One Short Day in the Empire City

A couple of months ago, a friend and co-worker asked me what I thought about a day-trip to NYC to see the show Newsies.  Not being able to go on spring break, coupled with the (abnormal?) amount that I love the movie Newsies, made this a very simple question to answer.  Of COURSE I said yes!  And we made it happen.

We flew out pretty early and, 'cause my friend's a baller on American Airlines, flew first class and enjoyed breakfast on the plane.  We arrived with some time before lunch, so we headed to H & M for a little NYC shopping.  The day, as you can see, was absolutely beautiful.

Walking around the city was glorious, and shopping at H & M was also glorious.  I got two new dresses, pineapple underwear, and a chain for my sunglasses.  I'd been joking with my students about needing a chain for my glasses, and there one was, for only $3.  Awesome.  Heck yes, I rock that shiz.

After some lite shopping, we found a little place for lunch.  It was a tiny little place that had anything you could want--frozen yogurt, sandwiches, salads, and even sushi and Korean food in the back.  I had Korean bi bim bap, which was expensive but nostalgically delicious.  What cost me about $3 in Korea costs me three times as much here, but that can't be helped, I suppose.  Here I want it more.

After bi bim bap (and frozen yogurt, duh!) we headed to the theater, The Nederlander.  The line to get in was around the building and went on for about two blocks, but we made it to the front eventually.

While we were waiting to get in, Fredy, my friend and partner in crime, dropped a little surprise bomb on me.  He is friends with the stage manager of the show!  We were going to see him after the show and get backstage!  How amazing is that?!  I almost couldn't wait until the show was over for the surprise.

Almost.

The show was magical.  I read an article a few weeks before the show about the music and the show itself, so I knew NOT to expect the movie, which is what I sort of wanted it to be.  Some of the lyrics were changed, a little bit of the story-line was tweaked, but all the stuff I love from the movie was there.  The tap sequence to "King of New York" make my life joyful.

Jeremy Jordan, who played the lead role of Jack Kelly, played Dolly Parton's grandson in Joyful Noise, which Fredy and I tried to watch on the plane on the way home (we didn't finish it, sadly.).  He can sing and act well, and, although he's not Christian Bale, did a great job.  The other "big name" in the show was Alex Wong, from So You Think You Can Dance?  He had to leave the show mid-season because he snapped his Achilles tendon, but apparently he's recovered and on Broadway now!  It was really cool to see him in the show, and he is still an amazing dancer.  The show was nominated, I found out, for eight Tony's.  Pretty awesome and totally deserved!

After the show, we met up with the stage manager, who got us not just backstage but ON stage.  Jeremy Jordan was just walkin' around like it was no big deal that he was three feet from me while we were walking all over the stage and seeing the sets, the props, and even some of the "magic" that goes into the show.  I.  Was on the stage.  Of a Broadway theater.  If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed it either! 

The entire time we were walking back stage I just wanted to steal something, but I probably could've just asked for a prop paper and gotten one.  Given the novelty of the situation in my life, I wasn't really sure about proper protocol.  Shoul've just asked for a darn paper.

After the show, we walked a bit to get a cab back to the airport so we could head home, and we happened to walk by this.  The Journalism teacher in me couldn't resist snapping this picture.  Epic journalism, kids.  I need to remember where it is so when we go on CSPA next year, we can at least walk by the building.

We headed home much the way we'd come, making quick work of the lines at security and even having a few moments (and drinks!) in the Admiral's Lounge before heading on the flight.  This is the view from the window.

We flew back first class as well (Like I said, dude's a baller.  Like, George Clooney's character in Up in the Air baller) and enjoyed dinner on the plane.

It was a great day.

Much love.

Just Being One

Last year's spring break was sort of magical because it happened to fall right at the end of the semester so I managed a little trip.  This year's spring break was not magical--I still had a week of FIU left.  So, this spring break, I stayed not only in the country, but in Miami.  It was nice to just be a student for a while, to get out in the sunshine, and to... read.  And relax.  And... be.

The first (in no particular order) major event was that I began--and ended--The Hunger Games trilogy.  I think I read them all in about six days, and when I returned to school the day after finishing them (I finished at 12:30 Sunday morning), I really struggled with reality.  Like, I didn't know how to be in a world that wasn't Panem.  I was engrossed, entrenched, enmeshed... lots of en-words.  Katniss is totally bad@$$ and Peeta is just... He's amazing.

Another important spring break happening was a little trip to Fairchild Botanical Gardens with Taniya.  It ended up raining as we were on our way out, but it was still a lovely afternoon trip and walk.  Here are what amount to all the photos I took this spring break.

The art featured at Fairchild when we went was a guy who did metal flowers, Will Ryman.  There were roses (and rose petals) installed all over the garden at various points.  They were really lovely, actually, pink, yellow, and red flowers all over.  There were even red rose petals floating in one of the "lakes" at the garden, floating freely around the lake.  Pretty cool.

Here I am with a yellow rose.

Here's another one of Ryman's installations.

Beautiful.  Finally, I saw this cool little guy on one of the trees.  I've never seen a black lizard before!

A third spring break event was my friend Matt's inaugural music festival called The Vanguard Miami Festival of New Music.  It took place on UM's campus (University of Miami, people!  The other one is U OF M!) and, frankly, I needed a break from Katniss and Panem.

He played for about an hour or so, a sort of "Storytellers" scenario.  He plays sax and, obviously, composes as well.  I got there before he started, though, because I took the Metro-Rail and struggled to time it properly.  It was fine, though, because I got to see and hear some cool new music.  There was a flute piece called "Ka" that I thought was pretty cool.  I like the way that new music isn't just about notes on the page but sounds, really.  The opening and closing of valves, new ways to put breath through the instrument or make it play, like opening the piano and playing the strings inside rather than the keys, is really inspiring to me.  I tend to struggle to "think outside the box" in most situations, but these composers don't.  It's like what ee cummings did with words and punctuation in his poetry.  It's great.  Anyway, it was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and I'm glad I went.

Another little spring break excursion was a Living Social deal Tiffany and I found a while back.  It was for appetizers and a painting session at a studio up north.  This wasn't the studio where I painted the first time, but it was a similar idea.  The event was pretty cool, totally worth the money we paid, and this is the result: new art for my bathroom.

I don't know what Tiffany did with hers.

Finally, after spring break at ILS came the end of the semester at FIU.  I had one final exam and one paper to write.  I did well on the paper, I assume, because I got an A in the class.  I also got an A in my other class, but it was certainly more hard-won.  The final exam went well also, I suppose, but it was quite an endeavor to complete.  I won't get into it because it's resolved now, but it was a week's worth of studying and stressing out.  Anyway, I feel great about so well, the best, in fact, I've done in any previous semesters.  I have the same two professors again next semester, so I'm hoping for (and will certainly work for!) a repeat performance.  Wish me luck.

Overall, through spring break and now at the end of the semester, I have really just appreciated being only ONE thing--JUST an FIU student or JUST a high school teacher.  It's like I can breathe again, enjoy free time again.  I forgot what free time is like.  I'm looking forward to only one more year of doing both!

Much love.

Kids in New York: CSPA 2012

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association conference happened in New York over college spring break this year.  ILS took 21 kiddos (four boys this year!) and headed there in mid-March.  The weather this year was much warmer than last year--I barely got to wear the fingerless gloves with a mitten top that I knitted for myself.  It was tragic.  I did, however, get to wear my FAB coat that I had made in Vietnam.  And boots.

We flew out on Tuesday, and the conferences happened on the campus of Columbia University Wednesday through Friday, and then we few out on Saturday.  This year's trip was very different from last--almost twice as many kids, for one thing, and boys, for another.  Overall, it was good, though, and I think everyone had a good time.

Columbia's campus is really quite beautiful, even on overcast days.  Check it out.

We got in on Tuesday and settled in, with a little time for the kiddos to explore Times Square and see the lights.

Wednesday and Thursday were conferences during the day, and fun in the City at night.  We saw our show on Thursday.  This year we saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying again, due to the Nick Jonas factor.  A trip to NYC+17 teenage girls=seeing the show starting Nick Jonas, even if you saw it last year.  Nick Jonas is on Team D (read: he's diabetic) so that means he's awesome by default.  Anywho, he was good in the show, better than I thought, really, and it was kind of fun to see it again.

I'm pretty sure the picture that follows is illegal but... I didn't take it.  :)

The other important event in the itinerary was a little event that I liked to call "Operation Silver Fox."  I got us tickets to see a taping of Anderson (Anderson Cooper's daytime show), and we headed there for some real-world journalism experience instead of the conferences.  And let me just say that Anderson Cooper is very handsome in person.  He's sort of white like a ghost, but still very handsome.  Trust me.  The best part of the show was that "The Big Chicken" from Boston Market was there, which doesn't seem amazing, but when you know that Anderson eats Boston  Market every day (literally), for him it was like, I imagine, the moment I met Tori Amos.  Transcendent.

The process of the show was really cool to see--the intricacy and spectacle of it all.  I decided that I could be the person who warms up the audience.  I could TOTALLY be AWESOME at that, I'm just sayin'.  Anyway, the kiddos commented that it was awesome for them to see all of that, especially the ones from LTV, our film editing/announcements kids.  Maybe some of them will be there some day.

The topic of the show as also apropos for teenage girls, I felt.  It was about trusting your intuition and warning signs in a relationship that the guy could be a crazy.  It was moving and informative, and I learned how to "steeple" my way out of any situation.  :)

The show ended up airing during spring break, but I watched it and we were all on camera.  It was pretty phenomenal.

Before we left the show, I had a kid snap this picture of me and my new boyfriend.  I like to call him "Andy."

I also managed to meet up with a friend who moved to NYC recently for a quick minute in Times Square.  We enjoyed some falafel from a food truck (doing this is my purpose in life) and caught up at this cute red table.  I felt so New York it was amazing.

We also got to see a former student, my little miracle, who now lives in the city.  She also enjoyed some falafel (because it's amazing) and hung with us for a little bit too.  It was great to see both of them.

Now, while I am certainly not complaining about a few days in New York, the trip can get tedious.  This is only my second time going, but we did basically the same things this year as last.  As an adult, I get it--it's for the kids, not me.  But as ME, a traveler and selfish, child-less adult, I want to do new things.  This year, we went to the 9/11 Memorial, which I really wanted (and at the same time didn't want) to see.

The Memorial, while not completely finished, is beautiful.  I didn't know what to expect--both from the Memorial and from myself.  I didn't know what I would see or how I would feel, but it was amazing.  The site is, for the middle of New York City, quiet, and peaceful.  There are now two infinity pools where the towers stood, and these pools have the names of those who died that day.  Walking around, you see little tributes--flags, flowers, folded paper cranes, placed near the names of people who are gone but certainly not forgotten.  Some of the kids were pretty moved too, and one of the privileged in working for Jesus is that the kids didn't mind taking time to pray there, and they weren't embarrassed, and neither was I.

All in all, it was a great trip.  Last year's tiny group was amazing, but we had some good times this year, too.  It was nice to get away and feel a little cool air, at least, and I think the kids learned quite a bit and had a good experience, so that's all that matters.

Can't wait to see what awaits us in NYC next year!

Much love.