It's been a busy week..Tuesday night Dan took me to see the Foo Fighters at the Izod Center in NJ. As Dan likes to say, he doesn't go to Jersey for just any concert. He has to really like the band. And it was well worth it. Though it was a long night, they were great. They even played some acoustic numbers in the middle of the set, which I am always a fan of. Dan saw them a few months back at MSG and they had almost the exact same set list, so he was pretty stoked that they did the acoustic portion again, because he knows that's my thing.

Then Wednesday night we went to see a show that a coworker/friend of mine wrote. Essentially, he was working with an organization that uses alternative sentencing methods to help young adults who've made some bad decisions. There were five young men involved. The piece was created from the improv work they did as a group, and the story was written out and shaped through that process over the past 10 weeks. Dan and I were both excited to go support them, and I got a bit teary-eyed afterwards during the talk-back, listening to them talk about their experience.

Last night Dan took me to see an Australian singer/song-writer, Missy Higgins, at Webster Hall. We had margaritas (oh how I needed that)and some free food beforehand at this cool Mexican bar with a great happy hour. It was a great evening. Again, I was exhausted, and I am realizing I'm not built to go out (mind you, they aren't even "late" evenings!) that many nights in a row. However, it was really cool to see her again. I was introduced to her music right after I moved to the city---my first job at the ticket/box office was ushering at a Missy concert, and I turned out buying her album because I loved the music.

So, after all of that, tonite I am going to lay low. Dan has a new friend who pretty much has his ideal job in the music business/doing charts, etc. So he invited Dan to see Maroon 5/Counting Crows tonite. I was going to tag-along, but then realized I would probably be cranky after the long week, and I want him to really enjoy it. So, I'll be ordering chinese, and enjoying his new flatscreen tv while he's out! Looking forward to it. :o)

So last night Dan and I (as well as his brother and sister-in-law) went to see Billy Joel play at Shea Stadium..! Admittedly, I don't know tons of his songs (though I do really like him), however this is the sort of experience I couldn't pass up. There were, goodness, I don't know, 70,000 people there? We had seats on the mezz level behind home plate. To look around at the massive amount of people was amazing. (And also frightening when I was thinking about exiting the stadium after the show and getting to the 7-train, with the rest of the masses doing the same.)He played for three hours, and he had a few special guests in store.....

*Tony Bennett came out to sing 'New York State of Mind.' Holy moly, the crowd went wild.
*John Mayer played guitar on 'This is The Time.' Loved it!
*Don Henley came out and they performed 'Boys of Summer.' Good lord, he has a beautiful voice!
*John Mellencamp did 'Pink Houses.' Loved it, as well.

We'd heard rumors that Paul McCartney may make an appearance, but no such luck. B. Joel played several Beatles songs, and I kept waiting for him to step out on stage, but it didn't happen. I bet it will for Friday's concert. Yea, originally it was supposed to be a one-night concert event, and it was billed as the final concert at the stadium. However, they added a second night after Wednesday sold out so quickly (partly due to scalpers, of course).

So, it was another big evening out. Leaving the stadium was pretty hell-ish. There were way too many people every way we turned. But, luckily, since we both needed the local train, and most people heading back to Manhattan/Bkly/etc needed the express, we were home free once we got to the platform. The train wasn't even packed! It took me 20 minutes to get home, at the most. I definitely love where I live on nights like that.

Thanks Dan and the fam for getting me a ticket!

A few months ago Dan asked me to hold last night's date open. He's great at surprises, so I was sure that whatever was planned would be lots of fun. And that assumption was correct. He got us tickets to see Bon Jovi at MSG, with the All-American Rejects opening. What a fantastic show, all around. I'd never been to MSG before, so that alone was a treat. Last fall he took me to see Bon Jovi (opening act Daughtry) at the Prudential Center in Newark, which was great fun. But this was an even better set--the energy was insane. There wasn't an empty seat in the house, and to look around and see the crowd so excited was amazing.It was a fantastic night out!

Well hi there! I haven't updated in a while. It's been a pretty hectic spring, and things don't seem to be slowing down! Dan and I went to Punta Cana for a week in May and it was a wonderful week of doing nothing but eating, drinking, and laying by the pool/beach. It was just what we both needed. I hope it won't be too long before we can do it again!

I've been teaching several different creative drama classes all over the city over the past few months, and those all finished up last week as the school year came to a close. I was in Harlem, a couple different neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and also at a school near Dan's area of Queens. It was nice to have a different change of pace for the past few months.

Oh, I finally got internet at my place! Big update, I know! I never bothered getting it over the past few years because I had plenty of access at work and at Dan's. However, with all of my teaching recently and with school approaching, I was starting to feel the need to be more "connected." It has been wonderful to not feel limited to doing emails/etc at work.

Dan and I have been running around a lot doing lots of fun things--I am trying to do as much as I can now before school gets started! We saw Stevie Wonder last week, as well as James Taylor on Saturday night. He surprised me with tickets last minute, as they were sold out! We're going to a Yankees/Met game this Friday, which got rained out last month. Lots of delicious meals and hanging with his friends and family. So I really can't complain--he keeps life fun, that's for sure.

I feel like there's so much more I'd love to write, but I just can't think of it all right now. I am trying my hardest to take life one day at a time. I'd been getting very overwhelmed by the world the past year or two, in particular. But, perhaps having a more clear idea of my path with school coming up has helped....I tend to lose site of what truly matters, of what I have right now in front of me!

Mom and Dad came up last week for a visit. While they were here I had a group interview for grad school. It went well, I thought--and they told us we should find out within a couple of weeks. I figured I would know something by the time Dan and I got back from our vacation. But, lo and behold, Saturday I check my mail and got an acceptance letter! Wow. I'm definitely nervous about going back to school full-time---but it is exciting to know I'll be back in the classroom twice a week, and working at my field placement three days a week--really thrown into it all at the end of August...I guess I just have to go for it!

Passover was nice. Dan and I spent both Saturday and Sunday night dinners at his cousins in Westchester. It was full of good food and wine and laughs---all around it was a fun time. Oh, and the Pope was in town, so we had to keep up with his schedule so we knew what roads/etc were closed off. He was all over the place this weekend!

I guess today I just feel like updating with general things I've been doing recently, and things coming up....Dan and I have seen a few shows recently---a couple weeks ago I got comp tickets to a show we handle called 'The Drunken City.' The next night I was able to get us two student rush tickets to see 'Spring Awakening,' which was fantastic! (Despite waiting in line that morning, in the cold, for nearly 2 hours, only to realize I didn't have my student id...!!! Luckily the box office lady was very understanding--she sure didn't have to be--we are pretty strict here about that.) Then, last night Dan got us tickets to see 'Avenue Q'----which I thought was hil-arious! He went to try and get lottery rush tickets, and didn't have luck. So when we met up I was under the impression that we weren't going...However, at dinner he gave me a few little gifts he'd bought for me (a potato scrubber brush named Spudly-aw)--and at the end he surprised me with tickets to the show--they'd had some $30 tickets available for those who didn't win the $20 ticket lottery tickets. How sweet! He's good at surprises...I have trouble keeping anything a secret--I should work on that.

Also, next week Mom & Dad come to visit! I am so very excited. I haven't seen them since Christmas...too long. I have a group interview scheduled while they are here for Hunter College....I am just going in with an open-mind, making no assumptions--but I must say I was super glad to hear from the school last week--it'd been over a month since I'd turned in my application. When they called it was actually to check up since I'd apparently missed the group interview I'd been scheduled for, but never contacted about....Nice. I made that very clear and the young man apologized and promptly rescheduled me. So we shall see...I am so glad Mom & Dad will be here--I'm gonna take that whole day off to hang out with them before and after the interview--they'll probably explore the UES while I'm there.

If I don't get into school I have my mind set to go right to Plan B and find a job job. Like one job, somewhat in my field of interest, that has benefits. Those are my criteria. I'm sure it'll be harder than it seems, but that's my plan if the alternative doesn't work out. For the time being I've been a bit more fulfilled (and definitely challenged) by some teaching artist jobs. I've been doing a creative drama class in Harlem once a week, and have a couple more residencies starting up soon--so having those, in addition to the ticket job, is helping me a feel slightly more productive.


Oh, Dan and I have our big vacation coming up--I can hardly believe it! Punta Cana for a week---it seems almost unreal. Of course, when I look at my savings account balance I certainly believe it's real, but the money will be well worth it, I'm sure...Why else have I been saving money(albeit, not in the last few years really) if not to use it on something I really want..?

So that's it for now. Is spring almost here??

Last night I took Dan to a casual wine-tasting for a belated V-Day gift. It was at a bar in midtown, and there were four tables set up, a total of 29 wines were available. There were also a couple tables of cheeses/crackers/etc to nosh on. My favorite cheese was what I named the "petting zoo cheese." I bit into it and literally tasted like what a petting zoo smells like. I was afraid to eat any more cheeses, beacause in the dimly lit room it was hard to tell them all apart!

It was pretty crowded, but we made our way around to each table over the course of a couple of hours. With the exception of Table C, the portions they gave were substantial--so by the end of the evening (Dan had all 29, I had 15-20) we were feeling good--especially Dan. My favorite table was the one with champagnes and dessert wines! We spent the evening wandering around with our wines, observing the countless singles mingling and attempting to pick each other up. It was a frightening scene!

Apparently Dan had not felt this intoxicated in a long while--certainly not since we've known each other! We snuck several of the wine glasses out with our things (hey, I paid enough for the evening to warrant that!), as a personal memento of our evening. Then we slowly made our way to the subway. Unfortunately we chose the station where there were at least 4 flights of stairs to descend.

It was such a fun out-of-the-routine evening. A date night, mid-week!

I was flipping through Facebook, looking at everyone's pictures and updates....And, all of a sudden, I realized I am tired of feeling like everyone has a more interesting or better life than me, for one reason or another. I am exhausted at constantly criticizing myself for just about everything--spending money on this or that, not working hard enough on my grad school essay, or not making enough time for my To-Do list....and so on. There is always something that I am internally beating myself up over, and it's just so self-destructive.

I look at people's pictures on all of these website--friends and far off acquaintances whom I have not talked to in years--and I find myself living through their experiences..I smile at their new babies or their trips all over the country and the world... But, then I realize where I am and what I am doing. I'm exactly where I want to be, doing things I never thought I'd be doing. Yes, many things are up in the air for me right now, but I still have it pretty good. Yet, I still rarely feel contentment that lasts more than a brief, passing moment.

How do you stop comparing yourself to others and live in the moment? I know this is what I need to do, but I'm stuck on getting to that place...

It's been a hectic start to the new year. Dan's Mother passed away right after we returned from our NC trip for the holidays. It's been a long road for her in the last six months, due to her health. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know her over the past few years. I was really worried something would happen while we were in NC, but we were so lucky to be able to visit her New Year's day and be with her one last time. We spent the whole next weekend celebrating her life and being with his family and friends. She was young-only 66. In fact, today is her birthday. Yesterday we went to the cemetery to visit her and Dan's grandparents. Then we spent the afternoon driving around his old neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Unfortunately, we've both been fighting bad colds for the past week. I was out of work one day last week when mine started with a bang, including a fever. I was pretty miserable. But, it seems most everyone around here is catching it, so I'm not alone. I guess riding the subway and being in such close contact with people at all times doesn't help. We took the past two Saturdays "off" from running around and just did absolutely nothing. In our pjs all day. I have not done that in ages, and it's a pity that I felt guilty most of the time because I felt like I should be doing something more productive. I really need to get rid of the constant feeling of guilt--it's exhausting.

On a lighter note, Dan and I have plans for our first true vacation ever together. We are all set to spend a week at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, DR. We've had plenty of weekend trips to visit friends and family, but realized we have never gone on a relaxing vacation, just the two of us. So, we are scheduled to head out for a week in May. I find it hard to fathom right now being on a beach in the Carribean when it is so cold and windy here, but it'll come soon enough!

I was booking a subscriber to one of our theatre companies today.As I was verifying her phone number she said "If you look me up in NY Magazine you'll see who I am." Me: "Oh?" Her: "Yes, I am one of New York's premiere matchmakers. Do you want to get married?" Me: *slight pause and grinning* "No thanks, I have a great boyfriend." Her: "Well, you sound so very pleasant. If you ever need anything let me know."