A Random Splattering of Thoughts and Events

So I missed Monday...but I'd like to plead my case here and now that it WASN'T my fault. It was due to our GHETTO-fabulous hotel in Fairfield, CT - the Fairfield Motor Inn. They only had internet in the lobby (supposedly) but we all quickly found out that our wireless worked in our rooms EXCEPT - when the manager turned off his computer, we all lost our wireless. So Sunday night, at about 8pm, down goes the managers computer and down goes all of our internet access. So I had no way of blogging last night.
BUT - I'm here now and I have 4 good days of reporting to bring to you. So let's begin!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Today was our day off in Stony Brook (Long Island) New York. And what better thing to do on a day off, when recovering from cheesecake over-dose, then to hop a train and head into Manhattan for a day of fun! Chris, Eric and I caught the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) and took the trip into the city. Once in the city, we met up with my friend Joey Schaljo, bought tickets to a Broadway show that night, had lunch at South Street Seaport, saw a movie full of WOW! (Transamerica, anyone? WOW.), caught some Chinese food for dinner and then Joey, Eric and I headed to see THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA at Lincoln Center's Beaumont Theatre.

Subway poster for Piazza.....

This show won 6 2005 Tony Awards for music and design and performance - and it was easy to see why. I am happy to award TLITP a solid 10 on the MASE. It's a beautiful story with soaring music...and some really moving performances. More than anything, this show made me want to leave the theater, head immediately to Italy and go to the first piazza I could find and fall in love. That would be pretty much amazing. I guess to make it REALLY complete, whoever I fell in love with would need to know some songs to sing...preferably from the show...to really make it work for me. And if I couldn't find anyone, I'm sure I could atleast get some PIZZA, and be just as happy. I could eat my pizza in the piazza...ok. I'm done with this game.
After the show, Eric went to meet some friends and Joey and I sauntered down Broadway to Penn Station so I could meet up with Chris and head back out to Stony Brook. It was a long trip - made even longer with us getting off on the wrong stop...BUT we made it and the end of a great day in the city came to rest.

L: Eric waits outside TKTS for Joey to arrive. R: Joey and Eric show off our number while we wait at Ollie's.

HAHAHAHAHA! I'll take some, please....

Joey's dumplings show up...and they are green. Hmmm...

L: Joey embraces Eric after Piazza, outside the Beaumont Theatre. R: Eric sits in the Piazza at Lincoln Center...waiting to fall in love.

So this was on the wall at the train station in Stony Brook. I guess I don't get it...but it makes me chuckle.

OK...honestly. WTF? EWW!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
SHOW DAY. (Which is a relief for those of you out there who accuse me of never working.) INFACT - today was a 2 show day, and it was pretty low key. We had 2 SOLD OUT houses and they were very excited and INTO the show. The 2nd audience was actually one of those audiences who claps along to all the Oompa songs...which, you know when you've got them clapping, they are yours.
The most entertaining part of the day was when we got to the theater for the shows - and we started running through our pre-show stuff...and we got to the Oompa Loompa's and we realized we couldn't really ROLL on the floor of the stage. They had laid down a floor covering called MARLEY - which is a very heavy duty, slip resistant vinyl. We realized it was going to be tough to roll JUST about the time that I tried to roll sideways and completely tipped over! So - about 45 minutes before our show - our tech staff and the crew of the house had to tear up the marley and get the floor ready for us to do the show. That was fun.

After our shows, we had a 2 hour drive Northeast to Fairfield, CT...and it was a rainy, rainy night. We left the theater in Stony Brook at about 9:15pm or so - EST - so once we finally got up to Fairfield, it was about 11:30pm or so. Funny story about Fairfield. Our hotel itinerary says that we are staying at a Fairfield Inn in Fairfield, CT. You would think - AH! Fairfield Inn. Part of the Marriott Family. Bearable. SURE. If you thought that, then the joke is on you. Turns out, when booked, that it wasn't really researched that well, and it ended up being an independently owned hotel called the Fairfield Motor Inn - by Macy. Their slogan is: Big enough to deliver, small enough to care. No clue what that means. Now granted - the rooms were rather large and bearable...BUT...the whole set up was PURE sketch. And I'm not going to go into all the details (and will save a couple of DOOZIES for my Sunday report), but suffice to say that it was QUITE an interesting joint.
Everyone settled in to their rooms and went down for the night.

Previously noted SKETCHY hotel. (I took a picture of the free hotel postcards. FREE? Lucky.)

Jen starts thinking about employment AFTER the tour ends...and she DID enjoy Stony Brook.

L: Jackie starts to call Andrew out for eating all the pepperjack cheese in the green room in Stony Brook. R: Andrew continues to eat the pepperjack, not heeding her warning.

Between shows, to pass the time, Jackie shows us her different EMOTIONS. This one is SEDUCTION. Or CONSTIPATION. Can't remember.

Everyone waiting outside the SKETCHY hotel in the van...with their DANGER faces on.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5 - SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Today was our 2nd 2 show day in a row - and even though it was Super Bowl Sunday, we had good audiences come out for the show. There isn't a LOT to report this day - except there were some AMAZING white chocolate chip/macadamia nut cookies in the green room today. OH - and there was the most frightening painting in there, too. Weird.

L: The scary art in the green room. No matter where you stood, they started at you. R: A close up. Creepy.

So...good cookies...bad art...and WILD TURKEYS!? Yes indeed. While driving away from the venue, we passed this group of 4 wild turkeys, hanging out on the lawn of the venue. So we sent Andrew to snap pictures...just incase the turkeys decided to attack.

Looks like Andrew was busy taking pictures of turkeys earlier in the day, too.

After the show, Andrew and Jen headed to catch a train and head into the city - and the rest of us kicked it at the hotel for one more MAGICAL night. When we had LEFT the hotel earlier that morning, there was a back room that was having a church service - with about 7 people - and preacher spewing out hell-fire-damnation to the people. And as I passed, I thought, "A hotel and a church. Very versatile." Little did I know.
Upon our return to the hotel after the shows, the church was gone, but it appeared that the entire lobby area of the hotel had been converted into some sort of small trade show or fair.
Well, upon closer observation (but not too closely), we came to realize there was a REAL LIVE "PSYCHIC FAIR" going on in the lobby of our hotel! I was going to snap some pictures of the fortune tellers...telling fortunes. Or of the PSYCHIC FAIR sign, but Jill reminded me that if I did and they didn't like that I did, they would curse me or something. SO I waited until we were outside and I could snap a picture of the psychic pet persons car. Needless to say, the SKETCH factor of the hotel jumped WAY up!

This doesn't even scratch the SURFACE of how strange the Psychic Fair was.

So Jill and I went to this Bar & Grill for dinner...and SERIOUSLY...they had the BEST water I have ever tasted. LOOK how happy it made Jill!! That's not easy to do with just water. And on the right, a close up of the delicious water.

The rest of the night, everyone packed, watch the Super Bowl on and off (sorry Seattle...I was cheering for you), and watched some movies. I'm on a MAD DASH through my Netflix list - and love sending them off and getting new ones! I also spent some time near my window, trying desperately to get some kind of wireless signal from SOMEWHERE in Fairfield...but to no avail.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6

Happy Monday! Today was a travel day - and it wasn't that bad of one at all. WELL - in theory it wasn't that bad of one. Chris headed into the city early, so going in the van was Elisa, Jackie, Eric, Jill and myself...which means EVERYONE would get their own seat. Dream. BUT - we were only going 75 miles, to Newark, and I had already told Emily that I would ride in one of the trucks with her, because Travis had gone back to the NYC yesterday.
So we loaded the van and then I headed up to ride with Emily. First off - those Ryder Trucks are WAY different than the van. I mean, it kind of felt like a carnival ride. So much bounching - sometimes even hitting my head on the roof. WEEEEEEEEEEE! And, since I was in the passenger seat, I got to be navigator. I'm PRETTY sure Emily will never let me do THAT again. I got a LITTLE mixed up on some of the directions passing through the Bronx, and instead of taking the George Washington Bridge, hitting 95 South and free-sailing to the hotel in Newark, we ended up taking 3 different bridges, a truck route, seeing both the Yankees and the Mets Stadiums, the Giants Stadium, passing LaGuardia AND Newark Airport, and spending a LOT more in tolls than expected. (Mental note - when driving to NYC, TOTALLY take a passenger car. Much easier to navigate and MUCH cheaper tolls. Pass it on!)

L: So...this is after we FINALLY got to Geo Washington Bridge. PHEW! R: Emily laughs at my navigating skills.

Covert-ops! My quick-pic of the Geo Washington Bridge.

Once we got settled into the hotel for our week-long stay, and some of us got our trip to the grocery store taken care of, Elisa, Eric and I headed in to the city to see a show tonight. It's an off-Broadway musical called I LOVE YOU BECAUSE - and it is playing at the Village Theatre. It officially opens next week - and it is a modern-day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice...I guess.
It was a cute show - very sitcom-ish - but it has some REALLY great music. I wound up giving it a low 6 on the MASE - while Eric and Elisa set it somewhere in the 7's. (Low, medium, high. I can't remember!) I love seeing new theater and seeing what is out there...so I'm very happy to have seen the show, no matter how much I liked or hated it. PLUS - at tonight's show, there were a couple of Broadway-faces that I recognized in the audience...but...would probably garner blank stares from all of you if I told you who they were.

L: Elisa and Eric can HARDLY contain their excitement, enroute to the show. R: Elisa can HARDLY contain her excitement enroute to the hotel...and bed.

Fun in the subway station.

OK...I'm not going to give this COMPLETE 'Case Of The Unfortunate' billing....because she didn't have her matching HAT on, and because the picture is a blur...but let it stand that I TRIED, through a crowd of people after the show, to snap this pic. I mean - WOW. That is a fur cape...and she worked it when she came IN to the theater, and on her way out. I just hope no one stole her hat...because I was SURE she'd be sporting it on the way out.

After the show, we made it back to Newark and all retired to our individual rooms. We are all VERY happy to be out of the FAKE Fairfield Inn - and we are in a legitimate Comfort Suites Inn - and we LOVE our Suites hotels. Life is good.
Now you're caught up...and I can go to BED!
CIAO!
G