MY THIRD WEEK

Friday 11th: Left my New York hotel at 7.20 am and went to get in the wrong side of the shuttle that was to take me to the airport and Nashville. An attractive young girl who was sitting in the van said to me, “Are you Australian?” I said, “How did you guess?” she said “Cos you got in the wrong side of the car." I said, “Wow yours is the first Aussie accent I’ve heard in 2 weeks.” Anyway, we started chatting the whole way to the airport and she told me how she had ben there for 2 months looking around and having a great time and how she vowed to come back. I told her I had been there for nearly 2 weeks and had had a fantastic time and that I was heading off to Nashville for a few weeks for hopefully a white Xmas and then coming back to New York. I also told her my daughter was joining me in Nashville for Xmas then coming back with me to NYC. She asked me where I lived and I told her Sydney and she said “Me too” and then she said “Whereabouts in Sydney?” and I said “In the Sutherland Shire” and she said “No way” and I said “Why?” and she said “Is your daughter Jessica?” ...To say my jaw hit the floor is an understatement ..I was gob smacked!! Chantelle is her name and she is one of my daughter’s best friends who was supposed to meet Jessica in NYC and spend a couple of days with her before returning home. Who would’ve believed huh??

The flight was uneventful and I was picked up at the airport by a great long time friend of mine Joe Lamont (who manages a lot of big name U.S. performing and recording artists) of whom I will be a house guest for the next few weeks...lucky Joe ehhh??

We went back to his beautiful home in Brentwood. I told him I needed to buy some warm clothes so he took me a place called TJ Max...Much in the same way we have a place in Oz called DFO which has a whole lotta stores which act as clearing houses for designer brands (but I have to say I’ve never found any cheaper than the shopping mall prices) TJ Max is a clearing house for all the brands such a Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, etc etc and the prices have to be seen to be believed ...Guess and Hilfiger jeans $19.99...Shoes reduced by up to 90% (and great stuff, not crap) Needless to say I bought a shitload...so I really hope we have a bitterly cold winter in Sydney...haha

Sat 12th - Wed 16th: Nothing of any consequence to report here..Just hung out at the house and listened to music and drank good red wine..Not all day of course...only at night..went to different shopping places during the day. Tried to get tix to Wicked in NYC for the 30th but could only get crappy seats so Joe called his friend Lyle in LA and as Lyle is best friends with Steven Schwartz (the guy who wrote the show) we were able to get the seats reserved for him every night..4 rows from the front dead centre...now that’s cool.

Thursday 17th: I decided I wanted to get out into the country and see and meet the real folk of this great and diverse country. I rented a “standard” size car for 2 days. They brought out a Mazda people mover and I thought not quite what I wanted but hey it’s high off the ground and that might be a good thing seeing it will be difficult at first driving on the opposite side of the road. The problems started when I hit the freeway!! I did a “pin on the map” sort of thing and landed on Louisvile, Kentucky... Famous for Mahommad Ali and yes you guessed it - Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Nashville. Well, back to the problems I encountered. The road noise from the tyres on the car was deafening once I hit 50 mph (80k) so I pulled into a quaint little town called Bowling Green and rang the car rental place and they organized for me to replace the car there. When I went to their other office in Bowling Green they gave me - get this- a brand new Pontiac GTS V6 Turbo BEAST. Oh my god...What a firecracker!!! When I overtook a truck at say 60 mph by the time I got to the front of the truck I’d be doing 120 mph...It was F-A-S-T!! I've always been used to relatively quick cars but this thing was ridiculous.

With my concentration level so high I was starting to feel tired about 5pm so found a Hampton Inn (owned by the Hilton chain) and checked in. To my frustration the internet didn’t work in the room and there were hairs in the bath...you know what kind I mean.

When I checked out the next morning the receptionist asked me how I enjoyed my stay and I told her what I found and they comped me...a freebie!!

I left about 8.30 am and thought I’d head to Roswell, Alabama then I remembered that the Roswell I wanted to see was in New Mexico...scratch that!!! So I just drove due west for about 7 hours or so and went through Idaho and ended up for the night in a lovely little town called Harrisberg, Illinois. The beauty of the countryside was breathtaking. Rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. When I got to my room I decided to check and see if my results from Macquarie Universty were there yet and guess what??? They were and I now have my Masters Degree...so good on me ..all that pain and sacrifice was worth it! It started snowing quite heavily through the night so rather than continue my trek I thought I should head back to Nashville as I didn’t have any experience driving in snow at speed so thought it the smartest thing to do. I was only about 5 hours from Nashville so I left at 6.30 am cos I had to have the car back by 11am. So now it’s Sunday and all up to date. Cheers. Standby for the next instalment ....Next Sunday..Oh and Merry Christmas everyone

MY SECOND WEEK

SUNDAY 6TH DEC Well got up about 10am and just hung out in my room for a while as I had been invited by Tom to go over to his place on Long Island and hang out for a while then go to his friends place. I walked down to 34th St to catch the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) train out to Douglaston on Long Island. The train, even though it's only about a 30 min trip, is like an interstate with armchair like seats and each carriage has restrooms. The further out you go the ritzier and the bigger the houses become. Eventually I arrived at my destination to be met by Tom. We went to his friends house ..what a house!!! A tudor mansion probably worth in the vicinity of 5 to 6 mil I was told. The way the houses are lit here for Christmas is really enchanting and quite often done by professional firms who specialise in this sort of thing for Christmas..so you can imagine!! We went from there to meet Tom's sailing buddies and their wives and they were a really down to earth friendly bunch. After several drinks I decided it was time to get the LIRR back to Penn Station and head home. With all the best intentions to get an early night I still stayed up till 3 am watching Cable TV and great late night movies.

MONDAY 7TH: Try as I might I couldn't sleep in so I was up about 8.30am and headed off to catch the downtown subway to the business district to see Ground Zero. After eventually working out how to get there I arrived to find a very sombre and respectful atmosphere there. It's hard to explain how it makes you feel but overwhelmed and very sad is probably closest to telling you how I felt. They are now building One World Trade Centre using the same foundation footprints as the Twin Towers with a memorial at the base.

I then rushed back to go to see The Late Show with David Letterman being taped. You have to go through all sorts of security screening (much the same as any airport) but the vibe was great.

Once in the Ed Sullivan Theatre the warmup guy comes out and does 15 mins then the band came out and did a couple of numbers to warm up and also to get the audience revved up. Then lo and behold Dave came out and did about 10 mins of standup right before the show starts taping... He is quite a different guy when not on camera..much warmer and much friendlier than he comes across on air..the guests were Ray Romano and Tom Hanks and some chick who starred opposite George Clooney in their new film. I had a great seat about half way back down the bottom on the aisle so had a great view of it all unfolding. I was very lucky to get a seat as they turn away thousands every day.

TUESDAY 8TH: Met up with great mate Di Hughes (ANATS State President) and her daughter and 2 friends of theirs at about 11am to get the open topped double decker bus tour through New York taking in all the sights and landmarks..Sitting up top in the bus was freakin' freezing I gotta tell you..Numbness set in after about 20 mins so we got off to find a Starbucks and warm up. We then went to the shopping district where all the fake merchandise is sold..you know..the Rolexes, Louis Vuittons etc, but unfortunately for us there was a raid by the cops only a few mins before so all the shops had a cop posted outside and piles and piles of fake Louis Vuitton and Chanel bags piled 8 feet high in the street to be gathered to be used in evidence.

WEDNESDAY 9TH: Made a last minute decision to go to see "HAIR" the musical..(the one where all the cast get naked on stage for the last song of the 1st half..Interesting with all the cast standing in line nude..bit of a penis and vagina catalogue I thought..haha.. Anyway the show and the cast was fantastic and at the end where the final song of the show for the finale is "Let the Sun Shine In" one of the cast members came downstage and grabbed me out of the audience to get up on stage and sing and dance the finale song. Crazy huh??? Only been in New York 9 days and already been on the Broadway Stage...Lucky ol' me!!! I've got to tell you the New York audiences are great. They are sooo into theatre..it's wonderful to witness it.

THURSDAY 10TH: Went up to the Apple Store on 5th Ave to check it out...Amazing...and sooo much cheaper than home. The staff there also fill you in on all the latest cool apps so that was great.. Back in my room now getting my act together and preparing for my flight to Nashville Tennessee tomorrow morning...So much crap to pack...Take care and talk soon

MY FIRST WEEK

Well everybody I've been here a week now and let me tell you this city is amazing. Every where I turn is some kind of icon I've seen in movies or sitcoms or heard about in songs..Ok lets start with Times Square..When I first arrived here on Monday night I wearily (the flight is a killer) wound my way down to the corner of Broadway and Times Square... for the uninitiated what an incredible sight.. Lights, billboards and people everywhere..it's just so massive and so vibrant and was still bustling even though it was 11pm. I walked around with Chris, an ex client and friend of mine who kindly picked me up at the airport, for about an hour or so but finally succumbed to jet lag and went back to my hotel and crashed for 10 hours straight.

TUESDAY: Got up about midday feeling a little more refreshed and started to explore. Started walking down W47th St where my hotel is till I hit the famed 5th Ave and wandered through shops such as Deisel, Abercrombie and Fitch, Prada, you get the picture.. all amazing places and so huge (like the price tags) then came back to my hotel to get ready for my first Broadway show Shrek The Musical (which sucked I might add)

WEDNESDAY: Got up about 10 am or so and just headed down 7th Ave till I hit 34th St where Macys is situated...what an incredible store..the movie "Miracle on 34th St" is based on the Macys experience. The range of things you can buy and so much cheaper than back home is amazing..and the number of staff is mind boggling and they are so polite..what a pleasant change. In New York everybody walks everywhere because its so much faster than catching a cab so the streets are constantly full of people going about their business and always in a hurry..well the locals anyway. Some of you may know that one of the plays I really wanted to see while here was titled "A Steady Rain" which starred Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in a 2 hander powerhouse but when I looked online the best tix were nearly $400; a little bit rich for my blood, so I decided to have Wed evening off from seeing any shows and just chill out. I was walking near the TKTS Booth, which is on Times Square and sells tix to shows that night at half price. It was about 7pm, an hour before most shows start, and I heard a scalper yelling out about 'A Steay Rain" so I went over to him and said, "do you have any decent seats for tonights performance?"..he said, " for how many?" and I said," just me"..he said," tonight is your lucky night I have 1 seat on its own 4 rows from the front dead centre and you can have it for $95" so I said ok hoping that I hadn't been given a fake ticket and ripped off... Well It was as he said and the quality of the production and seeing those 2 stars up close and personal was spectacular... they both, after the performance, did an auction on stage for the Broadway Widows Charity and sold their shirts to two very wealthy women in the audience for $10,000 each..It was a lot of fun and for a great cause and it was nice to see those 2 guys interact as themselves. They quite obviously have a great affinity for each other.

THURSDAY: I met up with an old mate of mine for breakfast David Jacobsen who used to be my agent 20 years ago and is here setting up a television pilot and scoping out some theatres for his dad Kevin Jacobsen who is staging Dirty Dancing here next year.

After that I did the usual wandering around and found my way to Trump Tower and then down to The Empire State Building on 34th ST..Both iconic landmarks..Unfortunately on wed night because of the theatre show I was attending I missed the lighting of the Rockerfeller Centre Christmas Tree at which Michae Buble performed live....oh well never mind maybe next time....that night, Thursday night, I attended a David Mammet play titled "Race" which starred one of my favourite actors James Spader (of Boston Legal Fame)..the play was a courtroom drama so he just played Alan Shore (his character from the show). The play was a tour de force performance and received a 3 minute standing ovation..(that's a long time for a standing ovation)

FRIDAY: I met up with a great guy named Tom who is a good friend of a friend of mine. He very graciously spent a lot of time showing me around. We met up at a bar called the Palm which is a bit of a power landmark in NYC and the walls are adorned with photos and sketches of every celebrity and star you could ever think of. (except mine haha). We then went to a famous Jazz club called Birdland to catch the famed Birdland Big Band with phenominal drummer Tommy Igoe and extraordinary pianist Kenny Asher (a nicer more humble guy you would never meet) Kenny Asher has co writen with Paul Williams, toured with Barbra Streisand and played on hers and Celine Dion's albums and his list of creds goes on and on.

We then caught the subway down to Soho to eat a restaurant called "The Lure" renowned for its seafood and a favourite hangout of shock jock Howard Stern (he wasnt there though) and the food was sensational. Tom ordered a mixup of oysters for me from different areas and water depths (can you believe it??) and there was a different dipping sauce for each oyster (bizzarre) and then he said I had to try a certain fish (can't remember the name of it) ..The waitress brought it out and told me all the bones had been removed from the inside and I should just eat it as though I was eating a steak...Well..It was unlike anything I have ever had.. a whole fish with seemingly no incisions anywhere and yet no f---ing bones ..how did they do THAT???? We then walked down to a Blues club called the Terra where a 4 piece band called the Michael Powers Blues Experience was playing... they were smokin' hot players and the vocals were great!

SATURDAY: A pretty cruisy day..went out with David again and his beautiful lady Caroline went back to Macys then caught the subway (all by myself) to my friend Chris and his partner Gissella's place in New Jersey which overlooked the Statue Of Liberty. Oh and by the way it started snowing while I was waiting for Chris to pick me at the station.. How beautiful..and freezing...as a footnote; when I caught the subway back to my hotel the guy next to me said to me "Do you know if this train goes to Paroma?"

I said "Man did you ask the wrong guy or what"

SUNDAY: Went to sleep about 3am and was awakened by the housemaid knocking on the door at 9am (I forgot to put the do not disturb sign on the door) so I decided to get my ass out of bed and get up to the Ed Sullivan Theatre to see if I could get a ticket to the David Letterman Show well I gotta tell you they just called me and I'm in...I'm going to the taping tomorrow Monday at 1pm...Looking forward to that...Will let you all know what its like in my next blog...Take care everybody and talk soon

LET THE MUSIC BEGIN!!

Well hi everyone just sitting at my desk with 2 days to go before the "BIG TRIP" trying to work out how to scam an airline upgrade and what to take to listen to for 22 hours of flying. Films on your notebook like Saw 4 and 5 are always good to stop people from mindlessly chatting to you on a flight..a couple of minutes of that freaks them out and you are left alone or they ask to be moved and you have a whole row to yourself.