From the Inside Out

After eating lunch at the famous Stage Deli, we wandered around Central Park enjoying the sights and snapping a few fun pics.

Eventually we worked our way to The Met. They have a great collection of 19th- and Early 20th-Century European Paintings including works from Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, and Picasso. Normally, I’m a big fan of Monet, but my favorite work of art today was Wheat Fields with Cypresses by Van Gogh. It was painted in 1889. The colors and brush strokes are amazing.

The Met also has an extensive Egyptian collection.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I’m fascinated with Egyptian culture.  Today was a treat for me.  I didn’t realize The Met’s collection was so large.  It may not be quite as good as the collection on display at the British Museum since it’s displaying lesser known works, but it’s still a good representation of the culture and history of Egypt.

After visiting The Met, we walked down 5th Avenue where the high end condos and shops are located. We didn’t have time to do any shopping since we had to get back in time for an evening show, but I do plan to go again later.

We stopped by our hotel for a quick change of clothes. Our bags had been moved to a new room while we were out. When we checked in last night, no King rooms were available, but they upgraded us today to a corner room with a King. The view is great! Check out the pics. here. The last two are the view from our room on the 48th floor.

This evening, we caught Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Wow, the show is amazing! Wicked is the untold story of the witches from the Wizard of Oz. Based on reviews and recommendations from friends, I expected it to be good, but it was even better than I had hoped. If you get the chance to see it, don’t pass up the opportunity.

Well, that’s Day Two in the Big Apple. Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow.

My bags were packed and the countdown to vacation had begun when I received an unpleasant call today. American Airlines had cancelled our flight. Of course, I should have known it was coming. Something always happens when I try to go to New York.

Apparently, there was a major snafu in the American Airlines terminal at JFK airport today. The software that controls the baggage sorting conveyor belt malfunctioned. This caused American to delay and cancel flights in and out of the airport. My flight was one of those cancelled.

American was nice enough to automatically rebook us on a flight the following morning with a layover in Orlando. Uh, not cool. First of all, I had already paid for our hotel accommodations on Wednesday night. Second, I don’t want a non-direct flight (in addition, Orlando flights are the worst — packed with annoying vacationers and lots of screaming children). Anyway, after a long time on the phone, Gary got us rebooked on an earlier flight going into the Newark airport.

Once at the airport, more delays ensued (gotta love air travel). However, I’m happy to report that we finally made it to the city. The W Hotel is in the middle of Times Square. It’s an amazing location. You step outside the door and are immediately immersed in the excitement of NYC.

We arrived late. I think it was somewhere around 11 pm, but the city was alive and we were hungry so we set out to see some of the sites (and grab some food).

Here are a few pictures from our first night. To view all pictures, check out the photos section of the blog. I’ll be uploading pictures daily.

W Hotel

Times Square

According to an article in Psychology Today, “work hours in the U.S. have increased by more than 12 percent in the past three decades, and the average American is allotted a paltry 9.6 days of vacation per year. Incredibly, many of us don’t even take full advantage of this slim window: Travel industry data indicate that about 15 percent of vacation days in the U.S. go unused.”

The demands of our jobs often take priority over family and play time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on a conference call or exchanged emails with someone who was “on vacation.” With mobile devices, smart phones and anytime, anywhere access to the Internet, working vacations are becoming a way of life. However, we pay a stiff price for the lack of quality downtime. A nine-year study conducted by Brooks Gump, an associate professor of psychology at the SUNY, reports that “men who skipped vacation for five consecutive years were 30 percent more likely to suffer heart attacks than those who took at least one week’s annual leave. Even skipping one year’s vacation was associated with an elevated risk of heart disease.”

While they can’t fully explain this phenomenon, the research clearly shows that an escape from stress and the demands of everyday worries for only a few days can have unbelievable results. These thoughts are in my mind as I prepare to get away for an extended weekend. It’s been a stressful time at work, and it’s only going to get worse over the next 4 months.

I seriously need this vacation. So with my “heart health” in mind, I’m going to leave the stress behind, shut off the smart phone (well, most of the time), and relax.

Vacation…it does a body good!

Saturday Night Life is off to a running start!

We held auditions tonight. It was a closed casting call since we didn’t have a huge number of parts to cast. Also, we have an abbreviated rehearsal schedule this time so we felt it was important to cast skilled actors who can develop characters quickly with minimal supervision.

Most of our main drama players from Pirates are returning. We have a great group of talented people so not only will it be a fabulous production, it will also be lots of fun!

I’ll be reprising my role as Arianna (the cheerleader) and the Weekend Update news anchor. I’ll also be involved in a couple of new sketches. Rehearsals start next week so here we go…again.

“I love acting. It is so much more real than life.” Oscar Wilde

Wow, it was a busy weekend! I’m sitting on the couch amazed at how quickly it passed. It’s almost Monday, and I’m not entirely ready for the work week to start.

To be honest, I’m too tired to write a compelling blog, so it’s time for “weekend in review.” Enjoy, and have a great Monday everyone.

• Power outage. A severe accident caused a power outage in Allen on Friday night. The lack of A/C sent us over to my parent’s house for the evening. The power came back on in the early hours of the morning. We got back home around 3 am and crashed.
• Music Workshop. We spent most of Saturday at the church participating in a workshop for the music department.
• Rumpelstiltskin. On Saturday evening, we went to see Clarissa perform in an amateur children’s play in Allen. The play was produced by the Missoula Children’s Theater. They hold “arts day camps” around the country, and after 5 days of workshops, the kids perform a play. Although Clarissa had a small role, she did a great job. Watching the younger kids try to remember their lines and blocking was highly entertaining. The minstrel also cracked us up — she was a tune deaf singer. Classic.
• Sunday Worship Service. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. God showed up today in such a powerful way. We had a terrific worship service followed by a fabulous message. I don’t think it could have been any better. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch with Grant and Tiff.
• One Life. Tonight was our monthly discussion group for the One Lifer’s (young marrieds of ALC). We focused on The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It’s a great book. If you haven’t read it, yet you should check it out.