Lights, camera, EAT!

Free food?! You know we're there. 4 Courses?! Hot dang, we're classy! ON TV!? Sign me up! This may be my big break! Next up Real World and then a career on Real World/Road Rules challenges followed up by a couple seasons of The Surreal Life. Ahhhhh, you all want to see me living and pay me to do it!

Our entry and drink tickets

So apparently there's some new reality show coming up on the Food Network called The Restaurant. I'm not really sure what the details are but it appears that there are 2 competing restaurants or some such a thing. Anyways, as audience members/food eaters our job was to go have a 4 course dinner at 3pm! All the while a camera man and a boom mike hovered around to catch our witty and insightful conversation. We discussed politics, the effects of the Greek economic reforms on the stability of the Euro, the delayed responses to the oil rig sinking in the gulf coast, oh and our endless barrage of beige food.

But let me take a step back. While we waited for our meal, we were told we would be able to pick between 2 restaurants based on their menus. But when we got into the studio we were told we had to go to the yellow restaurant because the other one was too full (note: that's probably a bad sign). The menu actually looked pretty good, seasonal Italian vegetarian dishes. But it turned out to not be so great.

As mentioned above, everything was beige, which doesn't effect the taste but certainly doesn't help. Other items were cold, or occasionally piping hot, and the eggplant Parmesan was lasagna. I don't know if telling you all that violates the confidentiality agreement I think I signed. Hopefully I get told to take down this post because it would mean that people actually read this. I mean honestly the food wasn't terrible, because I was starving and like eating food, but it was definitely underwhelming. Also it was the sweetest dessert I've ever had in the worst way. It was the only part of the meal I really couldn't stomach. It will be fun to watch the show to see what happened in the kitchen and what the judges think. Oh and also it will be fun to see myself on TV.

OH! And the best part of the whole thing was when the girl at the table next to us spit out her drink while she was on camera! (Oh yeah, we also got free booze). SPIT OUT HER DRINK ON CAMERA! Freaking incredible! And then the girl that she was eating with tried to cover for her by saying "It must be all the carbs" HOLY CRAP IT WAS AWESOME. I hope it gets on TV and edited to be about the food being gross or something. Aw man, it totally made the day worth it. That and being on TV.

They WANT You to Be Judgemental!

Brian and I finally experienced the ever-so-hoppin' Hammerstein Ballroom--just steps away from his apartment!  After visiting the On Camera Audiences website, we got free tickets to the taping of "America's Got Talent".

Sadly... America does not have talent.  The opening act was a woman bouncing up and down while strapped to a harness hanging from the stage ceiling...

Yeah.

The acts to follow, while less disturbing, were equally unimpressive.  Mostly people singing out of tune :(

I'll be honest though.  The whole thing kind of made me sad.  People get all excited about making their big break on this show and are met with loud mean buzzers and people yelling "Boo" with their arms crossed in the air.  Sad.

We saw maybe 2 good acts and like 6 bad ones and were out of there pretty quick.  It was an enjoyable experience and well worth the money we paid (bazinga) but we could only bear so much.

On the bright side, Sharon Osborne was a judge and she is just wonderful.  The host Nick Cannon, the other judge Howie Mendel and that one British judge were also there... but pish posh.  Go Sharon!

And that's the story.

Attend the NFL Draft!

Ever wanted to cheer on your team at the big game?? Well this is like that but more like listening to your team call someone's name once every couple hours! Woo!

The NFL draft takes place at Thursday 4/22-4/24 at Radio City Music Hall and tickets are free, you just need to wait in line! Woo!

But are"very limited" Boo.

But if you don't want to wait in line you can sign up for tickets here! Woo!

But they're only for the 2-3 or 4-7 rounds. Boo.

Or if you want to attend rounds 4-7 you can just show up at 9am on Saturday! Woo!

But it's at 9am on Saturday. Boo.

If you don't want to wait in line and still get into Round 1 you can purchase a package that includes all 3 days, including lunch! Woo!

The package costs $449. Boo.

Tax is included in the cost! Woo!

It's still $449. Boo.

So there ya go. That's the run down of the 2010 NFL draft. In addition to the occasional name calling, the draft will try to keep you occupied with some signings and cheerleaders and things. It could be a fun time, if you can get your ticket!

Papa Papa Paparazzi

Oh you know, it's New York City so we hang out with famous people on weeknights.

First: Wes Anderson on a Manic Monday
While designing some top secret new handbags, Windnie found some time to cruise the twittelator at work... only to discover there was a screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox at the MoMA followed by a Q&A with Wes Anderson! GASP! (thanks @pulsejfk). This was exciting for 2 reasons: 1) Wes Anderson seems like a kool kat and 2) Movies in NYC usually cost like $12 and we could get into this one for $6! Somehow MoMA thought it would make going to the movies more awesome and then lower the price. They're just so modern.

We sweat it out for awhile in the standby line while Windnie played with her new iPhone and ignored me. Just kidding, she only ignored me a little. So as you may have guessed we did eventually get into the screening! The movie was pretty great! It was both a great family film and a Wes Anderson film. Every good parent should start their kids on Wes Anderson young :) Once the film was over Wes Anderson popped out of the audience and ran up to the stage to talk to us! (Windnie wants to make sure to note that he was wearing a sweet taupe-ish corduroy suit, what a little fashion designer she is!)

Wes seemed like a pretty normal guy and was happy to answer lots of questions from the audience. He said he was surprised to get Meryl Streep to be in the film, but that it was easy to get Jason Schwartzman, Ha. Perhaps the most interesting comment was that George Clooney and Bill Murray became good friends while filming and he believes they have such a good rapport that they should definitely make a movie together. You heard it here first!

If you're in the city be sure to check out the upcoming films in The Contenders series. These films are all less than 12 months old and MoMA thinks they're going to be remembered for a long time. The lineup looks pretty solid to me! And don't forget that student ID! Also the movie ticket price can be applied to the cost of admission to the MoMA within 30 days of purchase! This may be a good option if you don't want to fight the crowds during the free Fridays!

Hello Wes!

Second: Joe Buck and His Stage of Sporting Spectaculars on a Typical Tuesday

So after one celebrity citing on Monday we decided to up the ante on Tuesday. We attended our second freeeee filming of Joe Buck Live. Though our seats were a bit worse than last time (when we had to make sure our heads didn't get clipped by the center stage camera), we still had a good time hanging out with Joe Buck, Brian Westbrook, Brian Urlacher, Pedro Martinez, Floyd Mayweather, and Michael Strahan! After the Brian's talked about how awesome it is being named Brian (Just kidding, we don't need to remind everyone of our awesomeness, they mostly talked about concussions), Pedro talked about how he really loved New York and basically ended up charming the crowd who had booed him on the way in. Last up Floyd Mayweather talked about how amazing he was and Michael Strahan was psyched about it. (You heard it here first: Floyd is going to beat Marquez, he told me so). It was good times :) Both guys were hilarious and charismatic and it's easy to see that they have big futures away from their respective sports. But don't take it from me... take it from surprise guest: "Marky" Mark Wahlburg! Yeah, we just upped the celebrity ante some more. We're cool like that.

Hello annoying camera contraption!
(we forgot to take pictures while people were actually on stage...)

So if you want to be cool like us, you should come along next time! We're on the mailing list now so we find out as soon as tickets become available! And let us know if you've got ideas for more free/cheap events, or have topics you want us to explore! We'd also love to join you in your freevents and vice versa!

Until next time,
Later days!

Who wants to be on TV?

What did you do with your Wednesday night? I spent mine with Windnie at a FREE live taping of Comedy Central presents! Actually it was 2 episodes, we all had to switch seats in between sets so all y'all wouldn't get suspicious when you watch them on TV. Anyway, we got to enjoy the comedic stylings of Bret Ernst and Benjamin Owen. I thought I had heard of Benjamin Owen before but now I don't think so. But it was fun and mostly funny and maybe we'll be on TV! We were seated in the 2nd row and then the 1st row but off to one side of the stage. We actually had better seats before we were deemed not pretty enough and vanquished to stage left. (I'm not exactly sure that's what happened but I guess some guy and his kids were more important or something, they were lame and didn't laugh that much by the way... watch the episodes and look for the uncool kids and imagine my pretty laughing face instead)

All you faithful blog followers may be thinking, this is the 2nd free live taping you've been to! How do you do it??? Good thing I'm here and can tell you everything I know!

Generally not so much! I found out about the Joe Buck Live taping from tweetjfk on Twitter and I found out about Comedy Central through Timeout New York. Both are good resources for free things going on in the city and will keep you busy for cheap any day of the week, but that's a post for another time.

So here's what I know:
1. First of all live tapings don't necessarily happen at the time the show airs. Actually they usually don't. Live TV is risky business and people are wusses. So with that in mind most late night shows tape in the middle of the day which probably won't work with your work schedule but will work just fine if you're unemployed or just visiting!

2. The best place to get tickets is from the shows themselves. Their websites have instructions, some of which require you to mail them a self addressed stamped envelope (you'll feel special when you get a letter from yourself!), but others that have gone digital. Networks also have instructions for many of their shows and sometimes a 3rd party is in charge of ticketing such as http://www.ocatv.com/shows/

3. Plan ahead! Last time I checked the Daily Show's website there were no free dates listed for the next couple months. Saturday Night Live only accepts requests in August though the season doesn't begin until September. While flexibility is a generally good you'll still have to list specific dates so know when you're going to be available.

4. If you're a last minute sorta lady or fella (like yours truly) be ready to wait. Often times standby tickets are available the day of a show. Be ready to show up early, be ready to wait, and there are no guarantees! Once again, for you working folks this may be out of the question but all you bums go for it!

Here's a list of shows filmed in NYC. Obviously not all have a live studio audience but maybe you can stop by their filming anyway and maybe even get thrown in a scene as an extra? I dunno if that actually happens though I may swing by the Rescue Me filming happening down the street tomorrow to find out...

TV Shows Filmed in NYC

That's what I know, I hope you learned a little though I know it's not much. Hopefully in the coming months I'll figure out some new insight on how to get you into your favorite shows. And if you've got any tips clue me in! I like free and I like being on TV!

Introductions

This is Windnie and Brian speaking... just two kids who moved to New York City and refuse to let lack of funds interfere with our fun.  We hear it's tough to live cheaply here, especially in this economy (blah blah blah), but we're here to prove that with a little research and imagination you can enjoy the Big Apple on an itty bitty budget.  People are often surprised by all the free and cheap things we discover.  We kinda surprise ourselves sometimes, but here we are to share our finds with you.  Maybe with a little help from us, you too can pay rent and feed your tummies with a little room left over now and then for some fun :)

 (This blog also helps appease our friends and family back home who want to know why we're not calling daily to update them on our whereabouts, HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILY!)


We've got things to do today (It's Halloween and we need to figure out cheap costumes) but we thought we should start by catching you up on some of the cheap fun we've had in the 2 months since Brian moved up here:

Joe Buck Live: We got free tix to see Joe Buck Live which is an HBO show that airs once every three months or something. Our seats were directly underneath the center stage camera so anytime someone wanted to look into the camera it was like they were staring into our souls. Guests included: Dan Marino, John Elway, Joe Namath, Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, and Curt Shilling. (FYI Windnie didn't know who most of these people were- except Mark Cuban who she hates! But sometime you have to suck it up in the name of free!)

Old Navy Pumpkin Patch: Last weekend Old Navy had a free pumpkin patch in the middle of the Meatpacking District. We decorated  free pumpkins, and ate free candy, popcorn, cotton candy (but skipped the apples and pears). We also got to meet their creepy mannequins. OH! Brian also posed in one of those face cut out boards as a small, black girl :)

Upright Citizens Brigade: Every New Yorker/visitor should know about this place. All their shows are cheap ($5, $10), but some are also free including the late show on Sunday night. It's improv comedy with some funny folks including members of SNL and 30 Rock. Right now Horatio Sans is a regular, last year Amy Pohler was too. And sometimes other guests stop by including a lot of writers for shows you know and love. Last summer we even saw the Mac guy, Justin Long, taking in a show (He's cheap too I guess).

TGIFridays: We all know NYC is expensive and even cheap standards like the dollar menu are bastardized here, but occasionally national chains run their promotions in the city making them even more incredible! This includes Subway's $5 footlong and Burger King's $1 Whopper Jr (I also found a corporate BK with better prices than all of the other BK's). But the greatest story of this type of deal is one night at TGIFridays... I found out that there was a promotion for $5 Jack Daniel's burger or chicken sandwich. We show up and look at the menu, these sandwhichs are usually $18! The deal isn't listed anywhere but our server reluctantly says that they'll honor the deal. The menu says the sandwich comes with either fries or a side salad and we both opt for the side salad. Next thing we know, huge side salads are placed in front of us which we eagerly eat. Then comes our entrees... with a full side of fries! We were a little concerned about how this was all going to be charged on our bill (cause we're cheap) so we asked for some clarification. Turns out the deal was only for sandwich and fries and the server thought we wanted the side salads extra. Now we like salad and all but these things were on the menu at $7 each, noooo thanks. Our server said he had planned to cut us a deal and only charge us $3 for each (which was awefully nice of him since he just planned on doing it on his own before we asked or anything) but then decided since we didn't really order them that he would give us one free! And that my friends is how you get $50 worth of food for $15. Nom nom nom.


Seedy Seeds: We're too cheap to go pay for most shows but Cincinnati's own Seedy Seeds were in town for the CMJ festival and staying with our buddy Robert May! At the end of their stay they decided they wanted to play one more show and set up in someones basement! It was like being 16 all over again! And even better it was free and we met some new friends. AND they threw in CDs, stickers, and pins to make sure we got our money's worth. We're good at this.



We've just scratched the surface of what we've done and what we'll undoubtely be doing. Stay tuned to hear about our free furniture, all of the free/cheap food we eat, and more! Woop!