A Letter to My Blog

Dear Blog,

I know that you and I haven't spent much time together lately. That's my fault, and I'm sorry. When I tell you that I've been reeeeeally busy, I'm not dropping a hint that we should stop seeing each other. Truly! I'm just hoping that you'll forgive me for being MIA. . .

Anyway, I'm ready to make things right. Is there something I can give you? Some updated pictures, maybe? A background make-over? The promise of fewer typos???

While you mull it over, let me share the TOP 10 HEADLINES that you've missed over the past couple of weeks:

*****

1. Erica and High School Friend Tear up Town in Exciting 4-Mile Excursion

My friend, Jaimie, picked a perfect day to visit NYC: bright and sunny with a cool breeze. The weather made for a wonderful ride past the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island Ferry and a pleasant--but ultimately hot and sticky!--walk from Washington Square Park, past Chinatown and Ground Zero, down to Battery Park, and, later, into Central Park. Another friend, Zach, came and visited the next weekend, and we made a similar round of the city, stopping for $4 gyros (jai-roes? hee-roes? yu-roes?) at the end. The next few weekends will be full of more of the same as other friends and family drop in for a taste--often their very first!--of The Big Apple.

I love showing people around New York; it helps me see the city in all of its flashy, splashy glory again. As somebody who has slipped into the routine of big city life, it's easy for me to forget how invigorating the New York atmosphere can be with its endless entertainment, art, and history and its literal millions of eager, hard-working hopefuls and dreamers. (Just a quick comparison: Salt Lake City has a population of less than 0.19 million. NYC draws in over 8 million!)

2. Erica Sees Sutton Foster in "Anything Goes;" Can't Stop Humming Tunes and Trying to Tap Dance Down Street

My review of "Anything Goes?"

A+! An evening of pure ear-and-eye candy.

This was easily my favorite Broadway performance yet. Sutton Foster filled every inch of the larger-than-life shoes of legendary character Reno Sweeny--a role played in the past by brassy giants such as Ethel Merman and Patti Lupone. Foster's Reno displayed an added touch of humanity (and, at times, vulnerability) coupled with the quirky, confident, I-don't-have-to-try-too-hard air of Katherine Hepburn. Foster definitely deserved her Tony ("Best Actress") this year!

The show itself was a fluffy, extravagant Depression-Era comedy that delighted in its own old-fashiondness (think Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Charlie Chaplin) and was smart enough not to modernize itself. And that was its charm.

3. Erica Accepts Full-Time, Four-Week Position Teaching Music

In a few weeks, here's what I'll be doing weekly: Escaping the New York heat in a swimming pool, teaching a music theater class (we'll be staging a fully-costumed performance of my script, Between the Lines), and taking field trips to museums and water parks with 30 kids who want to learn about music. Oh, and I'm actually getting paid to participate in the fun! :-)

4. Erica Attends "Jersey Boys;" Recognizes Many Songs ("Big Girls Don't Cry. . .")

This show reminded me of my elementary school's Lip Sync ("My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in TROU-ble. . .").

5. Erica Experiences Make Music New York Festival/Gets Lost in Central Park

Because I had to work the morning of the festival, I wasn't able to attend the iPhone Symphony or play one of the 88 pianos stationed around New York. I did make it to the lake in Central Park, though, where dozens of brass players were playing call-and-response music in surround sound (from all corners of the lake). Rowers in the middle of the lake formed an unconventional "audience." I also heard performances by the West Point Brass Quartet, Perry Mauer's contemporary classical ensemble--complete with a skinny 50-year-old dancer who leapt and twirled awkwardly between the instrumentalists!--a jazz singer, the Collegiate Choir, and a female rabbi who gave a program of modern art songs in a midtown synagogue. There were over 1,000 free concerts in the city that day.

6. Erica Begins Teaching Piano at Convent/Bombards Students With Theory Assignments

Great news: I've finally got enough piano students to cover my living expenses this summer! I'm falling in love with teaching all over again; it's wonderful working with adults who have sought out a teacher on their own and who have a genuine desire to learn. Lessons are so engaging (music theory is FUN, I tell you!) that I usually go about 15 minutes overtime. . .

7. Erica Attends S'more Party With Church Friends on Apartment Rooftop. Door Won't Open. Friend Accidentally Pulls Off Entire Knob!

The headline pretty much says it all. When we buzzed to get inside the building for the party, the main door was stuck firmly shut. "Just twist the knob and push!" said my friend, Jessica. "I can't. It keeps turning and turning." "Let me try." Jessica stepped up with confidence, grabbed the knob, and twisted firmly. The entire fixture came off in her hand. She stood there in a split-second stupor, like some character from a slapstick comedy, and then the three of us (me, Jaimie, Jessica) burst into hysterical laughter. (It helped that Jaimie and I were completely exhausted after a day of sightseeing and that Jessica had just woken up from a nap. . .)

8. Erica Walks 4 Miles To/From Doctor's. Diagnosis: Allergies!

I'm on Claritin-D now, hoping that this sinus pressure will ease up soon.

9. Erica Attends B-day Party of Filmographer in Swanky Hotel; Unexpectedly Runs Into Strouse's Secretary

As a Mormon who spent her teenage years in Utah and has never touched a drop of alcohol, I'd never had the opportunity to attend a party where people were actually drunk. That opportunity finally presented itself last week when a friend from Boston invited me to go with him to a big-shot filmographer's birthday party at the Soho Grand Hotel. And guess what? People are funny when they're drunk. They kiss your cheeks and predict your future and laugh when talking fails.

10. Erica Explores NYC's West Village; Sees Homes Where Mark Twain/Emma Lazarus Lived (Respectively, Not Together)

I love this part of the city; it reminds me of the quainter, more historic parts of Boston and London.

*****

So now that you're all caught up, dear Blog, do you forgive me? I'll try to be better about finding time for you in the future.

Yours most affectionately,

Erica

P.S. A random conversation that I thought you might enjoy:

Jessica: So I went to this great place in Central Park the other day where you can row your boats. Wait--did I just say "row your boats?"

Me: Yes, you did. Is it a gentle stream? And do you row merrily?

Jessica: You do, actually, because life is but a dream.

Me: And a musical too, apparently!

Life really should be a musical.