And nearly done with Week 2 in London...

Very long day today, and we're very tired. It's weird how tired one can end up feeling when one doesn't really do anything other than sit and watch other people audition. David thinks it may have to do with the lack of air circulation in the audition venue. In typical London fashion, the week has been pretty gray and rain-prone. This morning started off promising, the sun was out and it seemed warmer... but then came the rain.

David and I cast all day, come home, go to the gym, eat something, then try to go to bed. It's hard to go to bed even when we're pretty tired, because there is that part of us that wants to hang out and do something "social" before retiring for the night..... Audition days can feel like an exercise in endurance sometimes.

But we're enjoying ourselves, and have fallen into a good routine. And at this rate, we will return to New York a bit fitter than when we left it, as gym-going is becoming our breather activity for the day.

Tomorrow is Friday! -- and we will, of course, be casting, but in the evening we are invited to dinner at our friends Laurie and John's new flat, so we are looking forward to that. Always nice to have a dose of civilized social interaction.

Bank Holiday and Search of a Good Mango

David and I had a very relaxing Bank Holiday weekend, the bulk of which consisted of our sleeping in until at least noon each day. We needed the sleep as we're still a bit weird time-wise -- we tend to stay up way past our bedtimes and hating ourselves when the morning comes too soon and we need to get ourselves to a long day of casting. Besides sleeping, our weekend featured such activities as going to the gym, trying out a new restaurant on Saturday (Tentazione -- an Italian restaurant, the food was inventive yet comfortingly yummy), going to Roka for dinner on Sunday (always great, who can fault a restaurant with beautiful, infused shochu), and grocery shopping. We also had a few of our London friends (Val, Katie and her FIANCE Magnus - yay!) over for wine and nibbles last night, which was good fun.

One of our weekend "getaway" destination was Whole Foods, a grocery trip that may seem excessive (because it's quite a bit away from where we are) but was much needed on the mango-supply front. I have a great many fruit allergies, which leaves tropical fruits some of the only fruits I can eat raw. I had come to depend on mangoes in New York for breakfast and post-gym snacks. The massive mangoes we acquired at our local Waitrose in London, however, were disgusting. They tasted, weirdly, like fish. And then we splashed out on buying one of the organic mangoes, also at Waitrose. I had to spit it out. David and I both agreed that this one tasted like soap. So yesterday, we set off to Whole Foods and returned tentatively with a few selections of organic mangoes. We ate one this morning and it was... delicious!


Success! And very thrilling, our adventures in search of tasty mango.

Now off we go for a day of dance auditions!

MANGOSTEENS!

Some of my friends will know that I went through a phase of being obsessed with mangosteens -- an exotic fruit one cannot acquire in the United States (although I believe there are people trying to change this). I became obsessed with the fruit after reading a New York Times article about it, which describes the mangosteen as an exquisite fruit unlike any other fruit, which one cannot hope to taste in the US due to importation regulations and the fruits' delicate and travel-challenged nature. I found this article fascinating, as it was a piece of literature trying to describe a fruit its average reader had no relative knowledge of. It's like trying to describe, say, an airplane to someone who has never seen an automated vehicle of any kind... or something along those lines, if you know what I mean. It seemed a fabulous writing challenge -- what adjectives do you use to describe a fruit that is unlike any other fruit, to readers who, on the whole, may never get a chance to taste it? How does one approximate with adjectives the fruits' qualities as closely as possible?

Fortunately for me, I was able to taste my first mangosteens in Sydney. I was astounded when I went to my local Cole's (a big grocery store chain in Australia) to discover a MOUNTAIN of mangosteens. In fact, this is how David and I became friends. I had randomly mentioned to him my obsession for mangosteens and my hopes to taste them while in Australia, since the fruits may be imported to Australia from Asia more readily. David had not himself tasted the mangosteen, but expressed interest in learning more about this mystical fruit. When I encountered the massive mountain of mangosteens, I called David to say, "Hey, look, when one is confronted with a MOUNTAIN of a fruit one has been obsessed with for some time, does one buy one, three, or twenty of such fruits?!" I bought 4 that day, and took one to work so David could taste one, too.

Since that time, mangosteen has become more popular, if not in actual fruit form, in juice form, as it is now considered a "super fruit" -- full of anti-oxidants, nutrients, and other good-for-you elements. Health food stores carry mangosteen juices and tablets; one sees mangosteens in various places these days, although we still haven't seen them in New York.

David and I picked up a few mangosteens at our local Waitrose here in London yesterday -- and they were DELICIOUS! And we felt super-fooded. David calls them a "garlic fruit" -- I like to think of them as more like a cross between a lychee, a persimmon and an orange... although sometimes, when I crack one open, it's hard not think that the fleshy white sectors have an uncanny resemblance in appearance and texture to... well, a larvae...

They do make excellent snacks and breakfast fruits, though, and I feel we will be eating quite a few of these super fruits during our stay in London...

Enjoying London for its Spring-ness

David and I visited the Royal Opera House last night to see the Royal Ballet performance of "Dances at the Gathering" (Jerome Robbins) and "The Dream" (Frederick Ashton). We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed seeing the two pieces tremendously. It was an enchanted evening at the Royal Opera House, which is absolutely beautiful and grand. We got a bit dressed up, and felt very smart and "the part" of patrons of the ballet, as it were.

We are settling into London nicely -- although our bodies, I think, more than our conscious selves, feel the jet-lag. Our sleep patterns haven't quite adjusted as yet, which leaves us feeling very tired in the middle of the day -- not good when casting, really. We get by with serious doses of dark chocolate and green tea (since neither of us drink coffee). This weekend we have a long weekend, as it is a Bank Holiday Monday. Accordingly, we do not have casting sessions Monday. We looked into taking a little mini-break to Spain or Italy or something, but it's very expensive at this point -- we knew of the Bank Holiday and thought of traveling a few weeks ago, but as we never know with our schedules we couldn't commit to a trip out of London. We have now decided that we will stay in London, catch up on sleep, and finish settling in. I am looking forward to this, really. We're in a lovely flat in Bloomsbury, we might as well enjoy London before we dash off elsewhere. Weather forecasts for London has been very positive thus far, so it would be a good weekend to be here. Funnily enough, a long weekend of sleeping in, walking around, going to the gym (I know, I know) and doing domestic-minded things like buying hangers (there aren't any in the flat)... sounds WONDERFUL to us at this point. It's been a good week here in London, but we are a bit tired and it would be good to just rest up and gear up for the next 3 weeks, which will only get more intense.

We may also trek out to Whole Foods, which will be a "holiday destination" of a sort for David, who is obsessed with it. Although the Waitrose near us is FABULOUS, the organic mangoes and apples -- fruits on which we respectively depend for breakfast -- are not terrific ... or simply put, gross. Sad, because we had so much fun taking silly photos with the massive mangoes the other night and were so hopeful.

In any case -- so we have a little bit of down time after tomorrow.

Maybe we will FINALLY ride the London Eye!!! We lived down the path from it and never rode it when we lived here for 3 months... I think it may well be time we did.....

... or maybe we will just go see the latest Indiana Jones movie...

mango madness! silliness in London

David and I bought a few seriously massive mangoes at the supermarket today... in our delirium of being jet-lagged, tired, and just plain silly/stupid in London, we concocted the above photo.

Good times. x

In London again, this time living in Bloomsbury

(David in the "egg" chair in the Silverjet lounge at Newark Airport)

David and I arrived in London this morning, safe and sound.

DD London used to have a special corporate deal with EOS, an airline that catered to business travelers with dedicated aircrafts with only business class seats. It was a good airline, although not as good as Virgin Atlantic Upperclass, the best of the best seats in the sky. We were prepared to fly on EOS again this time around, but, sadly, just as DD London went to book our flights, it went bankrupt. This resulted in our trying a new airline catered to business travelers between New York and London, called Silverjet.

It was awful.

The airline has good intentions, with people from check-in to flight attendants who very much wish their patrons to be happy. But as an airline supposedly targeting business travelers (i.e. people who have their companies pay for their expensive flights as a part of their contract/deal), it just doesn't cut it, and frankly, isn't worth it. The seat, while there was good leg room, was little better than Premium Economy on, say, Virgin Atlantic. We never thought we'd say this, but we think flying business class on American Airlines is better than flying Silverjet. And the food was inedible. Luckily, David and I had smuggled a chicken salad we'd bought AT THE AIRPORT. You know a business class meal really doesn't stand up for what it should when eating a chicken salad bought at Newark Airport is better than the stuff provided on the airplane. David and I still had a good time traveling together, drank a lot of wine but didn't even watch any movies, the TV with the seats being very dirty-looking and unappealing... but we hope to never have to fly Silverjet again. Even our driver once in London said that many business travelers he picks up from the airport, having flown Silverjet, are unhappy. Plus the airline doesn't own many aircrafts and only has one flight a day between New York and London, which kind of defeats the purpose of business travel -- when you travel for business, you usually don't have a day to waste. You need to get to your business destination as planned. On Silverjet, if an aircraft breaks down, there is not subsequent flight that day to get you where you need to go -- you need to wait 24 hours to try again, at which point you're late to your business occasion.

At least David and I made the most of it, I suppose.

(In the airport lounge for Silverjet, before we discovered just how crappy the airline was.......)

(Thank goodness for not having enough food-faith in a new airline...! We bought pre-packaged salad at Newark Airport, which was gourmet compared to the pathetic excuse for food served on the flight. At least wine is most always good, if only due to its alcohol content.)

Now we are in our flat in Bloomsbury, which is nice. It's very spacious and bright, and it is in a more residential area of central London than we have stayed before -- which means we can grocery shop easier and better. There is a big Waitrose just around the corner, which carries everything we would need in terms of cooking at home. There are places to eat, and there is also a gym down the street we can join. There are certain aspects of the apartment that are weird, but we have or are dealing with it. Some of which are:

- Plastic flowers. Like, elaborate ones. Totally unnecessary, totally creepy, absolutely ugly, and only existent to collect dust. This is a fancy apartment block. Why does it need any fake, NASTY looking, depressing, plastic "plants"? Who in their right mind enters an apartment and thinks, "Wow, I am SO glad someone bothered to give the flat some life by filling it with cheap, plastic flowers"?! I spent the first 30 minutes in the flat cleverly finding closet spaces in which to hide these offensive plastic junk, so that I may never have to see them again.

(They look better in the light... click on the image to view it larger and more detailed, for the full fake floral effect. These are all plastic plant concoctions full of dust and totally depressing with which to exist. I am about to shove some of them into the cabinet open behind them.)

- Barney's Womb. That's what I am calling the master bedroom. It is entirely decorated in various shades of purple/lavender. There is even a purple headboard. It's not exactly pretty or exemplary of fine taste in interior design. And with the curtains drawn, it's hard not imagine oneself having been swallowed by Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

- Cleanliness. We've stayed in 3 London flats at this point, and there is one thing they have had in common -- they are never thoroughly cleaned for the next resident. In the last flat, on lovely Floral Street, we found a roasted chicken leg still left in the oven. Thankfully, we have not found any old, roasted and decomposing poultry parts in the oven, but I have had to do a clean over and throw away things. Who wants steak sauce that's been there, halfway used by a stranger, having sitting in the cupboard for who knows how long? This is not a cheap flat. Anyone staying here has certain standards, they are not going to be your typical backpackers scavenging on whatever they can get to save money. NO ONE should enter this apartment and think, "Score! -- There is old steak sauce in the cupboard I can use."

(David in the lounge room, peering into the building across the street...)

(Over looking Coram's Fields, the park in front of our building, from the lounge room...)

Besides these above issues, though, the flat is great. It's a proper apartment unit, and it is comfortable. The natural light is wonderful, and having a park to look over is very calming. It's nice to know that we can carry on having a domestic life of going to the gym and cooking our own food, here in London, despite being displaced once again from New York.

(Our trolley at our local Waitrose... eating healthfully well and organic is so much easier in London these days...)

packing, packing, and, yes, more packing

David and I fly to London this Saturday, and will be there for 4 weeks. We kicked off our packing process yesterday: we got out the suitcases, and David did the laundry while I piled clothes on the bed. Then, overwhelmed as to the next step, we went to the gym.

The packing process never gets any easier, it continues to seem. It's difficult to know, for instance, what the weather in London will be for the next 4 weeks. Apparently it has been beautiful and warm recently, but this isn't to say it won't suddenly become dreary and abysmally wet -- it is London, after all. This means selection of clothing is like guesswork. We say, "take layers" or clothing that can be "layered" -- which sounds great, but, let's face it, there's only so much "layering" that can be done when a person tends to have "outfits."

There are certain elements to the process we have learned to do along the way such as:
- Make lists (obvious, but one can get too cocky and not do so when traveling so often... this has lead to grave regret)
- Get hair cuts (because haircuts abroad can lead to trauma)
- If staying in an apartment with a kitchen (i.e. longer than 2 weeks/not staying in a hotel), pack our own knife, Microplane, peeler (this is an essential for David), and Tupperware (very useful to bring snacks to long days at auditions)
- Get out our European electronics kit (if going to UK/EU) -- hairdryer, plugs, electronic toothbrush, etc. I feel like they are our special gadgets for when we live like secret agents abroad... like 007...
- Take a bathing suit -- you never know, a magical long weekend may suddenly appear for a mini-break (this is usually wishful thinking)

The most difficult part of packing is gearing up to pack ourselves together to leave. After having been back in New York for a good chunk of time, it's hard to leave home again. We still haven't seen our New York friends enough, we haven't seen all the shows we'd wanted to see. Having said this, we are also looking forward to going to London for 4 weeks, which means we will get to see friends in London. It's nice that we pass through London frequently enough, we have the privilege and comfort of knowing that we will see our friends there in the not too distant future.

In some ways, I suppose we have gotten better at packing...we have developed our unique method, as it were. What we can't seem to do is pack lightly. I don't expect we ever will, really. I think we are inclined to always try to take as much of our "home" stuff with us as possible, so that we can plunk down at our next destination and make it as homey as possible.

Racoon in the City

David and I spotted a big raccoon in Central Park two days ago. It was walking and digging around in the grassy area just on the other side of the stone wall dividing the park from the pedestrian sidewalk of Central Park South. We spotted the same raccoon the next day, even closer to the traffic action. Where did it come from? we wonder. Is there a raccoon population in the park?

It was a very big (i.e. chubby) raccoon...... and it was the first time David and I have seen a raccoon anywhere, let alone in the middle of Manhattan.

On Becoming a Gym Convert

It has been about a month since David and I joined the gym. I am proud to say that I have become a convert -- I like going to the gym.

I have always had a perhaps unfair prejudice towards gym culture, especially in New York. Most of my friends in New York belong to gyms and work out regularly, which is sort of what you're supposed to do when you're young and attractive in New York -- run a lot, on treadmills or in the park or along the Westside Highway (or all of the said locations), along with the occasional step class, the yoga class, the spinning class and, of course, weight training. In fact, being young isn't even a factor. So many people have personal trainers, young and old; some of the elite, luxury fitness establishments are practically funded by the attendance of moneyed Upper Eastside women and the like. New York is an active city, and there are gyms everywhere, almost like Starbuck's.

I played a lot of sports growing up and in high school, but I gave this up when I got to college. I don't know what the gym at Princeton looks like, I've never set foot in it, unless you count registration and the ballroom dance class room. In New York, I've had roommates who worked out religiously, come and go from gyms. They impressed me, but did not inspire me enough to go along. Gyms in my mind have had an image of being sweaty, kind of smelly, stifled-aired space full of self-conscious fit people or wannabe fit people, where interaction may be unavoidable, what with the sharing of and waiting for equipments. Gyms in New York also have a certain reputation for being pick-up spots. These notions of gym culture creeped me out, and I had no desire to participate. And let's face it, I was lazy. I preferred to count walking while shopping an cardiovascular activity; I tried to eat sensibly (relatively) and hoped that my metabolism was good enough to at least keep me from ballooning despite the cocktails and wines. I joined Exhale for a short period, but Exhale is like a spa -- a luxury spa, not at all like a gym. And even this was short-lived, since I found it hard to go to classes and, really, with my back issues, I discovered I needed a more monitored approach with pilates-based exercises (which is what Exhale offers).

Over some time, I'd developed and mastered an aversion towards gyms.

But this has all changed! A month into my membership at the gym, I have become one of those people who tries to go to the gym almost everyday, if she can, maybe at least 4 times a week. I've got my trusty nano iPod, my music selections best suited for my cardio or cross training on the elliptical, and series of weight machines I like to use. I'm even able to go to the gym without David and not be too shy or paranoid. (Although it's always better to go with David, who is basically my personal trainer.)

And I've come to be intrigued by the gym culture -- the actual one that I am part of. Our gym is never too crowded, which great. It's very well-kept, cleaned constantly, has great air-flow and even good lighting. A lot of the members are residents of our apartment building, and they seem harmless, although there are the occasional grunting muscle-y muscle men who are a tad scary. I have come to recognize a few people, the regulars, and they seem to have taken notice of me, too. David and I have developed a series of workouts, and are adding bits all the time. My physiotherapist noted that I've gotten more back muscles, which is great, since not too long ago, she'd told me that my back muscles had "atrophied" and this was part of my back pain problem. I had exercises to do at home, but have never gotten the results like I have going to the gym in terms of strengthening. You can even catch me checking out the definition on my arms and while I do pull-downs. I really enjoy and appreciate the gym now.

So much so that we are joining a gym in London, where we will be for an entire month. An entire month without going to the gym? What used to be the normal course of things now seems impossible. And this is a good thing.

David Does BOSTON!

(Swan Boats parked in the middle of the pond surrounded by weeping willows, in the Boston Public Garden...)

DD was part of Broadway Across America launch in Boston this past Monday. This event announced the major productions that will come through Boston during the 2008-2009 season. There were 7 shows presented, and DD was one of them. Despite some sound and technical issues (which too often happen at these launches), the event was exciting and, I have heard since, successful amongst the attendees. It was the first time that DD launched alongside a series of other major shows, and a small group of our friends were able to see it. It was a brief visit, and we didn't get to talk to our friends as extensively as we'd liked, but it was great to see them... and for a change, in an US city other than NYC. We're looking forward to coming back up to Boston as the show transfers there come winter.

David and I flew into Boston the night before the launch, so that we could have some time of our own in my "home" city. David's very first trip to Boston!!! He was very excited, ready to explore. We got in in the morning, checked in, and then went into Cambridge for brunch. We had a wander around Cambridge, walked around Harvard Square, Harvard University, and browsed some shops. Afterwards, we hopped back on the T (the subway system), walked through Beacon Hill, through the Boston Public Garden, and then down Newbury Street... after some tea, off towards the water we went, checked out the Milk Bottle at the Children's Museum, all the way around to Faneuil Hall and back to our hotel. We walked A LOT. That night, we had a cheeky cocktail at Alibi, a new hip bar that used to be a prison (it was written up in Conde Nast Traveler hot spot 2008), and then went to eat at Clio, spearheaded by a chef we saw on Iron Chef America who'd intrigued us (he didn't disappoint). It was a whirlwind day, but we had a great time.

The next day, of course, was the launch. We had dinner with Ben, Melissa, Chris and Sarah, who'd flown in from Toronto to perform, along with our PR people from both London and New York, as well as our producers and other handlers. It was a big dinner party, but it was good times.

A pictorial record of our trip:

(David at the Monday Room in Cambridge, where the brunch crowd was treated to a Harvard a cappella group performance.)

(David in front of the Harvard University Chapel)

(David with the famous bronze duck statues in Boston Public Garden)

(David does his best "Duck" amongst the bronze ducks...)


(It's a "Boston Tea Party!" at Tealuxe on Newbury Street... THE place for tea drinkers...)

(In front of the Milk Bottle by the Boston Children's Museum... David performs his best "Milk Bottle...)

(Beautiful clock tower building... very walking around Boston city central pic...)

(David's photo of a ridiculously narrow building embedded between two large, tall buildings, as seen from our hotel room. David calls this image, "The Ass Crack of a Building.")

(David sipping a drink at Alibi... in front of Paris Hilton's mug shot...)

(David very happy with the food at Clio... there was a powdered coconut-y confection with the fish, which he called "coconut cocaine.")

(David isn't "angry" in this photo -- he's just so concentrated on each delicious bite, it's a VERY serious affair.)

(David's very first Boston Creme Pie! He waited all weekend for the experience, and was not disappointed)

(David, me, and Melissa, posing with peace signs, as you do when you're Asian... or married to one, in David's case.)

To Boston!

There will be a DD launch in Boston next Monday (May 5). David and I will go up the night before, so we could have a little bit of time in my home city. I haven't been back in ages, and David has never been to Boston, so should be fun! It will at least be a sneak peek into the city where I grew up.

A few of our friends who live in Boston will also come to the launch, which will be nice. Most of our friends in the US hasn't seen DD yet, so the launch will at least give a "taste" of the show -- and it will be great for us to feel the show kick off in the US, as we did not attend the launch in Chicago (we were in Holland). This Boston launch is a big deal, too, because we are one of 7 shows presenting that night -- the event showcases all major shows for Boston for the 2008-2009 season.

Good times!