nyc: day2.

having just woken up, i am lying in bed alongside a sleeping haley, in a tiny little apartment in the west villiage of new york city, blogging on yesterday’s adventures. at this moment, nothing could be better.

you know that old saying, “today is the first day of the rest of my life”? if you didn’t, now you do. and if you do, this quotation perfectly illustrates my second day in the city.

to be honest, the day really didn’t start out as swell as i had hoped. after having stayed up until three a.m. setting up my blog, i slept horribly. i tossed and turned with nightmares of missing my alarm, not calling the bag man on time, and forever losing my luggage to the hands of united airlines. as a result, i was awake shortly after six. unfortunately, so was my roommate jordan, as our room is entirely too small for one to move about inconspicuously. (i apologized for waking him so early – and naturally he was super sweet about it – but i knew i was most definitely being a pest.)

anyway, the bag man finally came, and i met him at the door. i’ve never been so happy to see a tiny indonesian fellow behind the wheel of a minivan.

we were scheduled to switch apartments yesterday, so after we had packed up all our things and left them by the door for the movers, we headed to kim’s apartment to pick her up. we were on our way to the lottery for the ragtime revival. we barely made it for the drawing, and even with our specialized and perfected “crumple-then-fold” technique, none of our names were drawn. we did get a reduced price though – for participating in the lottery – and luckily, there were enough seats for the whole group.

as we were taking our seats in the very last row of the very top balcony, my stomach was in knots – partly because i was actually, finally here on broadway; a place i have waited my entire life to experience – and partly because i was terrified of the possibility of tripping and plummeting to my death.

ragtime itself was incredible. it was everything i imagined a real broadway show to be. i laughed and cried and cried harder. i was so inspired by each individual’s performance that i thought my body would burst with emotion. however, it wasn’t until the curtain call that i had my first real catharsis of nyc. when mamie parris beautifully and gracefully accepted the audience’s adoration and applause, i was suddenly overcome with tears. i thought about my dream of becoming a broadway actress – one that i’ve had all my life. there i was, sitting in the very back – the farthest back – of this breathtaking broadway theater, when all i wanted was to be onstage.

“i bet they all started out this way,” i mused, and my resolution became even stronger. i promised myself for what seemed like the hundredth time that i would see my dream to its finish. and i know i will.

after the show, we were met at the stage door by mike mcgowan, ragtime performer, sioux falls native, and friend of kim. he took us backstage and explained a few of the show’s technicalities. just when i thought the day couldn’t get any better, here i was standing on a broadway stage – a real, actual broadway stage. i couln’t believe it. and on top of that, i was standing on a stage where not only ragtime’s cast performed, but where hundreds of other broadway casts had performed, and where individuals just like me had made their debuts. needless to say, i was awestruck. then mike introduced us to “q”, the star of the show, who was unbelievably gracious and kind (and much shorter than i had expected) – kim says he’ll win a tony for sure. i hope he does.

finally, we headed back in the direction of our apartment, first making a pit stop at a grocery store for provisions.

i had applesauce and rice cakes for supper. delicious.

too tired to blog, i fell into bed shortly after eight o’clock, and got my first good-night’s-sleep since arriving in the city. i feel wonderfully refreshed this morning and no doubt ready to embark on another adventure.

check back to see how the day ensues.