Fire in the Hole

After finishing my trainer meeting at the HRC I walked out of the function room to find smoke, the rest of the managers, and firemen. Yep, there was a fire at the rock today. We had to evacuate the building, all the guests, the cooks...everyone. Six fire trucks in Times Square and a bunch of cold employees on the street. It's amazing how calm I can stay in these situations. I just politely asked everyone to leave and escorted them out. No worries. Once we were all out on the street, there was really no use for sticking around. The FDNY had taken over completely. Ally, Graziella and I walked over to Starbucks where is was safe, we could get a tasty treat and watch from a distance. The fire was in the walls and was probably started by a cigarette being thrown into a crack from the outside. The insulation was burning inside and I'm sure it wasn't good to breathe in. When they finally re-opened the building there were piles of burnt insulation and well, I didn't really feel like inhaling any of that in. I'm so consious of my health now. So, I went home. What a weird day. What a weird week.

James Gandolfini and the giant inflatable slide

I've been pretty busy this last week...working like a mad woman, but a few cool things happened recently.

Sunday, I had the opportunity to work as an abassador for Hard Rock at the Dream Halloween carnival for children affected by AIDS. What an amazing experience. The children were all in costume and there were rows of game booths and food stands. Mattel and Toys R Us sponsored the event and there were toys everywhere for the kids to win. They were all so cute in their costumes and they loved the Hard Rock booth because we weren't serving anything fancy...just chicken fingers and chips and salsa. Among all the kids and families, there were also a bunch of celebrities making the rounds. They were there for the silent auction and to donate to the charity. The one who stood out though was James Gandolfini. That man is enormous. I mean he looks big on the Sopranos, but that could be all in the way it's filmed. Not in this case, he's huge and his body guard is even bigger. Now ask me why a man of such large stature who looks completely intimidating would need a body guard. I mean, COME ON! The highlight of my night though, watching that giant man go down the inflatable slide. HILARIOUS! All for the kiddies. I managed to get hooked up with a sweet gift bag though with plenty of rich folk goodies. I can use most of it, exept for the two free sessions of botox. Are you kidding me?

Back to work for a few days...

Today, I had the chance to see Tarzan on broadway. It kills me to see a show and not be on stage. I miss it. But, it will always be there and when I'm ready to go back I know I'll find something.

Life.

Crazy.

Learning to be Lonely

I'm flying solo these days, well, not entirely solo, but it's just me in little old New York. I'm just now getting out of the "poor me" phase and today I had a bit of motivation. I started cleaning and sorting...the apartment is still a mess from moving in. I'm trying to take it one box at a time, sort it and put it away. How did I manage to acquire all this stuff! I haven't had a Sunday off for quite some time and I didn't know how to handle it. All day yesterday I was thinking it was Sunday and when I woke up this morning I still thought it was already Monday. What a pleasant surprise when I finally realized, because I have the day off tomorrow as well. Lazy Sunday and lazy Monday. I truly plan on doing nothing, except for maybe tackling another box or two. Maybe I'll go see a movie on my own, that's liberating right?

Another pleasant surprise today...the Godiva ice cream bars I found in the freezer that I didn't know were there. Absolutely decadent and sinful. Am I on my way to becoming a desperate housewife? When it comes to dark Godiva chocolate...maybe.

..makes Rochelle not want to write about her life.

It's October, but I didn't need a calendar to let me know that. The air is that perfect crisp, the leaves have started to change and I've pulled out my favorite sweaters. Now, if only I were near a mountain with a canyon.

Aside from being busy at work, I've been feeling quite good. I'm not as tired and the work load seems to be easing slightly. Greg, the GM who hired me...yeah, he quit. So that's been interesting. He gave his two week notice on Saturday and Monday he was escorted out of the building. We have a new GM in training along with two additional managers. Hey, whatever...I'm happy to have the extra help. In the meantime, corporate sent us some extra managers from around the country to help out with the upcoming "busy season".

Enough with work though. It's October and aside from it being my favorite time of year, it also means Arizona Fall League. And that means Tyler is leaving in a week for Arizona. He'll be gone until after Thanksgiving. It's just lonely little me in New York City for a few weeks until my sister comes to live with me for a bit. She'll be here after Halloween and the plan is to stay until after Thanksgiving. I can't wait. I know she could use a little time to get away and I could sure use the company...especially by then.

Time for a funny story. A couple days ago I got locked out of my apartment...in my robe...no contacts in...no phone...and no little man downstairs who has an extra key. The hear the buzzer and jump out of bed, throw on a robe and run downstairs to meet the Fedex guy. I've carefully left the door open seeing as though it locks automatically when it shut. However, when I close the bottom door, the force of the wind pulls my door shut. Oh, rapture. The very thing I was trying to avoid. And, it's the one day the little old man downstairs isn't home. Neither are our upstairs neighbors. There I was, wrapped in a robe, unable to really see and standing on my stoop completely frozen. Finally I rack up enough courage, at the risk of looking totally crazy, to stop this sweet girl strolling her baby and explain my situation. She is so sweet and accommodating. She lends me her cell phone and I was able to call Ty and get him to come home and rescue me. How humiliating, but I survived.

I'm spending the day with my dear friend Alli. We are making an Ikea trip, doing a little clothes shopping, maybe gonna catch a movie and I just remembered there's a P.F. Chang's near the Ikea...I'm dying for some lettuce wraps.

Let the fun day begin!