Is That Man Wearing a Cat on His Head?

Yesterday was wonderful. After sleeping in good and long, I finally got to go back to the Inwood farmer’s market (one of the sad truths about working as a PA: the inability to get to fresh produce). Even at 11:00am, it was bustling with activity. Children and dogs were getting tangled up underfoot, and the smell of sizzling turkey sausage filled the air. The colors alone were overwhelming; I had to circle a few times before diving in to make my purchases. I came away with some red and yellow tomatoes, a few apples and pears, a bunch of fresh cilantro and some sheep and cow’s milk ricotta. I also picked up a bottle of fresh cider for the walk home, the cool crispness of which removed any doubt of fall’s arrival.

When I got home, I quickly set about using my food finds to make some lunch. It really is amazing the difference that fresh produce makes. Everything tastes so rich and distinctive! I threw together a sliced tomato and ricotta salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, and I could pick out the flavors of each different type of tomato I used. It was lovely.

Afterwards I made my way down to Christopher Street to see MCC’s production of STILL LIFE (this excursion made possible by a generous comp offer from my friend John). I met up with another MTC intern, Annah, and was mostly happy with the new work, at least for the first act. But I won’t go into details here, as the last thing I want this to become is a theatre criticism blog! So, moving along, Annah and I wandered into a street market after we got out of the theatre. It was a lot of fun strolling down the packed streets, looking at all the cheap purses and bizarre knick-knacks for sale. We both got fruit smoothies and laughed at a man walking around with a cat on his head, then parted ways. As I had to see a show on 54^th at 8:00pm, I headed up to Central Park to kill some time and enjoy the day. Thick, creamy sunshine and long cool shadows – some of my favorite things about September afternoons. It was made even better by a funky trio of jazz musicians playing near the statue I was sitting under. They got the crowd into it; tourists and locals alike paused for a few moments and smiled. Some stayed. A few even danced. It was the perfect way to wile away the hours.

The next show I saw was fairly unremarkable. I stopped by another intern’s (Madeline’s) birthday party on the way back to the train though, and was warmly welcomed by her group of theatre friends. It’s funny to see a group of people identical and yet entirely different to one that you yourself are a part of, like peaking in on a parallel universe. The cupcakes were delicious though, and the hotel itself was wild (see the picture of some of the crazy backlit murals above).

Today has been much tamer, involving an early morning start and seven hours of manning the front desk at MTC. It was good to have some forced productive time, read some plays, pay some bills. I also had some excellent Thai food delivered. But I was feeling worn down and so passed on seeing another show tonight, opting instead for a home cooked meal (eggplant and tomato casserole with garlic sautéed broccoli on the side) and getting some laundry done. A good choice.