goodbye, wash heights

It's been awhile since I've wrote much and a ton has happened. Overall, the last week was very busy because 2 people from my department were on vacation. I spent much of the week setting up the Patron Lounge for our second theatre, City Center, because our first off-Broadway show, The Receptionist, started previews there this Friday.

To accomplish this, I was out of the office for periods each day, running around Midtown like an idiot acquiring supplies to take over there. Aside from a roach problem in the Patron Lounge coffee closet (seriously so big I thought they were mice upon first glance), the lounge is now up and running and the problems have all been fixed (hopefully those traps will work).

Highlights of the week include:

1) OPENING NIGHT!
This was seriously kick-ass. During the show, Jen and I worked the Patron Lounge (open to everyone tonight, because these are celebs/press/industry people who are more important than patrons, anyway) at the Biltmore, and we got to converse with quite a few celebs, one of the nicest being Patricia Clarkson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0165101/. During intermission, the P.Lo got completely slammed, and I couldn't even look up from pouring wine to see to whom I was serving it. We went through 20 bottles in 15 minutes.

At the after-party at Bryant Park Grill, I worked for a bit as a table guard right inside the door. This was an optimal position, because many people I had seen before on TV came up and started asking me questions. This involved Chris Noth (Mr. Big from "Sex and the City") throwing his arm around me and asking about the restroom. After I was finished working, I got to enjoy the food and the open bars. Everything was decadent, and much bonding was had by all.

There was also an after-after party for the staff at a bar nearby, and that was great as well. The next morning my commute and first couple hours at work were not as great.

2) I MOVED OUT OF THE SOON-TO-BE CONDEMNED BUILDING IN WASH HEIGHTS!
The other intern in my department, Jen, generously offered me a spot in her apartment in Astoria, Queens as a transition away from the crappy situation up north. She has two other roommates, and the apartment is huge (tw0-floors of a house), and it's a very homey place. My quality of life has so infinitely improved I can't even talk about it. I'm staying in the living room on a futon, but it's essentially my own room because it's off to the side and people rarely go in it. I am forever indebted to her, but she is very kind and insists that it's nice to have me there.

Oh, and I got my full security deposit back from Ybelka! That was a shockingly nice surprise.

3) I'M A PROUD PAPA OF AN APARTMENT
We finally got our apartment in Jackson Heights! We met with the realtor on Friday afternoon and paid him the rest of the dough after our deposit (broker fee, 1st month's rent, last month's rent, and security deposit). After that, my bank account looks a little sad, but at least I won't be living in the street!

We got a great deal on a great place, and I will post pics of it just as soon as we move in, which should be quickly after the 22nd (or earlier, if the people moving out leave sooner). As of now, I need to find a bed, so I'll be working on that this week. Now that I have an apartment, I can start looking for a JOB!

4) THE RECEPTIONIST STARTED PREVIEWS
This is our second play of the season and will be running at City Center while Mauritius continues to run at the Biltmore. I saw the show last night for free and brought Alex along, and I really liked it. The acting was very good overall, and the portrayal of the office setting is strikingly fresh, yet appropriately monotonous. There were some things, of course, but overall a very funny, strong show. We'll see what Ben Brantley (the reviewer for The New York Times) has to say about this one. I've learned that his word is the be-all-end-all of critics in New York, and he didn't like Mauritius a whole bunch, even though most other critics really liked it and the audiences still LOVE it http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/theater/reviews/05maur.html.

After the show, Alex and I went down to the Village for celebratory drinks after our long apartment hunt.

I've found a huge load lifted from my shoulders after I know that I now have a place to live. My mind has time to think about other things now, and my schedule doesn't constantly involved running around Queens like a chicken with its head cut off chasing down landlords/realtors/supers. While the frantic search and occasional hysterics have shifted now to tracking down short-term health insurance (a near impossibility to find for under $200/mo) and a job, it's nice to know that my life in NY is no longer at the mercy of the cutthroat housing market.