Boat Shows Blanket

Get What You Want.

One of the steps to getting what you want is asking for it from a place of sincerity, but you have to be willing to receive a "no." It may also manifest itself in a different way than you imagined. Oh yeah, and put forth the necessary earthly effort. Gratitude for what you do have at this present moment helps, too, I think.

I wanted to go on a cruise ship for work. The contracts are long (6-12 months), but the pay is steady and you can have a lot of fun and travel. There are certain assertive things you can do to book the gig, like going to consecutive auditions for the same company, if you are really sure you want the job. I went to a few cattle calls, but I had an internal conflict about it, since I am in love with my City. I asked the universe about getting the cruise ship job.

You never know when you'll get your answer, but if you're paying attention you'll experience it.  

 Of a sudden, I was booked for some shows on boats in NY. Gah - I was struck! Thank you Universe! You are awe-inspiring. I'm sure a positive-intentioned magick token in my possession doesn't hurt either. I hadn't considered that as the weather warmed, people have events on those vessels that sail  the Hudson for a panoramic evening of sparkle motion. I even told my director about the situation excitedly - "I never thought... that is the answer!" She agreed without hesitation, "Yes, that is the answer."
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Family History

On the boat, in between sets, I observed its proximity to Ellis Island. My maternal teenage great-grandparents landed there individually from an Eastern European and a Mediterranean country after their ship rides to America. Though I was born and raised on southeast VA's waters, woods, hills, and houses, my predecessors had taken a journey from the old country and ended up living in the borough above Manhattan. Public records show that great-granddad was  NYC subway mechanic. I sync on the subway all the time. My mini-cruise seems serendipitous.

My Dorothy-esque adventurousness may be related to my paternal ancestors as well. Our pioneering predecessors were early Americans from Europe hundreds of years ago, including an indentured servant at Jamestown, VA (more info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia). My parents' childhoods were in the North and Midwest, but somehow I ended up attending Jamestown High School, mere minutes away. A different dude was a settler of Rhode Island. They moved westward at some point, hitting up several states including Kansas (ha!) and going as far as California.

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I'm seeing and connect some dots. The blanket we are all a part of, à la I Heart Huckabees, is looking really comfy.

I Heart Huckabees - The Blanket Truth Clip

Grab a bit of the blankie, snuggle up, lay in the grass, ask for what you want, and breathe deep. Ahhhhhhhh.

Back to Oz

I was pleasantly surprised by a gig I got in New Jersey.

I was making plans, typing that I didn't know "when I will get back to..."  when the T9 function on my phone decided that the word I was trying to type was "my." I hit the next button, it showed "Oz," I hit next again, and it finally showed "Ny." I paused because I had just noticed the man playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on a subway platform a couple days before.

On my merry way, more nervous about getting to the venue way far away the actual performance, I found the NJ Transit section of Penn Station and observed the system's rainbow-esque logo. It's painted on the trains and buses:

The next thing I noticed upon exiting the train was the bright yellow painted edge of the platform. The concrete there is textured, so that you are less likely to slip and fall onto the tracks. These are in train stations everywhere, I realize, but at that moment all I could think of was the yellow brick road.


As I sauntered down the station steps to ground level, a mural spotted me. There was a country house in a grassy field with a group of people standing around the porch waving at me. Why's there a Kansas painting in that NJ train station?

I danced like an Indian pop star then wrote and ate as I waited for the train back to Oz. I thought about how I used to watch "The Wizard of Oz" daily when I was a child. About how people come to bright urban places like NYC or LA or Paris or wherever to follow their dreams. They can get buffed, shined, and spirits refreshed and/or warned to surrender. About how in my Emerald City live several close friends who are green-obsessed including Kelly, plus Mr. and Ms. Green of Midori Jade apartment. People come here looking for their personal Magic Wizard, and leave when they achieve, get sick of the negatives, see the man behind the curtain, or want to settle down, having some interesting experiences along the way.

The train arrived as scheduled, at 12:42 am. Thanks for the magic wink, universe.

Over the Rainbow and through the Rabbit Hole

The day after my little 42 sync freakout, I went to out dinner with my best friend. We went to Blockheads, a NY chain that she introduced me to one of the first times I visited. It's Mexican and they have the best (strongest) $4 frozen margaritas. It was really good to see her. When we got the bill we saw the tip was already included (weird for only 2 people, but whatever,) and the tax. We ordered about the same amount of stuff so I suggested we simply split the amount in half. It was 24.40 each. She wanted to get back to her apartment ASAP and I rode with her. The cab was 12.40.

By then I'd mentally digested the recurring sync enough to kind of be used to it. The problem was the lack of context. When I talked to Mr. Green the night before, he suggested that I reflect back later because a pattern might emerge. He gave an example off the top of his head that it was something about Home, since that's when I always see it.

Well, I was on the way home from rehearsal yesterday, when I noticed for this mosaic mural for first time in the 50th St (1) station:

 

Uptown (1) to 242nd St Platform 

Mad Hatter and White Rabbit

and this:

There are 4 murals of Alice in Wonderland, down here in the underworld.

Downtown Platform to South Ferry

Oh! and I can't leave out that while I was taking photos, an old man was playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on trombone. It probably didn't help that I've been reading Kevin Halcott's Sync Book chapter, which explores the aforementioned elements, along with the rainbow bridge. It'd fit with the Home theme, too, since Dorothy was just trying to get back to Kansas.