Karoke, Tornadoes and Such

So last night I went out with Meredith and Monique after work. Jazmin couldn't come because a friend of hers was playing Glinda in Wicked on the Broadway as an understudy and she went to see her. (We really missed you, Jaz!!) Well, I met Mere and Monique at the Rogue Bar. They were comfortably on their second drink when I arrived and I tried to quickly catch them. We decided to stay there and ordered a few appetizers to share for dinner. Then, it turned out that it was Karaoke night. All I have to say is that Monique is absolutely amazing. Every time that she got up to sing I thought that I might scream because she was so good. We ended up staying a lot later than I think any of us planned and we probably drank a little more than we planned too. So, we finally left the bar after 11pm and we all headed in multiple directions. Mere to Jackson Heights, Monique to Astoria, and me to Brooklyn (Jazmin is currently sleeping in my bed until the My Fair Lady tour goes out). And what should happen while I slept in good ol' Brooklyn? Yep, you guessed it a tornado set down. For those of you who do not know, I have a way of having bad weather cross my path.
2001- Tropical Storm Allison- Houston/ Galveston floods- working in Galveston
2003- Hurricane Irene(?)- North Carolina- working in Raleigh, Good ol' Girls tour throughout the southwest to follow
2004- Hurricane Charley- Ft. Myers Florida- working there playing Rizzo in Grease
2004- Hurricane Ivan- Ft. Myers, Florida- returned to play Liza in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
2005- Hurricane Wilma- Ft. Myers, Florida- played Aldonza in Man of La Mancha
2007- Tornado in Brooklyn, NY- staying there for a month...
Kind of crazy, right??
But, this morning's commute was dreadful. I have never experienced anything like it in my six years here. It took me two and a half hours to get into the city. It took a co-worker of mine coming from the Bronx over four hours. I hope I get an acting gig somewhere outside the hurricane zone soon!

Ten on Tuesday

1. I need to buy a new pair of sneakers. I worked on my feet all day yesterday and my big toenail was hurting by the end of the day. I'm sure standing on an uncushioned concrete floor doesn't help.

2. I'm hoping that Mere, Jazmin and I can get together for dinner tonight. I love when we all hang out together.

3. Laughing in the morning is a great way to wake up!

4. I've decided that I'm not going to take that restaurant job. My gut told me no and I'm going to listen to it.

5. Working at Grigg Studio we talk throughout the day. We've been discussing the problem of entitlement that seems to pervade our society. I think that the accessibility of money (in the form of loans and credit cards) has something to do with it. When you use a credit card for things that you should be buying only if you have the money on hand, it gives a false sense of value that you didn't really work for. "Wow! He has the new iphone. He's cool." The unfortunate thing is that you probably couldn't afford it and it will sit on your credit card with all of your other materialistic things accruing interest and never really being paid off. Getting something for nothing. That's what entitlement is.

6. I'm kind of tired of the election already and I haven't even chosen who I want to vote for. More importantly, I'm tired of hearing how much money the candidates have. It makes me sick to my stomach to see so much money being thrown at these people when only one of them will win. I think the money would better serve us all if people decided to give to real charities. We might have rebuilt New Orleans by now if they got all this money instead of wasting it on the candidates for president. Most of the money will be spent on TV ads that don't give any real information.

7. Do you remember "lay-away?" I don't think it exists anymore. It was credit, without the credit. Once you paid for the merchandise, you got to take it home with you. Novel idea, right?

8. I signed up for a musical theatre audition workshop. It is four weeks long and I will end up with 8 new songs in my book!

9. I need to check if I can work out at any Bally's in the city. If I can it would be awesome because there is a gym near where I work and I could get a workout in during lunch. I've been kind of unmotivated when it comes to the gym these days and I need to find a better way to handle it.

10. I need to leave for work. I would rather go on writing all day. But, I am off to the land of foam-core and matte knives.

Many Things

First of all, I got a second and third interview at the restaurant I applied at. I am assuming that that is a good thing and it means that I'll likely be hired. The horrible thing is I'm not so sure that I want to be hired. I'm not going to name the restaurant because I have no idea if they have rules about blogging and because it is a corporate restaurant, albeit a small one, they most likely have rules about it. Anyway, the reason I feel weird is because today they made me take a test. I've had to do such things before, but they have always been specifically restaurant oriented tests. They say, what side of the table does the fork go on, what side of the guest do you serve the soup and what kind of wines go with which dish, that sort of thing. This was an SAT type of test with logic and math, and vocabulary questions. It was a timed test and after I was asked to fill out my name and do the sample questions I was directed to wait for the timer to start before I opened the booklet. 50 questions awaited me and I was to finish them in the time allotted (I was not told how long that would be!). It said in the directions not to pour over the questions too long and that most people do not actually complete the test. I'm a perfectionist at heart and if I have an idea how to come about a solution I will not leave the question unanswered. I finished 35 out of the 50 and evidently did well enough to be asked to come back for the third interview tomorrow. I asked, somewhat sarcastically, if I passed when the interviewer came back and asked me to come back tomorrow without offering the results. What's the point of taking a test like that except to find out how you did? She said that I did exceptionally well. My competitive nature wanted me to ask for numbers, for percentages, but I restrained myself. Why does this bother me so, you ask? During the first interview I was informed that the amount of money that I had written down in answer to the question, "how much money do you need to make a week?" was a bit high and that I would be hard pressed to make $200 below that. I thought this restaurant isn't so exclusive that this test is somehow necessary and if an interviewer isn't a complete idiot I would hope that they would be able to tell that I was smart enough to interact with people, take their orders, and bring their food out to them in a timely manner. The positives to this place are a stable schedule, a more laid back environment than I am used to, higher end clientele, and health benefits (something that has been weighing on my mind because I'm not sure how I could possibly afford them on my own after October or November). The negatives: less money, a corporate environment which I had come to enjoy not being a part of, and did I mention less money. I don't mean to sound greedy, but I was hoping that I might make similar money and have less stress. Is that too much to ask?

So, because I'm not sure how this will all work out I called an old boss who owns and operates a design studio for trade show booths and asked if he needed some help. I, of course, knew the answer would be yes, he invariably needs help always and I knew that he was heading into a busier season. The best part of this is I make my own schedule, I get to do something creative and I can train at this restaurant and feel it out for awhile before I come to a final decision. You can see what kind of work I will be doing at his website.

And finally, the reason I may seem to not be in the greatest mood is that in the midst of all that has been going on this week, I finished the final Harry Potter book today. It was a fitting end; although I had convinced myself it would be different than it was. But, it's over. It's kind of sad to say goodbye. I know that may sound silly considering I am the type of person who continues to reread books because I enjoyed them so much (The books I found myself doing that most with are C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series and L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series). But, there is something to be said for the first reading in which all the ideas are new and fresh and surprising and if you discover something before the author reveals it, you feel somehow prescient. There is a different type excitement as you turn the pages when you do it for the first time. Somehow when I read a book over and over I think I am somehow trying to reclaim that irreclaimable feeling.

Back to Life

Well, my time off is over. I am so thankful that I was able to take so much time off for myself. I was able to visit with my family (not as much as I would have liked- sorry, John I never made it to see your new house), visit with friends, and experience life just for me for awhile. I realized that by working second shift while I'm in the city I haven't been able to really experience life here the way I would like to. I am interviewing for a new job today (cross your fingers) that may not be as much money as I'm used to, but if it gives me back my sanity I'll be happy. I need to have a job that is flexible so I can go to auditions, but that I can also work during the day sometimes and have some weekends off. I hope that this restaurant works out. We'll see.

I hope that I will be able to continue blogging as much as I have, but with starting a new job and the audition season picking up it might be difficult. I have grown to love it though. It kind of began as a chore, but I have come to see the benefit to myself, my friends, and my loved ones. I think it's great that I have a place all my own to record parts of my life and my thoughts. It has given me a perspective about life and change. I think it's cool that when I Google myself now, so much of me comes up. "Jodi Beck" is not an uncommon name. Actor's Equity (my union) requires that only one person has each name, so it belongs to me in a way that is unique. I'm thinking that I may have it legally changed. It's something I have thought a lot about because my legal name hasn't been me really ever. I have always been Jodi Beck and it's real to me. I love my family to pieces, but it's weird that so many of us were named one thing and then called something else. It's enough to give a person an identity crisis. My Uncle Tim= Louis, my Uncle Ted= Lester, my grandma Rita(which was her middle name)= Mary, my mom's Joyce(which was her middle name, she did have it legally changed)= Ann, and me, Jodi= Joyce. Did that succeed in confusing you? Maybe I'll hold a contest to come up with a middle name. Mom, I'd of course give your ideas extra points! That would be fun, right?

Ten on Tuesdays (+ 14)- Jamaica Edition

So I tried to only chose ten pictures from Jamaica for "Ten on Tuesday," but I found it impossible. We took almost 400 pictures. These 24 represent some of our favorites. Enjoy!

This was a swing we found near our hotel in St. Thomas.

A fishing boat just off the beach near our hotel in St. Thomas.

OB and me riding around the neighborhood on Kirk's motorcycle.Don't you just love OB's water goggles?

In the rear view mirror.

Jerk Pork in Portland.

Kids hanging out near Lisa's bar. The little girl asked me if I was Chinese!

A sugar cane truck in St. Thomas. The leaves are all burnt off to get the insects off the cane before it is brought to the factory to be turned into sugar.

The black sand beach. (You can't really see that it is black, but I thought the picture was pretty!)

This is a stick OB found at the black sand beach. This is one of his favorite pictures.

I love this picture (OB took it!)

We had a downpour outside Ocho Rios. It was difficult to see and we had missed our turn. OB had to run up to talk to Kirk.

He was absolutely soaked when he got back in the car!

10.0!! That's me diving off the dock where our boat was waiting for some people to come back from Dunn's River Falls.

These are the Green Grotto Caves. They were really impressive and have an amazing history.

Rastafari- a sign on the path to the Bob Marley Mausoleum.

These trees were all over the island. I think it is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen.

Salt water lake located in Stinkville (that's the name Odelle came up with for the town- it looks pretty, but it smelled awful).

Our hands with our mangoes.

The view outside our hotel in St. Thomas.

OB's picture of the sky. It looks like a painting to me.

Me and a beautiful flower at Dunn's River Falls.

Odelle- the champion of the falls!

My movie star photo at Dunn's River Falls.

We made it to the top of the falls in one piece. This was one of the best days on a vacation of best days! We had so much fun!

Jamaica Vacation

We arrived in Jamaica about two hours after we were scheduled because there had been awful storms here in NYC the morning that we left. It was already dark there because they don't observe daylight savings time, which had the odd affect of causing me to wake up between 6 and 7 am every morning we were there (I know, it was as much of a shock to me as I'm sure it is to all of you, but my mom always thought I was a morning person!) OB's friend Kirk met us at the airport in Kingston so that we could follow him back to the Parish of St. Thomas (where OB grew up, Morant Bay is the Parish's capital and we went about a half hour east of that). And all I have to say is thank God we had him to lead us. It was a treacherous ride not knowing the roads at all and not being able to see. OB thought it was funny that I kept alternately covering my eyes and mouth to prevent myself from distracting him by screaming. Needless to say we laughed a lot on the way to the hotel. We stopped on the way for my first taste of jerk chicken. This was to be the beginning of experiencing a wide array of foods that I have mostly come to love.

The second and third days we spent visiting with all the extended family and long lost friends of OB. It was great to see people figure out who he was. For some it happened slowly and for others it was as obvious to them who OB was as if he had never left. I met a family friend named Sir Knott (not sure of the spelling, OB?) who manages the grounds of the sugar factory and he invited us to his home and let me pick mangoes out of his tree. I LOVE MANGOES!!!! They are the best breakfast that a girl could ask for. There are probably as many varieties of mango as there are of apples. I loved the Julie mango. The easiest way to eat them is to bite off the outside (which you can actually eat- sometimes the skin wasn't very good, but other times it did taste good). Then you peel the mango using your teeth and pulling. It takes some practice, but by the end of our stay I could do it without getting it all over my face, hands, and stomach. The seed is kind of oval shaped and flat so you have to bite around it, but the mangoes were so good I found myself sucking on the seed, hoping that I didn't miss any of the fruit.

Friday afternoon happened to be the "fortnight" which was the day that all the people who work at the factory get paid. And what better way to celebrate payday than to have a party in the streets! And everyone is invited. There were a few DJs that had huge sound systems pumping music in the streets. We grabbed some beer, visited with people and walked through the town where we came upon a bar with a back yard where the music was playing. Yep, you guessed it! I danced all night! I had one man ask me where I was from. I think he was trying to figure out where I got my moves. Mostly, I just watched the people around me and tried to incorporate what they were doing to my own style. I had a blast! There was one man that I swear was channeling James Brown. It was the most fun! On the way home we stopped for some food at a roadside restaurant and I had the best rice and peas I have ever had. I spent the rest of the trip comparing all the rice and peas to the ones we found in St. Thomas.

Saturday we travelled to Montego Bay following behind (thankfully) Kirk, his son Kayim and Kayim's mom. We had to travel a long way back through Kingston and then north to Ocho Rios then west to "Mo Bay." When we arrived we met up with Ty, a friend of OB's that lives in Brooklyn. We went to a reggae concert that night that started at 9pm and ended after 5am. One of the performers was Mary J. Blige. It was so much fun! I think we may have had a contact buzz from the old guys in front of us who smoked the entire concert. These guys also let off fireworks which was really funny to watch.

Sunday we saw Kirk and his family off to head back to St. Thomas while we stayed in Ocho Rios. We went snorkeling and took a boat tour to Dunn's River Falls where we walked up the falls. We ended up waiting at the boat for some of our party to return so we got to swim right off the dock. It was so awesome. After getting off the boat OB and I decided to play some soccer. In reality, OB had been trying to teach me to play soccer. When we had gotten really hot we got in the water to cool down. That's when I was attacked by a jellyfish! I got stung on my thigh and I thought it felt like a bug bite until I felt it wrap itself around my knee. I shook it off and we got out of the water with me crying and asking OB if I was going to die. I know I'm melodramatic, but it really hurt and I could feel it swelling. I had never felt anything like that before and I just imagined that I might die. If it ever happens to you I'm sure you may jump to the same conclusion! OB took good care of me and found the life guard to get some alcohol to put on it. I had heard that you're supposed to pee on it, but I have to say even though I knew that I really can't imagine that ever being okay for me. We laughed the rest of the trip every time he mentioned me asking if I was going to die. The next day we stayed away from the Sea and went to Green Grotto Caves. We had the funniest tour guide. He really could have been a stand-up comic. Then we headed to Nine Mile to see the Bob Marley Mausoleum. The road was only wide enough for one car at a time, but we ended up passing a semi-truck on our way back down to town. Basically, we had to back up and stick ourselves precariously up against the rock wall while the truck miraculously passed without falling off the edge. Once again my hands were over my mouth to prevent screaming. We went back to Dunn's River Falls so that we could walk up the falls unguided. OB had done it as a teenager and remembered that it was far more fun to do it on your own than having to climb in a human chain. We arrived right before they were closing so we were fortunate that there weren't a lot of people. It was absolutely gorgeous. We took pictures with my non- digital camera because it didn't matter as much if it got wet. That night we had dinner in town with Ty and his wife Laura and son who had just arrived in town.

The next morning we headed back to St. Thomas, this time without an escort and I have to say that OB managed the roads like a pro. (I'm sure when you get your Range Rover OB, you'll definitely be prepared for off-roading!!) I spent very little of this trip with my eyes closed or my hand over my mouth. We stopped by a roadside fruit stand for some coconut water. When we finished drinking the water the man cut the coconut open so that we could eat the jelly. When a coconut is young there is a layer of "jelly" that looks and feels like an egg white. Needless to say I didn't particularly like it. When we arrived back in St Thomas we met up with an old family friend, Joyce. She took us through the woods (with a machete) to swim in the Sea at a black sand beach. We were the only people there. It was absolutely amazing. When we arrived back up at the house I had to bathe outside because there was no running water. OB laughed at me. I'm sure it was pretty funny, if not a humbling experience. Joyce's mother cooked us dinner. It was curry chicken and breadfruit. It was delicious. During dinner we watched TV and funny enough it was the episode of Charmed that my friend James O'Neill plays a monster in. I've never seen the show before and it was strange to be in Jamaica seeing a friend on TV. Before we left OB gave a little boy his soccer ball and the pump. In return the boy's father gave us some sugar cane. OB said when he was a kid it was really something to have a ball. This kid was so excited to not only have the ball, but the pump too!

The next day was our last. We ate sugar cane, mango and gnips (which I did not like and I can't find any information on them for you, sorry!) for breakfast on the beach. The water near our hotel was filled with seaweed that morning so we were forced to look for another beach to swim in. After a short walk around the inlet, we found a gorgeous beach. The water was clear and beautiful and we swam by ourselves for a while until we were joined by three little boys who wanted to meet me. They had many ideas about the world that were very interesting. They were disappointed that Odelle and I were together. They were all very cute and sweet and they asked if I could bring them back to America. They didn't have their passports though, so it wouldn't have been a possibility. Later we drove with Kirk to Portland which is on the far eastern coast. The sea is rougher there and just beautiful. Also, Portland has jerk pork which was described to me as the type of food that you'd "eat your arm off for!" It was really good. We met up with an old high school friend of OB and Kirk's, Lisa. She ran a bar and we drank- me a little too much- OOPS!!

The next day we left to return to NYC. I really loved being in Jamaica. It was a fascinating country that I am so blessed to have experienced in ways that other tourists can't. The beauty of it lies not only in the landscape, but in the people. I feel so lucky to have met so many wonderful people in such a short time. I met so many children that reminded me that happiness is simple. I could write for days and not be fully capable of sharing it all with you.

I'm Home, Safe and Sound

I can't wait to really tell you all about my vacation to Jamaica. I had so much fun, I really didn't want to come back. I have an audition at three this afternoon, so I have to go, but I wanted to let you all know that I safely returned Stateside on Friday afternoon. Odelle and I rented a jokey car from Enterprise that I'm sure even Rent-a-Wreck wouldn't use and drove to my brother Jim's in Virginia for his Cancer Free in 2007 party and for Joshua's baptism. More details to come on that too! It was a very exhausting way to spend the end of the vacation, but it was good to see the family. Here's a picture of the sun setting outside our hotel room in Ocho Rios.