Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 29
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
[caption id="attachment_2410" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Our cat is an idiot"]
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 28
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
[caption id="attachment_2407" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="I could very easily have re-posted the shark picture from Day 11, but I didn't want to freak out Molly again. So instead I went with my paralyzing fear of heights."]
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 26
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
[caption id="attachment_2401" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="These guys"]
Sunday, December 26, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge – Day 25
Day 25 - A picture of your day
[caption id="attachment_2399" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Rendering..."]
Saturday, December 25, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 24
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
[caption id="attachment_2345" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I totally should have won this game of Raving Rabbids."]
Friday, December 24, 2010
Cool Cops
This post is a follow-up to my earlier post where I mentioned our car got broken into. I called the police to file a report this afternoon and not long after that I was downstairs in the parking lot, talking with two officers.
They were still in the squad car. I approached the passenger side of the car and said hello to the officers, a man and a woman. He was in the driver's seat and looked like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. She was in the passenger seat and looked like Ana-Lucia from Lost. Ana-Lucia was writing down my information and asking me questions as Pedro silently looked on.
She asked about the security cameras, what time we got home last night, what my 40GB iPod looked like, and told me that someone across the street also reported a car break-in today.
All the while, Pedro didn't say a thing.
Finally, we neared the end of the conversation, and Ana-Lucia told me it was pretty slim they would recover my iPod. I told them I understood and then added, "Well, if you catch a bad guy who all of a sudden knows a bunch of Weird Al songs, then you have your guy."
Ana-Lucia smiled and laughed as she wrote down the case info on a card for me. And that's when Pedro finally spoke. He leaned over toward me and said, "That's a lot of polka."
I never laughed out loud at a cop before. It was refreshing.
They were still in the squad car. I approached the passenger side of the car and said hello to the officers, a man and a woman. He was in the driver's seat and looked like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. She was in the passenger seat and looked like Ana-Lucia from Lost. Ana-Lucia was writing down my information and asking me questions as Pedro silently looked on.
She asked about the security cameras, what time we got home last night, what my 40GB iPod looked like, and told me that someone across the street also reported a car break-in today.
All the while, Pedro didn't say a thing.
Finally, we neared the end of the conversation, and Ana-Lucia told me it was pretty slim they would recover my iPod. I told them I understood and then added, "Well, if you catch a bad guy who all of a sudden knows a bunch of Weird Al songs, then you have your guy."
Ana-Lucia smiled and laughed as she wrote down the case info on a card for me. And that's when Pedro finally spoke. He leaned over toward me and said, "That's a lot of polka."
I never laughed out loud at a cop before. It was refreshing.
A Crazy 24 Hours
Wow....this last 24 hours has been pretty wild and weird. I guess that's what happens when you finish your Christmas shopping early. I had all of this free time that had to be filled with something...and it was.
Thursday, 9AM
I'm at work and all is well. I cranked out a couple of promos for the radio station and everyone at work was abuzz with the coming Christmas holiday.
Thursday, 9:30AM
I drop to the floor of my office with a sudden, severe pain in my side. I feel like I'm going to be sick so I make my way down the hall to the bathroom. I'm suddenly salivating like crazy and I'm taken back 6-1/2 years when I experienced the amusement park funhouse that is kidney stones. But the last time around, the pain didn't hit me so suddenly and I wonder if perhaps my appendix just exploded.
I don't get sick so I make my way back to my office. Lisa is on the air and I can see by the red light on my phone that Fred is on the line with someone else. I don't know John's phone extension, so I send him this cryptic email:
Subject: sick
can you drive me to the ER?
I consider explaining how much pain I'm in and that it's not some reference to an inside joke we may have shared, but instead hit "Send" and fall back onto the floor, the pain in my stomach making the simple task of standing almost unbearable.
A short time later John is at my office door and in a flash we're in a station vehicle on our way to the emergency room. I explain the pain to John, that it feels like someone is shoving their fingers into my side as hard as they can, and then just leaving them there. John tells me it's OK if I cry. I tell him I'm just confused, as I don't know what the heck is going on. In a weird contrast to my salivating fit in the bathroom just a couple of minutes ago, my mouth has gone completely dry and parched.
Thursday, 9:45AM
We arrive at the ER and I'm trying to be patient with the old lady taking my information. She's obviously hard of hearing and as I repeat my information time and time again, leaning against the desk with my hand at my side, trying to stay on my feet, and muttering my phone number for the third time through clenched teeth, I try to restrain myself from reaching across the desk and snapping her clipboard in half.
Thursday, 10:00AM
I'm taken into a small room where a guy takes my vitals. I give him a brief rundown and then I am returned to the waiting room to wait to be called again. I see a sign that instructs patients not to eat or drink anything which only reminds me that I still have some major cottonmouth going on. John calls Sarah and sends her a text message to let her know I am on an adventure.
Thursday, 10:05AM
I am called again and the nurse asks me if it's OK if we walk back to the examination room. I say "sure" and regret it after walking what feels like 3-1/2 miles through a labyrinthine maze of corridors. I am tempted to just lay down on the ground and ask John to take me by the arm and drag me the rest of the way.
Thursday, 10:15AM
I've been given an IV for the pain and the pain is subsiding. This is definitely much better. John and I exchange small talk and I make stupid jokes with him and the nurses because I use humor as a defense mechanism. If I can make people laugh, then maybe I'm not really dying.
Thursday, 10:20AM
A nurse takes me in for a CAT scan and as I am rolled out of the room I tell John if anything happens to me, he can have my Weird Al albums. I go through the scanner routine and as the door opens a nurse re-enters the room to take me back. I'm not sure if it's just the painkiller or not, but I'm pretty sure the woman who brought me here had blonde hair, and this nurse is a brunette. "You are a different person than the one who brought me here, right?" She laughs and assures me she is, and I'm not hallucinating. Awesome.
Thursday, 10:30AM
A woman comes in to take my insurance information. She asks me my name, social security number, and my insurance info. Then she asks me where I go to church. Wait, Am I going to die?! immediately jumps into my head but I don't say it out loud.
John and I talk about everything and anything that pops into my head.
Thursday, 11:15AM
The doctor comes in and tells me I have two kidney stones. One currently working its way from my kidney to my bladder - which accounts for the pain I felt - and one that is hanging back in my kidney and waiting for an inopportune moment to pass. He tells me he is going to give me two prescriptions: One is for the pain, and one is to help make the stone still in my kidney pass faster. He warns me to take that medicine at night, as people who take it have a tendency to pass out.
The first thing that pops into my head is that I want to take it and have Sarah video tape me. Then I want to run down the hall and see how many steps I can take before I face plant. I mean, why not? How many times do you get the chance to see yourself pass out?
The doctor tells me I can go and as the nurse removes my IV, John and I ask her about the weird patched hole in the wall.
Thursday, 11:30AM
John brings me back to work to get my coat and belongings (don't wanna leave my iPod here!*) and refuses to let me get back to work and record the afternoon newscast to air later that day. Instead he takes me home...but first a stop at Walgreen's to get my prescriptions filled.
*Foreshadowing alert
Thursday, 11:45AM
A fairly uneventful trip to the drugstore, except for the fact we saw a dude who sort of had Larry David hair and was wearing open-toed high-heeled sandals in winter in Pennsylvania. And oh yes, his toenails were painted blue.
Thursday, 12:00PM
Home. On the couch. Popped in a classic Christmas special and fell asleep with visions of the Burgermeister Meisterburger dancing in my head.
Fast-forward a bit...
Thursday, 7:20PM
We arrive at our friend's house for a get-together. I'm feeling better. I haven't needed to take any of the pain medication and everything seems stable. I unplug my iPod from the car radio, pop it into the center console, close it, and we head inside for an evening of fun.
Thursday, 10:15PM
My stomach starts to feel sore again, so I take one of my painkillers.
Friday 12:15AM
We are leaving the party and I have Sarah drive home, as the pain medication has started to hit. My eyelids are heavy, my eyes a bit watery, and I collapse into the passenger seat and am pretty much useless the entire ride home.
Friday 12:30AM
We get home and as Sarah supports me as we make our way into the condo, my pain-medicated brain forgets that I have done a very un-Edlike thing: I left my iPod in the center console in the car.
Friday 12:40AM
I take the before-bed-only medicine and lay down. After about 20 minutes, I whisper to Sarah, "I can feel it hitting me."
Friday 8:10AM
I awake and feel OK. A slight stomach pang, but not 100% sure it's not just because I'm hungry.
Friday 8:40AM
We go downstairs to our car and find the passenger-side window smashed in. Ours is this only car that got hit, which confuses me, as nothing of value was in sight. The center console is opened, as is the glove compartment, and my iPod is gone. Nothing else was taken, but there wasn't much else to take. At least they left the radio. And the car.
Friday 8:45AM
I drive us to work, and can't stop asking myself why. Why us? In a parking lot full of cars, many of them much nicer than ours, why us?
And that's what's been going on these last 24 hours. I spent some time this morning trying to get someone on the phone who's open on Christmas Eve to fix our car, but no such luck.
But hey...let's focus on the positive:
With all of this hullabaloo going on around me, the fact still remains: It's Christmas. No matter what the circumstances, it doesn't change the fact that once upon a time, something really special happened in a manger. A shattered window shouldn't be big enough to shatter my faith. A stolen iPod shouldn't change the song in my heart.
For a little while this morning, I let my circumstances dictate my mood. Fortunately, those circumstances didn't come to stay. They came to pass. If there's something burdening you this holiday season, that will pass, too. It doesn't always feel like it will when you're in the middle of it, I know. But this too shall pass.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Thursday, 9AM
I'm at work and all is well. I cranked out a couple of promos for the radio station and everyone at work was abuzz with the coming Christmas holiday.
Thursday, 9:30AM
I drop to the floor of my office with a sudden, severe pain in my side. I feel like I'm going to be sick so I make my way down the hall to the bathroom. I'm suddenly salivating like crazy and I'm taken back 6-1/2 years when I experienced the amusement park funhouse that is kidney stones. But the last time around, the pain didn't hit me so suddenly and I wonder if perhaps my appendix just exploded.
I don't get sick so I make my way back to my office. Lisa is on the air and I can see by the red light on my phone that Fred is on the line with someone else. I don't know John's phone extension, so I send him this cryptic email:
Subject: sick
can you drive me to the ER?
I consider explaining how much pain I'm in and that it's not some reference to an inside joke we may have shared, but instead hit "Send" and fall back onto the floor, the pain in my stomach making the simple task of standing almost unbearable.
A short time later John is at my office door and in a flash we're in a station vehicle on our way to the emergency room. I explain the pain to John, that it feels like someone is shoving their fingers into my side as hard as they can, and then just leaving them there. John tells me it's OK if I cry. I tell him I'm just confused, as I don't know what the heck is going on. In a weird contrast to my salivating fit in the bathroom just a couple of minutes ago, my mouth has gone completely dry and parched.
Thursday, 9:45AM
We arrive at the ER and I'm trying to be patient with the old lady taking my information. She's obviously hard of hearing and as I repeat my information time and time again, leaning against the desk with my hand at my side, trying to stay on my feet, and muttering my phone number for the third time through clenched teeth, I try to restrain myself from reaching across the desk and snapping her clipboard in half.
Thursday, 10:00AM
I'm taken into a small room where a guy takes my vitals. I give him a brief rundown and then I am returned to the waiting room to wait to be called again. I see a sign that instructs patients not to eat or drink anything which only reminds me that I still have some major cottonmouth going on. John calls Sarah and sends her a text message to let her know I am on an adventure.
Thursday, 10:05AM
I am called again and the nurse asks me if it's OK if we walk back to the examination room. I say "sure" and regret it after walking what feels like 3-1/2 miles through a labyrinthine maze of corridors. I am tempted to just lay down on the ground and ask John to take me by the arm and drag me the rest of the way.
Thursday, 10:15AM
I've been given an IV for the pain and the pain is subsiding. This is definitely much better. John and I exchange small talk and I make stupid jokes with him and the nurses because I use humor as a defense mechanism. If I can make people laugh, then maybe I'm not really dying.
Thursday, 10:20AM
A nurse takes me in for a CAT scan and as I am rolled out of the room I tell John if anything happens to me, he can have my Weird Al albums. I go through the scanner routine and as the door opens a nurse re-enters the room to take me back. I'm not sure if it's just the painkiller or not, but I'm pretty sure the woman who brought me here had blonde hair, and this nurse is a brunette. "You are a different person than the one who brought me here, right?" She laughs and assures me she is, and I'm not hallucinating. Awesome.
Thursday, 10:30AM
A woman comes in to take my insurance information. She asks me my name, social security number, and my insurance info. Then she asks me where I go to church. Wait, Am I going to die?! immediately jumps into my head but I don't say it out loud.
John and I talk about everything and anything that pops into my head.
Thursday, 11:15AM
The doctor comes in and tells me I have two kidney stones. One currently working its way from my kidney to my bladder - which accounts for the pain I felt - and one that is hanging back in my kidney and waiting for an inopportune moment to pass. He tells me he is going to give me two prescriptions: One is for the pain, and one is to help make the stone still in my kidney pass faster. He warns me to take that medicine at night, as people who take it have a tendency to pass out.
The first thing that pops into my head is that I want to take it and have Sarah video tape me. Then I want to run down the hall and see how many steps I can take before I face plant. I mean, why not? How many times do you get the chance to see yourself pass out?
The doctor tells me I can go and as the nurse removes my IV, John and I ask her about the weird patched hole in the wall.
Thursday, 11:30AM
John brings me back to work to get my coat and belongings (don't wanna leave my iPod here!*) and refuses to let me get back to work and record the afternoon newscast to air later that day. Instead he takes me home...but first a stop at Walgreen's to get my prescriptions filled.
*Foreshadowing alert
Thursday, 11:45AM
A fairly uneventful trip to the drugstore, except for the fact we saw a dude who sort of had Larry David hair and was wearing open-toed high-heeled sandals in winter in Pennsylvania. And oh yes, his toenails were painted blue.
Thursday, 12:00PM
Home. On the couch. Popped in a classic Christmas special and fell asleep with visions of the Burgermeister Meisterburger dancing in my head.
Fast-forward a bit...
Thursday, 7:20PM
We arrive at our friend's house for a get-together. I'm feeling better. I haven't needed to take any of the pain medication and everything seems stable. I unplug my iPod from the car radio, pop it into the center console, close it, and we head inside for an evening of fun.
Thursday, 10:15PM
My stomach starts to feel sore again, so I take one of my painkillers.
Friday 12:15AM
We are leaving the party and I have Sarah drive home, as the pain medication has started to hit. My eyelids are heavy, my eyes a bit watery, and I collapse into the passenger seat and am pretty much useless the entire ride home.
Friday 12:30AM
We get home and as Sarah supports me as we make our way into the condo, my pain-medicated brain forgets that I have done a very un-Edlike thing: I left my iPod in the center console in the car.
Friday 12:40AM
I take the before-bed-only medicine and lay down. After about 20 minutes, I whisper to Sarah, "I can feel it hitting me."
Friday 8:10AM
I awake and feel OK. A slight stomach pang, but not 100% sure it's not just because I'm hungry.
Friday 8:40AM
We go downstairs to our car and find the passenger-side window smashed in. Ours is this only car that got hit, which confuses me, as nothing of value was in sight. The center console is opened, as is the glove compartment, and my iPod is gone. Nothing else was taken, but there wasn't much else to take. At least they left the radio. And the car.
Friday 8:45AM
I drive us to work, and can't stop asking myself why. Why us? In a parking lot full of cars, many of them much nicer than ours, why us?
And that's what's been going on these last 24 hours. I spent some time this morning trying to get someone on the phone who's open on Christmas Eve to fix our car, but no such luck.
But hey...let's focus on the positive:
- It was only kidney stones.
- Its just an iPod and a window. They didn't take the car.
- We aren't traveling anywhere for Christmas, so it's not like we have an 8-hour car ride with the cold wind whipping around us
- I was reminded once again what amazing friends we have. John, who took me to the hospital and stayed with me...Fred, who called a friend and got me in touch with someone who can fix the window on Monday...and Stray, who had some of that car window plastic wrap and went back to his house to get it for us.
With all of this hullabaloo going on around me, the fact still remains: It's Christmas. No matter what the circumstances, it doesn't change the fact that once upon a time, something really special happened in a manger. A shattered window shouldn't be big enough to shatter my faith. A stolen iPod shouldn't change the song in my heart.
For a little while this morning, I let my circumstances dictate my mood. Fortunately, those circumstances didn't come to stay. They came to pass. If there's something burdening you this holiday season, that will pass, too. It doesn't always feel like it will when you're in the middle of it, I know. But this too shall pass.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 23
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
[caption id="attachment_2342" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="My favorite book changes from day-to-day, but I thought this one was a pretty good choice. As you can see, I may or may not have read it multiple times."]
Thursday, December 23, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 22
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
[caption id="attachment_2339" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Actually, I don't wish I was better at it per se, but I sometimes wish I'd had the motivation and drive to put in the years and years of work it takes to get a sort-of toe hold in the stand-up world and that just sounds like way too much work and way too much time on the road for someone who's probably funnier on a one-on-one basis with my friends than I ever have been on stage. But at least I recognize my limitations, right?"]
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Close, But...
Sarah and I got a Christmas card today. And the people who sent it to us were sooooo close to getting our last name correct.
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 21
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
[caption id="attachment_2336" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="For oh so many reasons."]
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 20
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
[caption id="attachment_2333" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The land down undah"]
Little Quirks and Where They Came From
I'm one of those people who are easily influenced. When I moved to California back in 1992, I immediately took to the word "Dude" and it hasn't left my vernacular since.
When I was in Georgia for a short time, I picked up the phrase "Good night" from my pal Jack. You use it when something ridiculous happens and it is said as an alternate to "Good grief" or "Oh my gosh."
Recently I stumbled upon an email I had written to my pals JT, Kevin, and Chris back in May of 2006. It was a list of things I had picked up from them while I was living in New York. In my email, I gave examples of seven things I was still using that I absorbed from being around them so much. What's pretty funny is, I still use five of them on a pretty regular basis (those have been italicized):
That's right. I am now footnoting my quirks.
When I was in Georgia for a short time, I picked up the phrase "Good night" from my pal Jack. You use it when something ridiculous happens and it is said as an alternate to "Good grief" or "Oh my gosh."
Recently I stumbled upon an email I had written to my pals JT, Kevin, and Chris back in May of 2006. It was a list of things I had picked up from them while I was living in New York. In my email, I gave examples of seven things I was still using that I absorbed from being around them so much. What's pretty funny is, I still use five of them on a pretty regular basis (those have been italicized):
- "DAAAAAAIIIIIIIIII!"
- "I mean...you know..."
- "What's up, nuts?"
- Whatshisnuts (a fun alternative to "What's-his-face")
- "Aw, geez...." (spoken in a high falsetto)
- "Yessssssss"
- The patented JT Arbogast Clenched Smile While Shaking My Head Back And Forth As I Look At Something Ridiculous
That's right. I am now footnoting my quirks.
Monday, December 20, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 19
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
[caption id="attachment_2330" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I know this probably isn't what "they" meant, but this note from July 2009 is one of my favorite letters from Sarah ever. Just the way she starts it ("Hi") makes me smile. Even when she's really sick, she's still amazingly sweet."]
Sleepy Sarah
Last night I got out of bed to get some water. It was late, Sarah was fast asleep, and as I crept back into the bedroom I totally blew my cover with a loud sneeze. Sarah sat up with a start and, still very groggy and half-asleep, said, "What?"
For some reason I decided to goof with her and I answered, "A dog got in here!"
Poor sleepy Sarah had a hard time computing. "A dog?"
I felt bad for giving her a hard time and gave in. "No, I'm just kidding. I sneezed."
Sarah mumbled an "Oh" and then laid back down. I slipped beneath the covers and snuggled next to her. About 15 silent seconds went by and then Sarah woke again.
"What??"
"I didn't say anything, baby." I assured her.
Poor Sarah was utterly confused. "You didn't?"
"Nope." I rubbed her shoulders and she laid back down.
When I asked her about it this morning, she remembered hearing my sneeze but didn't recall anything about the dog.
For some reason I decided to goof with her and I answered, "A dog got in here!"
Poor sleepy Sarah had a hard time computing. "A dog?"
I felt bad for giving her a hard time and gave in. "No, I'm just kidding. I sneezed."
Sarah mumbled an "Oh" and then laid back down. I slipped beneath the covers and snuggled next to her. About 15 silent seconds went by and then Sarah woke again.
"What??"
"I didn't say anything, baby." I assured her.
Poor Sarah was utterly confused. "You didn't?"
"Nope." I rubbed her shoulders and she laid back down.
When I asked her about it this morning, she remembered hearing my sneeze but didn't recall anything about the dog.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas in New York
Last month Sarah got me a really cool birthday present: tickets to see Jim Gaffigan perform at the Best Buy Theater in New York City. Since Sarah's birthday is only a couple of days before mine, we decided to make it a month-late joint birthday celebration and go up for the entire weekend. Sarah had never seen the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, she had never seen Jim Gaffigan live, I was itching to get back to the National Comedy Theatre and watch a show, and neither of us had seen our pal Adi perform her stand-up live. What a great way to kill 4 birds with one stone. Or at least a couple of turtle doves.
We booked our train and hotel tickets and made yet another trek to our favorite city within a reasonable train-riding distance. We arrived without incident at our hotel and walked down to the comedy theater on 36th street where I knew our reservations were waiting for us. I had contacted my pal Kevin at NCT and let him know we were coming. There was a bit of a mix-up in our pre-NYC conversation. I thought I was letting him know we would be there to watch the show; Kevin thought I was letting him know I would be there to be in the show. As we got to the NCT doors, which hadn't opened yet to the public, we had this entertaining text message exchange:
Shortly after, Kevin came to the front entrance and let us in. As we made our way down to the green room Kevin continued to insist I was playing while I continued to give him reasons why I shouldn't. Not only had I not played for nearly a year and a half, I also wasn't wearing the proper NCT-approved improv attire, which included black track pants and gym shoes.
It wasn't long before I realized my arguments were falling on deaf ears and I knew I would be playing. I was introduced to Stephanie and Zoe who were also in the show that night and Kevin found me a pair of pants and gym shoes I could borrow. Why they had so many spare pairs of pants and shoes - and whose they were - I tried not to think about.
The show went on and I had a blast. Although it had been so long since I did improv in front of a crowd, it felt like no time had passed at all. It was like putting on my favorite sweatshirt. Just right. In fact, if I hadn't mis-identified a Justin Bieber song as Ke$ha, it would have been darn near flawless.
After the show - and lots of hugs and promises that it wouldn't be so long until my next trek to The City - Sarah and I headed down to the West Village to see a night of comedy at the Humor Haus as hosted by another NCT alum, Adi Blotman. My good pal Paul - yet another NCT pal - was our tour guide and we grabbed a bite to eat at Joe's Pizza on the way there. Paulie promised us it was "the best slice in the city" and I'll be darned if Paulie wasn't dead on. He shot some video of us experiencing our first slice of Joe's and I'll post a link to the footage as soon as we get it.
We headed down to Bleecker Street in plenty of time for the 11pm start. Adi did a great job hosting and introducing the other comics she'd hand-picked and we enjoyed ourselves and shared a lot of laughs. Although the room was a small one they all took to the stage like pros and it was a great time.
After the show was over, Paulie led our little group - which now included Adi - to what he promised to be "the best place to get pastries" and again Paulie was right on. Where else but New York City can you experience the world's best cream puffs at 1 in the morning?
Sarah and I were standing on the subway platform waiting to take the A train back up to Penn Station and couldn't believe it was 1:30am. It felt like 8:00pm and it was a refreshing reminder of why we love that city so much.
We got to our hotel room and immediately crashed. It'd been a few years since I was in the city during the winter and had forgotten some of the city's nuances. How could I forget the sound of clanging radiator pipes that heated so many buildings and how, because many buildings are heated by radiator pipes with no individual thermostats for each room, you can sleep in the city in the midst of winter with a window open. Little details I forgot I loved.
We didn't leave the hotel room again until noon the following day. We took to the streets and walked up to 51st to grab a bite at Mars 2112, a space-themed restaurant Sarah had been to when she visited New York with her family a few years ago.
From there we headed to FAO Schwarz, the world-famous toy store neither of us had ever been to. Unfortunately, we decided to make our first visit on the Saturday before Christmas and there was a line to get into the store that wrapped around the entire block. It was quite a daunting line upon first glance, but it moved quickly and we got in some great people watching.
[caption id="attachment_2417" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
A Santa made entirely of Legos inside FAO Schwarz. Why WOULDN'T we get our picture with it?[/caption]
We walked back down to our hotel on 32nd Street to rest for about an hour, and then headed back up to Times Square to see Jim Gaffigan at the Best Buy Theater. Todd Glass was the opener and he was just as good as he's ever been. Poor Jim was suffering from the flu and his voice was nearly gone, but he powered through and put on an amazing show. I'd never seen a show in that venue before, and I liked it a lot.
We headed down to Rockefeller Plaza after the show and somehow managed to make our way through the throng of spectators. We saw the tree, took about 3 photos, and Sarah declared, "OK, I'm over it."
After that, we decided to brave the middle of Times Square to take some more pictures and grab a couple of quick video shots.
On the way back to the hotel, we happened to walk by a comedy club that was advertising dueling pianos. With a what-the-heck shrug we decided to catch the show. The two pianists - and one drummer - served as human jukeboxes as they took requests from the audience and managed to play each one of them masterfully, much to the mostly-drunk crowd's delight. We especially enjoyed the show that wasn't on the marquee: a big guy who looked like Biff from Back to the Future who was getting totally trashed. We watched him throw back bottle after bottle after bottle, wondering why the bartender wasn't cutting off someone who was obviously as drunk as he was. If his forward-leaning barely-balanced walk to the bar wasn't a dead giveaway, I didn't know what was.
Oh wait, I know what the giveaway was. It was when he left the room to go out and throw up not once, but twice, all over the stairs that were the only exit.
I love this city.
We made it back to the hotel, caught a bit of the back end of Saturday Night Live, and then zonked out. We checked out of our room at noon the next day and headed back to Penn Station for the return trip home.
It was a nice weekend; a great weekend. It reminded us both of how much we love the city and also how much we love traveling with each other. We laughed a lot and traded a lot of goofy looks and by the end of our weekend, Sarah was zipping around others on the sidewalk like she'd lived in New York all her life. She made me proud. :)
As our train sped us back home to Lancaster County, I held Sarah's hand while she slept, a goofy smile on my face. This weekend was my best birthday present ever.
We booked our train and hotel tickets and made yet another trek to our favorite city within a reasonable train-riding distance. We arrived without incident at our hotel and walked down to the comedy theater on 36th street where I knew our reservations were waiting for us. I had contacted my pal Kevin at NCT and let him know we were coming. There was a bit of a mix-up in our pre-NYC conversation. I thought I was letting him know we would be there to watch the show; Kevin thought I was letting him know I would be there to be in the show. As we got to the NCT doors, which hadn't opened yet to the public, we had this entertaining text message exchange:
Fri Dec 17 6:45pm. Me to Kevin:
Hey dude. What time are you at the theater tonight? Sarah and I have tix for the early
Fri Dec 17 6:45pm. Kevin to Me:
You are playing the early show dude
Fri Dec 17 6:46pm. Me to Kevin:
Dude you are so mistaken
Fri Dec 17 6:48pm. Kevin to Me:
We saved a spot for you to play and you have to play
Fri Dec 17 6:51pm. Me to Kevin:
Dude I already paid for my ticket
Fri Dec 17 6:51pm. Kevin to Me:
Refund and you are playing
Fri Dec 17 6:53pm. Me to Kevin:
Dude who else is playing? I think most of the gang I knew is gone. Improv + strangers = awkward improv.
Fri Dec 17 6:54pm. Kevin to Me:
Dave and me and Andrew is all you need to know. You are playing.
Shortly after, Kevin came to the front entrance and let us in. As we made our way down to the green room Kevin continued to insist I was playing while I continued to give him reasons why I shouldn't. Not only had I not played for nearly a year and a half, I also wasn't wearing the proper NCT-approved improv attire, which included black track pants and gym shoes.
It wasn't long before I realized my arguments were falling on deaf ears and I knew I would be playing. I was introduced to Stephanie and Zoe who were also in the show that night and Kevin found me a pair of pants and gym shoes I could borrow. Why they had so many spare pairs of pants and shoes - and whose they were - I tried not to think about.
The show went on and I had a blast. Although it had been so long since I did improv in front of a crowd, it felt like no time had passed at all. It was like putting on my favorite sweatshirt. Just right. In fact, if I hadn't mis-identified a Justin Bieber song as Ke$ha, it would have been darn near flawless.
After the show - and lots of hugs and promises that it wouldn't be so long until my next trek to The City - Sarah and I headed down to the West Village to see a night of comedy at the Humor Haus as hosted by another NCT alum, Adi Blotman. My good pal Paul - yet another NCT pal - was our tour guide and we grabbed a bite to eat at Joe's Pizza on the way there. Paulie promised us it was "the best slice in the city" and I'll be darned if Paulie wasn't dead on. He shot some video of us experiencing our first slice of Joe's and I'll post a link to the footage as soon as we get it.
We headed down to Bleecker Street in plenty of time for the 11pm start. Adi did a great job hosting and introducing the other comics she'd hand-picked and we enjoyed ourselves and shared a lot of laughs. Although the room was a small one they all took to the stage like pros and it was a great time.
After the show was over, Paulie led our little group - which now included Adi - to what he promised to be "the best place to get pastries" and again Paulie was right on. Where else but New York City can you experience the world's best cream puffs at 1 in the morning?
Sarah and I were standing on the subway platform waiting to take the A train back up to Penn Station and couldn't believe it was 1:30am. It felt like 8:00pm and it was a refreshing reminder of why we love that city so much.
We got to our hotel room and immediately crashed. It'd been a few years since I was in the city during the winter and had forgotten some of the city's nuances. How could I forget the sound of clanging radiator pipes that heated so many buildings and how, because many buildings are heated by radiator pipes with no individual thermostats for each room, you can sleep in the city in the midst of winter with a window open. Little details I forgot I loved.
We didn't leave the hotel room again until noon the following day. We took to the streets and walked up to 51st to grab a bite at Mars 2112, a space-themed restaurant Sarah had been to when she visited New York with her family a few years ago.
From there we headed to FAO Schwarz, the world-famous toy store neither of us had ever been to. Unfortunately, we decided to make our first visit on the Saturday before Christmas and there was a line to get into the store that wrapped around the entire block. It was quite a daunting line upon first glance, but it moved quickly and we got in some great people watching.
[caption id="attachment_2417" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
A Santa made entirely of Legos inside FAO Schwarz. Why WOULDN'T we get our picture with it?[/caption]We walked back down to our hotel on 32nd Street to rest for about an hour, and then headed back up to Times Square to see Jim Gaffigan at the Best Buy Theater. Todd Glass was the opener and he was just as good as he's ever been. Poor Jim was suffering from the flu and his voice was nearly gone, but he powered through and put on an amazing show. I'd never seen a show in that venue before, and I liked it a lot.
We headed down to Rockefeller Plaza after the show and somehow managed to make our way through the throng of spectators. We saw the tree, took about 3 photos, and Sarah declared, "OK, I'm over it."
After that, we decided to brave the middle of Times Square to take some more pictures and grab a couple of quick video shots.
On the way back to the hotel, we happened to walk by a comedy club that was advertising dueling pianos. With a what-the-heck shrug we decided to catch the show. The two pianists - and one drummer - served as human jukeboxes as they took requests from the audience and managed to play each one of them masterfully, much to the mostly-drunk crowd's delight. We especially enjoyed the show that wasn't on the marquee: a big guy who looked like Biff from Back to the Future who was getting totally trashed. We watched him throw back bottle after bottle after bottle, wondering why the bartender wasn't cutting off someone who was obviously as drunk as he was. If his forward-leaning barely-balanced walk to the bar wasn't a dead giveaway, I didn't know what was.
Oh wait, I know what the giveaway was. It was when he left the room to go out and throw up not once, but twice, all over the stairs that were the only exit.
I love this city.
We made it back to the hotel, caught a bit of the back end of Saturday Night Live, and then zonked out. We checked out of our room at noon the next day and headed back to Penn Station for the return trip home.
It was a nice weekend; a great weekend. It reminded us both of how much we love the city and also how much we love traveling with each other. We laughed a lot and traded a lot of goofy looks and by the end of our weekend, Sarah was zipping around others on the sidewalk like she'd lived in New York all her life. She made me proud. :)
As our train sped us back home to Lancaster County, I held Sarah's hand while she slept, a goofy smile on my face. This weekend was my best birthday present ever.
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 18
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
[caption id="attachment_2327" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I'm not really a very good singer."]
Saturday, December 18, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 17
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
[caption id="attachment_2324" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Our new apartment! You can see our place in this picture: the two windows on the top floor, just left of the main tower, is our bedroom. Woot!"]
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 15
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
[caption id="attachment_2315" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="How cool would it be to do voice work on a Pixar film?!"]
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 14
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 13
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
[caption id="attachment_2309" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Yeah. I know. Surprise, surprise."]
Monday, December 13, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 12
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
[caption id="attachment_2306" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Our Tuesday night gathering of friends"]
Sunday, December 12, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 11
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
[caption id="attachment_2303" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="So much. So, so, so, so, so, so much."]
Saturday, December 11, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 10
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
[caption id="attachment_2300" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Baa. Andy & Sherm. Bruisa the Luck Monkey. An original Seinfeld script. Frisbees to the head. Mostly inside jokes. Sorry about that."]
Friday, December 10, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 9
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
[caption id="attachment_2296" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I broke the rules and went with two people for this one. I had to. It was the darkest time of my life and Davy and Rick reached out to me not only when I needed it most, but HOW I needed it most. They taught me how to be a better friend."]
Thursday, December 09, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 8
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
[caption id="attachment_2293" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The hard part of this day wasn't what the subject of the picture would be, but which one of the tons of goofy photos of Sarah I would choose. I opted for this shot of Sarah in the Toys R Us in Times Square being attacked by stuffed penguins."]
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 7
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
[caption id="attachment_2290" align="aligncenter" width="422" caption="This one was particularly hard because I don't really have any "treasured items." Sure it would stink if my computer broke down, but...yea...I guess I'm not really that close to any of my material possessions. That's a good thing, though, right? That being said, I had to choose something, so I went with this gold record I got for working on a Relient K album. When I received it, I was genuinely pleased."]
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 6
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
[caption id="attachment_2287" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="And of course, the day we trade places would be Saturday."]
Monday, December 06, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 5
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
[caption id="attachment_2284" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="One day when Sarah and I were first dating, I forgot to bring my phone with me to work. Sarah got her hands on it and took a series of goofy pictures of herself and left them there for me to find on my own. When I did finally stumble upon them they made me laugh out loud, and I knew she was someone I wanted to be surprised by for a long, long time."]
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Saturday, December 04, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 3
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
- I'm surprised at how hard it is to find cast photos of SNL. I really wanted to get a shot of all of the cast members together from the 25th anniversary special but...nada. Fortunately I was able to find this cast photo from one of my favorite eras.
Friday, December 03, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 2
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Thursday, December 02, 2010
30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 1
I recently did the "30 Day Photo Challenge" on my Facebook page. It was fun to do, and people seemed to enjoy it, so I decided to re-print the challenge here on El Blog de Ed. If you haven't seen these already, enjoy. And if you have...sorry for the re-runs.
Day 01 - A picture of yourself with five facts
- 1. I won the school spelling bee in the 6th grade. I lost the county bee in the 1st round. I've never used the word "emblem" since. 2. I have no interest in ever visiting Asia. 3. I know every Weird Al song by heart. Yep. All 146 of them. 4. I've never watched a full episode of M*A*S*H. And I don't want to. 5. I married the hot barista at the coffee shop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)