Mama's Back in Town!

When my mom came to town before we did much of anything, we decided to take a selfie. This selfie was taken in my kitchen which has seen considerable improvements during every visit paid by my mother

This time around her major objective was for me to get my medical ducks in a row, which I must say isn't really my idea of fun. I really wanted to see "Moulin Rouge" while her mindset was set on visiting Bellvue hospital, Mt. Sinai, or NYU, and making sure that my healthcare was set up.

We did manage to do some fun things during her visit. One thing we always seem to do is visit my mom's friend Pat Moore with whom she worked with at a restaurant called "Friar Tuck." Well, they must have experienced some pretty hilarious times during that job, because with them together, the laughter never ceases.

My mother and Pat are both master story tellers, and while listening to them there is never a dull moment. Throughout my childhood my mom used to tell me various stories about "Friar Tuck," but the one I remember the best was that of the "Green Mummy."

So, you know at all restaurants they offer the waitstaff really cheap eating options. Well the cook must have been holding a grudge against the management and instead of providing the waitstaff with soup, he decided to go with an elaborate meal fit for a king covered in green creamed spinach. They used to refer to this concoction as the "green mummy." It used to consist of things like lobster thermadore, filet mignon, and other expensive options all covered in a disguising layer of green, creamed spinach.

Here's me with two of the original waitresses from "Friar Tuck" who worked in New York City before I was even born.

Another fun thing that we did was go to the musical "Tootsie." Through my friend Shirley I have been introduced to this Netflix series called "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." In it the main character is a lawyer who decides to uproot her life to West Covina, CA from New York City to ultimately follow the man she loves. Along the way it is inevitable that she encounters some issues like the man who she loves and decided to follow is in a committed relationship with a beautiful yoga instructor. Also one of the hangouts the main character frequents has this guy named "Greg" bartending there.

Well, Greg develops this big crush for Becca (the main character) and sings an appropriate show number called "Settle for Me." Although sad, this number really did showcase his singing and dancing talent of Santino Fontana and secured him the title role in the Broadway musical "Tootsie."

A part of me was really excited to see somebody who I had "followed" (very loosely) the career of. My mother and I decided that the show in itself was not good. To quote my mother it was "Dudsville." The fact that our seats were quite far away from the action may have contributed to our lackluster experience, however from the opening number we were able to see that we were not in for a great experience. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but on Broadway the opening number does set the tone for the entire experience.

Here is the obligatory playbill shot that I took this time with my mother just prior to the show. We entered with high hopes, but I must say that they were deflated as the show progressed. There's a line from the musical "Curtains" where a show was described as just lacking luster. That's exactly how I felt about this show. The leads in it were all very good. Santino was very good, actually won the Tony, and was extremely convincing as a woman, but there was really no spark that this show brought forth, but not every show is a magical experience and watching a show is very subjective experience, I have talked with several people who absolutely loved this show.

After that experience we went to the Minskoff Theatre and met up with my friend Barry who I initially met from the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. I was a part of the class known as World Beat.

This photo was taken over 10 years ago when I took "World Beat." I must say that I wasn't an amazing drummer, however as you can see my outfits are always themed, and this class did plant the seed for the wonderful friendship which I will forever be grateful for.

Well, Barry Olson (my instructor) works many musical gigs in New York City, one of which is playing in the pit orchestra of "The Lion King" on Broadway. He graciously offered to give me and my mom a backstage tour, which I had been on before but by no means minded going on again. This was my mom's first time and she was in absolute awe. Here is a picture from that experience.

On our tour we passed all of the puppets and contraptions that are used during the show and at several points my mom had me and Barry pose for several different pictures. Here is one of the pictures that she took and in it I'm afraid that my eyes didn't register on the camera therefore I look slightly extra-terrestrial, but whatever.

Well, it was not long after "The Lion King" backstage tour that we went to Connecticut. Whenever my mom comes to town it's always an occasion to have a large-scale dinner party. I have decided that part of New York has been the decision to really grow up, concerning my food preferences. I have decided that I will never like blue cheese, raw onions, sour cream, or mayonnaise, however salad dressing, nuts, and even wine is something that I have taught myself to like or at least tolerate. Recently I have really been into making delicious salads that I like to refer to as "awesome salads." I guess since I have spent so much time around Ron I have learned to create these elaborate salads because quite honestly I have had to on many different occasions use up fruits and vegetables, therefore, my contribution to the feast in Connecticut was an "Awesome Salad."

I must say that our dinner parties are always a huge success. My salad did earn the status of being an "instant classic," no I'm kidding, but my family is very kind and it was pretty delicious so it was well received. The next photo I'm going to feature within this blog I like to refer as the "Norman Rockwell portrait." My Uncle Lenny does have a killer sense of humor and instead of squeezing in for a photo, he decided to make a huge production of it. I'll let you formulate your own opinion about this photo, but in my opinion my Uncle Lenny really milked the idea of this beautiful family dynamic.

And at all family gathering are my 2nd cousins Maggie and Jack who I absolutely adore. Here is a photo of us hanging out in the living room.

At the end of the day, no matter how adventurous your life is, it's wonderful to know that there are family and friends who care about you. Knowing that has kept me inspired to work hard and achieve many wonderful things.