October 19 – Day 43: Baby, It’s Cold (or Full of Allergens) Outside


As I noted in the last post, I slept about 10 hours and ended up feeling a little better. In spite of the annoyances of waking up every two hours, there’s no feeling quite like that of waking up, seeing what time it is, and knowing I still have six hours before I need to get up.

I didn’t have much on the agenda other than buying some antihistamine and a jacket. The last time my allergies started acting up, I realized that Benadryl and other antihistamines weren’t working for me, and that since acupuncture was, I might as well see if there were herbal substitutes to try. I did a search and learned about Quercetin, which is a plant pigment. I tried it and it seemed to clear things up in a couple of days, far shorter than the traditional methods. I wanted to find some here, so Yelp told me about an herbal supplement shop called High Vibe on 3rd St., so I decided to go there.

 No hippies here. (At least not today.)

With a name like that, I had no idea what to expect. There are so damn many smoke shops—what we used to call “head shops”—in the East Village that the very name “High Vibe” just reeked of patchouli and marijuana. Imagine my surprise, then, when it was a really nice little shop full of mainstream herbal supplements and organic food and snacks. The owner was sitting at a desk in the back, playing guitar and talking to a guy about music. He was very friendly and informative, took me right to the Quercetin, told me about some other alternatives, and I was in and out in about five minutes.

Even though it was warmer today (still not warm, but warmer compared to Wednesday), I was determined to buy a jacket. I thought the best place to go would be the Burlington Coat Factory in Union Square, so I hiked the eleven blocks up there. The store is in a huge building right across the street from the square, and while huge, it's also crowded with too many shoppers jammed into little tiny aisles. I located the jackets (on the 5th floor), tried on a bunch before settling on one, got into the world’s longest and slowest checkout line. When I finally reached the cashier and she was completing the sale, she asked if I wanted to add my phone number to the receipt for the return; I guess they get a lot of returns. Before I left, I made sure to not miss the store’s incredible views of Union Square and midtown from its gigantic windows. I was the only one bothering, though. I guess some people are just too busy trying on ugly shoes.

After that, it was walk home, rest up a little, then head for the show. It felt a little chilly when I initially left, but I warmed up pretty soon. I just missed the 6, but another (less-crowded) one followed in two minutes. I tried ordering a tea from Starbucks on the train, but my reception was lousy, so I had to wait until I was above-ground. As it was, the tea wasn’t ready (it had gotten lost in the shuffle), but I’d been charged for both attempts, so I had to get a refund.

Got to the theatre, sat and talked for a while, got my hair ready, and did the show. It was almost a repeat of last night: good show, YAQA. There were some initial chuckles (and Kraft got some laughs), but it was a “listening” audience. We did get a “bravo” and a “brava” at the curtain call, though, and it didn’t seem like anyone left, but who the hell knows at this point? We’re just doing our show, trying to make it better and more honest, and we can’t control how it’s received. (And based on the reviews, people are either going to click into it or not.)

Since the Dodgers were playing tonight (or supposed to be playing; seems like they never showed up for this particular game), I wanted to get home as soon as I could. I didn’t want pizza again, but a fried-chicken sandwich sounded good, so I checked to see how late Bobwhite Kitchen was open (11:00). I walked to there from Astor Place, ordered a three-piece dinner (small pieces; a wing, a drumstick, and a thigh) with biscuit and mac and cheese, and came home to watch the rest of the game. While I did that (and I was done eating), I caught up on the blog. Since we’ve got another two-show day Saturday, and I’m still not 100% (I’m better, but still not up to par), I want to turn in soon and get as much sleep as I can.  

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