Well, I booked my New York trip today. I’ll be in NYC September 17-24 this fall. I also put in my vacation request at work which better be approved because I’ve already reserved the flight and hotel. I’m pretty proud of myself, too. I’m using flight reward points to fly (although I have to fly into Long Island’s Islip Airport and take the train into Manhattan) and staying at a cute hostel in Chelsea (where I got a private room for a week at the rate you’d pay for a single night in some NYC hotels), so it’s not going to cost me a fortune. In fact, I’m estimating that I could do a “bare minimums” trip for less money that I have in my savings account right now.

Of course, I’m going to splurge on a few things while I’m there. In fact, I’ll probably try and see 3 or 4 shows while I’m there - depending on how many other things I want to do. During the weekdays, of course, I’ll be visiting law school campuses I’m hoping to get in to.

Generally, though, I’m just excited that I’m able to do things like this (take vacations I want to take) for the first time in my life. After last year’s epic 24 hours visit, I’ve been anxious to make another (longer) trip to the city and now I have the chance.

The best part is, Jennifer and Jacob are going to try and plan to be in New York that weekend, too, so I’ll get a chance to see them just before Jen’s birthday.

I’m especially having fun making a private google map with all my confirmation info, appointments, and destinations entered in.

Posted: May 9th, 2008 under NYC, law school, personal.
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“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.”
-Thomas Wolfe

This may seem incredibly silly to some of you, but I’ve always thought I was kinda missing out on something by never having been to New York. People all around me have talked about their NYC experiences and when they learn that I’d never been, I hear, “Oh, you have to go!” and “But you’d love it!” I feel like the world was divided into two groups, those who have been to New York, and those who have not. No other city gives me the same impression. London, Los Angeles, Rome, Paris… they’ll all iconic cities in their own right, but New York City holds a special place among them all. Maybe it is silly, but for a long time I’ve felt like I was missing out on something important, and I was jealous of those people for whom New York no longer held any special meaning.

I’ll tell you something else, right away, the first time I ever visited San Francisco (when I was 18 years old), I knew that someday I would live here. Other cities I’ve visited (Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC) have struck me as nice places to live, but until this weekend, no other city has resonated with me so much. There was an almost instant sense of energy and a feel of belonging. I’m not ready to pack my bags and leave San Francisco behind yet, but someday…

So, after taking a cab from Penn Station to my hotel (thanks to buffyannotater for a great reccomendation), I had a few hours to kill with sight-seeing. I stepped out my hotel and around the corner and ran into Broadway theaters. And just beyond that, Times Square!

From Times Square I wandered up toward Rockefeller Plaza. Along the way, I encountered one of the Axis of Evil…

Then Radio City Music Hall…

Rockefeller Plaza (where I was really tempted to buy Heroes crap from the NBC store, but had to save money)…

St. Patrick’s Cathedral…

I started heading down 5th Street (aiming to meet up with buffyannotater at Washington Square Park), where I encountered the New York Public Library…

Madison Square Park…

And, finally, Washington Square Park…

I got there early enough that I had time to watch some performance art in the park and wander around the area, where I encountered New York University… the school that rejected my grad school application… twice ::sob::

At that point, Rob showed up and we went to grab some pizza. A little while later, Amy joined us. We had a delightful conversation rambling from why Rob doesn’t like Heroes to thoughts on Spiderman 3 to Broadway musicals to boyfriends to early childhood sex education. We got caught in the rain while looking for an open bathroom and ended up stopping at a second restaurant so Amy could also get something to eat. Finally, we parted ways and Amy introduced me to the NYC subway system. The labrynth underground near Times Square (over, under, around and through) makes anything in the Bay Area seem incredibly simple.

Rob suggested that before I call it a night, I ought to make another visit to Times Square and see it at night. I’m glad I did. It was awesome!

On Sunday Morning, I continued my tourist ways by heading straight to the Empire State Building. Seeing the whole city like that was amazing. I sent Mom a “Happy Mother’s Day” text message from the observatory and snapped a bunch of pictures.

After that, I hiked my way up to Central Park. It was one of those beautiful days where a gust of wind sent all those little seed pods fluttering through the air. I was almost tempted to do the carriage ride just for the romance of the day.

I angled my way through the park toward Bethesda Fountain, because I needed to sit on the edge of the fountain and recall the final scene of Angels in America:

“This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all. And the dead will be commemorated, and we’ll struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won’t die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.”

The clock was ticking by this point, so I dashed off toward the theatre for my matinee. Along the way, I encountered Strawberry Fields…

The Trump Building…

And grabbed a quick McVeggie burger at McDonald’s on my way to see my first ever Broadway play, Spring Awakening (nominated for 11 Tony’s)!

(Review of the show to come in another post)

After the show, I was in a rush. The play let out around 4:10 p.m. and my flight was leaving from JFK at 5:50! Everything seemed to take forever… first the geriatric guy in the hotel’s luggage storage took forever to serve a line of 10 people… then my cabbie made every poor decision possible (whichever lane we were in was slowest one, and he’d get in lanes that clearly said “ending in 500 feet”)… then the check-in counter wouldn’t let me check in without talking to a manager (who was hard to track down)… then the airlines manager gave me my boarding pass and said “it’s boarding now! Run!”… then I literally just tossed all my toiletries into the trash rather than even trying to determine what would make it through security… then I ran all the way to the gate as they made the last boarding call announcements… then the door was already closed when I arrived at the gate, but I made it down the runway just before the last of the airline staff climbed on board to pull the door closed. Luckily it was a direct flight and no one was in the row next to me so my panting/sweating arrival wasn’t too annoying. Still, that was the most stressful airport experience in my life. I kept imagining getting trapped at JFK with $33 left in my checking account and no idea what to do.

Yesterday, I basically slept all day. I’m so glad I took two days vacation to recover.

Tonight, Jennifer and Daniel and I are going to celebrate the death of Jerry Falwell and catch up. If I have time, I’ll write my review of Spring Awakening later, but I’m back to work tomorrow, so we’ll see.

ETA: By “celebrate the death of Jerry Falwell,” I mean have tapas and drinks while not feeling the least bit guilty that he’ gone and we’re glad. We didn’t make it to the anti-memorial on Castro and 18th (although it sounds like it would have been neat). Falwell was a vile, vicious man whose power and influence over politics is a stain on our country, and the people who died of AIDS while he convinced Reagon and others to ignore the epidemic (which he called God’s punishment and cure for homosexuality) deserve better than crocodile tears. You can bet I’ll feel the same way when James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Fred Phelps and Jesse Helms meet their end.

Posted: May 15th, 2007 under NYC, livejournal, theatregeekery.
Comments: 2

Okay, so it’s time I did a rundown on my vacation, with tons of picspam, of course. I’ll break it into two parts for my own sanity if nothing else.

The flight from San Francisco to Washington DC (via Chicago) was okay, but a little rough. We encountered a lot of turbulence over the plains states, but it wasn’t too bad. I spent most of the flight doing crossword puzzles. Because we were trying to save money on this trip, I spent the first night on a rollaway in Dave’s room, which was uncomfortable but okay. After we had dinner at Cosi, a cute diner halfway between our hotel and DuPont Circle, I caught up on the last several episodes of Battlestar Gallactica on my iPod.

The first thing I noticed about my new room (which I shared with my coworked Zander) was the view. We had an amazing view of the city.

Wednesday morning, we met with a possible contractor to produce our new identifty video and PSA. It was a good meeting, and after it was done we had several hours of free time before the rest of the staff checked in, so I went out sightseeing. Beautiful weather. First stop, DuPont Circle…

The entrance to the DuPont Circle Metro Station gave me vertigo every time I rode it, so I kept trying to get pictures, but most of them turned out blurry…

I made my way down to the Capitol, since I didn’t quite make it there on my last trip to DC.

After that, I wandered around the general area and saw the Canadian Embassy. As an honorary Canuck (Jennifer said last week that I sound more Canadian than she does), I felt obliged to snap some pictures…

I wanted to explore the National Art Gallery, but it was after 5 by the time I got there and they were closed for the day.

The rest of the staff arrived at 8ish, so we got together for dinner…

After dinner, a few of us went to J.R.’s for drinks before calling it a night.

Thursday morning, we had a staff brunch…

After that, we took a tour of the hotel to see the different areas we’d be using for our Summit in September. It turns out that the “First Lady Luncheon” in the main ballroom was ending just as we were taking the tour, but we missed an encounter with Laura Bush. Zander, however, got sick to his stomache from the negative energy of all those Republicna women in hats.

Thursday Night was the Kickoff Reception (the purpose of the trip), featuring a performance by the DC Cowboys and comments from openly gay DC Councilmembers David Catania and Jim Graham. It was full of little dramas (like certain members of our staff thinking the Cowboys were to racy, and Councilmember Graham talking about his quest to get the adult bookstore reopened before our Summit), but overall it was fun. I also got a chance to talk with Kevin, leader of the DC Cowboys, whom I met (and interviewed) several years ago when the Cowboys came to Vegas for the Bighorn Rodeo.

On Friday, we had an all day (read ALL DAY) staff and board strategic planning meeting. I wasn’t thrilled with the meeting, but I guess it was okay. I had a very different feeling after this stategic planning session than during our last retreat in October ‘06, but I blame it on the stark encounter of differing values and objectives between the staff and board, really having those become obvious. Doesn’t matter, though, we all have good intentions, just different ideas about how things should be run.

After the meeting, we had one of those unbelievably long dinners with the staff and board (you know when you’re in a party of 25, it’s going to take almost two hours to get your entree). The dinner got a bit silly as we worked our way through more bottles of wine, and got a bit uncomfortable when an impromptu gave of “I never” broke out (this was after we started singing songs from Mary Poppins, yes, we were that group)…

On Saturday, I rode the train to New York City. It was in Union Station, getting ready for the trip, that I think I was first impressed by the weight of history in the area. It suddenly struck me how many people–including presidents and patriots, heroes and Republicans–have passed through that station. I’d splurged a bit on the Train ticket and upgraded to business class. I was glad I did. It was so comfortable and a lovely day to watch the sights. Why has no one ever said to me, “Jere, you simply have to ride along the East Coast by train some day!”? Also, having lived my life in West Coast states, it was a little strange to learn that nearly every time we stopped, we were in a different state. Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York. I’m used to reality where you can maybe cross two state lines in three hours (and that’s if you pass a “corner” area).

Because the train went underground between Newark and Manhattan, and I was sitting on the wrong side of the train during our approach, my first actual glimpse of New York City came as I dashed out of Penn Station to have a much needed cigarette. I came aboveground and saw Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building in the first moments.

To be continued…

Posted: May 15th, 2007 under DC, NYC, livejournal.
Comments: none

I am home. Hard to believe that this morning I was on the Empire State Building, strolling through Central Park, and watching my first actual Broadway show. I’ll write more, but right now it’s midnight on the left coast, and I woke up at 7:30 on the right coast, and couldn’t sleep on the plane. I also need to go buy new contact solution (more on that story later) and eat something before falling asleep.

Thanks to Rob and Amy for making me feel welcome in Manhattan. I’m such a moron, though, dragging my camera around all week, and completely forgetting to snap a group pic while we were hanging out.

Posted: May 14th, 2007 under DC, NYC, livejournal.
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Gadzooks! Tomorrow is my 3rd Livejournal anniversary. How time flies when you’re having fun… and thinking up ways to use the word “gadzooks!”

Photos from DC - unedited, untitled and raw for the moment. I’ll (maybe) fix them when I’m back home.

I’ve got my NYC mix ready for the train ride. Yup, I’ll be listening to Old Blue Eyes croon that classic cliche song, “New York, New York.”

Posted: May 12th, 2007 under DC, NYC, livejournal.
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So, I’m sitting in a delightful cafe in DC using the free wi-fi (rather than the expensive hotel wi-fi) during my few hours of downtime. I’ve barely had a chance to do anything but sit by the pool and start reading Rant by Chuck Palahniuk after getting in last night.

NYC friends - I’ll be arriving in the city about 3pm on Saturday and will probably spend a few hours settling in to my hotel and doing some quick sightseeing, but I want to make get-together plans for dinner/drinks later in the evening. I am completely unfamiliar with the city, of course, so I’m taking the easy way out of making plans by saying… if anyone wants to get together on Saturday night, propose a meeting place and time in the comments to this entry and y’all can battle it out before I’m able to get online again. My hotel is near 45th and Broadway, but Rob suggested that the Village is a good place to aim for.

P.S. The weather in DC is gorgeous and both last night and today, the sidewalk eye-candy is very pretty. San Francisco has warped my brain, however, because I find myself assuming that every hot guy walking along Connecticut Street is gay, even if he’s holding hands with a girl.

Posted: May 9th, 2007 under DC, NYC, books, livejournal.
Comments: none

I think I’m packed for the DC-NYC trip. I leave early tomorrow. I’m packing a bit light, only taking what I really need. Sadly, half my suitcase is taken up by the suit I’ll be wearing for about 5 hours Thursday night. I’ll need to find a laundromat sometime on Thursday because I’ll be recycling a few outfits.

Of course, I’ll be in NYC the night before it supposedly blows up…

I thought tonight’s episode of Heroes was great. The scene where Sylar creates the live snow globe for his mother was genius, IMO. Also, the actress playing Sylar’s mother, Virginia Grey,looked so familiar and I couldn’t quite place it until a certain squeak with a pained look flashed across her faced and I practically screamed “Audrey!” Ellen Greene, from the original off-Broadway cast and film version of Little Shop of Horrors. I love her. (of course I do)

It would have been cool, though, if Sylar’s mommy had turned out to have some power. It seems almost all our other heroes have super-powered parents. Maybe it’ll turn out that Sylar!Daddy has some important backstory.

I can’t wait for next week.

Posted: May 8th, 2007 under DC, NYC, livejournal, television, theatregeekery.
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Okay, I’ve got the hotel, the train ticket, and the ticket to a Sunday matinee of Spring Awakening (the cheap seats, but not on stage). I feel like this is happening now.

So, NYC-area friends, where do we wanna hang out on Saturday night?

In random boy-crush news, there’s this ultra-hot guy at my gym whom I’m becoming obsessed with. He doesn’t have the best body in the gym, he’s not the youngest guy (in fact, he has a bit of gray showing around the temples), and he looks way to clean-cut for me, yet something about him causes embarrassing things to happen in the locker room. I actually worked up the courage to talk to him today while we were waiting for the same machine. Nothing really memorable, just a few friendly comments about it seeming more crowded than usual. I let him take the machine first and I noticed that his face gets really red when he’s lifting weights (really red, like nothing I’ve seen before) and I just thought it was adorable.

I was challenged by our new HR person at work to speak out before I get stressed to the point of wanting to quit. It’s good advice and shows a great deal of insight into my personality. I tend to repress and overcompensate when I’m frustrated. Well, baby steps. I didn’t speak up to the person who was frustrating me, but I did express it in a healthy way to someone in a position to offer good advice and solutions.

Happy May Day!

Posted: May 2nd, 2007 under NYC, livejournal, theatregeekery.
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It’s official, I’m heading to the Big Apple.

I hate that it’s taken this long for us to figure out flight arrangements at work and get this set, so I feel like it’s all last-minute craziness, but what can you do?

I’m taking the train from DC to NYC on Saturday, May 12 and staying overnight. My plan is to hit some bars, meet up with some friends, etc., on Saturday; do some sightseeing and catch a matinee show of something on Sunday then fly home late that evening.

So… as an NYC newbie, any reccomendations on where I should be looking for a hotel? My price range isn’t terribly high, but I don’t want to pick a hotel then find myself in some “OMG-this-is-scary-I’m-never-coming-back-here” part of the city. There’s a Holiday Inn not to far from the Penn Station that’s reasonably priced - is the neighborhood around Madison Square Garden OK or whould I look elsewhere?

Cripes, I have so much planning to do.

So my full itinerary, I’ll be in Washington DC from May 8-12, New York May 12-13, then I’m taking the 14th and 15th off as vacation days to recover. The DC portion of the trip will be almost completely occupied by work stuff, but hopefully I’ll get a little more time to do some sightseeing. The NYC portion of the trip is all about having fun.

Any other advice to the introverted gay nerd who is travelling alone to the big city for the first time in a somewhat desperate and foolish attempt to have a big adventure before turning 30?

Posted: May 1st, 2007 under DC, NYC, livejournal.
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