Visiting My Past

Happy New Year!

A 2-week holiday vacation was just what I needed to release the stresses of work, acting classes, and being sick for 5 weeks.

It all started with a trip home to Richmond - and a ride home with my best gal pal, Sharon. As always, it was so wonderful to see her cheery face and catch up, but as I'm sure she would agree, what would've made the road trip 20 times better is if (a) there were a Cosi near BWI where we could've gabbed over a couple TBM Melts, (b) if we had the Legally Blonde CD to sing along to, and (c) if we had more time!

Being at home this year felt so much different than any other time I had been there. Previous times, I always felt as though I were hiding my true self from my parents. They had a sense of me, but I never completely kept myself open to them. Having that "wall" down made being at home so much more comfortable.

Two days after Christmas, Andrew drove down and we headed to Blacksburg to visit our alma mater. Neither of us had been to Virginia Tech in about 4 years. While the town is growing (with a 4-story building and parking garage...very strange), it was still very familiar and it was almost as though no time had passed at all. It poured down rain through our stay, so sadly, we couldn't enjoy a leisurely walk around campus and downtown Blacksburg as hoped. In the four years since we were last on campus, an Alumni Center & Inn were built. There was no question we had to pop by - seeing that every alumni magazine sent to us has either an artist's sketch or a photograph of the building. Inside, there were rooms like opened time capsules filled with the memorabilia of Va Tech's past.

Our short stays at my old home in Richmond and at Andrew's sister's new home in Maryland were cozy ~ the cherry on top for our Christmases. Then it was on a train to NYC for New Year's! We arrived on Dec. 31st, checked into our hotel, and started our NYC adventure with a late lunch/early dinner at - where else - a deli called Ess-a-bagel! Mmm...there's nothing like a New York bagel! We then got ready for the evening and met up with my friend, Leann, her hubby and friends at Sequoia in South Street Seaport. Despite it being ridiculously loud (which lead to all of us screaming "what?!?" anytime any of us talked), and some drunk dude trying to pick a fight with Andrew, it was a good time. A bit different than what I expected, but New Year's always ends up being one of those holidays where no one can expect too much with the possibility of being disappointed. Where I became disappointed was New Year's Day. We were stuck in the hotel (except for when we went out for lunch) all day because my hangover would NOT go away. Frickin' kamikazes! Tears literally came out of my eyes that evening because Andrew and I would not get to go ice skating on Rockefeller Center. And he wanted to do this 10% more than I did. One positive out of the day is at least our room at The W was cozy (or should I say, S'Wonderful?) with a satiny comforter and of course, down feathered pillows! mmm...I MUST get a satin comforter!!!

Day 2 in NYC ~ I was feeling so much better! I got up at 8:45am to start our day and solidified my lunch/coffee plans with Randy and Jamie. Andrew and I had a small breakfast of pumpkin loaf slices from Starbucks, then headed to Central Park for a carriage ride! Despite it being 18 degrees, we kept warm with the huge, thick blanket provided in the carriage, our big coats and head/ear warmers (I have no idea what they're actually called!). Serendipitously, we ended up across the street from the new Apple store. So, the Apple geeks that we are (him more than me ;-)), ran over there after we got off the carriage. Then it was time to head to Cosi for lunch/coffee. Along the way, though, we HAD to stop by the World of Disney store! It took every fiber of my being not to buy Christmas items that were on sale, and not to poke around in every crevice of the store. But we had to make it to our lunch on time, and we had about 10 blocks to walk.

I was so happy to be back in a Cosi and eating my TBM Melt...which I was able to influence onto both Randy and Andrew. ;-) Jamie came in later, thus avoiding the peer pressure. As always, it was great to see the two of them; and again, I wish there was more time. It's so sad to think of the time that I spent with each of my friends in the past. I used to live in the same town as all of them, and hanging out was a norm. Now, not so much, and I wish that I still had that time with all of them.

Jamie took us back to the old apt., and I was in shock at how much cleaner the place was! It had been like that only once while I was living there...when we were looking for a new roommate. ;-)

The evening began with dinner at Serendipity and naturally, their infamous frozen hot chocolate. Yum yum! Followed by making our way to the Theatre District for a performance of Legally Blonde at The Palace Theatre. The temperature had dropped!!! or at least, it certainly felt that way with the sun down and possibly the winds picking up. After snapping a few pics in Times Square, we were happy to get into the theatre and settle into our seats. To our surprise, the people sitting next to us were a father and daughter who sat next to us at Serendipity! The show is still fantastic, and afterwards, we headed to Rockefeller Center...but not before running into the stage door and finding the actors coming out to sign autographs...including Laura Bell Bundy, who plays Elle Woods (or Woods, Elle ;-)). My favorite among the actors to come out was Michael Rupert, who plays Prof. Callahan. Love him ~ he has such a classic stage presence! After paparazzi photos and autographs, onto Rockefeller Center it was...in the freezing cold night air. We saw the new tree, got our picture taken a couple of times (sadly, did not get the perfect shot), watched the ice skaters and wondered how they could do it in this weather. Then it was back to our S'Wonderful room (yes, that's what The W calls it).

Day 3 ~ ooh, even colder. 12 degrees. We found a place for breakfast and tried to avoid the random ice patches on the ground. We had hoped to make to The Village for some coffee and hanging out...but alas, it was just too cold. I don't know. I think I could've handled it. All it took was walk around just a little, find a cafe, chill (not literally), get some coffee, and people watch. We would've been inside a warm building. Ah well. We instead, hung out in The W lobby in front of the fire until we had to grab a cab to the airport.

Thus ends our holiday vacation.

Now I'm back home, back to acting classes, and waiting for work to come in. I'm slowly coming out of my vacation coma.

A Happy New Year to all...and to all a good night.