Taking it easy in New York City

Whenever I tell people I’m going to New York to do some soul-searching, they seem a little taken aback. Shouldn’t I be heading to a mountain top or a log cabin for long hours of meditation? But here’s the thing: I’m an artist and New York has art, a lot of it. I don’t exactly know how much of it I’ll consume or create while I’m here, but I do believe I’ll be inspired and changed by the experience.

I chose to leave now, because  things have been slow in my acting career and I figured it was as good a time as any to leave town for a while. Interestingly enough, two days before my scheduled departure, some film makers I had worked with two years back called me in a panic and told me they needed me for a reshoot before I left. They decided the film needed some extra scenes to enhance the story, so I went from being in one scene to being in four. I wasn’t complaining, I delayed my trip by a day and we squeezed it in. We had a lot of fun and talked filmmaking and I feel like I left home on a high note.

I got a ride share that left at 7:30 am the next morning. I left Montreal in a cold drizzle and got dropped off in warm, sunny Queens that afternoon. When I got to my friend’s apartment in Manhattan, we got some food and then I basically passed out for about 12 hours, exhausted from my journey and the days leading up to it. I rolled out of bed in the late morning and took the day as slowly as I could. I decided to watch Rocky, which I’ve never seen, and I loved it. It was beautiful, simple storytelling and I completely fell in love with the character. I look forward to seeing a lot more classics now that I have some time off.

Eventually, around 3pm, I crawled out of the apartment and walked to Central Park, hoping to find some distraction. As I sat by the pond where I took this picture, I saw a familiar face walk by. I stared, she stared back. She stopped. I had just run into a couple from Chicago. Not just any couple. He was the filmmaker who flew me out there a few years back to perform in his movie. I couldn’t believe the odds. I walked them as far as Strawberry Fields and then we parted ways.