Life in Brooklyn

So I've been here for about a week now, and as you can probably imagine, I'm loving it.

The first few days were rough. Countless problems with my apartment made me want to go home more than anything, and I know that if I could have gotten out to do something, it would have been better, but every day I was waiting around for someone to come and fix something. Thankfully Sam got me out and we went to see Dave Matthews Band, and it was awesome. It was really cool to be where Woodstock took place, especially the week before the 40th Anniversary. Politics aside, the hippie counterculture is one that I've always loved and had an interest in, and it was cool to get a feel for that in Bethel Woods.

Everything except my bathroom sink is fixed, and that should be fixed tomorrow. I love my apartment and will post pictures soon. It has come together really well, and it looks great.

Dad and Keena visited on Saturday. It was a rough week, so it was great to see them (not that it wouldn't have been anyway). I had a great time with them and was glad that they both got to see my apartment and the city in general.

After they left, I figured that since I was already in Manhattan, I might as well enjoy it. I've been wanting to get into Manhattan since I came down here. So I headed over towards the TKTS booth in Duffy Square, and waited in line for some discount tickets. I hadn't really made up my mind about what I wanted to see until I was in line. Part of me has been DYING to see both Hair and Next to Normal, part of me also wants to see Rock of Ages, and I also really want to see Billy Elliot and In The Heights. But Avenue Q closes on September 13th, and I love the cast recording, so I thought I should see that. It was a tough decision. Billy Elliot and In the Heights are both still pretty much sellout shows every night, so that was out because TKTS didn't have anything available. Then I realized that Next to Normal, Hair, and Rock of Ages will be here for awhile (plus, I'd want stage door pictures from N2N and Hair, and I didn't have my camera). So I landed on Avenue Q, and I'm so glad that I saw it. I really really liked it, more than I thought I would, and Rob McClure is wonderful.

Today was my birthday. I had already celebrated with my family, and Kayleigh's coming down on Tuesday, but I wanted to get out and do something. As one of the Avenue Q songs says, "there is life outside your apartment." So I sucked it up and bought a ticket to Emma Hunton's show at Joe's Pub. She was one of my favorite cast members in Spring Awakening. I saw the show for the first time around the time she started, and I saw her last performance, and she and Blake were the only two cast members I saw each of the five times I saw the show. Actually, I saw Matt Doyle each time as well, but he was in the ensemble the first time and Hanschen the other four times. So anyway, I wanted to see Emma, and I knew Blake would be singing a song with her (added bonus!), so I went. I had a blast. Her solo music is gorgeous, and I've missed Blake's voice during the last seven months since Spring ended. A lot of the SA cast was there as well. I saw Matt Doyle, Lilli Cooper, Andrew Durand (maybe...it looked like the back of his head), Alice Lee, and...Hunter Parrish, the guy from Weeds! Wasn't expecting that one. Joe's Pub was a great venue, and I love being in the East Village. It's my favorite part of Manhattan, and I always love going there.

Kayleigh is coming on Tuesday. I think after her bus gets in we will go to the Niagara Bar for some Jesse Malin watching, excuse me, to have a drink to celebrate my birthday. Then on Wednesday, up early for the second preview of Shakespeare in the Park's production of The Bacchae, with Mr. Jonathan Groff, one of my favorite Spring Awakening alums. I don't know much about The Bacchae, but Kayleigh says it's awesome, so I'm excited. Then Thursday is the last day of Broadway in Bryant Park, and it ends 1/2 an hour before Kayleigh's bus leaves, so I figured we could see that and then leave a few minutes early so she can make her bus.

Like I said, I love it here, and I"m excited.