NEW YORK, N.Y. — Here I am, sipping espresso and computing at the internet terminal in the lobby of Hotel Giraffe, on the corner of Park Avenue South and 26th Street. It’s been an amazing weekend, and I return to D.C. tonight. More details soon.
Well, I’m off to Union Station. I’m zipping up to New York City, and meeting up with Rajani and Subarna for a nice holiday weekend. It’s a reprise of our getaway last winter, and come to think of it, I haven’t seen Rajani since then, so it’s about time! On tap for this weekend: The Hard Nut (Mark Morris’ production of The Nutcracker turned on its head) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway. And of course, generous servings of excellent shopping and dining.
Wow, three trips to New York in the span of just over a month. I’m getting to be an old pro. Have a great weekend, folks.
Today we had our Christmas party at work. It was definitely a lot more fun than I had expected. Take a normally quiet office, and give the folks free rein, and watch out! Good food and games. Our department is all decorated, and who knows if or when the decorations are coming down. We spent a lot of time hanging up snowflakes (and microfiche), constructing a tree out of document folders, and so forth, that it’s a shame to take it all down. We figure at least the tree should stay. It’ll be our generic holiday tree: Valentine’s Day, Easter, umm, Arbor Day?
I went home early and watched some music specials on PBS, including Christmas with Chanticleer, broadcast from the medieval sculpture hall at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chanticleer is a San Francisco-based men’s a cappella group that sings mostly early Renaissance and sacred music. The one word that comes to mind is virtuosic. One thing you note is how high they sing; it’s phenomenal. I saw them in concert with Federica Von Stade last year at the Kennedy Center, and the whole program was amazing.
The Amazing Race, which started in Miami and nearly circumnavigated the globe, ending in Seattle, is now over. What a finale. I already can’t wait for the next season. Good for CBS: along with Big Brother, this is the longest stretch I’ve watched CBS on a regular basis. For now, every bit of traveling I do–even if it’s just on the metro–is infused with the sense of dramatic urgency from the show. “When’s the next train?!” “Roadblock!” “Detour!”
Ha, one of the funniest (and most helpful) things I’ve read this season: “Gifts for Sexy Anarchists: Wiccan cookbooks, chocolate handcuffs and more fine ways to perturb the GOP overlords this holiday.”
I woke up mid-afternoon, just in time to go see the second matinee of Harry Potter at the Uptown. Really good, but the only thing that bothers me is the relentless pace. It’s heavily plot-driven, leaving little time for character development, which I wanted more of. Not until very late in the movie do you get a thoughtful line, like this one from Professor Dumbledore: “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Ah well, again I say, I’m not exactly in the target audience, so I won’t belabor the criticism. By the way, someone, anyone, give Harry a haircut. Or at least a comb? Please.
Speaking of which, I got my hair cut today after work. (Get a load of this pic. I have the “stare off into the distance” look down. [photo to be re-uploaded]) I just went to the Hair Cuttery, which is your run-of-the-mill, hair salon franchise, but I landed in the hands of a great stylist. Since I get my hair cut only once or twice a year, it ends up being a big job. When asked what cut I wanted, I pointed to my hair, and said, “Can you just chop this all off?” Which she patiently did, clipping and shearing to and fro.
When we were about done, she narrowed her eyes and looked everything over. “Do you mind if I trim your eyebrows?” she asked. I was like, “Ooh, go right ahead!” I was practically having a makeover right there, and goshdarnit if I had said no. She took out a pair of tiny scissors and snipped away at my brows. You can’t really tell the difference, though, which I suppose is a good thing. They’re not shaped or anything, just a bit more orderly. (I’m reminded of this store in D.C. that I keep meaning to check out, the Grooming Lounge. I should go in and pamper myself one of these days.)
Last Saturday I took the train to New York and met up with Marie to see Baz Luhrmann’s production of La Bohème. It was amazing! His was the first Bohème I had ever watched, a few years ago on PBS, so even though it is a modern interpretation of the classic, it’s become the definitive production for me.
Marie and I were sitting up front and off to the left. By the time the opera started, the four seats to our right were still empty. (My philosophy is to treat this situation like boarding an airplane. That is, if people aren’t in their seats on time, then too bad, I reserve the right to take their seat. Heh.) So we banded together with the two guys on our left, and all of us scooted across, closer to the center. It was great. However, after the first act, the rightful owners finally arrived, and we had to scoot back. It was nice while it lasted, we sighed.
The whole show is phenomenal. Everything is so lush and energetic, from the exuberant, young singers to the set design and even to the colloquial translations. Definitely a must-see.
After the show, still stunned by the soaring operatic spectacle, Marie and I said our goodbyes, and not wanting to end my trip just yet, I walked down Broadway, looking for another show to take in. It had started to rain, and Times Square was packed with people. I turned right on 42nd Street and decided to see, yes, 42nd Street. What a great, old-fashioned, toe-tapping musical. Really, I don’t think I’ve seen more tap dancing in all my life. Lots of fun.
Right after the show, I went to Penn Station and took the last train back to D.C. I finally arrived at my apartment at around 2:30 a.m., and slept. And slept some more.
I know, it’s been a week since my last update. Apologies for not giving notice of a hiatus, but you know how it is: one day becomes two becomes six, and here I am, reminded that oh yeah, I have a day job, and groceries to buy, and books to read, and miles to go before I sleep. Anyway.
Good things come to those who wait procrastinate. As of this morning, I hadn’t yet bought a plane ticket for my Christmas trip home, and figured I would just use up a whole load of frequent-flyer miles to get home. But I came across a fare sale at American Airlines, which priced out to $180 total. For a round-trip transcontinental fare, that’s definitely a bargain. Rock on.
Over my lunch break I went to Barnes & Noble to do a little Christmas shopping. I also got The Two Towers for myself. I’m on this kick now, of reading a book before seeing a movie adaptation. I probably won’t get around to the movie until the new year, so I have plenty of time to read up before then. Another book-turned-movie I might take a look at is The Hours by Michael Cunningham.
Currently I’m on Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra. A while back I read one of the short stories per Rajani’s recommendation, and am now finally getting back to the others. It’s good stuff.
After work, I decided I would visit the mall at Pentagon City to finally get the corduroy jacket I’ve been eyeing. I boarded the metro, and started to read Love and Longing, knowing there are quite a number of station stops before I need to transfer at Gallery Place. Minutes and stations, who knows how many, speed by. Some part of my brain–the part that allows for simultaneous walking and gum-chewing–thought it could intently read a book and keep track of stations at the same time. Ah, the hubris. I snapped out of my literary reverie just as we pulled into a station, and despite the loudspeaker announcing Metro Center, I thought this was Gallery Place, jumped to my feet, and got off the metro. Umm, no. So, I didn’t miss my stop, as I had feared–I hadn’t even gotten there yet. Crikey.
I gave up. It was already 7:30 p.m. at this point, and my small navigational hiccup had brought me closer to home anyway, so I decided to forgo the mall outing until later this week. So I’ve been eating ramen noodles and writing Christmas cards. Mmm.
Tomorrow in the Journal: A weekend update–bohemian rhapsody in New York, and Harry Potter strikes back.