Tag Archives: New York

2008 in Review

Posted on by
1

As the end of the year draws near, I find myself saying, “wow, this year went fast!” And I guess it did. They always do. When I was a kid, a year was like, forever and a half. Wait a whole year till Christmas?? A year until my next birthday?? A three month Summer vacation was an eternity and you wonder if you’ll recognize your friends on the first day of class.

I often think about the differences in the passing of time. It goes slow when we’re kids and fast when we’re adults. Is it simply about having a basis of reference? An hour is only 60 small minutes and each one of those is 60 small seconds. I guess knowing how long it takes to do something, takes the fun out of it. When you’re a kid, you have no concept of time beyond being home before sunset. You also don’t care about time. You don’t wear a watch until you get your first one in 10th grade and even then, you often forget to wind it. When the battery dies, you stop wearing it. Or at least, I did. I still have the watch my Dad gave me in 10th grade.

This year hasn’t passed any faster than all those that came before it. So why does it feel that way? Once Christmas is over it’s on to New Year’s Eve and the whole thing starts all over again. Except this time, you’re a year older and perhaps a little wiser.

2008 was the year I started my freelancing career. In January I was liberated from Hot Topic the same day my Grandpa Ernie died.

In February we had a lunar eclipse and I took a really great photo of it. We also fired our gardeners and I took on the yard. I’ve regretted it ever since. Poloroid announced they were ceasing production of their iconic instant film.

In March, I turned 33. I didn’t talk about my birthday and can’t remember what I did. A full year passed since my Dad died. March was hard. I did an amazing photo session with an old boyfriend. I got into an accident on the 5-FWY in which my car was damaged and the squirrel died. My baby brother announced that his (hated) girlfriend was pregnant – this would cause a devastating family rift that is still unresolved.

In April, I went to Japan. A life’s dream come to fruition. April was a good month. I also learned why you shouldn’t get wasted on a long flight home.

In May, a friend I’ve known since first grade got married. I went to the wedding by myself. Gas prices were the highest in my lifetime.

In June, Wall-E came out. It remains one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. I saw Peter Murphy at the House of Blues. The Apricots on our tree came in. I had this wild idea of making jam, but the fruit went bad very quickly and I missed the boat.

In July, AJB and I went to Chicago to see his mom. The cicada were in full force. That month, we attended Comic-Con in San Diego and even though I wrote about it, I never published the post. I just did. I embraced Twitter and got into more trouble with the law – expired tags and mysteriously missing insurance information.

In August, we had what might have been an attempted break-in or maybe ghosts. My sister visited for a weekend. I made a YouTube video to take part in an online piano teaching experiment. I still haven’t started because the book is expensive.

By September, the heat was getting to me. I didn’t write much and didn’t get a whole lot done over Summer in general. I did some photo shoots here and there. I started up with a cool vintage clothing store that offers self satisfaction over heaps of cash.

In October, Obama-fever was setting in. AJB and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary by getting engaged. I voted early in Norwalk and waited 4 hours. My sister came into town and helped me pick out my engagement ring. On Halloween, we drove out to Vegas to canvass for Obama.

November, Obama won the election and all was right with the world. Mostly. We stayed in Nevada until the 5th. AJB bought my ring and presented it to me on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. A week or so later, we traveled to Florida for a theme park convention. I had a headache for three days, but got to meet lots of people and saw Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure. Starbucks unleashed their Gingerbread Lattes as “Ginger Snap Lattes”. My brother’s baby was born. Welcome Micheal Joseph Simental.

In December, we traveled to Chicago and New York. I saw Jersey Boys in Chi-Town and Liza in Manhattan. My brother, my Mom, and I saw Frankie Valli in San Bernardino. Bettie Page and Majel Barrett died. Christmas came and went. I was unprepared but it all came together in the end. I announced to my family that AJB and I were getting married – they all knew something was up, but thought I might be pregnant. LOL.

And now, here we are. The end of 2008. Is it just me or do years get more and more momentous as you get older? A long time friend got married, my grandpa died, I started my career, I went to Japan, Chicago (twice), New York, and Florida. I traveled more in 2008 than any other year. My brother had a baby and I got engaged. 2008 was filled with excitement and many life changing events. 2009 brings new promise, but I am hesitant to say it’s going to be great because I just don’t know. I do know that in 2009 I will be planning my wedding, turning 34, and getting married. The uncertainty of this economic crisis is casting a dark cloud over the new year. Who knows what the future will bring? *We are all interested in the future because that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.

See what happened in 2007

*Crisswell, Ed Wood

Sponsored by Canada

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday while dragging out the final hours of our New York visit, I got AJB over to see the lovely Bryant Park, just behind the even lovelier New York Public Library (opening scenes of Ghostbusters). Bryant Park does a whole big deal for Christmas including setting up an ice rink, a carousel, and temporary gifty type stores; but it’s mostly like a super fancy crafts faire.

While there, we hopped into a tent and visited Canada’s Aurora Borealis via green screen.

As you can see, AJB was a lot more excited than I was. Perhaps it’s because the light show seems to be erupting from his ear. Totally planned.

Life is a Cabaret

Posted on by
Reply

I figured out why I didn’t write a lot about New York the last time I was here…this city really takes a lot out of you. You give it willingly.

Last night AJB and I saw Liza Minnelli at The Palace. I know. You’re thinking, Liza Minnelli, WTF? No, seriously. Liza’s doing a short stint at The Palace, after a nasty divorce, two hip replacements, a knee replacement, and almost dying. That said, I honestly expected to see a little old granny standing on stage, waving her arms once and a while, and not anything like the Liza we know and love from Cabaret. Holy shit! Was I wrong! She’s 62 years old and thank God for stage lighting. She looked about 45. Not to mention dancing her ass off every night, she’s lost a lot of weight. While she is obviously older, she can’t quite kick as high, she brought it to the table. I mean, this lady gave every ounce of herself and sang her little heart out. Wow. AJB and I were flabbergasted. Flabbergasted!! It was like watching The Undiscovered Country where the ensign tells Cpt. Sulu that the ship will fly apart if they go anything further. Sulu responds, “Fly her apart then!” Oh yeah, just like that.

I’ve seen plenty of old timers make their comebacks on stage. What often amazes me is the sheer will power involved. When I see 60 year olds working like they’re 30, I feel like maybe I shouldn’t complain and maybe get up and do more things. Liza is truly a powerhouse. Yes, it’s true, she was a little more tired and her voice just ain’t what it used to be, but what you must realize, even taken down a few notches, she still manages to give the performance of a lifetime. This is the only show I’ve ever been to where the singer got a standing ovation after every song. She manages to talk to the audience as if we’re all old pals. She told us stories about her youth, momma, her God-Mother Kay Thompson, she even made jokes about her horrible divorce. If you don’t like Liza Minnelli, it’s because you’ve never seen her show. All I can really say is “Wow!” That lady has moxie! And she knows who her audience is: Older gay couples and old ladies. AJB and I fall into one of those categories, although we’re not sure which.

After Liza, we braved the cold, cold, streets of Times Square and had dinner at a steak house called Bond 45 – I can always find veggie foods at steak houses when put to the challenge. We then made our way to yet another show called Slava’s SnowShow. Slava is a Russian clown who, once upon a time, was part of Cirque du Soleil. So I was thinking, how bad could it be? Sorry to say, it was pretty bad. Boring as shit. Apparently people are saying this is the most beautiful show they’ve ever seen. I have to wonder if they’re talking about another show entirely. What parts are they talking about? The part where the clown walks across the stage excruciatingly slow? I fell asleep a few times and AJB woke me up to see the big finale. Ok, that was pretty great, but one great finale doesn’t make a whole show. All I know is, Slava was facing a wind machine, paper snow and smoke was flying out at the audience and that one song from Carmina Burana was playing as a super-bright light filled the room. Of course, it had nothing to do, whatsoever, with the entire show and didn’t actually mean anything. It was just random. No story, just small meaningless vignettes that weren’t actually funny.

Naturally, it’s hard to top Liza, so maybe anything I saw wouldn’t compare, but it wasn’t just that. Slava’s show sucked. I wish we’d gone to see Equus. At the very least we’d get some full frontal Daniel Radcliffe even if it comes with the poking of horses’ eyes out.

Today, it’s cold as shit, but we’re going to bundle up and see some things…in particular, the tree at Rockefeller Center. And what else? We’ll see.