it has been too long, friends, just too long.

on friday night i didn't have rehearsal (whoa!) so mike and i bought really cheap tickets to see "mary poppins" - and by cheap i mean $30 a piece and the last row of the top balcony. still, these shows are so impressive that even from there we could enjoy it. the sets were, as usual, completely amazing (a moving house with a top floor that could come down to the stage... it's hard to describe) and a wonderful use of the stage during the magic parts (where mary poppins pulls all sorts of things from her purse).

mike kept asking "how do they DO that?" and, really, i have no idea. i told mike i'd have to stage manage on broadway to find out. considering how much time that will take, i doubt it will ever happen. i was talking to a member of our theater group the other day and found out that she was a professional broadway stage manager. she's willing to help me out if i ever want a career change!

the other day on the subway (and you thought you could escape one of these stories), i was sitting quietly when several tourists boarded. there was only one seat next to me, so they chose one of them to sit down and take a picture. i leaned over so as not to be in the picture and they laughed and i laughed and said without thinking about it: "wasn't sure you wanted some random new yorker in your picture." then it occurred to me that i had just called myself a new yorker. huh.

mike and i are pretty comfortable wherever we are, but it's also happened to me several times that i'm walking down the street here and i bump into someone i know. this, more than anything else, helps me think of the place as home.