leg 1: new york

being home for two full weeks was blissful, but a price had to be paid, and leg 1 of my two week road trip found me in ny for 36 hours.

determined to make the most of my time,  i had reached out to my friend deb, who has been out  of town for my last couple visits, and my cousin melanie, who recently moved to the city, to see about getting some girl time.

both agreed to join me for my second viewing of 'sleep no more'.  lucky for me, i had been upgraded to first class on my direct flight from lax to jfk, so i wasn't a total zombie when i arrived. 

deb and i met for dinner before the play and began the business of catching up.  since i haven't seen her in about two years, there was a lot to talk about! we enjoyed some tasty pizza, until my boss (who was also joining us for the play) arrived, and we headed over to the theater together. 

melanie and her roommate joined us shortly thereafter and i was excited for them all to participate in one of the most unique theater experiences of my life. interestingly enough, it was completely different then the first time. in fact, every scene was different with one exception, and i was glad to end the night feeling like i had seen much of what i missed the first time.  

after the play, melanie and i made brunch plans for the following day, and i headed back to deb's apartment with her to finish her catch up and say hello to her husband.

saturday afternoon found me heading to meet up with melanie and her roomie (in the snow!)  441/2 - a place i'd highly recommend in the hell's kitchen neighborhood.

i dined on some delicious french toast while hearing all about melanie's decision to move. i can also relate to and appreciate just how much she's experienced in her short time there. it made me a little nostalgic for my early california days when i had the energy and time to do and see so many of the tings there are to do and see here!  it seems she is settling in quite nicely, and though i never doubted it, i was glad to see just how well the city, and her roommate seem to suit her.

and, all too quickly, it was time to head to work.

luckily, 'work' was fun.  once again my company has sponsored a series of award shows, and tonight was the first.  a highlight was getting to meet the cast of 'smash' (who were all darling and gracious), and actor, john leguizamo, who, despite being in the middle of what looked like a semi-serious conversation, still make time to snap a photo with me.

unfortunately, the show ran REALLY long. madonna pitched a fit and said she was leaving if they didn't put her on (how often do you get to say that?!?) so our portion of the evening got cut.  we finished the night pretty angry at not having gotten what we paid for, but there wasn't too much time to dwell as i had to be on a plane the next morning for the next event.

it was a quick trip and though i was exhausted, i made every one of my 36 hours count!

if you're interested, here are a few 'articles' about the event...
dan stevens
madonna
anderson cooper
smash

dizz knee land

I just ran away from home,

Now I'm going to dizz knee land.

i apologize. i just can't help but hum the 1992 dada song every time i even think of the theme park!

despite living about twenty minutes from the park (on a rare, no-traffic, california day), i don't actually think about it that often.  when i first moved to cali, i got myself a 'local' pass, and used it frequently.  or, frequently enough to make it a good value.  but the truth is, i love roller coasters (which disney properties are not known for), and have an admittedly strong bias to disneyWORLD.

and, between that, the price increases on passes, and a travel schedule that limits my ability to use it, i haven't been to disneyland in three years. so, come saturday, when my friend ben invited me to take advantage of his disney employee status (and i happened to actually be in town!) i couldn't refuse.  i invited jami along, and off we went!

as you might imagine, much has changed in three years, and ben and jami (both frequent park visitors) were kind enough to indulge me by focusing on all of the 'new' stuff (ahem, cars land!).  they also supported my need to ride roller coasters, and we successfully visited both california screamin' and space mountain (the only true coasters on the property) before the night was through.

an unexpected highlight for me, though, is a little known nook that jami introduced us to.  the beast's library is  tucked away in an unexpected location, and i think it's my strong desire to, one day, have my own library, that made me oooh and ahhhh when i entered the room. in addition to the change in the room lighting and sound (to reflect the change from prince to beast and back), you can also take a 'which disney character are you?' personality test.  i was mrs. incredible, jami, maleficent, and ben, mickey mouse.  i'm going to let those speak for themselves! ;)

self-gifting

august 2012

it's sunday. i'm feeling a bit run down and like i don't really want to get out of bed.  disneyland took it's toll on my body (my knee) last night, so i'm cruisin' the web trying to entertain myself.

oh look, new items on my nathan fillion google alert feed.

yeah, yeah, already knew he'd be at calgary comic con. checked the dates. couldn't go. wait. what's this?  philadelphia comic con?  and there is a 'nathan fillion vip package'?  a guaranteed photo op?

VIP’s get:
• Philadelphia Comic Con 4-Day Weekend Ticket
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion VIP Badge
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion Lithograph
• (1) Nathan Fillion Photo with Signature Ticket - You can have him sign this photo OR another item on-site.
• (1) Photo Op with Nathan Fillion
• VIP’s get onto the show floor 30 Minutes before regular attendees each day of the show!
• Guaranteed seating at the panel Nathan Fillion will appear on (Firefly/Serenity or individual)

package purchased. hotel reserved. flight secured. promise made (to myself) that after i finally meet the guy, i will stop trying so desperately to meet the guy.  i won't even follow his twitter feed during san diego comic con to see if i can 'run into' him somewhere.  okay, well, maybe we won't go that far...

family

when i'm home, i try to spend my sunday nights with my cousins.  if a picture is worth a thousand words, than these are priceless.

the butterbeer experiment

two attempts yielded a tasty treat akin to the butterbeer offered at the wizarding world of harry potter.