MARY POPPINS

WAS AWESOME. I saw it tonight for cheap through my student housing events, with friends Inci and Charles. IT WAS SO GOOD. Magical! As I tweeted, "It's amazing!!! The songs are sweet, the set SO magnificent, the dancing and costumes engaging... Truly an enchanting musical!" And so it was. The Amsterdam Theatre was also beautiful, right on 42nd Street in the heart of Times Square. Among the amazing things in the musical were various sleights of hand or what could best be called magic tricks, like pulling too-large objects out of Mary's bag (of tricks) or assembling a bed out of thin air.  Statues and toys came to life, a giant amazing tap number fronted the second act flawlessly, the orchestra was perfectly complementary and the score was subtly omnipresent.  More noticeably, the set was phenomenal, ornate and complex and always moving! The house interior itself moved back like a doll house, the roof of the house floated off, the 3rd floor floated to the level of the stage (what great , and all types of pulley lines along the floor pulled props and platforms on stage. There were scrims, popups and of course the requisite trap door. There was a giant umbrella at one point (and I love when things get huge on stage (Cf. Wicked and giant dragons and things? Maybe?)) And everything flew, even besides the house! Bert walked the vertical perimeter of the stage, upside down, and Mary flew several times, the last time predictably into the audience and right by me :). She's a pretty actress, and the entire show was purely magical. A great show for children. You can tell that it was Disney influenced by the villain nanny in the second act - she was truly and clearly evil, like Maleficent even. Ahh it was just flawless, really, the whole show. Go see it!!! 5 stars. Er, 3 Triforces.

More party extravaganzas!

It's a fact. I can never go to bed before 1 AM on a work night :'(. Can't happen! All I want is a good night's rest and a focused day therefore and thereafter, but it looks as if it just can't be done! So to hell with it, a blog post.

This weekend was mad crazy fun like I had anticipated. In short, the Bloomberg Summer Picnic was incredible. It was huge, and fun, and free! Ate a great lunch there, and oh, the alcohol was free too.. soo... an unlimited quantity of red and white sangria = an even more fun time. I didn't zorb because the line was too long, but I did arch, and I still had fun with the whole experience. And I sang karaoke! We were apparently "Rob and the Crew" haha and I sang lead for "I Want It That Way" (necessary choice for karaoke). I collected (somewhat cheaply) all the 12 pins required to get into any activity without waiting in line, but it was too late when I had done so :( drat. At 7pm the big "Heart" in the center (a red and white stage and central meeting place) turned into a dance floor, which all the young people instantly mobbed! It was a great day of nothing but exciting times. There were a lot of activities for kids, as employees' families were welcome. What's more, some presumably gay employees were there with their presumable partners, which was a nice sight to see :). I didn't eat the edible bugs, as I wasn't up to it, but I did have a raspberry syrup'd deep-fried twinkie and that was just glorious.

I left the dance party a bit early (sad but necessary) to rush home on a water taxi, shower, change, and head down to a comedy show I saw with Michelle and Jimmy and his friend. It was a lot like Whose Line Is It Anyway? but of course not as perfectly awesome as that. Still pretty funny! Thereafter I went with my friend Kristen to "Rush" down near the Village, the only gay bar in NYC that's always 18+ from what I can tell. In honor of NYC pride week, their cover charge was high ($25 - boo!) but we still had fun for a few hours. Very busy day, that Saturday...

Sunday, I was lazy for a while! Then I went with Abi to the Pride Fest(ival) in the Village. We ended up missing the actual pride parade (oops) but went to all the vendors and had a good time! I got this glorious mozzarella & cornbread grilled cheese thing that gave me the massive stomach problems I experienced today :(. But it was soo good. I ran into Katie and Sophie, with whom I had earlier resided in Astoria last month, and also Kathryn from home who was visiting (a big surprise)!

After we got back, my neighbor, Kristen's roommate Inci, made some food for a bunch of people in my dorm, so I joined in! Delicious. I met Genzhao there, who is a student from China who lives in Japan in order to learn Japanese, but who is working at the UN here for the summer. We talked language and really got into discussions that lasted way after dinner ended! Hah.

Today back at work was a lethargic day after such fun... for everyone, really. But tonight was an intern fellowship event at Chelsea Piers, a kind of sports complex. They fed us (okay) food (at least it wasn't pizza) and I bowled with the usual Crew and then went rock climbing on my own! Now my fingers are sore from the handholds, and the typing each day too.. Hopefully carpal tunnel isn't in my future!

Pictures soon; tomorrow is Mary Poppins with my housing, EHS! Geez, something to do every day... What'll be next? :). Also, I finished Ender's Game and have bought Ender's Shadow per the recommendation of a good friend, so I'll be starting that next. To bed!!

Quick Update!

So my code is working at work, which means I can start to roll it out to customers and move on to other things, woo hoo! A great way to end a Friday and a long work week. We interns also had to perform the secret thing we've been practicing for the week today, twice. I'll reveal it: a flash mob dance to "Let's Get It Started" (The Black-Eyed Peas). The first time was a flop, and the music didn't play loudly enough. By the second time, everyone had heard and we had an audience waiting for us, with like, cameras... Erg. Anyway!

TOMORROW IS THE SUMMER PARTY SO PSYCHED. And then a comedy show. And then maybe a gay bar! And then probably Pride Fest on Sunday, and maybe seeing another Broadway show!

I say another because I saw one tonight spontaneously! Next to Normal, which was a good script and score - thought-provoking, tear-jerking plot - and nearly flawless. The only problem which really took away from being able to enjoy the piece was the lead actress' singing! Alice Ripley is apparently well renowned as a singer and has won awards for her role in the show that she has portrayed since before it hit Broadway, 2 years at least. So I knew something must be up, and I learned in fact that she has pretty bad vocal damage from performing so frequently. Her belt/higher singing was phonetically morphed, like she was a deaf singer, I suppose in order to ease the singing for herself, but it was severely distracting, unclear and annoying. Easy for me to get upset over it, me, who has not been running the 8-shows-a-week schedule that she has... Megan Mullaly (!! one of my favorites, saw her in Young Frankenstein) will be taking her place in the musical, which is very exciting; I wish I could see that future performance (instead?)! The other singers in the show were POWERHOUSES and great!

After the show, I met up with Kristen and her roommate Maria who happened to be seeing Hair down the street! Kristen is lucky and gets all the free lottery tickets... We went to the Hard Rock Cafe, home of the 1000+ calorie EVERYTHINGS on their menu, and met a cool waiter named "Fox<3" who serves tables by day, but is actually performing in the upcoming ensemble for Spiderman on Broadway. He showed us some of the costume pictures and it looks much more entertaining that you'd think! Exciting

Now I am about to finish Ender's Game with a glass of wine and prepare for the awesomeness ahead. What book should I read after this? Ender's Shadow? Speaker for the Dead?

Waaaaaa busy week!

Oh my. So little time!!! This week has gone by much quicker than usual! Of course I spend most of weekdays at work, and in fact I've been staying as late as 9 PM for the past few days... It's gotten more enjoyable now that I'm actually on track though! My project needs to come to a close soon, i.e. ideally by tomorrow at noon, and I have my code half-working - just a little bit more to go from here! Hopefully I can get it done with and enjoy the weekend for what it'll be...

Which will be great! Like last weekend! (I'll talk about the future before the past.) For one thing, the annual Bloomberg Summer Picnic (/Party) is Saturday! This is an employee vacation day, where Bloomberg rents out a part of Randall's Island and invites all their employees, even from non-NYC offices, to come and have a fun day! Families and children and guests are welcome, but unfortunately not for interns :(. We go solo. In fact, interns are encouraged to go, because we'll be performing a special (mandatory) surprise for all the regular employees there... Lol. It's somewhat "hazing ritual," but even more obviously it's older adult intern program coordinators thinking how cute it is for the younger rookies to do something cute for everyone. Meh. Proud to say I'm one of the more skilled performers among the throngs of compuer programming interns haha. Can't say what it is, in case I spoil the surprise! ...

Anyway, the party is bound to be great. An all-day affair! It features sponsorship by a lot of NYC organizations that Bloomberg itself donates to, i.e. museums like MoMA and dance groups like Alvin Ailey and the Bronx zoo, so we will be able to participate in a slew of cultural events. And I hear... they also have... ZORB BALLS I AM SO RIDING ONE. And to make matters even better, there's alcohol. Maybe even free, knowing Bloomberg. So on the amazing list of things to do is:

• (drunken) zorbing
• archery?!
• wall climbing
• lounge river-side
• learn to dance? tango/capoiera?
• see the choir/orchestra perform @ 4p, maybe the beatboxers @ 6p
• paintball???
• visit the museum booths, partake in activities
• RIDE SEGWAYS
• bocce, bumpercars, human foosball?!
• KARAOKE
• lounge in hammocks <3
• dance dance dance
• Eat wonderful foods

Yeah that's a good list! It's gonna be great. Also, all this week is NYC Pride, culminating this weekend! I plan to go to the parade on Sunday and maybe a bar or two... I'm sure it'll be jumping!

Finally Saturday night after the Party, I'm meeting with Michelle (finally now that she's done her horrid MCAT!) and we're going to see a comedy show downtown woo! No idea what it'll be like...

So, so far I haven't kept up well with my plan below to see a Broadway show every week. Turns out I'm pretty busy with other NYC events... But Tuesday I see Mary Poppins! And I really want to see The 39 Steps with Janey, and The Lion King, and I'll be seeing Mamma Mia!, and really just so many others... Turns out I have so much I want to do! Haha, predictable me. Here's a kind of updated, appended list of things to do:

• Write about the amazing Imogen Heap experience I.. experienced.
• Go to an amusement park w/ JHU peeps
• Meet up with the old Prep folk
• HIT THE BEACH
• Done! Now let's do it again!
• See Pete perform in the city with his band!  His gig was cancelled :(
• Climb the Statue of Liberty
• Go to the Bronx Zoo
• Go to Pride 2010 - soon!
• Go on runs through Central Park - maybe in an impromptu marathon?
• If not, bike! With Becky!
• Row a boat on the pond in Central Park!
• Go sailing on the Hudson??? (or kayaking, as I hear they offer it for free!)
• Maybe picnic there too...
• Buy something awesome and expensive with my new paycheck
• Visit Chinatown (a lot!)
• Eat in Little Italy
• See a show - every week! (already behind on this one, haha)
• Host guests - every week? haha
• Visit Coney Island
• Go to the Hamptons?
• Visit the UN
• Go to museums! MoMA, Gugenheim, the Met, Nat. History, MAD, all of Museum Mile, Japan Society, ...Sex Museum?
•  I get in for free with my Bloomberg badge, so let's go everywhere!
• Visit with my NYC friends, and have other friends visit me!
• Find love, or something
• Attend the Summer Stage / Shakespeare plays in Central Park
• See an indie film, perhaps, in Brooklyn? Or at Herald Square

Woosh. I need a better schedule. Only like, 7 weeks left pretty soon? Oh boy.

Last thing for the future is, I'm going back to JHU for the 4th of July! Hope to see the friends who are staying in Baltimore while I'm there, and get some work done for the Vocal Chords and to prepare for the fall with APO.

Ohhhhh geez I am writing too muchhhh. Okay what has happened.  Yesterday Rebecca and I went unexpectedly to see "The Karate Kid" "remake." Not only did it feature not karate but kung fu, but it was also very different from the original... not exactly what I expected, but still entertaining! Not often you see African(-American) and Asian cultures collide... or Jackie Chan cry for that matter. The finishing move was bad ass though. I have resolved that I retroactively want to have spent some of my younger years in China. The end.

Tonight I went to the Museum of Arts and Design with a colleague, Wolfgang. It was really interesting, their "dead or alive" exhibit was particularly evocative! A lot of beauitful art created out of dead animals and plants in a not-so-morbid way.... Like a beautiful 3D flower portrait made out of the bones of various animals (you can't even tell at first glance), 60 shaped human skulls each made up of different types of herbs, and a Chinese scroll print recreated as a shadow of plant fronds etc. on a backdrop... All very cool stuff. I recommend you go!

Random news:

• I CAN'T get this amazing a cappella out of my head. Listen! BYU Vocal Point sings "Nearer My God To Thee"
• iPhone has a new OS! Woo. Now I can listen to a cappella on Pandora while doing other things, sweet.

OKAY BED.

Weekend Tourism!

Mmm so sleepy. A week of work ahead? Blargh! My resolution is to see a Broadway show this week... But which one? Hmm...

This was a very fun weekend! Met some new friends in my dorm as I went on some admittedly very touristy RA-sponsored events. The programs and atmosphere here are pretty lax and do-what-you-want, and I can usually do things cheaper through them, so, why not?

Yesterday I went to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. Long subway trip there, EXTREMELY packed, but a fun experience. Had to go there once, at least. It might be better there when it's less crowded... although I hear it's not exactly the best beach location in the world. Got a corn dog and saw some interesting outfits; apparently Neil Patrick Harris was there among the crowd mobs... I wonder if I unknowingly bumped into him?...

 

That night I went out to karaoke downtown with Rebecca and Suzanne! I've never really done that before and I'm pretty sure I could have stayed there all night...

 

And today I went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island! Lady Liberty herself was of course big, yet still smaller than I imagined! Didn't really realize the American-built pedestal was, first, American-built, but also nearly half the height of the statue. I have to say I love the idea of personified Liberty - the Romans (after whose goddess Bartholdi modeled the statue) knew what they were doing. We met a character actor there who was posing as Bartholdi the creator from 100+ years ago - realized that fact soon after I told him I was interning at the mayor's company and he didn't know who Bloomberg was :). Ellis Island I discovered was originally less than half of its current size, and it's filled with the memories of desperation for a new chance in the New World... intriguing to see America now versus then, and compare how eager people were/are to come here. I really need to escape one day and see what it looks like from the outside.

 

There was so much history there I couldn't even learn all about it in one day (and I hate having to leave museum exhibits before I'm done!...). Seeing these places firsthand has jump-started an interest in world history that I never thought I had... That, and learning about finance at work, wanting almost to open a economics textbook... What's happening to me? Pretty soon there won't be any topic I dislike. Okay... bed!

Mmmm Friday

Weekend. Yess. Free time!! It's going to go by too quickly... I'm really tired so I will try to keep this brief!

Work: I am still slowly progressing... Wish I could just code and not have to worry about all these departmental complications. Had an intern event with Bloomberg Sports where they promoted their new Facebook baseball app - check it out, it's actually really cool! Plus I get stuff if you join and we're friends... :). Needless to say, I wasn't very interested...

Instead, I was checking out Toy Story 3 on my iPhone - a movie I saw later tonight with friends Kevin from work and Melissa, both from JHU! It was a good movie - clearly there was ample room for this trequel, and it was very enjoyable and funny. I don't know what's come over me lately, but I have been crying at pretty much any movie nowadays - I'm a big wuss. Even if the movie isn't necessarily tear-worthy... Any ounce of 'aww' and I'm done for. This film especially. Pixar can really do this to me... Good thing I had 3D glasses to hide behind (and that we were just in time, having to sit at the very bottom right, ow my neck. oops) Maybe I don't get enough of these deep values in my day-to-day life of which Pixar makes sure to remind me? Or maybe they just have a good way of showing people growing up in an instant, in 2 hours, and I'm a huge sucker for that. Life keeps moving... scary.

The three of us then traipsed around Times Square, got gelato, trolled the exit of Mamma Mia! to see if my friend Alyse (one of the stars) would pop out... Alas, she didn't. I'll be sure to see her in the show next month though. Fun night! Movies, friends... these are good things to have. More this weekend! + tourism! hehe

Randoms:

• AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER MOVIE is just two weeks away!! Ahhh what??? Crazy!
• This BP oil spill stuff is crazy. I kind of want BP to go under as a martyr to the cause of renewable energy! It is a bit ridiculous that an oil slick the size of Delaware or something is just floating down there... From my office chair at a desk in a Manhattan high rise every day, I think how much I want to be down in Louisiana cleaning up the beaches.
• NEW ZELDA 2011 SKYWARD SWORD ahh it's gonna be great! E3 showed that Nintendo has amazing stuff coming out including:
• A new Zelda game for Wii with Impressionist art and real 1:1 sword control with the Wiimote
• 3DS, the new DS featuring 3D without the need for 3D glasses, woah
• Remake of Ocarina of Time in this new 3D
• New Paper Mario game in 3D
• So many other cool games and upgrades... big year for NTDOY! (their stock ticker name - memorized)
• OCremix made this awesome Oracle of Ages Zelda mix... Every track from the game is featured. I'm excited to check it out!

Okay, sreep. Hopefully the $1 strawberries I bought on the corner tonight at midnight are not dubious!

Robular the Popular?

So apparently people actually read this thing! Surprise to me! Maybe I should take that link off of my Facebook... Considering my mom has also discovered this. (Hi mom!...) Yeah, well, ...

Today at work was actually a good day, because I got something to work! Huzzah! After two weeks... hopefully things will continue to pick up pace and progress henceforth. Still not getting enough sleep as I'd like, though... maybe getting in after 10 every night and trying to write a blog is not helping ^_^. Exercise seems to be beneficial though!

Tonight I met Rebecca for dinner at the Grey Dog near Union Square. Thereafter we went to Filene's Basement in a desperate search for good khakis. Of course, nothing of quality can be found in such a place, I'm not sure what I was thinking... I ended up buying a belt for $25 though, whereas Rebecca stumbled upon a glorious article of gold sequined glory, marked down from $600 to $175. Needless to say, given my penchant for absconding with sequinwear, I will be borrowing it for something, I'm sure. Hah.

FRIDAY TOMORROW WOOHOO

Yaaaaaaaaawn

Ugh okay this is far too later than my bedtime is supposed to be. Drat! Tonight I tried to exercise and do laundry after getting home at roughly 10 pm. Bad idea. But not before seeing Janey at the res life office! I signed up for the Statue of Liberty tour this Sunday (woo!) and I'm on the list for seeing Mary Poppins two Tuesdays from now on Broadway. Memphis was available for this Tuesday, but it sold out quickly... :(. Maybe I'll still try to go.

Today I had part 2 of my Introduction to Securities financial class that I'm taking through Bloomberg. It's mainly a seminar type thing, but it's actually really informative and interesting!!! I think Bloomberg instilled a curiosity in me for the world of commerce, 'cause I never cared one bit about these things before... I'm even contemplating reading a macro/microeconomics textbook sometime! This is scary. Anyway my lecturers are very competent and that's exactly what I need, because I can ask them all the dumb questions I have to get myself up to speed. Still not exactly clear what makes a stock go up & down though... but other than that I'm learning much!

I also had a wellness seminar through Bloomberg at lunch, which talked to us about making healthy eating choices. Now the free pantries seem like devilish temptresses, knowing that eating essentially anything will give me cancer. I think I won't eat for a while now. But it was also really informative.. I'm certainly learning a lot about how to better myself, and hopefully my exercise routine will keep up! Tomorrow's agenda: prepare as much as possible for my code review on Friday, and go to dinner with Becky, round 2!

Aghhh I suck at updating...

So I decided that since I barely have time at night before going to bed for work the next day, that I'm going to try to post on a per-day basis, and retroactively post for days I miss. So here goes!

Tonight I decided on a whim to see the Alvin Ailey company's modern dance performance. It was at the BAM Opera House in Brooklyn, a beautiful venue. Balcony seats were pretty cheap and the company is being sponsored by Bloomberg this season, which is how I heard of it.

Apparently they have two different performance sets which alternate by day; I unknowingly chose one I would like less... But it was still a good show! Three acts: The first was a traditional Christian mass interpreted as dance, and followed the traditional order - processional, reading, responsorial psalm, gospel, etc. The second was a more modern piece with themes of nature and passion, very cool. Featured Radiohead music! "Everything In Its Right Place" as covered by a string quartet.

The third and final act was the Alvin Ailey choreographed "Revelations", which was his first and major claim-to-fame. It was clearly the best, as a particularly Brooklynesque usher told me. The predominantly African American company was clothed in browns and golds and yellows that complemented the dancers' varied skin tones; the lighting would change to make their appear as if glistening with gold, or made of potter's clay. Very cool effects. The choreo itself was powerful and new for 1958, when apparently it made its first debut.

The show was worth going to, although I got home just at my bedtime :(... Sigh. Very little time with a full-time job! The venue also offers many screenings of films of various flavors - new, indie, classics, etc. - and I saw they have a lot of cool ones that I've already missed. Darn.

Meanwhile, I've been reading Ender's Game and been more eager to finish it than do anything else, really - I was reading it during intermissions, and I've read it on my lunch breaks at work. Almost done! Ready to move onto Ender's Shadow :). Night!

Day Much Later

Haven't updated in a while, the first week has been very busy! But so much to write about. I'll have to take it segments. So much, and it's so late. For now, let's look at the list of things I want to do in NYC while I'm here, slash for the summer in general. Maybe some of these are unrealistic... anyway, I better get on it.

• Sing on stage live with Imogen Heap OH WAIT I ALREADY DID THAT
• Go to an amusement park w/ JHU peeps
• Meet up with the old Prep folk
• HIT THE BEACH
• See Pete perform in the city with his band!
• Climb the Statue of Liberty
• Go to the Bronx Zoo
• Go to Pride 2010
• Go on runs through Central Park - maybe in a marathon?
• If not, bike! With Becky!
• Row a boat on the pond in Central Park!
• Go sailing on the Hudson???
• Maybe picnic there too...
• Buy something awesome and expensive with my new paycheck
• Visit Chinatown (a lot!)
• Eat in Little Italy
• See a show - every week! (already behind on this one, haha)
• Host guests - every week? haha
• Visit Coney Island - see the hot dog contest?
        Extra points: Make out with the Japanese winner guy ^_^
• Go to the Hamptons?
• Visit the UN
• Go to museums! MOMA, Gugenheim, the Met, Nat. History...
        I get in for free with my Bloomberg badge, so let's go everywhere!
• Visit with my NYC friends, and have other friends visit me!
• Find love, or something

Let's do it.