So, I was eating a slice for lunch today at the local parlor, not intending to evesdrop but was. The conversation which I was unintentionally listening to was taking place between some students from Lagurdia High School which is public high school in New York City.

They first caught my attention with their discussion regarding scholarships. I was impressed that these freshman, possibly sophmores, of all different ethnicities were so focused on scholarships, how much money they offered, and how many students could receive one.

Then it turned out that these students were in the arts, they started putting themselves in the shoes of the people offering scholarships and tried imagining what those people would most likely be interested in; whether it was thier looks, performing Shakespeare, their range of characters, a playwright, or a combination. They wondered if they were accepted into Julliard, would a progressive school like Julliard help them in filmmaking?

I mean really, how cute is that?

Their discussion changed into types of performances, and the difference between television actors, studio actors, independent film actors, and theater actors.

They began discussing their opportunites in independent film and how this is what they wanted to do and what they believed in...you can imagine the tears of joy which were swelling up in my eyes.

They all agreed that they were willing to continue their life without riches, being poor and working "skeevy" jobs in order to work in the arts.

They compared American Univerisities with Univerisities in Italy and other parts of Europe and weighed the pros and cons of working in film here and abroad.

I kept wishing I had a video camera and could have filmed their conversation, I would have went home and played it over and over again. There was something about these kids; they were smart, creative, well-spoken, excited, passionate and ready.

I finally broke down and joined thier conversation after they spoke about writing and re-writing scripts, directing, acting and how they were ready to join the world of bartending and waitressing in order to live as an artist.

I told them that they knew more than most filmmakers.

In all honesty, if I had the money to finance a film then I would hire a good producer to work with these kids and hire a filmmaker to document them making a movie.

In case anyone is interested, I did get their email addresses. So if anyone knows someone who is looking for a subject to document...look no further.

My family and friends on our Easter vacation in Mission Beach, San Diego...all dressed in our Sunday's Best for Easter

family and friends took vacation in Mission Beach, San Diego this year...here we are the day before Easter Sunday preparing and dying eggs

Salad bowl? Oh Superbowl, right, the Superbowl was last night.

I missed 'the Big Bowl' to see a night of improv comedy with my cousin.

We caught up with my favorite local comedy troupe and shortly after arriving I was in pain from laughter. Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live), Horatio Sans (SNL), Seth Meyers (SNL), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Julie Brister, Brian Huskey, Seth Morris, Justin Purnell and Paul Scheer were hilarious.

The best part was when attending these shows, you never know who is going to be performing, so we were extremely fortunate to have so much fun seeing these guys.

One of my favorite parts was when one of the scenes developed into a pitch meeting with Harvey Weinstein and Miramax. You could tell these comedians were all too familiar with the scenario, especially when Horatio Sans was impersonating Weinstein, his cigarettes, his Diet Coke, his speech and all.

It was really great!

Degrassi, Rad, OC & P.S.A. are nicknames of girls who I've had the good fortune to work along side. Our lunch conversations don't quite resemble those in 'Sex in the City'...personally I find these much more entertaining.

Everyday Degrassi talks about the previous night's drama within an episode of 'Degrassi Junior High'. She finds the show playing on one channel or another at some point throughout the night, and watches it online. She's in love with 17 year-old Craig.

Rad says the word "rad" in-between every other word. If she's tired or was out drinking the night before, she may say it twice in a row "that's rad rad".

OC is obsessed with the show OC. She has the DVD collection and is constantly watching it over and over.

P.S.A. ends every sentence with "so, don't do it"...meaning hard drugs. It doesn't matter where our conversation began; PSA has an amazing gift to always bring it back to "so, don't do it." We can be talking about music, movies, anything and PSA will conclude, "that guy was married to this girl and his brother's sister overdosed, so you see, don’t do it.”

Michael Moore saved me $10.25 when I went to the movies tonight with my friend Cindy.

Many moons ago, while leaving Lowes after attending the 1am screening of Fahrenheit 9/11, the staff at Lowes handed everyone a "one free admission" ticket. Pretty cool, eh? And no, my Republican friends, it is not bribery because we didn't know beforehand.

With the little wisdom I still have, I finally remembered to use the ticket, and it's a good thing that I used this wisdom because it's getting extracted on Monday morning. I'm sure The Roundtable folks will find the after effects quite amusing at the screening of Girl Wrestler presented by Women Make Movies - 7:30pm at the Millennium Theater - 66 E. 4th Street, between Second & Bowery (shameless plug).

So I'm walking over to the theater and I see a snake line wrapped around 11th Street and up Third Avenue at least twice. For half of a millisecond, I thought the second Star Wars prequel had been released. I quickly learned that the line was for a popular Filipino band that was playing at Webster Hall and I have a feeling Webster Hall's line scared off some moviegoers and worked to our benefit because there were no line at Lowes on a Friday night?

Neither Cindy nor I had read any movie reviews, therefore our plan was to see the movie which had not yet sold out. Walking up to the window we noticed all of the options were available so we ended up choosing by process of elimination while standing at the window.

In the end it was the right choice, we both loved the movie, it took us to another place and another time, it made us feel all those things which good movies are capable of doing. I'd rather not give away the storyline, the ending or hype it up.

I'll just say that after a week of Cindy's mouse problems and my mouth problems...we found our neverland.

"Imagery has a purpose but use it to teach. Once you consume an image it's always with you" said Gloria Steinem, one of the most influential writers, lecturers, editors and activists of our time.

Steinem helped found numerous organizations including the Women's Action Alliance, the National Women's Political Caucus, Voters for Choice, Choice USA, and the Ms. Foundation for Women.

My hero spoke last night at Columbia University's 'Bodies in Motion: Images of Women in Film & Video'. Both audience and guests were trying to think of one single image which accurately portrays women.

Last night I was watching the election at a bar around the corner with my friend John. John and I had a "so-called" bet, so I asked the guy standing next to me his opinion. He was extremely entertaining and we ended up hanging out with him.

After a couple of election hours he asked what both John & I did for a living.

John said "software".

I said "film".

He then asked "do you know Lee Daniels?"

"I know who he is, I saw a film he recently produced a couple of weeks ago" I replied.

"I'm doing some voice-over for him now, he's really great. I, too, saw The Woodsman a couple of weeks ago" he said. "Where did you see it?" he asked.

"Tribeca"

"Me too"

We looked closer at each other and realized that we had sat next to each other at the screening and he was the one who gave me an antihistime during the movie.

I had happened to catch a head cold, the one which is going around, and it hit me during the screening of The Woodsman.

It's a terrible time to get a head cold. I had felt fine before and all of a sudden I was sick. Although it seemed as though half of the people in the theater were also sneezing and coughing.

Anyway, during the movie the fellow next to me said "I don't mean to sound rude, but I just got over a head cold myself and I have an antihistamine if you'd like" and handed me the antihistamine.

As the movie went on, my head became more congested so I had no choice but to take the antihistamine even though I didn't have any water.

So last night while watching the election I was able to thank him for the antihistime which he had given me two weeks prior. Isn't that crazy?

I then asked what brand it was because it was the best antihistamine I had ever taken; it allowed me to get on the subway, go to the market, get some soup, tissues and go home.

He said he had gotten it from Cuba and it has yet to be approved by the FDA, but he has some more in his desk at work if ever I should need it.

Seriously, I can't take this commute much longer, I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day - every morning the same thing happens: I see the same people on the bus who arrive at the bus stop at the same time every morning and the same car passes by at 7:03am just before the bus pulls up, which happens just as a family pulls into their Dry Cleaning Parking Lot (all wearing the same clothes as the day before), at which time an old lady turns the corner by the deli to wait for the #75 and asks me the same question everyday, "are you waiting for the seventy-five bus?" To which I always reply, "no Mam, I'm waiting for the 194 to New York" (then under my breath I say " what the F', she asks me this everyday, am I really that undistinguished looking that she doesn't realize this."

I forget what day it is half the time.

Anyway, we'll be moving back into the city the first or second week of November.

Doing lines is a way of life; film festivals, the corner store, movie theaters, restaurants, bathrooms, and readings (?).

Tonight Cooper Union sponsored an event at their Great Hall, which seats 900, and is located on 7th St & Third Avenue. I have to admit they had one of the most outstanding lines I've ever seen.

Between the two major party conventions, PEN American Center presented STATE OF EMERGENCY: Unconventional Readings in support of free expression and America's core freedoms.

A distinguished lineup of writers - including Laurie Anderson, Paul Auster, Russell Banks, Michael Cunningham, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, Salman Rushdie, Ariel Dorfman, Eve Ensler, Jonathan Safran Foer, Barbara Goldsmith, A. M. Homes, A. E. Hotchner, Margo Jefferson, Edward P. Jones, Walter Dean Myers, Francine Prose, Monique Truong and others came together to read and raise awareness about grave threats to essential freedoms in the United States.

The free event was open to the public and was on a first-come, first-served basis.

I read they opened the doors at 6:30pm, but when I passed by at 7pm, the line must have been at least 8-10 blocks long.

This has always been a common problem with The Reel Roundtable's readings, once the word gets out it's always difficult to keep the lines under ten blocks. Especially because we simply do not like to turn people away.

Little did I know that a one-night encounter would leave me flat on my back and helpless for a whole week.

It all began last weekend in Pennsylvania with a Friday night rope swing,

and continued onto Saturday at my friend's white wedding

which I suppose would be the goofy version of a P. Diddy party with everyone ending up in the pool.

All fun and games until... Sunday morning when I awoke and found that the encounter with my cousin's dog Navin had left me with a little patch of Poison Ivy.

At first it was kind of thrilling for a city girl to have Poison Ivy. I felt like a hip outdoorsy type. We were hanging out, watching the Tour De France and I had Poison Ivy. Cool. I dig it...even though it was from the dog and not a really cool hiking adventure... still a girl can dream.

Little did I know that an allergic reaction would leave this outdoorsy-wannabe immobile for five days.

Monday I was working and it seemed a little strange that every time I would get up, the patches would spread.

After some Ivy research, and a call to my doctor/ friend I found that the spreading was not an illusion, it was actually true? She instructed to lay still, keep the room dark & as cool as possible, oh and of course to stay calm because any movement or anxiety would cause body heat, which activates the poisonous stuff.

Aside from the scratching, I was as still as possible on Tuesday while listening to the 6 hour long audio book The Rainmaker by John Grisham... so much for the outdoors.

On Wednesday the Poison Ivy had made itself at home by spreading to my arms, legs, stomach and back. Fortunately I had the three-hour long audio book of Ken Follett's Lie Down With Lions.

Both Wednesday and Thursday the itching was excruciating, even after executing every possible ointment and so-called cure, I was convinced the nightmare would never end. My only savior was Steve Garber and his six hour-long audio book Vertical Run, which kept me from going even more insane.

By Friday I was tired of feeling sorry for myself and was in dire need of some fresh sympathy. After making some pity calls I felt so much better.

The light at the end of the tunnel began shinning through on Saturday morning.

Alas, I'm overjoyed that my ivy-sensitive immune system persevered and defeated "The Poison."

Sam, the Time Warner cable guy, just departed leaving me with a brand new modem and I'm so excited! My old modem had the temperament of an old cat, "if you come near me, I'll lose my signal...I promise."

Sam walked in and immediately started laughing at my old and faulty cable modem which was discontinued soon after it was released. Although, he was impressed with my splitting job but shocked that I don't have a television and that the cable is for my computer only.

Sam said that cable signals can go down at any moment, the hard wire is extremely sensitive and "if a pigeon were to urinate on a wire, the cable would go down". I inquired why Time Warner had not embraced the wireless technology for their service, he said "you mean like Direct TV? I have Direct TV and I love Direct TV." Not knowing the specifics of Direct TV, I could only shrug.

Then he hooked up the brand new modem which is a quarter of the size...every bit of space helps!

After replacing the modem, he was trying to get a hold of a Time Warner dispatcher in order to register the new modem for online use. He didn't have the little orange Fed Ex-like computer because Time Warner's computer system, the Mallard, has been down since yesterday afternoon??

I had to clarify that information with Sam, "my computer's online service is provided by Time Warner and their computer system has been down since yesterday afternoon?"

And since there are 60 Time Warner location vehicles in Manhattan and only three dispatchers per area, my area beginning at the Southern tip of Battery Park City going all the way up to 23rd Street, Sam had no choice but to patiently wait his turn to speak with a dispatcher to register the modem.

While waiting Sam spoke about; the internal negative effects which AOL has had on Time Warner, other people's apartments & how he has seen everything - he said "use your wildest imagination and I've seen it", Spiderman 2 - which he liked better than the first one and Sam also gave me some advice on technology.

Sam is now off riding his Time Warner location vehicle into the humid streets of NYC to rescue his remaining nine clients.

Wasn't out on the town with iW, but it sure felt like it. My friend David, a film producer, was hosting a little party on Saturday night at his humble abode...and I offered to DJ.

For a few days prior to the party, David being a non-drinker, continued calling and asking questions such as; "how much alcohol should I have? what type of alcohol? where should I buy the alcohol? what kind of food? how much food?" David also wanted to hire someone to run the barbecue and bartend and could I recommend anyone?

As if I know anything about hosting parties??

The party was a blast; it was my first attempt ever at DJing, the barbecue was a success, the bar worked out great, the people were a lot of fun, David had a wonderful time and what was supposed to end around midnight....ending up lasting until well past 5am.

The very mixed crowd, which included the 6'8 Italian guy Vinnie, a couple of editors, producers, actors, my friend Cindy, etc...were dancing until dawn.

Since the party was located on East Broadway, which is not near any traffic nor any subways, we all shared a car service going home. The first drop-off was in Soho and I was the second in the East Village.

Said my goodbyes, got out of the car and was walking down my block when I was approached by a hairdresser from behind. He had mistaken me for his friend Sara and after realizing I wasn't Sara, he insisted that my hair was all wrong and suggested we go get some breakfast.

A couple of eggs and potatoes later, Chen Lo and I went our separate ways and I finally arrived home at 7am.

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Cinful and I were relaxing outside Cafe Mogador in the East Village when Cin's cell started ringing, it was my cousin requesting our assistance in an ongoing situation in the West Village.

We paid the bill, walked over and met up with my cousin and her out-of-town friends (a couple and their kid). They were spending the day together and my cousin was in need of quick relief.

My cousin used to party with them before they settled and had a kid, so obviously their habits have changed, but so did their language? But I do know parents who still speak the same as they did prior to parenthood..just not this couple.

Now they speak a little slower, a little louder and their sentences always end with positive reinforcement. Not just when they speak to their adorable kid, but to everyone...even each other?

So, we decide to head over to a bar to watch the Belmont Stakes and they asked me to choose the destined watering hole. We arrived at Kettle of Fish where they continued to tell me over and over how pleased they were with my choice.

(a little slower and a little louder than your average person)
"Elizabeth, this is such a great place, really, it's a perfect spot, wonderful choice, good job Elizabeth, good job. Really, I couldn't think of a better place."

I kept thinking any minute they were going to reward me by sticking a little gold star on my shirt or maybe even a doggie treat. No stars or treats, but I was rewarded, I was rewarded with a nice cold drink.

After watching the quick demise of Smarty Jones at the Belmont Stakes, Cinful decided to take off and although I was tempted, I didn't have it in me to leave my cousin alone with the suburban couple, so we all continued on to dinner.

While at dinner, I was looking at the other tables, most of which were occupied by Saturday night dates...tables and tables of people searching for the life which was seated to my left and to my right. It was funny because at our table my cousin and I were being asked "So, what are you two ladies doing tonight? Are you going out dancing? You'll be hitting the clubs, right? What time do you girls usually go out at night? Are you going to meet some guys tonight?"

The suburban couple was kind and really entertaining, but our goal was to simply get out alive.

If I didn't know better, I would think there was a helicopter party going on right now and since I don't have a helicopter...I wasn't invited.

Actually, the raucous is due to a huge labor rally (FDNY, NYPD and the teachers' union) which started at 4:30pm at City Hall Park.

This is the NY which I know and love!! If you don't agree, take it to the Hall!

So, tens of thousands of teachers, police officers and firefighters are demanding fair labor contracts with the Bloomberg administration. The teachers' union has been without a contract since last year; city contracts with the firefighters' and police unions expired in July 2002???

Come on Bloomberg...get off your behind and give the Finest, the Bravest and the Brightest what they need!

My cohort Van and I attended a reading last night at the Zipper Theater (336 W. 37th St), which is where the Roundtable's reading series takes place. Although I love readings, last night my primary goal was to check out a reading which was taking place on the set of the Zipper's new production Here Lies Jenny, starring Bebe Neuwirth. Since our readings are this Monday, June 7th and next Monday, June 14th, it was a good opportunity to watch another reading and make sure the props from Here Lies Jenny would not interfere with our reading or distract the audience. Aside from that, it's always a pleasure seeing the very awesome and accommodating folks at the Zipper, the lovely and talented casting director Caroline Sinclair and the phenomenal kid-casting director Kerry Lea.

As the reading began, it was a pleasant surprise to see some familiar faces on stage; a few of which who have participated in prior Roundtable readings and then a few who were simply familiar, such as Ron Rifkin.

Following the reading, we stopped in at a bar down the street only to bump into the Naked Angels/ Tuesdays @ 9 crowd, which is one of my favorite reading series in the city. Tuesdays @ 9 has cold readings of scenes and their premise is to have writers hear their new text read aloud by actors in a public forum. The unique and special aspect of Tuesdays @ 9 is the strong community which they have built made up of primarily creative writers and talented actors. So, we were fortunate to run into some of our friends from Tuesdays; actress Stephanie Brooke, actor Randy Ryan, Joe Hurley of the Irish Echo, and Joe Danisi of Tuesdays @ 9.

(www.nakedangels.com/tuesday.asp)

Writing amongst the iW bloggers is one thing, going out with them is a whole other story.

Last night began at the DGA when a friend and I watched the final evening of films presented by the Columbia University Film Festival.

To make a long and colorful story short; I awoke to my mother's voice saying "wake up, the Verizon guy is outside" on my answering machine, opened my eyes and saw a well-endowed shirtless woman lying next to me, I looked to my left and saw The Rabbi sound asleep.

FYI: Both the Rabbi and I were fully clothed...honestly.

I'd go into detail but my storytelling skills are, quite frankly, undesirable.

Now I know to take extra precaution when in the company of a Texan, a Floridian and a few NYers.

I haven't been to a comedy club in such a long time, it's as though "movie listings" are my brain's default setting. I went to this new comedy club Laugh Lounge (151 Essex Street) on the Lower East Side. It has a really cool, hip bar upstairs and the performance space is downstairs. I went with my buddy, Michael (writer & producer of BAD MEAT) who was going to support his extremely talented stand-up comedian friend, Ben Bailey. The actors performing at Laugh Lounge were all top comics and really hilarious.

And I feel like sharing one of their jokes..."I am so ready for the warm weather, my brain is completely fried, especially at the end of the week. Last Friday, I was on the subway platform waiting for the "C" train and I notice a guy standing on the platform with his hand in the air. He was hailing the subway!! I felt for him, I really did, because I know that as bad I am, I'm not as bad as him. The train pulls up, he looks at me and I said he should take it, he saw it first, I'll wait for the next train."

Last night, I enjoyed some tasty Tapas at El Cid (322 W. 15th St, betwn 8th and 9th Avenues) with my ole friend Bill. After delicious sangria, we decided to stop by a party which he had been invited to at the PM Lounge on 50 Gansevoort Street. It was a fashion party promoting La Perle, an Italian lingerie designer, and La Perle's new line of lingerie. After being surrounded by 6 ft beautiful models and swooning Euro guys, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sturgis from the Vail Film Festival, Terry from the Fleadh Film Festival and NY1's movie reviewer Neil Rosen.

When arriving back to my neighborhood, I had a sudden desire to cleanse my inner self, so I stopped into the local dive bar for a $3 Budweiser. Ahhh, what a relief. Inside the dive; there were a few neighbors, folks from the 'hood, and a former indie filmmaker. So, after an evening of swooning...or watching others swooning in the Meat Packing District, it was so refreshing to hear some real stories and end my night listening to the trials and tribulations of indie filmmaking.