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Subway Etiquette

Todays little message is brought to you because the New York Subway has shown me it needs some etiquette lessons. I understand this town is focused on the hussel and bussel of fast paced commuters, but holy cow people are in need of some manners. In the past week alone I have experienced a slew of ill-tempered adults that need to learn to smile a bit more. My first encounter was with a woman who desperately needed to be in front of me to get on the train. Granted there was a problem with the train and we were asked to wait on the other side of the platform for a new one to come which resulted in under the breath grumbles. I had packed a mini suitcase filled with costumes and makeup that I needed for filming a movie scene the other day. I had deliberately placed it in front of me so it wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. WELL, some woman snuck up next to me and then proceeded to move me and my tiny suitcase out of the way so she could be a few more inches closer to the door. The following day, I had been waiting for the subway for a while and you could tell people were getting frustrated with the delay but it doesn’t excuse what happened next. The chugga chugga of the choo choo did me a favor and the doors ended up in front of me. Normally this means easy access to grabbing a seat. In polite fashion YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LET PEOPLE OFF THE TRAIN BEFORE YOU GET ON. I guess not everyone knows this because some chic in a yellow coat behind me had other plans. The doors flew open and passengers tried to get off but No, she couldn’t wait. She physically started pushing on my back as if I were invisible which led me into some weird ninja move to hurdle over people and baby carriages. I normally don’t like confrontation but I had to yell at this girl to back off. I had my headphones on so I think I shouted pretty loud. Which brings me to my next 2 topics. First, if someone is wearing headphones on the subway: they probably don’t want to have a conversation with you. Second: please don’t talk so loud (shout) to the group of people you are with when you are drunk or just plain rude. No one really wants to know what your baby’s daddy has been up to. This blog is actually longer then I thought so I shall just list the rest of my subway concerns.
* Please don’t FART or BURP. The smell gets trapped in the car and doesn’t leave until the next train stop.
* Please watch as you creepily slide your hand down the pole that I am holding on to. I keep lowering my fingers because the touch of strangers is awkward and that doesn’t mean I want you to follow my hand.
* Lastly, Staring is just very rude.
Thanks and sincerely Alex xo

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BraveHeart

I find it a very strange thing that as I travel to rehearsals or productions the rest of the commuter world is going home. As their work day ends at 5 o’clock, mine begins and I skip about the mob of people going in the opposite direction of me. If you have ever traveled via subway during rush hour, then you must know the challenge of going against the crowd. It’s almost as if you are in a mini version of Braveheart and have to charge forward through the mass of people. As long as I have my heavy-duty headphones on with music blasting I feel like I can gracefully dodge the oncoming chaos. After battling the trains to get to the theater, todays rehearsal started promptly with a change in the ending of the show and a new song that needed to be learned. We have 6 days till we open the doors to the public and I couldn’t be more frantic. They say in theater if you have a bad dress rehearsal then the show will be terrific, so hears hoping to some rough days ahead. 🙂 We received our promo cards today so if you see these around town you better grab one and come to see Midsummer Nights Dream. This is actually the first full length Shakespeare play that I have ever done, so I am getting a crash course on how different it is from regular theater. As you can see in the photo, things get quite interesting and always expect the unexpected. Till tomorrow…Adieu xo