NYC, december trip

arrived to NYC last Thursday around 2pm and got into Manhattan about an hour later, and to my hotel from grand central by 4pm. I got all checked in to my hotel and then back into the city and TIME SQUARE woot woot..by 5:30..and then picked up my tickets at the St James theatre and back there by 7pm to see a broadway show, the revival of Finian's Rainbow. I was right smack in the middle about row N. Excellent show, perfect song and dance experience on broadway. The guy playing Finian was an absolute genius with ever word, move, gesture, and turn. WOW, the guy playing the leprechaun also did an excellent job, complete cream of the crop up on that stage. I have to say Finian and the Leprachaun really stole the show for me. Through a connection of a friend, I got the chance to go backstage after the show. I was a bit nervous and excited and hyped up after the show... the cast was walking all around back and forth. The connection who worked backstage introduced me to each one saying how I'd come from OKC to see the show and I was saying "wonderful job, loved the show" to everyone. ha ha.

Friday I woke up and headed up to Rockefeller center, to see the tree and all...stood outside of the NBC studio for a little while. The end of the Kathy Lee and Hoda hour was going on and you could kind of see them inside so that was cool. walked around shopping after that, taking pictures and all. My friend Heath was in town for work and called and we met up for lunch. We walked back up to Rockefellfer center , then down to bryant park, and then said our goodbyes... he had to get back to his friends in town and was going back to Austin the next morning.
I went back to my hotel to drop off some things, then walking back uptown through the meatpacking district on my way to the Hell's Kitchen area for dinner at Arriba Arriba on 51st and 9th.
Saturday!! Soho and Financial district on my list. walked down greenwich to photograph the former house of Robert Isabell , he was an event planner who died last spring and Sotheby's is having an auction of his furniture and stuff this December. Next I shopped in Soho eventually getting on a subway down to Century 21 dept store for a bit more shopping and then Seaport to check it out and also buy a ticket for Hair. got a taxi back to my hotel to unload all my bags and get ready to meet up with a former Honduran student in Brooklyn. Leo is living in Brooklyn just now and another girl student, Lisa L, was in town from Philly. I met with both of them for dinner in Williamsburg, so much fun! Leo showed me a furniture gallery he's interning at, and then we met up with Lisa in town from PA. I've known them since teaching them in 7th and 8th grade and couldn't be more proud of all the steps they're making in life. Leo took me by one of his favorite bookstores on the way to the substop and bought me a book "Design as Art" by Bruno Munari. I'm slowly but surely reading it... we left Lisa on the L train and took a sub north towards the Al Hirschfield theatre for Hair. I had only bought one ticket earlier, but told Leo to come and I'd get him whatever ticket was left to see the show with me. 3 months in NYC and he hadn't seen a broadway show yet. get this! my ticket was orchestra 8 rows back furthest left seat, which wasn't too bad really although a side view. So we get there before the show and I ask them for one ticket whatever they have etc. the ticket they sell me is orchestra 5 rows back center!!! ha ha, well of course I'm nice and let Leo have the ticket. excellent seat. to his right on the other side of the aisle was Kate Beckinsale. I liked the performance, having seen the movie and owning the soundtrack in college. what a night.
ok so SUnday morning basically got packed and slowly made my way back to grand central etc.... back home Sunday night. what a trip!!! maybe I'll get back there someday...

everythins up to date in kansas city...

I want the two mission side table you see here stacked in the middle....

this was a handmade high chair that would lay flat and make a sort of horse rocker toy. and if you turned that upside down it made a sort of little desk for a child to sit at on the back side.

went to Kansas City last weekend. my bud Jeff had ordered a twin bed, night table, and dresser from an Amish furniture store for his daughter. So headed up there thursday night, stayed with the claybergs. and was off by 11am to Kansas City with Jeff in his dad's truck. we got into town by 4ish and checked in to the INtercontinental hotel, cleaned up and went out to the plaza to shop around a bit and then dinner at Figlios. good times. next morning we drove up across the border to Davis City, Iowa. picked up the furniture at "the Hitching Post" from Eli. turned back south to Kansas City, and went through the Kansas side this time for lunch at Dean and Deluca's. and back to ARkansas in time for dinner with Jeff and his wife and kids. excellent weekend, and lots of good conversation and catching up with Jeff during the trip.

volunteer banquet with my sis

nov 6th, that friday, I went to the annual volunteer banquet for the museum where I volunteer every other saturday morning downtown. I took my sister Jennifer with me this year. It was a lot of fun. This year they had the banquet at the Historical Skirvin Hotel downtown. We arrived an hour early for a tour of the place, and then the reception, then dinner with a nice rare filet of steak. awards and then we got out by 9 or so..

on working the haunted house.....

I made some extra cash working at a haunted house in the city for the 4 weekends of OCT. after the first night, I was beat after getting home at 12 that night and up to volunteer at 9 the next SAT morning...
I was made up with white face and black around my features and eyes etc, and wearing some torn up clothes as a costume, and basically it's exactly what you'd imagine. you're hiding around a corner in wait of a group to come through to jump out and scream etc...meanwhile a bunch of noise,smoke machines, screaming and slamming going on all around etc..crazy haunted house music playing loud etc...the usual I guess for a haunted house. i got about every other group coming through pretty good. some groups just sort of stay on the target of getting out of each room, and some are dopey kids jsut going through going hey dude I see you etc...whatever. overall it's pretty exciting and goes by pretty fast.
the third weekend and... whoooooie, was aloso a lot of work, but I have to say it's definitely a lot of fun jumping out and trying to scare people. I got about every 2 out of 3 groups pretty good. I don't even bother with the morons who are carrying a flashlight or some sort of cellphone device, shining around the corners etc, like why bother. I'm also ignoring the few idiots who call me an a-hole when I scare them, mainly high school kids feeling pretty big for their britches with such cursin freedom I guess... but anyway, same deal. dude! this is about having fun. come on! why bother going in if you're going to get upset when you're surpised.
the last weekend, I was in the "organ room" which is a room the groups sort of just walk through, there is a dummy propped at a fake organ in the room whch they must walk around to get to the other side, lots of organ music from an amp in the room, lots and lots of fog machine smoke... and then there's me all dressed in black, jumping out from behind a black curtain in the back of the room. ...and the best part of the last weekend is I wore fabric on my head covering my face completely. and then I wore a sort of white bandit mask over that. I sort of looked like a fake dumb with a mask thrown on it's head..and thos were th best scares people walking right by me as a group and suddenly all I did was move and shift to the right or let and I got the best scares from a group or couples, also better way getting the guys. cause when you jump out from somewhere he girls will scream, but the guys react more to the subtle surprise of something being not what the though it was going by.
The effect worked a little too well. twice someone tried sticking their fingers in my eyes, and many times peope poking me in the arm, chest, or grabbing my arm and feeling to see if it's real or not.. however, that always tells you there is some doubt, and as soon as you move, they jump!.
the last night was pretty awful though, a few of the managers were gone doing hallowen with their children or at the osu game and we only had one security working. I got hit in the shoulder at one point, and then a second time a guy put his hand in my face and pushed on my face back into the wall. I tried to get security after him, but good luck finding security... it got me pretty wound up, and so I left my room wanting to just go home, but a monster leader talked to me and cooled me off, and I finished out the 30 minutes remaining. but overall an interesting experience.

here goes october

flew buy what with working every weekend and teaching and grading etc...
the weather this week has been much nicer and I hope to take advantage and get outdoors on my day off tomorrow , dig around a little, pot some plants to bring back inside over winter, clean up a bit out there etc..
looking forward to this weekend. I am going with my sister to a volunteer banquet Friday night at the Skirvin Hotel downtown which includes a tour of the hotel. fun! and then I volunteer Saturday morning, and then nothing much more planned other than church SUnday morning.

-------U2--------

went to the U2 concert Sunday night. was OUTSTANDING and AWESOME! the stadium was PACKED out down in Norman at the OU football stadium. Trish and I got down there just before 7pm when it started. I got to park a half block away from the stadium thanks to Pam's son Jake living down in Norman. We get inside, and notice the $40 tshirts, screw that! Black Eyed Peas opening like the party band they are....absolutely all FUN. opening with "Let's get it started"... ahh yeah did they ever, and eventually Fergie sang "big girls don't cry" was cool hearing live. and more songs ending with Boom boom Pow, and then of course, Tonight's gonna be a Good Night!! not everyday you can see the currently number one band with a number 1 and 2 song on the charts!! woo!!! next U2--------every song, the new ones and every single former HIT!!! incredible the stage set was surreal, an entire stadium singing along, light show, some new songs with words to the lyrics going across the huge circular screen, late in the show a political message with some world leader speaking to us from the screen, a floating head and all these graphic speaking of one people, we are one, we are the same etc etc....2 encores, final song With or without You....SWEET!!!

haunted housework

no not the mess around my place. but last weekend and the next three I'm working at the Frontier City haunted house called Frightfest. the work is open to anyone who was at Whitewater during the summer, and since I'm part-time these days at OCCC, I figured I could use the work.
I showed up last Friday night for our first night, was assigned to a group with a monster leader, and was told I'd be in the room called "the mausoleum." We put on our choice of costume which is basically a lot of torn up old clothes, some with red paint slopped on like blood. Everyone shows up wearing black. Over my clothes I wore a sort of medical jacket, with rips and cuts all about it and sort of dirty looking. We all stand in line wear they have a professional guy airbrush paint on our faces. It's quite effective.
And then basically the rest of the night is as to be imagined if you've ever been through a haunted fun-house. we go to our rooms, the smoke is on and everywhere, lights are flashing in some other room, lots of noise and sounds and screaming and crashing noise from all the various rooms. And I'm standing in a corner just behind the path that groups take through the room, they can't see me, but I can see them coming, and jump out usually sometime after the first one or two people walk by me. if it's a large group I continue running by the line bobbing up and down trying to take them by surprise and making some sort of growl noise or wave of hand etc...
you sort of just have to throw yourself into it. hey, it's a job.
my legs sure were sore by the third night though all that crouching and running back and forth. But overall I have to say a fun different sort of work. the loser idiot kids that come through with a flshlight device on their phone or something and like to find the people there to surprise them, I tend to ignore. what a waist, why bother if you're not into it for the fun. likewise for the idiots kids who like to cuss you or call you a name for scaring them, duh, it's a haunted house. have some fun already! ha

great college homecoming weekend

I had a nice weekend. and although I have to say it was a pretty slow year as far as people comoing into town. The slowness made the few people I spent time with the more valuable.
This year I went up Saturday morning. arriving in time for lunch at Fatigas with Jeff Nichols, a walmart grad who I also worked at Wal Mart with during my college years. we've continued to be best friends ever since. Next was the homecoming soccer game. I went with Trish and we found the "90s" tent. very few people. we saw the GUmms, Matt and wife Hollie, and brother Mark. that was pretty cool. also I spoke with Jeff Anglin and his wife and their beautiful daughters. John and Kara Lasater were there with the kids, and scott angling came by and although Craig Kelly didnt' make homecoming, his son did! I saw Dave Murray and Joseph Odima. and that was about it. other than the gloriously beautiful Genevieve Jaeger. who I love running into at homecmoing in Siloam. the cutest kids and she couldn't be happier in NM where she's raising her family. I had the best conversation with her, the lasaters, trish and i looking at an old yearbood. it was fun overall. Saturday night went to the Lasaters for a "campfire" although it was just me and them and Tony and Jane. but even then a smaller group really led us into more downtime good conversation. great time.
came home sunday morning first thing and graded papers all day, and I'm nbow returning to work this monday morning with papers checked and grades in hand! yes. only 2 more weeks until I have 80 papers to grade again.... ahhh

the shoes I wore to mow in Tuesday

FROM LASST TUESDAY EVENING ----

I blame it on the shoes, my former roomie's one size too big for me old pumas that I use for mowing the yard. after I finished such task today i stepped wrong into the space between the curb and pavement where there is a sort of gutter, and OUCH twisted or landed sidways or something wrong. didn't feel too bad, and I was inside getting my shirt and shoes changed for my night class at 5:30. drove to said class. a couple hours later, we're walking around the grounds (it's a trees and shrubs class) and I start to fell a little pain like I need to limp. then I progress to limp a bit more and more so that by 8 we're taking a break and I'm quite painfully limping back to my truck to get my sandwich and then to the classroom inside. I sat there for about a half hour before finally I put up my notebook and pen, put on my jacket and hopping out and down the hall on one foot. it was painful just sitting there with it elevated on another chair. I limped outside the building and could barely move at this point just slowly hobble step by step. some guy in the parking lot drove his car over and said, hey can I take you to your car? and I'm feeling like an idiot cause I'm so proud and independend and feel like I have a strong tolerance for pain and say, well it's just over there but thanks, and he says, hey come on it's that much less pain for you. SOLD. I get to my truck and start driving home. oh by the way, it's my left foot and my ranger is standard. the pain every stop and shift. dang! about 5 miles away back home and in the door, crawling to the phone and getting my folks on call in the morning in case I work up in pain and can't drive to work....ugh.. well I've been laying with it elevated and iced and I took a vioxx so hopefully I'll wake up feeling better and not wors. so much for leg day at the gym tomorrow, possibly any running this week. dang it all.

AND NOW --- feeling better but still a bit of limp and stiff in the morning. but the foot is getting a lot better. I was able to drive to work Wednesday and get around with a bit of a limp, and Thursday I mowed the backyard all right, otherwise just been sitting and grading papers and moving around the house some. definitely no gym this week so that is pretty awful, i hate taking a week off then going back and barely able to keep up with the weights or reps I worked up to before. one week makes a big difference! also the soreness when you miss a week of working out.l yuck.
this weekend is college homecoming at my alma mata JBU. I am trying to finish up 10 or so more essays to grade so I can drive up there tonight, but probably I'll have to wait and just drive up first thing tomorrow morning...