Sunday, March 27, 2011

New York State of Mind

Last year around this time, there was an electronics recycling campaign at T's job--you brought in electronics to recycle and there were door prizes and stuff like that. Last year, we both recycled some stuff and ended up with two tickets to a show that was part of the South Beach Comedy Festival. Well, the same program ran again this year, only at Whole Foods, and T had heard about it and was nice enough to take the TV that had been living in our entryway for a couple of weeks to get it recycled. As luck would have it, we won tickets to see Wanda Sykes at this year's Festival.

Wanda was funny, but it was hard to relate a little because a) I'm not gay b) I'm not black c) I'm not a parent and d) I'm not over 40. Still, I enjoyed her jokes and, hey, free 99 is free 99. Our seats were surprisingly good, too, unlike last year where we ended up under this overhang where the acoustics weren't so good. I love the Fillmore, though, and just being there makes me happy. So yay.

The other big news lately is my "spring break." Spring break at FIU fell during CSPA (the Columbia Scholastic Press Association) conference held yearly at Columbia in New York. Each year, at least since I've been at LaSalle, we've taken students. I went for the first time this year because I teach journalism. I took five of my girls, and the yearbook teacher took seven of her girls, for a week in the Big Apple.

It was a spectacular and busy week, but I think everyone had a great time. The first three days were consumed with the conference--sessions, lunch with other advisers/teachers, some swag, and some amazing ideas. I learned so much from the sessions--mostly what I've been doing wrong and how much I just plain don't know. It was eye-opening, and, I must admit, slightly depressing too. But I think we all learned some valuable information that will help make the ILS Royal Courier more successful. So we'll see what next year holds for us.

The first thing I was obsessed with was the fire escapes. This is the one I often contemplated from our hotel room.

I dunno... they're just so novel and cool. I just picture them in, like, musicals and stage shows. So many magical things would happen to me, I believe, if I only had one. *sigh*

The trip isn't all work, though. We had plenty of time to explore NYC. For example, our first night we ate at this lovely Asian restaurant that put all fourteen of us at a huge table in the back. It was... cozy. I had pad thai that was delicious and spicy (and turned a child onto the wonders of said dish). It was basically a win.

We also at the the Hard Rock Cafe one night, where I snapped this lovely photo:

I'm such a total rock star! lol

My personal favorite part of the trip was after the Hard Rock dinner, when we went to see our first show. We got tickets to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe. Yes... THAT Daniel Radcliffe. I pretty much was dying the entire month before knowing I'd get to see him in the show. PLUS, as if Harry Potter weren't enough, John Laroquette of I Night Court fame was also in the show. I know... I was jealous of myself.

The show was at the Hirschfeld theater, which had a bunch of Hirschfeld's drawings inside (shocker!). It was really beautiful and cool.

The show itself was, I have to admit, much better than I thought it would be. My only criticism is that he doesn't point his toes when he dances, but it's hardly noticeable. His voice sounded great, he moved well, even the ladies on stage with him were placed so that he still appeared taller (he's a tiny guy). His comedic timing was excellent as well. Not to mention the entire aesthetic of the show was just so mod--very Mad Men or something. The set was beautifully designed.

I'd never seen the show or even knew much about it except that it was an old school musical (think Guys and Dolls), but, even on its 50 year anniversary, it's extremely relevant. I think maybe even moreso. In a culture of getting rich quick and manipulating our way to the top, or even just charming the pants off of people to get ahead, this musical, I think, spoke to that. It was just spectacular, and funny, and satirical all at the same time.

After the show, I headed (And by "headed" I mean bolted. With a child dragging me behind her. Through the theater and outside like a train of crazy people.) outside to a place where there were parade gates. We were waiting for Daniel Radcliffe to come out of the theater. Which he did, eventually, after a very tall black man asked me, in front of the children, if I smoked weed ("No. I'm a teacher. I'm their chaperon!"), and I befriended some random teenagers (who probably thought I was one of them). I could barely see him, because I was further back and, as I said, he's a tiny guy, but thanks to my Go-Go Gadget legs, I managed a glimpse of his hair. And thanks to my Go-Go Gadget arms, I managed a picture.

Pretty. Damn. Awesome. The two students who went with me into the fray even got his signature. Lucky bums!

The second show we saw was Stomp!, which I've already seen (twice, kind of) but is always a cool experience. It actually ended up being in the East Village, which was this very different part of town where I felt like "my people" were. There was just a really cool vibe about the area, lots of cool people who don't really seem to care about much, some cool little shops and, probably, restaurants. I'd like to give that area much more of an explore in the future.

The last day of the conference, we made sure to take some group photos on the beautiful campus. I found this lovely lady outside the library, and we all had a great time doing this exact shot.

After the conference, we headed to the MoMA and saw some art (the best was Ringo Starr's gold drum!!) and had a lovely walk through Central Park. We saw the statue of Alice (like, of Wonderland), a street show (which was pretty impressive and cool for the kiddos), and this, in Strawberry Fields.

After that we hit up Magnolia bakery (amazing sugary treats features on Sex and the City) and to the Top of the Rock, where a beautiful Eric Dane look alike and I fell madly in love for about five minutes. It was out of control. We caught eachother's eyes three times and THEN he rode down in the elevator with us. I was pretty much dying and the girls all became convinced that men in general are obsessed with me (after having observed several incidents they claim were "pick ups" or people "flirting" with me). If only they knew. lol. Precious angels.

The Saturday we were there was devoted to sight seeing. I think I saw more of New York that day than I'd seen in my previous three trips! We started the day with Lady Liberty herself, who was looking lovely, I might add. It was totally worth FREEZING outside for three hours to see her up close. She's spectacular.

We even got to go up in the base (although not up to the crown, which was closed that day) and look out. This gave plenty of opportunities for reflection photos, some of my favorites.

We also spent some time shopping on Saturday, everywhere from Chinatown (scary!) to SoHo (expensive!). At one point, I was so bored that I either needed to scream and start throwing things, or dress up. Luckily for everyone, I chose the latter. Here's my Lady GaGa inspired outfit.

She would TOTALLY wear those leg warmers on her arms. Don't even try to say she wouldn't!

We ended our trip with crossing something off my Bucket List: ice skating at Rockefeller Center. When I pictured myself doing it, though, it was with a beautiful man who is hopelessly in love with me and I, likewise, with him, not with twelve teenage girls and my female chaperone and friend. But, hey, you take what you can, I suppose. It was super cool to just skate around and be in NYC after having spent a great week there with some good, good girls. And just to prove to you all it really happened, a picture.

See? Legit. :)

Teaching journalism clearly has its benefits, like a week long trip to NYC right around the time I needed a break. KEY. Plus, something happened to me this trip to New York that never had before: I fell a little bit in love with it. I finally GOT why people love that city; why many consider it the greatest city on Earth. I see their point and would like to head back--without teenagers in tow--soon.

Much love.

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Thursday, March 03, 2011

The one in which I cover all the cultural bases...

It seems 2011 is going much the same as the end of 2010... busy, busy, busy! Trying to find time to update this blog, while also living life and acquiring the material to do so, is difficult as ever. I actually began this entry back in the middle of January, but haven't had time since then to finish it. So far, 2011 has been pretty great and I've been keepin' it classy, trying to go to culturally and mentally enriching events.

First, back in January, I went to a poetry reading at Books & Books that was partially organized by my ballerina friend, Anya. The poet was a Haitan/feminist/lesbian/writer/actress/playwright/Michael Jackson fan named Lenelle Moise. I got there a little late, but within the first two poems I saw she mentioned both Michael Jackson and zombies (twice). She was a great performer, almost dancing her poems as she read them, and I really dug what she was doing. I've been really into poetry lately, so actually seeing some was a great treat. A simple YouTube search will yield some results, if you wanna check out her stuff, too.

Soon after, I headed to Boca to meet up with The Weave and head to the Palm Beach Opera House to see Verdi's Requiem, an opera. I kind of wanted it to be a fat chick in a viking helmet just singing her guts out and breaking glasses and stuff, but it wasn't. Turns out, this opera was based on a church service... or something. There was a choir, and a lot of Latin (or maybe Italian, I don't really know), and four singers in front who were, like, soloists or something. There was this pretty intense theme of timpani bangs, which was my favorite part, but the rest of it I didn't really get. The music was kind of lovely, and very intricate, and I enjoyed myself, but wish I knew more about exactly what I was listening to. It seems like opera is something you really have to be INTO to appreciate completely.

I also got some culture by seeing some of my boy Willy Shakespeare. The Aussie, my co-worker and friend, played Juliet in this year's Shakespeare Miami production of... you guessed it... Romeo and Juliet. She was a little more bad@$$ than your regular Juliet, sword-fighting and stuff, but the ending was still the same. I always want it to be different and I get surprised every time I see it... Like I don't know what's coming or something. I don't know... Shakespeare is just so brilliant that no matter how many times I've seen it, the play still gets me, and surprises me, and changes with each production and actor and staging.

The quarters were a little cramped (people have NO respect for blanket boundaries even though our spots were saved) but, hey, it was something free and fun to do on a Saturday night. Plus, we got to pick up and chat with The Aussie's mom, Momma O, who was enthralled by my GPS that spoke Aussie... or sort of spoke Aussie, as it turns out. She, apparently, couldn't stop talking about it throughout the rest of her stay.

Speaking of Aussies and they joy they bring to driving and life in general, team Australia had The Third Annual Australia Day party a weekend later. The party was at a park, and some claim to have seen a manatee in the water, but I just watched the pelicans and enjoyed the company. The day was rainy, but good times were had anyway. I tried my hand at cricket (again) and found that I had improved exactly none since the last time I attempted to play, about two years ago. We also enjoyed Australian treats like faerie bread (bread with butter and sprinkles... that's literally it...), Vegemite sandwiches (made that mistake once, never again); and lamingtons (which are DELICIOUS).


For Valentine's Day, T and I did a "room mate date" since neither of us celebrated with an actual Valentine. I obtained free movie tickets, and she had a gift card for the theater, so we had a cheap night out. I wanted to see The King's Speech, but T didn't want anything that serious so we settled on Just Go With It, the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston/Dave Matthews (surprise!). I'm glad it was free... let's just say that. I think I've reached a point in my life where I just can't watch romantic comedies (except the classics, of course) without bringing along my cynicism and a healthy dose of REALITY. They just end up making me angry, rather than entertaining me. It wasn't an awful movie by any means--I just can't enjoy romcoms at the moment. Dave Matthews was funny. And Nicole Kidman was funny. And Jennifer Aniston looks great. That's about all.

The last bit of life I need to report on is a little daycation kayaking adventure, or as they call it here in Miami, kaYAKing. A few of us from work drove down to Key Largo, rented kaYAKs, and headed out on the bay for a couple of hours. It was a beautiful day, and so peaceful and lovely out on the water, not too hot, not too cool; there was even a breeze.

We kayaked out into the bay into a little area of mangroves. The trees, which might be my favorite of trees, were on both sides of us, and in the middle was a little river where speed boats, bought at the Miami boat Show that weekend, sped up and down at crazy speeds and pushed our little kayak crew off into the surrounding trees. We got to see them up close and personal on several occasions. Check them out...

In between speed boats, Kim and I made friends with some guys from Minnesota who were fishing. We brought them luck because as we paddled over, they caught a fish! We eventually asked our new friends to take a group photo of us, which we managed after much awkward paddling and camera passing.

We kayaked for about two hours, and headed back to watch the sunset over the water with a cold beverage, and then headed to dinner. The sunset was beautiful, and I wished I was still out on the water to see it, but our boats had to be back by 5:30. Things on the shore weren't so bad, though.

Dinner was delicious, and all together the day was a total win. It was a perfect little get away that was much needed. I should take more daycations, just days to be in the sun and smile and laugh.

The consequences of the day, however, made themselves known at 3 AM when I had to get up and go to CVS to get some Aleve because I was in total AGONY, my arms just ached and ached and I couldn't make them stop. NIGHT. MARE. Aleve, however, did the trick and I was able to go to sleep. Lesson learned for next time: make sure I have Aleve on hand.

I've so far succeeded in being better about balancing FIU, work, and life this semester. I'm glad about that, although finding time to update here is still proving to be difficult. I need to get better, though, so I can chronicle my summer. You see, as many of you know but some of you may not, I am going to be in Italy for at least five weeks this summer! I am SO excited! I'll be living with a host family and getting paid to teach, so the trip is actually going to be quite affordable, not to mention amazing. I am so blessed!

Much love.

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