Several weeks later, I was at the off-Broadway show called, "The Donkey Show" (Shakespeare set to disco) with a few friends and friends of friends. I'm not sure how, but I ended up in a conversation with a young guy who was trying to break into the business. He started asking about my clothes.

"Dude," he said looking down. "How much did those shoes cost?"

"I don't know," I said pulling a tiny bit of lint from my new suede jacket. "Maybe $800."

"That's more than my rent!" he said.

"Where do you live — Boston?" I asked.

"Yep."