Big Things in the Big Apple

The last day and a half in NYC have been nothing short of legendary. Only in a city like New York (and L.A., of course) can you pack so much good stuff into so little time. Yesterday is a prime example of high times in almost no time at all.

I woke up in Brooklyn (we're staying with my BFF from Stanford Law School, Rhett) and hopped on the subway and headed for the Hilton off 6th Avenue in Manhattan. The reason? To catch up with one of my brilliant classmates from Duke, Sunny, and to talk with him about the possibilities of my taking my non-profit and advocacy about cancer survivorship and healthy living to the next level. Without letting any cats out of any bags, I'm happy to report that your very own WunderGlo has very big plans for the future.

After our meeting, during which I met his awesome brother Sanjay (still at Duke) and wonderful parents, I headed back to Brooklyn to practice what I preach -- daily exercise. Rhett and I hit the gym in his building and had a quick but grueling legs workout that I designed specifically to make our muscles burn and hearts pound. Mission accomplished.

After enjoying my first ever green smoothie made by Rhett (the smoothie consists of half leafy green veggies like spinach and chard and lettuce and half frozen fruit), we were on our way back to Manhattan. I met up with another friend, Kelly, who I first met when I did the keynote speech at the Ms. JD conference a couple of months ago. After sipping on some sparkling water while enjoying the misty drizzle that started to fall (in addition to laughing so much that my face started to hurt), I left Kelly and headed up the street for a quick snack before the coolest theatrical experience of my life (more to come on that, naturally).

Not only did I find my favorite treat, iced herbal tea, at Soy Caffe, I also discovered one of the most delicious things ever: a New York City bagel with soy cream cheese. I had one yesterday and I had one today, too. Seriously, so good. I don't advocate for eating bagels every day, but I felt like I deserved a little splurge after ignoring them all year. We are back in touch now, though, and it was a delicious reunion.

After my life-altering bagel experience, I had a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Chelsea-based production called Sleep No More. Essentially, the theater company revamped a huge warehouse in Chelsea and turned it into a 100 room hotel/psych ward/private residence/graveyard/English candy store/church/grand ballroom. The intricacy of the set detail would blow your mind. The play itself was a deconstructed MacBeth and Rebecca (luckily I've read the play and the novel, respectively) and was spellbinding. Little scenes would take place throughout the warehouse, and you'd follow an actor throughout the warehouse, up and down stairs and through halls, until they performed another scene or you just decided that you wanted to wander somewhere else. We all wore masks and were instructed not to speak at all. It was a completely free-flowing event, meaning that you could go literally wherever you wanted for as long as you wanted, and even though they wanted everyone to split up, Rhett and I managed to stay together for all three hours of fun. Will was upset at first to be separated from us, then said we were "too slow" when he found us later and took off on his own - go figure! We all had a blast.

The actors interacted with some audience members, caressing their arms or kissing their hands, and I was one of those lucky few. It was truly an intense and exhilarating experience; watching theater while participating in it. Totally super-HD type stuff.

The night was capped off by a gourmet vegan dinner -- which included a cheese plate, spanakopita, and a salted chocolate caramel tart -- and a trip to the West Village to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York. Gotta love justice for all.

You couldn't really ask for a better Friday. And these days, I'm wise enough to stop my life while I'm living it and really be grateful for it. Life moves fast, but we always have time to take a second and say, "Wow, I'm lucky."

Wow, I'm lucky.