We Talk to Strangers

On my walk to work this morning (yes, New Yorkers walk to work -- I don't even know how to drive anymore) I was in the zone thinking hard on my to-do list, when a guy suddenly jumped in front of me. He asked me to please cross the street because a show was being filmed on the side where I was walking.  "Sure, What show?" said I.  "S*M*A*S*H" (sorry, couldn't resist the asterisks) said he. "Ooo fun!" I chimed. I crossed the street obediently and went on my merry way to work.  

Unfortunately I didn't get a glimpse of the doe-eyed Katherine McPhee (I've been told I look like her -- what do you think?), Angelica Houston or Debra Messing. But walking through the set did bring back fond memories of a uniquely New York experience I had a few years ago, which involved another film set.  Except on that earlier occasion I didn't keep walking. I ended up loitering on the set for about 2 hours talking to strangers (I'll explain shortly).  

It then dawned on me that talking to complete strangers has been kind of theme in my time in New York.  Even though my parents always taught me to not talk to strange creepers, for some reason I threw that all away when I moved to the Big A.  I began experiencing a new openness to people when I moved to Manhattan. This was just the beginning of my losing fear about a lot of things, and being more receptive to life and experiences that I would have shied away from in my earlier years.  New York does that to people. You see so many weird-looking, crazy people, that you're just not afraid anymore.  You come across so many different kinds of people, that you begin appreciating their differences because they are what make up the City.  

By the time I got to work I had recalled that first film-set experience and a bunch of other random moments when I talked to strangers. It always worked out pretty well for me, or at least made for some interesting stories.  Well, at least I think they are interesting :) You judge for yourself....  but first a few SMASHing photos of this morning's stumblings (photo credit: Matthew William Ellis):

Dressing room trailers

           

             
                  (take a peak at the show's site.. I can't wait til the premiere! http://www.nbc.com/smash/)

XOXO Gossip Girl - August 2, 2008.  This was the story I referred to earlier. It was a Friday afternoon and I was taking a casual stroll on the UES.  When I hit 75th St. and Madison Ave., I saw a bunch of lights and film equipment in the middle of the street. I asked a few spectators what was going on and they told me it was Gossip Girl.  So I got a little closer to the action where I spotted Blake Lively and Penn Badgely sitting on the steps of a ritzy town home waiting for their scene.  I got giddy by the energy of the set, and if you know me, you probably guessed that my strange obsession with famous people got the better of me.  I inched my way even closer to the heart of the activity until I got to the food table where they cater to the crew and actors. I started chatting it up with some folks who looked like they actually belonged there. First I met an old man whose limo was in the scene. He was super sweet and told me he was able to get his SAG card just by having his limo in the show.  

But apparently making pals with limo-man wasn't enough for me.  I quickly determined that if I was going to make a name for myself on the set of Gossip Girl, I would have to take more drastic measures. So, I decided to buddy up to the guys serving food at the craft services table. I don't remember exactly how it went down, but I'm sure I started asking them about how they liked working there, if the actors were nice, what their schedules were like, etc.  Then I landed the big Q:  I asked them if they needed volunteers!! Yes! I was trying to get a job (a non-paying one, at that) on the set just to be around the celebs!  

Sure enough, the guy I was talking to wasn't the one with the hiring power, so he took me down the block to meet the big guns: Peter of J&P Craft Services (they're legit - check it: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0272102/).   Peter asked me if I drive, and I said "yes". Then he pointed to a pretty large truck and asked if I could drive that in the city. Keep in mind my earlier comment about driving. "Yea, sure no problem," I said. Are you kidding me?! Am I kidding me? No, I wasn't. At that point I hadn't driven a car, much less a huge truck in Manhattan, in well over a year.  Yet I was willing to do whatever it took to be near the fames.  Peter seemed pretty pleased that I was willing to work for free and drive the big truck, so he gave me his card and told me to call him.

How did the story turn out, you ask? Well, I never called Peter. When I got home I realized I had been acting on a rush of adrenaline and starstruck-baby-cause-you-blow-my-heart-up-ness (whattup Gaga!). In reality, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed standing around and serving food without pay. But it was an experience nonetheless, that I would not have had if I hadn't talked to strangers.

Movies 101 - The scene: Bed Bath & Beyond, near Union Square, air conditioning isle. Summer of 2008, pre-move to the UES apartment. I was shopping for window unit air conditioners for my new apartment but knew absolutely nothing about them. I was pleasantly surprised when an older gentleman and his wife approached and also began surveying the air conditioners.   They looked pretty friendly so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  After all, I had no clue what I was looking at and I needed help.  "Excuse me. Do you know if this one will cool an entire living room?" "It depends on the size," the husband replied. So we got to talking and they were very helpful with the matter.  We chit-chatted about how I was new to the city, etc. "Do you like movies?" he asked. I didn't know where this was going, but I answered more with a question, "yes..(?)"  "Ah, well I teach a film class through NYU. Here's my card. Email me and I'll arrange for you to sit in on a class."  Perfect! My stalking...errr.. talking with strangers was paying off yet again! Maybe he, this one Professor Richard Brown, would realize what a fantastic personality I was, and that combined with my good looks, surely he would recommend me to his producer friends to star in their next film!

No, but seriously, if you know me at all you know that's where my mind went.  Anyway, so I went to the class one evening after work and it was actually very interesting.  I think I ended up going a total of 3 times.  I remember we watched "The Promotion," starring Seann William Scott. Seann actually came and spoke to the class for about an hour before we viewed the film.  Such a cool experience! Professor Brown offered me the opportunity to attend the class at no charge if I volunteered to collect tickets before each showing. Although I ended up only going a few times (tax busy season got in the way), it was yet another case where talking to a stranger had a great upside.  

By the way, if you like movies and hearing actors/writers/directors speak live, I totally recommend Richard Brown's class....  http://movies101.org/   

Dumpster Fire of '08 -

I figured I'd lead in with a dramatic image on this one since we've had a lot of words lately and it's time for a picture. It was the summer of 2008 (apparently this was an eventful time in my life). My sissy Meg came to visit my new walk-up apartment. I had been complaining for weeks because a construction dumpster was parked directly in front of my building which was just obnoxious.  Meghan and I had been having an awesome visit until the middle of the night when she woke me up abruptly.  I was sound asleep when Meghan flashed on my bedroom light and told me me as calmly as possible, "Jenny, you have to wake up now.  Don't worry but there's a fire outside."  Don't worry?? Immediately I thought she meant a fire in my actual apartment so I freaked out. But when I ran out into the living room I saw what she meant.  Looking out the window all I saw was an orange glow. I got closer to the window and looked down to see flames leaping up from below.  It looked like the entire building was on fire from the front of the building, which was the only way out.  There was no way we could use the fire escape because the flames were reaching pretty close to it.  My life flashed before my eyes! (ok it wasn't that dramatic, but I was definitely scared)

Meghan being the leader that she is told me to get my important things (somehow my cat and keys didn't make that list -- sorry Gilburt. RIP (don't worry - the kitty didn't die in the fire... she died  a year later)). She then led us out of the apartment into the interior hall, and knocked on everyone's door on the way out shouting "Come on people! Wake up! There's a fire!"  It was amazing.. she was so brave!  We got to the first floor and as we approached the front door, all I could see were flames outside. I was petrified. But as we got even closer, we saw that the fire was actually contained in the huge dumpster, leaving us just enough room to run out the front door. Meghan did the famous back-handed touch of the door test and told me to stay low. It was text-book fire safety. I half expected her to make me stop, drop and roll, but she didn't.

We made it out safely and hung out on the street corner where people were gathering. It was about 4AM and people were stumbling home from the bars at this point.  We waited for the firemen, and after the whole ordeal was over, we realized I had locked us out of the apartment. I called my Super who said he wouldn't be able to come let me in until 6AM.  For some reason I was wimpy back then (hadn't talked to enough strangers I guess) and I agreed to wait the whole 2 hours.  Meghan was so very mad at me for not insisting he come sooner, but we made the best of it and went to H&H Bagel, the best in the land, and fortunately open 24 hours.  We weren't hungry but we had nothing else to do so we ate the free bagels offered by the waiters.  On the walk over, we managed to scrounge up some old magazines from a trash can to read to kill the time.  

So what does this have to do with talking to strangers? Well, around 5AM a drunken young man walked by H&H.  We were sitting near the window and I guess he looked in and liked what he saw (yea we looked pretty darn good in our scrubby pajamas and unbrushed hair), so he turned around and came in. I forget his name now, but we'll call him Naveen for kicks. Naveen stumbled in and asked us if he could sit down and talk with us.  We had nothing better to do and we could use the entertainment, so we allowed him.  Naveen kept repeating the same stories over and over, and asked us if we wanted to come to his apartment.  We said yes. JUST KIDDING! We said No of course. Naveen finally left us alone, and we returned to the apartment at 6AM. 

Meghan back at H&H Bagels later in the day after the fire.  Thank you for saving me sissy!

The damage. 

Me surveying the damage. The fire burnt my tree :( The end of that story.

Free Wine @ The Four Seasons - February 2010. Ok, I will keep this one short since it's late. This story doesn't actually involve talking to strangers, but rather staring at them.  If you recall from an earlier post (http://shtnewyorkersdo.blogspot.com/2012/01/we-eat.html) my boyfriend, Matt, took me to an amazing restaurant, the Four Seasons, for our first Valentines Day. I like observing people, so I set my sights on a delightful older couple who was still so clearly in love it was beautiful.  They were sitting diagonal from us, and I just loved seeing them interact and talk quietly and drink their wine together. I guess I kept smiling at them, because near the end of our dinner, our waiter brought me and Matt two glasses of wine, indicating it was compliments of the couple I had been staring at all night.  We smiled and nodded our thanks to them and they acknowledged.  When they were finished their meal, they came up to us and told us to enjoy ourselves and that we looked lovely together.  

Although Matt's theory is that the couple gave us the wine to get me to stop staring, I am convinced they sent it to us because they sensed my appreciation for them!  

The moral of the story, you should always be open to people (using good sense of course.. don't go home with a Naveen). You never know what may come of it.  When was a time you embraced a new person or experience and it led to a unique experience?

Goodnight for now! XOXO