I'm finally here. A trip that fell through countless times finally happened, and is about over. I have a 4 p.m. flight out of HPN - Westchester County which is apparently near White Plains. I have to take the subway to Grand Central Terminal, then take the Harlem line north. That should get me close enough to take a cab or a local bus. We will see.

I always feel awkward lugging luggage through a city, but at least once I get to Grand Central, I shouldn't be out of place.

Anyway, the trip was great. I only wish it could have been longer. Saw Wicked for the ninth time on Friday night. It is always fantastic. Glinda stole the show, which does tend to happen. I guess the early shows I saw in Chicago will always seem like they were the very best to me.

Saturday afternoon, I saw a very interesting play for the first time called August: Osage County. This does indeed refer to the Osage County which is adjacent to Tulsa County, in which I live. There were a number of Oklahoma references I picked up on, but it was also a very interesting, intense, and long play (two intermissions). It was something I haven't seen in a long time (or at least not seen and enjoyed): a true tragedy. The realm of suffering all the way through.

And then Sunday was Avenue Q for the second time. It was a good, funny show on which to end the trip, but it was also a fantastic show. I even shook hands with a puppet after I gave him a dollar during "The Money Song".

Unfortunately, due to a very long story, we wasted a ticket to each one of these shows. Neither Jean-Paul nor I could find someone to go with us. Oh well.

On my next trip to NYC, I'd like to:
1) stay longer
2) see some shows still featuring the original broadway cast
3) visit the Empire State Building - it has mixed reviews, but I'd like to see it
4) visit a few iconic museums in NYC.

Current Location: NEW YORK, New York
Current Mood: nostalgic

Saw the Pajama Game at the PAC on Thursday with Keith. It was really not all that exciting. UNSKILLED WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE FOR A 7 1/2 CENT RAISE. Big fat hairy deal. There just wasn't anything about the show that stood out. No special humor, no special acting, no special singing, no special song. Blah all around.

I FINALLY finished Brisingr! It was decent, but I still think Christopher Paolini had a long way to go as an author (which is fine, since he is still a teenager). This was book 3 of what was supposed to be a trilogy, but now is a 4-part "cycle". That is lame in and of itself, but I actually enjoyed the last 200 pages of the book. His writing still comes off a pretentious (until you get used to it) and it seems like he drew some scenes out unnecessarily to justify a full fourth book, when he probably could have managed it better as a trilogy if he had better planned I and II.

I've watched several movies since I last journaled. The only one in theaters was Coraline, which I liked a lot more than I expected to. But $11 for a show, even if it is 3d, is just stupid.

The most recent DVDs (today, in fact) were Outsourced (which was pretty good) and Watership Down (which was okay was well).

Speaking of Watership Down, I uncovered a rabbit hole in my back yard yesterday. I saw 2 or 3 baby rabbits inside. If they had been moles or gophers, I probably would have flooded the hole, but rabbits, I let be. I hope the mother doesn't abandon them because there were discovered, but it appears the hole has been re-camouflaged today, so I think they are doing fine.

Now, if I get overrun by bunnies... it might be time to invite the neighbor's dog over. I hate to do that though... I hope we can establish a happy cohabitation at least until I sell the house.

Speaking of which, I need to start marketing. Now.

Current Location: OWASSO, Oklahoma

Last Thursday, I saw The Color Purple at the P.A.C. I was a tad bitter about the fact that I was seeing it alone and my other seat was going to waste. The friend I expected to see it with me flaked, and with so little notice, I couldn't find anyone to go.

Anyway, the show was actually pretty good by musical standards, but since I'm not a middle-aged African American woman, it didn't quite speak to me. Also, the same actress (or female actor -- which do you prefer?) played Miss Celie from age 14 until age 60 or whenever the show ended. There was a dramatic change to her hair, and also some changes to her clothes. But my suspension of disbelief was tested when she still had a powerful, youthful and clear-as-a-bell voice as a 60-year-old.

Could she have made herself sound older? Should she have? I don't know anything about vocal training so I'm not sure. But struck me every time she opened her mouth.

Anyway.

I watched the Full Monty on DVD -- it was fun. I watched Seabiscuit. It was a fantastic story. I have a few more DVDs checked out from the Library, and of course I'm still reading Eragon. Haven't made much progress there yet.

And then there is my house. I have about a years worth of newspapers I want to glance at before I throw away. I glanced at about a crate full over the last week or so. Approximately, 6 crate-fulls to go.

And, work is really busy. A coworker quit, and I have to take on her work. Plus, its the beginning of the year and everyone has a budget, but a small one, and they want me to find a way to make it stretch as far as possible.

Current Location: OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: busy

Chicago was a lot of fun. Met a couple new people and found some new places to visit. Neighborhood shopping was a mixed bag. For one thing, all neighborhoods look the same when they are covered with snow. But I learned some things that will be helpful about the areas, and I have a couple properties to look into next time.

Also while in Chicago, I saw the DVD version of Jeff Dunham's Christmas special. It was a bit longer than the television version, and was rather funny.

BTW, on the plan on the way to Chicago, I read the Harry Potter companion book Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was entertaining, but certainly not as enjoyable as a real Rowling novel.

Lastly, I just finished watching season 1 of Rome from netflix. Very interesting, and leaving me with a desire to study the rise and fall of Rome. But that desire isn't all that pressing.

More pressing is the desire to prepare my home for sale. That is my priority.

Current Location: TULSA, Oklahoma
Current Mood: determined

Tonight I watched I Am Legend with a friend in Chicago on BluRay. First of all, I don't really like Will Smith. And yet, this is yet another great film in which he acted, and acted well. So why do I not like him? Good question.

This was one of the first films I've seen on BluRay. It was great and all, but I just can't see paying so much money to upgrade my television, entertainment center, and DVD player. I'll just wait for them to crap out one at a time.

And also, the alternate ending was interesting. Honestly, I liked most of the alternate ending better than the theatrical ending. But they both had flaws. I hybrid would have been best.

Anyway, apartment shopping in Chicago tomorrow.

Current Location: BOLLINGBROOK, Illinois
Current Mood: happy

I watched Phantom from the library. It was a fun movie, and I was really interested in how they had to reorganize it for film versus the stage. Removing intermission significantly compresses the storyboard.

I also checked out the Tales of Beedle the Bard and have read the first two tales.

Made it to page 472 in Brisingr.

But all that is secondary. In less than 48 hours I'll be in Chicago for a long weekend. YAY.

Current Location: OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: busy

Watched All The Right Moves, as planned. Its also under the category of "Why did I add this to my netflix queue?" Anyway, it was fine as far as 80s movies go... basically Craig T. Nelson before he was funny.

Also watched a documentary on Ayn Rand. Very interesting, as I knew it would be. But it made me realize I need to watch the movie "The Fountainhead" (added to Netflix) and read "We The Living", which I have requested at the Library.

Moreover, my favorite Harry Potter podcast released a film commentary for H.P. and the Prizoner of Azkaban. So I re-watched that movie while listening to shenanigans.

And, I finished listening to "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" on audiobook. I was always confused by the title. A league is between 2 and 3.5 miles, depending on who you ask. So 20,000 leagues under the sea would be a depth of at least 40,000 miles. Only in the last chapter did I realize it meant the narrator had traveled 20,000 linear leagues while under the sea. Makes more sense now.

Next on Audiobook is Jane Eyre, which I'm reading because it was so repeatedly mentioned in the Thirteen Tales. Next in the Netflix queue is Rome, season 1, Disc 4. Somehow, got disc 5 in the queue before 4, so I'm out of order. Oh well.

The Phantom of the Opera and Batman Begins, both on DVD, should be waiting for me a the Library Monday-ish. And I'm still reading Brisingr... really need to finish that one. On page 452.

Current Location: STARBUCKS IN OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: restless

So this is a weekend of movies. So far, I've watched Oceans Twelve. Adequate, I guess.

Next is an oldie: All the Right Moves.

Current Location: OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: hungry

Christmas was fun. But I'm glad its over. Meanwhile, I watched Bear Cub again. I had pretty much completely forgotten the first time I saw it, but this time I found it quite engaging and also quite heavy.

Speaking of engaging, I finally read (via audiobook) the Thirteenth Tale as recommended by Keith. Its a story about twins, and also a story about ghosts. I actually want to read it again right now, but I'm moving on to other works. I will read it again eventually.

Current Location: OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: accomplished

I finished listening to Robinson Crusoe. It is safe to say I got more out of it this time than in 5th grade. However, if Providence decides to shipwreck me on a deserted island, Providence had best be intending to kill me.

I started this entry at the Coffee House on Cherry Street. I like the place, but the coffee didn't taste great (probably more my taste than the coffee) and they had a dog in the restaurant. And the dog exited through the kitchen. Is that consistent with health department regulations? It was definitely not a service animal.

A while back I read Harry: A History. There were repeated mentions of Spinal Tap, and since I really didn't know that story, I checked out the DVD, This is Spinal Tap from the Library. I'm 47 minutes into the DVD, and I'm still not sure what the story is.

However, my one major accomplishment today has been completing the process of merging my Christmas Card list from the old spreadsheet to my Google contacts and also bringing in updates from my mother.

Once all of that was done, I discovered Gmail's export feature only picks up the first line of the address, which is especially irritating given that the city, state and Zip, at a minimum, are in the second line. It took some work, but I got it out and merged into a word document for printing on labels. Now I have to print and stuff the cards. There will be few or no personal messages this year, because these cards have to go out tonight.

Tomorrow, I fly to Dallas for the Shelby family Christmas. Then I fly back to Tulsa on Sunday. I drive to Flint for the Warren family Christmas on Wednesday.

Current Location: STARBUCKS IN OWASSO, Oklahoma
Current Mood: busy