i've been down here in nyc now for about six months now, and one of the questions i keep getting asked by those back home or otherwise not here is "so, have you seen any celebrities?"

even though i'm right by the hotbed of posh bohemia in soho, i haven't really seen that many. i'm not even paying that much attention. but with 12 million people in the city and thousands of visitors, my daily scan of faces as i saunter by doesn't bring much familiarity. i know there are models and other public figures, but i'm not going out of my way to find who's what. so no harrison ford fiestas, although that's one extreme example.

however, this all changed this morning when i paused outside the barrel & crate crate & barrel to look at a strange fracture point in their window, turned to head off to the office in close proximity and came face to face with the pretty maggie gyllenhaal walking down broadway.

the peanut gallery says who?

maggie's not your hollywood a-list star, granted, but it's a bit disorienting, especially when i consider that 3 of the first movies i saw in manhattan all had time for her on the big screen (secretary, confessions of a dangerous mind and adaptation). but there she was, huddled up in a long woolen coat with a tuque covering her head. and i realized how tall she actually was, which is one those oddities you'd never expect, since we tend to find out most celebs are shorter than we perceive.

being the humble canadian, i gave her privacy. either that, or i maintained my morning uselessness until i stepped into my building's foyer. think she went into the building beside, where matador is, but i didn't keep track. and that was that.

seriously, anyone who's known me can tell that the first 2 hours i'm awake, i barely know what's going on. the first half-hour, i can't talk to people. i'm that spacy when i wake up.

not to be vain, or anything, but realistically, i think she's stalking me.

we'll see what i'll see next. when i was in toronto, i saw a fair deal of famous people, from cronenburg to a few of the kids in the hall (dave and scott and bellini twice!). which makes my average .....uh, quite low.