NYC weekend

So, I realize that, once again, it's been way too long since I've posted. It's not like I don't have the time, but I guess really I don't, considering that most of my spare time is spent alone at home and I have no internet at home, therefore making blogging almost impossible. (I can't blog on my cell. I barely can text any more due to my sausage fingers. Well, they're not really sausage fingers. Let's just say I'm really bad at texting because I never put the right part of my fingers down on the screen, plus I try to text only with my thumbs, and let's face it, they're not tiny.) Anywho, there have been some things of note happen since my last blog, specifically the fact that I went to New York City for the first time! *Cue important music - hellifiknow what - the graduation march, or Hail to the Chief - whatever* I am working on a personal document for me to keep that details the whole weekend, but I will cram six days into as short of a blog as I can manage and still do the city justice.

I took the Amtrak from Cincinnati, because it was going to be about half the price of flying, and I most certainly wasn't going to drive into Manhattan. No thank you, sir. The trip to NYC was not so bad. I got a lot of reading done, although I didn't sleep much, and my seat mate was nice. (Not that the seat mate on the way back wasn't nice; the rest of that trip was just so horrendous that it sort of negated anything else.) We arrived at Penn Station about ten minutes early, and I just kind of hung around until Jon-Michael came to meet me. We had a hot dog on the street, then took a cab to his apartment. After dropping off my things, we walked around a little bit, passing the piers and seeing the Staten Island Ferry station, among other things. The next morning we had breakfast and had time to go to Times Square before it was time for the main event - Bette Midler in I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers at the Booth Theatre.

I was far less emotional about seeing Bette for the first time than I thought I would be. I did feel tears well up as I waited for her appearance onstage, but I didn't actually cry until a little bit later. I also managed to not sit there shaking like an addict in withdrawal. Go me! I was on the end of the second row, all the way to the left (or rather, stage right). Let me just say that she was amazing. She was well lit and looked absolutely stunning. She was barely clothed, just wearing a thin muumuu, no shoes, and a wig (not an impressive one, either). She was riotous. She knew exactly where to play for laughs and, since the play was set up like Sue Mengers is just chatting away to people from her living room couch, she even smirked at her own jokes appropriately. She was heartbreaking as well. There were a few moments (one where she speaks of not fitting in as a child, and another where she speaks of visiting friend Ali McGraw at home) where she brought legitimate tears to my eyes. I could have sat there listening to her for hours. It was glorious.

After that I took the subway to the Lower East Side, where Jon-Michael was hanging with his friend Isaiah. My first day in NYC, and I took the subway alone. Go me! (Wait, I already said that. Ugh. I've become one of *those* people, that says idiotic things like, "Go me!" in totally inappropriate contexts and way too often.) We went and had a hot dog at some place called Crif Dogs where I had the most amazing hot dog of my life. Wrapped in bacon, deep-fried, and served with avocado and cream cheese. It was delectable. We hung out for a while, went to a place called McSorley's, then went back to Jon-Michael's for a nap before we went out to see a late drag show.

Sunday was a big day. We had brunch at Max Brenner's. They're known for their chocolate. I had a delicious healthy breakfast. (No sarcasm, really.) We spent a lot of time in Central Park, saw Rockefeller Center, and walked down 5th Avenue for a bit. We did A LOT of walking. We took the Staten Island Ferry, then from there we were on our way back to the apartment when we saw a line of people getting their pictures taken with someone. I couldn't see who at first, but I got in line anyway. It was Megan Fox! I've never been a fan, but she was very polite. She didn't say much, but she smiled and posed and did not complain for a second. It was cool. Then we went back to Jon-Michael's, ordered pizza, and watched Game of Thrones.

Monday, I had an early lunch with Mark, who had to go take a cosmetology exam, so I was on my own for a few hours. I went back to Rockefeller Center and did Top of the Rock, took in the views there. It was great. Then I met Mark in Times Square to go to the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. It was cool. There weren't as many figures as I expected, but the ones we did see were well done (if some a bit outdated culturally to still be featured) and I had a good time. We also went to Chelsea and walked through the Highline. After that we met Jon-Michael for dinner and drinks.

Tuesday, both of the guys had to work, so I ventured out on my own. I had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, then walked over the Brooklyn Bridge (which took longer than I expected). Once in Brooklyn, I walked around for a while, took the Brooklyn Promenade, and then took the train back into Manhattan. I had decided I was going to try and find the building Bette Midler lives in. The night before I had seen an article online (from a couple years ago) about rooftop gardens, and it listed the address. So I walked around in the area, found somewhere just inside Central Park to use the bathroom, then eventually found the building. There was a bench across the street, so I sat down because my feet were hurting really bad and kind of blistered at this point. I hadn't been sitting there long when I saw Bette go in the building! I didn't know what to do, since I hadn't even been sure she lived there. So I sat outside for a long time, internally freaking out. It's one thing to see a celebrity you love onstage, but to be that close to them just outside in the real world - it's incredible. After a long time, Bette finally came out. I wanted to see where she was going, so I took off in the same direction. I snapped a few picture of her in Central Park, but she quickly went back out and my feet were not in the condition to even try and keep up. I did walk around in her neighborhood a little, hoping I might see her again, but I didn't. I went back to Jon-Michael's from there, because I desperately needed to charge my phone. I changed clothes and then headed back out. I was supposed to meet Mark in Chelsea so he could highlight my hair. That was also a neat experience. I got to go to the salon where he works (Sally Herschberger Downtown), and apparently lots of celebrities get their hair done there, which is cool. I didn't get to see any though. Jon-Michael joined us for a late dinner, and then it was home and to bed.

The next morning, I had to come back. That was an awful day. I took the wrong train to get to Penn Station, and I ended up having to walk like 12 blocks in the rain until I finally found the station I thought was going to lead me right into Penn. It still took me a while to get there. I was supposed to be there thirty minutes before the train boarded, but it ended up being more like ten, and both I and my luggage were pretty wet. I did manage to change pants on the train, which made things a little better, but not much. The whole day was awful. A guy got kicked off the train for being beligerent before we even took off from NY, then later on that day the dude sitting across the aisle from me (I was in a window seat this time, luckily) was getting drunk and hitting on the much-younger lady sitting beside him. My seat mate reported him to the conductor, which really did no good, so I was afraid he was going to get up and deck her or something. The train was 2 1/2 hours late getting back into Cincinnati, and by the time I got to Lexington it was 5:30 in the morning. I called into work the next day because I was just too exhausted (again, I'd probably only slept about four hours on the train).

Even with the taste of the crappy parts of the trip stuck in my mouth, they were so few overall that I can honestly say I had a great time. My two Bette encounters that weekend made everything else worth it. Although I do wish I'd had the nerve to just go up to her in the park, I simply could not do it, and had she been rude or seemed put out by me approaching her, it would have just crushed me. That's a scenario I would not have been able to bear. Maybe the opportunity to be close to her will present itself again - I don't know. Either way, I still cannot believe how incredibly lucky I was.