Computers are a bitch.
While trying to sign online, AOL at least 8 TIMES stopped responding!!!! Grrrr...
Anyway, on to day 2 of NY...I'm sure Ben is bored by now.
My second day we got up and all rushed to get to Eric and Leigh's (and their roommate Brandon's also...although I don't know if I mentioned that I didn't meet him until the night before he left for home because he was in the hospital with a nasty cyst growing on his neck...so he didn't make it to his graduation, but his mom was there) graduation from AMDA. The graduation itself was fairly boring, as most graduations go. The most exciting thing for me was seeing what all the girls chose to wear. Also, the graduation speaker was an actor who is in Noises Off with T.R., so it was cool to hear him speak as well. Other than that, I was only thinking of my poor empty stomache, paranoid that the rumblings were echoing off the vaulting church ceiling. Afterward, however, we had a lovely reception with LOTS of free food, and most of it quite good. Lots of fun hors d'oerve-y stuff. After the reception, Eric, myself and his family went back to the hotel. We decided to take the Staten Island Ferry before going to dinner, so Eric, his parents, his older aunt and I made our way down to a very deserted financial district. Wall Street on the weekend is like downtown St. Paul after five p.m.--dead. Everything's closed and there aren't any people around. It was VERY cold out that day...clear and bright, but just BITTERLY cold, and with a wind like you wouldn't believe. The ferry is HUGE, and there were lots of people on it. We got some hot cocoa to fight the cold (but in a classic Eric scenario, the guy thought he'd said five hot dogs and was setting hot dogs in front of us as we chatted and it took us a long time to realize they were supposedly for us...the guy wasn't amused though we thought it was kinda funny). I got some pictures of a VERY tiny statue of liberty...they always make it look gargantuan in the movies, and they downplay the size of the base, which is about as tall as the statue itself. On the return trip, we went down to the lower level and I got pictures of the skyline from the front of the boat, but it was so windy you could barely stand straight out on the deck.
We got back and went straight to Little Italy for dinner. All of the restaurants have these guys whose sole job is to stand out front and do anything to get people walking by to eat in THEIR restaurant. We had reservations and were meeting the rest of Eric's fam (his younger brother, his older brother and his girl friend, his other aunt and her two daughters) at a particular one though. It was fun. Dinner was fabulous, and even better, it was his parents' treat. After dinner, we walked a long way to get to the Empire State Building. On the way, we walked past the library they used in Ghost Busters (which is no longer a library, but a government office building). It cost nine dollars to go up to the top of the ESB, but it was worth it. (And in the lobby there was a giant poster of the whole cast of Noises Off, and I was so happy "That's my friend!!! I know him!") I only wish it hadn't been so cold. The view from there is incredible, you can see Times Square like a beacon, the Brooklyn Bridge, Jersey, the George Washington Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and you could see the dust still from where the towers were.
We didn't go to bed until really late that night. I don't remember why exactly, but I think we may have been up talking to Dee.
Day 3:
We got up really early because we had to be at the hotel by 9am to get his family and then go stand in line for Aida rush tickets. I was dumb and forgot my student ID (you can get two tickets with each ID) and we had nine people going and only four other students. Eric ended up not being able to go anyway, as there was no evening show and he was seeing Leigh's show at AMDA that afternoon, so it ended up working out anyway. However, poor Eric had to wait in the rush line with us for us to have enough tickets. There were only two guys in front of us, but we were out there by 9:30 and waited until noon when tickets went on sale. It was cold. Very cold. Luckily, his parents went and got us Matthew's down comforter and we all got breakfast as well. I had a chocolate croissant and some juice. Best chocolate croissant I've ever had! We talked and sang songs, and talked to some random guy who stopped and chatted and seemed a little odd. When we finally got our tickets, we went back to the hotel to take a nap. I slept for about an hour with the comforter doubled on top of me, my hands in my armpits...but my feet just refused to warm up. I couldnt' sleep they were so cold! When I woke up they were still cold. I woke up half an hour before the show was starting. Eric's mom was trying rather unsuccessfully to wake us all. Matthew had cheesecake with a chocolate crust, though. I had two bites...mmmmm.....best cheesecake EVER. The theatre was only a block and a half away, so it wasn't a big deal getting there. Our seats were first row center. Good seats, but you can't see the upstage dancing very well. Before the show, I was looking in the orchestra pit watching the musicians and I kept catching the drummer's eye. I didn't mean to, but he kept looking at me and he was the only one I could see when I was sitting. So I smiled at him at intermission. The show was incredible. I loved it, and I've now added another role to the list of "roles I must play before I die":
Amneris, the dumb-blonde daughter of Pharaoh.
After the show, we had to wait for the house to clear before we could even move from our seats, so I was just looking around and happened to catch the drummer's eye again. I smiled and when we finally got to leave, I waved goodbye and so did he. Eric's aunt and cousins and I stayed to get autographs after the show. The drummer ended up coming out and chatting with me for a minute...he seemed very shy...asked if it was my first time seeing the show, how I liked it, and was like "I hope you come back."
We got back to the hotel and I was STARVING. We stayed in to watch the Superbowl and Eric's parents ordered pizza for all of us. Eric fell asleep about ten minutes into the game. It's okay. The game was cool enough, but the commercials pretty much SUCKED this year. The only one I really liked was the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon commercial.
okay, enough for tonight...I should have been asleep an hour or two ago.
A shout out to my Irish homegirl, Katie: What up?
And to my peeps, Ben and Orith:
Would either of you want to see Victory this weekend?
I'll call.
Anyway, on to day 2 of NY...I'm sure Ben is bored by now.
My second day we got up and all rushed to get to Eric and Leigh's (and their roommate Brandon's also...although I don't know if I mentioned that I didn't meet him until the night before he left for home because he was in the hospital with a nasty cyst growing on his neck...so he didn't make it to his graduation, but his mom was there) graduation from AMDA. The graduation itself was fairly boring, as most graduations go. The most exciting thing for me was seeing what all the girls chose to wear. Also, the graduation speaker was an actor who is in Noises Off with T.R., so it was cool to hear him speak as well. Other than that, I was only thinking of my poor empty stomache, paranoid that the rumblings were echoing off the vaulting church ceiling. Afterward, however, we had a lovely reception with LOTS of free food, and most of it quite good. Lots of fun hors d'oerve-y stuff. After the reception, Eric, myself and his family went back to the hotel. We decided to take the Staten Island Ferry before going to dinner, so Eric, his parents, his older aunt and I made our way down to a very deserted financial district. Wall Street on the weekend is like downtown St. Paul after five p.m.--dead. Everything's closed and there aren't any people around. It was VERY cold out that day...clear and bright, but just BITTERLY cold, and with a wind like you wouldn't believe. The ferry is HUGE, and there were lots of people on it. We got some hot cocoa to fight the cold (but in a classic Eric scenario, the guy thought he'd said five hot dogs and was setting hot dogs in front of us as we chatted and it took us a long time to realize they were supposedly for us...the guy wasn't amused though we thought it was kinda funny). I got some pictures of a VERY tiny statue of liberty...they always make it look gargantuan in the movies, and they downplay the size of the base, which is about as tall as the statue itself. On the return trip, we went down to the lower level and I got pictures of the skyline from the front of the boat, but it was so windy you could barely stand straight out on the deck.
We got back and went straight to Little Italy for dinner. All of the restaurants have these guys whose sole job is to stand out front and do anything to get people walking by to eat in THEIR restaurant. We had reservations and were meeting the rest of Eric's fam (his younger brother, his older brother and his girl friend, his other aunt and her two daughters) at a particular one though. It was fun. Dinner was fabulous, and even better, it was his parents' treat. After dinner, we walked a long way to get to the Empire State Building. On the way, we walked past the library they used in Ghost Busters (which is no longer a library, but a government office building). It cost nine dollars to go up to the top of the ESB, but it was worth it. (And in the lobby there was a giant poster of the whole cast of Noises Off, and I was so happy "That's my friend!!! I know him!") I only wish it hadn't been so cold. The view from there is incredible, you can see Times Square like a beacon, the Brooklyn Bridge, Jersey, the George Washington Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and you could see the dust still from where the towers were.
We didn't go to bed until really late that night. I don't remember why exactly, but I think we may have been up talking to Dee.
Day 3:
We got up really early because we had to be at the hotel by 9am to get his family and then go stand in line for Aida rush tickets. I was dumb and forgot my student ID (you can get two tickets with each ID) and we had nine people going and only four other students. Eric ended up not being able to go anyway, as there was no evening show and he was seeing Leigh's show at AMDA that afternoon, so it ended up working out anyway. However, poor Eric had to wait in the rush line with us for us to have enough tickets. There were only two guys in front of us, but we were out there by 9:30 and waited until noon when tickets went on sale. It was cold. Very cold. Luckily, his parents went and got us Matthew's down comforter and we all got breakfast as well. I had a chocolate croissant and some juice. Best chocolate croissant I've ever had! We talked and sang songs, and talked to some random guy who stopped and chatted and seemed a little odd. When we finally got our tickets, we went back to the hotel to take a nap. I slept for about an hour with the comforter doubled on top of me, my hands in my armpits...but my feet just refused to warm up. I couldnt' sleep they were so cold! When I woke up they were still cold. I woke up half an hour before the show was starting. Eric's mom was trying rather unsuccessfully to wake us all. Matthew had cheesecake with a chocolate crust, though. I had two bites...mmmmm.....best cheesecake EVER. The theatre was only a block and a half away, so it wasn't a big deal getting there. Our seats were first row center. Good seats, but you can't see the upstage dancing very well. Before the show, I was looking in the orchestra pit watching the musicians and I kept catching the drummer's eye. I didn't mean to, but he kept looking at me and he was the only one I could see when I was sitting. So I smiled at him at intermission. The show was incredible. I loved it, and I've now added another role to the list of "roles I must play before I die":
Amneris, the dumb-blonde daughter of Pharaoh.
After the show, we had to wait for the house to clear before we could even move from our seats, so I was just looking around and happened to catch the drummer's eye again. I smiled and when we finally got to leave, I waved goodbye and so did he. Eric's aunt and cousins and I stayed to get autographs after the show. The drummer ended up coming out and chatting with me for a minute...he seemed very shy...asked if it was my first time seeing the show, how I liked it, and was like "I hope you come back."
We got back to the hotel and I was STARVING. We stayed in to watch the Superbowl and Eric's parents ordered pizza for all of us. Eric fell asleep about ten minutes into the game. It's okay. The game was cool enough, but the commercials pretty much SUCKED this year. The only one I really liked was the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon commercial.
okay, enough for tonight...I should have been asleep an hour or two ago.
A shout out to my Irish homegirl, Katie: What up?
And to my peeps, Ben and Orith:
Would either of you want to see Victory this weekend?
I'll call.