Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The end of the year holiday season is a mixture of endless social opportunities, fabulous food, upset stomachs from too much fabulous food, family drama, unproductive days, and general disruption of any semblance of a routine or schedule. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My contribution in the studio today was the annoying task of paperwork, and end of the month bill paying, but alas, those tasks are important, and must be accomplished before any of the play time!
After a lovely holiday dinner party last night, with a group of women friends I’ve had for almost 20 years, and then a quick trip into NYC this afternoon with my husband to see an entertaining holiday musical called ‘Striking 12‘, an original musical by an amazing jazz ensemble called Groove Lily http://www.groovelily.com I’m ready for the holidays to be over and get back to some serious work. I loved ‘Striking 12′, the title has to do with the strike of midnight on the last day of the year, overlaid with a modern day recreation of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Match Girl’. My favorite song of the musical was of course, the original “Screwed-Up People Make Great Art“. It was a reference to Hans Christian Andersen’s miserable childhood and dysfunctional life and how he produced such timeless stories that have fed generations. It reminded me of one of my favorite NPR quotes, which I’ve said to myself on more than one occasion in my life, “Nothing bad ever happens to artists, it is all fuel for their work!“.
Anyway, after the matinee at the Zipper Factory, which is an old zipper factory turned intimate theater, in the heart of the garment district, (who knew?), my husband and I walked up to Times Square for the most amazing show of the city of NY preparing for the onslaught of the New Year’s Eve Celebration tomorrow night. Living in NJ, oddly enough, I’ve never experienced New Year’s in Times Square, only on TV. But seeing the Times Square preparation was an amazing thing, the 2009 was already lit up on top of the tower where the ball drops, and the vendors were out in full force. The police barricades were being installed, and the flood lights in prep for all the Television crews were so bright, you didn’t realize it was actually dark outside. We slipped into a Starbucks before heading back to the garage for the car.
The stash is calling, but so is life, and there are still opportunities to do once in a life time things, see old friends, celebrate friendships and family, and end a year that has been filled with drama, both good and difficult, a turning point in the world, with the hope that the new year will bring better times. Stay tuned…