Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Observations From NYC

In no specific order, here are my observations from NYC today:

  1. There is more than one meaning to "bounce in your step". - We started this morning bright and early with a musical theater workshop at a local studio. Musical theater is the triple threat (singing, acting, and dancing). I had hoped for a little of each. As it turned out, the person leading the workshop was primarily a dancer so we danced the entire time! The session began with warm ups and stretching. I was grateful for my somewhat tenuous relationship with yoga. I was surprised at the flexibility I had. We are of to a good start. Next, the meat of the morning - we are going tom learn the choreography to the opening of Hairspray. Here is where the bounce comes in. I did okay with the dance steps but there was a little more bounce in my steps (and other places) than in the perky, skinny dancers on the live. Nonetheless, it was fun and my metabolism got a jump start this morning. Feeling good about that, I had a Belgian waffle with non-fat frozen yogurt for lunch. Yum!
  2. Bigger is better. I have often heard that people in big cities are rude. I have found just the opposite here. The sidewalks are jam packed with people yet no one pushes and shoves like they do in Dallas, particularly in the malls. Each person has relatively little persona space but what little there is is respected by those around you. We also stood in a long line at TKTS for matinee tickets. Everyone was patient and friendly as we each waited our turn. People in Dallas are less courteous while standing in the grocery lines at Kroger to buy 10 for $10 bottles of soft drinks.
  3. There is a Starbucks in every block. And, there are no seats in any of them.
  4. Seeing two shows in a single day is awesome! We got matinee tickets for Mamma Mia!. I had hoped to see Avenue Q but it is dark all day on Wednesday. Oh well, that means another trip to New York or one to Las Vegas. I did not know much about Mamma Mia so I had no expectations. it was hilarious. I did not realize how many ABBA songs I actually know. I had joked with BK on the plane that I was considering a belly button piercing as a souvenir from the trip. After seeing this show, it is a toss-up between that and my own sequins studded Lycra jumpsuit (a la the Jetsons) like the older woman wore in this show. The only problem with this is that the shoes make the outfit, and they were six inch (at least) platforms. This Birkenstock wearin' girl is not sure she can handle these. As of now, I'm still souvenir shopping . . . We saw Wicked tonight. It was well done, but overall the production we saw last summer in Chicago was better. This one was very good though.

All in all, today was a day full of good food and great entertainment. I am looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.