My New Gig

All of that inane stuff I could have shared with my doctor, indignities of growing older healthily. And for having a job with which makes it mathematically impossible to cover my deductible, for a company which would rather see me go to hell.

But I worked for a dead communist theater producer for 20 years, who saw to it that I was vested after five years. And his offspring told me that as far as my health was concerned, I was on my own, and then I wasn't, and then I was.

Well kids, and I use that term "kids" with deep affection . . . new gig--different location--same company--even closer to home.

But so physically demanding...you have no idea.

I am a slow paced endurance athlete, so I know what my body is capable of. And while age may be a determining factor, I refuse to walk around with my shoulders in my ears, simply allowing age its factor status.

The thing is, I haven't run in weeks. And I haven't created much art. And for me, I can not exist without either. But then again, I do not desire sedentary comfort at all.

Change is the essence of life. Let's roll with it baby, rock and roll all night, and party every day.

By the way...someone pretending to be Paul Stanley tried to catfish me on Twitter last week. And for about 18 seconds, I kind of believed it was really him. I tried to keep my cat fisher on my hook, to see how long it would play the role. But then it got too creepy, even for me. So I just reported it to Twitter.

If anyone can let the real Paul Stanley know that I am here for him, artistically speaking of course, I would truly appreciate it. It must have been love, but it's over now.

What small steps can I take each day to ensure that I am taking care of myself . . . ?

FRIDAY:

• Had, just had to get myself a vegan cheese steak and mac and cheese from Renegades of Sunset. I also had the opportunity to visit my favorite herbalist at Industry City.

SATURDAY:

• Picked up laundry and washed tech clothes myself.
• Went to green market.
• Cooked a spaghetti squash, and made home brewed iced tea with parsley.

SUNDAY:

• Tracked my steps at work = 13,951. I burned baby burned over 1,500 calories.
• Made myself a simple salad of cucumber, Gotham Greens Brooklyn Crunch lettuce, apple, with Annie's Goddess dressing.

A Trip Can Be Funny That Way

Jay and I were on that long flight back to New York, make that two flights. There was the shorter trip from Schiphol, Amsterdam to Reykjavik, Iceland. Two hours at the most, a 45 minute layover, and then we were on the longer flight back to New York. We flew towards Bangor, Maine, and took a left.

I tried to drink enough water while we were airborne. I think I did. But at some point in the middle of the flight, I felt my insides dry up, and sort of crack. I wasn't in pain, and I would eventually have a bad cold a few days later. But at this point, I am still on vacation until the plane lands. And even the worst case of the sniffles was well worth this trip for a woman, who had just turned forty, and had never been out of the country before. I am 100% of Eastern-European descent, and I had been thinking about that connection for the past few hours. And here I was, traveling from the original to New Amsterdam. I felt as if I was traveling between homes.

I'm watching that little on-screen map of our location, and we were flying across the entire south shore of Long Island. I knew exactly where I was. I looked out the window, and I swear to you I saw the Sunrise Mall. You have to know that I grew up in that building, even if your only connection to Massapequa is a Baldwin, Seinfeld, or Buttafuoco. Many an arcade game accepted my weekly allowance on a quarter by quarter basis.

And the plane suddenly took a right, and the next thing I know I'm looking down on the East Nassau Medical Center. My Title Closer dad used to tell me that it was the tallest building in Nassau County. I remember visiting a friend there, on the 18th floor, when I was a teenager. I was fascinated by the fact that you could see the Empire State Building from all those miles away.

But what was happening? Why were we flying north to north-west? Were we landing at Laguardia? Slightly distracted by that customs form we had to fill out, hoping that I didn't accidentally bring back any Dutch vibrations, I noticed that we were now circling JFK for what seemed to be 100 times.

Eventually the plane would start to descend. And as we lowered, I saw the pre-bankruptcy Newmark and Lewis on Bay Parkway, and I knew that I was finally on my way home.

Was Dick Lewis watching?!