Friday at last

The week seems to fly by but still it seems such a long week! Even autumn is progressing rapidly but seemingly taking its time.

 This tree was a blaze of yellow glory yesterday!

 As well as taking photos of signs of autumn progressing I should been taking signs of Halloween progressing! I took this shot obviously from the opposite platform but he was too swift for me. His Spiderman mask is on his lap- he popped it on for a bit of a practice and whipped it off again- it must have been  uncomfortable . Then he put it on again for a photo but was facing the other way.

 We went out for dinner at Spice in Chelsea- great Thai food. I was going to then go on to a scrapbooking crop but just went home and collapsed into bed.

I had been trying to get a photo of Bernadette, Sue and Kate on Sue's phone but managed a better one on mine!

Thursdays colour

Wednesday's colour

 The trees in the school yard

 On my way home I came across the guy with the clock again, helping at the intersection. Today's was a different outfit with a yellow clock matching his yellow t-shirt. Not sure if it was intended to match the leaves!

This temple is in a house block opposite the school, made me feel like I was at home in Footscray!

The working week

 The walk to work continues to have its moments. Today it was the autumn leaves. Glimpses of them in Central Park. I may miss them as looking up 7th Avenue when I emerged from the subway at 57th Street the tree tops looked as though there were lot with colour in them. I doubt though that I will get to the park before the weekend.
I got off at a different stop because I thought I'd got to Lee;s Art store to see if they had the stencil book that Dina has suggested in her new Art Journaling 103- Composition and Colour. Not to be- perhaps I'll order in on line.
I have yet to start doing some of the pages that Dina suggested we experiment with ,what with bookclub last night  and then free tickets to a play tonight, there has been no time.
However I have cancelled going to the writing group and hope to get stuck into some of it tomorrow night.
The play was Perfect Harmony. The Theatrermania promo for it says...
Before there was Glee, there was something we like to call Perfect Harmony. Where competition trumped everything. Where victory knew no limits. Where even the most innocent act could be seen as something treacherous, and no good deed went unpunished. This quirky, wickedly funny and mildly twisted comedy will bring you back to a time when navigating the brutal halls of high school was the most important thing in the world. Friendships are tested, loves are lost and won, and really high notes are sung. Oh, and the show contains tons of your favorite 80s pop songs. 

It ran for 2 hours without an interval- we got quite a few laughs.

Monday Bookclub

 I am getting the hang of this iphone! But I have become cautious since last Friday- not very long to be cautious I know however Maria, a friend in NYC had hers snatched out of her hands on the subway. I know that is what many people would like to do with cell phones- snatch and turn off the phones that have people talking loudly as they walk along the street or those who ignore the courtesy of turning their phone off in theatres. Someone's phone did go off in the theatre on Saturday completely confused the actor in Gatz not just because it rang but in about a minute later there was a phone cue in the play. Poor guy must have really been running through what should have been going on. The audience member's phone didn't sound like the one on set but still tricky if you were standing there saying your lines and a phone went off earlier than it should. However Maria's phone was actually stolen- the guys did a snatch and bolt out of the carriage.



However I digress... I am getting the hang of using the iphone for my point and shoot camera so that I can capture that photo for the day for this blog.
I have been trying to get photos of evidence of autumn in the areas I have been working and today was no exception. This particular street has featured in a few of my seasonal photos- I should hunt them out and see what ones I have.

After a day at work what does one do? On this particular day it was book club. This time at Margie's, in our building so an easy place to get to!
The book this month was Wanting by Richard Flannagan.
"It is 1839. A young Aboriginal girl, Mathinna, is running through the long wet grass of an island at the end of the world to get help for her dying father, an Aboriginal chieftain. Twenty years later, on an island at the centre of the world, the most famous novelist of the day, Charles Dickens, realises he is about to abandon his wife, risk his name and forever after be altered because of his inability any longer to control his intense passion.

Connecting the two events are the most celebrated explorer of the age, Sir John Franklin - then governor of Van Diemen's Land - and his wife, Lady Jane, who adopt Mathinna, seen as one of the last of a dying race, as an experiment. Lady Jane believes the distance between savagery and civilisation is the learned capacity to control wanting. The experiment fails, Sir John disappears into the blue ice of the Arctic seeking the Northwest Passage, and a decade later Lady Jane enlists Dickens' aid to put an end to the scandalous suggestions that Sir John's expedition ended in cannibalism.

Dickens becomes ever more entranced in the story of men entombed in ice, recognising in its terrible image his own frozen inner life. He produces and stars in a play inspired by Franklin's fate to give story to his central belief that discipline and will can conquer desire. And yet the play will bring him to the point where he is no longer able to control his own passion and the consequences it brings.

Inspired by historical events, WANTING is a novel about art, love, and the way in which life is finally determined never by reason, but only ever by wanting."
Interesting discussion around this one!

Sundays in Manahattan

 Glancing out my window early on Sunday my immediate thought was "Oh the markets are still drifting across the avenues of Manhattan!" The scene above was the stall holder beginning to set up.

 So that eventually there are stalls selling all manner of things food is prevalent as are clothing, sheets, jewelry and people! The "fairs" happen every Saturday and Sunday during daylight saving I think and are in a different avenue each time. They begin I guess on 1st then the next day 2nd etc etc until the reach 11th I guess again. Then start over, each week in the next avenue. I presume they'll be in 8th next week. I'll have to check!

Someone will have to give up their spot either the guys with the float or the stall holders. I again came across the procession with the band player and the "religious float". This time on 8th. They were beginning to travel up 8th. The band played then the carriers of the float started swaying slowly from side to side in time to the music then a man began pushing them forward which seemed to give them enough momentum to keep swaying and walking.
I headed into the supermarket and they began to disappear up 8th Avenue

A day in the theatre

 This seat is where I spent most of my day.


I went to see "Gatz" at the Public Theatre.

Advertised as "A theatrical tour de force, Gatz is conceived as a single six-hour production in which an ensemble of 13 actors bring to live every word of the novel with no text added and none removed. Gatz is a one-of-a-kind theatrical event defined by its radical commitment to one of the 20th century's greatest novels." Here's a link to video clips and photos.
The advertising goes on to say "Gatz is best experienced in a single day and we strongly encourage you to see it that way. Part One is Chapters 1-5. Part Two is chapters 6-9. There is a one-hour meal break between Parts One and Two." So I took their recommendation and took myself to the Public Theatre and I am soooo glad I did.




The show was fantastic in its conception and delivery. The actors remarkable in their capacity to do such an intense piece and maintain it in strength of performance and consistency of delivery. The spontaneous, immediate and genuine standing ovation at the end of 8 hours and 15 minutes (this includes the meal break) was certainly an indication of how the entire audience felt.

 The dinner break not only gave me time to stretch my legs but also time to wander , ever so briefly, through another section of NYC. I chose this restaurant.



It was daylight when I went in but getting dark by 7pm. Autumn is upon us!

  

Further evidence of autumn- the plentiful harvest being celebrated?! This little pumpkin was near the doors to the bathrooms at the restaurant.

Friday drinks

The ritual of having Friday night drinks with mates to debrief the week is really good. Sometimes it involves just heading to a little local spot. This time it involved going to Grand Central to the Mexican place for great margaritas. The MTA in its wisdom has changed the bus route of the M104 which now no longer goes along 42nd Street and passed Grand Central. Getting there from here this time involved walking there and on 47th just before 5th Avenue I came across this Japanese noodle store.

Walking through NYC

Betty arrived in NYC and was staying at a place on 57th Street just over 1st Avenue.
I rang her there and then met her at the hotel/apartment. She was almost in Brooklyn she was so far over to the east of Manhattan!

Our walk back to the apartment was via the streets and avenues looking at the sights and enjoying the architecture. I hadn't really walked that way before so it was lovely to see the different buildings and sights of the city.
The synagogue, above,  is one of the oldest in NYC .

Looking down Lexington Avenue you can see the Chrysler Building unfortunately not in this photo.

Wednesday at the theatre

My subscription to MTC (Manhattan Theatre Club) has begun.
The first play of the season for me was The Pitmen Painters.
It is s based on the true story of a group of British miners who discover a new way to express themselves and unexpectedly become art-world sensations! It is described as "an arresting and witty salute to the power of individual expression and the collective spirit".
It did explore these themes while telling the sotry of the group of men in Britain in the 1930's & 40's.
The play itself was brought to NYC from London.

There are lots of images on the MTC website.

It was a good production and I enjoyed the night out.

Only in New York

I thought perhaps I had blogged about this treat that has greeted me on two previous occasions. But on looking back I can't find any mention of it so here goes.

Walking from the station in the Bronx I passed the guy in the photo- the photo is not all that clear because I hesitated about taking a photo of him and had moved a little further up the street.

I sent text messages to my friends here saying "You may or may not recall my text about the African American guy with the clock and the green hair?" One time  I saw him on or around St Patrick's day.

On today's occasion he sported a basketball theme complete with a basketball themed kitchen clock around his neck.

Around St Patricks Day he was dressed in green- with green shoes, green track suit, green hair and a St Patrick's day themed kitchen clock around his neck.

I can't recall the other outfit but it was the third time I've seen him.

Is he the modern day equivalent of the town crier?

Today he was directing traffic on this particular corner. I know this for a fact as I stopped a little further up the road to take a photo and he called out to me "You have the light, it is safe to cross."

Made my day really and it was only 7:45am!

Back with Rafaela

Monday saw me back at the school with Rafaela.

It is great to be back with friends and working with smart women.

She was so kind and gave me a triangular snowdome that she had bought while she was on her vacation in Colorado. So thoughtful!

Sunday celebrating

Having done the great tidy up of my section of the apartment - still further to go! I have set up a spot to house my "creative" endeavours. It has also given me my place in the sunshine!

I was doing my reflective journaling and Sue managed to capture my reflection!

It was Sheena's birthday celebration and Bernadette created a great  pavlova which all enjoyed.

Apart from celebrating Sheena's birthday we had the "joy" of two little dogs that Maria was caring for. The one featured here is Mochi.

 She got a whiff of the air through the open window and was valiantly trying to get close to it via the backs of chairs, window sills and after bumping and breaking only one glass of wine.

 I was helping out ... I went to the airport to meet a new AUSSIE consultant  so that Sheena could relax and enjoy her party. On the way there was this lovely view of autumn. The rest of the journey is another story!

Satruday writing

 One of my goals for the year was to do more writing, by more I meant to actually do some! As a result I joined a meetup of the International Women's Writing Guild a rather daunting name for a great group of people. The IWWG, founded in 1976, as a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing and open to all regardless of portfolio. As such, it has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. The Guild nurtures and supports holistic thinking by recognizing the logic of the heart--the ability to perceive the subtle interconnections between people, events and emotions- alongside conventional logic. This day was the Big Apple Conference it was held at The National Arts Club in Gramercy Park. A Workshop with Maureen Murdock - Making Meaning form Myth and Memoir: A One-Day Memoir Writing workshop. Bernadette joined me for the day.
We caught the R to 23rd street and on the way there we were crossing the road and looking back I got this great view of the Empire State. Thank goodness for the camera in the iphone no moment need go undocumented.


Having found our way there way too early, nasty trait I have, always need to be there in plenty of time. But it gave us time to find a cup of coffee. What a great find this little coffee shop was... and it made the little stroll through the Gramercy Park area truly worthwhile- a great cappuccino that made this little Melbourne coffee drinkers heart beat faster- not just from the caffeine!


Once the day started the presenter Maureen Murdock inspired and had us writing. Searching for mythic themes in our memoirs was such a liberating process.

The venue itself is a work of art. I had been there and I believe blogged about the National Arts Club before, the link takes one on a great digression from my story.

 The building itself an the art work

 Thanks to the iphone I can get (ghastly) photos of me in situ!

And then Bernadette exploring the art work.

Veiws

Reflections in the Crowne Plaza windows just fascinate me. The changing light patterns and the glimpses into lives around us. 

The school art display captured my imagination, loved the shapes and the concept based on the work of Louise Nevelson. Great that the teacher was able to give different experiences for kids and even better still that she acknowledged the source of the inspiration.

In the vein of shapes of visions- rally loved this pumpkin marking the journey to Halloween! It was on a doorstep in midtown Manhattan.