These Boots Are Made For Strolling

First of all, my apologies for not writing in a while…you can uncross your arms and stop tapping your foot now.

Some of my time this past week and a half was spent at my first 2 catering events, one for each company. Food For Thought was in Long Island for this huge company called Rex Corp, who apparently owns almost the entire island. I had a pretty simple job as a h’ourderve passer, and the people I worked with were really helpful. When we were done, I sampled some Grecian Lamb with Sour Cherry Chutney Sauce, Duck Nacho with Avocado Sauce, Miniature Chocolate Souffle with Cremon Sauce, Sweet Thai Chili Lobster Skewers with Mango, and that was only half of the menu. Sound snooty enough for you? I thought of people back home who would have thrown the skewers at my head and instructed me not to return without enchiladas or a steak. The only downside to the night was that I burned both of my thumbs lighting votive candles…which were outside…in the wind…which, logic would tell us, means that they would blow out, right? Apparently, lit candles were of utmost importance to this crazy corporate lady throwing the party, so I had to relight them when they blew out. I had blisters on my fingers for a week, but all in all I loved this catering company.

My Great Performances event was far less laid back and far less understanding. Highlight of the night: the fact that the wedding we were catering cost over 600,000 dollars. It was a Korean girl and an Italian guy, so they actually had 2 ceremonies- a traditional American ceremony and a traditional Korean ceremony. The kids partied from noon-11 PM...and they certainly had to pay for it. They had cocktails, followed by a 5 station buffet, followed by a 2 course dinner, followed by coffee and about 10 dessert choices. GP is not a bad company, but after working this event with them I decided that they’re just not right for me.

When I wasn’t serving shrimp to the trust fund babies and desperate housewives of the tri-state area, I was Assistant Stage Managing for the Red Bull Theater Company. Red Bull Theater is an Off-Broadway company that focuses on plays with heightened language. This was just a staged reading that people paid a lot of money to come hear so that the theatre could raise some money. An ACU alumnus, Lyndsey Goode, got me the job. The reading was held in a legit theatre space above an Episcopal Church. The cast consisted of several accomplished stage actors, including Reg Rogers (Tony nominee) and Michael Urie (who now plays Marc St. James on “Ugly Betty”).The job was easy enough, I got to listen to the best play reading I have ever heard, and I got to play with a wireless headset. It made me feel important.

Since it was a volunteer thing, Lyndsey told me she wanted to take me out to dinner to “pay” me for my time. As if that isn’t nice enough, she got me a free ticket to the final dress rehearsal of Jason Robert Brown’s new musical “13”. This musical hadn’t even gone into previews yet, so I was part of the first audience to get to see it. Bonus: Jason Robert Brown was there to introduce it to the audience. Another former ACU theatre kid, Michael Miller, came with me. It was on that fateful Tuesday on the 5^th row in the orchestra that we witnessed a performance by the most talented group of preteens in America. The entire cast is made up of 12 year olds, or at least people around that age. Even the band is composed of preteens. If you’re familiar with Jason Robert Brown, you know that his music is beautiful, but it’s certainly not easy to sing. These kids blew me away. After the curtain call, each cast member had a little solo time to show off some amazing things that they didn’t get to do during the show. To name a few, a couple of kids did a step routine, one girl had a crazy lyrical dance solo, two of the guys had a tap war with the drummer in the band, and one of the girls (who I swear was a grandchild of Aretha Franklin) sang in the background. I’ve never felt more intimidated by middle schoolers.

One more thing before I wrap this up: I got hired by Alice’s Tea Cup! I started hostess/barista (tea maker) training on Wednesday and I’ll continue it on Saturday. I have to memorize and try over 150 different kinds of tea and deal with stuck-up Upper East Siders, but my co-workers are really cool and the only dress code is that you have to wear something…I mean, if they’re going to force me. We can even wear the fairy wings that we give to the little kids when they come in to the restaurant.

My Pepaw always says "you can live for a while with a rock in your shoe." So even though I’m currently the new kid at my jobs, I am treated as virtually invisible by the people I serve, and I’m wracking my brain trying to remember all of the information being sent my way, I’m still holding onto faith that it's going to get better. I’m finally starting to meet people who I will hopefully call my friends soon, and my Alice’s trainer said he was impressed with my work on the first day. I suppose I've come to the point in my transition where New York City is no longer a surreal vacation destination, but a place where I'm making a home. Auditioning is no longer a grade for a professor, it's an interview for a job. It’s tough sometimes to remember that eventually square one may become Hollywood Squares, that starting at the top may yield to being at the top. It's been said that you have to run the race to get to the finish. I say, why run when, as New York has so thoroughly taught me, walking is just as good for you? I know it's important for me to keep my eyes on the prize, but I don't want to be so focused that I zoom by all of the things that make this adventure blog-worthy...and eventually E! True Hollywood Story-worthy. I will do everything in my power to get to where I want to go, but only God knows where I'll truly end up. So until I get to the finish line, every morning I will wake up and patiently put one foot in front of the other, fully trusting that my feet will take me somewhere.