Sounds of New York

Sounds of New York - Another New York Love Affair

We’ve all been missing the sounds of New York bustle. The streets of the city are eerily silent these days, as non-essential activities falter and we cross the road to avoid six feet of contact. If you need your fix of New York noise, from Coney Island to Times Square, check out this YouTube playlist of one-minute soundbites: Another New York Love Affair: Audio Meditations.

The bottom photo is a video still of “New York Love Affair #11 – Times Square Busker.” The top photo is the same shot of the street scene today, with the US Armed Forces Recruiting Station in the background.

The emptiness in Times Square is enough to make a person cry. Though many of my New York friends are starting to adjust to the empty streets and enjoy the spaciousness.

With “The Pause” ending soon as New York began Phase One of re-opening, we’d better take the opportunity to visit all the spots that are usually hopping busy, while we still have a chance! Personally, I can’t wait for the new improved al fresco dining experience that will be taking over the streets of New York.

Everyone loves the Easter Parade

Easter Bonnet

As I mentioned in my last post, this year I attended the famous Easter Parade in NYC on April 21, beginning at 10 AM at 49th Street and proceeding north to 57th Street. The parade ended at about 1 PM. I also watched the 1948 film, “Easter Parade,” with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. This is a classical musical, with the song and dance numbers blending absolutely seamlessly into the story, in glorious color, with fun tunes by Irving Berlin. The grand finale is on Fifth Avenue, and this is where the Easter Parade takes place to this day.

Here are some photos of this year’s paraders:

Easter 2019

It was a glorious sunny day, and people were in a jubilant mood, as you can see. The man in the hounds-tooth jacket actually sang a few bars from “Easter Parade” to me! People were happy to pose in their festive finery, though I also captured a few candid photos on the subway and platform. It was a joyful day with the true Easter spirit of new life and growth bringing happiness to everyone’s hearts.

Style on the Street: West Village in Springtime

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been writing fashion pieces for the WestView News. With spring hovering near, the West Village is starting to take on a greenish hue. Tiny leaves are budding on the trees in sunny gardens. Birdsong is in the air, calling us to spring forward out of our beds at an earlier hour. A sprinkling of fairy dust was also in the air on St. Patrick’s day, as West Village residents and visitors alike took to the streets sporting green to celebrate our favorite Irish holiday.

Paul MacKnight's St. Pat's Stache
Paul MacKnight’s St. Pat’s ’stache

It’s an eerie coincidence that Paul MacKnight works at both Barre3 and Bar Six, both in the West Village. (And frequents Hell’s Kitchen’s Bar Nine, the dueling piano bar?) He poured a wicked Irish coffee on Sunday, serving it up to St. Patrick’s Day patrons during his shift behind the bar. In honor of the day, he put on some gold and green sparkle, making him the pixiest bartender in town.

Sana Siddiqui strolling down Sixth Avenue
Sana Siddiqui strolling down Sixth Avenue with Jefferson Market Library in background

Meanwhile, Sana Siddiqui strolled with her family down Sixth Avenue, and this couple power-walked in green splendor down a Gold Coast side street.

Strolling in sync on St. Pat's
Strolling in sync on St. Pat’s

Karen’s Holiday Kvetch: Delta Airlines Sucks – WestJet Airlines Far Superior

Delta Airlines Sucks
On my way to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, with my friend Sally, shown in the post above

Dear friends, it is the holiday season, and things can get chaotic, especially with a full moon like yesterday. Up until now I’ve been having a great time in New York, taking in wonderful holiday events like the Rockettes at Radio City.

But then it comes time to leave the city… And I had the most annoying non-travel experience yesterday, due to Delta Airlines’ thoughtlessness. So let me take you on a holiday kvetch, if I may…

At 6:10 am yesterday, I was prevented from checking my bags, and hence from boarding my 7 am flight to Seattle, and then endured 6 hours of the most frustrating phone calls you can image. I found Delta Airlines’ customer service to be appalling, and vow to never fly on this airline again if I can help it.

Since I couldn’t board my flight without checking my bags (though there was actually time for me to go through security and board the flight), I had to miss the flight entirely. The alternates I was offered were to pay $7,000 to book another flight the same day, or to do an overnight flight involving 5 hours’ layover in the middle of the night at LAX. Just imagine the fun! All because of a misleading statement on the Delta Airlines boarding pass… Followed by the worst customer service you can imagine, both at the airport and on the phone.

By contrast, this is the thoughtful information that WestJet sent me for the replacement flight I booked with them:

Hello Karen Y, your WestJet flight leaves in less than 24 hours…
Please remember that Holiday travel is the busiest time of the year at the airport, so give yourself the advantage of a little extra time. This email contains your flight details, and will help you check in easier. We look forward to welcoming you on board…
We strongly encourage you to arrive at the airport a minimum of two hours prior to your scheduled departure, to ensure that you do not miss your flight. Due to a higher than expected volume of guests traveling, and current U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) staffing, excessive security wait times are expected.
Changes at Calgary International Airport – When you arrive at the new terminal, you no longer need to pick up your bags when you go through Canadian customs. We also recommend you allow for extra time to reach your next gate; in some cases, 25-30 minutes may be needed.

This information is so thoughtful, and tells me all the details I need to know. Plus, they offer one free checked bag!

And this is their boarding pass:

Delta Airlines Sucks
With a handy quarter-fold layout. Brilliant!

By contrast, this is what Delta said on my boarding pass, which I printed after doing an online check-in the night before my flight:

Delta Airlines Sucks Boarding PassImagine checking in online at 11 PM, tired from a week of work and a day of Christmas shopping, packing, and wrapping… Wouldn’t you be delighted to see you only need to get to the airport 75 minutes ahead of time for a domestic flight from New York to Seattle? Well, I was, and set my alarm for an extra hour of sleep, getting up at 4:40 a.m., to arrive at the airport by 6 a.m., in time for my 7 a.m. flight. Note the wording “recommended,” implying 75 minutes is lots of time and you could even allow a bit less. At least that’s how I read it!

Imagine my shock when I was standing in the extremely long bag drop line, after waiting in my taxi 15 extra minutes to travel the last quarter mile at JFK, due to 5 lanes of jammed traffic, and saw the notice that bags must be checked an hour before the flight. I had not been informed of this in my emails from Travelocity nor on the Delta Airlines boarding pass. Normally I do arrive at the airport 2 hours ahead of time as a matter of course, but because of this notice of 75 minutes on the boarding pass, I didn’t do this. Hence I discovered the hard way that this 60-minute limit for bag drop is evidently the norm, which everyone knows but me.

Much hilarity (actually, many F-bombs) ensued, as I waited in Delta’s so-called “Rebooking” queue at JFK. There were over a dozen poor travelers ahead of me. There was only one woman at the counter, and each rebooking transaction seemed to require from 20 minutes to 90 minutes (as in the case of one woman in a white and purple blouse who was there the whole time I was, who must have had an exceeding complicated travel itinerary to reschedule).

After dropping the F-bombs, commiserating with others in the line, and noticing the line’s slower-than-snail’s pace, I made the call to Delta Airlines. Others in line began to do the same, trying to rebook on their phones, and eventually another Delta employee came over to hand out cards with the phone number to call to rebook. Never mind adding another person to the counter on one of the busiest travel days of the year. That would actually help people! Meanwhile, there was a crowd of a dozen Delta employees in matching t-shirts sitting in the next area, waiting to assist passengers with wheelchairs. Of whom there were none.

I called Delta (13 minutes), who said I had to call Alaskan Air because they were the “overarching” carrier for my itinerary, which culminated in an Alaskan Airlines flight from Seattle to Kelowna, BC. Geez! Alaskan Airlines (12 minutes) said they couldn’t help me because the first leg was with Delta. Next call–Travelocity. (40 minutes). This is where I found out my alternative travel options. (The aforementioned $7,000 trip or the appealing 5-hour middle of the night layover at LAX.)

I declined these options, and found a cafe on the arrivals level where I could do my own research. Within minutes, I had hot coffee, scrambled eggs, and a $660 WestJet flight to Kelowna leaving at 5:20 pm the next day, arriving at 11:21 pm (unfortunately requiring my sister Kim to travel an hour to pick me up, and then another hour to take me back to her home in Armstrong). Still a crappy option, but better than the others.

So, I sorted it out and was reasonably happy, due to Google, the coffee, and the eggs. I left the airport, and had a harrowing cab ride in a Drakkar-drenched taxi back to Manhattan. I opened the window to stop from choking on the stench. The driver kept looking at his cell phone and texting, while driving at high speed! I asked him to stop three times. Can you believe this? The third time he was actually texting while going over the bridge! Geez. Then he asked me if I want a ride back to the airport tomorrow (with him). Not!

So, finally I’m home, merely 3 hours after I set out…

But there’s one more matter to attend to, which is the exorbitant $80 in baggage fees that Delta Airlines charged me. No way was I going to let this ride, when they refused to accept my bags at the airport. (Did I mention the original flight cost $1,155!?? To fly from New York to Kelowna, BC! Plus this $80 fee for bags!!)

So at 8:12 am, I embarked on a new journey into unprecedented levels of frustration, until at 12:41 pm I finally got my baggage fee refunded. That’s right, 4.5 hours. 4.5 horrible hours of rage, helplessness, tears, shouting, MF-bombs, cajoling, insistence, and rudeness (on my part). The first call was to Delta, but they said Alaska had the money for the bags. The next call was to Alaska, and they said Delta had the money. Back and forth, on hold, being told one thing by one party, another by the other, until finally someone at Delta admitted they had the money and would give me a refund. Which took her about 30 seconds to do, as I saw the refund email pop up on my phone immediately.

Sheesh! By now it was after noon, and I felt like a complete wreck, and sadly lacking in holiday cheer.

I spent the afternoon on the couch reading a New Yorker article about dementia, and then went to see The Grifters at the Metrograph Theater on the Lower East Side–a very civilized theater with a bar in the lobby! Both very cheering activities, as you can imagine. 😉 These reconnected me to my beloved New York.

Thanks for tuning in to my holiday kvetch, and I hope you join me in boycotting Delta Airlines forever!

Pandora’s Box and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in 2017

As I open the Pandora’s box of playbills, ticket stubs, and other memorabilia from 2017, I feel a strange anxiety. What emotions and memories will overtake me as I remember the year that was? Will I regret missed opportunities, or feel embarrassed at some of my shenanigans?

The dull olive-green box made of woven reeds is also reminiscent of Moses’s basket, bobbing in the river water as the babe escapes murder and meets his fate as the leader of a people. I think this will be my main regret of 2017. I wanted something truly momentous to happen–to be discovered, to have a clear sense of vision and direction, to begin a fantastic creative project that will bring me joy and satisfaction. The dreams of many who come to New York, I’m sure!

What actually happened was that I spent the year looking for a home. I also went out and did a lot of fun things with friends, as you will see below. And I spent more time and money than one would have thought possible seeking treatment for a neck injury.

This latter pursuit brought me to all corners of Manhattan as I tried one specialist after another, which involved taking different subway lines and meeting medical staff in various offices, from Chelsea to SoHo to Park Avenue, and many points in between. I tried hypnosis, acupuncture, acupressure, physical therapy (multiple practitioners), massage therapy (multiple practitioners), the Alexander Technique, osteopathy, chiropractic (multiple practitioners, including old-school, Quantum Spinal Mechanics, and fascial manipulation), cranial sacral therapy, and atlas orthoganal therapy! I spent close to $17,000 out of pocket, thus facing one of my worst fears about moving from Canada to the US, which is that I will be bankrupted by health costs.

Artwork Trump quote from Roger Waters concert

And of course, there was a national and global anxiety underlying my personal anxiety that I might never be well. People around the world and in the US were facing much more terrible problems and fears than me as I struggled with the unease that comes with having something wrong in the body–which many of you can relate to, sadly. So I had my personal challenges of health difficulties and fear of the unknown, but there was also a pervasive social anxiety about the fate of the country. What many view as the wildly inappropriate behavior of the current president shattered people’s views of a safe and just society of shared values of acceptance, tolerance, and concern for each other. Countless times over the year my friends expressed concern that the social safety net built up over the past decades will be torn apart irreparably. And also that environmental damage will be irreversible, so that the very planet we live on is doomed. So a pall of gloom and fear underlay the year of 2017 in New York City.

Artwork Trump quote from Roger Waters concert

Dozens of people asked me why I moved here, at this point in history. In fact, it was the first thing everyone asked me when I said I had just moved here from Canada. The second thing they said was, “Everyone wants to move in the other direction!” Even at my co-op board interview to buy the apartment that has become my delightful new home, this was the first question they asked me! My answer was unfailingly the same: because I am in love with New York.

I have followed this love blindly, unknowingly. I trust in the pull of my heart, and the feeling of rightness in my body, which I experience whenever I am out and about on the city streets, marveling that I actually live here, but my rational mind is still lagging behind. What am I doing here? I don’t know! And I suppose this is true in the bigger scheme as well–what am I doing here on this planet? Why do I exist? What am I meant to do in this lifetime? This question has been nagging at me throughout my adulthood. There is a grand panoply of life and color unfolding, and I am part of it. But that isn’t enough of an answer to satisfy me.

Looking at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it’s clear that the move to New York and the neck injury set me back to earlier stages of the pyramid that had been nicely settled in Vancouver. I knew at the outset when I decided to move to New York that I would be disrupting the nice secure world I had built for myself, but it seemed like a waste of my life to just settle there on my sandhill and watch the world go by!

1 – Physiological Needs

The first layer of the pyramid is physiological needs, and the search for shelter is truly what preoccupied me this year. I made an offer on three other apartments before finding the Mark Twain building and succeeding at my offer here. I made offers on apartments on W. 9th Street (snatched out from under me), W. 10th Street (too expensive), and Horatio St. (turned down by the co-op board), before ending up in my dream apartment on W. 12th Street! I learned a lot of fascinating information about New York real estate, and feel I emerged from the battle victorious.

2 – Safety Needs

The second layer, safety needs, also dominated as I sought to recover my health. The quest for healing the neck injury, as outlined above, occupied much time and money. Luckily, I have almost regained homeostasis, and my most recent atlas orthogonal adjustment held until the next day. The pain is gone, and I have discovered so much about my body, and particularly the physiology of the neck and atlas, that I can see the gift in the challenges I faced. Now I have a great support network of health specialists I can call on, and I have learned to do self acupressure as well–the final piece of the puzzle for self-care. Recommendation: Acupressure’s Potent Points.

3 – Social Belonging

Social belonging is the third level of the hierarchy. I have probably spent a disproportionate amount of my time in social pursuits this past year, and perhaps the motivation has been the unconscious need to build bonds of friendship–more than a true desire to go out and see so many plays, movies, ballets, and musical performances. OK, maybe it was a two-fer!

I do recall the pivotal moment during the Race to Deliver in November, when I felt a simple sense of belonging as a member of the New York Road Runners. Not because I am special in any way or wearing a David Bowie costume, but simply because I’ve shown up and participated and run with these people over and over again. I also spent a lot of time writing emails to a wide network of friends and family, as you have probably noticed! It is definitely a conscious need that I check in with when I assess the state of the nation of Karen Rempel. Am I current with everyone? Have I caught up on all the emails? Did I forget someone’s birthday? Sorry to say, I did forget a few this past year, but I hope people will forgive me.

I was happy to spend time in BC with my mom and siblings in April and May (celebrating Kim’s 50th birthday in Tofino–wow!), and caught up with many friends in Vancouver at that time as well, right before the official move to New York on May 21. The Vancouver goodbye party launched me into my new life feeling so much love and support from you all. I know it will take time to build this kind of depth of connection in New York. I could feel the difference when I had my New York housewarming party, and half the guests who said they would come didn’t show up! But with those who came, and some who didn’t, I do feel bonds of love and caring, and I know that these friendships will continue to deepen over time.

4 – Esteem

The fourth level in the hierarchy of needs is esteem. This is an interesting one, encompassing both the need to be respected by others, and the need for self-respect. The need to be respected by others can manifest as the desire for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention. Truth be known, this could be the “corn” or sore point for me. When I think back on painful events of the past year, this unmet need is often underlying the hurt. I have not been “discovered” by New York yet!

However, I recall a dear friend acknowledging to me my accomplishment of buying my New York apartment. She said that few women she knows have managed this under their own steam, based on earning their own money through their careers. As we talked about this, I remembered the pivotal point in my life when my father died, and I realized I couldn’t wait any longer to have a man to pursue my dreams with. I decided to act on my own, and soon after purchased Monkey Valley by myself (with the help of loans from my family members), which is of course what eventually made it possible to buy my home in New York. My friend’s recognition of my accomplishment warmed me inside, and helped my self respect get a little clearer so that I can feel it tangibly. In the sea of anxiety that I have floated in this past year, I haven’t always been in touch with my personal ground of confidence. I need the help of my friends! To misquote the Beatles.

5 – Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the fifth level of the hierarchy of needs, and this has definitely been a driver in my move to New York. I have a sense of destiny pulling me (together with my heart) and the feeling that I am meant to actualize my being in some particular way. Sometimes I feel it is simply to be, and interact with others. This has been one of the strongest delights for me this past year. Interacting with people as I go about my day, and feeling the joy of connection. There are the staff at Jerri’s–my laundry guys–and LifeThyme, where I get my groceries. My gym (Barre3) made me feel like family right from the beginning, and I feel a sense of belonging at the Joffrey Ballet Center as well. I have taken the Absolute Beginner’s ballet classes for adults 3 or 4 times now! People in the post office, in the subways, on the streets themselves. Bartenders and restaurant servers… Everywhere I go, the warmth of human connection is so satisfying, I wonder if this is my purpose, pure and simple.

However, Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the most that one can be. And here I feel I have so much further to go! I think that I focused mostly on physical and athletic accomplishment in the past year, which is great, but I haven’t been pursuing creative aims as I expected. That is definitely a goal for 2018.

However, I reached a new level of muscle tone, strength, and definition in the Barre3 classes, and learned to tolerate and stay with the burn when it seems impossible. I feel I have actualized a peak level of fitness, and this is an amazing accomplishment which has informed my running as well. I conquered a certain fear of reaching my limit, by exceeding it as a regular occurrence in these classes.

Another unexpected development has occurred with my dance skills. These are very rudimentary in any formal form of dance, but I feel a huge sense of accomplishment in freeform dance–I feel the synthesis in my body of the many different disciplines I have studied, and immensely more freedom in the possibility of movement compared to earlier in my life. I haven’t set out to actualize myself in this direction, but have simply been doing what I love to do. It has been an unconscious impulse, and now perhaps I am making it more conscious by telling you about it.

I went to London and Barcelona for the Christmas holidays, and I held the question in my mind about what is my purpose, what am I meant to do? What is my gift, how should I contribute? I was disappointed to come home with no big “ah-ha” moments, no clear inspiration. But the most fun I had was going dancing one night with two young Londoners, and watching Flamenco dancing on my first evening in Barcelona. The word DANCE is looming in my mind. I think I wrote it on a piece of notepaper while away… What to do with that, I don’t know. I went dancing on New Year’s Eve, at a club called Cielo in the Meatpacking District. I’ve signed up for ballet classes three nights a week at the Joffrey, and I’ve also signed up for a beginner’s course in Flamenco.

I loved dancing on stage at the Orpheum at the David Bowie tribute in 2016, and I have noticed myself wishing to be in a dance troupe when I see groups performing. There, I’ve said it. I want to be a dance performer. I am definitely afraid to say this out loud. I don’t like to want anything that I can’t have. And I was such a miserable failure at beginner’s jazz dance class in the fall! My menopausal brain could not remember the sequences of moves in the choreography, and I was mortified at how bad I was… So there you have it.

6 – Self-Transcendence

Self-transcendence is the sixth and final level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He added this one later in life–it wasn’t part of the original pyramid. He came to believe that the self only finds its actualization in giving itself to some higher goal outside oneself, in altruism and spirituality, which is essentially the desire to reach the infinite. As my own spiritual development has unfolded in its uneven and bumpy way, certain areas shine and dominate, then subside back into the morass of the ego again.

You may notice in this exploration of the year that passed a theme of the yearning for spiritual actualization in the world, mixed with the needs of the animal instincts and egoic confirmation. It’s all part of the stew, and I would say that all the levels are intertwined, while in this human form on this uncertain earth. Those moments of joyful interaction with others, and joyful expression through physical activity, feel like the most pure spiritual expression of my purpose on earth. The quiet moment I spend alone meditating before bed is a different type of spiritual expression–a personal connection with the divine or infinite. I have a sense that my soul can and does have that type of connection outside of human form, between physical incarnations. It supports me, just like food and air and water, to sustain me in this lifetime. A daily moment of self-transcendence. I don’t feel called to pursue this type of experience as my full-time occupation at this point in my life. However, looking back at the beginning of the post, and the word “anxiety,” I know that being in touch with the deeper reality of the divine, infinite true nature is actually the only cure. The trick of self-actualization is to sustain the connection with the infinite while engaging in expression in the finite world.

Highlights of 2017

Now for the Pandora’s box of 2017 highlights!

Here is a list of highlights that spring to mind when I think back over the year. Bear in mind that this list is incomplete, as it was a helluva year!

  • Completing the final stage of the A&W project, which entailed putting the standard operating procedures through French translation. I sometimes worked 70 hours a week to get this done, and pushed myself as hard as I ever have on a work project.
  • The day spent modelling on Cornelia Street. I truly felt like a high fashion model. I loved the beautiful clothes and the compliments and admiration of strangers. And Krystyna was so fun to spend time with. One of the best days of my life!
    Karen Rempel on Cornelia St
  • Dressing windows at Krystyna’s Place! A new form of creative expression involving fashion and design that I loved.
  • Doing phone inquiry on FaceTime with two friends from Vancouver and having them tell me to buy this apartment (based on the Streeteasy link I sent them)! Thank you, Maylynn and Shira!
  • Buying my New York apartment. The day I got board approval was a thrill, but it wasn’t a surprise as it seems it was a foregone conclusion. It felt so right, there was a sense of inevitability about the decision.
  • A thrilling date night with a British architect. (I know some of you have been most interested in my love-life, which is rather non-existent and obviously has not been a focus this year.) This date really stood out, though, beginning with the Rockette’s Christmas Special at Radio City Music Hall, followed by a drink at the Top of the Rock, and then another drink and late-night snack in a roof-top lounge on the trendy Highline, with glorious views of the Hudson and the city.
  • Meeting James Spader in the hallway at the Village Vanguard. We chatted for a minute. His hand was very warm and full of presence.
  • Publishing 3 articles in the WestView News. My first New York publications!
    Gorgeous decor of the fantastic Osteria 57, which I reviewed for the WestView News–fabulous people run this place, and I rang in the New Year with them–twice!
  • Having a private tour of David Hockney’s exhibit at the Met, with David Hockney, my dear friend Arthur, the artist Ricardo Nazario, and others.
  • Visiting Abbey Road, 221B Baker Street, and Paddington Station in London, and the aforementioned dancing outing with two beautiful young London women (Isabel and Hilami) who took me to a grime club on the tube.
  • Dinner at Jean-Georges with a dear friend. Definitely the most extravagant restaurant setting I’ve been in, with about 8 waiters attending our table, and exceptionally wonderful food and wine pairings.
  • Attending a black-tie gala awards dinner at the United Nations, honoring former vice-president Joe Biden (and buying my first ballgown for the event!).
  • Being photographed for Getty Images at a swank art gallery opening in Chelsea. I went to Bernie Taupin’s opening there later on another occasion, and spoke to the man himself, whom I thought was a jerk!
  • Playing the piano at Small’s jazz club (after it was closed) for my friend Ed.
  • Having the bartender in my Barcelona hotel pour me a drink without asking what I wanted! A brandy Alexander. So sweet! And watching teens in a dance competition on the TV in the lounge.
  • Doing the New York Road Runners 9+1. So satisfying! So hard to make myself get up early and take the subway to Central Park or Queens or the Bronx when I am a late afternoon runner by nature! The 10-mile race in the Bronx, with my Vancouver friend Angela, was definitely the toughest and most satisfying of all the races I did in 2017. But the most fun was winning best costume at the Retro 5-Mile Race!


    I won based on audience applause, perhaps because I danced to a Guns N’ Roses song played by a band after the race–and I was the only one who danced. 😉
  • Going “down the shore” to watch the eclipse with my friend Mike.
  • Having a gaggle of models over to my place and then modeling together in Washington Square Park for a pop-up runway show!
  • Getting my first local client, which was a New Jersey client a 3-hour commute away, and turned out to be a very short project (ugh). But it was a US client, and I got to bill and then deposit the money in my LLC’s (which I formed myself!) bank account (harder to get than forming the LLC!). An important foundational milestone for my life here in New York.

The Contents of Pandora’s Box

And now for the lists (including one or two early highlights from 2018):

Plays:

  • 2018 Hello Dolly – Bette Midler – with Heather
  • The Ferryman – at the Gielgud Theatre in London
  • Sweeney Todd – at Barrow Street Theatre – with Marlene
  • A Bronx Tale – with Angela
  • Spamilton – with Michael
  • Noel Coward’s Present Laughter – Kevin Kline – with Arthur
  • A Doll’s House, Part 2 – with Angela
  • The Color Purple – with Angela
  • Kinky Boots – with Angela
  • Sunset Boulevard – Glenn Close – with Angela and Marlene
  • The Liar – Classic Stage Company – with Deborah
  • The End of Longing – Matthew Perry
  • Oslo – Lincoln Center – Deborah and Marlene
  • Alpha 66 at T. Schreiber Studio – Steve Jones – with Margaret & Marlene
  • Schreiber Shorts – Steve Jones & Bill Barry – with Margaret & Ed
  • The Great Comet – with Deborah & Rosanna
  • Indecent – with Sally & Bill, Deborah, Marlene, Rosy

Movies:

  • 2018 Phantom Threads – Daniel Day Lewis (lives on the same block I lived on–W. 10th) – with Deborah
  • No Man’s Land (British National Theatre live performance of Pinter play)
  • 20th Century Women (Cinepolis Chelsea)
  • Song of Granite – with Dan & Deborah
  • Monterey Pop – saw 3 times, with Deborah, Marlene, and Guido
  • The Divine Order (at Film Forum) – with Deborah
  • Manifesto (at FF) – with Deborah
  • Dumb Girl (at FF) – with Deborah & Angela
  • Other Side of Hope (FF) – with Guy
  • Bird on a Wire (FF) – Mike & Deborah

Music:

  • Voices of Ascension Mozart & Haydn – church next door!
  • Meredith Monk’s Dancing Voices at Lincoln Center – with Deborah
  • Bellini’s Norma – Sondra Radvanovsky – with Deborah
  • Eric Reed Quartet at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club – with Michelle & Daniel, and also at Village Vanguard
  • Ravi Coltrane Quartet at Village Vanguard – with Lew
  • Bunuel’s/Ade’s Exterminating Angel at the Metropolitan Opera – with Deborah, Marlene, Tom, and others
  • Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – Debussy & Ravel – with Deborah & Marlene
  • Mezzrow’s jazz club – Marlene & Jos
  • Winter jazz festival – multiple clubs and performances including Ravi Coltrane – with Ed
  • Jazz club in Sleepy Hollow – with Ed
  • Guns N’ Roses at Madison Square Garden – with Dan nearby
  • BC Recorder Society Spring Showcase (in Vancouver) – featuring Taksu with Patricia Nichols
  • Donny McCaslin (played on Bowie’s final CD) at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall – followed by Small’s jazz club – with Ed
  • Paul McCartney at Barclays Center (night of first co-op board interview–Horatio St) – with Lew
  • Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia at the Met Opera House – with Mary M
  • Joe’s Pub Canada Day Celebration – various artists singing songs by Canadian artists – with Ed
  • Roger Waters at Barclays Center
  • Duruflé Requiem – Manhattan School of Music – Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine – with Deborah
  • Voices of Ascension St. John Passion – with Arthur
  • Buika – BB King Blues Club – with Deborah
  • Leonidas Kavakos at Lincoln Center – Mahler’s 4th Symphony and Auerbach – with Deborah
  • Elias String Quartet at 92|Y – with Deborah and Ed
  • Terrell Stafford Quartet at Village Vanguard
  • Ravi Coltrane at Birdland – with Ed
  • Kenny Barron Quintet at Jazz Standard
  • Robert Leslie – Lantern Hall, Brooklyn – with Marlene

Dance performances:

  • Gran Gala Flamenco – at Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica Orfeo
  • Grossman, Phillips, and Paul Taylor – Ariel Rivka Dance – with Deborah
  • Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance (3 more outings, multiple performances) – with Deborah and Margaret
  • Joffrey Ballet – Romeo and Juliet – friends from dance class (Jacqueline & others)
  • Fall for Dance – Program 4 & 5 – Jacqueline; Sally & Bill
  • American Ballet Theatre (mixed program, several performances) – with Deborah
  • ABT Onegin at Met Opera House – with Deborah
  • ABT The Golden Cockeral at the Met – with Deborah
  • Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes – with Deborah
  • Swan Lake – New York City Ballet – and later attended a dance class taught by two of the principal dancers!
  • Queensboro Dance Festival – my teacher Annastasia Mercedes performed – with Rosanna
  • Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg – mixed program with music by Tchaikovsky – with Deborah
  • Cielo – after midnight (early 2018) with a bunch of New Yorkers all dancing together!

Museums:

  • La Pedrera – Barcelona – Gaudi apartment building and museum
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art – with Arthur and David H. and friends
  • MOMA – with Michael
  • Rubin Museum of Art – with Marlene
  • Whitney Museum – with Lew and Cynthia
  • Rolling Stones Exhibitionism

A special thank you to Deborah for curating so many incredible cultural events! You’ve opened up many aspects of New York life to me, in many other ways too. Mille grazie, Bestie D! I’m so glad we rang in the New Year together–a fantastic cap to the year and stirring of the waters to bring in 2018.

Other:

  • Jerry Seinfeld!! Twice!
  • One World Observatory – $68 cocktail including elevator ride to 102 floor
  • Authors for Literacy event at United Nations – with Pat
  • Wine and Design event on UES – Virginia from Gala
  • “Trunk” jewelry show on UES – Lucine from Gala
  • Donna Karan’s secret warehouse sale – got thousands of dollars worth of fantastic clothes for $500!
    Donna Karan sample dress with her name hand written on the tag!
  • Skating at Rockefeller Center followed by a drink at the Trump Bar. It was a couple days before inauguration, and there was a permanent NBC camera focused on Trump Tower. I met a friend at the bar and we went to another bar to watch Obama’s farewell speech.
  • Visits to Margaret and Ed’s place in Sleepy Hollow, and fantastic runs along the Croton Aqueduct trail.
  • Thanksgiving at Bob’s!

Plus an incredible wealth of fantastic restaurants!

Losses in 2017

And in closing I want to remember the sad passing of a New York writer named John, a man I met through a friend and had one memorable date with at the Village Vanguard. We had a late-night breakfast afterwards at the Waverly Restaurant, and he died the following week while doing Savasana pose in yoga class. May your spirit be at peace, John. I’m glad I knew you, though briefly.

I also feel great sadness about the passing of my uncle, Sebastian Fichtl, a professional zither player and world traveler. May your spirit be at peace, Vastl.

Uncle Sebastian with his six children

And we also lost my neighbor, Thomas Meehan, in 2017–a great Broadway book writer, who wrote Annie, Hairspray, the Producers, and many others. May your spirit be at peace, Tom.

Carolyn Capstick Meehan and Thomas Meehan

So that’s the year that was. I haven’t mentioned all the shenanigans I alluded to. There was one involving a toilet delivery… but you’ll have to wait for my memoirs to hear the story! As I think about everything that happened, and the many wonderful visits, emails, and phone calls with friends and family that aren’t even mentioned here, I feel very blessed. How lucky I am! I hope you enjoyed hearing about my year, and I hope you have a fantastic 2018.

In New York City!

As some of you know, I am currently in New York doing a two-day course with Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. I want to share some of my travel adventures, starting with a few highlights & filling in the details later. Here is a pic from Sunday night. I arrived at about 9:00 PM at La Guardia. Had a kamikaze taxi driver whiz me to the Washington Square Hotel. Unpacked and then went looking for the city I have dreamed about. The Blue Note is close to my hotel, so I walked over there, but it was just closing! Around midnight. Not an impressive start for the city that is reputed to never sleep! But just down the street was NYC Groovepizza groove 4 groove 3 groove groove 2. Funk-o-rama! I went in (no cover charge), and had a great time listening to a funk band. The crowd was very friendly. Mostly younger student-types, as the rep for this neighbourhood would have it. After listening to a few songs and dancing my hello to the city, I went across the street and got a huge piece of pizza for $4. Cheap night out, and a great start to my trip. More layta!