Thursday - The Wintertime Blahs ....

OK, I have to admit that I am human and have some of the failings most other mortals experience. “What the f**k are you talking about,” you faithful and loyal readers are no doubt asking and emailing one another?

Here it comes - I have been suffering through a massive dose of wintertime blahs - note I said “blahs” - not “blues” - I don’t do “blues.” Being in a blah mode manifests itself in allowing my lurking procrastination to surface, ergo, no current postings, among other things.

It has been very cold with lots of snow and ice and temperatures huddling in the low 20s and teens.

Oh, I have still gone out and done a lot of things and stuff since my last activities posting of almost two weeks ago but I have, gasp, also opted to stay in my nice warm and cozy apartment many more times than usual.

I have crunched the numbers from my daily log (not diary, as you know by this time) and I am still living my NYC lifestyle just not in such a frenetic pace. I do find that during the time from January 15-28 (14 days) I saw: 1 Broadway show; 8 Off Broadway shows; 2 New York Philharmonic concerts; 1 movie (Gran Torino); and, spent time with both Scott Reed and Ben Sears, but not together, since they are no longer boyfriends.

During this timeframe I also had my semi-annual appointment with my urologist, which was successful.

It snowed 4 times and the statistic that bugs me the most - I stayed in the apartment 4 days/nights without going out to some entertainment event. Gasp, and double gasp... 4 times ...

I know what some of you are thinking - “you must be insane, asshole, those are awesome stats.” And, of course, you are right, but what I am trying to convey that I stayed in, yes, I stayed in 4 times and I couldn’t even make myself write anything on this blog for you loyal and faithful readers.

Now, in the name of fair and impartial reporting - I have a partial excuse, but it is so lame - I have become almost addicted to watching YouTube on my iPhone. Yes, it is now out in the open ... more details about this later on, I think.

OK, let me get back into rhythm, if I can by telling you about the rest of the week, which is shaping up like this ...

Thursday - 6:00 - “Jason and the Argonauts” - Off Broadway. “See the world of ancient Greece through the restless and youthful eyes of two hilarious young lads with supersonic energy and imaginations to match. This dynamic duo makes the New Victory stage their playground, gleefully recreating the epic tale of Jason's perilous journey on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. Using both action figures and their own physical ingenuity, these swashbucklers barrel their way through dozens of characters at breakneck speed, battling mischievous sea monsters, harrowing harpies, a villainous uncle, and ultimately, the challenge of their lives…” (complimentary ticket).

This show has gotten very good reviews and is in its final week. The running time is just over an hour so I will have time to hop a subway and head up to the 59th Street Theater to see --

8:30 - “Ride” - Off Broadway. “When a man and a woman wake up in bed together naked, neither can remember how they got there, or who the other is. In the harsh light of the morning after, they attempt to make sense of what may or may not have happened between them. As they are forced to reveal more of themselves, a complex snapshot of modern intimacy gradually comes into focus.” (complimentary ticket).

I had scheduled this show for a performance earlier in the month but I was able to cancel it when the weather sucked. It has gotten excellent reviews.

Friday - 7:30 - “Sixty Miles to Silver Lake” - Off Broadway. “A moving car. A father and son. The father drives, the son's face is pressed against the rolled up window, and the drive from soccer practice to Silver Lake is somewhere between an hour and a lifetime. This new play explores the tenuous relationship between sons and fathers and the effect of the mundane on the complex journey to adulthood.” (complimentary ticket).

The New York Times gave this show a very good review.

On Saturday, Claudia and John, from Columbia, SC, will be in the City for a whirlwind visit to celebrate John’s 50th birthday. I will meet up with them some time and place for a late lunch. I will schedule a show for the evening.

Sunday is, of course, the Super Bowl, with kickoff around 6:20. I honestly don’t care who wins but I will stay in and watch it.

Before the game, at 1:00 and 4:00 I have scheduled two parts of the three part revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, which ran from 1982-85 on Broadway for 1,222 performances. The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late '70s and '80s. At 1:00 is “The International Stud,” and at 4:00 is “Fugue in a Nursery.”

A slight diversion - on Monday I called the Yankee ticket office to ask about the status of my season ticket request for 2009. I have requested an upgrade to the 41 game package, which begins with the opening home game and then every other home game thereafter. As I have previously reported, my 20 game Flex plan has been abolished. After waiting forever to speak to a live person, I was finally advised that it would be at least 2-3 weeks before I hear from them whether my request has been honored. My gut feeling is that it will be a NO!!! Not sure what I will do if that is the decision ...

Oh, on Tuesday I got the following text message from Scott Reed: ”Can I use u as a subject for a documentary for school?” My response was: “sure.” So, we will see where this goes.

OK, everyone, this is it - I will try to be better in posting, assuming YouTube permits it.

Go Gators!!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com