NYC Holiday Season Part 1

When I realized that I wouldn't be able to afford the trip home for Thanksgiving, I was a tad upset.  However, when I got the news that one of my best friends from college would be here visiting her family, and invited me to join, I felt better.  But when we decided to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, I knew it would be worth the sacrifice!

All the locals here will tell you to avoid the parade, just like they say to avoid the lighting of the Christmas tree (which I will be attending tomorrow night) and New Years Eve in Times Square (which I did two years ago).  What's the point of living in this city if you don't partake in the holiday shinanigans, I always say.  Gina and I also went to the inflation celebration on Thanksgiving Eve, which takes place at the Natural History museum on Central Park West and 79th.

The parade was much better, in my opinion, because the floats were all bolted down the night before and the crowd was worse.  We got a great spot at the parade, right on the street, thanks to a lady from Georgia who muscled her way to the front as we trailed behind her.  We had front row seats to see Kanye West (everyone was yelling Taylor Swift!), Jessica Simpson (conveniently placed behind the Pillsbury Doughboy, which I thought was a bit cruel), Joan Rivers, Gladys Knight, and some guy who may or may not have been a Jonas.

Thanksgiving dinner with Gina's family took place in Stratford, Connecticut.  The food was amazing, and the game of spades was entertaining.  We did some black Friday shopping at Target the next day, and then I came back to the city to have dinner with the Brewers.  I have never seen so much food in this apartment, and I must say that I loved having it here.  A stocked refrigerator just makes you feel like you are home.  I was lucky enough this year to get two amazing Thanksgiving meals with some fabulous people!

The next morning, we all went to see the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.  After it was over, I ran some errands and came back home to take a nap.  I was siked about dinner and the Georgia game that evening.  So siked, in fact, that I proceeded to throw up all over myself and Mrs. Brewer as we were exiting our elevator on the way to dinner.  Three times to be exact.  Needless to say, I had sprite for dinner and was in bed by 8.

Today I went to get lunch with a coworker, and was fondly reminded of an infamous Seinfeld episode.  We went to this place called Ashbys, where I excitedly got in the line for soup.  The gentleman taking orders was basically yelling at each person in line as they approached, so I had to be prepared.  There were around 20 different options, so I got nervous and just yelled out the first thing that came to mind..."Chicken Noodle!".  I then stepped aside quickly, just like the compliant patron that I am.  The sandwich guy was even worse.  When I requested a grilled cheese panini to go with my soup, he shouted "No panini today (for you)!"

And....SCENE!

Today was the final day of filming for our sequence in Man on a Ledge, and what a great experience this has been!  Not only did I get to meet Sam Worthington and Ed Harris, but I got to actually be featured today.  The assistant director pulled me out of a crowd, alone, and placed me directly in front of the camera.  And also by Kyra Sedgewick.  It was not a speaking part of course (apparently "y'all" and "fixin to" is frowned upon by Hollywood, unless of course you are in a remake of Steel Magnolias), but a featured role nonetheless.  I am basically a girl getting a hot dog, listening to her reporting her news story.  I get to put that on my resume, and hopefully get some additional features in future projects.

The casting company apparently did not hear my name correctly, because my call number was associated with the name "Darah Decker" for the entire duration of filming.  I respectfully reminded them each week that it was actually Sarah, but eventually gave up and went with it.  A few people said that Darah was more memorable, and that I should consider making it my stage name.  At the end of today, I requested a SAG waiver for it being misspelled, but apparently the production assistants didn't think I was serious.  I also got two referrals to this agent affectionately known as Desiree ,who actually does her job getting her people bookings.  And of course, the friends I made are priceless.  Looking forward to the future!

Life is good!

Hello blog family!  I have a few random thoughts to share, and also update you on my latest activities.

The commute home from work is so interesting.  I usually walk to either the Wall Street or Fulton Street 4/5 train, and it takes me anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes to get to my exit at Grand Central.  Occasionally I will stop at McDonalds for a large sweet tea, and if it's been a really long day, 3 chocolate chips cookies.  This costs a whopping $2.19, which is the best money I could spend after working 9 hours without much of a break.  

Once I make it out of Grand Central and to the street, I get to pretend I'm in a mosh pit at an Alice in Chains concert.  Not because the people I see look like the Alice in Chains type, but because they will body slam you if you so much as hesitate to move while on the sidewalk.  Once I pass Wendy's, I'm usually home free...at least until I turn down 47th street heading to my building.  

At this point, I get to pass the art studio.  It's basically an office sized space that hosts a different project or display every week.  Tonight they were blasting some eerie Friday the 13th-ish type music , and these two women were running back and forth to the window, first one and then the other.  They have strings of white yarn pouring from the entire ceiling too.  The whole spectacle is too bizarre to even write about.

Only a few more steps to the apartment, and I pass about four sushi restaurants, and a bar that always has at least ten Asian young professionals standing outside it.  What amuses me most is one of the guy's hair.  He looks just like Chozen from Karate Kid II.  He is usually standing near the psychic who works above the restaurant, and almost always asks me for a reading.  One day, I think I just might do it for kicks.

Work is so intense here.  People cram the amount of activities into one day, that used to take me a week at the bank.  No one really takes a lunch break, which has been a difficult adjustment to make.  But they are incredibly ambitious people, and take a lot of pride in their work and that rubs off quickly.  The sales process is definitely more direct and to the point, but relationships are still valued and acknowledged as the key to success.  I went on a business call yesterday with a senior manager in my group, who has been with the company for 27 years.  He was griping about how young people don't know the meaning of hard work, and also how the best way to do business is to always leave someone a pen or notepad with your company name on it.  I wanted to add that a gift basket is a good way to make a statement too (Office reference for those of you who don't watch it), but didn't think he would find that funny, so I refrained.

This past Monday night I was able to attend, on behalf of my company, the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame Gala.  Wooo...that's a mouth full.  Actually it was a black tie dinner, with me and about 200 other more advanced professionals in attendance.  We were celebrating the careers of two retirees.  One had been the CFO of Pepsi and the other the CFO of Exxon.  BIG TIME.  I got to wear a new purple ball gown, and eat really fancy food, which I was excited that I did not spill on my new purple dress!

Other than working like a crazy woman, I have been filming a movie on the weekends called Man on a Ledge.  Elizabeth Banks, Kyra Sedgewick, Ed Harris and Sam Worthington (Avatar man) are all in it, and we have been filming right outside the Roosevelt Hotel.  I have met Ed and Sam so far, which has been exciting.  This weekend should wrap up our scenes, and I'm glad because a 5 a.m. call time is getting a little old (we've been filming for the last two weekends).  My favorite part of this process (besides getting to be in a movie of course) is making friends with my fellow actors and getting paid to laugh with them all day.  

This upcoming week I get to see my beautiful friend Gina, and spend Thanksgiving with her family in Connecticut.  We will also be going to see the floats being inflated on Wednesday night, and then the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Thursday!  

My Pants Fit Again, My Pants Fit Again!

Praise the Lord, I don't have to buy another black suit!  I love the feeling of putting something on that you haven't been able to wear in a while, and having it fit perfectly.  All this walking is paying off after all.  Too bad I had that Five Guys for dinner tonight though.  Back to square one.

Week one of work is complete.  It was all training, and incredibly overwhelming.  I am thankful for all that I learned in my previous job, because I will definitely be using some of those techniques frequently at this one.  There are six people in my immediate department, and over fifty in my office.  They are all around my age, and a ton of fun!  Yesterday, we had a sales meeting in our satellite office which is located on the 36th floor at Penn Plaza.  The view from the conference room was unbelievable.  I could see all of downtown, even to the Statue of Liberty.  We all took pictures, which I will add to facebook.

I also got some great news yesterday!  I will be working on set of a major motion picture called Man on a Ledge, and we are filming for the next three weekends.  I don't know many of the details, except that my scenes will be outside, the money is good, and I get to work with one of my friends from the 30 Rock set.  I've been submitting to jobs on weekends only, so it looks like I'll be able to pursue this and work at the same time.  SO thankful for that!

Work and Work Out

I am exhausted!  Back to work after being off for two months takes a toll.  I'm all set up in my "office", which overlooks ground zero.  We are on the 21st floor, and I find myself staring out the window every five minutes.  I got my building badge and security pass today, so I am official!

No one takes a consistent lunch break here, and that has been a difficult adjustment to make.  Today I decided to go out and get a McDonalds sweet tea, which is only $1 and is definitely the best money I've spent in a long time.  Tomorrow I'll go with the other people on my team, who all seam to be really cool.  We are all around the same age, and from different places.

After I got off, I decided to check out the location for my gym on Wall Street.  It is three floors, and the interior walls are old oak boards and are gorgeous.  I spent the majority of my time on the 2nd floor, and as I was biking, noticed the New York Stock Exchange right outside of the window.  I had a very cool "New York" moment.

Although I am now working full time, I still submit myself for roles and extra work for nights and weekends.  Those are definitely few and far between, but I am not giving up on it.  I'll start to accrue vacation next month, so plan to take some days off if I am able to land some solid parts on weekdays.  But the bills must be paid for now!!!

Beach Day

Don't you love those days when you have absolutely nothing to do, and when you wake up you just decide to go to the beach???  I love that you can do that here.  The street was extra noisy this morning, and it actually woke me up for the first time in over a month.  I was in need of some quiet time, so I packed my bag and headed to Long Beach.  It took around 2 hours to get there, but it was all subway and bus, covered by my metro card.

The day was quite overcast and a tad chilly, but it was just the therapy I needed.  Walking on the beach always makes me feel like I can conquer anything.  I think I feel the closest to God there.  For some reason, I have been a little emotional lately.  That is probably not a shock to some of you, but I really haven't been since I got here.  I would imagine that watching Pride & Prejudice triggered it all.  I am completely happy with my life, and realize the blessings that I have in it.  But sometimes I would just like to know that somewhere, out there, is my Mr. Darcy.

After a very long period of prayer, I decided to walk through the little beach town.  I had a late lunch at this place called Paninis and Bikinis.  The food was amazing, and they gave me some free fresh baked cookies to top it all off.  I can definitely see myself going back there on a regular basis in the summer.  The beach is actually really nice, and has a boardwalk that goes for miles.  It's no Destin, but is certainly more upscale than most places I have been on the Atlantic.

Entertainment Value of a Treadmill

Today's entertainment was intended to be limited to the matinee I saw at 11:00 this morning.  However, I received a special treat afterwards at the gym, while watching a 60 year old woman on a treadmill.  I am not entirely sure of her playlist selection, but it's title was probably something along the lines of "Studio 54 Remix", or possibly even something more recent, like "Beyonce's Top 20".  Regardless, she was waving her hands in the air like she didn't care, and shaking her money maker all over that machine.  It was priceless.  I did love how much fun she was having.  She must be a regular, because no one else seemed phased by it.  I definitely think she missed her calling to be on Broadway.

I also was able to go to an orientation for New York Cares, which is a volunteer organization that serves as a liason between volunteers and non profits.  I am signed up to play games at a senior center in Brooklyn next weekend, and also to pass out candy to kids on Halloween at the Natural History Museum.  I am excited about both events!