NY in 24hrs. Part Deux

After I bought my ticket to see Spring Awakening, I was walking down 8th St. trying to find something quick to eat before the show. All of a sudden, I hear someone call my name....on a street in New York City. It was one of my friends from Grad School, Justin! I didn't even know he lived in NY! He has been there for about 6 months and lives right in the middle of the theatre district! He was on his way to the grocery store and saw me. How weird is that?? We talked for a little bit, and then went our separate ways. It really is a freakishly small world.

Another fun thing was crossing an item off THE List.* #27 on THE List was "Stand outside the Today Show window and try to get on TV." Ever since I first bought my ticket, I was planning on doing this. Unfortunately, Lindsey beat me to the punch one week earlier and there is really nothing I could do to match her stunt. So I changed #27 before I went and luckily was able to do it before I got sick. So unveiling the new #27:

27. Eat a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City

I ate the red velvet cake one first. It was totally different than anything else I've ever had in my life. One bite I would think "I really don't like this", but then the next bite I'd think "This is the most amazing thing ever!" and back and forth until I finished. The icing wasn't very sweet and basically tasted like pure whipped cream, so it was like having cake and milk together at the same time. The next day before I left for the airport, I tasted the other one. I was sick so I didn't feel like eating the whole thing, but what I tasted....WOW. It totally lived up to everything I've heard and I can't wait to get another next time I go.

*Confession: I kind of cheated a bit on this item, but I'm totally okay with it. I went to the 2nd Magnolia Bakery location, which is right around the corner from ABC Studios. So it was close to where I was and didn't have a 20 minute line at that time of day. Some people might say it shouldn't count, but hey, its my List. :)

Last sort of stereotypical thing I did there - I had a hot dog from a street vendor. Actually I had 2. The first was because I got to my hotel at 2pm and I was STARVING and it was right outside; the second was right before I went to the airport because I needed to eat something and didn't feel well enough to venture any further than the CVS across the street from my hotel where I bought medicine and then the same hot dog stand. That's right, 2 of my 3 NY meals were hot dogs. Kind of pathetic.

And with that, my New York trip comes to a close....and with it all of my scheduled trips for awhile. It makes me sad to look at my AA account online and see the sad words "You do not have any reservations to view." I need to schedule a flight, pronto! :)

New York and back in 24 hours

Well, my New York trip turned out not at all like I expected! I got really sick my first night there and had to change my flight and come home the next morning. So basically I got to do none of the things that I had planned! But I did accomplish a couple of things.

We'll start with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: I went to the audition. It starts out with probably 100 people in a room taking a 30 question multiple choice test. You have 10 minutes to take the test on a scantron, then they score them and announce the people who pass. Most of the questions were really easy, but some were just so random! My favorite was "Which of these events occurred earliest in the calendar year: A) O.J. Simpson Verdict; B) D-Day; C) JFK Assassination....I can't remember the last choice, but you get the point. Crazy! Well, I didn't pass. From what I could remember and look up later, I think I missed 4 maximum, maybe only 3. So they're looking for near perfection.

After the test I talked to Holly Root. We were originally going to meet up that night, but she wasn't feeling well so I decided to see a Broadway show and then we were going to figure something out on Friday. So I succeeded in crossing #8 off the THE List

8. See a Broadway Show

It was even more special to me because my first Broadway show happened to have one of my best friends from High School, Phoebe Strole in it. The show was great, and seeing her on stage made me so happy. I started crying during the first number that she's in and I'm sure the people next to me thought I was crazy because it wasn't a particularly sad number! I regained my composure for the rest of the show though. :)

That was pretty much the end of my New York trip. My sickness started to kick in during the second act and by the time I got back to my hotel, I was just dying. I was so sad! I was planning on doing some sightseeing, Phoebe and I had plans to meet up for lunch, I was going to see Holly and Jonathan and hopefully see Jonathan in Avenue Q that night...instead I got to fly back early. Blah.

I did get to do one other thing that has recently been added to THE List, but I'll blog about that tomorrow because this is getting really long! To sum it all up - I had a great time in New York for the ~24 hours that I was there. Didn't get to do much, but I did enough to know that I really liked it and will definitely be going back!

I Want to Be a Millionaire!

In less than one month, I am going to do probably the most random thing I've ever done in my entire life (and I've done some pretty random things). I will be flying to New York City to audition for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!!

No seriously. I really am.

I am really excited! Hopefully they will think I am smart and/or interesting enough to actually be on the show! Then I can cross another item off THE List, and maybe even have a little extra money to do a few other items on it too! :)

So now I need your help. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be posting a few questions from the application that I have to bring with me and will be looking for your input! Even if you don't know me all that well, make something up and I'll see if it fits me at all. :)

Todays Question: What is one thing you (I) do that makes people laugh?

Ready...and....go!

Prodigal

Here is the trailer of the movie I was an extra in.
"PRODIGAL" Trailer

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THE List: 81-100

Capping off my list of 100 things to do....I've had this written for a long time but forgot to post it!

81. Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
82. Become a landlord
83. See the Northern Lights
84. Read all 7 Harry Potter books back to back
85. See the turtles at the Galapagos Islands
86. Watch the start or the finish of the Iditarod
87. Visit Easter Island
88. Ride a camel in the desert
89. Get a Reader Identification Card and read a part of a book in the Library of Congress
90. Fly 15 segments on one trip
91. See the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janiero
92. Have or adopt children
93. Watch the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium
94. Arrange a layover in Reykjavik, Iceland just to say you've been there
95. See Bette Midler sing live
96. Do at least one sightseeing item on this list with my brother
97. See Victoria Falls in South Africa
98. Drink Vodka in Moscow
99. Go back to Boston with Allyson and relive our favorite childhood vacation as adults
100. Cross 30 items off of this list by the time I'm 30

Thats it! I started this list in March of 2007. Almost a year later and I've been able to cross off 9 items. Hopefully even more will come in 2008. :)

I'm Ready for my Closeup!

Its about that time again....time to cross another item of THE List!

If you haven't been reading for very long, I have a list of 100 things I want to do before I die. I made all of them actually feasible things that are actually tangible (no "Be happy with my life" or anything that is subjective) and actually cross them off as I do them. If you're interested in the whole list and whats been done so far, you can click on the tag at the bottom of the post.

So this weekend I was able to complete another item:

50. Be an extra in a movie

My friend, Jason, used to live in LA and did the whole acting thing. He had a few small parts in some movies (he was the White House Photographer in First Daughter with Katie Holmes and things like that), got tired of "the grind" and several years later, ended up here in FW. He has recently become friends with a few people in the indie film scene and was one of the leads in a movie that is being made for several film festivals. Theey were supposed to have around 70 extras for a black-tie gala scene to be filmed Saturday....Friday night they found out that 50 of them weren't coming. So they were desperate to get some people there!

I like dressing up, so I agreed to go. It was a LONG day! We shot the same scene about 25 times - 5 times from 5 different angles with 2 cameras each time. Because I was friends with one of the leads, Jason got the director to use me in close-up reaction shots and then I was sitting in the right place at the right time for another scene that was filmed later and ended up with a couple of lines. Thats right - I got to say "This is a great turnout tonight!" and "It's nice to meet you." And then my final showstopping line...."Is she okay?"

I'm thinking about moving out to Hollywood and applying for my SAG card now. I'm going to be a star! Totally kidding. But it really was a very fun day and I'm excited to see the final product. Plus, any excuse I have to get all dressed up is fun for me. And getting to cross something off THE List is just icing on the cake. :)

P.S. I just looked and realized I never posted items 81-100! I'll have to do that this week.

Halloween Surprise....

My apartment surprised me yesterday and decided to dress up like a new house for Halloween!

The bedrooms aren't worth posting anything on yet - the Master Bedroom is completely undecorated (I don't even have my actual bedding on it yet) and the other two bedrooms are basically just filled with packed boxes. I love my new house! Come visit any time!

Two best stories from giving out candy last night - one precious little princess no older than 6 years old looks at me and says "You BETTER not have given me Hot Tamales!" And soon after was a fun comment - a little skeleton looks inside and says "Hey, great house." That made me happy. :)

P.S. - Remember the TV poll I had up for so long? I went with the majority and bought the fun flat-screen a while ago (as you can see in the living room picture) and now I'm glad I did because I can get HD in my new house. :)

P.P.S. - This also completed an item on THE List:
77. Buy a house or a condo

Another Day, Another $100....

Well, I did it! I bet $100 on black at the Bellagio (no Circus, Circus for me, Jonathan!) and WON!! Here's my proof of another thing crossed off THE List.

2. Bet $100 on black at a Roulette table in Vegas


P.S. My camera is broken and my parents were out of town too, so we have to deal with cell phone pictures for this trip. I was in the conference for most of the trip anyways, so not too much was picture-worthy.

My conference was in the MGM Grand Hotel. I really liked it there, but I never realized how BIG these hotels were! I realized on the third day that I entered this hotel on Monday and had not walked outside and breathed fresh air since. There is so much in one hotel that you could spend a 4 day vacation there, never leave, and never repeat activities, clubs, or restaurants (except gambling).

I was hanging out with customers in the evenings for the most part, so I didn't get to see any shows which was sad (I really wanted to see Ka in my hotel!), but I did get to go to a party in a penthouse on Tuesday night! It was awesome! View from the Penthouse balcony:Finally, I spent a LOT of time walking back and forth between the hotel part of MGM and the conference center which are seriously far apart. I decided that the designers of this particular hotel are cruel people....this is what you have to walk by every time you go to the conference center. Its like they're saying "Wouldn't you rather be HERE right now instead of sitting in a bunch of conference sessions?"
And with that, we end Emily's cell phone tour of the conference in Vegas. One of our sales guys, Rob, had a camera and took a couple of pictures, so I may try to get some of those and write some other stories soon. But for now I'm going to bed...3 days of VERY little sleep does NOT do a body good. :)

To List, or Not To List

If you've read my blog for more than a week, you should know about THE List. Well now I have a dilemma. This is where the sensible side of me is arguing with the adventurous side that actually made THE List in the first place.

2. Bet $100 on Black at a Roulette table in Vegas

A week from tomorrow, I head out to Vegas for a week for a work conference (subject for another post: Getting paid to hang out in Vegas for a week - only slightly less awesome than Getting paid to hang out in Stockholm for a week). I don't know when I'm going to go back to Vegas. I'm pretty sure I will at some time in my life, but at the same time, with so many other things on THE List I'm sure it won't be a place that I rush back to. So now the question:

Do I take this opportunity to actually step out and do something that is not so easy on my list, or do I let my sensible side win out and not bet $100 on Black?

Its up to you. Leave your comment here and the majority vote will win. My fate is in your hands. :)

Absolut Ice Bar

As promised, the next stop on Emily's tour through Sweden is the Absolut Ice Bar!

I got off of the train that goes from the airport to the city and the first thing that I see as I'm walking to my hotel is the Absolut Ice Bar...next door to my hotel! Going to an Ice Bar is number 66 on THE List, so I had to make a reservation.

66. Go to an Ice Bar

If you don't know what an Ice Bar is, it is exactly like it sounds. Everything is made of ice: The tables, chairs, bar, glasses, walls...everything. I saw it on The Bachelor a few years ago and have always wanted to go. It really is just a novelty attraction. They do appointments in 45 minute increments, let 30 people in at a time, you get one small drink and then spend the next 43 minutes taking pictures. It was still really cool though!

And of course, I couldn't go to a cool place without making a scene....I set my ice glass on the bar at one point and it slipped right off and broke. Ha!
The last cool thing about this is that not only do I get to cross an item off THE List, I am going to be in a documentary! There was a German documentary crew there during my time slot making a travel guide film about Stockholm and since I was there by myself, the host of it talked to me a lot so that the camera could get film of him looking like he was there with people. Not that I'll ever see this video, but at least I'll know it exists. :)

Up next: The Vasamuseat AKA a really big old ship

Red Sox Attempt 3

Attempt 1: 2006, Red Sox vs. Rangers series was during our big Integrated Project. No go.
Attempt 2: 2007, had tickets for opening weekend. It was FREEZING and miserable. No go.

My friend, Boston Bill called me on Friday morning to tell me that the Red Sox were back in town and we were going. So we hopped in my car and went to the game. No sooner had we gotten into the stadium, it started POURING rain! Our third attempt at seeing this game and it was going to be rained out!Two hours after the game was supposed to start, we looked out and saw the people taking the tarp off the field! We were going to get to see the game!This made Bill very happy. :)Surprisingly (or maybe not!) a lot of people waited out the storm! The stadium was more full than it has been for games on perfect days. Look how full it was!So after 2 years and 3 attempts, Bill and I finally got our Rangers vs. Red Sox game, and I get to cross an item off THE List. :)

61. See the Rangers play the Red Sox

Sorry for the low quality pics...I took them on my cell phone!

THE List: 61-80

I made up number 61 today after it started SNOWING in FORT WORTH, TEXAS on EASTER WEEKEND and made me miss the game that I bought tickets for 2 months ago! I am so mad! Several others were inspired by our freak of nature snow day today as well (see 65-68).

61. See the Rangers play the Red Sox
62. Take a picture of a lighthouse
63. Get married
64. Read the Iliad
65. Build a snowman that is at least 4 feet tall
66. Go to an Ice Bar
67. Go to a weekend Spa resort
68. Learn all the words to "Its the End of the World As We Know It"...not just "6 o'clock...mumble mumble...LEONARD BERNSTEIN!"
69. See Niagra Falls
70. Sing a song in a karaoke bar (possibly number 68?)
71. Have my portrait made by a street vendor
72. Have a chocolate shake at the original Hard Rock Cafe in London
73. Make a kite and then actually fly it
74. Run a 5K (I know I'm pathetic. I can't commit to the marathon or even 1/2)
75. Be a contestant on a game show
76. See Acropolis in Greece
77. Buy a house or a condo
78. Attend a Sotheby's auction
79. Learn how to drive a stick shift
80. Visit the Holocaust Museum

(Number 80 has been edited... I didn't realize that I already put "See the Taj Mahal" on the last segment. Thanks Linds!)

THE List: 41-60

With the excitement I gained today in learning that I am going to get to cross something off my list in June, I decided it was time for another segment! And seriously, I'm getting low...need some ideas.....

41. Drive a convertible down Route 66
42. Attend at least one major sporting event (Olympics, Superbowl, US Open, World Series Final Game, etc.)
43. Tour Pearl Harbor
44. Fly one leg on at least 15 different airlines
45. Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain
46. See a performance of Shakespeare in the Globe Theater
47. Attend a taping of David Letterman or Conan O'Brien
48. Throw a dart at a map and travel there
49. Visit Stonehenge
50. Be an extra in a movie
51. Go to Rio de Janiero for Carnival
52. Take a tour of studios in Hollywood
53. Sponsor an angel on the Angel Tree and do it up right
54. See the Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany (it looks like Cinderella's Castle)
55. Fly in a hot air balloon
56. Ride the Orient Express
57. Go Grape Stomping to make wine
58. See the Grand Canyon
59. See the Taj Mahal
60. Go to Major League Baseball Spring Training

Any thoughts on these or suggestions for more?

THE List: 21-40

Well apparently my list isn't interesting to people, but I don't care...I'm having fun with it. :)

Here are items 21-40:
21. Order room service at the Plaza Hotel in New York
22. Visit at least 30 different countries
23. Walk the Macchu Picchu trail
24. Watch a pro soccer match in a country that actually likes it
25. See Cirque du Soleil
26. Go on a cruise
27. Eat a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City
28. Visit the Louvre in Paris
29. Drink a beer at Oktoberfest in Munich
30. Meet, in person, someone I've become "friends" with on the Internet (Megan? Holly?...)
31. See Pompeii
32. Eat the worm at the bottle of a bottle of Mezcal
33. Go to Carnevale in Venice
34. Visit Anne Frank's house and take a picture of where the tree used to be (cause it'll be gone in the next few weeks)
35. Spend an afternoon exploring Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden
36. Ride an elephant
37. Go to Disneyland
38. Watch the launch of a space shuttle
39. Dance the Tango in Argentina
40. See the Changing of the Guards

THE List: 1-20

At World Market a few weeks ago, I bought the "1001 Places to See Before You Die." I was severely disappointed. I was hoping for a checklist of things that were a clearly defined 1001 items. It is not that at all...its basically a collection of the typical city guide books you get before going places that includes hotels, restaurants, and some sights but without any distinction as to what they're considering their 1001. So I'm making my own...I'm sure I won't get to 1001, but I'll eventually get to 100.

Rather than boring you with them all at once, I'm going to post 10-20 at a time over the next couple of weeks and then (hopefully) give periodic updates of the ones that I've finished. Some I made up myself, most I stole from the Internet. I will say that when I was creating my list (and I don't have 100 yet, so feel free to make suggestions!) I put on a couple that I have already done, but nothing completed before January 2007. So with no further ado, here is my first installment of THE List.

1. The necessary item: Visit all 50 states
2. Bet $100 on Black at a Roulette table in Vegas
3. Cross the International Date Line
4. Look for Nessie in Scotland
5. Kiss the Blarney Stone
6. Sleep in a "haunted" castle or hotel
7. Walk along the Great Wall of China
8. See a Broadway Show
9. Take a picture of me "holding up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa
10. Watch the Cubs play a game at Wrigley Field
11. Spend New Years in an exotic location
12. Visit 6 of the 7 continents (I have no desire to go to Antartica)
13. Watch a Sumo Wrestling match in Japan
14. Take a random vacation not knowing where I'm going until the last minute
15. Take a lesson at one of the Trapeze Schools
16. See the Pyramids
17. Skydive
18. Go to Graceland
19. See the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
20. Drink Champagne in a limo (nope, I've never ridden in a limo before)

And for my first thing to be crossed off, here is my proof of my FIRST (I hope to have more) New Years in an exotic location...Piazza della Repubblika in Florence, Italy.