Live from New York!

The short story: We camped out all of Friday night for standby tickets to see Taylor Swift host and perform on SNL. And we didn't get in.

The real story: We camped out all of Friday night for standby tickets to see Taylor Swift host and perform on SNL. And we didn't get in, but the entire experience ranks up there with some of my favorite New York adventures. 

Jamie staked out a spot in line around 6 p.m. Friday, and was later joined by LJ, then Hannah. I met up with the ladies just before midnight and it was already a chilly 38 degrees. We were armed with chairs, layers upon layers, our puffiest puffer coats, and blankets galore. Not to mention the Papa John's we had delivered to 30 Rock, plenty of treats, and oodles of optimism. 

As the hours wore on, the temperature went down, and the silliness ensued. By the time the wind chill had the thermometer at 31 degrees, Jamie was reading to us from Harry Potter, voices for each character and all (her "Ron" is ridiculously impressive, I must say!). Hannah burrowed down in her pile of plaid blankets, displaying her excellent survival skills. LJ documented my need to attempt to lay horizontally and I stared in disbelief at her impersonation of a snowman in need of a hug... Before we knew it, the sun had risen. It was almost 7 a.m. and time for us to collect our standby tickets - we'd survived!

After getting home and spending some quality time with my big comfy bed (I may or may not have slept until 2:30 in the afternoon. No judging.), it was time to head back to 30 Rock for our shot at the dress rehearsal. With tickets #42 - #45 in hand, we were nervous but convinced that the Country Music Fates were on our side. Heck, we'd been Tweeting to Taylor all night and day - maybe she would come out with special tickets for @BethanyNYC, @LaurenJ27 & friends! Right, not likely, but like I said: We had oodles of optimism.

So when they only had room for tickets #1 - #27, to say our bubbles were burst would be an understatement. But it didn't take us long to realize that the night was young and full of potential. With that, we set off for Jamie and Hannah's apartment on the UWS for a New Yorky movie night followed by watching our girl Taylor live. After a quick stop at the grocery store and wine shop for "supplies," we were happily watching Sex and the City, ooo-ing and aww-ing over the outfits and love stories we'd all memorized long before.

Taylor's fab performance on SNL was the icing on the cake (though Amy Poehler's surprise appearance for the Really!?! segment with Seth Meyers was decidedly more like salt in our wounds...). Her monologue and spoof on Twilight had me in exceptionally long fits of giggles... Goodness, I love her.

So that's the real story: A cold slumber party outside of 30 Rock and a weekend of memories with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. As LJ so eloquently put it Saturday evening as we were seeking out Puppy Chow ingredients, "This will no longer be the night we didn't see Taylor Swift on SNL. It will be the night we drank lots of wine and had a fabulous time with each other."

LOVE from New York, if you will.

12:30 a.m: Prior to the temperature dipping below freezing... i.e. sanity still intact.

2 a.m.-ish: Story time. It was about now that Jamie realized the true brilliance of the Snuggie: "I need a blanket... but one with arms!"

3 a.m., cold and silly: "LJ, I just kind of need to be horizontal for a moment."

"B... Will you hug me? I think it will make me warm..."

4 a.m., colder and sillier: "B! You're an elephant!!"

7 p.m. Saturday night: Back at 30 Rock, fingers crossed...

10 p.m. Saturday - 2 a.m. Sunday: A happy happy ending, indeed!

Kites, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

As many of you might recall, NYC lost a couple of its really good ones this past Spring. I pretty much started a countdown to Kristen and/or Alyssa's return the second their planes took off.

So when Alyssa told me a couple months ago that she: A. got a great new job (wee!), and B. wanted one of her first big splurges to be a trip back to the City, well, let's just say there was much skipping and squealing down Third Avenue that day. And the best part? She was coming in for the weekend of Megan's Half Marathon in Philly! This clearly meant only one thing, two syllables:

Road. Trip.

By the time our double decker bus rolled out of Penn Station at 9:15 the Saturday morning before last, Meg had an entourage of 8 of us girls. We were ready for a touristy-and-fun-filled trip to the City of Brotherly Love, armed with Pumpkin Spice Starbucks and maybe just a bit too much luggage for an overnight trip. As we flipped through our NY Mag's, Glamour's, and In Style Weddings' (ok, I guess that was just Amy...) we tallied up our collective goals for the trip:

• Carbing up with Megan Cheering Megan on, obviously!
• Pictures. Lots. Of. Pictures.
• The Liberty Bell (more specifically, "Kiting" it with Tracey and/or Amy, my fellow Thetas on the trip. Kidding. But not.)
• Reid Rosenthal (See him? Hug him? Marry him? All of the above him?)
• Running up the Rocky steps, even though I'm pretty sure none of us have seen any of the movies... meh.
• Philly Cheesesteaks? For sure. Cheez Whiz? Undecided.
• Avoiding any and all people dressed in costumes
• Brunchy brunch brunch

I'm happy to report that in our 29 or so hours in Philadelphia, we successfully checked just about everything off our lists, and then some. These photos can't possibly do all of the giggles and delicious calories justice, but here's a peek at one of the best weekends ever:

Oh, well hello there, Reid. Thanks for welcoming us to Philly... Alyssa and I will now fight for your affections.

Despite our best efforts, we hadn't been wandering historical Philly for more than 20 minutes when we ran into our first Costume Situation. Sorry Meg. We tried.

Oh yes. Yes, we did. Theta Love.

I really do love history.

"Hey guys. Give me your best Patriotic Pose..."

I may or may not have Googled "Chick-fil-A, Philadelphia" within 10 minutes of checking-in to our hotel... NYC doesn't know what it's missing.

Cheers to Meg! Sure, she may have been in bed at this point, but it's the thought that counts.

Check out those pink (Meg) and blue (Stephanie) shorts go!

The Cheering Section

Theta Love for Megan! (p.s. two Kites in one trip?! Oh, I'm a happy girl.)

Meow (Video to come... Get excited.)

xoxo

Dancing Elephants

"It's 4:15pm... and I just noticed that my shirt is on backward..."

Melissa, the delightful girl I share a polyester cubicle wall with at work, pretty much summed up the last week to a tee with that realization. A few other words come to mind to describe it, but in the interest of brevity and keeping PTTP PG-friendly, I'll just go with hers. And maybe just one more: Riiiiiidiculous.

It was a week of long, long hours. We've all been there (or at least, that's what my New York friends and I keep telling ourselves... that the crazy, mixed up demands of working in this city are somehow... "normal"...ha. But gotta love it though, right?). Nights that somehow turn into the next morning. All but one or two lunches/dinners at the non-comfort of your desk. Fire drill after fire drill. Getting ready in the morning, thanking your lucky stars it's finally Friday because you woke up to a killer cold... and then realizing that no. It's... Tuesday. Sigh.

That's not to say that this week wasn't without it's silver linings, because trust me... it was. And more on those to come, sooner or later I'm sure... :) However, the point of this post is to make just one point: I. am. tired.

And all I wanted out of tonight was a glass of pinot noir, a good movie, and sleep. Blissful, pre-midnight sleep. So here I am in bed, ready to turn out the light after sneaking in a few chapters of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when... they start: the Elephants. They apparently occupy the apartment above mine and they've decided to make themselves known again tonight. And these aren't just any Elephants, mind you. They are DANCING Elephants. Well at least, they better be putting on a stinking Riverdance up there for how much ruckus they're causing!

Ok, I get it. My complaining about "ruckus" before 1:00 am on a Friday night in the City that never sleeps probably (read: definitely) earns me all sorts of Lame Points. But every now and then you just need a night in, ya know? A quiet night to yourself to unwind from the week. A night without any craziness or small-talk at the bar or... Elephants.

So, dear Elephants of Apt 5C, if you happen to read this tonight, would you ever so kindly hold off on your dance rehearsal for the rest of the night? Just this once? And tomorrow, by all means - go to town. Heck, I'll even buy you all pretty new tutus for your next recital! Thanks for understanding. xoxo

Daddy's Girl

I don't take the decision of assigning people to my speed dial lightly. I mean, it's just cruel to ask a girl to choose just nine people who she most often needs to contact at just the press of a button! And considering research shows it takes 21-30 days to form a habit (thank you, Google), who wants to go to all of the trouble of getting used to a new person in one of those coveted spots only to switch them out after a few months?

All this to say: I rarely put boys on my speed dial. And when I do, it's because I expect him to hold that rather significant place for awhile...

Which is why it is no small feat that there is one boy - just one - who has managed to hold the #1 spot on my cell for the last eight or so years... my dad :) And guess what?? In just four short days, he'll be in NYC! Yayyy!

Granted this visit means that you'll find me in a mad cleaning frenzy for the next couple of days (You know, for how often I never have a thing to wear, I don't know how I manage to build up so much laundry every week...), but it'll be worth it for a long weekend filled with fun, frolic and red wine with the #1 man in my life... and on my speed dial.

"The only man a girl can trust is her daddy." -Frenchy in Grease