.

Nikki gave us a backstage tour after the show! It was really fun to see what behind-the-scenes Broadway is all about... not too different from non-Broadway behind-the-scenes, but still. :) Nikki was great in the show. It was so fun to see one of my friends on a Broadway stage!

Liliya was only in town for a day, so we made the most of it! The 3 musketeers ventured out in the pouring rain cuz nothin' was gonna stop us from crossin' that Brooklyn Bridge!

Just waitin' fer the subway... enjoying the dry ground!

Liliya took Nate and I out to Brighton Beach where Little Russia is! It was awesome. Liliya is originally from Ukraine, so she gave us a little rundown on what her country is all about.

Lunch at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn! Yummy yum yummers!

Liliya showed us all the cool things in Little Russia... including this store with anything and everything Russian! It was so fun to watch her browse around... she was in heaven. :)

And then she took us to a food market where I found this. Do you know what that is??? Cow tongue, ladies and gentleman.  Woof.

And since we're on the topic of other countries and weirdee foods, here are a few pics from China town in Brooklyn. My BYU friend Kevin was in town for a few days, so Nate, Nicole and I joined him on a little adventure where we saw lots of Chinese people...

Did some window shopping...

And ate some yummy soup! 

Nate and I went to the 9/11 memorial one afternoon. It was a beautiful exhibit and so surreal to be there. 

A group of us walked the Highline one afternoon. Marty, Nate, Brendan, Jeff and Nicole.

This is us watching Troll 2. Please tell me you have seen it. But on second thought, you're better off if you haven't. Best worst Halloween movie of all time. Like fur rillsies. Ryan, Nicole, Abby, Jeff, Stephan, Rachel, Brendan and Carolyn.

Meet Nick. This is us taking a stroll through Central Park one afternoon. It's fun spending time with Nick cuz people always stop and ask if he's Tom Cruise or Christian Bale. He gets both on a regular basis.

This was after our Highline walk. Some other friendsies joined us for lunch at Max Brenner. DELISH! Brendan, Nate, Marty, Carolyn, Kevin, Jeff, Nicole and Abby.

Brendan and I went on a sushi adventure togeths! Have you ever tried to bite a piece of sushi in half instead of just putting the whole thing in your mouth? Epic fail. But very entertaining!

Mmmmm... look at them fishies! 

Nate and I saw our friends Becca and Autumn one night! Becca and I went to BYU together. She's a rockstar. We ate thai food (my fave) and good times were had by all.

Here is a group of us NYC kids just chillin' at a party. Steve, Kristy, Ryan, Abby and Nick!

Nothin' like a little late night Indian food. Ryan, Abby and Darold!

Here's Ryan, a fellow Las Vegas native, and I.  Just enjoyin' some Chipotle! A little taste of somethin' from home is always nice. Meaning the burrito... not the boy.

Here's Stephan just chillin' before we watched Bernie. Ever seen that movie? So interesting. But you get to see Jack Black do a rendition of '76 Trombones' from The Music Man that is just to die for! Right, Shelly? :)

It ain't Fall without some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Here's Vanna White-- I mean, Abby! 

And here we have the old me. The me before I joined the gym and vowed to never eat sweets past 10 pm again. 

But can you blame me? Pretzels with nutella and cookie butter (It's a Trader Joe's thing) is the next best thing next to mac & cheese.

The view from my roof in Harlem! 

I've had a couple little opportunities to perform here in the city over the past couple months. Nikki, the one in Bring It On, asked Shayla (another BYU friend) and I to be her backup singers in a little concert that she did. We rocked 'I Need a Hero' from Footloose. It was a fun experience and Laura Osnes, my Broadway idol, was in the audience! Big deal right here.

And here I am singin' in a little cabaret show a while ago. Funny story: when I threw my heels in my bag to go to the show, I accidentally put only one heel in and didn't realize it 'till I got to the theater! Luckily, my homegirl Nicole had me covered. She let me wear her bootsies. Lifesaver! 

And lastly, just a couple Harlem gems for you:

So, I asked our super named Perry to come over and fix our cabinet because the front of it completely fell off the other day. And... this is how he fixed it. 

Upside down. Really?! ... whatevs. That's how we do in Hawlum.

And this little vid was taken a few weeks ago on my way home from an audition. It was just too good not to share...

Favorite parts of the vid: 

1) It takes me 30 minutes to get the camera in focus

2) Homeboy is jammin' away and then BAM! He looks straight at me. Awksies...

3) The other people on the subway are obviously very enthralled with his performance.

I love what I get to see and experience every day here. Never a dull moment in the city... never. Well... and with that... I bid you farewell. Peace and Blessings!!!

I survived a hurricane!

So... some of you may have heard that there was a hurricane up in hurrr. Hurricane Sandy, to be exact.   Totes cray cray. My roomies and I were extremely lucky and only lost water for several hours, then had only cold water for a day and then no heat for a week. But we had power the whole time, which was such a blessing! I was stranded in times square one evening after work and had to start the trek home on foot and luckily found an available taxi after I was about halfway there, which was about 50 blocks. That's what happens when the subways and buses are shut down! But again, I have no reason to complain at all... So many people have had it SO much worse. 

Because we were stuck inside for a few days in a row with nowhere to go, we experienced a little bit of cabin fever. Here is a little video that illustrates this... :) Have you ever made someone put their arms AND legs inside the arms of a sweatshirt? Well, meet Carolyn. This is what she did to provide us with entertainment for the evening. Oh - and many thanks to Ryan for accompanying her on the piano...

Jeff attempted the same thing with Brendan's assistance, but it just wasn't the same with a short sleeve shirt... Good effort though, Jeff, good effort.

 

We also played the get-the-cookie-from-your-forehead-to-your-mouth-without-using-your-hands-game. Good times were had by all. Here's Ryan and Carolyn, neck and neck.

And here's Brendan using the lip technique and Jeff on the right using the "Part of Your World" technique...



















But really, I was the champeen. I even overcame my little eyelash trouble halfway though. ;) But Abby was tough competition... she gave it her all. Here's a video for some proof...

Have you ever played Quelf? We played it all together one night and this is Carolyn and I with our paper cobra snakes that we had to make in just 30 seconds or so. Everyone liked Carolyn's better... whaaaaaaat?!? I thought mine was killer. Not literally.

  

Look at these beauties. Best part of the hurricane stay-cation? Not having to get ready for the day. Carolyn, Kristy and I had a good time just staying warm, rationing our water and watching Zac Efron movies. What a dreamboat. 

Carolyn, Jeff, Nicole, Ryan, Kristy and Abby playing Quelf. Just one big happy family.

Evidence that we'd been cooped up for awhile. We made enchiladas, cookies and there is a roast cookin' in that there crockpot. We didn't go hungry, that's for sure.

I went for a run as soon as the storm had stopped and this is what the street looked like. There wasn't too much damage in Harlem... only a few trees that had been split and lots of debris lying around.

Here is one of the casualties... right across the street from my church building!

Another view of the post-storm skies. There was just a quiet, solemn feeling in the air.

I can't believe all the damage that was done in other parts of New York and New Jersey. It has been cool to see how my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has pitched in and offered its help wherever necessary. I have been out of town for the last 2 Sundays, but I know that they have cancelled church services and sent out members of my stake on buses to go help with the cleanup. Here is a little vid that tells more about that sitch:

http://vimeo.com/53357089

I love my church and I love the Gospel! The church is true, yo.

Stay tuned for many more posts! I got lots to catch up on! 

People who need people.

Ugh. I'm sicky sick today. I've had a sore throat for the past couple days and a little bit of a cough and now I'm just trying to get betterrrrrr. As I sit here in my bed and reflect on the life that is quickly flashing before my eyes, I am reminded of the many lovely people I have in my life and how much they mean to me.

For those of you that know me well, you know that I love a good party. It is very important for me to spend time with friends and meet new people on a regular basis. Well lucky for me, I have made many new friends over the past month and have been able to participate in lots of fun activities with lots of fun people. I have always been very fortunate to find myself surrounded by good people no matter what situation I am in. Thank you to all my family and friends that have made me feel loved and special over the years. It means more than you know. Seriously.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the fun times and good people that have come into my life lately...

Disclaimer: This doesn't include everybody. Don't hate.

Abby (middle) and Kristy (right). These ladies are two of my late night partners in crime. We can often be found having girl chat into the wee hours of the morn. This was us on a walk by the river close to our apartment last week. Love these girls a lot. 

And of course, a full body shot.

 

 Carolyn and I have been reunited after a 3 year hiatus. We graduated together from BYU in 2009 and are now both pursuing our dreams in NYC after Carolyn's mission and my most recent Utah adventure. Love this girl to death. She is top notch quality. We are holding Halloween giftbaskets sent all the way from Las Vegas from our friend Ryan's mom! Sweet, eh???

Nicole and I are the same person. Like fur rills. We met this past summer in Crazy For You and moved to NYC within a couple days of each other. I am so lucky to have her so close and to have her as a good friend. She is amazing in so many ways and we both know how to pack it down (as seen in the photo above).

Steve, Abby and Chris. A group of us went to Brooklyn one Saturday and hit up a good market. It was delish! So fun to have people around to go on adventures with!

Han, Abby and Chris. Can you believe that skyline?!?

So many people made an effort to make my birthday a special one a few weeks ago. Thank you all so much for that. It really was overwhelming. Abby and Carolyn took me out to lunch and we each ate a slice of pizza that was almost as big as us. It was incredible!

And then we partied it up that night. Here are a few shots from my birthday party/welcome party for Kate and I that Kristy and Abby put together. Above: Chris, Matt and Kate.

 It's a little blurry, but there's Matt, Kate, Chris, Preston and Nicole.

Just another view of our front room...

 And another... pretty fun, eh?

And Kristy made me a birthday cake!!! It was sooooooo gooooooood! 

We had a crepe party during the Sunday morning session of general conference. Whenever we ate crepes growing up, my siblings and I had a rule that you had to eat your age in crepes. I definitely almost did. 

Another view of our crepe party. See the projection on the left? Pretty sweet set-up, eh? There are definitely some amazing movie parties on the horizon...

Aunt Jan! I stopped by the McKinnon's house last week after a job interview and then Aunt Jan accompanied me on a few errands that afternoon. One of our pit-stops was the John Lennon memorial because it was his birthday. Lots of hippies there. We fit right in. I LOVE having Aunt Jan and Uncle Paul here!

Jennie Mae and Brandon are good family friends who had me over for dinner a couple weeks ago. They are the sweetest couple ever and their two girls are the most adorable... as you can tell. It was so fun to spend time with them and see what city life is like from the perspective of a young family.

Breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup! Yum Yum! Have you ever had your own pot of herbal tea with french toast and scones? No? You've never lived.  Here we have Brendan, Rachel, Kristy, Beau and Nicole. Brendan, Rachel, Nicole and I all work together for the broadway merchandise company and we decided to hit up a yummy brunch before the matinee last Saturday. I love my coworkers. Seriously, we have such good times togeths. Brendan is technically the bossy boss, and he reminds me on a daily basis that he could fire me at any moment, buuuuuut.... he knows who the real boss is around these parts. Geez... I'm SUCH a New Yorker already.

I have also been able to spend time with some of my old BYU theater friends. There is a HUGE group of us here right now. I went to a Halloween party on Sunday night where a bunch of us were there and we reminisced about the 'ole MDT/Young Ambassador mems. So fun! 

So the moral of the story, as I lie here on my death bed, is that New York City is the place to be.... in case you haven't noticed. 

Peace and blessings, everybody. Peace.and.blessings.