Good afternoon all!After 14 hours of sleep I may finally be ready to start regaling you all with tales from
HTM2004. Bear with me because this will probably be very long… (but then again, I guess that just proves how enjoyable the trip was!)
Hussies Take Manhattan 2004 – Part One – December 29 @10pm to December 31 @ 2amThe trip started off fairly normally. We left Mtl a little earlier than the contracted 10pm because everyone had shown up. Both the bus driver (Bernard) and the tour operator (Gilbert) were very nice – although by the 8th hour on a completely full bus none of us were liking them, or anyone else for that matter, very much.
For some reason the trip that I had been told was for McGill and Concordia (anglo universities) students was filled with a majority of francophones our age. I guess Gilbert forgot to mention UdeM and UQAM. They were nice though, if a little loud when they drank
We made the quick jaunt to the border in about 45 minutes and got through US Customs quite easily. I learned one thing though: never make small talk with a customs agent.
Our conversation went like this:
HIM: Citizenship?
ME: Canadian
HIM: Documents, please.
(I hand him my birth certificate and ID cards)
looooooooonnng pause as he types my name in
ME: (who does NOT like long silences) I guess I’m being vetted
HIM: What?
ME: Oh… nothing
HIM: Tell me.
ME: I guess I’m being vetted.
HIM: Vetted?
ME: Er… yes. You know… er…
I literally RAN out of customs. I need to learn to shut up.
Interesting Note #1: I was terrified to not that in the customs office they had not one but TWO pictures of Bush and Cheney up on the wall. I swear the pictures were looking at me. Actually, they kind of reminded me of how Iraqi Baathists all had at least one portrait of Saddam and his favorite horse up in their homes…The trip down was very very very very long. We stopped in New Baltimore (just south of Albany) which is definitely a hick town if ever I saw a hick town. The highlight of New Baltimore was Andrea trying to take candies out of one of those candy machines but being so out of it she dropped them all over the ground.
We FINALLY arrived in NYC at around 4:45 am and were happily able to go into our hotel room at that time for a quick nap. The hotel was the Saint-James on the corner of 44th and 6th – a most wonderful location. As far as being luxurious… well it wasn’t – but we didn’t spend enough time there to complain. Overall it was very clean but the beds were made for midgets. My feet hung over the end and I’m only 5’8 ½.
That morning we decided against going to the TODAY show, as originally planned, for some more sleep. We got up around 10am and spent the day doing touristy sight-seeing stuff. From what I remember that included picking up my WICKED ticket at the Gershwin (and taking a picture in front of the theatre), Radio City Music Hall, Saint-Patrick’s, Central Synagogue, the Morgan Library, the Public Library and then taking the Staten Island Ferry (and eating SUBWAY on the boat).
Interesting Note #2: In the US you can add jalapeno peppers to you sandwich at Subway’s. Now why on earth is that not an option here? I should petition someone…[/i]
Interesting Note #3: The three of us got to do an Indianna Jones’ running action sequence to get on the return ferry at Staten Island. The doors were closing as we got there…[/i]
We arrived back at the hotel just in time to make it for the sightseeing tour included in the price of our trip. It was 3pm – we still needed to get Andrea and Robin theatre tickets for that night, change and meet the Hainsies/Kimets for dinner at 5pm.
The sightseeing tour was immediately clogged by traffic and by 4pm we had only arrived at the Dakota and Central Park. So we ditched it and took the Subway back to Times Square.
By then, the TKTS booth line was just insanely long and any shows that Robin and Andrea had thought of seeing were no longer available. It was 4:20pm. The logical thing to do was to try for Wicked lottery tickets. At the Gershwin. Which took place at 4:30.
So we literally RAN from the TKTS booth up to 55th street in crazy amounts of car and pedestrian traffic. By the time we got there it was exactly 4:30 and Robin and Andrea got in the line-up for the lottery. Meanwhile I was freaking out because it was so late and we were supposed to meet Maya at 5 at Ollies and I still needed to change.
So I took the one hotel room key we had been given, ran BACK to the hotel on 44th, changed and ran back to the Gershwin in the hope that the line was very slow moving and I might be able to put my name in too.
I arrived at the theatre exhausted, sweaty and having body checked at least four people who were innocently stopped on the side walk looking around.
Andrea and Robin had NOT gotten the tickets and were kind of disappointed – as was I because at that point we had no open time for them to see anything. Also, they had to find something to do while I was basking in Stephen Schwartz’s seat.
We finally met up with Maya and LC at Ollie’s at around 5:30 (only half and hour late!) and sat down to a delightful – if not favourable to deep discussion – dinner.
DR Jason appeared at 6:30 just as we were divvying up the bill. We took the picture that LC posted outside the restaurant just then and Maya, LC and I trudged once again up to the Gershwin. Robin and Andrea decided to try their luck with CYGOPP that evening.
Meanwhile Maya and I got into our seats at WICKED and settled in to one of my best theatrical experiences ever.
Interesting Note #4: When Idina went into her unbelievable final verse of “Defying Gravity” as she rises in the air, a woman sitting behind me actually gasped. That sums up WICKED for me…[/i]
Interesting Notes #5: I tried to phone Andrea and Robin back at the hotel room from a pay phone in the lobby of the theatre. I didn’t have enough change since the phone required 50 cents for a local call. 50 cents? That is so weird… I have never known a phone that took more than a quarter for a local call…[/i]
After the show (which kicked serious bootay) Maya and I met up with LC and her friend Carrie and planned our evening around going to a piano bar.
We went back to the hotel room to find Robin, Andrea and CYGOPP (!!!) lounging around preparing for their own activities since they weren’t quite as excited as me at the prospect of singing show tunes all night.
Our two groups split up with them wandering around (I think they went through Central Park) and us getting on a subway to the East Village.
Maya already told you about learning the golden rule of underage drinking (“don’t ask… don’t show”) while getting kicked out of Marie’s Crisis.
Luckily we FINALLY found a place that didn’t card me and we settled in for a few drinks and much jollity. Maya, LC and Carrie were all extremely nice and I am glad I got to spend some time with them.
I got back to the hotel around 1:30 and, after comparing notes with Andrea (who by this time was getting a little confused about CYGOPP) fell asleep around 2. I was nicely exhausted and knew I had to get up at 6:15 to go to the TODAY show or face the wrath of Robin.
So ends Part One. It is three pages long. Good Lord. This day by day recount might take a while to get through… I like doing this though because it helps me take stock of the entire trip at once… sorry if you guys don’t enjoy it as much as me…
