Amazingness Ahead!
May 18, 2009
Alright.. so after one freaking fantastic week I'll update you. WARNING: This will be extremely long...
Let's see, Mother's Day I went with my Mom and Grandmother to see "A Chorus Line" and it was great. Then we came home to an awesome dinner prepared by the men... pork tenderloin and fillet... mmm I can still taste it!
Monday morning, bright and early Mom and I left for undoubtedly the best trip to NYC. The flight in was great, minust my darn motion sickness. When we got in we went straight to the hotel... WHAT A HOTEL! We stayed at The Westin in Jersey City, a 4 star hotel for $120 a night... very nice! So we were actually able to check in early and instead of getting a king size bed, we got two beds... even better! So we went up to the room and unpacked. Then we called Brady, the client of our friend that lives in Jersey City who we are becoming very good friends with as well. Then he came over and we decided what to do. We went to go get lunch and bring it back to the penthouse (yes, I did say penthouse, it overlooks lower Manhattan... GORGEOUS!). But as we were walking back to the apartment, my Mom fell. Not sure what happened, but down she went. She got a few scratches on her face but otherwise she was fine. It was classic though because she got over a dozen people to stop and ask if she needed help! Good times!
Later that day was the Kristin Chenoweth concert at New York City Center. Beforehand, we went to this Japanese place and had some great Sushi. Even Mom ate some and enjoyed it! Then Brady and I went to the concert. So, we hopped on the Path train, then switched to the 1... only thing is David (our friend that owns the penthouse) told us to go downtown insetead of uptown... thank goodness we didn't lose much time. When we got there we were both worried that we missed something... turns out they were giving some old people this award, and we missed NOTHING!! The lights dimmed, the music swelled, and there she was... in all her 4'11" glory... Kristin Chenoweth. It was out of this world to hear the woman perform live. There is nothing like it. She has such a presence and power on stage, it's just amazing. If anyone would like to hear any of the songs performed from that evening, let me know.
After the concert was over Brady and I went down to the stage door. Wish it was better organized, but everything went well. It was great because Douglas Stills (who made a surprise guest appearance) came out and he signed autographs. Then after a wait that seemed to go on for forever, she came out. She looked so adorable! And she truly is TINY! OMG, I mean, I have friends that are 4'11", but this woman is a twig! She graciously signed autographs (I got 3, one for me, one for my vocal coach, and one for Brady because he's not a fan of crowds). I even got to see adorable little Maddie! Sigh... so after that, Brady and I took to walking the streets, talking.... we stopped for some coffee and desert then walked down Christopher Street. What an interesting walk that was. Let's just say that Christopher Street is the premire place for gay bars, with the very gay people. If you want a confidence boost, take a walk down Christopher Street... you'll feel much better!
The next day (yes, the above was just Monday, I WARNED YOU!) was the meet and greet day. Mom and I went with Brady into the city and we hung around the World Trade Center, because that was the first time Mom was able to get down there. The really eerie thing about it was taking the train into the site. Looking up at the rubble and all the construction going on... it was weird. After the WTC, Mom and I headed up to the theater. We got there a little early, bumped into one of the Moderators of the fanclub, and then decided to have a little lunch. We stopped at this really cool bar right next to the theater... and had some great food (well what I ate of it was great, I was much too excited to eat that much). The funny part is that Mom and I became friends with the waitress! She's from the Syracuse area, and she's a dancer that just got a job in "Guys and Dolls" up in Maine. lol only in NYC.
After lunch, we went to the meet and greet... SIGH! It was great! I got to meet some awesome Glitterites and see Kristin up close and personal. I was 3 rows away from her... the great part was that anyone could ask her a question, and so I did. It was fantastic... when a person asked her a question she looked direcly at them and listened intently. She truly cared about what you had to say. Then as she answered, she continued to look at the person who asked. She'd look around a little, but she'd give the answer directly to the one who wanted to know. At the end of the Q & A, all of the sudden I saw my Mom's hand go up. I didn't know she had something to say to Kristin... what she did have to say was amazing though. She thanked Kristin for being so real... and said she finally understood what was so amazing about her. My Mom made Kristin cry... it was something else.
After, we got to meet her and get a picture with her. It was great. I gave her a shirt I made her from her fans on another fansite, her jaw dropped... amazing feeling! Seeing her jaw drop at the work I did, the design and the time it took to make the shirt... it was the best. Then she read my shirt, "WWKD, what's that?" "What Would Kristin Do?"... she laughed, then she saw the back and laughed even more... then I gave her my letter and she signed my book, and we talked for a minute, mostly her thanking me for the shirt, and me saying it's the least I could do for her doing so much for me. We got our picture and it is adorable... I will treasure it for forever. Then I went and talked to a few other people... showing off the shirt, everyone loved it... but then, I did something I wasn't expecting to do. Because Kristin loved it so much, I took off the shirt and gave it to her. Well, I had one of the Mods do it... I wasn't looking for more attention or anything, she just got such a kick out of it.. I had to. Later, we just went to dinner and rested a little at the penthouse.
Wednesday... Yes Wednesday... Mom and I took an amazing tour of Radio City Music Hall... O M G! What a place! During the tour we got to go ON STAGE (SIGH!), saw the hydrolics that move the stage (which are still the originals), met a Rockette, and saw some other really cool things. The acoustics in the place are phenomenal! We were in the second last row of the top balcony and there was this stage hand on stage talking normally, not trying to project or anything... and you could hear every word! After that, we had lunch at Dean & Deluca, ate out in Rockefeller Plaza, saw someone we knew, then just went for a little walk. We went to the NBC store and found some cool stuff. Then as we were walking a little more we saw this little store and it had this slate for tv shows and stuff and my Mom's like "You have to have it!"... so we go in and find some other stuff and end up talking to the store owner who happens to be from Binghamton... about a half hour away! Crazy, right? That evening we went to a show that Brady was playing in then hit up this really cool bar. I had a great coffee martini, fabulous calimari, and some out of this world home made pumpkin ravioli. mmmmmm....
Thursday we came home and not much happened after that except I picked up some hours for over the weekend at work. Friday, nothing much, I worked. Saturday was rough though. 8 am I was helping open the store right... 8:02, the phone rings... one of my coworkers who has been battling brain cancer, lost her fight. It was a tough day for everyone on the original staff that opened the store. Amanda was an amazing person. Always happy and spreading that happy. She was just one of those people you couldn't help but love. When we opened the store, we all became a family... and it hurts to lose someone in the prime of their life. She was only 23. May she rest in peace and watch over us all.
So, because of the news, one of the managers who was her best friend wasn't going to be in so the schedule had to be shifted... I stayed till 5... then I met up with my Vocal Coach to start set up for the performance we had that evening. I literally spent my entire day at Borders. But it was fine. I was only planning on singing "Seasons of Love" with the group... but then all of the sudden I see my Coach point at me and hear her say, "Oh, she knows the lyrics"... about 5 songs later, I find myself with a microphone in my hand, singing a duet with a guy I've only met in passing once. Very interesting but great to get up and perform. One of my coworkers told my manager I was singing, and she announced it to the entire staff... so the entire staff made it a point to listen to my song... thank goodness I didn't know that till afterwords! Oy, but it was great.
Yesterday was a group rehearsal and I got the guts up to try a solo... it sounded alright, I didn't get to do the one I wanted but at least I tried, right? Today is my vocal lesson and the wake for Amanda. I'll update you on how that goes.
Hope I didn't bore you too much, or I hope you got through it all... lol I told you it would be long! I'll post pics tomorrow. Questions? Comments? Let me know!
Love ya!
Let's see, Mother's Day I went with my Mom and Grandmother to see "A Chorus Line" and it was great. Then we came home to an awesome dinner prepared by the men... pork tenderloin and fillet... mmm I can still taste it!
Monday morning, bright and early Mom and I left for undoubtedly the best trip to NYC. The flight in was great, minust my darn motion sickness. When we got in we went straight to the hotel... WHAT A HOTEL! We stayed at The Westin in Jersey City, a 4 star hotel for $120 a night... very nice! So we were actually able to check in early and instead of getting a king size bed, we got two beds... even better! So we went up to the room and unpacked. Then we called Brady, the client of our friend that lives in Jersey City who we are becoming very good friends with as well. Then he came over and we decided what to do. We went to go get lunch and bring it back to the penthouse (yes, I did say penthouse, it overlooks lower Manhattan... GORGEOUS!). But as we were walking back to the apartment, my Mom fell. Not sure what happened, but down she went. She got a few scratches on her face but otherwise she was fine. It was classic though because she got over a dozen people to stop and ask if she needed help! Good times!
Later that day was the Kristin Chenoweth concert at New York City Center. Beforehand, we went to this Japanese place and had some great Sushi. Even Mom ate some and enjoyed it! Then Brady and I went to the concert. So, we hopped on the Path train, then switched to the 1... only thing is David (our friend that owns the penthouse) told us to go downtown insetead of uptown... thank goodness we didn't lose much time. When we got there we were both worried that we missed something... turns out they were giving some old people this award, and we missed NOTHING!! The lights dimmed, the music swelled, and there she was... in all her 4'11" glory... Kristin Chenoweth. It was out of this world to hear the woman perform live. There is nothing like it. She has such a presence and power on stage, it's just amazing. If anyone would like to hear any of the songs performed from that evening, let me know.
After the concert was over Brady and I went down to the stage door. Wish it was better organized, but everything went well. It was great because Douglas Stills (who made a surprise guest appearance) came out and he signed autographs. Then after a wait that seemed to go on for forever, she came out. She looked so adorable! And she truly is TINY! OMG, I mean, I have friends that are 4'11", but this woman is a twig! She graciously signed autographs (I got 3, one for me, one for my vocal coach, and one for Brady because he's not a fan of crowds). I even got to see adorable little Maddie! Sigh... so after that, Brady and I took to walking the streets, talking.... we stopped for some coffee and desert then walked down Christopher Street. What an interesting walk that was. Let's just say that Christopher Street is the premire place for gay bars, with the very gay people. If you want a confidence boost, take a walk down Christopher Street... you'll feel much better!
The next day (yes, the above was just Monday, I WARNED YOU!) was the meet and greet day. Mom and I went with Brady into the city and we hung around the World Trade Center, because that was the first time Mom was able to get down there. The really eerie thing about it was taking the train into the site. Looking up at the rubble and all the construction going on... it was weird. After the WTC, Mom and I headed up to the theater. We got there a little early, bumped into one of the Moderators of the fanclub, and then decided to have a little lunch. We stopped at this really cool bar right next to the theater... and had some great food (well what I ate of it was great, I was much too excited to eat that much). The funny part is that Mom and I became friends with the waitress! She's from the Syracuse area, and she's a dancer that just got a job in "Guys and Dolls" up in Maine. lol only in NYC.
After lunch, we went to the meet and greet... SIGH! It was great! I got to meet some awesome Glitterites and see Kristin up close and personal. I was 3 rows away from her... the great part was that anyone could ask her a question, and so I did. It was fantastic... when a person asked her a question she looked direcly at them and listened intently. She truly cared about what you had to say. Then as she answered, she continued to look at the person who asked. She'd look around a little, but she'd give the answer directly to the one who wanted to know. At the end of the Q & A, all of the sudden I saw my Mom's hand go up. I didn't know she had something to say to Kristin... what she did have to say was amazing though. She thanked Kristin for being so real... and said she finally understood what was so amazing about her. My Mom made Kristin cry... it was something else.
After, we got to meet her and get a picture with her. It was great. I gave her a shirt I made her from her fans on another fansite, her jaw dropped... amazing feeling! Seeing her jaw drop at the work I did, the design and the time it took to make the shirt... it was the best. Then she read my shirt, "WWKD, what's that?" "What Would Kristin Do?"... she laughed, then she saw the back and laughed even more... then I gave her my letter and she signed my book, and we talked for a minute, mostly her thanking me for the shirt, and me saying it's the least I could do for her doing so much for me. We got our picture and it is adorable... I will treasure it for forever. Then I went and talked to a few other people... showing off the shirt, everyone loved it... but then, I did something I wasn't expecting to do. Because Kristin loved it so much, I took off the shirt and gave it to her. Well, I had one of the Mods do it... I wasn't looking for more attention or anything, she just got such a kick out of it.. I had to. Later, we just went to dinner and rested a little at the penthouse.
Wednesday... Yes Wednesday... Mom and I took an amazing tour of Radio City Music Hall... O M G! What a place! During the tour we got to go ON STAGE (SIGH!), saw the hydrolics that move the stage (which are still the originals), met a Rockette, and saw some other really cool things. The acoustics in the place are phenomenal! We were in the second last row of the top balcony and there was this stage hand on stage talking normally, not trying to project or anything... and you could hear every word! After that, we had lunch at Dean & Deluca, ate out in Rockefeller Plaza, saw someone we knew, then just went for a little walk. We went to the NBC store and found some cool stuff. Then as we were walking a little more we saw this little store and it had this slate for tv shows and stuff and my Mom's like "You have to have it!"... so we go in and find some other stuff and end up talking to the store owner who happens to be from Binghamton... about a half hour away! Crazy, right? That evening we went to a show that Brady was playing in then hit up this really cool bar. I had a great coffee martini, fabulous calimari, and some out of this world home made pumpkin ravioli. mmmmmm....
Thursday we came home and not much happened after that except I picked up some hours for over the weekend at work. Friday, nothing much, I worked. Saturday was rough though. 8 am I was helping open the store right... 8:02, the phone rings... one of my coworkers who has been battling brain cancer, lost her fight. It was a tough day for everyone on the original staff that opened the store. Amanda was an amazing person. Always happy and spreading that happy. She was just one of those people you couldn't help but love. When we opened the store, we all became a family... and it hurts to lose someone in the prime of their life. She was only 23. May she rest in peace and watch over us all.
So, because of the news, one of the managers who was her best friend wasn't going to be in so the schedule had to be shifted... I stayed till 5... then I met up with my Vocal Coach to start set up for the performance we had that evening. I literally spent my entire day at Borders. But it was fine. I was only planning on singing "Seasons of Love" with the group... but then all of the sudden I see my Coach point at me and hear her say, "Oh, she knows the lyrics"... about 5 songs later, I find myself with a microphone in my hand, singing a duet with a guy I've only met in passing once. Very interesting but great to get up and perform. One of my coworkers told my manager I was singing, and she announced it to the entire staff... so the entire staff made it a point to listen to my song... thank goodness I didn't know that till afterwords! Oy, but it was great.
Yesterday was a group rehearsal and I got the guts up to try a solo... it sounded alright, I didn't get to do the one I wanted but at least I tried, right? Today is my vocal lesson and the wake for Amanda. I'll update you on how that goes.
Hope I didn't bore you too much, or I hope you got through it all... lol I told you it would be long! I'll post pics tomorrow. Questions? Comments? Let me know!
Love ya!
Posted by Germ.
