NYC and SNL!
Yesterday was my 21st birthday. It was awesome. I had the best birthday in the whole world, ever. Nobody had a better 21st birthday. Maybe that's just my perspective. Anyways, it was f-ing sweet. So, i wanted to write about it so I wouldnt forget anything. I wish I had done this with all of my trips or special days in the past. For example, my trip to Mexico, or when I shook hands with Obama, or met Adam Brody. But, it doesn't matter. This was the coolest one anyway.
So, my parents surprised me a couple weeks ago with an 'early birthday present.' I opened the card in BWW at dinner, and saw that inside was a ticket to Saturday Night Live, host and musical guest TBA. OH. MY. GOD. Favorite show in the world (minus Prison Break and Lost). I cannot even tell you how excited I was, other than I started bawling in Buffalo Wild Wings. Whoops.
So, weeks went by without knowing who the host and musical guest were, but one day, I decided to check SNL's wiki to see if it was updated, and sure enough, it was. Our host was John Malkovich (recently in the Changeling and Burn After Reading) and our musical guest was T.I.!!! I was so excited. It's not that I love T.I., It's just that I love "Whatever You Like" so much. And I knew he would play it.
So, after getting really hyped about my birthday and NYC and SNL for a few weeks, it was finally time. I decided to bring my friend Ashley Benson, who I met this year, with us on the trip. I was allowed to bring a guest. Oh, and also, we had 4 tickets (parents, me, and a guest). So anyways, Ashley and I packed and drove home on Thursday night.
Before we drove home, and because I have a problem with loving my birthday way too much, we went to dinner at Mongolian BBQ with a bunch of my close friends. There were 10 of us, and 11 including Holly (who showed up with her family a little later). It was me, Ashley, Jeannine, Allie Manchel, Paul, Jason Poma, Sara Buys, Morgan and Sam Odette. And then, like I said, Holly, her parents, and Jimmy. It was sweet. I love Mongolian. Except they made me stand on a chair while they sang to me at the grill part, and then they made me eat my dish out of a dog/mixing bowl. It's my 21st birthday, shouldn't I get a princess plate or something? Maybe not..
At dinner Morgan and Sam got me a present. Or, gave it to me, rather. It was the nicest thing in the world to get me something and it really reminds me that people can be so nice. I hope that someday I can be that nice. Anyways, they got me a really cute purple shirt to wear to SNL or on my NYC trip basically. It was such a great idea to get me a shirt and I was so happy because I loved it. And I love birthdays.
After dinner we drove home and read Twilight until we fell asleep. I fell asleep right after I heard the shower start from my mom waking up in the morning. So, that means I got roughly 30-60 minutes of sleep. We left at 5:30AM. We got in the car and went to Tim Hortons. After only a few miles, my mom's coffee spilled all over here and her things. It was horrible, and I felt bad because I was asking her to get me something which is why it spilled. She was crying, I was crying, Ashley was probably like "I have no idea wtf to do" and my dad just wanted to get driving. So, we got back in the car and once I was calmed down, I went to sleep. For about 8 FREAKING HOURS. Like I got a whole nights sleep. Soon enough we were there.
Our hotel was in NJ, because NY's hotels were way to expensive. We arrived around 3:30 and unpacked our things and decided on a game plan. We don't know NYC very well or anything, so we decided to just take a bus down there (which costs 3 dollars a person as opposed to 60 dollars per taxi). The bus ride was literally an hour and twenty minutes long intead of fifteen minutes, due to the rush hour traffic. It was crazy. So we got off the bus, and pretty much just walked around aimlessly. To say the least, because I don't want to go into detail, Friday night flat out sucked. All my clothes smelled like onions from my apartment in EL (my roommates cook onions like it's nobody's business). My mom spilled coffee all over herself. I was afraid Ashley wasn't having fun, especially since I wasn't really having any fun. Before I was sad, we went into Anthropologie because my friend Erin from Holden freshman year moved to NYC and worked there. It was really cool to get to see her, and she recommended a cupcake place for us to go to. We took the subway with her but got off before she did. Regardless it was really cool to see her for the first time in like two years and hang out for a bit. Then we went to Hardrock and had a good time there, joking about how New York sucks, and how we didn't really have a good night. We made sure to plan out the next day (my birthday) so we'd have a better time. Before going to sleep, I finished twilight that night. Or, the series rather. I dont think I liked the 4th book. It was freaking messed up. But I think overall, I liked this series more than HP. Ehehe, SORRY HATERS. Although HP6 was pretty awesome. A lot of people think that you cant compare them, since they are love story vs. action but I dont know. Now I'm changing my mind..
Well, we definately did have a better time on Saturday. In fact, it was an excellent time. Friday night on the bus at 12:00, my birthday actually started. I got a phone call from Jeannine, and a few texts which made me happy. The phone call made me the happiest, of course, because she cared enough to stay up and tell me Happy Birthday. I love Jeannine. :) So, the next day we woke up around 11 and got ready and just hung around. I opened my birthday presents, which had a few little ones such as lotion and a flashlight that was an orca keychain (haha?) but the big one was the black northface. It's the same one as I have now, but in black, which is sweet. It was too small though, so I can't keep it. Dang. My parents went to pick up their friends Sara and Shawn, who were staying at their cousins' place (who work for SNL). When they got back, we went downstairs and ate at Outback. It was really good, despite the fact that I wasn't very hungry. I haven't eaten there in at least 10 years.
After dinner, we got on the bus and went to Manhattan. We decided to split up from my parents. We didn't really have anything in particular to do, so we just walked around the streets, looked for vendors mostly, and found Ashley a purse. We went into a few stores, but didn't buy anything except her vendor purse, and a scarf for each of us for 5 bucks. I guess we didn't do much except talk and take pictures, but that was fun. Except I carried around a plastic bag full of the clothes I wanted to take to SNL with me the whole time, including heels (but it was WELL worth it).
We met my parents at this cupcake shop called Magnolia's which had the longest line ever to get a birthday cupcake. It was delish. We went to the Rockafeller building (I think?) to change into our cute outfits. I wore my new purple shirt from Morgan and Sam and my new heels. Although my hair was pretty sick, so I didn't feel all that great, haha. After we changed, we went to where people were lined up for the show. Our name was on some kind of a guest list so we didn't have tickets. Actually, I think that's how the whole show was set up. Nobody had actual tickets, just reserved seats, or something. We waited in line for a half hour or so, and then we went in. We told the guy our reserved name, and we got an envelop with tickets in it. Then Sara (my mom's friend)'s cousin's kid came and walked us to the elevators to show us where to go. Studio 8H A baby!! When we went upstairs, we bypassed this long line (for some reason, and it was sweet). We had to give up the envelope with tickets in it, to get wristbands. They're pretty cool though.
We went right into the studio and sat down. You'd think there was a huge audience. There wasnt. There were the seats that everyone sees on the main floor, probably 6x15 chairs, which were clearly the VIP section, (although our seats were better anyway). We were upstairs as opposed to the main floor, and our seats had tape over them with our reserved name on it. Sweet. The belcony, where we sat, only had 4 rows, going around the whole stage area. I thought there was 1 or 2 stages. There were about 7. It was nothing as I expected it to look, but it looked better. We were right in the center, above the main stage where the SNL band plays and where the monologue takes place. Did you know that the musical guest doesn't play there? I sure didn't. We literally had the best seats in the house, except for the people in the two rows under us. We saw a Tracy Morgan look alike except he was indian and gay and I don't think it was him.. Ha. We also saw Lorne. The master.
The SNL band played a few songs just to entertain us which was pretty cool. Then Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen came out and played a song. Fred played the guitar and sang, and Kristen just sang. It was so good! I had no idea she could sing. I was so amazed. I love her. They sang Prince's "Party like it's 1999" or whatever that song is called. They did a great job.
After they sang, the show pretty much started. I was surprised that it literally was live, and started at 11:30. The first skit was a presidential one. The desk was set up, and the person at the desk was facing the other way, so we couldn't tell who it was. Then the show started, and Amy Pohler turned around as Hilary Clinton and said "I'm back!" It was so excited because she left the show to have a baby. It was awesome to get to see her there! John Malkovich came out and did his monologue, and I guess I won't go into detail with all the skits, but he did a great job. There was only 1 skit that we didn't really laugh at, and for me, it was mostly because I was confused.
Halfway through the show, as usual, the musical guest performs. T.I. came out and played a rock version of 'Whatever You Like' which was obviously sweet. I loved the rendition. He never looked at us, which we were hoping for so we could wave or peace sign him or something (haha) but no dice.
After he played, more skits and more skits. They were all great, and so funny. We were cracking up. I threw in a few 'WOO!'s last minute to hopefully hear myself, but I forgot when I was the last woo-er to listen for it. DANG! T.I. came out and played some stupid song with some rude, about dew rags or something. I don't even know. Rihanna didn't surprise show up and sing "Live Your Life" with him, so I was let down. I shouldn't have such high hopes all the time. The last skit was the one we didn't really enjoy, so that's okay. No big deal.
After the show, all the people that worked there were like hurrying us out. I was sad. On the way through the hallway, I saw one of the newest cast members, Bobby Moynihan, standing around. People were just passing by, probably because they didnt love SNL like I did and recognize every single person. Maybe they just weren't crazy like I am. Who knows. So I went up to him and said, "Can I take a picture with you?" and he was very nice and held out his hand and said "Hi, I'm bobby!" and then we introduced ourselves (Ash and I) and it was so exciting. I was all smiles. I said "make sure to tell Andy Samberg that I love him." and he said he would. hahaha. Then we were walking out, and I was sad that we didn't get to see anyone else. We needed to find a taxi though and get a ride home.
As we left the building, I saw Casey Wilson, also a newer cast member, hanging out in the lobby taking pictures with people. Of course I was like WE HAVE TO WAIT!! We took pictures with her, and she told us that our outfits looked cute. HA. She was also very nice. Then we were headed out the door for real, when a security gaurd walked by and I said "do the cast members all come out this way?" and he said "most of them" so that was too big of a deal. I just couldn't leave. I love famous people. And Andy Samberg. And SNL. Ha. So we hung around some more, and got pictures with half of the cast! IE: Bobby Moynihan, Seth Meyers, Bill Hadar, Andy Samberg, Casey Wilson, Abby Elliot, and Will Forte. Bobby was the nicest, and seemed genuinely happy to take a picture with us. Seth Meyers was so cute and looked like Hugh Grant and I love him and stuff. He was fine with hanging around and taking pictures too. Bill Hadar and Will Forte were the same, nice and friendly. My phone was vibrating while I was taking the picture with Bill and I was really awkward because he thought it was his phone, but I knew it was mine. Whoooops. Andy Samberg, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, wasn't nice. He seemed off, or something. Like he didn't really care much. I was sad. But I told him that he was my favorite cast member. He didn't care much about that either. Oh well. Casey Wilson told us that we looked cute, and Ashley bumped into Will Forte really hard. Like she almost-fell-over-hard. And she appologized and he said, "oh its okay.. I mean DONT EVER DO IT AGAIN." Had to be there moment, I think. Abby Elliot is my mom's best friend's cousin's daughter. Get that one straight. She came up and talked to us because my mom knew her sister, and we were just talking I guess. She has only been on 3 episodes. How lucky. My dream life.
We didn't get to meet 7 of the cast members. Darrell Hammond, who always plays Bill Clinton is barely ever on it, and we didn't see him anywhere. Fred Armisen walked by while we were taking picture with Abby Elliot, and I was a little sad, except he's not my fav so no big deal. We saw Kenan Thompson but he went the other way. I didn't bother chasing him because Kenan Thompson was never my favorite on any show. Especially not on All That. We also did not get to see my two favorites, Amy Poehler (who technically isnt a cast member anymore) or Kirsten Wiig. No idea where they were. We saw a girl that looked like Amy Poehler walk by with a posse, but she had black hair (maybe a wig?) and didn't turn around when I yelled Amy. Haha, I tried. We also didn't meet this new girl, Michaela Watkins, who walked right past us. I knew it was her, but nobody was taking pictures with her so I just smiled when she walked by. She said hi first, so I said hi back. Basically, I went into a lot of detail, but was the best night ever. Even though Andy Samberg wasn't all that I had hoped, he was still beautiful just as I had expected. And Seth Meyers was even more beautiful than I thought. Those two maaaade my night, for sure.
Finally after waiting for a few more minutes, my parents waved down a taxi. Nobody else came out, for probably 5-10 minutes, so we decided to leave. We didn't see Darrell Hammond, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, or Amy Poehler. And we saw Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson and Michaela Watkins but didn't take pictures with them. So basically, it was the best. We took a taxi home with a jerk taxi driver who got lost and was sexist. Oh, and get this, his family lives in West Bloomfield and own Weathergaurd Windows, and my dad bought windows from his family. WTF. He lives in NYC! HA. And he is a cab driver and got his masters in education. But he "hates the school, the teachers, the way it smells, all the kids,and SHARING KNOWLEDGE." Why the fuck would you go into education, ever, if you didn't want to share knowledge. HAHA. Someone, please tell me.
We went to sleep, and packed up, and now I'm in the car waiting to be home so I can update this. We'll probably get home to state around 10pm, at the earliest. Unfortunately. Ash has two finals tomorrow, and I just want to be home so I'm not in the car anymore. OH WELL! Looking forward to updating this, and uploading all the pictures to the FB.
I had the best 21st birthday ever. And no, I didn't drink. Get over it. I almost ordered a virgin pina colada for the hell of it, but I decided I wasn't hungry enough. Oh well. Now I can buy for people. My greatest accomplishment of turning 21. Being used. Hhaha. K, well that's about it, for this entry.
<3 t
The pictures can be seen on my facebook album here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004570&l=dee60&id=1267140058