This has certainly been one hell of a birthday weekend. It definitely defied expectations especially for being brand new to the city and having a very small small initial group of friends.
The week at work has been good – still making lots of progress and I think that I will totally not get fired. Yay for me!!!! But I have to be honest – it was hard to focus on work because I knew that I was more anxious anticipating my extracurricular activities. I’m not in the business of being too gossipy, especially about my personal personal life, but I am definitely happy to be out and about in the world of dating.
This first date out on Friday night was an incredible experience. I got to go out with a great guy and also see more of the city’s fun areas, this time over in Hell’s Kitchen. Went to a few very cool bars, a good Italian restaurant, a really fun dance club, and overall just have a great time. I was definitely tired though and I knew that I had still had more to do on Saturday, primarily going to see the musical Wicked and then anything that came up afterwards (sts). So I was able to get a bit of sleep in the afternoon (thank God) and then got ready for the theateh (you have to say theateh with a very snobby drawl). Shelly and I made quite the well-dressed pair going to the Gershwin Theater on 51st and Broadway!
About Wicked….AWESOME. For those that don’t know, Wicked is based on the book Wicked that details the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West from the world of the Wizard Of Oz. It aims to show just why and how the Witch (her name in this story now Elphaba) was truly ‘wicked’ and gives a fascinating story that lets you see that your perceptions can be totally off if you don’t have the whole story. It’s fun to rewatch the Wizard of Oz with Wicked in your mind. So the story is actually very interesting and when I heard they were making a musical based on it back in 2003, I was intrigued. Unfortunately I hadn’t had the chance to ever catch it as it didn’t start touring the country until this year, I believe. One time in Colorado Springs at a Barnes & Noble, I saw one of those coffee-table books all about the making of Wicked and it looked amazing, mainly based on just how fantastic the sets, staging and costumes were. But I had never heard the songs, so I picked up the soundtrack. I was kinda bored, to be honest, by it. In hindsight now, it’s hard, especially in musicals, to really identify with Broadway-style music if you don’t have an associated visual memory to help you remember how you felt when you heard the song. So flash forward to now – I decided why not treat myself to an awesome experience by going tix to the hottest show on Broadway? And after paying a ridiculous amount of money for two tickets, me and Shelly were off to the theater! And wow….just wow. It’s an amazingly staged production and the performances were outstanding. There were a few standout songs for me, including ‘Popular’, which if you hear DOES NOT LEAVE YOUR HEAD ever; ‘Defying Gravity’, which has a mind-blowing production associated with it and a chill-inducing performance mixed with mesmerizing special effects; and also one called ‘What is This Feeling?’ which almost starts you thinking it’s about two college girls realizing they feel more than friendship for each other….when in fact it’s pure and utter loathing for each other. So those of you out in LA where I know Wicked is also playing right now: Go See It!!!! You won’t be disappointed.
Anyways, after Wicked, Shelly and I met up with her boyfriend, Ray, and her best friend, Claudia, who also brought her brother, Ray 2. We first went to the Marriott in Times Square, which on the top floor (48th) has a bar/lounge called The View. It’s kind of obvious why the title exists but in addition to a knockout view centered in Times Square, is also the only revolving restaurant in New York City. Pretty damn cool, yet also damn expensive and a little touristy. It was definitely something to experience though. After a few hours there, we then headed downtown to 3rd Avenue and 4th Street, where there were some more cool bars. Seriously, NYC has cool bars everywhere it seems. It helps to have a good guide, which my date from the night before and Shelly’s Ray both were, as they knew all sorts of fun cool places to go.
And now here I am, sleeping in and happy as hell to get some long needed sleep! I took some pics from yesterday so they’re below for your enjoyment. We were in the middle of Times Square and I realized, “HEY, I need some pictures from my birthday!!!” I didn’t think it would be appropriate to take pictures during my date, so that will have to just go in visual memory.
So in consumerist stuff, I picked up the Twin Peaks Gold Box DVD set that has every episode of Twin Peaks in it. Ah, I miss that show. I haven’t gotten Guitar Hero III yet – I haven’t even hooked back up my video game systems to the TV in the living room yet, but eventually I will. And in something I feel only a twinge of embarassment about (just a twinge), I did get the new Britney Spears album. I am hooked to that song, Gimme More. That seems to be the song du jour at the clubs too, but that’s a seriously awesome song to dance to.
Okay, I think I’ve caught up enough for you for now. Happy Birthday to me – I’m 31 and don’t care at all. 30 was the stressful one and even that turned out not to be all that bad. I think I haven’t felt this good in a long time, so seriously, if my 30s are the best time, which they certainly seem to be looking to be, then score! Oh yeah, I totally ran the New York City Marathon too this morning, just knocked it out before breakfast. That’s how I roll…..NOT! My lazy ass woke up at noon today…actually 11am when I realized daylight savings time had occurred (which I should have known about anyways – that damn time change causes all sorts of ridiculousness in the scheduling system we maintain and design at work)
3 Nov 2007 – Wicked and Times Square
