The Bookshelf

When I arrive to stay at someone's home, there is usually either a note or a person there to give me a small orientation. At the end of it, they often say "make yourself at home." I think they probably mean that it is OK to use their pots and pans. I take it to mean that it is OK to read their books.

I love to look at people's bookshelves. Even if I brought a book with me, I can't resist looking through the books in the space where I am living. Back in the days that I was subletting my apartment to other people, I often received comments from subletters about my great collection of books, so I know that I am not the only one who does this. By looking through a bookshelf, I learn more about the person who lives there and his or her interests. It is almost as if that person introduces me to their favorite ideas and authors without even being in the room. While in other peoples' homes I have read everything from The Lovely Bones to Zen Buddhism for Dummies to The Biography of Ben Franklin. I could probably read the entire Harry Potter series without ever carrying around a book since everyone seems to have it. I even associate certain places that I have lived with the books that I read while I was there. In my mind, the place takes on the character or mood of the book. There is also the delightful pressure of having to finish it before I leave. Even though some of my hosts would probably let me borrow a book after I am no longer staying in their place, there is no need to do so. There will be more great books in the next location.

The Closet

Where I come from, cleanliness is next to Godliness, and organization is a close second. I must admit that I do not always organize my physical space, but when I do I love it. While I've been in the West Village for the past six weeks, I've had full use of a closet, a rare gift for an Urban Nomad.  Inspired by this closet and the level of organization that I have achieved, I have a few tips, tricks and insights to share:

• Organize items by type: Starting from the left side, I hung coat, dresses, sweaters, skirts, and pants. I have always done this since childhood. Not only is it practical in terms of having space for the longer garments to hang, it is helpful when choosing what to wear. Everything of the same type is near each other. 
• Adopt a color scheme: When I travel, which is pretty much all the time, I coordinate everything. It gives me options to mix and match. It also reduces the number of accessories that I need, since all of these clothes match my gray handbag and coordinate with my gray, magenta or purple shoes. 
• Don't be bland: Just because everything matches doesn't mean that it's boring. What's boring about magenta shoes? I also have interesting jewelry which is small enough and strong enough to travel well and allows me to change my overall look.
• Go for quality, not quantity: I have never had as many clothes as some of my friends, but the clothes I have are quality. They feel good and they last a long time. When I unpacked at a previous stop on my Urban Nomad journey, a friend joked that I am a homeless person walking around with six cashmere sweaters. Fairly accurate. 
• Have a catch-all: The larger cloth basket is a laundry basket that was here when I came. The smaller one on the right is my own basket. It folds flat into the bottom of my suitcase. I use it to contain all of the little things that would start to clutter up my physical space if they were just sitting around.

I will be sad to leave this closet, but I know that there will be new delights at the next stop on my journey. That's the best part: I get to apply my organizational creativity to a new set of circumstance. The skills go with me as I constantly change my physical location.

Neighborhood Bakeries

I am in my second of seven weeks in Greenwich Village. Although I will always love Union Square, where I lived for six years, this neighborhood definitely ranks as one of my favorites in Manhattan. It has a true "old New York" feeling about it, with narrow streets, interesting front stoops and beautiful old brick buildings. Over the years I have often brought out of town visitors to the Village to visit the interesting shops and to have a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery. Magnolia is the only bakery I have ever been to that always has a line around the corner and requires a doorman to direct the foot traffic in and out of the busy establishment.

It's a good thing that I like The Village so much since it will be the place that I have stayed the longest in almost a year. The last time I lived somewhere for more than seven weeks was when I was in Wichita, KS for ten weeks to perform in the musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" last spring (and even that was broken up with trips to Minneapolis and to Oklahoma City). Kansas was a wonderful place to be for ten weeks. While Wichita was no Greenwich Village, it had a surprising number of interesting shops and restaurants. My favorite was The Donut Whole, which has plenty of seating, free wifi, live music, and a wide variety of donuts. If you ever go there, try their Pumpkin Spice Donut.

Apparently one of my requirements for a great neighborhood is a great bakery. I will have to keep that in mind as I consider where to go next.

A Christmas Show

There were many reasons for becoming an Urban Nomad, one of which was that I was spending more time out of New York City than in it as I was performing at regional theaters. I always returned between shows, partly because that is where my friends and connections are, and partly because that is where most of the auditions are. The trick is to have a place to be in New York when you need it without it becoming a liability when you need to be away for months at a time. When I gave up my apartment in August, I had already started auditioning for Christmas shows throughout the United States, fairly certain that I would get one as I did the past two years. That meant that I would only be a nomad in New York City for a couple months before moving to a regional theater. But by mid-October it was obvious that I wouldn't get a Christmas show, at least not on the traditional time line. I reluctantly gave up on the idea of a Christmas show and started to make a plan to stay in New York until January. Just about that time, a friend needed someone to take over a room in her apartment. Her roommate had been cast in the Las Vegas company of the musical Jersey Boys and would be gone for a year. It was a beautiful room and the timing worked out perfectly, so I agreed to move in. The very day I was to move, I got a call for a Christmas show. I was offered the part of Widow Piper in a national tour of Babes in Toyland. Just when I gave up on the idea of a Christmas show and made other plans, I got a Christmas show. All I wanted for Christmas was . . . a Christmas show. That's exactly what I got.

From Subletter to Nomad

It all began a few years ago when I planned to be gone for a couple weeks over Christmas. I knew others in New York City who sublet their place while they were gone, so I decided to give it a try. I found someone quickly, created a contract, locked up a few valuables, and made some money with very little effort. I was hooked. Every time I was gone for more than three nights, I lined up a subletter. Soon I had repeat customers and friends of previous subletters asking to reserve upcoming dates. Subletting allowed me to pay my rent while performing in shows out of town for weeks on end. Sometimes I sublet without even leaving New York. Last summer I cat sat for a friend while I sublet my place. It was great, until I was gone more than half the year doing shows while the economy soured and it became more difficult to find the subletters. People were not coming to New York on business, they were not taking as many vacations, and if they were, the price of hotels had come down to reasonable levels, making my sublet less competitive. I advertised for subletters on Craigslist. It was a great ad with beautiful pictures of my place. Pictures that were identifiable enough that my landlord saw it and was not pleased. Sort of busted, but six years of a good relationship softened the blow. He said he'd love to have me stay, but if it wasn't going to be me in the place then it would be better to move. I plan to travel, perform in shows, and generally be gone so I said I would move. And then he asked me for the pictures of my place that he'd seen on Craigslist so that he could post them on his realty site. The very same pictures that got me in trouble in the first place.

And so it came to pass that on August 31, 2009 I moved out of my apartment and officially became an Urban Nomad. Late in the evening as I rolled my suitcase into the hall and took one last look inside, I noticed something left on the floor. Not wanting to loose any part of my deposit, I went back in to pick up whatever I had missed. It was a penny. Heads up for good luck. I'd almost left that bit of luck in the apartment, but I slipped the penny into my pocket, shut off the lights, and headed into my new adventure.

Homebase: Chelsea

Just moved my things to Brian's. I will be "based" there for a month. He and I both will be coming and going a lot, and only both there five nights out of the whole four weeks. I'd like to see him more, but it would be a long four weeks if we were really going to share a small space for that long.

It is extremely convenient to be able to have one homebase for such a long time. He has a great apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. I am excited to explore more of what is nearby.