The Sadder But "Y"-ser Girl

"In New York, they say you’re always looking for a job, a boyfriend, or an apartment – so lets say you have two out of three and they’re fabulous. Why do we let the one thing we don’t have affect how we feel about all the things we do have?" –Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

Up until Friday, I very happily had two out of the three – the fabulous job and the fabulous apartment. The only thing missing was the boyfriend. As of next Friday, when my sublettor moves into my apartment, I’ll have none of them. 

I would be terrified, except for the fact that I just realized that I was actually lucky enough to have all three things at this point last summer, yet I still managed to find plenty to complain about. Such is life.

Carrie would probably think I’m crazy for leaving behind a life that I’m perfectly content with to spend a year in a foreign country. Sometimes even I think I’m a little meshuggah for embarking on this journey, but the reality is that if I don’t try it, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Besides, even Carrie escaped to Paris with Aleksander Petrovsky, leaving her apartment and her column – the thing that defined her most – while keeping only the boyfriend. And when Aleks turned out to be a jerk, she was promptly rescued by Big and realized that the thing she needed most was right in front of her all along. Please note, however, that this does not mean that I approve of Big's subsequent behavior in the movie, but that's a whole other story...

Along similar lines, entering the cantorate may seem like an obvious way for me to combine my passions for the arts and Judaism while maintaining my constant need for intellectual stimulation; however, it took me many, many years to come to this conclusion for myself.

And so, 08/08/08 – a lucky triple date – marked not only my birthday and the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, but also my last day of work at the 92nd Street Y. After spending the past year and a half promoting the Y’s programs as a publicist, I’d like to share some of the wonderful things I learned while working for this dynamic institution.  

Let’s start with this blog itself, which probably wouldn’t even be here had it not been for the Y. So much of PR these days centers around the blogosphere, especially since postings have the potential to be viewed by many, many more people than a story that appears in a print publication. I never used to pay much attention to blogs, but sharing an office with the Y’s web team and creating pretty paste-ups of the Y's blog coverage exposed me to the never-ending wealth of information that gets posted to the Internet by the second.

Outside of the office, I had many opportunities to attend programs at the Y.  Sometimes I actually sat in the beautiful Kaufmann Concert Hall, but other times I caught the simulcast of whatever lecture/concert was happening on a given night while running on the elliptical at the gym. Of course, I always felt weird wearing my sweaty gym clothes as I made my way through the well-dressed crowd in the lobby after the show, but otherwise it was certainly a wonderful way to multitask.

Some of the speakers I heard included Steve Colbert, Laura and Jenna Bush, Andy Borowitz (giving one of the most HILARIOUS lectures I have heard in my life – I could not stop laughing), Jeff Koons, and Tim Gunn. I also enjoyed the Lyrics and Lyrics concerts, one of which – the 1959 Broadway Songbook – was probably the best cabaret revue show I’ve ever seen – and I’m no easy critic! It incorporated the perfect blend of well-known classics and rare gems, making for an evening that was simultaneously educational and entertaining. I even had the chance to take the Y stage for myself, both in a master class with Broadway's Victoria Clark and in a solo recital for the 60+ program. 

Many of the luminaries who speak at the Y come as part of book tours, which means that sifting through the Y’s catalogue almost always yields an incredible reading list. I discovered writers like Calvin Trillin and Alex Witchel, and especially enjoyed A.J. Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically – a satire based on the notion that it is impossible to take the Bible completely literally in this day and age.

Then there were the personal growth and food programs, which fell into my own portfolio of PR responsibilities. In working on the publicity for these programs, I got to meet with experts on two of my favorite procrastination pastimes: crossword puzzles and Scrabble. As a result, my success rate at both increased tremendously! I also attended many, many incredible food and wine tastings, where I discovered delicacies like pesto goat cheese and strawberry rhubarb truffles – yum!

While I will most certainly go through Y withdrawal while I’m in Israel, I fully intend to return for lectures, concerts, and special events when I get back to NYC next summer. I especially look forward to visiting 92YTribeca, the new facility scheduled to open downtown this fall with programs geared especially towards the 20s/30s demographic.

My wonderful coworkers gave me the most perfect send-off gift – a yad, or a Torah pointer, which Torah readers use to keep their place while chanting. My tenure at the Y helped me realize how much I love working within the context of the Jewish community, and I’m excited that this gift from my Y colleagues will continue to guide me on my journey.

Did you guys get all that for the quote bank?

Oh, and props to anyone who can guess the musical theater reference in the title of this post…