Grinding Away, Grinding in Gray

After a few beautiful, summer-like days, New York's gray has returned. The time to bundle up has come, beaching and outdoor seating is over; soon, steam will be coursing through the city's intricate system of pipes and radiators (or so I hope!). Having enjoyed a string of days off, I return to Locale tonight for my weekend streak: this time it's Friday night, Saturday brunch, Saturday night, and Sunday brunch followed by a Monday night shift. In fact, my stretch technically began yesterday with another staff meeting. The Zagat reviews have come in and for the third year in a row (apparently), our service has been ranked a measly 19. This has our stony-eyed owner pissed, but not pissed enough to get to the meeting on time - he was an hour late. With no pay and no meal for being there, most of us were pissed too. Looks like it will be more one-on-one tutoring from Stefano from here out. I attended three auditions this week, but only actually auditioned for one: I cut my losses on Monday at the Drowsy Chaperone auditions and called it quits at the Equity audition for Earnest in Love, a musical adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest. I did get seen today at the auditions for "Scrooge: In Concert" a musical/concert version of The Christmas Carol. Not exactly something that gets me excited, but another audition alas! Yesterday morning, audition brushed aside, I spent the morning in the sun's rays, reading some more E.B. White and another play (Cloud 9) in a surprisingly quiet Union Square. Courtesy a portion of Whole Foods' cheesy grits it was a good morning. I also surrendered to my first beef patty in NYC. Ubiquitous at every Halal food cart and pizza place in Manhattan, the savory pastries are a Caribbean version of a Hot Pocket: bright gold/yellow crust encasing a stewed beef mixture. It tasted alright, and for $1.99 (including soft drink) certainly filled my tummy, though may give me cancer and/or indigestion. Post-meeting I resisted urges to attend the nearest happy hour and instead, trucked myself over to the East Village for another round at Yoga to the People. Covered in sweat, I left happy, energized, and free in my body. Given the relaxed state and late hour I arrived home, I did not make it out to Uncle Charlie's to sing a few songs with my new found vocal coach. All this real life stuff is getting in my way of going out all the time! What happened to those college days? What happened to Fall Break? Thanksgiving Break?!? This weekend is another Locale-filled weekend; time to put nose to the grind and push through what surely will be another hectic (but hopefully booming) stretch. Is it strange that I now especially look forward to Tuesdays?