The Economics of Diet Coke

I am a fairly healthy eater, but I drink Diet Coke. Almost every day, I stop at a news stand in New York City to buy a 20 ounce bottle of Diet Coke. The owner of the news stand near my old apartment in Union Square considered me one of his best customers. When he told me the price was going up from $1.50 to $1.75 he said that I am such a good customer that I can have the special price of $1.50 for the rest of my life. This could be an amazing deal in, say, 40 years, but no doubt he figured into that pricing structure that if I drink Diet Coke heavily for the rest of my life, my life will be somewhat shorter than if I turn to healthier drinks.

So here I was, thinking $1.50 was a deal, especially since it was already $2.00 in tourist areas such as Times Square. However, over the course of ten weeks as an Urban Nomad, I bought 20 ounce bottles of Diet Coke in Chelsea, Park Slope, Washington Heights, the Upper West Side, Astoria, and Sunnyside. As it turns out, Diet Coke is even cheaper in the outer reaches of the city. Suddenly, $1.50 was not a deal. It's $1.25 in some areas! Before long, I was horrified at the thought of paying $1.50 for a Diet Coke. I was stocking up when I was in Washington Heights and carrying them with me to Midtown. All this over a quarter or two! It's a mini lesson in economics, a story of supply and demand. Sadly, I've become an expert on the cost of Diet Coke but I don't even know the value of my stocks. Better go check on that. But not until after I start on another bottle of Diet Coke.

Bye, Bye Birdie

I moved to New York City in 2003 to do my Master's in Organizational Psychology at NYU. During my last semester at NYU, I auditioned for musicals that fit around my class schedule. Thus, my very first show in New York City was Bye Bye Birdie at Brooklyn Family Theater (BFT) in the spring of 2005. I played Mrs. McAfee, and met a whole crew of wonderful people. I went on to do Wizard of Oz and Snoopy at the same theater, as well as two touring productions that were produced by BFT. The theater closed its doors about a year ago, but I continue to count many of the actors and staff among my friends.

This past week I revisited that chapter of my life as I house sat at what could safely be called the epicenter of BFT. The brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn is owned by the house manager of BFT, and the upstairs apartment was once occupied by the artistic director and the business manager / utility player. Now that they have moved on, the upstairs apartment has been taken over by a former BFT actor / playwright and her new husband. They have definitely made it their own, but the echoes of the former tenants were still there in the red walls and the Victorian accents. Being in the place reminded me of read throughs, music rehearsals, and small cast parties.

Bye Bye Birdie was on my mind this week, but also on the minds of many New Yorkers. It just so happens that Bye Bye Birdie is returning to Broadway for the first time since it's original run with Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera. Performances started this week. Five of us from that BFT production of Bye Bye Birdie were in the audience for the very first preview. It was a fitting end to a week of reminiscence.