30 Days of Turning 30: Day 30

How did I get here already? I came up with the idea for 30 Days of Turning 30 all the way back in April, but did not mention it to that many people until just before the first of June arrived. Most people suggested I make sort of a mini bucket list so that I would know beforehand what I would be doing each day for the thirty day duration. I considered it, but then decided that with my incredibly unpredictable work schedule, it just was not feasible. And then half the fun this month became waking up every morning wondering what I might do or what might happen. The blog originally was meant to simply detail each day, just a record of what I had done, where I had done it and tag people who happened to be present. But I had a lunch with an old friend of mine just before the month of June began which altered my thinking about how to write the accounts of each day. We were talking about the next film project that I want to put together which involves a great deal of her personal life. And I thought, what courage she has to want to share her story on film. Which made me think about memoirs and what a popular book genre it is because someone tells a personal story that others can relate to and instantly a connection is made. For example, any female who has NOT read FIVE MEN WHO BROKE MY HEART by Susan Shapiro is totally missing out. (And Susan has written and published quite a few other books, just as funny, just as relatable, just as wonderful-look her up, you won't be sorry). But the point is that Susan, or my friend Emily or anyone who shares moments of their reality is willing to allow the world take a peek into their lives, whether it is heroic, disastrous, messy, organized, pain-filled or enlightened. Or all of the above. To me, that felt like the best way to complete 30 Days of Turning 30, to not just check items off of a list, but to share a little bit of my life with everyone who was reading about it. So I hope that besides accomplishing thirty things I had never tried before, I did not put anyone to sleep! For Day 30 I felt compelled to do something fun that again pushed my limits when it comes to my fear of heights. I had conquered parasailing, rode in a helicopter smaller than a Smartcar and CONSIDERED skydiving. Even considering is a big deal for me. Just so we're clear. But I decided that I would spend Day 30 going ziplining in upstate New York. There is a place called Big Bear Ziplines in Hyde Park, New York and I reserved myself a spot on their 2PM tour. On my tour was a lovely couple who had also never tried ziplining before and shared my concerns about heights and falling which bonded us immediately. Our tour guides Rebecca and Kathryn were safe, knowledgeable and just showed us all a great time on each zipline, taking our nervousness into account, especially on the last zipline, totaling 1400 feet in length, reaching up to speeds of 35mph. On the first zipline, I made the mistake of not trusting my harness and trying to hold my weight with my hands the entire way which resulted in some very sore forearms. For the second one, Rebecca and Kathryn reminded me to trust the harness would hold me and just fly down the line. Which I did. And that was when I fell in love with ziplining. Every line was so much fun, as were the Tarzan vines that you use to swing down to the ground at certain points on the course. It is all I can talk about and I am already rounding up a group of people to go back to Big Bear, so I can do it again. I want to thank the whole staff at Big Bear for an amazing Day 30 and having the patience to deal with my nervous anxiety when I climbed up to each zipline platform. I do not know if I can honestly say I've totally conquered my fear of heights, but I am pretty sure that after all the height-related activities this month, I could be on my way. Maybe in time for 40 Days of Turning 40?? I guess we'll see.... :-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 29

Today was the day I was sadly moving out of my beach house down in Belmar. I do have a pretty kick-ass tan to show for the month that I spent down here and decided that in between vacuuming and packing up the car, I also had time for a few hours of lazing about on the beach. It was one of those perfect beach days, sun blazing, a good ocean breeze and the water looked like glass, just miles and miles of blue-green glass. And maybe a little brown. It is Jersey after all. In the water there were surfers catching the little baby waves rolling in and further out you could see the stand-up paddle boarders whisking through the water. All month long I had seen the paddle boarders and when I had gone parasailing, the fine folks at Belmar Parasail suggested that I try it as one of my thirty adventures which I had agreed was a terrific idea. But all of a sudden my month had come and gone in what felt like an instant and I had not managed to try paddle boarding. So I picked up the phone and called Summertime Surf School to see if they had any availability for a stand-up paddle boarding lesson that very day. Lucky for me they had a 4:30 PM time slot and off I went. For beginner paddlers, lessons take place in the Shark River inlet, not the ocean due to the shallow depths and lack of waves, so I headed to Neptune City for my lesson. My instructor Colin showed me how to attain balance on the board and the best way to utilize the paddle to cut through the water and before I knew it we were already in the water and paddling away. This is where my lack of grace kicked into high gear. I went from perfect posture on the long board to a small wobble, then an outright shake and finally a face plant right into the Shark River. Immediately I hoisted my soaked self back onto the board, determined to get it right. I managed to find my balance and begin to paddle, with Colin assisting and encouraging me the entire time. Just as I was starting to feel like I had gotten the hang of it and relax a little, I paddled right into someone's fishing line. And then a woman with the formidable stature of a linebacker starting yelling at me from the beach. Oops. But after THAT, I really got settled and we paddled the length of the inlet and back totaling over two miles. It was an amazing workout plus the scenery wasn't too shabby with schools of fish right beneath me and all different species of birds circling above hoping to grab some dinner. The wind was pretty strong against us on the way out, making it necessary to paddle to the point that my arms felt like they might fall off, but the return trip with the wind at our backs was a nice reprieve. My entire body ached at the end of the lesson, but in a good way. In that "I got my ass kicked by a workout" way. If I had my beach house for another month, I guarantee you would find me paddling that inlet every morning. Big thanks to Summertime Surf School for taking a graceless beginner like me and turning me onto an amazing and fun thing to do at the beach besides get a tan and eat slices of pizza the size of my head. And that completes Day 29!
Sidenote: Luckily the linebacker had left by the time I arrived back to shore

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 28

After I lost my job in 2009, I interviewed for many jobs with companies that had the same likeminded philosophy that had sunk the publishing company from which I had just parted ways. It was depressing. And it disgusted me that there were SO many companies run by idiots out there. Which surely explains the resurgence of independently run businesses, I'm sure most of them are extremely bright people that just became disillusioned by the corporate machine. I think that the most interesting interview I experienced deserves a mention here. In the interest of maintaining a level of class that this company did not possess (and also in the interest of NOT being sued) I will not disclose the name of the company but I will say that it resides in Edgewater, New Jersey. They initially called me in about a part time social media consultant position that they were trying to develop but over the course of our conversations realized that I had a solid 5+ years of experience in sales. Successful sales. I could even see the dollar signs form where irises had previously been in the eyes of this company's President. He put me through the ringer of FOUR separate interviews, even sending me out to client meetings with some of his associates. Eventually he gave me a job offer for a sales position, not just verbal but also in writing. It was right before Labor Day weekend and he had given me the "sleep on it, think it over, get back to me on Monday spiel" in the email where the offer letter was attached. The offer letter laid out all the details of my employment package including a salary that was $20,000 less than what I had asserted I had been making at my previous job. I slept on it. I thought it over. I called first thing that Tuesday morning and told him that the salary was not only unacceptable it was also an insult to all the experience and tangible success I had accumulated over the past six years. He backed down and invited me to come back to the office to discuss salary negotiations but also because in the "eleventh hour" (his words) another candidate for the job had emerged and he wanted me to come in one last time for one more interview. Essentially a FIFTH interview. Instead of agreeing, I told him that during my tenure as a headhunter, I had never needed to interview someone more than twice to know if they were a good fit for a position, and my success rate of those people accepting and staying jobs for three or more years was in the ninetieth percent tile. So if he needed a fifth interview after he had ALREADY offered me a job IN WRITING, then perhaps we were not suited for each other and we should both go our separate ways. I remember there was a lot of stammering on his end and long silences as he struggled for an answer, which is when I wished him good luck and said that it sounded like this eleventh hour candidate might be a better fit after all before I ended the call. He called back the next day to see if I might reconsider, but it's just like breaking up with a guy who took you for granted. He may realize in the long run that he messed up a good thing, but it's usually too late for that realization. I felt that I could not work for a company that played that many games in the interview process because that's when everyone is supposed to be on their best behavior, who knows what it would have been like when the masks came off afterward? In addition, I do remember in the first interview we somehow got on the subject of our pets and he laughingly mentioned that he never picks up after his dog. That should have been my clue right then, that this guy was clearly someone who shits all over the place and expects someone else to clean it up. And there is no salary in the world to cover suffering that indiginity. That ridiculous interview came to mind today through my completion of Day 28. In the same way that Google, LinkedIn and Facebook is how employers research potential job candidates, IMDB serves the same purpose for cast and crew alike in the entertainment industry. In a flash people can see what films or television shows you worked on and in what capacity. After today I'm not only going to have a legitimate acting credit, but also a writing, directing and executive producing credit as well. And that's because for the first time ever I have submitted to a film festival. So I supposed Day 28 DOES go hand in hand in with Day 27, but this whole endeavor is full of things I have never done before, therefore I say it counts. And I am so much happier to have a resume with these credits rather than corporate pooper scooper.

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 27

When everyone asks me why I don't get starstruck when working on a set, I think the best answer I can give is that most of the time I really just aspire to have the people I work with view me as a peer. And a peer doesn't ask for pictures or autographs. Plus to be honest, I really find myself more starstruck by directors and DPs than I do by actors and actresses. Having the privilege to go to work and see iconic directors go about their day focused on making a show, commercial or film be the best possible piece it can be is amazing to me. At the Tribeca Film Festival, I had the opportunity to attend a panel where Doug Liman was the guest of honor and he has now risen into my top five favorite directors, not just because of his movies but his fearless attitude when it comes to filming them. When I was running around getting things situated for my first short film, I was operating under the assumption that I was simply the writer and producer with a small (but pivotal) role. But suddenly we were there "on the day" and somehow I ended up directing it as well. It was exhilarating, terrifying and exhausting. And after our two days of shooting while the film was being edited and I would wake up in the middle of the night, panicked that I did a terrible job as a total novice director, I would think about the old adage, when you want something done right, do it yourself. When you're personally invested in the success of anything, no one can do a better job, I really firmly believe that. Do I think I have a future as a director? Not really. But the experience has taught me exactly how focused I want the director to be on the next project that I write and produce. And that he or she really needs to believe in the material and have a vision on how to make it great on film before we can decide to work together. On Day 27, I got to screen and hold in my hands the final edit of a short film that I conceived, wrote, raised money for, casted, rented equipment, hired a crew AND directed for the first time in my life. It was a crazy feeling to see all the work and preparation whittled down to less than twenty minutes on a DVD and I was so proud of my cast and crew for all their hard work and great performances. I want to thank everyone again who donated on Kickstarter and made it possible to create this project. And I want to know...who is ready to work on the next one???!!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 26

I am a Jersey girl. But let me clarify. I am a non-Snookified Jersey girl. I'm not orange, I don't have ridiculously big hair-although I did have a perm in middle school but c'mon every girl wanted to look like Jennifer Grey-, I don't have fake nails and when I speak most people ask me if I'm from the midwest, not New Jersey. Growing up I was right on the New York state border so I was pretty unaware of the whole NJ guido phenomenon until college. If you put all the kids I went to middle school and high school with together in a room it would have looked like the GAP, J. CREW and TOMMY HILFIGER threw up in there. Most people were preppy not guido. New Jersey has always had a bad rap. We have overpopulation, bad traffic, bad drivers, jughandles, high insurance rates. And then MTV decided to take a group of idiots from everywhere EXCEPT New Jersey, plop them at the shore and make them rich because the viewing public doesn't even watch GOOD television anymore, just trainwreck television. And I could go on about the correlation this all has with intelligence levels but I'm pretty sure I would offend a lot of people. But you'll have to forgive me since I actually WAS on a reality show once I saw behind the scenes what a pile of BS it really is so all reality shows irritate me now. I do have MTV to thank for a wonderful trip to Spain, making some great friends and illuminating the fact that the girls I lived with in college were jealous C U Next Tuesdays, but it pisses me off that I never got a call for any of those damn Real World/Road Rules challenges, I could use a $100,000 pay day too!! And once again I'm off topic. What I'm trying to say about New Jersey is that it has its good points and bad points like anywhere else, but I was very displeased to hear that Chris Christie would NOT be following suit to the landmark decision made in New York about gay marriage. Even though I'm not a true New Yorker, I grew up less than twenty miles outside of it, and no matter where I've ever been in the world when I mention "the city" and people say "which city?" I scoff. Which I think makes me an honorary New Yorker. The legalization of gay marriage made me very happy for all my friends who previously have not been able to have the pleasure of an official nagging wife or husband. And so my Day 26 thing that I was never able to do before, was congratulate many gay couples on their engagements, not just for a civil union, but for an honest-to-goodness-recognized by all to see- marriage.

Congratulations to everyone who got engaged this past weekend!! And New Jersey I'm sorely disappointed in you, hopefully you can catch up to the greatest city in the world one of these days and also pass this law. Until then though, I still have a soft spot for your pork roll.

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 25

A few blogs ago I mentioned an awful ex-boyfriend. What I forgot to mention that he was also the driving force in what made me decide to get a shore house with a group of girls for the very first time when I was twenty-four. We had broken up but worked in the same office building (for different companies) so I had been relegated to having to see him every day of the week except Saturday and Sunday. And it was so awful, half the time I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. My modus operandi has always been to figure out a way to turn a bad situation to my advantage and this was no different. Summer was fast approaching and I needed a distraction. Right out of college I had attempted to gather a group of girls to rent a beachhouse for the summer, but it just wouldn't come together and I had given up. No one wanted to lay out money, even though everyone thought it was a good idea; no one was willing to drive down in the winter to look at places with a realtor. It was always something and I realized it was a pretty hopeless endeavor. Until it occurred to me that instead of trying to get a group of flaky non-committal girls to get a house, I could just look for a group of girls who already had one and needed an extra person. Boom. Problem solved. And that's how I met Cher, Becky, Kerri, Jen, Kristi and eventually JG. And that's also how I ended up having the two best summers of my life. They saved me that first summer. I had totally lost my joie de vivre and by Labor Day that year, I not only had it back, but I felt like an entirely different person. Capable of doing anything. Jen and I bonded that first summer, and I remember that on the day I met her, I already felt as if I had known her a long time. And if I had to describe our relationship to anyone, I'd say it's as if she is the sister I never had and if you can have a friendship soulmate, she would be mine. She and her husband came to visit today and it is a little weird to be down at the beach without her as a rommate or housemate! After dinner we talked about how I had not yet done something for Day 25 and she asked me if I had ever driven a Mini Cooper which is what her husband drives. I had not. So off we went on a little joyride down Ocean Avenue in the Mini Cooper, nicknamed Sir Speedy. It was a fun, peppy little car, but the best part was reminiscing about the summers our whole group of girls use to have together down here and all the shenanigans that occurred. I wouldn't trade those stories for anything. And I think it's hilarious that no matter how many times we all get together and re-tell them, we still laugh so hard we cry. Day 25 was a great day :-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 24

I have to admit. Day 24? Kind of weak. After celebrating my birthday, sleeping for maybe about two and a half hours, I was up again and commuting to Brooklyn from the beach in New Jersey. I left a bevy of sleeping beauties in my beach house, and although they all looked so peaceful and sweet with their even breathing and fluttering eyelashes, I still inaudibly cursed them out for being able to maintain their REM cycles while I had to get up for work. (Sorry ladies, I was cranky, don't hold it against me). While at work, I gave everyone the scoop about the auction and the Ta Tas amazing event, but I realized that most people thought that Day 23 was my last day of the blog since it was my actual birthday. I should clarify because although I'm already thirty, June is not yet over and I'm still determined to finish doing thirty things I've never done. I suppose I should have begun seven days prior to June 1st, so that June 23rd WOULD be the last day, but as most of you know I don't do math and that seems math-related so I'm just going to have to be thirty for seven of the things that I do. Deal with it. But Day 24 is not going to go down in the history books my friends. Between my exhaustion and the toll of the long work day, I did something I've never done before. I fell asleep at work. But not just at work, curled up in a corner somewhere, but right ON camera while we were getting ready to film a scene where the two main characters are in bed together. My sleepiness got the better of me and while I was laying in the bed, my eyes slipped closed and that was that. Fortunately I had Daniel next to me to gently give me a wake up shove the third time the Director of Photography asked for me to sit up and I was unresponsive. Pretty much the worst thing a stand-in can do is fall asleep on the job, but the bed was so soft I never had a chance. On the way home from work I felt as if I had short-changed Day 24 and could not really call it a day yet. So as I was passing something that is known as Devil's Tower on the WEIRD NJ website, I decided to make a spontaneous left turn and go drive around it seven times because as the legend says, some kind of ghost will appear. I drove around it seven times. Nothing happened. When I arrived home and looked up Devil's Tower online, it said you were supposed to drive around it seven times BACKWARDS which I definitely did not do. Sigh. Well at least I fell asleep at work.

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 23

When I was about eleven years old, a boy I went to school with-who shall remain nameless-told me point blank that he thought I was cute but he wanted to wait to ask me out until "my boobs came in" and since he had noticed that my mother had "a huge rack" he figured it was well worth the wait. Unfortunately for him, that genetic trait skipped a generation, so needless to say, he and I have never been a couple. I can't say I've lost any sleep over it. But boobs are everywhere! Moms breastfeeding infants, girls walking around Manhattan with boobs hanging out, advertisements with girls in barely-there bikinis and guys looking at them who have no idea what the faces that belong to the boobs even look like. We are a boob-filled culture! Which is why the fight against breast cancer is so important. Just like we wanted our MTV in the 80s, now we want our boobs and we want them healthy and cancer-free for ourselves, our mothers, sisters, aunts and best friends. A kick-ass group of women who I am proud to call friends have made the commitment to raise a great deal of money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and they're known as "The Tough Ta Tas". Last night I had the privilege of being a small part of one of their fundraising events while simultaneously completing Day 23 of 30 Days of Turning 30. We did a live date auction in addition to numerous raffles with amazing prizes donated by some very generous people and establishments. In spite of the inclement weather, The Tough Ta Tas worked the crowd, sold raffle tickets and raised an exceptional amount of money for a rainy and chilly Thursday night. I must admit I worked the crowd myself while up for auction, engaging in an impromptu pole dance exhibition in order to drive up the bidding. (Turns out my net worth is $100, but I blame the rain, because really did you SEE my dress???!!) It was easily one of the most fun birthdays I have ever had and I hope that before the walk in October I can do more to help The Tough Ta Tas not only meet their monetary goals, but to exceed them. I have never been auctioned off before but I'm not embarrassed to admit I have always thought it was a neat idea since I saw it on an episode of Saved by the Bell. Appropriate since Mark-Paul Gosselaar wished me a happy birthday on Twitter yesterday - I just like to keep saying that out loud for no good reason. So I may never be the girl with the big Ta-Tas (Victoria's Secret has AMAZING push up bras) but I can certainly help SAVE the Ta-Tas. Find The Tough Ta Tas on Facebook and make a donation to help Save Second Base!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 22

I've never been to a zoo. When I was about six or seven years old, my parents wanted to spend the day going to visit the cemetaries in Brooklyn where my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandparents were buried. They promised my brother and I that we would go to the cemetaries in the morning and then go to the Bronx zoo afterwards. But because of traffic (traffic in New York, what a shocker!) we were never able to make it to the zoo that day. I remember crying because I had told everyone in my class on Friday I would be going to the zoo that weekend and I had nothing to show for it. And now twenty some years later I STILL have never been to a zoo. It used to bother me but I've come to realize that I don't really like the idea of animals in cages and I think going to a zoo would just make me sad. When I was in New Orleans and had my tea leaves read, my reader told me I had a very strong empathy for animals which explains my reaction to our boat tour through the swamps in NOLA. One of the tour guides dug a baby alligator out of the mud where it was hibernating so that everyone on the boat could ogle it and pet it and the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way. I would have been happier just seeing them swim around in their natural habitat. Today I went for my morning boardwalk run and decided to try a different route which lead me to Spring Lake where I had the privilege of seeing something amazing. No more than a quarter mile offshore was an enormous whale putting on a private show for me, popping out of the water every few minutes, sometimes straight up in the air, sometimes in a graceful arc over the water. I stopped to watch for about fifteen minutes and then he finally disappeared from sight for so long I assumed he had swum back out and my show was over, so I continued on my way. But as I was running I could sense something out of the corner of my eye and realized my buddy was back, but instead of circling, it was almost as if he was keeping pace with me since we were absolutely parallel for the next two miles back to my house. At which point about six dolphins suddenly appeared and were also prancing about in the water. My only regret was that I didn't have my camera to capture it. There was no price for admission and the best part about it was the stars of the show did not have to go back in a cage afterwards.

That's it for Day 22! Heading off to bed, when I wake up, I'll be 30....

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 21

The first movie set I ever worked on was a little on the crazy side. Over two thousand extras running around, with me wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into for the week. At the end of the first day I had found Michael, an actor who explained to me the whole process of how to get into the Screen Actors Guild and actually try to make a reasonable living. So I put my head down and less than five months later I was eligible to join SAG thanks to a little luck on Law & Order and Wall Street 2 plus the fact that Martin Scorcese liked my glasses on a Chanel commercial. When I was in college I worked for the student television station, but I actually preferred working on the production side rather than being on camera. I wrote all the scripts for our show, assisted with the cameras and lighting, sometimes directed but very rarely appeared ON the show and I loved it. Maybe it's because I'm a little bit of a control freak and as an actor you don't have much control over anything but your performance unless you're also a producer of the project. I've been spending time lately looking up the requirements to belong to the Writers Guild. It sounds damn near impossible to get in there but I've decided that I'm going to give it a shot anyway. After all I never would have imagined that I'd be a card carrying member of SAG and here I am. So anything is possible! A few weeks back I entered the NYC Midnight Screenwriting contest and the results for who qualified for the next round will be posted in the next twelve hours. While that will not get me into the WGA, it could still be a significant step in building a reputation. But as most people who know me can attest...I'm not patient. So in the meantime I decided to challenge myself and do something I've always wanted to do but never actually made the time to sit down and create. Whenever there was a television show that I found myself really getting into (as in HAVE to watch or DVR every week and NEED to discuss with someone afterwards), I always had the itch to write an episode. Just to see if I could do it, even half as well as the writers who were giving me something great to watch every week. Day 21 I decided it was time to finally sit myself down, turn on the laptop and not get up until I had written twenty-two pages for a half hour sitcom. And when I thought about what show I wanted to pen an episode for, it was a no-brainer: 30 Rock was my choice. The writing on that show is so funny and smart and there are such great characters, I figured it would simultaneously be really difficult and really fun to do it. And the entire time I was writing I could hear Jerry Seinfeld's voice in my head, "You can't just write a Murphy Brown!!" But I ignored Jerry and kept at it until I was done. Day 21 completed!! I'm sure these pages will never see the light of day but at least I know now that I really can construct a story that resolves in 22-23 minutes. Is it funny? I'd like to think so :-) When I become a member of the WGA someday you can judge me for yourself!

I'm off and running for Day 22!! And don't forget Day 23 my actual birthday, the place to be is Headliner in Neptune, NJ from 7pm to 11pm for the Tough Ta Tas big fundraiser for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Raffles and prizes, including a live date auction with yours truly!!!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 20

The great thing about 30 Days of Turning 30 is that I never know where the day is going to take me! I was positive I knew what I'd be doing for Day 20 and then all of a sudden between work and friends being in town, the day got away from me. Sitting with good friends at the Trump Soho watching the sun set over the Manhattan skyline, we tossed around suggestions as the day waned and my window of opportunity grew smaller and smaller. Although luckily, we WERE in Manhattan. The city that never sleeps. During the course of our earlier conversation, we had stumbled onto the topic of television shows we liked to watch and Man Vs. Food had come up and it now popped back into my head. So I googled places that Adam had visited on the show and found one in New York City called the Brick Lane Curry House on East 6th Street. Apparently if you eat an entire plate of their phaal (i.e. hottest curry known to mankind) you get a free cold beer from the bar. I had no desire to attempt the challenge, especially since the website said something about signing a waiver for any stomach pain you may endure following the consumption of the phaal, but the idea of trying Indian cuisine (something I've never had before) plus just tasting the phaal seemed like a good idea. And I happened to be starving because we never broke for lunch at work due to time constraints at our location. My fabulous foodie friend Heather accompanied me to Brick Lane and to add another aspect to the mix, I told her to order whatever she wanted and I would try it. She ordered several dishes including: Naan with basil, Keema Samosas, Basmati Rice, Butter Masala and of course the dreaded Phaal. The waiter asked us several times if we were sure we wanted to order the Phaal which only heightened my anxiety about the spiciness. In Heather's opinion, the Phaal looked like poo on her plate and tasted like poison. The waiter confirmed that in fact it IS like poison. But other than the Phaal I thought everything else was delicious, my favorite being the Keema Samosas-fried dumplings filled with lamb and vegetables. I may never complete a real food challenge like Man Vs. Food but I will always be willing to try a bite!

P.S. My nose is still running from the Phaal. And my sinuses are super clear. Check out the video of my first bite.

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 19

They say nice guys finish last. Which would account for a lot of the a-holes there are walking around Manhattan (and everywhere else). But I think in terms of being nice you just need to find a balance and know when you need to be nice and compromise and when you need to stand your ground and be firm even at the risk of someone calling you a bitch. And I do believe that Tina Fey once said something to the effect that people will call strong women "bitches" but strong women get things done. So if that makes them bitches, so be it. I've spent most of my life being "too nice". As a teenager, I once got a standing ovation at my summer job for dropping the f-bomb for the first time because no one thought I had it in me. I'm used to being the one who takes a step back to ensure harmonious existence rather than cause conflict. Do you know what happens after too many years of doing that? The equivalent of the SERENITY NOW debacle on Seinfeld with Lloyd Braun (sp?). Just ask me what I did to one of my college roommates after she took advantage of me one too many times. It'll make you laugh. And gag. Which brings me to Steve Buscemi. He's played a gangster, a serial killer, a plain old weirdo, a bum on the street, and on and on. In reality he is a really nice guy who just happens to be an extemely talented actor. If you didn't know him as an actor, would he be written off as just another nice guy? I thought about this during Day 19, since the activity that I had never done before ended up being the act of pushing and shoving Steve Buscemi and yelling at him for an HBO promotion for the upcoming second season of Boardwalk Empire. I can't give away the details of why (you'll have to wait and see when the promo airs on HBO this summer but it's going to be really really cool). During a break I explained 30 Days of Turning 30 to Steve over at craft services and he instructed me to make sure that I got some good violent shoves in during the scene, which I did my best to do and hopefully it makes it into the final edit. So some 15 hours in the hot sun, head to toe 1920s attire including very uncomfortable shoes, all on about three hours of sleep doesn't sounds like a good day. But how many people can say that they got to manhandle Steve Buscemi at work?

I've posted a picture from that day, but don't let the smile fool you. I'm not THAT nice ;-)
Day 20 up next!!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 18

Since my parasailing adventure, everyone keeps asking when I'm going to go skydiving. And I keep saying, "let's not get crazy now." Five hundred feet in the air attached to a parachute was one thing, but the thought of freefalling out of an airplane still turns my stomach. That being said, I was in the mood for some kind of adrenaline rush on Day 18 after the arduous work week I had endured. While I was on the beach, I watched the waves-bigger than usual-come crashing in and the surfers padding out to ride them in, over and over again. I was toying with the idea of asking one of them for a surf lesson or just heading into town to pay for one when one of the turbo prop planes flying by with a banner advertisment caught my eye. "Helicopter rides today!!" It proclaimed, with a phone number that I hurriedly traced in the sand as it went by. Which in theory seemed a brilliant way to remember the number but my dyslexia got the better of me and I accidentally inverted two numbers which lead to a wrong number of some crazy woman who accused me of being a telemarketer and said she'd pray for me because all telemarketers are going to hell. She hung up before I could tell her I wasn't a telemarketer, I agree that telemarketers are probably going to hell and that she didn't need to pray for me because I'm a minister. Lunatic. Anyway, the plane passed by again and I was able to copy down the correct phone number and call to reserve a seat on the last helicopter flight of the day. When I arrived, I immediately told Tony the pilot and Vinny the proprietor about my fear of heights and how I had never ridden in a helicopter before today. Vinny gave me tips on how to avoid getting anxious while in the air and Tony cracked jokes to calm me down, even to the point of using my cell phone to call one of my friends and tell her she should drive down and take the ride with me. The helicopter was smaller than what I expected but the ride was smoother than what I had anticipated with Tony explaining everything, every step of the way. My only moment of panic was right before takeoff but as soon as we lifted up and headed up the coast I calmed down and took pictures and video. We passed over Jenkinsons and even circled around my house in Belmar (and I noticed from up there that my neighbor has a pool! I am so going over there with some baked out of the box brownies to get myself an invite to it). It was a twenty minute ride because that was all I could swing financially for the days' adventure, but I would definitely do it again and for a longer ride when time and financial funds permit.

I would tell anyone who wants to try riding in a helicopter to absolutely without question go to Ocean Helicopter in Lakewood, NJ. Their website is http://www.oceanhelicopternj.com/ and their phone number and email are: 732-256-9444 and oceanheli@aol.com and tell Tony and Vinny I sent you! (But don't worry I double checked the phone number before typing it so you'll get Vinny on the phone, not some crazy lady in Toms River.)

Day 19 coming soon! Can't believe I'm already more than halfway done!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 17

Today I made the decision that I would be vegetarian and sugar-free all day long. For anyone who knows me, that is definitely something new. Definitely not easy. And made me extremely cranky. I was always a really skinny kid. All legs and arms and awkward, so I thought being skinny was a total curse. Especially the way girls would always say with their faces all screwed up into expressions of disgust, "Ewwww you're so skinnnny!" Well to all those bitches who used to say that, not to worry, my metabolism has slowed down and my eating habits of old have caught up to me. I work really really hard to stay in shape and be a certain size and I never used to need to do that. It's a total wake up call and I have such huge respect for anyone who struggles with weight issues because living in this country where every thing is supersized in terms of portions and eating cheap and fast like most of us need to do, it's just not easy to always eat right. And of course every Hollywood starlet parades around with cosmetically enhanced boobs and a liposuction sucked stomach making us all think that this is the ideal body type. Which makes me want to eat a donut more not the other way around. Mmmmm...donuts.
In fact, I apologize for the brevity of today's blog, I can't even go into detail because now that it's over, I'm too busy scarfing down an ice cream sundae with a steak on top.

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 16

Am I the only person who watches medical and crime dramas and tries to store information for "just in case" scenarios? I cannot remember when I started to do it, but I feel as if every time I watch one my first thought is 1) Is this accurate information? and 2)I should remember this, God forbid MY bus crashes into a hazmat truck and someone has a severed leg plus is diabetic and maybe also anemic, while having a baby. And I don't even ride the bus! On the set of Royal Pains, there is an actual real live doctor to make sure procedures look realistic and that terminology makes sense in all the surgical/medical situations. Dr. Irv always smiles at me like a parent smiles at a five year old. Mostly because he knows I'm about to launch into another round of incessant questions about different medical procedures. For Day 16, I decided instead of asking him another long list of hypochondriacal (yes that's a word dammit!) questions, I would have him show me how to perform certain procedures. First he gave me all the basics of what to do if you find yourself assisting in the delivery of a baby, which was fairly simple. Unless the baby is coming out ass first. In which case, I probably can't do anything. Second, he showed me how to do a jaw lift, which is something that helps clear the airway if a person is unconscious and their tongue has blocked it. That also seemed pretty simple, so if anyone is unconscious and not breathing, let me know! I will save you! Lastly, he showed me how to correct a dislocated finger, which is still making me cringe as I think about it.

On my way home from work, the only place open to pick up something to eat was a 24 hour supermarket, so I grabbed my two items and went to the express lane where I found an elderly gentleman talking to the middle-aged cashier and caught the tail end of him saying "...just very uncomfortable...." The cashier nodding her head sympathetically and him shaking his head and rubbing his arm as if in pain. Armed with my new knowledge I barged right into the conversation and asked him if he had dislocated his arm or something because I had just learned how to take care of that if he needed some advice. He looked at me blankly for a second and then said, "Yeah I've dislocated my bladder. I'm incontinent." I then made a mental note to not impart medical advice in public places as well as ask Dr. Irv next week about how to resolve a dislocated bladder.

Day 17 on the way........ ;-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 15

In my early twenties (and I can actually say that now and be talking about something that happened at least seven years ago...freaky) I dated a really terrible guy. And when I say terrible, I mean that every single one of my friends would probably still love the opportunity to punch him in the balls. He was my first serious relationship and to my credit he wasn't terrible in the beginning. Just kind of awful. I chalk the whole thing up to inexperience and really if I'm going to be totally honest about the whole thing? I got played. And the worst part is that I ALLOWED it to happen. But I've gotten smarter and while I personally have no desire to seek restitution and punch Mr. Ex in the balls, I can see the kind of traits he had in other guys from a mile away. So I do think my time with him provided an education if nothing else. But back to him being terrible. I didn't complete Day 15 because of the time he took off for Atlantic City with his friends while I was attending a funeral for a very dear childhood friend. Or the time he left me waiting at the hospital without a ride home after having surgery. (Granted it was minor, but anesthesia was involved! Ok well it was just local anesthesia but still!). None of that irks me anymore. It's all in the past and it's fine. What DOES bother me is that I must have asked that jackass about a hundred times to take me to a drive-in movie in Warwick, New York. And he never took me! So for Day 15, I invited my friend Jackie and we drove upstate for a 10:15 PM showing of SUPER 8. The two of us were like kids in a candy store, getting excited the minute we drove through the entrance and could see the three big screens finishing up the ends of the 8:45 PM screenings. Although, remember in GREASE? Sandy and Danny at the drive-in and everyone is making out? I completely forgot all about that being a purpose and function of a drive-in movie until Jackie asked me why some cars weren't even facing the screen. A few SUVs had done so in order to open their trunks and lay down in the back with blankets and watch, but there were more than a few cars who did not have a hatchback option and were still not facing the screen. It took me almost the entire movie to realize what those people were up to. I guess I really am getting old....

I loved going to the drive-in and I looooved SUPER 8. And completing Day 15 was so worth only getting four hours of sleep before a 12 hour work day on Thursday. I'd like to thank Jackie for accompanying me to my very first drive-in movie experience and steaming up my car windows...from LAUGHING so hard! Jeez, what's wrong with you people??!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 14

This morning I sat down with my wonderful co-workers, all of us armed with our made to order breakfasts and iced coffees and posed the question, "Ok guys, tell me what you think I should do for Day 14?" Lots of suggestions were tossed around until finally Daniel put his hand on my arm and said "You need to do something COMPLETELY out of your comfort zone, I think you need to go on match.com, make a profile and commit to going on ONE date with someone on there." I balked. This was so far out of my comfort zone it made me a little nauseous. Of course everyone else agreed as I vehemently shook my head over and over, but in the end I went down and accepted that in order to grow one must sometimes do things that they really really don't want to do!!

In a nutshell, here is my problem with sites like match.com and chemistry something or other and kiss cupid's ass or whatever they are called. I cannot be summed up by checking off multiple choice questions and filling out little boxes with adjectives about myself (while staying within a character limit). I can appreciate that they are wonderful sites for people who work crazy hours, people who are shy AND most of all people who really want to get married. I work crazy hours but I'm not shy and I have no desire to get married. Uh oh....I think I heard a THUD in New Jersey. My mother must have subconsciously known I just wrote that and fainted somewhere. The wanting to get married aspect is what makes it work I think, what could be better than all the people who want to do that congregating on a site built solely to assist that in happening? So I'm not knocking that it works or that it's not a good idea, it's just not ever been for me. But I sucked it up after work and I went on the site and registered, and as I started to build a profile, it became my worst fear realized. Most of the questions are unanswerable in my opinion because EVERYTHING depends on circumstance and the current situation, and I was unable to give a blanket response. My profile is probably the most boring thing on the planet, since every question irritated me but I did complete what I said I would do and that at least gives me a sense of accomplishment. In the end it's kind of like jeans I think. No one style works on everyone's body. (Did you hear that Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?? You're full of shit!!) So match.com may have reached a point where they can quote the statistic that 1 in 5 relationships begin online and that's wonderful because we do live in a digital age, but I'm an old fashioned girl. And I can't cram some words in a character-restricted box to describe the savvy, intelligent, fantastic, passionate, strong-willed, kick-ass person that I am. You're just going to have to be lucky enough to catch me on the street somewhere and see for yourself ;-)


P.S. Speaking of relationships in a digital age, does anyone else notice that a lot of people tell their significant other (and all 982 of their friends) how they feel about each other on Facebook? Keep it between the two of you, that's where it really counts! Intimacy is not achieved on Facebook! I have this vision that some of them wake up in the morning and instead of kissing each other and saying "Good Morning," they each roll over to their individual nightstands, reach for their phones and say it on Facebook with a kissy face emoticon. Ok I'm done. Goodnight and see you for a very fun Day 15!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 13

Thirteen was my grandfather's lucky number. In fact he used to talk about all the random things he would end up finding while out walking the dog on any Friday the 13th. He was a pack rat so some of the things he would bring home did not thrill my grandmother, but occasionally he would stumble upon something good and once he even hit the jackpot. Literally. He came across a paper bag full of cash once that someone had left on the street. I think that would be enough for me to believe that there is nothing unlucky about Friday the 13th. Obviously, today is not Friday the 13th, but I couldn't help thinking about it since today is my Day 13 and today's event included my dad, I think my grandfather would have considered it another lucky 13 day. Most people know that I've been spending the last few months standing in on the TV show Royal Pains, a show on USA about a concierge doctor in the Hamptons. Awhile back I had told casting that my dad had been forced into early retirement due to the shitty economy (and an even shittier disloyal company-much like the one I used to work for) and they should use him as an extra, since he was a fan of the show. And today ended up being "Bring Your Dad To Work Day!" The entire way to work, I explained various terms and phrases thrown about on set that I knew he would find foreign. I told him to turn his cell phone off. To not speak to the actors. To not talk when cameras are rolling. And just do EVERYTHING the PAs and ADs tell him to do. Before the day began I was able to introduce him to most of the crew and the director of the current episode before I was whisked away to a tandem unit. Luckily I was able to entrust him to the watchful eyes of a couple wonderful people whom I've had the pleasure of working with time and time again (you know who you are!) When our tandem unit wrapped and we were reunited with the main unit, I came to find my dad being placed front and center by the camera under the director's specific instruction, looking right at home as if he'd been doing this for years. During a break, I asked him how it was going and he told me about how some woman behind him wouldn't stop talking when the camera was rolling, how her phone rang AND she tried to take pictures of the principal actors. Then he shook his head. If nothing else, my dad can pick out a flaming idiot a mile away, even in an unfamiliar environment.

I was able to watch the rest of the scene before the extras were wrapped and crew members continuously came over to me-including the director-to say how great my dad looked on camera, how professional he was and that he could come back anytime he wanted to work again. I think I had some sense of how parents feel on Back to School Night when a teacher says that their kid is pretty fantastic since I was probably beaming with pride the entire time. Working side by side with my dad made for a pretty great day and watching him see what it's like to film a television show (especially one he enjoys watching) was amazing, since he found everything he experienced to be utterly fascinating, which in turn made me realize all over again how lucky I am to work in such a crazy/cool industry.

Off to bed! Day 14 awaits....

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 12

I'm not your typical outdoorsy kind of girl. Do I love the beach? Yes. Dining al fresco on a seventy degree day? Absolutely. Roughing it in the woods for a week? Well...I'm sure I could handle the s'mores by the fire pit, but where would I plug in my curlers? Although I spent a good deal of time as a tomboy growing up, I have evolved into more of a girly girl. I like clothes, shoes and makeup, however I feel the need to point out that I DON'T squeal every time I see my girlfriends and I think wedding showers are the biggest snooze of all time and wish people would just have engagement parties so at least there would be booze to soften the absolutely mind-numbing hell that is a shower. Guys are so lucky that all they have to do is have a good time at a bachelor party and then show up in a suit at the wedding. But I'm totally going off topic, this isn't a rant about the ridiculousness that weddings have become (I'll save that for another day). Just needed to maintain that I'm girly but I still have some slight semblance to the tomboy days of my youth.

I work in an industry where looks matter as much as talent and the phrase "camera ready" keeps us all in front of the mirror way longer than necessary. So today I decided to spend the entire day going about my usual routine but without a stitch of makeup on my face. I'll admit I stared in the mirror somewhat disgustedly before leaving the house. Examining freckles that had come out from the sun, the circles under my eyes from lack of sleep (and concealer), a blemish starting to rear its ugly head on my chin, all made me start to think twice but I managed to pry myself away from the bathroom mirror and out of the house. First I went to breakfast with my cousin and realized no one was looking at me like I was some kind of hideous creature, which made me stop obsessing. After breakfast, I stopped for gas and I was tempted to put my sunglasses on but I resisted. Then I went to the ATM, a drugstore and a Dunkin' Donuts for coffee before going to Piermont for a run. By the time I got home, I had actually forgotten I didn't have any makeup on and started pulling out the cotton balls and makeup remover without even realizing they weren't needed. I know I've been posting videos and pictures to demonstrate most of my accomplishments, but today, I'm going to preserve a tiny bit of vanity and refrain. :-)

See you all for Day 13. I already know what I'll be doing and it's going to make you go "Awwwwww." That's your only hint! On another note, I'm getting so many calls, texts, emails and posts from everyone reading these blogs and I just want to say a collective thank you!! All your kind words have really made my day and I'm glad you're enjoying reading about my daily "adventures".

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 11

I remember being in elementary and middle school and how girls would refer to their friends as "best friends forever" or "BFF". But you had no idea who you would actually know past high school and beyond. As I've gotten older I've noticed that I get a gut reaction immediately when I meet someone whether or not they are going to be a friend, acquaintance or an annoyance. Maybe it's because when I was growing up there wasn't a whole lot of girls that were nice to me. In fact they were downright horrible to me at times and I would fantasize about switching schools and never having to see any of them again. My mom was always the person who said I'd get through it (and I really did not believe her) but she ended up being right. People grow up, some people change and some don't but you realize you don't have to put up with it. But in middle school, if someone is being mean to you or tearing you down, you're not old enough (at least I wasn't) to see it for what it was and overcome it. All of this is probably why I ended up gravitating towards having boys as my friends. Boys were simple and easy. As long as you wanted to play manhunt and you didn't scream if you saw a worm, they were cool with you. They didn't form clubs, or talk about you behind your back-in fact if they were mad at you they'd just tell you to your face! And that may be why I first became friends with Eric my freshman year at the University of Delaware. There was a whole slew of girls on my dorm floor reminiscent of the catty, passive aggressive crap I thought I had left far behind, save a couple (one of whom ended up being the most wonderful roommate my sophomore year). But in college it doesn't matter! I didn't have to be friends with these people! It was the most wonderful feeling! And Eric was the guy on the floor who I just bonded with right away and we're even tighter now, twelve odd years later. Which makes it appropriate that even though he lives in Philadelphia and has just as crazy a work schedule as I do, he made a trip up to be part of Day 11.

Unfortunately the weather was rainy and chilly and not conducive to any outdoor or beach activities but I remembered my failed attempt last week of doing an Irish Car Bomb at the bar and decided who better to do one with than an old college friend? Especially one that was around when you first turned 21 and thought you had ALREADY tried every shot in the bar. So after dinner, I went to the bar and ordered two Irish Car Bombs, explaining to the bartender what was going on and he graciously only charged us for one. We clinked glasses and while Eric finished it in one shot and it took me a few tries, I did finish it! Did I like it? I think I'll let my facial expressions on the video tell that story.

Onward to Day 12!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 10

I get a lot of flak because I'm one of those people who quote movies and TV shows ad nauseum. I can imagine I get annoying. In terms of TV shows, the ones I tend to bring up in conversation most are Seinfeld, Friends and Sex and the City. Today I got hit with a lightning bolt of an idea of what I would for Day 10 simply because I thought about an old Friends episode, the one where Chandler and Monica get married. In that episode, Joey was able to perform the ceremony because he had become ordained online as a minister. So I thought hmmm...maybe that's what I will do today. I found the website for the Universal Life Church Monastery and I officially became a member of the "prestigious clergy" today. Anyone need a baptism? Or to get married? Because thanks to the internet I am now able to do so. Armed with my new title I headed out to happy hour this evening to spread the blessed news. I found myself in the bathroom at one point with a girl who had a veil on her head and a 'I'm the bachelorette" pin on her sash that proclaimed "SEXY" for all the world to see.

Me: Hey, so you're getting married! Congratulations!

Bachelorette: Thank you!! I'm so excited, it's happening next month

Me: That's great. I'm a minister you know. So if you need somone to perform the ceremony, I can totally do it.

Bachelorette: Oh. Um. Well. We have a priest?

Me: Oh that's cool!! Yeah I'm not a priest. I'm just a minister. But I can still marry you. Hey! Do you want to get married tonight? Because I can totally do it! And it would be legal.

Bachelorette: Yeah. Ok. Well he's in Atlantic City for his bachelor party, so I don't think so, but thank you. How about if our priest can't make it, you can be our back up?

Me: Yes. I will do that. I will be your back up minister.

Bachelorette: Ok cool! I think it's so cool that you're a minister! Have a good night!

Me: Thanks! Yes you too! Try not to get knocked up tonight and pawn the kid off on your future husband! Bye!

So my first night as a minister and I already almost got hired to perform a very solemn religious ceremony. A guido marrying another guido. God help us all.
(Video to follow) See you all for Day 11!

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 9

I'm sitting in my apartment watching the lightning on the beach and patting myself on the back for completing Day 9 earlier today when the only hurdle was ridiculously oppressive heat. A friend of mine sent me a link today about a girl who actually pulled this off for an entire YEAR. From her 29th birthday to her 30th, she did something every day that scared her. I think it's really admirable for someone to be so committed. (cough, cough, SHOWOFF). But seriously some of what I read gave me some ideas for what I can do before my 30 days are up and I'm also open to suggestions from anyone else, especially if you're willing to partake in an adventure with me!

Today I went Go-Karting with my cousin and I'm somewhat disgusted with myself for never before having ridden one. It's on the ground, it doesn't go that fast and I'm the one in control the entire time. Really I can only attribute it to pure laziness. I attempted to take some video, but steering those damn things with one hand is not that easy. And to be honest, the entire time I felt like I should be trying to crash into the other car a la bumper cars. So it felt like something was missing. But it was easier than riding a tandem bike and it was definitely fun. I'll post the video when I get home from the beach on Sunday, even though it's a pretty uneventful 30 seconds.

For the first time I'm going to "advertise" an upcoming day, which will be my actual birthday (Day 23), when the fabulous Kat Murello will auction off a night of dinner and bowling with ME as a way to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk later this year. So get your wallets ready!! Do I hear $10??? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 8

Do you remember riding your bike EVERYWHERE growing up? I do. I can still remember how getting the training wheels off your bike gave you a certain sense of superiority. There were these twin girls who lived around the corner from me and I can recall riding my bike with the pink and white streamers past their house, my nose in the air because they were still riding in circles in their driveway with their training wheels fully intact. "Amateurs," I would sniff as I rode by and then I would usually fall off and eat pavement a few minutes later. I think about all the miles I probably logged riding around town for hours without even thinking twice about it and how now a one hour spin class kicks the crap out of me. We probably all could have been amazing spin instructors when we were eleven years old.

I honestly don't remember when I stopped riding a bike, but today I decided to not only get back on a bike, but a tandem bike, something I've never attempted prior to today. The brave and wonderful Heather Warren accompanied me, trusting me to be the one riding in the front seat controlling the bike. Stabilizing a tandem bike is NOT easy and if you don't take a turn wide enough you're going to "bust your ass on the street" as the proprietor of the rental place warned us. Luckily our ride was fairly uneventful, just slightly embarrassing that we got passed by a little girl on a pink bike complete with training wheels and streamers, scoffing as she rolled past. Karma is a bitch.

Check out our video of our tandem bike ride!! Day 9 I'm coming for you....

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 7

Due to confidentiality clauses, at this time I am not at liberty to say exactly what I did today, other than I got to dance on a stage next to a multi-talented singer/dancer/actress. You can beg, plead and threaten, but I just cannot tell you the specifics. Except that I danced to the left, to the left. And if I were a boy I'd put a ring on it. And don't ask me anymore, because my body too bootylicious for ya.
Good-night all! I'll try not to be so secretive tomorrow :-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 6

Do you ever have those Mondays where absolutely every little thing goes wrong? The hot water isn't working in the shower. You overslept so you can't stop and get coffee because your gas tank is also on E so you have to stop at the gas station. The check engine light comes on. You realize on your way to work that your shoes don't match your outfit. And to top it off you forgot your cell phone at home. Today was NOT one of those Mondays for me, in fact today was a beautiful day and I spent it working at a yacht club on Long Island with a great group of people. But it got me thinking about what I needed to do as my Day 6 "thing I've never done before" and I thought about all the Mondays where all those things HAVE gone wrong (and then some) and all you want to do is crawl back into bed and give up so you can start fresh on Tuesday. So I thought maybe today's adventure should involve doing something to make someone else's day better, even with a small gesture. On my way home from work as I coasted up to a toll I noticed the long line of cars waiting to pay in the CASH lane as I made my way to the EZ-PASS lane. After a moment's hesitation, I veered over to the CASH lane and waited patiently in line until it was my turn to pay.

Me: "Hi, I want to pay for me and the two cars behind me."

Tollbooth man: "You want to what?"

Me: "I want to pay for me and the two cars behind me, it's my good deed for the day."

Tollbooth man: "Do they know?"

Me: "Nope, I'm just trying to do something I've never done before each day for 30 days, and today it's paying this toll for two other people."

Tollbooth man: "Are you one of those believers? Is this part of some religious movement?"

Me: "Ummm no."

Tollbooth man: "Wow! What else have you done?!"

Me: "Parasailing, eating fried oreos, trying to instigate a cop, a bunch of stuff."

Tollbooth man: "You are a wonderful person! I'm going to remember you! You have a good day. I've never heard anything like this in my whole life! How terrific! Good luck to you!"

Me: Thank you!!

As I drove away I felt thankful that I DID pay the toll for the two cars behind me because I'm sure they were starting to curse at me for sitting there and chatting for so long. About a mile up the road, they both caught up to me; a young girl in a Honda Civic who honked and waved and an older gentleman in an SUV who honked and saluted. I smiled the whole way home. It really was a great Monday.
See you all for day 7!! :-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 5

I do believe I've been running just about as long as I've been walking. Most people who played sports like football or baseball growing up will always claim that running is punishment, but you are wrong my friends! Running is not just cardio, it's therapy (and cheaper than a $150 for a 50 minute hour therapy), it will clear your mind, work your entire body and just make you feel so good on so many levels afterward. In high school I accumulated close to 100 medals (now collecting dust in a storage unit, but still beautifully mounted in elaborate shadow boxes and frames-thanks Dad ;-)) and there is one I hold nearest and dearest to my heart. The medal I received at the PENN RELAYS as the second leg of an amazing 4X400 relay team when I was only fourteen years old was probably the most unexpected since I was so inexperienced at the time. And for anyone who doesn't know anything about the world of track and field, the PENN RELAYS is a HUGE deal and super competitive, so to compete well enough to snag a medal is totally brag-worthy. A senior girl who I idolized lead off the relay that day and as I stood on the line with masses of other girls, trembling with anticipating and anxiety, watching her make her way around the track, I was terrified I might drop the baton from all the jostling happening in the pass zone. Just as she reached me and I started to turn and put my hand out for the grab, I made eye contact with her for a split second. "Move!" she shouted. I moved. The entire race was a blur, it was almost an out of body experience and before I knew it, I had maintained our lead the entire way and passed the baton to our third leg. I walked off the infield in a daze, my body was still humming from running so fast, it was one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I had ever had and made me realize that running a race might possibly be the greatest high I had ever experienced. (Keep in mind I was only fourteen.) But it was that feeling that keeps me still running today, not so much to be competitive, but to just feel good and be healthy. This very long winded introduction is what leads me to my Day 5 new experience. When I first became a part of track and field, I ran with a team, then I ran solo or with a running buddy friend, never with someone I did not know. Today I was walking out of my apartment for a boardwalk beach run and encountered five runners stretching in front of my driveway; we examined each other for a minute, taking in the obvious running attire, Garmin watches, and ipods. I smiled, said good morning and was about to take off when one of them asked me if I wanted to run a quick 5 miles with them on the boards. So today was the first time I ever ran with people I didn't know and not only was it a motivating start to the morning, they invited me to run the boards with them every weekend, what's a better end to an already great weekend than new friends and new running buddies??

Back to work tomorrow, what will I do next??? Stay tuned :-) @ellesep

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 4

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a big wimp. I will always be the one to hold your cotton candy while you go on a roller coaster, the thought of going skydiving scares the living bejesus out of me and I'm the person like Kristin Wiig's flight companion in Bridesmaids who thinks something bad is happening when the plane is merely taking off. (and that's AFTER I pop two xanax and down a Scotch). So when I decided to go parasailing today, more than a few people were skeptical because they know how I feel about heights and the feeling one gets from a free fall. I once chickened out right before stepping onto the Tower of Terror down at Disney and had to ride the chicken elevator back down with a small child and his mother. He was sniffling and crying and his mother pointed at me and say "Oh sweetheart it's all right. Look at her, she's MUCH older than you and she's on the chicken elevator too!" He looked at me with his big watery seven year old eyes and then said accusingly, "YEAH! She's a big girl and she's afraid! What a baby!" Then he smiled really big. (For my friends who don't believe me when I say I find most kids to be supremely irritating, he is a prime example of the little shits that cause me to feel that way). But I digress. Back to the parasailing. My friend Sara had driven down to hit the beach for the day but little did she know that I'd be dragging her along on my little adventure. And she was a great partner in crime considering I got dry mouth and was hyperventilating a little bit before we got on the speedboat. The people who run Belmar Parasail are funny, engaging and clearly very experienced. And the name of their boat is the Belmartian! Before I knew it, we were up, up, up above the big blue ocean and everyone on the beach looked like dots and the houses looked miniature. The wind was pretty gusty so we got tossed around a bit, but the view was amazing and once I calmed down a little bit I was actually able to enjoy it. I highly recommend it to anyone who has never done it and I will be posting the video I took of my hysterics in the beginning and my pictures where I was finally smiling and thus deemed a member of the Smile High Club in the end. The website is http://www.belmarparasail.com/ and the phone number is 732-681-UFLY. I might even do it again this summer! Well maybe. Might have to fill a xanax prescription first....

I'm going to bed, being terrified is really exhausting!! But for tomorrow I have an idea of what I might do for day 5 and I'm pretty sure both my feet will be on the ground, not dangling 500 feet above the Atlantic. Until then! @ellesep :-)

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 3

There is little else that makes me as happy as a beautiful day, a drive down the highway with the sun roof open, 80s on 8 blasting on the radio and the ultimate destination being my beachfront apartment. I moved in today and have a terrible feeling that June is going to fly by and before I know it, I'll be moving out again, which is all the more reason to just enjoy every possible second down here. After unpacking I went straight to the beach and began contemplating what I should attempt to accomplish for day 3. It was suggested that at happy hour I try a drink I have never had before, so the decision was made that I would have an Irish car bomb. Except the bar did not carry Guinness so I asked the bartender to make me something original and he gave me a shot of sweet tea vodka mixed with God knows what and called it a Sweet Tea/Green Tea Infusion shot. For a second I thought I might be at Jamba Juice. If Jamba Juice served alcohol. As I was trying to decide if doing this shot was kind of a half assed way of trying something new, I had the most bizarre encounter. A tall, good-looking guy at the bar started chatting me up. And all seemed normal at first until he started talking about how he had to go meet his friends at the Parker House. Something started nagging me about him and I couldn't put my finger on it. Then he told me his name was Patrick and that he was a firefighter and it finally hit me. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my address book to show him an entry listed as "Parker House Patrick". And I asked if that was his number, he looked confused, then stared at me for awhile and goes "Holy Shit, we used to go out!" To which I replied, "Just once, we had sushi in Hoboken like 4 years ago." He then said "It's your hair, it's different, that's what threw me off. So do you want to come to my 35th birthday party in a few weeks?" Ummm Parker House Patrick? I do believe there was a reason that there was no date #2. And while I obviously can't remember what in the hell it was, I'm sure I had one. I think.

So without even trying I did something I've never done before, thanks to my run-in with Parker House Patrick. And in case anyone thinks that doesn't count, I also ate deep fried oreos for the first time ever on my walk home. And they were delicious. Tomorrow things gets physical. Cue Olivia Newton-John.

Until then catch me on twitter @ellesep

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 2

I threw myself out of bed this morning because I was determined that today's objective would be more stimulating than eating brussel sprouts for the first time. Unfortunately work yet again threw a roadblock in my way. But then I realized more than a few things happened AT work that have never happened to me before. First and foremost, the uber-talented Ted Danson poured me a cup of tea at craft service. (It was peppermint tea in case anyone wanted specifics). I also shared some fruit with Lynn Cohen who most of my female friends will remember as Magda from Sex and the City, Miranda's nanny/housekeeper. And Magda totally speaks without an accent in real life. Something I never knew. She's also literally a fly-under-the-radar Betty White type, which is so cool, because we all know Betty White rocks. One of my co-workers today suggested that I try to learn the ukulele because there was a ukulele expert on set for a scene but it didn't pan out, so maybe next time. At a certain point today I looked around and realized I was sitting in a room with Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Schwartzmann, Isla Fisher, David Rasche, Zach Galifianakis and Lynn Cohen. How often does that happen??? It was a first time experience, but I headed home tonight still feeling like I hadn't quite accomplished the goal of taking action on my own to do something new today. So as I was driving home(and it was only 11pm so it still qualifies as Day 2), I saw cars slowing down ahead of me on the West Side Highway and could make out a cop car parked off to the side with its lights off causing the mass of brake lights. As I was about to brake, like I always do in this situation, I paused and thought a minute. Here was my chance to do something I've never done before. So I sped up and changed lanes without signalling. Twice. I'm a bad bad man. I mean woman. So a step up from brussel sprouts but still nothing life changing yet I would say. Who knows what the weekend will bring??? 28 lovely more days to go

And P.S. It really irritates me that I blatantly disregarded traffic codes and did not get pulled over, and yet I got a ticket two months ago because a cop claimed he saw me with my cell phone pressed to my ear, when in actuality I have bluetooth!!

P.P.S. For more up-to-the-minute coverage on 30 Days of Turning 30, follow me on twitter @ellesep

30 Days of Turning 30: Day 1

30 is a big birthday. I think it may be the most significant birthday after turning 21. Speaking of 21, where in the HELL did my twenties go???!! I am older and wiser than I was at 21. Mostly just older though. Awhile ago I made the decision to blog every day for the month of June because I think it is pretty cool that I'm turning 30, there are 30 days in the month of June and this gives me an excuse to do something interesting, like find 30 new things to do that I've never done before. One new thing per day. I have to admit I'm not off to the most exciting start. Today I ate brussel sprouts for the very first time. I was not a fan. But it's something I've never done before so it applies, and considering I had a 15 hour work day today, I'm amazed I found time to do anything. However I can look back and be proud of all the things I've accomplished before turning 30, just the past two years alone I've seen and done things I wouldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. I'd like to write a lot more, but I'm exhausted from being up at 4am and it's almost June 2nd, so I will save it for tomorrow's blog. Today brussel sprouts, but tomorrow who knows???? I've got 29 more days to up the ante ;-)