Happy Birthday Rent!

Yesterday, Rent the musical turned 20 years old.  Words cannot express how happy and how sad that makes me.  Whenever I think of the show, I can't help but think of its playwright who worked so long and hard on a show that he never got to see on Broadway.  Jonathan Larson would have been 56 years old this year, and I can't even begin to imagine what he would have accomplished in the last 20 years since gaining success and acclaim for such a beautiful show as Rent. 

However, on the other hand, it's truly great to celebrate Rent for all that it is - joyful and heartbreaking.  I never really wanted to see it.  I knew it would be depressing and I knew I'd probably cry.  It is and I did, but I learned that it's also uplifting.  It shows the power of friendship and love and just pushing through. 20 years ago, the community these artists were living in was so very different than it is now, which makes the show seem a bit dated. However, the message is still the same and still very important today.  

You're never alone. No matter what you're going through, you will always have someone there to help you.  As long as you're surrounded by people that love you, you'll be fine. 

Happy Birthday Rent!  I love you and sing you constantly, even though you make me cry every time!  

And if this song doesn't at least give you goosebumps, then you have no soul at all... : ) 

Friday Five

1. Another week, another awesome performance by the cast of Hamilton? This week it's their contribution to the Broadway Cares Easter Bonnet competition.  Their Sweeney Todd performance was perfect in every way.  Seriously, what can't this cast do?

2. This little girl and her hero garbage man are about the cutest thing ever!  

3. CJ Cregg doing the Press Briefing - Ordinarily this would make me nostalgic for The West Wing, but in a year when Donald Trump is doing his best to destroy the country, I'm even more anxious to see CJ Cregg at the podium and Jeb Bartlett in the Oval!

Allison Janney takes over White House press briefing as character 'C. J. Cregg' from 'The West Wing.' https://t.co/jdDgMDQbm5

— ABC News (@ABC) April 29, 2016

4. Love a good David Tennant tweet.  Especially when they name check Cumberbatch at the same time.  BTW: Rumor has it (well Martin Freeman said it on Graham Norton) that Sherlock will be back by the end of the year!  This is not a drill!

Who is David Tennant? Yes. And vice versa. #LSSChttps://t.co/x8fmOtNreY

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) April 28, 2016

5.  A fairly full sports week in Maryland - a 10-5 win for the O's last night, a win for the Caps in the second round of the playoffs and the draft which is apparently going well for the Ravens. Go Caps/O's/Ravens!

Something Really Rotten at 54 Below

I'm fairly hooked on Something Rotten.  It's a great big, goofy musical comedy and the cast is golden.  So when I heard the cast would be coming to 54 Below, I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone: See them sing and finally see a show at 54 Below.  Lucky for me, it was fate that there was only one ticket left that I managed to snatch up.  

This particular show would mark a few firsts for me.  Like I said, it was my very first show at 54 Below and I now know it won't be my last.  And it would be the first show/concert that I'd be attending solely by myself.  I wouldn't normally advocate going to shows on your own mostly because it's much more fun to share the experience with friends and family. However, in this case I didn't have much choice.  And I have to say, it was so much better than I could have imagined.  

When I bought the tickets, I knew I'd be in one of the 5 banquettes that's combined seating. Basically 4 people that may or may not know each other sit for the show and dinner together.  This made me a little nervous.  I was worried I'd be sitting with some couples who didn't need a 5th wheel or with people that just wanted to chat, which as we've all learned, I'm not so good with.  But it couldn't have worked out any more smoothly.  Three women from New Jersey who were in the city for the evening were my seat mates.  As luck would have it, one was a teacher as well so we chatted about that and musical theatre.  What could be any better?

After the seating arrangement was worked out, I was ready to order dinner.  Even though the Iced Tea was atrocious, the Espresso rubbed Hanger Steak I ordered was to die for!  So delicious!  It didn't help me falling asleep a few hours later but at the time, I completely enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the dessert menu was slightly lacking, so I chose to save my room for the rest of my chocolate cookie from Levain back in my hotel.  

Then it was on to the main event.  I knew that 54 Below was a small speak easy like room with a tiny stage and a large piano.  However, it somehow looked even smaller in person, which made the whole experience even more exciting. Also, it didn't hurt that the "talent" was just wandering around and mingling with the ordinary folk - so much so that when Christian Borle was as the bar drinking, I thought to myself "that guy looks like Christian Borle." Then I had to remind myself that it was indeed Christian Borle that was standing about 20 feet away from me enjoying his scotch. Awesome and slightly intimidating...

The entire cast - minus Brian d'Arcy James (who I was really looking forward to seeing - boo!) - was there to sing the songs that were cut from the musical.  The writers of the show were there to narrate and intro the songs we were hearing, and were hilarious.  You could definitely tell how they wrote such an awesome show - their sense of humor and fun was evident in everything they did.  And the cast!  Like I said, every single member of the cast is SUPER talented.  They were equal parts hilarious and amazing, and mastered every song they sang.  

This one was my favorite even though there were maybe 4 others that were tied for that distinction.  So funny! Warning: This is a total ear worm - it will be stuck in your head for days!

The writers started the evening off mentioning that they wrote a total of 54 songs for the show, which were pared down to 18 in the final cut.  I only wish we could have heard every one of the 36 songs that were cut because the 10 or so we did hear are still stuck in my head and made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.  It was, by far, the perfect way to spend an evening. I can't say enough about just how much I enjoyed myself and I can't wait to return and catch another show - or 10...  

24 Hours in the City that Never Sleeps

A few months ago, I was messing around online and noticed that the cast of Something Rotten would be appearing at 54 Below on April 25, and there was exactly one ticket left.  It was fate really.  So I purchased the ticket and booked the bus and hotel for my very first solo adventure to New York.  I didn't have a problem with the idea of traveling alone.  It's just that I'd never had the opportunity to actually do it.  Now was my chance.  While most of my friends and family thought the idea was a bit nutty, I wasn't worried at all.  I've never been nervous or afraid in New York - DC yes, Baltimore yes, but never New York.

So, you ask,  what did I learn in my little adventure? I learned that traveling in NYC alone, is basically awesome.  Ok, I say awesome.  When you hear exactly what I did, you may think I have a slightly skewed definition of the term, but hey, I had fun. That's all that counts.  It was great to be back in the city again, as it always is and it was even better to be there in the gorgeous weather.  It's been winter for so long, I'd forgotten what New York looked like in the sun and warmth. And thank goodness for the lovely weather, because most of my plans involved wandering which is not nearly as fun when it's cold and rainy.

For transportation - because no one in their right mind actually drives into the city if they don't have to - I took the MegaBus, which is not usually my favorite form of travel, but it's cheap and easy.  And this time around, it was completely fine. Unfortunately though, MegaBus drops you off at 27th street, a bit outside of Midtown (17 blocks to be precise). And while I would normally cab it, I was feeling very "I am woman, hear me roar" so I walked to my hotel - The Row.  This was my first time staying there and I will gladly recommend it to everyone.  It was really affordable and had a cool vibe.  At this point, it was past lunchtime, so I decided I needed to eat (and when don't I decide that, really?)  

My original plan was to walk down to the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle because it was supposed to be raining and I wanted to have something inside to do that I hadn't done before. It wasn't in fact raining, but I just went along with it, because it was on the list and lists are meant to be followed.  Time Warner Center is sort of a high end mall, so if you like that sort of thing, you'll like this place.  But I'm not rolling in the dough, so I just chose to grab a quick sandwich at Bouchon Bakery and move along.  At this point, I had about 2.5 hours until I needed to be back to the hotel.  Something you may not know about me: when I plan a trip, I always estimate things are going to take WAY longer than they actually do.  So I always wind up with WAY too much time on my hands. 

Since I had nothing else planned for my first day, I chose to raid the plans for the next day, which were Lincoln Center and Levain Bakery - home of the best cookies in Manhattan. So I meandered my way up Broadway and happened upon Lincoln Center.  In my head I knew the complex was large but I don't think I realized it was that large.  It's a huge area filled with gorgeous buildings and sculptures.  And on a Monday afternoon, not a lot of people so there were great picture taking opportunities to be had. From there I continued upward and found the bakery of my dreams - along with 25 hipsters waiting in line for the cookies they had dreamed of as well. For once my ridiculous over-estimations worked in my favor and I had plenty of time to wait with them.  

I'm not sure the cookies were life-changing like the articles I had read said they were, but they were pretty darn delicious.  I could only eat half of my Double Chocolate Chip, so I saved it for a midnight snack.  (Helpful hint: One can only assume the cookies are full of all sorts of sugar that makes them delicious.  Therefore, they may not be the perfect midnight snack unless you want to toss and turn for the next 3 hours like I did...Now you get why my post title is clever, right?)  After Levain, I should have walked the 30 blocks back to my hotel to get rid of some of the calories I had just ingested but instead I wanted to try the subway to prove that I could do it and not get lost.  So I hopped the downtown train on 72nd street and after only 2 missteps - Don't text and walk down stairs, you may end up almost breaking your ankle and the 1 train may work, but hopping off to catch the 2 train just in the knick of time is a better idea - I managed to get back to 42nd street and then to my hotel quite easily. 

In the madness of the day, I realized some things can only happen in New York which is why I happen to love it so much.  At Lincoln Center, I missed by a matter of minutes (I saw the news van setting up) a press conference with a famous opera singer.  On 44th Street I walked through a hoard of screaming tweens who were super excited about someone (still not sure who it was) walking into the MTV studio and then walked by Sardi's wherein a movie was filming.  How often has any of that happened to you in your own city?  Never in mine!

And that's just the first day.  I still had a lovely evening and a great tomorrow ahead of me which you'll hear about soon, if you can handle any more of my gushing.

Trivia Tuesday

~ After walking around 12 miles for the course of the last 2 days in truly terrible walking shoes, it's quite difficult to get into and out of a bar stool.

~ While I was feeling pretty good about knowing the answer to the first of 3 movie quote questions - seeing as I know nothing about movies - my luck quickly ran out.  The next 2 I've never seen nor did I know anything about them (Anchorman and 16 Candles in case you were wondering.)  However, it turned out my teammates didn't know them either. 

~ The one and only basketball team I know - Chicago Bulls - was the answer to a question tonight.  Hopefully, we'll now never get another basketball question since I've exhausted my basketball knowledge on tonight's answer. 

~ Sometimes it's better to just disagree with the ridiculous answer and give the more logical one, instead of letting the player with the ridiculous win.  Contrary to one person's opinion, CrossFit is not a sport that includes a "kiss and cry" area.  Figure Skating - like the rest of the team said - is. 

~ The only ATM in the world that you can read in Latin is in Vatican City.  Maybe my one year of Catholic School Latin will FINALLY come in handy.

~ When having a terrible day, apparently it helps to constantly list all the things you're bad at.  While it annoys everyone at the table, sometimes it makes the person that's having a bad day feel better.  (Though I have no idea how.  Wouldn't it be better to name all the things you're good at?)

~ You must listen to the State Capital song every now and again to refresh your knowledge, of you may forget a few verses and realize you don't know that Montpelier is not the capital of New Hampshire.  (Why one of the maybe 10 capitals I know is of Vermont, I'll never know.)  Though sometimes, if you sing the song enough, you'll remember other capitals that may or may not be the answer.  And in this case, they weren't...

~ Sleeping Beauty is based on a classical piece by Tchaikovsky.  I was fairly certain the only Disney movie based on classical music was Fantasia.  So happy we had a dancer on the team that knew that.  And the team mate that always wants to bet it all was even happier because she was allowed to go all in which makes her night.

Off to NY

As a treat to myself, I'm heading off to New York City tomorrow for a very full 24 hours.  Of course, it didn't have to be a full 24 hours, by if you have the time in the city, why not use it to your advantage?  It actually started as a lark - I found out that a show I loved would be performing a special concert and there was only one ticket left.  That was just meant to be, right?  But to see the show, it would require an overnight trip so that meant a hotel. Then there was some free hours in there that needed to be filled. And that required planning.

Which is why I hit Google Maps and Pinterest.  They are my most favorite resources for a quick trip planning session.  Pinterest helps me find out what I want to see or things I haven't seen yet. Then Google Maps helps me map them to figure out what's near and what's far.  When you only have a few hours to site see, wanting to see, for instance, The Public down on 7th street and Central Park in the 60s is just slightly out of the question. Also, seeing as I'm completely incompetent with directions, Google Maps helps me find my way around.  Thank god for mini computers in the palms of our hands!

This trip around, I've chosen to hit uptown to see a few things I haven't seen yet.  I've made a list of bakeries all within a few blocks of each other (Thanks Google!) and I'll be trying out the goods at each.  I've also decided to give the Subway a shot since I've never done it on my own before.  I've managed to master the Tube in London, it's ridiculous that I haven't mastered the NY Subway system yet. And lastly, if there's any time left I'll need to get to the Drama Bookshop, because no trip is complete without buying at least one book.  

I'm hoping the trip goes off without a hitch, but even if there are complications, 2 days in the city are always better than 2 days at work!

Shakespeare 400

It seems weird for people all over the world to celebrate the day someone died.  But that is just the case today.  William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today.  And yet somehow the scholars not entirely certain when he was born - they assume it was the same day.  So I guess we should be celebrating his birthday today too.  I'm of the theory, we should be celebrating Shakespeare every day, not just April 23, but that's just me. (I may be a bit of a fan girl...)

There's a lot of discussion on whether or not Shakespeare was even one person.  And if you read the articles, there's a great deal of evidence why that might be true - reasons that actually make a lot of sense.  However, the biggest reason the scholars have is that not one person could be this influential - multiple people had to have written the sonnets and plays in his name.  I personally hate that excuse.  Why can't one amazing person be as talented as William was? Some people are just gifted and to think that some writer from Stratford couldn't have been born with that gift is just a cop out.

I'd like to think that today's international celebrations prove that theory wrong.  Like I said, there are millions of people in England and all over the world celebrating his life and his work today.  They're reading his plays, and watching productions and performing in his honor.  My favorite tribute is, of course, out of England: The 37 walk.  London's holding a walk where productions of all 37 of his plays are playing at intervals.  What a fantastic idea! Then there is the HUGE celebration taking place at the RSC that's being shown at theatres all over the UK. (We of course have to wait until next month to see it - boo!)  And those are just a few of the ones I know about.  I'm sure there are tons of other celebrations happening over the globe.  

And that's not even mentioning just how beloved his works are.  Many people say that Hamlet is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written.  (While I think Hamlet is equally brilliant, I'd like to make a case for Richard II and A Midsummer Night's Dream as well...) And in my opinion it's made even more beautiful in performance. I'm fascinated by the idea that Shakespeare was able to write those gorgeous words, while picturing just how much better they'd be with the right actor saying them. His works have influenced actors and writers alike, and I think that's why so many performers are still drawing inspiration from him today.

And I think he deserves to be given the credit he's due.    

Friday Five

1. "The Night Manager": I've been waiting for months to see this hit American television.  Now that this adaptation of the John LeCarre novel started, I'm hooked.  It's fantastic!  I suppose Tom Hiddelston is dreamy enough, but I'm really watching for Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman.  They're both just so, so good.  Can't wait to see where the next 5 episodes go - whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be a twisty ride. 

2. Honestly, the Hamilton cast can do no wrong.  They even say farewell to a music icon perfectly.  How else to honor Prince than by having a curtain call dance party to "Let's Go Crazy"?

3. Not only was David Tennant the absolute perfect Doctor, but he also has the perfect idea for an American Doctor, should that ever be a possibility.  Bradley Whitford!  I can totally see it and while I'd never thought of it before, I'm now in love with it.  I'm fairly certain we Americans would be under attack by the Whovians if we ever tried to produce a Who here, but if we ever do, this needs to happen!

4. Kickstarters aren't really my thing.  I love the idea in practice, but I prefer to wait until the item's out before I spend my money.  But if this amazing photo creation hadn't been completely funded, I would have spent a little cash to get it there.  Having the chance to more easily take really good photos with my phone is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  With all the fancy buttons and whistles, this thing is sure to be a knock-out product.  Can't wait until it hits shelves!

5. Could the little Prince be any darn cuter?!

Happy & Sad Day

The day started out happily enough - Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 years old with  the celebration of an entire nation.  I have to say, the Queen received all sorts of perks that I don't remember President Obama getting when it was his birthday.  I suppose though that President Obama has only been in power for 7 years where as Elizabeth has been Queen for almost 70.  

I know many people don't get the monarchy, and to a point I don't really either.  However, I do like the Queen.  She just seems like a sweet grandmother you'd like to have afternoon tea with.  I'm fairly certain the adorable photos they released of her with her grandchildren, didn't hurt that image one bit.  And I know she's notoriously reserved - she definitely has the English stoicism down to a tee - but I hope she's happy to see such a fuss being made about her.  After all she's weathered, she deserves a celebration. Happy Birthday Your Majesty!

After the birthday celebrations, the day continued on quite happily with the celebrations of my parent's 37th anniversary.  They are definitely my most favorite couple in the world (obviously!) They are a loving, funny, kind, playful and all around fabulous couple and they deserve all the love and happiness in the world. Here's to at least 37 more years, buds! Love you tons!

Then of course, the day took a bit of a curve with the news that Prince had died.  Now I don't count myself as a huge music person - I love music but I know next to nothing about things that aren't Billy Joel or Showtunes. So I was quite shocked by the outpouring of mourning for the last few hours. I knew he was good, but I didn't realize just how much he had contributed to the music industry and how much people loved him. When someone so relatively young dies, it's always sad, but it seems that this death is going to take a little more time for some to get over than others.

52 Lists: Week 14

I've never been a big candy eater.  If I want sweets I go straight for the cookies or the cake or the ice cream or any number of other yummy chocolate things.  And of I do go for the candy, it's NEVER fruit flavored.  I was the kid in the class that was bummed when teachers handed out lollipops or starburst.  Those were definitely not my style.  It's always been chocolate for me. And more specifically Dark Chocolate.  Don't get me wrong, I'll eat milk chocolate if that's all you have, but I definitely prefer me some Dark.

In the candy aisle, my favorites are:

~ Dove - either Sea Salt Caramels or Dark Chocolate squares or Dark Chocolate Truffles
~ Hershey's Dark Chocolate Miniatures - You can't always find them, but when you do, it's like Christmas!
~ Kit Kats - Yummy normally but even better when you can find the bag of White, Dark and Milk.  However, the White Chocolates always go to waste. (What's even the point of white chocolate, anyway!?)
~ M&Ms - Always plain, sometimes peanut in a pinch
~ Vanilla Butter Creams and Marshmallow Creams - In a box of chocolates, those are the ones I eat first.  My absolute favorites of these are found at the Annapolis Farmers Market - their handmade candy eggs are like heaven on earth
~ Mounds - Never Almond Joy: that pesky almond just gets in the way of more coconut and chocolate
~ Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
~ Caramellos
~ Milky Way Darks

While looking at this list, it actually does sound like I'm lying when I say I'm not a big candy eater.  But I promise you all of these come in tiny sizes and those are the ones I eat : )

Trivia Tuesday

~ Our team is a one act team.  We are either fantastic in the first half or the second half, never both.  If we rock the first half - as we did tonight - we will most likely crash and burn in the second half - as we did tonight.

~ Trying to keep up with an Orioles game while the team next door is shouting over a NY Rangers game is quite confusing.  Add to it trivia and music, and you've got an ADD ridden me.

~ Someone, somewhere has way too much love for classic wrestling and holds way too much stock in other people having the same love.  When no one gets the final question correct - maybe you should retire that particular category.

~ For the second time, we were able to guess the answer before hearing the question (just by knowing what the category is) and this time it happened twice in the same round.  Thanks for all the Twitter coverage of Axl Rose joining AC/DC and Doris Roberts passing away.

~ The one thing I don't know about the Brits is the English Monarchy.  I just don't get the appeal.  Luckily others on our team knew that Camilla is the Duchess of Cornwall and not Kate. I do however gain a slight bit of satisfaction from the fact that a lot of Brits are dismissive of the monarchy as well.

~ We will never get a geography question correct, it's just fate these days.  This time it wasn't even African geography that tripped us up, it was world geography.  In case you were wondering, 0 degrees latitude and longitude is found in the Atlantic, not the Pacific.  Even with a 50/50 shot we choose incorrectly. 

~ Working together is the best way to get an answer that no one knows.  One team member only knew one song -  Son of a Preacher Man - that appeared in Pulp Fiction, while another knew that that particular song was sung by Dusty Springfield.  Seeing as the question was asking which Dusty Springfield song appeared in Pulp Fiction, we assumed we had the correct answer. 

~ I learned from my team mates that Aluminum and Platinum are not alloys, but Stainless Steel is.  At some point I should probably learn what an alloy is.

~ Thankfully, the answer to a Hockey question was the Capitals; the only team in Hockey I know anything about.

Walk Don't Run to Your Nearest Exit

I saw this bumper sticker on a car today, and thought it was fairly perfect for me.  I've been thinking a lot about running, especially since today is the Boston Marathon and somehow lots of people my friends know are running in it - according to Facebook anyway. Because of that, I saw tons of posts of FitBits with fastest times, and photos of sneakers all laced up and ready to go, and some TMI posts about what people felt after the big race.  I totally could have done without those posts.

Meanwhile, I'm just here on Facebook trying to see some cute pics of dogs and hear how the Caps are doing. Is that really too much to ask?  The running thing is just so not my thing.  I'd like to say I'd like it to be.  I hear all sorts of wonderful health benefits and stress relief that comes from taking a run. You get to participate in races with friends and get cool tee shirts when you finish races to.  However, there are some bodies that just aren't made for running. One of those bodies is mine.  Walking is more my speed.  It's actually the best way I find to daydream and listen to music while getting into shape and I can do it on my lunch break without needing an extra bag of clothes and a shower afterwards.

But running, that's an entirely different story.  First off I'm out of breath in about 20 feet.  I could probably work on that, but why should I when walking is just so much more manageable? Secondly, you need sneakers and spandex and special sportsy garments that will keep certain things from moving about during the run.  I can walk in flip flops and my clothes I wore to work - I wouldn't suggest doing that, but my Sanuks are super comfy so I'm ok with it. Lastly, have you heard what may or may not happen at the end of a marathon to your body?  Why on earth would any one willingly do something when chafing, cramping and other unmentionable horrors are par for the course?  

No thank you, I'll just stick to my usual walking.  It's so much more civilized and I don't have to worry about embarrassing myself in the aftermath.

Just So Darn Creepy...

I consider myself fairly well-versed in technology and social media.  I know how to do things on the computer.  I understand most tech-speak - and if I don't I can sorta guess what you're talking about it.  I use Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest religiously.  I even know what a meme is.  And even with all this, I still can't fathom what the heck Snapchat is about.

Apparently, lots of people use it to take photos - why they can't just use the camera on phone.  Because as far as I can tell, the only thing it has going for it is that you can add words to the photos to explain to people what's happening in the photo.  Which I suppose would come in handy if you couldn't really see the photo but if you can't see the photo, then you can see the words, right?  I feel there's a flaw in their logic.

And of course the other thing it does - and the entire reason I'm railing against the machine - is this face swap thing that so many people are using to terrorize their friends and frighten small children. Why, why, why?? Why on earth is this a thing?  It's just so darn creepy. Let's pass a rule that we as the human race aren't going to do that anymore.  Life will be just a whole lot more refined... 

The Secret Garden

Last night, thanks to the bestie, I finally saw The Secret Garden live at Colonial Players.  I have to say, it was never really one of the shows that I just had to see.  Quite honestly, I didn't really want to see it at all, but the bestie loves it so we went.  When we saw Boeing Boeing at Colonial Players a few weeks ago, it was fabulous.  The acting and staging were perfect.  This time around, not so much.

Between the random "dead" people singing and chasing alive characters around the stage and the non-trained actors attemtping a Yorkshire accent, it was most definitely not my favorite show of all time.  I'm sure the original show was lovely, but this one was extremely confusing.  I'm still not 100% sure of the storyline. The kids that acted in it, however were spectacular!  I wish I had half the talent and confidence they have.   

While watching the show, and admittedly drifting a bit, I realized something about my interests.  While the bestie loves classics, I'm more of a new fangled girl.  I love new ideas, new music, new stories.  I appreciate the classics, and there are a few that I'm madly in love with, but for the most part, I'd rather watch new stories be told.  So I'm using that as my reasoning for not enjoying the show last evening as much as the bestie did.  The cast and crew worked really, really hard, but some classic shows and some classic ideas are better left to the pros.  Meanwhile, I'll stick to the new stuff.  

Friday Five

1. I've been dying to see "Fully Committed" since they announced it last year.  What's not to love?  A one man show in which Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays 40 different characters, and it's about the foodie world.  It's the makings of perfection.  And seeing as I have to wait until next month to see, I'm loving the chance to sneak a peek at the set design.  So not what I was expecting, but so beautiful!

2. So happy that the Capitals are in the playoffs for obvious reasons, but even happier that these little ones got to share in on the fun.  Seriously, how cute are they?!

3. Seeing as it's April, and it's the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it's time to geek out over him again.  I was in awe of England again, dedicating a whole show with lots of live performances to the man on this momentous occasion then beaming it all over the UK.  But I was even happier when I heard they would also be beaming it to the States too.  Of course I'll have to wait a month, but it's all good.  Yet another fun thing to look forward to this summer, and another reason why England is the best country ever!

4. If anyone would like to purchase me anything in the near future, please let it be this electric tea kettle because it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

5. Up until earlier this week, I was ready to praise the undefeated Orioles, but that streak has since ended.  However, 8-2 is nothing to sneeze at and since tonight they managed to overcome a 4 run deficit to win 11-5, I've decided they're ok with a few losses under their belts.  Since we had quite the ugly season for the Ravens, we need a happy season for the O's and it looks like this one might be it!

Life, Lately...

To be honest, life lately has been a bit full.  I mean, April is always quite busy since there's Easter, and at least a half dozen birthdays and anniversaries sprinkled throughout the month.  But for some reason, this year is even busier than usual.  Because of that and being completely bored at work, I've been a lazy bum in the evenings when there's nothing happening.  

This means, that the usual scrapping, reading and general puttering I usually do isn't getting done.  But that doesn't mean it's gone completely out the window, there's still a little bit happening here and there.  I've finished one book already - all about Meredith Wilson writing the Music Man (a musical I'm not even all that crazy about) - still pretty great stuff! - and I'm working on another I purchased in England almost 3 years ago. See what I mean about a backlog?  

As for scrapbooking, the one big project I'd really like to finish is the album of my England pictures.  It's coming around slowly but surely.  In fact I just spent 3 hours on it this evening, but due to some stupid photo printing on my behalf, and my general flakiness with ideas, it's taking longer than anticipated.  I love it so far, but there's still ALOT of embellishing and journaling to do - you know, that pesky, difficult part of scrapbooking.  And I've got the NYC album in progress as well, which is coming along swimmingly.  Of course, I haven't had a trip there since last month, so that might explain why it's still up to date. 

In the other activities arena, April's been a bit mad.  I usually have no luck with interviews and job offers, but this month, I've had one interview already and another set up next week. There's even been a very bad but very tempting offer that I finally turned down after much hemming and hawing. I realized, that while I don't know what I want to do, that job wasn't it.  Also, I'm not terribly unhappy at my job right now, so I can afford to be picky.  I do admit though, that I'm loving getting the practice.  Maybe the next time I talk to someone out of state about a cool job I won't actually bomb as badly as I did the last time.  One could hope...

And in the fun area, there's been lots happening too.  I'm seeing The Secret Garden this weekend in Annapolis.  I have my very own solo trip to Manhattan coming up quite quickly. There's some sort of German Dinner coming up next weekend that I know next to nothing about, except that I'm going.  And to top it all off, Shakespeare's Birthday celebration is being broadcast here and tickets go on sale tomorrow. Between those tickets and the ones that I got for BroadwayCon, and the money that was spent at Supernatural's DCCon, you could say that along with April being a busy month, it was also an expensive month.  Of course, I'm choosing to live by my new philosophy - you only live once. (Note I'm spelling it out, because I'm definitely not young enough or cool enough to get away with the newfangled YOLO variation : )

52 Lists: Week 13

As you may have guessed, I have a slight affinity for bookstores.  I can spend hours just wandering around in them and often spend a great deal of money in them.  They are also the one type of store I always seek out when traveling.  There's nothing better than finding a really good bookstore!  For some reason, in all my travels to NYC, I've not managed to make it to the Strand yet, but one of these days that's going to change - until then, these are my favorite. 

 Bank Street Books in Mystic Connecticut

 Pretty much every bookstore I went into in England.  At the time the Books are my Bag campaign was kicking off and for an extra pound, you could purchase this awesome bag to carry your purchases in - Love!

 Green Valley Book Fair in West Virginia - So many cheap books!

My personal favorite of the few drama bookshops in Manahattan - The Drama Bookshop on 41st street.  Don't get me wrong, I happen to love Theatre Circle as well, but this one's selection is unbeatable.

Pretty much the entire village of Hay on Wye, Wales, though I was partial to the Mystery Book shop

Others - that for some reason I can't find a photo of - include, Book People in Austin Texas, Royal Shakespeare Company's Bookshop in Stratford-On-Avon England, City Lights Books in San Francisco California and the Smith College Used Book Fair, which isn't really a bookstore but is my most favorite place to find used books each year.

Trivia Tuesday

~ It is mathematically possible to be in the very bottom the entire game, wager it all on the last question and wind up in second place.  At that point, you don't feel as though you're as ridiculously dumb as you have the entire evening.

~ If you're having a bad enough day, sometimes nice things will make you cry in the middle of a bar.

~ It's quite difficult to focus on trivia when the Orioles are playing the Red Sox and they're going back and forth on the score board.  (Last I checked they were ahead - 7-0 baby!)

~ There's a website called WhereisGeorge.com and this website does nothing but track one dollar bills by serial number.  However, this site apparently doesn't have much traffic seeing as 15 hits is the most any one dollar bill has gotten.  (So much for guessing 748,000...)

~ A fuzzy navel is a terrible enough name for a drink, but when you add vodka to it, it becomes a hairy navel - which is an even more horrible name for a drink.

~ When your team can't even get the very first question right, you know you're in for a rough night.

~ My love for the television show House, makes me sound like a drug addict when the question revolves around Vicodin and Hydrocodone.

~ There are at least 2 video games revolving around Tom Clancy characters?  Who knew he was such a popular writer?  

Con Girl

Cons are a relatively new thing in the world of geekdom.  I mean, they've always been around, but they've gotten HUGE in the last few years.  Some television shows have their very own cons.  Then, there is the insanity revolving around ComicCon.  Basically, there's all sorts of fun to be had at cons.  It was only a matter of time before the theatre got in on the goods.  

Enter, BroadwayCon of 2016.  I was skeptical about it at first.  I mean, Broadway people are crazy busy - 8 shows a week certainly takes its toll.  And, honestly, would a bunch of theatre people really want to join with other theatre people, dress up like characters from musicals, and geek out over how amazing Broadway is?  In short, the answer was yes.  Based on what I've read and what I stalked on Twitter, it was a resounding success.  So of course, I really needed to see it for myself, which is why I added it to my 29 + 3 year bucket list.  

Luckily, they were smart and released WAY more tickets than last year and I'm pretty quick at the computer.  Woohoo!  Of course I have to wait 9 more months until I get to have all the fun.  Also, seeing as the event was very nearly snowed out this year, I'm fairly worried, that the blizzard of the century will ruin my weekend.  Of course, being snowed in, in a beautiful city on vacation can never be a bad thing...

Master's Weekend

After being at the top since Thursday, it was a foregone conclusion that Jordan Spieth would be the winner for the second time in 2 years.  However, that's not the way this Sunday went, unfortunately. I mean, I'm very, very happy for Danny Willet, but after Mickelson missed the cut, McIlroy sort of went off the deep end, and Day wasn't really doing well, Spieth was definitely the one I wanted to win. And based on his fabulous weekend, he was going to.  But it just wasn't meant to be.

But I have to say, Willet winning made a great story - a master story you might say : ) And with that, another fabulous Master's weekend came to an end.  Not the way a lot of people thought it would, but it was just as beautiful, and just as traditional as it is every year, which is exactly why I love it!  

March Reads in Review

As you can see, March's list was just a tad shorter than February's.  I'm not sure why but I had a hard time getting in the groove of reading last month.  However, there was most definitely a theme - Children's books. I've been thinking a lot about reading some classic kid lit that I've never read, so each time I'm in a bookstore and I'm buying something, I try to add one or two to my haul.  So far, so good.  

The Night Fairy: Not a classic, but I'm a sucker for all things Fairy. I'm just not seeing this added to any go to lists for my future children.  While not horrible, it just wasn't that great.

Jack and Louisa Acts 1 & 2: I dedicated an entire post to these 2 books so you already know I feel about them.  So fantastic!  Can't wait to read them to the future children.

James and the Giant Peach: I have no idea how I ever missed reading this book growing up. You'd think it would have been a reading assignment at some point, but apparently not.  It's very cute. There were some parts I was surprised made it into a children's book, but for the most part, those would be fairly easy to pass over if you were reading to a child.  Great illustrations too!

After the kids books, there was a little adult reading in the form of 2 plays.

Time Stands Still by Donald Marguiles:  It played Broadway a few years ago so I was interested in seeing what it was all about.  It wasn't my favorite, but it was really good and really well written. Smart people talking smart - probably better when seen live. 

Almost, Maine by John Cariani: Ok, I will admit to reading this one solely because John Cariani is in Something Rotten! and he talks about it in all his interviews.  After I heard it overtook A Midsummer Night's Dream (a personal fave of mine!) for most produced play by high school students, I just had to see what it was about.  And...it so wasn't what I expected. It was just so much stranger than I thought it would be.  Love me some John Cariani, but I'm going to stick to Shakespeare from now on.

Friday Five

1. Gilmore Girls Revival Scoop!: While I may not be a huge Melissa McCarthy Fan, the news that Sookie St. James is returning to the show makes me very happy.  How could you have possibly had Lorelei without her BFF Sookie?  And in other scoop news, the announcement of a Stars Hollow musical in one of the episodes is too delicious not to gush about!  Add to that Kerry Butler, Sutton Foster and Christian Borle, and you have the makings of an already perfect episode without a single moment being filmed yet. 

2. Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel singing my "bad day sing to the top of my lungs song" Take me or Leave Me from RENT.  So amazing!  While this song is usually sung by 2 women, the guys completely pull it off, which is totally the point of the Miscast Benefit : )

3. A few years ago someone got the genius idea to take photographs of photographs in the same place the original photo was taken.  Hard to explain but you get the general idea.  Well a fabulous photographer has taken that general idea, and captured some beautiful photos of Paris then and now.  Every photo shows just far the city of light has come and how breath-taking it is now and was then.

4. I absolutely adore Masters week.  There's just so much pomp and circumstance that goes into making it the best event of the year.  And while, at the start of the day I was ready to see Mickelson make a run for another green jacket, it doesn't actually look like that'll be the case this year.  However, it's great to see Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth both battle for the win.  I love them both so either winning would just be icing on the cake!

5. Broadway casting this season is completely on point.  Every time I hear a new show or new concert, I'm blown away by how good the lineup for these events are in 2016.  Between "The Front Page" with Nathan Lane and Falsettos with Andrew Rannels and Christian Borle or Robber Bridegroom with Steven Pasquale, Fully Committed with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and even the return of God in Act of God with Sean Hayes - it's going to be a very, very expensive year!

Some Days...

The problem with writing every day is that sometimes days are boring and dreary.  Some days it rains all day long and it's cold in April.  Some days you're hit with the Post-con crud that you've always heard about but never really believed in, which includes coughs, sore throat, and feeling like your head is a big balloon about to pop.  And those days there isn't much to talk about except maybe the Masters.  And while the Masters is super exciting - yay for Jordan Spieth! - it's only the first day. We still have 3 more days of excitement and fun to talk about - I know you're excited about hearing all about it : )

New Year, New Me

So I may have done something ridiculously stupid.  Something a sane person wouldn't have done.  Something I didn't think I'd do.  But I did and I'm actually pretty happy about it now. To really understand why I did it, you have to understand, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up.  I know I should but I don't.  As of this moment, I'm an Instructional Designer.  Yep, it's not nearly as exciting as it sounds...

So because of this, I've been looking for jobs.  In theory, even if it's not the perfect job, I'll get experience interviewing - which we learned a few weeks ago I'm terrible with.  Anyway, I applied. I interviewed.  I dazzled for a change.  And I was offered the job.  And I was offered lots more money than I'm currently making.  Yep, it was more of the same that I'm doing now.  Yep, it was still techy boringness. But I was going to be paid a lot for it.  More money equals more travel which equals a happy me.

However, I still struggled with it.  Did I really want to start a new job in a new company that was so giant?  Did I want to start a new job right before Summer?  Did I really want to have to deal with the devil I didn't know as opposed to the ones I did?  After going back and forth, a million times, I decided I'd take the job.  Until...

I spoke to someone who had worked there before and actually worked with the person I'd be working with.  What I was most worried about turned out to be the least of my worries.  There were other issues and other "interesting" quirks that this person had that would have made my work life much more miserable than it is right now.  Also, there was a dress code that I wasn't aware of - a dress code that would make me look like I was living in the movie "9 to 5" which is just not me. 

So I 100% decided to not to take the job.  When I lead this story, I always talk about the money first.  Everyone thinks I'm nuts for turning it down.  However, after I give them the rest of the reasoning, most people think I'm at least a bit more rational than they did.  I'm happy with what I did.  I just don't want to make a deal with the devil just to make more money.  I'm proud of myself for turning down the cash in favor of mental health.  

Of course that was before Broadway Con 2017 was scheduled this afternoon - a little extra dough would come in handy right about now... : )

Trivia Tuesday

~ Any game of trivia that starts with a question, that I must answer with a complete and total guess, is destined to continue on very badly.  Jupiter is the second most massive thing in the sky after the sun.  Everyone else seemed to know that, which is good since I obviously didn't.

~ My inability to watch any movies did not help with a question on the Goonies, which is apparently a classic that I'm a heathen for never seeing.

~ As much as I like the Muppets, in 3 questions we only managed to answer 1 correctly. Who knew that Dr. Teeth was the head of the Electric Mayhem band.  I thought it was Animal...

~ 200 miligrams make up a carat, and 1 knot is equal to 1 mile, which begs the question, why the heck even have a knot if you could just say mile?

~ The master of the trivia must love hockey, basketball and geography in no particular order.  Team Buy me a Drink First knows nothing about hockey, basketball and geography...

~ The Halux is another name for your big toes.  Why is their a conjoined name for your big toes?  Is there some sort of condition that involves just your big toes that sounded too ridiculous when used with big toes?

~ Who would have thought that I'd get a question in the category of Tear Jerkers correct?  It helps that it wasn't about sad movies at all, but about onions.  (Vidalia onions are from Georgia if you're curious)

~ Seeing how poorly we showed this evening, I feel likehaving the last question category before the final be "Long Shot" was just pouring salt in our wounds.  And it was in fact a long shot seeing as it was about 80s hockey goalies.

~ And yet betting it all on a 25% chance, sometimes works in your favor and sometimes you come out in second place. Woohoo!