first public performance

after three and half months in the city, the first public performance of mark has now occurred!  granted, i was part of the chorus in a choral presentation, but a milestone nonetheless.  i'm sometimes disappointed or upset with myself that i haven't achieved more here in the big apple.  when i mention this to people here, they ask how long i've been here and i tell them, "oh, about three months."  that's when they give me a look that says something like, "get over yourself.  you're crazy to feel that way!"  that's not what they say, just what their faces say.  what they actually say is something more like, "you just got here!  it takes time to learn this city, meet contacts, learn music, etc."  and of course, they're right.  i've always had some kind of internal pressure to produce something in life.  it would appear that it is as healthy a drive on the east coast as it has been anywhere else.  

this was what was called a professional level chorus for this presentation of haydn's "creation".  this means that everyone in the choir has been paid to sing at some point but we all donated our time for this event.  there was an orchestra and soloists and it really was a great evening of music.  

but the music was just the setting for a lecture entitled, "can faith be green?"  a very interesting discussion concerning stewardship of the planet.  i'm glad that the christian community has a number of leaders who are encouraging their parishioners to be stewards of this world we have been given.  as the apostle john records our lord saying, "for god so loved the world, he gave his one and only son..."  this is to say that god loves what god created which includes us and the earth.  we were meant to be stewards of the garden, not destructive consumers.  now, even gardeners remove some trees for cultivation of the garden, so there is a balance to be sought.  christian theology, though, supplies compelling resources for working out this balance.  

my first public performance.  took less than four months from arrival date.  hopefully soon i'll be reporting on the first dollar earned for performance.  that remains an elusive target right now.  

this blog was written in a recyclable medium. 

sick

there's something sad about being sick in a place far from home.  family and friends care, but they really aren't nearby to come and put a damp washcloth on your forehead or whip up some chicken noodle soup.  

so here i am in a far away land.  people everywhere, but like many here, experiencing profound aloneness.  and now i'm sick.  can't even sing at the moment.  the economy is difficult so whenever there's a catering opportunity, i need to take it.  like this afternoon.  went in at 2:00 pm to do set up for a big benefit event at the hammerstein ballroom.  gorgeous place on 34th street between 8th and 9th avenue.  

i was already feeling bad when i arrived which must have shown since joe, my captain, commented on it.  he cut me early since i looked a bit like death warmed over but not before i got a few hours in which was gracious of him since i wasn't doing much heavy lifting.  mostly folding napkins.  the few hours will be helpful.  what was fun was hearing the artists doing their sound checks.  first up, alicia keys.  the other...well, see if you can guess from the photo i took during his sound check a few hours ago and posted below.  let me know.  he's at the piano, wearing the hat.  he's a pretty big deal to some people.  

so...i'm home now, writing this blog and heading to bed.  missing the music back at hammerstein, but finishing some chicken soup and soothing a hoarse voice.  if you know someone who's sick, offer something of yourself.  it will mean the world to them.  

houston, we have a...

...blessing.  houston drives the m66 crosstown bus.  crosstown busses are key for any uptown folks since there are no subways going under central park.  so for a guy like me at 94th on the upper west side to get to a meeting at 91st on the upper east side, it would be crazy to take the trains around the park.  in fact, to do that, i would have to take at the least three trains, and possibly four, to make that trip.  for example, the three train route would be to take the "b" train from 96th down to 7th ave.  there i would switch to the "e" train to lexington where i would jump on the "4", "5", or "6" to 86th street and walk up to 91st.  the four train option is to start off on the "c" train and make a transfer at columbus circle to a "b" or "d" train around the bend to 7th ave.  you may not believe me when i say this, but i just did all that from memory.  

anyway, houston was looking at a cd cover when i got on the bus to cross town at 66th.  i asked him about it and he said it was karaoke preparation for after work on friday afternoon.  apparently he gives some cheer to the bus drivers on friday afternoon to help them start their weekend with some fun thoughts and smiles.  i'd love to start my weekend that way since it was kind of a rough day on the audition circuit.  

houston and i struck up a conversation about music, singing, life, his marriage, etc.  basically life boils down to two things for him, doing right by himself and god.  after that, everything should be fine.  i was amazed at how generous he was with himself, sharing some of his failures with me.  but the icing was him offering me a gift.  he pulled his bag out and pulled a bus map out and gave it to me saying that now i could get anywhere in town.  i suppose since i've got the subways mastered it's time to do the graduate course in the new york city bus transit system.  the map was more than just directions since it came as a gift.  brother houston blessed me.

saints

went to a choir concert tonight and cried during this song.  perspective is always nice to have from time to time...

as grains of sand, as stars,

as drops of dew,

numbered and treasured by the almighty hand, 

the saints triumphant throng

that holy land

where all things and jerusalem are new.

we know not half they sing

or half they do,

but this we know,

they rest and understand;

while like a conflagration freshly fanned

their love glows upward, 

outward,

thro' and thro'.

lo!  like a stream on incense launched on flame

fresh saints stream up from death to life above, 

to shine among those others and rejoice:

what matters tribulation whence they came?

all love and only love can find a voice

where god makes glad his saints,

for god is love.

~christina rosetti (1830-1894)

field promotion

the evening started like any other.  the 188 year old new york eye and ear infirmary was having their celebration dinner and i was assigned a table of happy eaters.  my orders from command were to keep the water and wine glasses charged which i followed to a 't'.  there was really nothing out of the ordinary about the beginnings of the evening.  we preset the first course.  had what i call the bermuda triangle glass set.  in fact, this is my first contribution to the new york catering world.  it has already moved from "bermuda triangle glass set" to "bt set up" which everyone knows is the white wine glass at the top of the knife, the red wine glass up and to the right, and the water glass up and to the left.  the bases of the three glasses forming the isosceles triangle (thanks, dad, for teaching me what that was so many years ago).  bermuda refers to the fact that any liquids in this triangle have a curious way of disappearing.  

after clearing the first course, we served the main.  the captain for the evening was roberto who i've worked with before.  a stickler for service who runs a tight ship and appreciates his soldiers.  in fact, i love that he says "thank you" to us several times a night.  last night he offered kisses to the entire company.  i didn't see any evidence of delivery.  in order to conquer the room more efficiently, we were divided into platoons and led by a couple sergeants who had direct communication with captain roberto at all times.  ear pieces, sleeve mics...the whole deal.  field communication advances in the dining room have come a long way.  

since i was supposed to stay in the dining room for clear up, my evening was just about over.  and then it happened.  the captain called me over for special duty.  he asked me to leave the clean up in the dining room and move to a new theater of activity...dessert!  this was taking place in another room on site with dueling pianos going at it.  fun room.  

however, the big moment was still to come.  at 9:45 pm with about 15 minutes left in the event, one of the sergeants promoted me to bartender!  finally my bartender's license put to good use.  

yep...not a bad night.  promoted in the field.  things are going to start happening to me now!

musings

several nights ago i had dinner with some more celebrities.  quite the group, really.  mayor bloomberg, anna wintour (editor of vogue), tommy hilfiger, calvin klein, and emceed by deborah norville.  it was amazing to me, that when calvin told the group that "ralph couldn't make it," everyone knew exactly who he was talking about.  at my table was an up and coming actress and film maker i recognized from the movie city slickers that starred billy crystal.  what i didn't realize is that this woman at my table whose name plate read, "lindsay miller" is in fact lindsay crystal miller, the daughter of billy crystal.  and she was at my table.  i served her dinner.  and dessert.  and filled her water glass...she said hi to me.  

the event was a charity dinner to thank some top donors.  the fashion industry is among those donors but there were many others, including the mayor.  the group is called, "god's love, we deliver."  they deliver meals to people debilitated by various diseases including hiv/aids.  some 800,000 meals were delivered last year alone.  a great work and a tremendous number of volunteers that make it all happen.  my roommate's mother received meals here in the apartment i'm living in from this organization in the last couple years of her life.  

obviously, the organization's name caught my eye and caused some thoughts to brew in my mind since there was no mention of god during the dinner, or his love which was being delivered.  matthew 25:31 and following talks about the sheep and the goats being separated by particular activities.  "i was hungry and you gave me something to eat, i was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, i was a stranger and you invited me in, i needed clothes and you clothed me, i was sick and you looked after me, i was in prison and you came to visit me.  then the righteous (the sheep) will answer him, 'lord, when did we do all that?'  the king will reply, 'i tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."  it's difficult to argue with the actions of this group.  in fact, i'm not.  the sheep in the story appear to be surprised that they are among god's righteous and i'm sure there are others in this world who will be in this category.  probably some surprised goats, as well.  is all this delivery the spirit of christ at work?

the other side of the argument comes from john 6:28-29.  here some people ask jesus, "what must we do to do the works god requires?"  and jesus answers, "the work of god is this: to believe in the one he has sent."  this would appear to say that belief is the primary action for disciples.  is the spirit of christ at work in the charity without recognition of that spirit or is it merely human effort?  is it sufficient to believe correctly but not engage in the activities of the sheep?   

i have no real conclusion at this point beyond saying that both appear important.  i mean, jesus said both things.  you may have clearer thoughts.  these were just fun musings that ran through my mind during the dinner that ralph couldn't make.  

french service

who knew that the public library would be a venue for a wedding reception?  is that the first place you think of for your special party?  i guess this was the location for one of the "sex and the city" girls to have her reception.  i'm not too up on my episodes.  so someone figured they would do the same thing.  and heck, why not, if you have an extra $100,000 lying around just to rent the space! after that, you could drop another 300k on the designers and rental of tables, candelabras, dinnerware, etc.  then of course, you'll need lighting so you can light up the tableware just right...oh, and you'll need to light the entry hall, mezzanine level and third floor bars, and certainly can't forget the dance hall.  all of this is before paying me to cater your party, along with about 100 of my friends.  food and wine for the 400 guests and as many vodka shots as they want to down will be an additional cost.  the 12 piece band for the dance, the violinist to play jewish-russian wedding music, keeping the ice bar solid from 5 pm saturday night to 3 am sunday morning, and other sundries.  that should do it...shouldn't be more than 2 million dollars.  maybe a little more.  

this really was the most richly decorated event i've catered since arriving here.  the library itself is stunning.  you can check out basic pictures of the library at www.nypl.org.  the pics i've posted here are just the little ones i took with my phone of the event.  the library sits in bryant park between 40th and 42nd street with its entrance on 5th avenue.  by the way, all those candles on the steps of the entry were placed by yours truly and some cater buddies.  people were stopping constantly to ask what was going on.  some took advantage of the backdrop for their own photos.  one lady asked if it was a vigil for the war.  

the dining table was unbelievable.  the photo here doesn't really do it justice.  it almost looks like some kind of optical illusion photo, but it really does

 just keep going and going.  this i know, since i had to walk it an untold number of times in set up as well as during dinner.  200 per side.  imagine that space with 400 guests and another 50 or so waiters all trying to scoot past one another in the 2 feet behind the chairs which in this pic haven't been placed yet, and filled with 400 healthy bodies that like to sit a foot away from the table.  two words... may hem.  and then

 we were giving french service, as it's called.  this is when you take a 

tray with servings for 10 or so.  you dish it out at the table, always from the left of course which meant everyone was leaning to their right...right into their neighbor.  it was tight!  still...there was a kind of opulent elegance, or elegant opulence to the design of it all.  can those words be put together?

the day began at 4:15 am saturday morning for a catering gig in connecticut.  we arrived back in manhattan at 5:00 pm at which point i hustled over to the library for the wedding reception gig for the next 12 hours of my life.  yes...i pulled a 24 hour shift.  i think there are many who do this for a variety of reasons.  i just wanted to appear macho.  finished the breakdown of the ice bar (yep, the whole thing was made of ice!), glasses, leftover food, and a small glass of scotch with the boss around 4:00 am Sunday morning and made my way home.  dreamland by 5:00.  

next time you are at a catered event, say hi to your waiter.  they may be at the end of their strength, beyond 

even the effects of red bull.  they may be the next movie star or theater diva.  as with everything, there are so many unknown and hidden stories of those who serve us.