Look Familiar?

Still Giddy

Yup, still giddy about my great day in the city. This happy!

Is This My Life?

Ok, so it's after midnight on Wednesday night (technically Thursday morning, I guess) and I'm writing this blog after having an amazing day that I just need to talk about. I went into the city today with one of my best friends because we both had the day off and just decided to do something fun. It was one of the best days I've had in awhile.

We got into the city around one (only 12 hours ago, jeez it feels longer) and walked to the Neil Simon Theatre. We were lucky that they hadn't sold all of the lottery tickets, so we were able to get front row tickets for $25 each. I called my friend Arbender who is in Hairspray and he came out and talked for awhile, but it was so cold today in the city that I felt bad and sent him back inside.

We grabbed McDonald's for lunch, then headed back to the theatre for a 2:00 matinee. Front row. I've seen this show 7 times, and everytime I see it I notice something new, something different a cast member is doing, a different note taken in a song, etc. and it just makes me smile. Diana DeGarmo (American Idol) and Ashley Parker Angel (formerly of O-Town) are both in the show, so it was nice to see familiar faces; Diana steals my heart everytime though. After the show, Arbender took us backstage and gave us a tour of the theatre. I've done it before, so it was nice to see how excited my friend was to be given an inside look at the workings of a major Broadway theatre, from wigs to props to sets to costumes. I took this cell phone picture from the stage, looking out onto the empty audience. Arbender then dropped a bomb and told me that he was cast in The Little Mermaid, set to make its debut this Fall. He'd be leaving Hairspray to be the Prince Eric cover in a huge show. I am so proud of him. (Congratulations again Arbender!)

The theatre where Hairspray is playing is the Neil Simon Theatre, located one block from the Gershwin Theatre, which currently houses the musical Wicked. Julia Murney is currently playing the part of Elphaba, a part for which I've declared my love in prior blog posts. I first saw Julia a few years ago in a huge benefit production of Children of Eden for World AIDS Day at the Riverside Cathedral in Harlem. She was glorious. I've loved her ever since. I own her CD, a plethora (thanks for the word Gabriel) of different performances she's given while on tour with Wicked, and other random Julia stuff. Until today, I still hadn't met the woman. My friend and I decided we'd check out the stage door at Wicked to see if we could say hello to her. As we get there, Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda) came out and was more than happy to take a picture with me. She was so sweet, and awfully cute in her coat and scarf. I looked like a goof.

Shortly after that, Julia came out. I told her how much I enjoyed her (not in a creepy way, lol) and that I was really grateful that she was here in New York. She said that she'd love to do a concert if Wicked didn't keep her so busy. I asked for a picture and she was so kind to take one with me on my camera phone. It was freezing, as you can tell by what we're wearing. I was so nervous and excited and a whole bunch of things I can't explain. Hence the smile. The goofy smile. What a thrill it was to meet her. Nice to feel so young inside again. Toys 'R Us and Julia Murney do that to me, I guess.

After that, it was around 5:00, so we went over to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I had heard really great things about this show and plus, Barrett Foa (one of my big Broadway crushes) is in the current cast, so I had my sights set on seeing this show. Again, by some stroke of luck, they had 2 student tickets available for $25 each for the evening performance. Are you kidding? There's no way we could pass that up.

Having a few hours to kill, I picked up a cute pair of underwear at H&M, then we did a little sight-seeing around the area, then went to the big Toys 'R Us in Times Square. It's a place I love to go when I'm feeling too much like an adult; it helps you reconnect with all the things you loved to do when you were younger. Except that huge dinosaur they have there, that thing is way too scary for me. Stay AWAY from that. I snapped some pictures with some Candy Land characters, pictures provided for your enjoyment. Then we decided to grab dinner at Mars 2112, a tourist-themed restaurant on 50th and Broadway. My friend Samantha is the person who introduced me to this restaurant one year for my birthday, before taking me to see Rent for my first time, and I've gotten more mileage out of that restaurant than I can explain. (Love and miss you on days like this Samantha, mwah)

With dinner over, we made our way back to Spelling Bee, and pumped ourselves up for a fun show. See why I was excited? Look at that boy. Ugh, it's not right how cute he is, I'm telling you. Well he was sooooo funny in the show, I definitely want to go back and see it again, with or without Barrett in the cast (but preferably with, should I have to choose) because it's just a laugh-a-minute show that is really smart in the way that it presents itself. The whole theatre is set to look like you're in a high school gymnasium, with banners hanging everywhere, ads for local stores, and hand-made posters for Student Council elections. It's all very impressive in its presentation. I'm not sure how much of it you can see in my cell phone picture, but I thought I'd include it to share with you. The music is fun and smart and silly. And Barrett is in it, so.... :-)

What a great day, just to be able to completely let go of any responsibility, concerns about the future, regrets, hesitations, any of that everyday stuff and just have a day to giggle and smile and feel like a little kid again. I didn't have to worry about dragging my goalie bag all around the city and transferring subways and making it to certain rinks on time or posting a shutout. None of that mattered today. Today was just me and my friend doing whatever we wanted on our own terms, and having the time of our lives. I don't know what it is about New York that just makes you feel so grown-up and so young all at the same time, but I love it. I'll need to do that again sometime soon. This is the kind of happiness you stock up on for a rainy day.

Tattoo 2?

I already have a tattoo on my left thigh, but I'm thinking about getting another tattoo. (Jessica said they're addictive, I had no idea...)

I want to get something that represents the idea of holding fast to your own truth and doing what is right for yourself. It would be a representation of all that I've gone through with T.R.U.T.H. If you've seen "Wicked" or are familiar with the story, that's the idea I want to go for. A person who stands up for what they believe is right, regardless of how they will be labeled. I've always felt an identification with the character of Elphaba, and so ultimately I guess that her hat would be a good symbol, but I think I'd want it to look very specific. It would look like the hat in this picture, but would be small, and maybe on my wrist?

Any suggestions would be helpful, because there's always the safety of getting a New Jersey Devils tattoo.

Tournament News and More...

Exciting news...I was just asked to be the starting goaltender for a tournament team in Philadelphia at the end of March into April! I'm really excited about the prospect of finishing higher than we did at our last tournament in Aston, which was 5th place. I'll be playing alongside a great bunch of people from my league in NYC, most of whom were at the last tournament. The games are always fun with a really high level of skill, so it's nice to be able to just lay it all out there physically and compete with people who love the sport as much as I do. I come home after three days and I'm exhausted, but with the biggest feeling of satisfaction.

It's nice to be able to play with people from my league that aren't on my league team. With so many people in my league, I don't always get to interact with everyone in the same way I interact with my team. To go to a tournament and suddenly have 2 new defensemen in front of me is a weird concept; it's good and bad. I'm not sure who I can pass to, what skills the forwards have, or how comfortable my team is with me playing the puck. Conversely, I get to play with kids that I never get to play with normally. I get to set up plays that I'm not able to do with my own team. The whole thing is a really big rush.

Being a goalie is a big responsibility. Maybe the biggest, I don't know. I've always sort of looked at it as a privilege. I've always tried to look at the position not only as a defensive position, but also a position that has a lot of offensive potential. I'm not just guarding the net, I'm controlling the puck for my team. Sure, my job is to stop the puck, but once I've stopped the shot, the puck is my responsibility, and if my team has a good transition game, I then have an opportunity to create a good scoring chance. I think the position carries with it the enormous burden of accountability, but not more than any of my teammates.

Ok, I've gone on a hockey rant. Rather than delete it, I'll leave it up for anyone who is interested. Sorry for the rant.

Tournament is at the end of March. Updates when I have them.

I Don't Need To See That!

You NEED to go out and buy Lisa Kudrow's all-too-short-lived HBO series "The Comeback." It is brilliant.

The show is a spoof of a reality TV show documenting the return of the once-popular actress Valerie Cherish (Kudrow) to primetime television in a sitcom called "Room and Bored."

Lisa Kudrow is so funny in this, and you will so quickly come to love her character, Valerie, not despite her quirks but almost because of them. At the end of the series, which sadly only ran for one season, I just sort of questioned the wisdom of how something like Britney and Kevin's "Chaotic" was considered for a second season, but the wonder of "The Comeback" lasted only one. It's pretty much my favorite short-lived television series, so just trust me when I tell you that you'll love it. The acting is spot-on, from Valerie all the way down to her assistant. The writing is delightful and yet respectful, with really delicate moments in Valerie's life played in a way that makes you feel so very much a part of it all.

Pick it up.

Is It Possible?

So here's what happened. I'm in a relationship with a great guy that I've been with for two years now. He knows who he is, he doesn't need the shout-out. Anyway...

So I met someone else. He's cute, he's funny, he's friends with my boyfriend's brother, and he's gay. I think we would get along really well. I think we could be friends.

But can you do that? And if you can, how do you initiate a friendship with someone? Is it bad to give someone your phone number if you're in a relationship? What if he already knows you're dating someone? Is it okay then?

My boyfriend is completely comfortable with me making friends with other people, regardless of sexual orientation. He's secure enough to know that when I'm looking for friends, he doesn't have to worry. So I approach this other boy and start talking to him.

Sure enough, I clam up like a 14-year old. My hands get sweaty, my face goes all red and blushy, I start stumbling over words. Guys, I'm a public speaker. I speak in front of enormous crowds all the time and answer really intimate questions about my personal life. Yet put me in front of a cute guy in a bookstore and I start worrying about social studies homework and meatloaf surprise in the cafeteria. It doesn't make sense.

Is it because I think he's cute? Is it because subconsciously it feels wrong to give another guy my phone number? I can't seem to figure it out. I get socially crippled by one person, then travel and speak to a thousand strangers about what it's like to come out to your parents.

So I gave him my phone number. And felt like a dork. Might as well have been on a note that said "Do you like me? Check One, Yes or No."

We'll see what happens. Maybe we'll become friends and laugh at this later on down the road.

Well...laugh at me, that is. Laugh at me.

Optimistic Voices

With all of the fuss over the musical "Wicked," I thought this would be a good time to talk about one of my favorite songs from the original movie, "The Wizard of Oz."

While it might be construed as blasphemy in certain circles, I actually don't really care all that much for Judy Garland, or "Over the Rainbow" as a song. The idea of it is nice, but I think I only really look at it as a pretty song, and that's it. Nothing too deep.

In the original movie, there's a song called "Optimistic Voices." I love it. The lyrics are what will make you realize what song I'm talking about.

You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night

Hold onto your breath
Hold onto your heart
Hold onto your hope
March up to the gate
And bid it open--

You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night

Step into the sun
Step into the light
March up to the gate
And bid it open!--open!

That's a good message, and I just wanted to give the song a bit more attention than it's gotten over the years.

Anyone have thoughts?