I saw Maggie Gyllenhaal

This morning I put on my new galoshes and went out to get coffee down the street at Gorilla Coffee. Maggie Gyllenhaal was sitting on the bench outside drinking her coffee and talking about wanting to get into producing. I went inside and got “on line” (more on that below). Instead of staring star-struckedly at her, I watched everyone else watching Maggie G. There weren’t any paparrazzi, there weren’t any autograph-seekers, but people in the coffee shop were definitely aware of her celebrity presence.

That’s my first celebrity sighting in New York. Jodi, who is visiting this weekend, wishes I had seen Jake Gyllenhaal. Ali is jealous of the Maggie sighting, but is holding out to see Steve Buscemi, who apparently also lives in our ‘hood.

Something I’ve noticed is that New Yorkers refer to queuing up while you’re waiting for, say, a cup of coffee, as “on line” instead of “in line.” Being from New Jersey, Jodi and Ali are used to it. It throws me off everytime- a gentle reminder that I am still a visitor to this place.

I haven’t seen a lot of famous people since I’ve been in NY, but here are some famous things I’ve seen:

1) Fashion Week at Bryant Park
2) The big blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History
3) The Statue of Liberty (from the above-ground subway train)
4) Sidewalks blocked off for the filming of “Gossip Girl”